2010 Book 60: At Home in Mitford

Book #:	245
Book Title:	At Home in Mitford
Author:	Jan Karon
Publisher:	RiverOak
Pub. Date:	1994
Pages:	538
Started:	September 8, 2010
Finished:	September 14, 2010
Time to Read:	6 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	Enter the world of Jan Karon's writing and you'll soon see why everyone yearns to be At Home in Mitford -- everyone except Father Tim, the local rector, who suddenly is not entirely sure. A dog the size of a Buick has followed him home and intends to stay there. A hostile boy is left in his care. But on the upside, an attractive new neighbor is stirring feelings he hasn't felt in years. Add to these events an epic dinner party, a potentially valuable painting, a surprising tale of unrequited love, a mysterious break-in -- and you'll find yourself At Home in Mitford never wanting to leave.
Stars:	****
Review:	Before the summer of 2010, I'd never heard of either this book or it's author. But then Patti Ann Colt released her Summer Reading Program, and I promptly scoped it out to see what I could add to my To Be Read pile. Boy, am I glad to have chosen this novel! The characters are so vivid that they jump off the pages, read to invite you home with them, to wondrously friendly Mitford. You can't help but love the rector, Father Tim, as he muddles his way through life, always trusting in God, but wondering if he, himself, is using good judgment in all he does. As the "chief cook and bottle washer" in the town - everyone turns to him to solve their every issue, whether members of his church or not - he is always heading in 5 directions at one time. But when he, himself, needs help and needs to contemplate what the future holds, where else but Mitford could other lovable characters be found to help him along and show him how very much they need him. I understand that this book is part of a series; I can't wait to go read more - join me, please!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 50: Just Take My Heart

Book #:	235
Book Title:	Just Take My Heart
Author:	Mary Higgins Clark
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Pub. Date:	2009
Pages:	322
Started:	July 24, 2010
Finished:	July 28, 2010
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Natalie Raines, one of Broadway's brightest stars, accidentally discovers who killed her former roommate and sets in motion a series of shocking events that puts more than one life in extreme peril. While Natalie and her roommate, Jamie Evans, were both struggling young actresses, Jamie had been involved with a mysterious married man to whom she referred only by nickname. Natalie comes face to face with him years later and inadvertantly addresses him by the nickname Jamie had used. A few days later, Natalie is found in her home in Closter, New Jersey, dying from a gunshot wound. Immediately the police suspect Natalie's theatrical agent and soon-to-be-ex-husband, Gregg Aldrich. He had long been a "person of interest" and was known to have stalked Natalie to find out if she was seeing another man. But no charges are brought against him until two years later, when Jimmy Easton, a career criminal, suddenly comes forward to claim that Aldrich had tried to hire him to kill his wife. Easton knows details about the Aldrich home that only someone who had been there - to plan a murder, for instance - could possibly know. The case is a plum assignment for Emily Wallace, an attractive thirty-two-year-old assistant prosecutor. As she spends increasingly long hours preparing for trial, a seemingly well-meaning neighbor offers to take care of her dog in her absence. Unaware of his violent past, she gives him a key to her home... As Aldrich's trial is making headlines, her boss warns Emily that this high-profile case will reveal personal matters about her, such as the fact that she had a heart transplant. And, during the trial, Emily experiences sentiments that defy all reason and continue after Gregg Aldrich's fate is decided by the jury. In the meantime, she does not realized that her own life is at risk."
Stars:	****
Review:	As an aspiring author who longs to have a bestseller myself, Mary Higgins Clark is one of my role models. Her characters are expertly crafted, her storylines ripped from the headlines, and her pace is impeccable. In this novel, we learn the meaning of evil - true evil. We intimately get to know one person who would seek to deprive Emily of all she enjoys in life...while we learned details about another who is behind two heinous murders. The more surprising of the two is revealed at the end, after Clark weaves in enough twists and turns to lead even the most avid armchair detective astray. You can guess some of the outcomes from the cover copy...but don't let yourself feel too complacent in trying to figure out the conclusion - you'll more than likely be surprised. Enjoy!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 47: The Mephisto Club

