March 2008 Reads

The Winding Ways Quilt - Jennifer Chiaverini - 310 pages - I really have enjoyed this series. This book is the begining of changes to come. She has had a book or two in this series that I didn't enjoy and were disappointed in but in the last two or three she has redeemed herself.

Pieced together more like a quilt than a driving narrative, Chiaverini's 13th novel centered around the quilting circle of Elm Creek, Pa., finds change afoot. Chapters center on the circle's various members, with a focus on backstory. First-time readers are thus not left out in the cold as Judy and her husband, Steve, prepare to leave for new jobs and lives in Philadelphia; Summer begins grad school in Chicago while boyfriend Jeremy's graduate work keeps him near Elm Creek Manor; Sarah discovers she's expecting twins; Bonnie isn't sure she wants to reinvent the quilt shop destroyed by vandals; and newcomers Gretchen Hartley and Anna Del Maso join the staff of the quilting camp. The section dealing with Gwen's detective work aimed at discovering the creator of a quilt rescued from a church basement lost and found is the most powerful and poignant in Chiaverini's latest patchwork confection.

March 2008 Reads

Dead In the Water - Dana Stabenow – 201 pages - Another great read by this author. I love
that the books are set in Alaska, nice to have a completely new setting. And this book takes
place on a crab boat which make the Deadliest Catch fan in me, love it even more.

The opening of Kate Shugak's third outing will have landlubbers wondering, What on earth is this woman doing? (Answer: shifting a crab pot on a boat deck during a storm.) But once readers get their sea legs, they'll realize that Stabenow ( A Cold Day for Murder ) offers a satisfactory blend of mystery and danger that is balanced by a gentler side, a view of Alaskan native culture. Kate, who occasionally investigates for the Anchorage district attorney, is working on the Avilda , a crabber, hoping to learn--on the quiet--why two of its crew members disappeared during its last trip. Harry Gault, the Avilda 's skipper, claims that, when water supplies ran low, the men went ashore on Anua Island to locate fresh water and failed to return. Just keeping up with the crabbing exhausts Kate, but with a bit of prowling she learns that Gault has his hands in more than one crab pot. Between crabbing jobs, she visits Unalaska Island, traditional home of her own people, the Aleuts. Here she meets Olga, a skilled weaver of grass baskets, and her daughter Sasha, who uses a "storyknife" to carve out a brief tale that is very much to the point of Kate's investigations.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

7th Heaven – James Patterson – audio book – The women’s murder club books of his are
a favorite of mine and this one didn’t disappoint me. The reader was great and the story
was good. I hope they do this one on the tv show if they ever bring it back!


At the start of the gripping seventh Women's Murder Club thriller from bestseller Patterson and Paetro (after 2007's The 6th Target), San Francisco is still haunted by the disappearance of Michael Campion, the much-adored teenage son of a former California governor, three months earlier. Following up on a tip that Michael was last seen entering a prostitute's house, homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer and her new partner, Rich Conklin, are shocked when the hooker immediately confesses that Michael, who had a heart defect, died during sex and she disposed of his body. Lindsay's ADA pal, Yuki Castellano, is sure she has a slam-dunk case, but the trial soon takes a bizarre turn. Lindsay and Rich also scramble to track down a serial arsonist responsible for murdering a string of wealthy couples. Lindsay races to put the pieces together before the fires hit too close to home. In true Patterson style, the reader is privy to Lindsay's thoughts as well as the killers', ratcheting up the suspense an extra notch. Fans won't be disappointed with the twist at the end that not even Lindsay sees coming.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

Dark Justice - Jack Higgins - I have read this book before and I love his Sean Dillion books. The read was really good and made the book very enjoyable listening.


