The Garden of Last Days: A Novel (edit title)

• Rated 3 stars

“Book was OK....not one of my favorites. I liked that there were not too many characters on which to focus; however, I had never considered the intersection of lives between a stripper and one of the 9/11 terrorist. Sometimes I felt that the author was providing more information than I needed.”

• Rated 4 stars

“The lives of a 9-11 hijacker and a stripper intersect in a FL nightclub. Dubus takes the reader into the minds of the main characters — including the club's bouncer, a disgruntled client, and the stripper's landlady.
I reluctantly read this dark, realistic tale. Thoughtful portrayals and careful pacing help relieve tense situations within the story.”

• Rated 3 stars

“I liked the way the author portrayed the power of maternal love - the realities and the different forms motherhood can take. I wasn't prepared for the emphasis on the terrorists' thoughts, feelings, backgrounds, and religious beliefs; it was interesting, but a little too detailed for me. I actually liked the ending; I felt there was a good sense of closure for each of the characters - not all happy, but definitely a sense of finality.”

• Rated 3 stars

“The ending was simply terrible. I felt so little empathy for the characters and some of them seemed to be thrown in there for no reason. It could have been such a better book! I am being generous with 3 stars...”

• Rated 3 stars

“I loved his first book, "House of Sand and Fog." This book is written in the same fast paced style. Basically, we are looking at a bunch of people very desperate and in their own ways looking for redemption. My favorite characters, AJ and April are very well drawn out. Their goals based on some form of desperation are very defined. Unlike in his previous novel, it ends up alright for the heroine. AJ, unfortunately is a victim of circumstance and like the cop in the last novel, not so good for him.
You also have the shahid, Bassam. His unique form of salvation will come and nobody will stop him. Now, unlike the Persian characters, who he was able to define in a very real way, he falls short with his Arab characters. Then again, it is really hard to get into the insular culture of the Shaheed of Al-Qaeda. If we were not spending time funding them without listening to their worldwide goals of global jihad ( or at least implanted our own moles within their organizations),our world could be a safer place now. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“THis book is fabulous and a quick quirky read - he writes really interesting life stroies for all his characters so in the end you even care about the 911 highjacker adn the stripper who took her kid to work, I keep calling it the wrong name but I posted a thing about it to Jamie W too - try it myou'll (maybe )like it”

• Rated 3 stars

“WOW! Good story. A little long in the descriptions.”