Wild Fire

Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille is the fourth installment in a series about NYPD cop turned ATTF agent John Corey. I have not read the first two, but the third, Night Fall, was fantastic. After reading Night Fall, I could not wait to read Wild Fire and see what happened next.

In this installment, an FBI agent goes missing and John Corey and his FBI agent wife investigate. The missing agent was on a surveillance mission at an exclusive, private hunting club where hunting was not the main activity, issues involving national security are the main purpose. So that I don't give anything away, I won't go any further. Nelson DeMille is very good at weaving a mystery and I don't want to give away any spoilers.

Nelson DeMille's writing is very entertaining. At the same time that he is weaving a mystery that keeps you guessing, he also makes you laugh with little one liners and jokes told from the character's perspective. I did not feel that this novel was as suspenseful or as funny as the last, though. I also felt that the book was a little slow to lead up to the explosive ending and then everything wrapped up very quickly. I would have liked to see what happened at the end, a little sooner and then a little more detail after.

I was also hoping for a little more information as to what happened after the climatic ending of Night Fall. There are a few references to that book, but not as many as I was hoping for. Although, I guess any author that writes series novels needs to be careful about how much each book relies on the book before.

Wild Fire as a stand alone book was very good, not as good as other DeMille fiction, but still good. As a follow up to Night Fall, I was a little disappointed. I would still recommend it, but maybe the reader who has been following the series should wait a while after reading Night Fall before picking this one up.

Happy Reading!

Night Fall

Wow! What an excellent book! Night Fall, by Nelson DeMille is a page turner from start to finish. It grabs you right in and doesn't let go...even after you read the last page and close the book. Props to my BFF for turning me on to this one!!

The premise of the novel Night Fall is an actual event, the crash of TWA flight 800. The facts about the crash that are in the book are real, just the characters and some of the situations are fictional. A former NYPD cop, now turned FBI contract agent working for the Anti Terrorism Task Force, gets some information about the TWA crash five years after the incident. The information makes him wonder if the crash was really an accident, and he goes on a hunt for more information, against the wishes of his superiors.

The following adventure is one that keeps the reader guessing until the last pages of the book, and beyond. It is a quick paced journey full of suspense, mystery and heart pounding potential peril. At the same time, DeMille makes the reader laugh with one liners and quips of dry humor that are perfectly timed. Those laughs lightened the heavy subject matter and help the reader cope because the other events that take place during this thrill ride, and the timing of the entire novel, are relevant to every American. And no one will who reads it will be able to do so without emotion, or will forget it once they are finished.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. I highly recommend it and will be researching other Nelson DeMille novels, especially ones that have this detective, John Corey, in them. I want to read the next John Corey novel and see where he goes from here. Many thanks to my girlfriend who recommended this one!

Happy Reading!

Immoral

Immoral is Brian Freeman's debut novel. It was published several years ago, and based on reviews at the time, I added it to my reading list. I finally got to it this week. After waiting so long to read it, and reading so many good things about it, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. It was a good book, but not spectacular, which is what I was expecting.

The book is about the mystery surrounding a missing teenager. Did she run away, or was she killed? Is her disappearance related to another missing teenager several months ago? She had every reason to want to escape her home and there are a good many people who would have liked to see her dead. It is a good mystery and suspenseful at times. The book does keep you guessing until the last pages, but all along, you know you will be because halfway through the book the detectives think the case is closed. As a reader you are left thinking, "Okay, so what now...what fills these last 150 pages?" Of course you figure out that there must still be pieces missing from the puzzle. The who, what, when and where of it all do keep you guessing though. I did not find the solution to be predictable, even if the path to it was.

The main character is not your typical mystery novel cop though. At the end of the book, he and another officer make a decision that was a little surprising to me. Usually in these novels, no matter what, the officers of the law follow the law. This detective makes a decision to protect someone, covers up the truth in the case and in essence a murderer goes free. That was unexpected. At first I thought that it was out of character for the cop. But as I think back, I don't believe the author ever made him out to be a cop who followed the rules to the letter or who was strictly about what was right and wrong. There are two more novels that follow this one with the same detective. It will be interesting to see if this character stays consistent through the next two novels.

Overall, it was a good read. Quick and easy and interesting. Be prepared for explicit content though...this author has no reservations with subject matter, description or language.

Happy Reading!

The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

This is a debut novel by Elisabeth Robinson. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters is written in the form of letters, or an epistolary novel. The letters are all written by the main character, Olivia Hunt and they are to various people: her best friend, her sister, her ex-boyfriend, and various Hollywood colleagues. She is a movie producer and her little sister has just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Olivia is a flawed main character, and that makes her more believable and more likable. The novel is about how she copes with her sister's illness and at the same time tries to make a movie. Oh, and figure out what she wants from life. It is an inside, satirical, look into Hollywood and the movie production process, and a look into relationships, belief systems, and hope.

In the reviews on the cover of the book, it is touted as being "hilarious" and "scathingly funny". While I didn't find it hilarious, it did make me chuckle a few times. It was also a moving book and brought a few tears to my eyes. The author does make the reader laugh, and then shed a tear or two, which, I imagine is a difficult thing to do. I found that the format, that the novel is written as letters, to be very intimate. The book has a conversational tone that makes it easy to read, but at the same time you almost feel as though you are trespassing. It was a very interesting format and one that I became a fan of with this book.

I would recommend this book, but it doesn't make the list of my favorites. This is a quick read and a good "anytime" read. Happy Reading!