The Target (Will Robie 3) - David Baldacci

David Baldacci is becoming one of my favourite thriller authors.  I loved King & Maxwell so when my Aunty Maureen loaned me The Target I couldn't wait to start it.

Although third in the Will Robie series, it was my first Will Robie book.  I do think reading the first two books beforehand would have been beneficial to explain some of the history behind Will Robie and Jessica Reel, but I really enjoyed it as a stand-a-lone novel nonetheless.

The book tells the story of the US agents training for a hit on the North Korean leader which quite quickly goes wrong after the North Korean ally is discovered.  This causes the North Koreans to retaliate and send out their own assassin and the book ends with a showdown between the two.

A definite page turner building up to an assassination attempt on US soil, with a nice twist showing that even bad guys or gals are human after all.

A big 5 stars from me and I'll be looking out for books 1 and 2 in the series.

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Addition - Toni Jordan

I've had this book staring at me on my e-bookcase for a while so it tempted me one day and I started to read.

Grace has an obsessive compulsive disorder that compels her to count everything.  She meets Seamus in a local supermarket when she takes a banana out of his basket after she arrived at the till with the incorrect number of bananas.

Grace begins a relationship with Seamus and agrees to go to therapy when her counting gets in the way of life.  The interesting part for me, was the effect the therapy had on Grace.  Yes, she no longer had the compulsion to count everything but she wasn't Grace anymore.  The counting made Grace who she was, warts and all.

It gave a good insight into mental health issues and I found it quite a serious topic, despite it being labelled as a comedy.

It's not a book I would recommend but it taught me to accept people for who they are.  Who says having a compulsion to count is odd?  Maybe we're all a little odd (or even)!

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Angels Flight (Harry Bosch 6) - Michael Connelly

I'm reading the Harry Bosch books in order, so next in line was number 6 - Angels Flight.

An attorney who is building a case against the police is found murdered on a tram car - cue Harry Bosch - who better to point fingers at his colleagues?

Another page turner from Michael Connelly with a brilliant twist - I didn't guess whodunnit!  You think it's one person then another, go back to who you thought it was then change your mind.  Michael Connelly paints such a vivid scene when the killer finally gets their comeuppance that I almost felt I was watching a movie rather than reading a book.

5 stars from me - I love catching up with my old friend Harry!

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Roy Keane - The Second Half review

As a Sunderland fan, I enjoyed it.  Roy clearly had (and still has) great affection for Sunderland.  I felt the emotion when he departed Man United, and was quite surprised at the emotions of what I previously perceived to be a hot headed man.  There are some funny moments in the book, like not signing a player because of his answering machine message and not taking to Ipswich because they played in blue.

Although written with Roddy Doyle, I think Roy has played a big part in writing the book.  I felt his voice coming through and not just with all the swearing!  There are a lot of facts and figures that probably won't be terribly interesting to any non-Sunderland or Ipswich fans.

I always had respect for Roy Keane but this book certainly changed my impression of him.  I thought Roy would have lost his temper more with the players; Sunderland does test you sometimes!   I do think Roy's emotions show on his face, so perhaps one of his scowls would have more effect than a temper tantrum.

A nice insight into the transition from player to manager, written with honesty and integrity.

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What I was reading when I started my blog

I haven't read an autobiography for a while so, being a Sunderland fan, I picked up the new Roy Keane book.  I'm about half way through and had my one and only laugh out loud moment at the expense of Newcastle (sorry Mags fans).  I've found it easy to read but a bit jumbled in the first half, jumping between Man U and Ireland.  Still, I'm enjoying it so far and it's giving a rare insight into the life of a new manager.  I look forward to giving my final thoughts when my reading is done!