Novels Now

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay, 404 pages
I love a good suspenseful thriller. I started this one yesterday, and since I had today off, I read all day. It was a real page turner, with twists and turns, some I could somewhat see or at least suspect, but still satisfying.
The prologue starts with […]

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“We turn now to the issue of what constitutes an appropriate punishment for your various infractions,” said the judge in the middle, the gray-haired one whose name Jaywalker always had trouble remembering. [First Sentence]
The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller
Mira, 2008 (ARE)
Crime Fiction; 388 pgs
From the Publisher:
Criminal defense attorney Harrison J. Walker, better known as Jaywalker, […]

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As long as he can create pictures from the words he reads—scenes filled with characters, conflict, good and evil—he can build a world that’s in many ways closer to the one other people inhabit. And this makes him feel less like an outsider. [pg 255]
First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader
Forge, 2008
Crime Fiction (S/T); 400 pgs
The […]

Popularity: 39% [?]

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In the year since I renounced my Mormon faith, and set out to tell the nation the truth about American polygamy, many people have wondered why I ever agreed to become a plural wife. [First Sentence]
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Random House, 2008
Fiction; 514 pgs
Religion is a subject that fascinates me in general, in particular […]

Popularity: 28% [?]

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422 pages
There is a reason that Michael Connelly has become one of my favorite authors after having only read three of his novels. He writes fast-paced crime novels that draw you in and hold your attention all the way through.
In The Brass Verdict, Micky Haller is thrust back into law practice literally overnight after […]

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When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson , 348 pages
Jackson Brodie, previous detective from Case Histories and One Good Turn, is back for Kate Atkinson’s newest novel. The title hints at the bad news following some characters that permeates this page turner. There are some desperately sad people in this book, and […]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Everybody lies. Cops lie. Lawyers lie. Clients lie. Even jurors lie. There is a school of belief in criminal law that every trial is won or lost in the choosing of the jury. I’ve never been ready to go all the way to that level but I do know that there is probably no […]

Popularity: 24% [?]

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Fractured by Karen Slaughter
Special Agent Will Trent, Book 2
Pages: 388
Finished: Oct. 18, 2008
First Published: July 29, 2008
Genre: thriller, mystery
Rating: 3.5/5
Reason for Reading: received a review copy from Random House Canada. Plus I’ve read all the author’s books, this is her latest.
First sentence:
Abigail Campano sat in her car parked on the street outside her own house.
Comments: […]

Popularity: 23% [?]

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
2008, 465 pp.

The original Swedish title of this book means Men Who Hated Women, and that title is an excellent forewarning about what the book is about. If you like gritty crime novels or shows like CSI, you’ll probably love the book. My eyes and […]

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Faces of Fear by John Saul
Pages: 324
First Published: Aug. 12, 2008
Genre: psychological suspense, thriller
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
He had to look.
Comments: A plastic surgeon’s wife, a famous model, kills herself because she was disfigured in an horrific accident. A year later plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn and divorced Risa Shaw are married. At the same time a serial […]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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