Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer

Sir Arthur Billington-Smith is not a nice person: he is arrogant, opinionated, and abusive. His verbal abuse makes life a constant misery for his hapless wife, Fay. One truly awful weekend when Fay is trying to host a house party, Arthur's son and heir, Geoffrey, brings home Lola de Silva, a Mexican cabaret dancer who is wonderfully obtuse, vastly colorful, and totally unsuitable as a future Lady Billington-Smith. Arthur is absolutely incensed and takes his rage out on everyone. Therefore, when he is found stabbed to death in his study later in the day, all those in the house become suspects.

Set during the 1930's - it was written in 1934 it has that feel of an Agatha Christie mystery.  I never really thought of Heyer as being a modern mystery writer as she is known for her Gothic romances. White it was a fun kind of historical look at the time, there was nothing really remarkable or memorable. The cover made it look better than it was for me.

Grave Secrets by Charlaine Harris

After doing a job for the wealthy Joyce family, Harper and Tolliver face their toughest challenge yet: telling super-rigid Aunt Iona, Uncle Hank and their younger half-sisters that they're a couple. It doesn't help that this town is also where they lived as the abused blended family of neglectful junkies, and where Harper's beloved sister Cameron mysteriously vanished. As if their family relations weren't strained enough, Tolliver's creepy dad Matthew appears in town, claiming he wants to mend fences.

At the same time, Harper has been hired by the Joyces to find a missing baby that may be their grandfather's secret love child -- but someone is determined to keep her from finding it. People around her are getting injured, kidnapped and murdered -- even Tolliver has been shot. And as Harper tries to unravel the mysteries from years ago, she realizes that the Joyce family has a long-ago link to her own.

Sadly this seemed to be the conclusion to the series as we finally find out wha thapped to their sister, Cameron.  But it was still a shock plus this was really the only time we got to see other family members and see the real decay.  While her Shakespear series will always be my favorite this has become my 2nd favorite of her and I will miss it.

Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet

Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk is a writer of cozy British mysteries, and he's also an absolute beast. Pompous, phony, and cruel to his family, frequently changing his will in favor of whichever of his children has momentarily pleased him (or displeased him the least), he decides to have some real fun by inviting his four children to his wedding. They are aghast of course, seeing a threat to their inheritances, but they all head toward his manor, figuratively attempting to elbow their way into his favor and hopefully talk him out of this marriage to an obvious gold digger. (It takes one to know one!)

Then Sir Adrian drops the bombshell that his marriage is a done deal, that he and Violet are already man and wife and that his will has (yet again) been changed--but he doesn't say how. Shortly thereafter, Sir Adrian's eldest child Ruthven is brutally murdered, and it's not long before he follows his son to the afterlife. Just about everyone has motive to kill one or another of them, so who dunnit?

This felt like one of classic who done it written by Agatha Christie with lots of red hearings and a pretty good twist at the end.  Unfortunately I got rather annoyed by the clever dialog that I felt distracted from a pretty good mystery.  I also didn't feel connected to the main characters - Detective Inspector St. Just and Sergeant Fear as they felt kind of superfiscial.  Maybe I should try another as I believe there are several Malliet has written.  I felt like I should have liked it more than I really did. 

Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer


Two cold cases spark a hot story for flailing TV reporter Riley Spartz. Although she's as driven and fast-driving as any of her competitors, she's been sidelined by more than ratings. Her Minnesota state trooper husband was killed in the line of duty, a tragedy that has caused Spartz to take time off just when she should be renegotiating her contract.

Then a friendly source, an ex-homicide cop, drops a potential story in her lap. It concerns a possible serial killer who has already killed two young women named Susan on the exact same date, one year apart. The problem is, those murders were years ago, and Spartz must dig through databases to see if the killings have continued and if other young women are at risk. The all-important November ratings are coming up, as is the anniversary of the murders, and Spartz must take seriously her contact's hunch--that the killer could be a cop.

I had read a review of this series and it looked fun so thought I would give it a try. It gave a different perspective into TV mysteries as it comes from the point of view of a reporter as well as a network who is looking for next big scoop. Riley has to balance between finding out the truth and getting the ratings needed to keep her job.  We find out what makes her tick as see the death of her husband through her flashbacks.  It gives her an interesting point of view.

Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

3rd in the series featuring Harper Connelly (who finds dead bodies) and her stepbrother Tolliver

For the past several years six boys of a similar age have gone missing in the town of Doraville, North Carolina. The previous Sheriff seemed to turn a blind eye or even investigate their disappearances, claiming they were probably runaways or suicides. The new sheriff, who was deputy under the old sheriff, has always thought something was wrong. But she has run out of leads and ideas on how to locate the boys. 

Harper is brought into the picture by Twyla, the grandmother of one of the missing boys and is willing to try anything at this point. She convinces the sheriff and the other townspeople to hire and give Harper a chance. It isn't long before Harpers gifts are proven right but instead of one body - 8 total are discovered - all missing boys from the town and local areas.  Now the town has a serial killer on their hands and the truth is even more horrifying than anyone ever imagined.

