Where I Read Books

“The King of Lies” by John Hart

2010-09-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

“The King of Lies” by John Hart

Wow. I tore through this book at top speed. I just couldn’t (well, I didn’t want to) put it down.

This is a story of a lawyer and what happens when his whole world goes bottom up. The story tugs at your own heart because even though it is a work of fiction it is also a story anybody can relate to.

All of us are comfortable in our own lives. Our reality has been a certain way for a very long time. We’re used to it. We can walk in the door and not have to face up to old issues that we either don’t want to look at or have forgotten completely. Granted, we grow throughout our lives, but hopefully, it is just one small step at a time and you don't experience more than a mild jolt. It is the big steps we have to take that can be most uncomfortable to make. This is a big step.

It’s an eye opener. It’s like what happened to me when I read, “A Course in Miracles”. Beyond being a riveting story it makes you ask yourself if you are really being true to your own heart or have you been compromising your own truth for years. This book reminds you of what it is like to ask yourself a hard question and take the next step in growing spiritually.

I’m going to seek out more of John Hart’s work. The reading of this particular book began as a nudge from my own Spirit Guides. On my way to work about a week ago they urged me to hang a right on Fruitvale and swing past the library to have a look at the orphan books that had piled up over the weekend in front of the library’s doors. I picked up this book and several others. Books from writers I’ve never read before. Some fresh books and thanks to Spirit for the tip.

“U is for Undertow” by Sue Grafton

2010-07-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

“U is for Undertow” by Sue Grafton. Imagine, A through U. That’s 21 novels Sue Grafton has written.

Kinsey Millhone is a gutsy private eye. It takes me back to when I was a little girl and read the Nancy Drew mysteries. Nancy was my hero, or I suppose heroine. Kinsey is the same. I really admire how she moves through life. I’ve seen her fall in love and out of love in the different books I’ve read. She isn’t an aluminum plated super-hero. She’s as normal and as warped as any of us is, but still, she’s got a courageousness that I admire. I haven’t read them all; just the ones that come my way. And, it really doesn’t matter if you hopscotch all over the alphabet to read her stories.

In this one an emotionally troubled young man has a flashback to when he was 6 years old and brings a case to Kinsey. He can only afford to pay her $500 for one day’s work. He’s read an account of an unsolved kidnapping that happened years before. Every year the town’s newspaper runs an article about how Mary Claire vanished and was never heard from again. When Michael Sutton reads the news article his troubled memory flashes on two men digging a hole. They told the little 6 year old boy they were pirates and were digging for treasure. Michael believed them then, but when he revisits that old memory he realizes it was around that time that Mary Claire disappeared.

And, so the story goes. You can get a good feel for how Kinsey takes all sorts of facts and finally puts the pieces together to make a plausible story.

Sue Grafton’s Alphabet novels aren’t just about the cases Kinsey Millhone takes on. They are about Kinsey too so that as you read more and more of them you get to know Kinsey, the character, in a way that makes her as memorable and as real as she must be to Sue Grafton.

I’m a writer, but I was a reader first and I always felt a sense of sadness as I waved goodbye to the characters I’d come to love in whatever book I was reading at the time. There was this sense of regret that I would never meet them again, so when I am able to latch onto a writer who can’t say goodbye to their people either my heart does a little happy dance and I curl up again with a good book.

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

2010-06-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I did a review. It’s not that I stopped reading because I have not. It’s because my reading changed for a time. Instead of devouring them and then taking the few moments it would take to write a review I began to read books like a chain smoker. No pausing from one to the other.

People have things happen in their lives that jolt them, that somehow make them jump their tracks. That happened to us. Our long time neighbor of 20 years Phil passed away in January. Here it is six months later and I’m still off kilter. I realize that he is okay. I’m a psychic and a channel in my alter life and so am able to speak to him any time I want. So, I realize he has another life and is content and happy, but still I grieved. That grief took me away from much of what I was doing at the time. I have several blogs and several websites and lots of things to do that interest me not to mention a forty hour a week job.

I slipped into a rut that consisted of work and reading. Slowly I am taking small steps to move on. Now, I will try one other thing, a review. Why? Because I read a book that mesmerized me for a time.

In, “Every Last One” Anna Quindlen fleshes out her characters so well that you can almost finish their sentences for them you get to know them that well. Personally I think that is a very difficult thing probably because I have yet to do it myself with the passing attempts I make at writing. But, for me reading is a joy and I learn from each and every book I read (or re-read). I think I might have glimpsed some of her writer’s magic in this book.

From a writer’s standpoint I am in awe. From a reader’s standpoint I couldn’t put it down and from a person who is grieving I could feel hope.

This story shows what happens to a person who is happy with her life. Granted things might be a little different or better, but whose life is like that anyway? Perfect. No, this is about a real person’s life. The mother, the wife, the friend and how she is to each of those people who spin out from her center. But, there at the center of her universe it is safe. Each day flows one into the next. People change and there are regrets. But, really, it is just one day after another, one season after another and one year after another.

Until something so horrifying happens that cannot ever have been foretold. And, the last part of the story is how Mary Beth Latham learns that there can be life after a devastating moment.

I’m recommending it to any who would like to read it.

The Outlander Series

2010-02-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

Like I don’t have enough to do. I started reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon again. I’ve made it though the first 3 books and today have embarked upon the fourth one.

1. The Outlander – Where Claire steps into a stone circle in 1945 and emerges 200 years earlier. Where to save her live she marries Jaime a Highlander and where they fall in love.
2. Dragonfly in Amber – Where Claire and Jaime make their way into the turmoil that resulted in the slaughter at Culloden trying their hardest to subvert the efforts of Bonny Prince Charles to no avail. And, where Claire, pregnant goes back through the stones to her first husband Frank.
3. Voyager – Where her husband Frank has died and Claire is ready to tell her daughter, Brianna who her real father is and where her roots lie. Where with the help of an historian, Roger, Claire and Brianna find out that Jaime never died at Culloden, but survived and was noted in historical documents. And, where Claire goes back through the stones to find him.
4. Drums of Autumn – I’ve just started this one. I know what’s coming up. I’ve read these books several times. They average about 1,000 pages each.
5. The Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An Echo in the Bone

I just today found out that the 7th book, An Echo in the Bone, was published last October, 2009. And, rumor has it there will be an 8th book before the saga is over.

If you love historical romance. If you love time travel. If you love a swash buckling yarn that goes on and on and never seems to stop you will want to read these books.

“Survivor in Death” by JD Robb (Nora Roberts)

2009-12-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

“Survivor in Death” by JD Robb (Nora Roberts)
2005, GP Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 0-399-15208-3

Sometimes you are just in the mood for hard, fast and thrilling. That’s what I can always count on when I pick up a book where Nora Roberts is writing as JD Robb.

A family is murdered in their beds. One was missed. Nixie is the daughter and she had invited her best friend in the world, Linnie, over for a sleep over. But, Nixie wanted an orange fizzy and Linnie didn’t want to get up. Nixie went by herself to the kitchen and that was when her world changed forevermore.

Murder was done to all the members of her family and to her best friend. Gone. Blood everywhere. Done in minutes. But, they didn’t see her. They weren’t looking for her. They took out the father, the mother, the housekeeper, the son and the daughter. Except the daughter was hiding, covered with her mother’s blood and instead her best friend had been murdered in her place.

Detective Eve Dallas takes the case and is sworn to both protect Nixie until the murderers are apprehended and find her a place to be in the world. Somehow it all got very personal as memories of the damage done to this family and to this small survivor of madness reminds both Dallas and her husband Roarke of the injustice they also experienced as children.

You get to see yet another side of Dallas, the people on the New York Police Force she works with and a tantalizing glimpse into the near future combined with tough crime fighting that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Move over Kindle - Mag + Is Just Around The Corner

2009-12-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

I want one.

“San Francisco – Then and Now” by Eric Kos, Dennis Evanosky and Karl Mondon

2009-12-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

“San Francisco – Then and Now” by Eric Kos, Dennis Evanosky and Karl Mondon
2009, Thunder Bay Press
ISBN: 978-1-60710-003-4

I don’t know about you, but I love looking at before and after pictures. Before she lost weight and after. Before the bathroom was remodeled and after. How about history? In “San Francisco – Then and Now” we have an opportunity to look at scenes from earlier days and then on each opposing page of the book, and from the exact same perspectives, the same scene as it is in 2009.

Eric Kos, Dennis Evanosky and photographer Karl Mondon have teamed up for yet another gorgeous book. This one, as the name suggests, is about San Francisco, one of America’s most famous cities.

Evanosky and Kos combed dusty halls and library archives for the historical pictures used in the book. From an original collection of over 300 historical pictures, many not seen in years, the 70 used in this book were chosen. Karl Mondon, a life-long San Francisco native, helped to identify the locations of the old pictures and then tromped about the city of San Francisco to take the incredibly sharp and beautiful up-to-date pictures. The perspectives demanded that he climb atop the San Francisco Bay Bridge and the Ferry Building.

Each set of pictures in the book is accompanied by “Then and Now” stories. Who lived there then and who lives there now. How the sites have changed in years gone by and how some have remained the same.

It’s always fun to learn of a story behind the story. And here's a secret: have a look at the pictures of Alcatraz on pages 24 and 25. That's Evanosky and Kos standing next to the cells.

Even people who have lived in San Francisco their whole lives will find something new to learn about their historic city. “San Francisco – Then and Now” can serve as a good-will ambassador to the rest of the world for years to come.

Good job guys!

“The Geometry of Sisters” by Luanne Rice

2009-12-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

“The Geometry of Sisters” by Luanne Rice
2009, Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-80513-0

Our library has a book bin outside the front door and in the dead of night people come to leave their orphan books. On my trip to the library the day I checked out “The Geometry of Sisters” I stopped by the box and saw an old textbook of beginning geometry. Geometry was one of my favorite subjects in high school and it had been a long time since I’d done anything with it. I had a yen to explore the world of numbers and angles again.

Then, wouldn’t you know I go inside the library and in the new book section, “The Geometry of Sisters” practically screams my name. Psychic stuff is funny that way. Anyway, I checked out the book and haven’t been able to put it down.

This is a really terrific book. I’ve read other things by Luanne Rice and I do like the way she tells a story. I was not disappointed with this one.
It has to do with the close ties between sisters and how secrets can tear apart relationships and families. How we react to things and do the only thing we can do and we can manage to really mess things up. And, it’s how to fix things too.

I loved the geometry part and was able to slide back in time to where I also got lost in the infinity, the logical sense, the oneness of numbers. I’m looking forward to that old beat up text book too. “Introductory Geometry – An Informal Approach” by James R. Smart.

“Under the Done” by Stephen King

2009-12-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

“Under the Done” by Stephen King
2009, Scribner
ISBN: 978-1-4391-4850-1

“Under the Dome” by Stephen King is 1,074 pages long. I weighed it after my wrists started hurting and I had to put on my wrist splints. It is 3.8 pounds. It doesn’t feel like 3.8 pounds. It feels like it weighs about 7 pounds. Now, for the first time in my life I have a better perspective where I can appreciate small losses of weight when I step on the scale in the morning.

Okay, to the book. I absolutely loved it. I positively, absolutely loved it. If you’ve never read a Stephen King book in your life before you will love it. If you are already a Stephen King fan you will know what to expect: horror that seeps out of everyday life.

There are always so many ways to tell a story and I love the way Stephen King does it. It’s like being able to swim underwater for long periods of time. As a writer I can appreciate it not being able to do it myself very well. It’s the ability to give bones to a character and to relationships. To take the time (thus a very long book) to paint for the person reading the book an exact picture of what is going on.

Yet, there is always that underlying talent of King’s where he says to himself, “But, what if?”

Remember when you were a kid and examined a bunch of busy ants? Remember when you and your friend sat there with a magnifying glass and smoked them? When did you start feeling remorse for having done that dirty deed? If ever? Did doing that cruel thing as a child help to develop the upstanding, moral character you are now? Or, do you still kill ants? Personally, I haven’t felt much lately when I squash them as they send their scouts into my kitchen. Now, I’m going to have to do a re-think on the matter. That much really unsettled my breakfast.

I’m not giving anything away here, am I? Okay, the Dome comes down on a small town in Maine one day. Nobody can get in and nobody can get out. Nobody can see it either. People get cut in half as it comes down. People crash into it. Animals do too. So do the birds. Picture this: You’ve got a really bad-ass politician running the town. This is perfect for a grab for power.

There’s a whole lot more to it. I don’t want to tell you the whole thing here. I’m just saying you will enjoy this story. You will probably call upon some unsettling memories you have too. It’s a win-win situation any way you look at it. Enjoyment of a horror story and a little introspective look into your own business.

“The Rebels: Sons of Texas” by Elmer Kelton

2009-11-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

“The Rebels” by Elmer Kelton
1990, A Forge Book
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1526-7

I’ve become a huge fan of Elmer Kelton. Step back into the 1830’s and he will tell you a story of the Lewis family as they meet up in Texas. Years earlier Michael and Andrew left Tennessee for Texas. Times were hard. Stephen Austin had brokered a deal with Mexico for American settlers to come to Texas to live.

It had been 15 years since the brothers had built up their farms and in “The Rebels: Sons of Texas” more family from Tennessee were traveling west to join them. Frank, their cousin, his wife Hope and their children brought a wagon and in the other wagon Andrew and Michael’s brother James and their sister Annie.

Their lives were difficult. Times were fraught with tension as Mexico became concerned with the number of American settlers in Texas. Living in a foreign country with hardly any rights gnawed at the settlers and eventually it became war. This is where they cried, “Remember the Alamo”.

Elmer Kelton showed me the history of the state of Texas in a way I just hadn’t seen it before. He brings the life and times into such a clear focus that you can’t help but gain a better understanding of what people were like in those days.

This is the third in the trilogy of The Sons of Texas. Click on the titles of the first book, "The Sons of Texas" and the second book, "The Raiders: Sons of Texas" to see the reviews I wrote for those books. It would be so cool if Elmer would write more about the Lewis family. I feel I've come to know them.

“The Raiders: Sons of Texas” by Elmer Kelton

2009-11-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

“The Raiders” by Elmer Kelton
1989, A Forge Book
ISBN: 0-765-31525-4

I am a huge fan of Western stories by Elmber Kelton. “The Raiders” is the second in a trilogy called, “Sons of Texas”. I’ve got the 3rd book, “The Rebels” sitting at my side, ready to go and past due at the library. I am considering just letting the fines accumulate so I can finish it up.

Andrew and Michael Lewis came from Tennessee to Texas. “The Raiders” takes place 10 years after they arrived in Texas. Michael has married Marie, but he’s got his father’s wanderlust in his veins. There are times as he gazes off to the west and the urge to travel is upon him. Andrew is concerned for Marie and Mordecai, their son, when his brother leaves, especially now that Marie is pregnant again. Michael does not appreciate Andrew’s concern and is forever telling him to mind his own business.

What Marie and Michael figure is that Andrew needs his own wife. But going out to find a wife in the early days of Americans in Texas is hard.

There are many adventures. Dangerous situations that come to show the truer natures of the people involved in these stories.

Elmer Kelton’s stories have a different sort of rhythm than a romance or a mystery. These stories are not rushed. There’s a really natural flow. This stuff really happened to people, our ancestors from all parts of the world, as they settled the land of Texas.

“Strangers in Death” by J.D. Robb

2009-10-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

“Strangers in Death” by J.D. Robb
2008, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15470-6

It’s easy to pick up books in the library if you zoom right in on a favorite writer. J.D. Robb is Nora Roberts, but, as J.D. Robb she’s writing futuristic detective stories and the person who is the focal point of all of those stories is Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

It is the year 2060 in New York City and crime is the same there as it is in our own days. Motives just don’t change.

A man, prominent in the community, respected for his work dies in what appears to be a kinky sex session gone horribly awry.

You get to hang onto every twist and turn in the story as Eve, her husband Rourke, and her team of detectives search for motive and for a killer. This is a terrific story.

“The Mulberry Tree” by Jude Deveraux

2009-10-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

“The Mulberry Tree” by Jude Deveraux
2002, Atria Books
ISBN: 0-671-01421-8

“The Mulberry Tree” by Jude Deveraux takes a wealthy woman, a protected and isolated woman named Lillian and turns her world upside down when her husband dies. She and her husband had loved each other and had a fairy tale marriage. Lillian’s husband Jimmie was one of the wealthiest men in the world, but he left his wife a ramshackle house to live in. The rest of his wealth went to his brother and sister.

