Coming Soon: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Let me first tell you what this is all about. Coming Soon is a segment in which I will post about the upcoming books from my favorite authors and most probably books that I would love to add into my personal collections. So, this segment is pretty much like a hybrid of Waiting On Wednesdays and On My Wishlist memes. This is not a meme though as this is just a personal segment at my blog, but you're always welcome to drop comments. Thanks! 

*****

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Format: Hardcover, 960 pages

To be Published On: November 8, 2011

Publisher: Scribner

 

The Story (Goodreads): On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas. President Kennedy died, and the world change. If you had the chance to change history, would you? Would the consequences be worth it?

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

  
*****

I started reading King's books with Duma Key. Though it was not a good read but there's something about King's storytelling that makes me want to read his other books. Then, I picked Under the Dome and read and this book had left me with a great satisfaction. I loved the characters, the story, and every single thing about the book is really amazing. And, this one 11/22/63 has an injection of historical in it and I think it would be a fantastic read. 

**Pre-Order "11/22/63" at Amazon.com and visit Stephen King's website for the latest info.

Teaser Tuesdays April 26, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays: A fun weekly meme Hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading where readers share the teaser sentences from their current reads. This week's teaser is from "Nineteen Minutes", by one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. I'm currently on page 152.

Nineteen Minutes: As a midwife Lacy Houghton brings lives into the world. She didn't expect her son to taken them away. But that's what he did one March morning, when he walked into his high school with guns instead of books and killed ten people.The bullying was unbearable and his revenge was murder. So far, I enjoyed this book.

"Morally, no one has the right to judge anyone else. But legally, it's not a right - it's a responsibility." - Nineteen Minutes, pg. 103

First Impression: Under The Dome

Hi welcome to "First Impression". Let me tell you what's going on today. First I will share the first line of the story and my opinion on the the book that I've just started reading: the cover, the story, and will give an advance star rating to the book. Second, you'll share with me your "First Impression" by linking it back to Coffee N Crackers through the link widget below. Rules: The book must be a book that you just started reading, not a book that you already finished. Easy right? And you can post your First Impression whenever you start reading a new book: no specific day.

 *****

Under the Dome by Stephen King: Inexplicably, an invisible barrier has descended over the town. A woodchuck is chopped right in half; gardener's hand is severed at the wrist, the plane explodes with sheets of flame spreading to the ground. Time is running out for those living under the Dome. Can they find what has created it before it's too late?

 From two thousand feet, where Claudette Sanders was taking a flying lesson, the town of Chester's Mill gleamed in the morning light like something freshly made and just set down. -1st line

The Cover: There are several covers for this book, but mine comes in blue (UK Edition).A simple yet mysterious cover illustrating the town from a distance view. And of course shows the supposed to be invisible barrier (the Dome). It's big!  

The Story: A friend from Philippines told me that I have to get this book off my shelf because it's such an amazing story. So, I started reading this book under the impression that it's a good one. Reading the first chapter, true enough that Under the Dome will be a very fascinating unputdownable epic. Now on page 100 and it's getting even better!

Advanced Star Rating: 5 Stars

Friday Memes Mar. 11, 2011

The Friday 56: Hosted by Freda's Voice.This week's Friday 56 is from "The Brethren" by John Grisham. One was sent for text evasion. Another, for skimming bingo profits. And the third, for a career-ending drunken joyride. The Brethren: judges-turned felons can use their time in prison to get rich, very fast. 

"How much can they pay? have you guys quoted a fee?" Trevor asked. -The Brethren, pg. 56

Book Blogger Hop: Hosted by Crazy for Books. This week's question is "If I gave you £50 (or $80) and sent you into a book shop right now what would be in your basket when you finally staggered to the till?". My answer: Book 2-6 of Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage and Book 2 to 4 of Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Is $80 enough for all these?? If not can I ask for another $80?? Greedy...=b

Friday Follows: Hosted by Parajunkee's View: This week's question is "Who are you the Boy/Girl instead of you a blogger? ". My answer: I'm CJ the student. Doing degree in Forensic Science and currently in my final semester. Wish this will end real soon!! 

