Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday


Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection are:


Chasing Fire [Hardcover]

Product Description

The number-one New York Times-bestselling author delves into the world of elite firefighters who thrive on danger and adrenaline-men and women who wouldn't know how to live life if it wasn't on the edge.

There's little as thrilling as firefighting-at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend. She's been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home-even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering.

Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is one of the strongest ever - and Gulliver Curry's one of the best. He's also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kids' arcade.

Everything is thrown off balance when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year's tragedy. Rowan knows she can't complicate things with Gull - any distractions in the air or on the ground could mean the end-but if she doesn't find someone she can lean on, she may not make it through the summer. . . .

Product Details
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (April 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157441
ISBN-13: 978-0399157448

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

New Releases 2011 (Mar 29)

Phantom Evil (Krewe of Hunters) [Hardcover]

Product Description

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the otherworldly — each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house — once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives…and their immortal souls.

Product Details
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira; 400 edition (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329534
ISBN-13: 978-0778329534

 
 
Devious (Bentz and Montoya) [Hardcover]

Product Description

The crime scene at St. Marguerite’s cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth. Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister’s death. For weeks, she’d begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite’s, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices — she joined the convent in part because she’d fallen for Val’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade. Convinced the police aren’t doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val’s inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite’s is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O’Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille’s past — and Val’s, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite’s of all its sins — before she becomes the next victim…
 
Product Details
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Kensington; 1 edition (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758225652
ISBN-13: 978-0758225658


Shiver of Fear (The Guardian Angelinos) [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Description

The legacy that haunts her . . .
The mystery she must solve . . .
A man who threatens to reveal her secrets . . .
and break her heart.

Burned by a failed marriage, former FBI agent Marc Rossi wants back in the investigation game with no emotional strings attached. Taking an assignment for his enterprising Angelino cousins, he heads to Northern Ireland to pry a key piece of evidence from a missing socialite - any way he can. But when the ice queen turns out to be warm, beautiful, and on a secret mission of her own, the job becomes a passionate reminder of what happens when duty and desire mix. The daughter of an infamous fugitive, Devyn Sterling has survived betrayal only to find that her mother has mysteriously disappeared. When her search uncovers secrets, lies, and threats, Devyn and Marc must trust each other when every instinct says they can't . . . and a terrorist wants to make sure they won't live to try.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Forever (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446566594
ISBN-13: 978-0446566599

Monday, March 28, 2011

Treachery in Death [Hardover]


I've finished "Treachery in Death" the 33rd book in her In Death series by J.D. Robb.

Product Description

In the latest from the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon, Eve Dallas tracks down those who break the law-including the ones sworn to uphold it.

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective-good thing she learned from the master.

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

About the Author

J.D. Robb is the pseudonym for a number-one New York Times bestselling author of more than 190 novels, including the futuristic suspense In Death series. There are more than 400 million copies of her books in print.

Product Details
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition first Printing edition (February 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157034
ISBN-13: 978-0399157035

My Review:

I highly recommend this series if you love a kick ass heroine, a gorgeous multi-billionaire husband and well constructed storylines and complex characters.

Storyline:  After investigating a murder, Peabody decides to start working out in an empty and abandoned gym at Central. After she showers, two cops barge into the locker room and start talking about their role in the murder of an informant to cover up their own roles in an internal racket. Peabody sees and hears just enough to identify the two, and it turns out that one of the cops is a lieutenant who is the daughter of a retired legend on the force. Peabody informs Dallas, who then informs the captain of the precinct, and an undercover investigation starts to ramp up to see just how pervasive the corruption might be. Dallas takes it as a personal crusade to take down the two cops and everyone else who might be part of what's going on, and she starts to goad the lieutenant into taking reckless steps to get back or silence Dallas and Peabody. The action escalates as the pressure increases and desperation sets in to deflect the investigation and to keep everything undercover.

Characters:  You get to see Peabody in a lead role in the investigation against the corrupt police unit.  She's the central person and has to go against some higher ups and scrutiny along the way.
 
Love the way that Eve antagonizes the ring leader and her corrupt group of cops.  She also has some kick-ass fighting scenes which she whoops ass. 
 
