BOOK REVIEW: Dark Tort

Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms Davidson has once again charmed my husband and me with another cosy mystery. While there are recipes in the printed version, they are not included in the audio version.

This time, the victim is Goldy Bear's neighbor at a local Law Firm. Barbara Rosenblat does her usual good job as a narrator.

Do I think you should read or listen to this book? YES!!! While each book has a good mystery to follow with characters who are believable. The mysteries always different with realist townies...even the murderer is "normal" but then that's how murders generally are.

AND you don't have to read these books in order! So if one is on sale and it is not the next one in the series...buy the one on sale and enjoy yourself!

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BOOK REVIEW: Thankless in Death

Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Grand as usual but still wish it was more X than XXX rated! The mysteries are good enough with less...I know because I have started skipping some of the more expletive ones.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

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BOOK REVIEW: The Lost Wife

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As the Brits would say "It's BRILLIANT!" Alyson Richman is one hell of a writer to be able to switch back and forth between two equally engaging people who fall in love, get married, get separated, and, 60 years later, come back together. She shows you Prague before and after the Nazis take over, what might happen to people who "got out in time", and those who stayed...and how they could come back together.

It's all so believable! Ms Richman has made all the characters believable. While some of the Germans only appear briefly, most of us have watched enough movies and TV drama to see them as full fleshed out. And the narrators! George Guidall and Suzanne Toren are as near perfect as one could wish. This is one book that I am glad I purchased in audible format rather than paper.

I don't know why I've always had an interest in WWII in Europe rather than the Pacific, but I have. Many of books have been biographic. This one sounds like it was...the clarification will be in the epilog. It seems well researched.

If you like a love story...an insight into what one person might have experienced in the camps...or what a person who made it safely to America might have experienced...how likes history, you should purchase this novel and more to share with your friends and relations!

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BOOK REVIEW: Enchanted, Inc. (Enchanted, Inc., #1)

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The cover caught my eye and then I listened to the snippet and read the summary and THEN I BOUGHT IT!

I needed something fun and this filled the bill!

Katy is from Texas, I'm from Texas. She has transplanted herself to New York City (I came back to Texas and stayed but I've been to NYC.) Katy "sees things" that no one else reacts to...like people wearing wings or a gargoyle that WINKS? at her. No one else seems to think these things abnormal; it must be normal for NYC.

Turns out, some rare people see the strange things she does but MOST DO NOT! And that is how she got away from the mean boss and onto working at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. And the fun really gets going! There is someone trying to sell a bad magic and he has to be stopped! She is real, smart, and has that sassy as a Texan gal can be.

I wish the narrator, Eva Wilhelm, had been able to give Katy and her Texan roommates a bit of the Texas accent but that is not why I rated her down. I gave her the rating because too many times I became aware of her over the story. She is not a bad narrator...I've listened to a couple of them (uck, cringe). She is not the best either.

This is a good starter book establishing who she is, how she got to MSI, what MIS is all about, why they need her level headiness, as well as her pitching arm. It also establishes not only the workings of MSI but the personalities of the workers. I won't go further there for fear of spoiling something for you. You gotta know they are a very interesting!

Now as a person who generally does not like books that rely on one reading them in order, if the second one proves the need for reading them in order, I think I will continue investing in the books when I need a fun read for a good laugh!

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BOOK REVIEW: 1st to Die

1st to Die by James Patterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The members are Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle. They come together, these bright young women who are at the edge of breaking through the "glass ceiling", to solve they mystery of the brutal killings of newly wedded couples on their wedding nights.

"Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered-before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong."

It's the start of a good series from James Patterson whose words are well spoken by Suzanne Toren.

This is another book that I became curious about after watching the series on TV. I'm glad I did as this book at least is better than the series. Give it a go, you might discover the same thing.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Silkworm

Cormoran and Galbraith (JK Rowling) are back! YEA! His leg is giving him more gip. This time he has a mystery to solve about a missing husband who has written a novel that has pissed off many people.

Robin Ellacott is back with her intended...he still doesn't like Cromoran which causes Robin to bend the truth or omit data that might make him more upset. She still wants to be her boss's assistant more than his secretary and indicates so by putting herself in situations to prove it...like her driving skills that shock Cormoran when she saves them from a nasty accident.

About this writer; his wife hired Cormoran. They have a child with developmental problems which may be why our PI continues to work the case even though he has no idea if he who will pay him if anyone. Again the author adds a cast of characters that are very colorful while still being plausible.

I love Ms. Rowling's writing! Not only are the characters clearly defined, so is the atmosphere around them...even when Cormoran finds a mutilated body that makes you want to cringe! When she is describing the weather, I am back on my one trip to wintering England.

Robert Glenister again does a brilliant job narrating the written words.

If you like a good mystery with a flawed PI in charge, you will really like this second edition of the series! Even if you are reading instead of listening to words.

BOOK REVIEW: Left to Die

Left To Die by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They said: "In Left to Die, the Pinewood County Sheriff 's Department is on the trail of a cold-blooded killer who acts as a savior to women stranded during terrible mountain snowstorms before stripping them of their dignity and leaving them to die, a victim of the elements. But the killer's latest victim managed to escape, leading some to believe there may now be an impostor on the loose."

My thoughts:

One vicious murderer.

Two vicious murderers.

One conclusion.

One trailer into the next book in the series.

ARG! Ok, maybe I understand the carry over but I don't have to like it! Especially as the carry over story is the MAIN story of book! Maybe I am being a bit harsh here as I have a bias against writers who employ this tactic. The story/stories are good and draw you along but I do wonder how much repetition will be needed in the next book.

I had no problem with the narrator as he did not detract from the story (which is what a good narrator should do).

Will I buy the next book? I don't know. Part of me wants see how Ms. Jackson manages to catch up new readers without boring readers of the first book. Part of me wonders about the motivation of the murderer. But it boils down to how invested I am to use another Audible.com credit.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes, to people who like serial books and always start with the first book. Yes, to people who like a good mystery. Yes, to people who don't want a lot of really graphic sex scenes detracting from the story!

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