Happy New Year!
It's almost 2007. Here is my last book review for 2006.

Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman

No Good Deeds
By A Spider's Thread
Last Place
In a Strange City
Sugar House
Book 4:
In Big Trouble ~ When Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan receives an envelope postmarked Boerne, Tex., containing a photo of Crow, her former musician boyfriend, and a scrap of newspaper headline reading "in big trouble," a day's outing to visit Crow's parents in Charlottesville which turns into a road trip to Texas. Tough and street savvy in her hometown, the former reporter feels lost in the land of the Alamo. Crow seems to have disappeared with a mysterious blonde singer, and as Tess searches for them, she encounters a wall of family secrets behind which may lie the reason for the body count rising around her.

Lippman does an excellent job at making you feel that you are in San Antonio and other Texas areas. As someone who lived in Houston for a few years I always feel rather nostalgic when it comes to books set in Texas. While feeling lost and lonely in Texas as nothing is familiar Tess quickly finds her niche there. She is a likeable character who I always enjoy reading her latest adventure

Book 3:
Butchers Hill ~ Tess Monaghan has finally made the move and hung out the shingle as a P.I.-for-hire, complete with an office in Butchers Hill. Her first client is Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who five years ago shot a boy for vandalizing his car, just sprung from jail. He wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime for his own peace of mind, so he needs Tess to find them. But once she starts snooping, the witnesses she locates start dying. Is the "Butcher of Butchers Hill" as it again? Or is there another, even more sinister force at work?

She reluctantly accepts a 2nd case of a woman looking for her sister. Tess quickly finds out that there is no sister and the woman she is looking for is the woman's real idenity. Passing the test she is then assigned to find out what happened to a daughter she gave up for adoption 13 years before. Both cases overlap as Tess tries to discover the truth buried under all the lies.

This novel was inspired by a real-life Baltimore homicide, the story of a man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who had thrown rocks at his car. I find myself really liking this character with each book. We see how she is developing into herself. Lots of plot twists and I found myself wondering who was really the bad guy here.

Book 2:
Charm City ~ Business tycoon "Wink" Wynkowski is trying to bring pro basketball back to town, and everybody's rooting fro him -- until a devastating, muckraking expose of his lurid past appears on the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light. It's a surprise even to the Blight's editors, who thought they'd killed the piece. Instead, the piece killed Wink -- who's found in his garage with the car running.

Now the paper wants to nail the unknown computer hacker who planted the lethal story, and the assignment is right up the alley of a former newshound like Tess. But it doesn't take long for her to discover deeper, darker secrets, and to realize that this situation is really more about whacking than hacking.

We see more development of her relationship with several characters including her parents. We see more of Uncle Spike (who may not even be related to anyone) who has been found beaten to a pulp in his bar, leaving him in a coma. He left Tess his very bow-beaten greyhound who she finds herself nursing back to health.

The mystery is kind of not the most important thing as the person who ended up doing was kind of far fetched and I didn't see it coming. But I find myself wanting to know more about Tess and her friends and family. So I'll keep reading the next one.

Baltimore Blues ~ Introduces us to Tess Monaghan. Downsized ex-reporter Tess spends her days working part-time at the bookstore owned by sexy Aunt Kitty and rowing her mornings away and trying not to fall into the disgustingly polluted Patapsco from her city-owned boat. When rowing buddy Rocky pays her what looks like a fortune to follow his fiance, the trail leads to murder with Rocky the prime suspect.

What it leads to is another murder or someone very close to her and it becomes personal.

An interesting series and while it was slow to start it really ran the pace and finished better than it started. I liked her descriptions of Baltimore and of the newspaper industry. I'll read more of this series.

Inside Job by Connie Willis

Professional debunker Rob, proprietor of the Jaundiced Eye magazine, considers himself incredibly lucky to have Kildy as his sole employee. Smart, dedicated, gorgeous, and, thanks to her last movie before she hung up on Hollywood, rich. She says Rob has to witness this channeler Ariaura's act. It's quite a show, all right, for in the midst of Ariaura's particular ancient wise guy's basso spiel, a gravelly baritone interrupts to berate the audience as "yaps" and the act as "claptrap." Why is Ariaura undermining herself? Or is she? After all, she angrily accuses Rob and Kildy of scheming to destroy her. Could the baritone belong to a genuine channeled spirit, who just might be the legendary skeptic H.L. Mencken? Or is Rob being scammed by the oldest trick in the book? by his lovely sidekick Kildy?

While this is really a novella Willis really manages to fill it with thought provoking ideas. Can the skeptic trust someone enough to fall in love? Very reminiscent of some of the Dashiell Hammett style storyline of falling for the girl only to have her betray him and break his heart.

Connie Willis is regarded as a Sci Fi author but I find her more of a psychological writer as all of her characters are often more complex than meets the eye. She always makes me think afterwards. This was the perfect book to finish my time at Cerritos. I read a lot of Connie Willis while working at Cerritos Library. So it's fitting that my last library book from there I read is by Willis. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Slouching Towards Bethlehm by Joan Didion

This classic 1968 work is justly renowned as Joan Didion's finest collection of essays. Its central theme - and the theme behind much of what Didion writes - is the atomisation of American culture, the way in which things have fallen apart and left millions adrift from the cultural and ethical moorings that their ancestors took for granted. 33 years later, it is ironic to look back on the period that the writer depicts with such grim pathos when it is celebrated as a time of idealism and freedom by the survivors of the sixties.

I only got through the first couple of essays and found I had to really concentrate to fully appreciate her style. She writes really, really well and make one think. So I look forward to picking up this work and trying again at a more stable part in my life.

Alice in the know by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
#18 in the Alice series
Alice fills the summer before her junior year of high school with a job at the mall, hanging out with her friends, and wishing she had a bigger family. It's the summer before junior year, and Alice is looking forward to three months of excitement, passion, and drama. But what does she find? A summer working in a local department store, trying to stop shoplifters, and more "real life" problems than she could have ever imagined: A good friend becomes seriously ill, Lester has more romance problems than even Alice knows what to do with, and the gang from Mark Stedmeister's pool is starting to grow up a bit faster than Alice is comfortable with. Fortunately for Alice her family and friends are with her through it all, and by the end of the summer, Alice finds she knows a whole lot more than she had in June.

As usual reading Alice is reading a part of life I wish I could have had as a teenager. Naylor really seems to keep up with events in a teen's life yet it won't feel too dated in 5 years. I always enjoy a dose of Alice in my hectic life.

Sparks: an urban fairytale by Lawrence Marvit

The girl, Josephine, is a wondeful lass who can find neither happiness nor peace outside of her job at a small auto garage as a good mechanic. Her home life is hellish with a fat bullying thug of a father and a doped up broken zombie of a mother in a spiteful neighborhood that sees her as a freak. All of this takes their toll on her self esteem as she looks on enviously at the social life that other women seem to take on at ease.

It all culminates with a flight of fancy as she builds a construction of a idealed perfect man from spare auto parts. That little indulgence takes on a wondrous tone when a freak bolt of lightning strikes the construct and brings him to life. Eventually, the mechanical man and Josephine meet and the girl gains a companion she never anticipated.

In the story that follows, Jo struggles to teach the Robot, who soon dubs himself as Galahad from Arthurian legend, how to communicate and the complexities of life and existence. In return, Galahad helps make her see the true beauty of her nature that the world of fools around her cannot perceive even as she strives to fit in a square peg in a round hole kind of world. However, events take a terrible course of their own that will forever change the lives of the characters.

This was a very moving story as you feel the despair and loneliness she feels. It is a story of finding one's own path and taking the harder road to find happiness. Well done.

Friends, Lovers and Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith
2nd in the Sunday Philosopher's Club
Isabel’s niece, Cat, asks Isabel to run her delicatessen while she attends a wedding in Italy. There Isabel meets a man with a most interesting problem. He recently had a heart transplant and is suddenly plagued with memories of events that never happened to him. The situation appeals to Isabel as a philosophical question: Is the heart truly the seat of the soul? And it piques her insatiable curiosity: Could the memories be connected with the donor’s demise? Of course, Grace—Isabel’s no-nonsense housekeeper—and Isabel’s friend Jamie think it is none of Isabel’s business. Meanwhile, Cat brings home an Italian lothario, who, in accordance with all that Isabel knows about Italian lotharios, shouldn’t be trusted . . . but, goodness, he is charming.

I really liked this installment better than the first title. I think because there really wasn't a mystery. I have a much better opinion of this series as I really could relate to the philosophy aspect more.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he’s the only Chinese-American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl...

Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn’t want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god...

Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he’s ruining his cousin Danny’s life. Danny’s a basketball player, a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse...

These three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant, and action-packed.

