Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Fourth in the series -- Finally, something decent to read. Love this series about a woman who can sense dead bodies and determine how they died by standing over their graves. Sounds creepy, but it's so interesting and fun to read. More well known for her Sookie Stackhouse - Southern Vampire series, anything Harris writes rocks! Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard and now Harper Connelly. Love them all.

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

I started this book, about an author who's written two very successful autobiographical memoirs followed by a novel that didn't get such great reviews. She embarks on a project based on the mystery surrounding an old school chum and her missing child. I really like Laura Lippman, but found this book a bit depressing. Once my Charlaine Harris mystery arrived at the library, I put this one aside. I do like her website though, www.lauralippman.com. And you can discuss her boook on facebook, which is cool.

jld

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn

Very cute chick lit about a laid off divorcee trying to make a living.

Demon Ex Machina By Julie Kenner

Loved this book! Love this series! Blogging from my new laptop! Whoo hoo!

Just take my heart by Mary Higgins Clark & Malice by Lisa Jackson

How can I let a summer full of stormy summer evenings go by without reading a Mary Higgins Clark book? Ever since I read "Where are the children" as a teen, I've always picked up her books fairly confident that I'd be interested all the way through. "Just take my heart" was no exception. Consistent, readable. Not much else to say about this one.



Now, Malice, on the other hand, the book I'm reading now ... I have no idea where this could possibly be going. A cop who wakes from a coma and keeps seeing his dead wife decides to leave his life with his new, pregnant wife in New Orleans and travel back to L.A. to solve the mystery of these unexplainable sightings. Is someone trying to gaslight him? Is she dead or alive? What's with these copycat murders of 21-year-old identical twins? I'm not quite halfway through the book yet and I'm not sure I'll make it through or not. It's the large print edition so it's easy on the eyes though, thankfully.

Everyone is beautiful by Katherine Center

I loved this book and would have read it in one sitting if I'd had the time. The heroine of the book is a young mother who has traveled from her lifelong home in Texas with her three small children because he husband has won a scholarship to study music in Boston. On her first day in her new city, another mom in the park asks her when her baby is due. This question sets off the course of events that make up this very readable novel. Katherine Center is a graduate of Vassar College where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize. You can visit her website at www.katherinecenter.com. Good book!

Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Maybe it's because we just went through the college admissions process, but I really enjoyed this book. It's the story of Princeton University admissions counselor Portia Nathan who, at 38, is experiencing either some kind of mid-life crisis or post traumatic stress disorder, or a combination of both. Her marriage and career are disintegrating, but yet she's on a mission of self discovery. Written by someone with real life experience in the ivy league admissions field, it would not be a bad idea for future ivy league applicants and their parents to read this novel for an insiders view. It's eye-opening.

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple

Another interesting book. Maria Semple's first novel takes place in L.A. with a cast of characters with so many personality disorders that it's hard to believe she's able to pull it all together so well. It's sort of like a soup that has a list of ingredients that you would never think of using together — and yet, the end result is delicious. It's the story of Violet, her husband, David and her bizarro friend/lover Teddy, David's diabetic sister Sally and her love interest Jeremy and their life in and around 90210.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

I'm almost finished with this book and I can't really say I've enjoyed it that much. It's an easy read, but the topic is pretty depressing. The characters are students, parents and staff at a prep school in Vermont. A sex scandal occurs and decimates many lives. Promising young lives are destroyed by one night of alcohol and poor decision-making. Of course there's some sordid adultery among the adults involved as well, which leads to the students' downfall.