Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel

I love historical fiction.  It is one of my passions and expecially history about Henry VIII.  This book starts out with a fierce battle between a son and father.  The innocent fighter turns out to be someone of great significance in history but he was a pitiful creature in his youth that people pitied. 

So far, I love the viewpoint of this book.  It is not a viewpoint I have read or even considered before but I am enjoying it.

Okay, so that was early on.  I really do NOT like this book.  It's just too hard to read.  It's a non-fiction book.  I'm not learning anything so I'm not going to struggle to figure out what is going on.  This book jumps around all over the place.  I don't have to have linear I just would like to have a story to follow.  The reader is supposed to have a real knowledge of all things Henry V III to read this book.  Very little is explained and the conversations are one sided.  We are supposed to assume the other side of the conversation and we are supposed to know who Anne is and all the other characters of that time. 

I do know most of the characters but the way this book was written I am not sure who is talking all of the time and at what point of time we are in.  I was so excited about this book at first because it is written about Thomas Cromwell and I was interested in his viewpoint of that time in history.  It has become a chore to read this book and originally I thought I would just skip ahead several chapters at a time to get to the ending but now I have started a new book and it is unlikely I will go back to finish this book. 

What a waste of good subject matter.  This is why I keep this blog so that I don't read authors like this a second time. 

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

A man in Wisconsin advertises for a reliable wife.  A woman answers the ad and when she gets in town she is not the plain woman in the picture but a more beautiful woman.  The man feels lied too and is upset.  He intends to send the woman away but on the way a terrible accident occurs and the woman nurses the man back to health.  The man wants company and the woman wants money but what they find is much than they bargain for. 

The premise for this book is very interesting and the way the author explores the inner thoughts of the characters is very interesting but too wordy.  Each character was filled with angst over their past lives but the authors choice to explore it into the ground bored me.  Several times I skipped three chapters at a time to be able to get past the characters exploration of their thoughts.  Their past lives were very interesting but the constant analysis of their current thoughts bored me to distraction. 

I did enjoy the book overall but I don't know if I would look for another book by this author.  At least I won't look for one anytime soon. 

The Rain Gods by James Lee Burke

Skip this book.  I tried and tried and tried to get through this book but it was a chore until I finally realized that I didn't like a single character in this book and Burke spends chapters and chapters developing character histories for characters that no one is going to care about. 

Don't bother.  I've paid the price for many!

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles

An attorney and author that has recently lost his wife comes back to his home town in the deep south to give his small daughter some extra tender loving care from her grandparents that she desperately needs.

He immediately gets quoted in the paper for his disappointment in a old, thought to be, racial murder and the whole town is either congratulating him or trying to kill him.  There are links in the case to the FBI and the local police and a local judge.  There is even a link to Herbert Hoover.  Everyone is afraid to talk but they are not above giving clues.

I enjoyed this book.  There were a lot of twists in the book but it was not hard to keep up and follow the story.  I am not sure how believable a one day trial and the stunts played out down a river with a man in his 70's is but I still enjoyed the story.  Thanks Mr. Iles for the entertainment.

Roadside Crosses by Jeffrey Deaver

I am not enjoying this book as much as I did  other "Deaver" books I have read in the past but I still like it and I'm not finished yet.  In "Bodies Left Behind" the suspense was so intense I could barely leave function without finishing the book, "Roadside Crosses" is not as suspenseful but I am hoping it has a big finish.  The places in this book where he could of had more suspense he cut to the end of a tribulation so to surprise us with the answer instead of making us crazy with the journey and suspense along the way.  Just FYI, I prefer the journey and the suspense to being told the answer without knowing the steps taken along the way. 

A female Detective, Dance, is working on solving a case about a teenage boy.  A blog is set up and things are being said that are flat out untrue about the boy.  People doing the blogging soon start a war between themselves about the boy based on things being said on the blog. 

Bad things start happening to the bloggers that say unkind things about the teenager.  Is the teenager getting revenge? 

You can not read a "Deaver" book and let your guard down because things are never what they seem and he tends to make the reader believe things without ever actually saying what he wants you to believe and you realize you jumped to conclusions right after you learn the truth.  Deaver makes you constantly check yourself to make sure you are not making unfair assumptions and to be sure you are reading between the lines.  He's a master of surprise so I expect anything and I am thrilled for the ride. 

I think he is trying to illustrate in this book how people are gullible to what we see on a blog and believe to be true just because we saw it in print.  We are all guilty of believing what we read from time to time.  I enjoy being corrected for my own gullible behaviour from such a master storyteller. 

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan is back in the Carolinas.  A plane crashes killing the passengers and crew.  Tempe assists in identifying the bodies until she finds a foot that can not be identified as a passenger.  Suddenly Tempe is asked to leave the team and may even face charges. 

Tempe's curiosity is not satisfied about the foot and even though she is not allowed on the plane crash site she manages with help from the local sheriff to continue digging into the mysterious unidentified foot.   

Andrew Ryan, Tempe's frequent partner from Montreal, shows up to work the plane crash site because one of the victims is presumed to be his partner.  It is believed the partner was accompanying a prisoner on the doomed flight. 

Tempe continues to dig with help thorough records and local sites around the crash area uncovering a  cannibalism, religous rites, wealthy investors and missing persons dating back many many years.  How does it all relate to the crash and why are so many people trying to keep her away from the crash site? 

I enjoy this book as I have many of Reichs books.  The size of the consipiracy and duration of the canniablism seemed a little over the top for me but who knows, stranger things have happened.  The journey from the beginning of a mystery through it's solution is always well laid out by Reich but always takes many turns giving the reader a bumpy but enjoyable ride. 

Blinded by Stephen White

I have not read anything by White before and I enjoyed this book.

The main character, Alan Gregory, is a psychologist who has a small child and a wife struggling with MS. His best friend is a detective who has had a heart attack. His life is really busy when some of his clients problems become public and the clients are wondering if Alan is telling secrects.

One of Alan's clients, a previous client, he has seen for marriage counseling reveals a secrect that not only gets aired but is extremely troubling. Her husband is killing women.

I enjoyed the storyline and all of the relationships in this book. It's not perfect and clean, it's closer to real life than a lot of books. I don't really care for the title because I don't feel that it was all that hard to figure out and I certainly think the main characters would have figured it out sooner in real life, but it was still interesting and I enjoyed myself.

The Lost Symbol By Dan Brown

I am listening to the new book by Dan Brown. So far, YAWN, there is a secret society and a really crazy zealot dude running around wanting to kill people and Dr. Langdon has to figure out the long lost secret to unlock some code. Wait, wasn't that The DaVinci Code? Oh yeah, my bad, that book was set in Paris at first. This one is set in Washington DC.

I am learning tidbits about Mason's and architectural secrets in DC. The best part is learning about Noetic Science. That's worth something.

