Rating: 
Summary: Good reading but a bit wordy
Review: I found this to be a very enjoyable book to read. I could never predict the turns the story would take. It is hard to review this book without giving away the story, but after the murders were finally identified, I thought the pages after that were somewhat "who cares."Bottom line. I enjoyed the book and will most likely read the author's next effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Stallion Gate, Anyone?
Review: Though Los Alamos was competently written as the old saw goes; what was good wasn't original and what was original wasn't good. Most of the intrigue and paranoia of life on and around the Hill was originally done by Martin Cruz Smith in Stallion Gate, and the parallels between these novels were just too close for comfort. All Los Alamos made want to do was re-read Stallion Gate which I did, confirming that it is the far superior novel. If you like Los Alamos definitely pick up Stallion Gate and also Rhodes Making of the Atomic Bomb.
Rating: 
Summary: One eye on the plot, one eye on the movie version
Review: During World War II, Michael Connolly is sent to Los Alamos to investigate the murder of a low-level employee. Is it connected to the top secret work of the Manhattan Project, or just a random crime? The book expertly re-creates the unique atmosphere of a mini-city stuffed full of geniuses desperately trying to discover the mysteries of nuclear fission in time to win the war. Unfortunately, the plot becomes bogged down in formulaic thriller devices, including Connolly's affair with a beautiful married woman and an improbable cast of international spies. Like so many other recent works, this novel seems written with one eye on the plot and one eye on who will be cast in the movie version.
Rating:
Summary: While it kept my interest it did not captivate me.
Review: The book is fairly well written and the subject interesting the mystery is weak. The strength of the book is the examination of the scientists view of the process and implications of making the gadget. I was disappointed in the end -- I thought so much more could have been built into the story.
Rating:
Summary: Neither Fish Nor Fowl
Review: I didn't find this book to be great as thriller or history. As romance it was boring: The characters didn't interest me that much, and their love affair was ho hum. I stuck with it because of the history and my increasing time investment. The funny thing is that Kanon is a pretty good writer, but the book is lengthy and somewhat tedious. It did inspire me enough to go out and buy Richard Rhode's Pulitzer Prize winning book "The Making of the Atomic Bomb." It promises to be more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: LOS ALAMOS is the best thriller novel based in World War II history since I finished Craig Furnas's THE SHAPE: A NOVEL OF INTERNATIONAL SUSPENSE. LOS ALAMOS is a page-turner set against the backdrop of a most important and interesting time.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: I really liked this book, it's a mystery within a mystery within a mystery. I liked the characters and the story and I thought it was reasonably true to the times, historically as well as culturally (sorry, I don't know enough about nuclear fission to comment on the science) including the overt racism towards American citizens of Hispanic descent that was so prevalent at the time (although Kanon could have done with a bit less authenticity in this area) as well as the main characters' tendency to romanticize the Anasazi people of Chaco and Bandalier while marginalizing current Navaho and pueblo tribes. It did irk me that Kanon kept referring to the Los Alamos/Jemez area as the "desert," when, in fact, it's actually part of the Rocky Mountains and sustains not only the snowfall but also similar varieties of the flora and fauna found throughout that mountain chain, but that's a small thing in comparison with how much I enjoyed this book. Ps for Mr Kanon: most of those roads were not paved until the 1960's and 70's.
Rating: 
Summary: Suspense, history, big sky, and the biggest bang of all
Review: I read Los Alamos in hardcover last year and was totally blown away. (excuse the expression) What I found most amazing about Kanon's book was his ability to totally transport me back to a time that as a 37 year-old I know woefully little about. Los Alamos was a kind of Think Camp, the worlds best and often nuttiest scientists all sequestered away in the middle of the US desert, with one common goal. The horror of what they eventually created was by no means lost on them. First it's a scientific goal like any other which they strive to achieve, as they get closer to making it a reality, the two sides of the sword become frighteningly clear. Kanon writes well, has some good sub plots (love among the atoms), and really made me think. Always a plus. I bought the book for many friends in HC, you should buy it in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Kanon has mastered the fine line between fact and fiction.
Review: Why haven't I ever heard of Joseph Kanon? After years of reading thrillers, mysteries, erotica, historical fiction and Richard Feynman, here finally is an author who combines the finest aspects of all genres. Los Alamos really does have it all! I look forward to more from this author.
Rating:
Summary: Success around the edges
Review: This book succeeded with me some as a mystery, very little as a romance but much as a fiction of its setting. I enjoyed the stories of the bomb and the characters involved in the project; I often paused to compare the novel's anecdotes against memories of nonfiction works on the making of the bomb and the people involved. Having spent a good part of my childhood touring the sights of northern New Mexico, the setting was warmly nostalgic, adding to the pleasure. It's not a classic but it's a decent way to pass some time.
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