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Criminal Minds
Aug. 15th, 2014 01:29 pmThis week's nonfiction book is Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow. I received an ARC for the updated 2014 edition. It now includes his work with the DC Beltway Snipers and information about Sandy Hook and other recent cases. Dr. Samenow takes an unflinching, unsentimental view of the criminal. He believes that all criminals have a similar view of life and other people that can manifest in childhood. Criminals are responsible for their behavior but can be treated to change it. Current rehabilitation approaches don't really address it, in his view. While I may not agree with all his conclusions, this book really challenged my assumptions. It's worth reading.
Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs. A cold case from Tempe's past is linked to current murders. I'm not a steady reader of her books, and some of them have really put me off, but I found this one appealing. Odd, given the gruesome nature of the murders. The procedural details are realistic and I liked the characters, especially their persistence in pursuing the case. I do like the book Tempe much more than the TV series Tempe. She is more balanced and believable.
An Affinity for Murder by Anne White. Could there be an undiscovered trove of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings in upstate New York? Anne White story explores the world of art forgeries in a small-town setting. Anne White was a winner of the Malice Domestic grant in 1999 and this was her first book. I did enjoy the details about upstate New York and about O'Keeffe herself. I was less persuaded that a grown woman would be such a ditz. I understand she has a different protagonist for the later Lake George mysteries so I may give them a look.
Terminal City by Linda Fairstein. Alexandra Cooper, prosecutor for the NY Special Victims Unit, is called on on a horrific murder at the Waldorf Astoria. It gradually branches out into conspiracies and narrows into Grand Central. The final scenes are chilling. I loved all the details of Grand Central Terminal, the history, the reconstruction, the changes it made to the Manhattan landscape. I didn't love Michael Cooper, her love interest. This was the first one I read and he struck me as a jerk. I didn't know why he sniped at Alex and why she kept taking him back. I also had no idea about the subplot, which I think must echo back to earlier books in the series. It is definitely worth reading, if only for the setting.
The Blood of An Englishman by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin's 25th adventure. (I read an ARC.) I've tried the series a few times before but didn't care for it. I find Agatha difficult to like. Why is she so man-crazy even though she has two steady male companions? Still, the excellent plot kept me reading and she was less annoying than she usually is.
Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs. A cold case from Tempe's past is linked to current murders. I'm not a steady reader of her books, and some of them have really put me off, but I found this one appealing. Odd, given the gruesome nature of the murders. The procedural details are realistic and I liked the characters, especially their persistence in pursuing the case. I do like the book Tempe much more than the TV series Tempe. She is more balanced and believable.
An Affinity for Murder by Anne White. Could there be an undiscovered trove of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings in upstate New York? Anne White story explores the world of art forgeries in a small-town setting. Anne White was a winner of the Malice Domestic grant in 1999 and this was her first book. I did enjoy the details about upstate New York and about O'Keeffe herself. I was less persuaded that a grown woman would be such a ditz. I understand she has a different protagonist for the later Lake George mysteries so I may give them a look.
Terminal City by Linda Fairstein. Alexandra Cooper, prosecutor for the NY Special Victims Unit, is called on on a horrific murder at the Waldorf Astoria. It gradually branches out into conspiracies and narrows into Grand Central. The final scenes are chilling. I loved all the details of Grand Central Terminal, the history, the reconstruction, the changes it made to the Manhattan landscape. I didn't love Michael Cooper, her love interest. This was the first one I read and he struck me as a jerk. I didn't know why he sniped at Alex and why she kept taking him back. I also had no idea about the subplot, which I think must echo back to earlier books in the series. It is definitely worth reading, if only for the setting.
The Blood of An Englishman by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin's 25th adventure. (I read an ARC.) I've tried the series a few times before but didn't care for it. I find Agatha difficult to like. Why is she so man-crazy even though she has two steady male companions? Still, the excellent plot kept me reading and she was less annoying than she usually is.
