THE LAST POLICEMAN - Ben H. Winters

What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?

Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.

The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.

The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?
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What does a policeman do when he finds what has all the appearances of a suicide but in his gut he knows it's a murder? Add in that the end of the world due to an asteroid is impending and not many on the police force care much about solving this murder....and  a reader has a spectacular book to read.
This is the first book in a trilogy and I cannot WAIT to read the next two books. I really have to find out what happens to Detective Hank Palace, the last policeman.

AN APPETITE FOR MURDER: A Key West Food Critic Mystery - Lucy Burdette

Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner-the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend! Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get-until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.
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I love cozies with spunky characters. This one has it in spades. I feel for Hayley Snow once I found out she followed her dream man all the way to Key West only to fiind out he was more a nightmare. Then she had to make her way in the ritzy and gorgeous Florida locale when she discovered that she didn't want to leave.
So, she's living on her friend's houseboat and helping her with her cleaning business. But what Hayley really wants to do is write restaurant reviews. She visits and writes about the small local places, not the ritzy-ritz places, but the joints where the locals go. I got so hungry reading this book!!
Then there's the murder of the girlfriend of the ex-pewp cranium 'dream guy' Hayley followed down and lived with. Until she discovered pewp-cranium 'dream guy' in bed with now murdered restaurant owner and potentially Hayley's boss if Hayley gets the food critic job at the local paper.
Now Hayley is a prime suspect and she needs to clear her name.
Well done and I soooo cannot wait to read the next in the series. Thank goodness DEATH IN FOUR COURSES is on the nightstand.....

50% OFF MURDER: A Good Buy Girls Mystery - Josie Belle

Maggie Gerber-one of the founding members of the Good Buy Birls- loves her quiet life in St. Stanley, Virginia. But all that changes when Sam Collins, her old flame, moves back to town as the new sheriff. On top of that, Claire Freemont, a librarian and the newest member of the Good Buy Girls, starts acting utterly strange.

When Maggie goes to visit her the next day at the library, she finds the body of a very dead man. Turns out the man is someone from Claire's past. As the handsome new sheriff zeroes in on Claire, it's up to Maggie and the rest of the Good Buy Girls to use their bargain-hunting skills to hunt a killer-while making sure they don't pay too much in the process...

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A fun new-to-me series with a unique premise. These ladies know how to shop for a deal, clip coupons, and solve a murder. It works, it doesn't sound like it would, but it does. Neat ideas throughout if one doesn't know how to look for a deal or doesn't believe in clipping coupons. I had fun reading this and look forward to the next book in the series.

DARK AND STORMY KNIGHTS - edited by P N Elrod

It was a dark and stormy knight, and nine dark defenders embarked upon a most perilous quest….

They’re the ultimate defenders of humanity—modern day knights who do dark deeds for all the right reasons. In this all-star collection, nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors bring us thrilling, all-new stories of supernatural knights that are brimming with magic mystery and mayhem.

John Marcone sets aside his plans to kill Harry Dresden to go head-to-head with a cantrev lord in Jim Butcher’s Even Hand. Kate Daniels is called upon for bodyguard duty to protect Saimen, a shifter she trusts less than the enemy in Ilona Andrews’ A Questionable Client. Cormac must stop a killer werewolf before it attacks again on the next full moon in Carrie Vaughn’s God’s Creatures. And in Vicki Pettersson’s Shifting Star, Skamar gets more than she bargained for when she goes after a creature kidnapping young girls—and enlists the aid of her frustratingly sexy neighbor.

When everything’s on the line, will these knights complete their missions and live to fight again another day? Find out in Dark and Stormy Knights!

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As with almost all anthologies I read (or partially read), there are shiny awesome novellas and there are the middling good, then the *whaaaat*. Some of this might have been due to the time of night and the night of the week I was reading each one. I will hold onto this one and try again as I know the auhors are all favorites of mine, so it must have been timing that had me thinking other than most favorable thoughts.