A big difference between The Lost Symbol and The Da Vinci Code is Dan Brown's attitude. It is obvious that Brown is anti-catholic and probably to some extent anti-formal religion of any kind, especially if it holds secrects and conducts religious rites. I may be speaking out of turn and Brown may not be totally against them but his previous books make him appear that way. He portrays the Catholic religion as full of secrets and greed and betrayal. Anyone who has read "The Da Vinci Code" or "Angels and Demons" knows this negative portrayal is true. I am not saying that I disagree with Browns interpretation of formal religions but why then is Brown so romantic about the Masons in "The Lost Symbol" and romantic about the Masons for the same reasons that he is negative about the Catholic Religion? I felt completely preached to about the Masons and how their religious rites and secrets should be excused because they they are misunderstood. Why does Brown think we should excuse the Masons for their secrecy and rites but persecute the Catholics for theirs? I believe that all religions and the Masons are guilty of their secrects to protect the common man from, well, from themselves. Formal religions and The Masons, it could be said, keep secrets because they think that the common man would make bad decisions if he only knew the truth and he is not capable of doing the right thing with that knowledge.

I am not a supporter of formal religion or a dissenter of The Masons. I simply don't understand why protecting man from using his brain is any more or less important that the religions wanting to protect man from disbelieving in Christ.

"The Lost Symbol" was entertaining because it moved quickly and didn't drag on but it was disappointing being too formulaic compared to "The Da Vinci Code". I did not like being preached to about how good and misunderstood the Masons are.

PS Can you believe that I got this from the library, ALREADY? I'm puzzled but loving it.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Alan Bradley co-wrote with one of my favorite authors, Jeffrey Deaver, so I wanted to read one of his books to see if I liked him solo. Boy, do I. This book was so much fun. This one I listened to on tape while driving to and fro from high school to pick up my boy each day. The actress who read the audio is "Jayne Enswistle" and I am almost deeply disappointed that she is from LA and not from an old English family because her accent was brilliant. I honestly don't know what was more fun, listening to her or hearing the story.

The time is 1950 summer and the location is a family mansion called "Buckshaw" in the English countryside. The book's heroine is an eleven year old girl named Flavia. She found her greatest love one day when she stumbled across her uncle's chemistry books. Flavia is an extremely smart and precocious girl who manages to get herself into all sorts of mischief. Picture Pipi Longstocking with a two sisters a father and lives in a country mansion.

Flavia is normally content with adding poison ivy to her sister’s lipstick (I did tell you loves chemistry) but a stranger visits “Buckshaw” and she overhears her father arguing with the man and then she finds the stranger dying in their cucumber field. Flavia thinks her father must have killed the stranger and sets about trying to solve the mystery herself and her trusty bicycle “Gladys”.

I just love Flavia! I find myself now thinking in Enswistle’s brilliant English accent and wishing I had my own chemistry lab as a child.

Poe, A life Cut Short by Peter Akroyd

I recently read a fiction book by one of my favorite storytellers, Louis Bayard, where Edgar A. Poe was his muse.  The main story in the book was fiction of course but I wondered when the author referred to Poe, was it real or fiction.  So, I went online with the library and ordered a non-fiction book about the life of Poe. 

Very interesting indeed to learn that most of what the L. Bayard wrote about his charactar's past was actually true of E.A. Poe.  He was a drinker and often a drunk.  He was an orphan.  He was know to exaggerate about his accomplishments in life. 

This is a very nice book for what I wanted.  It is a short book and doesn't go on and on about Poe's daily life.  It covers the interesting aspects of Poe's life and gives us a little insight into the life of a very accomplished writer who specialized in horror.  A writer who thinks often about horrific events is a very unique person indeed.  One would certainly think that a person like Poe would not be boring and his life story does not disappoint.  

Well,  I wrote the paragraph above before I had finished the book.  Poe's life was interesting in that he was an orphan who was brought in and raised by a couple.  He published his first book in his early 20's and he went on to write many more wonderful poems and stories.  His life was boring and maddening in that he lived the same life over and over again.  He could be smart but he was idiotic in that he every time he achieved  a modicum of success he drank himself right out of a job and right back into poverty.  I know, it happens in real life but BORING.........  I thought there would be some deeper darkness lurking there than just getting drunk over and over and over again.  Poe, what a smuck you were! 

Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs

Temperance Brennan is in Guatamala to help identify bodies in a mass grave that were killed by an earlier government.  While she is there one of the people on her team is murdered and another is shot and in a coma. There is also a suspected serial killer who is killing young high school girls.  The authorities ask for Brennan's help.

One of the girls missing, presumed dead, ends up in a jail in Canada.  This is good news until pet hairs from the live girl are found on the remains of one of the bodies.  The live girl claims she didn't know any of the missing girls.  Hmmmmm.....

I enjoy reading Reich's books because I always learn new things.  I was not aware of all the corruption that went on and in some cases is still going on in Guatamala.  Thank you for educating me.  I also learned more about DNA, did you know there is more than one DNA?  Did you know that one type is derived from the mother and only the mother.  It surely doesn't interest everyone but it sure does interest me. 

Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb

I think I have read too many of J.D. Robb's books now.  I find myself very cynical of her writing.  She did provide actual detecting in this book to solve the murder of young people who are being killed and photographed.  It's just the premise that I don't believe.  I won't ruin it by providing the ending but I just don't buy it.  Maybe there wasn't enough pyschology to support the mind set of the killer but......  enough said. 

Young, vibrant people are being killed and photos of their dead poised bodies are being sent to Eve Dallas' freind at the news station.  The photographer is really talented and they embark on a journey through the world of photography. 

This book was better than some of her J.D. Robb books but certainly not the best.  I think it is time I move on from J.D. Robb.  Some of the rides were fun but I tire of the usual read.  I need to be fully entertained by the characters and their verbal exchange or I enjoy learning something neat or fasinating about places or crime solving or anything really.  I haven't enjoyed the character exchange or learned anything from J.D. Robb in awhile.  I wish Eve everlasting happiness with Roake. 

The Broken Window by Jeffrey Deaver

This book is frightening about how easy it would be to destroy someone's life with identity theft or identity destruction.

Detective Sach's and Rhyme are working on a case when Rhyme gets a call about his cousin who is sitting in jail for a murder he swears he didn't commit.  The evidence is overwhelming though, blood and other evidence are found at his house.  Rhyme starts looking into it and finds out that after the murder someone called the police and reported it.  Ryhmes team find a very disturbing pattern where other murders have occurred with a call to police to reporting the murders and incredible evidence is then found at the suspects house.  When the murderer finds out who is after him, he turns turns his efforts to Rhymes team and creates a data nightmare for all of them. 

Why would someone frame Rhyme's cousin for a murder and possibly do it on other murders?  More importantly if that is happening, how on earth could it be? 

It is clear that Deaver takes pleasure in surprising the reader.  I enjoy it.  I thought I had it at one point, I knew who the murderer was just to be foiled once again.  The suspense at the end was killing me.  At least I had a chance in the book and I wasn't hanging by a thread from the first chapter like before. 

Did you know that there is a "Broken Window Theory" that if you fix or concentrate on the small details the big things will basically take care of themselves.  In the context of this book it also means focusing on the small details will lead to solving the big crime. 

There are companies in the world that collect and distribute data for a variety of reasons.  They are called data-mining companies.  It is scary how much data they have on people and it's scary how the data makes people act without having any actual facts to support the data.  I know that I have suffered because of credit companies showing data on me that isn't right but because of it banks think I'm a risk when all the other evidence shows that I am not a risk.  People are putting all their faith in what a data company reports instead of using their heads to make an informed decision.  We, the people, are often powerless to defend ourselves.  If you would like to do more research go to:  EPIC.org, http://www.gilc.org/, http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/, http://ifea.net/, http://www.privacy.org/ or http://www.eff.org/.  There is also another book on the subject: No Place to Hide by Robert O'Harrow, Jr. 

Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

This was almost getting into Dan Brown territory but instead of having any big reveals Reichs takes the easy road and just loses evidence.  Very safe but interesting anyway. 

A body is found and through the investigation of the death bones are found that may or may not date back to the time of Jesus.  There are indications that this is the reason for the murder.  Tempe sends a picture of some bones to a friend who is very mysterious but wants her to come to Jerusalem right away.  Curious Tempe goes and Ryan who's murder investigation is taking him to Jerusalem gets to go as well. 

In Jerusalem Tempe's friend takes her to visit a burial ground to help explain some of the mystery behind the bones.  The bones were stolen but an even greater find is discovered.  More bones.  There seems to be evidence of a family related to Jesus.  Scary things are happening and another murder occurs.  There are lots of people with religious interests who do not want information about Jesus being discovered, especially if it doesn't fit in nicely with what is already beleived about Jesus and how and when he died.

The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard

I really liked this book.  It was very interesting.  It's fiction but the author's muse is Edgar Allen Poe.  I am now ordering a book about Poe's life.  I thought it was very interesting so I wanted to learn more about Poe to find out hat Bayard used his life. 
A retired law man, Landor, living in the mountains for his health is asked to help solve a murder at West Point.  He enlists the help of a cadet E.A. Poe. In the meantime another murder occurs and everyone is getting pretty jumpy. The murders resemble satanic rituals. 
This book is written for a time in 1831.  You have no idea there is a time difference.  There is absolutely no reference to anything that dates this book.  Of course, there are no cell phones and I suppose that in itself dates the book but I personally find not having cell phones refreshing. 
Poe falls in love during the story and Landor is trying to get over his daughter running off with a man. They enjoy each other's company during their working relationship and try to help each other out.  There is a big surprise in the story that completely took me by surprise. 
I enjoy Bayard's story telling.  It gets a little drawn out sometimes because his stories are set in the 1800's or so and they don't have the CSI type technology of today.  It took time and leg work to solve crimes or mysteries back then.  I enjoy the journey and side stories that develop along the way.

Mortal Fear by Greg Iles

If you have read an Iles book I guarantee you will not have read anything quite like it before.  He must spend a great deal of time trying to come up with the most off the wall original idea possible.  I don't want to suggest that he's syfy either, because he's not. 

Mortal Fear starts with a savy investor, Harper Cole,  living in an isolated town  working on a computer system that is a "sexual release" online system for the elite called EROS.  Cole notices that women clients of EROS are disappearing and calls in the FBI to notify them. 

Cole's best friend is also associated with EROS.  The FBI want to know if Cole or his friend are involved in the killings.  The killings are the strangest part.  Each death is different and doesn't fit a profile.  Each death is gruesome. 

While the FBI is investigating Cole, his wife is discovering other secrets that Cole has been keeping from her. 

This book really gets intense at times and I couldn't wait to find out what happens next just to find out that something else is going to happen.  It a very interesting and orignal book.   

Monday Morning by Kathy Reichs

Reading or listening to a Kathy Reichs book for me is like coming home.  It's comfortable.  I now know the characters and their rythmns and I like them.  I like J.D. Robb's books for the same reason.  I know what to expect so I just enjoy relaxing and settling in.  That is the only similiarities between Reich and Robb (Roberts). Where Robb is total fantasy, from the future time period to the love life,  Reich is realistic, from her love life to her daily grind on the job.  She really is an anthropologist and she really does divide her time between Charlotte and Montreal.  I don't know if her love life is as she depicts but it's certainly realistic.  Women do get divorsed from men after 24 years of marriage because they catch the guy in bed with another, ususally younger woman.  Anyway, enough about comparisons and background, on to the book.

Tempe, as I said above, a forensic anthropologist is working in Quebec when she is called in to investigate bones found in a basement of a pizza parlor.  It turns out to be three sets of bones all of young girls.  She digs into the history of the building and finds a connection to the mob and gets a phone call from a mysterious woman who claims to know what has gone on in the building where the bodies were found.  All these things start Tempe, with the help of "hottie" detective Ryan,  on the road to discovering how the girls became the "Pizza Parlor girls".

I do enjoy Reich's books because she entertains me with a mystery and the path to discovery and at the same time she teaches me things.  For example, we learn about carbon dating and that tooth enamel can determine where in the world a person was born. Once again, we are what we eat.  Fasinating, at least to me.   To be entertained and educated at the same time is one of my greatest passions.   There is a lot of technical jargon in Reich's books and if shows like CSI gross you out you most likely will not like these books.  If that intrigues you then read and enjoy!

The Chopin Manuscript by Jeffrey Deaver and others

Whoa, this book is unusal. A few posts ago you might have noticed that I read a Jeffrey Deaver book for the first time and I loved it. So, i've been looking for more. This book was started by Deaver and then a different author wrote each chapter after that until the end when Deaver wraps it up.

I enjoyed the first chapter but the second and third I was not very excited about at first. The authors went off into their own characters instead of adding on to Deaver's first character. I was too distracted and I wanted to know more about what happened to the characters in the beginning. Boy, was I off base. I love the way the second and third chapters developed in the book as a whole. The best thing is I had never heard of any of the authors that wrote with Deaver so now I have a whole slew of new authors to research and read. Yeah for me.

A music expert is coming home from Europe after meeting with a Piano tuner and finds someone trying to kill him and soon finds also that the Piano tuner has been killed. It becomes clear soon that the music expert is no ordinary music expert. He has hunted war criminals in the past.

Here are the other authors:  L. Scottoline, Lee Child, Joseph Finder, David Hewson, John Ramsey Miller, James Grady, PJ Parrish, Jim Fusilli, David Corbett, Gilstrap, Pezzullo

Promises in Death by J.D. Robb

I'm back to J.D. Robb. It feels like I've been reading her forever but I still have not finished her series. This one was pretty good. I think I like the later ones. I know I like it better when she figures out who done it but by actually "working the case" instead of just coming to the conclusion without any evidence to support it, like some of the earlier books I've blogged about before.

A police woman has been killed. She was the girlfriend of the coroner, Morris, a friend of Eve's. Eve and Peabody are working the case. They interview the other cops in the victim's squad but can't figure out how someone got into her apartment complex and why she was leaving with her guns on when she was killed.

Eve and Peabody uncover a connection between the victim and the son of a killer Eve convicted awhile ago. He has a connection to both Eve and Roarke and wants the worst for them, however, he's in jail. His son dated the murdered cop but would he kill his lover for his father?

In the midst of the case, there is a bridal shower for Louise at Eve's house. The shower is every woman's dream. Count me in if I am ever lucky enough to be invited to a gig like that. Ahhhh, the fantasy........

The Black Tower by Louis Bayard

I can't remember how long it's been since I've said I love historical fiction so I will say it now. I simply adore historical fiction. I have read so many books on Englands history, especially regarding Henry VIII but I have read very little about France and their royalty. After reading this book I want to know more and more.

There is a diary from an earlier time before a 10 year old boy, Louis XVII was put to death. The boy was very ill and a doctor who was hired to take care of the boy became very fond of the boy and tried as hard as he could to take care of the boy. The boy was eventually hung, or was he? There is speculation that the boy was removed and another boy hung in his place.

