Private Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

               Jack Morgan #3

               I have not read the previous two books in this series, but Private: #1 Suspect, the first book in the series is on my to-be-read list. A bit of research tells me that the first two books are set in LA, and have a slightly different set of characters. So I’ll give it a try, based on how well I enjoyed this book, and see how it goes. 

               The story here takes place in the near future, just before and during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.  It was kind of odd hearing future dates for next month!  I listened to this one on audio book, and enjoyed it.  Techno-thrillers and sports stories are not generally my favorites, but this one wasn’t bad.

               We had a nut job and his three handmaidens from hell bent on creating chaos at the Olympic Games.  Patterson and Sullivan did a nice job of making them creepy and twisted. And, I felt badly for the folks they threw into the path of the Private investigators to mislead the investigation.  And, of course, the 3-year-old twins of the main character were a hoot.  God forbid I should ever run into kids that bratty, but it makes for entertaining reading.

               I was a little taken aback by the brutality and gore of the initial scenes at the beginning of the book, but the first murder was by far the nastiest and while the assorted nut jobs remained evil and destructive, the level of nastiness went way down after the first chapter or so.

               I probably will have no desire to reread this book, but it was pretty entertaining, and I’ll gladly check out the beginning of the series. This is a book I’m sure my husband would really enjoy.

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith

               #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency #13

               I had a very hard time getting into this one.  I’ve heard such good things about this series, but I just didn’t get it. Perhaps it was because I had not read any of the earlier novels.  Perhaps because the culture portrayed in the book is so very foreign to me. I nearly gave it up after the end of chapter 3.  I still didn’t know what the mystery was going to be and I found it very confusing that they all call each other the same thing – Mma. 

               Mma would roughly translate to Mrs. in English.  And, the character used this form of address in nearly every sentence they spoke to each other.  I found the incessant repetition of this word very distracting.

                              “I had a very strange dream last night, Mma,” she said. “As I was saying.”

                        “Please tell me what it was, Mma,” said Mma Makutsi.

This made it difficult for me to read.  The sentences did not flow for me.

               Also, it wasn’t until chapter 11 or 12 that I finally discovered what the mystery was.  Perhaps I am too impatient, but that seemed like a very long time to wait before the point of the story came up.  And, meanwhile, there were a couple of side stories that seemed to take up a great deal of the volume of the tale, without adding much to it. The arrest and trial of one of the detective lady’s husband’s employees happens, and is told about in much detail.  But, I never figured out where those characters and that activity played into the mystery out at the orphan’s farm. Also, the other detective lady’s husband discovers he is being cheated by the contactor building his house. Once again, I’m not sure how that part of the tale added to the story. 

               The reason I kept reading was a vignette in which a mother is helping her child with his math homework.  He’s doing word problems which were also my nemesis. If a man can dig a ditch in one hour, how long will it take 3 men to dig a ditch?  I totally agreed with the kid that they’d get in each other’s way and it would undoubtedly take longer than an hour.  I figured any author with that tight a grasp on math was worth some more of my time, so I forged on.

               I won’t be reading any more of these books. I was disappointed. I had been looking forward to being delighted, but it just didn’t happen.

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

          Poppy is an idiot. Her friends are too ridiculous for words. I really struggled to get through the first chapters of this book. If the woman didn’t lie, cheat and routinely break the rules of civilized behavior, her life would be simpler, less stressful and easier to read about. And, the muscles in my eyes wouldn’t ache from all the rolling.

          I wrote the paragraph above at the end of chapter three intending to stop reading right there. However, I realized I did not have another book loaded on the Kindle yet, and since I was reading between calls at work, I couldn’t really go shopping for one right then. So, I decided to soldier on till the end of my shift.

          I got better – not great – but it became more readable as it went on. Poppy started making better decisions, stopped lying compulsively, spent far less time with her idiot friends and finally met a good guy.

          This is not a book I’ll ever read again, but it ended up being okay.

Betrayal by Danielle Steel

               A woman who seems to have it all discovers she’s been living in a house of cards.

               Successful film director Tallie Jones is at the peak of her career, surrounded by people who live to take care of her so she can concentrate on her work. Brigitte, her personal assistant and best friend for the last seventeen years does everything she can to keep the worries of the world away. Vincent, Tallie’s accountant for the last fifteen years, keeps track of her fortune. Hunter, Tallie’s live in boyfriend of four years and producer of her most recent films, keeps the home fires burning while she is on location. Tallie’s aging father and law school student daughter round out the major players in her life.

