City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers

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.Sweetheart
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Chelsea Cain

September 02, 2008
I picked this book from the vine list because I live in Portland, a wonderful city that is drastically under represented in popular fiction in spite of what a wonderful place it is. But I don't think I'm cut out to read novels with the type of inherent viciousness and pain that permeates this novel. Getting through it was a laborious, painful and upsetting chore and I was immensely relived when it was over. That said, the above refers only to the plot and not the writing style of the author which was quite good. But maybe I'm not just cut out for modern mysteries, especially those that hit close to home.

Three stars.

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.Death's Half Acre
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Margaret Maron

August 20, 2008
Once again, Margaret Maron writes a compelling mystery with all the right ingredients: a strong believable heroine, a suspenseful plot, a strong sense of place and even a few touches of humor. Luckily I set aside some time on a rainy weekend. It's not a book I can put down easily.

Fans of Deborah Knott will be relieved to find that Deborah's marriage has not weakened the series. We don't get drowned in domestic details but we see glimpses of Deborah enjoying the challenges and rewards of her new roles as wife, stepmother and dog owner. She's caught up in the dynamic economy of North Carolina and the plot details are firmly grounded in 21st century technology and culture.

The plot has been summarized elsewhere. I didn't feel ... Read More:
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.Child 44
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Tom Rob Smith

April 29, 2008
This thriller is one of the most hyped books this summer. The story follows one man's hunt to catch a serial killer of children. In typical thriller fashion, different chapters reveal what is happening with the protagonist, the killer, and occasionally victims or other side characters. Most chapters end with a cliff hanger before checking in with another character in the next.

Where Child 44 differs from the usual Safeway novel thrillers is in its setting - the story takes place in a Soviet Union ruled by Stalin. Clearly the author did quite a bit of research into that era, and he does a good job of showing the horrors and difficulties of life during that time. Much of the novel is spent developing the characters and setting - the murder investigations ... Read More:
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.American Psycho
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Bret Easton Ellis

March 06, 1991
I have been on a kick reading the books of Ellis. I saw this movie first, which in itself was dark but great. The book, as with most books a movie is based on, delves deeper into the psyche of the main character. It also seems to give more of a history. Most of Ellis' books so far really have no beginning and end. They just seem to take a certain time line of a character or characters. Be prepared for that. Also, it is a great but graphic book, so it is not for queasy readers.
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.Plum Boxed Set 4 (10, 11, 12): Contains Ten Big Ones, Eleven on Top, and Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum Novels)
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Janet Evanovich

June 19, 2007
I have read books 1 - 12 and I enjoyed them immensely. There are many times that her stories are laugh out loud funny and I enjoy Janet Evanovich's style very much.

Good Book Series.
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.Dexter in the Dark (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Jeff Lindsay

September 02, 2008
There really isn't much to say in this review that hasn't already been said before. The supernatural aspect introduced in this book is highly contradictory to the first two and makes the book ooze a sort of over-the-top weirdness that makes the entire thing so implausible that it's hard to really get into.

On top of that, I simply found the book to be incredibly boring. Dexter is only followed through one kill early on, and then the rest of the book revolves around him having anxiety attacks. There is such an extensive build-up of what can only be assumed was meant as suspense (and an overly-complex plot with the Watchers and Moloch), that when everything ties up so rapidly in the last twenty pages that it's all incredibly anti-climactic. Deborah's character ... Read More:
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.Fresh Kills
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Bill Loehfelm

August 21, 2008
Someone once told me that there are only three stories in great literature; a man comes to town, a man leaves town, or a man goes on a journey. Of course, in stories like "The Wizard of Oz" or "Call of the Wild", the man would be substituted with girl or dog, as the case may be. About half way through reading Fresh Kills by Bill Loehfelm, I was beginning to believe that the principle was being violated, but the author was merely setting the stage for a powerful ending.

John Sanders, Jr. awakens to discover that his father has been killed on the mean streets of New York. Junior begins a journey to find the killer, and to come to terms with the mysterious man who gave him life, but not hope. The son must deal with self-loathing and the rage that he has for his father, ... Read More:
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.The Front
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Patricia Cornwell

May 22, 2007
Am I the only person out there who just didn't get what the title of this book had to do with the story? I just keep hoping and hoping that PC will put out a good book again, and it just never happens. I didn't get it with much hope, and it was a good thing. First off, the book is not a normal sized volume; it is small, with short pages and big type with a skinny spine. What happened to the big, thick Scarpetta novels of the 90s, full of details and stories that made you want to stay up all night reading because you just couldn't put it down? Second, the story and the characters were so weak, this was like a short story from high school lit, not the kind of novel that PC used to put out. It jumped all over the place, and the events in the story just made no sense. Then instead ... Read More:
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.Tripwire (Jack Reacher)
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Lee Child

May 29, 2007
What a vivid mind this Author has. Absolutely inspiring. I highly recommend reading everything Mr Childs writes.
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.Dearly Devoted Dexter
City Travel Guides > Books > Mystery and Thrillers
by: Jeff Lindsay

September 19, 2006
Amazing. The books ending and elements are much different from the Showtime Series. I have enjoyed all three Dexter Books By Jeff Lindsay. I can hardly wait for the fourth book which I hear is in the works.
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