Thrillers/Suspense

Book Review: Natchez Burning

Author
Iles, Greg
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

This book was outstanding and I could not put it down. I have never read Greg Iles' work before and his book is a very suspenseful and interesting historical fiction involving past civil rights atrocities and current day efforts to uncover those crimes. A very believable account and page-turner to boot!

Reviewer's Name
Mary Kay

Book Review: House of Echoes

Author
Duffy, Brendan
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

A great Gothic grabber! Struggling writer Ben Tierney flees New York city with his troubled family - bipolar wife Caroline, strange eight-year-old son Charlie, and baby Bub - for a tiny upstate village where his ancestors fought through the Revolutionary War. Before long, things start going downhill. The family encounters strangely obsessed villagers, a creepy, crumbling mansion, and SOMETHING IN THE WOODS that leaves dismembered animals everywhere and watches Charlie's every move. Kind of like The Shining meets Village of the Damned. It's an old formula, but Duffy makes it work well. I would have given it five stars save for a lapse in logic at the end. Still well worth the read.

Reviewer's Name
Alan

Book Review: Gone Girl

Author
Flynn, Gillian
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

AMAZING book. They say "never judge a book by its cover" but that's exactly what I did. I randomly selected this book based on the cover and it did not disappoint. It has been a long time since I have read a book that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A great psychological thriller with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. I finished the book in one day! Since then, it has been brought to life on the big screen and is currently playing in theaters. I have not gone to watch the film yet, but it has also gotten great reviews. Of course, read the book first and then go see the movie.

Reviewer's Name
Chantal

Book Review: I Hunt Killers

Author
Lyga, Barry
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

Wow. This book is crazy. Crazy good, crazy scary, and crazy demented. I recommend tenth grade and up. Part of a trilogy. I Hunt Killers is about a boy of a serial killer who must fight off the urge to be like Dear Old Dad or die trying. The psychology is the book was astounding, you are able to see how a killer's mind works. Amazing, and I cannot wait to start the sequel.

Reviewer's Name
Elizabeth

Book Review: Inferno

Author
Brown, Dan
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

Dan Brown continues to enthrall with this latest mystery adventure tale. This time metaphysics plays second fiddle to pure sleuthing with a modern day scenario of off-balance activists and bio-hazards. This is not a book to read before going to bed!

Reviewer's Name
Pauline

Book Review: Inferno

Author
Brown, Dan
Rating
2 stars = Meh
Review

Dan Brown's latest novel is not up to snuff with his previous work, but still has that great mix of culture, art, and history that Brown fans love. Angels & Demons is the highlight of his work for me, and this novel was not developed in the way I would have hoped. Not a big fan of this one, but it was worth a read. Not one for my bookshelf, since with this novel, Langdon's world becomes far more distanced from ours than in previous novels. I don't feel like Brown did a good job in suspending my disbelief, where in his other Langdon novels, I was pulled right in. So, meh. I think Brown is tired of Langdon.

Reviewer's Name
Casey

Book Review: Inferno

Author
Brown, Dan
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

Dan Brown has done it again! In Inferno, he has blended a concoction of cultural history, shadowy power brokers, and cutting-edge apocalyptic science into an intriguing potboiler.

Our hero, Robert Langdon, is tossed headfirst into a violent, shifting conflict between European authorities and a brilliantly mad scientist who is obsessed with Dante's Divine Comedy.

Naturally, said mad scientist is bent on world destruction/domination and the key to stopping him lies in deciphering clues hidden in the medieval masterpiece and the art and architecture of Florence, Italy.

Most readers either love or hate Dan Brown's writing. If you enjoyed his signature style in the Da Vinci Code and his other novels, Inferno will be a great read. If you find a lot of art history and cultural background boring, it might seem like the Seventh Circle of Hell. The addition of some thought-provoking scientific threats that reminded me of Michael Crichton were a definite plus for me.

All in all, a worthwhile addition to the series, even though Langdon fails to save the world! Or does he? Hmmm.

Reviewer's Name
Alan

Book Review: Pines: A Novel

Author
Crouch, Blake
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

Pines is the story of Special Agent Ethan Burke, who has found himself in the creepy little town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. He wakes with an injury and temporary amnesia. And as he starts to put the pieces together about how he got in a place that is a little too Norman Rockwell for its own good, well, things get really strange. And scary. An action-packed story that is equal parts horror, thriller and science fiction, Pines will keep you up all night turning the pages. Extra kudos because this author is from Colorado. Watch for the TV Series that will be based on this story

Reviewer's Name
Kirk