“Two Little Girls in Blue”

        By Mary Higgins Clark

2011 Book Review #123

Publishers Weekly Review

Bestseller Clark is at her best when writing of crimes against children, as shown in this chilling tale of kidnapping, murder and telepathy.

Before leaving for a black-tie affair in New York City, Margaret and Steve Frawley celebrate the third birthday of their twin girls, Kathy and Kelly, with a party at their new home in Ridgefield, Conn.

Later that night, when Margaret can't reach the babysitter, she contacts the Ridgefield police. The frantic couple return home to find the children missing and a ransom note demanding $8 million.

Though the Frawleys meet all the conditions, only Kelly turns up in a car along with a dead driver and a suicide note saying that Kathy has died. But Kelly's telepathic messages from her sister keep telling her differently, and Margaret won't give up hope.

Even the most skeptical law enforcement officers and the FBI, who pursue suspects from New York to Cape Cod, begin to believe Kelly is on to something. Clues from ordinary people lead to a riveting conclusion. Rivaling Clark's debut-Where Are the Children?-this suspense thriller is certain to send terror into the heart of any parent. 

My Thoughts: Clark’s books are always action packed with interesting plots and characters.  This book is no different.  I couldn’t put it down!

“The Tail of the Tip-Off”   

 By Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie

        A Corgi and Felines Mystery

2011 Book Review #122

BookList Review

Brown's eleventh Mrs. Murphy mystery finds Mary Minor ("Harry") Haristeen... who is postmistress in the small town of Crozet, Virginia, and also runs a farm... insinuating herself into a murder investigation...again!

When H. H. Donaldson, head of a local construction firm, is murdered in the parking lot of a sports arena, Harry and her fellow four-footed amateur detectives--tiger cat Mrs. Murphy; the fat gray Pewter; and corgi, Tee Tucker--try to figure out how and why he was murdered.

 Suddenly, Harry is looking at her longtime friends and neighbors with an uneasy suspicion and getting an inkling of the level of corruption in the construction industry. Meanwhile, the animals have their own agendas, as they amuse themselves by raiding the supply closet of the local Lutheran church and offer wry running commentary (set off in italics) on the foibles of humans.

The politics of small-town life and the building trade are seamlessly woven into this lighthearted, facile tale that will appeal to loyal fans of the series. Others may find the anthropomorphic aspects of the story difficult to take, but it's hard to dislike Harry's giggle-prone, furry brood.

My Thoughts:  Whenever I want something light and fun to read, I read this series.  The plots are very mysterious and the antics of the animals are fun!

“Irish Love”  By Andrew M. Greeley

A Nuala Anne McGrail and Dermot Michael Coyne Novel

2011 Book Review #121

Book List Review

In yet another work of fiction from the prolific priest, Greeley revisits his popular mystery series featuring Nuala Anne McGrail and her husband, Dermot Coyne, continuing the exploits of the crime-solving duo.

This time, we find them back in Ireland on vacation, where they are drawn into a complex murder mystery. Nuala, who, as faithful readers will recall, has the ability to see both the past and the future, divines that these modern crimes are somehow related to a mass murder that took place in the area, back in the 1880s.

That crime (based on an actual event, in which an entire family was murdered and an innocent local peasant was arrested, tried, and executed for the crime) provides clues for solving the contemporary crime. Despite several attempts on their lives, the plucky two-some piece together the answers to both mysteries and save the day in the nick of time.

Greeley has hordes of fans who devour his books as fast as he can write them; librarians should stock up.

My Thoughts:  I love Nuala Anne and Dermot Michael Coyne stories.  This one is no exception!!!  I'm Irish and love reading about Ireland too!

“MYSTERY”  By Jonathan Kellerman

         An Alex Delaware Novel  (New 2011)

2011 Book Review #121

Publisher’s Journal Review

When Lt. Milo Sturgis of LAPD homicide asks psychologist Alex Delaware to view the faceless corpse of a young woman, Alex is shocked to recognize the gunshot victim as someone he and wife, Robin, saw the night before in a restaurant bar.

