Killshot is a thriller novel written by Elmore Leonard. Armand Degas is half Indian and half French-Canadian and a hit man for the Canadian mafia. He is sent to Detroit to do a job. He had lived on Wapole Island, near Detroit, for a while when he was a child. He decides to go there check on his grandmothers house and see if he remembered anybody there. When he went to a restaurant near there to eat, an ex-convict comes up to him and poles his gun on Armand planning on stealing his car. When Richie finds out the Armand's a hit man, he decides that Armand might be helpful in a plot that he has to steal money from a wealthy realtor in the area.
Carmen works for the realtor and she convinces her husband, Wayne, an ironworker, to come in for an interview with her boss. Her boss isn't in the office at the appointed time. Carmen takes Wayne to her boss' office and has him wait in there for her boss. While waiting Richie and Armand comes in, thinking that Wayne is the realtor and start wrecking items in the office. A big brawl breaks out between Wayne, Richie and Armand where Wayne gets the better of the other two. Richie and Armand are now out to kill Wayne and Carmen, since they both got a good view of them and can identify them.
This book has plenty of action in it, but it didn't grasp my attention as well as others have. It takes place mainly in Michigan and Missouri.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Killshot-Novel-Elmore-Leonard-ebook/dp/B000FC12F0?crid=2VTW63H91RD1S&keywords=killshot&qid=1537225822&sprefix=killshot%2Caps%2C587&sr=8-7&ref=sr_1_7
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killshot-elmore-leonard/1100543284?ean=9780062121592
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)
Monday, September 17, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
Split Second
Split Second is the first book in the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series by David Baldacci. Sean King is an former Secret Service agent who, while escorting a presidential candidate, fixed his glance in a direction away from the candidate too, long giving an assassin the chance to murder the candidate. As soon as he heard the shot, King managed to shoot the assassin, but lost his job. He now has a law practice in Virginia. Michelle Maxwell is an up and coming agent with the Secret Service. She is assigned to protect a presidential candidate, who, while at an unexpected stop at a funeral home in rural Virginia and wanted some time alone with the widow and corpse, is kidnapped. Knowing this will end her career, she teams up with King to find the kidnapped candidate.
This book has nearly non-stop action and has the reader puzzled trying to figure out who is behind the kidnapping. It truly is an excellent book.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Split-Second-King-Maxwell-Book-ebook/dp/B000FBJAEG/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530295944&sr=1-2&keywords=split+second+by+david+baldacci
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/split-second-david-baldacci/1100308497?ean=9781455550784#/
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹➹
(Six out of six arrows)
Flight of the Old Dog
Flight of the Old Dog was the first techno-thriller written by Dale Brown and is the first in the Patrick McLanahan series. Dale Brown was a navigator in the U.S. Air Force on bombers. His experiences along with his expertise are reflected in Patrick in this book and series. Patrick is a navigator on a B-52 bomber, whose crew won the Strategic Air Command's top honors for the second year in a row and many believe Patrick to be the best navigator in the U.S. Air Force. The only problem is that Patrick doesn't always have the neatest uniform and doesn't always go by the book. Shortly after the competition, Patrick gets selected for a top secret assignment to Dreamland, a top secret research and development site in the Nevada desert. He is there to test the navigation equipment on a B-52 that's been refurbished and has the latest and newest equipment being developed for B-1 bombers. The name of the bomber is the Old Dog and has major improvements, not seen on any other B-52 in existence, including a sin on the aircraft that makes it hard to be detected by radar. The Soviet Union is believed to have a new weapon located in Eastern Russia that can destroy any aircraft, missile or satellite in a matter of seconds. After months of the Soviet leaders denying it exists, the Old Dog is sent to destroy the weapon.
This book is full of action and keeps the reader engrossed and wondering what will happen next. It reminds me of my time in the Air Force (I was enlisted and never near a bomber, but I could see me at times during the story). A very enjoyable story.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Old-Dog-Patrick-McLanahan/dp/0425108937/ref=la_B000APTUTC_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530294139&sr=1-5
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flight-of-the-old-dog-dale-brown/1101956492?ean=9780425108932
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹➹
(Six out of six arrows)
Fear
Fear is a thriller novel by Jeff Abbott. Miles Kendrick, a former private detective now in the witness protection program, suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after witnessing the death of his best friend. He's been seeing a psychiatrist because of it. When she asks him for help, he feels obliged to help her. Just before he gets to her office building, her office explodes with a female body found in the ruins. He vows to find her murderer and get revenge. Upon investigating he discovers about a drug that helps cure PTSD, that is illegally being developed and tested without the FDA's knowledge. He, along with two other of her patients, set out to find the truth and see that her killer is brought to justice.
