Book 44 of 2011 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 While this is a book about a hermaphorodite, it's more a family saga. I loved Lefty and Desdemona's story. So very sad and tragic with moments of supreme happiness. That happiness makes the sad parts sadder for some reason. Callie/Cal's story is important, but not the meat of the book as I thought it was. And not really as tragic as it could have been. The interlude in SF was seriously hopeless but somehow  necessary. Overall, I give this a thumbs up as an interesting Greek family saga. I also learned some genetic stuff, I wonder if it's factual? Hmmm. Glad I read this, sorry I took so long!


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58 -- The Wire in the Blood

The Wire In The Blood by Val McDermid


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Will definitely have to go back to read book 1 and then go on to find more of these. Loved this one. Seriously Sick Shit!

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57 -- The Perfect Family by Carla Cassidy

The Perfect Family by Carla Cassidy


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I liked this one well enough, but it's not one of my favs. A little creepy.

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52 -- The Accidental Vampire

The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love the premise of this one. Elvi is made into a vampire accidentally. Maybe I missed it in a previous book, but no matter what your age when you become a vamp, you automatically go back to a younger hotter self. Wowza, I think I want to be a vampire.

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51 -- Bite Me if You Can

Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lucian and Leigh... rogue vampire hunter bar owner. Another great couple and another great story. I love these Argeneau's.

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48 -- A Bite to Remember

A Bite to Remember by Lynsay Sands


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I like Vincent and loved Jackie, but most of all, I can't wait to see if Tiny hooks up with Aunt Marguerite!!

And then to see some of those sexy Italian Vamps hook up. This series just makes me happy!


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47 -- 7th Heaven

7th Heaven by James Patterson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another great book in the Women's Murder Club series. I've enjoyed reading about the women solving the murders but I also enjoy reading about the lives of the women. Happy to see Claire's baby born safely and can't wait to see what happens with Lindsey and Joe. Anxious to get my hands on number 8.


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24 -- Run for your Life

Author: James Patterson/ Micheal Ledwidge
Finished: April 12, 2009
Synopsis: A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is a call to terror.

Only one man can tackle such a high-profile case: Detective Mike Bennett. The pressure is enough for anyone, but Mike also has to care for his 10 children-all of whom have come down with virulent flu at once!

Discovering a secret pattern in The Teacher's lessons, Detective Bennett realizes he has just hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history. From the #1 bestselling author comes RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, the continuation of his newest, electrifying series.

My thoughts: This is more like the Patterson I love. Fast paced and full of suspense. Even though I figured out the 'mystery' before the cops did, I still enjoyed this book. Thank goodness I didn't give up on him. Hope to see more of the Michael Bennett books.

4 stars

23 -- At Risk

Author: Patricia Cornwell
Finished: April 9, 2009
Synopsis: A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she’s planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk -- its motto: “Any crime, any time.” In particular, she’s been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she’s found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder -- in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right? Her investigator is not so sure -- not sure about anything to do with this woman, really -- but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It’s not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they’re about to get much worse.

Sparks fly, traps spring, twists abound -- this is the master working at the top of her game.

My thoughts: I didn't really like this one at all. It felt like it was too rushed and hurried. It did flow well. I felt like alot was skipped over and you better just hope as a reader that you could infer most of it. Certainly not on the Scarpetta level.

2 stars

22 -- The Quickie

Author: James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Finished: April 8, 2009
Synopsis: Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour.
In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood--and her life.
Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping book yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have listeners' hearts pounding to the very last page.
My Thoughts: Absolutely better than the last book I read by James Patterson, however, a little bit too contrived and neatly tied up at the ending. Still, it was a quick, easy and suspenseful book to read.

2 stars

21 -- Sex Lies and Vampires

Author: Katie MacAlister
finished: April 6, 2009
synopsis: As far as she can tell, Nell Harris is either going insane or she is in love. Nell thought she had been summoned to Prague to work on an inscription in a rare fourteenth-century breastplate. Instead, she is immersed in the world of the Moravian Dark Ones (think vampires) when she is swept up in the search for a boy held captive by the demon lord Asmodeus. Although Nell would like nothing better than to use her powers as a "Charmer" to help find the missing boy, the last time she dabbled in magic the consequences were dire. Then Nell meets Adrian Tomas. Bound to serve Asmodeus and forced to betray his fellow Dark Ones, Adrian desperately needs Nell to charm away his curse. One look into Adrian's haunted eyes, and Nell discovers she will do just about anything to save the soul of her new beloved. The third in Mac-Alister's wickedly sexy and wildly humorous Dark Ones series, this is another wonderfully original, practically perfect paranormal treat.
My thoughts: Another wacky paranormal that was fun and light. Just what I needed.

3 stars

20 -- Change of Heart

Author: Jodi Picoult
finished: April 5, 2009
synopsis: Can we save ourselves, or do we rely on others to do it? Is what we believe always the truth?

One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen.

For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.

Would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? Would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish?

Once again, Jodi Picoult mesmerizes and enthralls readers with this story of redemption, justice, and love.

My thoughts: As always with Jodi Picoult's books, it was an emotional read for me. I had always been pro death penalty until several years ago when I read John Grisham's novel The Chamber. That book made me look at the death penalty in a whole new way and this book gave me another look at why I changed my mind. I felt cheated in a way at the end. Not because I didn't like the ending of the book, but because I just wanted more. I wanted to know lots more about Claire's life and Maggie's and Father Michael's and Grace's.

4.5 stars

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

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

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

12 -- Left to Die

Author: Taylor Kincaid
Finished: 2/22/09
My thoughts: This was pretty good. A mystery/thriller set in San Diego featuring a couple of Private Investigators Jenna Capshaw and Ian McSwain. I don't know if there are other books featuring this duo, but would like to learn more about their personal stories. One a recovering alcoholic, the other with a wife in prison on a drug charge. This has nothing to do with the case that they solve in this book, but was an interesting back story. Late one night a single mom accepts a ride home in the parking lot of a bar. After a stop at a gas station a man comes out of the backseat to force them to a desolate spot on a lonesome road. One woman watches as the other is raped. One woman escapes, but is haunted by the lady that she left behind. Our PI's are hired to find out if the good samaritan was left to die, or if she too escaped. With a few twists and turns, the ending was a surprise to me.

3.5 stars

11-- The Paperboys

Author: Pete Dexter
Finished: 02/17/2009
My thoughts: This book wasn't as good as Paris Trout. Nothing good happened in the book, only depressing, awful things. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I am glad that I read it.

3 Stars

9 -- Storm Front

Author: Jim Butcher
Finished: 02/08/09
My thoughts: This is the first book of the Dresden Files, a series about a wizard who makes his living in the Chicago area. Harry sometimes helps out the police in the person of Lt. Murphy by consulting on 'interesting' cases. The case he consults on in this book is certainly a doozie! I think I like Harry Dresden and I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for more of the books in this series.

3.5 stars

8 -- Crosscut

Author: Meg Gardiner
Finished: 02/04/09
My thoughts: This was sick shit for sure and I enjoyed it immensely. Although this was the fourth book in the series and I haven't read the others I enjoyed the story and the twists and turns it took. If you like sick shit, this one should go on your list.

4 1/2 stars