Book Review: The Sandberg Connection

Private investigator Sam Blackman and his partner (both business and personal) Nakayla Robertson were hired to follow history professor Janice Wainwright to see if her physical activities would belie her claim against a spinal surgeon for malpractice.  But this is only the beginning because Janice ends up dying under suspicious circumstances on that trip, and Sam becomes a suspect (as the one nearest her dead body).

While he proves his innocence, the autopsy proves Janice's malpractice claim and her estate is broken into.  What's stolen?  The Sandberg verses that she was researching -- which were also the subject of her last words.

This was an engaging, compelling mystery.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Little Gale Gumbo

In this novel, Camille and her two daughters (Dahlia and Josie) move from New Orleans to escape Charles, an abusive husband/father.  They originally have their eyes set on Canada, but they end up making a home in Little Gale, an island off of Maine, instead.

There, they rent a room from Ben and his son Matthew.  Camille and Ben are attracted to each other, and the girls soon form a triangle of sorts with Matthew, who becomes their friend and protector, since the islanders are quick to welcome outsiders.

Camille opens a restaurant using her Creole recipes, which quickly becomes a success.  But this success and the make-shift family that has formed with the blending of the two families is threatened when Ben is the victim of an mysterious accident.

This was a great story, including recipes that I can't wait to try.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Attracted to Fire

Lindsay Hall is a drug addict and an alcoholic.  She also happens to be the daughter of the Vice President of the United States of America.

Special Agent Meghan Connors has always dreamt of being assigned to protect the President.  And the opportunity to do that may present herself if she can successfully protect Lindsay during a rehab stint on a working ranch in Texas.  The Vice President specifically requests Meghan, and she's eager to prove her worth, even when she discovers this means working with Special Agent in Charge Ash Zinders, who is notorious for being critical, tough, and biased against female agents.

This was a fun, exciting, fast-paced book.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Stay

Savannah "Van" Leone is broken-hearted after her best-friend's wedding (who she's been in love with for years), and confused when Peter (the best friend in question arrives at her house and tries to kiss her).  She does something most people can't relate to -- she drunk-orders a dog from the internet... from Slovakia.

When Joe (as she names the dog) arrives, he isn't the small puppy she is expecting, but is instead, a big, lumbering hulk of a puppy with energy to spare.  Soon, her bank account is drained (she spent HOW MUCH on this dog?), she's being evicted for violating the pet policy, and she may developing feelings for the new vet she's had to meet.

This was a fun book and a quick read.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Creep

Dr. Sheila Tao is a psychology professor at Puget Sound State University, and Ethan Wolfe is one of her students and teaching assistants.  For just over three months, they've been having an affair, but now Sheila needs to cut off the relationship because of her engagement.  Ethan doesn't take the news well, and he threatens to release a sexually explicit video the two of them made together.

Ethan also begins looking into Sheila's fiancé, Morris, to scope out the competition.  Eventually, Ethan also begins following Sheila, all to gain more information about her in order to carry out the master plan -- kidnapping her.

This book grabbed my attention on the first page and it never let go.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: A Killing In Antiques

Lucy St. Elmo, owner of St. Elmo Fine Antiques, is gearing up for Brimfield, the country's largest outdoor antique fair.  Just as things are kicking off, she's astonished to hear that her friend Monty has been killed.  But she's even more shocked to see his business partner Silent Billy being arrested nearly immediately for the murder.

Lucy has been snoop before, but the last time she did, she got shot, which lead to her promising her husband that her snooping days were over.  However, she's sure that Silent Billy couldn't have killed Monty.  Before Brimfield comes to a close, Lucy knows she has to prove him innocent.

Read my full review here.

Book Review: To the Moon and Back

In keeping with the spirit of most of the other books I've been reading lately, this one is about a young woman who loses her husband.  This time, it's to a fatal car crash.  After her husband's father urges her to leave their apartment to a nicer house, Ellie slowly begins the process of moving on.

Ellie can't imagine living without Jamie, so she doesn't.  She has pretend conversations with him, complete with his dialogue, and this makes his loss easier.  Still, she tries to carry on as normal a life as she can without having a husband anymore.

This book was touching, heart-breaking, and witty, usually in unexpected ways.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Angelina's Bachelors

Angelina D'Angelo lives in South Philly with her husband Frank and has a comfortable, happy life... until he suddenly dies of a heart attack.  She isn't sure how her life will continue, but she know it must, and her close-knit Italian family and neighbours prove helpful in this regard.

Angelina has always found solace in food, and she once again turns to cooking for comfort.  Over time, she eventually starts cooking for various bachelors in the neighbourhood, and she forms a sort of "food club" out of her home.

