Hippie in the Wall by Tony Fennelly features Margo Fortier who is platonically married to a gay man from a prominent wealthy family. The first installment introduces us to Margo's past as an ex-stripper turned columnist in New Oreleans. A dead body is found in back of a closet of the strip joint she used to work in 20 years ago. She is brought in by a local cop who used to be a regular in the strip club. Only she remembers everyone who was working there and what each person is doing now. But who would kill a harmless hippie? and why? As the suspects start showing up dead and Margo herself is threatened she needs to discover who killed the hippie in the wall.

Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope is set in England it features two families. Gina and Laurence had been the best of friends ever since they were teenagers. They had never been in love - just friends. Gina had eventually married the exquisitely tasteful Fergus, and Laurence had married down-to-earth Hilary. Gina and Fergus lived in stylish perfection at High Place. Laurence and Hilary had spent their married lives turning Laurence's legacy, The Bee House, into both home and hotel. Then, with elegant disdain, Fergus Bedford announced he was leaving Gina and their teenage daughter. As Gina's misery ricocheted through the two homes, she turned for emotional support to Laurence, her dearest friend. And as Laurence gave comfort, so his own marriage and the stability of his children edged towards destruction.

While an interesting book it is a depressing one. I felt really sad for everyone. One interesting thing I found was that Trollope was a very objective author, I never felt that it was any one character who was worst or more to blame than any other. I don't think I could read too many of her books if each one is this sad. I did listen to it on tape which may have made it more sad to me.

Bonita Faye by Margaret Moseley is a wonderful book of a poor girl who's husband is blown away and she is left a young widow. As the story unfolds you discover there is much more to this simple Oklahoma country girl as she finds herself in France, but comes home to Oklahoma to find her roots.

White Oleander by Janet Fitch features Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery-but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison. This is an unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. I also saw the movie before I read the book. I enjoyed both for different reasons. I was pleased to see that the movie followed the book pretty accurately except for the ending. But that's Hollywood baby!

Body of a Girl by Leah Stewart. Features journalist Olivia Dale as she finds and reports on the murder of a young woman who could have easily been her. Set in the Memphis summer heat you can practically feel the heat rising off the pavement. Olivia becomes obsessed with finding out why Allison Avery was killed. Was it somebody she knew, a stranger or because of drugs. Olivia becomes Allison to find out and becomes a part of the underground drug scene of Memphis. This is a difficult read but I could not put it down.

Folly by Laurie R. King features Rae Newborn. Rae has been in and out of mental institutions most of her adult life. After her 2nd husband and young daughter are killed in a car crash that leaves her physically as well as emotionally scarred 50 year old Rae decides to move to a deserted island to restore her great-uncles home build in the 1920's that the natives dubbed Folly. She discovers more about her mysterious great-uncle as well as her own strengths. An excellent read but as with anything that has mental illness hard to read sometimes. I did listen to this on CD and it was an excellent choice - as the reader Frank Muller did a great job.

Darker Place by Laurie R. King features Anne Waverly professor of religious studies who also moonlights as an undercover agent for the FBI infiltrating cults. Anne Waverly becomes Ana Wakefield and goes to investigate a new cult called Change. She finds that her past won't let her go as she becomes attached to a brother and sister who have been taken into the Change. This is truly one of those books which creates a powerful sense of "something wicked this way comes." In fact, there is so much tension, you may even feel a bit let down by the climax. (I wanted another chapter or at least an epilogue.) It is not an easy read on vacation book but causes thought and reflection.

Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green features Romulus Ledbetter (Rom). Who at one time was a loving spouse and father until he went insane. Rom now lives in a cave in Upper Manhattan's Inwood Park. He grocery shops in garbage cans and alleys. Rom is so gone he believes in an evil presence, Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant, who is responsible for destroying mankind with the evil Y and Z rays. When he discovers a dead body of young man outside of his cave he knows that Stuyvesant has something to do with it. He must keep it together to find out who killed this man and why. This is a difficult book to read as Rom goes back and forth between reality and his reality. But a very satisifing read.

This book has been made into a movie in 2001 which stared Samuel L. Jackson.

