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KML

Joined Wednesday, June 19, 2002
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Extended Profile
In the interests of simplicity, all of the books I register are available for release. If I'm the least bit uncertain about my willingness to let go of something, I just won't register it.


Here are three books I continually recommend:

"Place of Execution" by Val McDermid:
Excellent, award-winning mystery. In late '60's small-town Britain, a child disappears, with evidence indicating that she's been murdered; police do make an arrest & the perpetrator receives the death penalty. It's an excellent procedural, and captures the atmosphere not only of place but also of emotion, with everyone surprised by such a crime perpetrated against a child. Then comes part two: present-day, a young investigative reporter is working on a book about this case. Suddenly, the now-retired policeman who'd been helping calls to say that he won't help any longer, and that the reporter cannot use anything that he has said...

"Darkness More Than Night" by Michael Connelly:
I think very highly of Connelly's work in general, and would also recommend "Blood Work" and "The Poet". When "DMTN" opens, Harry Bosch (his regular series character) of the LAPD is in court, waiting for his turn to testify in a murder case. Meanwhile, Terry McCaleb (the former FBI agent introduced in "BW") gets involved with an investigation which, naturally, involves Bosch as well. Anyone who's read Connelly will know that the investigative details are engrossing, and develop at an interesting pace; what really impressed me this time was the courtroom scenes. No time is spent on backstory, as far as Bosch's case; the reader learns about the case through the trial, so it's an excellent lesson (imho) in how such a case should be constructed & presented to the jury.

"Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield:
"GoF" is the literal translation of Thermopylae, which is the narrow mountain pass where 300 warriors from Sparta met the army of superpower Persia. In a clear-cut case of winning the battle but losing the war, the Persians did eventually beat the Spartans, but took long enough to do so that it helped to encourage the rest of the Greeks to continue fighting. These are not spoilers; you'll pick this up from the blurbs on the book. And it's not an hour-by-hour description of the battle, either; that's only the last section. You get to it by way of knowing about life in Sparta in general, about their philosophy concerning war as well as life, their differences from Athens, and their reactions to news of the Persians. Fascinating, gripping, and I can't recommend it highly enough.


The books I've read in 2011:

JANUARY
1. A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru by Hugh Thomson
2. Black Echo by Michael Connelly
3. Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
4. In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz
5. Never Romance a Rake by Liz Carlyle
6. Ride the Fire by Jo Davis
7. Whispered Lies by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
8. Scandalous by Lori Foster
9. Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
10. The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon
11. Pulse by Jeremy Robinson
12. In Search of Robinson Crusoe by Tim Severin
13. Callie & a Dealer & a Dog Named Jake by Wendy Howell Mills
14. Death of a Mermaid by Wendy Howell Mills
15. The First Apostle by James Becker
16. Deadly Intent by Kylie Brant
17. Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag
18. The Gilded Seal by James Twining
19. The Geneva Deception by James Twining
20. Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield
21. A Descent Into Hell: The True Story of an Altar Boy, a Cheerleader, and a Twisted Texas Murder by Kathryn Casey
22. The Sultan's Seal by Jenny White
23. Warlord by Ted Bell

FEBRUARY
24. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (for discussion; excellent!)
25. The Reapers by John Connolly
26. Awakening by S. J. Bolton
27. Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti
28. The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry
29. Renegade by Lora Leigh
30. Scream For Me by Karen Rose
31. White Heat by Jill Shalvis
32. Black Rain by Graham Brown
33. Kill For Me by Karen Rose
34. Shadow Zone by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen
35. The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw
36. Black Sun by Graham Brown
37. The Sentry by Robert Crais
38. The Lovers by John Connolly
39. Deep Black: Death Wave by Stephen Coonts and William H. Keith
40. Sam's Creed by Sarah McCarty
41. The Innocent by Harlan Coben (for discussion)
42. Seal Island by Kate Brallier
43. Bad Blood by John Sandford
44. Lost Empire by Clive Cussler and Grant Blackwood
45. Promises Reveal by Sarah McCarty
46. The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook (for discussion)

MARCH
47. The Whisperers by John Connolly
48. Stolen by Jordan Gray
49. The Lost Testament by Sam Bourne
50. The Babylonian Codex by C.S. Graham
51. The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharon McCrumb
52. Travels by Michael Crichton
53. Legend by David Lynn Golemon
54. Get a Clue by Jill Shalvis
55. Never Happened by Debra Webb
56. The Gatekeeper by Michelle Gagnon
57. Wolf River by Jill Gregory
58. Ark of Fire by C.M. Palov
59. Heartstone by C.J. Sansom
60. The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass
61. The Sign by Raymond Khoury
62. All He Desires by Anthea Lawson
63. City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris




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