The Associate

John Grisham is one of the few authors who I buy in hardback as soon as the book is released. His latest novel, The Associate, was no exception. I've been doing this for at least the last ten years and I have read every book he has published. I have voiced my dissapointment with the downhill slide of his stories of legal intrigue over the years and expressed my desire that he write more unique novels. His novels, A Painted House, Playing for Pizza, and The Bleachers are some of my favorites. I don't know if the pressure of turning out a new novel every year is to blame or if the legal thriller is just what he knows how to do best. I think it is possible every good legal themed thriller/story has been written and it is time to move on to other subject matter. The Associate just further proves my point.

First off, The Associate is hardly a thriller. It is filled with intrigue but lacks suspense and certainly contains no thrill. I did not find myself rooting for the protaganist but just sitting back to watch as events unfolded. I will admit that I have grown so accustomed to Grisham's typical end of book twists that I became anxious with anticipation in the last 30 pages or so. There were great twists written into The Runaway Jury and The Partner which are among my favorites. Certainly, this story was ripe for some sort of twist to spice up the ending. I really expected the ending would somehome redeem an otherwise bland story line. However, I was once again dissapointed.

I certainly wouldn't recommend this book unless you, like me, have read all of Grisham's other novels. But if you haven't, please pick somewhere else to start.

R is for Richochet

Traditionally, the novels in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series are murder mysteries. Murder mysteries = someone dies. Sometimes Kinsey tells us the lucky victim in the first paragraph of the story. So you can imagine my confusion when 300 pages into R is for Richochet there was still no body. Now don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed this book and all of her previous adventures. I do believe they get better each time. But I failed to see the mystery in this mystery. Perhaps, we are running out of mysteries? I mean how many times can Kinsey get herself in a life-threatening situation? (18 so far, if you are counting.) And in all fairness, a body did turn up there at the end, although it wasn't quite murder, and it wasn't quite a mystery. So although it would not be accurate to call this novel a murder mystery it was a quality read nonetheless.

The Covenant

The Covenant is the first in the series by Beverly Lewis called Abram's Daughters. The story is about a community of Amish farmers in Pennsylvania. At first I found the story a little to simply written for my taste but as the novel progressed the writing improved greatly. The story became more complex and more enjoyable. It's obvious it was written with a sequel in mind as the resolution of story is incomplete. I do believe I'll finish the series but I need to read something a little more challenging for now.

Dakota Home

Dakota Home is the second book in Debbie Macomber's Dakota trilogy and I enjoyed it much beter than the first. I believe it was written a few years after the first installment and reflects Macomber's improved writing style. Like the first book the story centers around one unlikely couple and their struggle to admit they love each other. But in the small town of Buffalo Valley we find out more about several other characters from the first novel, too. In fact, in this book their are 3 weddings and 2 births to celebrate. The door has been opened for several of these to continue their stories in the 3rd book. It is light reading but enjoyable.