Really enjoyed the scenes between Eve and Whitney and Eve and Webster and Eve.
 
Romance:  I really enjoy the romance between Eve and Roake because they have come a long way from when they first met to now.  They have a major argument but they resolve their differences but not before acting like children.  The love scenes are always tender, hot and loving.

Killer(s):  The ring leader is very manipulative of men using sex, power and money to control her group of men.  She's smart and doesn't kill herself.  It's interesting how she comes up with how to stage the murders so there wouldn't be any questions asked (but Eve and Peabody know better)!

One of her men has quite the temper tantrum, is out of control and has an agenda to torture and then kill Dallas.

Another asks no questions and is her killing machine.  He's quite the big brute and has no remorse.

She has quite the network with key people appointed in different departments and ones she doesn't like are either killed or forced to transfer.

5/5

Thanks Laura from Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Library Haul 2011 (Mar 27 - Apr 2)


Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Softcover:

1. Cold Dawn - Carla Neggers
2. Promises in the Dark - Stephanie Tyler
3. Death Echo - Elizabeth Lowell
4. Bond of Darkness - Diane Whiteside

What books did you pick up from the library this week?

Living on the Edge: An Edge Novel [Paperback]


I've finished "Living on the Edge" the 1st book in her new romantic suspense series by Shannon K. Butcher.

Product Description

With her thrilling Sentinel Wars series, Shannon K. Butcher pushed readers to the very edge of their imaginations. Now, with the first in her new action romance series she takes them to the very edge of their seats, following the loves and lethal lives of a group of hardened mercenaries who live on the edge-and beyond ...
 
Product Details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Signet (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451232747
ISBN-13: 978-0451232748

My Review:
 
This was a very exhilarating exciting read from the very first page to the very last page.
 
Lucas Ramsey left the military due to a severe injury. However, when his former superior officer The old man orders him to protect Sloane Gideon with his life, he asks no questions and begins his duty. However the Old Man omits two pieces of key information when a shooting occurs at a gala where Lucas planed to meet Sloane who marked him as Mr. Tuxedo. First her occupation is personal protection as she works as a bodyguard for the Edge; and second she is the Old Man's daughter. It is the latter that shakes Lucas as he cannot picture the cold logical General with an offspring.

Columbian drug cartel leader Lorenzo Soma abducts Sloane's friend Gina who called last night explaining her frightening predicament before the phone was taken away. Mr. Tuxedo tries to stop Sloane from boarding a plane, but she knocks him out with a blow to his temple. Having underestimating Sloane, he follows her to Colombia with the Old Man's warning him to play hardball with his daughter. The former Ranger catches up to her in South America where she accepts his offer of assistance as she wonders why Soma kidnapped her best friend and how will she extract Gina from this cold blooded killer while Lucas wonders how to extract Sloane from Columbia when she insists on a jungle expedition.
 
The attraction between Sloan and Lucas sizzles from the moment they first meet while both are at the top of their game. They are well matched pair and make a very deadly duo. Lucas is reluctant to hurt Sloane which  she uses to her advantage when evading him. It was fascinating watching Sloan keep Lucas on his toes. I really liked Sloan is a strong confident woman who can kick butt and loves her weapons. I really liked Lucas because he is a cool, sexy alpha male and doesn't totally try to dominate her like many alpha male military heroes do.  Lucas seemed more realistic and genuine and I felt like he really respected Sloane. 
 
5/5

Thanks Laura from Penguin Canada for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Killer Heat [Mass Market Paperback]


I've finished "Killer Heat" the 3rd book in her Department 6 trilogy series by Brenda Novak.

Product Description

The bodies of seven women have been discovered in Skull Valley, Arizona. Jonah Young, a private security operative from Department 6, has been hired by the Yavapai County sheriff to assist in solving these murders. But Jonah's not prepared for the complications that arise when he's forced to work with a woman from his past, private investigator Francesca Moretti. 

