Title: Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Aurora Teagarden #03
Format: Audio
Audiobook length: 6 hrs 45 min
Release Date: March 23, 1994
Publisher: Recorded Books
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

This is a good cozy series. Roe has an unusual talent for stumbling across dead bodies — and it’s beginning to gain her a reputation! In the meantime, she’s a bit aimless in her life. The money she inherited in the previous book has allowed her some freedom, but she’s come to realize that she’s too young to live a life of leisure. With her mother being one of the real estate magnates of Lawrenceton, inserting herself into her mother’s business seems like it’s worth a try. Which is how she ends up showing a local mansion to newcomer Martin Bartell, stumbling across a body, and discovering an incredible attraction to this new man in town.

I was glad to see Harris rethink Roe’s relationship with the pastor. He was rather boring, and not suited to her at all. Or perhaps, she wasn’t suited to him.

Overall, I enjoy this series, and they are entertaining to listen to. It’s definitely one I will continue.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “Harris’ light approach to the dark side of mayhem, murder, and real estate games in a small town just outside Atlanta was entertaining, warm, and real; her characters could easily have been my neighbors in my own small town.” — Story Circle Book Reviews
• “This was my first of the Aurora Teagarden series, and I’m not sure I’ll be reading the other. I simply didn’t find the characters or the story as interesting enough.” — Read Between the Whines
• “I love all of Charlaine Harris’ novels. She just has this knack for writing with familiarity, emotion, humour, quirk, verve and colloquialisms.” — Pooks

Title: Notorious Nineteen
Author: Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum #19
Format: Kindle
Pages:  320
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Publisher: Bantam
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

Once you’ve reached the 19th book in a series, there’s not a whole lot to say about new installments. At least, not in this series. This was really just more of the same. Stephanie + Lula + Morelli + Ranger + some weirdo skips = hijinks. While the same old, same old works well for the straight romances Evanovich used to write, it’s not working for a series this long. I did like the mystery in this one more than the last one — at least it made some sense to me. But otherwise, this series just doesn’t excite me any more. It might be time for Stephanie to take everyone’s advice and retire.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “I think the main thing that’s getting me down with the latest Stephanie Plum books is that the series is just going on for way too long.” — I’d So Rather Be Reading
• “Another reviewer complained that Stephanie doesn’t grow as a character, she’s always broke, she’s bad at her job and she can’t make her mind between Ranger and Morelli.  What gives?  I read the books for all those reasons.” — Romance & Beyond
• “I’m relieved Evanovich has returned to classic Stephanie Plum.  Things were getting a little silly there for a while.” — Peppermint Ph.D.

Title: The Diggers Rest Hotel
Author: Geoffrey McGeachin
Series: Charlie Berlin #01
Format: Audiobook
Audiobook length: 8 hrs 18 min
Release Date: October 01, 2010
Publisher: Bolinda Audio
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

It took me a little while to get into this audio book, but I think it was just because I was unaccustomed to the Australian accent and lingo. Once I adjusted, I easily became absorbed in the story.

Charlie is a little rough around the edges, but I grew to like him. He was obviously damaged by his wartime experiences, but he was starting to work his way through it. In many ways, he seemed much older than his 29 years. I also liked Rebecca, who I could completely picture in my mind, Hepburn-esque in her boldness and independence. She was a good match to Charlie. I also liked Charlie’s escort, Roberts. Fresh-faced, but not nearly as naive as he appeared.

As far as the mystery is concerned, I had a hard time getting really invested in the bank robberies. But the murder was another matter. It was that mystery that really drove the rest of the book, and the outcome of that investigation was unexpected — the robberies, not so much. More than the mysteries, this book has a lot to do with the effects of World War II on soldiers and the ones that were left behind. It was interesting for me to see the war from another country’s perspective. I’d never thought much about Australia’s role in the war, even considering its proximity to Japan.

