September 2007 Reads

1. SACRED COWS by Karen E. Olson. First in a mystery series featuring Annie Seymour, a police-beat newspaper reporter in New Haven, Connecticut. Annie is a hard-edged, cynical, experienced reporter who lives a somewhat chaotic life. When she is awakened at 3 a.m. by her editor telling her there’s a dead body and to get her butt to the scene and get the story, a whole series of bizarre events is set off, eventually involving her mother’s law firm and a private eye who turns out to be a guy that she went to high school with. The situation is complicated by the fact that Annie happens to be dating the police detective in charge of the investigation, and that there’s an eager beaver young reporter trying to scoop her at every turn. The young dead woman is a bright Yale student with rich parents, but when Annie discovers from talking to her roommate that she was also employed by a high-class escort service, the higher-ups really get their knickers in a twist! Annie is a very “real” character, one I liked a lot—partly because I recognized a kindred spirit in Annie; she talks and thinks a lot like I do. (i.e., this is NOT a cozy! LOL) Excellent first in series and I will be following this one very closely! A+

2. THE LEPER’S BELL by Peter Tremayne. Thirteenth book in the Sister Fidelma series set in 660’s A.D. Ireland. Fidelma and Eadulf are beside themselves when the nurse to their baby Alchu is murdered and the baby abducted. At first it is thought that it was a planned abduction for ransom, then possibly a political abduction engineered by enemies to the north. But once Fidelma puts her emotional responses aside and resumes her logical stance and begins to investigate, she wonders if it wasn’t a personal attack on the nurse, with Alchu being an unexpected complication. Fidelma and Eadulf also grapple with whether to continue their temporary marriage, as the “year and a day” is fast coming up and they must decide whether to walk away from the arrangement or commit to one another permanently. The stress of Alchu’s abduction shows each of them a side to the other previously unseen, and it’s unsettling for both of them. I always enjoy a visit to Tremayne’s Ireland and it was far too long since my last foray there, so this was a thoroughly enjoyed treat for me. A.

3. POLTERGEIST by Kat Richardson. Second in the Harper Blaine “Greywalker” paranormal series, featuring a young woman P.I. who died for two minutes and since that time is able to walk the world that exists between the living and the dead, known as “the Grey.” In this book, Harper is hired by a college professor who is running experiments to see if the collective minds of a group of people can make their own poltergeist. He wants her to figure out whom if anyone is “faking” some phenomenon that have begun to crop up, or else authenticate that the experiment has worked and is valid. When one of the participants of the group ends up dead—beaten and mangled—in his apartment, Harper sets out to find whether the energy entity that has become Celia, the poltergeist, did Mark in or whether he was killed by someone all too human. I enjoyed this book a lot; it certainly did have an interesting premise and storyline, though it did take me a good 50 pages to really get sucked in to the story. The only downfall for me is that Harper still feels somewhat “dry” to me—even though we learn more *about* her, what she likes, dislikes, what’s important to her, we haven’t yet really been shown who she is…the messy parts, the ‘soul’ of Harper seem to be sitting there just beyond our grasp. It’s hard to explain just what I mean. Still, this is a series I enjoy. One thing I really appreciate is that there isn’t a bunch of gratuitous sex and continual sexual tension between Harper and every male she encounters like in some paranormal books. If I want romance and erotica, I’ll read books from those genres! A-.

4. DEAD TO THE WORLD by Charlaine Harris. Sookie Stackhouse “Southern Vampire” mystery number four. Speaking of gratuitous sex and sexual tension….AAAAGH! This book is full of it. I’ve enjoyed the previous Sookie stories, and yeah, there was some of that…and some sexual tension is almost necessary to the story line. But in this book, every male that crosses Sookie’s path causes her to salivate, for heaven’s sake! The frequent descriptions of the various males’ physiques got really old after awhile. I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but this series seems to be headed the way of the Anita Blake series, with sex just for the sake of sex being a major theme. Maybe this is what most of the fans of paranormal books want, but as for me--no thank you. If I want erotic titillation, I’ll hook up with some good erotica! I finished this book, and do mostly enjoy the storyline, but for the reasons stated above I really lowered my grade and I do believe I’m just going to stop reading the series right here. It’s okay, but I’d rather read books where I’m not rolling my eyes every few pages when the heroine is drooling on some guy. C+

5. THE SIGN OF THE BOOK by John Dunning. Fourth in the Cliff Janeway, ex-cop and book dealer series. I waited quite a time between the previous book and this one as I was quite disappointed in it after the stellar first couple in the series. This one was back on track and I enjoyed it very much although I did figure out almost right away who the killer was. I didn’t guess the circumstances of the murder, but my gut told me whodunit. Cliff travels to small town Paradise to begin investigation on a case for Erin, his girlfriend, who’s a lawyer. This case involves Erin’s childhood friend Laura, who’s been accused of killing her husband. The husband also had an interesting collection of books that figure into the case as well. Our intrepid hero puts himself against snowstorms, the dark of night, a crazed deputy, a drunken grandfather and a whole host of other obstacles to help get at the truth. Enjoyable and once again looking forward to the next in series. A.

6. SNAKE AGENT by Liz Williams. First Detective Inspector Chen series in this genre-bending fantasy/mystery. Chen lives and works in a slightly futuristic Singapore as an investigator of paranormal crimes. He’s been to Hell and back several times—literally—even marrying a demon and bringing her out of Hell, which is strictly forbidden. With Inaria comes a family retainer—a teakettle that morphs into a badger! (My favorite character! LOL) I loved the premise and the world Williams paints in this book. When he begins investigating why the ghost of a young girl never made it to Heaven, he ends up in working with one of Hell’s investigators, a demon named Zhu Irzh, who is working on another case on the side for the Ministry of Wealth, trying to figure out what the devious Ministry of Epidemics is up to. Eventually the cases tie together and Chen and Zhu Irzh do a lot of working together. Hard to describe this book or to include all the crazy sub-plots; you really have to read it! Excellently written, fresh and different and very enjoyable. Looking for the next! A+

7. THE BURNING GIRL by Mark Billingham. Fourth in the DI Tom Thorne British police procedural in which a cold case that retired cop Carol Chamberlain is working on ties together with a current one featuring rival crime gangs. Twenty years ago, Gordon Rooker attempted to set the daughter of a local crime boss on fire—but he got the wrong girl, instead igniting her best friend Jessica who was horribly burned and committed suicide a couple of years later. Carol worked on that case and now she’s getting phone calls saying “I burned her.” The problem is, Rooker is still in prison. Upon being questioned by Thorne, he says he didn’t really do it, though he confessed at the time because being in prison was safer than outside where the crime boss who hired him would have easier access to kill him for botching the job. A sudden string of dead gang members between Billy Ryan’s gang and a new Turkish group sets up a task force throwing Thorne into the fray with a DCI he’s crossed swords with before. I really enjoyed this one—hard to put down, with a few twists and turns to the plot though nothing really surprising as I did anticipate what was going to happen before it did. A.

8. AGATHA RAISIN AND THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS CURATE by M.C. Beaton. Thirteenth Agatha Raisin book in which a new man comes to down to perk up Aggie’s flagging interest. The curate sent to help out Rev. Bloxby is a nearly perfect, angelic looking man who has the locals flocking to church every Sunday. Some people can see through his guise and refer to him as “slimy” but Agatha is smitten and accepts an invitation to dinner at the home of an elderly parishioner where he’s being housed. When he turns up dead the next day, guess who’s thrown headfirst into the fray? With her usual “Watsons” Roy Silver and Sir Charles Fraith out of the picture, Agatha’s new neighbor John Armitage, the author of detective stories, helps her investigate. Enjoyable visit to Carsely, and in this one, Agatha seems to show her soft side a bit more. A.

9. THE VOICE OF THE VIOLIN by Andrea Camilleri. Fourth in the Salvo Montalbano Italian police procedural series in which Salvo discovers the body of a beautiful young woman in her home when he stops to find out why the home’s owner has not responded to a note he left when one of their police cars collides with her car that was parked outside the home. As usual, the politics of the department and the country take the case over and Salvo must investigate on the sly after being taken off the case by the new commissioner. The gruff and grumpy Montalbano shows his vulnerable side too, briefly. A quick, enjoyable visit to Sicily where the author puts you right in the heart of the place, evoking smells, tastes and views that leave little to the imagination. Good stuff! A.

