Fiction Of Choice

Balzo, Sandra. Uncommon Grounds. Five Star Trade, 2005.

Patricia arrived early to set up the coffee machines for the opening day of the shop. When Maggie came later she found the body on the floor in a pool of spilled milk. Who killed Patricia and why? Did her death have anything to do with her lover? Certainly not her husband. But how about the third partner? Maggie found herself investigating so that she would not be suspected. To make it more interesting, the sheriff and the chief of police not only were not working together on the case, they did not like each other. Maggie was caught in the middle since Gary, the chief of police was her friend. The shop opened to crowds of people standing in line for lattes and espressos, specialty flavors and grinds. Commuters came first, then the seniors who stayed and stayed and then later came the tennis moms. One of the seniors complained about the kids making noise late at night. Was that something Maggie should check into or let the police do their job? Her training and experience as a PR person did not prepare her for the excitement of being a shop owner/investigator.

Brown, Carolyn. Willow - An Avalon Historical Romance #1. Avalon Books, 2003

Willow Dulan was raised by her aunt and uncle. It was not an ideal relationship so when the opportunity presented itself to leave there she took it. Her father, Jake Dulan, summoned her to him in St. Joseph, Missouri. After traveling west mostly by stagecoach, Willow finally arrived at her destination only to learn that if she hurried she could attend her father's funeral which was already in progress. After the service she met her four sisters. Jake Dulan had married five women and had five daughters in five regions of the country. The five girls met after the funeral for the first time. They decided to become acquainted on a wagon train headed west to California. Soon after the train left the scout let it be known that he didn't think the five Dulan women would make the trip all the way, they just weren't tough enough. Willow rescued him from a river and sewed up his wound. She also drove her wagon and guided the train. The Dulan sisters were going to show the grit given them by their father. That was his legacy to them.

Brown, Carolyn. Velvet - An Avalon Historical Romance. Avalon, 2003.

Soon after Willow and her new husband, Reefe, left the wagon train, Velvet became very ill. Patrick O'Leary drove her to the home of Dr. Hoyt Baxter which was close to Fort Laramie. Finding the good doctor out, Patrick put Velvet on the bed and left her trunk on the porch. Hoyt was quite upset upon finding Velvet, who was unconscious at the time. The only explanation for all this was in a note left by Patrick. Hoyt was now a rancher, not a doctor, but had no choice but to bring Velvet back to the living. The women at the fort branded Velvet for living in sin with Hoyt but when Velvet regained her strength she confronted them. Hoyt and his friend, Rooster, learned that Velvet was a very good cook and was quite strong willed. Velvet had no where else to live until her wagon train headed through to either California or Nebraska. Until such time she and Hoyt would become better acquainted in spite of Hoyt's promise to his dearly departed wife to never remarry.

Enger, Leif. Peace Like A River. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006.

To the list of great American child narrators that includes Huck Finn and Scout Finch, let us now add Reuben "Rube" Land, the asthmatic 11-year-old boy at the center of Leif Enger's debut novel, Peace Like a River. "Here's what I saw," Rube warns his readers. "Here's how it went. Make of it what you will." And Rube sees plenty. In the winter of his 11th year, two schoolyard bullies break into the Lands' house, and Rube's big brother Davy guns them down with a Winchester. Shortly after his arrest, Davy breaks out of jail and goes on the lam. Shortly after Davy's escape, Rube, his sister Swede, and their father, a widowed school custodian, hit the road too, swerving this way and that across Minnesota and North Dakota, determined to find their lost outlaw Davy. In the end it's not Rube who haunts the reader's imagination, it's his father, torn between love for his outlaw son and the duty to do the right, honest thing. This book haunts you long after the last page is read.

Ferris, Monica. Unraveled Sleeve - Needlecraft Mystery #4. Berkley, 2001.