               When Tallie discovers that more than one of them has been lying to her, her world comes tumbling down.

               I the ensuing chaos, Tallie meets FBI agent Jim Kingston who helps right the legal wrongs that have been done to her, and gives her life a new stability.  This allows Tallie to build her world to new and even greater heights.

               I liked this book. It was a quick, fun read, if a little predictable.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

          The idea of time travel has long been a favorite of mine. While straight lines are great for getting quickly from one place to another, curves and spirals are much prettier and more appealing to me. The idea that time can fold back on itself has gripped my imagination since I first read A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle in elementary school. So I was very excited about this novel about the effort to return to 1963 and stop the assassination of President Kennedy.

          Naturally, there are twists in this story that only the warped mind of Stephen King can conjure up, but I totally have to agree that altering small events in the lives of ordinary people can have unexpected and far reaching consequences. So certainly, the alteration of a major historical and political event could be catastrophic. I also happen to think it was lucky Kennedy’s presidency ended when it did, before the cracks started to show.

          I am tempted to read it again because there were a couple of spots where I was not really sure why certain things were happening, and I don’t remember them being resolved.  I suspect that in the course of this very long book, I missed some details. For now I’ve decided to let this book just marinate in my brain for a while. I may pick it up again someday to see if I can figure out those couple of passages.

          At any rate, this was an engaging tale of what might have been.  I particularly liked that King involved the sense of smell so much.  It is so often overlooked by writers. I also really liked how well King managed the raising of the story’s intensity as Jake struggles against the clock up the many flights of stairs in the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. Each flight up left me more tense and frantic to know if he’d make it in time.

          11/22/63 is a very long book, but it is well worth reading every word.

V Is For Vengeance by Sue Grafton

Kinsey Millhone #22

          I’ve missed the last four or five books in this series, but

did not feel lost at all in this one. While Kinsey Millhone’s

friends and neighbors make their regular appearances here,

the story line works quite well as a standalone.

          The story starts with Kinsey witnessing a shoplifter and reporting her to store security. Soon after the woman is arrested, she dies. This woman’s fiancée shows up on Kinsey’s doorstep asking her to look into the death. The story spirals out into organized retail theft and further into family run organized crime and police corruption. Nearly everyone gets what’s coming to them by the end. And Kinsey is left with the means to get vengeance on her worst enemy.

          If you’ve never read one of Grafton’s alphabet mysteries, I’d surely suggest picking up a few of the early ones just to get a feel for the recurring characters.  If you’ve read them all, you’re going to love this one too! 

          Respectfully submitted,

The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dark Hunter #21, Dream Hunter #5

               I’d give this 4-1/2 stars on Goodreads if fractions were allowed. I suspect the only reason I’m resisting 5 stars is that there were a few moments when if felt like I was missing something. But since this is book #21 in her Dark Hunter series and book #5 in her Dream Hunter series, that’s only to be expected. I haven’t read all the previous books yet, but I liked this one well enough that they are all now on my to-be-read list.

               I guess by now you realize I liked this one – a lot. It’s got your basic love-conquers-all theme set in a fantasy world inhabited by angels, demons and other immortal types.

               I think the part I got the biggest kick out of is these entities use of modern technology. They communicate via email (among other methods) and carry smart phones. I had to giggle over that. I also totally empathized with one demi-god’s struggles with a new laptop!

               If you do not have a well developed ability to suspend disbelief, this book is seriously not for you. But for those of us who enjoy visiting strange new worlds in our heads, this is a great one. I can’t wait to get to Night Pleasures, the first book in the series.

Angle of Investigation by Michael Connelly

               This is a collection of three short Harry Bosch stories.

               Christmas Even is the story of a thief who has robbed the same pawn shop four times. He was shocked to discover, during his fourth and final break in, that the pawn shop owner had finally had enough.

               Father’s Day is the very sad tale of an all too common, but dreadful, death of a child. As we’ve all read in the papers, a parent became distracted and forgot his sleeping child was in the car seat in the back. This one is a tragedy on a number of levels besides the obvious.

