Brian H

I thought this was a good book, particularly since it was the author’s debut novel.  The story flowed nicely, interesting because it was being told from several character’s perspective.  Typically that is difficult to follow but I did not find that.  I also usually am trying to figure out whodunnit but this story flowed so nicely I wasn’t doing that.  The characters were almost all very likable which is also unusual.  A couple of the characters could be good spin-off characters in another series.  I would have liked more about Danny, the brother in jail for murder, who may or may not have done it.  You will have to read the book to find out.

Maybe it was because the book is old and hard to relate to the present, but I didn’t find this classic novel to be that great.  I don’t really like a main character that sleeps with his partner’s wife.  He says that he feels obligated to find his partner’s killer but seems like he wants the money to find the falcon more. The book’s portrayal of woman in the book was consistent with the times but still undesirable.  The author had many quotes that were funny because the main character was such a jerk if he were real.  I did not see this movie but maybe I should have instead of reading the book.

I thought the book was just OK.  Nowhere near as good as the first in the series.  The story itself was pretty good but it was dragged out way too much.  It took over 200 pages to get the important part of the book.  I also didn’t like the blacked out text, didn’t think it was necessary.  With all the bad things that happened to the main character, James Reece, the first book, you really root for him.  You must read the first book prior to this one to understand him and the story.  The author left us hanging in a couple of areas, one of the bad characters is still alive and James needs brain surgery which will be good lead-ins to future books. I intend to read the next book, just hoping the editors remove unnecessary text.

I liked the story.  I really liked the back and forth between past and present.  This was my first Sager novel and to be honest, I read it because I needed a gothy book for the Goodreads reading challenge.  I typically don’t enjoy this type of novel so my rating is higher than I would have thought it would be.  I was pleasantly surprised and will consider reading more of his novels.  But, if you like gothy books, I think you will really enjoy this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook.  Grisham did a very good job developing the major characters.  The main character was Simon, a down on his luck lawyer (bad marriage, broke, gambling problem).  His problems then were exasperated when he met an elderly woman with no beneficiaries who claimed to have millions of dollars in her estate and needed a new will.  Of course he succumbed to greed and stacked her personal affairs in his favor.  When she dies and the autopsy reveals she was poisoned, Simon is the primary suspect.  He has to solve the case to save himself.  Overall, it keep my interest but it was slow developing and much of the excess could have easily been edited out.  While the guilty party was a surprise, the person came out of the blue.  No way to figure it out myself until the very end, which felt rushed after the long story.  Despite these weaknesses, I enjoyed the book and hoped Simon would be vindicated despite his moral weaknesses.

I love the series but just thought this one was okay.  You really need to read at least some of the previous novels to understand the main character’s (Evan) personality and the other characters.  I think it is good that the author is “growing” Evan in his personality and empathy.  I look forward to the future novels in the series to see where the author takes these new found characteristics.

I really liked this book.  I think too much sex detracted from the story and I reduced my rating because of it.  However, the story was great.  I liked that the heroine had synethetic capability, was an interesting twist.  The story had lots of tension and twists and turns.  The heroine turning the tables on her bosses/tormentors was great.  I don’t see any point of the recipes after each chapter but you don’t have to read them.  I didn’t see the movie, but sight unseen, you may want to see it over reading the book.  I expect that the sex will be toned down a lot.  I recommend this book though and plan to read the other books in the trilogy.

I listened to audio book for this one.  It went quickly but in no way was this was a thriller.  I liked that she was going to get married and like the portions on Enzo.  But overall, it was disappointing.  I sure hope the next book in the series is better or it will be my last.

I didn’t think this second novel was as good as the first.  In fact, I may be getting tired of the series.  The second plot was too similar to the first for my taste.  I also didn’t like that the housemaid character was stringing along her boyfriend.  From his character description, he did not deserve it. 

While the plot seemed totally unbelievable, it really kept my interest.  I liked all the action and double crosses.  I also liked the detail of lock picking and computer hacking.  For a second book, it was good and has improved on his first.  I plan to continue reading his books. 

I did like this book and honestly was surprised that I did. It was not filled with action or plot twists.  It kind of slowly plodded through the story going back and forth between the present and past.  It revealed the killer early so the booked focused on the why he did it.  You need to pay attention as some of the changes between past and present were hard to follow.  I also think the author could have eliminated the unnecessary detail.  Made the book seem longer than it needed to be.  The ending was great.  Was the basis for the higher rating despite comments above.

The story wasn’t bad but not anywhere as good as the Colter Shaw novels.  I liked the hint of future potential pairing with Lincoln Rhymes.  However, the ending overall was poor.  Not a real ending, just left me hanging. This story is also included the recently released anthology called Deceptions.  I thought it was the worst in the anthology, a mix of mostly previously published material.