Book Notices | Mr. Monk Gets Even by Lee Goldberg / Every Day is an Atheist Holiday by Penn Jillette / The Book Case by Nelson DeMille

Lee Goldberg, Mr. Monk Gets Even

Amazon   Mr. Monk Gets Even (2012) is the 15th book in the Monk series and the last one that Lee Goldberg will be writing. (I see from Amazon that Hy Conrad will be continuing the series.) So, a bittersweet read, as I've enjoyed the series for many years now. This one wasn't quite as funny or even quite as moving as some have been in the past, but it did wrap things up well--wrapped up, at least, as the end of an era rather than of the whole series. I won't give anything away, but Mr. Monk does get even, at least for now: given a universe as unbalanced as ours, things are likely to become odd for him again very soon. And the characters around Monk find themselves in the right places at book's end too. Thanks to Lee Goldberg for many years of good reading.

Penn Jillette, Every Day is an Atheist Holiday!: More Magical Tales from the Author of God, No!

Amazon   Every Day is an Atheist Holiday (2012) brings more stories from Penn Jillette, who is an interesting guy. He's smart and opinionated and foul-mouthed and godless (thank god) and also very well-meaning and sentimental. He's been naked in public more than you might expect and is more forthcoming about his sex life than you might wish. Reading his stuff is the literary equivalent of listening to his Penn's Sunday School podcasts, which are recommended.

Nelson DeMille, The Book Case

Amazon   Nelson Demille's Kindle Single The Book Case (2012) is the first thing I've read by him. It features NYPD Detective John Corey, who is apparently a recurring character, though this of course was lost on me. A good read, and I didn't feel that I was missing anything as someone who was new to the character. I really enjoy the Kindle Single format. Sometimes they just hit the spot, and this one did it's job.