Rick Reilly never fails to deliver. His writing is top-notch, his stories humorous, and many will tug at your heartstrings. This is about the 5th Reilly book I read, and I can say each was a treat. There are always a number of laugh-out-loud moments in his books. This one is no exception.

It's hard to beat '80s horror. It's cheesy, pulpy, gory, and almost always entertaining. "Spawn of Hell" displays all of those tags. A cold opening immediately introduces the reader to the "spawn" and then author William Schoell teases us by keeping them out of the story for quite a while. We get to meet the down-on-his-luck protagonist, David Hammond, and quickly develop a relationship with him. David is reeling from a car accident that has left him crippled, both physically and mentally because he lost a close friend in the crash. Now dealing with survivor's guilt, he is visited by an old friend within hours of his release from the hospital. Something is not right with the friend from his hometown in Vermont. He's paranoid and disheveled. When David tries to talk his friend into contacting his parents back home, the friend flips out and soon disappears.
David's luck turns in a positive way when he catches the eye of supermodel Anna Braddon who is rebounding from a failed marriage. He can't believe that a woman as beautiful and rich as Anna would be interested in him, but he goes with it and decides to ride the wave as long as he can.
When Anna is notified that her estranged brother has died in Connecticut. She talks David into traveling with her to help deal with his death and belongings. Once they arrive in Connecticut, they realize that her brother's death is very mysterious and they set out to find out what happened.
From this point on, the book takes off in a positive show more way (honestly, it was pretty slow up to this point). David and Anna, and the residents of Milbourne, CT, are thrust into a terrifying situation involving mutated creatures that prey on humans.
All in all, "Spawn of Hell" is a decent story that is pretty straightforward with few plot twists. It's not that you won't see the ending pages before you get to it, because you probably will. With that said, Schoell cranks up the gore and descriptive interpretations of the creatures. One thing that did bother some was the poor editing of the book. It's unlike Leisure Horror to overlook the number of gaffs present in this book. show less

This is a decent start to a series about an EMP pulse created by solar activity that shuts the world down. No electricity, no cell phones, food shortages, civil unrest, and safety concerns all become the norm once the world is "turned off". Author Kyla Stone takes readers to Michigan's Upper Peninsula as the site for this book which also weaves a murder mystery among the other aforementioned societal issues.
There are plenty of characters to keep track of, but Stone does a pretty good job of introducing each significantly enough that they become memorable.
Had I not picked up the other three stories in the series, I would probably not have continued with it. But now I guess I'm committed.

Pandemonium, the sequel to Fragment, is a good (not great) book that continues the Henders Island story. The 5 Hendros now live in protective custody in the US and are awaiting complete freedom. Nell Duckworth and Geoffrey Binswanger are now married and serve as defacto guardians to the unique entities. When a Russian oligarch entices the Binswangers with a multi-million dollar offer they can't refuse to study rare organisms in a mysterious area near the Ural Mts, they leave the Hendros behind to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They soon discover there's more to the Russian millionaire and their scientific study than what appears on the surface.

This book is an excellent recounting of the 1960 Presidential election - one of the closest in US history. I appreciated the research that went into the telling of the story. The book takes an in-depth look at both candidates' efforts to gain the highest job in the land from the very first primary to beyond election day. There were lots of dirty tricks, innuendos, and political maneuvering that author Chris Wallace shares with readers. The comparisons to the 2020 Presidential election are clear, especially in the days following Kennedy's victory.

The five-book series begins to leak a little oil in this last edition. Crew and compatriot Manuel Garza are unceremoniously fired and evicted from EES by Eli Glinn. Determined to get some form of revenge, Garza and Crew break into Glinn’s computer before being escorted out and find information about untold treasure in Egypt. The information comes from the Phaistos Disc, a type of Rosetta Stone-like tablet that tells of an ancient civilization and its treasure. Crew and Garza quickly set out for Egypt, and what they hoped would be unbelievable riches, while getting back at Glinn. Along the way, they team up with a geo-archaeologist who helps them better understand what they might be looking for and where it might be. Instead of finding gold, they come across an ancient civilization that appears to hold many secrets. They are held captive by the tribe and forced to integrate into their society. Roughly half of the last part of the book covers the trio’s interaction with the tribe and continuing their search for the treasure.
The book certainly has its merit, but when compared to the other four books in the series, each riveting and compelling, this one is not as strong.
But then again, at their worst Preston and Child could make a Chinese menu interesting.

