Absolute Power by David Baldacci

A beautiful wealthy man's wife lies dead, victim of an apparent burglary-murder.  But things aren't as they seem.  The burglar, far from being the murderer, had watched in horror from concealment as she was killed.  Even worse was the manner of her death.  The woman had been involved in an illicit affair with the President of the United States, and he was responsible for her death.

Afterwards, the coverup begins.  The Secret Service heads up the conspiracy of silence; their loyalty bought by the fact that the bullets that killed her came from their guns when she attacked the President while defending herself.  The President's staff was in agreement with the concealment as their jobs depended on the President remaining in power.

That left the discovery of the truth to others.  Luther, the burglar, had plans to reveal the truth while staying safe.  He trusted one man, Jack Graham, a former public defender who had been engaged to his daughter.  Kate, his daughter, had grown up to be a prosecuting attorney, due in large part to her reaction to having a criminal for a father.  Helping the team was one lone policeman who didn't quite believe the trail of manufactured evidence left behind by the experts.

This was David Baldacci's first novel, and as that alone, is well worth the read for fans of his work.  The suspense that characterizes his work is in evidence here, and the plotting is complex.  This book is recommended for thriller/suspense readers.

Murder Takes The Cake by Gayle Trent

Emotionally exhausted after her escape from an abusive marriage, Daphne Martin moves back to her hometown and opens a cake-baking and decorating business.  Things are starting to look up and she is getting orders when bad luck strikes.

Daphne has landed an order from the town gossip, Yodel Watson.  If she can impress her, the word-of-mouth will insure lots of business coming her way.  But when she goes to Yodel's house to deliver the cake, she finds her dead body.  Worse, the police believe Yodel was murdered.  Much worse, Yodel was poisoned.

Reaction is immediate.  Orders drop off.  The local grocery has to remove Daphne's business card in order to sell her cakes.  As Daphne runs errands around town, she picks up gossip, about her and her cakes, and about her family.  Desperate not to fail, Daphne decides she must take an active hand in solving the murder.  To do so, she has to face the possibility that her family's deepest darkest secrets will be revealed.  Can Daphne solve the mystery of Yodel's death?

Gayle Trent has created a likeable main character and a cozy murder story that isn't too precious, as some cozies can be.  The setting and family relationships are believable and realistic, and the plot unfolds satisfactorily, keeping the reader's interest.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers who are looking for a new series to get involved with. 

Dead Head by Allen Wyler

Dr. Russell Lawton has just completed an objective he's spent years working toward, making a speech and sharing his research at a prominent conference for neurosurgeons.  Lawton's research is in the field of brain-computer interfaces, and his work shows promise.  He has been able to have monkeys move robotic arms with their brain waves. 

Flush with success after the talk,, he relaxes and then, his world changes.  He is kidnapped by terrorists.  Worse, they inform him that they have kidnapped his daughter and will kill her if he doesn't do what they want.  What they want is for him to help them communicate with another of the men in their network.  The terrorists are planning a major attack on American soil, but this man, who plays a key role, has been involved in a car accident and is not expected to live.

Their plan is to have Lawton take custody of the patient, and if he shows signs of not being able to survive, to use his research to help them extract the knowledge they need.  If the body dies, they want to sever the head and keep it alive, with Dr. Lawton using his research to translate the brain waves into speech.  Is this possible? 

Lawton is caught in a vise.  Either help the terrorists destroy his nation, or refuse and lose his daughter to murder.  Faced with her death, he agrees to help the terrorists.  But when the FBI find out about his daughter's abduction and come to question him, he establishes a line of communication with them.  Can Lawton keep the patient alive long enough to save his daughter and for the FBI to foil the terrorist attack?

This book is recommended for thriller readers.  The action starts immediately and each chapter rackets up the suspense.  The reader is taken along on a careening journey, unsure how it will all work out.  The author is a surgeon himself, so the medical terms and procedures are correct and logical.  Readers won't be disappointed if they are reading for a thrill--this book packs a powerful punch.

