General Books - Page 3

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2521 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A beautiful story, beautifully written 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I had just finished reading his second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and knew I would have to order this book also. Incredible! Both books are so beautifully written, I couldn't put them down. He brings the Afghani people to life, and brought me to tears several times. He is definitely one of the best storytellers of our time. Don't miss this book.

Epic! Beautifully written. Pulls you in. 5 out of 5 stars.
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I know the author doesn't like the use of cliche's (or at least his writer character, Amir, doesn't) but I just couldn't put this book down. What a brilliant writer. I wish I could write like him. I don't know what I can say about this book that already hasn't been said. It is brilliant. And has taught me a little bit about Afghanistan that I never could quite get from our Western media. But as a Muslim American of eastern European decent who likes to read chick lit and lighter reads, it was wonderful to read about people of my own faith. I loved reading the beautiful Arabic words and being entrenched in the traditions of how we greet one another and the various customs. In Bulgaria, they also use "Kaka" (for women) and "Kako" (for men) when greeting someone older. I love these terms of endearment/respect from some of these ancient cultures ... traditions that continue. And it was nice to read a story where there weren't little inuendos against other faiths or peoples that is all over our western media and published works. It was unbiased. Just beautiful. And my heart bleeds for those who suffered under the Taliban. You have a new fan, Mr. Hosseini!

Editorial Review:

The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...

Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6)

Charlaine Harris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 150 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Definitely Dull 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was such a bizarre entry in what has become one of my favorite mystery series. First of all, starting this book will be totally confusing for anyone who hasn't read "One Word Answer," a short Sookie Stackhouse story that Harris wrote for an anthology. How do I know? Because I hadn't read it by the time I began "Definitely Dead," and I was definitely confused. Sookie's cousin was murdered in New Orleans, and the Vampire Queen of Louisiana sent an emissary to visit Sookie in Bon Temps? When? Not in any of the previous books I'd read. I knew I couldn't be crazy, so I did some online research, found the short story, and was able to download it for free. Then the beginning of the book made sense to me. But how unfair is that to readers who either don't know about the story or have access to the internet? At least publish the short story in the paperback edition of "Definately Dead" so that readers aren't completely lost. Or include a note at the beginning of the book that directs readers to the anthology. Something, anything.

Second of all, the story involving Sookie's dead vampire cousin, the core of the book, doesn't really get rolling again until around page 130. Before then, the book is strictly filler, with unimportant subplots, one involving Jason and his werepanther girlfriend, the other about a missing child, who Sookie helps find. Those aren't spoilers, folks, because these side stories have NOTHING to do with the book's actual plot. So why are they even there? Who knows? Maybe Harris is setting things up for future entries, but that doesn't make for an involving reading experience this time around.

Thirdly, I wish Sookie would settle on a boyfriend. Bill, Eric, Sam, Quinn...On the one hand, I've always enjoyed Harris's ability to keep readers on their toes and defy expectations, but Sookie is starting to look like a right little pop tart. And was it really necessary for Harris to give us a plot twist that makes us detest and reevaluate a favorite character? Again, Harris likes to pull the rug out from under Sookie (and us, vicariously), but it seemed excessive and very mean-spirited. Harris hasn't seemed to know what to do with this character for a few books now, and it shows. Fourthly, when Sookie does make it to New Orleans and the book's real story actually begins, it turns out to be an uninteresting, overcomplicated one, with a plot element that was corny when Dumas used it in "The Three Musketeers."

Lastly, Harris throws us all a curve and gives us a hint about Sookie's family background that's completely inconsistent with the rest of the series, and made for a lot of backtracking. What, is Harris making this stuff up as she goes along? Sure sounds like it. Every writer should take a page out of JK Rowling's playbook and plan a series in advance. It goes a LONG way towards avoiding this kind of sloppy plotting. And if Sookie is a -- well, I don't want to give it away -- then it means she's not a normal woman in abnormal circumstances. Which means she's not us, the reader, and that's a shame.

And did it bother anyone else that Quinn took Sookie to see "The Producers?" Why couldn't Harris just say "the theater?" There have never been other references to present day movies or TV shows -- not that I remember -- and I found it very bizarre. Maybe I just don't see Sookie liking or getting that particular show. "Rent," yes -- "The Producers," no. Maybe it's just me.