After reading this book it's hard to believe that it was a debut novel. It's well-written, has a number of fleshed-out characters, plus several interesting sidebars that keep the plot moving forward.
The book revolves around the life of air traffic controller, Ryan Kelly, and many of his colleagues. These are the people who have the lives of thousands of travelers in their hands every single day.
Kelly is an integral part of a mid-air disaster that kills hundreds over Chicago. Kelly and a fellow controller are blamed for the accident even though it's clear to the controllers that a faulty computer collision prevention program is to blame. The controllers fight an uphill battle to clear their names and get the computer program taken offline before future disasters occur.
Author Paul McElroy spins a memorable story that fully opens up the stressful world of air traffic controlling to readers.

This is a decent story about paleontologists looking for fossils in the Old West. It’s got everything that one would expect in an adventure set in this time and location - including Indians, bad guys, interesting nicknames, and general lawlessness.
The plot revolves around a young Yale college student (William Johnson) who accepts a bet made by a college classmate that involves spending his summer break digging for fossils with one of the nation’s preeminent paleontologists, Dr. Othniel Marsh. Along the way across the country, Johnson gets left behind by Marsh’s team. At wit’s end as to imagine how to continue, Johnson has the good fortune to hook up with Marsh’s blood rival, Dr. Edward Drinker Cope who’s also heading west to search for ancient bones.
From here, the story weaves in and out of situations with the aforementioned Indians and resident bad guys. Johnson is forced to deal with a number of encounters that toughen and mature him beyond his years.
It’s a decent enough story, but if I hadn’t known in advance, I would’ve never known this was written by Michael Crichton. There’s decent enough storytelling plus a little bit of science, but nothing that would lead one to believe that this was written by the same man who wrote Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain- at least to this reviewer.

The Final Round is a wonderful story about redemption and promise. Plenty of emotional moments will tug on your heartstrings while taking you on the proverbial "rollercoaster". As an avid golfer and PGA fan, I had to take one star off because the descriptions of the "tour" life and competition as elucidated by author Dempsey were unrealistic. There were too many little golf "gaffes" in protocol and procedure that were like fingernails on a blackboard for this golfer. Golf purists will know what I'm talking about.
That said, these misrepresentations didn't deter from a great story and memorable reading experience. You don't have to be a golfer to enjoy this touching story of an old pro's opportunity for redemption and a young caddie's chance at fame.

I am not going to go into the plot of this book because many before me have already done that. I just want to say that I was more than a little disappointed with Spock's World because It jumped around so frequently from the past to the present on the planet Vulcan. The scenes dealing with Vulcan history were hard to follow and pretty uninteresting. I found myself skipping through them. In addition, author Diane Duane takes a number of liberties with the Star Trek canon. The book was set for little action which I wish I would have known prior to starting it. There are plenty of scenes with Kirk. Spock, and McCoy but they are pretty blase'. I've read a number of great Star Trek books ( and even a couple other Diane Duane works) and can say, that for this reviewer at least, this book is near the bottom of my list.

5-star reviews are rare for me, so that's how impressed I was with the tight writing, plot, and characters in "16 Souls." I've been a fan of John J. Nance for quite a few years now and feel that this is his finest work.
In this book, a pilot is put in the impossible position of choosing who lives and most probably dies after a mid-air collision between his jumbo jet and a commuter plane shortly after their Denver takeoff in a blizzard. The collision has improbably left both planes flying, but just barely, The commuter is badly crippled but still in the air only because it's attached to one of the jumbo jet's wings. The jumbo jet's ability to function normally has been compromised by the collision. Add to this impossibly bad weather making the return for an emergency landing abundantly difficult and you have the makings for a white-knuckler.
Nance weaves the story in and around the succeeding 2nd-degree murder trial facing the pilot after landing his damaged jet and the fall-out that was part of that action.
I don't say this often, but this truly was a book that I couldn't put down until I got to its very satisfying ending.

