Carmen's Books and Movies Reviews

In the City of Minneapolis a serial killer who has been dubbed The Cremator is causing mayhem. He is taunting police by killing prostitutes and later incinerating the bodies in public places in the middle of the night. When The Cremator’s third victim appears to be the daughter of a billionaire, John Quinn, the star profiler for the FBI, is brought onboard to aid in the investigation.

Coinciding with the discovery of the third victim is the surfacing of witness Angie DiMarco, a troubled teenager with history of self inflicted wounds brought about by mental distress. What she has seen the killer do is enough to trigger fear of retaliation and anxiety. Kate Conlan, a witness/victim advocate is given the task to carefully prod Angie to surrender her memories of the killer and come up with a composite drawing to help the police catch a break in the investigation. Only Angie gives a general description of a man who can be just about anyone.

When Angie DiMarco disappears leaving behind eno…

Gabriel Allon, former Israeli spy and assassin, is restoring an altar piece in Cornwall, England when Ari Shamron goes in search of him and recruits him for a very special mission. One of the goals of this mission is to restore the image of the Office, which has been pummeled with several fiascos in the field; the main goal, however, is to execute a Palestinian terrorist to whom Gabriel is linked by blood. Only Shamron and the PM know who is involved in the operation, thus Gabriel must recruit people he knows to carry out the task. An aging French model and an audio tech are Gabriel’s helpers, but when the model-turned-secretary gets in too deep, Gabriel and Shamron will have to aid an adversary they’d rather live without.

This book is the first in the Gabriel Allon series and it already starts on a high note, amidst the Middle East Peace Talks from the Clinton administration. Characters such as the dashing yet whimsical Julian Isherwood and the demanding Ari Shamron are introduced. …

One gunman bursts into a school--in Broken Branch, Iowa-- prompting school’s officials to order a mandatory lockdown. This is the one school where all the kids from kindergarten to high school who live in the small Iowan town attend. As the hours go by, we get insights of events in their respective lives and within school from five points of views: Augie Baker, Will Thwaite (Augie’s grandfather), Mrs. Evelyn Oliver (the third grade teacher), Meg Barret (the only female police officer in Broken Branch) and Holly Baker (Augie’s mother and Will’s estranged daughter). With the little clues provided by the witnesses as they are released, police officers must figure out the identity of the gunman if they are to end the standoff without any loss of lives.

I really liked this book. It is engrossing to the point of keeping you awake at night in more ways than one. I found myself having nightmares about the fire and a gunman the night I started reading this book. In a no-non sense style, Heath…