Tag Archives: thriller

An Officer and a Spy

Posted on February 1, 2014 by smellincoffee

An Officer and a Spy© 2013 Robert Harris496 pages    In the late 19th century, the Dreyfuss Affair shook France when one Captain Alfred Dreyfuss, accused of selling French military secrets to the Germany General Staff.  Declared guilty, publicly disgraced, … Continue reading →

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The Fear Index

Posted on October 16, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Fear Index© 2009 Robert Harris304 pages Dr. Alexander Hoffman is a brilliant physicist-turned-financier who may be losing his mind.  It’s not as if the software he designed to manage investments in stocks, securities, and the like isn’t still successful; … Continue reading →

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Field Grey

Posted on September 29, 2013 by smellincoffee

Field Grey© 2011 Phillip Kerr384 pages Bernie Gunther survived Hitler’s Germany and a Soviet prison camp, so when he’s forcefully detained by the American  Navy on the open seas and interrogated, he’s not too much impressed by their attempt at … Continue reading →

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A Spectacle of Corruption

Posted on April 13, 2013 by smellincoffee

A Spectacle of Corruption© 2004 David Liss381 pages When Benjamin Weaver went to a pub, he never expected to end up fighting for his life, let alone be arrested for the crime of killing a man he only met when … Continue reading →

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This week at the Library: Hunger Games, Hunting, and Baseball

Posted on January 12, 2013 by smellincoffee

I started this year off by finishing The Hunger Games: its finale, Mockingjay, utterly consumed my attention. It’s the story of revolution, a war against the oppressive Capitol which erupted in the course of the 75th Hunger Games, a teenage deathmatch … Continue reading →

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The Coffee Trader

Posted on May 1, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Coffee Trader© 2003 David Liss386 pages I never intended to return to David Liss so soon. No doubt, A Conspiracy of Paper was phenomenal — but I have two Bernard Cornwell novels just awaiting to be read! There’s something compelling … Continue reading →

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A Conspiracy of Paper

Posted on April 22, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Conspiracy of Paper© 2000 David Liss442 pages Benjamin Weaver is a man with a curious trade. Having left the family business years ago, in his early days he earned acclaim for his skills as a boxer, introducing a ‘scientific’ … Continue reading →

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The Good German

Posted on October 7, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Good German© 2001 Joseph Kanon512 pages Berlin, summer 1945. The heart of the most infamous empire in history lies in ruins, battered by bombs and ravaged block by block by Russian artillery.  Its contents sacked and its people abused … Continue reading →

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Robots and Empire

Posted on July 9, 2011 by smellincoffee

Robots and Empire© 1985 Isaac Asimov383 pages In Isaac Asimov’s robots novels, Earth is home to some eight billion people living in vast underground complexes known as Cities or “caves of steel”. In his Empire novels, those billions have vanished: … Continue reading →

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Sharpe’s Prey

Posted on July 2, 2011 by smellincoffee

Sharpe’s Prey: Denmark 1807© 2001 Bernard Cornwell288 pages Richard Sharpe has fallen from grace — or rather, the Lady Grace, his love, has fallen from him, perished in childbirth along with his child.  His Indian fortune has been legally stolen … Continue reading →

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