"Faces in the Fire" Book Review

T. L. Hines "Faces in the Fire" touch upon the story of four seemingly different character and how circumstances and a particular number binds them together.

It is written in a "disjointed" and "haphazard" manner with the chapters mixed up together but culminating in a gripping climax. It revolves around four main characters - Kurt, a truck driver who lost his memory in some incident and who is trying to recollect his true identity and purpose of his life; Corinne, an email spammer by profession and who is dying of cancer; Grace, a tattoo artist who's a heroin addict and trying to get her life back; and finally of Stan, a hired hit man who's burdened with the gift of killing others with his own bare hands. These different characters are described in four different stanzas in the book and describe how a particular symbol (a catfish) and a 10 digit number seems to influenced their life in a supernatural way. Only in the end is the mystery resolved but with some anticipation still hanging in the air.

I would say that this novel has been the best I have read in a long time. Because of the unusual writing style and how all the ends are tied up brilliantly in the end making it a very good suspense novel as a whole. A very gripping read indeed with the amazing and unexpected ending adding a must read tag to this beautifully written book.

Book Review of Face Of Betrayal

Lis Wiehl's and April Henry's Face of Betrayal is about three friends coming together to solve the mystery of a girl who first went missing and then was eventually found murdered.

The plot centers around a girl who worked as a page in the US senate and gives brief insight on the relationship between a senator and the girl and what actually happened between the two of them. It also dwells on the girl's family and how she cope with the situation of having a step mother. Another interesting part in the story is the exploration of the characters of the three friends who investigate the murder mystery.

This book might not might be the best murder mystery I have read but still holds my attention with its different approach of tackling the plot - the relationship between the senate and the murdered girl, the girl's family, and the three investigators life intertwined to create an absorbing reading. In between there is also the heart-wrenching portrayal of a father-daughter struggle to lead a normal life in all the madness around them. All these coupled with the unexpected ending makes it a gripping read. I would say this does not qualify as a must read for the die-hard murder mystery lover but still holds good on story line and good characters sketches.

Book Review - "I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse"

This book by Michael Franzese, a former mob boss, provides a view in the working of the mob and how to implement the principles he learnt in the mob for running a successful business legally.

It is written in an easily readable style without using too many fancy words. It gives a good insight on how the mob works and also the downside of running business the ‘mob way’. But as a book for providing business tips, it falls short in providing something new. The advice given inside the book are not ‘out of the world’ but the ones you can find in any other books in similar category.

I was anticipating to be a book where one can learn the good part of the way the mob works and implements the work ethics to run or start a successful business but I found the tips are the general type with some splattering of anecdotes from the author’s previous mob life and the advice was bit repetitive and it leans heavily on the sayings of Machiavelli and Solomon rather than basing it from the way the mob works – as the book was projected.

Overall, I would say the book can be a good companion for learning the basics of a business for someone starting out but not as a book to look forward to as an inspiration to provide you with new and inventive ideas.

Review of the Book 'Rex'

Cathleen Lewis' book about her autistic yet supremely gifted child - Rex, is a deep insight into the incredible journey of a mother struggle for bringing a semblance of normalcy into her son's dark (Rex is also blind) and complicated life and how Rex miraculously became a musical genius despite his disability.

As an Autobiography/Biography, this book lacks the fluidity of a smooth read and sometimes it lacks the connectivity in the story. But somehow, the reader's interest is captivated by snatches of brilliance, but the lack of consistency is where it was a bit disappointing. Still, as an example of what a strong will and faith in God can do, this book is a must-read.

Personally, what I feel about the narrative is that it could have been better if it had been dealt in a more flowing story-telling style instead of the incident-in-patches story. That’s where this book lost focus. But as an insight into the life of a boy who was born different but still struggling to find a place in this haphazard world, it takes us into a world where we normally don’t venture into.

So as conclusion, I would say, even if I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it as much as I anticipated, it is still a treasure trove of information of a different world, which we were never were able to dwell into, because of our being normal.