Breathless - Dean Koontz

This is one of those novels where 5-6 seemingly-disparate storylines have to come together by the end, and in this case, within the final pages. Unfortunately, it seemed that at least one of those storylines was so completely unessential to the overall novel that it could have been dropped without any effect, and a few of the other storylines were just kind of there. The real story here concerns two strange creatures discovered by a retired Army sniper named Grady and his emotionally-scarred-but-healing friend the veterinarian. Stripped down, I was really disappointed by this novel, as usually Koontz' characters have a fair bit of depth and his plots have a number of unexpected twists. This effort, however, felt like it was written over a weekend just to push out another book.

Cause of Fear - Robert Ross

Cause of Fear is a quick little supernatural mystery / thriller that I figured out really early on. Despite knowing where this was headed and pretty much how we were going to get there, it was still an enjoyable read. I like novels like this that have a story to tell and just tell it without embellishing a whole bunch. No reason to really recommend this one, though if you want something quick to read this will be a quick diversion for you.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling

Book 5 came and went and I feel that it moved the story along nicely. Not the best book by far and it seemed that the story could have been told in far less than 800+ pages that it took. I do like how the series is getting darker and is growing as Harry ages. The questions left open in the previous four books are starting to be answered here and I'm looking forward to the final two books in the series.

Swan Song - Robert McCammon

I see many reviews that compare this to Stephen King's The Stand and rightly so. They share a theme of survivors from a world-wide disaster struggle to survive and battle an evil that has arisen from the ashes. Despite the similarities, Swan Song stands on it's own as an enjoyable novel and I can't say that one is better than the other. McCammon spins a tale that sucks you in from page one and makes this 950 page epic a page turner. There was a twist that I did figure out towards the end, but was truly unexpected early on. Pay attention in those first couple chapters.

McCammon fans will already know that this is one not to miss and for those of you new to him as was I, be forewarned, this will cause you to go out and get the rest of his book.

Only true flaw I found that was a bit annoying at time was the way his point of view would switch almost in mid-paragraph at times. There were times I read half a page before I realized that we're looking at something from a new character. Other than that, great book and I highly recommend.

Ford County - John Grisham

John Grisham has followed a wealth of other well-known authors by publishing a book of short stories. They weren't bad, but I guess when you're used to an author that uses novel-length writings to develop characters and plots, the short story format falls short. The stories herein all happen in Clanton County, Mississippi and cover the subjects of AIDS, attorney misconduct (of course), strippers, and casinos. Some of the characters I'd like to see again, and others I wouldn't. I love Grisham generally, but I get the sense that, if these stories were written by someone just starting out, they may have never seen publication.

Abandoned - Cody McFadyen

Smoky Barrett is an FBI agent with a violent past - her husband and child were murdered several years earlier, and Smoky's own face was permanently scarred by the killer. As this book opens, Smoky is attending the wedding of one of the FBI's own, and the venue is filled with law enforcement as an injured woman stumbles down the aisle. She'd been missing for eight years, and her then-husband has since had her declared dead and remarried. As Smoky and her team focus on the apparent kidnapping, they discover a killer that operates a business without any sense of humanity. I did figure out parts of this novel, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Remembering Wadsworth - Caesar A. Carrino

I have been a resident of Wadsworth Township since 2002, and live in a home just next to the former Pardee farm on what used to be Stony Ridge Road. When we moved here, we signed a document that disclosed that the area has been tunneled through with coal mines, but that the locations of many of them are unknown. This author is a former mayor of the town of Wadsworth, and tracks the town from its settlement in the early 1800s though the 1900s. While it is a short book, it was intriguing to learn the College Street is indeed named for a college that used to be located there (now the site of Isham Elementary School). Learning just a bit about the rise and fall of some of the smaller towns in the area (Western Star, River Styx, Clark Corner) was great as well. Certainly this book has a limited geographic, but those from the area should definitely see what this town used to be like.

One If By Heaven, Two If By Hell - Rick Maydak

I just couldn't get into this one at all. I tried, I really did, but nothing held my interest. I think the premise was interesting and had potential, but this book just did not follow through. Can't say I would recommend this at all. The cover art however, is beautiful. I would love to see a larger print of this artwork.


Book not great, art fantastic.