36 posts tagged “mysteries”
Wow...where have I been? Just been lazy...heh.
I've finished two books since the last update. I've read Dark of the Moon by John Sanford and Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.
This was a pretty good spin off from the Lucas Davenport series. It features a detective that is part of Lucas' group, Virgil Flowers. This character if a lot like Lucas in that they seem to always get the ladies, etc...heh. It was a pretty good mystery...kept me guessing.
I'ver read a lot of Dean Koontz novels and this one didn't disappoint. This is the first in the Odd series. I read somewhere...I think on his web site...that this series will be about seven books. Odd Thomas has a special gift? power? curse? wherein he can see dead people. They can't talk but they visit him and he helps them with whatever it seems to be they need. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series so far.
Tess Gerritsen's The Bone Garden was a pretty good mystery. It seemed a little corny with the love story part of it (both in the present and in the past), but I found the medical history part of it interesting and informative. I totally didn't guess who the West End Reaper was but it was believable who it was when revealed. As for who the baby-daddy was, it didn't seem that believable to me but it made sense.
The book I'm reading next is Entering Hades by John Leake. It's the story of a real serial killer who had killed here in Southern California and in Austria. I read a lot of stuff, fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to serial killers...only because the behavioral and psychological parts fascinate me. I don't think I could make it as an investigator in the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit though...I wouldn't be able to stomach bloody crime scenes or dead bodies...ech.
The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos wasn't really what I thought it was going to be...which I thought was about a serial killer. Well, it sort of was, but the case of the Night Gardener was more like a footnote. So I was somewhat disappointed with that aspect, but the book was still good. There was a lot of focus on the characters and I thought each character was developed fully and believably. I don't think I'll be reading other books by this author who was a writer on the show, The Wire.
The next book on my list is The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. I think this is a standalone mystery and it's set in the 1830s.
Well, I finished Sea Change and even the next Robert B. Parker book, High Profile over the last week. I think I'm finally caught up on the Jesse Stone series. These last two books interwove?...interweaved?...um...there was a crossover from the Sunny Randall series where Sunny is seeing Jesse. But the two of them are still hooked on their exes so they break up at the end even though they are perfect for each other. I like Sunny's ex way more than Jesse's ex. Jesse's ex keeps sleeping around on him even though she supposedly loves him! Aaargh! Stupid woman. Oh, besides the relationship stuff, Jesse solved a couple of murder cases too...heh.
So now I'm on to the next book which is The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos. I don't remember how this book got on my reading list...I must have read a review somewhere and thought it would be a good book to read...since the story involves a serial killer...my favorite type of mystery story!
So, yeah, I finished up Stone Cold by Robert B. Parker pretty quickly. And since I didn't have time to get more books from the library, I read one of the paperbacks I have sitting by my bed. I enjoyed Stone Cold a lot. Chief Jesse Stone always gets the ladies... .
The paperback I've just finished reading is Rage by Jonathan Kellerman who writes a series featuring psychologist Alex Delaware. It's a series I started reading because of the psychology angle and I think I have all the books in paperback. It's one of the series I actually purchase and I've reread all the books a few times because I like them so much. While I enjoyed the story, I found the ending a bit anticlimatic...and you don't find out what really happened and one or two of the bad guys get away. I wonder if those characters will come back later on in the series?
I've had time to go to the library since then and am now reading the next in the Jesse Stone/Paradise series, Sea Change. I'm sure I'll enjoy this one too.
So I finished up Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker. It seemed like the murder in the story was secondary to the character development of Police Chief Jesse Stone. It focused a lot more on his "therapy" to deal with his drinking than on the "whodunit." It was anticlimatic at the end when the killer confessed...you don't know why the murder happened.
The next book I'm reading is the next in the Jesse Stone series, Stone Cold. Hm...I can't seem to find a picture of the book. Oh well.
