I don't know if this group is still functional since we rarely discuss books,
but just in case there are still members interested. Theses are my reviews of
books read in December.
DECEMBER:
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling – fiction,
fantasy,
suspense. The series and the conflict between Harry and Lord Voldemort come to
a conclusion. This was a fast paced, action packed suspenseful rendition of
the
the theme good vs evil. Before the novel ends Harry has a better understanding
of his heritage and that of his nemesis, Voldemort. Friendships are tested.
Relationships are shorn and all dimensions of love are evidenced. This truly
is
the best of the series. I can’t wait to see if the movie gives the story
justice. Rating: 5/5 (an audio book, 12/1/10)
2. The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo and the Poltergeist
Accountant, Vivi
Andrews – paranormal, humor, fiction. This was a pleasant introduction to this
author. The premise of a person being a consultant to ghost with issues was
new
to me. Some of her clients were hilarious. This is the first in the Karmic
Consultants series. I’m looking forward to the next installment. Rating: 4/5
(an e-book, 12/2/10)
3. Karmic Consultants: The Sexorcist, Vivi Andrews – humor, paranormal
romance, fiction. Brittany Hylton-VanDeere has had all the advantages that a
girl from a wealthy family has made available to her. Because of her
congenital
heart disease, her parents still treat her as a sickly child though she is in
her late 20’s and healthy due to a heart transplant. Behind her parent’s back
she has become gainfully employed as a secretary/ wedding planner at Karmic
Consultants. This is “the” job for her. It is stimulating, exciting, allows
her to express her creativity. Her challenge, dealing with correcting the
deeds
of a mischief demon that is determined to ruin the upcoming wedding of her
boss’s brother. Rating: 5/5 (an e-book, 12/3/10)
4. Karmic Consultants: The Naked Detective, Vivi Andrews – humor,
paranormal
romance, fiction. Ciara Liung is the 4th consultant we meet in this whimsical
series. Her specialty is that of a psychic finder. She has been very
successful in finding valuable lost or stolen items. In the beginning of this
story she meets her new FBI handler who is skeptical of her skills. He
believes
her high success rate of recovering stolen items but a low success rate of
informing who the thief was is because she is in cahoots with the crimes. He
is
determined to prove her a fraud and in the process elevate his status within
the
FBI. Rating: 5/5 (an e-book, 12/5/10)
5. Vampires of Noctra: Blood Bounty, Darcy Abriel – adult content,
paranormal,
fiction. This author introduced me to a new genre, tastefully. I had
preconceived notions of homosexual romance. In this novel, Captain Donte
Luceinne was captain of a pirate ship, the Night Stalker. His crew were human
servants to his vampire. All were willing to provide his sustenance and all
sexual services he required out of gratitude for being saved from variant fates
of death. Captain Lucienne was used to total subservience from his crew until
one night they picked up a drifter. This drifter appeared to be more of a
challenge than any human he’d had contact for several years. Will this drifter
relent and bow to his will? Rating: 4/5 (an e-book, 12/7/10)
6. House Rules, Jodi Picoult – contemporary fiction. Emma Hunt is the
mother
of two teen-aged sons. One has Asberger (sp) Syndrome, a form of autism. In
order to provide some normalcy in Jacob’s life, “house rules”, code of behavior
was established. Some aspects of Jacob’s illness results in literal
interpretations of what is said; total honesty; and compulsive interests in
forensics. When Jacob’s tutor is missing and later found dead, Jacob becomes a
suspect. Jodi Picoult once again wrote a thought provoking novel. I didn’t
particularly like the ending but I’m beginning to see that her novels all have
interesting endings. Rating: 5/5 (an audio book, 12/4/10)
7. Indulgence in Death, J.D. Robb – mystery, crime, futuristic,
suspense. After
spending 2 weeks of vacation with her husband Roarke, Eve returns to New York
and rapidly is embedded in the murder of key persons of various industries. I
wish I could say more but it would definitely spoil it for those who have yet
to
read it. Rating: 5/5 (an audio book, 12/08/10)
8. Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs, Molly Harper White – humor,
paranormal. This
is the first book in the Jane Jameson series. Jane was having a particularly
bad
day. She lost her job, got sickening drunk, got shot by a drunken driver who
thought she was a deer he hit while driving and awoke to a life as a vampire. I
am smiling now remembering all the predicaments in which Jane found herself. I
was totally unfamiliar with this author and series. I am now a follower. This
is lite, entertaining, humorous reading. Rating: 4/5 (an audio book,
12/09/10)
9. The First Rule, Robert Crais – suspense, action, crime. This is an
installment of the Joe Pike series. A man who had been a member of Pike’s
mercenary army unit was brutally murdered along with his wife, two sons and
their au pair. When the investigators saw he had tattoos on his arm similar to
those worn by Joe Pike, they sought him out for info. Now aware of his man’s
death, Joe knew it was up to him to not only seek out the perpetrator but also
to see that he pays for his friend’s loss of life. This is another winner for
Mr. Crais. Rating: 5/5 (an audio book, 12/10/10)
10. The Trouble with Magic: Bewitched, Madelyn Alt – mystery,
paranormal,
fiction. Our protagonist finally learns to think for herself after new
employment in an upscale boutique once she was canned from a job she really
disliked but kept to appease her family, her mom in particular. While
exploring
the environs of her new employ she begins to broaden her world view to
accommodate that of witch craft. Circumstances arise that force her to step
out
of her comfort zone to provide assistance when her new employer is accused and
later arrested for the murder of her estranged sister. Rating: 3/5 (an
e-book, 12/23/10)
11. Body of Evidence , Patricia Cornwell – mystery, crime, fiction. Kay
Scarpetta investigates the murder of a prominent author and her family. During
the investigation she is betrayed by her lover Mark and soon becomes the focus
of the murderer. Rating: 4/5 (an audio book, 12/13/10 )
12. The Sugar CampQuilt, Jennifer Chiaverini – historical fiction. The
setting
is 1849, Elm Creek Pennsylvania. Due to a flood that sank her residential farm,
Dorothea Granger and her parents were forced to move in with a cantankerous,
grim, dour uncle. He was rigid and allowed very little joy within the home.
