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Reviews by Cloggie Downunder

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The Bone Garden: A Novel
by Tess Gerritsen
the ultimate cold case (8/2/2011)
The Bone Garden is the 13th stand-alone novel by Tess Gerritsen. While it is not a Rizzoli/Isles book, Maura Isles does make a fleeting appearance at the beginning of the book. The novel tells two stories set in different time periods. The present day story concernsmore
Caleb's Crossing: A Novel
by Geraldine Brooks
a wonderful read (7/17/2011)
Caleb’s Crossing is the fourth novel by Geraldine Brooks. As with her other novels, fiction is built on fact. In this case the fact is the life of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the young son of a Wampanoag chieftain, who, in 1665, was the first Native American to graduate frommore
The Mephisto Club
by Tess Gerritsen
Another Gerritsen winner (7/12/2011)
The Mephisto Club is the 6th of Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli/Isles series. On Christmas Eve, Rizzoli and Isles are called to a horrific murder scene where the female victim has been decapitated and dismembered. During the autopsy, however, they realise there must be more thanmore
Vanish
by Tess Gerritsen
Finest Gerritsen (7/2/2011)
Vanish is the fifth of Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli/Isles series. The story starts with Maura Isles discovering a female in a body bag, an apparent drowning victim, who isn’t dead. Transferred to the hospital, the woman becomes violent, shoots a security guard and takesmore
The Apprentice
by Tess Gerritsen
another Gerritsen page-turner (6/19/2011)
The Apprentice is the second novel in Tess Gerritsen’s Jane Rizzoli/Maura Iles series, and the first book in which Maura Iles makes her appearance. About a year after Rizzoli solved “The Surgeon” case and sent Warren Hoyt to jail, another hot Boston summer sees anothermore
And Another Thing...
by Eoin Colfer
a worthy effort (6/18/2011)
No, it's not Douglas Adams (although bits of it very likely are), after all, he (sadly) died in 2001. It's Eoin Colfer, doing his best to be true to Douglas Adams' style, bringing our favourite H2G2 characters back to us for another episode, trying to put a little somethingmore
My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult
A perfect ending twist (6/18/2011)
My Sister’s Keeper is Jodi Picoult’s 11th novel. It centres around Anna Fitzgerald who has retained lawyer Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for the right to her own body. Anna was conceived to provide (initially) cord blood for her older sister Kate who has leukaemia.more
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards
Very moving (6/18/2011)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is the first novel by Kim Edwards. The story is set in the 1960s and involves a doctor, David Henry, whose wife, Norah, goes into labour during a snowstorm. Unable to get to the hospital, he takes her to his surgery, where his nurse, Carolinemore
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
Wonderful (6/18/2011)
The Time Traveler’s Wife is Audrey Niffenegger’s second novel. This is the story of Henry DeTamble (the Time Traveler) and Clare Abshire (the Time Traveler’s Wife). Clare first meets Henry when she is six years old and he suddenly appears, naked, in the Meadow near her home:more
The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton
Superb (6/18/2011)
The Distant Hours is Australian author, Kate Morton’s third novel. The novel plays out over two time periods: the early 1940s and 50 years later. The story begins when Meredith Burchill receives a letter that has been delayed by 50 years. The letter is from one of themore
La's Orchestra Saves the World: A Novel
by Alexander McCall Smith
Heartwarming (6/5/2011)
La’s Orchestra Saves the World is a stand-alone novel by Alexander McCall-Smith. It is set around the time of the Second World War in England. Lavender Stone (La to her friends) leaves London for a Suffolk village in the wake of a disastrous marriage. When the war starts,more
The Lost Symbol
by Dan Brown
entertaining (6/5/2011)
The Lost Symbol is the 3rd in Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon series. The story goes over 24 hours and starts with Langdon being flown by private jet to Washington to give a lecture as a favour to his long-time friend (and Mason), Peter Solomon. Soon enough, this turns out to bemore
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn
A Must Read (5/25/2011)
Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, is a “must read”. It is by no means an easy book to read; it is sometimes quite confronting; in places you will cry; you will be disgusted by the actions of somemore
The Almost Moon: A Novel
by Alice Sebold
Powerful (5/23/2011)
The Almost Moon is the second novel by Alice Sebold. Helen Knightly narrates the story, which begins when she murders her mother, Clair. As we follow events over the next 24 hours, we learn about Helen’s life and what brought her to this momentous act: her love-hatemore
The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
by Jeffery Deaver
an invisible weapon (5/22/2011)
The Burning Wire is the ninth novel in Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series. This time Rhyme’s target is a killer who utilises the power grid to cause arc flashes and set his victims on fire, or electrifies a building or an elevator to electrocute them. It seems that themore
The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
by Jeffery Deaver
Check your password! (5/13/2011)
The Broken Window is the eighth of Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series. The tale begins with a plea from Judy Rhyme to help her husband, Arthur Rhyme, Lincoln’s estranged cousin, who has been arrested on a murder charge. Flawless evidence against him leads Rhyme and Sachsmore
The Bodies Left Behind: A Novel
by Jeffery Deaver
classic Deaver twists and turns (5/11/2011)
The Bodies Left Behind is Jeffrey Deaver’s 11th stand-alone novel. The scene is lakeside Wisconsin, where Brynn MacKenzie, a sheriff’s deputy, responding to an aborted 911 call, stumbles into the aftermath of a double murder. Managing to escape from the murderers, she findsmore
Roadside Crosses: A Kathryn Dance Novel
by Jeffery Deaver
twists anf red herrings galore (4/27/2011)
Roadside Crosses is the second in Jeffrey Deaver’s Kathryn Dance series. The story starts with a roadside cross memorial which is dated for the following day, the day that police find a kidnapped teenager left for dead in the trunk of her car. Kathryn’s interrogation of themore
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel
by Alexander Mccall Smith
Mma Ramotswe makes you feel good again! (4/23/2011)
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party is the twelfth book in Alexander McCall Smith’s No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Mma Ramotswe has plenty to keep her busy as someone is killing cattle on a southern cattle-post, Charlie the apprentice seems to have fathered twins andmore
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy
Love and betrayal (4/19/2011)
The God of Small Things, the first (and so far, only) novel by Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, was written between 1992 and 1996. This (semi-autobiographical) story takes place in the village of Ayemenem and the town of Kottayam, near Cochin in Kerala, and is set principallymore

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