Category: books

Righteous Prey by John Sandford

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Another action packed novel with Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers.

Righteous Prey (2022) is 32nd in the series. Virgil finally gets a publishing contract!

This time our heroes are trying to takedown a group of vigilante billionaires — all who got rich by early investment in Bitcoin.

The vigilantes make a list of American assholes — people most deserving of assassination.

For example, one target is exactly like Rush Limbaugh, a dangerous rightwing extremist radio shock jock.

The general public is sympathetic to the killers.

“We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as The Five, shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco.

The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored… and very rich. They target the worst of society — rapists, murderers, and thieves — and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net.

The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman… though their motives may not be entirely pure.

There’s a real anti-Gundamentalist theme in this book, as well.

It’s far too easy to acquire weapons of war in the USA.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

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“Listen for the Lie,” (2024) … Stephen King called “a world-class whodunit” …

It’s a comedy, as well. Laughs on every page.

It follows Lucy Chase, a woman believed to have killed her best friend years prior.

Lucy, who has amnesia about the entire incident, was never officially charged or arrested for the murder, though it is generally believed that she did it.

When Ben Owens, a true crime podcaster, digs up the cold case again for his podcast five years later, Lucy joins in helping him uncover who the true killer is.

The book explores the themes of The Gap Between Perception and Reality, The Misogynistic Dismissal of Survivors, and The Effects of Physical and Psychological Trauma.

SuperSummary

Almost everyone loves this book. For me it started to DRAGGGGG about half way through.

Still … I hung in to find out the killer. I’d guessed wrong. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante

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This post is about the 2019 book, not the acclaimed TV series on which it is based.

Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television series (1991 – 2006) devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London‘s Metropolitan Police Service, who rises to the rank of Detective Superintendent while confronting institutionalised sexism within the police force.

… voted 68th in the list of 100 Greatest British Television Programmes as compiled by a poll given by the British Film Institute, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME.”

Prime Suspect — the book — was published by Lynda La Plante in 2019, long after the end of the TV series.

Not nearly as good.

I found DCI Jane Tennison mostly annoying.

The pace too slow.

Not recommended.

When a prostitute is found murdered in her bedsit, the Metropolitan police set to work finding the perpetrator of this brutal attack. DNA samples lead them straight to known criminal George Marlow. The police think they’ve found their man, but things are not quite what they seem….

Desperate to remove all doubt around her suspect, Tennison struggles to make the charges stick. And then a second body turns up.

With the team against her, DCI Jane Tennison is in a race against time to catch a dangerous criminal ­- and prove she’s just as tough as any man.

A glutton for punishment, I next read Prime Suspect 3 – Silent Victims (2019).

Better — but I still wanted to push Jane Tennison into the river.

When a body is found in one of London’s poorest districts, the coroner’s report identifies the victim as young, black and female, but impossibly anonymous. 

One thing is clear to Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison about this victim – that news of her murder will tear apart a city already cracking with racial tensions, hurling Scotland Yard and Tennison herself into a maelstrom of shocking accusations and sudden, wrenching violence. 

As London’s brutal killer remains at large, Tennison is locked in a struggle to overcome her station house’s brutal chauvinism and insidious politicking. And as the department’s deeply rooted racism rears its head and threatens to overshadow every facet of her new investigation, the trail of her prime suspect is growing colder. 

I didn’t get very far into Prime Suspect 2 – A Face in the Crowd.

Women’s Murder Club books 2,3,4,5,6

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Somehow I got hooked on the Women’s Murder Club books.

2nd Chance (2002)

Dumb. It’s exactly this kind of lazy plotting that makes me call these the junk food of murder mystery.

The bad guy is trapped in a tower. SWAT is on the way. EVERYONE would concur that you sit and wait for the experts.

But not Lindsey. She decides to rush up the stairs alone.

Dumb.


3rd Degree (2004)

Pretty good. Lindsey gets with Joe for the first time.


4th of July (2005)

Lindsay shot and killed a young girl. Paralyzed her brother. The court case was fascinating.

The murder out in Half Moon Bay as unbelievable as any plot in the series.


The 5th Horseman (2006)

One of the better books in the series, I’d say.

The 6th Target (2007)

Good.

Interesting court case — was the killer legally insane?


Wicked Prey by John Sandford

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Wicked Prey is 19th in the Lucas Davenport “Prey” series. 

Another good read.

The Republicans are coming to St. Paul for their convention. John McCain will be getting the nomination.

Throwing a big party is supposed to be fun, but crashing the party are a few hard cases the police would rather stayed away.

Chief among them is a crew of professional stick-up men who’ve spotted several lucrative opportunities, ranging from political moneymen with briefcases full of cash, to that convention hotel with the weakness in its security system. …

And then there’s the young man with the .50-caliber sniper rifle and the right-wing-crazy background, roaming through a city filled with the most powerful politicians on earth…

Women’s Murder Club – season 1

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Women’s Murder Club is an American police procedural and legal drama that aired on ABC from October 12, 2007, to May 13, 2008.

