FINISHED -

1. "HOT IN HERE" by Lori Foster "UNCOVERED" (A++++++) Firefighter Harris Black is startled to stumble across nude photos of a woman...and handwritten notes about him. Who is this mystery woman? Harris hires a P.I. to trace her, never suspecting he's already found her. "TAILSPIN" (A+++++) Lumberyard owner Buck Boswell prides himself on his way with women - but his prickly neighbor, Sadie Harte, seems immune to his charms. Is she really as aloof as she acts or can Buck convince her to take a chance on the guy next door? "AN HONORABLE MAN" (A+++++) Lieutenant colonel Hamilton Wulf's career ambitions cost him the one woman he ever wanted - Liv Avery. Now he's determined to win back her love...even if it means risking his life.
2. "SMOOTH SAILING" by Lori Wilde (Stop the Wedding! #2) (A++++) Sex and the sea...Desperate to win back his ex, billionaire playboy Jeb Whitcomb spent a year in self-discipline and (mostly) celibacy. He's a new man. But when she decides to marry someone else, Jeb immediately sets sail. He has only four days to stop the wedding and, worse still, he has a stowaway...the only woman who can make a newly good man behave very, very badly! R.N. Haley French is furious. For one night, she lets go of her usual boring routine and the next she knows she's accidentally off to Florida with Mr. Sexy Superficiality and desperately trying to forget the steamy encounter they almost shared. And in the boat, there's no escape from each other...or the unfurling lust that threatens to send their self-control overboard!
3. "WILLOWLEAF LANE" by RaeAnne Thayne (A+++++) Sometimes going back is the best way to start over. Candy shop owner Charlotte Caine knows temptation. To reboot her life, shed weight and gain perspective, she's passing up sweet enticements left and right. But willpower doesn't come so easily when hell-raiser Spencer Gregory comes back to Hope's Crossing, bringing with him memories of broken promises and teen angst. A retired pro baseball player on the mend from injury - and a damaging scandal - he's interested in his own brand of reinvention. Now everything about Spencer's new-and-improved lifestyle, from his mission to build a rehab facility for injured veterans to his clear devotion to the preteen daughter, Peyton, touches Charlotte's heart. Holding on to past hurt is her only protection against falling for him - again. But if she takes the risk, will she find in Spencer a hometown heartbreaker, or the hero she's always wanted?
4. "CASTAWAY COVE" by JoAnn Ross (Shelter Bay #6) (A++++++) They've never met. But they're destined for each other...Single dad Mac Culhane has traveled to some of the world's most dangerous war zones, but now he and his young daughter have settled in Shelter Bay where he's become the late-night deejay for the local radio station. The last thing he expects is to connect over the airwaves with a caller. After a painful divorce, Annie Shepherd opened up a scrapbook store in town and started volunteering with local senior cicizens. Although she loves her work, dreams of the family she longs for keep her up late, listening to Mac Culhane's voice on the radio. When Mac and Annie finally meet in person, the attraction between them is instantaneous. But Annie isn't ready to lay her heart on the line and neither is Mac. Fortunately, no one in Shelter Bay is about to let a perfect match escape the magic of true love.
5. "INNOCENT AS SIN" by Elizabeth Lowell (St. Kilda Consulting #3) (unabridged audio CD) (A+++++) Kayla Shaw is a smart and capable private banker in Arizona. Rand McCree is a haunted man painting landscapes in the Pacific Northwest, burning with a need for answers. They are two strangers with nothing in common - until their lives entwine...and explode. Everything changes for Kayla as she barely escapes a kidnapping attemt and finds herself accused of a shocking crime: the illegal laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars. Damned by lies and false "evidence," she is trapped. After five agnoizing years, Rand has finally been offered the name of his twin brother's murderer. Hundry for vengeance, he accepts a job with St. Kilda Consulting that will place him in the killer's orbit...and tantalizingly close fo Kayla Shaw, who has been targeted as the killer's next victim. Since she can't turn to the police, who believe she's guilty as sin, she must place her life in Rand McCree's hands. Suspicious of one another, needing one another, they are two against the world as the violence of the past erupts in the present. And now innocence alone will not be enough to keep Kayla Shaw alive.
6. "PRIDE MATES" by Jennifer Ashley (New author for me) (Shifters Unbound #1) (A++++) Collared and controlled, Shifters are outcast from humanity, forced to live in Shiftertowns. But waiting within are passions that no Collar can contain. Like most Shifters, Liam Morrissey has learned that trusting humans leads to no good. But when a beautiful attorney enters Shiftertown alone, Liam's alpha nature leaves him no choice but to offer his protection. Tasked with defending a Shifter accused of murder, attorney Kim Fraser is completely out of her depth in the mysterious world of Shifters. To prove her client's innocence, Kim will need the help of someone on the inside, even though relying on Liam goes against everything society says about Shifters. And when an un-Collared Shifter threatens both Kim and Liam, the young attorney will have to learn to trust her unlikely protector and face the passion she feels for a man who can't be tamed.
