San Diego County Reader Jana Suggests...

2008-07-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box

Branching out once again from my tried and true authors, I did enjoy this book. I read the sleeve and was intrigued by the fact that the kids were on the run from the bad guys, always interesting when they're memorable characters as in Grishams "The Client", and as they are in this novel. Annie (a tough mother hen) and her younger brother William (a little outlaw) are fishing in their small town in Idaho when they see a murder, unfortunately the killers sees them too. The town they live in is nicknamed Blue Heaven because retired LAPD has bought land there, when they offer to assist in the search for the children, no one argues. The kids would if they knew because they are the bad guys who are after them. When they hide out in a barn, it isn't long before they're discovered by the owner, Jess Rawlins, a pillar of the community who is in danger of losing his ranch. He takes on the kids cause and risks his life in the process, I really liked his character and the children's Mom Monica, they were strong and flawed, just how I like them.

2008-07-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais

Another Elvis Cole book, if you read this blog you may already know what a huge fan I am. I actually wanted the book store to open at midnight like they do for Harry Potter fans but alas, no such luck. I devoured it in a day and loved every minute of it but also despaired when I was finished, how long til the next one?, I wondered immediately. Elvis is surprised when a pair of police detectives show up at his office, even more surprised with the news they're bringing him. During a fire evacuation a corpse is stumbled upon by some police officers who are routinely knocking on doors. The dead man is clutching a graphic scrapbook of dead women, one of whom the dead man had been cleared of murdering years earlier, due to Elvis' detective work. Typically, he can't let the case be handled exclusively by police, he has a feeling the dead man will be a welcome scapegoat to pin the crime on when Elvis knows he was innocent of at least that murder. At odds with the dead woman's family, the cops who believed Elvis helped a guilty man grow free, he tries to get to the killer before the trail goes cold. I loved the book and now am still wondering...how long until the next one?

2008-07-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith in Audio form

I read a positive review of this author's debut novel and decided to read it in audio so my husband could enjoy it as well. At first, after the first few discs, when the novel kept jumping from person to person I wondered when it would stop at the main character. Turns out the background was very necessary since I knew very little about Stalin's Russia which is the setting of the book and everything in the beginning came together in its conclusion. Leo is an MGB agent, a war hero, very loyal to the State in which he has dedicated his life and sacrificed his health in order to serve. When a coworker insists his child was murdered Leo dismisses the charge as were his orders, for the State believes there are no murders, just crimes against itself. When he is told to investigate his pretty wife Raisa he complies but is unable to find enough evidence for his satisfaction that she is a traitor. After his decision to either denounce his wife, or to not denounce her, leads he and Raisa into exile and he into a demotion with the militia, he discovers there is evidence of a serial killer of children in his country after all. Proving that, even investigating that, proves to be as challenging as any war Leo has ever fought, and one in which he and his family may not survive. Quite a nerve-racking story, made me glad I wasn't around in Stalinist Russia, or the McCarthy Era in America since it felt similar in certain ways. Nevertheless, this book was engrossing, I enjoyed hearing it.

2008-06-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

I love this author's books and this one was so engrossing last Saturday morning, I did absolutely no chores in order to finish the last half, I haven't let myself do that for years now. Kimberly Quincy is the daughter of my favorite character in her books, Pierce Quincy, and she's followed his footsteps into law enforcement as a special agent with the FBI. Her mother and sister were victims of a serial killer in one of the previous books so both she and Pierce are tough cookies, as is her stepmother Rainie, a featured player in some of the series last installments. Kimberly is married and five months pregnant when the book opens, she is summoned by a detective who tells her a hooker is in their interrogation room and has claimed she is her informant. That claim turns out to be false but the woman's sudden appearance into Kimberly's life precedes another downward spiral into a serial killers universe. This book was eerie and disturbing and if it were any other author my nerves might have kept me away but I simply can't resist Lisa Gardner's stories. The book won't be released until July but read it if you like mysteries, this one is great.

2008-06-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Shadow Woman by Thomas Perry

This is the third in the Jane Whitefield series. Jane's a newlywed and has completed her last "job", hiding a very charming man from a corrupt Las Vegas company and instructing him on how to stay hidden. When she gets a panicked call from him one night, her life of leisure is suddenly at an end, Pete has been found and barely escaped with his life. She's reluctant since she promised her husband Carey she would stay out of the field but her conscience won't let her feed Pete to the wolves so off she goes. I really can't get enough of this series, soon I'll be done all caught up and I'll be waiting breathlessly for the next installment like all of Thomas Perry's other fans. The villains in this one are even scarier than the past novels and through each book I thought it would be hard to top the previous bad guys, proving me wrong once again.

