Amanda Palacios
The book I read, Level 26 by Anthony E. Zuiker, is a great pick for mystery and horror fanatics. The plot, created by the CSI visionary, is gripping and dark, while managing to stay away from being too ironic or corny. Deep dark secrets lurk around every corner, along with the sick and twisted main character, Sqweegel. For anyone who likes to be scared so badly they can’t sleep at night, Level 26 will make you want to double check your closet.
Sqweegel, a sick and dangerously smart serial killer, has been on the loose for some time now. There is a new level of evilness made specifically for him, Level 26. Now it’s up to one man, Steve Dark, to capture and destroy him. But he is scarred and has just managed to start getting better. Is he up to the challenge, or will he let Sqweegel destroy everything he’s worked for?
Eric Vanchieri
Review
Hold Tight By Harlan Coben
Who would have ever thought that two parents would be placed in near death situations, only
because they spied on their child’s online activity? The tech-savvy thriller, Hold Tight by
Harlan Coben, focuses on the truly rippling effect of Mike and Tia Baye’s decision to install
spyware software on their recently depressed son Adam’s computer. When Adam receives numerous
emails referring to drug parties and dangerous plans for the weekend, Mike and Tia take
actions to try and follow their son that bring about a spiral of violence, corruption, and
lies. As chaos ensues, the main plot is complimented with a crime drama that appears seemingly
unrelated to the Baye’s issues at first, yet by the conclusion of the novel, a reader is very
aware of the complex connection between the two plot-lines. The ending of the novel ties this
thriller’s many well-developed and dubious characters to one another, and draws relatively all
of them to two separate showdowns at the climax.
Hold Tight is a fast paced page turner, that a devoted reader will find hard to not finish in
one action packed night. This novel utilizes its many characters' different perspectives on
similar events to not only tie the characters to one another, but to also keep up the plot’s
rapid pace. This novel is truly hard to put down. From start to finish, each page is filled
with wit, complexity, murder, violence, and very relatable perspectives on events. If a person
is looking to curl up in bed at night and read about southern romance, they will likely be
repulsed by some of the graphic violence in Hold Tight. However, if a reader is willing to
fully engross him or herself in the world Coben depicts, they will be more than pleased. Each
new chapter brings readers one page closer to finding the answer to this complex, and thought
provoking mystery.
Thomas Sellie-Lund
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is one of the greatest mysteries of all time. It is thoroughly deserving of its title, as its unconventional ending is rarely expected. Hercule Poiroit is an ingenious Belgian mystery solver, who stumbles upon a vicious murder of a man on his journey back across Europe aboard the Orient Express.
M. Bouc, Poiroit’s friend and conductor of the railway line, is an honorable man, if a bit confused at the time. M. Bouc is not a detective, and thus he has some problems finding out the true murder/murderers with his weird theories. Finally, Dr. Constantine is a doctor who appears in the mystery by doing the autopsy report on the victim. He is also the third member of the investigative threesome along with M. Bouc and Poiroit. Along with M. Bouc, he is largely wrong in his theories, although he does point out some interesting facts. Thus this book is worthy of its fame, and of reading.
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