Book #:	232
Book Title:	The Mephisto Club
Author:	Tess Gerritsen
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	351
Started:	July 11, 2010
Finished:	July 14, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"PECCAVI: The Latin phrase is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman's brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It's a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O'Donnell - Jane's professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club. On tony Beacon Hill, the club's acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us. With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it's clear that someone - or something - is indeed prowling the city. Soon, the members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own - or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?"
Stars:	***
Review:	This Rizzoli and Isles book is right on target to be a quicker read without being a diluted story. Anyone who has ever examined the flip side of Christianity (not to practice, but to learn) will appreciate the care in which the author describes the dark side of the coin. Without becoming cheese or cliche, this novel instead addresses the unknown that many of us ponder, using characters that are always believable - especially the tiff between Rizzoli and Dr. O'Donnell. Fascinating read - I think you'll like it!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 37: A Cold Heart

Book #:	222
Book Title:	A Cold Heart
Author:	Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher:	Ballantine
Pub. Date:	2003
Pages:	388
Started:	May 31, 2010
Finished:	June 4, 2010
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"I've got a weird one, so naturally I thought of you," says Milo Sturgis, summoning his friend Alex to the trendy gallery where a promising young artist has been brutally garroted on the night of her first major showing. What makes it "a weird one" is the lack of any obvious motive, and the luridly careful staging of the murder scene - which immediately suggests to Alex not an impulsive crime of passion...but the meticulous and taunting modus operandi of a serial killer. Delaware's suspicion is bourne out when he compares notes with Milo's associate, Petra Connor, and her new partner, a strange, taciturn detective with a past of his own named Eric Stahl. The Hollywood cops are investigating the vicious death of Baby Boy Lee, a noted blues guitarist, fatally stabbed after a late night set at a local club. What links Baby Boy's murder with that of painter Juliet Kipper is the shadowy presence of an abrasive fanzine writer. This alias-shrouded critic's love-the-art/disdain-the-artist philosophy and his morbid fascination with the murders leads Alex and the detectives to suspect they're facing a new breed of celebrity stalker: one with a fetish for snuffing out rising stars. Tracking down the killer proves to be maddening, with the twisting trail leading from halfway houses to palatial mansions and from a college campus to the last place Alex ever expected to end up: the doorstep of his ex-lover, Robin Castagna. Since their breakup Alex and Robin have been haunted by doubts and old longings, and now her business association with two of the victims casts her as an unavoidable player in the unfolding case. And with the rising of Robin's own creative star, her role assumes a chilling new importance - as a prime target for the psychopath who's made cold-blooded murder his chosen art form."
Stars:	***
Review:	Well my gosh...the cover copy just about sums up the whole story, now doesn't it? So all I can really add is (a) Kellerman is a superb master of the written word, (b) keep an eye on the new copy, Eric Stahl, and (c) make no assumptions, but instead build up a body of evidence to determine the ending, just like Alex is striving to do. A bit tedious on detail at times, but enjoyable nonetheless. Your turn!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 26: Bones

Book #:	211
Book Title:	Bones
Author:	Jonathan Kellerman
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Pub. Date:	2008
Pages:	353
Started:	April 9, 2010
Finished:	April 13, 2010
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"The anonymous caller has an ominous tone and an unnerving message about something "real dead...buried in your marsh." The eco-volunteer on the other end of the phone thinks it's a prank, but when a young woman's body turns up in L.A.'s Bird Marsh preserve, no one's laughing. And when the bones of more victims surface, homicide detective Milo Sturgis realizes that the city is in the terrifying grip of an insidious killer. Milo's first move: calling in psychologist Alex Delaware. The murdered women are prostitutes - except the most recent victim. A brilliant young musician from the East Coast, employed by a wealthy family to tutor a musical prodigy, Selena Bass seems out of place in the marsh's grim tableau. Conveniently - perhaps ominously - Selena's blue-blood employers are nowhere to be found, and their estate's jittery caretaker raises hackles. But Milo's instincts and Alex's insight are too well-honed to settle for easy answers, and their investigation unearths ever more disturbing layers - about victims, potential victims, and suspects alike - as they plunge even deeper into the murky marsh's enigmatic depths. Bizarre details of the crimes suggest that a devilish serial killer is prowling L.A.'s gritty streets. But when a new murder deviates from the pattern, derailing a possible profile, Alex and Milo must look beyond the suspicion of madness and consider an even more sinister mind at work."
Stars:	***
Review:	I always wonder if Kellerman's cover writer is paid by the word, because they sure do use a lot of them and give nearly the entire book's outline on just the dust jacket. So now that you know what to expect...keep in mind that Kellerman's story's always have a top level and bottom level, and it's what's underneath that makes the conclusion of this book absolutely unpredictable. One of the heartbreaking parts of this book is meeting the latest victim's family on paper - be prepared to blink back a few tears as you imagine what it would be like to fill their unfortunate shoes. And no matter how much you want to join Alex in profiling, keep in mind the complexity of the human mind. Altogether enjoyable.