7. "SAFE HAVEN" by Nicholas Sparks (A++++++) When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with her plainspoken neighbor, Jo; and another with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children. Katie slowly begins to relax her guard, putting down roots in the community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts her. With Jo's support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards...and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.
8. "THE MIGHTY QUINNS: LOGAN" by Kate Hoffman (New author for me) (The Mighty Quinns #23) (A+++++) He's just an average, irresistibly sexy guy. It's a long, hot trip from one side of Australia to the other, but horse breeder Logan Quinn has a job to do - sell his favorite filly and dream of a home and a horse ranch of his own. When he stays over at a posh horse farm, however, his dreams turn to fantasies about the owner's daughter. And for just one night, he gives himself up to sweet surrender. One night isn't nearly enough for heiress Sunny Grant. She'd be crazy to let a scrumptious bloke like Logan disappear from her bed and her life. Now she wants more - even if it means stowing away in his camper van! With nothing in common but a white-hot attraction, they'll travel across the Land of Oz - together. But nothing in this journey will ever prepare them for their destination!
9. "POINT HOPE" by Kirsten James (Kindle) (A++++) After his Navy career came to an end, Trey became an EMT in his hometown of Coos Bay, Oregon. He struggles with PTSD, which affects his ability to do his job and connect with his family. His wife seems to be living life without him. Rosette can't figure what happened to her marriage, or to Trey - the man she once loved so desperately. It feels like she'll lose everything along with himw. Meanwhile, he's enclosed in his own world without her. Their marriage is on its last legs when their family is faced with two deaths and an orphan. They're already raising two young children and Trey's teenage brother, Alex. Trey and Rosette make a shaky agreement to play "family" for now so they can take care of Trey's recently orphaned niece. But can faking it ever be enough? It's make-it or break-it time. If they split apart, who will raise Hope?
10. "TALL, DARK AND TEXAS" by Jodi Thomas (Whispering Mountain #3) (A++++++) Tegan McMurray would ride to hell and back to protect his land. He'd certainly never felt that way about a woman. At least not until Jessie Barton showed up with her three little girls, desperate for a place to stay. Suddenly he finds himself proposing marriage, telling himself it is only to protect her and her children. Jessie had no place to go except Whispering Mountain - and to Teagan, the one person who couldn't deny her, thanks to the correspondence he shared with her dead husband. But what will happen once the man she's loved through his letters discovers her tangle of lies? 
11. "ON THE STEAMY SIDE" by Louisa Edwards (Market Trilogy #2) (A++++++) She's never met a man so mouth-watering. When Lilah Jane Tunkle fled her dull life in Virginia for the bright lights of New York City, she didn't expect to wind up a nanny to a gorgeous celebrity chef's ten-year-old son. Working for the delectable Devon Sparks is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially after Lilah gets a tantalizing taste of his perfectly seasoned kisses. And he can't resist her down-home spice.  Devon's not sure he can handle one more surprise ingredient in his life - he left his popular TV show, his culinary reputation is on the line, and now the son he barely knows is back for seconds. Liliah's Southern sass is supposed to keep the boy in line, but soon enough she's teaching Devon a thing or two about homespun food...and turning up the heat.
12. "PEARL JINX" by Sandra Hill (Jinx #2) (Red Hot Cajun #6) (A+++++) Deep, dark and full of dangerous surprises! As project manager for Jinx Inc.'s underground hunt for pearls, it's ex-Amish Navy SEAL Caleb Peachy's job to keep his PhDiva consultant in check. It ain't easy: archaelogist extraordinaire "Crazy" Claire Cassidy is annoyingly clever, exotically sexy (she even makes a pair of waders look hot), and practically scaring his pants off with her honesty. Claire knows Caleb isn't ready to settle down, but hey, what girl can say no to a little lovin' with a rough and sexy SEAL? All she has to do is steer clear of Jinx Inc.'s anaconda mascot, one eccentric Cajun matchmaker, a bunch of ticked-off elders and remember her mission (oh yeah, the pearls). But there's a lot more to Caleb Peachy than meets the eye. And for Claire, surrendering to this attraction could lead to treasure beyond measure...or something that could break her heart.
