This unique story brings one more spin to the greatest conspiracy generator of the 20th century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It is definitely a risky business mixing real people, places and events into a novel when the subject has been dissected multiple times and many of us are still alive to remember this terrible tragedy.

My thoughts:

This novel is a fantasy and definitely quite original in many ways. To say I enjoyed this vividly imaginative tale would not be truthful nevertheless my curiosity pushed me to stick with it till the very last page. The story started a few weeks before the deadly November day with a time traveller parachuted 300 years back in time. This person dropped in Dallas as if he always lived there, befriended Rufus and Darlene immediately, even in a fantasy this scenario sounded totally improbable. From then on the story unravelled in a very choppy narrative switching back and forth to different cartoonish events, everything peppered with terrible humour (IMO). The clunky dialogue played an important role in the weird sample of romance between Rufus and Darlene or maybe I felt the author was trying too hard to sound Texan. I didn't like the characters, they were more caricatures than anything else and the known figures were in names only with no active roles to play. My thoughts may be harsh but this is the way I see it…..

Book 1, in the Cape Town series

This fantastic story almost impossible to put down recounts how, why and what happened to Jack Burns, an American who relocated to Cape Town, South Africa with his family.

Blackmailed into participating in a bank heist that went terribly wrong in his home town of Milwaukee Jack realizes he needs to get out of town and go into hiding with his wife and son. At first everything seems to be going well, then one evening all hell breaks loose when Jack is forced to defend his home and family, his killer instincts kick in with his wife and son as witnesses.

From this point on Jack’s life spirals out of control, this drastic act of self defense leaves him alone unable to go to the police because of his international fugitive status and targeted by street gangs who want revenge and a rogue cop who has his own agenda and is insanely corrupt. All this only scratches the surface of what life has in store for Jack and his family, there is no shortage of suspense and drama from one end to the other. There is little time to catch a breath between chapters. This fast paced action packed plot is a continual barrage of events that just keep on coming. This solid thriller is definitely plot driven and provides an intense sense of place and excellent characterization. It also has a witty side while it explores Paradise Park and Cape Town and brings everything to life through the twists and turns of the criminal world and the confusing racial identity.

Roger Smith has definitely earned a place on my TBR list.

Book 3, the final chapter in the Milo Weaver trilogy

The final volume has a complex story that deepens as the plot moves forward spanning the globe going into and developing every nook and cranny of the multilayered and multifaceted world of espionage. The thriller starts off as a very challenging read it masterfully portrays the action from different angles and perspectives as it jockeys back and forth in time. The abundance of Chinese names and the intricacies of their customs and bureaucracies develop into mind bending and complex situations that are highly action packed, concentration is a must but the dividends are rewarding in the end.

The action starts in the aftermath of 37 departmental Tourists (undercover assassins) targeted and eventually eliminated in orchestrated raids by Chinese spymaster Xin Zhu. Milo Weaver although wounded was one of the few who managed to escape. In the ensuing investigation, Alan Drummond was fired and the department dismantled. With revenge on his mind Alan does his best to recruit Milo who unfortunately has one thing on his mind, put the past behind and assume a normal family life.

Alan’s determination is so strong he goes rogue and uses one of Milo’s compromised aliases, attracting immediate attention and setting off alarms in the underworld of international espionage. When Alan suddenly falls off the radar Milo feels he is the one best equipped to track him down and attacks the challenge with the determination of a pitbull. Milo is soon caught up in an endless web of deceit with no backup facing danger on all sides. Hunted by a dragon with many heads even his family is at risk.

I highly recommend reading the two previous novels. With them fresh on your mind it will be easier to make sense of this intricate plot and understand the main characters’ background. I feel it is essential in order to appreciate the full depth of this complicated by highly entertaining story.

I will miss the unique adventures this protagonist brings to the table in his quest to protect country and family back home.

This standalone novel has a very cinematic quality about it and is an invigorating read that provides hours of entertainment. It offers a wonderful change of pace from the author’s well-known series featuring the tough, hard drinking police inspector Harry Hole.

