About Me

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Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich

46. – 559.) Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich – I am ambivalent about the thriller. The primary characters are intriguing – the beautiful Emma Ransom, a former Soviet agent working for the Division a secret American spy agency not part of the CIA and the handsome Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a surgeon working for Doctors Without Borders. The twist is that they are married though separated. Each is caught up with the issues of Islamic fundamentalism. Emma is involved in a plot to assassinate a terrorist financier, Prince Rashi, while Jonathan is taken prisoner by the Taliban to treat an ailing leader in the mountains. Their stories start coming together when a nuclear cruise missile is identified as intact near the peak of a mountain in the Himalayas. In the middle is international arms dealer, Lord Balfour, an Indian living in Pakistan who never heard of a deal from which he could not make a profit. My ambivalence starts with the go it alone, cowboy mentality, of the Division. When dealing with a potential missing nuclear weapon it is hard for me to believe that every branch of the American military and spy agencies would not have been involved. Great thrillers can suspend disbelief but only so far with nuclear bombs. Reich is a smooth writer whose actions sequences are gripping. Overall the book read like the cartoon aspects of current Hollywood action movies. It is too predictable. When the good guys and girls are all great looking and brilliant I start with some disbelief. You always know the result but the story was just too predictable. The characters are not as one dimensional as Hollywood but Reich’s writing skills could not compensate for the plot. Paperback (Dec. 16/10)

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