2012: A Year in Books

1. Breathers: A Zombie Lament by S. G. Browne
2. Best Sex Writing 2012: The State of Today's Sexual Culture edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, selected & introduced by Susie Bright
3. American Vampire by Scoot Snyder & Stephen King (writers), with Rafael Albuquerque (artist)
4. X-Men: Magneto Testament by Greg Pak (writer) & Carmine  Di Giandomenico (artist)
5. Zap: A Play by Paul Fleischman
6. Binky Under Pressure by Ashley Spires
7. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
8. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
9. Boudoir Books by Summer Ellis
10. Doofus and Valiant by English Teacher X
11. Crack in the Glass by Jonathan Carter
12. The Darkness by Tony Cusumano
13. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
14. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
15. The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub
16. Star Wars: Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber
17. Zombie in the Library by Michael Dahl 
18. Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires
19. Binky to the Rescue by Ashley Spires
20. Adam Canfield of the Slash by Michael Winerip
21. G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds by Max Brooks (writer) & Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso (artists)
22. Batman: Long Shadows by Judd Winick (writer) & Mark Bagley and Ed Benes (artists)
23. Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson
24. The Boy Who Cried Ninja by Alex Latimer
25. I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
26. The Breast by Philip Roth
27. Kick-Ass by Mark Millar (writer) and John Romita, Jr. (artist)
28. Kick-Ass 2 by Mark Millar (writer) and John Romita, Jr. (artist)
29. Glue by Irvine Welsh
30. Savages by Don Winslow
31. The Good Lion adapted by Don Brown
32. The Last Children's Book by Jesse Garza
33. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
34. Cuffed by Alison Tyler, Sommer Marsden, and Sophia Valenti
35. The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman
36. American Gangbang: A Love Story by Sam Benjamin
37. Migrant by Maxine Trottier
38. Magritte's Marvelous Hat by D.B. Johnson
39. Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen
40. Flanimals Pop-Up by Ricky Gervais
41. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens
42. "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate by Bob Graham
43. Chick 'n' Pug by Jennifer Sattler
44. What Pete Ate from A-Z by Maira Kalman
45. Tied Up & Twisted by Alison Tyler
46. Wolf at the Back Door by Marilyn More
47. Fifty Shades of Red Riding Hood by R.R. Hood
48. Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder (writer), Jock and Francesco Francavilla (artists)
49. Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns (writer) and Gary Frank (artist)
50. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
51. Batman: Eye of the Beholder by Tony S. Daniel (writer & artist), & Steve Scott, et al.
52. Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi
53. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks (writer) and Ibraim Roberson (artist)
54. Zom-B by Darren Shan

Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen

Sometime ago, I was introduced to Tess Gerritsen's novels. Jane Rizzoli piqued my interest. Later, Maura Isles left me head over heels with the Queen of the Dead. It wasn't an easy journey. Tess Gerritsen's history of writing romance novels featured heavily in the first few novels, and, at times, it overshadowed the main plot.

The tenth novel in the Rizzoli & Isles series hit shelves last Tuesday, and I received my copy in the mail Thursday. I drove right into it, using my Labor Day weekend to devour all 338 pages of it. I entered the book still feeling the buzz from the previous novel, but I left feeling hungry still. Is it just me or has Gerritsen lost her "edge?"

Some will argue that she never had an edge, but I don't let the naysayers deter me from enjoying a book - unless, like Fifty Shades of Grey, it's godawful. I'm not ashamed that I like the series. Not even ashamed that I own all the novels in it. But the books felt too quick. And the ongoing insult of her very intelligent characters still stabs at me. How is that Jane Rizzoli is well respected, yet she always finds herself on the wrong side of the suspects blade in the end? Sure, one or two books might not have her falling victim, but Maura does. It gets knackering, you know?

