Discussion Forums - Hidden Gems

2007

SEPTEMBER - "CYPRESS POINT" by Diane Chamberlain - A novel about the power to heal...and the power to change. It is not a love Joelle D'Angelo would ever have chosen. But it is one she can't deny. Joelle D'Angelo's best friend, Mara, is left with brain damage after she suffers an aneurysm during the delivery of her son. Alone and grieving, Joelle turns to the only other person who understands her pain: Mara's husband, Liam. And what starts out as comfort between friends gradually becomes something more. Something undeniable. Now all Joelle needs is a miracle. Torn by guilt and the impossibility of her feelings for Liam, Joelle seeks help from someone she's not even sure she believes in - a healer named Carlynn Kling Shire. Joelle sets out to find Carlynn, knowing that Mara needs something conventional medicine can't supply. And hoping that if Mara is well, Joelle's feelings for Liam will end. Her search leads her to a mansion in Monterey, California, and into the life of a woman shrouded in mystery. And as Joelle is guided down an unfamiliar path by a woman who is clearly keeping her own secrets, she discovers that some love is doomed, while some love can survive anything.

OCTOBER - "PROSPECT STREET" by Emilie Richards - When Faith Bronson's marriage ends abruptly, she finds her privileged life shattered. Only just beginning to face the lie she has lived, she finds sanctuary with her two children in the shabby Georgetown row house that's been in her mother's family for generations. This historic house harbors dark secrets of its own. When Faith takes steps to rebuild her ancestral home, she meets Pavel Quinn. Though he is connected to her past in stunning ways, his strong attraction to Faith is enough to convince him to keep silent . . . because the truth could drive her away forever.

NOVEMBER - "WATER FOR ELEPHANTS" by Sara Gruen - An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.

DECEMBER - "MODOC - The Greatest Elephant On Earth" by Ralph Helfer - This book was based on a true story, and I think it's one of the best ones that I've ever read! Bram, whose father was a circus elephant trainer, and Modoc were born the same hour of the same day. And except for a number of years, when the man who owned the circus sold Mo without Bram's knowledge, they spent the next 78 years together and had many many adventures.

2008

JANUARY - "CHOSEN BY A HORSE" by Susan Richards - This is a true story and I loved it. The horse Susan Richards chose for rescue wouldn't be corralled into her waiting trailer. But Lay Me Down, a former racehorse with a foal close on her heels, walked right up that ramp and into Susan's life. Weak from malnutrition, Lay Me Down had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. Then fate brought her into Susan's paddock, where she taught this brokenhearted woman how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living. "Susan Richards thought she was rescuing a starved, abused and abandoned mare...turns out Lay Me Down was rescuing Susan Richards. An incredibly moving story, beautifully written and insightful." - The Roanoke Times

FEBRUARY - "OUTLANDER" by Diana Gabaldon - (Outlander Series #2) The year is 1945 and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a former British combat nurse, is on holiday in Scotland with her husband, looking forward to becoming reacquainted after the war's long separation. Like most practical women, Claire hardly expects her curiosity to get the better of her. But an ancient stone circle near her lodgings holds an eerie fascination, and when she innocently touches a corner of one of the giant boulders, she is hurtled backward in time more than two hundred years, to 1743.

MARCH - "VOYAGER" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #3) - Claire faces a possibility both fearsome and exhilarating. Having returned to her own time, pregnant and brutalized by her trip through the standing stones, she makes a new life for herself, training to become a doctor and raising her daughter, Brianna. But the passage of two decades does little to dim the memory of Jamie or the life they once shared; and the constant presence of Brianna, with her father's brilliant red hair and well-loved features, is a painful reminder of the past. Now Brianna is grown, and Claire learns that Jamie may have survived the bloody Battle of Culloden. Dare she risk another trip through the stones, a trip that easily could prove fatal? Will she even be able to find Jamie? And how can she leave behind her beloved daughter, knowing all too well they may never see each other again?

APRIL - "DRUMS OF AUTUMN" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #4) - Cast ashore in the American colonies, the Frasers are faced with a bleak choice: return to a Scotland fallen into famine and poverty, or seize the risky chance of a new life in the New World - menaced by Claire's certain knowledge of the coming Revolution. Still, a Highlander is born to risk - and so is a time-traveler. Their daughter, Brianna, is safe - they think - on the other side of a dangerous future, their lives are their own to venture as they will. With faith in themselves and in each other, they seek a new beginning among the exiled Scottish Highlanders of the Cape Fear, in the fertile river valleys of the Colony of North Carolina.

MAY - "THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN - 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland" by Jim Defede - When thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, due to the closing of United States airspace, the citizens of this small community and surrounding towns were called upon to care for the thousands of distraught travelers. Their response to this challenge was truly extraordinary. Oz Fudge, the town constable, searched all over Gander for a flight-crew member so that he could give her a hug as a favor to her sister, who managed to reach him by phone. Eithne Smith, an elementary-school teacher, helped the passengers sheltered at her school fax letters to loved ones all over the world. And members of a local animal protection agency crawled into the cargo holds of the jets to feed and care for all of the animals on the flights. These stories and hundreds more are beautifully rendered in "The Day the World Came to Town", the true account of a community that exemplifies love, kindness and generosity.

JUNE - "THE FIERY CROSS" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #5) - The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser's wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy - a time-traveler's certain knowledge. Claire's unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead - or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.

JULY - 
1. "MY SISTER'S KEEPER" by Jodi Picoult - Can a parent love too much? Or is too much never enough? Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. A provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, My Sister's Keeper is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning moral parable for all time. 
2. "A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #6) - It is 1772, the eve of the American Revolution, and the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit: In Boston, men lie dead in the street, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the darkness of the forest. And over the house on Fraser's Ridge, where Jamie Fraser and his family reside, a shadow lengthens... The Colony is in ferment, and Governor Josiah Martin sends an envoy to Jamie Fraser, asking for help. With unpardoned Regulators, agitating Whigs, and the vigilantes of the Committees of Safety at large, the Governor needs someone to unite the backcountry, pacify the seething resentments of settlers and Indians, and keep the mountains safe for King and Crown. Jamie Fraser, everyone agrees, is the man for the job. But there is one problem: Jamie Fraser's wife, Claire, is a time-traveler, as are his daughter and son-in-law. And Jamie knows that three years hence, the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the end of it all will be independence - with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. Beyond everything else, though, looms the threat of a tiny clipping from the Wilmington Gazette dated 1776, which reports the destruction of the house on Fraser's Ridge and the death by fire of James Fraser and all his family. For once, Jamie Fraser hopes the time-travelers in his family are wrong about the future - but only time will tell.

AUGUST - "FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER" by Loung Ung - One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed. Harrowing, yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

SEPTEMBER - "THE HORSES OF PROUD SPIRIT" by Melanie Sue Bowles - There are approximately seven million horses in the United States. Each year, over 70,000 end up going to slaughter. Hundreds of thousands more are abused, neglected, or abandoned by callous and irresponsible owners. With a heart as big as a pasture, Melanie Bowles takes some of these horses into her sanctuary called Proud Spirit. Here, horses that arrive listless and broken find a home where they finally know safety. The bond between horse and caretaker does not happen overnight. It hangs by a fine thread of trust, which the author earns with endless patience and a full commitment to the well-being of the horses in her care. The horses, some of which have suffered severe abuse, astound her time and again with their ability to trust, return the love they are given, and enjoy the companionship of other horses. You will meet an entire stableful of remarkable horses: Dusty, a young Thoroughbred who recovered from severe injuries to reveal a rambunctious personality and a knack for stealing hats; Maddy, an elderly mare, and Dancer, a gallant Appaloosa, both of whom had been isolated for years but whose ecstatic first acquaintance at Proud Spirit was, mysteriously, the reunion of two soul mates; Annie, a little sorrel mare who will break your heart with her weary kindness and who found peace, at last, under an old oak tree in a pasture at Proud Spirit; Wrangler, a Miniature whose premature separation from his dam turned him into a tiny tormentor. His rowdy innocence helped Marshal, a huge palomino Draft horse with neurological trauma, become playful and engaged as he educated Wrangler in horsy manners.  The Horses of Proud Spirit is an homage to the spirit of these alluring creatures and a moving memoir of lessons learned in compassion, strength, and loss.

