Empty Places by Martin Roy Hill

Empty Places by Martin Roy Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I start with the title: it has two meanings. In the beginning of the book Robin Anderson is killed in a deserted place, alone. The other empty places aren't that obvious, they are hidden in the souls. Inside Peter, the ex-husband, who has seen brutal things leaving marks on him figuratively and literally. And inside men, who sold their humanity for money and power.

I like the voice of the author, his style is smooth, I enjoyed reading the story.

The characters are well drawn, not only the hero, but the smaller ones too. Some of them showed really interesting traits, for example Laurie, who... wait, I don't want to spoil it, better if you read it yourself.

Unfortunately I could guess the main villain, even if the author made an attempt to divert me from it. Besides that there were quite a few surprises, for example the identity of the killer. And did I tell you what Laurie did? You won't believe it. There was even a turn after I thought it was over, the killer got what he deserved.

If you want a good read, Empty Places is the right choice.

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Ballistic by Mark Greaney

Ballistic by Mark Greaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was hooked on Mark Greany's books right from the first one. He writes just the type of stories I like: fast paced action spiced with special human relations.

In Ballistic Greaney takes us to Mexico, and shows the dark shadows of los amigos. I live in Europe, so the setting was exotic for me. The Ballistic is a work of fiction, and I'm pretty sure Greaney made up the Mafia characters, but based on the news sometimes I hear there must be some truth in the Mexican gang wars. It adds to the reliability of the story.

The Grey man is a strange hero: he is an assassin, but he takes on only bad guys and criminals. Which makes him the good guy in the reader's eye. He isn't James Bond, sometimes he is betrayed and deceived, which makes his character more believable. In this book he has a love affair. I liked the way it was written, the Grey man remained totally in his character, with his past and fears.

The story of Ballistic is compelling: the Grey Man finds himself between two Mafia groups trying to save the family of his respected but dead friend. Can a loner win against two armies of bad guys? Can he be smart enough to outwit them? Is the loyalty and friendship more important than his own life? Well, you can guess the answers, I suppose, I don't need to tell you.

The book has elements of torture and inhuman treatment, so read it only if you don't mind some hard story parts. And it has a lot of shooting, fortunately most often it is the bad guys who fall.

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Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard

Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book I read from Elmore Leonard. I heard that he is one of the finest writers. With all respect, this book didn't impress me that much. The story wasn't that interesting to make me turn the pages with excitement. The plot was Ok, but the story was more about situations and desires of the characters and the conflicts they gotten into.

What kept me reading was Leonard's style, which is awesome. Reading this book was like sitting in a comfy chair with a drink in my hand listening to a storyteller with amazingly natural abilities to make stories alive. The way he writes reminds me of an old grandpa telling tales you cannot stop listening.

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The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I discovered Michael Connelly last year reading one of his Mickey Haller novels. I liked his style immediately, and read a Harry Bosch novel. Then I decided that I must read all of his books. So I started with his first one, and I'm slowly going through.

I find The Last Coyote the best one of Connelly's first four books. I got to know Bosch more deeply than in the previous books, I especially liked the sessions with his therapist.

Bosch is not a superhero, he makes stupid mistakes and makes bad decisions. It makes him and the story more real.

I like how Connelly plays with the emotions of his characters bringing tension and conflict in the story.

I listened to the audiobook, Dick Hill did an excellent job narrating it. In writing classes they teach you not to write the filler words like "uhm" or "er", but in the audio version they come through really well when expressing confusion or embarrassment.

