J.K. Rowling

     I am re-reading the entire Harry Potter series. Yes, I read them all when they were first published and yes my child grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione. As most of us are aware, J.K. Rowling  has garnered oodles of awards, money beyond belief and recognition from Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth  . The movie adaptations of her novels have blown away all expectations for opening weekend profits in Hollywood. Harry Potter, his friends, enemies and the stories they inhabit have become an International phenomena. That being said I am surprised that so many people  have not read the books. They haven't read them because they "don't have kids", "saw the movie"...etc.etc..... I  think this lack is a travesty; excellent writing is excellent writing regardless of whether the story line is aimed at children, teens or adults. I read so many books; some I forget immediately upon finishing, others stay with me  and then there are the few that I want to read again and again. The great and grand Harry Potter oeuvre is one that should be read over and over and everyone, whether they have children or not, should own the complete series. This is literature that should be an integral part of every bibliophiles library and that begs to be read every year.

COUNTY LINE by Bill Cameron

So here's the deal. I am an addicted NOOK owner. Yeah, I know for many bibliophiles this is like admitting you break spines and dog ear books. I get it. It's a brand new frontier for those of us who have spent thousands of dollars collecting books, making bookshelves out of books, filling rooms floor to ceiling with books until they take over our entire home. I have lived my entire life with books in every room so the transition to a NOOK was not done without a bit of trepidation. Now I am a NOOK BOOK nut. I get such a kick out of adding to my library with a mere click or two of a button or whathaveyou. Anyway, back to the book COUNTY LINE.
       Normally I do not read "Noir" but it was my free friday NOOK book selection and as a reader with a limited budget I downloaded it to give it a whirl. (After all, if I didn't like it, it was free right?) Who among us can pass up a free book? Not me.
       The first few chapters I was thinking I was so not going to like this book; there was no back story so I could not sympathize with the protagonist and I didn't "get" him or the plot. It was as though I had been dropped into the third or second book of a series without any understanding of the characters and their histories. But I persevered. Man, am I glad I did. Into the second third of the book I was hooked;couldn't put it down. When I finished the book I knew I would be adding this author to my list of those to follow. I will definitely read more of Bill Cameron's books and maybe I'll even find out why Skin Kadash is called "Skin" and how he came to be so battered, bruised and tortured.

LONG GONE by Alafair Burke

        Well, I finished LONG GONE today. So the dog didn't get walked and I actually used a crock pot to make meals, a first for me. As I had written in a previous post about this novel I was only a few pages in and already loving it. Ms. Burke did not fail to impress; the book continued without a misstep in a tightly plotted tale of suspense. Some authors start out with a bang and draw you in only to leave you feeling letdown in the middle or the end. Alafair Burke kept her writing flowing and there were no valleys of what I call lazy writing. The characters continued to evolve and develop nicely with no cookie cutter characterizations or stock players. As the novel progressed the various plotlines and stories began to tie up together to create tension and cohesiveness. Ms. Burke did not tie all the threads into a nice little bow but rather an amazing Gordian knot that was truly a feat of literary acumen. I, who reads so, so many mysteries and can usually figure out whodunit long before the denouement was still chasing red herrings until the end. That is a sure sign the author has written an excellent book. This is Alafair Burke's most well crafted novel to date and I am looking forward to many more by this very talented author.

LONG GONE by Alafair Burke

         As a very, very picky reader and as someone who reads many,many books and who tends to be a tad bit more critical in my reviews than most book reviewers I have something to say about this novel.
        I am on page 48 and honestly I cannot find one thing to complain about. This is probably a perfect book. Perfect in that the characters, diverse though they may be, and seemingly un-connected, make sense even before the Plot, capital letters, is revealed. Ms. Burke has managed to take several threads of a  story/mystery and weave them together seamlessly and pique one's interest without being obvious and or cliched in regards to the inevitable blending of story lines. Too many of today's authors attempt this; introducing  various characters and then tying them all together in an easy bow. I have a suspicion that Ms. Burke will not fall into the "easy, oh now I get it " category. As I mentioned I am only on page 48 of a 334 page novel and yet I can easily say this is most likely one of the best Suspense/mystery novels I have read in months.   Having said that I would like to point out that I usually read close to 35 books a month depending on the weather and the circumstances.
         LONG GONE is probably the best novel Alafair Burke has written to date. If she keeps putting out such excellent prose I think that the Burke dynasty will continue for many, many years.