FINISHED -

1. "HOLIDAY IN THE HAMPTONS" by Sarah Morgan (From Manhattan With Love #5) (A++++++) The perfect summer escape?  Professional dog-walker Felicity Knight loves everything about New York...until her ex-husband starts working at her local vet clinic. She hasn't seen Seth Carlyle in ten years, but one glimpse of him - too gorgeous, and still too good for her - and Fliss's heart hurts like their whirlwind marriage ended yesterday. So when her grandmother in the Hamptons needs help for the summer, it seems the ideal way to escape her past. Their relationship might have lasted only a few scorching months, but vet Seth knows  Fliss - if she's run away to the Hamptons, it's because she still feels their connection and it terrifies her. He let her go once before, when he didn't know any better, but not this summer! With the help of his adorable dog, Lulu, and a sprinkling of beachside magic, Seth is determined to make Fliss see that he's never stopped loving her.
2. "FOREVER A HERO" by Linda Lael Miller (Carson's of Mustang Creek #3) (A+++++) For the youngest Carson brother, finding and fixing trouble seems to be all in a day's work. Mace Carson doesn't consider himself a hero. Back in college, he came upon a woman in trouble and intervened but he was just one irate Wyoming cowboy with his boots planted firmly on the side of right. Now a successful vintner, Mace is shocked to be reunited with the woman he saved. But it turns out she's in Wyoming on business--a corporate executive representing the company that wants to buy his winery. Only, he's not selling. Kelly Wright has never forgotten that horrible night ten years ago when Mace came to her rescue, has never forgotten him. The surprising success of a winery in the middle of ranch country has brought her to Mustang Creek, and she's secretly thrilled to discover Mace at the helm. Reluctant to mix business with pleasure, Kelly vows to keep things professional, until her attacker is released from prison and comes for vengeance against both of them. 
3. "DOWNFALL" by J.A. Jance (Joanna Brady #17) (A++++++) With a baby on the way, sudden deaths in the family from which to recover, a re-election campaign looming, and a daughter heading off for college, Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full when a puzzling new case hits her department, demanding every resource she has at her disposal. Two women have fallen to their deaths from a small nearby peak, referred to by Bisbee locals as Geronimo. What’s the connection between these two women? Is this a case of murder/suicide or is it a double homicide? And if someone else is responsible, is it possible that the perpetrator may, even now, be on the hunt for another victim? "RANDOM ACTS" by J.A. Jance (Joanna Brady #16.5) (Alison Reynolds #11.5) (A+++++) Sheriff Joanna Brady has a lot on her plate - she is up for re-election as sheriff, pregnant with her third child, and her eldest is packing up to leave for college. Then Joanna is woken in the middle of the night by a call reporting a motor vehicle accident. Her mother and stepfather’s RV ran off the road at high speed and hit the pillar of an overpass. Something about the accident seems suspicious, and when Joanna gets a call from Ali Reynolds, a journalist turned investigator, she accepts her offer to help. They come up with a plan to find out who was responsible…even if that person is not the villain they’d expected.
4. "THE COLLECTORS" by David Baldacci (Camel Club #2) (A+++++) (unabridged audio CD) The assassination of the speaker of the House has rocked the nation. And the Camel Club has found a chilling connection with another death: that of the director of the Library of Congress’s Rare Books and Special Collections Division. The club’s unofficial leader, a man who calls himself Oliver Stone, discovers that someone is selling America to its enemies one secret at a time. Then Annabelle Conroy, the greatest con artist of her generation, comes to town and joins forces with the Camel Club for her own reasons. And Stone will need all the help she can give, because the two murders are hurtling the Camel Club into a world of espionage that is bringing America to its knees.
5. "THE WEDDING PACT" by Katee Robert (O'Malleys #3) (A+++++) Carrigan O'Malley has always known her arranged marriage would be more about power and prestige than passion. But after one taste of the hard-bodied, whiskey-voiced James Halloran, she's ruined for anyone else. Too bad James and his family are enemy number 1 - Hallorans vs. O'Malleys - that's how it's always been. James should be thinking more about how to expand his family's empire instead of how silky Carrigan's skin is against his and how he can next get her into his bed. Those are dangerous thoughts. But not nearly as dangerous as he'll be if he can't get what he wants: Carrigan by his side for the rest of their lives.
6. "SEALED FOREVER" by Mary-Margret Daughtridge (SEAled #4) (A+++++) Even a hero's heart can break... He's got a living, breathing dilemma...In the midst of running an undercover CIA mission, Navy SEAL Lt. Garth Vale finds an abandoned baby, and his superiors sure don't want to know about it. The only person who can help him is the beautiful new doctor in town, but she's got another surprise for him. She's got a solution...at a price...Dr. Bronwyn Whitescarver has left the frantic pace of big city ER medicine for a small town medical practice. Her bags aren't even unpacked yet when gorgeous, intense Garth Vale shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with a sick baby. But his story somehow doesn't add up, and Bronwyn isn't quite sure who she's saving - the baby, or the man,
