Book News and Reviews

Author: Preetham Grandhi
Book: A Circle of Souls
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Julia Rating: 7
Comments:  Mr. Grandhi provided me with a review copy of his debut novel, A Circle of Souls.
This book involves several different characters and different points of view.  It’s about the investigation of a young girls kidnapping and subsequent murder.  An FBI agent is investigating the case [...]

I’ll admit to not being the most consistent blogger in the world, but with the holidays coming up my mind has turned to books.  They are (usually) a cheap and interesting present that people will appreciate – even if they don’t read them, a book will make them look more learned when displayed on the [...]

Author: Robin Cook
Book: Acceptable Risk
Genre: Medical Thriller/Horror
Julia Rating: 8
Comments: Acceptable Risk is my first Robin Cook novel. He writes medical thrillers about truely terrifying medical situations, which could actually happen.  That is what Acceptable Risk is about.  A medical doctor (Edward) decides to create a new mind-altering drug from a mold found in the basement [...]

Author: Dean Koontz
Book: The Darkest Evening of the Year
Genre: Horror/Suspense/Thriller
Julia Rating: 9
Comments: I have to make an admission to start out with. I’ve never read Dean Koontz before horror month, so if I am missing some kind of a theme (aside from an affinity for golden retrievers) that is obvious to his long-time readers, please [...]

Author: Tana French
Book: In The Woods
Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Detective
Julia Rating: 7 (for writing skill)
Comments: Sorry, this book isn’t really horror. I thought it was, but it turned out to be a psychological thriller.
In the Woods is a book that showed great promise in the beginning, throughout the middle and failed (in my opinion) at the end. Tana [...]

Author: Kathy Reichs
Book: Devil Bones
Genre: Murder Mystery/Thriller
Julia Rating: 10
Comments: I screwed up on this one… it’s not horror at all! However, I recommend it if you like the TV series Bones, because it’s a Temperance Brennan novel (she’s the main character of the TV show). Temperance is a forensic anthropologist that helps solve murders by [...]

Author: Scott Sigler 
Book: Infected: A Novel
Genre: Horror/Sci Fi/Thriller
Julia Rating: 10
Comments: Scott Sigler is one of those “new” authors who has actually been kicking around on independent channels for years. His newest book (the first he’s released with a major publisher) is Infected.  This is the story of a terrible infection contracted by normal Americans which [...]

Book: Dexter in the Dark
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Thriller/Serial Killer
Julia Rating: 10 (for humor)
Comments: Obviously I’m on a roll with the Dexter stories. Jeff Lindsay has a pattern – much like a serial killer does – of formatting his books. In the beginning, there is some commenting on Dexter or his dark passenger, next comes a [...]

Book: Dearly Devoted Dexter
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Thriller/Serial Killer
Julia Rating: 10
Comments:
As you may be able to tell, I am a Dexter fan.  I’ve started to read the series in spite of the fact that I am not usually a series reader. 
 In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter has a problem.  His arch nemesis, Sergeant Dokes, is cramping Dexter’s [...]

Book: Invisible Prey

Author: John Sandford
Genre: Thriller/Suspense/Detective
Julia Rating: 6 out of 10
Comments:  John Sandford writes the Prey series, which I just discovered.  I liked the book, it was interesting.  However, I found that the format it was written in is sometimes confusing and it really didn’t have to be written that way.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’m [...]