13. "PROMISE ME TEXAS" by Jodi Thomas (Whispering Mountain #7) (A+++++) On a midnight train, four hours away from her wedding, Beth McMurray discovers the devastating truth about the powerful senator she's about to marry. She is convinced nothing could make this stormy night worse - until the train wrecks and she tumbles straight into the arms of an outlaw. Andrew McLaughlin doesn't believe in love except between the pages of his journal. He loved once and thinks he'll never survive another loss. To help a friend, he climbs aboard a train heading toward Dallas. In the moment before the train crashes, he saves a beautiful woman and is injured in the fall. He wakes up to find she's claimed him as her fiance - and now they're both on the run and destined to do everything it takes to make an unexpected promise of love come true.
14. "DINAH'S DARK DESIRE" by Mechele Armstrong (New author for me) (Dinah's Desire #1) (A++++) (includes a bonus story - DINAH'S CHRISTMAS DESIRE) Dinah has two hunky best friends, Ian and Taylor. They are there for her during any trauma that comes her way, especially when her boyfriend abuses her. But when they decide they want her between them forever and in all ways possible, she's uncertain of their future. Being with them is the sexiest thing she's ever done. They arouse her beyond anything she's ever dreamed possible. And they give her a sense of completion, though she never imagined the American dream with Dick, Jane...and Robert. But when odd things start happening, ugly things that make her doubt who she's becoming, she resists her desires. Ignores her gut feelings that they are meant to be. Dinah doesn't want to bow to the pressures or run from danger, but can she find a way to have her darkest desire: to be the woman in the middle?
15. "BLAZE" by JoAnn Ross (A++++++) Fire cop Tess Gannon is hot on the trail of a pyromaniac who's been setting buildings ablaze throughout Somersett, South Carolina, when ATF Special Agent Gage O'Halloran arrives on her fire scene. Coming out of a self-imposed exile, Gage suspects that Tess's "Flamemaster" is connected to a serial killer he apprehended three years ago. Tess doesn't like Gage. He's too rude. Too arrogant. Too damn...male. Worse yet, she doesn't trust him. Forced into an uneasy alliance, Tess and Gage race to stop the killer from striking another fatal match. But Gage's fragile hope for redemption is put to the test when Tess becomes ensnared in a homicidal pyromaniac's deadly obsession. And time is running out.
16. "THE LONE TEXAN" by Jodi Thomas (Whispering Mountain #4) (A+++++) Three days after arriving in Galveston, newly widowed Sage McMurray is furious. She'd been gone from Texas long enough to forget what it takes to survive on the frontier and finds herself taken hostage in a robbery. Sage fears if the outlaws discover who she is, she may never see Whispering Mountain again. Her fears are about to come true when the outlaws decide to auction off their pretty captive to the highest bidder and a tall stranger offers twice the highest bid. Drummond Roak has grown up in the years since Sage left. He now makes his living as a gunfighter, but his love for her has never changed. While fighting to keep her alive, he is also determined to convince the Texas beauty that beneath his wild ways is a man worth loving.
17. "DAISY'S BACK IN TOWN" by Rachel Gibson (Lovett, Texas #1) (A++++++) He loves me not...Daisy Lee Monroe thought she'd brushed the dust of Lovett, Texas, off her high-heeled shoes years ago, but she's come back home only to find that little has changed. Her sister is still crazy and her mom still has pink plastic flamingos in her front yard. And Jackson Lamott Parrish, the bad boy she'd left behind, is still so sexy it hurts. She'd like nother better than to avoid this particular man, but she can't. Daisy has something to say to Jackson and she's not going anywhere until he listens. He loves me...Jackson learned his lesson about Daisy the hard way and now the only word he's interested in hearing from Daisy's red lips is good-bye. But she's poppping up everywhere and he doesn't believe in coincidence. It seems the only way to keep her quiet is with her mouth, but kissing Daisy had once been his downfall. Is he strong enough to resist her now? Strong enough to watch her walk out of his life again? Is he strong enough to make her stay?
18. "10TH ANNIVERSARY" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Woman's Murder Club #10) (A+++++) For every secret...Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a teenage girl is badly injured and left for dead and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminal - but the victim may be keeping secrets as well. For every lie...At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life - a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of their two young children. Yuki's career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose. Should she trust her best friend or follow her instinct? There's a different way to die...Lindsay's every move is watched by her new boss, Lieutenant Jackson Brady and when the pressure to find the baby begins interfering with her new marriage to Joe, she wonders if she'll ever be able to start a family.