This book was a 2006 National Book Foundation finalist Young People's Literature. It is a graphic novel or comic story. Very bring and colorful. I couldn't figure out how these 3 different stories were connected. What a delightful surprise as while at first seemed to be a stereotypical look at Chinese Americans it quickly showed a mixture of both worlds.

Awaken Me Darkley by Gena Showalter
Part of the Alien Huntres series

It's sometime in the future, and aliens have been residents on Earth for more than 70 years. Enter Mia Snow, head of the New Chicago Police Department's Alien Investigation and Removal Agency, as she and her crack crew try to solve the latest string of extraterrestrially induced murders. This particular killer favors handsome young men with dark hair and dark eyes. Mia knows that the culprit is one of the dreaded Arcadians, the most clever and deadly species of all.

However, when her second-in-command--and best friend--Dallas Gutierrez is mortally wounded, and only Arcadian Kyrin en Arr, the prime murder suspect, holds the key to his survival, Mia has to make a hard choice between her ethics as a cop and her love for her friend. To make matters worse, she is physically attracted to Kyrin, and suddenly, her black-and-white world has gone all swirly gray.

Interesting book and it might be a series eventually from what the author wrote at the end of the book. It was a good mix of Buffy the Vampire slayer and erotica.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Case One: Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home.

Case Two: Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down.

Case Three: Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it--until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients' grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own.

It is an interesting idea, having a private detective commissioned to solve three cases that the police could never solve. What is interesting is what he discovers is often different than the actual result. We get all kinds of perspective, from Jackson himself, the victims and the perpetrators. The odd thing for me was how much sex was discussed in this book, if they weren't talking or fantasizing about it, they were doing it. It was a bit odd to hear these very prim and proper Brits talking about sex. Plus it didn't feel at all erotic but rather detatched.

Almost all the various cases become intertwined with one another in a very interesting way. I would try another of her novels to see if she writes different types of books.

Date with the Other Side by Erin McCarthy
Boston Mcnamara has been sent to small town USA in what he views as a punishement. Add to this, he finds himself renting a haunted house, has a rather quirky land lady and oh, yeah, locked doors mean nothing to sexy Shelby, resident ghost tour guide.

Shelby is making ends meet by taking people around her small town on a personal guided tour of hunted houses. Cuttersville is loaded with them and her grammy just so happens to own many of them. She is in for the shock of her life when she brings her tour to "the white house" only to find it not haunted by spooks but instead occupied by one sexy man. Of course Boston is not thrilled to be caught without a stitch on by Shelby and her faithful followers. Throw in her granny that wants Shelby to find a man, an ex-husband who wants to get remarried and ghosts everywhere!

Lots of pretty good sex scenes too. Shelby claims to have never had an orgasism. So of course Boston takes this as challenge to prove her wrong. The ghosts seem to be attracted to them when they are together so it helps break the tension so to speak when a ghost cow moos right at a crucial moment.

These two are truly opposites so can they put aside their differences and see what they have in common to make this have a happy ending. Fun read.

Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
This novella won the 1967 Nebula Award.
Karl Glogauer travels back in time two thousand years, meets John the Baptist, and then seeks Jesus Christ himself. This is a very intense read. At first I thought Ok, a time travel novel. Then as you see how Glogauer interweaves himself in this timeless story I became amazed by it. It is really hard to discribe my thoughts and emotions while reading this. Wow!

Dirk & Steele Series
by Marjorie M. Liu

EYE OF HEAVEN
DARK DREAMERS
RED HEART OF JADE
Book 2
Shadow Touch
A private detective who picks up people's memories through touch, Artur Loginov isn't entirely surprised when he's kidnapped and imprisoned in an asylumlike facility; his former days as a Russian mobster taught him to believe he'd come to a bad end. But he's surprised to find the other prisoners are paranormally gifted as well--including Elena Baxter from Wisconsin, able to perform miraculous healings and now stunned to realize she's no longer alone in the world. Aided by a pair of shape-shifters, Elena and Artur escape only to discover their captors' sinister goal--and that they are the only ones who can thwart it.

Interesting book. I had no idea it was part of a series. But as far as I can tell this stands on it's own. It defintely leaves you wanting more. I liked the suspense and erotic nature and while it had violence nothing was graphically described. I like erotica that let's you imagine how it all goes. Kind of a cross between Laurell K. Hamilton and Charles De Lint. Now I want to read the first book to see if can find out more about this world.

Book 1
Tiger Eye
Psychically sensitive tourist Dela Reese browses for treasures at Beijing's Dirt Market, where an old woman sells her a riddle box for only one yuan. Surprisingly, when Dela opens the box back in her hotel room, a gorgeous seven-foot-tall warrior appears, bearing 2,000-year-old weapons. The warrior, Hari, has been cursed for two millennia to serve as a slave - bereft of his power to shape-shift into a tiger - to anyone who opens the box. Assassins follow Delilah and Hari from Beijing back home to the U.S., where Dela and Hari soon find themselves in the midst of a war between Chinese crime syndicates. The reappearance of Hari's age-old nemesis, the Magi, who has been searching for Hari since he was imprisoned in the box, jacks up the suspense

2176 series

Book 2
Day of Fire by Kathleen Nance

Day Daniels, a Mounty, lives in Canada. But for over a century it's been closed off, quarantined. Now, in 2176, its people thrive. The country still needs peacekeepers, though-and the Mounties are there. Be It All. Do It All. Those are the high-tech police force's twin mottos. They're Day Daniels's mottos, too.

Someone or something called the Shadow Voice is broadcasting treason, and Day's determined to stamp it out. When her partner is murdered she is determined to discover who did it and put them away for life. Seeking a source with information, Day enters the techbar, Flash Point. There she meets Lian, a civilian bartender. Quickly she discovers that Lian Firebird is neither of those things but an enigmatic government operative and shaman. He is trying to discover the source of a new strain of small pox and becomes her partner. He offers-no, insists-upon joining her trek to the legendary Citadel.

But she needs Lian to gain access to the UCE territory to discover the true source of the threat and save the world in the process.

Interesting book. I liked the futuristic aspects of it and am curious to read some of the others in the series.

Book 1 - Legend of Banzai Maguire by Susan Grant

Legend of Banzai Maguire by Susan Grant
We start in 2006 as U.S. Air Force fighter Bree "Bonzai" Maguire is preparing for a routine patrol between North and South Korea. She feels a shiver of apprehension and soon finds her foreboding to be well founded when she and her wingman, Cam, are trapped by a mad scientist and frozen alive—until treasure hunter Ty Armstrong rescues her 170 years later. Bree awakens to a new era in human history, one enhanced by advanced technologies but bereft of freedom. Almost immediately, Bree is stolen from Ty by the prince of the Kingdom of Asia, Kyber, who offers her innumerable luxuries. Bree knows, however, that she's little more than a treasured pet to him. Desperate to find her wingman, Bree turns to Ty, but she soon learns that he's as helpless as she and that his country, formerly the U.S. but now the bloated and unstable United Colonies of Earth, is even worse than Kyber's benevolent dictatorship.

Both are told to watch the shadows and sure enough when the mysterious Shadow voice takes over all communications Ty and Bree use the opportunity to escape to find out who and what the shadow voice is all about. Unfortunately we don't learn too much about that part as there are 4 more books in the series.

Book 3 - Shadow Runners by Liz Maverick

Book 4 - Power of Two by Patti O'Shea

Book 5 - Scarlet Empress by Susan Grant

Second Sight by Amanda Quick (aka Janye Ann Krentz)

Photographer Venetia Milton is a spinster by Victorian standards. Economically strapped, she's also the sole support of her aunt and younger siblings. Things start to look up when she is chosen to photograph a collection of artifacts belonging to the Arcane Society, a 200-year-old clandestine organization founded by an alchemist. The collection is housed in an isolated gothic mansion, and Venetia finds herself there in the company of handsome and mysterious Gabriel Jones. Deciding that it's now or never for love, Venetia seduces him, only to lose the man of her dreams in a fire set by a nefarious enemy.

Venetia resourcefully moves on, opening a portrait shop and assuming the persona of Gabriel's grieving widow. The talented Mrs. Jones becomes the toast of London, but with Gabriel soon showing up on her doorstep very much alive, Venetia adapts herself again. Now to the former widow reunited with her assumed dead husband. Miffed, she consigns him to the attic, but their chemistry quickly reignites; while tracking down one murderous, blackmailing thief after another, they steal opportunities for fervent encounters in the garden, in the carriage, in the society's mansion and at home.

I enjoy her books especially her more science fiction books she writes under Jayne Castle. But I enjoy reading any of her books she comes out with. She is a fun and easy read.

