Category: Read in 2009

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, FBI Thriller, Fiction, Read in 2009, SERIES

The Maze by Catherine Coulter

Tara

The Mazee
by Catherine Coulter

Copyright: 1997
Pages: 268
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: July 4-11, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 34

First Line: It wouldn’t stop, ever.

Agent Lacey Sherlock is fresh out of the FBI Academy when Special Agent Dillon Savich chooses her to be included in his new unit. They’ve met once before, when Sherlock took down Savich in Hogan’s Alley – the famed FBI training town. But neither one of them is prepared to have sparks fly between them while trying to track down serial killers. Sherlock has joined the FBI in the hopes that it would allow her to catch the madman that killed her sister, Belinda, and six other women in her hometown. But she’s not prepared for what she learns about her sister and the killer.

This is the second in Coulter’s FBI Thriller series. I really am glad that I picked up The Beginning at the library, which is essentially both The Cove and The Maze in one book. I really don’t know why it took me so long to get around to reading this series. I guess I was putting it off because of the romance angle for so long, but really it’s not the meat of the story in these two books. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Savich and Sherlock grow old together (and hopefully we can see more of Sally & James Quinlan too!)

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, FBI Thriller, Fiction, Read in 2009, SERIES

The Cove by Catherine Coulter

Tara

The Cove
by Catherine Coulter

Copyright: 1996
Pages: 262
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: July 1-4, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 1st in a Series Challenge
Yearly Count: 33

First Line: Someone was watching her.

The daughter of a murdered high-powered lawyer is on the run. She can’t remember the murder of her father, but she fears that she is at fault. She ends up in a quaint little town on the doorstep of her aunt’s house. However, an FBI agent is hot on her trail. In fact, he’s followed her to The Cove. But what they find out about The Cove is chilling, it’s not as quaint a town as the residents would like outsiders to believe. In fact, there’s evil residing here and it will be up to Sally and the FBI agent, James Quinlan to figure out what is going on in The Cove while simultaneously trying to figure out what happened to Sally’s father.

Okay, so I’ve had numerous Catherine Coulterbooks on my shelves for years. (Of course this was not one of them, this was a library book, lol). I have to say that after a slow start I really enjoyed this book! However, the whole whirlwind romance of Sally and James was a little unbelievable (they met, fell in love and got engaged in about the blink of an eye). Other than that, I thought the suspense was great, I couldn’t figure out what was going on in The Cove, but I knew something was! If you’ve never given this series a try, I definitely recommend this book!!!

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, H, Harper Connelly, Read in 2009, SERIES

Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris

Tara

Grave Surprise
by Charlaine Harris

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 295
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 20-24, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge
Yearly Count: 32

First Line: I didn’t like Clyde Nunley the first time I met him face-to-face in the old cemetery.

Harper Connelly is back in this second installment. This time around, she finds herself in Memphis, Tennessee. She has been called in by Professor Clyde Nunley to demonstrate her ability for his Occult Studies class. They end up in an old cemetery on campus where Harper goes to work identifying the people in the old graves as well as what they died from. But she finds someone she never expected to be there – a little girl that she had failed to find the previous year. Now Harper and her step-brother Tolliver set out to find out how Tabitha got where she was and how it could not possibly be a coincidence that Harper ended up finding her in the end.

I really enjoyed this book. I really think that this is a fun and interesting series. I have really taken to Harper as a character, I think that she’s believable even with her strange ability. I am definitely looking forward to reading the third in this series as soon as it comes available at my library, as well as the long-awaited fourth book which is due out later this year.

AUTHOR, Book Review, G, Nonfiction, Read in 2009

If I Did It by the Goldman Family

Tara

If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
by The Goldman Family

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 202
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 17-22, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 31

First Line: I’m going to tell you a story you’ve never heard before, because no one knows this story the way I know it.

Unless you were living under a rock in 1994, you know this story. Nicole Brown Simpson & Ron Goldman were brutally murdered one night in June. Her ex-husband, the famous O.J. Simpson was the assumed killer. Practically everyone thought he had done it … but he walked away a free man. Although the Goldman family won in a civil trial, they never got the money out of Simpson that they were awarded. Until one day in 2006 when it came out that O.J. was going to write a book, a so-called confession. They fought him on it, they didn’t want something like that in print. But then they realized that maybe it should be published, but that they wanted the rights to it. Well, they eventually won and the book was published.