19. "TWO OF A KIND" by Susan Mallery (Fool's Gold #12) (A+++++) Felicia Swift never dreamed she'd hear a deep, sexy voice from her past in tiny Fool's Gold, California. The last time Gideon Boylan whispered in her ear was half a world aay - on the morning after the hottest night of her life. Her freaky smarts have limited her close friendships and romance, but she came to Fool's Gold looking for ordinary. Gorgeous, brooding Gideon is anything but that. Black Ops taught Gideon that love could be deadly. Now he pretends to fit in while keeping everyone at arm's length. Felicia wants more than he can give - a home, family, love - but she has a lot to learn about men...and Gideon needs to be the man to teach her. As these two misfits discover that passion isn't the only thing they have in common, they just might figure out that two of a kind should never be split apart.
20. "TO HAVE AND TO HOLD" by Leigh Greenwood (New author for me) (Cactus Creek Cowboys #1) (A+++++) A stranger to the rescue. Colby Blaine has been a loner his whole life. And he isn't about to change now. But that doesn't mean he can ignore people in trouble. When he rides up on an inexperienced wagon train under attack, he doesn't hesitate to jump into the fray. It's only after the raid that he really lands himself in hot water. Naomi Kessling is certainly grateful to Colby for saving her family and agreeing to lead their train to safer territory. But the man has an infuriating way of knowing how to get under her skin - he asks too many questions about a past she doesn't want to remember and his touch makes her long for far more. Yet the more time they spend together, the more Naomi sees that perhaps it's Colby who needs rescuing the most.
21. "STARRY NIGHT" by Debbie Macomber (A++++++) Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author. Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press and no one even knows exactly where he lives. Digging deep into Finn's past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart.
22. "SECRETS OF BELLA TERRA" by Christina Dodd (Bella Terra: Scarlet Deception #1) (A+++++) The three dynamic Di Luca brothers are tormented by their memories of the past. Brooding and sexy Rafe Di Luca has returned to his family's luxurious vineyard resort for one reason: to find out who attacked his beloved grandmother. His homecoming stirs up a long-ago feud, forcing him to work with Brooke Petersson, the woman he once seduced and betrayed...but never forgot. As the danger escalates and their passion threatens to consume them both, Brooke fights her treacherous longing for a man who can never truly share her life. Remembering how his love once shattered her, she vows that Rafe may possess her body, but never again will she trust him with her fiercely guarded heart. The peril they face w2ill bring them together or destroy them both...unless they uncover the secret that will change everything.
23. "UNBREAKABLE" by Stephanie Tyler (Section 8 #2) (A+++++) This is Section 8. A cabal of operatives with dangerous pasts teams up to work black ops missions. Their weapon: deception. Can they help one of their own before he goes too far? When Gunner agreed to help Section 8, he didn't realize he'd be pulled back into the shadowy world he though he'd escaped forever. The son of double agents, he was initiated at a young age into the cold world of espionage when his father forced him to work for international smuggler Drew Landon. And when Gunner's past with Landon threatens the other mercenaries, and, most important, Avery, he makes an impossible choice...and disappears. Avery's not willing to give up on Gunner. The attraction between them has been there from the start, and she rallies Section 8 to help him. She knows there's only one way to keep Gunner safe: fake his death and take him off the grid. But when she finally locates him, Gunner is a changed man, harder, more desperate and on the edge of self-destruction. And only Avery can find a way to free him from Landon - and from the other demons of his past - before it's too late.
24. "RUMOR HAS IT" by Jill Shalvis (Animal Magnetism #4) (A++++++) He'll help unleash the new woman in her. Soldier Griffin Reid doesn't exactly have happy memories of growing up in Sunshine, Idaho. He's only come back to recover from a war injury, and while he refuses to admit he's in a weakened state, he finds comfort in the last person he'd expect. Kate Evans teaches second-grade science in Sunshine, the place she's always called home. Dreaming of graduate school and a happily-ever-after, she's desperate to break out of the monotony of Sunshine. Luckily, a certain sexy man has just come back into her life. To Griffin, Kate has always been his little sister's friend, but now he's finding her to be so much more. As both attempt to forge their paths, they must decide if their passionate connection can turn into something lasting.
