Under the Duvet

Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes
Autobiography

This is the autobiography of Marian Keyes. She has written a number of newspaper and magazine articles and included all of this as a book.

She has touched on weight loss, her Irish family, addiction and relationships.

Some of these were funny and her take on life was interesting. Authors sometimes seem to have a different perspective than ordinary folks like me and it is just fun to read about a normal life experience and see it turned upside down.

First Line: "When I was twenty-one I got it into my head that I wanted to be a journalist."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud

The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
Romance

When Charlie St. Cloud was 15, he 'borrowed' a car to take his 12 year old brother Sam to a baseball game and instead had a deadly accident. Charlie barely survived and his brother did not but Charlie promised him he would never leave him. Now 28, Charlie is the caretaker of the cemetery where Sam is buried and every evening at dusk throws balls with Sam. Yes, the dead brother.

Tess is planning a world-wide solo sailing adventure when she meets Charlie. Over time there develops a beautiful relationship.

But Charlie eventually has to decide between his brother and Tess and even life and death.

This book is a sweet love story with a twist.

First Line: "I believe in miracles."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

Purity in Death

Purity in Death by J. D. Robb
Mystery

Louie Cogburn, a small time criminal, has been suffering from an increasingly bad headache. His neighbour knocks on the door to tell him to turn down his music and Louie answers with a baseball bat swinging. The first policeman at the scene, Trueheart tries to stun Louie and ends up killing him. The message on Cogburn's computer reads "Absolute Purity Achieved".

Eve Dallas is assigned the investigation. Nothing explains the man's rage or why a stun caused his death. When a second murder under the same circimstances takes place, the police start to wonder if a computer virus can be transferred to humans.

Again, Roarke helps out in the technological area.

The sub-plot of Peabody and McNab is wonderful. McNab has been rendered paralytic and wants to end it with Peabody as he now considers himself useless baggage. Peabody is as loyal as they come and refuses to even consider it. This makes for a great side story.

This is another great one. I loved the idea of a computer as a murder weapon.

First Line: "The heat was murder."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Mystery

Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of that publication, the author and his girlfriend are found murdered.

LIsbeth Salander has been traveling the globe spending some of the money she stole in the last of this series. She just recently returned to Stockholm and brought an apartment and car under an assumed name.

The police start investigating the murder and find the weapon with Salander's prints on it. The weapon had belonged to Nils Bjurnman, her guardian who was also discovered murdered. The only connection seems to be Salander and the police start to actively search for her.

Blomkvist refuses to believe Salander would be the murderer and sets out to do his own investigation.

This is a thriller which definitely involves the reader right up until the end and further sells the next book because of a cliffhanger. I have always wondered why Salander was so close-mouthed and private. These questions are answered and the answers provide the twists and turns of a great mystery.

First Line: "She lay on her back fastened by leather straps to a narrow bed with a steel frame."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

Reunion in Death

Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb
Mystery

A beloved old man is poisoned and Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas realizes very quickly the killer is Julianna Dunne who has just been released from prison. Roarke is next in her sights and between Dallas protecting her man who says he doesn't need any protection and Julianna stalking Roarke, this makes for a very edgy novel.

Dallas also confronts her past and the associated demons head-on by visiting Texas. How Dallas deals with the wide open spaces and cows and horses makes for some humourous moments.

In this installment are also the ever loyal Peabody and her boy toy flashy McNab, licensed companion Charles and his new love interest Dr. Louise.

This series never fails to deliver. I especially liked that Peabody got her own first case and had her parents visit at the same time.

First Line: "Murder was work."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

Seduction in Death

Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb
Mystery

Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas must find a Casanova who kills. Women meet their killer online. He says all the right things and arranges the perfect setting only to pump them full of date rape drugs and kill them. Dallas was a victim of rape and child abuse and this case hits a little too close to home.

The killer changes his appearance to suit his victim and seems to be able to hide his electronic trail rather well. Enter Roarke, Dallas' husband and owner of nearly everything. Roarke with his fancy equipment and superb technological ability assists Dallas.

Delia Peabody, Dallas's assistant and Ian McNab come to better terms about their on-off relationship.

This book is a good mystery but I love the continuing development of characters. Dallas is better at accepting help from Roarke but is as stubborn as ever when she is side-lined with the flu. I also liked the uncomfortableness when Dallas is asked for relationship advice from Peabody.

First Line: "Death came in dreams."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

McNally's Bluff

McNally's Bluff by Lawrence Sanders
Mystery

Archy McNally, Discreet Inquirer, is attending the party of Palm Beach newcomer and former carnival owner, Matthew Hayes. The party involves finding one's way to the center of a maze.

