Storeetllr's 2009 Reading Round-Up

Happy New Year to all the voracious readers and thoughtful reviewers out there in LT-land! May 2009 be filled with health, happiness, prosperity, and lots of wonderful books to read and enjoy!

I've decided to take it easy this year and not participate in any reading challenges. Since I've read over a hundred books in both 2007 and 2008 (the first two years of my keeping track), though, I thought the 100 Book Challenge group would be a good place to keep track of my reading in 2009.

Thanks for the good wishes for 2009 and hope you have a good year too with lots of interesting reading.

Here's to a peaceful and healthy 2009 for us all, and throw in some good books!

I'm still working on A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, which was one of my Christmas gifts to my daughter. I was hoping to finish it before I left to return home, but I think I'm going to have to pick a copy up from the library in L.A. to complete it. Oh, well, worth it!

I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the 10 star rating system that I used in 2008 or go back to the 5 star system. I thought the 10 star rating system would give me more options for rating books, but I'm not sure it was worth going against the norm of the 5-star system. Anyone have an opinion on that?

1. A Pirate of Exquisite Mind by the Prestons. 4 stars. Highly enjoyable biography of William Dampier, whose enlightened attitude and twin obsessions over gold and the natural world greatly contributed to the advance of knowledge in the 17th and early 18th century. There was more minutia included than I usually care for, but it worked in this case. NB: I gave the book to my daughter as one of her Christmas gifts, because I'd heard good things about it on LT and because she loves nonfiction and, mostly, because she is fascinated by pirates.

2. Jack: Secret Histories by F. Paul Wilson. 2.5 stars. YA I loved the only other Repairman Jack novel I read, but this YA novel showing how he got started was just too YA for me. I mean, it felt preachy, was overfilled with pre-pubescent angst, and could (should) have been condensed into less than half its length and been a fine short story. I might recommend it for 9-12 year olds, but even by 12 I'd think kids would be too sophisticated for it.

3. Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb. 3 stars. Audio. I just could not seem to get into this latest offering starring Lt. Eve Dallas and her hunky hubby Roarke. The last 1/4 was good, but that wasn't enough to save it from what I thought was mediocrity. I must admit, though, that I wasn't thrilled with the reader, so that might have contributed to my lack of appreciation for the novel.

That said, this one had someone murdering men of God, one a Catholic priest right in the middle of the Eucharistic sacrament and the other a TV evangelical preacher. More angst and less fighting between Eve and Roarke. Eve seems to be turning into a nice person. That is a scary thought.

My pleasure, CK ~ hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. 4 stars. Audio. LT. Well, it took awhile, but about 1/2 way into it it grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let me go! I never saw the denoument coming. And the ending was, well, simply perfect. Thanks to all the LTers who recommended this book and author to me!

5. Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Rayburn. 3.5 stars. LT I enjoyed this second installment of the Lady Julia Gray mysteries but not quite as much as the first and not for the mystery aspect of it. It did contain a lot of humorous scenes with the March family and friends, and I truly did not figure out whodunnit, but it just was not as exciting as the first. And I thought that the way both Julia and Brisbane kept things from each other was, well, just stupid.

6. Wrapt in Crystal by Sharon Shinn. 3 stars. I loved her Archangel series, as well as The Shape Changers Wife, but this one was sort of "meh." I read the entire thing, but Shinn seems to be hit or miss for me, and this one was pretty much "miss." To be honest, I haven't cared much for her Twelve Houses fantasy series, either. This one was a sci-fi murder mystery/romance ~ someone is murdering priestesses on the planet Semay, that the federated planet government is trying to convince to join the federation. It started out promisingly, with lots of potential, I thought, that was never realized.

7. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. 5 stars. LT. Audio. Incredible. It was as if I were there, on the battlefield, seeing the great generals and lowly foot soldiers, listening to them strategize and complain and exhort and reminisce, feeling their fear and exultation and regrets. The horror of the slaughter. Even knowing how it all would come out in the end, I cried as the noble southerners made their last-ditch assault against the even nobler northerners. I'm so grateful to all the LTers who have talked about this book over the years, esp. joycepa. I want to read this one again.

8. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. 4 stars. Best part of this is the promise of another. I thought this one would be the last of the series, but from the ending it appears that I was mistaken. I enjoyed this one, but not as much as Cursors' Fury, which so far is my favorite of the series.

9. Tribute by Nora Roberts. 4.5 stars. This is the best Nora Roberts' I've read yet (Northern Lights is second best). It's a lovely romance, with a couple of really good sex scenes interspersed with the obligatory mysteries and attempts to scare away and/or murder the mfc. I simply loved the two main characters, Cilla and Ford. Cilla's a strong albeit damaged woman and Ford is about the most perfect of all Roberts' heroes ~ completely male yet a little geeky, strong-willed but easy-going at the same time, with a great wit and sense of humor. And not bad on the eyes (imaginatively speaking). And then there's Spock, the ugliest, cutest, strangest, most loving dog in literature, and his antics.

10. SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead by John Maddox Roberts. 3.5 stars. Decius is middle aged now and getting to be a bit of a pompous ass, and Julia is even more of an aristo shrew than usual ~ at least in the beginning of this murder mystery set in Baiae in Campania near Pompeii on the eve of the civil war. When Decius, the praetor peregrinus, and his entourage visit the Oracle of the Dead, the dead body of one of the priests of the rival temple of Apollo is discovered bobbing around in the underground river where the oracle gives out her prophecies, and a long, involved search for the truth is begun. Caesar doesn't appear in this novel, but Pompey and Cato do. There is also a charming scene where Decius visits a Pompeiian house, is now known as The House of the Faun, and describes the garden where the famous statue of the faun once resided.

11. The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. 5 stars. I just can't seem to find an Allende that I don't like, including this collection of short stories, even though I don't usually care for short stories. I was fascinated by this dazzling profusion of creativity and can't wait to read Eva Luna, though it'll probably be Zorro next.

12. The Black Tower by Louis Bayard. LT. 4.5 stars. After a couple of false starts, when I just couldn't seem to stay focused, I finally got past the first few pages and was thereafter completely hooked by this historical mystery set in France after the restoration of the monarchy after Waterloo.

I too like Isabel Allende and have the three books you mention to read sometime this year.