25. "PERFECT FIT" by Carly Phillips (Serendipity #4) (Serenditity's Finest #1) (A+++++) Always feeling like the odd man out in his family, Michael Marsden wanted to make it on his own. So he escaped Serendipity to become an undercover cop in Manhattan, where the Marsden name wasn't known. But Mike's independence is compromised when he returns home to replace his ailing father as chief of police. Back in the shadows of his family, Mike is as lost and restless as ever, until he's challenged by someone he never anticipated. Cara Hartley is the Serendipity cop with whom Mike had a one-night stand three months earlier. Neither expected anything more, but fate has other ideas. When Mike returns as Cara's boss, the sexual tension between them is impossible to ignore - and the unexpected emotional connection continues to grow. But Cara's a small-town girl while Mike has a wanderer's blood in his veins. Both are convinced a future together is impossible. Until Mike's biological father's secrets come back to haunt him and he realizes there are some things worth staying and fighting for. Including Cara.
26. "SANCTUARY ISLAND" by Lily Everett (New author for me) (Sanctuary Island #1) (A++++++) Welcome to a place where broken hearts come to heal - and where every lost soul will find a home. When Ella's sister decides to reunite with their estranged mother, Ella goes along for the ride - it's always been the two Preston girls against the world. But Sanctuary Island, a tiny refuge for wild horses tucked off the Atlantic coast, is more inviting than she ever imagined. And it holds more than one last opportunity to repair their broken family - if Ella can open her carefully guarded heart, there is also the chance for new beginnings. Grady Wilkes is a handyman who can fix anything - except the scars of his own past. When he accepts the task of showing Ella the simple beauties of the island that healed him, he discovers a deep sense of comfort he thought he'd lost. But, now he must convince the woman who never intended to stay that on Sanctuary Island, anything is possible - forgiving past mistakes, rediscovering the simple joys of life and maybe even falling in love,
27. "CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE" by Molly O'Keefe (Crooked Creek #3) (A++++++) Dallas TV morning-show host Madelymn Cornish is poised, perfect and unflappable, from her glossy smile to her sleek professionalism. No one knows that her iron will guards a shattered heart and memories of a man she's determined to lock out. Until that man shows up at a morning meeting like a bad dream: Billy Wilkins, sexy hockey superstar in a tailspin - still skating, still fighting and still her ex-husband.Now the producers want this poster child for bad behavior to undergo an on-air makeovver, and Billy, who has nothing to lose, agrees to the project. It's his only chance to get near Maddy again and to fight for the right things this time around. He believes in the fire in Maddy's whiskey eyes and the passion that ignites the air between them. This bad-boy heartbreaker wants a last shot to be redeemed by the only thing that matters: Maddy's love.
28. "SLEEPING WITH THE AGENT" by Gennita Low (Crossfire #3) (A++++) The Target...Lily Noretski is as dangerous as she is beautiful. She's also a sleeper in possession of a devasting weapon. The Agent - as a sharpshooter, Navy SEAL Reed Vincenzio is as emotionless as they come. Armed with a file on his target, Reed knows what he has to do. The Mission...Reed must win Lily's confidence, find the weapon...and eliminate her if necessary. Yet his files don't even begin to hint at this extraordinary woman's fire and courage, making this assignment harder than any Reed has ever undertaken. Lily knows that someone is pulling her strings, but if she is to survive, she must put her life in the hands to this charming, magnetic man who appeared out of nowhere. Her head tells her she's in grave peril, but her heart dares her to put everything on the line. Will the price of her passion prove to be more than she bargained for?
29. "AIN'T SHE SWEET?" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (A+++++) She's the baddest girl in town...isn't she? Sugar Beth Carey's come back to Parrish, Mississippi and she's brought her reputation for wreaking havoc with her. She's broke, desperate and too proud to show it, even with her old enemies lining up for a chance to get even. Her former girfriends have their eyebrow pencils sharpened into lethal points. Winnie Davis, her long time rival, is fully armed with the money, power and prestige that had once been Sugar Beth's. But worst of all is Colin Byrne, the man whose career Sugar Beth had destroyed - and not exactly accidentally. Now Colin's a famous novelist living Sugar Beth's old mansion and this modern day dark prince is using his writer's imagination to figure out how to bring the town's beautiful former princess to her knees. But despite her sassy mouth, feisty spirit and hardheaded ways, Sugar Beth's no longer the spoiled rich girl they all remember. No, now she's a woman to be reckoned with...and a great big reckonin' is about to happen, not least of all for one dark prince who might - just might - be thinking about falling in love with the wickedest girl in town.