2008-05-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Even Cat Sitters get the Blues by Blaize Clement

This is the third of the Dixie Hemingway books, no relation to the famous author, as the character has to clarify throughout the series. Dixie used to be a cop until her husband and daughter died and now she's a pet-sitter and not quite recovered from the loss of her family. She gets a little bit better throughout each book, in this one she's finally feeling attraction to men again, unfortunately for her there are two of them. True to form for Dixie her work day begins with a corpse, a man working a security gate for an affluent home is dead as she discovers when she tries to enter and feed an iguana. Suprisingly, she runs from the situation instead of reporting it and that leads her to more problems with a police department when her presence is reported by a witness. She doesn't let it lie for long though, pretty soon she's right in the thick of the mystery, caring for a very important iguana and trying to help a very sick man who lives in the home. A few plot points regarding the ailing character in the book made me uncomfortable, but it was still quite enjoyable. I'm glad her character is recovering enough to put herself out there, it puts a little element of romance in the series.

2008-05-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

The Face-Changers by Thomas Perry

I was very disappointed to discover by reading this novel I read the Jane Whitefield books out of sequence. I was midway through it when it dawned on me but by than I couldn't put it down. Jane is out of the vanishing business, now she's just a wife of a surgeon, but like being in the mafia, she just keeps being pulled back in. This time it's for her husband Carey, when his mentor is shot and soon to be arrested on a murder charge, against all his own reservations about her "work" he asks her to help him. It's not long before she realizes the case against the elderly doctor just may send her and Carey to prison unless she gets to the real killers, not an easy task since they are just as skilled at invisibility as she herself. I can't get over how much I love this character, she is tough as nails and can take on so many scary people that would leave me a puddle of fear in the corner. Here's to Jane's next exciting adventure, the one I should've read before this book, Shadow Woman.

2008-05-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

Christine Falls by Bejamin Black

I read a positive review of the current novel "Silver Swan" and decided to start the series at the beginning. While the story was entertaining, I wasn't too fond of the main character, Quirke is not the the kind of hero I look for in a series. They can be flawed, give me a Harry Bosch and a Dave Robicheaux anytime, but they have to at least have good intentions. Quirke is a Medical Examiner in 1950's Dublin, he drinks too much, he's lonely, his only friend seems to be his niece Pheobe and he's pining for his adoptive brothers wife, Sarah. After a Christmas party at work he stumbles upon the brother, Malachy Griffin, altering a file of a deceased woman in his morgue. Christine Falls is the dead woman's name and when she is taken from his morgue the next day, Quirke is intrigued enough to have her returned to him for an autopsy. What he finds and reports to the wrong people cause death to a woman he questions and results in the villains coming after him. The intrigue sends him to Boston where his own dark secrets are soon revealed and the death of Christine Falls becomes a major conspiracy and not just the work of one person. Good story, I kept reading which means I had interest, but still wish Quirke had been a little less self motivated.

2008-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dance for the Dead by Thomas Perry

Book two in the Jane Whitefield novels and now I'm convinced, in my opinion, Jane qualifies as a superhero! As usual the book starts with a bang, Jane running in a courthouse holding the hand of a youngster and not quite dodging fists and bad guys as only she can, successfully, to rush him into a particular courtroom before the eight year old is declared dead or he is killed right there. Turns out Timmy Phillips is worth millions and if he is declared dead all his millions gets donated to charity. That's not why bad guys are trying to kill him though, turns out someone has been siphoning out a big amount of the money, and if Timmy shows up alive an auditor might find the discrepancy. Jane reluctantly leaves him in the protection of the court and unknowingly puts herself right into the thick of the case again when a young woman asks for her help, Mary Jenkins needs to disappear, and fast. Bad guys think she has bank accounts of swindled money and turns out the most powerful guy of all will stop at nothing to add her cache to his own. Once again Jane is up against a villain with more resources and money but as usual I'm in awe of her survival skills and sheer guts. Sometimes the high finance plot point left me behind but I think that wouldn't be the case with most readers. Now the wait until the next book in the series arrives.