This book gives the reader a peek at what PTSD patients endure. It shows that many people outside of military personnel suffer from it. There is plenty of action throughout the story.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it from the following sites in various formats:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Jeff-Abbott-ebook/dp/B00AMILB30/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530290640&sr=1-1&keywords=fear+jeff+abbott
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fear-jeff-abbott/1101095470?ean=9781455546138
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Kane and Abel
Kane and Abel was the second novel written by Jeffrey Archer and was the first novel in the Kane and Abel trilogy. This book is a historical fiction novel, following two men born on the same day in 1908 up until their deaths. William Lowell Kane was born to affluent Boston family where his father and grandfather were chairmen of an affluent bank in Boston. Abel Rosnovski was found by a poor peasant boy, near a stream in Poland just after just after birth which was the cause of the death was his mother. The book follows both through their childhoods and and after, going through World War I, the stock market crash, the great depression, World War II, the 1950's and through the Kennedy presidency and into the time of the Johnson administration.
This book is not a mystery or thriller like the others posted in this blog in the past, but it does involve some action and adventure which has been included in the description of this blog. This book does have some action and draws the reader in. The majority of the book takes place in the United States, but was written by a British author which is apparent be the spelling of some words and the names used for some of the items. But those words do not distract the reader enough to keep them from enjoying this book.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kane-Abel-Jeffrey-Archer-ebook/dp/B003JMF4FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529896368&sr=8-1&keywords=kane+and+abel
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kane-and-abel-jeffrey-archer/1100358675?ean=9780312942724#/
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers: The Wisdom of Father Brown
The Wisdom of
Father Brown was the second
collection of Father Brown short stories written by G.K. Chesterton.
Father Browns friend, Flambeau, criminal turned detective, appears in
around half of the stories in this book where Father brown solves
mysteries, be it a death or theft, in his own unique way. There are
some names and places repeated in these stories.
There
is action in these books varying by degrees. Some hold the reader’s
interest better than others. These stories are good, but not quite as
good as the ones in The Innocence of Father Brown.
If interested in reading this book, you can download it from the
following sites in various formats:
Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/223
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-complete-father-brown-mysteries-collection-g-k-chesterton/1102283690?ean=2940012630988
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)
Monday, May 7, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers: The Man in Lower Ten
The Man in Lower
Ten is a mystery novel
written by Mary Roberts Rinehart which first in magazines in 1906 in
serialized form and was published as a novel in 1909. Lawrence
Blakely is in attorney who has to travel by train to Pittsburgh
from Washington D.C. to get depositions
for a major forgery case. On his return trip, is is assigned berth
lower ten in car seven for sleeping. When he goes to his assigned
berth, there is a man drunk and passed out in his berth, which he
can’t wake. He is given an open berth across
from his assigned one. When he wakes in the morning, he discovers his
clothes and other possessions have been stolen, including is bag that
held the signed depositions. Even worse, the man that was found in
his assigned berth is founded murdered and everything is pointing at
Blakely as the murderer. Will he be able to to find actual murderer
and avoid avoid jail time for himself and also find the depositions?
This is a good story and the author keeps you wondering if the truth
will be found. That said, I didn’t like it as well as The
Circular Staircase by the same author.
If interested in reading this story, you can download it from the
following sites in various formats:
Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1869
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-lower-ten-by-mary-roberts-rinehart-mary-roberts-rinehart/1028634242?ean=2940012539212
World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The Monkey's Raincoat
The Monkey’s
Raincoat is the first novel
in the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. Elvis Cole is a private
detective in Los Angeles who, along with his part-time partner, Joe
Pike, takes on cases at a lower rate than most of the private
detectives in the area. In this book, Elvis is contacted by Ellen
Lang whose husband, Mort, and nine
year old son, Perry, are missing. Mort owns a talent agency and has
dealings with some shady characters. Elvis finds out about some of
these characters while investigating the case and finds several
obstacles along the way he has to overcome. Will he be able to find
Mort and Perry?