The Jack Higgins name is synonymous with action and adrenaline-laced suspense. In DARK JUSTICE an assassination is thwarted. As the murderer bites down on his cyanide-laced molar, he warns that all should "beware the wrath of Allah." Michael Page provides unique voices for Russian military officers, KGB officials, Arabic-speaking nationals, and Sean Dillon, a stone-cold killer and ex-IRA enforcer. Turning stone-cold himself, Page introduces "the basement," where law and civility are abandoned to Presidential Warrant. Taking over are a computer capable of unfettered surveillance and conceptual thought and a debased network of agents with the intention of creating pervasive terror

March 2008 Reads

A Cold Day for Murder - Dana Stabenow - An interesting murder mystery set in a national park in Alaska. It is the first in this series for the author and the first book of hers I have read. A quick read.

This whodunit rides the crest of today's styles: a female detective, a remote locale and the conflict between the traditional way of life (in this case Aleut) and modern America. Detective Kate Shugak became the top investigator for the Anchorage District Attorney's Office. But after getting her throat cut while apprehending a child abuser, she has retired to the Park, 20 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, snow and eccentrics--yet the children's cries keep reverberating in her head. When a park ranger--a congressman's son--disappears, as does the investigator sent after him, the FBI and Shugak's old boss ask for her help. In the process Shugak gets shot at twice and readers get a guided tour of the local landmarks, including Shugak's manipulative grandmother's house in Niniltna (pop. 800) and Bernie's Roadhouse, site of a hilarious showdown between two drunken pipeline workers with a stolen 30-ton excavating machine and a helicopter-flying state trooper. Stabenow's ( Second Star ) tale lacks tension, and Shugak's unfocused anger at the world seems a bit forced, but overall this is an enjoyable and well-written yarn.

March 2008 Reads

The Templar Legacy - Steve Barry - first time I have read one of his books. I really enjoyed it. It was hard to put down and I stayed up too late reading it a couple of night. While the book could be compared to The Da Vinci Code, it follows a different course and the ending is very thought provoking.

The Knights Templar, a small monastic military order formed in the early 1100s to protect travelers to the Holy Land, eventually grew and became wealthy beyond imagination. In 1307, the French king, feeling jealous and greedy, killed off the Templars, and by 1311, the last master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake. The whereabouts of the Templars' treasure--and their secrets--have been the subject of legend ever since. Now, a new thriller trieas to follow in the steps of The Da Vinci Code.
There's a secret about early Christianity at the core of Berry's Templar Legacy, but he dispenses the clues too slowly. The cat-and-mouse game between Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department agent, and a modern-day order of Knights Templar is weighed down with too much confusing backstory about the Templars' connection to Rennes-le-Chateau and the mystery that surrounds it. (The real-life town plays a part in The Da Vinci Code as well.) Like Dan Brown, Berry draws on the seminal nonfiction work Holy Blood, Holy Grail for many of his themes. After nearly grinding to a halt through all the premise building, the novel finally gathers steam in the last 100 pages or so, concluding with a revelation that seems refreshingly clear after the many convoluted twists that precede it.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

Three Plums In One - Janet Evanovich - loved the books but don't care at all for this reader, I don't think she does the books justice...I would stick to the book version for these three...

Here's where it all began -- the three audiobooks that first brought us Stephanie Plum, that bounty hunter with attitude who stepped out of Trenton's blue-collar "burg" and into the heart of America.
ONE FOR THE MONEY: Stephanie's all grown up and on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad and doing her best to sever the world's longest cord. Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli's the inamorata who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There's still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase is interesting.
TWO FOR THE DOUGH: Stephanie takes to the mean streets of Trenton, armed with attitude (not to mention stun guns and defense sprays), to find Kenny Mancuso. Aided by her irrepressible Grandma Mazur, Stephanie forms a shaky alliance with her favorite cop, Joe Morelli, for a tumultuous chase through back alleys and Grandma's favorite funeral parlors.
THREE TO GET DEADLY: Stephanie is having a bad hair day -- for the whole month of January. She's looking for Mo Bedemier, Trenton's most beloved citizen, who got charged with carrying concealed and skipped bail. To help her she's got Lula, a former hooker turned file clerk itching to lock up a crook in the trunk of her car. And Morelli, the cop with the slow-burning smile, is acting polite even after Stephanie finds more bodies than the Trenton PD has seen in years.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

Blindfold Game - Dana Stabenow - this is the first book for me by this author. I really enjoyed it, loved the Alaskan and Coast Guard setting...wonder if being a Deadliest Catch Fan has anything to do with it?