Friday Finds: Hosted by Should be Reading where book bloggers sharing great books we hear about/ discover this past week. So, here are my Friday Finds!! Mine, this week with Historical Fiction theme

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

On My Wishlist Feb. 26, 2011

On My Wishlist: Is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City where readers share the books that they want to to read but not yet in their possession.This week on my wishlist are the Millenium Trilogy books "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire", and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Steig Larsson. This trilogy is said to be one of the most great outstanding trilogies in 2010.

WWW Wednesdays Feb. 23, 2011

A fun weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. This meme gives opportunity to  readers to share our current reading, books we recently finished and books we're going to read next.

What are you currently reading?

"The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. A rich and compelling tale of love, ambition, lust, and intrigue. Introduces a woman who survived the most glamorous and dangerous court in Europe by following her heart. Currently on page 58. 

What did you recently finished reading?

A fast-fired action thriller by Sean Slater, "The Survivor". No known motives, and no suspect, Detective Jacob Striker worked against the clock to solve the mystery behind Active Shooter at St. Patrick High. Everything lies behind the Red Mask. 4 Stars read. 

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm planning to read Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices book 1, "Clockwork Angel" and  the first book of Caster Chronicles Series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, "Beautiful Creatures".  

Teaser Tuesdays Feb. 15, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays: A fun weekly meme Hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading where readers share the teaser sentences from their current reads. This week's teaser is from "The Survivor", a thriller book by Sean Slater. I'm currently on page 42.

The Survivor: Three men wearing hockey masks - Black, White, and Red have stormed the school with firearms and are killing indiscriminately. Black and White are down but Red manages to escape. Detective Jacob Striker is on a dangerous hunt of the Red Masked Shooter, "The Survivor".

His first three shots missed their target, flew somewhere high and wide, but the last one hit centremass. Right between the pecs, base of throat. - The Survivor, pg. 11

CNC Book Discoveries #1

"The Sherlockian" by Graham Moore:  Dec. 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle had killed Sherlock Holmes In 1901, he abruptly resurrected the hero. Why? He never explained but his diary, now missing can tell everything. Harold White a literary researcher uses wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories, takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer of Doylean Scholar.

"The Holmes Affair" by Graham Moore: Victorian London: Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker roam the dark streets of Victorian London searching for clues as to what happened to the girls who were brutally killed. Modern-day New York: Harold White is solving the mystery of Conan Doyle's missing diary and Doylean scholar murder. 

"Wither" by Lauren DeStefano: At age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years to live. Thanks to a botched effort to create a perfect race, all females live to be twenty, and males live to age twenty-five. After Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she is desperate to escape from her husband’s strange world, her attempts to flee brings her into a society spiraling into anarchy.

"Feed" by Mira Grant:  Two experimental viruses escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days and raised the dead. Newsflesh trilogy follows a team of bloggers, led by Georgia and Shaun Mason, as they search for the brutal truths behind the infection. "Feed" is the first book of the trilogy.  

Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Sidney Sheldon

Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Sidney Sheldon

Date Finished: November 18, 2010

Thriller, Paperback, 416 Pages, Borrowed from Library

The Story: Kelly's and Diane's husbands are both dead. Several others all around the globe are being reported missing or dead and all are connected with the world largest think tank, KIG. Kelly and Diane join forces to find the truth behind their beloved husbands' murders. But, the one who is helping them is the one that wants to cut their life short the way he ended their husbands'.

My Thought: This thriller by master of storyteller, Sidney Sheldon, pushes me to edge of my sit. Starts with a little bit sad and depressing since the main characters are mourning over their beloved husbands' deaths and keep on flashing back the sweet memories. But then, the fast fired suspense make me feel like riding a roller coaster, with the adrenaline rushing all over my body (if you got heart attack, read this at your own risk) and I just can't stop flipping the pages to get to know what is going to happen next. I loved Kelly and Diane, because they're both beauties, brave as well as very brilliant (as they manage to outwit the genius bastard!). I loved the whole part of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" though the ending twist is a bit shaky (lost a cup of coffee). Sheldon also manages to relate the story with the "climate change" issue and it's effect especially to the world's economy. All in all, it was a satisfying read!! Recommended.

