Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

by Carol5 Comments
Codename Villanelle stars two women, a top-level assassin and the former MI6 operative whose job it is to find and eliminate her. Both women are strong and well-drawn. Villanelle is a psychopath, but one who knows she's different and uses the knowledge as a strength. Eve is a tough, but has more connections. she has a husband and subordinates; her choices effect not only her life, but theirs too. This is an action story, full of violence and sex, but happily it never quite tips over into graphic or gratuitous. It's a quick read and I enjoyed it, right up until the end. I guess this a collection of 4 novellas. It felt seamless to me, but then it ended with more or less "to be continued," which always just annoys me. If your series is good enough, I will continue to read it without a middle school book trick. Give me a semi-conclusion and leave it there. I'll know the...
Read More
Anatomy of a Scandal by Sara Vaughan

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sara Vaughan

by Carol2 Comments
Anatomy of a Scandal is a very timely courtroom drama. Just a warning, there is going to be a minor spoiler here. I don't think I can help it. Handsome, charming James, a Junior Home Office Minister, is accused of rape by an ex-lover. Sophie is his wife who believes, at least at first,  that he could never have done such a heinous thing. Kate is the lawyer determined to prove him guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt- and she doesn't have any doubt. The story flowed well. It's not a nail-biting thriller, but it's tense and emotion-filled. We see James and Sophie in their college days, along with their friends. We know what they were like then and who they became. We learn that some things change, and others don't. It's a story that sucks you in, but I'm not sure I really enjoyed it. First, there's never any doubt for the reader about James guilt, just whether the jury will believe...
Read More
The Bookworm by Mitch Silver (with giveaway)

The Bookworm by Mitch Silver (with giveaway)

by Carol8 Comments
The Bookworm by Mitch Silver is a gripping thriller and enjoyable for the most part. There's so much going on though that it gets a bit overwhelming. Lara, the bookworm, is a Russian history professor who get caught in the middle of a couple of conspiracies. First, we have the WW 2  hoax that manages to draw Hitler's attention away from England toward Russia, stalling the invasion long enough that it never happens. Lara is given the Dictaphone cylinders to listen to by someone who is a little suspicious. Then we have the Alaskan oil field that is merely a prop in a "deal" between the Russian and American presidents, with no actual drilling going on. Lev, Lara's brother, discovers the charade, takes photos and barely escapes with his life. Somehow this all ties together in a well-pace novel with chase scenes, chess games, and a couple of dead bodies. The problem for me though is that it could have been fabulous, but...
Read More

Clink Street Blogival: The Expansion by Christoph Martin

by CarolNo Comments
The Magic of Collaboration The Expansion is the first in a series of political thrillers written by a collaborative writing team: Christoph Martin Zollinger and Libby O’Loghlin. Here, Christoph and Libby talk about the collaborative writing process. Christoph Martin Zollinger I came up with the idea for The Expansion book while I was in the air, on a flight from Panama to Switzerland, and I knew it was going to need to be a collaborative effort from the beginning, because the scope of the story is huge! It starts in the UK, moves to Switzerland, then to Panama and the US (Washington, D.C.), and amongst all that we have a cast of very colorful characters who carry the story through all the politics and clandestine twists and turns behind the ‘seemingly’ straightforward project: the expansion of the Panama Canal! One of the best aspects of working as a writing team is that Libby’s and my skills and strengths are very complementary, but we have...
Read More

Clink Street Blogival: Soho Honey by A. W. Rock

by Carol2 Comments
Read a couple excerpts: #1 Having just returned to Soho Costas has recommended a cheap hotel for Branen to stay in on his first night... Hotel California had a small entrance in Tisbury Court, a paved alleyway between Wardour and Rupert Street. The frosted glass door had a red glow behind it; the kind that brothels have. He mentally thanked Costas and tried the door, noticing it swung both ways, he suspected like some of the guests, and making it easier to eject unwanted customers. The reception area was particularly attractive. On the right-hand side there was a desk, resembling a cheap pulpit. Behind it sat a tabloid newspaper which didn’t reveal its reader. “I need a room,” he said. The newspaper seemed to be studiously ignoring him. “Have you got a room?” The newspaper lowered revealing a shabby, unshaven man with a thick neck and the shoulders of a wrestler. Without looking up he pushed the register across the desk and the movement of his...
Read More

When the Sky Falls by Joseph Bendoski

by Carol1 Comment
I loved the concept of When the Sky Falls and it was clearly well-researched. Sky Fall Events cause mass panic in a population, but the "news" itself is fictional. It's a little complicated subject, but fascinating really. The writing style is direct, which works here. The book starts off with a really gripping scene, which you can read below. A couple of complaints. First, there are a lot of characters. It was a bit difficult to keep track of them and several of them are not as well-developed as they could be. Second, there was a bit too much violence for me personally, especially in the second half of the book. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. Read an excerpt: Porto, Portugal. October 30, 1988 The lights flickered and went dark, that’s when it started. Luis reached up and adjusted the bulb with his fingers. The hot glass burned his skin. He gritted his teeth as the sensation grew stronger. He doubted the bulb...
Read More