Category: 3 1/2 Star Books

Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley

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Finished audio 8-18-08, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 1990

Easy Rawlings lives in 1948 Los Angeles and is a black man who is proud of owning his home and the little bit of land that surrounds it.  He has just lost his job at the plant and he is in his friend’s bar nursing the sting of being fired.  Mr. Albright walks in and is hoping to hire Easy to find a white girl, Daphne, who frequents black jazz clubs.  As soon as he takes the job Easy is thrust into the middle of a web  of lies, threats, and lust. 

I listened to this on cd and the reader, GC Simms, was wonderful.  His rich voice drew me in immediately and I’m pretty sure that he could have been reading anything and I’d have been entertained.  This book addresses the racial reality of the 1948, yet it feels completely current.  I’d recommend it.  I’ve got the movie waiting on my dvr, I’ll let you know what I think later.

Fearless Fourteen, by Janet Evanovich

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Cover ImageFinished 7-17-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2008

Stephanie Plum is back with her crazy assortment of cohorts.  Ranger needs Stephanie for a bodyguard gig and Morelli needs her for mother duty.  Ranger’s job introduces her to an aging singer way past her prime and the singer’s stalker who follows Stephanie home.  Morelli is stuck with Zook, who may or may not be his son and needs Stephanie’s help until they can find his mother.  Everyone is town thinks that 9 million dollars is buried at Morelli’s house and the town crazies (including Grandma Mazur) show up with a shovel.  Lula proposes to herself and Tank faints, while Morelli might mention marriage to Stephanie.

I have been disappointed with the series for more than a few books now, but this book made me happy to have Stephanie back.  It was good to see some character growth.  Although I missed Ranger and the chemistry between them I thought Stephanie’s relationship with Morelli was sweet and sexy.  And I loved the storyline of Lula and Tank’s engagement, priceless.  This book was the best one in awhile and I’m looking forward to the next one.

The Widow, by Carla Neggers

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Cover ImageFinished 7-5-08, rating 3.5/5, Romantic Suspense, pub. 2007

How would your life change if your husband was murdered four days into your honeymoon?  For Abigail, it changed the course of her career and the obsessed way in which she chose to spend her time.  She became a homicide detective, convinced that she would some day learn enough to find her husband’s killer, but seven years later she was still stuck reliving the past, looking for answers.  Then one day she receives a phone call that sends her back to Maine, where her husband was killed and she still owned a house.

Once in Maine there is a large line-up of potential suspects.  Abigail is familiar with all of them because she has never stopped investigating them.  While fighting for the truth she finds the time to finally heal from her husband’s death and fall in love. 

This was a fun book that will keep you guessing.  Here’s the post on my meeting Carla Neggers https://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/carla-neggers-book-signing/

Open House, by Elizabeth Berg

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Cover ImageFinished listening to on 6-27-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2000

“There were just families yelling at their kids not to drown and teenagers walking around like billboards, acting as if their bodies would never change.They’re so oblivious to the fact that they’ll get older.  Sometimes I want to grab them and say, ‘Hey!  I used to look like you!  Ha-ha-HA!!'”

“Yes,” Lydia says.  “That’s what I want to say to you sometimes.”  She sips her tea.

My God.  Of course that must be true.  Of course it must!  What’s a little cellulite next to a face full of deep wrinkles?  What’s a face full of deep wrinkles next to infirmity?  When does the time come when you stand in front of your grown-up woman’s mirror and feel contentment for what you see there?  Ever?—Chapter 12

Sam is a 42 year old mother, daughter, best friend, and soon to be ex-wife.  She has never had to support herself and 12 year old son, Travis, and has decided that the best way to do this is to take in boarders at her large suburban home.  Travis is not crazy about the idea and everybody else just thinks she’s crazy.  First there’s mature Lydia, then sad Lavender, and finally fabulous Edward.

She goes on a shopping spree at Tiffany’s.  She calls Martha Stewart and Martha calls her back.  She makes new friends.  She goes on a date.  And most importantly, she stops crying.

I love the rare simplicity of Elizabeth Berg’s writing and her ability to tell a story with real depth in such a concise and readable way.  Her characters are always recognizable as someone you know or might meet someday.  This story of a woman facing life after divorce is a triumph.  I’ve read quite a few of Berg’s books and by the end I always feel as if I’ve gained some insight. This is no exception.

Pepper Pike, by Les Roberts

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Cover ImageFinished 6-12-08, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 1988

 “Cleveland is a pretty good place to live, I guess, if you don’t mind the weather.”    Chapter 4

This is the first in the Milan Jacovich mystery series.  Milan is an ex-cop and current private investigator.  He is called one night to play body guard for 12 hours, only when he arrives, there is no body to guard.  The next morning he is contacted by the wife of the missing man and Milan is hired to find him.

Milan is forced to come in close contact with the rich of the CEOs and politicians to the powerful of the mob.  He is shot at and beaten up and in the end, shoots someone too.  Where is the mysterious Richard and is he still alive?  While trying to answer this question, Milan finds himself dating Richard’s ex-mistress and getting kicked out of the Chagrin Valley.

This book is wonderful in its depiction of Cleveland.  There are so few books that are set in this city and is the perfect backdrop for this gritty detective.  It’s nice to feel at home as you sit down to read.  I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiaasen

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Cover ImageFinished 6-7-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2004

“At the stroke of eleven on a cool April night, a woman named Joey Perrone went overboard from a luxury deck of the cruise liner M.M. Sun Duchess.  Plunging toward the dark Atlantic, Joey was too dumbfounded to panic.

