Chop Shop

Next up was CHOP SHOP by Tim Downs (Howard Publishing Co., c2004, ISBN 1-58-229-401-1). This book is the second book in the Dr. Nick Polchak Bugman series, which I adore. This book features pathologist Riley McKay and forensic entomologist Nick Polchak searching for some inconsistencies found in some autopsies done in the coroner's office. Set in Pittsburgh and Tarentum, PA, organ donation and the ethical versus unethical beliefs surrounding said donations and harvesting are key issues in this book and make it for a very exciting read.

The book begins:

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 1973
The young man set his glasses down beside the sink, then bent face down and cupped handfuls of cold water against his face.

I really like this series even though there is little graphic violence and no real swearing that I've found. Dr. Polchak is a "real" person with my kind of sense of humor and very similar to Dr. Gregory House, who I adore, with a capital A. Downs' books have topics that keep me interested and I've learned quite a lot about bugs and forensic entomology.

Naughty Neighbor

Third up in March was NAUGHTY NEIGHBOR by Janet Evanovich (Harper, c1992, 2008, ISBN 978-0-06-059892-1), and I believe it is the last of the reprints if I counted right. Sigh.

Louisa lives next door to Pete with all of his annoying habits in Washington D.C., but of course, once they meet they can't help but fall in love (it is a romance, after all). Political scandals and pigs run amok in this book and although I read it faster than some of her other reprints, I kept getting caught up with one of the main character's name. His name was Pete. Pete Streeter. And all I could here was Peter Streeter. Then I would start thinking Peter Streeter Pumpkin-Eater. Ack!

The book begins:

Pete Streeter came awake on the third ring - just in time to hear the answering machine pick up the call.

Shoofly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy

Holy smokes, do I like this guy!

A patron of mine recommended SHOOFLY PIE by Tim Downs (Howard Publishing Co., c2003, ISBN 1-58229-308-2) to me. I thought I'd take a look...


The next day as I was closing the book up, I decided I had to find the rest of the books in this series featuring Dr. Nick Polchak aka THE BUGMAN.

Dr. Polchak is a forensic entomologist or one who studies bugs and how they relate to the death of another. He's kind of like Grissom on CSI but with the sense of humor of Dr. House on HOUSE (which I LOVE!)

This book starts with four childhood friends, three boys and one girl. All three boys were in love with her but she only married one. One boy died during the war. Another has just turned up dead and she's hired the Bugman to help her solve the case. There are a lot of interesting facts about bugs - if you're into that kind of thing - and how they effect the dead and how the dead effect them. In the bookstores it's listed as a Christian Fiction book, but I think that may only be because of the lack of strong language. I'm telling everyone I know to try this book. I want Tim Downs to continue with this series for a long time.

It begins:

Holcum County, North Carolina, 1975

Zachary Sloan stepped out of the Rayford ABC Package Store and walked to the bed of his primer-gray Ford pickup.

Naughty Me!

Again, I've been naughty and again, I apologize for the lack of writing. I don't know if I wrote about it, but back in February I fell at work. I managed to tear just about everything holding my knee together and now there is a strong possibility I will be having some type of surgery. I am on light duty at work so you'd think that I'd have more time to keep track of my blog. But actually I am preparing for when I have to go to U of I hospitals, and in the event that my assistant takes over for me.


I have, however, done some reading which I will try to get back on track writing about.


First up in March, was KILLING FEAR by Allison Brennan (Ballantine Books, c2008, ISBN 978-0-345-50271-1). This book is the first in a new series and set mainly in San Diego, CA. However, the Kincaid family, who have been featured in another trilogy by Brennan follow through. Seven years previous, Theodore Glenn was convicted of the brutal murders of four women - strippers and one woman's testimony helped put him away. Now, after an earthquake, he has escaped from prison and is back to exact his revenge.


The book begins:

Seven years earlier

Theodore Glenn sat at the defense table alone, hands loosely folded in front of him, watching the jury foreman hand the bailiff his fate written on a folded white card.

Brennan has become one of my favorite writers and I look for every new book out by her. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

February Reads Part 3

Next up, #6, was a new to me author but I have two more books by her to read. FIVE DAYS IN SUMMER by Kate Pepper (New American Library, c2004, ISBN 0-451-41140-4) was this one and I really liked it.
On Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Mashpee), Emily Parker goes missing from a local grocery store and her husband turns to retired FBI agent John Geary for help. What Geary finds is scary: a repeat pattern of women who go missing along with their 7-9 year old sons. This book was a race against the clock to stop the madman and find Emily before something happened to one of her two sons.
I would recommend her to anyone who likes Mary Higgins Clark, Carlene Thompson, Donna Anders, Lisa Gardner, Anne Frasier, etc.

It begins:

Prologue

Five syringes lined the bleach-clean counter.

