Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath

I just finished listening to Bloody Mary on CD in my car. I have wanted to read some of this author's books for awhile, so when I saw this at the library I jumped on the chance. I am glad I did. I gave the book a B with the reading an A.

When two arms, sans body, turn up at a Chicago morgue, Det. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels is surprised to discover that the mysterious limbs are joined by her own handcuffs. The killer appears to have a grudge as well as unsettling access to Jack. The dual narrative alternately follows detective and murderer, leaving little to the imagination, particularly in the realm of gore. The author reveals so much about the crimes and their motivation that the plot loses steam until the fiend is caught (halfway through the novel) and the focus shifts to ensuring that he doesn't walk. The legal finagling is a bit far-fetched, but the battle of wills between the psychopath and the cop keeps the pages turning. And like any hard-boiled detective, Jack has a problematic personal life, juggling two unstable relationships and caring for her ailing mother.

It was a good story, though I would find it difficult to call the story a mystery. You discover early on who the murderer is, though there are some twists and turns that have you wondering how everyone is going to ge through all of this. I enjoyed the way the story is told over several months, and there were quite a few laughs.

I really loved the readers. There were two, one male and one female. They changed their voices for each of the characters and really gave more depth to the story. They were able to go back and forth with each other and it was a lot of fun. I will definitely be looking for more of this author's books, particularly on audiobook.

Have a great weekend, again!

Nature Girl

I finished listening to Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen on my way into work today. As always, the book was fantastic and wonderful to listen to! Four out of five stars!

The engaging and diverse screwball cast includes Boyd Shreave, a semicompetent telemarketer; Shreave's mistress and co-worker, Eugenie Fonda; Honey Santana, a mercurial gadfly who ends up on the other end of one of Shreave's pitches for Florida real estate; and Sammy Tigertail, half Seminole, who at novel's start must figure out what to do with the body of a tourist who dies of a heart attack on Sammy's airboat after being struck by a harmless water snake. When Santana cooks up an elaborate scheme to punish Shreave for nasty comments he made during his solicitation call, she ends up involving her 12-year-old son, Fry, and her ex-husband in a frantic chase that enmeshes Tigertail and the young co-ed Sammy accidentally has taken hostage.

Hiaasen's books are always wonderful, and I really enjoy the readers. I want to move to Florida, so I always look forward to reading books that are set there. There are exciting characters in Hiaasen's books, and he always seems to find things that annoy all of us and really makes them fun! I need to check out more of his older novels and see if the library has any on CD. They really make the drive a lot more fun.

I also bought an IPOD last night. I found out through my library I can check out free ebooks and free audiobooks through the internet and download them to my computer or IPOD. DH and I just bought a treadmill last week, so the IPOD is a perfect way to listen to audiobooks to keep me excerising!

Well back to work! Happy reading!

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!

Audiobook- Michelle Martinez "Most Wanted"

I picked up Most Wanted from the library. I have a bit of an anxiety problem driving on the expressway, and to attend classes, which is in downtown Detroit, it is required to. So, I decided to pick up books on CD last year to see if they will help me relax, and they do. Most Wanted was one of those such books.

Melanie Vargas is a hardworking, hotshot federal prosecutor in New York City with a rising career in law and a marriage on the rocks. On an innocent evening stroll with her baby daughter, Melanie stumbles upon a horrifying crime spree. It's the high-profile case that can make her name, and Melanie wants in- to what becomes a wild race against the clock to solve a brutal high-society murder before the killer finds her.

It took me quite a while to listen to this, though it was a good story. It was a long story, and classes didn't start until last week, so my time in the car was in shorter spans. It was a great story, that was thrilling and had a good suspense factor. The reader was wonderful and I really feel that the reader can make or break the story. I give the story three out of five, but it would probably higher if it hadn't taken me so long to get through it. It was not so engaging so that I would listen to it over my morning program, ,which the really good stories do. It also seems to be the first of a new series, and I will look around for the new ones.