Based on the large number of 4 and 5-star reviews, it's clear I'm in the minority of those who have read and reviewed this book. For this reader, "Rogue" had a lot of action, but not as much substance as I would have liked. Character development was lacking because so much of the book was dedicated to shocking the reader with copious amounts of violence. But, speaking of characters, there were PLENTY of them to keep track of. Good luck with that. There are also several mysterious "agency"-type organizations to track in this novel, as well.
Back to violence, though. If you like that type of thing in your books, then you'll get your fill with "Rogue". The sheer number of over-the-top graphic descriptions of death and dismemberment was a bit much for this reader. By the time I finished the book these gratuitous and graphic episodes made me numb.
Plus, who knew there were so many Sasquatch types? This factor alone made my suspension of disbelief more difficult.
One final thing, Mr. Phillips would do well to hire a good editor to eliminate his capitalization and grammatical errors.

This is another good thriller/adventure from Terrence Poppa. In Gray Wrath, a disparate group of people come together to save the world from an alien takeover. There's plenty of action, a lot of interesting characters, and numerous plot twists.
If you like apocalyptic stories dealing with aliens and government conspiracies that will keep you guessing throughout the book, then this novel is for you.

I've read several of John J. Nance's aviation thrillers and have to rank this one at the bottom of that list. Still good, but not as riveting as his other books are for this reviewer. Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of the usual well-developed characters, plot twists, and action, but this book struggled to get to the finish line. After the initial plot creator, there are pages and pages of dialogue and inaction that border on "filler."
It takes a while for Nance to get readers to the point where they want to see where all of "this" is going. If you can stay in tune with the novel past the halfway point, (to the point where you begin to question the motives of some of the marginal characters) it begins to take off (pun intended).

If you can get through the lack of sufficient character development and occasional proofreading errors, this is a pretty solid story about Muslim terrorists sneaking two nukes into the country with the goal of ending life as we know it in the US. There are several players to keep track of as author Terrence Poppa moves us through the plot. I wish Poppa would have spent a little more time introducing us to some backstories of the main protagonists.
The action is non-stop with some (expected) moments of unbelievability in order to keep things moving. In particular, I found it hard to believe how quickly the good guys connected the dots on the targets for the nukes - especially the second one.
All in all, this is a decent thriller that reads fast and ends satisfactorily.

REVIEW EDIT - 10-30-24
The proofreading errors have been corrected greatly improving the quality of the writing. 1/2 star added to make this a 4 star review.

While this is Kyle Mills' first effort to continue the legacy of Vince Flynn, it seamlessly fits into the fictional world of Mitch Rapp. All of the familiar players are present in this novel (with one major surprise along the way). Rapp and crew pick up where Flynn's last book, "The Last Man" left off.
In that book, a CIA operative goes off the rails and begins to release secret files on the why, who, and where of CIA agents operatives and their former activities. Rapp and Co. must get to these files before more agents are compromised and/or eliminated.
The book is a little tedious in the first half, but more than makes up for that in the last half ending in a satisfactory conclusion.

Wolf Trap is a tough book to figure out in more than a few ways. The book's first half was difficult to get through for this reviewer because of myriad characters. And, I do mean myriad! There are dozens and dozens of political, military, Saudis, and coded names to keep track of. If you read books a little at a time - like I do - you may struggle some juggling all these characters. And then there's the thinly-veiled, modern day plot that's honestly pretty fantastic. I'm not going to go into that because I want to avoid spoilers, but both leaders of the main countries in the story were a little tough for this reader to buy into.

We then get to the conflicted main character, Brian Rhome, who's basically a bit player throughout much of the book, but especially in the first half. All we really get to find out about him is that he's an extremely high-level US military operative who holds himself responsible for the death of his squad members in a botched operation.

If you can get through all that I've mentioned in the first part book, you'll find a riveting political/military thriller in the second half. The action is intense and you'll find yourself locked into a solid story. It's just getting to this part that might be difficult for a number of readers.

Gosh, I hate to say this, but Angel of Vengeance is strikingly average. Preston and Child rank in the top five of my favorite authors and I put them on a pedestal. In addition, I have read every book in the Pendergast series so I feel qualified to share my thoughts about this novel.

The beginning will be a mess for those who didn't read the previous book (The Cabinet of Dr. Leng) because it picks up right where the last one left off. Pendergast, D' Agosta, Constance, and Diogenes all find themselves apparently trapped in the 1880s when the portal they used to get to that time has been destroyed. As begun in the previous book, the quartet has traveled back in time to stop the evil deeds of distant Pendergast relative, Dr. Enoch Leng.

With that said, there's very little action in the first third of the book creating a level of excitement equivalent to that of putting out the family dinnerware before supper. Because of this, the book is a slog to get through. It's only after the quartet devise a plot to finally get at Leng (taking place in the last half of the story) that the book begins to get interesting. It's actually pretty riveting in the last third of the book, but that's not enough to make this more than a 3 star story for this reviewer.

