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The Girl in the Spider's Web: by David Lagercrantz | Recap and Analysis


Instarecap - 2015
    It brings back two memorable characters from the blockbuster trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson; “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”, “The Girl Who Played with Fire”, and, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” . Like the three books, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is translated from the original Swedish language, and most of the action happens in and around Stockholm. Lisbeth Salander, the brilliant anti-social hacker once again teams up with Michael Blomkvist, a relentless reporter, to help infiltrate a murderous technology organization with links to powerful corporations, law enforcement agencies, and nothing less than the the United States’ National Security Administration, or NSA. There appears to be a distinct difference in storytelling between the three Larsson books and Lagercrantz’s Spider, which can be attributed to the subject matter on hand or the writer’s style, and maybe even both. Larsson seemed to let events unfold slowly, since he did, after all, have three books to gradually introduce us to, and develop, the characters especially Lisbeth Salander. Some critics decry Lagercrantz’ narrative as fragmentary and confusing, with dozens of characters in a wide array of backgrounds: journalists, spies, hackers, law enforcement officers, scientists and of course killers, who at times seem to briefly emerge, vanish, and then turn up again. Then there is the sometimes arcane language of hacking, cryptography, physics, and artificial intelligence, where there are complicated moments when the characters discuss such prime-number factorization (PNF), self-teaching algorithms, singularity theory, black holes, prime-number factorization and black holes. Many of the characters are indeed geniuses and Lagercrantz mostly succeeds in allowing the science to be decipherable. The original trilogy’s anti-heroine, Lisbeth Salander, isn’t much seen in the first half of the book, but is quickly inserted into the action, and of course, turns into the main focus of events. Most of the characters from the original trilogy show up in the book, including the shadow of Lisbeth’s horrendous dead father, Zalachenko, and the traitorous Hans Faste. Two new compelling characters are introduced: Camilla Salander/Zalachenko, Lisbeth’s evil twin, and 8-year old August Balder, and autistic savant and mathematical genius, who shares most of the spotlight with Salander. The action is fast paced and the characters, many, and like the first three Larsson novels, may be a tough read to put down. Read more.... Download your copy today! for a limited time discount of only $2.99! Available on PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. © 2015 All Rights Reserved by Unlimited Press Works, LLC

Without Remorse Part I of II


Tom Clancy - 1993
    In 1970, ex-Navy SEAL John Kelly juggles two missions--a private vendetta and the Pentagon's rescue mission of American POWs.Part II is ISBN 0-7366-2604-2 10 cassettes

Trial by Ice


Casey Calouette - 2013
    A man commands. Another finds his lost humanity. A fresh new military science fiction novel that’s more than just aliens and lasers. A brutal story. Gut wrenching. Visceral.When a catastrophic starship crash wipes out nearly 2000 troops, Midshipman William Grace finds himself commanding a handful of ravaged Soldiers and Marines. Pursued by the relentless cold, the survivors find treachery, betrayal, and war. Not only are their lives at stake but those of an entire planet.

The Gravy Train


David Lender - 2012
    Finn Keane is a novice investment banker who helps an aging Chairman try to buy his company back, while the ruthless Wall Street sharks who drove it into bankruptcy do all they can to stop them so the Wall Streeters can carve it up for themselves.

Moonlight Hotel


Scott Anderson - 2006
    Richards spends his days monitoring small development projects and his nights attending embassy cocktail parties and bedding various visiting American women and diplomats’ wives.The time is the early 1980s, when the American Empire has begun to tentatively flex its muscles once again. Kutar is a diplomatic backwater, a former British colony, barely a blip on the State Department’s radar back in Washington. For centuries desultory tribal conflict has flared sporadically in the arid hills hundreds of miles from the coastal capital of Laradan, and as the book opens rumors of a new skirmish there reach the city’s inhabitants. As always, the residents of Laradan ignore the stories, but this time something is different: The Americans decide to do something about it. As any casual student of geopolitics might guess, this is bad news for the people of Kutar. Urged on by a Kurtzian American military advisor named Colonel Munn, the little-used Kutaran army marches into the hills. In quick order they are decimated, and with stunning rapidity the heights above Laradan are occupied by a rebel force possessed of the government’s abandoned artillery. Soon the Americans, and all other foreigners, are ordered from the country and leave the people of Laradan to their fate. For his own deeply personal reasons, David chooses to stay on in the besieged city, and moves into the Moonlight Hotel, a crumbling colonial dinosaur. There he is joined by an eclectic assortment of other foreigners, including a senior British diplomat, an acid-tongued Romanian countess, and Amira, an aristocratic young woman who previously spurned David’s romantic advances. Together, this small community tries to maneuver over the radically-changed landscape of the beleaguered city, while holding out hope that the outside world might yet come to its rescue. Then the shooting begins in earnest.

