Labyrinth/Catherine Coulter/497 pages

     Labyrinth is Catherine Coulter's latest FBI novel with Savich and Sherlock back for another adventure.  This one starts off with Sherlock being involved in a car accident that leaves her with no memory.  Savich is sure it is just temporary but still worried.  Luckily she is well enough to work on the case--memory or not--and they try to help their fellow agent, Griffin, who has gotten involved in a serial killer case in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and the lead suspect is the nephew of the town sheriff.
     Psychic powers play heavily in this story.  While I usually love to read about this topic, this time it just doesn't come off as believable.  It was a good book but certainly not one of Coulter's best.

Nothing to Hide/Allison Brennan/420 pages

     If you are a fan of Allison Brennan's novels you already know FBI agent Lucky Kincaid, her computer expert husband, Sean, and his new found son, Jesse, and the extended family--and they are all back in this thriller. 
     A serial killer is on the loose and each murder is brutal but controlled with multiple conflicting elements.  After the third murder scene turns up nothing, Lucy and the local law enforcement officer, Jerry, are considering the rare random serial killer theory when the fourth victim has everything sliding into place.
     This is a different slant than most FBI serial killer stories.  The entire book (except for the parts about Jesse and his problems with a local gang) was about the investigation.  Usually we see a back and forth style of writing where you have parts about the killer or the actual murders and parts about the detectives.  You might be able to pick up clues and work to solve the case along with the main characters.  This time we were part of the witness interviews and part of the group discussions but we didn't see the case from any view but those of the people assigned to the case.  Different--not my favorite--but OK
     This is the 15th Lucy Kincaid FBI book in a series but it is a stand alone novel and you do not need to have read any of the previous books.

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street/Lindsay Currie/291 pages (Author's name has double letter)

     The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street starts when seventh grader Tessa Woodward and her family move from sunny Florida to cold and wintery Chicago.  Tessa is grown up enough to know that this is a dream job for her dad so she is trying to make the best of it.  She is not happy about leaving her best friend Rachel, not happy about the change in climate, not happy about starting the school without knowing anyone at the school and definitely not happy about the creepy noises, flickering lights and crying ventriloquist dummy!  Three new friends quickly volunteer to help Tessa figure out what is going on and slowly, the mystery unfolds.
     Wow!  I think Lindsay Currie may create a whole new generation of mystery/ghost story lovers with this one book!  I loved the characters and totally believed that everything that was going on was the work of the long dead ghost of a six year old named Inez.  Great story!  No wonder its a Mark Twain nominee!

Vendetta in Death/J.D.Robb/356 pages(Author's name has double consonants)

     Futuristic New York City has a new serial killer.  Lady Justice is out to right the wrongs when men who abuse, rape and cheat are not brought to justice.  Eve Dallas is primary on the case and quickly zeroes in on what the victims have in common and how to stop our Lady Justice from doing more damage.
     As always--BTW, this is the 49th book in the "in death" series--Eve's team of able detectives, friends, partner, husband and the NYPSD work force band together to solve the murders. 
     I have real all 49 of Robb's books and the latest does not disappoint.  All the main characters are like old friends you get to visit every once in a while and catch up on what they have been doing lately.  I am amazed that the author can keep turning out stories that surprise and entertain and keep you coming back for more.

750 years in Paris/Vincent Mahe/58 pages

     OK--this one is different.
     Illustrated in just under 60 pages is a time progression of what one simple building/area in Paris would have looked like starting in 1270 and ending in 2015.  If you carefully study the illustrations, noting the similarities and differences to the previous pages and consider what was going on in history during the time period depicted, it is FASCINATING!  It helps if you are into history; it helps if you have an imagination and can fill in the gaps but this one makes for cool perusal!

