The Death Factory by Greg Iles

Mystery

This short novella is an add on to the Natchez Burning trilogy from Greg Iles. In this book, Penn Cage's father has had his heart attack and is called to the hospital. While family members come in from around the USA, Penn ends up driving his uncle around in a car so his uncle can explore his old town of Natchez.

Penn tells his uncle of a story from a certain part of Texas called the Death Factory because of the volume of death row cases. The story is told entirely as Penn speaking to his Uncle. It's about a case of a young girl who is raped and the accused gets a super easy plea deal due to the lab screwing up. A different worker from the lab tells Penn about the error and Penn tries to right the wrong.

An interesting little book. I would recommend reading it after the Natchez Burning trilogy.

First Line: "When you're told that your dying father has something important to say to you before he passes, two feelings flash through you: first, the sense that you're in an Alexandre Dumas novel, that some momentous family secret is about to be revealed - the lost inheritance, your true paternity, something like that."

Rating:
(4/5)

Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles

Mystery/Thriller

In the third and final book of the Natchez trilogy, we hope to finally learn the truth about what happened the night Viola Turner died. The trilogy focuses around Dr. Cage's son Penn trying to clear his father's name and learning about all the klan activity that occurred in the town back in the 60s. Some of these dangerous men are still alive and don't want the truth to come out. This book focuses on Dr. Cage's trial (finally!) and the aftermath of Penn's loss.

We know the characters by this point, so this really is a story-driven novel in wrapping up all the loose ends. The full trial of Dr. Cage being tried for Viola's murder plays out. It includes his lawyer not objecting to any evidence being entered and then some jaw-dropping surprises at the end.

This was one of the best trials I've read in a book. There were twists and turns. You wondered what the defense was trying to do, and why they were hiding their motives from Penn. There was so much suspense!

If you haven't read the first two books, you cannot pick this one up by itself and expect to understand what's going on. But trust me, this series is worth the time investment. It's a fantastic series and ends with a bang.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour. You should definitely consider purchasing this book! Buy from HarperCollins

First Line: "Grief is the most solitary emotion; it makes islands of us all."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

About the Author Greg Iles spent most of his youth in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, was the first of thirteen New York Times bestsellers, and his new trilogy continues the story of Penn Cage, protagonist of The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He lives in Natchez with his wife and has two children. Find him on Twitter, Facebook and at his website.

The Bone Tree by Greg Iles

Mystery/Thriller

This is the second book of the Natchez Burning trilogy. Check out my review of the first book, Natchez Burning. Mayor Penn Cage is back with his journalist fiancee Caitlin continue to try and hunt down KKK members that committed civil rights crimes in the 60s, but also to find Penn's father Tom. Tom has been on the run since he was convicted of murdering his ex-employee and former lover. As a doctor, it's possible that Tom assisted her with end of life but no one knows the answers except Tom and he refuses to talk. Caitlin focuses on trying to find the Bone Tree, which she is unsure whether is myth or really exists. It is rumored that the Double Eagles (a faction of KKK members) have killed many people at this tree. Additionally, there were indications that the Double Eagles may have been involved with the JFK assassination and FBI agent John Kaiser is interested in getting to the bottom of this; perhaps more so than the cases Penn and Caitlin are looking in to.

This is another behemoth of a book at 800+ pages. That makes this series 1,600 pages so far with an expected 800+ pages to complete it. And yet those 800 pages feel like they just fly by because you get so engrossed in the story. Again, this book takes place over the course of a very short period of time but it's jam-packed with action. There's nothing that didn't fit or felt unnecessary.

The twists in this book were even more unexpected than the last one, which I live for in books like this!

I am super excited for the last book in the series! I can't wait to see how Iles will wrap this trilogy up.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of this tour. You should definitely consider purchasing this book! Buy from HarperCollins

First Line: "Tonight death and time showed me their true faces."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

About the Author Greg Iles spent most of his youth in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, was the first of thirteen New York Times bestsellers, and his new trilogy continues the story of Penn Cage, protagonist of The Quiet Game, Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He lives in Natchez with his wife and has two children. Find him on Twitter, Facebook and at his website.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Fantasy

Eragon is a normal kid in an abnormal world where dragon riders once existed and an evil king now reigns. While hunting, Eragon finds a hard rock in the Spine and brings it home hoping he can sell it to help his family. Except the rock hatches in to a dragon and he becomes a rider, bringing back an old tradition. The king wants the dragon and sends Ra'zoc, which kill part of his family and force Eragon on a journey to keep his dragon safe. Fortunately he has local tale-teller Brom with him who has seen a lot in his days and can help keep Eragon safe.

The result is a fairly long journey to find allies and the mysterious Varden, who are fighting against the king. Not surprisingly, this brings lots of fighting, imprisonment, and battles. The book is a fairly large one so I thought a lot of ground would be covered and we'd get in to some action with the king but that didn't happen. While I had no problems getting through the book, looking back on it I feel like not much happened. There was a lot of walking through the forest and some fighting. There were a lot of questions asked and not many answered. This was probably the most frustrating part of the books. The mysteries that were easy to figure out for yourself were identified and those, such as why Eragon saw Arya, were questioned and then never resolved.

With the book being so long, you would think there would significant character development. Eragon and Saphira, the dragon, are the centre of this book but I don't really feel like we learned much of who Eragon is. We know his past and who he was raised by but don't really know what makes him tick. I felt more connected to Brom, though I'm not entirely sure why.

Despite the problems this book has, it did capture my interest and keep it for the length of the book. I do have the second in the series so I'll read it and determine from there whether I want to continue on to the last book.

First Line: "Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

The Death Cure by James Dashner

Teen

Before The Maze Runner movie comes out, I figured that I should finish up the trilogy and read The Death Cure (see my reviews of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials). As you can see, I wasn't too big a fan of book 2 which is why it took me so long to get to book 3. However a colleague at work picked it up and reminded me that I really should finish this series. I won't give a plot summary here because it would be spoilers for anyone that hasn't read the first two books. Suffice to say, it's fewer games and trials and more "real world".

I had much the same problem with this book that I had with book two. These kids are put in so many awful situations and in the first two books I had hoped so much for their survival but became so used to everything going to shit that I stopped hoping because it was pointless. There is absolutely no positive situation for these Gladers. I'm not sure I've ever read a book before where I've just given up on hoping for the best. But in this case, why bother wasting energy. Everything goes wrong and everyone almost dies. Yes, it happens again.

By the end of this book, I had more questions than I had answers. Why did Theresa flip-flop in her decisions? Who the heck was Chancellor Paige? Was Brenda just another variable to get them to their final destination? In terms of wrapping up the series, the ending was a bit weak but not entirely unsatisfying. Though I wasn't surprise as the series went downhill from the first book.

Rating:
(3/5)