The story gets even more complicated when Harper is attacked and has to be hospitilized.  Both only want to leave town but are unable to do so until Harper is stable enough to travel.  This is by far the best book of the series.  We see more development between Harper & Tolliver and see how complicated their familiy life is for them.

I've really enjoyed Charlaine Harris' books over the years and this series has been a lot of fun to read.  I find myself liking her non-Sookie Stackhouse books better and hope she continues to write more.

Pride & Prejudice by Nancy Butler, Hugo Petrus, artist ; Alejandro Torres, colorist ; Dave Shapre, letterer ; adapted from the novel by Jane Austen.

Writer Nancy Butler and artist Hugo Petrus capture the essentials of Miss Jane Austen's classic romance in graphic novel format. Inevitably, the storyline has been compressed, and the dialogue was been slightly modernized, but fans should have no problem recognizing the story of the Bennets, the Bingleys, and Mr. Darcy. The best of the dialogue has been preserved while giving us a graphic presentation of a classic. 

I did enjoy this graphic novel version as it captured the essence of what makes this classic timeless and so good.  Hopefully this will bring this story to a new age of readers.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

The story begins with Lincoln feeling like he's somehow trespassing into his co-workers lives as the IT Security Office watchdog. His job requires him to monitor the email going in and out of the newspaper office for red flag warnings issued through the Webfence mail filters. Two non-politically correct co-workers in particular, Jennifer and Beth, catch his attention and he begins to feel as if he knows them. Now understand this was in the late-90's when email was just becoming part of the corporate culture.  I remember when I started in libraries and we had to sign all kinds of documents stating we wouldn't use our email for personal use and it would be monitored. 

Best newsroom pals Beth and Jennifer trade gossip over their romances—Beth with her marriage-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and Jennifer with her baby-mania-stricken husband, Mitch. Lincoln becomes intrigued by their emails and can't stop himself reading them though he neglects to send warnings or report them. Things become interesting when Beth sends an email to Jennifer about 'my cute guy'. It dawns on Lincoln that Beth is talking about him!

Now he has to wrestle with the dilemma of trying to find out what she looks like, where her desk is and feeling like a peeping tom into Beth and Jennifer's lives. This turn of events makes him feel even more disgusted with the progress of his own life, unable to move on after his girlfriend, Sam, broke his heart. His job is boring, his social life consists of playing Dungeons & Dragons on Saturday nights with old college friends and to make matters worse he begins to wonder about his ethics as a result of the email peeping.

You can't help but want to read to the end to find out what really happens to everyone.  Now I read this book because the author is a former Omaha World Herald reporter and my mom was very excited about this book coming out.  I have to say I'm glad that I read it.  I did find it interesting that Rainbow never lists it being Omaha or the paper's name but does list the Indian Hills movie theater that was torn down in 2001.  Reading more about it the Omaha World Herald was one of the driving forces behind it's demolition - this was where Rainbow worked.  I remember seeing many movies in that theater which was a single theater and held 100's of people.   So it brought back those memories.

The book was insightful and funny and made me nostalgic for when I first started using email.

Obsidian prey by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz)

This is the sixth installment in Castle/Krentz's Harmony series which has links to Krentz's Arcane society books with psychic abilities and in common ancestors.

The Dores were famous for their luck bad luck, that is and Lyra is a true Dore. Three months ago, she located an ancient amethyst ruin deep in the rain forest on planet Harmony, but she was swindled out of her claim by the CEO of Amber, Inc., Cruz Sweetwater, the man Lyra just happened to be dating at the time.  Though she didn't know it as he used a fake name.  Hence their big breakup.

Now Cruz needs Lyra to help free some of his employees, who have become trapped in the ruin. Cruz is the last person in the world Lyra wants to help, but she isn't about to let five people suffer just because their boss is a jerk. Working with Cruz proves to be a bit difficult, though, once Lyra discovers Cruz believes she is his true love, and that he now wants her back in his life, for good.

I've been reading her books set in Harmony for about 15 years and it was nice to read one that is back to the fun yet somewhat suspenseful romance atmosphere. 

Dark of the Moon by John Sandford

Featuring Virgil Flowers

Headed to rural Bluestem to assist local law enforcement with the seemingly motiveless murder of an elderly couple, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers happens upon a raging house fire on the edge of town. The house's owner, Bill Judd, killed in the blaze, was an elderly recluse who, back in the day, ran an elaborate pyramid scheme and simultaneously bedded half the women in town. He escaped conviction on the fraud charge, and the money was never recovered.

There have been no murders in Bluestem for a half-century, and now there are three in a couple weeks. Virgil is not an advocate of coincidence and so begins digging for a connection between the victims. Complicating matters is his affair with the sister of the local police chief.

Flowers is part of the Sandford's Prey series but not a major characters. It is nice to see him the main focus of this new series.

I listened to this on CD and while I'm not a major fan of John Sandford I do like him for a change of pace.