The Black Ice
Mystery
A great mystery with a delightful twist. It starts off with a murdered cop and continues with a series of related murders stretching from LA to south of the border. Harry Bosch defies his superiors to investigate and find out about the drugs and people behind the murders. Harry comes out squeaky clean as usual and it is a pleasure to watch
Favourite Character: Harry Bosch. A doggily persistent investigator who is determined to find out what was going on
Least Favourite Character: Corvo. A DEA agent who is prejudiced and bigoted
Best Part of the Book: The drug raid. You could feel the excitement.
Worst Part of the Book: What happens to the bad guy. I felt that there should have been a different outcome.
What was missing: nothing
Rating: 
(4.0/5)
Labels: book review, Michael Connelly, mystery
Douglas Coupland is one of my favourite Canadian authors, but I wasn't impressed with this book (the very first one he wrote). I'm glad I didn't read this book first because I may have not tried another of his books. 
From the Publisher
I have previously heard good things about Ferguson, and specifically this book. That's why I bought it from a used book store. But I wasn't too impressed with the book. It was quite a roller coster in terms of keeping my interest. Some parts would be quite interesting, other parts very dull. There are little tidbits of Canadian history (or even trivia) that I didn't know so it was interesting reading about them. Some of his antics were funny as well. But it got to the point where I just found it long winded and even somewhat repetative. 
This story is a split narration (or maybe 70/30) between Oaksey, a journalist trying to get to the bottom of what's going on at Pig Island, and his wife Lexie, an attention starved woman. Oaksey has an ulterior motive though. He wants to find out what has happened to his enemy of many years ago who used to run the cult on the island, Malachi. This is the man who promised that he would destroy Oaksey before he died. What results is a worldwind of craziness. Animal beheadings, mass murders, this is what you get yourself into when you read this book.
This sequel was ever bit as funny and readable as the first book. I really enjoy Archy McNally. His irreverence and eccentricity just makes each page turnable. Archy is a son of a prominent Palm Beach lawyer. His job is to handle discrete investigations. He is to find a pampered cat. Then the bodies start piling up. A cozy mystery well worth the read 
This book is part sci-fi,part mystery and all satire. Max Barry has created a world that is really out there. An Nike marketing exec decides to kill 14 teenagers to promote his product. What results is a world gone mad. A fun read!! 
This book was a nice story of the loss of a family member and how those "left behind" cope with the changes. However, there were parts of the book I found really annoying. Obviously, Clare was annoying (she was ment to be so), but really, there were a couple of times when Nikki should have put her in her place. There is only so much she should have allowed herself to be pushed around.
Ask Again Later is a light-hearted funny book. The book centres on Emily and how drastically her life changes when her neurotic mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. Emily re-connects with her father, leaves her perfect boyfriend, and completely changes her career path. Although the problems are kept very tension-free in the book, Davis manages to convey Emily's neuroses very well. This book is perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon read
This book is a bit of history, a bit of travel and a bit of memoir. From where I have travelled the information is spot on. The history is fascinating and the memoirs are definitely quirky. This should not be viewed as the definitive travel book but as a quirky memoir/travel book of Will Ferguson 
This is a interesting story told in 2 voices - a century apart. Ella moves with her husband to a small town in France. Life is not easy as the towns people will not accept her. She then starts to research her family's history. Meet Isabelle from the 1500s. A woman who beleives in The Virgin and must keep quiet. She is a Hugeonot. The manner in which Ella finds out about her history is neat. In turn,Isabelle's story is interesting as she must emigrate from France due to her religion 
Marc Sidman awakes in the hospital to find his wife murdered and his child kidnapped. What ensues is a great mystery. Marc fumbles two ransom attempts and eventually teams up with his former girlfriend and ex-FBI agent Rachel.
With Red Hands is the second book in 'violet' series from Stephen Woodworth. This one has Natalie, and her now 6 year old daughter Callie, coping on their own without Dan (Callie's father). Natalie gets called by a friend to help with a case and from that point on a lot goes wrong. A serial killer start inhabiting the bodies of other violets and murdering more people. 
This book is #2 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's really quite cute, even though absolutely miserable for the children. You sort of wonder why a publisher would publish this for kids when the kids are always in such miserable circumstances!
What an interesting book!. I have lost my Mom this year and some of the passages were so poignant. The process of thinking through and finding out about one's parents happens at any time but especially after their death. Nikki misses her Mom's special touches; from baking bread to visiting. I liked the way Oates had Nikki 'grow up' throughout the book 
This book took me a while to get through but it was very interesting. Koff tells about her journies to Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo where she helps dig up mass graves and process the bodies (and their clothes). Not only did I learn a lot about human anatomy, but also about the history of these nations and the horrible things that happened there. It's pretty depressing, but really something that should be read as a reminder of how bad things can get when government (and the general population) gets corrupted by the need for power.
