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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Review: Mörder ohne Gesicht


Mörder ohne Gesicht
Mörder ohne Gesicht by Henning Mankell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Amazon Prime lend. Nice first one a series, but also too long.
The main story of the brutal murders of a married couple meanders along. The side stories where ok. real problems and real people.
One of the themes was the rise of racism, fueled by asylum-seekers.
Could have been less other side stories, to give a shorter book and a faster read.
Not too much romance, sex only hinted at, taking place off-page.
Recommended. For fans of Sweden and a different take on crime for US-readers, this being typical European problems. I read this in German translation, the english one may be different.



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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Review: The Hunter


The Hunter
The Hunter by Chris Carter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Short story, too short to pay something for it. Should be tacked to a book ending. Or given away for free.
Nice intro for a new hero, this being the first case. Well done, highly recommended, I will certainly read more of this author and series!



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Review: Extraction


Extraction
Extraction by Douglas Preston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Short story, too short to pay something for it. Should be tacked to a book ending. Or given away for free.
Scary Pendergast-telling of a nice children-bedtime-story, a twist on the Tooth-Fairy.



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Review: Deep Hurt


Deep Hurt
Deep Hurt by Eva Hudson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The series gets better! So 4 stars it is, also highly recommended.
A few nice twists, some I guessed, but the main one was a surprise. And a conclusion to a slower background story.
This review is short as I have computer problems and as a former helpdesk-professional I am the person to solve these problems. Currently taking a break from using computers for far too much (and far too long, since late 1984).



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Monday, November 17, 2014

Review: Run Girl: Ingrid Skyberg FBI Thrillers Prequel Novella


Run Girl: Ingrid Skyberg FBI Thrillers Prequel Novella
Run Girl: Ingrid Skyberg FBI Thrillers Prequel Novella by Eva Hudson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Novella, rather well done, and so far the best one in the series. Ingrid is not really acting alone and that does a lot for me to make this more realistic.
Her finance requires a mere mention, setting the stage to the next (first) book, this being the prequel to the series.
As one of my computers (the main client) broke down, it took me longer than normal to read it. It is a good novella, and not too short.
Recommended, and I will read the next book in the series (#3) soon.



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Sunday, November 9, 2014

Review: A Dark Mind


A Dark Mind
A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Amazon-Prime-Lending (one book per month, this is for November 2014).
Thought about DNFing, but managed to finish it.
There are several interesting stories, but interwoven in an unnecessary complicated way, with flashbacks and the current stories.
In the end, all parts where concluded, and what I really liked, not all neat and clean.
But the problem I had with the book (and which I also saw reflected in some other reviews, maybe influencing me), there where to many parts.
It is a fast read, and you should not really stop (which I did), or maybe take notes. For the Kindle, X-ray is active and it should have helped, but did nothing for me, to many names, to many stories, to many cases and not all really interesting.
The romance was ok, not drawn out, but also no sex-scenes, rather a "when will this case be over, so we can have sex again", probably happening after the book, off-page/print?!
Also the character I like most is Haley, which is a minor character. Lizzy (the main heroine in the book) was a bit much, with her background story and while I can understand her, I think she is not a good P.I. and should consider a different job. Jessica I could not dig at all, she wants to be a Profiler, but sounds like she should be an accountant, chained to a 9to5 desktop-job. As a Profiler (read books from John E. Douglas) she would do much more fieldwork than now, and she does not like it, nor is she too good at doing research, easily trumped by Haley.

The 3 stars given are solid, not rounded up or down, but also I cannot honestly recommend this to anyone. Having not paid for it helps, I cannot set a price value I consider right. In all probability I will sometime read another book by her to see wether it is better or not.



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Review: A Dark Mind


A Dark Mind
A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Amazon-Prime-Lending (one book per month, this is for November 2014).
Thought about DNFing, but managed to finish it.
There are several interesting stories, but interwoven in an unnecessary complicated way, with flashbacks and the current stories.
In the end, all parts where concluded, and what I really liked, not all neat and clean.
But the problem I had with the book (and which I also saw reflected in some other reviews, maybe influencing me), there where to many parts.
It is a fast read, and you should not really stop (which I did), or maybe take notes. For the Kindle, X-ray is active and it should have helped, but did nothing for me, to many names, to many stories, to many cases and not all really interesting.
The romance was ok, not drawn out, but also no sex-scenes, rather a "when will this case be over, so we can have sex again", probably happening after the book, off-page/print?!
Also the character I like most is Haley, which is a minor character. Lizzy (the main heroine in the book) was a bit much, with her background story and while I can understand her, I think she is not a good P.I. and should consider a different job. Jessica I could not dig it all, she wants to be a Profiler, but sounds like she should be an accountant, chained to to 9to5 desktop-job. As a Profiler (read books from [a:John E. Douglas|54208|John E. Douglas|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-3fbaf32fc1fc48e6ffaf3f63a026f0ff.png]) she would do much more fieldwork than now, and she does not like it, nor is she too good at doing research, easily trumped by Haley.

The 3 stars given are solid, not rounded up or down, but also I cannot honestly recommend this to anyone. Having not paid for it helps, I cannot set a price value I consider right. In all probability I will sometime read another book by her to see wether it is better or not.



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Thursday, November 6, 2014

Review: The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel


The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel
The Lost Island: A Gideon Crew Novel by Douglas Preston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Over the top action and a retelling of Homer's Odyssey (I do not consider that a spoiler!) did not save the book.
The duo authors entertain, but it would have been better with less action and more real discoveries and people.
The 3 stars are rounded up, more like 2.5 stars the book deserves. Regarding that the Gideon Crew books where always not as good as the Pendergast-Series, and even there I found the last few sorely lacking (Nazis? for real?), I think they have lost it. The next book by them, White Fire, is already on my new Kindle Voyage, but I will read other books first.
Not recommended.



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