This is a story of what happens to Lillian, who has to change her name and go into hiding to avoid the press and Jimmie’s siblings who would take from her even the falling down house. She has no interest in fighting the will and wants only to curl into a ball. But, there is a mystery here and gradually she finds out just what has been going on.

As Lillian comes back and makes a life for herself you will be fascinated to follow along.

We tend to think that people who have it all don’t need anything else. This story will show you something else.

I enjoyed “The Mulberry Tree” as I have other books I’ve read by Jude Deveraux.

“Daring to Dream” by Nora Roberts

2009-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

“Daring to Dream” by Nora Roberts
1996, Jove Books
ISBN: 0-515-14290-5

Nora Roberts writes a lot of trilogies. I can understand why. The stories about folks are just so interesting that you can’t squeeze them all into one book. It just wouldn’t be right. So, in “Daring to Dream” Nora Roberts begins a trilogy about 3 friends who grew up together.

You’ve got Laura, Margo and Kate. You’ve got the Templeton family who runs beautiful and exclusive hotels all around the world. Laura is the daughter in that family. Kate is the distant relation who as a child lost her own family and came to be a part of the Templeton family and Margo is the housekeeper’s daughter. The three girls grew up together and consider themselves to be more sisters than friends.

Margo had gone away at the age of 18 to make a name for herself. She knew that Mr. and Mrs. T (the Templetons) would have been happy to help her, but she didn’t want their help. She didn’t want to accept the help of anyone and on her own did become a famous model. Except, it all went horribly wrong.

This is the story of what happens when Margo comes home to pick up the pieces and when she and Josh, Laura’s brother, find themselves attracted to each other.

Terrific story. I’m looking forward to getting the next 2 books to read.

“True Believer” by Nicholas Sparks

2009-10-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

“True Believer” by Nicholas Sparks
2005, Warner Books
ISBN: 0-446-53243-6

“True Believer” by Nicholas Sparks is a terrific love story in only the way that Nicholas Sparks can write them. You just can’t go wrong with him telling a story to you. It feels that way too, just you and the book and shut out the rest of the world while you devour this book.

Jeremy Marsh is worldly and works as a free-lance writer who has come to excel at uncovering hoaxes. His latest expose was in the field of the paranormal, specifically with a channel. Interestingly enough, that’s what I do, so finding this particular book was doubly interesting to me. In any case, he receives a letter inviting him to come expose a ghost story in a sleepy little town in North Carolina.

Ghostly lights is what they are. They show up in a haunted cemetery. Jeremy takes the bait and is drawn into the lives of people who have an entirely different rhythm to their lives than he does.

He also meets Lexie who is the librarian and is in much the same boat as he is in as far as a satisfying love life goes. Neither expects much to happen. He is only there to do the story for a few days. She is not at all interested in having a short fling. But, you never know what’s going to happen when sparks fly and souls cleave together.

As always, the sign of a really good book for me is when I cry at the end. And, I cried with this book a long time after it was finished.

“Oolong Dead” by Laura Childs

2009-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

“Oolong Dead” by Laura Childs
2009, Berkeley Prime Crime
ISBN: 978-0-425-22599-8

“Oolong Dead” by Laura Childs is number ten in the Tea Shop Mysteries. I found myself entertained by Theo, short for Theodosa, a middle-aged lady who owns a tea shop. She is inevitably drawn into murder investigations. Turns out she’s done this before, but always as an amateur sleuth.

The eye of suspicion looks her way as she is the first to discover the body of a woman who didn’t have nice things to say to Theo. It also didn’t help that the dead lady in question was also the sister of Theo’s ex-boyfriend. Unraveling the stories people made up and uncovering the motives behind what they did takes up the pages of this book. You will be on edge even to the last pages. I enjoy a book like that.

Because Theo’s first interest is the tea shop there is great attention given to different teas they serve at the Indigo Tea Shop and the goodies they serve with the tea. Best of all is a collection of recipes at the end of the book.

You can’t go wrong where ever you start with this series. It’s like a wonderful Southern welcome from Theo and her friends as you join them in a good old fashioned whodunit.

“Many a River” by Elmer Kelton

2009-09-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

“Many a River” by Elmer Kelton
2008, A Forge Book
ISBN: 978-0-7753-2050-6

What happens when 2 young brothers find their family torn apart viciously during an Indian attack? After their mother and father were murdered Jeffrey, the older brother hides and Todd, the younger brother is kidnapped by the Indians.

In “Many a River” by Elmer Kelton, the story follows the lives of these two boys as they cope, as they adjust, as they cling to survival in the aftermath of the destruction of their family. Neither knows the other is alive.

Years pass and the Civil War explodes upon the country. One brother is with Union sympathizers and the other with people of the Confederacy. Follow this incredible story of life during the 1800’s in Texas and New Mexico.

“Together Alone” by Barbara Delinsky

2009-09-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

“Together Alone” by Barbara Delinsky
1995, Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-171354-5

“Together Alone” by Barbara Delinsky centers in on the stories of three friends. These women are each faced with choices that require them to look at the most basic of life situations and once the decisions are made propel each of their lives in dynamic directions.

Emily and Doug’s daughter is going to college. Now, Emily’s attention turns toward her husband who has become a workaholic. At the heart of their relationship is a grievous ache that has never been solved or healed.

Kay is a teacher. She is involved in many activities related to school but is confused as her husband begins asking her to look at their relationship in a new way.

Celeste is a single mother. Her daughter, too, is going to college for the first time. With the need to totally focus upon her daughter no longer there she thinks that she would like to have a relationship. The question, though, is who?

This is a page turner you won’t want to put down. I enjoyed this book.

“First Impressions” by Jude Deveraux

2009-09-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

“First Impressions” by Jude Deveraux
2005, Atria Books
ISBN: 978-0-7434-3714-1

I started it yesterday and finished it today. “First Impressions” by Jude Deveraux is a fast paced romantic mystery. I also like that the heroine and the heroes are getting along there and are solidly middle-aged.

It’s a terrific triangle of the heroine Eden Palmer and two, count them two heroes, Jared the FBI agent and Braddon the local lawyer.

Eden is bequeathed a very old house in North Carolina by a woman she hasn’t seen in years. But, the house doesn’t come to her peacefully. There is someone out there killing people and Eden finds herself being watched by the FBI.

The action is fast and furious at times. And to watch those two heroes vying for Eden’s favor and love is rather interesting. Lovely to have two men fawning over you at the same time whatever age you are.

It’s funny. It’s heart warming. It’s a really good story.

“Seducing an Angel” by Mary Balogh

2009-09-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

“Seducing an Angel” by Mary Balogh
2009, Delacorte Press
ISBN: 98-0-385-34105-9

“Seducing an Angel” by Mary Balogh is a Victorian romance set in England. Cassandra Belmont is known far and wide as having killed her husband with an axe. Polite society tends to give her the direct cut and it almost doesn’t bother her anymore. What does bother her, is that the people closest to her, her once upon a time governess Alice who stuck with her through thick and thin, her maid Mary and her little girl Belinda and Roger a maimed, but loyal and loving dog have no one else to support them. The only answer is to find a job. Except, no one would hire Cassandra.

She feels the only answer is to acquire a protector and become his mistress. It sounds cold blooded, but if you think about it sometimes circumstances almost seem to force people into doing things they would not normally do. She picks Stephen out as her mark and spends a great deal of effort seducing him. It sounds sordid and you wonder how anybody can bear to show their face in public. I’d have a hard time doing it, I have to say.

This story has a happier time of it to show that the underlying goodness, the underlying moral character of a person will surface and be that trait best known to represent people rather than a mask they feel forced to wear.

Also, it has some juicy sex. I digress. Anyway, good book. Part of a series I think, but it seems like when Mary writes she just uncovers so many interesting stories about the people in her books that they just don’t fit into one book.

“Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz

2009-08-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

“Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz
1986, HQN – Harlequin
ISBN: 978-0-373-7229-2

In the area of romance books I’ve noticed that back in the 1970’s and 1980’s the romantic relationship between a man and a woman was sometimes touched with a heavy brush of macho. It masqueraded as forcible love making which bordered on rape at times and I don’t find that I am entertained by reading stories like that now. However “Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz was a lot different than the run of the mill romances of that time. I grimaced just a little bit when the first bit of macho loving showed itself, but was quickly diverted and found the story had redeemed itself when the subject turned more solidly toward the power of an individual woman. Now, that was not something I had seen very often in those decades.

Being as how I worship the ground Jayne Ann Krentz walks on and will read anything she’s written that I can get my hands on I was really pleased that even though there was a hint of stereotypical male macho strutting about, “Twist of Fate” did turn out to be a delightful story.

You will get caught up with Hannah and Gideon as they grow to love one another in the unlikeliest of love stories.

“Son of a Witch” by Gregory Maguire

2009-08-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

“Son of a Witch” by Gregory Maguire
2005, Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-06-054893-3

One of the first books I remember reading was, “The Wizard of Oz”. The absolute very first movie I ever watched was, “The Wizard of Oz” with Judy Garland as Dorothy. I was six years old at the time. Many is the Thanksgiving that you can find me settled in front of the television watching that beloved old movie again.

When I caught wind of a different story that had been published about the Wicked Witch I just had to read it. The title of that story by Gregory Maguire is, “Wicked”. I read it and it was fabulous. I had to have more. The second in the series is called, “Son of a Witch” and centers in on Liir. He doesn’t know for a certainty that he is Elphaba’s son (Elphaba is the Wicked Witch, by the way) but we, the dear reader, do know. Or rather Gregory knows and he is the one telling the story.

These are the old characters you know but more of their stories and of their hearts is told than we first knew from Frank Baum. They are just as magical as they were then, but there is that bit of us in them too. It’s like we are all related and the DNA is the same once you get down to brass tacks.

This is just fabulous. You know what else it has? It has magic. While I was reading it there were times when I almost felt the psychic thing going on where I could remember or, at least, relate to the magic of the people and Animals in Oz. It was an odd feeling, one that I don’t often feel while reading. It’s almost as though a molecular shift is going on deep inside. It happened when I read, “A Course in Miracles” and danged if I couldn’t feel it happening with this book too. Then, of course, maybe it was just my imagination.

But, I’ve got the third book to read now. It’s called, “A Lion Among Men” and centers in on the Cowardly Lion. It’s like having lots and lots of dessert. As much as you could ever want.

My recommendation to get the fullest enjoyment from this trio of books is to read them in the order they were written. Sometimes you can read a series out of sequence, but this is not one of them. Enjoy. I did.

A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky

2009-08-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky
1997, Harper Collins
ISBN: 0-06-17506-0

One of the readers here at my blog recommended I read Barbara Delinsky. On one of my trips to the library I sought out her place on the shelves and picked, "A Woman's Place" to read.

It is a woman's story, it is a family's story, it is a story of change. Claire Raphael is a very busy woman. She is a wife, she is a mother and she owns her own company. Into this busy life her mother is dying. If you can imagine how distracted and upset you would be with these circumstances, can you imagine now what it would be like to be served with divorce papers by your husband? And, he not only wants custody of your children, but he wants your business as well.

This is a heart aching journey where even at the greatest despair we can still love and learn. I really liked this book and will look for others by Barbara Delinsky.

“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks

2009-08-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks
2007, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-44-57992-6

“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks is about the choices we make that affect our lives forevermore. Travis Parker lives by himself. He is not a hermit because he enjoys spending time with friends who go back many years. They are all married and all have kids, but he is a bachelor.

Gabby moves in next door. When the two of them meet it is both embarrassing and a clash of natures that you would think would totally ensure they would never exchange a civil word to each other in this lifetime. However…..

This is a wonderful story about falling in love. I have enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve ever read by Nicholas Sparks. I was not surprised that this was such a good book. And, for those who can understand…I shed a few tears as I made my way through it.

“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood

2009-08-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood
2007, Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 978-1-59058-168-1

This was a first time reading anything by Kerry Greenwood. “Raisins and Almonds” is part of a detective series featuring a lady named Phryne Fisher (pronounced Fry-knee). She is Australian and this story was set in the land down under.

It takes place in the days before World War II and gives an interesting view of those times. Phryne is a sort of a high society lady who rose from rough beginnings and who has a heart big enough to love and care for a great many people from all walks of life.

Into a Jewish neighborhood walks murder. The owner of a bookstore is accused of the crime. A man who is influential in the Jewish community approaches Phryne and asks her to find the killer and free the book mistress.

At the end of the book is a terrific bibliography and a glossary of Yiddish words. All my life I have known the word megillah. I never knew how to spell it. I just knew if you said, “The whole megillah” you meant the whole thing. In the glossary it is defined as: the whole long tale. I never knew it was a Yiddish word.

I will read Kerry Greenwood again. She is a prolific writer with 16 (so far) books in the Phryne series and over 40 novels written in total.

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz

2009-08-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz
2007, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 0-399-15373-X

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz is an Arcane Society Novel. This story is centered around people who have natural psychic senses that are more developed than the rest of us.

Clare Lancaster is the heroine. Clare’s special psychic talent is that she can tell when people are telling lies. Jake Salter is the hero. His special psychic talent is that he is called a hunter. Together the two of them get involved when Clare goes to visit her father and his family.

The thing is, is that Clare’s mother and her father had a one night stand together and Clare was born as a result of that meeting. Her father did not even realize she was alive until Clare showed up. Right away Clare realized that her sister Elizabeth was in a world of trouble. From that moment on people dropped left and right.

This is a mystery trying to find out who is killing all these people.

If you read this one I wish you as much enjoyment as I experienced.

“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick

2009-07-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick
2009, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15580-2

“The Perfect Poison” by Amanda Quick. Brisk. Perky. Lovely psychic stuff. Mystery. Love with the unlikeliest of people. Handsome and yet not too handsome, beautiful and yet not the fashion at all. These are all elements of the stories by Amanda Quick. But, when she signs her name as Amanda you’ve got a mystery set in the 1800’s.

Lucinda Bromley has the ability to be able to detect poison. She occasionally helps the police with cases, but she herself is viewed with horror by polite society. This is because her father was accused of killing his business partner and then committing suicide. Then, her fiancé was poisoned and it was commonly felt that she did the poisoning. She didn’t do the dastardly deed, but that is beside the point. Society thinks she did.

The bad trouble starts when she detects a very rare fern stolen from her greenhouse several months earlier had been used in a poison used to kill someone in high society. She told the police officer she works with that the person had been poisoned. What she didn’t tell him was that she suspected that the poison might have been made from her stolen fern.

Lucinda went to Jones Psychic Detective Agency and hired Caleb Jones to help her track down her fern and then to find a murderer. When Lucinda and Caleb meet the sparks begin to fly.

The psychic stuff comes in with a bunch of stories called The Arcane Society Novels. I love when the heroine doesn’t understand the subtleties just like they can often fly by me occasionally. Still, at the age of 54, I can learn from these characters on how to bounce back with aplomb from a faux paus.

It’s not just a story. It’s a box of chocolates.

“Death goes on Retreat” by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie

2009-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

“Death goes on Retreat” by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
1995, Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0-385-31047-1

I’ve always been a great fan of the religious. Once upon a time I aspired to be one, but those were girlhood dreams and were a long time ago. My husband and I have been married over 30 years and I morphed in my middle age into a psychic, so, presumably I am as far away from being a nun as I could possibly be. But, that doesn’t mean I can’t still be a fan.

This is a mystery with nuns at the center of the tale. It’ called, “Death goes on Retreat” and it was written by Sister Carol Anne O’Marie. A co-worker told me about her because she had recently passed on in May of 2009. She helped to co-found and run a homeless shelter for women in Oakland called A Friendly Place. Sister was from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet religious order.

Central to “Death goes on Retreat” is Sister Mary Helen who is an elderly nun on retreat who somehow becomes involved in a murder investigation. While the detectives come to investigate Sister Mary Helen and her friend Sister Eileen begin their own investigation. They have already gained a bit of notoriety as sleuths in another murder and so know how to ask the right questions.

The story lets you peek into the lives of the clergy, the priests and nuns in the story. It also shines with love and compassion. It’s one of those books to read when you’ve grown tired of sirens and serial killers and mass murder.

Curl up and pick up one of Sister O’Marie’s books. She wrote 11 of them. Your library should have at least one of them for you to read. Mine did.

