Saturday, December 6, 2014
My Reading List - Sandra Brown
Deadline (2013) - Journalist Dawson was recommended to follow the murder case in Atlanta and also helped his godfather to find the truth 40 years ago. Many turns and twists.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
My Visit - Webster Lake (MA)
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The direction is kinda vague. I took what was suggested from Google direction but got lost after I took the exit 1 of Rt 395. I had to stop and ask some fellow who happened to be going to the same place. So I ended up entering the lake area from Memorial Beach Park entrance, which is next to the local Police Department.
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| Overpass to the Memorial Beach Park |
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| Peaceful lake |
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| Who fishes on this side? |
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| Entering Webster from Connecticut |
My Reading List - Joseph Finder
Looked like all, at least from what I read, Joseph Finder's novel have something to do in corporate life, the conspiracies in some corporation.
Nick Heller Novel:
Buried Secret (2011)- Alexa Marcus was buried alive with video cams connected. Why was her own father reluctant to save her? A story of chasing to reveal the truth. A-
Standalone
Killer Instinct (2007) - Jason Steadman was so lucky, or not, to have Kurt Semko help him to climb the corporate ladder, or the other way around?
Vanished (2009) - Nick Heller was to find out who abducted his brother after he and his wife left a DC restaurant, and why? woman, money or something very secretive?
Suspicion (2014) - Danny Goodman's life took many turns after his daughter became best friend of Thomas Galvin's daughter. Many twists, feeling not real but good page turner. Jay Gould was a real legend.
Nick Heller Novel:
Buried Secret (2011)- Alexa Marcus was buried alive with video cams connected. Why was her own father reluctant to save her? A story of chasing to reveal the truth. A-
Standalone
Killer Instinct (2007) - Jason Steadman was so lucky, or not, to have Kurt Semko help him to climb the corporate ladder, or the other way around?
Vanished (2009) - Nick Heller was to find out who abducted his brother after he and his wife left a DC restaurant, and why? woman, money or something very secretive?
Suspicion (2014) - Danny Goodman's life took many turns after his daughter became best friend of Thomas Galvin's daughter. Many twists, feeling not real but good page turner. Jay Gould was a real legend.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
My Reading List - Philip R. Craig
I discovered Philip R. Craig when I first saw his book 'Vineyard Prey' in the local library. The word 'prey' reminded me the 'prey' series that I have been fond of. 'Vineyard' may referred to Martha's Vineyard (and yes!). I decided to give a try. Indeed, Philip Craig was truly a great writer, full of humor and clear insight of many things. His story lines are tight and fast paced. Craig was a detail oriented writer. However, the details are all related to solve the mystery at hand. J.W. Jackson, the main character in his series didn't want to get involved into many things, however, more than often, he needed to get more involved in order to be un-involved...
A Vineyard Killing (2003) - The new real estate billionaire Donald and his people got shot when they tried to force people sell their long time owned land. Did John Reilley have a role in this?
Murder at a Vineyard Mansion (2004) - Who was the 'Silencer' to fry those expensive loud speakers? who killed Ollie Mattes, a security of an under-construction mansion? and who murdered Harold Hobbes? the entangled relationships of some oldest families made me very confused. but I got it eventually.
Vineyard Prey (2005) - Who was the 'bunny' wanted to kill Joe Begay and Kate MacLeod? was this really related to their secret government work overseas?
A Vineyard Killing (2003) - The new real estate billionaire Donald and his people got shot when they tried to force people sell their long time owned land. Did John Reilley have a role in this?
Murder at a Vineyard Mansion (2004) - Who was the 'Silencer' to fry those expensive loud speakers? who killed Ollie Mattes, a security of an under-construction mansion? and who murdered Harold Hobbes? the entangled relationships of some oldest families made me very confused. but I got it eventually.
Vineyard Prey (2005) - Who was the 'bunny' wanted to kill Joe Begay and Kate MacLeod? was this really related to their secret government work overseas?
