BOOK REVIEW
KUYUK TIMES
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THE 8TH CONFESSION WRITTEN BY JAMES PATTERSON WITH MAXINE PAETRO
REVIEWD BY A B FANIKI
JULY 2022
A par for James Patterson and Maxine Paetro for writing this excellent thriller- The 8th Confession is as squeaky clean as a drill sergeant whistle that mesmerized anyone that hears its sound. The book's linear plots and professional female characters and protagonist made it an amazing thriller and its California setting is just the right fit to this page-turner. Detective Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and her partner; Rich have twelve unsolved cases to contend with when out of the blue a psychopathic killer is now on a killing spree and his victims are the rich and famous of San Francisco. Jacobi, detective Lindsay Boxer’s boss assigns the case to her and her partner. Cindy Thomas a journalist with the San Francisco Chronicle’s crime desk has her teeth into the story of a dead homeless man with a past; she was not the first on the scene of the homeless man's murder but she was the first to call detective Lindsay Boxer- her friend about the murder. Cindy wants to be kept in the loop as the cops try to solve the case. Yuki Castellano an attorney at the DA’s office, who is fast becoming famous for her losing streaks, is up against one of San Francisco well regarded criminal defense attorneys Philip R. Hoffman. Everyone thought the Stacey Glenn case she was been handed is a slam-dunk, but with a jury that is trying to hang will Yuki survive? This book is narrated from the first person perspective and it revolves around four female friends whose jobs are in one form or another related to crime: Lindsay Boxer is a detective at San Francisco Police Department. Yuki Castellano is an attorney at the DA’s office in San Francisco. Cindy Thomas is a reporter at San Francisco Chronicle’s crime desk, and Dr. Claire Washburn is San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner. The book starts with a prologue that describes a bomb scene in the morning at the fourth and market intersection in San Francisco in May. The first cops at the bomb scene were Lindsay and her partner when the situation was contained Chuck Hanni an arson investigator and explosive expert gave them a prognosis that the yellow school bus that blew up was a meth lab on wheels. Cindy Thomas’ plot was the first in the book after the prologue. She became fascinated by the murder of a bagman Jesus a homeless man that always looks out for other homeless people. Bagman Jesus was shot multiple times and then beaten beyond recognition; his Iconic Wire crucifix was jammed down his throat. Cindy made his story the headline of the chronicles but as the investigation progressed she began to have though whether the murdered homeless man was homeless and harmless after all. The Murder of the Baileys the perfect and wealthy couple has caught the attention of the top brass and press. Jacobi assigns the case to Boxer and Rich. When Sara Needleman a wealthy fashion designer was also found dead at her home Claire the chief medical examiner became more suspicious since the corpse looks fresh like the baileys. There was no sign of wounds or struggle and the toxicology result came back clean on all the victims. When another software billionaire was killed it was all hands on deck at the SFPD. For Yuki it was just a matter of luck, with the Glenn’s case she thought she has caught a break from hers losing streaks because inspector Chi had a video camera when he was called to the scene of the murder that morning when he realized that Rose Glenn was Alive he recorded their conversation thinking it was her last dying declaration, in the video, Rose Glenn confessed that her daughter was the one that attacked her and her husband. Yet in a twist of fate, Rose Glenn survived and changed her mind. The Girls must work together to solve these cases since they all hang out in the same watering hole: Susie’s place. Despite the constant age speculation of most of the characters, the 8th confession is still a page-turner. I will recommend this book to anyone that loves thrillers with a patina of romance.
