Jeff Abbott
Title: Collision
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dutton
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this unfortunate attempt, Abbott weighs in with a completely disorganized spy thriller, with misunderstood good guy and CIA killer Pilgrim pursued by ruthless businessman Sam Hector as Hector tries to manipulate international terrorism. Despite a trail of bloody bodies and chase scenes, this book manages to be boring as Pilgrim and his unlikely sidekick Ben slash and shoot their way through enemies on all fronts in their effort to save the world. Even a contrived surprise ending can't save this one.Title: Fear
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Onyx
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Abbott has come a long way from his early mysteries and has pretty much arrived with this one. Miles Kendrick is in the federal Witness Protection program, seeing a shrink and sharing his life with the nagging ghost of his best friend (whom, he's pretty sure, he killed) when he's offered the chance to participate in an experimental test to treat victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome. All bets are off, however, when his doctor is murdered and Miles seems to be the next target. A little overly wordy, but all in all a very good read.
Marc Acito
Title: How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Frienship and Musical Theater
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Broadway Books
Copyright: Reprint 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 17 year old Edward Zanni's plan to attend Julliard hits a snag when his father's new wife convinces him not to pay for college. Edward,a somewhat feckless fellow, turns to his misfit friends to carry out a scheme of embezzlement, money laundering, forgery and blackmail. This farcical coming-of-age story is highly entertaining.
Elizabeth A. Adler
Title: The House in Amalfi
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lamour Harrington, a young woman widowed 2 years earlier, returns to Italy to recapture the memories of her childhood and to discover the real circumstances surrounding her father's death. After deciding to relocate there she must also deal with her attraction to the neighboring father and son. Although somewhat pat and predictable this is a pleasant read.
Mitch Albom
Title: For One More Day (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Hyperion
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mitch Albom, author of "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" weaves a fable about a broken man who gets to spend one more day with his deceased mother. In the course of that day he learns of her sacrifices and love and what he might do to put his life back together.Title: For One More Day (review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Hyperion
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book from Mitch Albom, author of The Five People You Meet In Heaven tells the take of a man who has hit more than rock bottom. Here you meet Chick, a man at his most desperate hour finds that he gets to spend one more day with his deceased mother. During this day he understands how much she loved him and what he could do to turn himself around.Title: Have a Little Faith: A True Story
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Gale Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: From the author of "Tuesdays With Morrie", Mitch Albom's latest non-fiction effort is an 8 year journey with 2 extraordinary men, 2 faiths and 2 widely different communities. Struggling with questions: who is God, why does man suffer, etc, he comes to realize that all men find comfort in believing in something bigger than self. There is a striking sameness in diverse religious beliefs. The rabbi and the homeless preacher are engaging and fascinating in their own individual ways. A well crafted and surprisingly easy read considering the subject.
Randy Alcorn
Title: Safely Home
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Copyright: July 2001
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a novel written about two college friends who meet up after years of being graduated. The story takes place in China when Ben comes over with a business proposition and stays with his friend Li Quan while he's in the country. Ben learns about Christian persecution in China in a very personal way as he goes with Li Quan to meetings in underground churches and witnessed other ways Li Quan reaches out to people. The authorities hear of what Li Quan has been doing and throws Li Quan in jail. Ben then begins to realize that he's learned much more than business during his stay.Title: Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Multnomah Publishers
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a bite-sized hardcover, one of those slender, quick little reads. It challenges the Christian to examine his or her heart towards giving, and encourages an eternal perspective.
Alan Alda
Title: Never Stuff Your Dog: And Other Things I've Learned
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Alan Alda's biography is well written, amusing and enlightening with lots of childhood and off screen experience which formulated his personality and career.
Sarah Addison Allen
Title: Garden Spells (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In her first novel Sarah Addison Allen has written a tender book about sisters reconnecting and the security of family and love. With their special gifts and their garden of somewhat mystical spells, the family comes together in a lovely story to change their lives and those around them. Reading "Garden Spells" gives you a touch of Sue Monk Kidd, Alice Hoffman or Rebecca Wells.Title: Garden Spells (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A thoroughly charming book about the Waverleys, whose garden has, for generations, produced magical plants. Claire and Sydney are sisters, abandoned by their mother years ago, who find themselves together again in the family home. Claire, the town caterer, has made a life out of hiding herself, while Sydney has spent years running from man to man. Thanks to their enchanted apple tree (you'll find out) and to their Aunt Evanelle, who finds herself compelled to give things to people, the sisters come to grips with their history and their future. A wonderful, wonderful book. Don't miss it!Title: Girl Who Chased the Moon
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:When Emily’s mother dies, she discovers a grandfather she never knew existed and a side of her mother she can’t believe was true. In Mullaby, North Carolina, though, there are a lot of things that only exist in a Southern town: wallpaper that changes of its own volition, the sweet scent of cakes that acts as an aphrodisiac, and a powerful family whose men carry a secret hidden for generations.
Allen has, once again, created an enchanting story of love and mystery that allows you to gladly suspend belief in the mundane. All that’s missing is the sweet tea.
Title: Sugar Queen (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Josey Cirrini is twenty-seven years old and still living with her cold, controlling mother. Her only solace is her secret closet stash of candy and romance novels which is where she's heading when she finds Della Lee Baker...a local waitress with a shady reputation who has apparently chosen Josey's closet as her hiding place. Why she's there, and how Josey's life begins to change as a result, are all part of another magical Allen read; this is one author who hasn't suffered sophomore slump with her second book! Don't miss it.Title: The Sugar Queen (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 27 year old Josey Cirrini, plain and plump, is caring for her difficult widowed mother when she discovers local waitress Della Baker living in her bedroom closet. Little by little Della is able to make Josey recognize her self worth and begin to live outside her stifling home environment. She also meets and bonds with Chloe who works at the local sandwich shop, and who is continually finding unexplained books by her side. As in "Garden Spells", Allen's first novel, there is a mystical and captivating effect in "the Sugar Queen". (Click here to check out other reviews for this title)
Madelyn Alt
Title: A Charmed Death____
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book in the Enchanted series is even more disappointing than the first. Again, all the characters from The Trouble with Magic are back sans one; the most interesting, Enchantment owner Felicity Dow. She makes an appearance midway through the book but is rather inconsequential to the mystery of finding out who has killed the local entitled teenage princess thought to have committed suicide. The book focuses more on teaching us about the New Age witch world and the stumbling of new witch Maggie O'Neill than creating a good murder mystery.Title: Trouble with Magic
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: First installment of the Bewitching Mystery series: a crime mystery with a little magic. Maggie O’Neill literally falls into a New Age-type life when she meets Felicity Dow, owner of the haberdashery Enchantments and local witch in the small Midwestern town of Stony Mill, Indiana. The characters, as well as the mystery itself, are a bit predictable, but the book is still charming. Most likely, I will read the next Bewitching Mystery book when it is released to see what is happening with Maggie and Felicity.
Bill Amend
Title: How Come I'm Always Luigi? A FoxTrot Collection
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: Andrews McMeel
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Humor/comic strip. If you love FoxTrot, you'll love this book as much as all the previous ones. I'm mainly including mention of it here so you will know there is a new book out, because it either suits your sense of humor or it doesn't. I love it and it makes me laugh. One of the top comic strips in my opinion.
Joan Anderson
Title: A Walk on the Beach
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Broadway Press
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the third, and best, in a biographical series, but stands alone. During her friendship with a wise and thought provoking friend, the author learns much about herself and life in general.
Ilona Andrews
Title: Magic Bites
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ACE Fantasy
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A new dark urban fantasy series set in Atlanta, Georgia where magic has reentered the world and destroyed most modern technology. The city is chaotic, caught between magic fluctuations which temporarily disable all technology, and trying to function the rest of the time in a war torn landscape as if magic doesn’t exist. When the magic is up, a number of magic patrolling agencies, including knight-protectors and mercenaries, are responsible to keep order. Kate Daniels, not a team player and member of the mercenary guild, finds herself caught in the middle of a bizarre murder mystery involving the death of her guardian, a number of necromancers who control vampires, and a group of paramilitary shapeshifters. The story is action-packed and full of interesting characters that will make a great series. However, unlike other dark urban fantasy stories, this series’ setting relies on rules borrowed from science fiction, and for that reason alone, the story merits a 4 instead of a 5.
Julie Andrews
Title: Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Hyperion
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Home", Julie Andrews' memoir, starts with her birth in England in 1925 and continues through 1962. Born to an aspiring vaudevillian mother, Julie began her professional career at 12 with an astonishing voice. Throughout the first half of the book she recounts her difficult childhood during the war and traveling to performances with her mother and stepfather. The latter half of the book deals with the more technical aspects of musical theater and anecdotes about many famous performers including Rex Harrison and Richard Burton. "Home" is a bit dry and written with a reserved style one might expect from Andrews.
Mary Kay Andrews
Title: Blue Christmas
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mary kay Andrews brings the reader back to Savannah with "Weezie" Foley, from "Savannah Blues" and "Savannah Breeze". This contrived holiday story is cute but has a really weak plot compared to the earlier "Savannah" novels.Title: Deep Dish
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Gina Foxton, star of her own local cooking show, is devastated when her sleazy producer/lover sleeps with the sponsor's wife and her show is cancelled. Not all is lost, however, when Gina finds herself on a national reality show, competing against hunky rival Tate Moody for a shot at the big time. A cute, fluffy read, but wait for paperback.Title: Deep Dish
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Local Georgia chef Gina Foxton decides to compete for a national TV spot. Enter Tate Moody, host of an outdoors man cooking show. Everything, and everyone, heats up as they vie for the same position. Romance and fun and pretty typical of Andrew's books.Title: Savannah Breeze
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Unknown
Copyright: Unknown
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Weezie and BeBe (from the author's earlier "Savannah Blues") are back, this time tracking a sexy embezzler who has seduced BeBe and stolen back her family's fortune. A light, fun read.
Toni Andrews
Title: Beg For Mercy
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Mira
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After a life-time of being labeled a freak, Mercy Hollings, a twenty-ish Southern Californian loner decides to use her "gift" of suggestion to open a hypnotherapy practice. Not only does she find friends in the most unlikely places, she becomes an unwilling leader of a "gang" of amateur sleuths. This first book in the Mercy Hollings series is a welcomed addition to the urban fantasy genre.
A. Manette Ansay
Title: Good Things I Wish For You
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Recently divorced Jeanette Hochmann is stuck--in life and in her writing. Despite her passion for her subject (a novel about nineteeth-century pianist and composer Clara Schumann's relationship with Johannes Brahms), Jeanie has hit a wall until she meets Hart. Soon she is living a life that parallels Clara's; loving a man who can love only himself even though he provides the passion that fuels her creativity. Unfortunately, in a style unlike Ansay, the development of the relationship is awkward, while the characters are too stiff too be believable. Definitely not up to the promise of Ansay's Vinegar Hill.
Piers Anthony
Title: SERIES - Apprentice Adept
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Two worlds co-exist: Proton, where everything relies on logic and science, and Phaze, a fantasy world governed by magic where science doesn’t exist. Unnecessarily graphic scenes in some of the books marred my enjoyment of this series, but it has an interesting story line.Title: Crewel Lye
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Ballantine
Copyright: 1984
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is my favorite book in the Xanth series; it's one of the few books I have literally read to pieces and had to re-purchase. Great literature it's not, but it is great fun. A not-too-bright barbarian heads out on a quest with mixed-up magic to "help" him, and the object he seeks is more than he bargained for. It's a good thing his magical talent is healing himself, because he gets killed and maimed on a regular basis. But death shall not deter him from his quest...or will it? Jordan the ghost recounts the story.Title: A Spell For Chameleon
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Copyright: 1977
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first book in Anthony's "Xanth" series. Follow the main character Bink as he sets out on a journey seeking answers about his unidentified magical talent.
Jennifer Apodaca
Title: Dating Can Be Murder
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books
Copyright: May 2002
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: #1 in the Samantha Shaw series. This fun, light mystery is a good read to pass the time while you're waiting for another Evanovich. This author isn't on the same level, of course, but with her own style provides elements of humor, romance, and adventure, starring a single mom with two sons and a dating service business that serves up more trouble than bliss. Add in a mom who disapproves of everything her daughter does, a grandpa who enjoys life, and a couple of romantic interests (which will she choose?), not to mention a dog with a drinking problem, and you have a very enjoyable read. Unfortunately, this is out of print at the time of this review (9/06), so look for it in libraries or at used bookstores.Title: Dying to Meet You
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is another Samantha Shaw mystery. Trapped under a dead body until calling 911 to be rescued, kidnapped with a can of oven cleaner by the murder victim's husband, and peed on by the same victim's pet kitten - Sam's just starting the investigation into the death of one of her former Heart Mates dating service clients. Good, fun light mystery.
Kelley Armstrong
Title: Exit Strategy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Growing up in a family of police officers gives Nadia her sharp edge. No surprise she became a police officer. However, Nadia finds herself forced into retirement when she took justice into her own hands. Now, she runs nature lodge in Canada. At least that is what she does when she isn’t killing for hire. When a serial killer strikes terror across the U.S., Nadia’s contact recruits her to help hunt down this growing threat to their profession. Getting a group of hired killers to work together, even if its for the ‘greater good,’ is almost an impossible task as they struggle to keep their own identities private, yet try to trust one another to work together in a profession where trust usually gets you killed. The suspense and tension keeps you turning the page as Nadia and the gang hunts an aging hit man who is taunting local and federal law enforcement as he carries out his bloody retirement exit strategy.
Lori Armstrong
Title: No Mercy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Touchstone
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Mercy Gunderson is home on her family’s ranch after her father’s death, trying to deal with her loss and with the problems presented by her sister and her troubled nephew when a body is found on her land. So far, so good. Mercy is a career Army sniper, one of the few women in the field, and she’s a rough, tough woman (but beautiful, of course) who has traveled the world killing people. Why is it, then, that she now chooses to pursue a killer while leaving her gun at home, getting drunk, and falling (weeping) into the arms of the big strong (and handsome, of course) lawman?
Armstrong needs to stick to romance and if she’s thinking about making this a series I hope she changes her mind.
Keri Arthur
Title: Full Moon Rising (Review #1)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Bantam Dell/Random House
Copyright: February 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Werewolf/vampire fantasy. I liked the main character and her interactions with those around her. It had some really interesting plot twists. I hope the author continues this story line as a series.Title: Full Moon Rising (Review #2)
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Riley and her twin brother, Rhoan are rare vampire/werewolf hybrids who work for an Australian organization created to police the supernatural. This new dark urban fantasy adventure is full of action and the story moves along with such a fast pace I read it in one long sitting! Arthur sets up the story for a sequel and I can only hope this book is the first in a series. What an exciting addition to the genre!Title: Kissing Sin
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: February 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Australian twins Riley & Rhoan Jenson are back in the second installment from the RILEY JENSON GUARDIAN series. Riley finds herself prisoner in another facility run by the group of genetic engineers who tormented her brother in Full Moon Rising. Their attempts of crossbreeding paranormal DNA to create the perfect warrior puts everyone in the Guardian force at risk as it becomes more apparent there is a mole within the force. As Riley’s vampire traits begin to surface, her identity as a werewolf is beginning to shatter and she finds herself becoming closer to joining the Guardian force her brother works for as a governing assassin policing the paranormal community. Keri Arthur is technically a romance writer but these novels are strong on suspense and short on romance. The sexual exploits, although at times rather graphic, of Arthur’s characters are more integrated into the story with far more finesse and are less gratuitous than Laurell Hamilton has been able to achieve with her paranormal characters. This series is thrilling and hypnotizing, and with the plan to release a paperback book a month in 2007, we won’t have to wait to enjoy the dark urban fantasy adventures of these unique vampire/werewolf twins.
Catherine Asaro
Title: Alpha
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: September 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A female android designed to be the ultimate killing machine is falling in love with her target. A very good sequel to “Sunrise Alley.” This story is a fast-paced, truly enjoyable read which provides an interesting view of the possible interaction between humans and artificial intelligence. Also has an interesting exploration of the possibility of immortality.
Janet Asimov & Isaac Asimov
Title: SERIES - Norby Chronicles
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A series of short science fiction novels for young teens. These are the delightful adventures of fourteen years old Jeff Wells, a Space Academy cadet and Norby, his second-hand robot with unusual abilities. Enjoyable reads for preteens on up to adults. Fun!
John Assaraf
Title: Having It All: Achieving Your Life's Goals and Dreams
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I actually won a copy of this book at a business networking event I attended last month. If I had to compare this book to something similar, I would say it was a cross between The Secret and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This author shares the belief in attracting things to you like The Secret and he also talks about seven ‘power factors’ that highly successful people use. While somewhat interesting, I feel like I’m re-reading a slightly altered version of Stephen Covey's book. If you have never read either book mentioned above, then this would be a decent cross that covers both subjects of attraction and habits.
Nancy Atherton
Title: SERIES - Aunt Dimity
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In today’s modern day world, you aren’t likely to find a more gentle mystery series. Sometimes nobody even gets killed. The main character, Lori Shepherd, talks to her deceased Aunt Dimity through a journal which was bequeathed to her. Aunt Dimity serves as the foil for her thoughts and sometimes is able to help with the cases.Title: Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is #11 in the series which began with "Aunt Dimity's Death." Main character Lori Shepherd and her 5-year old twin sons, Will and Rob, are sent to stay with a rich friend of the family on an island off the coast of Scotland when "Abaddon" --a lunatic, obviously--threatens her husband Bill. This is about as tame as it gets in a modern mystery series, so if you like that, as I do, you'll enjoy this story. Aunt Dimity is a ghost friend who communicates with Lori through a journal, but she doesn't figure into this particular story very much.Title: Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The 11th novel in the Aunt Dimity series finds Lori Shepard and her children hiding out in a castle on a secluded Scottish Island after a series of death threats. But even there she is drawn into a possible smuggling plot and has to call on Aunt Dimity's supernatural power to save herself and her family. Atherton's cozy amateur sleuth books are both whimsical and suspenseful.
Kate Atkinson
Title: Case Histories
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Kate Atkinson just hasn't found a way to write a bad book, and this entry in the Jackson Brodie series is more evidence of that. Three unrelated crimes, spanning a period of twenty-four years, are woven together in an unlikely but inevitable way when former cop Brodie investigates. Atkinson, as always, convincingly establishes the strength of coincidence as the quirky Brodie wanders through the clues. A terrific read.Title: One Good Turn
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A very intriguing novel about how one moment influences life, how "One Good Turn," can alter future events. Retiring, asocial author Martin Canning is witness to a brutal example of road rage. Without thinking, he throws his laptop at the aggressor and saves the victim, who just happens to be a hitman. Does this action save the intended target? Or does it widen the circle of violence? A taut, riveting story.Title: When Will There Be Good News?
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: British author Atkinson delivers another top-notch mystery with the return of Jackson Brodie (series: Case Histories, One Good Turn) as he is reluctantly drawn into the investigation of a missing doctor who has already survived one brutally violent attack. Since the man who murdered her family has just been released from prison, is her disappearance related, or has she been taken by someone else? Is she on the run to save herself and her baby? A tightly woven book, with the coincidences that mark Atkinson's novels and keep us turning pages. I loved this one!
Jean Auel
Title: SERIES - Earth’s Children
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ayla is one of the first modern humans living during the Ice Age. The series begins with Ayla’s traumatic childhood living among the Neanderthal Cave Bear clan whose skills and physical features are radically different from her own Shunned as an adult by the clan, the books follow Ayla as she journeys through the harsh and threatening prehistoric world. The first three books are excellent; the last two books were terrible. Check out the reviews below on the individual books!Title: Clan of the Cave Bear
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Never judge a book by its movie. The book is one of my all-time favorite reads; the movie is an abomination. Ayla is a prehistoric child rescued by a separate race of humans destined to die out. She struggles to fit in with a culture that doesn't suit her intrinsic nature, as they struggle to accept her. As Ayla grows up, she discovers an inner strength that transcends her environment. This first book in the Earth's Children series is the best of all of them.Title: Mammoth Hunters
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this third book in the Earth's Children series, Ayla and Jondalar stay with a group of people who hunt mammoth. The sex scenes in this book become a bit overbearing; it's more of the same, yada yada yada, let's get back to the plot. However, Ayla wins my heart again as the larger-than-life, innovative heroine, still triumphing over adversity and fighting against prejudice. Lots of cultural conflict to spice up the plot.Title: Plains of Passage
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This fourth one is the absolute worst book in the entire Earth's Children series. Ayla and Jondalar travel on and on...and on...and ON...and by the time they reach their destination, it's the end of the book. What a gyp! Here's the plot: they travel. They have sex. They watch animals have sex. Shall I ever recover from reading the mammoths' sex scene? I may be in therapy for years. I should sue. Plus there's a rather nasty exploration of a group of women's abusive domination of men. Ick. Jean Auel, why did you put us through the "Pains" of Passage?Title: Shelters of Stone
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The good news is that the fifth book in the Earth's Children series is better than the fourth. Instead of being offensively bad, it's just boring. We waited ten years for this? I was reluctant to be disappointed; I wanted so much to love it. But it's anticlimactic. Ayla and Jondalar FINALLY reach his home, and have a very lovely life together. Lovely to live, but boring to read. Nothing much happens. Apparently the author couldn't think of an exciting plot. She should have asked her fans for ideas during her decade of writing this book. Is her imagination tuckered out? It seems that Ayla's story is over; Jean Auel might do better inventing something entirely new, and taking a refresher writing course. Give us a new legend!Title: Valley of the Horses
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this second entry in the Earth's Children series, Ayla meets Jondalar, who becomes her lover. The first book is still the best of the best, but the sequel is still wonderful, although slower-paced.