The Seekers/Heather Graham/284 pages (Paranormal Romance)

     Kerri Wolfe is a historical researcher that specializes in historical cold cases.  She has been asked to join a group of "ghost hunters" that is investigating a newly purchased historical inn in Philadelphia.  No sooner does the entire crew set up and an FBI agent is discovered murdered in the basement.  Kerri is one of the first on the scene and sees a woman in white that quickly disappears.  Joe Dunhill (new to the FBI) has been assigned to the case along with others on his team that are particularly well suited for the investigation because they also have been know to see and communicate with the dead.  The story revolves around the current day investigation but it seems you can't solve this murder without solving the old murder associated with the inn.
     This is an exceptional paranormal suspense story with a light romance.  You will enjoy getting to know all of the characters and watching them interact with each other.  For my taste, there was a little too much history mixed in with the story but others who have read it claim the history is needed to put the story in context.
     Heather Graham has written a total of 58 books in this "Krewe of Hunters" series; if you enjoy this book there are lots more like it in the series!

What I HATE from A to Z/Roz Chast/57 pages

     I'll admit it--it was the cover of this book that drew my attention!
     Starting with Alien Abduction, Balloons and Carnivals the author makes a good case  for each of her selections.  Most people would not like Quicksand, Rabies or Spontaneous Combustion.  Straight through to X-rays, Yellow and Zero each page has a winning argument as to why everyone should hate these things and is illustrated with the author's signature style often seen in the New Yorker magazine.  This type of book is a good conversation starter if you leave it out on your coffee table when you are having guests.

After Dark/Jayne Castle/317 pages (Paranormal Romance)

     Lydia Smith lives in a futuristic world called Harmony where there are ancient ruins and underground tunnels, illusion traps and ghost hunters.  She was working for the university until she had a bad experience in the tunnels and escaped with no memory of what happened to her for a couple of days.  Now no one wants to hire her, she is about to be evicted from her apartment, and one of her few friends turns up dead!  Enter Emmett London--ex Guild boss, ex-ghost hunter--and offers Lydia a contract to help him find a lost family artifact.
     Things get complicated fast but Lydia is determined to prove that she is not "delicate" because of her tunnel blackout.  It turns out Lydia and Emmett make a good team.  Romantic and paranormal sparks are both flying as things get more dangerous and its hard to know if there is anyone they can trust.
     Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) does a great job of creating a believable world.  It is a good story with great characters (loved the dust bunny!) and good escapism reading.

We Walked the Sky/Lisa Fiedler/290 pages

     We Walked the Sky is a new young adult novel that I picked up mainly because it has a circus setting.  Turns out the story is really one about a teen named Callie who is a tightrope walker until her mother forces her to leave the circus and everything that she believes to be important and worthwhile so that Mom can take a job with endangered animals.  Callie is bitter and is doing a good impression of an "angry young teen" but basically she is disoriented being taken from the only life she has known and is thrust into a high school setting that isn't easy.  New friend Jenna helps but what really gets her through is encouraging notes left behind from her deceased grandmother, Victoria, who ran away from an abusive home to join the circus and found not only a new life but love and family.
     The chapters alternate between Callie and Victoria and the author does a nice job of neatly tying everything together.  I was wishing for a fuller, richer storyline; the characters were not fully developed and the setting (even with a circus tidbit in there) was just too nothing.  I was disappointed but others may feel differently.

Breaking News: Cats Reporting on the News that Matters to Cats/Georgia Dunn/124 pages

     Lupin, Puck and Elvis are three mischievous cats reporting on every odd, unusual, slightly different thing that goes on around them for CN Cat News.  The three of them work together to move packing peanuts to every nook and cranny of their house, just for fun!  One cat reports of the fuzzy blanket coming out of the closet and the other two give "on the scene" interviews from both the head of the bed and the foot.  When their people bring home a different brand of cat food, the excitement gets out of hand!!!  Page after page the reader is presented with cute drawings of these sweet cats and are treated to a look at the world from the point of view of this feline trio.  Loved it!

