Everywhere I mentioned "hanging out" in the post below, more than likely I was found with a novel of one form or another, which is how I read three of them this weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed two of them. The third was ok, but not gripping, as seems to be the problem I encounter every time I try to read something by this author. I need to give up on her. Or at least get her stuff from the library. (On the positive side, if I have another contest, I'll have an honest-to-goodness prize to offer!)
Book the First: Billy Straight, by Jonathan Kellerman. This was a recommendation from Jen when I last begged for ideas from y'all (yes, I am ticking my way through the lists!) I will preface by saying that I haven't read anything else by Kellerman, but given this, I am inclined to give further books a try. As a writer he's fantastic. This book used an interesting device, in that some chapters were first person (from Billy's point of view) and the rest were third person. Kind of fun, though the first time it switched I was like "Wha??? OOoohhh." For a moment I had a Faulkner flashback, and that's never good - I've laid dying once and hope to never do it again.
The story itself is well woven - though it's a predictable mystery as far as the who dunnit side of things. Kellerman tried, and almost succeeded, in pulling off a suspicion switcheroo, but not quite. Happily that didn't detract from the fast pace or interest of the story in the slightest. Essentially the plot involves a runaway boy, Billy, who witnesses a murder and the police detective who unwittingly puts him in harm's way in the course of her investigation. A few sideplots that are, I thought, rather weakly sewn up in the end (Kellerman seems to start a sideline and then when he reaches a certain point kill off the members of the side plot and consider it taken care of - which was a tad dissapointing as I thought he could've increased the suspense a lot more and made it less predictable if they hadn't been disposed of so easily.)
All in all, I give it 3.5 bookends out of 5.
Next was Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts. I generally love anything by Roberts, though lately I've been enjoying her mysteries (written as JD Robb) and stand alone "romance" novels more than her more typical "romance genre" trillogies. This was no exception. It's a stand alone and it was excellent. There definitely was still a romantic thread through the whole thing, but the story itself was not driven by romantic tension and nail biting "Is he/she really so stupid that he/she is going to let such and such ruin what is clearly a perfect relationship" angst.
The basic plot is the story of a girl and her family who own a pizza parlor that burns down when the girl is about 11 as the result of arson. Because of this, the girl becomes an arson investigator. You zip through pieces and parts of her growing up until she's in her late 20s (ish) and the bulk of the book centers around the arsonist who has targeted her and the ones she loves and a romance with the boy next door.
It's a very typical Nora Roberts novel, which to me is not a bad thing, and it zips along even though it's a farily thick book. There's a little predicitabilty as to who the bad guy is, but I think it's intended to be clear to the reader, even though it escapes the heroine for a while, and when it's ended, it feels nicely finished.
Overall, I'd give Blue Smoke 4.5 bookends out of 5.
Lastly is Exclusive by Sandra Brown. I don't know why I keep picking up Sandra Brown novels. The publisher does a great job on the fly leaf making them sound interesting, but they take me forever to get into - even with tricks of trying to skip ahead a chapter to see if it's picked up any. I can't really put my finger on what it is about her writing or characters or plots though that is always a huge disappointment to me when I try to read her books.
Basic plot revolves around a reporter trying to uncover the truth about the purported SIDS death of the chilid of the President of the US and First Lady. It really sounds cool on the back cover, like it's going to be a romping mystery. I found it flat and uninteresting.
Overall I'm left wondering, can you give a book a 0 out of 5? No? Ok, how bout a half?
22 hours ago
I'm glad you liked the Kellerman novel. I will warn you that the Alex Delaware storied he writes are a little more graphic than I remember Billy Straight being.
ReplyDeleteI liked Blue Smoke, too.
That said, I would have switched the ratings on those two books.
I have never been able to read a Sandra Brown book. Ugh.
I really need to quit trying with Brown, I don't know why I feel compelled to pick them up. *shrug* Weird.
ReplyDeleteI think the main reason I did the ratings the way I did on the first two is that, for me, Roberts' books are like a broken-in pair of jeans. You can just slip into them and be happy, because they just fit right.
Kellerman may hit that point, I did really like Billy Straight, but there were a few other "Whaa?" moments that took me a bit - so it was more like a new pair of shoes the first time you wear them out and are getting the hang of the heel height.
Hm. Maybe I need to go shopping. :)
I'm still amazed that you were able to read THREE books in one weekend!! And homework, and grilling too? You are Super Woman in my book!
ReplyDeleteI like your analogy to the worn jeans and new shoes, but I find that when I read a book that fits like worn jeans, I tend to be a little disappointed. I want to be surprised. I want to have to "grow into" it. But I've never read any Nora Roberts (shocker, I know), so it may be that you get that and a well-worn pair of jeans. If that's the case, it's well worth the 4.5 bookends.
THREE BOOKS??!!
I do this periodically, Gwynne - it's a marginally more healthy binge (only marginal as it does mean I'm sitting around rather than being out doing something even more healthy than sitting still.) Regardless, this one is actually more like 2.5 because I didn't read even close to the whole of Exclusive, I was just trying to get to an interesting part, so it was more skim than read. Plus, it's not like any of these are meaty reads.
ReplyDeleteYou should give Roberts a try. Blue Smoke is a good one to start (totally stand alone) or Northern Lights if you like to read about Alaska or, actually one of my all-time favorites of hers, Three Fates.
I enjoyed Blue Smoke and three fates too! I'm really glad that she isn't getting to the stage where all her books start to appear similar. There's a new one coming out soon btw.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Roberts is that beloved well worn pair of jeans and I'm surprised her writing hasn't become too formulaic.
ReplyDeleteI get your rationale for the ratings. I wasn't trying to criticize, mostly just observing the differences in our thoughts.
Kellerman is the other pair of favorite jeans, for me. =)
Jen - didn't take it as criticism, was just elaborating a bit. Good to know that Kellerman can turn into jeans. :) I'm looking forward to getting to some more of his stuff, but I just got two more Scottoline books, so I want to read them first.
ReplyDeleteI do think that some of Roberts' trillogies have gotten rather formulaic, though they're still good reads. Her most recent (the In the Garden series) was great for the first two and really bleh for the third (I thought) - though the Key series just before it was really good and broke the mold so...maybe it was just a one-time problem with the Garden books. Dunno. :)
Rach - thanks for the heads up on the new book. Unfortunately (well, good for her, just not for me) they now publish her in hardcover first so I have to wait even longer cause I just won't shell out for hardcovers and I like to re-read her books, so I don't want to just library it.
I agree that Red Lily was the weakest of the Garden trilogy - I barely finished it. I attributed my meh-ness over it to being newly married, but with a few more months distance, it was a mediocre read.
ReplyDeleteScottoline - LOVE!
I hate to do it, but I have to warn you to read the Alex Delaware Kellerman novels in chronological order. There is a progression in the lives of the recurring characters that won't translate well out of order. Also previous cases are mentioned in subsequent books.