TO CATCH A VAMPIRE: A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation - Jennifer Harlow

CLASSIFIED: F.R.E.A.K.S. Do Dallas

Beatrice Alexander, telekinetic special agent, is still adjusting to life among the F.R.E.A.K.S. while wiping out zombies and other supernatural threats. When Bea learns about her “special assignment” investigating a series of human disappearances with Oliver Montrose, her gorgeous but annoying vampire co-worker, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover. Disguised as a married couple, they infiltrate the gothic vamp scene in Dallas. While sniffing out clues, Oliver’s convincing public—and not so public—displays of affection have Bea swooning in her bustier and fishnets. Between contending with her fake husband’s ex-lover Marianna and feeling guilty for hiding the mission from her werewolf crush Will, Bea discovers she’s not the only F.R.E.A.K. keeping secrets. Clubbing with the undead turns bloody when Oliver’s old enemy, the Lord of Dallas, decides to seek his revenge. Caught in the crossfire, Bea is up to her neck in blood-sucking trouble.

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I wish Jennifer Harlow was one of those prolific writers or wrote faster or I'd found out about her after she had a bunch of books, especially in this series, so I could have a bunch of them on hand.
Maybe by not having so many out there, each one is that much better for it. I adore this series and there are only two, so far, in the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series.
First one, MIND OVER MONSTERS, was superb from the very first page. I loved meeting and getting to know Beatrice Alexander and watching her come to grips with her abilities and her new life with the Squad.
Now Bea has been fighting the good fight against supernatural beings for a few months. First book was zombies, this book is vampires in Texas. And she has to go undercover with Oliver, the vampire working with F.R.E.A.K.S. He has been after Bea since meeting and she has been spurning his advances. Oliver reminds me of Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in his dangerous humor. He does seem to truly care for Bea, but Bea has her heart set on werewolf Will.
Absolutely fun to read, fabulously written and I want Jennifer Harlow to write more and a bit faster....pretty please? More Bea, Will, Oliver and the rest of the F.R.E.A.K.S.!!!

THE TAKEN: Celestial Blues Book One - Vicki Pettersson

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he's an angel, but that doesn't make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he's been dumped back onto the mortal mudflat to collect another soul—Katherine "Kit" Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder—and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif's search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn't Grif's biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife . . .

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I have been on a streak of finding superb books to dive into. THE TAKEN was definitely one of them. A nifty premise with the angel hierarchy as the backbone.
Griffin Shaw is an angel, one of the lower of the totem pole. He collects souls to bring them to the beyond, but he's been sent to Earth to make right a wrong. Someone is taken before her time.
Katherine 'Kit' Craig is the friend of the woman taken too soon. She's a journalist and needs answers. Along comes Griffin to help, much to both their dismay.
He's been an angel since the 50s and he's a bit confused in this world, or the mudflat as he calls it.
Kit is a 'billy' or rockabilly, dressing like she's in the 50s and generally embracing the lifestyle. To her and her friends it was a much more romantic time than now. Griff knows better.
He has an agenda besides helping Kit find out who murdered her friend. He needs to know who murdered him and his wife.
Awesome book and fab entry into what I know is going to be a superb series, just like Vicki's Zodiac series.

HOWLING AT THE MOON: Tales of an Urban Werewolf - Karen MacInerney

Romance is about to get a little hairy.

Sophie Garou seems to have it all: a great job at a prestigious accounting firm, a closet that rivals a Nordstrom showroom, and a terrific boyfriend who isn’t afraid to use the “M” word. There’s just one little itty-bitty problem: Sophie is a werewolf–and her time of month has a whole new meaning.

Needless to say, life among yummy flesh-and-blood humans is no piece of steak . . . er, cake!, but regular doses of wolfsbane tea and a mother who runs a magic shop have helped Sophie keep her paranormal pedigree under wraps. Still, when a sexy, golden-eyed werewolf prowls into town, Sophie finds herself struggling to keep her animal impulses in check–not to mention trying to keep things on track with her super hot (and super human) lawyer boyfriend. What’s more, someone is threatening to expose Sophie for what she really is. And when her mother is accused of selling a poison-laced potion, Sophie must sniff out a culprit before the fur hits the fan.

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! A super cool werewolf urban fantasy series! I already dig Karen MacInerney's Grey Whale Inn series (and I've only read the first in the series) and was hyped when I learned she also wrote a UF series.
Sophie Garou is a werewolf hiding in plain sight. She has a super job and a fab boyfriend. But no one knows she furs up from time to time except her mom who helps out with her daily wolfsbane tea infusions.
But someone knows her secret and is threatening to tell.
I had a great time reading this and look forward to reading the rest of the series as I get to them.