Creeps: A Deep Dark Fears Collection/Fran Krus/134 pages

     The Creeps is an entertaining collection of 97 different fears (or those worrisome thoughts that you get at odd moments) completely illustrated and ready for you to relax for a hour, smile at some and wrinkle your brow and think twice about others.  One of my favorites is #33, the fear of falling asleep when you are worried or upset or depressed and waking up feeling happy and relieved--and worrying that maybe you died while you were asleep and woke up in your afterlife!  The one that could be every mother's greatest worry is #88 that every baby is born a genius and every time a mother bangs their little heads or lets them take an unnecessary bump, they lose intelligence! 

     I've already shared some of this book with my family and I'm sure I'll continue to share with friends.  This is the type of book I like to leave out when people are coming over.  Its good for a few laughs and definitely a conversation starter!

Outfox/Sandra Brown/437pages

     Outfox is the latest offering from super star author, Sandra Brown.

     Drex Easton is an FBI agent on a mission.  For the last 19 years or so he has been on the trail of a serial killer who meets women through a dating service, murders them and then cleans out their bank accounts and makes the women disappear--no bodies have been found until now.  Drex moves in next door to Jason and Talia Ford posing as a writer hoping to prove that he has finally found the killer of at least nine women.  He is sure he has the right man but isn't sure if Talia is the serial killer's partner in crime or another victim!

     This fast paced suspense novel moves quickly from one set up to the next double cross with lies and made up scenarios and fabrication at every turn.  It was fascinating!  I will admit to being doubtful in the beginning about whether I was going to like this one but about one third of the way into it, I was hooked!

     Loved the characters, loved the twist that the story took and loved the ending!

The Widow/Carla Neggers/447 pages

     The Widow is a mystery/suspense novel set on the chilly cost of Maine.  Abigail Browning is a homicide detective who's husband (an FBI agent) was killed just four days after they were married.  Now, seven years later, Abigail is getting anonymous phone calls from someone who claims to know something and Abigail is determined to finally solve the case.  There were a host of characters in this story--Owen, from Search & Rescue, Doyle and Lou are local law enforcement, Linc the spoiled twenty-something who is wasting his life, Mattie the town drunk and blackmailer plus Jason, Ellis. Sean, Ian, Grace and more--which makes for a huge pool of suspects for this who done it.  All in all, this was a really good novel.  I got a little frustrated with the long periods were there was action but the author was not giving the reader anything to help figure out the mystery and how Abigail and her husband's murder fit into it.

Forget Me Not/Ellie Terry/328 pages

     Forget Me Not is a charming junior novel.  The main characters are 7th graders Calliope and Jinsong.  Jinsong is a popular boy at school and when he first sees Calli in the laundry room of their apartment building, he is very interested and wants to get to know her.  When they are both at school and Calli not only is dressed in funny clothes but is making weird noises Jinsong distances himself from the new girl--feels bad about it--but does it anyway.  Part of Calli's problem is that her dad died when she was little and her mother "falls in love" with every man she meets. When it doesn't work out, mother and daughter are uprooted and move.  Calli has started at ten different schools!  Another part of the problem is that Calli has Tourette Syndrome and cannot help her frog noises or speaking her thoughts aloud.

     I loved that the book alternates between being written in first person prose when its about Jinsong and free style verse when its about Calli!

Down River/Karen Harper/388 pages

     Down River is a mystery/romance novel set in Alaska.  Lisa Vaughn is attending a corporate retreat with co-workers and her boss at the lodge of her former boyfriend, Mitch.  There will be challenges and group activities and the prize is the senior partnership of a law firm.  No sooner do they arrive and Lisa is either pushed or falls into the freezing river--the first of several "accidents" that haunt their week.  People die, old secrets come to light and Lisa and Mitch re-connect.
     The story is an interesting one and the Alaskan setting provides an opportunity for lots of great description.  The author has overworked a storyline that deals with the death of Lisa's mother that was fascinating to begin with but becomes tiresome by the end of the book.

