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"He could feel blows all over his body but he went numb. Pierce beat the shit out of him with a small wooden billy club."
Title:Blood Over Badge
Author: Wayne Farquhar
ISBN: 9780615359113
Publisher: 3L publishing/2010
Pages: 250
It starts with the trial of Kyle, who is barely 17 years old. He has murdered a man and is sentenced for life and sent to Angola Penitentiary, which is a hell hole. 16 years later, we see that his body, mind and soul slowly dissolving away.
In San Francisco, the Mayor's daughter is kidnapped and murdered. The killer is a rapist too. Jack Paige and Casey Ford are investigating it. They are in look out for the murderer.
These two are unrelated crimes and unrelated murderers. And suddenly there is a link. And what is that link? The characters have not much in common, not with the victim, the convicts or anyone else. Yet, there is a relationship. And such a one which takes the reader over the edge. With well etched characters, family issues, a revolting correctional officer, and very plausible detailing, intense emotions, great dialogues, this a good crime fiction debut. The ending is such that it hits the reader hard. And we are left with mixed feelings.
No murderer deserves sympathy, no crime is greater than killing. Yet, there are questions on is it what we want our system to be? Don't prisoners deserve a decent life in prison? How does one deal with crooked correctional officers? As a murder mystery, it works well and Wayne Farquhar can deliver.
A twelve year old girl, Josy, has an inexplicable illness and vanishes without a trace from the doctor’s office during treatment. Her father, Viktor Larenz, a well-known psychiatrist, withdraws years later to an isolated North Sea island in order to deal with the tragedy. Here he receives a dangerous visit from a beautiful stranger. Anna Spiegel is a novelist and she suffers from an unusual form of schizophrenia: all the characters she creates for her books become real. And in her last novel she has written about a young girl with an unknown illness who vanishes one day without a trace. … 
Title: Dantes' Inferno
Author: Sarah Lovett
ISBN: 684955984
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/2001
Pages: 318
I had not heard of Sarah Lovett before this book. I picked it mostly because the title interested me and the premise beckoned me.
The novel starts with a bomb blast in a museum where a teacher and a eleven years boy are killed. Edmund Sweatheart, a professor studying bombings is devasted as the boy is related to him. A serial bomber is threatening to destroy Los Angelos city. Before bombing any place he does give information about it in the lines of Dante Alighieri's work. Dr Sylvia Strange is assigned the job of getting into the mind of that bomber. John Dantes, a brilliant scholar, is suspected of the said crimes. The glitch is, he is already in a high security prison. It seems he has a compatriot who does his bidding. But how do they get in touch?
What made John Dantes turn the corner? Slowly we see Dr Sylvia Strange being affected by Dantes. He has the power to disturb her and seems to have some kind of hold on her. Is Dantes faking his insanity? Is he as troubled as he seems? How is he connected to M, the bomber who is outside.
Dantes' Inferno is a good psycho thriller. It keeps us completely enthralled in it. The nine circles of hell are very well marked in here. References to Alighieri's work is brilliant. Lovett's prose is very good. Fast paced and a page turner.
Every Sunday, I aim to share poetry with you which had had some impact on me. I am Calling it Sharing Poetry With You. As I didn't have a button for it and also don't know how to make one, I requested Violet Crush as well as Veens to make one for me. Both were kind enough to do that for me. Here I am posting both the buttons.
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| Made by Violet Crush |
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| Made by Veens |
Follow Friday, is hosted by ParaJunkee, Book Blogger Hop, is hosted by Jennifer (Crazy-For-Books), and
Follow Friday 40 and over is hosted by Java
Jennifer asks: "What book are you most looking forward to seeing published in 2011? Why are you anticipating that book?"
I don't really to look forward to seeing published in any year. There are too many books to pick up. And why should we wait for a particular author to come out with his/her novel?
ParaJunkee asks: "What is/was your favorite subject in school?
Physics! No doubt about . And Math followed a close second. And English literature. Need I say more?
