Say Goodbye - Lisa Gardner

Come into my parlor . . .

For Kimberly Quincy, FBI Special Agent, it all starts with a pregnant hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too horrifying to be true—but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care.

Said the spider to the fly . . .

As a member of the Evidence Recovery Team, dead hookers aren't exactly Kimberly's specialty. The young agent is five months pregnant—she has other things to worry about than an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to do his dirty work. But Kimberly's own mother and sister were victims of a serial killer. And now, without any bodies and with precious few clues, it's all too clear that a serial killer has found the key to the perfect murder . . . or Kimberly is chasing a crime that never happened.

Kimberly's caught in a web more lethal than any spider's, and the more she fights for answers, the more tightly she's trapped. What she doesn't know is that she's close—too close—to a psychopath who makes women's nightmares come alive, and if he has his twisted way, it won't be long before it's time for Kimberly to . . .

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Book #33 - Sad. Gross. Tragic. Heartbreaking.

Cross Country - James Patterson

Book 14 in the Alex Cross series

When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer. As Alex and his girlfriend, Brianna Stone, become entangled in the deadly Nigerian underworld of Washington D.C., what they discover is shocking: a stunningly organized gang of lethal teenagers headed by a powerful, diabolical man--the African warlord known as the Tiger. Just when the detectives think they're closing in on the elusive murderer, the Tiger disappears into thin air. Tracking him to Africa, Alex knows that he must follow. Alone.

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Book # 32 - Not my favorite Alex Cross novel. It took me 2 weeks to read this book rather than the typical 1-2 days. It was just okay. Nothing really exciting until near the very end. It was then that the story pace and interest level returned to the desired James Patterson style.

I know I'll read the future installments although the anticipation of doing so will wane some until at which time I'm blown away again by a gripping storyline. I hope I don't find myself waiting too long.

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious - Christie Craig

When her dog Fabio brings home a stray, an on-the-run detective named Chase Kelly, eccentric photographer Lacy Maguire uses this opportunity to recover from her broken heart with the help of this very sexy man.

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Book #31 - I knocked this one off in a single day. It was just what I needed after the guts of gore my previous read and for my current state of mind. Cute works as a description. Better than most fluff offerings.

Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter

The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, paediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach. But it's only once Sara starts to perform the post-mortem that the full extent of the killer's brutality becomes clear. Police chief Jeffrey Tolliver - Sara's ex-husband - is in charge of the investigation, and when a second victim is found, crucified, only a few days later, both Jeffrey and Sara have to face the fact that Sibyl's murder wasn't a one-off attack. What they're dealing with is a seasoned sexual predator. A violent serial killer ...

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Book # 30 - OMG! This has to be one of the more disturbing books I've ever read. I was gagging and sputtering at parts. I will be definitely looking to read the rest in the series. My mind must be more demented than I realize.

Tailspin - Catherine Coulter

FBI Special Agent Jackson Crowne is flying his Cessna over the Appalachians, with a very important passenger: renowned psychiatrist Dr. Timothy MacLean; their destination is Washington, D.C. Upon their arrival, the FBI will protect the doctor - and ascertain just who wants him dead.

But they don't make it.

In San Francisco, married FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock take an early morning phone call from their supervisor, Jimmy Maitland. Maitland received a Mayday from Jackson in the mountains near Parlow, Kentucky, and sends Savich and Sherlock to see what's happened.

Agent Crowne is able to bring his plane down in a narrow valley and haul the unconscious Dr. MacLean from the burning wreckage before it explodes. Their crash is witnessed by Rachael Abbott, a young woman on the run after the mysterious death of her father. When Savich and Sherlock arrive on the scene, they find Jackson and Rachael in the Parlow clinic and Dr. MacLean comatose in the local hospital, prognosis unknown. What they do know frightens them: Dr. MacLean was recently diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia, and in the months prior to the crash his behavior had become erratic and alarmingly uninhibited, his ability to maintain doctor-patient confidentiality badly compromised. With a patient list made up of Washington movers and shakers, MacLean's role as a keeper of secrets is jeopardized as well. Is there someone out there so desperate that they'd kill the doctor for what he knows? It is up to Jackson, Savich, and Sherlock to find out - no matter the cost.

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Book #29 - It took me forever to finish this book. It was a combination of being busy and, sadly, the story being typical, so I struggled at times. I get tired of the perfect life, even considering the problems in the lives of the character, the perfect guy for the perfect girl - always happily ever after once the current problem is solved.

