Kindness Goes Unpunished

Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire #3)

Craig Johnson

Every book in the Walt Longmire series has a line in it that makes me laugh out loud, I am not going to tell you want leads up to it, but when you come across “Hi ho Creampuff” I dare you not to giggle audibly and have those around you turn their heads in wonder.

Walt and Henry Standing Bear, also referred to as the Cherokee Nation, head to Philadelphia for an opening at the museum of an exhibit displaying Henry’s Native American photographs. Not all goes as planned when Cady, Walt’s daughter - the greatest legal mind of our time – is seriously injured and days later, her ex-boyfriend is found dead. As Cady lays motionless in a coma, Walt, Henry, Dog and Victoria put their minds and talents together to solve this twisted tale of greed and lies
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Holy Terror Victoria Moretti comes out to help and is in her element here in Philadelphia. This is her town and with the help of her mother and her brothers, this town will not rest until Walt unwinds the story of what put Cady in this state and who exactly was the reason behind it. You will also giggle over Craig Johnson’s verbage of Vic the Father, Vic the Son and Vic the Holy Terror. Where he comes up with this stuff, I will never know.

To say that Walt is out of his element here is no gentle understatement. You can put a cowboy in the city, but you cannot take the country out of the boy. So with the only skills he knows, Walt sets out to make his own rules and bring small town justice to the big city.

There is a good twist in this story, not one that you couldn’t see coming eventually, but still a complication that will make the future books that much more interesting. Stay tuned and watch Walt wiggle around with this one.

The final scene of this story is not to be missed and please do not read the ending first. For all Walt’s toughness and bravado, he is just a giant marshmallow in a cowboy hat and boots; and you will love him even more for it.

This is a series not to be missed.

The Walk

The Walk

Richard Paul Evans

This is the second time that I have read this book and I did not realize it until I was half way through and the little light bulb in my brain started to flicker. Sometimes I truly wonder what is going on up there.

Alan Christoffersen seems to have the perfect life. The perfect job. The perfect car. The perfect wife. That is until one day when his world comes crashing down around him and one by one they all go away. All that Alan is left with is himself and his journal. So, what does a grown man do? He goes for a walk. Not just any stroll, but from Seattle to Key West, Florida. That is the plan until that too is interrupted.

Now I understand why I did not remember this story. This is only the first book in the series; my brain could not remember an ending because there has not yet been one. Now that I understand, I am not as disappointed in the incompleteness of this storyline.

Not one to leave a series unfinished I will continue on, but I am confused. Once source claims that the next book in the series is called Angel, but another source calls it Miles to Go. Off to do some research to see what the exact title is. However, I am sure that with either title, I will get a better understand of who exactly Alan Christofferson is and who he will become.

Vision Impossible

Vision Impossible (Psychic Eye Mysteries, No. 9)

Victoria Laurie

First, I have to commend Ms Laurie for the ending of this book -I did not see it coming. Most cozies (I think this book is a cozy, but her writing style is starting to change) writers follow a conventional plan and lead you down a rosy path to a predictable ending where all the loose ends are tied up and they all live happily ever after. This one, on the other hand, has a nice twist at the end that has you wondering, “what did I miss”. Loved that.

Following up where the last one ended, Abby is now a FBI Civilian Profiler and has been thrown into a very precarious position with Dutch. They must fill the shoes of a weapons dealer and track down a drone aircraft before it falls into the wrong hands. Lots of bumps and bruises later both Dutch and Abby find themselves in a life or death struggle with a suspect that they thought they had seen the last of. But no, even Abby’s psychic abilities did not see this one coming.

Vision Impossible is a definite departure from the previous books in this series. For the most part, the usual characters are missing and the storyline is much edgier, not the usual funny escapades that Abby usually finds herself and her “crew” in.

Don’t know if this is the new future for this series, I cannot say that it is a bad direction, just different. I hope she brings back her old friends and some more of the crazy antics, we will just have to wait and see what new path Abbey and her abilities will go down next.

Dead and Berried

Dead and Berried (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries, No. 2)

Karen MacInerney

This book falls into the category of comforting read. I first found Karen MacInerney through her book Murder on the Rocks, the first book in the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries; but I have found myself coming back for more because of the enjoyable feel it left me with. There is just something about island living and the formed friendships and irritating acts of others that bring me back to see what they are up to next.

