Blood of the Lamb (Sam Cabot)

Blood of the Lamb by Sam Cabot (actually the pseudonym for S.J. Rozan and Carlos Dews) combines the Church mystery of The DaVinci Code with the vampires of Twilight.  While it certainly has its share of suspenseful and heartpounding moments, the ending is just so ridiculous that I wanted to throw the book against the wall.

Father Thomas Kelly has been called to Rome by his mentor and new Vatican librarian, Cardinal Cossa.  Cossa desperately needs Kelly’s help in finding the Concordat, an ancient manuscript hidden by poet Mario Damiani that threatens to bring down the Church if it’s ever made public.  Kelly gets help from Livia Pietro, a local woman who wants to find the Concordat for her own reasons.  As Kelly and Pietro race to discover its hiding place, they realize that they are not the only ones who want to find it.

There were chapters of Blood of the Lamb that were real cliffhangers and made me want to keep reading; and then there were other parts that were dry as a bone.  It makes me wonder if the two authors wrote the chapters separately because the sections seemed a little disconnected.  And as I said, the last few chapters really made me kick myself for wasting my time with this book.  Blood of the Lamb could have been great, but unfortunately did not achieve its goal.

MY RATING - 2

The Tenth Witness (Leonard Rosen)

For some reason that I am still trying to figure out, I found that I could not read more than a chapter at a time of Leonard Rosen’s The Tenth Witness.  On vacation, I was planning to read the last half but was just too relaxed on the beach to conquer the challenging read Rosen throws our way.  I think what made it so difficult for me was the combination of scientific and engineering principles coupled with trying to keep numerous characters straight.

The Tenth Witness is the prequel to the award-winning All Cry Chaos, which also features Henri Poincare as the main character.  In the latest novel, we go back in time to show how Poincare became an agent for Interpol.  On a barge in Germany, he and his engineering partner think they are sitting over a shipwreck filled with gold.  As Poincare is leading the expedition, he meets and falls in love with Liesel Kraus, the wealthy daughter of the late steel tycoon, Otto Kraus.  Otto had been compared to Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust, but research Poincare discovers points to the fact that he was anything but helpful to the Jews.  These findings put him in serious danger with the Kraus family and their friends, who will do anything to keep this secret hidden.

This is a difficult book to get through and almost seemed disconnected at times.  Some parts had my heart pounding and some were very dry.  However, the ending really makes up for it and was the best part of the book.

MY RATING - 3

Their Life's Work (Gary Pomerantz)

Gary Pomerantz's Their Life's Work chronicles the four-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, both on and off the field. The title of the book refers to an oft-cited phrase first used by Cleveland Browns founder and coach Paul Brown and adopted by Steeler coach Chuck Noll, referring to how football is merely a phase in one's life and prepares for the decades of life that is to come.

Pomerantz details multiple pieces -- from the Rooney family, who owned the Steelers, to the players that made up the roster, to the city itself and its gradual embrace of the team. The 1970s Steelers were not only talented but also star-crossed, as the ravages of football dealt a heavy toll on the team after the game. Several players from the decade have passed on prematurely for a litany of reasons; Pomerantz chronicles the challenges and pitfalls of former players as they progress through life, and in one man's case, how his post-football career has arguably been much more successful and appreciated by fans than what happened while he was on the field.

Their Life's Work reads like a history of the Steelers and a multiple biographical sketch of many of the 1970s Steelers, which is great if you are a fan of professional football and especially a fan of the team. Pomerantz does an effective job of weaving the rise of the Steelers, their triumphs on the field and what their struggles have been since retirement. It is a great read for any Steelers fan.

MY RATING:  5

Fourth and Long (John U. Bacon)

John U. Bacon's Fourth and Long: The Fight For The Soul Of College Football is a review of the 2012 Big Ten college football season, featuring the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of four various college football teams. From the tragedy at Penn State, to the tribulation of Ohio State not being able to play in a bowl game, to the triumphs of a rising Northwestern program, Bacon whips from State College to Evanston to Columbus to Ann Arbor to beyond, profiling each of these schools on and off the field.

