THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR (Dean Koontz) - December 18/08

This typically overlong Dean Koontz mystery still boasts a number of compelling segments, though it's clear that the author is falling back on familiar tropes just a little too often (ie the soulless contract killer, the sinister, wealthy villain, etc). The inclusion of several preachy bits of animal rights stuff is a little much, though it does pick up for an entertaining finale. Koontz once again offers up a surprisingly brief bad-guy death, as the whole confrontation transpires in just a couple of pages. **1/2 out of ****

THE READER (Bernhard Schlink) - December 9/08

This incredibly uneven yet ultimately compelling novel suffers from what seems to be a bad translation, as I got about halfway through and realized there was something seriously off about some of the passages. Schlink is overly descriptive and relentlessly repetitive and it's impossible not to feel like this was a short story he decided to transform into a novel. But there are some good things here; the relationship between Hanna and Michael int he early sections, and their eventual reunion years later when she's in prison. But there are just too many dull patches; I had all but written the book off during the almost intolerable trial sequences, yet it does pick up once Hanna and Michael get in touch later on (with the revelation that she's learned to read thanks to his tapes certainly packing somewhat of an emotional punch). **1/2 out of ****