Hello everybody in Ammyland. My name is Andrea and I want to tell you about some thrillers by Ken Douglas that are fun and fast and really get my blood pumping. I've read them all, again and again and here I’m reporting on two. I'm also a big fan of James Patterson and Dan Brown and you’ll find some of their books on my list below. I am always walking around with a book under my arm, usually a hardcover, but I've got a couple paperbacks in my backpack too, because I never want to be without anything to read. I even buy books on CD to listen to when I'm drivng. I just love my imagination, it's such a wonderful place to go.

Thank you for checking out my Ammy Guide, I hope you like it,

Andrea

Dead Ringer Really Rang My Bell

Maggie Nesbitt encounters a dimwitted stranger in the supermarket who mistakes her for someone whose photo he'd seen in the local paper and she knows instinctively that her twin sister, who she'd thought had died when they were infants, is still alive. Searching through old newspapers, Maggie finds the story, sees the photo. Her sister really is alive and she doesn't live very far away. However, what Maggie doesn't know is that the there is a killer after her twin and by the time she gets to her sister's apartment, the killer has stuck, leaving her sister dead in a back alley.

Maggie, goes to her twin's apartment and is let in by her sister's daughter, who mistakes her for her mother. The daughter goes next door to play and Maggie flicks on the television to pass the time away and she sees on the news that she has been murdered. Apparently somebody has killed her sister and the body has been identified as Maggie. This is certainly sad news, but it presents Maggie with a rare opportunity. She is pregnant and had been thinking about abortion, because her famous husband isn't the baby's father. Plus, she learns right away that her sister had been divorced from a pretty lousy guy, who will get custody of her niece. So Maggie decides to let the world think she is dead and she takes over her sister's life, thus saving her baby and her sister's daughter.

But there is the little problem of that killer. It seems that Maggie's sister had witnessed a murder and was going to testify. Bad news for the killer, who figures out pretty quickly that he'd killed one of a pair of twins. But which one? He has to make sure and the only way to do that is to kill again. And there you have the set up of this non-stop thriller that I simply couldn't get enough of. A good story, great characters, lots of action all combined here to make a super novel that I simply loved.

A note here, I've purchased quite a few books because of the reviews I've read online, but this is the first book that got me excited enough to try my hand at writing one myself. I really liked this book, I can't say it enough. The way the writer kept sinking Maggie deeper and deeper into trouble, the way the odds kept piling up against her, just outstanding reading that kept me on the edge of my seat. I particularly liked the fact Maggie never gives up, no matter how tough things get.

Diamond Sky Really Rang My Bell, Too!

I bought 'Diamond Sky' based on the fact that I liked 'Dead Ringer' by Ken Douglas so much and I must say that I was not disappointed. I found that not only did the two authors deliver a very fast-paced thriller, but their descriptions of the Caribbean islands put me right there in the tropical sunshine, racing away on a fast sailboat with the wind and the salt in my hair.

The story starts out in Trinidad, in the Caribbean, where Beth Shannon and her step-daughter, who is almost as old as she is, discover a dead woman's body while they are getting ready for a Boxing Day barbecue. When Frank, Beth's husband, sees the body, he suffers a heart attack and dies. Then the story flashes to Long Beach, California, where homicide detective Billy Wolfe of Dead Ringer fame, is investigating a triple murder. And it just so happens that the victims are Noelle's real mother, her aunt and uncle. The uncle, by the way, is Frank Shannon's employer and along with Frank is involved with smuggling diamonds for the Russian Mafia.

That is the basis for what seems to be the continuing story of Billy Wolfe, who was so damaged in Dead Ringer when his wife and son were killed. This is his first case since then as he'd been on a long leave because of that tragedy and I have to say that I was glad to see him back. He is a great character, a cop who takes the law into his own hands when there is no other way and doesn't fret about it. I also particularly liked the characters of Beth and Noelle, the two women on the run in a sailboat in the Caribbean. Not being a sailor, I didn't think a long chase scene on slow moving sailboats would be very exciting, but as I learned, seven or eight miles an hour in a boat can be very fast, very exciting indeed. In my review of Dead Ringer I said that it really rang my bell, well Diamond Sky really rang my bell, too.

Two Really nice ones by Dan Brown.

'The Da Vinci Code, Special Illustrated Edition'
'Angels & Demons, Special Illustrated Edition'

Then there are the four by Dan Brown that everybody knows.

'The Da Vinci Code'
'Angels & Demons'
'Deception Point'
'Digital Fortress : A Thriller'

Five Books by James Patterson that are to die for.

'1st to Die: A Novel'
'2nd Chance'
'3rd Degree (Women's Murder Club (Paperback))'
'4th of July'
'The 5th Horseman (Women's Murder Club)'

Three more by Ken Douglas that I just loved.

'Desperation Moon'
'Running Scared'
'Tangerine Dream'

Ten books by James Patterson that will have you begging for more:

'Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross Novels)'
'Kiss the Girls'
'Hide & Seek'
'Jack & Jill (Alex Cross Novels)'
'Cat & Mouse (Alex Cross Novels)'
'Pop Goes the Weasel'
'Roses Are Red (Alex Cross Novels)'
'Violets Are Blue'
'The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross Novels)'
'London Bridges (Alex Cross Novels)'

Four more books by James Patterson to be on the Lookout for:

'Mary, Mary (Alex Cross Novels)'
'Honeymoon'
'Judge & Jury'
'Lifeguard'

Here are a few other books that are very good.

'Chill Factor : A Novel'
'Chill of Fear'
'Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)'
'Cinnamon Kiss : A Novel (Easy Rawlins Mysteries)'
'Turning Angel : A Novel'
'Memory in Death (In Death)'
'Gone'
'Death Dance : A Novel (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries)'
'The Two Minute Rule'
'Sunstroke'
'Got the Look (Jack Swyteck)'
'Six Bad Things : A Novel'
'Caught Stealing : A Novel'
'Sunstroke'
'Fire Sale (V.I. Warshawski Novels)'
'Nothing But Trouble : A Kevin Kerney Novel (Kevin Kerney Novels)'
'The Hunt Club'
'The Ambler Warning'
'The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell (Cat Who...)'
'Crusader's Cross : A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)'