Goodreads Review: Snuff

Snuff by Adam Huber


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have to give this book a five star rating because the thought process that had to go into creating such a disturbing work of fiction truly is amazing. I've read and written some violent things before, but the things in this book are horrifically detailed and demented. In other words, this definitely pushed some limits with my psyche, and that's not easy to do.

Jack and Mikey make movies for high paying clients, the kind of movies that cost tens of thousands of dollars and don't end with the main star still alive. These custom made snuff films are the product of a twisted mind with an abusive childhood and a sexual deviant, both who become wrapped up in a sort of addiction to murder, rape, and torture. When they make a movie for a client and end up using his daughter in the starring role, the story takes a vengeful and surprising turn.

From the beginning scene, I wondered how far the authors would push this and they didn't disappoint. The images are graphic. I remember when the movie "Hostel" was released and people thought it was graphic, violent, and disturbing. If "Snuff" were made into a movie and done word for word exactly as the book reads with no censorship, it would make "Hostel" look like an episode of "Sesame Street."

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Goodreads: Level 26: Dark Origins

Level 26: Dark Origins by Anthony E. Zuiker


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If you’re looking for a great work of literature with phenomenal writing, this isn’t the book to read. But the concept of a digi-novel is interesting and the experience is okay if you like books and crime drama TV.

The premise is pretty basic. Sqweegel is classified as a Level 26 killer. He’s a twisted serial killer who has been uncatchable for years. Now he’s targeted the wife of former agent Steve Dark, who is basically forced out of retirement to try to find Sqweegel.

That’s the story in a nutshell. The concept was good, but there were a lot of things wrong with the book. There were several continuity and spelling errors, and the overall writing wasn’t great. It read like a made-for-TV CSI like movie with some added gore and swearing for effect. The characters were bland, and some of the acting in the cyber bridges was worthy of a Razzy.

Having said that, I don’t think the book tried to be anything great. I think the authors took a concept and went with it, drawing from their background in the crime drama tv genre. Sure, there could have been improvements, but for what it was, I actually enjoyed it. There were some disturbing scenes and Sqweegel made for a nifty bad guy. Not sure if I thought he was worthy of a Level 26 rating, but it was probably good for the book. I even enjoyed the cyber-bridges, though a few of them were a little long and tedious.

This isn’t anything I’ll read again, but I’ll likely read the second one that comes out next year.

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Goodreads: The Hour I First Believed

The Hour I First Believed: A Novel by Wally Lamb


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This will go on my All Consuming list as "Worth Consuming," because the first part of the book really was worth it. In fact, if the whole book had maintained what it had through the first part, it would have been a five star rating for sure.

Caelum Quirk is at his aunt's deathbed when he hears news of a shooting at the high school where he teaches and where his wife, Maureen, is a part time school nurse. Lamb pulls the non-fiction of Columbine (using the factual events, names, and evidence) for his story, and the effect was amazing. It was hard to put this book down and it drew alot of emotions as I read it. Maureen hides herself in a cabinet and survives, only to suffer debilitating post-traumatic stress. The Quirks move back to the farm where Caelum grew up in an effort to help Maureen get her life together and to work on their marriage.

After the great beginning, the book began to lose stars with me. It veers into several different storylines, and while Caelum and Maureen's marriage is always at the core, the off shoots get tedious. A troubled girl from Columbine comes back into their life. Maureen ends up in jail for vehicular manslaughter, an effect of her prescription drug habit. Caelum drinks heavily, mimicking aspects of his father's life, an alcoholic killed in a train accident. He ends up renting his house to a couple who survived Hurricane Katrina, and the wife of the couple starts research into Caelum's family history, much of which Lamb gives with excruciating detail that bored me. My mind frequently wandered during these sections and while I couldn't put the book down at the beginning, I couldn't wait to finish it by the end.