7. "CLAWBACK" by J.A. Jance (Ali Reynolds #11) (A+++++) Ali Reynolds faces her most controversial mystery yet: the murder of a man whose Ponzi scheme bankrupted hundreds of people, and left them seeking justice - or revenge. When Ali’s parents lose their life savings to a Ponzi scheme, her father goes to confront his longtime friend and financial advisor, only to stumble upon the scene of a bloody double homicide. With her father suddenly a prime suspect, Ali and her husband work to clear his name and seek justice for her parents, as well as the rest of the scheme’s suddenly impoverished victims. But if Ali’s father is innocent, that can mean only one thing: one of the others is a stone cold killer.
8. "ONCE UPON A DAY" by Lisa Tucker (new author for me) (A+++++) Dorothea’s father, like all good parents, wanted to keep his children safe. But unlike other parents, Charles O’Brien believed the only way to do so was to leave everything behind, including his very successful life. In a rocky, desolate corner of New Mexico, on a thirty-five acre estate he called the “Sanctuary,” Charles raised the children in complete isolation, with books and encyclopedias, records and a grand piano, but no television, computer, radio, or even a newspaper. Now, Dorothea, at twenty-three, is leaving this place for the first time, in search of her missing brother  - and venturing into the world. Dorothea’s search will turn into an odyssey of discovery, leading to the truth of her family’s past and the terrifying day that changed her father forever. But Dorothea’s journey will also introduce her to an unusual cast of characters, including a homeless girl from Missouri who becomes a jazz singer and a doctor turned cabdriver who has suffered his own losses. Together, they have a chance to make a discovery of a different kind: that though a heart can be broken by the tragic events of a day, a day can also bring a new chance at love and a deeper understanding of life’s infinite possibilities.
9. "HOT HEAD" by Damon suede (new author for me) (Head #1) (A++++) Where there’s smoke, there’s fire...Since 9/11, Brooklyn firefighter Griff Muir has wrestled with impossible feelings for his best friend and partner at Ladder 181, Dante Anastagio. Unfortunately, Dante is strictly a ladies’ man, and the FDNY isn’t exactly gay-friendly. For ten years, Griff has hidden his heart in a half-life of public heroics and private anguish. Griff’s caution and Dante’s cockiness make them an unbeatable team. To protect his buddy, there’s nothing Griff wouldn’t do…until a nearly bankrupt Dante proposes the worst possible solution: HotHead.com, a gay porn website where uniformed hunks get down and dirty. And Dante wants them to appear there - together. Griff may have to guard his heart and live out his darkest fantasies on camera. Can he rescue the man he loves without wrecking their careers, their families, or their friendship?
10. "SEALED WITH A RING" (SEALed #3) by Mary-Margret Daughtridge (A+++++) Sometimes you get a lot more than you bargained for...She's got it all...except the one thing she needs most. Smart, successful businesswoman JJ Caruthers has a year to land a husband or lose the empire she's worked so hard to build. With time running out, romance is not an option, and a military husband who is always on the road begins to look like the perfect solution. He's a wounded hero with an agenda of his own. Even with the scars of battle, Navy SEAL medic Davy Graziano is gorgeous enough to land any woman he wants, and he's never wanted to be tied down. Now Davy has ulterior motives for accepting JJ's outrageous proposal of marriage, but he only has so long to figure out what JJ doesn't want him to know.
11. "SALVATION TEXAS" by Anna Jeffrey (West Texas #2) (A+++++) Ever since he lost Elena, everything in Rusty's life has gone wrong. Her wealthy, influential father drove him out of Salvation, away from everyone he ever loved. Now Rusy is back, elected by the people to one of the most powerful positions in the county. He isn't about to let the woman who once cost him everything get under his skin again. Not when there's a cold-blooded killer on the loose. And not unless he can find a way to live with her father and her millions. Elena ryder knows of no better man than Sheriff Rusty Joplin - despite her own rocky past with him. Now she trusts no one else to investigate her sister's tragic death. And she won't even consider resisting Rusty's rugged presence if she gets a second chance.
12. "WILD & WET" by Rhenna Morgan (new author for me) (Men of Haven #4) (A+++++) Live hard and follow their own rules. These are the cornerstones the six men of the Haven Brotherhood live and bleed by, refusing to conform to society's expectations, taking what they want and always watching each other's backs. Zeke Dugan is not a man who walks the straight and narrow. He may have sworn an oath as a trauma doc, but he has zero problem leveraging his medical skills outside a hospital if it means giving the Brotherhood--the group of men he calls family--an advantage. Blood before business. All that changes when shy Gabrielle stumbles into his life and ignites his protective instincts. Mechanic Gabrielle Parker prefers the complexities of an engine over men. Her life wasn't always quiet and well-ordered, but now that it is, she finds peace in the solitude. When a robbery in her neighborhood forces her out of her safe bubble, she never fathoms that a dangerous, cocky trauma doctor will fix more than her injuries. Zeke doesn't play by the rules that Gabrielle follows but knows that he's exactly what she needs in her life. He'll show her the fierce and uncompromising protection that comes from belonging to a man like him. When tension outside the Brotherhood threatens Gabrielle, Zeke will do anything to keep her safe, and damn the consequences. No one will hurt his woman, even if it means putting the very men who saved his life at risk.