Jonah betrayed Francesca ten years ago. She hasn't forgiven him and she's pretty sure she never will. But the woman she was hired to find has been murdered in exactly the same way as the seven in Skull Valley, so, Francesca has to work with Jonah. They quickly zero in on the most likely suspect — but questions remain. Questions they have to answer. Because if they bet on the wrong man, it might be the last thing they ever do….

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Mira; 1 edition (September 28, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778328317
ISBN-13: 978-0778328315
My Review:

Storyline:  Private investigator Francesca Moretti was hired to find missing April Bonner. The Chandler, Arizona sleuth follows a clue that takes her to a salvage yard near Prescott. There she sees April's corpse and has a run in with the owner Butch Vaughn who lured the unfortunate woman via the matchmaker Net persona of Harry Stratham. Thanks to a woman and child, who Francesca assumes is his family, she escapes.

Yavapai County Sheriff's office hires the Department 6 private security firm to investigate the gruesome murders of seven women found in Skull Valley. Agent Jonah Young leads the inquiry, but he is stunned when he sees Francesca. A decade ago, they went to the police academy together, but as they fell in love he betrayed her with her best friend.  With the worst possible ending -- a child was born from that night. When the cops find no body on Vaughn's property he files an assault charge against Francesca. As the two team up to clear Francesca's reputation, they target Butch as the only suspect, but lack proof; while the killer targets them.

Characters:  Francesca is a very tough, smart, independent and determined to prove that Butch killed all the women.  Hmm I thought she was a very complex person because I was wondering how she forgave her best friend for betraying her and not forgiving Jonah?  She totally blames him for the betrayal?  She's still quite upset and has never stopped loving him though she won't admit it!

Jonah is a very hunky, tough and a great investigator.  He was scared of his deep feelings for Francesca so he got drunk and sleep with her best friend.

Butch and his family are quite scary and I certainly wouldn't want to meet them!

Romance: I did like the romance between Jonah and Francesca because the second time around it went slowly, they found out they are different people now and Jonah waited until Francesca told him she forgave him.

Killer(s): The killer was quite scary and creative in their killing and no one saw them or heard anything. 

This book had alot of hair-raising moments and red herrings so you didn't figure out who the real culprit was until near the end.

4/5

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection are:


Deadly Dreams (Berkley Sensation) [Paperback]

Product Description

Risa Chandler's prescient dreams of death and murder haunted her nights. They also proved invaluable for Adam Raiker's brilliant team of forensic criminologists, the Mindhunters, until a tragic end to one case shattered Risa's confidence and drove her into seclusion. But for Risa, there's no hiding from death-or from her dreams.

Product Details
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley (April 5, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425240681
ISBN-13: 978-0425240687

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

New Releases 2011 (Mar 22)

Breaking the Rules: A Novel (Troubleshooters) [Hardcover]

Product Description

Izzy Zanella wasn’t looking for another reason to butt heads with his Navy SEAL teammate, and nemesis, Danny Gillman. But then he met Danny’s beautiful younger sister, Eden. When she needed it most, he offered her a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on — and more. And when she got pregnant with another man’s child, he offered her marriage. But Eden’s devastating miscarriage shattered their life together — and made the intense bad blood between Izzy and Danny even worse.

Now Eden’s back, and she’s on a mission to rescue her teen brother, Ben, from their abusive stepfather. Even if she and Izzy can prove that their broken marriage is still in one piece, winning legal custody of Ben is a long shot. But they’re not alone: Danny and his girlfriend, Jenn, offer to help, and he and Izzy agree to bury the past and fight for Ben’s future.

As they plan their strategy, Izzy and Eden grapple with the raw passion that still crackles between them — while Danny and Jenn confront new depths in their own rocky relationship. But events take a terrifying turn after Ben befriends a girl fleeing a child prostitution ring. When the young runaway seeks refuge with Eden and Izzy, her pursuers kidnap Ben — and a deadly standoff begins. Now they must all pull together like never before and strike back, swift and hard, to protect their unconventional little family and everything they hold most precious.

Product Details
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780345521224
ISBN-13: 978-0345521224

In the Arms of Stone Angels (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Product Description

Two years ago, Brenna did the unthinkable. She witnessed the aftermath of a murder and accused her only true friend--the first boy she ever loved--of being a killer.