OCTOBER - "THE PAPER MARRIAGE" by Susan Kay Law - Ann McCrary has a ring on her finger, a wedding album on the shelf, and a marriage certificate in a drawer, but for twelve years she has not had a kiss from her husband or heard him say, "I love you." He has been in a coma since a tragic car accident, and now Ann is approaching forty, childless in the dream house they bought together, and wondering what the future can possibly hold for her. When she took her vows "in sickness and in health," she never imagined this. Tom Nash has just moved in next door with his teenaged daughter. Tom knows how to pitch a no-hitter - or at least he did in his glory days, before a blown shoulder took him out of the game permanently - but he's never been good with women. His purple-haired daughter, Mer, baffles him more than anyone. He's not sure how to handle her. She needs some maternal guidance, and she's not getting it from her self-absorbed mother. As Ann is drawn to Tom and his daughter, she steps out of the narrow space she's occupied for so long. There may be hope for a new life with her new neighbor, if Ann can reconcile the dividing lines between love and loyalty.

NOVEMBER - "TWENTY WISHES" by Debbie Macomber (Blossom Street) - What do you want most in the world? Anne Marie Roche wants to find happiness again. At thirty-eight, her life's not what she'd expected - she's childless, a recent widow, alone. She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle's Blossom Street, but despite her accomplishments, there's a feeling of emptiness. On Valentine's Day, Ann Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate...what? Hope, possibility, the future. They each begin a list of twenty wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did. Anne Marie's list starts with: Find one good thing about life. It includes learning to knit, doing good for someone else, falling in love again. She begins to act on her wishes, and when she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It's a relationship that becomes far more involving than Anne Marie intended. It also becomes far more important than she ever imagined. As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of twenty wishes, they both learn that wishes can come true - but not necessarily in the way you expect.

DECEMBER - "THE ACTOR'S GUIDE TO MURDER" by Rick Copp - "Baby, don't even go there!" That was Jarrod Jarvis's catch phrase as the adorable, girl-crazy moppet on the eighties sitcom, Go To Your Room! It was a great ride until the tabloids caught the popular teen idol kissing another guy at the L.A. gay rodeo. "Gay" and "teen heartthrob" not exactly being career-making words at the time, Jarrod's star crashed harder than a Kathie Lee Gifford CD. Flash forward: Now happily living with his cop boyfriend, Charlie, and their dog, Snickers, in the Hollywood Hills, Jarrod's ready to hit the comeback trail...but he never imagines how fame will strike this time. At a reading with his psychic, Jarrod is disturbed to hear that someone close to him will be murdered and even more shocked when it turns out to be his best friend, Willard Ray Hornsby, also a former child star. When Willard is found face down in his own lap pool, the cops call it an accident, but Jarrod's far from convinced - and he's ready to play the Sherlock Holmes of West Hollywood to prove his conspiracy theory right. But what starts in curiosity soon becomes deadly serious. Willard was keeping some very weighty secrets and even more dangerous company. From a tattooed "body-work" specialist to Willard's formidable mother and her nefarious lover, everyone seems to have had a reason to want him out of the picture permanently. And when another body turns up, it's clear that in a town full of actors, somebody's playing the very convincing part of a killer. Now, among the hustlers and the wannabes, the boy toys, sadistic acting coaches, and the tabloid press, Jarrod's high-profile sleuthing is making him once more into a household name. Except this kind of publicity is a very bad thing - because Jarrod's newest fan is someone who doesn't want an autograph...he wants him dead.

2009

JANUARY - "STEP ON A CRACK" by Michael Ledwidge & James Patterson - The nation has fallen into mourning after the death of a beloved former first lady. The most powerful people in the world gather in New York for her funeral - then the inconceivable occurs. Billionaires, politicians, and superstars of every kind are suddenly trapped within one man's brilliant and cold-blooded scenario. Detective Michael Bennett - father of ten - is pulled into the fray. As the danger escalates, Michael experiences a devastating loss: after fighting it for many years, his wife has succumbed to a terrible disease. As New York descends into chaos, he faces raising his ten heartbroken children alone - and rescuing thirty-four hostages. Day after day, Bennett confronts the most ruthless man he has ever encountered. As the entire world watches and the tension builds to a searing heat. Bennett has to find a way out - or face responsibility for a deadly debacle.

FEBRUARY - 
1. "CRY NO MORE" by Linda Howard - Count your blessings; they can be snatched away in an instant. It is a sentiment Milla Edge knows too well. With an atonishing blend of savvy, instinct, and passion, Milla displays an uncanny gift for finding lost children. When all seems helpless, desperate souls from across the country come to her for hope and results. Driven by an obsessive desire to fill the void in other people's lives, Milla throws herself into every case - all the while trying to outrun the brutal emotions stemming from a horrific tragedy in her past. Traveling to a small village in Mexico on a reliable tip, Milla begins to uncover the dire fate of countless children who have disappeared over the years in the labyrinth of a sinister baby-smuggling ring. The key to nailing down the organization may rest with an elusive one-eyed man. To find him, Milla joins forces with James Diaz, a suspicious stranger known as the Tracker who conceals his own sinister agenda. As the search intensifies, the mission becomes more treacherous. For the ring is part of something far larger and more dangerous, reaching the highest echelons of power and influence. Caught between growing passion and imminent peril, Milla suddenly finds herself the hunted - in the crosshairs of an invisible, lethal assassin who aims to silence her permanently.
2. "HOME BEFORE DARK" by Susan Wiggs - In her career as a photojournalist, free-spirited Jessie Ryder has seen the world through her camera lens. But she's never traveled far enough to escape a painful moment that has haunted her for the past sixteen year: the day she gave her baby daughter away. Now, facing a life-altering crisis, she's decided to fix the broken pieces of her heart and seek out Lila, even if it means she has to upset the world of Lila's adoptive mother...her very own sister, Luz. Like a technicolor tornado bursting into Luz's picture-perfect life, Jessie returns to her Texas hometown with a shattering request. She wants to tell Lila the truth. As Luz and her husband struggle with what Jessie's return may mean to rebellious Lila, their seemingly solid marriage falters. Old secrets are exposed. Then, just as Jessie comes to terms with the past, life's bittersweet irony plays its hand. She meets Dustin Matlock, a young father who has survived a devastating loss. And Jessie begins to see the hopeful possibilities that lie buried in the most wrenching tragedies. Though she aches to reach out to those she loves, Jessie stands at the crossroads. She is leaving behind the only life she knows and blindly leaping into the unknown. Now the choice she makes will affect the life of her daughter and challenge the meaning of sisterhood. As Jessie and Luz examine the true meaning of love, loyalty and family, they are drawn into an emotional tug-of-war filled with moments of unexpected humor, surprising sweetness and unbearable sadness. But as the pain, regrets and mistakes of the past slowly rise to the surface, a new picture emerges - a picture filled with hope, promise and the redeeming power of the human heart. 

