July so far
Oops,that's kind of long. Here's a cut :)
Unnmanned (Y: The Last Man) by Brian K. Vaughan - Yorick Brown is the last man alive - and doesn't know why. While trying to figure out how to get to Australia to find his girlfriend, he and the government agent assigned to protect him try to find a scientist who can figure out why he (and his male pet monkey) survived the instantaneous plague that killed all the other men. Fun, got the next three collections checked out.
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews - Lobbyist Dempsey Killebrew is in disgrace - her boss is accused of hiring hookers and bribing a congressman and is trying to deflect the blame to her. She retreats to Guthrie, Georgia to fix up an old Southern mansion her father inherited. Only the mansion is a total disaster and everyone in the small town knows all of her business. Fun, frothy Southern novel. Big fan of Andrews.
Get Real by Donald E. Westlake - Dortmunder & crew sign up for a reality show about thieves, while planning an extra robbery to net them some real cash. Lots of fun, but kind of sad knowing there aren't any more coming since Westlake died. An excellent series. Missing a couple in my collection and hoping they issue reprints of all.
Knockout by Catherine Coulter - Dillon Savich thwarts a bank robbery, that leaves a psychotic teenage girl and her boyfriend hunting him for revenge, while also dealing with a psychic little girl who is being hunted by her father's psycho/psychic family, who want to control her abilities. Solid entry in good series, good characters. Didn't really remember the psychic stuff being in this series, but was much less annoying than others like it.
Strong Enough To Die by Jon Land - Female Texas Ranger takes on a private corporation with military contracts after discovering her supposedly dead husband in a center for torture victims. Meanwhile a former Mob hitman comes after her for supposedly framing him a few years ago, but ends up helping her when she and her husband are attacked. Very readable, well-paced, but plot line is way over the top.
Worst Nightmares by Shane Briant - An author with writer's block sees a manuscript being shoved into his mailbox by a shabby looking man. The manuscript, supposedly a diary, details many horrible murders. Nolan, after witnessing the man's death, decides to rewrite the diary under his own name, but in researching the mentioned murders, he finds out that they may be real. And when some new deaths like the ones in the book occur, Nolan falls under suspicion as the killer. Figured out the real killer, but doesn't matter. Nicely grotesque murders and plot, but I didn't find Nolan all that... likeable, I guess, which lowered my enjoyment, but still a good read. Very King/Koontz-ish, but with Nolan being a more 'literary' type of author.
Relentless by Dean Koontz - A vicious book review has author Cubby Greenwich spying on critic Shearman Waxx at a restaurant they both visit. Cubby's six year old prodigy son nearly pees on the critic, who voices one word to Cubby - "Doom". And doom it is - the reclusive critic sets out to destroy Greenwich's life (he's done it to others), but Cubby, his children's author wife, their son and, of course, a wonderfully smart dog, combined with some other wonderful characters, fight back. Way over the top, with the critic's reasons being totally bizarre, and a weird SF element introduced later by the 6 year old prodigy - I thought it was one of Koontz's best books in years :) Slams along like an action movie, totally unbelievable, and totally fun.
Even by Andrew Grant - David Trevellyan, Royal Naval Intelligence operative, is finishing a job in NYC, when his discovery of a murdered man makes him the prime suspect. Turns out the murdered bum was really an FBI agent, and even his own agency kind of thinks he did it. After proving his innocence, he teams up with the FBI to find the real killers. Very good. Very reminiscent of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series - not just because Grant is Child's brother - also brings to mind the new James Bond - dark and witty, no supergadgets.
Burn by Linda Howard - Oh, I liked this one! Blue collar Jenner Redwine wins the lottery and discovers that money really does change things. Several years later, with one real friend among the wealthy, Jenner is going on a charity cruise when things get weird. Her friend and cruise roommate Sydney is kidnapped and Jenner is forced into a pretend flirtation with another guest to ensure Sydney's safety. But the kidnappers *aren't* the bad guys - they're contract agents spying on the cruise ship's owner, who may be committing treason and who does have some very bad plans for the passengers. Lots of fun.