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The last copy

Butcher went into the bookstore and stopped. He looked around, taking in the picture he have seen thousand times. The place had all the features you can expect from a bookstore. It had shelves full of books, sorted by genres which were written with brown letters on big beige tags. There were thrillers and horror books, comedy and science-fiction stories, romance volumes and all other kinds of books people may want to buy. Or may not. On the side there were magazines and newspapers, and even a small corner with tea biscuits in case someone wanted to chew on something while reading. On the other side, close to the door was the cash register with a display, inside there were bookmarkers and key rings featuring miniature books.
Not the best bookstore. Nor the worst.
Behind the desk stood a guy, reading a thick volume, probably fantasy, considering the cover image. He looked up, and said hello. Butcher nodded and then went inside.
He breathed in the characteristic smell of a place full of books. Old memories came to him. He remembered sitting in the armchair in another bookstore as a child, reading without noticing the outside world, the story sucking him in until it was more real than anything. Felt like it was ages ago.
He walked between the shelves checking this book and that, reading first sentences and back cover blurbs. He smiled at some of them. They were old friends from long ago. Finally he got to the thriller section and found the name of the author, then found the title. There was only one copy left. Empty space indicated those which already found their readers. He picked it up and started to read the back cover. He smiled again. Yes, it would make an excellent present for Jenny. She loved Lee Child, she had all his books neatly arranged on a separate shelf in her room. Butcher suspected that Jenny was in love with the main character, Jack Reacher. He could understand it, the guy was tall and muscular and mysterious. He would be a good buddy to have if he was real.
The bell at the door chimed and Butcher looked up. A woman came in and went to the desk guy. She was tall and slim and blond. She was wearing jeans and brown leather jacket. She said something to the desk guy and then they came towards Butcher. He stopped watching them and went back to read the back cover. He didn't go far, because the woman and the guy stopped next to him checking the book titles.
"Sorry madam, there is no copy left" said the desk guy. He seemed honest saying sorry, maybe he thought he should have ordered more copies. For more profit.
"Shit" said the women and sighed.
The guy spread his arms. "Lee Child is really popular, and Never Go Back is his latest title."
Butcher looked up. "Uhm, sorry, I think this is the last one" he said.
The women and the guy looked at him then at the book he was holding.
The woman bit her lip. She had blue eyes with a hint of eye shadow. They reminded Butcher of the blue sky he was watching as a child, laying on his back, hands under his nape. A lock of her hair hung apart, almost covering her left eye. She shook her head absentmindedly and the lock went back to its place. Butcher couldn't stop staring at her.
The guy said excuse me and went back to his desk. To his book.
"Are you taking that?" asked the woman pointing at the book in Butcher's hand.
"I'm planning to."
"Shit" the woman said. "Sorry, I didn't want to... I mean... are you sure you're buying it?"
"I think so. Child is my niece's favourite author, I want this book for her as a present" Butcher said.
A shadow settled on her face. Butcher didn't like it. But he still couldn't stop staring at her.
"This book must be hell of a good one. This is the third store I'm checking. No copies" she said in a resigned voice.
"You can order it online."
"Would take too much time. I need it for this evening."
"I'm sorry" said Butcher. Another time and for another person he wouldn't be sorry, he got his copy, and who cared if it was the last one. But now he really was sorry.
The woman looked at her watch. "Shops are closing, no chance to find another one in time."
"This book seems important for you" Butcher said.
"Not for me. I mean it's important, but I want it for somebody else."
"Your husband must be a Lee Child fan too" Butcher said, and watched her face.
The woman made a dismissive grimace.
"Oh, no. I'm not married. The book would be for my friend. She is in hospital." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Usually I'm not pushy, but would you mind if I took this copy? I don't want to cause any inconvenience, but my friend doesn't have much time left, and I just want to see her to be happy before…"
She covered her mouth with her hand, and Butcher could see she was fighting with tears. It took a while for her to get over it. Butcher knew he was giving the book to her, but she was too beautiful to let her just walk away.
"I double the price" she said finally looking into Butcher's eyes.
"That's not necessary. I give it you."
"Oh, thank you, it's really kind of you."
"Now, you need to understand that I promised Jenny to buy her this book. She will be dissatisfied, and I will have some explanation to give. So I would like to have a little compensation. But not money."
The woman’s eyebrows went up.
"What kind of compensation?"
"A few minutes of your time with a cup of coffee. I know a place nearby, nice coffee shop."
Her eyes sparkled, and she smiled.
"That I can do. To 'compensate' for your trouble" she said.
"By the way, I'm Julien."
"Aileen."
They shook hands, Butcher gave her the book and they went to the desk to pay.
The coffee shop was in a three minute walk, and was almost full. They found a small table and ordered two caramel cappuccinos.
"Tell me about the book" she said.
"You never read Child?"
She shook her head.
Butcher talked about Jack Reacher, the tough guy, who is smart and his principle is to hit first and hard.
"In this story he goes back to his old unit to meet a woman, who is in the same job he was before he quit the army. But he walks into a trap. It turns out the woman he came to meet is in prison. He is accused of murder, and he is told he has a daughter he never knew of."
"Wow, sounds interesting."
"Yeah. But of course nothing is what it seems. He has to go against the system and find out what really happened."
Butcher wanted to tell her about the story, but before he started to talk she asked him:
"Does he meet the woman?"
Butcher watched Aileen sipping from his coffee, the small lock of hair loose again.
"Yes" he said. "He does." Then Butcher didn't want to talk about the book anymore. He wanted to know more about her.

