2008 Challenge (The Only One I Did and Still Failed)

I actually came really close to finishing this challenge. Thought that it sounded a whole lot easier then it turned out to be.

Now on to new challenges for next year


8 Books in 8 Catagories in '08

Cozy Mystery
1. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin - Nancy Atherton
2. Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers
3. Murder on the Rocks- Karen MacInerney
4. Dying to Sell - Sefton
5. The Gourdmother - Maggie Bruce
6. Steamed - Conant
7. Death Perception - Laurie
8. Decaffeinated Corpse - Coyle

New to Me Male Authors
1. Murder Over Easy - Marshall Cook
2. The Resort - Bentley Little
3. The Killer's Wife - Bill Floyd
4. The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright
5. Hunting the King - Clenott
6. Charity Girl - Lowenthal
7. The Fisher Boy - Anable
8. Mammoth Murder - Crider

Non-Fiction
1. Chosen By A Horse - Susan Richards
2. Louder Than Words - Jenny McCarthy
3. Church of 80% Sincerity - David Roche
4. Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
5. Up for Renewal - Alter
6. The Way I See It - Grandin
7. It Ain't All About the Cookin' Paula Dean


Young Adult
1. Rules - Cynthia Lord
2. 100 Cupboards - Wilson
3. Breaking Dawn - Meyers


Seconds
1.Hasty Death - Chesney
2.Fortieth Birthday Body - Wolzien
3.The Night She Died - Simpson
4.Last Breath - Shuman
5. Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire - Bardsley

New Books in 2008
1. Every Last Cuckoo - Kate Maloy
2. Demons Are A Ghoul's Best Friend - Victoria Laurie
3. Stalked - Brian Freeman
4. The Hunted - Lee
5. The House at Riverton - Morton
6. Carpool Diem - Star
7. Beach House - Green
8. Our Lady of Pain - Elena Forbes

Titles with Numbers
1. 311 Pelican Court
2. 44 Cranberry Point
3. 50 Harbor Street
4. Six Good Innings - Kreidler
5. The 19th Wife


New to Me Female Authors
1.How to be Lost - Amanda Eyre Ward
2.Don't Tell - Karen Rose
3.Remains of the Dead - Roberts
4.The Heroines - Eileen Favorite
5.Interred with Their Bones - Jennifer Lee Carrell
6.Merlot Murders - Ellen Crosby
7.Ashes to Ashes - Tami Hoag
8.Earthly Pleasures - Karen Neches

Still Alice

Still Alice

Lisa Genova

5 out of 5


One of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend this touching story of Dr. Alice Howland and her very personal journey into Alzheimer’s.

When Dr. Howland, a decorated Harvard professor starts having slight memory lapses she chalks it up to menopause, what else could it be, with her schedule she doesn’t have time for much more, that is until the lapses are more frequent and more terrifying.

With her husband a Harvard Research Scientist they explore the possibilities and medical trials with each wanting to take a different approach. What ensures are a couple of heartbreaking discoveries, laughter and the healing of old wounds. But what is lost is what makes this book so remarkable – Alice takes you on her own personal journey though this disease and you see it from the inside, from the person and not just the textbook. When she makes the comment of -- how can you remember what you have lost when you can’t remember what had you had-- just brought the whole thing home for me. What if you can’t remember the person you once were and the people that had meant so much to you?

Near the end of the book Alice gives a speech to the Dementia Care Conference that is just heartbreaking. For that one moment in time, she is once again the Alice Howland that her friends and colleagues know, love and respected. For that one moment in time she is Still Alice.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Made from Scratch

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life

Jenna Woginrich

4 out of 5

I picked up this book for a quick little chapter read to see if I would be interested and didn’t put it down until I had read the whole book. Very much in the same vein as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle but without all the peachiness.

Woganrich takes you through her experiences in homesteading and living a simpler life. Each chapter begins with her discussing her adventures, successes, and failures then ends up with mentoring tips. All the stuff you are looking for without all the hours of research.

The chapters can be taken or dismissed depending on your wish to undertake this particular part of your own adventure into homesteading, but I did have to laugh when I came to the one on Dogs as Work Animals. I own Pugs and there is not a single working gene amongst them so that part just won’t work for me.

The other chapters on Bees and Chickens are quite interesting and it’s quite refreshing to read an author in this field that will actually discuss their failures and mentor you to your own successes

Great book and going to her website you can see what she has been up to in the year since. www.coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com

Slipknot

Slipknot

Linda Greenlaw

3 out of 5

Almost a 4, but parts of this book turned more into a boating and sailing for dummies instructional manual.

Jane Bunker has decided that she is done with her high pressure career as a homicide detective in Miami and traded it all in for Green Haven, Maine. Being an insurance investigator has got to be easier. That is until her showing up for her first day of work and she comes across the body of the towns troublesome drunk.

The town tries to brush it off as an accident, but with the back of his skull smashed in, Jane’s detective brain takes over and starts trying to piece the whole mystery together.

Unfortunately, she starts to ask one too many questions and finds herself in quite a harrowing situation. One way or another she is going to find the answer. And it may end up hurting the apparently good people of this close knit community.

High Five

High Five

5 out of 5

Janet Evanovich

To date, I think this was my favorite book in this series. All the characters were there in all their feistiness. Even Grandma Bella and her Evil Eye.

Once again Stephanie is out of money and will take any FTA, this one turns out to be a very stubborn “littler person” who in turn decides to move into Stephanie’s apartment, which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t already distracted by her overly cheap Uncle Fred who went MIA while trying to right a $2.00 wrong at the trash company.

Things start to heat up when she starts spending a little too much time with Ranger and now is having the Ranger/Morelli conflict. Some girls have all the luck. Now to find Fred, who’s wife really doesn’t mind that he’s missing, keep out of the way of a psycho boxer, get a dwarf (after calling Stephanie a loser, the gets called names too), choose between Ranger and Morelli, keep a taser away from grandma, chauffer a child sheik, dodge a killer, and stop getting cars destroyed all seem to be a week in the life of Stephanie.

Great fast paced book with lots of storylines and great giggles. I highly recommend this one.

