"Witness In Death"  By J.D. Robb
   An Eve Dallas Mystery

2011 Book Review #83
                                                                                                                            BookList Review
It is 2059, and New York City homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas's husband, Roarke, is producing a revival of Agatha Christie's thriller ‘Witness for the Prosecution’. On opening night, when the villainous character Leonard Vole gets his just desserts, someone substitutes a kitchen knife for the prop knife, and the actor, Richard Draco, is stabbed through the heart. 

Trouble is, in time-tested British mystery fashion, everyone in the cast had good reason to despise Richard, a misogynist who seduced and discarded beautiful young women, including one whom he knew to be his daughter. It's up to Eve to solve the case, an emotionally difficult task as she is no stranger to incest herself: she was beaten and raped by her father before she managed to escape him.

As Eve fights to keep her head above water, she tries to bond at a deeper level with Roarke, so that her future will heal the pain of her past. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) serves up a welcome mix of edgy, sexy lovers, new fangled gadgets, classic whodunit and noir.

My Thoughts:  Eve Dallas is one of my favorite characters…and…her husband Roarke who owns the world, practically, and just about everything ‘off planet’ too!  There is never a dull moment in J.D. Robb’s books! 

WARNING:  There is much bad language and some sex scenes in this book!

“O” Is For Outlaw”   By Sue Grafton

                           A P.I. Kinsey Millhone Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #82

            Library Journal Review

  

An unopened letter discovered in an abandoned storage locker is delivered, 15 years late, to P.I. Kinsey Millhone. It provides a possible alibi for Kinsey's first husband, Mickey Magruder, a cop who was accused of beating a man to death.

The accusation ended Kinsey's marriage, and now guilt pangs lead her to reexamine her judgment of Mickey. When Mickey is shot with Kinsey's gun, Kinsey is only one step ahead of the police as she tries to solve the shooting and the crime attributed to Mickey.

Kinsey's search for the killers takes her back to the 1960s and the Vietnam era as she unearths secrets that may exonerate Mickey but, cost her life. In Grafton's latest of the series (after N Is for Noose), Kinsey is sassier than ever, the supporting characters are amusingly eccentric, and the mysteries, both past and present, are intriguing. Grafton's fans will love this one.

My Thoughts:  I love this series of books by Sue Grafton.  In this one there is a special reference for me and anyone else from Louisville, KY.

Kinsey lives and works in California, but…in this book…clues cause her to travel to Louisville.  She contacts the Librarian at Louisville Male High School, (my alma mater), and asks to see a copy of the 1961 ‘Bulldog’.  (My copy is from 1960 and is the Senior Year Book!)  Loved it!

“TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN”

       By Donna Fletcher Crow

                    A Lord Danvers Mystery        

2011 Book Review #81

BOOK COVER

It is January 1855.  Three years have passed since her marriage to Lord Charles Danvers, and still there is no heir to the earldom.  Antonia fears Charles will soon be asking a lot of questions…questions she’s afraid to answer.  For it seems the only heir she is raising is the oppressive, dreadful feeling growing within her.

With this secret weighing heavily on her mind, she and Charles stumble upon a mystery.  Frail, elderly Catherine Bacon has been murdered.  Though the slaying is blamed on traveling “dustmen”, Charles begins to track clues to the mysterious death through the streets of Victorian Scotland.

Meanwhile, Antonia, trying to shake the irrepressible helplessness within her, absorbs herself with a favorite hobby…antique shopping.  What she discovers in one of the shops stops her in her tracks!  There, in a window, is a figurine that belonged to the late Catherine Bacon.  This mystery suddenly has a new twist.

Antonia continues to track clues to the crime, clues that lead to a shocking discovery.  All the while hoping nobody discovers the truth she’s been hiding.

My Thoughts:  This is a new author for me and I liked the book very much.  It paints a portrait of Scotland in the mid-1800s which is vivid and honest.  If you like books reflecting historical periods, you will like this one.         

“Rebel Island”   By Rick Riordan

       A Tres Navarre  Mystery

 

2011 Book Review #80

From both 

the Publishers Weekly Review 

            and the Booklist Review.

  

San Antonio’s PI Tres Navarre has just retired and married his longtime girlfriend, Maia, who's eight-plus-months pregnant.  Tres' wheelchair-bound older brother, Garret, has persuaded the couple to honeymoon together with him and other old friends on the Texas Gulf's Rebel Island.  This is the same island where Tres and Garret spent vacations with their dysfunctional parents.

The fly in the ointment is when the hotel's owner, (Garrett's old chum and Tres' nemesis), Alex Huff, and the desk clerk go missing. Actually, there are two flies in the ointment. The second is a series of mysterious goings-on that Garrett thinks Tres may be able to unravel.  To complicate matters, as the bodies begin piling up, a lethal hurricane approaches. 

