Monday, October 26, 2009

Death Message by Mark Billingham

Started: 10/13/09
Finished: 10/25/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 458
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "Delivering the 'death message.' That's what cops call those harrowing moments when they must tell someone that a loved one has been killed. Now Detective Investigator Tom Thorne is receiving messages of his own: photographs of murder victims sent to his cell phone.
"Who are the victims? Who is sending the photographs? And why is he sending them to Tom Thorne? The answer likes in the detective investigator's past, with a man he had once sent to prison for life. But even behind bars, the most dangerous psychopath Thorne has ever faced is still a master of manipulating others to do his dirty work for him. And Thorne must act fast because the photos keep on coming, and the killer's next target is someone the detective investigator knows very well...."
Opinion: Not as good as Sleepyhead but still a good read.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Stupid White Men by Michael Moore

Started: 10/7/09
Finished: 10/13/09
Year: 2001
Pages: 277
Genre: Humor/Political
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR pile
Blurb: Basically Michael Moore's look at the men that run this country
Opinion: I've enjoyed Moore's movies and thought that the book would be interesting. And it was. I was happy to see that Moore not only made fun at the Republicans but the Democrats as well.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

The Hunted by Brian Haig

Started: 9/24/09
Finished: 10/7/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 453
Genre: Thriller
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "It's 1991, The Soviet Union has just collapsed, and a new democratic government is beginning to emerge. Alex Konevitch, who was thrown out of Moscow University in 1987 for indulging his entrepreneurial spirit, is now worth $300 million and is a major financial supporter of the new govenrment. In a country where greed and corruption run rampant and wealth is stolen, not earned, he is on track to become both Russia's wealthiest man-and a huge target.
"Then top executives in his company start getting brutally murdered one by one, and Alex makes a critical mistake: he hires the former deputy director of the KGB to handle his corporate security. Kidnapped, beaten, and forced to relinquish his business and his fortune by those hired to protect him, Alex manages to escape to the United States with his wife, only to be accused by his own government of stealing millions from his business.
"With a contract out on his life and the FBI hot on his trail, Alex is the number one most-wanted fugitive in Russia. He is a man on the run with no country to call home. And he must elude the bounty on his head and prove his innocence...if he is ever to build a new life for himself and his family."
Opinion: This was an interesting read and I'm not a fan of books that deal with the KGB and Russian politics. The title very properly fits the story. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.