Book Review #40: Nevada Rose

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Nevada Rose by Jerome Preisler is the tenth novel in the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series baased on the popular television show. In this book Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown are investigating the death of “Nevada” Rose Demille, an attractive woman known for pursuing and entering reltionsips with well known athletes. In the meantime, Gil Grissom, Greg Sanders and Sara Sidle are working on the case that was discovered in the artificial lake at a golf course. It turns out the that body was of a miner who along with his brother had discovered a gem that is the biggest of it’s kind that they named Nevada Rose and was worth big money.

This novel is full of twists in the plots that keeps the reader trying to figure out who killed each of them. This is the second CSI book that I’ve read and like the other, I enjoyed reading. I’ll pick up other books in this series whenever I come across them in stores.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/CSI-Nevada-Rose-Jerome-Preisler-ebook/dp/B0013TPYJ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1494009034&sr=1-1&keywords=Nevada+Rose

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/csi-jerome-preisler/1112047257?ean=9781416544999

Tim’s Rating: ****

(Four out of Five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #39: One of Ours

One of Ours is the fifth novel by Willa Cather. It is about Claude Wheeler, the son of a wealthy farmer in rural Nebraska in the early twentieth century. After attending college in Lincoln for a couple years, Claude’s father decides to purchase a ranch in Colorado which will be ran by Claude’s brother, Ralph, and Claude will run the farm in Nebraska so his father can go between the two. Claude starts feeling he has no meaning in life, especially after a marriage gone bad. When World War I starts in Europe, Claude and his mother are caught up in reading whatever they can about it in the newspapers. Shortly after the United States enters the war, Claude decides to enlist in the Army before the draft starts. He is given a commission and is made an instructor to get men trained and ready for going to Europe. Claude is finally sent a year later and finally feels that he has meaning in his life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is my first book read by this author and with the way it is written, I know it won’t be the last. The way she describes the Nebraska farmland and in France during the war makes you feel that you are there with Claude. I recently started gaining more of an interest in World War I and plan on reading more books about it.

Download Links:

You can download this book in various formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2369

ManyBooks: http://manybooks.net/titles/catherwi23692369-8.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/One-Ours-Willa-Sibert-Cather-ebook/dp/B0084A7AAG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1494004621&sr=1-1&keywords=one+of+ours

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-of-ours-willa-sibert-cather/1116756792?ean=2940027039165

Tim’s Rating: ****

(Four out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back Periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #38: The Electronic Mind Reader

The Electronic Mind Reader is the twelfth book in the Rick Brant Series by John Blaine (Harold L. Goodwin). In this book, two scientists working on a top secret government project all of a sudden start talking gibberish and go crazy. The government in wanting to move the rest of the scientists to a location to where they can have better control of who comes and goes in the area enlist the scientists of the Spindrift Foundation to join in on the project and moves the scientists to Spindrift Island. Rick and Scotty start following some suspicious new people in the area suspecting they might be behind it.

Even though this is a children’s book, I enjoy it just like the other Rick Brant books that I’ve read. It is full of action and adventure in sky, land and sea. I will keep reading a Rick Brant series until I’ve read all that I can get hold of. Then I’ll starting reading other children’s books/series that are in the Public Domain, one each month. They are quick reads and a lot contain plenty adventures.

Download Links:

You can download this book in various formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28813

ManyBooks: http://manybooks.net/titles/blainejo2881328813-8.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Reader-Harold-Leland-Goodwin-ebook/dp/B004UKDHCY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494001575&sr=8-1&keywords=the+electronic+mind+reader

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/electronic-mind-reader-john-blaine/1101690878?ean=2940148856634

Tim’s Rating: ****

(Four out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #37: Hill of Secrets

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Hill of Secrets: An Israeli Jewish Novel is the second novel written by Michal Hartstein. Michal is a female Israeli author. The book is about a recently divorced female Israeli lawyer turned police officer who is given her first case as a lead investigator investigating an apparent murder/suicide of a religious family. After th investigation gets going, the police department’s IT specialist discovers a threat letter that appears the the husband that was suspected killing his family before turning the gun on himself was blackmailing somebody. It makes them start to wonder if it was a murder/suicide or a straigh out multiple homicide.

This story had some good and interesting parts to it and many Israeli towns are mentioned. The author also mentions several Jewish words and gives an explanation of them to her readers that are not Jewish. The problem that I have with it is that she does several interrogations, each comprising a chapter, where each person she questions gives pretty much the same answers. It’s not until over half way into the book before she starts finding out some different and more interesting information. I feel that she wastes a lot of space a words, just different people saying the same thing.

