A Perfect Grave by Rick Mofina

After finishing the last book, I picked up a book titled Twisted. I read about 150 pages of it but just could not get into it. Yesterday, I finally decided to put it down and get another book. I chose A Perfect Grave which I received from J. Kaye's Book Blog in a raffle. It was a great read and sucked me right in. I give it a B+.

From Amazon:
A PERFECT GRAVE is the third installment in Rick Mofina's internationally acclaimed new series featuring rookie crime reporter Jason Wade of The Seattle Mirror. The gritty Wade series debuted with THE DYING HOUR, which the International Thriller Writers named a finalist for a 2006 Thriller Award. It was followed by EVERY FEAR. In A PERFECT GRAVE, Wade, a troubled loner from the wrong side of the tracks, pursues the story of a murdered Seatle nun. The case leads him to a hermit nun who founded a mysterious religious order; and ultimately to the dark secret that has tormented his ex-cop father for decades. It culminates in a life and death struggle against the clock. With time running out, Jason and his father battle the odds to confront a terrible truth.

This was a great book. The suspense was well done and I really enjoyed all of the characters. It was an interesting premise with the death of a nun. It really gives the reader an inside view of nuns and their lives. It is nothing like I thought it was. I really enjoyed Jason and thought he was a great character. I liked the relationship with his father and the possible one with a police officer. As the description mentions, this is the third book in a series, and while I haven't read any of the others, I didn't feel like I was missing much. Thanks J. Kaye for sending me this book, it was wonderful!!!

I am not sure what is up next. I am now on vacation for two weeks and am looking forward to it. I went on a job interview on Friday and was offered a position but I declined it. I applied for a middle school position and the job offered was kindergarten. I think I would not be the best kindergarten teacher, and the pay and location was not the best. I also think subbing may be my best way of getting in a public school district. I am going to pick a book from my library right now, and may head out to my local library tomorrow. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Happy Reading!

In the spirit of J. Kaye, if anyone is interested in this book, let me know and I will send it off to someone.

The Night Caller by John Lutz

I love John Lutz's novels as they are always good for a few chills and page turning. The Night Caller was not an exception, and was a very good, fast read. I give The Night Caller a B+.

From Amazon:
Ezekiel "Coop" Cooper discovers his daughter, Bette, dead in his weekend getaway cottage. The positioning of her body suggests a ritual killing. Her devastated father is a former NYPD detective forced into retirement by cancer. The cancer may be in remission, but his cop instincts are not. After beginning his own investigation, he is contacted by writer Deni Green, who believes that Coop's daughter was the latest victim of a serial killer who has also hunted in Florida and the Pacific Northwest. His interest piqued, Coop forms an uneasy alliance with Green, who hopes to write a true-crime account of the case. When Coop learns the single detail that ties the killings together, it may be too late to save Cara Callahan, the sister of one of the New York victims and the woman who has given Coop hope for the future.

I love how John Lutz gives an a good view of the killers mind and why they are doing the horrible crimes. I am the type of person who likes to know the whys of things, so when author's do that, it makes the book that much better. The suspense is always well done and while the killer is not someone who we know, the reader is given enough clues to determine how and why the victims are killed. The only downside of Mr. Lutz's novels are very, very similar where a retired cop gets involved in the investigation.

I am not sure what I am going to read next. I think I may do the random number generator again. I don't know what I am in the mood for, but I really want to read right now. Tomorrow is the last day of school, but all of the testing is done and tomorrow is just a field trip. I can't wait for my two week vacation to start. I think I am going to start doing some laundry right now and just be lazy and read since I don't have anything to do for school. Happy Reading!

Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants by Jill Soloway

I picked up Tiny Ladies from Borders awhile ago. It was a bargain book and was then reduced an additional 50%, so I thought it would be a fun, quick read. This is a memoir and I always enjoy reading a good memoir in between my suspense books. This one, however, fell flat. The highest I think I can rate this book is a C.

From Amazon:
This hilarious, whip-smart collection of essays from a top writer and producer of Six Feet Under crisscrosses from the highly personal (conflating her own loss of virginity and the Kobe Bryant accusations), to the political (what she has in common with Monica and Chandra), to the outrageously Los Angelean (why women wear huge diamonds and what they must do to get them). Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants is a genre-defying combination of personal essay and memoir, or a hilarious, unruly and unapologetic evaluation of society, religion, sex, love, and -- best of all -- Jill Soloway.

