Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: Meet Grim Reaper #2497. Behind on his work, he must complete his quota of thirty Random Deaths or face termination in the worst way. Faced with an insurmountable task and very little time to complete it, Reaper #2497 struggles to hang on to the one thing he’s not supposed to have – his humanity.
My Review: I received this kindle book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Grim Reaper #2497 (a.k.a. Steve) doesn’t like being a reaper very much. He only got the gig because he killed his business partner and then died decades later in Prison — see, if you kill someone, whether accidentally or otherwise, you spend your eternal afterlife reaping the souls of other people, until your bones get so old they literally turn to dust.
Steve fulfills his assignments (terminally ill people or other people slated to die) reluctantly, but he hates having to meet his “random death” quota a.k.a the 30 random people that he has to kill, some of whom, without Steve’s intervention, would have had long lives ahead of them. Since he hasn’t been fulfilling his quota lately, he is called in front of the Big Boss and told that he has to randomly kill 30 people in 3 days, otherwise Steve will be executed. The book is basically about Steve going about this grim tasks.
I really loved “The Office” or “Office Space” feel of this book — but instead of TP Reports, there are Random Death quotas. The reapers stand around the office water cooler “drinking” their Elixir (which they can’t really drink because the reapers are literally just walking skeletons) and talking shop. Some reapers are sadistic, some are over achievers, and some, like Steve, do the bare minimum with a modicum of effort. Sitting above the minions, making sure the work is carried out, is the nasty boss with a bad attitude ready to drop the hammer at any moment.
How Steve orchestrates his random kills is borderline ridiculous, which brings some levity into what otherwise would be a somber set of circumstances. Despite the humor, however, it does get rather tedious after a while and I would have liked to have more substance to the story, which is why I’m only giving the book 4 stars instead of 5. The book is 90% focused on the background story of the people that Steve kills and the description of how they die and 10% focused on bringing Steve’s story forward. The book ended with a cliffhanger, which I presume will pick up in a sequel — though I think that the book was short enough that it could have been continued as a Part 2 to the same book.
If you’re in the mood for something short and light, then this book is for you!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.
He looked at me. His eyes narrowed. The lashes were the same red-gold as his hair, so they showed up only when you were close to him. And I had no business at all thinking about Sam’s eyelashes, or any other part of him, for that matter.”
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
This quote is actually from page 55 because page 56 is the last page of the chapter and therefore only a half page. This is the fifth book in the series, and although nothing has ever happened between Sookie and her boss, Sam (who is a shape shifter that mostly shifts into a collie), there is always some sexual tension between the two characters. I think that there are about 13 books in this series total, so I wonder whether Sookie and Sam will get together at some point.
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads:Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
My Review: Jess is struggling in England and has run into some issues at her place of work — she decides to crash with her half-brother Ben in Paris, but when she arrives at his apartment in an upscale apartment building, he isn’t there. He cannot be found. Where did he go? How does he afford such expensive digs? Where did all this blood come from? Suspecting the worst, but hoping for the best, Jess starts the search for her brother, enlisting the help from Ben’s friend Nick, who also lives in the building.
The other characters in the book are the other occupants of the apartment building, and through their narratives we soon get to learn how they are intertwined with Ben and in a more general way, each other and the building.
I just loved how the characters were portrayed, Foley’s writing style, and how the book came together at the end.
This book kept me guessing and wanting to read more. I couldn’t stop listening. What’s more, I never expected the twist! I love when that happens!
Time Travel Tuesday is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog. This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.
Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulse-pounding narrative, Close to Shore brilliantly re-creates the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history.
During the summer before the United States entered World War I, when ocean swimming was just becoming popular and luxurious Jersey Shore resorts were thriving as a chic playland for an opulent yet still innocent era’s new leisure class, Americans were abruptly introduced to the terror of sharks. In July 1916 a lone Great White left its usual deep-ocean habitat and headed in the direction of the New Jersey shoreline. There, near the towns of Beach Haven and Spring Lake-and, incredibly, a farming community eleven miles inland-the most ferocious and unpredictable of predators began a deadly rampage: the first shark attacks on swimmers in U.S. history.
For Americans celebrating an astoundingly prosperous epoch much like our own, fueled by the wizardry of revolutionary inventions, the arrival of this violent predator symbolized the limits of mankind’s power against nature.
