Tag Archives: American
A New Direction for Espionage Thrillers by guest author Terrence Crimmins
Back in the day, as they say, the principal backdrop for espionage novels was the Cold War. John Le Carre’s thriller, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, had a memorable title that brings up the fears and feelings of that genre, where the reader was enthralled with curiosity about the mysterious world behind …
Mystery by Peter Straub
My friend Sharon passed this book on to me when she had finished it. She highly recommended Mystery. I had not read anything by Peter Straub before, so I took the book on holiday with me to read while I was away at The Clube Humbria, Algarve, Portugal. The hotel is reviewed at https://hotelandrestaurantreviews.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/clube-humbria-algrave-portugal/. I have …
The Coward’s Guide to Conflict by Tim Ursiny
I really dislike conflict, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. So when I saw this book in my local library, I thought it might be worth a read. The book promotes the idea that, if you know how to deal with conflict well, you can turn it into your biggest opportunity for success. The Coward’s …
The Closers by Michael Connelly
When my husband and I go on holidays, we each take books and, half way through the trip, we swap. I was recently introduced to Michael Connelly books after the Scottish author, Karen Campbell, mentioned that she enjoyed them. So last month when we sent off for the Canary Isles, The Closers, by Michael Connelly …
The Appeal by John Grisham
John Grisham is practically an American institution. This book, The Appeal is a 2008 novel, his twenty-first book and his first fictional legal thriller since 2005. He is a writer whose best selling status is assured. So assured, in fact, that expectations for each of his new books are as high as can be imagined. However, I am not sure …
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson has a cult following and was recommended to me by the co-ordinator of the first book group I ever joined. He found the author to be a very interesting character. Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American author and journalist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky to a …
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Deja Dead was Kathy Reichs’s debut crime novel and inspired such widespread excitement. It won the 1998 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. I really enjoy Kathy Reichs books, but they do get a bit technical in parts. She is an American author but has a tendency to drop into French dialogue. That might be off putting …
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
I cannot really remember how or where I came by this book, Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. However, I remembered being told by my mother about a white man who pretended to be black and people were rude and unkind to him because they thought he was black. I recall, even as a young …
Second Chance by Jane Green
Jane Green is the author of fourteen New York Times best selling novels, dealing with real women and all the things life throws at them, with her trademark wisdom, wit and warmth. A former feature writer for the Daily Express newspaper in the UK, Green took a leap in faith when she left, in 1996, …
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew
At the library, I picked up another book promoted by the book group run by successful, local author Evelyn Hood. It was “Gardens of Water” by Alan Drew. The story is set in a small town outside Istanbul, Sinan Basioglu, a devout Muslim, and his wife, Nilüfer, are preparing for their nine-year-old son’s coming-of-age ceremony. Their headstrong …
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