Sunday, September 28, 2008

STRANGERS IN DEATH

TITLE: STRANGERS IN DEATH
AUTHOR: J.D. ROBB
Pages: 360
Date: 28/09/2008
Grade: 5
Details: 28/09/2008
Library

At first it looks like sexual experimentation gone horribly wrong, but a second look reveals that Thomas A. Anders was murdered.
It's not going to be an easy case to solve though as all the likely suspects have rock solid alibi's.
But just as it appears that this might be one of those cases that remain unsolved, Eve catches a break that explains how the murder was committed. Knowing the truth though is not the same as proving guilt, ad Eve will have to do a lot of organizing in order to get her case through court and those guilty locked up.
As usual, a good mystery, a thrilling read and enough of the sexy stuff to keep it riveting.

SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S

TITLE: SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S
AUTHOR: JAMES PATTERSON
Pages: 309
Date: 25/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: Stand-alone
Own

This is a really sweet story, a modern fairy-tale, a touching love story.
Jane Margaux was a sweet, funny but lonely child when her imaginary friend Michael appeared, to make her life enjoyable.
The day after her ninth birthday though, Michael disappears from her life, promising her that she would forget him immediately. However, Jane can't forget him, and 25 years later he's still a very fond memory and an inspiration for Jane.
Then Jane and Michael meet again. It shouldn't be possible for Jane, the adult, to recognize her childhood imaginary friend, but she does, and the two find they are closer then ever.
But can a fairy-tale happen in real life, and if yes, could it possibly have a happy ending?
This story was a balm for the soul, a real comfort read.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

BROKEN ANGELS

TITLE: BROKEN ANGELS
AUTHOR: RICHARD MONTANARI
Pages: 515
Date: 24/09/208
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 3 Kevin Byrne & Jessica Balzano Mystery
Own

It starts when the body of a woman is found next to a river in Philadelphia, strangled and mutilated. Initially it seems that Detectives Byrne and Balzano are working a single, horrific murder. But then other bodies start appearing along the river, all strangled and all staged to tell some sort of story - The hunt is on for a killer who is basing his murders and his victims on fairy-tales by Hans Christian Andersen without leaving a single clue.
This, in itself was a solid and fascinating story line, but there are several other story lines going at the same time. And when all the threads come together it really fits and works.
A good thriller, well written with interesting characters. I have to go back now and start this series with book one.

Monday, September 22, 2008

THE MAGICIAN

TITLE: THE MAGICIAN
AUTHOR: MICHAEL SCOTT
Pages: 461
Date: 22/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Youth fiction
Own

While Perenelle tries to find a way to escape from the Sphinx and Alcatraz in San Francisco, Nicholas and the twins Josh and Sophie find themselves in Paris where they immediately face a new opponent in Nicolo Machiavelli. John Dee is on his way to Paris and when he gets there he and Machiavelli will unleash unimaginable forces on the city.
And while Sophie's awakened powers continue to grow as she learns fire magic, Josh gets ever more jealous of his sister's abilities. And he still hasn't made up his mind about whom to trust; Flamel or Dee?
This is a very imaginative series of books, well researched and very well written. I hope the wait for the third and final book won't be too long.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

PAY BACK

TITLE: PAY BACK
AUTHOR: FERN MICHAELS
Pages: 183
Date: 21/09/2008
Grade: 4
Details: no. 2 Revenge of the Sisterhood
Library

All the members of the Sisterhood are the victims of injustice in one way or another, and the Sisterhood is there to make sure that each of them gets not only justice, but also revenge on those who wronged them.
Founded and financed by Myra Rutledge and organized by Charles Martin, former MI6 operative and Myra's partner, the Sisterhood is very strong and very secret.
In this book it is Julia Webster's turn to get her justice. Her "victim" is her husband, a senator with a secret and dodgy past, whose sexual escapades have had devastating consequences for Julia. By the time the Sisterhood is finished with him, the senator could well be history.
But there are complications in the form of Jack Emery, Nikki Quinn's ex-partner and assistant D.A. Convinced that the women are up to no good, he's determined to find out what's going on and to stop them. Jack is a problem that needs to be controlled, or all the careful plans will come to nothing.
This book was nothing very special and not especially well written, but it was great fun to read. Reading about women coming out on top is always enjoyable.

VOODOO RIVER

TITLE: VOODOO RIVER
AUTHOR: ROBERT CRAIS
Pages: 293
Date: 20/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 5 Elvis Cole Mystery
Own

Elvis Cole is hired by television star Jodi Taylor to find her birth parents. In order to do this, he travels to Louisiana where he soon discovers that there's a lot more going on than just a routine "find the parents" investigation; too many people are too eager for him to leave it all alone.
Somebody has already started and maybe finished this investigation before he even left Los Angeles, which means, Jodi lied to him.
But the layers go even deeper and soon Elvis gets Joe Pike to join him on a path that will lead to a lot of violence.
This was a fast-paced and very enjoyable read. On occasion Elvis can be a bit too much of a wise cracker for me, but other then that no complaints, just enjoyment.

