DEALBREAKER

Myron Bolitar's hot new recruit has graduated college and now is headed for the pro's. The shining star has a problem, though. His girlfriend disappeared 18 months ago and now, he has gotten a picture of her in a magazine and disturbing phone calls. If Myron doesn't get things straightened out soon, Christian's chances in the NFL, not to mention product endorsements, will be lost. Christian's girlfriend was Myron's ex-girlfriend's sister, so Myron has plenty of interest in solving the mystery of her disappearance. Nothing is as simple as it seems and every clue leads to more and more questions.

This Harlan Coben novel was the first in the Myron Bolitar series. Although sometimes the secondary characters are a little confusing, for the most part this was a very good book. Myron is funny and good-hearted. His friends, Win and Esperanza, are a good compliment to Myron's basic good guy nature. The relationship between Myron is complex and intriguing. I honestly had no clue to the outcome until the very end. I am definitely a Myron Bolitar fan!

Rating - 5 stars

SWEET POTATO QUEEN'S FIRST BIG ASS NOVEL

The Sweet Potato Queens were always queens, although, they did recognize that they were special very early in life. Jill, Patsy, Tammy, Mary Bennett and Gerald were the best of friends in high school. One fateful Homecoming Parade, they decided that it was time to show the elite and snooty crowd in their high school a thing or two. Little did they expect that their float featuring the Sweet Potato Queens would attract so much attention. Once a queen, always a queen, so even when the friends part ways after graduation, they still look after one another through triumphs and tragedies, true love and heartbreaks. Only in true Sweet Potato Queen style can booze, comfort food and true friendship conquer any challenge life can bring.

Jill Connor Browne's Sweet Potato Queen books are always hysterical fun and this "novel" was no exception. Jill explains how the famous "promise" got its start and why every SP Queen is named Tammy. As usual, the book is filled with bawdy good humor and light-hearted fun. Every girl dreams of being a Queen and surrounded with friends who will stick with her through thick and thin. This was a quick, fun read.

Rating - 4 stars

THE FINAL DETAIL

Myron needed to get away from it all, so he ran off to the Carribbean with a woman he hardly knew and spent weeks soaking up the sun on a deserted island. His time on the island is cut short when he learns that his partner, Esperanza, is being charged with the murder of one of his oldest clients, Clu Haid. Clu was a fraternity brother, who has spent most of his life boozing and chasing women but his life finally seems to have been coming together. Myron is certain that Esperanza didn't do it, but she's not telling him anything and so Myron has to put the pieces together for himself. Myron's search for the truth isn't easy and some of the things he learns about his partner, his clients, and other people he thought he knew aren't easy to deal with. Most of all, Myron has to take a look at himself and all that he was running away from.

As usual, Harlan Coben's books are filled with great twists and turns, wisecracking humor and thought-provoking situations. I think Myron is the greatest - you can't help but love him for his kind heart and his goofy sense of humor. As usual, his other buddies, Win, Esperanza and Big Cindi add color and humor. This book kept me guessing until the end and still, I didn't have a clue who had committed the murder or why. Mostly, I just keep reading and can't let go because the plot keeps me tied in until the surprise finish, tying all the loose ends together.

Rating - 4.5 stars

DREAMING IN BLACK AND WHITE

Phoebe Grant thinks that her days of writing ads and obituaries are finally over. Her dream job, a movie critic for a Cleveland newspaper, seems to finally be hers. Life isn't always the cozy movies that Phoebe loves and instead of the perfect new job - she finds that she doesn't have a job at all. Worse, her mother has fallen and broken both arms and needs Phoebe to come back to her small hometown in northern California. Phoebe has never been really close to her mom and she's left her small town days far behind. Still, Phoebe believes that God has a plan for us all and so this single girl heads home, hoping something will work out. Imagine her surprise when home has some great things to offer and maybe even Filmguy, someone she met online reappears in her life.

This is a debut novel for Laura Walker Jensen. Her characters were fun and very human. I guess this could be called Christian chick-lit but it was well-written and enjoyable. Phoebe was fun and amusing but still sometimes quick-tempered and judgemental. No preaching in this novel, just gentle reminders to live a Christian life. Maybe a few too many movie references for a non-movie buff like me, but I would probably read a follow-up novel.

Rating - 3 stars

ONE FALSE MOVE

Myron Bolitar has an unusual assignment. He has been asked to insure the safety of the star of a new women's basketball league. If he's lucky, she may decide to let him be her agent. Myron soon learns that watching over Brenda Slaughter isn't an easy task. She's beautiful, talented and smart, but her past is complicated. Her mother disappeared when she was five. There are some very dangerous people who seem to be hiding secrets about Brenda's family. Myron is determined to help Brenda in any way he can, even if he has to make some powerful people angry.