Interweaving a vivid portrait of the era and meticulously drawn characters with chilling accounts of the shark’s five attacks and the frenzied hunt that ensued, Michael Capuzzo has created a nonfiction historical thriller with the texture of Ragtime and the tension of Jaws. From the unnerving inevitability of the first attack on the esteemed son of a prosperous Philadelphia physician to the spine-tingling moment when a farm boy swimming in Matawan Creek feels the sandpaper-like skin of the passing shark, Close to Shore is an undeniably gripping saga.
Heightening the drama are stories of the resulting panic in the citizenry, press and politicians, and of colorful personalities such as Herman Oelrichs, a flamboyant millionaire who made a bet that a shark was no match for a man (and set out to prove it); Museum of Natural History ichthyologist John Treadwell Nichols, faced with the challenge of stopping a mythic sea creature about which little was known; and, most memorable, the rogue Great White itself moving through a world that couldn’t conceive of either its destructive power or its moral right to destroy.
Scrupulously researched and superbly written, Close to Shore brings to life a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history. Masterfully written and suffused with fascinating period detail and insights into the science and behavior of sharks, Close to Shore recounts a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history with startling immediacy.
My Memory of this Book: A year ago I was sitting on a beach in Croatia on my babymoon. This book came with me every day to the beach. I read this book while gazing out into the crystal blue waters — probably not a great book to be reading at the beach, but I was pretty certain there were no sharks where I was swimming, and besides, the water was so crystal blue that I could see to the bottom. I wasn’t writing reviews at the time, so there are none available.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
My Memory of this Book: I read this book as an audiobook. Although I wasn’t writing reviews at the time, I do remember enjoying this book and would highly recommend it.
“You will encounter all manner of night creatures”, warns the author of this book. “None of them are real. The thing under my bed isn’t real. I know that, and I also know that if I’m careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle…”
Despite describing himself as ´the nicest sort of fellow you’d ever want to meet´, Stephen King is the author of three hugely successful horror novels, CARRIE, ´SALEM’S LOT and THE SHINING, all of which have been made into major films. In the foreword to NIGHT SHIFT he gives a fascinating insight into why he writes horror – and why people will always be enthralled by it. NIGHT SHIFT is your guide through the darker side of the human mind.
My Memory of this Book: I was reading this book as a edoc. I always enjoy Stephen King books, so I liked this one too.
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out….Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea.
My Review: Sookie Stackhouse is just an average girl, working as a waitress in her small Louisiana town bar. Sookie is telepathic, which makes her kind of the town “weirdo”, and she has trouble forming lasting relationships, both friendship and romantic. In fact, she has never really had a boyfriend. After the Japanese developed synthetic blood, the vampires of the world decided to “come out of the coffin” since they no longer needed to feed on human blood to decide. In Sookie’s little town of Bon Temps, there isn’t much vampiric activity, and Sookie has longed to meet a vampire — one day she gets her wish, and Bill Compton (a vampire who was turned shortly after the civil war) walks into the bar.
Bill has decided to move back to Bon Temps, as this is where he lived while human. He has also decided to “main stream”, hence why he came into the bar. Sookie is immediately taken by him, as are two “drainers”. Through Sookie’s telepathy, she discovers the plot to drain Bill of his blood (vampire blood can be sold on the black market as a drug for a lot of money). When the couple leaves the bar with Bill, Sookie follows them and saves Bill from being drained of all his blood (which would have weakened him for decades, if he wasn’t still tied up when the sun came up).
Soon after, Bill and Sookie start an unconventional romantic relationship. Sookie discovers that she cannot hear the thoughts of vampires, and it is wonderful. As Sookie becomes more entrenched in the vampire community, a murderer is going around killing women who take vampires as lovers. Who is it? Will Sookie be a target now?
This was the second time that I read this book, and back when it was on HBO, I also watched the series. This book is always a fun read for me. I really love how Charlaine Harris melds different fantastical creatures (from vampires to shapeshifters) in the same novel.
The book is not only about a telepathic waitress who falls in love with a vampire, but there is also an element of mystery, i.e., there is a murderer in Bon Temps who is killing women who have affiliations with vampires.
