Category: 4 Star Books

Enemy Combatant by Ed Gaffney

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Cover ImageFinished 5-9-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

Defense Attorney Tom Carpenter is a man who believes in the law.  His father was a prosecutor and Tom has made a living of keeping the system of justice in balance by providing an excellent defense for even those who may not deserve it.  So, it is no surprise that he is suddenly defending Juan Gomez, enemy combatant.  Juan finds himself charged with the greatest act of terrorism since 9-11 and Tom is positive that he is fighting a losing battle.

Tom comes to the realization that all is not as it seems with the case against Gomez when he and his family are repeatedly threatened.  Tom is held at gunpoint, shot at, shot (all at different times by different people) and finally considered an enemy combatant himself.  His family is depending on him and time is running out for Tom and Gomez.

I could not put this book down.  I kept telling myself that I’d stop after one more chapter, but couldn’t seem to follow through.  This is an edge of your seat, timely thriller.  The themes of justice, terrorism, and government post 9-11 are scary and make for a compelling thriller.  You will be drawn in from the very first chapter.  Highly recommended.

On The Run: A Mafia Childhood by Gregg & Gina Hill

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Cover ImageFinished 5-6-08, rating 4/5, non-fiction, pub. 2004

“My father is the single most irresponsible and uncaring person I’ve ever known.”  Gregg Hill, Chapter 2

When I read (and reviewed) Gangsters and Goodfellas by Henry Hill I found a man who thought very highly of himself and who liked to skip over details that he didn’t think were important.  I decided to follow up that book with this one written by his children about their lives with their father and I am so glad I did.  This is the story of two kids still in hiding from the Mob who have had their lives irrecoverably changed by their father and his choices.

Gregg and Gina spent their childhoods with parties in their house full of drugs, sex, and mobsters or when Henry was in jail, visiting him.  Gregg never really had a close relationship with his father.  He saw what was going on and wanted no part of it.  Gina idolized her father and it wouldn’t be until much later that she saw him for what he was.

When Henry decided to enter the Witness Protection Program with his family, Gregg and Gina viewed it in different ways.  Gregg thought Henry was being selfish and Gina was grateful that Henry wanted the kids with him.  Their first stop was in Nebraska, where they only made it two months before being shipped off to Kentucky for a little longer, and then on to Washington State where they would both finish school.  These moves were necessitated because Henry could not quit breaking the rules and putting them in danger.

There was violence, alcohol, drugs and more arrests to mar the way to adulthood, but it seems that Gregg and Gina have turned out okay.  The book is thoughtful, heartbreaking, and full of harsh reality.  This was a great read and a real look inside the family life of a Mobster who didn’t really want to escape from his past, but his kids did.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

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Cover ImageFinished 5-1-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2002

This is a book that I would not have picked up on my own.  I don’t think I have a very good sense of humor when it comes to God or Jesus and the title alone might have offended me.  But, my friend Mark recommended it and that alone was enough for me to try it out.  I also felt better about it since Moore is a born and bred Buckeye (although he has left ‘paradise’ to suffer through the hardships of living in Hawaii and San Francisco 🙂 ).  Anyway, on to Levi also called Biff and Joshua who is Jesus.

Biff has been brought back to the land of the living some 2000 years later so that he can set the record straight on Joshua’s childhood and young adulthood.  The gospels of the New Testament leave out Biff and now Biff must write his own gospel about his time as Joshua’s best friend and constant companion from the age of six.  Biff was brought back and watched over by the angel, Raziel, and the interplay between the two is hysterical. 

Biff starts with when he and Joshua met when they were six.  Joshua was bringing a lizard back to life after his brother killed it.  After that they became inseparable.  Mary had told Joshua he was the Son of God, but when you are six what does that mean?  He and Biff spent their childhoods being boys and loving Mary Magdalene called Maggie.  This section of the book really brought to life the landscape, the people, and the politics of the time. 

Joshua decides he needs to travel to find the three wise men of his storied birth and Biff goes with him.  After all who will do all the lying, cheating, and sinning that is necessary?  As Joshua and Biff travel east to find each of the wise men we see where Joshua learns to be the Messiah.  He and Biff’s many adventures will have you laughing and wishing that you too had a best friend as loyal as Biff.

As they make their way back home the story becomes intertwined with the gospels and Biff tries to explain what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John got right and what they missed.  Biff’s story ends and we find out why he was left out of the New Testament altogether.

Moore writes with a light touch that is full of sarcasm and wit.  Given the subject matter I was surprised that Moore was able to bring so much humor and still respect the nature of Jesus. I could have done without Biff trying to explain sex to Joshua (although this may be more of a girl thing) and I didn’t like the swearing, especially in the last third of the book.  Actually, I loved the book up until the point when they return to Nazareth, but at that point it lost some of its heart in my opinion.  It was still worth the read and I’d still recommend it, because you’ll never meet another character like Biff.

I really enjoyed this book, although it probably is not for everyone.  If you think you have a wicked sense of humor or can take a certain amount of irreverence then you should give it a try.  You will laugh out loud, guaranteed.  Thanks for the recommendation, Mark.  You’ve helped add to my must read author list.

Hold Tight, by Harlan Coben

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Cover ImageFinished 4-19-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“In the end we’re just their caretakers, Mike.  We get them for a little while and then they live their lives.  I just want him to stay alive and healthy until we let him go.  The rest will be up to him.”  Hold Tight, Chapter 2

I mentioned in an earlier post that Jason and I went to a book signing by Coben in Houston a few years ago.  He was charming and smart and just goofy enough to make him interesting.  I was already a fan, but it was nice to know that I liked the guy whose career I was supporting.  I’ve read all of his books and have liked them all, some more than others.  I generally prefer his novels written in the first person because so few authors really do it well.  This wasn’t in first person, but it was fun and I finished it in one day so that must mean I liked it!

