BLIND YOUR PONIES

Sam Pickett lost his wife six years ago in a random shooting in a Burger King. Since then, he has been trying to hang on but it seems that mostly, he is just trying to fight off despair. Sam is living in Willow Creek, Montana. He coaches the basketball team that has lost 93 games in a row. He is ready to throw in the towel when two new boys come to town. One is living with his Grandma while his parents go through a divorce. The other is a 6'11" foreign exchange student from Norway who has never touched a basketball in his life. Sam and the boys decide to try for one more season. With only six boys, their chances seem slim, but these are special boys, each with a story of their own, in a small town who desperately needs something to believe in.

This is the first book I have read by Stanley Gordon West and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love basketball stories anyway. This may have been a little too good to be true but it was a great journey. You had to love Sam, Diana, the boys and all of their families and supporters. It was a wonderful reminder that everyone is trying to do the best they can in a world that can be very cruel and most importantly, that we can never give up on life. "As long as she swims, I will cook!"

Rating - A

EDGE

Corte is a shepherd. His job is to protect his "principals" from people who are trying to get information from them. Those trying to get the information always want an "edge" or something to use as leverage to convince those involved to cooperate. Corte has the assignment of protecting a police officer, his wife and her sister plus their daughter. The man trying to get information, Henry Loving, is the best in the business. In fact, he killed Abe, Corte's mentor several years ago. Corte has to keep his principals alive and maybe, get his own revenge on Loving.

I am a huge Jeffrey Deaver fan. Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs and company are some of my favorite characters. I ended up liking Corte lots, too. At first, he came off as cold and distant. As we read on, we realize that he is brilliant (like Lincoln Rhyme!) and very focused on doing his job. Sometimes, it was difficult to keep up with all of the twists and turns, but it certainly stayed interesting. I hope that Deaver brings Corte back again. I especially loved the end of this book.

Rating - A-

SNOW BLIND

Right in the midst of the winter festival in the Twin Cities, during a snowman building contest, two men are found encased in snowmen. They are policemen and Gino and Magozzi need to figure out who is killing police and going to all of the trouble to build snowmen around them. It isn't before they get a call that another snowman with a body inside has been discovered in a small town away from the cities. There are a few complications, including a new female sherrif who is on her first day on the job and a city of women who are in hiding from their abusers. All in all, Gino and Magozzi are going to need all of the help they can get, including the Monkeewrench crew.

This novel featured less of the Monkeewrench group but it was a good mystery. I always enjoy the P.J. Tracy books and I will be looking forward to the next ones. I love her characters. They are kind, compassionate, flawed and human. I love the slow progression of Magozzi and Grace's relationship and how it has grown.

THE FAT MAN

Gumdrop Coal is the elf who has been in charge of the naughty list for years. When he gets fired, he is convinced that Candy Cane is behind it. He just can't stand to see the naughty kids taking advantage of Santa by expecting him to bring them toys even when they have been rotten all year. He decides to bring about his own kind of justice and that only gets him in more trouble!

This book was truly funny. It played on every Christmas legend, story, or song. It was filled with cliches and came off like a hardboiled detective story. All in all, it was quite amusing and a cute read for the holiday season.

Rating - B

MY COUNTRY

This was a great combination of excellent photography and interviews with country music stars. I loved the photos of singers in all different locations. I also loved reading the very short interview questions. The answers were very insightful and humbling. It was a short read but definitely worthwhile for any country music lover.

Rating - A

MORNING SHOW MURDERS

Billy is accused of murdering his old boss. It's true that they didn't always get along and his boss had threatened to cancel Billy's new show, but Billy is innocent. He has to help find the killer before the bad publicity ruins his restaurant and makes him lose his job as chef and entertainer on a national morning show. As Billy tries to investigate, he realizes that there are quite a few people who might have wanted his boss dead. It also seems that his last trip to Afghanistan was deadly, as nearly all of the men who went drinking together there one night are dying off one by one.

This book was written by Al Roker, along with a co-writer. International espionage is not my thing. I get too confused by all of the political actions. This book got confusing in places. There were so many characters that I sometimes got confused when a character returned after a chapter or two. Still, it was pretty amusing and I did want to finish it. Not sure if I'll try the second in the series or not.

Rating - B

TOUGH CUSTOMER

Dodge Hanley gets a call from the woman he never expected to hear from again. She is frantic and wants him to come to Houston to help her and the daughter he doesn't know. His daughter, Barry, claims that a former co-worker broke into her house, shot another colleague and theatened to kill her. Caroline, Barry's mother, is the one woman that Dodge has never forgotten and he isn't sure if he should rush to her side or stay as far away as possible.

I have never read anything by Sandra Brown before but she always gets good reviews. I really enjoyed this book. It had a good plot. I did figure out the twin thing quite awhile before it was revealed and I never figure out who the killer is in most situations. I could have done without some of the romance but overall, this was a good read.

Rating - B+