This book combines several genres…its like a horror novel about vampires, but at the same time has a murder mystery to be solved, and at the same time, is a love story.
I also really like how Sookie is not some dumb, thin-stick blonde. Rather, she is intelligent, although working as a waitress, and she is of average build (a size 8). Other than the telepathic part, Sookie could be anyone’s sister or best friend.
This book is great for some light and fun reading.
It’s First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday! Hosted by Socrates Book Reviews this is where you share the first paragraph of one (or in my case several) of the books that you are currently reading.
In the cavernous marble hall that serves as an office, the Big Boss sits back against the plush velvet of his golden throne. He appears large and menacing on the platform above me. The glowing red coals deep within his hollow sockets pulse with displeasure as he stares down. He raises an old, creaking arm and points his bony finger at me. His bones are yellowed with age, and micro-cracks lace an intricate pattern up to his arm. I imagine a musty smell coming off him. He’s ancient, and whatever is left of his vocal cords grinds with effort as he speaks.”
The Reaper’s Quota by Sarah McKnight
The room was full of bad things. Three wooden crates stacked in one corner contained zip-locked bags of drugs. The lid had slipped from the top crate, and no one seemed concerned. There was nothing hidden here. The table pushed against the opposite wall was strewn with empty liquor bottles, overflowing ashtrays, a cracked mirror dusted with what looked like heroin, a fat roll of dollar bills stained with something that wasn’t water, and a handgun. Propped against the table was an AR15 with a bump stock. Jesse wondered if it was there to intimidate him. It was probably just there.”
The Last Storm by Tim Lebbon
I knew my brother would turn into a panther before he did. As I drove to the remote crossroads community of Hotshot, my brother watched the sunset in silence. Jason was dressed in old clothes, and he had a plastic Wal-Mart bag containing a few things he might need–toothbrush, clean underwear. He hunched inside his bulky camo jacket, looking straight ahead. His face was tense with the need to control his fear and his excitement.”
Genre: Nonfiction, Business & Investing, Reference
Read Start Date: April 29, 2022
Read Finish Date: May 5, 2022
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: THE ULTIMATE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO RENTAL PROPERTY INVESTING IN THE POST-PANDEMIC MARKET
INCLUDES 8 HOURS OF ONLINE REAL ESTATE COURSES FROM THE AUTHOR + MULTIPLE FREE REAL ESTATE INVESTING TOOLS – FREE!
Do you want to learn how to leverage rental property investment to produce lasting passive income, achieve financial freedom, create freedom of time, and build true wealth?
Have you purchased rental property investment ‘training’ with so-called ‘gurus’ and come away with a lighter bank account and no clear path to rental property investing success?
If so, look no further than Rental Property Investing QuickStart Guide, the most comprehensive, practical, beginner-friendly rental property investing book ever written.
Owning rental property is the best way to generate a passive income stream, period.
While other investment vehicles may come and go, rental property investing has stood the test of time. Direct real estate investments—and the income generated by rental properties—play a major part in minting millionaires on a regular basis.
Not only do rental property owners enjoy positive cash flow in the form of rents paid, but each of the properties they own appreciates in value. With tax-advantaged profits and a high degree of control over your investments, rental property investing is an attractive and streamlined approach to wealth creation.
In Rental Property Investing QuickStart Guide, bestselling author, course instructor, real estate investor, and veteran consultant Symon He breaks down everything that aspiring real estate investors need to know to build a thriving rental property portfolio.
With over 300,000 students in nearly 180 countries and a bestselling real estate investing book under his belt, Symon knows exactly what new investors need to get right, what they should avoid, and how they can protect themselves from risk on their rental property investing journey.
Whether you are a complete beginner or want to grow an existing rental property portfolio, with Symon’s expertise at your disposal you can accelerate your rental property investing journey and live the life you deserve!