I gotta catch up on the book postings! I've already finished another book after finishing up The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver. That book was a pretty good roller coaster ride, which is the kind of roller coaster I like. There were some twists and turns and was pretty thrilling over all. The only thing I didn't like, and don't really like in any story, is when one of the good guys...kinda turns out to be bad in the end. Oh well.
I started on Spare Change by Robert B. Parker the next day and didn't expect to finish it so quickly. This is the current book in the Sunny Randall, P.I., series. This time she gets called in to help her father as a consultant on an old serial killer case that was never solved. I like how this series intertwines psychotherapy with the ongoing cases. You learn about Sunny Randall as she learns about herself.
The next book on my reading list is another Robert B. Parker book, Death in Paradise. This is from the series featuring Jesse Stone, the police chief of Paradise. I suspect I'll get through this one pretty quickly too!
I finished reading The Overlook by Michael Connelly a while ago. I think I finished it in a couple of days...funny how the story takes place within about a day. It was one of those stories where I only put it down because I had to sleep. It was that good...as the Harry Bosch series has been for me. I like how you follow along with Bosch...follow clues...it takes you in one direction but then goes in another direction once you find out more clues along with Bosch. I like how the stories also have an emotional angle to them...dealing with relationships, etc. Crime usually happens because of love or money...or is it lust and money? Or maybe just usually lust? Anyway, it was a good read.
I've already started on The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver since I finished the last book so quickly. I've been following the Lincoln Rhyme series mainly, but this one features a character that appeared in one of the Lincoln Rhyme stories. The main character is Special Agent Kathryn Dance who is a "brilliant interrogator and kinesics expert." She's sort of like a human lie detector. She can read body language really well I guess. In this story, she's chasing a Charles Manson-like prison escapee who is also pretty good at reading and manipulating people. I'm enjoying it so far.
Well, I didn't get very far with the stack of paperbacks by my bed...I just barely finished up Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs. Before I even finished it though, I couldn't stand it and got some more books from the library! So much for trying to catch up. Oh well. While I enjoy the Temperance Brennan series, I can't say I was very interested in Cross Bones. I found the plot to be kind of confusing, probably because it just didn't capture my interest much so I wasn't really paying attention as I read. Plus you really don't find out anything about the bones at the end, but I guess you really couldn't know because of the repercussions it would have with all the major religions!
So, next up is The Overlook by Michael Connelly. It's the current book in the Harry Bosch series, which I've really enjoyed.
I finished Night Passage by Robert B. Parker a while ago and have since started on the next book in the Jesse Stone series, Trouble in Paradise. I was just too lazy to post at the time. Plus I have to really get a move on on all my reading since I've got 3 more books lined up before the next due date at the library! Anyways, I really enjoyed Night Passage and can see Tom Selleck portraying the character of Jesse Stone, Police Chief of Paradise in the TV movies based on the books. I think this book even makes a mention of Tom Selleck! But, Tom in real life is too old to be Jesse Stone in the book, since he's supposed to be in his 30's.
I'm already near the end of Trouble in Paradise. That Jesse Stone sure gets the ladies. He is still in love with his ex-wife who can't seem to stay monogamous with him, although she loves him too. He's already hooked up with the lawyer who used to be the Town Council. And in this book he hooks up with the real estate agent for Stiles Island in Paradise. And I know in the "future" he hooks up with P.I. Sunny Randall who is in another series by Robert B. Parker...heh.
Well, since I'm already near the end of Trouble in Paradise, I might as post the next book I will be reading. It's Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay. This is the series featuring Dexter, a serial killer with a code, who kills other serial killers or criminals only. This series is the basis for the Dexter show on Showtime, which I LOVE with a fervor I haven't had since The X-Files...heh. The show, although based on the Dexter books, really doesn't and won't be following the book storylines much I think. Well, the first season had some plot points taken from the first Dexter book, but I think it has since gone it's own way in the second season. There are only 3 books in the Dexter series so far.