Edgar winner Stabenow makes a strong entrance into the world of international thrillers with this fast-paced story. CIA analyst Hugh Rincon and his estranged wife, Sarah Lange, second in command of the Coast Guard cutter Sojourner Truth, must battle disbelieving superiors, North Korean terrorists and an angry Mother Nature as they race to stop a dirty bomb from exploding in an Alaskan city. Beth McDonald gives an earnest performance and provides each of her characters with their own distinct voice. Whether portraying a tough as nails sea captain or a Korean terrorist, she keeps her voice shifts subtle and believable, never falling into caricature. She is especially adept in her reading of the book's seagoing action as Lange and her crew chase down and confront an enemy freighter on a stomach-churning stormy sea. McDonald is helped by Steve Atinsky's fine abridgment. Given the complexity of thrillers, it is true skill to keep the abridgment process from truncating characters and plot to the point of incomprehension. Both Atinsky and McDonald have been able to keep intact the novel's integrity-and thrills.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

S is for Silence - Sue Grafton - Audio Books = I enjoy this series and the reader is very pleasant t listen to.


In her nineteenth mystery, Kinsey Millhone, Sue Grafton's no-nonsense gumshoe, takes on a cold case--the question of what happened to a shady lady who disappeared 30 years earlier. In a refreshing change in the alphabet series, Grafton alternates between Millhone's first-person point of view and third-person flashbacks that depict the life of the missing woman in 1953. The device works well, especially for narrator Judy Kaye, Kinsey's alter ego on audio, who capably goes beyond the first-person narrative. Some stalwarts of the series may be unhappy that there's less of Kinsey than usual, but Grafton's approach gives the audiobook a bit more complexity than its predecessors.

March 2008 Reads

18. Bye, Bye Black Sheep - Ayelet Waldman - 259 pages - A good book but definately time to move on to another series, took me too long to read this one. So I'll put this series on the back burner for a while and read something else.

Juliet Appelbaum and her partner, Al Hockey, have nursed their detective agency into the black, but their latest case, which began when Heavenly, an African American transsexual, asked them to investigate her sister's death, just may put the firm back in the red. Heavenly's sister, Violetta, was a drug--addicted streetwalker who worked in one of Los Angeles' worst neighborhoods. The police did little to solve her murder. Juliet, still juggling the demands of motherhood and career, finds herself visiting Violetta's turf and trying to get information from the prostitutes and pimps plying their trade there. She manages to convince the cold-case squad to investigate and learns that the situation is complicated by family dynamics. As always, Waldman manages to depict the life of L.A.'s yuppie parents with humor while showing genuine compassion for the less-fortunate inhabitants of the city.

March 2008 Reads - Audio Books

Double Take - Catherine Coutler - Audio File - the reader ranks right up there with some of my all time favorite audio readers. I really enjoy Catherine Coulter's book, haven't read this book but did definately enjoy the audio book.

Beautiful young widow Julia Ransom is saved from being murdered on Fishermans Wharf by FBI Agent Cheney Stone, who quickly becomes involved in investigating the recent murder of Julias husband. Meanwhile, Sheriff Dixon Noble in Virginia learns about a woman in San Francisco who bears an uncanny resemblance to his long lost wife. Nobles inquiry in California overlaps with Stones work as the cases become entwined. The use of two narrators allows for well-paced dialogue. Phil Gigantes cool intonation helps to clarify the narrative and provides credibility to the FBI agent who becomes smitten with the woman he is protecting. Sandra Burr handles the womens voices with a light touch, especially that of Julia, who maintains remarkable calm and confidence, given the frightening circumstances.

