Book Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Larsson is as wordy as ever in the third and final installment in the Millenium series. Wordy, but certainly intertaining. Even though the title obviously refers to her, our Lisbeth Salander is conspicuously absent from most of the book. Understandable, since she was shot in the head and buried alive at the end of the second book!

Crack journalist Blomkvist, along with some new police-type friends, scurries to uncover the truth about Lisbeth's father, who is smack dab in the middle of a decades-old government cover-up.

Spy-like behavior abounds, complete with surveillance equipment, safe rooms, and a smuggled computer tablet. As usual, Blomkvist and anyone unfortunate enough to be near him is in almost constant danger. Good stuff.

The trilogy resolves satisfactorily, if not necessarily happily. Highly recommended, you won't be sorry you sat through book 2.

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Book Review: The Witness by Nora Roberts

The Witness by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit this is one of my favorite Nora Roberts books. It's more thriller than romance and kept me reading all day! This book is cleverly divided into three sections:

1. Liz, in which we meet the stifled 16 year old uber-smart girl who gets wrapped up in a Mafia crime.
2. Abigail, the paranoid woman-on-the-run Liz becomes.
3. Elizabeth, who bravely attempts to love and put a rest to her demons and fear.

The book is filled with rich characters, a great little community, believable family dynamics, and some heart-pounding moments. Definitely recommended for Roberts fans, as well as those who just like an entertaining thriller/romance. That being said, it's still a fairly "fluffy" NR read, so I can't give it 5 stars.



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Book Review: Three Days to Die by John Avery

Three Days to Die by John Avery
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is marketed as a thriller- young boy stumbles upon criminal activity and is kidnapped. They pursuade/force him into crime as well. A few other mildly interesting things happen along the way, but nothing I would rate as "thrilling". If not for the occassional swear word, I would think this was a YA novel.

The characters are sketches at best and react to situations without depth, and with rsther inconguous emotions. For example, while Aaron us being held prisoner, his captors decide to teach him to shoot a rifle. Aaron's reaction is to be disappointed that he's not a great shot. Really? He's not terrified, angry he's being forced to do this, or even nervous? A lot of scenes just don't ring true.

To top it off, the author seems to attempt to make up for the thin plot and immature dialogue by putting in a lot of gratuitous description of non-consequential things- things like a diner and a woman's outfit. Honestly, I skimmed these sections.

I hate to write negative reviews, but don't waste your time. I only finished it because a) it was a free download on my Kindle, and b) I am compulsive like that.

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