The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen

For untold years, the perfectly preserved mummy had lain forgotten in the dusty basement of Boston's Crispin Museum. Now its sudden rediscovery by museum staff is both a major coup and an attention-grabbing mystery. Dubbed 'Madam X,' the mummy to all appearances, an ancient Egyptian artifact' seems a ghoulish godsend for the financially struggling institution. But medical examiner Maura Isles soon discovers a macabre message hidden within the corpse' horrifying proof that this centuries-old relic is instead a modern-day murder victim.

To Maura and Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, the forensic evidence is unmistakable, its implications terrifying. And when the grisly remains of yet another woman are found in the hidden recesses of the museum, it becomes chillingly clear that a maniac is at large and is now taunting them.

Archaeologist Josephine Pulcillo's blood runs cold when the killer's cryptic missives are discovered, and her darkest dread becomes real when the carefully preserved corpse of yet a third victim is left in her car like a gruesome offering or perhaps a ghastly promise of what's to come.

The twisted killer's familiarity with post-mortem rituals suggests to Maura and Jane that he may have scientific expertise in common with Josephine. Only Josephine knows that her stalker shares a knowledge even more personally terrifying: details of a dark secret she had thought forever buried.

Now Maura must summon her own dusty knowledge of ancient death traditions to unravel his twisted endgame. And when Josephine vanishes, Maura and Jane have precious little time to derail the Archaeology Killer before he adds another chilling piece to his monstrous collection.

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Book #28 - I loved it! It was a gross read by times, but a very entertaining. I got a little bogged down (no pun intended to those that read and understand the play on words there), with the scientific content pertaining to Archaeological issues.

The Mercedes Coffin - Faye Kellerman

Book 17 in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series

A novel by
Faye Kellerman

Billionaire genius Genoa Greeves never got over the shocking death of her favorite teacher, Bennett "Dr. Ben" Alston Little, murdered execution-style and stuffed into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz. No arrests were ever made, no killer charged for the brutal crime. Fifteen years later, the high-tech CEO reads about another execution-style murder; this time the victim is a Hollywood music producer named Primo Ekerling. There is no obvious connection, but the case is eerily similar to Little's and Genoa feels the time is right to close Dr. Ben's case once and for all - offering the L.A.P.D. a substantial financial "incentive" if justice is finally served for Little.

Lieutenant Peter Decker resents having to commit valuable manpower to a fifteen-year-old open case simply because a rich woman says "Jump!" Still, the recent murder of Primo Ekerling does bear a disturbing resemblance to Little's case, even though two thug suspects are currently behind bars for the Ekerling murder. Decker can't help but wonder about a connection. His first phone calls are to the two primary investigators in the Little case, retired detectives Calvin Vitton and Arnie Lamar. Lamar is cooperative, but Vitton is not only reluctant to talk, he winds up dead of a suspicious suicide twelve hours later. Plunging into this long-buried murder, Decker discovers that even though the two slayings are separated by a decade and a half, there is still plenty of greed, lust, and evil to connect the dots.

Decker's team of top investigators not only includes his favorite homicide detectives, Scott Oliver and Marge Dunn, but also his newly minted Hollywood detective daughter, Cindy Kutiel, whose help proves to be invaluable. His wife, Rina Lazarus, continues to be his backbone of support, offering a cool, rational outlook despite her growing concern for her husband's welfare and safety. Rina's worries and fears begin to build at a fevered pitch as past and present collide with a vengeance, catapulting an unsuspecting Peter Decker closer and closer to the edge of an infinite dark abyss.

A relentlessly gripping tale spun by a master, Faye Kellerman's The Mercedes Coffin races through a dangerous urban world of fleeting fame and false dreams, making heart-pumping hairpin turns at each step of a terrifying journey, where truth and justice are fine lines between life and death.

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Book #27 - I found there were too many characters to keep it all straight. I'm going to switch up my authors for a bit. Things in this series are getting a bit too pat and perfect. I'm a sucker for a series so I know I'll be back. I'm a little disappointed in this one, is all.