Dark Torte - Diane Mott Davidson - Audio Book - Didn't enjoy the reader at all. I had previously read the book but listened anyway. The book is definately worth the read.

Rosenblat is a performer of many tempos. When caterer Goldy Schulz trips over a corpse and searches for help, Rosenblat speaks at a heart-pounding pace to draw the listener right into the narrative. After the body is taken care of and the flying flour has settled, Rosenblat slows to chart Goldy's methodical search for the killer. But Rosenblat saves smoother tones for the cooking scenes between Goldy and her police detective husband, Tom. Eating is more enjoyable for Goldy than cooking, so Rosenblat lays on her silkiest tones for the dinner scenes between the couple and their son. It's probably best not to listen to this audio on an empty stomach. Rosenblat has her hands full as she deftly and singlehandedly performs a soap-opera sized cast with aplomb. There are recipes at the end of the last CD, and there are lots of good food preparation tips along the way, so listeners will want to take notes.

March 2008 Reads

17. Death Gets a Time Out - Ayelet Waldman - 320 pages - took me longer to read this book than previous books in this series - I enjoyed the story. Not sure if I am getting burnt out on this series or feel pressured to finish it so I can return it to the library.

Between juggling lunchboxes, piano lessons, and baby-sitters, public defender turned stay-at-home mom Juliet Applebaum promises to help her famous friend clear her brother's name of murder. But what will she do when she begins to suspect her friend may not be as innocent as she seems?

February 2008 Reads

Audio Book - T is for Trespass - Sue Grafton - I enjoyed this book alot. I like the series and the reader was very good - a bad reader can sure ruin the book for me!

Although Kinsey Millhone has been around for 25 years, critics agree that T Is for Trespass is one of Sue Grafton’s finest works to date. About elder abuse and identity theft, among other crimes, the novel devotes pages to both Kinsey’s and the villain’s perspectives and thus becomes more of a battle of wits between the two women than a real mystery. As Kinsey decides when and how far to get involved in Gus’s horrific plight, her other cases (a child molester is on the loose, for example) kept critics turning the pages. Reviewers also appreciated that Kinsey ages blissfully slowly—since 1982, when A Is for Alibi was published, she has only gained five years—and thus remains in the Internet-free 1980s, where interpersonal relationships triumph. The ending put off a few critics, but otherwise this 20th installment thoroughly engrosses.

February 2008 Reads

16. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - 443 pages - This was my one deep book for the month! Several people recommended it very highly. It was an eye opener but I truly enjoyed the book.

Afghan-American novelist Hosseini follows up his bestselling The Kite Runner with another searing epic of Afghanistan in turmoil. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny—"There was no cursing, no screaming, no pleading, no surprised yelps, only the systematic business of beating and being beaten"—is endorsed by custom and law. Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.

February 2008 Reads

15. Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime - Robert J Randisi - 274 pages - This is one series I wish there were alot more to read. This book was set in old Las Vegas - Frank and the Rat Pack play a prominant role in the book.


Eddie Gianelli, formerly of Brooklyn and known on the floor of the Sands casino in Vegas as Eddie G, knows everyone there is to know on the Strip. That's why, in early January 1960, during the filming of Ocean's Eleven, Joey Bishop approaches him with a request to help Frank Sinatra. Eddie can't imagine why a superstar with the resources of Sinatra would need help from a lowly pit boss, but with some pressure from the Sands' management, he agrees. Dean Martin is receiving threats--not death threats exactly but ominous nonetheless. Oddly, the crudely written notes are missing the unless-you-do-this-we'll-do-that element contained in most threats. Eddie is a reluctant investigator until two thugs warn him off the case with a minor beating and the promise of more to come. Eddie is mad now and gets madder as the bodies pile up, though he remains unconvinced that the murders and the threats to Dino are unconnected. The prolific and talented Randisi vividly re-creates the rough-and-tumble Vegas of four decades past and weaves appealing portraits of Frank, Sammy, Dean, Joey, and, yes, even Peter Lawford into the tale. The Rat Pack defined cool for a generation, and Randisi does them all justice in this wonderfully entertaining mystery.

