Book Review- Lisa Scottoline- Courting Trouble

Lisa Scottoline- Courting Trouble 3.25 Stars

On a Fourth of July weekend Anne decides to go out of town to prepare for a case. Getting someone she knows from the gym to house/cat-sit for her, she is shocked when that person is murdered on her doorstep. Knowing that the person was mistaken for her, she is trying to stay dead and hunt down the stalker she is sure committed this crime.

The introduction was not one I really enjoyed; it was funny, but completely unrealistic. Pulling a stunt like that in a courtroom, would get you thrown in jail. It did get better once it left the courtroom stuff behind though. It was interesting enough to make me keep reading and had some unrealistic investigative work by amateur detectives, but I did find it kind of amusing. The characters were decent, and assisted the plot nicely. The overall plot was pretty good, with a great twist in the end. I usually prefer more twists in a book that shock you, but in this case having only a couple worked. Overall it was a decent one time read.

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- Robert J. Randisi- Curtains of Blood

Robert J. Randisi- Curtains of Blood 3 Stars

The rough streets of London are being stalked by a ruthless killer, Jack the Ripper. In the nicer end of London, Bram Stoker has been ordered to end the production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as the police suspect that it is influencing this killer. They also suspect the main actor of possibly being Jack the Ripper. Now Bram is seeking out Jack the Ripper in the hopes of proving his friend’s innocence and getting the production back onto his stage. He secretly wishes to speak with this ruthless killer to assist in his novel that he plans to write.

This novel did not immediately grab my attention, but there was something about the writing style that kept me reading. The characters I felt were decent, but could have used more development. I did enjoy that it was people we have all heard of, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, and Jack the Ripper. I also like how they tie in that this is the story of how Bram Stoker came up with Dracula. It gave the novel a different view of Jack the Ripper than what most books take on his reign of terror. The plot for the book was pretty good, but could have also used a little bit of tweaking as well. It did seem kind of silly how Stoker was risking everything in his life for the sake of an idea. It made me saddened for him that he was willing to sacrifice his relationship with his wife. Overall the book was an okay one time read, and a good one for Halloween.

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- Terence Strong- Cold Monday

Terence Strong- Cold Monday 3 Stars

After watching his wife, a UN employee, butchered while he was on a mission, Ed Coltrane left the SAS. He had been hunting down the killers for five years and come up empty. He had just moved when he was approached by his old boss to assassinate one of the killers. Now he has been dragged into the middle of something dangerous and sinister, but no one seems to know about. If he is not careful, friends may die, heck, he might die.

This book took me a really long time to get into. It just barely kept me interested enough to read on, but halfway through it did pick up and get to be a very intense read. The overall plot was very good, but the twists the author thought were going to be shocking, were extremely predictable, I had the whole book figured out just past the halfway mark. The surprising part was actually the information you find out in the epilogue. The characters were decent, but seemed a little shallow in parts. I did enjoy the action scenes, but the way they just squeak by at times bordered on the unrealistic side. Overall though it was a decent one-time read, likely would not choose this author again though.

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- Joyce Sweeney- Free Fall

Joyce Sweeney- Free Fall 1.25 Stars

Neil, his brother David, best friend Randy, and his brother’s friend Terry, all decide to go cave exploring. A morning of fun, and then off to work, that was the plan. They never imagined that they could possibly get lost within that cave and its network of tunnels. Now they are fighting to find a way out of the cave before it takes all of their lives.

The introduction nearly lost me. It was tedious and took too long to get to the point of the novel. It never really grabbed my attention, just plodded along barely keeping me reading. The book had a good basic plot, but was just lacking that certain wow factor. The characters were a redeeming quality. They were very well done, and had depth. I loved to see the personal struggles of each character and how the cave made them face each fear/struggle. Overall though, I would not recommend this book.

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/