MARCH - 
1. "MAGIC HOUR" by Kristin Hannah - Until recently, Dr. Julia Cates was one of the preeminent child psychiatrists in the country, but a scandal shattered her confidence, ruined her career, and made her a media target. When she gets a desperate call from her estranged sister, Ellie, a police chief in their small Washington hometown, she jumps at the chance to escape. In Rain Valley, nothing much ever happens - until a girl emerges from the deep woods and walks into town. She is a victim unlike any Julia has ever seen: a child locked in a world of unimaginable fear and isolation. To Julia, nothing is more important than saving the girl she now calls Alice. To heal this child, Julia will have to understand that she cannot work alone and must look to others - the people in the town she left long ago, the sister she barely knows, and Dr. Max Cerrasin, a handsome, private man with secrets of his own. Then a shocking revelation forces Julia to risk everything to discover the truth about Alice. The ordeal that follows will test the limits of Julia's faith, forgiveness, and love, as she struggles to ascertain where Alice ultimately belongs.
2. "VIRGIN RIVER" by Robyn Carr - Wanted: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River. Population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal-clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included. When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to reenergize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she's made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning. But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans...and a former marine cements them into place. Melinda Monroe may have come to Virgin River looking for escape, but instead she finds her home.

APRIL - "LIGHT OF THE MOON" by Luanne Rice - Spurred by her mother's dying wish, Susannah Connolly has traveled from her lifelong home on the Connecticut shoreline to the fabled French Camargue, to see its famous white horses and find a mysterious saint linked to her family's history. An accomplished anthropologist, Susannah has always been confident of her ability to navigate anywhere on the globe. But in the wake of a failed love affair and grieving the loss of her mother, she is adrift and uncertain, seeking only time alone to dig deeply into the personal archaeology of her own life. American born Grey Dempsey had come to the Camargue as a journalist, fell in love with a celebrated Romany rider, and suffered a devastating loss of his own. Now he operates a ranch as he struggles to raise his spirited but troubled young daughter, who, after a terrible night years ago, fears the horses she once loved. Within their bittersweet private orbit, in the midst of the endless silvered marshlands, Susannah Connolly will find a part of herself she hadn't known she had lost. And here she will find herself embraced by a circle of strong and passionate women bound together by their abiding faith in the legendary slave-saint Susannah seeks and in the miracles she is said to still perform for those who believe. Yet old secrets swirl within the fog-shrouded landscape, betrayals that may be beyond the power of any saint, or supplicant, to repair.

MAY -  "VANISHED" by Karen Robards - Seven years ago, Sarah Mason's five-year-old daughter vanished during an outing at a park in Beaufort, South Carolina. Despite a frantic search, little Lexie was never found, and Sarah was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and go on the best she could. Then, one hot August night, Sarah comes home to hear the phone ringing. When she picks it up, a child's terrified voice whispers, "mommy, help, come and get me..." The call is cut off, but not before Sarah's heart goes into overdrive: she is sure the voice belonged to Lexie. Five-year-old Lexie. The only person Sarah can count on to help her is Jake Hogan, her closest friend in the world. A former FBI agent, Jake is now a P.I., and though he is skeptical about the authenticity of the call, the attraction he feels for Sarah pushes him to help her. Their long friendship explodes into a romance as they try to find out what happened to Lexie. When the torment escalates to murder, Jake is the only one who can keep Sarah safe. Together, they are caught up in a nightmare search for Lexie that just might end with Sarah's death.

JUNE - "THE COURAGE TREE" by Diane Chamberlain - It was every mother's worst fear. Eight-year-old Sophie Donohue just wanted to be like every other little girl. Which is why her mother, Janine, reluctantly agreed to let her go on the weekend camping trip with her Brownie troop. But when Janine arrives to pick up Sophie after the trip, her daughter is not among the others. Somehow, along the forested route from West Virginia, Sophie has disappeared. Only worse. Sophie is no ordinary eight-year-old. She suffers from a rare disease, and Janine has recently enrolled her in an experimental treatment as a last effort to save her life - despite the vehement objections of her ex-husband, Joe, who believes conventional medicine is the only route to take. The only person to support Janine is Lucas Trowell, someone familiar with the herbs used in the treatment. Lucas has been encouraging Janine to keep Sophie in the program, and, indeed, the little girl has been showing remarkable improvement. All her mother's instincts tell Janine that Sophie is alive, but time is running out. Without her treatment, it's only a matter of days before Sophie's illness will claim her life. As Janine, Joe and Lucas embark on a desperate search to find Sophie, envy and suspicion grow between the two men, casting doubts on each other's true motives for helping Janine. Deep in the forest, another drama unfolds, Sophie has found refuge in a remote cabin inhabited by a woman who wants nothing to do with the little girl. She's desperate to help her own daughter, who has been wrongly imprisoned for murder and who, after escaping, is on her way to join her mother. Sophie's arrival puts in jeopardy her daughter's future, but the mysterious woman is as determined to save her daughter as Janine is to save Sophie. Only one of them can succeed.

JULY - "EMBRACED BY LOVE" by Suzanne Brockmann - Josie and Cooper were one of those couples everyone envied: gorgeous, successful, and so deeply devoted. Even though Josie tended to work too hard, putting in long hours to lift her fledgling company off the ground, and Cooper could be wild and unpredictable, the two complemented each other. It seemed their love would last forever. But sometimes love just isn't enough. When a tragic accident leaves Josie and Cooper with two young children to care for, their bond will be tested. Now the pressures of their commanding careers are compounded by the needs of the children, and they find themselves drifting further and further apart. They will have to work to find the way back to each other, to the incredible passion that was once at the center of their lives - and still burns deep in their hearts.

AUGUST - "BLACK HILLS" by Nora Roberts - A summer at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan's idea of a good time. But things are a big more bearable now that he's discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn't as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker's body. As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her dreams of becoming a widlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father's demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most. An investigator in New York, Coop recently left his fast paced life to care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something...or someone...has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil's beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe. Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. But now they much work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

SEPTEMBER
1. "HOUSE CALLS AND HITCHING POSTS" as told to Dorcas Sharp Hoover - A country boy turned country doctor goes on house calls among the Amish of eastern Ohio in this warm collection of true-life tales. Alert to his patients' preferences to have their babies born close to home, and their illnesses and injuries treated in a home-like atmosphere, Dr. Elton Lehman also created a treatment and birthing center in County, Ohio. From these years of medical technology meeting rual values comes these unforgettable stories: Joe brings his dismembered fingers to the office in a coffee can filled with kerosene; Dozens of babies are born with Dr. Lehman's help - Katie's little boy is his first at-home birth; Three-year-old Davy rallies to overcome a life-threatening illness at birth, only to be crushed under a tractor wheel; Barb, the Amish leader's wife, joins Doc Lehman in an unusual partnership, setting aside a bedroom in her home as an alternative "delivery" room. Writer Hoover captures in sometimes local venacular the joys and dilemmas of a family practitioner among a rural and predominately Amish community.
2. "THE KNOT" by Marty Kendall - When Ben Sheridan is released from prison in 1936, he returns to his hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains with only one goal -  to live a simple life. Although he's paid his debt to society, he's never forgiven himself for the unthinkable act that forced him to take the life of his step-brother over a decade before. Small-town storekeeper Heather O'Malley has never played the victim, but to most she's still that "scarred" young woman, the past prey of a madman. Unconvention and independent, she seizes the opportunity to help Ben restart his life, in part to atone for her silence about the events that sent her rescuer to prison. Ben can't resist Heather's free-spirited approach to life, and she can't resist his reluctant charm. Neither intends to fall in love. but when dangers from their past threaten their fragile connection and another young girl turns up missing, they discover just how knotted together their lives are - and how fiercely they're willing to fight for each other and their future.

