Just finished Advance Copy of Mr. Larson's newest non-fiction recounting Winston Churchill's first year as Prime Minister starting in May, 1940. It is extremely detailed and written using the diaries and journals (do people still keep written diaries?) of key Cabinet members, assistants and family. It may sound like it's boring but it really isn't.

Oh, by the way, if I didn't have a policy of "no-one gets a five", this would have been a five-star book.

After coming across the "Case Histories" BBC series and reading the Jackson Brodie stories in an anthology of the same title several years ago, I was excited to receive this ARC from the publisher. I have to admit that I was unaware several Brodie novels have been published since the introduction of the character so some of the enjoyment of this novel was diminished by missing previous events in the character's life. At the risk of angering the Brodie fans out there, that's the reason for only giving "Big Sky" three stars.

That said, I enjoyed the book and found reading the nearly four-hundred page novel was effortless and felt that, at the conclusion, I really need to read the other Brodie novels.

I just finished ARC of "Ohio" and wanted to like it due to the novel's setup - "rustbelt" town and "escapees" returning for a brief unexpected reunion. Unfortunately, for me, there were too many "who loved whom" characters to follow and the mystery (the "murder that never was") was introduced too late in the story. However, the book was easy to read, the dialogue flowed and, at the end of the book, there were a handful of characters' names that I will remember - a plus for me.

I just finished an ARC of this thoroughly enjoyable book - no blood, heartbreak, dystopia, evil or sense of doom. The characters are people you'd love to encounter in the waiting area of a delayed flight but, unfortunately, the delay must eventually end and you have to say good-bye to new friends when Mr. Enger's novel ends. I can't wait to buy several copies for the family next October.

I just finished an ARC of the novel. Ms. McLain gets so much into Marty's (Gellhorn) character, this book reads like a memoir that flows effortlessly. With a backdrop of the rising conflict that will soon devour Europe, Hemingway paces in the background with resentment that his third wife dares to have a spirit of adventure.

What a wonderful, wonderful book! I'm so glad my path crossed Lillian's.

Just finished advance copy and found it an easy book to read (didn't frequently check for number of pages left) with genuine dialogue (Do people really talk this way?). Since I'm not really a wine or pop-music lover (beer and channel 60 on Sirius), there was too much "inside baseball" information for me. If you're a W & M aficionado, you'll likely rate this a four.

Just finished my advance copy of this new novel. Edgar's story of family, separation and life continuing amid tragic circumstances will stay with me for quite a while.

For a gearhead, this was historical fiction at its finest - inventions and inventors, science, legal wrangling all occurring at the turn of the 19th century in America. Mr. Moore's book was pleasure to read.

The alternating "Present", "Past" chapters seemed to make this book overly long. The whiny, dishrag of a protagonist should have turned out the lights and creamed her controlling husband with a chair after the first two hundred pages instead of waiting for the last sixty pages to make this book interesting.

I remembered how much I enjoyed "That Old Cape Magic" about a fifth of the way into "Everybody's Fool". The characters, humor, dialog and the occasional soul-searching make me want to reread "Nobody's Fool" and then start "Bridge of Sighs" - so many books, so little time.

Being a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed Ms. Benjamin's "The Aviator's Wife" and "Alice I Have Been" so I looked forward to the "Swans" and was not disappointed. To me, this book had it all - NY society, privilege, gossip and betrayal. I can remember seeing Capote on talk shows but now have a little more of the "rest of the story".

After reading a handful of chapters, I realized that I wasn't in the intended demographic, being a seventy-year-old male. However, I'm glad I stuck with the book since it became a lot more readable after I ignored adjectives and the Fodor information of Paris and London. Towards the end, I looked forward to the time I could return to the book. To me, the limited number of characters was perfect and the ending, although unexpected, was realistic.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have read Mr. Beverly's novel and intend to buy a copy when it's released but I feel it lost its "edginess" (dialogue, subject matter, characters) two-thirds of the way through the story with a milk toast conclusion.

This is a very readable book with at least a dozen characters in two related families. The "hook" was set at the end of the first section so the remainder of the book is addictive. It would have been nice if several of the male siblings had their own "chapters".

Did he or didn't he? Great last line in Part I. Amy certainly had a mouth on her.

The book was "easy to read" - the words and dialogue flowed and I liked the use of sketches to convey the protagonist's emotions. However, there were too many villains. I believe a good thriller needs a single, great villain to hate. After finishing it, the story was forgettable.

I enjoyed the descriptions of military base facilities, equipment and operations. The combat scenes and dialogue were engrossing. However, other than the protagonist, I felt the characters were forgettable. Perhaps, the author unknowingly directed this book toward "military readers". But I am glad I read it and plan to buy it when it's released in March.

