Book Review- Frank O’Rourke- Ambuscade

Frank O’Rourke- Ambuscade (Signet 1959) 3 Stars

After a robbery winds up with two men dead, Norcross picks up the manhunt for the culprits. They have already picked up Lovato who held the murderers horses during the job, but now they intend to set him free in the hopes of his leading them to bigger fish. The trap has been set; all that they need now is for their prey to fall victim to their trickery.

It took me a while to get into this one. It never had that moment of Wow this is a great book! It was just barely interesting enough for me to stick it out and keep reading. The beginning was kind of blasé, which right away makes me wondering about the rest of the book. The characters were not very deep and at times I was confused about who was who. For such a short book I kind of expected a faster pace, rather than the slow pace it took on. I did however enjoy the last forty pages of the book as it picked up by that point and all the confusion had fallen away. I would not consider picking up another book by this author and would not recommend Ambuscade.

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- Ben Smith- Gunfighter’s Return

Ben Smith- Gunfighter’s Return (Priory Books 1959) 3.75 Stars

Todd Ramsey has been away from home for a long time. After growing up with a father who blamed him for the fact that his mother died during his birth, treating him poorly, he took off to make a name for himself using the tools he knows best, his six guns. Now that his father has passed away he is returning home to take a piece of what is rightfully his, the mineral rights to his father’s ranch, but his brother and a group of conniving thieves does not intend to let that happen. It looks like guns might just be the answer, something that he knows how to do very well, but change is coming to the land and guns are not treated as the answer by the local sheriff.

The introductory paragraphs did not grab me they were far too wordy and gave a too-in-depth description of the main character, at which point I thought ‘here we go again’, but it quickly got better. The wordiness only happened a couple of times in the book, even so Ben Smith should have tried to grab the reader on page one. I love the main character’s name, Todd Ramsey; I couldn’t help but think of Chef Gordon Ramsey every time I saw the name, made the book slightly amusing. I enjoyed the plot; as far as westerns go it wasn’t too bad. The characters were interesting as well, could have been a little deeper, but again as far as westerns go not bad. It had enough action to keep the reader reading on, which made it a better read. I would recommend Gunfighter’s Return to those who enjoy a good western.

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- Deal Breaker

Harlan Coben- Deal Breaker (Dell Publishing 2007) 4 Stars

Myron Bolitar is a sports agent and is about to have one of his young rookies sign the contract of a lifetime. Now the young star is asking him to look into the disappearance of his fiancé a year and half after the fact. Triggered by the death of the girl’s father this case has the potential to be dangerous, just the way Bolitar and his friend Win like it. As he starts the investigation it becomes very clear that someone does not want him to succeed in his case. This becomes especially clear when another body turns up and Myron finds himself asking, just what exactly is going on?

I love the Myron Bolitar series and it was great to see where it all began for Myron. This book makes the others in this series make more sense and provides background for everything that has gone on. Again I love his sarcasm and how it always seems to land him into more trouble than if he had kept his mouth shut. Harlan Coben is a master at creating characters and using those characters throughout the series. I enjoyed the fast pace this book took on. One thing would happen and then before you could even think about that something else slaps you in the face and you are like, “What?” then as the scene plays out you get that, “oooohhhhh” moment. Coben is one the Kings of twists. I did not enjoy all the smut that this book was woven through, not outright smut, just talking about smut, hard to explain you really have to read it to understand. That of course was not enough to make me hate the book; in actuality I loved this book and highly recommend reading it and the series if you have not already started it.

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- Maureen Bayless- No Fixed Address

Maureen Bayless- No Fixed Address (Scholastic 1997) 3 Stars

Monika and Sabie have been living on the streets. Monika, Sabie’s mother, has been dealing with cancer and has been trying to show Sabie the right questions to ask during life to help her survive on her own. Now her mother has died and she really is on her own, can she really do it? Now she must try to find her own way in life, asking her own questions and making her own decisions. Thirteen and on her own, she only hopes she has enough courage.

