BookPikks

I first discovered Baldacci when I read his novel Wish You Well. Since then, I have read several of his popular thrillers. I don’t feel the need to blog individually about each book, as they are very similar in style and substance. However, if you are looking for an easy, entertaining, suspenseful mystery, Baldacci has many to choose from. I particularly enjoy his books because they are mostly set in the DC/Virginia area, which is familiar to me. Baldacci lives in Virginia, and writes very knowledgeably about the area.

Books of his that I’ve read:

Saving Faith: Lee Adams, PI and Faith Lockhart, lobbyist are on the run from powerful Washington leaders.

Split Second: Former Secret Service agent Sean King, and disgraced agent Michelle Maxwell realize that there’s a connection between the crimes both have witnessed. They join forces to clear their names.

Hour Game: King and Maxwell have now formed a PI firm. They must investigate a series of murders in their own hometown. This one was my favorite by far–much more suspenseful, easy to read, yet not as predictable as previous books.

After her childhood best (and only) friend Cameron suddenly disappears, Jennifer is lost.  The only way she can cope is to completely transform herself from “loser” into “cool.”  When Cameron reappears years later, Jennifer is shocked.  Suddenly the popular image she has created for herself begins to crumble as she begins to confront secrets from the past.  An excellent young adult novel.

Thanks to Cindy at Books for Young Adults for recommending this series. She has a great review of the first book in the series: Awakening. They do make a good read; I’d especially recommend them for 5th and 6th grade girls who love action/mysteries.

I discovered White’s first novel in my weekly Bible study, of all places.  Our normal teacher was gone for the week, and Linda White was asked to step in.  She did a great job leading our study of Romans, and as a bonus for me, I discovered that she was a published author.  White works for our local paper as assistant editorial page editor, and in her free time, has written a mystery set in the Chesapeake Bay.

A few thoughts on the book:

• I enjoyed the history, geography and local information that White includes in her book.  It gives the story a sense of authenticity, and made me want to visit the places she writes about.
• White has written a Christian mystery without including a budding romance as one of the main plot lines.  Has any Christian author ever done that?  It was very refreshing.  I’m all for romance, but there is more to the Christian life than finding the perfect man!
• White addresses the difficult subject of praying for God’s healing.  Why does God sometimes grant healing in a spectacular way, but other times he allows a person to remain sick, or even die?  White tackles this question head-on.
• The suspense part of the book was a little lacking for me.  I felt like the “bad guy” wasn’t quite scary enough, and there wasn’t much surprise as to who it was.

Overall, I enjoyed White’s book.  It was entertaining, well researched, and solid in theology.  I’m looking forward to more from her in the future.

I was eager to read this book, as I love mysteries, and the book description sounded interesting.  However, I was quite disappointed.  The characters were flat, and the mystery, which could have been exciting, lacked intensity.  Burke has won several awards for her books, so maybe I’m misjudging her writing, but based on this book, I won’t be reading more of hers.