13. Blood Sins by Kay Hooper. 3 stars. The continuing saga of Noah Bishop's psychic FBI unit and Haven, the civilian branch. This one has the good guys up against a psychic vampire who is masquerading as a cult leader in the wilds of North Carolina. Everyone seems to be getting new talents and/or expanding old ones, including the vamp.

Not bad but not as good as some of the earlier ones. I found it a little far-fetched, even for its premise, but I'm pretty much addicted to the series, so...

14. Illegally Dead by David Wishart. 3.5 stars. Another offering in the mystery series featuring Marcus Corvinus, set in ancient Rome under Caligula. This time, Corvinus's adopted daughter, who is living with adopted Aunt Marcia in the country, asks him to come and solve a possible murder. Unable to resist, and concerned about their adopted daughter, he and Perilla and their favorite slaves hurry to Marcia's villa outside Rome.

I figured out the murderer long before the denoument, but it's always such fun to hang with Corvinus in his jaunts around Rome and Italy, seeing the world through his rather jaundiced eyes, that I am very forgiving of things like that, as well as anomolies (mention of a "bomb," for instance) and the thoroughly modern slang that he uses. I agree with Wishart when he says that Romans undoubtedly had their own slang, but we wouldn't be able to understand it because, I mean, how many of us are fluent in Latin? So, using modern slang as opposed to "thou" and "thee" type dialogue only makes sense.

15. Silver Master by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Krentz). 3.5 stars. Audio. Light fun about psychics on a colony planet in the far distant future.

16. Just After Sunset. 4.5 stars. Audio.

THE KING IS BACK! LONG LIVE THE KING!!!

I've been up way past my bedtime for the past 3 nights because I couldn't stop listening to this fabulous collection of short stories by The King of Horror. Frankly, after Misery, which I simply couldn't seem to get into, I stopped reading King's novels. Well, I think it's time to go back and pick up where I left off, because these short stories can't be a fluke, and must be what King's writings been like for the past decade. Maybe Misery was a fluke, or I simply wasn't in the mood at the time. In any case, I'll be reading more of what I've missed.

Anyway, the stories: Each was quite different, in length, genre, tone, but all had that special King touch that I grew to love so much back in the 70s and 80s. I especially enjoyed (well, not sure enjoyed is exactly the right word, but you know what I mean) "The Things They Left Behind" and "The Gingerbread Girl." Oh, yes, and "Willa" and especially the one about the character with OCS that reminded me a little of Lovecraft(and let me tell you, King's references to The Great God Pan still sends chills down my spine). Actually, there wasn't one story in the entire collection that I didn't like.

ETA that each story was read by a different reader, sometimes two or three in the same story. It was very effective.

Also, I am planning to buy the book so I can have it on hand to reread whenever I feel like it. It's that good.

Sometimes with King's novels, I get the feeling that he has some sort of one-book-a-year contract, and some of his newer books are only written because he has to. Then every so often he comes out with a fantastic new novel, that reminds me of the old King. He does write wonderful short stories though - what an imagination!

Great news storeetllr! My son has King's new book in his room. I will now be definitely adding it to this year's list!

Cool, judylou! I think (hope) you'll really enjoy it.

Yeah, that's how it seems, jfetting. This one, though ~ I want to listen to that audio all over again right away! I won't though, because I have a half dozen books that I simply MUST read first. But then...?

17. The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard. 4 stars. LT-inspired. After enjoying The Black Tower, I simply had to try more Bayard. This one did not disappoint, although I found the same slow, almost boring beginning 1/3 as The Black Tower, followed by intensely compelling reading for the rest of the mystery that ends in a twist that I never saw coming.

Set in West Point in about 1830, Gus Landor, a 48-year old former NYC detective, widowed and living alone in a cottage in a nearby town, is called on by the authorities at West Point to solve a particularly gruesome murder ~ a young cadet has been found hanging naked from a tree, then his body is stolen from the hospital where it has been placed and later discovered with it's heart missing. Landor recruits another cadet, by the name of Edgar Allan Poe, to assist him in his detective work.

18. Bring Down the Sun by Judith Tarr. 4 stars. This is my first historical fantasy by Judith Tarr, but it won't be my last! In this novel, she explores the myth of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, during her early young womanhood. Not a hefty book, nor one in which a great deal of intricate thinking must be done, but very satisfying.

19. Roman Dusk by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. 3.5 stars. My first St. Germaine vampire novel. I both liked it and wasn't thrilled with it. The history was fascinating (I've neglected this era of Roman history), and the writing is good. The story just didn't seem to be about anything. I mean, it felt like it was just a rambling assortment of little stories, sort of like "a year in the un-life of the un-dead," going from little episode to anecdote to event to happening, ad infinitum, with actually very little of the supernatural about it and no real focus. I may try this series again, this time with the first book, or maybe I should try the latest. I just don't know. I do know I'm not going to rush.

Edited to make sense.

20. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz. 3.5 stars. A contemporary Arcane Society romance. I enjoyed it a lot while I was reading it but probably not all that memorable. Easy light read.

21. Bloodline by F. Paul Wilson. 3 stars. Audio. I think I should have read this in order, and read it in book form. I wasn't thrilled with the reader, the way he did all the voices (esp. the female voices, which all sounded whiny and nasally ~ ugh!) except one of the villains, and it stopped me from getting into this story until I was almost halfway through. Because of that distraction, I don't think I can really give a fair and accurate review of the novel itself. All I'll say it, if you like Repairman Jack novels, DON'T get this one on audio.

Storeetllr:

I read Silent in the Sanctuary late last year and I seem to have felt the same as you did - I enjoyed it but not as much as Silent in the Grave. Are you planning to read the new book, Silent on the Moor?

Hi, geogal ~ It's on my TBR list but I'm not in any hurry. You?

22. The Secret Hunter by Susanne Saville. 4 stars. After a few false starts, I sat down with this breezy historical romance and finished it in one sitting. It started out a little unevenly, but by the time I was a couple chapters in, I was hooked on the story and didn't want to put it down. Set in England in 1804 during Napoleon's reign, the action moves from fashionable Bath to a beautiful estate in Dorsetshire on the coast of the English Channel and features Gwenllian, a smart, feisty, bluestocking, the unmarried sister of a featherheaded baroness, a handsome, dashing gentleman of ten thousand pounds who finds her inexplicably fascinating (Gwen, not the baroness), and Gwen's cute pug Oliver, who sheds over everyone ~ aristocrat and servant, hero and villain ~ with equal aplomb. It also involves a dastardly plot by the French to invade England. I got so wrapped up in the characters and the developing story that I lost all track of time, which is a great way to spend a chilly winter Saturday afternoon but doesn't get the chores done.