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 19: The Keepsake

Book #:	204
Book Title:	The Keepsake
Author:	Tess Gerritsen
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Pub. Date:	2008
Pages:	349
Started:	March 10, 2010
Finished:	March 13, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	(dust cover missing; summary from Amazon.com) "Bestseller Gerritsen's at times lackluster series heroines prove they can shine in her solid seventh thriller to feature Det. Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles (after The Mephisto Club). When medical examiner Isles studies an X-ray scan of Madame X, which everyone assumes is a newly discovered Egyptian mummy, at Boston's Crispin Museum, she realizes the mummy isn't a priceless artifact but a recent murder victim, gruesomely preserved. Rizzoli focuses the police investigation on Dr. Josephine Pulcillo, a young archeologist recently hired by the museum who may have something to hide. More victims soon turn up, including a tsantsa (shrunken head) in a hidden museum chamber and a corpse resembling a well-preserved bog body in Pulcillo's car. After Pulcillo disappears, Rizzoli and Isles must scramble to find her before she becomes another trophy in the killer's growing collection. As usual, Gerritsen delivers an intricate plot that will keep readers guessing." (Publishers Weekly)
Stars:	***
Review:	Publishers Weekly may feel that that Rizzoli and Isles are at times lackluster, but I heartily disagree. I seldom find a duo in fiction that I enjoy following as much as these two - they show both their "human" sides - foibles and shortcomings included - as well as their highly professional and knowledgeable sides, as they tackle the most improbable crime scenes and mysteries. My mind didn't even connect until after I finished that this is same duo as on the new cable show called, easily enough, Rizzoli and Isles! I loved the pace of this book - enough back story and character development to draw you in balanced against a fast enough pace to keep you turning the pages. I especially enjoy books about Egyptian artifacts, and so loved that subtext in this novel. I highly enjoyed - I think you will too!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 18: Echo Park

Book #:	203
Book Title:	Echo Park
Author:	Michael Connelly
Publisher:	Little, Brown & Company
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	318
Started:	March 7, 2010
Finished:	March 9, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"In 1993, Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket in Hollywood. LAPD detective Harry Bosch caught the case, but the young woman never turned up, dead or alive, and it was an investigation Bosch couldn't close. Now Bosch works in the Open-Unsolved Unit, where he still keeps the Gesto file on his desk, when he gets a call from the DA. A man accused of two heinous killings is willing to come clean about several others in a deal to avoid the death penalty. One of these is the murder of Marie Gesto. Bosch is now tasked with taking the alleged killer's confession to make sure he is not scamming the authorities to avoid a date with death. In doing so, Bosch must get close to a man he has sought - and hated - for thirteen years. When Bosch learns that he and his partner missed a clue back in 1993 that could have led them to Gesto's killer - and that would have prevented all the murders that followed - his whole being as a cop begins to break."
Stars:	****
Review:	Very few authors can write about law and order like Michael Connelly and very few fictional detectives are a intriguing to follow as Harry Bosch. This is one of my favorite Bosch books, and the reasons why include that perfect pace, the perfectly twisted outcome, and the perfect characterizations of the bad guys. Throw away all of your expectations and disregard half of what you expect to see happen...because in this book, it won't come true. With more surprise twists than any other Bosch story, this one tops the charts for readability and enjoyability. Have fun with it!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 17: Flint's Law