Code Name series by Christina Skye

Code Name: Princess
2nd book in the Code Name: series. This one features navy SEAL Hawk MacKenzie and hotel investigator Jess Mulcahey (sister to FBI agent Summer Mulcahey, the heroine from Nanny). The pair come together under tumultuous circumstances when Jess, pretending to be minor royalty, bribes a hotel manager into upgrading her to a nicer room, which turns out to be Hawk's digs. Although the hotel has changed locks, it doesn't deter Hawk, who gains entry with a "highly illicit piece of technology" and catches her in the shower.

Hawk is hot on the trail of a stolen government lab animal, and Jess is afraid the hotel staff will seek revenge on her for a bad review. Neither has the time or patience for the other's drama, but they are thrown together time and again in the genre's usual fashion-chasing the bad guys through the fog and rain of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, easing sexual tension in a stalled hotel elevator and tracking down the lab animal, an adorable koala bear.

I like romance books that feature characters from other books. It was interesting how the murder part of this book is skimmed over leaving one almost to feel it didn't really happen. The main focus is on the two characters as their characters clash and sizzle at the same time. I'll look for her other books.

Bubbles Betrothed by Sarah Strohmeyer
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.

Rei Shimura Mysteries by Sujata Massey

Salaryman's Wife
Rei Shimura is a 27-year-old English teacher living in one of Tokyo's seediest neighborhoods. She doesn't make much money, but she wouldn't go back home to California even if she had a free ticket. Her holiday, to an ancient castle town, is marred by the murder of the beautiful wife of a high-powered businessman. Who killed Setsuko Nakamura, and why is Hugh Glendinning, the handsome Scottish lawyer who works with Setsuko's husband leaning so hard on Rei for help? Rei suspects the police aren't looking in the right places, so she does. What she discovers is blackmail and deceit going back 50 years.

This is the first in the series featuring Rei Shimura, Japanese American living in Tokyo. I read this book probably 7 years ago as my friend Karen recommended it to me. I completely forgot who did in until it was revealed at the end. Plus we see how Rei gets her start on collecting antiques as this is major part of her life in future books.

2. Zen Attitude
3. Flower Master
4. Floating Girl
5. Bride's Kimono
6. Samurai's Daughter
7. Pearl Diver
8. Typhoon Lover
9. Girl in aBox

Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Paul Fisher is legally blind. He wears glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien, and kids tell a story about how he blinded himself by staring at an eclipse of the sun. But Paul doesn’t remember doing that. And he doesn’t mind the glasses, because with them he can see. Can see that his parents’ constant praise of his brother Erik, the football star, is to cover up something that is terribly wrong. But no one listens to Paul. Until his family moves to Tangerine, FL.

Tangerine is like another planet, where weird is normal. Lightning strikes at the same time every day. Underground fires burn for years. A sinkhole swallows a local school. And Paul the geek finds himself adopted into the toughest group around–the soccer team of his middle school. Suddenly the blind can see, geeks can be cool, and–maybe–a twelve-year-old kid can finally face up to his terrifying older brother.

This was an incredibly intense read. I listened to it on CD in the car. It is a mix of Paul's observations of his life with him memories of his past.

Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich

Alexandra Barnaby, aka Barney, hails from Baltimore working in an insurance office. She donned mechanic's overalls in her father's garage during summer breaks from college. Her younger brother, Wild Bill, shares her passion for cars, and now he's disappeared from Miami, along with NASCAR star Sam Hooker's boat, the Happy Hooker. Evanovich doesn't mind showing her romance roots, as Barney and Sam start off snarling at each other; as any reader can tell, they have to team up (a) to save Bill and (b) to enjoy delicious sex.

You can't help but compare this with Stephanie Plum novels that Evanovich writes. So it would get a little annoying to see a lot of the same trends but not as well done going on in this novel. I tried really hard to pretend I hadn't read any of the Plum books but it was impossible to do so. I finished the book but it didn't leave me wanting more like the Plum books do. I laughed and enjoyed it but now I'm done and can move on with my life.

Stained by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Jocelyn (aka Joss) has two boys in her life.
* Gabe has shared fourteen years of growing up next door. He's a "golden boy, an all-star". Yet now, in the spring of 1975, he's missing, disappeared on the brink of senior year at Weaver High. The whole town is set to go searching for him.
* Benny has only been in New Hampshire since January, yet for Joss, he's the answer to a long held prayer to be someone in somebody's eyes. She loves them both.

The book is told from Joss's point of view both her past and her present. We see how she has evolved to the person she is in the present. Joss feels that her soul is stained because she never got her first communion. She loves Gabe who will never love her back. She is passionately involved with Benny who feels guilty for everything they do and makes her feel that she is the temptation leading him astray. The catholic church has a lot to play in the novel as we see Joss's journey for the truth but often the truth will not set you free. This is a painful but beautiful book to read as it ends with hope.

The ending quote from the book pretty much sums it up.
"I look down at myself, stained by color. No. Not stained. Celebrated. And it occurs to me that perhaps souls are like prisms. Prisms that allow us to see clearing into the soul of another and, at the same time, recognize our own glorious light."

Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime?
These are the kind of questions Levitt asks. He studies the riddles of everyday life-from cheating and crime to sports and child-rearing — and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality.

Steven D. Levitt is the Alvin H. Baum Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he is also director of The Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist who lives in New York City. Dubner comes to know Levitt through an interview and together they wrote this book. I listened to it on CD and Levitt was the narrator.

This book has many thought-provoking questions such as did Roe vs. Wade impace violent crime in the late 1980's? This was a hard thing to think about but it did make me think how events in our lives really unfold. I found the chapter on the Ku Klux Klan most interesting not because the authors thought they were like real estate agents but how one man brought them down by selling their secrets to the Superman radio show. The ending was most shocking as well. I will say this while much of what Levitt has to say is kind of out there it made me look at things differently. I think I'll need to read it again - this time in print form.

Urban Shaman by C. E. Murphy

Joanne Walker, born Siobban Walkingstick, is returning to Seattle from her Mother's funeral in Ireland. On the plane home, as pilots are making a final pass into the city, she sees a woman being attacked at a church. After her plane lands she finds the first cab and tries to discover if what she saw was real or her imagiation. She is a mechanic-cop for Seattle PD. She discovers that she is becoming a shaman.

In her search for the truth she runs head on into Cernunnos, an ancient Celtic god and leader of the Wild Hunt. She has three days to learn to use her shamanic powers and save the world from the unleashed Wild Hunt. No worries. No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing herself from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams. Will she decide to ride with the hunt or work to destroy them?

This was a pretty good read. It took me several weeks to read it so it really didn't grab me but I wanted to finish it.

Love, Lies & Liquor by M.C. Beaton
17th Agatha Raisin mystery
Agatha still carries a torch for her ex-husband, James Lacey, who is once again living next door. He invites her to a terrible bbq with his snobby friends. For once Agatha stands up for herself with James and leaves him with his rude friends. He then invites her on holiday to make up for the bbq. Unfortunately, the surprise destination is a rundown British seaside town, Snoth-on-Sea, in which James has fond memories of visiting as a child.

After an altercation a fellow guest at their hotel is murdered, strangled with Agatha's scarf. So Agatha is determined to clear her name. But fefore Agatha can make much headway in her investigation, two more guests are killed.

Typical Agatha style but for once stands up for herself when it comes to James and the other men in her life. While Agatha will never be perfect, she is starting to value her self worth.

Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Green
John Taylor is back in Darkside - this time he is commissioned by a priest named Jude to finding the unholy grail, not for the cup that Jesus drank from, but the other cup, the Judas Cup, which provides both ultimate power and ultimate corruption.

If it was just John Taylor and an ugly silver cup this would be a piece of cake for John - find it and return it to the Vatican, who will hide it from all the powers, human and otherwise. But no such luck - everyone is after it. Demons, gangsters, and angels - thousands of them, good and bad, all prepared to end the universe to gain the cup. Knowing he is out of his depth, Taylor brings Shotgun Suzie on board, and together they challenge Armageddon.

It is funny as angels from both heaven and hell are after the cup and both are determined to torture, kill and destroy anyone who gets in the way. These angels appear as ordinary gray suited bankers or accountants until they burst into flames turning those who look into a pilar of salt. Except if you are holding the Speaking Gun, in the beginning God created things by calling their name, which can destroy things by Speaking their name. It will also kill angels. Go figure? Of course Taylor gets his hand on it from the nazis.

Green's books are not long but he manages to crame a huge amount of horrible images in it. I skim through those parts as I usually like the beginning and the ending makes me want to read more about Taylor. I know this is a pretty big series so will try another one out.

