Sleepin with Fear ( A Bishop/ Special Crimes Unit Novel #9 ) by Kay Hooper

New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper returns with a relentless thriller that brings her readers face-to-face with fear itself. In this terrifying new novel, a psychic special agent finds herself caught up in a tangled web of secrets, lies . . . and evil.Riley Crane woke up fully dressed, a gun under her pillow, and covered in blood. Even more frightening, she didn’t remember what happened the night before. In fact, she barely remembered the previous three weeks.An ex—army officer, now a federal agent assigned to the Special Crimes Unit, Riley was a chameleon–a clairvoyant who could blend in with her surroundings, be anyone or anything she chose to be. The SCU’s expert on the occult, she’d been sent to the beachfront cottage on Opal Island by her enigmatic chief, Noah Bishop, to investigate reports of dangerous occult activity. But that was three weeks ago. Now she’s awoken to discover that she’s got a sexy new man in her life and an unreliable memory, and that the clairvoyant abilities she’s always depended on to protect her are MIA. Worse yet, with SCU resources stretched thinner than ever before, Riley is alone and without backup, feeling her way through a deadly game of blindman’s buff, where no one around her is quite who or what they seem. And a bizarre murder is only the first jarring reminder of how high the stakes really are.Bishop wants Riley off the case. So does powerful local D.A. Ash Prescott. Both her old retired army buddy Gordon Skinner and Sheriff Jake Ballard believe she can catch a vicious killer. But one of these four men knows exactly what’s going on in this coastal community, and that’s knowledge Riley desperately needs. For what Riley can’t remember is more than enough to cost her her life. This time evil isn’t just closer than she thinks–it’s already there.
From the Hardcover edition.GOODREADS

This is a book I picked up at the library and I have to say it was quite a ride. It's really well written and the characters are interesting and funny. Maybe a bit cliche and predictable. The premise of the story was worked out really well. I mean Riley wakes up covered in blood and has no memory of the past 3 weeks. One of her job strategies is she can pretend to be anybody so she pretends she's the same .

Riley has no memory of the 3 weeks and on the  same day she wakes up a body is discovered and she also finds out she's been sleeping with the local D.A. Again she has no memory about any of this. Riley is also a psychic, and her abilities have gone AWOL . Riley is a likable character ,she's independent and likes working alone. If there's a fight she'd go in alone, because she thinks it's her duty not to put the people she cares about in danger.

The murder is surrounded by an occult theme in the book. Riley specializes in the occult so that's why she was brought in. Ash is described as not quite handsome but attractive in a butch way. He's too good to be true for the romance part of this book, Ash is too good to be true. I mean he's  like the Beast and he can cook and is well read, too damn good to be true! Then there's Jake, the Sheriff (with a jock complex). He's character is good for some comic affect.

The mystery: like all mystery novels you try to figure out who the bad guy is. Riley is on this beach island and when the villain is revealed It wasn't really that shocking. The list of suspects was short and obvious. You could easily speculate who it would be and then one by one (at the end of the book) rule them out.

Unfortunately my library only has one other book from this series ,so I can't really get into it. Although it is a fun book to read.


Grade:

The Songs of a Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clark

Just a few islands in a planetwide  ocean, Thalassa was a veritable paradise- home to one of the small colonies founded centuries before by robot Mother Ships when the Sun had gone nova and mankind had fled Earth.

Mesmerized by the beauty of Thallassa and overwhelmed by its vast resources, the colonists lived an idyllic existence,unaware of the monumental evolutionary event slowly taking place beneath their seas....

The the Magellan arrived in orbit carrying one million refugees from the last,mad days on Earth. And suddenly uncertainty and change had come to the placid paradise that was Thallassa.

Expectation: The Magellan arrives in the very first chapter, so I'd  already speculated and anticipated what would happen. The Lassans thought the Magellan  was carrying aliens or another robots seeding ship. I expected some form of trouble, disagreement, discomfort maybe from the Lassans. But Thallassa is a paradise and the people are almost perfect and objective and welcoming A perfect society.

Characters:
In the very first chapter we meet Kumar,Brandt and Merrissa. They are from Thallassa and see the ship fly over . It's not easy to connect with any of the characters (at first). They're neither likable or unlikable. The Lassans are all so objective and easy going. Later on the characters get more form . Mayor Waldor was annoying , she's so irritating. Kaldor (from Magellan) is an interesting character , he keeps having conversations (in his mind) with his dead wife( to keep her memory alive).