               Angle of Investigation has Harry reopening a cold case. As it happens, he and his trainer found this body on Harry’s second day ever on patrol. With the help of new technology and something only his old trainer knew, Harry puts a decades old drowning to bed.

               If you are a Harry Bosch fan, I’d definitely get a copy of this ebook. Each of these stories gives a bit of insight into Harry as well as determining who done it.

Longing by Karen Kingsbury

               Bailey Flanigan #3

               God may be a football fan, but I am not.  Nor am I fond of being preached at.  It’s been quite some time since I failed to finish a book on my list, but I couldn’t stand another syllable.  I broke my own rule about giving a book three chapters to catch me before I give it up.  About half way through the second chapter, a high school football coach allows an injured player to go back onto the field.  Don’t even get me started on the total irresponsibility of such a move.  I knew at that point, that in my eyes, this book was irredeemable.  I shut down the audio player. Life is too short to waste it on this story.

               Of course, if you like football or are heavy into Christian literature, this book may be for you.

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck

               This was a quick read for which I am grateful. Two stories run in parallel until they finally meet at the very end. 

                Rachel, the child of an alcoholic mother and an absentee father find herself in an abusive marriage. The day her husband turns his temper on their daughter, she finally finds the strength to leave. With the love and help of two friends who have stuck with her through her marriage, she and her daughter escape her abuser and head out to start a new life. But, she needs to make one last stop before they go.

               Mitch’s story plays out in a single day – Christmas Eve. He wakes to discover he is an old man, in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by strangers. Alzheimer’s has wreaked its havoc on his memory, but he understands it is Christmas Eve, and he knows he is waiting for someone. He’s just not sure who.

               The final scenes play out as Rachel encounters her father for the first time in over a decade. While he does not recognize Rachel as an adult, he mistakes his granddaughter for her mother. This is the child he has been waiting for. The one he knows he let down in a thousand ways, and the one he has waited many years from whom to ask forgiveness.

               It is all very sad and sweet.  Not my usual cup of tea, but a fairly well written little story. If you like heavily emotional, bittersweet ending stories, this one’s for you.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

               I was torn while reading this story. On one hand, I was absolutely riveted and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. On the other hand, just knew what I was seeing was utterly disturbing and I just wanted to look away. Depending on where I was in the story, I couldn’t wait to get back to it, or I totally dreaded reading the next section.

               As a parent, the very thought of my child being arrested for murder makes me a little bit ill. How much worse it would be if the possibility existed my child could be guilty. This is the situation faced by the Barbers in this story.

               As a parent, how would I react if I realized that I had brought a monster into the world? How far would I go to protect my child? How much could I disregard the safety of those around us? This is the dilemma faced by the Barbers in this story.  I totally understand the very different reactions of both parents, and wonder which I would be more inclined to emulate.

               I’m giving this book a good rating even though it is not entertaining in the usual sense. It was a very uncomfortable book for me to read. But like watching a train hurtle toward a trestle rigged to blow, I could not look away.

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

          I listened to the audio book version of this one, and thoroughly enjoyed it.   The premise would have seemed a bit farfetched, except that I know someone it happened to.  Gaby gets a marriage proposal, not so unreal. It happens all the time.  But, two other men decide they cannot let her get away without a fight.  They both propose as well.  Now she is juggling three proposals.

          She also has grown children that she hasn’t seen as a group since their father died several years earlier. She decides to use the wedding as a way to get the family together for Christmas.  She plans the wedding for Christmas Day, but throws in a twist.  She will not reveal the identity of the groom until the ceremony is about to begin!

          There is a lot of fun and excitement, and several small twists to keep the action moving. Gaby keeps her kids in the loop via video messages that she records, copies and sends to them all. At the moment of truth, Gaby announces the name of the groom and they are duly wed. The part that amazes me is that the author leads us to believe that Gaby’s relationship with the pair of suitors she refused will not change.

          That point aside, I recommend this book to those who enjoy love stories and family dramas. It’s a quick, fun read and thoroughly enjoyable.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

               This is a looooong book – it took me ten or eleven days to read it. Even so, I’m not sure I’d have cut out more than a few sentences, if I’d had the opportunity. The story is complex and tightly woven with few extraneous loose threads hanging out. I was very impressed.