Horns by Joe Hill

A year ago, Ignatius Perrish, Ig, had a perfect life.  His long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Merrin, was moving along well, and they were talking marriage and kids.  He had just landed a job in London and after six months apart, Merrin would be moving there and they would live a successful life.  He has great friends who are becoming successful in their chosen fields, and a supportive loving family.  What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, everything.  After a stupid bar fight, Ig leaves Merrin and drives off drunk to sleep it off.  He heads for the airport, only to be arrested in line, discovering that Merrin has been raped and violently killed.  While there isn't enough evidence to take him to trial, he remains a 'person of interest'.   Everyone in town is sure he committed the murder and he is shunned and reviled daily.

On the day after the anniversary of Merrin's death, Ig wakes up to find something has occurred.  Something else horrible.  During the night, he has sprouted horns; yes, horns.  As he tries to make sense of this, he comes to realise that the horns give him the ability to read people's secret thoughts, and their most despicable desires.  Shocked by what lies in the heart of everyone he meets, it still gives him the ability to solve the mystery of what really happened that night it all went wrong.

This book is recommended for readers who love thrillers and horror.  Once started, it is almost impossible to put this one down.  The reader is drawn along, repulsed by what Ig discovers but unable to stop reading about his journey.  The ending is cathartic and by then the reader is totally engrossed in Ig's story.  Hill intersperses horror with interesting backstory, taking the reader back through Ig and Merrin's childhood and teen years, building the suspense of watching these perfect lives fall apart.  This is Hill's second novel and readers will be ready for his third.

British Babes Book Brigade-Interesting Book Site!

Check out this new opportunity!  Sourcebooks is launching a Facebook Fan Page: The British Babes Book Brigade—giving you an all access pass to connect with the most beloved British female authors, who are now published by Sourcebooks!
To celebrate the launch of the Facebook page, they are offering a number of British Babe eBooks for only .99 Cents from March 22-March 28. Here’s a link to our eBook Specials page, and where you can also sign up for a newsletter that let’s you know about our eBook deals on a regular basis: http://www.sourcebooks.com/readers/browse-our-lists/ebook-specials

Books on sale include:

· The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
· The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick
· Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
· Amelia O’Donohue Is So Not a Virgin by Helen FitzGerald
· Miranda’s Big Mistake by Jill Mansell
· Dating Mr. December by Phillipa Ashley
· Willoughby’s Return by Jane Odiwe
· The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview
· Mr. Darcy Vampyre by Amanda Grange
· Beautiful People by Wendy Holden
All week, we’ll have great giveaways and the authors will be stopping by to chat with everyone as well. Don’t forget to check out the Discussion Boards! And as things continue to build, we will add more regular features, as well as opportunities for more great prizes J We’re looking forward to bringing you closer to our Fabulous British authors.

Deed So by Katharine Russell

Haddie Bashford has lived her whole life in the Tidewater region of Maryland.  Now in the 1960's as Haddie becomes a teenager, everything seems to be changing along with her change from a child to a young woman.  She has retained the same friends, but she's starting to notice boys, and they are starting to notice her back.  Haddie struggles against the mindset of her small town, and tells everyone she can't wait to grow up and leave.

Big changes are happening in this area of the country.  The young men are leaving town, going to war in a strange place called Vietnam, some never to return and some to return changed forever.  Relations between the races are changing.  The changes cause rifts between neighbors and even members of the same family as each person attempts to deal with the changes and how the town is becoming something new.

In this year, very bad things are changing.  There is a killing, some call murder, some call justified.  Perhaps in retaliation, or perhaps as a result of protesters who are in town to attend the murder trial, there are fires.  At first the fires are not that serious; an old barn, a field.  But soon the arsonist draws blood, and the deaths associated with the fires cause even more tension.  Haddie and her family are drawn into the events as town leaders, and what occurs will insure that nothing will be the same again.

Katherine Russell grew up in the country that is the book's setting, and she gets the descriptions and the feel of the Tidewater exactly right.  Readers who lived in this area or those who lived elsewhere but in this time period will recognize the settings and the events that changed the entire nation.  This book is recommended for readers who are interested in mystery, and who are interested in how a town changes and adapts over the years. 

GIVEAWAY!!!!! ART AND MADNESS BY ANNE ROIPRE

Coming of age in the 1950s, Roiphe, the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants, grew up on Park Avenue and had an adolescence defined by privilege, petticoats, and social rules. At Smith College her classmates wore fraternity pins on their cashmere sweaters and knit argyle socks for their boyfriends during lectures. Young women were expected to give up personal freedom for devotion to home and children. Instead, Roiphe chose Beckett, Proust, Sartre, and Mann as her heroes and sought out the chaos of New York’s White Horse Tavern and West End Bar.