2008-04-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Guilty by Karen Robards

Another good book by an author I enjoy. This one is about Kate White, a defense attorney in Philadelphia, whom has a troubled past in which she has successfully buried, and a young son from an early impetuous marriage. When the courtroom in which she is working is taken over by inmates and one is a man who knows too much about her she finds her life disrupted by blackmail. Detective Tom Braga, whose brother was injured in the melee, is one of the investigators and he starts to see that something about Kate and the situation that just doesn't fit in with her story. Unfortunately his personal interest in Kate starts to interfere with his ability to solve the case and soon he has more than he bargained for just trying to keep she and Ben, her son, alive. Now my wait begins for her next novel!

2008-04-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton

This authors novels are always very enjoyable. The main character is an overworked bakery owner and baker named Hayley Goldstein, her fourteen year old daughter is the brains and accountant in the operation. Her ex-husbands money schemes always wreak havoc in the form of unexpected visits from strangers so when someone shows up asking for Hayley she's immediately suspicious. Finn Rafferty is a lawyer for a very famous rocker named Tommy Stiles, he doesn't divulge the true reason he's there but it has nothing at all to do with Michael Goldstein. Claiming they need a very elaborate cake for a party and that they will pay handsomely, too handsomely, Hayley believes with some trepidation. Nonetheless, she accepts the deal after many phone conversations with Finn, talks she's beginning to enjoy in no way pertaining to her business. The romance and the comedy that accompany Tommy Stiles into her life made for absorbing days of reading. I really liked Hayley and her daughter Lizzie, no secondary character was left to chance, they were all funny and eccentric.

2008-04-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Stranger in Paradise by Robert B Parker

Another Jesse Stone book, entertaining as usual. A bad guy from a previous novel returns but Jesse can't get any of his victims to admit to any wrongdoing so all his team can do is just tail him around town. They lose Crow quite a few times and coincidentally other unsavory people die, but when a young girls life is in danger, surprisingly he spares her and hands her over to Jesse. Jesse's life is already being complicated by some upper class protesters involving him in a land dispute and a visit once again from his ex-wife Jenn. Adding the 14 year old Amber and the mob and gang members that follow her into his life, its another eventful period for the always humorous and always no nonsense, Jesse Stone.

2008-04-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry

Thank you to our library director for this recommendation, what a terrific new series I get to read while waiting for my growing list of favorite authors to write their next books. Jane Whitefield is one tough character, right from the beginning she is stronger and more self sufficient than anyone I've ever read before, man or woman. She takes people who need disappearing, be it abused wives, or army deserters and finds new identities and lives for them. When a man breaks into her house and asks for her help she reluctantly agrees only after grilling him relentlessly about how he found her and how he heard about her. Dodging some bad guys, finding herself interested in "John", her client, Jane is successful in hiding him but her trouble doesn't end there. How she handles herself through all her adversity and how she ends up avenging her friends is just awe-inspiring, my jaw dropped several times. I can't wait to read the next one, what a terrific novel.

2008-03-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

Creation in Death by J.D. Robb

Not much changes in these novels except the villains, but the formula is a winning one so I continue to enjoy the new releases. In this one a killer named "The Groom" has begun his work once again, so named because of the wedding rings he places on his victims fingers. He's also an especially cruel killer because of the suffering he inflicts upon them and when they succumb to the torture he carves how long they lasted on their bodies. Eve finds a link to her husband in the identity of the victims which makes the hunt a little more narrow than usual but since he owns many companies it still is a challenge to find him before he strikes. Soon they discover Roark might not be the link with the killer after all and getting Eve to accept protection is a problem in itself. Another entertaining installment of the Eve Dallas futuristic mysteries

2008-03-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Seaview Inn by Sherryl Woods

A nice change from the grimness of mysteries, this is a good romance author with interesting story lines and realistic characters. Hannah has lived and loved New York since the day she was old enough to escape her family owned inn in Florida but now must return to convince her stubborn grandmother to sell and settle in a retirement community. All doesn't go as she plans when an old crush of hers offers to help fix the inn in exchange for a place to stay for awhile, plans made behind her back by her grandma Jenny. Then Hannah's adult daughter decides to quit school and stay there as well, soon they're filling up rooms that she had every intention of staying empty until the inn sells. Eventually Hannah discovers there might be more to offer her in Florida then there ever was in New York but she's stubborn and she takes convincing from her family and Luke. I enjoyed this book, Grandma Jenny is a funny character, she will not bow to any one's will and ends up fixing the others instead of being fixed by them.