I certainly wouldn’t mind if other books in this series happened to cross my path.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “Add in a compelling storyline of Berlin investigating a set of payroll robberies by an armed gang and you have a very nice mix – a strong sense of place and historical and social contextualisation, wonderful characterisation, and interesting plot, told through engaging prose.” — The View From the Blue House
• “McGeachin has taken care with the historical detail and it gives the novel a great feeling of authenticity. (You get the feeling that McGeachin is describing a world he knows well.)” — Mysteries in Paradise
• “With down-to-earth, very believable characters and a strong, enveloping sense of place and time THE DIGGERS REST HOTEL is a top notch work of historical crime fiction.” – Fair Dinkum Crime

Title: Faking It
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Format: Audio
Length: 11 hrs 23 min
Release Date: April 14, 2003
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

If there’s one thing that Crusie is good at, it’s writing a fun story. From the moment Tilda and Davy bump into each other in Clea’s closet to the final page, there’s ne’er a dull moment in the lives of the Goodnights and Dempseys.

It’s hard to imagine a dull moment in their lives even without that bump in the night. Everyone in this book is a character with a capital “C”. It could have been overkill, but I think Crusie gives them enough “real” characteristics to balance out the wacky.  You want to root for them, even for the unconventional hit man.

The search for the Scarlett paintings gives a bit of meat to the romance, and I enjoyed it. For the most part, I really like what Crusie does. It’s a little like if Carl Hiaasen wrote romance books.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “This quirky, light-hearted romantic comedy was an enjoyable read that stands alone just fine, but I do wish I’d stop backing into series this way.” — Dangerously Curvy Novels
• “I can’t complain about this book. It…just didn’t do anything for me.” — OSgA Book Reviews
• “Faking It was the first Crusie book I read and the reason that I’ve purchased several of her books.” — An Abundance of Books

Title: Deadlocked
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Sookie Stackhouse #12
Format: Audio
Audiobook length: 9 hrs 29 min
Release Date: May 01, 2012
Publisher: Ace
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

This book was pretty much on par with the other recent Sookie novels. Okay, but not great, or even particularly good. On the plus side, at least one major plotline (about the fae) in the series has been wrapped up, and none too soon, in my opinion. In a series already full of vampire and were- politics, did we really need fae politics on top of it all?

Sookie’s love life is still a mess, and at this point I’m not sure where I want her to end up. She is feeling a little lost, and so is this book.

One big problem Harris continues to have is the constant need to either repeat things that the reader should already know (especially this far into a series) or to go on and on and on about the day-to-day drivel of Sookie’s life. I get that she wants to insert some normalcy into her life, but I really don’t need to read about everything Sookie does to get ready to go visit her lawyer.

Overall, I enjoyed it enough, but the series doesn’t excite me as much as it used to. I listened to it on audio, and I probably would have been more bored with it in print.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “I’m struggling with whether or not I truly liked this book, as a stand alone novel, or if I’m just biased because of my attachment to the Sookie series.” — From Left to Write Book Club
• “After all of that, I wouldn’t say I did not enjoy the book. I’m just sad about the outcome.” — the literary life of the well-read wife
• “For me, Deadlocked was a thrilling read. Some fans are exasperated with the series, but not me.” — Mina Burrows

Title: Deadline
Author: Mira Grant
Series: Newsflesh Trilogy #02
Format: Audio
Audiobook length:  15 hrs 06 min
Release Date: June 01, 2011
Publisher: Orbit
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like this book. After all, George was the best character in the first book, and she’s dead! Would I feel the same way about Shaun?

Turns out I didn’t have to worry, because George is still a very large part of this book, if only in Shaun’s head. Rather than being focused on national news events, such as the presidential campaign, this book is focused on the disease that causes the zombies. Turns out, things aren’t quite as they appear, and George’s death may have been orchestrated by more than just one crazy politician.

The events of the first book left everyone in this one more than a little shell-shocked, and the trauma affects many of their actions. I liked that this book gave us a little more of an idea of what things are like in the rest of the country, away from the big cities, when you’re not surrounded by security and RVs.

One of the more interesting aspects of this series is the author’s imagined evolution of bloggers and blogging, where they become the real truth tellers of society. I think it’s become an even more compelling vision in light of what has been accomplished (good and bad) with social media in the last couple of years.

