Review: Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer

Robert Greer's latest book, Blackbird, Farewell, is a good one. I have not read any of Mr. Greer's work before this one, but I will be checking out his other books. Blackbird, Farewell is listed as the 7th CJ Floyd mystery but centers more on Damion Madrid, who apparently has worked with CJ on other mysteries.

Here's the summary (from the author's website): BLACKBIRD, FAREWELL is Damion Madrid's story, and with this novel, he takes his rightful place as CJ's protégé. Just before he is to start medical school, Damion's best friend and basketball star cohort, Shandell "Blackbird" Bird, is murdered after signing a multi-million dollar contract with the Denver Nuggets. News of the high-profile murder of this family friend still reaches CJ, who is honeymooning in Hawaii. But he decides to stay where he is and enjoy this special time, leaving the sleuthing to the professionals.

Or so he thinks.

Raised around CJ, Damion thinks nothing of launching his own investigation, with the help of the Floyd network. He can't help but. He and Blackbird grew up together on the Glendale courts, in Five Points, and at Colorado State University, where they almost took the basketball team all the way to the NCAA Championship. It's that "almost" that is worrying Damion now. A local loudmouth has accused Blackbird of giving away the final game. Plus, a former teammate claims that Blackbird sold performance enhancing drugs to kids back on his home turf in Five Points. None of this makes sense to Damion. He can't believe that Blackbird would have involved himself in illegal activities, especially given his prospects in the draft. Why risk it?

In a thrilling, fast-paced ride through the worlds of college and pro sports, Damion discovers the tragic answer: that Blackbird had a secret that he felt was so private, he did almost anything to protect it.

When I started the book I wasn't aware that this was the latest in a series. (This seems to be an issue for me...I need to start checking that out ahead of time!) The beginning starts solidly, we are drawn in quickly and given good background before the murder takes place. I felt like I could easily see Damion, a.k.a. "Blood", and Bird talking, feel their bond of being life-long friends. And then after the murder, when Damion is looking into what happened, I felt bad for him that he learned all these things about his best friend and the others around him.

It was a good mystery, with interesting whodunit questions and action. I felt like some of the characters were not quite developed and were stereotyped - but since I now know it's a series, than those characters are probably fleshed out better in earlier books.

Early on there was some writing that seemed a bit odd or forced, particularly when dealing with the police. The part that sticks in my mind is about how the detective had to write everything down in his Blackberry and we were told each time he wrote something. That felt weird and I worried that was how the whole book would be written. However after the first few chapters, it was well-written and the writing was 'unnoticeable' - which to me means good! I don't want to notice the writing - I want to remember the story.

I am glad I had the chance to read Blackbird, Farewell. I am going to put the rest of Robert Greer's CJ Floyd books on my list to be read. It looks like another good mystery series that I will enjoy.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: Scattered Leaves by Richard Roach

I was able to finish Scattered Leaves this afternoon. Unfortunately, Richard Roach's book was not an enjoyable read for me.

My post yesterday contains the book jacket summary, so I won't repeat it here. The idea, the plot, the background of the book had me hooked the first time I read it. I still think it's a great idea for a book.

The plot moves quickly. An oil rig blows up in the opening scene. Ben McCord leaves there, has a fight with his boss, then goes home to find his wife dead. Great opening to the book. Had me hooked. Ben gets arrested, released, goes looking for the killer, gets shot at, gets kidnapped... Lots of action, lots of mystery.

So, why didn't I like it? One reason is that it is just not believable. Maybe I am too much into mysteries and thrillers to allow this book to seem real. Ben's interactions with the police were wrong - not stereotypical or anything but just not right. And too many things happened in such a quick fashion without any real connection. Or reason. And rather than causing me to become more interested and wonder what happened, it just made me think "No way - could not happen". Add into the mix Dr. Pettijohn, a dentist that was raped by the bad guys, who later, with seemingly no issues, 'fixed' it so those 'guys' could not hurt anyone again. Just felt like a woman with her background would have handled things very differently. Didn't ring true.

I also had issues with the first person writing style. I felt like I was being told what the characters were thinking and feeling rather than letting their actions show me. I don't think it was an issue with being written in first person, but rather how it was done. I don't go around thinking to myself that I am hungry, sad, frustrated. Rather, my actions clue me and others in way before I ever think those actual words. As a reader, I don't want to be spoon-fed the emotions and actions, but rather be a part of them as they unfold.