Friday, September 19, 2008

THE LIKENESS

TITLE: THE LIKENESS
AUTHOR: TANA FRENCH
Pages: 553
Date: 19/09/2008
Grade: 5+
Details: 2nd mystery featuring Cassie Maddox
Own

When Cassie Maddox is called to the scene of a murder by a distraught sounding Sam O'Neill, she doesn't understand why. Cassie has transferred away from the Murder Squad after the disastrous outcome of her last case there. All becomes clear though when she views the corpse; the murdered girl is her double and goes by the name Lexie Maddison, an identity that was invented for Cassie when she worked as an undercover detective.
This likeness creates an unique opportunity; the girls death is kept secret and Cassie once again becomes Lexie in an attempt to flush out the murderer.
But as Lexie starts living Lexie's life she gets sucked into it, and there's a real danger she'll lose track of her intentions and become too rapped up in Lexie and her friends.
This case has all the potential to turn into another disaster, unless Cassie can get her act together.

Although this book did remind me of both THE SECRET HISTORY and THE HOUSE AT MIDNIGHT, it didn't take away anything from my enjoyment. This was a great mystery, a very well written book and a very hard to put down read.

THE BONE GARDEN

TITLE: THE BONE GARDEN
AUTHOR: KATE ELLIS
Pages: 232
Date: 17/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 5 Wesley Peterson Mystery
Own

During an excavation in a lost garden two skeletons are found in quick succession, both having died a violent death a long time ago. Wesley Peterson, though interested, has other things on his mind because a man has been stabbed to death in a caravan, leaving no clues as to his identity. The only interesting thing found with him is an article about the gardens.
A local solicitor is desperate for a discrete talk with Wesley, but before the two can talk, the solicitor is found dead, apparently having been repeatedly hit by a flying cricket ball.
While past and present once again show shocking similarities, someone close to Peterson is in danger of becoming the last victim in the modern mystery.
Well plotted and well written, as usual , and a pleasure to read.

Monday, September 15, 2008

BEFORE I DIE

TITLE: BEFORE I DIE
AUTHOR: JENNY DOWNHAM
Pages: 327
Date: 15/09/2008
Grade: 5
Library

On the back cover of this novel it says: "an extraordinary book", and it truly is.
16 year old Tessa has been fighting leukemia for years, but has now reached the terminal stages. She makes a list of things to do before she dies, starting off with sex.
But she soon finds out that you don't always get something just because you want it, and that when you do get it, it might not be what you imagined or what you need. By the same token though, sometimes you get things you didn't even know you wanted, or didn't think available.
Although this is of course a sad story (no miracle cures), it's not a depressing read. It is honest, and eye-opening and very much worth the time it takes to read and reflect on it.

WHITE NIGHTS

TITLE: WHITE NIGHTS
AUTHOR: ANN CLEEVES
Pages: 392
Date: 14/09/2008
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 2 Shetland quartet
Library

In a fisherman's shed in the tiny community of Biddista, a man is found hanged, with a mask on his face. Only the night before the man had broken down at the opening of an art exhibition attended by Detective Jimmy Perez, and had claimed to suffer from amnesia.
Now Perez has to start a murder investigation and discover all the secrets burried in the tiny community.
Soon though, a second murder is commited, and while Perez once again has to work with Roy Taylor from the Inverness force, and is trying to further his relationship with Fran Hunter, events and secrets several years old are causing death and pain in the present.
This second book in the quartet lives up to the promise of the first one, and I'm looking forward to the remaining instalments.

DEVIL BONES

TITLE: DEVIL BONES
AUTHOR: KATHY REICHS
Pages: 304
Date: 13/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 11 Tempe Brennan Mystery
Own

Working in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tempe is called to a dilapidated house where a disturbing sight has been uncovered in a cellar. Tempe finds the remains of a chicken and a goat, two cauldrons as well as a skull with the bottom jaw missing.
When a few days later a body is found with signs of satanic rituals, all hell breaks lose in Charlotte with one politician especially using fear of the unknown to advance his career.
Tempe has problems with both her temper and her imagination while she and the police try to make sense of all the different finds and clues.
With her personal life in chaos and threats being made against her, Tempe faces a stressful and uncertain time.
Although this was a good and exciting read, it wasn't quite up to the standard of previous books for me. Especially since when the mysteries were resolved I had little or no idea who the main perpetrator was and where he had featured in the story.
This could be partly due to careless reading on my part, but not completely, I think.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

THE POISON THRONE

TITLE: THE POISON THRONE
AUTHOR: CELINE KIERNAN
Pages: 368
Date: 11/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 1 The Moorehawke Trilogy
YA / ARC
Borrowed from author.