The extravances the family had, which were far and between, were allowed only
for appearances sake within the community. Dorothea’s family would have fit in
perfectly during the hippie era. The philosophies in many ways are similar.
What I love about this author is the depiction of strong-willed women of all
economic strata and ethnicities. Rating: 5/5 (12/13/10)
13. Angels at Christmas, Debbie Macomber – contemporary fiction,
romance.
There are 3 angels that a periodically sent as Prayer Ambassadors for the
Archangel Gabriel to earth to answer the prayers sent requesting help from
God.
They are given a short span of time in order to accomplish these feats.
Needless to say there are some hijinks involved that helps Macomber spin an
entertaining story. A good holiday read. Rating: 5/5 (12/15/10)
14. The Neon Rain, James Lee Burke – crime fiction, mystery. Lt. Dave
Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic who happens to be a very good detective on
the New Orleans Police Dept. He receives word from a guest on death roll that
there is word on the street that someone is out to kill him. Robicheaux is
also
convinced that this felon is being wrongly executed for a murder. He sets out
to solve both mysteries and really opens a keg of worms. Rating: 3/5 (an
audio
book, 12/16/10)
15. MidnightClear, Carmen Greene & Leslie Esdaile – Christmas, romance,
contemporary fiction. This book contains two stories. The first written by
Carmen Greene has a woman returning to her hometown to help her corporation buy
up property in order to build a “Mallmart.” She reconnects with an old
boyfriend who happens to be the town’s president. The outcome is and was
predictable. I found this tale mediocre.
16. A Charmed Death, Madelyn Alt – paranormal mystery, fiction. This
is the
second in the Bewitching series. The author returns us to the conservative
state of Indiana. In the first book of the series Maggie O’Neill discovered she
was an empathy while researching the murder of her boss’s sister. In this
novel
Maggie is learning more of her capabilities and those of her new found
friends.
She also finds herself investigating another murder, that of a rich, snooty,
teenaged b---h. At first I was struggling to maintain interest in the story
for
so much of the plot was predictable and somewhat boring, however, it did get
more interesting in the last third of the book. Rating: 3/5 (an e-book,
12/26/10)
17. Hex Marks the Spot, Madelyn Alt – paranormal mystery, fiction.
This is
the third book in the Bewitching series. Maggie becomes interested in the death
of an Amish artisan. Her relationships with Deputy Tom and Marcus gets a
little
more attention and Maggie is beginning to realize that she can no longer hide
who she is from Tom. Rating: 4/5 (an e-book, 12/28/10)
18. No Rest for the Wiccan, Madelyn Alt – paranormal mystery, fiction.
This
the 4th book in the Bewitching series. Up to this point, Maggie has tried to
keep her affiliation to mystical world under wraps from her family and
community. Only a few select friends truly knew of her capabilities. In this
novel, she is outed. I won’t say more. I enjoyed the storyline. With each
new
novel, the talents of the author improve. I was engaged from the very
beginning. I think she could improve Maggie’s love life, lol. Rating: 4.5/5
(an e-book, 12/29/10)
Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay – paranormal fiction. The following
summary
comes from wikipedia. I was just too tired. The novel's protagonist, Dexter
Morgan, works for the Miami-Dade Police Departmentas a forensicblood spatter
pattern analyst. In his spare time, Dexter is a serial killerwho kills
murderers
he believes have escaped justice.
Dexter's murders are directed by an inner voice he refers to as the "Dark
Passenger", who keeps prodding Dexter to kill something. Once he has done so,
the voice is satisfied for a while, but always comes back.
Flashbacks reveal that his foster father, a police detective named Harry
Morgan,
recognized early on that Dexter was a violent sociopathwith an innate need to
kill, and taught him how to kill people who have gotten away with murder as a
way to channel his homicidal urges in a "positive" direction. Harry also taught
the boy to be a careful, meticulous killer, to leave no clues, and to be
absolutely sure his victims are guilty before killing them. Dexter calls these
rules "the code of Harry."
Dexter manages his double life reasonably well for years, but his idyll is
disturbed when he becomes involved in homicide investigation in which a serial
killer is preying on Miami's prostitutes. As the "Tamiami Slasher" rampages
through the city, he begins sending messages to Dexter, who finds the series of
terrifying crimes engrossing and fascinating. Meanwhile, his sister Deborah
sees
the series of murders as her ticket out of the Vice unitand into Homicide.
Dexter is torn between helping her catch the killer and a desire to sit .
I will say, this was quite a different read for me. I truly enjoyed this novel
and plan to continue the series. Rating: 4/5 (an audio book)
Deb
http://www.debsworks.blogspot.com
Currently Reading: Tyler by Nancy Martin
Recently finished: The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver & First Impressions by
Nora Roberts
Reading Next: Marked; In Other Worlds
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