Savages by Don Winslow

We got it, Don Winslow. Loud and clear, actually. In the drug trade, there are no good guys - no matter where you moral compass may point. And Oliver Stone? What did you see in this? Potential? We'll have to see how you vamped up the film later. I'm not going to spend more money on Savages, not yet anyway. Let's just hope Netflix picks up when its released for home viewing. Besides, my money is for The Dark Knight Rises. Sorry.

Savages follows the fall of Ben and Chonny - a potent strain of marijuana that blends indica and sativa in perfect harmony (it's stoner science, I suppose). The growers and distributors of the strain are Ben - a pacifist and humanitarian who majored in business and botany - and Chon - formerly John, a SEAL who uses his skills to "negotiate" with people who get in their business. Coupled with the living-in-the-material-world girl, O, the threesome is a sexually charged epitome of what wrong with the world. In a word, they are savages.

Enter the Baja Cartel. After a viral video of a beheading is sent to Chon, he knows the days of running the game solo have come to an end. But will they go down without a fight?

Don Winslow presents to us - poorly, but still - a tragic tale of emotionally (not just sexually, by the way) charged characters. But isn't that the definition of a savage? One who follows emotion rather than logic and ration?

The story itself is great. Winslow's execution of it leaves a sour taste. His character development is unfavorable - there are just things that didn't need to exist (so what if Lado is having an affair?). 

Savages is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and is available for Kindle and Nook. Until next time, keep on huntin'.

Double Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Darkly dreaming, dashingly devious Dexter is back and finding himself in a load of trouble. Someone witnessed him at play and is now making his life hell. Much like Dexter, this Shadow has decided it his moral duty to punish the wicked, copying Dexter's trade step by step. Worse of all, he's not picking up his mess. Instead, he's leaving it in plain sight and pinning evidence of Dexter's dark delights on the scene. This is all the ammunition needed to send Doakes gunning for Dexter's head once and for all. But Dexter's not one to give up so easily. Question is, how do you defeat an enemy who's seemingly one step ahead of you?

There are several complaints with Lindsay's Dexter in every novel in the series. From the outlandish paranormal Dark Passenger to the fact that Dexter never carries out the final deed himself. That's not to say the TV series is without its flaws - why is LaGuerta still alive, for instance - but the flaws (in my eyes, anyway) of the novel series always bothers me more. Like Doakes. How is he still around after he's been de-limbed, de-tongued and pretty much a walking spud with hooks for hands? And while Astor and Cody are lovely little monsters, how is it that Astor's going through all the typical growing girl stages while Cody hasn't even aged - still with this three-word sentences? I'm not asking for Shakespeare here, but the kid's gotta come out of his shell sometime.

Without giving too many details away, there are a few things that pulled my strings of annoyance. Rita's suspicions and how quickly they are ratified. The odd coincidence of Camilla Figg's  relationship to the plot. Astor's typical teenage girl act, even though she's supposedly a Dexter-in-training (a little too human, isn't it?).

A few nice touches include the fact that Dexter is not following a kindred spirit as his Shadow doesn't trigger any warnings from the Dark Passenger. The idea of someone mimicking Dexter while stalking him is also bold - Dexter's been stalked before Dexter by Design, but this is quite another level. In fact, next to Dr. Danco, Shadow is the sort of bad guy I wouldn't mind seeing adapted on the TV show. Doakes's probable departure also raises my hopes for the future, though not in the way that would've made me smile.

Double Dexter is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for Kindle and Nook, respectively. Until next time, keep on huntin'.

Stick a fork in him, he's done

There comes a point in when all readers begin to wonder if their favorite authors are just messing with them. Jeff Lindsay has never been one of my favorites, but his character Dexter Morgan hits close to home - not that I live a double life as a serial killer, or anything. 

Maybe I'm still upset that the metaphorical dark passenger was ruined for me in book three, when it became something a little more sinister and occultish. I like the Showtime version of the character much better. 

So why did I continue with the series? Because I like verbal abuse and when I start something, I see it through the end no matter how awful the end is. It's probably why I'm looking forward to Double Dexter, which hits shelves next month - once again, coinciding with the new season.

