Golden State / Ben H. Winters / 319 pgs

I started Golden State with high expectations since I had read Ben H. Winters' earlier book "Underground Airlines" and loved it. Based on the book jacket's description, I had though this would also be an alternate reality/alternate history type book, but I was wrong. Once you get into the book, you discover that it is set far in the future, though the feel of this futuristic society is very basic. There isn't much talk about computers, cars drive on roads, the style of dress is the same though those who work in this weird version of the FBI wear little cameras strapped to their heads.

The premise is that the world was partially destroyed due to war and it was decided in this futuristic version of Los Angeles (only known as "The Golden State) that lying was the crux of all trouble in the world. Think of Fahrenheit 451 and their belief in that book that reading was the problem. An elite force of folks who have a special gift to be able to ferret out liars due to their physical reactions when someone is lying around them, goes around looking for liars. When a man dies under suspicious circumstances, it is the main character's job to figure out what happened. Meanwhile, he stumbles across a bigger conspiracy.

The book definitely held my attention, though I'm not a fan of murder mysteries. The larger speculative fiction plot was what I was most interested in. The twist at the end was very good and I definitely recommend the book. Ben H. Winters has a fan in this reader.

C is for Corpse / Sue Grafton / 318 pages / Mystery

After surviving a car crash that his best friend didn't, 23-year-old Bobby Callahan is paranoid that the crash was no accident and that the person responsible for it is still out to kill him.  So he hires Kinsey Millhone check up on anyone familiar with him, including friends, family and enemies, and see if she could find anyone who would want Bobby dead and why.  Kinsey becomes really close to Bobby and his mother, so when he dies a week later, she's more than heartbroken over it and does everything it takes to bring both of them justice, even breaking the law if she could get away with it.

Although I've enjoyed the process of this story, I felt like the near-end of it was weak; it drifted away from the main plot with the subplot between Kinsey, her landlord, and his lover-- irrelevant to Rick and Bobby's murders.  Then the culprit was revealed, but his actions were kind of cheesy (a psychopath slowly walking and singing eerie tunes is pretty cliché).

B is for Burglar / Sue Grafton / 321 pages

Kinsey Millhone is back into business, and she is assigned to locate Elaine Boldt, a woman who had been missing since her departure to Florida.  Kinsey interviews close friends and anyone who was familiar with her, in both Santa Teresa, California and Miami, Florida.  She also learns the story of Miss Boldt's friend, Marty Grice, who had been murdered six months before her disappearance, and one part of Kinsey believes that Miss Boldt may have took off as a result, either from paranoia or she may have been one of the suspects responsible for the murder; another says that she might already be dead.

I liked this book better than the first one, for the characters were more diverse in both appearance and personality, Kinsey revealed hidden depths to herself that made her more three-dimensional, and wowIdidnotexpectthatplottwistatall.
Overall, a very a good novel; I'm already partway through the third book, C is for Corpse, which I'll blog about in March.

A is for Alibi / Sue Grafton / 320 pages

Divorce lawyer Laurence Fife had been found dead, and the media blamed the murder on his wife Nikki Fife.  When she is released from prison eight years later, however, Nikki claims to be innocent, and she hires a detective, Kinsey Millhone, to find out who the real murderer is.  Kinsey goes around Southern California and Nevada to interview several suspects, including Mr. Fife's ex-wives as well as the family of a young woman who died the same way Mr. Fife did.  But when one of the suspects is murdered before Kinsey gets to interview her, she tries to figure out how the deaths are all linked to one another and why.

The first book to Grafton's Kinsey Millhone/"Alphabet mystery" series, I found it really interesting as I don't often read/listen to mystery novels.  I'm looking forward to B is for Burglar.

City of Bones / Michael Connelly 393 p.

Harry Bosch, LAPD homicide detective, investigates a 20 year old murder uncovered when a dog brings home a bone.  The case brings back memories of his childhood as an orphan.  Love blossoms when he connects with a young beautiful rookie.  Then the plot twists with a sudden and sharp turn that shakes him up.  Harry's "the devil is in the detail's" investigative style blows the sure-fire case out of the water, leaving he and his partner back at square one.  And he wondering about his "mission".  A gritty police procedural.

City of Bones / Michael Connelly 393 p.

Forever Odd / Dean Koontz / 334 pages

This 2nd novel in the Odd Thomas series pitches Odd against a crazy occultist who has becomes obsessed with seeing the supernatural and becoming invincible by capturing the life-essence of the recently departed.  We see another of Odd's eccentric friends in the form of Danny, a young man the same age as Odd (about 20 years old) who suffers from "glass bone" disease.  Odd once again must rely on his supernatural senses of psychic magnetism and seeing the dead to track the occultist who has kidnapped Danny.  Odd seems more vulnerable in this novel than in the first.  He's still contemplating the death of his beloved Stormy (in Odd Thomas) and the meaning of life.  His friends do their best to convince him that he is an important part of their lives and that they want the best for him.  The events of this novel make Odd long for a more peaceful existence that he hopes to find in the next installment Brother Odd.

Brother Odd / Dean Koontz / 364 pages

Odd Thomas is enjoying a peaceful respite from his spirit-filled life at a monastery in the Sierra Nevadas.  Here he has only seen one spirit - that of a brother who committed suicide and likes to ring bells and scare the other monks at all times of day and night.  This particular monastery has quite an interesting cast, including a billionaire physicist who donated all his money to support the monastery's school for severely disabled children and an ex-mobster who turned on his boss in order to (hopefully) save the boss's 6-year-old daughter from a life of crime.  Having been at the monastery several months, Odd begins seeing bodachs gathering near the school.  He must discover what the danger is and who it's coming from before the children can be hurt.  Luckily the monks and nuns at the monastery and willing and able to help take up arms in defense of their charges and Odd leads the way against strange and frightening monsters.  This 3rd book of the Odd Thomas series shows a wonderful depth of character and many surprising twists.

Odd Thomas / Dean Koontz / 399 pages

This first book of the Odd Thomas series features a very likable, though odd, character.  As a 20-year-old fry cook, Odd Thomas (yes, that's his real name) makes the lightest and fluffiest pancakes in Pico Mundo, if not in all of California.  Unfortunately, Odd Thomas often sees spirits who seem to need him to do something so they can rest.  Readers who enjoyed Ghost Whisperer starring Jennifer Love Hewitt will appreciate the complications this can cause in Odd Thomas's life.  On this particular day, Odd Thomas begins seeing borachs - shadowy spirits that sometimes look and act like dogs - and fears that something really terrible will happen in his beloved Pico Mundo.  With the help of the spirit of Elvis and the support of his soul mate, Stormy Lewellyn, he embarks on a quest to stop the plot and save the day.  After finishing this book, check out the second in the series, Forever Odd.