Rental Property Investing QuickStart Guide Is Perfect For:
– Complete newcomers to the world of rental property investing or anyone looking to generate passive income streams through rental property investing
– Existing rental property investors looking to expand their portfolios and maximize their rental revenue
– Anyone who has struggled to find success in the past with complicated books or expensive rental investment training
Rental Property Investing QuickStart Guide Will Teach You:
– How to Find and Finance Lucrative Rental Properties Into a Self-Sustaining Passive Income Stream
– How the Real Estate Market Works, How to Anticipate Market Cycle Changes, and – How to Find the Perfect Investment Entry Points
– How to Maintain Properties with Minimal Effort, Upgrade and Grow Your Investments, and Cash In Your Equity
– How to Maximize Your Rental Income, Develop a Productive Portfolio of Rental Properties, and Generate a Thriving Rental Income
– How to Analyze and Compare Rental Investment Properties,How to Spot and Act on Hot Deals, How to Maintain a Positive Cash Flow, and More!
*LIFETIME ACCESS TO FREE REAL ESTATE INVESTING DIGITAL ASSETS*
– Valuation, terminal value, and rental comparison worksheets
– Advanced Rental Income Analyzer, Wholesaling Deal Analyzer, Symon’s Exclusive Fix & Flip Property Analyzer, and more!
My Review: I received this audiobook as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I found this book to be really interesting and informative! Some of the principles are a little complicated, and the author refers to various charts and tables. I would have liked to have had these references available visually (I only had the audiobook). I think therefore that this book is probably better as a text book (paperback or ebook).
Nevertheless, as I was reading, I was excited to use the many tips that the author gave in my own fledgling rental investment.
I would recommend this book to anyone who was thinking about investing in rental properties, or to those who are at the start of their journey.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: At thirty-one, Kirsten has just returned to San Francisco from a bohemian year in Rome, ready to pursue a serious career as a writer and eventually, she hopes, marriage and family. When she meets Steve Beckwith, a handsome and successful attorney, she begins to see that future materialize more quickly than she’d dared to expect.
Twenty-two years later, Steve has turned into someone quite different. Unemployed and addicted to opioids, he uses money and their two children to emotionally blackmail Kirsten. What’s more, he’s been having an affair with their real estate agent, who is also her close friend. So she divorces him–but after their divorce is finalized, Steve is diagnosed with colon cancer and dies within a year, leaving Kirsten with $1.5 million in debts she knew nothing about. It’s then that she finally understands: The man she’d married was a needy, addictive person who came wrapped in a shiny package.
As she fights toward recovery, Kirsten begins to receive communications from Steve in the afterlife–which lead her on an unexpected path to forgiveness. The Ghost Marriage is her story of discovery — that life isn’t limited to the tangible reality we experience on this earth, and that our worst adversaries can become our greatest teachers.
My Review: I received this audiobook as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I definitely connected with this woman, as I too was married to someone who, at the end of our marriage, I could barely recognize. Steve, the author’s husband, was a real jerk, who seemed to delight in antagonizing her. This book must have been cathartic to write for the author, as there were many stories of how Steve screwed the author over. By the end of the book I hated this guy’s guts. How the author could stand this man for decades is beyond me! Nevertheless, the book is thankfully not written in a whiny woe is me style — it is eloquent and narrative and kept me engaged and interested.
I was all set to give this book 5 stars, until I got to the last portion of the book. It really made me angry that the author (after seeing a psychic) came to believe that the ill treatment she endured at the hands of her husband was a “gift” from him because it taught her valuable life lessons which will help her in her next life after reincarnation. She believes now that they had a “soul contract” where the author agreed to be treated like a doormat. Give me a freaking break. Barf. I just don’t get it. It’s as though the act of dying makes this guy a saint all of a sudden.
I’m all for forgiving someone their transgressions in order to move on or whatever, but it just felt like she went beyond that to actually excusing and/or even JUSTIFYING his bad behavior. This was a real turnoff to me and is why I gave only 4 stars instead of 5. Emotional abuse is absolutely not ok, and never should be excused. But since this was only the very last portion of the book, I would say the book is worth the read anyway…just feel free to skip the ending!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Goodreads Monday is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog. “Goodreads Monday allows you to post about what books are on your “to read” lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenge, and any other Goodreads news!”
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
Small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has had more than her share of experience with the supernatural—but now it’s really hitting close to home. When Sookie sees her brother Jason’s eyes start to change, she knows he’s about to turn into a were-panther for the first time—a transformation he embraces more readily than most shapeshifters she knows. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population, and Jason’s new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who’s behind the attacks—unless the killer decides to find her first…
Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities (“It’s a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!”) I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I’ve recorded and can’t wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.