               I started with a certain level of concern that I would have trouble reading such a long work based in another culture. Sometimes translations of foreign works leave me struggling with cultural ignorance issues – my cultural ignorance, not the author’s.  I often find names of people and places hard to deal with as well. Not so much with 1Q84. Fortunately, translating Japanese into English is very much a spell-like-it-sounds proposition.

               I recommend this story. It is absolutely not a quick, fun read. But it kept me interested and entertained for over a week!

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

               Temperance Brennan #14

               Flash and Bones is the fourteenth in the Temperance Brennan series. I have not read them all, but have taken in and enjoyed several of them. This one is set to the backdrop of the Charlotte Motor Speedway during race week of the Coca-Cola 600.  Since we are a NASCAR family, I am quite familiar with Charlotte, North Carolina, the history of NASCAR, and many of its most famous names, past and present.  Reichs captured the less than sane fanaticism of NASCAR aficionados very well, and gave some excellent background on the sport for those readers less familiar than I.

               I was, however, a little disappointed with the rest of the story. It almost seemed as though Reichs used the excitement and drama of race week as a crutch for a weak story line.

               Overall, it’s a pretty good book, but if I had failed to appreciate the NASCAR angle, it would not have fared so well with me.

Lethal by Sandra Brown

               I liked this one. It sucked me in early and kept me interested. And I was sure I had it all figured out until the very end when I was forced to admit I am not always as smart as I think I am.

               I especially liked the kid in this one – Emily.  She’s four. Brown must have kids of her own because she nailed this one. The child is bright and inquisitive and utterly forthright as only a four-year-old can be.

               I listened to this book, which is the only reason I didn’t finish it all in one day. It’s a good who-done-it with plenty of twists, turns, fun and fear along the way.

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

               I’m not a regular reader of Dean Koontz or any other horror writer for that matter.  Regular readers of this site will know by now that I read to be entertained and being scared and/or grossed out is not my idea of entertainment. However, this book made the best seller list and I put it on my to-read schedule. 

               I was fairly impressed 77 Shadow Street. It is as much a science fiction story as a horror story. One of my favorite sci-fi concepts is time travel, and while time travel is not really the point of this book, time shifts within the setting are ongoing throughout the story which piqued my interest. Another ongoing concept in the book is the idea of nanotechnology being able to transform human beings, in this case pretty horribly. A third sci-fi thread running through the story is the “rise of the machines”, artificially intelligent creations eventually taking over the earth and destroying the humans that created them in the first place. This concept is not one of my favorites, but it is a very intriguing and frightening idea.

               And, of course, in the time and place of this story, the humans do prevail. Those who will unwittingly unleash the machines in the future are rendered harmless in the present. But as with any good horror story, the villain remains, biding his time and doing his best to bring about the correct series of events in the past that will allow it to prevail in the future.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer

               I nearly gave up on this one several times, it’s been turned into a movie, and I figured it had to develop a better story line soon. I disliked this book so much the movie will probably be nominated for an Oscar.  [9 out of 10 Oscar nominated films are ones I feel I paid too much for…]

               My biggest problem with this book is that I did not find it entertaining – heartbreaking, horrifying, inscrutable, yes, but no fun.

               I can remember being utterly horrified as a child by a description of the bombing of Dresden, Germany. The description here made me feel a bit ill. And though it has been more than a decade, mentally reliving 9/11 is still upsetting.

               On a lighter note, though, it s been a very long time since I read a work of fiction with this many illustrations.

               I don’t recommend reading this book.  Maybe the movie is less depressing.

The Sweetest Thing by Barbara Freethy

               When an old man stops into Faith’s Fancies, a pastry shop,  and weaves a tale of love and loss and ancient curses, the very practical Faith doesn’t really believe him. But she is charmed by Julien and agrees to assist him in tracking down the love of his life that he hasn’t seen in fifty years.

               Faith soon meets Julien’s grandson, Alex, a successful business owner and a man afraid to open his heart to anyone.

               As the search for Julien’s lost love moves forward, Faith and Alex find themselves drawn to each other, but both have a lot of baggage to unload – and a curse to lift – before they can fall in love and create the family they both want so much.

               This was a quick, fun read. It took me a while to connect that the title is The Sweetest Thing because Faith is a pastry chef. I enjoyed this book, but maybe I would have liked it better if I were more awake when I read it. Go ahead and give it a taste, it’s quite entertaining!