The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks

The Wedding

(The second book in the Calhoun Family Saga series)

A novel by
Nicholas Sparks

After more than 20 years of marriage, Wilson Lewis, son-in-law of Allie and Noah Calhoun (of The Notebook) is forced to admit that the romance has gone out of his marriage. Desperate to win back his wife Jane's heart, he must figure out how to make her fall in love with him.again. Despite the shining example of Allie and Noah's marriage, Wilson is himself a man unable to easily express his emotions. A successful tax attorney, he has provided well for his family, but now, with his daughter's upcoming wedding and an impending empty nest, he is forced to face the fact that he and Jane have grown apart and he wonders if she even loves him anymore. Wilson is sure of one thing-his love for his wife has only deepened and intensified over the years. Now, with the memories of his in-laws' magnificent fifty- year love affair as his guide, Wilson struggles to find his own way back into the heart of the woman he adores.

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Book # 26 - This was just want I expected and needed. I think it's what I needed. I could be wrong. Do men like this really exist? I wonder.

There was one point in this book that I was sobbing. I don't mean just tears rolling down my cheeks, but all out sobbing.

Wonderful heart lifting love story.

Comfort Food - Kate Jacobs

Shortly before turning the big 5-0, boisterous party planner and Cooking with Gusto! personality Augusta 'Gus'? Simpson finds herself planning a birthday party she'd rather not - her own. She's getting tired of being the hostess, the mother hen, the woman who has to plan her own birthday party. What she needs is time on her own with enough distance to give her loved ones the ingredients to put together successful lives without her.

Assisted by a handsome up-and-coming chef, Oliver, Gus invites a select group to take an on-air cooking class. But instead of just preaching to the foodie masses, she will teach regular people how to make rich, sensuous meals - real people making real food. Gus decides to bring a vibrant cast of friends and family on the program: Sabrina, her fickle daughter; Troy, Sabrina's ex-husband; Anna, Gus's timid neighbor; and Carmen, Gus's pompous and beautiful competitor at the Cooking Channel. And when she begins to have more than collegial feelings for her sous-chef, Gus realizes that she might be able to rejuvenate not just her professional life, but her personal life as well. . . .

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Book #25 - WOW! WOW! This is an incredible book. I can't say enough about it. Enjoy!
Next Book - Mercedes Coffin - Faye Kellerman

The Lifeguard - James Patterson

Everything is going right for lifeguard Ned Kelley. He is involved with Tess, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and what's more, a million dollars is within touching distance; his share of the score for the robbery of some world-class art. All he has to do is trigger alarms to throw the cops off the scent. But when Tess is brutally murdered and the others involved in the robbery are massacred, Ned is the prime suspect. He has been set up...

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Book #24 - I quite enjoyed this one. I didn't predict as much as I can with some James Patterson novels. Next book - Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.

Motor Mouth - Janet Evanovich

Motor Mouth is the fast-paced, thrilling sequel to Metro Girl.

The racing season is over and Alexandra Barnaby and Sam Hooker are on the run, avoiding charges of grand theft auto, multiple counts murder, and the NASCAR awards banquet. ÝFrom Miami, Florida to Concord, North Carolina and back to Miami this is an action-packed multi-car-crash of shady dealings, stolen technology, drive-thru windows and destruction of personal property.

Don't miss the return of Barnaby, Hooker, Felicia and Rosa-the-cigar-roller...

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#23 - Well, not much to say. It was completely fluff and I finished it. Enough said.

The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs

Casting on! It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia's store linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. Finding a pattern! And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. These women are of different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit. The Friday Night Knitting Club - don't you want to join?

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Book # 22 - Phenomenal is the word used to best describe this book. I've never read a book twice, but this one I could very well read again and again. It was incredible. If you've never read any of the books I've listed here, and you're wanting to one day, this is the one I suggest for you.

Married Lovers - Jackie Collins

Cameron Paradise, a stunningly beautiful twenty-four-year-old personal trainer, flees her abusive boyfriend in Australia and ends up in L.A. Cameron soon gets a job at a private fitness club where she encounters the city's most important players. She has plans to open her own studio, and while every man she meets comes on to her, she is focused on working hard and saving money to achieve her goal. Until she meets Ryan Lambert, that is. An extremely successful independent movie producer, he's married to overly privileged Mandy Lambert, the daughter of Hamilton J. Heckerling, a Hollywood power-player son-of-a-bitch mogul. Ryan has never cheated on his demanding Hollywood Princess wife, but when he meets Cameron, all bets are off. Only internationally bestselling author Jackie Collins knows what happens when lust and desire collide with marriage and power. And the results lead to murder.