Blood Island

H. Terrell Griffin

4 out of 5

I was loving this book until the author took that dangerous left turn into the land of “best-friend-with-Cancer” cliché, which ended up in a total tail spin into the land of “my-friend-the-bartender-who-has-better-computer-hacking-skills-then-the-FBI” nightmare. Come on- really!

Griffin has real talent. A fast paced thriller that has you turning pages until you hit the roadblocks that seem to separate the great writers from everyone else.

Third in the Matt Royal series.

Life is looking good in Longboat Key, Florida, for retired attorney Matt Royal; that is until his ex-wife, the love of his life, appears and asks for Matt’s help in locating her missing stepdaughter. What first appears as a spring break gone wild scenario, Matt and friends are drawn into the world of a religious fanatic who is determined to bring the world to its knees.

As I said, great fast passed thriller, just wish he would have been more creative with a couple of his characters.

The Millionaires

The Millionaires

Inman Majors

3 out of 5

This book never flowed for me, too bumpy and glitchy and at times, downright boring.

All the great components were there, the wealthy southern boys, the wives, the mistresses, the money, the political wrangling, but it just didn’t come together for me.

Now why exactly did the author throw in screenplays and poems, that was just too much.

Bring this back to the drawing board and write the good book that is hiding in there somewhere.

Back on Blossom Street

Back on Blossom Street

Debbie Macomber

4 out of 5

For a person who doesn’t usually like Macomber’s books, I actually enjoy this series. I can’t explain it either, since Macomber usually has whiney weak woman as her characters -- this series seems to show women of strength. Those that take charge and move on in their lives instead of waiting for men to guide them.

Susannah’s Garden, the florist located next to a Good Yarn is where Colette Blake has gone to get over the death of her husband and the affair that she had had with her boss.

Once again the women of the story, Colette, Susannah, and Alix have come together in Lydia’s knitting class to share their fears and hopes and traumas; much of which involves Colette’s pregnancy and Alix’s impending marriage to Jordan. Plus a trauma that hits Margaret’s family and rocks them to the core.

This series of books is a good break from reality. I recommend this series over her mushy and redundant Cedar Cove series.

Simmer Down

Simmer Down

Jessica Conant-Park
Susan Conat
3 out of 5

I really didn’t like this one as much as the first in the series. This one was choppier and the murder really seemed inconsequential.

Chloe has finally landed her dream man, Josh Driscol, but while preparing for the opening of his new restaurant a rival club owner is found dead. Of course there are too many suspects and the story twists in so many different directions that the reader doesn’t understand what path the authors are trying to lead you down.

It was more like the writing team had no plan for this book and just kept going until they came to 300 pages and decided to stop. I sure hope the next one is better.

Don't Talk Back To Your Vampire

Don’t Talk Back To Your Vampire

Michelle Bardsley

3 out of 5

The first in this series was good, this one just fell flat.

Broken Heart, Oklahoma is still getting back on it’s feet after the Consortium came to town and turned eleven single mothers into vampires. This story is told by town librarian Eva. Now all she has to do is fight off the Wraiths and find out how to get Lorcan, the twin brother of Patrick, from the first book, to see her in a whole new way.

The only thing that kept me reading was very interesting magical lore that is interwoven periodically through this story.

A Vase of Mistaken Identity

A Vase of Mistaken Identity

Cathy Elliott

3 out of 5

If I would have known my publishing houses, I would have realized earlier that this is a Christian Fiction murder mystery. The book implies that it would be a cozy, with the mention of quilts, cats and tea, but I really didn’t get that feel from the book.

Thea James owns an Antique shop in a small town and when the local homeless man brings in a valuable Roseville vase with a list of women’s names on it Thea is curious, but when two of the women are either injured or missing, Thea’s investigation skills kick into full gear.

The story is quite slow moving and is centered around Thea rediscovering her faith and finding a new man then in actually moving the mystery forward. The ending seems abrupt and convoluted. Didn’t really appeal to me.

Cruel Intent

Cruel Intent

J.A. Jance

4 out of 5

Apparently this was book 4 in the Alison Reynolds series and I have missed out on some very good storylines that were a bit relevant to the telling of this story.

While Ali Reynolds is remodeling her house in Sedona, with the help of her butler Leland, Bryan Forrester, her general contractor is arrested for the brutal murder of his philandering wife. Bryan swears that no matter how bad it looks, and it’s not good, that he didn’t do it.

Of course Ali needs her house finished so she does some digging and finds out that Bryan’s wife isn’t the first person to die that was associated with singleatheart.com a dating site for married men and women.

Very good, if somewhat unrealistic ending, I recommend this book, but begin at the beginning of the series.

Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea

Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea

Nancy Atherton

4 out of 5

I can not get enough of this series. I adore the characters, I adore the settings and I adore the fallibility and the deep caring that binds Lori Shepherd to her friends and family.

Lori’s rather calm life is suddenly turned upside down when death threats hit home and her and the lives of her twin 5 year old sons are threatened. Bill calls in a trusted family friend, Sir Percy Pelham and his gigantic helicopter to whiz them away while Bill stays home going through old files to see who is holding a grudge.

But life can’t be that simple for Lori, after arriving at Percy’s castle on an island off of Scotland, she begins to notice things that just do not make sense. Like why do simple sheep ranchers need satellite dishes and gourmet food in the market? What are these villagers up to and can Lori figure it out, before jumping to too many conclusions, before the true danger arrives.

Peter a character from previous books makes reappearance and it’s nice to see what he has been up to. I highly recommend this series - it’s a great breakaway from the heavier stuff in our TBR’s.

Serena

Serena

Ron Rash

5 out of 5

This book will stay with the reader in much the same was as Steinbeck holds onto you and won’t let you go.

Harsh realties abound in this stunning book when George Pemberton, the timber baron, disembarks from the train in North Carolina with his new wife Serena and are greeted by an angry father and a very pregnant young girl. What ensues sets the tone for this often brutal and very greedy look into the depression era timber industry.

Serena is no prim and proper lady, she is just as determined as any man and when she sets her sights on Pemberton, she got what she wanted even if he wasn’t so sure that it should be taken at no cost.