She was unmoored and uncertain, “waiting for a wisp of truth, a feather’s brush of beauty, a moment of insight.” Salvation came in the form of a brilliant playwright whom she married and worked to support, even after he left her alone on their honeymoon and later pawned her family silver, china, and pearls. Her near-religious belief in the power of art induced her to overlook his infidelity and alcoholism, and to dutifully type his manuscripts in place of writing her own.

During an era that idolized its male writers, she became, sometimes with her young child in tow, one of the girls draped across the sofa at parties with George Plimpton, Terry Southern, Doc Humes, Norman Mailer, Peter Matthiessen, and William Styron. In the Hamptons she socialized with Larry Rivers, Jack Gelber and other painters and sculptors. “Moderation for most of us is a most unnatural condition . . . . I preferred to burn out like a brilliant firecracker.” But while she was playing the muse reality beckoned, forcing her to confront the notion that any sacrifice was worth making for art.

Art and Madness recounts the fascinating evolution of a time when art and alcohol and rebellion caused collateral damage and sometimes produced extraordinary work. In clear-sighted, perceptive, and unabashed prose, Roiphe shares with astonishing honesty the tumultuous adventure of self-discovery that finally led to her redemption.


Giveaway Rules.
You MUST, MUST, MUST leave your email address in order to be entered!

1, The giveaway starts Sunday, March 20th and ends Saturday, March 26th, at midnight. Two winners will be chosen by random number.

2. For one chance to win, leave a comment with your email address. Entries without email addresses will not be considered, sorry!

3. For additional chances, link this to your Facebook or Twitter pages and send me the link in your comment.

4. Winner must live in the United States.  No P.O. Boxes, sorry!

Good luck!  I think this will be a fascinating book!

Suck On This Year by Denis Leary

In this book, Dennis Leary, who most people know both as an actor on FX's drama Rescue Me and as a comic, collects his tweets on various subjects and people into a book.  Those who know Leary's work know that this book is not PG-13, but those unfamiliar should be aware that there are sexual situations and strong language.  That being said, as with most of what Leary produces, the reader will walk away entertained.

He got the inspiration from his reactions to various stories in the news.  In the past, he would make a comment about situations at work, and unless he was collecting material for a comedy tour, these comments would be lost.  Leary decided to use the new media, and Twitter in particular, to put these comments out for his audience.  Each page of the book has the story he is reacting to followed by his Tweet.  Many also have images of the people being discussed.

Some of my favorites include, "Lettuce recalled in 23 states" "Experts fear it could affect up to 5 Americans."  "Elena Kagen would become the 3rd Jewish Supreme Court Justice" "May mean nothing to you but it's killing Mel Gibson"  "Study: younger siblings take higher and much more dangerous risks" "I'm praying there's not a Betty Winehouse"

This book is recommended for readers looking for witty comments on current events.  Part of the sale price of each book goes to Leary's charity, The Leary Firefighters Foundation. 

GIVEAWAY!!!! MURDER TAKES THE CAKE BY GAYLE TRENT

A routine cake delivery becomes a culinary nightmare when a small-town baker discovers her first client’s dead body in this irresistible new mystery series.




It’ll take more than a little sugar to convince folks Daphne Martin’s freshly baked spice cake was not to blame for the mysterious death of town gossip Yodel Watson. Getting her new cake decorating business, Daphne’s Delectable Cakes, off the ground is hard enough now that Daphne’s moved back to her southern Virginia hometown, but orders have been even slower since she found Yodel’s body. She soon realizes, however, that just about everybody in town had a reason to poison the cantankerous busybody, from the philandering pet shop owner, to Yodel’s church potluck nemesis, to the Save-A-Buck’s cranky produce manager-turned-bagger. Now, to help prove she’s no confectionary killer, Daphne recruits her old flame, Ben Jacobs, editor of the local newspaper, and quickly stirs up a long-hidden family scandal that just might hold the secret ingredient she needs to solve the case. All she’s got to do is roll up her sleeves and get her hands a little dirty before the real culprit decides that taking sweet revenge on Daphne will be icing on the cake.


