Fractured - Karin Slaughter

Fractured is the first book I've read by Slaughter.  Abigail Campano came home to her fancy estate to find her daughter lying dead in the upstairs hallway.  She's then attacked by the killer and manages to strangle him to death.  Is that really what happened?  It seems that way at first but nothing in this thriller is what it seems.  The mystery begins to unravel when an unlikely pair of law enforcement officers are teamed up to work the case.  One of the detectives has manage to hide the fact that they can't read or write, and strangely this may give the team the big break they need.  Will the break come in time though?  This is one I had a hard time putting down.  Very highly recommended.

The Lost City of Z - David Grann

The Lost City of Z reminds me of the books I used to read as a kid. Stories of explorers in African and South America who searched for elusive new animals or treasures. I really wanted to be an explorer like that. Grann has done an excellent job of bringing the life of one real explorer, Percy Fawcett, into perspective.  I'm not so sure I'd want the insects and poison arrows that he had to deal with in the Amazon,but it makes an interesting and exciting tale.  And in the end it sound like Fawcett and Grann may have found what what they were seeking, even if Fawcett never realized it.  Highly recommended.

The Colorado Kid - Stephen King

The Colorado Kid is a pretty short novel but I liked it. The critics seems to have problems, but I thought it was a good change of pace.  Sometimes you're better off not knowing. Maybe this is one of those times.  That said, the series Haven, which I'm watching on Hulu, is so loosely based on this novel it's almost hard to find the connection.  I like them both though.  Highly recommended.

Burned - P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Burned is book seven in the House of Night series. This one came after a major cliff hanger.  I got out of sync writing what I read instead of reading.  There is a much more satisfying ending to this novel but it's still like going to the Saturday movies where every week they leave you hanging so you come back the next Saturday.  There are starting to be more threads than I like in a novel but it hasn't exceeded my tolerance yet.  Recommended.

Tempted - P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Tempted is the sixth House of Night novel.  Almost too busy to read so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this.  Go to the link and read the reviews.  This was something you had to read after reading the first five books.  I enjoyed it but talk about a cliff hanger.  Recommended.

Black Powder War - Naomi Novik

Black Powder War is another book in the series about the dragon Temeraire. Temeraire and his Captain Laurence are on the way back from China when they're commissioned to pickup some dragon eggs the British have purchased from the Ottoman Empire. They decide to go overland instead of by sea, and along the way they encounter deserts, mountains, wild dragons, duplicity in Instanbul, and are caught up in the Napoleonic wars. The continuing dialog between Temeraire and Captain Laurence over the rights and freedoms of dragons is an interesting side thread, and Temeraire's proselytizing among the other dragons they meet is has some interesting consequences.  Their arch nemisis, the white Chinese dragon Lien is tracking them and causing trouble at every turn.  Highly recommended.

Looks to Die For - Janice Kaplan

Looks to Die For is a murder mystery with an unusual protagonist.  Lacy Fields is the wife of a very successful Hollywood plastic surgeon.  When her husband is accused of murdering a woman he claims he's never heard of, Lacy eventually decides she can solve his case better than the police.  There are some interesting twists and turns.  The writing reminds me some of Janet Evanovich's novels.

I enjoyed the story but there is a dark side to this author's writing.  She takes describing girly stuff to a new high.  You never read "she picked up her purse" from Kaplan.  It would be "she picked up her {insert designer name} {insert weird color} {insert material} purse that matched her {insert another designer name} {insert color scheme} {insert size and how well it fits} {insert name for women's clothes I never heard of} outfit."  Yikes!  Reader's Digest could condense this baby by just removing clothing, accessory, and hair style descriptions.  That said I highly recommend this book.

Bullet - Laurell K. Hamilton,

Bullet is the latest Anita Blake novel.  I read them because it's a compulsion.  This series started out so good and now it's kind of pathetic.  Too bad.  There are so many other good authors out there I may take Hamilton off my list for now.  Not recommended.

Big Jack - J.D. Robb

Big Jack is another futuristic Lt. Eve Dallas novel. The first one I've read where the title doesn't end in "Death".  The year is 2059 and Eve and her crew have to solve a 50 year old diamond heist in order to solve a pair of current murders.  Highly recommended.

Kitty Goes to War - Carrie Vaughn

Kitty Goes to War is the eighth Kitty Norville novel.  Kitty is asked to help some soldiers back from the Afghanistan war, who also happen to be werewolves. While she's dealing with their problems adjusting she's also hit with a lawsuit for libel because she dealt with mysterious happenings around a chain of Speedy Mart stores on her radio show. And wait until you find out what happened to Cormac in prison.  A must read for every Kitty fan.  Highly recommended.

