The Secret Soldier, by Alex Berenson

This suspense novel features Mr Berenson's oft-used hero, John Wells. Wells is an ex-spy who takes a mercenary case for the King of Saudi Arabia who decides to trust him over anyone in his own Kingdom. Hmmmm, well I never said Mr Berenson writes credible novels.

In spite of its obvious pitfalls (if it were credible there would be few scenes in the book), it was a pretty good novel of the genre.

Disturb, by JA Konrath

Oh yuck. There, that sums up this novel. The concept: a pill which obviates the need for sleep, and enhances performance too. Billions to be made. So it has some nasty side effects: bribing or intimidating a single FDA investigator will fix that, right? Because it takes only a single subject to form an appropriate test set for a major new drug release, and there are no data involved, just the voice of a single investigator.

Oh, and it isn't a spoiler to say that the dialog between the test subject and his brother is a case of multiple personality, because it was too obvious to be in doubt.

Sadly, I overpaid at $2.99 -- probably could have gotten a supermarket tabloid and learned all about Charlie Sheen's antics of the day for the same price.

Killer, by Stephen Carpenter

The concept of this mystery is that real murders occur that copy cat novels written by our hero, Jack Rhodes. Unfortunately for Jack, the real murders actually occurred prior to his books' publication dates. Which makes him a suspect. Especially since they seem to have been committed during a year -plus drinking blackout period.

It is actually a pretty good mystery. The obligatory "beautiful female attorney falls for damaged client after just one look" was a bit off putting. But still a B- overall.

Origin, by JA Konrath

This is a weird one: the US government is hiding Satan (for lack of a better descriptor) in an underground bunker in New Mexico (why is it always New Mexico for these things?). Our hero is a polyglot linguist, drafted to interpret the monster's language as he wakes up.

What really bothered me about this was the plot line that has the featured characters prioritize their own sorry lives above the betterment of humanity - I like my heroes to be heroic, not pathetic. And that it is set up for a sequel. Which I won't read even if offered, as this one was, at 99 cents.

The First Rule, by Robert Crais

This mystery novel features Joe Pike as the heroic, albeit damaged investigator into the murder of an old colleague and his family. It follows Mr Crais' formula for his Pike mysteries, and that works just fine for me.

The List, by JA Konrath

Some of this book was interesting and fun, some was annoying; overall I'd give it a solid C.   The concept is that children were cloned from DNA of famous figures:  Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Joan of Arc, and the like.   An evil, wealthy political king maker seeks to kill them off lest his secret (which I won't spill here least readers want to spend the $2.99 to read it themselves) be revealed.  

Clearly set up for a sequel.  Which I'd read for 99 cents -- but I'd pass on for another $2.99.    Which, I suppose, is a crisper evaluation than a letter grade after all.

Follow the Stone, by John Locke

This was just a delightful story, which happens to be a Western. The story telling is strong and that is more important than the genre, so if you're anti- cowboy stories, it might still work for you.

Surprisingly by an otherwise unimpressive author; Mr Locke is on his game when he departs from evil secret agent assassins and instead just tells a good tale.

Saving Rachel, by John Locke

Even though this suspense novel included my least favorite hero, Donovan Creed, it has such an interesting plot line that it was a worthwhile read.    The idea is that a man is forced to decide who lives between his kidnapped wife and mistress.   The ending descended into (what I've now seen as) the usual implausible Creed scenarios, but still it was worth the 99 cents.

Lethal Experiment, by John Locke

Mr Locke's hero, Donovan Creed, is an unpleasant, unlikeable bad guy.   Not the kind of nice guy bad guy you sometimes see in movies, no this fellow is a full out psychopathic antisocial bad human being.   And it disturbs me a bit that Mr Locke appears to have so much fun with all this bad.

So why read his books (there are two others from this very same vacation)?   Simple really:  for 99 cents, I got a quick read for a sunny day when I wasn't in the mood for anything deep, meaningful, or holding any redeeming social value.

Savages, by Don Winslow

This is a pretty good suspense novel, albeit with unusual heroes in a pair of pot dealers:  one ex military and the other an idealistic business person.  When their business is the object of a hostile takeover (by a Mexican gang), they go to war.   Would have liked a happier ending though.