This
story was originally published back in 1987 and there are references
to music, movies, television shows and other trends that were popular
back then. There is humor mixed in with plenty of action and keeps
readers’ attention.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/monkeys-raincoat-robert-crais/1100013688?ean=9780553275858#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thirllers: The Circular Staircase
The Circular
Staircase is a mystery novel
written by Mary Roberts Rinehart and was originally published in
1908. In this book, Rinehart’s first bestseller, Rachel Innes, a
well-to-do spinstress rents a home in the country for the summer. Her
orphaned niece and nephew, Gertrude and Halsey, who are in their
early twenties and are in her custody arrive to the rented house the
day after Rachel. On the her first night at the house, Rachel starts
hearing noises in the stairway at around 3:00 AM. When she opens her
bedroom door to investigate, the noises had stopped and nobody is
there. When Gertrude and
Halsey arrive the next day, Halsey has a friend along who plans on
staying the night. That night there are gun shots in the house, again
at 3:00 AM. When they get downstairs, there is a dead body on the
floor and Halsey, along with his friend have disappeared. Rachel
decides to try solving this crime since it appears the Halsey and
Gertrude might be implicated with the murder. Along the way, many
more mysterious things happen.
The
way this book is written, the author draws the readers in and keeps
their attention by everything that goes on without
there being too much that would cause readers to get confused. There
is plenty action and mysteries in this book and is a very good read.
If
interested in reading this book, you can download it in various
formats from the following sites:
Project
Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/434
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-circular-staircase-by-mary-roberts-rinehart-mary-roberts-rinehart/1028636253?ean=2940012539243
World
of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Manhattan is My Beat
Manhattan is My
Beat is the first novel in
the Rune Trilogy by Jeffery Deaver. Rune is a twenty year old woman,
recently moved to New York City from Ohio, that works in a video
store. One day she is sent to pick up a movie rented by and elderly
gentleman that had befriended her. When she arrives at the
gentleman’s apartment, he has been murdered and she is almost hit
by the murderers’ car while they are trying to flee the scene. Not
impressed with the speed at which the police are investigating the
murder, she decides to try to find who killed him. Just that a lot of
bad stuff is happening wherever she goes.
There
is a lot of action in this book along with humor. The book was
originally published in 1988 and there are a lot of references to
eighties clothing movies, along with other things that were trending
at the time. This book is a very enjoyable read.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/manhattan-is-my-beat-jeffery-deaver/1100271837?ean=9781541408579
World
of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five
out of six arrows)
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers: Seven Keys to Baldpate
Seven Keys to
Baldpate was the debut novel
written by Earl Derr Biggers, first published in 1913. It was later
adapted a play and has been adapted to movies several times, as well
as radio and television. It takes place the week before Christmas at
Baldpate Inn, a summer resort on Baldpate Mountain in upstate New
York. Billy Magee, author of several light romance novel goes up to
Baldpate Inn during the
night, which is closed for
the winter, planning to live there in seclusion in order to write the
ultimate novel. He has a
key to the inn and figures he will be the only one there. Shortly
after his arrival and for the next twenty four hours, a cast of
characters arrive with their own stories for wanting seclusion, most
of them tall tales to cover what they are really after. Their true
purposes come to light throughout the story as well as a mystery
unfolds.
Biggers
went on to write several other novels and screenplays, including six
Charlie Chan novels. Many of his works are mystery and detective
based, but there is usually a romantic thread included in them. This
book was a bestseller for him.
There
is plenty of action in this book with humor and a romantic thread
tied in to keep most readers interested. It’s hard to figure out
the outcome of the mystery in it until the final few chapters of the
book. It is an enjoyable read.
If
interested in reading this book, you can down load it in various
ebook formats from the following sites:
Project
Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30836
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seven-keys-to-baldpate-earl-derr-biggers/1100078788?ean=2940148864943
World
of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)
If you want to find out more
about the rating system this blog uses, please see
http://world-of-sleuths.blogspot.com/2018/04/new-rating-system.html.
