Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
High on the side of rocky Mount Eskel, far from the valleys where gardens are green and lush, where lowlanders make laws, Miri’s family has lived forever, pounding a living from the stone of the mountain itself. For as long as she can remember, Miri has dreamed of working alongside the other villagers in the quarries of her beloved mountainside. But Miri has never been allowed to work there, perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small. Then word comes from the valley that the king's priests have divined Mount Eskel to be the home of the prince’s bride-to-be—the next princess. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose her, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift mountain academy to prepare themselves for royal lowlander life.

At the school, Miri soon finds herself confronted by bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicting desires to be chosen by the prince. Yet when danger comes to the academy and threatens all their lives, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates—and the one chance to leave the mountain each of them is determined to secure as her own.

Oh, what a lovely book. It is so beautifully written that I didn't want it to end. So much happens and you can't help cheering for Miri as she struggles to let herself shine but still stay true to herself.

Bloodangel by Justine Musk
Jess, a rising young artist who is haunted by her parents' death and her uncle's abuse, paints strange, wild portraits of a teenage boy lost in the desert. It is the face of Ramsey, a skate-punk, bookworm foster kid who appeared in a police station at the age of seven, covered in blood. When a burned-out rock'n'roll star enters into an unholy alliance with a mysterious hitchhiker, and the forces of pre-biblical good and evil start to stir, Jess must unravel the truth about the boy's identity -- and her own. Her quest will take her to a place deep in the Mojave where magic is real, demons exist, and an underground rock'n'roll band has the power to bring on Apocalypse.

Everything is based on perception and everyone is reincarnated from someone else. Their lives constantly criss-cross through time until the time comes to awaken the inner demon to fight for the future of earth.

Wow! This beautifully written book is kind of a cross between horror and fantasy. It will be interesting to read more by this author.

Penderwicks: a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy by Jeanne Birdsall
Along with their loving but preoccupied botanist father and a clumsy dog, the motherless Penderwick sisters responsible Rosalind, twelve; feisty Skye, eleven; creative Jane, ten; and shy Batty, four. Along with their loving but preoccupied botanist father and a clumsy dog named Hound, they spend their summer holiday in the Massachusetts Berkshires in a rose-covered cottage on the grounds of a mansion called Arundel Hall. A fast friendship develops between the girls and Jeffrey, the only child of Arundel's icy owner, Mrs. Tifton. This story offers much to the reader. Humor and friendship, this charming, old-fashioned story feels familiar in the way the best books seem like old friends.

This is so much like some of my favorite childhood books such as Tacy & Tib. Like a breathe of fresh air! Plus this won the National Book Awards for Young People's Literature Excellent!

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
Hilarity and hijinks abound in this tale about a voracious swine with an overweening yen for hot buttered toast. Mercy is the beloved pet pig of the doting Mr. and Mrs. Watson. When Mercy sneaks into her owner's bed one night, her added heft causes the bed to fall partway through the ceiling. Although the besotted Watsons assume Mercy is trotting off to seek help, the only search and rescue Mercy seems to care about involves butter and hot bread. In her quest for some midnight munchies, Mercy awakens the crotchety neighbor. Wild chases and mayhem ensue before help arrives in the guise of firefighters.

This book is so different that her previous books. Fun and light and more to come.

Shape-Changer's Wife by Sharon Shinn
Aubrey was a student, gifted in the fine art of wizardry. But the more knowledge he acquired, the more he wanted to learn. So he travelled to a faraway land in search of the greatest master of all, the powerful shape-changer Glyrenden. From him, Aubrey expected to discover the secret of long-lost spells and the mysteries of arcane magic. But there was one discovery he never expected, one mystery he risked everything to solve. Her name was Lilith.

This is not a long book and I read it in one evening. Shinn has a way with words so you feel that you are almost there like a fly on the wall.

Rattled by Debra Galant
Set in the fictional subdivision of Galapagos Estates, Rattled is about what happens when soccer moms, animal rights activists, dishonest real estate developers and endangered species fight for ascendancy in the rapidly developing New Jersey suburbs.

Heather Peters is staring 35 in the face—though "depending on the light, she could still pass for a high school cheerleader. Her husband, Kevin, can barely stand her half the time, and her son, Conner, is a complete misfit—but at least they've just landed their dream home in Galapagos Estates, a new development in New Jersey. Galant follows their comic trials and those of two longtime area residents: Agnes, an animal lover and PETA sympathizer, and egg farmer Harlan White, who freelances as a handyman and makes a "fortune off those suckers." Which is how Harlan finds himself smashing the head of an endangered rattlesnake on Heather's back porch... and how Heather gets arrested after Agnes fingers her as the murderer of an endangered species... and how Galapagos Estates becomes the center of a media firestorm. Heather's rise to fame as a "rattlesnake killer" makes a handy metaphor about urban sprawl and the battle of new residents versus old ones, and pokes fun at the oversize egos of slimy developers and yuppies alike.

