Category: Branches Books

Book 13 – Vince Flynn – Consent to Kill

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Yeah finally finished Book 13 for 2011 Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn. Constent to Kill is the sixth book in the Mitch Rapp series by Flynn, The series is now up to Book 11, so I have some reading to do to catch up on the series! Mitch Rapp is a  CIA assassin working deep Black Ops. in the book prior to this one Memorial Day. Rapp saved Washington from a nuclear holocaust and along the way made some very powerful enemies! Now those enemies have put a price on his head and hired a very savvy assassin to do the job!

Overall I enjoyed the book like all of the Rapp books. I thought this book moved a little slow in the beginning and I kinda knew what was going to happen, but once “the event” occurred the book picked up and moved well from that point on! I enjoy Rapp’s character well as the supporting cast of Irene Kennedy, the Director of the CIA and Mitch’s friend Scott Coleman. I’m looking forward to the next adventure Act of Treason (#7) which is on my bookshelf along with books 8 and 9!!  But I’m sure I’ll find something else to read before diving into them!

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The Secret Soldier – Alex Berenson (John Wells #5)

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Ok, quick quiz , Who is the current King of Saudi Arabia? Who is his son? Brother? Dis everyone get it right! I wouldn’t have! But they are all main characters in Alex Berenson‘s new John Wells adventure The Secret Soldier. This is book 12 for the year, (boy am I way behind!) and the fifth in the Wells series. After several terrorist attacks in the Kingdom, King Abdullah contacts new ex-CIA operative John Wells to determine if his brother Saed and Saed’s son were involved in the attacks. Saed thinks that he is the rightful heir to the throne, while Abdullah wants his son Khalid to succeed him, and Saed is none to pleased with that.   Soon Wells is immersed in a mission not only to make the determination, but also to save US and Saudi relations!!

I enjoy the character of John Wells and have liked all of the previous adventures. I thought that this book started a little disjointed and slow but once it got rolling there was no stopping the action until the last page was turned!

It’s funny!  I wrote a couple weeks ago, that I picked up Vince Flynn’s Constent to Kill a Mitch Rapp adventure and Saed was also a character in that book! Because I was confusing the plots I stopped reading that book, but now that I’m finished I’ll go back and complete that adventure!

Oh, one more question do you know where the largest clock in the world is??

Here’s a picture of it! It sits atop the  Abraj-al-Bait hotel in a Saudi Arabia city! But you’ll have to read the book to find out where and how it ties into the storyline!!

 

Book 10 – The Breach – Patrick Lee

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Book 10 of 2011 was Patrick Lee’s The Breach.

The Breach is the first book of what’s now a two book series featuring Travis Chase, Paige Campbell and the Breach. The second book, which I read first is Ghost Country. The book is an action adventure book with some sci-fi thrown in.

The Breach itself is an anomaly, like a ripe in space, through which entities are sent to Earth from some other vastly more intelligent world. The entity that is the focus of this book is The Whisper.

The Whisper knows all and it’s mission is to cause trouble and in the book it certainly does! From the opening chapter when a plane carrying the Whisper and the First Lady of the United States goes down and the Whisper is stolen, to the last pages where the home of the Breach Border Town run by a group known as Tangent is attacked the action is fast and furious with lots of twists and turns.

I really liked both of the books and I’m looking forward to more books featuring the likable team of Chase and Campbell!

“It’s all here: brilliantly devious enemies; nifty, innovative gadgets and weaponry; hang-on-to-your-hat action; and razor-sharp plot twists aplenty.”
—Publishers Weekly (read the full review here)

Book 8 – The Ark – Boyd Morrison

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So this time a scientific word that was not coined until 1982, (well after my high school and college days were over and parenting was in year three of son number one and we were waiting for son two), is the center of Book 8 for 2011! The word is prion and the book is Boyd Morrison’s debut novel The Ark. So what is a prion? From Wikipedia:

A prion is an infectious agent composed of protein in a misfolded form.[2] This is in contrast to all other known infectious agents, which must contain nucleic acids (either DNA, RNA, or both) along with protein components. The word prion, coined in 1982 by Stanley B. Prusiner, is a portmanteau derived from the words protein and infection.[3] Prions are responsible for the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in a variety of mammals, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as “mad cow disease”) in cattle and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) in humans. All known prion diseases affect the structure of the brain or other neural tissue and all are currently untreatable and universally fatal.[4]

The novel The Ark combines a little history revolving around Noah’s Ark and a lot of action adventure involving a madman whose plan is to destroy mankind except for those he has handpicked to save and restart civilization!

The action starts when archaeologist Dilara Kenner is contacted by Sam Watson an old family friend who says he has information about her missing father.  When Dilara meets Sam at the LA Airport rather than speaking about her father Sam starts talking about Noah’s Ark (her father’s archaeological obsession) and the possible death of billions! Before he is able to fully explain Sam is killed by a mysterious woman. With his dying breaths Sam tells Dilara to find Tyler Locke.