Fast forward to the current time of the book, not the current times but a time after Napolean's rule and a time when the prior families rule has been restored. A death has occurred and the famous detective Vidocq is investigating the death and working with a Doctor Carpentier who's name was found on the victims body.

Is there proof that Louis XVII is still alive? Why are people dying who knew Dr. Carpentier's father? If the father knew something, why didn't he tell his son or his wife? If they find him, what will the current ruler do? Will he give up his throne for his nephew?

Vidocq and Carpentier work diligently on discovering answers to all these questions and they finally think they have all the answers but do they really? Or has someone duped them again?

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was suspenseful but not so much so that I couldn't function otherwise. There was a lot of material here that would have leant itself to that kind of breathless suspense but the author did not take advantage of it. I still loved it and I can't wait to do some research to find out the real story of the family and times after Napolean's rule.

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Temperence Brennan starts out telling a story about a childhood friend she spends time with in summers. Once summer the friend disappeared and the family would not tell Tempe where the girl went and Tempe's young attempt at trying to locate her friend came up with nothing.



Flash forward to current time and Tempe is flying to Montreal to work in her office there. She ends up working with several young girls and begins a long voyage into trying to find out what brought these young girls to her table. The voyage causes her to stumble over clues to her long missing friend.



Tempe's colorful sister Harrie comes to visit. Her ex gets engaged and Ryan goes back to his ex. Lots of stress in Tempe's life.

Tempe and Ryan end up finding out there is a very bad person out there who is getting young girls into pornography and possibly killing them. They just don't know who it is and suspect the husband of Tempe's long lost friend's sister. No one will tell Tempe where here lost friend is and what happened to her years ago. Is she the body of a girl who winds up on her autopsy table and did her brother in law kill her back when? The long lost friends mother worked at a hospital that helped people with leprosy years ago and leprosy is very contagious. There is a mystery surrounding the old friends mother's death. Could it have been leprosy?


I enjoy Kathy Reich's books. I learn a lot about different illnesses and medical terms. It's probably not for everyone and I don't rush to read more but I do like them. I will read more.

Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs

Temperence Brennan is in South Carolina staying in a friends house at the beach and helping out the local coroner's office. A mysterious body shows up and Tempe is thrust into a full fledge investigation. The deaths are very different and the victims are very different kinds of people. So why are they are turning up dead? There is a retired police officer, a girl who is connected to the mob, and a homeless person all dead by different causes.

Tempe's husband, who she has been separated from for years, shows up to work on a case and tries to woe Tempe. Shortly afterward, Ryan shows up for a visit. Can they all stay together under the same roof? Does Tempe still have feelings for her husband?

I have said it before, I like Reich's books. I don't rush to read more of her books, like the Deaver book I recently read but I do enjoy the stories. They are interesting and I must say I enjoy the science I learn from reading her books.

Third Degree by Greg Iles

I have never read this author before but I certainly will in the future.
There is a special needs teacher who is married with two kids. She has been having an affair with her true love who just broke it off with her. Her lover's wife won't let him have a divorce without taking away custody of his kids. He can't live with that so he decides to stay with his wife even though she treats their autistic son badly.
The husband of the special needs teacher is going through some very bad things at work. He is a doctor who is being audited by Medicaid and his partner has done some creative accounting that could result in jail time and huge fines. The husband started out as an innocent party at first but a year ago asked to make more money and knowingly became more involved with Medicaid fraud.
A nurse sends the husband an email to search his house to look for a something hidden that could hurt him. The nurse wanted him to find the evidence planted against him by his partner but what he found was a letter from his wife's lover. The strain of the audit and the betrayal of his wife and the stress from a secret he's been keeping for a year sends the doctor over the edge. The day and night is soon filled with terror that will change the lives of everyone involved forever.
It didn't take long for this author to reel me in. The terror started early on and I had to read on and on to find out what happens next.

Puerto Vallarta

Vacationing in Mexico in August with three teenagers. I probably don't need to say anymore. It's always interesting to balance things with teens. They want to sleep while we want to do sightseeing. The entertainment can be really great though when all is going well. I wouldn't trade a minute with my family.
We arrived Saturday around 11:30 am. It was a beautiful but steamy day. Lunch at the country club. Beach. Jet ski's. Malecon. Dinner and sunset.
Sunday. Brunch at the Country Club. The best brunch I have ever had. Breakfast items and local mexican food and free drinks. It doesn't get much better. We spent the afternoon at the beach and went to La Pesche for dinner. The food was wonderful and everyone had a lovely time. Until I tried to go to bed. I was sick as a dog. Apparently the local wine had more in it than I bargained for. I later talked with a woman who had the same problem when she drank the local red wine.
Monday. I spent the day sick as a dog. Bob went Parasailing. The kids went to the beach and spent lots of time in the lobby using the internet.
Tuesday. We went on the Los Veranos Canopy Tour. It was so much better than I even imagined. Our guides were amazing and made it so much fun for everyone. The view from our ziplines was amazing. We all zipped along the usual way and all of us tried it upside down. We could not was the smiles off our face if we wanted to.
Wednesday. We spend the day at the Beach. In the evening we went to Tulum for shrimp. It was really very good but way too expensive and it was buffet and limited menu only. Not what we expected.
Thursday. We decided to rent a car because taxi's are so expensive for a family of 5. We drove to Sauyalita. It was very nice and very "mexican". Just what we were looking for. It's a very quaint town. Lot's of places to eat and drink on the beach. Great waves for surfing. Not so great for boogie boards. Aaron got hit in the head by a surf board. We went back to the condo and looked for Parasailing for Aaron and Jacquelyn. They LOVED it! For the evening we decided to go to Le Kliff for dinner and we stopped by Senior Frogs on the way. A cruise ship was in town so the place was hopping. The girls really enjoyed the entertainment. We headed to Le Kliff for dinner and sunset. The view here for the sunset is the most amazing I have ever seen. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was. On the way home it started to rain hard. Driving through downtown was a challenge becauce the water was coming down hill rapidly and forcefully. We were driving, actually floating, towards home. It was so scary!
Friday. We took a tour to Yelapa. The boat ride over to an island on the way to Yelapa to snorkel was fun. The boat crew was very funny and entertaining. The snorkeling was pretty lame but okay. Yelapa is interesting. I'm not sure it is the "MUST see" that I read about but it's pretty cool. We walked back to the water fall and that was lovely. When we walked back to the beach it started to rain and kept on raining. It was so cool in the rain and there was no place to get out of the wet. If I could have had a place to secure my camera I would have been fine and I would have just swam but as it was I stayed put to try and keep the camera dry. We were all glad to get back on the boat to go home. That evening we went to the Malecon with the girls. Aaron did not want to go. We went to Senior Frogs. We had balloons made for us. Jackie got a temporary tat of a cross on her ankle. It looks really cool and really lasts. We had dinner and drinks and a lovely time. The girls had planned on dancing but they happened to have a band that night that was playing 80's rock and roll and it wasn't very danceable.
Saturday. We chilled on Saturday for the most part. Bob and I had coffee on the deck and watched the waves and read. We let the kids sleep in while we went over to Vallarta Adventures to get the pictures taken by their photographer in Yelapa. We went to the airport to eat and bought more stuff we didn't need and some liquor in the shops. Vacation over and back to the States.
We all liked Puerto Vallarta and most of us would love to go back. There is so much to do there and the people are REALLY nice! The taxi's and drivers who tried to cheat us and the people walking the beaches trying to sell "cheap" no name tours are the only negative things we came across.

