Title:  44 Scotland Street
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright:  2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Originally published by The Scotsman in serial form, this charming, old-fashioned novel focuses on the separate but inter-woven lives of tenants in an apartment building in Edinburgh.  Pat, the student working in a small gallery while taking her second “gap year” from college;  hunky, shallow Bruce, the Adonis who may be the first person to ever wear out a mirror; and Irene, the prototypical pushy mother and her gifted, angry son Bertie are all richly described here as they deal with their efforts to find recognition, acceptance and value.

An absolutely delightful book!

Title: 50 Harbor Street
Author: Debbie Macomber
Publisher: Gale Group
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As in all her novels, Macomber tackles the daily challenges of ordinary women - difficult relationships, health problems, impulsive children. There is a touch of mystery in this one but all ends well. Predictable as usual.

Title: 72 Hour Hold
Author: Bebe Moore Campbell
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 72 Hour Hold is overall a good read about a mother's struggle to save her child from the strangle hold of mental illness. As her child turns 18 Keri can no longer control her child's whereabouts and 72 hour holds are the only thing saving her child and herself from her child's Bipolar disorder.

Title: 1916
Author: Morgan Llywelyn
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical Fiction. First in a series of books about 20 century struggles for Irish independence. Concerns that lead up to the Easter Rising and the aftermath of its failure. Subsequent books (1921 and 1949) continue the struggle as well as the lives of the main characters. Very good read, even if you aren't Irish.

Title: Abduction
Author: Mark Gimenez
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This may be the best thriller I've read this year! I loved this author's debut novel, Color Of Law, and this book, about the kidnapping of the granddaughter of a former Vietnam Green Beret, is just as good. The power of coincidence is striking as Ben Brice, despite all evidence to the contrary, is convinced Gracie is alive and sets out to find her. Don't wait for paperback...a year is too long to wait to read this!

Title: Abide With Me
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Publisher: Unknown
Copyright: Unknown
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An untidy second novel by the author of the excellent "Amy and Isabelle." Tyler Caskey, widowed minister and father of two, meanders aimlessly (and, it seems, endlessly) through the second year following his wife's death with an entire cast of unlikable characters. Everything about this book, including the ending, is tedious and uninspired. Pass.

Title: The Abortionist's Daughter
Author: Elisabeth Hyde
Publisher: Knpof Publishing Group
Copyright: June 2006
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book had great potential to be a suspenseful novel. A well known abortion doctor is found dead in her pool, and the question remains of who killed her. Was it her husband who had come home earlier in an angry rage, the coroner who had previously had an affair with the husband, or the pastor who leads a group of protestors outside her office? The story focuses on the daughter of the abortionist (thus the title) and how she copes with her mother's death. There didn't seem to be much character development and the sequence of events was rather far fetched and choppy. If you want a good book to keep you on the edge of your seat, this is not quite the one.

Title: Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette
Author: Sena Jeter Naslund
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical Fiction. At 14 Marie Antoinette is sent to France to marry the 15 year old dauphin in order to establish a political alliance between Austria and France. The book follows her life from that moment to the final unfortunate end. Toinette, as she preferred to be called, is quite a different person from the selfish, uncaring woman history has portrayed. But then, history always is written by the victors. She always is kind, courageous and empathetic, while also often being reckless and astonishingly naive. Beautifully written, the novel is both powerful and heartbreaking. Toinette and her husband, Louis XVI, both are victims of their own personalities - his of a lack of leadership, hers of naivety. The horrendous acts of the mobs are the results.The book brings the people and the times to life in a way you will find fascinating. Don't miss this.

Title: Aeiou - Any Easy Intimacy
Author: Jeffery Brown
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Aeiou is a cute graphic novel about a relationship. Based on the one of the author's previous relationships; it offers humor to what everyone goes through in the beginning of a relationship and even through rocky times and sadly the end. The pictures themselves are humorous, almost rough sketches.

Title: Agnes and the Hitman
Author: Jennifer Cruise & Bob Mayer
Publisher: St. Martins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Cruise and Mayer have created a complex plot of romance, sex, mob members and government agents. Filled with a ridiculous number of dead bodies and improbable scenarios, this one however is funny and engaging.

Title: Alabama Moon
Author: Watt Key
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A really poignant book about ten-year old Moon Blake, who has lived his entire life in a shelter in the woods with his paranoid father. When his dad dies, Moon starts out for Alaska, where his father has said there are "lots of people like us." It isn't long, however, before he realizes that being alone isn't easy, and that friendships are worth sacrificing for. A very nice little book.

Title: Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: Harper
Copyright: 1993
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: There's good news and bad news about this book.  The good news is: if up til now you've based your life philosophy on fortune cookies and the horoscope in the morning paper, this is for you.  A bunch of hokey, "wishing will make it so" pop-psych mumbo-jumbo.  The bad news is: if you want a thoughtful, well-written book about life's challenges and mysteries, this book is a bunch of hokey, "wishing will make it so" pop-psych mumbo-jumbo. A poor shepherd boy travels from Spain to Egypt while following the quest for his "personal legend," encountering mystical (and shallow) characters on the way who give him advice like "The Soul of the World is nourished by people's happiness.  And also by unhappiness, envy, and jealousy.  To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.  All things are one."  And on and ON in this vein.  What a waste of time.

Title: All Families Are Psychotic ____
Author: Douglas Coupland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of my favorite Coupland books, this is the darkly humorous, soap opera tale of the Drummond family. The situations in Coupland books sometimes seem far-fetched, frequently absurd yet he always seems to be able to comment on the human condition in a way few contemporary authors can.  No matter which Coupland book you grab, most likely you will find at least one line to quote that accurately reflects where you find yourself in life.

Title:  Almost Home
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Pam Jenoff
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright:  2010
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

"Almost Home" is the story of American Jordan Weiss, a state department intelligence officer, who returns, on assignment, to London 10 years after her studies at Cambridge. When there she had fallen in love with fellow rower Jared, who unexpectedly died, apparently a suicide. Now questions arise as to the real cause of his death. Seemingly connected to her international assignment, the plot twists, friends become targets and possible suspects and Jordan must rush to find the truth.

Title: The Almost Moon
Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Helen plays the role of the ever doting daughter. Whenever there is a problem with her mother, a neighbor calls and Helen comes to the rescue. But this particular time, something is different. Helen mentally snaps and in a quick moment, she suffocates her mother. The story follows what happens during the 24 hours after she kills her mother. I admit that after reading The Lovely Bones, it is hard not to have high expectations for this book. I didn't find the book as captivating and hard to put down as I did for The Lovely Bones, but it was still pretty good.

Title: Alone
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another of Lisa Gardner"s intense thrillers, "Alone" entangles a police sniper, a beautiful abused woman and her sickly child and a vengeful killer into a convoluted plot of intrigue and suspense.

Title: Amazonia
Author: James Rollins
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: James Rollins' books are excellent action thrillers. Amazonia is one of my favorites!

Title: The American
Author: Andrew Britton
Publisher: Kensington
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ryan Kealey is called back to work with the CIA to stop an anticipated assassination attempt on the President. The assassin, aligned to Middle East terrorists, is an American who once was Kealey's trainee. Many characters and sub-plots create an exciting techno-thriller filled with personal and political confrontations.

Title: Angels and Demons (Review #1)
Author: Dan Brown
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Almost as good as Da Vinci Code--some (not I) would say better. This time our intrepid hero is in Rome. My only complaint was with the ending which I couldn't quite buy, but maybe it was just over my head.

Title: Angels and Demons (Review #2)
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dealing with a secret, ancient brotherhood and a plot to annihilate the Vatican city, this book is absolutely perfect for those of you who love fast-paced, thrilling adventure stories.

Title: Angels of Destruction
Author: Keith Donohue
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Twenty years ago Erica Quinn vanished with her boyfriend to join an anarchist group, leaving her mother Margaret to mourn. So...when a child appears at Margaret's door in the middle of the night of course Margaret takes her in. And of course she makes up a story about the child being her granddaughter. And, of course, when complaints come to her from the school about the girl's strange behavior, she ignores them. This book asks the question: are angels real? And after having slogged through these pages the answer is: who cares?

Title: Appeal
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although I rarely (if ever) include a book here that I couldn't finish, I felt I needed to mention this one since, after 100 pages, I was bored, bored, bored.  It's just another example of Grisham choosing a position on an issue and beating the reader over the head with it.  In this case, a mega-corporation dumps chemicals into groundwater (shades of Three-Mile Island and Erin Brockovich), leaving a a small law firm and its clients to stand up against the injustice.  In Grisham's black-or-white world the characters are all good or all bad which makes for very dull reading, which this is.  Pass.

Title:  Arcadia Falls
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Carol Goodman
Publisher: Ballantine
Copyright:  2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Left in debt when her husband dies, Meg Rosenthal accepts a position teaching at Arcadia, where she can continue her doctoral dissertation about fairy tales and her artistic daughter Sally can go to school. Founded in the 1930’s as an artist’s retreat, the school is now a haven for artistic students who like Wiccan ceremonies and for odd instructors who can’t get jobs anywhere else.

Although it sets out to be a Gothic mystery, the plot here devolves into a soap opera-like mix of murder, mistaken identity, infidelity and romance in a book that goes on far too long.  This is another example of an author who just can’t make up her mind to wrap it up and be done; instead she throws in several additional plot twists after what should have been the end of the story.  Tedious.

Title: An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes In New England
Author: Brock Clarke
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At the age of eighteen Sam Pulsifer burns down the home of Emily Dickinson.  It's an accident, as much of Sam's life is.  After serving his time in a minimum-security prison with lawyers and bond traders, Sam marries and finds a job with the intent of putting his past behind him, but his parents, the bond traders and those persistent accidents come together to keep his life in its inevitable downward spiral.   Reading about Sam is like waiting for a train wreck: you know it'll be hard to watch but you just can't help yourself.  A quirky, deftly written book.

Title: The Art Thief
Classification: Fiction
Author: Noah Charney
Publisher: Aimon & Schuster
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Three art thefts are being investigated simultaneously in 3 cities - London, Geneva and Paris. The investigators and several well known art collectors are enmeshed in an implausible plot. Heavy in art history, which might have been interesting, this fictional intrigue attempt is full of trite phrases, overly technical and confusingly convoluted.

Title: Atomic Romance
Author: Bobbie Mason
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this novel, her first in over a decade, we meet the main character who is dealing with radioactive contamination, and ailing mother and a girlfriend who won't commit to a serious relationship. The underlying story of an aging atomic plant and its effect on the surrounding community is timely and thought provoking.

Title: At Risk
Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I feel as though I should wear a black armband to mourn the loss of trees that were sacrificed in the printing of this disaster of a book. Cornwell muddles along without even the Scarpetta angst in this novella, which wouldn't have had a chance at being published without her name on it. One word: Blech.

Title: Away: A Novel
Author: Amy Bloom
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Away" is the epic story of Lillian Leyb, a young Russian immigrant, in the 1920's. Upon finding out that her little daughter might still be alive back in Russia, she embarks on a monumental journey from NY City up to Alaska and along the Telegraph Trail to Siberia. Hardship, wit, romance and heart back come together in this unusual yet compelling novel.

Title: Babylon Rising: The Edge of Darkness
Author: Tim LaHaye & Bob Phillips
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the fourth book in the Babylon Rising series featuring Michael Murphy, professor of Biblical Archeology at Preston University in North Carolina. Methuselah, 'The Seven' and Murphy's nemesis, Talon are all back to challenge Murphy's quest to find another lost Biblical prophecy. The series has all the action, adventure and intrigue of an 'Indiana Jones' story, but with the added feature of an intellectual Biblical scholar as the protagonist. Most of the Michael Murphy novels could stand alone, although there is a dominant story arch running throughout, and this entry contains a spoiler.

Title: Bad Luck and Trouble
Author: Lee Child
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the eleventh in the Jack Reacher series, Reacher shows a small chink of humanity after one of his ex-military buddies is found dead. Reacher reassembles the remaining members of his elite group to hunt down and eliminate those responsible and destroy a harrowing threat to America. As are all of the Child books, this is a fast-paced, tightly-written thriller; a real can't put it down read. Don't miss it!

Title: Bad Monkeys
Author: Matt Ruff
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the story of Jane Charlotte, arrested for a murder and sent to the jail's psychiatric unit. She confesses to the crime but claims she is actually an assassin for an ultra-secret organization, BAD MONKEYS, whose job is to eliminate evil people. What follows is the psychiatric interview to determine whether Jane is lying, telling the truth or to find out if something all together different is happening. This story grabs hold of the reader from the first page and keeps you guessing about what is reality throughout Jane's tale. Ruff hooked me with his character study of good, evil and the extent guilt, or lack of it, will affect one's life. His style of writing and choice of subject matter brings to mind the Generation-X sagas from author Douglass Coupland, particularly one of my favorite, Girlfriend in a Coma.

Title: Baker Towers
Author: Jennifer Haigh
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: By the author of "Mrs. Kimble", "Baker Towers" is set in coal mining Pennsylvania during the industrial boom following WWII. Centered around the Novaks, a family with 5 children, the saga explores life's tragedies and happiness. Quirky characters abound.

Title: Based On the Movie
Author: Billy Taylor
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this surprisingly entertaining first novel, Taylor leads us through the convoluted and funny production of a movie through the experiences of dolly grip (don't worry, you'll find out soon enough) Bobby Conlon. Although his wife is having an affair, his truck is totaled, and he finds himself attracted to a woman who, after stomach-stapling surgery has enough loose skin to drown in, Bobby plows on. Even for non-movie folks this book will keep you turning pages...and laughing.

Title: Beach Girls
Author: Luanne Rice
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: August 2004
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the story of three childhood friends who spent long days and summer nights on the beach and their lives once they've all grown up. The story picks up with the husband and daughter of one of the friends, Emma. Emma had died in a car accident and her widowed husband and daughter have come back to the beach to begin to heal from Emma's tragic death. Enter Stevie, the artistic friend who happens to still live on the beach and becomes intertwined with Emma's family. Don't worry, the third friend, Maddie also has her part in this story. This is a story of healing, friendship and family. While at times the story was predictably sappy, it was a good light read that makes your eyes well up no matter how hard you try to prevent it.