For fans of college football, Bacon provides a thorough critique of the changing face of college sports, with playoff games soon to enter the landscape and the increased focus on marketing; he also refers to college football as a brand and less a tradition while universities increase what they charge fans for tickets and for access to the program.  Bacon shuns these tactics and lifts up the ideal of what college sports has been looked to -- the success of student-athletes at Northwestern winning despite having "less" athletic talent, as well as how Bill O'Brien won over a football team...and its fans...in his hard work in saving his roster and rallying his team in light of what occurred in State College and the punishment handed down to Penn State University.

Fourth and Long provides a solid analysis of the state of college football from multiple angles while not tackling too many issues at once. His deft ability to bounce between school, situation, and scenario does not leave any stone unturned, yet leaves the reader easily able to follow along without getting lost in the story.  For fans of college football, especially Big 10 Conference football, Bacon's book is a must-read and one that will likely be enjoyed by all.

MY RATING:  5

Mrs. Poe (Lynn Cullen)

Lynn Cullen's Mrs. Poe is historical fiction at its finest.  Cullen certainly did her research in crafting this tale about Edgar Allan Poe, his wife Virginia, and his lover Frances Osgood.  While an author needs to be extremely careful about not tarnishing someone's name who is not here to defend himself, most of the events in Mrs. Poe have been thoroughly documented.

The mysterious Edgar Allan Poe has just published "The Raven" to astounding success.  Frances Osgood is a struggling writer who has been left by her philandering husband.  When her publisher discovers that people are craving Poe’s dark works, he gives Frances the task of parodying Poe's writings.  She gradually falls in love with Poe through interviewing him and his wife for Margaret Fuller's newspaper.  The sickly Virginia is less-than-kind when she finds out about their passionate affair, finding all types of ways to get her revenge.  Suspense then builds to a very satisfying conclusion.

I've reviewed a lot of historical fiction on 1776books, and this is one of the best.  It's very well written, thoroughly researched, and filled with historical characters from the past.  Most of the time, these well-known people are seamlessly woven into the text.  However, what's keeping this book from getting a 5 is the sometimes lame name dropping (a character referring to Hawthorne writing a book called the Scarlet something is an example). Other than that, Cullen does an exceptional job at filling in the blanks about one of America's greatest writers. 

MY RATING - 4

This House is Haunted (John Boyne)

It's been awhile since I've actually had goosebumps and been in a constant state of anxiety while reading a book.  Congratulations John Boyne – This House is Haunted is exactly the type of novel one would expect from a title like that.  It's a good old fashioned ghost story set in the 1800s, and even Charles Dickens makes an appearance, however unfortunate.

After going through the unimaginable loss of the only relative she has left in the world, Eliza Caine decides to leave her life in London for a brand new start.  She answers a mysterious ad for a governess in a place she's never been, soon discovering that there are no parents there to meet her, just two children.  When unexplainable things start to happen that threaten her life, Eliza realizes that there is a force in the house that doesn't want her there.  Most people would just run in a situation like this, but Eliza's moral responsibility for the children is just too great.  The house is full of secrets, and Boyne reveals them slowly, delivering punch after punch.

Some reviewers have stated that this book is full of "haunted house" clichés, but I disagree.  Boyne has crafted a highly original and unbelievably scary tale that will keep you up at night.  And isn't that all you can really ask from a ghost story?

MY RATING - 4

The Bookstore (Deborah Meyler)

Nothing fancy, no literary masterpiece, but just a feel-good read: that is Deborah Meyler’s The Bookstore in a nutshell.  There's nothing I love more than going into a good old-fashioned bookstore (which are few and far between nowadays), and Meyler seems to share my grumbling about e-readers through her characters' words.  Turning the pages and feeling the actual book are things you just can't do with an electronic device.

Esme Garland is an English woman living in New York City on a Columbia University art history scholarship.  She is quickly swept up by Mitchell, a wealthy man swimming in confidence, and soon finds herself pregnant with his child.  Her "dreamboat" guy soon wants nothing to do with either Esme or her baby, so she realizes that she's going to need money for her new life.  She begins a job at The Owl, a bookstore she's been frequenting as a customer.  And so the novel really begins here: with the stories of the "regulars" and Esme's fellow employees as they become ingrained in her life.

Reading this novel immediately made me want to go and visit some old bookstores.  Going to one is like settling under a cozy throw blanket or into a pair of well-worn slippers.  And while the ending of this novel was a little too abrupt for my taste, it's a worthwhile read that lets you take comfort in, unfortunately, what seems to be a dying breed.

MY RATING - 4