Sunday, January 31, 2010

Reckless by Andrew Gross

Reckless: A Novel by Andrew Gross

Ty Hauck is shattered by the news. A close friend from his past, along with her husband and daughter, has been brutally murdered in her home by vicious intruders. Now he will risk everything he loves to avenge her death. . . .

A wealthy banker, seeing his world about to crumble around him, knows his family is in unfathomable danger. . . .

A U.S. government agent watches the sudden bank transfers of millions in cash and suspects that this is the first step in a plot to unleash a wave of global panic. . . .

Private security investigator Ty Hauck, with Naomi Blum, a tenacious agent from the U.S. Department of Treasury, unravels the evidence that joins these seemingly unrelated events—revealing a reckless scheme that stretches from New York to London to central Europe and gives new meaning to the phrase "too big to fail." What began with a tragedy that opened a door to Hauck's past—a door that he thought was long closed—ends with a frantic race to avert a disaster that could shake the very security of our country—and even the world.


January Books Read

  • A Stitch in Crime by Betty Hechtman
  • Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton
  • Live To Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub
  • Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
  • Original Sin by Allison Brennan
  • Sleeping with Anemone by Kate Collins
  • Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong
  • Tainted by Brooke Morgan
  • The 9th Judgement by James Patterson
  • The Cold Room by J.T. Ellison
  • The Diva Paints the Town by Krista Davis
  • The Red Thread by Ann Hood
  • Tied Dyed & Dead by Sharon Short
  • Undercover in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

Friday, January 29, 2010

Friday Fill-Ins


1. Wouldn't it be easy if we all just got along.

2. My outbreaks are better than ever!

3. I love the taste of my nieces kisses on my lips.

4. Sadie needs to stop pooping in the living room in the living room.

5. The first thing we're going to do is try and figure out what's going on.

6. Plop, plop, plop drip, drip, drip.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing and catching up on TV, tomorrow my plans include getting my hair done, reading, and napping and Sunday, I want to relax, read and nap!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Book Giveaway - The Cold Room by J.T. Ellison - ARC

The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison

He can truly love her only once her heart stops.

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she's seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she's never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two "artists," competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

Release date: March 1, 2010

Here's how to enter ~
  • U.S. addresses only please
  • Leave a comment here with your email address or PBS ID (I need to have a way to get in touch with you!)
  • Follow my blog (on lower right sidebar) ~ get an extra entry
  • Rate my blog ~ get an extra entry
  • Blog about it ~ get an extra entry
  • Tweet about it ~ get an extra entry
Contest ends February 7th. The winner will be announced on February 8th.


Book Giveaway - Live To Tell by Wendi Corsi Staub - WINNER

Congratulations

Katzkids

I've sent an email requesting their address. If I don't hear back in 48 hrs, I'll choose another winner. Thank you to those that have entered :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton


Dead By Midnight by Beverly Barton

In Murder. . .

The last sounds Dean Wilson hears are a clock striking twelve and a killer's taunting words. And his death is just the first. One by one, victims are stalked and shot at close range. Only the killer knows their sins, and who will be the next to die at midnight. . .

And In Life. . .

In the ten years since her Hollywood career imploded, Lorie Hammonds has built a good life in her Alabama hometown. When the first death threat arrives, she assumes it's a joke. Then she gets a second note. Sheriff Mike Birkett, her high-school sweetheart, has avoided Lorie since she returned to Dunmore, but when investigators uncover her connection to a string of recent murders, he's drawn into a case that's terrifyingly personal.

Timing Is Everything

With every murder, the killer edges closer. Soon Lorie's will be the last name left on his list. Her only hope is to unearth a deadly secret--before the clock runs out for good...


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Teaser Tuesday


It’s that time of week again, everyone, and time for the Tuesday Teaser.
Again the reminder of what this is all about. We are asked to:
  1. Grab your current read.
  2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
  3. Share two teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  4. Share the title of the book that the “teaser” comes from, so people can find the book if they like the teaser.
  5. And again remember – avoid spoilers.
Here's mine ~

At that precise moment, I wasn't so sure. An idea had begun to form in my head at the same time I experienced that long-ago sensation when I worked in the emergency room - of being in control to make an important decision.

