Review & Giveaway: The Icon Thief by Alec Nevala-Lee

Mass Market Paperbound, 416 pages

Published by Signet Book

more details...ISBN: 0451236203 (ISBN13: 9780451236203)

edition language: English

From the publisher:
A controversial masterpiece resurfaces in Budapest. A ballerina's headless corpse is found beneath the boardwalk at Brighton Beach. And New York's Russian mafia is about to collide with the equally ruthless art world...

 Maddy Blume, an ambitious young art buyer for a Manhattan hedge fund, is desperate to find a priceless painting by Marcel Duchamp, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. A gruesome cold case thrusts the FBI into a search for the same painting, with its enigmatic image of a headless nude. And an insidious secret society is intent on reclaiming the painting for reasons of its own-and by any means necessary.

My thoughts: Complex, intriguing read with a myriad of characters within a 3 plotline structure.  I definitely had to keep my wits about me with this one; I needed a score card to keep all the players straight in my own head.

Disappearing and reappearing artwork, Russian mafiyeh, a dead ballerina, art hedge fund, international crime investigator and secret societies are all involved in and around the sale of Etant Donné, a very controversial painting by Marcel DuChamp, a twentieth  century painter who was himself a bit of a mystery. For a debut novel the author sure managed to keep all these balls in the air while providing one heck of an intriguing and exciting story.

Any reader could safely assume that members of the Russian Mafiyeh would be brutal thugs but you'd think people in the art world would be sociable, kind types. No so here as some of these characters are anything but. Ruthless is one description that comes to mind. Their passion for art and the art world knows no boundaries; theft, murder, betrayal and backstabbing are the order of the day. No one is what they seem on the surface. Be prepared for a monumental twist at the end. For thriller or conspiracy fans, this should be high on your list. 4****

Alec Nevala-Lee is a Goodreads author and he can also be found here.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by NAL Signet in exchange for my honest
opinion.

Thanks for Nal Signet's generosity,two copie of the book are available for giveaway. Open to US only with the deadline to enter being March 6th at 5 PM (est).

To enter please leave your e mail address in a comment. If no e mail address, I will assume you do not want to be part of the giveaway.

Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.

+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Win The Icon Thief in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Review: The Temple Mount Code by Charles Brokaw

Paperback, 496 pages Published July 7th 2011 by Penguin (first published June 23rd 2011)
ISBN: 0141047607 (ISBN13: 9780141047607)
series : Thomas Lourds #3

From the publisher:

An old friend summons dashing linguistics professor Thomas Lourds to Jerusalem to examine an ancient text. But Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also wants the same document. Khamenei and many others believe that the book contains a secret that will allow its owner to rule all of Islam and wage a Global Jihad the likes of which has never been seen before.

Arriving in Jerusalem, Lourds discovers that his friend has been murdered and his apartment ransacked. With the help of Miriam Abata, a beautiful Iranian-American Jewish graduate student, he races against the clock to seek the dangerous document: Lourds seeks to save civilization while his enemies hope to destroy it.

Continuing the New York Times bestselling series that includes The Atlantis Code and The Lucifer Code, The Temple Mount Code will appeal to readers interested in history and treasure hunting in the Holy Land and is perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Brad Meltzer, James Rollins, and Steve Berry.

My thoughts:  In his latest book, Brokaw pens a complex plot into an intriguing thriller. From several different locations, the reader is methodically introduced to numerous characters. I found it a bit overwhelming at first until I got them all straight in my head as to who was who, why they desperately wanted to find the book and the scroll and to what lengths they would go to get it.

Key players: Thomas Lourds: Harvard linguistics professor and discoverer of ancient artifacts and civilizations. Lourds is extremely intelligent and likeable even though he has quite the ego and a penchant for women. At least he is honest with the women that his work is his life and it will always come first. Lourds is a good man to have as a friend; he's loyal, dedicated and would do all in his power to help out a friend. He wants to finish what his friend Lev started; decipher the found document and search for the book and scroll to keep it from falling into the hands of  the wrong people.  Several of those people include:

The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: supreme leader of Iran, wants to find the book and scroll in order to unite the entire Muslim world and wage Jihad upon all the unbelievers. With his fervent sense of religion and growing stockpile of nuclear weapons, he is prepared to use anyone and do anything to achieve his goals. Nothing escapes his notice. Two of his worst accomplices are:

Klaus Von Volker: one of the most despicable characters in the book. He's one of the leaders of the Austrian People's Party and uses his position to supply Iran with weapons. What fuels his unlimited ambition are greed and power. He has no use for religion and doesn't believe in anything but power. He wants the Ayatollah to succeed because a united Muslim front would mean the end for Israel. He  wants Austria and Germany to be united in an anti-semitic state with him at the head.

