Saving Faith by David Baldacci; 1999; 451 pages; Warner Books, New York, NY; 0-446-52577-4; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Midland; 6/16/19-6/26/19
Lee Adams, Private Investigator, is hired by an unknown client who offers him a large sum of money to follow a woman. He follows her, saves her from an assassination attempt, falls in love with her, sees her get shot, lies to Congress, and brings down the number two man in the CIA. All in a days work. A rather pedestrian effort from David Baldacci, it reads like a movie of the week from the last century. This is the first time I haven't been completely engrossed by a novel by David Baldacci.
6/10
The Institute by Stephen King: 2019; $30.00; 561 pages; Scribner, New York, NY; 978-1-9821-1056-7; checked out from the Multnomah County Library, Saint Johns; 9/16/19-9/19/19
Children being kidnapped and their parents killed. Children transported while sedated to a room that looks almost exactly like their own room, except none of the rooms have windows. Shades of Charlie McGee, from Firestarter, the kids are being used to execute people telepathically around the world. The star chamber decides whom needs to be terminated to "protect" the world from what they think will be happen. Supposed precogs tell them what might happen and the star chamber targets someone for something they might do. The Institute neglects to think about how powerful some of their charges are and what might happen if the children banded together. With an ending reminiscent of the ending of Carrie, it all comes crashing down. As with most of King's books you will find a connection to other books of his.
10/10
The History of the Wonderous World as recorded for the The Laurel Society, Practitioners of The Wonderous Science, Updated and Approved by the Most High Hidden Librarian, An Overview of Significant People, Concepts and Events, A Supplementary Volume to Mysteries of the The Laurel Society by Brian W. Parker; 2019; $8.99; 32 pages; Believe in Wonder Publishing, Beaverton, OR; 978-1-690-07273-7; purchased from SmileAmazon.com; 9/16/19-9/16/19
This little volume is like a Tardis, it contains so much inside. Beautiful artwork and paragraphs that are packed with wonder, paragraphs that made me want to dive much deeper and explore the Wonderous World even deeper. Brian's first book of the Laurel Society that I am constantly wondering what he will do for the second volume.
10/10
Tiger Gulch, A Jim Solderheim Mystery by Dave Mitchner; 2018; $3.99; 49 pages; purchased from SmileAmazon.com; 9/13/19-9/15/19
This slim volume tells a story that has an international flair to it even though it begins and mainly takes place in Wildcat County, which I placed in Wyoming in my mind. A man is murdered in a very ritualistic way that mirrors a cold case from twelve years before. Jim Solderheim is assigned the current case and the cold case. Jim is like a dog with a bone he won't let go until it is saved. As he pulls on threads they lead back to an Army unit during the Korean War which has brought the enemy into their own back yard. I hope the author writes some more.
10/10
Notable Women of Portland by Tracy J. Prince and Zadie Schaefer; 2017; $26.99; 127 pages; Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC; 978-1-4671-2505-5; purchased at the Spring 2019 Friends of the Multnomah County Book sale; 9/11/19-9/13/19
This is part of the Images of America series so there is more emphasis on the pictures included. It goes way back, prior to Statehood in 1859, highlight some of the indigenous woman who were in the area. I did find out that the Sacajawea statue in Washington was driven by suffragettes who considered her a symbol of women's strength. The women covered are a cross section of the population, women of color, women of wealth and middle class who have come to be well known.
10/10
Cow Creek Valley Memories, The Early Settlers of Riddle Oregon by John M. Cornutt; 1971; Rachel Weinstein Business Services; purchased at the Friends of the Multnomah County Library Book Sale, April 2019; 9/10/19-9/11/19
I picked this up because we have friends, Dan and Sally Sieh, who live in Riddle and we visited them a few years ago and stayed in their guest house. We took Nola part of the time and she got to see horses and pigs and more. She even got to set on a horse for awhile.
This is from 1970 and is the authors memories of growing up and living in and around the area from the late 1800's on. It is fun to read someone's memories of their life and see how life has changed in oh so many ways.
10/10 (for what it is)
An Amish Christmas Kitchen, Three Novellas Celebrating the Warmth of the Season by Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, and Kate Lloyd; 2019; $14.99; 300 pages; Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN; 978-07642-3383-8; a gift from Bethany House who requested a review; 8/30/19-9/11/19
Two of the stories were good but somewhat predictable, the third however was outside the box for an Amish story. All of the stories happen within a few days of Christmas which restricts the authors storytelling. I enjoyed all of the stories, but there seems to be only so much you can do within the genre due to the restrictions placed on the authors by the group they are writing about.
8/10
Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison; 2018;$26.00; 387 pages; Viking, New York, NY; 978-07352-2044-7; purchased from SmileAmazon.com; 8/30/19-9/6/19
I reread this because I am leading a discussion on it at book club on September 14. I was sucked in again by the author's use of language and how he is able to paint such memorable characters. I also enjoyed the shout out to Johnny Cash and Shel Silverstein.
