COLD WIND

Joe Pickett has never had a great relationship with his mother-in-law, Missy. Still, he can't believe that she would kill her husband, The Earl, and tie his body to a windmill on his wind farm. The local sherrif is a thug and is running for re-election. He seems determined to pin a murder conviction on Missy and suck as much publicity out of the situation as possible. Marybeth begs Pickett to do what he can to investigate the murder and so, Joe begins to do what he does best, ask questions and stumble around until he finds answers.

Joe Pickett is fast becoming one of my favorite protagonists. He is not extremely strong, cool or self-confident. He's a man who loves being outdoors, doing his job and taking care of his family. His relationships are very realistic from his loving relationship with his wife and two of his daughters to the troubled relationship with an adopted daughter and his out-and-out dislike of his mother-in-law who has done everything possible to ruin his marriage. I'll be looking forward to the next book by C.J. Box to see what Joe Pickett is up to next!

Rating - A

SEA BISCUIT

In the 1930's horse racing was incredibly popular and one of the most popular horses of all was Sea Biscuit. Sea Biscuit didn't appear to be the kind of horse who would be able to win races but with the right trainer and the right jockey he broke nearly all the records of the time and became a national favorite.

The book took us through all of the aspects that made Sea Biscuit a winner. His owner, his trainer, his jockey, the race tracks, and details of the sport itself. At times, I found this all pretty tedious but the descriptions of the races were detailed and thrilling. I found myself pulling for Sea Biscuit who most of the time was the underdog. This was an amazing look at the world of horse racing in the Depression Era.

Rating - B

PIONEER WOMAN

A city girl leaves Los Angelos and her boyfriend of four years to come home to Oklahoma for a month or so before moving on to Chicago. Sounds like a good plan, huh? But while she is at home, she meets "Marlboro Man" and her life is changed forever. Even though Ree grew up in Oklahoma, she is a doctor's daughter who lived on the golf course. She really has no idea about life on a ranch. Marlboro Man is about to change that forever. Still, can she really give up the glam of city life for a man who rides horses and works with cattle for a living?

Pioneer Woman is a popular blog. This is the love story about a city girl falling in love with a handsome cowboy. Sometimes, it is a little cheesy because Ree is so ga-ga for Marlboro Man and sometimes, Ree seems pretty immature for someone who has been living in California. She seems to hide from reality. I was also surprised how long she was willing to drift along without a job or a life plan. Still, this was a great love story and it reminded me that love in real life is sometimes very unpredictable and very sweet.

Rating - A

PLAYING THE GAME

Annette Remington was thrilled when a client came to her with a Rembrandt painting his client had inherited from his uncle. The auction was a huge success and now her client has located more artwork that he wants to sell. Annette's husband, 20 years her senior, controlling but her mentor, insists that she do a big interview to get her name out and keep the publicity going. Annette is reluctant but agrees to do one interview with Jack Chalmers, a young journalist who is known for being fair and a great writer. When Annette and Jack work on the interview, everything in Annette's seemingly perfect world begins to crumble. I have read quite a few books by Barbara Taylor Bradford but none recently. I enjoyed this story and learned quite a bit about the art world. As usual, her characters are very interesting and enjoyable. I felt that the ending of this story was quite weak. There was a big build up of the story and it seemed that a confrontation was inevitable. Instead, a main character dies and all is resolved. I found it kind of a let down after a strong storyline up to that point. Rating - B