One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich

This was a by-the-numbers murder mystery reminiscent of Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Robert B. Parker, although the protagonist is a woman new to the job of being a bounty hunter.  It was an entertaining quick read but short on theme and character development.

Case Histories: A Novel, by Kate Atkinson

I read this book on Stephen King's recommendation:  "Not just the best novel I read this year [2004], but the best mystery of the decade. There are actually four mysteries, nesting like Russian dolls, and when they begin to fit together, I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight and amazement. Case Histories is the literary equivalent of a triple axle. I read it once for pleasure and then again just to see how it was done. This is the kind of book you shove in people's faces, saying 'You gotta read this!'"

Based on the above, I went into this book with high expectations--maybe too high. The three stories did come together, but as far as I can tell, they weren't necessarily linked.  They were simply being investigated by the same private detective who was hired by someone involved in each of the three stories.  When the stories did overlap, it was coincidence and not the particular circumstances that drove them together.  I suppose the stories may have some common thematic elements, but without the stories being intertwined, it wasn't enough to impress this reader.

I was also disappointed in the writing.  Too much of the action was given as the remembrances of the characters.  And when action was given in real-time, the scene typically ended right when it was getting good.

I did have one good insight while reading the book:  a good way to write convincing women characters is to read women authors who write honestly.  Case Histories: A Novel did deliver in this last regard.

The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver

Barely competent writing.  Scientific inaccuracies.  Thin, under-developed characters.  And unrealistic plot-twists.  That about sums up The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver.  (The incomplete sentences such as the ones above are sprinkled throughout the book.)

At least it was a quick read.