10. THE AWFUL SECRET by Bernard Knight. Fourth in the Crowner John medieval mystery series set in 1200’s Devon, UK. When a Templar Knight—or rather, an ex-Templar who has now left the order—who fought with John in Outremer seeks his assistance while he waits for a cohort to arrive, the coroner reluctantly agrees. When he finds out that Gilbert is now considered a heretic who has an ‘awful secret’ about the Church that the Templars are suppressing, and is being pursued not only by three higher-ups in the Templar Order, but by a papal nuncio who is part of the Inquisition, John curses the moment he pledged his help, but stands by his word. When the ex-Templar turns up dead, obviously murdered, John must then investigate even though his suspicions lie with the Church, whom he has no authority to question. A secondary plot deals with piracy off the coast of Devon and brings the Crowner to Ilfracombe and Barnstaple, which are familiar to me as my DH’s sister lives in that area. I did guess the bad guy way ahead of time in this one and didn’t think the story was quite as good as some of the others in this series—or maybe I’ve just been “DaVinci Coded” to death—but I still enjoyed it as I like the setting and the characters in this series.

11. BURY THE LEAD by David Rosenfelt. Third in the Andy Carpenter, defense lawyer in New Jersey series. When a serial killer begins calling a local newspaper reporter with details of the killings, the city is in thrall watching the story unfold. When the reporter is found at the scene of the fourth victim with a head injury, the apparent victim of the killer, things get tense. When it’s learned that the murdered woman is a high-powered political watchdog, and some of the reporter’s statements don’t ring true, he’s suddenly arrested for her murder, and Andy’s on board as his defense attorney. I really like this series! The book is well-plotted with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings, although I have to admit I had one of those “that’s the bad guy!” moments when the person in question was introduced, I had no idea how or why the killings were done, and I doubted my gut feeling a few times along the way. You gotta read to the end of these books, that’s for sure! Well done. A

12. THE HORSE YOU CAME IN ON by Martha Grimes. Twelfth in the Chief Inspector Richard Jury series. In this book, Jury and Sgt. Wiggins and his friend Melrose Plant are reluctantly off to America, to investigate two different murders at the behest of two different friends, wandering into the literary world of Johns Hopkins University, Edgar Allan Poe and a football franchise for Baltimore! This was another of Grimes’ weaker Jury novels; I don’t know if it was the setting, if being away from the UK weakened the book or what, but it wasn’t a story I enjoyed overly much aside from being glad for a visit with all the recurring characters. There were a lot of side trips away from the mystery part of the story and it wasn’t, in general, very coherent nor cohesive. C+

13. ENEMY OF GOD by Bernard Cornwell. Second in the Warlord Chronicles, his Arthurian trilogy, told from the viewpoint of Derfel Cadarn, a Saxon slave boy who has now become one of Arthur’s greatest warriors. A heady blend of historical fiction and fantasy with the retelling of the Arthurian legend in a very plausible way, without a whole lot of romantic nonsense—there are love stories within the story, but it’s primarily a tale of war, greed, and hunger for power, which makes it (in my opinion) a much more likely scenario than the fairy tale type Arthur stories. I particularly enjoyed Cornwell’s treatment of Arthur’s “Round Table.” LOL It’s impossible to begin to talk about this book very much without giving away too much. I can only advise anyone who enjoys Arthurian legends to check this series out—it truly is excellent and has a place firmly on my Keeper shelf. A+

Cheryl

AUGUST 2007 READING LIST

1. DEATH OF A TRAVELLING MAN by M.C. Beaton. #9 in the Hamish MacBeth cozy Scottish police procedural series in which a pair of “travelers” show up in an old converted bus in Lochdubh and Hamish immediately senses something amiss. Ruggedly handsome Sean and his scrawny girlfriend Cheryl seem to have brought nothing but ill will with them, though there’s nothing specific that Hamish can arrest them for, nor even hassle them about. None of the villagers will have anything bad to say about the pair—until Sean ends up with his head bashed in in the bus. And Hamish has enough on his plate, as he’s been promoted to Sergeant and how has a PC, Willie, who stays at the police station with him. Willie is a cleaning fanatic and is driving Hamish mad! Enjoyable read and as always a visit with Hamish is sure to put a smile on my face. A.

2. DEATH OF A MUSKATEER by Sarah D’Almeida. First in a historical mystery series featuring the musketeers, loosely based on the characters from Alexander Dumas’ book set in seventeeth-century France. When the three inseparable Musketeers and D’Artagnan stumble upon the body of a dead woman who greatly resembles the Queen dressed in Musketeer costume, they undertake to solve her murder and find themselves embroiled in a scurrilous political plot possibly involving some of the most powerful men in the country. I really enjoyed this book, although admittedly I don’t recall much in the way of details about Dumas’ original work so don’t really know how many liberties the author took with her story. I enjoyed it for what it was—a rollicking historical mystery, and didn’t figure out the mystery til close to the end. Looking for more! A.

3. A HARVEST OF BONES by Yasmine Galenorn. #4 in the Chintz n China cozy mystical mystery series featuring Emerald O’Brien, a tarot reader and tea shop owner. This is one of those series that I was dubious about when I started reading them but have enjoyed each successive book more and am glad I took a chance on the first one. When Joe buys the lot next to Emerald’s house and they begin clearing away decades’ worth of brambles and undergrowth, they discover the foundation of an old house. Emerald immediately gets some bad vibes coming from the place and when their cat Samantha disappears, she wonders just what they’ve unearthed. Research reveals that the house burned down fifty years before but no one died in the incident—so where is the malevolent spirit coming from? Em is once again embroiled in a battle of not only bad spirits, but some not-too-nice living and breathing humans too. Enjoyable! A.

4. THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA by Scott Lynch. First in the Gentlemen Bastards fantasy series. It’s a bit like a swashbuckling pirate tale set in a unique and interesting fantasy world, and the story hooked me in right from the get-go. This is the story of Locke Lamora, an orphan boy who learned to survive on the mean streets of Camorra, was then trained as a thief by the Thiefmaker, sold to Father Chains and trained even further—Locke is now a member of the Gentlemen Bastards, an elite group of thieves who do their dirty deeds on a much larger scale. Ever plotting and scheming to achieve the big score, it’s the game that keeps the Bastards going—the money they steal is secondary. At what point will Locke and his pals be in over their heads? I really, REALLY enjoyed this book! There is quite a lot of graphic violence and cussing, just as a warning for those who don’t care for that sort of thing. The characters all felt very real to me, and had me rooting for them right from the beginning. Where’s the next one? This one stays on my Keeper shelf! A+

5. DRESSED FOR DEATH by Donna Leon. Third in the Commissario Guido Brunetti Italian police procedural series. When a man dressed in women’s clothing is found in an area frequented by prostitutes in a smaller city near Venice, Guido is sent to investigate due to a staffing shortage in that district. With his vacation just on the horizon, Guido ends up having to send Paola and the children off to the mountains without him, while he slogs away in the oppressive heat and humidity of a Venice summer hunting for clues. As usual, some influential people end up mixed up in the mess that becomes the investigation and Guido has to tread on a few toes along the path to the solution. I really enjoy everything about this series—the author’s writing style, the atmosphere she paints, and her characters, too. Excellent! A.

6. THE CURSE OF THE PHAROAHS by Elizabeth Peters (audio book). Second in the Amelia Peabody historical mystery series, I decided to give this a try by listening to it rather than reading, as I really didn’t care for the first one that I read and someone in some group suggested I try listening to it. At first, it went well—this is actually the first audio book I’ve ever listened to, and I’d been concerned about not being able to concentrate on either the book or whatever else I was doing, but that part was fine. After the first half of the book (about 5 hours of listening time,) I found myself just as annoyed with the overbearing, pompous Peabody’s character and her frequent descriptions of her darling Emerson’s superb physique (not to mention his snarling, nasty disposition!) as I had been when I read the other book…I did finish it as I wanted to see if I’d guessed correctly as to who was the bad guy (I was) but the last couple of hours were almost torture. I couldn’t even skim to the end! LOL So while I definitely will try more audio books in future, it will NOT be of this series. I’m done with it! C.