Jane Austen
Title: Sense and Sensibility
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books
Copyright: August 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you liked "Pride and Prejudice", you'll probably like this one as well. Includes an introduction, footnotes, and end notes.
Lori Avocato
Title: Deep Sea Dead
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: April 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another episode in the Pauline Sokol series. This time Pauline gets called in for a case involving medical insurance fraud. Only two problems - it's on a cruise ship when she's afraid of deep water and she has to return to nursing undercover once more time. Another lighthearted romp insues when Pauline finds her roommate stabbed to death in their cabin.
Trezza Azzopardi
Title: Hiding Place
Classification: Fiction
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A stark, brutal novel of an impoverished family in 1940s Wales and, ultimately, a story of redemption. Powerfully and wonderfully written.Title: Remember Me
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Remember Me" begins with the central character, an older homeless woman, who has been robbed of all her very few worldly possessions. In her search to recover these stolen items she recounts the events of her life. Not until the surprising ending does she (and the reader) come to terms with her existence. This is very well written and a compelling read.
Ney Bailey
Title: Faith is Not a Feeling: Choosing to Take God at His Word
Classification Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Told in first person, the author provides her own real life examples of how to apply the Bible in a world that often doesn't make sense. In the first chapter she relates how, although she herself and some others survived, seven of her friends died in a flood that hit while they were attending a Christian women's retreat. She is very honest about her struggles and mistakes. This book is encouraging, informative, and thought-provoking. A twelve week Bible study guide is included in the back of the book.
David Baldacci
Title: Simple Genius
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Baldacci began his writing career with Absolute Power, a great suspense novel. Since then, he has floundered his way through eleven more books without coming close to reaching the level of the first. But in Simple Genius, about the super-secret CIA installation at Camp Peary in Virginia, he shows the same promise we've been waiting for. If it's spies and rogue agents you're looking for, this is the book for you!
Donna Ball
Title: Smoky Mountain Tracks
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Signet/Penguin
Copyright: March 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Raine Stockton dog mystery series #1. The main character is a dog trainer, Raine Stockton, who participates in a search and rescue operation for a missing child and mother, with unexpected repercussions. Her golden retriever, Cisco, is young and inexperienced, but the other SAR dog teams are hours away, and every minute counts when there are lives at stake. An animal psychic friend adds an unusual element to the story. I liked it well enough that I plan to read the sequel (currently scheduled for release Dec. 2006) but it isn't as good as dog mysteries by Laurien Berenson, Susan Conant, and Virginia Lanier. I rate this one a 3 1/2.
Linwood Barclay
Title: Bad Guys
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Barclay is back, and he's proved he isn't a one-book author...Bad Guys is up to the standard set in Bad Move, complete with overprotective husband/father, sassy kids and smart wife; even the move back to the city can't save the hapless dad from his obsessive worry. Fortunately for us, it's really funny.Title: Bad Move
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Okay, gang, take Carl Hiaasen, move him to the suburbs, keep all the humor and whacked characters, and you've got Barclay. This is a terrific new voice in mystery...don't miss it.Title: Fear the Worst
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When his seventeen year-old daughter doesn't come home from her summer job, at first divorced dad Tim Blake thinks she's in a snit over the minor argument they'd had. But when the staff at the motel where she's been working tell him they've never seen her and her absence stretches into days, then weeks, Blake's investigation opens a whole new world to him. The question is: has Syd left on her own or has she uncovered something that cost her her life? And can he stay ahead of the police long enough to find out? Another fast-paced Barclay success.Title: Never Look Away
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Delacorte
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:David Harwood is worried about his wife Jan, who has been showing signs of depression, but he is encouraged by her plans for them to take their four year-old son to a nearby amusement park for a family day. David’s optimism turns to horror when first Ethan, then Jan, disappear and all the evidence implicates him. The police want to know why only two tickets to the park were bought and why no one else has noticed any changes in Jan’s behavior.
Fast-paced and riveting, Never Look Away is another winner from Barclay!
Title: No Time For Goodbye
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Fourteen year-old Cynthia Bigge wakes, hung over and confused. Granted, her parents were livid last night to find her in a parked car with the town bad boy, but surely not enough to have taken her brother and left. However, twenty years go by without a word from her family and Cynthia has resigned herself to the fact that they're all dead. But after all this time, why would the killer come after her? If you're looking for a great, fast-paced suspense read in the tradition of Harlan Coben, then this is your book! Don't miss it!Title: Stone Rain
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Barclay does it again, in this, his fourth entry in the Zack Walker series. Walker, in his own hapless way, finds himself drawn into a murder when he's asked for help by his former neighbor and professional dominatrix Trixie Snelling. Trixie has kept her life a secret until now, when she is exposed by an article in the local weekly newspaper. The reporter is found in her home, strapped to a restraint device, and very dead. Zack and Trixie find themselves suspects in the crime, and pursued by really bad people from Trixie's past. Barclay is always worth reading and this book proves no exception.Title: Too Close To Home
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Seventeen year-old Derek Cutter has a plan. He'll hide in his best friend's house until the family leaves on vacation, then have a perfect place to see his girlfriend while they're gone. But when he hears the family return, and he hears the shots that kill them, Derek knows that he is the perfect suspect. Is there a chance that the wrong people were murdered? Is his own family next? In true Barclay style this is a quick, page-turning thriller.
Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
Title: Holy Blood Holy Grail
Classification: History
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday
Copyright: 1982
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical interpretation. An oldie but currently topical, especially since the authors are currently suing Dan Brown over his Da Vinci Code. A controversial book about Christianity which could shatter our traditional beliefs. One of Dan Brown's main resources and, as such, an important read. Very thought provoking.
Tiffany Baker
Title: Little Giant of Aberdeen County
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Truly is easily the biggest baby ever born in Aberdeen County, so it's understandable that her mother died in the process. When her father, drunk, bored and broken-hearted dies, too, Truly and her sister (the breathtakingly beautiful Selena Jane) are farmed out to local families where they continue the paths already established for them...Selena Jane the cherished trophy daughter, Truly the dutiful workhorse. Nicely written, with a story that reminded me a little of Garden Spells and Lace Reader; a very good first novel.
Nina Bangs
Title: A Taste of Darkness
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Copyright: May 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 3 1/2. Vampire romance. Interesting interaction between the vampires and the shape shifters. The main vampire character, Reinn Mackenzie, has the job of keeping vampires and shape shifters from intermarrying, a job he hates but has to do. Unfortunately for him, he's just fallen in love with a woman who happens to be a "were-." Her problem is that her animal form is an uncontrolled saber-tooth tiger. I really liked it!
Linwood Barclay
Title: Lone Wolf
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam Dell/Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the third in the Zack Walker series, Zack is working as a feature writer for the Metropolitan when he gets the call informing him that his father is dead. Not just dead, but eaten-by-a-bear dead. When he arrives at his father's camp he finds, not a bear, but a group of survivalists who are armed to the teeth and whose artwork on the walls features a picture of Timothy McVeigh. At least his father isn't dead, but a lot of people might be if Zack can't find out just who is being targeted by this group and stop them before it's too late. Maybe a notch less funny than the first two, but still a must-read.
Abby Bardi
Title: Book of Fred
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a great book to provide discussion for reading groups. The main character, teenage Mary Fred, is removed from her parents due to their participation in a detrimental mind-control cult (her siblings die from lack of medical attention). This is the story of her life once placed with a foster family: how she affects them and how they affect her. The book starts out telling the story from Mary Fred's perspective, and then switches to the foster mother, the foster sister, the foster uncle, and then back to Mary Fred again. Very interesting as the story progresses told from the perspectives of different characters. We don't all live in the same world, in a sense, and this book illustrates that.
Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer
Title: Garden of Vegan
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book not only offers great tasting recipes, but also party ideas, and vegan beauty tips. The authors are sassy and hysterical. This is a sequel to "How it All Vegan".
Brett Battles
Title: Cleaner
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this very good debut, Battles chooses an unlikely hero: Jonathan Quinn, who makes his living cleaning up after killers have done their work. Just back from vacation, Quinn is sent to tidy up the details following a fatal fire but what he finds convinces him that this is no ordinary job, a conviction strengthened when the killers come for him. Full of spies and counterspies, this is a solid beginning to this new series.Title: Deceived
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: With this, his second in the Jonathan Quinn series, Battles has firmly established himself as an excellent suspense writer. When cleaner Jonathan Quinn is hired to dispose of a body in a shipping container he is shocked to find that his friend Steven Markoff is the dead man. And when his attempt to notify Markoff's girlfriend of his murder sets off a series of attacks on him, Quinn is drawn into a tangle of international intrigue and a shadow group whose purpose is to influence the U.S. government. Battles is at the top of his form with this one; I can't wait for the next.Title: Shadow of Betrayal
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In an abandoned Irish church Jonathan Quinn and his apprentice Nate wait. As a cleaner, Quinn's job is to clean up and dispose of any mess that might be left after this meeting...not to participate. However, when an unanticipated and definitely uninvited guest arrives all hell breaks loose, leaving four men dead and the two cleaners up to their necks in an international plot that threatens to disrupt governments at their highest levels. A harrowing, tightly plotted book, this third in the Quinn series races with roller coaster speed.
Erica Bauermeister
Title: The School of Essential Ingredients
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In the spirit of great reads such as How To Make an American Quilt and the Jane Austen Book Club, the School of Essential Ingredients is about a group of individuals from all walks of life that come together once a month to Lillian's restaurant to not only learn how to cook, but to recapture and celebrate/mourn past memories in their lives. Journey back with Lillian and her eight students in this poetic, delectable read that ends far too quickly.
L. Frank Baum
Title: SERIES - The Land of Oz
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Various
Copyright: 1900
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: There are fifteen books that visit the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 modern fairy tales of the adventures of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Woodsman, the Scarecrow and others. This classic children’s fantasy series has a timeless message for all children about friendship, compassion, courage and wisdom. All fifteen stories can be found in one volume called, 15 Books In 1: L. Frank Baum’s Original “Oz” Series (2005) Shoes & Ships & Sealing Wax, Ltd. Publishers. My personal favorite is Ozma of Oz. Ages 8 and up.Title: Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Classification: Children's
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Copyright: 1913
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book in the Wizard of Oz series was written for a younger reading level than all the rest. I didn't read this one as a child (the only one I missed), but from an adult perspective this book is not that great. The best of the stories were only okay. Compared to the rest of the Oz books, this one lacks magic. It is probably due to being written for younger readers and because it is a collection of six short stories, which are rarely as good as a full-length novel. This book isn't worth reading; the other books are much better.
Alison Bechdel
Title: Dykes To Watch Out For
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Firebrand Books
Copyright: 1986
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As an old school classic, this graphic novel takes you back in the day of the 80's. The graphics are as lewd as the 80's. Dykes To Watch Out For covers everything like the ABC's of lesbians to humorous comics of life as a dyke.Title: More Dykes To Watch Out For
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Firebrand Books
Copyright: 1988
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Alison Bechdel did it again. This graphic novel might be from the 80's; giving an interesting perspective on life as a lesbian in the crazy 80's, but even in 2006 I can find myself and certain friends in the characters portrayed in these humorous graphic. Bechdel brings back some old characters from her first graphic novel, "Dykes to Watch Out For" and also some fresh faces.
Laura Benedict
Title: Isabella Moon
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although a moderately well-written first novel, Benedict makes the fatal mistake made by too many authors caught up in their own plots: she fails to write an ending. The story is fairly interesting...small town, missing child, but far-fetched ghostly apparitions and somewhat stilted dialogue mar the book. Here's wishing for better next time.
Linda Berdoll
Title: Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc.
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Pride and Prejudice continued! Brilliantly written, this book is hilarious take on life with the Darcys. A must read, no doubt!
John Berendt
Title: City of Falling Angels
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: John Berendt, author of "Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil", chose Venice Italy in this true crime investigation surrounding the 1996 fire that destroyed the famous opera house La Fanice. Berendt introduces us to dozens of famous and influential people who had their own personal and political agendas. I got bogged down with all the names, but found the Venetian lifestyles and history very interesting.
Alex Berenson
Title: Faithful Spy (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: American CIA agent John Wells has successfully infiltrated al Qaeda and has lived as a part of them for ten years. Guilty over his failure to prevent 9/11, he is committed to making sure there is never another attack on his homeland, but plans are in place that even he doesn't know about...and his superiors in Washington have stopped trusting him. As events unfold it is obvious that al Qaeda won't be satisfied with just one more attack and that this time many more thousands will die. This may be the best spy novel I've ever read; Berenson's style is riveting!Title: Faithful Spy (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political thriller. John Wells is a CIA operative who has managed to infiltrate al Quida after years of building his cover. He has met Bin Laden several times but his handler is Omar Khadri, the man in charge of planning and orchestrating attacks on America. Now John is coming back home for a secret mission, but since Khadri doesn’t fully trust him, no details have been revealed. The CIA doesn’t trust him either because of his lack of communication with them. After two vicious attacks are carried out, the CIA has even less trust in John and, forced out of the information loop; he strikes out on his own. Meanwhile, he still is being tested by Khadri with tasks which begin to reveal parts of the terrorist’s plan. This will be the big one-“one which will make 9/11 look like a picnic”-involving some kind of biological, chemical or even nuclear weapons-and it is up to John to stop it. Twists, turns and non-stop action make this a page turner you won’t want to miss.Title: Ghost War
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Putnam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: John Wells is back in Berenson's second novel as he tries to prevent war with China. Patriots and megalomaniacs abound as Wells goes first to Afghanistan to defeat a threat there, then travels to China to save the world. Despite a world-class first novel in Faithful Spy, Berenson suffers sophomore slump here by making Wells the kind of super hero usually found only in comic books. Here's hoping for better next time.Title: Midnight House
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:In another so-so thriller featuring John Wells who has already saved the world more than once, Wells is called in to investigate when members of a super-secret military torture team start to turn up dead. Along the way, Wells finds a trail of missing money, corrupt government officials, Middle Eastern assassination plots, a covert house of torture and a lot of generally whacked-out bad guys. Unfortunately, there’s little suspense and the dead people seem to have gotten what they deserve, so the book turns out to be a whimper and not a bang.
Title: Silent Man
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the third in the John Wells Series, Berenson continues the promise he showed in the first (Faithful Spy), despite the serious disappointment of the second (Ghost War). The theft of two nuclear warheads from a highly secure Russian depot, in addition to a stunning attack on Wells, drives this high-octane thriller as Wells tries to track down the location of the bomb before it's too late. Cleverly plotted, this is another terrific read!
Laurien Berenson
Title: SERIES - Melanie Travis Mysteries
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A dog lover’s mystery series featuring standard poodles and Melanie Travis, thirty-something single mother and Connecticut teacher.Title: Chow Down
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books
Copyright: September 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another good read in this dog-lover's mystery series. Newly married Melanie Travis finds herself--or rather, her standard poodle, Faith--a finalist in a dog food contest they didn't enter. (Young children should not have unsupervised access to the Internet. See what can happen?) There is fierce competition for the $100 thousand grand contract as official "spokesdog." When one of the human competitors falls to his death, Melanie is suspicious and starts asking questions. This series usually is centered around the conformation dog show world, so a new main context helps to keep it fresh, although the story still features dog shows so devotees won't be disappointed. Laurien Berenson is a very good author in this sub-genre.Title: A Pedigree To Die For
Classification: Mystery
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dog lover's mystery. First in the amateur sleuth Melanie Travis series. She's a single mom who enters the world of show Poodles and discovers an aptitude for solving crimes.
Elizabeth Berg
Title: Dream When You're Feeling Blue
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story is about the Heaney sisters, Kitty, Louise and Tish at the time of World War II. A time where USO dances, metal drives, and the sense of patriotism is the everyday norm. It is not long before Kitty and Louise tearfully see their boyfriends off to fight in the war and the worry whether or not they will make it back begins. This tale follows the girls as they correspond with their men. As time goes by, their beliefs, strength and love about everything they know is tested and pushed to the limit. Elizabeth Berg writes a charming story that transports the reader back in time.Title: Never Change
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The title of the book reminded me of one of those tag lines written in a high school yearbook. That just about covers the life of Myra Lipinski. Myra grows up to become a visiting nurse. A job she finds satisfying. One day she receives news of a new patient, Chip Reardon, with an incurable illness who has opted not to continue treatment. Myra soon learns that this new patient is someone from her high school that she’s had a crush on for years. Dealing with the illness together, Myra and Chip forge a tight bond that leads both of them into uncharted territories. It’s a sweet story which requires a box of tissues.Title: We Are All Welcome Here
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Unlike Berg's past works, this book is a fictionalized story of one of her reader's mother. This mother is like no other. She contracted polio while pregnant with her daughter and gave birth while in an iron lung. And what does this mother do? She makes the choice to raise her daughter by herself instead of giving it up for adoption. This story takes the true portions of this mother's life and sets it in a different time and place using fictionalized characters. I found this story very moving and a strong testament of dedication this mother had in taking on the challenge to keep her baby. A definite tale to give you inspiration!
Elaine Bergstrum
Title: SERIES - Austra Family
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Various (Some out-of-print)
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:The Austra Family vampires are unique. They are members of an ancient race, separate from humans. Although the stories are set throughout Europe, they tell the story of the family members living in Cleveland, Ohio. As a Clevelander, it is so interesting to see the city through a vampire’s eyes.
Berlitz Publishing Staff
Title: Hide This French Book
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Berlitz
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Think you learned all your French skills in the classroom? Think again! This book is excellent for language lovers who want to learn French slang. But be warned, it is uncensored!
Janet Berlo
Title: Quilting Lessons: Notes from the Scrap Bag...
Classification: Biography
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The title is deceiving because this book isn't really how to quilt but about creativity and overcoming an artist or writers' "block".
Anne Bernays
Title: Trophy House
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2005
Reviewers: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Set mainly on Cape Cod, "Trophy House" is the story of children's illustrator Dannie Faber in the year following 9/11. Living a good life with husband Tom, her life begins to unravel, especially her marriage. Sharp-tongued, yet smart and funny, Dannie struggles with the balance between family and friends and her need for solitary creativity nurtured at her beach house.
Steve Berry
Title: The Templar Legacy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thriller. According to historical tradition, the Knights Templar amassed untold treasure and wealth, all of which was lost when the Templars were destroyed by the Inquisition on Friday the thirteenth of October, 1307. Since that time, various groups and individuals have sought to uncover the secrets and find the treasure for themselves, leaving a multitude of clues, guesses and documents--but no answers. Stephanie Nelle, a supervisor in the area of National Security in the Justice Department, has been gathering Templar information and takes vacation time in an effort to crack this centuries old mystery. But others are involved in the same quest and have no qualms in attempting a violent attempt to rob Stephanie of information critical to the project. She calls for help to Cotton Malone, once her top agent, now enjoying life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen. But, the more involved Malone becomes, the more he realizes that the Templar mystery involves far more than just a search for riches and power. Discovery of the secret and its' publication could be devastating to the civilized world. The answer, while thought provoking, is truly radical and potentially far more controversial than that found in Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. Don't miss this one!!
Annie Berthold-Bond
Title: Clean & Green: The Complete Guide to Nontoxic and Environmentally Safe Housekeeping
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: Ceres Press
Copyright: 1990
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you care about the environment, your health, and/or your wallet, this book is for you. It details a multitude of safe, natural cleaning solutions and applications, so you'll never again have to use the harmful, expensive cleaners found in stores.
Sarah Bilston
Title: Bed Rest
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: British born Quinn "Q", married to an American and living in New York City, has to spend the last three months of her pregnancy on bed rest. While confined she ponders her checklist of "The Modern Woman's List of Things to Do Before Hitting Thirty". The couples extreme self-absorbtion renders the characters somewhat dull although there is some soul searching and emotional growth as the story ends.
Sarah Bird
Title: How Perfect Is That
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I'm still yawning after reading this ho-hum novel about poor Blythe Young, former caterer to the stars, former wife to millionaire Trey Dix; current drunk, druggie and all around loser. Please only buy this book if you're up for three hundred pages of failed attempts to produce sympathy for this completely unlikable character, or if you're a masochist. Otherwise, pass.
Mark Bittner
Title: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Harmony Books
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: On the cover of the book it says, "A Love Story....with Wings." There really is no better way to describe this amazing book. Mark Bittner is an old soul living in San Francisco; down on his luck he discovers a flock of wild non-native parrots and falls in love with them. The story teaches about fulfilling dreams, trust and love. By the end of this book you'll be wishing to live on Telegraph Hill watching these beautiful creatures that could show the work what it is to really live and love.
