Review of "Make Me: A Jack Reacher Thriller" by Lee Child

In this 20th book in the 'Jack Reacher' series, the former military cop helps search for a missing man. Like all Reacher books, the novel works fine as a standalone.

*****

Jack Reacher, a former military cop who wanders from place to place, exits a train in an Oklahoma town called 'Mother's Rest', curious to find out the origin of the name.



At the train station, Reacher happens to meet a private detective named Michelle Chang, whose business partner - whom she was supposed to meet in Mother's Rest - has vanished.



Reacher decides to help Chang search for her partner, and the duo soon discover that the residents of Mother's Rest are EXTREMELY hostile, and obviously hiding something.

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Reacher and Chang are essentially run out of town, and they embark on an investigation to find Chang's missing partner and discover what's going on in Mother's Rest.

The search takes the twosome around the country, and they finally get some valuable assistance from a journalist in Los Angeles, whom people constantly call with conspiracy theories.



There's plenty of action in the story, since Reacher hasn't met a man (or probably woman) he couldn't beat up. I don't want to give away spoilers, but we see a dark side of human nature in the tale's climax. There's also a touch of romance, for folks who like that sort of thing.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Thriller" by Lee Child and Andrew Child

In this 27th book in the 'Jack Reacher' series, the former military cop pursues justice for two murder victims. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Jack Reacher meanders from place to place, his only travel accessory being a folding toothbrush.



One day, in Gerrardsville, Colorado, Reacher sees a woman sail under a bus....a fatal incident. Most pedestrians say the woman jumped, but from Jack's angle, he saw a man in a hoodie push the woman. The hoodie man then leaned under the bus and took the woman's purse.



Reacher follows the hoodie man and gets into a tussle with the perp and two of his associates. In the melee, Jack roughs up the scoundrels, who skedaddle, but not before Jack gets a peek into the victim's purse, which contains an envelope with papers and a photo.



The police investigate the incident and call it a suicide. But Reacher knows what he saw, and he sets out to get justice for the victim, whose name is Angela. It turns out Angela worked in a private prison in Mississippi, where she suspected serious wrongdoing.



Angela came to Gerrardsville to show the proof to her former prison co-worker, a man named Sam. Unfortunately, Sam just died as well, supposedly from a heart attack.

This 'coincidence' is too much for Reacher, and Jack and Sam's ex-wife Hannah conclude Sam was murdered.....just like Angela. So Reacher and Hannah set out for the prison in Mississippi, to run down the perpetrators.



The CEO of the Mississippi prison, who ordered the murders of Sam and Angela, learns that Reacher is on his way to Mississippi.



The CEO is worried, and sends his minions to stop Reacher by any means necessary. However Jack, who's very clever and tough, can take it, and dish it out a million times worse.

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As this is happening, other parties are also interested in the Mississippi prison.

A California teenager called Jed just learned that his biological father, whom he's never met, is getting released from the Mississippi prison in a few days. So Jed runs away from his foster home and takes off for Mississippi. It's a tough trip though, because Jed is the target of  criminals along the way.



Also, a professional arsonist, whose drug-addict son died when his organs shut down, is out to get revenge against the people responsible. And these people are connected with the prison in Mississippi.



In time, all these story lines come together, in dramatic scenes.

Like all Reacher books, this is an exciting story filled with fighting, shooting, killing, running, hiding, etc. Just the book for action fans. 

As an observation, I'd like to say that authors Lee Child and Andrew Child thought up a unique money-making scheme for this book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Joe Country: Slough House # 6" by Mick Herron

This is the 6th book in Mick Herron's 'Slough House' (Slow Horses) series, about British MI5 agents who've made a bad mistake and are relegated to working in a dilapidated building called Slough House. The novels in this series are best read in order because of the continuing story arc.

*****

The man in charge of Slough House is former spy master Jackson Lamb, an offensive slob who hurls insults at people, smokes too much, eats too much, and has terrible hygiene. Regardless, Lamb feels compelled to look out for his 'joes' (agents), even if he thinks they're idiots.



As the story opens, the slow horses are experiencing a good bit of turmoil.

River Cartright is mourning the death of his grandfather, a former MI5 agent who raised River and taught him spycraft;



Catherine Standish, a recovering alcoholic, learned something that has her teetering on the edge of a relapse;



Louisa Guy is still grieving the death of her Slough House partner and lover Min Harper;



Shirley Dander, a drug-user, had court-mandated anger management, but still can't control her temper;



Roddy Ho, a computer hacker, is still reeling from his honey pot fake girlfriend. Nevertheless, Roddy continues to have delusions about being the smartest and bravest agent in Slough House.