7. THE JOYS OF ENGRISH by Steve Caires. Actually more of a picture book of t-shirts, signs, etc. in Japan with mutilated English phrases. Fans of the website “Engrish.com” will love this, as I did. You can’t help but laugh! The only downfall is that the book is too darned short! B+

8. BANGKOK TATTOO by John Burdett. Second in the Sonchai Jitpleecheep police series set in Bangkok, Thailand. Very rough and gritty look at the sleazier side of Bangkok. Sonchai, aside from being a policeman, is also one of the major interest-holders in a whorehouse called The Old Man’s Club and an avid Buddhist. The son of the whoremistress at the Club and an unknown American GI, Sonchai’s view of Western Civilization and Christianity can be quite scathing at times—although, to be honest, most of the time I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with him. Flag-waving, church-going patriots are most likely not going to be fans of this book. LOL Anyway, the mystery begins when one of the Club’s girls, Chanya, runs into the bar of the club covered in blood and stoned out of her mind. What Sonchai finds when he goes back to her customer’s hotel room is a dead American, gutted stem to stern with his penis whacked off and sitting on the bediside table. Later it’s discovered that he’s a CIA operative. Oh-oh. Yeah. LOL Great book—not for the faint of heart, but I’m definitely looking forward to the next one—when Sonchai most probably gets to meet his now-located American father. A+

9. UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. First of a teen fantasy trilogy sent in a future world where everyone is given an operation and turned pretty at the age of sixteen. Since we humans apparently hadn’t learned our lesson and our civilization as we know it crumbled because of wars started based on differences between us, the powers that be have decided that everyone should be alike. The operation, based on years of scientific research, gives everyone a perfect, symmetrical face, shiny white teeth, sparkling eyes and a toned, trim body. Gone are the little (and big!) imperfections and variations that make us unique. Of course, there are always going to be rebels out there, and Tally Youngblood meets one of them, a girl named Shay who shares her birthday. As they get to become friends, Tally, who is very much looking forward to turning from an Ugly (read: normal) into a Pretty, soon realizes that Shay isn’t so excited about the operation. When she runs away a week before their birthday, Tally is worried about her—but not worried enough to jeopardize her own operation. Excellent start to a series that I’m very much looking forward to continuing; fiction with a bit of a conscience that gives all of us—teens and adults—something to think about. A+

10. POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder. First of a fantasy series featuring Yelena, a young woman convicted of murdering the son of a nobleman. Yelena is given a reprieve—a choice—to be hanged, or to be trained as the Commander’s (the country’s leader) food taster. While admitting her guilt in the murder, Yelena wants to live and grasps at the chance. Trained in the art of poisoning and foot tasting by Yalek, the right-hand man of the Commander, Yelena is given a deadly poison called My Love which, if she survives, requires a daily dose of antidote to fend of a slow, painful, two-day death. She survives and goes on to complete her training and is introduced to a world of political intrigue, petty jealousies and soon learns that it’s best not to trust anyone. Another excellent first in series with an somewhat unique premise, a well-fleshed and interesting main character with diverse supporting cast; and another series I am looking forward to continuing on. A+

11. SET IN DARKNESS by Ian Rankin. Twelfth in the Inspector Rebus series set in Edinburgh, Scotland. When a body is found stuffed in the fireplace of a building being renovated to accommodate the new Scottish Parliament, Rebus and Derek Linford, a snotty up-and-comer from Fettes station, are assigned to the case as they were on a liason committee that was touring on site when the body was found. The body has apparently been there for approximately 20 years or so, but when a much fresher body turns up, Rebus tries to connect the cases by heading off on his usual wild goose chase while Linford chooses more conventional solutions as he looks to ride the promotion train. Meanwhile, Siobahn deals with the suicide of a homeless man who surprisingly turns out to have a bank account with a large sum of money in it. Quite enjoyable, back on track after the last book in the series which I felt wasn’t up to par. I have to admit I was cheesed off by the ending though—not going to say anything as it would be a big spoiler. B+

12. FACE DOWN BELOW THE BANQUETING HOUSE by Kathy Lynn Emerson. Eighth in the Lady Susanna Appleteon historical mystery series, featuring noblewoman and herbalist set in Elizabethan England. Queen Elizabeth is traveling around Kent, and wherever she goes, she will appropriate the homes of her subjects to house her and her staff. She sends an ‘advance team’ to scout out which homes are suitable and make necessary changes. When Brian Tymberly and his servant Carter come to Leigh Abbey and come to the conclusion that “it will do” for a visit from Her Majesty, Lady Susanna reluctantly cooperates with the necessary adjustments. When a banqueting house is built in a large, beautiful oak tree on the property, she inwardly cringes, but when the body of Carter is found beneath it, her sleuthing instincts take over. Murder? Accident? There’s no way to tell for sure, though as information comes to light that Tymberly and Carter are blackmailers, just about everyone at Leigh Abbey and in the village seems to have a motive for getting rid of the nasty man. Enjoyable entry in the series, and as always, a light and fluffy visit to Elizabethan England. A-

13. IDENTICAL STRANGERS: A MEMOIR OF TWINS SEPARATED AND REUNITED by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein. ARC for review. At age 35, one of these identical twins learns for the first time that she has a twin sister. Adopted out as an infant, she has never been very interested in finding out about her birth mother or biological family, but once she knows she has a twin sister out there, things change and she sets out to find her. And find her she does! The twins find out that they started out as part of an identical twin study on nature vs. nurture that was sanctioned by the adoption agency their parents dealt with. And neither set of parents were told that the girl they adopted was a twin! Heart-wrenching at times, full of love and hope at others, the book goes back and forth between the points of view of each of the sisters as they travel along their journey of getting to know a sister neither knew she had. Although the writing is a bit amateurish at times, this is a compelling story, worth reading whether you have an interest in adoption, twins or none of the above. B.

14. MURDER SHOOTS THE BULL by Anne George. Sixth “Southern Sisters” cozy mystery set in Birmingham, Alabama and featuring two sixty-something sisters, Patricia Anne (Mouse) and Mary Alice (Sister.) This book sees Patricia Anne’s neighbor and good friend Mitzi pulled into a murder investigation when her husband Arthur is accused of killing his first wife, Sophie. Sophie had recently returned to town and had some chronic medical problems. She had changed her will to name Arthur executor just two days before she was poisoned—while eating lunch with him. Sister and Mouse just happened to be in the Hunan Hut at the same time and are drawn into the whole mystery as usual. Enjoyable visit to Birmingham as usual, and it saddens me to know the series only has two more books to go. A.

15. THE NICHOLAS FEAST by Pat McIntosh. Second in the Gil Cunningham historical mystery series set in 15th century Glasgow, Scotland. When a student at Glasgow University ends up murdered during the Nicholas Feast celebration, the Dean asks Gil to investigate—and since the boy was a Montgomery, a family at odds with the Cunninghams, it promises to be an interesting task, even though William was a bastard child. When it’s learned he had a penchant for extortion, the suspect list grows longer and longer and includes most of the faculty, fellow students and even the servants. However, when Gil realizes that those with the strongest motive had no opportunity, and those with opportunity no motive, he knows that someone’s lying and sets out to find the culprit with the help of his betrothed, Alys, and his future father-in-law, Peter Mason. A couple of finely placed red herrings had me fooled for most of the book, and I enjoyed the setting and the main characters were interesting and well-fleshed, too. Well done and looking for the next in series. A.

16. AROMATHERAPY FOR WOMEN by Maggie Tisserand. An older book with simple recipes for various things, focusing mainly on “women’s complaints” and gives information about how to do different aromatic baths, massage oils, and gives good, basic information about the properties of various essential oils—which ones are energizing, which are relaxing, etc. I found the way the book was laid out handy and easy to use—it was easy for me to skim/skip chapters relating to things I wasn’t interested in such as labor and delivery, post-partum recipes and the use of essential oils with young children, for example. This one will stay on my reference shelf and I’d recommend it as a quick, basic guide. B+

17. SHADOWS AT THE FAIR by Lea Wait. First in the Maggie Summers “antique print” cozy mystery series set on the east coast. Maggie is a college professor but also has an antique prints business called Shadows on the side. She does the antique show circuit, mostly during the summer months, and this story takes place at one such show. When one of her fellow dealers ends up murdered and her good friend Gussie’s nephew Ben, who has Down’s Syndrome, is accused of the crime, Maggie knows she needs to look more deeply at the situation than the police seem to be doing and sets out to ask a few questions of her own to clear Ben’s name. I figured out the bad guy way ahead of time and after a few clues were dropped, even figured out the motive well before the end of the book, too. This was an okay first entry in a series. I liked Maggie well enough, though I felt she rather two-dimensional. The dialogue was kind of stilted and didn’t seem very realistic, and the whole package just didn’t “jive” very well—something was “off.” I did enjoy learning about antique prints and the whole “antiques fair circuit” but it really wasn’t enough to maintain my interest; I highly doubt I’ll continue reading more in the series. C+

18. GOBLIN QUEST by Jim C. Hines. First in a series featuring Jig the Goblin, one of “the other guys” in most fantasy novels. Scrawny, nearsighted and cowardly, Jig is content to do muck duty, never really aspiring to go on adventures and be a hero. However, he is thrust into that role when Porak, leader of a pack of swaggering goblin bullies, makes Jig go on patrol and do the work while he and his cronies sit and gamble. When Jig encounters a couple of humans, a dwarf and and elf, he runs back to tell the others, but no one believes him and the rest all end up slaughtered. Jig then ends up as the unwilling guide for the ‘foreigners’ through the tunnels of his underground world on an expedition to find the Rod of Creation, which is guarded by a Necromancer and a ferocious dragon. Along the way, many of Jig’s preconceived notions about other races fall by the wayside, and the others learn that not everything you hear about Goblins is true, either. Great light fantasy read with a wonderful main character and good supporting cast. Easy-to-read writing style, plenty of humor (some subtle and some not-so-subtle!) and an overall excellent read. Will be getting to the next in series sooner rather than later, methinks! A.


