“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!