I feel like I'm a little tough on the authors (and I'm sure that many readers will disagree with me) but if P & C would have spent more time on plot development and less on throwing out their $5 words interspersed with the vernacular show more of the 1880s, then this would have been a better story.

This book brings an end to the Leng trilogy, so hopefully, better storylines are ahead for Pendergast fans. In this reviewer's humble opinion, P & C need to bring back more of the original snarky, aloof, and mysterious Pendergast, and less of the warm and relatively fuzzy Pendergast from the past 4 or 5 novels. I'm hopeful that the series isn't running out of steam, but I'm worried.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. show less

Although not as good as the first two in the series, The Lost Island is still an enjoyable novel. IMHO, of course. In this book, Gideon Crew is assigned to find a remarkable drug with mysterious healing properties using an ancient map filled with ambiguous clues. Both Crew and his boss, Eli Glinn, are intrigued by the drug's properties because they each suffer from serious health issues. Crew, with an inoperable vein issue that will cost him his life within months, and Glinn with various physical injuries suffered in a car accident.
Glinn provides Crew with a partner on this mission, Amy, who also has reasons to find the drug. As the duo work through the clues and get closer to the prize, they encounter a number of obstacles that stand in their way. Preston and Child do a nice job spinning different plot twists to keep the book moving forward, but there is some serious suspension of disbelief ahead for readers in the last half of the book. 3.5

John Grisham is a terrific storyteller and he's in fine form in A Time for Mercy even if this book borrows heavily from book #2 in the series, Sycamore Row. In this novel (book #3 of the Jake Brigance series), Jake is again assigned to defend an indigent citizen of Clanton, MI. 16-year old Drew Gamble is accused of the murder of his mother's boyfriend, Stuart Kofer, a deputy on the Clanton police department. Kofer is a mean drunk who abuses Drew's mother, Josie and even his 14-year old sister, Kiera. One night Kofer comes home late after a night of boozing, batters Josie into unconsciousness, and then stumbles off to bed where he passes out. When the kids come out to check on their mother, they can't find a pulse and believe that Kofer has killed her. As Kiera grieves over her mother, Drew takes Kofer's service pistol and shoots the prone Kofer in the head, killing him.
After the police arrive, they find Kofer's body and discover that Josie is still alive. Kiera tells one of the deputies that she believed that Drew shot Kofer.
After Drew's arrest, Judge Omar Noose quickly talks Jake into accepting the case because Noose has no confidence in the county's public defender. He tells Jake that the assignment will only last through the arraignment and will find another attorney to try the case. Jake reluctantly agrees.
Of course, there would be no story if Jake left the case, so you know that's not going to happen.
Jake and crew (Portia, Lucien, Harry Rex, and wife Carla) do their show more best to provide the Gamble family with the best representation they can - even if it means that Jake's practice tanks because he will take a huge financial hit with this case.
The pacing of the novel is a little slow at times but, due to Grisham's storytelling, not too detracting from the reading experience.
It might help to read the earlier Brigance novels first to fully understand the prominent characters' backstory, but if you haven't, you'll still enjoy this book. show less

This is a solid 2nd book in the Gideon Crew series. Beginning immediately after the completion of his first mission for Eli Glinn and the mysterious Effective Engineering Solutions, Crew is sent to stop a co-worker from killing a family in a hostage situation. He helps to bring a less-than-effective end to that standpoint but does find out that there's more to the bizarre story than what's on the surface.
Crew learns that the co-worker is part of a terrorist plot to set off a nuclear blast in Washington, DC.
The rest of the story is a non-stop thriller with numerous plot twists that ends in a satisfying conclusion. I don't need to give away any details because plenty of reviews before mine do that. Just be ready for a great story with plenty of interesting characters.

Regardless of which Preston & Child series you like (Pendergast or this one, Gideon Crew), these two authors deliver the goods. In the opening book in the Crew series, a new protagonist is introduced (Gideon Crew) who is as likeable as he is unlike Agent Pendergast.
Crew is recruited for a dangerous op by Eli Glinn, the leader of the mysterious Effective Engineering Solutions (EEG). Crew is hired to recover a dangerous weapon that could endanger the entire world before operatives from competing nations get to it first.
The novel moves along without lags as the authors keep us enthralled in a believable plot. Several interesting characters are introduced to add to the mystery. Plus, a great plot twist adds real spice 3/4th of the way through the book.
I'm glad I picked this up and will continue with book two in the series, Gideon's Corpse.

