Cross Fire - by James Patterson

This installment, the sixteenth book in Patterson's Alex Cross series, features the return of Kyle Craig.  For those who don't know the story, Kyle is an ex-FBI agent, who a long time ago was Detective Cross's good friend and colleague whose other identity was "The Mastermind," a brilliant serial killer.  Alex was the one who brought him to justice and incarceration at a supermax prison in Colorado.  Kyle has escaped, however, and is in Washington, D.C., to exact his revenge.

Alex and his girlfriend, fellow crime-fighter Bree, are ready to get married, but a string of assassinations of crooked politicians puts their plans on hold.  Alex figures out that there is a lot of inside knowledge behind the killings and pursues the truth about and behind them.  FBI Agent Max Siegel joins the case and complicates the situation.

If you're a true Patterson and Alex Cross fan, I'm sure you've already read this book.  If you're not, but enjoy a well-paced criminal thriller, I encourage you to give this book and/or this series a look.

The Survivors Club - by Ben Sherwood

This book tries to investigate why, in times of crisis, some people survive and some do not and what enables some to defy the odds. It presents a number of real-life stories about those who have survived near fatal experiences ranging from a knitting needle in the heart to a mountain lion attack to plane crashes to a Holocaust concentration camp. It investigates factors from genetic make-up to religious belief to just plain luck.

While it seemed to be marketed as somewhat of a self-help manual to boost your survival chances in a future life-threatening event, that was not really my perspective and interest when reading it. Sure, I learned a few things, like drinking a sugary beverage better combats hypothermia than a hot one and the "Rule of 3" for survival, which states that in any extreme situation you cannot survive for more than 3 seconds without will and spirit, 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food, and 3 months without companionship.  It was the amazing stories that held my interest.  For example, Sherwood tells about a man who survived ejection from a plane at supersonic speeds, a jumper from the Golden Gate Bridge who changed his mind about suicide on the way down and survived, and a woman whose life was saved by a knitting needle in her heart.  I love trivia and this book had some interesting factoids about survival.  For instance, it is not unheard of to survive falls from very high heights (even airplanes), lefties have statistically shorter lives than righties, and the best place to have a heart attack is a Las Vegas casino.

This book is not really a step-by-step survival manual.  It does, however, strive to improve your "Survivor IQ."  For the most part, I found the book interesting and engaging.  Although it certainly made me think about and evaluate my own tendencies in and preparation for a life threatening emergency, I might have been a little disappointed if I was expecting lots of practical detailed survival knowledge.  If this subject interests you, your own enjoyment and perceived value may vary.

The Scarecrow - Michael Connelly

If you ever read Michael Connelly's 1994 novel The Poet, you may remember reporter Jack McEvoy.  This 2009 novel again features him as the protagonist.  It opens with Jack, the seasoned reporter, being let go by the Los Angeles Times due to the financial crisis impacting the newspaper industry.  With only two weeks left on the job, he undertakes his last story, based on a young drug dealer's arrest for the brutal rape and murder of a woman. He expects to write a Pulitzer winning article on the societal factors that created a 16-year-old killer, but he (and the young reporter he is training as his replacement) uncover discrepancies in the confession and evidence behind the case against him. Jack enlists the help of FBI Agent Rachel Walling, again, to go after the real killer, who has worked completely below the radar up to this point.  Further, their investigation inadvertently sets off a digital tripwire, providing the killer knowledge of their moves against. him.

This is Connelly's 21'st published book.  He is, therefore, quite an accomplished crime fiction author and his work includes Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) novels.  I am a fan and found this book to be on par with other Michael Connelly works that I have read.  If you enjoy the crime thriller genre, in my opinion, this one is worth the read.

Don't Look Twice - by Andrew Gross

Don't Look Twice is the second novel in Andrew Gross's Ty Hauck series. I actually haven't read the first yet -- bestselling The Dark Tide -- but I enjoyed this book enough to add both it, and the most recent installment -- Reckless -- to my list.

