19 -- You've Been Warned

Author: James Patterson and Howard Roughan
finished: 03/22/09
synopsis: Kristin Burns is making her way in New York City. Her photos are being considered at a major Manhattan gallery, she works by day with two wonderful children, and the man of her dreams is almost hers for keeps. But just as everything she's ever wanted is finally within reach, her life changes forever--with one murderous nightmare. Kristin wakes up every morning from the same chilling, unforgettable dream. And suddenly, it's visiting her during the day too. As her life turns stranger by the minute, Kristin is haunted and terrified. Is it all in her head? Or is the nightmare becoming her life? Kristin searches desperately for what's real through the lens of her camera, only knowing two things for sure: that no place is safe and the fate of everyone she loves lies in her hands.

My thoughts: Okay, it's like this...This book is certainly fast paced. It's classic James Patterson with short, quickly read chapters. However, that's the only thing that is classic James Patterson. The storyline was unbelievable. I love to read far-fetched stories, but this one was just badly done. It has to be the worst James Patterson I've read. I don't recommend it to anyone.

0 stars

18 -- A Wicked Snow

Author: Gregg Olsen
Finished: 3/24/09
Synopsis: Hannah Griffin was a girl when tragedy struck on her family’s farm. She still remembers the flames reflected against the newly fallen snow and the bodies the police dug up - one of them her mother’s. It was the nation’s worst murder scene in decades and the killer was never found.Twenty years later Hannah is a talented CSI investigating a case of child abuse when the past comes hurtling back. Years of buried questions are brought to life. A killer with unfinished business is on the hunt. And an anonymous message turns Hannah’s blood cold: Your Mom called...

My thoughts: I really liked this book alot. It certainly kept my attention. I was a little bit put off by the way it kept the 'tragedy' a mystery for so long, but it really worked to make me want to read more. I will definitely try to find others by Gregg Olsen

4.5 stars

17 --In the Blood

Author: Don Donaldson
finished: 03/21/09
synopsis:

A survivor of leukemia, Dr. Holly Fisher is ready to resume her life. Her first step: to have a child using eggs that were saved before she underwent the fertility-killing cancer treatment. But to her horror, Holly learns that her eggs have been stolen from the fertility clinic, taken by a man posing as her lawyer and armed with her death certificate.

Angry, hurt, and bewildered, Holly vows to track down the person who stole her most precious dream—never realizing that her attempts to make sense out of a mysterious theft will land her in the middle of a scientific and medical nightmare. An ethical horror that will put her and countless others in the path of a man willing to destroy the laws of nature—and anyone who opposes him...

My thoughts: Not one of my favorites. This one was a little bit too predictable and didn't hold my attention.

1 star

Contest at Candieb's Blog

This sounds like a great book.

Go Here to Enter

Challenges update

I've decided to join the Read your Name Challenge using my full name
Michelle.

M -- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (reading)
In the Blood by Don J. Donaldson
Crosscut by Meg Gardiner
H --
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Last Kiss Goodbye by Rita Herron
Left to Die by Taylor Kincaid
Envy by Sandra Brown

I'll also join the What's in a name-2 Challenge.

"Time of day" Day of the Dead by J. A. Jance

"Relative"

"Profession" The Paperboy by Pete Dexter

"Building" Sleeping at the Starlite Motel by Baily White

"Medical Condition" Left to Die by Taylor Kincaid

"Body Part" The Skin Gods by Robert Montanari

16 -- Close Enough to Kill

Author: Beverly Barton
Finished: 03/15/09
Synopsis:

Close Enough To Touch

He’s their secret admirer, wooing them with phone calls, love letters, and special gifts. From a distance, he admires them. Desires them. Despises them. And when he gets close enough, he kills them all.

Close Enough To Kiss

Adams County, Alabama, is a small, friendly place where everyone knows each other -- but not well enough, it seems, because Sheriff Bernie Granger has a serial killer on her hands, a total psycho who stalks, woos, kidnaps and kills his victims. It’s Bernie’s first big case, a chance for her to prove herself to her new boss, former Memphis police detective Jim Norton, but it won’t be easy. This killer is uncannily smart. It’s as if he knows what Bernie’s thinking. And his next move is more than shocking -- it’s chillingly personal.

Close Enough To Kill

A terrifying game is underway. A desperate hunt has begun. And a rookie sheriff is determined to stop a killer at all costs. But is she getting nearer to catching him or drawing far too close to his deadly flame?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this Romantic Suspense. I was disappointed that I picked out the killer fairly early on, but it was still fun to read. I especially liked that the setting was Northeast Alabama. That's home and all the real places that the author used in this book made me feel like I was a part of it. While the main county and town were fictional the surrounding places were real. There was a tad too much romance and not quite enough suspense, but altogether worth the read.

3 stars

15 -- Day of the Dead

Author: J.A. Jance
Finished: 03/12/09
Synopsis: Young girls are being spirited away from an orphanage deep in Colonial Mexico -- told they're traveling to a loving adoptive family in southern Arizona, their hopes are high. But the fate that waits for them is truly horrifying: when death comes, it will be a blessing....

Former Sheriff Brandon Walker is living the life of a reluctant retiree. Playing golf while his wife, Diana Ladd, continues to write her bestselling tales of true crime, he desperately misses the action and sense of usefulness from days gone by. When he's invited to join the Last Chance Club to review and attempt to solve long-cold cases, he little imagines the first case to cross his path will be one he may have botched back when he was sheriff. And when the case from all those decades past becomes entangled with a current murder, it seems a serial killer with a very long and shocking track record may be back in business....

My thoughts: This was the first book I've read by this author. I'm not sure if it was part of a series, but if it was I don't think it really mattered. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting. I think I'll probably read more of this author.

4 stars

Giveaway at Bookin' with Bingo

The Terror by Dan Simmons. Sounds like one I'd love to read, so I'm entering. Why don't you?

Go Here

14 -- Envy

Author: Sandra Brown
Finished: 03/07/09
Synopsis: Book editor Maris Matherly-Reed receives a tantalizing partial manuscript submitted by a writer identified only as P.M.E. Curiosity compels her to track down the author, Parker Evans, and work with him to complete the tale. But as the story unfolds, Maris becomes convinced it is more than just fiction. When someone close to her dies, the presence of evil looms even closer?
My thoughts: I liked this more than I thought I would. Some really good twists and turns although I had figured out most of the plot I still enjoyed the little things that I didn't get right. Worth the read.

3.5 stars

13 -- Death Angel

Author: Linda Howard
Finished: 03/01/2009
My thoughts: This book is what I'd call Romantic Suspense. A beautiful woman is the mistress of a drug dealer. The drug dealer 'gives' her to a hit man for a day as a reward. After the encounter with the hit man she steals $2m from her drug dealer and runs away. He hires the hit man to find her and kill her. The story gets better from here. It's not a believable story, but it's lots of fun to read.

3.5 Stars