This teaser comes from Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong. What's YOUR teaser?

Monday, January 25, 2010

Mailbox Monday


Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~

The Cold Room (Taylor Jackson) by J. T. Ellison (ARC) ~ He can truly love her only once her heart stops. Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she's seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she's never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction. When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two "artists," competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

Lullaby by Claire Seeber~ British journalist Seeber begins her debut, an overlong thriller, with a reasonable scenario—an abducted baby, a distraught mother, and a husband under a slight cloud of suspicion. Add a sexy French nanny, a beautiful but cold ex-wife, a kid brother with a serious drug problem, and you've got a raft of possible kidnappers. As the plot develops, every possible suspect has a moment in the spotlight, if without much increase in suspense. Throughout the investigation, a policewoman known only as Deb watches over the mother, Jessica Finnegan, day and night. Some readers may find it hard to believe that the London police would assign one of its members to be a full-time bodyguard, who, presumably at taxpayer's expense, makes Jessica tea and runs errands with her as well. On the other hand, smooth prose, well-rendered London settings, and a satisfying resolution will leave many eager to see more from Seeber

Frame Up by John F. Dobbyn (ARC) ~ After graduating from Harvard Law with his closest friend John McKedrick, Michael Knight takes a job with his mentor, legendary trial attorney Lex Devlin, while John becomes sole associate of a notorious mob lawyer. Michael never lost hope that John McKedrick would escape to 'cleaner pastures' -until John is murdered in a car bombing bearing the signature of his questionable clientele. How could two friends who were so close have taken such wildly divergent paths? In the wake of McKedrick's murder, three men who took their own deviating paths will meet for the first time in forty years. Matt Ryan, a priest, Dominic Santangelo, a mafia don, and Lex Devlin put the past aside to focus on a present concern: Dominic's son has been charged with John McKedrick's murder. At Lex's urging, Michael Knight reluctantly agrees to represent the alleged bomber. In building a defense, Michael is drawn into a high-stakes art fraud that leads him from the seediest parts of Boston to the sophisticated Amsterdam inner sanctum of international crime.

Original Sin by Allison Brennan ~ Haunted by chilling memories of demonic possession and murder, Moira O’Donnell has spent seven years hunting down her mother, Fiona, whose command of black magic has granted her unprecedented control of the underworld. Now Moira’s global search has led her to a small California town that’s about to become hell on earth.
Tormented by his own terrifying past and driven by powers he can’t explain, ex-seminarian Rafe Cooper joins Moira’s dangerous quest. But Fiona is one devilish step ahead. Hungry for greater power, eternal youth, and stunning beauty, the sorceress is unleashing upon the mortal world the living incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins. Together with a demonologist, a tough female sheriff, and a pair of star-crossed teenagers, Moira and Rafe are humanity’s last chance to snatch salvation from the howling jaws of damnation.

The Sculptor by Gregory Funaro ~ A serial killer calling himself the Sculptor, who reshapes his victims into replicas of works by Michelangelo, sends creepy messages to art historian Cathy Hildebrant. When it becomes clear that her book on Michelangelo's work is an inspiration for the murders, FBI special agent Sam Markham asks her help in figuring out when and where the killer will strike next, but the Sculptor easily evades their efforts and, with clumsy inevitability, traps Cathy and promises to make her his next victim.

Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong


Spinning Forward by Terri Dulong

Sydney Webster's comfortable New England life comes crashing down when her husband dies suddenly, leaving her penniless and evicted. She had no idea about his huge gambling debts, and is getting no sympathy from her hurt and angry twenty something daughter. With nowhere else to turn, Sydney takes shelter at a college friend's B&B in Cedar key, Florida, where she begins to form a plan. As Syd turns her talent at spinning wool and knitting into a retail venture, other doors begin to open. She steps into the embrace of a community rich with love, laughter, friendship...and secrets. And soon she faces a choice: spin a safety net, or spin forward and never look back. Entertaining and heart warming, this superb debut will win readers over with its real-life challenges and quirky and compelling characters.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Original Sin by Allison Brennan

Original Sin by Allison Brennan

Haunted by chilling memories of demonic possession and murder, Moira O’Donnell has spent seven years hunting down her mother, Fiona, whose command of black magic has granted her unprecedented control of the underworld. Now Moira’s global search has led her to a small California town that’s about to become hell on earth.

