Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sunday Book Review

As I've lamented before, getting new books around here is a pain and I'm not much for online ordering (paying $4 extra for shipping tweaks my miserly behind). So imagine my surprise when I trolled the local store's book section and found the new Allison Brennan - Fatal Secrets. I snatched that puppy up and zoomed straight to the checkout.

Like with any book by Allison Brennan, I was rabid to read it. As soon as I got home, I yanked the bookmark - a really nifty one I got when I bought The Last Olympian, btw - out of a book I'd just started and settled down for a day's worth of reading. I started around lunch Friday and I finished yesterday morning.

Allison nailed it. Again. From page one, she sucked me in.

With Fatal Secrets, Allison has written her best novel yet. (Not an easy thing to do, since they've all been so damn good.) Not giving anything away - which you know I hate - I'll just say that once again Allison has given her readers a fast-paced novel with deeply sympathetic characters and truly vile villains. Her bad guys are deliciously evil, and they're unapologetic about it. Her good guys are heroic, but human, and they get the job done - no matter what reasons they may have for running the other way.

Additionally, with this story, she provided insights into the horrors of human trafficking without beating me over the head with the 'human interest angle' of the issue. (I've said it before, and I'll probably end up saying it again: You can weave philosophy into a suspense novel without turning it into a tract.) Bad things happen to good people, and I love how Allison uses the horrific events in her characters' pasts to make them stronger. Brilliant.

Anyway, before I turn this into an Allison Brennan love-fest, I'll just leave you with the gentle nudge to go buy Fatal Secrets. It hit shelves last Tuesday, so what are you waiting for? There really isn't a better way to spend Memorial Day than reading. Is there?

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