Big Read Tequila by Rick Riordan is set in San Antonio, TX. Tres Navarre left San Antonia for San Francisco years ago when he witnessed his father's murder in their front yard. After receiving letters from his childhood sweetheart he decides to come back and find out who killed his father. What he finds is that no one is as they seem and he may die trying to find his father's killer. I love reading books from Texas as I used to live in Houston and this has all the flavor of the great state of Texas. Each character was so gritty that they weren't likable but I had to find out what happened in the end. I would read more by this author.

Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger focuses on one relationship, that of Henry and Clare, as both it, and Henry, flow through time. When Clare first meets Henry she is six years old and he has traveled back thirty years to meet her. Set in Chicago, the story goes beyond the typical love ballad to become a story about living in the moment and enjoying people as they come and go through life.

A very intense read and one knows it can't end really happily but the relationships are so fascinating to read about.

Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie features Scotland yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James. Kincaid is asked by his ex-wife in Cambridge to help her prove that a talented poet did not commit suicide, but was murdered. They discover startling news that leads them into an engrossing history of poetry and scandal, found secrets and lost innocence. I have not read any of the books in this series but I will defintely start reading more from this author. I listened to this on CD and enjoyed it the reader.

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer features hairstylist/journalist Bubbles Yablonsky. Bubbles is a divorced single mother of Jane, an 17 year old going on 30, teenager. She knows there is more to life than doing hair in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. She goes back to school, enters journalism classes and gets a job at a local newspaper for on-the-job training. When Bubbles stumbles upon a crime scene on the way home from an assignment, she's suddenly up to her roots in a nasty murder investigation. Plus can she resist Stiletto who keeps leaving her hanging. Very reminiscent of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries. Fun, light and entertaining.

In the sequel Bubbles in Trouble, Bubbles goes undercover to track down her friend Janice who left her fiance at the alter to go back to Amish country. No more make-up and high heals for Bubbles as she dones her plain dresses and braids her hair and she discovers that not all as it appears in Whoopee, PA. Of course there is the sexual tension between her and Stiletto, and will he finally pop the question. Read and find out.

Bubbles ablaze
Bubbles a broad

Bubbles Betrothed

Bubbles Yablonsky has hung up her curling iron for good, the ex-hairdresser and takes her new career seriously. The Lehigh News-Times reporter is willing to risk a contempt-of-court charge rather than surrender the notes from her interview with accused murderer Julia "Crazy Popeye" Simon. Popeye's poisoning in her jail cell makes the police think maybe she didn't kill high school principal Rudolph Schmidt, even though podiatrist Cerise May found the bag lady in her waiting room with her hands down the administrator's throat. And they think Bubbles's notebook may help them find out who did kill Schmidt, and whether the killing is connected to May's ex-boyfriend, Polish mafioso Karol Smolak.

Of course, keeping her mother Lulu out of trouble and helping daughter Jane fill out her application to Princeton take up most of Bubbles's spare time, so it isn't until the judge fines her $1,000 per minute until her notes resurface that she decides she'd better find out who killed Schmidt. But Bubbles doesn't reckon with the biggest distraction of all: AP photographer Steve Stiletto, who plunks a diamond on her finger and asks her to pretend to be his fiancée so he doesn't get sent to London.

Typical crazy murder and mayhem follow Bubbles where ever she goes. The whole fake engagement was kind of annoying and really didn't add much to the story. Bubbles is always fun but I miss her salon days.

Coraline is a delightfully spooky children's book by Neil Gaiman. Coraline is bored, she and her family just moved flat that is part of a converted house. Her parents are too busy working to pay attention to her and the others who live in the house are old. So she goes exploring. Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity (who calls itself her other mother) in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. Go to the linked website, it gives you a taste of what the book is about. I really liked this book!

Neil Gaiman's site (http://www.neilgaiman.com) seems to be down so I've linked his name to the publisher.

O Jerusalem : a Mary Russell novel by Laurie R. King. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes have fled to Palestine on a mission for Mycroft Holmes. Disguised as itinerant Muslims and paired with two Arab spies, Russell and Holmes travel through the Holy Land trying to figure out exactly why Mycroft has sent them. A pair of seemingly unrelated murders sets them on the track of a brilliant and power-hungry killer. Only Holmes and Russell (along with some unexpected allies) can stop their adversary from destroying Jerusalem--if they can get to him in time.