When Serena begins to see a person getting into her way, there is no problem tracking them down and having the problem dealt with, this isn’t just other businessmen, this is anyone. Anyone that Serena sees as a threat to her plans. A little too late Pemberton see what type of monster he has helped to create but his need for money and power allows him to turn a blind eye to the destruction of both forest and humanity.

The visuals that Rash gives you in both character and setting are truly amazing, you fall into this book and lose your own surroundings and time. He draws such a complete picture that you truly feel that you are there and that these people are real. The ending is beyond a doubt stunning and leaves you breathless and with more questions. Truly a great find and one that you will want to pass on to your friends.

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover


Linda Wisdom


4 out of 5


Jasmine Tremaine, better known as Jazz to her friends, has been banished to the use of basic witch skills for the last 400 years because of stupid rules and her inability to control her temper. So she is stuck making a semi normal living eliminating curses and limo driving for some of the less desirable ghouls that are part of her world.

Life wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for Nikolai, the rather hot vampire cop that should know better then to anger Jazz, but they just can’t keep away from each other, even though everyone knows that witches and vampires don’t mix.

Yet, after 40 years of being apart, Nick needs her help in solving a case of missing vampires and Jazz must face a horrible time in her past to help him that will either rip Jazz and Nick apart for ever or leave them to battle each other yet another day.

Very funny book with adorable characters like Norma, a ghost who can’t leave Jazz’s beloved car, and Fluff and Puff, real Bunny Slippers that seem to enjoy ripping into and eating anything within their reach but are afraid of heights.

If you can handle graphic and humor give this book a try.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R7A2KQR5JKEH4/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm


Nancy

I'm Fine with God It's Christians I Can't Stand

I’m Fine with God, It’s Christians I Can’t Stand

Bruce Bickel
Stan Jantz

5 out of 5

This wildly funny and quite informative book takes you on the journey through the 10 things that most people can’t stand about Christians. From Morality through God wants them to be Rich to the Monopoly on Truth, this book hits on reasons and explanations that has you laughing and nodding all the way through.

If you can’t take a humor with your faith, this book isn’t for you, but if you are willing to see something from a different perspective and at least acknowledge that more than one person can have an opinion then this is a great book to check out.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RBZ6J82P76AW8/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Doctor Olaf Van Schuler's Brain

Doctor Olaf Van Schuler’s Brain

Kirsten Menger-Anderson

3 out of 5

Told in short little vignettes you are introduced to the Steenwycks, multi-generational family members that have all become doctors and explore the medicine of their times, though each seems to be bordering on mental illness you are drawn into their stories and experiments even though you realize that there is something a little off balance with all of them. From the very first Dr. Olaf Van Shuler in the 1600’s who takes home dead animals to study their brains to phrenology to hysteria to the modern day Dr. Elizabeth Steenwycks and her now desperate research into prions.

The stories bounce from one generation to the next with just a touch of the previous to let you know what direction you are going in. And thank you Kirsten Menger-Anderson for the family tree in the beginning of the book so I could keep everyone straight.

Though there are some very interesting parts of this book, it was just too dull to keep my attention. You could literally skip large parts and still be on track with the story. The wacky-far-out medical beliefs of the day were one thing, but the repetitiveness of mental illness was just too much. By the end you understand the point that the author is trying to make, but for me it just was too long in getting there.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R15PWWU184FI94/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Nancy

A Beautiful Blue Death

A Beautiful Blue Death

Charles Finch

5 out of 5

A Wonderful Atmospheric Historical Fiction

First in what is hopefully a continuing series featuring Charles Lennox, a Victoria gentleman, who has solved crimes that Scotland Yard seems to take credit for. Set in England 1865, Lenox is called by his next door neighbor and childhood friend Lady Jane Grey when Prudence Smith, Grey’s former employee, is found dead in the home of her new employer. Things just don’t add up in Jane’s mind, but Charles can figure it out, he’s clever that way.

Since Pru was found in the home of George Barnard, the current director of the Royal Mint, with a secret of his own; Lennox’s instincts are set in high gear and a wonderful who-done-it-and-why leads the reader on a brilliant journey.

A great cast of characters that leave you smirking and curious, making this an interesting addition to the Historical Fiction genre.

But the best part -- this book seems to start in the middle of the whole Charles Lennox experience with references to the past that makes you wonder exactly where Lennox came from and where Finch is going to take him. Will more of the past be explained or will Finch just leave that up to the reader’s imagination.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Mary An Shaffer and Annie Barrows

5 out of 5

This Book Will Warm Your Heart

I’m not much of a fan of reading a book because everyone else is, but if I would have skipped this one, I would have missed out on a true gem.

Juliet Ashton is awash in indecision; she has just finished a very impressive newspaper series and is looking for a new book adventure. Since WWII has just ended and everyone is still uncertain she just doesn’t know what to do. That is until she is introduced to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and learns about their trials and fortitude while living under the ruling thumb of the Germans on Guernsey.

Told in a back and forth letter and telegram style, this book brings you the joys and tears of some truly memorable characters; people that have always lived together but truly learned to love together when an incredibly brave woman and a delightful little girl keep their spirits up during a devastating time and its aftermath.

This book will warm you heart and have you laughing out loud.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R33OIG43WWX8K7/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Ghost At Work

Ghost at Work

Carolyn Hart

4 out of 5

First of all, teenaged girls in 2008 don’t use the word swell or even swellest, which isn’t even a word, even if they are a PK (Pastors Kid).

The dearly departed Bailey Ruth Raeburn has been asked to join the Department of Good Intentions, her role, to return to earth in spirit form, being called a ghost is against regulations, and help out those in need. Sounds easy, that is if there weren’t all those silly little precepts about when you can appear in human form and who you can scare the “be-gee-bee’s” out of.

Bailey pops in just in time to see the body of the town’s bad guy Daryl Murdock sprawled dead on the back porch of the rectory and the PW (Pastor’s Wife) trying to figure out what to do it.

What ensues is a very good who done it with a cast of characters that all look guilty from afar, that is until Baily goes around Wiggins’ (her heavenly supervisor) wishes and starts to investigate the facts.

