Worth persevering with - suddenly gets interesting

I was glad that the friend who loaned me this book advised me to persevere with it. It got much more interesting until I couldn't put it down. A good editor could have transformed the book into a real page turner and it's a shame that the book is spoiled by detail about which the reader couldn't give a stuff - who cares about the square metrage of every building into which the characters go? Or the contents of their sandwiches, their travel bags or every magazine found on a shelf? Or the life history of a bit player who appears once? I'm astonished that such rubbish was left in. I also wondered if the author had corporate sponsors while writing the book - there were the endless plugs for products, especially those of Apple Mac, including a yawningly extensive description of a laptop right down to the number of pixels on the screen (p194). However, I was amazed by the author's percipience - it was written 4 years before the banking crisis. To quote him:" ..... fraud that was so extensive it was no longer merely criminal - it was business!" The author created some fascinating characters who were incredibly life-like. I found it odd that the leading man was frequently praised as a man of integrity, although he was serially cuckolding another man. As a woman, I very much appreciate Mr Larsson being a man taking up the cry against the misogyny which is so rife in western society that most of the time we don't even notice it. Some of the assaults were incredibly realistic - the awful assaults of women, or girls, trapped by males who have some kind of power over them. I find it odd that he, like some other authors whose books address certain social issues, has suddenly died young . at only 50.

Cannot put it down

I could hardly wait to begin this book, having read the first in the trilogy. It did not disappoint. I didn't want to put it down. Brilliantly written and gripping to the last word.

Brilliant Stieg Larsson, we miss you!

We could not wait for vol. iii to come out in U.S. in July. Ordered it from amazon.uk... So did a friend of ours.<br />Vol. iii is a classic. Had to put it down, so intense. Got up at 3:30 a.m. and finished reading it. <br />Amazing story about responsible journalism, strong women looking out for one another (and for justice); compassionate friends of both sexes;<br />a government that faces up to its shortcomings, and, of course, a stubborn, brilliant and lonely heroine that I love.

Brilliant Stieg Larsson, we miss you!

We could not wait for vol. iii to come out in U.S. in July. Ordered it from amazon.uk... So did a friend of ours.<br />Vol. iii is a classic. Had to put it down, so intense. Got up at 3:30 a.m. and finished reading it. <br />Amazing story about responsible journalism, strong women looking out for one another (and for justice); compassionate friends of both sexes;<br />a government that faces up to its shortcomings, and, of course, a stubborn, brilliant and lonely heroine that I love.

Perhaps I was wrong

I had grown very tired of Jack Reacher and had previously suggested Lee Child needed to move on. But being the addict I am, I bought this book and found that I enjoyed it.<br /><br />There is a lot of the usual in this book with Reacher's antics and heroics. And I still have a problem believing in a guy who only has a toothbrush wandering around finding troubles which he then resolves.<br /><br />In this case, however, Child does very well in developing the intrigue within the story and keeping the reader's interest levels very high. I liked his writing, research and thinking too.<br /><br />I think a first-time reader would be blown away by this book; regulars will see much of the same but in a story which is fast-flowing and pretty well-constructed.<br />

An exciting and intelligent read

I thought this was a good book - well written in an unflashy way, thoughtful and gripping. It isn't a conventional crime novel in that there is no mystery about who committed a crime; it is a psychological study of the effect of a crime on a family for generations afterward, and of the mind of a serial child-killer. Both these aspects are skilfully handled and I found them interesting and very believable. Bauer also gets into the mind of a twelve-year-old boy very credibly, although I did find some of his actions and ideas rather more adult than was wholly plausible. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book as an engrossing, exciting and intelligent read. It is an impressive first novel.

Give me a Grisham...quickly...!

I'll keep this short...I only wish Dan Brown had! Started slow, picked up and grabbed my interest but then kept promising and not delivering...the great secrets it promised were a tad on the crap side to say the least. Having discovered Jesus' descendant in the 'Da Vinci Code' and gotten close to blowing up Vatican city in 'Angels & Demons' a bit of excitement wouldn't have gone amiss in 'The Lost Symbol'..there was a bit but not much. <br /><br />As other reviewers have said he seems to love throwing in as many references as possible but you then have to reach for Wikipedea or similar to work out what the hell he's referring to. I think in the end even he was getting bored and just decided to see how many times he could get the word 'Apotheosis' into the last few chapters. His writing still hasn't improved much, I don't expect Dickens but..."Bellamy quickly locked the two sets of doors behind them, first the outer, then the inner.",it would have been some trick to have done it the other way around...talk about stating the bleedin' obvious! Ah well, when it comes to a little light reading in between the intellectual tomes I generally read (I might...!)I'll stick with Grisham, he generally doesn't disappoint! (sorry, this was meant to be short but I'm really peed off at the amount of time I wasted reading this - I finished it 20 minutes ago by the way !)

