The Towers: A Dan Lenson Novel of 9/11 / by David Poyer

On the morning of September 11, 2001, US Navy Commander Dan Lenson is still a little peeved about not getting his promotion to Captain. Both he and his wife, who worked for the Secretary of Defense during the previous President's tenure, think it's a bit of a slight that such a decorated officer as Dan can't be promoted--he does have a Congressional Medal of Honor. So on this day, Dan's headed to the Pentagon to talk things over with some of the upper Brass who include some former classmates--Dan is a Class of '71 Naval Academy grad--while his wife is headed to New York for a job interview after the latest round of government layoffs. As he reads the morning paper, Dan sees the usual problems, mostly foreign conflicts and political overhaul and thinks that some things just never change.

When two hijacked airplanes fly into the twin towers and then the pentagon, both Dan and his wife are drastically impacted. Dan gets out of harm's way but loses contact with Beth and its a few desperate hours before he can find out that she's safe, having just barely escaped before the collapse of Tower #1. As Beth heals and the country tries to recuperate mentally and emotionally, Dan is assigned to a SEAL Team and deployed to Afghanistan where he and his men's top mission is to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden and eliminate his Taliban regime. Though deployed to Afghanistan almost immediately, politics and red tape interfere with the military efforts. Meanwhile, Muslim-American Special Agent Aisha Ar-Rahim, though operating in Yemen, finds out just how fast the world can turn against people of her race and nationality. This is a great book on the a subject which affects everyone. (FIC POYER)

The Chameleon's Shadow / by Minette Walters

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After being wounded in Iraq, Lt. Charles Ackland is deported home to England to have reconstructive surgery on the left side of his face. Yet when multiple operations fail to re-create his once youthful appearance, the man Charles used to be, both on the exterior and internally, is essentially erased. Once a gung-ho alpha male with a zest for life, Charles has permanently withdrawn from the world, setting up for himself an existence of permanent emotional isolation and limited interpersonal contact. All former ties with family and friends, including his serious relationship with one-time fiance Jen Morley, are expediently eradicated. Soon his morose livelihood leads him into contact with the murky underworld of vice and sadism, a world in which a peculiarly diabolical set of circumstances leads Charles to be suspected in connection to a series of heinous crimes.

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Award-winning British mystery author Minette Walters delves into sinister territory in her latest standalone novel, showing the shadowy depths to which the human condition can sink. Charles may seem like a sympathetic figure early on, the deterioration of his physical condition and emotional plight peaking the reader's curiosity. But as the story evolves and events surrounding Charles' actions become more questionable, interest is taken to a different level where things aren't always what they seem. Walters has a knack for revealing the intricacies of relationships and her ability in portraying how trust is easily betrayed through malevolent personal motivations is nothing short of remarkable.

Like a Punch in the Stomach

Dear John is about a guy--named John--who meets a girl, Savannah. They fall in love and are happy until John goes off to war. When they don't see each other for a while, Savannah drops him. John is heartbroken and wants to die. Some other stuff happens in between.

A while back, Stephen King wrote a book called Misery where author Paul Sheldon earns a fortune peddling garbage romance novels despite an utter abhorrance for his own work. It's only when his latest book kills off the heroine that Paul discovers just how maniacally devoted some fans can be. This is what comes to mind with Nicholas Sparks; a man who must begin each novel thinking "What feat of mindless claptrap can be achieved here?".

Sparks should indeed be commended (no, really) as an individual who's perfected a very marketable craft. He's not just about giving readers what they want to hear, but what they want to feel. While much is mere formulaic dribble--savvy convenience of plot conditions meshed with timing and sentiment--it's the constancy of personalized reactions and churning emotions that reinforce sympathy (and lure in the saps) for characters like John. It's also something romance/domestic/cozy/contemporary fiction hasn't seen too much of: the affected sensitivity of a type-a male protagonist.