Title: Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club
Author: Gil McNeil
Publisher: Voice
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Recently widowed and almost divorced Jo Mackenzie moves with her 2 little boys from London to the seaside where she takes over her Gran's knitting shop. Charming, witty, uplifting and miles ahead of the "community of women" books so in vogue at the moment. I loved it!

Title: The Bear and the Dragon
Author: Tom Clancy
Publisher: Penguin Putnam
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political thriller. Russia and China on a path toward war with each other? Unfortunately, President Jack Ryan can't sit back and watch because you know if it's by Clancy, it's going to be a whole lot more complicated. Extraordinary realism and razor-sharp suspense are expected and you won't be disappointed.

Title: The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Classification: Fiction
Author: William Kotzwinkle
Publisher: Holt McDougal
Copyright: 1997
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A black bear in Maine finds a manuscript, names himself Hal Jam, gets a suit of clothes and heads to the big city to find an agent. Outrageous you say? Yes, but this older novel is a hilarious satire and timely still today.

Title: Bed Rest
Author: Sarah Bilston
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: British born Quinn "Q", married to an American and living in New York City, has to spend the last three months of her pregnancy on bed rest. While confined she ponders her checklist of "The Modern Woman's List of Things to Do Before Hitting Thirty". The couples extreme self-absorbtion renders the characters somewhat dull although there is some soul searching and emotional growth as the story ends.

Title: Bee Season
Author: Myla Goldberg
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Nine year old Eliza doesn’t get much attention from her teachers, peers, or father until she win’s her school and regional spelling bee’s.  Eliza possesses such a talent for letters that she is surely a child prodigy!  While Eliza and her father devote hours and hours of study time for the National Spelling Bee, Eliza’s teenage brother steps outside his Jewish faith and begins experimenting with several other religions.  The most intriguing storyline however, has to do with Eliza’s intelligent, yet distant mother who has been leading a secret life for eighteen years!

Title: Best Friends Forever  
Author:  Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Addie and Val have been best friends forever, until high school,  when a terrible secret forces them apart for years.  It is only when another crisis brings them together again that they both realize their friendship is stronger than old memories. 

 Weiner has written another good book about women’s friendships as Addie and Val run from what may or may not be a dead body and resolve the resentment that has simmered between them, keeping Addie from finding love and keeping Val from realizing what love is.

 A fun, frothy read!

Title: Between Friends
Author: Sandra Kitt
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 1998
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Come on girls...ever have that one guy that you and one of your best girlfriends end up competing for? Well this is exactly the scenario that plays out between Dallas and Valerie. Best friends since grade school. Then walks Alex, an ex-Navy SEAL. The two best friends start competing for Alex's attention and during the process, secrets about Dallas's past comes to light along with some ugly truths about Valerie's daughter. Kitt writes a good story about the bonds of friendship.

Title: Beyond Reach
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Slaughter is at her absolute best in this, the latest in the Grant County series. Sara Linton is being sued for malpractice in the death of one of her young patients and has closed her clinic when her husband, sheriff Jeffery Tolliver gets word that Lena Adams is in trouble. Lena, a talented yet troubled detective has been found at the scene of a horrific crime and arrested. When Lena vanishes, Sara and Jeffrey find themselves in the midst of a town filled with pervasive and violent corruption. If you've been reading this series, don't wait for paperback. This is the most breathtaking, shocking book yet; don't miss it!

Title: Bible Salesman
Author: Clyde Edgerton
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At twenty, Henry Dampier is out in the world for the first time, peddling Bibles as he travels. Raised by his Uncle Jack and his very religious Aunt Dorie, Henry is not prepared at all for the likes of Preston Clearwater, the con man who gives him a lift and a job. Innocently, Henry helps his new employer recover "stolen" cars until the truth becomes evident...an event that comes too late.

Title: The Big Love
Author: Sarah Dunn
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sarah Dunn's first novel is the entertaining story of Alison Hopkins whose love life and professional career fall apart simultaneously. Written with dry humor this one is fresh and better than most of the current "chic-lit".

Title: The Birth House
Author: Ami McKay
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The "Birth House" is a story of Dora Rare, a young woman in Nova Scotia during WW1, who apprentices and then becomes the local midwife. However, the interesting details of women's health matters and women's rights create a deeper sensitive story line.

Title: Birth of Venus
Author: Sarah Dunant
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Renaissance Italy is the setting for this wonderfully written story of 15 year old Alessandra who finds love and artistic fulfillment despite the boundaries of an arranged marriage and the Medici political turmoil of the times.

Title: Black Boy
Author: Richard Wright
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 1998
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A fictionalized autobiography about a boy's growing up in the Jim Crow south. The book is very descriptive and not appropriate for anyone under 14.

Title: Black Fly Season
Author: Giles Blunt
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In Canada's Algonquin Bay, few brave the outdoors during black fly season. So when a beautiful redhead wanders into the local bar covered in bites and with no memory of who she is there's reason for the police to be suspicious. When a bullet is found in her brain their suspicions are confirmed. But with their only witness unable to remember who shot her, or why, will they be able to stop him before he tries again? A very good read.

Title: Black Out
Author: Lisa Unger
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ophelia is living a lie. Married to the mysterious Gray, mother of young Victory, she appears to have the perfect life, except that there is a hole in her memory that prevents her from knowing whether she is a murderer. This should have been riveting, but underdeveloped characters and an anticlimactic ending make it more slog than page-turner. Unfortunate, since Unger is really a very good writer, but you'd hardly know it from this effort.

Title: Black and White and Dead All Over
Author: John Darnton
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A completely entertaining novel about the newspaper business. When loathsome editor Theodore Ratnoff is murdered, no one is upset by his death (well, almost no one), but when the murders don't stop there the entire staff gets pretty edgy. And when reporter Jude Hurley, stymied at every turn in his attempt to write the story, is targeted by the killer he only becomes more determined to find the truth. A nicely ironic, well-crafted book.

Title: Black Water Rising
Author: Attica Locke
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Jay Porter is a scared man. Fear has been his companion since his days in the civil rights movement...since his arrest after his lover betrayed him. Now, years later, married and a practicing attorney, Jay is still scared. But this time he has reason to be, after a shooting leaves him a witness with people wanting him dead next. The question is: why isn't he? Either his pursuer is just not committed to killing him, or is really incompetent. Unfortunately, we never get an answer, a glaring omission in this otherwise pretty decent debut novel.

Title: Blessings
Author: Anna Quindlen
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: September 2002
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a nice summer read about how an abandoned baby changes the lives of the people living at Blessings. There is Lydia Blessing, a rather cantankerous older woman and Skip Cuddy, the groundskeeper who was given a second chance. Both unlikely matches for a baby, but as their pasts begins to unravel it helps them deal with their current situations.

Title: Blind Rage
Author: Terri Persons
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this ho-hum sequel to Persons' very good debut novel, FBI agent Bernadette Saint Clare returns with her second sight and a ghostly sidekick. Unfortunately, she continues to muddle, rather than clarify, the investigation into the drowning deaths of troubled college students and proves that her unusual ability to enter a killer's mind is less effective than good detective work. I hoped for more from this one, but was really disappointed.

Title: Blind Sight
Author: Terri Persons
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Persons brings back Bernadette Saint Clare in this, the third in the Sight series, to track down the murderer who killed a pregnant teenager and removed the full-term fetus from her body. Despite help from her ability to see through a killer's eyes and her partnership with fellow FBI agent Tony Garcia, Saint Clare is stymied in her search by two complications. One, that she is seeing through two sets of eyes and two, that her efforts render her temporarily blind. A little too much slogging through the snow and way too much reliance on an obvious red herring, but a pretty good read. Wait for paperback.

Title: Blind Spot
Author: Terri Persons
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: FBI agent Bernadette [Cat] Saint Clare has been transferred from post to post, mostly because her bosses find it unsettling that by touching an object handled by a killer she can see through his eyes. Odd, then, that her newest supervisor not only asked for her but wants to understand her talent...especially when corpses show up with missing hands. Cat finds herself caught up in her new job, and in an affair with her landlord who most definitely is much more than he seems. As Cat narrows the search for the murderer she also confronts the possibility that she's losing her mind when her dreams start to seem real. All in all, a very good read!

Title: Blind Submission
Author: Debra Ginsberg
Publisher: Shaye Areheart/Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Okay, so someone tell me how Ginsberg got away with this. And, moreover, how she got it published with this title when it should have been called "I'm Plagiarizing The Devil Wears Prada." Not an original thought or description in the book; badly written, badly edited. Pitiful.

Title: Bliss
Author: O. Z. Livaneli, Cigdem Aksoy Fromm
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Bliss", set in Turkey, is a story of three lives shattered by the constraints of traditional and modern society. Their paths unexpectedly cross on a journey of hope and second chances. Particularly interesting is the attention drawn to human rights violations against women in the Middle East.

Title: Blood of the Prodigal
Author: P.L.Gaus
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Copyright: ?
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Subtitled A Ohio Amish Mystery, this is a worthwhile read not only in terms of being a good mystery but also as a glimpse into the lives and customs of a strictly observant Old Order Amish Community (Ohio, by the way, is home to the largest Amish and Mennonite communities in the world). Bishop Eli Miller has enlisted the help of Professor Michael to find his kidnapped grandson, Jeremiah. Mike is puzzled as to why the bishop has asked an "English" (non Amish) to conduct the search and why the police are not to be involved. With little help from the bishop, the mystery becomes murky and involves murder, greed and treachery, at the same time revealing that a relatively closed community still is vulnerable to many of the same problems found in society at large. Ohioans reading this will find references to numerous familiar Holmes county communities as well as to Port Clinton, Marblehead, Lakeside and the islands of Lake Erie.

Title: Blowback
Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 2005
Reiewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book happens prior to the author's latest novel (Takedown) and features the same protagonist, Scott Harvath. In this thriller, Scott must chase down terrorists who have unearthed an ancient biological weapon and plan to use it to destroy their enemies.

Title: Blue Christmas
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mary kay Andrews brings the reader back to Savannah with "Weezie" Foley, from "Savannah Blues" and "Savannah Breeze". This contrived holiday story is cute but has a really weak plot compared to the earlier "Savannah" novels.

Title: Bodies Left Behind
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Now, this is the suspense thriller we've been waiting for! Emma and Steven Feldman, she a lawyer, he a social worker, are planning a quiet weekend at their isolated getaway place when two armed gunmen storm the house. Are their murders connected to a high-profile case Emma was working on or to something else altogether? Can Brynn McKenzie find out in time to save herself and her family from the killers? A high octane read; a great breakout from the Lincoln Rhyme series. Don't miss this one!

Title: Body Double
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: August 2004
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: For anyone who enjoys Gerritsen's other novels or just looking for a good suspense novel, this is certainly one not to miss!

Title: The Boleyn Inheritance
Author: Philippa Greggory
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After being intrigued by The Other Boleyn, I decided to read another Greggory novel. I found that I enjoyed this book more than the first one. Again, the book uses historical research and continues the tale of the wives of King Henry the Eighth. I think I liked it more because the book looked at the same time period from different perspectives. Instead of taking the reader through the main character's viewpoint, Greggory shows us perspectives from Anne of Cleaves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Rochford. I think this gave the book more feeling to it as it showed how much each woman risked as their families pushed them in front of Henry in their hopes to gain family the status ranking they desired and only King Henry could give.

Title: Bone Garden
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In a dramatic departure from her series, Gerritsen tells the haunting story of a series of murders in the 1800's while describing the grisly details of nineteenth century medical science. Rose Connolly watches her sister die of childbed fever, then flees with her newborn niece to protect her from her abusive brother-in-law. As people from the hospital begin to die, however, it becomes apparent that the baby is being sought by someone more sinister, and more powerful, than Rose can imagine. This is, without a doubt, one of the best suspense books out this year and confirms that Gerritsen is a powerhouse. Don't miss it!

Title: Booked to Die
Author: John Dunning
Publisher: Pocket/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 1992
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway loses his badge after dispensing some questionable justice to Jackie Newton, a sleazy murderer with a talent for avoiding prosecution. This time the murder is of a book scout known to Janeway because of his own passion for collecting rare and first edition books, making the capture a very personal goal. Janeway opens his own bookshop while continuing to search for evidence but soon, volumes of a prized book collection begin to appear along with dead bodies. Suspenseful and well plotted with memorable characters with lots and lots of interesting information about books and the workings of the rare book business.

Title: The Book of Fred
Author: Abby Bardi
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a great book to provide discussion for reading groups. The main character, teenage Mary Fred, is removed from her parents due to their participation in a detrimental mind-control cult (her siblings die from lack of medical attention). This is the story of her life once placed with a foster family: how she affects them and how they affect her. The book starts out telling the story from Mary Fred's perspective, and then switches to the foster mother, the foster sister, the foster uncle, and then back to Mary Fred again. Very interesting as the story progresses told from the perspectives of different characters. We don't all live in the same world, in a sense, and this book illustrates that.

Title: Book of the Dead (Review #1)
Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: One of the things you'll notice right away in this book is that Cornwell now writes in the third, rather than the first, person...probably because even Kay Scarpetta can't stand to be herself any more.   The novel, of course, begins with Kay's trademark angst about Benton, Marino and Lucy and throws in a convoluted, unsatisfying series of murders with a predictable murderer.  And, please, after all these years together, can't Kay and Benton learn to relate to each other as adults rather than as insecure adolescents?  Grow up, Kay...and while you're at it: you're a doctor.  Write yourself a prescription for Zoloft; you'll feel much better. As for me, I'm done. A cereal box is a better read.

Title: Book of the Dead (Review #2)
Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I typically would rate a Patricia Cornwell book a 4 or 5, but unfortunately, I can't with any good conscience rate this any higher than a 3. As much as I love the Kay Scarpetta series, I'm beginning to wonder if this series should just end. The story lines are not as strong and captivating as they used to be. The case they are working on is interesting but once she throws in the character's personal issues, it just muddles up the story. For the first time ever, I actually put this book aside to read another one and then came back to it.

Title: The Book of Names
Author: Jill Gregory & Karen Tintori
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another Da Vinci Code-like plot, this intriguing if somewhat unlikely thriller melds Jewish mysticism with modern mystery and murder. Georgetown University professor David Shepherd, haunted by strange images of names, must try to save his stepdaughter and ultimately the world. Israeli archaeologist Yael HarPaz, the female interest, adds to the lengthy list of characters and sub-plots.

