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"The Grave Tattoo" was supposed to be a psychological thriller and I suppose in some ways it was because it did keep me guessing. But it also had other more obvious components of academic passion, mystery, science (forensics) and history. The author is Val McDermid, this is the first of his stories I have read and I would read him again if I stumbled across another book.

Everything begins by the discovery of a body in a swampy area where Dr. Jane Gresham grew up in the Lake District of England. The body is assumed to be about 200 years old, it has very defined, black tattoos which signify a man who had traveled the South Seas.

Jane Gresham resides in the scary, ghetto Marshpool neighborhood and gets to go home to the more upscale and yet quaint Lake District when she pitches a theory to the college where she works that the body found could be none other than Fletcher Christian. She feels this way based on another theory of hers that Fletcher Christian told William Wordsworth his story and Wordsworth wrote about it in his manuscript The Bounty. She proposes the whole truth exists and is being kept secret in a local home. If found her theory would be correct, she would become an academic hero and the family with the manuscript could stand to make millions.

There are a lot of different characters who you sort of have to remember and connect on your own throughout the story. One of which is a thirteen year old girl named Tenille who Jane treats like a younger sister. She gets caught up in a lot of trouble and is wanted for questioning about murder, arson, burglary, etc. Keeping track of her drama is like keeping track of a whole separate story.

Then you have the forensic scientist making a documentary of the "bog body" which she named Pirate Peat. So you have chapters involving just her, her name is Dr. River Wilde. She ends up dating a detective while she is in the area his name is Rigston. Rigston ends up getting pulled into the Tenille situation. See how things connect, but not really?

Jane wanted to find out which ancestors would possibly have the manuscript so she did a lot of research. She spoke with people who were decedents of a lady who used to work for the Wordsworth family. But each person on her list to speak with winds up dead. And so Rigston gets involved with this search even though it appears each person died of natural causes.

I don't want to get into too much spoiler information, but the twists and turns did keep me on my toes. I liked the suspense, even though at times it was very unbelievable. Like when Jane is hit over the head, falls off a cliff into water and a sheep herder sees her fall and saves her.

But, for the most part it was an entertaining read and I did enjoy the 20 minutes each night when I took time to get through a few chapters.

Labels: forensics, history, mystery, suspense, thriller, Val McDermid

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| 7:30 AM | 0 comment(s)!

Codes and cryptic messages just don't have the ability to be dull; especially if the government is involved and they aren't exactly up to par.

Dan Brown's novel "Digital Fortress" began on a Saturday morning when two newly engaged people were ready to leave on a romantic getaway until their phones rang. David Becker was called to Spain for a mission which was declared a matter of national security. His fiance, Susan Fletcher, was called into work at Node 3 in Crypto. Little did they know both their lives were in danger and no one could be trusted, not even the most sincere of their old friends.

With David Becker looking for a pass key in Spain which could be anywhere and Susan Fletcher finding out an "unbreakable algorithm" was tainting the top secret TRANSLTR. The National Security Agency (NSA) has a corrupt seed and he happens to be dragging the leading cyptographer, Susan, into a game which he doesn't realize will be so deadly.

While in Spain David Becker finds himself running all over the blessed country trying to find a pass key which is engraved on a gold ring. Knocking on death's door the pass key creator removes the ring and gives it to a random stranger.

Susan Fletcher finds out about an unbreakable code which the agency hasn't been able to make heads or tails of. Could it be a virus, could it be bringing down the national top secret database? When two other system security technicians show up and wind up dead Susan realizes there's an inside job happening and her fiance is in danger.

The book was absolutely riveting; a page turner to say the least. I wish there were some sort of sequel. I do love a good thriller and mystery and Dan Brown seems to know just how to write them. This is the 3rd of his books I have loved. Of course you either love him or hate him and there are many sticklers who find the books are just too unbelievable. Luckily for me I read to be entertained and enthralled both of which are guaranteed if the author is Dan Brown.

Labels: Dan Brown, mystery, thriller

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| 9:25 AM | 0 comment(s)!

