The Associate by John Grisham

Paperback 2009, 434 pages.
Hong Kong.

Kyle McAvoy was about to graduate from Yale Law School when he was blackmailed with a videotape taken while he was in college. He was asked to join a large NYC law firm and to spy on behalf of opposing counsel in a case involving huge defense contractors. He eventually asked for help from his father (also a lawyer), a defense attorney who called in the federal authorities, and planned to turn the tables on the blackmailers. However, the blackmailers mysteriously disappeared when Kyle was about to hand over the illegally downloaded files as part of the sting.

This is a book unsatisfying on many levels. First, you keep reading, thinking something exciting will happen, and then you find yourself close to the end of the book and it dawns on you that there is not much more to the plot. Second, it is never made clear why Kyle is so afraid of the tape (which actually proves his innocence) but so brave as to try to turn the tables on people who are willing to kill. Third, the book leaves the reader hanging as to who the "bad guys" are. Fourth, the ending, as with many other Grisham novels, is quite anticlimactic, bordering on limp.

The reader does get to see how new lawyers get their starts in these large law firms. Of course I do not know if what the author writes reflects at all what happens at the start of these people's careers.

"Uninspired" is how I would categorize this book. Better than many Patterson books, but at some level more dissatisfying as the expectations were high.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Hardcover 2009. 509 pages.
South Amboy, NJ

Zach Solomon, son of Peter, has gone over to the dark side because he feels he is abandoned by his father and wants to get even. He infiltrates the Freemasons and attains the highest level (33rd). By kidnapping Peter, he gets Peter's sister Katherine and Professor Robert Langdon to help him locate the lost symbol which will make him ready for the final sacrifice. The books starts with Langdon getting a fake message early in the morning and ends with Langdon and Katherine seeing the morning sun bounce from the National Monument to the Capitol Building the next morning. Meanwhile the CIA, the Capitol Architect, the leader of the National Cathedral, and many others are involved, with a few people dying along the way.

The book does contain some plot twists, most of which are in the "so what" category. The only one that impresses is the discovery that Mal'akh is Zach, who we thought died in a foreign prison. There are also many occasions where one screams at the stupidity of Langdon and Katherine, such as why Langdon would hop on a plane to go to Washington DC to begin with, or why they would believe Peter is freed without actually talking to him.

In terms of Freemason secrets such as their ceremonies, I don't find them that exciting. That there are these "perfect squares" is an interesting fact. Finally, it is a bit of a let down that the lost symbol is actually a Bible inside the corner stone of the National Monument (which of course never gets uncovered). The last 20 or so pages see the author trying to pontificate on how we are all creators and other philosophical issues; he is not qualified to do that. If I wanted to read up on the meaning of life, a book by Dan Brown probably isn't high on my reading list.

Overall not a bad book. The ending is more satisfying than the one in "The Da Vinci Code." It is not good enough to warrant the 500 plus pages, though.

The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind

Paperback 2008. 471 pages.
South Amboy, NJ

Subtitle: My battle with Stephen Hawking to make the world safe for quantum mechanics.

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

Paperback 2009. 543 pages.
South Amboy, NJ

I read this book while I was in Hong Kong and enjoyed it. Evidently Child has written a series of crime novels based on the character Jack Reacher, and this is one of them.

Both a politician (John Sansom) and a group from Afghanistan (represented by a team headed by two women) attempt to obtain information about Sansom when he visited the country. The reason why Sansom wanted the comprising information is clear enough, but we do not get a satisfactory explanation on the motivation of the other team.

Reacher's involvement started when he witnessed the suicide of Susan Mark who stole the information from government archives because her son was kidnapped and held hostage. He got the help of a couple of detectives and Susan's brother Jacob Mark but had everything else stacked against him.

The story is mostly believable (if you call one against twenty or so - and coming out on top - believable) and the plot moves along nicely.

One of the better novels in this genre I have read.

The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen

Paperback 2007. 429 pages
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

The book's premise is this breed of Watchers who are out to do evil. The Mephisto Club consists of a group of people set on destroying these people. There are quite a few gruesome murders, the requisite suspense, and (alas) the not so satisfying ending. In any case, the group is compromised as it is infiltrated by a Watcher.

I am writing this a couple of weeks after I finished the book and am embarrassed to say I don't remember too many specifics. Which is the nature of these reads, I guess.

I do remember enjoying it, though.

Cross Country by James Patterson

Paperback 2008, 403 pages
Somerville, MA. May 2, 2010.

In this novel Alex Cross was involved in pursuing a vicious gang of teenagers led by someone with the nickname "Tiger" who first murdered his friend Ellie Cox and eventually kidnapped his family. Turns out Cox was a journalist who learned from a Nigerian journalist Adanne Tansi a plot by a couple of rogue CIA agents who work with various countries to destabilize Nigeria. The gang consisted of Janjaweed militia who also killed for hire. Cross traveled to Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Sudan, and in so doing saw a lot of suffering by the various African people and the cruelty of some. After many misadventures starting with his first three days after landing at the Lagos airport and many near-death encounters with various bad guys, he headed back to Washington DC just as his family was being kidnapped. He eventually killed the Tiger and one of the rogue agents, and got the other arrested, and his family miraculously survived the ordeal.

The plot just stretches credibility beyond the breaking point. It's difficult to imagine why Cross didn't die as he was up against the militia, gangs, corrupt police, fake clergyman, and rogue CIA agents. These people would kill anyone in their way without hesitation but would spare Cross's life. I don't know what drove Patterson to this level of suffering and violence, one possible reason is he needed a forum to tell the world how bad things are in parts of Africa. On that point he succeeded: despite his many statements that many people are kind and helpful, I am sure many after reading this novel would hesitate to visit those parts of Africa. And the violence was very graphic, bordering on gratuitous. So perhaps good intentions, but the result may not be quite what he intended.

One thing about Cross that I didn't know, though, is that he is African-American. And we know that because people in Africa called him "A White Man". I am quite sure this was used in a movie (and probably the corresponding book) about how American Indians treated a black soldier.

This book is better than most (if not all) of the other Patterson books I have read. Probably the high marks as a fantasy overcome the low marks as a detective story.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Paperback 1992 (Dover Thrift Editions), 122 pages
Cape Coral, FL. April 19, 2010.

Play written between 1599 and 1601.