Sunday, August 17, 2014
My Reading List - Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block's books in general are mild in the crime plots but leads you through it via humorous dialogs and funny conversations as we as interesting setups. The characters are somewhat have the contradictory minds as what they thought and what they actually do. The actions are not necessarily heavy but the mind, the thought process are the focus. The story lines sometimes make you feel there is no focus but it all comes together at the end.
Keller Series
Hit Parade (2006) - Keller was tired of but no choice to continue doing what he had been doing. The focus of the stories episodes were not on how did his jobs but his thoughts. Plain but funny and witty dialogs between him and Dot. A good relaxed reading.
Hit and Run (2008) - Keller was framed to be the killer of a politician and needed to survive. Many description of his mental activities and thought process.
Bernie Rhodenbarr
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (2013) - Bernie 'accidentally' helped his police friend to solve a murder burglary crime. Funny and enjoyable.
Written as Jill Emerson
Getting off (2011) - Kitty Tolliver, a serial killer with bad memory of her childhood murdered almost all men who had relationship with. She enjoyed it.
Stand-alone
The Girl with the Long Green Heart (1965) - The con artists Jonny Hayden and Doug Rance used Evelyn Stone, the secretary, on a plot to take her boss Wallace Gunderman's wealth with Canadian land. It was a smooth story until the last portion and it has a brilliant end.
* Greedy is an appetite. It is never sated. The more you feed it, the hungrier it gets. - Burglar who counted spoons
Keller Series
Hit Parade (2006) - Keller was tired of but no choice to continue doing what he had been doing. The focus of the stories episodes were not on how did his jobs but his thoughts. Plain but funny and witty dialogs between him and Dot. A good relaxed reading.
Hit and Run (2008) - Keller was framed to be the killer of a politician and needed to survive. Many description of his mental activities and thought process.
Bernie Rhodenbarr
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (2013) - Bernie 'accidentally' helped his police friend to solve a murder burglary crime. Funny and enjoyable.
Written as Jill Emerson
Getting off (2011) - Kitty Tolliver, a serial killer with bad memory of her childhood murdered almost all men who had relationship with. She enjoyed it.
Stand-alone
The Girl with the Long Green Heart (1965) - The con artists Jonny Hayden and Doug Rance used Evelyn Stone, the secretary, on a plot to take her boss Wallace Gunderman's wealth with Canadian land. It was a smooth story until the last portion and it has a brilliant end.
* Greedy is an appetite. It is never sated. The more you feed it, the hungrier it gets. - Burglar who counted spoons
Sunday, June 15, 2014
My Visit - Walden Pond (MA)
Walden Pond State Reservation
The pond is located at Concord. It is considered as the landmark of the conservation movement. The history behind it is related to Henry Thoreau, who lived there in mid 19th century and became an activist of natural preservation.
This is small pond surrounded by woods and trails. The area is pretty family friendly. Some said that you could do picnic here. However, I neither saw any one was doing so, nor the barbecue setup, even not necessary. We came here in a cloudy autumn weekend. I was sure that it would look even more beautiful if it had been sunny.
The temperature was still cool around 9:00am and there were already a bunch of swimmers enjoying themselves. A couple of boats in the water. A young couple pushed a stroller not far from the beach. The quietness was broken by what looked like a group of students from nearby schools. Yeah.. everyone wanted to see the foliage in a Fall.
The trail was narrow but very well established and maintained. I think it could take about an hour or so to circle the pond. Let's see...
Next to the trail, behind the hill, it is MBTA's Fitchburg line of Commuter Rail:
With the time of taking pictures and all that. It took more than an hour. But it was worth it. It is a good exercise after all.
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| Panorama view of the pond |
The pond is located at Concord. It is considered as the landmark of the conservation movement. The history behind it is related to Henry Thoreau, who lived there in mid 19th century and became an activist of natural preservation.
This is small pond surrounded by woods and trails. The area is pretty family friendly. Some said that you could do picnic here. However, I neither saw any one was doing so, nor the barbecue setup, even not necessary. We came here in a cloudy autumn weekend. I was sure that it would look even more beautiful if it had been sunny.