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Book #21 - I love love love a tawdry read every once in a while. This book fit the bill perfectly. Since I've been on top of Jackie Collins' offerings for quite some time now, I don't get the opportunity to read her stuff too often. I was pleasantly surprised to see she had a new book out.

This book was everything and more you would expect from a novel of this genre. I read late in to the night and all day just to finish it. Now that I've finished it, I'll miss it.

Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair - Laurie Perry

If you've ever been dumped, duped, or three minutes from crazy, you'll love Crazy Aunt Purl. Side-splittingly funny and profoundly moving, Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair is the true-life misadventures of Laurie Perry, aka Crazy Aunt Purl, a slightly neurotic, displaced Southerner trying to create a new life after her husband leaves her to "get his creativity back." (Whatever the hell that means.) But will she get her groove back in a tiny rented apartment, with a mountain of boxes, visible panty lines, and a slight wine-and-Cheetos problem?

"I was a thirty-something woman living alone with four cats. I was probably going to be divorced. I was on the short bus to crazy. I pictured my grandmother making hoop-skirted yarn cozies for the toilet paper. I pictured myself making doilies for furniture that I did not own. I saw my cats wearing knitted hats with lace appliques. From my vantage point, knitting seemed like 100 percent of some road I did not want to walk down."

Yet, surprisingly, it's knitting that saves her and emboldens her to become fully engaged in life again — to discover new friends; to take risks, however scary; and to navigate the ins and outs of the modern dating scene.

"Dating has changed in a decade. Now there is a higher chance of meeting someone who has an internet porn addiction than someone who has a job. In Los Angeles, your dinner companion might have served time in Pelican Bay or run a meth lab. Or, worst of all, he might spend all night talking about his agent, his craft, and what it means to grow as an actor. Then he'll ask you to read his screenplay."

And such is life in this quirky, irreverent memoir, a spin-off of the blog phenomenon, www.crazyauntpurl.com, one of the most successful online diaries in history, exploding to an international fan base of enthusiastic readers. But don't worry, you don't have to knit to love Aunt Purl. You just have to know what it feels like to have loved, to have lost, or to have taken a leap of faith.

We've all been there: Pass the wine.

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Book # 20 - OMG what a hilarious book. I really wish I'd discovered this book when I was in the early days of my separation. It would have given me a good chuckle and a few moments of clarity. I suggest this to any and all whether you've been divorced or not. It his great fun!

Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, the bombshell bounty hunter from New Jersey, already has problems. Her relationship with Joe Morelli is so complicated it's now over. Plus, her attractive, if terrifying, mentor and tormentor Ranger has decided he's ready to collect his reward. But Steph can always count on her family to add to her troubles. When her mother and Grandma gang up to insist she finds their neighbour's missing granddaughter Evelyn and her child Annie, Steph can't refuse. Mabel Markowitz signed a custody bond guaranteeing Annie would stay in Trenton after her parents' divorce. Now Evelyn and Annie have vanished, Mabel will lose her house to True Blue Bail Bonds Agency. But following their trail is not simple. Where have they gone? What does property lord and war game fanatic, Eddie Abruzzi really want? And why is a giant rabbit stalking Steph?

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Book # 19 - Typical storyline. Funnier than I've found the last few books. I was shocked by ONE happening which was great!

Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police. But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation ...

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Book #18 - This is my first ever Patricia Cornwell and based on this one, there will be more. I really enjoyed this book. Not the smartest thing to finish it at 12:30a when you have to work in the morning and you're home alone. Again, not smart!

Always A Thief - Kay Hooper

In a deadly game of skill and deception...A master thief is just the first wild card…The priceless, rarely displayed Bannister collection is about to be exhibited and the show's director, Morgan West, can't ignore her growing uneasiness. She's certain she hasn't seen the last of the infamous cat burglar Quinn. But she never expected him to turn up at her apartment one dark night in desperate need of her help help she can't refuse. The mysterious master thief is playing a dangerous game, and it's a game that just might get him killed.

With Morgan's help, Quinn sets a trap intended to catch someone far more elusive…and more deadly…than a thief. But an unseen threat shadows him in the fog-shrouded San Francisco night, an unknown adversary more cunning than any he has yet encountered. Now, just when the stakes are higher than even Quinn can imagine, no one can be trusted and everything is at risk.

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Book #17 - This was a lighthearted thriller. Not much on suspense, more on filler. I'm not really able to sustain any level of concentration at the moment, so this book was the right book at the right time.

