Review - Merry Christmas, Alex Cross

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
By James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub. Date: November 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0316210683
ASIN: B007BGQBFY
Pages: 352

Review:

It’s been several years since I have read a James Patterson novel. My grandmother was a huge fan of his books and after her death I have continued to buy each new release. The latest Alex Cross novel has been sitting on my coffee table for a few weeks. With some free time on my hands, I started reading it yesterday afternoon.

In his nineteenth outing, Detective Alex Cross is looking forward to spending a quite Christmas Eve with his family, but one phone call will change his holiday plans. A distraught man, Henry Fowler, forced himself into his ex-wife's home on Christmas Eve. Henry has taken her hostage along with her new husband, Dr. Barry Nicholson, and her three children. Alex knows that man is on a short fuse and could begin killing the hostages at any second, but Alex is their only hope of surviving the night.

Just as Alex is ready to return home to his family, an enemy from his past emerges from the shadows and intends on bring deaths millions.

ARC Audio Review - Killer's Law

Killer's Law
By L. Ron Hubbard
Directed by Jim Meskimen and Tait Ruppert
Voice Cast: Jennifer Darling, Brooke Bloom, Corey Burton, Bob Caso, R.F. Daley, John Mariano, Jim Meskimen, Enn Reitel, Richard Rocco and Tait Ruppert
Studio: Galaxy Press
ISBN-13: 978-1592122769
Release Date: October 22, 2012
Running Time: Approx. 2 hours

Review:

The 1930s and 1940s were known as the golden age, a time when many unknown writers published their work in Pulp Fiction magazines as they were paid around a penny a word. Unlike the higher-class magazines that were printed on glossy paper with higher production values, pulp magazines were published on cheap brown pulp paper and featured adventures, science fiction tales, mysteries, and many other stories.

Galaxy Press has been releasing the short stories written by author L. Ron Hubbard that were published during the golden age under the Stories of a Golden Age line of paperbacks and audiobooks. They nicely sent me a free audiobook of the "Killer's Law" for this review.

"Killer's Law" was originally published in the September 1947 issue of New Detective Magazine, where Sheriff Kyle travels from Deadeye, Nevada to Washington D.C. to personally deliver evidence against a rich copper king to Senator Meringue. Suddenly, Kyle is knocked unconscious. When he awakes he is surrounded by policemen asking questions and reporters snapping pictures. It seems that the Senator was murdered and Kyle is holding the murder weapon.

Review & Giveaway - The Breakthrough

The Breakthrough
A Precinct 11 Novel
By: Jerry B. Jenkins
Publisher: Tyndale
ISBN: 978-1414335841
Pub Date: August 17, 2012
Pages: 400

I have read the other two books in the Precinct 11 series and I eagerly signed up to review the third installment The Breakthrough through Tyndale's blog program.

The Breakthrough continues the story of Boone Drake, the youngest bureau chief in the Chicago Police Department history. He has been through many heartbreaking challenges that have tested his faith in God. Boone is now married to a beautiful woman and he has adopted his wife's young son. Just when everything seems perfect, life and death situations occur that will once again challenge his faith in others and in God.

Review - The Wicked Wives

The Wicked Wives
By: Gus Pelaggatti
Publisher: Mill City Press, Inc.
ASIN: B005784LB4
Pub. Date: July 22, 2011
Pages: 304

The Wicked Wives is based on true events that took place in Philadelphia during the year 1938, in which seventeen women murdered their husbands. Giorgio DiSipio, an Italian lothario, gave each of the women a deadly substance to give to their husbands, which resulted in their deaths. The women were conned into believing that Giorgio loved them and that he would runaway with them once their husbands were dead.

One of these husbands was Reggie Stoner, who's death is first ruled as pneumonia, but later the cause of death is changed to arsenic poisoning, but was never ruled as a homicide until the First Assistant DA Tom Rossi discovered that Mrs. Stoner was to receive a hefty insurance check. Soon the Rossi learns of Mrs. Stoner's affair with DiSipio, and he places murder charges against her, but there is a twist. Her uncle happens to be the Deputy Mayor Bill Evans, who interferes with the investigation. Evans is corrupted and has ties all over the city, even in the police department. Now here is another twist, Mrs. Stoner was fooling around with her uncle in exchange for money.

ARC Review - The Betrayal

The Betrayal
BY: Jerry B. Jenkins
PUBLISHED BY: Tyndale
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4143-0908-8
Pages: 290
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

I’m a fan of Jerry B. Jenkins novels, but I didn’t like his pervious precinct novel, so I hesitated before signing up to review an ARC copy of The Betrayal. I’m glad that I did, as The Betrayal is major improvement over his last novel.  This time around Detective Boone Drake is recovering from bringing down the biggest street gangs in Chicago history. After a near-fatal attempt on a witness, Detective Boone must unravel the mystery. Someone inside the Chicago Police Department has leaked information to the shooter. Detective Boone doesn’t know who to trust as he tries to protect the witness.

The Betrayal is an intense, fast read from the very first page until the very ending, but that’s not to say there aren’t a few problems. Midway through the novel, the plot does get a little predictable. Despite this, I was still able to enjoy the book. A must read for mystery lovers.

* I would like to thank Tyndale for sending me a copy to review.

