The English Spy by Daniel Silva

Another solid thriller for the series and best of all read by Guidall.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Enjoyable.

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Really good.

The Buried by Brett Battles

Jonathan Quinn, Book 9, is a weak addition to a occasionally fun series.

Last Man Standing by David Baldacci

Too long but Baldacci writes so well that it's fun to the 'filler'.

The Sniper and the Wolf by Scott McEwen and Thomas Koloniar

Enjoyable, got better as it went along. Not great but these guys have a good macho formula.

The Wolf at the Door by Jack Higgins

OK but would read Higgins again.

Dark Spies by Matthew Dunn

A Spycatcher Novel. Just OK.

Man in the Middle by Brian Haig

A little fluff, but a very entertaining book. Looking forward to Haig's next.

Independence Day by Ben Coes

Another Dewey Andreas novel, and kind of like the other ones, it's OK. It's an enjoyable formula.

The Neon Lawyer by Victor Methos

The writing was sometimes awkward but I appreciated the author creating a 4 1/2 hour book and not adding a bunch of fluff to be like the other mysteries. I would read Methos again.

Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie

A very interesting tale of World War 2 from the eyes of a soldier in the trenches.

Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille

Best in the John Corey series. Look forward to the next.

The Enemy Inside by Steve Martini

A mediocre Paul Madriani Novel due to too much fluff. Entire chapters were unnecessary.

The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

Humorous and inventive but ultimately had trouble holding my interest.

I Drink for a Reason by David Cross

Gives a peak into a brilliant mind but not my cup of celebrity tea. Creative.

Dry Bones by Craig Johnson

Weakest of the series but still very entertaining.

Hit Me by Lawrence Block

So odd, but so likable. How Block makes a hit man stamp collector so interesting is beyond me.

The Cleaner by Mark Dawson

I simultaneously thought this is poorly written, I wonder what happens next.

Lieberman's Day by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Note to self, never buy from this author. Details ad nauseum about things not related to plot.

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Sometimes very clever, sometimes very predictable but held together nicely with wonderful characters.

The Fall by John Lescroart

OK but a little disappointing.

Gathering Prey by John Sandford

The dude (Sandford) is a writing machine. Book 25 is another solid and even has a drop in of Virgil Flowers.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Re-read 3/17 very good. Very enjoyable, too long but the characters were interesting and likable.

The Khmer Kill by Barry Eisler

Dox is a likable character but the plot is meh.

Memory Man by David Baldacci

Enjoyable but not up to what you hope for from Baldacci.

The President's Assassin Written by Brian Haig

Haig is a real pleasure to read, very entertaining book.

Losing Faith by Adam Mitzner

Not that interesting wouldn't read Mitzner again.

No Fortunate Son by Brad Taylor

Too wordy and boring.

The Capitol Game by Brian Haig

Very interesting and enjoyable. Hard to put down. Only complain is narrator Scott Brick.

Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

Excellent. One of the very few books where the movie was as good as the book.

A Cool Breeze by Don Winslow

My favorite Winslow book, I'll have to find others he wrote around then (1991).

The Night Crew by Brian Haig

Very smart. I'd read Haig once before and thought he was too wordy but this book held my interest from start to finish.

A Billion Ways to Die by Chris Knopf

Enjoyable, smart writing.

String of Beads by Thomas Perry

How such a mediocre series can come from such a great writer is surprising.

Becoming Steve Jobs by Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli

Enjoyable and insightful.

No Hero by Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer

Enjoyable

The Dead Room by Robert Ellis

Slow moving but interesting plots. With more editing this would have been an excellent book.

Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks

Too bad the author's second Carter Ross book was not as good as the first. The unplausable plots and annoying characters grew tiresome. Had hoped this author would keep getting better. Will try one more from Parks.

Moonraker by Ian Fleming

Perhaps the best in the series. Lots of interaction with Bond and M, whose name is Miles.

Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

From 1950's radio. What a pleasure. Even had Orson Wells as Moriarty. Pleasantly surprised!

Wicked Prey by John Sandford

The 19th in the series of 24, and the last one for me. How does Sanford write 24 stories this compelling?