This is another terrific book in the Nigel Logan action series. In this book, Nigel tries to help a Cuban doctor regain her dignity, freedom, and family. The plot has several threads that are masterfully woven together into a great story. As usual, author Kirk Jockell does a great job creating memorable characters that will stay with you long after you finish the book. "Trapped" is a truly heartwarming story that will tug on your emotions and give you great satisfaction after reading it.

Based on earlier reviewers, it appears that I'm in the minority as far as appreciation of this book goes. I found the plot to be too spontaneous and unstructured for my liking. His attempt to force humor into the story was a little off-putting, as well. All of this is tough to say because I have probably read 25 or more Koontz books and generally enjoy his pacing and characterization. Many before me have already rehashed a synopsis of the book, so let me just end by saying, that there are many other books by Koontz (especially his earliest works) that you should spend your time with.

Dave Itzkoff gives readers a fair and honest look at the roller coaster life of Robin Williams in this biography. The book deals primarily with Williams' adult years and gives readers copious amounts of material about his life that will probably be new to them - even Williams' most ardent fans.
It's a heartfelt look at one of America's most creative, spontaneous, and brilliant comedic minds. Losing Williams in his 60s deprived millions of Americans (and the world) of the kind of belly laugh that we all need more of today.

First of all, the sports in the title of "Sports from Hell" should be italicized because they really aren't what purists think of as sports. Don't let that get in the way of a fun reading experience for you though. In thirteen rapidly moving chapters, Reilly exposed his readers to a variety of activities - most, I'm guessing you've (like me) never heard of. A sampling of the "sports" include Chess Boxing, Zorbing, Bull Poker, and Ferret Legging. The intrepid sportswriter takes all of these 13 sports on with varying levels of success, but lots of good stories for his readers.
If you're a fan of Reilly's books and writing style, then "Sports from Hell" is for you!

Stephen Brayton's "Night Shadows" is a fun novel that moves quickly and without many slow spots. The plot revolves around a mysterious grimoire known as the Sarmangous which provides its holder with terrible power, but at a cost. Set in Des Moines, Iowa, the book takes off when its power-mad possessor unleashes a number of ghostly, red-eyed shadow creatures who wreak gory attacks on the good citizens of the Iowa city.
Detective Harry Reznik and FBI agent Lori Campisi are charged with unraveling the mysteries behind the citizens' deaths. There are few clues and no witnesses. Both Reznik and Campisi are beset with their own problems that author Brayton does a fine job of including in the plot.
As the body count increases and the pressure to find the killers intensifies, it soon becomes apparent to Reznik that they are involved in a paranormal situation. Enlisting the help of an eccentric college professor, Reznik and Campisi set out to make a final stand against the Night Shadows.

2 1/2 stars. This is the second book in The Institute of Singular Antiquities series and really doesn't improve on the first book, in my humble opinion. The cast of characters (Rom, Evangeline, McTroy, and Wu) from book one are reunited this time at a lonely, isolated mansion in search of a mysterious animal known as the Beast. The group is one of three "teams" challenged with finding, capturing, or killing the Beast by eccentric millionaire Oscar Adderly.
Rom and crew (and the other teams) soon find out that they are in for more than they bargained for and the body count starts to rise. Throw in Adderly's bizarre family, wife Viv who's a medium and their spooky twin siblings, Claude and Cassi, and the plot takes on a couple of additional spins. It is soon apparent that the Beast has more layers than the intrepid hunters are led to believe.
There's just not enough interesting action (too many mansion scenes) for the plot to keep driving forward for this reader.
It's certainly not a bad book, but there are plenty of better ones to spend time with. I don't know if a third book is planned for the series, but for this reader, there won't be.

This was an interesting journey through the 2018-19 NCAA men's basketball season from start to March Madness through the lens of the mid-majors in a variety of lower-level conferences such as the Patriot League, MEAC, Ivy League, Atlantic 10 and many others. Author John Feinstein follows several games in depth, talks to coaches, and introduces readers to some great players with great stories that they would otherwise have never heard of.

Poignant anecdotes from Reilly's life as a sportswriter and golfer. Plenty of good stuff that will touch your emotions and funny bone.