Edited to fix touchstone.

23. How to Write Mysteries by Shannon OCork. 3.5 stars. Informative. Interesting material. Gave good examples. Easy to read. Didn't talk down to the reader. Written by a published mystery writer. What more to say?

24. Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George. 4.5 stars. This doorstop of a novel with over 1,000 pages was worth every second of the time it took to read! It didn't really add a lot to my knowledge of the history of the time ~ most of the novel was taken up with Henry's fixation on his wives ~ but it sure did give an interesting character study of the man himself. I mean, talk about an ability to know oneself without really knowing oneself! For a regular person to behave like that ~ get a sudden thought and fixate on it without regard to anything else and then act on it ~ is one thing and would today call for years of therapy. For a king to do it is another story. Yet, he got away with it ~ for the most part ~ without utterly destroying his kingdom (thanks to his daughter Elizabeth, imho). Anyway, it did present a good theory of why he acted so inconsistently, what his motivations were. Highly recommended.

25. Tiberius by Allen Massie. 4 stars. Much more interesting than Massie's other historical novels I've read (Caesar and Augustus), yet more thought-provoking too. Perhaps because I haven't studied much about Tiberius, thinking I knew what he was like from Robert Graves' portrayal in I, Claudius, but also because this was soul-searching with a vengeance. Interesting to think that someone who meant so well could attain such a terrible reputation.

26. Sway by Zachary Lazar. 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this very strange little novel. Coming of age in the 60s, I lived a lot of what this book was about, though, having really lived, it, I don't remember it all very clearly. Reading the novel was sort of like remembering a dream I had a long time ago and then thinking that maybe it was true while still knowing it was a dream. Or vice versa. Some very surreal stuff about the 60s and the celebrities who inhabited it. I think I may read it again sometime.

27. Shakespeare, the World as Stage by Bill Bryson. LT 4 stars. I enjoyed it but not as much as expected after all the raves. Maybe need to try audiobook of his next.

28. The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. 4.5 Damn! that man can write! I've been following Connelly for years now, and I have to say that, as much as I loved his earlier stuff (Concrete Blonde, The Black Echo), he's just gotten more brilliant. In this mystery, Mickey Haller, the defense lawyer from The Lincoln Lawyer (which I also loved) meets Harry Bosch. What could be better?

29. The Sword of Pleasure by Peter Green. 3.5 LT The memoirs of Sulla, Rome's last Dictator, whose antics with Marius paved the way for Julius Caesar and Augustus and the end of the Republic.

ETA rating for 28.

30. Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson. 3.5 stars. LT Medieval noir that was enjoyable but not brilliant, though if she turns it into a series, it has great potential.

31. The Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda. 3.5 stars. LT. Jade Del Cameron is an American who works as an ambulance driver on the front in France during WWI. Her would-be suitor, David, a pilot, is shot down and dies in her arms, but not before charging her to find his half-brother and the murderer of his father, both of which solutions lie in Colonial Africa.

I mostly enjoyed it, but it seemed a bit uneven. Some parts were pure joy, while others were like trudging through muddy clay. It's the first of a series, though, so I'll be checking out the next.

I have the book so I will read it, but I am not so jazzed now. Oh well, I usually give a mystery series 3 books before I give up.

ETA: I have just added the trade paperback version of Veil of Lies to my wishlist. It comes out in October.

Well, I think it's worth reading, esp. since it's the first of a series, and you may enjoy it more than I did. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.

32. The Italian Lover by Robert Hellenga. HBG ER. 3 stars. Okay, I enjoyed many things about this novel ~ mostly the images of Florence and Rome and Naples that brought back memories of my month-long trip through Italy of a few years past. Yes, you do hear a "but" coming, and there it is: I just didn't connect with any of the many characters, all of whom for a time seemed like they might be the protagonist, and the story was sort of like life ~ disjointed, going nowhere special most of the time, too fragmented to take hold of my interest. Having said all that, the writing was lovely, and, like I said, the bits about Italy and the food and the culture were mostly charming except when they weren't (i.e., the parts about Woody and the dog). I kept expecting more until the very ending, which sort of left me flat.

Edited to fix sentence.

33. The Stand by Stephen King. Original edition. 4.5 stars. Reread for LT group. Do I need to say that I love this book? I've read it now three or four times, and it never gets stale or boring. I must admit, though, that I enjoyed the uncut version better (over 1,000 pages as opposed to about 800 pages). That's next on the TBRR pile.

34. Fear of the Dark by Walter Mosley. 3.5 stars. Audio. I liked the reader, the way he made the voices unique, but it took me awhile to get into this mystery starring Paris Minton and his sidekick Fearless Jones. Once I did, though, I enjoyed it a lot. It's possible that the problem lay with the fact that I have not read 1 and 2 of the series (this one is 3), but I didn't have that problem with the Easy Rawlins mysteries, which I started with Little Scarlet, which was about the 10th in the series. Anyway, this is set in 1950s Los Angeles in the black ghetto, with Paris, an erudite bookseller, chasing down the solution of a mystery filled with murder, sex, mayhem, kidnapping, and blackmail, as well as police brutality and narrow, racist thinking.

The Stand - a classic in my opinion!

35. The Hand of Isis by Jo Graham. LTER. 4 stars. This is more than just another rehash of the famous and oft-told story of the doomed love affairs of Cleopatra. History, fantasy, and romance, plus well-rounded characters and good writing. I'm really looking forward to reading her first novel of the ancient world, Black Ships.

36. Absalom's Mother and Other Stories by Louise Marley. 4 stars. Marley is one of my favorite writers. I loved her Rebels of Irustan and The Goddess Child, which are, I guess, classified as science/speculative fiction, though I think it is a mistake to put her in that genre only because, though the vehicle may be sf, the message is definitely broader than that. Anyway, these short stories were thoughtful, satisfying, and well written, as I have come to expect of all her work, and, though I don't usually care much for short stories, I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

37. Snobbery With Violence by Marion Chesney. LT. 3 stars. Let me preface this by saying that I do not enjoy cozies. Murder mysteries by Agatha Christie is about as cozy as I can stand. A murder mystery can include humor, romance, and the supernatural, but cuteness in large doses doesn't cut it with me. Having said that, Snobbery With Violence wasn't execrable, but it wasn't my "cuppa" either. I wasn't impressed with the writing which felt as if it had been written for, like, 8 year olds. It also wasn't very memorable ~ neither the characters or the mystery stayed with me, though I finished it just last night. So why did I give it a 3-star rating rather than 1 or 2 stars? Well, like I said, it wasn't execrable, I was able to finish it, and it isn't the fault of the novel or the novelist that I don't care for cozies (which this is). I don't think I'll be searching out more of her stuff.