Great start to a new series.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1SI14UZB0LX6U/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Deja Demon

Deja Demon: The Days and Nights of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom

Julie Kenner

5 out of 5

I love this series. Who knew that zombies could be so funny.

Book #4 in the Soccer Mom series. This book rehashes many of the previous storylines so you would be lost if you don’t start this series at the beginning.

Kate’s life is busy enough with a toddler, a teenage daughter and a husband running for political office – what she doesn’t need are two angry demons joining forces to take her off the planet. There is just no reasoning with Abaddon and Goramesh - you would think that demons would have a better sense of humor. But, no, it’s up to Kate, with a little help from her friends, to save San Diablo from the infestation of Demons and Zombies. But how do you do that while still trying to find a giant rabbit for the neighborhood Easter Party?

So while Kate is patrolling at night with David who isn’t only David, Kate must finally come to terms with her husband Stuart and put all of her hunting paraphernalia on the table and come clean about who she really is and if he wants to stay married to a level 5 demon hunter.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1MMZA2RH6HXND/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

It Ain't All About the Cookin'

It Ain’t All About the Cookin’

Paula Deen

5 out of 5

You’ve got to love a woman who refers to Eleanor Roosevelt as Ellie. The irrepressible Paula Deen comes through in this book like the funny approachable woman that you see on TV.

With what seemed to be insurmountable problems, she managed to pull herself up from her bootstraps and go on to create a safe loving home with the financial security that she had always dreamed of for her boys first and then herself.

After marrying the wrong man and battling years of agoraphobia, Paula decided that enough was enough and with the begrudging help of her boys started a small catering business that has turned into a multimillion dollar empire of restaurants and TV shows.

But she will be the first to admit that if it wasn’t for family, it just never would have happened. Family love is first and all else is just fried chicken. I highly recommend this book for its inspiration and humor. You will laugh your way through it.


Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKKN4QK8FWALB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

French Pressed

French Pressed

Cleo Coyle

4 out of 5

In this the sixth installment of the Coffeehouse Mysteries, Coyle, the writing team of Alice Alfonsi (Rosemary Grace) and Marc Cerasini, who also write The Haunted Bookshop mysteries under the joint pseudonym Alice Kimberly, bring together an interesting assortment of characters.

As Clare Cosi is trying to do her job as the manager of the ever popular Village Blend, murder just always seems to pop up around her. But this time, it’s her daughter Joy that is in trouble and if mommy and daddy don’t run to her defense, it is quite possible that she will spend the rest of her life in jail for murder.

Restaurants are quite a cutthroat business, but when two employees of Solange are found dead, and Joy was the last to be seen with them what are the police to think? Even Clare’s new love interest, Mike, the NYC Detective, is having a hard time with this one. And a couple other things.

There are multiple sub-plots that keep this book humming along and it’s really a very good series that should be enjoyed with a great cup of coffee and maybe even try out a couple of the recipes in the back of the book.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R12AL2AZ83NP9E/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

50 Harbor Street

50 Harbor Street

Debbie Macomber

4 out of 5

Though better than the previous one, this series is just getting too syrupy for me. And if Macomber is going to have a teenager as a character she should never have them putting on a housecoat – a robe, a cover-up, but nothing that sounds as old as something that their grandmother would wear.

This book covers the lives of Corrie and Roy, the local private investigator that have been receiving gift baskets and postcards with subtle messages. Seems that there is a little secret in their past that has now surfaced. Not too surprising, but most of the book is then tied up too neatly.

In the past I have enjoyed Macomber’s books as a nice break from harder edged things, but the last two just make the women sound too much like victims to the whims of the men in their lives.

But, if you live your books with whipped cream and a cherry on top, well then, this is for you.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3Q8J41B5J4RV1/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

American Wife

American Wife

Curtis Sittenfeld

3 out of 5

Overly Long, Quite Redundant

Told in the voice of Alice Blackwell, you meet a young woman born in a simpler time to a simply family who one day finds herself dating and marrying a man with big dreams and little actual talent.

But don’t let the little talent surprise you, this man becomes president of the United States and Alice has to battle her inner demons and keep her secrets to stand by the man she loves. How much of herself will she sell out to keep his dream, to keep her family intact, to support the joke of his family?

Of course everyone has already mentioned the similarities of Alice Blackwell to our current first lady, but to be fair, she could have just as easily been talking about Roselyn Carter or Ladybird Johnson; or any presidential wife living in the shadow of her bumbling husband.

Alice is a likeable character enough, if you like your female characters to be followers; I just wish that Sittenfeld would have been less repetitively descriptive and moved the story along faster. Easily 150 pages of this book could have been removed and the story would have been better.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RYKXL39KOJFPA/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Decaffeinated Corpse

Decaffeinated Corpse

Cleo Coyle

4 out of 5

What’s unique about this cozy mystery is that the mystery doesn’t actually happen until the end of the book. You are first taken through the history and science of Coffee and there is also an interesting drive through New York beforehand, then Coyle throws in a body or two to keep Claire’s life interesting and then of course she must help her husband and his best friend clear their names. No wonder Matteo refers to her as a nose-hound.

True coffee aficionados would never drink decaffeinated, but when Matteo’s best friend Ric cultivates a new variety of naturally decaffeinated beans the world, and quite a few questionable people, are interested. What are the secrets behind these beans and why are people dying for it. Once again it’s up to Claire to find out what is going on; that is, when she isn’t trying to keep her daughter from dating a chef that is older then her father and keeping Detective Mike Quinn close enough to keep her warm.

I love this series. I’m usually a tea drinker, but when she gets talking about the aromas and the different subtleties in a brew I just can’t help myself and have to head to our little coffee house and have a cup. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1B4Z76W4BQZGK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Die Decorator Die

Die Decorator Die

Franklin H. Levy

3 Out of 5


A Poor Attempt at Witty Repartee

I don’t know if Levy was trying to impress himself or the reader, but he failed miserably. Too many one-liners that fell flat and took the reader away from what was supposed to be a mystery with an over abundance of characters that really had very little to do with moving the story forward. Someone needed to rein in this author, just wish it would have been before I read this book.