There were big doings at the end of this book, and a major cliff-hanger. I’ll definitely be reading the third.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• ” It’s definitely interesting enough that it makes me wonder how Grant is going to follow up on the the plotline she introduces near the end of this book, but if the action doesn’t pick up at peak levels in Book Three, I’m not sure I would be so willing to invest in it.” — Geeks of Doom
• “In between terror and grief, I found solace in the incomparable relationships of the characters.” — Reading is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac
• “The first was my favorite so far but as a sequel goes this doesn’t slow down.” — My Seryniti

Title: A Bone to Pick
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Aurora Teagarden #02
Format: Audio
Audiobook length: 6 hrs 7 min
Release Date: November 1992
Publisher: Walker & Co
Source: personal copy

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Read the back of the book

My thoughts:

I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first one. I still liked Roe, and her inheritance does make for some interesting plot twists, but the basic plot just didn’t connect with me. I think the problem is that if I were to inherit a house, snoop around, and find a skull hidden somewhere, my thoughts wouldn’t immediately jump to “murder!!!”. I’d think, “Cool, I wonder where they got that?” Unless, of course, there was a big ole knife sticking out of it or something.

My like of Roe is what pulled me through. She’s found that her love life has taken a couple of unexpected turns. I’m interested in seeing what new adventures her inheritance allows her to undertake.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “In terms of mystery books, this one was a real dud.” — The Novel World
• “This book deviated from the normal murder Mystery, in the fact that no one was actually killed during the span of the story.  I have to say, as demented as it sounds, that was a little disappointing for me.” — Cozy Book Reviews

Back of the book:

This #1 bestselling legal thriller from Michael Connelly is a stunning display of novelistic mastery – as human, as gripping, and as whiplash-surprising as any novel yet from the writer Publishers Weekly has called “today’s Dostoevsky of crime literature.”

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers – they’re all on Mickey Haller’s client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it’s about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it’s even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney’s dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal – this time to save his own life.

My thoughts:

This wasn’t my first taste of Mickey Haller. I read the second book, The Brass Verdict, about three years ago, so I was already familiar with him and his unconventional ways. This book is a great introduction to Haller, who is a stark contrast to Connelly’s other leading man, Harry Bosch.

Haller believes in doing what he has do to get the job done, whether it’s negotiate with drug dealing bikers or arrange for a client to drive him around to work off his bill. When a big money client comes his way in this book, he soon finds out that some things are too good to be true. Even the best lawyer can be out-manipulated from time to time.

I really like Haller as a character. He’s entertaining and loyal and charmingly still hung up on his ex-wife. The audiobook was very well-done, and I’ll probably continue digesting the series that way.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “The plot and pacing are the strong points in this one. I didn’t care for the main character, and some of the writing.” — Annette’s Book Spot
• “Connolly can write, and that makes this book worth reading.” — Peggy Blair – Getting Published
• ” The courtroom action had a more engaging pace and less objective pace than others I have read…” – Nightmares, Day Dreams, and Imagined Conversations

Past reviews:

2011: A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Lawrence Block)
2010: Desert Heat (J.A. Jance)
2009: The Chemist (Janson Mancheski)
2008: Grave Sight (Charlaine Harris)
2007: The Bone Collector (Jeffery Deaver)
2006: Visions in Death (J.D. Robb)
2005: Jackdaws (Ken Follett)

Back of the book:

Seth Quinn is finally home.

It’s been a long journey. After a harrowing boyhood with his drug-addicted mother, he’d been taken in by the Quinn family, growing up with three older brothers who’d watched over him with love.

Now a grown man returning from Europe as a successful painter, Seth is settling down on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, surrounded once again by Cam, Ethan, and Phil, their wives and children, all the blessed chaos of the extended Quinn clan. Finally, he’s back in the little blue-and-white house where there’s always a boat at the dock, a rocker on the porch, and a dog in the yard.

Still, a lot has changed in St. Christopher since he’s been gone-and the most intriguing change of all is the presence of Dru Whitcomb Banks. A city girl who’s opened a florist shop in this seaside town, she craves independence and the challenge of establishing herself without the influence of her wealthy connections. In Seth, she sees another kind of challenge-a challenge that she can’t resist.

