June 10, 2009; Enroute UA896 HKG-ORD
Paperback 2008, 414 pages
In an attempt to get her family together, Katherine Dunne takes her three children on a long sailing trip, on their 62-foot sailboat captained by her deceased husband's brother Jake. It turns out her new husband Robert Carlyle has hired a former CIA operative to kill them to get Katherine's $100 million wealth by sabotaging the sailboat. The eventual explosion kills Jake and leaves the four Dunnes stranded on an uninhabited island in the Carribbean. A group of fishermen discover that the Dunnes are still alive from a message in a bottle, and Robert manages to find them before the Coast Guard does. His attempt to kill them is foiled but he manages to get acquitted in the subsequent trial. His girlfriend, however, is in cohorts with the assassin and kills Robert, and the assassin in turn kills the girlfriend to tie up all loose ends. The assassin, however, is hunted down in Paris by a federal agent.
The book was an easy read. There are some parts that defy logic, such as the crew's decision not to call an emergency even as the boat was taking on water, or were about to be swamped by a storm, and that an infection caused by a shin bone reset while in a liferaft goes away on its own. Nonetheless, the story is intriguing enough that I finished it basically in one sitting (during a 14-hour flight). The lame ending was a bit of a let down.
Still, this is one of the better Patterson novels - I have panned all the other novels that I read. Must be that Howard Roughan is a pretty good writer.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman
June 6, 2009, Hong Kong
Paperback 2008, 327 pages.
Tess Monaghan is hired to guard a star Selene Waites during the filming of a TV series called Mann of Steel. The main threat is from George Sybert who thinks he, together with his good friend Bob Grace, gets his story stolen by the producers. This resulted in two murders. To complicate things, Selene and Johnny (Mann) also are sabotaging the show so as to get out of their contractual commitments.
The author seems to use two major techniques in her writing: boring the reader with all the minutiae of how a TV production works, and throwing in extra suspicious characters to keep the reader guessing. By so doing, she transforms a reasonably good plot into a work of mediocrity. Which is too bad as I am sure the book would be much more enjoyable if she just keeps to the knitting. Nothing is gained by describing the inner workings of TV production in detail (you get the feeling she doesn't want to waste any of her research) and putting nearly everyone under suspicion. I am no writer, but I did learn early in life how difficult it is to edit anything out once it is written. But I thought only amateurs have that problem.
Given all the panning I did above, I still think this is a reasonable book to read. I actually started reading it, put it down for several months, and picked it up again. And didn't miss much.
Paperback 2008, 327 pages.
Tess Monaghan is hired to guard a star Selene Waites during the filming of a TV series called Mann of Steel. The main threat is from George Sybert who thinks he, together with his good friend Bob Grace, gets his story stolen by the producers. This resulted in two murders. To complicate things, Selene and Johnny (Mann) also are sabotaging the show so as to get out of their contractual commitments.
The author seems to use two major techniques in her writing: boring the reader with all the minutiae of how a TV production works, and throwing in extra suspicious characters to keep the reader guessing. By so doing, she transforms a reasonably good plot into a work of mediocrity. Which is too bad as I am sure the book would be much more enjoyable if she just keeps to the knitting. Nothing is gained by describing the inner workings of TV production in detail (you get the feeling she doesn't want to waste any of her research) and putting nearly everyone under suspicion. I am no writer, but I did learn early in life how difficult it is to edit anything out once it is written. But I thought only amateurs have that problem.
Given all the panning I did above, I still think this is a reasonable book to read. I actually started reading it, put it down for several months, and picked it up again. And didn't miss much.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
May 28, 2009, South Amboy, NJ
Paperback 2007, 252 pages.
I was made aware of this book because it was proposed to be the subject of a discussion to be held during an upcoming reunion. Greta said it is unconventional, which piqued my interest. The cover says over 3 million copies in print, so it was natural that I saw a copy of it while house-hunting in Florida earlier this month!
Mackenzie Allen Philips (Mack) took his children camping in the Northwest. As he was trying to help two of kids in an overturned canoe, his youngest daughter Missy was kidnapped and probably murdered by a serial offender. Thus began “the great sadness” during which he felt incomplete and guilty. One day he got a note from "Papa" asking him to return to the shack where the kidnapping occurred. He decided to drive up by himself when his family was away. During the trip he met God in the persons of Papa (who was a woman most of the time), Jesus, and Sarayu (Holy Spirit); in addition he had an encounter with Sophia, the wisdom of God. Over the course of two days, he came to a deeper understanding of the nature of God, free will, judgment, and – most importantly – a different and intimate relationship with God. His last and most difficult step was to forgive the killer. After retrieving and burying Missy’s remains, he found himself back in the old shack.
