Aunt Dimity Goes West

Aunt Dimity Goes West

Nancy Atherton

4 out of 5

I can’t believe that I’m up to book number 12 in this series. I love these characters and can’t wait until I can read the next.

This book did catch me a bit off guard. Dimity seems to have a harder edge in her writing to Lori. Not that Lori doesn’t need it, but Dimity has always been the soft sympathetic ear that Lori desperately needs.

As Lori is trying to recuperate from her near death experience with Abbadon, Bill decides to literally take the bull by the horns and sends Lori and the boys as far away from Finch as possible. That being a ranch in Bluebell, Colorado. Lori’s not too sure about this, picturing a shack but what the Aerie turns out to be is a spectacular home perched over an abandoned mine. But this isn’t the quirky part, that lies in the people of Bluebird itself. They all remarkably resemble Lori’s friends back in Finch. Even Dimity thinks that Lori has finally lost it, that is until she, Dimity, meets her own counterpart.

When Lori finds out that the homes owners left in a hurry vowing to never return, everyone in town talking about the curse and the twins start picking up bad language that they swear they hear in their room at night -- the overly curious Lori embarks on getting to the bottom of this. With the help of the caretaker they enter the mine that should have been closed off years ago.

Chardonnay Charade

Chardonnay Charade

Ellen Crosby

4 out of 5

In my opinion, this second in the Wine Country Mystery series by Ellen Crosby is much better than the first. There doesn't seem to be as much of a rush to the end and the characters are better drawn with a more relaxed feel to the whole book.
Lucie Montgomery is the heiress of the Montgomery Estate Vineyard in Middleburg, Virginia, but being an heiress isn't all that it's cracked up to be, especially when she has to keep her family in order, that includes a younger sister who is battling he own demons, keeping a vineyard profitable, employees that seem to have their own agenda, and oh yeah, a dead body to deal with.

Virginia Greenwood, the wife of the local doctor, and quite a personality herself, is found murdered and though there aren’t many suspects the murder is too easily pinned on the one person who can't defend himself, the man that she has been having secret rendezvous with. When he disappears that only leaves one person; the one person that Lucie entrusted her life too.

Like a good vintage, this series gets better with age. Sorry, I couldn’t avoid throwing in a cliché.

A Cold Dish

A Cold Dish

Caig Johnson

5 out of 5

As the title implies revenge is the theme of this book. When Cody Pritchard is found dead, Walt Longmire just knows that life is going to get complicated for his small town Sheriff's Department. Cody was a member of a gang of four that were arrested and tried for the sexual assault of a local Cheyenne woman - and when the men only received a light sentence the community was in an uproar, now that one of the golden four is dead, there are just too many suspects.

Sheriff Longmire initially suspects the Cheyenne community and with the help of his good friend, Henry Standing Bear, who also happens to be a suspect, the investigating begins. Now if only Walt can keep his professional distance maybe a reasonable conclusion can come about. But with the death of his wife 4 years before and a mourning process that just won't end, a new love interest, an unbelievable cast of characters, both in his own office and the community, Walt just might get to the bottom of this mess. That is if his bathroom shower curtain doesn't repeatedly try to wrap him up like a human burrito.

With a surprising ending and laugh out loud humor this is definitely a series worth continuing. And who knew, you can actually buy a helicopter out of the Neiman Marcus catalog.

Shelter Me

Shelter Me
Juliette Fay

3 out of 5

Banking on the tried and true format of young mother with young children whose husband is killed and she must climb out of her depression with the help of family and oh, yeah, a hunky man all neatly wrapped up in the span of one year. Not to say that this is a bad book, but it's just been done before.

Four months after her husbands untimely death, a building contract shows up to build the dream porch that Janie LaMarche's husband had planned as a surprise, she decides to let Tug go ahead, why not, if she thinks of it as her husband's last gift to her then possibly she can find some peace in it.

Peace is what she needs especially when her family priest keeps making weekly visits and her overly obnoxious but loving aunt, keep trying to help. Help that is that she wishes had truly come from her own mother who seems to be only interested in her own life and spent a grand total of 7 days with Janie when her husband died.

With funny and bittersweet moments, this book tugs on all the right heartstrings.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder

Strawberry Shortcake Murder

4 out of 5

Joanne Fluke

Book #2 in the Hannah Swensen Series.

Much to her mothers chagrin Hannah seems to find herself once again right in the middle of a murder mystery.

The ever popular owner of The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota, Hannah is asked to serve as a judge in a dessert baking contest, unfortunately one of her fellow judges is found dead with one of Hannah’s Strawberry Shortcakes so of course she feels that she should at least try and find out who did it.

Hannah’s sense of justice prevents her from letting Boyd’s abused wife take the fall -- even though Boyd is a man that deserves to be dead—so with the help of a returning cast of quirky characters that make Lake Eden a very interesting place to live, Hannah leads the readers on a tour of Lake Eden, and its inhabitants, but first she needs a cup of coffee and chocolate.