Never Go Back by Lee Child

Never Go Back by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lee Child is one of my favourite authors, so I always look forward to read his next book. In Never Go Back Reacher finally meets Susan Turner, the nice voice from the phone. But it doesn't go as planned. Of course it doesn't, this is why we read Child don't we?
I liked the character of Susan Turner. She is a capable woman, in her own way she is like Reacher. She doesn't whine, she picks up Reacher's pace and becomes a real partner.
I would have read more fighting scenes. Reacher is a big, strong guy, and his principle is to hit first and hit hard. But he dealt with his opponents too easily. I liked the books more when he got hit too.
Child is a master of dropping as much information as needed to keep the tension and the suspense, so we keep reading. In this book the final twist was a little bit less satisfying then in the other Reacher stories. Considering Reacher's capabilities he would have guessed it earlier.
Never Go back may not be the best of the series, but still a damn good read.


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One Day in Budapes by J. F. Penn

One Day In Budapest by Joanna Penn (J.F. Penn)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I saw the title I knew I had to read this story. I'm Hungarian by origin, and you can understand that a title like this catches my eyes. The novella connected on different levels.
It was nice to read a story in English playing out on the streets of Budapest, which I know well. But I wouldn't give more stars only because of it, there was something else. It worked well on emotional level. The story touched a real problem: rise of the right-wing nationalism. I never understood why people hate their fellow citizens just because of their origins. I never understood how it escalated to a war involving the whole world. I mean, I can understand the political reasons behind, but I cannot imagine I could be on the killing side. So when I read the scene - spoiler warning - about the murder at the Danube mimicking the executions of Jewish people at the end of WW II, my heart was racing.
The secret altar in the tunnels below the Castle is a compelling element, also the historical importance of the Holy Right.
Besides the emotional aspects I like the story because it is fast paced. I like the character of Morgan Sierra. She is the key to stop the madness of the misguided mob, but I appreciate that the author let the Hungarian guy have an important role stopping the bad guys.
One Day in Budapest is a nice read.


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The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

FYI: Usually I don't repeat what you can read on the back cover, instead I add my two cents.

The Gray Man. The ultimate living weapon. When someone is closing on him he disappears. Nobody can find him if he doesn't want to be found. If he is after you, you are a dead man.

The Gray Man is a fast paced novel with lot of action. Several groups of professional killers want to hunt down the Gray Man, they chase him through Europe, always on his heels. He has to use all his experience and talent to be able to get rid of them. I wasn't bored for a second, it's a real page-turner.