good book

The Shack is easy to read and even though it is fiction the tragidy in it's pages is all to common so it draws you in to this man experience. I really enjoyed it

a great installment in the series

This is book six in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, and it's a good one! I gave it to my BIL for xmas (as well as to myself!) and he said the other day that he was reading it and it was very good, so when I came home on Thursday I had to start reading it to see for myself lol. I finished it on Saturday night after spending most of the day reading it and I really enjoyed it in the way that you do when you spending time with familiar characters and settings. The plot was good although I will say that I did start to work out parts of the"why" and the connections a few hundred pages before the (expert)characters did, and there is one part that doesn't ring true which I think might be a little sloppy on the part of the author, but overall it was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't want to give anything of the plot away, I'll that for other reviewers who feel the need. The best books of this series so far are still the first two in the series The Wire in the Bloodand The Mermaids Singingbut this is a pretty enjoyable addition to the series and definitely moves the overall story forward.<br /><br />I will mention that it says inside the jacket flap that this is the ideal place to start for new readers (or words to that effect) but I strongly recommend against starting this series at book six! Start at the beginning and work your way up to this latest installment, for the best reading experience.

The five greatest warriors

After leaving his readers falling down the abyss with Jack West jr., at the end of the Six Sacred Stones, was it worth waiting 2 years for the follow up in The five Greatest Warriors ?. Yes it most certainly was. Jack West jr. makes James Bond look like a"has-been". Good characters! good story ! good read.

Another Winner

Another winner from the pen of Simon Kernick.For me the best English thriller writer for some time, I find his books a real page turner and The Last 10 Seconds is no exception.Each chapter is like an episode of"24" , when you get to the end you have to carry on to find out what happens next. I look forward with great anticipation for his next release.

Brilliant quick read

Fantastic - so much action in such a short novella - totally believable characters, Victor and Joan, both plotting to get rid of the other and so break out of their tedious, loveless marriage. Unputdownable once started. More like this please Peter James but don't neglect Roy Grace - I'm in need of my annual Dead ***** fix soon! Can't wait.

Works as a stand alone.

When I got it I did not realise that this book was well into a series in fact the 9th in the series however it reads well as a stand alone. The only disadvantage is that I want to read the previous books and they are already slightly spoiled as I know that Marco and Cato the two main characters have survived from at least the previous book. <br />Without trying to give away too much of the plot there is an earthquake followed by a tidal wave that wrecks the boat that Marco and Cato are travelling in and they end up on Crete where the book is set which is devastated by the earthquake which coupled with a slave revolt allows much action.. The book is fast paced and the characters well developed, although I know little of Roman history the book looks well researched and the plot holds together well. I read this in one session as I wanted to know what happened next. The book does not end on a cliff hanger where you need the next book to make any meaning out of it like so many series but sets up nicely for the next book in the series. <br />

Brilliant!

I love this series and i have thoroughly enjoyed all the Jack Caffrey books. This is by far the best.

Good Short Stories

The audio book starts off with two mildly interesting stories. The first one reads like a story from a 1960s comic book but not the EC variety more Tales from the Unexpected. The second story, seeing a crime through the eyes of a boy, is a nice idea but it's not very well executed as the ending is too anti climactic and predictable. But then the book really gets going. The stories are not just detective stories but very well written short stories about the nature of evil, guilt and attonement. Some have a wicked sense of humour behind them, some are bleak in outlook. The highlight certainly is the third CD with a long Inspector Banks short story about his last case with the Met. It's particularly a highlight for the audio book as no one reads as well as Neal Pearson, the authentic voice of Allan Banks.

Really enjoyed it from the mystery novel standpoint.

