Book Review- William W. Johnstone- Warpath of the Mountain Man

William W. Johnstone- Warpath of the Mountain Man (Pinnacle Books 2002) 3.75 Stars

Bank Robbers murder a man, injuring another and Smoke Jensen captures them for the law, but the outlaws are well-connected and bust out of prison. In revenge they kill the family of the man who was in charge of the jury, who just happens to be an old friend of Smoke’s, except that they made it look like it was a native uprising. Now Smoke must get to bottom of it and find the killer’s bringing them to justice, before and all out war begins. Smoke wants justice and the best justice he knows comes from the end of a gun…followed by a trail of smoke.

I thought that this was the first of Johnstone’s books I was reading, but the character of Smoke Jensen brought back memories of when I was much younger, I read one of this series at that time. I remember enjoying Jensen’s character then and was not surprised to find that the same was the case now. He is a tough as nails, no nonsense kind of man and it makes for the perfect western character. The villains were the kind of people you despise and do not mind getting shot to bits for their treachery. His characters seem to fit in perfectly with the time period and the plot was plausible (although unlikely). I loved the flow of the story and the places it took the reader. Johnstone does an excellent job of bringing the reader back to the western frontier. One thing that did bother me was the naivety of Covington, and the stupidity of some of the men following him. Although I guess he was blinded by political greed and a desire for power, which may have clouded his judgement.

I recommend Warpath of the Mountain Man to western readers.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- James Patterson- Mary Mary

James Patterson- Mary Mary (Warner Books 2006) 3.5 Stars

Mary Smith is killing Hollywood’s best movie stars and leaving emails for a columnist at the Los Angeles Times. Torn from his family vacation, Alex Cross is sent to assist local authorities in their investigation. As the killings pile up Cross is dragged further into case, butting heads with LAPD’s finest. The police are in a hurry to close the case, but Cross wants to make sure that they capture the right killer. At the same time he has the same fight on the home front. Christine wants little Alex and she will do anything see that Cross does not get him, even if it means slandering her ex-fiancé. Dealing with both of these things adds stress to an already stressful life. Can Alex Cross crack the case before it cracks him?

As per usual I really enjoyed the introduction. Patterson knows how to start a book off right. I wish that the enthusiasm of those first sentences carried on throughout the rest of the book, but alas I must say what I normally say. Patterson loves the Cross family and does not know how to minimize their involvement in his books. Mary Mary is an especially bad example of this as Cross’ family took up a great portion of the book. Every time that I was getting to enjoy the case and the intensity that ensued, Patterson would insert a family section that slowed things down to a crawl and distracted the reader form the main reason they are reading the book (the case portion). I only keep reading this series because I enjoy most of the cases, otherwise I would have dropped the Alex Cross series a long time ago. Once again Patterson succeeded in some great character development, which again I say he is very good at. I am not sure if I have ever written this before, but I know that I have thought it before. At the risk of being crass, Alex Cross thinks with his wrong head, this is the reason why his family life is so terrible, the main reason why he cannot keep a relationship with one woman. He sleeps with one woman then abandons them for his case (I think he has a fear of commitment) until the woman dumps him, then weeks, if not days, later he is infatuated by another woman.

I recommend Mary Mary to Patterson fans only.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Harlan Coben- Fade Away

Harlan Coben- Fade Away (Dell Publishing 1998) 4.75 Stars

The life of a famous basketball star should be wonderful, lots of money and a big home, but when Greg Downing disappears blood is discovered in his basement and it appears that his life may not have been so perfect after all. Myron Bolitar is a sports agent and former college ball player who competed against his rival Greg Downing and suspicions are out that Downing set up Myron’s career-ending injury, yet he has just been hired to locate the missing star. Now he must wade through the lies, deceit, and violent thugs involved in Downing’s life. Suppressed memories of the devastating injury are surfacing as he fights to solve this dangerous mystery. It turns out that solving it may cost him more than he had counted on, it may mean facing his past, and struggling through the present.

Another great read from an author I admire greatly. Harlan Coben knows how to weave a twisting tale of danger and intrigue. The introduction caught my attention and made me want to dig further into the mystery, but it did not stop there. I dug deeper and the pace did not slow down. It was a very interesting plot with really great work by the author to wind the tale in such a way to keep the reader guessing. I also love both Win and Myron as they make a great team. They work so well together and seem to connect on some odd level that helps them understand the other better than they understand themselves. I know I say this each time I read one of this series, but I love the sarcasm used by the author to relieve the tense situations, it makes me chuckle as I read, at times laughing out loud. I think my wife is beginning to wonder about my sanity. The setting was fairly well done, although could have been utilized a little better, not a big enough deal to lower my opinion of the book (pretty much just need to say something negative or it wouldn’t look balanced).