The Deep Blue Good-By
The Deep Blue
Good-By is the first novel in
the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. Travis McGee solves
certain types of problems without getting the police involved for a
fee. In this debut novel for the series, he is after an ex-con
released from Leavenworth military
prison who takes advantage
of women, sexually, emotionally and physically while living
extravagantly on a boat in
Florida. The way he got
the money was from his first victim, who was poor, until he found
something that her father,
a convict who died while at Leavenworth, had hid on the property.
Will Travis be able to stop him before he takes advantage of very
many women?
This
story was originally published in 1964 and some of the material is
dated to that time period, but it still is a pretty good story
overall. There is plenty of action and the reader gets a good
introduction to Travis McGee.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase at the following
sites in various formats:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deep-blue-good-by-john-d-macdonald/1101890180?ean=9780812983920#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)
If you want to know more about
the rating system for this blog, please see
http://world-of-sleuths.blogspot.com/2018/04/new-rating-system.html.
New Rating System
Beginning with the reviews that I write today, I will be implementing a new rating system that I've developed for this blog site. I'm changing from the five star rating system used by Amazon and GoodReads to my new six arrow rating system.
The reason for this change is that I do not give fractions of points in my ratings. Many people will rate books with half stars, such as three and a half stars, because they don't know whether to give it the higher or lower number. The only area I had I had problems with that was between three and four stars. That's why I decided to add an extra number to remedy that.
I had also thought of six such as six bullets in a revolver. The more bullets, means that it was harder to put the book down. But The possible symbols that Blogger has do not include bullets that look like ones for a gun. They do have arrows that look similar to those used in archery, so I decided to replace them for bullets.
The ratings are as follows:
1 Arrow -- ➷ -- DNF (did not finish) or finished, but shouldn't have.
2 Arrows -- ➷➷ -- Wasn't that good.
3 Arrows -- ➷➷➹ -- Good, but not that memorable
4 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹ -- Good, Memorable with some flaws
5 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹➹ -- Very good
6 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹➹➹ -- Awesome!
I also mad a video explaining my new rating system. It can be viewed here: My New Rating System
Please post your thoughts of this new rating system in the comment box below.
The reason for this change is that I do not give fractions of points in my ratings. Many people will rate books with half stars, such as three and a half stars, because they don't know whether to give it the higher or lower number. The only area I had I had problems with that was between three and four stars. That's why I decided to add an extra number to remedy that.
I had also thought of six such as six bullets in a revolver. The more bullets, means that it was harder to put the book down. But The possible symbols that Blogger has do not include bullets that look like ones for a gun. They do have arrows that look similar to those used in archery, so I decided to replace them for bullets.
The ratings are as follows:
1 Arrow -- ➷ -- DNF (did not finish) or finished, but shouldn't have.
2 Arrows -- ➷➷ -- Wasn't that good.
3 Arrows -- ➷➷➹ -- Good, but not that memorable
4 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹ -- Good, Memorable with some flaws
5 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹➹ -- Very good
6 Arrows -- ➷➷➹➹➹➹ -- Awesome!
I also mad a video explaining my new rating system. It can be viewed here: My New Rating System
Please post your thoughts of this new rating system in the comment box below.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
The Neruda Case
The Neruda Case
is the first novel by Roberto Ampuero that was translated into
English. This book is about the last days of the Chilean poet,
diplomat and Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda. Neruda, who was friend
with Chilean President Salvador Allende, was
battling terminal cancer in 1973. At the same time there was a lot of
turbulence in Chile with riots and attempts to overthrow Allende.
Neruda approaches Cayetano Brule, an unemployed Cuban-American who
moved to Chile with his wife, daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, to
find a friend from Neruda’s past. The search takes Cayetano, who’s
never done this type of work before, to several Latin America
countries and East Germany. Will Cayetano be able to locate this
person and get back before Neruda dies?