Mack got into an accident on his way back from the shack. To others, however, this occurred on the same day he headed out. In any case, he reconciled with his daughter Kate (who caused the canoe accident and blamed herself for Missy’s kidnapping), managed to find Missy’s remains, and (not sure how I can end this synopsis) life went on, albeit differently.
The subjects of suffering and evil, and how they serve God’s purpose, are issues that get discussed a great deal without satisfactory answers at least as far as I am concerned. By arguing that everything is about God and not about us, the author tries to bring a different perspective from how most people approach these problems. He brings interesting insights in areas such as how we hang on to our independence, how the three persons of God communicate with each other, and how God loves each person uniquely. While most people have not suffered a personal loss as great as Mack’s, the questions of “why” and “how could you have allowed that to happen” must be on a lot of people’s minds, especially after tragic events such as terrorists attacks and natural disasters.
Human beings, being constrained as such, must find it hard (if not impossible) to take God’s perspective on things. In other words, these questions will always be on our minds, even though their heaviness may depend on time, distance, and our overall relationship with God.
While I was quite moved by several passages, and quite appreciate of the author’s insight in many aspects of God, I found the relative light treatment of evil, justice, hell, and other dark subjects unsatisfying. Perhaps that reflects the author’s view of God. It may be all “good” when it comes to what happened to Missy, but there must be 6 year olds that die tragically before they have a chance to know God; what happens then? In that regard the book leaves many questions unanswered.
I would recommend this book to others, but would also warn them they won’t find all the answers in it.
Paperback 2007, 252 pages.
I was made aware of this book because it was proposed to be the subject of a discussion to be held during an upcoming reunion. Greta said it is unconventional, which piqued my interest. The cover says over 3 million copies in print, so it was natural that I saw a copy of it while house-hunting in Florida earlier this month!
Mackenzie Allen Philips (Mack) took his children camping in the Northwest. As he was trying to help two of kids in an overturned canoe, his youngest daughter Missy was kidnapped and probably murdered by a serial offender. Thus began “the great sadness” during which he felt incomplete and guilty. One day he got a note from "Papa" asking him to return to the shack where the kidnapping occurred. He decided to drive up by himself when his family was away. During the trip he met God in the persons of Papa (who was a woman most of the time), Jesus, and Sarayu (Holy Spirit); in addition he had an encounter with Sophia, the wisdom of God. Over the course of two days, he came to a deeper understanding of the nature of God, free will, judgment, and – most importantly – a different and intimate relationship with God. His last and most difficult step was to forgive the killer. After retrieving and burying Missy’s remains, he found himself back in the old shack.
Mack got into an accident on his way back from the shack. To others, however, this occurred on the same day he headed out. In any case, he reconciled with his daughter Kate (who caused the canoe accident and blamed herself for Missy’s kidnapping), managed to find Missy’s remains, and (not sure how I can end this synopsis) life went on, albeit differently.
The subjects of suffering and evil, and how they serve God’s purpose, are issues that get discussed a great deal without satisfactory answers at least as far as I am concerned. By arguing that everything is about God and not about us, the author tries to bring a different perspective from how most people approach these problems. He brings interesting insights in areas such as how we hang on to our independence, how the three persons of God communicate with each other, and how God loves each person uniquely. While most people have not suffered a personal loss as great as Mack’s, the questions of “why” and “how could you have allowed that to happen” must be on a lot of people’s minds, especially after tragic events such as terrorists attacks and natural disasters.
Human beings, being constrained as such, must find it hard (if not impossible) to take God’s perspective on things. In other words, these questions will always be on our minds, even though their heaviness may depend on time, distance, and our overall relationship with God.
While I was quite moved by several passages, and quite appreciate of the author’s insight in many aspects of God, I found the relative light treatment of evil, justice, hell, and other dark subjects unsatisfying. Perhaps that reflects the author’s view of God. It may be all “good” when it comes to what happened to Missy, but there must be 6 year olds that die tragically before they have a chance to know God; what happens then? In that regard the book leaves many questions unanswered.
I would recommend this book to others, but would also warn them they won’t find all the answers in it.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross
March 22, 2009, Hong Kong
Paperback 2008, 422 pages.