Lassan society: 
This is a society founded by robot seeding ships. The people have access to information to earth, but censored information. Even books have been censored, anything indicating religion or anything spiritual has been removed. Thereby creating a society without the idea of God. A (almost) perfect and peaceful society, which leaves the question .is that good or bad?

Even the people in the story, the Lassan or the last people from Earth (Magellan) are from a furturistic generation. From  a different earth/millennium then the current one. Which again makes it hard to relate to them. They have another view of earth and are so objective but still just people.

The book succeeds in making you think and it fascinates you. and scares you. Do we even care about the people from the next millennium? about the the state we leave the planet in for them? Clearly by the state of things now, we don't. or we're making a half-ass attempt.

Some of the people from Magellan wanted so stay on Thallassa (only a small few) . I though there was going to be a mutiny (love this word) but no, they just brought some scientific interrogator out of his frozen sleep. Odd man and his methods of interrogation was interesting and surprisingly nonviolent.  After the interrogation he went and read a Sherlock Holmes story.

Although the book didn't exceed my expectations it's still a good read, there are some scientific stuff in it that has eluded my understanding. This in no way devalues  the book, it's written really wel, the chapters are short and have nice titles. The writing flows so it's not bland.

There was one thing that intrigued me an unanswered question. I googled and found somebody else had asked the same question:

In chapter 51 (Relic) Moses Kaldor gives to Mirissa Leonidas a gift: a gold, gleaming bell that was the model of a temple. Inside it was:
"(...) All that's left of one of the greatest men who ever lived; he founded the only faith that never became stained with blood. I'm sure he would have been most amused to know that, forty centuries after his death, one of his teeth would be carried to the stars." 
What man and what faith was Clarke refering to here?

Exactly, what man founded the only faith that never became stained with blood???

Apparently the answer is Buddhism. I guess that makes sense. Is it the correct answer? how did they get his teeth? or is it his teeth? one question leads to another

Source: 

Question/answer form

Grade:

Think Out Loud #3

Think Out Loud.

This is a weekly meme used for bloggers

to post something they would normally not post.

So, post whatever YOU want!

Indifference

I like this word. As do I like being indifferent. Not caring what people think of you, not caring in general. It seems like a good way to go about things and dealing with people or you know annoying people. A good way to stay sane. There are always annoying people out there. Just genuine unpleasant people. Who will criticize you, judge you and who will just make your life miserable. so why care?

Isn't it saver to be neutral?

But it's not always easy to simple not care. Harsh words spoken by strangers haunt you. They stay with you and jump to the front of your mind and ruin your appetite. so it can't be simple to choose to be indifferent.

Even if you do succeed in this ,there' will (always) be a small number of people who you do care about. Who's opinion matter. And if anybody has the right to say something unpleasant but truthful, shouldn't it be the people who matter?

Or is it all just another incomprehensible paradox.

But remember

We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men. 

Unless you want them at your door

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Author Conan Doyle

"A Study in Scarlet" is the first published story of one of the most famous literary detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes. Here Dr. Watson, who has just returned from a war in Afghanistan, meets Sherlock Holmes for the first time when they become flat-mates at the famous 221 B Baker Street. In "A Study in Scarlet" Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder at Lauriston Gardens as Dr. Watson tags along with Holmes while narratively detailing his amazing deductive abilities.GOODREADS

Dear reader,
let me introduce you to the greatest fictional (consulting) detective of all time. You might have heard of him ,Mr Sherlock Holmes and never forget his partner and friend Dr John Watson. Who together solve the most curious of cases. I only vaguely remember reading the Hound of the  Baskervilles a long time ago and all I remember is some eerie howling and moores. My new found interest in the Sherlock Holmes stories hails from the BBC series which in my opinion  is a great adaptation of the stories (although set in modern times). So I went out and bought Bantam's volume 1 of novels and short stories. The very first story is a Study in Scarlett, which introduces us to Holmes and Watson and a case that even Scotland Yard can't solve.

An interesting and delightful (yet unrelated) fact is that this volume of short stories was published by Bantam Classics which is a book series from Bantam Books which publishes George R. R Martin's A song of Ice and Fire Saga!!