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

            Wow! That’s my initial reaction upon finishing this book. Wow! If I had to pick three words that best describe this book, they would be wow, wow and wow! This one really blew me away.

               I had to wonder at my intense reaction, though. If I hadn’t read it at this point in my life, would it have touched me so deeply? I don’t know the answer for sure, but I suspect it is “no”. I do know that in this book, Sparks describes the sweetest love story I ever remember hearing.  He also describes a person in such a way that it rocked me to my core. I know that person.  I’ve met her.  I agree with everything he said about her. If I’d never lived through my own love stories and never met the people Sparks’ descriptions evoked in me, I’m sure I would have reacted differently to the story.

               The Best of Me also resonated with because I believe that doing the right thing ultimately benefits me even if I don’t see the immediate cause and effect. I believe everything we do affects those around us. I think we all have a purpose in our lives, even if we cannot determine it ourselves. And, I really do believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, even when I find myself to be a member of the few. All of this theme appear in this book.

               I think this is a great book for adults.  I don’t know that a young person would necessarily have the experiences to relate well to this tale. And I also think it will be a book that will speak to me differently every time I read it.

               Wow!

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr

Virgin River #17              

              Connor’s life is falling apart. His one-year marriage has just ended and he’s putting in ever longer hours at the hardware store he inherited form his father. Taking out the trash one night after closing the store, he witnesses a murder. After coming forward, his business is burned down and his life is threatened. The local DA decides to stash him in the little mountain town of Virgin River to keep him safe till the trial.

               Leslie’s life is falling apart. Her eight-year marriage has just ended. Her husband left her for his pregnant mistress and now expects Leslie to be good friends with the two of them. Leslie heads to Virgin River to get away from them and escape her humiliation for a few months.

               Connor and Leslie meet, sparks fly and love blooms along with the wildflowers in the mountains.

               I enjoyed this edition of the Virgin River saga, perhaps because I’ve read others and am familiar with the town and its characters. Or maybe just because the books are will written and the characters are memorable, and Virgin River is the kind of community we’d all love to be a part of.

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

               Wow! I really liked this one.

               Ann Rice has managed to turn a werewolf into a sort of superhero. Her Morphenkinder can scent evil and are driven to annihilate it. But they are intrinsically unable to harm the innocent. They have control over when and where the “change” happens. (The phase of the moon is irrelevant.) And they retain their human intellect while in animal form.

               There is a good bit of philosophy intertwined with the action and suspense.  And they are balance nicely.  I highly recommend this book, and won’t mind in the least if Rice chooses to revisit these characters.

Bonnie by Iris Johanson

               I started listening to this book with a bit of a ho-hum attitude, “Just another visit with Eve and the gang.” And the book started out meeting my expectations. It picked up where Eve had left off, with everyone hunting for Bonnie’s killer.  I assumed they’d find him; Eve would try to kill him and be unable to bring herself to do it, blah blah blah.

               Guess what? I was wrong. This turned out to be a really good story – better than Johanson’s last few, in my opinion.  Right and wrong, fair and just are not black and white, and she does an excellent job of displaying shades of gray.

               Johanson also managed to engage me emotionally in Bonnie which hasn’t happened for a while.  I finished one chapter only to discover the front of my shirt soaked with tears I hadn’t realized I was shedding.

               The slow, predictable start of this book is well worth wading through to get to the end.  I only hope in her next book, Johanson goes back to having Eve and the gang solving murders of the more mundane kind and focuses less on their individual lives.

              

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

               This book is part of a larger series called the Lord John novels. The series and its novels are outlined in the Preface to the book – and I gotta tell ya, I was totally confused by the time I’d finished reading it. So, with great trepidation, I opened Section I.

               And, was pleasantly surprised at how easily I followed the story line. I must admit, it did help that I am somewhat familiar with the historical time period and the customs of the British upper class. Without that background, some of the activities would be pretty inexplicable.

               I enjoyed the characters and the plot line.  The action moved along at a good pace.  I have not yet decided If I want to read the whole series, but I have added the first one, Outlander (if I interpreted the Preface correctly), to my book list.