This book was excellent, and chock-full of recipes.  My full review is here.

Book Review: Pie à la Murder

In this cosy, local celebrity chef Della Carmichael gets a surprise when her boyfriend tells her that he has an 18-year-old daughter.  Although they've been dating for quite awhile, this is a part of his life he has kept secret.  And he's telling Della this because his daughter is coming for a visit.

However, Celeste (Nicholas' daughter) arrives to Hollywood with dreams of being an actor.  When she meets a photographer who promises to do some publicity pictures for her, Nicholas sees that some of them went too far and flies into a rage.  Days later, he is found standing over the photog's dead body.

Della springs into action as soon as she realises that the police have little to go on other than looking at her boyfriend as their prime suspect.  How can she prove him innocent between helping run a store, teaching cooking classes, and working on her show?

Read my full review here.

Book Review: Veil of Night

 I wish this book had a different cover, because I think the book is much more fun that the cover denotes, if that makes sense.

Events planner (who more often than not ends up being a wedding planner) Jaclyn Wilde ends up having a crazy week - six weddings in five days.  On top of that, she needs to deal with the über-bridezilla Carrie Edwards (she's already fired her one of her bridesmaids after a public fight).  Carrie's wedding isn't during Hell Week, but having to deal with her isn't making the week any better.

After a horrible meeting in which Carrie slaps Jaclyn, fires her, and threatens to fire the other vendors, Carrie's body is found in Jaclyn's parking lot.  Jaclyn becomes the prime suspect, which is complicated by the fact that the detective investigating the case is someone Jaclyn hooked up with the night before the murder (don't worry - the "Really?  Is he the only detective in the city?" factor is plausibly explained in the book).  As the investigation moves forward, so does the killer, whose attention turns to Jaclyn.

Read my full review here.

Book Review: Breaking Silence

Chief of Police Kate Burkholder has been trying to investigate a string of hate crimes in an Amish community, but the Amish are reluctant to report the crimes, mostly because it would mean involving the English.  Kate understands this mindset since she was raised Amish, although it makes her job no less frustrating.

But when the adults of Amish family are killed leaving four children orphaned, Kate knows she has no choice but to investigate, no matter how the Amish community feels about her involvement.  Have the hate crimes escalated?

The events bring up memories for Kate, and these memories may show that she's too close to the case to be effective.

Read my full review of this captivating mystery here.

Book Review: Unsaid

Helen Colden was a veterinarian.  She has died, but she can't cross over because she's afraid that the animals she had euthanised will meet her and judge her.  So she lingers and watches her husband, her menagerie of animals, and her friends try to cope with life without her.

One of her friends (Jaycee) gets involved in an animals rights issue, and Helen holds the key to the case.  Jaycee asks Helen's husband (an attorney) for help, but he doesn't understand why he never knew about Helen's involvement in all of this or how he can help since this isn't the type of law he normally practices.

Read my full review here.

Book Review: The Sixes

Phoebe Hall has turned to teaching after being disgraced as a Hollywood biographer.  Despite her PR team disputing the charges of plagiarism, she can't get away from the scandal.  Her boarding school friend happens to be president of a small private college and offers her a job teaching writing classes.

Shortly after her arrival, however, Lyle College becomes plagued with a series dead bodies.  Glenda (Phoebe's friend and Lyle's president) asks Phoebe to use her research skills to discreetly look into what might be going on, suspecting that a secretive group known as The Sixes might be involved.

This was an excellent mystery.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Pinch Me

Lily Burns had always heard the same thing from her mother and grandmother, but she was never sure why -- never marry a man unless he's short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.  Then she fell in love with an attractive, charming, intelligent paediatrician named Gogo (don't worry - it's not his real name).

It ends up that the women in her family have all been cursed.  If they marry out of love, they will face unimaginable consequences.  Lily explains this to Gogo, and he whisks her off to Vegas to be eloped.  And she suddenly wakes up in an alternate universe where he has no idea who she is and is happily married to another woman!

This was the story about a woman in love, determined to beat the odds.  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Deed to Death

Toni Matthews nearly has it all -- she has a great career as a real estate agent, and a great fiancée, who is successful in his field (he's an architect).  But three days before their wedding, Scott's body is found at the foot of one of the building's his company has been working on.

The investigation concludes that he committed suicide, but Toni refuses to accept this.  Her friends understandably chalk this up to denial.  What person wouldn't have a difficult time accepting this when they bury the man they're supposed to marry... on the actual wedding day?

Toni launches her own investigation, which reveals some shocking revelations.

Read my full review here.