Review - Vigilante

Vigilante
BY: Robin Parrish
PUBLISHED BY: Bethany House
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0608-5
Pages: 363
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

In a world where the economy has collapsed and violence has increased on the streets, an ex-elite solider, Nolan Gray, decides to clean up the streets himself as The Hand. He gets help from his former military commander, Arjay - whose talent is engineering, and Alice. Soon Nolan has an archenemy - crime boss Yuri Vasko.

Vigilante is full of cliché’s and unsuccessfully rips off the comic genre, like Batman and The Punisher. There are a few well written action scenes throughout the novel. Nolan Gray is an interesting character, but I felt there was just something missing. I like the plot premise, but it would have been better executed as a graphic novel or comic book instead of a Christian novel. Vigilante is written for male readers who love action novels, crime novels, and the occasional comic book. Overall, it was fun read, but the plot is not original and has been done to death.

*I would like to thank Bethany House for sending me a copy to review.

Book Review - Buying Time

Buying Time

BY: Pamela Samuels Young
PUBLISHED BY: Goldman House Publishing
PUBLISHED IN: 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9815627-1-1
Pages: 419
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

“Buying Time” is author Pamela Samuels Young’s fourth novel. Waverly Sloan is your typical nice guy being disbarred from his job - a lawyer. Afraid of losing his high-matinance, younger wife, Deidra, he takes a job as an insurance broker at Live Now, a new insurance company.

At his new job, Waverly signs on terminally ill people in exchange for quick cash to pay for medical bills, house payments, and other expenses. Investors, some of them doctors, advance the cash, and then those investors become the sole beneficiary of their life insurance polices when the client dies.

Waverly gets a broker’s fee for every deal he makes. Within a few months, Waverly has paid off all of his debts, and he has finally gotten the home that Deidra has always dreamed of. Life is good, until his clients starting dieing off, one by one.

Angela Evans, a U.S. Assistant Attorney, starts investigating Live Now and Waverly Sloan.

Waverly starts questioning his new job and wants to find out why his clients are dying so fast.

“Buying Time” is fun thriller to read. The plot is cleverly written, and the characters are entertaining enough to keep you turning the pages. The main character Waverly Sloan is very likeable, but at times can be a little annoying. He’s suppose to be an ex-lawyer, but he had no clue what was happening to clients at the insurance company. Why would an ex-lawyer join Live Now to begin with is beyond me? Besides this little silliness, I enjoyed the book. If your into thrillers, you should give this book a look.

Note: I would like to thank the author for sending me a copy to review.

Book Review - The Ranks of Jody Brae

The Ranks of Jody Brae

BY: Jonathan Michael Cullen

PUBLISHED BY: Block Island Books

PUBLISHED IN: 2009

ISBN: 978097681691

Pages: 294

Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Long before cell phones, computers and other electronics, police officers used only their know-how to solve cases. In “The Ranks of Jody Brae,” a Boston cop, Jody Brae, is one of those officers. Set during the 1960s, abandoned buildings are being burned by an unknown arsonist. The Arson Squad has determined that the fires are accidental, therefore the media is ignoring the incidents.

Detective Jody Brae, a Korea war veteran, begins investigating the fires on the same day he gets up the nerve to ask out the lovely Ruth. He’s assigned a new partner, a black man, Detective Harrigan. While Jody relationship with Ruth scorches, so does the streets of Boston. The arsonist strikes again, this time taking innocent lives.

Soon, Jody is abandoned by his own police department. He must go into the dark underworld of the Boston streets to solve the mystery of the fires, and his own past.

Jody Brae is your typical hero character with a troubled past. Unlike other mystery novels, this is set during the 1960s, and just like I mentioned before, there are no electronic gizmos to help Jody out. The dialogue is cleverly written, and so is the descriptions of the Boston streets. I didn’t care much for the love story, it’s been done to death. Overall, this is a entertaining read from a debut author. I recommend reading it.

- I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

Book Review - Heat Wave

Heat Wave
BY: Richard Castle
PUBLISHED BY: Hyperion
PUBLISHED IN: 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2382-0
Pages: 196
Ages: Adults
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Being a fan of the television show “Castle,” I was excited about reading “Heat Wave” by Richard Castle - the fictional character on the show. I think the real author was either James Patterson or Stephen J. Cannell.

The main character is Nicki Heat, a NYPD Homicide Detective. The commissioner assigns a famous magazine journalist, Jameson Rock, to follow her on the job. Jameson is a wisecracking idiot who keeps getting in her way - similar to the Richard Castle character on the show. As Nicki investigates the death of a real estate tycoon, she starts to fall for Jameson.

I was disappointed that “Heat Wave” is just under 200 pages. More of a novella than a novel. The characters, dialogue and plot all mirror the television show. There is nothing original here. If you’re a fan of the show, you may tolerate this so-so crime novel.

Book Review - Cross Country

Cross Country
BY: James Patterson
PUBLISHED BY: Little, Brown & Company
PUBLISHED IN: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-316-01872-1
Pages: 322
Ages: Adult
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Detective Alex Cross is back in “Cross Country.” This time an entire family is slaughtered by a gang of teenagers led by Tiger - an insane warlord. Alex Cross has a past with the family and takes the case personally. With the help of his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, they track down the killers into the African underworld of Washington D.C.. The trail eventually takes Alex to Africa, where he hunts for warlord, Tiger.

I’m a fan of this series, but “Cross Country” is not the best book written by James Patterson. It’s predictable and at times…boring. If you’re not a fan of the series, I do not recommend reading this!