Two days later Dilara finds Locke on an oil rig off Newfoundland. After an attempt on Dilara’s life (her helicopter crashes) and an attempt to blow up the oil rig Locke is convinced that Dilara is in need of help and agrees to help her discover the secret behind Noah’s Ark and her father’s disappearance. Oh, and they also have to save the world from that madman! The more they find out and link together other attacks the more they realize that they have a short time to find this monster and save billions!  And how do prions fit into all this?  Well you ‘ll just have to read the book to find out!

The action is fast and furious and the pages flew by. I liked the lead characters Dilara and Tyler and Tyler’s associates.  The back cover is riddled with quotes from some of my old favorites like James Rollins and Douglas Preston along with  new favorite  Chris Kuzneski. Here’s what James Rollins says:

“Boyd Morrison’s novel is a stunning thriller with a premise as ingenious as it is flawlessly executed. Lightning Paced, chillingly real, here is a novel that will have you holding your breath until the last page is turned. One of the best debuts I’ve read this year.”

So if you want a good read that mixes, history and science and leaves you slightly concerned about the future of mankind,  read The Ark!

Book 3 – The Lost Throne – Chris Kuzneski

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By Chris Kuzneski

Book No 3 for 2011The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski is the fourth book of five in the Jonathan Payne David Jones series and it’s a good one.  I love books that are based on history and teach me something! This one certainly did!  After seven monks are brutally killed at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Greece, Nick Dial, head of Interpol’s Homicide Division is called to investigate the crime. Video footage of the murders reveal that the murders appear to have been commited by Spartans!! Meanwhile ex-special forces officer Jonathan Payne receives frantic calls from a Richard Byrd in Russia who is afraid he is being followed and will be killed! After Byrd is murdered Payne reaches his assistant, a graduate archeology major at Stanford, Allison Brown. Brown, Byrd;s assistant was set to meet Byrd and leave Russia when he was killed. Payne sets out to rescue Brown and discover why Byrd was killed. The remainder of the story revolves around Byrd’s search for the The Lost Throne of Zeus and that puts Payne and his partner on a collision course with the murderers in Greece! The story was great the characters believable and likable and I am certainly going back to catch up on the series! But what did it teach me?

Well, while the story was set in St Petersburg I learned some facts about that city, including the fact that because of  all the rivers and bays it is known as the “Venice of the North” and that because of the geology and water the subway system is the deepest in the world!! Part of the action took place in the Nevsky Prospekt Station. (See photo). Another setting was the St Isaac Square where Jon and Allison where Allison was telling Jon about The Bronze Horseman statue when they were confronted by Russian soldiers and Allison was told to tell the soldier something he didn’t know about the city and she responded by telling him  that Peter the Great opened the first museum in St Petersburg but was afraid that no one would come so he offered a free shot of vodka when they reached the exit of the museum a tradition that continues to today! But back to the statue which stands in the middle of  St. Isaac’s Square and honors Nicholas I, the former emperor of Russia. The statute depicts Nicholas riding into battle. The statue was hailed as an architectural marvel when it was built because it was the first equestrian statue ever with only two support points, the rear legs of the rearing horse! When I was looking for the picture of the statue I saw in Wikipedia that the station rests on a pedestal created by the largest stone ever moved by man!! you can read about it here.

The majority of the story though takes place in Greece, where the monks were killed at the Holy Trinity Monastery one of the six monasteries of the Meteora (suspended rocks) of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Greece, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The description of this monastery took me immediately to Google to look for images and they are breathtaking. You can read more about them here The final action of the book takes place at Mount Athos the most important center of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Greece. The Mount is located at the end of a peninsula in the northeastern corner of Greece. There are twenty monasteries spread across the peninsula and only males are permitted and access is limited it is a self-governing territory like the Vatican!

So when people me ask, why do you read fiction? I respond that it takes me to places I’ve never been and teaches me! That’s why I love the writing of James Rollins, Clive Cussler, and Dan Brown and others of this genre. Hopefully, I can say the same about Boyd Morrsion whose debut novel The Ark I started this morning! So I hope I peeked your interest and you’ll pick up The Lost Throne,,,,,,,,oh yeah remember the guy in Russia was looking for the lost Statue of Zeus…… wonder where it could be????????

Book 1 – 2011 – Crush – Alan Jacobson

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WooHoo! Finally I finished the first book of 2011 – Alan Jacobson’s Crush. It was another book read on the Kindle. I am also reading on the Kindle The Devil We Knew by Robert Baer a book about Iran that we gave to Peter for Christmas, that is really good! Anyway back to Crush. The novel is set in the wine country of California and is the second book in the Karen Vail series. Karen Vail is a profiler who works tracking serial killers. The first book is The 7th Victim, which I saw at Barnes and Noble a while back and made a note on my phone about to look for at the library. But when I got the Kindle I checked out some of the books that I had made notes about and there it was it was for a good price but Crush was a better price FREE! So I’ve read the series out of order!