DNF: THE LAST CATO by Matilde Ascensi, TIGANA by Guy Gavriel Kay, IN THE HAND OF DANTE by Nick Tosches, and THE TREASURE OF MONT SEGUR: A NOVEL OF THE CATHARS by Sophie Burnham and CANDLEMASS ROAD by George MacDonald Fraser. Was just not able to get interested in any of them...the situation, the main character, or the author's writing style just couldn't get me to care enough to carry on beyond my 50-page rule.


Cheryl

JULY 2007 READING

1.BLEEDING HEARTS by Susan Wittig Albert. #14 in the China Bayles ‘herbal’ mystery series set in the hill country of Texas in fictional Pecan Springs. This book takes on the issue of the importance of high school football in Texas, where coaches and players are gods and reign supreme and anyone standing in their way are bugs to be squashed. When an official at the local school receives an anonymous tip that the current Pecan Springs coach has a ‘thing’ for teenage girls, she asks China to investigate on the sly and see if she can come up with any concrete evidence before the Golden Boy is accused openly—which could get very messy. China begins looking into things, and also discovers some disturbing information about her own past via some letters discovered when her father’s secretary passes on. An enjoyable visit to Pecan Springs with China, Ruby, McQuaid and the gang. A.

2. DEATH OF A COLONIAL by Bruce Alexander. #6 in the Sir John Fielding historical mystery series set around the Bow Street Court in late 1700’s London. Sir John is commissioned to investigate a claimant to the estate of a very wealthy nobleman—an estate that was left without heir because the previous owner was sent to the gallows by Sir John himself. It’s suspected that the claimant is a false one—a long lost brother who has not been seen nor heard from, having disappeared to the American Colonies eight years previous. Sir John and his sixteen-year-old assistant, Jeremy (from whose POV the stories are told) and the rest of the family are off to Bath to interview the mother of the supposed claimant and then things start to get interesting. This was a typically interesting, enjoyable visit back in time and with well-loved and well-fleshed characters. A.

3. IN THE GARDEN OF IDEN by Kage Baker. First in the fantasy/time travel/sci-fi series featuring The Company, this book tells the story of Botanist Mendoza, one of the immortals sent back in time to England during the reign of Bloody Mary. A nobleman in Kent has a small garden where he collects rare plants—plants which will eventually become extinct, and which The Company wishes Mendoza to collect samples from and replicate so that sometime in the future they can be reintroduced to nature. This is what The Company does. What they do not count on is nineteen-year-old Mendoza falling in love with the assistant at the gardens. This is her first “assignment” and while she’s been assured that it’s fine to have sex with mortals, getting really involved with them can be messy. Which it assuredly turns out to be in this case. This book smashes genre classification—it’s wonderful historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, time travel with a little romance, too—and the romance was well-done, else I’d not have tolerated it. LOL What a totally bizarre and interesting premise for a series! Well-written, interesting characters, an appealing writing style and very difficult to put down. Will definitely be looking for more in the series. A+

4. SHIP OF DESTINY by Robin Hobb. Third and final entry in the Liveship Traders trilogy, this book was somewhat painful to read on many levels, because I knew I’d be saying goodbye to these well-loved characters. I did like the way it ended, though, so I can’t complain, even though the ride there was sometimes heart-breaking and tumultuous. I can’t begin to explain all the different relationships, family and political ties and mystical creatures in this book so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say, if you liked the first two books, you’re gonna love this one! A+

5.THE HANGING VALLEY by Peter Robinson. #4 in the Chief Inspector Alan Banks series set in the Yorkshire Dales. When a hiker discovers a partially decomposed body in an idyllic little valley near a small village, the first task is to identify it. Once that’s done, trying to find a motive for the murder becomes Banks’ main concern, though it’s not easy wresting clues from the closed-mouth villagers. When the identity is discovered, Banks believes the death is related to a previously unsolved murder case that took place six years previously, before he arrived in Eastvale, and he sets out to tie everything together, even going so far as a trip out of the country to Toronto, Canada, to follow his nose. As usual, he first looks in the wrong direction, though I figured out the bad guy fairly early myself. I enjoyed this entry in the series much more than the last one. A.

6. SWEET SILVER BLUES by Glen Cook. First in the Garrett Files series, which is a genre-bending series featuring a hard-boiled PI in a fantasy world with gnomes, elves, dwarves and other strange cross-breeds. Garrett is a human. He is awakened early one morning by a family of short people whose brother/son was an old army buddy of Garrett’s. They ask him to look into his death—well, not so much his death, which seems to have been an accident, but to find out why he left everything—which is a questionably obtained horde of silver they found hidden in the basement—to a woman they don’t know. The law stipulates that she be contacted to see if she is able to or wants to claim the estate. This woman just happens to be an old love of Garrett’s, so naturally he’s intrigued and sets out to look into it. The woman lives in a war-torn region and is apparently married to someone else and finding her proves most difficult and dangerous. Interesting premise, interesting characters, and mostly enjoyable though I found it a little heavy on the violence and beer swilling and a little light on character development and details. Given that this is the first one, written a number of years ago, I’m willing to continue reading at least another book or two and see if things get better. B-

7. DON’T LOOK BACK by Karin Fossum. First in the Inspector Seijer series set in Norway. Actually, it’s the second in series, but the first one hasn’t been translated to the English yet. The book opens with a scene featuring a six-year-old girl getting into a van with a strange man. You’re thinking—oh no! A serial killer after kids. But a few pages later, the girl is safely home, and Inspector Seijer is investigating the death of a fifteen-year-old in the same village, found peacefully dead on the shore of a small lake. Full of unexpected twists and turns, the only thing predictable about this Scandinavian police procedural is the taciturn nature of the main character. Do Scandinavians have any personality aside from stodgy, quiet and prone to melancholia? Don’t get me wrong—I actually enjoyed this book a lot! I just felt that somehow the real “feelings” of Konrad Seijer didn’t come through very well on the page. We were told how he was feeling, but it didn’t ‘show’ if you know what I mean. I did figure the mystery out ahead of the reveal, despite a couple of tricky red herrings. I’ve got the next in series by this author on my TBR and will definitely read more, but not when I’m looking for a light, lively read. B+

8. THE WHEELMAN by Duane Swierczynski. Hard-boiled mystery type book about a bank robbery and how Murphy’s Law gets its claws into the whole operation and not only rips it to shreds but gives it a few twists, too. Focuses primarily on the story of Lennon, the wheelman (getaway driver) for a bank job done in downtown Philadelphia. The heist was well-planned and the parties were professionals, so what went wrong? Obviously, someone sold them out. At least one someone, if not more. Fast-paced, violent, with just enough sick and twisted humor to appeal to those who enjoy sick and twisted (like me), the book was hard to put down. Several of the plot twists I didn’t see coming, but I did anticipate some of them. Will definitely be reading more by this author! A.

9. CHAINS OF FOLLY by Roberta Gellis. Fourth (and so far, last) of the Magdalene la Batarde historical mystery series set in medieval England and featuring a whorehouse mistress as the main character. When a whore is found dead and propped up in the Bishop of Winchester’s dining chair, the bishop sets Sir Bellamy to finding who wished to besmirch his character and why. Set with the backdrop of the recent ascendancy of King Stephen (the bishop’s brother) to the throne of England, political plots abound. Bell seeks Magdalene’s help and both of them remain somewhat tortured trying to sort out the nature of their relationship and their feelings for one another. But they manage to set this aside and work to solve the bishop’s mystery. Enjoyable trek back in time, though the mystery was quite easily solvable. B+

10. THE MAGICKAL LIFE: A WICCAN PRIESTESS SHARES HER SECRETS by Vivianne Crowley. An interesting book that touched on many different areas of magickal practice without going terribly in depth into any of them. I can’t say that I learned any big, deep ‘secrets’ or read much that I hadn’t read or heard elsewhere before, but it is a good reference book with some simple rituals outlined, recipes for various incenses and oils, correspondences, etc. Also gave much practical advice for living. I liked the author’s writing style and her practical approach to life and magick. This one will stay on my reference shelf. A.