The story is told from the perspective of Buzz Levine a paunchy middle aged attorney and his apparently hot, though not domesticated, interior designer wife. They run in higher society and seem to get by doing very little actual work.

When two bodies show up in the Annual Boston Designer Show House fingers are pointed and apparently it’s up to said paunchy attorney to save the day and bring down the murder and still pick up a pepperoni pizza for dinner.

Apparently, this is the first in a series, but one was enough for me.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VY80I5QQZICL/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Nancy

Lost Girls

The Lost Girls

George D. Shulman

4 out of 5


I love this author, I love his take on his subject matter and I love that he doesn’t bind up the reader in unnecessary background fluff, that being said, I just wish that it didn’t remind me so much of the movie Human Trafficking. There are too many similar plotlines.

What begins for Sherry Moore as an assist with the U.S. Navy Seals to rescue climbers on Mt. Whitney suddenly turns into bizarre images of a castle in the jungle and women being held in cages. Sherry is not quite sure what images she is picking up from Sergio Mendoza, but when she finds out who he is and who his father was, she knows that she has crossed into a twilight zone that has no happy endings, but possibly she can make a difference.

There are many gut wrenching moments in this book and it’s definitely not for the squeamish, but Shuman handles the subject matter well and takes the reader on a journey into a world where nightmares live.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3846RJUS4JV26/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Nancy

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism & Asperger’s
Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
4 out of 5

Part biography, part self aggrandizing, part text book, Dr. Grandin takes you into her world of Autism through magazine articles previously published and reorganized into an easier to follow format that incorporates her opinions on the inner workings of Autism and Asperger’s.

Temple Grandin lost me in a couple of places where she seems to be a bit redundant, but overall it’s a fascinating look at Autism from a different perspective. The how and why of an Autistic’s inner world from a perspective that is not always apparent.

I loved her comment about -- if it wasn’t for Autism we would be a world full of highly social people who would accomplish very little. The Social people are not going to want to spend the time necessary to create great art, beautiful music, or masterworks of engineering that require a great attention to detail.

Instead of thinking about Asperger’s as a detriment, it’s now easier to see that it can be a gift, the ability to use different parts of the brain that the rest of the population is clueless about. So, some people are wired differently, may not have the same social skills, but in the long run, if it wasn’t for people thinking differently, would I be able use this computer. Would there even be computers?

I highly recommend this fascinating book; I just suggest that you take it in small bits so you can digest the full meaning that Dr. Grandin is trying to get across.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3TGEZGMQJEH9S/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Oxygen

Oxygen

Carol Cassella

5 out of 5

Mesmerizing

That is the only word to describe this book.

Dr Marie Heaton never thought that Anesthesiology would be where her medical training would take her; but it is where her passion lies. The closeness she feels with her patients and their families, the ebb and flow of life in her hands makes her want to get up in the morning and do the very best she can for those that are in desperate need of her and her abilities.

Funny how life can change in a split second, and that’s exactly what it did when Marie’s life collided with that of 8 year old Jolene Jansen. What started out as a routine surgery ends up making Marie question every aspect of her life. And when her safety net, the hospital and staff that she has given her life to turn on her, where is she to go. Joe Hillary, her friend and ex-lover is there for her, but at what cost. If she could just stop the demons in her head and think through what went wrong, maybe, she alone could find the answer.

At least she has her sister, her rock of support, but to go home, she must also confront her father and their fractured relationship. Maybe it’s never too late to go home; they both just need for it to be home.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GC0EMVHXRUI1/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

44 Cranberry Point

44 Cranberry Point

Debbie Macomber

3 out of 5

There just seemed to be too much rehashing of the previous books. If you have been reading this series from the beginning you already knew what Macomber was telling you in the first third of this book.

Cranberry Point finally ties up the story behind Max Russell and why he died at the B&B. Marriages and babies abound and a couple new love interests are sparked. And who would have thought that a dog and bachelor auction would ignite so much.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3JJOQ0GQ1APNN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Besides the repeating of old stories lines, this book hit me a little wrong with the tone of voice of many of the women. I just wish that they didn't sound so whiney and unsure of themselves. Even Olivia, the judge, sounds whiney and at times pathetic. Macomber needs to get back on track and give these women some more strength and backbone.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3JJOQ0GQ1APNN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

American Lightning

American Lightning

Howard Blum

3 out of 5



There are so many names swirling around in this book that you have to keep a pen and paper close by. Who is who and what do they do does get a bit confusing.

This book covers the before, during, and after of the explosion that destroyed the Los Angeles Times building on October 1, 1910. One of many planned attacks to bring this country to its knees. Labor Activists, Hollywood, Big Names Business Leader, Leading Attorney's, wanna be Land Baron and Common Criminals all had a part in this story that was toted as the Crime of the Century.

Unfortunately, it is billed as a Can't-Put-It-Down Thriller, unfortunately for me it was a Really-Do-I-Have-To-Finish-It.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RB8MX0X7JHQTC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Death Perception

Death Perception
Victoria Laurie
4 out of 5

Best One So Far

Sometimes being a professional psychic is hard work so the idea of going to Las Vegas with Dutch sounds like a good idea, that is until she realizes that it’s because Chase, Dutch’s cousin, has been kidnapped and he really needs Abby’s help in finding him.

As they rush to find Chase, Abby is confronted with things that she didn’t know about Dutch, things that might change their relationship forever, that is if she can find Dutch, who has now also missing, and get to the bottom of all the half truths that the FBI is saying.

This book has you back and forth wondering what the truth is and why Abby wasn’t aware of what was going on. Is everyone who they seem to be or are there lies upon lies.

Finally the characters of Cat and Candice play dominate roles in this book and it’s about time. Two great women, who have you laughing and wondering when they will get a series of their own.

I highly recommend this series of mad cap adventure.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3209BCC0HUKXJ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me ABout Love, Sex and Starting Over

Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over

Cathy Alter

3 out of 5

What is more annoying than a twenty-five year old who is trying to find her self? That would a forty year old who thinks and acts like she’s twenty-five and wonders why her life is spinning out of control.