Perhaps, the returning of brother Brian lends a hand to the upcoming novel's plot. Who knows. I don't. Maybe Lindsay knows, but I doubt it anymore. I'm just bitter. I think. I don't know. Reviewing this shit is hard.

Anyway, on with the show, shall we? Dexter is Delicious opens the day of Lily Anne's birth - this would be little Harrison's counterpart in the literary world. Dexter begins to feel things, becoming slightly more human than he's ever been - and it's not fake. He feels eyes on him. He turns and sees someone leaving but gets there too late. Deborah calls him. Blood bath. Missing girl. Something about vampires then cannibals then a girl's wish to be eaten. Somewhere along the line, Brian returns. Becomes one of the family. Seemingly connect to the cannibal BBQs. Deborah's getting maternal. Chutsky makes a couple of appearances. Dexter is captured, more than once. For some odd reason, Doakes still stalks around - shouldn't this guy be forced into retirement by now? Bad guys think they have the upper hand. Dexter decides not to give up the dark life. The book ends.

I mean, you'd think after all the things and supernatural entities that have been bestowed upon Dexter Morgan, he's be a little more sensible and not get caught. Still, he walks into the obvious traps, his demonic buddy has temper tantrums and Jeff Lindsay's blowing our money on something other than writing lessons. Not that he needs them. I mean, he has writing skills. It's telling stories that he has problems with.

Never the less, there were some things that kept me reading. Namely, Dexter's absolute human affection for daughter Lily Anne and Brian's sudden need to be with family. 

As for me, I'm gonna attempt reading Teressa Iezzi's The Idea Writers: Copywriting in an New Media and Marketing Era. Until next time, keep on huntin'.

The Legend of the Monkey King by Tess Gerritsen

Okay. Okay. The books called The Silent Girl - can you blame a monkey lover for renaming it in his post? Isn't that what the books mostly about, though? Forget the "silent girl" character in Tess Gerristen's novel, the ninth book in the Rizzoli and Isle series, the Monkey King steals the show!

A Jane Doe, murdered on a roof top, starts off this mystery. What irks Boston PD most is how she died. Not a gun shot - though the victim was holding a weapon. And not quite a knife, either. Her severed hand and slit throat indicates that this woman killed on the roof tops of Chinatown bit more than she could chew. And it leads Rizzoli and gang down the alleyways of this district into the land of mythical - and historical - China. But when Jane starts searching for clues, it leads her to the grips of a murder-suicide case nineteen years old. And if anyone knows that seeing isn't exactly believing, what she unearths is far more than any woman, mother, detective can take.

Of course, there are personal drama at hand, as well. Maura Isles begins her side of the tale in the midst of a trial. A vigilante cop indited on taking the law into his own hands by brutally beating and killing a cop-killer. The once beloved pathologist is now public enemy number one within the Boston police department, placing her at odds with long-time friend - and semi-partner - Jane Rizzoli. Still recovering from her relationship with Father Brophy and her near-death entanglement, there's no telling what lies in Maura's future. Only that Rat - the child-hero who saved her life in the snow-capped mountains of Wyoming - still offers her comfort, and let's it slip that Anthony Sansone talks about her a lot.

New on the team is Detective Johnny Tam, an Asian-American who joins Rizzoli and Frost in the Chinatown investigation. He adds the reminiscent of Jane's own fight to prove herself, which sparks admiration from both Rizzoli and the reader. 

Like a few other books in the series, Gerritsen mixes reality with fantasy by introducing the lore of the Monkey King, Sun WuKong. Because as the story gets deeper, a humanoid figure steps in to take matters in his hands.

It's a fantastic read, though I expected nothing else from the writer. I can't wait for what she has in store for us next. Until next time, keep on huntin'.