Just when life is starting to get back to normal on Cranberry Island, developers have decided that a section of the land would make a perfect location for a new subdivision. The Gray Whale Inn’s proprietor, Natalie Barnes does not like the idea, but what can she do; that is until her friend is found dead, the sheriff calls it suicide, but Natalie knows there is more to it. Does the subdivision have something to do with it, or are there more goings on that Natalie has to get to the bottom of.

Being a cozy mystery, the actual killing of named characters is not what drives this book. It is the location, the community and the inhabitants of Cranberry Island; each part takes on its own personality. You still have to pay close attention as to why each person does what they do, but for the most part, the story has a comforting flow that takes you down a path to a somewhat obvious conclusion but still satisfying at the same time.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

Helen Simonson
You know those books where your friends tell you that you should read it and when you do, you wonder if your friends know you at all. Well, that was Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand for me. This slow meandering story of a spineless wishy-washy man had me wondering when this book would ever be over.

It started slow with the introduction of retired Major Ernest Pettigrew. A lonely older gentleman who is overly fastidious about all the proper ways of the English. Ernest’s life is thrown into a downright tizzy when upon the death of his brother, the family heirloom is not returned to him in the way that he was lead to believe it would be and therefore all is not right in his world. While in the midst of this life changer, Major Pettigrew develops a friendship with the Pakistani shopkeeper, Mrs. Ali that is frowned upon by the community because in proper culture and tradition this is just not done.

I know a boring synopsis, but when the book is boring, there is not much chance of an enthralling summary.

Oh, and the cover picture. My mind kept seeing it as an embracing couple, when it fact, I now see it as two coats on a rack. Really, I think I spent more time looking at this picture then I did concentrating on the plotline and wondered what story they were trying to tell with the art.

Why finish the book when I obviously did not like it very much – British humor. From time to time, there is a sudden zinger that had me chuckling. It was the token silver lining to this slow moving monotonous tale.

Would I recommend it, personally No; but there does seem to be a large contingent that adored this book, I just did not see it.

Definitely Dead

Definitely Dead
Charlaine Harris

This is my favorite Sookie book to date. And why is that -- no brooding Bill and annoying Eric. After the previous five books, that was starting to get on my nerves, I liked how book number six has taken a slightly different path with a flavor of other characters added in.

Now if you are keeping score between the television show and the books, book six and season three are almost on the same path. The books help you with what isn’t mentioned on the show, but …. the show has tweaked the storylines to the point that they only “kinda-sort-of” reflect the books. Individually, they are, and good, but when you are trying to do both, you find yourself getting angry and frustrated. Characters that are alive and well in one, have been killed off in the other and vice versa. Main storylines in the books are curiously adapted into another directions with creative license is alive and well, when it comes to this series.

Back to this book, Sookie is at her deceased cousin Hailey’s house to clean out her belongings when the spell that Amelia the landlord and resident witch, had put on the home wears off and an ominous odor takes over. That could only mean one thing here - there is a dead body and dead bodies have a way of leading to bad things when Sookie is involved.

This is the book where you learn a little bit more about the King and Queen of Louisiana and the evil doings that each are involved in. The Debbie Pelt thing is all tied up, Claudine has a major part and Quinn is turning into a character that I am truly enjoying. If you didn’t like Bill prior to this book, you are really going to despise him now. A major revelation as to why he came to Bon Temps in the first place is revealed. This is most definitely a game changer. We also find out why Sookie is so special. Why vampires are drawn to her and why mortal men are distant? I just loved this book. Ties up many loose ends and leaves enough strings dangling that you cannot help but to look forward to the next.

This book seems to be a dividing line for many followers of the series, I for one, loved it, thought it was the best by far, others readers not so much. I suggest that you start at the beginning and form you own opinion without watching the television series first. That would be a disappointment.

Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Series

Rosemary & Thyme: The Complete Series

Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris

DVD Release Date: February 5, 2008


I was so glad to have found this series. Only three seasons long, it is one of those series that I enjoy coming back to time and time again.

Staying in grand homes and setting the gardens to rights is always the main theme of each episode, but that seems to take a backseat to the murder de jour. Professional horticulturalist Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme seem to find a murder nearby when they are working on the most incredible garden landscapes. How much fun can there be pulling weeds and digging holes when there is a murder or three to be solved? So the two endearing amateur sleuths bring the ragged clues together in time to catch the culprit and tidy up the garden before the soiree of the moment takes place.

This is one series that I had wished could go on forever, but I will just have to settle with watching these two women solve their landscaping issues and murder mysteries over and over again.