Okay, so I was a little young in 1994 … I’m going to out my age here, I was 9. However, I remember the trial in 1995. I remember specifically that I was at Walt Disney World with my grandparents and we could hardly pull my grandfather away from the TV to go to the park because he was glued to the trial. I was obviously too young to really know what was going on. But as I grew up and really got interested in true crime stories I saw many TV specials and books on the trial. I formed an opinion based on what I read. When this book came out a few years ago, I have to admit, I was intrigued. A confession? Really?! But I didn’t really want to buy it. So when I saw it in the library last week I snatched it up knowing now would be a great time to read it. And I have to say, the actual original manuscript written by the ghostwriter after extensive interviews with O.J., it was chilling. It sure seemed more of a confession rather than a “If I had done it, this is how I would have done it.” Whatever your opinion on whether or not O.J. did it, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in this trial.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Read in 2009, U-V-W

In a Dark Time by Larry Watson

Tara

In a Dark Time
by Larry Watson

Copyright: 1980
Pages: 243
Rating: 3/5
Read: June 15-19, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 30

First Line: The third body was found this morning.

Wanekia, Minnesota is being plagued by a murderer loose in town. Young girls are being found strangled at the high school. The third one has recently been discovered. In a small town like Wanekia, everyone is a little on edge knowing that someone is out there hunting down teenage girls. For English teacher Peter Leesh, he puts pen to paper after the third girl is found dead. He decides to keep a journal of all the activities in and around Wanekia until the murderer is finally stopped once and for all.

Okay, so I wanted to love this book so badly. I read White Crosses last year and absolutely LOVED it! This one however, I was slightly disappointed in. It started out really well, but when I got to the middle of it it started to drag. To be brutally honest, I could have skipped the entire middle section of this book. The ending was rather predictable as well – everything was neatly solved with no loose ends. Peter even went so far as to explain where all of his co-workers ended up at the end of the year – really, did we need that?! So yeah, I just wasn’t real impressed overall.

AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2009, SERIES

Snagged by Carol Higgins Clark

Tara

Snagged
by Carol Higgins Clark

Copyright: 1993
Pages: 306
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: June 13-14, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009
Yearly Count: 29

First Line: Richie Blossom tumbled from the side of his bed as he bent over in an awkward attempt to pull on his brand-new pair of panty hose.

In Miami for a wedding, Regan Reilly meets the bride’s Uncle Richie. He has produced seemingly indestructible panty hose. With the panty hose convention in town, he has plans to sell his invention to the highest bidder. But panty hose manufacturers will do nearly anything to keep Uncle Richie from putting these on the market – perhaps even kill. So after two attempts on his life are made, Regan finds herself surrounded by numerous suspects while trying to keep an eye on Uncle Richie.

Okay, so I read the first Regan Reilly book, Decked, two years ago. I enjoyed it. But this one was really good! There was just enough humor sprinkled throughout the mystery that it was a really good mix. To be honest, I was surprised at the ending of it – I had no idea who the killer really was – and it was a pleasant shock! Overall I liked this book and will definitely look forward to continuing this series.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, R, Read in 2009

A Tisket, A Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket by Fran Rizer

Tara

A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket
by Fran Rizer

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 282
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 7-10, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; 1st in a Series Challenge; Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Cozy Mystery subcategory
Yearly Count: 28

First Line: Eager to pump up my new underwear, I dashed into my apartment just as the phone rang.

Calamine “Callie” Parrish is a mortuary cosetologist at Middleton’s Mortuary. She likes to spend her free time with a moon pie and a mystery novel. Oh yeah, and watching Six Feet Under. But, she finds herself mixed up in a local murder. When the body of Bobby Saxon comes in with a hypodermic needle broken off in his neck, Callie realizes that his death wasn’t accidental as originally thought, and that there’s a killer on the loose in town. But with the list of suspects as long as her arm, Callie must figure out who the killer is before she turns up dead next.

Okay, so this is a little bit out of my comfort zone. I am more of a hard-boiled mystery reader. However, I do like the occasional cozy (or as I call them, “fluff books”) just to get myself out of a funk. I found Calamine to be an endearing character, even if a little naive for my taste. I had pretty much figured out who the killer was since Rizer didn’t hide her clues very well. But overall I enjoyed this quick and fun read.

AUTHOR, B, Book Review, Cotton Malone, Fiction, Read in 2009, READING CHALLENGES 2008, SERIES

The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Tara

The Templar Legacy
by Steve Berry

Copyright: 2006
Pages: 475
Rating: 5/5
Read: June 3-7, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; Countdown Challenge; 1st in a Series Challenge; Suspense & Thriller Challenge – Religious thriller subcategory
Yearly Count: 27

First Line: Jacques De Molay sought death, but knew salvation would never be offered.