Title: The Book of Unholy Mischief
Author: Elle Newmark
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 15th century Renaissance Venice is the setting for this tale of intrigue and seduction. Starving street orphan Luciano is chosen by the chef to Venice\'s doge to become his apprentice, not only in the kitchen but to a secret organization supporting the principles of free thought. Believed to possess a book of alchemy and potions, the chef, and ultimately Luciano, struggle to dispel the mistaken myth and survive the corrupt Italian leadership of the times. Rich in historical detail and colorful descriptions of food preparation this debut historical novel is intriguing and entertaining.

Title: Boy's Life
Author: Robert McCammon
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A wonderful coming-of-age story of a twelve-year old boy growing up in Zephyr, Alabama, in the early sixties. Similar in feel to "To Kill a Mockingbird" this is a departure from McCammon's horror books, and a genre he should have pursued because this one is fabulous! Not to be missed!

Title: Brass Verdict
Author: Michael Connelly
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Connelly brings back Mickey Haller from Lincoln Lawyer in this, the second in the series, which he shares with longtime protagonist Harry Bosch. Mickey is forced out of his hiatus from practicing law when fellow lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, leaving his practice to Haller. Among the cases is that of Walter Elliot, accused of killing his wife and her lover...a case in which Haller is convinced the defendant was framed. Was Vincent's murder connected to this case? And is Haller in the killer's sights? Although there are a few too many obvious red herrings for this to be a great read, it's still enjoyable.

Title: Breaking Dawn
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The final book in the Twilight saga series brings us some more drama for Bella and Edward. Let's say more than they ever bargained for... Bella's friendship with Jacob is put to the test as her decision on whether she is going to become a 'true' Cullen comes to the forefront. Bella faces a lot of hard decision as this story of Bella and Edward draws to a close. I have to say that Meyer does leave the door open at the end and it wouldn't surprise me if another book comes out in the future.

Title: Breathless  
Author:  Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 

Koontz delivers again with this page-turner about new life forms, chaos theory, good and evil, created around rural furniture builder Grady Adams and his Irish wolfhound Merlin. 

 On a day that begins with a walk in the woods, with murder, and with animals aware of some new creation, the story effortlessly weaves science together with fantasy as humanity, in fear or wonder, accepts that it may be neither evolution nor creationism which holds the answer to life.

 A definite must-read!

Title: The Bright Forever
Author: Lee Martin
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book kinda reminds me of The Lovely Bones but without the narration of the dead child. Katie Mackey, a nine-year old girl disappears while returning library books on her bike. The anguish of the family and towns people as they try to search for Katie and get the answers they seek on what happened. They question whether one of their own be responsible for the disappearance. The book is heart warming and looks at the situation through the perspectives of different people.

Title: Broken Window
Author: Jeffery Deaver
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In what may be the ultimate Big Brother novel, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the trail of a rapist/murderer with a twist: he is able to frame innocent people because he knows everything about them. Further, he can manipulate computer data to set up his own alibis and to impede his pursuers. This, the eighth in the Lincoln Rhyme series, is an absolutely terrifying look at just how vulnerable we all are in an age of cyber data, and one of Deaver's best books ever! Don't miss it.

Title: Brother Odd
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam Dell/Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It's no secret that I love Koontz and this, the third in the Odd Thomas series, has given me one more reason to feel this way. Odd has retreated to a monastery to heal after losing his true love Stormy and to reflect on his ability to see dead people. It soon becomes apparent that there is no refuge even here and he is caught in a race to save the handicapped children who live there. This is Koontz at his best, with the humor and humanity that are his trademark, and, of course, with a dog. If you haven't read this series, start with the first (Odd Thomas), and if you have, buy this without delay!

Title: Bulls Island
Author: Dorothy Benton Frank
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dorothy Frank once again writes about her beloved Carolina Low Country. Two local families, of slightly different "class", come head to head again after 20 years. Family estrangements, star-crossed love and high finance all merge in Benton's latest novel. I think this one is a bit too predictable, but the reader steel feels the attraction of that wonderful area.

Title: Can't Wait To Get To Heaven
Author: Fannie Flagg
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you liked Flagg's "Standing In the Rainbow," you'll enjoy this! The town of Elmwood Springs is stunned when their friend Elner Shimfissle is stung by wasps and killed in a fall from a ladder. While they grieve, they rediscover all the large and small ways Elner has touched their lives, and are delighted when it appears a mistake has been made at the hospital and Elner isn't dead after all. Elner has died, however, and been sent back to Elmwood Springs from heaven, a fact her niece Norma encourages her not to share. A really charming little read.

Title: The Cape Ann
Author: Faith Sullivan
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Copyright: 1988
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book has touched me. I often wonder about the lil' protagonist and where life has taken her. Curl up with a box of tissues.

Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Little Brown
Copyright: 1951
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: All time favorite!!! This book was my bible through high school. Salinger has the greatest detail and effort put into a character.

Title: The Celestine Prophecy
Author: James Redfield
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 1994
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The Celestine Prophecy borderlines for a controversial New Age book. Redfield has hinted at the prophecy being true teachings about coincidence and consciousness.

Title: Certain Girls
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this latest novel, Jennifer Weiner picks up where she left off from a previous book (Good in Bed). This story jumps ahead several years to when Cannie's daughter, Joy is about to turn thirteen. At the end of Good in Bed, Cannie writes a fictionalized version of her life and it becomes a best seller. In true form, that book comes back to haunt her in Certain Girls. After prompting from one of her classmates, Joy sneaks a copy of the book and reads it. Things written in the book cause Joy to question and starts up her own investigation into what is real in the book and what is not. And let's not forget the usual teenage angst and rebellion. I think this book is a wonderful follow up to Good in Bed. I would love to see another follow up of this book.

 Title: Change of Heart  
Classification: Fiction
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Once again author Picoult presents us with a novel of characters both heart-wrenching and complicated.

Narrated by the 4 main characters, the story shifts and builds. June Nealon, whose husband and first daughter were murdered and whose second daughter Claire needs a heart transplant; Shay Bourne, on death row for murdering June's family, and who wants to donate his heart to Claire;  ACLU lawyer Maggie Bloom who is fighting for Shay's constitutional rights; and Father Michael Wright who becomes Shay's spiritual advisor. Questions of faith, vengeance and redemption are critically considered throughout. Ending with a disturbing twist, "Change of Heart" will satisfy Picoult fans and anyone looking for a full compliment of characters.

Title: Charley's Web (Review #1)
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although the suspense here is just a notch below See Jane Run or Mad River Road, Fielding continues to keep us turning pages in this book about Charley Webb, controversial newspaper columnist and single mom whose children are being threatened. Additionally, Charley has decided to write the story of a convicted child murderer and is trying to establish relationships with her long-absent mother and resistant siblings. Although there is a lot going on here, Fielding handles her characters and plots deftly as always and hands us a surprise at the end, as well.

Title: Charley's Webb (Review #2)
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Another great page turner from Joy Fielding. This novel features a newspaper columnist who has neighbors who dislike her because they think she is writing about them, a mother who disappeared when she was a child to suddenly appear back in her life, two sisters who are bigger successes than she is, etc. Her big break to step into the limelight appears when a convicted child killer contacts her to write her story. And to top it off, Charley receives disturbing emails from someone threatening her children. Fielding manages to weave all these things together into a great book with one of those shocking endings.

Title: Chasers
Author: Lorenzo Carcaterra
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: With his first foray into fiction with Apaches, Carcaterra introduced ex-cops Boomer and Deadeye in a gruesome, riveting book about illegal drug smuggling. Unfortunately, in this long-awaited sequel, he drags in so many stereotypical, boring characters that, even if the plot were interesting (which it isn't) I found myself wallowing in a sea of them. Even the dialogue ("No place to go, nobody to see, and before you can say needle and spike some lard-ass loser who looks a lot like you has her living off the pipe") is unbelievable and forced. My advice: don't waste your time or your money on this one.

Title: Chasing Darkness
Author: Robert Crais
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Several years ago Elvis Cole cleared Lionel Byrd of murder, so when Byrd's body is found with evidence linking him to that crime and others since, Cole determines to find out if Byrd could have been guilty. His investigation leads him to a sleazy city official, a deputy police chief and a cover-up...all threatening to keep him from discovering the truth in time to prevent more deaths. Crais continues to keep us turning pages in this solid entry in the series.

Title: Child of my Heart
Author: Alice McDermott
Publisher: Picador
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The beautiful and precocious daughter of older parents, 15 year old Theresa is highly sought after as a summer babysitter in their oceanside community. Included among her charges is her 8 year old cousin who Theresa discovers is seriously ill. Theresa creates a magical summer for her cousin while coping with several other children from problem families. The premonition of despair makes a strong counterpoint to this sweet and touching story.

Title: Choosers of the Slain
Author: John Ringo
Publisher: Baen/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: July 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: #3 in the Mike Harmon series. "Ghost" takes on the illegal sex-trade, and on the way he stumbles across a major blackmail ring that affects him and his people by giving him a whole new range of enemies. Fun, fast-paced adventure. I really liked the military humor.

Title: Christine Falls
Author: Benjamin Black
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Set in the 1950's, this excellent crime drama explores murder and black-market adoption in Dublin's Catholic culture. Dark and wonderfully written with a convincing protagonist, this book could be the best of its genre this year. When medical examiner Quirke wanders into the morgue after a night of partying he finds his brother-in-law, respected physician Malachy Griffin, altering a file he has no right to even be reading. With his curiosity piqued, Quirke sets out to determine just what makes the death of Christine Falls worth the risk Griffin has taken and discovers a network of arrogance and deceit...a network that involves his own family. The first book written under the Black pen name of Booker Prize winner John Banville, this is a debut not to be missed.

Title: Church Folk (Review #1)
Author: Michele Andrea Bowen
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the story of a Southern African American woman in the early 60s who falls in love with, and eventually marries, a Christian pastor. Life as a pastor's wife is far from smooth sailing, sometimes hilariously so. Don't expect a stained-glass depiction: this novel is usually shelved in regular fiction instead of religious fiction. It has blunt speech and plenty of references to sexuality. This book was a #1 Essence bestseller.

Title: Church Folk (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Author: Michele Andrea Bowen
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stereotypical, racist, this book might have been considered realistic before the civil-rights movement, but today is just insulting. Blech...should have been called "Church Folk in Black Face."

Title: Church Folk (Review #3)
Author: Michele Andrea Bowen
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: June 2001
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a fun book about a young pastor in the south in the early 1960's. He has a weakness for women until he finds the right one, but one woman of his past tries her hardest to keep him from moving on.

Title: Damage Control
Author: Robert Dugoni
Publisher: Warner
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Donna Hill, rising star in a prestigious law firm, finds her life shattered by a life threatening illness, an unfaithful husband and the murder of her twin brother. Detective Michael Logan becomes her ally in his effort to stop a string of murders following her brother's death. "Damage Control", an exciting techno thriller, will keep you reading to the conclusion.

Title: Dark Places
Author: Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Libby Day escaped the night her mother and two sisters were slaughtered and has lived for twenty-four years with "a meanness inside...real as an organ." Understandable, given the fact that her father is one of the sleaziest characters ever written and her brother is in prison for the murders. Almost broke, Libby accepts an invitation by the Kill Club to investigate the killings, despite the fact that most of the members believe her brother is innocent and despite the fact that it was her testimony that helped convict him. This book, tightly written and brutal, is just about the best suspense novel this year!

Title: The Da Vinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: What can you say about this phenomenal best seller! Controversial, illuminating and thought-provoking. If you haven't read it--go get a copy and get it read before the movie comes out this spring. You know the movie is never as good as the book.

Title: Darkest Evening Of The Year
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Called in the middle of the night to a house filled with violence, Amy Redwing finds a battered family and the dog she has come to rescue. This dog, however, sparks a recognition in Amy...something beyond her love of goldens, something  "noble and solemn," something that promises changes both terrible and wonderful. Koontz has written a novel of evil, of salvation and redemption and healing, a book about dogs and children...the people they save and the people by whom they are saved.  A must-read.

Title: Darkly Dreaming Dexter ____
Author: Jeffrey Hunter
Publisher: Vintage Books
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: There are very few books that translate better on the screen but this first book of the Dexter series truly comes alive as the new SHOWTIME series “DEXTER.”   I would have put this book down somewhere into the second chapter if I hadn’t been hooked on tuning in weekly with macabre fascination to watch this horrific serial killer hide among humanity.  It’s dark and challenges what we consider heroic characteristics for a leading man.  The story is almost identical to the series but on T.V., the characters and story come alive through excellent cinematography and lighting that makes Florida the perfect place for a cold-blooded serial killer to hone his craft in a much more realistic way than the book could ever accomplish.  If you like the series, you may want to wait until the SHOWTIME first season series airs its last episode before reading this background novel that inspired it…there are a few spoilers. 

Title: Dark of the Moon
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Son
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sandford has finally done it!  He's written a non-Prey book that is terrific!  Granted, Davenport makes several small appearances, but the main character here is Virgil Flowers and he is great.  Called to the small town of Bluestem to investigate a double murder, Flowers is sidetracked when another killing occurs.  The question is: who is killing old people, and why?  Is it random, is it based on a decades-old business scam or is something else going on?  Virgil proves himself a tough, savvy and very funny guy; a fresh new character from Sandford, whose Davenport is just about done.  This is a great read.

Title: Dead Watch (Review #1)
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: May 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sandford breaks out from Davenport and Kidd in this rather ordinary suspense book centering on political corruption and murder in a post-911 world when citizens are joining the Watchmen to control the actions of their neighbors. The question is: was a prominent ex-congressman killed by them? By political rivals? His widow? Or was his death something else altogether? This is not the most neatly drawn or best-thought-out plot, but Sandford still writes well and this is probably worth a read.

Title: Dead Watch (Review #2)
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: Putnam
Copyright: May 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although this is not part of his Prey series, the author has created a politcal thriller worth reading. In this book, Jake Winter stirs up the political forces to help discover why a former Senator disappeared and who is responsible.

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a story of love that wasn't meant to be between the two main characters, John and Savannah. They met on the beach one summer while John was home for leave during his stint in the military. Their connection was undeniable and the next few years proved difficult to maintain a long distance relationship. Even though the reader knows from the beginning that the love story between John and Savannah wasn't going to last, you can't help but keep rooting for the circumstances to work out and they end up happy at the end of the book.