The series is set in San Francisco, California, and is based on the series of novels by the same name written by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro.

… the series revolves around the lives of four women in San Francisco – a homicide detective, an assistant district attorney, a medical examiner, and a newspaper reporter – who come together to use their expertise and talents in their respective fields to solve murder cases. …

Having got hooked on the books, the only place I could find to watch the TV series was on YouTube in low resolution. Surprisingly, I liked the show just as much as the books.

Angie Harmon was a terrific choice to play Lindsay Boxer, the main protagonist. She has the gravitas — though Lindsay in the books is a blonde.

It’s a shame the show was cancelled.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

On By Rick McIn books, ethics, happiness, health & fitnessLeave a comment

I’d quit 3 of the last 4 new novels focused on a dysfunctional woman complaining about her life.

Too depressing.

YET quite enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, the debut novel by Gail Honeyman. (2017)

I laughed out loud many times. A bit of a black comedy.

Eleanor Oliphant, our heroine, is a disaster. Anti-social. Disconnected from society and culture. A functioning alcoholic. Potentially suicidal. Perhaps slightly autistic.

Her only previous relationship was abusive — ex-husband putting her in the hospital multiple times.

Somehow … you can’t help but cheer for Eleanor.

She lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and works as a finance clerk for a graphic design company.

The novel deals with themes of isolation and loneliness, and depicts Eleanor’s transformational journey towards a fuller understanding of self and life.

It’s modern. Exploring loneliness in an internet age, the vulnerability of being uncoupled in a culture that prizes relationships.

The character I liked best in this book is Raymond Gibbons, an I.T. help desk co-worker who awkwardly tries to help Eleanor.

Uniquely, the most important relationship in this novel is friendship.

Name another hit novel without some kind of romance central to the plot.

Jenny Colgan, reviewing for The Guardian, described the novel as “a narrative full of quiet warmth and deep and unspoken sadness” with a “wonderful, joyful” ultimate message. …

Sarah Gilmartin of The Irish Times called the title character “one of the most unusual and thought-provoking heroines of recent contemporary fiction”. …

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

On By Rick McIn Artificial Intelligence AI, bad news, books, climate change, economics, education, ethics, GOP USA, government, happiness, health & fitness, human rights, internet, things getting worseLeave a comment

Any panel put together to save the world, would certainly include Professor Yuval Noah Harari. 

He’s a BIG thinker. 

Some feel he overstates the risks to mankind. I’d rather we err on the side of caution.

His 2024 book is …

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

I’m not smart enough to explain his thinking — but here’s a ChatGPT summary of the non-fiction tomb.

Main Focus: Nexus explores the intersection of technology, human evolution, and the future of societies, emphasizing the merging of biological and digital realms.

Technological Convergence: Harari examines how advancements in genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology are changing humanity’s relationship with itself and the world.

Human Enhancement: A central theme is the idea that humans may soon be able to enhance their biological and mental capacities through technology, leading to “post-human” forms of existence.

Ethical Implications: The book raises questions about the ethics of altering human biology, creating artificial life, and the consequences of tampering with the essence of what it means to be human.

Social and Economic Impact: Harari discusses how these technological advancements could lead to social divides, with some individuals or groups gaining access to powerful enhancements while others are left behind.

Surveillance and Control: A significant concern is the potential for increased surveillance and control over individuals’ minds and bodies, both by governments and corporations.

Evolution of Consciousness: Harari reflects on how human consciousness may evolve or change in response to these new technologies, as well as the philosophical questions surrounding free will and identity.

End of Homo Sapiens: The book suggests that humanity might be on the verge of an epochal shift, where Homo sapiens could be replaced by a new, technologically-enhanced species—either through natural evolution or deliberate engineering.

Uncertainty of the Future: Harari emphasizes the unpredictability of the future, acknowledging that the developments discussed could lead to both utopian and dystopian outcomes.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Other booksSapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011)
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow (2015)
21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018)

Hum by Helen Phillips

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I only got about 40% through this book.

GREAT plot. But the dysfunctional family was simply too depressing for me.

Hum (2024) is Helen Phillips 6th book.

It’s a dystopian novel set in the near future.

The air is polluted. World has heated up, requiring more air conditioning. Water supply questionable.

People spend a lot of time in ‘wooms’, something like a climate controlled capsule.

 “hums” – humanoid robots – are increasingly taking the jobs of humans.

Mary is out of work — and hears of an opportunity to earn several months’ salary by receiving an experimental facial injection, and takes it. The injection will render May’s face unrecognisable to the ubiquitous hums. She’s a guinea pig for a form of adversarial AI.

What could go wrong?