Faceless Killers (Wallander Mystery)

By Henning Mankell

Kurt Wallander, a Swedish detective, is called out to a small farmhouse.  There he finds an elderly couple, the husband beaten to death, and the wife left to die with a noose around her neck.  Before she dies, the wife says the word "foreign" over &over again. Why would anyone want to kill these old people in such a brutal way?  Were foreign refugees really to blame for all this violence?

Can't say I loved or hated this book.  The main story was good, but something was lost in the translation.  Why I needed to know that Wallander had roaring diarrhea after every lunch still baffles me...

Mrs. Pollifax Pursued

By Dorothy Gilman

Mrs. Pollifax discovers Kadi Hopkirk, a young girl who has been hiding in her hall closet. After hearing a weird story of Kadi running from kidnappers, and seeing a suspicious white van driving up & down the street for hours, Mrs. Pollifax jumps to the rescue. A phone call helicopter ride later, Mrs. Pollifax and Kadi go undercover at a circus until they can figure what's going on.

I like series that you can jump in the middle of and not be completely confused.  Good thing this storyline is good, because I had no idea this was number eleven.

Thyme of Death (China Bayles Mystery)

By Susan Wittig Albert

China Bayles, a former lawyer, now owns the Thyme and Seasons Herb Shop in Pecan Springs, Texas. She's trying to escape the tension and headaches of her old job, but stress comes in different forms. Now, her good friend Jo has killed herself.  When another death happens, China starts to think the maybe someone killed Jo as well. She's smart around people, and knows her way around the law, so this is the first mystery heroine in a while that didn't stumble around until she figured out whodunit.

The Lottery and Other Stories

By Shirley Jackson

Originally written in 1948, The Lottery is a perfect example of post WWII paranoia.  No one trusts anyone, nor should they, as a town is gathered for their annual lottery.

The title story is terrific. The more I read of the rest of the stories, the more bored and/or disgusted I became.  I stopped reading about halfway through, so who knows what else I missed, but I was tired of wasting my time.

Death Comes To Pemberley

By P.D. James

Six years after their wedding, Elizabeth and Darcy are preparing for their annual ball at Pemberley.  The night before, Elizabeth's sister Lydia arrives unannounced and hysterical, screaming that her husband Wickham has been killed in the woods. Although Wickham is found alive, he is weeping over the body of his best friend, who is lying dead. The entire household at Pemberley is upended and confused by the murder.

Much better book than I expected.  I enjoyed seeing everyone six years ahead -- Elizabeth & Darcy, Jane & Bingley, Georgiana, and even Lydia & Wickham. I'm sure a lot of P&P snobs will think this book is unnecessary, but I liked how James handled the characters.

Every Day

By David Leviathan

"A" wakes up in a different body every day.  Always has, and probably always will.  Then he wakes up in the body of Justin, and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.  After that, A brings nothing but problems for himself and others trying to see Rhiannon over and over, no matter what body A happens to inhabit.  Trouble ensues when one of the "bodies" claims on the internet to have been possessed by a devil.

Either I have finally grown out of teen-angst romance, or this was way too politically correct for me.  For me, the whole one-day-I'm-homosexual, one-day-I'm-a-druggie, blah blah blah, was silly.  The author tried too hard.  If he would have stuck more to the main storyline, it wouldn't have felt so forced.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

By Ransom Riggs

Sixteen year old Jacob adores his grandfather, but long ago stopped believing the "fairy tales" about his grandfather's childhood during World War Two.  When his grandfather is brutally attacked, he tells Jacob to travel to "the island", where he will be safe.  Jacob convinces his father to travel with him to his grandfather's small Welsh island to find the Home For Peculiar Children.

I was hoping this would be more of a thriller than science fiction.  I liked the old photographs that the story was wrapped around, and thought they were sufficiently creepy to amp up the storyline.  Overall, I wanted a more serious, scary story.

You've Got Murder

By Donna Andrews

Turing Hopper, an artificially intelligent computer program, notices that her workaholic designer, Zack, is missing.  She checks everywhere for his electronic footprint, with no luck, then decides to enlist the help of two human friends to do some actual legwork.  It seems Zack is nowhere to be found, and some other apparently dangerous people are looking for Zack too.