Giveaway Rules.


You MUST, MUST, MUST leave your email address in order to be entered!

1, The giveaway starts Sunday, March 13th and ends Saturday, March 19th, at midnight. One winner will be chosen by random number.

2. For one chance to win, leave a comment with your email address. Entries without email addresses will not be considered, sorry!

3. For additional chances, link this to your Facebook or Twitter pages and send me the link in your comment.

4. Winner must live in the United States or Canada. No P.O. Boxes, sorry!

Good luck! This should be a great book!

You Don't Love This Man by Dan DeWeese

You Don't Love This Man follows Paul on the day of his daughter's wedding.  His daughter is marrying Paul's former best friend, Grant, and the engagement was the reason the two men are no longer friends.  Paul is a bank manager, and as the day progresses, he looks back over his life trying to decide if his relationships and his career choices have been the correct ones.

Many of Paul's relationships seem tentative, or muddied by emotions that he can't decipher.  Paul is divorced from Sandra.  Theirs was not a marriage that dissolved in passion and anger; it just died from boredom and familiarity.  He loves his daughter, Miranda, but she is incomprehensible to him; he has no map that tells him why she does the things she does, or what she might do next.  He worries that this marriage, to a man his own age so obviously old enough to be her father, is a bad life choice, and is frustrated that he doesn't seem to have any input into her decision.

There are other characters.  Grant, the groom, is a confident wealthy man who has always acted as a mentor to Paul, although they are peers.  He met Grant the day he was robbed and beaten by a bank robber.  Grant was dating Paul's ex-girlfriend, Gina, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.  Paul had just started dating Sandra and the couples were close for a while.  Grant remained a part of Paul and Sandra's circle over the years, and Miranda ended up as an adult working for Gina.

You Don't Love This Man is recommended for readers interested in a book that makes one consider their life choices and the consequences that flow from each decision.  It also brings up the concept that what happens to us, good or bad, affects our lives for many years in both good and bad ways; the connection to events that becomes more and more clear as one ages.  DeWeese has given the reader an entrance into Paul's thoughts, hopes and desires in a way that books rarely do.

Two American Boys by Michael Bauer

Two American Boys is a memoir of growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950's and 1960's.  Mike and Rick were best friends.  They spent their days playing in the fields and water of the area, playing baseball, learning to shoot guns, and learning about nature, both the animals of the region and the girls around them who were turning into women.  They went to school but it was never a major focus for them, just another duty children had to survive.  Their loyalty was to each other, their families, and the area they were growing up in.

As the boys grew up and were ready for high school, Rick was moved to California by his mother.  She was a single mother and needed to move where the jobs were.  As is common, they kept in touch for a while, then contact dwindled. 

As Mike finished school, he continued to love baseball and had some athletic accomplishments playing it.  As was common with boys in the '70's, he was drafted into the Army as Vietnam was heating up and the Army needed more men than were volunteering.  After basic training, Mike was sent to Korea.  While there, he learned that Rick was in Vietnam and he had a bad feeling about Rick not coming home.

After the service, Mike went to work for the post office.  He became a father himself, and went through several marriages.  For years, he attempted to find Rick, though the Internet and other methods but was unsuccessful.  Finally, after years of trying, he found his childhood friend and was reunited with him.

Readers who grew up in the 1950's and 60's will find this book interesting.  Bauer has a real ability to remember the details of a childhood of that era.  Readers will find themselves nodding their heads in agreement as he relates how life was for most Americans in that time.  He grew up loving family, sports and country, and the book reflects that.  This book is recommended for readers who are nostalgic for their own childhoods, and for those who had a best friend who they lost and then refound.

Staying At Daisy's by Jill Mansell

Daisy, after a failed marriage, finds herself back at home.  Home, in this case, is her father's hotel, and Daisy is managing it.  Managing a hotel is easy; managing relationships are not.  She thought her marriage to Steven was a dream come true, but his infidelity put an end to their love.  Before they divorced, Steven was killed in a car accident.  Now Daisy isn't sure she can trust any man, although there are several around.  Dev is a famous national sports star, and he seems interested, or is he?  Josh is a former boyfriend who has popped back up and into her life.

