Author – Lisa Black

“Takeover” is the first in a new thriller series by author Lisa Black. Lisa is a forensic scientist so the topic of this book is very familiar to her. She previously worked in Cleveland where the story is set but now resides in Florida. The second in this series, “Evidence of Murder” will be published in August 2009.

Theresa MacLean is a forensic scientist living in Cleveland with her daughter, Rachel, and is engaged to a Paul Cleary, a local policeman. She is called investigate the murder of Mark Ludlow who was found dead in front of his own home. It is a curious murder because it doesn’t seem logical how he was murdered or even why.

Later that morning she finds out that her fiancé is being held hostage in the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland in what appears to be a bank robbery, but at the Federal Reserve? Enter Chris Cavanaugh, the local negotiator that has a seemingly clean track record and hasn’t lost a hostage yet. Chris doesn’t want Theresa involved or around the scene, but her fiancé is in that bank and she can’t just stand around and do nothing. So will she help matters or make them worse? And what will happen to her fiancé, Paul? Will he make it out of the situation?

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. The first being the time frame of the book. The story takes place over eight hours and it is a very intense eight hours. The second is the shorter chapters; it made it easier to find a stopping place even though I didn’t want to put the book down!

There were times where I wanted to shake the main character, Theresa, and ask her if she was crazy?! Only someone not in their right mind would change places and become a hostage in an already volatile situation.

As I was reading the book I could help wondering why someone would try and rob a Federal Reserve Bank when they really don’t have cash on hand like a normal bank. Was there another motive of the robbers? Was there an inside man helping them? What was their plan to get out of there alive, or did they even have one? I did become suspicious of a character or two and wondered what it was that I did not know yet about this person. And I liked that I was on target with one of the characters, although it was a slightly different twist than I expected.

Reviewed for RebeccasReads.com 10/08

We are going to France in May which includes a 10 hour plane ride there and back which means lots of reading time! I could haul a bunch of books or I could take a few books and also get a digital e-reader like a Kindle or a Sony. While I like the old Kindle, I’m not too keen on the new one with some of the features they removed.

I have a friend from a book club that has the Sony PRS-505 and it is $100 cheaper than the Kindle and it is pretty easy to use. Another friend (from the same book club) purchased one this week after being able to play with it to determine how much she might like it over the Kindle.

So I will be taking the plunge and buying one next week (after my credit card closes for the month) and will download the PDF books I have on to it and see what other free books I can find to put on the e-reader. After all, free is much better than paying for books especially when I still have about 400 books at home that I need to read!

I know this won’t replace books but it will make traveling easier where I can take fewer actual books and have plenty of other books in digital format to keep me occupied on trips, in the doctor’s office, wherever!

Author – Lisa Landolt
Publisher – Avon A, a division of Harper Collins
Published – 2008

This is the first novel for attorney Lisa Landolt, and what a splash she made with this work of fiction.

Sandra Greene is 21 and works in a pizza parlor in Dallas. She doesn’t have many friend, no boyfriend and she just isn’t sure where her life is going. Then she attends the wedding for her friend Annette and meets the women of the Hunt Club. The Hunt Club appears to be a matchmaking club but on a higher scale than others, their motto is that no one is unobtainable.

So Sandra jumps in and becomes a part of the club and is lucky to have her name be drawn as the next single woman that will be helped make a match. Sandra sets her sights on Mike Warren, an actor from a television show that she watched all of the time growing up. All seems to be going well, they are put into a situation where they can meet and get to know each other and it turns out they have more in common than she would have ever guessed.

All goes well until she is flying back from Hawaii and is stopped at security by the FBI wanting to know about the Hunt Club and did she know that they were killing people?

From here the book becomes even more fast paced and there are some surprise twists that even I didn’t expect…they made it hard to put the book down until I finished the last few chapters.

All in all this was a very enjoyable book and it is a little bit chick lit with some suspense thrown in to keep you on the edge of your seat!

(of course it doesn’t hurt that I know the author from college but I would still write this review because the book was really good!)

Written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Published March 11th 2007 by W Publishing Group
ISBN 978-0849919107
Book Description: A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.
An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.
A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.
A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.

It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana and an East Texas honky-tonk and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda, an upscale New York gallery, a downtown dumpster and a Texas ranch.

Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

Review:
I wasn’t sure what to expect before I started reading this book. It is primarily set in Fort Worth Texas, close to where I live, so the landmarks were very familiar which is always a nice touch. Once I started reading the book, it took me a bit to get used to the chapters alternating between the two authors, Ron and Denver. There was a good introduction as to who these guys were and how they grew up and what they experienced from life.