Betsy Devonshire and Jill Cross decided to attend a stitch-in held at a lodge in northern Minnesota in a cold and snowy landscape. The purpose of the trip was to relax and share needlework project tips with others of like interests. Betsy has been having nightmares and wants to get away from sleuthing. Jill wants to get away from police business for a spell. Neither wish happens. Instead, someone at the stitch-in dies and both Betsy and Jill become involved in the investigation of the crime. Most cozy mysteries focus mostly on character development with little about the mystery. This one has lots of both-getting to know the characters and working out the clues toward a solution to the mystery. I really enjoyed reading Unraveled Sleeve.

Gruen, Sara. Water For Elephants. Algonquin Books, 2007.

This is the story of Jacob Jankowski who was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets the other love of his life, Rosie, an un-trainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. My favorite book so far this year, you have to read it!

"Water for elephants" -- that's what everyone says they did in the circus, according to Jacob. And he is offended when people say that, because that was part of his job in the circus. Almost finished with veterinary school during the Great Depression, Jacob runs away because of a family tragedy. Hopping a freight train, he happens to land in the middle of a traveling circus. All these memories come rushing back to Jacob when a circus sets up their tents across the street from the nursing home where he lives. The world of the circus has many interesting characters, both good and evil. Jacob makes enemies, friends, and, eventually, when the circus collapses, he is left with a wife, an elephant, several horses, and a chimpanzee. How he got there and getting to know the young and the older Jacob is an interesting read.

Harper, M.A. For the Love of Robert E. Lee. Soho Press, 1994.

It is the early 1960’s and Garnet Laney, a teenager with the full toolkit of angst and attitude one expects from an adolescent, rolls her eyes over school assignments dealing with the centennial anniversary of the Civil War. All that changes, however, when she is working on a report and comes across a picture of Robert E. Lee. This picture is not the white-haired elderly general firmly fixed in the subconscious minds of millions of Southerners, but Lee fresh out of West Point, young and handsome and compelling. Garnet becomes fascinated with her research and is alarmed to discover that she is falling in love with a man who has been dead for nearly one hundred years. Readers will smile over Garnet’s struggle to sort out her feelings but will also nod sympathetically over the real anguish she faces: her grandmother is ill and experiencing the onset of dementia; Garnet has an injured leg and is very self-conscious about her appearance, and in addition to her new obsession with the long-dead general she has a crush on one of the members of her debate team at school – who, though a less glamorous object of desire than Lee, is at least present in the here and now. But that does not stop the imaginative Garnet from wondering, in typical teenage-girl fashion, what Robert E. Lee looked like with his clothes off.

This would be a good novel to recommend to patrons who enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird and are looking for another "coming of age in the South" story. I could easily imagine a slightly older Scout Finch sitting down with Garnet and swapping stories about their experiences as young women (or should that be young ladies?) in the South. While not always "ladylike," Garnet Laney is fiercely intelligent and a memorable presence.

Nelson, Jill Elizabeth. Reluctant Runaway - To Catch a Thief - Book Two. Multnomah Publishers, 2007.

Desiree Jacobs and Max are busy with client security needs in Boston. Then Max's family in Albuquerque is in trouble. Her niece has run and no one knows why, how or where. What does she know about a robbery and missing Indian artifacts? Tony and his FBI squad are investigating a DVD pirating ring and a television ministry which receives very large donations. After Tony is involved in a shooting in which another agent is killed, he flies to New Mexico to help with the investigations there. And though he is to stay in the office and have no field work, reality is that he goes in search of Desiree who has also flown to N.M. but is missing. From Boston to Washington, D.C., to New Mexico, Wisconsin and back to Boston this story is continually moving and keeping the reader wondering what will happen next. Desiree is certainly a modern, independent, savvy woman who also would like some romance in her life. Throw in some danger and ethical choices and you have an interesting story. This is a series that is best read from the first book to get to know the main characters. The third book is due out in January, 2008 and then we'll see what illegal activity Desi and Tony will battle next.

Novik, Naomi. His Majesty's Dragon. Del Rey, 2006.

