Break

 

Looks like I will be taking a break again.  

See you in a short while. 

Hour Game by David Baldacci

 

Synopsis :

A woman is found murdered in the woods. It seems like a simple case but it soon escalates into a terrible nightmare. Someone is replicating the killing styles of the most infamous murderers of all time. No one knows this criminal's motives...or who will die next.

Two ex-Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, have been hired to defend a man's innocence in a burglary involving an aristocratic family. Then a series of secrets leads the partners right into the frantic hunt that is confounding even the FBI. Now King and Maxwell are playing the Hour Game, uncovering one horrifying revelation after another and putting their lives in danger. For the closer they get to the truth, the closer they get to the most shocking surprise of all.

This is what I say :

This was a rather good read.  I didn't have high hopes for it but was surprised.  Hour Game was exciting and kept me trying to guess who the killer might be.  

The chapters are all very short chapters and the progress was very fast paced which makes me as the reader much captivated to keep on going. I read this in less than a week which is a record nowadays.  I read this as both as a paperback version as well as electronic version when I brough it with me during a recent trip (I decided to bring the e-book to save on having to carry another item).  But when I am back home, I read the book version.

I recommend this title to those who enjoys a good thriller. 

The Absence of Guilt by Mark Gimenez

 

Synopsis :

An ISIS attack on America is narrowly averted when the FBI uncovers a plot to detonate a weapon of mass destruction in Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl. 

A federal grand jury indicts twenty-four co-conspirators, including the most dangerous man in Dallas, Omar al Mustafa. He is a notorious and charismatic Muslim cleric known for his incendiary anti-American diatribes on YouTube and Fox News. His mosque is a veritable breeding ground for Islamic jihadists. His arrest is greeted with cheers around the world and relief at home. The plot was thwarted, the terrorists are in jail, and the Super Bowl is safe. The president goes on national television and "We won!" 

There is only one there is no evidence against Mustafa. That problem falls to the presiding judge, newly appointed U.S. District Judge A. Scott Fenney. If Mustafa is innocent, Scott must set the most dangerous man in Dallas free. But does the absence of guilt mean Mustafa is innocent? And if he is innocent, who is guilty? 

The Super Bowl is just three weeks away. And the game clock is ticking.

This is what I say :

It's been a while since I pick up a title by Mark Gimenez. When I realised that there's one title that I have not read and that's The Absence of Guilt, I put aside what I have been reading to focus on this title and it was a pretty good decision.

It's good to follow A Scott Fenney's life after Accused. His story actually started in The Colors of Law which was very good.

The Absence of Guilt was rather good and thrilling.  There are some parts that's rather technical and preachy so I kinda 'quick read' those section and overall I really enjoy it.

It also gives a unexpected closure on the last part of the book which is quite an 'easter egg' and that was good too.  

This Was A Man (Book #7 and final title of The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archer

 

Synopsis :

'This Was a Man' opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies?

In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game?
Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnus opus, while his wife Emma completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job.

Sebastian Clifton becomes chairman of Farthings Kaufman Bank after Hakim Bishara resigns for personal reasons. Sebastian and his wife Samantha's talented daughter, Jessica, is expelled from the Slade School of Fine Art, but her aunt Grace comes to her rescue.

Lady Virginia is about to flee the country to avoid her creditors when the Duchess of Hertford dies, and she sees another opportunity to clear her debts and finally trump the Cliftons and the Barringtons.

In a devastating twist, tragedy engulfs the Clifton family when one of them receives a shocking diagnosis that will throw all their lives into turmoil.

This is what I say :

This Was a Man is the 7th title in The Clifton Chronicles and also the final book.

I can say, I am truly glad it's the finale as the story has dragged on for quite a bit and it's time to end it.

I wasn't able to get hold of a physical book so I have to read this as a e-book which is rather disappointing as it would be nice to have the whole set but it's quite alright also.

Surprising, one of my favorite character is Lady Virginia who is as scheming as ever and although she met her match and got what she deserved towards the end, one can't help but applaud her for her perseverance.

The Chronicle started with Harry and Emma and it ended with Harry and Emma as well.  This couple really supported each other through thick and thin and both are equally great in what they do. 

The ending to their story was also was a twist that is extremely unexpected for an ending to a chronicles.  However, once you get over it, it was rather touching and a worthy ending to some great characters in a rather great chronicle.

Cometh the Hour (Book #6 of The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archer

 

Synopsis :

Sir Giles Barrington must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves, from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him, or is she a spy?

Lady Virginia is facing bankruptcy, and can see no way out of her financial problems until she is introduced to the hapless Cyrus T Grant III from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Sabastian Clifton is now the Chief Executive of Farthings Bank, and a workaholic whose personal life is thrown into disarray when he falls for Priya, a beautiful Indian girl. But her parents have already chosen the man she is going to marry. Meanwhile, Sabastian's rivals Slone and Mellor are still plotting to bring him down, so they can take over Farthings.

Harry Clifton remains determined to get Anatoly Babakov released from a gulag in Siberia, following the international success of his acclaimed book, Uncle Joe.  Emma convinces her new friend, Margaret Thatcher to raise the subject with the Russian President when she visits Moscow.

This is what I say :

Cometh The Hour is the 6th title in the Clifton Chronicle and it is the 2nd last title.  I actually enjoyed Cometh The Hour much better than the previous few titles and it has a balance of excitement and plot.  

There are some un-necessary plot especially between Sabastian and Priya as I have no idea where the author's plan was with that but I have a feeling the author also didn't know how to proceed with that branch of plot and just killed it.  Like I said,  it was rather un-necessary.

The plot with Anatoly Babakov also comes to an end and I guess the author is preparing for the story to come to a completion which will happen in Book 7, This Was A Man.

Holiday read - August 2025

 

A break from the norm, whether long or short and whether it's just some place nearby or out of the country is always welcomed.

With that excitement, I will be going for a short break to celebrate a birthday.   Part of my excitement have always been what book to bring along with me during the trip.

 In recent years even when I wasn't reading much, a book will always accompany me whenever I travel.

After much thoughts and looking through my TBR collection, here's what I decided to bring with me during this trip. 

Titles by David Baldacci can be hits and misses. It is rather unpredictable.  Anyway, here's hoping that Hour Game will provide me with some thrilling time during my down time.

Happy holidays everyone!

Mightier Than The Sword (Book #5 of The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archer

 

Synopsis :

Harry Clifton, now present of English PEN, launches a campaign for the release of a fellow author, Anatoly Babakov, but in doing so puts his own life in danger.  His wife, Emma, dealing with the repercussions of the IRA attack on the Buckingham, crosses swords with Lady Virginia Fenwick, who will stop at nothing to cause Emma's downfall.

Sir Giles Barrington is now a minister of the Crown, and looks set for even higher office, until an official trip to Berlin does not end as a diplomatic success.  In London, Harry and Emma's son Sabastian is quickly making a name for himself at Farthings Bank. But the dispicable Adrian Slone will do whatever it takes to remove his rival.

This is what I say :

Having read a total of 4 titles in this series, I was not very excited to pick up this fifth title.  However, as I was determined to complete this series, I believe I brought this title with me during a weekend break in the capital city a few months ago.  It has been a habit of mine to have a book with me when I travel since years ago and I still do.

Anyway, like what the synopsis says, in Mightier Than The Sword, things are just happening to the Clifton Barrington and they kept on picking up enemies all the time and this time round, it's the same story.  But like all of the titles in this series, the book ended with a cliff hanger which will continue in book No 6, Cometh The Hour.