Whiskey Sour-And so we meet Jack Daniels

This is the first Jack Daniels novel I've read and my first by J.A. Konrath. The author says that you don't have to read them in order, they are each written to be stand-alone but if you want to read them in the author's recommended order, you can find it here. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to run willy-nilly through a series so I'll be reading them in order. 

Jack Daniels is a lieutenant with the Chicago PD. Her love interest has just left her so her personal life is a mess.  She's chasing down a serial killer called the Gingerbread Man who's  taunting the police and Jack so her professional life is rather messy also.  The story goes back and forth between her point of view and the killer's.  I'm not normally a fan of alternating view points but it didn't bother me too much in this book.

I very much enjoyed the style of writing, the humour, the mystery and the detective work, but it was more graphic than I normally like so consider that if you care about that kind of thing. It wasn't enough to put me off from the series which I will definitely continue to read.

I'm familiar with Chicago so I enjoyed the talk about the scenery and geography. I was able to see the action pretty clearly. I've already read the next one in the series and look forward to the rest of them.

More about J.A. Konrath 

Would I pay money for it?Yes

Would I read more by this author? I already have and plan on reading more

Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on their level of tolerance for graphic violence

Purchased as a Kindle freebie February 28, 2013

It's Nothing Personal by Sherry Gorman-The dark side of medical practice

As a fan of Robin Cook, medical thrillers are a genre I've always enjoyed and It's Nothing Personal is a medical-legal thriller that kept me interested all the way to the end.There's more legal in it than I necessarily need but hey, that's just me.  It's the story of an anesthesiologist who is being sued for giving a patient Hep C because a drug-addicted tech in the OR stole some drugs and replaced them with drugs in dirty needles. Interesting and timely premise. Having had surgery shortly before I read this, it certainly makes one think.

I believe this is the first novel from this author and it shows a lot of promise. I found the characters to be well-drawn and easy to relate to. I like seeing families that aren't completely dysfunctional.

There were a few passages that were overly technical on either the legal or medical side. There was a little too much crying. There was a little too much back-and-forth over whether this would go to trial or settle. All that aside, I did find myself wanting to find out what happens next and I read this in two sittings. It was a pleasurable read and I'll be looking forward to more from this author.

More about Sherry Gorman

Would I pay money for it? A reasonable amount

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a Kindle freebie May 24, 2013