Mysteries/Thrillers
I don't have more NetGalleys to report on (not surprising, since I wrote an entry yesterday), but realized if I report on my backlog of about 100 already-read books more often, I can catch up in the foreseeable future. We will not even think about how many shows and movies I haven't written about.
Today's category: Mysteries/Thrillers. Not a favorite genre (that would be chick lit and showbiz), but somehow I read these fairly often.
The Insiders by Craig Hickman - A business exec is in a coma after an attempted murder, and his son uncovers more than he bargained for when he investigates. I didn't really understand the corporate shenanigans and conspiracy and who were the good and bad guys. It seemed pretty convoluted. There was danger, hiding, chases, dead bodies... but I wasn't sure what was going on.
Echo Park by Michael Connelly - Decent police procedural, but I'm going to leave it on the laundry room shelf for my neighbors to enjoy (which may be where I got it). LA policeman Harry Bosch revisits an old case, when the bad guy confesses years later. There is a lot of police work connecting the dots, talking to people, going to crime scenes, etc. Solid but not especially thrilling.
Magic Hour by Susan Isaacs - A movie producer is murdered in the glitzy Hamptons and recovering alcoholic cop Steve Brady is on the case. He seems a little too obsessed with the ex-wife suspect. I don't remember who the killer actually was, so this book couldn't have been too exciting.
Riding the Snake by Stephen J. Cannell - Cannell is an action TV guy, so you'd expect this to read like an action show. Aging playboy Wheeler works with a female African-American LAPD detective to investigate the murder of his seemingly perfect brother. They run up against evil Chinese gangsters. Violent and fast-moving, not really for me.
The Letter of the Law by Tim Green - Ambitious female attorney Casey Jordan is called upon to defend her former law professor in a grisly murder of a young woman. The defense is successful, but the victim's father (a savvy rural guy) is doubtful and wants to take the law into his own hands. Is the professor really an evil murderer? Turns out there are some similar unsolved cases that fit the pattern. The story takes place in Austin and has a strong sense of place.
The Craigslist Murders by Brenda Cullerton - Charlotte is an interior decorator for the Manhattan elite, with a sideline of serial killing rich women. Don't ask. It's actually funny and satirical and I found myself rooting for her (so wrong...).
The Broker by John Grisham - I usually like Grisham, and this was a good one. A former DC power broker is pardoned and released from prison into a kind of witness protection program in Italy so the CIA can leak info and see who kills him. Or something like that. The hiding and cat-and-mouse game kept the pages turning.
Today's category: Mysteries/Thrillers. Not a favorite genre (that would be chick lit and showbiz), but somehow I read these fairly often.
The Insiders by Craig Hickman - A business exec is in a coma after an attempted murder, and his son uncovers more than he bargained for when he investigates. I didn't really understand the corporate shenanigans and conspiracy and who were the good and bad guys. It seemed pretty convoluted. There was danger, hiding, chases, dead bodies... but I wasn't sure what was going on.
Echo Park by Michael Connelly - Decent police procedural, but I'm going to leave it on the laundry room shelf for my neighbors to enjoy (which may be where I got it). LA policeman Harry Bosch revisits an old case, when the bad guy confesses years later. There is a lot of police work connecting the dots, talking to people, going to crime scenes, etc. Solid but not especially thrilling.
Magic Hour by Susan Isaacs - A movie producer is murdered in the glitzy Hamptons and recovering alcoholic cop Steve Brady is on the case. He seems a little too obsessed with the ex-wife suspect. I don't remember who the killer actually was, so this book couldn't have been too exciting.
Riding the Snake by Stephen J. Cannell - Cannell is an action TV guy, so you'd expect this to read like an action show. Aging playboy Wheeler works with a female African-American LAPD detective to investigate the murder of his seemingly perfect brother. They run up against evil Chinese gangsters. Violent and fast-moving, not really for me.
The Letter of the Law by Tim Green - Ambitious female attorney Casey Jordan is called upon to defend her former law professor in a grisly murder of a young woman. The defense is successful, but the victim's father (a savvy rural guy) is doubtful and wants to take the law into his own hands. Is the professor really an evil murderer? Turns out there are some similar unsolved cases that fit the pattern. The story takes place in Austin and has a strong sense of place.
The Craigslist Murders by Brenda Cullerton - Charlotte is an interior decorator for the Manhattan elite, with a sideline of serial killing rich women. Don't ask. It's actually funny and satirical and I found myself rooting for her (so wrong...).
The Broker by John Grisham - I usually like Grisham, and this was a good one. A former DC power broker is pardoned and released from prison into a kind of witness protection program in Italy so the CIA can leak info and see who kills him. Or something like that. The hiding and cat-and-mouse game kept the pages turning.