D. Daniel JudsonBesprekingen

Maybe I was so tired I just couldn't get my head into this one, but the plot shifts just never seemed to stop coming. Last minute justifications are a pet peeve as well. I will try this author another time and see how that one goes.

Not my cup of tea

I was not able to connect with the characters although the author writes well. His atmospheric, almost noir, setting was compelling. However, the lack of interest I had in the characters made for boring reading.

Action action action action. No plot.

I received a review copy of "The Rogue Agent: The Agent Series, Book 2" by Daniel Judson (Thomas and Mercer) through NetGalley.com.

This was a hard book to get into. The back history of the main character Mac is gradually filled as the story progresses, sometimes it feels like coming in half way through the conversation. The Rose of the title is hardly in the first half the book, and the Chief of Police isn't very prominent either.

The synopsis of this story suggests something far more dynamic than is actually delivered. A lot of the time Mac is too drunk or too depressed by events, to see things that are right in front him or to figure out soon enough when he's being manipulated. I worked out Roses' secret quite easily once the relevant character had been introduced.
I can't say I enjoyed this book, and I did start skipping through some of the violent scenes where Mac was either beating someone to a pulp or getting beaten himself. But I was intrigued enough to finish it. But I won't be reading the sequels.

Gripping thriller set in many real locations in NE USA. A former Seabee who served in Iraq and Afghanistan where he was wounded has drifted for several years since a civilian but has found a soul mate to settle down with when a former buddy calls him for help. What ensues leads him into dangerous waters where Chechen terrorists are aided by rogue intelligence officers, but figuring who is working for who isn't easy.

Even though, or perhaps because, the book dealt with urban terrorism, it seemed very authentic and plausible, which makes it all the more frightening. The strong, stoic main character has a moral compass he will not veer from. This makes his adventures that much more difficult. This is a compelling story that is hard to put down. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I got this free via, I think, Kindle First.

It is very eventful...so much so I found that it got boring. Good plotting requires pacing- high excitement interspersed with lower-energy elements, and this was close to 100% EXCITING.

And I am not sure that all the changes made sense in terms of character. OK, all the wheels within wheels and betrayals... but in the end, I am not convinced the resolution makes sense, based on the characters etc.

There is not much character development. The characters are mostly stick figures, ruled by the fairly arbitrary plot.

The plot raised a lot of questions, especially as to various people's characters, that were glossed over by the end.

There were lots of intricate details about various kinds of guns and explosives, if that's your thing.

Not really recommended.

I couldn't connect to any of the characters. This is never a good sign because I read and tune out at once. I can't really tell you what this book was really about.

There's Miles, who is angry at his father, and wants to be a good father.

There's Angelena who in my head looks like Ziva from NCIS.

Then there's Elena who seems like she is smart, and not.

Other than that, I can't tell you what this book was about.

Skilled storytelling, great narrator..."

Lots of movement and suspense, well-drawn characters (including one really impressive 'weasel' character who reminded me a bit of Angel on the old Rockford Files), a good sense of place (the Hamptons, though -- just a detail -- a few locales do get mispronounced, like Jobs-jahbs instead of Jobs-jobes Lane in Southampton.) Considerable international intrigue also blends into what starts as a local mystery. A thoroughly enjoyable 'read', and I can definitely see why Christopher Lane has so many narration credits -- he's truly wonderful.½

The Voyeur had an interesting plot idea, involving a former PI, a case that goes horribly wrong, and then 6 years later he's the liquor store owner and ex-PI. Now there is a missing young woman, and because of his past association with her, he agrees to look into her case. So far, so good - but not for long. A number of twists follow, things that are probably obvious to most readers but not to our hero. I found myself scratching my head, wondering "duh, what's wrong with this guy?" Then there are the characters. Not very interesting, not likable. Didn't care what happened to any of them. This is supposed to be good noir, but not in my book. Completed 9/5, rated 2.0

Violet Hour is about three days in the life of Cal, a mechanic living a simple life which gets very complicated when he helps a friend hide from her abusive husband.

There are probably a few too many coincidences in the plot line, but that didn't matter to me because the characters were so well drawn. Cal is a very likable and believable character, and it's easy to get caught up in the story as he tries to protect himself and his loved ones from the events that unfold.

Enjoyable read.½

NRA romance novel

If you are in love with guns then this is the book for you. I thought I was reading a gun industry advertisement. I quit around page 52. Not my kind of book.

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway.