Twisted

Twisted by Andrea Kane ~~ This chilling first of a new romantic suspense series from bestseller Kane (Dark Room) introduces 30-year-old Sloane Burbank, a former FBI agent trained as a crisis negotiator, now an independent consultant who works with law enforcement and others in need of her expertise. During a trip to Manhattan, Sloane receives a call from the mother of a childhood friend with whom she's lost touch, Penny Truman. When Sloane learns that Penny has been missing for almost a year, she turns for help to her former lover, Derek Parker, who happens to be the FBI agent in charge of Penny's case. Animosity between Derek and Sloane serves to increase the explosive romantic tension between the pair as more women disappear, evidently victims of a serial killer. A wealth of red herring suspects will keep the reader guessing until the conclusion of this no-holds-barred thriller.

Andrea Kane has done it again. What a great book. She drops enough hints to keep you guessing until about the last 30 pages as to who the "bad guy" is. She's working on another book that will feature Sloane and Derek. I can't wait! A

Murder is Binding

Murder Is Binding by Lorna Barrett ~~ When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book.

What a great start to a new series. Not only does Tricia have to clear her name, but she also has to deal with her sister (whom she hasn't always gotten along with) coming to town - to stay!!! I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the next book in this series. A+

Compulsion

Compulsion: An Alex Delaware Novel (Alex Delaware Novels) by Jonathan Kellerman ~~ Bestseller Kellerman serves up all the elements his fans have come to love in the 22nd entry in his Alex Delaware series (Obsession, etc.), including an intriguing plot, likable regular characters supported by an interesting secondary cast, diabolical villains, witty dialogue and a sense of humanity and justice. Alex and his LAPD detective partner, Milo Sturgis, are investigating several murders that, at first, appear to have only one thing in common: the perpetrator's use of expensive black automobiles while committing his crimes. Kellerman sticks to his usual modus, the patient and sometimes painfully slow accumulation of detail, as Alex and Milo build their case. A subplot involves a missing child last seen selling magazine subscriptions in a tony neighborhood 16 years earlier. On the domestic front, Alex is again living with his girlfriend, Robin, with whom he has broken up several times over the course of the series. In the end, a nice twist reminds Robin and Alex to be more careful in the future about drawing assumptions in their private life before all the facts have come to light

I've been a fan of Jonathan Kellerman since day one - and once again, he does not disappoint!! A+

No One Heard Her Scream

No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane ~~ In a dynamite debut from Dane, San Antonio Det. Rebecca Montgomery fears the worst when her little sister, Danielle, is abducted during summer break on the Texas Gulf's South Padre Island. Five months later, the discovery of a crime scene saturated with Dani's blood indicates she's been murdered. As more college co-eds go missing, Becca wants to stay on the case, but the department hands her a puzzler involving a young woman's remains found within a wall of the torched Imperial Theater. They belong to Isabel Marquez, who's been missing for almost seven years. Becca finds a surprising ally, and mutual attraction, in Diego Galvan, who works for slimy Hunter Cavanaugh, former owner of the Imperial and a prime suspect. Dane's smooth style, believable characters and intense pacing will remind readers of Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner and Tami Hoag. While Dane's debut is being marketed as romantic suspense, it crosses over into plain thriller country: the tight plotting and the male characters are exceptional, bad guys and good.

The synopsis above says it all! What a fantastic book. You know most of the story from the start, but with enough twist, turns and romantic tension to keep you reading. I loved this book and can't wait for the other two in the trilogy to come out. A

Needled to Death

Needled to Death (Knitting Mysteries) by Maggie Sefton ~~ Taking a troop of tourists to Vickie Claymore's alpaca farm doesn't earn knitter Kelly Flynn a warm welcome. Instead she finds Vickie splayed out on her original hand-woven rug, her blood seeping into the design. 2nd book in series.

Another cute edition to this series. Once again Kelly finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. With the help of her many friends she's determined to find the filler. She's also decided to stay in Fort Connor for the time being - and finds herself the sole inheritor of her cousin's RANCH!!! filled w/ cattle, sheep and yes alpacas! The only problem I have with this series is keeping all of Kelly's friends straight! Other than that, looking forward to the next one. B+

Trudy's Promise

Trudy's Promise by Marcia Preston ~~ An act of desperation divides a mother and her child. Only an act of faith can reunite them. Trudy Hulst has no idea if her husband survived his attempted escape past the newly constructed Berlin Wall. But she knows too well the consequences of his actions. Now branded the wife of a defector, she faces a life in prison. With no real choice, she is forced to follow, praying she can find a way to claim their child once she's in West Berlin. Trudy survives a harrowing break for freedom...only to learn her husband was shot during his escape. Terribly alone, she wanders the wall like a ghost, living for brief glimpses of her son, now out of reach behind barbed wire and armed soldiers. Desperate to regain her child, Trudy begins a journey that leads her to America, where she continues an odyssey of hope to find her son.

What an amazing story. I read this book in one afternoon. Trudy's quest to bring her son home to her is both inspiring and heartbreaking. A++++++

Murder on Mulberry Bend

Murder on Mulberry Bend (Gaslight Mystery) by Victoria Thompson ~~ In this all-new Gaslight Mystery, turn-of-the-century New York City midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy discover how the squalor of the streets can breed madness and murder. 5th book in the series.

Once again Sarah and Frank get tangled up together in trying to solve a murder. Frank becomes jealous when an old friend of Sarah's starts spending time with her, and because of this, tries to keep his distance from her. Unforutanately that's impossible as they both try to solve the murder. The tension between them continues to grow. Will they finally give in to it??? I love this series. A

The Timer Game

The Timer Game (A Grace Descanso Novel) by Susan Arnout Smith ~~ Reading much like an extended episode of CSI, Smith's repetitive debut chronicles the travails of Grace Descanso, a San Diego crime scene technician and single mother who once had a promising future in pediatric cardiology. After a deadly shooting at a crime scene, Grace is plunged into a cat-and-mouse game that forces her to confront her traumatic past. When her five-year-old daughter, Katie, is kidnapped and Grace receives a series of cryptic riddles, she races against the clock to save Katie. Grace must also uncover the dirty secrets of the Center for BioChimera, a biomedical research institution and hospital with ties to her past and Katie's disappearance. Grace turns to her ex-lover, a CNN reporter, for help, and together they must figure out the full extent of a medical nightmare stretching from California to Guatemala.

Grace was thisclose to being a Dr, when something awful happens to her to change her mind. She becomes a forsensic tech as a way to support herself and her child. Someone brings Grace into a deadly game of cat and mouse - someone she least expects. She's sent on something called the Timer Game - she's given riddles and a certain amount of time to find the answer - or her daughter will be killed. An intersesting twitst to the mystery/thriller story. Hopefully we'll see more of Grace in the future. B+

Acts of Love

Acts of Love: A Novel by Emily Listfield ~~ After nearly a year of an uneasy separation, Ted Waring is hoping to persuade Ann not to sign the divorce papers. Dropping off his two daughters to the family home after a hunting trip, Ted loses his temper when he hears Ann has been dating another man. The gun he is holding accidentally discharges, killing Ann. Or was it an accident? Julia, the troubled older daughter, insists that Ted deliberately killed her mother. Both Ted and Julia try to persuade the younger daughter, Ali, to corroborate their different versions of what really happened. Using a technique of alternating flashbacks with accounts of Ted's arrest and trial, Listfield gradually fleshes out each character, so that words like guilt and innocence are not so easy to assign.


Ann & Ted have been separated for a year. Ted is hoping to convince Ann not to sign the divorce papers, and even tries to enlist his daughters help. Upon returning from a camping trip with his girls, Ted & Ann get into an arguement and Ann is shot and killed. The oldest daughter Julia is a witness to the shooting, Ali - the youngest daughter was in the kitchen. The book is filled with Ted, Julia and Sandy (Ann's sister) all trying to manipulate Ali into say ing what they want her to say when Ted goes to trial. We also get glimples into the lives of Ann & Sandy when they were younger, and how both sets of sisters relationships brings us to an emotional conclusion! A+

Hey Diddle Diddle, The Corpse & The Fiddle

Hey Diddle Diddle, the Corpse and the Fiddle: A Callie Parrish Mystery (Callie Parrish Mysteries) by Fran Rizer ~~ Mortuary cosmetologist Callie Parrish and her friend take off for a bluegrass festival on Surcie Island. But when a fiddler turns up dead, Callie has no choice but to take center stage in the investigation.

Callie gets caught up in not one, but two murders while at the bluegrass festival. And not only that, but something happens to her best friend Jane. I liked the first book in this series better. I think, for me, there was too much focus on Jane and not enough on Callie. I"ll definitely be checking out the next one though. B

Charley's Web

Charley's Web: A Novel by Joy Fielding ~~ Jill Rohmer, a convicted child killer with a borderline personality disorder, lures Charlotte Charley Webb, a popular columnist for the Palm Beach Post and single mom, into a web of danger and deceit in this spine-tingler from bestseller Fielding (Heartstopper). When Jill invites Charley to collaborate on the true story of what really happened to the three children she was convicted of murdering, Charley at first thinks it sounds like a great idea. Her sister Anne is, after all, a bestselling romance author, so why couldn't Charley have a nonfiction bestseller? Charley meets with Jill's attractive lawyer, Alex Prescott, who secures a book contract. After committing to the project, Charley begins dating Alex. Then Charley learns Jill had an accomplice, someone on the loose whom Jill calls Jack. Fielding pulls out all the stops as the identity of the ruthless murderer becomes obvious, and Charley must race against time to catch the horrible Jack and save his next target—her son.

Charlotte Webb (who has 2 sisters - also called - The "Bronte" sisters) has shut herself off from feeling anything. She writes a "controversial" (brazillian waxes and passion party) column, she has 2 children by 2 differnet fathers, neighbors who hate her, a mother who just came back into her life after abandoning the family 20 years earlier, 2 sisters she barely speaks with, a drug addicted brother - and a child serial killer on death row who wants Charley to write her story. But there is more to this killers story than meets the eye. There is only one killer, but the author does a great job of making you think one thing and then leading you down a whole new road! A

The Dark Tide

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross ~~ Charles Friedman, a New York hedge fund trader, perishes in a bombing at Grand Central Station that destroys the railroad car in which he was riding one morning from his home in Greenwich, Conn. Ty Hauck, head of the Greenwich police's violent crime unit, enters the picture when a hit-and-run victim turns out to have a vague connection to Friedman. Soon, Friedman's widow and her kids are threatened by men searching for vast sums of money her late husband never earned. The stakes rise as Hauck's involvement shifts from professional to personal. While the reader will occasionally see the next drop, tunnel or curve looming far ahead, the roller-coaster thrills are still there in abundance.

What an incredible ride. As the synopsis states, there are times you can see where the book is headed, but the enjoyment is seeing how the author takes you there. Andrew Gross used to co-write books with James Patterson. His first book The Blue Zone was absolutely amazing. And he continues his "streak" with his latest. I'm so glad he broke away from Patterson to write on his own. He deserves the praises of a solo writer! A+

Through a Glass Deadly

Through a Glass, Deadly: A Glassblowing Mystery by Sarah Atwell ~~ Glassblower Emmeline Dowell has made a home for herself among the artists of Tucson's Warehouse District. But her friendship with troubled newcomer Allison McBride takes a dangerous turn when Allison's husband turns up dead in Em's studio. Now Emmeline is involved in a murder investigation that reaches beyond the sunny Southwest. And when the killer acts again, it's up to her to pick up the shards of Allison's life before it's too late. First in a new series.

This series definitely has potential. It started out a little slow with all of the explaining of the glass blowing details. While it's interesting to learn how it's done - I think there might have been too much detail. The story picks up pretty quickly and I'll definitely be looking for the next one. B+

Spying In High Heels

Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday ~~ L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears—along with $20 million in embezzled funds—and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by LAPD's sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300-pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her?

I laughed through all of this book. I love how Maddie can't seem to stay out of trouble - and can never get any where on time! I can't wait to see how things go with her and Ramirez.

Change of Heart

Change of Heart: A Novel by Jodi Picoult ~~ Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival—an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart.

Another amazing book! Shay Bourne is sentenced to die for the murders of a father and his daughter. Meanwhile, the unborn child (at the time of the murder) of the wife/mother is now 7 years old and will die with out a heart transplant. Shay Bourne wants to be that donor! The story is told from the points of view of June (the mother), his spiritual advisor (who has past ties to Shay), his ACLU lawyer who is fighting for his execution be be by hanging so they can harvest his organs, and his Tier mate in prison Lucius who is dying of AIDS. Strange "miracles" start happening and people begin to wonder if Shay is Jesus, the messiah or just a fraud. While there are some twists to the story that make you think this is Jodi PIcoults typical "big thing" - the final OMG moment doesn't come until the very end. And it's up to you to decide what to believe. While some people may have issue w/ all of the religion talk in the book (tt is necessary to the plot) I loved the book. I took my time reading it today so that I could absorb it all. And I'm sitting here wondering - is it really possible! A

Turn Up The Heat

Turn Up the Heat: A Gourmet Girl Mystery (Gourmet Girl Mysteries) by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park ~~ Chloe Carter has a lot on her plate-exams for grad school are coming up, and her chef boyfriend needs her support as his fledgling trendy restaurant comes into its own. The staff of Simmer gets along like petits pois in a pod, everyone pulling pranks on one another now and then. Everyone, that is, except for Leandra, a waitress who treats the busboys like chopped liver-and can never take a joke. One morning, Leandra's dead body is found in a fish truck. So people start to wonder: was this just a prank gone awry? Or did somebody actually want her to sleep with the fishes? 3rd book on Gourment Girl Mystery Series.

When Chloe's friend is a "person of interest" in Leandra's murder, she'll do whatever it takes to find the real kiiler. I thought this was another great addition to the Gournet Girl Mystery series. And the last sentence is leaving me dying for the next one. A

A Killer's Wife

The Killer's Wife: A Novel by Bill Floyd ~~ Six years after Nina Mosley discovered evidence linking her husband, Randy, to a string of murders across the country, she's finally settling into a new life with their seven-year-old son, Hayden, in Cary, N.C. Now calling herself Leigh Wren, Nina hopes that she's heard the last of her ex-husband, who's on death row in California. But when the father of one of Randy's victims tracks her down and exposes her identity, Nina knows her troubles are far from over. As friends shun her, Nina struggles to come to terms with her past. When Hayden's life is suddenly put in jeopardy, Nina must revisit Randy's crimes and uncover who's continuing his killing spree before it's too late.

An intersting twist to the typical serial killer story ~ told from the point of view of the wife. How much did she know and when did she know it. Also, there seems to be a copycat killer at large - someone you'd never expect it to be. Good first book. B+

A Vicky Hill Exclusive

A Vicky Hill Exclusive! (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) by Hannah Dennison ~~ Introducing Vicky Hill, a suffocatingly single reporter whose attempts at finding the right man and the scoop of a lifetime take a backseat to murder. The debut of a brand new series set in the sleepy English town of Gipping-on-Plym features sweetly bumbling investigative journalist Vicky Hill, who will do anything to get that front-page story. But the unusual death of local hedge-jumping enthusiast just may lead to Vicky's own deadly downfall.

Double Abduction

Double Abduction by Chris Beakey ~~ An abducted child, an innocent but suspected kidnapper and a serial killer watching it all --- what more can be said.

What a great book. Not only do you have the child abduction and serial murder tied together some how - you've also got a police captain hiding a secret. And it's not the one you think. Loved it. A

Carrot Cake Murder

Carrot Cake Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) by Joanne Fluke ~~ Book #10 in the Hannah Swensen series. Gus Klein comes back to Lake Eden for a family reunion 30 years after disappearing. Everyone is wondering how he heard about the reunion and why he showed up after all this time. When he doesn't show up for the family portrait Hannah, of course is the one to find him dead (w/ pieces of her carrot cake near by). And will Hannah finally choose between the dentist and the cop???????

I enjoyed this book. There was were some nice twists and maybe a resolution to her ongoing personal saga :)