I married an asshole, she thought, knifing headfirst into the waves.”   –First three sentences of the book

Chaz throws his wife over the side of the cruise ship that they happen to be on to celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary.  He has planned and thinks that he has done everything right, the perfect crime.  Only Joey is rescued by ex-cop, Mick.  Revenge is sweet and Joey, instead of going to the police decides to play dead and drive her husband crazy.

Chaz has no redeeming qualities, except in bed, but even that skill has abandoned him after he kills Joey.  He is also a man on the take and his benefactor gets nervous and sends a bodyguard named Tool.  The detective on the case knows something is wrong, but can’t prove anything.  Chaz slowly unravels and tries to commit another murder and then one after that. 

I enjoyed this very much.  It was fun and zany and had all of the crazy characters you’d expect from Hiaasen.  I only wish Joey had more depth.  Tool was the character with the most growth and that was  an interesting choice for Hiaasen to make.  Not a bad one, just a little unexpected.  This is my second Hiassen novel and while I preferred the first one this one is good too.

2nd Chance, by James Patterson

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Cover ImageFinished 5-28-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2002

 I read the first of this series, 1st To Die, a few years ago because I had heard so many good things about it.  I did like it, but wasn’t blown away and didn’t read anymore even though my Mom passed them on to me.  I saw the first Women’s Murder Club on TV and didn’t think it was great either, but it grew on me.  So, I decided to see if the books would too.

The girls are all back and ready for murder.  Lindsay is tracking a serial killer whose victims seem to only be connected by race.  Claire uses her reporter smarts to help Lindsay look the right way.  Two of the girls are shot, one shot at, and one has a miscarriage.  This book is full of drama.

This was a very fast read and I enjoyed it more than the first one, but who can know if it because I was picturing the girls from TV in the roles.  My ambivalence with the first book and this one has something to do with the relationship between the four women.  Their interaction and conversation don’t ring quite true for me.  But, I will read more of the series because the action is swift, the mystery is good, and Lindsay is spunky.

Love Story, by Erich Segal

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Cover ImageFinished 5-25-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 1970

“Love means not ever having to say you’re sorry.”   Chapter 13

I’ve seen the movie and knew the story, so I was surprised when I shed a few tears as I finished reading this slim novel.  I mistakenly thought the brevity would lessen the emotional impact, but it seemed to enhance it. 

Rich boy and Harvard jock, Oliver Barrett IV first met poor, smart Radcliffe student, Jenny, in the library.  An unlikely romance blossomed and in no time they were in love.  Jenny was awed by the Barrett estate when meeting his parents and Oliver was humbled when he met the neighbors and father who loved Jenny.  They were an odd couple and as often happens they decided to marry.

In marrying Jenny, Oliver was cut out of the family money and he and Jenny were forced to work their way through his law degree.  Jenny never stopped trying to reunite Oliver and his father.  Oliver graduated and and landed a great job in New York City and they seemed to have it all.  Then Jenny got sick.

I had a few healthcare issues.  The doctor told Oliver Jenny was sick, but did not tell Jenny!  He told Oliver to act as if everything were normal and Oliver did!  I don’t get it.  But other than that I really found the story touching and would recommend it.

Private Arrangements, by Sherry Thomas

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Private ArrangementsPrivate Arrangements. Finished 5-24-08, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2008

As a romance lover, historicals are my favorite.  When they are well done they can take your to a beautiful place full of chivalry and passion that is sometimes lost on modern day romances.  This was a wonderful historical romance that works because the characters were so real.

Why would a husband and wife in love part the day after their marriage and remain on separate continents for ten years?  Surprisingly, it is their flaws that make this romance more interesting than most.  Gigi is a forward woman used to getting what she wants any way that she can get it and she wants to marry a Duke.  Camden is a Duke in waiting whose heart is pledged to another, but who is falling in love with Gigi.

Fast forward ten years and Gigi is asking for a divorce so that she can marry a man who sees the best in her.  Camden goes back to England to confront his wife and offer his conditions for divorce.  The two are forced together and neither is complaining.

The secondary story of Gigi’s mother, Victoria, is a sweet one filled with a Duke of her own.  This is a great historical from a first time author.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

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Cover ImageFinished audio 5-22-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, originally published 1953

 I listened to the book read by the author as I always try to do if possible, but this time I think it was a distraction.  Bradbury’s voice did not fit the way I was picturing in my mind.  The one saving grace was the last disc that was an interview with Bradbury.

The book is set in a cold, distant future where fireman start fires instead of putting them out.  The people are controlled by a government that wants its citizens to live blindly and do do as they are told.  Guy Montag, a fireman, meets his neighbor, Clarisse, and she begins his enlightenment with one question.  “Are you really happy?”  Clarisse opens his eyes to the past when books and ideas meant something and how awful Montag’s current job of burning books was.  Montag was shocked, but intrigued and begins his journey by stealing and reading the Bible.

I loved the idea of the book.  The theme of government slowly stripping of rights until there is no free thought is a timely one.  The melancholy future without books made me look at my overflowing bookcases with extra love 🙂

If you have read the book, I still recommend going to the library & checking out the cd’s read by Bradbury and listening to the last disc.  He gives much insight to the book and characters, but it’s much more than that.  His thoughts on writing were interesting.  ”

“You don’t want to know what you’re doing.  You must never know what you’re doing.” 

Maybe my favorite story was about his not being able to afford college.  From the ages 18-28, Bradbury spent 2 or 3 days every week in the library educating himself.  He said at 28 he graduated himself from the library.  His lenghthy interview was charming and candid.

Other reviews-

Heather @ Book Addiction