38. Flipping Out by Marshall Karp. 3.5 stars. This is the first Lomax & Biggs mystery I've read, but it sure won't be the last. It's L.A. in the days before the real estate bubble burst, and someone murders a cop's wife. The victim was one of the partners in a house-flipping consortium led by Nora Bannister, the best selling writer of murder mysteries and the mother-in-law of another cop. Nora writes a murder mystery about the house being flipped and publishes it as soon as the house goes on the market, driving up the prices.

Lomax and Biggs are L.A.P.D. detectives assigned to the case, but they can't find a shred of evidence or any reason for the murder. Then a second partner in the house-flipping scheme is murdered, another cop's wife, and the stakes are raised even higher ~ since Biggs' own wife is one of the partners of the house-flipping consortium.

This is not deep like your P.D. James or even Michael Connelly but lighter and humorous ~ more like a Janet Evanovich or early Robert Crais. The plot is pretty involved, but Karp manages to keep it from being too convoluted to comprehend by his clear, concise writing style. The chapters are short, and the action moves quickly, making it a fast read. The dialogue was true to life, and I found myself chuckling in amusement and appreciation several times.

The only thing that troubled me was the almost nonchalant treatment of the deaths of the women. These weren't scum whose deaths seem no great loss, such as those who often end up murdered in the Stephanie Plum mysteries, or strangers to the reader like many victims in P.D. James' mysteries. Although we never "meet" some of them until they are already dead, we get to know them through what is said about them prior to their deaths by their husbands and friends.

All in all, though, this lightness wasn't troubling enough to ruin my enjoyment of the novel, and I can recommend it without hesitation.

39. Fault Line by Barry Eisler 4 stars I finished this a week ago but somehow neglected to log it in. Getting careless. Bad bad me.

Okay, this was a novel that I read at the request of the publisher or publicist, not sure which, as part of a media event leading up to the release date. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I agreed to read and review it, mostly because I was curious about the kinds of books that were on offer (I'd been offered a couple of others previously but turned them down because they were definitely not to my taste). Anyway, I went into it a bit reluctantly ~ no, more hesitantly, I guess ~ and was surprised and gratified by how much I enjoyed it! It was so good, in fact, that I read late into the night and only by dint of will was able to put it down so I could get some sleep.

I'll be writing a review for publication on my blog on 5/20 and will add a link here to the review then which will have a more detailed account of the novel. Suffice it to say for now that it was good and I recommend it for those who enjoy intelligent thrillers.

ETA "intelligent" in last sentence.

Here's the link to my blog review: http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/ Please stop by and leave a comment, if you would like.

40. A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas. 3 stars. Light, breezy, fluffy, sweet, and pretty much predictable, just what I needed between bouts of reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

41. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. 5 stars. Audiobook. This is not a novel one enjoys. There is too much horror in it (and not of the Stephen King kind, but of the Rafael Trujillo and his ilk kind) for that. But, it is an amazing novel, one that I did not want to put down when it was time to sleep, and one I thought about often between bouts of listening to it. The main character, Oscar, is not a particularly likeable character, at least in the beginning. He is, in fact, gross and icky. In fact, as was mentioned in the book, he's a Harold Lauder kinda guy. But as his story is told, I began to feel for him, and by the end wanted him to WIN in the worst way. I won't say much more about it, for fear of spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it yet and plans to. One thing, it mixed a lot of spanish words in with the english ~ which I hear put some people off ~ but I loved it. Though I wasn't always sure what the word meant, I could pretty much always tell what its deeper meaning was. The narrator also put some people off, apparently, but I found him stunningly appropriate, and loved the way his speech veered from educated and even poetical to trashy and sometimes downright crude. I wish Lola had been given more space in the story, but it was appropriate under the circs.

As a sidenote: I started reading this novel ~ well, listening to it, okay? ~ six, eight months ago but stopped before even getting past the prologue because I utterly loathed it. By sheer accident, I started listening to it again a few days ago, and it hooked me almost from the first word. Go figure.

I thought it was a fantastic novel, and absolutely deserving of the Pulitzer or whatever it won. Glad you ended up liking it!

Thanks, Jennifer, I'm so glad I tried it again. Has that ever happened to you? Where a book you hated in the past turns out to be a book you love?

I have Oscar Wao on my tbr tower. My eyes keep skimming over it when I am looking for my next read. Perhaps I will take a closer look at it now, after reading your comments.

Hi, Judy ~ I think I remember that you like Isabel Allende, right? While Diaz isn't Allende, he is similarly good, and I think you'll like Oscar Wao.

A very good review to help those of us who wish to read this book mentally prepare ourselves for it. I have had Oscar Wao in my bookcase for months and just keep putting it off so I was glad to see the comment to judylou regarding Allende (as I am a fan as well) so I have a little more faith in myself now to tackle this work.
Thank you for your review.

Hope you like it, nannybebette!

42. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. 4 stars. Review coming soon!

ETA Review here: http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/girl-who-stopped-swimming-review...

43. The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp. 4.5 stars. This is the first Lomax & Briggs mystery, and I liked it a lot. Good plot, funny in a good way, well-developed characters, good mystery with a twist I never saw coming. Looking forward to the next in the series.

44. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher. 3 stars. Okay, I love Harry Dresden but I just couldn't get into this one until about 3/4 of the way through when I finally found myself enjoying it. It took me awhile to read it, because of that, but I had to so I could go on to the next one. Not exactly sure why it didn't grab me, but, in Summer Knight, Harry is in the Nevernever more or less through the entire book. I think I prefer him when he spends more time in the "real" world. Also, I think I just got tired of his grumpiness in the beginning and of him always getting beat up.