The story is fast paced and is narrated by a smooth, secretive and deeply bashful business executive Roger Brown whose high paying job is to recruit senior managerial talent for leading international corporations. Roger’s vanity is his fine head of hair and his trophy wife Diana who runs a fashionable Oslo art gallery which he heavily subsidizes. Their lifestyle stretches the limits of their day jobs so to pay for their extravagance, Roger has a lucrative sideline. Without his wife’s knowledge Roger and his assistant from a security firm steal precious art works and connect them with the discreet well to do for a hefty price.

Everything goes fine till one day he mixes his day job with his extracurricular activities. While breaking into the house of one of his well to do and well-connected clients he uncovers his wife’s missing personalized cell phone and realizes she also may have a shady hidden side to her life. In days to come, Roger discovers he may have targeted someone too close to home. The client/victim/lover and very dangerous man is now hell bent on finding the person who crossed him and will go to any extreme to make him pay. Roger will need all the brainpower and plenty of luck to distance himself from the predicament he is in.

Jo Nesbo has a unique writing style that encompasses an abundance of twists and turns and side plots that are well-crafted. He skillfully builds suspense into dynamic plots that have excellent narration and characters that are not only intriguing but also extremely well-developed.

This mystery had my full attention right from the start and it was a blast till the very end

Book 4, in the Arthur Beauchamp series

“Snow Job” is the first book I read from this author, it has been on my TBR list for a long time and I finally got around to reading it. Before writing my thoughts I needed to refresh why it ever made it on my list, digging deeper I discovered that Mr. Deverell is a crime writer who has won several major crime-writing awards and also the Stephen Leacock medal for Humour. Since I am a fan of thrillers and mysteries, it must have been a recommendation at one point by a friend. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of mystery thrillers seasoned with political and judicial satire.

The story spins a wild tale full of biting satire about the Canadian political machine, tactics employed by CSIS and some eco-terrorists hanky-panky. The author works the crime and mystery side through his protagonist, Arthur Beauchamp, and the suspense and intrigue inevitably moves the storyline to the House of Commons in Ottawa where his wife Margaret Blake is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada. There is plenty of gripping action but it is often overshadowed by the author’s description of the shenanigans that go on behind the lines in the halls of power. The author’s perceptions hit home and it is quite laughable especially when it mirrors what we read or hear of on an almost daily basis. The story has numerous characters and each one has a tale to tell. However at one point there are just too many details and the theme becomes laboured and tiresome.

The offbeat plot opens when a delegation of government officials from Bhashyistan is targeted and their car is blown sky high on Bronson Avenue and the aftermath causes the shares of a Calgary-based oil company with interest in the country to promptly drop like a stone.

Arthur, the crafty lawyer who has years of experience, is only too happy to jump to the defence of the suspected assassin who is in hiding. With collaboration from and accompanied by a dubious spy who happens to work for the Canadian intelligence agency CSIS, Arthur travels back and forth between Ottawa and Garibaldi, finally ending up in, of all places, Albania….

If you are not familiar with Canadian politics and the two major languages it may be difficult to fully grasp the satirical content of this wildly imaginative and truly Canadian story.

This debut novel is definitely a literary cloak and dagger thriller and I hope it is just the start of a captivating series. The story is fast paced and very intriguing, I found it a bit hard to get into at first but within a few chapters I had grasped the style and I had a feeling the author would expand on the pertinent details in the following paragraphs. Elegantly written this spy novel introduces Cono a protagonist who can run with the best. This young man of mixed heritage is blessed with a hyper-fast neurological system. With this asset and other natural talents he acts as a freelance spy offering his services to dubious organizations and governments. This is not a drawn out story with excess information or a book you can read a few pages at a time. I feel concentration is a must, the more you are into the storyline, the more you will enjoy connecting the dots and see the whole picture and not miss anything along the way.

“Performance Anomalies” brings Cono to Kazakhstan on a personal mission to rescue a former lover who has a habit of following the rich and famous who run the line between corrupt and good business. The country is rich in natural resources, oil for one with Beijing as its main buyer and uranium which is coveted by the Soviet market. These resources are also highly targeted by jihadists who will go to extremes to gain control of them.

Once there he is sucked into a maelstrom of troubling events, some very explosive and violent. He also quickly finds himself targeted by this growing underground force. As the plot thickens there is no shortage of action and details that are guaranteed to stimulate ones imagination. The mystery reaches far beyond the confines of one country and a hefty price awaits anyone who interferes.

I would consider this debut novel to be an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys thrillers with a twist

Do we really know the people around us?