Designer Brand Dexter

It's like a car wreck. The more I deny myself a glance, the more I want to see how large is the casualty count. I don't know where Jeff Lindsay originally wanted to take his character Dexter Morgan - not to be confused with Dexter Morgan from Showtime's Dexter (though, they are, technically, the same character) - but this isn't going so well for me. If asked what I thought about the books, I'm sure Jeff Lindsay would describe me as - and I'm paraphrasing here - "He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times," or "He wanted to say something, but didn't."

I'll admit it, though. Dexter by Design is better than the abortion known as Dexter in the Dark. But nothing can really save the novel series for me after the introduction of the supernatural - yeah, I'm still dwelling on the whole Moloch thing. It's not something you can quickly forget, either. 

Lindsay doesn't touch on the subject in this novel, but it's mentioned. And rather than keeping the storyline in motion, I feel like Lindsay's writing for the sake of stringing along fans rather than entertaining them. There's so much more that I would like to say, but I think my reviews of the Dexter Morgan series are becoming repetitive, so it's probably best just to glance back and figure out my thoughts yourself.

Up next isn't Dexter is Delicious, but L.E. Modesitt, Jr's Legacies - the first book of the Corean Chronicles - which was lent to me by Roadrunner pitcher, Aaron Guerra. Well, until next time. Happy huntin'.

Disappointing Dexter

I'm not even sure how to even begin this entry. What can I say? I've already noted how I've liked Dexter the television series over Dexter the novel series. It's probably because the Showtime series deviates significantly from the Jeff Lindsay novels greatly. For instance, lovable, foul-mouthed sister Debs doesn't know that her adopted brother Dexter holds a terrible secret passion. And Rita's kids - Cody and Astor - don't have homicidal tendencies. And after reading Dexter in the Dark, the show also deviates from bringing mythological entities into play.

Unlike Tess Gerritsen's placement of new age, mythological, JudeoChristian legends in her novel, The Mephisto Club - which were only used a plot device, and not as an actuality - Lindsay uses the Moloch myth as an actuality. He also turns Dexter's Dark Passenger from psychological entity - the reasoning behind Dexter's need to slice and dice - into a "bastard child" of Moloch's. 

There were times when the story was great, but other times it left me wanting to toss the book aside and never bothering with the novels ever again. I mean, what's the point? If the writer is going to throw something like this out of the blue, why should the readers take it seriously? It's a rule, isn't it? You can't introduce something fantasy in a world that was created in actuality? I don't know. 

Also, what's with the return of Doakes? I understand - unlike season two - he didn't die in the second book, but his presence really necessary? Returning half the man he used to be serves no actual purpose. I understand the intent was to compare Dexter's old nemesis with his new one - the cult did want to end Dexter - but it failed to do that. 

If only there were some realistic explanation of the events in the novel, I may have liked it better - like a guy who thought he was Moloch and drug poisoning to explain the concert in Dexter's head. Still, the book might be something to take a gander at. If you're bored. And if there's a sale. Or you buy it cheap. Or check it out in the library. Or borrow it from a  friend. Or, you know, not at all.

Until next time, keep on huntin'.

A book I'm looking forward to this summer

I fell in love with Rizzoli & Isles last year, after Amazon suggested I check out the first novel of the Rizzoli series, The Surgeon. It was a hard sell at first. Somewhere in the story muddled with romantic subplots was the heart of a beast waiting to be released. Of course, at the same time I decided to pick up The Surgeon, I learned TNT was releasing a television series. The series, in my opinion, failed miserably. I wasn't expecting gold - they can't all be Dexters, can they? - but was expecting something that was worth my while. 

On 5 July 2011, the ninth novel in the series - The Silent Girl - will be released and this reader is giddy with excitement. After the twists and turns of the last novel - Ice Cold - I can't wait to see what Tess Gerritsen has in store for us. 

More Rizzoli & Isles

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Unlike its predecessor, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter wasn't adapted for the small screen. The Showtime series, instead, creates something original for our dark defender. However, aspects of the book were borrowed for the series, such as - spoiler alert - the removal of Doakes from Dexter's life and the engagement to Rita. 

