Pines

Pines (#1,136) is Blake Crouch's homage to the old TV program Twin Peaks.  It's the first of a trilogy which starts out as your typical thriller: Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke is sent from his Seattle home office to investigate the disappearance of two other Secret Services agents in the remote Idaho town of Wayward Pines.  He and his fellow agent are involved in a car accident when they arrive, but when Burke awakes, he has no memory of what actually happened to him.  Nor can he find anyone else in this picture-perfect town who remembers the accident, or what happened to his wallet, badge or gun.

There are chase scenes and mysterious activities around town, culminating in Burke's discovery of the decaying body of one of the agents he was sent to find, but his report of the crime leads instead to his own desperate attempt to escape Wayward Pines.

It's not until the very end that the reader learns the truth of what's been happening in town, and that puts this story very firmly in sci-fi territory.  I'm looking forward to reading, as Paul Harvey would have said "The rest of the story..."

The Mountain In The Sea

I did enjoy Ray Nayler's science fiction novel The Mountain In The Sea (#1,135) because I've read a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction, about octopuses and found them very interesting, yet I didn't pass it along to my husband, an avid sci-fi fan.

Nayler's novel, placed in a not-too-distant future, relies so heavily on the neural network aspect of octopuses (and men and AI) that the plot of the novel seems to disappear totally at times.  Are the octopuses found dwelling in a protected marine habitat off the coast of Vietnam the enemy of man, or not?  The multi-billion dollar corporations and governments vying to control and/or destroy them seem to think so.  The researcher sent to the island, Ha Nguyen, is determined to communicate with them.  Who will succeed in the struggle for total domination?  Unclear to me, but I did like the idea that such an octopus population might be possible...

Probably not a book for every reader, but worth a look.

The Last Kingdom

Cotton Malone is back in Steve Berry's The Last Kingdom (#1,134).  This time the action takes place in Austria, home to the fairy tale castles of Ludwig II.  Did Ludwig, or did he not sign a secret contract with the then king of Hawaii?  Both the document and his body seem to missing...

The search is on, and all kinds of nefarious players are involved.  Cotton is dragged into the action by Luke Daniels, an up-and-coming Magellen Billet agent, and nephew of ex-president Daniels.  Cotton is glad to lend a hand, but honestly, isn't he getting a little old for all the physical stuff, even if it is exhilarating?

This book definitely makes me want to put Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrencheimsee on my list of places to visit!  The premise of the book is an interesting one, as well.  If true, what a difference it would make for all of us Americans!  With Cotton on the job, I don't think we have to worry,

How To Kill Men And Get Away With It

This debut novel by Katy Brent is the book I wished I had on the plane with me!  How To Kill Men And Get Away With It (#1,133) is due out in June.  A well-to-do London influencer has her own problems with men since her heart was broken by her one and only true boyfriend many years ago.  Kitty Collins' looks and Posts guarantee her plenty of attention, though - usually the wrong kind!  She and her girlfriends share their lives and romantic ups and downs with each other in amusing fashion.  But Kitty has a secret - she's not going to tolerate any man who abuses women and children.  It's far easier to get rid of them - permanently!

This is bound to be a success with the right audience.  If you're willing to be a little shocked, entertained, and ultimately root for Kitty Collins, you'll find this a page-turning summer read.  Hey, if you can watch Dexter on TV, you'll have a ball with Kitty.  Recommended.

The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese

The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese (#1,132) has sat on my bedside table for years now, waiting for just the right moment to read it.  I remember that Michael Paterniti's nonfiction book caused quite a bit of stir when it first came out almost a decade ago.  I figured a long plane ride would be the perfect place to delve into it.  My first clue should have been when our section of an international flight had an entertainment systems failure.  No movies, no attendant call button, but worst of all, no overhead reading light during an eight hour flight!

Once I did have a chance to start reading it, it was so full of footnotes upon footnotes that I had a hard time keeping track of the main story line.  In retrospect, that might have been intentional, since when it comes right down to it, it's the author's obsession with a story about cheese which prevented him for years from bothering to find out what the rest of the story was.  He even moved his entire family to a remote Spanish village for a year in pursuit of his own personal fairy tale.

In the end, he was totally taken in by a fabulist.  There essentially was no there there.  I sure wish I had the time spent waiting for something concrete to happen in this book back.  I have absolutely no regrets in leaving this book behind in France.  It was not worth lugging it home again.  Read it yourself if you must, but don't say I didn't warn you!