1. The Grift by Debra Ginsberg

I really enjoyed other books by Ms. Ginsberg, so even though this subject was different from what I usually read, I decided to give it a chance. I am so glad I did! I really enjoyed The Grift and give it an A-.

From Amazon:
What happens when a pseudo psychic suddenly gets the real gift?Marina Marks has been on the grift as a psychic since she was a child, forced into the business by a junkie mother who was always desperate for her next fix—and willing to use her solemn dark-haired daughter to peddle an extra buck. As an adult, Marina has earned a handsome living preying on the dreams and fears of her clients. She doesn’t believe there is such a thing as psychic ability, but she does believe in intuition. Her gift is the ability to gain the trust of her clients and subtly raise her fees as they become more attached to her and her readings.But when Marina moves her “intuitive counseling” business out of muggy, cloying Florida to the milder environs of southern California, her past follows her. As she takes on new clients—a trophy wife desperate to bear a child, a gay man involved with a closeted psychiatrist, and a philandering businessman who’s smitten with her—a former client resurfaces in an eerie way. Suddenly, Marina is in love for the first time, but it is a romance whose roots lie deep in her past and threaten her efforts to reinvent herself.As Marina’s life gets more and more entangled with those of her clients, she makes a startling discovery: she suddenly has the actual ability to see the future. After predicting a murder exactly as it happens, she becomes the sole suspect. Now she’s the desperate one—desperate to clear her name and to discover the meaning behind her visions.

While I normally shy away from paranormal books, I loved the aspect of a psychic who knows she is a fraud but then becomes a real psychic. There was a good mystery included in the story and a lot of red herrings. I was able to figure out who the bad guy was, but not before I made some incorrect guesses. I really hope Ms. Ginsberg continues to write books.

Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

I read about Dismantled on someone's blog, and as I had read and enjoyed Ms. McMahon's previous novel, I decided to give this one a try. I should have stuck with what the reviewer said, because I didn't really enjoy the book that much. I give it a C.

Inside cover:
Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz banded together in college to form a group they called the Compassionate Dismantlers. Following the first rule of their manifesto- "To understand the nature of a thing it must be taken apart"- these daring misfits spend the summer after graduation in a remote cabin in the Vermont woods committing acts of meaningful vandalism and plotting elaborate, often dangerous, pranks. But everything changes when one particularly twisted experiment ends in Suz's death and the others decide to cover it up.
Nearly a decade later, Henry and Tess are living just an hour's drive from the old cabin. Each is desperate to move on from the summer of the Dismantlers, but their guilt isn't ready to let them go. When a victim of their past pranks commits suicide- apparently triggered by a mysterious Dismantler style postcard- it sets off a chain of eerie events that threatens to engulf Henry, Tess, and their inquisitive nine-year-old daughter, Emma. Is there someone who wants to reveal their secrets? Is it possible that Suz did not really die- or has somehow found a way back to seek revenge?

I really didn't like any of the characters, so I think that was part of the problem with the story. I didn't care about any of them, except maybe for Emma, and thought that they were all very selfish. There were also paranormal aspects, which we all know is not exactly my cup of tea, so that lowered my rating a bit as well. There was quite a twist at the end of the story which redeemed part of it, but part of the time I was reading I kept asking myself why I was even reading it. I probably should have just moved on but didn't.

Well hate to make this short, but I have a wedding to go to. I really don't want to go, but am sucking it up. Have a great night everyone and Happy Reading!

Never Look Back by Robert Ross

Never Look Back was a different type of book from those that I normally read. I usually steer clear of paranormal books but not for any specific reason. Anyhow, this one slipped through and I didn't realize it was a paranormal until I started reading, but it ended up not really mattering. I enjoyed it, giving it a B.

From Amazon:
Karen Donovan no sooner marries bestselling novelist Philip kaye when he leaves on a book tour, abandoning her at his Provincetown mansion with his sullen teenage daughter. Black-clad Jessie Kaye isn''t exactly good company: when she''s not skulking around, she''s locked in her room writing in her journal, and her strangeness is a topic of local gossip. As autumn sets in, Karen befriends flamboyant local celebrity Bobbie Noble. But their plans to renovate Philip''s house are sidetracked when karen stumbles upon the diary of accused axe-murderess Lettie Hatch. It describes Lettie''s boorish father and young, ambitious stepmother--" both of whom would fall victim to a crazed killer. And the more Karen reads. the more she''s convinced that Jessie, with her increasingly bizarre behavior, is channeling something sinister. When Philip returns, he''s in no mood to entertain the theories that have grown into a nerve-jangling obsession for karen. Now, as a bitter winter binds the Cape in snow and ice, Karen feels a presence taking over. It knows what happened here nearly a hundred years before. And it won''t stop until history is rewritten--" in blood.