This
book goes more into erotica than mystery at times with entire
chapters of women that have been Neruda’s life and also with some
of Cayetano’s sexual encounters. The
story seems dry at times and not much action. When there is action
the story is good.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it from the
following sites in various formats:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-neruda-case-roberto-ampuero/1107386647?ean=9781594631474
World of Sleuths Rating: ***
(Three out of five stars)
The Other Side of Goodbye
The Other Side of
Goodbye is the first book in
the Norman Green series by Ben Follows. Norman Green is a former
professional hockey player who was expelled for using steroids. He is
now a small time private investigator in Toronto barely making ends
meet. Robin Sweetwater, a reporter for the Toronto
Post,
contacts for investigating the death of her brother Joel, an up and
coming hockey player, who the police think was a drug overdose, but
Robin disagrees. Norman refuses on the basis that Robin is part of
the press that caused is problems in the past until she agrees to pay
double his normal rate. Norman reluctantly agrees, but is he in over
his head on this case?
This
book could have used better editing throughout the entire story with
many misspellings and word usages throughout the book. The story is
good but sometimes gets to be a little unbelievable. The author could
have put in a little bit more research into the writing of the book
in order to keep the situations more believable.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it from the
following site in various formats:
World
of Sleuths Rating: ***
(Three
out of five stars)
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Cold Cold Heart
Cold Cold Heart
is a standalone psychological thriller written by Tami Hoag. Dana
Nolan an up and coming television news reporter for a TV station
until a serial rapist/killer that’s killed several women across the
Midwest, abducts hear, brutally
rapes, beats and maims her to a point where she is close to death.
While transporting her in the back of his van, she manages to free
draw enough strength to free her hands and find something to use as a
weapon to get the better of him. After nearly a year in the hospital
and a rehabilitation center in Indianapolis, she returns to her
hometown in rural southern Indiana. Questions
start popping up about the chance of her attacker having been the
same person behind the disappearance of her best friend seven years
ago. After suffering memory loss from the brain injury she suffered
from her ordeals, she starts trying to piece memories together from
her past and her friends disappearance which is still a cold case.
This
is a very well written story that addresses both traumatic brain
injuries and PTSD and keeps the reader wanting more. The author tries
not to sugar coat the issues and gives readers a little bit of a look
into what it is like for a person that has a traumatic brain injury
while also tying in plenty of action.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cold-cold-heart-tami-hoag/1117225104?ean=9780451470065#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: *****
(Five
out of five stars)
Monday, March 19, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers: Inside the Lines
Inside the Lines
is a spy thriller with a little romance mixed in written by Earl Derr
Biggers and Robert Welles
Ritchie and was originally
published in 1815. It takes places place in France, Germany and the
Mediterranean region during the onset of the first World War. It
follows some Americans that are in Europe at the time and are trying
to get home and events that are happening around them.
This
was the third novel written by Biggers, who went on to write six
Charlie Chan novels in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He keeps both the
action and the romance to a level where they’re not too distracting
from the story line. This is a story that can be enjoyed be men and
women of most reading tastes.
If
interested in reading this book, you can download it from the
following sites in various formats:
Project
Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56036
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inside-the-lines-earl-derr-biggers/1020446522?ean=2940021333900
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers
Beginning today, you will start seeing posts here for Project PD Mysteries & Thrillers. This is a project that I thought of earlier this week in which along with the other books that I am reading, I will always be reading a mystery or thriller that is in the Public Domain in the United States until I've read them all, if possible. That is harder than you may think. I am taking these from genre lists on Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks.net. Many Books shows 1,000 alone and it doesn't have quite as many books as Project Gutenberg and books are constantly being added to Project Gutenberg. Also, I saw something today that the books published in 1923 will go into the Public Domain as of January 1, 2019 which will most likely include many mysteries and thrillers.