“Straight Into Darkness” by Faye Kellerman

2009-07-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

“Straight Into Darkness” by Faye Kellerman
2005, Time Warner Book Group
ISBN: 0-446-53040-9

Tell me a story and I’ll be interested. Tell me a story by Faye Kellerman and I’m riveted. “Straight Into Darkness” takes place in Munich, Germany just before Hitler came to power.

The story focuses upon Axel Berg who is a police detective and a number of murders he is trying to solve. What is interesting is to see how the German people are reacting to Hitler’s rise; how many agree with him and his hate and how many of them can’t abide him or his views. This gives you the advantage of seeing history unfold before your very eyes and all you want to do is to say to the people in the story, “Don’t take anything for granted. Treasure your loved ones. There is worse coming.” This story also provides a sharp elbow jab to your side about how complacency can be the best thing a despot could hope for.

Not only is this a really good who-done-it, “Straight Into Darkness”, is a very secret look into the soul of a people on the abyss of something very much worse than a serial killer.

"Promises in Death" by JD Robb

2009-07-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

"Promises in Death" by JD Robb

2009, GP Putnam's Sons

ISBN: 978-0-399-15548-2

Dallas, Lt Eve. It doesn’t take long until you are understanding cop speak in the year 2060….way into the future where cars go straight up when you want to get somewhere quickly.

These are series books and this one is, “Promises in Death”. The misery here is the DB (dead body) is a policewoman. She is not all that well known to Eve, but her murder falls to Eve to solve.

Morris, who is the chief medical officer was Amaryllis Coltraine’s sweetheart and he is a friend of Eve’s. To help him handle the grieving Eve invites him to help solve the mystery and put Amaryllis’ killer behind bars. In fact, for a woman who doesn’t mingle well and who doesn’t feel comfortable with lots of people she has a great number of them to help her with solving this crime.

Even is you’ve not read any of these books before J.D. Robb draws you into the group of characters in this book, many who will be in the other Death books. There’s a whole slew of them so if you end up liking these (some do and some don’t…I definitely do!) you’re set for a large collection of books to plow through. On the book jacket it said J.D. Robb, a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, has written 150 books. I can’t even imagine that. She’s got to do it in her sleep!

Good story. Goes quickly. I was done in 2 days. Eat books.

“Finger Lickin' Fifteen” by Janet Evanovich

2009-06-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

“Finger Lickin' Fifteen” by Janet Evanovich
2009, St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 98-0-312-38328-2

I don’t often buy the books I read. I sort of ran out of room to store them and then I ran out of book money. Mostly, lately anyway, I get them from the Dimond branch of the Oakland Public Library or from the little library at the Curves I go to in the Dimond. This one, though, I flat out bought new. I was over at Luann’s book store, across the street from where I live. She keeps about one copy of everything. But, this just jumped out at me from where it was on the shelf and I didn’t even have to think twice about waiting for it to come out in paperback. No, I must have it even at top dollar which was $27.95

I’ve read all of the Stephanie Plum books. Each one is fabulous and this was no exception. Stephanie is currently on the outs with Morrelli and the smokin that’s going on with Ranger is exceptional. Lula witnesses what looks like a mob hit and from that moment on they’re after her. She sticks close by Stephanie and, as usual, it’s like Lucille Ball on wheels. I even read half a page to a co-worker at lunch today. Her eyes got real big. Now, I’m going to lend the book to her and I’m betting they’ll get a lot bigger.

If you have never read one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels go read one now. It doesn’t have to be this one. It could be any of the previous fourteen. I believe I started with number five when I first started reading them. These are so good that I will often read them more than once. It’s sort of like a chocolate attack. Nothing will do but chocolate and sometimes nothing will do but some huge laughs with Stephanie Plum.

“Lavender Morning” by Jude Deveraux

2009-06-28T16:27:00.001-07:00

“Lavender Morning” by Jude Deveraux
2009, Atria Books
ISBN: 978-0-7434-3720-2

I have two great things I love to do. I eat and I read. Today I almost ate this book. “Lavender Morning” is a huge romantic mystery. I can’t tell you the end because that might spoil the book for you, but I can tell you that you’re not going to be able to put this one down.

At the heart of it is a gentile old woman named Edi and a young girl named Jocelyn. Edi takes Jocelyn under her wing when Joce was about 10 years old. Joce’s family doesn’t pay too much attention to her anyway, so they don’t miss the time she spends with Miss Edi. The love these two have for each other is endearing.

And, then the old woman dies. And, in her will she leaves something of extraordinary value to Joce.

Read this book to see how a lonely and grieving young woman can follow the last wishes of an older woman to find her destiny.

“Innocent in Death” by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

2009-06-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

“Innocent in Death” by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
2007, GP Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15401-0

I think this is the second novel I’ve read by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. Central to the story is Lieutenant Eve Dallas. She is a cop in the future. I think about 2060 or so.

In “Innocent in Death” Eve with her trusty second in command, Peabody, get a case where a teacher has been murdered in a trendy private school. As the clues are discovered it seems that the killer is in plain view. Except, then he is killed.

And, the questions move forward: Who is the real killer?

What is interesting to me are the other characters in the book. Lieutenant Dallas’ husband Rourke who appears to have a mysterious past. There’s an old flame of his who pops on the scene to create problems between husband and wife. There are other characters who come into the novel who obviously have had greater roles in other books. There’s a whole bunch of them with Lieutenant Dallas and I’m looking forward to reading them. I hope you might give one of the futuristic mystery novels by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb a try.

“Just After Sunset” by Stephen King

2009-06-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

“Just After Sunset” by Stephen King
2008, Scribner
ISBN: 978-1-4165-8408-7

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a short story, but, here I am and I’m having a ball. This collection is by Stephen King and right now, I just finished the first one. It’s called “Willa”. You need to read this. I’m a psychic and I’m saying you need to read this.

As I started it I wondered at the actual construction of a short story. Of course it’s going to be shorter than a novel. With a novel you settle into a chair, curl your legs up, draw a blanket over you and get comfortable. It’s going to be awhile. But, with “Willa”, Stephen King just dropped me into the middle of a situation. It was very much like walking into a crowded room. Generally, I’m a wall flower and tend to cautiously, very cautiously move out into a party area. I felt the same with this story.

Stuff was going on. Stuff I wasn’t aware of, but everybody else seemed to already know. And yet, they knew nothing. I knew nothing and yet this story was moving forward. Suddenly I got a creepy feeling. I thought, “What if?” Then, as the story moved forward I thought, “No, that couldn’t be right.” But, it was right. And, it was crafted so wonderfully, as only Stephen King can, that it slowly dawned on me what was going on.

This was such a surprising story. It was such a delight and as a psychic I absolutely loved it. Now, on to the next story. Not sure if I will write of every one or just a few. There are 16 in this book. I’m certainly going to enjoy each and every one of them. Stephen King has got to be my all time favorite writer.

Reading….reading….

Okay, so now I’m almost half way through the book. I’ve read several of the stories. Some were short. Some were of the slasher type where I had to force myself to keep reading only because I knew in my heart the end would be good; and I was not disappointed. However, I was not inclined to comment on them. But, this story is different and I’d like to talk about: “Stationary Bike”.

I think people are always interested in hearing stories they can relate to. I could relate to “Stationary Bike”, because it was about getting fit and healthy. I have to force myself to do this and it just is not ever any fun. According to a friend of mine who is a psychotherapist I need to get to the psychology behind it all in order to make it work. I can go on any diet in the world, but somehow, somewhere along the line I sabotage it. That’s where this story got to me. It was interesting to see somebody ending up the way I end up every single dang time. However, it’s got that special Stephen King twist and Richard Sifkitz dips deeply into his artist’s imagination to create a place where he actually likes to exercise, where the motivation is there and the only motivation is because it feels good. I give this one a big ole thumbs up. Especially because at the end of it you’re thinking, “You know, this isn’t so far fetched. I bet it really could happen.” That’s what makes the stories Stephen King writes so scary.

Reading…reading…and, now I’m finished. Not a minute too soon either. The book was due back at the library 2 days ago and I think the fines on the 7 day hot picks (I got to renew it once) are 25¢ a day…maybe more. I will return it this afternoon and fork over whatever I owe. Totally worth it. No way was I going to read this one through half way.

Anyway, I absolutely loved every one of the stories in this book. I’ve been wondering for the last 2 days if much, much more of what I do isn’t obsessive compulsive behavior rather than just habit or rut. Stephen King has always pushed my buttons. I absolutely love it. The reviewer says, “Read this book.”

“The Day the Cowboys Quit” by Elmer Kelton

2009-06-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

“The Day the Cowboys Quit” by Elmer Kelton
1992, Bantam
ISBN: 0-553-29669-8

I was surprised to even think of a cowboy going on strike, but that’s exactly what these cowboys did. Texas, time enough for men who fought in the Civil War to be middle-aged. It was a time of transition from when cowboys worked small herds to when the bankers from the East came flooding West to form huge ranches.

The hero in our story is Hugh Hitchcock. He has a wise head on his shoulders, but even so through loyalties to other cowboys is pulled in many directions, towards the individual cowboys who want to strike for better wages and better respect to the man, Charlie Waide, who ran the W’s ranch. Charlie’s arm was twisted by the bankers. He was forced to side with the big ranchers and Hugh ended up on the other side with the cowboys.

Hard fought battles, but in the end it was loyalties that won out, it was respect for the individual and it had a really good ending.

I’ve enjoyed all the Westerns I’ve read by Elmer Kelton and will keep my eyes peeled for more. I sure would like to read more with Hugh Hitchock in them.

“Dewey” by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

2009-05-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

“Dewey” by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
2008, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-446-40741-0

“Dewey”. Read it. Like it. Cry at the end. See how short a book review can be? I’ll say more.

Somewhere on the internet several months ago I read a review somebody had posted about “Dewey”. I don’t remember who it was. That is part of the magic of the internet. I immediately logged onto my account at the Oakland Public Library and put a hold on the book. Twelve people were ahead of me, but I have the patience of a cat. It paid off last Friday. I checked out the book and read it on Memorial Day.

This is the story of Dewey who, on a frost bitten day in January, 1988, was rescued from the very, very cold book drop at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. The librarian Vicki and her staff thawed Dewey out. He immediately captured their hearts and became the library cat.

This story shows how Dewey recovered and thrived but also how many, many people in the town of Spencer and throughout the world came to know of him and to love him.

If you like to hear about cats you’re going to love this story. Dewey lived to the ripe old age of 19 but he was the library’s ambassador for all the years he lived in the library. There wasn’t one person who walked through those doors Dewey didn’t go say hello to. He would stay around for a quick pat. He’d curl up in their laps. He’d chase after the keys in the librarian’s typewriters. When they moved to computers he’d bask in the heat given off of the monitors. A film crew came from Japan to film him. People would go hundreds of miles out of their way to visit with him.

But, mostly he thawed the ice between people, for folks who didn't talk much when they came to the library became folks who opened up to Dewey and the staff. For special children with handicaps Dewey helped them to break out of their prisons and experience something more. Dewey healed a lot of hearts in the time he lived in the library. I know just reading about him helped to make me feel better.

Vicky Myron has written of what a special cat Dewey meant to her and her family. I felt an instant empathy with her. We have 5 cats in our family right now and each and every one of them is special and unique.

I believe you will enjoy this book. You can get more information about Dewey at the Spencer Library website. Also, take a look at The Library Cats Map where cats all over the world who live and lived in libraries are listed.

The picture I took of Dewey's book has my own Shelby interested in what is going on inside.

“The Witch’s Trinity” by Erika Mailman

2009-05-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

“The Witch’s Trinity” by Erika Mailman
2007, Hodder & Stroughton, Ltd
ISBN: 978-0-340-96221-3

This is a scary book. It’s a story of fiction, but the events that unfold are true. We know of the Inquisition. We know women had a hard time of it in the 16th century. We know the hunt for witches was sweeping. What Erika Mailman tells in this story is what it might really have looked like.

During times of hardship many people become what might be thought of as their baser selves. Suddenly generosity and good will in times of plenty does not exist anymore and it becomes a dog eat dog world. Hardship, desperation, famine can bring out the worst in people and this is what happens in this book.

What is interesting to me is to see normal people, people who are most definitely not witches, tap into what might be construed other than normal behaviors. As a psychic I recognize that people can communicate in their dreams, that messages not understood by the conscious self can be delivered by the unconscious self, that astral traveling is a very real thing.

I mourn for those who endured the trials. I am sorry for the role the church played in the Inquisition. I sincerely hope those who hear of these times from history know the importance of not repeating those same lessons. And, I am so very glad in my heart that I can live a life where I can talk to dead people and not be condemned to die in flames.

Read, “The Witch’s Trinity” and you will be drawn into a story told in the manner of a woman who lived in the early 1500’s. You will be able to relate easily to these people even though more than 500 years separate you from her life. As a psychic I know you lived even then. Be reminded of what it was like and hope it never happens again.

“The Stand” by Stephen King

2009-05-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

“The Stand” by Stephen King
1991, Signet
ISBN: 0-451-16953-0

“The Stand” is one of my all time favorite books. I have read it many times over the years and each time I enjoy it just as much as the first time. For the last 2 weeks I’ve had the flu. I had a paperback copy of, “The Stand” on a bookshelf here in the house and I figured, “How appropriate.” So, I hauled it out and in between hacking my lungs out and blowing my sinuses into 4, count them, 4 boxes of Kleenex I read, “The Stand” once more.

The question posed is: What happens when a SuperFlu is released by accident by the US military? Life as we know it is over.

The story draws on several sets of characters scattered all over, from Texas to Maine and New York City. These are the people who survive and who are drawn together.

The fight is on between good and evil. Good is represented by Mother Abigail, a 108 year old woman who lives in Nebraska. Evil is represented by Randall Flagg, the Walking Dude, of Las Vegas. Survivors all over the country are dreaming of both of these people and are being drawn toward them. Our 4 characters, Stu Redmond, Nick Andros, Frannie Goldsmith and Larry Underwood all end up moving to Nebraska. Mother Abigail tells them that they aren’t done yet and they must all gather in Boulder, Colorado for the big showdown.

This story shows people who are much stronger than they think they are. Faced with terrible odds of survival they seek the goodness and will not accept the idea that evil has a place in their lives.

What I love about how Stephen King writes is how he seeks the humanity in horror. Where the ordinary guy can be a hero or a villain, and how those roles can change too as the characters change.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading, “The Stand” again. It won’t be the last time.

“At First Sight” by Nicholas Sparks

2009-05-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

“At First Sight” by Nicholas Sparks
2005, Warner Books
ISBN: 978-0-446-69846-7

I think the sign of a great storyteller is the ability to grab onto the most mundane thing and craft a story out of it. Nicholas Sparks does a really good job with, “At First Sight”. Don't get me wrong, love is not mundane, but there are lots of love stories out there and this one is definately different.

I loved, too, the look into the mind of a writer. Being one (unpublished, but one nevertheless) I love to hear of writing related experiences and to see just how a master storyteller weaves a story.

Jeremy and Lexie meet and fall in love. Fast. Within weeks she learns that she is pregnant and they determine to marry. His family and friends are alarmed and seek to caution him about the dangers of tying the knot too soon. He will not listen, but what happens is that seeds of doubt are planted.

This is a story about learning how to love despite misunderstandings and anger. It is learning more about yourself as an individual and about how to be a couple.

This is a terrific book for young people just starting out their lives as adults not sure of themselves in a world full of people of the opposite sex. I wish I’d come upon it when I was in my 20’s.

“Nightshade” by Susan Wittig Albert

2009-05-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

“Nightshade” by Susan Wittig Albert
2008, Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN: 98-0-425-21956-0

This is the 16th book in the China Bayles mystery series. China used to be an attorney, but when she decided to leave that field she decided to center in on her love of herbs and opened a shop called, “Thyme and Seasons”. Her husband, McQuaid, is an ex-policeman turned private investigator. The two make a formidable team.

In this story China and McQuaid are launched into a terrible mystery to find out why her brother Miles has just been killed. The whole story reaches back years and years to when her father had also died. Her father’s death had been ruled an accident, but the information Miles had recently uncovered pointed to much more than just an accident.

The pace is quick, China is quirky and I think you will like this story.

“A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton

2009-04-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

“A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton
1987, Bantam
ISBN: 0-553-27991-2

Hi. I just finished reading “A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton. Kinsey Millhone, intrepid detective in her first alphabet mystery. I was so pleased to see this in the library because I had despaired of ever getting my hands on it.