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THE HOTEL WRITTEN BY ARTHUR HAILEY
REVIEWED BY H D GAMARAJA
JULY 2022
The delineated plots and vivacious characters in this book have made this book a masterpiece. The Hotel written by Arthur Hailey is set in New Orleans and written from a third-person perspective the book describes a series of events that occur at St. Gregory hotel from Monday to Friday- Warren Trent the unpredictable and irascible owner of the largest hotel in New Orleans, which he has built from scratch into one of New Orleans’ finest hotel- that now occupies a whole block on Charles Avenue; now faces a Friday dateline on a mortgage he took on the hotel before it ran into financial crisis: at its prime the hotel lodges royalty, presidents, captains of industries and famous people. Arthur Hailey has not only been successful in portraying the day-to-day activities involved in running a hotel that lodges and caters to more than 250 guests, but he has also been able to bring the readers up close and personal with some of the hotel’s most colorful employee from the most industrious of them like Peter McDermott, the assistant manager to the most crooked ones like Herbie Chandler, the bell captain. The hotel’s guests were not left out too- the hotel’s royal guests, the wealthy, the professional thief prowling the hotel’s corridors, and even the ordinary folks that lodge in the hotel are encapsulated in this intriguing piece.
Some employee and guests of St. Gregory hotel will prefer that some of the things that occurs on Monday night remain a secret: The Duke and Duchess of Croydon- the hotel’s presidential suite guests will prefer that what happen on Monday night remain a secret, but the hotel's chief house detective Ogilvie has stumble upon their secrete if he breathes a word of what he found out about them he could ruin them. Herbie Chandler too will prefer whatever was happening in rooms 1126-7 which was rented by Stanley Dixon and Lyle Durmaire both minors: to remain behind closed doors, his greed was the reason why he did what he did, but with some of the hotel’s guests complaining about the noise coming out of rooms 1126-7 inquiries has to be made about what is going on in the rooms. Albert Wells, of Montreal a regular yearly visitor to the hotel whom was relocated from his corner room to room 1439 which was situated close to the service elevator and called the “Ha-ha room” also has a secret that he will prefer to keep to himself; if the old man secret is out it spread like wildfire in the hotel and it may cause him is his yearly trip to St. Gregory. Peter McDermott, the hotel assistant manager has a pass that he will prefer remains buried in the past where it belongs, but will it remain so when the hotel is taken over by a new owner and to make matters worse, Warren Trent’s policy which he finds frustrating is stopping him from putting an end to the mismanagement and a good deal of staff larceny plaguing the hotel. As if things were not bad enough for peter fate threw him another curve in the form of- two women vying for his love- Miss Christine Francis, the proprietor personal assistant and Miss Marsha Prescott, an heiress whom he rescued. As the dateline loom closer the hotel magnate Curtis O’Keefe waltz in with an offer, when Warren Trent learn from Mr. O’Keefe that the very people he thought he was protecting and who were like family to him were the ones stealing from him all bet were off, but could he save the hotel or will Mr. O’Keefe turn it into one of his modern hotel chains? As event unfolds a professional thief-Key-case walks into the hotel, He is an ex-convict, that specializes in robbery using keys- key-case is trying his last luck in the hotel before he retires.
The Hotel by Arthur Hailey is a slow read but a page-turner. I will recommend this book to any reader that is bored to death with series of novels and boring characters that make the reader fall asleep while reading. The characters in this book will be captive and make any reader laugh. The twist in the plots are all fabulous; the fully developed character with their history and past has made this story that unfolds in five days a great book.
Atiku & Okowa 2023
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Book Review
The Rhinemann EXchange by Robert Ludlum
Reviewed By H D Gamaraja
The Rhinemann Exchange written by Robert Ludlum- proves that once again with Ludlum's books is never a dull moment. This fast-paced thriller is set in the 1930s and 1940s during the Second World War. In the book, Ludlum brings to life vibrant characters that will not fail to captivate and thrill readers. From New Yoke to the Basque Country of Spain, then up to Buenos Aires. This book is packed with plots of deceit and action, and the man in the middle of this deceit and action is none other than Colonel David Spaulding of fair fax, an intelligence division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and The war Department.
Spaulding, whom is trilingual and a construction engineer with famous parents, found himself being thrust into this world of threat because he was the right man with the right set of skills and talent for the Job. He has sufficient professional experience in structural engineering that enable him to understand blueprints, photograph, and verbal description of a wide variety of industrial design; he could also speak the enemies to be language, those that believe in the propaganda machine and the goddamned fools being led by psychopathic criminals they called leaders. Colonel Spaulding is one of the best that Fairfax has ever produced -the man from Lisbon.
