The Man From Beijing, by Henning Mankell

This was a long meandering confusion of a mystery / political novel. Much of it was well written, some of it was a confusing political statement. But what bugged me was the plot. Even at the end, I couldn't get it to tie together.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson

I wasn't a fan of the second book in the trilogy, but this final novel is simply excellent. It held my attention throughout. How unfortunate that we won't be able to read more of Mr Larsson's writing.

Prayers for the Assassin, by Robert Ferrigno

This novel has a really interesting plot line: after a series of nuclear explosions around the world, blamed on Israel, the USA has become a splintered nation. The bible belt (Texas through South Carolina) is a Christian stronghold, and most of the rest of the country is an Islamic republic.

The book's hero is a retired Fedayeen who helps his girl friend to tell the world the truth about the explosions and their real source. The book depicts the good parts -- and (to a free thinking -minded American) the very bad of this imagined future, but is not a position paper.

It turns out that there is a predecessor book to this one, and a follow-on, making this a trilogy. Credit to the author's writing skills that I didn't know there was a prior book until after completing this one and doing some research on Amazon.

The few love scenes were awkward, and the author would have been better off omitting them. But other than that this novel kept my attention throughout and I recommend it.

Think of a Numb3r, by John Verdon

This is an unusual twist on a murder mystery: the hero is a retired police detective. That he's haunted by person demons isn't a new concept, but the book is far more melancholy than most. The book lingered in my thinking long after I put it down. I recommend it.

Whiplash, by Catherine Coulter

For much of this book I was annoyed at the poor writing, particularly the dialog. Then I got a bit annoyed at the ridiculous plot stretches, but compared to some other books I've read recently, maybe I was overreacting. The plot, though, wasn't half bad, and it is what kept my interest to the end.

The Prophecy, by Chris Kuzneski

The good news: things move along fast in this suspense novel. The less good news: the writing is a touch sophomoric, and I suppose it isn't even reasonable to have expected any credibility to the plot.

Absolutely an acceptable airplane book though.

Rules of Betrayal, by Chrisopher Reich

This is better written than its predecessor in the series, but shares the problem of stretching plausibility. Having said that, it too meet the criteria for a good airplane book: it kept me engaged throughout the flight.

Buddha or Bust, by Perry Garfinkel

Did it worry me that the blurbs on this book's dust jacket were polite but ambiguous, no one risking their personal credibility to suggest that is it worth reading? No, of course not! First off, it was borrowed from the library - no economic loyalty to the author. Secondly, it was vacation reading - if it was really bad, I'd just have another drink.

Now that you have an idea of my expectations: it was alright. But I wouldn't recommend it; nothing particularly insightful, entertaining or noteworthy here.

The Bradbury Report, by Steven Polansky

The concept is a future state in which clones exist to provide spare parts for their "originals." Although no one actually sees the clones, an underground protest group exists. A clone somehow makes it out of their compound and is united with its original.

You'd think perhaps that with this as a premise you could enjoy a really good novel. Think again: this book was about nothing.

Foreign Influence, by Brad Thor

This follows the "Navy SEAL turned spy tortured by relationship concerns" formula. If you're on a mini-holiday sitting at the water taking a break from fishing, it is just about perfect.