The Girl Who Lived


Christopher Greyson - 2017
    One girl lived. No one believes her story. The police think she’s crazy. Her therapist thinks she’s suicidal. Everyone else thinks she’s a dangerous drunk. They’re all right—but did she see the killer? As the anniversary of the murders approaches, Faith Winters is released from the psychiatric hospital and yanked back to the last spot on earth she wants to be—her hometown where the slayings took place. Wracked by the lingering echoes of survivor’s guilt, Faith spirals into a black hole of alcoholism and wanton self-destruction. Finding no solace at the bottom of a bottle, Faith decides to track down her sister’s killer—and then discovers that she’s the one being hunted. How can one woman uncover the truth when everyone’s a suspect—including herself? From the mind of Wall Street Journal bestselling author Christopher Greyson comes a story with twists and turns that take the reader on a journey of light and dark, good and evil, to the edge of madness. The Girl Who Lived should come with a warning label: Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop. Not since Girl on the Train and Gone Girl has a psychological thriller kept readers so addicted—and guessing right until the last page.

A Painter of Our Time


John Berger - 1958
    is at once a gripping intellectual and moral detective story and a book whose aesthetic insights make it a companion piece to John Berger's great works of art criticism.

Hook, Line and Stinker


Maggie West - 2015
     When grade school teacher Lily Thistle finds the body of a local womanizing garbage man washed up on the beach in her new town, she becomes suspect number one. Can this teacher turned amateur sleuth narrow down who wanted him dead and get the hot chief of police to recognize her as something other than a murder suspect? This culinary cozy mystery includes two recipes: Rose's Marionberry Muffins and Whiskey-laced Chocolate Chunks. This book is a clean read.

The Royal Secret


Lucinda Riley - 2000
     Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Love Letter.Keeping secrets is a dangerous game. When Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, it could rock the English establishment to its core. Joanna Haslam, an up-and-coming reporter, is assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral, attended by glitzy celebrities of every background. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind—the contents of which many have been desperate to keep concealed for over seventy years. As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that she’s close to uncovering something deadly serious—and the royal family may be implicated. Before long, someone is on her tracks, attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

Codename Lazarus


A.P. Martin - 2016
    Spymaster Bernard Pym approaches John King, a young academic and former student, to participate in a stunning deception that could help to frustrate Britain’s enemies.As war inevitably comes, King struggles to come to terms with the demands of his mission, unconscious of just how dangerous and lonely is the ‘no man's land’ in which he must try to survive. During the summer of 1940, as Britain is left reeling by the ever growing threat of invasion, King’s mission becomes even more vital to the country’s chances of survival. Unaware that he is pursued both by British Special Branch and a fanatical Nazi from his past who is determined to destroy him, King must somehow remain one step ahead.Adapted from a true story, Codename Lazarus takes the reader on a journey from the dark heart of Hitler’s Germany, across the snowy peaks of Switzerland to the horrors of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz, before reaching a thrilling and decisive conclusion, from which none of those present emerges unscathed. Codename Lazarus is the first in the Spymaster Pym series of World War Two spy adventures.

Brandenburg


Glenn Meade - 1994
    Today it's only a heartbeat away from happening again.In the pulse-pounding tradition of Robert Ludlum, John Le Carre, and Frederick Forsyth, Glenn Meade, the acclaimed, bestselling author of the blockbuster thriller Snow Wolf, delivers unrivaled suspense, unforgettable characters, and a brilliantly absorbing story with a mind-blowing surprise ending.In Paraguay, a young reporter is found brutally murdered. In Berlin, a political activist is gunned down in the street. In Strasbourg, an international policeman is given the name of a beautiful young German woman-- and the first key to an extraordinary plot... Joseph Volkmann knows that a string of killings around the world are linked by a single purpose. And he knows that Erica Kranz, whose journalist cousin had stumbled on the story, is linked to the plot. Haunted by the ghosts of the past, driven by the specter of the future, Volkmann and Kranz are about to plunge through a realm of terrorism, fanaticism, and deception-- as they stare at the true face of evil...

One Night in Tehran


Luana Ehrlich - 2014
    While urging Titus to become a believer in Jesus Christ, they manage to smuggle him out of Iran to freedom in Turkey.Will it help him deal with his past?Returning to the States, he discovers his Iranian mission failed because of political infighting within the Agency. In a hot-tempered outburst, he delivers a scathing indictment against the Deputy Director of Operations, and, as a result, the deputy forces Titus to take a year's medical leave in Oklahoma.How will it change his future?Before leaving Langley, Virginia, Titus learns he's been targeted by a Hezbollah assassin hired by the Iranians. Now, while trying to figure out what it means to be a follower of Christ, he must decide if the Iranian couple he meets in Norman, Oklahoma has ties to the man who's trying to kill him, and if Nikki Saxon, a local detective with an intriguing past, can be trusted with his secrets.

Proportionate Response


Dave Buschi - 2012
    The more Marks and Lip discover, the more they realize this has been going on for some time. And it’s ugly.

Without a Trace


Lesley Pearse - 2015
    The compelling new novel from the international number 1 bestselling author.Coronation Day, 1953.Molly Heywood has always been a pillar of strength for her local community, so when her friend Cassie fails to attend the Coronation Day party in the village, it is Molly who heads out in the rain to look for her.But nothing can prepare Molly for what she is going to discover.Now with Cassie gone and her six-year-old daughter Petal missing, it is up to Molly to head to London to uncover the past Cassie kept so well hidden.But will Molly discover the truth before it's too late? Or has Petal disappeared forever?

The Asset: American Assassin (Lance Spector, #1)


Saul Herzog - 2020