Benjamin Black
Title: Christine Falls
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Set in the 1950's, this excellent crime drama explores murder and black-market adoption in Dublin's Catholic culture. Dark and wonderfully written with a convincing protagonist, this book could be the best of its genre this year. When medical examiner Quirke wanders into the morgue after a night of partying he finds his brother-in-law, respected physician Malachy Griffin, altering a file he has no right to even be reading. With his curiosity piqued, Quirke sets out to determine just what makes the death of Christine Falls worth the risk Griffin has taken and discovers a network of arrogance and deceit...a network that involves his own family. The first book written under the Black pen name of Booker Prize winner John Banville, this is a debut not to be missed.Title: Silver Swan
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Henry Holt
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, Black's sequel to the excellent Christine Falls, pathologist Quirke is asked by a long-ago classmate to forgo an autopsy on his wife, dead by what seems to be suicide. The curious Quirke agrees, knowing that he won't honor the request and, when he finds a puncture mark in the dead woman's arm, sets out to find the truth about her death. In a meandering, Columbo-like plot, Quirke discovers hidden lives including the one being led by his estranged daughter. Unfortunately, Black dozes off and at the end of the book forgets his own murder sequence, which throws the whole thing into a shambles. Well-written, but not for true mystery readers who will be appalled by this slip.Title: Elegy for April
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Henry Holt
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Quirke is finishing his stay at St. John’s where he has managed to dry out after a barely remembered binge when his fragile daughter Phoebe comes to tell him that her friend April is missing. Shaky but determined to help, Quirke checks himself out and quickly finds himself involved not only with April’s friends but also with April’s cold and powerful family. Is it that these people are unable to help with the search, or is it that they’re hiding some terrible secret?
A completely riveting, chilling new mystery set in moody Dublin, this is another winner from Black!
Lisa Black
Title: Evidence of Murder
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Harper-Collins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Cleveland forensic scientist Theresa MacClean, uneasy over the police report on the death of a young woman, goes out on her own to find more evidence to support her suspicions. This sequel to "Takeover" is suspenseful and will definitely appeal to fans of forensic thrillers like those of Reichs and Cornwell.
Amy Bloom
Title: Away: A Novel
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Away" is the epic story of Lillian Leyb, a young Russian immigrant, in the 1920's. Upon finding out that her little daughter might still be alive back in Russia, she embarks on a monumental journey from NY City up to Alaska and along the Telegraph Trail to Siberia. Hardship, wit, romance and heart back come together in this unusual yet compelling novel.
Giles Blunt
Title: Black Fly Season
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In Canada's Algonquin Bay, few brave the outdoors during black fly season. So when a beautiful redhead wanders into the local bar covered in bites and with no memory of who she is there's reason for the police to be suspicious. When a bullet is found in her brain their suspicions are confirmed. But with their only witness unable to remember who shot her, or why, will they be able to stop him before he tries again? A very good read.Title: By The Time You Read This
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Henry Holt
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Blunt, the author of Black Fly Season, is back with another great read! John and Catherine Cardinal have been married for years, so he knows when his wife's bipolar syndrome is reaching the blackness of depression. He's devastated when, on a routine photography outing, she throws herself off the tallest building in Algonquin Bay. Despite overwhelming evidence that her death is a suicide Cardinal sets out to prove that it was murder and uncovers the dark and twisted truth. Don't miss this one!Title: Forty Words For Sorrow
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of the most surprising things about this author is that he isn't front and center on bookstore displays. In fact, I had to special order this: and it was worth the wait! This is the first in the Algonquin Bay series featuring cop John Cardinal, and is as absolutely great as the others. Cardinal's bipolar wife Catherine is hospitalized, his daughter Kelly away at school, when he's called out to view the most unusual results of a murder: the victim is frozen in a block of ice. Missing for months and almost dismissed as a runaway, young Katie Pine has been found. Set in Canada, this book will chill you as Cardinal tries to find the killer and as he hides a shameful secret. My recommendation? Read this book!
Corrie Ten Boom
Title: The Hiding Place
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Written in 1971, this religious biography is a very compelling account of the author's and her family's WWII holocaust experience.
Stephen Booth
Title: Blind to the Bones
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Blind to the Bones, a contemporary mystery set in a small English village, pairs detectives Diane Fry and Ben Cooper. Their personal and professional relationships converge as they find the common denominator in two murders. Booth's plot features interesting characters but is somewhat ponderous getting to the point and conclusion.Title: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Harcourt
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Two men sit at a table, one a young Pakistani named Changez and the other an unnamed American. Only Changez speaks as he relates his promising career in America and his rocky romantic relationship with Erica, a beautiful fellow Princetonian. Then come the attacks of 9/11 and his identity is forever fractured. Returning to his homeland, he struggles with allegiances which bring his story to an ominous end.
Michele Andrea Bowen
Title: Church Folk (Review #1)
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the story of a Southern African American woman in the early 60s who falls in love with, and eventually marries, a Christian pastor. Life as a pastor's wife is far from smooth sailing, sometimes hilariously so. Don't expect a stained-glass depiction: this novel is usually shelved in regular fiction instead of religious fiction. It has blunt speech and plenty of references to sexuality. This book was a #1 Essence bestseller.Title: Church Folk (Review #2)
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stereotypical, racist, this book might have been considered realistic before the civil-rights movement, but today is just insulting. Blech...should have been called "Church Folk in Black Face."Title: Church Folk (Review #3)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: June 2001
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:This was a fun book about a young pastor in the south in the early 1960's. He has a weakness for women until he finds the right one, but one woman of his past tries her hardest to keep him from moving on.Title: Second Sunday
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books
Copyright: June 2003
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Romance, faith, struggle, sorrow and joy--these elements combine to portray a sense of real people making their way through real life. This novel features the lives of church members in an African American Baptist Church in 1975 St. Louis. There are those in the church with their own agendas which might endanger the church as a whole as its centennial anniversary approaches. This second novel by Ms. Bowen, although definitely humorous in parts, didn't make me laugh out loud as much as when I read her first book, "Church Folk". But I liked the storyline of this one better. It is not necessary to read "Church Folk" first, although there are a few references to characters and events from the first book. Very good read. Again, be aware this contains blunt speech and sexual references.
John Bowker
Title: World Religions
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: DK Publishing Inc.
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A beautifully illustrated guide to the religions and faiths of the world. Each religion is deeply explored and explained.
Patty Boyd with Penny Junior
Title: Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton & Me
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Harmony Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Growing up in the 60's, I believed Pattie Boyd lead the most extraordinary and charmed life. She was a fashion super model before there were super models. She married two of the eras greatest rockers-George Harrison and Eric Clapton. She was one of the school girls in the first Beatles film. She was a rock muse, inspiring both Clapton and Harrison to pen some of their most signature songs (i.e.; Layla, Wonderful Tonight, Old Love, Something, to name a few). Her family and friends read like a Who's Who in the fashion, and rock 'n roll world. What a delight to finally have her tell her story! The book is very British in tone, and if you aren't familiar with all the key players from the 60's British Invasion into the music and fashion scene, the book may be a little difficult to follow. I couldn't wait to read about this icon; yet by the end of the book, I realized she was just a normal person who was truly just lucky to be in the right place, at the right time-over and over again.
William Boyd
Title: Restless
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As a child, Ruth heard her mother's admonitions that "You'll wake up one morning and I'll be gone. Disappeared. You wait and see," as nothing more than attempts to get her to behave. But when, as an adult, she is given pages of her mother's memoirs, she learns that her mother lived a secret life and that even now she is in danger. After decades of living quietly in the English countryside Sal Gilmartin has been found by the network of spies for whom she worked (and killed) during World War II. A convincing, believable spy novel.
John Boyne
Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Written by the author as a book for anyone, U.S. publisher Random House presents "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" as teen fiction. Residing in Berlin in 1942 8yr old Bruno and his family move when his father is promoted to head a concentration camp. Naive and unknowing, Bruno wonders about the other side of the fence and all those people who wear "striped pajamas". While exploring he meets, through the barbed wire fence, a boy from inside the camp with whom he forms a friendship, but with devastating results.
Alan Bradley
Title: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:The first in a new series (Flavia de Luce series) "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" introduces 11 year old Flavia, an extraordinary and precocious child of a well to do English family in the 1950's. Her snooping leads to finding a body in their garden, an old episode of death from her father's school days and her own life threatened. Brilliant and incorrigible, Flavia is a character the reader will want to meet again.
Shelley Bradley
Title: Bound and Determined
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Berkley (Sensation)
Copyright: January 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story's plot was not well developed and only served to get the main characters together. It seemed as though too much time was spent on the sensual sex scenes - can you say that about romance?? While well written, I found myself wanting to skip to the action and found myself disappointed when it didn't deliver these scenes as well.
Kate Braestrup
Title: Here if You Need Me: A True Story
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Author Kate Braestrup's heartfelt narrative is insightful, funny and moving. After the tragic death of her husband Braestrup decided to pursue his dream of becoming a minister. Mother of 4 young children, she successfully became a Unitarian minister and the first female chaplain for Maine's Game Warden Service. With simple but somewhat unorthodox faith she provided comfort to both the wardens and families in distress. A memoir definitely worth reading.
Kelly Braffet
Title: Josie and Jack
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although I read this a couple of months ago, I've had to mull over my feelings about it. Braffet writes well (as she did in Last Seen Leaving), but she has chosen a disturbing subject (think Flowers In the Attic, but brutal) and presents it in such a creepy, uncompromising way that I was tempted to avert my eyes as I read. A dark, moody book with perfectly drawn, disturbing characters, but definitely not for everyone.Title: Last Seen Leaving (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When her pilot husband is killed while flying a mysterious mission for the government, Anne Cassidy is devastated and spends the next twenty years trying first to find out what happened, then trying to reconnect with him through meditation and crystals. Their daughter Miranda, shut out of her mother's life, drifts from one man to another...then vanishes. Anne, desperate not to lose her child, is forced to come to grips with what she meant to her husband, and what her daughter means to her. A well-written, though somewhat predictable story.Title: Last Seen Leaving (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A suspense novel in which a mother and daughter, estranged for several years, examine their divergent lifestyles. Their father/husband's unexplained disappearance 20 years before and the daughter's current involvement with a possible serial killer create an engrossing page-turner.
Ann Brashares
Title: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows
Classification: Teen
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The author of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" offers us 3 new girls, just entering high school, who have been friends since childhood. Drifting apart over the summer, they are dealing with divorce, unmet expectations and boys. In the end though they find the bond of friendship is strongest. A nice story for tweens and young teensTitle: Forever in Blue: The 4th Summer of the Sisterhood
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Forever in Blue", the fourth Traveling Pants novel series, continues the lives of Tibby, Carmen, Bridget and Lena as they try to balance love and friendship in their ever expanding lives. As the girls are now in college the themes become more mature.Title: Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the last summer after high school and the girls are making plans for college. Everyone is in town this summer except for Bridget. She found her grandmother and goes out to discover more about her mother's past. The rest deal with summer jobs, loves, and family. The series continues on a feel good way. It's a pleasant read.Title: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Random House
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first in a fiction series (3 so far) of stories involving four teenage girls whose lives are forever connected. Teens, moms and grand moms would enjoy this series.Title: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Review #2)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This first book in the series introduces you to Carmen, Bridget, Lena, and Tibby. Four girls who are best friends since they were born. These girls have been inseparable until this particular summer. Carmen is going to go visit her father, Bridget is attending soccer camp, Lena is going to visit her grandparents in Italy, and poor Tibby is left at home working at Wallman’s. The girls are anxious yet excited about their summer plans. By chance, Tibby notices a pair of blue jeans purchased at a thrift store by Carmen. These are not just ordinary jeans, but very special jeans. Despite their different shapes, the jeans fit them all perfectly. The girls believe it is a sign of great experiences awaiting them over the summer and they determine to use them as a connection to each other while apart. The book follows the jeans progression as it passes from one girl to the next.Title: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book in this series find the girls spending another summer apart. This time Tibby goes to a film program at a college in Virginia and Bridget travels to her deceased mother’s home town to uncover the mystery of her absent grandmother, leaving Lena and Carmen at home working summer jobs. Once again, the girls pull out their magical jeans. This time the jeans do not seem to carry the same magic they did during the first summer. Each girl has to face difficult times and the pants serve as comfort more than anything else. By the end of the summer and the jeans makes the rounds a second time, the magic is back and the girls learn valuable lessons.
Marie Brennen
Title: Doppelganger
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Warner Fantasy
Copyright: April 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story revolves around a unique concept - anytime a witch is born a doppelganger is created. Normally, this twin is killed before the body is filled with a soul. However, Miryo discovers that her doppelganger is still alive when her testing ceremony does not complete as expected. She must find and kill her twin in order to "master" and use her skills safely. This is easier said than done - her twin is Mirage, a trained warrior. The book spends equal time between each of their stories. It is easy to become attached to both characters (each is given their own rich, unique personality) ...but don't worry, the author finds a way to resolve the issue and end the book without disappointing the reader.
Patricia Briggs
Title: Blood Bound ____
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ACE Fantasy
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book featuring Mercy Thompson (Moon Called first introduced Mercy in 2006). Mercy finds herself again caught between fae, werewolf, vampire, and police politics as the Tri-Cities area finds itself swimming in a senseless bloodbath created by a rogue vampire sorcerer. Mercy is at her best and is just as engaging as she was in the first book of this remarkable dark urban fantasy mystery series. For those that have lost hope in Anita Blake, Mercy’s tales will surely restore faith that there are interesting heroines still around in this genre.Title: Iron Kissed
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ACE Fantasy
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This gripping, page turner is the fourth novel in the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy finds herself trying to clear the name of her friend and ex-boss who has been accused of a series of gruesome murders. Mercy is charming, tough and independent, and not afraid to take on any monster that threatens her or her friends. These stories are some of the best in the lycanthrope urban fantasy genre.Title: Moon Called
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ACE Fantasy
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mercy, mercy, mercy…its Mercy Thompson, a shape-shifting mechanic who was raise by werewolves. I really hope this book is just the first of a series! Mercy has attitude, strength & brains. All the characters that interact with Mercy have such depth it makes you wish Briggs would write a separate novel about each of them. It’s been a long time since I have read such a good werewolf story. Dark urban horror at its finest!Title: Moon Called (Review #2)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Ace/Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: February 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Urban fantasy. A stand-alone read. I liked the story and the way the characters interacted. I was tickled by the concept of the main character being a female shapeshifting mechanic, and I really liked how she made friends out of the rest of the paranormal community (i.e. werewolves, vampires and witches) who should have been her natural enemies.Title: On The Prowl
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: You will find this dark fantasy collection in the Romance section. I am baffled as to why Patricia Briggs dark fantasy series, featuring Mercy Thompson is classified as Romance. Most likely, I would have passed by this book if not for Briggs. Her short story entitled, Alpha and Omega is a great addition to the unique lycanthrope world she has created and a must read for all Mercy Thompson fans. The rest of the short stories provide an introduction to some of the emerging paranormal fantasy writers.
Emily Brightwell (aka Sarah Temple)
Title: SERIES - Mrs. Jeffries
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The mysteries aren’t hard to figure out, but I enjoy the characters and the gentleness of the series (not gory, graphic, or intense). Inspector Witherspoon is not nearly as talented at detecting as his housekeeping staff, but I won’t tell if you won’t.Title: Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkely/Penguin
Copyright: May 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: #21 in the Mrs. Jeffries series. I typically enjoy this light Victorian mystery series featuring an Inspector whose detective work is helped out considerably by his household staff. However, this one did not particularly engage me, probably because I so recently read the previous book in the series, and the stories are too much alike after awhile to read one right after another.Title: Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: October 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Inspector Witherspoon is a gifted homicide detective: gifted in having a household staff, headed by housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries, accompanied by a few friends, who enjoy secretly helping him catch murderers and thus enhance his reputation. In this 21st entry in the series begun by "The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries", set in Victorian England, Witherspoon continues to be charmingly puzzled by "his" brilliant ideas. If you like your mysteries tame, without extensive blood/gore/unwelcome insights into the twisted minds of psychotic killers, you'll be safe with this entertaining series.
Andrew Britton
Title: The American
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Kensington
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ryan Kealey is called back to work with the CIA to stop an anticipated assassination attempt on the President. The assassin, aligned to Middle East terrorists, is an American who once was Kealey's trainee. Many characters and sub-plots create an exciting techno-thriller filled with personal and political confrontations.
Geraldine Brooks
Title: March
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An interesting look at the father of Louisa May Alcot's "Little Women". Brooks follows March as he leaves home to aid the Union cause during the Civil War. Flashbacks to his younger days and early relationships round out the events that shaped his marriage and beliefs.Title: March (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this wonderful book, Brooks brings to life the absent March father from Alcott's Little Women as she follows the itinerant preacher through the early part of the Civil War. Our knowledge of Marmee and the girls provide a context for understanding their haunted, conflicted husband and father as he confronts a reality far removed from the safety of philosophizing about the evil of slavery and war. This is a nearly-perfect period novel.Title: People of the Book
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penquin
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In 1996 Hannah Heath, a rare books expert, travels to Sarajevo to conserve a priceless Jewish Haggadah. As she discovers tiny artifacts (an insect wing, salt crystals, a white hair, wine stains) to help her determine its provenance the story moves backward in time, following the history of the codex. Each time segment gives the reader a glimpse of anti-semitism and women's struggle for independence. Intertwined with this long cast of characters are Hannah's personal struggles and relationships. Brooks, author of the Pulitzer Prize winner"March", again combines popular fiction with serious themes.Title: Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: From the author of Pulitzer Prize winner "March" this novel is based in 1666 in the actual English town of Eyam, Derbyshire during the bubonic plague. At their minister's plea the citizens pledged to totally isolate themselves from everyone outside, thinking they could slow the spread of the plague in their rural area. As the illness took its victims the town is gripped with fear and hysteria, sacrifice and sorrow. Many intricate subplots wind through the tale which keeps the reader intrigued.
Sigumund Brouwer
Title: SERIES - The Mars Diaries
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Tyndale Kids
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating: 4
Reviewer Comments: In the year 2039, Tyce Sanders, a 14-year-old virtual reality specialist and atheist, finds life at the experimental Mars community difficult. As he explores his strange surroundings, he finds the mysteries of the red planet point to his greatest discovery-a relationship with God. This series is a Christian science fiction for teens.
Dan Brown
Title: Angels and Demons (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Almost as good as Da Vinci Code--some (not I) would say better. This time our intrepid hero is in Rome. My only complaint was with the ending which I couldn't quite buy, but maybe it was just over my head.Title: Angels and Demons (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dealing with a secret, ancient brotherhood and a plot to annihilate the Vatican city, this book is absolutely perfect for those of you who love fast-paced, thrilling adventure stories.Title: The Da Vinci Code
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: What can you say about this phenomenal best seller! Controversial, illuminating and thought-provoking. If you haven't read it--go get a copy and get it read before the movie comes out this spring. You know the movie is never as good as the book.Title: Digital Fortress
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a fantastic book. Lovers of "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" must read "Digital Fortress" - a techno-thriller with non-stop adventure.
Jeffery Brown
Title: Aeiou - Any Easy Intimacy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Aeiou is a cute graphic novel about a relationship. Based on the one of the author's previous relationships; it offers humor to what everyone goes through in the beginning of a relationship and even through rocky times and sadly the end. The pictures themselves are humorous, almost rough sketches.Title: Clumsy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Clumsy is an very honest graphic novel about the author and one of his past loves. As his debut of many graphic novels, Jeffrey tells it all with elementary drawings. He is naive, jealous, obsessive but all so loveable and honest. He's my new anti-hero.Title: Unlikely
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Jeffrey Brown has done it again, in his tell all graphic novel about his first girlfriend. From the start you know they're all wrong for each other. But Jeffrey's hope for his first love is hopeful and vulnerable. After reading three of Brown's graphic novels I wonder if he is doomed for life in the love department.
Miranda Bruce-Mitford
Title: The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: Barnes and Noble Books
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A brilliantly descriptive guide to signs and symbols including religious, nature, and people. This book is fascinating!
Bill Bryson
Title: Life And Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In his funniest book since Lost Continent, Bryson recounts his early life growing up in Iowa in the fifties and recalls for all of us the innocence, the simplicity and the hope of the time. Not that his descriptions are always idyllic; he reminds us that "Only one thing came close to matching the fear of teenagers in the 1950s and that was of course Communism. Worrying about Communism was an exhaustingly demanding business in the 1950s." Whether reminiscing about the development of the hydrogen bomb ("One possibility was that it might ignite all the oxygen in the atmosphere"), or protesting the day each summer that he had to spend at the Riverview Amusement Park (of whose roller coaster he says: "People didn't even scream on it; they were much too petrified to emit any kind of noise"), Bryson is hysterically accurate. Whether you lived the fifties, or the fifties are ancient history to you, you must read this book. If you give it as a gift, make sure to buy one for yourself, too!
Jimmy Buffett
Title: Swine Not?
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Ellie McBride, her twins and their pet pig Rumpy move into a New York hotel when Ellie is hired as the pastry chef. Unfortunately the hotel does not allow pets, so what is a talented sensitive pig to do?Meant to be a satirical view of American culture it missed the mark for me.
Jim Butcher
Title: Proven Dead
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ROC & Penguin Group
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the eighth book in the Harry Dresden series. It is great to be back in Chicago with the amazing P.I. wizard, Harry and his side kick, Bob, the talking skull. However, this adventure seems slow to start and lacks the excitement and adventure found in previous stories. I found myself having to refresh my memory by re-reading the last book in order to follow what was happening with Harry in this book. If you like the series, you will love catching up with Harry and friends in this book. If you are new to the series, this book is not the place to begin. Feels more like filler than a stand alone adventure.Title: SERIES - Dresden Files
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: ROC & Penguin Group
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: These are the dark urban fantasy adventures of Harry Dresden, Chicago’s wizard extraordinaire and struggling Private Investigator. Harry comes up against vampires, witches, and werewolves on a daily basis. There is action, adventure, and humor all at the right spots. As the series progresses, so does Butcher’s writing skills. Although there are only a few story lines dependent on reading the series in order, there are not many spoilers if you read a book out of order.