A link turns out to exist between the dead woman and a sinister-looking man Alex and Robin observed outside the bar that night.

An anonymous tip leads to an online service that matches "sugar daddies" with "star-quality sweeties." The victim, who called herself "Mystery," had a "daddy," Markham McReynolds, whose wealthy, anything-goes family offers plenty of suspects, including McReynolds's wife, two sons, and two daughters-in-law.

Kellerman's bantering detectives make it look almost too easy as they put together the clues and possible scenarios, despite the unusual solution to the crime. 

My Thoughts:  I am a huge fan of Jonathan Kellerman and his wife, Faye.  This is his 26th Alex Delware/Milo Sturgis Novel.  It was just as good as all the others!

“Devil’s Food Cake Murder”  

       By Joanne Fluke

A Hannah Swensen Mystery With Recipes!!

 

2011 Book Review #120

Book List Review

When Matthew Walters returns to Lake Eden, Minnesota, to fill in for the Reverend Bob Knudson, who will soon be leaving on his honeymoon, Grandma Knudson suspects that Walters is not the same person who summered with her as a teen while his parents were doing missionary work.

She asks Hannah Swensen, owner of the Cookie Jar bakery, to verify Walters' identity. Hannah determines Walters is who he says he is, but shortly thereafter, he's murdered and another Matthew Walters shows up in town!  Hannah and her family, along with her dentist boyfriend, Norman, work to solve the crime.  But Hannah's life is further complicated by Norman's former fiancee relocating to Lake Eden to join his dental practice.

Series readers will enjoy plot twists, the small-town winter setting, and the bakery backdrop, but the main pleasure here remains the opportunity to get reacquainted with Hannah, her family, and the other Lake Eden residents.

Fans will be eagerly awaiting the next installment, thanks especially to a bombshell Norman drops at the end of the story. As always, delicious, easy-to-follow recipes are sprinkled throughout the text.

My Thoughts:  I like the plot and the characters but, the recipes make me hungry!

“Moonlight Becomes You”  

          By Mary Higgins Clark

2011 Book Review  #119

Book List Review

Professional photographer, Maggie Holloway, revisits the best part of her childhood after she runs into her former stepmother, Nuala Moore, at a Manhattan party. Nuala seems edgy, but Maggie never finds out why, for only days into their reunion, she finds her beloved Nuala murdered.

Maggie is the unexpected inheritor of Nuala's Newport home, for which Maggie receives curiously generous, even overpriced, offers from several parties. Nuala had, at one time, planned on selling the property in order to move into a ritzy retirement home but, had suddenly and without explanation changed her mind only days before her death.

When Maggie also decides not to sell the property, she becomes the one squeaky cog in an otherwise well-oiled machine of fraud, murder, and deception. At Maggie's side are two suitors: the wealthy Liam, who suddenly begins paying more attention to her after Nuala's death, and the seemingly indifferent Neil, a kindhearted investment banker.

Clark has written a clever story with interesting characters, particularly Liam's macabre, death-obsessed cousin, Earl.

My Thoughts:  Another action packed plot with interesting characters! Loved it!

“Society”   By Michael Palmer

 Written in 2004....

2011 Book Review  #118

Book List Review

Moral outrage over how managed-care companies make medical decisions based on the bottom line rather than on patient need is the central issue in the latest medical thriller from popular physician-author Palmer.

No one knows the restraints managed care has put on the medical industry better than Dr. Will Grant. An extremely gifted doctor, Will is also an extremely vocal advocate for patients' rights; though admirable, this trait has caused him endless friction with the doctors with whom he works.

His dedication to medicine has also led to divorce and countless other personal woes. Worse, zealots who take extreme measures to keep the HMOs in line seek Will out as an ally. Should he align himself with these self-righteous activists? Probably not.  Especially when highly paid executives from some of the wealthiest HMOs begin to turn up dead.