Will Laurence, captain of the H.M.S. Reliant, finds his career taking an astonishing turn on the day his ship captures a French vessel bearing valuable cargo -a dragon's egg. The egg is a treasure beyond price, but once it hatches, someone must become the dragon's rider, thus cutting himself off from society and normal family life. Naturally, it is Laurence to whom the dragon attaches itself. He names the creature Temeraire and leaves behind his career in the Royal Navy, becoming a member of the Aerial Corps and continuing the fight against the forces of Napoleon... from the back of a dragon. If you believe that no writer can do anything new with dragons, try His Majesty’s Dragon and give Novik the opportunity to change your mind. Her attention to detail grounds the reader in the absolute reality of the Napoleonic Wars, and the dragons are so seamlessly integrated that it is tempting to consult a history of the era to check for any mention of the use of dragons in aerial combat. Various nations produce different types of dragon - another example of Novik’s magnificent world-building - with Temeraire as one of the most prized and dangerous breeds of all. Temeraire himself is a character any writer would be proud to have created: intelligent and powerful, but warmly affectionate toward Captain Laurence, who in time returns that friendship wholeheartedly. The bond between this dragon and his rider is a force to be reckoned with, and the novel is as remarkable for its emotional complexity and sensitive examination of a human’s relationship with a non-human creature as for the dizzying depictions of aerial battle sequences. For dragon fans, this is a must-read, as are the novels that continue the Temeraire saga: Throne of Jade, Black Powder War, and Empire of Ivory.

Patterson, James. Cross. Little, Brown and Company, 2007.

For the first time in Patterson's 13-year-old series, we relive the day in 1993 when Cross' wife, Maria, was murdered. Alex was a young gun with the D.C. police then, and Maria was a social worker in the poorest and most dangerous section of the city before she became the victim of a drive-by shooting. Cut to the present, and Alex--who has been with the FBI for some time, become a successful crime writer, and started to lose a bit of that "dragon slayer" touch--decides to devote more time to his three kids, much to the delight of Nana Mama, Alex's nonagenarian three-in-one grandmother, nanny, and guiding light. Alex is nothing if not loyal, so when his former partner John Sampson asks him to help track down a sicko who is serially raping Georgetown coeds, Alex cannot say no. Little does he know, however, that the search for the rapist will have ties to Maria's death. That her killer was never found is a constant source of frustration for Alex, and this case offers a chance to finally put Maria's memory to rest. Even as the story whips by with incredible speed, Patterson manages to pack it full of suspense, emotion, and a resolution that, while perfectly satisfying, carries the author's trademark teaser hinting at the "more" that surely will come.

Patterson, James and Michael Ledwidge. Step on a Crack. Little, Brown and Company, 2007.

A mass kidnapping at St. Patrick's Cathedral nets many of the world's most famous celebrities gathered for the funeral of a former first lady. Mike Bennett, NYPD detective, father of 10 adopted children whose wife is dying of cancer, must put aside his personal woes and outsmart the well-organized criminals. In these post-9/11 days, Ledwidge and Patterson's scenario seems all too credible. Michael is asked to try to reason with a sinister man named Jack. Jack releases all but the most famous people, and makes his demands: he wants several million dollars from each celebrity hostage, including the mayor, a popular comedic actor, a beloved talk show host, and a pop starlet. Once Jack starts killing, Michael realizes he's up against a truly diabolical foe. Patterson has a knack for creating genuinely likable heroes, and Michael fits the bill. As readers rapidly turn the pages to learn how the tense hostage drama plays out, they will also be sympathizing with Michael as he faces the agonizing loss of his wife. Totally gripping and downright impossible to put down, this is a promising start to a potential new series. This is one great, page turner!!

Patterson, James and Howard Roughan.You’ve Been Warned. Little, Brown and Company, 2007.