CURRENTLY READING -

1. "The Immortality Clause" by Abigail Hawk (The Immortelle #1) (New author for me) (ebook that I received to do a review for the publisher)
2. "Inked by an Angel" by Shauna Allen (New author for me) (Cupid Chronicles #1) (Kindle)
3. "Knit the Season" by Kate Jacobs (Friday Night Knitting Club #3)
4. "Montana Legacy" by R.C. Ryan (McCords #1)

​CURRENTLY LISTENING TO -

1. "Maybe This Time" by Jennifer Crusie (unabridged audio CD)

FINISHED:

The Good Father - Diane Chamberlain    4 Stars

The Storycatcher - Ann Hite   5 Stars - I loved this book.   It is going to take something very special to beat this as the best book I have read in 2013.   Ann Hite pulls you in and does not let go!   I loved it!

The Rose Garden - Susanna Kearsley   4 Stars

Roseflower Creek - Jackie Lee Miles  4.5 Stars

The Dovekeepers - Alice Hoffman 3 Stars

Bossypants - Tina Fey 3.5 Stars

Finished this month:  The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby --- The first in the Wine Country Mystery series,  I loved this book...could not put it down. Lucie Montgomery comes back from living in France when her father dies; finds the vineyard he and her mother started going to ruin, decides to revive it and finds herself a murder target after another man dies. I think I'll read the second one of the series next!! 

The Chardonnay Charade by Ellen Crosby --- 2nd in the Wine Country Mystery series... I enjoyed this one as much as the 1st one.  Lucie is once again trying to keep her winery going, at odds with her winemaker, trying to keep her younger sister from going off the deep end and involved in two more murders.  Lots of interesting Virginia history and facts about wine making.  I'm looking for the next one in the series... I have it here somewhere!!

Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown --- I know this is an older series, but I find it fascinating.  This is the 2nd in the series and I love the interaction between Inspector Lloyd and Detective Sergeant Judy Hill...trying to keep their personal life separate from their professional life. They investigate the murder of the vicar's son-in-law, the plot twists and turns and leaves the reader guessing until the very end.  I really enjoy the English mysteries!

Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs --- A continuation of The Lakeshore Chronicles, it helps to have read the other books in the series to know some of the background, but with this book new characters are introduced, so it's not absolutely necessary.  Maureen Davenport is the town librarian and also responsible for directing the town's Christmas pageant. She gets help from some unexpected people... a former child movie star turned musician, a young man who no one seems to know where he came from and a cast of others. A heart-warming story for all time, not just the Christmas season.

7th Heaven by James Patterson --- A good one from the Women's Murder Club series. Lindsey Boxer and her partner hunt for the ones responsible for killing people and setting their homes on fire and Ass. DA Yuki Castellano goes to trial prosecuting a woman charged with 2nd degree murder.  Surprise ending!!

Death Qualified by Kate Wilhelm --- My first Kate Wilhelm book, definitely not my last.  This one kept me turning the pages from the very first page and the ending was a total suprise, although not one I liked. Barbara Holloway comes home to help her father defend a woman accused of killing her husband. Lots of twists and turns, quite a bit of psychological jargon I had a hard time understanding, but it didn't keep me from following the plot line. All in all a very intense read. Highly recommended!

Wild Kat by Karen Kijewski --- I really like this series.  Kat Colorado is a feisty, gutsy, P.I. with compassion and brains. In this book she is hired by a whistleblower who has uncovered information about her company making defective medical equipment that has lead to deaths. The story takes a different turn about a third of the way through, from then on it's all Kat can do to keep herself alive. 

Chile Death by Susan Wittig Albert -- I really enjoy the China Bayles series... she's an herb shop owner who always seems to find herself involved in solving a murder. This book takes up where #6 of the series left off with McQuaid [her boyfriend recuperating from being shot and in rehab hoping to learn to walk again], her friend Ruby and China try to find the killer of a local insurance salesman.  An easy 'cozy mystery' read.

Ask the Cards a Question by Marcia Muller -- The 2nd in the Sharon McCone series.  This is an older series, but I decided to read it anyway.  While it definitely is dated as far as technology, etc. is concerned, it doesn't detract from the story-line. Muller is a very good writer who can keep a story moving.  Sharon McCone, woman P.I., searches for the killer of a lady in her apartment building and finds more than she bargained for.  A very short book, page-wise, but well worth the time it takes to read it.

Orchid Blues by Stuart Woods --- This is one of those books that you can't put down, I finished it in one day.  2nd in the Holly Barker series, Holly and her dad, Ham, team up with the FBI to solve a deadly bank hold-up and find themselves involved with a extreme right-wing group out to change America to their way of thinking. Great Book!!

Winterkill by C.J. Box --- C.J. Box has created the most likable character in Joe Pickett, the game warden in Saddlestring, WY.  Joe is 'everyman', kind, compassionate, honest, vulnerable, and prone to making mistakes, but when he sees dishonesty and evil in his fellowman, he will do whatever it takes to make things right. In Winterkill he takes on his supervisors, the FBI and the local sheriff to try to stop a tragedy.  A tense, riveting plot that will keep the reader turning the pages.  I highly recommend all the books in this series. Start with Open Season, then Savage Run....you won't be sorry. 

