Showing 1 - 10 of 51
Down Mexico way
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 17/01/2020
» Brit turned American Lee Child is perhaps the most respected author in the crime-thriller genre. His 6-5, 250-pound literary creation Jack Reacher is the most popular of heroes. No small part of the reason is that he's played on the screen by -- rather shorter -- star Tom Cruise. On his own, the behemoth is likeable.
Boston thriller
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/10/2019
» Dipping my fingers into the book bag, out came yet another by James Patterson. Can this reviewer help that the Yank is one of the most prolific writers in the business? His co-author this time around is Candice Fox. Which of them came up with this plot, I wonder?
Mystical religion
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 04/10/2019
» I am saying straight away that I believe in God. How else can the cosmos be there? But I'm not religious. In my time I've been to churches, temples, mosques and holy places out of curiosity, not seeking a spiritual experience. In each I did the expected to the extent possible: sat, bowed, knelt, mumbled prayers, faked singing spirituals, et al. It was copying, not mocking.
How honest are you?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/08/2019
» Those finding a wallet or purse, particularly when stuffed with money or gems, have their honesty sorely tested when the owner's ID is included. Ought they notify him or her? They need the valuables themselves. Was it just luck? Didn't God mean for them to have it? Likely as not the loser is rich and shrugged it off to experience. Or not.
The end is nigh
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 28/03/2019
» It has been determined that we've been around for 4.5 billion years, Earth the only habitable planet in the solar system.
Isis destroyed
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/09/2018
» As most of the hijackers responsible for the 9/11 outrage were Saudi Arabian, it stands to reason that the US would take the kingdom to task. Instead, Washington turned its ire on Afghanistan and Iraq. How could that be? In fact, it made sense. America is Saudi's biggest oil customer and didn't want it to stop flowing, the more than 3,000 dead at New York's Twin Towers notwithstanding.
Banks grows on you
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 17/08/2018
» It's a relief to read a crime thriller that doesn't bill itself as a psychological mystery. Frankly I'm not an armchair psychologist, much less psychiatrist. I much prefer simple -- what you see is what you get -- people to complex -- you don't know the real me.
Targeted billionaires
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 08/06/2018
» When a rich man meets his maker, I pause for few moments, not to mourn his life but to wonder what becomes of his wealth. Of no use to him now, is it buried with him? Like the pharaohs, he intends for it to accompany him in his next life? Is it inherited by his son? To do what with?
Good cops, bad cops
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 18/05/2018
» Few things are more disheartening than learning that those sworn to protect us from society's predators are corrupt, indeed evil themselves. Then who are the good guys, if any? Many a crime novelist raises this question without presenting a satisfactory solution.
Big city, small town
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/05/2018
» People are natural actors. Observe how they tell stories to their friends, passing on telephone conversations or what they saw or heard. They mimic and flap their arms for emphasis. Hoping for smiles or groans. Novelists aim to do the same with more words. Alas, only the better ones succeed. All too many try and fail.