Cherry Bomb by J.A. Konrath

Cherry Bomb is the latest in the Jack Daniels series by J.A. Konrath. Like the previous books, it is fast-paced and action packed.

The tone of this book is much darker than the other books. I don't believe in spoilers, so I won't mention why, but I will say that Jack Daniels in many ways is a changed woman in Cherry Bomb.

I give this one 3 1/2 stars ***1/2 because I like that Jack is flawed, but I thought she was a little too flawed in Cherry Bomb. I wanted the good guys to win in the right way, and Jack, Phin, and Harry go about the action of this book in a way that reminded me more of a vigil ante than the hero I'm used to.

I still read this one in under two days, I still recommend it, but I hope that the next book in the series is a little less dark. I liked the old Jack better.

One thing I did like was the scene where Jack's mother was on the cruise ship. That part brightened the mood a little for me.

I also wasn't sure I wanted to root for Jack and Phin to hook up. Part of their relationship felt really right, and other aspects of it felt totally wrong. I still haven't made up my mind yet.

Night Prey by John Sandford

Night Prey by John Sandford is the sixth book in the Prey series featuring chief detective Lucas Davenport. In Night Prey, Davenport works with Meagan Connell, a State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator. She is a feminist and has only a short amount of time before she will die of cancer. She is between treatments for most of the novel.

In the beginning of the novel, I had a hard time focusing on the characters because I kept waiting for Lucas Davenport's arrival. I already knew him from Chosen Prey, and I couldn't stay focused on the other characters like Rose Marie Roux.

I also had a hard time identifying with Robert Koop, the killer. I'm not sure that it was an reflection of the writing as much as my expectations based on Chosen Prey. It was more difficult for me to go backward to another book that was still in the middle of the series. I couldn't figure out how serious the relationship between Davenport and Weather (sp? I listened to the audio book) was. I knew they were living together, but they still didn't seem as serious as a lot of other characters from other novels I've read who live together. Lucas' feelings for the reporter confused me. His feelings weren't as clean as I would have liked them.

About halfway through Night Prey, the pieces all started coming together, and I couldn't put the book down. I thought it had a satisfying ending with a few interesting twists. Overall, I still recommend Night Prey, but I would have liked to have seen more character building of Koop and a little less of the minor characters. I'll probably read another in the series later on. Perhaps Sandford uses this book as a stepping stone for other books. I was pleased he kept Dale in the plot.

I give it 3 1/2 stars *** 1/2

What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes

What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes was a fun read. I give it three and a half stars. *** 1/2.

I think the first paragraph of What Looks Like Crazy was one of the best paragraphs I've ever read in a book. I was hooked right away. What Looks Like Crazy follows the professional life of Dr. Kate Holly as well as her love life. She is a psychologist and has a lot of crazy patients. Her secretary/friend Mona is a trip, and her family is hilarious. This was a light read which kept me smiling throughout.

What keeps me from giving it a little higher rating is that the characters were funny, but some of them were a little too out there for me. In particular, I couldn't find much affection for Thad's character. He is another doctor and is a former lover and friend of Dr. Holly's. I expect the patients to be a little nutty but Thad's behavior, especially with his brother Thomas is a little too much for me. It was cute at first but annoyed me the further into the novel I read.

It took me about two weeks to read this book, but the reason had nothing to do with the pacing of Hughes' writing. I used this one as my book to read during lunch when I had free time at work. It's only 261 as mass market paperback, so it was easy to keep in my purse and to carry with me.

There is a sequel titled, "Nutcase," but I don't think I'm going to read it. I enjoyed the plot and characters, but not enough to invest myself in another novel.

Chosen Prey by John Sandford

Chosen Prey by John Sandford is the 13th book in John Sandford's Prey series. John Sandford is the pen name of John Roswell Camp. He is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Oddly enough, I didn't know this when I chose to read/listen to Chosen Prey. I have to root for my fellow native Iowans.

In Chosen Prey, The police chief, Lucas Davenport, hunts a serial killer named James Qatar. I'm not including any spoilers in this review, so I'm not going to get into a lot of detail about killings other than to say Sandford establishes very early in the book that Qatar is the killer. It's up to Davenport and his team of investigators to find him before he kills again.

