Phil Oakley

Brilliant story

Revisado: 03-31-24

Best crime novel in a long time. Dervla McTiernan is a master of her genre, and What Happened to Nina is her best work yet.

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Better and Better

Revisado: 01-24-22

That describes Alafair Burke. And this book, Find me, is the slam dunk proof. In every session I read longer than I had intended. I couldn’t stop.

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Masterpiece

Revisado: 11-13-21

The word masterpiece widely used in the promotional campaign for this book is in no way an exaggeration. It is completely accurate. One of Connelly’s best!

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Reads Like a Thriller

Revisado: 04-04-20

Outstanding work by one of the best White House correspondents of our time. It's easily as compelling as "All the President's Men," and it reads like a thriller. There are no slow spots anywhere in the narrative. Jonathan Karl has the advantage of having covered Donald Trump close up long before he became president, combined with the experience of covering Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama before Trump was elected president. Karl's observations are fair, informed and well researched. He has been meticulous in gathering inside information about specific events from multiple participants. He also is methodical in laying out his case to support the president's reliance on evasion, imagined facts, contradictions and blatant misrepresentations. He deals with President Trump's tirades and attacks on opponents with equal care for thoroughly sourcing each outburst and event and placing them in context. All that said, I can't honestly say that dedicated Trump supporters would find much to enjoy in the book.

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Great characters. Fine story.

Revisado: 03-15-20

No stop to the action or story. Just when you think you’ve caught up, Pomare turns up three lengths ahead of you, again.

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A Book This Good Doesn't Come Along Often

Revisado: 05-19-19

The only reason The Scholar won’t make The New York Times Bestseller List during it’s first week is because not enough people in the U.S. know about Dervla McTiernan, yet. But they soon will. Her debut novel, The Ruin, was brilliant. And The Scholar is better! The only problem I have with The Scholar is that I will have to wait a year for Ms. McTiernan’s next book.

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Brilliant!

Revisado: 11-29-18

The last time I read a first novel this good was a book which was rejected for publication. After the author had several mega hits under his belt, the book, A Time to Kill, was finally published at the author's insistence. John Grisham was of course that writer and A Time to Kill continues to be his best book.
Fortunately, Dervla McTiernan was able to get her first novel, The Ruin, in print, digital and in this amazing audio version. The Ruin is riveting from start to finish. Her characters are fascinating, complex and filled with secrets and vacillations.
The Ruin is the kind of book you live in from the moment you start.
Don't miss the beginning of McTiernan's long career. You'll be her friend and follower forever.
And without doubt, the narrator of the audiobook, Aoife McMahon, is a giant in the voice acting world.
Phil Oakley
San Diego, California

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Best Political Yarn Since Primary Colors

Revisado: 01-09-18

If you could sum up Fire and Fury in three words, what would they be?

Intensely compelling story.

What other book might you compare Fire and Fury to and why?

Primary Colors

Have you listened to any of Michael Wolff and Holter Graham ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could give Fire and Fury a new subtitle, what would it be?

You can't make these things up

Any additional comments?

I recognize that Michael Wolff does not have a blemish free record for journalistic accuracy, but I have not read a more interesting political yarn since Primary Colors. It's a great story and it's well done. How much is true? I don't think we're likely to ever know, just as is the case with Primary Colors. And you don't have to hate or love President Trump to find the story intriguing and entertaining.A prominent G.O.P. operative and supporter of President Trump, David Bossie, called this book boring. I have found it riveting. I deeply hope that many of the characterizations of our president reported by Wolff are exaggerated or completely untrue. The book paints a scary picture. Our country is far safer if in fact our president is mentally stable and focused coolly on our national security, well informed and trusting the expert advice available to him from the Defense and State Departments.The entire work held up and held my interest intensely all the way through. It's as good as or better than Primary Colors. It is more about the Trump team than about the president himself, though he is definitely the leading character.Will the blemishes in the author's reputation as a journalist dilute the impact of the book?Time will tell whether this book has any lasting impact. As to Wolff's credibility, he's not Bob Woodward, nor Theodore White. But that's probably more good than bad. He writes a great story and he's no where close to taking the kind of liberties with reality that Hunter Thompson did. I heard an interesting comment from Michael Barbaro, host of The New York Times fantastic podcast The Daily. He said there was little new reporting in Fire and Fury. There were a lot of things in the book I had not seen elsewhere, but let's assume that Barbaro is correct. What makes Fire and Fury so compelling is the way Wolff weaves the story together.

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