Dying in Style by Elaine Viets

I got Elaine Viet's first book in her new series, the Mystery Shopper series, because I absolutely adore her Dead End Job series. I had it sitting on the bookshelf since I bought it (I don't know why I do that, I have to run out and get a book as soon as it released and then just let it sit there). It was a fun read and I enjoyed it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Women would kill for Josie Marcus's job as a mystery shopper, which takes her in and out of boutiques, supermarkets, even fast-food joints to report on quality and service. Besides being a single mom to a nine-year old, Josie is the undercover shopping police, protecting unsuspecting consumers everywhere. And she never falsifies her reports, even if it's a matter of life, death, or a red-tag sale...

Ah, the Danessa Celedine handbag. To have one is to invite envy and flaunt wealth, with each bag costing upward of five thousand dollars. When a large company considers paying millions of dollars for use of the Danessa name, Josie's hired to inspect the designer's stores anonymously. And each boutique is worse than the one beofre. Her less than stellar report provokes threats of a lawsuit... until Danessa is strangled with one of her own thousand-dollar snakeskin belts. Josie better bag the killer before she winds up in an ugly jailhouse outfit herself...

I really like Josie's character and the other characters in the story such as her best friend Alyce, her mother Jane, and her daughter. There were several other small subplots that were running through the story and I really enjoyed those as well. The mystery was well done, though I don't think there were enough clues for the reader to discover the murderer. I loved Josie's shopping trips as a mystery shopper as well.

While I didn't like Josie as much as a I LOVE Helen from the Dead-End Series. I think I laughed a bit more in Helen's stories. I will continue to read the series and enjoyed it. I already have the next one sitting on the shelves and will get to it soon. (See, now here's another thing... why do I buy 2 books in a series without even reading the first one... It's CRAZY!!)

Up next is a thriller, called The Interview Room by a new to me author. I have a project to finish, and then I am taking my book outside to read. It is 74 degrees out right now, and by Wednesday... the 30's. UGH!!!!

One more week and then I get to buy books! I am proud that I have made it through Lent without buying one, and I am not going to go hog wild on Sunday. I am saving all of my money from not buying and getting more from the library. After realizing that I don't read books as soon as I get them, I can wait for them to come into the library.

Have a good relaxing Sunday! Happy reading!

Body Movers by Stephanie Bond

I have had Body Movers on hold from the library since it came out in July and it finally came in this week. This is a big book, at over 400 pages, but I read it in under twenty-four hours. I love Stephanie's books, and while this one was not as good as some of the others I have read, I really enjoyed it. 3.5 out 5 stars.

Okay, so Carlotta Wren's life hasn't turned out as she'd planned. She didn't plan for her parents to skip bail for a white-collar crime, leaving her to raise her younger brother. She didn't plan on having the silver spoon ripped out of her mouth and forgoing college to work retail. She didn't plan on her blue-blood fiance dumping her like last year's designer bag. And she didn't plan to still be single (with no prospects) ten years later, working at Neiman Marcus, with no idea where her fugitive parents are. But she's coping, sort of. Until...

... her lovable brother is arrested and his loan sharks come calling.
... the hunky cop who arrested her brother reopens her parent's case.
... her brother becomes a body mover, transporting corpses from crime scenes.
... her former fiance's wife (a good customer) is murdered, fingering Carlotta.
...her brother's sexy boss draws her into the bizarre world of body moving.

Suddenly Carlotta realizes that she has to bag a murderer to keep her own well-dressed body from being next on the list!

This is was a really fun read, that I zipped right through. It is the beginning of a new series and we are left hanging with a lot of what next at the end of the book. There are possibly three love connections with Carlotta that can be made and she hasn't chosen one at the end of the book. The mystery was pretty good, though I do have to say the ending came out of nowhere with little chance for the reader to discover who the killer is before the name is revealed. I also enjoyed Carlotta's brother Wesley and their relationship together. Like I mentioned, the ending is left were I will definately be picking up the next in the series though I do not feel like I have been ripped off of an ending like some books in other series. Body Movers is not as funny as some other Bond books I have read (where I was actually laughing out loud a lot) but still a fun read!

