Relaxing on a sunny Thursday morning, watching an episode of TallBoyz. I finished a book this morning and will provide my review. Not my favorite book of the year, but an entertaining thriller. I'll also provide my synopsis of the next book I'll be starting. I received a couple of books in the mail and someone dropped some books in my Little Free Library that I think I'll try. I'll also continue with my look at Women authors I'm enjoying. (Ed. Note - Pretty Hard Cases on now. Love it)
Just Finished
"Sigh..... The Miracle Strain is my first experience of the work of thriller writer, Michael Cordy. The Miracle Strain is a technological thriller with religious overtones. In some ways it reminded me of Dan Brown and Robin Cook; the style and type of story, and in similar ways it left me feeling about the same when I'd completed it.... that being, a general shrug of yeah, ok.....
The story starts off with a bang. Scientist Tom Carter is in Sweden with wife, daughter and co-workers receiving the Nobel prize for his scientific work on gene research. An attempt is made to assassinate Tom and his wife is killed instead. The attempt is made by a shadowy religious 'organization' which has been in place for centuries, created by Lazarus to plan for Christ's resurrection. Part of the organization is an assassination bureau whose aim is to rid the Earth of evil people. Carter is deemed to be evil because he uses science to try to find cures, thereby, in their eyes, using Christ's powers of healing. He's also an atheist.
Tom discovers that his wife would have died anyway of a brain tumor. He also discovers that his young daughter, Holly, may get the condition. This begins a hunt to find a possible gene cure. This will also lead him to making a deal with the secret organization to see if there is anything in Christ's genetic make-up that might help, since Christ was a healer. Along with this story line, the organizations assassin, angry that she didn't succeed with her assassination attempt continues to try to kill Carter.
The story in its simplest form. The story moves along very nicely, shifting from character to character, more completely explaining the history and plans of the 'secret brotherhood', developing Nemesis' character and her past (the assassin, btw) and showing Tom's desperate search for a cure for his daughter. The story was interesting, not too technical and had enough action and scene changes to hold your attention. I think my main problem was that I never really engaged with any of the characters. My favorite was Carter's technical expert, Jasmine Washington, smart, a hacker supreme, independent and spunky. The theme was interesting and not too futuristic. The ending was alright, kind of pat, even with the little door left open to make you think. (3 stars)"
Currently Reading
"The fragrant, sun-checkered canyon lands of the planet Dinadh seem to be a peaceful backwater of the universe...except for one thing. A century ago, a mysterious force wiped out human life on all surrounding worlds, leaving Dinadh untouched. Every team sent to investigate vanished. Every attempt to contact survivors met with a devastating silence. Now the unknown force is back - and this time humanity's only hope for survival lies on Dinadh...with a woman who'd give anything not to get involved. Lutha Tallstaff is a brilliant linguist, a devoted mother, and a reluctant emissary to Dinadh. Her mission is to locate the famed adventurer Leelson Famber, who has disappeared, taking with him what may be the only clue to the nature of the deadly threat. But for Lutha, finding Famber, who also happens to be her estranged lover and the father of her child, is the last thing she wants to do. At Lutha's side on this perilous quest is her strange and beautiful young son, a boy whose father denies his humanity but whose bizarre abilities will soon have far-reaching consequences. Reunited on Dinadh, the threesome find themselves traversing a planet dazzling in its cool springs and blossoming fruit trees, dangerous in its fountains of fire and rapacious winged wraiths. Yet only when they approach the planet's holiest place will Lutha discover the truth about her child, about the savage Ularians, and about the future of humankind. For she, her lover, and their son figure in a pattern of cosmic importance that will shake the universe - and their understanding of life, love, good and evil - to its very foundations."
New Books
"That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.
And
so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri
Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris.
Entreated by the Belgian financier D'Aunay to investigate the gruesome
and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find
themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Scheidel, in which a
small group of suspects are still assembled.
As thunder rolls in
the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre
legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the
maze-like passages and towers of the keep."
"After a brutal day
investigating a quadruple homicide, Detective Hoke Moseley settles into
his room at the un-illustrious El Dorado Hotel and nurses a glass of
brandy. With his guard down, he doesn’t think twice when he hears a
knock on the door. The next day, he finds himself in the hospital, badly
bruised and with his jaw wired shut. He thinks back over ten years of
cases wondering who would want to beat him into unconsciousness, steal
his gun and badge, and most importantly, make off with his prized
dentures. But the pieces never quite add up to revenge, and the few
clues he has keep connecting to a dimwitted hooker, and her ex-con
boyfriend and the bizarre murder of a Hare Krishna pimp.
Chronically
depressed, constantly strapped for money, always willing to bend the
rules a bit, Hoke Moseley is hardly what you think of as the perfect
cop, but he is one of the the greatest detective creations of all time."
"A rich American widow
and her maid have been stabbed to death in a brutal attack. All the
evidence points to Joseph, a young drifter, and he is soon arrested. But
what is his motive? Or is he just a pawn in a wider conspiracy?
Inspector
Maigret believes the police have the wrong man and lets him escape from
prison to prove his innocence. perhaps, with Joseph on the loose, the
real murderer will surface.
A deadly game of cross and double-cross has begun..."
"When former police
detective Ted Conkaffey was wrongly accused of abducting Claire Bingley,
he hoped the Queensland rain forest town of Crimson Lake would be a good
place to disappear. But nowhere is safe from Claire's devastated
father.