As tough as love is for Daisy, she is not alone.  There is Barney, who comes to the hotel to thank Daisy for donating her husband's kidney to him and finds exactly what he has been looking for his whole life.  The problem is that what he has found is the woman who was involved with Steven.  Then there is Tara, Daisy's best friend, who can't seem to catch a break with men, and always gets taken for granted.  Even Daisy's father has a mystery love affair that may or may not work out.

Reading a Jill Mansell book is like settling on the back porch with a glass of ice tea, while the flowers bloom and the wind whispers.  Her characters are recognizable, and written with charm and wit.  Humor and a refusal to let life defeat them is a mainstay, and this is a wonderful change from the tragic books that abound in the marketplace.  Readers will laugh out loud, and cheer for the characters who manage to resolve their life issues.  This book is recommended for readers ready for a light-hearted book that carries a powerful message.

Redemption by Laurel Dewey

Jane Perry has left the Denver police department.  Battered by the successful murder investigation she has completed, but still tormented by her personal demons, she has started her own private investigation agency.  After having a drug sting go wrong and her work co-opted by the FBI, she is at loose ends when Kit Clark approaches her.

Kit's granddaughter was kidnapped and murdered fourteen years ago.  The man who committed the crime was convicted but has been released due to questionable evidence and the personal sponsorship of a fundamentalist leader who vouches for him.  Kit knows that the man, Lou Peters, was guilty, and is determined to get him back in jail.  Now there is a new reason to worry; another girl from Peters's town is missing.

Fourteen years ago, Peters waited fourteen days while he raped and tortured his victim before killing her.  This victim is twelve, so Kit and Jane believe there are twelve days for them to find her before she is killed.  Can an avenging grandmother and a fledgling private investigator without her police force resources find the girl before time runs out?

Laurel Dewey has created a memorable protagonist in Jane Perry.  Haunted by her upbringing by an alcoholic, abusive father, she trusts no one.  She is fighting her own alcohol issues and trying to find peace in her personal life.  The book is full of other characters such as the fundamentalist, Jane's brother, a TV talking head whose mannerisms are instantly recognizable, and Jane's former boss who refuses to give up on her.  This is the second book in Dewey's series about Jane Perry.  Her first in the series, Protector, is available for Kindle and Nook free through March 11th, 2011.  This book is recommended for mystery readers and those interested in strong female characters.

Triumph Of The City by Edward Glaeser

Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard University.  One of his areas of expertise and concentration has been the study of cities and their economic impact in various areas.

In America more than two thirds of us live on the 3% of land that makes up our cities.  People in emerging nations are rushing to the cities from the rural life they have known.  What is the draw?  Glaeser makes the point that no matter what else a city does, its most important feature is the ability to concentrate people in a way that tends to lead to innovation and intellectual capital.  Cities are breeding grounds for new technologies, new ideas, new synergies.  The human capital provides growth material, while enriching the lives of those working there.

Along the way, Glaeser shows alternate ways of looking at things that many have taken for granted.  Urban poverty is a real problem, but Glaeser also sees it as an opportunity.  Poor people flock to cities because they provide more opportunity than their rural backgrounds ever could.  The problem is not the number of poverty-stricken neighborhoods, but how a city works to provide services to those areas so the residents can take advantage of opportunities.

Rather than viewing cities as cesspools of pollution, Glaeser shows statistics that prove that cities are actually much less environmentally harmful than the suburbs.  City residents live in smaller areas which take less energy to heat and light.  They often do not have cars.  Decisions to restrict building in cities, as is common with the building boards and restoration committee recommendations, actually leads to more harm to the environment overall.  If growth doesn't occur in the optimum places, it will occur in less optimum ones.

He also believes that the push to keep buildings smaller has negative impacts that the proponents don't consider.  Their emphasis is to prevent tall buildings that make the residents remote from their neighborhoods, and that block light from existing buildings.  Again, Glaeser emphasizes that growth will occur.  If enough housing is not available in the city, housing and eventually jobs will move elsewhere.  He sees this as a factor in several declining cities.  Also, some cities have done great PR jobs that leads one to consider them overbuilt when statistically, this has proved not to be true.  For example, the cities of California have many fewer residents per acre than a city such as Houston or Atlanta where construction is encouraged.  Glaeser believes this building restriction is short-sighted and leads to unintended consequences.