There are many mysteries and thrillers that I have read in the past that are in the Public Domain including several Sherlock Holmes Books and one by Agatha Christie. I've decided that any that I've read prior to this month will be reread sometime during this project. I am considering The Innocence of Father Brown as the first book I read for this project. I wrote a review for it earlier this month. I am almost done with the next book I'm reading for this project, expecting to complete it today and hoping to get the review written today also. All of the reviews will have the banner that I have above to distinguish them as part of the project. They will also have links where you can download the books from Project Gutenberg and Many Books. I will also include links where you can versions for you Kindle or Nook for free.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
The Professionals
The Professionals
is the first novel in the Stevens and Windermere series by Owen
Laukannen. Four college friend unable to find jobs upon graduation
decide to start a life of crime be going from city to city across the
United States and kidnapping wealthy people and contacting their
spouses, demanding anywhere between $60,00 and $100,00 in twenty-four
hours. They also tell them that that their house is being watched
and if they call the police, their spouse will be killed. Two years
later, everything is going good until after the leave Minneapolis,
the victim calls the police who
in turn turns it over to the state police who assign the case to
Agent Kirk Stevens. After he convinces his supervisor that the
kidnappers are from out of state and have left the state, they
contact the Minneapolis office of the FBI, they assign the
case to Special Agent Carla Windermere. In the meanwhile, the
kidnappers make the mistake of kidnapping the husband of a woman in a
crime family, so the crime family sends men out after them. Who will
get to the kidnappers first, the crime family or Stevens and
Windermere?
Most
of this story takes place in the upper Midwest. It is full of action
and keeps the readers wondering what will happen next. It is a very
good debut novel.
If
interested in reading this novel, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-professionals-owen-laukkanen/1104075625?ean=9780425250495
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)
Killing Red
Killing Red
is the debut novel for Henry Perez and is the first Alex Cappa
thriller novel. Alex Chappa, a columnist for the second leading
newspaper in the Chicago area has been requested to come and
interview serial killer Kenny Lee Grubb by Grubb himself just days
before Grubb is slated for execution. Over sixteen years prior to
that, Grubb kidnapped and killed nine children and attempted to do
the same to a tenth. The tenth, a ten year old girl at the time
didn’t die, but managed
to escape from Grubb and
lead the police to him. Chappa, a new and fledgling reporter working
nights at the time managed to be the only reporter at the scene of
the capture due to a tip telephoned in to the small newspaper he was
working for at the time. That story set off his career. Grubb now
wants Chappa to write the his true story and told him that a disciple
of his has been killing children across the United States and will be
killing the one that escaped just before he is executed. Chappa sets
off to find this girl, who Grubb refers to as Red, to warn her and
also informs his old college roommate who is now an agent with the
FBI in their Chicago office. Will Alex will be able to find her in
time?
The
author take the readers through many Chicago suburbs in this book and
even further west some into some open farmland, as well as into areas
within the city of Chicago itself. He keeps the action up in order to
keep the book interesting and he has the type of people interviewed
by Chappa varied. It is a good book.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killing-red-henry-perez/1100306273?ean=9781530985043
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Saving Faith
Saving Faith
is the fifth thriller novel written by David Baldacci and is a
standalone novel. Danny Buchanan has been a very successful lobbyist
in Washington D.C. for a few decades, some of his practices not
exactly legal. Over a decade ago, he took Faith Lockhart under his
wing and taught her the ropes and she has been a faithful assistant
for him. For the past year and a half, Danny has started acting
strange and started distancing himself from Faith. With
a feeling that something bad is going on, Faith decides to go to
the FBI to try to save Danny by telling them about his dealings and
the politicians. While taking Faith to an FBI safe house in an old
cabin in a wooded area, somebody tries to assassinate Faith, killing
the FBI agent escorting her. Fortunate for Faith, Lee Adams, a
private investigator, was hired by an anonymous client who mailed him
cash to follow Faith. Lee witnesses the assassination attempt
and starts firing in the direction of the assassin, causing the
assassin to run. Lee and Faith are now on the run from both the FBI
and whoever attempted to kill Faith,
not knowing who to trust.
This
book has elements that will keep both men and women reading. There is
action throughout the book along with an element of romance. It has
another strong female character in it along with Faith and has some
surprises in it. It is an overall very well written story.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saving-faith-david-baldacci/1100298908?ean=9780446608893#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)
Monday, March 5, 2018
The Innocence of Father Brown
The Innocence of
Father Brown is the first
compilation of Father Brown short stories written by G. K.
Chesterton. Father Brown is a Roman Catholic priest and amateur
detective that solves crimes using the knowledge that he gained from
criminals’ confessions and his own intuitions. There are twelve
short stories in this compilation, many of which include a character
named Hercule Flambeau who is a sought after thief throughout Europe
in the early stories and through the help of Father Brown, swears off
a life of crime and becomes a private detective. The
Father Brown BBC television series which also airs on PBS stations in
the United States are based from the main character and characters
from all of the Father Brown short stories by Chesterton.