This story begins with a drive-by shooting that is not what it seems. Ty, however, after experiencing the violence first-hand with his daughter, relentlessly follows a trail that includes a federal prosecutor executed in the shooting, a local restaurateur and inadvertent witness that he becomes involved with, a casino, wealthy and powerful people, and even his own brother.

In my opinion, on your next visit to the library or bookstore, Don't Look Twice is worth a second look.

Rain: What A Paperboy Learned About Business - by Jeffrey J. Fox

This book begins with a business parable that tells the story of Rain, an energetic paperboy who wins customers, influences people, and builds a business with pluck and determination.  The author explains key business concepts and principles, in an enjoyable story about a young entrepreneur.  In the second part, the author revisits each phase of Rain's adventure with exercises that expand upon topics like ethics, customer service, innovation, and respect.  In summary, this book illustrates a set of easily digestible "rainmaker" business lessons that apply to anyone in business, not just paperboys.

Although, these days, the paperboy (or papergirl) is somewhat of an outdated work experience, I am lucky to be old enough to actually have a little experience in this field.  While I was much less successful and entrepreneurial than Rain, I can attest to learning some valuable lessons about hard work, commitment, and business.  This book suggests that just about everything you need to know about building career success you could learn as a paperboy or papergirl.  It justifies this claim somewhat with an impressive list of some of the world's most successful people who delivered papers in their youth: Tom Brokaw, Warren Buffett, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Walt Disney, Naomi Watts, Jack Welch, and Jerry Seinfeld, among others.


I enjoyed this book and appreciated the practicality of the author's approach.  I could easily relate to Rain and his experiences.  The reader learns important lessons relating to topics such as interview skills, customer service, innovation, and negotiation, all within the context of a young paperboy, learning and successfully applying some fundamental business practices with a fresh outlook and spirited determination.

Play Dead - by Harlan Coben

This book begins with Celtic superstar David Baskin and supermodel turned business magnate Laura Ayers honeymooning on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where David tragically drowns unexpectedly.  I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that, although Laura believes that her new husband is dead, he actually faked his death.  The real plot twists revolve around why.  In doing so, the reader is introduced to both Laura's and David's families and the deceptive secrets of their past.

This is Harlan Coben's first novel.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea.  The complicated plot has seemingly unending twists and turns that are hard to believe at times.  Some may find it hard to endure the story-line to its ending.  I, however, somewhat enjoyed reading this book.  I have read some of Coben's other books and, knowing that this was his first novel, saw some similarities.

Private - by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

This is the first novel in a new series for James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.  A former Marine helicopter pilot, Jack Morgan, is the protagonist.  In this initial installment, we learn that Jack suffers nightmares and struggles to re-create the missing memory from a military conflict where most of the soldiers on his helicopter were killed, but he survived and was decorated as a hero.  We learn that Private Investigations, the successful detective agency of his father, was recently reopened by Jack when his imprisoned father gave him the resources to do so.  We also find that Jack has a strained relationship with his twin brother, a romantic relationship with his assistant Colleen, and a romantic history with Justine, one of the key investigators in his detective agency.  He also works with good friend, Rick Del Rio, who served with him in Afghanistan.

Private Investigations takes on cases involving Jack’s best friend (who’s suspected of murdering his wife), possible game tampering in the NFL (through his uncle), and a series of  series of brutal murders of young girls in the LA area that they are helping the local police solve in a pro bono status.

I liked this book and found it a very enjoyable read.  I found the characters very interesting and the storyline fast paced.  If anything, there was too much going on, however.  Rather than focusing on a single investigation, or for that matter, one or two of Jack's personal relationships or difficulties, this book covered a lot of different issues and switched constantly between them.  Nonetheless, "Private" held my interest and made me want to keep reading it.  When the next episode of this series is published, I plan to read it.