Colonel Davari: one of the Ayatollah's henchman sent to trail Lourds and find the book and scroll for Iran. Davari is one man who seems to have no conscience at all and is perfectly willing to abide by the Ayatollah's commands.

Alice Von Volker: Klaus's wife who was a student with Thomas Lourds years ago when they shared a love affair for quite some time. Alice still has warm feelings for Lourds and only loathing for her husband. This makes for some complicated situations.

Muffaraji: reports directly to the House of Saud. He's on the side of those who would do whatever it takes to keep the Ayatollah from obtaining the book and scroll. Muffaraji shows up in some unexpected places but just at the right time.

No one is going to achieve their goals without a lot of violence. They all have eyes and ears on the ground wherever their enemies are and keep themselves apprised of the others' actions. Clashing ideals, overpowering greed and political aspirations on all sides leads to an exciting, action packed story with a few twists along the way.

This is my introduction to a Charles Brokaw effort and it definitely won't be the last. I liked his style of writing and how the characters were developed to the extent that I felt I knew them well. One thing I greatly appreciated in the story was the fact that Brokaw did not feel the need to use expletives every third word. He just tells a good story. Sometimes I've found these adventure/thrillers have characters that can't speak without swearing. I also liked the sense of place, described so well it made me feel as if  I were right there along with the characters and all the action.

Since this is a work of fiction, some suspension of disbelief is necessary and I'm okay with that as long as a story is well plotted. This one fits the bill entirely. The publisher mentions Steve Berry in the blurb. I've read and enjoyed every Steve Berry book written to date and think The Temple Mount Code is actually better plotted and developed. TBG agrees and liked it as much as I did. 4*

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Tor/Forge Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Hot Wire by Alex Kava

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published July 12th 2011 by Doubleday

ISBN: 0385532016 (ISBN13: 9780385532013)

primary language English

series Maggie O'Dell #9

Agent Maggie O'Dell, F.B.I. profiler, has been sent to a conference in Colorado but has been called from it to investigate the case of mutilated cattle in Nebraska. Numerous cases have been found and all the cattle mutilated in exactly the same way. While on this case, she is also called in on the case of odd occurrences and deaths in the Nebraska National Forest. While tripping out on salvia in the National Forest, a group of teens reported flashing lights, seeing fireworks and the feeling of giant jolts of electricity. One of these jolts left teen, Dawson Hayes, in serious condition as he was nearly electrocuted from being thrown into an electrified fence. Some weren't so lucky and were killed outright.

Maggie connects with Dawson and tries to get him to open up about what happened to him but someone else threatens to shut him up completely if he talks. He is convinced he saw glaring red eyes watching him just before his accident. Or, was it an accident? Several other teens did not survive the night.

While the teens partied,  UFO believer, Wesley Stotter, is busy chasing weird light patterns in the sky; more fodder for his aliens and anti-government radio show. Little does he know that his innate curiosity will not be good for his health. Someone does not want him snooping around in the forest.

Back in Washington,D.C., Maggie's friend, Dr. Benjamin Pratt, is asked by CDC chief, Roger Bix, to help him with widespread outbreaks of food poisoning in the elementary school. The strain of bacteria proves to be impervious to anti-biotics and Bix is convinced it is a case of domestic terrorism. Does it have anything to do with the cases in Nebraska? Who is protecting what becomes the running theme in all the cases. Whoever they are will do whatever it takes, including murder, to protect their secrets and themsleves.

Hot Wire grabbed my attention right from the start; my mind was racing in all sorts of directions, at first, trying to figure out what was going on. Could it be aliens? UFO's? Big government? A few parts in the middle lagged a bit but once the cases were neatly tied together, the ending was satisfying. Buckle up because there are a lot of scary moments with a few nasty characters and lots of twists and turns.

