Saturday, July 27, 2013

The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey

Started: 7/18/13
Finished: 7/24/13
Year: 2007
Pages: 331
Genre: mystery
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from back cover): "On the South Side of Chicago, you're only as strong as your reputation. Danny Carter and his best friend Evan earned theirs knocking over pawnshops and liquor stores, living from score to score, never thinking of tomorrow...until, in the roar of a gun blast, everything changed.
"Years later, Danny has built a new life: a legitimate career, a long-term girlfriend, and a clean conscience. He's just like anyone else. Normal. Successful. Happy. Until he spots his old partner staring him down in a smoky barroom mirror...
"Now, with all he loves on the line and nowhere to turn, Danny realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice: How far will he go to protect his future from his past?"
Opinion: A great debut book from Sakey. Great twists and turns with an ending that most would not predict.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper

Started: 7/16/13
Finished: 7/17/13
Year: 2013
Pages: 285
Genre: suspense/horror
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): " Professor David Ullman is among the world's leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton's Paradise Lost. Not that David's is a believer-he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a 'phenomenon,' he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.
"That evening, David's wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively whisks his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess, off to Venice after all. The girl has recently been stricken by thte same melanchly moods David knows so well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home.
"But what happens in Venice will change everything.
"First, in a tiny attic room at the address provided by the Thin Woman, David sees a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane...but could he truly be possessed? Then the man speaks clearly, in the voice of David's dead father, repeating that last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars-and a mystery-behind.
"When David rushes back to the hotel, he witnesses Tess perched on the roof's edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.
"What follows is an unimaginable journey for David Ullman from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever."
Opinion: Having never read Paradise Lost I did not find myself lost in the references. This was full of action and excitement. A good read.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Story of X by A.J. Molloy

Started: 7/13/13
Finished: 7/15/13
Year: 2012
Pages: 329
Genre: erotica/romance
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from back cover): "Shy American student Alexandra Beckman-X to her friends-arrives in Naples desperate for adventures beyond the sheltered life she has led. She is there to study the Camorra,  an infamous Italian crime organization. But in the sun-soaked, ancient city streets, her research leads her to a man like no one else she has ever met.
"Irresistibly handsome, Lord Marcus Roscarrick is an Italian aristocrat with a mysterious past. Yet underneath his refined exterior, X senses a man who is well acquainted with danger.
"Soon they begin a passionate affair, and X is drawn into Roscarrick's world-a world she never dreamed existed. But as she falls ever more deeply under Roscarrick's spell. X must decide whether she dares to submit entirely to this shadowy realm of dark desire.
Blurb: This wasn't full of erotica which I was glad to read. Enough action and romance mixed into the erotica.

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey

Started: 7/1/13
Finished: 7/2/13
Year: 2011
Pages: 388
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: borrowed from library
Blurb (from book jacket): "The only sign of life for miles is an empty BMW. Inside the expensive car he finds clothes that fit perfectly, shoes for his tattered feet, a Rolex, and an auto registration in the name of Daniel Hayes, resident of Malibu, California.
"None of it is familiar.
"How did he get here? Who is he? Who was he? While he searches for answers, the world searches for him-beginning with the cops that kick in the door of his dingy motel with guns drawn. Lost and alone, the man who might be Daniel Hayes flees into the night.
"All he remembers is a woman's face, so he sets off for the only place he might find her. The fantasy of her becomes his home, his world, his hope, And maybe, just maybe, the way back to himself."
Opinion: This was a really good mystery with a severe twist at the end. Great story.