Tormented by his own terrifying past and driven by powers he can’t explain, ex-seminarian Rafe Cooper joins Moira’s dangerous quest. But Fiona is one devilish step ahead. Hungry for greater power, eternal youth, and stunning beauty, the sorceress is unleashing upon the mortal world the living incarnations of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Together with a demonologist, a tough female sheriff, and a pair of star-crossed teenagers, Moira and Rafe are humanity’s last chance to snatch salvation from the howling jaws of damnation.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday Fill-Ins


1. You have a chance to change the world.

2. I want my stitches out right now!

3. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

4. Screw up now and pay later.

5. It's time to stop.

6. Throw it up in the air but watch out for when it falls.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on some TV, tomorrow my plans include reading, relaxing, napping and catching up on my reviews and Sunday, I want to do the same thing as Saturday!

A Stitch in Crime by Betty Hechtman

A Stitch in Crime (A Crochet Mystery) by Betty Hechtman


Molly's been handed the reins for this year's creative retreat-an exhilarating weekend out on the Monterey Peninsula, complete with crochet classes. Unfortunately for one teacher, though, the breathtaking scenery is where she'll take her last breath. Now Molly will have to find a new instructor, and, if she can squeeze it in, solve this murder-with the help of her pals from the Tarzana Hookers.

Release date: February 2, 2010
Thank you to Penguin/Berkley for providing me with this review copy.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

W..W....W.... Wednesdsay


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions!…
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading? ~


The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison (ARC) ~ I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series and feel like I've been waiting forever for it to come out. Thank you to PTA for the ARC copy. You guys ROCK!!!








What did I recently finish reading?

Tainted by Brooke Morgan ~ I am so glad I finally got to this book. An intense story of a young, single mother who fears love, finds love and then does whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves the most when evil enters their lives. ( Working on my review)








What do I plan on reading next?

A Stitch in Crime (A Crochet Mystery) by Betty Hechtman ~ I love this fun, cozy series and can't wait to find out what the Tarzana Hookers get into next.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman


Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity.

A marriage collapses under the strain of a daughter’s death; two bereaved siblings find comfort in one another; and an adopted young girl breathes new life into her family with her prodigious talent for the violin. As she writes with obvious affection for these unforgettable characters, Ayelet Waldman skillfully interweaves life’s finer pleasures—music and literature—with the more mundane joys of living. Within these resonant pages, a vase filled with wildflowers or a cold beer on a hot summer day serve as constant reminders that it’s often the little things that make life so precious.

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday
  • ISBN-10: 0385517866 / 9780385517867
  • Release date: July 13, 2010
  • Amazon Price: $17.13


Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Teaser Tuesday


It’s that time of week again, everyone, and time for the Tuesday Teaser.
Again the reminder of what this is all about. We are asked to:
  1. Grab your current read.
  2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
  3. Share two teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  4. Share the title of the book that the “teaser” comes from, so people can find the book if they like the teaser.
  5. And again remember – avoid spoilers.
Here's mine ~

Her lips were cracking, the hair shedding. She'd been without food or water for a week now, and she was spending more time asleep. Her lethargy was anticipated. He looked forward to the moment when her agonies were at an end. He had no real desire to torture her. He just needed her heart to stop. Then, he could have her.

My teaser comes from The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison. What's YOUR teaser?

Monday, January 18, 2010

The Cold Room by J.T. Ellison (ARC)

The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison

He can truly love her only once her heart stops.

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she's seen it all in Nashville—from the Southern Strangler to the Snow White Killer. But she's never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction.

When he's finished, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. And similar macabre works are being found in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James "Memphis" Highsmythe, a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor, to put an end to this horror.

Has the killer gone international with his craft? Or are there two "artists," competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?

Release date: March 1, 2010

Thank you to PTA for this ARC to read and review

Book Giveaway - Live To Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub - ARC


Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub

Secrets can scandalize . . .

In a lovely suburban town just north of New York City, the gossip mill runs more efficiently than the commuter-train line. And in every impeccably decorated house, they're talking about Lauren Walsh. They say that nothing could be worse than being abandoned by your husband for another woman. They're wrong . . .

Secrets can shock . . .

All Lauren wants is to protect her children from the pain of her messy divorce. But when their father goes missing, a case of mistaken identity puts all their lives in danger, and a stealthy predator lurks in the shadows, watching . . . waiting . . .

Secrets can kill . . .

Lauren is about to uncover an unfathomable truth—a truth this cold-blooded mastermind would never let her live to tell . . .

Release date: February 23, 2010


Here's how to enter ~
  • U.S. addresses only please
  • Leave a comment here with your email address or PBS ID (I need to have a way to get in touch with you!)
  • Follow my blog (on lower right sidebar) ~ get an extra entry
  • Rate my blog ~ get an extra entry
  • Blog about it ~ get an extra entry
  • Tweet about it ~ get an extra entry
Contest ends January 27th. The winner will be announced on January 28th.

Book Giveaway - 212 by Alafair Burke - WINNER!!

Congratulations

Erica

I've sent an email requesting their address. If I don't hear back in 48 hrs, I'll choose another winner. Thank you to those that have entered :)

Mailbox Monday



Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~

The 9th Judgment (The Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (ARC) ~ The most personal A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick. The most dangerous The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria. The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city?

Among Thieves by David Hosp ~ In 1990, $300 million worth of paintings were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what remains one of the greatest unsolved art thefts of the twentieth century. Now, nearly twenty years later, the case threatens to break wide open. Members of Boston's criminal underground are turning up dead. But these are no ordinary murders. The M.O. of the attacks suggests the involvement of someone trained by the IRA. But when Scott Finn learns that one of his clients, Devon Malley, was part of the heist, he's quickly drawn into the crossfire, and into the renewed hunt for the missing artwork-a hunt that may cost Finn and his colleagues their lives.

Double Black (A Ski Diva Mystery) by Wendy Clinch (ARC) ~ First in a very cool (literally) skiing series that introduces a sleuth who has ditched grad school, along with her cheating fiancée, to become a ski bum. Twenty-something Stacey Curtis is living the life she’s always dreamed about—until she finds a dead body in the ski chalet. And after her new landlord turns out to be the local sheriff, her life contains a whole lot more suspense than she bargained for. Populated with quirky characters, loaded with New England atmosphere, and co-starring a handsome young hunk with nerve, a sense of humor about it all, and an enormous trust fund, Double Black is an exciting run down some mysterious and treacherous trails.

How to Get Divorced by 30: My Misguided Attempt at a Starter Marriage by Sascha Rothchild (For Review) ~ A hilarious memoir about the ending of a marriage that should have lasted forever-or at least for five years. It's an age-old story. Girl meets boy. Girl marries boy. Girl decides she is way too young to be stuck in nuptial mediocrity. When Sascha realized that the one person she didn't want at her thirtieth birthday party was her husband, she knew that it was time for the relationship to end. So, like the hordes of others of her generation for whom starter marriages are as common as Louis Vuitton knock-offs and $5 Starbucks lattes, they got divorced. With wit, moxie, and honesty, Sascha spills about the horrible ex-boyfriends, awkward dates, drugs, a near-death experience, and memories of growing up in an unconventional household that led to her short-lived marriage. A story of love, loss, a flat-screen TV named Ruby, and plenty of misguided decisions, How to Get Divorced by 30 is a hysterical look at what exactly "Til death do us part" means today .

Friday, January 15, 2010

Friday Fill-Ins

1. The lesson I learned yesterday was I can survive at night without turning the computer on.

2. A place filled with love is where friends and family meet.

3. All these years and I haven't learned.

4. No one stopped to look when I arrived.

5. The truth is stranger than fiction.

6. Coming outside in my pajamas is what I remember most from that day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to recovering and relaxing, tomorrow my plans include my niece LJ's birthday party, reading and relaxing and Sunday, I want to go back to sleep after my early airport run, read, and catch up on TV!