Lucky #7 for February was WHAT LIES IN SHADOW by Tina Wainscott (St. Martin's Paperbacks, c2008, ISBN 978-0-312-94164-2). Jonna Karakosta is an events coordinator in Boston, Mass. and she is bored with her home-life. She begins writing a blog called Montene's Diary where she meets enigmatic Dominic and sensing something is going on with her husband and her marriage, she decides to meet up with "Dominic" and is contemplating an affair -- when things go all wrong! Although written in first person, which I typically avoid but not always, this was a good book. A little slow in parts and sometimes repetitive but fun in a sick and twisted way from a blogger's viewpoint.

It starts:

Montene's Diary

Blog entry: November 1, 11:30 P.M.

Dear blog friends,

Tomorrow I'm having a romantic lunch with a man who is not my husband.

Finally, my last book of the month was DOUBLE CROSS by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Company, c2007, ISBN 0-316-01505-9), the 13th book in the Alex Cross series.

The story begins:

At the time of his formal sentencing in Alexandria, Virginia for eleven known murders, the former FBI agent and pattern killer Kyle Craig, known as the Mastermind, was lectured and condescended to by U.S. District Judge Nina Wolff.

Eh! I think I'm getting tired of this series or something...I'm not sure. I love Washington D.C. where it is set, I love books about cops and detectives so that's not it. Could it be that Cross is taunted by TWO different serial killers in this book or that something happens that is so unrealistic I found myself screaming, "Oh Puh-leaze! Give me a break!" just short of tossing the book? I've continued to read his books because they are fast reads for me with the little micro chapters, but this book had me thinking I don't know if I even want to waste the day or two it took me to read it ever again! Anybody ever had that reaction to a book?

Play and feed a hungry person!

In today's world where there is so much going on and it seems harder and harder to find the time to do the right thing, I love coming across a website that does something good and with very little effort. It's just a matter of finding a little time regularly.

Play here today!

February Reads Part 2

THE PACT by Jodi Picoult (Avon, c1998, ISBN 978-0-06-115014-2) was up next, #3. Set in Bainbridge, New Hampshire, the Harte and Gold families have been intertwined ever since their oldest were born. Melanie and Gus were best friends, Emily and Chris grew up together and loved one another. Until they are 17 years old and make a suicide pact. When Chris is arrested and imprisoned for the murder of his best friend and girlfriend, the book takes off like a shot. Jumping back and forth between past and present, we learn what led up to that fateful night and are witness to a great depiction of two families torn apart by tragedy.
Jodi's books are absolutely spectacular and I kick myself every time I read one of her older books for having missed it in the first place. This book was no exception.
It begins:

NOW

November 1997

There was nothing left to say.

Can you believe that it's another Janet Evanovich book?
#4 for me in February was WIFE FOR HIRE by Janet Evanovich (Harper, c1990, 2007, ISBN 978-0-06-059888-4), one of her reprints.
Maggie Toone moves to Skogen, Vermont to fulfill her contract with Hank Malone: she has been hired to play his wife! Hank needs a wife to secure a loan, Maggie needs to get out of Riverside, NJ to write her book. The two pair match up and it's a match made in...heaven? Quick read, quirky characters, 'nuff said.

The first sentence is:

At the turn of the century the Bigmount Brick Company hired new arrivals from Eastern Europe to work in the New Jersey clay pits.

Fifth for me, was NO PLACE LIKE HOME by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster, c2005, ISBN 0-7432-6489-4).
I seemed to use February as a month to catch up on some old reading as well as read some new to me authors which was really nice for a change.
In this book, set in Mendham, New Jersey, Celia Nolan's husband, Alex, bought her a house as a surprise for her birthday. What he didn't know was that the house he purchased was the house she grew up in, the house where, 24 years prior she murdered her mother trying to protect her. Now, living back in Mendham, strange things are happening and it's as if someone knows Celia's identity.

I thought this book had a great premise and was upset that I had missed it when it came out. However, I thought that the plot was paper thin and unrealistic. I knew within the first 100 pages who the bad guy was and this book had few likable characters.
It starts:

Prologue

Ten-year-old Liza was dreaming her favorite dream, the one about the day when she was six years old, and she and Daddy were at the beach, in New Jersey, at Spring Lake.

Uhhh...go figure? I'm a librarian?

What Be Your Nerd Type?

Your Result: Literature Nerd

 

Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works.

It's okay. I understand.

Drama Nerd
Musician
Social Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type?

