Mitford series by Jan Karon features the quiet life of Mitford through the eyes of it's pastor, Father Tim. I listened to each one on tape/CD in my car as I drive to and from work. It really helps pass the time. As I finish each book in the series I find that I'm missing it and can't wait until the next one comes out. I'm very thankful that I allowed myself to enjoy this lovely series.

Book 1 - At Home in Mitford Father Tim, the bachelor rector, enjoys his little quiet parish but wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy about ordinary people and their ordinary lives. OK, I resisted reading these books when it first came out. But finally felt it was time to start reading it. It is a lovely read perfect for rainy days in front of a fire with a cupa.

Book 2 - In A Light in the Window His attractive neighbor, Cynthia, is tugging at his heartstrings. A wealthy widow is pursuing him with hot casseroles. And his red-haired Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory, uninvited. I listened to this on tape and enjoyed it as much as the first. This is a good tape to take on a long car trip as it is 12 cassettes. We find out much more about our favorite priest and all the people in lovely town called Mitford.

Book 3 - These High, Green Hills Since I skipped Book 3 & 4 and read book 5 out of sequence book 5 is starting to make more sense to me now. After becoming trapped in a tunnel with his wife Cynthia he comes to terms with issues about retirement and his father. He has been married for about 3 months and Father Tim adjusting to married life, dealing with a new church computer, confronting issues of domestic violence and child abuse, providing courtship advice to the local newspaper editor, and facing the prospect of retirement. He discoveres that Dooley's mother is living in poor side of the creek, but doesn't come to grips with it until she is brought in as a burn victim the hospital. You feel his struggle with letting Dooley make his own choices about his life and sometimes you have to love someone enough to let them go. With the usual blend of humor, saddness and friendship one is again home in Mitford.

Book 4 - Out to Canaan Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his talented and vivacious wife, Cynthia, are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement. They're also trying to locate the scattered siblings of Dooley Barlowe, the mountain boy they love as their own. A brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development, and a tough survivor must hunker down for the fight of her life. Worse, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing, and a suspicious real estate agent is trying to turn the beloved house on the hill into a spa. Can change be coming to Mitford? The buzz on Main Street says yes. Change is certainly coming to the tenderest regions of several townspeople's lives.

Book 5 - In A New Song, Mitford's longtime Episcopal priest, Father Tim, retires. However, new challenges and adventures await when he agrees to serve as interim minister of a small church on Whitecap Island. He and his wife, Cynthia, soon find that Whitecap has its own unforgettable characters: a church organist with a mysterious past, a lovelorn bachelor placing personal ads, a mother battling paralyzing depression. They also find that Mitford is never far away when circumstances "back home" keep their phone ringing off the hook.

I listened to this on tape and enjoyed getting to know the people of Whitecap Island but we do get visits from our old familiar favorites from Mitford. I read this out of order thinking it was the 3rd book - hence was confused by some things that seemed to have changed so rapidly.

Book 6 - A Common Life which actually goes back to Father Tim & Cynthia's wedding. It is very short but nostalgic look at their marriage day as well as of several other main characters first loves.

Book 7 - In This Moutain Father Tim and Cynthia return to Mitford. Father Tim, disliking retirement, takes on a difficult ministry. At first he likes the challenge until an unexpected event propels him on a journey that shakes his faith, his marriage and the town of Mitford. We get a much more indepth look at Father Tim and his relationships with people in the community and with God.

Book 8 - Shepherds abiding
When Father Tim finds a battered nativity scene in an antique shop, he embarks on a renovation project that touches many. We also see the closing of the grill on Christmas eve. The usual cast of characters that make Mitford so unique. There is new love for Hope, manager of the Happy Endings bookstore, as she lets God take control of her life and her wildest dreams comes true. With typical fashion Father Tim is unable to keep a secret of what he is giving his wife for Christmas so everyone in town knows and lends a hand. With an almost Henry O' type ending we see Tim and Cynthia give each other the perfect gifts of Christmas.