CoffeeNCracker's Meter: 4 Cups of Coffee

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Date Finished: November 19, 2010

PDF Format, 395 Pages, Stand Alone, Family

The Story: Jacob's an Aspie and a complete hopeless at reading social cues and expressing himself to others. He's brilliant in many ways and an analytical forensic freak. One day, his tutor is terribly murdered and the evidences are all pointing to him. This hopeless Aspie has to face the Justice System and prove himself not guilty. With his AS behaviors, it is going to be difficult for him, his mother, Emma and his lawyer, Oliver.

My Thought: "House Rules" is my first read from Jodi Picoult and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The story is narrated by multiple characters such as Jacob, Emma, Theo and Oliver as well as several other characters. This style of telling the story is brilliant because I could grasp the feeling of each of every character in this book Though there are multiple characters telling the story, Jodi Picoult have a very impressive skill to knit together the characters into a fluid and enjoyable storyline. There are lots of forensic science terminologies and concepts are used in this book and also the information regarding Asperger's Syndrome and what  the people  with Asperger behave (as she shows through Jacob). Jodi sure did a very thorough research on both aspects and to relate it with the court procedures and how  the Justice System functions and all is truly magnificent. But the way how she ended it is weak and ineffectual because the twist is pretty lame. Recommended.

CoffeeNCrackers' Meter: 5 Cups of Coffee

Run for Yor Life by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Run for Your Life by James Patterson & Michael  Ledwidge

Michael Bennett Series, Book 2

Large Paperback, 373 Pages, Borrowed from Azahiri

The story: The hero is detective Michael Bennett. The serial killer is dubbed as "the Teacher". He's a master of disguise and his targets seem like randomly picked but actually were aimed from the very beginning. His motive is "to give lesson" to the corrupted society or so he thought. But, a criminal is a criminal, and Bennett is the one who'll bring him in though his family will be put in danger.

My thought:  From technical aspect, same as the other James Patterson's books, "Run for Your Life" was written in short, short chapters which I think very interesting and easy to read an it made this book as a page-turner one. The story was told from Bennett's POV alternately with the story of The Teacher going out and murdered people. And like any others Jame Patterson's books, the life of the main hero at home is also highlighted just to add the spice to the story and I think it was OK.  About the storyline, I can say it wasn't that great but there were twists and surprises here and there which made it as a good read. Though the book start a bit slow, but it becoming much better once I hit the climax and the story is neatly ended in the way that I loved. The fact that the book is also co-written by Michael Ledwidge didn't make any difference (or so I thought) because I only saw James Patterson's writing style in it. All in all, this book at least manage to catch my interest though it's not the best book I ever read from the author. 

CoffeeNCracker's Meter: 3 Cups of Coffee.

Guest Post: Author Judy Nichols

Jody Nichols is a Mystery & Thrillers author and so far she had written books, "Caviar Dreams" and "Tree Huggers".  I'm hereby so delighted to welcome Judy Nichols at Coffee N Crackers.

"Just Give Me Your Honest Opinion"

It happens to nearly every successful writer and many of the not so successful ones. A friend approaches you, clutching the pages of a short story, or a poem, or the first few chapters of a novel, sheepishly requesting you read it and give your “honest” opinion.

You smile and say sure, you'd love to, even though you'd rather have a root canal. After putting it off as long as you can, you sit down and give the work-in-progress a read and immediately wish you hadn't. Because it's really, really bad.It's so full of adverbs and hackneyed phrases that you're not even sure there's a story in there. And when you do find that story, you realize you've read it a hundred times already. You like this person and you know very well your honest opinion would wound them to the core.So what do you do?

I always think back to my friend Steve, who was an accomplished poet and a sharp critic to those in his writing group. I had a flat mate then who fancied herself a poet. She requested that I ask Steve to read some of her poems. At the time I didn't know much about writing poetry, (still don't) but I could tell that hers wasn't any good. Lots of tired imagery and cliches. Not to mention the adverbs.I figured Steve would eat her alive. But when he returned her work, he smiled and said “I see some good things here, and I think you should continue your writing.” And then he recommended she join a writing group or enroll in the local university's creative writing program. She looked a bit disappointed, but thanked him and went off to her room. When she was out of earshot, I asked him what good things could he possibly have seen in her poetry..

