The Ambler Warning

The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum

Finished November 27th, 2007

Rating: 7/10

2nds Challenge Book #2



From the Publisher
On Parrish Island, a restricted island off the coast of Virginia, there is a little known and never visited psychiatric facility. There, far from prying eyes, the government stores former intelligence employees whose psychiatric state make them a danger to their own government, people whose ramblings might endanger ongoing operations or prove dangerously inconvenient.

One of these employees, former Consular Operations agent Hal Ambler, is kept heavily medicated and closely watched. But there’s one difference between Hal and the other patients—Hal isn’t crazy. With the help of a sympathetic nurse, Hal manages to first clear his mind of the drug-induced haze and then pulls off a daring escape. Free, he’s out to discover who stashed him there and why—but the world he returns to isn’t the one he remembers. Friends and longtime associates don’t remember him, there are no official records of Hal Ambler, and when he first sees himself in the mirror, the face that looks back at him is not the one he knows as his own.


I thought this was written by Robert Ludlum but then after I finished the book I read up on Ludlum on Wikipedia. Apparently this book was written posthumously by an unknown ghostwriter who follows Robert Ludlum's style of writing. As this was only my 2nd book by Ludlum I am no expert but the style does seem very similiar to the other book I have read by Ludlum "The Bourne Identity". The storyline was pretty good however I did find the book to be too long.

Honeymoon

Honeymoon by James Patterson

Finished November 18th, 2007

Rating: 8/10

Reading the Author Challenge Book #2




From the Publisher
How does it feel to be desired by every man and envied by every woman? Wonderful. This is the life Nora Sinclair has dreamed about, the life she's worked hard for, the life she will never give up. Meet Nora Sinclair.

When FBI agent John O'Hara first sees her, she seems perfect. She has the looks. The career. The clothes. The wit. The sophistication. The tantalizing sex appeal. The whole extraordinary package - and men fall in line to court her. She doesn't just attract men, she enthralls them. If you dare.

So why is the FBI so interested in Nora Sinclair? Mysterious things keep happening to people around her, especially the men. And there is something dangerous about Nora when Agent O'Hara looks closer - something that lures him at the same time that it fills him with fear. Is there something dark hidden among the unexplained gaps in her past? And as he spends more and more time getting to know her, is he pursuing justice? Or his own fatal obsession?


There are two storylines going on in this book. The storyline with Nora and then another case that O'Hara is working on at the same time. Although little time is spent on the other case, I still don't understand why Patterson felt he needed to add the storyline. I felt it confused the book and really didn't add anything. With that being said, I couldn't put this book down, it was good fluffy read.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Finished November 13th, 2007

Rating: 9/10

Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge Book #4


From the Publisher

Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.


So let me start off by saying that this was one of the best books I have read yet this year. Although it is an excellent book, it didn't quite touch me the same way The Kite Runner did. The writing is amazing, there was never a moment when I was bored or found my interest waning. I highly recommend this book to others.

Chosen Prey

Chosen Prey by John Sandford

Finished November 7th, 2007

Rating: 7/10

2nds Challenge Book #1




The Barnes & Noble Review
Chosen Prey, the 12th entry in this remarkably consistent series, finds the hard-edged Minnesota homicide detective spearheading yet another convoluted investigation, this one aimed at bringing down a serial killer -- and sexual psychopath -- known as the Gravedigger.

As we learn at the very outset, the Gravedigger is James Quatar, an effete, deeply disturbed art historian with a penchant for blondes who remind him of his mother. Several of these iconic blondes have served as unwitting models for James's distinctive brand of pornographic, mix-and-match computer art. And several have simply disappeared from the face of the earth. As the novel opens, the body of Qatar's most recent victim surfaces in a park on the outskirts of Minneapolis. When the park turns out to be a mass graveyard containing eight more victims -- all blonde, all with an affinity for the visual arts -- a statewide manhunt ensues.

I choose to read a John Sandford book as part of the 2nds Challenge. I previously read The Devil's Code and liked it and thought this was a good opportunity to read one of the books from the Lucas Davenport's series. I was a bit confused with all of the different characters however this may have been because this is the 12th book in the series. I probably should have started with the first in the series.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I wasn't blown away but I enjoyed it enough to want to read more from the series.

October 2007 Reads

October was a pretty slow month for me, I found it really hard to sit down and read. Hopefully November is a better month of reading for me.


53. Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson - Rating: 6
[Reading the Author Challenge]

54. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - Rating: 7
[Decades Challenge]

55. B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton - Rating: 6
[Book Awards Challenge]

56. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Rating: 6
[Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge]


New Authors Read = 2
Male Authors = 2
Female Authors = 2