Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve read this 4 or 5 times now, still got tense at all the right spots (thankfully, it was the middle of the day this time so I wasn’t quite as jumpy as usual). Pretty sure that’s a sign of an author who knows what he’s doing. Not the best of the series, which isn’t taking away anything from this one, just saying how good some of the others (like Gone, Baby Gone) are.
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
wanted to read these before #5 comes out next month, just to get back in that world–it’s been too long since I’ve read a Lehane I liked. Took me less than a page to remember why I got into Kenzie/Gennaro, and within 5 it was like I’d been reunited with a long-lost love. This is a great read–the language, the plot, the characters…really can’t ask for more.
Kitty in the Underworld by Carrie Vaughn
Series: Kitty Norville, #12
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m a little surprised at my rating for this one — not that Vaughn’s not more than capable of writing a four or five-star book — but based on my reactions while reading which were definitely not favorable. But my reactions were strong enough — based on the claustrophobic note frequently struck here, and how much I cared about what Kitty was doing/going through — that I knew Vaughn had delivered. Hadn’t necessarily written the book I wanted/expected, but she got the job done very effectively.
N.B. I get vaguely spoilery beyond here — I don’t think it’s too terrible, nothing I’d really have minded reading before picking up this book.
So the idea behind Kitty Drinks the Kool-Aid in the Underground is that while some vampires, and Kitty herself think the whole Regina Luporum thing is a joke, there are some who take it very seriously. So seriously, that they kidnap Kitty to get her assistance in making a major attack on Roman/Dux Bellorum.
Now, this may strike you as a particularly stupid way to get someone to help you out — as it should, it definitely strikes Kitty that way. But for whatever reason/delusion, her kidnappers don’t see it that way.
Now, over the last 11 books, we’ve seen impetuous Kitty, rash Kitty, leaping-before-she-looks Kitty — and while Ben and Cormac grit their teeth and fret, the reader just smiles, content in our knowledge that this is just Kitty being Kitty. However, in Kitty gets Stockholm Syndrome in the Underground we see Kitty being just stupid.
She gives a magic user (that she doesn’t know) access to her blood. She lets a strange vampire feed off of her. She passes up chances to escape. She lets her guard down with her captors. Now, Kitty’s generally quick to trust — which is part of her charm — but she generally has some sort of basis for that. Not here. Well, at least no rational basis. Here’s she’s just so desperate to take down Dux Bellorum, that she throws reason and caution to the wind.
She spends large amount of time being rational, thinking things through, reacting as she should — and then she seems to shut that down to work with these people. I talked back to the book a lot (this is a behavior I don’t typically engage in at all). My favorite werewolf had taken leave of her senses and was risking it all.
This book should’ve been twice as long (at least). Kitty needed more time in the cave before she acted the way she acted. The reader needed to get a better idea of the rich and colorful characters that were introduced here. It would’ve been nice to see Kitty’s pack at work trying to find and rescue her. So much of what was going on in this book was new, terribly interesting, and worthy of exploration, it’s a shame we didn’t get the chance.
Although, a longer book would’ve likely given me a stroke. So I shouldn’t complain.
For all my gripes, it was a tense, taught adventure that will have interesting (to say the least) ramifications going on. Now I have to start counting down for the next one. Can’t come soon enough.
61 Hours by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #14
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It struck me while reading 61 Hours that the Reacher series is the literary equivalent of those wandering hero TV shows that we don’t seem to have any more, like Route 66, The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, and even Highway to Heaven — hero wanders into a town, sees some sort of injustice afoot, takes it upon himself (and/or is forced to) confront the source of the injustice, cleans up town and leaves. I started off thinking about the Hulk, but expanded it a bit the further I got in the book. Reacher is both Banner and the monster (don’t make Reacher angry, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry). I think I’m going to start listening to “The Lonely Man Theme” during the last chapter of all future Reacher books.
Yeah, that’s a bit rambling, sorry. But I think the same impulse that kept people coming back to those shows is what brings us to Reacher. The outsider who saves the day and moves on. What we might be powerless to see, or incapable of doing — he can, with no fear of consequences. There’s something totemic about that.
That’s exactly what 61 Hours promises and delivers. The villian was a bit more villainous than some (but he’s not the worst human being Reacher’s faced off with, just the worst lately), the mystery’s a bit of a gimme –but no one’s ever confused Reacher with Nero Wolfe, and it’s easy to see why Reacher doesn’t put the pieces together as early as the reader does. It’s possible that this is the least violent novel in the series, but you know that violence is on the way –and when it arrives, Child makes every bullet and hit count.