February 2008 Reads

14. Right from the Gecko - Cynthia Baxter - 319 pages - This is another fun series that I really enjoy. This book was set in Hawaii, which was a nice change of scenery for the series.

Surf’s up . . . and so are the stakes when veterinarian and amateur sleuth Jessica Popper escapes to the land of hula, hibiscus, and geckos for a professional conference. The last time she and boyfriend Nick Burby touched down on the island of Hawaii, Nick caused a volcanic eruption when he unexpectedly popped The Question to commitment-phobic Jess. But this trip proves just as dangerous when Jess befriends an ambitious young reporter whose body later washes up on the sand . . . and someone thinks Jess holds the clue to the killer’s motive.There’s no end of suspects among the exotic flora and fauna, from the victim’s journalistic rivals and a mystery boyfriend to an eccentric beachcomber and a governor’s aide with ties to a controversial biotech firm bringing progress to paradise. One of them is a killer with the chameleon-like ability to stay hidden—and if Jessica doesn’t uncover hula-dunnit in time, she’ll be saying aloha . . . permanently.

February 2008 Reads

13. Dirty Martini - J. A. Konrath - 304 pages - Another Jack Daniels book. While I enjoy this series sometimes it can be a little hard to read. I started reading Rusty Nail but had to put it down and did not finish it.

Chicago homicide cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels returns in this hard-edged thriller. Someone who calls himself the Chemist is poisoning food in the city's grocery stores and restaurants. When the Chemist demands $2 million to stop the killings, the superintendent of detectives puts Jack in charge of the case—because fast-talking Jack has plenty of experience dealing with serial killers, having gone up against three of them already (most recently in Rusty Nail, 2006). Like Jeffrey Deaver, Konrath ratchets up the suspense until readers don't dare stop flipping the pages; the characters are sharply drawn; and the dialogue sounds like real (though funny) people talking (a decided improvement over some of the earlier volumes in the series). Also like Deaver, Konrath clearly understands the importance of creating a believable, interesting villain. A solid success for those who like to mix comedy and grit.

February 2008 Reads

12. A Playdate with Death - Ayelet Waldman - 240 pages - Another fun and easy read. Sometimes that is all I am in the mood for and other times that is all I have the time to read.


Juliet Applebaum, lawyer turned full-time mother, seems to have a talent for encountering murder. In her third case, she arrives at the gym for a session with her personal trainer only to find that he is dead. Ever ambivalent about her decision to stop working outside the home, she agrees to investigate when the police write the death off as a suicide. The victim's history of drug abuse, his fiancee's fall off the wagon, and the complex web of relationships in his family provide a multitude of possibilities, but Juliet's search for clues quickly opens a Pandora's box that puts her and her family in danger. Waldman's deft portrayal of Los Angeles's upper crust and of the dilemma facing women who want it all will make it possible for readers to forgive a rather flimsy plot.

February 2008 Reads

11. Bloody Mary - J. A. Konrath -307 pages - I enjoy the Jack Daniel's story line. It was a fast good read.


When two arms, sans body, turn up at a Chicago morgue, Det. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels is surprised to discover that the mysterious limbs are joined by her own handcuffs. The killer appears to have a grudge as well as unsettling access to Jack. The dual narrative alternately follows detective and murderer, leaving little to the imagination, particularly in the realm of gore. The author reveals so much about the crimes and their motivation that the plot loses steam until the fiend is caught (halfway through the novel) and the focus shifts to ensuring that he doesn't walk. The legal finagling is a bit far-fetched, but the battle of wills between the psychopath and the cop keeps the pages turning. And like any hard-boiled detective, Jack has a problematic personal life, juggling two unstable relationships and caring for her ailing mother.