What seems like a semi-autobiographical peek into the insecurities of a big city girl, Alter shares her life. A divorce, bad relationships and overall bad choices lead her to wonder if the large display of shinny flashy women’s magazines know something that she doesn’t. So she plans to live the life that the magazines tell her to for one year and see what happens. Each month she picks a new topic and decides to work on it. And coincidentally, that month the magazines address her specific issues. Funny how that worked out.

I don’t know if I got used to her antics and anxieties, but by the end of the book I was actually laughing along with her. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, or even most, but if you have any tolerance for women that are slow to grow up and overly anxious about the world in general give it a try. Other wise, just know that magazines are designed to entertain and make you insecure and if you’re wise enough you don’t live your life according to what other anxiety ridden writers tell you is important .

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Q3AOJI1L9IR8/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife
David Ebershoff
3 out of 5

Fact, Fiction and Innuendo

Told in a back and forth style with many voices, Ebershoff tells the story of Ann Eliza Young who being the 19th wife of Brigham Young decides that polygamy isn’t for her and decides to do the unthinkable and file for divorce. Interspersed with this story is the story of BeckyLyn also a 19th wife of modern day who is accused of killing her husband, and her son Jordan, one of the Lost Boys, who is trying to clear her name and get her out of Mesadale, the compound she lives in with the other Firsts; the break off group that still follows the old tradition of polygamy.

Have I lost you yet?

There is also Kelly Dee the student researcher that is trying to pull the life of Ann Eliza together for her masters thesis who is telling the story, in a round about way, through all the characters and who is also trying to decipher the goings on and hoping to separate fact from fiction.

Though this is a book of fiction, there is enough history to make you wonder what is real and what is embellished for a better story. In this multiple character driven novel, Ebershoff reaches into the world that Smith and Young created and how dominate they were over their followers. Whether truth or innuendo, the story makes a very slow progress to a conclusion that really wasn’t a conclusion, just a good place to stop.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RCD3KWSVRWYTP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader
Brunonia Barry
4 out of 5


Towner Whitney comes from an eccentric family of women who are thought to be witches because of their ability to make and read lace. Just relax your mind and stare slightly off center and you can see the future. Sounds simple except for the fact she lives in Salem, Massachusetts and apparently there is still witch hunting.

Towner returns home after the drowning death of her great aunt Eva. This is a trip that Towner has been avoiding because of her traumatic upbringing that continues to envelope her whole life. Towner wonders what was the true cause of Eva’s death; but since she herself is known as the town wacko with hallucinations of dogs mauling her abusive brother in law and run ins with a hellfire preacher, no one wants to help her or investigate.

Just when she is ready to return back home to her life in California the past that she had carefully created for herself comes crashing into her reality and what she had thought was “her” truth was only a thin veil that blocked out the full pain of “the” truth.

There were many times that I wanted to put this book down, the middle bogs down with such boring repetitiveness I was beginning to wonder what the author was thinking. Then the last 100 or so pages hits you with such force you can’t get through the book fast enough. Great story with a stunning conclusion that has you spinning and thinking back to the clues that you missed.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2TZF8ZS7I2AUC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Mammoth Murder

Mammoth Murder

Bill Crider

4 out of 5

#13 in the Dan Rhodes series, but I don’t really think that this is a series you have to read in order. I haven’t and don’t feel that I’m missing anything.

Dan is Sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas with an odd group of deputies that make Barney and Mayberry seem normal.

Bud Turley shows up one day with a very large tooth that he swears belongs to Bigfoot. Since he and his buddy Larry have been searching the woods since childhood, this discovery doesn’t seem so out of place. But life isn’t that simple and now Larry is dead. the Bigfoot Convention hits town and the body of a local boy missing for 10 years shows up.

Sheriff Dan already has his hands full, if it wasn’t for the feral pigs and snakes, this would just be another day in the life of a small county sheriff. This is a very funny quick read book, I recommend this series.

Amazon Review:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VEKC4UWOAFU5/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Our Lady of Pain

Our Lady of Pain

Elena Forbes

4 out of 5

Second book in the series, but I don't think that matters since this book holds it's own with very little flashback to book one.

On a cold and snowy morning, Rachel Tenison decided to take an early morning run through a London park, taking a break she hears something behind her and a voice calling her name. Thus begins the investigation into her nude and bound body, found in a prayer like position with a copy of a poem in her mouth; and a whole cast of characters under suspicion.

Mark Tartaglia and Samantha Donovan are put on the case and what develops is a twisted ride into the life of a naughty woman with quite a past of deceit and manipulation. Unfortunately, this isn't a singular episode and the past does come back home to roost.

Is it a copycat killer or do the two women have a secret in common?

Very good book - not too heavy and a little predictable at the end, but Forbes takes you on a nice adventure that has you engaged until the end.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R24TVKIGRLXAH0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Six Good Innings

Six Good Innings

Mark Kreidler

4 out of 5

I love kid's sports, I love the parents who support their children's dreams, I love the coaches that give unknown hours and sweat and money to mentor their team and I love communities that encourage those that participate.

This is the story of the boys of Tom's River, New Jersey and their struggle to maintain the winning tradition of Little League Baseball. Tom's River is no ordinary baseball town, they create winners year after year beginning in the 1990's and continuing on to today. They may not all make it to Williamsport, but they do make it to the District and State Championships, and those very rare years, they make it to the "Show" and take on the title of Little League World Series Champions.

Unfortunately, this group of 12 years olds also take on the burdens of the towns dreams and it can be a bit much. This book follows the team from the start of their year to the culmination of their All-Star game. You meet the coaches, the kids and the parents and they all touch you and you find yourself cheering them on from afar. I highly recommend this book to all youth sports lovers, those that have cheered from the benches and those that have watched from their armchairs.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3N5B988FSS744/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Fisher Boy

The Fisher Boy
Stephen Anable
3 out of 5

As Like As Like As Like As Like As Like

By the end of the book I was more interest in where the next simile was going to fall then where the plot was going.

This meandering story is told through Mark Winslow a gay man vacationing in Provincetown. Mark has given up his main career and had decided to bring his improve group to P-town for the summer to see if they have what it takes to break into the club circuit. But the peace and quiet are quickly broken when a dog is found murders on the mailbox of a wealthy man, a group of curious Scandinavian’s tourist, who look more like panhandlers take over the town and Mark finds out more about his past then he bargained for.

