Don't Blink, by James Patterson

This was a great mystery novel.   Fast paced, interesting.   Not too deep, didn't require effort to read it -- more like an action adventure movie.

Shut Eye, by Shlomi Harif

This is a Kindle -only short story.    In spite of a shaky start -- Harif opted to jump right into the story without any set up (presumably to keep it short) -- and a few editing glitches, this was very enjoyable. 

By the third screen it pulled me in; I was eager to see where the plot would take us, and started to be interested in the main character.

I can't tell if this short story is a chapter from a full-sized novel or stand-alone. I hope it is part of a novel, because there is lots to fill in around the plot that would be very interesting to learn about.

Deception, by Eleanor Cooney & Daniel Altieri

This long, twisted mystery is set in 7th century China.   Magistrate Dee is the detective and Madame Wu and her mother are the evil doers, Wu becoming Empress of China.   A form of Buddhism with deep ties to magic and superstition is at the end silenced by the practical Confucianism of Dee.


I schlepped this 640 page (hard cover version) book on several flights before finishing it, and it never lost my interest.

The Rembrandt Affair, by Daniel Silva

This 10th in Mr Silva's spy series featuring the hero Gabriel Allon is quite welcome as a dramatic improvement in writing over his prior, disappointing, novel.    Although the lecturing was occasionally tedious, the plot, action and character development were solid, and this was an interesting book.

Millennium Rising, by Jane Jensen

This was a very engaging novel; it kept my interest across two flights.

The Watchmen, by Brian Freemantle

Only because this book was in my hands already on the airplane, my next book in my carryon bag, already stowed above me, and that I didn't want to remove my seat belt in turbulence, that I read beyond the first couple of pages.    Those pages were not well written nor well edited.    I am glad that I kept with it:  either the writing improved or my tolerance did.   It kept me occupied for much of the flight and I cheerfully left it behind for the next traveler.   I wouldn't recommend it.

The Cabal, by David Hagberg

This was an interesting novel.  But it has two flaws.   For the first half of the book, the plot was too complex; had a tough time navigating it, and it felt as though there were references to a prior novel.   Only now do I see that it is the 14th in a series featuring the same main character.

The second flaw was that far too many innocent people were killed off.   Yes, it is fiction, but that doesn't mean it has to flow like a bad Hollywood shoot 'em up movie.   A reader relies on the author to not arbitrarily kill off near -key characters willy nilly, especially in the absence of meaningful plot advancement.   Mr Hagberg lacks art.

Betrayed, by Robert Tanenbaum

This was an adequate suspense novel.   The author, a trial lawyer, makes the courtroom scenes seem realistic.  Unlike the rest of the book.   What ever happened to suspense thrillers that reeked of realism?   And, while I'm at it, what ever happened to character development, plot advancement, and interesting dialog?   I fear Mr Tanenbaum just phoned this one in.

Five Lessons, by Ben Hogan

This brief text represents golf great Ben Hogan's simple and clear advice for good golfing.   It covers grip, stance, and the swing broken into two parts.   The problem, though, is that I need far more than a next generation Kindle to make good use of this book:  I need a device that feeds the lessons direction into my body and mind.   Because until then, successfully executing the excellent advice is not coming so easily.

101 Things You Need to Know, by Tracey Turner & Richard Horne

This book, I didn't realize until I picked it up from the library and started reading it, is optimized for middle -schoolers.   With chapters like, "what makes farts so smelly."   That said, it was still fun for me to read; mostly science facts presented in a light hearted way.