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Odd Hours (Odd Thomas 4)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Dean Koontz

July 01, 2008
I've read and enjoyed many Dean Koontz books; in particular I've enjoyed the Odd Thomas series and was looking forward to reading this book.

I was very disappointed with what I read.

The main issue is that the storyline is just very one-dimensional. None of the characters are well developed: you find out nothing new about Odd, while you're introduced to several new characters but find out very little about any of them. During the book several questions are raised that feel key to the story but none of them are ever answered.

Overall the book just plods along with the main storyline, creating secondary storylines that are instantly forgotten about, until the main story reaches it's predictable conclusion ... Read More:

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Crossfire

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Andy McNab

June 02, 2008
I've read all the McNab books, fiction and non-fiction and I have to say that this is one of his best fiction books to date. The Nick Stone series did get a bit dry at points, but this book really had me totally, totally engrossed.

Reading it makes you want to go out, run 12 miles and join the Army. Great author.

Crossfire

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Not in the Flesh

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Ruth Rendell

July 31, 2008
This latest offering of the Inspector Wexford series opens like an episode from "The Famous Five". In fact Wexford's language would be more suited to Policeman Plod. To be fair, the book improves slightly and there is a bit of adult thinking in the plot but it is so far from her top form that it is a shame to publish it.
If Ruth Rendell intends to publish anything more I suggest she find a new ghost writer.

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The Wire in the Blood

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Val McDermid

February 06, 2006
This is the second of Val McDermid's Tony Hill novels. Hill has been asked to head up a Profiling Task Force, where young and talented officers will be taught profiling skills under his watchful eye. A routine classroom exercise results in one of the officers being murdered and Hill reunites with his friend and past partner, Carol Jordan.

I had watched the TV series before I came to this book and was a little hesitant, knowing that I already knew who the murderer was. However, I would still say that this book deserves a read. It is very well paced, the characters are interesting and rather than revealing the murderer at the end, we witness them carry out their crimes learning more about their motivations. The plot turns are also slightly different ... Read More:

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The Draining Lake

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Arnaldur Indridason

August 07, 2008
Set against the background of the Cold War, this novel uses the discovery of a skeleton in an Icelandic lake as the trigger for the investigation of a series of missing persons. Integral to the plot is the experiences of a group of Icelandic students in Leipzig (in former East Germany) in the 1950s. As in previous novels, Indridason is using a crime investigation to explore lots of themes - socio-economic change in Iceland, ageing and death, bereavement and betrayal. Like his earlier work, there is little that could be described as upbeat. However, whilst the story is bleak, it is fascinating and compelling.

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The Front

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Patricia Cornwell

May 15, 2008
This is the 1st Patricia Cornwell book I have read and most probably the last - this is the most, boring and disappointing book I have read in a very long time. Was determined to finish it, feel totally cheated as MY reading time is precious to me, will be choosing other authors in the future.

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The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Alexander McCall Smith

June 05, 2003
Charming, warm sequence of interlinked tales about an engaging, intelligent matriach figure who solves local mysteries in Botswana. Easy to read and enjoyable, but the characterisations are rather flat, the stories somewhat predictable, and the simplicity of the writing sometimes is just too simple to be all that interesting.

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Deception Point

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Dan Brown

May 01, 2004
another brilliant dan brown book, grabs you from the first page,excellent characters,fabulous plot I enjoyed the twists turns and it was so gripping I couldn't put it down an absolute must read...I highly recommend it.

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The Manor of Death (Crowner John Mystery)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Bernard Knight

October 01, 2008
I will be concise. If Bernard Knight wrote it, I read it and that includes his non-fiction. One is never disappointed with a "Crowner John" read and one knows that he is "right on" with his history. I look at Knight and Jecks as a team so to speak. You expect and receive excellence in writing
despite the book market these days.

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The Woman in Black

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Crime- Thrillers and Mystery
by: Susan Hill

August 06, 1998
I was introduced to The Woman in Black by my mother who took me for a birthday treat to see the long running west end show. I was hooked. For anyone who is thinking of seeing a truly memorable play in London, this is the one. It is done with the bare minimum of props and set design, so allowing your imagination to completely take over, which it does. It is completely spine-chilling and unforgettable. Go and see it!