2nd Chance

2nd Chance
by James Patterson

Copyright: 2002

Pages: 400

Rating: 4/5

Read: March 21-22, 2008

Challenge: Numbers Challenge

First Line: Aaron Winslow would never forget the next few minutes.

The Women's Murder Club returns in this second installment of the series! This time, they are up against a brilliant murderer who is seemingly killing people at random. But Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is under the impression that the killings are somehow related and that there is a serial killer on the loose. But in order to convince her boss and co-workers, she has to enlist the help of her girls in the Club. And what they find out will rock the city to it's core.

This was another great one from James Patterson! This one read so incredibly fast and was a great read!! I still do not know why I waited so long to start this series, but am definitely glad that I'm reading them now!!

Finishing this book also completes the Numbers Challenge. (My first finished challenge! Yay! - I'll post a end-of-challenge round-up post shortly).

1st to Die

1st to Die

by James Patterson

Copyright: 2001
Pages: 462
Rating: 5/5
Read: March 2-4, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author; Triple Eight - From my TBR Shelf & 1st in a Series; Numbers Challenge

First Line: It is an unusually warm night in July, but I'm shivering badly as I stand on the substantial gray stone terrace outside my apartment.

In the first installment of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay (homicide detective), Claire (medical examiner), Jill (assistant DA) and Cindy (crime reporter) form their club in the wake of a possible serial killer in San Francisco. Targeting couples on the night of their wedding, the bride and groom killer is rocking the city. With few clues at the crime scene, Lindsay decides to form the group in order to catch the killer before he takes the lives on anymore newlyweds.

I loved this book! I'm not sure why it sat on my shelf for so long before I ever picked it up, but I absolutely adored it!!! It was such a quick and enjoyable read. I even found myself crying a little at the end. Excellent book ... I can't wait to get to the second one!

The Rule of Four

The Rule of Four

by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 446
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 29-March 2, 2008
Challenge: Numbers Challenge

First Line: Like many of us, I think, my father spent the measure of his life piecing together a story he would never understand.

The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a Renaissance text, and Tom Sullivan have always had a love-hate relationship. This book consumed his father's life. And during his final year at Princeton, he finds the book consuming him and his roommate, Paul Harris. As Paul tries to figure out all the pieces to the puzzle of this book, the deadline for his senior thesis hovers above him. But then, a long-lost diary is found and Paul believes he has solved it. But before he has time to finish his thesis and state his conclusions, thereby revealing the final pieces to this mysterious puzzle, he has to fight forces that are against him. With the help of Tom and their two roommates, Gil and Charlie, they embark upon a journey that might kill them all.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it does seem to lag in certain places, overall I felt myself rushing through it because it was so suspenseful! I could hardly wait to get to the end of it. I have read that some people are likening it to The Da Vinci Code, but I wouldn't. I felt that in a way it was much better than Dan Brown's book, whereas in other places (like the writing style) it did sort of lack what Brown's book had. It's hard to describe, but definitely an enjoyable read!

Two Little Girls in Blue

Two Little Girls in Blue
by Mary Higgins Clark

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 390
Rating: 5/5
Read: Jan. 10-11, 2008
Challenges: What's in a Name (Color category); Numbers Challenge; Triple Eight Challenge,
From my TBR Shelf category

First Line: "Hold on a minute, Rob, I think one of the twins is crying. Let me
call you back."

Margaret and Steve Frawley's three year old twin daughters, Kelly and Kathy, have been kidnapped from their own room, their babysitter knocked unconscious. When the ransom note comes in for eight million dollars, the money is put up by Steve's employers. Unfortunately, only Kelly comes home safely. But when Kelly begins to voice concern that Kathy is not dead, as was widely assumed, Margaret goes frantic trying to bring Kathy home safely.

I loved this book! It was great!!! The twists and turns were wonderful. I love reading Mary Higgins Clark ... she never disappoints! This book read rather quickly and was enjoyable. Another A+ effort by MHC!

No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 420
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 2-3, 2008
Challenge: Numbers Challenge; Celebrating the Author Challenge

First Line: When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter.

Dr. Marc Seidman wakes up in the hospital to find that twelve days earlier his wife, Monica, was shot dead in their home, and their daughter, Tara, is missing. When the ransom note arrives, Marc's hopes go through the roof. But when the drop goes bad, everything around him spirals out of control. Eighteen months later, another ransom note is delivered. Instead of contacting the police and doing the "right" thing, Marc takes matters into his own hands. With the assistance of his ex-girlfriend, they chase down the clues to Tara's disappearance, only to realize that there's more to the story than meets the eye.

*~* This story was well plotted and fast paced. I was sucked in with the first sentence and could barely wait to figure out if Tara was still alive. The revelations at the end are shocking, to say the least. The ending came out of left field to me. This was only the second Coben book that I have read (the first I read years ago) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.