Tainted by Brooke Morgan

Tainted by Brooke Morgan

Holly Barrett first saw Jack Dane early one morning—tall, tan, and so heartbreakingly handsome he took her breath away. He also seemed like the last person to disrupt her quiet, uneventful days with her sensitive daughter, Katy. But the charming, enigmatic Englishman has blown into her small Cape Cod town like a brisk summer wind off the bay.

He sweeps Holly off her feet, and is soon touching the lives of everyone she deeply cares about. But is Jack the considerate, concerned gentleman he appears to be—or is there a very different creature lurking below the surface? Has a monster entered her life . . . and how far will Holly have to go to save the person she loves more than anyone else in the world?


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

W..W....W.... Wednesdsay


To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions!…
  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you'll read next?
What am I currently reading?

Sleeping With Anemone: A Flower Shop Mystery by Kate Collins ~ I can't wait to find out what happens with Abby & Marco in this latest Flower Shop Mystery. Lunch time can't come fast enough!









What did I recently finish reading?


The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (ARC) ~ OMG -- another fantastic addition to the Murder Club series. What, if anything, can a cat burglar robbing the extremely rich and a monster who is killing women & their small children have in common aside from terrorizing the people of San Francisco. Well, you'll just have to read it and see!







What do I plan on reading next?


Tainted by Brooke Morgan - I've heard amazing things about this book and can't wait to dive in. Plus, if I don't read it soon, I think my friend Michelle will kill me!!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Getting Old Is Tres Dangereux: A Mystery by Rita Lakin

In this book, we have the arrival of a long lost love of Jack's - a gorgeous redhead from Paris - who might very possible destroy Gladdy and Jack's relationship. Will they get married? ...Or not!

  • Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Dell
  • ISBN-10: 0440245427 / 9780440245421
  • Release date: June 22, 2010
  • Amazon price: $7.99

Sleeping with Anemone by Kate Collins

Sleeping With Anemone: A Flower Shop Mystery by Kate Collins

Maybe Abby Knight shouldn't have chosen a home and garden show sponsored by Uniworld Food as the venue for her protest against the corporation's harmful farming practices. But being bodily removed from the event won't stop her campaign. Nor will a burning brick thrown through her flower shop's window.

After she narrowly escapes being kidnapped three times, Abby calls in the big guns-her ex-Ranger boyfriend Marco and her friends and family. And then the stakes are raised by murder...

Release date: February 2, 2010
Thank you to Penguin books for providing this copy for me to review.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The 9th Judgement by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

The most personal

A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick.

The most dangerous

The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria.

The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city?

Release date: April 26, 2010

Thank you to Hatchett books for providing me with the ARC.

Teaser Tuesday


It’s that time of week again, everyone, and time for the Tuesday Teaser.
Again the reminder of what this is all about. We are asked to:
  1. Grab your current read.
  2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
  3. Share two teaser sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  4. Share the title of the book that the “teaser” comes from, so people can find the book if they like the teaser.
  5. And again remember – avoid spoilers.
Here's mine ~

Questions were flooding my mind. Why hadn't gunshots been reported? Why had the killer targeted these people? Was it random or personal? Why had he killed a child?

My teaser comes from The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. What's YOUR teaser?

Monday, January 11, 2010

The Diva Paints The Town by Krista Davis



When Sophie's neighbor-a reclusive professor-dies, his final wish is for the Domestic Diva to throw a dinner party in his honor, and he's planned everything down to the letter. But what no one planned for is the corpse of a student that Sophie finds in his house.

Release date: February 2, 2010

Thank you Penguin Books for providing a copy of this book for me to review.

Mailbox Monday


Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Here's what I got ~

The Red Thread: A Novel by Ann Hood (ARC) ~ “In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread. Who is at the end of your red thread?” After losing her infant daughter in a freak accident, Maya Lange opens The Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families. Maya finds some comfort in her work, until a group of six couples share their personal stories of their desire for a child. Their painful and courageous journey toward adoption forces her to confront the lost daughter of her past. Brilliantly braiding together the stories of Chinese birth mothers who give up their daughters, Ann Hood writes a moving and beautifully told novel of fate and the red thread that binds these characters’ lives. Heartrending and wise, The Red Thread is a stirring portrait of unforgettable love and yearning for a baby. .