Now sixteen, Brenna returns to Oklahoma only to discover that Isaac "White Bird" Henry isn't in juvie. The half-breed outcast is in a mental hospital, frozen in time, locked in his mind at the worst moment of his life. And when Brenna touches him, she's pulled into his hellish vision quest, seeing terrifying demons and illusions she doesn't understand.

Feeling isolated and alone, she's up against the whole town, targeted by bullying former classmates, a bigoted small town sheriff, and a tribe who refuses to help one of their own. But when Brenna realizes she's as trapped by the past as White Bird is, this time she won't turn her back on him. She's the only one who can free them both.

Even if she has to expose her secret -- a "gift" she's kept hidden her whole life.

Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780373210299
ISBN-13: 978-0373210299

Ghost Shadow (The Bone Island Trilogy) [Mass Market Paperback]


I've finished "Ghost Shadow" the 1st book in her Bone Island Trilogy" by Heather Graham.

Product Description

There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence.

Katie O'Hara is one who can.

As she's drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée's murder?

Worse — the body count's rising on the Island of Bones, andthe dead seem to be reenacting some macabre tableaux from history. The danger is increasing by the moment — especially as Katie finds herself irresistibly drawn to David, who may be responsible for more than just one killing….

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than one hundred novels, many of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she still enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well, from locations such as Cairo, Egypt, to her own backyard, the Florida Keys. Reading, however, is the pastime she still loves best, and she is a member of many writing groups. She’s currently the vice president of the Horror Writers’ Association, and she’s also an active member of International Thriller Writers. She is very proud to be a Killerette in the Killer Thriller Band, along with many fellow novelists she greatly admires.

My Review:

Storyline:  In Key West, photographer David Beckett takes the group on a tour of his family's wax museum. They reach the Count von Cosel exhibit however, in the bed near the Count is not waxy version Elena, but the corpse of David's former fiancée Tanya Barnard. Although everyone suspected David killed her, no evidence proved he did. Still he left town with a cloud hanging over him.

Ten years later, the Barnard homicide remains unsolved as David returns to Key West. With the death of David's octogenarian grandfather last year, businesswoman Katie O'Hara, a ghost whisperer, wants to buy the wax museum; David opposes the sale.

Katie O'Hara, owner of Katie-okie, a karaoke business that seems to only play at her uncle's bar and restaurant, attempts to purchase a tourist attraction that has been vacant on the island ever since a woman was found murdered in one of the exhibits. The evening before the purchase goes through, she walks past the building and sees the lights on. Katie, of course, goes to investigate the mysterious lights only to find the co-owner of the building, and the man who many believed murdered the woman years before, David Beckett. After David blocks Katie's purchase of the museum, the two wind up teaming up in order to find out who killed the woman, David's ex-fiance, so many years before

He asks his friend Pete and his cousin Liam, both cops, to reopen the cold case. When a second murder occurs with the victim posed in a nearby museum, the Key West police and Katie wonder if the killer just came home from overseas after a decade away.

Katie can see and talk to ghosts and her constant companion is Bartholomew - a wise- cracking Privateer who is determined to keep her safe.

Characters:  Katie is one very determined, stubborn and smart women who won't let a man control her.  David was one very hot and sexy arrogant man who is determined to keep Katie safe from the killer and not end up like his ex-girlfriend. 

Romance:  I really did like the romance between Katie and David because he accepts that she can see and speak to ghosts when she finally tells him.  You can really feel the attraction between them from the moment they meet in the museum (though they both hated each other at that moment).  Some pretty steamy love scenes.

Killer(s): The killer was out for revenge and was quite creative on how they killed their victims.  Some people might pick up on who the killer might be while others might not.  Picked the right profession to figure out who to pick off and was very discreet on following them without anyone noticing.

I really loved how Graham incorporated true stories/legends into the storyline (really enjoyed learning about Robert the Doll, Carl Tanzler and Elena Milagro Hoyes).

5/5

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Library Haul 2011 (Mar 20 - 26)



Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Killer Heat - Brenda Novak

What books/manga did you pick up from the library this week?

