Strait of Hormuz - Book Reivew

I received a complimentary digital copy of "Strait of Hormuz" from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Strait of Hormuz

Synopsis

Under the guise of investigating money laundering via high-end art purchases in Europe, Royce finds himself in Switzerland with only sketchy information, no backup, and without a single weapon other than his wits.

His appointment with a gallery owner in Geneva is a dead end--the man is on the floor with a bullet through his chest. But it turns out Royce does have backup. The Mossad has sent someone to keep an eye on this undercover op, which is of more than casual interest to the Israelis. And it's someone Royce knows...

An under-the-radar phone call from the U.S. State Department puts Marc Royce once again on assignment—ferreting out rumors of a clandestine operation stretching from Asia to the Mideast. At stake is Iran’s threat to blockade the narrow Strait of Hormuz, cutting off vital shipping routes and escalating global tensions beyond the breaking point.

My Thoughts

Well here is the third book in the Mark Royce Series and I have to ask myself was it the right move to go for a third and the answer is a definite YES.

This one drew me in from the very first page, the start was a delight to read and at no time did I stop to think is this similar to the others because I was so interested in this story for itself.

By this one we feel like we know the character of Marc Royce well enough to really imagine the tone of the words he is saying and we have the ease into it by having one of the main characters from the second book appearing right at the start.  However even if you are reading this book without having read the first two, you will have no difficulty in getting right in there with the characters because of the way it is written.

How do we get from Art dealers to a ship in troubled waters, from Switzerland to Israel? Following the hero we are prepared to go anywhere he leads, as are the people who trust him and whom he trusts.  Davis Bunn has again, as in the first of this series, built up good relationships between the characters and this is one of the reasons this is such a good read.

In this book you will get adventure, excitement, romance, loyalty and a strong sense of faith. 

Well worth waiting for! 

About the Author:  CLICK HERE

About Strait of Hormuz

ISBN (Trade Paperback): 978-0-7642-1138-6

ISBN (Hardback): 978-0-7642-1145-4

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-4412-6279-0

336 pages

November 5, 2013 from Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group

If you have read all three reviews of this series then you will understand when I say that I'm torn between the first and the third to pick as my favourite.

What about you, have you read the first 2?

Which did you prefer?

Are you enticed to go to Amazon now and get no. 3?

Rare Earth - Book Review

Having been a great fan of Davis Bunn for many years (see The Presence) I was thrilled to find this novel of his very cheap on Amazon in the kindle store.

Again it will never be able to sit beside the other Davis Bunn books I collected over the years but I am building up quite a collection now in my kindle.

Synopsis:

Davis Bunn Strikes Gold Once Again!

Marc Royce stares down from the helicopter on the Rift Valley slashing across Africa like a scar. Tribal feuds, drought, and dislocation have left their devastation. And he sees a new wound--a once-dormant volcano oozing molten lava across the dry landscape--and clouds of ash obscure his vision. His undercover assignment is similarly obscured. Supposedly dispatched to audit a relief organization's accounts, Marc finds himself amid the squalor and chaos of Kenyan refugee camps caught in a stranglehold of corruption and ruthlessness.

But his true task relates to the area's reserves of once-obscure metals now indispensible to high-tech industry. The value of this rare earth inflames tensions on the world's stage as well as among warring tribes. When an Israeli medical administrator, Kitra, seeks Marc's help with her humanitarian efforts, they forge an unexpected link between impoverished African villages and another Silicon Valley rising in the Israeli desert. Precious metals and inventive minds promise new opportunities for prosperity, secure futures, and protection of valuable commodities from terrorists. As Marc prepares to report back to Washington, he seizes a chance to restore justice to this troubled land. This time, he may have gone too far.

About the Author:  CLICK HERE

My Thoughts:

Being the second book in a series I am always skeptical that it will be almost a rehash of the first one but in a different setting.  Well this was definitely in a different setting from no.1 but was certainly not a rehash of the same plot.

I had been looking forward to meeting up with some of the other characters from the first book as it seemed to me that we had met characters that Davis Bunn would want to write more about but in this I had been wrong.  I think this led me to be a bit disappointed as I had thoroughly enjoyed certain characters so really did want to see friendships rekindled.  The characters in this story never seemed to become as well known or understood as those of the first in the series and even by the end of the novel I was not thinking how much I would like to see what they would have to contribute to another one.

I think the setting was good and the story was clever and very up-to-date which I presume means it was well researched but I found it harder to actually picture the scenes and to remember where certain people were at different times which had not been a problem in the previous one.

Having lived in various countries and worshipped  with many different nationalities I could understand and appreciate the bond between the Christians in the story and especially see the trust there can be between them.

I am already on to book 3 in the series and looking forward to wherever Marc Royce finds he is needed but hope that it is more of the caliber of the first one with better relationships defined between the main characters.


                                  You can now read my "Strait of Hormuz" Review

Have you read this book?

Would you be inclined to read it after this review?

Lion of Babylon - Book Review

Having been a great fan of Davis Bunn for many years (see The Presence) I was thrilled to find this novel of his free on Amazon in the kindle store earlier this year.


Sadly it will never be able to sit beside the other Davis Bunn books I collected over the years but what with the ebook age upon us and the ease of having so many books in one object for travelling and of course the fact that we are running out of bookshelf space and not least of all the fact that I can get a lot of ebooks free; well I am now a kindle fan too.


So back to the purpose of this post, the review of this book.