More in the series.
3) Nightingale's Lament
4) Hex and the City
5) Paths Not Taken
6) Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth
7) And Follow Darkness Like a Dream

Family Tree by Sheri S. Tepper
Police officer Dora Henry talks to the trees, and they listen. They also provide her with fruit out of season and guard her bicycle. Why they do these things, she's not sure, but she doesn't have time to worry about it: three geneticists have been murdered and clues are in short supply.

She's also going through a painful divorce from her abusive husband, Jared, after two years of sterile, sexless marriage--and Jared has vowed that he won't let her go and has begun stalking her. The trees, meanwhile, are springing up everywhere, ripping up streets, kidnapping unwanted babies and acting like sentient beings. Dora's story represents only half of what's going on in this tale, however. In a parallel narrative set 3000 years in the future, Opalears, a young slave in a quasi-Arabic society, accompanies her master on a quest to seek interpretation of an ancient prophecy. As they travel, they are joined by others on their own quests. Eventually, Opalears and her companions also run into sentient trees.

When the future peoples come into Dora's world, everything becomes clear. Dora must work with the future peoples to save the future and maybe even herself.

It's been a long time since I read any of Tepper's work. It deals with many controversial topics such as controlled populations, animal testing and intelligence, and deforestation. She is an excellent storyteller and while not one of her best works it is still thought provoking.

Tepper wrote as B. J. Oliphant & A. J. Orde in the 1990's writing two different mystery series.

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
Kate Klein, an "accidental mother of three" in suburban Connecticut, misses New York City and just doesn't seem to fit in with all of the expensively dressed mommies. A former journalist, Kate is bored staying at home until the day she is invited to lunch at a neighbor's house and finds the woman's body lying in a pool of blood. With the help of her outrageous best friend and a detective, a former flame from New York, she swiftly begins her own investigation into the murder, uncovering plenty of suburban secrets along the way.

This felt very sex and the city goes to the suburbs to me. It was fun and reader did a great job using various voices for the different characters. I just found the main character, Kate, really annoying. She whined about being a mother, she whined about being married, she whined about not having a good mother figure, she whined about her husband not being home, then whined when he was. I think you get the picture. She has great friends and family, personally more then she deserves with how she goes on and on about life. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book, I just got tired of her "voice".

Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher

At eleven years old, Harry Sue Clotkin already has a couple of strikes against her. She's the only child of convicted felons and her best friend is a quadriplegic who won't come out of his tree house. Her plan so far is to tough up and head for the joint. But before she can start the life of crime that will land her in the joint with her mom, Harry Sue needs to save a swarm of little kids from evil Granny Clotkin, whose in-home daycare should be labeled hazardous to your health. In addition, Violet Chump could use a good Samaritan, and Jolly Roger Chlorine and his crew need to learn that girls like Harry Sue do not take it on the chin.

Like Dorothy in her favorite story, The Wizard of Oz, Harry Sue's got a long journey home. And she could use some help. Add Baba and J-Cat to Homer Price, and you have a crew only slightly less strange than the lion, the tin man and the scarecrow.

The cover is what attracted me to this book with a little girl looking through red jail bars. At first I thought it might be just another one of those sarcastic books for kids. But I quickly realized that this character while wanting to be bad just can't be. You end up cheering for her to succeed by the end. The author's notes at the end were very interesting as well.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Parallel volume to Ender's Game.

The human race is at War with the "Buggers," an insect-like alien race. The first battles went badly, and now as Earth prepares to defend itself against the imminent threat of total destruction at the hands of an inscrutable alien enemy, all focus is on the development and training of military geniuses who can fight such a war, and win. The long distances of interstellar space have given hope to the defenders of Earth — they have time to train these future commanders up from childhood, forging them into an irresistible force in the high-orbital facility called the Battle School.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin was not the only child in the Battle School; he was just the best of the best. In this new book, Card tells the story of another of those precocious generals, the one they called Bean — the one who became Ender's right hand, his strategist, and his friend. One who was with him, part of his team, in the final battle against the Buggers.

Bean's past was a battle just to survive. He first appeared on the streets of Rotterdam, a tiny child with a mind leagues beyond anyone else's. He knew he could not survive through strength; he used his tactical genius to gain acceptance into a children's gang, and then to help make that gang a template for success for all the others. He civilized them, and lived to grow older. This successful struggle to live brought him to the attention of the Battle School's recruiters, those people scouring the planet for leaders, tacticians, and generals to save Earth from the threat of alien invasion. Bean was sent into orbit, to the Battle School. And there he met Ender. . . .

I read Ender's Game probably 20 years ago now and I never forgot it. So I was interested to see how this would compare. I listened to it on CD while I've been driving too and from work. Wow, it was so engaging and well read. They actually used 4 different voices which is a new way for me to listen to a book on CD or tape. While at first a bit distracting it really added to the elements that make the story pop. You see the war from so many different points of view including Bean's which at some points did feel somewhat tedious to me but I got over it. Now I want to re-read Ender's Game but wish I could listen to it as well.

Above Suspicion by Lynda La Plante
London copper Anna Travis, is the bright and eager young daughter of recently deceased Detective Chief Superintendent Travis. Anna is brought on board by Detective Chief Inspector Langton, whose murder team has been completely outfoxed by a serial killer with a trail of six murdered prostitutes dating back 12 years. Anna joins the team just as they identify the corpse of a younger victim with no history of prostitution, a casualty that Langton takes as a sign of the killer's escalating blood lust. Further investigation reveals handsome up-and-coming film actor Alan Daniels as a potential suspect, and Anna and Langton widen their inquiry to include Daniels's past movie locations in the U.S., following a trail of victims to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Suspense builds and circumstantial evidence continues to pile up, but absolute proof eludes Anna and Langton as the sociopathic suspect attempts to turn his seductive powers on Anna.

I wouldn't say this was the best suspence thriller I've read especially since we know who the killer is in the first 1/3 of the book. Most of the book is dealing with Anna's insecurities and anxieties regarding her job and being put out there for the murder to confide to. I did wonder how they would get him to confess or find him responsible. It was done but kind of by luck versus good detective work. This author has written the Prime Suspect series which in my opinion are better done but this book was not a bad result. Just kind of trying.

Remorseful Day by Colin Dexter
The final Inspector Morse mystery..... 8(
For a year, the murder of Yvonne Harrison at her home in the Cotswold village of Lower Swinstead has baffled the Thames Valley CID. But one man has yet to tackle the case - and it is just the sort of puzzle at which Chief Inspector Morse excels. So why is he adamant that he will not lead the reinvestigation, despite two anonymous phone calls that hint at new evidence? And why, if he refuses to take on the case officially, does he seem to be carrying out his own private inquiries? When Sergeant Lewis learns that Morse was once friendly with Yvonne Harrison, he begins to suspect that the man who has earned his admiration, and exasperation, over so many years knows more about her death than he is letting on. When Morse finally does take over, the investigation leads down highways and byways that are disturbing to all concerned.

I put off reading this book for years as I knew Morse would die at the end. Morse has always been one of my favorite series both in book form and on TV. John Thaw was so wonderful as Morse plus in everything he did. I cried as I started, during and at the end. But it was lovely and while it was sad he died finishing what he wanted to finish. I'll have to find the new TV series featuring Lewis as the actor Kevin Whately has continued with the character.

Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar

The rabbi and his cat live in 1930's Algeria, which was still under French dominion and had a different religious and ethnic demographic than it does today. While many of the themes are independent of confession, religion is the underpinning of this story.

It is interesting when the cat beginst to speak outloud vs in his head. He is so intellectually complicated in a fashion that never turns him from a feline into a person in cat form. The cat is alternately stubborn, loyal, jealous, petty, and generous. He is intelligent without always being wise and sometimes he is wise enough to rue his intelligence. What else can you expect from a cat that starts to speak after eating the rabbi's annoying parakeet, but his first words are lies about eating the parakeet?

Cat loves his mistress but the rabbi does not want cat talking to his daughter and putting ideas in her head. We see they interact in their native Algeria and then travel to Paris to meet the rabbi's inlaws after his daughter marries a french rabbi.

It is a very interesting look at a specific time period and place. We see how Algeria is changing both with religion and attitutes. I really enjoyed this book.

Snow Blind by P. J. Tracy
With the holidays over and the long cold winter looming, January can be a bleak month in Minneapolis. So what better way to bring a little cheer to the good people of the city than sponsoring an old-fashioned snowman-building contest? In a matter of hours, a local park is filled with the innocent laughter of children and their frosty creations. But things take an awful turn when the dead bodies of police officers are discovered inside two of the snowmen – sending the entire department and Detectives Magozzi and Rolseth on high alert.