Stirring Up Strife: A Hope Street Church Mystery by Jennifer Stanley ~ WELCOME TO THE HOPE STREET CHURCH…where good folks study The Good Book, but everyone loves a good mystery! Cooper Lee can repair a copy machine—but can she repair her life? That’s one of the many Big Questions that lead this newly single Richmond girl to Sunrise Bible Study at the Hope Street Church. Cooper hasn’t attended church in ages, but after getting dumped by her long-time boyfriend—and moving in with her family—she could use some new friends, and a new outlook on life. Happily, the members of the Bible group are anything but cookie-cutter, which suits Cooper just fine. There’s a blind folk artist, a playboy meteorologist, an investment banker with a sweet tooth, an ambitious realtor, and a cute shy web designer who just might be “the one” for Cooper. But the member of Hope Street Church who invited Cooper to join this motley crew—an office worker who got her wedding ring stuck in a copier—is something else altogether: She’s dead And her husband is suspected of murder! The Sunrise gang jumps into action, vowing to solve this unholy mess—with God’s guidance—and Cooper’s snooping…

Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag ~ California, 1984. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn't yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer's escalating activity. Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He's using a new technique-profiling-to develop a theory of the case, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own. As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves-or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.

The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell~ Mysteriously summoned to Quantico to help re-create the face of a murdered, mutilated young woman, FBI forensic artist Special Agent Sydney Fitzpatrick knows immediately this is no ordinary crime. The hit-and-run death of the forensic anthropologist assisting her—a close friend—and Sydney's abrupt dismissal from the case by covert government investigators only strengthen her need for answers. Now her hunt for a killer is carrying her from Washington to Rome to the hidden chamber of a legendary tomb—on the trail of a fabled treasure of the Knights Templar . . . and a curse.For buried deep in the mysteries of the Freemasons and the Vatican's Holy See is a secret that could rock the world. Suddenly an ancient map is pointing Sydney toward something the Templars wished to hide away forever—something that could unleash an unstoppable tide of blood and devastation.

Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub (ARC) ~ Secrets can scandalize . . .In a lovely suburban town just north of New York City, the gossip mill runs more efficiently than the commuter-train line. And in every impeccably decorated house, they're talking about Lauren Walsh. They say that nothing could be worse than being abandoned by your husband for another woman. They're wrong . . .Secrets can shock . . .All Lauren wants is to protect her children from the pain of her messy divorce. But when their father goes missing, a case of mistaken identity puts all their lives in danger, and a stealthy predator lurks in the shadows, watching . . . waiting . . .Secrets can kill . . .Lauren is about to uncover an unfathomable truth—a truth this cold-blooded mastermind would never let her live to tell . . .

Knit, Purl, Die by Anne Canadeo~ Gloria Sterling had it all -- money, looks, and a new sexy young husband. So when she's found floating face down in her own swimming pool, shock waves ripple through tiny Plum Harbor. At the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, Maggie Messina and her circle are devastated to lose their dear friend -- a woman as colorful as her fabulous yarn creations.The police are quick to call it an accident, but sorting out Gloria's final hours leaves too many loose ends to satisfy her friends. The vivacious, fiftysomething cougar had her French manicured tips in more than a few pots, and the threads of some inside deals stashed in her chic knitting tote.Who was the last person to see Gloria alive on that quiet summer night? Two empty wine glasses suggest she wasn't home alone knitting the entire evening.... The Black Sheep need to know the truth and set out to unravel -- stitch by stitch -- the weighty secrets that pulled poor Gloria under.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen (ARC) ~ In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world—no matter how out of place they feel.
Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past? Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay (ARC) ~ In this tense, mesmerizing thriller by Linwood Barclay, critically acclaimed author of Fear the Worst and Too Close to Home, a man’s life unravels around him when the unthinkable strikes. A warm summer Saturday. An amusement park. David Harwood is glad to be spending some quality time with his wife, Jan, and their four-year-old son. But what begins as a pleasant family outing turns into a nightmare after an inexplicable disappearance. A frantic search only leads to an even more shocking and harrowing turn of events.Until this terrifying moment, David Harwood is just a small-town reporter in need of a break. His paper, the Promise Falls Standard, is struggling to survive. Then he gets a lead that just might be the answer to his prayers: a potential scandal involving a controversial development project for the outskirts of this picturesque upstate New York town. It’s a hot-button issue that will surely sell papers and help reverse the Standard’s fortunes, but strangely, David’s editors keep shooting it down. Why?That’s a question no longer at the top of David’s list. Now the only thing he cares about is restoring his family. Desperate for any clue, David dives into his own investigation—and into a web of lies and deceit. For with every new piece of evidence he uncovers, David finds more questions—and moves ever closer to a shattering truth.