Purchase Links:

This book can be purchased in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hill-Secrets-Israeli-Jewish-mystery-ebook/dp/B00LYVK4TG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493998722&sr=8-3&keywords=Michal+Hartstein

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hill-of-secrets-michal-hartstein/1119985112?ean=9781500577889

Tim’s Rating: ***

(Three out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #36: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is the only full length novel that Edgar Allan Poe ever wrote. This novel is about the adventures at sea by Arthur Gordon Pym and includes a lot of elements you see in a lot of classic sea adventures which are mutiny, piracy, strong storms, wrecked vessels, sharks, cannibalism and barbarous savages. The events of these adventures keep it interesting.

I am indifferent on this book. I found out about it when I read Thrillers: 100 Must Reads and it sparked my interest. What I wasn’t ready for were long and wordy sentences and paragraphs, some of which you wonder if they’ll ever end. The author also starts talking about latitudes and longitudes which start losing my interest when he lists quite a few. I remember covering talking about those over forty years ago in school, but forgot most of what I learned about them.

Download Links:

You can download this book in various ebook formats from the following sites:

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2149

ManyBooks: http://manybooks.net/titles/poeedgarother07Narrative_of_A_Gordon_Pym.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Arthur-Gordon-Pym-Nantucket-ebook/dp/B0088P4QPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492472830&sr=8-1&keywords=the+narrative+of+arthur+gordon+pym+of+nantucket

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-narrative-of-arthur-gordon-pym-pseud-of-nantucket-north-america-edgar-allan-poe/1117034813?ean=2940020115354

Tim’s Rating: ***

(Three out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #35: The Hunt for Red October

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

The Hunt for Red October was the first book by Tom Clancy and also the first book written in the Jack Ryan series. This book takes during the Cold War. In this book, the Red October is the newest nuclear missile submarine in the Soviet Unions fleet and is captained by Marko Ramius. On the maiden voyage of the Red October which is to be an exercise to test the abilities of the new submarine which include technological advancements such as a new drive system which is very quiet and around impossible to detect by sonar. The problem is the submarine does not show up in the area where the exercise is to take place. Ramius and his senior officers, all hand picked by Marko, had planned months before the exercise to instead to head to America and seek asylum in the United States. As soon as the Soviet Navy finds out about him not being in the exercise area, the send around there entire Atlantic fleet to stop and destroy the Red October. Jack Ryan, an analyst for the CIA, is the first American to figure out what’s going on. He is sent out on Presidential orders to try to find the Red October and find out whether that is their intent.

This is the book that when I first read it back in the eighties that got me addicted to techno-thrillers and thrillers in general. Before that I read mainly science fiction and fantasy, and occasionally a mystery. After that I kept buying and reading books by Clancy, as well as Larry Bond, Dale Brown and other writers that wrote in that genre. If you are interested in reading a book in that genre or by Tom Clancy, I suggest this as a good book to start.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-October-Jack-Ryan-Novel-ebook/dp/B001PSEPLG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492303550&sr=8-2&keywords=the+hunt+for+red+october

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hunt-for-red-october-tom-clancy/1100310985?ean=9780425269367

Tim’s Rating: *****

(Five out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #34: Snake Eyes

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Snake Eyes is a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation novel written by Max Allan Collins. It is the eight book of the CSI book and is based on the original CSI television series. In this story, the CSI team is called to go to a town which is a forty five minute drive from Las Vegas to investigate a shootout between two rival biker gangs in a casino in which the leader of one of the gangs and a dealer, a young single mother, are killed. Tensions are high in the town. The crime lab is short on personnel at the time due to some being on vacation and others being involved with hearings. All but two people from the swing and night shifts are sent to cover the shootout while the other two are left to handle whatever comes up during the swing and night shifts.

This is the first CSI book I’ve read and I like it. It is about like all of the CSI shows where there are usually two different investigations going on at the same time. Some go easier than others. It also kept me guessing at what will happen next and who done it.

Purchase Links:

This book can be purchased in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Snake-Eyes-CSI-Book-8-ebook/dp/B000JMKRJS/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491960305&sr=1-11&keywords=snake+eyes

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/csi-max-allan-collins/1111458888?ean=9780743496650

Tim’s Rating: ****

(Four out of five stars)

I’m off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.