Title: Deceit
Author: James Siegel
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Reporter Tom Valle is fired from his high-profile job for falsifying all or part of fifty-six of his stories. Now working for the small town Littleton Journal he's covering mall openings and hundred-year birthdays when he stumbles on the story of a lifetime, but with his history he knows it's futile to hope that anyone will believe him. As he digs further into the truth of the flood that destroyed a town fifty years ago he finds a conspiracy that extends to the highest level of government, a conspiracy that continues to kill everyone who gets close to the truth. A tight, creepy novel in the tradition of "Shutter Island." I highly recommend it.

Title: Deceived
Author: Brett Battles
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: With this, his second in the Jonathan Quinn series, Battles has firmly established himself as an excellent suspense writer. When cleaner Jonathan Quinn is hired to dispose of a body in a shipping container he is shocked to find that his friend Steven Markoff is the dead man. And when his attempt to notify Markoff's girlfriend of his murder sets off a series of attacks on him, Quinn is drawn into a tangle of international intrigue and a shadow group whose purpose is to influence the U.S. government. Battles is at the top of his form with this one; I can't wait for the next.

Title: The Deception of the Emerald Ring
Author: Lauren Willig
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The third in a series of historical fiction novels, "The Deception of the Emerald Ring" takes place in early 19th century Ireland, England and France. Nineteen year old Letty finds herself married to agent/spy Geoffrey Pinchingdale through a series of misadventures, and eventually joins his secret life. Researcher Eloise Kelly, of the 21st century, tells the story as she discovers the facts. History, intrigue, romance and a very witty dialogue make for an enjoyable read.

Title: Deep Dish
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Gina Foxton, star of her own local cooking show, is devastated when her sleazy producer/lover sleeps with the sponsor's wife and her show is cancelled. Not all is lost, however, when Gina finds herself on a national reality show, competing against hunky rival Tate Moody for a shot at the big time. A cute, fluffy read, but wait for paperback.

Title: Deep Dish
Classification: Fiction
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Local Georgia chef Gina Foxton decides to compete for a national TV spot. Enter Tate Moody, host of an outdoors man cooking show. Everything, and everyone, heats up as they vie for the same position. Romance and fun and pretty typical of Andrew's books.

Title: Devil Bones
Author: Kathy Reichs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In her 11th Temperance Brennan series Kathy Reichs puts Tempe back home in N. Carolina investigating voodoo, devil worship and the death of two young victims. Her ex-husband, her love Ryan and her daughter Katy add troubled dimensions to Tempe's life. A great deal of scientific forensics blends with complex character development in "Devil Bones".

Title: Devil's Punchbowl
Classification: Fiction
Author: Greg Iles
Publisher: Scribner
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy  
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A terrific entry from Iles as Penn Cage serves his second year as mayor of Natchez, Mississippi, troubled by his failure to change its school system and by its loss of industry. In fact, his only major success has been to attract the Magnolia Queen, a floating casino which dumps lots of money into the town...until Cage hears from his oldest friend that horrible things are being sponsored by the casino, things that are awful even beyond the laws they violate. When the friend is tortured and killed, Cage realizes that he and his family are next in the killer's sights. This is the best Iles book in a long time!

Title: Dexter In The Dark
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Wacky forensic guy/serial killer Dexter is back (series); this time cut adrift from his "Dark Passenger," that little internal voice that tells him who to kill, and who has killed. Caught up in wedding plans, Dexter is also faced with a series of murders and with a sense that there is a force darker than he that he must face, all while mentoring his soon to be stepson who shows signs of possessing his own "Dark Passenger."  A fun, ironic read.

Title: The Diamond Hunters
Author: Wilbur Smith
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This best selling author has published more than thirty novels with sales of over eighty million copies. Pick up any of his titles and you won't be disappointed. The Vander Byl Diamond Company is in serious straits when patriarch, Jacob, dies. The will, however, is testimony to his passionate hatred of his own children, all of whom have spent their lives unsuccessfully trying to garner the acceptance of their father. Daughter Tracey has sunken into drugs and alcohol, encouraged by her brother, Benedict, who has felt inferior to foster brother, Johnny. For his part, Johnny, estranged from his father for many years, has become his greatest rival. Sounds melodramatic, right? But no, this is just the background for a life and death, non-stop action thriller between the two brothers, filled with greed, murder, passion and betrayal set in the beautiful but dangerous Western Africa with its stifling deserts and unpredictable seas. A truly enjoyable and fast-paced adventure.

Title: Die For You
Author: Lisa Unger
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Isabel Raine and her sexy husband Marcus share a typical morning just before he walks out of her life forever, leaving her stunned and shattered. As she tries to find him, Isabel is forced to realize that her wonderful husband is not who he seemed to be, although that discovery may cost her her life. A really terrific thriller, contemporary and edgy.

Title: Digging To America
Author: Anne Tyler
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Finally! A book I've been looking forward to reading has lived up to my expectations! Anne Tyler rarely fails to deliver, and "Digging To America" is no exception in this story of an Iranian immigrant whose cautious life is changed when her Americanized son and his wife adopt a Korean baby and, in the process, become friends with a thoroughly "American" family who celebrate the arrival of their Korean infant the same day. Tyler's wonderful characters are real and idiosyncratic as they forge bonds that underscore the realization that similarities between people are more important than the differences among cultures. This is a nearly perfect read.

Title: Digital Fortress
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a fantastic book. Lovers of "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" must read "Digital Fortress" - a techno-thriller with non-stop adventure.

Title:  Dirty Secrets Club
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Meg Gardiner
Publisher: Signet
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

When assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Harding drives off a bridge after leading police on a high-speed chase, forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett is called in to determine what would have made the woman kill herself and the others she took with her. It isn’t long before Jo discovers that this isn’t the first violent death of high-profile members of a clandestine group who call themselves the Dirty Secrets Club.
A decent read, but overly long as if the author decided to be done (several times) and then realized she had more ideas to include. This one would have benefited by some ruthless editing.

Title: Dirty Job
Author: Christopher Moore
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Christopher Moore ("Stupidest Angel," "Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove," "Lamb") is as whacked as ever in this rib-splitting novel about a man whose wife dies, leaving him with an infant daughter. Doesn't sound like a plot that would have you gasping in laughter, but in Moore's hands even Death Merchants are hilarious. Definitely a book to read right away...don't wait for paperback for this one!

Title: Distance Between Us
Author: Bart Yates
Publisher: Kensington
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At seventy-one, former piano virtuoso Hester Donovan is alone, sustained by memories and anger, when she takes in Alex as a boarder and infuriates her children and ex-husband. A bleak novel of the disintegration of a family, tempered with not enough redemption as Hester fails to recognize her own narcissism.

Title: The Divide
Author: Nicholas Evans
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In "The Divide" author Nicholas Evans presents the story of a family trying to understand the events leading to the death of their daughter. How did their golden child become a wanted woman accused of terrorism and murder? The answers are revealed in a compassionate and gripping novel.

Title: Don't Look Down
Author: Jennifer Cruise & Bob Mayer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: April 2006
Reviewer: Venus
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the first collaboration between these authors...and hopefully not the last! The book is a good blend of humor, suspense, action, and a touch of romance. Lucy Armstrong, a commercial director hired to complete the last four days of an action movie shoot, stumbles into a money-laundering scheme on the set. To protect her niece, sister, and the rest of the cast and crew from the Russian mob, Lucy and JT Wilder (a Green Beret hired by one of the actors to act as a consultant/stunt double) work together to flush out the bad guys.

Title:Dorothy on the Rocks
Author: Barbara Suter
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Just another book about a woman who drinks too much, smokes too much and is looking for love. Pass.

Title: Double Cross
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Lilttle, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this latest installment of the Alex Cross series, James Patterson sticks to a familiar story line formula found throughout the series. One could find this predictability boring, but Patterson seems to keep finding ways to keep it interesting. For all of your Alex Cross fans, this book should keep you satisfied until the next installment.

Title: Down River
Author: John Hart
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Adam Chase is an angry man, but who can blame him since, after his acquittal on murder charges, his entire family (and his entire home town) turned their backs on him. Five years later, during his exile in New York, he gets a call from his best friend who needs him to come home and, despite reservations, he goes...only to discover that the old hatreds are still there and the real murderer from his past is still on the loose. A worthy second novel (following King Of Lies) from an author in the style of Greg Iles and the early Stuart Woods. Definitely worth a read!

Title: Dragonfly in Amber
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 1992
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: The second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber, continues the saga of Claire Randal and Jamie Fraser in their quest to thwart a doomed scottish Highlander uprising. Starting 20 years later with Claire and her grown daughter, the story moves back again to Claire's time in eighteenth century Paris and Scotland. Intrigue, romance and history are skillfully combined in Gabaldon's novels.

Title: Dreamers of the Day
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 40 year old Ohio schoolteacher Agnes Shanklin arrives at the Egyptian Semiramis Hotel just as the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference convenes. Turned away, she is rescued by T.E. Lawrence (Lawernce of Arabia) and finds herself amid the excursions and social life of Winston Churchill and Gertrude Bell. As a narrator to the reader she is an observer of the invention of Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Charismatic German spy Karl Weilbacher adds a romantic interest to the mix. Interesting history, well crafted and engaging is "Dreamers of the Day".

Title: Dream When You're Feeling Blue
Author: Elizabeth Berg
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story is about the Heaney sisters, Kitty, Louise and Tish at the time of World War II. A time where USO dances, metal drives, and the sense of patriotism is the everyday norm. It is not long before Kitty and Louise tearfully see their boyfriends off to fight in the war and the worry whether or not they will make it back begins. This tale follows the girls as they correspond with their men. As time goes by, their beliefs, strength and love about everything they know is tested and pushed to the limit. Elizabeth Berg writes a charming story that transports the reader back in time.

Title: Dune Road 
Classification: Fiction
Author: Jane Green
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:  

A Connecticut beach community during the recent economic downturn is the setting for Green's latest novel.

The stories of three strong women intertwined provide a "beach read" type of book which is pleasant, often moving and entertaining.

Title: Dykes To Watch Out For
Author: Alison Bechdel
Publisher: Firebrand Books
Copyright: 1986
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As an old school classic, this graphic novel takes you back in the day of the 80's. The graphics are as lewd as the 80's. Dykes To Watch Out For covers everything like the ABC's of lesbians to humorous comics of life as a dyke.

Title: Earthly Pleasures
Author: Karen Neches
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Skye Sebring is a greeter in the Hospitality Section of Heaven with no aspirations for promotion.  After all, that would mean an assignment to earth and she has no interest in THAT, thank you very much.  However, there is that guy, Ryan...the one all the other women (even the angels) tune into on the Earthly Pleasures tv station.  The one who is married.  The one Skye can't stop thinking about.  The one she is certain she knows.  But how?  Skye is a "new soul," one who has never died, never lived on earth.  Neches' quirky heaven (all the lessons in life are contained in the words of five Beatles' songs) and irreverent characters (the newest angel wears a spiked collar with her white gown) combine to make a thoroughly enjoyable read. A very sweet debut that avoids being saccharine...a completely entertaining book.

Title: East of Eden
Author: James Steinbeck
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A modern retelling of the Book of Genesis that is often brutal.

Title: Echo Park
Author: Michael Connelly
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the twelfth in the Harry Bosch series, Harry is still working in the Open/Unsolved Unit when he is notified that there has been a confession in one of his cases; a thirteen-year-old murder that has haunted him. The confessed murderer is leading him and other officers to the burial site when everything goes wrong and Harry has to deal with the possibility that his partner, Kiz, might die...and with the certainty that the killer is not who it seems. Connelly's Bosch series continues to be convincing and tightly-written, and this entry is one of his best.

Title: Eclipse
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Edward and Bella are back together in this third book in the series. Their relationship is back on track but the threat of newbie vampires may bring their peacefulness to an end. To complicate matters more, Jacob and Edward are competing for Bella's attention.

Title: The Emancipator’s Wife
Author: Barbara Hambly
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical fiction. A fascinating and intimate portrayal of Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, whose faults and temper led many to conclude she was insane or, at the very least, impossible to deal with rationally.  Growing up in the wealthy and prominent Todd family, she was used to having everything she could want but still harbored secret anxieties and fears.  She often would strike out at friends and family, being horrified at what she heard herself saying but not able to stop herself.  Marriage to Lincoln did not remedy these outbursts which, along with increased and more severe migraines made her less and less capable of managing her life.  After the deaths of Lincoln and three of their four children, her behavior became so irrational that her remaining son, Robert, had her committed to an institution.  The novel moves back and forth between her time in the institution and earlier parts of her life.  While this style of writing often is a distraction to readers, in this case it serves to explain her character and deepen an understanding of this unique and fascinating woman.  A wonderful read.

Title: Even
Classification: Fiction
Author: Andrew Grant
Publisher: Minotaur
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: David Trevellyan has just finished a job in New York and is returning to London tomorrow, so after treating himself to a nice dinner he decides to walk to his hotel. After all, he does prefer the city at night. It's his discovery of the body, however, that delays his departure for home--that, and the fact that the police and the FBI immediately nail him as the killer. David is not the telecommunications engineer he claims to be, though, and his experience makes him more than capable of dealing with not only the bad guys but the inept good ones as well. Although he is (maybe unavoidably) influenced by his older brother Lee Child, don't sell Grant short--he's written a page-turning, heart-pounding thriller of his own. Don't miss it!

Title:  Every Last One
Classification: Fiction
Author: Anna Quindlen 
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Mary Beth Latham has a regular (if upscale, of course) life.  Husband, three kids, nice house, successful business. No real highs, no terrible lows—just regular.  Until the worst possible thing happens, and Mary Beth’s life changes forever.  Unfortunately, in this book, it doesn’t.  The range of emotions pretty much stays the same before and after the tragedy, although Mary Beth does cry more after. 

If you do decide to read this, I recommend a little personal taking of your emotional temperature first, because if you’re a little down now you’ll probably hit an all-time low after you’ve spent some time with Mary Beth.

Title: Everything Must Go
Author: Elizabeth Flock
Publisher: MIRA Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An odd and awkward book by the author of Me and Emma about the life of Henry Powell, former high school football star, who dreams of being a recording star and fantasizes about his biography. Maybe it's too much for me to ask, but if an author is writing a book that is supposed to be "moody," could we at least have characters about whom we care? Or situations that engage us? I suppose there's a need for books through which we must slog, but we shouldn't have to pay for them. Pass.