“Noun-verb agreement. Correct spelling,” he replied. Then he went on to say that anyone who writes should be encouraged to keep at it. The university courses would only make her writing better and if she was serious about it, she could become a good writer. Even a great one. Every writer has to start from somewhere. So I always read the manuscripts, and I always look for good things, even if it is just noun-verb agreement. I recommend joining a writing group, taking a creative writing course, or buying Stephen King's brilliant memoir On Writing. And I never, ever tell any aspiring writer to give up.

Because with very few exceptions, every good writer starts off as a bad one.

About Judy Nichols

For no good reason, she decided to write a book while her infant daughter napped. Five years and several viewings of "Toy Story" later, her novel "Caviar Dreams" was finished, a murder mystery based in Cincinnati. Ms. Nichols holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kent State University. She has been a newspaper reporter, a teacher, a temporary office worker, a customer service representative, and currently stay-at-home mom with way too much time on her hands. Her second novel, Tree Huggers was published in March of 2008, inspired by her work as a newspaper reporter and a volunteer for The Nature Conservancy.

Thanks so much for your great post Judy.  

Tree Huggers by Judy Nichols

Title: Tree Huggers
Author: Judy Nichols
Publisher: Zumaya Enigma
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Family, Environmental
Details: PDF, 272 Pages
Source: From Author

The Story

Single mom Kate Dennison finds her new reporting job at a local paper is not at all what she expected. On her first day, two men die in a fire apparently set by a militant environmentalist group called The Forces of Nature. Kate is assigned to cover the story, including the trial of the young man charged with the crime. As she works to unearth the truth, she begins to fear for her own safety and is faced with the loss of her daughter, her freedom and even her life.

 

My Thought

I'm always read about crime stories in the newspapers and as a forensic science student I always look at the cases from the eyes of an investigator or the criminals and victims. However, Judi Nichols brought me into a new perspective which I never even thought before. Investigate the crime scene from the point of view of a journalist. Do you ever wonder how the crime reporters could come out with all the crime stories? They also do their own investigations. That is what the protagonist of "Tree Huggers", Kate Dennison, a single mother and a reporter of Beacon does. She gets an assignment to cover the story about an arson case with two people getting killed. Her coverage of the story makes her as the next target for the criminals. Her office is bombed, a treat letter is sent to her, and she even gets the gun barrel pointed to her head. 

 

I loved the way Judy Nichols write the story. She not only focuses on journalism and the crime, but she also makes a really good job in discussing about the family matters, environmental crisis, as well as the society issues. Kate is divorced with a daughter, Molly in her custody. I kind of understand what it feels to be a child like Molly because I also came from a broken family. She yearns for love from her parents and wish that her father and mother will reconcile but when her father remarried with another woman, she has to adjust herself to get together with her steps. I have to admit that it's not an easy thing to do and it sometimes gives a lot of pressure to the children. Nichols also pointed out about the environmental crisis. How the development may cause a great damage to the environment if it is not properly planned and this may cause a conflict between the environmentalists and the the developers. The crime in Tree Huggers is a result from that conflict. The development is good for human civilization, but when human become greedy, they tend to act beyond their right mind and cause very regretful damages to nature. 

Judy Nichols' writing style is quite intelligent and fruitful. I'm not only enjoyed the story but at the same time she makes me realized about some important issues in our life. However, there are several things that can be improved in her writing. First is the development of the characters. The main characters developed very well but the others are just superficial and sometimes very dull. The second thing is, for a thriller novel, straightforwardness is not good. A thriller supposed to be unpredictable, full of surprises and also twisted all over so that the readers can feel the suspense and the thrill. 

As a whole, Tree Huggers is a good book as it discussed a couple of critical issues such as family relationship, environmental crisis, as well as the problems arise in our society with a bit of thrills and ends exactly the way I like. 

Favourite Quotes

Don’t burden your child with your worries. Children are not little adults, they can’t help you with your problems at work, and telling them about how much you hate your job will only make them anxious and upset.

Remember, most children of divorced parents cling to the hope their parents will reconcile. A remarriage means giving up this dream.

CoffeeNCracker's Meter

4 Cups of Coffee: Though this is not a great thriller novel, "Tree Huggers" still have lots of strong points which makes the book such an enjoyable one. Recommended to all of you, readers.

