The Librain……retired

For a variety of reasons – illness, lack of concentration, addiction to Battlestar Galactica – I have only managed to read one book this week! And I just finished it a couple of minutes ago 😲.

Blackout by Marc Elsberg

The book is Blackout by Marc Elsberg and here is the blurb:

One night, the lights go out across Europe. The electrical grids collapse on an epic scale and unleash a devastating chaos in the total blackout. And unbeknownst to the general population, nuclear reactors are starting to overheat…
When a former hacker and activist who knows a thing or two about infiltrating networks starts investigating the cause of this disaster, he soon becomes a prime suspect. As threats to the United States start to emerge, he goes on the run with a young American reporter based in Paris, racing desperately to turn the lights back on. Because if they stay off, tomorrow may be too late.

I gave the book four stars on Goodreads, although that may have been rather generous as there are some quite considerable flaws, especially the almost interminable and numerous political meetings with too many characters to follow. Anyway, this is my short review:

A very exciting thriller that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Fast-paced and gripping, it takes the idea of what could happen if large parts of the world lost electric power. The consequences of this disaster are well thought out. My only gripes are that I became irritated by the very short chapters, although this structure could be said to add to the pace of the plot. Also, the character development was sketchy. Probably unavoidable with such a large cast!

I am now feeling very excited as a new book by one of my most favourite authors has arrived on my book pile, thanks to Younger Son who picked it up from the Library for me: John Connolly’s The Woman in the Woods. I cannot wait to start reading it and I will give you my verdict next week.

The Woman in the Woods by John Connolly

Happy reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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I have read two books since last week’s Roundup post. Yes, I am hooked on watching Battlestar Gallactica on my iPad! I love a good science fiction series as I need the escapism.

Three Minutes by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström

The first book was Three Minutes by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström, #07 in their Grens and Sundkvist series. Here is the blurb:

Presumed dead by the Stockholm police, master criminal and undercover informant Piet Hoffmann is now on the run from the Swedish authorities, living with his wife and two young sons under an assumed name in Cali, Colombia. Only Hoffmann’s former police handler, Erik Wilson, knows where he is–and that he has accepted two dangerous new jobs: one as a high-level enforcer for a Colombian cocaine cartel and one as an infiltrator for the DEA, working to bring the cartel down. The FBI even lends credence to his cover story by adding Hoffmann’s alias to the Most Wanted list.

But when the Speaker of the House is kidnapped by the cartel during an official visit to Colombia, everything changes–fast. Hoffmann is party to the highest-profile political kidnapping in years and therefore directly in the firing line in what is quickly dubbed the “Final War on Drugs.” Suddenly, the Most Wanted list becomes a kill list and the DEA cuts off all contact on orders from the top, leaving Hoffmann and his family stranded.

Hoffmann must walk a delicate line as he tries to protect his young family and keep up his dual role as a cartel enforcer and a deniable intelligence asset for the US government. It soon becomes clear that his only chance at getting out alive is to rescue the Speaker of the House and bring him back to the States–but to do it he’ll need the help of Ewert Grens, the stubborn, dogged Stockholm detective who hasn’t forgotten Hoffmann since the explosive showdown in Aspsas prison years ago.

It quickly became apparent that the story was continuing on from the previous book in the series, however, there were enough signposts along the way that this did not cause any issues to me, as the reader. This is my Goodreads review for four stars:

This was an excellent thriller. Although I have put it into my “Scandi” folder, it took place mainly in Colombia and was heavily related to the drugs trade. Very well written, totally gripping and with great characters. I will definitely read more books by this pair as the two I have read so far have been wonderful to read. Highly recommended.

Eeny Meeny by M J Arlidge

My second book book was a lot less successful: Eeny Meeny by M J Arlidge, #01 in her DI Helen Grace series. Here is the blurb:

The girl emerged from the woods, barely alive. Her story was beyond belief. But it was true. Every dreadful word of it.

Days later, another desperate escapee is found – and a pattern is emerging. Pairs of victims are being abducted, imprisoned then faced with a terrible choice: kill or be killed.

Would you rather lose your life or lose your mind?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace has faced down her own demons on her rise to the top. As she leads the investigation to hunt down this unseen monster, she learns that it may be the survivors – living calling cards – who hold the key to the case.

And unless she succeeds, more innocents will die . . .

I gave this book three stars and wrote the following short review:

I enjoyed most of this book: the plot was gripping and exciting and the characters were well drawn. However, it suffered from the horrible short chapter syndrome and the writing was very poor at times. Some parts didn’t flow well and there seemed to be leaps and jumps in the investigation that simply didn’t work for me. I may read more in the series as, perhaps, the author improves as she writes more?

I am not sure which book I am going to read next. There are still a couple in my pile of library borrowings and I also have some ebooks queueing. Decisions!

Well, you can find out what I finally decide in next week’s Roundup!

Best wishes and happy reading,

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