11. THE WYNDHAM CASE by Jill Paton Walsh. First in a British mystery series featuring Imogen Quy, the college nurse for St. Agatha’s college at Cambridge. This was a new-to-me author, and despite finding the main character a bit stodgy and the writing style a bit formal and stuffy, I actually devoured this book in one evening. Well-plotted, wonderful descriptions, and over the course of the book I did warm up to the main character eventually. When one of the students is found dead inside the locked Wyndham Library at the college, speculation begins as to whether he was murdered or it was an accident. Aside from his head injury, which appears to have happened in a fall, there was no initial evidence of foul play. But how did he get into the library in the first place? The students are being decidedly uncooperative with the police, and Imogen’s friend, DS Mike Parsons, asks her to see if she can influence them to be more forthcoming with information. I actually did figure the mystery out fairly early, but I wasn’t sure enough of my deduction and wanted to read to the end to find out. Definitely want to read more! A.

12. THE NIGHTINGALE GALLERY by Paul Harding. First of the Brother Athelstan medieval mysteries. Athelstan is a Dominican friar set to assist Sir John, the corpulent coroner of London; this is more or less a punishment for him due to a disgrace from his past. Regardless of what name he writes under, or what series I’ve tried, I have been finding P.C. Doherty/Paul Harding’s historical mysteries a bit slow-going. While I like the premise for his characters, I find them not very well developed. But think it’s something about his writing style that puts me off more than anything. I can’t even say what it is—but it’s—well, I guess it’s boring, because I find my mind wandering when I try to read his books. They’re always slim little volumes and yet it takes me ages to get through them because I’m forever having to re-read parts. This one was no exception. I do like the grittiness of his books, the realistic descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of medieval London, but I do believe I’m going to set anything by Mr. Doherty/Harding aside for the time being as this has been a universal reaction to his books regardless of what series it’s in, and this is the fourth series of his that I’ve tried. I did finish this, but it took awhile and when I was done, I felt like my time could have been better spent elsewhere. C.

13. AGATHA RAISIN AND THE DAY THE FLOODS CAME by M.C. Beaton. Twelfth in the series set in the village of Carsely in the Cotswolds and featuring amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin. In this book, Agatha takes an extended holiday to Robinson Crusoe Island and begins to work through her disappointment over her failed marriage. When she returns to the village, rain and flooding await, and when Agatha sees the body of a young girl she’d encountered at her beauty parlor a few days previously floating down the bloated river, she has a new mystery to occupy her time. As usual, she runs afoul of the police, who admonish her to leave the detecting to the professionals. A new neighbor moves into James’ old cottage next door, and he’s a detective fiction writer. Agatha staunchly makes up her mind to be totally uninterested romantically, but accepts his friendly offer to help her investigate. A typical enjoyable light read in this series, and I did not guess the killer until close to the end which was a nice surprise. A-.

14. EXODUS FROM OBESITY by Paula F. Peck. Book detailing the author’s journey before and after gastric bypass surgery with tips and hints for each stage of the journey from pre-op to years post-op. I was not very impressed with the book, to be honest. The author’s writing style is rather boring, and much of the advice in it is very basic and in some cases even condescending. I also felt that some of it was not very good advice, based on what I’ve learned from years of my own research and experience. She makes a lot of assumptions that everyone who is morbidly obese and/or has the surgery does so for similar reasons and has the same problems. I guess I just could not relate to much of her own personal story and felt that it was too simplistic to be very beneficial. Perhaps if I had read it pre-op instead of eight months after my own surgery I might have felt differently, but for someone who’s already gone through most of the process, much of the advice and observations just didn’t ring true. C.

15. THE GOOD FAIRIES OF NEW YORK by Martin Millar. Fantasy tale about fairies—beginning with two exiled Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag—who make their way to New York. Eventually the book encompasses the stories of several fairy clans both across the pond and in NY itself, with bits on the Isle of Skye to Cornwall to Ireland and different neighborhoods of New York. Some interesting humans pepper the story as well—Kerry, a young hippie-ish woman with severe Crohn’s disease and a colostomy whom Morag befriends; Dinnie, an overweight, bigoted layabout whom Heather takes on as an improvement project since, like herself, he is a MacKintosh; and Magenta, a thirty-something mentally ill bag lady who has delusions that she is the captain of a mighty Greek army. Witty, funny and yet poignant with interesting characters and an interesting ‘world,’ I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It’s written in an easy reading style and sometimes the humor sneaks up on you and makes you laugh out loud. A.

16. THE TROUBLE WITH WITCHES by Shirley Damsgaard. Third in the Ophelia and Abby series featuring Ophelia, a small-town librarian and witch/psychic and her grandmother, Abby, also a witch. This book moves from their home in Iowa to a secluded lake in Minnesota where O & A have gone to investigate the disappearance of the daughter of a friend of reporter Rick Delaney at his request. She was last known to be associated with a group of people doing psychic investigations and Abby’s intuition tells her that she and Ophelia need to be there. Staying in a cabin on the lake where PSI, the group involved, lives, Abby and Ophelia begin to pick up some strange vibes from the moment they arrive, as well as a host of interesting characters. I did pinpoint the bad guy very early on (maybe I’m psychic? LOL) but still enjoyed the story and have enjoyed getting to know the recurring characters better with each book. The next one definitely looks interesting, which you’ll understand when you get to the ending of this one—bit of a surprise, that! A.

17. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by J.K. Rowling. Seventh and final HP book, ended the series well, I thought. Not much to be said without giving away spoilers, so I won’t say anything except well done! A+.

18. THE WENCH IS DEAD by Colin Dexter. Eighth in the Chief Inspector Morse series set in Oxford, UK. This one has Morse laid up in hospital with a bleeding ulcer as he reads a mystery given to him by the wife of a ward-mate who has died. Not having any real mysteries to ponder, Morse attempts to solve the mystery in the book, a hundred and twenty year old case centering around the Oxford canal, certain that the judge and jury acted too hastily and wrongly in convicting several members of a crew on a river boat of murdering one of their female passengers. Enjoyable read, as are all the Morse books; liking them just as much this time around as I make my way through a re-read of the series. A.

19. THE BROTHERS OF GLASTONBURY by Kate Sedley. #7 in the Roger the Chapman medieval mystery series, this one set in and around Glastonbury. Roger is asked by the Duke of Clarence to escort a young girl—the daughter of one of his knights—to the home of her betrothed in Glastonbury when her fiancée doesn’t show up to escort her as planned. Upon arriving at the family home, it’s discovered that the betrothed, Peter Gildersleeve, has disappeared—vanished, quite literally, into thin air. With the household in an uproar, Roger has one of his dreams/visions that entice him into staying and trying to solve the mystery of Peter’s disappearance. When his brother Mark also vanishes a few days later, Roger steps his efforts into high gear and of course later solves the case. One of my very favorite series, though the mysteries are usually fairly easy to figure out. The period detail and Roger’s “voice” make this series special for me. A.

20. DEATH ON WASHINGTON SQUARE by Victoria Thompson. #4 in the “gaslight” mystery series set in early 1900’s New York and featuring Sarah Brandt, a young widow and midwife. In this book, Sarah’s friend and neighbor Mrs. Ellsworth’s son Nelson is accused of murdering a young woman. Sarah and Detective Sergeant Malloy work to prove that he didn’t, and as they investigate, bits of interesting information about the woman come to light. As with many cozier mysteries, the actual mystery isn’t too hard to figure out here; the strength of the series is in the characters and the period descriptions. Enjoyable, light read as the others have been. A.

DNF'd (DID NOT FINISH) for July

THE SEVEN SISTERS BY MARGARET DRABBLE (yawn)

DEATH BY MISADVENTURE by Kerry Greenwood (yawn)

MOO by Jane Smiley (yawn)

CANDLEMASS ROAD by George MacDonald Fraser (what? yawn)

PATTERNMASTER by Octavia Butler (again, yawn)

Cheryl

JUNE 2007 READING

1. A BLUSH WITH DEATH by India Ink. #2 in the Persia Vanderbilt “Bath and Body” cozy mysteries set on an island in Puget Sound. Persia and her aunt Florence have suddenly been having fierce competition from Bebe’s Botique, as the ruthless owner, Bebe Wilcox, sets out to close down Venus Envy and make a real name for herself in the scent and cosmetic business. She’ll stop at nothing, pulling all sorts of dirty tricks and starting false, malicious rumors about Persia and Florence’s shop and products. When someone sprays insecticide all over their organic rose gardens, Persia and Florence stage a falling out so that Persia can accept a job offer she’s received from Bebe to infiltrate their company and find evidence about the dirty dealings. When one of Bebe’s top sales associates ends up dead, they wonder about how sensible their plan is. Still, with Persia on the suspect list, they know they need some evidence to save their struggling company, so they follow through with the plan. This was an okay, light read…I didn’t like it as well as the first one and judging from the ending of this book, the next one will be taking a turn for the romancey side. Ugh! Some of what took place just seemed a bit too fantastical and unrealistic and there seemed to be more focus on clothes, makeup, etc. in this one—which I suppose is only natural given the subject matter! But I think I may just stop here in the series and save myself some future agony. LOL B-.