Like I said the series revolves around Karen Vail a FBI profiler and single mother, who was on vacation in the California wine country, with her boyfriend Robby Hernandez. A mutilated body is discovered in a Wine Cave and soon Karen isn’t on vacation and more but working with the local police to track down the killer. It’s a thriller because you know the killer but it’s one of those, what will he do before you can catch him books! Karen is a likable character and the action is pretty fast paced with a few twists and turns and more dead bodies!

I will certainly read more of Jacobson’s books my question now is, do I go back and read the first book, which available on the Kindle or do I go and get the third book out of the library! Jacobson left so many threads hanging at the end of the book that I think I’ll go read Book 3 Velocity next and then go back and read The 7th Victim!

Track of the Cat – Nevada Barr

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WooHoo! So after a month plus of slugging through Michael Koryta’s So Cold the River and only getting half through it, although I was enjoying it, I just haven’t had the time to finish it! I did finish a shorter book Track the Cat by Nevada Barr is book 42 for the year. The book is the first Anna Pigeon novel. Anna is a national park ranger and here’s what it says about her on the back cover of the book:

“The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr’s award-winning series , park ranger Anna Pigeon has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery game. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed  novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness – and finding mystery instead…..

The murder in this case is a fellow park ranger and when the murder is blamed on a rouge mountain lion and Ana’s investigation proves that that was not the case, Anna sets out to find out what really happened! Althoug I didn’t think that the plot was all that great I did like the character and didn’t guess the murderer! I will probably continue with the series and already have a few more books on my Mount to Be Read!!

Moonlight Mile – Dennis Lehane

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The Story

In the world of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennero, 12 years have past since Patrick found Amanda McCready and returned her to unfit mother (see Gone Baby Gone). Patrick and Angie are now married and the proud parents of a four year four year old daughter.

Patrick is hoping to get a full time job at a very affluent security company. One night he gets a call the caller says “You found her before, find her again”. The next morning Patrick runs into Amanda’s Aunt Beatrice who apologizes for the previous night’s late call and then tells Patrick that Amanda, now a straight A student at a Boston prep school and a chance to go to Harvard or Yale, has been missing for three weeks and no one cares!

Soon Patrick is sucked back into the world he hoped he’d left behind including drugs and the Russian Mafia. But Patrick has to find Amanda to put the past behind him, the past that haunts him everyday because he did the legally right thing that was actually the wrong thing. Finding Amanda now could help to set things right!

My Thoughts

I really enjoy the characters of this series and Lehane’s writing overall. The pages of this book just flew by last night and like most of his stories there are enough twists to keep you guessing as to what’s going on! As with every Lehane book. It’s a great read! So read it now and then compare it to the movie sequel which is bound to come!

Book 41 – Moonlight Mile – Dennis Lehane

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In the world of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennero, 12 years have past since Patrick found Amanda McCready and returned her to unfit mother (see Gone Baby Gone). Patrick and Angie are now married and the proud parents of a four year four year old daughter. Patrick is hoping to get a full time job at a very affluent security company. One night he gets a call the caller says “You found her before, find her again”. The next morning Patrick runs into Amanda’s Aunt Beatrice who apologizes for the previous night’s late call and then tells Patrick that Amanda, now a straight A student at a Boston prep school and a chance to go to Harvard or Yale, has been missing for three weeks and no one cares! Soon Patrick is sucked back into the world he hoped he’d left behind including drugs and the Russian Mafia. But Patrick has to find Amanda to put the past behind him, the past that haunts him everyday because he did the legally right thing that was actually the wrong thing. Finding Amanda now could help to set things right!

I really enjoy the characters of this series and Lehane’s writing overall. The pages of this book just flew by last night and like most of his stories there are enough twists to keep you guessing as to what’s going on! As with every Lehane book. It’s a great read! So read it now and then compare it to the movie sequel which is bound to come!

Fragment – Warren Fahy

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Book number 40 for 2010 is Warren Fahy’s debut novel Fragment A reality series SeaLife staring a group of scientists exploring the world’s oceans is floundering in the ratings. Nell Duckworth a botanist on the show knows they are passing a little know island in the Pacific Henders Island and hopes they will visit! Nell gets her wish when an emergency signal is received from a boat that had run aground on the island, so Nell got her wish and as they say be careful what you wish for. What they find on this island is evolution gone wild….species of animals the likes of which have never been seen in the world! It’s a world full of fast and furious species that kill just about everything….. It’s a wild ride based on sound science facts that make it truly believable and scary! The pages just flew by especially the last 100 pages!!

The cover says that the book is: “A rollicking tale [that] will enthrall readers of a Jurassic Park and The Ruins. from USA Today

And James Rollins (one of my favorite authors) says:

“Few debuts are a explosive as Warren Fahy’s Fragment, a story of evolutionary horror that leaps off the page and grabs your throat. Think Jurassic Park on steriods. This is one hell of a ride”

I agree and can’t wait for the sequel that Mr. Fahy is working on!! Now it’s on to the new Dennis Lehane! Oh remember I said that I’d be reading two books at once well since I couldn’t put Fragment down that ain’t happening!