20. Double Cross

Double Cross, by James David Jordon (2009)

I didn't realize at first this was Christian fiction, a genre I don't generally read. That said, I appreciated that the narrative wasn't really preachy or sappy, and that the protagonist was kind of a doubter, a critical thinker (a quality I think is important for everybody). The protagonist, Taylor, is a secret service agent-turned private security provider. What I didn't like about her was her voice, which didn't ring true as a woman. I kept thinking of her as a man, and then would be jarred when references to her dating, looks, etc. came up again. I haven't had this problem with other women characters written my men, either.

The story was interesting enough--Taylor is trying to solve a suicide that might be murder and figure out who might have been blackmailing the victim. At the same time, the mother who abandoned her shows up and Taylor tries to reconnect with her and figure out what's happened in the twenty years since they were together. Still, I wasn't that engaged with any of the characters because I couldn't get a good sense of them. Their motivations weren't clear and it seemed like the author was doing a lot of telling and not a lot of showing.

It's not a terrible book, but not my cup of tea, either.

10. Take Your Shirt Off and Cry

Take Your Shirt Off and Cry, by Nancy Balbirer (2009).

Memoirs aren't always my thing, though I do go through phases where I read them.This one didn't work for me. Some of the stories, particularly those about David Mamet, were kind of amusing, but the author's life is just not that compelling. A good memoir makes the reader care about the author, but this one just irritated me. Balbirer is pretty candid about some of her own mistakes, but she comes off as bitter and jealous to me. I found myself unsympathetic to her struggles because I didn't particularly like her.

5. The Perfect Scent

The Perfect Scent, by Chandler Burr (2007)

I don't read a lot of non-fiction for pleasure, mostly because I read so much of it for work. Maybe I should change that, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Burr, who also wrote a book I have sitting in my unread stack from Midwinter, is a really engaging writer. The book tells the stories of the creation of two different perfumes: one is Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, the other is a commission for Hermes. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between a celebrity perfume that would be mass marketed and one for a luxury brand that would be sold in much more exclusive markets. He explains the intricacies of both the way perfume is created and the way the industry works without getting so detailed as to be technical and boring.

The personalities of the people he met really come through in the story. Little details like what they wear and how they speak help flesh them out as real people, rather than caricatures. SJP seems like really smart and opinionated busineswoman, which isn't necessarily surprising, but it was a different side of her than we get to see when she acts. I also liked learning about peculularities of communication among the different groups of people--the French, PR people, perfumers, executives. Very human and funny stuff.

1. Fault Line

Fault Line, by Barry Eisler ( February 2009)

Here's one of my Early Reviewers books, which arrived while I was back home for Christmas. I haven't read any of Eisler's other work, but I probably will now that I've finished Fault Line. Thrillers aren't my favorite genre, but I enjoy them now and then when they're done well. This one's good--the plot, the characters, the pacing--it's all there. I particularly liked the way the story began from Alex's perspective and made him sympathetic and relatable, then introduced Ben, the real protagonist of the story. As the reader, it was possible to see things from both of their perspectives and understand how they don't see eye-to-eye.

The story isn't that original. We've all read books or seen movies where somebody develops a new technology that bad guys want, and then black-ops government agents get mixed into things. Still, I was interested in what was happening, probably because I was invested in the characters. Even though the premise is a little shopworn, the events weren't completely predictable, and provided a few hours of entertainment.