The Patterson bestseller factory has turned out another high-drama thriller, this time in collaboration with Honeymoon coauthor Roughan. Kristin Burns, a New York City nanny and aspiring photographer, is devoted to the two children under her care, but her desire for their father, Michael Turnbull, leads her to a risky, torrid affair with him. Kristin's anxiety about her guilty secret is heightened by a series of frightening nightmares centering on a vision of four body bags being loaded onto gurneys in front of a prominent Manhattan hotel. Her nightmares also feature recurring encounters with dead people, including her father and the pediatrician who abused her as a child. Besides endearing portrayals of the two children, the rest of the adult characters, in particular main character Kristen, don't generate a lot of reader sympathy or interest in figuring out the source of her macabre experiences. I stuck with this one because I was curious to see what the "supernatural" reasons for Kristen’s experiences were. Thankfully, it was a short book. Read another of Patterson's better books... you've been warned!

Smith, Lee. The Last Girls.

The Big Chill meets Huckleberry Finn in a moving novel inspired by a real-life episode. Thirty-six years ago, Smith and 15 other college "girls" sailed a raft down the Mississippi River from Kentucky to New Orleans in giddy homage to Huck. In The Last Girls, Smith re-imagines that pre-feminist odyssey, and then updates it, as four of the raft's alumnae take a steamboat cruise in 1999 to recreate their river voyage and scatter the ashes of one of their own. What results is an unsentimental journey back to not-quite-halcyon college days of the mid-1960s ("periods, cramps, boys, dates, birth, babies, the works") masterfully intercut with more recent stories of marriages, infidelities, health crises and career moves, all set firmly in the South. At first the characters threaten to be mere stereotypes: innocent, self-sacrificing Harriet; arty, maternal Catherine; brittle Southern belle Courtney; brassy romance novelist Anna. But Smith reveals surprising truths about each character, even as she suggests that the fate of their departed classmate-the wild, promiscuous, possibly suicidal Baby-may never be understood. The steamboat setting provides ample opportunities to skewer cruise ship tackiness, a witty counterpoint to the often troubled personal stories of the passengers. Readers who like their plots linear may be challenged by the tangle of tales, but those who agree that "there are no grown-ups," and that there's "no beginning and no end" to the "real story" of people's lives, will find this tender, generous, graceful novel a delight.

Snelling, Lauraine. A Promise for Ellie - Daughters of Blessing #1. Bethany House, 2006.

The Bjorklund family settled Blessing in the Dakota Territory in Snelling's previous series, Red River of the North. The family and friends as well as Blessing triumphed and survived many adversities and the Dakota Territory became a state. Ingeborg rejoiced as her children, nieces, nephews and her second husband continue to follow their dreams in Return to Red River. Though we are able to read about the daily lives of these people through nine books it seems there should be more. In this first book of Daughters of Blessing, the saga continues as Ingeborg's world is expanded to her children marrying and having children. As North Dakota grows, the people of Blessing use their skills, talents and hard work and love to help provide a good place to live and grow. Andrew and Ellie have known from childhood that they wanted to marry each other. That time has arrived but must be postponed. Sickness, fire and fear all figure into this time until they wed and start their own family. To help them work through all these problems are the family and friends who have been together in joy and sorrows, numerous times before. Faith in God and family sustain these friends of ours in Blessing, North Dakota.

Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. Macmillan, 1952.

Scotland Yard Detective Alan Grant has been injured on a case and during his long and boring recovery in the hospital, a friend who knows of his fascination with people’s faces brings him a collection of historical portraits to study. Leafing through the portraits, Grant’s attention is caught by one of a man from the late medieval era. He studies it at length, deciding that the face is that of a good man but one who has suffered various trials – illness, perhaps, or personal tragedy – and that he looks like a worrier, probably a man of acute emotional sensitivity. When he turns the picture over to read the identity of the man, he is astounded to see that this is King Richard the Third, long maligned in history for the murder of the Little Princes in the Tower so he could usurp the throne of England. Though taken aback by his discovery, Grant refuses to believe he could so misinterpret a face and discovers an absorbing occupation for the remainder of his time in the hospital: to try and solve one of the most famous of all historical mysteries without even leaving his bed. Enlisting the aid of friends and the nursing staff, Grant accumulates evidence and worries at it like a persistent terrier, picking apart the historical record and gradually coming to the conclusion that most of the evidence against Richard is inconclusive at best and downright false at worse, and that this last king of England to die in battle may be the victim of one of the greatest smear campaigns in history. The influence of The Daughter of Time has been far-reaching and it is one of the standard texts of Pro-Ricardian societies who to this day support the claim that Richard was slandered and history re-written by the winners. Such is the skill of Tey’s narrative that readers will find themselves rooting for Grant to solve the case, absolve the maligned king of all wrongdoing, and discover the truth, for in the words of the old proverb that forms the title of the novel, "Truth is the daughter of time.