Title: Exit Strategy
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Growing up in a family of police officers gives Nadia her sharp edge. No surprise she became a police officer. However, Nadia finds herself forced into retirement when she took justice into her own hands. Now, she runs nature lodge in Canada. At least that is what she does when she isn’t killing for hire. When a serial killer strikes terror across the U.S., Nadia’s contact recruits her to help hunt down this growing threat to their profession. Getting a group of hired killers to work together, even if its for the ‘greater good,’ is almost an impossible task as they struggle to keep their own identities private, yet try to trust one another to work together in a profession where trust usually gets you killed. The suspense and tension keeps you turning the page as Nadia and the gang hunts an aging hit man who is taunting local and federal law enforcement as he carries out his bloody retirement exit strategy.

Title: Fair and Tender Ladies
Author: Lee Smith
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is one of my favorite "mountain" books. Told through the letters of Ivy Rowe from her home in the Virginia mountains at the turn of the century, Smith captures the hard and lonely life of the time and place. A lyric read in the tradition of "Color Purple."

Title: Faithful Spy (Review #1)
Author: Alex Berenson
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: American CIA agent John Wells has successfully infiltrated al Qaeda and has lived as a part of them for ten years. Guilty over his failure to prevent 9/11, he is committed to making sure there is never another attack on his homeland, but plans are in place that even he doesn't know about...and his superiors in Washington have stopped trusting him. As events unfold it is obvious that al Qaeda won't be satisfied with just one more attack and that this time many more thousands will die. This may be the best spy novel I've ever read; Berenson's style is riveting!

Title: Faithful Spy (Review #2)
Author: Alex Berenson
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political thriller.  John Wells is a CIA operative who has managed to infiltrate al Quida after years of building his cover.  He has met Bin Laden several times but his handler is Omar Khadri, the man in charge of planning and orchestrating attacks on America.  Now John is coming back home for a secret mission, but since Khadri doesn’t fully trust him, no details have been revealed.  The CIA doesn’t trust him either because of his lack of communication with them.  After two vicious attacks are carried out, the CIA has even less trust in John and, forced out of the information loop; he strikes out on his own.  Meanwhile, he still is being tested by Khadri with tasks which begin to reveal parts of the terrorist’s plan.  This will be the big one-“one which will make 9/11 look like a picnic”-involving some kind of biological, chemical or even nuclear weapons-and it is up to John to stop it.  Twists, turns and non-stop action make this a page turner you won’t want to miss.

Title: The Falls
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "The Falls", set against the background of Niagara Falls in the mid-twentieth century, is a rather dark novel about a dysfunctional family affected by suicide, murder and the corruption of the "Love Canal" contamination. Oates writes extremely well but the story seemed unending with new characters and situations continually added in.

Title: Family Daughter
Author: Maile Meloy
Publisher: Scribner/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After Abby sleeps with her uncle she tries to manufacture a way he might be her first cousin instead. Oh, please...like that would make a difference? Another book full of rationalizations for unacceptable and smarmy behavior, and peopled by a family too boring to be called dysfunctional. Yuck.

Title: Fear
Author: Jeff Abbott
Publisher: Onyx
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Abbott has come a long way from his early mysteries and has pretty much arrived with this one. Miles Kendrick is in the federal Witness Protection program, seeing a shrink and sharing his life with the nagging ghost of his best friend (whom, he's pretty sure, he killed) when he's offered the chance to participate in an experimental test to treat victims of post-traumatic stress syndrome. All bets are off, however, when his doctor is murdered and Miles seems to be the next target. A little overly wordy, but all in all a very good read.

Title: Fearless Fourteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Once again Stephanie Plum and her cohorts try to solve a local mystery. This time $9 million dollars from an earlier bank robbery is the center of their search, and it may be buried at Joe Morelli's house. Lula and Ranger add to the humor and romance, as well as a raft of other crazy characters. "Fearless Fourteen" is a fun light quick "beach" read. (Click here to check out other reviews for this title)

Title: Fidelity
Author: Thomas Perry
Publisher: Harcourt Inc.
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Phil Kramer is a savvy, careful private investigator. So how does he let himself be shot and killed while doing something as simple as getting into his car? That's what his wife Emily is determined to find out but, unfortunately, she finds too many implausible things to make this a convincing read. She's smart, too, so why didn't she know who her husband is? And what he was doing, at least some of the time? All the money is gone? There have been lots of women? He has a son? She doesn't know any of this? The only good news is that Thomas is working on a new Jane Whitefield novel, so maybe there's hope yet. For this one, though, pass.

Title: Fifth Vial
Author: Michael Palmer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Palmer explores the terrifying possibility that medical labs could establish a data base of subjects for organ transplants by drawing an extra vial of blood from unsuspecting patients, then tissue-matching them as unwilling donors. The powerful men and women who run the organization defend their actions based on Plato's philosopher kings and justify killing "producers" to protect their self-proclaimed Guardians of the Republic. A little predictable, but a good, quick suspense read.

Title: The Final Solution: A Story of Detection
Author: Michael Chabon
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon intertwines history and legend in this short tale of compassion, intrigue and wit. An old sleuth comes out of retirement in 1944 England to solve a murder surrounding a missing parrot which may hold a secret German SS code. Do we have reason to believe the detective is Sherlock Holmes? As usual Chabon writes in a superb and extraordinary style.

Title: First Commandment
Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Maybe it was too much to expect that Thor would be able to follow Takedown with another barn-burner, but I did and he hasn't. Scot Harvath returns as the in-your-face Homeland Security guy...this time on the heels of a group of terrorists released from Guantanamo with the blessing of the president of the United States to prevent the massacre of American school children. Sounds pretty good, right? It could have been, if Thor didn't spend so much time reminding us (and REMINDING us) how brave, stoic, loyal, revered, patriotic and on and on Harvath is. I sort of expected him to throw in the Boy Scout oath as well. This one is definitely on the low side of "liked."

Title: The First Law
Author: John Lescroart
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thriller. Tight and suspenseful action. I thought it a good read from another favorite author.

Title: First Patient
Author: Michael Palmer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this edge-of your-seat thriller, small town doctor Gabe Singleton is recruited by his long-time friend, president of the United States Andrew Stoddard, to replace the president's personal physician who has gone missing. To complicate matters, Stoddard himself is experiencing strange and terrifying psychotic symptoms. From his first day in Washington, Singleton is caught in a vortex of conspiracy and murder that races through a web of politics and technology. A not-to-be missed read, one of Palmer's best!

Title: Five Fortunes
Author: Beth Gutcheon
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Unfortunately the format of this book (chapters divided by character) doesn't allow for full development of the characters. I was left with the feeling that I didn't get to know any of them. A ho-hum read.

Title: Fixer Upper
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Dempsey Killibrew finds herself without a job when her high-powered lobbyist boss is investigated by the FBI for bribing a congressman. When her father offers her the chance to rehab the old family plantation as a way to earn some money and escape Washington Dempsey thinks she's safe until she discovers her old boss has thrown her under the bus and that the FBI is now tracking her down. A moderately entertaining read, but certainly nothing special.

Title: Fluke
Author: Christopher Moore
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Marine biologist Nathan Quinn has made a career of studying whale songs and, after twenty-five years, has come to believe that their meaning will forever elude him. His career takes a surprising turn when, on an ordinary day, a whale dives displaying this on his tail: the words "Bite Me." This experience, followed by a request from the same whale for a pastrami sandwich, begins this journey into the weird world of Christopher Moore's novel of whales, humans, and a strange mix of both. As always from Moore, an odd, surreal book... thoroughly enjoyable.

Title: Follow the River
Author: James Alexander Thom
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although fictionalized, this is an account of an early Ohio woman's incredible journey in and out of captivity.

Title: Forest Lover
Author: Susan Vreeland
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This well written fictionalized account of Canadian artist Emily Carr gives the reader a wonderful insight not only into her struggle as an artist but into the confines of Victorian culture.

Title: Forever Odd
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: While not as good as the first book featuring Odd (Odd Thomas), this is still Koontz and, as far as I'm concerned, still worth a read. Even at his worst, Koontz is better than a lot of authors at their best.

Title: For One More Day (Review #1)
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mitch Albom, author of "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" weaves a fable about a broken man who gets to spend one more day with his deceased mother. In the course of that day he learns of her sacrifices and love and what he might do to put his life back together.

Title: For One More Day (Review #2)
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book from Mitch Albom, author of The Five People You Meet In Heaven tells the take of a man who has hit more than rock bottom. Here you meet Chick, a man at his most desperate hour finds that he gets to spend one more day with his deceased mother. During this day he understands how much she loved him and what he could do to turn himself around.

Title: Full of Grace
Author: Dorothea Benton Frank
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Full of Grace, set mostly in North Carolina, features 32 year old (unmarried) Grace, daughter of an old fashioned Italian family. Over the years her faith has waned, she loves and lives with a man doing stem cell research and she's trying to fit into her family who are strongly influenced by her traditional grandmother. Filled with wacky compassionate characters, this poignant story is a little different from Frank's usual books.

Title: Gardenias
Author: Faith Sullivan
Publisher: Milkweed
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this worthy sequel to Sullivan's wonderful Cape Ann, Lark, her mother and her Aunt Betty are living in San Diego during World War II after leaving Lark's ne'er-do-well father in Minnesota. Lark's bitterness grows as she finds herself living in ramshackle government-built housing, alone while the mother and aunt work to support them. Slowly, though, she starts to meet her neighbors and finds that they become as important to her as her abandoned family was. Sullivan captures the feel of time and place in a perfect way; her California of the 40's is completely convincing and captivating. A must-read!

Title: Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936
Author: Jeffrey Deaver
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Garden of Beasts" takes American hitman Paul Schumann to Berlin to assassinate one of Hitler's top men. Finding himself the victim of a double-cross, Schumann must choose between saving himself and completing his mission. "Garden of Beasts" is intriguing, fast-paced historical fiction.

Title: Garden of Water
Author: Alan Drew
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Garden of Water", a debut novel, takes place in a small town outside Istanbul. Following a devastating earthquake Sinan Basioglu, his wife, 15 year old daughter and 8 year old son, are forced to survive in an American missionary tent camp. The culture clash between Islam and Christianity, conservative traditionalism and modernity, love and honor, and age and youth creates devastating situations both sensitive and thought provoking.

Title: Garden Spells (Review #1)
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In her first novel Sarah Addison Allen has written a tender book about sisters reconnecting and the security of family and love. With their special gifts and their garden of somewhat mystical spells, the family comes together in a lovely story to change their lives and those around them. Reading "Garden Spells" gives you a touch of Sue Monk Kidd, Alice Hoffman or Rebecca Wells.

Title: Garden Spells (Review #2)
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A thoroughly charming book about the Waverleys, whose garden has, for generations, produced magical plants.  Claire and Sydney are sisters, abandoned by their mother years ago, who find themselves together again in the family home.  Claire, the town caterer, has made a life out of hiding herself, while Sydney has spent years running from man to man.  Thanks to their enchanted apple tree (you'll find out) and to their Aunt Evanelle, who finds herself compelled to give things to people, the sisters come to grips with their history and their future.  A wonderful, wonderful book.  Don't miss it!

Title: Gate House
Author: Nelson DeMille
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After several blockbuster suspense novels (Night Fall, Plum Island, Lion's Game), DeMille tries to bore us to death in this, the sequel to Gold Coast. Ten years after John Whitman Sutter's wife killed her lover, and ten years following their divorce, Sutter returns to his old stomping grounds on Long Island's Gold Coast where he spends the better (or worse) part of almost 800 pages mouthing what I think is supposed to be amusing repartee. Unfortunately it isn't. Amusing. At all. Or entertaining, or well-written or engaging. For an author who can usually be counted on to turn in a must-read, DeMille has, this time, given us a mustn't-read. Pass.

Title: A Gate at the Stairs  
Classification: Fiction
Author: Lorrie Moore
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Shortly after 9/11 college student Tassie becomes nanny for an older couple who are adopting a bi-racial baby girl. Also enjoying her first love, with a Brazilian student, Tassie's suspicions mount that things are not quite right with the family or her romantic situation. Secondary characters float in and out including her own family who face tragedy. Slowly paced and melancholy but perceptive and beautifully written.

Title: The Gazebo
Author: Emily Grayson
Publisher: William Morrow & Co.
Copyright: 1999
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Don’t we all wish we could pitch the “have to’s” in life to do what we want to do for a change?  That’s exactly what Claire and Martin decide to do when they grow weary of always putting their love for one another on hold because of their responsibilities.  For six incredible, adventurous months in Europe, life is unbelievably blissful and fulfilling for the couple until life’s “have to’s” is no longer unavoidable. WARNING:  Keep the hankies on hand!!

Title: Gettysburg
Author: Newt Gingrich
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Alternative History. What if Lee had won at Gettysburg? This first of a trilogy explores that possibility. Certainly plausible, you don't need to be a Civil War buff to enjoy this one.

Title: Ghost
Author: John Ringo
Publisher: Baen/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: October 2005
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Military action adventure series. Mike Harmon, a retired SEAL, stumbles onto a terrorist kidnapping of young college women, and takes action to track and free them.

Title: Ghost War
Author: Alex Berenson
Publisher: Putnam
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: John Wells is back in Berenson's second novel as he tries to prevent war with China.  Patriots and megalomaniacs abound as Wells goes first to Afghanistan to defeat a threat there, then travels to China to save the world.  Despite a world-class first novel in Faithful Spy, Berenson suffers sophomore slump here by making Wells the kind of super hero usually found only in comic books.  Here's hoping for better next time.

Title: Gilead
Author: Marilynne Robinson
Publisher: Picador USA
Copyright: 2004
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Gilead is the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2004 National Book Critics Award for Fiction. The format is a letter written in 1956 by elderly Reverend John Ames to his very young son. He discusses the conflicts between his father and grandfather, various church doctrines and beliefs and the bonds between father and sons. Although not advocating any specific religious belief there is a certain amount of church doctrine discussed. The author's grasp of relationships and defining moments is particularly important and well done.

Title:  Girl Who Chased the Moon
Classification:
Author:  Sarah Addison Allen
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright:  2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

When Emily’s mother dies, she discovers a grandfather she never knew existed and a side of her mother she can’t believe was true. In Mullaby, North Carolina, though, there are a lot of things that only exist in a Southern town: wallpaper that changes of its own volition, the sweet scent of cakes that acts as an aphrodisiac, and a powerful family whose men carry a secret hidden for generations.

