Thrillers - January 18, 2015

Currently Reading:

  

Recent Reviews:

Kalahari by Jessica Khoury (received through the First to Read Program)
4 stars



Sarah lives in the bush of the Kalahari with her father, and while still reeling from the tragic death of her mother, she is forced to take responsibility for five other teenagers in order to receive funding for their research station.  This exciting premise starts out an extraordinary young adult action book that demonstrates the courage of these individuals and the capacity to grow even in unthinkable circumstances.  I will say that I was at first turned off by the irresponsibility of Sarah's father that sets off this stream of events and puts his daughter and his five charges in unspeakable danger.  I found that aspect of the story somewhat unbelievable and it took me several chapters to get over it.  Once I did, however, I was pulled into this story and I really like all of the main characters even when they were acting less than attractive.  What I especially enjoyed, though, was the fabulous setting of Botswana and the Kalahari.  Jessica Khoury does an exceptional job of describing the scenery and the wildlife.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book and it definitely tempts me to go back an read the others in this companion series.  I received this book from Penguin's First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review.

The Directive by Matthew Quirk (received through NetGalley)
4 stars



An atypical reading choice for me, I ended up really enjoying it.  Mike Ford is a Harvard educated Washington D.C. attorney about to enter into a more settled state of his life by marrying his much loved fiancé.  Before this occurs, however, he decides to reestablish his relationship with his criminal brother by asking him to be best man at the wedding.  He discovers that while his brother has attempted to stay straight, he just can't seem to stay away from big trouble and Mike is soon pulled into a major heist that involves the Federal Reserve.  Mike is an interesting main character.  He is obviously trying to pull away from his crooked family but it is obvious that he kind of enjoys the life too.  This is a quick, fast-paced read and I found much of it really interesting.  I received an egalley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.