Rating: 
Summary: Alternate Title: Book of Silly Similes
Review: This is a fairly entertaining thriller following the current trend of male authors in which the protagonist is a female spy, cop, detective, etc. In this case our heroine works for the Secret Service. There is some unintentional hilarity in this book: The author has serious problems with similes and metaphors. The author has our gal lying in bed. Does a sensuous word picture describe the scene? Not really. He has her lying there "curled like a shrimp." Ideas take hold of her like fishooks lodging in her brain. She senses events "moving on the horizon, arranging and rearranging themselves the way a lava flow crushes and mutates the landscape." Here's an experiment for you. Fill a manila envelope with photographs. Hold them up in the air and dump them out on a desk. Do they fall out like "butterfly wings?" Mr. Shelby thinks they will. Later, our sweet heroine finds that her,"mourning and guilt had been cauterized, like a white hot iron pressed against an open vein, leaving her swollen with contempt." Light continually "crawls", sometimes through the window at dawn, at another time over tinted glass. There are some even better ones, but they have faded from memory. I would have rated the book a "4", but upped it to a "6" because of the humorous similes and metaphors; Days of Drums is worth reading just for those.
Rating: 
Summary: Most Mystery Lovers Will Like This One
Review: This is the first book of Philip Shelby's that I've read...and it won't be the last. Every part of the book kept me turning the pages. I liked the entertaining blend of action and thinking. With rare exceptions, the plot stayed a step ahead of where I expected it to go.I found Shelby's name through Amazon.com. I like many of David Morrell's books, and Amazon "suggested" that I would probably like Shelby. "Days of Drums" does contain a number of bloody scenes with graphic descriptions. Readers averse to such scenes might want to choose a different book. This characteristic, however, does not dominate the book. Compared with Thomas Harris' books, such as "Red Dragon," this book is mild in this respect.
Rating:
Summary: Unfulfilled
Review: This Pelican Brief wannabe has a lot of things going for it: a likable main character and a plot that grabs you from the start. However, Shelby compromises believability by using character lapses to move the plot forward. For instance, the assasin goes from slick to sloppy to explain Holland's life being spared. This book also leaves many loose ends dangling as a mystery from 15 years ago is often alluded to but never fully explained. Finally the ending seems way to contrived (just had to get the oval office in there somehow!) that makes for a rather hollow ending
Rating: 
Summary: Fast-paced thriller
Review: This was a pretty fast-paced and enjoyable thriller. The actions were believable, the main character likeable and the story was good. What more can you ask for? (Refers to the abridged audiotape version of this book.)
Rating:
Summary: Great Setting & Concept
Review: What could be more fun than a female secret service agent and a hair-raising adventure? I figured out one plot secret in the first 50 pages, but I still enjoyed myself. If this book had been edited better, it could have been great. If you can get by a few unplausible events, you're in for some good entertainment.
| 