45. The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick. 4 stars. Maybe this IS mind candy, but it's the rich, dark chocolate kind. It's part historical romance, part psychic mystery, all delight. I just love Amanda Quicks characters, dialogue, and stories of the Arcane Society. They are so much fun. Thus, though this isn't fine literary fiction by any means, it merits a solid 4 star rating.

46. The Ruby Tear by Rebecca Brand. 3.5 stars. Or maybe 3 stars. Or maybe 4 stars. It all depends on which part of the novel I'm thinking about at the time. At any rate, it's a fast read and definitely worth it if you like romance, vampire romance, and/or NY theater. Short synopsis: Nicolas is the last of a family doomed by an ancient curse. When Jessamyn, the woman he loves, almost dies in a car accident brought about by the family curse, he dumps her "for her own good." The curse, in the physical form of a vengeful vampire, gets involved with Jess at first in order to get to Nic but then because he begins to desire her for himself. Not fine literature, but definitely readable. BTW, Rebecca Brand is a non de plume of Suzy McKee Charnas of Walk to the End of the World fame, though the two books are completely and utterly different, at least in subject matter and writing style, though the writing is good in both.

47. Promises in Death by J.D. Robb. 4.5 stars. This was so far one of THE BEST of the series. Everything about it was pretty much perfect. A cop is murdered on Eve's turf, and she & Roarke are shocked to discover that the murder connects to their own painful pasts. Plus, Eve throws a wildly girly bridal shower for Louise that includes skinny dipping and facials, while Roarke takes the Charles & the guys (including Mr. Mira!) to Vegas (as in Las Vegas, not the planet Vegas) for a bachelor party of girly shows and gambling and drunken revelry. Also, Mavis solves the murder (sort of), while comforting her teething baby. And Roarke and Eve are more solid than ever. Oh, it was good!

48. Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh. 4 stars. I was afraid this was going to be awful as many series are after the original author dies and someone else takes over writing the "unfinished manuscrip(s)." Fortunately, Ms. Walsh is apparently a good writer, and I really enjoyed Thrones, Dominations a lot.

It wasn't Sayers, of course, nor was it Gaudy Night, but, for all that, there was enough of Sayers there to make it imminently readable. These are the first heady days of wedded bliss for Lord Peter and Harriet, and both are still a bit jumpy about it all ~ not because they aren't sure of the other, but because they aren't all that sure of themselves and each wants desperately to be the best spouse possible for the other. Add to that the fact that Denver is desperate for Harriet to give Peter a son so that if the heir messes up, the succession will still be assured; Jerry (the Duke's son and heir) is desperate for Harriet to have a son too so some of the awful pressure his father puts on him will be relieved; and the Dutchess is desperate for Harriet to stop writing lurid detective novels, settle down and behave properly as an aristo, & have a baby. On top of all that, Harriet finds herself with writers block. Then Bunter tells Peter he is considering leaving Peter's service, which throws both men into a funk. When someone murders the silly but beautiful wife of a theater "angel," both of whom Harriet and Peter met in Paris a short time before, the two set aside their other problems to help Parker solve the case.

I pretty much guessed whodunnit from the get-go, though there was a side mystery I didn't figure out. But the main joy was the dance that Peter and Harriet engage in as they navigate their way through the sometimes choppy waters of their new relationship, their discussions on creativity and the writing process, and the way the various couples and their marriages were contrasted.

Original post/edit Aug 23, 2009

49. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Audio. 5 stars. This audiobook by Neil Gaiman was awesome. Longer review here: http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/

ETA no wonder it won 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel of the Year!

ETA June 7, 2017 - The above link is not the correct one. Here's the correct link to my review of The Graveyard Book: http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/graveyard-book-review.html

50. Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning. 4 stars. I almost stopped reading this at about page 50. It was simply not doing anything for me. I persevered, though, and now am very glad I did. This is the second of a trilogy, and I should have read Darkfever, the first in the series, before Bloodfever. I think it would have made my enjoyment more complete, and I would not have had the problems getting into it in the beginning. I will go back and read the first, but for now I've got Faefever to read, which I'm going to do shortly.

In the meantime, this book reminded me of what the Anita Blake series started out to be. I hope to heck Moning either stops after the three or, if she goes on to write more, doesn't allow it to degenerate into a non-stop over-the-top kinky sex fest.

Sorry, that was bitterness you hear in my words, because I really liked the first five Anita Blake novels and hated the way they went downhill so quickly after that.

Anyway, I gave Bloodfever a 4 star rating because of the uniqueness of the world Moning created, the interesting characters, and the hint of sexual tension between some of them (which better not ruin things as the books go on!). :)

ETA: Plus, it was well-written.

51. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. 4.5 stars. Another wonderful thriller by Connelly. In this one, the protagonists of The Poet ~ Jack McEvoy and Rachel Walling ~ get back together when a serial murderer comes to light. Between the story of Jack and Rachel, told in first person by Jack, is the story of "the Scarecrow," the murderer. Not much mystery to this but definitely a lot of tension as Jack and Rachel try to find the murderer, who seems spookily to know what they are doing and even thinking, before he finds ~ and kills ~ them.

52. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston. 5 stars. Yes, I too am surprised to be giving this one a 5 star rating, but when I finished it last night I knew it was really special, almost genius. Huston might write crime fiction about losers who clean up after violent death for a living and get involved in tawdry affairs with low-lifes, not to mention vampires (tho no vamps were in THIS novel, except maybe the human kind who prey on emo), but he is brilliant. I actually enjoyed this one more than the ones about Joe Pitt, Vampire detective. Anyway, after I got used to the style (no quotation marks for dialogue, instead a hyphen just before the dialogue; broken sentences, like real life conversations), I could hardly bear to stop reading to sleep. And the characters! Chev, L.L., Theodora, Dingbang (-BANG! IT'S BANG!), Po Sin, Gabe, Jaime, not to mention the protagonist Web! Memorable, funny, tragic, all too human and real, like a fist to the gut or a brush of fingertips against the nape of the neck. Huston's writing is sharp, hard, but lyrical, almost poetic.

I wish I could write like him.

Highly recommended.

53. The Prophet Murders by Mehmet Murat Somer. 3 stars. LT. Someone is killing "girls" (transvestites) of Turkey whose real names are those of the prophets in ways that mimic stories of those prophets. For instance, Yusef (Joseph) was drowned in an unused well in a neighborhood strange to him. All that were found intact exibited signs of torture and rape.