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm on a run lately because I have read or listened to several really good ones lately. I actually had "FUN" reading this book. It might be because most of the book is during the time the main character is a teenager and he is an obsessed and overly curious teenager. It was just like being there without all the hormones.
There is an orphan in Venice in the 1400's. He is noticed by a chef and asked to join the chef in the kitchen. It is a dream come true for the boy who has been stealing his food to survive. There is no pay but he gets room and board. The Chef is an honest and good man with amazing skills with food.
The orphan is a teen and obsessed by a girl. He just knows that if he has a love potion that he can get his dream girl to fall in love with him and all will be right. The orphan asks the chef to help him. The chef knows it's foolish but he remembers what it's like and wants to help the boy. He uses his culinary knowledge to help the orphan out. It turns out the chef has a lot of culinary secrets. The orphan isn't the only one who wants to know the chef's secrets.
The council of Venice is looking for a book that contains secrets. The orphan boy thinks his Chef knows about the book. In his quest to find the book and what the chef knows about the book the orphan becomes a man and finds out that some secrets are best kept secret and some obsessions are nothing more than that.
This is a lovely story of becoming a man and of friendship, family and sacrifice. The time in Venice is a very dark time in history where laws were made by men in power who were allowed to make laws for their personal gain and to even kill for little reason.
Here is the website for the author: http://www.ellenewmark.com/book.php I was hoping to find out about other books but alas there are none. I will check back every now and then hoping to find out about a new book.

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

This book is one of the better J.D. Robb books. I have been reading all her bad books lately so I am glad to get back to a good one.
A powerful DA is killed in a bad part of town. She is an attorney respected by Eve Dallas and one of the DA's closest friends is the Eve's boss the Chief.
Eve has to investigate every angle and one angle involves the DA's children. This upsets the Chief.
Another murder occurs close to Eve, it's a reporter.

Ran of time. Sorry! Can't remember much now.

Hilton Head

Recently my son and I went to Hilton Head to spend a few days before picking up my daughter at SCAD after a summer class program.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Oceanside.  Whoa, expensive for what you get.  The hotel is on the ocean but the beach in front of the hotel is a public beach and if there is one person on that beach there is 200,000 people on that beach in front of the hotel.  My husband calls it "Waikiki Beach on steroids". 

My son and I got to the hotel the night before our check in and called the 1-800 number to see if they had a room for us and they said they did.  When we arrived at 2:30 am they said they were booked and offered no compensation at all for their mistake.  A huge mistake at 2:30 am when we could have stopped before we got into the southern most point of the island.  

We also took a "Kayaking tour" at shelter cove with "Outside Hilton".  My son and I wanted to actually kayak AND talk about the nature we saw.  Our guide wanted to kayak out a few minutes and sit and  rest of the two hours.  My son and I were so bored I thought we would fall asleep in the kayak.  Our bad, how could we have thought that we would actually kayak on a kayaking tour.  We paid $60 for that pleasure.  

Hilton Head, I say forget the whole island.  It's a rip off and there are plenty of good beaches in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida where you can get EVERYTHING you can get in HH but better and not get ripped off so badly.  

The biggest problem I have with HH is the length of time it takes to your destination.  The problem is the low speed limit and the traffic.  They keep the speed limit low I am sure so they can get even more tourist dollars from you by giving you a ticket.  On one stretch of road the speed limit drops 10 mph and the road is identical.  There is no reason for the speed to drop other than as a speed trap.  This gives me a bad taste in my mouth but not as bad as the $1.25 you have to pay just to get in.  You also have to pay that to get out.  It's a nominal fee but if you are going on and off frequently like I had to it adds up.  We are already paying outlandish fees to do anything on that island why do they need to rape us as we enter and leave.  The worst fee of all on the island is the $5.00 entry fee just to enter the Sea Pines side of the island.  If you have to go somewhere else and re-enter that part of the island, you guessed it, you pay another $5.00.  

My advise is to go up north past Myrtle Beach and stay in any number of great beach communities up there.  Or go to Destin, Florida.  Any number of beaches around those will cost you half the money and get you the exact same beautiful beach with fewer people and less traffic.  Of course if you prefer being surrounded by millions of people and paying twice what you need to then Hilton Head is for you. 

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver is now one of my favorite authors. I really enjoyed the book. There were so many twists in this book that I couldn't even count them and I didn't see any of them coming. It was pretty amazing.
A female officer gets called to check out a home on a lake that is in it's off season so there really isn't anyone at the lake. There is a 911 call that was placed and then disconnected so it has to be responded to. After driving 45 min. the officer gets a call that the home owner called back and said the 911 call was an accident. She decides to go in the home to use the restroom before driving back. Opps, it wasn't the home owner who called back in and now no one knows the police officer is running for her life. Luckily the police officer is very well trained but unfortunately a killer is just as well trained and together with some friends they all have the night of their life.
I was sitting on the edge of my chair for most of the book and constantly taken aback by the twists. Thanks Mr. Deaver for a good read!

Remember When by Nora Roberts

A man is hit by a car outside a woman's store.  Another man who has been following the man hit by a car, because of his connection to a diamond heist, interviews the store owner and they end up falling in love.  The store owner's father is involved with the diamonds and father and daughter reunite after years apart.  A third man involved in the diamond heist is extremely dangerous and wants all the diamonds for himself.  There is danger, humor and love but in the end the store owner and investigator get to be together but many diamonds remain missing.  

Fast forward fifty years and the couple's granddaughter write a book about the love story.  As  a result the author's friend and housekeeper get killed and Lt. Eve Dallas gets called in.  She is worried about the authors safety and thinks that someone is killing to find the missing diamonds. The problem is no one knows where the diamonds are and why would a killer wait until now to look for the diamonds.    

Lt. Dallas uses her investigative skills to work on the mystery and find her killer.  She and her trusty sidekick "Peabody" have the ususal witty banter between them and Roarke and Eve have the usual steamy love scenes.  It's and easy and enjoyable read. 