This book is recommended to readers interested in how cities work and what can be done to improve them.  Glaeser surveys the history of cities, identifies what works and what doesn't and why some cities thrive while others dwindle.  His emphasis is always on the human capital that makes cities viable, and insists that even in the era of high technology, high touch is even more important.  This is a fascinating look at a subject that needs to be studied.  The writing is engaging and the reader will understand this vital subject much better after reading Glaeser's work.

Born Under A Lucky Moon by Dana Precious

Lock the door and turn off the phone.  Once you start reading about the Thompson family, you won't be doing anything else until you find out how this story ends.

The Thompsons live in Michigan.  They are the kind of big, sprawling family that things just seem to happen to.  With five kids, there's always some drama.  Evan is the only son.  A ship captain, he also has his own TV show and is the voice of reason.  Elizabeth is the ultra-organized, ever so chic oldest daughter.  Sammie is the vagabond artist.  Lucy, rebelling against everything, runs off and joins the army.  Jeannie, the youngest, grows up with her role firmly fixed.  She is the mediator, the fixer, the one who soothes the rough spots.  It's no wonder that she ends up as a marketing executive on major Hollywood films.  Who else can handle the thousand and one crises that are a part of every movie?

But there's something now that Jeannie can't fix.  Aidan is a successful Hollywood producer whose only ambition left is to marry Jeannie and settle down.  But Jeannie can't commit.  There's always some crisis to fix, some problem only she can solve.  Will she learn too late that you can't live your life always putting everyone else first?

Readers will laugh out loud at this family and love them and their foibles.  The writing is witty and fresh, and the characters remind you of your best friend from high school.  This book is recommended for readers who are looking for a way to make sense of their lives and not let life's misfortunes stand in their way.  This is Dana Precious' first novel, and readers will be anxiously awaiting her next. 

Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

William John Stone, Baron Ravenscliff, the wealthy English industrialist, has died.  Not unusual for a man of his age, but his death was not of old age or disease.  Instead, he fell to his death from his office window; a second floor room.  When his will is read, he leaves everything to his wife, Elizabeth, with two exceptions.  He leaves a legacy to a French woman no one has heard him speak of, and he leaves a legacy to a child he apparently fathered that no one knew about.

Since the will cannot be settled until these two legacies are distributed, Lady Elizabeth engages the services of a newspaper journalist, to investigate and find the two recipients.  Matthew Braddock, a young reporter with nothing to recommend him except his ingenuity and quick intelligence is her pick.

As Matthew delves into Stone's life, he must learn about the world of finance where Stone was king.  Stone knew little about politics, or the arts, but he knew everything about money and how it could be used to create dynasties and political alliances that bound countries together. 

Braddock is soon involved in a world of complex intrigue.  He learns of Stone's involvement with spies, about beautiful women and betrayals, of backgrounds full of secrets, of amazing kindnesses and casual cruelties.  The plot twists and turns back onto itself, making connections that the reader doesn't see coming.  At the end, a twist that will remain in readers' minds long after the book is completed, hits them like a runaway train.

This book is recommended for mystery readers who like complex plots and a slow unfolding.  It is not incredibly violent, but requires the full attention of the reader.  Pears has created memorable characters whose layers are slowly revealed until the astonishing denouement. 

The Big Show Stopper by Ken Dalton

This is the second Pinky and Bear mystery in Ken Dalton's series.  Pinky is J. Pincus Delmont, the best criminal lawyer (he is quick to tell you) in Carson City, Nevada.  Pinky gets results but doesn't mind pushing the morality envelope to do so.  Bear is Bear Zabarte, a street-wise guy who came from a Basque sheep-herding family and now makes a living doing this and that.  The that at the moment is working as an investigator for Pinky  Bear is accompanied everywhere by his girlfriend Flo, who would be welcomed as a regular on Jersey Shore.  A high-maintenance woman with a great body and demands piled high, she makes sure Bear toes the line and also that he gets his due from Pinky.

Bear and Flo head for a concert, Bear's birthday present to Flo, to hear her favorite singer Brady Blackstone.  Jack Spurlock, Flo's hairdresser's son, has come up with great tickets and a backstage pass.  Ready for a fun night, instead they and a screaming audience of fans are shocked when an accident on stage results in Brady's death.  The police soon determine that it is no accident, and arrest Jack, who was in charge of making sure all the equipment worked.