I listened to this on CD and kept wanting to drive so I would know what happens. This is the 5th in the series but in time it takes place after Beekeeper's Apprentice. I have enjoyed all the Mary Russell novels especially this one as you get a real impression on how Russell and Holme's relationship developed.

Don't Cry for Me, Hot Pastrami by Sharon Kahn is the third mystery this funny series follows Ruby and the gang from Eternal, Texas, as they take to the Caribbean for a Temple-sponsored cruise to die for. The humor is very Jewish plus we deal with Ruby (a widow) as she begins to have romantic feelings for the prime suspect. A fast-paced mystery, a cast of quirky characters, humor and wit made me laughplus I really enjoyed getting to know this character. I might even try to read the others in the series.

Milicent Le Sueur by Margaret Moseley a mystery about a schizophrenic baglady who is the only witness to a murder. This book was enjoyable but kind of confusing as everything was from the point of view of Milicent who has lots of black holes in her memory. She would find things like a diamond earing in the trash and a baby in a dumpster. She has a compulsive way about her like she has to clean bathrooms and count noises. Plus has this strange friendship with the chief of police who is very protective of her as he lets her do what she wants. A very odd character but likeable at the same time. "WHATCHA LOOKING AT?!

Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews is romantic mystery set in Savannah. Weezie is an antiques "picker" who combs Savannah's steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures, when she's not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. She is convinced that her troubles will be over if she makes a big killing at the upcoming estate sale at a noble plantation house. But when she finds the body of her ex-husband's fiance and is the prime suspect she has to find out who the real murderer.

Shade's Children by Garth Nix - In the brutal world of Shade's Children, your 14th birthday is your last. Malevolent Overlords rule the earth, directing hideous, humanoid creatures to harvest the brains and muscles of teens for use in engineering foul beasts to fight senseless wars. Young Gold-Eye escapes this horrific fate, fleeing the dormitories before his Sad Birthday. He is rescued from certain doom by other refugees who live in an abandoned submarine and work for Shade, a strange, computer-generated adult. Shade provides food and shelter in exchange for information that the children gather on dangerous forays into Overlord territory. But what does Shade really want? He is a sworn enemy of the Overlords, but his use of the children to gain knowledge and power seems uncaring and ruthless. Finally, Gold-Eye and his new friends set out to destroy the Overlords--with or without the enigmatic, dangerous Shade.

The Horse You Came in On by Martha Grimes features her detective Richard Jury. The murder is in America, but the call goes out to Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury. Accompanied by his aristocratic friend Melrose Plant and by Sargeant Wiggins, Jury arrives in Baltimore, Maryland, home of zealous Orioles fans, mouth-watering crabs, and Edgar Allen Poe. In his efforts to solve the case, Jury rubs elbows with a delicious and suspicious cast of characters, embarking on a trail that leads to a unique tavern called "The Horse You Came In On"... I have never read any of her previous books and while this was rather complicated and convoluted I really enjoyed the different characters and how their lives intertwined.

Rosewood's Ashes by Aileen Schumacher is the forth book featuring Tory Travers and David Alvarez. I have not read the previous three titles. Tory has to confront her past when she learns that her father, who she hasn't seen in years, is in a coma from an automobile accident. So she and her partner David Alvarez fly to her hometown of Gainesville, FL. This book alternates between present day and events that happened 1923 when a white mob attacked a black town of Rosewood, Florida. A series of murders seem to tie the present day to this event 70 years before. The clues are in the past but will they discover it before Tory becomes another victim.

Star King and the sequel Star Prince by Susan Grant. These are futuristic romance science fiction novels.

In Star King Time and space pause, bringing two people from vastly different worlds together for only moments. Air Force Lieutenant Jasmine Boswell believes she's been shot down over the Saudi Arabian Desert. Prince Romlijhian B'Kah has just witnessed his brother's plane exploding when a vision of what he believes to be an angel saves his life. For a moment, soul mates meet and recognize the profound implications, only to be wrenched away. Later each believes that their meeting was only a hallucination. Nine years later, an alien nation contacts earth to establish trade relations. A glimpse of one of the aliens on television brings instant recognition to Jas. She immediately arranges a six-month absence and smuggles onto the airbase where Rom's star craft is about to launch. Jas is divorced, her life missing something, and she longs to seek answers in the stars. Rom has been disowned from the royal family and is making his living as minor smuggler. As their worlds collide, Jas and Rom struggle with their painful pasts, their growing love and an encroaching evil that threatens to destroy the galaxy.

