Whiskey Sour, a jack daniels mystery by J.A. Konrath; 2004; Hyperion, New York; 270 pages; Mystery Konrath; 10/29-10/31

The name is Daniels, Jacqueline; Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels is a lieutenant of the police in the violent crimes unit. The Gingerbread man continues killing but has finally gone public. The book is alternately suspenseful, and humorous. Comic relief is provided by Jacks’ partner Herb and two humorless FBI agents. A great book and I am going to see what else Mr. Konrath has written. A little grisly for the faint at heart, but well written with every character being three dimensional. RRR

On Deck; Light this Candle by Neal Thompson;
Scooter by Mick Foley;
Hurt by Chap Clark

Ready For The People, My Most Chilling Cases as a Prosecutor; Marissa N. Batt; 2004; Arcade Publishing, New York; 237 pages; 345.794 B335r; 10/28-10/29

A prosecutor in Los Angeles details three cases from beginning to end. She has a great conversational style of writing. She shows the inner workings of the justice system and how it works. She shows the pettiness and prejudices of many involved in the justice system from the police, right up to the judges. She also shows the integrity of some of those involved also. It is a balanced look at the entire justice system. RRR

On Deck; Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath

The Fifth Angel by Tim Green; 2003; Warner Books, New York; 372 pages; Fiction Green; 10/27-10/28

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. Revelation 16:10

A father feels rage when evidence is thrown out on a technicality in the trial of the man who raped and persecuted his daughter and turned into a depressed, withdrawn child. He takes the law into his hands and becomes a serial killer, what makes this slightly different is that all his victims are convicted sex offenders who have gotten out of prison or escaped on a legal technicality. Being a former criminal prosecutor he knows how to keep from getting caught. There are numerous subplots which place him in the spotlight of the FBI. Well written, but the author succumbs to happy endingitis, where everything is cheerfully wrapped up in the last two pages. RR

On Deck;Ready For The People by Marissa N. Batt

All Brave Sailors by J. Revell Carr; 2004; Simon & Schuster, New York; 363 pages; 940.5459 C311a; 10/22-10/27

On August 21, 1940 the British merchant ship the Anglo-Saxon was sunk by the German raider Widder, seven men surived. 70 days later a small life boat with two of the survivors came ashore in the Bahamas. This is the tale of the epic adventure.

The author goes a great job of juxtaposing what was going on onboard each ship, and ashore with the families in the context of WWII. Wait a minute you say WWII didn’t start until December 1941. No that was just when the United States got involved. The story is riveting and does a good job of capturing the character of everyone involved in any part of the story. RRR

On Deck; The Fifth Angel by Tim Green

I had a doctors appointment this morning at 7:30 and Ruth Ann and I are going to see Jimmy Buffett, so I took the day off to relax and get in the mood for the concert. I got home at 10:00 and one son was in the shower (he is supposed to be at school at 8:15) and the other son was in bed (he is supposed to be at school at 8:50). So I got them off to school and was un-stressing by watching several episodes of American Chopper, when all of a sudden there arose such a clatter outside the front door. What to my wondering eyes did appear but 3 burly men, a concrete saw and a jack hammer. Seems our apartment complex (4 apartments) sits where there used to be a store and when they built the apartments they didn’t back fill the basement correctly, so the building is settling. So they are breaking up the front porch and refilling the basement. It is so loud that even with the TV turned all the way up and sitting right in front of it it is hard to hear. So much for a nice relaxing afternoon.

Now then if you want to hear about the doctor visit read on. If not I guess you are done. I had gone in on the 10th of October because of my gout and the doctore told me I had high blood pressure and that I was obese. My BP was 144 over 100 and I weighed 313.9 pounds ( I am six feet tall). So I started blood pressure medication and changed my diet. Today my BP was 128/90 and I weighed 308.75 pounds. The doctor wanted to do some further tests, so the took blood, I filled a cup for them and they did an EKG. The EKG looked normal, I will find out about the other things soon and I will be spending the night at the hospital soon. The hospital stay is for a sleep study, I get to sleep connected to a bunch of cables so they can tell all kinds of things. I hope they can record my dreams.

I am really looking forward to the concert tonight for two reasons. One it will be the first time Ruth Ann and I have spent any time together alone if you know what I mean and secondly I love Jimmy Buffett and his music. I have been a fan of his since 1977 and we were finally able to afford to go to one of his concerts. I will let you know tomorrow how it is. There is a third reason also, Ruth Ann is making me a new Hawaiian shirt, it looks so cool.