My thoughts:

Eighteen years have passed since the third book in the Quinn Brothers trilogy, and some things in St. Christopher never change. The three oldest Quinn brothers are still building boats, the Quinn wives are still putting up with their shenanigans, and everyone still supports the other, without question. But Seth has been gone for five long years, running more from his past than from his present. Almost immediately upon his return, his artist’s eye is caught by the new florist, Dru, who is doing a little running of her own.

This was a solid finish to what was already a great trilogy, possibly my favorite Roberts series. There was a consistent theme of family, and how the ones you make can be more important than the one you are born into. And, of course, there was a tempestuous romance to fill in the gaps.

If you aren’t already a fan of Nora Roberts, this is a great series to start with. Particularly if you are turned off by the thought of her paranormal books. There are a couple of ghosts, but nothing that I think qualify as paranormal – they’re more visions than anything. What you get the most is a great family in a great setting.

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “Roberts is very good with this type of romance, with enough tension to keep the story going, yet obvious in its conclusion. It is getting to the conclusion in Chesapeake Blue that touches the reader.” — Jandy’s Reading Room
• “I think the readers who’ll enjoy Chesapeake Blue most are the readers familiar with the other books in this series, which are Sea Swept (1997), Rising Tides (1998) and Inner Harbor (1998).” — Dreamworld Book Reviews
• “This book and the entire series on the Quinn Legacy are extraordinarily written with some of that Nora Robert’s humor thrown in.” — Book Reviews by Angie

Past reviews:

2011: Love in Infant Monkeys (Lydia Millet)
2010: Already Dead (Charlie Huston)
2009: Summer Knight (Jim Butcher)
2008: Mirror Image (Sandra Brown)
2007: The Cater Street Hangman (Anne Perry)
2006: A Caress of Twilight (Laurell K. Hamilton)
2005: The Ersatz Elevator (Lemony Snicket)

Back of the book:

Madison’s prom was killer—literally. For some reason she’s been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she’s stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn’t know why the dark reaper is after her, but she’s not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison’s ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff.

My thoughts:

This is Kim Harrison’s first series since her Rachel Morgan series, and being such a huge fan of that one I had to give this a shot. This is a young adult series, so I expected the tone and writing style to be different. It was, but the things that make Harrison’s writing so good were still there – color characters, interesting sidekicks, and a compelling new world.

At first glance, Madison’s world is just like ours. Except, she’s dead. Now, she’s trying to keep from the clutches of the dark reaper who didn’t finish his job, all while learning how to become a reaper herself.

In many ways, this reminded me of the (much too short) Showtime series Dead Like Me, about a group of reapers out to save the souls of the recently departed. But not completely. Madison is a softer lead character than the bitter, sarcastic George of the TV series, and there is more of a good vs. evil feel to the book.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this, but I do have one major complaint. When the book opens, you are thrown into the story without any real explanation of what’s going on. This is something Harrison does very well in the Rachel Morgan series, but in this case I just felt like I was missing something. So much so that I double-checked that I wasn’t listening to the second book by mistake. I really could have used a slower introduction into what was going on.

I’m not sure if this will end up being as fantastic as the Rachel Morgan series, but I will certainly read on!

Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble  | IndieBound | WorldCat

Other reviews:

• “Absolutely fantastic – Madison Avery just might be my new favorite YA Urban Fantasy heroine. An engaging, original read and easily a notable read of 2009. Highly recommended.” — The Book Smugglers
• ” If you can make it through the slower first part of the book, I think you’ll really enjoy this read.” — The Sweetie Chronicles
• “Where is the strongly written, fully fleshed out female heroine I know Harrison is capable of writing?  I can barely believe Kim Harrison wrote this.  I want to make a thousand excuses for her – editing pressures, rushed deadlines, misleading advice?” — The Blog of Litwits

Past reviews:

2011: Rocket Surgery Made Easy (Steve Krug)
2010: Anthem (Ayn Rand)
2009: China Lake (Meg Gardiner)
2008: Triptych (Karin Slaughter)
2007: Fool Moon (Jim Butcher)
2006: Incubus Dreams (Laurell K. Hamilton)
2005: The Big Bad Wolf (James Patterson)