The Tycoon's Socialite Bride/ Tracey Livesay/ 178 pgs

I always enjoy this author's books. This one is on the short side and it suffers just a tiny bit from the limited page count. I thought the ending was very rushed. Pamela is the daughter of a retired senator who believes image is everything for their family. Her mother passed away years ago and her father is often disappointed when Pamela doesn't live up to her mother's image. About a year ago, she dumped her fiance after he hit her. She doesn't tell her father this but does devote herself to the women's shelter that helped her out. Marcus is a successful real estate developer out for revenge against the wealthy hotel owner who treated his housekeeper mother like garbage. I liked these characters and loved the couple they made. If you're looking for a good, quick read, give this one a try.

14th Colony/ Steve Berry/450 pages

The 14th Colony is Steve Berry's latest adventure featuring Cotton Malone, Cassiopeia, Stephanie Nells, and President Danny Daniels.  Even though the Magellan Billet has been dissolved, the story begins in Russia with Malone's help requested to find an aged former Soviet archivist.  The shooting starts there along with the adventure.  As more is revealed about an old Soviet plan to bring the United States into chaos, an old American plan to conquer Canada is also revealed.  From Russia to Canada to Virginia and finally DC, the chase continues as all characters rush to stop a disaster as the next president is sworn into office.  This book will appeal to the Steve Berry's fans and readers who enjoy action and adventure.

Nemesis/Catherine Coulter/384 pages

Savich and Sherlock are working on separate cases in Coulter's latest installment of the FBI Thriller series. Sherlock was on her way home when she was pulled into a terrorist's attempt to blow up a grenade in the security line. The New York FBI office decides that she will be a good resource, so they keep her on the bigger case tracking down the person behind the attack. Savich, on the other hand, is at home in D.C. looking for the reason a young man would stab a good friend in broad daylight and not remember he did. That case pulls him into a small town with families of Wiccan and intertwining relationships.

Good addition to the series. Coulter stays true to the characters and the backstory she has created.

Once Upon a Secret/Mimi Alford/198 pages

Once Upon a Secret tells the story of an intern in Washington, D.C. that engages in a secret affair with the President of the United States for about 18 months. No, it's not that President. Mimi Alford went to Washington to be a summer intern in 1962. She met President Kennedy four days later, and their affair began right after that. In November, 1963, she was getting ready to end it because she was getting married, and he was getting ready to end it because he was moving on. It ended because he was assassinated. They were scheduled to meet after he came back from Dallas; sadly, he returned in a coffin.

This is an almost clinical report of how they met and how the affair was arranged. She doesn't give up much in emotion until she hears of the shooting in Dallas. Only then did I feel any empathy for her. She was "outed" as an affair in 2003, but she waited until now to tell her story.

MURDER IN THE WHITE HOUSE BY Margaret Truman - 272 Pages

Book Discussion title at Middendorf-Kreddell Branch

We combined [a] mystery discussion with a walk down history lane. I was able to pull some non-fiction books written by Truman about her parents, her own story, and the other First Ladies. I also found a book on the White House and what happened in the White House during each Administration. Margaret had an insider viewpoint from which she wrote her books and it gives the reader a sense of being behind the scenes.

There are many historic locations in the Washington D.C. area that Margaret Truman used to center her mysteries around. If anyone has book discussion members interested in the DC area monuments, cultural institutions, organizations, and historical events and want some light reading, they may enjoy Margaret Truman's mysteries.

Claire - MK Mystery Book Club