Pinky and Bear spring into action.  Pinky is contacted by the grieving widow, who isn't grieving at all, and who is having an affair with Jack.  She offers Pinky a big fee if he can get Jack released from jail.  Pinky puts Bear on the case, and he takes Flo with him.  There are lots of quirky characters; a Vietnam vet who is homeless, various characters in the real estate business, Pinky's ex-wife, Willow, who is the prosecutor, a cute blonde who seems to be after Bear, and a policeman who has vowed to put Bear in jail.  Can this pair discover what caused Brady's death and free Jack before the fee time limit runs out?

This book is recommended for mystery readers who like breezy, witty mysteries.  The characters are believable and the mystery unravels slowly enough to be satisfying.  The interplay between the various characters makes the book enjoyable.  Dalton's third mystery in this series comes out soon, and readers who enjoy this one will be anxiously awaiting that one.

The Oracle Of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

In The Oracle Of Stamboul, the reader meets Eleonora Cohen, an eight year old girl whose mind makes her a savant capable of untangling any puzzle, whether mathematical or geopolitical.  Eleonora was born in 1877 in Romania during a day of turmoil in her town, necessitating the use of midwives rather than the doctor.  Her mother dies, leaving her to the care of her father and her stern aunt.

When she is eight, she and her father travel to Stamboul where he plans to sell his glorious carpets.  Before they can return a tragedy occurs and she is left in the care of her father's friend.  While there, she reads and studies, and word of her abilities leak out.  She is summoned to the residence of the Sultan, who asks her opinion of a puzzling foreign incident.  When her advice proves to be the best way out of the dilemma, a firestorm is unleashed.

The Sultan is entranced with this child.  Castle politics run high, with his Grand Vizier and his mother, usually bitter enemies, united in their determination to separate him from this child, whom they see as an intruder.  The papers get wind of the storm and blow it into a typical media occasion, suggesting that the Sultan no longer has his own will but is captured and at the mercy of a child.  Eleonora is buffeted between the various factions that surround her and must now determine the solution to the most important puzzle of all--how to live her life going forward.

Readers are in for a marvelous treat with this book.  It is the genre I love most, historical fiction with a touch of magic realism.  Lukas states that some of his literary influences include Salmon Rushdie, Jose Saramago and Gunther Grass, all authors whose books I devour.  Lukas is a welcome addition to this genre.  This book is recommended to all readers; it's gentle tone countered by the mounting intrigue throughout the book is a wonder. 

GIVEAWAY!!!! COMMITTED BY ELIZABETH GILBERT

At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is.

Giveaway Rules.

You MUST, MUST, MUST leave your email address in order to be entered!


1, The giveaway starts Wednesday, February 2nd and ends Saturday, February 12, at midnight.  One winner will be chosen.
2. The winner will be chosen by random number.

3. For one chance to win, leave a comment with your email address. Entries without email addresses will not be considered, sorry!

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Crossing Borders by Michael Ferris

Michael Ferris grew up wanting only one thing; to learn to play classical guitar.  To fulfill his wish, his family let him leave for Europe when he was seventeen to take lessons from world-class guitarists.  Crossing Borders is Ferris's story of his journeys and the people and cultures he came to know as a young man.

Ferris lived in Austria for several years, usually in a series of student hostels and shared apartments.  He learned to eat new foods and to accept the mores of other cultures.  One of his closest friends was an Egyptian man who was also a student.  Ferris's parents had taken a trip to Egypt, and he was as fascinated with that land as they were.

His friend invited him to Egypt to visit for several weeks.  His story of waking up to see the pyramids in the distance, and his encounters with aggressive street hawkers was quite interesting.  He learned to speak Arabic quite well, but was shocked when this garnered him extra security entering the country. 

Other places Ferris spent time included Morocco, where he and his bride spent their honeymoon and southern Italy where they lived for a time.  In each location, he learned to appreciate the culture and rules of the people living there, and to enjoy their food and music.

This book is recommended for those who love to travel and for those who are armchair travelers.  Ferris's appreciation for the various cultures he encounters are interesting and informative and the reader will close the book with a better understanding of those living in other lands.