On the case is rookie detective Patty Moriarty (well, she's second chair after almost screwing up the investigation completely), who reluctantly gets Will on her side. His knowledge of the issues is unsurpassed, but she fears her working relationship with him may put her in the killer's sites.

Relevant, gripping reading with a provocative moral dilemma at its center. 

My Thought:  I liked this book!  It is fictionally based on a potentially serious subject!

“Split Image”  By Robert B. Parker

     A Jesse Stone Novel

2011 Book Review #117

Book List Review

Petrov Ognowski is dead. A bullet bounced around inside his skull for about six hours before Suit Simpson, a patrol officer in the small Massachusetts town of Paradise, found the body. Petrov worked for Reggie Galen, one of two crime bosses who call Paradise home. The other, Knocko Moynihan, lives across the street from Galen.

Suit's boss, chief of police, Jesse Stone, finally has occasion to find out why two onetime rivals choose to be neighbors. (Seems they married identical twin sisters, Rebecca and Roberta, known as the Bang Bang Twins in high school.) Reggie and Knocko are shocked about Petrov's fate but, give Jesse no help with the case.

In the meantime, Jesse, still hurting from the latest breakup with his ex-wife, is helping old friend, private detective, Sunny Randall, star of her own series, track down a teenager who has moved in with a New Age commune.

The three non-converging plotlines are linked tenuously by one theme: the two mobsters with their Bang Bang twins; the teenager, denied affection from her rigidly aristocratic parents, with her commune cohorts; and Jesse and Sunny with each other.

And the crimes? The commune is more creepy than comfy, and the Bang Bang Twins may have set in motion a series of events that will lead to violence.

Parker's ninth Jesse Stone novel finds the series in slight decline. The plotlines are thin hence the need for three, but, the dialogue is sharp, and the Jesse-Sunny romance has possibilities.

My Thoughts:  I heard this book on audiotape and became irritated at all the, “he said, she said” dialog. The plot was okay, but, the characters were not very interesting! 

“Days of Gold”   By Jude Deveraux

 

2011 Book Review #116

Publishers Weekly Review

The inevitable prequel to “Lavender Morning” places Deveraux on familiar historical romance ground as she traces the journey to America of the namesake of the fictional town of Edilean, Va. English-born Edilean Talbot is very out of place when she arrives in 1766 Scotland to live with her uncle.

A pressing problem presents itself when her uncle plans to marry off the rich, beautiful and well-educated Edilean to one of his unsavory friends the moment she turns 18. Reluctantly, Angus McTern, the highland hunk who laughs at Edilean even as he falls for her, helps her escape and accompanies her on a transatlantic voyage acting the role of her husband.

Once in Boston, they go their separate ways, later reuniting when old friends help Edilean dispense with an enemy.

After dozens of novels, Deveraux has a sure hand evoking plucky heroines, dastardly villains and irresistible heroes, as well as a well-rounded supporting cast. If the plot seems familiar and occasionally contrived (how convenient laudanum is available when someone needs to be knocked out), the pace moves quickly and the romance sparks with enough voltage to keep readers turning pages. 

My Thoughts:  The story was interesting and the characters lively.  The end was predictable and a happy one!  But, I found the book too long.

“FIRE SALE”  By Sara Paretsky

                   A V.I. Warshawski Novel

 

2011 Book Review #115

Publisher’s Journal Review

Private eye V.I. Warshawski takes a break from tony Lakeview to fill in for her old high school basketball coach on Chicago's South Side in her 12th adventure. Vic starts her volunteer stint looking for a team sponsor at mega-discount store By-Smart, whose founder, Buffalo Bill Bysen, is a fellow alum.

Of all Bysen's cutthroat, cost-cutting family, only idealist 19-year-old Billy shows any interest in helping the team. When he disappears, his frustrated father hires Vic to find him. The mother of a high school basketball player also hires Vic to investigate sabotage at the flag factory where she works-an investigation cut short when the factory blows up before Vic's eyes.