The temperature was still cool around 9:00am and there were already a bunch of swimmers enjoying themselves. A couple of boats in the water. A young couple pushed a stroller not far from the beach. The quietness was broken by what looked like a group of students from nearby schools. Yeah.. everyone wanted to see the foliage in a Fall.
The trail was narrow but very well established and maintained. I think it could take about an hour or so to circle the pond. Let's see...
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Next to the trail, behind the hill, it is MBTA's Fitchburg line of Commuter Rail:
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| MBTA Fitchburg Line |
With the time of taking pictures and all that. It took more than an hour. But it was worth it. It is a good exercise after all.
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| Panorama view of the pond |
Saturday, June 14, 2014
My Visit - Nickerson State Park (MA)
Nickerson State Park and Crosby Landing Beach
Nickerson State Park
Located at Brewster at Cap, Nickerson State Park is a very well maintained camp ground. It attracted people from the east coast and even Canada. Last time we were there, We could see cars from New Jersy and Quebeq. Comparing to other camp ground I went before, while the camp sites are quite flat and reasonably sized, this is the cleanest and more friendlier one, with the showing facility nearby and water faucets every a few lots.
There is a small but very quite beach, or a pond more accurately, surrounded by the hills. Simply taking the trail or some paths formed by many people's walking. It is couldn't be better for kids to build sand castles and swimming. Although we are not that crazy about camping, we do enjoy every bit of outdoor activities and it offers all at Nickerson. A small jogging in the woods or riding bicycles on the nice meandering road outside the park.
The park is very close to the town center, around 2 miles. There is a plaza there. Food, water, medicine, etc. you could easily get things that you forgot to bring. Need to remember there was a store right outside the park, while we ran out fire wood and tree branches, that was the place to go, $5 a bundled pack! Can't beat that.
Didn't really take many pictures and I misplaced most of them as well.
Crosby Landing Beach
It was supposed to be a walking distance from the Nickerson Part, but we drove anyway. Ten minutes tops including find a parking spot. It is quiet beach, clear water, and family friendly. We got there late afternoon, not many people around so we just took some pictures and wait for the sunset...
Wave is a great sculptor and left a great pattern for us to admire...
The bank also looked like an painting, quiet and soothing...
Finally came the sunset...
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Nickerson State Park
Located at Brewster at Cap, Nickerson State Park is a very well maintained camp ground. It attracted people from the east coast and even Canada. Last time we were there, We could see cars from New Jersy and Quebeq. Comparing to other camp ground I went before, while the camp sites are quite flat and reasonably sized, this is the cleanest and more friendlier one, with the showing facility nearby and water faucets every a few lots.
There is a small but very quite beach, or a pond more accurately, surrounded by the hills. Simply taking the trail or some paths formed by many people's walking. It is couldn't be better for kids to build sand castles and swimming. Although we are not that crazy about camping, we do enjoy every bit of outdoor activities and it offers all at Nickerson. A small jogging in the woods or riding bicycles on the nice meandering road outside the park.
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| Snapping Turtle |
The park is very close to the town center, around 2 miles. There is a plaza there. Food, water, medicine, etc. you could easily get things that you forgot to bring. Need to remember there was a store right outside the park, while we ran out fire wood and tree branches, that was the place to go, $5 a bundled pack! Can't beat that.
Didn't really take many pictures and I misplaced most of them as well.
Crosby Landing Beach
It was supposed to be a walking distance from the Nickerson Part, but we drove anyway. Ten minutes tops including find a parking spot. It is quiet beach, clear water, and family friendly. We got there late afternoon, not many people around so we just took some pictures and wait for the sunset...
Wave is a great sculptor and left a great pattern for us to admire...
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The bank also looked like an painting, quiet and soothing...
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Finally came the sunset...
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Sunday, June 8, 2014
My Visit - Stage Fort Park (MA)
Stage Fort Park
I discovered Stage Fort Park when I took my daughter to her soccer game in Gloucester. There is no point to come home during the game and I am not interested in watching their game either this time. Exploring the local area seemed to be a plausible option, so I drove on...
