Books Read in August 2010

Let it Bleed. Ian Rankin. A true winters tale set in Edinburgh and Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of intrigue involving Scottish civil servants. Was the Lord Provost's daughter kidnapped or just another runaway? Why is a city councillor shredding documents that should have been waste paper years ago? And why on earth is Rebus invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the home of the Scottish Office's Permanent Secretary? Sucked into the machine that is modern Scotland, Rebus confronts the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond justice but battles on to what….. 4 Stars.
An Army of Convicts. Cliff Roehr. This is a free e-book from a website were authors post their novels and downloads are free. Initially found it a very interesting plot but not that well written, the timeline was disjointed. Also when the hero needed something to happen, it happened. So much so that that side of the plot became to surreal and unbelievable. Near the end the plot got bad that I had to skip over the last 20 pages, nearly missing the fact that the hero was dreaming it. Not a good book even free. 0.5 Stars.
The Perfect Murder. Peter James. Victor Smiley and his wife Joan have been married for nearly twenty years, but each barely recognises the person they wake up with every morning. They both decide to kill each other. Victor plans the perfect murder, Joan just murder. Nice twist and the end but you could see it coming. What I did not see was that it was just a short story, there should be some indication of the number of pages in this eBook (42 pages in all). Not a great tale. Waste of money and time, not necessarily in that order. 0.5 Stars.
Black and Blue. Ian Rankin. This is the best one so far as well as being the longest Rebus novel. At times I could not put it down. Multiple crimes, some old, some new, intermingle and cross each others paths. Two serial killers, one hunting the other, Rebus as a crime suspect, then in a fit up inquiry, drugs on oil rigs and clubs in Aberdeen, trips on helicopters to oil rigs, this story has it all and a plausible ending. 5 Stars.
Captain Blood. Rafael Sabatini. While Blood is a fictional character, much of the historical background of the novel is based on fact. The Monmouth rebels were sold into slavery as described in the book; and the shifting political alliances of the of 1688 are used in the novel as a plot device to allow Blood's return to respectability. Written in an old romantic style this book, difficult to get into, soon got my interest and I enjoyed the book. 3 Stars.