212: Ellie Hatcher Mystery - Alafair Burke

A celebrity mogul's bodyguard is slain in his boss's luxurious penthouse at an exclusive Manhattan address. At NYU, a sophomore is menaced on the Internet, stalked . . . and murdered.

The two cases, equally sordid and shocking, end up falling to NYPD homicide detective Ellie Hatcher and her partner—who soon find out that this is just the tip of a terrifying iceberg.

Because in the city that never sleeps, death doesn't either.

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Whoosh! A rollercoaster ride as all good suspense mysteries should be. Ellie Hatcher is a driven detective with NYPD. She is making a go of being a female detective as well as a dweller of NYC after growing up in Kansas.
She catches the murder of a bodyguard of one of the wealthiest men in New York. Then more murders begin to follow and it looks like the work of a serial killer, but to what pattern?
Highly excellent, glad B&N had a fab Nook deal for this 3rd entry in the series. Off to get more.

GOING ORGANIC CAN KILL YOU: Blossom Valley Mystery - Staci McLaughlin

Welcome to Blossom Valley, CA, home of the O’Connell Organic Farm and Spa, complete with its new marketing maven, Dana Lewis, former Blossom Valley resident and unapologetic junk food connoisseur—and soon to be sleuth…

As Dana readjusts to life back home with her recently widowed mother, her latest career move isn’t exactly a piece of cake. In fact, it’s all tofu fish sticks, stuffed squash blossoms, and enough wheat grass shots to scream bloody murder—especially when Dana discovers the body of Maxwell Mendelsohn, Hollywood producer and opening weekend guest, deader than a yoga corpse pose. While Dana pens the Spa’s blog and balances the attentions of the local police and reporter Jason Forrester, her escalating job duties now include finding clues, motives and suspects. One thing’s for certain, she better act fast before all this healthy living kills her.

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I do love cozies with a new premise. GOING ORGANIC CAN KILL YOU is about a woman, Dana Lewis, coming back to her hometown to help a woman start up a spa from what used to be a working farm.
One of the clients is found dead and Dana feels compelled to help find clues since the spa might close if clients run in fear of a killer.
I look forward to reading more of this series. It's fun and I like the characters quite a lot. There's Dana and her family, the owner of the spa/farm who is sweet and a bit fragile, the manager who is wee bit pompous, and the hippie chef, and the hottie newspaper reporter. FUN!

DRIVEN TO INK: A Tattoo Shop Mystery - Karen E. Olson

Brett Cavanaugh cannot catch a break away from dead bodies. This time there's one in the trunk of her beloved Mustang. The Mustang that her friend Sylvia Coleman borrowed to get hitched at the drive-thru wedding chapel known as That's Amore.
Brett's admonished to not get involved, but she can't help but to help her friends.
A fun cozy series. I love Las Vegas anyway so the setting is perfect and makes it fun to revisit the city through the author's eyes. I would love to visit Brett's shop, The Painted Lady, and get a custom designed tattoo and chat with Brett, Bitsy, Joel, and Ace.

SPELL BOUND: Women of the Otherworld - Kelley Armstrong

Oh, how I love this series! Empowered women with powers working together as much as they can. Yes, there are men in the mix and they help too, but the series is Women of the Otherworld....

I've 'watched' Savannah grow up in this series and she's an adult now and growing more powerful in her abilities. Except now, something has happened to her powers and she has to rely on her mortal abilities as well as gettng a little help from her friends.

THE PROXY ASSASSIN: Book Three of the American Spy Trilogy - John Knoerle

Whew! Exhausting book to read and made me glad I am not ever considering a career in espionage. It seems to take a certain mindset and ability to play chess AND have a sense of humor to keep going.

THE PROXY ASSASSIN is set in the US and other environs just after WWII. Hal Schroeder is hailed as both a hero, but isn't loved by all. He's trying to come to grips with his life thus far. I know I have to read the first two in the trilogy so I can catch up to some of the mentions and occurences that happen in this entry.
Hal is sent to Europe to battle the Red threat by garnering trust with the Romanian anti-Communist guerillas. Not everything is as it seems and Hal doesn't know who to trust other than himself...and sometimes not even him.
I loved the dry humor throughout. I think I could be friends with Hal, though the friend attrition rate is pretty high with him.
I look forward to reading the first two in the trilogy and anything else John Knoerle writes.