All in all, if you're following Sookie's story, you're going to want to read this one as well, but prepare to put the book down, as I did, every few days. It's that dull.

Editorial Review:

Sixth in the Anthony Award-winning Southern Vampire series.

Spiked with a frothy fusion of romance, mystery, and fantasy, this bestselling series sends the supernaturally gifted cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse to New Orleans, where she has to deal with the legacy of one of her own family and a host of potentially dangerous characters.

Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries)

Charlaine Harris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 157 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Dead As A Doornail 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I love Charlaine Harris's books about Sookie Stackhouse. Once I start one, I can't bear to put it down. Charlaine keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next.

Sookie carries on with her "charmed existance" 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you are up to book 5, you've been bitten by the Sookie Stackhouse book and I don't have to tell you how riveting her life is. Charlaine Harris does it again -- and superbly: keeps you enthralled with an unlikely heroine, vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of creatures that you should know better than believe in.

In book 5, brother Jason is now a shifter himself (and still as dumb as dirt and more handsome than he deserves), a sniper is out hunting his shifter kind, and Sookie is (of course) caught in the middle -- with one romantic challenge after another.

Go ahead and read this one too: Work, kids, the grass, and tax day can just wait!

Editorial Review:

When Sookie's brother Jason's eyes start to change, she knows he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population-and Jason's new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks, unless the killer decides to find her first.

T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries)

Sue Grafton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 199 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Should have been named "L is for LAME" 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I've read a few of Ms. Grafton's books and was looking forward to reading "T is for Trespass." I agree with the other reviewers who rated at one or two stars. In addition to the weak story, lack of mystery, and questionable POV issue (Millhone and Klein's knowledge of the private conversation at the bank), I had difficulty with the formulaic descriptions that introduced each scene. The relentless pattern of: describe something Kinsey sees, describe what Kinsey smells, and then describe something Kinsey hears and compare it to something awful. The pattern became like a nursery rhyme rhythm.

I almost gave up at the halfway point, but my neighbor (who loaned me the book) was ticked off about the bank visit and insisted I read it to confirm her opinion that something was hinky. I guess I should be satisfied that I got what I paid for.

Editorial Review:

Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone embarks on a terrifying but all-too-real ride that will reveal not everyone is who they say they are.

Bones (Alex Delaware, No. 23)

Jonathan Kellerman

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Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When it comes to writing deftly layered, tightly coiled novels of suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman reigns supreme as “master of the psychological thriller” (People). Now, Kellerman has worked his magic again in this chilling new masterpiece.

The anonymous caller has an ominous tone and an unnerving message about something “real dead . . . buried in your marsh.” The eco-volunteer on the other end of the phone thinks it’s a prank, but when a young woman’s body turns up in L.A.’s Bird Marsh preserve no one’s laughing. And when the bones of more victims surface, homicide detective Milo Sturgis realizes the city’s under siege to an insidious killer. Milo’s first move: calling in psychologist Alex Delaware.

The murdered women are prostitutes–except the most recent victim; a brilliant young musician from the East Coast, employed by a wealthy family to tutor a musical prodigy, Selena Bass seems out of place in the marsh’s grim tableau.

Conveniently–perhaps ominously–Selena’s blueblood employers are nowhere to be found, and their estate’s jittery caretaker raises hackles. But Milo’s instincts and Alex’s insight are too well-honed to settle for easy answers, even given the dark secrets in this troubled man’s past. Their investigation unearths disturbing layers–about victims, potential victims, and suspects alike–plunging even deeper into the murky marsh’s enigmatic depths.

Bizarre details of the crimes suggest a devilish serial killer prowling L.A.’s gritty streets. But when a new murder deviates from the pattern, derailing a possible profile, Alex and Milo must look beyond the suspicion of madness and consider an even more sinister mind at work. Answers don’t come easy, but the darkest of drives and desires may fuel the most devious of foes.

Bones is classic Kellerman–relentlessly peeling back the skin and psyches of its characters and revealing the shadows and sins of the souls beneath. With jolt after jolt of galvanizing suspense, it drives the reader through its twists and turns toward a climax as satisfying as it is shattering.

The Bodies Left Behind

Jeffery Deaver

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestselling master of suspense is back!