Every Crooked Nanny

Every Crooked Nanny

4 out of 5

Kathy Hogan Trocheck

This book has everything. Lesbian love triangles, mixed marriages, crooked real estate deals, a phony nanny scam, and a body in the fur vault. So, if you are missing your daily dose of soap opera’s check out this book.

Trocheck also known as Mary Kay Andrews, introduces us to J. Callahan Garrity, a retired cop who traded it all in for a cleaning business in Atlanta, Georgia. While taking on a new client, Callahan runs smack dab into ex sorority sister Lilah who is now married to a high rolling developer.

When Lilah finds out about Callahan’s experience in PI work, she hires Callahan to find their Mormon nanny who has disappeared with furs, jewels and very sensitive business information that the Beemish’s are desperate to get back.

The story goes from wacky to quirky rather quickly, but definitely not a story you have heard before. Great characters that will carry this series far. Characters are laugh out loud funny and I look forward to the next in the series.

Undead and Unwed

Undead and Unwed

4 out of 5

MaryJanice Davidson

Sometimes a narrator can really make or break a book. In this instance Nancy Wu just blew it for me. I can’t stand whiney voices and though she is trying to portray a whiney self centered character she just took it too far.

But -- the storyline, well that is different and the reason I added an extra star. The story is very well paced with a “don’t know what’s coming next” feel that has you laughing out loud.

Not only is life challenging when you are named Elizabeth Taylor, but when you wake up after being hit by a car and you are in a coffin, wearing the ugliest clothes that your evil stepmother could dressed you in, life can only get better. Well, that is if you think being a Queen Vampire is better.

Betsy isn’t your usual vampire; she doesn’t burn in the sun, can wear a cross and doesn’t have to feed like the average vampire. This alone makes Nostro, the evil vampire leader, want Betsy dead, but with the help of a very desirable Eric Sinclair, they take on this dictator and total hilarity pursues.

A wee bit adult at times, but still very funny and definitely a series to follow. But not on audio, I’ll stick with the books.

The Tales From Outer Suburbia

The Tales From Outer Suburbia
(New Author Challenge)

Shaun Tan

5 out of 5

Having never picked up a graphic “novel”, it’s less than 100 pages so I’m not sure novel is the correct word, before I had no idea what I was in for, but if this is typical of the genre, I am a huge fan.

Short tales packed with great imagery, superb graphics, and lasting memories of great adventures and bittersweet moments. I don’t think I am ever going to forget the poem, about poems. Incredible.

The book is designed for the 12 and older set and trust me, the tales are not just for the young, even those of us that have young, can get a whole lot out of these stories. Definitely a book that will stay on the shelf for a long time and brought out again and again when I need something to remind me of the truly important things in life.

The book has something for everyone, take a chance, you won’t be disappointed.

That Went Well: Adventures in Caring For My Sister

That Went Well: Adventures in Caring For My Sister
(New Author Challenge)

Terrell Harris Dougan

4 out of 5

In this memoir, Terrell tells of the caring of her sister Irene that was born brain damaged due to the cutting off of oxygen at birth. Her family, in the 1940’s, were told to institutionalize Irene, but they just could not do that. She was family, and family takes care of family. Though dad is nearly deaf, mom was stricken with Rheumatory arthritis at the age of 18 and a feisty grandma all under one roof they take on the job of caring for Irene. Though Irene doesn’t always want to be part of it with her biting, hitting, manipulating and last but not least her ability to throw anything not nailed down, including a couch, across the room.

This journey to help Irene leads to many national organizations and laws that have helped countless families that thought they had no where to turn. With humor and patients they have helped Irene to live a relatively self-sufficient independent life; and after 60 years of trying to make things all better for Irene and the people around her, Terrell has finally learned that she can’t fix it all and sometimes things just have to take care of themselves.

Do Until Others

Do Unto Others
(RYOB Challenge)

3 out of 5

Jeff Abbott

A Southern tale of murder and deception surrounding a man who comes back home to Mirabeau, Texas to help with the care of his ailing mother.

His “been out of the area too long” ways irritate Miss Beta Harcher who feels that Jordan Poteet is allowing too many books into the library that are corrupting the minds of the young. After a very heated argument that is witnessed by quite a few town folk, Beta is found murdered in the library leaving Jordy as the prime suspect. It doesn’t help that there is also a list of names, Jordy included, with Bible verses attached tucked into Beta’s shirt that lead to while speculation as to what the true purpose of her murder was.

Thus leads the reader on a twisted tale of the many that could be responsible and their own reasons for why they could have done it.

The book is very slow in the middle, but ends quite well; with a very good lead into the remainder of the series.

Don’t know if I could actually recommend this book since I couldn’t wait for it to end, but with some better pacing this could have been a very good book.