The reason I wanted to read the first one is that I am a Virgo. We like to do things in an orderly fashion. Nowadays you can go into the store and pick up Sue Grafton’s books farther, way farther down the alphabet. For instance, the latest one is “T is for Trespass”. I’ve read a few of the others and from the first one I read Kinsey Millhone has captivated me.

She is everything I am not. She’s brave. She’s no nonsense. And, then to prove she’s not super human she’s got foibles just like the rest of us. But, she is one smart detective lady.

In this first book I thought I might be seeing the unfolding of Kinsey, the beginnings, the first time in a story. I was surprised. Sue Grafton shot Kinsey right into the action. Kinsey was the same character who appears in all the other books; the same smart lady, the same funny to the bone lady, the same soft-hearted lady. And, I was pleased. No surprises there.

“A is for Alibi” had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. Moving from one hint to another, with danger lurking in many places, Kinsey wrapped it up.

In a nutshell and not giving away the ending? Nikki served an eight year sentence in prison for a crime she didn’t do. She has been released and went to Kinsey to ask her to find the real killer. There were a great many people who didn’t feel it worthwhile to dig into this crime again, especially the real killer. Danger at every turn. I think you might like this one. I sure did.

By the way, the kitty in the picture is Sheba. She is our neighbor Phil's cat, but she also spends time at our place.

“What Matters Most” by Luanne Rice

2009-04-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

“What Matters Most” by Luanne Rice
2007, Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-80533-8

“What Matters Most” by Luanne Rice delves deeply into love; the love between a man and a woman who can’t love each other but who do so anyway; the love between a clan and a newly discovered clansman; the love between two people who have known each other since birth.

Sister Bernadette and Tom Kelly are at the heart of the story. It’s got chaos, heartache and beauty. It’s especially interesting to me how Ms. Rice absolutely nails it about love and conflict and how love can win out every time.

Trust me and read it. I began it in the morning and finished it that evening. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. This is a really special love story.

“The Perfect Summer” by Luanne Rice

2009-04-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

“The Perfect Summer” by Luanne Rice

2003, Bantam Books

ISBN: 0-7394-3708-9

“The Perfect Summer” by Luanne Rice is an engaging story with endearing characters. And, for those Action Jackson types there’s mystery and danger involved too.

This is a story about two families who have each undergone terrible tragedies, people who were linked in the far, far away past and who return to each other in the present. I know I’m dancing around the point here, but if you’re into romance, if you’re into mystery, if you’re into what goes on in the minds of kids read this book. I enjoyed it so much that I just couldn’t hardly stand to put it down.

Luanne Rice wrote a good one.

“N is for Noose” by Sue Grafton

2009-04-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Yow. I just finished reading “N is for Noose” by Sue Grafton. Kinsey Millhone, our intrepid private investigator is doing a favor for a fellow private eye who is unable to take a case. Selma is hiring Kinsey to find out what was on her husband’s mind in the weeks before his death. He’d died of an apparent heart attack and Selma said that Tom was worried during those last weeks.

Tom was well liked in the little sleepy town of Nota Lake in the high country of the Sierras in California. He was a police detective. But, the strange thing is that every time Kinsey turned around people just did not want to talk to her.

There is a rhythm to the way many people write and I can be assured of a very nice, soothing rhythm when I read any of the Kinsey Millhone stories. But, when the action picks up it goes 98 miles an hour. I almost screamed when my husband asked me where the ding donged magnifying glass was when I was on the last page of the book.

I think you’ll enjoy yourself if you read this book, or, actually, any of the alphabet mysteries featuring Kinsey Millhone. By the way the picture I took is me holding the book in question and my smallest cat, Shelby, playing with the bookmarker.

“A Spoonful of Poison” by M.C. Beaton

2009-03-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

“A Spoonful of Poison” by M.C. Beaton
2008, St. Martin’s Minotaur
ISBN: 978-0-312-34912-7

Hey, I really liked this book. “A Spoonful of Poison” by M.C. Beaton. I’ve never read anything by her before and this was one of those deals where I just wandered around my favorite shelves in the library and was attracted to her book. Notice I’m only in the “B’s” yet, so there are quite a few more shelves to go.

So, this one is advertised as an Agatha Raisin Mystery. There are more, so that’s a treat too. I just love it when I like a book and there are more in a series.

Agatha Raisin is a detective. She’s got her own agency and lives in England. She’s got folk who work with her, so there are lots of interesting characters around.

Her good friend Mrs. Bloxby sort of volunteered her to help out at a nearby village’s church festival. Agatha used to be in the public relations field before she began doing detective work so it was up her alley. Except she really didn’t want to do it. So, there the two of them go to tell the vicar no, except that this really handsome man appears in the churchyard and as Mrs. Bloxby says often, “Oh, Mrs. Raisin is off again.” meaning she’s thinking romantic thoughts.

One thing leads to another and murder is committed at the festival. It’s the solving of it that is the rest of the book with lots of stories about the characters intertwined. It’s just a really good have some tea and cookies, curl up and read book. I did enjoy it.

“Light of the Moon” by Luanne Rice

2009-03-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

“Light of the Moon” by Luanne Rice
2008, Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-80511-6

“Light of the Moon” by Luanne Rice is a regular sized book. I would normally take 3 or 4 days to read it. Not this one. I started it yesterday and finished it this morning it was that good.

Susannah Connolly is an anthropologist. Her work is pretty much all that occupies her. Her mother just died. She’s grieving and life just isn’t so happy now. She’s going to keep a promise that she made to her mother to visit the French Camargue where there are famous white horses.

She’s been in love with horses since she was a little girl and the trip appeals immediately to her. There she is rescued by a man when she stumbles into a herd of bulls. His daughter, Sari, is a wounded little girl whose mother deserted the family when she was 8 years old. Now, she is 13 and still carries the scars both emotional and physical from the night her mother left.

Susannah falls in love with both of them and during the course of this story miracles shine forth. Luanne is a wonderful writer and I would recommend this book for anybody up for a terrific love story.

“Sweet Revenge” by Nora Roberts

2009-03-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

“Sweet Revenge” by Nora Roberts
1988, Bantam
ISBN: 0-553-10514-0

This was a fascinating story. Adrianne and Phillip, both people who risk much to take much. Both, as adults, are independent and neither have the least thought to be involved with anyone else, but when love hits you don’t always see it coming.

The fascinating part of this story is that much of it is rooted in the Middle East where customs diverge wildly with what we know and accept as normal in the West. There, where women are subservient, where they must go about veiled, where they have no voice, where freedom as we know it does not exist; these ideas were set before me in a way that became all too real in a way I’ve never experienced before.

So, Adrianne’s mother was a starlet in the West. She was talented, she was glamorous, she was a star and King Abdu fell head over heels in love with her. He courted her until he had won her heart. They married and she was never seen again. She disappeared into the harem in King Abdu’s Middle Eastern kingdom.

The problem was the baby she bore him was a daughter. He had expected a son. So, her worth was diminished. Then, he starts thinking because she is a westerner he has fallen afoul of the laws of his religion. It gets really nasty here and their lives become unbearable until they flee.

At the heart of this story is a fantastic necklace called The Sun and The Moon, given to Adrianne’s mother on her marriage day and taken from her by the King when Adrianne and her mother flee to the west. Adrianne vows to have it again.

This story is fast paced. It is thrilling. It is a peek into a culture I never really knew very much about.

“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts

2009-02-27T05:49:00.000-08:00

“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts
1997, A Jove Book
ISBN: 0-515-12000-6

“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts is a quick read. The reason I say this is that you’re probably not going to be able to put it down until you finish it. It’s a love story and it’s a mystery.

This story is about dreams and how those dreams can change even when you don’t want them to. Kate Powell is a fantastic CPA. She feels more comfortable with numbers than she does with human beings. But, she has a big place in her heart for her adopted family and for 2 women, Laura and Margo, who are her sisters. Not blood sisters, but the sisters of her heart.

Kate’s dream is to be a partner in the firm she works in, but one day the rug is pulled out from under her. She doesn’t understand what has happened and in her bewildered state she continues sliding towards illness and a collapse. There to catch her is a man she can’t stand, Bryan.

I loved this story with its wild and convoluted ways; it was just like real life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb

2009-02-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

“Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb
2003, A Berkeley Book
ISBN:0-425-18903-1

When somebody writes as well as Nora Roberts does when she shifts into her persona as J.D. Robb I think a shopping list would keep me glued to my seat. “Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb is suspenseful, it is riveting, it moves like greased lightening and is an absolutely terrific story. The characters relate to each other well. And, was it any surprise to me to discover that Lieutenant Eve Dallas is featured in a boatload of other stories already written?

This is the first time I’ve read J.D. Robb and I’m really looking forward to reading more.

Lieutenant Dallas is out to solve a murder, that becomes another murder and then another. The victims are posed with wires supporting their limbs and then photographed by the killer. It is a rush to find the killer before he or she strikes again and many people are involved in this orchestrated search.

I really enjoyed how Eve is portrayed. I almost felt as though I had something in common with her as she snapped people’s heads off left and right. See, I’m going through menopause and get rather snippy myself at times. It was refreshing to see how somebody else does it. It was interesting to me to see how she placed herself in the killer’s head to see what made him or her tick.

If you’re up for a mystery look no farther than J.D. Robb.

A postscript: This was my 111th post on 2/22. I'm a psychic and those are my special numbers. Also, this day when I tested my blood glucose it was 111. And, I started channeling on 2/22. Altogether a special day for numbers.

“Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert

2009-02-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

“Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert
1999, A Berkley Prime Crime Book
ISBN: 0-425-17032-2

Another favorite author, here I come! “Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert features mystery solving sleuth China Bayles who, during the day, runs an herbal shop. She is an ex-lawyer turned herbalist.

China and her fiancé, Mike McQuaid, are in the process of planning their wedding which is taking place on Sunday. Mike is the interim police chief in Pecan Springs, Texas. Things have been relatively quiet for weeks, but now a dead man turns up. A nasty man too, by the looks of things. China gets involved and finds there are all sorts of people who might have a really good motive to kill the developer Edgar Coleman.

In between trying to take care of the myriad details of planning a wedding and trying to solve this mystery before the wedding happens, you, dear reader, get to learn a bunch of facts about lavender. What is really cool too is at the end of the book there are all sorts of references and recipes that you can use.

This is my kind of book. What’s delightful is to learn the Susan Albert has written a bunch of the China Bayles books and with her husband Bill have written more along the lines of Victorian mysteries.

I love the way Susan writes. The story had my attention from the beginning and went right through to the end. I’m a writer and I can tell when a writer either gets bored or starts floundering with their story. I know because I’ve done it myself. None of that happened with “Lavender Lies”. It was rip-snorting good from one end to the other. I highly recommend this book and anything else Susan Wittig Albert has written.

“Charmed and Enchanted” by Nora Roberts

2009-02-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

“Charmed and Enchanted” by Nora Roberts
Charmed, 1992
Enchanted, 1999
Silhouette Books
ISBN: 0-373-28502-7

Nora Roberts always does a good job and I consistently enjoy her books. This will be a 2 for 1 book review because this is actually 2 books.

The first book, “Charmed” centers on Ana, Jessie and Boone. Ana is a witch, but not an evil one. She comes from a long bloodline of them and each and every one of them has their own special talent. Ana is a healer. But, she’s a recluse by choice and gentle by nature. She lives in a small house by the ocean in Monterey, California.

Enter into the story Boone, a writer of children’s fairy tales and his 6 year old daughter Jessie. His wife had passed on 4 years prior and they felt the need to make a move away to build a new life. They move next door to Ana. The exuberant Jessie quickly makes herself known to Ana and as such brings her father into the picture.

What happens next is where the magic happens.

~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~

A+. That’s what I give Nora Roberts for her book, “Enchanted” This is the 2nd novel in, “Charmed and Enchanted” that I picked up at the library the other day. It’s a two fer sort of a deal. Rowan is a young woman in search of something. You’d think she has everything the world could offer. At least, that’s what her parents and her fiancé think. But, there’s something deep inside that just doesn't feel right to her. She’s always sort of gone with the flow and especially doesn’t like to disappoint people, but this ache in her heart will not be ignored.

Her cousin has a cabin in a secluded area on the Oregon coast. She decides to move there for a few weeks to try to sort out her mind. What she finds, though, is astonishing. A wolf, a wild ferocious thing comes to her and befriends her. Then, she discovers a mysterious man who lives nearby.

It’s love all right. But, it’s witches and faeries and magic. And, I guarantee that you really won’t be able to put it down until you’ve finished the story.

“A Tale out of Luck” by Willie Nelson

2009-02-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

“A Tale out of Luck” by Willie Nelson and Mike Blakely
2008, Center Street
ISBN: 978-1-59995-732-6

I am a fan of Willie Nelson’s music and when I saw this book at the library there was no choice but that I was going to be reading it. “A Tale out of Luck” is rough. It’s told with that usual Western swaggering stroll. It’s told from the heart of Willie Nelson, the same heart all those songs comes from.

Jay Blue and his father Hank Tomlinson are ranchers in Luck, Texas. They run into bad luck from every direction, but in the end come out as the good guys always should as winners. But, it’s the story that grabs you; Commanches who become allies and yet are still enemies and enemies who disguise themselves as the good guys.

I was enthralled. I hope you will be too.

“Last Kiss” by Luanne Rice

2009-01-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

“Last Kiss” by Luanne Rice
2008, Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0-553-80512-3

Fabulous. Just fabulous. “Last Kiss” by Luanne Rice is about a boy who had died and his girlfriend, Nell, who wants an explanation of why it happened. It was all just so hazy and the reasons being given by the police just didn’t seem right.

The private detective Nell hires happens to be a long lost love of Charlie’s mother, Sheridan.

This is a mystery. It is an exploration of love. “Last Kiss” gives an insightful look into the lives of people who believe in spirit and magic. It’s the dead talking to us. It’s terrific. I give it my Three Hanky Tear Jerker Award.

“Sons of Texas” by Elmer Kelton

2009-01-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

“Sons of Texas” by Elmer Kelton
1989, A Forge Book
ISBN: 0-765-31021-X

"Sons of Texas” by Elmer Kelton is a good western yarn. What gets better is that it is the first of 3 books Elmer has written about the Lewis family.

In this first book we’re introduced to the head of the family, Mordecai who is a wanderer. His family, wife and children, live in Tennessee. He makes forays out to find a better place to live. Along the way in this dangerous frontier country he comes upon situations he doesn’t talk about at home. He knows it is dangerous, but the wanderlust in his veins beats hot and uppermost in his mind is to find the best place of all to live.

His sons are growing up. Joseph is content to work the farm, but the next sons, Michael and Andrew are getting the itchy feet their father has, Michael more so than his brother Andrew. Both boys are skilled woodsmen. Michael can shoot with unerring skill and Andrew, a year younger than Michael, is the best tracker around.

Mordecai comes home from Texas and announces he’s going to make another trip. This time to gather up the wild horses that run free. Bringing them back to Tennessee will bring the family a lot of money. He needs men and horses to come with him and finds a group willing to brave the frontier.

Michael is not permitted to join his father in this adventure, but slips away after the group is gone to join them some days later on the trail.

What follows is a terrific adventure. There is danger. The choices the people make in this story are probably similar to the ones you and I would make if we were in the same position. And, the danger doesn’t always come from where you expect it to come from.

I’ve been a fan of Elmer Kelton’s work for some time and am looking forward to reading the other 2 books in this series.

“Heart of the Sea” by Nora Roberts

2009-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

“Heart of the Sea” by Nora Roberts
2000, A Jove Book
ISBN: 0-515-12855-4

I don’t know what it is about Nora Roberts, but I couldn’t put “Heart of the Sea” down until I was finished. It’s the third in the trilogy of the Gallagher’s of Ardmore.

This is the 3rd sibling to find love, Darcy who is a vibrant and beautiful woman. She’s never found the perfect man though she is sexy and beautiful and many would woo her. She is aloof and will not give her heart until she meets a man who is her match, Trevor Magee. He’s come to Ardmore to build a theater. His ancestors are from Ireland and from Ardmore and he had a yearning to know more of them.

