Tales of a Book Addict

Mailbox Monday

Monday, June 15
White House Ladies by Webb Garrison

Stories about the forty-two men who have held the office of the American presidency are familiar. Although less well known, the first ladies are as intriguing as their mates. Some even make their husbands look bland and colorless. In this entertaining and informative compilation of stories about America’s first ladies, from Martha Washington to Hillary Clinton, Webb Garrison tells of the public roles these women have played and their private accomplishments and peculiarities. Here is an intimate view of the wives of the American presidents and their families.

I received this book from my PBS wishlist. Although a little old (no Laura Bush) I am looking forward to reading this book. I enjoy history and I thought that this would be a great way to learn about all the first ladies.

Friday, June 19
The Dyodyne Experiment by James Doulgeris & V. Michael Santoro

A research team at Dyodyne Labs has developed a remarkable new technology: a microscopic computer system with the ability to secretly track people with pinpoint accuracy. The system, code-named DaNA, is transmitted as a benign virus that passes the tracking system to all who come in contact with its host. The government sees the system as the perfect way to track down a criminal’s accomplices, making it invaluable in bringing down the drug cartel. But when the biggest terrorist attack in U.S. history devastates New York City, the Department of Homeland Security orders the team to launch the untested system to find those responsible. What they uncover is unthinkable – six nuclear bombs hidden in six major cities. And the bombs, controlled by a powerful underground alliance, are part of a much larger global conspiracy. As the team at Dyodyne rushes to track down the terrorists holding the country hostage, they discover yet another threat: DaNA is mutating and may be impossible to control…

I received this book from Merritt Talbott at Phenix & Phoenix Publicity for review. I hope to get to this one quite quickly since it sounds really interesting!!

Saturday, June 20
No One Left to Tell by Jordan Dane

The body of a brutally slain man is found on the holy grounds of a chapel, and a cryptic message pinned to his chest unravels the lives of people touched by a dark secret. Detective Raven Mackenzie and her partner uncover the dead man’s connectin to a powerful female crime boss, leading them to her mysterious head of security, Christian Delacorte, who soon becomes the prime suspect. Yet when Raven sifts through Christian’s past, she discovers the man is plagued by deeply rooted nightmares – and a shadowy childhood tragedy linking him to the case. Convinced his past holds the key to finding the real killer, she defies her partner, following her gut instincts and trusting her undeniable bond with Christian. But Raven shares her own date with destiny when she crosses paths with a heartless killer. And when he unleashes his rage, there will be no one left to tell.

I received this book from FrugalReader. I have been seeing the name Jordan Dane pop up randomly on sites that I was on, as well as browsing through some of my online buddies’ wish lists. She sounds like an author that I would love, so I ordered this book (and another one of hers) from FrugalReader and I’m definitely looking forward to them!!!!

Also – as a side note … I didn’t receive them in my mailbox (I went to the bookstore, bad Tara) … but this week I also purchased:

• Drop Shot by Harlan Coben
• High Five by Janet Evanovich
• The Death List by Paul Johnston
• Down River by John Hart
• Dance of Death by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Mailbox Monday

Wednesday, June 10
Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman

A sick child was missing – in an even sicker world. Five-year-old Woody Swope was desperately ill – and his one hope for cure was the clinic. But someone had a different idea. Woody had been kidnapped, and with every passing day, his chances of survival plummeted hideously. That was why child psychologist Alex Delaware and his ally, homicide detective Milo Sturgis, had no time to waste, and bent all the rules as they hunted through a human jungle of California health cults, sex-for-sale haunts, and dreams-turned-into-nightmares to find a child who was the only innocent in a world of guilt….

I got this book in my mailbox today from FrugalReader. I have the first book in the Alex Delaware series (haven’t read it yet though) and wanted to have the second one handy because I intend to get to When the Bough Breaks here pretty soon. Plus it’s a book that I have had my eye on for a while since I enjoy this series.

Saturday, June 13
Pacific Vortex! by Clive Cussler

Dirk Pitt, death-defying adventurer and deep-sea expert, is put to the ultimate test as he plunges into the perilous waters of the Pacific Vortex – a fog-shrouded sea zone where dozesn of ships have vanished without a trace. The latest victim is the awesome super-sub Starbuck, America’s deep-diving nuclear arsenal. Its loss poses an unthinkable threat to national defense. Pitt’s job is to find it, salvage it, before the sea explodes. In a furious race against time, Pitt’s mission swirls him into a battle with underwater assassins – and traps him in the arms of Summer Moran, the most stunningly exotic and dangerous woman ever to enter Pitt’s life. As the countdown heads toward disaster, Clive Cussler plummets his hero onto an ancient sunken island – the astonishing setting for the explosive climax of Pacific Vortex!

