Upside Down by John Ramsey Miller

First sentence:


"From ground level, the automobile graveyard looked groundless."


Description:

"In the rain-slick streets of New Orleans, a twelve-year-old girl is running out of time. Hours before, Faith Ann Porter hid under a desk while her attorney mother was murdered for photographs that could rock the city. Now Faith Ann is being hunted by a pair of killers with a very powerful boss. Because she has the negatives of the photos her mother died for, Faith Ann has only hours to live--and only one person can save her. . .

Winter Massey is an ex-U.S. marshal whose career pitted him against some of the world's most ruthless criminals. Now Massey is drawn by horrifying cycle of murder--and the plea of one terrified young girl. But awaiting Massey is a chilling surprise. . .and an assassin with a secret mission, a secret motive, and the perfect plan. . . ."-- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very good thriller. I liked how Faith Ann figured out how to survive and how she and Winter worked together later. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, Inside Out.

Date read: 2/8/2012
Book #: 6
Series: Winter Massey, #2
Challenges: TBR Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge 2012, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0553583409
ISBN-13: 9780553583403
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Year: 2005
# of pages: 337
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian

First sentence:

"The breakfast-parlour was the most cheerful room in Ashgrove Cottage, and although the builders had ruined the garden with heaps of sand an unslaked lime and bricks, and although the damp walls of the new wing in which this parlour stood still smelt of plaster, the sun poured in, blazing on the covered silver dishes and lighting the face of Sophie Aubrey as she sat there waiting for her husband."

Description:

"Commissioned to rescue Governor Bligh of Bounty fame, Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and surgeon Stephen Maturin sail the Leopard to Australia with a hold full of convicts. Among them is a beautiful and dangerous spy -- and a treacherous disease that decimates the crew. With a Dutch man-of-war to windward, the under-manned, outgunned Leopard sails for her life into a freezing waters of the Antarctic, where, in moutainous seas, the Dutchman closes." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this nautical adventure featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin. There were lots of edge-of-the seat moments as the Leopard had to flee the Dutch ship and later find a place to land for repairs. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Fortune of War.

Date read: 12/8/2008
Book #: 88
Series: Aubrey/Maturin #5
Challenges: Celebrate the Author Challenge, Fall into Reading Challenge 2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Nautical Adventure

ISBN-10: 039330812X
ISBN-13: 9780393308129
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Year: 1978
# of Pages: 325
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Close to the Wind by Pete Goss

First sentence:

"If the Southern Ocean represents the consummate challenge for any long-distance sailor, then the Vendée Globe is the pinnacle--one man, one boat against the elements."

Description:

"On November 3, 1996, former Royal Marine Pete Goss embarked on the most grueling competition in his sailing career: the Vendée Globe, a nonstop, single-handed round-the-world yacht race. For the next seven weeks he met every challenge in his stormy path, from combating waves the height of six-story buildings to grappling with his spinnaker in high winds. Then everything began going wrong: His sails were destroyed, his navigation equipment proved useless. And on Christmas Day his radio picked up a Mayday that a French competitor was sinking 160 miles away. Turning into the hurricane-force winds, Goss set out to rescue a near-dead man on a life raft somewhere in the vast wilderness of the merciless southern ocean. How he did it makes this extraordinary tale as amazing as it is thrilling."

My thoughts:

This was a very well-written book as Pete Goss takes the reader into his life and onto the Aqua Quorum as it battles the wind and water while various parts break down. I had read about Goss's rescue of French sailor Dinelli in Derek Lundy's book Godforsaken Sea but it was good to hear about it from Goss's point of view.

Date read: 1/30/2008
Book #: 7
Challenges: Seafaring Challenge; Winter Reading Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Memoir/Adventure

ISBN-10: 0786707410
ISBN-13: 9780786707416
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Year: 2000
# of Pages: 261
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian

First sentence:

"Captain Aubrey of the Royal Navy lived in a part of Hampshire well supplied with sea-officers, some of whom had reach flag-rank in Rodney's day while others were still waiting for their first command."

Description:

"Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half pay without a command, until Stephen Maturin arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a commodore's pennant, there to mount an expedition against the French-held islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains—Lord Clonfert, a pleasure-seeking dilettante, and Captain Corbett, whose severity pushes his crew to the verge of mutiny."

My thoughts:

Like previous Aubrey-Maturin books, this one took me back in time to the Napoleonic Wars and to faraway places. I liked the interactions between Dr. Stephen Maturin and his friend Jack Aubrey. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Desolation Island.

Date read: 1/12/20008
Book #: 2
Series: Aubrey-Maturin #4
Challenges: Seafaring Challenge, Winter Reading Challenge, Book-a-Month Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Historical Fiction / Nautical Adventure

ISBN-10: 039330762X
ISBN-13: 9780393307627
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Year: 1991
# of Pages: 348
Binding: Trade Paperback
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