Someone Like You by Barbara Bretton --- Two sisters are drawn back together after their mother has a stroke and her house catches on fire.  Both sisters are facing decisions about their future and those decisions are based on their childhood upbringing, which was not a happy time for either one and it has affected how they are as adults. A heart-warming story about family ties, forgiveness and moving forward.  

In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz --- I've read some of Krentz's books before, but not in this genre. A little over the top in the para-normal vein, I thought.  Not quite the same caliber as Heather Graham's books, but a fun read anyway.  I really like Krentz's sense of humor and her writing style.  Isabella Valdez is running for her life and comes to Scargill Cove to look for Fallon Jones. There are a lot of characters involved, all with some sort of psychic abilities [talents] that keep the plot moving.  First in the Arcane Society series.

Kill and Tell by Linda Howard --- Karen Whitlaw's father, whom she hasn't seen in years, has been murdered in New Orleans. When she goes to identify the body, she meets Detective Marc Chastain.  Sparks fly, not only in their personal lives, but also when someone tries to kill Karen.  Interesting plot and well-developed characters. First in the John Medina series.  Can't wait to read the rest.

Self-Defense by Jonathan Kellerman --- A gripping story with lots of psychological undercurrents.  Lucy Lowell is having nightmares and Dr, Alex Delaware agrees to see her in the hopes of finding out what causing them.  Unsolved murders, drugs and much more come to light. As always Jonathan Kellerman tells a tale worth reading!! 

Currently reading:  

Up next:  ???

Finished

Screwed by Eoin Colfer - More of a thriller than a mystery but a lot of fun. The second book about a hapless Irish ex-mercenary called Dan McEvoy. Poor Dan is just trying to live life transplanted to New Jersey but the cops, the mafia guys, the wanna be mafia guys, the bad guys, and some of the good guys just can't seem to leave him alone. Trouble finds him, and it's generally a clusterf*** to get out of. Written with a lot of humor and a lot of heart, I'm really fond of this guy.

Mad About The Boy by Helen Fielding - audio - This one was a mistake in audio. There were long parts that were very annoying in audio that probably wouldn't have been in print, especially the huge section consisting of only twitter postings. "@jonesybjones @rockster Hey, how are you doing? @rockster@jonesybjones Ok, how about you? @jonesybjones @rockster I'm ok". It goes on like that forever. Then add some hashtags. Very, very repetitive. You can skim over that stuff in prnt but in audio there's no escape. It's a pretty basic story, nothing groundbreaking, you know pretty much where it's going. I haven't read the first one so that may have taken a bit away from this one but it is what it is. It's an ok story.

The Velvet Underground and Nico by Joe Harvard - About the making of the Velvet Underground's first album and it's influence on music then and now. Brian Eno said of this album "It only sold 10,000 copies but every single person who bought it started a band". I do not think that is an exaggeration. It has many times been called the most influential album of all time and it changed the way rock and roll was recorded. They also made the first music videos with Andy Warhol. So many bands were influenced by this album and then bands influenced by them and so on, this album spurred great-grand bands. And many of these youngsters don't even know their sound is taken from Uncle Lou and company. Complete ground breaking recording effort, I wish it got more love outside of the industry.

Nature Girl by Carl Hiassen - A humorous romp of a tale. One crazy woman and a colorful cast of characters make it a fun and unpredictable ride. Hiassen is really good at the mad adventure, his people do some strange stuff. He's always fun to read.

Unbreakable by Jenni Rivera - Posthumous memoir by the Mexican singer. Really good story, it's just too bad she died just as she was about to break into the mainstream.

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiasson - Another story set in Florida, this one about conservation and how horrible people are. Loved it, people are horrible.

Phoenix Noir by various - A collection of stories, mostly mysteries and cop stories, set in Phoenix. Out of about 10 stories about 3 of them were really good. The rest were so so.

Crash and Burn by Artie Lange - audio - Second memoir so it didn't give so much bio as update but what an update. It's mainly just about his troubles with substance abuse and emotional problems, and boy has he abused every substance and had most emotional problems. I didn't care for the narrator at all, he read every sentence in the same tone, like he was answering a rhetorical question, and it was pretty annoying but the story was excellent. What a messed up dude.

Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman - audio - Memoir of a girl who did 13 months in federal prison for drug trafficing. Really interesting, it never dragged. She had a pretty cushy prison stay for the most part but it was an interesting story.

