Jana Suggests

2009-06-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

Plum Spooky in audio form

By Janet Evanovich

Usually I read these manually because I'm bothered by the narrator's voice for Ranger and Stephanie's Grandma Mazur but the shorter "in-between the numbers" books has only a little of both. This one features Stephanie's friend Diesel, a mystical guy who is chasing another mystical (but evil) guy and throughout it all Stephanie is dragged along for the journey. Explosions, and loose monkey's and kidnapping abounds, as well as all the other adventures that befall her whenever she chases down her FTA's, including flying fruit. LuLu as always makes an appearance and other new characters are introduced, all as quirky and dangerous to Stephanie's well being as the main characters, but no one is as dangerous to her as she is to herself. That is what makes all these books so funny; only in fiction could someone survive all the car accidents and other calamaties that she sometimes finds herself contending with. Now with the new Fearless Fourteen out, there's no time to wait for the next Stephanie Plum.

2009-06-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the Memories

by Cecelia Ahern

This was such an entertaining book, I really liked it. Like most of her novels, there's such a whimsical feel to them. This one is about Justin Hitchcock, a visitor to Ireland who for the attention of an attractive woman, donates blood and that one action changes his life forever. At around the same time, Joyce an unhappily married yet pregnant woman, runs down her stairs to the answer the phone and takes a spill, losing the baby and than needing a transfusion. Such begins Joyce's transformation from an ordinary smart woman to an extraordinary smart woman, thanks to Justin and his advanced art degree. The two, at the start of the book meet each other only briefly, and then through the rest of it, are just two ships passing in the night. Joyce is dismayed over the memories, that are not her own, running through her mind at the oddest times. Happy memories of a red headed woman and a young girl and outings with them. Memories quite painful at first because of the loss of her first child but than they start to help her through her grieving process. I loved Justin's brother and sister-in-law, they were really fun characters. Always a treat to read this author.

2009-06-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Scarecrow

by Michael Connelly

This is the second book featuring the main character from "The Poet", Los Angeles Times reporter Jack McEvoy and it's every bit as good as all Michael Connelly novels. It begins with Jack getting laid off due to the rise of lower paid college graduates and than to his frustration having to train his own replacement. That very day he receives a phone call from an irate lady who believes his last story wrongly accused her son of murder. At first he dismisses her as just being biased in favor of her son until a key point in her complaint gets him interested in investigating. Soon his last two weeks are filled with another murder case like "The Poet" with its every danger and hopefully it's same reward since that last case bought him a house. The book also features the return of FBI agent Rachel Walling who comes and goes out of the Harry Bosch novels as well. This book has a scary villain since the age of computers leaves us vulnerable in ways like never before and this bad guy knows all and isn't afraid to exploit that knowledge to keep himself out of jail. This was a terrific book, I particularly enjoyed seeing the inside of the modern day newspaper business. Another winner for Michael Connelly.

2009-05-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Pursuit
by Karen Robards

Always an author I can't wait to read and I devour her novels quickly. This one was no exception, I like how her female characters are described, they aren't perfectly beautiful so right away I bond with them immediately, being average looking myself. Jessica Ford is a bright young lawyer at a prestigious Washington D.C. law firm, when one night the big boss calls and has her meet the First Lady at a bar, surprisingly unaccompanied by Secret Service. The night goes horribly wrong and soon the First Lady and a Secret Service agent who caught up with them is dead and Jessica is left with harsh injuries and soon on the run from unknown enemies. The book was a fast and a very enjoyable read, I liked both Jessica and the hero, Secret Service Agent Mark Ryan. Now the wait for her next novel continues...

2009-05-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen in Audio Format

Now there is a new character to put on my favorite fictional people list, the novels hero, Jacob Jankowski. I loved the audio books inclusion of two voices portraying him, the young and older version. He is a wonderful character at any age but I especially loved the 90 (or 93) version, he can never remember his age as he grouses numerous times. He is cranky and troublesome and just an absolute wonderful protagonist in my opinion. The story begins in his nursing home when the circus comes to town. A retired lawyer suddenly seated at the same table gets Jacob's back up when he claims to the rapt ladies at their table that he used to carry "water for elephants". After Jacob calls the man a liar and gets ousted from the table soon he is telling us his own story that is centered around him and "The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth". And what a terrific story it is, not romanticised, if you're an animal lover parts will leave you cringing, but it is such a moving story. Jacob will be a character I think about again and again.