13. "SONGS OF LOVE & DEATH Death" by many authors (I only read two) "LOVE HURTS" by Jim Butcher (A+++) and "A LEAF ON THE WIND OF ALL HALLOWS" by Diana Gabaldon (A++++)
14. "FIRST SIGHT" by Danielle Steel (abridged audio CD) (A++++) Paris, L.A., and the world of ready to wear fashion provide rich backdrops for Danielle Steel’s deeply involving story of a gifted designer whose talent and drive have brought her everything - except the ability to erase her past and trust relationships. New York. London. Milan. Paris. Fashion Week in all four cities. A month of endless interviews, parties, and unflagging work and attention to detail at the semiannual ready to wear fashion shows - the famous prêt-à-porter. At the center of the storm and avalanche of work is American Timmie O’Neill, whose renowned line, Timmie O, is the embodiment of casual chic, in fashion and for the home. She has created a business that inspires, fills, and consumes her life. With an unerring instinct for what the next trend will be, an innate genius for business, tireless labor, and sheer fearlessness, starting from nothing, over two decades Timmie has built an international empire that has brought her enormous satisfaction and success. In a world where humility and compassion are all too rare, her humor, kindness, integrity, and creativity are inspirational. Yet as blessed as she feels by her success, Timmie harbors the private wounds of a devastating childhood and past tragedy. She is too smart, too experienced, and too hurt to want much in her personal life beyond a succession of convenient, very limited relationships. Always willing to take risks in business, she never risks her heart. But despite her well-ordered and highly controlled world, it turns out that Timmie O’Neill is not immune to magic when it strikes. And it strikes in Paris during Paris Fashion Week, when an intriguing Frenchman comes into her life when she gets sick. At first, Timmie and Jean-Charles Vernier are only patient and physician. They become confidants and friends, corresponding at a safe distance between Paris and Los Angeles once she goes home. There is every reason why they must remain apart. But neither can deny their growing friendship and the electricity that sparks whenever they meet.
15. "MOONLIGHT OVER MANHATTAN" by Sarah Morgan (From Manhattan with Love #6) (A++++++) She'll risk everything for her own Christmas miracle...Determined to conquer a lifetime of shyness, Harriet Knight challenges herself to do one thing a day in December that scares her, including celebrating Christmas without her family. But when dog walker Harriet meets her newest client, exuberant spaniel Madi, she adds an extra challenge to her list - dealing with Madi's temporary dog sitter, gruff doctor Ethan Black, and their very unexpected chemistry. Ethan thought he was used to chaos, until he met Madi - how can one tiny dog cause such mayhem? To Ethan, the solution is simple - he will pay Harriet to share his New York apartment and provide twenty-four-hour care. But there's nothing simple about how Harriet makes him feel. Ethan's kisses make Harriet shine brighter than the stars over moonlit Manhattan. But when his dog-sitting duties are over and Harriet returns to her own home, will she dare to take the biggest challenge of all - letting Ethan know he has her heart for life, not just for Christmas?
16. "A SMALL TOWN BRIDE" by Hope Ramsay (Chapel of Love #2) (A+++++) Amy Lyndon is tired of being the Poor Little Rich Girl of Shenandoah Falls. In her prominent family, she's the ordinary one - no Ivy League education and no powerful career. But when her father tries to marry her off, she knows it's finally time to stand up for herself, despite the consequences. Now that she's cut off from the family fortune, her first challenge is to fight her attraction to her handsome new boss. When Amy shows up looking for work with his landscaping crew, Dusty McNeil thinks there's no way such a pampered princess will ever get her hands dirty. But as Amy proves him wrong and gets down to the nitty gritty, Dusty's admiration turns to like, then lust - and then love. But can a high-society woman like Amy ever fall for a man like him?
17. "HIS SECOND CHANCE FAMILY" (Brambleberry House #2) by RaeAnne Thayne (A+++++) Come stay awhile at Brambleberry House, a place infused with acceptance, healing and heart...Julia Blair spent many happy summers at Cannon Beach and fell hard for sweet local boy Will Garrett. Now the for-rent sign at Brambleberry House seems like a wonderful omen for widowed Julia and her young children. She craves the warmth she once felt in Brambleberry House - and in Will's arms. But before he can embrace his first love, he'll have to lay down the burden of the past and open his heart again. "A SOLDIER'S SECRET"(Brambleberry House #3) by RaeAnne Thayne (A+++++) Struggling to rebuild her business and her life, Anna Galvez knows she's fortunate to have inherited Brambleberry House as her rock-solid base. When she finds a handsome new tenant in injured army pilot Harry Maxwell, Anna thinks her luck - in love, at least - might be changing. Until the lieutenant's story begins to unravel.