Things go no better at school or at home, and clues pile on but they don't add up. Vic takes her lumps as she makes her way from a fundamentalist church, where the pastor goes to extremes for his flock, to the city dump, where villains try to bury their secrets.

Paretsky has recently tackled the Holocaust (Total Recall) and globalization (Hard Time); here she explores the struggles of the working poor and the schemes of the rich and infamous. Packed with social themes and moral energy, held together by humor, compassion and sheer feistiness, this novel shows why Paretsky and her heroine are such enduring figures in American detective fiction. 

My Thoughts:  V.I. Warshawski always gives us a good story!  Wish they would make a TV series starring her!  This is Paretsky’s 12^th Warshawski novel.  Each one just as good as the last!

“The Summerhouse” 

               By Jude Deveraux                                                                                                           

2011 Book Review # 114

Book List Review

Serendipity brings three career women together at the DMV in New York City on their twenty-first birthdays. Ellie, cute and perky, is a hopeful artist. Leslie is an aspiring dancer, and Madison is in New York to pursue a modeling career.

Nineteen years later, Ellie, a successful popular fiction writer who hasn't written for three years, asks the other two to meet at a summerhouse in Maine to find out if their lives went as wrong as hers.

Beautiful Madison tells the group about giving up modeling to nurse an ungrateful husband and Leslie talks about leaving the dance world to marry the boy back home, who now may be cheating on her. But neither is as bitter about men as Ellie, whose ex-husband has taken all her money and her self-confidence.

The catharsis achieved by their confessions is helpful, but what really changes their lives is the mysterious Madame Zoya, who promises to let them relive any three weeks of their lives and to choose a new path or remain with the old.

Deveraux is at the top of her game here as she uses the time-travel motif that was so popular in A Knight in Shining Armor (1996), successfully updating it with a female buddy twist that will make fans smile.

My Thoughts:  A different kind of book for me, but I liked it.  No blood or gore, but plenty of human feelings and a little magic.  It’s interesting to see what choices are made in these women’s lives when they are given a "second chance". 

“No Place Like Home”  

    By Mary Higgins Clark

 

2011 Book Review #113

  Publishers Weekly Review

At One Old Mill Lane, in Mendham, N.J., 10-year-old Liza Barton wakes to find her stepfather, Ted Cartwright, attacking her mother, Audrey.   Liza grabs a gun in defense, but in the ensuing melee Audrey is killed and Ted is wounded.   

Dubbed "Little Lizzie Borden," Liza is taken away and almost convicted of murdering her mother and attempting to kill the lying, scheming Ted.  Twenty-four years later,  Liza, now known as Celia Foster Nolan, has just been presented with a surprise birthday present from her new husband, Alex: the house at One Old Mill Lane.

Alex doesn't know Celia is really Liza, and he doesn't know the house's grim past-but thanks to a real estate code obligating agents to notify prospective buyers if a house could be considered "stigmatized property,"  he's about to find out about the latter at least.

As Celia fights to keep her dark secret hidden, their real estate agent turns up dead. More folks are killed and Celia comes under suspicion. But in typical Clark style, most of the characters look a little guilty.

My Thoughts:  There are a lot of surprises in this offering.  I am a fan of Clark’s work and liked this book very much.  I finished it at 4:00 this morning!  Couldn't put it down!

“Prior Bad Acts”   By Tami Hoag

 

2011 Book Review #112

Book List Review

Law-enforcement officials throughout Hennepin County thought they'd have an advocate on the bench when one of their own--former state prosecutor Carey Moore--became a criminal-court judge. Her Honor, however, knows that she will be scrutinized for favoring the prosecution, so she makes sure to rule evenly.

But even is not the way the D.A.'s office would describe her handling of the case against defendant, Karl Dahl. The cops and prosecutors are sure that Dahl is the one who brutally raped and murdered a mother and her two children, but they recognize that the evidence is highly circumstantial. Admitting Dahl's prior bad acts into evidence, they argue, would establish a pattern of behavior, whereas Dahl's attorney maintains that the evidence would be prejudicial.

