The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a very compulsive read. It has great characters, twists and turns ands you are never really sure that people are who they really are until the end. Very well done. If you long for the days of Rear Window and other Hitchcock clasics, this is as close to them as I have been in years. Just don't plan on starting the book and reading a chapter here or there. You will have a hard time not wanting to contiue reading. Which honestly is what all authors strive for.
Highly recommended.

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Ironhorse by Robert Knott, continuing Robert B Parker's Cole and Hitch series.

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse by Robert Knott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every once in a while I just have to read a book about this country and the way it was. No cars, just horses. The law and those who break it and characters that are larger than life. This is exactly what you get with the Virgil Cole and Ecverett Hitch series by Robert B Parker. This 5th entry into the series is written by Robert Knott who is a worthy successor to Parker. It is written in Parker's style but you can still tell the difference. That is not to say that it's bad. Nobody wrote with the ease of Parker.
A majority of the story takes place onboard a train and the circumsatances that occur during a train robbery, or is it that simple. Throw in the the problematic issuer thar the Governor of Texas is onboard with his family, some shifty characters from Cole's past and writing that is atmospheric and conveys the time and scenery of east Texas and the Arkansas border and it makes for a great story.

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The Great China Zoo by Mattew Reilly

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Matthew Reilly is an author that writes "cool thrillers". They are pure fun and highly cinematic and they have some pretty spectacular scenes that require super human luck, strength or skill, but that just makes it more fun. If I had a criticism it would be that he uses language that he really doesn't need to. He is a better writer than that and the books would still be just as good.
In The Great Zoo of China, Reilly explores a really big story. China wants to be known, special like the US. They realize that in order to be looked at differently they must have a tourist destination, a la Disneyland. Hence, The Great Zoo of China. But this is no ordinary zoo. It is big and populated by big creatures thought to be myths. Dragons! In typical Reilly fashion, man is fiddling with things better left alone and in doing so opens a Pandora's Box of terror. These dragons are lean, mean and highly intelligent. A tour group of VIP's getting a first look at the zoo before it opens, gets far more than it bargained for and the cliffhangers and narrow escapes abound.
If you like fast paced thrillers with the "cool" factor.. Read Reilly and just go with it, yes, there are a lot of impossible escapes and scenes but it is fiction. Have fun with it.

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David Weber's Safehold Series. #1 Off Armegeddon Reef

Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have looked at this book so many times in stores and in libraries. Picked it up and read a little and let it fall by the wayside. This time I picked it up and read and couldn't put it down. This is very well done. Combine the epic history spanning world building of Asimov's Foundation and add Patrick O'Brien to the mix and you have the beginning of the Safehold series. I am so excited that I have more story to read.
The story is epic and human and all things that make for great adventures in reading.
I cannot recommend this highly enough. Well Done Mr. Weber!

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The Thieves of Legend!! Richard Doetsch is a modern master!!

Okay. If you love well written, fast paced thrillers with a touch of real history laced into it with ancient mysteries a la Indiana Jones. Then, Richard Doetsch is for you. I am very sad that I have now read all of his books. They are that good. Thieves of Legend is the latest book in his Michael St. Pierre series and it is stellar. Each book in the series has ancient legends that become reality and it is up to his incredibly real characters to face enormous odds to stop some very bad things from happening. Doetsch also has two stand alone novels that have locales from his St. Pierre series, but are completely their own which are fantastic, "Half Past Dawn" and "The 13th Hour". I wish I had the money to make all of his books into movies. You will not be disappointed in any of these books. I can't wait for the next book from this welcome new voice in thriller fiction.

The Escape by David Baldacci (John Puller #3)

The Escape by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have long been a fan of David Baldacci liking some of his series more than others. The character of John Puller was introduced in Zero Day and followed by The Forgotten. When I first heard about John Puller it appeared that Baldacci was trying to ride the Jack Reacher wave. Boy, was I mistaken. Even though Puller has many of Reacher's similarities, the differences are stark. Puller, no offense intended, is a smarter, better Reacher. John Puller is still in the military as an investigator with CID, he come from royal military blood with a legend for a father, and a brother who is in prison for life for treason at Leavenworth. Intrigued yet?

The Escape is the one of Baldacci's best books yet, and the best book in the Puller series. Suffice it to say, Puller's brother escapes from prison, and is a genius in his own right who was being groomed for big things before his fall from grace. But, what if everything wasn't as it seemed and there is more at play than one man's guilt or innocence. This is the framework of The Escape and without giving away any spoilers, this is a book that you will enjoy. Intelligent, and well written with twists and turns and a fascinating look at the inner workings of the nation's intelligence apparatus.

You cannot go wrong with the John Puller series or the Will Robie series from Baldacci. You will not be disappointed.

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Five Star)

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing book. One of the best I read this year. Very original, very well written and the characters are engaging and make you care about them and the world they inhabit. Very different in a very good way. Not your typical dystopian young adult novel. There are great things in store for Leigh Bardugo.

You can also feel comfortable with your teen son or daughter reading this. There is no language and there is a touch of romance, but nothing that is out of bounds for the 12-18 crowd. Adults will love this as well and will be ready for the next adventure. I am just glad that it's sequel, Siege and Storm and the final book in the trilogy, Ruin and Rising are out and ready to enjoy.

Word has it that Ms. Bardugo is working on a new series based in this same fantasy world.

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