Spiral Pocus

Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman – Another well-written escapist Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis mystery by the master.  This one involves an architect and his lady murdered in a half-built shell of a mansion.  International intrigue, eco-terrorism and other seemingly unrelated bodies adds to the suspense.
What I liked: The focus on the Milo character and police procedures [...]

True Detectives by Jonathan Kellerman: I have read all of Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series and some of his other works as well.  In this book, the focus is on Moe Reed and Aaron Fox.  Two detective brothers that were introduced in Kellerman’s last Delaware novel – Bones.  Aaron, the suave, well-dressed private eye, was hired [...]

The Giver by Lois Lowry: A futuristic novel aimed at young adults.  It involves a utopian society that long ago moved toward “sameness”.   Sameness has eliminated all pain and suffering from their lives but has also taken away freedom of choice, struggle and significant human emotions.  The story revolves around Jonas who has been designated [...]

Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow – A nice piece of fiction by Doctorow that tells the story of the Collyer brothers.  True brothers who were famous recluses and compulsive hoarders.  Doctorow fictionalizes the account of the eccetric pair by setting their story in more modern times than the brothers actually lived.  Both brothers died [...]

The White Tigerby Aravind Adiga – Set in India, the story is told in a series of late night letters from Balraim, the white tiger, to the premier of China.  He tells the story of his rise from crushing poverty to his time as a servant to his present day status of successful businessman.  This is [...]

Loon Lake by E.L. Doctorow – I like Doctorow’s books.  I have read several.  This one was not one of favorites.  It was highly acclaimed but I found it a bit weary.  Set in the mid 1030′s, it is the story of a young shyster who ingratiates himself with a multimillionaire  and takes a fancy [...]

Blindness by Jose Saramago:  Citizens of an unnamed city are struck by an epidemic of  “white blindness”.  The first victims are quarantined in an asylum and left to fend for themselves.  A doctor’s wife fakes her blindness to follow her blind husband into the prison.  She keeps her ability to see a secret.  Criminals soon [...]

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood: I have been waiting for this book for awhile.  It is a followup to her most excellent Oryx and Crake.  The novel is a dystopian futuristic story  centered on God’s Gardeners – A cult that shuns the  world that has been built by the corporations that more [...]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling  – H.P. and the dark lord finally meet and it was an incredible journey.
What I liked: What I liked most were the discussions I had with my daughter, who has read it twice, about this book.
What I didn’t like: I heard they were going to make [...]

Here is a list of 10 disturbing books.
The subjects in most these books reside more on the “sick” side  than “disturbing”.  I have read The Road and posted about it here.  From this list I see two books that vaguely interest me.  I don’t like books that paint pictures which visit me in my dreams.  [...]

Welcome to Hard Times by E.L. Doctorow – This is my second Doctorow book.  The story revolves around the town or the almost town of Hard Times, South Dakota.  Set in the old west, a stranger comes to town, kills a bunch of folks, rapes the women and then burns the town to the ground.  [...]

Bones by Jonathan Kellerman – Another of Kellerman’s tightly wound mysteries with Alex Delaware – the child psychologist/detective/perfect human being.  This time Alex and Milo are investigating the deaths of three young women found in a nearby bird marsh.  The crimes reek of a serial killer but…..all things point to even more sick mind.
What I [...]

Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood – Bodily Harm is the story of Rennie, a young magazine writer whose life has been changed  with a breast cancer diagnosis. Freshly recovered from surgery and on a relationship rebound,  Rennie flies to the Caribbean to regroup and get a new perspective.  On the tiny island of St. Antoine [...]