Now, to be fair, I have just read two excellent mysteries in the last weeks and so may have been expecting too much. If you are not a huge mystery fan, but want to read a quick moving, action-filled book, this may be a good one for you.

I am just one reader, however. To find out what other readers thought of Scattered Leaves, check out Savvy Verse & Wit and Reader Views.

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

What I am reading: Scattered Leaves by Richard Roach

I am scheduled to host author Richard Roach and his book, Scattered Leaves, today for his book tour via Pump Up Your Book Promotions. Unfortunately I've been sick most of this week and I haven't finished the book. I am about halfway through. It's fast-paced, very plot driven so far. Some of the plot points are not quite believable. But as I am intrigued with the character and the story, I am reserving judgement until I reach the end and can see how it all plays out. I should be able to finish in another day or so and hope to post my complete review this weekend.

Summary: When Ben McCord comes home from a business trip to find his young wife raped and murdered, he starts out on a journey of death and destruction. Clues lead him to a dark world of drugs and violence in action that spans Texas, Colorado, and the Mexican border. McCord hooks up with a beautiful doctor, who was also victimized by members of the same drug cartel, and together they track down the killers, surviving bloody confrontations, and ending with a suspenseful climax in the Big Thicket of Texas.

About the author (from his website): Richard E. Roach was born in Galveston, Texas in 1931. He attended Trinity University, and the University of Texas. He served in the USAF for four years as a drill sergeant. Richard has invented several electronic instruments used in the detection of oil and gas, formed his company, manufactured them and sold them nationwide as Richard E. Roach, Inc. Before the oil business fell upon hard times, he sold the business for several million dollars and retired to write. Richard is married and Norma has put up with him since 1948. He has three grown children.

Review: The Darker Side by Cody McFadyen

I received The Darker Side by Cody McFadyen for the Pump Up Your Book Promotion tour. This book was awesome! Definitely one of my top reads for 2008!

About the book:
Everyone has a secret they don’t dare tell anyone.
He’ll kill you for yours.

Cody McFadyen has shocked even the most jaded suspense fans with Shadow Man and The Face of Death. Now comes a thriller that outdoes them all, featuring a psychopath on a perverse crusade of murder. And the one woman who can stop him has a secret that will change her from the hunter to the hunted.…

A lie, a long-ago affair, a dark desire—everyone has secrets they take to the grave. No one knew that better than FBI special agent Smoky Barrett. But what secret was a very private young woman keeping that led to her very public murder? And what kind of killer was so driven and so brazenly daring that he’d take her life on a commercial airliner thirty thousand feet in midair, a killer so accomplished that he’d leave only a small souvenir behind?

These are the questions that bring Smoky and her hand-picked team of experienced manhunters from L.A. to the autumn chill of Washington, D.C., by order of the FBI director himself—and at the special request of a high-powered grieving D.C. mother.

As a mother, Smoky knows the pain of losing a child—it nearly killed her once before. As a cop with her own twisted past, she takes every murder personally, which is both her greatest strength and her only weakness. Brilliant, merciless, righteous, the killer Smoky is hunting this time is on his own personal mission, whose cost in innocent human lives he’s only begun to collect. For in his eyes no one is innocent; everyone harbors a secret sin, including Smoky Barrett.

Soon Smoky will have to face what she’s so carefully hidden even from her own team—and confront a flawless killer who knows her flaws with murderous intimacy.

I completely loved this book! Mr. McFadyen created such an intriguing storyline that I was pulled into it from the very beginning. It has great plot twists that the mystery lovers will savor. It was only predictable in that at the end of most mysteries they get their killer. I enjoyed the way the murders were brought into the story and how everything flowed.

Included with a great mystery were characters that were alive - well-developed, interesting, real. Their back story felt very real, understandable, complete and probably a story all their own. (After writing this, I looked and the first two novels did tell the back story - but I did not need them to thoroughly enjoy the characters in this novel...can be read as a stand-alone).

The book was definitely plot-driven as good mysteries are. But the character growth also made it feel like a good 'regular' fiction book as well. The mystery kept me hungry for more throughout the book while the characters had me smiling and teary at different times.

A big thanks to author Cody McFadyen and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for sending me this book to read and review. It was great and will be on my list of top books for 2008. I am adding Shadow Man and The Face of Death to the top of my tbr requested books!

Rating: 5/5 stars