Book obtained from: Library New Books shelf, Audio book
Description: Olav is a man who “fixes” problems for his boss as a contract killer in Oslo [Norway].
Plot: Olav is asked by his boss to “fix” his boss's wife. If he fixes her, he'll be next because he knows too much. If he refuses, he'll be next because he refused. To complicate matters, while he's watching her to decide what to do, he falls in love with her. There are some rather violent scenes, but also several surprising plot twists.
Characterization: Olav is very well developed. He's a sensitive guy in all areas except for the people he “fixes”. He's dyslexic, not very good at much except being a contract killer, and longs to learn what it means to love and be loved. The other characters are not as well developed as Olav.
Setting: Oslo, Norway. This is the first book I've ever read that's set in that country. The descriptions were good, I was able to picture every scene without it being over-described.
Other: This is a rather short [225 pages] stand-alone book by this author, who is more well-known for his Harry Hole series. The book is translated from Norwegian. The audio book is read by Patti Smith, who reads this book in a monotone, which adds to the characterization, possibly unintentionally. I wouldn't care for this style of narration if it didn't match the personality of the main character.
Overall: A very introspective, literary crime novel.
Grade: B
Book obtained from: Library New Books shelf, Audio book
Description: Kate O'Hare is an FBI agent. Nick Fox is a con man and #7 on the FBI's most wanted list. They team up to capture criminals who are beyond capture by legal means. This is the third book in the series.
Plot: In this book, Nick and Kate go after a drug lord with a taste for fine chocolate and a love of art and other treasures. They concoct an elaborate con using a ridiculous amount of money, which does strain credibility at times, but if you can get past that, it does makes sense and there's a lot of humor.
Characterization: The characters are reasonably well developed and had their own personalities. Some of the secondary characters are wild and crazy [an actor who takes his roles much too seriously, a lady who loves driving/racing anything with a motor, a Somali pirate, Kate's father who loves explosives a little too much, etc], adding much color and humor to the story.
Setting: Nashville, Portugal, Istanbul, France, England. The descriptions were good, I was able to picture every scene without it being over-described.
Other: The con does strain credibility.
Overall: A good, light mystery/thriller. Funny. The audio book is read by Scott Brick and he's awesome, a unique and appropriate voice for each character, including foreign accents.
Grade: B
Book obtained from: Library New Books shelf, Audio book
Description: Maura Donovan, a 20-something from Boston, was raised by her grandmother. She visits Ireland after her grandmother's death to fulfill a promise and to learn more about her family. While there, her life is threatened as she searches for answers for first one, then another, murder.
Plot: Maura promised her grandmother she would visit the small town of Leap, in County Cork, Ireland. She travels there after her grandmother's death, meets the locals, talks to friends of her grandmother, learns about Irish history and her family, and stumbles upon two murders. When she is the subject of several seemingly-random attacks, she sets about to solve the murders before she is next.
Characterization: The characters are reasonably well developed and had their own personalities. I did like Maura altho she was sometimes a bit whiny.
Setting: Small towns in Ireland. The descriptions were very good, I was able to vividly picture every scene without it being over-described. The book also gives some history of Ireland, presented in an interesting way and keeping within the story, which I enjoyed.
Other: This book was slow in places, but still interesting.
Overall: A good, light mystery, with some history. Very good, vivid descriptions. The audio book is read by Amy Rubinate, who read it well with different voices for the different characters altho some voices did sound similar.
Grade: A-
Book obtained from: Library New Books shelf, Audio book
Description: Tricia Miles, a city slicker, moves to a small town and opens a book store selling mystery books. The town is a tourist stop for book lovers, with a LOT of specialty bookstores. This is the first book in a series.
Plot: Tricia has landlord troubles, sister troubles, and love life troubles. One day Tricia finds Doris, her business neighbor and the resident curmudgeon, dead in her cook book store. The Sheriff believes Tricia killed Doris and that she's the town jinx. Tricia has to clear her good name.
