One Nation, Under Gods - Peter Manseau

I wanted to get an outside view of the history of different religions in America. After some research, I kept an eye on this book until it went on sale.

This book dedicates each chapter to a different religion and how it appeared and thrived (or not) in America. Some of the religions included are Buddhist, spiritualism (hippies), Latter Day Saints and others.

I found this book to be incredibly interesting. I never realized how important it was to the Puritans to maintain their idea of a "city on a hill." They actively tried to keep religions from gaining ground in America, even to the point of restricting what tombstones could look like. This debate still crops up occasionally.

This was a good book, but it's not going to be for everyone. There were times when I wasn't sure I could muster the motivation to read it, but it wasn't the book's fault. The writing was good, and it was well organized. I'm staying on the fence overall, because I'm struggling to write this review. When I like a book, I know what I want to say. With this one, I can only say I learned some interesting things. Also, looking this book up is something of a nightmare without full details. For some reason, a lot of people wanted to name their book, One Nation, Under God or a variation of it.

Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

This book is related to The Silence of the Lambs. Unless you've been living under a rock, you are aware of at least something about Hannibal Lecter. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm familiar with at least a bit about the plot.

In this book, Hannibal plays a minor role. While he's part of the origin story for our hero, Will Graham, his contribution to the overall story isn't near as much as I thought it would be. A killer initially dubbed "The Tooth Fairy" is killing families. Will is the best at what he does, but it comes with a price. His mental health takes a backburner when he tracks, and his family drifts away.

The book gives various points of view. The killer's is probably the most interesting. The connection he had to a real painting was a bit unsettling. I looked up the art, and it's not something I want staying in my brain. There's nothing overtly wrong with it. It's just...unsettling.

The writing was above average, but I'm not normally a fan of the horror stories. I don't know if this is labeled as horror, but I would definitely be aware that you're getting some unnatural scenes out of this book. I did find the end to be unexpected, and I liked the story overall, but I am definitely steering clear of The Silence of the Lambs. BUT! If you're into this genre, it's definitely a good one. I'm giving it a Good Book! review because it was a good book. I also couldn't read it at night, so I'll stop here.

Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp #2) - Vince Flynn

This is one of the last Half Price Books I have left. I didn't know anything about the author, and I chose it from the clearance area for $2.

Mitch is taking out people on his hit list when he's set up. Now he's on the run from everyone, including his own handler. He doesn't know who to trust, and he's injured.

This book started and ended well. The problem was the middle. Everyone just kept talking back and forth about what to do next. Mitch was trying to convince his girlfriend he wasn't an unprincipled assassin, and the CIA was trying to decide what to do about Mitch.

I really did enjoy the ending. The middle was such a drag, I kept finding other things to do besides read this book. I would even pick up my nonfiction Kindle book instead of this one. And it's pretty dry!

There are 25 books in this series, but I'm not going anywhere near any more of them. They're just not for me.