I wasn't put off by the sexual content or the lifestyles of the girls. I relished the foreignness of it ~ some of the words were in Turkish, the names of course were Turkish, the description of Istanbul neighborhoods. The premise of the mystery was good. What I didn't enjoy so much was the style. One of the cover blurbs compared it to Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, one presumes, as opposed to Poirot), but to me it was a kind of noir chicklit cozy. Anyway, it was interesting and well written, and a fast read, but I don't think I'll be searching out more of the series.

54. Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough. 4 stars. Audio. After a rocky start, it got really good to the point where it became difficult for me to stop listening to it to go to sleep even way past my bedtime. I had a bit of trouble with some skipping and general garbledness of the CDs I'd downloaded to the iPod, but I also have the novel in hardback so was able to read the parts that were messed up on the audio.

McCullough's take on Cleopatra was a bit offputting, though it's not an unusual one. I just didn't remember her earlier novels with Caesar and Cleo showing the Egyptian queen up as such a bitch. Antony has never been a favorite of mine, and he was portrayed a lot more kindly than I expected. The real surprise, though, was the way McCullough interpreted Octavianus and Livia Drusilla and their relationship. Makes me eager for the next in the series, because the ending left it pretty clear there would be another.

I am reading the series too, but am several books back.

I don't know about another in the series. I read that McMullough is going blind and thought it would be too difficult to have someone else do her research. I hope she keeps writing them also (and that her eyesight gets better or at least stops getting worse).

55. Obama's Blackberry by Kasper Hauser. 4 stars. Almost too short to be counted here, I'm going to count it anyway because it was so clever and lol funny that I read it twice. Perhaps because I know a lot of bb addicts (you pretty near would have to pry their bbs from their cold dead hands), I enjoyed it a lot! It poked fun at Obama, of course, and at every political figure on the scene today, but in a very good-natured way. One thing that really impressed me was the uncannily accurate way the authors (there are four of them, actually) portrayed the bb voice of the President. I could actually hear his voice in my head as I was reading his bb entries. Highly recommended for a good laugh and for little gifts for bb addicts in your life!

56. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos. 4 stars. HBG ER. I got this one free from Hatchette in exchange for a review. It's the first Pelecanos I've read, but it won't be the last. Reminded me a lot of Richard Price's Lush Life. Not the story or even the writing, but the literary quality of it and the way he was able to bring Washington DC and the characters to life. I especially loved the dialogue. So fresh and true-to-life. Amazing really. The guy has quite an ear for it.

Having said that, it wasn't the most exciting thriller I've ever read, and I never felt strongly attached to any of the characters, hence it didn't get a 5-star rating, but it was very good nonetheless and I recommend it for all mystery/thriller fans.

Oh! I hadn't heard that, Ficus. Lord, that is terrible news ~ not only for her fans but for her. I can't imagine a worse thing than to lose one's eyesight.

57. The Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn. LT-Author. 5 stars. I received an ARC from the author to review because I had already read Treasury of Regrets and Game of Patience, the Aristide Ravel mysteries set in the years just after the Reign of Terror began, and had a couple of LT exchanges with Susanne about them. Cavalier, a prequel to those and set not long before the storming of the Bastille, is something very special. Not only is Paris and the events leading up to the French Revolution stunningly portrayed, but the mystery is fascinating and the characters brought brilliantly to life.

Cavalier comes out in bookstores on July 21. Highly recommended.

Here's a link to my blog review, which is a bit more detailed. http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/murder-mayhem-in-pre-revolutiona...

58. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. 4 stars. I enjoyed this more than the last couple. It dealt more with humans on this plane and less with those in the Nevernever. For some reason, I seem to like that more. Dresden was less a jerk in this one than the prior two, and, though he got beat up an awful lot in this one too, this one explains to a degree why he isn't crippled for life after taking so many horrible beatings ~ or dead. Looking forward to the next.

59. Dissolution by C.J. Sansom. 4.5 stars. LT. I don't know why in the world it took me so long to read this, since it got lots of praise from LTers I trust. The story of the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII and Cromwell, as told by a minion of Cromwell, lawyer Shardlake. Shardlake is sent as Cromwell's commissioner to one of the larger monasteries to find the murderer of the previous commissioner. Although I figured out the murderer before the denoument, I wasn't sure of the motive until it was revealed at the end. And the historical details were fascinating, as were the characters of Shardlake (a hunchback) and Cromwell. Can't wait to get my hands on the next in the series. Highly recommended.

60. Evermore by Lynn Viehl. 3.5 stars. One of the Darkyn novels. This one is about Jayr, the only female seneschal, who's been in love with her "master" Byrne for 700 or so years. And he has loved her that long too. But they have been hiding their feelings for each other for all that time. Until this novel. Why it took so long for them to work it out was not explained. Other than that, it was a good quick fun read.

61. The Twylight Tower by Karen Harper. 3.5 stars. The third of the series of Elizabeth I mysteries, I somehow missed it and went straight from 2 to 4. It was a good historical mystery, well written (as always), but I didn't like it as much as the others because of the subject matter. In this one, E is gaga over Dudley ~ her Robin ~ to the point of annoyance. I don't like to think that a woman of her intelligence and acumen would fall for such a loser, but there it is. Anyway, not the author's fault that I find that bit of history unpalatable.

62. Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan. 4 stars. LT (Ficus). It took me awhile to get into it, but when I did, I wasn't able to put it down. This fantasy involving Elizabeth I (in her 50s at the time) and her counterpart faerie queen Invidiana was different than anything I've read about faerie before. These are English faeries only, and based on English tales of the fae, so, for example, the sidhe from Ireland are not mentioned, but there are a couple of brownies from the north counties, and The Wild Hunt, and Father Thames. And Elizabeth and her court and the London of that time were portrayed with historical accuracy, and the fantasy woven in so seemlessly that, unless you were involved, you might never know the two were intertwined.

Oh, it was one good story! (Thanks Ficus!)

63. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde. 3.5 stars. Audio. In this sequel to The Eyre Affair, Tuesday Next is preggers, but her husband and father of the baby has been temporally displaced by nefarious forces of Goliath and/or SpecOps. On top of that, unless Tuesday figures out what some pink goop is, the world as we know it will end on Thursday. Oh, and there is some funny stuff going on in the world of literature.

I enjoyed this fun romp through the strange world of Tuesday Next, tho not quite as much as I did The Eyre Affair. Still, I've got The Well of Lost Plots on the iPod and am quite looking forward to it.

