I finished two books this weekend. I'll provide the reviews of both and also the synopses of the next two books I'm starting. I'll also continue with my look at the Spy / Thriller genre, one book this time.
Just Finished
Entertaining but not my favorite books this year.
"The Man with the Golden Gun is the 13th book in the James Bond series by Ian Fleming. Bond has been presumed dead for over a year, since the events at the end of You Only Live Twice. Instead he has been held by the KGB, being blackmailed to kill 'M'. Will he succeed? Well, he is Bond and has a license to kill.
On his return to Britain's spy service, Bond is also assigned to kill Scaramanga, the titled Man with the Golden Gun. Scaramanga uses a gold plated revolver in his killings. He has murdered a number of spies and M wants him to be taken out. This assignment leads Bond to Jamaica where he will be reunited with his secretary Mary Goodnight.
Bond will travel to the other side of Jamaica and ultimately be hired by Scaramanga as a bodyguard for a conference of Mafioso and KGB agents. The question being, 'will Bond complete his assignment before his identity is discovered'. It's a quick, well-paced story, with sufficient action to keep your attention. Not the best Bond story I've read but still entertaining. (3.5 stars)"
On his return to Britain's spy service, Bond is also assigned to kill Scaramanga, the titled Man with the Golden Gun. Scaramanga uses a gold plated revolver in his killings. He has murdered a number of spies and M wants him to be taken out. This assignment leads Bond to Jamaica where he will be reunited with his secretary Mary Goodnight.
Bond will travel to the other side of Jamaica and ultimately be hired by Scaramanga as a bodyguard for a conference of Mafioso and KGB agents. The question being, 'will Bond complete his assignment before his identity is discovered'. It's a quick, well-paced story, with sufficient action to keep your attention. Not the best Bond story I've read but still entertaining. (3.5 stars)"
"Death Of An Englishman by Magdalen Nabb is the first book in her mystery series featuring Marshal Guarnaccia of the Florentine Carabinieri. Guarnaccia is a Sicilian resident and is planning to return to his family for Xmas. Unfortunately, he is suffering from the flu.
With Guarnaccia sick in bed, his assistant, Carabinieri Bacci takes a call about a dead body in an apartment building. Not wanting to wake the Marshall, he goes to the call and then calls his Captain. This is the beginning of a somewhat convoluted case that will also involve two inspectors from England as the body is of an English ex-patriot.
The mystery itself is somewhat confusing. Guarnaccia, himself, is absent from the middle part of the story as he is incapacitated in bed for that portion. The investigation will consider theft of Italian art treasures. Ultimately, the Marshal will struggle out of bed to take a new look at the information and come up with an interesting resolution. I liked the overall story. I had some difficulties with the Carabinieri rank structure as the Marshal seems to work for the Captain. I did search for an Italian carabinieri rank structure synopsis but didn't come up with a satisfactory answer. I liked the characters as well although this was really only a teaser for the series. It was translated satisfactorily and left me looking forward to exploring it more. (3.5 stars)"
With Guarnaccia sick in bed, his assistant, Carabinieri Bacci takes a call about a dead body in an apartment building. Not wanting to wake the Marshall, he goes to the call and then calls his Captain. This is the beginning of a somewhat convoluted case that will also involve two inspectors from England as the body is of an English ex-patriot.
The mystery itself is somewhat confusing. Guarnaccia, himself, is absent from the middle part of the story as he is incapacitated in bed for that portion. The investigation will consider theft of Italian art treasures. Ultimately, the Marshal will struggle out of bed to take a new look at the information and come up with an interesting resolution. I liked the overall story. I had some difficulties with the Carabinieri rank structure as the Marshal seems to work for the Captain. I did search for an Italian carabinieri rank structure synopsis but didn't come up with a satisfactory answer. I liked the characters as well although this was really only a teaser for the series. It was translated satisfactorily and left me looking forward to exploring it more. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"The stunning New York Times bestselling vampire saga that author Dan Simmons (Drood, The Terror) calls, “an unholy spawn of I Am Legend out of ‘Salem’s Lot,” concludes with The Night Eternal. The magnificent, if monstrously warped brainchild of cinematic horror master Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) and Chuck Hogan—whose novel Prince of Thieves, was praised as, “one of the 10 best books of the year” by Stephen King—The Night Eternal begins where The Strain and The Fall
left off: with the last remnants of humankind enslaved by the vampire
masters in a world forever shrouded by nuclear winter. Still, a small
band of the living fights on in the shadows, in the final book of the
ingenious dark fantasy trilogy that Newsweek says is, 'good enough to make us break that vow to swear off vampire stories.'"