This certainly doesn’t mean that I’m quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it’s like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.
Welcome to Three Pines, where the cruelest month is about to deliver on its threat.
It’s spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . .
When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil—until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?
Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate, in a case that will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem.
A gripping road trip through post-apocalyptic America from Tim Lebbon, New York Times bestseller and author of Netflix’s The Silence.
Struck by famine and drought, large swathes of North America are now known as the Desert. Set against this mythic and vast backdrop, The Last Storm is a timely story of a family of Rainmakers whose rare and arcane gift has become a curse.
Jesse stopped rainmaking the moment his abilities became deadly, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. He thought he could help a land suffering from climate catastrophe, but he was wrong. When his daughter Ash inherited the tainted gift carried down the family bloodline, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and ever since then he has believed himself responsible for his daughter’s death.
But now his wife Karina––who never gave up looking for their daughter—brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, the estranged couple set out across the desolate landscape to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.
Meet Grim Reaper #2497. Behind on his work, he must complete his quota of thirty Random Deaths or face termination in the worst way. Faced with an insurmountable task and very little time to complete it, Reaper #2497 struggles to hang on to the one thing he’s not supposed to have – his humanity.
All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she’s had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene. Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.
Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It’s part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.
To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.
Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other…and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd’s pie. Right?
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: There is none available. There are only 44 ratings total for this book, so it is not widely known.
My Review: I received this book as an ARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review a while back. Unfortunately, I soon stopped reviewing books as I lost the taste for it. I am now picking it back up, and am reading the books I didn’t get to.
As per Netgalley this book is summarized as follows: “When a young archaeologist goes missing in the Congo basin, Professor Randolph Harkness and troubled tearaway Ross McCartney go in search of her only to stumble upon a conspiracy to conceal ancient horrors lost to the passage of time. Evading spies and trained killers, can they expose this cover-up in time or will they be buried with it? An unputdownable thriller, The Killing Gene reveals the story of our species, the paradox of the modern mind and our innate predilection for murder…”
The plot sounded intriguing, and it was mainly good, until about Chapter 83 (about 85% into the book). Then it just took a nose dive. Don’t get me wrong, there were issues also with the first 82 chapters, but I wasn’t rolling my eyes until Chapter 83.
Let’s talk about the positives: it was action packed, an interesting premise, and the writing wasn’t bad. The book seemed to be well researched into the history of humanity and how homo sapiens came to be the dominant human species on Earth. This aspect of the book was very interesting to me.
What could have been done better:
1) There were so many characters introduced (only to die in the same chapter) that it got a little confusing and tedious. Why did we need to see each person die? Couldn’t we have learned about the deaths from the main characters instead?
2) the reason why all these people were getting murdered was confusing. “That Brian Finer was investigating the Neanderthal extinction and stumbled upon their lack of New Brain. That this gave you a gateway into the human psyche that allowed you to manipulate public opinion like nothing else before or since.”
Essentially: since humans have “Old Brain” (a word that the author used more than 50 times in the last 15% of the book) politicians can plant concepts into the brain that make the public act in the way they want, or vote a certain way etc. I mean, everyone knows this already. It’s not a secret that politicians manipulate the public. I just couldn’t understand why this was the reason for the whole adventure or that so many people were dead…at the end of the book, the UK government collapsed because this “secret” was exposed…huh?
3) the characters seemed to jump around from country to country from one page to another. One page they were in some remote place in Afghanistan, the next page they were in England, with no connector paragraph. This was annoying. On the other hand, this definitely kept the action going!
Until I got to the last 15% of the book, I was sure that the ending would be different. Even the title “The Killing Gene” led me to believe that there was a gene that humans had that made us killers and that maybe the government was doing some experimentation on this gene or something — I definitely wasn’t expecting the actual ending, which I won’t say here to avoid spoiling it for you if you want to read the book.
The above issues being said, I was entertained, so I gave it a 3 stars. As for a recommendation to read it, I guess this would depend on whether you had a lot already on your TBR list. If yes, I would probably read the others first.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Title: The Reaper’s Quota
Title: The Paris Apartment
Title: Dead Until Dark
Title: Rental Property Investing Quick Start Guide
Title: The Ghost Marriage
Title: The Killing Gene
The Legal Alien 