The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods

Chesapeake Shores #9

               How is a chick supposed to resist a double wedding? I don’t think it’s possible. This is without question a “chick” book – and a fine example of one it is.

               Woods has written a number of Chesapeake Shore books featuring the O’Brien family.  This installment adds some more Irish flair as a young woman and her grandfather come to the Shores for a visit and decide to stay a lifetime.

               Between pub openings and gallery showings and trips to the hospital, a young couple learn valuable lessons in communication and compromise. And an older couple rekindle the fires of the youths. It all ends up with a double wedding in the family matriarch’s summer garden – a wedding cut short by the impending arrival of the newest member of the clan!

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

               You would think that in a book entitled Explosive Eighteen Stephanie Plum’s car would blow up repeatedly.  It does not blow up at all. As a matter of fact there are no explosions at all till the very end when Lula sets one off when she accidentally discharges her rocket launcher and hits a propane tank.

               Yes, this is another wild romp through New Jersey. And while it is not exactly intellectually stimulating, I did spend a large amount of time laughing out loud.

               Unfortunately, for those of you who have not yet met Stephanie, Lula and the guys, this book does not work as a standalone. But, I highly recommend the whole series for a rollicking good time.

Death Comes To Pemberley by PD James

               I’ll start off by admitting I am not a Jane Austin fan. She is the author that created Pemberley. I only managed to listen to the entirety of Pride and Prejudice last summer while refinishing a houseful of woodwork. I’m not sure which part was more tedious – refinishing or listening.

               So it was with some trepidation that I approached Death Comes to Pemberley. I was pleasantly surprised. While I wouldn’t want to spend my whole life reading books like this one, the tale was quite engaging. Every time I had to put it down, I wished I didn’t have to. I was pleased with the character development and the plot twists. And, I liked that all the loose ends got tied up at the end.

               I think this would work as a standalone book, but am certain I found the characters and their relationships easier to follow having listened to Pride and Prejudice first.

               I’ll give this book a good recommendation. I am so glad PD James surprised and engaged me with her story.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

               The marriage plot was a common literary device in Victorian literature. It is exactly what it sounds like-a story line revolving around making a proper marriage. In these more modern times when marriages are more emotional compacts than social contracts, the marriage plot as such is no longer a valid device. However, as the title implies, Eugenides is making an attempt to give new life to an outmoded plot frame.

               As I’m writing I’m still trying to decide if I like the story or not – never a good sign. It seems to be a story about the main character, Madeline, making a good marriage. There are two men involved, Leonard and Mitchell. And, I’ve got to tell you, if I’d been Madeline, I’d have chosen none of the above.  

               Mitchell, on the day he meets Madeline, determines to marry her, but does little to achieve this despite early encouragement from her.  Deciding to marry Madeline is a longer, slower process for Leonard. A large portion of the book is spent analyzing the agonies endured by Leonard due to ill-controlled manic-depression. Another large portion is devoted to Mitchell’s travels abroad, his work volunteering for Mother Teresa, and his spiritual development.

               I would have liked to have seen more about Madeline and her relationship with Mitchell, and less about the details of coping with the day to day trauma of Leonard’s illness.  This story felt very unbalanced to me. I know a lot more about the men than I need to, and not enough about Madeline and her motivations.

              

The Litigators by John Grisham

               I’ll start by saying I’ve never been a huge Grisham fan. I do not generally find lawyer stories amusing, and they are kind of his specialty. His stories tend to be a bit dark and sad. Since I read primarily to be entertained, his style and mine do not mesh well.

               That said, I really enjoyed The Litigators. I was highly entertained. It starts with a young lawyer, David Zinc, working for an enormous firm in Chicago. As he goes to work the first day of the story, the usual dread of another day in the salt mine is just too much. As he steps out of the elevator on his floor he suddenly knows he just can’t do it anymore. He turns around and dives through the closing doors behind him, sits on the elevator car floor giggling, rides ninety-odd floors down and runs for freedom.

               Now there is a scene millions of us would love to be a part of. During his insane run, he stumbles into the struggling firm of Finley and Figg.

               The escapades of the Finley and Figg gang are quite entertaining, and David’s maturation process is as well. This is one Grisham novel where everybody lives happily ever after.

               Grisham fans may be less than keen on this book. But, I recommend it – probably for the same reasons his usual readers won’t.