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Genetics was a strange thing, he thought. And while he looked like his father, he felt nothing. Jake didn't hold a grudge because his father was an alcoholic, workaholic, or womanizer. He may have been all of the above, but Jake didn't know. And it is hard to be upset about something you don't know or can't remember. He wasn't angry, hurt or disappointed-he wasn't close enough to the man in front of him to have any of those emotions. Everything happens for a reason and Jake tried to leave the past in the past, a skill he learned from his mother.~~~Page 26
Title: Arctic Fire
Author: Paul Byers
ISBN: 9780615504070
Publisher: Fortress/2011
Pages: 377
When there is a water shortage, Nigel Cain decides to get it from Arctic in the shape of Massive icebergs. He builds a 5-star hotel and casino in an iceberg and invites the media and important people to witness the event. He hires Gabriel Pike, an Engineer to make it viable.
Pike feels privileged but after sometime, he finds sinister going on's in the form of a double homicide. Now Pike's main work is to save his own skin along with others.
The novel was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up pace after some time. Cain's madness can only be controlled by Pike. And he does it with aplomb. Then there is this question of man trying to play God by controlling nature. The novel makes us think.
With a cover like that, Arctic Fire beckons one to pick it up. The premise is not for everyone. However, once one picks it up, he/she will not leave it halfway through.
"I hated it when he gave me the Cutter Shark name. Even if it is catchy. I have to admit, he does get results. He's already been on Fox, CNN and the BBC."
~ Page 247
Title: Cuts Like A Knife
Author: M.K. Gilroy
ISBN: 9781936034697
Publisher: Worthy Publishing/2012
Pages: 410
Cuts like a Knife is totally a character driven novel. The psychopath has killed 47 people in six cities, mostly females before he arrives in Chicago.
The book opens with the voice of the psychopath, who speaks how he is going to be after his victim. How he is going to use his knife on the victim. Then there is a Vlogger, who kind of taunts the authorities for not catching the killer. He questions the police and the detective. And he is the one who names the psychopath as Cutter Shark....
Kristen has a weird family, one of her sisters is the wife of a pastor, the other sister is a model and their mother keeps inviting her so-called boy friend even after she tells him off. When Kristen is not doing anything interesting, she works as a soccer coach for her 7 year old niece's team. Kristen is no way perfect, she has anger issues and a wry and dry sense of humour. She has to keep her wits around to deal with her madcap family. All this while investigating the serial killings.
Slowly it dawns on Kristen that he is setting his sights on having her as the next victim. It becomes doubly important for her to identify him and catch him. There is that nail biting tension, yet there is humour. It sets a good pace for reading.
"She died maybe a day before she entered the water. And she was thrown in the water naked," Millard repeated.
~~Page 233
Title: Cut Short
Author: Leigh Russell
ISBN: 978-1842433546
Publisher: No Exit/2009
Pages: 352
DI Geraldine Steel has been recently promoted and arrives in the town of Woolsmarsh with a lot of baggage. As soon as she arrives, she is called to investigate in Lyceum Park where a body has just been found in the bushes. The victim is Angela Waters, a woman in her early 20′s with long blond hair. She gets headlong into the case and it soon becomes obvious that the first strangled victim will not be the last, so it's a race against time.
Geraldine Steel, is part of a team and not the leader. DI Steel does not enjoy a simple domestic life but has various problems of her own. DI Steel is assigned to listen to the messages from the public responding to the appeal. Nothing offered appears to have any relevance to the murder. To add to Geraldine’s problems, she is being stalked by someone whose appearance is vaguely familiar. She is on the fast promotion track, a route that encourages jealousy and resentment. She is too new to the town and to the Murder Investigation Unit to know if the stalker is someone from her personal life or someone who wants to unsettle her in her professional life.
This is not a really a whodunnit. We get to know the killer as he hides the body of the first victim and we are let inside his head, which isn't a good place to be.
The strengths of this novel lie in the author's powerful ability to get you up into the story and produce a cast of cameo characters that feel so real. The chapters are short and we may not dwell upon each victim's family or each witness's circumstances, but what we get is enough to feel the reality of a police investigation.
Title: All He Saw Was The Girl
Author: Peter Leonard
ISBN: 9780571255740
Publisher: Faber and Faber/2011
Pages: 304
After reading Voices Of The Dead by Peter Leonard, I decided that I was going to pick all his books. So when I was offered to review All He Saw Was the Girl, I was thrilled. I was notdisappointed at all!
I had a roller coaster ride throughout the novel. It has the ingredients of an action movie. Drug Mafia, kidnapping, car chasing, and a love story. And all that happens in Italy, that too due to a misunderstanding! One American exchange student is kidnapped by mistake and ransom is paid for him. He feels bad about that and decides to get back the money. Without any help from anyone, he takes on the kidnappers and gets involved with the drug mafia, all by himself.
What appealed to me most was the sarcastic way of thinking by the various characters. That alone makes the novel very delightful!! I am going to read all of Peter Leonard's novels!!
"You saw her that afternoon - the day she disappeared - you picked her up in the car."
The Dilated irises would have been evidences enough that there were secrets here. "Well?"
Title: Love Thy Neighbor
Author: Mark Gilleo
ISBN: 9781611880342
Publisher: The Story Plant/2012
Pages: 438
Love Thy Neighbor deals with terrorism, which is a hard reality in the current times. No country is immune from it. It exists all over the world in one form of the other. And the neighbors we think are harmless might turn out out to be terrorists, in guise.
I live in India, our neighboring country is Pakistan. We have had too many terrorist attacks. And those are not going to stop anytime soon. The novel appealed to me as I could connect with it. Terrorist activities might go on right under our nose and we choose to ignore those. We turn a blind eye thinking it is not going to affect us.
Clay Hayden comes home to his mother Maria, who is suffering from Dementia. It is Maria who notices strange men in her neighborhood and calls CIA. No one listens to her initially. FBI follows and also a person from IRS who is looking out for tax discrepancies regarding Maria and her deceased husband. Clay finds himself in the midst of it all.
Not going into much detail, I would say, it scares us. It makes us ponder, if we can prevent terror activities by being vigilant. It does not seem that way here. Based on a true story, this work of fiction makes us question ourselves and our Govt. agencies. (For me it is the Indian Govt.)
"I am going to have to insist that you give me the pottery shards," Ami called out. "There's no other way to ensure the safety of your sister."
~~~Page 275
Title: The Book of Lost Fragrances
Author: M. J. Rose
ISBN: 978451621303
Publisher: Atria Books/2012
Pages: 347
Jac L'Etoile has moved away from their family business of Fragrances, House of L'Etoile, in Paris to US. She has been haunted by her past and tries to be as far away from her home. She has made a successful career as a mythologist, television personality and author. She has no plans to join the family business with her brother Robbie.
Robbie finds something in the Archives and Jac is not very keen to know more about it. Then Robbie goes missing, a body is found in their perfumery, she has to come back to find him. She doesn't believe that he committed the crime nor that he is dead.
She, along with her past lover, Griffin North, tries to find Robbie and only then she discovers a world of intrigue, ancient memories and old fragrances. She can visualize her past life, going back and forth to the ancient Egypt, French revolution and the present time Dalai Lama. Then there are people interested in the old pottery shards, in the memory tools, to look into past lives, to know about their reincarnations.
With much detailing, the novel does not move fast but we learn a lot about fragrances, ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, French revolution and also about China and Tibet, regarding Dalai Lama. It has been weaved well. All these might not gel with some but for those who like intrigue, history, suspense, this book will work fine. M. J. Rose does know how to research, before venturing into writing. This is my third book by her and I look forward to read more.