KC here I come

This is not a book review but a travel review. My daughter thought I should blog about it and I figured it would help me to remember the trip more.
I recently dropped off my daughter at SCAD in Savannah and on my home to Kansas City, I decided to scope out some vacation options for my family. I started out by driving up the coast from Savannah on Hwy 17.
I thought this would be like driving down the coast from Oregon to California but on that drive you actually see the coast. This drive up the coast was very different. I was barely ever able to see the coast at all. If a coastal view is what you want I would skip Hwy 17 and head up I-95 for pure speed instead and enjoy the ocean view at your desination.
I did see the Boone Plantation on my journey up Hwy 17 though and decided to take the time to enjoy the place. I believe it was $30 to get in and that included a trolley tour, homes tour and demonstration. The Plantation home was beautiful. The home is still used by it's owners so the tour was rather lame. They only let you in about 4 rooms, the entry way, a living area, an office and a breezeway. The items in the rooms are not from the home, they were put there by the current owners, not related to the original Boone family so there really is no historical significance to the pieces in the home at all.
Next, I took the trolley tour of the Plantation grounds. There really isn't anything of historical significance on the tour. It's just the grounds with a fairly impressive garden that you can pick fruits and vegtables from. I did enjoy the relaxing ride on a hot day.
There are also slave homes on the plantation with each slave home having an audio or video tour inside. This is the most impressive part of the Plantation but still not worth the steep entry fee. This was just outside Charleston so I am guessing there are more impressive Plantations to tour. It was a nice break from driving though.
I continued driving up Hwy 17 and every now and then I would veer off east to see if I could catch a glimpse of the ocean. Most of the time all I saw was homes with pathways to the ocean through high dunes keeping the ocean view a mystery.
I stumbled upon a town called Murrells, SC a small inlet fishing village that has at least 10 seafood restaurants on the water. I found one with the best view and stopped to eat crab legs on the deck while watching the wildlife on the water. It was absolutely a beautiful and restful stop. It was just what I needed. At the time it was the highlight of my trip.
After my relaxing meal I began driving once again up Hwy 17. I reached Myrtle Beach and stopped to get information on the hotels in the area. Myrtle Beach is like Las Vegas without the gambling. You can find everything and anything on this long stretch of road. From what I could see between the small area between the thousands of hotels I passed the beaches in front of the hotels looked pretty nice. Each hotel advertised a lazy river so that is apparantly the must have request for a hotel these days. All along the drive people were busy running here, there and everywhere or simply driving in front or behind me for a very long time. I had intended to stay the night at Myrtle Beach but frankly with no children in tow I was looking for something a little less commercial and a little more quiet so I kept driving north. I ventured past North Myrtle Beach, still bustling with activity but not as dense, and finally decided to head east and see what happened.
I ran quite by accident into Ocean Isle Beach, a very sleepy little beach community with almost no hotels or inns but many vacation condos or something like condos. There were a couple of Inns on the ocean, and I stopped at one to inquire about pricing. I was hoping that being off the beaten path of Myrtle Beach would garner a cheaper rate. It was about $99 for a room or $130 for an Ocean View. I was able to see that it was not just a distant view but that we were right there on the Ocean so I splurged for the Ocean View. The room was large with a table and chairs, a small area with a small frig and microwave, roomy bathroom and nice sized deck with a table and chairs. I thought the price with the ocean was very reasonable. I opened the door enough to hear the ocean waves and went fast to sleep to dream about how much I had enjoyed my trip so far.
The next morning I ate my continental breakfast while looking longingly at the beach. I quickly shed my shoes and headed out to feel the beautiful white sand between my toes. I walked down the beach letting the water run up on my feet as I walked and looked for interesting shells in the sand. I really wanted to get a chair and sit on the beach for a few days but I still have over a thousand miles to go to get home and I was getting home sick without my family so I got my map out and headed towards home, away from the ocean and away from Highway 17.
It didn't take me long to get to Asheville, NC, home to the famous Biltmore home. This is a place I have wanted to see as far back as I can remember. I just had to see it. Unfortunately the place closes at 4pm. It wasn't quite 4pm yet but suddenly the sky opened up and poured and without weather.com I was unsure how long it would last. I decided to wander around the city and decide what to do.
The City of Asheville is quite lovely. I think I could spend several days in Asheville and be very happy and busy. Ashville is located snug in the mountains so it was cool and green. The roads, typical of a mountain town, wind around and around. There is a trolley tour through town and downtown appeared very nice and contained one sidewalk bar/restaurant after the other. My kind of town. The rain and clouds lifted and left behind a beautiful evening. I wanted to explore and enjoy it but I decided to get a hotel and try and sleep early so I could get go to Biltmore in the morning and drive all day after that.
I arrived at The Biltmore just about 8:30am the time the gates open. I had purchased my ticket the night before at the Ingles Grocery Store for $40 to save time and pulled in and parked to get ready for the first tour of the day. When I walked through the trees after parking and saw The Biltmore House, I almost cried. I had wanted to see if for so long and there it was. It was even more magnificent than I could ever imagine. I really am hard to impress but i wanted to pinch myself.
The house opened at 9am so I was right there waiting to get inside. They have several tours available but I opted for the audio tour. The tours are an optional fee, the audio tour was about $8. SO worth the money! The audio tour allowed me to move at my own pace while learning everything I could in a short amount of time. The home is still owned by the Vanderbuilt family. It is 175,000 SF of living space. Wow! It is the most beautiful and organized home I feel confident that i will ever see. It's NOT beautiful gaudy like I think you might see in many homes of that era and size, it's just simply nice. The tour went on and on and on. I don't know what percentage I was allowed to see but I can tell you functionally I think I saw about everything. It took me over an hour and a half just to finish the home audio tour. We were allowed to see every floor, there are five in all. I saw maids quarters, the master and mistress bedrooms, quest bedrooms, the gym and indoor pool, dining rooms and sitting rooms a plenty, several kitchens and the library. I wandered up and out on a balcony and up and down at least 4 separate stair cases.
With a long drive still ahead I had to prioritize what to see next so I opted to see the winery before heading home. I drive around the beautiful and massive gardens, I'm gonna see that next visit for sure, and past the farm to get to the winery. I was barely past 11 and the winery doesn't open until noon so I drove out and to the main entry shop that also has wine tasting and sells wine. They let me taste at least 10 different wines. I liked several and bought several to take home to share with my husband and friends.
It was finally time to hit the road for real, no more stopping and sight seeing. So sad to leave Asheville with so much more to see but that's okay, it's just a good reason to come back and I will come back!

Savannah up Hwy 17

Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb

There is a funeral of a respected fellow police officer who died suddenly of a heart attack with no warning. At the funeral Eve mets the officer's grandaughter who requests a private meeting. Eve Dallas then enters the secret society of Satanism and also of Wicca, a religious order of Witches.
Several deaths occur and Eve meets a member of Wicca who's father was a serial killer and she relentlessly pursues him as her killer after another member says he's the killer. Peabody thinks Eve is being too hard on the suspect and Eve lashes out at Peabody pretty hard.
While waiting at the Wiccan leader's place of business Eve is abducted and becomes part of a "Ceremony".
I don't think Wiccan members would appreciate the portrayal of Wicca in this book, even though it is found to be a white witchcraft and the religious order members are found to be innocent, I don't believe it is portrayed accurately. I've read other books about Wicca and the ceremonies and practice in other sources had more to do with the planet and less to do with witchcraft and sex.
Every reader knows immediately who is evil and who is good in this book. It's a shame that more time wasn't invested in trying to link the evil characters to the murders by methods of investigating. That's what I like about the future books by J.D. Robb, our heroine uses a lot of technology and whatever else she can to solve crimes. It's almost like Nora Roberts couldn't figure out how to solve this one investigatively so she just had the killers wrap it all up in the end. I know she's capable of doing better, i've read the evidence.
The banter between Dallas and Peabody is enjoyable in this book and of course there is lots of Roarke being loving and sexy! Romance is "Roberts" strong suit and she does not disappoint there.