This is the story of Jessilyn Harney and her life in the old west. It is an unconventional tale of a woman who has to find her own way after she is abandoned by her older brother. Her mother dies in childbirth and she is raised by her father and older brother, until conflict between them drives her brother off. As her father tries to run their spread and deal with so much, he meets an accidental demise. Jess then determines to find her brother and does so in a way that ensures that she doesn't have to rely on the men around her. It explores the sexuality of several characters and what it means to follow a charismatic person.
Every one of the main characters is a fully realized human being with conflicts, characters flaw and doubts.
I am looking forward to reading more from John Larison.
10/10
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi; 2019; $27.00; 305 pages; One World, New York, NY; 978-0-525-50928-8; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Rockwood; 8/19/19-8/30/19
Okay this one is a difficult one to explain. The author examines many different isms and how to combat them. It is not enough to be not racist, we need to look for the causes of the racist, sexist policies that enable racism. Racism is not just an individual problem but is also a systemic problem. There are policies in place that cause racism, poverty, sexism and more. We have to seek those causes out and replace them with equitable policies. Ibram X Kendi is much more eloquent on the subject than I am.
10/10
Ranger's Apprentice, The Royal Ranger, Duel at Araluen by John Flanagan; 2018; 327 pages; Penguin Random House Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 978-0-14-378592-7; borrowed from Kaden To who is safekeeping it for Amanda Banker, whose friend bought it for her in Australia and gave it to her in China, where she gave it to Kaden and he brought it to Portland; 8/21/19-8/22/19
An exciting crossover between John Flanagan's Brotherband and Ranger's Apprentice series. I really enjoyed seeing how the two cast of characters interacted and how all the different people in authority would work together. I missed seeing Lydia from Brotherband, I would like to see her and Maddie team up together. I also missed Will and Halt.
An usurper has taken control of the castle and managed to isolate the head knight and ranger commandant far from the castle. It is up to Maddie, the Ranger Apprentice (who also happens to be a princess) and the Brotherband to save the day. Ingenuity and cunning are used to great advantage.
This only took me a day to read, because I read every moment I could and some I shouldn't have. I read it in the middle of a very serious book.
10/10
One Good Deed by David Baldacci; 2019;$29.00; 420 pages; Grand Central Publishing, New York, NY;978-1-5387-5056-8; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Hollywood; 8/16/19-8/19/19
Archer ends up in Poca City after a stint in the Army and a stint in prison for a crime he didn't commit. His first day in town he is offered work as a debt collector. As he pursues the debt he is caught in a vicious dispute between the two richest men in the small town, one who flaunts his wealth and the other who quietly acquires more and more. Also involved are two women in Archer's life, his probation officer and the estranged daughter of one of the men. Things good back and forth between the good and the bad for Archer.
An exciting debut for a new series from David Baldacci that climaxes with a interesting twist. Looking forward to more adventures with Archer.
10/10
The Big Kahuna by Janet and Peter Evanovich; 2019; $28.00; 301 pages; G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY; 978-0-525-53664-2; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Holgate; 8/14/19-8/16/19
An FBI agent and a grifter are paired to find a missing Silicone Valley billionaire. Many, including his wife, just want him declared dead. Fox and O'Hare are tasked with finding the Big Kahuna, dead or alive. The boss at the FBI office assigns another agent to help, hoping that he will keep things in line or at least fill out the proper paperwork. The action is all the place including deep into some rural Hawaiian islands.
This series is still fun, but the removal of co author Lee Goldberg with Janet Evanovich's son does not bode well for the series. The new FBI agent is an all too recognizable rip off of Joe Pesci's character, Leo Getz, from the Lethal Weapon series.
8/10
A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais; 2019; $28.00; 352 pages; G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, NY; 9780525535683; checked out from Multnomah County Library; Capitol Hill; 8/8/19-8/9/19
Joe Pike witnesses a woman being kidnapped outside his bank and saves her. His heroics start a confrontation with a powerful person and uncover a past that some of those involved know nothing of. A Dangerous Man can refer to the powerful that will seemingly stop at nothing to get what he wants, but I prefer to think Joe Pike is the Dangerous Man. Pike is not someone that you want to get on the wrong side of.
10/10
The Simple Truth by David Baldacci; 1998; $24.95;470 pages; Warner Books, New York, NY; 0-446-52332-1; checked out from the Multnomah County Library, Gresham; 8/4/19-8/8/19
Years ago an African American soldier was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in an Army prison. One day he unexpectedly finds information that may clear his name. His lawyer sends the information to the US Supreme court for a new trial. A rule following court clerk breaks the rules and takes the brief. He has set in motion a train that will come to threaten even the justices. His brother, a policeman turned attorney, along with another clerk begin to investigate. Lots of corruption and anger as the threads unravel.
10/10