I got this book from FrugalReader. I have read Raise the Titanic last year and wanted to check this series out from the beginning (I’m kind of obsessive about series and reading them in order). I like adventure type books for some reason – I think it’s the pace that they seem to take. So I’m definitely looking forward to getting around to this one.

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly

Hailed internationally as a pge-turner in a league with the fiction of Thomas Harris, this lyrical and terrifying bestseller is the stunning achievement of an “extravagantly gifted” (Kirkus Reviews) new novelist John Connolly superbly taps into the tortured mind and gritty world of former NYPD detective Charlie “Bird” Parker, tormented by the brutal, unsolved murders of his wife and young daughter. Driven by visions of the dead, Parker tracks a serial killer from New York City to the American South, and finds his buried instincts – for love, survival, and ultimately, for killing – awakening as he confronts a monster beyond imagining …

I got this book as part of my first trade at the Yahoo group MysteryBookSwap. I have read two books in this series and wanted to read the first one. I enjoyed Parker as a character and I’m definitely looking foroward to this one!!

Mailbox Monday

Tuesday, June 2

The Court by William J. Coughlin

Nine Supreme Court judges will soon decide four history-making cases. Eight of them will split along party lines four to four. The ninth judge, holding the swing vote, will tip the scales of justice. He’s a good man, a fine man, and, unknown to nearly everyone, a dying man – barely kept alive by machines in a very private hospital. High-powered Washington attorney Jerry Green is one of the privileged few who discovers American justice rides on the rise and fall of a respirator. Now he’s been called by the President himself to do something about it. It’s a hunt for truth that will arouse his darkest suspicions … force him to make a shocking choice … and save the legitimacy of American justice. Or shatter it forever …

This book arrived today as part of a two book BOB off of PBS. I have read Coughlin before, I read Proof of Intent either last year or the year before, I’d have to look. I distinctly remember loving the end of that book because it had a great ending courtroom scene. And trust me, with all the books that I read it’s hard for me to remember anything! So I am looking forward to trying another Coughlin book soon!

State of Mind by John Katzenbach

Twenty-five years ago, Jeffrey and Susan Clayton fled their tyrannical father – a man who was later suspected in the heinous murder of a young student. Though the father was never charged, he committed suicide. Or so it seemed. For someone has sent Susan a cryptic note. Once deciphered, it carries a terrifying message: I have found you. Meanwhile, a serial killer has invaded a tightly controlled community. Is Jeffrey Clayton’s father the source of this latest killing spree? The authorities think so – and they present Jeffrey, now a noted expert on serial killers, with a challenge: Find the butcher responsible for the newborn spate of canrage. Find your father…

This was the second book in the BOB offer that came with The Court. I have another Katzenbach book here around the house somewhere, The Analyst. I haven’t gotten to that one yet but when I read the description of this book I had to have it! (I have a serious problem with books, lol). I hope that this one is as good as it sounds!!

Saturday, June 6

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

Mortuary cosmetologist Calamine “Callie” Parrish likes to end her days in a relaxing way – with a Moon Pie, an episode of Six Feet Under, and a few chapters in one of her mystery novels. But right now she’s putting in some overtime at the undertaker’s. When the body of an up-and-coming car dealer Bobby Saxon comes into Middleton’s Mortuary with a hypodermic needle hidden in the neck, Callie realizes there’s a killer on the loose trying to bury some deadly crimes. With a list of suspects that includes Bobby’s dueling ex-wives, rival car dealers, and even her own boss, Callie must unearth the culprit – or she might be next. Callie’s got a knack for making the dead look their best. But no amount of concealer can cover up murder….

Got this one off of my PBS wish list. I had placed it on there a few weeks back because it sounded interesting and I got it relatively quickly. It looks like a quick and mindless read, which (no offense to the people that read strictly cozy mysteries of course), I do not generally read a lot of but tend to like to have a few of them around for brain candy as I like to call it. This one however, sounds humorous from the title and am looking forward to reading it in the near future so that hopefully I’ll come out of this reading slump quicker than I am.