Watson arrives from Afghanistan and is looking for a more comfortable and affordable place to live when he comes upon an old friend who happens to know another man , who's also looking for a place to stay and a flat mate to share the financial bits of an apartment in London. Thus Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes and they move into 221B Baker Street. Very soon Watson notices his flat mates odd habits of running out and being visited by detectives and becomes curious as to what Sherlock's occupation is and tries to deduce this himself by making a list , here's some of the list:

Sherlock Holmes-His limits
1. knowledge of philosophy- nil
2....................... literature- nil
3......................astronomy- nil
4....................... politics-feeble
8......................anatomy- accurate, but unsystematic
10. plays violin well
11.is an expert single stick player,boxer, and swordsman
12. has a good practical knowledge of British law

I should add that apparently Sherlock only keeps information that he deems useful. He doesn't know much about the solar system because he doesn't think he'll ever need it. Which if you think about it is true. And I'm not  using this to justify my not knowing if the Earth revolves around the sun or the moon? ..............or does it go around itself.......oh boy

The story is really well written ,it flows just like the tv series (which stayed true to the source material). Sherlock and Watson are great together. I love the characters and Sherlock's eccentricities. From beating a dead body with a horse wip to see how it bruises to keeping all kind of things in his apartment, like human eyes and fingers.

It's called a Study in Scarlet because Sherlock invents a way of distinguishing normal mud stains from blood stains which in itself is of great use in homicide cases.

In the end Sherlock catches the bad guy (no surprise there) . the murderer was out for revenge. There was something familiar about Jefferson Hope's story. I don't remember ever reading this story before but it sounded so familiar. Of course Lestrade and Gregson end up getting all the credit but Watson assures Sherlock (who doesn't really care) that he has documented everything in his journal and the public shall know about it.

And so the very first Sherlock Holmes story ends with

 populus me sibilat, at mihi plaudo 

 Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplar in arca

Which means:

"The public hisses at me, but I applaude myself in my own house, and simultaneously contemplate the money in my chest."

P.s the earth revolves around it's axis. and the sun. .........I think

The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen

Every crime scene tells a story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. The grisly display homicide cop Jane Rizzoli finds in Boston’s Chinatown will do both.

In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, her head nearly severed. Two strands of silver hair—not human—cling to her body. They are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent death had a chilling prequel.Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. But one woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil.Cracking a crime resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning—and a swift, avenging blade.GOODREADS

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Series: Rizzoli & Isles #9

In comparison to the last Rizzoli and Isles novel, Ice Cold, this one wasn't as chilling or frightening. However in it's own right it's as mysterious and interesting and surprising as any of the books in this series.

It starts with Maura on the witness stand against a cop. This raises an interesting topic about  cop killings. The cop on the stand is on trial because he beat up and killed a cop killer. So here we have Maura testifying against the cop (explaining her findings in the autopsy) this doesn't sit well with the Boston PD , who have never really liked her. They now see her as a traitor and treat her coldly. This is interesting because it reflects on Jane and Maura's differences. I won't try and explain Jane because she's just too much work , Maura on the other hand is all about the facts. She even says in the book that she's there to speak for the dead. This is also why the book is called The Silent Girl:
-  There was an incident where a man( the cook) allegedly  went postal and killed several people in  the restaurant he was working in then killed himself. This incident happened in Chinatown and is called the Red Phoenix case. Maura follows up on some leads and finds some new evidence that shows that there was another person in the kitchen. A little girl, the cook's daughter, who heard everything and knew what really happened, The Silent Girl.

Another reason  I enjoyed this book was getting to reacquaint myself with my favorite characters again. Gabriel (Rizzoli's husband) shows up after Jane gets shot and he's worried about her and wants her off the case. Although this is a thriller there's always an underlying romantic feel to these books (my opinion) which I like.

Rat , the boy who had saved Maura in Ice Cold, also returns in this book . He's visiting Maura from school. He points out the inconsistencies in the Red Phoenix case which lead to finding the Silent Girl.

Then there's Barry Frost, Rizzoli's partner. He's wife has recently left him and he's like a lost puppy.He's a good guy, charming and gentlemen like. He has a charming way with old ladies aswell (especially in this book). This character will charm you as a reader aswell. Although I did find it annoying because .I kept thinking Bary was Mrs Fang's reincarnated husband.(or maybe I was wishing it).

I loved how the story of the Monkey King was incorporated into this book and used as an instrument for justice. It was also surprising to find out who the actual Monkey King was, it was not a person but 3 people in turns. Mrs fang , Bella. and they aren't the ones that caught me of guard. Johnny Tam is the third person. In the beginning it's said that Wu Weimin (the cook) had a son by another woman. I completely forgot this and was so surprised that agent Tam was in on it. Tam is also a detective and had joined Jane's team from the beginning and new what was happening every step. Tam's character is new and will be joining Jane's team . Tam is dark and mysterious and has awesome eyes (although this is a book and I have never seen his eyes).

 I kept picturing Tam as agent Cho from The Mentalist for some reason( no, it's probably because of that episode where he went undercover as a casanova).