Beverly Butler
Title: Gift of Gold
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this sequel to "Light a Single Candle", Cathy, now a college student, faces more difficulties as a blind person with a desire to become a speech therapist. In addition to trying to find her place in the world, she's trying to decide which man she'll let find a place in her heart.Title: Light a Single Candle
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story is about Cathy, a 14 year old who goes blind and must learn how to adjust. After awhile, she gets a German Shepherd guide dog, Trudy, and attends public high school. The author of this novel was blind herself and therefore well able to express the friendship difficulties that Cathy experiences. There is a sequel, "Gift of Gold."
Rhonda Byrne
Title: The Secret
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book is all about the power of positive thinking and visualization! The contributing writers have a lot of insight about how you can attract positive influences in your life. Topics covered include finances, love, health, and success. These contributing writers all have something to say and it is worth reading despite recent criticism regarding this book. You never know what you can achieve in your life with a little positive thinking. Several people I’ve talked to about this book all had stories of things that happened after reading this book. I am no exception. I also have experienced a few wonderful surprises. I highly recommend this book. The way it is written makes it a fast and easy read. It is one that you could read repeatedly and pick up some new detail you missed before. There is no guarantee of success but it opens the door to possibilities.
Meg Cabot
Title: Big Boned: A Heather Wells Mystery
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon Trade
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The plus-sized, ex-pop star, now dormitory Assistant Director Heather Wells (series) is back! As hard as it is to believe, another dead body has turned up in her dorm The police, her ex-con father, the school officials, and her P.I. roommate want her to stay out of this murder investigation. Her life may be getting complicated, but Heather seems to piece evidence together better than any one else and she can't stay out of it. The story is light, moves quickly and keeps you guessing.Title: Jinx
Classification: Teens
Publisher: HarperTeen
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sixteen-year-old Jean Honeychurch finds herself living with relatives in Manhattan after a prankish spell went awry, forcing her to leave her Iowa home. Nicknamed Jinx by the attending physician at her birth, Jinx believes she has had nothing but bad luck all her life. When Jinx arrives in Manhattan, she finds her cousin has radically changed, believing she inherited magic powers from their ancestor and tries to force Jinx to join her high school coven. When Jinx falls in love with the neighbor boy her cousin has a crush on, her cousin takes to revenge. However, only one woman per generation actually inherits magical powers and the story takes on a ‘good witch,’ ‘evil witch’ until the true witch emerges. Meg Cabot is one of the best tween/teen writers being published today. The stories are contemporary, and always seem to appeal to young women and this new entry is a delightful addition!Title: Missing You: 1-800-Where-R-You ____
Classification: Teen
Publisher: HarperTempest
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The fifth and final installment from the 1-800-Where-R-You series and the first of these books released without the author’s alias, Jenny Carroll. Jessica Mastriani is all grown up, attending Juilliard after spending a year in Afghanistan “finding” things for the government. She has lost her powers as the “Lightening Girl” to find missing persons due to a severe case of PTSD. Life is just getting back to normal when her old boyfriend finds her in NYC and needs her help to find his lost sister. This book is a fantastic finale to great young adult series.Title: Prom Nights From Hell
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Harper Teen
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A collection of paranormal prom stories by five of the genre�s most popular authors. Kim Harrison's short-story, Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper gives new meaning to the age-old warning, "Don't get into a car with a stranger!" There are things worse than the Grim Reaper.Title: Size 12 Is Not Fat: A Heather Wells Mystery ____
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon Trade
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Meg Cabot is an amazing young adult writer (The Princes Diaries; 1-800-Where Are You series; The Mediator series) but her adult series are lacking. The mystery in this book is juvenile and the main character redundant. Heather Wells, ex-shopping mall pop star, has taken a job as an assistant residential director at a New York college. Between two murdered coeds and people recognizing the now plump ex-pop star, Heather rants on and on about her crush on her ex-boyfriend's brother and no one taking her seriously in her new role as assistant director. The murderer is apparent from the beginning and the focus on elevator surfing among young college students is boring. Although I will read almost anything Cabot writes, I am not holding my breath in anticipation for the next Heather Wells Mystery.Title:Size 14 Is Not Fat Either
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I never thought I would pick up this second book in the Heather Wells Mystery series after my disappointment with the first book, Size 12 Is Not Fat. However, Meg Cabot is such an entertaining writer, that when I wanted to be just entertained, I decided to find out what was happening with pop-star-turned-resident-hall-administer, Heather Wells. Set in a fictional college in New York City, this dormitory has more bizarre collegiate murders than any I believed imaginable. If you can get past the unrealistic setting, and the first person narration of a 29 year old whose intellect is more like 14 year old, then you will find this mystery has just the right balance of suspense, humor and character interest. Heather's dad is out of prison and now trying to make up for the 20 year absence in his daughter's life. He seems to have forgiven Heather's mother, who skipped town with all Heather's money when the child pop star grew up and failed to land her last recording contract, and now wants Heather to do the same. Heather is trying to get an education and working as an assistant resident administrator while living with her ex-pop star boyfriend's estranged brother. She finds herself in the middle of these strange murders; this one involving a cheerleader's head found boiling in the dormitory kitchen. Heather seems to have an uncanny knack at getting information and figuring out what is going on before the police, but in the end, she never seems to get the props she desires.
Chelsea Cain
Title: Heartsick
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Heading a three-state Task Force, Detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking a beautiful, bizarre female serial killer. However, in the end, she caught him and tortured him for ten days before she let him go. Now, two years later, he has finally returned to work; she is in prison for life; and another serial killer is loose in Portland, Oregon. Archie is once again heading up the police task force, and is being shadowed by an up and coming newspaper reporter, Susan Ward. The gruesome story is gripping and this police thriller is somewhat unique with its detail of a rare female serial killer. Normally I shy away from this genre because it is just too easy to figure out what the characters have problems seeing. This story had enough flash backs to the origins of the task force and unique details regarding the horrific, rare female serial killer to keep me reading and overlook some of the obvious clues the trained police kept missing.
Joseph Caldwell
Title: The Pig Did It
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Delphinium Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Heart broken New Yorker Aaron McCloud travels to his aunt's home in western Ireland to suffer a failed romantic relationship. He encounters a pig along the road which adopts him, follows him to Aunt Kittys and precedes to dig up a corpse. Sounds promising, and it is witty, but I found it choppy and too bizarre.
Bebe Moore Campbell
Title: 72 Hour Hold
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 72 Hour Hold is overall a good read about a mother's struggle to save her child from the strangle hold of mental illness. As her child turns 18 Keri can no longer control her child's whereabouts and 72 hour holds are the only thing saving her child and herself from her child's Bipolar disorder.
Lorenzo Carcaterra
Title: Chasers
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: With his first foray into fiction with Apaches, Carcaterra introduced ex-cops Boomer and Deadeye in a gruesome, riveting book about illegal drug smuggling. Unfortunately, in this long-awaited sequel, he drags in so many stereotypical, boring characters that, even if the plot were interesting (which it isn't) I found myself wallowing in a sea of them. Even the dialogue ("No place to go, nobody to see, and before you can say needle and spike some lard-ass loser who looks a lot like you has her living off the pipe") is unbelievable and forced. My advice: don't waste your time or your money on this one.
Mary Carlomagno
Title: Give It Up! My Year of Learning to Live Better With Less
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sounds good, right? Don't waste your time. This wealthy socialite toys with the novelty of giving up such vital necessities as alcohol, cell phone usage, and taxi cabs. She plays at each deprivation for a month, then is relieved to pretty much return to her previous lifestyle. It seems to me that when she tries to come up with "something deep and meaningful to say," it's only an attempt to make the book have enough of a point to get published, not because she actually gained real insight. Wow. I didn't know people could really have that shallow of an existence. She's kidding, right? Am I on Candid Camera?
Jennifer Lee Carrell
Title: Interred With Their Bones
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Shakespeare scholar and theater director Kate Stanley embarks on a high stakes race to solve a string of deadly murders involving numerous literary clues. The ultimate solution- did William Shakespeare really write the many works attributed to him? This debut thriller has lots of twists and a great deal of Shakespearian history.
Tori Carrington (pen name of Lori & Tony Karayianni)
Title: Dirty Laundry: A Sophie Metropolis Novel
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Dirty Laundry", second in a series, takes place in the Greek-American community of Astoria, Queens. New P.I. Sophie Metropolis takes on several cases involving old high school friends, neighbors and even her family. Add Aussie heartthrob/bodyguard Jake Porter to a long list of endearing characters. However, the investigations are thin and Sophie is a bit too naive to be seriously believed as an investigator.Title: Sofie Metropolis
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Copyright: June 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I might have enjoyed this more if it weren't so obviously a Stephanie Plum wannabe. I'd be more willing to overlook its lack of originality if it had made up for it by providing sufficient humor. It was interesting to learn a bit about Greek American culture. While waiting for another Plum mystery, I'll probably read the next Sofie ("Dirty Laundry" due out May 2006) but it will be like eating a diet cookie.
Linda Castillo
Title: Sworn To Silence
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Kate Burkholder was fourteen years old when she killed the man who raped her and for sixteen years she's lived with the guilt, although his death brought an end to the murders that paralyzed the tiny town of Painters Mill. Now the chief of police, Kate is forced to revisit that event as more killings occur bearing the same signature. Is this a new killer or did she shoot the wrong man all those years ago?
Michael Chabon
Title: The Final Solution: A Story of Detection
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon intertwines history and legend in this short tale of compassion, intrigue and wit. An old sleuth comes out of retirement in 1944 England to solve a murder surrounding a missing parrot which may hold a secret German SS code. Do we have reason to believe the detective is Sherlock Holmes? As usual Chabon writes in a superb and extraordinary style.
Noah Charney
Title: The Art Thief
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Aimon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Three art thefts are being investigated simultaneously in 3 cities - London, Geneva and Paris. The investigators and several well known art collectors are enmeshed in an implausible plot. Heavy in art history, which might have been interesting, this fictional intrigue attempt is full of trite phrases, overly technical and confusingly convoluted.
Lynne Cheney
Title: A Time for Freedom
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For ages 9 and up. A timeline of American history for kids. Well done but seemed to have omitted some things I would have included.
Jennifer Chiaverni
Title: The Lost Quilter
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:This volume, #14 in the Elm Creek Quilt Series, takes a different turn from Chiaverini's other novels. Sylvia, of Elm Creek, and her staff find a stash of old pre-civil war letters written by Joanna, a runaway slave woman, who is captured, sent further south and eventually on to Charleston. The story recounts her life, her needlework skills, her struggles with white masters, and her desperate desire to be reunited with her family.
This one is definitely for the quilter or anyone with a love of history.
Title: The New Year's Quilt
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Jennifer Chiaverini again features master quilter Sylvia, who, newly married, must overcome the sorrows of her relationship with her new daughter-in-law as well as memories from youth of her late sister. Most of the Elm Creek Quilt series are appealing but this one seems to be a forced plot produced just to have a holiday offering.Title: Quilter's Legacy
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of the Elm Creek Quilters series in which the main character is in search of her mother's quilts which were sold years before. Although not the best in the series this one alternates back and forth to the turn of the 20th century so the reader enjoys two intertwining stories.
Lee Child
Title: Bad Luck and Trouble
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the eleventh in the Jack Reacher series, Reacher shows a small chink of humanity after one of his ex-military buddies is found dead. Reacher reassembles the remaining members of his elite group to hunt down and eliminate those responsible and destroy a harrowing threat to America. As are all of the Child books, this is a fast-paced, tightly-written thriller; a real can't put it down read. Don't miss it!Title: The Hard Way
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Child has done it again in this, the tenth of the Jack Reacher series! Former military guy Reacher is asked by the leader of a mercenary group to find his kidnapped wife and step-daughter. But who's the bad guy here? Tight, intense, this is another great read from the writer of just about the best suspense books around.Title: Nothing to Lose
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Wow! Jack Reacher (series) is back, bigger and better than ever as he uncovers the secrets in a small Colorado town where strangers are definitely not welcome. When the cops are called in response to Reacher's request for coffee at the local diner he's determined to discover what really goes on in the metal recycling plant owned, as is everything else in the town, by businessman and apocalyptic preacher Jerry Thurman. In a heart-pounding race Reacher has to take on the entire town to prevent a disaster of astonishing proportion. I couldn't put this one down!
Mark Childress
Title: One Mississippi
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Childress is back in the South, but the quirkiness of "Crazy In Alabama" is missing in this book set in the early days of desegregation. There's a manic feel to both the characters and the action, with Daniel Musgrove, the teenage protagonist, caught between the bleakness of his family and the darkness of his best friend's madness. Definitely not up to the standard set by "Alabama" and "Gone For Good," but okay.
Laura Childs
Title: The Jasmine Moon Murder
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is one of the "Tea Shop" mysteries where main character, Theodosia Browning, an amateur sleuth, finds herself trying to solve the murders without becoming a victim. She runs a Charleston tea shop so there is the added touch of southern recipes and "tea" tips.
Margaret Cho
Title: I Have Chosen To Stay and Fight
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Riverhead
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A bit current affairs, a bit political, and a whole lot of Cho humor to make this one of the most entertaining reads in a long time.
Paul Christopher
Title: Michelangelo's Notebook
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Onyx Books
Copyright: June 2005
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It seemed a bit too similar in nature to Dan Brown's stories. A startling discovery leads to a desperate race to expose a secret from the final days of WWII.
Marla Cilley
Title: Sink Reflections
Classification: Self-help
Publisher: FlyLady Press Inc.
Copyright: March 2002
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book is very encouraging for everyone who struggles with CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). The FlyLady website is also very helpful (FLY means Finally Loving Yourself). This inspirational guide to uncluttering and cleaning house offers practical and motivational help for those of us apparently born without "the clean gene." We are not alone, and we are not hopeless. Change is possible! I've read about every book there is on housecleaning and uncluttering, and this is one of the best.
Tom Clancy
Title: The Bear and the Dragon
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Putnam
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political thriller. Russia and China on a path toward war with each other? Unfortunately, President Jack Ryan can't sit back and watch because you know if it's by Clancy, it's going to be a whole lot more complicated. Extraordinary realism and razor-sharp suspense are expected and you won't be disappointed.
Margaret Goff Clark
Title: Freedom Crossing
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Scholastic
Copyright: February 1991
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This juvenile historical novel is full of secret passages and hiding places during an escape through the Underground Railroad. Great for children ages 9-12.
Mary Higgins Clark
Title: Daddy's Little Girl
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ellie Cavanaugh has lived a very difficult life since her older sister Andrea was murdered. Ellie knew Andrea was seeing an older wealthy local boy but kept the secret from her parents. Several years after the trial and conviction of the wealthy boyfriend, he is released from prison still professing his innocence. Enraged, Ellie returns to her hometown to prove once and for all that he is the one responsible for her sister's death. In true Mary Higgins Clark style, the story goes back and forth to did he or didn't he. You'll have to read the book to find out! It is truly enjoying to be able to read a book and not guess the ending until it comes.Title: I Heard That Song Before
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In usual Mary Higgins Clark style, the 'who done it' novel is full of twists and turns which I am grateful for as I hate it when I can guess the ending of the story halfway through. This story centers on Kay Lansing Carrington, the latest “Mrs. Carrington”. The ultra rich husband, Peter, has a sordid past. A previous dead wife and missing and presumed dead girlfriend…which Peter is suspected of being behind but it can’t be proven. When the body of the girlfriend is found on the property, Kay and Peter’s lives are focused on proving his innocence. The diligence of a hired private detective by the dead girlfriend’s mother searches for the truth of did he or didn’t he do it.Title: No Place Like Home
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As a child, Liza Barton lived through the pain of the death of her father and watched as her mother remarries a dangerous man. When her mother finally realized the grave mistake she made in marrying Ted, it set the wheels in motion for a tragedy. One night Ted was trying to bully Liza's mother into not getting a divorce. Liza, trying to protect her mother, threatened Ted with her father's gun. Instead of shooting Ted, Liza accidently kills her mother. That night began Liza's nightmare. Although deemed an accidental shooting, Liza had to endure the cruel jokes of "Lizzie Borden" because of the name similarities. Liza moves away to adoptive parents who change her name to Celia in attempt to erase her past. But really...who can really successfully change their past? As you can guess, Celia gets married and by a freak of circumstances of a surprise gift by her husband, buys her childhood house (where the shooting occurred). This obviously distresses Celia as her husband does not know about her past. Then things happen to let Celia know that someone in town recognizes her and is setting out to torture her. The book is very good in twisting the story around so it keeps you guessing on what happens next all the way to the end.Title: Where Are the Children?
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 1975
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I ran across a paperback copy of the 30th anniversary edition of this book. The first suspense novel Clark ever wrote. This story follows the secret life of nancy Harmon who fled across the country to get away from her past and the death of her two children. Time has passed and Nancy remarries and has two more children. Then suddenly on her 32nd birthday, both children disappear. The nightmare for Nancy is beginning all over again. There is someone out there who doesn't want Nancy to ever feel safe and secure again. While the story is very good, I'm glad that Clark continued to mold her craft into the books published today.Title: Where Are You Now?
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This latest mystery by Clark centers around Carolyn MacKenzie. Her older brother Mack mysteriously vanishes one day from his college ten years ago and only contacts his family on Mother's Day with a quick phone call. After the latest Mother's Day call, Carolyn resolves to find her missing brother and figure out why he disappeared. Along the way, a young college girl suddenly disappears and calls her family and tells them that she'll call them again on Mother's Day. A coincidence? Could it be related to Mack's disappearance? A very good read!
Brock Clarke
Title: An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes In New England
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At the age of eighteen Sam Pulsifer burns down the home of Emily Dickinson. It's an accident, as much of Sam's life is. After serving his time in a minimum-security prison with lawyers and bond traders, Sam marries and finds a job with the intent of putting his past behind him, but his parents, the bond traders and those persistent accidents come together to keep his life in its inevitable downward spiral. Reading about Sam is like waiting for a train wreck: you know it'll be hard to watch but you just can't help yourself. A quirky, deftly written book.
Susanna Clarke
Title: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury, USA
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An epic that follows the endeavors of a magician to prove that magic still exists, the story takes place in early 19th century England. Though sometimes dark, this book is exciting, suspenseful, and witty.
Jane K. Cleland
Title: Consigned To Death (Review #1)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: First time novelist Cleland does a creditable job with antiques dealer Josie Prescott, who lost her job in the auction-house scandal but has gone on to create a successful business in New Hampshire. Everything is going well for Josie until she finds herself the chief suspect in the murder of an elderly potential client who, it turns out, had paintings stolen during the Nazi regime. A little heavy on the advice from Josie's deceased parents, and not quite enough detail about antiques, but a good read nevertheless. I'll look forward to Cleland's next.Title: Consigned to Death (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Josie Precott has left New York and opened her own antiques auction house in a small New Hampshire coastal town. She is thrilled with the possible contract for the contents of a huge old house full of beautiful and valuable antiques. But when she goes to sign the final contract, no one answers the door. This turns out to be least of Josies' problems as she learns that the owner is dead -murdered- and Josies' is the last name is his appointment book. The police chief, whom Josie has noticed is a superbly eligible bachelor, considers her the prime suspect, so Josie feels she must somehow solve the crime and maybe, just maybe, even manage to secure the auction contract after all. Then, of course, there's also the attraction to the police chief. All in all, this is a great first novel with interesting characters, well drawn plot and lots of antique description. You'll enjoy it, especially if you like antiques.
Andrew Clements
Title: Frindle
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright: September 1996
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a must read for 4th or 5th graders. This is an encouraging story of a boy with a most difficult language-arts teacher and his idea to rename the word "pen" to "frindle". The wood catches on with the students and eventually travels throughout the entire country. An elementary school librarian recommended this book to me and I'm so glad she did.Title: Things Not Seen
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 15 year old Bobby wakes up and finds himself invisible. This entertaining book continues with Bobby and his family searching to find out why. In the ensuing time he meets a blind teenage girl. They both struggle to overcome their respective conditions. Written in the first person, with humor, the story is well done and appeals to more than just its teenage audience.
Jackie Clune
Title: Man of the Month Club
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At age 39 successful British business entrepreneur Amy Stokes decides she has one year to find a man to father a child. Meetings with various "donors" are humorous, but the entire story is somewhat mindless and predictable.
Harlan Coben
Title: Caught
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Dutton
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Dan Mercer is on his way to help a teenage girl in trouble when he walks into the glare of television lights and his life is forever changed. Wendy Tynes is the TV reporter who has made a name for herself by exposing pedophiles and who thinks Dan is no different from any of the others she has nailed. This case is not the same, though, and with heart-pounding speed Coben races through twists as more people are caught in the maze of murder and retaliation.
Move this one to the top of your must-read list, and be sure not to schedule anything until you’re done. Absolutely fantastic!