From reading some of the other reviews of this novel I'm thinking this is one of those times I should celebrate the fact that I'm not driven to read historical mysteries by my knowledge of history. My interest always centers on the mystery and writing ability exhibited within a novel so I don't tend to worry about strict adherence to historical accuracy. If there are mistakes here, they were not a factor in my enjoyment of this book. This is one time though when the cover of the book in the U. S. is almost as good as the one you guys get. Your covers are usually much better than ours!<br /><br />The birth of the Church of England came into full fruition amid the upheaval surrounding the dissolution of the monasteries run by the Roman Catholic Church. It was a wonderful experience to read the story this author created to illustrate the corruption and greed which was taking place on both sides of this issue. At the point this story takes place, 1537, Thomas Cromwell has dispatched a commissioner to investigate the death of the first commissioner he had sent to the monastery near Scarnsea on the Kent-Sussex border. Matthew Shardlake has become a successful lawyer in London when he comes to the notice of Cromwell and begins to perform services for the vicar general for King Henry VIII. This case is particularly important to Cromwell because his plan is to engineer the fall of all the monasteries by gaining the voluntary surrender of certain strategic houses. He needs for Shardlake and his assistant Mark Poer to find this murderer quickly so that the papers of surrender can be signed.<br /><br />I read historical mysteries because I want to experience the atmosphere of the historical setting. This debut novel by C. J. Sansom satisfied me completely on that score. I also think the characters in the book were extremely well drawn and I especially appreciate that Shardlake was portrayed with very human faults. He experienced anger, frustration, infatuation and jealousy as he became acquainted with the monks and servants working at the monastery. The mystery is a very good puzzle, with some clues being given regarding the solutions but essentially having the reader wait for the writer to reveal the entire outcome. I appreciated the presence of an epilogue to finish out the remainder of the questions left open and to provide the answer to a very important question.<br /><br />I found this book to be one which engaged my attention fully and I am now ready to move on to the next adventure with Matthew Shardlake.

What an ending! Taut, complex thriller

This book will obviously get more interest now its a film and it deserves to. It is a complex and interesting thriller with a killer ending (can't give too much away). <br /><br />Set in 1950s, the book captures the feel and atmosphere of the decade, just after the war and before the swinging sixties. The growing claustrophobia of the plot, as Marshall Daniels investigates a missing patient from an island's hospital for the criminally insane, creeps up on you after a fairly slow start. <br /><br />As a reader you will question the truth and reality of the characters' situation throughout the book until a revelatory ending that is both shocking and heartbreaking.<br /><br />Lehane is a great author who writes books that you want to keep reading once you start. I'd read the book rather than watch the film as well as I can't imagine the lightweight DiCaprio as the tough lead character Daniels. <br /><br /><br />

A Series to Watch For!

This was the first book I had read by CJ Sansom and to be honest I was very sceptical. I really enjoy reading historical fiction that has some basis of fact and was really pleased I found this. Also not being a fan of the Henry VIII era previously or the Tudor years, I was amazed this worked!<br /><br />Mathew Shardlake, the main character and the aged solicitor plies his trade in London, where CJ Samson brings Tudor England to life wonderfully. He creates an environment where its easy to picture the daily grind of life. He brings his participants to life with real edge, humour and a sense of reality that I've rarely experienced before.<br /><br />The story revolves around the ancient weapon of Dark Fire a liquid substance originally from the middle east, that can be used on an enemy and cannot be put out or extinguished. Master Shardlake risks life and limb in order to reveal all the players involved. His creation builds a world where the 'pottage eaters' of old London spring to life from every page.<br /><br />I am so glad I took the risk and bought Dark Fire and have bought all subsequent stories which have not let me down. CJ Sansom is an author who's work I look for in the same vein as Simon Scarrow and Bernard Cornwall. I look forward reagerly to the release of the next book in August 2010.

A good start to the series

I read this book after some of his later ones and was struck by the way that the character of Wallander develops as the books move on.<br />In many ways this was a fairly straightforward Crime Thriller with all the usual features. The detective has a broken marriage and difficult relationship with this father and daughter, there is even the obligatory drink problem.<br />However, there are elements that take it beyond this. He comments on the massive changes happening in Europe in the early 90s in the form of refugees and assylum seekers. His father has early onset alzheimer's and he deals with this in a sympathetic way, which implies some understanding of the illness. <br />Also, the investigation relies on hunches and luck, but also has many blind alleys and periods of inactivity and is more realistic for this.<br />I found the translation a little 'clunky', but maybe this just reflected the early unpolished style of a new writer.<br />All in all though a good read and a cut above much in this genre.