Books Read in October

96. IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE: A Witchcraft Mystery #4 - Juliet Blackwell, paranormal cozy, MPB
97. KILL THE COMPETITION - Stephanie Bond, humorous suspense, BOCD
98. BRIMSTONE: Agent Pendergast Novel - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, thriller, MPB
99. HOWLING AT THE MOON: Tales of an Urban Werewolf - Karen MacInerney, UF, MPB
100. RED HOT DEADLY PEPPERS: A Farmer's Market Mystery #4 - Paige Shelton, cozy, Nook
101. THE TAKEN: Celestial Blues Book One - Vicki Pettersson, UF, TPB
102. STORIES I ONLY TELL MY FRIENDS - Rob Lowe, autobiography, BOCD
103. SHOT AT AND MISSED: A Cody Bryan Mystery #2 - Larry Hillhouse, funny mystery, Nook
104. DRIVEN TO INK: A Tattoo Parlor Mystery #3 - Karen E. Olson, cozy, MPB,
105. BLOOD HOLLOW: Cork O'Connor Mystery - William Kent Krueger, suspense, BOCD

Books in the House - 29 Oct 2012

Books in the House 29 Oct 2012:
TO CATCH A VAMPIRE: A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation - Jennifer Harlow, UF, TPB
RIDING THE RAP: Justified series - Elmore Leonard, suspense, TPB
THE PROXY ASSASSIN - John Knoerle, science fiction, ARC from LibraryThing
BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE - Sheila Roberts, fiction, MPB
BLOOD AND BULLETS: Deacon Chalk Occult Bounty Hunter - James R Tuck, UF, Nook

PIES AND PREJUDICE: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery - Ellery Adams

When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren't just delicious. They're having magical effects on the people who eat them—and the public is hungry for more.

Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn's fiancé is found dead—killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin—it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.

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I love finding a new series by an author I already have on the 'soonest get' list. I was excited to find that Ellery Adams had written a paranormal cozy series. I had it on the WWBL as soon as I saw it and read it as soon as it hit my nightstand.
I had it as a purse book and read it in almost one sitting on a quiet shift.
I loved the characters, the setting, the premise. Ella Mae's aunts were awesome and each had their individual quirks that made me love them. I could identify with Ella's relationship with her mother. And I know I'd love to find this pie shop in my neighborhood.
It's not heavily paranormal, sort of paranormal-ish. The ending is a wee cliffhanger that hints at bit more magic being tossed in. I look forward to it.
The only *eesh* I had was with the excessive adjectives strewn throughout the first part of the book. It passed quickly and the only reason I can think why it bothered me was maybe because I was reading it in the wee hours of the morning on shift of my first mid shift. I was tired and a bit grumpy. I got over it (and myself) soon and enjoyed the book.
I do look forward to the next in the series. It's on the 'soonest get' list.

Halloween Decorations

First pic is from the neighbors' lawn and the second is our hillbilly skeleton greeter

IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE: A Witchcraft Mystery - Juliet Blackwell

Lily Ivory is living her dream of owning a vintage clothing store—and practicing magic on the side. But when she encounters a sinister sleeping spell, Lily comes face-to-face with a nightmarish evil…

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman’s corsage.

Before Lily can solve the woman’s magical ailment, she’s asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She’s gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women’s charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany…

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One of my favorite series that gets better with each book entry. It could be a light fluffy paranormal cozy, but it's not. Lily Ivory wants to be a good shopowner and witch and fit in, but events keep putting her out there. This time she is in the thick of a magical event that has trapped a young woman in a coma and a local coven might be to blame. Too many incidents keep leading that way and Lily isn't sure how to handle it. But handle it she does.
This is one of those series that I get each book entry as soon as it comes out and anxiously look forward to the next.
Highly recommend.

BRIMSTONE: Agent Pendergast Book Five - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

A body is found in the attic of a fabulous Long Island estate. There is a hoofprint scorched into the floor, and the stench of sulfur chokes the air. When FBI Special Agent Pendergast investigates the gruesome crime, he discovers that thirty years ago four men conjured something unspeakable. Has the devil come to claim his due?