OCTOBER
1. "THE LUCKY ONE" by Nicholas Sparks - When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck, winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph - his lucky charm. Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the photo - and the woman in it - out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina - Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son - to be the girl he's been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart - destroying not only their love, but also their lives.
2. "TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY" by Sandra Brown - Rita Lavender is the last woman to be swept away by a smooth line and a seductive smile. And she's just beginning to savor the fruits of her success when she meets a man who will change everything. Mayor-Elect Taylor MacKensie is handsome, charming and charismatic. Still, Rita never imagines that she'll leave a Christmas party with him, or that, caught up in the magic of a snowfall and a bottle of champagne, she'll give in to desires. Eight weeks later, Rita knows she's carrying Taylor Mackensie's child. Desperate to spare her baby the pain and stigma of illegitimacy, Rita makes the only decision she can. Suddenly Rita is sharing Taylor's house, his name, and something infinitely more dangerous to her heart...a tenderness she never expected, a passion she can't seem to control.

NOVEMBER
1. "AN ECHO IN THE BONE" by Diana Gabaldon  (Outlander series #7) - Diana Gabaldon's immensely popular Outlander saga soars to new heights with this seventh novel, which takes a breathtaking journey to 1777 America. Jamie Fraser knows from his time-traveling wife Clair that, no matter how unlikely it seems, America will win the Revolutionary War. But that truth offers little solace, since Jamie realizes he might find himself pointing a weapon directly at his own son - a young officer in the British army. And Jamie isn't the only one with a tormented soul - for Claire may know who wins the conflict, but she certainly doesn't know whether or not her beloved Jamie survives. Epic in scope and featuring a colorful cast that includes many legendary figures - including hero-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold and bawdy statesman Benjamin Franklin - An Echo in the Bone is a thrill from start to finish.
2. "SEALED WITH A KISS" by Mary Margret Daughtridge - He can handle just about anything, except this...Jax Graham is a member of an elite military team, but when it comes to taking care of his four-year-old son after his ex-wife dies, he's completely clueless. One person can help him, if he'll let her...Family therapist Pickett Sessoms knows just how to help a rough, tough Navy SEAL deal with a scared and lonely little boy, but not if he insists on going it alone. When Jax and his young son Tyler get trapped by a hurricane, Pickett takes them in against her better judgment. Jax figures Pickett's high maintenance, just like all the women he knows, and she figures he's not commitment material. But when an outing turns deadly, Pickett discovers what it means to be a SEAL, and Jax discovers that even a hero needs help sometimes.

DECEMBER
1. "OUTLANDER" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #1) - (I've read this series twice since the first book originally came out. But listening to it makes it that much better) This stunning blend of historical romance and time traveling adventure has captured the hearts of millions of readers around the world and catapulted author Diana Gabaldon to the top of the New York Times best seller list. Outlander introduces an exhilarating world of heroism and breathtaking thrills as one woman is torn between past and present, passion and love. In 1945, former combat nurse Claire Randall returns from World War II and joins her husband for a second honeymoon. Their blissful reunion is shattered when she touches a boulder in an ancient stone ruin and is instantly transported to 1743 Scotland, a place torn by war and raiding border clans. Will Claire find her way back to her own time, or is her destiny forever linked with Clan MacKenzie and the gallant James Fraser? 
2. "DRAGONFLY IN AMBER" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #2) - The sequel to Outlander sweeps listeners back into the past as Claire relates more of her perilous sojourn there with her Scottish warrior husband, James Fraser. Twenty years after her strange journey back in time, Claire has returned to Scotland with her daughter, determined to share with her the secret she has harbored since her time travel. Still longing to know the fate of her beloved warrior, she recounts the story of her stay with him in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Stuart and their attempt to avert the doomed Highlands uprising at Culloden. As her story unfolds, it reveals implications more far-reaching than even Claire could have guessed. Narrator Davina Porter's gift for expression captures the history and flavor of a harsh place and time, and gives it the polish of a warm and engaging love story.

Wow - I think I've read all of those but 3 or 4.   Is there a purpose to putting them here?   I loved seeing them but wondered why you'd put them in a thread.  I'm either very nosy or curious.

2010

JANUARY - "THE KISS" by Danielle Steel - Isabelle Forrester is the wife of a prominent Parisian banker who has long ago shut her out of his heart. For years Isabelle has lived a life of isolation, caring for her desperately ill son and her teenage daughter. She allows herself one secret pleasure: a long distance friendship with a Washington power broker who like Isabelle is trapped in an empty marriage. To Bill Robinson, Isabelle is a godsend, a kindred spirit who touches him across the miles. Their relationship is a lifeline that sustains them both through the heartache of marriages they will not betray. Agreeing to meet for a few innocent days in London, Isabelle and Bill find their friendship changing. Then, amid the crash of steel they are thrust onto a new path frought with pain but also with possibility. Now inside a London hospital, Isabella and Bill cling to life. In the weeks that follow they transverse a road to recovery littered with challenges of the body, spirit and heart. Together, they must find the strength to embrace life again. But changing relationships and another loss conspire to separate them once more. And this time they could lose each other forever.

FEBRUARY - "SUPERSTITION" by Karen Robards - Pauleys Island, South Carolina. Sunny, idyllic and picture-perfect, until a tabloid news program airs a splashy segment about the community's only unsolved murder - the girsley stabbing of teenager Tara Mitchell and the subsequent disappearance of her two best friends, now thought to be long dead. In the years since the murders, several families have moved into the mansion where the crime occurred, each claiming that the dead girls still haunt the house. Beautiful redheaded reporter Nicole Sullivan, sensing the story could be her big break, arranges for her mother, a renowned psychic, to contact the three victims in a live seance on the show Twenty-four Hours Investigates.But something goes terribly wrong during the segment, and a young woman is murdered in the same manner as Tara Mitches was fifteen years earlier. Pressured by her producers to get the inside story, Nicole continues to investigate. As an attraction grows between her and Police Chief Joe Franconi, another identical murder occurs, and a menacing warning is delivered that the original killer is back to claim three more lives. The body count rises, and so does the danger to Nicole, who is attacked, barely escaping with her life. She and Joe must team up, as it becomes clear that the killer has set his sights on her as his next victim.

MARCH - "DELICIOUS" by Susan Mallery (The Buchanans #1) - Cal Buchanan needs a top-flight chef to take over his failing Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront. He can afford to hire the best in town - the only problem is that the best happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson. Penny really needs the opportunity, but she doesn't need the distraction of working with her ex. She's sworn off romance - she's even having a baby on her own. But before she knows it, the heat is on...and the attraction between her and Cal moves from a low simmer to a full boil! The rest should be as easy as pie, but a secret from Cal's past could spoil everything. Maybe it's true that too many cooks spoil the broth - or maybe two is enough to make it irresistible.

APRIL - "STAND-IN GROOM" by Suzanne Brockmann (Sunrise #4) - Like a knight in a fairy tale, he appeared from out of nowhere and rescued her at the last moment. Now, sizing up the man who'd saved her purse and driven off her attackers, aspiring Boston entrepreneur Chelsea Spencer considered that this good-looking stranger could fit another role - not to mention a tuxedo - equally well. By the end of the week, Chelsea was scheduled to get married as a condition for earning the inheritance necessary to save her fledgling business. There was only one problem: She was short a groom. Johnny Anziano would have been satisfied with a date, but the woman he'd dashed in to save during a street mugging had proposed much more than that. For two weeks' "work," he'd earn $75,000 and a luxurious tropical island vacation. By saying a simple, meaningless "I do," he could save Chelsea one more time. But this time they were facing something a lot more dangerous than a gang of street thugs - their attraction for each other.

