Monday, October 29, 2012

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

Saturday, October 27, 2012

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 fiancĂ© is found dead—killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin—it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.
*****************
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

Sunday, October 21, 2012

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…
****************
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.
************************
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.
************************
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.

Friday, October 19, 2012

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.

Monday, October 15, 2012

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.

Friday, October 12, 2012

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!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

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.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

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!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

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.