In Star Prince, Princess Tee'ah Dar was sick of enduring life in isolation as Vash Nadah tradition demanded. In a desperate bid for freedom, Tee'ah stole a starspeeder to begin a new life doing what she loved most, flying! Ian Hamilton, an Earth dweller who was the heir to the Trade Federation and crown prince of the Vash empire, was deep undercover. He posed as Ian Stone, a trader of black market items. He was determined to bring the human people of Earth, the Vash people of Sienna, and all the people in the Federation together in peace! However, freak accidents and bad luck kept getting in the way. When his pilot died, Ian's crew was stranded on an awful world called Donavan's Blunder. Ian's critical mission would have failed right there, had a spunky pilot, Tee, not happened to appear. But neither Ian nor Tee told the other who they really were.

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem features Lionel Essrog. A walk on the wild side of Brooklyn's criminal underclass with a hero known as "The Human Freakshow," a would-be detective also answering to the name of Lionel Essrog. Essrog is a victim of Tourette's Syndrome; hapless and veering out of control, he fights himself and his disease. He is part of L&L detective agency with the other Minna Men - pulled out of St. Vincent's Home for Boys by Frank Minna. When Frank is killed Lionel is compeled to find out who did it. He finds Zen Budda's, mafia men and giants. We see this all from his perspective. An interesting book, I listened to it on CD and it was tough as his Tourette's is part of the dialog. There really isn't a conclusion but rather a realization of betrayal and can you really trust anyone?

Miracle Strip by Nancy Bartholomew is about exotic dancer Sierra Lavotini who lives in Panama City. She never intended to become an amateur sleuth, but when her co-worker Denise Curtis is in trouble, she has to help. Someone kidnapped Denise’s dog Arlo and is holding him for $100,000 ransom. After closing down the Tiffany Club where they both work, Sierra and Denise head to Denise’s room to plot a strategy. What they find is a dead body. Denise insists she has never seen the man before, but Sierra and the police have their doubts. What follows is a hysterical frolic around Panama City, reminiscent of Janet Evanovich. I will read the rest of the books the author has to offer.

Just finished the sequel Drag Strip in which Sierra is to appear at the Dead Lakes Motor Speedway with a new dancer named Ruby. When she almost witnesses Ruby's death, she is knocked unconscious to find Panama City homicide Detective John Nailor over the body only to leave her to take the fall. Is he involved? Did he murder Ruby and why did she see him kissing another woman? Find out by reading this latest installment of Sierra Lavotini. Plus we get to meet more of her interesting family and friends.

Finished the 3rd in the series, Film Strip in which Sierra is shot in the behind while another dancer is killed. What follows is that Sierra pretends to be connected to a crime boss from New Jersey, more killings and finally getting to know John Nailor in that personal way. Hurray! A fun read and I am hoping that a 4th will arrive in the near future.

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris is the 2nd book featuring Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie gets loaned out by the local vampires to another vampire group in Dallas. She and Bill are sent to discover what has happened to a nest brother of the head vampire. What she discovers are an evil church who wants to masacure the vampires, a vampire who meets the sun, more shapeshifters and a maenad who lives in the forest. I enjoyed this latest installment but far too many loose ends were neatly tied up by the end of the story. I think Harris is trying to become more like Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton as there is a lot more gore and sex in this one. I wish I could have learned more about the Maenad who seemed to thrive on pride and drunkeness. But a quick overall good read.

Desperate Measures by Kate Wilhelm - Wilhelm's sixth Barbara Holloway legal thriller. Holloway's latest client is a brilliant young man named Alex Feldman, who has been left hideously deformed by a birth defect. He is accused of killing his next-door neighbor, Gus Marchand, a tyrannical religious zealot who saw Alex's deformity as the mark of the devil. Did he do it? Holloway goes all out to prove he did not, even going up against her father.

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is this amazing book about a 14 year old girl, Susie, who is murdered by a serial killer. She observes everything that happens to her family, friends, strangers and the killer from heaven as she tries to make sense of what happened to her and how it effected others. Not an easy book to read but worth it. Kind of like a ghost story but better.

Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton. This is the first in a series featuring Alex McKnight, ex-Detroit cop in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, answers a cry for help from wealthy Edwin Fulton--only to find the man--a compulsive gambler who had gone to meet with a bookmaker--in his motel room with his throat cut. But as he investigates he finds that the murders are not as simple as it first appears. It made for an interesting read, will read more of this series.

Posted to Death by Dean James features Simon Kirby-Jones, an american, gay, vampire living in England. He discovers that he is not the only vampire living in the small town but thanks to modern medicine they can walk around in the sunlight, not need to drink blood and blend in with society. The characters are quirky and lots of flirations develop as it seems that most of the men in Snupperton Mumsley are gay. A light cozy read made for a good read. I got a little tired of the flirtations but it helped the character move along with his day.

Corpse de Ballet by Ellen Pall features Juliet Bodine, a successful writer of Regency novels and ex-professor of English literature at Barnard, puts aside her own deadlines to give literary advice to her longtime friend, Ruth Renswick, choreographer for the Jansch Ballet Company of New York, who is creating a new ballet based on Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. When the principal dancer dies during a rehersal, Juliet is convienced that it is murder. Unfortunately the police do not agree, so Juliet tries to ignore her gutt instinct but when another dancer almost dies during another rehersal can she convience the police that foul play is afoot? An entertaining read, I enjoyed the descriptions of the various ballet dancers and of the dance itself. I did get annoyed with Juliet and her odd and rather flat relationships with Ruth and her assistant and most of all the conflict between love internet Would read more by this author.

Oracle by Katherine Greyle is a futuristic fantasy novel with a slight romantic twist. Jane Deerfield is a computer tech at a university and is sucked into what she thinks if the past but finds that she is now two centuries in the future after a cataclysmic nuclear event obliterates most of the planet. Now she is in a time where magic is real and animals, trees and streams house old souls. Only she knows what the key is to open the room of knowledge but will she unlock it only to see history repeat itself. I found it an interesting fantasy as she meets all the characters who were spirits who merged with the water, trees, and animals. Where magic is the norm but even that is fading. Will she destroy or be the savoir of this fragile world?

MYSTERY WEB SITES

Mystery Readers International is site for mystery fans of all types. Has a search engine for mystery bookstores, reading groups and lots of reviews and recommended titles.

Mysterious Strands is an excellent source for mystery fans. I can find almost anything I want regarding mystery authors, reference sources, other web links, and more.

Local Bookstores



Coffee, Tea and Mystery is an independent bookstore in Southern California.



Book Baron is a used bookstore in Orange County and Long Beach.



Mysterious Galaxy is an awesome bookstore in San Diego that features mysteries, science fiction, fantasy and horror genres. All the books are new but they have a lot of author signings and are able to get books from different sources.

Uncle Boris in the Yukon by Daniel Pinkwater is by one of my favorite children's authors. He is so entertaining and funny. This book is a delightful collection about a boy and his dogs. I just couldn't stop laughing.

Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter - Olivia Kidney's building superintendent father has just moved them to yet another new apartment building in New York City. One day, 12-year-old Olivia loses her key, and in her efforts to gain entrance to the building she meets a number of the strange residents. During the course of the day, Olivia meets a ghost who is a friendly boy her own age, a woman whose floors are made entirely of glass so that she can spy unnoticed on neighbors below, two intense and unpleasant girls, a sinister ex-pirate and an elderly siren to whom he is in servitude who live in an apartment resembling a tropical rainforest. Olivia is invited into their homes, and they tell her their stories. Olivia reveals the fact that she is lonely and unhappy since her brother died of cancer and her mother left the family. A visiting psychic named Madame Brenda tells Olivia that if she listens carefully enough, she will hear her brother speaking to her.

We are introduced to so many characters that I can see sequels being produced to find out what happens to everyone. We only see the outcome of one. It is an excellent if sad read but so interesting to view Olivia's world.

Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket - book 2 of a Series of Unfortunate Events. Read by Tim Curry. What a delightful book on tape. Curry was fabulous reading the various characters. You need to approach this with a sense of humor and not take it seriously and you'll be fine. I laughed quite a bit.