MAY -
1. "BLIND CURVES" by Annie Solomon - Bullets are whizzing around him, but he can't shoot back. In the middle of a weapons bust, undercover cop Danny Sinofsky suddenly goes blind. Now this man who has always looked out for himself can't cross a room without the help of his mobility instructor, Martha Crowe. Furious and frustrated, he'd almost rather die than live this way - and someone is more than willing to grant him his wish. Hiding her emotions beneath a calm, practical facade, Martha is sure Danny doesn't remember her, the plain girl from his high school who had a crush on him. When she witnesses an attack on his life, the two are thrown into a safe house, and this man without sight starts to see deep inside the soul of a courageous, passionate woman. Their very lives will depend on their fragile connection - and their ability to move as one, combining Danny's razor-sharp instincts with Martha's eyes. Because an enemy is stalking them both, moving in closer and closer for the kill.
2. "THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE" by Kristin Hannah  - Angela DeSaria Malone was always "the princess" of the family, a girl who thought she knew how her life would unfold. After her marriage collapsed under the weight of lost dreams, Angie moved back to her hometown and rejoined her loud, loving, slightly crazy family. In West End, she will find the man who once again will open her heart to love...and meet the girl who will change Angie's life. At seventeen, Lauren Ribido knows that her aspirations in life may never come to pass. But Angie sees something special in Lauren. They form a quick connection, this woman who is desperate for a daughter and the girl who has never known a mother's love. When Lauren is abandoned by her mother, Angie doesn't hesitate to offer the girl a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie for the far-reaching repercussions of this act of kindness. In a dramatic turn of events, she and Lauren will be tested in a way that mothers and daughters seldom are. Together they will embark on an intensely moving, deeply emotional journey to the very heart of what it means to be a family.

JUNE -
1. "LUCKY MAN" by Michael J. Fox -  In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease - a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The world wide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis, and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself. With the same passion, humor and energy that he has invested in his dozens of performances over the last eighteen years, he tells the story of his life, his career and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson's.
2. "PLANTATION" by Dorothea Benton Frank (A Lowcountry Tale) - When Caroline Wimbley Levine learns that her mother, Miss Lavinia, has supposedly gone mad, she leaves the big city bustle of Manhattan and returns to Tall Pines Plantation. Caroline originally left Tall Pine to escape her feisty, eccentric mother and her drunken brother, Tripo, but when Miss Lavinia dies, Caroline is forced to come to terms with her family's troubled history as well as her failing relationship with her husband. As Caroline reminisces about her past rebelliousness and her childhood, she realizes that her father's sudden and tragic death many years before served as a catalyst for the family's disintegration. Caroline and Trip also learn that their seemingly selfish and self-assured mother was not so uncaring after all.
3. "THE KILLING FLOOR" by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #1) - Ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a drifter. He's just passing through Margrave, Georgia, and in less than an hour, he's arrested for murder. Not much of a welcome. All Jack knows is that he didn't kill anybody. At least not here. Not lately. But he doesn't stand a chance of convincing anyone. Not in Margrave, Georgia. Not a chance in hell. (Ex-MP Jack Reacher goes into action to find his brother's killers, after a series of brutal crimes terrorizxes tiny Margrave, Georgia, only to uncover the dark and deadly conspiracy concealed behind the town's peaceful facade.)

JULY -
1. "TURNING ANGEL" by Greg Iles (Natchez) - Turning Angel marks the long-awaited return of Penn Cage, the lawyer hero of The Quiet Game, and introduces Drew Elliott, the highly respected doctor who saved Penn's life in a hiking accident when they were boys. Drew and Penn sit on the school board of their alma mater, St. Stephen's Prep. When the nude body of a young female student is found, the entire community is shocked - but no one more than Penn, who discovers that his best friend was entangled in a passionate relationship with the girl and may be accused of her murder. When Drew begs Penn to defend him, Penn allows his sense of obligation to override his instinct and agrees. Yet before he can begin, both men are drawn into a web of blackmail and violence. More dangerous yet is Shad Johnson, the black district attorney whose dream is to send a rich white man to death row in Mississippi. It is Penn's journey into the heart of his alma mater that gives Turning Angel its hypnotic power, for on that journey he finds that the intersection of the adult and nearly adult worlds is a dangerous place indeed. By the time Penn arrives at the shattering truth behind Kate Townsend's death, his quiet Southern town will never be the same.
2. "SAVANNAH BLUES" by Mary Kay Andrews (Savannah #1) - Eloise Foley, known to her friends as Weezie, has been through the divorce from hell. Her ex-husband Tal (aka Talmadge Evans III) was awarded their house in Savannah's historic district. The house that Weezie had spent years painstakingly restoring to its original splendor. Weezie was awarded the two-bedroom carriage house on the same property. Each was sure the other would sell. But Tal has taken up residence in the main house with his new girlfriend Caroline DeSantos (who never seems to perspire or have a hair out of place during the wilting Savannah summer). Weezie is running her antiques business out back, and neither will budge. She's also got a few loony relatives and a hunky former boyfriend to contend with, and if that's not enough, dirty deals aplenty wherever she turns. In this town, where everybody knows everybody's business, something's got to give, and something does.
3. "SUMMER HIDEAWAY" by Susan Wiggs (Lakeshore Chronicles #7) - Never get attached - Private nurse and protected witness Clair Turner lives by this motto. Fleeing a treacherous past, she knows no other way. Never give up - In the twilight of his life, George Bellamy makes it his final wish to reconcile with an estranged brother. He and Claire journey to Willow Lake - where it all went wrong for him fifty years ago. Never let go - George's grandson Ross is ruled by a fierce devotion to family and a deep mistrust of the mysterious Clair, yet sparks fly whenever she's near. In the face of a wrenching loss, amid the enchantment of Willow Lake, Ross and Claire dare to risk everything for love.
4. "SUMMER ISLAND" by Kristin Hannah - Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her two daughters behind. Now she is a radio talk show host and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist famous for her straightforward, moral advice. Her daughter, Ruby, is a struggling comedienne who uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humor. The two haven't spoken in more than a decade. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora's past, everything changes. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora's past, everything changes. A magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother, but first Ruby needs to know her well enough to write it. So Ruby returns to Summer Island, the small Washington State island where she grew up. There she is reunited with her first love, a man who once broke her heart, who she has never forgiven, or forgotten. But coming home is never simple. Nora is not the woman Ruby has imagined all these years. She is a wonderful, vulnerable, wise and funny woman who is desperate to reconcile with the daughter she once abandoned, a woman who has harbored terrible family secrets that will change forever Ruby's view of herself and her world.

AUGUST -
1."SAVANNAH BREEZE" by Mary Kay Andrews (Savannah #2) (abridged Audio CD) - Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk loses all her worldly possessions to the gorgeous Reddy who turns out to be a con man. All that's left is a ramshackle 1950s motor court on Tybee Island - an eccentric beach town that calls itself a drinking village with a fishing problem. Breeze Inn is a place where the very classy BeBe wouldn't normally be caught dead but, with no alternative, she vows to make magic out of mud. The work is grueling, especially dealing with the cantankerous caretaker, a fishing captain named Harry who's trying to earn enough dough to get his boat out of hock. With the help of Harry, BeBe soon has the motel spiffed up and attracting paying guests. Then there's a sighting of Reddy in Fort Lauderdale, and BeBe decides to go after him. The plan is to carry out a sting that may be just a little bit outside the law but with any luck at all, will retrieve BeBe's fortune and put the dastardly Reddy in jail where he belongs. And maybe Harry, who's looking more hunky every day will finally get his boat back.
2. "SAVOR THE MOMENT" by Nora Roberts (Bride Quartet #3) - Laurel McBane has always relied on her friends for support, especially when her dreams of attending culinary school was almost ruined by her parents' financial problems. Now Laurel is repaying the kindness of her friends by creating extravagantly luscious tiers of cakes and other confectionary delights that add the prefect touch to their clients' weddings. As for romance, Laurel believes in it - in theory. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that other women seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother, Delaney Brown, on whom Laurel has had a mega crush since childhood. But some infatuations last longer than others and Laurel is convinced that the Ivy League lawyer is still out of her reach. Plus, Del is too protective of Laurel to ever cross the line with her, or so she thinks. When Laurel's quicksilver moods get the better of her - leading to an angry hot, altogether mind-blowing kiss with Del - she'll have to quiet the doubts in her mind to turn a moment of passion into forever.
3. "HANNAH'S DREAM" by Diane Hammond - For forty-one years, Samson Brown has been caring for Hannah, the lone elephant at the down-at-the-heels Max L. Biedelman Zoo. Having vowed not to retire until an equally loving and devoted caretaker is found to replace him, Sam rejoices when smart, compassionate Neva Wilson is hired as the new elephant keeper. But Neva quickly discovers what Sam already knows: that despite their loving care, Hannah is isolated from other elephants and her feet are nearly ruined from standing on hard concrete all day. Using her contacts in the zookeeping world, Neva and Sam hatch a plan to send Hannah to an elephant sanctuary - just as the zoo's angry, unhappy director launches an aggressive revitalization campaign that spotlights Hannah as the star attraction, inextricably tying Hannah's future to the fate of the Max L. Biedelman Zoo.