Cotton Malone, once an agent for the US Justice Department, is enjoying a peaceful life in Copenhagen as a antiquarian book dealer. But all of that changes when his former boss tries to meet up with him while she is on vacation. However, he finds out rather quickly that she is not on vacation; she is not an any type of operation, but she is up to something. As he sets out to figure out what it is that his former boss does not want to let him in on, he quickly finds himself involved in an ancient puzzle that has mystified scholars for ages. The more involved he finds himself, the more dangers the stakes become, and the more intrigued Cotton Malone becomes. For there is one very powerful man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even with Cotton in his way.

I’ve been keeping my eye on this book for a while, but I had been slightly unsure about reading it. However, after seeing Angels & Demons in the theater, my interest in this type of book has been renewed (I also have Angels & Demons waiting anxiously on my TBR pile for me). So I checked this book out of the library the last time I was there. And let me tell you – I was absolutely hooked on this book from about page one!! I loved it. I loved the historical/religious aspect of it intertwined with the fast paced race-around-the-clock action!! I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it yet!

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2009, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

The 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Tara

The 8th Confession
by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Copyright: 2009
Pages: 284
Rating: 5/5
Read: May 28-31, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2009; Suspense/Thriller Challenge – Police Procedural Category
Yearly Count: 26

First Line: The old chrome-yellow school bus crawled south on Market Street at half past seven that May morning.

The seemingly perfect murder has been committed in San Francisco. Isa and Ethan Bailey, young millionaires in the prime of their life have been found dead in their beds. How or why they have died is a mystery. Not even Claire can explain to her friend Detective Lindsay Boxer what happened to the Baileys. And as other young wealthy and healthy millionaires are dying in the same manner, they realize that they have to figure out what is killing these people and who and quickly. But as Lindsay is working that case, her friend, reporter Cindy Thomas, is on her about a homeless man, Bagman Jesus, who has been found murdered, shot brutally on the streets. But the man is not as saintly as his street name indicates. As Cindy works that case on her own, sparks begin to fly between Cindy and Lindsay’s partner, Rich Conklin. But as Lindsay and Rich get closer to the truth in the millionaire deaths, one of them will have a scare.

Okay, so I stated in my last review of the 7th book in this series that I wasn’t impressed with 6 or 7 and that I would read 8 and that that might be it for me with this series. Well I just finished the 8th and I have to say …. I am back on the Women’s Murder Club bandwagon! I absolutely loved this book!! I thought that the writing was better, the plot line was much better, the characters developed a lot more and overall I was very pleased after reading this book. It definitely made me look forward to a ninth if there will be one (the inside of the cover states that this will be the only installment for this year – are they ending this series soon?). So I am happy to report that I enjoyed this book immensely and that I recommend everyone read it 🙂

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, O, Read in 2009

Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates

Tara

Rape: A Love Story
by Joyce Carol Oats

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 154
Rating: 3/5
Read: May 24, 2009
Challenge:  2009 100+ Reading Challenge;
Yearly Count: 25

First Line: After she was gang-raped, kicked and beaten and left to die on the floor of the filthy boathouse at Rocky Point Park.

When Teena Maguire took a shortcut home after a party with her twelve-year-old daughter Bethie, she could never have imagined what awaited her in the park. A victim of a vicious gang rape some say she deserved it. She shouldn’t have been in that park at midnight dressed the way she was … But now the only thing Teena can do is regret that she even survived the attack. And Bethie’s childhood as she knows it is now over. The gang of young men who attacked her have been rounded up, identified by Bethie, but they’ve got hot shot attorneys who are going to get the charges reduced to simple assault. And with them out on bail, Teena is not coming out of her bedroom and Bethie is terrified. But one man understands their pain … and understands the meaning of justice for Teena and Bethie.

I read a review of this book on someone’s book blog (sorry, I don’t remember who it was) and put it on my PBS reminder list. When I was browsing in the library (like I need to be doing that with all these books at the house) I happened to notice it and picked it up off the shelf quickly! Unfortunately I was not impressed by this book, or novella I should say. There was just something about it. I didn’t care for the writing style I guess you could say. The sentences seemed all choppy. I am assuming that some people would enjoy that style, but I personally didn’t like it real well. I enjoyed the overall storyline, but didn’t care for the execution of it.