This book is one crazy ride. Kind of like the Stepford wives mixed with Desperate Housewives. I wouldn't say I laughed out loud but it was a fun read. What was interesting is that not one of the characters was really likeable. They all were annoying and crazy. I'd read more as they come out.

Pashazade by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
First in a trilology, this novel blends alternative SF and hard-boiled mystery. ZeeZee, who has spent his youth largely in boarding schools and in trouble, is also Ashraf al-Mansur, though that identity is unknown to him. Whisked away from a Seattle prison by his Aunt Nafisa, who he never knew existed, ZeeZee (aka Raf) is transported to El Iskandryia, an exotic, exquisitely detailed North African city. Lady Nafisa explains to her nephew that her brother married American Sally Welham and though divorced five days later, he is a legitimate offspring of an Emir. Aunt Nafisa introduces Ashraf to her niece nine year old Hani and his future wife Zara daughter of wealth; both hate him because the fuss made over him interferes with their respective lives.

However, before his aunt can complete arrangements for his entrance into the elite of Ottoman society, she is killed. As a newcomer and the sole heir to her fortune, the police suspect Ashraf murdered his aunt. Based on his American experience with Chinese employers, Ashraf knows he must prove his innocence or be railroaded into prison or worse. His only help comes from two females who loath him. Built on an alternate historical foundation to include Germany winning World War I and the Ottoman Empire thriving in the early twenty-first century. Ashraf also known as ZeeZee struggles with what he has learned about his patriarchal ancestry (his mother could not provide two consistent responses as her version of the truth kept wavering) and with his aunt's death. Hani and Zara add depth to Ashraf's character.

Great cast of characters and an interesting story. It took me awhile to get into this novel as the main character seems to change his personality as well as his name at various intervuls making it difficult ot follow sometimes. Kind of like riding a roller coaster and not really able to focus on anything until the ride is over and you say "Wow!". This book is kind of like that, especially the final few chapters. There are two more books in the series so I need to read it and see how I feel then.

Romilla Chacaon Mysteries by Marcos McPeek Villatoro

Home Killings
Introduces us to Romilia Chacaon, a rookie in the Nashville police force. She receives her first murder case when called to the scene of an apparent suicide. Romilia quickly discerns that the young Latino reporter was murdered possibly because of an upcoming article connecting a media-touted Latino philanthropist, lately arrived from Atlanta, with drugs and kids. She is able to tie this murder with two other serials murders that already have someone in jail for killing them. Thus making the other officer look incompetent. Are the ceremonially slaughtered bodies the product of ancient ritual, a serial killer or a campaign to shock rival drug lords into compliance?

Combatingng the machismo of the police force and the challenges of being an outsider within the Latino community. She is also introduced to the drug and illegal trade of the seedy underworld of Nashville. But she has to find balance with her work and personal life, where mother and child are both so dependent on her.

Very interesting read, much more dark and intense than I normally enjoy. I met the author at the Friends of the Cerritos Library mystery author luncheon in January. He is a very intense and intriguing person, plus a great public speaker. I find when I meet authors I want to read their books to see if the impression I got matches how they write. His definitely does.

Fremont Jones mysteries by Dianne Day

Strange files of Fremont Jones
The year is 1905. Fleeing the confines of her staid Boston upbringing and a potential marriage to a loathsome suitor, the modern-thinking Caroline Fremont Jones opens a typewriting business in San Francisco using the name Fremont. Her business brings her in contact with the normally mild young attorney Justin Cameron, who reacts with hostility when Fremont takes dictation from "ancient gentleman" Li Wong. A week later, Li Wong is dead, and Fremont's office is ransacked. Another client, Edgar Allan Partridge, brings three manuscript stories to Freemont for typing but never returns to pick them up. His brooding tales are full of evil and very like those of his namesake. Fremont's investigations into the mysteries of her dead and missing clients lead her to suspect her rooming-house neighbor, whom she believes is a spy. There is even a little bit of sex as she makes the wrong decision of who to have sex with.

Fun and entertaining read of a woman who is trying to make a life for herself without a man. I read this probably 5 years ago and enjoyed reading it again to read more of the series.