Colonel David Spaulding was pulled out of his last special operation in a manner that seems bizarre, and the new special operation he is also assigned to seem to be more bizarre and lacks the usual flare of the intelligence world. Numerous attempts have been made on his life, so it's now left to him to make the hard choices on the go as he navigates the traitorous world of espionage he has been thrust into it.
After unraveling the tangle webs of lies and deceit in Buenos Aires, Colonel David Spaulding did not only stumble upon on love and romance, but a ploy that amounts to the treason of the highest order, and those behind it deserved nothing but what came to them. The world's fate now lies on Colonel David Spaulding's shoulder and an enigmatic burnt-out scientist that is revered. The two of them have to go up against a radical arm group that is planning to stop the ploy and one of the wealthiest and most ruthless industrialists ever to come out of Herr Hitler's war machine, who also happens to be in exile in Buenos Aires.
Fast cars, guns, action, espionage, explosions, a widow that does not need rescuing but can't say no to love, diamonds, advanced technology, fast pace, memorable characters, incredible plots, and suspense, this and much more exciting thrill is what is jam packed in this 43 chapter thriller.
This book is truly a classic that is worth reading over and over aging because of the writer's flair for drama and his sense of humor.
I will recommend this book to any reader who loves thrillers and good old books epitomizing the triumph of good over bad. The picture painted with words by Robert Ludlum in this book will leave the reader with a lasting memory of what good books are.
Book Review
Buddha by Karen Armstrong
Reviewed by A B Faniki
This book explores the life and teaching of Sidahatta Gotama, Buddha. Karen Armstrong has towed a fine line in the portrayal of this classic biography of the man who, until the twenty-first century, was likely the most influential figure of all time. For many people, the Buddha is an embodiment of the human situation. His teaching gave birth to one of the oldest religions on earth, and it flourished in India for 1500 years; so powerful was his teaching that it spread to Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia (it also stood the test of time).
The book, in its introduction, explains the complexity of writing a biography about Buddha stating, "it follows that understanding the Buddha's life, which is to an extent fused with his teaching: can help us all to understand the human predicament. But this can't be the sort of biography usually written in the twenty-first century; it cannot trace what happened or discover the controversial new fact about Buddha's life since there is not a single incident in the scripture that we can honestly affirm to be historically true."
Gotama's biography: his birth, his renunciation of normal domestic life, his enlightenment, the start of his teaching career, and his death. These important events are among the things that the book explores and explain.
The book has left nothing for debate-it has touched on almost all the topics and every aspect of life during his time, from politics, religion, economics, landscape, agriculture, culture, women, history, family, socioeconomic status, myth, legends, establishment, government, business and some of the challenges facing that era.
This book is divided into six chapters except for notes, glossary, and introduction. The first chapter is the renunciation; the second: is the quest, the third: is enlightenment; the fourth: is Dhamma, the fifth: is the mission; and the sixth: is parinibbάna. Each of these chapters is aptly named because they deal with precisely what they are named after in Buddha's life.
The renunciation talks about how the Buddha renounced his former life in the hope of a new one by going forth; the quest explains his quest for enlightenment, while the enlightenment explorer is attaining it. The mission explained the Buddha's mission after enlightenment. Parinibbᾶna means The "Final Nibbᾶna"; the final rest of an enlightened person achieved at death since they will not be reborn into another existence; this chapter deals with the Buddha's death.
This book stands out because of Karen Armstrong's ability to bring her expertise as a religious writer- to clarify some of her points; she compares and contracts some religious facts and myths in a way that an average reader could easily relate to, no matter their religious background. By drawing insight from her arsenal of religious knowledge and using her skill to paint vivid images that convey her ideas and thoughts, she has made the Buddha a delight to read. I will recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that will help him understand Buddhism and Buddha. This book is virtually Buddhism and Buddha 101 for beginners