Tag: Jeffery Deaver

Book catchup

Cover of "The Danger"
Pick of the bunch

No time to scrawl reviews (OK, I can’t be arsed), but I like to keep a note of what I’ve read. So recently I’ve made my way through:

The Travelling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon – not too bad, though not one of his best. 7/8 of the novel is very A Painted House with nothing really happening. Then the horror happens in the last couple of chapters. Basically, it feels like an overgrown novella but it reads well enough for it.

Outbreak by Robin Cook – it’s been a while since I read a Cook novel so I’ve got past the “they all seem the same” phase. Enjopyable, good characters, although a very predictable “twist” at the end.

The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver – not one of his best, and he’s managed to shoehorn Lincoln Rhyme into it, as he always seems to. It’s fairly sizable for a Deaver and it does feel a little padded. You can pretty much see the chapters that would be cleaved out were it to be made into a film. Otherwise, a good read, although – maybe I’m developing psychic abilities – yet another predictable “twist”.

The Danger by Dick Francis – the first Francis I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. Short, compact, whatever. Compared to the first and third books above, this was far better. No additional padding, some great detail (although dated, given it’s 1980s publishing period), a bare minimum of characters and a good plot. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes open for more of his stuff.

Edge of Danger by Jack Higgins – again, the first book I’ve read by a pretty popular author and I wasn’t too impressed. A little like my first exposure to Wilbur Smith – the story’s not too bad (though Smith’s was better) but the language and diction is very out of date. I thought It had been written in the 1970s until I came across a reference to the Millennium Dome. Still, it’s onle novel in a 2-novel volume so I’ll plough through the second as well and see how it goes.

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Quick book reviews

Cover of "Mayday"
Mayday

More so I have a record of having read them, a few words on the last couple of books I finished.

First up, Praying for Sleep by Jeffrey Deaver. This is a definite improvement on the other standalone Deaver novel I read recently, The Lesson of Her Death. It’s still a little ploddy and seems to spend an age telling you too much about character background, but the story’s better and the ending is a great twist.

Secondly is a book I’ve had kicking about on my shelves for years, but never read. I picked up a copy in Australia and finally got around to reading it. Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block was re-released, slightly updated, in the 1990’s and this is the version I read. It’s a story of an air disaster but focuses more on the actions of those on the surface than those in the air.

It’s typical DeMille – fast-paced and interesting – with a good dollop of realistic tech courtesy of co-author (and old schoolmate) Block. Yeah, it’s silly when it comes down to it – but it’s a disaster movie in paper form so it’s bound to be. Entertaining enough to be worth picking up, but far from the intellectual enjoyment of The General’s Daughter or Word of Honor (sic, which was fantastic).

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