Although Hot Wire is the ninth in the Maggie O'Dell series, it can easily be read as a stand alone. I liked Maggie as a character; she's a dedicated professional with a strong work ethic and also a very caring individual. The character of Dr. Benjamin Pratt could have been developed a little more; he seemed a little flat to me in the story. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to thriller conspiracy fans. 3.5***

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Doubleday through LT's early reviewer program.

Review and Giveaway: Blood Trust by Eric Van Lustbader

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published May 10th 2011 by Forge Books

ISBN 0765329743 (ISBN13: 9780765329745)

 Blood Trust is the third geo-political thriller featuring Jack McClure and Alli Carson. In this story, Alli is now a recruit at Fearington in training to be an FBI agent while being mentored by Jack McClure, National Security Advisor. When Alli is accused of murder all hell breaks loose. She and many others feel she is being framed. Although her powerful billionarire uncle, Henry Holt Carson, insists he is looking out for her interests, his actions speak otherwise.

Dennis Paull, Jack's boss, gives him the assignment of eliminating a powerful kingpin of the Albanian mafia, Arian Xhafa. He's thought to be behind an international slave trade operation whose  greedy tentacles reach around the globe and have definitely infiltrated the powerful people back in Washington, D.C.

Jack's ability to see the "big picture" is an enormous help to him in putting together pieces of any puzzle. He will need all his skills in this assignment as nothing is what it seems and almost no one is who or what they purport to be. Alli escapes her uncle's protective custody and accompanies Jack on his high speed chase around the globe leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake both in Macedonia and back in the USA. Many risky encounters have Alli and Jack defending themselves over and over and their actions heighten the race to eliminate Arian before he eliminates them.

I read and reviewed  Last Snow last year and truly enjoyed the book; so much in fact that I went on to read the previous book, First Daughter. Blood Trust has a lot of familiar characters in it but it is not really necessary to have read the former book as this one can stand alone. In Blood Trust, while I did enjoy the complicated twists and turns of the plot, it seemed to me there was a lot more gratuitous violence and offensive language than the previous book. After a while it became almost monotonous; "less is more" is an adage that can be applied in this case.

 As for characters, I do like Jack McClure and find him to be a lot more believeable than Alli. She is given almost super hero capabilitites that did not ring true for me throughout the book. If you can suspend a little disbelief in her case and ignore the plethora of *F* bombs, then you will enjoy this thriller. 3.5***

Disclosure: A review copy of Blood Trust was provided by Tor/Forge Books in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

To read more about the author, Eric Van Lustbader, you can visit his website or find him on twitter.

Through the generosity of Tor/ Forge Books two paperback copies of recently released, Last Snow and one hardcover copy of Blood Trust are up for grabs. Be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. As always, bonus entries can be earned by:

+2 for being a follower,old or new. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.

+3 for posting to sidebar with link or tweeting. Just leave me a link to post or tweet, please.

 Deadline to enter is June 3rd at 5 P.M. (est). Good luck!

 

SM5 Saturday: The Target by Catherine Coulter

Show Me 5, a meme started by That's a Novel Idea, gives each blogger a chance to answer these questions:

1. Title of book: The Target by Catherine Coulter

2. Words to describe the book: FBI thriller

3. Location or characters you met:

• Judge Ramsey Hunt: After a very newsworthy event in his courtroom, Ramsey has chosen to take some time off and escapes to a rustic cabin in the Colorado Rockies. While chopping wood, he hears a strange sound which upon investigation leads him to a little girl who has been the victim of a vicious assault. Ramsey does not want to traumatise her any further so he avoids calling in law forces until he can get her more comfortable. After a week or so, he realizes they need more food and Emma needs clothes so he risks a short trip to town to get the provisions. Later when Ramsey is out getting more wood for the stove, two men come out of the woods and shoot at Ramsey, wounding him in the leg. Now he knows she is still in much danger and that whoever is after her will not cease.
• Emma Santera: 6 year old victim who managed to escape her sadistic kidnapper and finds refuge with Ramsey. She is so traumatised she will not even speak until the day her mother blasts her way into the cabin accusing Ramsey of being the one who abducted Emma. When the mother threatens to shoot Ramsey, Emma finally breaks her silence and tells her that Ramsey is the one who saved her.