Add in the death of another high profile community leader and a painting that tells a story of it’s own and you have a book that wanders in too many directions at one time with a rather anticlimactic ending. If it wasn’t for the last 20 or so pages where the author recaps the whole thing I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what this book was supposed to be about.

Can’t recommend this one; maybe next time if he can figure out the one or two plotlines that he wants to stick with.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3MWF046NCX7U9/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch

5 out of 5

Don’t use a highlighter in a library book. This is a book that should be bought not borrowed. There are so many life lessons and words of wisdom that you find yourself wanting to highlight sections to come back to, to ponder the simplicity of words and the deeper meaning that they portray.

Randy Pausch has terminal pancreatic cancer. He has 3 to 6 good months left. He has 3 very young children, two of which will grow up with no true memories of him. A wife that is strong and yet terrified, a family that wants to spend every last moment with him, but yet Randy must put on his final lecture. The one that each professor has, the last one that will portray who and what they have learned and become.

Randy chooses “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” as his theme, not what you would assume a computer geek to pick.

There are so many laugh out loud moments that you begin to question if it’s appropriate to laugh at a dying man, but I think that is the point, life is funny, those moments that make us what we are, are humorous. Without being preachy or religious Pausch leads us through his life, and how with a little imagination you can achieve your childhood dreams and leave a great legacy to you children at the same time.


Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/ROBY6PBGIP71R/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Beach House

The Beach House

Jane Green

5 out of 5

Nantucket is known for its quirky personalities, but Nan Powell seems to be the reigning queen. Not caring much for other peoples opinions she lives her life the way she wants. If that means at 65 she wants to skinny dip in the neighbor’s pool or steal their strawberry plants so she can care for them better, well so be it.

Then her life starts getting dull and the house which she loves with all her heart is too big and difficult to take care of, but most of all she is lonely. Lonely for the excitement and challenges that her life used to hold, that was before her husband, Everett darn near lost everything to gambling and decided to wander into the ocean to commitment suicide. To top it off she finds out that the money is beginning to run out so what does she do to solve all of her problems, she opens up the house to summer boarders. Seems to be a win-win for all involved.

What ensues is a wonderful gathering of damaged people who come together to solve their problems, answer their questions and heal their lives.

I was so afraid that this book was going to be another like Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy (Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RDVF3EL1A9VLP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm ) that I nearly didn’t pick it up, but this book holds its own with a cast of characters that you find endearing. The ending has a wonderful twist that makes you gasp but without being too corny and not every question is answered leaving you to make up your mind and hope for the best with these new friends.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R24TBQBQ8K30GP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Nancy

Last Breath

Last Breath

George D. Shuman

5 out of 5

This author always hits the mark for me. This is the 2nd book in the Sherry Moore series and I enjoyed it more than the first. Which is saying a lot. But one word of warning, I think you need to read the first book before this one to get a more rounded view of the main characters life.

Sherry Moore is an investigative consultant, a rather puffed up title considering her gift of being about to touch a victims hand and see, even thought Sherry is blind, the last 18 seconds of their lives. The Police don’t want to make public their use of her and the skeptic love to slam her at every turn.

This time Sherry is called in when strange apparent suicides and outright murders of women through hanging start to appear with more frequency than usual. What or who do they have in common? Who has a secret that can’t be kept at bay any longer? Who needs Sherry’s help more, the police or the killer?

A smoothly paced book that never lets you down. I highly recommend this author.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R9VPFNPA9XF90/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Previous book in this series: 18 Seconds Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NICXUD4M5PO4/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Death for Dessert

Death for Dessert

T. Dawn Richards

3 out of 5

I kept finding myself wanting to add plot lines and twists that the author didn’t.

After a life time of marriage, May List flees a philandering doctor-husband and ends up in an "active senior living" complex. Not only has her life ended up this way but she encounters a bizarre group of elderly residents that aren’t exactly as they appear. After a bizarre encounter with the erratic Mrs. Berkowitz, May is warned to stay as far away from this woman as possible, but May’s curiosity gets the best of her when Mrs. Berkowitz just happens to know the secret details of May’s life.

May starts putting the pieces together and finally see this woman as the blackmailer that she really is, the only problem is that it’s a little too late when Mrs. Berkowitz is found dead and the plate of brownies that May had found next to her door is now empty on Mrs. Berkowitz’s counter.

It’s up to the “Active Seniors” to solve the crime and get their secrets back.

Parts of this book are very funny, but with the slow pace and pat ending, this book just didn’t work for me.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RCR41VMOE9QSW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Grave Sight

Grave Sight

Charlaine Harris

3 out of 5

Harper Connelly was struck by lightening as a child and has ever since been able to sense the dead. She can sense the final location and the final minutes of their life. So not having many other skills, she hires herself out to find missing persons, she see’s it as helping, others see it as a way to take advantage of people at their most vulnerable moments.

Harper travels from town to town with her step-brother Tolliver. They have a very strange relationship that left a funny feeling in me. He is supposed to be her bodyguard, but it plays off more incestuous then that. Harper is about 23, but is less than mature and quite incapable of taking care of herself while Tolliver appears to be the knight in shinning armour who saves her from the terrible fate of bad guys and lightening storms.

This story was a bit twisted with Harper traveling to Sarne, Ark, to find the body of a missing girl. Finding the body is no problem, but being able to get back out of town still alive is the real challenge here. Too much seemed to be thrown into this book with who was related to whom and who was dating who and who sleeping with whom. Harpers relationship with the local cop seemed unnecessary and rather unbelievable. The whole book just didn’t flow right.