Book #:	202
Book Title:	Flint's Law
Author:	Paul Eddy
Publisher:	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Pub. Date:	2002
Pages:	351
Started:	March 2, 2010
Finished:	March 6, 2010
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Recently married and living in the United States, Flint watches in horror as the money-laundering investigation she is directing explodes before her eyes: an FBI agent dead, her targets flown, her own conduct under question. Yet it's nothing compared with the chill she feels when she realizes who the leak must have been. As it quickly becomes evident that none of the things she believed about the sweet, unworldly man she married is true, it becomes clear also that, with the man now vanished, her only way to save her career and self-respect is to track him down herself. But that is the last thing that will be clear. For her voyage of discovery is just beginning...and it will take her to places far darker, and more surprising, than any she has ever known."
Stars:	**
Review:	This was an interesting read for me - it's got a lot of action and a fascinating heroine, but somehow, it didn't all come together for me. As the novel takes Flint around the world, the leaps are sometimes a bit much to follow. Added to the author's sometimes different way of writing, with more italics than I've yet seen in a novel, and I was left wondering what I had missed and if it was worth going back to read the first book in this new series to see if I could catch up. For fans of international thrillers with female leads, this book may be a good way to pass time. Although it didn't cut it for me, I suspect that the rave reviews mean that many others will enjoy it.

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 10: Black Cherry Blues

Book #:	195
Book Title:	Black Cherry Blues
Author:	James Lee Burke
Publisher:	Avon
Pub. Date:	1989
Pages:	366
Started:	February 4, 2010
Finished:	February 7, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Evil crept into Dave Robicheaux's bayou world one night and destroyed the woman he loved. Now it's threatening the life of his innocent child. Framed for murder, the Cajun ex-cop is traveling far from his Louisiana home to clear his name, to help a friend, to save what remains of his family - seeking justice in Big Sky Country...and revenge."
Stars:	***
Review:	This is a quick and fairly fun read, complete with "bayou" characters and a gruff, tough but intriguing hero. Dave Robicheaux has been beaten down by life and the hits just keep on coming...but he shows enormous grace and ingenuity to overcome and to seek out those who seek to destroy him and his loved ones. Colorful language abounds in this novel and even without having read any of Burke's other Robicheaux novels, the reader can easily keep up with the action and feel like they know him inside out. Give it a try!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 9: Without Fail

Book #:	194
Book Title:	Without Fail
Author:	Lee Child
Publisher:	Penguin
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	401
Started:	January 31, 2010
Finished:	February 3, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Skilled, cautious, and anonymous, Jack Reacher is perfect for the job: to assassinate the vice president of the United States. Theoretically, of course. A female Secret Service agent wants Reacher to find holes in her system, and fast - because a covert group already has the vice president in their sights. They've planned well. There's just one thing they didn't plan on: Reacher."
Stars:	****
Review:	This book has everything I love in a thriller - a pace fast enough to engage me but slow enough to fill in the back story; a mystery deep enough to be intriguing but not so deep that it's unbelievable; and the indomitable Jack Reacher, all-American protector extraordinaire. As someone who has always been intrigued by the American political system and those who run it, the "behind the curtain" look this novel gives to the vice presidency is fascinating. Lee Child is able to weave in so much realism that readers aren't sure if they've mistakenly picked up the morning paper in place of their favorite Reacher read. Get this today - can't miss!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 8: The Husband

Book #:	193
Book Title:	The Husband
Author:	Dean Koontz
Publisher:	Bantam Dell
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	415
Started:	January 27, 2010
Finished:	January30, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"We have your wife. You can get her back for two million cash. On an ordinary afternoon, an ordinary man, a gardener of modest means, gets a phone call out of his worst nightmare. The caller is dead serious. He doesn't care that Mitch can't raise that kind of money. He's confident that Mitch will find a way. If he loves his wife enough... Mitch does love her enough. He loves her more than life itself. He's got sixty hours to prove it. He has to find the two million by then. But he'll pay a lot more. He'll pay anything.
Stars:	***
Review:	No one writes like Dean Koontz...and no one can create characters as complex and at once twisted and pitiable as this masterful author. Mitch may not be a rich man and may not be a storybook hero, but what he is a solidly upstanding guy who has survived an interesting upbringing (to say the least!) and gone on to build himself a tidy life as an adult. But along the way, he's attracted attention unexpectedly, and his wife's life hangs in the balance until he figures out the multiple-layered personality that he's up against in order to bring this nightmare to a successful conclusion. As always, with Koontz, I felt myself wanting to read as slowly as possible so I could string out the length of time I get to enjoy his prose. Rated down a bit to account for violence that may have been a bit gratuitous, this is nonetheless a great read.

