Fun New Detective Series – by Joanne Fluke

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a fun book that came highly recommended, and free, from a friend. I don’t think I would have picked it up off the shelf, because I am ashamed to admit that I often base my book buying decisions on the cover art, and this one is sadly lacking.  It is a quick, easy read that is entertaining on a couple of levels.

I am still trying to decide if I liked the mystery or the included recipes best.  I really appreciate the main character, Hannah Swensen, as she is a strong, independent small business owner.  Hannah is not intimidating or overwhelming, and is therefore very believable as a main character from a small town.  Both the strong tie to the setting, Minnesota in this case, and the relationship between Hannah and her mother had me remembering my first Stephanie Plum mystery.  I haven’t tried any of the cookie recipes that were included throughout the book, but I do have plans to do so this weekend and will report back with pictures and a full review then.

For now, if you are looking for a cozy mystery to read at the beach or poolside, I would recommend this one for a quick and easy read.

Book Review – Innocent In Death by J. D. Robb

I love Nora Roberts, and I love murder mysteries, so it is no great surprise that I am now completely hooked on reading all of the books she has written as J. D. Robb.  I discovered her back in 200o and at that time I went through and read everything she had ever written, but I did not read any written under the Robb pseudonym.  A friend had this book on her desk the other day and I commented about loving Nora Roberts so she insisted I read this one.  I am glad I did, but my family will be missing me soon, as I have found another series that is nearly impossible to put down.

Innocent In Death is a who-done-it murder mystery with just enough romance thrown in to keep it interesting and personal.  I love Nora Roberts’ characters, especially the women; I always find her heroines strong, passionate and sincere.  I will admit that sometimes the plot is a bit predictable, but the story is usually told well enough that it is still fun to follow along.  I read to be entertained, and I always find entertaining characters in anything Roberts’ writes.  As I finish the last pages of this book, I am already searching Amazon and Paperback Swap for other books with Eve Dallas as the main character.

Book Review – The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood

As I was sitting in my office at work Friday afternoon, contemplating a weekend full of housework and errand running, I got a yucky gurgling feeling in my stomach and a dull ache began in my fingers.  By 5 pm, I was flat on my back with the flu, and feeling pretty darn miserable.  That was the only excuse I needed to put everything else on hold and have a mini reading marathon of my own.

One of the books I read this weekend was recommended to me by DD.  It was Gary Blackwood’s book which she had to read for her English class a few years back.  I had never read an alternate history book before (let alone heard of what the author called uchronia), but since I love historical fiction it seemed like a good choice.

The Year of the Hangman is a thought provoking book that dares to imagine how things may have progressed had the colonists not won the Revolutionary War.  George Washington is captured and most of the famous founding fathers are in hiding when the story opens.  There were many things I liked about this book, most of them where the characters.  I think for such a short book the author did a great job of creating characters that were real and that I cared for.  I especially liked both Ben Franklin and Benedict Arnold, but the fictional characters were also well done.  What I didn’t care for so much was the tone at the end of the book and the preachy feeling it took on.  I disagree with the author’s sentiment about war so I am sure that biased me a bit.

My favorite quote from the book is this:

I’ve learned that honor is not measured by words; it’s measured by deeds.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and read the whole thing in one sitting.  For those of you who are putting together lists for long challenges, I would recommend adding this one to that list.

Book Review – Booked to Die

Booked to Die (Cliff Janeway Novels) is my first John Dunning novel, and it won’t be the last. I am actually looking for a copy of his book Deadline now.  I wasn’t sure what to expect with Booked to Die, as I hadn’t heard of it or the author before, but when I read the synopsis over at Paperback Swap, I figured I may as well give it a chance. It is a mystery about a bookseller that combines two of my passsions, mysteries and books, which seemed worth a read.

The story line did keep me guessing a bit, but in the end, I did figure out who-done-it before the author revealed it. So I guess it is a bit predictable, however, I think it has enough twists and interesting turns to keep most readers interested. While it isn’t a complicated book, it is the perfect mystery for a blustery weekend in the Midwest when the roads are bad but there is plenty of coffee and soup to keep you toasty and happy.

And speaking of soup, if you are gearing up for a long weekend of reading, here is a link to an easy little recipe for homemade chicken soup over at Lifehacker.

Book Review – The Loop by Nicholas Evans

The Loop is certainly not a new book, and after meaning to read this for about 5 years now, I finally finished it this weekend.  It wasn’t that the book was hard to read or anything, I just keep getting side tracked every time I tried to read it.  It was a good book, and I enjoyed it a bit more than I did The Horse Whisperer, which was my first Nicholas Evans book.

The Loop is set in Montana’s Big Sky Country, which is a fantastic place to spend a few hours in ones imagination.  I found myself wishing I was actually riding horseback through the streams and mountains that were being described.  As the cover indicates, some of the main characters of this book include a pack of wolves who have been reintroduced to the wilds of Montana.  I did a quick survey of this issue back in college, and the quick overview of the wolf situation in the book is actually pretty well done.  Both sides of the reintroduction program a covered quite well and it is difficult to choose a side, however, in the end the authors bias becomes the readers as well.

If you liked the Horse Whisperer, you will like The Loop.

Book Review – The Shack by William P. Young

My mom bought me a copy of this book and said I just had to read it.  As usual, Mom was right!  This book is amazing, and it is right up there with Randy Alcorn’s books on the same theme.  I was drawn to Randy Alcorn’s books after my first reading of Deadline.  Randy is a Christian author who takes what I have found to be a somewhat unique perspective on Heaven.  None of us knows for sure what Heaven will be like, but how many of us have really considered what it may be like?  Revelation reveals to us what the end of this Earth will be like, but does it really explain what Heaven will be like before the end times?  After the end times?   I can’t answer that, but I have learned from Randy that challenging preconceived ideas of Heaven can be a rewarding exercise that usually brings me to a deeper appreciation for the God of the universe.  Like Randy Alcorn did with Heaven, William P. Young has also encouraged me to go back to scripture to check out his assumptions, and mine, about who God is and what he expects.