Dale Bingley has a brutal revenge plan all worked out -
and if Ted doesn't help find the real abductor, he'll be its first
casualty.
Meanwhile, in a dark roadside hovel called the Barking
Frog Inn, the bodies of two young bartenders lie on the beer-sodden
floor. It's Detective Inspector Pip Sweeney's first homicide
investigation - complicated by the arrival of private detective Amanda
Pharrell to 'assist' on the case. Amanda's conviction for murder a
decade ago has left her with some odd behavioral traits, top-to-toe
tatts - and a keen eye for killers . . .
For Ted and Amanda, the
hunt for the truth will draw them into a violent dance with evil.
Redemption is certainly on the cards - but it may well cost them their
lives . . ."
"Paul Davis is hearing
some very strange noises in the night. He hears the clickety-click of a
manual typewriter--as if someone is vigorously tapping the keys. The
eerie sounds began soon after his wife, Charlotte, bought him a classic
antique Underwood. But only Paul can hear the noise coming from
downstairs; Charlotte doesn't hear anything unusual.
Is Paul
losing his mind? Maybe. Or is something really there? Eight months ago,
he stumbled upon Connecticut's infamous "Apology Killer"--a psychopath
who forced his victims to typewrite personal apologies to him before he
cut their throats--disposing of two mutilated bodies on Milford's Post
Road. Most shocking of all, the killer was his colleague, someone he
thought he knew. Paul's been seeing a therapist for months to recover
from the nearly fatal encounter, but his nerves and short-term memory
have suffered since the traumatic event.
There's only one way to
learn if the noises are real or a figment of his hyper-imagination. One
night, Paul rolls a sheet of paper into the machine. The next morning,
when he checks the page, there is a chilling message:
"We typed our apologies like he asked but he killed us anyway."
As
he desperately searches to find a rational explanation for the note and
the noises, Paul slowly begins to consider the unthinkable: The message
is authentic, and the women butchered by his colleague are reaching out
to him from beyond the grave."
Women Authors I Enjoy - M.C. Beaton
I've highlighted cozy mystery writer M.C. Beaton a few times in various other themes; mystery writers, favorite authors. Beaton is the author of two series I'm enjoying, the Agatha Raisin and the Hamish MacBeth series. This year Beaton was one of my monthly focus authors. In February I enjoyed 3 more Agatha Raisin books and 2 in the Hamish MacBeth series. At the moment I have 10 more books on my bookshelf. I'll highlight 6 of them to give you an idea of the story lines of some.
M.C. Beaton
"Lochdubh, a remote village reached only by a one-track lane, nestles serenely amid Scotland's hills...until well-known TV reporter Crystal French races into town in her bright BMW. And Constable Hamish Macbeth, dourly wed to duty instead of the fiancee who dumped him, promptly gives her a summons for reckless driving. Outraged, Crystal makes Macbeth's life a misery with a TV report on policing in the Highlands. When she also rakes up old local scandals for her new hit show, Macbeth notes that someone besides himself might be dead keen to stop her. Then someone does-with stealth and violence. Now, finding out who did it will lead the laconic Macbeth down roads he never envisioned, into a dark story of passion and vengeance...and perhaps a crisis of the heart all his own."
"After solving murders in her Cotswold village, pushy retired PR agent Agatha Raisin opens her own agency, but jealous secretary Emma has romantic fantasies that rival her employer's. Posh Catherine Laggat-Brown hires Agatha after death threats against announcing her daughter's engagement at a dance. Only Agatha sees the glint of a gun in an upstairs window - and pulls the three targets into the swimming pool with herself."
"Gentle by name, gentle
by nature. Everyone in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh adores
elderly Mrs. Gentle - everyone but Hamish Macbeth, that is. Hamish
thinks the gentle lady is quite sly and vicious, and the citizens of
Lochdubh think he is overly cranky. Perhaps it's time for him to get
married, they say.
But who has time for marriage when there's a
murder to be solved? When Mrs. Gentle dies under mysterious
circumstances, the town is shocked and outraged. Chief Detective
Inspector Blair suspects members of her family, but Hamish Macbeth
thinks there's more to the story, and begins investigating the truth
behind this lady's gentle exterior."
"Cotswold detective Agatha Raisin lies to herself, hoping skimpy lingerie will suit her ex's surprise holiday. He lies to himself, remembering childhood heyday of Snoth-on-Sea as sunny, now a wreck in a cold windy storm. Aggie threatens obnoxious guest Geraldine, later found strangled in Aggie's lost scarf. Aggie can try drink, but needs all her friends when bodies pile up."
"Agatha Raisin, recent divorcée, hates adultery cases and pompous Robert Smedley, but needs work. Unfortunately Mabel appears the perfect young wife, a pretty church volunteer. Agatha stumbles across dead missing teen Jessica, and investigates free for publicity. When Smedley dies from poison, Mabel hires Agatha, who brings in old friends, new hires, and finds the killers."
"When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover.
It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive. But just as the town's luck starts to turn, a kingfisher is found hanging from a branch in the woods with a noose around its neck. As a wave of vandalism threatens to ruin Braikie forever, the town turns to Hamish Macbeth. And when violence strikes again, the lawman's investigation quickly turns from animal cruelty to murder."
Of the two series I prefer the Hamish MacBeth one but both are entertaining and both have been subject of TV series. The complete list of M.C. Beaton's books can be found at this link. Enjoy your day and the rest of your week. 😷
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