Thomas, Will. Some Danger Involved. Touchstone, 2005.

Fresh out of prison for petty theft, Thomas Llewelyn finds the world of Victorian London harsh and unforgiving. Out of desperate need for employment, he answers an ad in the Times: "Assistant to prominent inquiry agent. Typing and shorthand required. Some danger involved in performance of duties . . ." So does Llewelyn meet Cyrus Barker, a detective with a mysterious past, a taste for Oriental cuisine, and a belligerent pet Pekingese, the aptly-named Harm. Readers will at once draw comparisons between Barker and Sherlock Holmes and there are similarities; the novel contains many sly references to the Sherlockian canon that will be recognized with pleasure by mystery fans. But Thomas’ novel contains less of the mannered elegance of the Doyle stories and plunges the reader into a very dark and gritty London, and Llewelyn finds his courage tested repeatedly as he plumbs the depths of the understatement that there is "some danger involved" in his new line of work. However, he is a young man of stubborn courage, determined to overcome the stigma of prison and make his way in the world. Along with the very real perils of assisting Barker in his investigative work, Llewelyn faces lesser trials as he struggles to adjust to sharing quarters with Barker and his eccentric staff, including a butler who treats him like scum and a brilliant chef with an explosive temper. Together, Barker and Llewelyn unravel a gruesome case that features murder by crucifixion. Plot twists abound and once the chase for the killer is underway, the suspense is relentless. Mystery fans will embrace the team of Barker and Llewelyn in Some Danger Involved and will be eager to follow them through their other cases, which can be found in the follow-up novels To Kingdom Come, The Limehouse Text, and The Hellfire Conspiracy.

Traylor, Ellen. Esther.Harvest House, 1994.

Esther is the story of a young Jewish orphan girl who would be queen. Esther or Hadassah her original Jewish name, is raised by her cousin Mordecai in Susa, a province in the vast Persian Empire. King Xerxes of Persia, who has just thrown an elaborate 6 month festival to parade the riches of his kingdom, decides to culminate the event by having his beautiful wife queen Vashti appear before the crowd to show off her beauty. Humiliated by the request Vashti refused to adhere to the King’s wishes. For her disobedience she is punished and not allowed the dwell in the king’s presence as an example to his other disobedient wives. After this blatant act of disobedience a new queen was to be chosen. Beautiful young virgin women were gathered from every province in the kingdom. After many women come and go from the king’s presence, King Xerxes chooses Esther to be his wife and queen. As the story continues the evil Haman an officer in the King’s court, initiates a plot of revenge to have all Jewish residents in the land killed. Since Esther is Jewish this plot would directly affect her and her people. As custom goes no one could see the king unless he specifically called for them or death would surely ensue. Esther desperately needed an audience with the king to express her concerns. Esther and her maid servants fasted and prayed to God for 3 days for an answer. Through the grace of God Esther is granted admittance to see the king. During the meeting with the king she tells him of her true ethnic heritage and the plot of Haman to have her cousin Mordecai hung and all the Jews within the land killed. The king is furious when he hears of the plot by Haman to have all the Jews killed. He immediately orders Haman hung and the right of all Jews within the land to defend them-selves against any foe. He also elevates Mordecai to high office in his court. A beautiful love story about a woman who captured the heart of a king and saved her people, Esther is worth reading.