February Reads Part 1

First up in February was a book that's been sitting on my shelf for way too long, KILLING SPREE by Kevin O'Brien (Kennsington Publishing Co., c2007, ISBN 0-7860-1775-9). This was another book set in Seattle, Washington and starred Gillian McBride, her son Ethan, her husband Barry, her friend Ruth and Jason Hurrell.
A few years back, Gillian was teaching a writing class at the local college where a serial killer began stalking female students and killing them and dressing them as Catholic schoolgirls. Then her husband disappeared and it's been over two years. Now, people are turning up dead -- people that Gillian knows -- and they are being murdered just like those written in her five published books. Horrible, gruesome deaths. Everything has Gillian jumping at shadows and she doesn't know who she can believe -- or trust. This was a fantastic suspense story and I've always like O'Brien's books, this one just got shuffled in the mix. There are a couple that I have missed but I'll be looking for them shortly.

The book starts:

All the crazies were out tonight.

My second read for February was the fun DEAD END DATING by Kimberly Raye (Ballantine Books, c2006, ISBN 0-345-49216-1).

This book would be enjoyed by those who like the Mary Janice Davidson books and probably even the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.

Lil is a fabulous born vampire living in Manhattan who wants nothing more than to avoid having to work for her father's chain of copy shops, so she opens a dating matchmaking service for humans and vampires alike called Dead End Dating.

Shortly after opening the doors a hunky made vampire and bounty hunter, Ty Bonner, shows up and on the heels of a vicious serial killer with a warning for Lil. Meanwhile, Lil's business is off to a rocky start and she just needs to find the right vampire to be her poster boy for DED. Throw in a lot of designer clothes and shoes and stuff and you have a cute little book. It's not Pulitzer material (sorry, Kimberly!) but it's a great weekend read if you don't get bothered by all of the designer details.

The book begins:

For those of you who don't already know me, my name is the Countess Lilliana Arabella Guinevere du Marchette (yeah, I know), but my friends call me Lil.

January Reads Part 3

Number 7 was PLUM LUCKY by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press, c2007, ISBN 978-0-312-37763-2). This is the third between the numbers book that Janet has put out featuring Stephanie and crew with a quick walk on by Morelli and Ranger and more of Diesel who we've seen in VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS and PLUM LOVIN'. This book also features Snuggy, Briggs, Lou Delvina and Doug, the talking horse.

It's St. Patty's Day and Stephanie's Grandma Mazur is MIA. Stephanie tracks her down to Atlantic City with Lula and Connie, playing the slots, with someone else's money. That someone else kidnaps Grandma Mazur and the romp is on.

The book begins:

My mother and grandmother raised me to be a good girl, and I have no problem with the girl part.

My eighth book read during January was THE REMAINS OF THE DEAD by Wendy Roberts (New American Library, c2007, ISBN 978-0-451-22268-8), set in Seattle, Washington. Sadie Novak owns the company Scene-2-Clean and along with Zack Bowman, an ex-cop, cleans up after death so the families don't have to. When a grieving mother hires her company to clean up after the murder-suicide of her son and daughter-in-law, Sadie gets more than she bargained for. Oh yeah, and after the suicide of her own brother years ago, Sadie can see and talk to the newly departed (except for suicides.) Her job is to help them cross over. A little talent that gives many around her a good case of the heebie jeebies. I thought this was a really fun book and I will look for more by this author. It had a great, surprise ending and I was quite taken with the occupation of the main characters. If I wasn't a librarian, I might be a crime scene cleaner upper.

The story starts:

She dipped a scrub brush into the cleaning fluid and stroked the bedroom wall in wide, arched swipes.

Number 9 in line, was not a book that I really cared to read but one I thought I needed to read because of all the controversy surrounding it, IF I DID IT: CONFESSIONS OF THE KILLER by OJ Simpson (Beaufort Books, c2007, ISBN 978-0-8253-0588-7). The story played out in Brentwood, California and featured OJ Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson, Ron Goldman, Paula Barbieri and Kato Kaelin with some other people thrown in for historic measure.
Honestly, this book made me sick but I'm glad that the money is not going to OJ Simpson or his family but to the Goldman family since they were given the rights by a judge to satisfy a $38 million wrongful death judgment against the former football star.

The book begins:

I'm going to tell you a story you've never heard before, because no one knows this story the way I know it.

And finally, number 10, was BLOOD DREAMS by Kay Hooper (Bantam Books, c2007, ISBN 978-0-553-80484-3). Set in Venture, Georgia (Prophet County), this book is the beginning of a new psychic series featuring Noah Bishop and his SCU team. In this book, twelve women are murdered in the Boston area ending with the daughter of a US Senator. The killer goes underground and resurfaces in Venture, GA where Dani Justice is having psychic visions about the murders and people she's never met -- until they show up on her doorstep asking for her help. Together they will have to use all of their abilities to stop a madman from continuing his rampage.

I liked this story alot. It has kind of a Groundhog's Day effect to it, with the dream sequences, but I thought that made for a more interesting story. I haven't met a Kay Hooper Noah Bishop SCU book that I didn't like.

The first sentence of the book is:

It was the nightmare brought to life, Dani thought.