When Carey sides with the defense, her decision ignites a series of events that begins with her being brutally attacked. Then Dahl escapes, and homicide detectives Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska give chase. A first-rate thriller with an ending that will knock your socks off.

My Thoughts:   Scary Book.  Interesting plot.  Surprise ending…unless you are really paying attention!

“A Time To Kill”  By John Grisham

 

2011 Book Review #111

 Library Journal Review

In this lively novel, Grisham explores the uneasy relationship of blacks and whites in the rural South. His treatment is balanced and humane, if not particularly profound, slighting neither blacks nor whites.

Life becomes complicated in the backwoods town of Clanton, Mississippi, when a black worker is brought to trial for the murder of the two whites who raped and tortured his young daughter. Everyone gets involved, from Klan to NAACP.

Grisham's pleasure in relating the Byzantine complexities of Clanton politics is contagious, and he tells a good story. There are touches of humor in the dialogue; the characters are salty and down-to-earth. An enjoyable book, which displays a respect for Mississippi ways and for the contrary people who live there. 

My Thoughts:  It is a well written and honest book.  I found it depressing which, I suppose, is the goal of a book written about depressing times!  It was made into a movie which I didn’t see and I think I’m glad!   

“Blacklist”  By  Sara Paretsky

   A V.I Warshawski Novel

 

2011 Book Review #110

Library Journal Review

A dead reporter, a missing Egyptian boy wanted in connection with terrorist activities, and an elderly woman convinced that an intruder is in her family’s ex-manse, are all elements of Paretsky's 12th novel featuring Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawski.

As V.I. looks into these peoples' lives, she discovers connections among them. She uncovers a story of betrayal and secrets that span several generations and involves Chicago's wealthiest families, the Red Scare, and the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings of the 1950s.

As always, V.I.'s determined pursuit of the truth ensures, at least, a few heart-stopping moments. This may be Paretsky's most complex novel to date. It will have particular resonance post-9/11, as readers recognize more easily what it was like for past generations to live in fear.

Partial  Booklist Review

In her essay,  ‘Writing, Speech, and Silence ‘,  Paretsky speaks frankly about free speech, including the devastation caused by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the implications of the Patriot Act on individual freedoms. The topic is central to her latest V. I. Warshawski mystery, a stellar entry in a celebrated series, which offers a provocative history lesson along with very contemporary commentary on loyalty and betrayal and how the past shapes the present. 

My Thoughts:  The second half of this book is very thought-provoking.  'Blacklist' was written 2  years after 9/11 and touches on issues we are still dealing with today.  This book follows and is an extension of Paretski’s book “Total Recall” written in 2001.  (I read this book long before I started my Bookshelf Blog, so, it is not reviewed here.)  I think that even though it is a fictional mystery, it's worth reading just for the lessons it teaches!  It's also a good mystery!!!

“The Blessing”  By Jude Deveraux

 

2011 Book Review #109

Summary

A hard-driving businessman sees love with new eyes when a sweet young widow and her son change his life… and his heart… forever. Wealthy corporate genius Jason Wilding reluctantly takes a break from his high-powered world to visit his hometown of Abernathy, Kentucky.

As a favor to his physician brother David, he finds himself spending one week as a live-in baby-sitter in the ramshackle home of Amy Thompkins, who has captured David's heart. Courting the whimsical, artistic Amy has been difficult with her adorable but demanding baby, Max, in tow, and Jason's help is just what David needs.

But stepping into Amy's patched-together world has the most remarkable effect… on Jason.  Amy's joy for life, her love for her son, and her sparkling humor are irresistible and… tiny Max adores Jason beyond reason.  Soon, the enigmatic CEO is thawing. And his newfound smile reminds Amy of a Mount Rushmore monument finally cracking up…in the best possible way.

Their mutual attraction is glowing bright, but what to do about David? In this heart-warming and unforgettable bestseller, Jude Deveraux celebrates the unexpected paths on the heart's journey toward love, and the eternal bond between mother and child.