I was thinking about the main character. I was wondering how the human mind works. The Gray Man is a ruthless, cold-blooded killer, he is trained to take lives with such ease as I cut the veggies for dinner. In spite of it we root for him, and our adrenalin level rises high when he is in danger. How can we like a murderer like him? He says he is after the bad guys, who deserve to be dealt with. But still he is a killer.

Before the final battle I thought the story was going to be just like the Expendables. You know, when the hero shoots a whole army without receiving even a scratch. This scenario has its charm, but it would have messed up this novel. Fortunately Greany didn't fell into this trap. The Gray Man was injured, and he was barely making it. The bad guys started to shoot at each other in a competition to get to him first. The whole situation was well constructed.

There was one thing I found too much: the bragging about how professional the Grey Man was. It was OK that his enemies showed respect because of his reputation, but it wasn't necessary to talk about him as a superman. His actions showed that he knew what he was doing.

Don't Leave Me by James Scott Bell

"The snowman shoots a snowball with a cannon to the butt of the duck."

Jack looks up at me, narrowing his eyes. He is sitting at the kitchen table peeling potatoes to help Jenny out. His hand stops in the middle of the motion, half of the potato peeled, a piece of crust stuck to his knife.

"What?" he asks.

Jenny giggles, and continues slicing the meat. She is standing at the counter, preparing the dinner. I'm stirring the soup with a wooden spoon elegantly, this much I can contribute to the meal.

I repeat what I said, then I add "It's a riddle. So, what do you say?"

"The snowman. With a cannon. Uncle, are you alright?" says Jack shaking his head, his attention returns to the potato.

"OK, listen. You are kidnapped, they put you in a room, the security door has a keypad to open. You don't know the code, but secretly watch the bad gal enter it when she leaves the room. But you aren't good in remembering numbers, so you have a system. Every number is represented by a symbol, something easy to remember of. So when the guy left, you remember the snowman and the cannon and the duck. And the snowball. What is the code to your freedom, then?"

Jack puts his knife down and asks:

"Where does this stuff come from?"

"From a book. 'Don't leave me' by James Scott Bell."

"Is it a 'crack the code' type?"

"No, not at all. It's a thriller. It's about a former Navy chaplain who gets into a lot of trouble because of his past. He fights with his own demons, but on top of that gangsters want to catch him. He has valuable information buried deeply in his nightmare's and he has to find the reason why the bad guys want him. He has a younger autistic brother he needs to take care of. This brother is kidnapped and he can learn numbers in this interesting way, using pictures. Pictures belong to every number."

"Ah, it makes more sense now. What is the riddle again?"

I repeat it. "It may be phrased somewhat differently in the book, but you get the point, I think."

"OK" says Jack. "The snowman is quite obvious, it is the number eight. The snowball is the zero. The cannon could be... I think it's the six, the lower circle can be the wheel and the upper short part is the barrel. But which one is the duck? Maybe five? Or the nine, like a duck with its head submerged into the water?"

"You are close. You got the first three right. The duck is the number two."

"Yeah, that fits too."

Jenny is finished with the meat, she wipes her hand in her apron.

"Tell me about the book, uncle" she says.

"It's a good one. Fast paced, just as I like it. There are a lot of questions asked in the beginning, which made me turn the page - that is click the 'next page' button on my Kindle. I always appreciate hooks and cliffhangers, and there are plenty of them. Also twist and turns. I guessed some of them, but the author surprised me many times."

"What about the characters?" asks Jenny.

I know she is not really into thrillers and suspense, she likes romance and young adult books more, and she always enjoys complex characters.

"Chuck, the protagonist has a few layers, some of them pealed off during the story. I liked how Bell presented Stan, the brother. In his scenes it was interesting to see the events unfolding through his specific view of the world. And the cop woman was original too."

"I think I give it a shot" says Jack. He puts the last potato into the bowl, stands up and  walks to the sink to wash his hands. "I have reached my food preparation limit."

Jenny rolls her eyes and gestures towards the living room.

