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the last chance that won't work out. The return of Det. Stanger
gives us renewed hope that she will be part of Elvis Cole's next
case and maybe a new romance...
While Lucy is away on business, Elvis is left in charge of Ben, and after a week of quality bonding time, Ben disappears without a trace. Confused as to what has happened, Elvis believes the boy ran away, until a mysterious phone call explains a much more sinister scenario...
The caller states that he has the boy and it's payback for what Elvis has done.
Now with the help of his partner Joe Pike and LAPD Detective Carol Starkey, Elvis must race the clock to save Ben and the key to doing this is a long buried secret from his past.
The highly anticipated 'The Last Detective' is easily the best novel yet from Robert Crais, and that's saying a lot! From page one I was held captive by the gripping plot, well drawn characters and shocking twists. Readers of the previous Cole novels will see this as his best outing, and fans of 'Demolition Angel' will welcome the appearance of Carol Starkey.
Robert Crais is one of our finest writers of suspense fiction, and with each new novel he gets better and better. With a writing style that is sharp and smooth, pacing that is pitch perfect and plots so tight and suspenseful, Crais creates novels that are intense reading experiences.
Expect to see 'The Last Detective' on all the bestseller lists. This truly is a MUST read page-turner, one that I finished in one sitting.
Nick Gonnella
The plot catapults at a relentless pace. Down-to-earth, practical detective work is what solves the crime in this ticking clock child kidnapping. Since the child is the son of Elvis Cole's girl friend, the hunt is both personal and professional'and therefore all the more chilling,
The point of view switches between the characters (Elvis is in the first person) and is smooth as silk and most engaging.
The reader learns the clues as they unfold for Elvis, going thru the stages of frustration to hope to possibility to solution with Elvis and his archangel Joe Pike.
The supporting cast, especially Carol Starkey (from "Demolition Angel") is outstanding.
We learn a lot of Elvis' past via flashbacks that propel the plot. The scene from his Vietnam days is as intense as any I have read.
It is a compelling novel that truly showcases depth of Robert Crais as a writer.
Highly recommended.
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Also, I found the identity of Casanova very unsatisfying. For an ironic twist to work, you have to first get to know the culprit in a semi-sympathetic and trusting light. Ruskin was practically an unknown quantity to the reader, and learning his true nature had no more dramatic impact than if it had been any other of the several cops we barely met. Patterson doesn't even bother to explain the alibis which supposedly cleared him as a suspect in the first place.
Lastly, enough with the italics! I don't need to be told how to read the inflections in every paragraph. Maybe they were intended as stage directions for the book-on-tape.
The author intentionally mentions things in earlier chapters knowing they will trigger a reader's memory later in the book. I found myself flipping back through earlier chapters to re-read a character's physical description, job title or how they treated the lead character.
Yes, I agree with other reviewers that the way the "two big breaks" in the case were just GIVEN to them, which was kind of lame and why no one would bother giving police protection to the ONE witness in a multi-state crime spree. What is really a shame, however, is the graphic nature of the book, including violence and pornography which would make me think twice before recommending this book to a friend. It's one thing to say "violent sex acts." But quite another to describe them! I told a friend about this thrilling book I am reading and she wants to read it but after finishing it, and knowing her moral views, she would be horrified at the snake "scene" and the repeated "tick c***" phrase (if you read it, you know what that is).
As for me though, I WILL be reading this author's other books!
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Hollywood Book of Death is okay if you are a novice to such trivia.
As people have many ways of departing this world, the author broke chapters into the way in which they exited: natural, homicide, drugs & alcohol, puzzling (unexplained), suicide, and accidents i.e. This is not about death per se but even moreso of the life and career of these people. In addition to 125 people, hundreds of movie titles are listed. It's not gloomy or morose. One can learn more about recent and long-past actors/actresses and their works here. It's an easy informative read.
Those into movies are aware of likes of Jane Mansfield and Sal Mineo, but additional coverage into a hundred of others tie old and new Hollywood together back to the beginning of the 1900s. Strait-to-the-point insights into their professional and private lives, and street addresses of Hollywood and Los Angeles are presented where the end came for these folks. You can find where they are buried as well. From this book you can take a ride or stroll through the Hollywood area and know more of what happened and where in the past.