When a night-time call to 911 from a secluded Wisconsin vacation house is cut short, off-duty deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves her husband and son at the dinner table and drives up to Lake Mondac to investigate. Was it a misdial or an aborted crime report?

Brynn stumbles onto a scene of true horror and narrowly escapes from two professional criminals. She and a terrified visitor to the weekend house, Michelle, flee into the woods in a race for their lives. As different as night and day, and stripped of modern-day resources, Brynn, a tough deputy with a difficult past, and Michelle, a pampered city girl, must overcome their natural reluctance to trust each other and learn to use their wits and courage to survive the relentless pursuit. The deputy's disappearance spurs both her troubled son and her new husband to action, while the incident sets in motion Brynn's loyal fellow deputies and elements from Milwaukee's underside. These various forces race along inexorably toward the novel's gritty and stunning conclusion.

The Bodies Left Behind is an epic cat-and-mouse chase, told nearly in real-time, and is filled with Deaver's patented twists and turns, where nothing is what it seems, and death lingers just around the next curve on a deserted path deep in the midnight forest.

Rough Weather

Robert B. Parker

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Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A hurricane hinders a kidnapping and Spenser goes on a search for the man responsible— the infamous Gray Man, who has both helped and hunted Spenser in the past.

Heidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well connected —and she needs Spenser’s help. In a most unlikely request, Heidi, a notorious gold digger recently separated from her latest husband, recruits the Boston P.I. to accompany her to her private island, Tashtego. The reason? To attend her daughter’s wedding as a sort of stand-in husband and protector. Spenser consents, but only after it is established that his beloved Susan Silverman will also be in attendance.

It should be a straightforward job for Spenser: show up for appearances, have some drinks, and spend some quality time with Susan. But when Spenser’s old nemesis Rugar—the Gray Man—arrives, Spenser realizes that something is amiss. A storm, a kidnapping, and murder tear apart what should be a joyous occasion, and Rugar is seemingly at the center of it all. The only thing is that the sloppy kidnapping is not Rugar’s style—as Spenser knows from past encounters. With six dead bodies and more questions than he can process, Spenser begins a search for answers—and the Gray Man.

With its razor-sharp dialogue, crisply etched characters, and high-wire narrative tension, Rough Weather once again proves that “Robert B. Parker is a force of nature” (The Boston Globe).

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Max Brooks

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Total reviews: 459 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.


Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China


“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers


“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe


From the Hardcover edition.

Angels & Demons: A Novel

Dan Brown

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Total reviews: 2188 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code comes the explosive thriller that started it all.

An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to his first assignment to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

Critics have praised the exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit found in Brown's remarkable thrillers featuring Robert Langdon. An explosive international suspense, Angels & Demons marks this hero's first adventure as it careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.

Double Cross (Alex Cross Novels)

James Patterson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 173 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Severe lack of plot and twists to keep you going... 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Let me first say that I am usually a big James Patterson fan. Judge & Jury, Lifeguard, and The Quickie were much, much better than this, simply because of the plot developments and unexpected twists. This novel can essentially be summed up by the following outline.

Murder
Detectives are clueless
Murder
Detectives continue to be clueless
Murder
Detectives still have absolutely no leads and keep talking about how they have no leads
Murder
Detectives get an obscure lead that turns out to essentially be crap
Detectives are captured themselves
Detectives escape, capture one bad guy, allow the other bad guy to escape.

THE END

What turned me off about this book that usually keeps me going in the other novels is the lack of plot and suspense. The fact that the detectives have no leads or clues at all for about 90% of the book just leaves me bored! For something like that, Judge & Jury is definitely the way to go, a 5-Star!

Thanks for reading my review!

Editorial Review:

Just when Alex thought his life was calming down into a routine of patients and therapy sessions, he finds himself back in the game--this time to catch a criminal mastermind like no other.


A spate of elaborate murders in Washington D.C. have the whole East Coast on edge. They are like nothing Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. With each murder, the case becomes increasingly complex. There's only one thing Alex knows: the killer adores an audience.


As victims are made into gruesome spectacles citywide, inducing a media hysteria, it becomes clear to Alex that the man he's after is a genius of terror--and he's after fame. The killer has the whole city by its strings--and he'll stop at nothing to become the most terrifying star that Washington D.C. has ever seen.