Book Review: The Brick Layer, a novel by Noah Boyd

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The Bricklayer 

"That's the saddest thing about being young - you actually believe there is such a thing as hope." He raised his gun and fired one round that hit Dan West in the right temple." (ch. 2)

The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd  is a "pulse-pounding novel introducing Steve Vail, one of the most charismatic new heroes to come along in the thriller fiction in many years. He's an ex-FBI agent who's been fired for insubordination but is lured back to the Bureau to work a case that has become unsolvable - and more deadly - by the hour." (publisher's description).

My comments: Tense thriller with a likeable but somewhat unbelievable, too nice to be true, main character. Nevertheless, the book sparkles with excitement as the killers use technological savvy to thwart the FBI, their target for extortion. Vail turns down any monetary reward or other incentives for this job, going out on his own to trap the killers afer several FBI agents have tried and been killed. A most unlikely hero, yes, but one who gets the job done!

I expected the villains to have a similar background as the main character, Steve Vail, in order to pull off the kinds of elaborate crimes they did and stun the FBI. Who the killers turned out to be was somewhat surprising!

About the author: Noah Boyd (a pseudonym) spent more than 20 years as an FBI agent, working on some of their toughest cases. He now works on cold cases when not writing.  He lives in New England. Source: Review copy provided free by Wireset for my objective review.

        This book was provided by the publisher for my objective review.

Challenges: 100 + Reading Challenge, Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge

Book Giveaway: The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd

Wiredset has offered to give away two copies of the new thriller published by RandomHouse Publishers, The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd. To enter the contest,

1) leave a comment with your email address AND
2) give the name of one of your favorite crime fiction/mystery  authors.

For an extra comment, follow my blog or let me know if you are already a follower.

For U.S. only; no P.O. boxes please. The contest runs through March 16. Winners will be emailed and asked for their U.S. mailing addresses for Wiredset to send the books. Good luck!

UPDATE: Final winners chosen at random - Deb and Scottsgal.

The Sunday Salon: New Challenges

   Welcome to the Sunday Salon!

There were a few new awards and new reviews last week.

Book Dilettante was listed by Courtreporter.net as  one of the 50 Best Blogs for Crime and Mystery Book Lovers. How neat is that? Hope you will check out the 111 posts under the label, Mystery on my home page.

Done last week: I also befriended several crime fiction authors on facebook. One had over 5,000 facebook friends, so I joined his discussion group instead! I posted links to writing tips, for all you aspiring writers, Ten Rules for Writing Fiction. My post for Far from the Land: An Irish Memoir got the most comments of any I've done. Hooray! I also wrote up a few awards from new friends, one from Brazil!

The Museum of Innocence

 Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence is a new find. This is his first novel after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. I'm on page 148 of 531 pages and am enjoying every word, literally. The translation from the Turkish by Maureen Freely is easy to read, flows smoothly, and the love story itself is very engrossing. Is it a story of love or obsession? We'll see.... as I head on down through the rest of the pages.

Michele Paiva, whose book, Truth, Next Exit I just reviewed, sent me a nice note: "Thank you so much! It's not a lengthy book but it was something I felt from the heart...and if it even helps one person overcome an obstacle, then I've done my job with it."  Her suggestions for personal change certainly made me look at many things in a new way.

I hope to join The Graphic Novels Challenge 2010.  The rules are simple: read one graphic novel featuring an animal character. Having never read a graphic novel all the way through, I think this would be a good challenge to try.


Carrie at Books and Movies, has given me a One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you, Carrie.

Today is the last day to enter my Simply Quince cookbook giveaway (U.S.)  Two copies are available. If you want to try using the fruit quince in cooking and making jams, preserves, and desserts, do enter the contest. UPDATE: Winners chosen: Esme and kalynnick!

Have a good week, everyone! Let us know what you did this past week!

 

Book Review: Truth, Next Exit by Michele M. Paiva

Truth, Next Exit: No Excuses Scripture as your Personal Trainer and Life Coach by Michele M. Paiva

Michele Paiva describes her book as a way to make personal changes using the Socratic method of asking questions; she also uses readings from Scripture to suggest improvements for your life, health, habits of mind, and outlook. The book asks thoughtful and challenging questions, encouraging readers to provide their own answers.

"How would you feel if God came to you and said, "You know, I have given you a body, supplied you with healthy fruits and vegetables, and gave you the ability to make choices; what have you done to honor the life I've given you?"  What would you say?" (p. 25)</

"What do you give to yourself on a daily basis? Anything?"(p. 58)

"What do you do that sabotages your freedom? Do you depend on others too much?" (p. 74)

My comments: Truth, Next Exit is written as a guide book and workbook with exercises for readers to record their thoughts and answers. I found the book helpful and relevant to everyday living. The questions and comments on changing habits certainly put me in a reflective and thoughtful mood.

Author: Michele is a syndicated writer, author, broadcast professional, with a background in yoga and wellness therapy, and a strong "sense of spirituality." Learn more at her website, Michele Paiva. She can be reached at mmpaiva@mac.com and on twitter and facebook.

This book was provided free for my objective review by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours.  Challenge: 100 + Reading Challenge

Finishing Your Novel, tips from Timothy Hallinan

Some tips for aspiring novelists:

Finishing Your Novel:  six sections of online suggestions by Timothy Hallinan,
author of Breathing Water and other fiction.