Overall I enjoyed Chosen Prey very much. It was a page turner, and although I knew who the killer was, I was on the edge of my seat while reading/listening to the audio book version of the novel. Sandford does a good job of creating realistic characters and building tension from scene to scene and chapter to chapter. I even found myself identifying with Qatar at times. It's a rare quality to identify with a serial killer when I read. I think that's why I was so drawn in. I almost didn't want him to be caught.

I give this book three and a half stars. *** 1/2. There were more aspects I liked than didn't like, but a few things about Chosen Prey really bothered me too. One of those things wasn't within Sandford's control. The audio book version I used had an author interview at the end lasting nearly 40 minutes. When Chosen Prey ended, I was expecting another 40 minutes of story. Had I read the book version this wouldn't have been a problem. As it was, however, I felt cheated that the novel ended when it did. I kept waiting for one more plot twist, and suddenly the whole thing was over.

Marshall, Davenport, Lucas, and Qatar were finely crafted characters. Dell, Marcey, and Weather were harder for me to get to know. Their personalities and actions were important to the plot, but I didn't feel like I related with any of them. I think part of this was because Weather's last name was used. I wasn't sure if Dell was the investigator's first or last name. Marcey felt like a secretary to me rather than a cop. Her role worked with the plot, but I felt like a whole can of worms was opened that wasn't able to be resolved. I wanted to know if she went back to more in depth police work.

Perhaps part of my problem was choosing the 13th book in the series rather than book number one. Overall I was still able to enjoy the novel on its own merits without having to have read the preceding 12 novels, but my favorite kind of series as a reader is one in which I can pluck a book out of the middle and not have a lot of loose strings.

My other issue was that Qatar's bag of bloody clothes isn't really tidied up. Lucas Davenport spends a lot of time looking for it, and the bag with the clothes isn't really a closed issue at the end of Chosen Prey.

I did manage to listen to 13 hours of audio in 3 days, so I was pretty sucked into the plot. I would have given this one 4 stars if the bloody clothes would have been better addressed. Maybe I just need to read book 14?

Firmin by Sam Savage

What initially drew me to purchase Firmin was the unique shape of the book. I have trouble browsing physical books in a bookstore without buying anything. When my fingers found the large bite mark that was taken out of the side of the trade paperback, I knew I had to buy it. Any company that would publish a book about a rat and then take a bite out of the book as if a rat had been chewing on it, had a good marketing team. Coffee House Press knew what it was doing.

Savage's character, Firmin, is both funny and likable. He has a witty/dry sense of humor as he relates his tale of living in Pembroke Books and eating the pages of the many books. This is how Firmin learns to read. I identified with Firmin from the get go, especially when he told of how he was the odd rat out when it came to nursing as a baby rat. His mother birthed one more rat than she had nipples, which led to Firmin's runt status in the litter.

I won't give away more of the plot, but I will say that although there are illustrations in the book and the bite out of the side were cute, I wouldn't recommend assuming that Firmin is a children's book. There are a lot of very adult topics covered, not the least of which that Firmin finds a good deal of food from the floor of a movie theater that shows porn flicks after the regular crowd of movie goers has left for the day. With that said, Firmin is not an erotica work by any means, but I wouldn't just hand the book to a ten year old.

I give Firmin 3 and a half stars.

What holds me back from giving it a higher rating was the price. The list price I paid was $12.00 for a 165 page book. The other thing holding me back from giving it a higher rating is that Firmin's character is hard to really get into at first. He uses a lot of academic words (because he read/ate all the books in Pembroke Bookstore). Compared to later chapters, the beginning is a little hard to follow if the reader hasn't read all of the books referenced. For a story about a rat, the language could have been toned down a little in the beginning when the reader needs to be hooked.

For images of Firmin, check out:

http://www.amazon.com/Firmin-Sam-Savage/dp/0385342659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239499798&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Firmin-Adventures-Metropolitan-Sam-Savage/dp/1566891817/ref=sr_oe_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239499798&sr=1-1

I was unable to find a website or blog for Sam Savage to include in my sidebar. If you happen to know of one, please either email me at jenredkissed[at]gmail[dot]com or add a comment to this posting.

~Jen