2. IN THE COMPANY OF CHEERFUL LADIES by Alexander McCall Smith. #6 in the very cozy “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series set in Botswana, Africa. Though this series is definitely not heavy on the ‘mystery’ I love it, and each visit to Precious Ramotswe’s world always leaves me feeling refreshed and hopeful. In this episode, there are issues with an intruder hiding under Mma Ramotswe’s bed, one of the apprentices at Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s garage quitting and getting involved with a rich older woman, Mma Ramotswe’s first husband Note, a cruel and abusive jazz musician who has been away in Johannesburg, making a return visit to Gabarone, and Mma Makutsi taking dancing lessons. Enjoyable as always and hard to put down once you start one. A.

3. A DARK NIGHT HIDDEN by Alys Clare. #6 in the Hawkenlye Abbey historical mystery series set in 1190’s Kent, England. Features Abbess Helewise of the aforementioned Abbey, as well as Sir Josse d’Acquin, knight and retainer to King Richard, who in this book has just been captured and imprisoned. When a woman who is near death is brought to the Abbey’s infirmary as a result of wounds inflicted during a flogging and branding, and the new, fanatical stand-in priest for the Abbey is found with his neck broken, Josse and Helewise both struggle with questions of loyalty to church, country and self, especially when it’s learned that the injured woman is a Cathar, a member of a heretical sect, who was punished by the aforementioned priest before he died. As usual, a great visit to 12^th century England and a good look into some of the issues at hand during that time. A.

4. THE BRIGHT SILVER STAR by David Handler. #3 in the Berger and Mitry mystery series featuring pudgy Jewish movie reviewer Mitch Berger and his girlfriend, black and bodacious cop and artist Desiree Mitry. Des and Mitch have settled into their relationship and Des is getting used to being a small-town resident trooper rather than a homicide detective. But murder visits Dorset again when Tito, the famous movie star son-in-law of one of the town’s founding fathers, is found dead at the base of a waterfall in a nearby state park. At first thought to be a suicide, it’s obvious from the crime scene that things just don’t add up. Tito had plenty of enemies, including many jealous husbands and boyfriends, and even Mitch makes a passing visit to the suspect list because Tito publicly attacked him after Mitch panned his latest film. So who dunnit? I actually didn’t guess til the end—there were plenty of plausible red herrings, but it wasn’t until a second killing that I began to lean towards one particular character and was right. I have enjoyed each entry in the series more than the last one. I get a kick out of this quirky couple and like both of them, and secondary characters also seem to be well-fleshed. A.

5. WICKED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST by Gregory Maguire. Fairy tale retelling, interesting reading and silly at times, but like the other Maguire book I’ve read before (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister) I found it to be a bit slow and draggy in spots, and my attention wandered. Definitely not as good as all the hype had me hoping for. Still, I found the speculation as to the origins of Glinda and Elphaba (and her dead sister and the ruby—actually silver—slippers) from L. Frank Baum’s tale quite interesting and amusing, as were the political machinations that got the Wizard where was. Maguire certainly has an imagination! I’d like to see the Broadway production of this, though—I bet that would be something! B-.

6. DEATH OF A GLUTTON by M.C. Beaton. #8 Hamish MacBeth cozy police series set in Lochdubh, Scotland. When the hotel run by Colonel Halburton-Smythe hosts a singles-looking-for-marriage group, things turn sour for Maria, the head of the group, when her mostly-silent partner Peta shows up. Peta is a glutton, eats huge amounts of food with loud slurping noises and puts everyone in the group off. When she turns up near the old gravel pit, dead with an apple stuffed in her mouth like a suckling pig, the problem becomes narrowing the suspect list down. Hamish, as usual, manages that feat and outshines his bosses who all want the ‘quick fix’ solution. Not quite as enjoyable as recent books in this series have been. B-

7. DREAMING OF THE BONES by Deborah Crombie. #5 Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Scotland Yard mystery. When Duncan receives a call from his ex-wife Victoria, whom he hasn’t seen in over ten years, he wonders what’s up. Vic is a Cambridge University professor and is also writing a biography of a semi-famous Cambridge poet, Lydia, who committed suicide five years previously. After examining Lydia’s papers, Vic begins to wonder if her death was indeed a suicide and has decided to contact Duncan to get his opinion and to see if he can gain access to the police reports from the time of her death. When Vic herself ends up dead a short time later, Duncan’s uneasy feeling about the earlier case are solidified and he vows to stop at nothing to find Vic’s killer, too—and Gemma steps in to assist. I can’t believe how much I’ve come to enjoy this series. Very rarely do I finish a book in a series and want to move immediately to the next one to see what happens next, but I do feel that way with this series. I generally hold myself back though—heaven forbid I make it through them all too quickly and then have to WAIT for the next one! LOL A+

8. THRONE OF JADE by Naomi Novik. #2 in the Temeraire fantasy series, which is sort of alternative history, too—set during the Napoleonic wars with the added feature of having dragons exist—as weapons of war! I have to say I didn’t like this book as well as the first in series—I suspect because I am not real big on naval battles/naval war history, and this book took place almost exclusively on a dragon transport ship as Laurence and Temeraire are being escorted back to China. Since Temeraire is a Chinese Celestial dragon, the Chinese Emperor has demanded his return to the native country and Laurence accompanies her, certain that he will be forcibly parted from his partner at voyage’s end. I still enjoyed the book—it’s rare that a book with dragons doesn’t enthrall me—and will definitely read the next in series…it’s just that the descriptions of the ship and all that sailor/naval stuff left me a bit cold. B+

9. VITAL LIES by Ellen Hart. Second in the Jane Lawless series. Jane is a restaurant owner and a lesbian, living in Minneapolis. When she’s invited to spend the Christmas holiday at an old Victorian inn owned by an old friend in a small town in the country, she’s looking forward to getting away from the hustle and bustle for a few days. Needless to say, that doesn’t happen! Someone wants the inn’s owner to sell up, and is playing malicious pranks to drive the customers away. When one of these leads to a death, Jane knows it’s gotten serious and does her best to find who is harassing her friend Leigh. I enjoyed this book more than the first one as the characters become more fleshed out, and I didn’t guess the bad guy either, though I did figure out some of the mini-mysteries that were embedded in the storyline. Excellent stuff, will be looking for more! A.

10. MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Franklin. I believe this is the first in a new series of historical mysteries featuring Adelia, a female physician trained at Salerno, where such things as autopsies and female doctors were allowed. She is sent by the King of Sicily to investigate the serial murders of several children in Cambridge UK in the year 1137 along with two companions—Simon, an expert investigator, and Mansur, a large Arab man who poses as the doctor (with Adelia as his assistant—which would have been acceptable in England at that time.) Henry II has also commissioned one of his tax collectors to find the murderer before the English people rise up and demand that all Jews be expelled from England, as they are presently being blamed for the deaths. King Henry needs the Jews’ income on his tax rolls and thus can’t let that happen. Adelia uses crude forensic techniques to discover clues and soon the suspect list is narrowed down. What she doesn’t count on is being attracted to one of her suspects—she, avowed to celibacy, sworn to be a doctor first and foremost above all. While the mystery itself wasn’t too hard to figure out, certain aspects of it were surprising. I really enjoyed this book, which is set my favorite time period, and I already feel like I know many of the characters—Adelia as well as the peripheral characters—and do hope it becomes a series! A.

11. CUT by Patricia McCormick. A slim little volume told from the POV of Callie, a teenage girl who’s been sent to Sea Pines, a mental health treatment facility because she cuts herself. At first, Callie doesn’t speak at all, to anyone, and the narrative describes flashbacks from her life ‘outside’ and descriptions of the facility and other guests there. It then moves into the part where she begins to ask for help and works things through with her psychiatrist and the staff. Having worked in an inpatient mental health unit, I have to say her observations are so spot-on that it’s easy to see that the author spent three years researching the book. Of course, I’ve never seen the inside of such a facility as a patient, so it would be interesting to know how it passes muster from THAT perspective. Still, this is an excellent book, although to say I “enjoyed” it would be not exactly accurate—it’s not a book meant for enjoying, really. A.

12. PEONY IN LOVE by Lisa See. ARC of a soon-to-be released book, a historical fiction book cum ghost story set just after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in China. It’s the story of Peony, a teenage girl who is obsessed by a book that was made into an opera called The Peony Pavilion that was popular at the time in China. The book/opera is the story of a star-crossed young couple where the young girl dies and visits her love in a dream and he eventually brings her back to life from her ghost world. Peony becomes lovesick when she meets a young man the night of her sixteenth birthday when her father hosts a production of the opera at their home. Although she is betrothed to another, she schemes ways to get out of that arranged marriage and marry her mystery poet. She stops eating and literally becomes deathly ill, thinking that if she dies, her beloved, like the character in the opera, will bring her back to life and they’ll live happily ever after. I really wasn’t sure I’d like this book—it’s not “my kind” of book. I love historical fiction, but I’m not much into chick lit, love stories/romance and all that, but this book was much more than that. It was an excellent STORY, and it had elements from many different genres—paranormal, historical, fantasy, women’s literature, etc. but most of all the author’s captivating writing style kept me reading til the end. I enjoyed the foray into the beliefs about death/ancestors/afterlife from that time period in China—something I’d not read much about before.The ending, by the way, I thought a bit sappy and I was disappointed with it, but overall I’d say it’s another great book for this author. I give it an A-/B+ depending on my mood.

