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  1. No. 1 with a * ... Razzamataz by Christopher Moore - a sequel to Noir, this book actually had me audibly giggling (which I have never done).  Just wonderful characters, in particular The Cheese. Great story, albeit fanciful at the end.  Can't recommend it highly enough. 

  2. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - a beautiful book.  the tale of a a Count dealing with times in the post-revolutionary Russia.  His resignation and acceptance of his new reality and how he copes and thrives in his life in the attics of the Metropol hotel.  Great lessons in being a gentleman

  3. Love Songs from a Shallow Grave: A Dr. Siri Investigation Set in Laos
    by Colin Cotterill - when you finish one book and immediately go out and order two more, well, there you go.  The author of xxx had recommended Cotterill in his epilogue so I took a leap.  It was well rewarded and I'm very happy to find a new author.  Set in Laos soon after its change from a monarchy to a socialist state, it was brilliant.  Dr. Siri and his co-workers were loveable, glib, witty, interesting and much more.  Recommended to my brother and he is now hooked.  Great book. &

  4. The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill - can't say why but I thoroughly enjoy the pacing, characters and adventures of the good doctor.  I will keep reading his work.

  5. Death at Nuremburg by Web Griffin - it's a good year when you happen upon a few authors that you really enjoy, as with Griffin.  Fun characters, enjoyable banter.  Shows what a smart-ass can accomplish.

  6. Thirty Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill - I haven't tired of Dr Siri yet, and don't know that I will.  The stories flow smooth and easy and I love each of the characters.

  7. Top Secret by Web Griffin - as above, most enjoyable.

  8. The Enemy of My Enemy by WEB Griffin - third in the series of clandestine operations novels.  Just as good as the first two... technically interesting, personable characters, and evil Nazi.  The story highlighted the depth of evil that was the Nazi movement; the pure evil that could only be committed  by religious zealots.

  9. The Coroner's Lunch - by Colin Cotterill - what a fun read.  The story of an old Dr. Siri as he navigates through a young socialist Laos.  Wonderful insight to socialism and a great detective/medical/spy storyline

  10. I Shot the Buddah by Collen Cotterill - another Dr. Siri adventure and equally fun... more bizarre than others but I love the characters: from Siri all the way to Geund.

  11. The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Collen Cotterill - Dr. Siri encouters the Hmong... a fascinating peoples of southest Asia; little known and even less understood.

  12. The Affair by Lee Child - another Reacher novel... just as good as all of the others.  Curiously, in this story there were a couple cross-over storylines with the Amazon Prime series Reacher.  Interesting how the story and timeline cross back and forth with a great many inconsistencies.

  13. Curtain of Death by WEB Griffin - another in the Clandestine Services series featuring a yound officer put in charge of the DIC in post-war Ger;many.  I like the portrayal of a cocky young officer in over his head but always coming up with a novel approach to solving problems.

  14. The Jealous Kind by James Lee Burke - my clear favorite of his novels. He writes a though painting a picture with words, layering the characters' life in an environ that is alive.

  15. Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke -- a Dave Robichaux story of Nazis returning to New Orleans to recover a sunken submarine (yes, the Nazis were present in the Gulf during WWII). Some returning characters seen in another light, with more on Bootsie this time.

  16. Bloody Sunday by Ben Coes - absurd story and heroics but fun nevertheless.  So Kim Yung Un has terminal cancer and decides to rain hell-fire on America before he goes.  One man comes out of retirement to save the world and take down Kim.  Nice idea.

  17. Monkeywrench by PJ Tracy - murder and software make a nice combination.  Throw in small town and big city cops, college, and an hermaphrodite and you've got the makings of a good novel.  First I've read from this prolific mother/daughter co-authors... I'll look for more.

  18. Damascus Gate by Robert Stone- Chris Lucas, American half-Jewish reporter in Jerusalem, agrees to do a book on the pilgrims to the Holy City who become overly inspired. Beyond the characters with Messianic dreams, there is an assortment of misfits, NGO and U.N. workers, former Communists, archeologists, settlers, nightclub impresarios, drug/arms runners and relief worker wannabes.

  19. Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith - much to like about this book... insight into the Russian culture and society and governance; a humble lead character that was not excellent in every way, as so many lead characters are; and chess. If true, and I suspect that it is, Moscow sucks and Russia sucks.  Portrays a population crushed by years and years of abuse and the absolute failure of communism.  A segment on 'diggers' was really fascinating.

