Whispering Room is the 2nd book in his Jane Hawk series.
Jane’s husband inexplicably committed suicide. And the badass superwoman is determined to bring down the killers.
It’s an interesting plot.
Some terrific characters.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rocco recommended this non-fiction book. It’s hilarious.
And it is excellent.
Truth stranger than fiction.
… details the troubled development and production of the 2003 cult film The Room, his own struggles as a young actor, and his relationship with The Room director Tommy Wiseau.
A film adaptation of the same name was released in 2017, directed by and starring James Franco as Wiseau and his brother Dave Franco as Sestero.
I’d recommend the audio book:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Of the books, TV shows and films I’ve seen about Bletchley Park, I’d say Rose Code was the most entertaining for me.
1940.
As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.
Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets.
Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband.
Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.
But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart. …
Kate Quinn Author
James Patterson wrote a book with Bill Clinton called “The President Is Missing” — and it became the best-selling novel of 2018.
I enjoyed it.
The President’s Daughter is not a sequel.
In this one it’s the ex-POTUS President Matthew Keating, a former Navy SEAL, who has his daughter kidnapped.
It’s silly, of course. But I like this book even better.
The audio version is well done. One of the few novels with multiple readers that worked for me.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
After reading the book, I learned a mini-series had been adapted in 1997.
Edgler Vess is the bad guy. Real bad.
Koontz is very skilled at inventing bad guys.
Click PLAY or watch an example of Vess on YouTube.
The book is well written. Original. Scary.
I recommend it.
I finally got around to trying a Louis L’Amour book.
Hondo had been recommended as one of his best.
He’s been one of the most popular writers all time and displays surprising skill with the pen in writing cliche Western books like Hondo.
That said, I won’t read more. I’ve no interest in Western novels. Ranch romance. Good guy vs bad guys. Too much formula.
ALMOST as good as The Martian (2011).
Project Hail Mary is a 2021 science fiction novel by Andy Weir. …
Set in the near future, the novel centers on middle school-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, who wakes up from a coma afflicted with amnesia.
He gradually remembers that he was sent to the Tau Ceti solar system, 12 light-years from Earth, to find a means of reversing a solar dimming event that could cause the extinction of humanity. …
… Ryan Gosling plans to star as Grace in the film adaptation.
What I like best about Weir is his ability to make arcane science entertaining and interesting.
Excellent.
The Cellist is the 21st title in Daniel Silva‘s Gabriel Allon series.
It was released on July 13, 2021 and subsequently reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List …
The book draws heavily from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 American presidential election as well as the U.S. Capitol events of January 6, 2021. …
The plot is contemporary and interesting. Action is limited by COVID restrictions.
Dictator Putin and President Biden are important characters.
Some of my favourite characters from past books — especially Christopher Keller — are included.
I have no idea why Allon is still front and centre in the field. As leader of the Mossad he should be working behind the scenes. And should definitely RETIRE after this one.
Koontz has published over 100 novels.
I did get into his Odd Thomas series.
In 2017 he began his current Jane Hawk series.
“I very much need to be dead.”
These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. …
Amazon
The book is well written. The plot hooks immediately.
Jane is a badass.
Great plot. Good writing.
Main complaints you’ll hear are about the rambling story with no clear ending. Apparently that’s how he puts books together. Starts without knowing exactly where he’s going.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A story of date rape.
Jon Krakauer wrote a book that much influenced my thinking:
The book follows several case studies of women raped in Missoula, Montana, many of them linked in some way to the University of Montana.
Many of the rapists were football players, protected from the justice system.
In Beartown, the 15-year-old daughter of a small town Swedish hockey team general manager is raped by the 17-year-old star of the Beartown junior team.
Fredrik Backman is an excellent writer. This is an important book, as is the Krakauer.
Themes of family, friendship, loyalty. Ethics.
I recommend Beartown.
I also read the sequel, Us Against You. Not nearly as good.
The book was adapted for TV and is available on HBO.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rick McCharles 