13. GOURDFELLAS by Maggie Bruce. Second in the Lili Marino, freelance PR writer and gourd artist cozy mystery. Set in upstate NY, where Lili has moved to get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. She’s beginning to settle in to her new life there when a woman is found murdered a short distance from her cottage—and worse yet, the killer has stashed the rifle in Lili’s attic—until it falls onto her kitchen floor. The murdered woman was outspoken about her feelings about the hotly debated casino and she had a powerful personality and the organization skills to put together a strong campaign. Did someone on the opposing side silence her? Or was this personal? I figured out most of the mystery rather early on—the clues were just way too obvious—and like many cozy mystery heroines, Lili seems to have a smorgasbord of men to choose from and can’t make up her mind. *SIGH* Still, I rather enjoyed this, though not as much as I’d anticipated I would. I do give it a solid B, though. We’ll see how the next one plays out.

14. BURNING GARBO by Robert Eversz. #3 in the Nina Zero series, featuring ex-con and celebrity photographer Nina Zero, who lives in LA. While Nina is perched on a hill overlooking a reclusive celebrity’s home hoping for a chance at a photo, a man blunders past her and when he sees here there, attempts to kill her. When she comes to, moments later, a fire is raging down the hillside and has quickly engulfed the movie star’s home in an inferno that no one could survive. Because of Nina’s record and her being at the scene, a desperate arson investigator attempts to pin the blame for the fire on Nina and she begins her own investigation to clear her name of not only arson, but murder. Are the charred remains found inside those of Angela Doubleday? Another complication—a large Rottweiler with no teeth who comes bounding out of the smoke and ashes attaches himself to Nina and she very reluctantly takes him home and feeds him. Something about the pooch tugs at Nina’s heartstrings like no sad human story could. I like Nina a lot and like these books, too. Nina is not always an easy person to like and her life is so full of crap that it’s hard to say I “enjoyed” the book, because I’d be a sadist if I did. LOL But I find the writing style hard to put down and do find Nina a very viable and believable character. A.

15. ANTIDOTE FOR AVARICE by Caroline Roe. #3 in the Isaac of Girona historical mystery series set in 1534 Spain and featuring a blind Jewish physician and his family. In this book, Isaac has been ordered to accompany the Bishop to Tarragona, where he is attending a Council of Bishops. Since Judith (Isaac’s wife) has a sister in Tarragona that she wishes to visit, she and Raquel (Isaac’s daughter and assistant) also accompany the retinue. Much adventure awaits them on the trip, including the discovery of a badly beaten and tortured young man along the roadside, news of a murdered Friar, and the party themselves being set upon by bandits. Steeped in political and religious intrigue and plots, I found that aspect of the book rather wearying at times and couldn’t quite remember who was whom and what position they took on this or that issue. Despite that, I did figure out the mystery ahead of time. But I enjoy Isaac and his family and household and this book was a good entry in the series. B.

16. WYRD SISTERS by Terry Pratchett. Sixth (in publication order) of the Discworld books, this introduces The Witches—Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and Magrat Garlick—who happen to be my favorite characters. I read this a few years ago, but it was wonderful to be back in Lancre getting to know the three gals and their distinct and unique personalities all over again. When the king of Lancre is murdered, the new king starts doing things that just goes against the grain of the land. Finally, Granny Weatherwax and has enough and decides to very subtly (ha!) go against the age old policy of witches not interfering in politics and help to put the rightful heir to the throne where he belongs. Trouble is, he’s only a toddler! What to do, what do to? Much hilarity ensues as well as plenty of semi-buried dry English humor. An all-time favorite of mine. A+

17. THE BLACK VIOLIN by Maxence Fermine. Novella set in 1797 in Paris and Venice set in the backdrop of Napoleon’s war. A young man, Johannes, a violinist who was a child prodigy, becomes lost in the shuffle as he matures and leads a life of despondency and mere existence. When he is drafted into Napoleon’s army and injured, he is sent to Venice to shuffle papers and is billeted with an older man, Erasmus, who Johannes later finds out is a violin maker. This book tells each of their stories and also the story of Erasmus’ black violin, his masterpiece. A short but interesting story with an ending that I could live with though I suspect many will not like! A.

DNF: YEAR ZERO by Jeff Long. Plague fiction/post-apocalyptic thriller that wasn’t so thrilling. Character development was awful, and he kept bouncing back and forth between several groups of characters and times, and you felt like you only were seeing cardboard cutouts of people. Things were either explained not enough or in painful detail. The dialogue read like something out of a B movie. While the premise was fascinating, the writing style and characters just didn’t capture my interest, and I gave it more than double my usual 50-page rule.

DNF: TOUCH THE DARK by Karen Chance. First paranormal romance featuring Cassie someone or other…I can’t remember her last name. She can foretell the future, anyway. This book sported atrocious grammar and word usage and poor proofreading that really dragged me out of the story. (Example just in the first few pages: wondering how someone would “fair” as opposed to the correct “fare” and a typo that named a trash-carrying barge as a “garbage scowl.” If it weren’t so annoying it would be funny! That said, the story itself was boring, so it wouldn’t have taken much to distract me from it. The writing style was very blah and I could not get “into” the storyline nor bring myself to care at all about the main character after about 45 pages so I gave it up. NEXT!

Cheryl

MAY 2007 READING

1. MURDER GETS A LIFE by Anne George. #5 in the “Southern Sisters” mystery series set in Birmingham, AL. Enjoyable read as always—Sister discovers she has a new daughter-in-law, a Barbie doll lookalike who married her son Ray, a dive boat owner and captain in Bora Bora. When a man no one claims to know is stabbed in the chest in their trailer with Sunshine’s grandma’s hog-butchering knife and Sunshine disappears, Sister and Mouse fear the worst and start poking around looking for clues, and of course end up in a heap o’ trouble as usual. I love this author’s voice and have people who remind me exactly of Sister and Mouse that I know. Always a pleasant visit. A.

2. FROZEN by Richard Burke. Mystery/thriller about a man and his best friend, Verity, with whom he’s been in love (unrequited) for years. The story goes back and forth from their childhood and young adulthood to the present time where Verity has fallen from a cliff and crushed her skull—an apparent attempted suicide—and is now in a vegetative state with no hope of recovery, according to the medical staff. Harry can’t believe that Verity would kill herself and is determined to root out the truth. While the story is a compelling one, I figured out the solution to the mystery very early on—although that seems to happen about 90% of the time these days so that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I ultimately found Harry’s character to be quite depressing. I kept wanting to slap him upside the head; I guess I just found it hard to empathize with anyone whose self-esteem is low enough to put up with the stuff that Harry put up with over the years from his so-called ‘friends.’ The writing style was smooth and easy to read, and the author’s way of putting you right in the midst of the scene with vivid descriptions really captured and kept my attention—I now want to find that hornbeam tree and live in a treehouse there! I’ll definitely read more from this author. B+

3. DEATH OF RILEY by Rhys Bowen. #2 in the Molly Murphy historical series set in early 1900’s New York and featuring a recent Irish immigrant to the city. Molly can’t go back to Ireland because of a crime committed there, and she strives now to be a private investigator in her new country, which was an unheard of occupation for a woman at the time. A week after she finally convinces Paddy Riley to hire her as an assistant—more like cleaning woman and errand runner, really—he is murdered in his office and Molly surprises the killer. She makes up her mind to avenge Paddy’s death and find his murderer, and it’s not long before she’s embroiled with a whole host of people who may have had motive to wish him silent and learning her new profession the hard way—by making a lot of mistakes! Interesting characters and an easy-reading writing style made this book difficult to put down. A-

4. THE SECRET OF ANNEXE 3 by Colin Dexter. #7 Inspector Morse mystery. Morse and Lewis must figure out first, who the dead man in Annexe 3 at the Haworth Hotel is, and then why he was killed and of course by whom. Registered as Mr. & Mrs. Ballard at the hotel for their New Year’s bash, the dead man is dressed up as a Rastafarian, complete with dreadlocks and black stage paint, and his wife who has now disappeared, was dressed in a yashmak so no one got a look at her face. As the clues begin to pile up and bits of the mystery begin to unravel, Morse and Lewis take several detours until they head down the right path to solving the crime. Enjoyable as always! A.