Title: Hold Tight
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Dutton
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Coben does it again! Following the suicide of a teenage boy, Mike and Tia Baye are worried about their son...so worried that they install spy wear on his computer to monitor his activities. Their discoveries lead them into a new culture of drugs and murder and the fear that they will be too late to save their son. Although not quite as tightly-written as Tell no One or Gone For Good, Coben paints a fairly convincing picture of the potential for terror in today's tech-driven world.Title: Long Lost
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Dutton
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: My apologies to Coben. For years I've groused about his Myron Bolitar series while praising his stand alone novels. But, at least with this entry, he's made a convert of me. Bolitar gets a call from a woman with whom he shared a passionate escape years ago. She's in France and says only: "Come to Paris." Despite warnings from his friend and partner, he goes, to be caught up in a flurry of murders, terrorists and red herrings that lead to a chilling conclusion. A really terrific read!Title: Promise Me
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Dutton
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Coben is back with Myron Bolitar and the gang in the series he left for the terrific stand-alone "Tell No One." I honestly haven't missed Myron, and am not delighted to have him back, although this book about missing teenagers is mildly entertaining. Too many pointless twists and stereotypical characters and way too much superhero stuff by Myron. It's time to retire Bolitar for good and for Coben to get back to the stuff he does well.Title: Tell No One
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: His first book not in the Bolitar series, Coben nails this one! When a couple goes away on their annual anniversary trip only one of them comes home. Great read!Title: The Woods
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Dutton/Penguin Group
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Twenty years ago Paul Copeland was a camp counselor when his sister and three friends were murdered. Now, as a county prosecutor, Paul is asked by police to identify another body...a body that he is sure is that of one of the murdered boys. And if Gil survived, what of his sister? In what may be his best book since Tell No One, Coben races through a riveting series of seemingly unconnected events to a wrenching conclusion. Don't miss it!
Paulo Coelho
Title: Alchemist
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Harper
Copyright: 1993
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: There's good news and bad news about this book. The good news is: if up til now you've based your life philosophy on fortune cookies and the horoscope in the morning paper, this is for you. A bunch of hokey, "wishing will make it so" pop-psych mumbo-jumbo. The bad news is: if you want a thoughtful, well-written book about life's challenges and mysteries, this book is a bunch of hokey, "wishing will make it so" pop-psych mumbo-jumbo. A poor shepherd boy travels from Spain to Egypt while following the quest for his "personal legend," encountering mystical (and shallow) characters on the way who give him advice like "The Soul of the World is nourished by people's happiness. And also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy. To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation. All things are one." And on and ON in this vein. What a waste of time.
Joseph Colicchio
Title: Trouble With Mental Wellness
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bridge Words Publishing Company, Inc.
Copyright: April 2004
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book was poorly written with mindless dialogue and action. The characters sotires were all intertwined with the main character, Nicky who had converted his parent's meat shop into a mental wellness center. There are only a few people who visit his center and when an elderly lady he has been consulting is found dead after an overdose of sleeping pills, Nicky is accused of not giving her adequate psychological help. Each character in this novel deals with many problems and is just as confused as the next. There is also little resolution at the end of the story.
Susan Coll
Title: Rockville Pike
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Oh, please, just what we all need: another book about a woman whose life is out of control and she does nothing about it but whine. Of course there is the contrived, silly happy ending in which all Jane's problems are solved, but this book is a definite pass.
Nancy A. Collins
Title: Sunglasses After Dark
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Copyright: 1989
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Meet Sonja Blue, a street-wise, sensuous vampire’s vampire. She feeds off others of her kind instead of humans. This book has been in and out-of-print since its release in 1989. Luckily, for all those who enjoy the vampire genre, the compete collection of Sonja Blue novels are back in print.Title: Wild Blood (Review #1)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: White Wolf, Inc
Copyright: Reissued 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For all of you that came to the store and were frustrated when I recommended my favorite out-of-print werewolf novel, sound off a cheer! Here it is; reissued in January 2006. This is the story of Skinner Cade, a loner from Chotaw County, Arkansas, who sets out on a journey of self-discovery but finds himself hooking up with a rock band that leaves a path of mayhem, violence and madness wherever they go. At least they understand the thrill of the hunt and the taste of blood that has haunted Skinner throughout his life. Collins is best known for her Sonja Blue vampire tales, but Wild Blood and her voodoo tale, The Tempter (1990) have always been my favorite.Title: Wild Blood (Review #2)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Two Wolf Press/White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
Copyright: September 2005 (reprint; previously published 1994)
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Didn't like it at all. Couldn't finish it, and I've read some real dogs.
Natalie R. Collins
Title: Wives and Sisters
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Farmington, Utah, is the setting; the Mormon Church is the subject of this excellent first book. Allison Jenson is six years old when she sees her eight-year-old best friend abducted. Her family and her community refuse to discuss this tragedy with her and she grows up obsessed with finding the truth, blocked at every step by the rigid, patriarchal culture in which she lives. A dark, convincing story of faith shattered by man and one woman's struggle to survive. A must read.
Jessica Conant Park and Susan Conant
Title: Steamed
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: March 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: First book in the new Gourmet Girl series. The main character, Chloe Carter, is a college student whose blind date (from an Internet dating service) is murdered during their first meeting. Then she dates the main suspect, chef Josh. The first half of the book is hilarious; I laughed out loud. The second half became a bit more predictable and run-of-the-mill, losing that fabulous humor. Susan Conant was never this funny in her own wonderful dog mystery series, so I think the great humor comes from her daughter's writing. I look forward to the next book and hope to see that humor throughout the next time. These gals could definitely give Evanovich a run for her money if the humor makes a more consistent appearance in their future novels.
Susan Conant
Title: A New Leash on Death
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first book in my favorite dog lover's mystery series. The unofficial sleuth, Holly Winter, is a writer of dog articles who shows Alaskan malamutes in competition. Her dogs are real dogs and act like it: they misbehave, even though they are well trained. Fun! Plus I learned tons about the dog show world.
Michael Connelly
Title: Brass Verdict
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Connelly brings back Mickey Haller from Lincoln Lawyer in this, the second in the series, which he shares with longtime protagonist Harry Bosch. Mickey is forced out of his hiatus from practicing law when fellow lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, leaving his practice to Haller. Among the cases is that of Walter Elliot, accused of killing his wife and her lover...a case in which Haller is convinced the defendant was framed. Was Vincent's murder connected to this case? And is Haller in the killer's sights? Although there are a few too many obvious red herrings for this to be a great read, it's still enjoyable.Title: Echo Park
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the twelfth in the Harry Bosch series, Harry is still working in the Open/Unsolved Unit when he is notified that there has been a confession in one of his cases; a thirteen-year-old murder that has haunted him. The confessed murderer is leading him and other officers to the burial site when everything goes wrong and Harry has to deal with the possibility that his partner, Kiz, might die...and with the certainty that the killer is not who it seems. Connelly's Bosch series continues to be convincing and tightly-written, and this entry is one of his best.Title: Lincoln Lawyer
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Connelly breaks out of the serial killer genre to write a courtroom drama and does a fairly good job, although I hope this isn't a permanent change. It's just a little too pat with the "should a lawyer sell his soul" question.Title: Nine Dragons
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the fifteenth of Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, Harry is called to the scene of the murder of a Chinese shopkeeper--a man he met years ago. All the evidence points to a gang killing which takes on an international twist when Harry’s daughter in Hong Kong goes missing and Harry finds himself against an impossible deadline to rescue her and find the murderer.Only so-so, Connelly’s rush to finish the book neglects to build suspense. I’m not so wild about Harry anymore.
Title: Overlook
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Bosch is back and better than ever as he investigates the murder of a physician with access to hospital supplies of cesium. He finds himself not only in a race to find the killer, but also in a battle against the FBI and his former girlfriend, agent Rachel Walling, who have been tracking a terrorist plot to use the radioactive material. A roller coaster read with a cliffhanger ending; Connelly has written a book with a real adrenaline rush!
Pat Conroy
Title: South of Broad
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Pat Conroy, in "South of Broad" writes again of Charleston, this time in 1989, with a cast of characters led by Leo King, whose social core is made up of friends from childhood. They date, marry, work and care a great deal for each others good and bad times. A great mix of personalities and situations keep the reader entranced till the very end. Conroy always writes a great story, ultimately about forgiveness.
Dawn Cook
Title: The Decoy Princess
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Ace Books/Berkley/Penguin Books (USA) Inc.
Copyright: December 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Good storyline of a princess who discovers she’s just a security stand-in for the real princess—quite a shock! Life gets more interesting as enemies make their moves, and even friends can be more than they seem. This story did make me laugh occasionally, but overall it was not well done. The author kept throwing in odd, jarring elements. Like sour notes that don’t flow well with a melody, the cumulative effect was of a good song badly played.
Susan Cooper
Title: SERIES - Dark Is Rising
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 1970s
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This fantasy series begins when Simon, Jane & Barney Drew discover an ancient map in the attic of their vacation home. Soon they are on the search for the Grail. The five books that make up the sequence see the children battle between the Dark and the Light in a world full of Arthurian and Celtic mystical settings. Very popular and well-known series, but didn’t do anything for me. Of course, I’m not a big fan of this type of setting. Ages 12 and up.
Robert Cormier
Title: I Am the Cheese
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Reminiscent in tone of Flowers for Algernon, this teen read is a dark look at reality versus nightmare. I highly recommend it.
Patricia Cornwell
Title: At Risk
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I feel as though I should wear a black armband to mourn the loss of trees that were sacrificed in the printing of this disaster of a book. Cornwell muddles along without even the Scarpetta angst in this novella, which wouldn't have had a chance at being published without her name on it. One word: Blech.Title: Book of the Dead
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of the things you'll notice right away in this book is that Cornwell now writes in the third, rather than the first, person...probably because even Kay Scarpetta can't stand to be herself any more. The novel, of course, begins with Kay's trademark angst about Benton, Marino and Lucy and throws in a convoluted, unsatisfying series of murders with a predictable murderer. And, please, after all these years together, can't Kay and Benton learn to relate to each other as adults rather than as insecure adolescents? Grow up, Kay...and while you're at it: you're a doctor. Write yourself a prescription for Zoloft; you'll feel much better. As for me, I'm done. A cereal box is a better read.Title: Book of the Dead (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I typically would rate a Patricia Cornwell book a 4 or 5, but unfortunately, I can't with any good conscience rate this any higher than a 3. As much as I love the Kay Scarpetta series, I'm beginning to wonder if this series should just end. The story lines are not as strong and captivating as they used to be. The case they are working on is interesting but once she throws in the character's personal issues, it just muddles up the story. For the first time ever, I actually put this book aside to read another one and then came back to it.Title: Scarpetta
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The question is, who is behind Gotham Gotcha, and who is putting Scarpetta's (series) most personal information on the smarmy internet gossip site? Further, could this site be connected to a rash of murders, or to the paranoid fantasies of the main suspect? When Cornwell focuses on crime and forensics she's great, but she suffers from the same syndrome that James Patterson does: they write badly and stiltingly about relationships, while insisting on including way too much awkward nuance and far-fetched dialogue in their novels, a habit that bulks up the pages but slows down the plot. Wait for paperback.Title: Scarpetta (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The latest in the Scarpetta series finds Kay called in to work on an investigation of a little person. The possible suspect, the victim's boyfriend, requests Scarpetta specifically to conduct the examination. While everyone suspects his guilt, Kay investigates the case and begins to have doubts about his guilt. All the while, someone with a grudge against Scarpetta, publishes some very personal about her on a trashy Internet website. While pretty decent, the story runs a little slow at times and a few parts seem unnecessary to the storyline.
Catherine Coulter
Title: Born to Be Wild
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Jove
Copyright: August 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book seemed more mystery/thriller than romance, but elements of all three were combined in a very good, humorous story: Mary Lisa Beverly - an Emmy winning soap-opera star - gets help from friends and family to find out who is trying to kill her.Title: Born to be Wild
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The world of soap-operas presents Mary Lisa, a three time daytime Emmy winner whose fun and active life is turned around when someone tries to run her over. Is she being stalked by a photographer or a deranged fan? The D.A. and local police chief come to the rescue and provide the necessary romance. Coulter includes interesting soap opera trivia between chapters.
Douglas Coupland
Title: All Families Are Psychotic ____
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of my favorite Coupland books, this is the darkly humorous, soap opera tale of the Drummond family. The situations in Coupland books sometimes seem far-fetched, frequently absurd yet he always seems to be able to comment on the human condition in a way few contemporary authors can. No matter which Coupland book you grab, most likely you will find at least one line to quote that accurately reflects where you find yourself in life.
L.B. Cowman; edited by James Reimann
Title: Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Zondervan
Copyright: original 1925; updated 1997
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is my favorite Christian daily devotional, excellent especially for encouragement during times of suffering. I recommend the "Updated Edition in Today's Language" edited by James Reimann, who did an excellent job in making this classic clearer and more understandable for the modern reader. The isbn for the edition I have is 0-310-21006-2. Get one for yourself and one to give away.
Harvey Cox
Title: When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today
Classification: Religion
Publisher: Houghton Mufflin Co.
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In response to Harvard realizing that most of their graduates were ethically deviant; the faculty introduced in the early 1980’s the requirement that all undergraduates must complete course work in moral reasoning. Cox was brought on board to teach a course examining the role Jesus of Nazareth had as rabbi regarding moral responsibility. This book is his memoir reflecting on twenty years of teaching this extremely effective and always packed class set in a theater forum. The book is informative, contemporary, and challenges readers to consider how ethics and morality is developed.
Lynne Cox
Title: Grayson
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: Knopf
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lynne Cox, author of "Swimming to Antarctica", tells the story of her miraculous encounter while long distance swim training with an 18 foot baby gray whale which had gotten separated from its mother. Wonderful descriptions of ocean life add to this mysterious magical story.
Robert Crais
Title: Chasing Darkness
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Several years ago Elvis Cole cleared Lionel Byrd of murder, so when Byrd's body is found with evidence linking him to that crime and others since, Cole determines to find out if Byrd could have been guilty. His investigation leads him to a sleazy city official, a deputy police chief and a cover-up...all threatening to keep him from discovering the truth in time to prevent more deaths. Crais continues to keep us turning pages in this solid entry in the series.Title: First Rule
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:In this, the second in the Joe Pike series, Crais has the deadly Pike hunting the home-invasion gang that killed his friend and former mercenary. When it becomes evident that this is no low-level drug-addled group, Pike finds himself up against the powerful Russian mob in a thriller that races its way through deceit and double-cross and has Pike calling in all his favors as he tracks a killer who is almost as lethal as he.
Whether he features Joe Pike or his business partner Elvis Cole, Crais almost always nails it…this one is no exception.
Joe Pike series:
Watchman
First RuleTitle: Two Minute Rule
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A departure for Crais with uneven results. I was hoping for something great with this one and didn't get it, but it's worth a read.Title: Watchman
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Joe Pike takes center stage in this great thriller about a spoiled rich girl involved in a car wreck and then targeted for death. As Pike and Elvis Cole race to find her would-be assassin, they find themselves caught up in a world of international greed and murder. One of the best Crais books, this is a must-read.
Michael Crichton
Title: Next
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Copyright: November 2006
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a science fiction tale. Crichton takes his readers on a slippery slope of the dangers of genetically modifying nature and mixing our genes with other organisms. I found his information questionable, and his story line did not come together in the end. There were loose ties that needed to be finished, closure needed on the many characters he introduced, and further explanation of just what was his conclusion with all of this.
Dawn Christine Crowther
Title: Cinderella Not: An Everyday Fairytale
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Publish America
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a good book written for teen girls who have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) or for anyone wondering what it may be. Crowther discovered this for herself in a very personal way and sought to give girls another outlet by fictionalizing parts of her own struggle with PCOS.
Jennifer Cruise & Bob Mayer
Title: Agnes and the Hitman
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Cruise and Mayer have created a complex plot of romance, sex, mob members and government agents. Filled with a ridiculous number of dead bodies and improbable scenarios, this one however is funny and engaging.Title: Don't Look Down
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: April 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first collaboration between these authors...and hopefully not the last! The book is a good blend of humor, suspense, action, and a touch of romance. Lucy Armstrong, a commercial director hired to complete the last four days of an action movie shoot, stumbles into a money-laundering scheme on the set. To protect her niece, sister, and the rest of the cast and crew from the Russian mob, Lucy and JT Wilder (a Green Beret hired by one of the actors to act as a consultant/stunt double) work together to flush out the bad guys.
Elaine Cunningham
Title: SERIES - Changeling Detective Stories
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: TOR
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ten-year veteran of the Providence, Rhode Island, vice squad, Gwen Gellman is forced to retire after a sting turns into a bloodbath. She starts her own P.I. firm specializing in family problems but finds herself uncovering her own mysterious and mystical past. The books read like police suspense stories more than fantasy stories. Gwen may be a member of the Fae race but barely realizes this fact and the rest of the world within the novels are a mirror of our own world.Title: Shadows in the Darkness
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: TOR
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The first in the Changeling series featuring ex-vice cop Gwen Gellman, now P.I. specializing in family problems. Although the story is classified as fantasy because Gwen finds out she is Fae toward the end of the book, it reads like a suspense police thriller. The book sets up storylines for future books in the series.
Sandra Dallas
Title: Prayers for Sale
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Eighty-six-year-old Hennie Comfort has lived in Middle Swan, Colorado, since just after the Civil War and has forged a life in the mining town, in a house with a weathered sign in the front yard offering prayers for sale. When lonely young Nit Spindle hands Hennie her last nickel for a prayer, their friendship begins and, through stories shared over quilts and coffee, the two women share their lives. What a wonderful read!Title: Tallgrass
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It's 1942 and thirteen-year-old Rennie Stroud is watching with the rest of Ellis, Colorado, as Japanese-Americans arrive from California destined for Tallgrass, the detention center built to house them for the duration of World War II. Raised in the safety and shelter of her small farming town, Rennie is unprepared for the hatred she sees in her neighbors and tells her story with wry, poignant observation. This is the author's best book since The Diary Of Mattie Spenser; I highly recommend it!Title: Tallgrass
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: During WWII a small Colorado town becomes the site for a Japanese internment camp. When a young girl is raped and murdered suspicion centered on the Japanese splits the town. 13 year old Rennie, the daughter of compassionate and wise parents, struggles to rise above the town's bigotry. In addition to memorable characters author Dallas again emphasizes the need for women to create strong emotional networks.
Shirley Damsgaard
Title: SERIES - Ophelia & Abby Mysteries
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thirty-something librarian Ophelia Jensen and her charming granny Abigail are both witches with paranormal powers. Trying to flee her personal demons, Ophelia moves to small town Summerset, Iowa to be close to Abby and the two of them find themselves in the middle of murder and mystery.Title: Charmed to Death
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Book 2 in the Ophelia & Abby Mystery series. Ophelia again stumbles upon a dead body in the small town of Summerset, Iowa. Now, she has to deal with her emerging psychic gifts alone since grandmother Abby is indisposed and the town is full of person’s from her past trying to link her to previous murders. A quick read murder mystery where the secondary characters, at times, seem more interesting than the lead character. The series makes you wonder if living in a quiet, small town might be more dangerous than city life.Title: The Trouble with Witches ____
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The third novel in the Ophelia & Abby Mystery series finds librarian Ophelia and her psychic grandmother Abby on the road to Minnesota to find a missing girl who recently got involved in a cult-like psychic research group. All the main characters are back and there is an interesting Native American shaman introduced but this story is slow, lacking the suspense and interest found in the other Ophelia & Abby mysteries. It seems the author is more interested in having these charming psychic ladies embrace their witch heritage than telling a good story. It wasn’t until the last chapter that the original mystery of the missing girl comes to light. I actually forgot the story was about finding her. More like a 2-1/2.Title: Witch Hunt
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon Mystery
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The fourth installment in the Ophelia and Abby Mystery series focuses on Ophelia, the librarian-turned-amateur-sleuth as a new parental figure to a young teenager. Abby has taken on the role of mentor, teaching the youngster the ways of old and again murder and mayhem has rocked the “quiet” small town of Summerset. Witches, motorcycle gangs, corrupt cops, and ghosts fill this installment with wit and suspense. Although this book is not my favorite, the series keeps getting better and I can’t wait to read the next mystery adventure of this remarkable multi-generational team.Title: The Witch is Dead
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon Mystery
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In the fifth installment of this quirky, small town mystery series, librarian Ophelia and her charming grandmother, Abby are set to adopt the fourteen year old medium, Tink, when a visit from elderly Aunt Dot, eager for an adventure away from her stagnant life in the Appalachian mountains, throws all the witches in the middle of a neighboring town’s murder mystery. Trying to keep up with Aunt Dot’s antics, balancing her responsibilities at the library and dealing with the emotional angst of a teenaged medium, Ophelia tries to avoid becoming involved in yet another murder investigation. As in all the adventures of these amateur sleuths, the generational witches grow in their understanding of the craft as well as their skills at working with the authorities to solve crime. The mysteries in this series are captivating and the characters have grown endearing to the point that I look forward to brewing a little tea for their visit.Title: Witch Way to Murder (An Ophelia & Abby Mystery)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story is the first in the series involving Librarian Ophelia and her grandmother, Abby. Both have paranormal abilities but Ophelia is a too uptight to let her skills flourish. The mystery is great but I found it hard to tolerate Ophelia’s aloofness. What will get me to read the next book in the series is her delightful grandmother, Abby. Another small town mystery where murder and conspiracy shakes up the normally tranquil world of Summerset, Iowa.