Celine Kiernan is a member of my library in Bailieborough and has written a most wonderful novel.
The story is set in a fantasy version of 14th century Europe and centers around 15 year old Wynter Moorehawk, apprentice carpenter and daughter of Lorcan Moorehawk, Lord Protector and close friend of King Jonathan.
When Wynter and her father return to the kingdom and the royal courts they find a changed world to the one they left five years earlier. Gone is the tolerant and multi-cultural society they knew, to be replaced by one ruled by Jonathan, the once tolerant king, through fear and oppression.
The king has exiled the crown prince, Alberon and is forcing Razi, his bastard son into that role, much against the young man's wishes.
With Alberon and Razi both having been friends of Wynter all their lives, the turmoil is very close to her heart.
But with Jonathan becoming ever more paranoid and oppressive, Razi, his mysterious and charming friend Christopher and Wynter are in real danger of becoming pawns in a political game that might easily kill them.
This book was thrilling, full of realistic details and characters.
As Tara (my 14 year old daughter) said, the only problem with reading an ARC this good is that the wait for part two is even longer then usual.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

THE FAIRY-TALE DETECTIVES

TITLE: THE FAIRY-TALE DETECTIVE
AUTHOR: MICHAEL BUCKLEY
Pages: 284
Date: 08/09/2008
Grade: 4
Details: no. 1 The Sisters Grimm
Library

A year and a half ago, the parents of Sabrina (aged 11) and Daphne (7) Grimm disappeared without a trace, and since then the girls have had a miserable time in care. Now they're being send to Ferry-port to go and live with the Grandmother who they were told had died before they were born.
While Daphne is more then happy to accept this turn of affairs, Sabrina is very distrustful and immediately starts preparing to run away.
Ferry-port is nothing like teh world the girls are used to though, and the girls have to adjust to the fact that they are direct descendants from the Brothers Grimm, that fairy-tales are actually factual histories and that their new home is inhabited by exiled "ever-afters". If they don't adjust they won't be able to safe their gran from a giant and take up their role as fairy-tale detectives.
This book was great fun.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

DEATH AT LA FENICE

TITLE: DEATH AT LA FENICE
AUTHOR: DONNA LEON
Pages: 349
Date: 07/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 1 Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
Large Print edition
Library

When world famous conductor Maestro Helmut Wellauer dies halfway through a performance of La Traviata in La Fenice in Venice, it is soon clear that the cause of death is cyanide poisoning. To Commissario of Police Guido Brunetti falls the task of finding out why the man died and who caused the death.
He soon discovers that Wellauer was not a nice man and that he made a lot of enemies during his life. The big question is, who hated the conductor enough to cause his death.
This was a good and well plotted mystery with central characters I'll enjoy finding out more about.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

BREAKING DAWN

TITLE: BREAKING DAWN
AUTHOR: STEPHENIE MEYER
Pages: 754
Date: 06/09/2008
Grade: 5
Details: no. 4 Twilight Saga
Own

As Bella and Edward get married and start their future together, it should have been a time of bliss. But and unexpected turn of events shakes their world and future, as well as the same of those around them.
A child born to a vampire of a human mother is unheard of, but happens to our couple. A child, very unlike any human baby, and nearly killing Bella when she's born, Renesmee seems to have the best of both species. And while she manages to fully unite wolves and vampires and make anyone who sees her love her, she may also turn out to be the reason for the destruction of the Cullens.
These books just got better as the series progressed, and I'm sorry it has now come to an end. I hope Meyer will at some point take advantage of the fact that there is room for further instalments.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

LOTTERY

TITLE: LOTTERY
AUTHOR: PATRICIA WOOD
Pages: 305
Date: 02/09/2008
Grade: 5
Library

I'm so glad that I went back to reading this book after a short interruption halfway through. For some reason I couldn't quite get into the story at first, but I knew that this is the sort of book that I normally love. So, I took a break, read Tribute, and returned to Lottery to find that I had been right; this is a wonderful book.
The story:
Perry's IQ is 76, but that doesn't make him retarded, just slow. Raised by his grandparents and abandoned and/or ridiculed by the rest of his family, he's managing just fine.
When his gram dies, Perry is alone, but with everything she told him, including whom to trust, firmly fixed in his mind he gets on with life.
When he wins millions in the lottery, his world suddenly changes, and the lessons in whom to trust proof more important then they ever were.
Powerful and inspiring.

TRIBUTE

TITLE: TRIBUTE
AUTHOR: NORA ROBERTS
Pages: 451
Date: 01/09/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: Stand-alone
Library

Cilla McGowan was born into a Hollywood dynasty but at 30 has turned hr back on the world of showbiz that has left her alone and insecure.
She moves to Little Farm, the now rundown farmhouse that used to belong to her grandmother, Hollywood legend Janet Hardy, who died under mysterious circumstances.
While she is renovating the farmhouse she gets to know and grow close to her neighbour, Ford Sawyer. As the work progresses, friendships develop, attraction turns into love and Cilla starts to feel like she may have found the place she could call home.
But someone doesn't want her there and is attacking both the house and those connected to it in an effort to drive her away.
It's up to Cilla and Ford to uncover the secrets from the past and who is so desperate to keep them, before the manage to kill Cilla.
Nora Roberts as I know and love her, although for me the book could have been about 50 pages shorter.
Still, the combination of suspense, love and sensuality rarely fails to seduce me.