"Vanessa Munroe deals in
information - covert information. With an extraordinary intellect, a
physique that allows her to pass as either male or female, and ruthless
martial arts skills, she offers a unique service to anyone - government
or individual - who'll pay her.
Now a Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter, who vanished in Africa four years earlier. Where international investigators have tried and failed, Munroe follows a cold trail far into the lawless lands of central Africa.
And then things spin out of control.
Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself cut off from civilization and left for dead. Her only hope of discovering the truth - and of getting out of Africa alive - is to face up to the violent past that she's fought so hard to forget."
Now a Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter, who vanished in Africa four years earlier. Where international investigators have tried and failed, Munroe follows a cold trail far into the lawless lands of central Africa.
And then things spin out of control.
Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself cut off from civilization and left for dead. Her only hope of discovering the truth - and of getting out of Africa alive - is to face up to the violent past that she's fought so hard to forget."
The Spy / Thriller Novel - J. Sydney Jones
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| J. Sydney Jones |
J.Sydney Jones lived for many years in Vienna, Austria and is the author of many books centered in the city, including the Viennese Mystery series. I have thus far read one of his books, the basis for my post about the Spy / Thriller genre. It is based on an actual historical event, the Zimmerman Telegram.
"The German Agent: A World War One Thriller Set in Washington DC is my first exposure to the writing of J. Sydney Jones. I have been looking for his Viennese Mystery series, but this was an excellent introduction to his work. This historical spy story is based on real events, the Zimmerman telegram. It is set in Feb 1917, with WWI moving along, Britain's supply lines being destroyed by German U-boats and Britain desperately trying to get the US into the war.
The British spies intercept a German telegram, the Zimmerman telegram, from German foreign minister Zimmerman to the Mexican government, encouraging the Mexicans to invade the US and offering assistance. The hope would be that this would occupy the US attention and keep it out of the European war.
The story follows a German spy and assassin who has been sent to Washington to murder the British envoy who wants to give the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson wants to keep out of the war and avoids this meeting and American congressman Fitzgerald must try to keep the British envoy safe from the assassin until the meeting takes place.
So there you go, that is the basic story and we follow Volkman, the German, Fitzgerald and his wife as one tries to perform his task successfully and Fitzgerald tries to keep him safe. It's an exciting action-filled story. You get an interesting perspective of Washington DC on the early 1900s and of the pressure on the US to make their momentous decision. I did see some of the events coming but it never took away from the overall story. I look forward to trying another of Jones's books. (3.5 stars)"
The British spies intercept a German telegram, the Zimmerman telegram, from German foreign minister Zimmerman to the Mexican government, encouraging the Mexicans to invade the US and offering assistance. The hope would be that this would occupy the US attention and keep it out of the European war.
The story follows a German spy and assassin who has been sent to Washington to murder the British envoy who wants to give the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. Wilson wants to keep out of the war and avoids this meeting and American congressman Fitzgerald must try to keep the British envoy safe from the assassin until the meeting takes place.
So there you go, that is the basic story and we follow Volkman, the German, Fitzgerald and his wife as one tries to perform his task successfully and Fitzgerald tries to keep him safe. It's an exciting action-filled story. You get an interesting perspective of Washington DC on the early 1900s and of the pressure on the US to make their momentous decision. I did see some of the events coming but it never took away from the overall story. I look forward to trying another of Jones's books. (3.5 stars)"
The complete listing of Jones's books can be found at this link.
Have a great week!
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