When it comes to mystery thrillers I love the work of Iris Johansen. She writes such fantastic thriller novels, I can hardly put them down when I get a new one. The character development is always impeccable and impressive considering most of her novels tends to have 4 or 5 strong characters.

Sophie Dunston is the main gal in "Killer Dreams". She is a strong, independent woman who is divorced and have a ten-year-old son who suffers from night terrors. His name is Michael and he has been suffering from these traumatic terrors since witnessing his Grandfather killing his Grandmother and trying to shoot him, but his Mom stepped in the way of the bullet. (I'd say he has every right to have trouble at night).

Anyway, Sophie is a brilliant chemist who has devoted all of her time to sleep research. Her father suffered from severe insomnia and that is what prompted her fascination with sleep patterns and disorders. She develops a product called REM-4 that ends up having such control over subjects that it is almost as if it brainwashes them into being slaves. Sophie rebels against what she created, insisting it never be used, but Sanborne (her boss) decides it can be the greatest chemical weapon of their time.

Needless to say Sophie quits and as we are getting into the book we find out she intends to kill Sanborne and destroy all of the REM-4 research.

Meanwhile Sanborne has been using the drug on many people along with a General they refer to as Boch. He has turned people into savage kiling machines that lack all emotion. One of the people who ends up escaping the program is Matt Royd. He too wants to kill Sanborne and Boch for that matter. He ends up joining forces with Sophie. You see where that is going, I'm sure.

Another chemist has altered REM-4 to make it stronger, but now the forumla has a very high fatality rate. Sanborne ends up sending people after Sophie and her son, Michael, because he needs her to fix REM-4 so that it won't kill the subjects, only control them. They end up losing everything and having to go into hiding with Royd.

It is easy to imagine where this book will end up, but how the author gets us to that point is full of twists and turns. Once again Iris Johansen has written a compelling novel that has left me wanting to read even more! Predictable at times, it still has enough suspense to keep me turning the pages. Plus, I really, really love her character profiles; excellent development.

Buy it, Killer Dreams!

Labels: fiction, Iris Johansen, Killer Dreams, medicine, mystery, suspense, thriller

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| 10:45 AM | 0 comment(s)!

Leisurely reading or not, Dean Koontz is one of my favorite authors. When I read anything written by him it absolutely captivates me. Yes, he tends to write about sometimes disturbing topics, but he is such a brilliant man and the things he comes up with fascinate me. The way in which he writes is so vivid and real. I love it.

So yesterday I finished his book "By the Light of the Moon."
It was my favorite one yet, I think I say that after each of his books though.

There were several important characters, but the top three are Dylan O'Connor, Sheppard O'Connor and Jillian Jackson. The O'Connors are brothers, Dylan is the oldest and he takes care of his brothers as both of their parents are dead. Shep has severe autism and Koontz wrote his character superbly. Jillian is a comedian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the three of them end up being united forever during the their terrifying ordeal. All of this involves nanotechnology which I knew nothing about until I read this book and it is VERY interesting.

**Spoiler Alert**

Dr. Proctor is an insane man who is too smart for his own good. He has studied nanotechnology in such a "mad scientist" way that he feels he can create a whole new generation of people. He injects Dylan, Shep and Jillian with an unknown substance he refers to as "stuff." Their lives are changed forever, not just because his enemies are now after them to kill them and destroy evidence of the "stuff" but also because the substance has them experiencing very strange symptoms. They all begin to have premonitions and callings which they cannot deny even if it means risking their lives. Shep is able to fold through a dimension and appear in another place of the world within seconds. For a person which severe autism it is very difficult for him and his friends to explain to him what is happening. Especially since they are not sure what is happening either. All they know if that they are racing around the country saving and helping strangers in need.

This book was just awesome. And even with all the tense moments, Koontz still always manages to make me laugh. The connections between characters are written very well. And I love the witty banter of their dialogue during certain scenes. Excellent, just excellent!

Labels: Dean Koontz, drama, thriller

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| 7:56 AM | 0 comment(s)!