Copycat killin'

The book, COPYCAT by Erica Spindler (Mira, c2006, ISBN 0-7783-2312-9) was a good escapist read while I prepare for my wedding happening this Saturday. I tried reading THE GIRLS WHO WENT AWAY but it was just to intense for me to finish, what with everything going on in my brain as the countdown continues. It is waiting for me until after my wedding is complete.

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COPYCAT'S blurb:
Five years ago, three young victims were found dead, posed like little angels. There were no witnesses. Strangely clean scenes. The Sleeping Angel Killer called his despicable acts "the perfect crimes."

The case immobilized the close-knit community of Rockford, Illinois, and nearly destroyed homicide detective Kitt Lundgren's career—and her life. During the investigation, Kitt tragically lost her own child to illness. She was devastated by the death of her daughter; and the final blow was the crushing realization that she let the killer get away.

Familiar with every nuance of the cold case file, Kitt knows there's something different about this new rash of killings—a tiny variation that opens terrifying new possibilities. Is the Sleeping Angel Killer really back, or is a copycat killer re-creating the original "perfect crimes"?

But Kitt has no authority in this investigation. Young, ambitious detective Mary Catherine Riggio is heading up the Sleeping Angel Killer case. M.C. knows that Kitt wants back in and she's smart enough to realize that Kitt's obsession with the case has given the detective an insight that M.C. lacks. But M.C., intent on proving herself, fears Kitt will blow the investigation—again.

Then Kitt starts receiving disturbing phone calls. It's him—the Sleeping Angel Killer—and he makes Kitt an unthinkable offer: help in finding his copycat. Forced to rely on each other, Kitt and M.C. must decide whether to place their trust in a Murderer ...ar risk becoming victims of a fiend who has taken the art of the perfect murder to horrific new heights.

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The first sentence:

The girl's hair looked silky.

My thoughts:
This was a good installment from Spindler. I always recommend her to library patrons who like MH Clark, Carlene Thompson and Wendy Corsi Staub. This book kept me guessing right up until the end and caught me by surprise with the killer, however I was a little disturbed by some of the actions taken by both main police officers in this book but then I got over it. It could be just my frame of mind.

This book is not recommended for people who don't like violence against children books.

Skinny bitch

I finished SKINNY BITCH by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press, c2005, ISBN 0-7624-2493-1) this afternoon after reading the whole thing in small bites over the course of a month.

Honestly, it was not what I expected.

I thought I was getting a book with humorous diet tips. This book included chapters about slaughterhouses, the government's lies that are effecting your weight, and A LOT of vegan lifestyle information, which I am not and never aspire to be, no matter how much weight I'd like to lose. I like cheese too much. (I know, I know...it's all about the casein.)

However, just because it wasn't what I was looking for in a book, I did finish it and years ago I made it a point to bring something away from every book I read. With this book, I copied down some of the recommended reading suggestions from the end of the book. In addition, my favorite chapter was "Don't be a pussy" where the girls talk about vice items which I struggle with regularly and sometimes succumb to and sometimes not.

Their advice with these diet smashers was this:
         If you decide to partake in a vice item [after thirty days], it cannot be out of weakness or for lack of preparation. You should never be somewhere and just say, "Fuck it." It should be a calculated, scheduled, premeditated choice. The portion should be decided on beforehand, should be smaller that you would normally have had, and served on a plate.

That's pretty sound advice and one that I will take on my future journey with weight loss. (Down 48 pounds since February 2006.)

I probably could have appreciated this book more if it had been written by someone other than a model agent and former model. For example, maybe by someone who was ever larger than a size 14. But then, that's just me. Form your own opinions.

This book will not sit well with my readers who do not appreciate cuss words in their readings.

The first line of the book:

Okay.

No really, that is the first sentence...

Have a good weekend and happy reading!

Who wants tetnus?

J.A. Konrath has penned the third novel in the Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series, RUSTY NAIL (Hyperion, c2006, ISBN 1-4013-0088-X) and it was a fun read.

Jack Daniels in a lieutenant with the police department in Chicago, Illinois and has had some tough years dealing with a psychotic named "The Gingerbread Man." This time around, Jack receives some snuff films that look like the work of the Gingerbread Man but she knows it couldn't be him. No, this time it's even worse.

Jack's partner, Herb Benedict is here along with her ex-partner and thorn-in-the-side Harry McGlade. Harry is getting married to Holly Frakes, a bombshell who is good with a gun and totally misunderstood.

Although there were some highly improbable moments, quite a bit of graphic (and some may say gratuitous, but not me!) violence and I figured out who the bad guy was right away, it's Konrath's killer humor that will always have me coming back for another round of Jack!

It starts:

The sound begins.