The Killing Room - John Manning

The Killing Room is a great ghost story.  The Young family estate is on the Maine coast.  Something terrible happened there 80 years ago and every 10 years the Young family gathers for a reunion and pays for that terrible event in blood.  Before the next reunion an ex-FBI agent turned private detective is hired to figure out how to stop the dying.  Will she solve the mystery or just become another victim?  How many will die this time?  I lost some sleep finishing this one.  It's hard to put down.  Very highly recommended.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a Novella that parallels the Eclipse novel. It's written from the perspective of the young vampire from Victoria's army who surrendered to Carlisle. Along the way we also meet Fred, another young vampire with an amazing power. It's a good read and adds some perspective to the whole Twilight saga. I'm not one of those readers who goes back and compares time lines and character specifics between two parallel stories. I just read to enjoy and I enjoyed this book. Bree and Fred were characters worth reading about on their own merits. Highly recommended.

Proven Guilty - Jim Butcher

Proven Guilty is the 8th Dresden Files novel.  This time Harry is fighting some nasty phobophages at a horror film convention.  You'll never ever guess who lured them to our world.  Harry and the usual group of friends have to fight their way into the nevernever on a mission to rescue the guilty party.  Meanwhile, Harry is involved in the political intrigue of the white council and fighting for his life once again.  Highly recommended.

KnockOut - Catherine Coulter

Knockout is another FBI thriller featuring Dillon and Sherlock, the husband and wife FBI duo.  This time around Dillon is caught in a bank robbery that goes bad.  Then a few days later he's contacted by a little girl who needs some help, but he's contacted telepathically.  Both the bank robbery and telepath threads unwind in parallel and keep Dillon and Sherlock busy.  It's been too long since I came back to Coulter.  She's a great read.  Highly recommended. 

Variable Star - Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson

Variable Star is a chance to read one more Heinlein.  Robert Heinlein is one of the greatest names in science fiction.  Spider Robinson is another.  This book is excellent.  How does an 18 year old musician get a ride on a star ship?  What adventures will he encounter on the voyage?  Will the human race survive?  These are all answered in this book, and in a very entertaining way.  I actually read this one twice.  If there could just be more Heinlein.  Very highly recommended.    

61 Hours - Lee Child

61 Hours is the fourteenth Jack Reacher novel.  This is an awesome series.  I have yet to read one of Child's books that I could really lay down without wanting to read one more chapter.  I have to sleep sometime, but really don't want to in the middle of a Reacher novel.  This time he's stranded in South Dakota in the middle of winter.  Just in time to help with some trouble, of course.  The question is will Reacher make it out alive this time.  I've read the book and I don't know.  Very highly recommended.

Sizzling Sixteen - Janet Evanovich

Sizzling Sixteen is another Stephanie Plum novel. The usual cast of characters manage to survive guns, bombs, stampeding cattle, and alligators.  Will the lucky bottle provide good luck or bad? You might get confused when a horde of hobbits come to the rescue, but keep reading, you're not in a Tolkien fantasy :) Highly recommended.

Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris

Dead in the Family is the 10th Sookie Stackhouse novel.  I have to assume you've read the previous novels in this series or you'll be lost.  I have to assume you are not trying to map the books to the HBO series or you'll be even more lost.

This book takes place in the aftermath of the faery war.  Some of Sookie's family died or were banished, and she's recovering from her wounds.  The book goes slower in the beginning but picks up a little momentum as it moves along.  Sookie has to deal with Eric's problems, Bill's problems, bodies buried in her woods, were issues, and lots of little things.  I particularly like the part where Sookie works with her little cousin Hunter to help him with his telepathic ability.  This was a good book and a good pace.  I hope there's still lots more to come.  Highly recommended.

Darkness Calls - Marjorie M. Liu

Darkness Calls is another Hunter Kiss novel.  I've enjoyed Liu's novels and short stories.  This time it was too convoluted for me to care.  You have demons and zombies and avatars and lightbringers and original humans and time travel and you name it.  I was very happy with Maxine, her little night demons, and fighting evil.  Liu should have left it at that because I doubt I'll read another one of these fantasy soap opera smorgasbords.  If you're desperate for more Hunter Kiss be my guest.

The Man Who Smiled - Henning Mankell

The Man Who Smiled is a Kurt Wallander mystery.  I'd never read Mankell before and I enjoyed the book.  Kurt Wallander is a Swedish detective who is considering retiring from the police force because he was forced to kill a man in self defense.  Then a friend is murdered and Kurt can't quit the police with the mystery unsolved.  The case gets more complicated as it goes along with an actual attempt on Kurt's life at one point.

I'll admit to being painfully parochial, but from my perspective this book paints the Swedish police as a bunch of wimps.  How they expect to fight crimes committed by people with guns and bombs when they don't even carry weapons of their own is beyond me.  Life in Sweden is apparently very different from life in the USA.  I'm sure the Swedes consider that a good thing.  So do I.  That said it was a good book and a first rate mystery.  Highly recommended.