Guilty as Sin by Tami Hoag

Why did I buy this book? Don’t remember. Probably because I wanted to add some modern authors to my reading list. It was a decent enough thriller. It dragged in the middle—four instead of six hundred pages would have been plenty—and the sick killers weren’t nearly sick enough for my tastes. It read like a movie pitch. I could even see Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe in the leading roles. Can I get a job writing these kind of books?

Rose Madder by Stephen King

This is one of those Stephen King novels where he tries to weave fable-like symbols and elements into the main story, and this time does it with less confusion and unbelievability than some other attempts. Although we never quite understand who Rose Madder is and what she represents, the parallels between Norman and the bull, and his transformation into it, is well if not obviously done. I will admit, however, that I found Gert’s confrontation with Norman in the real world to be much more satisfying than Rose’s confrontation with him in the fable.