11/22/63 by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a reread for my book club. I will just say one thing. If you have never read a Stephen King novel, read this one. Its not his standard thriller but a wonderful account of how time is our harsh mistress. The detail and plot twists are fascinating and if you think you know the ending, or even what its about, you are probably wrong. Its the complete page turner, love story, historical fiction and science fiction all rolled into one exceptional book.

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Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it. Reminded me of what I loved about the Clifton Chronicles. It just fun to read with characters I want to get to kno. I look forward to the second in the series. I feel that I get to know England by reading about these characters.
The story is easy to follow and the characters are easy to keep track of. I just enjoy the writing and the beautiful pictures that Archer creates in my mind. A detective in England, this is right in my wheel house and kept me interested through the whole story.

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Class Act by Stuart Woods
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back to his old tricks, Stuart Woods that is, he gives us several hours of fun with a nicely detailed story about some unlikely events and some unbelievable people. He is a master story teller and even this convoluted plot just seemed to be the natural order of things. At least in Stone's interesting and seemingly dangerous world. As always, I loved it.

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City of Spies by Mara Timon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Never read about Portugal during the war and that's what peaked my interest here. I was not dissappointed. I learned about this aspect of WWII and was treated to a terriffic spy novel with an interesting set of characters. I loved it. Easy, pleasant style that was a pleasure to read. I learned just enough about the minor characters to understand them and the main characters came to life. It has a slow start but a great middle and end. Hope Mara Timon writes another adventure for her lady spy.

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The Cellist by Daniel Silva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved it. I'm a big fan but also its up to date. Some of the sections felt like they came right from the headlines and others probably should have been headlines.
I know that some claim that this is the same story over and over again but I disagree. The characters remain the same but the bad guy is usually a new twist on evil.
This story explores the problem of corruption in financial institutions. I guess he just made that up. One of the characters is a president of the US who is not trustworthy, and high government officials conspiring with Russians. Total nonsense.
I'd like to see Gabiel Allon retire and be replaced by a new main character. He hints that it might be a woman. Sounds good to me.


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The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I guess I'm a history nut. I love these excellent historical fiction novels. The Exiles is a story of the settling of Australia with convicts from England. More than that this is a story of female strength and the ability ot resist and survive.
The story is filled with sadness and dissapointment but I'm left quite uplifted. Knowing that the world has changed for so many people and with some ework may become a better place for more people.
It is remarkable that the struggles of the late 1800's on the other side of the world are akin to the struggles here, today.
Doesn't anything change.

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Red Lies by Cristelle Comby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked it because of the way it ended. I must add that it was an adventure and a kick to read. Just enough history to keep me interested and enough action to keep it from being boring. I love the fact that the protaginist is a woman and that the men are pretty much hollow and predictable. Read this, its fun.

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Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great book. I like history and this book is historical. I like spy novels, this has that too. The story itself may or may not be too far fetched but the plot was so beautifully thick and unfolded so well that I was entranced from page one to the end.
I read this book because a friend likes Beatiz Williams books. My friend has good taste. This person can write and spin a tale.
Her prose made the story come to life and kept me reading feverishly until the end. I don't think its a spoiler to say that strong, interesting and intelligent women are often left out of spy stories, this one is an exception. Loved it.

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The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went from liking this book to hating it. I'm not sure why. The characters were so transparent that I sensed what would happen and was usually right.
I guess they characters were all hard to like and had such major personality flaws that I had trouble feeling for any of them. Usually books give me images of the people, places and events but this one seemed just words on a page telling a story. I just could not get into it. No spoilers but I hated the ending.

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Ocean Prey by John Sandford


As usual, John Sandford never dissappoints. Easy to read and understand, lots of action, bad guys and good guys. I love a good crime story and this certainly was one of them. Like a good detective he teases clues from almost nothing and builds a case against the bad guys. His exploits are daring and exciting. He teams up with Virgel Flowers in this one and its a match made in cop drama heaven.

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The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this series of books. It has been a joy to watch the characters grow and change with the times. This was a period of history that we might learn from. The people of England plowed through the blitz and the hardships of war. So many stories in this episode. The plot might have been a little convoluted at times but the story never failed to keep me turning the page.
Ms Winspear is brilliant and I look forward to more adventures for our hero.

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The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a masterpiece. It has everything I love in a novel. The characters are strong, well developed and interesting. The plot is straight forward but not revealed immediatly. There is action, romance, intrigue and pain.
More important to me is that the characters are women, this is another story that exposes the problems of being a competent, intelligent and hard driving woman in a world controled by men. Often the me seem to fueled by arrogance and testosteone so I guess it is pretty accurate.
It spans a period of interesting history and the birth of some of our modern technologies.
Don't miss this book. I wait for Kate Quinn's next book with anticipation.

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