Charles Friedman is a hedge fund manager who is involved with the mob. He takes advantage of an explosion at a train terminal to disappear to the Caribbean. His wife Karen somehow finds out he is still alive and engages Ty Hauck to track Charles down. Turns out Charles's mentor Saul Lennick is also involved with the mob. Karen meeting with Charles leads the mob to him, resulting in his murder. Saul Lennick is killed by a sniper hired by the mob after he is arrested by the police.
The story is quite a bit more complicated that the description in the previous paragraph. The plot is basically sound, not requiring a huge suspension of common sense. Only "regret" is the lack of resolution of Lennick's murder. Also, I skimmed over many passages in my desire to finish the book before I return to New Jersey.
I enjoyed this book, rating it as so far the best among the books in the blog. The pace is good, the plot twists keep coming, and - most importantly - the author didn't have too much of a problem making up an ending that is not a let down.
I rate this book "good".
Paperback 2008, 422 pages.
Charles Friedman is a hedge fund manager who is involved with the mob. He takes advantage of an explosion at a train terminal to disappear to the Caribbean. His wife Karen somehow finds out he is still alive and engages Ty Hauck to track Charles down. Turns out Charles's mentor Saul Lennick is also involved with the mob. Karen meeting with Charles leads the mob to him, resulting in his murder. Saul Lennick is killed by a sniper hired by the mob after he is arrested by the police.
The story is quite a bit more complicated that the description in the previous paragraph. The plot is basically sound, not requiring a huge suspension of common sense. Only "regret" is the lack of resolution of Lennick's murder. Also, I skimmed over many passages in my desire to finish the book before I return to New Jersey.
I enjoyed this book, rating it as so far the best among the books in the blog. The pace is good, the plot twists keep coming, and - most importantly - the author didn't have too much of a problem making up an ending that is not a let down.
I rate this book "good".
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
February 3, 2009, en-route SYD to SFO
Paperback 2007, 386 pages.
This is another novel in the Women's Murder Club series. Basically it consists of two stories that aren't really related, despite the authors' attempt in intertwining them.
First is the shooting of several people on a ferry. The shooter turns himself in but is acquitted by reason of insanity. After he escapes from the psychiatric ward and is recaptured trying to kill his own mother, and yet another of his victim dies, he is re-arrested on charges of second degree murder. There is not much suspense in the story even though the ending is left open.
The second story involves a series of kidnapping of young girls by a couple who run a nanny-locating service with the fancy name of a “registry”. The man is apprehended while the woman is shot holding the kidnapped girl at gunpoint.
There are side stories such as the demotion and romance life of Lindsay Boxer that don't add much to the overall novel.
I have read a few Pattersons already since I start tracking the books I read. It's good I do so as I will probably won't remember this book in a year or so, and re-read it again.
Another below average book by Patterson.
Paperback 2007, 386 pages.
This is another novel in the Women's Murder Club series. Basically it consists of two stories that aren't really related, despite the authors' attempt in intertwining them.
First is the shooting of several people on a ferry. The shooter turns himself in but is acquitted by reason of insanity. After he escapes from the psychiatric ward and is recaptured trying to kill his own mother, and yet another of his victim dies, he is re-arrested on charges of second degree murder. There is not much suspense in the story even though the ending is left open.
The second story involves a series of kidnapping of young girls by a couple who run a nanny-locating service with the fancy name of a “registry”. The man is apprehended while the woman is shot holding the kidnapped girl at gunpoint.
There are side stories such as the demotion and romance life of Lindsay Boxer that don't add much to the overall novel.
I have read a few Pattersons already since I start tracking the books I read. It's good I do so as I will probably won't remember this book in a year or so, and re-read it again.
Another below average book by Patterson.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Third Degree by Greg Iles
December 9, 2008, Hong Kong.
Paperback 2007, 466 pages.
This is the first book I read written by Iles. It is about a doctor, Warren Shields, who went ballistic after he found out he had cancer and that his wife was cheating on him. His professional life was also unraveling as the medical fraud he and his partner committed was catching up with them. He killed his partner and held his pregnant wife and two children hostage. His wife's lover, a married man himself, ended up being instrumental in saving her and her children.
The way the book was written really made the reader wonder why the doctor was going crazy; it was thus a let down when I found out he had terminal cancer and thus felt particularly betrayed as he was trying to work to provide for his family upon his death. It was a simple plot that, despite the author's embellishments, remained a simple plot. By throwing in rogue deputies, cuss words, sex scenes, and a helicopter crash, he made the story a bit shocking but ultimately was more of a let down as the reader's expectations are raised.