So while I may not agree with every idea William P. Young puts forth in his book, I think that it is a very good book for adults to read.  I think that people who will read this book, and then go back to scripture and look for answers to questions that it will raise will really enjoy it and get a lot out of it.  I am even going to encourage my DD to read this book, as I think she has a deep enough theological basis to read it from.  But be warned, some of the ideas in this book are not traditional.  I believe that the main point of the book is very scripturally sound and is therefore good for instruction and has redemptive value. 

One more word of caution;  have plenty of tissue handy.

Book Review – Thunderhead

I really enjoyed Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child!  I didn’t get through it as quickly as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the journey.  I found the setting, characters and plot of this book all very refreshing and well done.

This is my first Preston/Child adventure, and I have to say that I will indeed be back for more fun.  Although, I supose that the word “fun” may not be quite correct, as the setting for this mystery is a bit darker than the lighter mysteries I had been reading.  This book is set mostly in the “redrock canyon country of southwestern Utah” and deals with the darker side of the local Native American life, like death and witchcraft.  It is the setting, which is so wonderfullly done though that first sets the standard for this fascinating page turner.

I also found the depth of character development so well done in for such a short book with so many interesting characters.  There are several secondary characters whose personalities are just so strong that the reader feels drawn into their struggles and can easily understand their struggles and triumphs.  There are several heros and a few villians and the reader is lead to identify with each of them in interesting ways.  I really enjoyed the journey through to understanding each character and what made them tick.

I believe it is the mix of mystery and adventure, teamed with spirituality and culture that make this book such an interesting read.  I was really drawn in by the mystery at first, but then I got wind of the adventure that was forming, only to be further sucked in by the culture and sprirituality of the Anasazi people.  I just can’t overstate here how entertaining this book was.  In fact, I am now adding the rest of the books written by these authors to my “Must Read” list.

Book Review – Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Wow. . .great book for sci-fi fans!  My first taste of the wonders of science-fiction came when I saw Star Wars as a kid.  I went to see it when it first came out camped in the back of my parents van at the drive-in.  Since those days, I have enjoyed the occasional sci-fi book, television show or movie but don’t usually seek them out.  I plan to read this entire series.

I actually had this book setting around on a shelf for just as bit, as it came when I was in the middle of about 3 other books.  Since I was already reading other books, I recommended this to DS who needed something to read in his 4 hour detention, and he read it all in a day.  Not only did he read it in a day, but he immediately asked for the next book in the series.

I would bet that if you enjoyed the Matrix, Star Wars, or either Battlestar Galactica series, you will enjoy this very easy to read book.  Ender is one of the youngest heros I have read, but he is interesting and very engaging.  I found myself sucked in and invested in the characters and the games they played.

Although it can be read on a very surface level, this is also a very smart book.  I found myself really amazed at the depth of deception of the adults in this book and started thinking about all the ways the tactics described in the book may be used on people.  And for a sci-fi book, I was amazed at the depth of feeling I experienced while reading.  My emotions went from deep sadness over Ender having to leave his family to intense outrage over the war situation.

This is one award winning book (1986 Hugo Award and the 1985 Nebula Award) that I highly recommend to readers young and old.

Book Review – One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

I have been wanting to read one of these books for a long time, I just keep forgetting to pick them up.  But I found myself in a long checkout line at the grocery store and they had this book right there, so I dropped it in my bucket.  I am glad I did.

I knew as soon as I read the back of the jacket and found out that the heroine, Stephanie Plum, was from Newark, NJ that I was going to like this book.  I was not wrong.  I knew lots of “Jersey girls” when I lived there, and Stephanie Plum fits the description of all of them.  She is so similar to many of my friends that I was picturing them as the lead through most of the book.  From the high hair to the biker shorts, Stephanie is as real as they come.

In summary, the characters were believable, even likeable, the plot moved along and the setting was perfect.  I really liked this little mystery and am already looking forward to reading Two for the Dough. . .

Book Review – Bag of Bones by Stephen King

Bag of Bones is only my second Stephen King novel, my first thriller, and I liked it far more than I expected.  The only other King novel I have read is On Writing, which is hardly comparable.  However, it is because I loved On Writing so much that I dared to give one of his other novels a chance. 

I should start by explaining that I have always been a chicken.  Since I was young I have had an almost unnatural fear of the dark, and the only horror movie I have been able to watch with my eyes open has been Jaws.  So while I have wanted to read a King book for sometime, I have only found the courage recently to actually dive in and give it a shot.  And, while the book did not keep me up at night, I did find that I was listening for strange noises in the silence a bit more than before I read the book.

Overall, I really liked this book and found enough mystery, suspense and “things that go bump in the night” to keep me wondering and turning pages until the very end.  I also like that in both books I have read by King he treats the reader like an old college friend.  I feel as if I know the author and I trust him enough to hang in even though the number of pages seems like more of an investment than a cheap thrill.

Also, while I really like how King includes lots of references to other works of literature and fiction, I can understand why someone who does not read much may not enjoy a King novel as much as the avid reader.  These references, while not critical too understanding the story or main plot, add so much flavor to the writing that it would be a real shame to not understand them.

I am anxious now to add other Stephen King novels to my reading list, so if you have any recommendations about where to start please let me know.