Do feel free to explore my blog. You will definitely find something that interests you as I read wide range of genres, except maybe for a few. I also write poetry. You can read that on my other blog, rooted. Now go, explore both of my blogs! And follow them, if you like!! I follow blogs I like via Google Reader...
Enjoy!
The Cleaner by Paul Cleave
Joe is in control of everything in his simple life, including both his day job at the police department and his 'night work'. Nor is he bothered by the daily news reports of the Christchurch Carver, who, they say, has murdered seven women. But Joe knows the Carver only killed six. He knows that for a fact. And Joe is going to find the copy-cat killer, he's going to punish him for the one, then frame him for the other six. It's perfect plan because he already knows he can outwit the police.
All he needs to now is take care of all the women who keep getting in his way; his domineering mother for one. Then there is Sally, the maintenance worker who sees him as a replacement for her dead brother; and the mysterious Melissa, the only woman to have ever understood him, but who's fantasies of blackmail and torture don't have a place in Joe's investigation.
Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End: The Story of a Crime by Leif G.W. Persson
The apparent suicide of an American journalist in 1970s Stockholm propels Persson's ponderous English debut, the first of a trilogy. The victim, John Krassner, was working on a book detailing the exploits of his uncle, Col. John Buchanan, an OSS agent in the years following WWII and Buchanan's ties to a now high-ranking Swedish politician known by the code name "Pilgrim." The Swedish secret police, who were hearing chatter concerning threats to the Swedish prime minister, had been keeping an eye on Krassner at the time of his death. Curious about Krassner after discovering a personal connection to the case, police superintendent Lars Johansson begins his own inquiry and unearths more than he bargained for, including disparate pieces of a vast political conspiracy.
What’s the largest, thickest, heaviest book you ever read? Was it because you had to? For pleasure? For school?
These are few of the heaviest books I read, not only in terms of pages but content too.
Alexandre Dumas, The Count Of Monte Christo (1312)
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged (1368)
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (1475)
Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind (1034)
Wally Lamb, I Know This Much is True (890)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
I have read lot more. But these are what I remembered instantly.
"So far I'd been excoriated for being a slut and pitied for being a dumpee who was all but stalking a former lover. If I didn't have such a positive self-image, I might have let those two calls discourage me."
~Page 139;
Title: Dead Head
Author: Rosemary Harris
ISBN: 9780312569945
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2010
Pages: 245
Paula Holliday, a gardening specialist in Springfield, Connecticut. But she has also earned some fame as an amateur sleuth. It is discovered that, Caroline Sturgis, a client/friend and a very cool mom, is a fugitive from law. She is really Monica Jane Weithorn, who escaped from the prison, twenty years ago, where she had been jailed for drug charges. The tabloids in Springfield are having a field day, trashing Caroline.
Paula has been thinking of going into business with Caroline when she is arrested. Caroline's husband, Grant wants Paula to find the person, who told on Caroline/Monica. Paula is not so keen. But she finds about a stranger who had been to the Springfield a short while ago and must have recognized Caroline. Paula is determined to find out all about that stranger and how he knows Caroline.
And more she gets into it, more it gets murkier. And Sgt. Mike O'Malley, a Springfield cop does not like Paula to be all over the place. However, he is always there when she is in trouble. Now who is the victim? Caroline? Or the person who told on her? Or someone else? With the help of Lucy, her friend, Paula gets to the bottom, even though she too is attacked.
With tongue in cheek humour, a heroine who is not afraid of anything, her friends, Babe (of Paradise Diner) and Lucy, this is another engaging red from Rosemary Harris. I look forward to read all the books involving Paula Holliday., Dirty Business, both literally and figuratively.
Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?
I think there are lots of books, which I love and others have not liked it. That does not really matter to me. Reading is very personal. Our tastes differ. One person's poison is other person's nectar. I love poetry but many don't. For what so ever reason. We should respect each other and go on reading what we like.
