City of Windows by Robert Pobi; 2019; $26.99; 386 pages; Minotaur Press, New York, NY; 978-1-250-29394-7; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Gregory Heights; 10/19/19-10/22/19
I read a teaser for this on The Real Book Spy and Lee Child has a quote about how good it is on the front cover.
One day an FBI agent in a car in New York City in the middle of a snowstorm is assassinated and no one can figure out where the shot was fired from. The only person to figure it out is University Professor and former FBI agent Lucas Page. He left the FBI after THE EVENT, in which he lost an eye, an arm and a leg. He comes in and gets on the nerves of some other agents and at the same time is getting closer and closer to finding the suspect. Then the suspect decides to target Lucas's family and things get really tense. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.
One morning at home I picked this up to read a chapter and before I knew i had finished the book and I was leaving for work.
10/10
Never Look at The Empty Seats, A Memoir by Charlie Daniels, 2017; $24.99; 268 pages; W Publishing, Nashville, TN; 978-0-7180-7496-8; purchased lifeway books in Beaverton at their going out of business sale;10/14/19-10/19/19
Did you know that Charlie Daniels parents have a different last name? When Charlie was born the birth certificate had the last name of Daniel on it and a nurse thought it was wrong and added an S to it. Wonder how things would have gone with an overzealous nurse.
Charlie tells stories on himself and about those he has worked with, without mudslinging, and how various people have influenced him. Did you know that Charlie is one of the musicians on some early Dylan records. Charlie tackles some issues that have arisen during his career based on some of the songs he has written and recorded. I found out all kinds of exciting things and one that I can put to use in public speaking, Don't Look at the Empty Seats.
10/10
Aloha Rodeo, Three Hawaiian Cowboys, The World's Greatest Rodeo and a Hidden History of the American West by David Wolman and Julian Smith; 2019; $27.99; 242 pages; William Morrow, New York, NY; 978-0-06-283600-7; purchased from SmileAmazon.com so I could read it before meeting the authors at the Portland Book Festival, November 9; 10/11/19-10/14/19
After reading this I realized that I had read two other books by David Wolman and found them intriguing. He writes compelling non fiction stories.
This is the story of the United States. It stars three paniolo from Hawai'i who compete at Cheyenne, Wyoming's Frontier Days and startle the other competitors and the crowd. Before we get to the climatic rodeo we are treated to a history of the Old West and the Hawai'ian Islands and how it all comes together on the rodeo grounds in Cheyenne. We meet all kinds of historic figures that figure into the story. Wolman and Smith are great at telling a compelling non fiction story.
10/10
Deep River by Karl Marlantes; 2019; $30.00; 724 pages; Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, NY; 978-0-8021-2538-5; purchased from SmileAmazon.com because I wanted to read it before having it signed at the Portland Book Festival, Novemeber 9, 2019; 10/3/19-10/11/19
I have read two previous book by Karl Marlantes and they were a joy to read so when I heard that he was going to be at the Portland Book Festival on November 9 I picked up newest book.
This is the story of a Finnish family who immigrate to the state of Washington. Some are loggers, some are fishermen, one is a labor organizer for the IWW and one seems to do whatever they need to to survive. They come in waves for various reasons. There is a lot of Finnish history, along with history of the labor movement in the United States during the early part of the twentieth century. The Russian occupation of Finland and World War I are important events in the book. The history of Astoria, Oregon takes center stage at one point. The characters are fully drawn and compelling. The motivation for each character is different and makes sense for that character. I would strongly recommend it if you are a fan of family histories.
10/10
Lethal Agent, A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills; 2019; $28.99; 370 pages; Emily Bestler Books, New York, NY; 978-01-5011-9062-9; checked out from Multnomah County Library, North Portland; 9/30/19-10/3/19; 10/10
I started this book getting Brad Thor's Scott Horvath and Mitch Rapp mixed up. I had to go back and check on a couple of characters. One of the dangers of reading so much I guess.
One of Mitch Rapp's operations in a previous book has come back to haunt him. A bad guy has decided that the way to bring the United States to its knees is to cause a world wide pandemic. He wants to make it look the administration and the intelligence community have conspired to unleash a virus on the world to cement their place in the world. Mitch must track down the bad guy by going undercover in a cartel and making contact through them. Again the action takes our hero around the world.
Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson; 2019; $28.00; 320 pages; Viking, New York, NY; 978-0-525-52250-8; checked out from Multnomah County Library, Kenton; 9/26/19-9/30/19; 10/10
Longmire has returned to Wyoming after his adventure in Mexico rescuing his daughter, Cady. I am not sure which is the most fragile, Longmire's emotional or physical condition. A hanged shepherd, who may or may not be a war criminal, an abused child and his abuser, and a wolf all figure prominently in the plot. Craig Johnson's ability to weave some many disparate elements into a cohesive plot with focusing mainly on the characters and their interactions is what keeps me coming back to this series.