My Thoughts:  This is not my usual choice of reading but, I liked this book!  Man meets woman with baby…Man falls for woman and baby…Woman takes baby and runs away…2 years later she returns.  What’s not to like?  That’s a simplistic view because it is much more complicated than that, but, if you like a good romance, this is the book for you!

“The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other Indian Country Affairs”

  By Tony Hillerman

 

2011 Book Review #108

Summary from back cover

The two inept bandits who staged the Great Taos Bank Robbery got away, though empty-handed -- and ended up panhandling downtown, somehow overlooked by the police hunting them everywhere else. They thus entered the annals of local lore -- along with the Great Flood of 1935, a three-day drizzle that caused an epidemic of leaky adobe roofs in the usually arid Taos.

These stranger-than-fiction true stories are from master storyteller Tony Hillerman's own collection of favorite anecdotes.  Reading the stories himself, he captures the quirky character of Taos and other areas of New Mexico as only a loving resident… and great writer… could, skillfully using regional tales to comment wryly on the most universal of human foibles.

My Thoughts:  Hillerman tells short stories about the area of Taos and the Navaho with humor and affection.  I listened to the audiobook which is only 90 minutes long.  Love Hillerman and his tales!

“Blood Sport”   By Dick Francis

 

 2011 Book Review #107

      Mixed Reviewers

Gene Hawkins is a "screener" for the British Government...essentially a "mole" hunter. He is also suicidal-his previous relationship has shattered and left the man a psychological mess. He has sublimated his troubles into his work-until now.

Hawkins takes a mandatory 3 week vacation.  When his boss asks him to help find Dave Teller's missing Thoroughbred stallion, Chrysalis, he agrees because he has nothing better to do than sit around and be depressed.

Hawkins finds out quickly that things are a lot more complicated than he thought. There's not one missing horse, but three, and there's a family of crooks trying to cover up their theft at all costs. This even includes murder. Hawkins tracks the thieves from England to Kentucky, the Western United States and back again.  Hawkins does his job but,  there is a sad ending to this story.

My Thoughts:  I like Francis’ books, but this one was a little slow moving.  The plot was unusual and it was hard to keep all  the player separated.  That could have just been me…I don’t know. If you are a Dick Francis fan, by all means read this book!

“The Alibi Man”  By Tami Hoag

 

2011 Book Review #106

BookList Review

Elena Estes, former policewoman, former member of the elite of Palm Beach, Florida, is thrust back into both aspects of her former life when she discovers a woman's body in a canal.

Physically healed from the wounds she sustained while working on a meth-lab bust, she has yet to recover emotionally from causing another officer's death and has been living and working at her best friend's horse farm. When she realizes that the victim is the farm's beautiful, vibrant young groom Irina, Elena is determined to bring her justice no matter what.

Her search leads to the creme de la creme of Palm Beach society and the powerbrokers who hang out at the tony polo fields, including her ex-fiance (from 20 years ago), who, Elena knows, is capable of committing the crime.

Hoag revisits her tragically flawed and reluctant protagonist from Dark Horse 0 (2002) in a superbly taut thriller.  Written in a staccato style that will have readers racing through the pages, Hoag conducts a whirlwind tour of the high-flying world of the superrich and its tawdry underbelly that will leave readers breathless and satisfied.

My Thoughts:  I couldn’t put it down.  Plot is excellent!  Characters are true to life!  And…it has a surprise ending!

“The Stones Cry Out”

        By Sibella Giorello

                     A Raleigh Harmon Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #105

Summary from back book cover

When nobody talks... the stones cry out.

During a rally in the searing heat of a Virginia summer, two men plummet from a building into the crowd below. The victims are a white police officer and a young black man with a troubled past. And though hundreds of people stood at the scene, nobody saw what happened…Or are they just not talking? FBI agent Raleigh Harmon, one of Richmond's own, has to solve the case—fast.