This is the first in the Harper Connolly series, but it left me a bit cold and I don’t know if I will continue on.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2QPMWDC3NI0PB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Steamed

Steamed

Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant

Mystery

4 out of 5

First in the Gourmet Girl Series by mother-daughter team Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant. Much in the venue of Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse mysteries, but this time in the restaurant business. A young twenty-something Chloe Carter is angered when she finds her supposed boyfriend with another woman so what is a girl to do, well, she goes online and finds what she thinks is her dream man, another food aficionado. Unfortunately, he has a few secrets of his own and is murdered before dessert arrives. Well, what is plan B--that would be falling for the head chef who just happens to be suspect #1. Life isn’t easy, but it sure is delicious especially with all the food talk and recipes in the back of the book. Fun start to a new series.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R12P8K7WVNQ2V0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Night She Died

The Night She Died

Dorothy Simpson

Mystery

4 out of 5

This is the first in the Inspector Thant Series originally published in 1981. Even though it is over 25 years old, it still holds up to today’s standards.

Inspector Like Thanet is called into investigate the brutal death of Julie a young housewife murdered in her own home. Though married, this beautiful woman had many men interested in her, yet she seemed to spurns them all. Digging further Thanet finds many similarities to a murder some twenty years before when a then three year old Julie witnesses a murder. Thanet must decide if her past caught up with her and whether a conniving murderer plotted their revenge.

This is a great series. Don’t think you need to read them in order since I haven’t and I don’t seem to have missed anything.

The books aren’t easy to find but well worth the hunt.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RR49ERG2XU43G/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Charity Girl

Charity Girl
Michael Lowenthal
4 out of 5

Too heavy on "Girl finds herself in the cruel world" and not enough history. During WWI our government detained women who either had an STD or "who was the type that would". These women were rounded up and placed in detention centers to keep them away from soldiers. Many of the women were called "charity girls", young women that would hang out in dance halls. They weren't necessarily prostitutes, just girls looking for fun. Lowenthal tells the story through 17 year old Frieda Mintz, who worked in a department store as a wrapper. She meets an army private, who has his own family secrets, and after a brief encounter she discovers that she has been tainted. Of course this private gives her name to the "Committee on Prevention of Social Evils Surrounding Military Camps", which I'm not sure is a real name because it sounds so ridiculous, but Frieda is detained and subjected to humiliation which leads to the oh so redundant coming of age drama. To me this book would have been so much better if it delved deeper into the history of this detainment and less on "girl meets big bad world".

Close Her Eyes

Close Her Eyes

Dorothy Simpson

5 out of 5

British police procedural featuring Inspector Luke Thanet. This is the fourth book in the series, but it's not necessary to read them in order. 15 year old Charity Pritchard is found dead in an alley near her home. When Thanet and his less than confident assistant Sergeant Lineham begin to investigate they find quite an unusual cast of characters. Charity and her family belong to a very strict fundamentalist religious group who deny their members things such as jeans and make-up. Well, Charity being a bit rebellious decides to venture into this teen world. Thant sets out to find out of this form of extreme parental repressiveness is what lead to Charity's death. This book kept me drawn in until the end. Thanet's character thinks outloud so you are brought along through his thought process and not left with an unlikely surprise. Thought I had it figured out early, and then began to question myself. Good use of characters and quirky personalities. Very much in the Agatha Christie realm.

Murder Most Frothy

Murder Most Frothy

Cleo Coyle

4 out of 5

It's hard to turn down David Mintz, the extravagant millionaire, so when he offers Claire a position as a Coffee Steward in his new Hamptons restaurant how can she say no. It's just for the summer and both she and her daughter Joy could use some time away. Only the peace doesn't last for long when one of her employees is found murdered and it's only obvious who the intended victim was supposed to be, but the only problem is, he won't accept it. So it's up to Claire to save the day and the millionaire. Claire must deal with the on going stresses of Joy's bad choices and her mother in law, Madame, believing that Claire and Matteo will get back together, but all in all it's just another day in the life of Clair, plus the added bonus of a new love interest that actually sounds promising. I really enjoy this series I just wish I could get through one of these books without craving a pot of coffee.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R27ZYYWHDJT2YS/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

They Did It with Love

They Did It with Love

Kate Morgenroth

4 out of 5

Everyone seems to have a secret. When Sofie’s father dies and leave his seemingly aimless daughter a load of money, her husband thinks it sure seems like a good time to leave Manhattan and Sofie’s job as a clerk in a mystery bookshop - so off to Greenwich, Connecticut they go. Sofie is a bit lonely and depressed so why not join the hot neighborhood book club. That is until one member turns up dead and each members secrets start to surface. Since Sofie once worked in a mystery bookshop she feels that she is qualified to solve this apparent suicide, but things aren’t exactly as they seem culminating in a twisty surprising end.

Think Desperate Houswives, Valley of the Dolls and Stepfordwives and you pretty much have a feel for this group of ladies.

Amazon Review: http://tinyurl.com/5ftqtc

Hunting The King

Hunting the King

Peter Clenott

4 out of 5

One more book in the “just like Da Vinci Code”, but the only difference is, this one is good.

In 2003, as America is invading Iraq, a discovery is made that leads Molly O’Dwyer to believe that Hannaniah, the supposed daughter of Jesus, is there and Molly must find the remains before they are lost forever. Being an observant Catholic, she battles herself over the bigger picture. If she finds and reveals them to the world, what will happen to the Christian faith? With a long list of characters that had me a bit confused at times, Molly and her fellow scientist’s race through Iraq and Afghanistan following clues that Hannaniah herself left in her poetry. Climaxing in a battle of good vs evil and who can outwit who, Clenot has you on the edge of your seat until the final pages.

The brutality of the time and place are not lost on the reader, Clenott manages to carry the reader through Abu Ghraib and into the beauty of the country that protects their traditions and will fight to withhold them.

What I respected Clenott for was his implying but not really coming out and saying who the mother of the child was. Mary Magdalene’s name had been mentioned in the book as a follower, but it was never said outright that she was the mother of Hannaniah. I’m glad he didn’t get caught up in the current hype and let the reader reach their own conclusion. The one thing that did caused me to mark the book down one star was the fact that the lead character was a diabetic, but yet was able to go long days without eating and only needing one insulin shot. I don’t know why Clenott included this tidbit about his character since it really wasn’t necessary and for me, drew me away from the story. Having lived with my father, a diabetic for years, this didn’t make sense to me and kept drawing me away from the story.

Apparently, this is the first in a planned series and I look forward to see more from this writer and Molly O’Dwyer.

Amazon Review:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2MGRI715O0NIV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm