The Detachment by Barry Eisler

Eisler did a great job of creating complex and likable characters - the short coming is too much discussions of things that don't pan out in the plot. If this 10 hour book was reduced to 8 or 9 it would be better. Eisler really hit his stride with The Detachment, and gone from mildly interesting to very enjoyable. PW: When legendary black ops veteran Colonel Scott “Hort” Horton tracks Rain down in Tokyo, Rain can’t resist the offer: a multi-million dollar payday for the “natural causes” demise of three ultra-high-profile targets who are dangerously close to launching a coup in America. But the opposition on this job is going to be too much for even Rain to pull it off alone. He’ll need a detachment of other deniable irregulars: his partner, the former Marine sniper, Dox. Ben Treven, a covert operator with ambivalent motives and conflicted loyalties. And Larison, a man with a hair trigger and a secret he’ll kill to protect.

Shock Wave by John Sandford

Virgil's back and it's good. PW: The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.

Ghost In The Wires by Kevin Mitnick, William Simon

Super interesting tale about a hacker and the amazing stuff he does, but he wines and talks about being a nice guy when he causes so many people trouble. So good content and unlikable character - close call.

The Affair by Lee Child

This was a really enjoyable series that was in decline, the last two books were so bad I figured I was done reading the Jack Reacher series. BUT The Affair was a great rebound and a real fun read. PW: Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice—and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

I read the book, saw the movie, and listened to the audio book. The book is very good. PW: During his junior year at the University of California, Dan Millman first stumbled upon his mentor (nicknamed Socrates) at an all-night gas station. At the time, Millman hoped to become a world-champion gymnast. "To survive the lessons ahead, you're going to need far more energy than ever before," Socrates warned him that night. "You must cleanse your body of tension, free your mind of stagnant knowledge, and open your heart to the energy of true emotion." From there, the unpredictable Socrates proceeded to teach Millman the "way of the peaceful warrior." At first Socrates shattered every preconceived notion that Millman had about academics, athletics, and achievement. But eventually Millman stopped resisting the lessons, and began to try on a whole new ideology--one that valued being conscious over being smart, and strength in spirit over strength in body. Although the character of the cigarette-smoking Socrates seems like a fictional, modern-day Merlin, Millman asserts that he is based on an actual person. Certain male readers especially appreciate the coming-of-age theme, the haunting love story with the elusive woman Joy, and the challenging of Western beliefs about masculine power and success.

The Face Changers by Thomas Perry

Perry is one of my favorite author's but the Jane Whitefield series is not usually interesting to me. Face Changers is the best in the series and an enjoyable read. PW: Jane Whitefield, Thomas Perry's Native American "guide," has recently married Dr. Carey McKinnon and is now retired from helping people disappear from danger. But when her husband's old mentor, a world-famous plastic surgeon wanted by the police for a murder he didn't commit, turns up in Carey's emergency room, Jane steps back into the shadowy world of runners and hunters one more time. In this fourth outing in Edgar-winning Perry's fascinating and innovative series, Jane discovers that someone else is using her name and reputation to take fugitives out of the world, but for very different, and diabolical, purposes. Whitefield's Seneca heritage, plus her unique talents, make her a novel and compelling heroine, and Perry's masterful storytelling makes the most of Whitefield in this suspenseful page-turner.

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay

Second book in the series I've read and I'd like to read another. Slow and quirky, the author and characters have their own endearing style. PW: After a joyous honeymoon in Paris, Dexter is feeling pretty normal. But when a corpse is found displayed on a Miami beach, Dexter realizes another killer is on the loose.

Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile

Entertaining. The insights into congressional spending are little scary.