I liked this far more than I thought I would, mostly because I liked Turing.  I imagine her as the "good" AI character, as opposed to the typical "evil" AI trying to destroy humankind.  Turing liked people, and wanted to be more like them.  Slightly more serious than Andrew's previous books but still fun.

Withering Heights

By Dorothy Cannell

Ellie and Ben Haskell travel to Yorkshire to return Ben's runaway 13 year old niece, Ariel.  Ariel begs them to investigate what is really behind all the strange accidents at their newly purchased gothic manor.  Ariel's stepmother, Betty, is convinced that the manor is haunted by the missing husband of the previous owner.  Meanwhile, Ellie's oddball housekeeper, Mrs. Mallory, tags along to reunite with her long lost sister, who also lives in Yorkshire.  And if that isn't enough, Ben's old childhood friend appears and obviously wants to be more than friends.  Ellie just wants to quickly solve the mystery and get her husband home.

This is a cute series, but as is apparent from the above synopsis, there's a little too much going on.  I like the silly characters, and everything seems to fit together towards the end, but it's rough going keeping up with all the characters & plot lines.

The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes

By Diane Chamberlain

In 1977, the governor's wife, pregnant Genevieve Russell, was kidnapped and then disappeared.  Twenty years later, her body is discovered, and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder.  However, her unborn child is not with Russell's remains.  What happened to her baby?

Cee Cee Wilkes knows what happened that night, because she was there, and she knows Gleason is innocent of murder.  Will she tell the truth & destroy her family, or allow Gleason to die?

Because of the initial storyline, I thought this would be a great book.  Boy, was I wrong!  There isn't a single main character that makes an intelligent decision.  For example, I know Cee Cee was a young teen when the kidnapping happened, but she was smart enough to take care of herself despite being in foster homes.  But from then on out she just gets stupider & stupider (if that is a real word).  You would think being in foster care would make her a little more cautious. Plus, she lies and messes over everyone she cares about... she really needed massive amounts of therapy.

The Sinister Pig

By Tony Hillerman

Sergeant Jim Chee can't help but be curious about the nameless corpse that was discovered by an Apache oil field.  The FBI has taken over the case, and declared it a hunting accident, but Chee thinks it is murder.  At the same time, retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is called on to investigate whether Washington politicians are stealing from the Navajo nation.  Chee and Leaphorn's trails lead them to help their friend, former policewoman Bernadette Manuelito, who is nervous about some happenings with her new job as a Border Patrol agent.

I like Bernadette the best of Chee's love interests.  Here's a girl who is smart, tough, and proud of her Native American heritage... finally someone who is a good match for Chee!  This is the last of the series that I needed to read, and I'm glad that I ended with characters that were great for each other.

A is For Alibi

By Sue Grafton

Former cop turned private investigator Kinsey Millhone promises newly paroled Nikki Fife to investigate the murder of Nikki's husband.  Nikki was convicted of his murder and served her jail time, but now wants Kinsey to reopen the case.  Then another corpse shows up, and Kinsey is left with too many other suspects and not enough clues.

I thought I would like this book more than I did, considering Grafton has made it through most of the alphabet with Kinsey.  But Millhone is so clueless, and stumbles from place to place without processing anything.  Maybe she gets smarter in later stories, but I'll never know... I refuse to read another one.

Engaged to Die

By Carolyn Hart

On the night of Virginia and Jake's engagement party, Jake goes missing and is later found murdered.  Bookstore owner Annie Darling is drawn into the investigation, since her clerk is also in love with the victim.  But while she's trying to solve the murder, a stalker is watching her every move.

Blech. Maybe it's due to an overload of mysteries, but this book was horribly stupid.  'Nuff said.

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel

By Anthony Horowitz

Fine art dealer Edward Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, claiming that a man has followed him back from America and wants to kill him.  Holmes tracks the stranger, who is then found dead.  Unfortunately, this leads to more questions and dangers for Holmes.

This story has updated language, and makes Holmes seem a bit less robotic, which true Sherlock fans will hate.  I have always had trouble finishing the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, so it was just fine by me... I didn't get lost in the verbiage.  It still has all the constant plot twists that make a Holmes book entertaining.