5. MOON CALLED by Patricia Briggs. #1 Mercy Thompson paranormal mystery. Mercy is an auto mechanic running her own repair shop for foreign cars in Richland, WA. She’s also a ‘walker’ (short for ‘skinwalker’) who can shapeshift into a coyote, and as far as she knows, she’s the only one of her kind in the area. She exists in a world where werewolves, vampires, fae and humans more or less co-exist, though not easily, and not totally openly. Not yet, anyway. When a new werewolf shows up at her garage looking lost and hungry and asking for work, Mercy (short for Mercedes) agrees and decides to keep an eye on “Mac,” since she knows that he is not one of the local pack—her neighbor Adam is the local Alpha and she knows their scent. Little does she know that this frightened young man/werewolf will lead her into a dangerous intrigue involving pack business, deadly politics, and a trip to Montana to the town where she was raised. Excellent first book in series with a pleasant, likable (yet not sappy) main character, an interesting premise for the paranormal world, and a very easy-reading writing style. Got the next one lined up already! A.

6. TILT-A-WHIRL by Chris Grabenstein. #1 John Ceepak police procedural set in a resort town in New Jersey. Although the books are listed as “Ceepak” series, the story is actually told from the POV of Ceepak’s young partner, Danny Boyle. Ceepak is a veteran of Iraqi Freedom, where he was an MP and given his first civilian cop job by his old military friend the chief of police. He doesn’t know the area—but Danny, who grew up in the town, does. Ceepak is a by-the-book kind of guy, or as Danny says, “by The Code.” Squeaky clean, obsessed with forensic detail and meticulously thorough, Ceepak seems almost innocent in some ways. One summer day, Ceepak and Danny start the day with their breakfast interrupted by a screaming, blood-covered twelve-year-old girl who manages to shriek out that her father was shot on the Tilt-a-Whirl over at the seaside park by a crazy looking man. While I did figure this mystery out almost from the get-go, it didn’t matter much—the ride was worth it! Great story, excellent, easy-going writing style and interesting characters that I feel like I’m already getting to know. A+

7. AGATHA RAISIN AND THE LOVE FROM HELL by M.C. Beaton. #11 in this cozy British “village” mystery featuring the curmudgeonly, incorrigible Agatha Raisin. In this book, Agatha and her beloved James settle down to married life, but they’re finding it not so smooth going after they return from their honeymoon. When James forbids Agatha to take the temporary PR job she’s accepted promoting a new line of boots for a local company, it’s the last straw and she moves back full-time to her cottage next door and throws herself into her job. Meanwhile, James is seen out and about with Melissa Shepperd, a woman that he had ‘relations’ with before marrying Agatha. When Melissa turns up dead and James goes missing, he becomes the first suspect in her death. When days and then weeks go by with no word from James, Agatha and her friend Sir Charles set out to find the killer. Enjoyable, typical book in the series, a light and predictable read. A-

8. A MASTERLY MURDER by Susanna Gregory. #6 in the Matthew Bartholomew medieval mystery series set in Cambridge, UK. The Master of Michaelhouse, Kenyngham, decides to resign and throws the entire College into an uproar. When a very unpleasant and control-mad Runham is made Master, the college is steeped in depression. He sacks the servants, doesn’t pay bills to the grocers, drives away several Fellows, refuses to pay for wood to heat the halls and then suddenly comes up with money to do a major building project. Where is the money coming from? And why is Runham trying to get rid of all the Michaelhouse fellows? It’s no wonder he ends up dead—the problem is finding someone who does NOT have a motive! Matthew and Brother Michael set out to find not only Runham’s killer, but also the murderer of three (or is it four?) other dead fellows from other colleges. One killer? Or more? Enjoyable medieval jaunt as usual, though the streets and hallowed halls of post-plague Cambridge. A.

9. DESERT WIVES by Betty Webb. #2 Lena Jones mystery set in Arizona, this one featuring a plot revolving around polygamist conclaves in Utah. Lena is hired by a woman to rescue her 13-year-old daughter, who is to be married off to a 68-year-old man in one such conclave. When she stumbles upon the murdered body of the man in question (who also happens to be the group’s leader) Lena knows they’re headed for trouble—and sure enough, the girl’s mother is arrested for the murder. This is a book about a real problem that almost made me physically sick to read. While polygamy has officially been banned and outlawed, it still takes place and scores of women and girls lead lives of virtual slavery. The mystery was almost secondary for me to the educational aspects of the book—Ms. Webb apparently researched this fairly extensively, so while it IS fiction, it’s based on reality. I strongly urge everyone to read this—it’s a real eye-opener. And gut-wrencher. A.

10. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by Philippa Gregory. Historical fiction centering around and told from the POV of Mary Boleyn, younger sister of Queen Anne Boleyn, and King Henry’s mistress before he even looked at Anne. I enjoyed this book for the most part, but I have to say that the endless court intrigues and continual backstabbing and plotting got a little old after awhile. The story is told from the time Mary is just a 13-year-old bride to the time of Queen Anne’s beheading, so that’s a lot of plotting! LOL I imagine that’s how it was, or similar to it, but it’s not a life I would have enjoyed being a part of very much, rich and opulent surroundings or no. I would’ve been happier with more about Mary’s quiet life in the country. Still, a good read with a lot of interesting details and ideas about ‘how it might have been.’ A-.

11. CAT’S EYE by Margaret Atwood. Told from the POV of a middle-aged Canadian painter as she waffles back and forth in time, digging up memories from her childhood and young adulthood in Toronto to ‘now,’ when she has returned to the city for a showing of her paintings at a local gallery. A poignant and sometimes painful book about childhood and about life; about living and loving and loss, and how it’s possible indeed to miss what never was. Atwood has a magical way with words and despite the childhood part of the book being set in post-WWII Canada, I could easily relate to much of what she described. Excellent read, highly recommended. A+

12. THE MAN WHO SMILED by Henning Mankell. #5 in series order of the Swedish police detective series featuring Kurt Wallander and his cronies at the Ystad police department. The book opens with Wallander having been on medical leave from the police force for many months, having gone through a serious depression after shooting a man in the previous book. He’s gone on some drunken toots and is resting at a beach resort in Denmark when he’s approached by a lawyer friend who wants him to investigate his elderly father’s death. It was a road accident and was ruled as such but the son doesn’t believe it. Wallander has already decided to retire permanently when the son ends up murdered—shot to death in his office late at night. It’s enough to spur Kurt back into action and it’s not long before he’s back in old form. I didn’t care for this book as much as I have some of the others in series—it seems to me that Wallander got away with an awful lot of sloppy police work in this one. Still, it was hard to put down and I definitely will read more in the series. B+.

13. PRAIRIE GOTHIC by J.M. Hayes. #2 in the Mad Dog & Englishman police mystery series set in small-town Kansas. Sheriff English has two dead bodies to deal with at the Sunshine Rest Home one cold winter morning—the first, a resident of the home who was dying of cancer, is missing. The second is a recently-born dead infant being toted around by one of the Alzheimer’s patients in place of her usual “baby doll.” Where did she get it, and to whom does it belong? Add the worst blizzard in a decade to the mix, and now the Sheriff has REAL problems! This book almost reads like a Guy Ritchie movie—a series of vignettes with different characters, quite violent yet funny as hell, all unknowingly connected, and all hurtling towards each other for one big messy climactic scene. I feel that Hayes is a much-overlooked author, and I enjoyed this book even more than I did the first one…the whole thing was quite fantastical…and yet, you can see it happening because you know people as stupid as some of the baddies. It won’t be too long til I head on back to Buffalo Springs for another visit. The only thing I find annoying about this series of books is the total lack of chapters…sections are delineated with spaces between paragraphs or little icons…but that’s minor. A+.

DNF: THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING by T.H. White. Fantasy Arthurian classic that I'd been looking forward to reading. Unfortunately, I could not get interested in it, though I did get to about page 150 before I gave up. I tried for a week to get into it, but found myself always looking for something else to read, or stopping after reading a chapter at a time, relieved to break from it. For me, these are all signs that, for whatever reason, a book is just not going to do “do” it for me, so classic or not, I finally gave up and put it aside. I kept waiting for the ‘magic’ to happen and it just never did.

DNF: GHOSTS IN THE SNOW by Tamara Siler Jones. This is a sort of historical fantasy cum forensic paranormal mystery, but unfortunately it’s also got a lot of “romancey” elements to it which caused me to DNF it. It has a very interesting premise (an investigator in a medieval-like castle setting who can see ghosts and who uses primitive forensic techniques to solve crimes) but the (IMO anyway) badly done romance bits (rapidly beating hearts, blushes, stirring groins, etc) drove me away.

Cheryl