I highly recommend Fade Away or any other book in the Myron Bolitar series.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Gil Roscoe- Company of Thieves

Gil Roscoe- Company of Thieves (Kensington Books 2001) 3 Stars

Warren Allison used to be a small-time scammer, now he has gone legit. He has a new girlfriend, a little bit of cash, and a job that he hates. Suddenly his ex-girlfriend and partner in previous scams, pops out of nowhere with the chance of a lifetime. One last con, a con with a huge payload at the end, but can he trust this woman he hasn’t seen in years? In the world of cons things are never as they appear to be, no one is ever who they claim to be, and things do not always go as planned. He can wind up with everything, or with absolutely nothing, depending on how he plays his hand, but he plays to win and he may just end discovering something about himself that he never knew.

Company of Thieves was a different kind of book from what I am used to reading. It kind of intrigued me, which is why I picked it up. The world of cons was a very interesting topic that made for some good reading. I found myself enjoying the novel; that is once I got past the many sex scenes in the novel, which Roscoe could have thinned down. The sex became a bit of a distraction from the actual plot and took away from the storyline. There were not a lot of twists, but the few twists were great, although slightly predictable. I loved the introductory section as it drew my attention in, and yet I found the ending to be completely predictable, you just knew that they would try to screw him, it was just a matter of when, but it wouldn’t be a book if they succeeded now would it. Normally I would say that I just spoiled the whole book for you, but I have told you no less than what the back of the book tells you. So I guess the ending was just average, if not a little dull. What can I say? Not a book I recommend.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- Alexadre Dumas- The Man in the Iron Mask

Alexadre Dumas- The Man in the Iron Mask (Moby Books 1983) 3.25 Stars

It’s been thirty years since the Three Musketeers were a team, now they are together again. They find out that king’s twin brother is in the prison of Bastille and they plan to switch the king with his brother. First they must free the twin, and figure out how to make the switch and get away with it. If it does not work they must plan an escape for they will be hunted down like dogs. They will find out that the king’s fury and drive for revenge knows no bounds, he will hunt them down to the ends of the earth. This is the final chapter four the Four Musketeers.

The beginning of the book was fairly slow and did not really grab my attention. I probably would not have finished it if it wasn’t for this being our group read author. It did pick up about a quarter of the way through and got pretty intense by the end, but it still did not overly impress me. I must say that I enjoyed the movie much more. The characters were great. It was one thing that Dumas did very well in this classic novel. They were all very well thought out and I enjoyed reading about them. The plot was good, but I expected more from an author that I have heard so much about. This is not an author I would search out and pick up another of his books.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- James Patterson- London Bridges

James Patterson- London Bridges (Warner Books 2005) 3.5 Stars

Alex Cross has double the trouble in this intense thriller. The Wolf locates The Weasel and the two wreak havoc on the world, enjoying the fact that Cross must run around after their clues. Cross gets pulled into the case after a bomb destroys a Nevada town. The Wolf is threatening the same fate for many major cities around the globe, unless they give in to his demands. Hunting for these two psychopathic killers will be Cross’ toughest case yet, all leading up to The Wolf’s true identity. Can they catch these maniacs before they destroy four of the world’s major cities?

London Bridges started off great. It had an intense introduction and I loved it. The intensity level never really did drop off at any point. It was gripping throughout the whole book. However again it included much of Alex’s home life/love life. Patterson also had way too many twists. As in every book, as soon as Cross thinks he has found his man he is proved wrong, his hunches seem to be wrong a lot. This happens at several points in the book, a few too many twists takes away from the effect twists are supposed to have on the reader. Patterson was trying too hard and it became rather annoying. I also was slightly frustrated with how this Wolf could make all of the world leaders jump through hoops and he could do whatever he wanted to. I do not think that this was very realistic at all. I do not think that it would be that easy to gain control of the world powers. Of course one thing Patterson is good at is character development and he did not fail in this area. Cross’ character is amazingly well-created and deep.