Allen has, once again, created an enchanting story of love and mystery that allows you to gladly suspend belief in the mundane.  All that’s missing is the sweet tea.

Title: The Girls
Author: Lori Lansens
Publisher: Little, Brown
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Canadian author Lansens (Rush Home Road) has done it again in this wonderfully written story of conjoined sisters. From the opening sentence: "I have never looked into my sister's eyes", we are drawn into the rich lives of Ruby and Rose, their family and their neighbors, and follow them for thirty years of their unique but universal experiences. A must read, and one well-suited for book club discussion groups as it explores the world through a view both rare and familiar.

Title: Given Day
Author: Dennis Lehane
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A big, brawling, sprawling historical novel, set during the first part of the twentieth century as the country tries to find its way during the First World War. In his first novel since Shutter Island, Lehane weaves together the life of Luther Laurence, a black man running from his past, with those of Danny Coughlin, a Boston cop, and Babe Ruth, less hero and more human than you'd expect. This is a terrific book, one with both historical and contemporary importance. Don't miss it!

Title: The Glorious Cause
Author: Jeffrey Shaara
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I thoroughly enjoy Shaara's historical fiction selections and this one didn't disappoint. His continuing format takes you from one main character to another in separate chapters, but in chronological sequence. The setting this time is the American Revolutionary War. For any history buff who enjoys an easy overview of the primary events and important leaders.

Title: Going to See the Elephant
Author: Rodes Fishburne
Publisher: Dell
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This debut novel tells the story of would-be writer Slater Brown as he travels around San Francisco. After finding employment with a down and out newspaper he eventually becomes the toast of the town due to his journalistic prowess. A beautiful chess champion, a corrupt mayor and a wacky inventor add dimension to this unusual novel.

Title: Goldengrove  
Author: Francine Prose
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Nico and her beautiful, accomplished sister Margaret have always been close, even when Margaret and her boyfriend Aaron expect her to cover for them.  Until the day on the lake when Margaret dives away from Nico and drowns, leaving (predictably) the family to deal with their loss.  A little less predictable, but a whole lot more weird and smarmy, is Aaron’s reaction to the death and his attempted involvement with Nico.  

 This is a story that’s been told before (and better), although it might have worked if even one of the main characters were sympathetic.  Unfortunately, this is pretty boring stuff.

Title: Gone
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Bantam
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Gardner is a consistent page-turner who needs to be discovered by a larger audience. This one is no exception...

Title: Gone Tomorrow
Author: Lee Child
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It's two o'clock in the morning, just a normal subway ride, except that the woman across from Reacher is anything but normal. After all, how many people match eleven of the twelve characteristics of a suicide bomber? With the woman dead, Reacher discovers a conspiracy that spans decades and reaches across the globe in this, the thirteenth in the Jack Reacher series. Lee Child has never been better than this so please, stop reading this and go buy this book!

Title: Good Guy
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Stonemason Tim Carrier stops by his favorite bar after work where a stranger hands him an envelope containing ten thousand dollars and the picture of a young woman with assurance another ten thousand will be delivered "when she's gone." Knowing that it's up to him to prevent the murder, Tim finds Linda, the targeted victim, and they find themselves running from an assassin with powerful forces on his side. In a shadowy world where it's impossible to identify the bad guys Tim discovers a conspiracy that reaches to the most influential people in the world. Can he stay alive long enough to destroy it? Once again, Koontz has written a tense, riveting thriller that will leave you breathless!

Title: Good Things I Wish For You
Classification: Fiction
Author: A. Manette Ansay
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Recently divorced Jeanette Hochmann is stuck--in life and in her writing. Despite her passion for her subject (a novel about nineteeth-century pianist and composer Clara Schumann's relationship with Johannes Brahms), Jeanie has hit a wall until she meets Hart. Soon she is living a life that parallels Clara's; loving a man who can love only himself even though he provides the passion that fuels her creativity. Unfortunately, in a style unlike Ansay, the development of the relationship is awkward, while the characters are too stiff too be believable. Definitely not up to the promise of Ansay's Vinegar Hill.

Title: Got the Look
Author: James Grippando
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Good, but probably worth waiting for in paperback. It’s on my shelf, but the second one down.

Title: Go with Me
Author: Castle Freeman, Jr.
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this unassuming little book, Freeman's timing is flawless, his ear for dialogue  perfect.  Divided between good ole boy conversation in an all-but-abandoned Vermont logging camp and the almost certain to fail trek into the mountains in search of a killer, the humor leavened with intensity, Freeman's minimalist prose is dead-on.  A definite top pick!

Title: Grave Goods 
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Ariana Franklin
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright:  2010
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Gastonbury Abbey, England, 1176, where the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are reported to have been found. In "Grave Goods" King Henry II again calls upon Adelia Agular to investigate. Rich with family, friends and an assortment of locals this is a terrific blend of history and mystery in Franklin's 3rd "Mistress of the Art of Death" series.

Series:

1.  Mistress of the Art of Death

2.  The Serpent's Tale

3.  Grave Goods

4.  A Murderous Procession (coming soon)

Title: Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Classification: Fiction
Publisher: Dial Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Author Juliet Ashton's theory is that books have a secret homing device that "brings them to their perfect readers." And in this perfectly charming book set in postwar Great Britain it seems that all books have wound up in the hands of just the right people, including a copy of Ashton's "Selected Essays of Elia" which somehow has made its way to a farm in the Guernsey Islands. Written in the form of letters, this novel captures the time and place so perfectly it could almost have been non-fiction...an almost perfect read!

Title: The Guy Not Taken
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Weiner takes the reader on a journey through short stories of love and relationships (good times and bad) throughout a lifetime. I found them to be humorous at times as well as touching. The stories were woven together in an exceptional way to keep the reader on the journey. While I enjoyed Weiner's book of short stories immensely, I sure did miss a full length novel. I hope the next one will be coming out soon!

Title:  Hand That First Held Mine
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Maggie O’Farrell
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

O’Farrell doesn’t set out to write a suspense novel but, although there are no murders, no international plots and no weapons she keeps readers turning pages to discover if the worst will happen.  After the birth of their son, Elina gets through her own recovery only to see her boyfriend Ted start to experience “episodes” that include flashbacks to a history he doesn’t remember.

O’Farrell creates a pervasive sadness while managing to offer the hope of a happy ending…wonderfully written.

Title: Happiness Sold Separately
Author: Lolly Winston
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A mildly interesting book by the author of the wonderful first novel "Good Grief." After eight years of marriage, Elinor and Ted Mackey find themselves unable to have a child, and pushed apart by their failure. Elinor seeks solace by doing endless loads of laundry, while Ted (of course, stereotypical man that he is), has an affair. An endless round of analysis follows: does Ted want to stay with Elinor, or leave her for Gina? Does Elinor want to keep Ted with her, or does she want him to be happy with Gina? A little tedious, and not up to the promise of Winston's debut, but readable enough.

Title: The Harafish
Author: Naguib Mahfouz
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
Copyright: September 1997
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story follows the generations of the al-Nagi family. The story is set in a village in Egypt where each generation of the family makes their own way through the pages of history. Some of the family are noble characters who stand up for the poor while others use the power they make for themselves to influence the rich. There are twists and turns to each person's story. This novel was full of memorable characters.

Title: The Hard Way
Author: Lee Child
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Child has done it again in this, the tenth of the Jack Reacher series! Former military guy Reacher is asked by the leader of a mercenary group to find his kidnapped wife and step-daughter. But who's the bad guy here? Tight, intense, this is another great read from the writer of just about the best suspense books around.

Title: Heartsick
Author: Chelsea Cain
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Heading a three-state Task Force, Detective Archie Sheridan spent ten years tracking a beautiful, bizarre female serial killer. However, in the end, she caught him and tortured him for ten days before she let him go. Now, two years later, he has finally returned to work; she is in prison for life; and another serial killer is loose in Portland, Oregon. Archie is once again heading up the police task force, and is being shadowed by an up and coming newspaper reporter, Susan Ward. The gruesome story is gripping and this police thriller is somewhat unique with its detail of a rare female serial killer. Normally I shy away from this genre because it is just too easy to figure out what the characters have problems seeing. This story had enough flash backs to the origins of the task force and unique details regarding the horrific, rare female serial killer to keep me reading and overlook some of the obvious clues the trained police kept missing.

Title: Heartstopper
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although certainly not in the same league as Fielding's See Jane Run and Mad River Road, this is a pretty good (but very predictable) suspense read. When pretty, popular Liana Martin goes missing everyone in this small, dysfunctional Florida town becomes a suspect. (Except, of course, for the real killer). Fairly interesting characters, but without the depth and darkness in some of the author's earlier books; this would make a good, quick beach read.

Title: Heat Lightning
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this, the second in the Virgil Flowers series, Sandford manages to create a really high degree of...boredom. Like James Patterson, Sandford has taken on a writing partner and it shows in a marked decrease in suspense and organization. Flowers is called in to investigate when corpses begin showing up with lemons stuffed in their mouths, which may or may not be a sign of Vietnamese murders (don't hold your breath, we never actually find out). One of the problems with more than one author is that loose ends are left dangling, and that's definitely a difficulty here. Pass.

Title: Help  
Author:  Kathryn Stockett
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In what is arguably the best debut of 2009, Kathryn Stockett explores with warmth and truth the relationship between wealthy white women in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s and the black women who serve them.  Despite the ugly racism of the time (most homes have a separate bathroom for the help since “they carry different kinds of diseases than we do”) she finds the that the differences among the women are greater than the differences between their races.

 A nearly perfect book…I didn’t want it to end.

Title: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mississippi in the 1960's sets the scene for three women: Skeeter, white and a recent Ole Miss grad; Minny, black and usually too outspoken to keep a domestic position; Aibileen, black who dearly loves all the white babies she has helped raise over the years. Skeeter, not really happy with her Junior League existence, convinces the maids and their friends to secretly write about their employers and injustices even though their jobs and possibly their lives are at risk. Well defined characters and troubling experiences make this first novel a very compelling read.

Title: The Heretic's Daughter
Author: Kathleen Kent
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When I first picked up this book, I was excited that the book was written about the author's distant relatives who lived during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The premise of the book was based on old documents found that talked about that time. I was kinda disappointed. The story wasn't what I thought it would be. It dragged on in parts while other ares were good. If the book would have been written in diary form, I think it would be better. The author weaved a story based on information contained in the documents and I think the story could have been better. It's still worth a read if you want more information about the time period.

Title: Hide (Review #1)
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A pedestrian thriller about a woman (she's had so many names that I'm loathe to include one)whose family picked up and moved a LOT when she was a child. We're left to determine whether those moves were a result of her father's paranoia or a consequence of his job (wow--maybe an FBI agent?) or perhaps even because he was a serial killer. By the time I reached the end, I really didn't care. Ho-hum.

Title: Hide (Review #2)
Classification: Fiction
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When six mummified corpses are discovered policeman Bobby Dodge is drawn back into an earlier case of deception and intrigue. "Hide" isn't one of Gardner's best but I did finish it to see how she pulled everything together at the end.

Title: Hiding Place
Author: Trezza Azzopardi
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A stark, brutal novel of an impoverished family in 1940s Wales and, ultimately, a story of redemption. Powerfully and wonderfully written.

Title: Home to Holly Springs: The First of the Father Tim Novels
Author: Jan Karon
Publisher: Penquin
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: "Home to Holly Springs" features the beloved Father Tim from the "Mitford" series. At 70 and retired as an Episcopal clergyman, Father Tim returns to Holly Springs, his childhood home, where he confronts the longtime demons concerning his father and the abrupt departure of his loving housekeeper. Anyone who has enjoyed the Mitford series will continue to enjoy this new Father Tim story.

Title: Hood: Book One in the King Raven Trilogy ____
Author: Stephen Lawhead
Publisher: WestBow Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A thoroughly researched historical novel setting the Robin Hood legend in the 11th century as William II allows the Normans to violate the peace and encroach into Wales.  Like most Lawhead projects, his command of the English language is almost poetic and this is the first book of a proposed trilogy.  His focus on historical detail in setting up “hero” legends gives his books an air of authority unlike any other storyteller.  However, unlike his previous works, this story gets a little slow midway through the book and at times, the story arc detailing the invading Normans gets boring.  All in all, a great read. 

Title: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Chinese American Henry Lee is caught up in the prejudice of Americans against Japanese citizens in Seattle after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His childhood friend and first love Keiko is sent with her family to an internment camp. Forty years later events rekindle Henry's search and contemplation of his own family dynamics. Ford's first novel is, like the title, both bitter and sweet.

Title: The Hour I First Believed
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In the ten years since his last book (I Know This Much Is True), I've thought often about Lamb and wondered not only if he would write again but if he could match the eloquence of his first two books. With The Hour I First Believed he has...and he does. In a first-person narrative told by Caelum Quirk, Lamb manages to include the Columbine massacre, the Civil War, the penal system, Miss Rheingold and much more, and he manages, out of all that, to create a vortex of a story, a book about hate and love and violence and redemption. This is another nearly perfect book by this author; a must read.

Title: The House in Amalfi
Author: Elizabeth A. Adler
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lamour Harrington, a young woman widowed 2 years earlier, returns to Italy to recapture the memories of her childhood and to discover the real circumstances surrounding her father's death. After deciding to relocate there she must also deal with her attraction to the neighboring father and son. Although somewhat pat and predictable this is a pleasant read.

Title: How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Frienship and Musical Theater
Classification: Fiction
Author: Marc Acito
Publisher: Broadway Books
Copyright: Reprint 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 17 year old Edward Zanni's plan to attend Julliard hits a snag when his father's new wife convinces him not to pay for college. Edward,a somewhat feckless fellow, turns to his misfit friends to carry out a scheme of embezzlement, money laundering, forgery and blackmail. This farcical coming-of-age story is highly entertaining.

Title: How Perfect Is That
Author: Sarah Bird
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: I'm still yawning after reading this ho-hum novel about poor Blythe Young, former caterer to the stars, former wife to millionaire Trey Dix; current drunk, druggie and all around loser. Please only buy this book if you're up for three hundred pages of failed attempts to produce sympathy for this completely unlikable character, or if you're a masochist. Otherwise, pass.