It is a fun small beach full of rocks and sea weeds. It is quiet and calm. While most of the folks enjoy baseball and picnic around, sitting on the rocks breathing in cool air with a salty hint is a soothing experience.
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| Ocean view |
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| Quite beach | Private bay for divers |
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| Clear water | Artsy rocks |
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| Seaweed | Seaweed |
Before I left to pick up my daughter, I got was my Gloucester history lesson. Looked like that the very first bunch of settlers of Gloucester came on shore at what today we call it as Stage Fort Park. There is a big plaque on this huge rock says in detail:
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My Reading List - Linwood Barclay
I would love to explore more author's work. I noticed Linwood Barclay's books in a local Target store. Looked pretty good to me. I noted down the name and went to the local library. 'A tap on the window' is where I get myself started. In general, I like reading Linwood's stories. However, I need to be very patient because his stories usually have very long run ways before all pieces come together. The more you read the better you get.
Trust Your Eyes (2012) - Schizophrenic Thomas Kilbride is a map lovers and discovered a possible murder when walking along a New York street with whirl360. Multiple threads and all inter-related. The author used first half of the book to set things up.
A Tap on the Window (2013) - A story about the PI Cal Weaver's involvement of finding where the teen Claire Sanders was, as well as locating the true reason behind his son's death from Ecstasy. Good writing overall, but sometimes too much detail.
Trust Your Eyes (2012) - Schizophrenic Thomas Kilbride is a map lovers and discovered a possible murder when walking along a New York street with whirl360. Multiple threads and all inter-related. The author used first half of the book to set things up.
A Tap on the Window (2013) - A story about the PI Cal Weaver's involvement of finding where the teen Claire Sanders was, as well as locating the true reason behind his son's death from Ecstasy. Good writing overall, but sometimes too much detail.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
My Reading List - J.D. Robb
J.D. Robb is used by Nora Roberts in her 'In Death' Series.
1. Missing in Death - Two people were vanished from a New York harbor cruise from a no-exit public restroom. Eve Dallas chased the case and discovered country's top intelligence and what how to make people lost memory. It is a very short book. B.
1. Missing in Death - Two people were vanished from a New York harbor cruise from a no-exit public restroom. Eve Dallas chased the case and discovered country's top intelligence and what how to make people lost memory. It is a very short book. B.
My Reading List - Linda Howard
I discovered Linda Howard's book when I was looking for a smaller MP3 audio book that could be easily carried when I traveled. The detective genre selection is small in the local libraries, MP3 audio book is even limited. I took what I saw with the word detective in it without knowing that Linda's novel was part of the romantic genre. The outcome wasn't bad. She mixed romance and suspense pretty well. Light mystery and entertaining. Since detective work is not the main focus but used to support the romance, some twists were not natural comparing to other authors.
1. Dream Man (1995) - Orlando detective Dane Hollister loved Marlie Keen at first seen and used her psychic power to find the serial killer.some suspense but predicable. A little too much romantic scene. A-
2. Veil of Night (2010) - Atlanta Wedding planner Jaclyn Wilde's super picky client Carrie Edward was murdered. The police officer Eric Wilder, Jaclyn's one night stand parner needed to clean Jaclyn as the prime suspect and find out the killer. Light suspense and predicable, no mistery, of course, the author gave the pair a good ending. A-
1. Dream Man (1995) - Orlando detective Dane Hollister loved Marlie Keen at first seen and used her psychic power to find the serial killer.some suspense but predicable. A little too much romantic scene. A-
2. Veil of Night (2010) - Atlanta Wedding planner Jaclyn Wilde's super picky client Carrie Edward was murdered. The police officer Eric Wilder, Jaclyn's one night stand parner needed to clean Jaclyn as the prime suspect and find out the killer. Light suspense and predicable, no mistery, of course, the author gave the pair a good ending. A-
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