CURRENTLY READING - 

1. "Gastien: From Dream to Destiny" by Caddie Rowland (Gastien #2) (reading on an Kindle app on my computer)
2. "Locked and Loaded" by Alexis Grant (Men of Delta Force #2)
3. "Twisted" by Emma Chase (Tangled #2)
4. "Slow Burn Cowboy" by Maisey Yates (Copper Ridge #7) "Take Me Cowboy" by Maisey Yates (Copper Ridge: Desire #1)

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO -

1. Deliver Us From Evil" by David Baldacci (A. Shaw #2) (unabridged audio CD)

Reading:  

Seventh Plague by James Rollins

Live Girls by Beth Nugent

EndGame: Bobby Fischer by Frank Brady

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson

Finished:

501 Minutes to Christ by Poe Ballantine, personal essays

Beach House by James Patterson & Peter De Jonge 

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

Invasion of Privacy by Christopher Reich

The Bro Code by Barney Stinson with Matt Kuhn

The Statues That Walked--Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island by Terry Hunt & Carl Lipo

Heat: Adventures in the World's Fiery Places by Bill Streever

I FINALLY finished Hawaii by: James A. Michener.  I really enjoyed it, but my was it intensive reading.  It took me a whole month.  I am currently getting caught up on newspapers, and magazines that got left behind so I could conscentrate on Hawaii.  Hawaii is my book clubs selection for January, so I'm glad I was able to complete it for our discussion.