The small Southern town of Grand Trespass Louisiana comes alive and slowly reveals its secrets when Tiffany Perron vanishes from her home in the bayou and in aftermath the lives of four desperate locals are changed for ever.

This atmospheric drama recounts how their lives are affected after Tiffany’s disappearance.

We discover:

1) Why her best friend’s relationship with her boyfriend becomes strained.

2) Why Becky, her sister, falls for a 15 year old boy with dangerous intentions.

3) How a mother of two came to cope with her husband’s affair with Tiffany, the missing girl.

4) How a disturbed man traumatized by the murder of his mother has coped with raising his troubled teenage sister and slowly over the past four years manifested a fear and hate of the opposite sex.

This stand-alone thriller/mystery is Jennifer Minar-Jaynes first novel to be published and I found it to be quite entertaining. The story is told in a third person narrative at a leisurely pace, it expresses the different points of view of a good number of characters as they tell their experiences. As we progress deeper into the story emotions go into high gear when we are taken deep into the killer’s psyche, chilling moments of suspense create a black hole that slowly takes control of your thoughts. The writing is clear, the prose innovative and the characters intriguing although on a minor note I did find the plotting wandered a little and the wishy-washy conclusion was a tad on the disappointing side. A rushed ending always leaves me with an empty feeling however the writer may have a sequel in mind to tie up loose ends. Overall I enjoyed my time with this book.

There is no doubt Simon Kernick is one of my favourite authors so when he offered a free download of this short story I jumped at the occasion. I admit I am not normally a fan of short stories I usually find them frustrating, just as I become totally absorbed into the drama it ends abruptly and leaves me with that empty feeling and wanting more. I realize this is just a teaser to attract readers to his other well developed, suspenseful and exciting novels.

Book 3, in the Nikki Heat series

This series is as entertaining as the TV show “Castle”, one of my weaknesses is that I am a huge fan of both. All three books have been a wonderful read, whoever the real author may be (Richard Castle is a character), he is one that has a knack with words. With his graceful prose he knows how to produce a page-turner that has endless boundaries.

“Heat Wave” is a fun romp through the world of imagination. It pairs the tough and sexy NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat with hotshot reporter Jameson Rook in the most dangerous case so far. It opens with the bizarre murder of a parish priest in a New York bondage club. Through the investigation the book takes us deep into the world of sex and bondage and everything related.

As usual Nikki’s case becomes even larger than first expected. The writing creatively sends your mind on one red herring after another adding plenty of intrigue and flavor to the story. At one point, clues direct the investigation back to home base were Nikki finds herself caught in the middle creating shock waves for all. Nikki really shows her skills while doing all the legwork from facing down the brass at headquarters to saving her own skin.

The plot is quick paced and entertaining there is enough going on to keep boredom at bay and your mind spinning while trying to speculate what is going to happened next. This is not a complicated mystery but is fun to read perhaps the best one yet.

What kind of trouble can a single girl on vacation by herself get into? This is the challenge “Getaway” reveals. I found this story to be very engaging, one that kept my imagination in over drive throughout the pages.

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta

After the unexpected death of her husband, Michelle Mason needs a change of pace to reset her outlook on life. A trip to the beautiful Mexican Beach resort of Puerto Vallarta could be the ultimate solution to her grieving process.

One day while walking the beach, she meets a striking young man and consequently falls head over heels for Daniel. Later in her hotel room, her dream date turns into her next nightmare when someone breaks in and beat the living ….out of him right in front of her eyes. Days later her predicament escalates when on her way to visit Daniel she is stopped at a police road- block and is accused of being part of a drug trafficking ring. To further seal her fate, Daniel’s friend Gary comes to her rescue, he is a rescuer with an agenda that will eventually draw her deeper into the underworld of drug trafficking. She quickly realizes her only hope of survival is to play the game and try to outsmart her handlers.

This story is adrenaline packed and a lot of fun to read even with its dark side. It is heavily flavoured with sex, violence, some humour and a lot of drinking and drugs. The mood and the gritty prose go a long way in creating the atmosphere, the suspense and the excitement seems endless as the protagonist tries to claw her way out of one predicament after another. This mystery offers not only an exotic and colourful setting but plenty of intrigue to captivate us throughout. A good read all around.