I just couldn't really get into the book. I thought that Ms. Soloway seemed to really hate men and even came out and said that they don't serve a purpose. I just can't get behind that type of thinking and to tell you the truth, it really gets me mad. Her views are very, very liberal and I tend to not lean that far left. I bought the book thinking that it was more about her own life and not so much man bashing and political. There were a few times when I was laughing out loudand Ms. Soloway does have a very good voice. I doubt I will be looking for anymore books by her.

I am not sure what I am going to read next. I will probably just pick something off of my shelves very quickly. Maybe a John Lutz book... I think I am in the mood for a good thriller and something that will suck me right in. I hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Reading!

Hush Little Darlings by Judith Kelman

When I went to library for my mom, Hush Little Darlings is one of the two books I picked up. I started the other book I got and read about 100 pages, but I couldn't finish it. The main character really, really grated on my nerves. Hush Little Darlings was a good read, and I rate it a B.

From Amazon:
Four young girls are abducted by the same man. All that each of them can remember is a strange dream of black velvet walls, flowers and soft music. Not much of a lead for D.A. Sarah Spooner to investigate, but the case of the Velvet Viper will soon become terrifyingly personal--for Sarah has a daughter of her own.

I have read a couple of other books by Judith Kelman and they are all kind of the same. They really remind me of Mary Higgins Clark's books which always feature a woman main character and mysteries that surround their life. Hush Little Darlings is the same. At first I had a bit of a problem with the book because there was absolutely no mention of computers or cell phones, but once I realized the book was written in 1989, that was all right. That was pretty much the only thing that was dated so it wasn't really a big deal. The mystery started off pretty slow, but picked up about halfway through and it had a great ending. I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong.

I am out of library books, so I am going to get something from my own library. Not sure what I am in the mood for so I will just look around. Tomorrow I have to go to my nephew's graduation party so that will take up some of my reading time. I also have to do some major re-planning for school. I tested my student's on some of the topics we spent so much time on and they didn't do so hot. There is also other stuff that we even haven't started talking about that is on the post-test. Unfortunetly, it seems that I am going to have to teach to the test, which I hate but I really do not have a choice. One more week, and then I get my short, two week summer vacation. The permenent job outlook is looking so great, so it appears I will be back to subbing. Oh well, the way the economy is, especially here in the Detroit area (everyone hear about our horrible, embarrassing mayor... absolutely disgusting!) so I guess I am happy with steady subbing work. Have a great weekend and Happy Reading!

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

I have read this series since it began and am always looking forward to the newest addition. I know what to expect from the series, a light-hearted, easy read. I wasn't disappointed this time and it was a pleasant, B read.

From Amazon:

Big mouth. Big heart.
Big wedding. Big problems.
It's the wedding of the century!
Things are looking up at last for Lizzie Nichols. She has a career she loves in the field of her choice (wedding gown restoration), and the love of her life, Jean-Luc, has finally proposed. Life's become a dizzying whirl of wedding gown fittings—not necessarily her own—as Lizzie prepares for her dream wedding at her fiancé's château in the south of France.
But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as the best man—whom Lizzie might once have accidentally slept with . . . no, really, just slept—announces his total lack of support for the couple, a sentiment the maid of honor happens to second; Lizzie's Midwestern family can't understand why she doesn't want to have her wedding in the family backyard; her future, oh-so-proper French in-laws seem to be slowly trying to lure the groom away from medical school and back into investment banking; and Lizzie finds herself wondering if her Prince Charming really is as charming as she once believed.
Is Lizzie really ready to embrace her new role as wife and mistress of Château Mirac? Or is she destined to fall into another man's arms . . . and into the trap of becoming a Bad Girl instead?

This book wasn't anything special or spectacular and will not stick with me for very long, I am sure. But it was a nice read and a good distraction from some of the things going on in my life. I could relate to how Lizzie was feeling and all that was going on in her life. When reading one of Meg Cabot's books, the only expectations I have is something cute and that is exactly what I got. I probably would have enjoyed this book a bit more a few years ago when I was really into chick lit, but now I really don't read this genre. I do think that Ms. Cabot has a wonderful voice and really shows how people feel and their motivations for their actions, which is always refreshing.