Immortality in Death J.D. Robb

This is another Lt. Eve Dallas book with sidekick Peabody and billionaire Roarke. In this story Eve has to solve a mystery surrounding the use of products or drugs that make a person seem younger. People are being murdered and in at least one case, Eve's best friend Mavis is arrested for the Murder. Eve is fiercely loyal to her friends so clearing her freind is very important.

I liked the ending of the mystery. It was a surprise. At least it was to me. I usually always figure these things out but this one caught me by surprise. I like that.

This is an earlier book in the "Dallas" series so some of the best things that develop later are missing. The relationship between Dallas and Peabody hasn't quite developed yet. Peabody is too timid around Dallas yet and I missed her witty comebacks in this book. Dallas is having nightmares but they are only about her killing her father as a child and they are not used to help her solve the crimes like they do in the future books.

There are plenty of things in this book though that are usually in the book. Roarke and Dallas are madly in love with each other and have sex often wherever they are, usually preceded by Dallas putting up a little fight. Roarke is always protective of Eve and he's always hungry for her. Do you really wonder why women would like this series? Dallas works relentlessly to solve the murders and brings in Roarke to help her with his security and computer skills.

This is just an easy book to read about a women who had some very bad luck as a child but is a kick ass police officer with a gorgeous and loving billionare husband and caring loyal friends. There is a brutal murder to solve and Eve works endlessly until she solves it.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I felt left out because I was not forced to read this book in high school. Everyone else had to read it and now my kids have had to read it so i wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
What the heck is all the fuss about? Someone, please explain to me why this book is a classic. I do think that the character sounds just like most teenagers sound when they go through their negative period. Whoa, what a downer, huh? Could a person be more negative? I know nothing about the author but if this book was written after the author grew up then it is "most" impressive that an adult could channel their teenage side again. Wow is all I can say. For some, I would say it's spot on how strange and dark it is inside a teenager's head.
Since I missed getting this assignment in school I also missed the discussions of the book as well. In the end he goes in the hospital. Is that because he's mentally ill or is it because he has a tumor perhaps. I don't know enough about all the medical possibilities to know what is going on here. Is there a reason why the author chooses not to tell the reader why Holden goes in the hospital? If he goes in for mental reasons then I am assuming it has something to do with his brothers death. Please someone out there help me. I spent hours on this book that I can never get back and I don't know why............

Next by Michael Crichton

If you have read Crichton before then you know that each book is completely different than the last. That's good news and it's bad news. It's good news because each book is a unique experience. There is no formula. It must take him so long to develop each book this way. The bad news is that just because you loved the last book you might not really like the new book.
For example, I absolutely loved "Timeline". I really loved it because of the one thing Crichton does do with each book is he does his research. Just as in "Timeline" the reasearch for "Next" was extensive. There is so much to learn and yet to be discovered about genes. The story in "Next" while non-fiction is based on a lot of facts abouts genes, the medical and legal side of genes.

Gene technology is very complicated. I liked the way the book would educate using "news bulletins" to educate us on some of the complicated parts of gene technology or just to bring us up to date with a part of the story. What I didn't like was that I think Crichton was trying to educate and even preach to us on every facet of gene technology in one book. There were so many stories going on in the book it was hard to follow.

Okay, loosely there was an issue of lab employees selling body tissue and bones, there was an issue of a man wanting to do DNA testing on his wife to show that she has a future desease to prevent her from getting the kids, there is an issue with a hospital taking tissues from a man who had cancer and survived and the hospital patented the genes and now the genes belong to the hospital, a lab tech gave experimental gene therapy to a person without approval, a scientist inserted his own genes into a chimp and a talking and thinking chimp was born. That's just the issues on the top of my head, there were more. So, understand why it was hard to follow?

I think this book would have been a lot better if just a couple of connected issues were discussed and developed into a story. Also, using interesting characters that people care about. There were several sub-stories with characters that we don't care about but they all get stopped in one way or another.
I understand that gene technology is dangerous and if we don't make changes it will be even more dangerous, but I almost gave up on this book early because it was just too much and I didn't even like most of the characters so I didn't care what happened to them. I did like the two main stories, the chimp/boy "Dave" and the story about the man's genes who had cancer. Those two were good stories with interesting characters AND it made me think about the current technology and laws surrounding gene patenting and gene experiments. If those were the main stories in the book and the other story lines weren't discussed in this book I think the book would have been better.

I love science so I hung on to the brutal end and I'm glad I did. If you are not in to science and learning more about science through fiction. You probably won't like this book.

Shoot Him if He Runs by Stuart Woods

This is a Stone Barrington and Holly Barker novel. They go to St. Barts to try and find Teddy Fay a "rouge" retired CIA agent who escaped in the last Holly Barker novel. I know when I read a Woods novel about Stone B. that it's going to be a very light and easy read. There's something wrong that needs to be fixed and along the way to fixing the problem Stone gets himself in a real jam that he manages to get out of and he gets the girl in the end, having lots of sex along the way and that there is going to be lots of funny conversations between Stone Barrington and his sidekick Dino.
In this book they don't really do anything at all, everything is done for them or drops in their laps. The closest thing to a tight fix Stone finds himself in is getting arrested but a contact on the inside gets him out pronto. There is no sexual tension between Holly and Stone, yes, they have sex but it's about as exciting as saying "they had sex". Dino is in the book but I don't remember a single interesting conversation that they had. The worst part is, the problem does not get resolved.
This book was still an easy and breezy read. I was able to start and finish it which is more than I can say about other books but if you haven't read it and you read Stuart Woods, don't waste your time on this book. Read a different "Woods" book. This one was started for a reson and nothing at all came of the book. There is no resolution to the book, the ending is very very disappointing. All there is in the middle of this book is people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner close to a beach on a tropical island. I am thinking "Woods" wanted a tropical vacation and needed to be able to write off the expenses. Not much effort in this book, even by Stuart Woods standards. I have not given up on him yet. Some authors like James Patterson have written more than one lazy novel and I don't waste my time on them anymore. I'll try Woods again.
Currently reading "Catcher in the Rye", "Teenage Boys" and "Next".

My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman

This is a very different book for me to read.  I will actually read anything and I mean anything as long as it's interesting and flows nicely.  What's most unusual about this book for me is that it is the life of a 16 year old girl, albeit a very mature 16 year old.  

The story covers about a year in Fredricka's  life when living with her parents in a girls dorm she finds out that her father was married before he married her mother and now the ex-wife is coming to live on campus near them and take a position as dorm mother similar to the role of her parents except that her parents are also Professors.  

The Ex is somewhat simple minded and doesn't seem to have a conscience or realize what effect her actions has on others around her.  The 16 year old is either sympathetic to or frustrated by the antics of her father's ex wife. 

The subject is rather serious at times from affairs, unplanned pregnancy and suicide.  The way outsiders react to Laura Lee's lifestyle is very realistic and understandable. The way Fredricka and the Professor's react is realistic also, she is family, and you can't always pick family or understand them but we have to deal with them.  The book is somehow realistic but light and airy.  The serious subjects never weighed me down or depressed me.  I enjoyed the story and felt like a learned from it.  I want to take life and people a lot less seriously.  

