Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva

I enjoyed this book and marveled at Silva's ability to write a great thriller, time after time.

Moscow is no longer the gray, grim city of Soviet times. Now it is awash with oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. But in the new Russia, power once again resides behind the walls of the Kremlin. Critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. And a new generation of Stalinists plots to reclaim an empire—and challenge the United States.

One of those men is Ivan Kharkov, ex-KGB, who built a financial empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Part of his profit comes from arms dealing. And he is about to deliver Russia’s most sophisticated weapons to the United States’ most dangerous enemy, unless Israeli foreign intelligence agent Gabriel Allon can stop him. Slipping across borders from Vatican City to St. Petersburg, Jerusalem to Washington, DC, Allon is playing for time—and playing by Moscow rules.

Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.

The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva

Another great novel in a great series, 'The Secret Servant' is a gripping thriller, first rate in all ways.  The Gabriel Allon books by Daniel Silva are among the best in the thriller genre and this one is no exception.

While in Amsterdam, Israeli intelligence officer and master art restorer Gabriel Allon discovers a plot that is about to explode in the middle of London. The daughter of the American ambassador is to be brutally kidnapped. But Gabriel arrives too late to save her. And when he reveals his face to the plot’s masterminds, his fate is sealed as well.

Drawn once more into the service of American intelligence, Gabriel desperately searches for the missing woman as the clock ticks steadily toward the hour of her execution. The search will thrust him into an unlikely alliance with a man who has lost everything because of his devotion to Islam. It will cause him to question the morality of the tactics of his trade. And it might very well cost him his life…

Do yourself a favor and read this novel today; you won't be sorry.  Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.

The Messenger by Daniel Silva

I'm currently rereading some of the Gabriel Allon books of Daniel Silva and enjoying every minute.  'The Messenger' is one of his most exciting books and I highly recommend it.

Gabriel Allon—art restorer and spy—is about to face the greatest challenge of his life. An al-Qaeda suspect is killed in London, and photographs are found on his computer—photographs that lead Israeli intelligence to suspect that al-Qaeda is planning one of its most audacious attacks ever, aimed straight at the heart of the Vatican.

Allon and his colleagues soon find themselves in a deadly duel of wits against one of the most dangerous men in the world—a hunt that will take them across Europe to the Caribbean and back. But for them, there may not be enough of anything: enough time, enough facts, enough luck.

All Allon can do is set his trap—and hope that he is not the one caught in it.

If you enjoy the thriller genre, read this book; you won't be sorry.   Highly recommended.  5/5 stars.

Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva

Prince of Fire is Danial Silva's fifth book in the Gabriel Allon series.  My experience is that every one of Silva's novels is good; among the best you can read in fact.  I'm not sure how he does it, but I've never been disappointed.

After an explosion in Rome destroys the Israeli embassy, Gabriel Allon makes a disturbing discovery—the existence of a dossier in terrorist hands that strips away his secrets, and lays bare his history. Drawn into the heart of a service he’d once forsaken, Allon finds himself stalking a master terrorist across a bloody landscape generations in the making. But soon, Allon will wonder who is stalking whom.

When the final showdown comes, it won’t be Allon alone who is threatened with destruction. For it is not his history alone that has been exposed...

A great book.  Read Silva's books, they're the best.  5/5 stars. Highly recommended.

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

This was an excellent book that had that somewhat rare quality of grabbing you as a reader and not letting go until the end of the book.  This is the second book by Slaughter that I've read and I've enjoyed both immensely.

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .

Well worth reading and an excellent choice for the beach.  Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.

Killing Commendatore by Huruki Murakami

I'm a big fan of Haurki Murakami; I've read just about all his books.  In particular I liked '1Q84' and 'Kaftka on the Shore.'  This book is in the same class as them.  Murakami writes magical realism, so his books always have some fantastic element to them and this one is like that also.

A portrait artist whose marriage has just broken up moves into his friend's father's hose and finds a painting by the man in the attic.  The painting is entitled 'Killing Commendatore' and as an artist it fascinates him.  Gradually he is led by a series of events to discover that some of the elements of the painting have their own life and affect him directly.  By the end of the book, we have taken a trip into the fantastic world of magic written by Murakami.

At times, like always, I had a hard time swallowing the magical realism of the book; this kind of thing always confuses me, but I can say that I read this book straight through without putting it down.  It is that gripping of a novel and I have to say one of Murakami's best.  His compelling narrative style always engages me and compels me to read on.  I can't recommend this book enough, a real winner.  Highly recommended. 5/5 stars.

HTML & CSS For Complete Beginners by Ikram Hawramani

This is a textbook currently availble from Amazon that very clearly explains HTML and CSS programming languages.  I had a great deal of fun going through the examples and building my first web page.  The example are clear and geared to those that have no programming experience.  This is a great first book if you are interested in web design.  Highly recommended.  5/5 stars.

Love You Gone by Rona Halsall

This book really turned me off at first.  A great deal of the story is told in flashback, and I hate flashbacks.  Once I got over that, this turned out to be a really good book, a gripping thriller/mystery that reminded me of Agatha Christie.

Luke is a army veteran with two children who is meeting his wife Mel for a two week getaway in the mountains of Wales.  Only when Mel arrives, Luke and the kids are gone having left a note that they went on a hike.  Later, after it gets dark, Mel calls mountain rescue and tells them that her family is missing.  A search ensues, Mel is questioned by the police, and it is a mystery where Luke and the kids have gotten to.

At this point, the story goes into flashback (I almost didn't read on) and tells the story of Luke and Mel's marriage before the incident.  What got me was the fascination I had for their relationship; they are two genuinely interesting characters.  Gradually we realize that there is more to the disappearance than we thought and the game is afoot. 

'Love You Gone" is a well-written and fascinating mystery and suspense thriller that will keep you compulsively interested to the very end.  Highly recommended.  5/5 stars.