The chapters aren’t long, some are only one page, which made the chapters fly by and very easy to read. There is some mention of religion and the author finding his way back from a life filled with a focus on possessions and money to one that included helping others.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It is a great true story of how if you just reach out a little and trust that you can forge a great friendship. It also teaches you that live is a lot more than just possessions or money.

Always wanted to be a treasure hunter? Now you can

Here is mine for a good chuckle

Congratulations Treasure Hunter Leslie!

Your quest is for the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain.

You’ll be guided on your journey from Texas by that legendary treasure hunter, the sexy Archie Gates!

“I’m not afraid of the dark,” Leslie snapped. How the hell did he know what she was thinking? And why had they bothered to stop now when they were so close to the prize?

That suggestive grin slid across his face, the one that did weird things to her pulse. “Who said anything about sleeping?”

Publisher – iUniverse Inc

The Power of Love – 4 out of 5 stars

The author, Dr. Paul Greenbaum, is a chiropractor and acupuncturist and is in the process of writing several other books about healing.

This is a true story based on a specific time in Dr. Greenbaum’s life beginning in 1985. He had recently lost his dog, Big Pal, and was visiting a friend to go camping, when this friend showed him puppies that lived next door that were not being cared for, or at least not very well. His friend encouraged him to take one so it would have a better life. Paul resisted, but something told him to go ahead and take the female puppy, Vicious, home with him. Vicious was misnamed; she wasn’t vicious at all, in fact she was very scared of everything around her, as Paul quickly realized on the car ride home.

Eventually the puppy was renamed Dobie and what followed for the next 13 years was nothing short of a miracle for Paul. Dobie overcame her fears and phobias and Paul learned what it meant to truly love someone. While he helped to heal Dobie, Dobie returned the favor and helped Paul heal and learn how to truly love.

This isn’t a long book; it’s only 127 pages, but what is in those pages had an impact on this reader. I have always loved dogs, and know that there is something to be said for the unconditional love that a dog shows for its owners. This is one of my favorite quotes from this book and I think that it sums up what the author is trying to convey:

“Love is more powerful than death. In fact, love transcends death. When the sacred chord is struck that opens two hearts to pure love, it matters not if they’re together for the full cycle of a lifetime or for just an instant. It is something that exists for eternity.”

If you love dogs or have a special connection to any animal, I recommend this book. You will appreciate your pet even more and perhaps create the same type of bond that Paul had with Dobie.

Reviewed for RebeccasReads (6/08)

Publisher – Poisoned Pen Press

Politicians are like piñatas, sometimes you have to beat them up to get what you want.

4 out of 5 stars

Greasing the Piñata is the third in the Cape Weather series by author Tim Maleeny.

The players:
Cape Weathers – former reporter turned PI
Sally – an Asian orphan that was raised and trained by the Hong Kong Triads and is a deadly force.
Rebecca Lowry – the Senator’s daughter that is searching for her missing brother and father
Chief Inspector Oscar Garcia – Mexican policeman, or is he?
Luis Cordon and Antonio Salinas – heads of opposing drug cartels in Mexico

In this installment, PI Cape Weathers is hired by a former Senator’s daughter, Rebecca Lowry, to find her brother and father. Her father disappeared a few days after her brother went missing. The news isn’t good, both her father and brother were found dead (and missing body parts) in Mexico and under suspicious circumstances.

What follows next is a web of lies and deceit by politicians, heads of drug cartels and even the Mexican police inspector. What is their plan? What are they trying to cover up?

While not having read the first two books of this series I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up with the characters or understand their background. The author did a great job of filling in the background on the characters so that you were drawn into their lives within the story and could only wonder what more there was that hasn’t been revealed. Cape Weathers has a dry sense of humor that almost gets him killed several times, but he manages to sidestep that danger just in the nick of time. Sally is definitely a deadly force not to be reckoned with if you wanted to stay alive. The heads of the drug cartels have their own agenda and wouldn’t mind taking over the other’s territory.

This is an intriguing political thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what could possibly happen next and who was behind the deaths of the Senator and his son? Would they be brought to justice? And if so, what sort of justice? Of course the twist near the end of the story was not expected and that just brought up more questions for this reader.

This is definitely a must read for those that enjoy a story that has so many twists and turns that you feel like you are on a rollercoaster and aren’t sure what is around the next corner.

Reviewed for RebeccasReads (9/08)