The Midnight Line

Loves me some Jack Reacher!!  I haven't read a Reacher mystery for some time, since I've read all previous 21 of them, and was waiting for the price of the latest to come down to a manageable amount on the Thrift Books used book site. Our power was out for most of the day and evening yesterday, so I had time to read the whole book in almost one sitting, using my handy dandy book light once it got dark out (and in).

As usual this was a good mystery, with Jack, a former military MP, and current 'between jobs' kind of guy, doing his usual brilliant detective work. Besides just enjoying the character, the story was interesting, involving some issues of veterans' health care and opioid use. Also there was more than one strong female character, so yay for that.

Lee Child books are not great literature and don't claim to be, but they are great mysteries as far as I'm concerned. Child is probably at the top of my favorite mystery writers list, which includes John Sandford, John Lescroart, Michael Connelly, Vince Flynn, and Harlan Coben.

Now if only the latest Reacher novel, Past Tense, was available on Thrift...sigh.

The Reservoir Tapes

 

 

This book was a disappointment. It ostensibly was an interviewer's writing about the reactions of local residents to the disappearance of a young teenage girl. While I thought each individual story was interesting, I found it puzzling that nothing seemed to lead to any real information about the disappearance. Now, after looking at some other reviews, it seems I would have needed to read Reservoir 13, the author's previous book, first to have any real understanding of what this Tapes book was all about.

The Other Woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought the whole premise of this story was ridiculous. The main character was a wimp who ignored the most obvious of red flags. The methods of the 'other woman' were just not realistic. The ending was predictable. I can't say more without including spoilers, so suffice it to say I don't recommend this one.

The Half Brother by Holly LeCraw

I thought about giving this book 2 stars (it was OK) on Goodreads, but decided it was actually less than OK so gave it only 1 star (didn't like it).  I wasn't drawn to the characters at all. I didn't really care what happened to them, and what did happen was so predictable. The book was like soap opera plots which all revolve around people hiding the truth from each other. I wouldn't recommend this book. It was pretty much a waste of time.

Andrew's Brain by E.L.Doctorow

 

 

I thought this book, being by E.L.Doctorow, would be really interesting. Nope, it wasn't. I couldn't help thinking 'This is the same author who wrote Ragtime???"  I'm one of those people who, having started a book, is loath to not finish it, so I slogged my way through to the end of this one. I was mildly curious to find out where the story was going, what happened to Andrew, what was true, what was imagined, etc., but was disappointed in the results. The final ramblings about Andrew's time in Washington were particularly kind of laughable, and the ending was anti-climactic.

I like a book that I am eager to get back to after pauses in reading. This was not one of those books. I only looked forward to finishing it up as quickly as possible so I could move on to a much more engrossing book. I may have to rethink my self imposed compulsion to finish any book I've started.

Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

Sadly, mass shootings are a big issue these days, so it was interesting to find a book with that as the theme. The story told of the feelings, and reactions of the victims and survivors, particularly detailing the lives of 3 of the survivors, both during and after the event in a way that seemed both real and insightful.

The characters were interesting and compelling, both strong and weak, both confident and hesitant, both negative and positive. The tragedy was a turning point which for most led to purpose in their lives.

The story grabbed me right at the first page and I found it difficult to put the book down. There was mystery, there was crime fighting, there was detecting, there was romance, there were strong women and equally strong men not at odds with one another. All in all, in spite of the subject matter, I really enjoyed this book.

(I received an advanced readers copy of this book through the publisher's Shelf Awareness giveaway)