This short novella includes two short stories: Esther's gift: Esther isn't so sure that she should spend so much time and money making her famous two-layer marmalade cake for holiday gifts, but then she remembers the meaning of Christmas. The Mitford snowmen: The citizens of Mitford have a spontaneous snowman-building contest.

Book 9 - Light from heaven
Father Tim and his wife Cynthia are housesitting on Meadowgate Farm, where the couple are staying for a year. Between Dooley's brother Sammy showing up, dust storms and the chimney collasping and finding someone to help clean up the mess plus keeping track of the animals, it is becoming difficult to stop and count their blessings. We meet the numerous and multitalented Flower Girls; there's a poacher on the farm. Plus we see Father Tim confront Dooley's father who is trying to get one of his sons, Sammy, back.

Then, high atop a nearby mountain, a tremendous challenge presents itself. An old, abandoned church, Holy Trinity, is in need of immediate revival--if Father Tim is up to the task. Preparing to become a vicar to a rural church closed for nearly 40 years, Father Tim considers the challenges ahead. We are introduced to a wide range of vivid characters. There's loquacious five-year-old Sissie; Jubal Adderholt and his squirrel-tail decorated home; Clarence, a gifted (and deaf) woodworker; and his mother Agnes, an Episcopal deacon. Still, Mitford is not far away, and Father Tim takes us on regular trips there.

Father Tim also struggles with the question of when to tell Dooley about his inheritance from Miss Sadie, looks for some money Louella has just remembered that Miss Sadie hid in a car, and engages in e-mail correspondence with former secretary Emma about her forthcoming trip to England. Two deaths occur in Mitford (Uncle Billy's death inspires the townspeople to take on an engaging new habit), as well as a wedding. Plus finally the missing brother comes home on a Christmas eve reunion that will bring you to tears.

Thankfully they go to Mitford often so we don't loose all our favorite characters plus there are so many new ones we get to meet. The ending was a bit rushed as she ties up loose ends to end this lovely series. I almost wish she could have been made it into two books as I felt it jump so much at the end. Oh, well all good things must come to an end.

Joe Gray msyteries by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Cat on the Edge features Joe Gray, a cat, who discovers that he can understand, speak and read human language and feel such human emotions as guilt and sympathy, but when he witnesses Beckwith's murder, he begins to wish that he was just a regular cat. This very fun mystery series is more of an fantasy as Joe Gray finds he can understand human speak and even speak it himself. He discovers another cat who is like him as well as a human who can turn herself into a cat and back to human again. But I will definitely read more of this series.

Thale's Folly by Dorothy Gilman is a delightful book about Andrew Folly who goes to check out the property his father inherited. There he discovers that 4 people are very happily living there - perment guests of his Aunt. A truely delightful book.

Flesh Tones by M.J. Rose
Did Genny Haviland poison Slade Gabriel to save her adored father's art gallery or did she help the acclaimed artist kill himself before Alzheimer's disease destroyed his mind and talent? Although billed as a courtroom drama, there's not a great deal of suspense here, but that may not matter to readers who prefer their mysteries with a romantic subplot. In this engrossing, erotic novel, the affair that begins when 17-year-old Genny meets and falls in love with the married, much older Gabriel, and then spans two decades is more than a subplot--it's the whole thing. While the outcome of Genny's murder trial is hardly in doubt, it's a good frame for a nicely told story of love, art, and obsession.

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy features two friends, Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather who have started their own catering business. It follows their lives and those that they touch along the way. Everything written by Binchy is always lovely to read and this is no exception.

Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell by Amy Sohn gives an overview of the show's premise, photos of seasons past, biographies of and interviews with cast members and the show's producers, episode summaries and more. This is really fun to page through as I enjoy the show so much.

Bill Smith & Lyndia Chin Mysteries by S.J. Rozan

1. China Trade is set in New York's Chinatown Lydia is hired to find precious stolen porcelain. She follows a trail of clues from highbrow art dealers into a world of Chinese gangs. Suddenly, this case has become as complex as her community itself--and as deadly as a killer on the loose... Very fast paced and even though this is the first book you feel like the characters feel the history between the characters. I look forward to reading more by this author.

