Flashing By

Time is flashing by!! I can't believe that my summer is almost
over :( My carefree reading days are coming to a close. It can't be. My TBR pile only got BIGGER this summer.

I finished reading The Judas Strain this weekend. This was my first book by James Rollins and I was in for a rolicking ride.
Two marine biologists are diving in the Indian Ocean. They discover that the water appears to be infected with what looks like an algae bloom. Within hours plague-like symptoms start appearing on their bodies.
On Christmas Island, a mysterious epidemic is raging. This illness is attacking both humans AND animals. Any living creature in the water and on the land that comes in contact with the algae begins to exhibit symptoms, crazy behavior and eventually dies. Dr. Lisa Cummings and her colleague, Monk Kokkalis, of the SIGMA Force are dispatched to the island to help find the source and hopefully the cure.
On the other side of the world Gray Pierce thwarts the schemes of a murderous assassin - a killer who holds the first clue to the discovery of a possible cure.Time is an enemy as Pierce and an unlikely ally are drawn into an astonishing mystery hidden deep in antiquity and in humanity's genetic code.
Combine the centuries old plague, throw in Marco Polo, the Vatican, a twisted terrorist organization (really bad people,) heroes with the SIGMA Force (that would be the good guys) and James Rollins has a page turner! The man can write!
Rollins has an incredible ability to yank you right into a story and keep you on a wild roller coaster ride page after page. He builds likeable characters, horrifyingly possible circumstances and plot twists and turns that keep you gasping. I literally kept having to close the book to breathe.
This was my first book by Rollins. I heard him speak at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale and thoroughly enjoyed him and his stories. He wrote the novelization of the current Indiana Jones movie and was also there to talk about his newest book, The Last Oracle. The Judas Strain was the precursor to The Last Oracle and coincidentally my son gave it to me to read! I traded him my new book and we both enjoyed good reads!! Now I'm ready for the next one!

Summer house guests abound, schedules are full and the monsoon rain may make its return in today or tomorrow. Lets keep our fingers crossed! I went to lunch with my oldest son and his little family on Monday. We discovered Joe's Farm Grille (In Agritopia in GIlbert.) It had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network this week and my son wanted to go for lunch before they move away. Great food and a terrific location! They've revived the ol' family farm and farmhouse and it was so much fun to be there. Yum! Not only that, the company was great. I will miss my time spent with them. How can 125 miles seem so far?!?

Life is getting wild and busy and time is flashing by. Is it just because I am older? I swear I will make every encounter a memory so I don't forget and can hold on to things longer. I'll try anyway!