The Diva Paints the Town (A Domestic Diva Mystery) by Krista Davis (For review) ~ When Sophie's neighbor-a reclusive professor-dies, his final wish is for the Domestic Diva to throw a dinner party in his honor, and he's planned everything down to the letter. But what no one planned for is the corpse of a student that Sophie finds in his house.

Town In a Blueberry Jam (CANDY HOLLIDAY MYSTERY) by B.B. Haywood (For Review) ~ In the seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday has an idyllic life tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father. But, when an aging playboy and the newly crowned Blueberry Queen are killed, Candy investigates to clear the name of a local handyman. And as she sorts through the town's juicy secrets, things start to get sticky indeed...

A Stitch in Crime (A Crochet Mystery) by Betty Hechtman (For Review) ~ Molly's been handed the reins for this year's creative retreat-an exhilarating weekend out on the Monterey Peninsula, complete with crochet classes. Unfortunately for one teacher, though, the breathtaking scenery is where she'll take her last breath. Now Molly will have to find a new instructor, and, if she can squeeze it in, solve this murder-with the help of her pals from the Tarzana Hookers.

Avenging Angels (A Beaufort & Company Mystery) by Mary Stanton (For Review) ~ Law school hasn't prepared Bree to appeal cases for the dead. After inheriting her great-uncle's haunted law firm, she must now represent ex-banker O'Rourke, who supposedly killed himself after losing a fortune. But with a merry widow and evidence mounting, it's beginning to look like murder. So Bree and her team of angels begin to investigate. But Bree soon discovers that someone would rather see her deceased than debriefed.

The Pendragon Murders (A Merlin Investigation) by J.M.C. Blair (For Review) ~
A baron and his sons are found dead at Stonehenge. King Arthur's potential heirs start to mysteriously die. And only Merlin can prove that the murders are not the work of the plague, but something much more sinister.

The Proof is in the Pudding (Della Cooks Mystery) by Melinda Wells (For Review) ~
Owner of a Santa Monica cooking school and cable cooking show star Della Carmichael is one of three judges for an A-list cook-off-but it's the celebrities who are getting knocked off.

How to Host a Killer Party: A Party-Planning Mystery (Party Planning Mystery) by Penny Warner (For Review) ~ Presley Parker was just happy to get her party planning business off the ground. Now she's gotten the gig of the year, planning Mayor Davin Green's sumptuous "surprise" wedding for his socialite fiancée, to be held on Alcatraz. But when the bride is found floating in the bay and the original party planner is found murdered, Presley becomes the prime suspect. If the attractive crime scene cleaner, Brad Matthews, doesn't help her tidy her reputation, she'll be exchanging her formal wear for prison stripes...

If Books Could Kill: A Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle (For Review) ~ Book restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is attending the world- renowned Book Fair when her ex Kyle shows up with a bombshell. He has an original copy of a scandalous text that could change history-and humiliate the beloved British monarchy. When Kyle turns up dead, the police are convinced Brooklyn's the culprit. But with an entire convention of suspects, Brooklyn's conducting her own investigation to find out if the motive for murder was a 200-year-old secret-or something much more personal.

Sleeping With Anemone: A Flower Shop Mystery by Kate Collins (For Review) ~ Maybe Abby Knight shouldn't have chosen a home and garden show sponsored by Uniworld Food as the venue for her protest against the corporation's harmful farming practices. But being bodily removed from the event won't stop her campaign. Nor will a burning brick thrown through her flower shop's window. After she narrowly escapes being kidnapped three times, Abby calls in the big guns-her ex-Ranger boyfriend Marco and her friends and family. And then the stakes are raised by murder...