Fear the Worst - Linwood Barclay

What happens when your 17-year-old daughter disappears, and you discover that she never worked at the hotel as she claimed? Tim Blake is a car salesman, and the divorced dad of Sydney, the missing teen. As Tim and his ex-wife look for their daughter, they begin to see that this is more than a runaway case, and the plot begins to grow much more complex. There are a few clichéd elements, but the plot twists were well-developed and the characters very believable. This was my first book by this author, and there will absolutely by more!

The Broker - John Grisham

I've never been much of a Grisham fan, just never thought I'd enjoy his books. About a year ago I picked up a pile of Grisham books for cheap. It's taken me a year, but I've now finished my second Grisham novel. I must say this was enjoyable. Only thing wrong with this, is the ending. While it wrapped up nicely in once sense, it left a lot of dangling threads. This seems more like book 1 of a trilogy or something instead of a standalone. But nevertheless, I enjoyed this and will read my way through the rest of the Grisham novels sitting on my shelf over the next year or so.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

Five million copies in the first printing - one million for each of the years that we've waited for the DaVinci Code sequel. When it was announced several months ago that the focus would be Masons in Washington, D.C., my first thought was Nicholas Cage in the movie National Treasure. Happily, this story was completely different, and although not as well-written as his last two novels, it was good to see Robert Langdon again. The story takes place over 12 hours as Langdon arrives in D.C. expecting to give a speech and instead finds himself interpreting symbols off of his mentor's severed hand shortly before being pursued by both the CIA and a villain that believes that the Masons are guarding a secret treasure. The clues are a combination of symbols and numbers, and there's enough detail about the Masonic ceremonies to be interesting. Now, waiting another five years for the next book.

Triple Cross - Mark T. Sullivan

An interesting premise - a globalist group called Third Position Army takes over the Jefferson Club, a retreat for the rich and famous that is hosting the 7 wealthiest men in the world. Mickey Hennessy, the security chief, is shot during the raid but escapes, only to find that his 14-year-old triplets are still inside. When the TPA begins putting on mock trials of the billionaires, Mickey starts working with the FBI to storm the retreat and get his kids back. There were some odd gaps in the story (e.g., the networks are broadcasting outside the gates, but the Army, watching inside, doesn't know the FBI's plans?) but overall I was entertained. I've just ordered several of this author's backlist.

Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God - Larry Osborne

I'm typically reading 3 books at once. Two fiction (one I carry with me and another on my night stand) and then a non-fiction which I have in any number of places and will read when I have 5 or 10 minutes. Because I read this in very short bursts, it tends to take me a bit longer to finish one.

This is one that actually worked well for those quick bursts. The chapters / sections were short and I could complete one in the time I had available. This one appealed to me greatly as I kind of consider myself one of those Christians that don't necessarily fit the "mold." I always tried to fit into the patterns of what I thought a Christian should be. This book helped me in many ways realize that what I perceived as rules were really just tools and that I need to focus more on my relationship with Christ than on the "process" of being a Christian. Great eye-opening stuff and would recommend this to anyone whether you're a believer or a seeker. 9/10.

The Guinea Pig Diaries - A.J. Jacobs

I really liked this author's previous two books - one about reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and the other about conforming to Biblical law for a year - but I couldn't get into this book. Whereas the previous books were focused, this book documents a series of one month experiments and at times seems like it is just stretching to the reach the back cover. A.J. adopts the mannerisms of George Washington, outsources his life overseas, and defers to his wife for a month. Some mildly entertaining moments, but not what I've come to expect from this author.

Midnight's Lair - Richard Laymon

Typical Laymon novel. Violent horror with people trying to kill others meanwhile others are trying to get each other naked while trying to avoid getting killed. Some more successful than others. This did have an interesting twist I didn't expect that made this one a bit more enjoyable and that could have been a starting point for a great novel. The killers are in certain ways the victims of something more terrible so you do start to feel for them as well as their victims. Quick read but know that this isn't for the easily offended. 4/10

Johannes Cabal The Necromancer - Jonathan L. Howard

I have always been a fan of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, and as Howard says his acknowledgements, sometimes you have to wonder what makes a carnival evil. This book answers that question with a fantastically-crafted story with great characters and an underlying sense of humor. Johannes Cabal is a necromancer, just as the title would suggest, who has entered into a wager with Satan to retrieve his soul, sold years prior to gain the gift of necromancy. As a part of the wager, Satan demands that Cabal have 100 people sign over their souls in a year's time, and Satan provides a run-down traveling circus and a bit of diabolical influence to "assist" Cabal in his task. Aided by his brother Horst, a creature with a certain aversion to sunlight and a peculiar need for blood, and a host of "created" sideshows and riggers, Cabal treks from town-to-town looking to make his quota. Howard is a master, a Christopher Moore with more literary flair. I look forward to his next book!

Eyes of the Virgin - Thomas F Monteleone

I picked this one up hoping for a quick read, something to break up a long series I'm moving through now. I was not disappointed. While this is a typical thriller in the vein of DaVinci Code it was enjoyable in it's own right. This for some reason was a page turner for me. Could have been just because it was such a break from the series I'm reading now or it could have been just a fast paced book. I'm still torn on the answer. Nothing stands out in this book as being truly memorable though I've enjoyed it enough that I'll check out more of this author. Recommend for a quick weekend read, just don't expect anything new here.

The Art of Making Money - Jason Kersten

Art Williams Jr. grew up on the criminal side of Chicago, finding his path when his mom's boyfriend introduced him to the art of counterfeiting. Art went on to create one of the best copies of the new $100 bill - including the watermark and security strip - and this book takes the reader through the methods that he used. It also tells the stories of Art's relationships with his family, including an estranged father that abandoned him as a child but came back into his life much later. Although not a bad book overall, I really wanted more out of this. I expected something a bit grittier, details of criminal enterprise, but the actual counterfeiting operations tends to be shadowed by over-explanations of Art's personal life.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

The books are getting better as we move through the series. However, had I not seen the movies ahead of time, I'm not sure this would have grabbed me as much. I'm still not seeing a ton of differences between the movies and the books. In Prisoner of Azkaban, unless I'm completely forgetting something, the major difference seems to be more one of emphasis. The movie emphasized some things more than the book did. What I thought was a major point from seeing the movies was just glossed over in the book making it seem more like window dressing, so I'll be interested to see if it comes into play more deeply later. I still rate it pretty high because it was an easy, quick read and I did enjoy it, but as of now, contrary to how I am typically, I'm enjoying the movies better.