A Death in Vienna

A bomb goes off in Vienna. Art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon, is sent in to see what happened to his friend who happens to hunt down items stolen from the Jews in World War II. What he finds is a complicated web of lies and deceptions that will take him around the world in Daniel Silva's A Death in Vienna.

Silva writes an exciting book that takes readers on a whirl of four continents. Gabriel is a killer, but as he becomes more entangled in the plot, he finds himself providing revenge for those who were killed in the gas chambers. And Silva makes him a complicated Renaissance man. We want to discover more about the contradictions in this artist, who has been trained to kill. We learn more about his personal background and his personal ties to this case.

Silva also touches on the aftermath of the war. Which lower level Nazis escaped? And how did they do it? Via the Americans, via Rome, via Argentina? Who helped the murders along the way - to rebuild their life and not suffer retribution for their sins? Silva has done his research well and provides the reader with enough details to want to learn more about the post war period. This period of history was not black and white - there is a whole lot of gray.

A fine read and a good thriller. I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series.

Christmas Love Stories

One of the reasons, I am behind in posting, is that at this time of year I start reading or re-reading romance Christmas stories. Yes - those short stories set in the days of old, or that are in a "modern" environment. I start reading them in November. About one an evening - or more, depending on if I can't fall asleep.

Yes, they can be sappy. Yes, they are unrealistic (Hello, we are reading fiction here!) And yes, some of them are not even historically accurate about Christmas. (I'm a history minor. I'm picky.) And everything is solved by the miracle of Christmas, or New Year's or Boxing Day. (Sure.)

But in today's cynical and hectic times, a little "what if" is good for the soul. What if everyday were Christmas? What if everyone were nice and kind to each other? What if love was around the corner for everyone? (The romantic lives!) It's a nice thought. ;- )

But heck, my comfort read may not be your comfort read. There is a book out there for everyone. Even Scrooge. But have yourself a merry little Christmas, now...

Leslie Charteris' The Saint

The Saint in Europe is one of the many Simon Templer mysteries written by Leslie Charteris. We find our debonair thief lounging in the watering holes of Europe and looking at jewelry along the way. How can you dislike such a smooth operator?

"For the saga of any adventurer take this: an idea, a scheme, action, danger, escape, and perhaps a surprise somewhere. Repeat indefinitely, with irregular interludes of quiet. Flavor it with the eternal discontent of unattainable horizons, and the everlasting content of an eagle's freedom. That had been Simon Templar's life since the day when he was first nicknamed the Saint..."

This book features seven short stories. In them he rescues the damsel, discovers the murderer, helps the police and does some thieving on the side. What more could you ask out of life?

A fun read. For those classic puzzle mystery fans.

Swashbuckling through Spain - Captain Alatriste

Arturo Perez-Reverte has created a wonderful swashbuckling character in Captain Alatriste.
He starts out with a bang with this description: " He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous." And the fun begins from there.

Alatriste has always been a soldier in the wars of Spain. He is struggling between the wars, and is recovering from injuries, and has a cronic lack of ready funds. When he is not drinking, he hires himself out as a swordsman, bodyguard and for other unsavory jobs that bring in the coins. He gets a secret commission to waylay some English travelers. One unknown boss says rough them up, the other man says kill them. What to do? And who are these English men? Alatriste discovers that they are sword savvy and are not typical travelers. These are gentlemen. One is the infamous Lord Buckingham and the other is the Prince Regent! Who wants to kill them? Who hired Alatriste? And how can he escape being killed because he did not complete his mission?

Lots of Spanish history, lots of swords, lots of danger and a character you want to cheer for! A fun read, and hopefully a fun series.

Raise the Titanic!

In the mood for some daring do and adventure on the high seas? Come join the ride with Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt in Raise the Titanic! Written before they actually found the Titanic, the book provides a big "what if" to the concept of having the ship rise to the surface. And that is just part of the story!

Scientists are hunting for a rare element to create a anti missile security system. As they track the element down - they found out that someone else has been in on the trail - in 1911. And one of the miners - was on the Titanic. N.U.M.A. and Dirk Pitt to the rescue!

It is a tightly written story - a bit dated - but it takes you on a roller coaster ride. If you can't handle the "Armageddon Factor" (the unbelievable task of landing two space shuttles on an asteroid flying into the planet Earth) then you won't be able to have fun reading this book. But try it - you might like it. A fun read.