Title: The Constant Gardener
Author: John Le Carré
ISBN: 978-0340733394
Coronet Books/2000
Pages: 508
Every Sunday, I aim to share poetry with you which had had some impact on me. I am Calling it Sharing Poetry With You. As I didn't have a button for it and also don't know how to make one, I requested Violet Crush as well as Veens to make one for me. Both were kind enough to do that for me. Here I am posting both the buttons.
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| Made by Violet Crush |
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| Made by Veens |
This is run by Beth of Beth Fish Reads. She says, " I am obsessed with my label system, I admit it. And thus my favorite Bloggiesta task is to work on cleaning up my labels."
I do label my posts. For memes I label those by the day or with their titles. I label my reviews by taking the genre, and also year wise. Let me cite an example. I read The Girl with the Dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson in 2010. I labelled it: 2010 Crime Fiction, 2010 Suspense/thriller, 2010 Book review, G title, L author. That makes it easier for me to find my own books and I can also keep a tally of what I read in which year.
As I use blogger blog, tagging/labelling is not much of a problem.
One more thing: I have sorted out reviews by year. One can find those on my left side bar. You can see that here too:
The mini-challenge is by Word Lily. Here we have to rate ourselves (1 to 5) on the following things bloggers should NOT do. It's from an article at Daily Blog Tips.
You Must Not Expect Results Overnight - 4.5/5 - I have lots of patience for that!
You Must Not Ignore Your Readers - 3/5 - I think I don't pay enough attention to my readers. I would like to interact more by replying back but it doesn't happen.
You Must Not Scrape Another Bloggers Content - 5/5 - Never! Be original, is my motto!
You Must Not Expect Success Without Promoting - 5/5 - I do try to promote my blog by participating in book memes and interacting with the participants.
You Must Not Be Another Blogger - 5/5 - I am very much my own blogger. I keep my reviews simple, my answers to the memes original and I never emulate anyone by joining too many challenges.
You Must Not Fail To Update Your Blog Regularly - 5/5 - I post almost daily. So that is not a problem with me.
You Must Not Ignore SEO (Search engine optimization) - 3/5 - I try but I don't know too much about that.
You Must Not Ignore Networking - 4/5 - I do interact. By commenting on what I really like about a book blogger.
You Must Not Have An Unreadable/Unnavigable Site - 5/5 - My blog is pretty much user friendly. I don't go for blings or anything like that. Only reading content. NOTHING else!!
You Must Not Throw Mud Around - 5/5 - Never! Live and let live is my motto!
I get a total of 44.5/50=89%, I would say is very good.
Thanks to Jen of Devourer of books, I learnt to make a Google form! If you here, do answer the questions in the form. It will help me in improving my blog!
Bloggiesta is hosted by Natasha from Maw Book Blog. She says, “it’s a blogging marathon. A opportunity to cross those nagging items off of your to-do list and improve your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing. Our awesome mscot Pedro (Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize) is ready to break out the nachos, enchiladas, drinks, mariachi music and whack a pinata or two! It’s nothing short of an awesome fiesta!”
I have not made any plans. I will see what is needed to be done. I will schedule some posts and tweak my blog a bit. I am open for suggestion.
Even I read things other than books from time to time … like, Magazines! What magazines/journals do you read?
I do read periodicals too, along with novels. I read two newspapers daily, one of those is Financial times. I also read some monthly magazines. Some of those are news related, and a few relating to women issues and health issues. Apart from those I read journals on the pure Sciences and Mathematics.
What about you?
Literary Blog Hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase. If you features book reviews of literary fiction, classic literature, and general literary discussion, you too can join in!
This week's question is:
Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university. Why did you dislike it?
I was in high school, when we were made to read A Passage to India by E. M. Forster. The novel is concerned with the relations between the English and the native population of India during the colonial period in which Britain ruled India. The novel takes place primarily in Chandraporea city along the Ganges River notable only for the nearby Marabar caves. The main characters are: Aziz, a Muslim doctor; Godbole, a Hindu Professor; Fielding, the head master of the government college ; Ronald Heaslop, another British official: Mrs Moore and Adela Quested, two visitors from Britain. The relationship between he Indians and the British official speaks a lot about the then British Raj. The British official is ever sceptical of the well-meaning Indian.