Caught Dead in Philadelphia by Gillian Roberts, featuring Philadelphia school teacher, Amanda Pepper. When the body of a colleague is found dead in Amanda's living room, she has to clear herself of suspicion—and make sure she isn't the next victim as well. This made for enjoyable read. It is first in the series and I will look for others. Kind of like the East coast version of Maggody.

Hot Enough to Kill by Paula Boyd features Jolene Jackson, born in Texas but lives in Colorado. Jolene's back in her hometown of Kickapoo, Texas, bailing her 72-year-old mother out of jail and trying to stay one step ahead of a killer. Reminds me of Maggody in a lot of ways with more romance. A good fast paced read.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. With all the new previews of the movie I decided that I should read the book and then go see the movie. I enjoyed every page of it. When Siddalee Walker gives a less than flattering view of her mother in the New York Times article her mother disowns her and Siddalee goes into a depression. She cancels her engagement and retreats to a friend's cabin outside of Seattle. The Ya-Ya's (childhood friends of her mother) convience Vivi ( Siddalee's mother) to send a scrapbook about the Ya-Ya's. This brings more questions than answers are we go back and forth in time reliving these memories. Reminiscent of Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg, this will keep you reading until the end.

On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah. As her 18 year old daughter flies to England for the summer Anne Colwater is told by her husband that he has been having a long term affair, no longer loves her and wants a divorce. Anne retreats to her childhood home in Mystic, Washington, where she encounters her old friend Nick, a widower with an emotionally scarred young daughter. She cuts her hair, falls in love with Nick and finds out she is pregnant by her soon to be ex-husband. Her husband wants her back so she tries but really only loves Nick. So she leaves her husband and goes back to Nick to start a new life. Very similiar to Maeve Binchy's, Tara Road, but I really never felt any connect for any of the characters as everyone felt flat.

Agnes Parker ... Girl in Progress by Kathleen O'Dell - is very similiar to the Alice series by Naylor. Agnes is a 6th grader trying to copy with life's changes and new glasses and a class bully. It was ok, but I just couldn't finish it.

Not All Tarts are Apple by Pip Granger gives a nostalgic view of England Soho in the Fifties through the eyes of a seven year old waif named Rosie living her aunt and uncle above their London café. Rosis is a very mature seven year old who gives us child's view on adult topics. The story starts with her discovering that she is not the child of her aunt and uncle and that her mum is a tart from a classmate. She responds by punching her in the nose but later become best chums. An interesting array of drunks, tarts and thieves are sprinkled throughout this fast paced story. There is no real mystery though Rosie is kidnapped towards the end with an obvious conclusion. I enjoyed this historical look at Soho.

Shadow Game by Christine Feehan - Dr. Lily Whitney is the daughter of Dr. Peter Whitney who is working with the military to create a covert group of men that work as 'GhostWalkers'. Each man in the unit has his own powers, whether they are telepathic, telekinetic, clairvoyant, etc. The experiment begins to go horribly wrong and after the death of her father, Lily is the only one that can save the remaining GhostWalkers from death. Lily feels drawn to the commander of the group, Ryland Miller, but is her attraction real or the result of experimentation by her father? An ok thriller but more erotic than anything else.

Redwall by Brian Jacques - the book that started the series. When the peaceful life of ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy. I've been recommending this series for years and never read it. So I got it on CD and really enjoyed the story. It is definitely good vs. evil. Looking forward to reading more in the series.

Possession by A. S. Byatt was a Booker Prize winning novel in 1990.

I remember reading this when Iived in Houston for our staff Library reading program in which we had to read an award book for adults. But I no memory of what it was about. So I decided to re-read it and found it on tape. So I've been enjoying it read to me. What a joy.

Roland is an academic researcher who discovers some important letters written by a famous Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Ash was presumed to have been totally devoted to his wife, but Roland finds letters written to another unnamed woman, and soon determines that the intended recipient was another, less well-known poet, Christabel LaMotte. Roland contacts Maud, an expert on LaMotte's life and work. Despite her skepticism, the two begin to investigate, and uncover a wealth of information about the affair between the two poets. But now there are others who know about it and the race is on to see who can discover the truth about this long over affair between two poets. And how will it affect each one.