Fire and Fog
The new book opens with Fremont dreaming that a train is approaching but in reality the great 1906 earthquake is hitting San Francisco. After rescuing her typewriter from the rubble, Jones goes to work helping out the Red Cross, typing letters in the home of a woman she saved during the tremor. When she finds Alice dead in the sitting room she hunts down the police only to find the body is gone. Labeled a troublemaker by the police Fremont must determine who would murder Alice but finds that she has a very sinister past. She goes hunting for illegal artifacts and helping her friend Meiling escape from an arranged marrage and find a new life. She even gets kidnapped by a ninja and escapes without anyone's help!

In typical no-nosence fashion Fremont manages to solve several mysteries while getting her life back on track. Plus she manages to catch the eye of 3 men including Michael Archer who may or may not be a spy.

Bohemian murders
Fremont has left San Francisco and taken a temporary job as a lighthouse keeper. She finds a body floating in the surf near her beach. The police seem uninterested in the woman's identity, and her body disappears from the local mortuary after the coroner rules that she was murdered. Later, Fremont is attacked by a masked rider as she travels through the fog-shrouded forest in her rig. Caught up in these baffling events, she decides to find out who the woman was and who killed her. Meanwhile Fremont's mysterious lover is living nearby in a colony of bohemian artists.

An obvious solution and once again Fremont's life is put in danger.

Emporer Norton's Ghosts

Death Train to Boston

Beacon Street Mourning

Books by Jeanne M. Dams
This entertaining series is a must read for any angliophile. Even though she is an older sleuth I still enjoy her experiences in trying to adapt to English society. The mysteries aren't always the best but it is the characters she meets along the way that makes it so enjoyable.
Dorothy Martin Series

Body in the Transept
American sleuth Dorothy Martin has moved to the fictional university/ cathedral town of Sherebury, where she and her academic husband had planned to retire before his unexpected demise. After the Christmas Eve service in the Cathedral, Dorothy stumbles over the body of Canon Billings. Once she recovers her equilibrium, she finds herself feeling involved in the case and curious about the unpleasant but learned Canon, who had made more enemies than friends. He had recently argued vehemently with his young, hot-headed assistant in the library, had tried to get the choirmaster fired and was gathering evidence against the verger who was stealing from the collection plate. Dorothy charmingly insinuates herself into village life in the best Miss Marple tradition, talking to neighbors and befriending others (including widower Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt) and determinedly pursuing the killer even as she puts herself in danger. With her penchant for colorful hats, Dorothy tries to fit in the life of an Englishman while still maintaining her own style.

Trouble in the Town Hall
Dorothy is determined to be all things at once: gardener, home-restorer and sleuth. Present at town hall when the body of a young vagrant is discovered in a broom closet of the venerable building, Dorothy assumes (somewhat illogically) that the murder is related to the fierce battle raging over the structure: Should it be restored to its former magnificence or turned into a shopping mall? She relies on the village's greatest asset?gossip?for her clues. Since her romantic interest, the aristocratic and clever chief constable, Alan Nesbitt, is busy with an impending royal visit, she puts on her best hat, some wildly impractical shoes, and marches up High Street for a few audacious chats with the town's leading citizens, among them an enormously wealthy builder and his browbeaten wife, a cagey shopkeeper and a fiery preservationist. Another murder confounds her and stuns the town.

Holy Terror in the Hebrides

Malice in Miniature

Victim in Victoria Station

Killing Cassidy

To Perish in Penzance

Sins Out of School

Winter of Discontent

Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine

Bk 1: Ill Wind
Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now Joanne is trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So she's resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life ...
Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful Warden of them all. Unfortunately, he's also on the run from the World Council. It seems he's stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn -- making him the most wanted man on earth. And without Lewis, Joanne's chances of surviving are as good as a snowball in -- well, a place she may soon be headed. So she and her classic Mustang are racing hard to find him because there's some bad weather closing in fast.

This book keeps you reading as it is her escaping one storm after another. The ending was quite surprising and unexpected. But I'm satisfied with it. It will be interesting to see how the series continues.

Bk 2: Heat Stoke

Bk 3: Chill Factor

Bk 4: Windfall

Dead Boy Detectives by Jill Thompson
Created by Neil Gaiman in his popular SANDMAN series

Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, the dead British teenagers who are always on the run from Death, travel stateside to solve a missing persons case. Our intrepid heroes have been contacted by young Annika Abernathy, a student at a posh International Academy in Chicago. It seems that Annika's best friend has vanished. For Rowland and Paine to investigate the case properly, they decide to enroll as students at the school. And since it's an all-girls academy, the duo is forced to go undercover — in drag.