Saturday, March 19, 2011

In the Mail Saturday 2011 (Mar 19)


In the Mail Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.


Shiver of Fear (The Guardian Angelinos) [Mass Market Paperback] - Received Monday

Product Description

The legacy that haunts her . . .

The mystery she must solve . . .

A man who threatens to reveal her secrets . . .

and break her heart.

Burned by a failed marriage, former FBI agent Marc Rossi wants back in the investigation game with no emotional strings attached. Taking an assignment for his enterprising Angelino cousins, he heads to Northern Ireland to pry a key piece of evidence from a missing socialite-any way he can. But when the ice queen turns out to be warm, beautiful, and on a secret mission of her own, the job becomes a passionate reminder of what happens when duty and desire mix. The daughter of an infamous fugitive, Devyn Sterling has survived betrayal only to find that her mother has mysteriously disappeared. When her search uncovers secrets, lies, and threats, Devyn and Marc must trust each other when every instinct says they can't . . . and a terrorist wants to make sure they won't live to try.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Forever (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446566594
ISBN-13: 978-0446566599


Face of Danger (Guardian Angelinos) [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Description

Private investigator Vivi Angelino loves living life on the edge, but stepping into the shoes of a movie starlet to bait a serial killer isn't just a thrill . . . it's a ticket to the big time for her fledgling security firm. That is, as long as a certain risk-averse FBI agent stays out of her way - and out of her fantasies.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Colton Lang isn't above using his well-worn rulebook to stop Vivi's latest walk on the wild side. But when they learn her client is involved in something far more insidious than bad acting, Vivi and Colt must work together despite the electrifying attraction arcing between them. For each new clue is bringing them closer to a high-profile crime with a dark and deadly truth at its core . . . and a cold, calculating murderer with nothing left to lose.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Forever (April 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446566578
ISBN-13: 978-0446566575

Treachery in Death [Hardcover] - Received on Tuesday

Product Description 

In the latest from the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon, Eve Dallas tracks down those who break the law-including the ones sworn to uphold it.

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective - good thing she learned from the master.

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked - guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

Product Details
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition first Printing edition (February 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157034
ISBN-13: 978-0399157035


Living on the Edge: An Edge Novel [Paperback]

Product Description

With her thrilling Sentinel Wars series, Shannon K. Butcher pushed readers to the very edge of their imaginations. Now, with the first in her new action romance series she takes them to the very edge of their seats, following the loves and lethal lives of a group of hardened mercenaries who live on the edge - and beyond...

Product Details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Signet (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451232747
ISBN-13: 978-0451232748


Scones and Bones (A Tea Shop Mystery) [Hardcover]

Product Description

Savor the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of The Teaberry Strangler.

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is lured into attending the Heritage Society's "Pirates and Plunder" soiree. But it's an antique diamond skull ring that gets plundered by someone who murders a history intern in the process. Theodosia knows she'll have to whet her investigative skills to find the killer among a raft of suspects.

Product Details
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425238962
ISBN-13: 978-0425238967

The Night Season [Hardcover] - Received on Thursday

Product Description

With the Beauty Killer Gretchen Lowell locked away behind bars once again, Archie Sheridan — a Portland police detective and nearly one of her victims — can finally rest a little easier. Meanwhile, the rest of the city of Portland is in crisis. Heavy rains have flooded the Willamette River, and several people have drowned in the quickly rising waters. Or at least that’s what they thought until the medical examiner discovers that the latest victim didn’t drown: She was poisoned before she went into the water. Soon after, three of those drownings are also proven to be murders. Portland has a new serial killer on its hands, and Archie and his task force have a new case.

Reporter Susan Ward is chasing this story of a new serial killer with gusto, but she’s also got another lead to follow for an entirely separate mystery: The flooding has unearthed a skeleton, a man who might have died more than sixty years ago, the last time Portland flooded this badly, when the water washed away an entire neighborhood and killed at least fifteen people.

With Archie following the bizarre trail of evidence and evil deeds to catch a killer and possibly regain his life, and Susan Ward close behind, Chelsea Cain — one of today’s most talented suspense writers — launches the next installment of her bestselling series with an electric thriller.

