Here I am again with a roundup of books I have read over the last week or so. Nice collection and kept me entertained.
Personal - Lee Childs. The latest Jack Reacher and, like all the others, full of complications and twists and turns and haf the time I don't know what is going on. Somebody has attempted to assassinate the French President. I make no comment on this....
Turns out the shot was one only a very exclusive bunch of snipers could do and Jack Reacher knows one of them. Indeed, he put him away for sixteen years but it now transpires he is out of jail and seemingly on the market again. Three other snipers are also on the list of possible assassins but one by one they are found and it boils down to one man, one name. Lots of ins and outs, lots of descriptions of hand to hand combat, an attractive woman, lots of sharp terse super cool dialogue and, well, that is it really. Read in an hour or two, enjoyed and will no doubt sell in its millions.
Invisible - Christine Poulson. Light years away from Jack Reacher but, in my opinion, better plotted and better written. Our heroine, Lisa, has a son who suffers from cerebral palsy. She is a single mother as her husband left them as he could not cope with the disability of his child. Lisa has a lover, Jay. She meets him once a month and during that time she can forget her responsibilities and just live for the moment.
And then one day, Jay doesn't turn up at their rendezvous. Worried that he may have had an accident or is ill, she tries to find him and it is then that she realises she knows little about him, he has given her a false address and is obviously not who she thought he was. Lisa decides to track him down but in doing she she finds herself in danger as, all unknowingly, she leads hidden watchers to Jay who has been keeping out of sight for several years. If I say witness protection programme and revenge then that will give you a clue about the story without giving anything away which I do not want to do.
As I said well plotted and written and I found myself engaging with the characters of Lisa and her son Ricky. This is essential if you want to get involved in a good story. With the Lee Childs books I really don't give a damn what happens to him (a) because you know full well that Childs is not going to kill off a franchise and (b) he is basically a cardboard character and you care very little for him. This book is totally different and the better for it. I happen to have read the two books within a few days of each other and the contrast was striking. I know which one I prefer...
Summer at the Lake - Erica James. Simply loved this book. I very much enjoy Erica's writing and think I have read all of her titles now. Starts off with Floriana receiving an invitation to the wedding of an old friend who she has not seen for years since a huge argument severed their friendship. Now here is a chance to meet up with him again but she is uncertain whether she wants to go or not. Pondering on this on the way back home she doesn't look where she is going and is knocked down by a speeding car.
She is taken to the hospital by two strangers who were nearby; Adam, who really does not want to get involved as he is sore and upset by the breakdown of a relationship and just wants to leave things alone and Esme, an elderly lady who insists that she and Adam give help to Floriana and make sure that she is looked after on her return home.
A friendship builds between the three, all of them in their own way alone and isolated and they persuade Floriana to attend the wedding which is in Como and to try and put the past behind her. Esme spent a summer there many many years ago and has a reason for returning to a place where she was happy. So accompanied by Adam off they go and, if I was writing a blurb for the back of the book, I would probably say something along the lines of 'where they meet their destinies'
A simply smashing book and I loved every word of it.