It is an odd mix of Victorian style and manga. The illustrations change based on location and who is in the square. Not terribly original but interesting. I am curious to look at her previous work "Death, at Death's Door" and future items. I have not seen Gaiman's original comics that this volume was based on to know how it compares.

Death at Death's Door ~ 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.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr. Maurice Blanche. But The Great War intervenes in Maisie’s plans, and soon after commencement of her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, Maisie enlists for nursing service overseas.

Years later, in 1929, having apprenticed to the renowned Maurice Blanche, a man revered for his work with Scotland Yard, Maisie sets up her own business. Her first assignment, a seemingly tedious inquiry involving a case of suspected infidelity, takes her not only on the trail of a killer, but back to the war she had tried so hard to forget. It is interesting to see the merging of the working and upper classes and how England was forced to change because of the war. Scars run deep and are not always on the surface.

Most of the story is told through flashbacks. This is proving to be an excellent series and I cannot wait to read more. It has a very Sherlock Holmes style about it but does not feel like a copy.

Birds of a Feather
Maisie gets hired by a wealthy industrialist to find his only daughter, Charlotte Waite, who has gone missing. With the help of her cockney assistant, Billy Beale, Maisie sets out to learn all she can of Charlotte's habits, character and friends. No sooner has Maisie discovered the identities of three of these friends than they start turning up dead—poisoned, then bayoneted for good measure. At each crime scene is left a white feather. Increasingly preoccupied with these tragedies, Maisie almost loses sight of her original mission, until it becomes apparent that the murders and Charlotte's disappearance are related.

The ending was not difficult to deduce but it is enjoyable to see how she developes. Plus I got to meet the author a few weeks ago at a Mystery Author's luncheon at the Cerritos Library. I bought a copy of this book for my mother. You see a lot of the culture being developed after WWI is over.

Pardonable Lies

Uncommon Heroes Series by Dee Henderson

True Devotion
The story opens with Kelly on a rescue mission trying to save a drowning teen, Ryan, when caught in a riptide both are swept out to sea. Barely staying conscious she reflects on her relationship with God & the death of her husband, Navy Seal Nick. Nick's best friend and fellow Navy Seal, Joe, manages to find her and rescue her and the teen and while he is trying to bring them both to the boat Kelly murmurs that she loves him before losing consciousness. Once she wakens Ryan's grateful and wealthy widowed father is at her bedside and becomes a possible love interest as well.

Everything gets more complicated by the secrets surrounding Nick's death. Will Joe be able to open to her and will they be able to get past the past and be able to stay true to their faith? Plus what does Ryan's father have to do with all this?

An interesting intrigue type romance with God thrown in. Not overwhelming but predicable. You do get an interesting look at military life, especially around the Navy Seals.

Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins mystery series by Walter Mosley

Little Scarlet
It is 1965, and the devastating Watts riots are ravaging Los Angeles. A white man attempts to escape from a mob by running into a nearby apartment building. A few days later he is accused of killing a woman known as Little Scarlet who is found dead in the building. But when Easy Rawlins starts to investigate, he suspects the killer to be someone else-someone whose rage is racially motivated and as deep as his passion. We get to see his relationships with both blacks and whites and those he loves around him.

I listened to this on CD and it was an amazing read. Wow! You really get a feel for how it was right after the Watts riots. Plus a pretty good mystery too.

Darkfusion series by Neal Shusterman

Dread Locks
Taking elements of fairy tales and Greek mythology tells the story of fourteen-year-old Parker Bear, rich and utterly bored with life—until a new girl arrives in town. Tara’s eyes are always hidden behind designer sunglasses, and her hair, blond with glimmering spirals, seems almost alive. Parker watches, fascinated, as one by one Tara chooses high school students to befriend; he even helps her by making the necessary introductions. Over time, her "friends" develop strange quirks, such as drinking gallons of milk, eating dirt, and becoming lethargic. By the time Parker realizes what Tara is doing, he is too embroiled to stop her. In fact, she has endowed him with certain cravings of his own. ..to absorb some of her terrible powers. But now his brother and sister are changing ... will he be able to save them or even himself?

Internest read. I liked the Medusa/Goldilocks elements that come out. I'll be interested to see the future titles.

