If Not For You/ Debbie Macomber/ 384 p

Beth Prudhomme, in a desperate attempt to get out from under her mother's thumb, moves from Chicago to Portland, Oregon. There she reconnects with her mother's sister, Sunshine, who is the opposite of Beth's strict, conservative mother. Through a work friend, Beth is fixed up with a man her mother would never approve of and one who is not Beth's usual type at all. When Sam Carney is introduced to Beth, he wonders what his friend's wife was thinking.  He's a long haired, tattooed mechanic and Beth is a classy music teacher. But when Sam witnesses Beth's car accident, he can't help but want to be there for her. This begins an unlikely friendship that soon develops into a romance that brings Beth's tiger mother running and Beth finally finds out what caused the rift between the two sisters. 

A Million Little Things/ Susan Mallery/ 368 pages

This is book 3 in the Mischief Bay Series. This book centers around Zoe, her friend Jen and Jen's mom, Pam, who became a widow in the first book of the series. Zoe is tired of the rut she is in since she left a going-nowhere relationship but she isn't sure what to do. Her friend, Jen, is obsessed with her toddler and worried because he isn't talking. So Zoe turns to Pam, who seems to have it all together. She gets more than advice from Pam. But there's complications along the way -- as there always is. Fans of Susan Mallery will enjoy this latest installment of the series.

IQ / Joe Ide / 321 p

Isaiah Quintabe was a 16 year old urban teen in LA with a great future. Teachers were already beginning to talk about Ivy league school applications when Isaiah's brother and guardian was killed by a hit and run driver. From that point on Isaiah had two goals - stay out of the foster care system and find his brother's killer. He drops out of school and by chance helps someone in the neighborhood solve a mystery. He realizes that his Sherlock Holmes-like deduction skills can be used to help others and support himself. He calls himself IQ. Soon he is being inundated with requests for help.  Unfortunately, the people who need help. Years later, a sketchy friend from his past hooks him up with a famous rapper who barely escaped a murder attempt. IQ must find who is trying to kill him and somehow keep himself out of the hit-man's cross-hairs. As IQ gets closer to solving the mystery, the author weaves in IQ's backstory and we learn why he funnels most of his money to a young Hispanic teen who is disabled with a traumatic brain injury.

This book would be a good recommendation for those who liked the Girl With the Dragon Tatoo books. The language is gritty and not for those wanting a cosy mystery. I suspect we might be seeing more IQ books in the future.

I've Got You Under My Skin/ Mary Higgins Clark/ 303 p

Laurie Moran wants to produce a true crime reality television show that takes a new look at old murder cases. The premise of "Under Suspicion" is while a murder is unsolved, those closest to the victim remain "under suspicion." For the first show, she's chosen the case of Betsy Powell. Betsy was found suffocated in her bed after a celebration for her daughter and friends. Bringing everyone together, Laurie and her staff begin to unravel the truths from the lies, finding secrets that may or may not point to the person who got away with murder.

Unsolved murder is a topic that hits close to home for Laurie. Her three year old son watched his father, Laurie's husband, murdered by someone with a grudge. Timmy, who calls the killer, "blue eyes", also relaid a message to Laurie. She would be next, then Timmy. Her husband's killer was never caught so she must always be on her guard.

This is a great read for someone who enjoys mysteries and suspense without a lot of graphic violence or language.

Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah/ Melody Carlson/ 294 p

In this last installment of the 86 Bloomberg Place series, Lelani has returned from Maui with her baby and an engagement ring from Gil, Anna's brother. She wants a simple ceremony but Gil and Anna's mama wants a big Latino celebration. Since Lelani is estranged from her own controlling mom, she doesn't want to harm the relationship with Gil's strong-willed mom. Kendall found love unexpectedly when she was rescued by a local plumber. She has finally gotten help for her money issues and has been helping Lelani with Emma. When her "Maui Man" proposes, Kendall's family rushes in to take over planning the wedding. They still treat her like the spoiled air-head that she used to be much to her frustration. Megan and Marcus finally share the same faith but when Marcus goes to Africa on a mission trip, Megan begins to doubt if they will ever be on the same page. Anna knows she loves Edmund but now he seems to be interested in someone else at the office.

With all this angst and two weddings to plan, there's lots to resolve to bring this trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. Another good read for Christian fiction fans.

Let Them Eat Fruitcake/Melody Carlson/ 302 p.

This is the second book in the 86 Bloomberg Place series. Megan, Lelani, Anna and Kendall are settling in as roommates. But they each are dealing with their own problems. Megan's boss is mean. Her job isn't what she wants to do - she's a teacher not a designer. Her mom, still dealing with the death of Megan's dad, is going on a cruise for Christmas leaving Megan on her own. Lelani, who had a child out of wedlock, is feeling the pull to go home to see the little girl that she left in the care of her parents. But her parents aren't all that welcoming. Anna's old boyfriend is back just has handsome and charming as ever. Now she's not sure if she wants the "nice guy" she's been seeing or her first love. She may find out too late who she really loves and who really loves her. And Kendall meets and sleeps with a married actor at a party and she's decided they are meant to be. Especially after she finds out that she's pregnant.

Not your typical Christian fiction book. There were some characters I liked more than others but all in all a good Christmas read.

I Heart Bloomberg / Melody Carlson /292 p.

Anna, Lelani and Megan don't know one another but they all have one thing in common -- they are needing to find a new place to live. An ad in the local paper for tenants to share a "luxurious house" in a great neighborhood has each of them sending in a resume and hoping to be one of the lucky girls to be picked for this too-good-to-be-true housing arrangement. After they are chosen by Kendall to share her house, they soon realize that Kendall hasn't been entirely truthful with them. Kendall's grandmother gave her a large run-down home and she's hoping that new furniture and accessories will distract her tenants from the reality. If she plays her cards right, she's hoping her new tenants will finance her shopaholic habits and become her new BFFs - on her selfish terms. Each of the girls, have their own heartaches and faults but they are soon working together to make Bloomberg Place the home they were hoping to share.

This is a sweet, if not realistic, story of how friendships are made in the most unlikely ways. The first book in the Bloomberg Place series.

Sworn to Silence /Linda Castillo /321 p

This is the first book in the Kate Burkholder series set in Ohio Amish country. Kate Burkholder grew up Amish but a horrific incident in her teen years caused her to rebel against her heritage. Now she is chief of Police in the nearby town of Painters Mill. When the tortured remains of young women begin to show up, they show signs of the MO of a serial rapist/killer who had been active when Kate lived there before. The man who raped her. The man she shot. The man her family buried. Could he have survived to kill again? Will Kate have to sacrifice her career in law enforcement to finally bring him to justice?

The descriptions are gritty and the characters are flawed but the plot is anything but predictable.

Gray Mountain / John Grisham /368 pp

Samantha Kofer was living the dream in one of New York City's largest law firms. She was working 60-80 hour work weeks executing her plan to make partner. Then Lehman Brothers collapsed. In order to keep her health insurance and a chance to go back once the recession improved, she took a furlough to a legal aid clinic in Appalachia. She had never seen the inside of a courtroom, so she had a lot to learn. She also met people who had made getting justice for coal miners and their families their live's work. Samantha soon learns a secret that starts a domino effect with unforeseen consequences.

Think Like a Freak / Steven D. Levitt / 268 pp

How do you look beyond what seems intuitive to what is really true? Levitt is offering to retrain your brain so you don't fall into the common thought traps that cause you to accept the conventional wisdom. My favorite chapter was the one when they published an article in Great Britain on how terrorists could avoid detection. The whole country was mad at them until they found out why.

Very readable and entertaining. Highly recommended.