Casey Daniels
Title: Chick and the Dead
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Cleveland ex-socialite Pepper Martin, now a reluctant sleuth hired by those who reside at the historic cemetery where she is employed as a tour guide, solved the cold case murder of a mafia Don in her first adventure (Don of the Dead) and he has past on to the great beyond, but not before he refers a murdered 1950’s poodle-skirted Didi Bowman to Pepper. Now Pepper finds herself in the middle of a huge media frenzy at the cemetery and working to debunk the center of all that attention. Funny, fast and full of heart, this second book in the Pepper Martin Mystery series is a delight.Title: Don of the Dead
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Cleveland ex-socialite Pepper Martin finds herself having to rely on her art history degree after her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud and her wealthy fiancé dumped her. She takes a job as a historic tour guide in a legendary cemetery. After a head injury from landing on a headstone, Pepper finds she is able to communicate with the dead in need of help, and slowly becomes a reluctant sleuth solving crimes long gone cold. This first murder mystery in the Pepper Martin Mystery series is funny, charming and full of life. The fact that the story takes place in Cleveland, Ohio made it even more delightful for this ex-Clevelander.Title: Tombs of Endearment
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Pepper Martin is a historic cemetery tour guide in Cleveland, Ohio and recently found herself private investigator to the deceased. In this third Pepper Martin Mystery series. Pepper finds herself trying to find out who is channeling a 1970's rock icon that died of an overdose and threatening the remaining aging members of his band. As the mystery unravels, Pepper finds that she needs to come to terms with her own past before she can truly take a chance at getting involved with the living. She realizes her life is no different than these aging rockers and their groupies, who failed to move forward in their lives when the party was over. These mysteries are smart, equally mixing humor and suspense, and are just fun to read.
John Darnton
Title: Black and White and Dead All Over
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A completely entertaining novel about the newspaper business. When loathsome editor Theodore Ratnoff is murdered, no one is upset by his death (well, almost no one), but when the murders don't stop there the entire staff gets pretty edgy. And when reporter Jude Hurley, stymied at every turn in his attempt to write the story, is targeted by the killer he only becomes more determined to find the truth. A nicely ironic, well-crafted book.
Mary-Janice Davidson
Title: Dead and Loving It (Review #1)
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: O.K., so she is a romance writer and writes like one! This collection of four novellas about the Wyndham werewolves and Queen Betsy Taylor’s Undead series vampires are funny, engaging and way too brief. They need to be longer or Davidson needs to write faster.Title: Dead and Loving It (Review #2)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: MaryJanice Davidson writes just about the best humorous paranormal romance...and this book is no exception. A word of warning, if you are a devoted fan - the first three stories were originally published in e-book format. The fourth in this series and final tale is new and features George the Fiend, so Betsy and gang are all included! (Watch for another "Gorgeous" book in May and "Undead" series).Title: Dead and Loving It (Review #3)
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: April 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Romantic fantasy by the author of the Undead series. This is a collection of 4 short stories with characters from her other novels. You can enjoy these without having read her other books. Each one is a different way for the characters to fall in love. 3 1/2.Title: Drop Dead Gorgeous
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Brava
Copyright: May 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the second book in the Gorgeous series (Hello, Gorgeous was the first book). Jenny Branch helps Kevin Stone go back undercover into the Snakepit to disrupt their evil plans. It's the author's typical humorous romp with romance.Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #1)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley Trade (JAM imprint)
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This young adult novel series introduces the reader to Jennifer at a pivotal point in her young life. She has just turned fourteen and discovered a secret that her parents have kept from her too long - she is a weredragon like her father and grandfather. The authors have penned a humorous, yet realistic look of her trials as she tries to cope with her large lizard-like body, its new powers, and the betrayal she feels about her parents' secrets. She isn't given too much time to adjust before she must try her new wings and help her mother find her father before he is killed. This is a book that all ages can enjoy.Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #2)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Jennifer Scales is full of teen-aged angst and then some; particularly after finding out that she is a weredragon. I picked this book up after reading Venus’ review and was thrilled to see such a delightful teen tale written by the only paranormal romance writer I enjoy reading. Although the series is written for young adults, I bet some “old adults” would find it a fun and engaging read.Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #3)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Enjoyable series about a teenage girl who finds she can turn into a dragon, and the misadventures she gets into trying to come to terms with this ability. She learns that the world is a much stranger place than she ever thought it was.Title: Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (Review #4)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Teen fantasy series. Move over, "teenage werewolf," here comes "I was a teenage weredragon." Great read. I definitely look forward to reading more of Jennifer's adventures. She's got the attitude, AND she breathes fire! Look out, world, this sassy shapeshifter is just getting started!Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light (Review #1)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the second Jennifer Scales series book written by the husband and wife team, and what a mystery this team weaves for young adults! Full of were-dragons, were-spiders and warriors sans the horror normally found in books of this genre. Jennifer and friends are dealing with normal adolescent problems common among most teens. Throw in some very unique anthropomorphic changes and you wonder just how they hold it together. The story focuses on maintaining friendships regardless of the dramatic personal differences that try to tear this group apart. Also, it is great to see Jennifer find common ground between her diverse parents. Anyone, regardless of age, who appreciates a good lycanthrope story, will enjoy these books.Title: Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light (Review #2)
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley Jam Books
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second in the Jennifer Scales series is also a very good read. At first I found the somewhat soap-opera-ish plot to be a bit much even for a fantasy, but once I accepted the drama I thoroughly enjoyed it. This series is marketed for teens but is a good read for adults as well. Jennifer is being trained in her mother's heritage and struggling with friend and family relationships, while trying to avoid being killed. Who says teenagers have it easy?! Especially half-weredragon teenagers facing a lot of secrets. I look forward to the third book!Title: Mysteria
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: July 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Fantasy romance. A very interesting short story collection centered around a town that is a sanctuary for magical and supernatural beings who live there along with regular humans.Title: The Royal Pain
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Brava
Copyright: November 2005
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The sequel to The Royal Treatment brings the cast of Baranov characters back to tell the Princess Alexandria's story. This amusing romance develops as Dr. Sheldon Rivers, a marine biologist at the North Dakota Institute for Sea Life, helps Alex find a cure for her insomnia. Another fun read that makes you wish the next one comes soon!Title: The Royal Treatment
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Spunky Christina Krabbe loses her job aboard a ship and is forced to disembark in Alaska. But that's okay, since she has made friends with Al (who turns out to be the reigning king of Alaska and matchmaking for his son). The rest of this alternative reality is a hilarious chronicle of the romance between Christina and Prince David, their marriage, and her adjustment to life as a Princess. This book is the first in a series and like her "Undead" novels, it is filled with the author's usual quirky, comical yet realistic characters and their penguins.Title: The Silver Moon Elm
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Berkley Jam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I love this series and this third installment does not disappoint. Jennifer, weredragon/beaststalker, has to rely on her newly discovered skills as the Ancient Furnace to survive the onslaught of a universe filled with were-spiders. The adventures of Jennifer and her growing circle of unlikely friends will entertain any one who loves a witty, fast-pasted adventure involving unusual lycanthropes. Although I love Davidson’s charming and witty writing in most of her series, her characters can be quite dimwitted at times. That is not the case in this series and the skill at weaving this tale most likely relies on her husband Anthony Alongi’s contribution.Title: Sleeping with the Fishes
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Jove/Berkley
Copyright: December 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book only gets a three if you are: a.) looking for an extremely quick read; b.) love the only romance writer I read; and c.) want a hearty laugh. This is the story of Fred, a mermaid working for the aquarium in Boston, and an array of her friends and love interest (similar in personality and their antics to those who follow Betsy the Vampire Queen around in Davidson’s Undead series). Fred is on a mission to find who is poisoning the Boston Harbor and even though she is half-mermaid, she can’t swim in her human form, is allergic to eating fish, and gets remarkably sea sick on boats. This new entry is light on the typical romance themes (thanks God) and more of a mystery than any of her other books. However, at times the writing is choppy most likely because she avoids her familiar first person narrative and appears to have some difficulty switching storytelling between multiple characters. Still, Davidson makes me laugh and as long as she writes about paranormal protagonists, I will look forward to meeting her quirky, comical characters. (Click here to check out other reviews for this title)Title: Swimming Without a Net
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Jove
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book in Fred the Mermaid series finds Fredrika Bimm off to the Cayman Islands at the request of the royal merfamily. She is finally going to meet those from her absent father’s side of the family. She is a mermaid who can’t swim, has food allergies which prevent her from eating fish, and a best friend who is complicating her life by dating her boss. This charming romantic comedy is a quick read and will keep you entertained as Fred and her gang help the merpeople come ‘out of the closet.’Title: Undead and Uneasy
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Light, fluffy and funny is the best way to describe this sixth installment from the Undead and… series about the trials and tribulations of the most self-centered vampire queen history has ever known. Betsy the Vampire Queen is so absorbed in final wedding plans she can’t see her world collapsing all around her. The series is always entertaining and an extremely quick read, but never worth the price of a hardback. Borrow from a friend or from your local library if you can’t wait until it comes out in paperback next year.Title: Undead and Unpopular (Review #1)
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley Sensation/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: #5 in the Undead romance series. The continuing adventures of the new Queen of the vampires as she deals with European royalty. Wasn't as funny as some of the other books, but still good. 3 1/2.Title: Undead and Unpopular (Review #2)
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Betsy the Vampire Queen is funnier than ever in this new addition to the Undead and … series. A light humorous summer read with all new adventures for everyone living with the Queen as she gets ready for her wedding and her first birthday since becoming the Queen. A higher recommendation would follow sans this story’s brevity. Betsy’s adventures would be better handled as “penny dread” installments rather than as expensive annual hardbacks.Title: Undead and Unreturnable
Classification: Vampires, Horror & Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Berkley/Penguin
Copyright: November 2005
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Romantic fantasy by the author of the Undead series. Funny, enjoyable characters getting into really silly and ridiculous predicaments. A true joy to read. Laugh-out-loud funny.Title: Undead and Unwed
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Okay, so this one is on the low side of "liked"...an Evanovich wannabe with vampires. Cute, but a little heavy on the sex scenes with fangs.Title: SERIES - Undead and ...
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The hilarious adventures of Betsy the Vampire Queen who would rather be buying shoes than handling vampire politics! They are short, quick stories and can be found in the Romance section of any bookstore. Luckily, the first four novels now appear in a single volume entitled Betsy the Vampire Queen (2005). Best to read in order.Title: SERIES - Wyndham Werewolves
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Amazingly funny preternatural stories from romance writer Davidson. This time she focuses on werewolves and their romantic yet difficult interactions with humans. Derik’s Bane, the only novel thus far in this series involves a werewolf hooked on Rachel Ray and her cooking shows. The rest of the Wyndham werewolves tales are shorts in omnibus collections.
Sarah Zacharias Davis
Title: Confessions From An Honest Wife
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Revell/Baker
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book is well suited for use in stimulating discussion in premarital counseling or marriage studies. Anyone planning on getting married or those already married would benefit from reading it, although it is all from a woman's point of view so it will probably hold more appeal for women to pick up. The author is the daughter of Ravi Zacharias, in case you are familiar with his books. This book is put together from interviews with several anonymous Christian women. Each chapter is a different woman's voice candidly expressing what she has struggled with and learned in her own marriage. The only thing I really didn't care for was one of the last chapters in which a woman justified what sounded to me like an unjustifiable divorce. Of course, I don't have the full story to know for sure, and one of the things she complains about are how hard Christians frequently are on those who are going through the pain of divorce. Hmmm...I better think about that one. So even though I don't agree with her viewpoints on this issue, the book is still good; the point of the book is not to necessarily find agreement with everything you read, but to stir up discussion in groups so people can learn from listening to other perspectives.
Sallie Day
Title: Palace of Strange Girls
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:At the second- or third-rate beach resort where they vacation every year, the Singleton family struggles with their younger daughter's illness, their older daughter's sad search for love, and their parents' distance. Their mother, Ruth, wants nothing more than a home with status, while their father, Jack, is obsessed with the letter he carries from the woman he loved during the war.
Set in 1959, this is not a nostalgic book, but one painted in sorry shades of gray...even the ocean is cold and unwelcoming. A tough look at an unloving family.
Jeffery Deaver
Title: Bodies Left Behind
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Now, this is the suspense thriller we've been waiting for! Emma and Steven Feldman, she a lawyer, he a social worker, are planning a quiet weekend at their isolated getaway place when two armed gunmen storm the house. Are their murders connected to a high-profile case Emma was working on or to something else altogether? Can Brynn McKenzie find out in time to save herself and her family from the killers? A high octane read; a great breakout from the Lincoln Rhyme series. Don't miss this one!Title: Broken Window
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In what may be the ultimate Big Brother novel, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the trail of a rapist/murderer with a twist: he is able to frame innocent people because he knows everything about them. Further, he can manipulate computer data to set up his own alibis and to impede his pursuers. This, the eighth in the Lincoln Rhyme series, is an absolutely terrifying look at just how vulnerable we all are in an age of cyber data, and one of Deaver's best books ever! Don't miss it.Title: Cold Moon
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the seventh in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and the best since Bone Collector, with all of Deaver's fully fleshed-out characters and convoluted plot turns. When two murders occur on the same night, Rhyme calls Amelia Sachs away from her primary investigation to hunt down the "Watchmaker" who has left clocks at his crime scenes; but all, of course, is not as it seems. Why would such a meticulous killer make huge mistakes that allow his next victims to escape? Is Sachs dealing with a serial killer, corrupt cops, or something larger and more sinister? A really gripping read!Title: Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Garden of Beasts" takes American hitman Paul Schumann to Berlin to assassinate one of Hitler's top men. Finding himself the victim of a double-cross, Schumann must choose between saving himself and completing his mission. "Garden of Beasts" is intriguing, fast-paced historical fiction.Title: Sleeping Doll
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Nine year-old Teresa Croyton is sleeping in her bed filled with toys when her family is murdered by a group patterned after the Manson family. Years later, the family disbanded and its leader in prison, she has been spirited away by her aunt and uncle and kept safe...until the cult leader escapes. Led by FBI agent Kathryn Dance, law enforcement agents race to find him as he pursues Teresa and the former members of his "family". Although this lacks the polish of Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels, it still moves well and provides a few surprises.Title: Twisted
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although short stories are not usually a format I enjoy, this is a very good collection. From the first, in which a wife mourns her husband, through the interesting story featuring Lincoln Rhyme and company, to the last in which a father pursues his daughter's stalker, Deaver continues to enhance his reputation as a master of plot twists and startling endings. If you've enjoyed his suspense novels, as I have, give this a try.
Ted Dekker
Title: Showdown
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A small, isolated town and a monastery hidden in the mountains in Colorado are the settings for this suspenseful religious thriller. A number of orphans from all over the world have been taken to the monastery and are being raised, isolated from all societal influences, as part of a theological experiment into the nature of good and evil. However, the story of these philosophical geniuses is somewhat sophomoric in delivery, reminiscent of a Disney-styled Boys from Brazil. The havoc these children cause on the nearby town demonstrates more about what self-indulged children can do than it demonstrates the nature of good and evil in humanity.
Mark del Franco
Title: Unshapely Things
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: ACE Fantasy
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A new dark urban fantasy that begins the tales of The Convergent World where Conner Grey, ex-Guild druid finds himself living in the seedy, run down Boston neighborhood called the Weird. Grey has lost his druidic powers, finding himself ousted from the Guild, a druid policing force over fey activities. He is unemployed and relies on his disability checks and some meager consulting fees from the human police. Just like any person of power who loses their status that defines their lives, Grey has to rethink his worth, his friendships and his abilities while he tries to save the world and stop a serial killer who targets fey prostitutes. The author has created a rich tale involving fairies, elves, trolls, druids, and flits that mingle with human politics and history. If you like the Harry Dresden series (The Dresden Files) and John Taylor series (Nightside), you will welcome the adventures of Conner Grey to this intensely rich dark urban genre.
Nelson Demille
Title: Gate House
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After several blockbuster suspense novels (Night Fall, Plum Island, Lion's Game), DeMille tries to bore us to death in this, the sequel to Gold Coast. Ten years after John Whitman Sutter's wife killed her lover, and ten years following their divorce, Sutter returns to his old stomping grounds on Long Island's Gold Coast where he spends the better (or worse) part of almost 800 pages mouthing what I think is supposed to be amusing repartee. Unfortunately it isn't. Amusing. At all. Or entertaining, or well-written or engaging. For an author who can usually be counted on to turn in a must-read, DeMille has, this time, given us a mustn't-read. Pass.Title: Night Fall (Review #1)
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Based on the downing of flight 800 off Long Island, this is the best suspense book I've read in a long time! The main action begins in the summer of 2001; the tension builds not only as the plot develops, but as we inevitably approach September and the event none of the characters knows is coming. Masterfully and tightly written, this is one of Demille's best!Title: Night Fall (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: November 2004
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thriller concerning filght TWA 800. One of my big, big favorites. Be aware that is begins with a very explicit sex scene which is critical to the plot. Fortunately that's the only such scene. Don't miss this one!Title: Wild Fire
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: John Corey (Plum Island, Night Fall) returns in this breathtakingly suspenseful novel about the ultimate post-9/11 conspiracy. Can a group of powerful Americans succeed in their plot to destroy much of the Middle East by sacrificing millions of American lives? And just how far from reality might this scenario be in a paranoid world fearful of another attack on our shores? This compelling, chilling book is being released on Tuesday, November 7. If you haven't reserved your copy yet please hurry...this one isn't to be missed!
Marianne de Pierres
Title: Code Noir
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Roc/Penguin
Copyright: 2004; July 2006 in U.S.
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Interesting second book in the Parrish Plessis series; best to read in order. 3 1/2. When Parrish takes over as a warlord while infected with an alien symbiont, the Cabal gives her the task of finding out who's stealing the shamans.
Kiran Desai
Title: The Inheritance of Loss
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Copyright: January 2006
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a tale of a bitter judge, his estranged granddaughter and his cook. Set in the Himalayas, there is political unrest, not to mention the judge getting used to having his granddaughter, Sai living with him. The cook also has a son in America and so the story at times follows the trials of the son, Biju trying to be successful in a land of opportunities.
Jude Deveraux
Title: Knight in Shining Armor (Review #1)
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Written in 1989, this romance has the added twist of "time travel" sequences to create more interest.Title: Knight in Shining Armor (Review #2)
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Contemporary woman meets 14th century knight and the rest is fabulous. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll lust. I thought this was great.
Pete Dexter
Title: Spooner
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this wonderful book, Spooner, who survives his better-looking twin at birth, makes his hapless and convoluted way through life. Raised by his hypochondriac mother and Calmer, the stepfather who was mustered out of the navy after shooting and sinking the coffin of a U.S. Congressman, Shooter gives up on trying to measure up to his brilliant sister and the even more brilliant brothers who follow and takes, instead, to urinating in people's shoes. A terrific, memorable book, Spooner is a character to whom life happens with little interference on his part. This is a must read, and a great selection for book clubs!
Susan Dexter
Title: SERIES - Warhorse of Esdragon
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: First, the remarkable adventures of Leith, Prince of the Isles and his amazing black stallion, Valadan. Next comes the story of Leith’s descendants, Druyan. The final book has Titch, a reluctant knight. These are stand alone books with a common thread, Valadan, the magical Warhorse of Esdragon. I love these stories all the way through.Title: SERIES - The Winter King’s War
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Tristan, a wizard’s apprentice, a princess caught in enchanted sleep, a wonder horse, a guardian dragon and lots of adventures. I really loved the first two books, but the ending was a bit weak.
Joan Didion
Title: The Year of Magical Thinking
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Knopf
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "The Year of Magical Thinking", Joan Didion's memoir, is in her words an "attempt to make sense of the weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I had about death, about illness . . . about marriage and children and memory . . . about life itself". In 2003, as their adult daughter lay hospitalized and near death, Didion's husband suffered a fatal heart attack. With passion she explores the year following these momentous events."The Year of Magical Thinking", a must read, speaks directly to anyone who has ever loved, and lost, a spouse or child.Title: Year Of Magical Thinking
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Vintage Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Didion writes about the death of her husband and her first year of widowhood in such a clinical, detached way that at the end of the book I felt that I knew neither her or her husband any better than I did at the beginning. Which is to say, not at all. Perhaps she is numbed by grief, but Didion has no trouble at all describing her dinners out, her travels, or quoting (at length) her earlier books while failing to give a sense of humanity to the man she ostensibly loved. When all was said and done I found I just didn't care about him, or her, either.
Isak Dinesen
Title: Out of Africa
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Knopf
Copyright: 1989
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Out of Africa" is the fictionalized biographical account by Isak Dinesen of her 17 years as a coffee plantation manager in East Africa. If you remember the movie based on this you'll find some differences in the book. But, her wonderful prose and gift of story telling brings out her love for Africa and it's people.
E.L. Doctorow
Title: March
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lyrically written, as are all of Doctorow's books, this account follows Sherman's march through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, with convincing depictions of actual and fictitious characters and events. As the South falls, Sherman becomes more obsessed with his own importance and power and more disengaged from the war's human factor while those around him struggle with the new reality the war is creating. Moving and poignant, this book brings to life the battle of two cultures becoming one country.
