Divine Justice by David Baldacci

This novel opens where Stone Cold ends, just after Oliver Stone
has assassinated Carter Gray, head of the CIA, and Roger Simpson, who
had raised Stone's daughter after his wife was murdered. Both men had
conspired to ruin Stone's life and force him underground courtesy of a
fake grave at Arlington National Cemetery. It was a righteous kill
within the world of the series. He is headed to New Orleans on Amtrak,
leaving his friends in the dark as to his destination, when a young man
on the train is attacked by three hoodlums. Stone rescues the young
man, but they have to leave the train. He accompanies the man to
Divine, which at first seems to be a good place to hide.

Exit music by Ian Rankin

The last case for Inspector Rankin before he heads off to retirement, yeah right! In this book he is chasing the murderer of a Russian poet who has been found dead in a park. As always with Rankin, a very unpredictable ending and a griping story till the end. I did feel a more then a little sad at his retirement and especially the way it was done, but then I am a sentimental old so and so.

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercombie

The third book in this trilogy. this finds all the characters meeting up once more having fought their own battles. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him – but it's
going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the
Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him.
His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy: it's time for the Bloody-Nine
to come home.

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercombie

In the second book of the trilogy Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by
enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be
trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It's enough to
make a torturer want to run – if he could even walk without a stick.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost.
Bitter enemies will be forgiven – but not before they are hanged.

The blade itself by Joe Abercombie

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be
settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw
blood. Unpredictable, compelling, wickedly funny, and packed with
unforgettable characters, The Blade Itself is fantasy with a real cutting edge.

The first of a gripping trilogy. Some great characters but sadly predictable to the end.

The Watchman by Robert Crais

In Joe Pike, "the world's greatest detective's" enigmatic and stoically
violent sidekick of the "Elvis Cole" novels, the talented Robert Crais
has created one of most intriguing characters in contemporary popular
fiction. But with the wisecracking Cole still mostly sidelined from
injuries suffered in "The Forgotten Man", Pike takes center stage in
this well plotted, fast moving crime drama.



With his red-arrowed forearms "going forward, never back", Pike, to
repay an old debt, reluctantly takes on the task of protecting Larkin
Barkley, a spoiled LA society brat drawn with shades of Paris Hilton,
right down to the rat-dog-in-the-purse detail. Returning home from late
night revelry, Barkley t-bones a Mercedes full of the wrong people, and
in a convoluted twist, ends up as a witness under protection. But when
it becomes clear that the folks who'd prefer that Barkley not testify
are deadly serious, Joe Pike gets the job of keeping the pouting
debutant safe and sound.



As always, Crais' prose is witty and fast moving. Joe Pike, who is
about as chatty as Mount Rushmore, is cleverly contrasted against
Larkin's tantrums. And Elvis Cole, while taking care not to swing the
spotlight too far away from Pike's solo debut, throws around enough of
his patented one-liners to keep his hardcore base smiling. But if the
bond that builds gradually between Joe and Barkley stretches the bounds
of credibility just a bit, this is, after all, fiction, and besides,
Crais does a masterful job of building the sexual tension and creating
- perish the thought - the hint of a soft side to Pike's impenetrable
persona.

The paper Moon by Andreas Camilleri

This is the ninth in a series of Inspector Montalbano mysteries. Far be it
from me to give away the plot, but one criticism might be that the
guilty party is more obvious than usual. Nevertheless, Camilleri's
formula works. Montalbano goes about his investigation in his
idiosyncratic manner, taking time for culinary adventures, literary
allusions, and thoughts about women. Overall, reading the book is a
worthwhile and entertaining experience. However, He does seem to be getting more into women in this book and less into food...I am not sure wether to be happy or sad :-)