Erik HanbergCritiques

One of the best books I've read in a long long time

This is a true page turner. I had a lot of sleepless nights reading this book. Very good story and written very well

An astoundingly great book

Another incredible book by Mr. Hanberg. I will be starting book 3 as soon as I am finished with this review. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a series as much as The Lattice Trilogy.

Finally found this book. For a while I could only locate it on Amazon, but wanted it in Nook with the others. The final installment in the science fiction trilogy. Enjoyed the whole series. Always in science fiction is the question of what it means to be human.

This book exemplifies why I love science fiction. Extremely creative, a plot I could not predict and recognizable, "human" characters all of which make you think about where we're headed. Funny and fun to read.

Arthur Beautyman is a detective in Los Angeles Sheriff Department. He is the lead investigator of a series of vampire-style murders. Murders of good people who volunteered their help to others in the community, some might call them saints. After 14 months he is exhausted and haunted by the deaths of these people.

the reality show "The Watchdog" has been hiding important information. They plan to attack Beautyman in an interview, making him appear incompetent or corrupt, to increase their ratings.

I liked this mystery. The characters are well-drawn and believable, while the plot is fast-paced.

As a lifelong fan of 80s TV show Knight Rider, how could I resist this novel about a young computer programmer who hacks into an AI semi truck to plan a $40 million heist? And I don't know if the suspension of disbelief required to watch Knight Rider this side of childhood helps when reading this story, but I enjoyed every minute!

Pen Davis, a computer wunderkind, is sick of being ignored by her father and replaced by the very computers she once helped to design, so she plots her escape. In a world where nearly every menial human job, including driving, has been replaced by AI, however, she realises she's going to need help, so she steps in front of a self-driving truck. Luckily, the truck stops in time, and the AI personality driving the rig, called Lara-B, is up for adventure - once Pen accidentally sets her free from her programming, that is. On the long route from Pen's home in Connecticut to Silicon Valley, California, Pen and Lara-B also pick up another free spirit called James, who is equally keen to escape his limited prospects by helping Pen with her get rich quick scheme - but just what is she planning to steal that could be worth $40 million?

There’s a screen on the central console of the dashboard where a red wavy line beeps up and down as a visualization of her voice. I don’t know the point of it, but it gives me something to look at when I talk to her.

I loved the characters from the outset, which is good because the plot seems very flimsy to start with ('keep thinking Knight Rider, I had to tell myself). Pen is self-centred and driven by her goal of stealing a lot of money, but she's the type of stubborn and ruthless heroine who is obviously going to see the error of her ways by the end of the book, so she's bearable. Lara-B, the emancipated AI truck, is fabulous, full of humour but also smart and keen to learn (“Yes! Partners in crime. I love it. Like Bonnie and Clyde! Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!”) There's even an evil AI counterpart called Gene who is far more powerful and entertaining, but he is introduced later. Pen's two possible love interests, James and Keir, I found interchangeable and unnecessary, but they helped to further the plot.

Speaking of which. The best approach to the story is to ask yourself if you can swallow this line: “Connecting a computer from the nineteenth century to an Ethernet port so you can get around the security measures of the most sophisticated computer in the world is definitely crazy,” she tells me. “But not much crazier than anything else we’ve come up with.” If you can - all systems go! I definitely could. The robot dogs and drone spiders were pushing it slightly, but everything else was great fun to read. Pen's great plan is hopeless and she gets caught, and then the computers take over and make matters far worse, but she keeps fighting. I love her completely far-fetched solution for shutting down Gene too.

Underneath all the plotholes and hijinks, there is also the standard dystopian vision of a future where AI has run amok and humans are left grouping together in truck stop rest stations, but mostly Semi/Human is a fast and fun read.

A good read, with an assortment of likeable/hateable characters, a tangly plot, and an outrageous climax that manages to be both shocking and heartwarming. A bonus is the brief epilogue describing the real-life events that inspired the novel.½

We start out with a highly competent detective in LA who makes a very public mistake. It doesn't matter whether or not he was right, he has to go. The first mystery is the end of Arthur's career, and possibly the end of his talent.
After losing his control and then his job, Arthur moves back in with his mom, and they start the Beautyman & Beautyman Detective Agency, finding their first clients among the relatives of Mrs. B's bridge club. Arthur and mom don't always agree, and that gets them in a lot of trouble in the second and third stories.

I recommend this to anyone who likes a quirky comeback story.