Fans will enjoy the update on Tres' life as he prowls through secret passageways hunting down the ghostlike killer while the roof of the island's old hotel begins to shred and the seas begin to rise.

My Thoughts:  I found it hard to put this book down!  This is only the second book of Riordan’s I have read and I am ordering more from the library!

“I Beat the Odds 

   From Homelessness to 

THE BLIND SIDE and Beyond”

 .....By Michael Oher, with Don Yaeger.....

2011 Book Review #79

      Book Cover

An offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, Michael Oher is the young man at the center of the true story depicted in The Blind Side movie (and book) that swept up awards and accolades. Though the odds were heavily stacked against him, Michael had a burning desire deep within his soul to break out of the Memphis inner-city ghetto and into a world of opportunity.

While many people are now familiar with Oher's amazing journey, this is the first time he shares his account of his story in his own words, revealing his thoughts and feelings with details that only he knows, and offering his point of view on how anyone can achieve a better life.

Looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL, Michael talks about the goals he had for himself in order to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family for so long. He recounts poignant stories growing up in the projects and running from child services and foster care over and over again in search of some familiarity.

Eventually, he grasped onto football as his ticket out of the madness and worked hard to make his dream into a reality. But Oher also knew he would not be successful alone. With his adoptive family, the Touhys, and other influential people in mind, he describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams.

My Thoughts:  It is the part of the story not told by the ‘The Blind Side’ movie and book.  Oher tries to inspire and give direction to those in need of assistance getting their lives on track.  He gives hope to those who have not had hope in the past!  There is a lot of repetition in the chapters of this book, but, I think it is because Oher wants, so earnestly, to get his point across.

Suggestion:  Get this book to anyone you know who might be inspired by it!   If you have not read the book, ‘The Blind Side’ or seen the movie…you might want to check it out!

“A Prisoner of Birth”   

                           By Jeffrey Archer

 

2011 Book Review #77

    Danny Cartwright proposes to his beloved Beth Wilson who accepts.  The pair and her brother Bernie, who is also his best friend, celebrate.  Four drunks (Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne, and Toby Mortimer), who call themselves the Musketeers,  insult the trio.  A fight occurs and one of the quartet stabs Bernie killing him.  

The four Musketeers swear they witnessed Danny kill the man though he claims otherwise.  Since they are elite Cambridge University graduates and successful professionals who speak and dress like aristocratic gentlemen, while he is an illiterate slum scum, he is charged with the homicide as “clothing” makes the man.  His attorney the best one he can obtain with little money is slaughtered by the prosecutor.  Danny is convicted to serve twenty-two years at maximum-security Belmarsh Prison.

In prison Danny shares a cell with Nicholas Moncrieff, who teaches him to read Dumas. When someone kills Moncrieff, look-alike, Danny pretends to be Nicholas and escapes his incarceration.  His goals are to destroy the Musketeers and prove his innocence.

The fun in this crime thriller is finding the numerous references to The Count of Monte Cristo as Jeffrey Archer pays homage to Alexander Dumas.  The story line is fast-paced from the moment of the first confrontation and never slows down as Danny works his revenge.  Although the key players including the hero are never fully developed beyond their link to the original novel, readers will enjoy this entertaining modernization of the Dumas classic.              Review by Harriet Klausner

My Thoughts:  I never read  “The Count of Monte Cristo” so….I didn’t make the connection!  But, I loved this book!  It is my favorite of Archer's books so far!   I couldn't put it down!  (Maybe I should have read the Dumas book???)

“Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program to

REVERSE DIABETES NOW: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs."

                 By Neal D. Barnard, MD

 

2011 Book Review #76

               

                  FROM THE

 BACK COVER OF THE BOOK:

If you have diabetes, you likely have been told that it’s a chronic, incurable condition.  As Dr. Neal Barnard shows in his groundbreaking book, this is simply not true.

Through a series of studies, Dr. Barnard has found that it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes.  By closely following his scientifically proven program, you will be able to control your blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard dietary regimen for people with diabetes.  What’s more, you:

1.  Cut back on diabetes medications…if not eliminate them completely.

2.  Reduce your risk of diabetes complications

3.  Realize bonus health benefits as you take off unwanted pounds, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, and boost your energy.

4.  Enjoy delicious foods in generous portions.

Diabetes need not slowly and inevitably get worse.  Now is the time to take control of the disease…and take back your life.

My Thoughts:  This is not my usual book review.  I bought this book many months ago and, at my daughter’s urging, I finally read it.  I became interested and decided to start the diet following Dr. Barnard’s instructions.  I gave it 3 weeks to either work or not.
So far it is working....I have gone from a fasting blood sugar count of 288 to 152...and a blood pressure reading of 138/74 to a reading of 110/63...in 11 days!  I think it is working so I wanted to share with you now!