Book Review- L.J. Martin- McKeag’s Mountain

L.J. Martin- McKeag’s Mountain (Pinnacle Books 2004) 3.75 Stars

Prager wants the Lucky Seven ranch to add to his own Bar X, but McKeag does not intend to let him take it. Things are heating up and when Prager hires seven killers to take out the Lucky Seven men, McKeag is shot down and his wife killed. Now McKeag must heal, and when he does, he intends to take out every single person responsible for the murder of his wife and several of his hands.

The introduction for this western is slower, but sets things up in a way that you know it is going to pick up. It does pick up and get quite interesting, although it is predictable in what is going to happen at each point. Although it is predictable, it was still action packed. It also is not all that realistic in many of the scenes. It was still a very interesting read and the characters were good. It was nice to see it taking place in Montana, which is close to home for me (just a few hours away). Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good western.

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

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Nancy Belgue- Summer on the Run

Nancy Belgue- Summer on the Run (Orca Book Publishers 2005) 3.5 Stars

The depression is running rampant and surviving is getting tough, forcing people to find alternate ways of making money. Their father riding the rails and their mother struggling to keep food on the table, Doris and Douglas must find a way to get by. Douglas has decided to start rum-running and Doris must try to keep him from getting busted. Forced to leave their home, they must flee to Point Pelee for the summer.

I never really got to the point where I felt captivated by this book. It was a decent read, but not one that I would pick up and read again. The plot was kind of interesting as it shows you what life was like during the depression from a child’s perspective. It had a couple of twists, but you pretty much knew what was going to happen in the end, still you want to find out just how it is going to come about. The characters were definitely a high point in this book, they were very well done. The setting of course was great to see. Canada is quite often forgotten about in book s about the depression era. Overall this book is a good educational tool for teaching about the depression, and is a decent read.

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

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ted Dekker- Blink of an Eye

Ted Dekker- Blink of an Eye (Center Street 2011) 3.75 Stars

With an extremely high IQ, Seth Border thinks he has it made. He is on the fast track to any job that he could ever imagine, until one day a princess from Saudi Arabia stumbles into his path. Now he is seeing bits of the future and trying to keep her from those who wish her harm. Now he is wanted by many deadly groups and he must trust this new skill to keep them safe.

This book got off to a really slow start; I only kept on reading because my wife told me that it picked up later on. She was correct; it definitely picks up and gets to be really fast paced. The plot was filled with many twists that keep you guessing, but in the end the book is still pretty predictable. I also find the skill of seeing bits of the future a little too farfetched, but you know going in that it is going to be a little sci-fi. Ted Dekker always writes odd books and this one certainly fits into his writing style. The characters were well done and it was interesting to learn about different cultures. Overall I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Dekker’s books.

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

Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping
http://authortonypeters.blogspot.com/

Book Review- Ridley Pearson- The Art of Deception

Ridley Pearson- The Art of Deception (Hyperion 2002) 3.5
Stars

When a young woman’s body is found in the river, having been
thrown off of a bridge, Seattle
police must find her killer. Daphne Matthews and John LaMoia must dig for the truth
behind the killer, sifting through lies and deception to get to what is real. Meanwhile
they are also trying to uncover why two women have gone missing, and a peeping
tom has been reported in the area. At the same time Boldt is doing a favour for
a friend by looking into the mysterious death of an Asian man.

I found this book to be a little slow to start off with, but
it still had enough to capture my attention. The pace did pick up, getting
faster and faster as the book went on. It had a great ending, although the
little end section could have been cut out. The plot had some great twists,
although none of them were huge shockers. The characters were pretty good; they
seem to grow with every book in the series. I liked that we got to learn a
little more about Matthews and LaMoia, it gave the series more depth. Overall I
felt that the book was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone who
enjoys this 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- Lee Child- 61 Hours

Lee Child- 61 Hours (Dell Books 2010) 4.25 Stars

When the bus that Reacher is on crashes in South Dakota, Reacher finds himself stuck in the middle of nowhere. Tension seems to be rising in the small town of Bolton as the police face off against a drug ring. When he finds a little old lady being threatened for
what she has seen, he knows that he cannot let it go. Now he finds himself stuck
in the middle of something he has no business being involved in.

This was a little bit of a slower start than I am used to
with Child, but it was developing the story to the intensity it was going to
reach. I did like the characters in this book, as I usually do with this
author, and of course Reacher is great to see develop little by little throughout
the series. The plot was also great as per usual; it had lots of great twists
and turns. I did see the big twist coming a long way off and might have
preferred if it had been less obvious. The setting was good as well; it was
nice to see a book written in an area of the States that you don’t see very
much. Overall it was a great read and I would recommend this to thriller
lovers.

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- Echo Park

Michael Connelly- Echo Park (Warner Books 2007) 4.5 Stars

Information has come up about an old case that Harry Bosch
worked years ago. To avoid a death sentence, a man is going to confess to a
list of murders and provide locations for the bodies. Harry Bosch is now
working with the lawyers to close out his old case. The course of events that
would follow, no one could have foreseen.

This book was very different from the other books in this
series. It was quite interesting and had some great twists that kept you
guessing until the end. The plot was action-packed and weaved a web of
intrigue. The characters were really well done, and worked in nicely with the
plot. This is one of the best in this series, if not by this author; I did like
Five Dragons better. I can’t really think of anything negative to say and that
does not happen too often. Overall I certainly recommend this book to any
thriller enthusiasts.

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- Harlan Coben- Promise Me

Harlan Coben- Promise Me (Signet Books 2007) 4 Stars

It has been six years since Myron Bolitar tried to save
someone, not since the last brutal failure. Haunted by the death of a woman he
tried to save he now finds himself making a promise to the daughters of his new
girlfriend, and her best friend, daughter of one of his friends. He tries to
prevent them from catching rides with drunken friends by offering to give them
a ride if ever they need it; little did he know what he was getting himself
into.

The intro to this book was kind of interesting. It isn’t
action packed, but it grabs your attention and makes you wonder how this is
going to tie in. I found the characters to be really good. We got to learn a
bit more about Win’s past and how he became the man he is in the series. We
also got to see the character of Bolitar becoming stronger and less of a
pushover. The plot was pretty good, could have been a little stronger. It had
some great twists, but the big twist at the end I saw coming about a quarter of
the way through. Overall this was a pretty good book, I love this series and it
was a decent instalment.

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- Jeffery Deaver- The Sleeping Doll

Jeffery Deaver- The Sleeping Doll (Pocket Star Books 2008) 4
Stars

Kathryn Dance, an agent of the California Bureau of
Investigation, knows everything there is to know about interrogation, body movements,
facial expressions, reactions, and word choice. Now she is up against Daniel
Pell, a man who has been locked up in a maximum security prison for murdering a
rich family. New evidence has come about which points towards his guilt in
another murder case. Dance has no idea what his transfer to the lesser security
lockup will lead to, or just how dangerous a move that really is.

This book got off to a great start, we get to see Dance
doing what she does best, interrogating. Then when the escape takes place the
action revs up and does not really let up until near the end. It had a great
plot with some very good twists, some expected, but most unexpected. I did feel
that the book could have ended about 80 pages before it did. The ending all
seemed like he was trying to do too much, coming across like fluff that just
dragged things on. That being said the characters were great and seemed to jump
off of every page. Overall I thought it was a good book, the first in this
series and I will certainly be reading more.

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/