SEPTEMBER -
1. "TO THE BRINK" by Cindy Gerard (Bodyguards #3) - Her life hangs in the balance and the only man who can save her is the husband she left long ago. Working on highly sensitive diplomatic affairs, Darcy Prescott is a natural target for terrorist kidnappers. But when she's mysteriously plucked off a street in Manila one sultry night, Darcy's disappearance isn't what it seems. The moment Special Forces soldier Ethan Garrett laid eyes on Darcy, he knew she was the woman he would marry - and he did. But when their marriage fell apart, Ethan never really recovered. Now a highly paid bodyguard, Ethan quickly slips back into combat mode when he learns of Darcy's disappearance and calls in old favors to assemble a rogue rescue team. Tracking Darcy all the way to the jungles of the Philippines, Ethan knows every move he makes could mean the difference between life and death. His love for Darcy burns stronger than ever. But when he learns the true reason for her abduction, it may be too late to save her or himself.
2. "KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP" by Linda Howard - It's a job that makes a killing. Efficient, professional and without apology, Lily Mansfield is a hired assassin, working as a contract agent for the CIA. Her targets are the powerful and corrupt, those who can't be touched by the law. Now, after eighteen years of service, Lily has been drawn into a dangerous game that hasn't been sanctioned, seeking vengeance for her own reasons. Though stress and shock have made her feel somewhat invincible and a little cocky, Lily knows that she too can be taken out in an instant. And if it's her time, so be it. She intends to go down fighting. A CIA agent himself, Lucas Swain recognizes the signs of trauma in the line of fire. His orders: either bring her in or bring her down. Yet he too is drawn into the game with Lily, while still battling a tenacious foe who is dogging their every step. Keeping laser focus on the task at hand while vigilantly watching her back. Lily never sees the lethal peril that lies directly in her path and how loyalty has a price.
3. "THE BOOK THIEF" by Markus Zusak - By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.
4. "GARDEN SPELLS" by Sarah Addison Allen - The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended the garden. Their history was in the soil. But so was their future. A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants - from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys - except for Claire's rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire as their own mother had years before. When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire's quiet life is turned upside down - along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their committment legacy - if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom - or with each other.

OCTOBER -
1. "TRUE EVIL" by Greg Iles (Natchez) - A divorce attorney brings new meaning to "Til Death Do Us Part." Dr. Chris Shepard is thirty-six years old, newly married and well on his way to a perfect life. Or so he believes. But that future is forever cast into doubt the day Special Agent Alexandra Morse walks into his office and drops a bombshell: Dr. Shepard's beautiful new wife is plotting his murder. Once he is alone, doubt begins to gnaw at hom. Chris agrees to act as bait to help Agent Morse unravel the divorce lawyer's scheme, which may already have cost nine unsuspecting spouses their lives. Rigorous autopsies have uncovered no forensic evidence of floul play and the police believe no crimes have occured. Shepard realizes that he's working with a desperate woman. The reason: the killer's last known victim was Alex Morse's sister, who from her deathbed accused her husband of murder. But Chris Shepard soon feels desperation of his own. As he probes his wife's hidden past, he is confronted by the probability that the woman he loves wants him dead. He has adopted her son and given her everything he has to give and yet somewhere out there, a killer with the brilliance to outwit the top forensic scientists in the world is closing in on him.
2. "WHILE MY SISTER SLEEPS" by Barbara Delinsky - Molly and Robin Snow are sisters and like all sisters they share a deep bond that sustains them through good times and bad. Their careers are flourishing - Molly is a horticulturist and Robin is a world class runner and they are in the prime of their lives. So when Molly receives news that Robin has suffered a massive heart attack, she couldn't be more shocked. At the hospital, the Snow family receives a grim prognosis: Robin may never regain consciousness. As Robin's parents and siblings struggle to cope, the complex nature of their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Molly, has always lived in Robin's shadow and her feelings have run the gamut, from love to resentment and back. The last time they spoke, they argued. But now there is so much more at stake. Molly's parents fold under the devastating circumstances and her brother retreats into the cool reserve that is shattering his own family. It's up to Molly to make the tough decisions and she soon makes discoveries that destroy some of her most cherished beliefs about the sister she thought she knew.
3. "FAITH AND FIDELITY" by Tere Michaels (Faith & Fidelity #1) - New York Vice Detective Evan Cerelli has lost his wife, the only person he ever loved and slept with. He's trying to get on with his life, build a life for his children. Former Homicide Detective Matt Haight is a ladies' man, all sex/no commitment. He's depressed, having a midlife crisis and not sure where his life is headed. The two find friendship in the bottom of a shared bottle. When the friendship turns to love, it shakes two straight men to the core and flips their lives inside out. Kids, families, careers that are not gay-friendly - can all the love in the world overcome the obstacles?
4. "THE SUNFLOWER" by Richard Paul Evans - "Seek not your destiny, for it is seeking you." Just a week before their marriage, Christine's fiance calls off the wedding, leaving her heartbroken. With hopes of helping her through a difficult time, Christine's best friend Jessica enrolls them both on a humanitarian mission in Peru, to work at an orphanage called El Girasol - The Sunflower. While working at the orphanage Christine meets Paul Cook, a successful and charismatic American doctor who has fled the States after one fatal day took away his career, his faith and the woman he loved. Unplanned events lead Paul and Christine into the jungle of the Amazon, where Christine must confront her deepest fears and she and Paul much both learn to trust and love again.
5. "BLUE CHRISTMAS" by Mary Kay Andrews (Savannah #3) - It's the week before Christmas and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to deck out her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she's done, but the results are stunning. She's certainly one-upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner, but suddenly things start to go missing from her display and there seems to be an uninvited midnight visitor to her shop. Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday - maybe in the form of an engagement from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual. Throw in Weezie's decidedly od family, a mysterious 1950's Christmas pin and even a little help from the King himself (Elvis that is), and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas.