What became of Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals" and hundreds of others you've heard of. You can find out here.
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For the most part I enjoyed Double Star. It started out light and comical, but eventually lost those two elements the more we learn about the political situation...and the more Lorenzo sinks into his role playing a double. Now that I look back there is very little science fiction involved in this book other than trips to Mars and the Moon. Beyond that it is a novel that focuses on politics, acting, and the theatre. There are many references to Shakespeare; elements of which are the main plot of this book (deception and disguise). Not being a fan of politics in general, I thought the heavy political aspects eventually pulled the book down. But that's just my view. There are many people who enjoy this type of narrative. I wish Heinlein would have maintained the light and fun tone throughout. Regardless, it was an enjoyable read on my trek through the Hugo & Nebula winners.
An actor is tricked into accepting an unlikely assignment. Since he's out of work, and a bit desperate to do something he takes the job, and soon finds himself wishing he hadn't. He is to take the place of a very public political figure. In what comes to be the most challenging acting job of his life, he pulls the job off with flying colors. Through his study of the charachter he must incorperate a personality which goes against his own in many ways, and in some ways he finds it almost more than he can handle.
Through the course of his job, Lorenzo finds himself pushed further into playing his role, making dicisions, becoming this person. Like many novels by Heinlein, science fiction is merly the genre which allows situations to take place which otherwise could not....allows a normal guy to be faced with abnormal situations, and to grow because of this. Because of this, his stories are not only highly entertaining, but introspective as well. Double star examines what makes a person who he is by showing what is involved in assimilating another person and portraying them. It shows how a person can make a consious choice to be who they want to be, and take on the nessicary responsibilities to become a more honorable person.
I would reccomend this, as well as a number of Heinlein's novels as tools for a person who is working to better themselves and examine thier role in life.
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While Crais' strength is tight plot development and rapid-fire action that keeps the pages turning, "Hostage" is also rich in character development. Talley, haunted by the bad decision that forced him from LA, is vulnerable but likeable, and believable in his flaws and foibles. Mars, one of the young punks central to the hostage situation, while perhaps predictable, is ominous and threatening in his sullen silence: a younger version of the big blond psycho thug in "Fargo" comes to mind. A family held hostage, the FBI, organized crime, small town cops: it all comes together and works much more successfully than any of the more popular suspense novels on the shelves today.
I found "Hostage" nearly impossible to put down. The central plot was expertly woven with a number of parallel sub-plots; the dialogue tight and realistic. Crais succeeds again in demonstrating why he is one of today's premier writers of the genre. Don't miss it!
As with DEMOLITION ANGEL's Carol Starkey, the protagonist is a troubled soul seeking an escape route from job related stresses. Starkey wallowed in self-pity predicated on personal loss. Jeff Talley, the lead character in this book has a despondency based on prior failures to protect the security of others, although the standards he established may have been impossible to achieve. A confluence of circumstances forces him to back into the quagmire, under conditions in the worst of his nightmares, he could not have imagined.
The book is captivating, I couldn't put it down. Crais methodically reveals layer after layer of contingencies, pulling you deeper into the story, your concerns for the characters escalating page after page. Some of the characterizations could have been stronger, however, in this web of intrigue there are even antagonists who evoke sympathetic response.
Only will you be disappointed if you knew too much, much too soon.
"Hostage" ensnares you as a reader...and you cannot stop reading. Neither can you stop guessing who is part of the double and triple crosses that stalk the protagonist( Jeff Talley).
It's one crisis after another...each brought to conclusion in a believable fashion. Quick time decision making, who to trust, who to doubt, when to go against the book, when to take the daring chance...carry the experienced former LA SWAT leader thru an intense twenty-four hours.
The villains are particularly unlikable...and you know that there are a lot like them out there. These miscreants are very real. Mr. Crais fully develops them, and they are to be feared.
Talley gets help from a least likely ally...one of the hostages, a ten year old boy (Thomas) who rises to the occasion. Thomas shows the boundaries one can push in a life and death situation.