Keith Donohue
Title: Angels of Destruction
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Twenty years ago Erica Quinn vanished with her boyfriend to join an anarchist group, leaving her mother Margaret to mourn. So...when a child appears at Margaret's door in the middle of the night of course Margaret takes her in. And of course she makes up a story about the child being her granddaughter. And, of course, when complaints come to her from the school about the girl's strange behavior, she ignores them. This book asks the question: are angels real? And after having slogged through these pages the answer is: who cares?Title: The Stolen Child
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "The Stolen Child" is the story of Henry Day, a 7 year old boy stolen by changelings, a secret group living in the nearby forest. A changeling boy then morphs himself into Henry and they essentially change places and lives. Narrated with alternating voices of each character, this is a classic tale of their long obsessive search for their original identity.
Ian Douglas
Title: Star Corps
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: EOS/Harper Collins
Copyright: April 2003
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This first book in the Legacy Trilogy is a good work after his previous Heritage trilogy. Military SF. Marines are sent to deal with aliens who keep humans as slaves. A fast read.
David Drake
Title: Lt. Leary Commanding
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Baen Books
Copyright: June 2001
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the second book in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy series, which began with the title "With the Lightnings". Fast, fun read. Military space opera. Lt. Leary has to overturn a conspiracy and stop an invasion.Title: Other Times Than Peace
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: August 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 3 1/2. This is a good collection of short stories, some previously published in books and magazines. I liked most of the stories but not all. I recommend this for anybody who likes military science fiction. You will find something to like.Title: Some Golden Harbor
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Baen
Copyright: September 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Fun, fast read in the RCN series. I enjoyed the way the characters overcame obstacles presented to them. Leary's success has created enemies in the upper ranks, and they have conspired to give him an impossible mission: to stop a planetary war with little or no resources.
Alan Drew
Title: Garden of Water
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Garden of Water", a debut novel, takes place in a small town outside Istanbul. Following a devastating earthquake Sinan Basioglu, his wife, 15 year old daughter and 8 year old son, are forced to survive in an American missionary tent camp. The culture clash between Islam and Christianity, conservative traditionalism and modernity, love and honor, and age and youth creates devastating situations both sensitive and thought provoking.
Robert Dugoni
Title: Damage Control
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Warner
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Donna Hill, rising star in a prestigious law firm, finds her life shattered by a life threatening illness, an unfaithful husband and the murder of her twin brother. Detective Michael Logan becomes her ally in his effort to stop a string of murders following her brother's death. "Damage Control", an exciting techno thriller, will keep you reading to the conclusion.
Daphne Du Maurier
Title: Rebecca
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Hearst
Copyright: 1994
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Rebecca is a classic suspense novel. Filled with great twists and surprises, I read this book in one night!
Margaret Dumas
Title: How to Succeed in Murder
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A slick, funny and light amateur sleuth story involving a newlywed couple who infiltrate a software company where an alarming number of executives turn up dead. The characters, Charley and Jack, are an appealing and clever couple.
Sarah Dunant
Title: Birth of Venus
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Renaissance Italy is the setting for this wonderfully written story of 15 year old Alessandra who finds love and artistic fulfillment despite the boundaries of an arranged marriage and the Medici political turmoil of the times.
Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr.
Title: The National Geographic Traveler SAN FRANCISCO
Classification: Social, World & Cultural Studies
Publisher: The National Geographic Society
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This travel guide had awesome photographs, great maps, and tons of history; however it lacked decent sources of things to do. The hotel suggests section was a few pages stuffed in the back. Restaurant suggests were pretty much non-existent. So if you'd rather have a full history and not get lost opposed to knowing what to do in San Francisco this is your travel guide.
Sarah Dunn
Title: The Big Love
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sarah Dunn's first novel is the entertaining story of Alison Hopkins whose love life and professional career fall apart simultaneously. Written with dry humor this one is fresh and better than most of the current "chic-lit".
John Dunning
Title: Booked to Die
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Pocket/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 1992
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway loses his badge after dispensing some questionable justice to Jackie Newton, a sleazy murderer with a talent for avoiding prosecution. This time the murder is of a book scout known to Janeway because of his own passion for collecting rare and first edition books, making the capture a very personal goal. Janeway opens his own bookshop while continuing to search for evidence but soon, volumes of a prized book collection begin to appear along with dead bodies. Suspenseful and well plotted with memorable characters with lots and lots of interesting information about books and the workings of the rare book business.
Jeanne Duprau
Title: The City of Ember
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: May 2003
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For fans of The Giver, this book follows in a similar fashion. The city of Ember is run completely on electricity with no need for the sun. At night the town is plugged into complete darkness once the lights are turned off. The problem is the townspeople sense that the electricity is starting to fade. Common occurrences of blackouts worry them and one girl, Lina begins to wonder if there is something beyond the city in which she lives. She enlists the help of her friend Doon to search out the truth.
P.D. Eastman
Title: Flap Your Wings
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Beginner Books a division of Random House, Inc. Scholastic Book club edtion
Copyright: 1969, 1977, 2000
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another Dr Suess "I can read it all by myself beginner book," offers lessons and entertainment. A misplaced lost egg finds a home with family of birds to be raised. No matter what the baby may or may not be the mom and dad bird raise the baby as their own. And one day the baby must learn to fly! It's a quick book, good for a bedtime story even for a 25 year old.
Clyde Edgerton
Title: Bible Salesman
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At twenty, Henry Dampier is out in the world for the first time, peddling Bibles as he travels. Raised by his Uncle Jack and his very religious Aunt Dorie, Henry is not prepared at all for the likes of Preston Clearwater, the con man who gives him a lift and a job. Innocently, Henry helps his new employer recover "stolen" cars until the truth becomes evident...an event that comes too late.
Kim Edwards
Title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It all begins in a snowy blizzard night in March 1964. A physician and his pregnant wife try to make their way through the snow to get to the hospital to have their baby. Unfortunately they are no match for the snow and instead of the hospital; they go to the physician’s office. David, the husband and physician, calls his nurse to come and help. The nurse, Carolyn makes it to the office in time to help David sedate his wife and deliver his own baby. Much to their surprise, his wife Norah was carrying twins. After the twins (a boy and a girl) were born, David recognizes that his daughter showed sure signs of having Down Syndrome. The decision he makes next changes all of their lives forever. The book is about living with the choices you make and how the lies, secrets, and deceit can have lasting repercussions on all those involved.
Margaret Elphinstone
Title: Light
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Canongate Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Light is a family drama set in 1831 on a tiny island off the Isle of Man. Two sisters-in-law and their children, who operate the lighthouse, are thrown into turmoil when two surveyors arrive to arrange for construction of a more modern light. The replacement will force the families to leave their island home since only men are allowed to operate a government lighthouse. In "Light" the author has created an empathetic and compassionate tale.
P.N. Elrod (Editor)
Title: My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding ____
Classification: Vampire, Horror & Other Creatures of the Night
Publisher: St. Marin’s Griffin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This collection of supernatural stories about marriage and the wedding ceremony is one of the most anticipated collections among preternatural genre followers. What a major disappointment! Some of my favorite series (Sookie Stackhouse series, Harry Dresden series and Jack Flaming, Vampire Files series) authors contribute to this collection. However, the stories are brief and lack substance. Many stories in the collection are from paranormal romance writers, a growing presence within the collection of authors that usually contribute to the horror genre dominated by vampires, urban fantasy, lycanthropes and such. They should stick to romance and leave horror to the masters who have some command of the English language and understand a tormented soul. The reason it gets a 3 instead of a 2 is due to the really cool wedding cake as cover art. When you are at the store, admire the cover but don’t waste your money for what is inside.
Hallie Ephron
Title: Never Tell a Lie
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Harper
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Prone to miscarriages, hugely pregnant Ivy Rose is excited and apprehensive about the chances for carrying this baby to term. But first, she and husband David are cleaning out their Victorian house with a yard sale that is attracting a satisfyingly large crowd, including another very pregnant woman who introduces herself as a former classmate. David agrees to let her tour the house, but when she disappears all the evidence points to murder, with David the prime suspect.
This is Ephron’s first novel, but if she continues to write like this I certainly hope it isn’t her last. A great read!
Janet Evanovich
Title: Back to the Bedroom
Classification: Romance
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 1989, 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Once again, here is a story with those amazingly quirky Evanovichian characters, truly making this book worthy of a two. However, the ridiculous narration and dialog that makes this book a romance novel is pathetic and only worthy of eye rolling. If the book had been two-thirds shorter, it would have been bearable. Skip it unless you want to see some early character development Evanovich probably used for her Stephanie Plum series.Title: Fearless Fourteen
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It just wouldn't be summer without the new Stephanie Plum (series)...there's something about the Morelli/Ranger indecision that lends itself to a front porch and iced tea. This one is no exception, as Plum takes on temporary custody of a client's kid while helping Ranger protect a has-been singer and trying to keep Grandma Mazur from digging up Morelli's yard. (Well, she DOES think the nine million dollars is buried there). Add to the mix a kidnapping, a homemade cannon that shoots potatoes and a dog that eats underwear and Stephanie is pretty busy. No big guffaws, but lots of little giggles.Title: Fearless Fourteen
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Once again Stephanie Plum and her cohorts try to solve a local mystery. This time $9 million dollars from an earlier bank robbery is the center of their search, and it may be buried at Joe Morelli's house. Lula and Ranger add to the humor and romance, as well as a raft of other crazy characters. "Fearless Fourteen" is a fun light quick "beach" read.Title: Full Scoop
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Full Scoop is the sixth in their Full Series and with each book, the stories and characters from Beaumont, South Carolina keep getting better. This novel has more suspense and action than mystery, but humor is in all the right places. A quick, fun read.Title: Lean Mean Thirteen (Review #1)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stephanie Plum (series) is back and as funny as ever as she juggles Morelli and Ranger while trying to solve the disappearance of her scumbag ex. Lula is in rare form as she and Stephanie track down a no-show for the bond office in a trailer inhabited by a monster python and through a cemetery in the dark, and as they try to apprehend a taxidermist afraid to leave his house. Evanovich is dependably hysterical...it would be great if she gave up on her other series and gave us more Plum!Title: Lean Mean Thirteen (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stephanie Plum and the gang are back in this 13th addition to one of the funniest mystery series ever written. Nothing new develops; no major character development; just Stephanie, Grandma, Lulu, Ranger and Joe dealing with murder, a missing ex, wrecked cars, funeral showings and family dinner at the Plums. As long as you don’t expect something new, enjoy another funny, totally fluffy romp around New Jersey with Stephanie, the inept bounty hunter. (Click here to check out other reviews for this title)Title: Love Overboard
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Harper Torch
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In the intro, Evanovich sums up the merit of this book when she states Love Overboard was initially published as Ivan Takes a Wife (1989) and immediately went out-of-print. The characters are cute, the story is cute and those that find it hard waiting for a new Stephanie Plum story are likely to be the ones who will read this book. I know it is the only reason I read the reprinted stories by Evanovich. Hurry up, Stephanie before I become bored silly!Title: Manhunt
Classification: Romance
Publisher: Harper Torch
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Janet Evanovich sums up the merit of this book in the introduction by stating Manhunt is one of nine stories initially published between 1988 and 1992, and they immediately went out-of-print. I can see why this one was taken out of circulation. It surprises me anyone would want to reprint it, even if it is Evanovich! The characters’ personalities and the incredible Alaskan setting are wasted on this ridiculous story. Truly not worth reading, even if you are desperately awaiting a Stephanie Plum book.Title: Motor Mouth
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby (series), first introduced in "Metro Girl", returns in this fun and sexy multi crime mystery. NASCAR driver Hooker and the Cigar Ladies Felicia and Rosa add to the cast of characters for a light quick read. Evanovich continues to create supporting characters who add immensely to her books.Title: Motor Mouth (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Okay, so this isn't Stephanie Plum, but it's still laugh-out-loud funny. Barney is back (series), working for (and trying to resist) Nascar Guy Sam Hooker. When another driver races to the win, Barney is convinced that he's cheating. And when bodies start to turn up, Barney and Hooker have to race against the clock to find the murderer before they end up in jail...or dead.Title: Motor Mouth (Review #3)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I care zip about car racing, but I still laughed my way through this book. Mechanic Alexandra Barnaby, more commonly known as Barney, and racecar driver Sam Hooker start out to help a friend and end up on the run from the bad guys, with hilarious results. This sequel to Metro Girl is much better than the original, in which 'NASCAR Guy' talked about himself in the third person and was as appealing as Jar Jar Binks. Thankfully, the authors have divested him of that habit in this second appearance. The crack-up character Lula from the Stephanie Plum series does not appear in the Barnaby books, but I felt that her spirit was there in the pages of it.Title: Motor Mouth (Review #4)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I heard so much about this NASCAR themed series, and love most of Evanovich’s witty characters, I felt compelled to read this second installment of the series about mechanic turned sleuth Alexandra Barnaby and her on-again-off-again love interest, race car driver Sam Hooker. What a major disappointment! The characters are so ridiculous and the story so far fetched from reality, it became harder and harder for me to turn the page. At times I wonder whether the main character, an educated mechanical engineer, was just acting stupid or whether her exposure to the NASCAR scene made her so. She would find a dead body, discuss whether or not to have sex, dispose of the body, discuss whether or not to have sex, hunt down hired killers, and hide out from a major police hunt with her sex-crazed ex-boyfriend while they tried to figure out who and why dead people kept getting in their path. Who cares! I would rather have dust on my shelf than this book and it gets a two only because Evanovich, even at her worst, can write.Title: Plum Lovin'____
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stephanie Plum is back in this “between the numbers” short novel that is so brief in length, it is just a tease. Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and Stephanie finds herself having to aid a match maker complete her tasks before she will allow Stephanie to take her in on her bond violation. There is no one quite like Stephanie and Evanovich should focus on the entertaining, laugh-out-loud characters in her Plum books instead of wasting time writing her other, sappier romance stories that have hit the shelves of late.Title: Plum Lucky (Review #1)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Well, I have to say, this little between-the-numbers novella has all the hilarity of Evanovich's full-length Plum novels, with Grandma Mazur finding a bag full of money and heading for Atlantic City with Stephanie in pursuit. The entire cast of regulars is here, although in abbreviated form, and Stephanie's quirky style has rarely been more evident. A terrific read that will tide us over until the next book!Title: Plum Lucky (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:A Between-the-Numbers Stephanie Plum novel. This thin 'novel-light' falls between number 13 and number 14 in one of the funniest, charismatic mystery series out today! Yes, Stephanie and most of the gang are back; this time with a little person who believes himself to be a leprechaun. The gang's antics will make you laugh out loud as they descend on Atlantic City to find grandma and a horse being held hostage by a local gangster.Title: Plum Spooky
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In her first full-length "Plum" book (series), Evanovich nails it! Weird sexy Diesel is back, along with Carl the Monkey and the rest of Stephanie's gang as they track a white-collar criminal who wants to rule the world (and get girls). Although this series within a series is usually skimpy, this entry is fleshed out and funny...maybe enough to keep you laughing until June, when Fingerlickin Fifteen is released!Title: SERIES – Stephanie Plum
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Various
Copyright: Various
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Most likely, you will laugh-out-loud at the comedy in these novels and forget they are mysteries. For sheer entertainment, this series is the one to read. Stephanie is an inept bounty hunter who is too petite for the job but has bills to pay, so she finds herself working for her sleazy cousin with an ex-prostitute, Lulu and her grandmother as occasional side-kicks. Her love life bounces between her old flame, Joe who is now a cop and the mysterious bounty hunter, Ranger.Title: 11 on Top
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Latest Stephanie Plum series novel with the usual hilarious exploits of the lovable but inept bounty hunter and her wacky family and friends.Title: Plum Lovin'
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second in the Evanovich Diesel sub-series, this short-story sold as novel is about as good as Visions Of Sugar Plums (the first). Although it's mildly amusing, Evanovich risks alienating her fans by asking them to spend money on something that would be better as a part of a collection of short pieces. Cute, but who cares? (Click here to check out other reviews for this title)Title: Twelve Sharp (Review #1)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This, the twelfth in the Stephanie Plum series, reinstates Evanovich as the freshest, funniest mystery writer around. All the regular gang is here, with Stephanie in the middle of the action when Ranger's daughter is kidnapped, Lula joins a rock group, and Grandma connects with the new owners of the funeral home. I look forward every June to an evening of laughing out loud with Evanovich, and this one didn't disappoint; in fact, there's more laughter here than in the past few.Title: Twelve Sharp (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I was a bit disappointed by this latest in the Stephanie Plum series. Don't get me wrong: it was a fast, enjoyable read; but I expected more humor. I laughed less with this book than with any of the previous ones (excepting the weird holiday story "Visions of SugarPlums"). Long live Grandma Mazur, who was in fine form as usual. But Stephanie seemed too serious and straightforward to me. Not enough zany high jinks. Perhaps it is because of the plot: a missing child is no laughing matter. But I missed laughing all the way through the book as I usually do with the Plum series. I have very high expectations for this series which were not met in this book. I'm still giving it a 4 because I enjoyed it enough to zip through it very fast, staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish it.Title: Twelve Sharp (Review #3)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: No one entertains quite like Evanovich with tales of Stephanie Plum and her bounty hunter co-workers. This new addition to the series has grandma, Lulu and Sally signing off key in a rock band for the senior set, Ranger on the lamb, and new funeral parlor owners who bakes the best cookies! For the first time, Stephanie’s father delivers dialog as close to a soliloquy as a New Jersey taxi driver stuck in this family can get.
Nicholas Evans
Title: The Divide
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In "The Divide" author Nicholas Evans presents the story of a family trying to understand the events leading to the death of their daughter. How did their golden child become a wanted woman accused of terrorism and murder? The answers are revealed in a compassionate and gripping novel.
Linda Fairstein
Title: Bone Vault
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Assistant D.A. Alex Cooper, in her 5th mystery novel, is called upon to find the killer of a Metropolitan Museum of Art intern whose body is found in an ancient sarcophagus. A controversial combined exhibit with the Museum of Natural History provides several possible suspects. Alex teams up again with homicide cop Mike Chapman as they search behind the scenes through museum politics as well as miles of backrooms and shadowy halls.
Title: Death Dance: A Novel
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Death Dance", Linda Fairstein's 8th novel in her Alexandra Cooper series, teams Assistant DA Cooper with longtime friends Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace of the NYPD. Their investigation into the mysterious disappearance at Lincoln Center of a world famous dancer takes them behind the scenes into the artistic world of Broadway theater. Fairstein continues her series with interesting characters and intriguing plots.
Patricia Falvey
Title: The Yellow House
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Center Street Pub.
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:"The Yellow House", set in Northern Ireland in the early 1900's, features young Irishwoman Eileen O"Neill and her family which is torn apart by war, disease and political unrest. Determined to reclaim her ancestral home, Eileen struggles for years to earn enough money in the local textile mill. Irish nationalist James and wealthy British officer Owen comprise much of the plot as well as Eileen's difficult life.
A good blend of history and romance to keep you reading.
Walter Farley
Title: The Black Stallion
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Copyright: 1941
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The beginning of an excellent series featuring a boy and the wild horse who loves him. Shipwrecked together, the pair later become famous at the racetrack for the Black's incredible speed and spirit. A perfect read for boys or girls who love horses.
Nancy Farmer
Title: The House of the Scorpion
Classification: Teens
Publisher: Thompson Gale
Copyright: April 2003
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For readers who enjoy a bit of science fiction mixed with what life would be like if human cloning were possible and drug lords reigned between the US and Mexico to establish some semblance of order. This was an intriguing book.
Jim Fergus
Title: One Thousand White Women
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: ?
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical Fiction. In 1854, a major Cheyenne chief proposed a plan to ensure a future between whites and Indians: trade 1000 white brides for his warriors in exchange for 1000 good horses. Since children were raised by the mothers, a generation would be raised with white customs and values while retaining Indian heritage, thus ensuring peace. Predictably, this noble idea was met with horror and disgust and the exchange never happened. In the novel, a group of women do volunteer to be brides and their experiences are followed through journals written by one of the women. An interesting insight into the Indian culture as well as the attitudes of the women, who arrive at the reservation convinced of the superiority of their own culture and disdain for the "savages" and their "heathen" life style. Gradually they learn to understand and even admire much of the culture which, sadly, in today's world, no longer exists.
Jasper Fforde
Title: Lost in a Good Book: A Thursday Next Novel
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Pengun
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this second volume literary sleuth Thursday Next ventures through several literary classics to get back her "eradicated" husband and, perhaps, save the world. Fforde's novels are inventive, witty, fun and sometimes confusing, but this one will especially appeal to "literary" readers.Title: Something Rotten
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Viking Adult
Copyright: August 2004
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As the final installment in the Thursday Next Mysteries, this book certainly has a grand finale. Set in an alternate world where time travel is possible, pet dodos are the norm, and there are certified literary detectives, anything can happen.