Still, there's alot to be said for Lamb's writing. I remember enjoying his first two books and plan on re-reading them since it's been several years since the first visit. Besides being a talented writer, he doesn't shadow things in happily ever after. His stories are reality checks: major issues that aren't solved in the course of a couple chapters and sometimes not even in the course of the novel. None of his main characters are truly likeable. Caelum is unfeeling, selfish, and judgemental. Maureen is unfaithful coming into the story, weak, and annoying. But somehow, these traits are justified, not to the point where we can like them, but to the point where we can at least understand them.

Readers who enjoy a touch of history may like this book as a whole better than I did. Still, the beginning of it was one of the most powerful things I read and it still maintained a three star rating, even if I did have to slog through the last few hundred pages.




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Goodreads: No Choice But Seduction

No Choice But Seduction: A Mallory Novel #9 by Johanna Lindsey


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Mallory series ranks up there as one of my faves, but I have to admit that this one didn't really do it for me (furthermore, I barely remember the last one, which is a sure sign I need to go back and read the whole series again).

Boyd Anderson first meets Katey Tyler on his ship as he takes her to England where she's hoping to see more of the world and reconnect with the family who disowned her mother many years ago. Katey has a talent for telling tales, and so she tells him she's married to stave off any attentions. But the two meet later when Boyd assists in rescuing the daughter of Tony and Roslynn who's been kidnapped by Roslynn's cousin's wife for ransom. Katey, however, is the one who rescues the little girl, only to be repaid with suspicion from Boyd.

Eventually, Katey finds her way to the Mallory family where they welcome her with open arms but, upon seeing Boyd (and still being pissy with him) she takes off. When her "real" family turns her away at the door, she allows Boyd to make it up to her by letting her rent his ship to take her to see other parts of the world, and while he obliges her, he seems to have that problem that so many historical heroes have: he can barely keep control of the lust she incites in him.

Normally, I'm totally cool with all the historical cliches, and they weren't too bothersome in this book either. Lindsey always adds a nice helping of fun and humor to her writing. But this one seemed to be majorly lacking in relationship development between Boyd and Katey, focusing instead on Katey's past and her connection to the Mallorys. It read more like a coming of age book than a romance novel.

The scenes with James and Anthony were great, though, especially when they're trying to teach Boyd to be seductive. Definitely good stuff there. And while I didn't like this one as much as some of her other books, it still wasn't a bad way to get through a couple of lazy days.

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Goodreads: Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finishing this book was kind of a milestone because it signifies the fact that I've caught up with the Troubleshooters series. The exception to this is I haven't yet read “Into the Night,” because the local library doesn't carry it and I don't normally buy books when I'm just going to read and pass on (though I should probably suck it up and buy this one since I could definitely read this series again). I'm currently waiting to receive the book on interlibrary loan, but it'll be more like a nostalgia trip.

“Hot Pursuit” brings us back to Sam and Alyssa and continues the story told in one of Brockmann' short stories. “The Dentist” is a psychopath whose target is Alyssa Locke. When Alyssa, Sam, and some of Seal Team 16 go to New York, they think it's going to be nothing more than a fluff job to help a political hopeful stay safe during her campaign. But The Dentist is lurking, setting up a chain of events to get Alyssa where he wants her, including murder and his own special MO of collecting the teeth of his victims.

Sam and Alyssa are a fun couple to re-visit, but I probably wouldn't have been as interested if I hadn't had faith that Brockmann would have introduced another new love story, this time between Danny Gillman and the political hopeful's friend and assistant, Jenn. I may have mentioned before that I didn't like Danny, but as expected, he sort of kind of redeems himself in this one, at least to reveal a human side (though Brockmann keeps true to many of his less savory tendencies to keep continuity). Other relationships are touched on, including the Izzy and Eden story from Izzy's point of view, and of course we get a little bit of Robin and Jules. A lot of “cameos” from other books, and not only is the Eden/Izzy line still open, but so too now is the Jenn/Danny one.

This next part may be kind of spoilerish, so stop know if you don't want to know about Brockmann's future plans gleaned from this book's author notes (mostly).

