A Blind Goddess by James R. Benn

A Blind Goddess by James R. Benn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't read Billy Boyle for the mysteries. The mysteries are no better than "okay"—far too much coincidence for my taste. But I love mysteries set in authentic historical settings, and Benn's WWII settings are as authentic as they come.

That said, once you get past the coincidence of Billy being asked by a friend to investigate one murder, and being sent to the same location by his bosses to investigate another, the mystery is pretty well done.

The most annoying thing about the book is the cover: it depicts Billy being hit over the head and pushed into a canal. A crime that occurs but is never solved in the book. The cover shows the assailant as being another soldier. Why? It seems a little too specific for the usual excuse: which is just that the artist didn't actually read the book.

There are no happy endings. As with most of Benn's books, this is his way of airing historical dirty laundry: in this case the shameful treatment of black American soldiers during WWII—as Benn points out: to the serious detriment of the war effort.

Police by Jo Nesbø

Police by Jo Nesbø

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Always enjoyable mysteries, though this one got a little too convoluted toward the end.

Don't Know Jack by Diane Capri

Don't Know Jack by Diane Capri

I just purchased "Don't Know Jack" as an e-book. I'll probably read it, because I paid for it, but because of the outrageous "License" terms, I won't review it, and I won't be buying any more of your books.

"This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people". I refuse to accept any author's or publisher's right to apply "terms" to the way I read books. I don't "share" ebooks. I don't post them on websites. But I absolutely reserve the right to give away my only copy, just as I would with a paper book. I actually support the idea of paying royalties on every transfer of any work of art (though how it would ever work, I can't imagine), but authors and publishers neither have a moral right nor (in most countries) a legal right to demand that I can not give away a book I have purchased.

I do not "agree" to your terms.

Never Go Back by Lee Child

Never Go Back by Lee Child

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For all the incredible feats Reacher accomplishes, I don't generally have a problem with suspension of disbelief. I just treat it as fantasy. In this particular story, taking on eight hillbillies at once or disabling two men in a full commercial airliner, without anybody else noticing, isn't the problem. The thing that really didn't work was getting a law firm receptionist to give up the address of a client (without violence). Sorry, that just wouldn't happen!

Still, I love the stories and will keep reading them as long as Child keeps writing them.