Product Details
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312619766
ISBN-13: 978-0312619763

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

ARC Review: Broken: A Novel (Grant County) [Hardcover]


I've finished "Broken" the 2nd book in her Georgia series by Karin Slaughter.

Product Description

Karin Slaughter’s internationally bestselling novels are as notable for their vivid portraits of lives shadowed by loss and heartbreak as they are for their dramatic criminal investigations. Her latest offering features the return of her most compelling characters and introduces memorable new ones in a tale of corruption, murder, and confrontation that will leave more than one life . . .

When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.

While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets — and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.

Spellbinding and keenly paced, Broken is Karin Slaughter at her best. Here is an unforgettable story of raw emotions, dangerous assumptions, the deadly and layered game of betrayal, and a man’s determination to expose the most painful of human truths — no matter how deeply they’re hidden . . . or how devastating.

About the Author

Karin Slaughter is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of ten thrillers, including Undone, Beyond Reach, Triptych, and Faithless. She is a native of Georgia.

Product Details
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1 edition (June 22, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385341970
ISBN-13: 978-0385341974


My Review:

It has been three and a half years since pediatrician and former Grant County, Georgia, coroner Sara Linton has been home. That’s when she lost her husband, the town’s much beloved police chief. Things have only gone downhill in that department since Jeffrey Tolliver died. Officer Lena Adams is getting sick of turning a blind eye to her new boss’ alcoholism and the department’s increasing willingness to stray from the rule book. When a mentally disabled murder suspect commits suicide in a jail cell, Sara, convinced that a mishandled interrogation led the boy to take his own life, calls in Special Agent Will Trent. She also sees it as a perfect way to get back at Lena, whom she blames for her husband’s death.

I really don't like Frank Lena's boss since he drinks on the job and is usually drunk and falling down.  He also has a habit of hurting people when arresting them, etc.

Lena is a very complicated women because she had a very abusive childhood and relationships.  She's the reason why Sara's husband Jeffrey was killed (she was involved with a drug dealer).  She's now involved with Jeffrey's son Jared a rookie cop which Sara disapproves of.

I really like Sara because she's very kind-hearted and really loved Jeffrey (even though he cheated on her) and he loved her too.  I feel for her when she lost Jeffrey three and a half years ago.  She really hates Lena even since the first book and thought she should have been fired a long time ago.

I really like Will because he's a great investigator and cares for Sara (he's attracted to her) but he's still married but it's a complicated one.

You can see the sparks between Trent and Sara and you really want them to get together.

Really happy to see Faith Will's partner helping him out from the sidelines (she's pregnant).

4/5

Monday, March 14, 2011

Killing Me Softly {Mass Market Paperback]


I've finished "Killing Me Softly" the 1st book in her Secrets of Shadow Falls series by Maggie Shayne.

Product Description

The Nightcap Strangler, who terrorized the town of Shadow Falls sixteen years ago, has finally been executed. Case closed. Until Bryan Kendall's lover is murdered in the notorious killer's unique style and the rookie cop stands accused. Has someone committed the perfect copycat crime…or was the wrong man put to death?

A continent away, Dawn Jones hears that her first love has been accused of murder and knows that only she can help him. But to do so, she'll have to face the very fears that drove them apart.

Together they'll work to uncover secrets someone's willing to kill to keep, and renew a love as dangerous as it is inevitable. And their best lead is the girl found dead in Bryan's bed, reeking of the whiskey poured down her throat before her killer squeezed it shut.

A killer who thinks that Dawn, too, could use one last drink…

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira (June 29, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778327930
ISBN-13: 978-0778327936


My Review:
 
Dawn's father was psychic. When he died five years ago his gifts were passed to Dawn. She began seeing and talking to ghosts, and she couldn't make it stop. So she ran away from Vermont and made a new life for herself in California. She left her teenage sweetheart Bryan. Since then she has been taking tranquilizers and alcohol to stop the ghosts. Bryan became a cop. Nick, another cop, became famous 15 years ago when he caught the Nightcap Strangler, a serial killer. Bryan has been asked to prepare a presentation about Nick for an awards ceremony. It's a secret, and no one is to know that Nick will be honored. So Bryan secretly takes the serial killer police files to study them for his presentation. The serial killer is still out there. An innocent man went to jail. The killer is aware of Bryan taking the files and is worried that he might be caught. So the killer kills Bryan's friend Bette and frames Bryan. Dawn hears about this and comes back to town. She hopes to use her psychic gift to help find the killer.
 