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 5: Under the Dome

Book #:	190
Book Title:	Under the Dome
Author:	Stephen King
Publisher:	Scribner
Pub. Date:	2009
Pages:	1072
Started:	January 15, 2010
Finished:	January 18, 2010
Time to Read:	3 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	None. Note: you know you're pretty much the bestselling author in the world when you can sell a zillion books for your latest title without a single word on the dust jack. All hail Stephen King!
Stars:	*****
Review:	If The Stand is King's earliest and quintessential epoch, Under the Dome is his latest. Although King began crafting this tale in 1976, he did not return to it - or, rather, restart it - until 2007, but the masterpiece that this work stands as is worth the 30 year wait. As in every King work, the level of detail is breathtaking. By the time you're 100 pages in - keep in mind, with this book, that's only 1/11th of the way through - you feel as though you've joined the hapless group under the Dome. Only King can take everyday life and without the use of any cliches or deus ex machina turn it into a thriller beyond his eloquent words. Awesome read. The only way I was able to finish it so quickly was because I was hospitalized while reading it and literally didn't set it down! GET THIS NOW!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2010 Book 4: Playing for Pizza

Book #:	189
Book Title:	Playing for Pizza
Author:	John Grisham
Publisher:	Doubleday
Pub. Date:	2007
Pages:	258
Started:	January 12, 2010
Finished:	January 14, 2010
Time to Read:	2 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick - for which team? The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy. Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player - any former NFL player - at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers - at least until a better offer comes along - and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is), has never been to Europe, and doesn't speak or understand a word of Italian. To say that Italy - the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small cars, romance, and football americano - holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement."
Stars:	**
Review:	In this departure from his typical legal thriller genre, John Grisham brings us to the fascinating and homey world of Parma, Italy. A fast read with a shallow plot and moderately-built characters, this book is unfortunately fraught with cliches and is just a bit predictable - do you really need me to spell out here how it will ultimately end, or can you guess from the cover copy? It is, however, written in eloquent language with interesting characters in a setting you'd love to visit, so as far as quick reads go, this is a good bet. What do you think?

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 21: The Whole Truth

Book #:	133
Book Title:	The Whole Truth
Author:	David Baldacci
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date:	2008
Pages:	340
Started:	April 18, 2009
Finished:	April 22, 2009
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Dick, I need a war." Nicolas Creel is a man on a mission. He heads up the world's largest defense contractor, The Ares Corporation. Dick Pender is the man Creel retains to "perception manage" his company to even more riches by manipulating international conflicts. But Creel may have an even grander plan in mind. Shaw, a man with no first name and a truly unique past, has a different agenda. Reluctantly doing the bidding of a secret multinational intelligence agency, he travels the globe to keep it safe and at peace. Willing to do anything to get back to the top of her profession, Katie James is a journalist who has just gotten the break of a lifetime: the chance to interview the sole survivor of a massacre that has left every nation stunned.
Stars:	****
Review:	I love this novel for all of the same reasons I loved the movie "Wag the Dog": because it's so outrageous, so unbelievably, so tawdry...that it could just almost be true. Or is it? Perception is life, life is perception, and the Ares Corporation wants to manage both. If you're interested in books that take you over to the deep, dark side of politics and multinational agencies, this is a great place to start. The characters just developed enough to be believable but still shadowy enough to lend intrigue. And the plot - what's going to happen next? You may think you know...but you'll be wrong more than right, and that will just leave you wanting more! Grab a copy today!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 20: The Innocent

Book #:	132
Book Title:	The Innocent
Author:	Harlan Coben
Publisher:	Dutton
Pub. Date:	2005
Pages:	370
Started:	April 12, 2009
Finished:	April 17, 2009
Time to Read:	5 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"The horror of one night is forever etched in Matt Hunter's memory: the night he innocently tried to break up a fight - and ended up a killer. Now, nine years after his release from prison, his innocence long forgotten, he's an ex-con who takes nothing for granted. With his wife, Olivia, pregnant and the two of them closing on a house in his hometown, things are looking up. Until the day Matt gets a shocking, inexplicable video call from Olivia's phone. And in an instant, the unraveling process begins. A mysterious man who'd begun tailing Matt turns up dead. A beloved nun is murdered. And local and federal authorities - including homicide investigator Loren Muse, a childhood schoolmate of Matt's with a troubled past of her own - see all signs pointing to a former criminal with one murder already under his belt: Matt Hunter. Unwilling to lose everything for a second time, Matt and Olivia are forced outside the law in a desperate attempt to save their future together.
Stars:	****
Review:	I loved just about everything about this novel - despite the fact that it relies on some pretty tired cliches. Let's get those out of the way first so I can concentrate on the good stuff. Ok, so the good guy who does one (semi-) bad thing, does time and comes out to establish a better life just seems to be the bread and butter of soap operas and movies. And good people fighting injustice outside of the law seems equally overdone. But...somehow...in this book, with these expertly crafted characters, believable and livable setting, and fast moving top story, the cliches somehow work. In fact, they work so well that I was completely drawn into the story, and tried to picture what to do if Matt was my husband. Of course, this story isn't without a few twists...but they're ones you love...I can almost guarantee it! ENJOY!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 19: Stone Cold

