Stale Book Review #21: The Closers

The Closers by Michael Connelly

Cost: $1.00US

Page Count: 403

The Closers is yet another Harry Bosch novel in the canon of M. Connelly.  While I normally really enjoy the Bosch novels, this one didn't really stick with me.  Seriously.  I finished it a little over a week ago and am having serious trouble trying to remember much about the book.  So, this review may be a little off kilter.

Harry Bosch had spent three years away from police work.  In The Closers, he returns to work with his old partner Kiz Rider in the unsolved crimes unit.  There is little pressure within the unsolved crimes unit and that doesn't really seem to fit with Bosch and his personality.  Anyway, the two snag an extremely old case and begin to work the case.  Turns out, there are some big wigs in the police force that were involved over twenty years ago on this case.

So, Bosch and Rider have to navigate some shitty police politics while still trying to solve the case.  Without giving much away, shit hits the fan and some big time officials get their asses in hot water.  Which, for Connelly, is fairly par for the course.

In The Closers, Michael Connelly didn't really break much new ground.  In fact, he may have written his most forgettable novel.  Which is a bummer because Connelly is a fairly talented writer and Harry Bosch is a haunted and interesting character.

This book...well, I can't tell you if it was good or bad.  It just was...there to be read.

Stale Book Review #20: The Zero Game

The Zero Game by Brad Meltzer

Cost: $0.90US

Page Count: 468

I've reviewed Brad Meltzer's books on Stale Reviews before.  In fact, I believe that I have read most of his catalogue.  To be absolutely truthful, I'm growing tired of his subject matter.  They always have the same protagonist with a similar plot line.  It's growing stale for me and I really wish he would mix up his formula a little bit.

Anyway, The Zero Game is just what you would expect from Meltzer.  There's two guys, both of whom have positions within offices on Capital Hill.  Nothing new there, Brad.  One of them presents the other with a game, The Zero Game, that places friendly wagers on legislation, how many pubic hairs a senator has, or any other mundane activity within Congress.  It seems harmless, of course.  That is until one of the two protagonists gets offed within the first forty pages.  Killing off a main character fairly early in the book is actually something new.  I liked it.

So, there is some betrayal.  There are some hair-raising chases.  There is a diabolical killer with a weird weapon of choice. The Zero Game is pure Meltzer.  Really, no one else could have written this book and no one reading would mistake it as anything but a Brad story.  

The Zero Game is kinda lame.  But, it's a super easy read and if you have the reading ability of a fourth grader you can knock this thing out in a day or two.  It might be the literary equivalent of an Everybody Loves Raymond Episode.  

Spoiler alert:  The good guys come out on top.  

Stale Book Review #19: The Resort

The Resort by Bentley Little

Cost: $0.50US

Page Count: 310

Oh Bentley Little.  You are forever a sick fuck.  Every single one of his books, that I have read anyway, have ended up being a mind bender and twisted in the most extreme of ways.  The Resort was no different.

Tucked away in the Arizona desert lays the Reata.  The Reata seems a typical five star resort where the rich and famous go to relax their cares away during the nicer months of the desert.  However, in the depths of the summer when temperatures soar, The Reata cuts their rates dramatically, giving normal folk a chance at some luxury.  That's exactly why Lowell Thurman and his family decided to take their family vacation in the desert.

In typical B. Little tradition, the resort is not what it seems.  There are ghosts, and phantoms, and visions, and a myriad of other fucked up situations that arise.  The Thurmans' sons get caught up in the whole mess and try to do a little Scooby Doo investigating.  Needless to say, their investigations do not turn out well.  There is no old caretaker hiding under a sheet spooking the guests like in the cartoon.  Nope, this is some real deal shit going on down at the Reata.

This book...it's messed up.  But, in a good way.  Bentley Little can write a page turner and I plowed through this one a day or so.  Not exactly Tolstoy.  However, you won't be disappointed when you put down The Resort.  

Good book.  Fun times.  Just a little twisted.

On a side note:  Bentley Little has a very limited presence on the internet.  He's one of the few writer's that I have noticed that does not have his own web site.  Odd.  But, to each his own.