Wow this book was a real page turner and I highly recommend this series if you like well developed characters and storylines (I've only read this one though there is two more).
 
I really enjoyed the relationship between Bryan and Dawn because it was really quite believable when they first meet again to the awkwardness to the confession that they love each other and want to be together no matter what.
 
5/5

New Release 2011 (Mar 14)


Toys [Hardcover]

Product Description

James Bond and Jason Bourne have just been topped! A battle for the world is set into unstoppable motion and Hays Baker is the only one who can save it.

Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course they do -- they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys!

The one with the most toys -- dies

The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life.

Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible -- fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives--maybe even his own. James Patterson's Toys is a thriller on a hyper plane --with a hero who rivals both James Bond and Jason Bourne.

Product Details
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (March 14, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316097365
ISBN-13: 978-0316097369

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Library Haul 2011 (Mar 13- 19)


Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Softcover:

1. Ghost Shadow - Heather Graham

What books/manga did you pick up from the library this week?

Bedeviled Eggs (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) [Paperback]

I've finished "Bedeviled Eggs" the 3rd book in her Cackleberry Club series by Laura Childs.

Product Description

The ladies at the Cackleberry Club café are busy preparing for Halloween. But someone's jumped the gun on the tricks. As mayoral candidate Chuck Peebler leaves the café, he gets struck with a crossbow arrow and is killed instantly. And when another murder occurs on the historical society's Quilt Trail, the Cackleberry Club needs to sniff out the bad egg-before he strikes again.

Product Details
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (December 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425238237
ISBN-13: 978-0425238233

My Review:

I highly recommend this series if you like a light and humorous cozy.

I really enjoy the banter between Suzanne, Toni, and Petra and how they comfort and support each other when Pebbles is murdered by reading inspirational messages drawn from their affirmation crockpot.

I also enjoy the charitable events, luncheons, and busy mealtimes at the café which helps us look into how to run a restaurant.

Really love trying out the recipes at the end of the book which anyone can make!

4/5

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection are:

In the Arms of Stone Angels (Harlequin Teen) [Paperback]

Product Description

Two years ago, Brenna did the unthinkable. She witnessed the aftermath of a murder and accused her only true friend--the first boy she ever loved--of being a killer.

Now sixteen, Brenna returns to Oklahoma only to discover that Isaac "White Bird" Henry isn't in juvie. The half-breed outcast is in a mental hospital, frozen in time, locked in his mind at the worst moment of his life. And when Brenna touches him, she's pulled into his hellish vision quest, seeing terrifying demons and illusions she doesn't understand.

Feeling isolated and alone, she's up against the whole town, targeted by bullying former classmates, a bigoted small town sheriff, and a tribe who refuses to help one of their own. But when Brenna realizes she's as trapped by the past as White Bird is, this time she won't turn her back on him. She's the only one who can free them both.

Even if she has to expose her secret -- a "gift" she's kept hidden her whole life.

Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373210299
ISBN-13: 978-0373210299

Sunday, March 6, 2011

ARC Review: Deadly Lies [Mass Market Paperback]


I've finished "Deadly Lies" the 3rd book in her Deadly trilogy series by Cynthia Eden.

Product Description

She wants to hide the past

FBI Special Agent Samantha Kennedy is haunted by memories of the serial killer who abducted her. To keep the darkness at bay, she pretends to be a different, more confident woman. This Samantha doesn't fear every unknown face. So she throws caution to the wind and shares a night of unbridled passion with a handsome stranger.

He needs to uncover the truth

One night isn't enough for successful entrepreneur Max Ridgeway. He wants more of the sexy, smart, mysterious woman who slipped away before dawn. When they meet again, their attraction is undeniable -until his stepbrother goes missing, and Max realizes that Samantha isn't who she seems. But they must trust each other to trap a ring of bloodthirsty kidnappers before the nightmares that terrorize Sam become irrevocably real.