The introductory paragraph in No Fixed Address was interesting, but then my interest teetered. I was kind of up and down about whether or not I liked this book; it was like riding a teeter-totter. Sabie was a wonderful main character and I enjoyed the characters we met along the way. It was also a powerful tale of a young girls struggle to find her own way in life. I did find the whole Estelle situation to be a little annoying at times, and when the social worker, Ann, came along I found her to be most disturbing. A social worker should never give information out about other clients and the way she acted at times was not like a role model or how a responsible adult should act. If a social worker actually acted like this I am afraid of how the children she is trying to help would turn out. As a result I am afraid that this book does not get my personal recommendation.

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 Coffin Dancer

Jeffery Deaver- The Coffin Dancer (Pocket Books 1999) 4 Stars

As a dangerous and brilliant killer is hired by a rich criminal to hunt down witnesses in a federal case, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his associate Amelia Sachs are brought in to capture the assassin. Deception is the assassin’s game and it will take all of Rhyme’s skill to figure out each of these deceptions before it too late. For Rhyme this is personal as he has dealt with this assassin before and lost, the assassin is aptly named the Coffin Dancer, and catching him will not be so easy, in fact it could be down right impossible.

I loved the introductory sentence as it grabbed my attention and made me wonder just how the murder was going to happen, and when it did happen it was not the way I figured at all, it was like BAM! Deaver has way of doing this throughout his books, a very skilled thriller author who knows how to make twists that shock. Sachs and Rhyme are an odd pairing, but I love the way Deaver has them mesh and work cases together. The team members that they usually have with them are interesting as well and I can’t help, but enjoy reading about them. The plot was fast-paced and edge-of-your-seat reading making this a tough one to put down. I did not particularly enjoy the end as it did not seem all that likely or realistic, but it certainly was shocking.

I recommend The Coffin Dancer to anyone who loves mysteries/thrillers, or enjoy Deaver’s work.

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- Tony Earley- Jim the Boy

Tony Earley- Jim the Boy (Little, Brown and Company 2001) 4.75 Stars

After Jim Glass passed away leaving behind an expecting wife, Cissy sees no other choice than to call her son Jim Glass in honour of the man she loved. Now Jim is ten years old and he lives with his mother during the Great Depression. His three uncles are left to teach him the responsibilities of being a man. He is trying to learn the breaks and now his school has been combined with all of the outlying schools, including the mountain country where his father was raised, bringing in students who know more about Jim’s family history than he does, including stories of a grumpy grandfather whom his mother has forbidden to ever see him. Being a ten-year-old boy is turning out to be harder than he could have ever imagined.

I read Blue Star the heart warming sequel to Jim the Boy last year and I knew that I just had to read this one. Earley has such a talent for story telling. It made me feel like I was right there along with Jim Glass going through his preteen lessons and heartaches. I enjoyed this book immensely and was up late last night as I could not get enough of it. The characters are so rich and full of life that they jump off of every page; you cannot help but feel like they are right there with you. I enjoyed seeing this one year period of Jim Glass’ life and was touched by how he had to learn just what life is like, with heartache, regrets, joys, and most importantly a loving family. This gives Blue Star some background and will make rereading it more enjoyable. I will be rereading both books with my wife and definitely recommend reading these two books to everyone.

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- Elizabeth Gunn- Triple Play

Elizabeth Gunn- Triple Play (Dell Publishing 1998) 3.5 Stars

Being a detective just outside of Minneapolis is usually not a bad job, but when a serial killer strikes life becomes hectic for Jake. The first victim is discovered on home plate in quiet neighbourhood park. He is wearing an old baseball jersey and the mutilated body is a terrible sight. When the next victim turns up in much the same fashion Jake finds himself scrambling to find the killer before he strikes again. He must scrounge around through people’s lives to uncover clues as to just how these tow murders may be connected and who the killer may be. Everything points towards a third victim, but how can he possibly stop the killer from succeeding in their triple play?

This was the first novel ever written by Elizabeth Gunn, and the first one I have ever read by her. I enjoyed the opening chapter as it was an enjoyable read, although I am not sure what I loved about it. The storyline kept me locked into every page, I enjoyed it. I would not go so far as to say it was as good as Harlan Coben, Jeffery Deaver, or Michael Connelly, but I still enjoyed it. There were a couple of really good twists in the book, like the ending that I did not see coming. Just when the reader thinks everything is over Gunn throws in another twist, although if you look at how many pages were left you kind of know something else has to come up. The characters were good, but I was hoping for a little more depth. Overall I did enjoy reading Triple Play and would recommend it to mystery 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/