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

Such a beautiful writer, great character but just too much fluff.

The Chase by Clive Cussler

Good story teller but just too much fluff. Author was purposely giving away the plot and that worked just wish there was an editor to remove 50% of the book.

Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey

Kookie and fun. A little disjointed but I'd listen to Dorsey again.

Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

Enjoyed this a lot.

Break In by Dick Francis

Excellent. Read again 5/18

The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan

Written in 1915 you can see the impact of this book on the current detective genre, the next step after Sherlock Holmes. I look forward to reading more of his works.

Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks

Carter Ross, Book 1. Looks like it could be a fun light series. The author ties everything up with a pretty bow.

Step on a Crack View Series by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Light entertainment.

In From the Cold by Josh Lanyon

Interesting. Not a typical spy novel, more of a gay spy soap but likable characters.

The Butcher's Boy by Thomas Perry

Very very, very good.

A Darker Place by Jack Higgins

Adventure soap opera, entertainment you quickly forget. Looking forward to the next.

Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King

Fun short story, nice to see King writing about Holmes again.

Rough Justice by Jack Higgins

Enjoyable - try Higgins again. Very hard to tell which character is talking as the narrator has an english accent and there are English and American lead characters.

Phantom Prey by John Sandford

This is the 23rd of the currently 24 books in the Lucas Davenport series that I've read and its the weakest - but still enjoyable.

The Dawn Patrol by Don Winslow

OK, a bit corny on the surf lingo.

A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart

Very good court action. Dismas Hardy series is worth looking into.

Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt

Sweet but a little drawn out describing so many of his pets over the years. If you're an over the top dog wacko you might enjoy this. I did.

The Director by David Ignatius

Pretty good, too long. Interesting characters. PW Graham Weber has been director of the CIA for less than a week when a Swiss kid in a dirty T-shirt walks into the American consulate in Hamburg and says the agency has been hacked, and he has a list of agents' names to prove it. This is the moment a CIA director most dreads. Weber isn' t sure where to turn until he meets a charismatic (and unstable) young man named James Morris who runs the Internet Operations Center. He' s the CIA' s in-house geek. Weber launches Morris on a mole hunt unlike anything in spy fiction - one that takes the listener into the hacker underground of Europe and America and ends up in a landscape of paranoia and betrayal.

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva

The first book in the Liam Mulligan series (currently 3 books in the series) is enjoyable on par with the second. I look forward to hearing the 3rd. PW Liam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley. He knows the priests and prostitutes, the cops and street thugs. He knows the mobsters and politicians--who are pretty much one and the same. Someone is systematically burning down the neighborhood Mulligan grew up in, people he knows and loves are perishing in the flames, and the public is on the verge of panic.

Full Force and Effect: A Jack Ryan Novel by Mark Greaney

Too long with disjointed segments. Poorly edited, typical Greaney style. The Jack Ryan series had great narration with Lou Diamond Phillips and was much less enjoyable with Scott Brick.

You Can't Make This Up by Al Michaels and L. Jon Wertheim

It was pretty good, but for some odd reason I couldn't put it down. Wish Michaels had narrated the whole thing. Lot's of stories co-insided with my growing up timeline.

The Discarded by Brett Battles

The best of the books (earlier ones I read were pretty weak) in the Jonathan Quinn (Book 8) series. Would listen to the next.

The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow

Ex mafia hit man called back into action. Likable characters, I'd listen to Winslow again.

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

Enjoyable Sherlock Holmes.

Cliff Walk by Bruce DeSilva

Enjoyable.

Book of Souls Glenn Cooper

Too much going on in one book but the author still manages to put forth an interesting tale.

The Escape by David Baldacci

Very enjoyable.

Invisible Prey by John Sandford

Most excellent. PW In the richest neighborhood of Minneapolis, two elderly women lie murdered in their home, killed with a pipe, the rooms tossed, only small items stolen. It is clearly the random work of someone looking for money to buy drugs. But as Davenport looks more closely, he begins to wonder whether the items are actually so small and the victims so random; if there might not be some invisible agenda at work here. Gradually, a pattern begins to emerge, and it leads him to...certainly nothing he ever expected.