Art critic Jeremy Grove is found dead, his face frozen in a mask of terror. His body temperature is grotesquely high; he is discovered in a room barricaded from the inside; the smell of brimstone is everywhere ... and the unmistakable imprint of a claw is burned into the wall. As more bodies are discovered--their only connection the bizarre but identical manner of death--the world begins to wonder if the Devil has, is fact, come to collect his due. Teaming with Police Officer Vincent D'Agosta, Agent Pendergast is determined to solve this case that appears to defy all logic. Their investigation takes them from the luxury estates of Long Island to the crumbling, legend-shrouded castles of the Italian countryside, where Pendergast faces the most treacherous and dangerous adversary of his career.

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A fairly fast-paced thrill-ride and not many write a thriller as well as the team of Preston and Child. Not all is as it appears and Agent Pendergast invites himself to the murder investigation that has all of the earmarks of a satanic visitation. The investigation carries him and Sergeant Vincent D'Agosta all over New York and over to Italy in search of the truth.
Neat twists and turns keeps the action going. I have to go find the other books in the series that I have yet to read. Pendergast had me at THE RELIC and RELIQUARY, now he has me back with BRIMSTONE.

SHOT AT AND MISSED: Cody Bryan Mystery - Larry J Hillhouse

Cody's quiet vacation at a ski resort in Virginia doesn't last very long in Shot At And Missed as he first rescues a damsel in distress, then needs rescuing himself as he discovers that he is the prime suspect in a strange murder case investigated by the FBI. When the murder case is suddenly and inexplicably labeled a suicide, suspicious Cody is intent on proving that it actually was murder, just not by him. His actions result in him becoming the target of an unknown, but tenacious assassin.
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A fast moving, funny, mystery that has been on my Wanton Wantin' Book List for a while since reading and loving IN OVER YOUR HEAD, the first in the series.
Cody Bryan is a private investigator on vacation at a ski resort which was his payment in lieu of cash from a happy, but broke client.
All kinds of action ensues what with being shot at and rescuing the cherished family member of a mob chief player. There's all sorts of intrigue that Cody sorts through. He's good with computers as well as a fab investigator and good guy, so it all combines for a solved mystery in a humorous manner. I do hope Larry is working on the third in the series.

STORIES I ONLY TELL MY FRIENDS - Rob Lowe

I have enjoyed movies that had Rob Lowe in them, but not because he was in them. I am pretty sure I would have passed on by this memoir, but a friend listened to it and couldn't stop talking about it. So I found it on SimplyAudio and put it on the wishlist. It showed up in my mailbox pretty quickly and just as quickly it ended up in my CD player in the car.
SUCH a fantastic book to listen to! Rob is a natural born storyteller, has excellent recall of his life and tells the story in such a way that had me sitting in the driveway or parking lot to listen to that much more.
The background of how The Outsiders, one of my favorite movies, was made was fab to listen to. How intense the casting was, let alone the filming. And the final outcome on the screen and how disappointed Rob was when he saw it. But how content with it he was when he saw a better version of it later in life.
How he dealt with his life with alcohol and what it took to overcome his addiction.
He name drops, but not in a tacky way. He describes how his love of writing evolved and I am glad he discovered his talent.
I can highly recommend.

RED HOT DEADLY PEPPERS: A Farmer's Market Mystery - Paige Shelton

This is such a neat premise for a series. I love farmers' markets and that this particular one goes year round (and that many more chances for murder and mayhem) is even better.
This time Becca is sent far afield to Arizona to research how a particular farmer's market has joined forces with a local trading post and making it work.
And then she is caught up in a murder investigation and has to fight for her own life soon enough.
A short, fast-paced Nook book and a good reminder to get back to this excellent series.

TRICK OF THE LIGHT: A Trickster Novel - Rob Thurman

Whole new way to look at UF for me. I thought I had it all figured out, but got blown away by the discoveries as I read. Highly excellent and with enjoyable to read characters and plenty of action to keep me happy. Takes place in Las Vegas, too, gotta love that.
Apocalypse pending unless the main character, Trixa, gets into action and finds the Light of Life, an artifact. She's used to doing things for herself, but now she has to step up and help the world.
Superb, superb, superb!

HOT BUTTON: A Button Box Mystery - Kylie Logan

Another of my favorite series. It's on the must-get list when each book comes out. And this is only the second one in the series.
Each cozy series brings a new-to-me premise that I would love to embrace, but my husband would likely go bonkers so I read about them.
This one is about button collecting. Who would figure that it would be this entrancing or lead to murder?
Josie is in charge of the annual button convention and finds herself neckdeep in a murder investigation. The victim is a loudmouthed button expert and is a mega lout, so no one is upset him being dead, but where is the famed Geronimo Button he brought to the convention?
Josie is so personable I want to lean into the book and help her out. I want to learn about buttons.
I cannot wait for PANIC BUTTON to come out on 31 Dec.

