2014 brought both hubbie and myself so many different books to review, thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them, so narrowing them down to only 5 was a big task for both of us.
Here is hubbie's Top 5 Books for 2014.....
IN FIRST PLACE
His code-name is Atcho. He leads guerrilla fighters through the US-supported insurgency that rages at the Bay of Pigs in the early days of Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Captured and cast into the island’s worst dungeons, Atcho learns that a phantom-like officer of the Soviet KGB shadows him. Inexplicably released from incarceration and still dedicated to his country, he battles through the bowels of the Kremlin in Moscow, into the granite halls at West Point, and finally to highest levels in Washington, DC. Atcho’s rise opens doors into US National Defense even as the seemingly omniscient KGB officer holds unflinching sway over his actions. His public life clashes with secrets that only he and his tormentor share, isolating him in a world of intrigue among people whom he is determined not to betray – and then he finds that he is the trigger that could spark thermonuclear war.
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A Forbidden Love in a Forgotten War. Spring 1951: it is the fiery zenith of the Korean War, a war that the youthful US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm and his men thought that they had won… until the Chinese swept across the Yalu River. Traveling with the million-man army bent on driving back the march of “American imperialism” is Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon who has volunteered herself into the war for unspoken, grave reasons. Through a chronicle of merciless battles, freezing winters, and the brutality and hypocrisy of human nature, the two will find themselves weaving through the twists and turns of fate and destiny. Though their love is forbidden, their passion and pursuit of liberty cannot be quenched.
But interacting with a family fueled by alcohol and mired in scandals, Bogie is reminded why he does investigations for his Boston based company from a computer in Florida. Although Bogie wants to contact his ex-lover, Bailey Hampfield, he’s reluctant to do so since Bailey dumped him four years earlier. Knowing that Bailey had his child after she cut him loose, Bogie ponders how he can establish a relationship with the three year old daughter he’s never met. While he thinks about it, Bailey gets in touch with him and asks for protection. Someone is trying to kill her.
By the time Bogie meets Isabella, it’s apparent that he still loves the mother and adores the child. Bogie tells himself that he’s not interested in the BPD investigation into Bud’s death, but he continues to be drawn into it while trying to discover who is attempting to kill Bailey. The investigations seem to parallel each other, then intersect and become intertwined. As the story develops, Isabella, a precocious child obsessed with martial arts, slowly becomes the focus.
The underlying theme of this mystery is lies. Everyone seems to be running on lies and half truths. The only pure and true character is The Girl in White Pajamas.
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R&B Investigations is under attack. Their employee is shot in the back as he enters the building, and a hacker is trying to compromise their secure network. While the Boston police investigate the shooting, Bogie McGruder needs to find the culprit who is trying to put them out of business.
Bogie and his partner Rose Jones can’t disclose their internet problems to the cops since Bogie is a hacker himself.
Bogie McGruder returns to Boston with his four- year-old daughter Isabella. He joins up with Rose Jones’ uncle Walter who is fresh for Lompoc Prison. Bogie and Walter strengthen their firewalls while they try to determine who is behind the invasion. As the R&B team hones in on the culprit, they uncover several murders and discover a plot to wipe out the financial institutions in Boston.
While Bogie is in Boston, his extended family in Palm Beach becomes enmeshed in a sex scandal that threatens to ruin lives and careers in the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.
Feeling like a wishbone about to snap, Bogie tries to handle problems in both cities while Isabella continues her quest for someone to teach her the Five-Point-Palm-Exploding-Heart technique as seen in Kill Bill Volume 2.
This tale of murder, revenge and greed takes the reader on a whirlwind trip from Boston to Palm Beach and back. Buckle your seatbelt!
Find the book at...
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Barnes and Noble
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Barnes and Noble
On July 4, 1946, Navy Captain Edward Lawson attempted to fly an experimental seaplane into the hands of the Soviet Union. The top-secret plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean before he could succeed with his traitorous action. His body, and the wreck of the plane, were lost at sea.
Mike Howard runs a small aviation museum, and, several decades later, his war-hero family still feels the sting of Lawson''s unpatriotic actions. When Mike is pressured by Lawson''s grandson, Jesse, to mount a search for the traitor''s corpse, his first instinct is to vehemently refuse. However, his scholarly instincts quickly get drawn into the hunt, and he soon realizes that there is much more to the story. As Mike''s corporate sponsors passionately lobby for him to stop stirring up old issues, it is made clear to him just how tangled the web of espionage has become.
Soon bodies are dropping like flies and Mike is forced on the run. He desperately unravels the threads of deceit, scrambling for the truth before his own life - and the lives of those he loves - are brutally added to the list of sacrificed men of conscience.
Find the book at....
http://www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk
http://www.beckvalleybooks.blogspot.com
These all sound like interesting reads. I wish I could get my husband to read more books, but he only ever seems to read the news on his iPad!
ReplyDeleteThe Magnolia Gods sounds superb - I love a good mystery set in the not too distant past.
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oh thanks for this list, i love finding new reads, will take a look at them
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of the Black Pjs's :) I may have to read that!
ReplyDeleteI think my boyfriend would enjoy these! Not really my thing mainly as I like more waffle in my reading! :) x
ReplyDeleteI've read 3 of the 4 and I agree--they were great! Now to try and find rime for the other 2!!
ReplyDeleteThese are all awesome books and I will have to check them out. Curse of the Moon and The Dance of the Spirits is two books I haven't heard of that I would love to read. Thanks for sharing.
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