The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story

By Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps is a young lawyer sent to Crythin Gifford to settle the estate of recently deceased Alice Drablow.  No one will talk about her or her house, Eel House, but Kipps knows that something is horribly wrong.  His routine business trip turns into a nightmare, as Kipps is haunted by a child's cry, strange noises in the fog, and a mysterious woman in black.

Although this story was written in the 1980's, the style is more like a Sherlock Holmes novel.  It lent a nice historical touch, although some may think it's hard to follow.  I knew what was coming at the end, and kept hoping I was wrong.  Then I was disappointed that the author skimped on the details, leaving tension and feeling out when I wanted it the most.

The Real Macaw

By Donna Andrews

The Lanslows are now the proud parents of twins, but still can't keep her family from invading every minute of their lives.  Now Meg's grandfather has "rescued" the animals from the local shelter, and of course has no where to keep them except for Meg and Michael's house.  And of course the man who was supposed to find homes and shelter for the animals is found murdered.  But this time Meg is trying her hardest to stay away from sleuthing, even though everyone assumes she will be her nosy self.  She wants to worry about her twin boys, not a murderer.

I keep saying that I'm done with this series, mostly because I want to throttle Meg's family.  With her parents living on a farm close by, why do they always pick on Meg? So freaking what if her mother doesn't like a mess, they all need to leave the Lanslows alone already, especially now that they have twins. And it's not just her family... Meg now has a foster child when his mother is stationed overseas.  For such a strong person, she is a real doormat.

The Shape Shifter

By Tony Hillerman

Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn is newly retired, and still not ready to give up cases.  An old friend asks for his help finding out about a cursed Navajo story rug supposedly destroyed but recently photographed in a magazine.  The friend disappears shortly afterward, which adds to Leaphorn's curiosity.

This story was pretty convoluted... lots of back and forth, which made it hard to follow.  However, the ending was harder to predict than a usual Hillerman book, which was a pleasant surprise.

Bookmarked For Death

By Lorna Barrett

Tricia Miles, owner of Haven't Got A Clue bookstore, invites local author Zoe Carter for a book signing.  Unfortunately, Zoe is murdered in the store's restroom, and there are plenty of suspects that detested the author.  The sheriff shuts down the bookstore just to spite Tricia, so she feels obligated to narrow the suspects and save her store.

I should have enjoyed this book... I love bookstores and mysteries.  Too bad I don't love whiny, bipolar characters.  Tricia is always losing her appetite, forgetting to eat, and hates sweets... sounds like borderline anorexia.  Her sister, who happens to own a cookbook store next door, is either trying to pick a fight or carping about how she wishes she was a size 8 like Tricia.  (If I have to stop eating to be thinner, it ain't gonna happen.)  Tricia's reporter-boyfriend is no better, since he uses their "dates" to pump Tricia for exclusive information, then gets defensive when she's upset and leaves.  This whine-fest got old quickly.

Talking God

By Tony Hillerman

While Joe Leaphorn tries to identify a body found murdered in the desert, Jim Chee is arresting an attention hound for desecrating whites' graves.  The man, Henry Hightower, is a Smithsonian curator who wants thousands of Native American bones returned to their tribes.  Somehow, the dead man and Hightower are connected, and Leaphorn and Chee attack the case from their own angles to solve the crimes.

Hightower claimed to have a Navajo grandmother, yet he secretly recorded chants and didn't even know how to dress like a "regular Indian", preferring to copy the Hollywood version.  He also never needed to prove his heritage, which was strange, especially since he was blond.  I never believed the altruistic side of Hightower, which made the story unbelievable. Plus, they threw in this weird story arc about Chilean leftists that was only partially explained.  But I always like when Leaphorn & Chee are working together. Not Hillerman's best, but good.

Shutter Island

By Dennis Lehane

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, along with his new partner, Chuck Aule, are sent to a mental institution on Shutter Island to investigate how patient managed to disappear.  Surrounded by water, guards, and barbed wire, Rachel Solando escaped from her locked cell.  Along the way, Teddy stumbles upon hints of experimental surgeries, and the supposed killer of Teddy's wife.

No spoilers here, but this is one of my favorite movies, and now one of my favorite books.  Despite knowing what was going to happen, I couldn't stop reading this book.  The movie ending is actually sadder than the book's ending, but I loved how the emotions played out.  Man, this is a good story.