2. Concourse is from Bill's point of view and you get a lot of insight into his personality and his relationship with Lydia. A very complex world of real estate and community involvement in the Bronx. When a security guard is found beaten to death with a gunshot in his foot Bill is brought in by an old friend, Bobby Moran, who is the uncle of the murdered man and the head of the security company hired to guard the area. This form of killing if uniform of a gang killing bringing focus upon the local gang, the Cobras. When another security guard is killed will Bill discover if it is a simple as a gang killing or is something more sinister going on.

3. Mandarin Plaid is from Lydia's point of view. Her brother Andrew asks her to deliver the ransom for a set of stolen sketches that comprise the inaugural collection of fashion designer, Genna Jing. When Lydia is shot at in the park, her partner Bill is arrested and the money was stolen out from under her, Lydia starts digging to find out if everyone involved is really who they seem. Another well written addition to this excellent series. We find out more about Lydia's brother Andrew is hasn't come out to anyone in the family but her. Plus we see Bill & Lyndia's relationship grow and develope.

4. No Colder Place is back to Bill's point of view. Bill Smith is going undercover again as a favor to an old friend who wants him to investigate thievery on the 40-story Manhattan site of Crowell Construction's latest project. His bricklaying is a little rusty, but passable as he checks out the foreman who's under suspicion. A crane operator has disappeared--along with some heavy machinery. But when a well-orchestrated riot causes the foreman's “accidental” death, Smith plunges into a morass of bribery, blackmail and blood looking for answers.

By Blood Possessed by Elena Santangelo. Out of the blue, Pat Montella learns that an elderly Virginia woman, Magnolia Shelby, wants to leave her some land in her will. But a condition of the bequest is that Pat go to Virginia and spend some time with Miss Maggie. It turns out the land is the site of a Civil War battle, and Pat soon learns that she has a strange, eerie connection to events that happened 150 years ago, for she begins to hear sounds no one else hears, see things no one else sees. In many ways, this is a traditional mystery--someone seems to want to keep Pat from inheriting the land, and Pat has to figure out who--but it has a certain otherworldly quality that will appeal to readers of supernatural thrillers, for it offers an intriguing premise: If Pat's experiences aren't just a trick of her mind, can she use her unusual gift to solve a century-and-a-half-old mystery?

Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen - follows the lives of senior citizens in Jewish "retirement club" in Boca Raton, Florida. Primarily follows 3 ladies who made an unlikely trio. It follows their loves, losses and friendship. It is a great read by the pool. I miss the characters already.

Passage by Connie Willis features Dr. Joanna Lander is a cognitive psychologist at Mercy Hospital. The focus of her research is the near-death experience (NDE). She interviews people who have coded and were resuscitated to try to to identify the common elements and to see if she can find out what causes the NDE and the purpose it serves in the dying brain. She meets up with Dr. Richard Wright, who is also studying NDEs, using a drug that simulates the near-death experience. When their volunteer list dwindles and the project is in danger of losing its funding, Joanna goes under the drug herself and embarks on a series of strange journeys as she tries to piece together the clues her experiences provide.

I love Connie Willis' books, I have not read one I did not like. It is hard to put her books down once you start reading it.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn is a story in corespondece from various characters. Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.

Murder @Maggody.com by Joan Hess - I listened to this on cd in the car. I didn't like the reader but enjoyed the story. I always get a kick out of the latest Maggody book. I had read this one when it first came out a few years back but enjoyed it again. A fun series.