2009-04-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

A Good and Happy Child

by Justin Evans in Audio Format

I was expecting a different story but still couldn't take it out of my CD player, I just had to know what happens to the main character, George Davies. At the start of the story we meet George as an adult, a new father who for reasons unknown to even him, cannot hold his newborn son. Soon the narrative changes to the journals his doctor encourages him to write. They chart his childhood as the only child of two academics, his trauma's begin when his father dies mysteriously on the other side of the world. George soon sees a figure, one who resembles himself but dirtier and unlike George, conscienceless and just a little bit evil. Soon George is convinced by the spirit that someone close to their family is responsible for his fathers death and he or the figure, we don't quite know which, acts accordingly. The person survives the car crash caused by his brakes being disabled; but soon he and others convince George that he is possessed by an evil spirit. Throughout the book all sorts of adults influence George, his mother, her new boyfriend, his godfather, his late father's best friend, even psychiatrists who eventually decide he needs involuntary commitment to a mental hospital. By the time everyone is done with him I'm amazed he doesn't just run off and live alone in a cave somewhere. The book is very engrossing the character of George is so well written I hated to leave him when the story was done, but like all books they must end.

2009-04-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sleepwalking in Daylight

by Elizabeth Flock

This was a frustrating book only because you want the main characters, Bob and Samantha Friedman, to just snap out of it! To be fair though the mistakes they make are normal for most self involved, oblivious-to-their-kids, people. A marriage barely hanging in there, an adopted teenage daughter acting out, rambunctious twin boys the only source of normalcy in their dysfunctional home. My heart ached for the teenage daughter whose traumas we discover through her writings in her journal which is interspersed throughout the chapters. She feels the only people who accept her as a true member of the family are the young boys and I have to admit the Friedman's are like most of us; unable to see how their unhappy marriage is causing collateral damage. 16 year old Cammy deals with things that made my jaw drop, made me glad I was from a different era when the most I had to worry about was when I'd find a boyfriend and if I'd pass my classes. A sad book I still prefer Me & Emma, her debut, a book that still resonates.

2009-04-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

Shattered

by JoAnn Ross

Another High Risk Series installment, if it weren't for the covers, her books would be read by men too just change the gender of the chest in a low cut top on the front and I guarantee they too would buy these novels. They're action packed with military men and covert operations with some romance to keep us women interested. The heroines are no slouches either, this one features a combat nurse who even after her military duty, volunteers for posts in dangerous countries just for humanitarian purposes. Army pilot Shane Garrett has never forgotten his brief affair with Kirby Campbell during a military maneuver where she was an Army Combat Nurse in a war torn country. When he is first injured and recovering in Germany he sends her away because of stubborn pride but later regrets his impulsive response. When they are both out of the Army, she in another hot spot, he back in North Carolina, recovered and now able to fly again, suddenly they are thrown together to rescue her friend and co worker from a hostage situation. Really good action romance novels, they take me no time at all to finish because of my high interest in the characters and the situations.

2009-03-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Brass Verdict

by Michael Connelly in Audio Format

Michael Connelly is always a great read but this time I tried him in audio and as usual his book was very engrossing. A sequel to The Lincoln Lawyer it blends both the lead character, lawyer Mickey Haller and my favorite LA Cop Harry Bosch in one book. You can't lose with that addition and Harry is at his gruff best. He is the lead cop investigating the murder of a high profile attorney whose cases Mickey inherits. They butt heads numerous times as Harry always does with people who hold back on him or just generally annoy him. Soon Mickey finds something about Harry oddly familiar and I was thrilled with the connection that is revealed between the two men. Any excuse to put Harry in a different series is okay by me and probably has excited all of Michael Connelly's fans. Another job well done.

2009-03-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

What I Did for Love

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

This author's work is always good to read right after a series of gritty crime drama's like Dennis Lehane's books to make me feel better about the world. This one is set in Hollywood which is a blast for such a movie fanatic like myself, an inside look at the stars and their paparazzi maneuvers. The book has beloved sitcom icons from the Skip and Scooter show, Georgie Yorke and Bram Shepard, and as which makes the beginning of a great romance, they hate each other. Soon they are thrust in the same house for months on end with quirky characters like Bram's edgy housekeeper/assistant and Georgie's pudgy sensitive male assistant. Georgie's very vain and insincere ex husband and his do-gooder new wife end up staying with them briefly making even more fireworks among everyone. As with most of her novels there is not just the one romance in the book and that makes it fun too. Always a pleasure in tough times to read a light romance to get away from the stresses of the day and thats just what this book did for me, my thanks to the author.