The next day, Iris Rikker, the newly minted sheriff of rural Dundas County, comes across another body in another snowman. Fearing that Rikker’s inexperience will hamper the investigation, Magozzi and Rolseth head north, in a blizzard, to hunt for clues. As Grace MacBride and her crack computer jocks at Monkeewrench comb the Web for connections, a terrifying link emerges among the dead cops, Magozzi and Rolseth, and Monkeewrench – a link that must be broken before it’s too late.

Ok the Monkeewrench is a red hering! We see more about Magozzi & Rolseth plus the new female sheriff in Dundas County. What this book really comes down to is in regards to domestic violence who is responsible? The person doing the beatings? the police who won't help? the family, friends and neighbors who looks the other way? What would you do if you could take action into your own hands and punish them all? Read Snow Blind and find out.

Written by mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht. Each book takes place in Minnesota and revolve around the Monkeewrench team the police they work with. This was a very interesting look at domestic violence and the consequences. I did not see how this book would end as they did a great job making this look one way and then taking it a 180 turn.

Death at Death's Door by Jill Thompson
Fills in the backstory of "Season of Mists," by Neil Gaiman. Lucifer has abandoned Hell, giving Morpheus the key to its gates and unleashing a host of troubles for the beleaguered Dream King. Thompson's story, while including enough references to "Mists" to bring everyone up to speed, focuses primarily on Dream's big sister, Death, whose apartment is overrun by the dead with no place to go now that Hell has closed up shop. So, acting on their own idea for coping with the legions of former damned, younger sisters Despair and Delerium host a party at Death's house.

I know that this has gotten a lot of positive write-ups because of the success Thompson has had recreating a Manga style but it just didn't do anything for me. I find most Manga really annoying with all the clutter and yelling and shouting that seems to go on endlessly.

Concrete Blond by Michael Connelly
Series featuring Harry Bosch
They called him the Dollmaker, the serial killer who stalked Los Angeles call girls and left a grisly calling card on the faces of his female victims. With a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thought he had ended the city's nightmare. Now, 4 years later, the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man. This accusation rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature. Now, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go — the darkness of his own heart.

I had read a later story featuring Bosch and wanted to know more about him. He has a very complicated background and we learn why he has such a hard time opening up to women. His own mother was killed in an un-solved crime when he was 12 years old. He spent the rest of his teenage years in foster care or a boy's home. He is not the cop out there but he does try to bring justice to the dead.

Connelly writes in a very interesting voice. Will need to catch up!

Earlier titles in the series:
Black Ice
Black Echo

Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh

While returning to the school after a Christmas spent with her great-aunts in the country, Frances Allard encounters Lucius Marshall, Viscount Sinclair, and becomes stranded with him for a couple of days when they are both overtaken by an unexpectedly harsh snowstorm. It is a traumatic encounter, but Frances declines the less than honorable offer Lord Sinclair makes her at the end of it and persuades herself that she will be quite content never to see him again.

Lucius has just promised his dying grandfather and the rest of his family that he will marry before the end of summer, and the perfect bride has already been picked out for him. For a brief interlude he is distracted by his encounter with Frances, but on the whole he considers himself fortunate when she rejects his offer. He will be--or so he tells himself--quite happy never to see her again.

Fortune, however, has other plans in store for Frances and Lucius, who are fated to meet again at a soiree in Bath. And after that neither can be sure that they will never meet again. Indeed, one of them sets out actively to make sure that they will--in London, where Lucius's potential bride awaits his offer of marriage as a certainty and Frances's past waits just as eagerly to catch up with her.

I had read many reviews of this author's work so decided to give it a try. It was interesting and kind of fluffy read. I'm not sure I buy into the getting stranded bit in which they end up having sex with no consequences except they fall in love later. It seemed a bit modern to me. I guess I always enjoyed the Barbara Cartland type of romance where you let your imagination take over. Lots of swooning, etc. It is supposed to be the first book in a quartet featuring four teachers at Miss Martin's School for Girls in Bath. It felt dis-jointed to me as I didn't feel like this book needed any sequels or made me want to know more about these teachers. It almost felt like I had missed a few books before hand to be honest.

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

In usual fashion Stephanie finds herself in danger when she discovers that a woman is following her. This woman who threatens her and waves a gun around claims to be Carlos Manoso's (aka Ranger) wife! When she ends up dead and Ranger's daughter is discovered kidnapped from Miami by Ranger himself Stephanie knows something is up! A doppleganger has stolen parts of Ranger's identity, marrying the strange woman, kidnapping Ranger's daughter and then wants to go after Stephanie herself. Now she gets to pay Ranger back for all the times he helped her out in a jam. But she'll need the help of both Ranger and Morelli.

Meanwhile she and Lulu are trying to pick up as many FTA's people who skipped their count appearance before Vinnie goes bankrupt. They have to start hiring new bounty hunters and the interviews are so funny! They end up hiring a FTA Stephanie is able to hunt down, a sad sack named Melvin Pickle, who had been arrested for indecent exposure in the multi-plex. Plus Lula, Sally, and Grandma Mazur start up a rock band and find new costumes for each gig!

You can't help but laugh out loud at all the quirky characters but I have to admit that this one had more depth than previous ones. It even ends with Ranger feeding Stephanie cake. yum...

#12 Echo Park

Lincoln Lawyer
Featuring Bosch's half brother, Mickey Haller, who is a lawyer in LA. He's called a Lincoln Lawyer because his office is out of the trunk of his Lincoln Town-Car. I do not believe that Bosch is in this book though.

Closers by Michael Connelly
#11 in the Harry Bosch series and the first book I've read by Connelly. I actually listened to it on CD driving to and from work. It sucked me in and I really wanted to know what happened to am interested in reading some of the earlier works to see who it compares. The readerhas a very interesting voice and it wasn't distracting as he changed his voice to be various characters.

After three years out of the LAPD, Harry Bosch returns, to find the department a different place from the one he left. A new Police Chief has been brought over from New York to give the place a thorough clean up from top to bottom. Working with his former partner, Kiz Rider, Harry is assigned to the department's Open-Unsolved Unit, working on the thousands of cold cases that haunt the LAPD's files. These detectives are the Closers—they put a shovel in the dirt and turn over the past.

Harry and Kiz are given a politically sensitive case when a DNA match connects a white supremacist to the 1988 murder of Rebecca Verloren, a sixteen-year-old girl. Becky was of mixed race, and the case appears to have a racial angle. This was LA before the riots and Rodney King; the city was a powder keg waiting for a match. The detectives who worked the case all those years ago seem to have done a decent job, but something doesn't fit. Meanwhile Harry's nemesis, Deputy Chief Irving, is watching him waiting for him to split apart like a retread tire. But while Bosch kind of flaunders around he manages to get the answer in the end.

#10 Narrows
#9 Lost Light
#8 City of Bones
#7 Darkness More Than Night
#6 Angels Flight
#5 Trunk Music
#4 Last Coyote
#3 Concrete Blond
They called him the Dollmaker, the serial killer who stalked Los Angeles call girls and left a grisly calling card on the faces of his female victims. With a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thought he had ended the city's nightmare. Now, 4 years later, the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man. This accusation rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature. Now, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go — the darkness of his own heart.

I had read a later story featuring Bosch and wanted to know more about him. He has a very complicated background and we learn why he has such a hard time opening up to women. His own mother was killed in an un-solved crime when he was 12 years old. He spent the rest of his teenage years in foster care or a boy's home. He is not the cop out there but he does try to bring justice to the dead.

#2 Black Ice
#1 Black Echo

What's the Worst That Could Happen? by Donald E. Westlake

When billionaire hotshot Max Fairbanks, who has caught Dortmunder burgling his Long Island estate, tells the arresting police that the good-luck ring on Dortmunder's finger was stolen from him (when it was in fact a gift from Dortmunder's girlfriend, May), Max's fate, no matter how well protected he may be, is sealed.

Dortmunder makes repeated attempts to get his ring back, hitting on ingenious ways to get into the billionaire's lavish Times Square and Watergate apartments, making off each time with considerable more loot with each heist. But while Dortmunder is not unhappy with the loot he is really after only the ring. It's a pride thing.

When Fairbanks goes off to his huge casino/hotel/theme park in Las Vegas, in a deliberate attempt to entrap Dortmunder, does the dour vengeance-seeker shift into really high gear. Other friends from previous Dortmunder outings are collected into a formidable army, pitted against the best security Max's millions can buy, all leading to a showdown only Westlake could have conceived.

Fabulous! This is the most elaborate heist ever! Plus we get to see everyone travel, by bus, by air and by motor home! Kelp finds his own lady friend, Anne Marie, whom he picked up in New York while he was helping Dortmunder break into Fairbank's apartment. Anne Marie who was drowning her sorrows in the bar after her husband left her to go back to Kansas quickly jumps in to lend a hand. She has a knack for it too. Can't wait to read more of this fun, fun, fun series.