KILL THE COMPETITION - Stephanie Bond

What took me so long to get back to Stephanie Bond? This book was SO much fun to listen to! I enjoyed getting to know Belinda, the main character. She moves from Cincinatti after an embarrassment that the reader doesn't get all the details of until Belinda is under suspicion for murder much later in the book. We find out when her coworkers and friends do. The reader is definitely along for the ride and it's a fab one.
I don't always dig the description of 'romantic' anything, but I made an exception for this one since it's labeled as a 'romantic mystery'. I thought of it more as a humorous mystery with a tinge of romance thrown in.
Please do yourself a favor and find this book, whether handheld, e-book or audio. It's super!

PLASTER AND POISON - Jennie Bentley

This is a neat addition to one of my favorite series. The premise is as well-paced as the mystery. Avery and Derek renovate at a realistic pace and the murder is as realistic as can be expected in a small town, both in the occurence and the solution. I love the tips at the back of each book, too.

COLD GRANITE - Stuart MacBride

A supremely grim story, but so supremely well written that I couldn't stop turning each page. I had a hard time going to sleep at night as I wanted to keep reading this on my Nook. It seemed truer to how police work is done, false leads followed leading nowhere, cruel perpetrators, bad victims as well as sad. Not for the faint of heart, this one.

SANDMAN SLIM - Richard Kadrey

SUCH a fab series start!! I cannot wait to read more of this series and more of this author.
Highly graphic, violent, superbly addicting. James Stark (aka Sandman Slim) was sent to Hell, survived Hell, came back to Earth from Hell and he's bent on revenge on those who sent him South.
Things have changed in the 11 years he was in Hell, so the book is about revenge as much as it is about Stark figuring out how to get along on present day Earth.
So FREAKIN' GOOD!

A lovely, lovely story of vampires and opera. Louise Marley is one of my favorite authors, she had me at THE GLASS HARMONICA which is on the keeper shelf and has been sent to my sister who gave it to her son and became recommended reading at his school.
MOZART'S BLOOD will be sent to my sister, too. Not sure it will take the same route, but I know Seester will love it, too.
Lush, lyrical and lovely....

A sort of meandering memoir, but I highly enjoyed it. I was a little startled with the title, but it did capture my attention so it did what it was supposed to do. And it made me laugh, another plus.
Diving in, I followed Gina's story of love of the cats and people in her life. Especially the love for her Cleo. How Cleo came into her life, won her heart and then broke it by disappearing.
The rest of the tale details what Gina went through to get Cleo back. I loved reading her meeting her guardian angels, the left-of-center-plumb, the psychics...all helping her along her path to finding Cleo.
This is an incredibly fast read, funny, warm, poignant. Can definitely recommend.

Books in the house Monday 17 Sep 2012:

From Our Lady of the Books:
While My Pretty One Knits:Black Sheep Knitting Mystery #1 - Anne Canadeo, cozy, TPB
Knit, Purl, Die: Black Sheep Knitting Mystery #2 Anne Canadeo, cozy, TPB
Rumble on the Bayou - Jane DeLeon, cozy
Fire Engine Dead: Museum Mystery #3 -Sheila Connolly, cozy
Leftover Dead: a Trailer Park mystery-Jimmie ruth Evans,cozy
Scoop To Kill: a Mystery a la Mode-Wendy Lyn Watson, cozy
How to Marry a Murderer: a Paige Turner mystery-Amanda Matetsky, cozy
Murderers Prefer Blondes: a Paige Turner mystery-Amanda Matetsky,cozy
Armed and Glamorous:a Crime of Fashion mystery-Ellen Byerrum, cozy
How to Wash a Cat:a Cats and Curios mystery- Rebecca Hale,cozy
9 Lives Last Forever:a Cats and Curios mystery-Rebecca Hale, cozy, MPB
Corpse in the Crystal Ball: a Fortune Teller Mystery: Kari Lee Townsend

From B&N:
HOT BUTTON: A Button Box Mystery #2 - Kylie Logan, cozy, MPB, (already consumed)
THE LAST POLICEMAN - Ben Winters, dystopian future, TPB