J.K. Coe, who has anxiety issues, makes a shoehorn look chatty; but he knows what's going on around him;



Lech Wicinski, the new man at Slough House, claims he was framed for the wrongdoing that landed him there.



Meanwhile, at Regents Park, Diana Taverner has finally manipulated herself into the position of First Chair.



Diana tries to 'demote' Head Dog Emma Flyte, who's too attractive and independent for Lady's Di taste. But Emma tells Diana to 'F-off' and quits.



Early in the story Louisa Guy takes a call from Min Harper's ex-wife Clare Addison. Clare says that her and Min's teenage son Lucas has disappeared. The boy had been talking about wanting to travel and go to college, and was concerned about the cost. Then Lucas suddenly said the money wasn't going to be a problem, left his phone behind, and vanished.

Because Louisa was involved with Min she feels obligated to look for Lucas. Louisa tracks Lucas to snowy Wales, takes a leave from Slough House, and pushes off. Shortly afterwards, Emma Flyte and several Slough House agents follow, to help Louisa search for Lucas.



Meanwhile, a group of mercenaries, led by River's estranged biological father Frank Harkness, is also looking for Lucas.....to kill him. All this leads to a complicated chase in Wales, with much death and destruction. In the course of this we learn why Lucas ran off and what he hoped to accomplish.



As all this is happening, new slow horse Lech Wicinski, who believes a favor he did landed him in Slough House, hopes to set things right.

Mick Herron has a deft hand with espionage novels, and the book contains the usual humor, skullduggery, deviousness, shooting, and fighting that are characteristic of the series. The book is a must read for fans.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Gamma Bots: The Womanoid Diaries III" by Ava Lock

Gamma Bots is the third book in the 'Womanoid Diaries Trilogy.' The first two books are Alpha Bots and Beta Bots. My review will contain short synopses of Alpha Bots and Beta Bots, but I'll try to avoid spoilers.

*****

Alpha bots takes place in a town called New Stepford, where all the women are AI androids, purchased by men to fulfill their needs. There are various kinds of androids, and Cookie Rifkin is a sex kitten, programmed for domestic chores and carnal relations.





Cookie and her kind are a cut above basic robots in that they can eat, drink, experience pleasure, feel pain, and most importantly, think for themselves. Cookie and other New Stepford 'wives', tired of being submissive mates, rebel with the help of two crafty androids: a robotics engineer called Wayne.....



.....and a cop called Maggie.



*****

As Beta Bots opens, Cookie has gained her freedom, and android Wayne is her boyfriend.



Cookie, Wayne, and a non-binary metallic shapeshifting AI called ANA (pronounced A-N-A) - who can morph into ANYTHING - set out on a mission to steal gold and palladium from a Russian bank.



Along the way, the trio meet - and are helped by - several new friends, including a female android called Tabby - who owns a luxury yacht called the Wonder Woman;



a trans man named Richie - who captains the Wonder Woman;



and Uno - a non-binary white Bengal tiger.



There's a lot of action in the story, during which the AIs, who have WiFi, communicate with each other, share data, and download useful programs - like how to use martial arts. AIs also contain 'recyclones' that they use to heal themselves, rebuild lost body parts, and basically make anything they want....weapons, clothes, whatever. Thus it's VERY hard, though not impossible, to 'kill' an AI.



Among other things, the AIs want to destroy the Stepford Corporation, which - in addition to manufacturing android women - has various underhanded schemes.

*****

At the beginning of Gamma Bots, Cookie and some of her friends are on the yacht Wonder Woman, engaging in water sports and waiting for Cookie's android boyfriend Wayne to fly in from London.





Cookie has a shifting set of goals that include: 1. destroy the Stepford Corporation; 2. rescue a 'child' android named Mateus, who's being held in the Stepford facility; 3. kill Maggie', a former AI friend of Cookie's who's gone bad; and more.

In the meantime, Cookie gets a WiFi signal from an AI called Paula, Cookie's erstwhile best pal, who was thought to be dead.



Cookie and her companions find Paula's parts in a garbage dump and reassemble her - but this isn't the same old Paula. This 'new' Paula is a killer who can change into almost any object, such as a car; a tank; a fighter jet, and on on. Moreover, Paula can make other AIs to assist her.



Evil Paula is determined to obliterate Cookie and her friends, and the villainous android follows Cookie everywhere. This leads to action scene after action scene as Cookie tries to destroy the Stepford Corporation while simultaneously battling Paula.

Here's an example of an action scene:

Cookie's non-binary AI friend ANA, who can transform into anything, has become a gray F-35 fighter jet. Cookie sees the gray F-35 zoom overhead, followed by three black F-35s in V-formation.