2009-02-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

Mystic River

by Dennis Lehane in audio format

I found out the narrator of this audio was one of my favorite voices in movies, David Strathairn, so I was on board for listening to it and he didn't disappoint. The book was really excellent and right away I had to watch the movie again and I loved them both. There were only a few differences from the book to the movie which is rare and a tribute to Brian Helgeland who wrote the screenplay. He added a few dramatic touches but didn't take out too much. It starts with three young friends playing in the street in Massachusetts and one is taken by car by two men posing as cops. When the boy is returned four days later his psyche and his friendship with the other two boys is forever changed. Fast forward to adulthood when another one of the boys, Jimmy, now a man with a checkered past discovers his grown daughter has been murdered. On the same night Dave, the boy who was taken, now a father himself, comes home covered with blood. His wife, Celeste, who is also Jimmy's cousin doubts his story and as cops keep coming around her doubts soon grow in magnitude. The man investigating the death of Jimmy's daughter is the third boy, now a State Policeman, Sean Devine. The book, like Lehane's others, are full of strong characters, the best being the actual atmosphere of the city. As the mystery unfolds, and even remembering how it ended I was still enthralled by the story.

2009-02-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

Wishful Drinking

by Carrie Fisher

What an amusing and quick read, I enjoyed the glimpse into how the other half lives, which actually turned out to be not unlike how us regular folks live. The only big difference is when they fall they fall hard because of the funds they have access to that we on a limited budget do not. They're mistakes, as we see more and more on the news, sometimes leads to death, luckily with Carrie Fisher she lives and has a good sense of humor about her recovery from both alcohol and depression. She has a collage of tabloid headlines about her parents scandals and her own in some of the chapters, also fascinating if like me, you didn't see the headlines when they were first published. I laughed out loud and felt a twinge of sympathy for the real life people she snuck in without naming names but we all knew who she was talking about. Her family members have no such luxury but I was happy to read that Debbie Reynolds was no "Mommie Dearest", more like the mother character she played on Will and Grace which I loved. Very nice way to spend a couple of hours and that was literally how long it took because I was having such a good time.

2009-01-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

Sacred & Gone Baby Gone

by Dennis Lehane

This series is terrific and I love reading the books after enjoying the movie Gone Baby Gone because the characters are now Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan in my mind. The only thing I miss is the dry humor that Patrick and Angie share that didn't translate too well on the screen or maybe they just wanted the film to be more dark in tone. Nonetheless I love all the books and the movie greatly. In Sacred, Patrick and Angie are hired to find a rich dying man's daughter, and as it turns out, Patrick's PI mentor Jay who also turned up missing after being hired by Trevor Stone. The case, as expected in his novels, becomes very complicated and dangerous and ends up endangering both their lives.

In Gone Baby Gone, 4 year old Amanda McCready is missing and Patrick and Angela are hired by the little girls Aunt to investigate along with the police. Even knowing what happened since I saw the film, I still finished the book in record time, his setting in Boston and all his characters are just great. Now onto the next and last one, Prayers for Rain.

2009-01-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

Darkness take my Hand

by Dennis Lehane

I have had trouble finishing a book lately so I went back to this series, and boy, problem solved. He has created terrific characters, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennero and the setting is to die for; (literally, many people tend to die in these books) a tough neighborhood in Boston, Mass. This time Patrick and Angie take a case that starts simply as a worried mother receiving a innocuous photograph of her college aged son and a slight worry that propels her to hire them to watch over him. For days they watch in awe as Jason has a love life that even surpasses Patrick's in brevity and high number of partners. But when nothing happens they give up and the mother agrees there may be no threat to her son so they are no longer on the case. Meanwhile, not so coincidentally as it turns out, Patrick is called in to identify a dead body of a woman he ran into, alive, just a few days before. Soon the death proves to be a link to Jason's case which tragically becomes active again. This book has everything, more heart wrenching childhood memories from Patrick, a serial killer, a reemergence of Angie's abusive ex husband, Phil. I'm hooked on this series which I read in an interview with the author is concluded with the fifth one, "Prayers for Rain".

