by Phillip Margolin, 2008, Harper Audio, narrated by Jonathan Davis

We listened to this book on the way from Florida to Rhode Island in the car and we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was.  The plot was a bit thin, but the characters were engaging and believable and it was easy to follow.  The plot is basically about a President who has a penchant for young girls and has them murdered to cover up his transgressions.  The book is quite a contrast from the Vince Flynn books I had been listening to where the here, Mitch Rapp, was always killing or torturing someone.  It has evil individuals but the good ones were at least human.  The reader was also pretty decent.

If you are looking for a good read at the beach or a way to while the hours away on a long trip, I would recommend it.

by Gillian Flynn, Crown Publishing, 2012

I had a little trouble getting my arms around this book.  The book is very readable and I think the methodology the author employed, which consisted of alternating entries by the husband and then the wife in this unusual marriage, was extremely effective.  These texts enabled me to understand the depth of the disconnect between the two individuals.

I can also relate to the effects of each spouse having such different backgrounds, he from a family of modest means from a small town in the Midwest, while she was from a fairly affluent family, growing up in a world of privilege in the East.  The differences become really apparent when they move back to his hometown.

There are also some twists and turns in the plot that made it enjoyable to read..

What didn’t I like about the book?  The ending, or lack of one.  After spending a considerable amount of time reading through the book, I naturally got hooked on where it was headed and where it would end up.  I was, to put it mildly, disappointed.  I won’t go into the details here, but if you read the book yourself, be prepared for what isn’t coming.

Shakespeare seems to have perfected the concept of ”denouement” which is defined as:

1. the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
2. the place in the plot at which this occurs.
3. the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences

In addition to the actual definition, an author usually builds excitement and holds interest by building up to the denouement.  My issue with this book is that it is absolutely missing anything close to a denouement.  I would suggest that Ms. Flynn delve into some of Shakespeare’s plays to see if she could possibly apply this concept to her next book.  It would have really helped in the case of Gone Girl. 

Persuasion, by Jane Austen, originally published posthumously in 1818, audiobook, 2001, read by Flo Gibson, Recorded Books, LLC, Prince Frederick, MD

I guess I just didn’t get this book.  To me it was a redefinition of the word, “dithering.”  The heroine, Ann Elliott, is in love with a naval officer, Captain Wentworth, and wants to marry him.  Unfortunately, a family friend intervenes and puts the kibosh on the marriage.  She encounters Captain Wentworth seven years later and, after many chapters of not much happening, he expresses his love of her again.  They become happily engaged.  End of story.

This book doesn’t seem to create the same level of tension between two would-be lovers that Pride and Prejudice does.  I suspect that Jane Austen was failing in her later years to come up with something fresh and original.  I don’t feel that she accomplished that in this, her last, novel.

Honor Bound, Terror on the F Train, by Steven R. Roberts, 2012, Rouge River Press, Dearborn, MI

This book is a story about a terrorist plot to blow up subway trains and a black Vietnam veteran, retired from the CIA, who is asked to go on a mission to thwart the plot.  The fact that he has terminal cancer plays into his decision to accept this, his final mission.

The book has its good moments.  The possibility of terror attacks on our subway system is realistic and the book has an unusual plot twist.

I also feel that the book has some weak points.  I found that the physical action described in the passages toward the end of the book was a bit of a stretch for me and I thought that all the dialogue between the hero and villain was somewhat overdone.  It reminded me a lot of the dialogue that Dan Brown inserts into some of the action scenes in his novels. This technique apparently is intended to make the reader believe just how evil the villain is, but, for me, it just bogs down the action.  (An exception to this situation is the Hannibal Lecter movies where his dialogue really does send chills down my spine.)

The book is fairly well-written but there are some editing errors that occasionally detract from the work.  Overall, the book is a pretty good read and is entertaining.