The social structure of India under the British Raj has been portrayed very vividly in this book.The eternal clash between the East and the West, and prejudices and misunderstandings has been brought out very well.
All the three religions, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity have been shown to co-exist with each other. A Passage to India has all the dimensions of political situation, psychological effects and different religions. Christianity, though adequate for normal relationship and practical affairs, is too sallow for deeper human relationships. Islam is a faith that is more aesthetic and cultural than a binding spiritual faith. Hinduism does not guide the daily conduct of affairs. This is what is very interesting. Forster could bring out the positive as well as the negative aspects of the different religions so well.
I understood the enormity of all that only when I re-read it after some years and then again in 2006. In my high school, I couldn't understand all this and our teacher too did not explain too well, and I ended up disliking the novel. Although I did change my mind after reading it again.
"I inhaled three slices of pizza and washed them down with copious amounts of diet soda guaranteed to ruin my teeth and the lining in my stomach."
Page 129, Dead Head by Rosemary Harris.
Fugitive mom...that's the tabloid headline that rocks a small New England town when it's discovered that one of their favorite ladies is a fugitive from the law. Amateur sleuth Paula Holliday is called on by the woman's family to find out who dropped the dime and why this long-kept secret is enough to kill for.
Title: Day of Wrath
Author: Larry Bond
ISBN: 0446516775
Publisher: Warner Books/1998
Pages: 481/Hardcover
It deals with terrorism with the help of modern warfare. Ibrahim, a Saudi Prince pumps money for such purposes. On the cover of a company, known as Caraco, he manages to buy people to work for him and is very influential with the current administration in the White House. He financially supports various factions of terrorism.
A Russian cargo jet, with U.S. officials onboard, crashes in northern Russia . Following clues to why the plane crashed , Thorn and Gray pursue Germans into parts of northern Russia, with the help of a Russian MVD officer. They get into trouble with Russian locals when the MVD officer is killed in an ambush. Finally they zero in to Nuke smuggling into US.
They have a hunch that, jet engines are being used to smuggle nuclear weapons to the U.S. Disobeying orders from their government, Thorn and Gray pursue the leads to the U.S. and get help from a retired General Farrell. With the German and Arabic terrorists after them as well as their own government, Thorn and Gray manage to elude them and get to the heart of the problem, before Ibrahim can unleash twenty 150 Megaton nuclear bombs on the U.S., almost destroying parts of it.
Bond's knowledge of weapons is well researched. The problem with this, it is kind of dated and it does tend to get slow at times. The romantic element does nothing for the story.
Mailbox Monday has moved over to Rose City Readerfor the month of January 2011.
I received three books following books:
1) A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer, thanks to the author.
Genesis, a domestic terrorist organization has released a deadly, highly contagious virus into the State of the Union Address. The president, Dr. Jim Allaire knows the virus well–his administration was developing it it before he abandoned the project. Allaire is forced to quarantine the Capitol and all 700 in it. Our government’s only hope is Griffin Rhodes, a virologist whom Allaire has been holding in solitary confinement in a federal prison for nine months because of a suspected terrorist act.
2) The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie, Thanks to Stacy of Stacy books
Lymstock is much like any other English village. Those that live there enjoy the peace of rural life until a series of poison pen letters destroy the safety they took for granted. When one villager commits suicide and another is murdered, the village is plunged into suspicion and terror. Once a village of trust, now all inhabitants are on the brink of accusations. Who could be writing the letters and why? Perhaps Miss Marple might be of help...
5) Cut Short by Leigh Russell, thanks to the author
D.S. Geraldine Steel expects the quiet town of Woolsmarsh to be dull. She quickly discovers she is wrong. The park is a place where children play, friends sit and gossip, people walk their dogs, or take a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for victims. A woman sees the killer and comes forward as a witness-someone whom the killer must stop at all costs. For D.S. Geraldine Steel, it is a race against time to find the killer before he strikes again, as public pressure mounts with the growing death toll.
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I finished only one book also posted its review:
