CHOCOLATE COVERED MURDER

It's been a long, cold winter in Tinker's Cove and to make matters worse for Lucy Stone is that she is on a diet. The town begins to make plans for a celebration to help retailers with the slogan, "Love is better on the coast". Everyone is a little surprised when a new chocolate business beats out Fern's Fudge as the favorite candy in town. When Lucy meets Tamzin, the store manager, she decides that all of the men in town are buying fudge just to see all of the wares Tamzin is displaying. Still, the town can't help but be surprised when an ice fisherman is found dead, wrapped in his fishing line and when Tamzin is found dead, painted with chocolate. As usual, Lucy Stone can't help but investigate!

I haven't read a Leslie Meier book about Lucy Stone for awhile and the last one about the Halloween stuff was just UGLY! I didn't like it at all. Too much witchcraft and Lucy behaved so stupidly. This one was back on track with the every day stuff about Lucy and her family that makes these books so much fun. Now, I'll be waiting for the next one!

Rating - A-

BEST FRIENDS, OCCASIONAL ENEMIES

Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorite authors. I love her series about an all-female law firm. I have enjoyed a couple of her books of essays, too, and this was no exception. Lisa is a single 55-year-old woman who tells what it's like to be a middle-aged woman. Her daughter, Francesca, is 25-years-old, trying to make her life in New York City. I loved the essays written by Francesca. Then there's little Mother Mary in Florida. I think charm of these essays is the humor about every day life that we can all relate to and the loving family relationships that can also make us crazy.

Keep writing, ladies, and I'd love to keep reading.

Rating - A-

WHACK-A-MOLE

John Ceepak's vacation time with his sweet girlfriend, Rita, is disturbed when he and Danny start digging up some evidence of a serial killer who is burying heads along the beach. It all starts when a family discovers an ear displayed in the local museum. The killer seems proud of his work as he leaves detailed maps, taking Danny and Ceepak from one gruesome discovery to another. The question is - will they be able to catch him before he kills again? With too many suspects and too little time, the race is on.

I love Chris Grabenstien's novels. One can't help but want to be a little more like the honorable John Ceepak as you read the stories and one can't help but relate to the less-than-perfect Danny who knows that Ceepak has a Code that is worth following. Once again, this was a really enjoyable book and I'll be eager to read the next in the series.

Rating - A

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DRESS

This is a memoir written by fashion designer, Vicki Tiel. Vicki was a student at Parsons when she rebelled against the conventional system and started designing her own clothes. Along with a friend, she left New York for Paris. Vicki's tales are larger than life. She claims responsibility for the fads of the mini skirt, the hot pants and many others. Vicki was a wild girl of the '60's, experimenting with drugs and men. She finally met a man who was involved in movies and spent years with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, travelling in their entourage through Europe. Her tale continues after her marriage ends and she goes to Florida where she hooks up with a new man. It was all a little bit hard to believe - Vicki obviously believed she was one of the most beautiful women in the world who could have any man she wanted. Still, I found the book hard to put down.

Rating - B-

SUMMER RENTAL

Three high school girlfriends rent a house on the beach for the summer. Each of the girls is bringing some extra baggage. Ellis, the responsible one, has just been fired from her job. She's been divorced for years and is way too careful about her life. Dorie's husband was supposed to come with her. When he doesn't show up, it's not long before the other girls realize all is not well in paradise. Julia is the lovely model but she's feeling that her career is over and she needs to decide what to do about her long time lover, Booker. Things get even more interesting when Dorie rents the 3rd floor to a woman on the run from her husband and the cute guy in the garage apartment starts noticing the girls.

I really like Mary Kay Andrews. As always, her characters are warm and believable. This was probably one of my least favorite of her books. I think it was a case of too many characters and story lines. Also, even though I loved the romance between Ellis and Ty, it seemed a little too neat and tidy as did the solution to Ty's money problems. Still, it was a fun read.

Rating - B+

KILLLING LINCOLN: THE SHOCKING ASSISSINATION THAT SHOCKED A NATION

Bill O'Reilly tells the story of Lincoln's assissination as if he were writing a novel. All of the characters are made to seem real. He does a great job of tying up the details of the war and all of the various characters involved in the assissination plot. O'Reilly helps us see Lincoln as a man who well knew that he was hated by many and that he might be killed. Still, Lincoln took many risks and loved the people and being among the people and his troops. This book was very entertaining and readable. I liked it lots and so did Benjamin.

Rating - A

RED KNIFE

The young men of the reservation have formed a group called the "Red Boyz". Some think that they are re-establishing pride in the tribe. Others worry that they are bringing drugs and gangs to the rez. A young man who is the leader of the Red Boyz is found shot in the back of his head along with his wife. Cork and the sherrif's department are trying to figure out of the murder was done by someone after the Red Boyz or the family of a young girl who was found dead after she became involved in drugs supplied by a member of the Red Boyz. Cork soon finds that his loyalties are called into question and divided as he tries to find the answers to the murders.

I always enjoy William Kent Krueger and Cork O'Connor is one of my favorite characters. He is a genuine person, even though he sometimes makes mistakes, he is very real. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Cork's daughter, Annie, in this book. She is a very interesting and decent person. As always, the book was entertaining and made me think. I'm looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Rating - A

THREE DAY TOWN

Deborah and her husband, Dwight, finally get to take a honeymoon. Yeah, it's just for a week, but they have a chance to go to New York and stay in an apartment there. Deborah and Dwight are excited for the getaway. They have been asked to deliver a package to Sigrid Harald, who is the granddaughter of one of Deborah and Dwight's old friends from home. When the package is stolen during a party in the apartment next door and then dead bodies start turning up, including one in the apartment that Deborah and Dwight are staying in, their honeymoon soon turns into a working vacation.

I have always loved Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott books. I've never gotten around to reading the Sigrid Harald ones. This was a neat tying up the loose ends between the two. It wasn't quite as much fun to have Deborah and Dwight taking a back seat but I did enjoy getting to know a bit about Sigrid. She is certainly a much colder character than Deborah. The descriptions of New York were lots of fun, too.

Rating - A=