Title: The Husband
Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Koontz remains the master of suspense with this novel of an unassuming gardener whose life is forever altered with the abduction of his wife Holly by kidnappers who are masterfully framing him for her murder. Twist follows heart-pounding twist as Mitch finds himself face-to-face with violence and evil. This is a don't-wait-for-paperback book! If your bookstore or library is open, grab your keys and leave now. (check out Marilyn's review of the same title by clicking here)

Title: I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 1998
Reviewer: J
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A long, but great read. Lamb's book will make you believe you know the protagonist personally as he journeys through life with his challenging twin brother. For those of you who like happy endings, this is a must read. Also, this novel has been included on Oprah's book list.

Title: I'm Not Julia Roberts
Author: Laura Ruby
Publisher: Warner Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: While this is a decent enough little "filler book," there are too many characters with too few unique personalities to keep them straight. Ruby should have concentrated on one perspective or written a longer book! A moderately interesting book about modern divorce, but this is a topic that's been done before, and better. Pass.

Title: The Inheritance of Loss
Author: Kiran Desai
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Copyright: January 2006
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a tale of a bitter judge, his estranged granddaughter and his cook. Set in the Himalayas, there is political unrest, not to mention the judge getting used to having his granddaughter, Sai living with him. The cook also has a son in America and so the story at times follows the trials of the son, Biju trying to be successful in a land of opportunities.

Title: The Innocent
Author: Posie-Graeme-Evans
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Historical fiction. This first time novelist is somewhat reminiscent of Phillipa Gregory in that the main character is a young woman in the court of England during medieval times. Anne is born in the forests under mysterious circumstances and lives there among the Druids until she is 15. She then becomes a servant in the home of a wealthy London merchant where her knowledge of healing herbs brings her to the attention of the court. After healing the queen she is moved permanently to the palace. Here the main story begins as she and the king find themselves drawn to each other. Lots of the expected court intrigue and a good read although the resolution of the underlying mystery is totally predictable. However the love/lust episodes are far too explicit in my opinion but, if you like the Romance category style, it may not bother you.

Title: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright: May 2000
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is a great collection of short stories revolving around relationships. The beauty of the novel comes from the progression of each individual story in the scheme of the novel as a whole.

Title: In the Bleak Midwinter
Author: Julia Spencer Fleming
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A remarkable first novel which won 6 major book awards, due no doubt to the depth of plot and character development. Clare Fergusson, former Army chopper pilot and a woman with a "mind of her own" seems a little odd to the members of the conservative St. Albans Episcopal Church where she has just been assigned. Ideas to improve services to the community are met with resistance and seem to indicate a lack of confidence in the new priest. Then a newborn baby is found on the church steps with a note requesting that he be given to a certain couple in the congregation. Clare finds the congregation solidly behind her in her effort to fulfill this request. But it's not just a simple matter, as Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne informs her. The parents must be identified and other legal matters addressed.In the search for the mother the seemingly peaceful setting of the town is shattered as deceit, betrayal and murder are discovered. Resolution of the several conflicts is found but shock and sadness accompany the truth. Well written with characters you will love, the novel is well worth reading and I look forward to subsequent books in the series.

Title: Intent to Kill
Author: James Grippando
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Ryan James was playing minor league baseball, waiting to be picked up by the majors, when his wife was killed in a car crash after being run off the road by a drunk driver. Three years later he\'s hosting a sports talk show, taking care of his daughter, not sleeping, and mourning his wife when he gets a message that reads "It was no accident." If you like a suspense(less) novel that you figure out on page 28, then this is for you. Otherwise, pass.

Title: Intruders
Author: Michael Marshall
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Marshall is back with another creepy thriller in the tradition of his first two: Straw Men and Upright Man. Jack Whalen has stopped being a cop and become a writer, enjoying life with his wife and trying to decide if he has another book in him, when he gets a call from a high school classmate ...someone with whom he was never close, someone he has hardly thought of in years. It's a surprise, then, when Gary Fisher asks him to look into the disappearance of a scientist and the murder of the researcher's family. Giving only vague details, Fisher leaves Jack with a nagging interest in the case; an interest that becomes an obsession as he realizes his wife is involved and that intruders can enter your life in more ways than one.

Title: Intuition
Author: Allegra Goodman
Publisher: Dell Publishing
Copyright: February 2006
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was a fascinating look into life in scientific research, jealous postdoctoral students and possible research fraud. Sandy and Marion run a tight laboratory at the Philpott Institute. Little did they know that their big breakthrough in cancer research would cause them big problems. Were their results too good to be true or was the doubt a personal vendetta started by a jilted lover? The descriptions of life in a laboratory were so close to reality that it was scary at times. Whereas the plot of possible scientific fraud was a bit overdrawn, the story continued to move at a pretty good pace right up until the very end.

Title: Invisible Prey
Author: John Sandford
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: After his rather disappointing breakaway novel, Dead Watch, Sandford is back with Lucas Davenport in this, the seventeenth in the Prey series. Although it lacks some of the suspense of the earlier ones (you know whodunit pretty soon), it's nice to have Lucas on the trail of the bad guys when old people (old, RICH people) are murdered in their homes. The only link seems to be antique quilts...but is that enough reason for the killings? Davenport has sort of turned the corner from driven detective to comfortable, "just doing my job" cop, but Sandford writes well enough to keep us involved. A good read.

Title: Isabella Moon
Author: Laura Benedict
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although a moderately well-written first novel, Benedict makes the fatal mistake made by too many authors caught up in their own plots: she fails to write an ending.  The story is fairly interesting...small town, missing child, but far-fetched ghostly apparitions and somewhat stilted dialogue mar the book.  Here's wishing for better next time.

Title: Island Of Lost Girls
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It happens so quickly: Rhonda Farr stops for gas and, in an instant, sees what might be a hallucination. There's hardly any other explanation for a white rabbit kidnapping a little girl from a parked car. If it weren't for the fact that this is not the first girl to go missing, and for the fact that at least one of them is dead, Rhonda could almost pretend it didn't happen. And, of course, her childhood memory of her own white rabbit. A pretty good read, with only a few needless detours.

Title: Jericho Sanction
Author: Oliver North
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Political military thriller. Lots of suspense, high tech action and all that good stuff you expect in this genre.

Title: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Author: Susanna Clarke
Publisher: Bloomsbury, USA
Copyright: August 2005
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An epic that follows the endeavors of a magician to prove that magic still exists, the story takes place in early 19th century England. Though sometimes dark, this book is exciting, suspenseful, and witty.

Title: Josie and Jack
Author: Kelly Braffet
Publisher: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although I read this a couple of months ago, I've had to mull over my feelings about it. Braffet writes well (as she did in Last Seen Leaving), but she has chosen a disturbing subject (think Flowers In the Attic, but brutal) and presents it in such a creepy, uncompromising way that I was tempted to avert my eyes as I read. A dark, moody book with perfectly drawn, disturbing characters, but definitely not for everyone.

Title: Judas Horse
Author: April Smith
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: FBI agent Ana Grey (series) is back on the job and, after fellow agent Steve Crawford is killed, assigned to infiltrate a cell of domestic terrorists. Aware of just how easy it is to lose herself in her fictional character, Ana soon begins to question her identity, and to wonder just who the bad guys are. No black and white here, only shades of gray in Smith's slightly disjointed thriller.

Title: Julia's Chocolates
Author: Cathy Lamb
Publisher: Kensington Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Almost-bride Julia Bennett has left her abusive boyfriend and run away, leaving her wedding dress hanging from a tree in North Dakota while fleeing to the safety of her Aunt Lydia in Oregon. Lydia, who hosts a weekly Psychic Night (Breast Power Psychic Night; Your Hormones and You) and who has large concrete pigs in her yard named after men who have made her mad, is the sane one in Julia's family which gives you an idea of the rest of them. This is a warm, wonderful book in the tradition of Billie Letts and Rebecca Wells...I highly recommend it!

Title: Just After Sunset
Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Scribner
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This book showcases fourteen short stories by King. The stories are pretty decent though a few run a little flat and off the mark. But there are a few that I wouldn't mind seeing as a full blown novel! I hope the next book out by King is another full length novel.

Title: Keepsake
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When a well-preserved mummy is found in the basement of the Crispin Museum, it generates a lot of interest in scientific circles, but when it's discovered that "Madam X" is actually a recent murder victim Detective Jane Rizzoli is called in. As she pursues a faceless killer she finds herself caught in a tangle of horrors; is it possible to catch the murderer before anyone else dies? This is Gerritsen at her best...tight and terrifying suspense!

Title: Kilbrack
Author: Jamie O'Neill
Publisher: Scribner
Copyright: 1990
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A strange story about a man who remembers nothing of his life before a serious accident which occurred at age 25. He becomes obsessed with Nancy Valentine, the author of a book called Ill Fares the Land, and decides to visit the setting- Kilbrack. There he finds all the people described in the book, but they all are alive unlike their portrayal in the book. Characters are well drawn and quirky, if not zany, and the writing is enjoyable up to a point. Then it seems the author has a deadline to meet or becomes bored with the story or something. In very short order, all the conflicts are resolved and the story concludes. How disappointing.

Title: Kildar
Author: John Ringo
Publisher: Baen/Simon & Schuster
Copyright: March 2006
Reviewer: Joe
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Military action adventure series. The sequel to "Ghost." The continuing adventures of a former SEAL, Mike Harmon, code name Ghost, who is dealing with the aftermath of previous missions. He's trying to find some peace but he stumbles on to more terrorist activity. He struggles to help people while fighting his own darker nature.

Title: Killer Instinct
Author: Joseph Finder
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When mid-level manager Jason Steadman wrecks his car, tow-truck driver and former Special Forces guy Kurt impresses him. Jason invites him to join his softball team and arranges a job in security at his company. To repay him, Kurt starts doing "favors" for him, but when terrible things begin to happen to Jason's business competitors, Jason knows he's dealing with someone much more (and much worse) than a friend. Tightly written and compelling...a definite must-read.

Title: Killer's Wife
Author: Bill Floyd
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Young bride Nina Mosley has no reason to be suspicious when her husband returns from a business trip covered in scratches. After all, he explains, he helped fellow passengers subdue a drunk on the plane. But when Nina realizes that Randy's injuries correspond with the timing of horrific murders, she is forced to face the possibility that she is married to a killer. This is a tight, stunning debut novel in the tradition of Harlan Coben and Joy Fielding. Don't miss it!

Title: Kindness of Strangers
Author: Katrina Kittle
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A somewhat predictable but well-developed story of a widow who discovers her closest friend is harboring a terrible secret. Not for those who can’t read books in which bad things happen to kids.

Title: King Of Lies
Author: John Hart
Publisher: Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:This is the legal-thriller debut of the year! When Ezra Pickens is found murdered, his son Work is the prime suspect despite a town full of people who loathed the victim. A terrific book filled with great characters set against a Southern-gothic backdrop. If you've been wishing for THE mystery to read this summer, this is it!

Title: The Kingdom of Ohio
Classification: Fiction
Author: Mathew Flaming
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

"The Kingdom of Ohio" mixes time travel, early 1900's history and a bit of romance into an adventure which is bizarre, occasionally intriguing and certainly unusual. Including the lost kingdom of Ohio (Toledo), the power struggle of Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla, the financial influence of J.P. Morgan and the plight of a NY City subway laborer and an Ohio woman who has traveled 7 years through time this novel has way too many subplots to do any of them justice.

Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: May 2003
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This is the story of Amir, who while living in Afghanistan with his father makes decisions that will follow him throughout the rest of his life. Hosseini does a great job setting the scene for Amir and touches on the political clashes that occur in Afghanistan. While the subject matter is serious, this is a very well written novel that certainly hold your interest until the very end.

Title: The Knitting Circle
Author: Ann Hood
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Mary Baxter is like most mothers who grieve the unexpected loss of a child. She withdraws from her job, pulls away from the people who care about her and basically holds a one person pity party for herself. Finally one day, Mary listens to her mother and joins a knitting group. She slowly gets to know each of the women in the group and learns that everyone in the group has suffered a tragedy during their life. The healing power of knitting and these women help pull Mary back into facing life without her beloved daughter.

Title: The Known World
Author: Edward P. Jones
Publisher: Amistad Press
Copyright: 2003
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: If you enjoy historical fiction, particularly Civil War Era history, you may like this Pulitzer Prize novel. It is, however, somewhat slow paced as it relates to pre-civil war slave activity, not military action.

Title: The Ladies Auxiliary
Author: Tova Mirvas
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Life in a tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community in Memphis, Tennessee is disrupted when a recently widowed and newly converted young woman and her daughter move to town. A very interesting window into an almost cloistered setting.

Title: Ladies of the Lake
Classification: Fiction
Author: Haywood Smith
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Smith Can't avoid a certain sappiness as she puts four very different sisters in the house of their recently deceased grandmother. To meet the terms of her will (and to each become very wealthy), they must coexist, not necessarily peacefully, for three months, cleaning out the house and coming to grips with their differences. A little contrived, a little romantic, a little silly, but an okay read.

Title: Land of a Hundred Wonders
Author: Lesley Kagen
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: 20 year old Gibby McGrae, somewhat mentally challenged due to an auto accident, is an engaging young woman caught up in the broken lives of friends and family in a small Kentucky town in the 1970's. Trying to become QR (Quite Right) she is the highlight of Leslie Kagen's compelling, funny and poignant southern novel.

Title: The Land of Mango Sunsets
Author: Dorothy Benton Frank
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Once again Dorothy Benton Frank has written about Sullivan Island in the Low country of South Carolina. Quasi socialite Mariam Swanson of New York City, divorced and estranged from her sons, learns what is really important in life, thanks to a cast of interesting characters. Not the best of Frank's novels, but a nice light story.

Title: Last Child
Author: John Hart
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A year ago Johnny's twin sister was abducted and since then Johnny has spent every day searching for her. After all, his dad left and his mom is living with a sadist who controls her with violence and drugs. At some level Johnny realizes that his search is futile, until a dying man tells him "I found her" before he says "Run." Through a whirlwind of accusations and murder Johnny does just that, not knowing that others are following the same trail. In this, his third blockbuster novel, John Hart proves himself to be one of the best suspense writers out there! Don't miss this one.

