“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.

"An Unmentionable Murder"
   By Kate Kingsbury
              A Manor House Mystery

2011 Book Review #97
 Summary on the Back Cover


In World War II England, the quiet village of Sitting Marsh is faced with food rations and fear for loved ones. But Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton, the house-rich, money-poor lady of the Manor House, stubbornly insists that life must go on.

 Sitting Marsh residents depend on Elizabeth to make sure things go smoothly which means everything from sorting out gossip to solving the occasional murder. In the thick of the Allied invasion, Elizabeth is sick with worry for Major Earl Monroe. To make matters worse, people and things keep going missing from the manor namely Martin, the elderly butler, and ladies knickers from the washing line.

Before Elizabeth can track either down, Clyde Morgan is found shot dead. Though few will miss bad-tempered Clyde, Elizabeth isn’t so sure when the police call it a suicide . . .

My Thoughts:  This is only the second book of Kingsbury’s that I have read.  I like the characters of this small village in England.  I like that the crime isn’t gory or spectacular!  It is a light mystery that lets the reader feel as though he or she is a part of this small town  and the people who live there during the war.  I found it hard to put down and read it all in one day!

"10th Anniversary"
By James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
                A Women's Murder Club Mystery
2011 Book Review #97

         BookList Review

The tenth entry in Patterson's Women's Murder Club series opens with the wedding of Sergeant Lindsay Boxer to her longtime love, Joe Molinari. Soon after exchanging vows with Joe, Lindsay is on the trail of a missing baby whose 15-year-old mother was found wandering the streets in the rain, dazed and disoriented. 
  

ADA Yuki Castellano is trying an important case that could make or break her career; it involves a wealthy doctor accused of fatally shooting her unfaithful husband in cold blood. Yuki is none too pleased when Lindsay looks into the case at the behest of the woman's attorney, but Yuki has a secret of her own: she's started dating Lindsay's boss.

Reporter Cindy Thomas is working on a story about several women who have been drugged and raped in the San Francisco area, but the big lead she uncovers threatens to make her a target. 

My Thoughts:  The Women's Murder Club series is my favorite of James Patterson’s books.  Some have been made into movies and I hope this one is too!  Loved it!