The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees is set in Palestine. The protagonist is Omar Yussef, a school teacher from Bethlehem who has come to Nablus for the wedding of a friend, a police officer. First off, they go to investigate the theft of a scroll taken from the Samaritan temple. I had no idea that there were Samaritans left in the world - there are about 713 left. The scroll has been returned but now a murder comes to light. A young Samaritan man who had been Yassar Arafat's comptroller. He's dead and there are millions of dollars of government money missing. The World Bank wants to locate it or aid to Palestinians will be cut off.
I found all of the connections to be very convoluted. I wasn't sure who was beating up Omar's friend and who was a friend. I wasn't terribly convinced that an outsider could just ask people questions and they'd freely give me personal information. The people seemed to distrust strangers so I just didn't see this happening. An interesting mystery but I don't think I'll read another one.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Duplicate Effort by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
I love these Retrieval Artist books by Rusch. I'm always glad when a new one comes out. I had this to enjoy after a big snow storm and a wonderully lazy weekend. My laundry was done, it wasn't my turn to cook and the weather was just right for reading with a nice cup of coffee to hand. Heavenly!
Miles Flint wants to bring down the big law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xendor so he's working with Ki Bowles, a journalist who he hates. He's backing her investigation and feeding her information he's acquired on the firm. Then Ki is murdered in an area where she should have been safe and guarded. At the same time, Miles is having to deal with his thirteen-year-old daughter, Talia, who wants to search for her siblings - the other five clones that Miles' former wife had made of their daughter just before she was shaken to death at a daycare. Now Miles will realize how much his daughter is going to make him look at things with a regard for her safety. The enemy will know that she is his weak link.
Told from several points of view, this is a twisting path to follow, but worth it. Now where will our author take us next?
Miles Flint wants to bring down the big law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xendor so he's working with Ki Bowles, a journalist who he hates. He's backing her investigation and feeding her information he's acquired on the firm. Then Ki is murdered in an area where she should have been safe and guarded. At the same time, Miles is having to deal with his thirteen-year-old daughter, Talia, who wants to search for her siblings - the other five clones that Miles' former wife had made of their daughter just before she was shaken to death at a daycare. Now Miles will realize how much his daughter is going to make him look at things with a regard for her safety. The enemy will know that she is his weak link.
Told from several points of view, this is a twisting path to follow, but worth it. Now where will our author take us next?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Snakehead by Peter May
I really enjoy Peter May's China Thrillers but can't get into his Enzo MacLeod books. I liked the first one but after that I just didn't care. Now the China ones - oh they can keep me up nights! They stay with me for weeks after reading them, thinking about all of the awful things governments and large companies do for money.Genetic manipulation of plants, viruses, body parts. The list seems to go on and on.
Snakehead is about human trafficking and what a dreadful business that is. How people can be so inured to the suffering of their fellow human beings seems to appear a lot in the books I've been reading and listening to this year. So far this is the second reference to a refrigerator truck that malfunctioned and caused multiple deaths.
This truck disaster brings medical examiner Margaret Campbell together with her former Chinese lover, Li Yan. The Beijing detective has been assigned to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. They will be joined in their quest by INS agent Michael Hrycyk, a man who is definitely not PC. He hates the Chinese and doesn't hesitate to say he does.
When it is discovered that the bodies have all been injected and then discover that what they had been injected with is a manufactured form of the Spanish flu, the push is on to find the trigger and the madman behind this dreadful problem.
At one point I was reading so fast my eyes were popping. I think I stopped breathing at one point. Great book.
Snakehead is about human trafficking and what a dreadful business that is. How people can be so inured to the suffering of their fellow human beings seems to appear a lot in the books I've been reading and listening to this year. So far this is the second reference to a refrigerator truck that malfunctioned and caused multiple deaths.
This truck disaster brings medical examiner Margaret Campbell together with her former Chinese lover, Li Yan. The Beijing detective has been assigned to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. They will be joined in their quest by INS agent Michael Hrycyk, a man who is definitely not PC. He hates the Chinese and doesn't hesitate to say he does.
When it is discovered that the bodies have all been injected and then discover that what they had been injected with is a manufactured form of the Spanish flu, the push is on to find the trigger and the madman behind this dreadful problem.
At one point I was reading so fast my eyes were popping. I think I stopped breathing at one point. Great book.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Werewolves, Vampires and Coyotes! Oh, My!!
Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson is a mechanic. Now that sets her apart from most women I know, but she also has the ability to shift into a coyote. She's the girlfriend/mate of the Alpha werewolf, lives with a lone werewolf, was fostered by the head of all North American werewolves and has a friend who is a vampire. She is also a walker of Native American legend. This was explained in past books - seems to mean that she is immune to some of the magic of others.Her father was Native American. This book takes place after the nasty man raped Mercy and she killed him, then Adam (the Alpha) tore him apart. She's coming to grips with what has happened and then her vampire friend is literally dropped on her. He's been tortured, starved and is in very bad condition. The mistress of the vampires has evidently decided that Mercy is responsible for killing one of her vampires and is after Mercy's friends and family. A lot of ugly stuff but Briggs is like Charlaine Harris and Kim Harrison in that she can add a touch of humor to her novels. This one was a very fast read. More please.