2008-12-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Abandon

by Carla Neggers

Another entertaining mystery from this author. Mackenzie Stewart has changed professions from a college professor to a Deputy U.S. Marshal and on a day off at a friend's cabin, danger appears in the form of a knife wielding stranger who looks oddly familiar. After fighting him off and escaping with only a minor stab wound and an unfortunate sighting by her fellow law enforcement officers of her in her pink bathing suit, the villain is able to evade capture. Andrew Rook, an FBI agent and a man Mackenzie had been dating until he mysteriously dumps her, soon turns up on the scene following a lead he had gained from a confidential informant and gradually they discover the two cases will merge. The romance is a little lukewarm but I still enjoyed the suspense and the characters.

2008-12-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Case Histories

by Kate Atkinson

I ordered this book because I kept reading so many positive reviews after each of the three installments of the series. Finally when I picked up this first one, I enjoyed it. Jackson Brodie is a private eye, just as I like them, flawed, stubborn and getting into more trouble than expected when solving cases. At first I was confused when the book started with the various cases central to the plot and not Jackson but I soon got the hang of it. Of the numerous cases one is of two sisters who want Jackson to solve the disappearance of their then three year old sister. One day when she and one of the sisters were camping in their backyard, she was just there and then, in the morning, not there. Now, years later, with the death of their reclusive father, two of the adult daughters find a cherished doll that belonged to their lost sister in their fathers desk. The two sisters hire Jackson to find out the fate of their sister, driving him crazy with their bickering relationship and one's dramatic flair that he finds frustrating to deal with. Added to his complicated work load is an attraction to a woman who also becomes his client and a few suspicious "accidents" that threaten his personal safety. Quite a few quirky characters and enough sad stories to keep me interested, I will continue reading this series.

2008-11-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

The Murder Notebook

by Jonathan Santlofer

The second in his series of novels about NYPD forensic artist, Nate Rodriguez, and another enjoyable book by this author. The crimes are puzzling, a person is murdered and than the killer soon kills himself. Only Nate is the one concerned by this crime wave, his overworked colleagues are just relieved the mysteries are solved so quickly. When questioning one of the murderers whose suicide attempt had failed, Nate becomes even surer that this will keep happening unless he finds the link between the men in order to prevent any killings in the future. Unfortunately he has to do much of the investigating on his own since the department can't afford to pay him for a case everyone believes is solved. There's still the added complication of his fathers long ago murder and his new relationship with Terri, a detective at the precinct which began in the first book. I like Nate and his Abuela, the special bond and abilities they both share that makes for terrific foreshadowing of danger in the story. Not an easy book to find I actually had to special order it from a bookstore but well worth the wait.

2008-11-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

In Memory of Michael Crichton 1942-2008

Despite what everyone thought since I always had a book in my face, reading the material that I read unfortunately did not make me smart. But reading Michael Crichton books always made me feel just a little bit more intelligent. Every chapter of Jurassic Park put me on pins and needles, he had a way of leaving his main characters on the brink of death and than switching to another one and in turn doing the same to them. I haven't kept up with his recent works but that shouldn't reflect on his talent, the older I get the lazier I get, I have "Next", his 2006 novel, I just haven't read it yet. He will be missed.

My personal Favorites:

Jurassic Park

Disclosure

Rising Sun

2008-10-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Death List

by Paul Johnston

I decided to read this book on a whim when the description on the back cover sounded good and than ended up enjoying the story. Matt Stone is an author with a bad case of writer's block and to distract himself from his empty computer screen, he checks his e-mail and finds a very disturbing missive from a mysterious source. Soon the communication becomes violent as the sender begins to trap Matt into crafting his murders into a book chapter a day after the e-mailer commits them. From day one the murderer has kept him under his thumb by threatening the people close to him and than later by leading the cops to suspect Matt is the killer. I liked the book because soon Matt has to outwit the bad guy, the police, and keep everyone associated with him safe all at the same time, with the help of his rugby buddies and with the added complication of his angry ex wife. This might be the first in a series, I'll have to decide whether to follow this character, something similar happening again may be stretching reality a bit, we'll see.

2008-10-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Land of a Hundred Wonders

by Lesley Kagen

Here is another enjoyable book by this author. 20 year old Gibby McGraw is "Not quite right" after a car accident left her with a brain injury and killed her parents when she was a child. She is bound and determined to get "quite right" and fast so she can be independent of her grandfather and become a reporter. She already publishes her own newsletter but because of her injury her grandfather has to approve it. A few times she has caused quite a scandal in her town by divulging more information than some people want to see in print. When she stumbles upon a dead body she keeps it a secret, hoping to solve the murder and scoop the big story for her next paper. Unfortunately other problems, like her best friends pregnancy, her memory continuously failing her while investigating, her grandfather falling gravely ill, all this takes too much time out of her detecting and the killers start covering their tracks. Once again I really enjoyed this author's characterization. Gibby, for all her limitations has wonderful determination and strength, when she loves, she'll stop at nothing to protect and help you.