Ten Rules for Writing Fiction: writing suggestions by well known authors, in The Guardian.

Blogs that discuss writing:
All write with coffee...
Confessions of a Mystery Novelist
Confessiions of the Un-Published
Cozy Murder Mysteries
Killer Hobbies
Murder by 4
Murder is Everywhere
Mystery Writing is Murder
Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe
Sasha Jackson Mysteries

and a book,
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

Just a few of the online resources available on starting and finishing a book!

Member of Amazon Associates

50 Best Blogs for Crime and Mystery Book Lovers

Court Reporter.net has named Book Dilettante one of the 50 Best Blogs for Crime and Mystery Book Lovers. Book Dilettante is listed under Mystery Books with the following description:

22. Book Dilettante (aka Book Bird Dog): This blog is a great place to visit if you love reading mystery novels and are curious about novelists working outside of the U.S. 

Others in the Mystery Books list:
13.Mystery Reader Discussion: This blog provides a format to talk about the latest mystery books, even if you can’t meet the group in person.

14.Mystery Books News: Check back with this blog regularly to get updates on new releases in the mystery and suspense genre.

15.Mystery*File: Here you’ll find a blog dedicated to fans of mystery and detective novels, with reviews, updates and information about titles both new and old.

16.Mysteries in Paradise: This blog is a great source of mystery novel news and book reviews.

17.I Love a Good Mystery: With book reviews, news, events, links and information about movies, this site is a great one-stop place to find information about everything mystery related.

18.Murder By the Book Mystery Book Blog: The bookstore by the same name maintains this blog and updates it regularly with what the bloggers have been reading.

19.The Little Blog of Murder: Get a perspective on the murder-mystery genre from an Ohio native on this regularly-updated blog.

20.Confessions of a Mystery Novelist: Go straight to the source for information and insights into mystery books with this blog from a mystery novelist and professor.

21.Lesa’s Book Critiques: This librarian and blogger focuses her reviews of books on mystery novels.

22.Book Dilettante (aka Book Bird Dog): This blog is a great place to visit if you love reading mystery novels and are curious about novelists working outside of the U.S.

23.Shadow of the Raven: Keep up with mystery book news from the bookstore Mystery on Main through this blog.

24.The Scene of the Crime: Here you can get a look at the relationship between mystery stories and where they take place from author J. Sydney Jones.
 
I was surprised but honored to be listed! Here are just a few of my reviews:

Paying Back Jack by Christopher G. Moore, set in Bangkok
The Risk of Infidelity Index by Christopher G. Moore, set in Bangkok
Snow Angels by James Thompson, set in Finland
The Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong, set in Shanghai
Blood and Groom by Jill Edmonson, set in Toronto
The Black Monastery by Stav Sherez, set in Greece
Breathing Water: A Bangkok Thriller by Timothy Hallinan, set in Thailand.

What's next on my crime fiction reading list? The Brick Layer by Noah Boyd; The Godfather of Kathmandu by John Burdett, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson.

Head on over to Court Reporter.net to see the blogs they recommend for lots of info on what Crime and Mystery books and authors are available. The blogs were organized into Crime Books, Mystery Books, By the Author, Group Blogs, True Crime Blogs, and Crime and More categories.

Teaser Tuesday: Far From the Land: An Irish Memoir by Thomas J. Rice

"After years of favorite stories, told over and over by Mother and others,
I had it down. I knew her journey in detail,
from her early childhood to her becoming the famous Maggie O'Toole, to her romance with Artie Rice
and giving birth to eight children..." (ch. 2)

My comments: This is the story of Thomas Rice, the only son of Maggie and  Arty Rice, a boy who grew up in a farmhouse in Ballinvalley in rural Ireland, a boy afraid of the dark and the banshees of Celtic folklore, keening "women of the fairies" which his older sisters used to tease him about. Thomas leaves school at age 13 to help with the farm, in the absence of his charismatic but troubled father who left the family and who only showed up every now and then, with disastrous results.

Thomas becomes successful at farming in Ballinvalley, working with a neighbor Davy, who teaches him about horses and the land, but as a young teen he still longs for something different. At age 16 he and Maggie leave Ballinvalley for Sheffield, but he finds the taunting on the job and hardship in England too much to bear. They finally sail on the Queen Mary for America  and arrive in New York on July 4, 1959.

Here's what he says about his yearning for a life beyond home:

Each success in Ballinvalley had the paradoxical effect of reminding me of how hollow these
achievements had become.
Without knowing it, I'd become obsessed with the question
of what lay beyond that majestic sycamore grove
on the skyline over Borris - the one I'd taken
for granted each day for sixteen years -
and that I now say only as a barrier
between me and whatever lay beyond the thundering waves
of the blue-green Irish Sea. (ch. 23)

Recommendations: I found out a lot about the history of Ireland in this excellent and well-written memoir of coming-of-age in 1940s and 1950s Ireland. The memoir incorporates the history of life under the British, the fight for Irish independence in the 1920s and the hardship of life when Thomas Rice was growing up in the 1940s-50s. It also tells about daily life on a farm in rural Ireland and the community and closeness of the people.

Author: Thomas J. Rice received a scholarship to Cornell University, earned his doctoral degree, and is a college professor, leadership consultant, and social activist. He lives in Andover, Mass. Far from the Land: An Irish Memoir was published in 2009. Source: Free review book provided by Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.

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Challenge: 100 + Reading Challenge