As a merciless criminal spins a web of . . .


DEADLY LIES


About the Author

Cynthia Eden also writes tales of paranormal suspense and erotic romance for Kensington Brava, Avon Red, and Red Sage. In college, she majored in Communication and Sociology, graduating summa cum laude and spending many hours working on the campus paper. She soon decided writing fiction was much more fun than just sticking to the facts. She is a member of the Gulf Coast Chapter of the RWA and Mensa. Cynthia lives with her husband, Nicholas, and her son, Jack. For more information, please visit her website http://www.cynthiaeden.com/.
 
Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Forever (March 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446559253
ISBN-13: 978-0446559256

My Review:

I highly recommend reading Deadly Fear before reading Deadly Lies because so you find out what happens to Samantha prior to this book.

In this series Cynthia doesn't shy away from the deeper and darker aspects and twisted views of her villians.  Also the crimes are nicely detailed to the crime crime scene to the victims bodies.

In Deadly Fear Samantha was caught by the killer who kills them by their deepest and darkest fears.  Sam is an FBI agent who is more comfortable tracking down killers at her desk then out in the field.  When Sam meets Max her plan was to have casual sex to feel like a more confident women. 

Max wants more than a one night stand with Sam and they are forced to work together when his step-brother is kidnapped by the killer for ransom.

Wow I really liked it that you never knew who the real killer was because there were so many lies from Samantha, Max had his own agenda and his step-brother. 

Woah the love scenes were very hot and steamy and there were quite a few!  I had to wash my face with cold water after reading this book!  I loved the way how Cynthia incorporated the love story with the killer story.

Glad to see Monica, Luke, Kenton and Ramirez again!

4/5

Thanks Anna from Hachette Book Group for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

Library Haul 2011 (Mar 6 - 12)


Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Softcover:

1. Bedeviled Eggs - Laura Child

What books/manga did you pick up from the library this week?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection are:

Phantom Evil (Krewe of Hunters) [Hardcover]

Product Description

A secret government unit is formed under the oversight of Adam Harrison, famed paranormal investigator. The six members he's gathered know a little of the otherworldly — each has honed a psychic talent of their own.

Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, heads the group. Haunted by his experience with an ancestral ghost who saved his life as a child, and the recent murders of two previous teammates, Jackson can't tell if Adam's demoted him or given him an extraordinary opportunity. Despite his link to the realm of spirits, he's well aware that the living commit the most heinous crimes, with spiritualist charlatans existing merely to fool and seduce the unwary.

To counterbalance Jackson's careful skepticism, Adam Harrison has paired him with Angela Hawkins, a young woman who learned the painful lesson of loss at an early age. A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition in Virginia, she already has her hands full. But Adam's call to New Orleans is strong.

The case: In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death from a balcony. Most think she jumped, distraught over the loss of her young son. Some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits that inhabit the house — once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

Whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion, greed and desire will cast the pair into danger of losing their lives…and their immortal souls.

Product Details
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Mira; 400 edition (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329534
ISBN-13: 978-0778329534



Devious (Rick Bentz/Reuben Montoya) [Hardcover]

Product Description

The crime scene at St. Marguerite’s cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth. Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister’s death. For weeks, she’d begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite’s, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices — she joined the convent in part because she’d fallen for Val’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade. Convinced the police aren’t doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val’s inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite’s is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O’Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille’s past — and Val’s, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite’s of all its sins — before she becomes the next victim…
 
Product Details
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Kensington (March 29, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758225652
ISBN-13: 978-0758225658

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March Releases

1st
The Night Season - Chelsea Cain
Living on the Edge - Shannon K. Butcher
Deadly Lies - Cynthia Eden
Scones and Bones - Laura Childs

15th
Toys - James Patterson

22nd
Breaking the Rules - Suzanne Brockmann
In the Arms of  Stone Angels - Jordan Dane

29th
Devious - Lisa Jackson
Phantom Evil - Heather Graham