Title: Last Secret
Author: Mary McGarry Morris
Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Twenty-six years ago Nora Hammond ran away with her sociopathic boyfriend in an act of teenage rebellion. Now wealthy and married, mother of two, Nora has crafted a life for herself that certainly doesn't include doping, drinking and what might have been murder. What she hasn't counted on is the return of Eddie, the homicidal boyfriend who seems bent on ruining her life. As Nora's fear escalates she discovers that she isn't the only one with terrible secrets that threaten her carefully constructed life. Although a little long on the angst-filled, helpless female angle this is a pretty good read.

Title: Last Seen Leaving (Review #1)
Author: Kelly Braffet
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: When her pilot husband is killed while flying a mysterious mission for the government, Anne Cassidy is devastated and spends the next twenty years trying first to find out what happened, then trying to reconnect with him through meditation and crystals. Their daughter Miranda, shut out of her mother's life, drifts from one man to another...then vanishes. Anne, desperate not to lose her child, is forced to come to grips with what she meant to her husband, and what her daughter means to her. A well-written, though somewhat predictable story.

Title: Last Seen Leaving (Review #2)
Author: Kelly Braffet
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A suspense novel in which a mother and daughter, estranged for several years, examine their divergent lifestyles. Their father/husband's unexplained disappearance 20 years before and the daughter's current involvement with a possible serial killer create an engrossing page-turner.

Title: Leeway Cottage
Classification: Fiction
Author: Beth Gutcheon
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Sydney Brant, daughter of the wealthy Dundee ME summer colony Brandts, struggles through a difficult childhood. Her marriage to gifted Danish pianist Laurus Moss is challenged by his return to Denmark to help his fellow Jewish Danes during WWII. A combination of wartime history and summer house fiction make this a layered compelling read.

Title: Life Among the Lutherans
Classification: Fiction
Author: Garrison Keillor
Publisher: Augsberg Fortress
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

If you are a Garrison Keillor/Lake Wobegon fan you'll love this latest collection of humorous stories about Lutheran life in small town Minnesota. You don't have to be Lutheran or mid-western to appreciate Keillor as a master story teller.

Title: Life of Pi (Review #1)
Author: Yann Martel
Publisher: Hancourt
Copyright: June 2002
Reviewer: Leigh
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This was an interesting story of a man's survival on the open sea with only a tiger as his companion. The ending was unsatisfactory, however.

Title: Life of Pi (Review #2)
Author: Yann Martel
Publisher: Harcourt
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This extraordinary novel is the unlikely story of a 16 year old boy adrift in the Pacific on a life boat for 227 days with a Bengal tiger. Not only must he survive the elements and starvation but he must dominate the tiger as well. The "Life of Pi" is really an imaginative story of struggle, religious belief and the nature of truth itself.

Title: Light
Author: Margaret Elphinstone
Publisher: Canongate Books
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Light is a family drama set in 1831 on a tiny island off the Isle of Man. Two sisters-in-law and their children, who operate the lighthouse, are thrown into turmoil when two surveyors arrive to arrange for construction of a more modern light. The replacement will force the families to leave their island home since only men are allowed to operate a government lighthouse. In "Light" the author has created an empathetic and compassionate tale.

Title: Light From Heaven
Author: Jan Karon
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In Light From Heaven, the final volume in the Mitford series, Karon ties together everyone from Father Tim's many years of ministering in rural North Carolina. You can't help but love this wise gentle man who serves his flock with love and humor.

Title: The Lighthouse Keeper
Author: James Michael Pratt
Publisher: St. Martins
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Yet another overworked predictable story of an elderly dying man reminiscing about his early life and the family generations that came before.

Title: Lightning
Author: Dean Koontz
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Koontz usually writes horror, but this is more science fiction. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I can't imagine why this fantastic story, with its elements of action, romance, and suspense, hasn't yet been made into a blockbuster movie. Nothing will ever beat the book, though: Grow up with Laura Shane and wonder, as she does, who her guardian angel is, and what could be his purpose, as he unpredictably appears and disappears throughout her life, yet never changes...

Title: Lincoln Lawyer
Author: Michael Connelly
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Connelly breaks out of the serial killer genre to write a courtroom drama and does a fairly good job, although I hope this isn't a permanent change. It's just a little too pat with the "should a lawyer sell his soul" question.

Title: Little Giant of Aberdeen County
Author: Tiffany Baker
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Truly is easily the biggest baby ever born in Aberdeen County, so it's understandable that her mother died in the process. When her father, drunk, bored and broken-hearted dies, too, Truly and her sister (the breathtakingly beautiful Selena Jane) are farmed out to local families where they continue the paths already established for them...Selena Jane the cherished trophy daughter, Truly the dutiful workhorse. Nicely written, with a story that reminded me a little of Garden Spells and Lace Reader; a very good first novel.

Title: The Lost Quilter 
Classification: Fiction
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:  

This volume, #14 in the Elm Creek Quilt Series, takes a different turn from Chiaverini's other novels. Sylvia, of Elm Creek, and her staff find a stash of old pre-civil war letters written by Joanna, a runaway slave woman, who is captured, sent further south and eventually on to Charleston. The story  recounts  her life, her needlework skills, her struggles with white masters, and her desperate desire to be reunited with her family.

This one is definitely for the quilter or anyone with a love of history.

Title: The Lovely Bones
Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Copyright: 2002
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: As much as I love to read, it takes a good book to make me sit and try to read the whole thing in one sitting. Not many books prompt me to want to do a marathon-reading binge. The Lovely Bones is such a book. A neighbor murders Susie, a fourteen-year old girl. In heaven, Susie observes how her family and friends adjust to life without her. She also watches in anguish as her killer goes about his daily routine without provoking any suspicion to himself. This book is a compelling and thought provoking read.

Title: Mad River Road
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Without a doubt her best since See Jane Run. Don’t miss it!

Title: Made in the U.S.A.
Author: Billie Letts
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lutie McFee and her brother Fate are living with their father's former girlfriend, Floy, when Floy drops dead at the local Walmart. Afraid of being taken to foster homes they steal Floy's car and head to Las Vegas to look for their father, convinced he's living the good life and that he will be thrilled to see them, despite the fact that he abandoned them. Once in Vegas, really ugly things happen to them BUT, conveniently, they are rescued by a disabled circus star. How coincidental that Lutie is a gymnast and that their rescuer takes them to the winter quarters of the circus where she discovers the high wire. Happy, happy, right? Unfortunately, no...just contrived and trite. What a shame that Letts, who made such a promising start with Where the Heart Is and Honk and Holler Opening Soon, has lost her touch with Shoot the Moon and this one.

Title: The Magdalene Cipher
Author: Jim Hougan
Publisher: Avon
Copyright: 2000
Reviewer: Gayle
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Previously published as Kingdom Come, this conspiracy suspense novel is fast-paced and thrilling, until the end. For some reason, Hougan (a.k.a. John Case) writes some of the most fascinating novels but seems to have problems ending his tales. Still, it is worth a read and truly gives a twist that makes you think about the C.I.A., Carl Jung, religious fanaticism, and the U.F.O. government cover-up in a totally unique way.

Title: Magic Time
Author: Doug Marlette
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this tedious, way-too-long book, Marlette examines the angst of newspaper reporter Carter Ransom whose teen love Sarah was killed in a civil-rights church bombing twenty-five years ago. The opening alone (a terrorist bombing in New York) is jarring in its insignificance, and is overshadowed by Ransom's return to his Southern roots for the trial of the Ku Klux Clan member suspected of ordering the murder of his girlfriend and three other civil-rights workers. This plot has been done so well before (Greg Iles' Quiet Game), that Magic Time pales in comparison. Definitely not worth the time it takes to slog through.

Title: Mammoth Hunters
Author: Jean Auel
Reviewer: Mariah
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this third book in the Earth's Children series, Ayla and Jondalar stay with a group of people who hunt mammoth. The sex scenes in this book become a bit overbearing; it's more of the same, yada yada yada, let's get back to the plot. However, Ayla wins my heart again as the larger-than-life, innovative heroine, still triumphing over adversity and fighting against prejudice. Lots of cultural conflict to spice up the plot.

Title: Man of the Month Club
Author: Jackie Clune
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: At age 39 successful British business entrepreneur Amy Stokes decides she has one year to find a man to father a child. Meetings with various "donors" are humorous, but the entire story is somewhat mindless and predictable.

Title: March
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: An interesting look at the father of Louisa May Alcot's "Little Women". Brooks follows March as he leaves home to aid the Union cause during the Civil War. Flashbacks to his younger days and early relationships round out the events that shaped his marriage and beliefs.

Title: March
Author: Geraldine Brooks
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: In this wonderful book, Brooks brings to life the absent March father from Alcott's Little Women as she follows the itinerant preacher through the early part of the Civil War. Our knowledge of Marmee and the girls provide a context for understanding their haunted, conflicted husband and father as he confronts a reality far removed from the safety of philosophizing about the evil of slavery and war. This is a nearly-perfect period novel.

Title: March
Author: E.L. Doctorow
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Lyrically written, as are all of Doctorow's books, this account follows Sherman's march through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, with convincing depictions of actual and fictitious characters and events. As the South falls, Sherman becomes more obsessed with his own importance and power and more disengaged from the war's human factor while those around him struggle with the new reality the war is creating. Moving and poignant, this book brings to life the battle of two cultures becoming one country.

Title: Marked Man
Author: William Lashner
Publisher: William Morrow/HarperCollins
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Attorney and media darling Victor Carl stops by his favorite bar for a drink and wakes up the next morning with more than a hangover; he has a tattoo of a woman's name on his chest. Who is she? And does she have any connection with the elderly Greek woman who begs him to bring her fugitive son home? Is Carl investigating one crime or two, and just how is his father involved? A pretty well-paced mystery, with a cast of interesting characters, but worth waiting for paperback.

Title: Marrying the Mistress
Author: Joanna Trollope
Publisher: Penguin
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Joanna Trollope (a descendant of Anthony Trollope) explores the complicated lives of a family dealing with a marriage broken when the husband leaves his wife to marry his mistress. Both are immensely likeable people which adds to the problems faced by his wife, sons and grandchildren.

Title: The Mask of Atreus
Author: Hartley
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Beth
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A good action-adventure thriller. Between stolen antiquities, mythological heroes and murders, this book is fast paced and enjoyable.

Title: Master and Commander
Author: Patrick O'Brian
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: A classic in sea-faring books by a master novelist. There are 17 books in this series, all so well done that you can almost smell the salt breeze and hear the flapping of the sails. Truly an enjoyable read.

Title: Matrimony
Author: Joshua Henkin
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Starting in 1986 when college freshman Julian meets Mia this novel follows them for the next 20 years through love, friendships, money issues and ambitions. With no great themes "Matrimony" is however lifelike and likable.

Title: Memorial Day
Author: Vince Flynn
Reviewer: Marilyn
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Thriller. A really suspenseful thriller with terrorists and nuclear bombs loose in the U.S. Flynn always is good and this one is no exception.

Title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author: Kim Edwards
Publisher: Penguin Group
Copyright: 2005
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: It all begins in a snowy blizzard night in March 1964. A physician and his pregnant wife try to make their way through the snow to get to the hospital to have their baby. Unfortunately they are no match for the snow and instead of the hospital; they go to the physician’s office. David, the husband and physician, calls his nurse to come and help.  The nurse, Carolyn makes it to the office in time to help David sedate his wife and deliver his own baby.  Much to their surprise, his wife Norah was carrying twins. After the twins (a boy and a girl) were born, David recognizes that his daughter showed sure signs of having Down Syndrome. The decision he makes next changes all of their lives forever. The book is about living with the choices you make and how the lies, secrets, and deceit can have lasting repercussions on all those involved.

Title:  Memory Thief
Classification: Fiction
Author:  Rachel Keener
Publisher: Center Street Publishing
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:

Angel burns her family’s rusted-out trailer and escapes into the tobacco fields, taking with her only the memories of her drunken mother and her selfish father in a search to find her history and the love she’s never had.

Hannah goes with her parents, wearing the clothes that mark her as different, to the Carolinas to bring bridges and religion to the South where she finds her first love—one that shatters her life.

In their separate  journeys both Angel and Hannah find salvation despite the madness of mothers and years of loneliness. 

An absolutely wonderful read.

Title: Mending at the Edge
Author: Jane Kirkpatrick
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Copyright: 2008
Reviewr: Carol
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Based on the true story of German-American Emma Wagner Giesy, this is the fictionalized account of her life in a communal society established in Oregon in the 1850s.Working through the grief of her first husband's death and the anguish of an abusive 2nd husband Emma questions her relationships, spirituality and artistry within the framework of the communal good.

Title: Mephisto Club
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Copyright: 2006
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Although Gerritsen includes her regular cast of characters, she has written a rather mundane book trading on the popularity of Biblically-based evil-doers. This plot has been done before(and much better), so unless you need another rip off of Dan Brown et. al., skip it or wait for paperback.

Title: A Mercy
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Patty
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: This story takes place back in the 1680's where slavery is common practice. Toni Morrison, the author of Beloved, writes a poignant story from the perspective of the main characters. It flips back and forth between the past and present. The slaves are sadded about the death of Sir who has been a very kind master to them. He has died of the pox and now Mistress has it. They have no surviving children and the three slave girls are scared if she should succumb to the pox. They take matters into their own hands and work to save their Mistress. The story is heartfelt and talks about the bonds of friendship.

Title: Mermaid Chair
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: Oh, woe, this woman has a perfectly nice life, a perfectly nice (though rather bland) husband, but when her daughter goes off to college she is drawn home to her estranged mother where she just HAS TO have an affair with a monk from the monastery next door. Oh, please, yadda, yadda, yadda. What a dismal follow-up to "Secret Life of Bees."

Title: Mermaids in the Basement
Author: Michael Lee West
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2008
Reviewer: Nancy
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments: West is in her element here with gushing Southern belles and dissolute men, but she misses her chance to write a really good novel.  Renata DeChavannes' mother has died, her boyfriend is reported by the tabloids to be pursuing another woman and her detached father is getting married again.  Although you'd think that would be enough burden to bear, in West's world there's more...much more, since Renata is missing a chunk of memory and her grandmother is determined to bring it back through (many) stories of infidelity and betrayal.  Despite West's trademark humorous treatment of her subject the number of affairs just becomes boring; the South has so many dysfunctions from which to choose that to focus on one limits the scope of the characters and the potential of the book.  A moderately good read.