Joy Fielding
Title: Charley's Web (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although the suspense here is just a notch below See Jane Run or Mad River Road, Fielding continues to keep us turning pages in this book about Charley Webb, controversial newspaper columnist and single mom whose children are being threatened. Additionally, Charley has decided to write the story of a convicted child murderer and is trying to establish relationships with her long-absent mother and resistant siblings. Although there is a lot going on here, Fielding handles her characters and plots deftly as always and hands us a surprise at the end, as well.Title: Charley's Webb (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another great page turner from Joy Fielding. This novel features a newspaper columnist who has neighbors who dislike her because they think she is writing about them, a mother who disappeared when she was a child to suddenly appear back in her life, two sisters who are bigger successes than she is, etc. Her big break to step into the limelight appears when a convicted child killer contacts her to write her story. And to top it off, Charley receives disturbing emails from someone threatening her children. Fielding manages to weave all these things together into a great book with one of those shocking endings.Title: Heartstopper
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although certainly not in the same league as Fielding's See Jane Run and Mad River Road, this is a pretty good (but very predictable) suspense read. When pretty, popular Liana Martin goes missing everyone in this small, dysfunctional Florida town becomes a suspect. (Except, of course, for the real killer). Fairly interesting characters, but without the depth and darkness in some of the author's earlier books; this would make a good, quick beach read.Title: Mad River Road
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Without a doubt her best since See Jane Run. Don’t miss it!Title: Puppet
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I really enjoy Fielding's books. I have to admit that when I first started reading this one, I thought the story line was a bit of a cross between an episode of Ally McBeal or Murder She Wrote. Before I could become really disappointed, the book finally picked up momentum and the Joy Fielding style emerged. While the main character reminded me a bit of a 'woe is me' Ally McBeal, the twists and turns made up for it resulting in an enjoyable read.Title: See Jane Run
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A woman standing on a street corner in Boston. Her dress is covered in blood, her pockets are full of money, and she doesn't know who she is. As Jane discovers her lost identity, she also finds out what horrific event caused her to forget in the first place. A must read!Title: Still Life
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After a horrible accident, Casey Marshall wakes to realize that, while she can hear, she is in a coma and might not live. Surrounded by her family and friends she begins to understand that what happened to her was no accident...and that someone she loves won't stop until she's dead. A roller coaster read from one of the best in the business--this is a top notch, can't miss book!Title: Wild Zone
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Although Fielding can, and has, written much better books than this, she still manages to create a sleazy level of suspense in Wild Zone. Brothers Will and Jeff haven’t seen each other in years and there was little affection between them even as children, but when shy, socially awkward Will needs refuge he turns to Jeff and Jeff’s friends in Florida. Totally out of his element, Will is surprised when a fragile, beautiful woman chooses him over his handsome brother, but he can’t control the violence threatening her.
Tightly written, with interesting twists and lots of smarmy characters.
Joseph Finder
Title: Power Play
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Finder is another of those authors who promises more than he delivers, and he does so again with Power Play. I slogged through the first third of the book while the characters and plot were set up (diligently, but with little excitement), then really started to get involved when the action picked up with the capture of a group of high-powered executives on an off site meeting. Good stuff here. Then...the end. What? Wait for paperback.Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Author Joseph Finder explores the aerospace industry in this fast paced thriller. Jake Landry and fellow executives of Hammond Industry, attending a corporate conference at a secluded lodge, are invaded and held hostage by a group of local hunters. Jake, using all his wit and talent, tries to keep them all alive. A combination of intelligence, cynicism and timing create a good nail-bitter.
Title: Killer Instinct
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When mid-level manager Jason Steadman wrecks his car, tow-truck driver and former Special Forces guy Kurt impresses him. Jason invites him to join his softball team and arranges a job in security at his company. To repay him, Kurt starts doing "favors" for him, but when terrible things begin to happen to Jason's business competitors, Jason knows he's dealing with someone much more (and much worse) than a friend. Tightly written and compelling...a definite must-read.
Rodes Fishburne
Title: Going to See the Elephant
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This debut novel tells the story of would-be writer Slater Brown as he travels around San Francisco. After finding employment with a down and out newspaper he eventually becomes the toast of the town due to his journalistic prowess. A beautiful chess champion, a corrupt mayor and a wacky inventor add dimension to this unusual novel.
Fannie Flagg
Title: Can't Wait To Get To Heaven
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you liked Flagg's "Standing In the Rainbow," you'll enjoy this! The town of Elmwood Springs is stunned when their friend Elner Shimfissle is stung by wasps and killed in a fall from a ladder. While they grieve, they rediscover all the large and small ways Elner has touched their lives, and are delighted when it appears a mistake has been made at the hospital and Elner isn't dead after all. Elner has died, however, and been sent back to Elmwood Springs from heaven, a fact her niece Norma encourages her not to share. A really charming little read.
Mathew Flaming
Title: The Kingdom of Ohio
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:"The Kingdom of Ohio" mixes time travel, early 1900's history and a bit of romance into an adventure which is bizarre, occasionally intriguing and certainly unusual. Including the lost kingdom of Ohio (Toledo), the power struggle of Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla, the financial influence of J.P. Morgan and the plight of a NY City subway laborer and an Ohio woman who has traveled 7 years through time this novel has way too many subplots to do any of them justice.
Julia Spencer Fleming
Title: In the Bleak Midwinter
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A remarkable first novel which won 6 major book awards, due no doubt to the depth of plot and character development. Clare Fergusson, former Army chopper pilot and a woman with a "mind of her own" seems a little odd to the members of the conservative St. Albans Episcopal Church where she has just been assigned. Ideas to improve services to the community are met with resistance and seem to indicate a lack of confidence in the new priest. Then a newborn baby is found on the church steps with a note requesting that he be given to a certain couple in the congregation. Clare finds the congregation solidly behind her in her effort to fulfill this request. But it's not just a simple matter, as Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne informs her. The parents must be identified and other legal matters addressed.In the search for the mother the seemingly peaceful setting of the town is shattered as deceit, betrayal and murder are discovered. Resolution of the several conflicts is found but shock and sadness accompany the truth. Well written with characters you will love, the novel is well worth reading and I look forward to subsequent books in the series.
Eric Flint and David Drake
Title: The Dance of Time
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Baen Publishing
Copyright: February 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the sixth and final book in the Belisarius series, which began with "An Oblique Approach". It tied everything together well; I highly recommend it. It is military/historical/alternate timeline.
Erick Flint and Ryk E. Spoor
Title: Boundary
Classification: Science Fiction
Publisher: Baen/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: March 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Hard science fiction. A paleontology expedition on Earth finds the remains of an alien along with the dinosaurs the alien killed. The clues they find in their excavation site lead them eventually to Mars and the remnants of alien civilizations. I liked the relationships as they build between characters in spite of their occupations -- such as between a paleontologist and a technophile.
Elizabeth Flock
Title: Everything Must Go
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: MIRA Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An odd and awkward book by the author of Me and Emma about the life of Henry Powell, former high school football star, who dreams of being a recording star and fantasizes about his biography. Maybe it's too much for me to ask, but if an author is writing a book that is supposed to be "moody," could we at least have characters about whom we care? Or situations that engage us? I suppose there's a need for books through which we must slog, but we shouldn't have to pay for them. Pass.
Bill Floyd
Title: Killer's Wife
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Young bride Nina Mosley has no reason to be suspicious when her husband returns from a business trip covered in scratches. After all, he explains, he helped fellow passengers subdue a drunk on the plane. But when Nina realizes that Randy's injuries correspond with the timing of horrific murders, she is forced to face the possibility that she is married to a killer. This is a tight, stunning debut novel in the tradition of Harlan Coben and Joy Fielding. Don't miss it!
Gillian Flynn
Title: Sharp Objects
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Shaye Areheart/Crown
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Okay, so when I heard that this first novel was written by the TV critic for Entertainment Weekly, I almost passed, which would have been a mistake. This woman can write! When two girls in her Missouri hometown are murdered, Camille Preaker's editor sends her there to cover the story, despite her reluctance to return to her family. As the story unfolds, we are drawn into a bleak world of ugly secrets and vicious relationships, with murderousness masquerading as love. A riveting read; don't miss it!
Vince Flynn
Title: Executive Power
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political thriller. Outed undercover agent Mitch Rapp now is on the kill list of terrorists across the globe and has been reassigned as a CIA Advisor. While investigating the ambush of a Navy Seal team, he uncovers a probable leak within the State Department. In addition, powerful Middle Easterners are plotting to ignite a global war to further their evil goals of world domination. Political intrigue on an international level. Great.Title: Memorial Day
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thriller. A really suspenseful thriller with terrorists and nuclear bombs loose in the U.S. Flynn always is good and this one is no exception.
Jamie Ford
Title: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Chinese American Henry Lee is caught up in the prejudice of Americans against Japanese citizens in Seattle after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His childhood friend and first love Keiko is sent with her family to an internment camp. Forty years later events rekindle Henry's search and contemplation of his own family dynamics. Ford's first novel is, like the title, both bitter and sweet.
Alan Dean Foster
Title: Lost and Found
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A man and dog are kidnapped by aliens. This story has a talking dog in it, and I still didn't like it. That's bad. I didn't like the development of the plot, the characters, or the author's writing style (too pompous). I know he can write better than this. What happened? Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel.
Earlene Fowler
Title: Fool's Puzzle
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first in a mystery series you'll recognize by the quilt on the cover. In addition to a good "light" mystery, the books take you through several changes in the life of the main character, Benni Harper.
Dorothy Benton Frank
Title: Bulls Island
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dorothy Frank once again writes about her beloved Carolina Low Country. Two local families, of slightly different "class", come head to head again after 20 years. Family estrangements, star-crossed love and high finance all merge in Benton's latest novel. I think this one is a bit too predictable, but the reader steel feels the attraction of that wonderful area.Title: Full of Grace
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Full of Grace, set mostly in North Carolina, features 32 year old (unmarried) Grace, daughter of an old fashioned Italian family. Over the years her faith has waned, she loves and lives with a man doing stem cell research and she's trying to fit into her family who are strongly influenced by her traditional grandmother. Filled with wacky compassionate characters, this poignant story is a little different from Frank's usual books.Title: The Land of Mango Sunsets
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Once again Dorothy Benton Frank has written about Sullivan Island in the Low country of South Carolina. Quasi socialite Mariam Swanson of New York City, divorced and estranged from her sons, learns what is really important in life, thanks to a cast of interesting characters. Not the best of Frank's novels, but a nice light story.Title: Shem Creek
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you love the Carolina Low country Shem Creek will make you want to return. As always Frank beautifully describes the area as the setting for another of her friendship, family and love stories. Although Sullivan's Island remains my favorite, this was a nice read too.
Ariana Franklin
Title: Grave Goods
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:Gastonbury Abbey, England, 1176, where the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are reported to have been found. In "Grave Goods" King Henry II again calls upon Adelia Agular to investigate. Rich with family, friends and an assortment of locals this is a terrific blend of history and mystery in Franklin's 3rd "Mistress of the Art of Death" series.
Series:
Mistress of the Art of Death
The Serpent's Tale
Grave Goods
A Murderous Procession (coming soon)
Charles Frazier
Title: Thirteen Moons
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As he did in "Cold Mountain", Frazier beautifully writes about nineteenth century America. 12 year old Will is sent into the Indian Nation to run a trading post. As he grows into an influential man he comes to love and identify with the Cherokee Indians. Tirelessly he works to keep their land and prevent the government from sending them west. His passion for literature and learning, the Indians and the woman he loves creates a powerful well written story.
Margaret Frazer
Title: A Play of Dux Maraud
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a mystery of a different flavor. The stage is set the 1400's and a wedding is about to happen. A theatre troupe has been sent to the celebrations to discover all the dirty secrets surrounding the event and figure out if there may be any truth to the feeling that the groom is in mortal danger.
Michael Fredrickson
Title: Cinderella Affidavit
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Forge
Copyright: 1999
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A fairly entertaining legal thriller about a crooked cop and a lawyer with a conscience, but for all of you (and you know who you are) who say you don't want a book with too many characters, this is not for you. And, after all the characters and all the plot twists, the ending is anticlimactic. Pretty well-written, though, so I'd give the author another try.
Benedict & Nancy Freedman
Title: Mrs. Mike
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical fiction set in the early 1900s, about an Irish woman from Boston who marries a Canadian Mounty and travels to live in the wilderness with him. This character (based on a real life person) battles astonishing hardship, and I felt ashamed for ever having complained about something as trivial as the weather. Not my usual type of read, but very worthwhile and still in print as of 2006.
Castle Freeman, Jr.
Title: Go with Me
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this unassuming little book, Freeman's timing is flawless, his ear for dialogue perfect. Divided between good ole boy conversation in an all-but-abandoned Vermont logging camp and the almost certain to fail trek into the mountains in search of a killer, the humor leavened with intensity, Freeman's minimalist prose is dead-on. A definite top pick!
James Frey
Title: A Million Little Pieces
Classification: Biography
Publisher: Double Day, Random House
Copyright: April 2003
Reviewert: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Even with all the controversy surrounding this book, this is a fascinating story of one man's road back to a restored life.
Stephen Frey
Title: Protege
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Not up to the standards Frey set with Day Trader, but still worth a read.
Esther Friesner
Title: The Chick is in the Mail
Classification: Fantasy
Author: Esther Friesner
Publisher: Baen Publishing/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: October 2000
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Humorous short story collection in the Chick series. Fun, easy, enjoyable read. Almost all the short stories are very good.Title: Turn the Other Chick
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Baen Publishing/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: March 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Actually, I would give it a 4 1/2 book rating. A great collection of short stories. Humorous and very entertaining. Each one was unique. The author did a very good job at portraying strong female characters. I've liked every one I've read so far in this series.
Jean Fritz and Tom Clute
Title: Champion Dog: Prince Tom
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this chapter book (about fourth grade reading level), we meet Prince Tom, a golden cocker spaniel who excelled at obedience, tricks, and hunting competitions. A novelization of the true story of Tom Clute's champion dog. Very enjoyable read for young dog lovers.
P.R. Frost
Title: Hounding the Moon
Classification: Fantasy
Publisher: Daw Books/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright: September 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Tess is a grieving widow. She's also a fantasy writer with a secret: as a member of the Sisterhood of the Celestial Blade Warriors, she fights real demons. On the course of her quest to rescue a girl from a magical beast, she runs into two attractive men who seem to know more about her than they should. Interesting tie-in of Native American myths with the more conventional supernatural elements. This is the beginning of a series; the sequel will be "Moon in the Mirror."
Brian Froud
Title: Good Faeries Bad Faeries
Classification: Religion & Philosophy
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Editions
Copyright: 1998
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A cult classic for all Faerie lovers. Froud's work has continued to inspire and intrigue all New Age readers. His works include "The Goblins of Labyrinth" and "Rune of Elfland". He also had collaborated with Jim Hensen on the movies "Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth".
Charles Fuge
Title: I Know a Rhino
Classification: Children's
Publisher: Sterling
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A new book to add to the classic's list. These are the cutest illustrations I've seen in a long time. It's a great board book for toddlers, but also a favorite for adults.
Diana Gabaldon
Title: Dragonfly in Amber
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 1992
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber, continues the saga of Claire Randal and Jamie Fraser in their quest to thwart a doomed scottish Highlander uprising. Starting 20 years later with Claire and her grown daughter, the story moves back again to Claire's time in eighteenth century Paris and Scotland. Intrigue, romance and history are skillfully combined in Gabaldon's novels.Title: Outlander
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dell Publishing
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Outlander", the first in a time travel series begun several years ago, is the story of Claire Randall who, when traveling in Scotland in 1945, is suddenly transported back to 1743. Torn between desire for two vastly different men, she is enmeshed in the historic Jacobite uprising. Many readers have recommended Gabaldon's series; I can't believe I waited this long to read it!Title: Voyager
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 1994
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this next (3rd) novel in the "Outlander" series Claire gives birth, lives and works in England for 20 years but the lure of Jamie is strong enough for her to risk time traveling again. "Voyager" is yet another one of Gabaldon's terrific historical romance series.
Patricia Gaffney
Title: The Saving Grace
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Tender story about four very different women who, nevertheless, are very special friends. Charming and heartwarming, you may want to have a box of tissues nearby.
Debra Galant
Title: Rattled
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I think Galant is trying for Hiaasen here, but there's no mystery. Another good, but wait for paperback, book.
Lisa Gardner
Title: Alone
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another of Lisa Gardner's intense thrillers, "Alone" entangles a police sniper, a beautiful abused woman and her sickly child and a vengeful killer into a convoluted plot of intrigue and suspense.Title: Gone
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Gardner is a consistent page-turner who needs to be discovered by a larger audience. This one is no exception...Title: Hide (Review #1)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A pedestrian thriller about a woman (she's had so many names that I'm loathe to include one)whose family picked up and moved a LOT when she was a child. We're left to determine whether those moves were a result of her father's paranoia or a consequence of his job (wow--maybe an FBI agent?) or perhaps even because he was a serial killer. By the time I reached the end, I really didn't care. Ho-hum.Title: Hide (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When six mummified corpses are discovered policeman Bobby Dodge is drawn back into an earlier case of deception and intrigue. "Hide" isn't one of Gardner's best but I did finish it to see how she pulled everything together at the end.Title:Say Goodbye
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A middle-of-the-night phone call is never good news, but this one is just puzzling. Although FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy has never heard of her, a just-arrested prostitute is claiming to be her informant and is demanding to see her to report that her friend, another prostitute working for the same pimp, is missing. When it becomes evident that not one but many women are unaccounted for, Quincy and her team find themselves pursuing a man who not only kills for pleasure, but insists that his victims select his next prey: it has to be someone they love. This is unquestionably Gardner's most gruesome, most riveting novel to date...not to be missed! One note, though: this is not for arachnophobes.
Meg Gardiner
Title: Dirty Secrets Club
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Signet
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:When assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Harding drives off a bridge after leading police on a high-speed chase, forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is called in to determine what would have made the woman kill herself and the others she took with her. It isn’t long before Jo discovers that this isn’t the first violent death of high-profile members of a clandestine group who call themselves the Dirty Secrets Club.
A decent read, but overly long as if the author decided to be done (several times) and then realized she had more ideas to include. This one would have benefited by some ruthless editing.
James B. Garfield
Title: Follow My Leader
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this chapter book (about fourth grade reading level), Jimmy is eleven years old when he loses his sight in an accident. He learns to read Braille, walk with a cane, and goes to a special school to get his guide dog, a German Shepherd named Leader, and learn how to work with him properly. In addition to coping with his new way of life, Jimmy must learn to cope with his feelings towards the boy who threw the firecracker in his face.
P. L. Gaus
Title: Blood of the Prodigal
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Copyright: ?
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Subtitled A Ohio Amish Mystery, this is a worthwhile read not only in terms of being a good mystery but also as a glimpse into the lives and customs of a strictly observant Old Order Amish Community (Ohio, by the way, is home to the largest Amish and Mennonite communities in the world). Bishop Eli Miller has enlisted the help of Professor Michael to find his kidnapped grandson, Jeremiah. Mike is puzzled as to why the bishop has asked an "English" (non Amish) to conduct the search and why the police are not to be involved. With little help from the bishop, the mystery becomes murky and involves murder, greed and treachery, at the same time revealing that a relatively closed community still is vulnerable to many of the same problems found in society at large. Ohioans reading this will find references to numerous familiar Holmes county communities as well as to Port Clinton, Marblehead, Lakeside and the islands of Lake Erie.
Stephanie Gayle
Title: My Summer of Southern Discomfort
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Natalie Goldberg, daughter of famed civil rights attorney Aaron Goldberg and a lawyer herself, moves to Georgia to work for the district attorney's office where she is assigned to prosecute a death-penalty case. Cautious about establishing relationships following a disastrous affair Natalie slowly finds herself caring more about her work and about her co-workers than she expected to. A readable, though slightly disorganized, read.
Kathleen and Michael Gear
Title: People of the Lakes
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Tor
Copyright: 1994
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Prehistoric novel. One of the first North American series by this husband and wife team of archaeologists, this one deals with the people of our area - the Great Lakes. Fascinating, illuminating and throughly enjoyable.Title: People of the Raven
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Tom Doherty Assoc.
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical fiction. Another in the fascinating First North American series. This time the setting is the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Recent (1996) discoveries of Kennewick Man and other Caucasoids have sparked great interested in a previously unknown 9000 year old civilization. Archaeologists Kathleen and Michael Gear weave an intriguing tale about the lives and culture of people of that era. Survival during massive environmental change is uppermost, but basic themes of human life including power, war, peace, lust and love are as prevalent in this ancient society as they are in ours today. Another outstanding addition to this remarkable series.
Anne George
Title: Murder On a Girls' Night Out (Review #1)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon/Hearst
Copyright: 1996
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The first in the Southern Sisters mystery series, this is a delight. The series features Sister and Mouse, two elderly Southern sisters who sleuth. The relationship between the women rings absolutely true and the supporting characters are fun, too.Title: Murder On A Girl’s Night Out (Review #2)
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Avon/Hearst
Copyright: 1996
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: First in the Southern Sisters series. A mildly entertaining story about two very different sisters who become involved in a murder case when the former owner of a Country Western bar is murdered right after one sister buys it from him.
Elizabeth George
Title: With No One as Witness
Classification: Mystery
Publisher: Harper Torch
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another superb psychological thriller from one of the best authors in the genre featuring familiar characters Detective Superintendent (Sir) Thomas Lynley, his wife Helen (now pregnant), partner Barbara Havers, and others. Thomas is on the case of a serial killer who murders little boys and who becomes more and more personally involved with Thomas. Issues of politics, race, class and forensics plus attention to detail and plot development make this another outstanding read from George. The shocking conclusion will leave you stunned.
Tess Gerritsen
Title: Body Double
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: August 2004
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For anyone wh