After the death of LaGuerta in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dexter finds himself in a different role - the hunted rather than the hunter. Dead on his trails is Sergeant Doakes, whose suspicion of our Dark Defender is now ten-fold. Having to give up his dark duties, Dexter assumes the role of doting boyfriend as he puts on a show for Doakes' amusement. All the while, he bides his time for the moment Doakes is out of his life so he can resume his work on the second half of a murderous pedophile duo.

Opportunity knocks when Dr. Danco comes to town - a madman seeking revenge for a betrayal that happened years ago in El Salvador. Along with a love interest for Deborah by the name of Kyle Chutsky - who served on Special Forces with Doakes and Dr. Danco - Dexter is pushed into working with the very man who'd rather see him dead or behind bars. How can Dexter play Doakes into becoming Dr. Danco's  next victim?

It's obvious the show's writers created Frank Lundy to play the Chutsky role in Debra's life for the series, but the two are different. Lundy is focused and determined - not to say Chutsky isn't - but he was more likable and agreeable with Debra's personality (where Deborah's personality clashed with Chutsky's). But we're not going to talk about the show anymore.

While the pace from the first novel seemed quick, with little time to enjoy what was going on, the second book seemed better paced, despite being of similar length. It seemed Jeff Lindsay learned how to create more developed secondary characters rather than the two-dimensional ones featured in the first book. Not to mention the dialogue improved, as well. Though, if the third book starts off with Dexter hunting a child-murderer, I'm going to assume that his creativity on the first kills is limited.

The only disagreeable aspect featured in both novels so far is Dexter's inability to kill the main bad guy. In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, he let's his murderous brother get away; in Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dr. Danco - spoiler alert! - is gun down by Deborah. Once again, I think the series has spoiled my ability to allow Dexter to do these things. But isn't that, essentially, who he is? The guy who takes out the bad guys?

Will you be seeing me posting a review for the third novel in the series, Dexter in the Dark, soon? You bet your sweet ass you will. Until next time, keep on huntin'.

Jeff Lindsay's Dexter

I joined the Dexter bandwagon a little late in the game. I managed to watch the first four seasons during winter break in 2009. I dragged my mother along for the ride, as well. Isn't that what Dexter is about? Family values? 

And while I knew that the show was based off characters created by Jeff Lindsay, I strayed from reading the novels due to bad reviews I read on Amazon. Of course, reviews are always misleading - especially those on Amazon where several people base their reviews on the covers, titles and miscellaneous details without actually opening the novel. Still, I managed to bide my time just knowing that the first novel alone was adapted into a season, while the following seasons were independent from Lindsay's prose. 

While I'm still technically reading God Is Not One, I decided to hold off on the nonfiction piece by Stephen Prothero for a bit and read the first novel, which introduced America's favorite serial killer to the world. And while I'm quite sure I liked the first season - which is based off the first novel, Darkly Dreaming Dexter - much more than the book, I do have an appreciation for it.

Much like the series, the novel opens up as Dexter hunts for a kill - in this case, Father Donovan. (I remember the series starting similarly, but I cannot remember the priest/child murder's name. The dialogue, which was the source of the bad reviews, seemed a little pointless - "'No,' he said. 'Yes,' I said. 'Oh, no,' he said. 'Oh, yes,' I said. He screamed, NOOOO!'" It felt like something one would find in a first year Creative Writing course. Something a professor might have pointed out to the class in a heartbeat.

And while our beloved characters are present, they take on other roles. Angel, rather than being a detective, is a lab geek like Dexter and Vince Masuka and rarely has any spoken words. Vince Masuka, while still seemingly creepy as hell, wasn't conceived with the same humor; there is even a case where Dexter describes him as a fake. LaGuerta is a petty detective, crushing on Dexter and rather venomous. It's her, not Doakes - who was the only character to carried his personality into the TV world - that uncovers that Dexter is hiding something, though her friend is very much in the know. 