Cookie narrates: "Somehow, I knew Paula was the leader.....ANA pulled a barrel roll that spun into a deep nosedive, causing the three black jets to overshoot their target. Then, ANA climbed behind them, shot a single missile and took out one of Paula's wingwomen. With it's engine on fire, the black fighter spun into a corkscrew. A thick black trail of smoke spiraled across the indigo sky.....Then, the plane hit the deck.....ANA circled again, this time with two bogeys on their tail....." and so on.

The novel is chock full of scenarios like this, with AIs that can fly; can sprout weapons and tools from the ends of their limbs; can reassemble themselves after the most horrendous damage; and more.



In the course of the story, Cookie meets Dr. Jean Fluke, the original creator of the Stepford Corporation's womanoids. Dr. Fluke designed other AIs as well, including plant AIs and mushroom AIs, all of which are important to the tale.



Cookie also has to rescue her boyfriend Wayne at one point, and try to stop an AI called M@STER, which plans to start a nuclear holocaust that will destroy the planet. All this entails more pulse-pounding quests.

The book has lots of memorable scenes, such as Cookie being attacked by a nursery full of toddler androids; Cookie having a sexual adventure; Cookie teleporting across the country via mushroom AIs; Cookie camouflaging herself in a kitchen full of Cook-Es (Cookie clones that do nothing but cook banana recipes); and more.



This is a fine conclusion to the womanoid trilogy, and I'd even be curious to learn what happens with Cookie next.

The book has lots of 'Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll', and would probably appeal to any reader who likes sci-fi action and adventure.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride" by Lorenzo Carcaterra

In this debut book in the Nonna Maria series, Nonna Maria helps a woman betrothed to the wrong man, and looks into the suspicious death of an old friend.

*****

Nonna Maria, who lives on the beautiful Italian island of Ischia, is in her seventies, walks with a slight limp, keeps her thick white hair in a bun, likes espresso coffee laced with chocolate, enjoys white wine, loves to cook, and dines only at her own table - near a photo of her deceased husband Gabriel.




Ischia

Nonna Maria is a familiar presence in Ischia, and people there ask her for advice and help during difficult times. To assist folks in need, Nonna Maria makes wide use of her network of friends and family, spread throughout the entire island and reaching as far as Rome and Naples.



One day a distressed young woman named Anna tells Nonna Maria the following story: Anna was walking through some beautiful gardens when a stranger, Andrea Bartoli, began chatting her up. Andrea bought Anna a chocolate gelato, and the next thing Anna knew, she was betrothed to marry Andrea, with no idea of how that happened. Anna doesn't want to marry Bartoli, but she's afraid to break up with him.



Nonna Maria is convinced Anna was drugged with a substance called La Fattura and promises to help the girl. Nonna Maria then consults her friend, carabinieri Captain Paulo Murino.....



....and is shocked to learn that Murino's sister Clara, who lived in Florence, had a similar experience. Clara found herself engaged to Bartoli, married him, and died in a car accident three months later.....after which Bartoli collected the insurance money. Nonna Maria is CERTAIN Bartoli is up to no good with Anna, and makes a plan to set things right.



While this is happening, Nonna Maria is also looking into the death of her friend, 85-year-old tourist boat captain Pasquale Favorini.



Favorini and his first mate, Giovanni Buonopana, ferry tourists around the Tyrrhenian Sea, relating stories about Ischia's history. Favorini and Buonopana are like father and son, and Buonopana will inherit the boat when Favorini passes.



One night Favorini goes missing, as does his dog Peppo, who goes everywhere with his master.



First mate Buonopana says he was sleeping, and didn't see a thing. When Favorini's body is fished out of the water, the authorities determine that Favorini got drunk, fell off the boat, and drowned. This leaves Captain Murino with no remit to investigate.



Nonna Maria refuses to accept the official cause of death. She observes, "Hard to believe a man who knew every inch of that boat and who had crossed the sea, calm or angry, thousands of times could just fall overboard." Nonna Maria is sure something nefarious was going on and Favorini was murdered, and she sets out to find the killer(s).

There's plenty of danger, action, and adventure as Nonna Maria works to extricate Anna from her predicament, and to get justice for Captain Favorini.



The story is heightened by descriptions of the sights, sounds, and history of Ischia, along with mentions of tempting Italian delicacies. Nonna Maria loves to prepare food for her friends and relatives, and these goodies include tomato, basil, and red onion paninis; grilled calamari; linguini in red sauce with clams and mussels; chicken cacciatore; and marinated grilled Branzino.


Tomato, Basil, and Red Onion Panini


Grilled Calamari


Linguini in Red Sauce with Clams and Mussels


Chicken Cacciatore


Marinated Grilled Branzino

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Rating: 3.5 stars