February 2008 Reads

10. Murder Plays House - Ayelet Waldman - 312 pages - The perfect book when you are looking for a mystery that is an easy read.

Juliet Applebaum, public defender turned stay-at-home-mom and private investigator, is pregnant with her third child. The family apartment is suddenly too small, so she is looking for an affordable house. Her friend, Kat, a reluctant real-estate agent, offers to show her some homes, and the one that she really loves comes complete with a dead body in the guesthouse. Since her detective agency has no business, she decides to find the killer, hoping that it will give her a better chance to buy the house. The investigation takes her from the cut-throat real-estate business to the equally harsh entertainment world, where has-been sitcom stars will do anything to get work. As always, Waldman uses humor to portray the Los Angeles scene while making some serious points about what is really important in life.

February 2008 Reads

9. Impulse - Catherine Coulter - 419 pages - I enjoyed this book, it is one of her earlier books and not an FBI thriller. But still a thriller for me.


A weak, tangled plot dims the shine of two fairly enjoyable sparring partners in this contrived novel of romantic suspense set in the high-stakes arena of black-market arms and art. Rafaella Holland, wealthy, shapely, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with a powerful karate kick, goes undercover at a Caribbean resort owned by the gangster who seduced and discarded her besotted mother many years before. Rafaella is his daughter. When her mother is hit by a car owned by the gangster's estranged wife, Rafaella decides to expose him for the snake he is. Charming her way into the resort, she runs up against the manager Marcus Devlin (actually a good guy working for U.S. Customs), whom she instantly distrusts and immediately beds. The pair dodge bullets, bicker and try to unmask each other while a mysterious third party makes repeated attempts on her father's life.

January 2008 Reads

6. The Big Nap - Ayelet Waldman - 227 pages - This a new series to me and I am reading it out of order as the books come in at the library. I enjoy the series and it is a quick fun read.

Juliet Appelbaum, Waldman's Harvard-trained lawyer turned stay-at-home mother--Nursery Crimes (2000)--is wondering if she will ever sleep again. Her second child, four-month-old Isaac, loathes naps, and her three-year-old daughter, Ruby, thinks she will never go to the park again. Her screenwriter husband seems to spend more time at work with an attractive producer than he does at home. The desperate Juliet hires Freydle Finkelstein, a rabbi's daughter and member of the Hasidic community in the Applebaums' Los Angeles neighborhood, to babysit. Then Fredyle disappears suddenly, and Juliet wonders why. Is she fleeing an arranged marriage? What about the mysterious non-Hasidic man who was talking to her before she vanished? When Freydle's parents refuse to call the police, Juliet feels that she must try to find the missing woman herself. Waldman treats the Los Angeles scene with humor, offers a revealing glimpse of Hasidic life, and provides a surprise ending. This is an entertaining mystery with a satirical tone.

January 2008 Reads

5. The Second Time Around - Mary Higgins Clark - 373 pages - I know some people feel that Mary Higgins Clark is not as good as she once was but I did enjoy this book. It was easy to read some of the mystery early on, some of the mystery to time to develop. It all wrapped up neatly in the end but still a good read.


A feature writer for a newspaper, Carley DeCarlo has been assigned to do an article on the life and death of Nicholas Spencer, an eminent researcher who was on the verge of developing a pharmaceutical cure for cancer. Since millions of specially donated dollars are missing from his firm, his airplane accident may have been a faked suicide, or murder. Occasional chapters feature a disturbed man as he retaliates for the death of his wife, which he blames on Spencer's firm. Carley's portion of the story is written in first person so readers follow her doubts and triumphs as clues are revealed. She is a true sleuth; she often gets a clue that confuses her, but she keeps on investigating. Tension builds gradually as readers see both the heroine and the schizophrenic at work. But is he the only villain? Short chapters help to keep the suspenseful plot moving along.