Book Review: Still Missing

Those of you who have ever slept with me in a motel or over-nighted at my house know that part of my nightly ritual is to read in bed.  In fact, I will often literally read until I fall asleep, which is why I sometimes wake up with a book hovering mere centimetres over my eyes.  Yes, my arms will still be holding the book up.  Well, except for the times that I'm awoken by the book hitting me in the face when it has slipped from my fingers.

But this was the rare book that was so stunningly good that it kept me awake until I had literally (yes, I know I'm using that word again) read it all in one sitting.  I had intended to just start it that night.  But it gripped me and never let go.

Annie O'Sullivan is real estate agent holding an open house.  Her last prospect for the day turns out to be her kidnapper.  So far, not the most unique plot, right?  However, it's not the plot that's unique here but the storytelling.  This book is told from Annie's perspective as she tells her therapist her story.  Each chapter is one session with her therapist.  At first, she is reluctant to open up and tells only the barebones of the story.

My full review of this hauntingly beautiful story is here.

Book Review: No Rest for the Dead

I'm a big fan of Sandra Brown, so when I saw her name attached to this project, I jumped at the chance to review it.

This is one of those collaborative books, where each mystery author wrote one chapter.  This has its pros and cons, as I tended to want to race through the book and read the chapters where I knew I'd like and be more familiar with writing styles and cadences.

The plot is that the woman convicted of killing of her husband has already been executed by the state.  But now, on the ten-year anniversary of her execution, doubt it being cast on her guilt.

I loved this book, and because I'm huge mystery book buff, I was familiar with about half of the authors.  There were many I'd heard of but just hadn't gotten around to reading, so this was a great way to be introduced to them without committing to an entire book.  Collectively, they came up with a plot that was full of mind-bending twists, without being too "oh, puh-leeze; really????"  Read my full review here.

Book Review: Burning Down the Spouse

When Frankie Bennett discovers that her husband has been cheating on her, she goes a bit postal during his live cooking show.  She's been serving as his assistant, but those days are over, as are her days as his trophy wife.

She retreats to her aunts retirement village to lick her wounds, but after six months, her aunt enrolls her in Maxine's Trophy Jobs Employment Agency, an agency for former trophy wives.  This service also happens to have a support group for the women, where "suck it up, princess" is a frequent refrain.

Frankie gets a job as a prep chef at Greek Meets Eat, where she meets a wonderful Greek family, including the handsome Nikos.  But is she ready for another man in her life?

Catch my full review here.

Book Review: The Girl Who Disappeared Twice

Casey Woods owns a unique business called Forensic Instincts.  It consists of her (a behaviourist), a former Navy SEAL, and a tech guru.  They consult on criminal cases, and they're able to cut corners since they aren't bound by the same laws and bureaucratic red tape that standard law enforcement agencies face.

This book opens with the kidnapping of Krissy Willis, the daughter of a prominent judge and defence attorney.  Casey is reluctant to take the case for two reasons: (1) she gets the call immediately after finishing one gruelling case and (2) she senses that Judge Hope Willis is holding back a secret.  But when she discovers Hope's secret, Casey takes the case.

This book is a fast-paced thriller, and I was hooked immediately.  The full review is here.

Wednesday Weigh-In

This week I lost a whopping 0.2 pounds!  lol  (You know you're jealous.)

Earlier today, Rachel came over and we ran some errands.  I decided I wanted a new shredder.  We went to Staples and a new shredder was acquired.  Then we went to Target and got a few other things.  It was nice, too, because we got to talk about some crap going on in my life with a couple of people, and Rachel is always a great person to process with.  A quick stop at McDonald's for a lunch, and then we were set to come back to my place to accomplish the main point of today: listing a crapload of books on eBay to sell.

Thanks to my friend Diana who had given me some really helpful tips and tricks, Rachel and I pulled all of the books from my "books that need a home" bookshelf and set up a system.  Rachel looked up books on her laptop, slapped information on a sticky note, passed it to me, and I posted the books on eBay.  Since Rachel was much faster than I, when she was done, she started reading the info off to me to type in, which made it go even faster.

When we were done, we ate at an Ethiopian place for supper.  Yum.  The guy who runs the place probably thinks I can't cook because I'm there so often.  But Rachel and I were originally going to eat at a different place, but when we got there, it was closed for maintenance.  Boo.

In the meantime, we had a peach cobbler in my Crock Pot for dessert.  We were so full when we came back, we watched some trash tv for awhile (clearing the TiVo FTW!) and then ate the cobbler.  It was a new recipe that I want to play with before I post it, so you'll have to wait; sorry.

The best news?  Before the night was over, I had already sold two books!  My local friends have already browsed my books, but for out-of-town friends, if you're interested in seeing what's for sale, drop me a line and I'll send you the eBay link.