NOVEMBER -
1. "BLIND FALL" by Christopher Rice - John Houck became a Marine to become a hero. But his life changed when he failed to notice an explosive device that ended up maiming the captain of his Force Recon Company, a respected Marine who nearly sacrificed himself to save John's life. Home from Iraq, John pays a visit to his former captain, only to discover the captain has been gruesomely murdered. John pursues a strange man he sees running from the scene, but he discovers that Alex Martin is not the murderer. Alex is, in fact, the former captain's secret male lover and the killer's intended next victim. When it becomes clear that local law enforcement has direct connections to the murder itself, John realizes that to repay his debt of honor, he must teach Alex Martin how to protect himself, even to kill. Blind Fal is a startling psychological thriller, a story of honor and integrity, of turning failure into victory and a stunning departure for author Christopher Rice: the story of two men who much unite to avenge the death of the man they both loved - one as a brother-in-arms, one as a lover.
2. "HAND OF EVIL" by J.A. Jance (Allison Reynolds #3) - With his hand trapped in the door of a speeding car, a man struggles to remain upright as he's dragged along a deserted of San Juan Road in Phoenix's South Mountain Preserve. It's the perfect place to drive a man to his grave - literally. Starting with a crime so gruesome even prowling coyotes keep their distance from the remains, a killer begins crisscrossing the Southwest on a spree of grisly murders. A hundred miles away, Ali Reynolds is grieving. The newscasting job she once delighted in is gone and so is the philandering husband she loved and thought she knew. When a friend of a member of the family who gave Ali a generous scholarship for her education decades earlier suddenly asks her for a meeting, Ali wonders what it can mean. Before she can satisfy her curiosity, though, Ali receives another startling call: a friend's teenage daughter has disappeared. Ali offers to help, but in doing so, she unknowingly begins a quest that will reveal a deadly ring of secrets, at the center of which stand two undiscriminating killers.
3. "FULL OF GRACE" by Dorethea Benton Frank (a Lowcountry Tale) - Hilton Head, South Carolina. Retirement heaven - at least it's supposed to be, but for Big Al and Connie, the move from New Jersey to this southern paradise has been fraught with just a few complications. Especially for their daughter, Grace. Well, that's what she likes to be called. Her family insists on Maria Grazxiella. Seriously, enough with the Neapolitan. That might have been okay in New Jersey but now it's just plain silly and Grace at thirty-one is, horror of horrors, still unmarried. No wonder her family drives her crazy. Well, that and the fact that she's living with the man she would marry if they both weren't so commitment phobic. Michael is a doctor and a scientist and Grace has a good idea that he's also an atheist. Over the years, Grace has become a bit ambivalent about her faith but her family is as old-fashioned Italian as they get. The stage is set for a major showdown that might just change Grace's outlook on life, family and the new South.
4. "THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB" by Kate Jacobs - Once a week, an eclectic group of women comes together at a New York City yarn shop to work on their latest projects and share the stories of their lives. At the center of Walker and Daughter is the shop's owner, Georgia, who is overwhelmed with juggling the store and single-handedly raising her teenage daughter. Happy to escape the demands of her life, she looks forward to her Friday night Knitting Club, where she and her friends - Anita, Peri, Darwin, Lucie and K.C - exchange knitting tips, jokes and their deepest secrets. But when the man who once broke Georgia's heart suddenly shows up, demanding a role in their daughter's life, her world is shattered. Luckily, Georgia's friends are there for encouragement, sharing their own tales of intimacy, heartbreak and miracle making. And when the unthinkable happens, these women will discover what they've created isn't just a knitting club: it's a sisterhood.

DECEMBER -
1.  "SOUTHERN LIGHTS" by Danielle Steel - Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband's betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistant D.A. in Manhattan, Alexa has finally put her demons to rest, making a name for herself as a top prosecutor, handling the city's toughest cases while juggling her role as devoted single mom to a teenage daughter. But everything changes when Alexa is handed her latest case: the trial of accused serial killer Luke Quentin. Sifting through mountains of forensic evidence, Alexa prepares for a highstakes trial...until threatening letters throw her private life into turmoil, The letters are addressed to her beautiful seventeen-year-old daughter, Savannah, whom Alexa has been raising alone since her divorce, Alexa is certain that Quentin is behind the letters and that they are too dangerous to ignore. Suddenly she must make the toughest choice of all and send her daughter back to the very place where her marriage ended in heartbreak...her ex-husband's world of southern tradition, memories of betrayal and the antebellum charm of Charleston. Now, while Alexa's trial builds to a climax in New York, her daughter is settling into southern life, discovering a part of her family history and a father she barely knows - from the ice-cold stepmother who stole him away to a fascinating ancestry and a half-sister and half-brothers she comes to love. As secrets are exposed and old wounds are healed, Alexa and Savannah, after a season in different worlds, will come together - strengthened by the challenges they have faced, changed by the mysteries they have unraveled and with Savannah now at home in the southern world her mother fled.
2.  "THE LAND OF MANGO SUNSETS" by Dorothea Benton Frank (a Lowcountry Tale) - Meet Miriam Elizabeth Swanson, in a full-blown snit, buoyed by a fabulous cast who run the gamut from insufferable to wonderful. Miriam spins out from the revolving door of her postured life as a Manhattan quasi socialite while she thirsts, no, starves for recognition. How did she become what she hates the most and what does she endure to realize it? And where are the answers? It takes a few spins, dips and one spectacular fall until Miriam gets her head on straight. Then in a whoosh she's off to the enchanted and mysterious land of Sullivans Island, deep in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
3. "HANNAH'S LIST" by Debbie Macomber (Blossom Street) - On the anniversary of his beloved wife's death, Dr. Michael Everett receives a letter Hannah had written him. In it she reminds him of her love and makes one final request. An impossible request - I want you to marry again, She tells him he shouldn't spend the years he has left grieving her. And to that end she's chosen three women she asks him to consider. First on Hannah's list is her cousin, Winter Adams, a trained chef who owns a cafe on Seattle's Blossom Street. Second is Leanne Lancaster, Hannah's oncology nurse. Michael knows them both. The third name is one he's not familiar with - Macy Roth. Each of these three women has her own heartache, her own private grief. More than a year earlier, Winter broke off her relationship with another chef. Leanne is divorced from a man who defrauded the hospital for which she works. And Macy lacks family of her own, the family she craves, but she's a rescuer of strays, human and animal. Macy is energetic, artistic, eccentric and couldn't be more different from Michael. During the months that follow, he spends time with Winter, Leanne and Macy, learning more about each of them and about himself. Learning what Hannah already knew, he's a man who needs the completeness only love can offer, And Hannah's list leads him to the woman who can help him find it.

JANUARY -
1. "SONS OF FORTUNE" by Jeffrey Archer - A powerful tale of twins separated by fate and reunited by destiny. In Hartford, Connecticut, in the late 1940s, a set of twins is parted at birth. Nat Cartwright goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and an insurance salesman, while his twin brother begins his days as Fletcher Davenport, son of a multimillionaire and his society wife. During the 1950s and 1960s, the two brothers grow up apart. Nat leaes college to serve in Vietnam, then earns his MBA and becomes a successful currency dealer. Fletcher graduates from Yale and goes on to distinguish himself as a criminal defense lawyer before becoming a senator. At various times both men are confronted with challenges and obstacles, tragedy and betrayal, loss and hardship, before they both decide to run for governor - unaware they are brothers. Sons Of Fortune is as much a chronicle of a nation in transition as it is the story of these two men - how they discover the truth - and its tragic consequences.