From High Crimes Mystery Bookshop:
PIES & PREJUDICE A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery #1 - Ellery Adams, paranormal cozy, MPB
IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE: A Witchcraft Mystery #4 - Juliet Blackwell, paranormal cozy, MPB

From Library Thing:
IN SEARCH OF CLEO - Gina Gershon, memoir, ARC

CARNAGE OF EAGLES - William W. Johnstone

A fast good read of good versus evil in the wilds of Texas back in the day. Falcon MacCallister is a wealthy man who doesn't need to do the things he does, but he feels compelled to do the right thing and come to the aid of people who are in trouble.
In the town of Sorrento, Texas, there are bad men in charge of the town. The Sheriff and his deputies are nothing more than bullies who collect exorbitant taxes and run roughshod over the townspeople. They don't get in trouble since they work for the town judge. This judge hangs defendants rather than put them in jail since it costs money to keep them in jail. And not all defendants are necessarily guilty, some are just in the way of the judge and sheriff.
Falcon is there to set things right.

PULSE: A Chess Team Adventure - Jeremy Robinson

I have been on my regular diet of cozies, UF and other paranormal, some suspense and wanted to change things up with a good thriller. And didn't I just with this one. Holey SCHMOKES!
Go along for the crazy wild ride with Jack 'King' Sigler and his special ops Chess Team as they try to intercept biogenetic engineers led by a ruthless amoral billionaire who is trying to find the path to immortality.
I figured I'd have to suspend belief, but when a well written story slams like this I can believe in mythic beasts.
Definitely going to read more adventures of the Chess Team!

PRETTY IN INK: A Tattoo Shop Mystery - Karen E. Olson

Someone is killing the drag queens in Vegas and these are friends of Brett Kavanaugh, tattoo artist supreme. She needs to find out who is doing this. I t leads her all over the city, meeting all kinds of different kinds of people.
I love the names of the names of the drag queens performing at Chez Tango: Britney Brassieres, Miss Tique, Shanda Leer....
This is a fun series for me to dive into. I want to go to Vegas and visit Brett's place, The Painted Lady, and have her design a tattoo for me. I'd love to meet her employees, and see Brett's Vegas with her.
So much fun!

DEAD ANYWAY - Chris Knopf

An exhausting book to read, but only because of how fast it moves and how much the main character, Arthur Cathcart, goes through. He and his wife are victims of an execution style killing, but Arthur survives. And decides to stay dead so he can wreak revenge.
He finds assistance throughout the wreaking, people he trusts. Arthur is intelligent and has a headstart in that he is a thorough researcher and fast learner. He takes on everything with cautious intense zeal to get to the endgame.
I felt like I was reading a high voltage MAN IN THE IRON MASK and it was an excellent ride. Exhausting, but excellent just like a good thriller should be.
Superb!

RED DELICIOUS DEATH - Sheila Connolly

This one was the most delicate of cozies. There was a murder, but it wasn't mentioned as much nor did the main character, Meg Corey, spend as much time trying to figure out who the killer was as much as concentrate on her orchard and helping out the new restaurant trying to get established. I found that I enjoyed this kind of cozy and look forward to reading more in the series.
Living in a small town and what it takes to have an agricultural business and the behind the scenes of the startup of a restaurant, especially one that is using straight from the farm produce for its menu was eye opening and note taking worthy. Excellent research done by Sheila Connolly. Well done!

MIND OVER MONSTERS - Jennifer Harlow

Favorite phrases:
"Like most social outcasts who inherited the shy gene, books became my best friend....Most of my paycheck went to Barnes and Noble. I knew everyone there by name."

"The moment he knocks one into a tree or a tombstone, another seems to take its place in the line, like a zombie Pez dispenser."

"I really much prefer zombies without teeth. This is much better. Nice stroll through the body parts."

Favorite chapter title:
A Machete is a Girl's Best Friend
*************
The whole book is a joy to read! The above is just a sample of the dialogue throughout. In another writer's hands, this could have become annoying, but Jennifer Harlow writes soft snark wonderfully.
I could easily identify with Beatrice and her love of solitude and books. Her involvement with FREAKS is exactly how it would go 'in real life'...Beatrice is amazed to be asked to join and even more astounded to find out who (and what) she'll be working with.

I cannot wait to read the rest of the series as it comes out.