"Go, go, don't be under my feet here. I call you when dinner is ready."

"What? I helped, see?" says Jack pointing to the peeled potatoes.

"OK, I give you that. You can go now."

Jack leaves the room, but after a minute his head appears in the door.

"Can I use your kindle, uncle?"

"Sure" I say, then I turn to Jenny. "Is this soup ready yet? I'm stirring it for so long time, my arm hurts."

"You guys are unbelievable. Go, I don't want to see your sad face."

She takes the spoon from me and pushes me towards the door. I open my mouth to object, but think better of it. I'm sure she can finish the cooking less time if I'm out of the kitchen. So I shut up, and go to write a review for Don't Leave Me.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson

When I enter the room, Jack is sitting in my armchair, earphones in his ear; he is listening to something on his mobile. Since he is not drumming with his fingers, nor humming, I suppose it's an audiobook. I stand in front of him, looking at him expectantly. I can tell, he doesn't see me, his eyes are watching an imagined scene somewhere in the ether. I keep watching him, and finally his eyes focus on my belly, then slowly go up to my eyes. He holds up one finger, like saying "just a moment". I'm waiting, I'm a patient man. Finally he looks at his phone and starts tapping. I can see that the Audible application is running, and he just finished an audio book. I know this one, I recognise the cover, even if it's upside down: white letters on black background, it says 'Reamde by Neal Stephenson'.
"Hi uncle Gyula, sorry, I just wanted to finish this book" says Jack.
"I don't have problem with that." I emphasize on the word: that.
Jack finally realizes that I want to sit down in my armchair. He knows very well that this is my favourite place to read, in the semi-circular nook next to the window, with the view to the park.
"Oh, sorry uncle, please, have a seat. Really comfy chair you have here." He pats the armrest, and then stands up.
"Did you like it?" I ask, gesturing towards his mobile, while making myself comfortable.
"Reamde? Yes I did. I enjoyed it a lot."
"Interesting story, isn't it? With the computer game involved."
"Indeed" says Jack, taps his phone a few times, than puts it into his pocket. "Actually the very seed of the whole story is the the T'Rain game. I play a few role-playing games myself, and I would certainly give this one a shot. If it existed, I mean."
"True, everything started because of the game. It was a compelling addition to the story of fighting against terrorists."
Jack walks to the other armchair facing mine, and sits down.
"What do you think about the characters?" he asks.
"Sthepenson did a nice job drawing them. Actually, the plot and the characters work together just fine. You know that I hate when an action is forced on the characters just for the sake of the story. It's not the case here, not at all. The guys and gals acted exactly as their inner character dictated."
"Yeah, the plot seemed very logical. But I'm having trouble identifying the main protagonist."
"Why do you need one? I mean, why do you need only one? Reamde proves that more than one protagonist works well."
"Maybe. By the way, there were some interesting names, like Zula, Yuxia. I bet you liked Csongor."
"Sure." I smile. He knows we are from the same country.
"The terrorist, Abdallah Jones, he's a really compelling figure. Bad guy, but quite a personality. Smart, too."
"Did you realize that he spoke like an Englishman? "
"Of course I did. It was nicely done."
"My favourite was Richard. He did everything in his power to save Zula."
"Yeah. I liked that they weren't heroes, yet they showed exceptional spirit."
Jack seems to be lost in thoughts for a while. He finally says:
"You know, uncle, this one is not really like the other books of Stephenson. Very far from The Diamond Age, or Snow Crash."
"I know some people have problem with that. The Baroque Cycle was a big hit too, and while Reamde is very different, I don't mind it. Stephenson wrote something else, and I liked it. To be honest, the Snowcrash was too much for me, too abstract. Reamde was closer to the real life."
We sit in silence for a minute, then Jack says:
"Well, I should go to search for Jenny. She needs some help with her laptop. I should have helped her an hour ago, but you know how it is when you listen to a book like this?"
I know exactly. Jack stands up, and leaves the room. I gaze out of the window for a while, and then I switch on my e-reader. The next adventure is waiting for me.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The girl with the dragon tattoo strikes back - with a little help of her friends. This book is the third in the series, and I enjoyed all of them. I'm really sorry that there will be no more books in the Millennium series.