The goal in the center yields an unwelcome surprise in the form of Matt's dead wife, Marlena Marvel. It is almost impossible that she appeared as a performer and without anyone seeing a thing turns up dead in the centre of the maze.

No one seems to have a motive but when more dead bodies turn up McNally must sift through the possible suspects and find the killer.

A light-hearted read that is just pure fun. I love McNally's joie de vivre

First Line: "The ladies shrieked in despair; the gentlemen moaned in frustration."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

McNally's Dare

McNally's Dare by Lawrence Sanders
Mystery

Archy McNally is Discreet Inquirer to the rich and famous in Palm Beach. Playing at a posh tennis benefit, Archy is on hand to help discover the drowning death of one of the waiters. The prime suspect is Lance Talbot but Archy is his alibi. Lance has recently inherited a fortune from his mother.

Archy soon has three different clients wanting the same thing. Archy is to find the killer. This seems to hinge all on a missing toe. Archy gets help, of course from the police and finds his way through the twists and turns with wit and humour. Archy is also having a wonderful time with his new love interest, Georgina.

This is a light-hearted mystery that is a quick read. Archy always brings a smile with his irreverent ways.

First Line: "I am lying facedown on the leather=padded massage table clad immodestly in my heather-gray briefs while a curvaceous masseuse in a rather abbreviated nurse's uniform strokes my left hand, one finger at a time"

Rating:
(4.0/5)

Calder Storm

Calder Storm by Janet Dailey
Romance

This is Trey Calder's story. Trey falls heavily for Sloan, a photographer. They marry quickly and Sloan is introduced to Calder ranch and the multitude of Calders living there. However, there is a problem when Trey discovers Sloan is Max Rutledge's ward. The Rutledges and Calders have been enemies forever. Rutledge would like nothing better than to destroy the Calders and if he can use Sloan he will. All this comes to light as Sloan discovers she is pregnant.

Sloan and Trey must battle through distrust, innuendos and spite. Neither seems to be able to directly confront the other.

Dailey has again killed off a major character, albeit not one as well liked this time. I just do not see the purpose of this death unless it is a way of dealing with too many characters. The romance in these books is getting a little formulaic.

First Line: "The headquarters for the Fort Worth-based conglomerate known as Maresco, sleekly modern in its glass and granite architecture, stood a modest four stories tall"

Rating:
(3.0/5)

Lone Calder Star

Lone Calder Star by Janet Dailey
Romance

The Cee Bar ranch in Texas has been run by the Calders for over 100 years. So when the Calders are having difficulty keeping foremen to run the ranch, Quint is sent to investigate. Quint pretends to be a simple cowboy and as soon as he hits town everyone is warning him off the Cee Bar.

Max Rutledge and his grandson, Boone are wanting to buy the ranch at any cost. Quint be-friends "Empty" Garner and his granddaughter Dallas. Things turn very ugly and there is a suspicious fire and anthrax.

The very best thing about this book is that no one dies. YIPPEE!! Dallas seemed to me to be not as headstrong as any of the other Calder women as evidenced by the fact of her relationship with Rutledge. An okay romance.

First Line: "Clouds blanketed the Texas landscape southwest of Fort Worth as a stiff wind broomed the countryside, sweeping up anything that wasn't firmly attached."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Around the World in the Middle Seat by Joyce Brooks

Around the World in the Middle Seat by Joyce Brooks
Travel

Joyce Brooks is a well-travelled tour guide/travel leader from Texas. She worked for a bank, coming up with national and international trips for bank customers to go on with her. Usually she would take her husband though sometimes she travelled by herself, with a group of at least more than 20 other people, typically senior citizens.

The book is broken up in to sections with different themes (ex. medical problems, using the washroom, etc.) and then Brooks explains when she encountered different problems relating to the subject of the chapter. No story is longer than a couple of pages. For this reason, I found the book a little disjointed. I think I would have preferred to read about her stories by region rather than by story type. Brooks also did the majority of her travelling in the 80s and 90s, which unfortunately makes the book seem a bit dated even though it was written in 2002.

There are tips at the end of the book about starting your own tour group which are interesting to read, even though I have no interest in doing that. Obviously Brooks has a lot of patience as I know I wouldn't be able to handle some of the requests that she got!

First Line: "Have you ever been trapped in the middle seat in coach for fourteen hours?"

Rating:
(3/5)