Mercy Thompson is a mechanic. Now that sets her apart from most women I know, but she also has the ability to shift into a coyote. She's the girlfriend/mate of the Alpha werewolf, lives with a lone werewolf, was fostered by the head of all North American werewolves and has a friend who is a vampire. She is also a walker of Native American legend. This was explained in past books - seems to mean that she is immune to some of the magic of others.Her father was Native American. This book takes place after the nasty man raped Mercy and she killed him, then Adam (the Alpha) tore him apart. She's coming to grips with what has happened and then her vampire friend is literally dropped on her. He's been tortured, starved and is in very bad condition. The mistress of the vampires has evidently decided that Mercy is responsible for killing one of her vampires and is after Mercy's friends and family. A lot of ugly stuff but Briggs is like Charlaine Harris and Kim Harrison in that she can add a touch of humor to her novels. This one was a very fast read. More please.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New Roman Britain mystery!
Nox Dormienda (a long night for sleeping) by Kelli Stanley
This debut novel was a requested purchase by Sharon Larson - good choice, Sharon! I wasn't sure I would like this one as much as "Medicus" by Ruth Downie but I did. This one has a medical man who is half Roman and half British who falls in love with a native woman. Medicus is a Roman medical man who is falling in love with his native slave girl. A courier from the caesar, Domitian, has been killed and his body placed in the temple of Mithra - ruled by Agricola, the governor of Britain. Arcturus, the medic has been called out to view the body and figure out who killed the man. The fear is that Domitian will think that Agricola killed him because he was delivering a message telling Agricola that he was being replaced as governor. A nasty civil war could ensue. Convoluted but very, very good - read it in two days!
This debut novel was a requested purchase by Sharon Larson - good choice, Sharon! I wasn't sure I would like this one as much as "Medicus" by Ruth Downie but I did. This one has a medical man who is half Roman and half British who falls in love with a native woman. Medicus is a Roman medical man who is falling in love with his native slave girl. A courier from the caesar, Domitian, has been killed and his body placed in the temple of Mithra - ruled by Agricola, the governor of Britain. Arcturus, the medic has been called out to view the body and figure out who killed the man. The fear is that Domitian will think that Agricola killed him because he was delivering a message telling Agricola that he was being replaced as governor. A nasty civil war could ensue. Convoluted but very, very good - read it in two days!
Now for a little fantasy!
Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold
This is a new fantasy series by the author of "Through Wolf's Eyes". I wanted to read it for its Oriental flavor. The story is good but I agree with the reviewer who said that there is "too much information" - especially about mah-jong. I didn't want to know quite so much about the game and it bogged down the narration. Brenda Morris is a 19-year-old college student who has come to California with her father to meet with a family friend but instead finds herself learning more about her heritage and that of her father and his friends. They are ancestors of those who came from the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, the place formed from lost knowledge and lore from Imperial China. The Thirteen Orphans have concealed their magic in the game of mah-jong and they have taken the characteristics of the Chinese zodiac - for instance, Rat, Dog, Tiger, etc. Brenda learns that her father is the Rat and she is the one to inherit his abilities. In the process of warning other of a new danger, Brenda's father is attacked and loses his memories of his magical abilities. Brenda has some but not all. Fortunately, Pearl Bright, an older woman, who is the Tiger, is there to lead the remaining four in their quest to solve the problem of Brenda's father and the others whose memories are missing. The story is very good, except for the too long passages dealing with mah jong. It drags down the action but I suppose is necessary for the back story. Maybe the next book in the series will flow better.
This is a new fantasy series by the author of "Through Wolf's Eyes". I wanted to read it for its Oriental flavor. The story is good but I agree with the reviewer who said that there is "too much information" - especially about mah-jong. I didn't want to know quite so much about the game and it bogged down the narration. Brenda Morris is a 19-year-old college student who has come to California with her father to meet with a family friend but instead finds herself learning more about her heritage and that of her father and his friends. They are ancestors of those who came from the Lands Born from Smoke and Sacrifice, the place formed from lost knowledge and lore from Imperial China. The Thirteen Orphans have concealed their magic in the game of mah-jong and they have taken the characteristics of the Chinese zodiac - for instance, Rat, Dog, Tiger, etc. Brenda learns that her father is the Rat and she is the one to inherit his abilities. In the process of warning other of a new danger, Brenda's father is attacked and loses his memories of his magical abilities. Brenda has some but not all. Fortunately, Pearl Bright, an older woman, who is the Tiger, is there to lead the remaining four in their quest to solve the problem of Brenda's father and the others whose memories are missing. The story is very good, except for the too long passages dealing with mah jong. It drags down the action but I suppose is necessary for the back story. Maybe the next book in the series will flow better.
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