For many people the plot flows slowly. I like fast paced stories myself, but Larsson draws so rich picture of events that I didn't mind the very detailed scenes. Sometimes I was wandering if some particular chain of events was necessary, for example the subplot about the harassment of Erika Berger could be left out. However it added to the whole picture, and I was satisfied that the bad guy got caught.

The characters are very well done. You not often see an anti-social, introvert person as protagonist, but I have ot admit, it worked just fine. Lisbeth Salander is small, but very capable. Her look doesn't say anything about her hacker skills and problem solving abilities. By the way, I was thinking about who is the real protagonist in the Millennium trilogy, and I would say there are two: Salander and Blomkvist. So actually, besides the strange protagonist we also have a hero, who fights for the truth.

In spite of the relatively slow flow, there is a lot of action. The story is compelling, the stakes are high, even the constitutional rights are threatened. There are some really bad guys on the loose within the secret service, who do anything it takes to keep their secret undiscovered: they break into apartments, bug telephones, deceive prosecutors, and they are not afraid of killing people.

Fortunately the good guys outsmart them, and the end gives the satisfaction that the truth wins over the lies.

On Target by Mark Greaney

Sometimes I discover new authors, I mean they are new to me. One of them is Mark Greaney. I have never heard of him before, but I'm glad I've bought his book.
On Target is about an "independent contractor", meaning assassin called the Grey Man. At first it was strange to see a bad guy as a protagonist, but soon I learned that he is more like a surgeon: cutting out tumors from the body of the society. He is after the really bad guys, which makes him somewhat a good guy.

The story got me from the beginning, and kept my dopamine level high: cool, what's next? The idea of kidnapping the Saudi president is crazy on it's own, but when following the story, it's completely logical. Which doesn't make it less dangerous, because something always go wrong.  Planning is necessary, but plans are always turn into mess at the end. It is so in On Target. The Grey Man has to adapt and improvise right from the beginning to be able to accomplish the final goal. And at the end it's still not what he wanted. Ok, I may sound a little cryptic here, but I don't want to spoil the story, in case you haven't read it yet.

This is the second Gray Man book, I believe, and sometimes I missed some backstory (what happened in the first book), but there were enough references to enjoy this story.

The book is well written, and I could immerse in the story forgetting that I'm listening to a book.

 

The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly

Author: Michael Connelly (please put some content on the Home page, Mr Conelly!)

Description: From the Author's site: "Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is ready to go back to the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent’s killer may be coming for him next.

Enter LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent’s killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together."

What I think

I watch thrillers about lawyers and court every now and then, some of them are really good. I liked the Runaway Jury, though, not being American, and really unfamiliar with jurisdiction practices, I could hardly follow the jury selection part. But now I know what happened, because I have red The Brass Verdict, and it explained the process in details. Which was not boring at all, if you might think. Besides that, there are plenty of other details about the judiciary processes and work, really well integrated into the story, without being too educative.

If you are into very fast paced action with dead bodies on every second page, then this book is not for you. But if you enjoy suspense built page by page, I recommend this novel. The characters are alive, well drawn, likable. The narrative and the dialogues are well written. The story unfolds in a good rhythm. Sometimes I found out the next step by myself, but later it turned out that something entirely else was at stake, and the story took a twist. And there is a twist at the end, you can bet.

My rating: five stars, it was a pleasure.