 

Disclaimer: I received a review copy courtesy of Judy Nichols in exchange for a fair review. Receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review and these are my honest review.

Teaser Tuesdays: Tree Huggers

Title: Tree Huggers
Author: Judy Nichols
Publisher: Zumaya Enigma
Details:  PDF, 272 Pages
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Family

She undid the string that held the envelope shut anddumped the contents onto her desk.Suddenly, the room was filled with her screams.

........

Teaser Tuesdays' Rules

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

WWW Wednesdays: Nov. 17

What are you currently reading?

I'm just about to start "Are You Afraid of the Dark?", a thriller novel by Sidney Sheldon. Four people are die violently and mysteriously. The dead share a single crucial link. Who is responsible for the murders?? Currently on page 1.

What did you recently finished reading?

I'm just finished reading a magnificent love story! "The Wedding" by a chronicler of love stories, Nicholas Sparks. This sequel of "The Notebook" makes me smile and sometimes get all teary while reading. Definitely a 5 Stars read!

What do you think you'll read next?
Jodi Picoult's  "Plain Truth" is next on the list. A riveting story of a murder that shatters the picturesque calm of Amish country and tests the heart and soul of the lawyer defending the woman at the center of the storm. 

A Meme by MizB @ Should Be Reading
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Cold Case by Faye Kellerman

Title: Cold Case
Author: Faye Kellerman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus #17
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Details: Large Print, 367 Pages

The Story 

When software billionaire Genoa Greeves was just a student, her tutor was murdered in a carjacking that shocked her tight-knit community. Now, eighteen years later, a similar murder has occurred in the Hollywood Hills and Genoa wants answers. Lieutenant Peter Decker is under pressure to connect the two cases. faced with cold trails and dead leads, Decker enlists the help of his detective daughter, Cindy. But in a city where the price of fame has no limits, the line between cops and robbers sometimes get dangerously blurred.

My Thought

The murder of Ekerlings which have the same modus operandi as Ben Little's murder case 18 years ago, makes the former student of Dr. Ben, Genoa, who is now a software billionaire to make a request to reopened the cold case. The detective assigned for the investigation is Lieutenant Peter Decker, a senior investigator. In order to link the dots, Decker and his two investigators, Marge and Oliver have to make a thorough investigation and the investigation become more and more difficult as everyone who have the relationship with the two victims has the tendency to be the murderer. Besides, the former investigator who involved with the Little's case committed suicide as the case reopened.

The Cold Case is indeed an interesting investigation novel but also a very dragging one. It gives you the real situation of how the detectives did their works. Have to go here and there, conduct interview after interview, and then sit together to discuss their theories regarding the case and then did more interviews and interrogate the suspects. So, basically this novel shows me the police procedures at work which I think a very tedious, time consuming and sometimes boring. But, that's the challenge as an investigator plus it's not easy to solve a cold case which the evidences are all dusty and blurry. There are not much of actions and suspense in this book but it can make reader keep on flipping the pages as Kellerman shows the real interrogation procedures and how the police did all the questioning.The body of the story is all about questioning all the people related to both cases. What I love about the Cold Case is that how Peter Decker and his two colleagues dig the information from the suspects. Whenever the interrogation scene takes place, I become restless and am so excited because they are so brilliant in the questioning and manage to extract information without any force or brute acts. However, the ending of this book is not that great. They don't really know who's the real murderer but just blurt some speculations of who did and who didn't do the murder. I am a bit disappointed with such an ending. All in all this one enjoyable read but the investigation process is told in a very detail way which sometimes make the story become too dragging and tedious and with such an ending, who can blame me if I say it's not really a great book? It's just an OK one but if you want to know how investigators do their works and all those interrogations, this is recommended.

Favorite Quotes

"I love you, too." Rina's eyes moistened. "Thanks for being a terrific husband.....and thanks for just being alive." pg. 167

CoffeeNCrackers Meter

3 Cups of Coffee: An enjoyable read but you have to be very patient while reading this book because the police procedures highlighted are very tedious and it makes the story to be dragging so much.

The Friday 56: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Title: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Author: Sidney Sheldon
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Source: Library 
Details: Paperback, 398 Pages

When Kelly was eight years old, she was asleep one night in her small, darkened bedroom when she was awakened by a guttural whisper: "Shhh! Don't make a sound."

