The President's Henchman, a thriller --by Joseph Flynn

Fiction / Thriller

434 pages / 3074KB

5 Stars

I used to say that thriller's weren't my genre of choice, however, I can no longer state that. I've now read two of Flynn's books (Tall Man in Ray-Bans was my first) and am a full and complete convert. There's enough adrenaline in this book to satisfy just about anyone, but enough laugh-out-loud humor to satisfy me. In fact, the humor can be deadly; I strongly recommend you not read it while eating. 

Jim McGill is an ex-cop, married to a woman who becomes President. He isn't into ribbon cutting and sweet smiles, so gets his PI license, opens an office, and brings one of his ex-cop buddies, Sweetie, to work with him. Sweetie quickly earned my respect. She's no nonsense, hard as diamonds, loaded with compassion and empathy, and her relationship, such as it is, with her landlord is delightful. The characters are believable, the story is engrossing, and I can hardly wait to read the next in the series.

Curiosities --by William Matthews

Non fiction / essays on poets and poetry

172 pages

4 Stars

I enjoyed the personal essays more than the ones about others. That's not to say the others weren't interesting, they were. But they also didn't grab me quite as immediately. I especially enjoyed the first one, Long Shadows, and think it set me up to think the rest of the book would be more about him and less about others. Travel was delightful and brought back many memories, and the Poet's Alphabet was great fun.

As another reviewer stated, it works as an appreciation for the middle, and I'm from the coast (west). I came to this book unfamiliar with Matthews' poetry, and now look forward to reading some. There was nothing earth-shattering to be found therein, but it made a great night-time read. An interesting read.

The Horse Nation [Revival of the Past] --by Lawney L. Reyes and Therese Kennedy Johns

Fiction / Historical (Modern Native American)

161 pages

3 Stars

I am, perhaps being a little rough on my rating; after all, Mr. Reyes is an accomplished author of nonfiction work. And perhaps that's his hard point here? This is a work of fiction, geared, I think, to a YA audience. Then, again, perhaps I need to read more works by "Rez Indians."

This is the story of a young man, Christian, who grows up on the rez, and decides to race his father's horse in a Suicide Race. Fortunately, he changes his mind, and works with his father's two thoroughbreds to race in the relay races. He is given much leeway as a boy, riding through the wilderness to school (what schoolboy wouldn't love that? For that matter, what horse crazy girl wouldn't love that?).

Christian is an only child, home schooled his early years, then attends school on the rez. He is encouraged by his parents to look at all sides of an issue, though also gently guided by them. He also receives helpful advice from the current group of Indian horse racers.

This book is an interesting insight into rez living and the history of horses and Northwest Native Americans. Reyes used a mixture of fictional characters and real people which gives the book a taste of reality. There are several color photographs throughout, showing both the people and the area. This book is not angry as some by Natives I've read.

I recommend it, especially for YA audiences.