Jen's Blog

Oh John Sandford, you got me again.  The first few pages made me think Lucas Davenport was somehow reverting to his old self. What happened to Weather?  Did quitting his job with the Minnesota Bureau send him off the rails?  I vowed to stop reading if he was reverting to his pre-Weather days (even though I knew that wouldn't be true).  Thankfully Lucas was just on a new job!  Davenport is a new U.S. Marshal, free of all the things he hated about his last job. Lucas takes on an old case to track down a killer who likes to steal a lot of money and kill people in the process.  No one has ever been able to track down the criminal called Poole, but Davenport is determined he is going to be the one.  There is a lot of action, excitement and shooting in this book.  I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.  The 400 pages went by super fast, and it left me wanting more. Well done! If you haven't read this series, start today.  I am not kidding....

Reading Before the Fall was a little bit of a departure for me, as you may have noticed by now I gravitate heavily towards popular fiction, mysteries and romance novels of all kind.  However, as a librarian, I try to read books that have taken readers notice and have a large holds list.  Sometimes I like them and sometimes I don't. I waited patiently on the libraries hold list (currently at 98 holds) for this book. This time I am glad that I waited.   Before the Fall grabbed my attention right away, and I even enjoyed the format of the book, which switched from present times to flashbacks.  I usually do not like that at all, but it worked in this book.  The two main characters are the only survivors of a plane crash, a painter Scott Burroughs and a little boy named J.J., were likable from the first chapter. The premise of the book is explained in the title, what happened before the plane crashed that lead to the crash and the death of all but two passenge...