The title/hook is something different for Child. He basically starts a countdown at the end of the first chapter — 61 hours until something’s going to happen. And then we get frequent updates — “Fifty-four hours to go”, “Thirty-one hours until it starts”, and that sort of thing (not real quotations, just examples). Really ratchets up the tension — I can’t imagine it’d work more than once, but it really worked well this time.
Frequently, the relationships that Reacher develops/finds with people are the weak areas of the book, but Child gives us three strong ones this time around — the Deputy Chief of a small police department who knows enough to see that Reacher is a resource, the spunky elderly woman who’s the target of Big Bad, and the Major sitting in Reacher’s old desk at his old command. With each of them we see different facets of our hero at work — and seeing both what they respond to in Reacher, and what he is drawn to in them helps flesh out all four characters, but Reacher more than the rest. I’m not sure we learn a lot more about our favorite wandering ex-MP through this, but we know it better.
61 Hours is one more piece of evidence proving that Lee Child is one of the (if not the) best, the most consistent writers working today. Long live the king.
The Hard Way by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #10
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The thing about a Reacher book is that the instant the conflict is introduced (this time, a kidnapping), you know the major plot points for the book: Reacher will rescue the kidnapped people; there will be some physical altercations and at least 1 gunfight; he will meet (and likely bed) an attractive woman; and the Bad Guy will be vanquished (likely forever); justice will triumph.
Knowing a;; this, which pretty much eliminates all suspense, you also know that it’ll still be a fun, intense, edge-of-your-seat read.
How does Child pull that off?
Don’t know. Don’t care, as long as he keeps it up.
One Shot by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #9
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Darn satisfying read. Pure Child gold. Some nice twists and turns along the way, but from the time that the suspect says “Get Reacher” you know that 1. He’s absolutely innocent and 2. The bad guys are going to pay. Just that simple. So why bother going on? Cuz the next 300+ pages will be impossible to turn away from, you will be sucked in the entire time and have a blast the whole time.
That’s simply Child’s way.
Persuader by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #7
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It’s really hard to say something about a Jack Reacher book–in a very real sense, if you’ve read one, you’ve read ’em all (maybe this changes after book 7, but I doubt it). But dang it all if you don’t come back for more and more and more — like Pringles, or Fritos, etc. Great action; totally outlandish, but (in the moment definitely) believable plot; lots of testosterone-y fun.
Two things I’d like to mention about this book.
First, there’s this fad in TV lately where you watch a scene or two at the top of the show, and then the chyron flashes “X days earlier” and you get to see how events led up to this, and even get a better picture of what happened. It’s a tired and overused gimmick. But in ’03 when this was published, it wasn’t. And even if it was tired then, Child does it right, and I would’ve been totally on board with it then. Great hook to begin the book. Really great.
Secondly, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the way that Child laid out Reacher’s motivation to hunt down this particular criminal in bits and pieces, scattered throughout the present day action. Sure, it was predictable after a certain point, but it was skillfully done. Giving Reacher the proper motivation each time to go after the baddie has to be a struggle, especially since it has to be sufficient motivation to get him to perform superhuman tasks. This was one of Child’s best efforts in that regard.
One more thing that I just thought of–since Parker’s God Save the Child and The Judas Goat I’ve been a sucker for a fight between big, tough hero and impossibly huge, strong, psychotic villain, and the one here delivers the goods in spades. Loved it.
Without Fail by Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, #6
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Taught thriller, starts off strong and snowballs into an adrenaline-filled blast. Pure popcorn fun.
After taking a book off from it, Child develops Reacher’s character a bit by bringing him into contact with people who knew his brother before he killed. Which is nice and commendable, but it’s not his strong suit.
Most of the time, he does what he does best: he puts a target in front of Reacher, gives Reacher juuuuust enough info to keep stumbling from one clue to the next, getting closer and closer to his prey. And when he tracks his prey down things really start going Reacher’s way.
Suspect by Robert Crais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was a little leery of this book, I haven’t been all that satisfied with Crais’ standalones — Hostage was okay, Demolition Angel was enjoyable, but I haven’t been able to read more than 50 pages of The Two Minute Rule. But, hey, it’s Crais (and about a dog!), so I had to give it a try.
So glad I did. If you don’t come out of the first few pages deeply invested in Maggie, I fear you may not have a soul. Not that Scott’s story and character aren’t compelling enough, it’s just Maggie’s the star of the show and the heart of the novel, make no mistake. The action’s intense, the plot moves along well, and the suspense is real. Great read.
The fact that this is part of the Cole/Pike-verse is an added bonus.
I don’t think this is the best Crais novel (and I’ve read them all–except most of Two Minute Rule), but given the way this worms into your heart, it’s probably my favorite. I hope there’s more to come. Or at least an appearance from these two in a future Cole novel.
Recommended for fans of David Rosenfelt and Spencer Quinn.
Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
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