As I mentioned above, I am not sure why I don't like to read paranormals. In real life, I do believe in some of the paranormal but just can't suspend my logical side when it comes to reading for some reason. Anyways, this book kept me reading and I really enjoyed it. I couldn't stand one of the main characters. Karen, but in the end the author somewhat explains all of that. Last night, when I had about 200 pages left, I decided to pick it up and read for about a half hour and ended up finishing the book. I may just have to continue reading paranormals. One thing I did have to nitpick about is the couple of mistakes I found in the book. One of them was the description of Karen's hair. One time it was brown, another time it was red, and another time it was black. That really bothered me. I mean why couldn't the author keep track of her main character's hair color? Another mistake was the name of a city where the characters were. They were supposed to be in the Boston area, but the author names New Orleans. To me those were pretty big boo-boos, and seems kind of weak on the author and editors part.

Up next is a book by one of my favorite authors of cozy mystery series, Elaine Viets. It is the latest in the Dead End Job series and is called Clubbed to Death. I look forward to the release each year. I absolutely love Florida and Fort Laurderdale is one of my favorite spots in Florida. I can relate to a lot of the places she describes and her sense of humor is wonderful. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, with taking 30 plus kids to a field trip to the zoo tomorrow. I am exhausted right now, but do want to get some reading in tonight. I am crossing my fingers. Happy Reading!

Dying Breath by Wendy Corsi Staub

As I have mentioned numerous times, Wendy Corsi Staub is one of my favorite authors. She also writes under the name Wendy Markham and I am a huge fan of her chick-lit books through Red Dress Ink of the Slightly series. So I am always on the lookout for her new books and know that Wendy's latest suspense books come out around my birthday which is a gift all of itself. (My birthday was Tuesday... but I feel like I am getting old and we are watching our money right now since I may not work during the summer, so it wasn't much of a celebration). I got Dying Breath the day it came out and finally picked it up on Monday. It was again another wonderful book and I rate it an A-.

From Amazon:
It's summer on the Jersey Shore. Children play on the beach. Husbands are off working in the city. And the surf echoes in the night. Here, in this perfect place, a serial killer has no worries in the world- except choosing the next victim...
Cam Hastings has come to Long Beach Island with her teenage daughter and the hope that maybe she can save her failed marriage. Cam has never stopped loving her husband Mike nor has she been able to outrun her flaws and demons- a vanished mother, a lost sister, and the ugly visions she has of missing children...
Now Cam is about to step over the edge. For once, she will act on one of her visions- and then face the consequences. For a killer has just struck again. And for Cam, and the people she loves most, fear has come home for good...

Ms. Staub's books always hit home for me and are always a wonderful read. The suspense is high and the characters are really welcoming and you really care about what happens to them. She has managed to write several suspense books with similar characters but completely different story lines and plots. I thought I had the whodunit solved but was completely wrong. There was good reason for my guess, so that just goes to show that she can write a great suspense book with enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing. The only reason why this book didn't get an A is because of the psychic visions in the book. I am really not into all of the paranormal books, but if I do read a paranormal it will only be about psychics. I do not like all of the vampires and ghosts types of paranormal books and I guess I am kind of upset that she decided to go with a paranormal book. She has another series that is spun off of one of her previous suspense novels featuring psychics that is written for young adults and I wish she hadn't jumped on the bandwagon and just sticked with straight suspense.

Up next is something from the TBR shelves. I think I am leaning towards another book by John Lutz. I picked up one of his older ones at Borders when I went for my birthday. Borders also sent me a birthday coupon for 25% off and then one for 30% on a $10.00 purchase. I still have gift cards, so I think two trips may be in order for me this upcoming weekend/week. I really hope my reading begins to pick up. Normally I speed through Ms. Staub's books, but this week I had something going on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and then the Wings finally started again last night. But for tonight, I plan on getting in at least another half hour of reading time in before bed. I think I need to make reading more of a priority. I have been hooked on Bejeweled lately so I need to slow done playing it. lol.

Well, I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend and Happy Reading!

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I read about this book on someone's blog and was intrigued by the premise. While I tend to stay away from a lot of paranormal books, I decided to place it on hold from my library. I am glad I read it and grade this book a B.

Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered- a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del- shunned and derided by classmates as "Potato Girl"- was brutally slain. Her killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems... and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.

This book was filled with mystery, friendships, the difficultly with aging parents, and old love. It was a touching story and had a great mystery that left me guessing to the very end. I was so sure I thought I knew who the killer was but I was sure wrong.

The story also shows how absolutely cruel children, and adults, can be. I know that when I became a parent, I plan on teaching my children compassion and to only treat others the way you would like to be treated. It breaks my heart some of the things the children in this book say as well as things I have heard in the classroom and I am sure things I have said. I think this book does a great way of touching on this topics.

The story had good plot development and I really enjoyed the way the story was told both during the 70's and in present time. You really learn a lot of the motivation for the characters, especially Kate, and it was well handled.

I am not sure why I rate this book a B. I really can't pinpoint one thing that brought it down, but that was the grade that popped in my mind. Perhaps it was the writers voice, though I am not sure. I would recommend it to those who think the premise sounds interesting since it was enjoyable.

Up next is Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble in the Big City. I enjoyed the first book in this series rating it a B+. I am off to bed so Happy Reading!