The
stories in this compilation vary between theft and murder. These take
place throughout the United Kingdom and seems that Father Brown is in
a different parish in each story. There is humor scattered about in
these stories, just like in the television series. Some of these
stories are better than others.
If
you are interested in reading this book, you can download it for free
in various ebook formats from the following sites:
Project
Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/204
You can also
purchase or download the book in various formats from the following
sites:
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-innocence-of-father-brown-gilbert-keith-chesterton/1121097671?ean=9781539856467
World of Sleuths
Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Digital Fortress
Digital Fortress
is a thriller and the first novel written by Dan Brown. This story,
written by the same author as The DaVinci Code,
takes place inside the National Security Agency (NSA). A former
disgruntled employee writes new encryption software for emails that
he claims that will make a
super secret multi-billion
dollar NSA computer that can decrypt any email within a matter of
minutes obsolete. The catch isin order for anybody to use this
software, they need a pass code that this guy put up for auction to
the highest bidder and also stated that if anything happened to him,
he sent a copy to another person who in turn would publicly publish
the pass key so everybody would have access to it. The NSA’s
computer has been trying to decrypt this software fore several hours
to no avail and it turns out that the guy that wrote it was just
murdered in Spain. The NSA’s head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, is
called in to try to do what she can from there in the NSA. In the
meanwhile, her fiancée is sent to Spain to bring back all of the
dead guy’s belonging’s in hopes that they find something in them
with the pass code. Will the bee able to find it in time?
The
reader has to keep in mind that this is a work of fiction. Just as
with any of the other government and intelligence gathering agencies,
the NSA does have federal regulations and budgets that they have to
abide by. There is plenty of action in this book and
some interesting twists. It is comprised of several short chapters,
many of which are from one to four pages long which seems to slow it
down.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the various sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/digital-fortress-dan-brown/1116702349?ean=9780312944926#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four out of five stars)
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Die Trying
Die Trying
is the second novel in the Jack Reacher crime thriller series written
by Lee Child. Jack Reacher, a
former army military policeman,
is walking along in downtown Chicago around lunchtime on a Monday.
Right when he’s passing a dry cleaning establishment, a woman still
recovering from a recent knee injury, using a cane, with a handful of
freshly cleaned laundry stumbles out the door, Jack catches her and
her laundry. All of a sudden, two men come up and abduct both of them
at gunpoint and forces them into a car where a third man is waiting
ready to go. The FBI
starts searching for the woman as soon as it is discovered that she
is missing. Who is this
woman and why do they want her?
There
is plenty of action in this book, especially towards the end. It
takes a while before the reader sees much action by Jack even though
he’s the main character of the book. It is still an enjoyable
story.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats at the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/die-trying-lee-child/1100026735?ean=9780515142242#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four
out of five stars)
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Inspector of the Dead
Inspector of the Dead is a Victorian thriller and the second novel in the Thomas De Quincey series by David Morrell. In this story, we follow Inspector Ryan, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Becker, Thomas De Quncey and his daughter Emily a few months after the events of the first novel in the series, Murder as a Fine Art, who are pursuing a serial killer who has started gruesomely murdering prominent government officials along with their families and servants and leaving notes of of an intent of assassinating Queen Victoria and Prince Albert along with their children. Will they be able to discover who is behind these murders and stop them before the murderer before they can get to the Queen?
This is a well crafted story by Morrell where he blends plenty of actual facts along with the fiction to keep the readers interest peaked throughout the entire book. There is plenty of action throughout the story and does tie in a little bit of romantic interest in the story. It is a very enjoyable read.
If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it from the following sites in various formats:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Inspector-Dead-Thomas-Emily-Quincey-ebook/dp/B00LLIIZC0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1518996430&sr=1-1&keywords=inspector+of+the+dead+by+david+morrell
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inspector-of-the-dead-david-morrell/1119921227?ean=9780316323956#/
World of Sleuths Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)
Thursday, February 15, 2018
The Black Echo
The Black Echo
is the first novel in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly.