Book #:	131
Book Title:	Stone Cold
Author:	David Baldacci
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Pub. Date:	2007
Pages:	323
Started:	April 6, 2009
Finished:	April 11, 2009
Time to Read:	5 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington, D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies - including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret work of the government. Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail, with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises. One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match. As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw, leading to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. And when buried secrets are at last violently resurrected, the member of the Camel Club left standing will be changed forever.
Stars:	****
Review:	Unlike my last David Baldacci review, I'm more in favor of the pace at which this plot moves, and the number of plot inclusions - i.e. twists and turns. This story doesn't seem nearly as heady to wrap your mind around. I am especially enamored with the character of Harry Finn, who is a true Jekyll and Hyde character - two totally different men occupying the same body. Annabelle is a deceptively easy girl to like - more so because you're rooting for her, even while acknowledging all of her shortcomings in life. Overall, it's a great plot with a great cast and I think you'll enjoy!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 18: Kaleidoscope

Book #:	130
Book Title:	Kaleidoscope
Author:	Dorothy Gilman
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Pub. Date:	2002
Pages:	244
Started:	March 31, 2009
Finished:	April 5, 2009
Time to Read:	5 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"When a brilliant young violinist dies in a horrific accident, Madame Karitska has only to hold the victim's instrument in her hands to perceive the shocking truth. But when an insecure wife asks whether her husband will abandon her to join a sinister cult, Madame Karitska - as wise as she is lovely - chooses not to reveal all that she foresees. And when an attache case is suddenly dropped into her lap by a man fleeing a crowded subway, she knows it's time to consult her good friend, Detective-Lieutenant Pruden. A nine-year-old accused of murder, a man dying a slow death by witchcraft - for the hunted and the haunted, Madame Karitska's shabby downtown apartment becomes a haven, where brilliant patterns of violence, greed, passion, and strange obsessions mix and disintegrate with stunning, kaleidoscopic beauty."
Stars:	**
Review:	I would call this an escape read...a bunch of stories strung together around a central character and simply stated and moved on from. Not a lot of depth in character or plot, but sort of fun nonetheless. And who wouldn't love the neighborhood psychic??

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 17: Simple Genius

Book #:	129
Book Title:	Simple Genius
Author:	David Baldacci
Publisher:	Warner Books
Pub. Date:	2007
Pages:	420
Started:	March 25, 2009
Finished:	March 30, 2009
Time to Read:	5 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"In a world of secrets, human genius is power. And sometimes it is simply deadly... A three-hour drive from Washington, D.C., two clandestine institutions face each other across a heavily guarded river. One is the world's most unusual laboratory, whose goals and funding are a mystery. The other is an elite CIA training camp shrouded in secrecy. Now a man and a woman are about to run the gauntlet between these two puzzle factories, straight into a furious struggle to exploit a potentially world-shattering discovery - and keep some other secrets under wraps forever... Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have seen their lives splinter around them. Michelle lies unconscious in a hospital bed after a night of suicidal violence. And Sean is forced to take on a thankless investigation into the murder of a scientist just inside the CIA's razor-wire fence near Williamsburg, Virginia. Soon he is uncovering layer after layer of disinformation that shields a stunning world filled with elite mathematicians, physicists, war heroes, spies, and deadly field agents. Amid more murder, a seemingly autistic girl's extraordinary genius, and a powerful breakthrough in the realm of classified codes, Sean soon learns enough to put his life at risk. Now more than every, he needs Michelle - at her best - to help stop a conspiracy of traitors operating in the shadow of the White House itself."
Stars:	***
Review:	I'd really like to give this book 4 stars, but I can't. There are a few things I love, and a few I'm just not thrilled with. First the loves: the characters of Sean and Michelle are fabulously well developed. The autistic child the book flap refers to is a doll who you can't help but fall in love with and around whom the story comes to revolve. But it almost seems like Baldacci is trying to cram too much into this novel - too much action, too many twists and turns, too much intrigue. In the end, it pays off and is sewn back together in a nice tidy package. But along the way, it feels overwhelming at times. But you be the judge...and let me know what you think!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 16: Cover of Night