Gruesome Green Witch by Patricia Coffin

Written in 1969 it features two 11-year-old girls, Puffin and Mole, who meet an assortment of mythical and fictional characters, including the Wizard of Oz, Fafnir (a fearsome dragon of Niebelungenlied), Merlin, King Neptune, a Swedish elf, and the malevolent gruesome green witch. They do their homework in Merlin's concentration cave, where answers are caught as they bounce off walls. (You need to have a license in order to study) . They attend an undersea party presided over by Neptune, with Cinderella, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy among the revellers, then Puffin incurs the wrath of the villainous, gruesome green witch (who turns her enemies into statues) by seeing her back, and Puffin's brother is captured when the girls bring him into the land so he can profit from the concentration cave. But eventually the witch is conquered by a magic brew which Puffin slips into her tea, and melts down into a pile of green rags.

It is even written in green ink with green illustrations.

Fun and entertaining and a great walk down memory lane as they meet storybook characters during their explorations of the Magic Forest.

Biggie Mysteries by Nancy Bell features Biggie Weatherford who is the wealthiest woman in the East Texas town of Job's Crossing. The mysteries are seen through the eyes of her grandson J.R.

Biggie and the Poisoned Politician
Murder, kidnapping, fraud and other skullduggery come to a small East Texas town and usher a young boy toward maturity in this entertaining debut mystery. The narrator, J.R., is living with his eccentric grandmother, Biggie Weatherford, grand dame of Job's Crossing, when routine life is disturbed by strange events. The car belonging to Biggie's boarder, Mr. Crabtree, explodes in the driveway; the town makes plans for a sanitation landfill next to Biggie's family farm; and the mayor dies under mysterious circumstances after a meeting to plan the town's Pioneer Days. Biggie decides to investigate and is aided by J.R.; her maid, Willie Mae, who knows voodoo; and Willie Mae's wise, ne'er-do-well husband, Rosebud Robichaux. A motorcyclist wheels into town and another man dies before Biggie can put a finger on the scheming murderer amidst the carnival atmosphere of the town festival.

Biggie and the Mangled Mortician
The little town of Job's Crossing is abuzz as plans for the upcoming operetta; a monster is roaming the cemetery; and a new mortician has come to town. When the extremely ugly Monk Carter arrives to take up the funerary business, Miss Itha, local hair stylist, takes one look at him and faints dead away. At Miss Biggie's garden party, with mouthwatering food prepared by Willie Mae and Rosebud, who live in a house on Biggie's property, Monk volunteers to join the cast of HMS Pinafore. When he fails to show up for the first rehearsal, Biggie and J.R. go looking and find him dead on the floor of his living room. Ready to seal off the crime scene with yellow silk ribbon printed with "Go Fighting Turkeys" in gold glitter is Butch, the town florist appointed deputy police chief after the previous chief was sent to prison. But soon other players draw Biggie's attention: Miss Itha, who has disappeared with her son, DeWayne; and the new preacher, who has been romancing a local girl. But is anyone really whom they seem to be?

Lots of surprizes in this one. Fun to read while sitting out in the sun sipping iced tea.

Demon in My View by Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine)
Arthur Johnson's loneliness has perverted his desire for love and respect into a carefully controlled tendency for violence. One floor below him, a scholar finishing his thesis on psychopathic personalities is about to stumble upon one of Johnson's many secrets. He is also called Johnson and this will give unexpected complications.

We see the story from both their points of view so it is interesting to see how they interpret the same situations. Rendell writes so well and leaves you wanting more. I'm enjoying going back through her older works.

Passage to India by E.M. Forster

Written while England was still firmly in control of India, Forster's novel follows the fortunes of three English newcomers to India--Miss Adela Quested, Mrs. Moore, and Cyril Fielding--and the Indian, Dr. Aziz, with whom they cross destinies. The idea of true friendship between the races was a radical one in Forster's time, and he makes it abundantly clear that it was not one that either side welcomed. If Aziz's friend, Hamidullah, believed it impossible, the British representatives of the Raj were equally discouraging.

Despite their countrymen's disapproval, Miss Quested, Mrs. Moore, and Mr. Fielding are all eager to meet Indians, and in Dr. Aziz they find a perfect companion: educated, westernized, and open-minded. Slowly, the friendships ripen, especially between Aziz and Fielding. Having created the possibility of esteem based on trust and mutual affection, Forster then subjects it to the crucible of racial hatred: during a visit to the famed Marabar caves, Miss Quested accuses Dr. Aziz of sexually assaulting her, then later recants during the frenzied trial that follows. Under such circumstances, affection proves to be a very fragile commodity indeed. What really happened in the Marabar caves? This is the mystery at the heart of E.M. Forster's 1924 novel, A Passage to India, the puzzle that sets in motion events highlighting an even larger question: Can an Englishman and an Indian be friends?

This book is so beautifully written and yet difficult to read at the same time. But it brings forth so many emotions and thoughts about oppression of Indians as well as men and women.