I cannot say if this is Mr. Crais' finest effort or not. His writing is that good. I have gotten so much pleasure from his body of work, and was thrilled to have a new one by him. I do think it is as good as anything I have read this year. I rank "Hostage" up there with Michael Connelly's "A Darkness More Than Night", Harlan Coben's "Tell No One" and Dennis Lehane's "Mystic River" from this year's releases thus far.
This could be a great movie, but don't know if I see Bruce Willis as Jeff Talley. It could just as easily be a case where the book is far better than the movie.
In either case I am glad I read the book. I will read it again.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of those stories, like Frankenstein and Dracula, that seemingly everyone has heard of and believes they understand("mythopoetic " in the language of Joyce Carol Oates). Much like the aforementioned works, the actual details of the story may come as a surprise to those who assume they know the story based solely on the popular understanding. For that reason alone I think the book is worth reading.
Dr. Jekyll is a respected if somewhat reclusive London doctor who has, through the course of years of experimentation, managed to create a solution which brings to the fore his evil alter-ego. Unlike many gothic literary villains, Hyde is not imbued with superhuman strength or exceptional gifts of any kind. In fact he is of a smaller and less imposing stature than most men. What he does possess however is a complete lack of compunction with regards to others. Hyde for example ruthlessly runs down a small child who gets in his way. As is the case with Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll creates something that he can't control and which eventually destroys its creator.
The inhumanity that the fictional Hyde displays can be seen in the non-fictious world on a daily basis. As such, there is a realism to the story which is missing from many horror stories past and present. The fact that such a short and captivating work exists in an attractively packaged edition makes this one classic that will be a joy to read for all.
He uses a very wide range of vocabulary. Stevenson uses many 19th Century terms that seem weird and different to me.
One thing bad about his writing is his punctuation. He uses way too many semicolons and comas. He makes one sentence out of six or seven sentences.
This book was not the best book I ever read, but was not the worst either. it was mediocre. however It was miles ahead of Dracula. Dracula is boring, whereas Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is fast paced, quick, and fun to read. its pritty morbid which is kind of a down side, but Since it is very short it is a good book on my list.
Joyce Carol Oates's introduction is worthwhile, especially for those readers who know the story, as most English-speaking people do, in its basic framework, but who have not yet actually traveled the dark road with Dr. Jekyll and his friends.
It is a pleasure to read a classic book in such a carefully crafted edition. Too often books such as this are printed in cheap editions with narrow margins and lousy type; this one fits comfortably in the hand and is easy on the eye as the reader is drawn into this allegorical nightmare.
This review refers to the University of Nebraska Press edition only.
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Nora Roberts
Declan Fitzgerald leaves his job as a Boston lawyer to buy a house--Manet Hall--that he first discovered in New Orleans 11 years ago. The house hasn't been lived in for some time and needs renovation. Declan finds his joy in restoring the old mansion. There's a sad history to the mansion, however, and Declan begins to experience strange dreams and starts sleepwalking. He finds himself terrified to enter one of the rooms on the third floor. Declan meets Lena, the owner of a small bar in down town New Orleans. He is immediately attracted to her and thinks, "at last" the first time he sees her. Lena and Declan are both linked to the history of Manet Hall as well as to each other. Lena's grandmother lives behind Manet Hall and Declan befriends her. She is a wonderful character. Declan has a terrific personality and sense of humor. This is definitely one of my favorite Nora Robert's books. Being interested in reincarnation and past lives added to the flavor. I must admit I was surprised when I discovered what the subject of the book was but I think Ms. Roberts handled it in a believable manner. Definitely a keeper.
The besotted Declan is determined to marry Lena and he wages a one-man battle to wear down her formidable resistance. Lena is fighting her attraction to Declan for all she's worth because they are replaying the events that happened a hundred years ago to the original owners of Manet Hall, hopefully with happier results.
Nora Roberts has written a beautiful romance centering on a couple who have been reincarnated to fix what went wrong in their previous life together. A haunted house, complete with ghosts, seems genuine when placed in Ms. Roberts' story line. The fast paced, action oriented plot is heading for the best sellers lists as MIDNIGHT BAYOU looks to be an award winner.
Harriet Klausner
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