• Molly Santera: Emma's mother who was so fed up with police investigations going no where, she managed to track down Emma herself by showing her picture all over the rockies. When she finds the small store where Ramsey and Emma bought some clothes, she tracks down the cabin. After some misunderstandings, Molly and Ramsey decide to collaborate to find out who kidnapped Emma. Their search leads them back to some unexpected places finding help from Molly's mob connected father and Ramsey's FBI friends, Savich and Sherlock.

4. Things you liked/disliked about the book:

• characters were fantastically fleshed out and realistic


• chilling mystery of who kidnapped Emma and why with twists and turns in the plot kept me reading almost non-stop


• the development of the minor plot threads was perfectly executed


• the relationships between the characters

5. Stars or less for your rating: 4.5 **** The Target is number three in this suspense filled series. Even though this book was written in 1998, it does not feel dated. The Big Guy and I both enjoyed this one immensely.

Disclosure: This book is from my personal library and was purchased by me.

Review: Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Bantam (July 13, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553807242
ISBN-13: 978-0553807240

In her just released psycological suspense thriller, Live to Tell, (4th in the series) the story is told from the point of view of three narrators: D.D. Warren is a Detective with the Boston PD. She's been working hard and enjoying an infrequent night out when she gets the call to investigate a family annihilation case. The next day, another case comes to light with almost the same circumstances; father shot, mother stabbed and children dead. The m.o. may be similar but the families are totally different socially and geographically.

D.D. Warren and her team are baffled but they try to find a common denominator. What comes to light is a link to a pediatric psych hospital in Cambridge; each family has had some dealings with the hospital. Now the investigation starts to narrow down the possible motives and suspects. All of the employees are thoroughly scrutinized including past personnel or anyone who had connections to the hospital. A daunting job to be sure!

Victoria: mother of 9 year old Evan, her psychologically challenged son with psychotic tendencies. He repeatedly tells his mother he is going to kill her and she is constantly on the alert to keep all the kitchen knives accounted for. The lead in at the beginning of the book had my heart racing. Always a good beginning of a thriller.

Danielle: a nurse at Cambridge psych hospital who is the sole survivor of a family annihilation. Her father killed both her siblings and her mother when Danielle was only 9 years old. For years she has felt survivors guilt and still has been trying to make sense of why she was spared. Is it because her father loved her or because he hated her? Now that the 25th anniversary of the tragic event is coming up, Danielle wants to spend more and more time working but at one point after a horrible, unforseen incident with one of the kids, her supervisor demands she take time off.

In Live to Tell, Gardner does a fantastic job of setting up the suspense and I really liked the way more and more of Danielle's back story was slowly revealed. Even though there is a change in narrators, I found the transition to be a smooth one and did not detract from the plot's pace.

The ending was a tad bit of a let down for me as it was easy to see who the murderer was and I thought the motive was inane and not too believable. Up to the denoument and motive revelation it was a very fast paced and pulse pounding read with quite a few twists. I would certainly recommend the book and would be willing to read more in the series. For more info on Lisa Gardner and her books, you can visit her website. 4****

Disclosure: Review copy of the book was supplied by Bantam Dell through the Goodreads program.

Show Me 5 Saturday: Inside Out by Barry Eisler

Show Me 5, a meme started by That's a Novel Idea, gives each blogger a chance to answer these questions:

1. Title of book: Inside Out by Barry Eisler
2. Words to describe the book: Political thriller
3. Location or characters you met:

• Ben Treven: A black ops soldier who is asked by his unit commander, Hort, to track down the 92 missing torture tapes that have been stolen and are being used to blackmail the government. The tapes include some explosive material and have become part of a massive cover up by the powers that be in Washington, D.C. Ben's one of the few people who can accomplish this but unfortunately others are also looking for the tapes and will do what is necessary to get them even if that includes eliminating Ben.
• Daniel Larison: one of the original members of Hort's unit who supposedly died in 2007. Daniel has gone rogue and has become his own free agent, trying to shake down the US government for $100 million in diamonds; a sum that will allow him to pursue his secret life while trying to overcome the horrific nightmares from his past. His big threat is that if he is killed, the tapes will automatically be published on the internet.
• Paula Lanier: A gung-ho FBI special agent who is sent to follow Ben as she and the Bureau have their own agendas. But then, so do other agencies and they are not working well together. Although Ben prefers to work solo, he finds Paula to be most tenacious and not easy to shake off. So Paula and Ben hook up to lure Daniel out and try to retrieve the tapes. Both of them have to use all their survival skills to stay one step ahead of those who want them both out of the picture.