What complicates matters is a faerie prince and the woman he loves. Prince Carrick and the ghost of Lady Gwen. Their story is 300 years old and their legend has lived all that time. They’ve also gotten themselves into a bind because of his pride and her refusal to love him if he could not say the words of love to her. Prince Carrick got angry and cast a spell that Lady Gwen would not find peace until 3 times lovers had spoken the words of love to each other.

In the first two books, “Jewels of the Sun” and “Tears of the Moon” Darcy’s brothers found love. Now, it is time for her.

Terrific book. They don’t have to be read in order, but I read them so and enjoyed them tremendously.

“Tears of the Moon” by Nora Roberts

2009-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

“Tears of the Moon” by Nora Roberts
2000, Jove Books
ISBN: 0-515-12854-6

It was a feverish pace I set as I read, “Tears of the Moon" by Nora Roberts. This is the second in a trilogy and if you’re interested you can read the review I wrote of the first book, “Jewels of the Sun” here.

Good book. This is a real good book. There are three siblings and each one, evidently, is finding love in each of the books. With the first one it was Aiden and Jude. In this one it is Shawn and Brenna.

Shawn is the dreamer. He hears music everywhere. But, he’s also a Gallagher and together the three of them, Aiden, Shawn and their sister Darcy are running the family’s pub. It’s in Ireland in a sleepy town and they’ve got the folk who live there and the sightseers who visit to come in a drink a pint or two, to listen to the music talented musicians in the area play and to eat the wonderful food Shawn prepares.

Brenna’s been in love with Shawn most of her life, except she doesn’t know it and just as simply, he’s been in love with her. He also is unaware of this fact.

What ties these books together is a legend 300 years old. Prince Carrick, head of the faeries, fell in love with a mortal woman, Gwen. He offered her diamonds from the sun, pearls from the moon and sapphires from the sea if she would stay with him always. She refused for she wanted to hear him say the words, “I love you.” He thought giving her precious gems would be enough. It was not.

Her father was afraid that if she was any more involved with Prince Carrick he would spirit her away to faerie land and he’d never see his daughter again. So, he made the arrangements and Gwen married a mortal man. She had children and grew old and it wasn’t until she was an old widowed woman that Prince Carrick saw she was free again and offered her his love. Too late. She refused him again, though she let it be known that she would have loved him. Too late. So, in a fit of anger Prince Carrick cast a spell and when Gwen passed on she was doomed to haunt the faerie cottage mourning her lost love. He, in turn, was unable to see her. Bad job. Really bad job of it.

Until the Gallagher’s came along. And, to break the spell there would need to be 3 marriages happen of people who could finally say the words of love to each other. Aiden and Jude where the first. Shawn and Brenna are the second. And, once I’m done with this review I’ll be tucking into the third book, “Heart of the Sea” where I figure something will be happening with Darcy.

You don’t have to read these in order. They are all stand alone books, but I think if you can get them to go in the right order the whole story is that much better.

That was the nuts and bolts of the story. You’ll need to read it to laugh at the unbearably funny situations these folks find themselves in, to cringe at the fights, to cry when hearts are breaking and to sit on the edge of your seat during the sex.

“An Ocean Apart” by Robin Pilcher

2009-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

“An Ocean Apart” by Robin Pilcher
1999, St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0-312-97184-2

I think “An Ocean Apart” by Robin Pilcher is definitely one of those books you would likely enjoy.

David’s wife Rachel has just died. He is distraught with grief. His 3 children are also trying to cope without their mother. Everybody is in turmoil. Luckily, his parents have given him and the children safe haven. The kids have gone back to their boarding school, but he has taken a time off from his job to try to work through his grief.

His work is with the family’s Scottish whiskey distillery. His father, though retired, has stepped up to the plate to take his son’s place in the company while he moves through his grief.

Unfortunately, there are corporate raiders hovering and nobody realizes until it is almost too late what they are up to. Part of the plan is to get David out of the way and what better way to do that then send him to the States far enough away from Scotland that he won’t be aware of their nefarious takeover plans.

It is while he is in the States that David slowly comes to terms with his grief for Rachel and begins to meet people who don’t know who he is or why he is there. He settles into a quiet life as a gardener and comes to care for the people he is now working for.

This book was so good I didn’t want to put it down until I’d finished it. I will be on the look out for more books by Robin Pilcher, who, by the way is Rosamunde Pilcher’s son. The writing talent definitely runs in the family.

“Jewels of the Sun” by Nora Roberts

2008-12-30T05:43:00.000-08:00

“Jewels of the Sun” by Nora Roberts
1999, Jove
ISBN: 0-515-12677-2

I’m on a roll, I suppose. I picked up another book by Nora Roberts to read. This one was, “Jewels of the Sun”. I couldn’t put it down until I was finished with the story.

Love story, coming to know yourself story, humorous, loving and the best sex scenes I’ve seen in awhile. Did I mention very well written? Jude is the main character. She’s a psychologist who was busy going through the angst of coming to know herself. She has a failed marriage behind her, dissatisfaction with her teaching career and parents who didn’t seem to know anything about her. She left. She left Chicago and went to her ancestral home of Ireland.

She had plans to live in a small cottage. Just for a short time. Just to get away from the tension and pain of her life in Chicago. And, it was there her psychic self was awakened; where she saw ghosts and talked to a faerie. And, where she fell in love with Aiden, a gloriously handsome man.

The story has twists and turns. It’s funny. It’s heart-warming. It’s touching. You’ll love it. And, did I mention it has a really nice ending? Best of all it’s the start of a trilogy. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next one in line.

“Tribute” by Nora Roberts

2008-12-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

“Tribute” by Nora Roberts
2008, GP Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15491-1

“Tribute” by Nora Roberts is a good read. It’s expected if Nora Roberts wrote it. She’s written a gazillion books and you are right away comfortable the minute you open this book up.

“Tribute” is a mystery. Cilla is our heroine. She comes from a family of women involved in show business. She was a child actress, but her television show stopped when she was a teenager. She’d thought of them as her family. Her mother, married five times, mostly pushed her to try harder and through all of the insanity and insecurity of being a child star she weathered it to emerge as a resilient young woman.

That’s when she returned to her grandmother’s farm on the east coast. Her grandmother, Janet Hardy, was a huge screen star. Tragedy had touched Janet’s life when her teenage son had been killed in an automobile accident. Several of his friends had been in the car with him and one of them had become paralyzed. Then, a year later despondent, she had taken her own life leaving Cilla’s mother alone.

The story starts with Cilla assuming ownership of her grandmother’s farm. It has been neglected for years, but Cilla is determined to bring it back to its former glory and to what it was in happier times. She had evolved into a person who flips houses. She buys dilapidated houses, hires crews, contractors and subcontractors to help her and they fix the houses up. Then, she sells them. This one she is going to keep.

Ford, who writes graphic novels and is her new neighbor shows up to see why she’s taken a sledgehammer to the house. You know it’s love at first sight. But Nora Roberts takes her time with it. She shows you who these people are. She shows you what they’re afraid of, she shows you how they fall in love. And, she shows you the terror that can visit when somebody has an agenda and a reason for not wanting the new girl in town.

And, the sex is sizzling. I mean it is absolutely a scorcher. If anybody knew you were reading this stuff on your lunch break your supervisor would be writing you up for something. Sex aside, this is a really good book. I give it a really good two thumbs up.

“No Choice But Seduction” by Johanna Lindsey

2008-12-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

“No Choice But Seduction” by Johanna Lindsey
2008, Pocket Books
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3732-8

If you’re a fan of Johanna Lindsey you really don’t need to read any further because I have only glowing remarks to make about, “No Choice But Seduction”. But, you already knew that. If you haven’t ever read an historical romance by Joanna Lindsey be my guest and plow into this one. You likely won’t be putting it down much until you’ve finished reading it.

What’s cool is Johanna writes about the Mallory family in a whole lot of other books, but this, like the others is a stand alone book and you can get right into it without feeling like you’re behind because you haven’t read the other books. So, I liked that right away. Actually, all her books are like that; you just can’t go wrong.

What happens here is the owner of a ship, Boyd Anderson, has finally made the decision to leave his life on the sea behind him and settle down. He’s not going to settle in America though, but where his sister has gone to live in England. She’s married into the Mallory clan as has one of his brothers. So, it just doesn’t seem that there’s all that much family in the United States anymore. He’s also come to another decision and that is he would like to get married. But, to who?

As an American he’s already considered by his British in-laws to be rash and head strong, though he pretty much thinks the same of them. He’s never lived anywhere long enough as an adult to develop a relationship with a woman, so settling down would be a first step.

The cargo his ship is carrying this last trip he makes from New England to London involves paying passengers and one of them, Katey Tyler catches his eye immediately. She is not prissy, she is kind and she is beautiful. When he makes his introduction to her she says she is married and is taking her two children back to their home in England. However, she lied. She prefers to think of it as creative thinking and the only reason she lied to Boyd was to ensure that her independence would not be threatened in any way. She’s recently inherited some money, her mother has passed on and she is alone in the world except for her long time friend and maid, Grace. The two of them are actually escorting two children to their home in England, but the fabrication serves her well.

Time passes and everybody goes about their business until Boyd’s niece is kidnapped. Her father (one of the Mallory’s) is not around and Boyd figures to step into the breech. He goes tearing off to save his niece at the same time Katey and Grace are sleeping in the next room over from the kidnappers and little Judith. It is Judith’s whimpering that wakes Katey and she moves to investigate.

Anyway, this goes on and on and things get really complicated and I don’t want to ruin the story for anybody. You really won’t be able to put it down. Figure it’s your weekend’s reading; you’ll be done by Sunday night.

“The Accidental Demon Slayer” by Angie Fox

2008-12-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

“The Accidental Demon Slayer” by Angie Fox
2008, Dorchester Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-505-52769-1

“The Accidental Demon Slayer” by Angie Fox is a delightful read. This is a first book for Angie and I will certainly be looking forward to anything else she has to write.

Lizzie is a pre-school teacher. Her life is orderly and really very boring. Out of the blue she finds an odd, grizzled biker lady who says she is her grandmother. And, incidentally, she’s also a witch. She hasn’t come a minute too soon and Lizzie best get a move on to join her before all Hell breaks loose.

Oops. Too late. Demon in the bathroom. It just keeps rolling. I loved it. Turns out Lizzie is a very powerful demon slayer and without proper training is able to help and to save magical people who come to mean a lot to her and to destroy the bad guys.

Her dog, by the way, is a Jack Russell Terrier who is named Pirate. As Lizzie comes into her own demon slayer powers she is able to hear Pirate talking. Very neat stuff.

And, of course, there is a love interest. Dimitri…how’s that for a very Greek, very handsome Griffin who protects and falls in love with Lizzie. I really enjoyed this book.

“Wicked” by Gregory Maguire

2008-12-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

“Wicked” by Gregory Maguire
1995, Regan Books
ISBN: 0-06-098710-3

One of the first books I ever read once I got past my school readers of Dick and Jane was, “Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz”. It was my mother’s when she was a little girl and the copyright is 1908. Frank Baum wrote it in Coronado and many was the time we’d pass by the house he wrote, “The Wizard of Oz” in as we wandered around Coronado when we lived there 25 years ago.

“The Wizard of Oz” with Judy Garland was the first movie I ever watched when I was 6 years old and it aired on our television during the holiday season. It’s been a favorite my entire life and I’m 53 years old now. I couldn’t have been more pleased to happen upon “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. “The Wizard of Oz” is the fairy tale with a child’s focus. “Wicked" is the story behind the story and has an adult’s focus.

If you are a fan of, "The Wizard of Oz" then you must, you just have to read, "Wicked".

Where in Frank Baum’s Oz the Wicked Witch of the West is truly an ugly and horribly frightening creature, in the story Gregory Maguire tells she is a Munchkin born green. Elphaba, as the witch is known most of her life, doesn’t even think of herself as a witch until well into her adult years. It’s fascinating to see what she thinks of life and in this story what a champion of the down trodden she really is. Why, she’s a revolutionary at heart!

In this story you see who Elphaba’s parents were and what her life was like as she grew up. You see her sister Nessarose who eventually became known as the Witch of the East and you meet Glinda, the Witch of the North. The Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and, of course, the Wizard are all in this story. But, you’ll come to feel this is the “real” story. This is the story that was never told. This makes them all human, makes them all believable and will endear them all to you.

In the picture I took of both books, you see “Wicked” the book I review here and you see a 1908 edition of “Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz” that belonged to my mother.

I loved Gregory Maguire’s book, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”. And, you know what’s even better? Gregory Maguire has written 2 more. I bought all 3 at the same time and can hardly wait to start in on, “Son Of A Witch” and after that, “A Lion Among Men (The Wicked Years, Book 3)”. Can’t wait.

"Creating a Charmed Life" by Victoria Moran

2008-11-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

"Creating a Charmed Life" by Victoria Moran
1999, Harper San Francisco
ISBN: 0-06-251580-2

I appreciate short. I also appreciate advice from someone who can actually help me to create noticeable and good changes in my life all without a whole lot of effort or expense on my part.

In “Creating a Charmed Life” by Victoria Moran in the second chapter I got help. This chapter is titled, “Follow Your Heart”. Victoria talks about how we can get wrapped up in the stuff we do and be held in thrall by our activities and schedules so that we don’t have room to take care of others in a graceful and loving way.

A few days after I had read that chapter a co-worker called me on a Saturday to ask for help with something I felt he should be able to handle himself. I was crabby but I did say I would go help him out. This really messed up my Saturday. I had so many things planned. I was in the middle of doing them and because of him I had to drop everything and leave. I had about a minute of being furious but then this curtain seemed to drop over all that drama and I was suddenly calm and full of love. It’s the only thing I can describe it as, just this very real expansiveness of heart. It was a calmness that settled over me as I went out to help him. A couple of hours later I was home and I picked up where I’d left off with all the important things I was doing.

But, what was also very interesting to me was that if I had reacted to this scene as I have in the past with similar things I would have been angry about it days later. That same burst of anger I felt in the beginning would have been kindled over and over again and it would have been a really long time before I let it all go.

And all of that happened from reading the second chapter, all of 2½ pages, in “Creating a Charmed Life”. All the chapters are that short. Victoria has written the book with women in mind, but I would think men would get a few good jolts from it too. The subtitle of the book is, “Sensible, Spiritual Secrets Every Busy Woman Should Know”. I agree. I like sensible and in my line of work (secretary during the day, psychic at night) these insights are especially welcome.

I’d recommend buying this book. These chapters are like movies. Read one. Let a few days go by and see how you can easily accomplish something of wonder in your own life.

“Dangerous” by Amanda Quick

2008-11-19T19:27:00.000-08:00

“Dangerous” by Amanda Quick
1993, A Bantam Book
ISBN: 0-553-29317-6

I have read “Dangerous” by Amanda Quick many times. I can’t tell you exactly how many, but it’s been a lot over the years. Amanda Quick is Jayne Ann Krentz’ pen name for when she’s writing historical novels. All the copies I have are thumb worn from so much reading.

Amanda Quick always, always has quirky, courageous heroines and Prudence Merryweather is no exception. She’s very interested in investigating spectral phenomena and is available to investigate all sorts of problems people have with ghosts that come her way.

The ton, the upper crust of British society, is taken with this novel young lady and she becomes known as an Original. Lots of folk want to talk to her and one whose attentions are not welcomed by Prudence’s brother is from Sebastian, the Earl of Angelstone. He is known as a foreboding and forbidding man and when Prudence is asked to dance by Sebastian and is engaged in lively conversation with him her brother Trevor takes offense and challenges Sebastian to a duel.

Prudence knows that Trevor who is five years younger than herself is only trying to protect her. Their parents died 3 years before and it is the two of them against the world. Unfortunately, Trevor is sort of hot headed and Prudence figures that Sebastian, an experienced and mature man would injure or kill her brother if a duel should take place. So, she figures that the only way out is to get Sebastian to apologize and she takes it upon herself to convince him of this foolproof plan.

It’s falling in love at first sight.

Anyway, Sebastian has a secret hobby of solving mysteries and with Prudence’s interest in spectral phenomena they team up.

This is a really, really great love story. It’s historical for those who love them and it’s a mystery too.

And, the best part? Amanda Quick wrote it. I guarantee you’re going to love this book. I know I’ll be reading it again sometime.

“L is for Lawless” by Sue Grafton

2008-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

“L Is for Lawless” by Sue Grafton
1995, Fawcett Books
ISBN: 0-449-22149-0

I pretty much ripped through “L Is for Lawless” by Sue Grafton with amazing speed. It’s a good page turner with the intrepid heroine Kinsey Millhone who gets snookered into helping some neighbors. This is a case she takes on with no hope of getting paid and the chances of being reimbursed for her expenses looks dismal.