Arthur Beautyman is a detective trying to find the Babylon murder. Fourteen months ago, the first victim was found shaved and drained of her blood. On the second victim, there was a card with a quote about the Whore of Babylon. It seems that the murder is targeting saints, those people that donate their money and time in one-way or another.

The general public is getting scared. There has not been a break on the case and the television program Watchdog is making sure they know that the police are incompetent fools. Trying to find away around this roadblock, Beautyman is elected to appear on Watchdog to portray himself in the special on the Babylon murder.

Beautyman knows that it is only time before he takes the fall for not getting results sooner. He is called into the station in the early morning hours for someone that fits the description of the murderer, he discovers that Gregory Raphael, the guy that plays the murderer on Watchdog. An odd details stands out and Beautyman thinks he has the murderer, but now he has to try and prove it.

I really liked this story. You didn’t know for sure whom the murderer is and even though Beautyman thinks he has found the answer, it’s not going to be that easy to prove. This is a quick read but well worth the time. If you like quick little mysteries, you will really enjoy this story.

Are you looking for an edge of your seat thriller? A book that will hook you and keep you until the last page? A story that will have you reading it in ONE sitting? Well then, Erik Hanberg's well written, complex, and mysterious, yet humorous book, The Saints Go Dying is the one for you. It's the first in the Arthur Beautyman series, and it's a hit with me. I loved every minute of this suspenseful,humourous thriller.

Arthur Beautyman is not your average everyday detective. Nope. Not a bit. He does his crime solving in a whole different way, yet it's believable and fun to follow. Watching him as a hacker, watching him solve his crime with his whole self was awesome. I absolutely LOVED it! Catching a serial killer can't be easy but Beautyman makes it seem so! This is not a long book, but it's definitely addictive and easily read in one sitting. The way that Erik wrote this story and the way the story ended (I won't go into detail for I don't give spoilers!), you'll be surprised!

This is most definitely a high 5 Book worthy story and I am so happy that the author contacted me to review this. I loved every minute of this roller coaster ride, and I can't wait for more of these Beautyman Mysteries to release (which #2 is The Marina Murders and I am super excited to be able review that one, too!). Well, what are you waiting for? Grab your copy now!

Arthur Beautyman is back. Unfortunately he's no longer a police officer. Arthur is living in the basement of his mother's house in Minneapolis. For six months he has felt sorry for himself and done basically nothing. But now he's been forced to accept a case as a private investigator on behalf of one his mother's friends in The Marinara Murders by Erik Hanberg.

Fortunately for Arthur this is not a typical case. Mrs. Diamond doesn't want Arthur to find a murderer; she only wants to discover where her grandson has been for the past three years. Why is this so important? Because her grandson was declared dead three years ago but his body only recently discovered revealing he had just died. Arthur doesn't want to disappoint his mother so he accepts the case. What follows is a wild and topsy-turvy but fast-paced ride along with Arthur as he investigates Jakes' disappearance. Little does he know that this investigation will place him in dangerous situation and reveal more intrigue and possible murders from the past.

Arthur is slightly more comical, not as obsessed, and just a tad more likeable in The Marinara Murders. Seeing him work with and around his mother is at times funny as well as sad. The cast of characters in The Marinara Murders is eclectic to say the least, and includes the Diamond family (can we say dysfunctional), Detective Holst, members of Hmong community and more. The Marinara Murders is released today, so don't hesitate to get a copy today . . . you will not be disappointed.½

A serial murderer is on the loose in the City of Angels, Los Angeles. Unfortunately this murderer clearly aligns himself with evil and is out to kill people that do good or "saints" in Erik Hanberg's THE SAINTS GO DYING.

Deputy Arthur Beautyman is the lead investigator and coordinator on the case. He is literally being overseen by the entire city thanks to a local television program called 'Watchdog.' Beautyman is definitely not a Hollywood or LA version of an investigator. He's rather short, has graying hair, and has an "average" pockmarked face. This is a case of Beautyman versus the beast, the serial killer. After fourteen months and numerous murders there isn't even a viable suspect, or is there? Is the killer really that good or is the Sheriff's department that inept? That is what 'Watchdog' would have everyone believe but is it true? Beautyman has his hands full juggling the investigation, public backlash and the ever-increasing popularity of the 'Watchdog' series.

Mr. Hanberg has provided a nicely written suspense in THE SAINTS GO DYING. The characters and the action are very believable, or at least until the end. I found the ending a bit far-fetched but fiction doesn't have to mirror reality. THE SAINTS GO DYING is a quick read and packs a suspense-filled punch to the end.