In the middle of   Faith  A Novel by Jennifer Haigh.   So far it is excellent.  Story about an Irish Catholic family whose oldest brother is a RCPriest and gets caught up in the abuse scandal of 2002.  

I was well into The Jury by Fern Michaels when I lost the book while traveling to an appointment one day. Now I have it on the way to my house from another member. It is part 4 of "The Sisterhood" series but can stand alone nicely. I didn't realize it was part of a series when I first got it. It won't take me long to finish it when it arrives. Then I'll probably be adding it to my bookshelf here.

In the meantime I have begun to read False Memory by Dean Koontz.

These are both new authors for me and I'm enjoying both books.

Finished

• And the Mountains Echoes by Khaled Hosseini
• The Great Lenore by J.M. Tohline
• Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz
• Margot by Jillian Cantor
• One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper
• In the Sea, There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda
• Someone by Alice McDermott
• Eve Green by Susan Fletcher

Currently Reading

• A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon by Anthony Marra

Listening To

• The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
• Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

Currently reading:

1.  The Snowblind Moon   by John Byrne Cooke
2.   The Children of the New Forest   by Frederick Marryat (an audio book)
3.  The Road to Wellville   by T. Coraghessan Boyle
4.  Selected Short Stories   by Rabindranath Tagore

Judy, False Memory was the first book I read by Dean Koontz.    I think it is still my favorite of his!

Lisa

"The Big Fix" by Roger L Simon, which I recently received from another member. It's one of the very few books I can think of that is inferior (IMHO) to the movie. It's the first one of several "Moses Wine" mysteries and is the first and last one I intend to read: IMHO Moses Wine isn't even close to being as interesting to read as Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Jim Chee, Joe Leaphorn, Coffin Ed Johnson & Grave Digger Jones.

"Zippy the Pinhead" by Bill Griffith I'm re-reading (for the zillionth time or so) various anthologies and annual collections of the madcap microcephalic Playboy magazine aptly described as "Everyone's favorite knucklehead!"

Stay tuned for coming attractions: I have so many unread books in my library to choose from it's difficult to predict what I'll start on next after finishing "The Big Fix." Maybe "The USA Trilogy" by Dos Passos (assuming I like it) or something else by "Love & Longing in Bombay" by Vikram Chanra, which I bought after reading his novel "Sacred Games" which I really liked.

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.    OSCAR WILDE
 

Lisa, thanks for letting me know that False Memory is your favorite book by Dean Koontz. It certainly is well written. He is definitely a very talented writer. It's certainly creepy but I can't put it down. I went to a doctor's appointment today and read it on the way. Then I read it in the waiting room. Then I read it in the examining room while waiting for the doctor and didn't want to put it down when he came in ...lol

I'm looking forward to reading it in bed tonight (with the light on and my husband sitting beside me reading too, of course). It's not the type of book to read when you're alone at night. If you live alone you should read it in daylight or in a library... :)

I have just started reading Police by Jo Nesbo! Early days yet but I'm quite excited after reading all of his other books.

I am enjoying Sharp Objects, even more than I liked Gone Girl, but it is dark. I am listening to The Paris Wife but I am not really enjoying it, is slow.......

ETA - I listened to the Epilogue and enjoyed that and now I am done with "The Paris Wife".  Finished "Sharp Object" this afternoon, now I need to start two new ones.........

Finished:  Born of Shadow  (audio ****)

                - Heart-shaped Box (****)

Reading:  Intensity (HB so far, *****) ------> only lack about 20 pages  ------    the best book I've read in ages!

Stuck on:  Dragonbone Chair, waiting for a HB (the paperback was too difficult to read)

Reading:  The Dark Prince (author's cut ****)

Listening to:  The Dark Legacy of Shannara  (audio ***)

I am close to finishing A Dance With Dragons (Game of Thrones).  I also read Michael Lewis' The Big Short which was really good.  Re-read The Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon today.  It is such a wonderful book.  Worth reading for a second time.

Margaret: I know what you mean!  I wasn't crazy about The Paris Wife.  I love the time period and the history, but I think it's hard to relate to a time period when it was so common to accept your husband running around on you.  I just sent it out to someone today, hopefully they like it more than I did.

The library helped me pick my next book when "the Escape Artist" by Diane Chamberlain became available on audio, and "Lost Flowers" by Perry Sullivan came up on the wait list today.  It is the story of a local moonshine "king" that was a friend of mt grandparents.  I also finished "the Invisable Wall" which I had set aside a few weeks back.  I hope to get some good books done over the holiday next week.