But, she’s dogged when it comes to mysteries. Henry, her landlord and long time friend asks her to help out with settling the affairs of a friend of his who has just passed on. The son, the grandson and his wife are all there in the house trying to sort through things. But, the mystery is that they all think the dearly departed grandfather was a spy and all anybody has to work with is an old key.

Not so as the story unfolds with gripping urgency. If you’re a fan of private detectives and of mysteries this one is for you.

I enjoyed it and I’m sure I’ll enjoy more of them. Sue Grafton has certainly written a lot of books.

“The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks

2008-11-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

"The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks
2008, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-446-57993-3

"The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks is a really, really good book. I really couldn’t put it down once I’d started. Nicholas Sparks is a terrific writer and you can figure whatever you read by him is going to be a good read.

In The Lucky One" Logan is a Marine in Iraq. He finds a picture in the sand one day. It is a picture of a young woman. For some reason he is beguiled, but he figures that whoever has lost this photo will want it back. He pins it up on the bulletin board and it sits there day after day with nobody claiming it. One day he walks by and takes it off the board to put it into his pocket. And, that’s when his luck changed.

After that he couldn’t lose at poker games, games he’d managed to lose a significant amount of money in when he’d first started playing them. That was the first thing that happened. Then, there were all the near misses where he survived attacks and bomb blasts. He didn’t think anything of it, but his friend Victor was convinced that it was because of the picture he’d kept in his pocket.

When he got out of the Marines he and Victor decided to visit and catch up on a fishing trip. As they talked Victor told Logan that he’d been seeing ghosts of all their fellow Marines who had died in Iraq. Then, tragedy struck and Victor died in a senseless accident that, by rights, should have killed Logan too.

That’s when Logan decided to find the young woman in the photograph.

I’m not telling you any more. It would spoil the story. This is a riveting book, a mystery, a romance and an all around terrific novel.

“For the Roses” by Julie Garwood

2008-10-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

“For the Roses” by Julie Garwood
1995, Pocket Books
ISBN: 0-61-01498-6

“For the Roses” by Julie Garwood is a terrific book. It’s sort of heavy on the sex, but, hey, what’s a romance without some sex in it? Anyway, this is a western romance. It’s about 4 young boys who are on their own in New York City right before the Civil War. They’ve formed their own gang and watch out for each other. The oldest one, Adam, is a runaway slave from down South and at 13 he assumes responsibility for the 3 younger ones.

One night Adam, Travis and Cole are asleep in their alley. Douglas has remained awake as lookout. It just isn’t safe to have a life on the streets. Douglas observes a fancy carriage, a gentleman and a woman in close conversation. A basket is handed to the woman and an envelope. The carriage leaves and the woman furtively makes her way to their alley. She throws the basket on a trash heap and runs. Douglas whistles to awaken the others, tells them to look in the basket and takes off on foot after the woman. He prides himself on being a very, very good pickpocket.

The boys get to the basket just as rats are swarming over it and find a 4 month old baby girl inside. That was the day they stopped being a gang and became a family.

They all moved West and carved out a life for themselves.

Years and years later someone comes in pursuit of Mary Rose. Lo and behold she was kidnapped as a baby and is a long lost heiress.

“For the Roses” is just a really terrific story. All the characters are colorful and the story is a gripping one. You just won’t be able to put it down. This is a terrific book.

And, the icing on the cake? This was made into a movie by Hallmark called, “Rose Hill
” and aired on television in 1997. We belong to Netflix and I was able to “save” the DVD. Netflix doesn’t have it yet, but you could go to Amazon and buy it there if you can’t wait for Netflix.

"Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich

2008-10-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

"Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich
2008, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 978-0-312-34951-6

Have you ever laughed so hard that you started crying? I did while I was reading, “Fearless Fourteen” by Janet Evanovich. I’m going to have to make a list of all the books I’ve read in the Stephanie Plum series so I’ll know which one to get next. I read a whole bunch of them out of order, though this one is the latest to come out in 2008. It doesn’t matter that I read them out of order because each and every one of them are fabulous as a stand alone book.

What’s so cool about Stephanie Plum is she’s got this quirky way of looking at life. I’m sort of matronly now at 53 and I really admire her pluck. Like I wish I was that way too. Maybe I should take notes while I’m reading. Ha.

Stephanie is a bounty hunter. She lives in New Jersey and loves Joe Morelli. He’s a cop, which comes in handy because in her line of business she needs the cops. A lot. Her side kick in bounty hunting is Lula who files in the bounty hunter office run by Stephanie’s cousin Vinnie. But, Lula would rather be out doing the bounty hunter thing. She’s real enthusiastic about it and while Stephanie usually forgets her gun, her handcuffs and her stun gun Lula always remembers.

What’s going on in this book starts in with Loretta who has failed to appear. They call that FTA in the business. It’s Stephanie’s job to go track her down, take her to jail and get another bond for her. As Loretta gets led off she makes Stephanie promise if she’s not out in time to pick her son up from school that Stephanie will go get Zook. That’s his code name. He’s into gaming and this is the first time I’ve ever gotten close to how gamers act. It was fascinating.

The problem is that nobody wants to put up the bail for Loretta. So, Stephanie assumes the responsibility of taking care of Zook. The first thing that happens is that he spray paints Bob. Bob is Joe Morelli’s dog. Then he spray paints Stephanie’s car.

Finally, Loretta gets bonded out, but then she disappears. And, if the story hadn’t taken off before it really takes off at this point. Time is of the essence. Bad stuff is happening. And, I really couldn’t put this book down. I started it this morning and finished it tonight. Just a terrific book.

“Mary Modern” by Camille DeAngelis

2008-10-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

“Mary Modern” by Camille DeAngelis
2007, Shaye Areheart Books
ISBN: 978-0-307-35258-3

If you only read the first paragraph of this review, take away with you my recommendation that “Mary Modern” by Camille DeAngelis is a book to read. Somebody else on the Internet (I don’t remember who) wrote a glowing review and recommended the book. Consequently, I ordered it up from my library. Once I opened it up two days ago I couldn’t put it down.

It’s a novel, but it almost defies a simple classification and becomes more than that. It’s got love story, and science fiction, and horror all rolled in together. “Mary Modern” reminds me a little of my own first novel that was everything I wanted to read at the time and couldn’t find anywhere else…so, I wrote my own book. Should you be interested, “Secret of the Stones” is gathering dust under my bed. I am not near as good a writer as Camille DeAngelis so the fact that I’ve never been published doesn’t bother me. Not much anyway. But, love of writing is love of writing and love of reading isn’t far behind it and when I read something somebody has spent a lot of time on, has bled into and poured parts of themselves into it I appreciate it.

Lucy Morrigan is a scientist. A mad scientist. But, she is also very aware of her biological clock tick, tick, ticking away. Does she do something about it? Yes. She does. She goes and clones her grandmother Mary. Lucy thought she would be getting a baby. What she gets is her grandmother as a young woman. And, Mary is asking questions.

This is a story of love and attraction at so many different levels. When you say to somebody, “I’ll love you forever and ever.” did you ever think that such a thing could really come to pass?

Plunk yourself down. Be prepared to miss a few tv shows. Be late to work. Prop this book up and eat your lunch around it. You really won’t be able to put it down.

“Jericho’s Road” by Elmer Kelton

2008-10-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

“Jericho’s Road” by Elmer Kelton
2004, A Tom Doherty Associates Book
ISBN: 0-765-30955-6

“Jericho's Road” by Elmer Kelton is a continuation in the saga of Andy Pickard, who grew up as a Comanche. They kidnapped him when he was a toddler after his mother was killed. When he was about ten years old he was rescued and had to learn to live in western society. He brings to these stories the wisdom of two races. In this story he and Farley Brackett are both Texas Rangers who get assigned to patrol some really rough country; right on the border between Texas and Mexico.

Andy and Farley generally get on each other’s nerves, but they link together in this story to help the folks living along the borders. There are cattle barons on both sides of the Rio Grande and they are mostly all very tough customers. It doesn’t help that the people who are in charge of the Rangers are crooked as all get out.

A large part of the country in Texas is controlled by Jericho and people live uneasy lives. Into this already tense situation enters a blood feud between Jericho in Texas and Lupe Chavez in Mexico.

Before the war the Chavez family had extensive holdings in Texas, but they retreated across the river to Mexico and the holding in Texas was acquired by a Texan, Big Jim McCawley who married Lupe’s sister Juana. Once upon a time Lupe and Jericho had been friends, but times had changed.

Now, the feud and Andy and Farley are in the thick of it. One son dies and revenge is all that is on their minds. Both Andy and Farley show what they are made of when they come to the rescue of the people they’ve sworn to protect.

This is the third book I’ve read in this series. It doesn’t matter that I’m reading them out of sequence at all. I’m enjoying each and every one of them and it’s getting to where I know I’m going to be reading a really good western when I crack open a book by Elmer Kelton.

“Twenty Wishes” by Debbie Macomber

2008-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

“Twenty Wishes” by Debbie Macomber
2008, Mira
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2550-5

If you made a list of twenty things you would most like to have in your life how soon do you think it would take before they would start coming true? In “Twenty Wishes” four widows still in the throes of grieving for their husbands meet and talk about making a list of twenty wishes.

This is their story; Barbie and her mother Lillie, Anne Marie and Elise. Debbie Macomber shows us how women can move away from the sadness and grieving that comes when a spouse dies to friendships and on to new relationships and in the process discover that love can happen more than once in a lifetime.

This was a gentle story that I just could not put down once I’d started it. I think you will enjoy this touching romance.

“Someone to Love” by Jude Deveraux

2008-10-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

“Someone to Love” by Jude Deveraux
2007, Atria Books
ISBN: 978-0-7434-3716-5

“Someone to Love” by Jude Deveraux was delicious. It was just delicious. This is a mystery/romance with ghosts and love and a mystery that you won’t figure out until the end.

Jace Montgomery has been grieving for the last 3 years, ever since his fiancé was said to have killed herself just before they were to have been married. It just doesn’t add up and Jace has been unable to move forward.

Poking around he happens to find a picture of an English mansion with a note to his fiancé, Stacy, with arrangements made to meet her the day before she died. He can’t tell who wrote the note; it is not signed.

But, he is determined to discover what drove her to her death. This is the first clue he’s had that something was going on in Stacy’s life. He moves to England and buys the house.

With the house comes the village of Margate full of eccentric folks. They all want to know what he is doing and try their hardest to ferret out any information about him. He is just as determined that his quest remain private.

Into all of this comes a reporter, Nigh, short for Nightengale. She is home to Margate from 10 years of reporting all over the world. She is tired and has seen more than she needs of violence and death. But, the reporter in her won’t stop.

And, then there are the ghosts who appear to both Nigh and to Jace. You can guess who falls in love here? "Someone to Love" is a terrific book. You won’t want to put it down.

"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow

2008-09-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow
2008, Hyperion
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2325-7

I would imagine it to be a very unusual situation for a person to go through life and not know another human being. Even if you are a stick-in-the mud old grouchy person, somewhere along the way you’re going to have contact with somebody.

It is in this contact, however brief it might be, that we teach and learn from each other.

I just learned a whole lot from Randy Pausch that I know is going to help me in how I live the rest of my own life. I read, “The Last Lecture” which is literally the last lecture Randy gave before he passed away in July, 2008, of pancreatic cancer. I also watched this lecture awhile back on YouTube and have placed it below this review if you’d care to have a look. It’s an hour long. It’s worth every second that you spend watching.

I was so impressed with Randy’s attitude toward life even before he learned he had cancer. I was even more impressed with how he chose to live his life after he received the news that he had 3 to 6 months to live.

I can learn from that attitude. Through reading his book I was made stronger. I am not, by any means, facing the horrible lessons he and his family had to learn, but I do have my own tough moments. I can come through them more easily having seen what he did with his tough lessons. I can.

Getting stuck in a rut is not fun. Many times a person doesn’t even know that they are in a rut. But, if you can have a hero, somebody to emulate, no matter how unrealistic that desire is you have a dream. The dreams of childhood are the dreams that sometimes die, but sometimes those dreams can follow a person into their adulthood. Randy is somebody who, as a respected teacher, a person in a position of responsibility, a grown up, mature and solid citizen said to me, “It’s okay to have a dream from childhood come true.” It’s nice to have somebody on your side and even though I never met Randy Pausch I feel that I know him now.

Seeing as how this is a book review site I want to give ringing praise for, “The Last Lecture”. I also want to say thank you to Randy Pausch for taking the time to share with so many people his own last words.

“Remembrance” by Jude Deveraux

2008-09-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

“Remembrance” by Jude Deveraux
1994, Pocket Books
ISBN: 0-671-74459-3

It’s fascinating to read about Soul Mates. People who aren’t happily married might wonder if they are ever going to meet their soul mate. People who are ecstatically in love with somebody might think they’ve already met their soul mate. People just flat out want to be with that one person who will please them no matter what, who will love them forever and who will be the only person in the world who understands them.

Jude Deveraux has given this wondering a twist in “Remembrance”. It’s a totally fascinating yarn. She examines the issue of Soul Mates in a way I’ve just never considered before. She takes us on a story of two people through lifetimes of involvement with each other and who just can’t seem to get it right.

You can see how the traits of each of the characters in this story; not just the soul mates themselves either, but the folks who surround them carry forward from one lifetime to the next.

It’s heartening to think that you’ve got more than one lifetime to get it right.

This is a hilarious story, it’s a gripping story, it’s a sentimental story, but above all it is a romance that stretches for hundreds of years.

If you like romances and dabbling in New Age stuff do see if you can get a copy of, “Remembrance” at your library or click on the links in this blog entry to get it at Amazon. And, more fun than that you can do your own past life regression and see if you can’t come up with something interesting to think about.

“The Way of the Coyote” by Elmer Kelton

2008-09-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

“The Way of the Coyote” by Elmer Kelton
2001, A Forge Book
ISBN: 0-312-87318-2

I’m reading them out of sequence, but this is still terrific. “The Way of the Coyote” is more in the story of Andy Pickard and Rusty Shannon. Andy, once known as Badger Boy when he lived with the Comanche Indians, is growing up. Now, he’s living with Rusty, who rescued him. They are in Texas during the reconstruction after the Civil War in the late 1800’s.

While Andy lived with the Comanche it was considered a good trait to be tricky the way a coyote is tricky. Andy had to bring that way of thinking with him to help out in this story.

A little boy is kidnapped by the Comanche and Andy takes up the quest of rescuing the boy. There’s also trouble for everybody during this time of carpetbaggers who are bedeviling Texans. A pair of low-down brothers take a dislike to Rusty and whichever way he turns there seems to be trouble.

I love the way the story flows; the way Elmer Kelton writes. I’m glad he’s written a number of books because I will be on the lookout for more of them. I’m recommending “The Way of the Coyote” as a terrific read. It is a really good Western.

“Magic Hour” by Kristin Hannah

2008-09-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

“Magic Hour” by Kristin Hannah
2006, Ballentine Books
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3

I was poking through the library and took a turn down an aisle with the intention of getting Spirit to help me pick out a book to read. It’s no big deal, actually, because I’m a channel and I do things like this all the time. Most times I’ll be in the library and it’s like I’m in the grocery store; I have a craving for chocolate and only a chocolate chip cookie is going to satisfy me and so I know exactly what I want. But, this time I wheeled around the corner of the stacks with the express intention of allowing Spirit to pick the next book out.

“Magic Hour” by Kristin Hannah is what caught my eye and right at that point Spirit said to me, “You’ll like this one.” And, I did.

Dr. Julie Cates is a renowned child psychiatrist in Beverly Hills. Right now, though, she is trying to piece together her practice and her life after one of her patients takes a gun to school, kills a number of children and then takes her own life. The court finds her innocent, but the media finds her guilty.

But, she’s lost her confidence and is seriously floundering. Her sister, Ellie, is the city police chief in a tiny Washington state town and needs her to come home as quickly as possible.

A tiny girl has wandered into town from the woods. She can’t talk. She has climbed a tree and there’s just no way anybody can get her to come down.

Julie takes charge and with patience begins to break through Alice’s silence.