Harry Bosch is a homicide detective in the Hollywood division of the
Los Angeles Police Department. He gets a call on a Sunday morning
about a dead body on a pipe on the Mulholland Dam. Since he’s
on-call, Harry needs to respond to the call which most of the people
responding believe to be a a junkie overdosing on heroine. Harry
thinks things looks suspicious. After they get the body out of the
pipe and bout to put it into the coroner’s van, Harry gets a good
look at the face and recognizes the victim as a person that he served
with in the Vietnam War twenty years before that. After that, Harry
vows to set out to find what actually happened.
This
is a good story, but some the reader may be able to predict some of
the events well ahead of time. With that said, there are many
twists and humorous spots in the story. The book is very enjoyable.
If
interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various
formats from the following sites:
Barnes
& Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-echo-michael-connelly/1100305768?ean=9781455550616#/
World
of Sleuths Rating: ****
(Four
out of five stars)
Friday, February 9, 2018
March Mystery Madness 2018 Announcement
March
Mystery Madness is a month long readathon of mysteries and thrillers
on Booktube (the book community on YouTube), GoodReads and Twitter.
It was started two years ago by Elizabeth, channel name LizziefayeLovesBooks, and Troi, of Troi Towel, both small channels. Last year they added Di, Disis19 Hearts, another small channel, as another co-host and they also created the Goodreads group Mystery Madness where readers could participate along with on Booktube. They also did activities on twitter.
I had started my Booktube channel shortly less than a month before the event began last year and participated in it. There were seven challenges in it last year, designed at specific mysteries, more towards cozy mysteries. I adapted them more to what I was comfortable with reading which is thrillers .
This year, it was decided to invite more people to host the readathon, which include me, whose mystery preferences range from romantic suspense to cozy mystery, hard-boiled mysteries and various types of thrillers. There are nineteen hosts and three guest hosts this year. Most of the hosts have Booktube channels, some big and some small, like me. There are some of us that have blogs that we are using to spread word of the event this year.
When working on planning the challenges for this year's readathon, it was generally agreed upon not to target any specific type of mystery in our challenges. We came up with six one-word challenges that can be interpreted by the participants how they see fit. Those challenges are:
1. Shelf - This could be a mystery or thriller from you physical book shelf, ereader shelf, Goodreads shelf, library shelf, etc.
2. Borrow - This could be a book borrowed from the library, a friend, Hoopla, CloudLibrary,
Kindle Unlimited, etc.
3. New - This could be a mystery or thriller that's a debut novel, a new to you author, a new novel by an author, etc.
4. Historical - This can be a classic mystery such as Sherlock Holmes or something by Agatha
Christie or a mystery or thriller that's written by a modern author that takes place sometime in
history.
5. Foreign - This one can be a translated mystery or thriller or one that takes place in a country other
than where you live, etc.
6. Opposite - This one can be from a mystery or thriller sub-genre that you never read or a par of
mysteries that are polar opposites.
The hosts are posting their announcement videos today on Booktube. Here is a link to my video: March Mystery Madness Announcement
Whenever I post a new video for March Mystery Madness, I will post a new corresponding post here in this blog and include a link to the video.
Below are the links for the channels for all of the hosts for this year's March Mystery Madness. I encourage you to visit all of their channels. We will all be posting mystery related videos from now through the end of march.
Hosts for #MarchMysteryMadness 2018:
Subscribe to see all their mystery related videos during March!
Mike and Becca from Books and Lookshttps://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Catherine from Jayne Catherine on Books
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Kay of Kay T
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Kady @lilkadykitty on Twitter will be hosting Twitter sprints
Elizabeth from LizziefayeLovesBooks (co-creator)
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Laura from mom2triplets04https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Sarah from Not Just Romance Novels
Jen of Remembered Readshttps://www.youtube.com/channe
Jo of Retired Book Nerd
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Sarah S. from Sarah's Nightstand
https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Stephanie from Time to Read
https://www.youtube.com/channehttps://www.youtube.com/channe
Guest hosts:
Troi of Troi Towel (co-creator)
https://www.youtube.com/channe
Lesley of WordsofaReader
https://www.youtube.com/
Louise the BigHaired Bookworm
https://www.youtube.com/
https://www.youtube.com/
Louise the BigHaired Bookworm
https://www.youtube.com/
The Goodreads group Mystery Madness can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/184109-mystery-madness
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