Fine Her/Lisa Gardner/402 pages

      Find Her is the 8th book in a series about Boston detective DD Warren.  This story finds DD recovering from injuries sustained in her previous case that seriously injured her shoulder making it difficult to hold a gun properly so she is on restricted duty--but still in the thick of the investigation when the call comes in that Flora Dane (a survivor of a 15 month kidnapping from five years earlier) is involved in the death of a bar tender who had the misfortune to attempt to kidnap Flora.  It turns out that Flora has armed herself with training and self-defense moves and has put herself in danger on a regular basis maybe hoping to be able to get back at the low life who commit these crimes.  Then, just when you least expect it, Flora is again snatched in a horrible turn of events that is very unsettling.

     The chapters are staggered in a three way switch between the story of Flora and her current captor, Flora and her original captor and DD working through her own problems but determined to find and solve Flora's mystery.

     Even though the storyline borders on the unbelievable, this is a solid mystery/suspense novel with a different twist.  Characters are realistic and believable.  Good read.

Baby Don't Hurt Me: Stories & Scars from Saturday Night Live/Chris Kattan/288 pages

     Baby Don't Hurt Me is an autobiographical book by SNL legend Chris Kattan.  Kattan is an eight year veteran from Saturday Night Live and played characters like the missing link, Mr. Peepers, Suel Forrester and one of the bobbing Roxbury Guys.  The book briefly covers his early years, his time at the Groundings where he met many of his co-performers from SNL, the years at Saturday Night Live and what he has done since. 
     I enjoyed watching Kattan when he was on SNL so I expected to be falling off my chair laughing while I read this book--I was not.  There are amusing spots but by and large it is a very depression story of a sad childhood, a truly struggling career and then a devastating injury that has left him with multiple surgeries and more pain in his future.  There were a few photos but not enough to be of any real interest.  Very disappointing book.

Two Can Keep A Secret/Karen McManus/327 pages

     Two Can Keep A Secret is a young adult suspense novel with a good mystery and great characters.

     Ellery and Ezra are twins spending their senior year with a grandmother they haven't had much contact with while mom is in rehab.  Part of the strange family dynamic started years ago when the twins' Aunt Sarah went missing.  Five years ago a local girl was murdered and now another girl is missing!  Ellery considers herself a junior detective and she and her new friends get in lots of trouble while trying to solve both the cold case and the current case.

     I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  Its a quick read and while I did suspect the ending, there were several other possibilities.  My one "criticism" is that the teens in the book seemed younger to me that their seventeen years.  I would have pegged them for more like fourteen years old.

  

Under Currents/Nora Roberts/436 pages

       Under Currents is the latest romantic/suspense novel from Nora

Roberts.

     Zane Walker escapes from an abusive home and is making something

of his life when an old problem returns to haunt him and his family, ready to take what he holds most dear.  There is a surprise outcome to that encounter but there are more in the pages ahead. 

     Its a little impossible to tell you very much about this book without giving the story away so let me just say that I cried through the first section, smiled a lot during the middle and was on the edge of my seat for the ending.  There are some real "feel good" moments at the end, too, as Roberts is tying up all the loose ends.

     Loved the characters and loved the story.  Good read!      

Someone Knows/Lisa Scottoline/387 pages

                                                          Someone Knows is a suspense novel that starts off very much
                                                     like your average young adult novel.  The first 200 pages tell the
                                                     story of five teens who are hanging out over the summer--all seem
                                                     typical but unique.  One is growing up in the shadow of her
                                                     terminally ill sister, another is wondering if he is gay, one is the
                                                     rich kid being ignored by her parents and raised by the hired help,
                                                     one is the new kid in town with a secret why they had to move. 
                                                     There is drinking, staying out late, voyeurism, and then a tragic
                                                     accident that changes their lives.
                                                          Part two starts twenty years later and our group is older but not
                                                     wiser.  While I very much enjoyed the start to this story, I found the
                                                     rest to be wandering, a lot of re-hashing of events and second
guessing.  The ending does a nice job of tying everything together for a satisfying finish but part two was only mildly interesting and at times very depressing.  I have not read Scottoline before and I'm not sure I'll hurry to read another.