It felt as if Lindsay was plot-motivated rather than character motivated. While Dexter can't know it all - the novel is written in first person - it seemed that several of the supporting characters were a little too hollow. The writing was also fast paced, never reallying leaving you at the edge of your seat, though I might be biased because I watched the first season before I ever picked up the book. 

The novel, however, isn't without its value. It's still worth reading, especially if you're a fan of the show. All in all, the novel gets a three star rating. 

I'm still uncertain if I'm going to pick up the next book in the series, Dearly Devoted Dexter. For the moment, however, I'm returning to Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One, which is a part of my religious texts reading list.

This has made my month!

Call it my late Christmas present or my early Dia de los Reyes gift, I'm calling it awesome. After a few days of tracking and pining, my copy of Annabel by Kathleen Winter finally arrived in the mail. Tagged along with it was my Amazon Kindle!!!! Okay, we all know what the major joy of that package was; I just didn't want Kathleen Winter's book to pale in comparison. 

There have been several instances in my life when I denied ever wanting a reading device. I even mention my conversation with my old creative writing professor - Rene Saldana, Jr. - about the subject. I don't think this device would keep me from buying hard copies, but it will reduce my spending on public domain novels - as they are free on Amazon (for the most part, anyway). I'll write more on this subject later.

Moving on, I'm excited to read Annabel once I get around to completing Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. The inside flap reads as follows:

A #1 best seller in Canada, award winning author Kathleen Winter's debut novel is an intimate portrait of the family of a mixed-gender child born into a remote, blue-collar seaside town in Eastern Canada.

In 1968, into the devastating, beautiful landscape of Labrador, a child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor fully girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret - the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and their trusted neighbor and midwife, Thomasina. Though Treadway makes the difficult decision to raise the child as a boy named Wayne, the women continue to quietly nurture the boy's female side. And as Wayne grows into adulthood within the hypermasculine hunting society of his father, his shadow-self, a girl he thinks of as "Annabel," is never entirely extinguished.

 When Wayne finally escapes the confines of his hometown and settles in S. John's, the anonymity of the city grants him the freedom to confront his dual identity. His ultimate choice will once again call into question the integrity and allegiance of those he loves most.

 It's no surprised that the novel caught my attention. While not directly related to my current writing project, it does - I hope - lend me some insight on the subject of gender identity. Annabel was first published in 2010. This edition was published by Black Cat, a paperback original imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. 

2010 100+ Challenge List

1. The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
2. The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker
3. A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick 
4. 30 Days of Night - Steve Niles (story) & Ben Templesmith (art)  
5. Finding Our Way -  René Saldaña, Jr.
6. Downtown Owl - Chuck Klosterman 
7. Valleysong: An Anthology Echoing the Rhythm and Cadence of Life in the Rio Grande Valley - Texas Rio Writers 
8. Things the Grandchildren Should Know - Mark Oliver Everett 
9. Darkness on the Edge of Town - Brian Keene 
10. Alan Moore's Writing for Comics - Alan Moore 
11. The Crow: Flesh & Blood - James Vance (story) & Alex Maleev (art) 
12. Shortcomings - Adrian Tomine 
13. Batman R.I.P. - Grant Morrison (story) & Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott (art) 
14. Superman Red Son - Mark Millar (story) & Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett, with Andrew Robinson and Walden Wong (art)
15. Batman Year One - Frank Miller (story) & David Mazzucchelli (art) 
16. Fall of Cthulhu: The Gathering - Michael Alan Nelson (story) with Greg Scott, Marco Rudy, Tim Hamilton, Michel Rueda & Pablo E. Quiligotti (art) 
17. Clive Barker's Age of Desire - P. Craig Russell (adapted) & Timothy Bradstreet 
18. Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned - Kinky Friedman 
19. The New Dead - Christopher Golden (Editor) 
20. Incest - Marquis de Sade (story), Andrew Brown (translation) 
21. The End of Alice - A.M. Homes 
22. Thirteen - T. Pines 
23. Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 
24. No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July
25. Yes Man - Danny Wallace
26. Written on the Body - Jeanette Winterson 
27. A Cool Head - Ian Rankin 
28. Hellbound Hearts - Paul Kane & Marie O'Regan (Editors) 
29. The Surgeon - Tess Gerritsen 
30. Flashforward - Robert J. Sawyer 
31. Whip It - Shauna Cross
32. The Apprentice - Tess Gerritsen
33. Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger
34. A Gathering of Crows - Brian Keene
35. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
36. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
37. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
38. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
39. Batman: The Widening Gyre - Kevin Smith (story) & Walter Flanagan (art)
40. The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God & Other Stories - Etgar Keret
41. God Hates Us All - Hank Moody
42. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition - Stephen King
43. Questionable Content vol. 1 - Jeph Jacques
44. The Sinner - Tess Gerristen
45. Star Wars: Death Troopers - Joe Schreiber
46. Body Double - Tess Gerritsen
47. Vanish - Tess Gerritsen
48. The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen
49. The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen
50. Ice Cold - Tess Gerritsen