Daddy's Girls - Tasmina Perry

Serena, Cate, Camilla and Venetia have grown up in a world where money can buy you anything. But as the old saying goes, it can't buy you love, and it certainly didn't buy them their father's. Oswald Balcon revelled in belittling his daughters, often bullying them to tears. Even in their later years he still seemed to despise them. But why did he appear to hate them so much? And did his constant sniping and backstabbing push one of them into committing the most heinous crime of all? Did one of Oswald Balcon's daughters finally snap and kill him? Set in the glittering arenas of show business, glossy magazines, interior design, law and politics these four women play out their lives constantly under the watchful eye of the public. But only they know what happens behind closed doors locked away from the paparazzi. And as tragedy and danger stalks every one of them, the scene is set for a stunning and totally unexpected climax. Here, glamorous locations, sexy and sensational characters and an explosive plot keep you guessing until the final finger-scorching page.

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Book #15 - WOW! I loved this book. I wanted to do nothing but read this book and that is pretty much what I did. I can't wait to get the next one. I've already been on the library site and don't see it listed there. As much as I no longer buy books, but rent them from the library, I enjoyed this first book so much I would buy the second offering by this author in a heartbeat.

I highly recommend this book to anyone! You'll not be disappointed. Enjoy!

Sail - James Patterson

Since the death of her husband, Anne Dunne and her three children have struggled in every way. In a last ditch effort to save the family, Anne plans an elaborate sailing vacation to bring everyone together once again. But only an hour out of port, everything is going wrong. The teenage daughter, Carrie, is planning to drown herself. The teenage son, Mark, is high on drugs and ten-year-old Ernie is nearly catatonic. This is the worst vacation ever.Anne manages to pull things together bit by bit, but just as they begin feeling like a family again, something catastrophic happens. Survival may be the least of their concerns.

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Book #14 - This was a quick read, as is most James Patterson novels. It was good. I wasn't all that shocked at the twists and turns, but enjoyed the book despite that fact.

Save Karyn - Karyn Bosnak

After moving to New York from Chicago for a lucrative position at a new television court show, Bosnak digs herself into a more than $20,000 hole in less than a year. With stars in her eyes, she blindly plunks down $778 on lingerie here and $387 on a cut and color there. She justifies her frivolity as "emergencies" and "investments" in herself. "I was twenty-seven years old and I wasn't going to be a spring chicken much longer. So I needed these nighties to look as sexy as I could because I needed to land a man. So they were kind of like an investment. An investment in my sex life and an investment in my future." Unable to pay her bills while employed, Bosnak's luck takes a turn for the worse when the court show is canceled. She is able to land a job at yet another TV show, but that, too, doesn't last long. When her financial situation is truly desperate, she posts a "help-needed" message on craigslist.org (an interactive classifieds page). When the site administrators remove her posting, Bosnak decides to set up her own Web site: www. savekaryn.com. With financial contributions from strangers, sales from eBay and donations of all kinds, she's able to pay all her bills in five short months. Each chapter opens with a spread of her credit card statements, outlining her month's purchases. This detail would be sufficient, but this self-absorbed book is filled with the overwhelming minutiae of Bosnak's shallow extravagance, making it hard to empathize with her during tough times or celebrate her escape from debt. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Book #13 - I've been reading Karyn's blog for quite some time now. I don't know how I stumbled upon it, but I can tell you without hesitation, I'm extremely happy it did. This blog has to be one of the best out there. It is hilarious, a touch quirky, and a lot random. I love it. You have to search for the entry 'cliquey dogs'. I laughed so hard I was almost crying. On second thought, I may have cried.

Oh ya, this is really where I'm supposed to talk about the book. I loved it. It was sad in parts. I know at one point I cried. I can't remember why exactly or what happened to her, but I just remember this incredible sense of sadness for her. All in all it was a very entertaining, fun read. I feel bad saying it was fun, because this was her real life, she lived these nightmares. She reminds a little bit of my daughter at times with her positive outlook on the world, believing that good really does outweigh the bad. It is refreshing and I recommend it to anyone to read.

Karyn's spin on things is downright hilarious. She isn't afraid to poke fun at herself. She is so freaking funny, I can't even tell you. I laughed out loud more times than not. I was always reading parts to people... pubicle cubicle is a gut busting hilarious section.

I'm looking forward to picking up her next book 20 Times A Lady. I'm sure it will be just as much fun.