4. Things you liked/disliked:

• liked the fast paced, non-stop action
• liked how the author showed the personal and professional side of main character Ben Treven, and how he expanded Ben's backstory from the last book, Fault Lines. (Review can be seen here)
• liked the twists in the book; this is one of those books where the "good guys" can also be the "bad guys" but the bad guys are really, really the "baddest of the bad guys." In other words, who can be trusted? Maybe nobody !
• liked the extensive bibliography and sources at the end of the book. This shows how much research Eisler did and how closely based in reality this story is. Scary stuff!

5. Stars or less for your rating: 4**** for me and 5***** for The Big Guy. Once hubby stuck his nose in the book, he didn't surface until the end.

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 29, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345505107
ISBN-13: 978-0345505101

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by the author, Barry Eisler. Thanks, Barry!

Fingerlickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

Hardcover: 308 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312383282
ISBN-13: 978-0312383282

Stanley Chipotle, famed chef, had come to Trenton, New Jersey to participate in a barbecue cook off. Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to even fire up his grill, never mind make his famous "Fire in the hole" barbecue sauce. He was decapitated by a cleaver wielding maniac and sidekick. Lula, file clerk at Vinnie's Bail Bonds, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed the messy crime. The two men saw her and for the rest of the book, they try to eliminate their sole witness, one bumbling attempt after another.

Back at the bail bonds office, it's the same old, same old; Stephanie Plum, Trenton's most inept bounty hunter, is still trying to make ends meet by chasing down the bad guys who skipped out on their bail. She's still managing to get cars blown up or set on fire at a furious pace and still waffling between long time lover Joe Morelli the cop and the mysterious and sizzlingly sexy Ranger, head of Rangeman Securities. Now Ranger has a security problem so Stephanie, between her other crazy antics, has been moonlighting there part time.

Between working two jobs, Stephanie's been caught in the crossfire with Lula trying to escape Stanley's killers and this makes for some funny moments. The real hilarity comes in when Lula finds out Chipotle's sponsors are offering a million dollar reward for finding the killers. Lula gets the brilliant idea that they will show up at the cook off so with the enlisted help of Grandma Mazur, Lula tries to come up with a winning barbecue sauce recipe. Between a grill malfunction, no clue how to cook anything and stress bustin' trips to Cluck-in-a-Bucket fast food, you can just imagine how this turns out. Keep your head down and stay close to the fire extinguishers!

Of course, Stephanie loses more cars in a few days than anyone could in a lifetime.Of course, there couldn't possibly be this many crazy bail bond skippers in one little town. Of course, Stephanie's long suffering mother is still cooking pot roast in the "Burg" and hoping her daughter will settle down. Of course, some of the book is repetitive and predictable and yet . . . . . . . Of course, I laughed out loud! A lot. Grandma Mazur and Lula are two of the funniest characters I can think of. They are always good for a laugh or six or seven. You just need to suspend all disbelief in the improbable, settle back and be prepared to be entertained. I know I was! 4****

Disclosure: A copy of the book was borrowed from the County Library, thanks to my tax dollars!

Show Me 5 Saturday: Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader

Alipet at That's a novel idea started a new MEME called Show Me Five Saturday. Unfortunately, our host has been missing in action but Jenners puts up a Mr. Linky if you would like to play along. This meme will give each blogger an opportunity to give a brief description of a book they have read or reviewed during the week. It will work like this: Each Saturday you will post the answer to these questions.