Synopsis:

Marc Royce works for the State Department on special assignments, most of them rather routine, until two CIA operatives go missing in Iraq--kidnapped by Taliban forces bent on generating chaos in the region. Two others also drop out of sight--a high-placed Iraqi civilian and an American woman providing humanitarian aid. Are the disappearances linked? Rumors circulate in a whirl of misinformation.

Marc must unravel the truth in a covert operation requiring utmost secrecy--from both the Americans and the insurgents. But even more secret than the undercover operation is the underground dialogue taking place between sworn enemies. Will the ultimate Reconciler between ancient enemies, current foes, and fanatical religious factions be heard?

About the Author:  CLICK HERE

This book is set in Iraq around a kidnapping and involves an American agent so as expected it is a fast paced adventure novel but I really loved the way Davis Bunn brought in the quieter segments of the story which are so often badly written and almost overlooked.

It is a good read for someone who wants an action story but you must also be prepared for the fact that this book is about relationships on many levels.  Throughout the story there are various characters introduced who would not work together or be brought together in normal circumstances but here there is an example of how serving and helping others is more important than political and religious viewpoints.

At the end of the book we are left with the anticipation that some of the characters will meet again and there are many of them who we would like to have the opportunity to meet again too. So is this what happens in the next Marc Royce story?   Well if you enjoy this one then you can get no. 2 in the series entitled "RARE EARTH"  which is what I did straight away because I thoroughly enjoyed this first one.

Head on over to AMAZON now because the "LION OF BABYLON" ebook is free during November too.

Also I will be reviewing "RARE EARTH" in this blog in a couple of days time 

so click here for that.

Also I will be reviewing the latest release  "Strait of Hormuz" in this blog in a couple of days time 

so click here for that.

Have you read this?

Do you agree or disagree with me?

Why not leave a comment and let me know.

Misery Loves Company - Book Review

I was privileged to get an ebook reader copy of this book from the publishers and read it during the past week.

Synopsis:

        Don’t tell me it’s terrifying. Terrify me.

Filled with grief, Jules Belleno rarely leaves the house since her husband’s death while on duty as a police officer. Other than the reviews Jules writes on her blog, she has little contact with the outside world.

But one day when she ventures out to the local grocery store, Jules bumps into a fellow customer . . . and recognizes him as her favorite author, Patrick Reagan. Jules gushes and thoroughly embarrasses herself before Regan graciously talks with her.

And that’s the last thing she remembers—until she wakes up in a strange room with a splitting headache. She’s been kidnapped. And what she discovers will change everything she believed about her husband’s death . . . her career . . . and her faith. 

While I was reading this book I thought I couldn't relate the title of the book to the story I was reading but as at other times I know that I may have to wait until I finish the book and then I get it!

       And yes I got it!

Not having read anything by this author before, I knew I would not be expecting a certain type of writing style or plot formula and it was nice to just read and enjoy the story as it developed in the way the author had intended it to and not the way I would be expecting.

Some of the characters were a little typical but not one-dimensional and the development of the storyline in the two separate ways within the story worked quite well.

Twice I thought I knew what was going to happen and I was wrong so definitely not a predictable storyline.  I enjoyed the book as a relaxing read but also in parts of it I found I was drawn in to consider how I would react if I had to face some of the issues presented.

Taking into consideration the fact that this was written by a woman and the main character is a woman I needed to decide if this was going to be a book that would only be categorised as a women's book.  It is not action packed but action and suspense are there and the fact that the rest of the main characters are male I have to say that I would not categorize it as such.

Within the storyline the subject of happy endings or real life, possibly unhappy endings came up but I will not give spoil it by telling you what type of ending this resulted in, just read it and see for yourself.

Misery Loves Company  by  Rene Gutteridge  www.renegutteridge.com 

Published by Tyndale  www.tyndale.com 

Released in August 2013

The Presence - Book Review

This was the first book I ever read by Davis Bunn and I was so impressed by it that I have read most of his books to date.

The Presence

Description

A Small-Town Lawyer. Big-City Corruption. Can One Person Truly Make a Difference? T. J. Case, a North Carolina lawyer and politician, takes a stand of integrity that costs him his election. As he considers his future, a morning of quiet reflection is transformed into a remarkable summons that propels him into the middle of Washington politics. And accompanying this commission is an extraordinary sense of divine direction to help reshape twisted lives and challenge corrupt systems. The cause that T. J. Case represents meets with resistance at the highest levels. In a dramatic clash against a shadowy network of organized evil, The Presence emerges as the prevailing power. But obedience demands sacrifice….

My Thoughts

The summary above does not give even a hint of the true impact this book can have on the reader.

I remember feeling changed when I had finished it and the sense of the presence of God was heavy on me.
I had not read a novel like this before and have not read one since.

Set in Washington and seemingly a political type story line would not have attracted me towards this book as I would not normally be interested in politics except in TV dramas like The West Wing.  However this was a story about the heart of a person and how he was led by God.  I loved seeing how even in places where we tend to presume very little Christian influence gets through, there is always God's way.

As I said at the start it was the first book by Davis Bunn that I read and it was many years ago but I will never forget it and the true test of how good a book is, will always be - will I read many more by this author?

 The answer here was yes, yes, yes!

 In the years since I have read most of his books and introduced my family to them as well.

 Here is a link to a list of other novels by Davis Bunn on Amazon
Books by Davis Bunn


If thinking of reading this book in the future why not pin this pic to go back to later.

It definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf,  what about yours?

Here are some more Book Reviews at Sandra's Ark