The Bureau wants a quick verdict, with or without the truth. But with tight-lipped witnesses, Raleigh must rely on her instincts and her training in forensic geology to uncover the facts. Working her connections with the city's powerful families and its seedy underbelly, Raleigh is determined to see justice prevail. Will she solve the case before the growing racial unrest rages out of control? Or will her choices ultimately bring down everyone involved…including Raleigh herself?

"With a riveting story line, fascinating forensic science, and a pungent portrayal of the grimy side of Richmond, Virginia, “The Stones Cry Out” holds the reader in its powerful grip until the very last word.  Sibella Giorello writes like a seasoned pro. No mystery lover should pass up this novel."

My Thoughts:  This is the first of three books in the Raleigh Harmon series (I have already reviewed the other 2).  I hope Giorello continues to write about Raleigh Harmon and her adventures.  Loved it.

“In The Frame”  By Dick Francis

2011 Book Review #104

Summary From Book Cover

Artist Charles Todd, whose paintings of horses earn him a comfortable living, expects the landscape to be restful when he visits the country home of his cousin, Donald.  But, he arrives on a scene of devastation:  Donald’s house has been ransacked, and the missing valuables include several recently acquired paintings by famous artists.

Much worse, the thieving intruders have murdered Donald’s wife, leaving Donald himself as the chief suspect, according to local police, seemingly, determined to frame him.

Racing to clear his cousin’s name, Charles travels to Australia and New Zealand in pursuit of a gallery of rogues who specialize in forging horsey works of art.

Charles gradually pieces together a lurid picture of their activities,  a masterpiece of arson, larceny…and murder.

My Thoughts:  This book is different from Francis' normal genre in that it’s not about a jockey!  I liked it!  It is a short book that takes about 3 hours to read and holds your interest throughout.

“Talking God”  By Tony Hillerman

    A Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Mystery

2011 Book Review #103

Library Journal Review

There are three things one can expect from a Hillerman mystery: a story that would make no sense without its rock-solid base of Navaho culture; a tale that moves within the rhythms of real time; and an intricate plot that calls for the particular skills of his two detectives, Jim Chee, shaman and officer of the Navaho Tribal Police, and Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, older, slower, and wiser.

Talking God has all of these things in a plot that absolutely defies summary.  Leaphorn and Chee track different paths for different crimes and both end up in the wilds of Washington, D.C., ostensibly on vacation.

Instead of the sweet scent of the Southwest, Hillerman has a good time pitting his detectives against the ``City of Navy Blue Suits.''  Welcome as a returning presence is winsome Navaho attorney Janet Pete, who contributes both to the structure of the mystery and to Chee's emotional disharmony.

In 1970, Library Journal 's reviewer described Hillerman's  “The Blessing Way” as ``a mystery with literary value; one you can recommend to people who don't like mysteries.'' Indeed; enjoy. 

My Thoughts:  I love Hillerman’s books,  I love his Navaho characters and I love the Navaho influence!  

“Murder, She Wrote…

         A Vote For Murder”

                                       A Jessica Fletcher Mystery

By  Donald Bain

2011 Book Review #102

Summary

Jessica's in Washington, D.C., to support a senator's new literacy initiative. The weeklong literacy event includes a visit to the White House to meet the president and a lavish party or two.

But during one affair at the senator's home in Virginia, Jessica discovers the dark side of politics.  At the foot of a rickety staircase, she finds the body of the senator's chief of staff...and she has taken a permanent recess.  Jessica's search for culprits leads her from the shady halls of the Library of Congress to the D.C. social scene, and even the FBI.

My Thoughts:  I would rather see  “Murder, She Wrote” reruns on TV, but, since I can find none of those, I will read the books.  Interesting plot.

“Ten Big Ones”  By Janet Evanovich

     A Stephanie Plum Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #101

BookList Review

Although, the strain of keeping her formula fresh and funny, shows a bit in this latest adventure of New Jersey's most unusual bond enforcement agent, Stephanie Plum, there's still enough to entertain readers hooked on the wacky, wildly popular series.