With that being said I'm really looking forward to reading more about Tam in future books.

Grade:

Think Out Loud #2

Think Out Loud.

This is a weekly meme used for bloggers

to post something they would normally not post.

So, post whatever YOU want!

Equilibrium

whatever I want?! then This week I choose to do a movie review . I do book reviews because I read books frequently and most of them deserve reviews . Movies on the other hand are so many and they don't all call for reviews. But this one does, Equilibrium. It's a great, thought provoking , action-packed movie. It has a lot going for it, a great cast, premise, action and symbolism. Of course we each have our own taste in movies so this could just be my fascination with this movie.

I suppose I should start with what the movies about, the plot: In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it IMDB

Alright now you have the plot and if that doesn't attract you yet, then the cast should. Sean Bean (yes, he dies),Dominic Purcell, William Fichtner ,Angus McFadden. If these guy don't get you on board then maybe Christian Bale and Taye Diggs will, I suppose I should have mentioned them first as they are the leading roles. However they're the ones who would have put me off this great movie. I'm not a Christian Bale fan, Although I did like his part in A Midsummer Nights Dream as Demetrius and must now admit that he isn't so bad and he did great in this movie and  I couldn't imagine anybody else doing it. Taye Diggs, I can't see past his part in the movie "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" , I kept seeing him as the young lover boy. Although he did succeed in making his character an annoying and hated one. He plays Brandt in the movie, Preston's new partner . An ambitious,arrogant and smug annoying jerk. Therefore there is little sympathy for him when he quite literally loses face.

I love the dialogue in the movie aswell and the symbolism and repetition . In the beginning of the movie Preston and his first partner Errol are on a raid and they burn the Mona Lisa, they burn it! now I'm not that into art but come on?! really? On this raid Errol takes a book and gives an excuse of turning it in personally when Preston asks why he took it.  In the end Errol doesn't turn it in and Preston finds him to turn him in . This is one of the best scenes in the movie. Errol quotes from a passage from a poem (He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven by W.B Yeats).

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."

In the end Errol reaches for his gun and his last words are " A heavy cost I pay gladly".Preston then kills him. This scene runs like a paradox in the movies. Errols words from the book are repeated when Preston gets home ,when he goes to bed that night he remembers those words. When he goes against Dupont (the last scene) Dupont also tells Preston that he treads on His (Dupont's) dreams and asks him if it's worth it. Preston then says the same words Errol had said " a price he'd pay gladly" and then kills Dupont.


In the last scene there's a picture of the consequences of war. Which is ironic because it depicts what happens when  states go to war one of the consequences is the loss of art. The weird thing is that Libria is in a state of "peace" but art is illegal and therefore destroyed. Emotions/feelings are seen as the enemy and cause of chaos and war and to truly be at peace they must not feel. So everybody has to take Prozuim. Preston accidentally drops his dose one morning and starts feeling and seeing what's happening and then understands what Errol was saying. Which raises one question(or many) is peace worth it if the price is losing what makes us human?

The action: the style of gunfighting (gun Kata). This is fun to watch and exhilarating. The fight scenes are great in this movie. One is even duped the "puppy shoot out" on youtube. My favorite would be the last part. What I don't get is when Preston shows up in Dupont's office, guards appear from behind the pillars, there are two pillars in front of the door Preston enters in but he gives no indications of having seen them there.

Here's a trailer of the movie:

If you liked Ultraviolet you're going to like this too.

I've watched this movie twice , have you seen it and what did you think?

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy : and Other Stories by Tim Burton

From breathtaking stop-action animation to bittersweet modern fairy tales, filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance -- witty and macabre at once. Now he gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children -- misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds. His lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and the tragedy of these dark yet simple beings -- hopeful, hapless heroes who appeal to the ugly outsider in all of us, and let us laugh at a world we have long left behind (mostly anyway).GOODREADS

I have this new addiction to stumble upon. This is one of my old reviews I decided to post here of a book I found through Stumble Upon.That's what led me to this book. It's an amazing book, funny, creepy, odd and very lovely. I like the illustrations. They're odd yet sweet, in a bizzar way. A match in love with a stick. He thought she was hot. and then quite literally burnt for her. Crazy parents who have an oyster baby. and end up killing him and eating him to help their sex life. The mummy boy who gets mistaken for a pineata. And Voodoo Girl, my favorite. So the stories don't really rhyme , sometimes they do (in my opinion). Some are also very short and very sad but all around awesome book. You can read this online (here's a link): The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy : and Other Stories by Tim Burton