2008-03-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Bridal Quest by Candace Camp

This was a terrific book, it's been a long time since a romance book gave me goosebumps but this one did. With a similar premise to "Taming of the Shrew", a premise I'm partial to, I couldn't put the book down. Irene Wyngate is a spinster at 25 without absolutely any desire to be "owned" by a husband. She meets her match with Gideon, an Earl who was kidnapped as a young boy and than reinserted into high society but unfortunately for his staunch relatives, he's not fitting in too neatly. It makes him perfect for Irene though because she's not the norm for the young ladies in her social circle either. When his Grandmother starts parading young ladies in front of him he eventually caves in and agrees to throw himself in to the marriage idea, as long as Irene is one of his choices. Needless to say, she doesn't take to the idea. This a return to the authors Matchmaker series and I enjoyed this installment immensely.

2008-03-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

I was so excited to see this author had a new title, she is so terrific. This book was no exception, very similar to "Beaches", I'm probably dating myself, but I did enjoy that book and movie in the 80's. Katie and Tulley are best friends since they were teenagers in the seventies and they couldn't be more different. Tulley is ambitious with a longing to be the next Diane Sawyer and she thinks her best friend wants the same. Katie wants a more of a behind the scenes role in journalism and than a husband and a family. They both end up getting exactly what they want but like all friendships they hit a few big and small bumps, one leading to an unexpected estrangement. Until Katie is dealt a terrible blow and her friendship with Tulley is the one thing she must have to weather the storm. I loved the two women and thought the book was wonderful, if only we could all have such a strong enduring friendship.

L.A. Outlaws by T. Jefferson Parker

2008-02-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

L.A. Outlaws by T.Jefferson Parker

Another terrific book by an author I always enjoy. This is the story of a modern-day female Robin Hood or Allison Murrieta, the name on the calling card she leaves behind in her robberies and subsequent donations. The start of the book is exciting immediately when she follows a tip about an illegal diamond deal but when she arrives the deal has gone terribly wrong, dead bodies wrong. As she steals the diamonds and leaves she discovers she's not the only one who knows about the deal and thus begins the cat and mouse chase between Allison, the law, and a very scary character whose weapon of choice is a machete. The hero is a cop, Charlie Hood, an ex NCIS investigator whose past serving in Iraq, and his fathers dementia has left him scarred but still sharp enough to know more than some of his superiors. He gets entangled in Allison's web by a mutual attraction and soon has to choose between her and his career. I enjoyed every page, even the realistic ending.

2008-02-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

Suspect & Payback by Jasmine Cresswell

These two paperbacks finish the trilogy began in "Missing", about the family of Ron Raven, a bigamist who in the first novel has been presumeably killed with a mystery woman in a hotel room. The second installment features his legitimate son Liam Raven. A former criminal lawyer who switched to divorce law when he was used and discarded by a woman he defended in a murder charge, Liam gets a phone call out of the blue by the mayor's wife. She is being questioned in the murder of her husband and insists he talks to her even if he won't accept her case. She lays quite a bombshell on him and soon both of them are trying to find the real killer and keep her out of jail. The final novel features Ron Raven's illegitimate daughter with his Chicago wife. This book delves deeper into the mystery of whether Ron Raven is dead, when a former lover of Kate's insists he's seen him in a restaurant. When a P.I. they hire is mugged and killed while out searching for her father, soon they are investigating further and Kate's life is threatened. I couldn't help but be disappointed in the ending but I did enjoy the ride to the end.

2008-02-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Color Blind & The Killing Art By Jonathan Santlofer

I really love this series, I think both these books are really good. In Color Blind, Kate McKinnon Rothstein once again has dropped out of police work to continue her work on her PBS show, and also her work in the foundation she and her husband began. When a murder case once again includes someone she loves, she's drawn reluctantly back in, this time even more emotionally involved than she was in the "The Death Artist", leading her to take more and more risks in her haste to find the killer. I like the insider information the author gives the reader about the art world via Kate to her fellow investigators. In the next installment, "The Killing Art" Kate's life has changed considerably. No longer living uptown, she has donated her art collection to various causes, she now lives with a young girl and her newborn, in a much more modest lifestyle. When she's contacted by an investigator, this time it's not a murder case. Someone is slashing paintings and the first vandalism happens to be on one she's donated to a museum. Thinking she might be free of homicidal maniacs this time around she agrees to help the lone detective assigned to the case. That soon changes and once again the body count rises. Everytime I finish one of Kate's stories I can't wait to get back in to another one and since the authors into a whole new series, I'm not optimistic I'll be back in her life anytime soon. Alas, another good series devoured.

