Books 4, 5 and 6

So far I'm still on track with this, even if I am falling down a bit on the blogging part.

No images, because I'm lazy.

Book 4: Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb.

This book was predictable: someone is murdered, homicide detective gets put on the case, someone else is killed, the case unravels, someone else is killed, the stakes are upped! Bad guys are caught, the good guys win again. But the dialogue is always great, the details of each case are varried enough to keep the reader guessing, and it's just plain interesting to read. And as the 38th book in a series, I commend Robb for that going.

The "In Death" series is what I view as the literary equivalent of a summer action movie: it's fantastic for an afternoon's entertainment, but probably not worth revisiting once you find out who the killer is.

Rating: B+


Book 5: Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

Not the best book I've ever read. The main character alternates between overly dramatic and forcibly blasé. I spent most of the book wanting to slap her, which hasn't happened since Bella Swan. It had that same fan-fictiony air about it, but the writing itself was solid, and the descriptions were pretty good. It's the first book of the series, but I didn't feel compelled to find the next one; in fact, I only skimmed the last 50 pages and feel that I didn't miss all that much. That's not a good sign -- your reader should NEVER be willing to "just skim" the ending you've spent the entire book building up to.

Rating: C-

Book almost-6: The Key: A Rachel Benjamin Mystery by Jennifer Sturman

I never start out with exceptionally high expectations when it comes to "chick lit." I sort of view it like watching something silly on tv: it's fluffy and entertaining and doesn't require a whole lot of mental processing to get through. I don't anticipate a complicated plot with tons of twists and turns, I don't expect deep and complex characterization. But there is never, ever, ever an excuse for bad writing. EVER. I quit reading this book about 20 pages in, when the main character meets her love interest and describes him as having "a regular-size nose, and normal-size eyes." WTF, normal-size eyes?? Is everyone else in this fictional city cursed with either itty bitty eyes or cartoonishly large ones? (if so, that's exactly the sort of thing that's important to tell your readers and makes all the difference.) Otherwise, it's just sloppy writing. Also, is eye color too much to ask for?