Book 1, in the Bill Hodges Trilogy
A hard-boiled detective book is definitely not what I had expected Mr. King would have come up with next. This new genre received positive reviews and won him the Edgar Award in 2015 for Best Novel.
This story is so different from is standard “horror stories” it is hard to imagine that this cat and mouse game about a psychopathic killer (Brady) and a renegade cop (Hodge) could have met my expectation. It did and much more. This is a fascinating story that takes the old detective genre to the next level. Let’s not think Mr. King left scary parts aside, after all he will always have a scary side. Adding a sociopath on a rampage can be characterized as “horrific” for anyone and is predictable King-isms at its best. The story is tense, ultra-fast and has a collection of expressions handled with a machine-gun prose. It has a bit of mishmash of jargon and the tone may be infuriating at times although I surpassed this very quickly. The set is staged by alternating between Hodges’ and Brady points of view and this richly layered savvy story, a showdown between good and evil is an excellent addition to my library
“Mr. Mercedes” is an entertaining and engaging ride.
John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours that Made History
This story is a riveting and beautifully written narrative of two consecutive days in the presidency of John F. Kennedy. The days were June 10 and 11, 1963.
There have been many books written about JFK some say more than 40,000 so why another one? There will always be someone digging deeper who will find new tidbits to bring to light in the life of one of the most iconic American president of modern time. In “Two Days in June” Mr. Cohen brings an original perspective by adding a compelling detailed analysis in an eventful chapter in Kennedy’s tenure: his most important speeches that would change the outcome on two important issues: nuclear arms control and American society’s racism. Later to be referred as the iconic Peace Speech and the Civil Rights Act.
Meticulously researched, this book is heavy in information and details on those two days. It tracks the President’s every move and explores mainly the context of the speeches and how it came to be. The tension leading to the public addresses is deftly captured and in proper historical context. We also have a glimpse into many personalities surrounding the president: most importantly, his brother Robert and his speechwriter Ted Sorensen. The President had a myriad of other issues such as: conflict in Vietnam, equal pay for all, his physical condition, his gossipy social life, daily swimming lesson and afternoon nap just to mention a few. All this information comes from rare sources such as documentary, interviews, diaries and official White House logbooks etc. The book doesn’t miss a beat and goes on and on.
It must have taken the author exhausting time to put all this together but also rewarding to see the end result.
Excellent
Book 1, in the John Milton series
Although this is numbered as the first in the series it is actually the second book, ” 1000 Yards”, a novella is the prequel, a short story that introduces us to the protagonist. There is no need to get to it first “The Cleaner” stand on its own but I have been told reading the prequel does help to get an idea what John is made of before the main story kicks in. I admit not having read it but it is on my TBR list and I should get to it pronto.
At first I had mixed feeling about this mystery. It started pretty slowly but eventually moved along at a better pace and I eventually got hooked and stayed with it till the end. The story is of an assassin working for a shady government organisation run by a man known simply as Control. In “The Cleaner” John is struck by a fit of conscience, quits the Firm and starts a new life by helping a woman and her son Elijah. The story is a bit dated: set during the London riots we see all through the saga our protagonist facing street gangs, drug lords and the most exciting part in this adventure is the cinematic confrontation between John and a former colleague but it does come with predictability you see this coming from the start. The experience is a bit cliched and has a déjà vu feeling about it but this is easily overcome. The dialogue sounded authentic but may be hard to follow at times for those who are not familiar with English slang and street lingo. Overall, the language is clean, the plotting is good and since we have very few players this is one mystery/thriller easy to follow.
In all a good read