Nonetheless, the book is an easy read and serves the purpose when whiling away the time trapped inside a Newark to Hong Kong non-stop flight, or sitting at Starbucks while Tim was taping a talk show.
I rate the book “average.”
Paperback 2007, 466 pages.
This is the first book I read written by Iles. It is about a doctor, Warren Shields, who went ballistic after he found out he had cancer and that his wife was cheating on him. His professional life was also unraveling as the medical fraud he and his partner committed was catching up with them. He killed his partner and held his pregnant wife and two children hostage. His wife's lover, a married man himself, ended up being instrumental in saving her and her children.
The way the book was written really made the reader wonder why the doctor was going crazy; it was thus a let down when I found out he had terminal cancer and thus felt particularly betrayed as he was trying to work to provide for his family upon his death. It was a simple plot that, despite the author's embellishments, remained a simple plot. By throwing in rogue deputies, cuss words, sex scenes, and a helicopter crash, he made the story a bit shocking but ultimately was more of a let down as the reader's expectations are raised.
Nonetheless, the book is an easy read and serves the purpose when whiling away the time trapped inside a Newark to Hong Kong non-stop flight, or sitting at Starbucks while Tim was taping a talk show.
I rate the book “average.”
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Double Cross by James Patterson
December 4, 2008, Hong Kong.
Paperback 2007, 402 pages.
I finished this book while I was enroute to Hong Kong. While waiting in line to get on the plane, a fellow passenger mentioned he loved Patterson, especially his Alex Cross Series. I told him I didn't share his enthusiasm for Patterson. That begs the question: are good book that scarce that I have to read those by authors I don't particularly enjoy? Perhaps next time I should buy a classic, like “War and Peace.”
The book talks of Alex Cross coming back to detective work to work with his girlfriend Bree and former colleague Sampson. A serial killer who takes on different personalities (don't they all) is on the loose staging spectacular murders. Dubbed the DC Audience Killer, he actually takes the identity of the brother of someone caught by Cross. He also has his sister as his accomplice. After Sampson is kidnapped by the DCAK, Alex and Bree are tricked into confronting the killers inside an abandoned building. That experienced detectives would willingly walk into a trap like this, and that they somehow miraculously escape and kill the murderers strain the boundaries of both stupidity and credulity.
But wait, there is more. Meanwhile, another serial killer put away by Cross (hence the “Double Cross”) escapes from a supermax prison (I guess it is quite easy to escape since it involves the simplest of disguises), kills his mother, gets a lot of money, goes to Paris, and returns to DC to catch up with Cross, naturally murdering a few people along the way. And at the end Kyle is in the same abandoned building, has Cross in his cross-hairs (I would have called this novel “Triple Cross”) but lets him go. There may be some history here that I don't know about, since Kyle used to be an FBI guy, but what is written in the novel about him also strains credulity. I guess Patterson needs a plot for a subsequent novel.
This is slightly better than the 5th Horseman, but still a pretty lame book.
Paperback 2007, 402 pages.
I finished this book while I was enroute to Hong Kong. While waiting in line to get on the plane, a fellow passenger mentioned he loved Patterson, especially his Alex Cross Series. I told him I didn't share his enthusiasm for Patterson. That begs the question: are good book that scarce that I have to read those by authors I don't particularly enjoy? Perhaps next time I should buy a classic, like “War and Peace.”
The book talks of Alex Cross coming back to detective work to work with his girlfriend Bree and former colleague Sampson. A serial killer who takes on different personalities (don't they all) is on the loose staging spectacular murders. Dubbed the DC Audience Killer, he actually takes the identity of the brother of someone caught by Cross. He also has his sister as his accomplice. After Sampson is kidnapped by the DCAK, Alex and Bree are tricked into confronting the killers inside an abandoned building. That experienced detectives would willingly walk into a trap like this, and that they somehow miraculously escape and kill the murderers strain the boundaries of both stupidity and credulity.
But wait, there is more. Meanwhile, another serial killer put away by Cross (hence the “Double Cross”) escapes from a supermax prison (I guess it is quite easy to escape since it involves the simplest of disguises), kills his mother, gets a lot of money, goes to Paris, and returns to DC to catch up with Cross, naturally murdering a few people along the way. And at the end Kyle is in the same abandoned building, has Cross in his cross-hairs (I would have called this novel “Triple Cross”) but lets him go. There may be some history here that I don't know about, since Kyle used to be an FBI guy, but what is written in the novel about him also strains credulity. I guess Patterson needs a plot for a subsequent novel.
This is slightly better than the 5th Horseman, but still a pretty lame book.
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