Divine Intervention

Author: Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Description from Amazon: "CFBI agent Jasmine McLellan leads a psychically gifted team in the hunt for a serial arsonist--a murderer who has already taken the lives of three people. Jasi and her team members--Psychometric Empath and profiler Ben Roberst and Victim Empath Natassia Prushenko--are joined by Brandon Walsh, the handsome but skeptical Chief of Arson Investigations. In a manhunt that takes them from Vancouver to Kelowna, Penticton and Victoria, they are led down a twisting path of sinister secrets. Sifting through ashes and clues, Jasi realizes that there is more to the third victim than meets the eye. Perhaps not all the victims were that innocent. The hunt intensifies when she learns that someone they know is next on the arsonist's list. Unleashing her gift as a Pyro-Psychic, Jasi is compelled toward smoldering ashes and enters the killer's mind--a mind bent on destruction and revenge. And in the heat of early summer, Jasi discovers that a murderer lies in wait...much closer than she ever imagined.

What I think

Where should I start? I was thinking whether it was a paranormal, a romance or a thriller story. Or all together. The CFBI agents had paranormal abilities, and the way they used their gifts and made contact to the paranormal dimensions was interesting in itself. Some investigators would give anything to be able to sense, feel and see how the crime happened, just by touching objects of the crime scene. It would revolutionize the investigation process.

I like thrillers, I like twists and turns, and I like suspense. I got these all in Divine Intervention. As the story unfolds, the team is trying to catch an arsonist and killer. Soon they realise that they are after the wrong person. The team discovers the awful series of events that led to the murder they were investigating.
There was an exciting chase at the end (I could enjoy some more in the book), almost costing the life of McLellan. And there was a real twist at the end, the killer was somebody not expected. I had a small problem with that, though: there should have been some clues along the story, so it would not feel somewhat like deus ex machina.

Being a sci-fi fan (and being a man), I'm not really into romance stories, so it may be only me, but the romance started strangely: Agent McLellan hated Walsh right when they met. Of course Walsh was assigned to the investigation, and they had the chance to argue with each other. I was confused when it turned to love. Ladies, if you read the book, please tell me if I'm wrong on this, and the turn was believable.
Anyway, they fell into love, but then McLellan turned down Walsh when he tried to make love with her. Not that I wanted a sex scene, but after the trouble they went through, they merited to have a good time together.
I liked the romance subplot between the other two agents, Prushenko and Roberts. Two grown ups, who like each other, discover that their feelings can be deeper than they thought, and give it a try.

I found the characterisation well done.

Format / Typo issues: There was an issue with the font size, smaller and bigger parts of the text were alternating, sometimes paragraph by paragraph.

My rating: I give three stars, because it was an OK read, but could be better.

The Simple Truth

Author: David Baldacci

Description: Rufus Harms is in prison, he was convicted 25 years ago of the killing a young girl. When he receives a letter from the army, everything turns upside down. The appeal he wants to submit to the Supremem Court disappears, and lawyers involved to find out the truth die. When Harms realises that he has no chance to win legally, he escapes and the hunting starts.

John Fiske is helping the police to investigate the murder of his brother, who visited Harms before his escape. As he discovers more and more clues, and with the help of Sara Evans, clerk at the Court, he gets closer to the truth, a conspiracy unfolds involving justices, ex soldiers and FBI agents. John finds out the secret, which doomed Harms to lifelong sentence.

What I think:

I do like a good thriller, especially with twists and turns. The first few pages of this book are so well written, that I found it promising. Reading further I was wondering if it was necessary to introduce so many characters in the beginning. Now I think it wasn't. Some of them could appear later, and the first part of the book could be better paced.

Baldacci kept the secret hidden until the crisis, which was supposed to give suspense. Actually I found it out at the half of the book, so the final bang was not so loud for me. But I liked the twist at the end, when the suspected bad guy turned out to be a good one, and vice versa.

While I was curious what happen next, the book was too long and sometimes too slow for my taste. The characters were OK, even there were an interesting family connection between the Fiske brothers and the parents.

If you have some free time to kill, it's an OK read, but there are plenty of better books out there.

My rating: three stars.