Transgressions Vol. 1 edited by Ed McBain

Includes novelas by Merely Hate by Ed McBain, Hostages by Anne Perry, Walking Around with Money by Donald E. Westlake, Forever by Jeffrey Deaver and Resurrection Man by Sharyn McCrumb.

MERELY HATE, was part of the 87th Precinct. It is post 9/11 in Isola, and the detectives are called to investigate the murder of a Muslim cab driver. As usual it isn't a cut and dry serial killer. I was surprised by who the murder ended up being.

WALKING AROUND MONEY focuses on the bumbling crook John Dortmunder. Typical Dortmunder, makes me laugh out loud!

HOSTAGES, in which the head of the Protestant cause in Ireland refuses to step down for a more moderate leader, even when he and his family are taken hostage by men who will stop at nothing, even murder, to have their politics accepted. It was a good story especially the ending.

FOREVER, introduces Tal Simms, a mathematician/statistician working for Westbrook County Sheriff's Department. Simms is considered a "computer geek" by the rest of the detective squad, especially homicide detective Greg "Bear" LaTour. Simms and his eventual partner LaTour are confronted with several suspicious suicides. Older rich couples are killing themselves under dubious circumstances. In most respects, the underdog character Simms is every bit as likable as Lincoln Rhymes.

RESURRECTION MAN tells the tale of a slave who is purchased to be a grave robber for a medical college in the South just a few years before the Civil War. At first it was my least favorite story but by the time I got used to her mixing the past and present together I was ready for more. I haven't read much lately by Sharyn McCrumb so need to start up again. She has such a great storytelling voice.

FOREVER was the longest and I really enjoyed it the best. I actually wanted to hear this CD because of Westlake (I'm a big Dortmunder fan). It was good too.

How to Seduce a Ghost by Hope McIntyre
aka Caroline Upcher

New series featuring Lee Bartholomew - a neurotic 38 year old with a curious reluctance to settle down with her boyfriend of eight years. Lee is a ghostwriter whose assignments have an unnerving tendency to involve her in murder investigations. She lives alone - by choice - in her parent's giant London house in Notting Hill yet every night she lies awake quaking with fear at the thought of the violent crime erupting just the other side of her front door.

Someone is setting fire to houses in the area - along with their occupants and Lee's neighbor, Children's TV prsenter Astrid McKenzie, is the first victim. Wen she lands the plum job of ghosting the autobiography of American soap star Selma Walker, Lee finds herself unwittingly not only at the center of the arson/murder investigations, but also in the arms of a new and highly dangerous lover.

This was a rather more complicated book than it first appeared. Many different complex characters that I would like to know about.

The ending was really fast with more fires and kidnapping and who the hell is really the bad guy here?!? But I would be interested in reading another in the series.

Hunter's Moon by C. J. Adams & Cathy Clamp
Hit man Tony Giodone has seen some wacky whack jobs but this takes the cake. Sue Quentin, winner of a huge lottery jackpot, wants him to off her. She is so desperate to get away from her obnoxiously calculating and avaricious family, she feels that death is the only escape. Tony, meanwhile, has made a miscalculation. Ever since he was bitten by one of his targets, he has experienced three days of amnesia at the full moon, during which he turns into a wolf, so he usually locks himself away in a soundproof suite in the Plaza. Fortunately, he wakes up this time to find that Sue is still alive and well. A powerful bout of lovemaking leaves Tony certain that he has found his mate, and he will do anything for Sue, even kill her if that's what she wants.

This is a very complicated story as though it is from Tony's point of view a lot revolves around Sue. Some annoying things is how much he relies on smells and suddenly he and Sue are one person and can experience each one's thoughts and experiences while they are separated. Luckily for her as towards the end Sue is kidnapped and Tony is able to get there to save the day.

It was alright.

Sequel:
Moon's Web

I'd Kill for That
By Gayle Lynds, Rita Mae Brown, Marcia Talley, Lisa Gardner, Linda Fairstein, Kay Hooper, Kathy Reichs, Julie Smith, Heather Graham, Jennifer Crusie, Tina Wainscott, Anne Perry, and Katherine Neville.

Thirteen of today's hottest female novelists spice up the whodunit in an unputdownable, rollicking serial novel of murder and mayhem, larceny and love....

On the banks of the scenic Truxton River, nestled in rolling woodlands just minutes away from our nation's capital, lies Gryphon Gate. Drawn to its breathtaking view of the Chesapeake Bay, Henry Drysdale selected this waterfront location to create a premiere gated community where the affluent and privileged residents live, work and play. Tempers flare when Vanessa, Henry's ex-, decides to build Forest Glen, a 300-unit condominium development on an adjoining tract of land. The Gryphon Gate town meeting disintegrates into a free-for-all as environmentalists, developers, residents and the media clash. Then the violence turns ugly—a body is found in a sandtrap off the 6th tee. Called in to head the investigation, Police Captain Diane Robards races against the clock to sort her allies from her enemies, as together she and an odd-ball cast of characters attempt to uncover the secrets behind the serene facade of Gryphon Gate and unmask a dangerous and ruthless killer.

It was interesting to read this book as each chapter was written by a different author. Each person had their own twist or ideas of the mystery and the characters so things could radically change from one chapter to the next.

Jack Reacher series by Lee Child

Killing Floor
First in the series introducing Jack Reacher, a casualty of the Army's peace dividend who's drifted into town idly looking for traces of a long dead black jazzman. Not only do the local cops arrest him for murder, but the chief of police turns eyewitness to place him on the scene, even though Reacher was getting on a bus in Tampa at the time. Two surprises follow: The murdered man wasn't the only victim, and he was Reacher's brother whom he hadn't seen in seven years. So Reacher, who so far hasn't had anything personal against the crooks who set him up for a weekend in the state pen at Warburton, clicks into overdrive.

Banking on the help of the only two people in Margrave he can trust—a Harvard-educated chief of detectives who hasn't been on the job long enough to be on the take, and a smart, scrappy officer who's taken him to her bed— he sets out methodically in his brother's footsteps, trying to figure out why his cellmate in Warburton, a panicky banker whose cell-phone number turned up in Joe's shoe, confessed to a murder he obviously didn't commit; trying to figure out why all the out-of-towners on Joe's list of recent contacts were as dead as he was; and trying to stop the local carnage or at least direct it in more positive ways.

This was a very intense, complicated and gritty thriller. Lots of carnage mostly at the hands of Reacher as it is "kill or be killed" and he never hesitates. I will probably read more of this series but spread it out a bit as the violence is graphically described.

Bleeding hearts
China Bayles Herbal Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert
Coach Tim Duffy's Pecan Springs high school football team has won the state championships two years in a row -- and in Texas, that makes him a demigod. But when China's stepson's principal asks her to conduct a sensitive investigation concerning accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against Duffy, she becomes embroiled in a dark drama that, if exposed, could destroy families and ruin lives. Statutory rape and cold-blooded murder are just the beginning of this mystery…

China struggles to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murder of a beloved high school football coach and the alleged suicide of a woman who was once one of his students. A handmade quilt, sewn by a woman who went through cancer treatments, is missing from the quilt show that Ruby is in charge of. In typical New Age style Ruby decides to ask the Ouija Board to help guide her to the guilty party. Plus to complicate matters China's mother asks her to get some papers that were found after her husband's secretary's death. What China finds will rock her to the bone.

Interesting enough China's husband is out of town for most of the book. We get to see more of China interacting with other women and friends.

Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson
Katie Chandler, a 20something, small-town Texas girl, who finds that being average in New York City is anything but. She is still adjusting to life in the big city while working a for a nightmare boss when she gets a fantastic offer to work for a mysterious company, MSI, Inc.

Through her new job and the magical folk she meets, Katie comes to find out she isn't quite as average as she thought; and the fairy tale life she has longed for begins to come true in surprising ways. What Katie doesn't realize is how rare and important being ordinary can be. In fact, it is her ordinary characteristics that make her the perfect secret weapon for MSI, Inc. Now she has magicians and fairies meddling in her attempted romances, a secret life she needs to keep hidden from her non-magical friends, not to mention that dangerous pull she feels for Owen, an attractive but shy wizard who might be the most powerful magic man since Merlin.

Kind of a play on Sex and the City (aka Hex and the City). Very sweet story with a few bumps in the road but all is overcome in this "happily ever after" style mode.

Once Upon Stilettos is the sequel or at least some the same characters.

Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin
by Nancy Atherton

Lori Shepherd, feeling a touch world-weary, decides to become a volunteer at the Radcliffe Infirmary, where she can spread a little good cheer in the community. There she meets Elizabeth Beacham, a kind, retired legal secretary with no family except a brother who has mysteriously disappeared. Lori is saddened when Miss Beacham passes away suddenly after only a few visits. But when she receives an envelope containing a set of keys and a letter Miss Beacham wrote to her just a few days before her death, it becomes clear that there was much more to the gentle invalid than met the eye. Notices start arriving around the village of the large bequests made before her death. And Lori finds that Miss Beacham’s flat is filled with priceless antiques—an inheritance too precious to remain unclaimed. Armed with a few clues and Aunt Dimity’s help, Lori begins to unearth Miss Beacham’s secrets and, ultimately, the surprising truth about her next-of-kin.

#10 is this interesting series. I get a little tired of the main character so I haven't read any of this series for quite a while. But I thought I would give it a try with this one. This was one of the better stories as it gives Lori some humility which she really needed.

Saddlemaker's Wife by Earlene Fowler
Ruby McGavin, grieving over the recent death of her husband, Cole, is shocked to discover that Cole lied to her about his family. They're not all dead, as he told her, but very much alive, and in his will, he has left her his share of the family ranch in California. Ruby heads to tiny Cardinal, Calif., with Cole's ashes, intent on selling her share of the ranch, but she quickly realizes that Cole had hidden many things from her. Cole's younger brother, Lucas, who has fled his life as a lawyer in San Francisco, has returned to Cardinal, where he scrapes out a life as a saddlemaker. Slowly Ruby and Lucas edge closer to the truth of a secret that haunts both their lives.

This was a very interesting story. You really feel like you are in this small town and getting to know the characters. I've tried to read her other quilting stories and while I enjoyed it but not as much as this story. It will be interesting to see if she writes more with these characters.

Whales on Stilts! by M. T. Anderson
Lily Gefelty's father works for a mad scientist who wears a sack over his head. When she overhears him say that he wants to take over the world, her oblivious father assures her, "Honey, sometimes adults use irony. They don't really mean what they say." Nonetheless, the 12-year-old calls on her two best friends, Katie Mulligan, the star of the "Horror Hollow" novels (think "Goosebumps"), and Jasper Dash, also known as the Boy Technonaut (think "Tom Swift"), to investigate. The trio soon learns that Larry does indeed plan to conquer the world using mind-controlled whales on stilts with laser-beam eyes. No adult will believe them, so it's up to the kids to save the Earth.

This was a very fun entertaining read. Book 2 is already in the works. I love how it shows sometimes the kids do know best.

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely. While on a cruise he is thrown overboard and became lost. While he lived with Abilene he just existed. He never listened to Abilene's stories or understood what it ment to be alone and never loved Abilene though she loved him.

His adventues take him from part of the world to another as he is chosen and lost by several different people who need him at the time. He learns to listen and love and be loved. He discovers that everyone matters and has a story to tell. It is another beautiful story by DiCamillo and the color plates illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline really adds to the story. This would make a great read-a-loud or to read at bedtime. It is lovely.

Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer
A story of romance and action story, written by two experts in the genres. Jenny Crusie writes Lucy Armstrong, a film director with family problems--why is her sister so depressed, her niece so unhappy, and her ex-husband so intent on getting her back--and career problems--why is the star so determined to do his own stunts, the ingenue so determined to seduce the stunt double, and that Green Beret stunt double so damn attractive? Bob Mayer writers J. T. Wilder, a Green Beret who has his own troubles including the goofball actor he's doubling for, the stunt coordinator who's gunning for him (literally), and the director who looks like Wonder Woman and keeps distracting him from his mission. And that's before the CIA, the Russian mob, and the one-eyed alligator show up.

I've read other books by Jennifer Cruise and she always makes a fun read. Interesting to see her work combined with Boy Mayer who I have not read before. I got kind of tired of the young niece being the comic relief plus the ending was a little predictable to me. A good book to take on vacation or read on the beach.

My Name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton
Kids in my library love this series - it is never on the shelf so I thought I would try one and it is not the first in the series. We are introduced to his young assistant editor, Pinky Pick, who is only thirteen years old! Geronimo is a nervous, mild-mannered mouse who would like nothing better than to live a quiet life, but he keeps getting involved in far-away adventures with Thea, Trap and Benjamin. The books are written as though they are autobiographical adventure stories. The author is identified only as Geronimo Stilton, and references are occasionally made to past and future books in the series.

The series originated in Italy and has become the most popular children's book series in that country. The books are bright with color pictures and the text changes font styles and colors to match what is happening in the storyline to highlight a certain word. It was distracting to me but I can see why kids like it.

John Rain books by Barry Eisler

Rain Fall
John Rain was born of an American mother and a Japanese father, Rain is a businessman based in Tokyo, living a life of meticulously planned anonymity. Trained by the U.S. Special Forces and a veteran of Vietnam, he is a cool, self-contained loner—and he has built a steady business over the past twenty-five years specializing in death by "natural causes." He is also a man struggling with his own divided nature: Japanese/American; soldier/assassin; samurai/ronin. He is given an assignment to kill a man on a train but to make it look like a heart attack. When he notices an american man going through the dead man's pockets Rain's carefully ordered world begins to unravel. Unknown agents from within and without the international intelligence communities have been circling him for years and, having connected him to the subway job, now have the scent they have been seeking. At the same time, Rain is drawn outside his private world by an alluring jazz pianist, the dead man's daughter, who is the key to the very secrets that her father died trying to reveal.

Fascinating read. You really get a feel like you are in Tokyo and walking beside him. Looking forward to reading more.

Hard Rain
Rain Storm
Killing Rain
Last Assassin

Babymouse graphic novels by sister and brother team Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Babymouse: Queen of the World!
Queen of the World! introduces Babymouse and her nemesis, a popular cat named Felicia Furrypaws. Babymouse desperately wants an invitation to Felicia's slumber party (which she feels could confer "queen" status), although her best friend Wilson the Weasel expects her to watch monster movies with him that night. Fantasy sequences testify to Babymouse's reading habit and active imagination: in one reverie, she's Babymouserella, transformed into a princess by "fairy godweasel" Wilson, but undone by Felicia on the way to the ball ("In 'Cinderella,' the mouse pulls the carriage. Duh!").

These 3 tone comic style books in pink, black and white offer a tweeny look at life. Much like Captain Underpants but for 9-10 year old girls. Well done!

Babymouse: Our Hero
Babymouse: Beach Babe

Bollywood Confidential by Sonia Singh

With her golden coloring, long black hair, and Oscar-deserving acting skills, Raveena Rai knows she's meant to be a star--if only she can get that big break. Now, after eight years of toiling as a slave girl, a belly dancer, a Mexican cocktail waitress, and some other truly unspeakable roles, the Lord Ganesh finally throws his lovely and loyal devotee a bone.....all the way to Bombay--aka Bollywood, the heart of Indian cinema--where a young director wants her for the lead in his upcoming flick.

Instead of the Hollywood star treatment, Raveena must cope with hellish humidity, screeching bats, a stressed-out swami uncle, a sleeze movie director and a sexy demigod co-star (named Siddharth, no less!) who doesn't give her the time of day. Surely, fame and a romantic leading man will be written into Raveena's life's script--if Bombay doesn't drive her crazy first.

Reminds me of the more recent Meg Cabot novels. Short and fluffy but very fun. A refreshing voice plus the author lists her top 10 favorite Bollywood movies of all time. I've actually seen one!

Jack Spratt Investigates (Nursery Crime Division) by Jasper Fforde
author of the Tuesday Next mysteries brings us a new type of investigator

Big Over Easy
Introduces Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary of the Nursery Crime Division, the small and highly underfunded department that is part of the Reading Police. It is Jack and Mary to deal with any crimes involving nursery rhyme characters - who have inexplicably taken up residence in Berkshire.

Ever wanted to know why Humpty Dumpty fell off his wall? Was it an accident? Suicide? Why was he buying shares in the failing Spongg footcare empire, and who had most to gain from his death? His ex-wife? His Lover? Solomon Grundy of Winsum & Loosum pharmecuticals or even Lord Spongg himself? What is the link with St Cerebellum's woefully inadequate and outdated mental hospital? And is it merely coincidence that Humpty died not five days before the Jellyman's celebrated visit to Reading to dedicate the Sacred Gonga's visitor's centre? And whose was the 28 foot long human hair found in Humpty's apartment?

Per usual this quirky series brings us into the nasty world of nursery crimes. I've loved the Tuesday Next mysteries and while these are even more quirky they are just as much fun to read.