1. Title of book: Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader
2. Words to describe book: Geopolitical thriller
3. Characters you met or location:

• US President Edward Carson: While in Russia, Carson is in the process of negotiating details of a nuclear accord with President Yukin. When a US senator is killed by a hit and run accident in Italy, President Carson travels back to the US for the funeral but his special advior, Jack McClure, is dispensed secretly to find out if it were accidental or intentional. The senator had recently been in Russia and had met with K. Rochev but no one knows why or who Rochev is. President Carson is somewhat suspicious as he has numerous enemies from the previous administration who he fears may be trying to sabotage his new presidential nuclear agenda.
• Jack McClure: Such a fantastic main character! Although he is dyslexic, he has a special mental skill to cope with it. Jack has the ability to see the big picture much better than most people. This ability is a big plus for him in his job as strategic advisor to the recently elected President Carson. Since Jack saved the president from an assassination attempt on his inauguration day and also saved Carson's daughter, Alli, from a kidnapper, President Carson trusts Jack implicitly. While complying with Carson's latest request and dealing with his own personal demons at the same time, Jack meets a myriad of characters including Annika and learns of many conspiracies and double dealings. Who can he trust besides himself to extricate them from plenty of sticky situations including murder attempts in Kiev and then the Ukraine? Can his special skill let him see the real reasons so many people are working for or against this nuclear treaty?

• Annika: Before traveling to Kiev to find out about the mysterious K. Rochev, Jack meets Annika in a bar and ends up saving her from two thugs. It turns out that Annika is a rogue agent of the FSB, a Russian Federal Security Bureau. With her numerous connections, Annika ostensibly helps Jack track down Rochev . Not all are what they seem to be though. Even Annika herself has many secrets that are slowly and tantalizingly revealed piece by piece.

4. Things you liked or disliked about the book: Let me say right off there is nothing I disliked about this book. I liked it all, especially:

• The descriptions of the settings whether it was in the Ukraine, Russia or in Italy the prologue's setting. The writing style put me right in the scene. I could easily see the the surroundings through the characters' eyes and feel the atmosphere and emotions. Fantastic writing!
• The diversity and development of supporting characters. There were enough "bad" guys and "good" guys for the perfect balance. This heart pounding thriller has characters you love and trust or hate and wouldn't trust them as far as you could throw them. Great mix!
• The complexity and believeability of the plot along with some major twists and turns were so superbly crafted they kept me turning the pages without feeling there were any lulls in the action. I loved all the elements of both governments' inner workings.
• The relationships between the characters were well defined. The author truly shows us the characters' inner feelings, thoughts and motivations.

5. Stars or less for your rating: Since I could put it down but with some difficulty and was somewhat anxious to get back to it I rate it 4****. The Big Guy, aka hubby, read it just about non stop and he rated it a 5!

Eric Van Lustbader is also the author of First Daughter, the first book introducing Jack McClure. You can be sure The Big Guy and I will be reading that one very soon. Not a dedicated thriller fan? Try it, you'll like it! For thriller fans, this is one you don't want to miss! For a small taste see my Tuesday Teaser.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Anne Staszalek, Marketing Associate @The Book Report Network and was published by Tor Forge Publishing.

Review: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312374976
ISBN-13: 978-0312374976

Kate, a young former Amish woman, along with her two siblings, has kept a secret for years. Sixteen years ago, Kate was brutally attacked and raped. Somehow, she managed to shoot the attacker and she thought she killed him. Since the Amish prefer to keep these things to themselves and handle it their own way, her father and brother took care of the body. Or so she thought. When Kate left the community she took her nightmares and secret with her.

Now horror has come to the small Ohio town of Painters Mill and Kate Burkholder is back as chief of police. The MO of the latest killing is exactly the same as murders, dubbed the slaughterhouse murders, committed 16 years ago. Could he still be alive or is there a copy cat serial killer out there? When Kate has to investigate the latest crime, she hesitates to call in outside help because they might uncover more than just the perpetrator's identity.

The City council and the mayor go behind her back and call in several other agencies to help with the investigation. The county sherriff, Nate Detrich, along with an agent from BCI are called in. Who does the BCI send but John Tomasetti; an agent the bureau could do without. He's a former rogue cop, just barely holding onto his job, who needs pain killers to get him through the day and booze to get him through the night. His involvement in this case may be his saving grace. In the end, he might just surprise the agency and Kate along with himself. Even with all his vices, I found John to be a very likeable character with his own code of honor.