Brainrush by Richard Bard

Don't ever read this author again.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Fresh. Best book of the year.

Naked Prey by John Sandford

Lucas Davenport, book 14, consistent and enjoyable.

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

A very enjoyable cop mystery but you always hope for outstanding with Connelly. This was not among his best works but even so I was compelled to come back to see what happened next.

Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader by Jason Redman, John Bruning

This was really enjoyable and I kept wanting to come back to hear more.

Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson

I look forward to Johnson's release each year and was disappointed when this one turned out to be a collection of short stories. Disappointed until I read them, these are super stories - bite sized chunks of pleasure. Very good.

The Collected by Brett Battles

Battles is never going to be a great read. He prefers to talk about incidental details rather than plot so his stories are only mildly enjoyable despite interesting characters. Jonathan Quinn, Book 6, is like his other books.

The Vig by John Lescroart

Entertaining would try another of the Dismas Hardy Novel View Series.

Pale Horse Coming: Earl Swagger by Stephen Hunter

Elmore Leonard says he cuts out the parts readers skip over. Hunter indulges in these side stories in a formulamatic predictable fashion that for some reason ambles pleasantly and maintains interest. Go figure.

Proof by Dick Francis

Very very enjoyable.

Re-read May 2019, still classic Francis!

The Mission, the Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander by Pete Blaber

Pretty good read, lessons from the battle field.

Deadline by John Sandford

Virgil Flowers, Book 8, is as fun as is its predecessors.

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

The writing style was wonderful, the narrator (Colin Firth) superb but the main character was so unlikeable that I stopped half way through.

The Destroyed by Brett Battles

Jonathan Quinn, Book 5. Well book 2 for me. Formulamatic and it feels like constructed drama but there is also some fun action. Probably try another Battles book.

Badlands by Peter Bowen

Excellent.

Becoming Quinn by Brett Battles

This is the 5th book of 9 that looks at how John Quinn became a cleaner. My first book of the series and it was enjoyable - will read another.

Year Zero by Rob Reid

Silly and hard to get through, entertaining enough to finish.

Brain farted and wrote two reviews for this book, the second review:

Kookie, funny, tiresome. Hard to get through, some good bits along the way.

Skink - No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

OK book and narrator - too bad it was a young adult book. Fun to read Hiaasen.

Two Time by Chris Knopf

Re-read and enjoyed a lot November 2024.

Knopf has grown on me and his style engages me - looking forward to his next.

The Last Refuge by Chris Knopf

Re-read and enjoyed a lot November 2024.

Went back and listened to the first in the Sam Acquillo series and it was very enjoyable.

Sniper Elite: One Way Trip by Scott McEwen, Thomas Koloniar

Another fun special forces book.

Easy Prey by John Sandford

In an already excellent Lucas Davenport series this one (#11) shines.

Cold Shot by Mark Henshaw

OK, too many details and side trips but an enjoyable read.

Ash Child by Peter Bowen

Re-read 3/17, man is this good stuff. Jim Meskimen's narration is amazing. So good.

Secret Prey by John Sandford

Lucas Davenport, Book 9 is another solid.

Days of Rage by Brad Taylor

Too long but a fun story. Book 6 in the Pike Logan Thriller series.

Target America by Scott McEwen, Thomas Koloniar

Good macho Seal Team rough 'em up stuff.

Hounded by David Rosenfelt

Really enjoyable as usual. My only complaint is they don't last long.

House Reckoning by Mike Lawson

Book 9 is steady and enjoyable like the first 8 books. PW Joe DeMarco always knew that his father, Gino, had a shady job for a local mafioso, but he didn't understand that Gino had been a hit man until he was murdered. Now, nearly 20 years later, one of Gino's former mob associates is dying of lung cancer, and he wants to get something off his chest before retiring to his grave: the truth about Gino's killer. The shocking information, and the powerful position the killer now occupies, sends DeMarco on a mission of revenge with terrible consequences.