Plenty of familiar characters and running gags are here: Lula and Grandma Mazur are as comical as ever, and Stephanie still can't hang on to handcuffs and cars or decide between the two men in her life--sexy cop Joe Morelli and scary Ranger, who is hot, hot, hot.

This time, though, the tale starts quickly (Stephanie pegs a convenience-store robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, then becomes a target on a hit list) but, seems swamped by more than the usual absurdities.

Fortunately, a dynamite finish…unexpected and very funny…saves the day for both Stef and her fans. Also on the plus side this time are some extraordinary new, hope-to-see-again additions to the roster, particularly the cross-dressing rocker Sweet Sally. Not the high mark of an outstanding series, then, but still good fun for the legions of devotees.

My Thoughts:  Comic Relief!  I love the Stephanie Plum mysteries because of the characters!  They never fail to entertain!

“Cat of the Century”  By Rita Mae Brown

A Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen Mystery

with Harry's pets…cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, 

and corgi, Tee Tucker

 

2011 Book Review #101

 Publishers Weekly Review

Aunt Talley Urquhart is looking forward to celebrating her 100th birthday at her Fulton, Mo., alma mater, real-life William Woods University, but all is not well at WWU. 

As usual, Stockbroker Flo Langston, class of '74, is sure her hated classmate, Mariah D'Angelo, who heads the WWU Alumnae Association, has mishandled university funds. Mariah misses Aunt Talley's party and vanishes. Then someone shoots Flo dead at home in St. Louis after Flo reveals that Mariah has been selling fake high-end watches.

Taunting messages (e.g., "Catch me if you can") begin arriving in computer in-boxes of various WWU alumnae, including Inez Carpenter, Aunt Talley's 98-year-old best friend.

Faithful fans already familiar with the characters will enjoy the cozy antics, but others may struggle to pay attention until people start dying.

My Thoughts: Brown has always been one of my favorite authors.  Harry and her pets have always been fun mystery solvers for me in my need for lighter reading.  However, this one is far from the best of the series. I got bored about half way through it.

“Mr. Monk And The Blue Flu”                                               By Lee Goldberg

 (Based on the Television Series “Monk”                                   created by Andy Breckman)

2011 Book Review #100

Book Cover Summary

Monk is horrified when he learns there's going to be a blue flu in San Francisco…until Capt. Stottlemeyer explains that it just means the police plan to call in "sick" until they get a better contract.

The good news is the labor dispute will give Monk a chance to get back on the force.  The bad news is it means he'll be a "scab"…and he doesn't like the sound of that either. But before he knows it, Monk has his badge back, and his own squad to command.

Unfortunately, some of the squad members make Monk look like a paragon of mental health. But despite the challenges, they'll have to pull together to catch an astrologer's killer, solve a series of mysterious fatal assaults, and most importantly, clean up their desks.

My Thoughts:  Funny, Funny, Funny.  I love this series.  You feel sorry for anyone who has to work with phobia-ridden Monk, but you can’t help laughing at his antics!

"Haunted In Death"   By J.D Robb
A Lt. Eve Dallas and Roarke Novella

2011 Book Review #99

         Book Cover Summary

Number Twelve is an urban legend in 2060 New York City. The hot club in the 1960s, it is now reported to be haunted...and cursed. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called there to investigate the apparent murder of Radcliff Hopkins, its new owner and the grandson of the man who made Number Twelve a cultural icon.

Several bullets from a banned gun end his dream of returning the building to its former glory. With everyone around her talking about the supernatural, pragmatic Eve won't let rumors of ghosts distract her from hard evidence.

The case becomes even more bizarre when it appears to be linked to the suspicious disappearance of a rock star…eighty-five years ago. As Eve searches for the connection, logic clashes with the unexplainable. She may be forced to face the threat of something more dangerous than a flesh-and-blood killer.

My Thoughts:   I love all the characters and plots of this series.  This is a short novella, but, the action remains the same!  Be warned that the language is harsh and there are explicit sex scene.  I tune them out because the mystery is worth reading.