Live out your adventures on Second Life

All Good Things Must Come to an End (Until They Start Up Again, That Is)

By the time I finished reading The Keepsake, I wasn't looking forward to reading Ice Cold. I was even considering to put it off for another week, read another author for a change. Maybe it would freshen my outlook on the Rizzoli & Isles series - giving myself some time to forgive Tess Gerritsen for the seventh novel. But I couldn't resist. I cracked the novel and dove in. And while at the beginning of the novel, I felt like Gerritsen was working on some deadline to release a novel during the time the series was going to be released, the journey it took me on caught me off guard. Has it renewed my faith in Gerritsen's prose? Perhaps. Has it left me pining away until she releases a ninth novel? You bet your sweet ass it has.

Unlike the predecessors, Ice Cold seems to focus mostly on Dr. Maura Isles. Jane Rizzoli still remains the series's central character, however. Starting up on the winter after the events in The Keepsake, we open up with the beginning of the end of Maura and Father Daniel Brophy's affair. Leaving for Wyoming, Maura doesn't want to face the facts that have been so painfully obvious for months now. Still, rather than ending it there at the airport, she boards the plane knowing that the one person who has made her the happiest has also left miserable. At the conference in Wyoming, she meets up with an old college alumnus, Douglas Comley - a character who is Maura's opposite. Seduced into living a little wild, Maura agrees to join him, his daughter and two friends on a road trip to sight see after the conference commences. However, a wrong turn takes them on a deadly path that neither foresaw. 

Taking shelter in an abandon compound called Kingdom Come, the quartet begin to uncover a mystery. Meals have been abandoned; pets are found dead. Something strange has happened in Kingdom Come, and someone is watching them intently.

When Jane Rizzoli learns of Maura's failure to board the flight back to Boston, she sets off for Wyoming - husband Gabriel Dean and Father Daniel Brophy in tow. The trio learn of Maura's death, leaving a greater mystery to uncover. 

I don't want to give too much away, because I liked being on the edge of my seat. However, if you remember correctly, Maura Isles has died before in Body Double. I was confused about the novel when I first started reading it. Several times I found myself wondering if any of the actions were really those of the characters. It felt like Gerritsen was meeting some deadline - a way to promote the TNT series by labeling the novel "A Rizzoli & Isles Novel" rather than the usual "Jane Rizzoli Book #". Some of Maura's actions were questionable, but I learned to accept them. However, the ending was a little flat. Not to mention the mystery's ending was a little too familiar, as well (ahem, can anyone remember The Sinner?).

Old friends are brought back - Anthony Sansone returns, as well, with a cameo appearance from The Mephisto Club victim, Lily Saul - and new ones are made - possibly the most memorable, Julian "Rat" Perkins, who serves as the sort of anti-hero. 

Even though it might not have been the best book in the series, it still garners a four-star rating from this book hunter. Until next time, keep on huntin'.