2008-01-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

The Death Artist by Jonathan Santlofer

Reading this book I kept thinking what a great movie it would be. Done right, it could be as good as "Silence of the Lambs". Kate McKinnon Rothstein, a former NY cop turned philanthropist and art expert, is drawn into a murder case when a close friend/surrogate daughter becomes a victim of a killer, the self-named "Death Artist". His crime scenes mimic not so famous painting, so that Kate being the art historian and having her previous police experience, becomes an invaluable asset to the case. Kate is also one of the heroines I love to follow in series mysteries, she's tough, smart and like the male counterparts of fictional cops I love, prone to acting first and explaining later. In "The Death Artist", the killer begins to correspond with her and soon she and more of her loved ones are in danger. This was an engrossing novel, I'm almost done with "Color Blind" the next one in the series so I'll keep you posted.

2008-01-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

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There's no place like here by Cecelia Ahern

After seeing this author's other book immortalized in the movie P.S. I love you, I remembered I had this one. I like this author, her books are always unique and interesting. Sandy Shortt has a missing persons agency in Ireland, when ironically while meeting a client in Limerick, she up and disappears. Her client, Jack Ruttle, finds her abandoned car and is worried, but he can't get anyone who knows her to share his concern. Sandy has a habit of taking off and not letting anyone know where she's going, so all who know her treat her disappearance casually. In order to compensate for his feeling of hopelessness in the search for his brother, he becomes obsessed with finding her. Meanwhile Sandy has found herself in a strange land with quite a few of the missing people she has spent all of her adult life searching for. She begins to share stories of the loved one's that are still searching for the people in the community, making them happy and frightened in equal measures. She is also discovering missing items that she has obsessively looked for all throughout her life. This book had kind of A Wizard of Oz theme to it, one of my childhood favorites so I liked this book.

2008-01-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

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Anatomy of Fear by Jonathan Santlofer

This was a really quick read but a terrific new mystery series. Nate Rodriguez is a sketch artist for the NYPD, his drawings are interpersed throughout the book, a surprisingly welcome addition in a fiction novel. Nate also has a bit of second sight, the "perps" he draws are occassionally not from victims descriptions, sometimes he just sees them and draws them out of his own imagination. When a detective sees an accused criminal and the exact likeness to said man in Nate's drawing, she enlists his expertise in a murder investigation. The case involves an artist as well, left with each body is a drawing of the murder, drawn with such detail that Nate is sure the victim was not just killed but stalked as well. It was an engrossing book, I kept dragging my poor dog out for walks to get back to my reading! Always a good sign when I can't wait to get back to a book, his next installment of this character will be out in April. I'll be reading it, and trying his other series as well.

2007-12-31T12:22:00.000-08:00

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The Perfect Match by Kimberly Cates

I love this authors romances and once again this one didn't disappoint. Rowena Brown has felt like an outsider, with her family, with her new town. One place she's always felt loved is amongst the animals she rescues and sells into homes with families that will cherish them. When her newest orphan tears up an older ladies teapot collection and proceeds to get himself arrested (as arrested as a dog can actually get), Rowena meets the hero of our story. Cash Lawless is overrun, with his job as a lawman, his single father status with his one daughter who is handicapped and his other who is just plain sad, and now a huge dog whom Rowena insists should become a new member of his family. Once again I came away from this book misty-eyed, as I do in most of her books, and hoping she writes again soon.

2007-12-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

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The Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman in Audio Form

With all my insatiable reading I haven't ever picked up a Tony Hillerman book, I did enjoy the movies made from three of the books (Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, Thief of Time) but this was the first time I had actually sat down with one of the series. I liked it. Tribal policeman Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is now retired, his protegee Sgt Jim Chee on the verge of getting married to Bernadette Manuelito. They're both drawn into a case involving missing diamonds, a 1956 two-plane collision, and a mystery man who may dwell somewhere in the Grand Canyon. Soon Chee, his friend Cowboy Dashee, and Bernie are venturing into the Grand Canyon to find the mystery man in order to clear Cowboy's cousin Billy Tuve of a robbery charge. Soon it becomes apparent that more than just they are in the canyon and the others might not have such selfless motivation. It was a quick read, only 6 CD's, and unabridged at that so I found that aspect of the book appealing. I also liked the characters, Bernie and Jim are a good couple and Cowboy and Billy are entertaining too.