The Well of Lost Plots is my favorite! You're in for a treat. I think it's the book with the Wuthering Heights Anger Management Scene, the funniest thing ever written.

Yes, I can't wait! Right now I'm slogging through (or suffering through is more like it) an audio of Cemetery Dance. The story's good, but the reader is driving me nuts. I've got to finish it, though, as it's a review copy I got from the publisher. After that chore, though, IT'S MY TURN! :)

64. Cemetery Dance by Preston & Child. Audio. HGER. I think the novel itself might be good, but the reader drove me insane so it was hard to tell. I mean, every single sentence was read in a breathless, tense-voiced way, as if it were the climax of the scene if not the entire damn novel, as if he were reading that some maniac was getting ready to jump out from behind a building waving a bloody knive and preparing to cut someone's heart out. When he read about one of the characters going into a take out place for some curry and made it sound like the character was opening the cellar door and the monster was standing right behind it waiting to snap his head off, I wanted to take my iPod and throw it across the room. This kind of thing doesn't happen to me often with audiobooks, and, when it does, I stop listening and read the book at a later time. I only finished the damn thing because I got it free in exchange for a review. Lord knows what I'm going to say in that review. I think I may have to buy the book and read it myself in order to give a balanced review. Of course, that will only work if I can get the sound of the reader's voice out of my head. Aaargh!

Note to Self: NO MORE FREE BOOKS IN EXCHANGE FOR REVIEWS. I want to enjoy reading, not feel like I'm being forced to undergo waterboarding torture.

ETA: Unless the author is well known to me or I've heard amazingly good things about the book from those whose opinions I trust. Or if it sounds really REALLY good.

Erm...crap, that's the way I choose books to review now.

65. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin. 4.5 stars. Third in the series of historical mysteries set in the England of Henry IV and Eleanor, this time Adelia is called upon to pronounce upon the bones of two people discovered buried in the graveyard of Glastonbury Abbey and reputed to be the remains of King Arthur and his queen, Guinevere. Along the way, there are murders to solve, a kidnapped heiress to find, and the mystery of another body hidden deep within a cave inside one of the tors to resolve.

66. Push by Sapphire. 5 stars. I started reading this about 10 years ago, then somehow lost or misplaced the book and never finished it, but I never forgot it and always meant to go back to it. When I found out that it's being made into a major motion picture, I decided I needed to read and finish it now, so I borrowed a copy from the library. What an amazing piece of literature. It moved me more than any other novel I've read in recent memory ~ to tears and to rage and to a fierce desire that such terrible things (incest, rape, racial prejudice, physical prejudice, and so on) be stopped and no child allowed to suffer that kind of degradation.

67. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. 4.5 stars. Audio. Third in the Tuesday Next series of mysteries set in the book world and neck-in-neck with The Eyre Affair as my favorite. Can't wait to read the next one.

In this mystery, Tuesday's pregnant when her husband is stolen away from her by Goliath, which is after her too. She retreats to the book world until she can safely finish out her pregnancy and deliver her child. But the book world has its own dangers, and of course Tuesday ends up right in the thick of things.

I love the puns and word plays and the way the novels and characters come alive, how it all comes together and plays out. (Lord, talk about cliches. Sorry.) Anyway, Fforde is brilliant, that's all I have to say.

68. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. 4.5 stars. Audio. I read this in book form a few years ago and loved its humor and respectful yet human depiction of Joshua (Jesus) as a child and young man. I decided that I needed something like that right now and that I'd like to listen to it this time. Again, I found it not only entertaining but also inspiring in a kind of strange way, and again I thought the ending was a cop out and definitely not scriptural.

69. Tangling with Tyrants: Managing the Balance of Power at Work by Tony Deblauwe. 4 stars. ER. Subtitle could be How to Stay Sane and Get Stuff Done When Working for Bullies and/or Fools. I wrote a longer review on my blog. Here I'll just say that I'm going to read it again, next time in conjunction with the workbook that comes with it. I have a few more years left of working at a law firm, and there are traditionally a lot of tyrants (bullies & fools) working in those places. I'd like to be able to go out feeling good about myself and my job.

70. Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas. 4 stars. LT. Atmospheric mystery set in Paris and environs, with some really great character studies, and a mystery that had me guessing almost until the end. Someone is sending warnings about an outbreak of bubonic plague, and suddenly people start dying. I really loved the main detective until...well, I'll let you read it and see if you feel the same way about what he did.

71. My Name Is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare by Jess Winfield. HBGER. 3.5 stars. If the first half of the book had been as good as the last half, I'd have given it 4 or 4.5 stars. As it happened, though, it took me a real effort of will to pick it up again after I put it down (thankfully) to read another book I had to review by a certain date. The only thing that got me to read it again was my sense of responsibility ~ I got it for free in exchange for the review. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the second half of the book was really good.

ETA I wrote a fuller review at http://justonemorepageblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-name-is-will-review.html.

72. Seduction by Amanda Quick. 3 stars. Audio. An early historical romance by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick that I somehow missed back in the day I was reading almost exclusively romance. The female protagonist, Sophie, is the quintessential Quick heroine, but her male counterpart is even more autocratic than most. Even at the end when ***POSSIBLE SPOILER, tho if you read historical romances you will already know what I'm going to write*** he comes around, he's still relatively stilted, and his remorse for his prior behavior just doesn't ring true. The villain of the piece was both overly melodramatic and three dimensional (in that he had a bit of goodness beneath his badness). I wasn't thrilled with the reader ~ somehow her accents sounded forced, or maybe faked.

Not as good as her other early historical romances, but I'm glad I read it to complete that series (which includes such titles as Mystique and Desire).

An interesting line up of books. Have added a few to my tbr list.

Cool! Which ones have piqued your interest?

73. Alexandria by Lindsey Davis. 4 stars. Another excellent Falco mystery, this time set in Alexandria where Falco has brought his extended family ~ a pregnant Helen, her brother Aulus, and their daughters Albia, Julia, and Favonia ~ for a last vacation before their third child is due to arrive because Helen has expressed a desire to see the pyramids. They are staying with his maternal uncle Fulvius, a shady character who is in mysterious trades, and his companion Cassius. Of course, Marcus's shady father also shows up to help spread the mayhem.

