Valpot's Book Pledge - 66 - 70

Here is the latest report from Valpot on the books she's read:

66. The Glories of St Joseph
Excellent compilation on what various saints have written about St Joseph, plus stories of miraculous answers to prayers addressed for his intercession, as well as a whole range of prayers and novenas for the reader to use. According to the author, St Joseph is a much under-utilised intercessor. Not any more if enough read this book!
Rating: 10/10

67. The Vanished Man by Jeffrey Deaver
Another enjoyable tale about the antics of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. I have to say that this is about the most contrived of his tales that I have read to date. The opening "vanishing" scene is so obvious that it was totally unworthy of him, and the motivation for the killer's actions beggars belief. I enjoyed reading it, especially the bits about magician's tricks, but the plot is just too ridiculous to give this book a high rating.
Rating: Not Bad

68. The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz
This is an early book by Dean (1982, I think) and originally written under a different pen name. Well, maybe that's where he should have left it. The writing has none of the polish that I expect from Dean, and the story is both Agatha Christie-ish AND unpleasant. You would not be inspired to read a second, if this was your first Dean Koontz. The book's only interest is to see how far this writer has come since he started
Rating: Half-way decent

69. One Door from Heaven by Dean Koontz
A much later story from this author - I think 2001 or thereabouts - and wow, what a difference! The language is beautifully crafted, and his theme is redemption or perhaps I should say salvation. Very interesting ideas and story lines, but I'm not sure how well it works as a book. It's an interesting read rather than a tense, excitement-never-ends type read, and I was a little disappointed in the end (though I often am with Dean's books).
Rating: Not Bad

70. The Incredulity of Fr. Brown by G.K. Chesterton
What can I say about this excellent collection of short stories about the crime-solving priest who understands the hearts and minds of people? The mysteries are clever (although occasionally implausible - Chesterton doesn't bother going into the absolute minutiae of how each crime was done - if nobody notices that the body is cold and therefore dead for hours, that's not relevant to his story), the language is beautiful, vividly descriptive, and his insight into human nature incredibly perceptive, and Chesterton's incredible faith and charity pervades the stories. Excellent stuff!
Rating: Shines like The Lucky Diamond

Please note that Valpot has included the author's names and used the correct ratings for non-fiction.