I recommend London Bridges to those who are fans of the Alex Cross series.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ralph Compton- The Chisholm Trail

Ralph Compton- The Chisholm Trail (St. Martin’s Press 1993) 3.5 Stars

Ten Chisholm, son of the famous trader Jesse Chisholm, wants make money and make a name for himself. After a visit to New Orleans he gets involved in a messy situation with a smuggler and his band of criminals. One man has promised his daughter the head of the smuggling ring to pay off his debts, but he was not counting on his daughter becoming smitten by Ten Chisholm. Now Ten must free her and risk his life to make her his bride, after which he plans to round up a bunch of Texas Longhorns to form a new trail through Kansas. His trip will be dangerous, requiring enough grit to fight outlaws, Comanche warriors, flooding rivers.

At first I was very impressed by this novel as it had broken form the mould the other two in this series had set. Different characters with different problems made it more interesting and refreshing, but then in the last half of the book it started to become just like the others again. The situations were not always believable or likely and the results were also questionable. I am not sure that fighting some of the old Indian warriors would have been so easy, nor am I sure that they could have fought through so much with so little casualties compared to the opposing forces casualties. When reading I like to see realism and plausibility, something I felt was missing at times. That being said I did enjoy most of the book and thought that the characters were very well-done and seem to come to life off of every page and into whatever room I was reading in. The plot was an intriguing one, I just think that a little of the execution could use work. Overall a very good read for anyone who loves westerns.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Tess Gerritsen- The Apprentice

Tess Gerritsen- The Apprentice (Ballantine Books 2003) 3.75 Stars

Another hot summer in Boston leads to rich couples being targeted in a series of horrifying crimes in which men are forced to watch as their wives are raped. The women are then kidnapped and are turning up dead days later. To Detective Jane Rizzoli it looks like the work of Warren Hoyt, but she put him behind bars, so she decides that it must be a copycat. Now Jane must look her fear in the eyes and overcome the horrors that haunt her sleep. Being Warren’s victim, she must watch her back to avoid falling into the same nightmare as the previous summer. She never imagined just how much danger she could really be in.

I enjoy the character of Jane Rizzoli, she is a tough, no-nonsense woman, who is sometimes to assertive for her own good. We see her struggles with her family and her trying to tough out the ramifications of her scarring experience with Hoyt the previous summer. At the same time we see Agent Dean come onto the scene, whom I did not realize he was who he was until the end, then I remembered that I had read a book further up in the series and remembered he was in that one too. The villains in this one did not get much time in the book, keeping them as mysterious evils we can only wonder about. I did enjoy the plot and the many twists and turns it contained. It made for a very intriguing storyline. The beginning was one that grabbed my attention and then I found myself trying to figure things out, but was not always able to, although the ending was fairly predictable. The scene choices were interesting and fit into the story perfectly, I mean how much more creepy can you get than a graveyard scene?

I recommend The Apprentice to Gerritsen fans and those who enjoy a good thriller.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

www.eloquentbooks.com/kidsonacase.html

Book Review- James Patterson- The Big Bad Wolf

James Patterson- The Big Bad Wolf (Doubleday 2003) 3.75 Stars

As Alex Cross adjusts to being in the FBI, he must complete the training courses and adjust to their different way of dealing with cases. The kidnapping of a judge’s wife brings in the FBI and Alex Cross finds himself hunting a Russian gang leader named the Wolf. The Wolf is using small groups to kidnap women and sell them to his select buyers for the purposes of slavery/sex. Just as they think that they have got him he eludes their grasp time and time again. Catching the Wolf may be a bigger challenge then the FBI had first figured.

James Patterson’s Cross series seems to be stuck in a mould. The same situations keep happening in each book, making them more and more predictable as the series goes. For example his family will always get threatened at some point and the suspect will always elude capture/outsmart Cross several times throughout the book. I would love to give specific examples, but do not like spoilers in reviews, so I will refrain. I find myself predicting what will happen at certain points, although I must say I loved the ending, I did not see it coming. In this book we heard a little less about his family, enough so that it was tolerable. As usual his family life suffers greatly during a tough case, which is likely how it works for many officers of the law. I did like this villain. He was not near as creepy as some of the others. He was pretty much just feeding upon the deviant sexual predators to make money for himself. The Wolf was a very intelligent criminal who gave Cross a good run for his money, much better than the tiresome Mastermind, whose books I did not enjoy.