  20. Daylight by David Baldacci - I generally try to avoid books by authors that produce three or four books a year... just can't imagine that they can put much effort into their creations; or their creations are assisted by a team of writers.  Baldacci is, nevertheless, an engaging author and his stories are good.  This one was a bit of a crossover as it featured two of his lead characters.  Not an awful book but it has no redeeming value either... and,

  21. The Target, also by Baldacci - he must have a team of writers supporting him but he does generate some complex scenarios in a readable story.

  22. Why Kill the Innocent by  CS Parris - pretty good book but nothing of note.  Covered the Princess Charlotte, Princess of Wales, as a much-repressed tool of her father, Regent for King Charles III.  Historically pretty accurate but her situation was secondary.

  23. Spy by Ted Bell - writing was pleasant but each of the characters was unbelievable in every way... strong, good looking, athletic, smart and rich.  The premise was interesting posing the possibility of an assault on our southern border (here to divert assets) asserting an all-too scenario of a well financed and equipped Mexican and Latin American population.

  24. Eye of God by James Rollins - a well written piece of action with an entirely illogical, outrageous, impossible, absurd plot.  I like the characters but enjoyed them more in prior works that weren't so wild.  

  25. Westwind by Ian Rankin - Interesting to read such an early Rankin. Different tone and tempo compared with the Rebus books but a good read, nevertheless.

  26. The Assassins Gallery by David Robbins - I really liked the majority of the Assassin's Gallery. 

  27. The Travelers by Chris Pavone - first time with Pavone and I was pleasantly surprised... expected a trashy spy/adventure thing and it was, but I liked it.  The principal storyline was so weak that an intelligent man wouldn't be taken, but he was.  A decent first novel.

  28. The Parisian by Isabella Hammond - a lovely book; a Palestinian (Midhat Kamal) in Paris at time of WWI to his move to Palestine and the fight for independence.

  29. Winter of the World by Ken Follett - I made the mistake of starting in the middle of a trilogy.  The overlapping stories of five very interesting families as they face Naziim from disparate perspectives.

  30. The Overlook by Michael Connelly - a LA crime novel with a murder that rolls into a nuclear terrorism response and then back to the murder.  A generally pleasant read but lead detective a bit too ornery . 

  31. The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins

  32. Deus Lo Volt by Evan Connell

  33. The Maze by Nelson DeMille

  34. Third Target by Joel Rosenberg

  35. The Tin Man by Dale Brown - interesting enough to take me to the end but not anything that I'd recommend.  Crazy notions of high-tech capabilities and odd characters... but I read it anyway. 

  36. The Redeemers by Ace Adkins - a good story of Sheriff Quinn Colson as he faces huge challenges on the eve of his last days in office.  A good buildup to an exciting end.

  37. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut - okay, I know he's considered a great author but this was just weird.  Indiscriminate use of "n....." and  focus on male members' length and girth.  Perhaps I'm not sophisticated enough to enjoy his strange characters.... Weird!

  38. Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser &

  39. Flashman on the March - I enjoyed reading Fraser in the past but now find him difficult to stomach... a degenerate British army officer that became harder and harder to like.  Royal Flash was a blatent rip-off of The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope from the late 19th Century.

  40. Wales by Lonely Planet - impossible to rate amongst fiction but a very well written guide that we found most useful.

  41. Following are books begun but abandoned ..

    • The Information by Martin Amis - I enjoyed the first book of his that I'd read but this one slow and protracted.​

    • The Trial of Fallen Angels by James Kimmel - a young mother dies and bounces back to set things right.

    • The Torqued Man by  Peter Mann - I got quite a way into this book but I'm just tired of the gay characters showing up.

    • God's Other Son by Imus - yes, that Imus.  The book is worse than his shows, if that were possible.

    • The Lost Order -  fell into this one by accident as I promised that I'd finished with his Cotton character... took me a minute to confirm my earlier swearing off of this author.

    • Star Path by Gear - too many disparate individuals

    • Painted Ladies by Robert Parker - just awful

    • Sea Change by Robert Parker - same

    • The Mirror and the Light by Hillary Mantel - too much like a text book.  Her cast of characters is 6 pages long.  More work than fun.

    • Westwind by Ian Rankin

    • Ravelstein by Saul Bellow - why can't I find a highly acclaimed book by an highly acclaimed author that is enjoyable?

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