I am catching up on Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series. It is fun to see how the characters evolve into the place they are in his latest novels. This book was full of Myron's wisecracks and the help from his complex friend, Win. The book was a quick read, full of action and twists and turns. I truly didn't figure out who the killer was until the very end. Some of the bad guys were just a little flat, no dimension or surprises but overall, the book was good. I have to say, though, that I enjoyed his latest Myron Bolitar, PROMISE ME, even more than this one. I love it when an author gets better and better.

Rating - 4 stars

HOME TO HOLLY SPRINGS

Fr. Tim hasn't been home to Holly Springs, Mississippi for over 35 years but he has received an anonymous summons to come home. Tim has his doubt but he feels compelled to go. To his surprise, you really can go home. He soon finds the answers to many questions. What has become of his childhood home, Whitefield? What caused the bitterness and depression that plagued his father for years, making it so hard for him to show love? What happened to Tim's beloved Peggy? What began as a simple trip home ends with so many life-changing ramifications, all told in Jan Karon's wonderful way.

I had devoured all of the Mitford books but I was in no hurry to read this one. I couldn't imagine what Jan Karon would write at the end of the Mitford series. To my surprise, this book was an absolute delight. When you finish a Jan Karon book, it's always hard to describe the action in the plot and yet, so much happens in this quiet real-life way. As usual, the characters of the book are people you would love to have for your own friends. I hear that the next Fr. Tim book will be about his trip to Ireland. I can hardly wait for that one. Jan Karon has made sure that Fr. Tim's life in retirement will be full and rich.

Rating - 5 stars

STOP WHINING, START LIVING

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is known for telling it like it is to her radio audiences. Her responses are no-nonsense, predictable and leave no room for self-pity. In this book, Dr. Laura advocates giving up the excuses and whining and start living a useful and productive life. Whether it be your marriage or the things that your family did to you in the past, her advice is to suck it up and make the best of it. She admits that she wants to be the "kick in the pants" that we sometimes all need.

I have enjoyed some of Dr. Laura's other books but this one was very predictable. Still, we all have a tendency to think that our life is hard and that no one quite understands how tough we have it. Dr. Laura, in her simplistic way, reminds us that we have choices about how we handle our situations and how we deal with our emotions. Not a bad reminder, really.

Rating - 3 stars

Ah, You Iowans!

I grew up reading Chuck Offenburger's Iowa Boy columns in the Des Moines Registar. I had kind of forgotten all about him until I saw a recent PBS special. I looked up his writings and found a blog and this book. As always, I was captivated by both Chuck's ability to find the good in everyone and a certain pride and amusement about life in Iowa. These columns were nearly 20 years old but most of them were fun and something that could be written today. Again and again, the Iowa Boy managed to touch my heart. This certainly wouldn't be an entertaining book for everyone but I savored these column, reading just a few at a time and delighting in the characters and down-to-earth human beings that make life so much fun.

Rating - 5 stars

KILLER HEAT

Alexandra Cooper, head of the Manhattan District Attourney's Sex Crimes Unit, doesn't have a minute to savor her hard-fought victory in a 35-year-old rape case because it seems that a new serial killer is on the loose. Alex, along with her cop buddies, Mercer and Mike Chapman, are in the thick of it all as they race to find the killer before he takes another victim. This time, they are exploring some of the abandoned military facilities and islands in the New York City area. Alex's love life seems to be looking up, too, that is if she had time for a love life!

Linda Fairstein is one of my favorite authors and I devour each Alex Cooper novel as soon as it becomes available. I wasn't disappointed this time either! As usual, there is plenty of suspense and just enough details of the main characters' personal lives to keep things interesting. I keep hoping for a romance between Alex and Mike but that is going to have to be in the next book or two because it wasn't here. This book has a great plot but probably has fewer personal details than usual about Alex and her buddies. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though!

Rating - 5 stars

CARROT CAKE MURDER

Hannah is busy helping Lisa and Herb with their huge family reunion. Everyone is thrilled when Uncle Gus shows up after leaving thirty-some years ago without ever contacting any of the famiy again. Unfortunately, Uncle Gus such a great guy after all. When he is found murdered, Hannah agrees to help figure out who committed the murder so that the reunion is spoiled. Hannah, with the help of Norman, soon find that many people had reasons not to be happy to see Gus again. Mike seems to be encouraging Hannah in working on the murder but Hannah isn't sure if she can trust him to share information with her. In the meantime, Hannah is busy whipping up her famous cookies and trying out new recipes.

As usual, Joanna Fluke's mysteries are pure fluff. That's okay, fluff is fun sometimes. This book was a quick, light-hearted read. There is still an ongoing love triangle between Mike and Norman and Hannah. It didn't drive me as crazy in this book as in some of the previous books. Hannah seems to be getting closer to Norman, but that could change in the next book in the series, I'm sure. Overall, this was as good as Joanna Fluke gets!

Rating - 4 stars