Muletrain to Maggody
Maggody, Arkansas is to (population 755, at least until Dahlia Buchanon brings her latest pregnancy to term), host a reenactment of the Skirmish at Cotter's Ridge, complete with mules, cannon, and corpses. The reenactors all have their own agendas. Jeb Stewart soaks his boots so they'll raise authentic blisters; Andrew Pulaski dreams of cutting a fine figure on horseback; Wendell Streek pores over the diary of Henry Largesse, whose unit camped at Boone Creek, where it was overwhelmed by Yankee artillery power. But it's Largesse's description of the Confederate gold, hidden somewhere on Cotter's Ridge, that piques the interest of virtually every one of the 755. Dahlia swipes her granny from the old folks' home to guide her through the ridge's caves. Ruby Bee Hanks and Estelle Oppers enlist the aid of backwoods delinquent Hammett Buchanon. Lottie Estes, Elsie McMay, and Eula Lemoy break into Headquarters House in Farberville looking for clues. When Lottie, along with Petrol Buchanon and Brother Verber, turns up missing, the heat's on Ruby Bee's pride and joy, Chief of Police Arly Hanks , to banish her old flame, filmmaker Jack Wallace, to the backlot so she can investigate.

China Bayles Herbal Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert features herbalist China Bayles, who abandoned her career as a hot-shot Houston criminal attorney to buy an herb shop in a small town located half-way between Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Each of her mysteries has a signature herb that is connected to a major theme, and each is liberally sprinkled with information on growing and using herbs. Main characters are her friend Ruby, her lover ex-cop Mike McQuaid, as well as other friends and families.

1. Thyme of Death
China's first adventure. A friend dies--murder or suicide?

2. Witches' Bane
China and Ruby discover that the supernatural isn't funny.

3. Hangman's Root
Animal rights, academic politics, and murder--a potent mix.

4. Rosemary Remembered
Who remembers the victims of crime?

5. Rueful Death
Grace, forgiveness, and the mystery of community.

6. Love Lies Bleeding
China learns a tough lesson in love.

7. Chile Death
Hot stuff, folks! (Funny, too)

8. Lavender Lies
Mystery, murder, and a wet 'n' wild wedding

9. Mistletoe Man
What's Christmas without mistletoe? What's life without Ruby? Join China as she faces both of these difficult questions. When the mistletoe man is mysteriously run down by an hit and run driver immediate his neighbors are under suspicion as there has been a running feud with them for most of the year. But will the crazy aunt take the fall for the murder or will the real murderer please stand up? This one was a puzzlier but enjoyment to the end.

10. Bloodroot
We find out more about her relationship with her mother and her past. Leatha, China's mother, calls from Jordan's Crossing to ask for China's help in dealing with her Aunt Tullie's illness. Upon arrival in Jordan's Crossing Leatha informs China that Aunt Tullie has Huntington's Disease and struck Wiley, the manager of the plantation while in a rage about a long forgotten paper saying his great grandfather owns the property. When Wiley is discovered two days later drowned in the local pond they must all deal with the consequences of their aunt's actions. China must deal with this devastating news as she comes to understand how this affect her life as well as her mother's. When she goes to bed she dreams a childhood dream of following her Aunt and seeing her dig up an unmarked grave. When she awakes she finds Pearl's diary, Aunt Tullie's mother, and the pj's that China wore as a child stained with Bloodroot. Was it really a dream or are there really skeletons in the family graveyard that no one knows about. There are many mysteries to discover but thanks to the ghosts that speak from the past China learns the truth about herself and her past.

11. Indigo Dying
China has recently become part-owner of a combination herb shop and tea house called Thyme for Tea in tiny Indigo, Tex. But her new life-and the lifestyle of the bohemian entrepreneurs and elderly Indigo natives in the community-is put in jeopardy when Casey Ford, a reviled but powerful Indigo resident, concocts a plan to sell the coal-mining rights to a national conglomerate, a scheme that would allow him to evict most of the store owners in town once the deal is done. Ford is murdered days before he signs the agreement. Bayles and her husband, another former attorney named Mike McQuaid, find themselves stymied in their investigation of the murder by a town full of suspects who close ranks as they celebrate Ford's sudden death.

12. An Unthymely Death
Several short stories featuring our favorite characters. These were originally published in a magazine and feature many facts and recipes featuring herbs. Not as good as the full length novels but fun to read never the less.

13. Dilly of a Death

14. Deadman's Bones

15. Bleeding hearts
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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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