Book 2: Fourth Bear

Ladies of Covington Series by Joan Medlicott

Ladies of Covington Send Their Love
Cautious Grace Singleton, uncertain of her place in an intimidating world. Outspoken Hannah Parrish, harboring a private fear that may change her life. Fragile Amelia Declose, shattered by devastating grief. Circumstance has brought these disparate women of "a certain age" to a Pennsylvania boardinghouse where three square meals and a sagging bed is the most any of them can look forward to.

But friendship takes them on a startling journey to a rundown North Carolina farmhouse where the unexpected suddenly seems not only welcome, but delightfully promising. And with nothing more than a bit of adventure in mind, each woman will be surprised to find that the years they've reclaimed from the shadow of twilight will offer something far more rare: confidence, competence, and even another chance at love...

A very nice book of friendship and finding new purpose in life. Told from the perspective of all three ladies who are also widows we experience their loss and happiness and finding their inner strength. Each has experienced loss of their own and have to learn to trust one another to help them through it. I will say that I was getting tired of Amelia who had more brushes with death and would lose control more than all the others. It was hard to read it from her perspective as I felt the least sympathic for her. But this won't stop me from wanting to read another book in the series.

Gardens of Covington
From the Heart of Covington
Spirit of Covington
At Home in Covington
Christmas in Covington
Seasons of Covington

Nightside series by Simon R. Green

2) Agents of Light and Darkness

John Taylor is back in Darkside - this time he is commissioned by a priest named Jude to finding the unholy grail, not for the cup that Jesus drank from, but the other cup, the Judas Cup, which provides both ultimate power and ultimate corruption. If it was just John Taylor and an ugly silver cup this would be a piece of cake for John - find it and return it to the Vatican, who will hide it from all the powers, human and otherwise. But no such luck - everyone is after it. Demons, gangsters, and angels - thousands of them, good and bad, all prepared to end the universe to gain the cup. Knowing he is out of his depth, Taylor brings Shotgun Suzie on board, and together they challenge Armageddon.

It is funny as angels from both heaven and hell are after the cup and both are determined to torture, kill and destroy anyone who gets in the way. These angels appear as ordinary gray suited bankers or accountants until they burst into flames turning those who look into a pilar of salt. Except if you are holding the Speaking Gun, in the beginning God created things by calling their name, which can destroy things by Speaking their name. It will also kill angels. Go figure? Of course Taylor gets his hand on it from the nazis.

Green's books are not long but he manages to crame a huge amount of horrible images in it. I skim through those parts as I usually like the beginning and the ending makes me want to read more about Taylor. I know this is a pretty big series so will try another one out.

1) Something from the Nightside
John Taylor is a detective in London, but what he really is an expert on finding lost things. It's part of the gift he was born with as a child of the Nightside. He left almost 5 years ago, to escape the murder and mayhem. But since business has been slow lately, he accepts a case from Joanna Barrett, to find her runaway teenage daughter. With his gift he is able to determine she is in Nightside. A square mile of Hell in the middle of the city, where it's always three AM. Where you can walk beside myths and drink with monsters. Where nothing is what it seems and everything is possible. Taylor swore he'd never return. But who else can rescue her daughter and there's something about this woman depending on him. So he's going back home.

This is a kind of blah look at a supernatural underground life in London. But while the main character gives great descriptions of how terrible everything is I never really felt like I got a feel for it. Most everyone is kind of one dimensionial and no real substance. Everyone seems to want to kill Taylor but no real reason why except they don't like him. I will try another one to see if there is more to this series that what this first book gives me.

3) Nightingale's Lament
4) Hex and the City
5) Paths Not Taken
6) Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth
7) And Follow Darkness Like a Dream

Gilda Joyce Mysteries by Jennifer Allison

Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator
Gilda Joyce is a quirky almost 14 year old from Michigan. Since her father has passed away she has been interested in developing her psychic abilities. On the last day of school she announces she is going to spend the summer in San Francisco but she doesn't know anyone there. hmmm was it her psychic talking for her?

She then discovers she has relatives who do live in SF, her mother’s distant cousin Lester Splinter and his fragile daughter Juliet. She writes a letter inviting herself to visit some and when receiving a letter of invitiation (written by Mr. Splinter's bubbly assistant) she's off and running. She determines that Mr. Splinter and his daughter live in a haunted house — there's even a tower that is off limits. The house seems to conceal a terrible secret. But is it really haunted?

While everyone seems to see ghosts but Gilda she cheerfully marches on to solve these mysteries. Together she and Juliet discover the sad secret of why they tower is shut off from the house. Is Juliet doomed to become her aunt, who killed herself by throwing herself from the tower?

This engaging story is fun and you almost believe that Gilda is psychic. Can't wait for the next installment!

Fangs for the Memories by Kathy Love

After a disastrous first day in the Big Apple, Jane gets inebriated at a bar with the help of a charming stranger. Rhys, knowing the ex-con's intentions are bad, follows them when they leave, saving Jane from rape. But during the attack, Jane loses her most precious possession--a chain with her parents' rings on it. She goes back to find it and finds her hero being viciously assaulted by his brother, Christian. Salvation comes in the form of Rhy's other brother, Sebastian, who offers to pay Jane to look after Rhys, who has lost his memory and now believes he is still a nineteenth-century viscount, not the 208-year-old vampire he really is. He also thinks Jane is his bride.

What will happen when Rhys finally remembers just who and what he is? Will he keep Jane or will Christian have the final say?

This a very erotic vampire story in which the vampires aren't that bad but only drink blood and can't go out in the sun. No real violence but a focus more on sex instead. Interesting concept is that becoming a vampire does not change who you really are. If you are a good person you'll be a good vampire. If you're a bad person than you'll be a bad person. Makes sense.

It will be interesting to read about the bad brother in the sequel.

Sequel featuring Christian - Fangs But No Fangs

Odelia Grey Mysteries by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Too Big to Miss
Odelia Grey, is a paralegal in Southern California. Odelia is in her late forties, single, 5'1" and 215 pounds. She's lived a lifetime of prejudice about her size but, as a mature woman, she's not going to take it anymore. She and her circle of friends have a support group and are slowly but surely accepting themselves for who they are and taking a stand against the discrimination against them. Odelia is shocked and upset when the leader of their group, Sophie London, supposedly commits suicide. And she is even more surprised when she discovers that Sophie had a porn website and shot herself in front of her viewers. There's a romance between Odelia and a paraplegic, Greg Stevens, who witnessed Sophie's suicide online.

This series more than just a mystery as more of how the character develops and becomes more confident in herself.

Curse of the Holy Pail

Love At Large

SilverFin: a James Bond Adventure by Charles Higson
Meet Bond–James Bond–at 14, before he became the suave, lady-killing international spy. An orphan, he attends Eton and lives with his Aunt Charmian during school breaks. While the premise for this prequel sounds intriguing, it fails to deliver. Action, adventure, and mystery are not a part of the plot until the end. While visiting his dying Uncle Max in Scotland, James discovers that his enemy at Eton, George Hellebore, is visiting his father, Lord Randolph, who owns the castle in the same town. On the train to Scotland, James met Red Kelly and learned that Red's cousin Alphie is missing. Rumor has it he disappeared near Loch Silverfin, which is part of the Hellebore estate. It doesn't take long for James and Red to determine that Alphie's disappearance is connected to the castle.

Red Kelly, Meatpacker, Wilder Lawless, and her horse, Martini, are interesting and quirky characters while we need to see James' character developed more.

2nd in the series
Blood Fever (Young Bond)

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay
The Casson family is an endearingly eccentric bunch. Big sister Cadmium, an appallingly bad driver even after hundreds of lessons with an attractive instructor, is studying for her college entrance exams. Saffron, 13, isolates herself from the family after learning that she is actually an adopted cousin whose mother died when Saffy was very young. Indigo works hard to defeat his fears through most unusual means. Rose, the youngest, is an expert at manipulating their pompous father and delightfully ditsy mum, both artists. When their granddad dies, he leaves Saffy a stone angel, which she decides must still be in Italy, her birthplace. With the help of her wheelchair-mobile friend, Sarah Warbeck, who is wickedly adept at managing her parents, Saffy stows away on their family trip to Italy. Although the angel is not there, she learns to appreciate her own family and home. Meanwhile, her siblings set off on a comical car trip to Wales, where the statue is found. Rose provides much of the humor on this trip, with her funny messages to the irritated drivers stuck behind hapless Caddy's car.

This was such a delightful book. It was fun and entertaining and suprising deep for such a short chapter book.

Companions:
Indigo’s Star
Permanent Rose

Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach

When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she happens to have the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author she also shares a name with a girls dog. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero.

There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin or just "much ado about nothing"? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out. We see her develop a friendship with the woman next door who knows more about the house Hero lives in but is she telling the whole truth?

This is a fun and fast paced read. The characters are interesting and full of life. It was named as one of the Best Book for 2005.