Yesterday I went to the library to pick up a book for my mom and ended up grabbing two more for myself. It is a sickness, I tell you. So I will be reading another library book next, Good Intentions by Patricia O'Brien, another new to me author. I hope it is good. It is really hot out right now and I think I will just jump right back in to the next book. Happy Reading!

Phantom Prey by John Sanford

This was my first book by John Sanford, and it probably will not be my last. This book was pretty good, though the suspense was somewhat weak. I will give it a B+.

From Amazon:
A widow comes home to her large house in a wealthy, exclusive suburb to find blood everywhere, no body—and her collegeaged daughter missing. She’s always known that her daughter ran with a bad bunch. What did she call them—Goths? Freaks is more like it, running around with all that makeup and black clothing, listening to that awful music, so attracted to death. And now this.But the police can’t find the girl, alive or dead, and when a second Goth is found slashed to death in Minneapolis, the widow truly panics. There’s someone she knows, a surgeon named Weather Davenport, whose husband is a big deal with the police, and she implores Weather to get him directly involved. Lucas begins to investigate only reluctantly—but then when a third Goth is slashed in what is now looking like a Jackthe- Ripper series of killings, he starts working it hard. The clues don’t seem to add up, though. And then there’s the young Goth who keeps appearing and disappearing: Who is she? Where does she come from and, more important, where does she vanish to? And why does Lucas keep getting the sneaking suspicion that there is something else going on here . . . something very, very bad indeed?

As I mentioned earlier, the suspense was somewhat weak because about halfway through the book, the reader learns about who the killer was. That really stunned me though, and I looked back and reread those pages a couple of times to make sure what I read was right. I was somewhat confused about the backstory of the main character, Lucas, but I assume that it is because this book was part of a series. I do wish that Mr. Sanford did explain some of the things that were kind of glossed over, but it wasn't that big of a deal. The topic of goths was interesting though, because I always associated goths with those kids who wear all black and are very, very pale and want to be different (though just look like each other) and Mr. Sanford explained some of their lifestyles and what being a goth is all about. I will be checking out more of Mr. Sanford's books in the future.

All in all, this weekend was a successful one reading wise. I finished two books and am planning on starting Meg Cabot's The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched. I got all of my cleaning done and lesson plans done, so I do plan on getting some reading done. I tend to speed through this series, so I anticipate having it finished it soon. It is my last library book and I am getting interested in some of the books on my TBR piles. I hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Reading!

Easy Innocence by Libby Fischer Hellmann

This is another book I have heard a lot about from various blogs. The premise sounded very interesting, particularly the fact that high school girls were prostituting themselves so they can buy the latest designer jeans. Once I started this book, I had a hard time setting it down and read the majority of it last night. It was a good book and held my attention, so I give it a B+.

From Amazon:
When pretty, smart Sara Long is found bludgeoned to death, it's easy to blame the man with the bat.
But Georgia Davis -- former cop and newly-minted PI -- is hired to look into the incident at the behest of the accused's sister, and what she finds hints at a much different, much darker answer. It seems the privileged, preppy schoolgirls on Chicago's North Shore have learned just how much their innocence is worth to hot-under-the-collar businessmen. But while these girls can pay for Prada pricetags, they don't realize that their new business venture may end up costing them more than they can afford.

I really liked Georgia's character and could relate with her with a lot of her personal issues. The mystery was well written, though I do have to admit I did solve most of it before the book was over. I do wish that there was more focus on the prostitution angle, though, because to me that is very intriguing. Some of these girls came from very wealthy families, and I couldn't believe these girls put themselves in the position. Working with teenagers, I see some of the peer pressure they are under, and I think that Ms. Hellmann touched on those true feelings. I will be looking for more of her books in the future.

Up next is my last library book, John Sanford's Phantom Prey. This will be the first book I have read by Mr. Sanford and I know he has a lot of books out there. I am always looking for new authors to add to my list so hopefully this book is great. I just checked my email and I have another book to pick up from the library. That book is Meg Cabot's The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched. I enjoy this series, and that is always a quick read. I will probably pick it up sometime today. Everyone have a great weekend and Happy Reading!