You know when you open a book you figure on there being a happy ending? It’s like it’s a rule. I wasn’t too sure about this one. I kept getting closer and closer to the end and read faster and faster knowing in my heart everything was going to turn out right. It was close.

“Magic Hour” is a terrific book. You won’t be able to put it down.

“Sugar Queen” by Sarah Addison Allen

2008-09-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

“Sugar Queen” by Sarah Addison Allen
2008, Bantam Book
ISBN: 978-0-553-80549-9

“Sugar Queen” by Sarah Addison Allen is an enchanting story. Josey lives with her controlling mother in a small ski resort in North Carolina. In the beginning of the story it would seem any hope for a bright future to call her own is not likely. But, slowly strange things begin happening and it is with these strange and magical things that Josey begins to move out of her rut.

She has had a crush on Adam the mailman for ages, but until Della shows up one day to live in Josey’s closet things just didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Josey meets Chloe and they become friends. With Della there to guide things along Josey and Chloe work out the tangled parts of their lives and as with any love story there are several happy endings with this one.

I just can’t give it away, but you won’t be able to put this one down. The ending was one of those O-Henry types where you just didn’t see it coming. You will love it.

“Shadow Music” by Julie Garwood

2008-09-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

“Shadow Music” by Julie Garwood
2007, Ballentine Books
ISBN: 98-0-345-50073-1

It took me one day, from afternoon on Saturday to afternoon on Sunday to read “Shadow Music” by Julie Garwood. I’m a glutton sometimes and this was one of those books I just did not want to put down.

You’ve got a princess and you’ve got a bunch of nasty, wicked barons. She’s good. They aren’t. She thinks she’s on her way to be married. It’s in the Highlands of Scotland. She is being escorted by her loyal guard, soldiers who have had the guarding of her since she was a little girl.

They are fierce men, but they love her and would die for her. As they near the end of their journey they happen upon wicked doings. A man is being murdered. Princess Gabrielle cannot stand still to see such wickedness and notches up an arrow and lets it fly. It kills the leader of the pack of men who are busy killing the man. They rescue the man.

Turns out this man is the brother of a clan chieften. He is Colm MacHugh. How the Princess Gabrielle and Colm MacHugh wind up together is the best part of this story.

Very much a sit on the edge of your seat page turner. And, did I mention it’s a really good love story? Yeah…..yum.

“Hard Eight” by Janet Evanovich

2008-09-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

“Hard Eight” by Janet Evanovich
2002, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0-312-98386-7

I usually wait until I’ve finished reading a book to write a review, but I had to make an exception with this one. “Hard Eight” by Janet Evanovich will leave you in stitches. I still can’t see straight I’ve laughed so hard. I mean the tears were streaming down my face. It’s page 214 where Albert Kloughn, the lawyer, gets stuck in the dryer at the laundromat. His office is next door and people are always coming over to ask him for quarters and to fix the machines when they break down.

“Hard Eight” is about Stephanie Plum who is a bounty hunter. Her family lives in a little house that sits beside another little house in New Jersey. It’s the neighbor lady who is in trouble. Actually, she’s worried about her daughter and her granddaughter. That’s where the story takes off. So, it’s not so much a bounty that Stephanie is working on, but a mystery.

And, as always, Stephanie is a trouble magnet. There’s another part that I had a hard time not making noise with and that’s where the annoying and abusive husband gets sawed in half and put back together again with duct tape.

So, even though I can’t tell you how the book ends up, not like I’d want to do that anyway, because that would spoil things if you were to read this one for yourself, I really, honestly don’t know how this story is going to end. And, I can’t wait to finish it. I think you’ll enjoy it too.

“Chopping Spree” by Diane Mott Davidson

2008-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

“Chopping Spree” by Diane Mott Davidson
July, 2002, A Bantam Book
ISBN: 0-553-10730-5

“Chopping Spree” by Diane Mott Davidson is a neat mystery with a twist. Goldy Schultz is a caterer. She’s really good at it and is in high demand from all sorts of groups who want her to cater their dinners and functions. The problem is that she also has a tendency to get herself involved in the middle of mysteries. And, the only way she knows to get out of them is to solve them.

This places her in danger and nothing less than that happens in “Chopping Spree”. Her husband Tom is a detective on the police force and is moral support to her and also an inside line of important and helpful information when he can share stuff with her. He worries about her, though.

You know what the absolute best part about these books Diane writes are? It’s the recipes. Goldy caters a dinner and the menu is there in the book, they talk about the food that is prepared and you, the reader, get to see the recipe too! Talk about a double espresso latte.

In “Chopping Spree” an old friend, fond of riddles, tries to tell Goldy something that is bothering him, a problem he is having, and before he can talk to her he is killed. The story is Goldy finding out what happened and putting the bad guys where they belong.

“Hard Trail to Follow” by Elmer Kelton

2008-08-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

“Hard Trail to Follow” by Elmer Kelton
2007, A Forge Book
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1522-9

I have a particular fondness for Westerns, though it’s been awhile since I read one. “Hard Trail to Follow” by Elmer Kelton was the absolutely perfect Western. I had never read anything by Mr. Kelton before and this was just one of those books where I let Spirit guide me in the library. I'm really glad I did too. This is an absolutely terrific book. I’m looking forward to reading others by Elmer Kelton. He's written a bunch of them.

Andy Pickard was a Texas Ranger in earlier days. Not now, though. His life was steering towards marriage, rough scrabble farming and a brother-in-law he absolutely could not stand. He was trying real hard to get along with Farley because he did love Bethel, but she was of a mind to stay near by her mother who was on her death bed. Who wasn’t budging from the farm was Farley, Bethel’s brother and Andy’s future brother-in-law. Those two went way back and Farley and Andy had even been Texas Rangers together in the past. But, they grated on each other’s nerves then and they grated on each other’s nerves now.

What changed everything was a bad guy who wasn’t really a bad guy and this is where the story took off. Luther Cordell had hooked up with a crew of two others; one bad through and through, the other just a young guy gone off on the wrong foot. Luther ends up in jail with the loot from a bank robbery and Milt, the really bad guy comes for him. The young one, Buster, ends up getting shot.

This is a really nice story of the searching for a bad guy who the Texas Ranger, Andy, realizes as things wind along isn’t a bad guy anymore.

You will like this novel. And, it is a love story too. It’s not mushy. You wouldn’t expect that from a Western. It’s just right.

“Simply Perfect” by Mary Balogh

2008-08-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

“Simply Perfect” by Mary Balogh
2008, Delacorte Press
ISBN: 978-0-385=33824=0

“Simply Perfect” by Mary Balogh is a love story. This is a Victorian historical romance.

Claudia runs a school for girls. The students come form the elite of Britians high society and from disadvantaged children left orphans. Mixed together in their classes Claudia Martin seeks to instill in all her students a respect for one another that typically they would not experience if their education was left to chance.

It is not by chance that Joseph, Marquess of Attingsborough, arrives to introduce himself to her. Busy and bothered by this intrusion into her routine of teaching Claudia is chillingly polite as she takes him on a tour of the school.

She is 35 and a spinster and has turned her heart and face from anything that might smack of involvement with a man, particularly a man of the ton.

But, it turns out Joseph has a secret and together he and Claudia come to love each other and, of course, to in the end become married.

It is the getting there that is particularly interesting. There are all sorts of obstacles and barriers to their love and they are able to surmount every one of them.

“Lean Mean Thirteen” by Janet Evanovich

2008-08-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

“Lean Mean Thirteen” by Janet Evanovich
2007, St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 978-0-312-34949-3

“Lean Mean Thirteen” by Janet Evanovich is a Stephanie Plum novel. Stephanie is a bounty hunter. You might have seen television shows lately featuring bounty hunters. Forget it. Television shows are tame compared to what goes on in a Stephanie Plum novel. And, if you’ve ever read any of the others (12 before this one and more in between the numbers) you will not be disappointed.

In “Lean Mean Thirteen” Stephanie is really working hand to mouth. She’s driving a really cruddy looking Crown Victoria that everybody thinks is a cop car. It probably was in a former incarnation. But, she’s driving it now. And, wanting anything else. But, she can’t afford it. So, she reports for duty at her cousin Vinnie’s bail bond business and picks up 3 skips. Those are people she’s supposed to go out, apprehend and take to the pokey. They can then get themselves bonded out again. Usually they are FTA (failure to appear) because they missed a court date or something like that.

So, one guy she’s after is a taxidermist waiting for the cable repair people. He cannot leave his house because he’s already been waiting for weeks. So, he builds these exploding animals as booby traps. The first one goes off in Stephanie’s Crown Victoria. Ugh. Squirrel guts all over the place.

Another guy she’s after is known for robbing the dead. Stephanie’s grandmother Mauzer’s favorite past time is to go to viewings at the local funeral homes and she reports back to Stephanie who was adorned with what tempting jewelry. So, Stephanie goes to lay in wait for the guy to rob one of the recently departed.

Lula, an ex hooker now file clerk and bounty hunter in training accompanies Stephanie on most of her missions. This is very helpful because Lula is terrific as backup. She isn’t afraid to use a stun gun and, although her aim isn’t the best, isn’t afraid to use her gun.

In the meantime Ranger, a really hot bounty hunter and Stephanie’s mentor and backup asks for a favor. Stephanie needs to plant a bug on her ex-husband Dickie. That whole thing flares up into some really bad news and the bad guys, the really bad guys are on the loose. Joe Morelli, Stephanie’s long time hot cop boy friend is also involved in the investigation.

That’s sort of it in a nutshell, but to get the close and in your face enjoyment from this story you really need to read it yourself. It’s a pip as Grandma Mauzer would say. You’ll enjoy it.

"Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze" by Thayer White

2008-08-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

Inevitably, it happens that you will come across a book that has the ability to change your life.

“Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze” by Thayer White is one of those books.

Thayer, who I have had the honor of calling friend for close to 15 years, is a psychotherapist and a pioneer in the field of new age spirituality. If you are to invest time, money and attention in each and every one of the New Age schools of thought that have sprung up and continue to spring up you would be, quite understandably, confused and feeling lost in this maze. Thayer has zeroed in on a path that can help you make intelligent decisions about where to invest your attention to the maximum benefit in the development of your own spirituality.

ASHEVILLE NC, August 4, 2008. “The Law of Attraction usually fails folks,” claims New Age author and therapist, Thayer White, in his new book, Finding Your Soul in the Spirituality Maze. “If the Law worked at all well, every city block in Europe and North America would have a few new millionaires by now. There would be Law of Attraction support clinics everywhere curing high blood pressure, heart isease, diabetes, cancer and genetic disorders. The obese would be shrinking.” Available with book purchase is a free bonus audio of Thayer describing why the Law of Attraction usually fails folks. Find out more about the book and special free bonuses.

There is a school of thought that states if you don’t learn a lesson completely in this lifetime you can always spend time with it in your next lifetime. In some instances a person might be inclined to make more inroads and progress on whatever difficult life-lesson they’ve got facing them this time around rather than be faced with more of the same in their next incarnation.

But, the quest for your own spirituality is one of those life-lessons that happens to each and every person in every one of their lifetimes. This is one of the most important lessons and the more progress you make with it the richer your life might be in every one of your incarnations. This is an investment you can make for yourself that has dividends that will continue to pay off, life after life after life.

“Duma Key” by Stephen King

2008-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

“Duma Key” by Stephen King
2008, Scribner
ISBN: 978-1-4165-5251-2

“Duma Key” by Stephen King is a fabulous read. Edgar Freemantle is the hero, though there are actually several heroes in this story, Edgar is the first we meet. The story revolves around him too. He’s a contractor; a very successful contractor in the life before things happen. He has an accident and he loses his right arm. Other bad things have happened to the man too. His speech is disordered, he’s got pain that won’t stop, he can hardly walk; life sucks. His marriage begins to dissolve quickly. As I said, life sucks for Edgar Freemantle.

But, he decides to move to Florida, to Duma Key, to heal up and it is at Duma Key where the rest of this story takes place.

Phantom limbs. You’ve heard of them. Well, Edgar’s right arm starts itching. He begins to draw. To create. To form. To waken and inadvertently bring back to life a horror that has patiently lain in wait for a very, very long time.

I don’t want to give away any more of the story. It’s classic King. You’ve got lots of good guys. You’ve got the bad guys and you’ve got an incredible understanding of human beings and what makes them tick.

Enjoy it. I surely did.

"Plum Lucky" by Janet Evanovich

2008-07-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

"Plum Lucky" by Janet Evanovich

2007, St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-37763-2

Sometimes you just want to laugh. I know when I was in the library this afternoon and I moved smartly to the back corner where the Janet Evanovich books are kept in the mystery section that I was going to come upon something good. “Plum Lucky” by Janet Evanovich was terrific. And, I did laugh. A lot. I needed it. See, my week has been really crappy. My computer got a virus. It’s called Antivirus 2008 xp and it cost me over $200 for my computer guy to clean it up. Next step will be to beef up my virus protection software because; evidently Windows Live One Care just wasn’t enough. Thanks a lot Microsoft. Anyway, my computer guy recommended I purchase Micro Trend. Office Depot has it for $39. As if that wasn’t bad enough, when I got my computer back I discovered with a new user account (because the old one was corrupted) I have to reconfigure EVERYTHING. And, to top it all off my butt started bleeding. It does that when I get tense. I really, really needed something to make me laugh.

I started this book about 5 hours ago. It’s a real quick read. It’s called a Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers novel. Generally, it’s, “One for the Money” and “Two for the Dough”, “Three to get Deadly” all the way up to “Lean Means Thirteen”. So, this one isn’t numbered in the title, it’s just a real quick story, “Plum Lucky”.

Grandma Mazur starts it all off on Saint Patrick’s Day by sighting a rainbow. She closes her eyes, makes a wish and opens them to find a duffle bag of money at her feet. She starts lugging off the money and the guy who’d originally stolen it comes looking for it. See, when he was making his get-away he put it on the roof of his car and sped off. It rolled off at Grandma Mazur’s feet when he turned a corner.

There’s a lot of rushing around, back and forth as the bad guys want their money back and end up kidnapping Grandma Mazur and holding her for ransom. Lots of car chasing, gun fights and cars blowing up. There’s even a rocket launcher towards the end.

I can’t tell you any more about this story. You’ve got to read it. I was going to type out an excerpt, except it was pretty raunchy and the guides told me I’d better not. So, since I’m paying more attention to them lately, I decided not to. You’ll just have to get a copy of the book. Or, actually, just get anything by Janet Evanovich. You won’t be disappointed.

“Web of Love” by Mary Balogh

2008-07-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

“Web of Love” by Mary Balogh
2007, Dell
ISBN: 978-0-440-24305-2

“Web of Love” by Mary Balogh. I liked it. It did take me awhile to get into the story, but once I was there it just clicked right along.

This story takes place in 1815 just prior to and after the Battle of Waterloo. Emma is married to Charlie. Charlie is a British officer. Theirs is a happy and loving marriage. They’ve welcomed into their circle of friendship Lord Eden a fellow soldier.

There are tentative sparks between Emma and Lord Eden, or Dominique as he is called, but neither will act upon them and don’t think much of them anyway. Emma and Charlie are fast in love.

But, the Battle of Waterloo happens and Charlie is killed. Lord Eden is mortally wounded and can only think in his delirium to be taken to Emma. He rasps out the news that Charlie is dead to Emma. Then, he collapses. She nurses him back to health and while she sits beside him day in and day out nursing him back to health something begins to happen. As he is returned to health he reaches out to her and wooowee we got liftoff.

It only lasts a week and then Emma somehow really realizes that her husband has died, that she’s just gotten a lover and that’s when her conscious comes back to full activity.

She makes him go away. And, she goes her separate way. But, there are repercussions and what’s particularly interesting with this story is the idea that a person can love more than one person in their lifetime, can hold onto that love and love another at the same time. It’s a mature sort of understanding of love that you don’t see that often in stories. And, of course, it does have a happy ending.

I really enjoyed this book. I will surely read another of Mary Balogh’s books the next time I get my hands on one.

“Sizzle and Burn” by Jayne Ann Krentz

2008-07-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

“Sizzle and Burn” by Jayne Ann Krentz
2008, GP Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 978-0-399-15445-4

“Sizzle and Burn” by Jayne Ann Krentz. Read it. Very good book. I love anything Jayne writes in whatever genre she ends up in, but “Sizzle and Burn” is a fantasy contemporary and picks up threads from the historical romances Jayne writes as Amanda Quick.