FEBRUARY -
1. "WILD MAN CREEK" by Robyn Carr (Virgin River #12) - Sometimes love takes root in unexpected places - if you'll only let it grow. Colin Riordan came to Virgin River to recuperate from a horrific helicopter crash, the scars of which he bears inside and out. His family is wonderfully supportive, but it's his art that truly soothes his troubled soul. Stung personally and professionally by an ill-advised affair, PR guru Jillian Matlock has rented an old Victorian with a promising garden in Virgin River. She's looking forward to cultivating something other than a corporate brand. Both are looking to simplify, not complicate, their lives, but when Jillian finds Colin at his easel in her yard, there's an instant connection. And in Virgin River, sometimes love is the simplest choice of all.
2. "HARVEST MOON" by Robyn Carr (Virgin River #13) - Rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock's sudden collapse at work is a wake-up call. Disillusioned and burned out, she's retreated to her sister Jillian's house in Virgin River to rest and reevaluate. Puttering in Jill's garden and cooking with her heirloom vegetables is wonderful, but Virgin River is a far cry from San Francisco. Kelly's starting to feel a little too unmotivated...until she meets Lief Holbrook. The handsome widower looks more like a lumberjack than a sophisticated screenwriter - a combination Kelly finds irresistible. But less appealing is Lief's rebellious stepdaughter, Courtney. She's the reason they moved from L.A., but Courtney's finding plenty of trouble even in Virgin River. Kelly's never fallen for a guy with such serious baggage, but some things are worth fighting for. Besides, a bratty teenager can't be any worse than a histrionic chef...right?
3. "UNDERTOW" by Cherry Adair (Cutter Cay #1) - Teal Williams is content with her career as a ship's master mechanic - until Zane Cutter, the "Casanova of the Caribbean," makes her an offer she can't refuse: to climb on board with him for a real-life treasure hunt. Teal must help him dredge up a shipwrecked vessel containing an abundance of gold, silver and emeralds - and she'll claim part of the prize. Zane needs a mechanic - not a lover - and Teal, who can also dive, is perfect for the job. So it suits him just fine that Teal is completely immune to his charms...or so he tells himself. But with a deadly enemy in their midst - one who's silently edging closer - Zane and Teal sink into troubled waters. Trapped in the middle of a perilous sea, they have no one to turn to but each other as they face down a danger that runs unfathomably deep - and a passion that runs even deeper.
4. "WILD CARD" by Lora Leigh (Elite Ops #1) - It was supposed to be simple. All Navy SEAL Nathan Malone had to do was rescue three young girls from a Colombia drug cartel, then allow himself to be captured just long enough to draw out a government spy. That was before his mission went disastrously wrong and before his wife, Bella, was told that Nathan was never coming home. Bella's mourned her husband's death for three long years. But she has no idea he's still alive. Forced to assume a new identity, the man Nathan was is now dead. If he can get back to his wife, can he keep the secret of who he really is...even as desire threatens to consume them? And as danger threatens to tear Bella from Nathan's arms once more?
5. "HOME AGAIN" by Mariah Stewart (Chesapeake Diaries #2) - Dallas MacGregor is living the Hollywood dream. At thirtysomething, she's an award-winning actress bound for even bigger success. But when her soon-to-be-ex-husband, producer Emilio Baird, is caught in a sex scandal, Dallas's charmed life turns tabloid nightmare. Determined to shield her young son, Cody, from the ugly uproar, Dallas seeks refuge in sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland - the Chesapeake Bay town where her happiest childhood days were spent. Reunited with her boisterous great-aunt, Dallas wants nothing more than to leave her Hollywood days behind. And when she crosses paths with local veterinarian Grant Wyler, her high school summer love, she finds that the spark is still there. But Dallas's promising new life takes a troubling turn when she finds herself living a mother's worst nightmare and Emilio storms into St. Dennis amid much fanfare, determined to play the hero. But in the end only Grant is willing to risk it all to save Dallas's son and win her heart.

MARCH -
1. "UNDER THE WIRE" by Cindy Gerard (Bodyguards #5) - Manny Ortega is a man without a country and he has one woman to thank for it. She was his first and only true love and when she left, she took more than his heart - she took his life as he knew it. Hardened and honed sharp as a knife by years as a special forces soldier and police detective, Manny is ready for a fresh start at his friend Ethan Garrett's security firm. But the past isn't ready to let him go. Lily Campora never imagined what would happen to Manny after she walked away from him that night in the sultry Nicaraguan heat - or how he'd hated her for it every day since. Seventeen years later, Lily knows everything and she must put her fear of Manny's rage aside to beg for his help. His forgiveness may be too much to hope for. Thrust into action on a mission that will transport them to a country rife with political turmoil and civil unrest, Manny and Lily must find a way to work together. And now, amidst the dangerous beauty of a landscape reminiscent of Manny's homeland, passion will ignite once more
2. "ANGEL'S REST" by Emily March (Eternity Springs #1) - Gabriel Callahan has lost everything that mattered. All he wants is solitude on an isolated mountain estate. Instead, he gets a neighbor. Vibrant, no-nonsense Nic Sullivan is Eternity Springs' veterinarian and she has an uncanny plan to lure this talented architect back to the world of the living. First with a dog, next with a renovation project and finally, with a night of passion that ends with a surprise. Now a man still raw from tragedy must face the biggest struggle of his heart. Can he forgive himself and believe in the power of second chances? Dare he trust in the promise of a future and a brand-new family here in Eternity Springs?
3. "AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING" by Willa Okati - Eli and Zane. Colleagues at work and close friends, though on the surface it's an unexpected friendship between an odd couple. While Zane took the "high school to college to med school" track, medicine is Eli's second career and the best choice he ever made. He has work that he loves, an extended second family of colleagues and friends and Zane. So why does everyone make such a big deal about the pair of them? Yes, they spend a lot of time together. It doesn't mean they're a real couple. When teased about it one too many time by their colleagues, Zane challenges Eli to set the record straight with a kiss to prove there's absolutely no chemistry between them. Neither expected a spark to ignite between them. More than a spark. Desire. Passion. Zane wants to try getting up close and personal again to see if it was a one-time fluke or something more. Eli thinks he's too old to jump the fence now, but he can't say no to Zane and he doesn't want to. Truth be told, Eli's not so sure they can set the record straight after all.
4. "EXTREME EXPOSURE" by Pamela Clare (I-Team #1) - It's been years since her child's father dumped her and since then Kara McMillan has kept men at bay - although every day she aches more for a lover's touch. But to get that the hard-boiled journalist must become vulnerable - a feeling she vowed never to have again. With his dangerous good looks, charm and power, Senator Reece Sheridan could have just about any woman he sets his piercing eyes on. But he's intrigued by only one. This Kara, this gutsy investigative reporter, has a sensuality that arouses him to no end. If she's a firebrand in print, he guesses, she must be just as fiery in bed. But this is no fling. A sudden political scandal - and attempts on Kara's life - could very well drive them apart. Or maybe, just maybe, adversity could draw them into a bond even more intense than their steamy sexual embraces.
5. "SWEETWATER CREEK" by Anne Rivers Siddon - At twelve, Emily Parmenter is left mostly to herself after her mother disappears and her beloved older brother dies. Emily has built a life around the faded plantation where her remote father and hunter-obsessed brothers raise hunting spaniels. It is a meager, masculine world, but to Emily it has magic. And then comes Lulu Foxworth, troubled daughter of a truly grand plantation, who has run away from her hectic Charleston debutante season. Where Emily's father sees Lulu as an entree to society, Emily is threatened and mystified. Lulu has a powerful enchantment of her own and this, along with the dark, crippling secret she brings with her, will inevitably blow Emily's world apart and let the real one in - but at a terrible price.
6. "LAVENDER MORNING" by Jude Deveraux (Edilean #1) - Joycelyn Minton was only five years old when her mother died. After her handyman father remarried, Joce never felt lonelier - until she met Edilean Harcourt. Sixty years Joce's senior, Miss Edi was a kindred soul who understood her like no one else ever had. When Edilean passes away, she leaves all her worldly possessions to Joce - including an eighteenth-century house and a letter with clues to a decades-old mystery. The letter also reveals that Miss Edi has found the perfect man for Joce - a handsome young lawyer - and that a new life awaits her in Edilean, a small Virginia town. Curious to seek out her new destiny, Jocelyn moves to the tight-knit village and does indeed meet a man with his own hidden past. And as she pieces together the puzzle left by Miss Edi, shocking surprises about Joce's family's history - and her future - come to light.

My favorite book of this month was Wrecker by Summer Wood.  I am always a sucker for a well written book about 1. California in the 60s  2.  Kids   3.  People who drop out and live in the rural country side.

I am reading The Red Thread by Ann Hood and it is very good.  It is a story of adopting abandoned baby girls from China.