The plot of this story is as simple as its title. Three men find a plane with four million dollars in it. They decide to keep the money. What at first seems like a simple matter of dividing up the money and trying to keep it secret soon turns into a rollercoaster ride down the darker side of human nature. This is a well thought out, remarkably well-paced suspense thriller that will keep you turning pages all the way to the end.

Scott Smith has a remarkable talent for writing stories that are at once mesmerizing and at the same time deeply moving. Like his newest novel, The Ruins, his stories are not about weird situations, but how people react when caught up in them. This novel is replete with characters so vivid and alive that they seem to jump off the page.

As I read I couldn’t help but ask myself ‘Would I do that?’ You will undoubtedly ask yourself the same question. Prepare yourself however, you may find yourself surprised by your answer. If you haven’t read Scott Smith in the past get this novel today. You won’t regret it.

What a treat! I’d never heard of Jack Ketchum before yesterday, but oh boy am I a fan. I got through Old Flame in about two hours and now I wish I would have slowed down and taken my time. This is a remarkable work of fiction by a master storyteller. What’s this surprisingly good couldn’t put it down pager turner novel about? Think fatal attraction to the power of fifty, then add in some first rate suspense.

The only flaw I could find with this story was that it was way too short, more of a novella really. But seen in the right light, this is another plus for this highly skilled author, who seems to grasp the idea that a story ends only where it must and that to force it to continue is to ruin it. I can’t wait to delve into some of his other works. The plot was fresh and surprising, and the pace was slow and torturous building painfully to a hell of a climax. Jack Ketchum is the real deal.

In Duma Key Stephen gets his groove back? (Not that he really ever lost it. Poor Mr. King is a victim of his own genius and success.) I haven’t really been crazy about anything Mr. King has written since The Green Mile. The accident that almost ended his life affected his writing a great deal more than he cares to admit.

It is ironic that a novel written after his so called retirement is as much the page turner as some of his more acclaimed work. If you’re a lapsed King fan, I suggest you renew your subscription.

John Fowles would later become one of the most acclaimed authors of the twentieth century, and with good reason. His mastery of the language is superb and his ability to build tension and apply psychological pressure seems to flow effortlessly from his pen. The Collector is probably his most approachable work, easily read page turner fiction. I found it a chilling thrill ride and I’m sure you will too.

When a book is a good read I can usually tell why, that’s why I was so surprised with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.

I picked it up from the children’s section of all places. And watching a couple of prepubescent girls giggling ahead of me with the same book under their arm didn’t bode well for it.

The book has everything in it I hate in a novel. Juvenile writing, weak plotting, shallow, boring and weak characters with silly motivations, a high school setting, and a whole lot of other crap. You name it and it was there. I don’t get it folks, I really don’t, but this very large book where very little happens was like literary crack. I just couldn’t put the darned thing down.

This book could easily be categorized as nothing more than the rambling fantasies of a teenage girl. But a third of the way through it, I found myself in love with these silly poorly drawn characters and I just couldn’t get enough. By the time I came to the end of the thing I didn’t want it to end.

I’m not sure how Meyer did it but this one really is a couldn’t put it down winner.

You would have to have lived most of your life in a bunker not to have heard of the stand. Even if you’re not a Stephen king fan this is not one to miss.

Most of Stephen king best books don’t translate well to the screen. This one is no exception. If you watched the poorly made miniseries don’t judge the book by it. Crack it open and then hold on to your seat because this couldn’t put it down pager turner of a ride it’s just plain good.

This book is considered by most Stephen king fans to be his best work. A nightmare of a novel crafted while he was at the height of his powers. I don’t I agree. I find It to be a much better book but who am I to argue with millions of Stephen king devoted readers.

What makes this novel truly amazing is the masterful interweaving of seven storylines that move relentlessly to a thrilling climax while at the same time, in a virtuoso performance, the same seven characters story is told 28 years later. Both timelines converge in a thrilling climax.  Even if you think you don’t like horror, you have to give this novel a chance.  It is by far the crowning achievement of one of the best writers of our time.

Talk about books you can’t put down.  I literally read this book in one sitting. I had to call in sick to work to accomplish it, but I got it done.  This is a well paced spine tingling thrill ride. I was half way through the book before I realized there were no chapters to be seen anywhere.  This of course is a tension building device, not allowing the reader a natural pause in the story telling, but the author pulls it off to great effect.

Don’t confuse this excellent work of fiction with the very crappy movie by the same name.  It is an old cliche that the book is always better than the movie.  But in this instance the disparity is so great watching the movie actually damages the reading experience by very clumsily forcing pictures in your head that replace the ones so carefully placed there by the author. Stay very far away from it.

This is the sort of book that hearing too much about the story from the beginning tends to ruin the experience. Four friends are on vacation in Mexico. They decide to help a German vacationer look for his brother at an archeological dig where he’s shacked up with a girl.  It goes from there.  Enjoy.