Night Probe by Clive Cussler

Okay, like always there is a major national or international conspiracy.  In this case the conspiracy exists between the U.S., Canada and England.  It involves a trade agreement that if found could make Canada part of the U.S.  There are some major low down bad guys willing to do anything for financial and political gain.  What I love about Cussler is that there is always a sliver of truth to all his novels making me learn or seek to learn more about World History and Geography.  I plan on doing some research to see if there really is a theory about a missing trade agreement.  Hey Clive, if you are reading this, I would really appreciate it if you could be more like my buddy Steve Berry, you know, "The Last Templar" for one, who summarizes in a chapter at the end of the book, all the real stuff and all the stuff he totally makes up.  That saves me tons of time on the research so that I only have to look into the real stuff to further my thirst for historical non-fiction.  

Similar to books in the past the worst of the bad guys, usually a psychopath, gets his just desserts. Hey, if it's non-fiction, might as well get some satisfaction out of it, right? This time the method is unusual and interesting.  I had never heard of it before.  I believe it's real. 

  

This must have been one of his earlier works because the formula usually includes a beautiful damsel in distress and an awesome antique car.  There is a damsel but she has a couple of beaus including Dirk Pitt and she isn't so much in distress and there is an antique car but it doesn't play a very significant role.  A twist at the end is interesting for the damsel and Dirk.  

There is  a lot of crazy blood shed that doesn't always make sense to me in this book.  I found it hard to follow who was who during the battles and the amount of casualties doesn't make sense in this case.  It's not war!  Europe could possible lose the rights to Canada but they aren't fighting for their lives and even if they had lost the land, no one's life would have been affected. So why would England go to war with the U.S. a current super power over a non existent change in lifestyle?? Beats the heck out of me.  I certainly understand the power struggle but it would not have been worth the lives lost they incurred and certainly not the threat of an even bigger war and bloodshed. That's just me, always asking the questions and wanting the books to be believable.  I still enjoyed the book but not nearly as much of other Cussler books.   

Visions of Death by J.D. Robb

This book is of course similar to all J.D. Robb's  "of Death" series.  It's very formulaic.  There is Lt. Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke.  They always have some very steamy and graphic love making sessions, Roarke is always understanding of her demanding and dangerous career and he is passionately in love with "his cop".  Roarke always helps out his wife on the case by going with her on some visits and helping her out with his amazing computer skills and usually helps out by providing something like transport because of his large bank account.  

Lt. Dallas always gets called out on the biggest case in town and feels passionately about the victim and wants to catch the killer at any cost, even if she doesn't eat, sleep or have any other aspect of a life.  She always loses her temper with someone close to her due to the stress of the current case.  I lose my temper all the time but no one wants to talk to me afterwards.  What's wrong with you people, you should be more understanding.  

Why do I like these books?  I'm not a romantic book reader but I have to say Lt. Dallas and her life is like a fantasy world for me.  What intelligent and passionate woman wouldn't want to live Lt. Dallas' life?  She is great at her job and she gets to obsess at it until she solves the current crime at the expense of everything and everyone in her life.  And the people in her life understand and still love her completely and unselfishly.  Wow, true fantasy!  

Her husband always worries about her and cares and takes care of her and always wants to make mad passionate love to her.     

She has the most amazing, interesting and sometimes famous friends who love her unconditionally and are always at work to make her life easier.  Who on earth would not want that in their life?  And her friends all get along together.  Awesome, right? Well, I must say I do have some pretty amazing friends in my life but so far they aren't famous.  What's wrong with you people, hurry up and get famous so I can live out my fantasy life.

In this book"Visions of Death" the current case is about a killer who cuts out the eyes and is bigger and stronger than average.  This is not my favorite book by J.D. Robb but it still flows along nicely and there is lots of friendship drama and drama related to Lt. Dallas' past as a foster child.  I just love the relationship between Lt. Dallas and Detective Peabody.  

If you like Crime dramas this book has a few surprises for you but is not as deep as some of her other novels.  If you like romance this is the least sexy of all her books that I have read so far.  There is some sex but not as steamy and physical as the others.  

It's not my favorite but it doesn't suck!  How's that for a recommendation. 

Next up another long time and often formulaic author, Clive Cussler and after that a new and totally different book and author.  Yes,  I have two books going at a time.  

Wednesday April 29, 2009 "No Time For Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay

I enjoyed this book.  I wouldn't say this book is a work of literary genius but I'm not sure I would know that when I read it anyway.  

The best thing about this book is the premise of the book.  A teenage girl wakes up on a school day to a completely empty house, after a night of drinking and getting caught by her father. Everyone has vanished. Creepy right?  The parents surely would not have left her just because she was a little out of control would they?  This is definitely not a subject that has been covered before.  Twenty or more years go by and evidence surfaces about the disappearances.  

The next best thing about this story is that the ending doesn't wrap up everything with a bow and make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  It does have an ending but it's not the ending you might imagine and the author doesn't try to make us like and understand the reasons why the original disappearances occurred.  

The thing I didn't like about the book is the relationship between the abandoned girl as a woman and her husband.  The husband says he loves his wife but has some doubts about her stability.  I really understand that and I don't have a problem with it BUT the normal dialogue between the two do not make me believe they are really in love and devoted to one another. Perhaps the author could have developed more of a history between the two that show a strong and loving relationship to make me believe their current devotion to each other more.  

Favorite item in the book is when the daughter asks the father, "Did I commit a fox pass?" instead of "faux pas".  Too cute! 

The Gold Coast by Nelson Demille

If you loved this book, you will not like my review.  Let me first say that I love to read and I love many books but this one, I could not even finish.  It bored me.  The critics love this book and my husband loved this book.  I tried very hard to love this book also.  

The biggest reason I dislike the book is that I feel like the author is challenging us to find him a fraud.  I think he came up with some of the most ludicrous situations possible and he's laughing at us the reader for buying in to any of it.    

The most ludicrous situations are when John Sutter, an intelligent and competent lawyer we are told, constantly finds himself involved with a Mafia Don and he is moody and angry about it.  I understand being nervous about anyone in the Mafia living next door but what I don't understand is why John Sutter would constantly get involved with the Don.  It would make more sense to me if he gets involved by means not in his control.  Going to the Mafia Don's house for drinks is NOT beyond John's control.  Allowing the Don's construction team to move a barn for you at a severely discounted price is NOT beyond someone's control.  Swapping spouses for sex is not beyond someone's control.  If Demille wants these things to happen, fine, but why make John Sutter crazy about it.  He just walks into the situations.  It would be plenty entertaining if these things happened without the premise that John Sutter does not want to be around the Don for moral reasons.  

The second ludicrous situation John gets into is when an IRS auditor threatens him with fines and jail time for failing to report a sale of a home correctly.  This situation throws John into a situation of asking the Don for help.  You don't think this is ridiculous?  It would not be if John were not a Tax Attorney who would have known full well how to stay out of this situation and would have also known how to get himself out of it.   He would not have felt like he needed to get involved with a Mafia lawyer to get himself out of it.  

There are some other crazy things, like the Sutters receive vegetables to plant from the Don and they plant the vegetables.  The Sutters DON'T cook.  

It is just too frustrating to me to read about how upset John Sutter is about the Don when he continues to get himself involved.  I found myself saying "why would John do that" until I finally said to myself "Why would  I keep reading this book?  I know what's going to happen, I know how it is going to end and in between there will be lot's more fantasy sex and witty conversation. "  I put the book back on the shelf.  

Stay tuned.

This is Susan. I read and review books.
Stay tuned.