This is a well paced, excellently written thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat with the gripping suspense, chilling detail and very believable dialogue. I liked the way Castillo set the scene and ratcheted up the suspense:

"My eyes have adjusted to the darkness. My feet are silent on the snow as I wend through trees and over deadfall. Overhead, a milky half moon casts just enough light for me to see my shadow. Cold stings my face. The Steel Mag-Lite makes my fingers ache with cold. But those minor discomfors are
nullified by my need to know who's out there and why.

Twenty yards from the crime scene, I stop and listen. Around me, the wind sighs. In the distance, a dog barks his outrage at being left outside on such a cold night. The snap of a breaking branch sounds behind me. Startled, I spin . I see movement within the trees and flip on the Mag-Lite. I set my other hand on my sidearm and thumb off the leather catch."

Can't you just feel the penetrating cold and her sense of trepidation? One caveat if you are squeamish: there are some gruesome details of the murder victims. Do not let that deter you from reading this book as it will be easy to just skip over those parts if you are so inclined. Sworn to Silence is the first in a planned series. Highly recommended for fans of mystery, thrillers or police proceduals. 4.5****

A big thank you to goodreads for the review copy.

Book Tour: Fault Line by Barry Eisler

From the publisher:

Silicon Valley: the eccentric inventor of a new encryption application is murdered in an apparent drug deal. Istanbul: a cynical undercover operative receives a frantic call from his estranged brother, a patent lawyer who believes he’ll be the next victim. And on the sun-drenched slopes of Sand Hill Road, California’s nerve center of money and technology, old family hurts sting anew as two brothers who share nothing but blood and bitterness wage a desperate battle against a faceless enemy.

Alex Treven has sacrificed everything to achieve his sole ambition: making partner in his high-tech law firm. But then the inventor of a technology Alex is banking on is murdered, the patent examiner who reviewed the innovation dies--and Alex himself narrowly escapes an attack in his own home. Off balance, out of ideas, and running out of time, he knows that the one person who can help him is the last person he’d ever ask: his brother.

Ben Treven is a military liaison element, an elite undercover soldier paid to “find, fix, and finish” high-value targets in the United States global war on terror. Disenchanted with what he sees as America’s culture of denial and decadence, Ben lives his detached life in the shadows because the black ops world is all he really knows--and because other than Alex, whom he hasn’t spoken to since their mother died, his family is long gone.

But blood is thicker than water, and when Ben receives Alex’s frantic call he hurries to San Francisco to help him. Only then does Alex reveal that there’s another player who knows of the technology: Sarah Hosseini, a young Iranian American lawyer whom Alex has long secretly desired--and whom Ben immediately distrusts. As these three struggle to identify the forces attempting to silence them, Ben and Alex are forced to examine the events that drove them apart--even as Sarah’s presence, and her own secret yearnings, deepens the fault line between them.

A full-throttle thriller that is both emotionally and politically charged, Fault Line centers on a conspiracy that has spun out of the shadows and onto the streets of America, a conspiracy that can be stopped by only three people--three people with different worldviews, different grievances, different motives. To survive the forces arrayed against them, they’ll first have to survive one another.

My Thoughts: What a page turner this thriller is and right from the very beginning ! I read the book in a day, not being able to put it down. I got so engrossed in the story line and the well defined characters that the pages just flew by. There were some moments I was holding my breath for fear of what would happen next.

It's not all intrigue and conspiracy either. There is a nice balance of family relationships in the mix. That's where the great characterizations stem from.Both brothers are so well fleshed out, it is almost hard to believe they are fictional. The peripheral characters; not as much but they are still good. It's very easy to see how they think and feel and their emotional growth throughout the story. Ben is probably the character I would most like to see in another story. He is the typical macho type but seems to have a heart, although maybe it is buried unders layers of tough guy. By the end of the story, he has progressed the most emotionally.

Eisler does a fantastic job of setting up the scenarios in the well paced and believeable plot. Highly recommended for those who like a little mystery, intrigue and conspiracy plots. This one really delivers without any faults! 5*****
About the Author: After graduating from Cornell Law School, Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center. Eisler's thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. The first book in Eisler's assassin John Rain series, Rain Fall, has been made into a movie starring Gary Oldman that was released by Sony Pictures in April 2009. For more information about the author or his work, please visit http://www.barryeisler.com/

A big thank you to Tracee at Pump Up Your Book Promotions and Random House for a copy of this excellent story.