2008-10-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Homecoming by

Jill Marie Landis

I didn't even know this author had a new book until I discovered it on a web site of new releases and than realized it was already in paperback. I really loved this book. I had my reservations since this author switched genres from Romance Fiction to Christian Fiction but I devoured it very quickly. It's a Western, set in the height of the settlers/Indian conflict. Hattie lives with her adult son on their ranch and is a survivor of an attempted scalping during a Comanche raid which took the life of her husband and young daughter. When a friend comes out to the ranch to ask them to take in a young girl who is white but whom has lived among the Indians for quite a while she has her doubts and fears but feels she must do what's right. Joe, her son, wrestles with terrible guilt over his families trauma that he wasn't home to prevent, has no doubts that the girl should not come into their home. These characters lived with me even when I finished reading it, I love that about good books. I didn't expect it to take the twists that it took but it was a wonderful novel.

2008-09-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Smoke Screen

by Sandra Brown in Audio Form

This book is an engrossing mystery, like most Sandra Brown novels, set in the steamy South with lots of intrigue and sexual situations. Britt Shelley wakes up next to a lover from her past, who unfortunately for some, but especially for her, turns out to be dead, and she has very little memory of what had transpired between them the night before. When the news story is aired on television, another person finds the similarity between her situation and his past too close for comfort, so as sometimes happens in pot boilers he kidnaps her to warn her. Even though there's an initial animosity they still become close and when she tries to go back home he ends up saving her from men who run her off the road and into a body of water, car and all. Lots of twists and turns with the bad guys and good guys blending in until you're seeing evil in everyone. I enjoyed the book, as did my husband, who waited with little patience for me to finish so we could talk about the ending. That was quite a discussion.

2008-09-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

The Wedding Challenge

by Candace Camp

Another entertaining installment of her matchmaker series. Lady Calandra, or Callie as she is called by friends and family, is weary of her older brothers interference in her life and her choice of beau's. Especially when the beau she really wants, the Earl of Bromwell, seems to have a mutual problem with her brother that no one will explain completely. So she approaches the series matchmaker character, Lady Francesca, to find her a husband away from the interference of her family. They convince her brother, the Duke of Rochford, to let her stay with Francesca and from there she begins the casual flirtation with her brothers mysterious nemesis. I like this author because her lady characters are strong and Callie is as well, with a little rebellion mixed in. There is added conflict in the form of the Earl's shady sister, Daphne, who has a little revenge planned against the Duke, via his younger sister Callie. A very enjoyable historical romance.

2008-09-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

The Guy not Taken:Stories

by Jennifer Weiner in Audio Form

I enjoyed most of these stories only one left me hanging and one other just didn't hold my interest. The start of this book was absolutely wonderful, it featured two sisters, Josie and Nicki, I really loved them. Their installment begins when they are teenagers and ends at the day of a wedding and I laughed and cried throughout it all. Reading it so soon after "Whistling in the Dark", another great sister relationship book, made me very happy with my choices of material. I've only recently taken to books with stories in them as opposed to the same character throughout and so far they have all been a blast. One particular plus is you can skip a story about characters that don't hold your interest as opposed to having to give the whole book up because of that reason. I've read numerous books by this author, this was my first audio edition, she's an entertaining writer.

2008-08-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

When you are Engulfed in Flames

& Barrel Fever and Other Stories

in Audio Form

by David Sedaris

I read a positive review of his new one "When you are engulfed in flames" so I decided to live dangerously and listen to his books, after not being a fan of Garrison Keillor I wasn't too sure I'd enjoy another humorist.

I was really, happily, very wrong. He is so funny, at times I laughed out loud, startling my poor dog whom I was walking at the time. A few things that really surprised me, for some reason I always thought of him as New York born and bred, no idea why, I was just startled to hear about he and his family living in North Carolina. With both CD books I was crushed when they were over, especially the one in which his sister, the comedienne Amy Sedaris, helped voice their brother Paul, that was a hilarious installment in "Barrel Fever". I will continue to enjoy his audio books, he enlivens my hikes.