Up next, Linda Howard's Dream Man. I have finally gotten through all of the library books that have come in lately, so it is time to try and make a dent in the TBR pile. I am doing good on the no book buying front for Lent, but it is really killing me! There are so many books I want to buy! Oh well... I am saving money this way!

Looks to Die For

I picked up Looks to Die For after reading a review on Nicole's blog, Blog Happy. It is by one of the co-authors of two other books that I enjoyed, and I am glad I picked it up. 3.5 out of 5.

As the wife of a prominent Beverly Hills plastic-surgeron, a dedicated mother of three, and an absolutely fabulous decorator to the stars, Lacy Fields is stunned to the tips of her Chanel-manicured toenails the night the police barge into her house and haul her husband off in handcuffs. With her handsome Dan accussed of murdering a young wannabe actress named Tasha Barlow, Lacy turns her talent from tracking down priceless antique furniture to chasing a clever killer.

Lacy is sure her husband has been wrongly accussed- but how to explain his mysterious behavior? Known as the Saint of Hollywood for his skill with a scapel, Dan seems to be keeping a secret or two. Still Lacy won't lose her faith or determination to find the real murderer.

With her best friend Molly Archer, a hot LA casting agent, at her side, Lacy tracks suspects ranging from a sleazy network TV star to an advertising exec who shoots Super Bowl commercials set on the moon. Is Tasha's loyal hometown friend really an enemy? Did an ex-con from her past return to destroy Tasha's new life? Lacy Fields will stop at nothing to protect her family-whether it's searching for the person who framed her husband or keeping the black hair-dye away from her fourteen-year-old daughter.

The mystery of this story was very well done, and I really enjoyed the characters- especially Lacy. She seems down-to-earth in a crazy world that is LA and a great mom to her three children. Her friend was great, and I loved her attitude. The only downside to the book was the constant name dropping of designers throughout the book, though I guess that is to be expected given the setting of the story. I will be looking forward to more of Ms. Kaplan's future novels.

Gotta get to bed. I have to be at school at 7:00 tomorrow! I am sooooo not a morning person!

Last Witness by Jilliane Hoffman

The Last Witness was the latest book on CD I listened to in the car. It seems like it took me forever to get through it, but it really wasn't the book's fault. It was very suspensful and captiviting, and I am glad I got it from the library. 3 1/2 out of 5.

Miami Assistant State Attorney C.J. Townsend finds herself living a nightmare, beginning with a call to go to the homicide scene of Victor Chavez, a cop who helped her convict serial killer William Bantling. Chavez's body has been mutilated, his tongue twisted into what a former DEA officer calls the "Colombian necktie." Early clues to this and subsequent, equally brutal, murders point to Florida's drug underworld, but Townsend's fiancé, Special Agent Dominick Falconetti, and his team track the case back to Bantling. Falconetti is arrested for assaulting the ever-taunting Bantling, but even with the lead detective off the investigation, troubling facts emerge, while Townsend, haunted by her role in Bantling's trial (she withheld evidence to put the man who raped her on death row), tries to distance herself. Instead, she must confront her torturer in court, putting her career, her relationship and eventually her life at risk.

This was the second one in a series, and I had not read the first one. It was not necessary to read the first one, which is titled Retribution, though I wish I had. I think it would have added more to suspense of the story. The reader was great and had a pleasant voice to listen to. The reader of audio books can really make or break it for me. I remember one book I was listening to, every other sentence ended with "He said." I know that wasn't the reader's fault, but it was so distracting to me and I kept track of the times "said" was spoken. I didn't make it through the first C.D.

I did figure out who the bad guy was about 75% of the way in the story, but the clues were very well placed. Once I thought I knew who it was, I went back and realized that I was right. The ending was wonderful with a great cliffhanger, but Ms. Hoffman does not have a website so I am not sure if anything is coming out soon. I couldn't find anything on Amazon, but I hope it does. Up next on my radio is Carl Hiassen's Nature Girl. I absolutely adore his books, especially the audio ones. I am also currently reading his children's book Flush for part of a project I am doing for school. It is also putting a smile on my face.