Robicheaux and Clete are back with Clete’s daughter, Gretchen Horowitz, a “pistol” of a character. Although this is a traditionall Robicheaux story – rich, corrupt southern family with a spoiled daughter ruining tranquil Louisiana - I'm a sucker for Mr. Burke's verbal artwork, rapid dialogue and borderline uncomfortable violence. The five hundred pages were an easy read with "good" characters you wished were your neighbors (honorable, self-sufficient and no pretense) and "evil" characters you're glad are a thousand miles away..

I originally read "A Game of Thrones" several years ago but now I'm not sure if I've read "A Clash of Kings" and "A Storm of Swords" since, during my read of this book, it seems like I've missed (or forgot?) quite a few events mentioned in "...Crows". I found that a slow, careful reading method renewed my interest in the earlier books. I developed an appreciation of Jaime's and Cersei's characters with this reading but there are other books that I want to read before restarting this series. I'm afraid that I may have glossed over my first exposure to "G/T" due to the difficulty of separating all of the characters - it's my fault not Mr. Martin's.

Since we spent twenty years near Detroit, I enjoyed revisting our old haunts in "Very Bad Men" and found his dialogue and plot entertaining - it was a quick read (I don't know if that's a good or bad thing). I would have rated the book higher but I felt that there were too many characters to remember the relationships and I didn't care who did what to whom by the conclusion.
Speaking of "bad things", I will pick up a copy of Mr. Dolan's first novel, "Bad Things Happen", in my travels.

Being a James Lee Burke fan, it pains me to say that his latest novel seemed to be something I have read before. Please don’t get me wrong – the book was entertaining and I didn’t wind up counting how many pages to the end like I so often do with other books.

I enjoyed its dialogue, pace and characters particularly “The Preacher” - I could read a book about him alone. However, after reading, I found myself comparing Hackberry Holland and Dave Robicheaux, Pam Tibbs and Clete Purcell.

Whether it's the author or the translation or both, the three stories with their interlaced characters in Victorian London experiencing time travel - a deception, then a scam, then the real thing - makes one wish the concept actually exists. H. G. Wells' THE TIME MACHINE is now at the top of my "to be read" list along with a reread of Mr. Palma's novel. I miss these characters.

I'm glad I received this ARC. This novel was a pleasure to read and was a gentle reminder of unintended consequences if you put off uncomfortable personal/family situations.

This was my first Bernie Gunther novel so I was a little lost by all of the "alphbet" military and intelligence agency references but was surprising pleased by the unexpected ending - there is some justice in life, at least in fiction.

This was a nice, pleasant read - however, a week later key characters' names can't be remembered so his book, at least to me, was entertaining but wouldn't make my second-read pile. Having spent almost a year in Washington and Oregon in my other life, I enjoyed revisting the locale by found myself drawn to the 2006 portion of the book versus the 1890 period.

For me, this was an enjoyable read. It was finished in a week's time, not to move onto the next read but the result of enjoying the story and characters. There were only two areas that slowed me down - the predictable outcome of crossing a picket line and the descriptions of assembling works of stained glass. Perhaps I'm too critical of the stained glass segments but that was my feeling while I was reading the novel.

Once again, this is another satirical look (although dated by fifteen years) by Mr. Hiassen into the wackiness and absurdities of the culture of southern Florida. It has it all - scam artists, strong women, principled male characters, dopey criminals and dialogue that's never dull and frequently amusing.

With all the hype, I probably expected to call in sick, not answer the phone, ignore meals and be glued to my chair while reading this book. However, I felt it was just "so-so".

It took more than forty pages to introduce the title character, the jounalist was someone I would dislike and ignore if he was a neighbor, there were way too many Vangers and the ending was just there.

Maybe the book loses some punch in the transalation and the unfamiliar regional names, but the locales all blended together and the lacked the "painting a picture" result.

I'll probably read DT 2 and 3 but not right away. Sorry, Salander fans ---

If you think your family's dysfunctional, wait until you read this book. This extensively-researched (a full notation of sources, a bibliography and a full index) "biography" of Gypsy Rose Lee is more than her life story - it highlights vaudeville, burlesque, gangsters, politicians and show business characters of the first half of the twentieth century.

For me, it was easy to read since chapters weren't written chronologically. They flipped from the 1910's to the 40's, back to the 20's and 30's and then would forward to the 50's with numerous photographs.

I believe, and I could be wrong, that Ms. Abbott's next book will center around the Civil War and aspects of the criminal element in its wake. Given the subject matter of her first book, "Sin in the Second City", I believe she has a thing for gangsters.