According to the AN, Brockmann is working on the next book in the series. I checked the website, and this will indeed be “Izzy's Story” (and more on Danny and Jenn but her note), but the website says it won't be out until February of 2011. That alone is tough, but she also said that after that one she'd be taking a break from the TS series. What??? No!!! Suzanne Brockmann, why??? This bums me out, though she said she wasn't done, just that she was taking time off. And I guess I can understand it, but ouch. This series is the first one I think I ever got THIS into, and I don't really want it to end. Even right now I'm looking at the next book on my shelf, a historical romance in part of another series I really like, but it feels a little strange to shift so dramatically.

Either way, I still have “Into the Night” to tide me over and several other series' that should get me through until the next TS book. Then I'll just play the waiting game.

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Goodreads: Into the Fire

Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is getting placed on the disturbing shelf this time around, not because anything changed in the style or the set up, but because the Freedom Network, Brockmann's white supremacist group, creeps me out.

After putting himself into an alcoholic induced fugue state for several months following the murder of his wife by the Freedom Network, Vinh Murphy returns to his best friend Hannah for comfort. But when the leader of the FN is murdered, Vinh is the main suspect and even he doesn't know if he did it or not.

The romance between Vinh and Hannah isn't as "torrid" as many of the other ones, but they've been friends for years, so there's more of a comfort aspect to it, which I liked. Nash and Tess have a small part with a storyline leading them to the next book in the series.

The other main subplot is between Izzy and Eden Gillman, Dan Gillman's sister who is abandoned by her boyfriend and impregnated by a "business associate" of his who drugged her. I hated Dan Gillman in this book, for the record, but I expect that maybe someday Brockmann will give us some insight into why he's such a jerk.

The Decker-Dave-Sophia triangle appears again. I'm rooting for Dave because I like Dave's character as being "less than" the rough and tough and built SEALS. I like that he's a little softer, a little more nerdy, and alot more insecure. Decker annoys me to no end. To be fair though, there are times when I really want Dave to get some nerve and just step up to the plate.

This was another great installment. Three books left (since I still need to read book 5) and I'll have read the entire series to date. Then I'll just have play the waiting game until the next one comes out.





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Goodreads: Into the Storm

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another 5 star book in the Troubleshooters series, though this one varied in several different ways from the previous books (which is all I have to base my comparison on right now since I haven’t yet read the later ones).

The main players are Lindsey Fontaine, an ex LAPD cop working for TS, Inc. and Mark “Jenk” Jenkins who’s still with SEAL Team Sixteen. Mark is mooning over a Tracy Shapiro, a girl he knew from his younger days who is now working as a receptionist for TS, and Lindsay is crushing on Mark. Towards the end of a spontaneous evening together, Mark ends up running to Tracy’s rescue. Lindsay pulls away, trying to leave their relationship at friend status to help her deal with her own hurt and jealousy, not mention that, like all of the characters in this series, she has her own past baggage to deal with. Then the team is called to New Hampshire where the cold weather is to be used as part of a war game exercise between the teams. During the exercise, Tracy, acting the part of the hostage, goes missing, and the TS team, with the help of Jenk and Izzy, set out to find her.

Like always, Brockmann pulls the story into several different subplots. There’s the steamy interaction between Izzy and Tracy. There’s also the relationship between Sophia, Larry Decker, and Dave Malkoff. What makes that one so interesting is that for once, I’m not entirely sure where SB is going with these characters and where the actual romantic relationship is going to fall.

Unlike most of the books, the antagonist is not an international terrorist but a local psycho kidnapper who collects body parts. I found this turn to be extremely creepy, but I like the way it sets the book away from the other books while still trying it in through the use of familiar characters and themes.

This may be one of the snarkier books in the series, which gives it another point of favor. There’s a lot of interaction among the Seals, especially from Izzy Zanella, who tends to push the obnoxious envelope but still cracks me up. Lindsey is a fun character who carries a lot of baggage but hides it behind her own sarcastic and self deprecating sense of humor. Tracy Shapiro is bound to show up in this book (I hope). She develops to a great deal in this book and there still seems to be some unfinished business between her and Izzy.

I thought that this was definitely one of the best books in the series.

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