Unnmanned (Y: The Last Man) by Brian K. Vaughan - Yorick Brown is the last man alive - and doesn't know why. While trying to figure out how to get to Australia to find his girlfriend, he and the government agent assigned to protect him try to find a scientist who can figure out why he (and his male pet monkey) survived the instantaneous plague that killed all the other men. Fun, got the next three collections checked out.
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews - Lobbyist Dempsey Killebrew is in disgrace - her boss is accused of hiring hookers and bribing a congressman and is trying to deflect the blame to her. She retreats to Guthrie, Georgia to fix up an old Southern mansion her father inherited. Only the mansion is a total disaster and everyone in the small town knows all of her business. Fun, frothy Southern novel. Big fan of Andrews.
Get Real by Donald E. Westlake - Dortmunder & crew sign up for a reality show about thieves, while planning an extra robbery to net them some real cash. Lots of fun, but kind of sad knowing there aren't any more coming since Westlake died. An excellent series. Missing a couple in my collection and hoping they issue reprints of all.
Knockout by Catherine Coulter - Dillon Savich thwarts a bank robbery, that leaves a psychotic teenage girl and her boyfriend hunting him for revenge, while also dealing with a psychic little girl who is being hunted by her father's psycho/psychic family, who want to control her abilities. Solid entry in good series, good characters. Didn't really remember the psychic stuff being in this series, but was much less annoying than others like it.
Strong Enough To Die by Jon Land - Female Texas Ranger takes on a private corporation with military contracts after discovering her supposedly dead husband in a center for torture victims. Meanwhile a former Mob hitman comes after her for supposedly framing him a few years ago, but ends up helping her when she and her husband are attacked. Very readable, well-paced, but plot line is way over the top.
Worst Nightmares by Shane Briant - An author with writer's block sees a manuscript being shoved into his mailbox by a shabby looking man. The manuscript, supposedly a diary, details many horrible murders. Nolan, after witnessing the man's death, decides to rewrite the diary under his own name, but in researching the mentioned murders, he finds out that they may be real. And when some new deaths like the ones in the book occur, Nolan falls under suspicion as the killer. Figured out the real killer, but doesn't matter. Nicely grotesque murders and plot, but I didn't find Nolan all that... likeable, I guess, which lowered my enjoyment, but still a good read. Very King/Koontz-ish, but with Nolan being a more 'literary' type of author.
Relentless by Dean Koontz - A vicious book review has author Cubby Greenwich spying on critic Shearman Waxx at a restaurant they both visit. Cubby's six year old prodigy son nearly pees on the critic, who voices one word to Cubby - "Doom". And doom it is - the reclusive critic sets out to destroy Greenwich's life (he's done it to others), but Cubby, his children's author wife, their son and, of course, a wonderfully smart dog, combined with some other wonderful characters, fight back. Way over the top, with the critic's reasons being totally bizarre, and a weird SF element introduced later by the 6 year old prodigy - I thought it was one of Koontz's best books in years :) Slams along like an action movie, totally unbelievable, and totally fun.
Even by Andrew Grant - David Trevellyan, Royal Naval Intelligence operative, is finishing a job in NYC, when his discovery of a murdered man makes him the prime suspect. Turns out the murdered bum was really an FBI agent, and even his own agency kind of thinks he did it. After proving his innocence, he teams up with the FBI to find the real killers. Very good. Very reminiscent of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series - not just because Grant is Child's brother - also brings to mind the new James Bond - dark and witty, no supergadgets.
Burn by Linda Howard - Oh, I liked this one! Blue collar Jenner Redwine wins the lottery and discovers that money really does change things. Several years later, with one real friend among the wealthy, Jenner is going on a charity cruise when things get weird. Her friend and cruise roommate Sydney is kidnapped and Jenner is forced into a pretend flirtation with another guest to ensure Sydney's safety. But the kidnappers *aren't* the bad guys - they're contract agents spying on the cruise ship's owner, who may be committing treason and who does have some very bad plans for the passengers. Lots of fun.