Raine Tallentyre is psychic. It’s something she’s lived with all her life and something that as an adult she’s channeled into a public service as she helps put away the bad guys. But, in using her talent to pick up on residual violence done that sticks to objects she is able to harness something that drove her aunt into insanity.

After her aunt dies Raine begins to dispose of her aunt’s estate. This includes putting her house on the market. Only, as she stands there with the real estate agent she senses something very wrong has happened. She calls 911 to tell the police to come find a murdered person. Except, the lady isn’t dead.

In comes Zack, a psychic private detective, who has been called in by a secret group called the Arcane society who is all about providing a place for people with psychic abilities to carve out a life for themselves. They also hunt the bad guys and the bad guys are all around Raine right now.
Love flares between Raine and Zack. The action is fast and furious as the bad guys make their attacks over and over again. It just doesn’t want to let up and you really won’t want to put this book down until you’re finished.

Now, on a personal level I was quite interested in the particular psychic ability that both Raine and her aunt shared. They heard voices. That’s what I do. It’s hard to explain to people that I channel. But, it’s thrilling for me to read a story that involves hearing voices by one of my favorite authors.

“One True Thing” by Anna Quindlen

2008-07-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

“One True Thing” by Anna Quindlen
1994, Dell Publishing
ISBN: 0-440-22103-X

“One True Thing” by Anna Quindlen. This is a good book. You should read this book. If that’s all you read of this review I got the important stuff said.

This is the story of a woman, her family and the time she spent taking care of her dying mother. Anna Quindlen reaches into a story to pull the really good stuff out for you to see. What’s even more astonishing to me is that she pulled the stuff out of my own heart for me to see. I had no idea that stuff was in there. I cried for my own mother gone these 14 years now. And, even though I’m a psychic channel, even though I talk to my own mother often even though she is dead, I found unresolved stuff to think about, to hurt about, to cry about, to heal about.

Yikes, but this is a good book. This wasn’t time to spend curled up with a really good page turner. This wasn’t time to pass as you wait for something else to happen. This book reached out and grabbed me, wouldn’t let me go, wouldn’t allow me to do anything else until I had finished it.

I don’t know that I understand everything there was. I understood enough; enough for me. I’m glad I read it. I will read others written by Anna Quindlen. In fact, I don’t even have to know anything about the books she writes for me to pick one up anymore. If it’s got her name on it, it will be a good book to read. Thanks, Anna. I needed that.

“Belladonna at Belstone” by Michael Jecks

2008-07-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

"Belladonna at Belston" by Michael Jecks
1999, Headline Book Publishing
ISBN: 0-7472-6361-2

“Belladonna at Belstone” by Michael Jecks is a Medieval mystery. The story centers on an investigation into a murder at a convent. It was interesting to me how the religious people were portrayed. It was as if they were the kinds of people you might meet now, and yet, there was the placing of them back in time to Medieval times.

I suppose everybody has their ideas about how religious people are and the truth is much different than what we might suppose. The same seems to happen to folks in “Belladonna at Belstone”.

What starts as one murder escalates and it begins to look as if nobody is safe anymore. Everybody, it seems, at St. Mary’s had the motive and the opportunity to do these bad deeds. At the heart of the story are the two men doing the investigating, Simon and Sir Baldwin. The other key player in the story is Lady Elizabeth, the prioress of St. Mary’s at Belstone. She is being made to look the scapegoat for both the bad condition the convent is in and for the murder.

The twists and turns in this story were great. I really had no clue who the bad guy was going to end up being until the end. Good book.

“The Rocky Road to Romance” by Janet Evanovich.

2008-07-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

“The Rocky Road to Romance” by Janet Evanovich

2004, Harpertorch

ISBN: 0-06-059889-1

“The Rocky Road to Romance” by Janet Evanovich. I’m a dyed in the wool Evanovich fan. And, when I saw this in my library I snatched it up. Janet wrote it back in 1991 before she’d written any of the Stephanie Plum stories. You can tell how her energy was flowing back in those days; on full speed and it hasn’t stopped yet. The quality of this story is right up there with everything else I have read by Janet Evanovich.

This is, of course, a love story. But, it’s also got lots of bumps along the way. This is where Janet is trying out the characteristics that would someday become part of the folks who people the Stephanie Plum books. You’ve got Daisy Adams, a lady intent upon getting her doctorate, who is so focused that she’s been unable to really enjoy life lately. She's juggling several different jobs in her life and from the bit spot on the radio as the Dog Lady she gets the opportunity to fill in for the traffic reporter who's out sick. Enter Steve Crow, mysterious and her boss who falls in love with her. You’ve got her family, his family, Elsie a grandmotherly security guard and the bad guys who keep trying to hurt Daisy.

It was light. It was fun. It was fast. It was just what I needed coming out of having a bad summer cold. I really enjoyed this book and I’m really glad that Janet Evanovich is such a prolific writer. I will read whatever she writes and will certainly, in all probability, enjoy each and every last word.

“Reckless” by Amanda Quick

2008-07-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

“Reckless” by Amanda Quick
1992, Bantam Books
ISBN: 0-553-29315-X

“Reckless” by Amanda Quick gets five stars from me. Every time I read this book it is just as fresh and wonderful as the first time I read it years ago. Quick’s trademark with her historical novels are quirky heroines and heroes. They just don’t fit in with the rest of society around them and manage to eventually find each other.

This one is about Phoebe Layton, youngest daughter of a wealthy family who just didn’t fit in. They all worried about her, but she set her sights on being a publisher. She had to do this in secret because her family would never understand or approve. But her first writer is Gabriel Banner, the man of her dreams. However, there she has a problem and she’s decided that he is the only one who can help her with it. It involves an old friend who, coincidently, is an enemy of Gabriel’s. He does not, though, know that she is his publisher and is not particularly inclined to help her. Letter after letter she sends to him and finally, creates enough interest or irritation for him to agree to meet with her.

Plans unfold. She finds herself in danger. They fall in love. It may be the same old love story, but Amanda Quick always finds a fresh new way to tell it.

I read this as I moved through the irritating sickness of a summer cold. It was just what the doctor ordered, even better than chicken soup.

“Wild Orchids” by Jude Deveraux

2008-06-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

“Wild Orchids” by Jude Deveraux
2003, Atria Books
ISBN: 0-7434-3712-8

I’ve read a lot of books and most of them have been pretty good. Some have been absolutely fabulous. That’s what “Wild Orchids” by Jude Deveraux is. Absolutely fabulous. I don’t even want to tell you much about it so as not to spoil the story at all for you. I think I’ve been holding my breath for the last 50 pages or so. I just let it out.

Look into my eyes. You want to read this book.

Ford is the writer. Jackie is his assistant. They didn’t start out that way. The story goes back and forth from Ford’s point of view to Jackie’s. That in itself was interesting as hell to me.

Look into my eyes. You want to read this book.

My usual benchmark of a good book as to the amount of it I spend with a Kleenex in hand was spot on. This was definitely a three-hanky tearjerker. But, it appears there might be a new standard for me to judge good books; how often I find I’m holding my breath. “Wild Orchids” kept me on the edge of my seat.

It’s a rollicking good story. I was hooked from the first page and stayed that way to the last. It is a certainty that I will be seeking out other books by Jude Deveraux to read.

Normally I would say something about the story. Today I will not. What I want to know is that you’re intrigued enough to go find it at your library.

Look into my eyes. You want to read this book.

“A Man to Call My Own” by Johanna Lindsey

2008-06-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

“A Man to Call My Own” by Johanna Lindsey
2003, Atria Books
ISBN: 0-7434-5633-5

Although I’ve read Johanna Lindsey before “A Man to Call My Own” isn’t a book I would recommend. I did not like the recurring themes that occurred throughout the story; petty jealousies, insecurity and an immaturity in the characters that reminded me of what it was like to be in the 9th grade. I’d hoped for more. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

“Daddy’s Little Girl” by Mary Higgins Clark

2008-06-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

“Daddy's Little Girl” by Mary Higgins Clark
2002, Pocket Books
ISBN: 0-7434-6052-9

“Daddy's Little Girl” by Mary Higgins Clark was a terrific book. This is a murder mystery and the first time I’ve ever read Mary Higgins Clark. I’m hooked. And, the best part is she's written tons of books.

“Daddy's Little Girl” is about the sister of a murder victim who cannot let go. Ellie was 7 years old when her older sister Andrea was murdered. Now, she’s 30 years old. Every time the Rob Westerfield came up for parole she was there to see that he didn’t get out. But, now he’s served his time and is ready to assume his place as the golden haired boy in his wealthy and influential family.

Ellie had become an investigative reporter and taking her skills as a writer and as an investigator she tries to ensure that Rob Westerfield’s life on the outside doesn’t become one of wealth and luxury. His family is out to see that his record is expunged of the crime he was convicted of.

Suddenly she is being followed and threatened. People around her are in danger. She’s fighting the monster Rob is and the town she grew up in as the memories of the crime come back for everyone to face again. There are even those who don’t believe her. It’s a mess and as it turns out gets a whole lot messier. But, she can’t give up and this is one whirl wind story.

Naturally, it’s got a happy ending, but getting there is going to have you turning pages in this book and ignoring as much of the outside world as you can before you get to the end.

“The Third Circle” by Amanda Quick

2008-06-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

“The Third Circle” by Amanda Quick
2008, Penguin Books
ISBN: 978-0-399-15484-3

I got all tingly when I saw this in my library. Amanda Quick is one of my favorite authors and I have never once been disappointed by anything she’s written. “The Third Circle” was especially delightful. Ms. Quick has a tendency to show characteristics that show up in her characters from one genre to another. She writes under different names for the different time periods. When she’s writing about futuristic stuff she writes under the name of Jayne Castle. What happened in “The Third Circle” was that the paranormal stuff going on in the future is shown to be first happening in Victorian times.

I just love it. Especially as I’m a psychic and can relate to this stuff presented as far out author’s license and imagination or not. It happens. And, I’m thrilled to know of these things on another level too. Amanda Quick just takes it all that extra step beyond to where the normal reader is going to say, “Oh, man, this is just so far out, but I’ll buy into it for this story.” I love these characters anyway. I love how they relate to each other. I love the suspense of the stories. Another Amanda Quick book? Yeah, I want to read it now!”

The requisite romance, meeting of unmatchable hero with unmatchable heroine and the sparks fly. If you’ve never read Amanda Quick check out your local library. They’re sure to have one by her. And, if you’re really lucky you’ll get to check out, “The Third Circle”. And, Jayne Ann Krentz is such a prolific writer whatever book you pick out of hers to read I can absolutely guarantee, if you are a fan of the romance and suspenseful story, you will love it.

“Ten Big Ones” by Janet Evanovich

2008-06-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

“Ten Big Ones” by Janet Evanovich
2004, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN: 0-312-93622-2

You know how sometimes you feel like eating something in particular and only the one thing is going to satisfy you? I had a craving and only “Ten Big Ones” by Janet Evanovich fit the bill. I spent the weekend snorting and making funny noises in the back of the house. I had to do my reading away from my husband because I really annoy him when I read any of Janet Evanovich’s novels. This one was no different.

Stephanie Plum is off on another adventure. She’s a bounty hunter in New Jersey and works with a colorful group of characters. These folks are always in her books and I’ve grown to expect them to be there. Ranger is another bounty hunter; a very mysterious guy who watches and protects Stephanie because she’s like the Lucy Ricardo of bounty hunters. Joe Morelli, a cop, is her boyfriend.

Every time you turn around something bad is happening to her. She’s like a trouble magnet. In the book there is the main conflict that lasts throughout. This one was Stephanie is able to recognize the Red Devil Bandit. And, subsequently a contract is taken out on her. In between trying to catch this particular bad guy she goes around apprehending the FTA’s (Failure to Appear) folks who’ve violated their bonds. I loved the one about the lady who held up a Frito Lay truck and took all the bags of Fritos because she was having a fit.

But, what I really admire about Stephanie is her resilience. She can bounce back quickly from anything. She doesn’t hold a grudge except for the bimbo Joyce Barnhardt who boinked Stephanie’s husband early on in their short-lived marriage. Lula, an ex ho who is now employed to do filing in the bail bonds office Stephanie works out of frequently hot foots it out the door to help Stephanie on her bounty adventures. Lula always has some sort of weapon in her purse and isn’t afraid to use it.

Connie runs the bail bonds office and is connected to the mob so she is able to offer advice connected to those sorts of situations. Vinne is a slime ball. He is Stephanie’s cousin who owns the bail bond office.

Joe Morrelli is Stephanie’s main man. She’s been in love with him since they were kids, though their relationship is many times an on again off again one. In this book it is mostly on. But, Ranger’s interest intervenes and Stephanie is caught like a deer in the headlights because she is attracted to him in a major way too. Great romantic conflict.

You’ve also got Stephanie’s immediate family; her mother who despairs of the job her daughter has and all the trouble that seems to follow her around and would much rather she get a job at the button factory. Her father who doesn’t want to hear about it. Her Grandma Mazer who lives with Stephanie’s mother and father and who loves to go on bounty hunts with her granddaughter and who counts funeral parlor viewings as a part of her active social life. Valerie is Stephanie’s sister who in this book is living in Stephanie’s apartment while she waits to get married. Stephanie is living with Joe and that only lasts so long.

Anyway, I don’t want to get into everything that is happening in the book. There need to be some surprises for you. Those were just the folks in the book. I am serious if you’ve never read a Stephanie Plum book pick this one or any of them up. They are all 100% quality writing that will have you making very strange noises as you laugh and snort your way through the book.

“Walter the Farting Dog” by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray

2008-06-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

“Walter the Farting Dog” by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray
2001, Frog, Ltd.
ISBN: 978-1583-94053-2

Dee Dude (my husband) purchased “Walter the Farting Dog” by William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray as a birthday gift for a friend. The cover says it is a #1 New York Times bestseller and that more than one million copies have been sold.

The book came with a stuffed toy of Walter the Farting Dog. Walter really farts. My cats were not actually that impressed when I showed them. You squeeze his middle to produce a particularly raunchy sounding fart.

I read the book and was enchanted. I actually teared up a little at the end of the story. Not because of any farts in the area, just because it tugged at my heart strings. This is a terrific book for children of any age.

Turns out there are a series of Walter books too. What child isn’t interested in farts? Even those who’ve seen the better side of 50.

“Touching Stars” by Emilie Richards

2008-05-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

“Touching Stars” by Emilie Richards
2007, Mira
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2472-0

“Touching Stars” by Emilie Richards is a very long book. It’s also a very good book. I couldn’t put it down. I recognized characters in this book from another book, “Prospect Street”, by Emilie I read and reviewed here.

This is a complicated story of a family torn apart 12 years before by divorce and brought together again because Eric, the ex-husband, has suffered at the hands of Middle East terrorists and needs time to heal. He returns to the only home he’s ever felt comfortable in and the last home he fled. He is welcomed back by his ex-wife Gayle and although his 3 sons aren’t quite sure they all begin a process of resolving the issues of the past to be able to move forward into the future without a lot of emotional baggage.

I enjoyed being invited into their home as each of the characters grew and matured and chose the roads they would take into the future.

This was a really good book. I’m looking forward to reading more.

“Home to Holly Springs” by Jan Karon

2008-05-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

“Home to Holly Springs” by Jan Karon
2007, Viking
ISBN: 978-0-670-01825-3

“Home to Holly Springs” by Jan Karon. This is one of those good clean books. You also won’t want to put it down. I cried through most of it. It helps to have already read the first 9 books in the Mitford Father Tim series. I’ve got them all on the bookshelf in the bedroom and I might just start over reading them all again.

“Home to Holly Springs” is the first in the Father Timothy series. You don’t need to have read the first ones. You can start with this one. But, I guarantee that you’ll feel better.

I was drawn to these books because of the spiritual slant. Father Tim is now a retired Episcopalian priest. Late in life, in his 60’s, he got married to Cynthia who writes children’s books. He adopted a son before he got married, Dooley, a thrown away child who ended up on his doorstep wanting to know where he could take a dump. How more down home than that can you get? These are honest, hardworking, no nonsense people you will certainly come to love.

In, “Home to Holly Springs” Father Tim takes a trip back to his roots, to where he was born and raised and hasn’t been to in 38 years. It’s a revelation all the stories he hears, all the people from the past he meets up with. I’m not going to give it away. Oh, no. You’ve got to read this yourself. I can’t wait for the next one.