January 2008 Reads

4. No Time for Goodbye - Linwood Barclay - 338 pages - I sat down and read this book from start to finish in one sitting. The story was based on an interesting premise, a teenage girl wakes up one morning and her entire family has disappeared. She appears on a Dateline type show 25 years later in hopes of discovering what happened.

Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge wakes up one morning to find her entire family gone. Twenty-five years later, their unexplained disappearance still haunts her. She agrees to appear on the reenactment show Deadline, hoping the TV exposure might provide her with some answers, although her husband, English teacher Terry Archer, is considerably more skeptical. Indeed, not long after the show airs, the two are shaken down by a psychic, receive a series of bizarre phone calls, and become the victims of a break-in, although nothing is taken; instead, something is left—a hat that Cynthia is convinced belonged to her father. As Cynthia's paranoia escalates, Terry's patience wears thin, and the two decide to hire a private detective. That's when the mayhem starts. Despite a few implausible plot turns, this fast-paced read is bound to please, offering an especially intriguing premise and plenty of irreverent humor.

January 2008 Reads

3. Tilt A Whirl - Chris Grabenstein - 321 pages - I enjoyed this book. It was a qucik good read.
The ending was not my favorite but didn't ruin the entire book.

An unusual setting (Sea Haven, a summer resort in an unnamed state that sounds a lot like New Jersey) and two police protagonists with contrasting personalities lift Grabenstein's debut mystery. A former military policeman in Iraq, John Ceepak has brought his considerable physical strength, crime-solving skills and morality to the beachside town; "a cop 24/7," he spends his spare time reading about forensics and watching true-crime shows on TV. Assisting Ceepak is 24-year-old Danny Boyle, a part-time summer cop who joined the force largely to impress college girls. The only thing they have in common is a love for Bruce Springsteen. But the murder of a Trump-like real estate magnate, knifed to death while meeting his young daughter at the town's sleazy amusement park, brings the unlikely pair of police officers closer together.

January 2008 Reads

2. The Pack - Jodi Picoult - 496 pages - This book was a powerful story. It was a very
sad commentary on how parents expectations can ruin children's lives. I wish it had been explored more than just implied. Not sure the parents even ever really understood what they had done and how those expectations played a hugh role in the ultimate tragedy of this book.


Teenage suicide is the provocative topic that Picoult plumbs, with mixed results, in her fifth novel. Popular high-school swimming star Chris Harte and talented artist Em Gold bonded as infants; their parents have been next-door neighbors and best friends for 18 years. When they fall in love, everyone is ecstatic. Everyone, it turns out, except for Em, who finds that sex with Chris feels almost incestuous. Her emotional turmoil, compounded by pregnancy, which she keeps secret, leads to depression, despair and a desire for suicide, and she insists that Chris prove his love by pulling the trigger. The gun is fired in the first paragraph, and so the book opens with a jolt of adrenaline. But Picoult stumbles in delineating both sets of parents' responses to the tragedy. Unconvincing behavior and dialogue inappropriate to the situation (plus, most importantly, the fact that the parents fail to discuss crucial topics) never touch the essence of bereavement and thus destroy credibility. Picoult redeems herself in flashbacks that reveal the two marital relationships and the personalities of both couples; and she sensitively explores the question of how well parents can ever know their children. After Chris is accused of murder and jailed, the narrative acquires impressive authenticity and suspense, with even the minor characters evoked with Picoult's keen eye for telling detail. The courtroom scenes (reminiscent of Picoult's 1996 novel, Mercy), are taut and well paced. Readers may remain unconvinced, however, that an intelligent young man like Chris would not have sought some help rather than respond to his lover's desperate request.

January 2008 Reads

1. Misteltoe Murder - Leslie Meier - 222 pages - I enjoy this series but this one I did read after
reading several of her books. I was definately not my favorite but I will stick with the series.