Note: Starting this week, The Friday 56 will be hosted by Freda @ Freda's Voice. Taken over from Tonya.

 ........

The Friday 56 Rules

• Grab a book. Any book.
• Turn to page 56. Post a sentence (or plus one or two others you like) along with this instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) you can post on Freda's comment section.
• Post a link along with your blog post back to Freda's Voice.

I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Title: I, Alex Cross
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Century
Series: Alex Cross Series #16
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Details: Large Print, 374 Pages

The Story

Detective Alex Cross is pulled out of a family celebration and given the devastating news that his niece, Caroline, has been found brutally murdered. Cross vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that Caroline was mixed up in one of the Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim. 

The hunt for her murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in.Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain - they will do anything to keep their secrets safe.

My Thought

Completely engrossed. Starts with a girl, Hannah, chasing by murderers and a bullet then penetrates her back. She's seriously injured but manage to escape the death with the help of a man. Then, Detective Alex is stunned with the news of Caroline, his niece, whose body is chipped into remains. Devoted his life to chase for the murderer, Alex gets caught in a high class murder conspiracy where people in the White House involved and Caroline is not the only victim. Leads after leads, and when Hannah comes out from her hideout, the mask of the the murderer is lifted revealing his naked face. 

The book begins with really impressive, adrenaline rush scene. This gives me a really good first impression on the story. As the story progresses, lots of characters popping  in and out and sometimes I just cannot connect these characters with each other. In the first part of the book, the story constantly shifted from one character to another and this make me loose of tracks of the story and as the result I have to put it down several times. But, as Alex started to connect all the characters in his investigation, the story become very exciting and I just can't simply put the book down. At this point I understand why the first part is written in such a way and keep on reading the book until the end.

Since this is my third read from James Patterson and the first from the series, I'm not very familiar with Patterson's writing style. I read through some reviews, and most of them said that this is a typical Patterson's writing style which is not a bad thing since they enjoyed it. For me, I, Alex Cross is a very successful thriller and the way James Patterson told the story is really fantastic and it makes me feel restless and put me at the edge of my sit with all the suspense, action and twists all along the story. This is my first time reading a thriller with a bunch of murder scenes, how the victims sexually tortured and the body  were the chipped into unrecognizable remains. I was chilled to the bone. The story is written in short, short chapters and I think it is brilliant of him to write in such a way because you will think that the story is not dragging at all. Patterson also did a good job by injected the family relationship elements by telling us the story about Alex's family and this makes the story more exciting and enjoyable.

All in all, this is a fast-fired thriller with an engrossing storyline. The end is cliffhanging and left you wanting more from James Patterson. This is indeed one of the best thrillers I ever read.

Favorite Quotes

"Whatever happened before today, or whatever happens tomorrow, doesn't mean a thing right now. When those goodbyes are over, then we'll worry about what comes next." -Nana, pg. 62

CoffeeNCrackers Meter
5 Cups of Coffee: Truly a fast moving thriller with suspense, action, and twists. The book that I thoroughly enjoyed and the cliffhanger end makes me wanting more from the author. Highly recommended.

Credits: I borrowed this book from my friend, Darkartz. All thanks to him.

The Friday 56: Cold Case

Title: Cold Case
Author: Faye Kellerman
Series: Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus, # 17
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Source: Library 
Details: Large Print, 367 Pages

"If I thought this would only take a few minutes, I would let you come in. And if I thought it would help Ben's case, I'd let you come in. But I know what it's about because you've probably talked to the bastard."

 ........

The Friday 56 Rules

• Grab the book nearest to you. Right now.
• Turn to page 56 and find the 5th sentence.
• Post that sentence (or plus one or two others you like) along with this instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Story Time With Tonya and Friends.
• Post a link along with your blog post back to Story Time with Tonya and Friends.
• Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the closest.

Teaser Tuesdays: I, Alex Cross

Title: I, Alex Cross
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Century
Details: Large Print, 374 pages
Genre: Thriller, Crime

When I used that logic to translate the first string, BGEOGZAPMO, it gave me 2430492760. Then I took the first three digits and Googled them as an area code. But 243 came up invalid. pg. 64

 

........

Teaser Tuesdays' Rules

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!