Finished this month:  The Silent Bride by Leslie Glass --- NYPD Detective Sargent April Woo and Lieutenant Mike Sanchez investigate the murders of two brides on their wedding days.  April always has the dilemma of trying to overcome her Chinese background with all it's superstitions plus Skinny Dragon mother, and reconcile them with her work as a detective and her love for Sanchez. Great series!

Winter House by Carol O'Connell --- I haven't decided if I like Mallory or not, but she definitely hits a lot of buttons with people. Mallory and Riker are called to the house of Nedda Winter who has killed a suspected burgler. But things are not at all what they seem to be. A plot with lots of twists and turns and an ending that's a total surprise.

Cat in the Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy --- Dulcie and Joe Grey are two exceptional cats who can talk, read and think like humans.  They also seem to always be involved in murders and trying to get them solved. When a crime spree begins in town that ends in murders, how are they to let the cops know what's going on without letting them know who the informants are? A fun series.

Waiting For The Moon by Kristin Hannah --- A very interesting look at the way "lunatics" [the author's word, not mine] were treated and thought of during this time period. While this is fiction, it probably is close to the way things really were and what doctors and others thought people who were "brain-damaged" were capable of. A woman is brought to Lethe House and Dr. Ian Carrick, unconscious and near death.  As she recovers physically, she changes the lives of all the residents, including the doctor's.

Slow Dollar by Margaret Maron--- Judge Deborah Knott gets involved with "carny" people when the carnival comes to town and one of the owners turns out to be a relative the family had lost track of. Murder becomes one of the main attractions.

The Three Fates by Nora Roberts --- The Three Fates-- a set of three silver statues becomes the quest of a divergent group of people. A family of two brothers and a sister from Ireland and three totally different people from America who team up to find the set before they fall into the hands of a woman who will stop at nothing, even murder, to have them.

The Haviland Touch by Kay Hooper --- One of Hooper's earlier novels.  Spencer Wyatt is determined to find the legendary Hapsburg Cross [if it even exists] before her father dies. Drew Haviland is equally determined to pay Spencer back for jilting him 10 years earlier. Can they work together in their search?

The Alpine Escape by Mary Daheim --- Emma Lord takes times away from her newspaper to try to find herself and ends up helping a friend's daughter and her husband solve the mystery of who the skeleton in their basement belonged to.

Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson --- Goldy Shultz has two catering events to get ready for when she is attacked and discovers her event center has been burgled and all her food ruined. And to make matters worse The Jerk is causing problems, was usual.

Currently reading:  undecided

Cold Rock River by Jackie Lee Miles...  more southern fiction and loving it.

A Christmas Gift by Glendon Swarthout.  Better than most Christmas tales.

Listening to:

The Storied Life of A. J. Fickery by Gabrielle Zevin

Hard Times by Studs Terkel. I think part of the interest in this book is the wide range of people and circumstances he was able to revealed in the interviews.

I read Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockeral by Boris Akunin for book clun. Unfortunately I was too confused by all the Russian names of people and cities. I could not enjoy the book and would never read another by hm again.

Just finished Manhune by James Swenson about the assasination of Abraham Lincoln and the hunt for John Wilkes Boothe. Will mail it out today to someone wishing.

I'm reading unpostable, old paperbacks and ex-lib books, water-damaged, etc.  Old mysteries, mostly from the nineties.  Then I give them away to make room for new Christmas gift books!

Finished People of the Morning Star and am on to The 100 - Day 21.  I don't know what's the matter with me, but I can't find an audio book I like.  Maybe I just need a break.

Judye

Almost finished The Bartender’s Tale by Ivan Doig. Very well written, again about Montana and a 12 yo boy growing up in 1960. 

The Whistling Season was one of my all time favorites. I’m sorry he’s passed away.

I didn't know Doig had died. I have had a few of his books but I never read one.