This is a book about parents – the love, the fears, and the lengths they’ll go to to protect their kids.  The Bayes fear that they are losing their teenage son, Adam, so they install a spyware program on his computer to keep tabs on him.  The decision was a hard one for them and one that plays out to reveal the real dilemma parents face today.  The Bayes are not the only parents with problems.  Their next-door neighbors need to find a kidney donor for their son.  Their daughter’s best friend was ridiculed by a teacher, school has become unbearable, and her father wants to move to protect her.  The Hills have just lost a son to suicide and the father needs to move on while the mother needs to know why.  The police chief has a stoner son and is willing to lie and intimidate to protect him. 

Amazingly all of these stories come together in a fast-paced thriller that will leave you hoping for the best until the end.  This is a terrific book, especially if you have a teen in the house.  It wasn’t just about the technology, but also many of the pressures kids face today like drugs and bullying.  Coben manages to hit on current issues while keeping the story compelling and the action swift. 

This is just the lastest installment in Coben’s bestselling library.  Enjoy!

The Fires of Paradise, by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished 3-12-08, rating 4/5, romance, pub. 1992

 This is the best historical romance I have read in years.  There is the beautiful woman born into privilege and there is the hardened escaped convict watching his back.   The two are thrown together at random, but stay in each others orbit through circumstance and lust.  Lucy is a proud woman who is used to getting what she wants and Shoz is a proud man used to getting what he wants.  What they both want is each other. 

Shoz goes to work for Lucy’s grandfather until he is shot in the back.  He is then thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and he takes Lucy as a hostage to escape.  They travel from Texas to Death Valley, where Lucy meets his son and is forced to work for a woman who despises her.  Eventually Lucy and Shoz marry, but they are forced apart by her family after they are discovered.  There is more adventure in a Cuba on the brink of rebellion and in New York, where Lucy’s reputation is ruined.

While I’ve always known I like my romantic heroes manly and flawed, the first chapter in the book goes further than even I was comfortable with in introducing us to the hero, Shoz.  I wasn’t sure that he could be redeemed.  This is also not a book for the politically correct.  When reading I was jarred by the use of the word rape and had to keep reminding myself it meant to ravish or plunder.

If you  are a fan of historical romances then this book if for you.  It is also a part of the Bragg saga if you are familiar with Brenda Joyce.  I’m looking forward to reading more from the series.

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

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Cover ImageFinished 3-3-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2006

  This is a beautifully written mystery, family study, and ghost story all wrapped up in one.  Margaret, lonely employee of her father’s bookstore and Vida, ailing best-selling author, come together for a wonderful tale that envelopes you completely.   Vida needs someone to tell her life story before she dies and she chooses Margaret, who has never before written a biography about a living person.  The friendship between the two women grows as Vida’s story is told. 

Vida draws us into a world of incest, neglect, insanity, love, murder, and jealousy.  Even as you are drawn in there is uncertainty about the truth which encourages you to keep turning the pages as fast as you can so that you can know what is real.  As Vida tells her story, we also are involved in Margaret’s life of loneliness and secrets.  The stories intertwine perfectly to make this a compelling novel.

At last the truth is revealed and all is right with the world.  My only small (very small) complaint was that the end seemed to wrap up a bit easily.  This book has been compared to Jane Eyre and Rebecca and I don’t disagree.  They feel similar although at its heart this is not a love story.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves books, words, and fans of Jane Eyre and Rebecca.

Invisible Prey, by John Sandford

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Cover ImageFinished 2-23-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2007

The Prey series never disappoints.  It is edge of your seat action with a gritty detective at its heart.  This is the 17th installment and Lucas is as entertaining as ever.  You don’t need to read the series in order, but if you are like me you prefer it.  John Sandford’s website, www.johnsandford.org, lists all the books in order.

A rich widow and her maid are bludgeoned to death in one of the most impressive mansions in Minneapolis and a politician is caught with his pants down with a 16 year old girl.  Lucas started as a detective and now he works for the state on special  cases such as these.  There is an art heist, fraud, murder, a dog named Screw, and a curious threesome thrown in to keep you turning pages long into the night. 

Lucas is now a family man.  His wife Weather, his son Sam, and ward Letty, all make a limited appearance.  I also enjoyed seeing old friend Sloan living his retirement dream.  Sandford never replaces action with relationships no matter how intriguing  they are.  It is for this reason that I rarely put a Prey novel down before I’ve finished.

Tourist Season, by Carl Hiaasen

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Cover ImageFinished on 1-13-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1986

This comedy was published in 1987, but it is based on a modern day premise of over-development.  Popular Miami journalist Skip Wiley has formed his own band of terrorists to take back South Florida from the rich developers and Yankee tourists.  He has an elderly Native American, an ex-pro football player, and a Cuban revolutionary with faulty bomb making skills to help him fight his cause.  There is no one safe from their special brand of terror.  

Brian Keyes is a journalist turned private detective who has been asked to find Skip before he kills anyone else.  Brian has a few well placed allies and is able to locate Skip, if not stop him.  Skip and his band of  misfits leads Brian and the rest of Miami on a twisted ride toward chaos. 

 This all sounds so very serious, but told with Hiaasen’s light touch and slick humor it turns into a page turning caper that even a high body count cannot stall.   I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I was a little surprised at the relationship between 32 year-old Keyes and a 19 year old beauty queen.  I guess the unexpected is what keeps me reading 🙂

In 1997 at a Barnes & Noble manager’s conference Hiaasen came to speak and sign books for us.  I still have the personalized signed copy of Lucky You on my shelf.  I think I’ll have to finally read it!