Shortly after their arrival, there is a suspicious death at the Museion ~ the Librarian is found dead in a locked room ~ and Falco is called upon to investigate.
I wasn't excited about the mystery itself ~ it was both convoluted (as usual) and a bit boring ~ but the details of life in Alexandria, the family relationships, and Marcus's slightly bent outlook on life is enthralling.

One of these days, I'm going to reread the entire series. Can't hardly wait!

74. Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg. 4.5 stars. This was pretty low-key ~ part memoir, part history, part mystery and part investigative reporting, including the study of certain social and political issues ~ but it certainly resonated with me. Perhaps this is because, when I was an adolescent, my grandmother with whom I was very close was diagnosed with a mental illness (manic depressive) and given shock treatments. That terrible episode effected me so much I've never forgotten it (or forgiven my father and uncle for allowing it). I mean, her husband of 50 years had recently died, and she didn't recover from that soon enough for them, at least that's the way I see it now. No one is left alive who could provide answers about it. Anyway, the writing was uneven at times, and other times it dragged on a bit, but overall it was a fascinating look at a bygone time as well as a study of a family secret that rocked the survivors after the keeper of the secret died.

75. The Private Patient by P. D. James. 3.5 stars. Audio. I'd probably have given it 4 stars if the reader had been better. As to the mystery novel itself, it was good, very P.D. James-ish, deep, literary, very character-driven, but not as interesting as some of hers I've read.

A woman with a facial scar goes to a private clinic to have the scar removed and is murdered in her bed after the surgery. Does the fact that she was an investigative reporter ~ and a not-very-nice one ~ have anything to do with her murder?

76. On Writing by Stephen King. 4.5 stars. Audio. I read this in order to prepare for NaNoWriMo. I don't like King's voice, so I started this audiobook thinking I'd probably give it up before finishing, but what he had to say and the beauty of the words made the annoying way he sounded pretty much unnoticeable. What a master craftsman! And the way he shares his knowledge and experience is at once inspiring and easy to grasp.

77. 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly. 4.5 stars. HBG ER. This is classic Harry Bosch. It starts out slowly (for a Bosch), when he and his reluctant partner catch a call on what appears to be a commonplace murder at a liquor store in South Central L.A., but then things begin to get complicated. Halfway through, the story takes off on a wild ride (moving from L.A. to Hong Kong and back) that doesn't let up until the end, which I must say seemed to me to be a bit abrupt and somewhat unwieldy ~ or at least offbeat. Highly recommended for all mystery/thriller fans, but, if you haven't read any of Connelly's Bosch mysteries before, I suggest reading the earlier stuff first.

78. The Shack by William P. Young. 4 stars. Okay, my sister urged me to read this, so I did, and we talked about it as I read it and when I finished. Disclaimer: This is not fine literature or even particularly well-written (if any of the characters had winked an eye one more time, I think I might have poked my own eye out from pure frustration); neither does it have a strong plot ~ but it is compelling reading, and I got a lot to think about from it.

I liked your reviews! I liked The Shack far less but enjoyed your comments!

Thanks, msf59!

80. The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson. 3 stars. My first James Patterson, this "nonfiction" account of King Tut's reign and death, the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter, and Patterson's involvement in the whole thing will probably be my last. The writing was pedestrian, the story more fiction than not, and it wasn't even all that interesting.

81. Black Ships by Jo Graham. 5 stars. OMG I loved this!

Hi Storeetllr, I have been AWOL for a while.

I really liked The Shack and thought the rough writing actually enhanced it, making it seem more like a personal account than a polished product. I liked the strong aspect of spirituality, and the idea that religion is a man made thing and not something god is invested in. I also thought there was a lot to think about.

I really enjoyed Black Ships too. Thought it was quicker and easier to read than Hand of Isis.

I have heard bad things about The Murder of King Tut in terms of writing, research, fictionalization and trying to take credit for the whole concept. I have 2 other books about the same thing The Murder of Tutankhamen by Bob Brier, which was a good and interesting read. He also hasa great book on how mummies were made Egyptian Mummies. Another on Tut, The Mysterious Death of Tutankhamun he is a Brit and a historian, he dabbles outside his specialty and can be a bit flaky. I haven't read this one yet.

82. Seduce Me by Robyn DeHart. 3 stars. Okay paranormal historical romance.

83 BackUp by Jim Butcher. 4 stars. Short and very very sweet. Harry Dresden's big brother Thomas the vampire looks out for his lil bro.

84. The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer. 4.5 stars. For a historical romance where there are hardly any kisses or smouldering glances, this was surprisingly (or perhaps not so) hot read. Loved Marcus, wasn't thrilled at first with Horry but she grew on me, enjoyed the Keystone Kops bits.

85. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris. 4 stars. Audio. Very intense, even more so than the earlier books. This is #9 in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

85. Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris. 4 stars. Another intense book by Harris, this is # 4 in the Harper Connelly series.

86. Truly, Madly 4 stars. LTER. My review is on LT.

87. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on audio. Reread.

88. The Blood of Caesar by Albert A. Bell Jr. 4 stars. A novel set in Rome during the reign of Domitian. Domitian fears that Nero had a sister, through whom may exist an heir of Julius Caesar. He forces the equestrian Pliny the Younger (nephew & heir of Pliny the Historian) to investigate & find the truth. Pliny & his friend Tacitus discover more than they could ever have expected. I believe the descriptions of Rome are very accurate (at least from what I remember of the ruins of the Forum, Colisseum, etc. when I visited Rome in 2003), as well as Roman society functioned. I didn't notice any historical inaccuracies, either.

#99 Have you read the other Pliny book in this series? I've seen them, but never read them. This one looks better than the other - does it work as a stand alone?

#100 I didn't realize he had written another Pliny mystery until after I'd finished this one, so I think it does fine as a stand alone. Having read (or tried to read) most of the novels out there on ancient Rome, both straight historical and mystery, I thought it was among the better ones, though not the best. It's hard to say, but for a straight historical series I think McCullough's Masters of Rome series is best, and for a mystery series I like Lindsey Davis's Falco mysteries, though individual novels in each of those series are stronger or weaker than others. Pliny is more like the Saylor protagonist than the Wishart, and the tone is more serious too. The points of view of the characters are definitely not modern, which is good. I think that kind of anachronism spoils a historical novel more than any other kind of anachronism or inaccuracy.

If you read it, let me know what you think.