Category: 3 Star Books

Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham

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Cover ImageFinished 3-18-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2007

“I never liked Cleveland, the city, the fans, the team, and I hated the stadium.”                      Chapter 5 

I bought this book because it is about a Cleveland Brown football player who moves to Italy and I thought that since Jason and I are traveling to Italy in a few weeks it might be a fun parallel.  I was right!  Rick is a football player driven out of Cleveland and the NFL because of a monumentally bad game.  In Italy he finds a team in Parma who wants him as their quarterback and his induction into Italian culture is educational.

First, I think John Grisham must have had something very bad happen to him in Cleveland.  There was quite a bit of Cleveland bashing and not just the usual stereotypical kind.  I’ve been in Cleveland almost eight years and I’ve heard all the jokes, but often the city gets a bum rap.

Now after Rick moves to Italy to play NFL football in an Italian league he is in for a culture shock.  We learn a lot about the history, the food, the people, the culture and the more mundane things, like how to order a cup of coffee.  Rick must accept his fate on a team and in a league where the only person who gets paid is the quarterback; everyone else on the team has regular jobs. 

The book is about Rick’s journey from the typical American dream to the reality of a quiet life with people he likes and a game he loves.  Grisham must have fallen in love with Italy and really wanted to find a way to express his love for the country.  The book is okay, nothing special, but if you are getting ready to go to Italy yourself (YEA:)) then it will get you excited and teach you a little too.

The First Patient, by Michael Palmer

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Cover ImageFinished 3-10-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“An exciting thriller…full of surprises; captures the intense atmosphere of the White House.”—President Bill Clinton

This is the sticker affixed to the cover of my book and the President should know about the intensity of the White House.  This book is first and foremost a page-turner, but it is also a glimpse into the Washington political scene and to a lesser and more scary degree, nanotechnology.

I picked up the book because of its premise.  What would happen if the President of the United States was going insane (some would argue this has happened to more than one President already, but we won’t get into that here)?  Who would decide and could they hide it from the public?  Well, Dr. Gabe Singleton is called by his old college roommate and asked to serve as the President’s personal doctor.  Once in DC Gabe is confronted by the startling possibility that the President is not going mad, but being drugged. 

The book provides a look at the inner-workings of the White House medical team and those who have access to the President.  The 25th Amendment, or the succession amendment, also plays a big role in the book.   I feel I know a little more about the White House and that’s a good thing.

On the scientific front there is the cutting edge technology of nanoscience.  Much of the detail was lost on me, but the horrifying image of two functioning brains in jars being probed and studied was disturbing. 

I liked the book.  There was an interesting plot, lots of suspects, a few surprises, and a love connection.  That said, it might have been better.  The past history between the President and Gabe seemed a bit contrived.  A successful Doctor nearing 50 should have more of his demons under control, but, hey, maybe I’m just an optimist 🙂

Chill Factor, by Sandra Brown

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Cover ImageFinished 2-11-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2005

 Five women have disappeared from the small community of Cleary, North Carolina.  Lilly is in town to close the sale of her mountain cabin after her divorce from the town sheriff.  Before she can get off the mountain a storm blows in and traps her in the cabin with a very sexy acquaintance, Tierney. They had met a year earlier  when Lilly was still married and sparks had flown. 

 Back in town, her ex-husband Dutch, is desperate to rescue Lilly because he cannot bear the thought of her secluded in a cabin with a man who makes women throw themselves at him.  Then things get worse when the FBI show up suspecting Tierney of being the Cleary lady killer.  Cleary becomes the epicenter of all things small town, from the local drugstore where everyone goes to gossip to the gang of local men armed and ready to walk up the mountain to give Tierney their own justice. 

The book is fast-paced and loaded with enough characters to give life to the story and town.  The many twists and turns did not give everyone a happy ending, which gives the story the punch it needed at the end.  I really liked it and think thriller lovers will too.

The Perfect Bride by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished on 1-1-08, rating 3/5, romance, pub. 2007

 This is the latest in the The Dewarenne Dynasty and it is my least favorite so far.  This historical romance series if full of sexy, passionate brothers who all find the woman of their dreams.  This book was about Rex, the dark, brooding, crippled brother who met his match in Blanche, the prim and proper ice queen.  Both of these characters appeared in earlier books and I was looking forward to a match.  There was so much simmering beneath the surface with these two and I couldn’t wait for the explosion.

 Maybe there was too much beneath the surface.  I’m a sucker the mysterious hero, but Blanche was also mysterious and difficult to relate to.  I found the story of her ‘madness’ and retreat to the time of her mother’s death a bit boring and found myself skimming a page a time, which I never do.

I love Brenda Joyce.  Her Deadly series is my favorite.  I would recommend this series, but to appreciate it you must start at the beginning.