I recommend The Big Bad Wolf to fans of Patterson and his Cross series.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review: Franklin W. Dixon- The Hardy Boys: Competitive Edge

Franklin W. Dixon- The Hardy Boys: Competitive Edge (Archway Paperback 1996) 3 Stars

During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta Frank and Joe will be volunteers. They are hoping to see great athletes at work, but they end up seeing much more. When criminal activities start happening at the Olympics the Hardy’s must locate the culprits and bring them to justice. A war between two countries far away seems to be responsible for the crime spree, the Olympics have become their new battlefield and innocent people will be their targets. It has now become a race against time to bring a stop to these terrorists before they succeed in destroying the Olympic Games.

This book is part of the newer Hardy series. I used to love reading the older books when I was young. The new series is not nearly as good. The first thing that I have to wonder is why after so many books whether you include the old series or not, the Hardy’s do not really age much. This is book is book 111 in the new series and yet they are barely over twenty, characters should age with the series, no one can possibly stumble upon 111 cases in such a short time span. For a series I enjoyed greatly, I think the new series was a mistake. The Hardy series should have ended with the original series. The characters in this book were not overly deep, although by reading the series you would get a better feel for the main characters. The plot is interesting enough to keep young people reading, filled with lots of action, however it is very predictable, the same outline is used in every book. There are certain factors/events you can guarantee within each book, mainly the fact that one of them will be captured at some point. It was interesting to see it taking place during the Olympics though, it made for a cool setting.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Michael Connelly- The Lincoln Lawyer

Michael Connelly- The Lincoln Lawyer (Warner Books 2006) 4 Stars

Mickey Haller thinks he has a good life, four Lincoln Town Cars, two ex-wives who remain his friends, and one daughter, but all of that is about to be threatened. When he chooses to defend the son of a rich real estate tycoon, he has no idea just what he is getting himself into. He sees the money and what it could do for his defence-attorney business. Louis Roulet is accused of a brutal assault, rape, and attempted murder, and Haller thinks he can win in court. All of a sudden Mickey Haller finds himself looking the devil in the eye, and fighting to set a truly innocent man free. Not used to having to work to win a case, true justice may not be so easy to get, especially when it could cost him everything he has accomplished.

I must admit at first I was not sure about The Lincoln Lawyer. It did not grab my attention right away like I am used to with Connelly’s work. I was getting a little bit tired of so many details on cases that were irrelevant to the story at hand. About a quarter of the way through though I was finding myself growing more and more interested, and by the end I was very glad that I had chosen to read this book. Connelly knows how to hold his readers in suspense and keep them guessing. I did not see the end coming, not until it slapped me in the face. Mickey Haller was a fairly deep character. At the start he is a self-absorbed, lazy defence attorney, but throughout the book we see him learning the error of his ways, the hard way. By the end he is a better man, who has gotten his priorities straightened out. I loved the way he was able to twist the events/witnesses into whatever he wanted, sickening, but brilliant. Connelly certainly knows how to create characters, and make plots that draw the reader into the book.

I recommend The Lincoln Lawyer to Connelly fans and those who love a good courtroom book.

For more of my book reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Harper Lee- To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee- To Kill a Mockingbird (Grand Central Publishing 1982) 4.75 Stars

Scout and Jem Finch live in Maycomb, a small town along the Alabama River where nothing much happens. That is until a black man is accused of a crime he did not commit and their father, Atticus, must defend him. Now they must learn what being a family is all about and the fact that the world is not as black and white as children think it is. People do not always act nobly and Atticus expects his children to treat everyone with respect no matter what happens. Not an easy task for a young girl who would rather solve her problems with her fist. This is a classic coming of age tale, set in the historic southern U.S.

I loved To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in school, one of the few school books I actually enjoyed reading. I also loved the movie as it was very well done. You can’t help but love Scout and her sense of how the world should be. She is filled with a child’s innocence and she must come to understand that the world is not always fair; in fact it can be so very cruel at times. Not wishing to become a lady, she will do anything possible to be seen as a hard-knuckled boy. She must also face the fact that her brother is growing up and wants more of his own independence. I loved the whole Boo Radley thing, it added some fun into the book and helped them realize that things are not always as they seem, and never to judge someone by what other people say. This book is a great learning experience for children and I can see why it was read in schools. At times I was frustrated with how cruel and stupid people were, but this was the just a matter of the way people thought at the time, a perfect recreation by the author. I always find that when I read this I wish Harper Lee had written more.

I recommend To Kill a Mockingbird for parents to read to their children, and to teens/adults.

For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com

Tony Peters

Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping

http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/