Characterization: Some of the minor characters were a little flat, but the major characters [Tricia, her sister, and her employees] were reasonably well developed and had their own personalities.
Setting: Stoneham, New Hampshire. This is the first book I've ever read from that area of the country. The descriptions were good, I was able to picture every scene without it being over-described.
Other: The who-done-it kept me guessing, and guessing wrong, until the end. Very well done.
Overall: A good, light mystery. The audio book is read by Cassandra Campbell, who read it well with different voices for the different characters altho some did sound very similar.
Grade: B+
Book obtained from: Library New Books shelf, Audio book
Description: Stephanie Plum, the protagonist, is an inept but very lucky bounty-hunter. She also moonlights for her friend Ranger, a security expert and also bounty-hunter. In this 22nd book in the series, she's searching for a fraternity member who was arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College, and missed his court date.
Plot: Stephanie is searching for a fraternity brother, who is apparently “the supreme exalted zookeeper” [leader] of an Animal House type fraternity. A secondary story line intersects, with a terrorism angle. The plot is somewhat improbable, but it does hang together. One of the things I really like about Janet Evanovich is she can weave together several seemingly-unrelated plots which all come together at the end.
Characterization: The characters are reasonably well developed and had their own personalities. Stephanie is still inept, extremely lucky, and very funny. She really hasn't changed over 22 books, which is disappointing to many readers but I still find her funny. The two main male characters, Morelli and Ranger, don't have much role in this book. Lula and Stephanie's mother have larger roles, which is a nice change.
Setting: Trenton, New Jersey. The descriptions were good, I was able to picture every scene without it being over-described.
Other: There are several “facts” in this book which are inconsistent with “facts” from previous books [like the description of Ranger's headquarters], which makes me wonder if Evanovich either didn't write this book, or is having memory issues. They don't detract from the story if you haven't read others in the series, but for fans like me who have read all the books, it did throw me out of the story, which was disappointing. Some of the scenes are almost identical to scenes from previous books, just a few changes but definitely recognizable. For example, this is at least the second book which begins with a lady threatening to jump from a high location.
Overall: A good, light mystery. Funny. The audio book is read by Lorelei King and she's awesome, a unique and appropriate voice for each character. This book is significantly shorter than the other books in this series.
Grade: B-
Today is the day we report on our A to Z experience.
Last year, I signed up approximately 3 days before the challenge started, and I wrote my posts as they came due [this was nightmare-ish]. This year I signed up in January and wrote my posts in advance. They were finished in March. This made my experience MUCH easier, altho I still didn't have as much time as I wanted for visiting the other A to Z bloggers.
Here's a list of the blogs I enjoyed the most for this challenge:
KD James wrote a 40,000 word story, and it's awesome
John Frain wrote amazing 6-sentence stories
Colin Smith wrote 100-word flash stories based on Paul McCartney songs
Julie Weathers wrote information on the Civil War and included excerpts of her novel-in-progress
Kate Larkindale with New Zealand Films
K.Ridwyn with Lessons from God's Metaphors, complete with needlework
EM Goldsmith with Musings and Short Stories
Life in Dogs wrote on the A to Z of Dog Rescue
Insecure Writer's Support Group wrote on Writing Resources
Stats from my own blog:
Letters with more than 50 views:
B, E, F, G, N
Countries with the most views:
USA, Russia, Australia
Themes:
2015 Legal Definitions
2016 Military Definitions
2017 ?? [If you have a suggestion, please post it in the comments]
Thank you all for visiting, and congratulations to all my fellow A to Z Challenge bloggers!
The AtoZ Challenge for the month of April is over! I hope you enjoyed reading my military definitions.
Congrats to all of my AtoZ co-laborers. We made it!
My AtoZ Reflections will be posted on Monday May 9.
This blog will resume its regularly scheduled programming on May 16.
Thanks for your patience.