Book #:	128
Book Title:	Cover of Night
Author:	Linda Howard
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Pub. Date:	2006
Pages:	338
Started:	March 21, 2009
Finished:	March 24, 2009
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"In the charming rural town of Trail Stop, Idaho, accessible to the outside world only by a single road, young widow Cate Nightingale leaves peacefully with her four-year-old twin boys, running a bed-and-breakfast. Though the overnight guests are few and far between - occasional hunters and lake fishermen - Cate always manages to make ends meet with the help of the local jack-of-all-trades, Calvin Harris, who can handle everything from carpentry to plumbing. But Calvin is not what he seems, and Cate's luck is about to run out. One morning, the B and B's only guest inexplicably vanishes, leaving behind his personal effects. A few days later, Cate is shocked when armed men storm the house, demanding the mystery man's belongings. Fearing for her children's lives, Cate agrees to cooperate - until Calvin saves the day, forcing the intruders to scatter into the surrounding woods. The nightmare, however, is just beginning. Cate, Calvin and their entire community find themselves cut off and alone with no means to call for help as the threat gathers intensity and first blood is drawn. With their fellow residents trapped and the entire town held hostage, Cate and Calvin have no choice but to take the fight to their enemies under the cover of night. While reticent Cal becomes a fearless protector, Cate makes the most daring move of her life...into the very heart of danger."
Stars:	***
Review:	The pacing of this book is interesting - a bit inconsistent at times, but yet with a story that is intriguing and that leaves the reader with no idea what to expect next, it works rather well. The characters of Cate and Calvin are perfectly formed...you just have to root for them to succeed and to get together on the way besides. The children are an interesting dilemma as they seem to be an afterthought throughout, but yet their inclusion is necessary for the story line. The town is fairly well described/formed, but I could have used a little more on that end. All in all, interesting and fun. Enjoy!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany

2009 Book 15: The Last Precinct

Book #:	127
Book Title:	The Last Precinct
Author:	Patricia Cornwell
Publisher:	G. P. Putnam's Sons
Pub. Date:	2000
Pages:	449
Started:	March 17, 2009
Finished:	March 20, 2009
Time to Read:	4 Days
Back Cover / Inside Flap:	"We enter The Last Precinct through the reverberating aftershocks of Black Notice, inconceivably finding Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta an object of suspicion - and criminal investigation.  And the nightmare perpetuated on Scarpetta's doorstep continues as she discovers that the so-called Werewolf murders may have extended to New York City and into the darkest corners of her past.  When a formidable prosecutor, a female assistant district attorney from New York, is brought into the case, Scarpetta must prevail against mounting and unnerving evidence to the contrary.  Tested in every way, she turns inward to ask, Where do you go when there is nowhere left?  The answer is the Last Precinct.  By the end of the novel, it is clear that Scarpetta's life can never be the same."
Stars:	****
Review:	I find it regrettably that I've read my Patricia Cornwell novels out of order - it bugs me when I read about the same characters time and time again, but the sequence of what happens is helter-skelter.  Fortunately, Cornwell writes so well and weaves in backstory so masterfully that I never feel truly lost or wondering what I've missed in the other volumes.  In this particular work, I am especially in love with the way that Cornwell shifts to write about what can happen when her beloved main character is cast with the same suspicion that she more typically casts upon others.  The strength of the character that Cornwell has created in Kay Scarpetta is apparent on every page of this book, in times of hope and despair.  And as always, Cornwell mixes in the legalese with a masterful hand that makes the work interesting but not impossible to understand.  Highly recommend!

If you have read or are planning to read this book, please make sure to stop back by and leave me a comment to let me know your own thoughts!

From my library to yours,

Tiffany