Well off to bowling. We are on a bowling league with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and we need to fight back in the rankings!

Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich

I finally got Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich this weekend from the library. I love her books, but they are such a quick read, and are always priced way too high, so I have to wait for it from the library. Either the library or Costco. But since I rarely reread books, it kind of is a waste to spend all of that money. But anyways, I finally got it from the library, and it was worth the wait. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Barney and her unfaithful NASCAR racing honey, Sam Hooker, find themselves in trouble after discovering the shrink-wrapped body of ruthless businessman Oscar Huevo in a rival racer's car hauler. The pair must pull together to protect a high-tech gizmo that can revolutionize racing-and save their lives. Evanovich burns some rubber and only hits the brakes a few times, thanks to her bright dialogue, race-track savvy and expert depiction of romantic mayhem. Though sometimes it seems as if she's still taking a test drive with this new cast of eccentrics, the pages fly by as the racy tension between Hooker and Barney adds heat to the fun. Action on the menu includes destruction of valuable race cars, a dognapping and a kidnapping.

While I love the Stephanie Plum series, I think that this series may become the better one, IMO. I like a big part of it is because Barney, while not sure if she should trust Booker, has picked him to be her guy. I am getting a little tired of the Ranger, Joe and Stephanie love triangle, and I liked seeing Barney and Booker together. The mystery was all right, but there were quite a few laugh out loud moments. I really do love Evanovich's writing style, as it is so light and easy to read. Whether it be a paragraph or 3 chapters, I really whiz through it and get a satisfied feeling.

Another point that I really enjoyed was Beans, the Saint Bernard in the story. My husband has been begging me for a Saint Bernard, and while they are lovable, adorable dogs, this book just reinforced while I do not want to get one. They slobber, drool, and are sooooo big! Beans really added a great aspect to the story, and also provided some really laughable moments. I am sure everyone has read her books, but if you haven't I highly recommend her books to you!

The Nanny Murders

I just finished up The Nanny Murders, and it was exactly what I needed after trying to read Naked in Death. While it wasn't anything spectacular, I did enjoy it and it was the start to a new series featuring a single mom and her six year old daughter. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Single parenthood is challenging enough for Zoe Hayes, raising a young daughter in Queen Village, a Philadelphia neighborhood whose homes- like its residents- have seen better days. Then comes the blustery afternoon when little Molly makes a shocking discovery while playing outdoors: a dismembered finger.

What Zoe longs to believe is a gruesome fluke quickly takes on unsettling significance. One by one, young nannies are vanishing from the neighborhood, falling victim to a shadowy killer. Uneasily drawn into the chilling case- and an unexpected relationship- by engimatic detective Nick Stiles, Zoe assumes she and Molly are safe. But then terror strikes close to hom.

Now Zoe must acceot that nobody in Queen Village is protected. A bloodthirsty predator lurks nearby, perhaps concealed behind a passing stranger's friendly smile, a longtime neighbor's front door- or as Zoe fears most, perhaps even nearer than that...

This book had a nice suspense going on, though the story does bounce around a bit. I absolutely adored Molly, and liked that the story was told in first person. I know some people can't stand first person, but I like the way it allows the reader to get inside the character's mind. There was some jumping around and several suspects are possible. I was constantly changing my mind on who the "bad guy" was. Nick as a hero is kind of a stretch, as we do not get to learn too much about him. Like I mentioned before, it is the start of a series, so I hope to see more of their relationship blossom or falter. The next book in the series, titled The River Killings, is currently out in hardcover and I may look for it at the library the next time I am there.

One other note, while this is a mystery series, I would not say it is a "cozy". I also would feel it would be a stretch to call it a romantic suspense. But it was a nice, fast read and I enjoyed it. One other thing I really liked was the fact that there were short chapters. I have a problem with taking a break in a story in the middle of a chapter, so this book was great for me to have to read whether I had 5 minutes to read or 5 hours (though I don't think it would have taken me 5 hours to read it).

I am not sure what will be up next. I have three library books that I need to get to first. I have Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich, as well as Jesse Kellerman's first novel, and another mystery. I am too tired to think about it now, so it will have to wait for (hopefully) tomorrow!