THE GRIFT (Debra Ginsberg)

As a child, Marina Marks lives a nomadic life with her drug-dependent single mother. One day they meet an old woman, a psychic who proclaims that Marina also has “the gift”. This encounter prompts Marina’s mother to exploit her young daughter into “grifting” people who are desperate to know what the future holds for them. For years after her mother’s death Marina, who does NOT believe in psychic abilities, continues to work in Florida as an “intuitive counselor”, using her remarkable powers of observation and perception to build a lucrative career and eventually achieve her goal of settling in California. Before moving to the West coast, however, she reluctantly accepts a valuable ruby ring from one of her regular clients, Mrs. Golden, who begs her to wear the ring, claiming that this is the only way to protect her son from harm. Intending to return the ring after a few months, Marina loses touch with Mrs. Golden and is unable to do so, so she continues to wear the ring to “safeguard” Mrs. Golden’s son. In California she develops a new client base, including a woman desperate for a child, a gay man in love with a psychiatrist who in denial about his sexual orientation, and a philandering businessman. She also falls in love for the first time. Eventually, a series of frightening and enlightening events in Marina’s life lead her to question whether her psychic abilities truly are a “grift” or a gift. Her quest to find meaning in her increasingly strong and disturbing visions captures the reader’s interest, making this a novel that is hard to put down.

The Grift is a well-written and unusual novel and offers something for everyone, including love, murder, paranormal events, arson, and illicit sex. It encompasses several genres, but defies categorization in any one.

MALLETS AFORETHOUGHT (Sarah Graves)

I seem to be on mystery roll this week! This is one of Sarah Graves' "Home Repair is Homicide" series, starring Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, a former Manhattan financial manager transplanted to Eastport, Maine. She moved to Maine to help her drug-addicted teenage son, Sam, straighten out, leaving her career and her ex-husband Victor, a brain surgeon, behind. Eventually Victor, finally accepting his son's problem, also moves to Maine and opens a state of the art hospital. Jake, in the meantime, is happily married to Wade, has Sam on the right track, and has embarked on a new career as a home renovator with her friend Ellie.

Unlike most cozy heroines. Jake is not all that innocent. Her father is a 60's radical on the lam and she apparently was involved in providing financial advice for some rather shady characters back in the Big Apple before her move to the seacoast. Some of these associations come back to haunt her in the novel, which revolves around the renovation of Harlequin House, the former home of Ellie's Great Uncle Chester. Chester disappeared years ago in disgrace, apparently responsible for the murders of three young woman and possibly linked to the disappearance of a socialite. Jake and Ellie, who is 9 months pregant, discover the socialite's body in a sealed room along with the body of an unscrupulous local businessman and soon Ellie's husband George is a prime suspect in the crime. Of course Jake manages to solve both a modern mystery and the one that has shrouded Harlequin House and Uncle Chester for decades. Fans of home repair will enjoy this one and may even learn about some new tools and techniques for spiffing up your own home. I did!

CREAM PUFF MURDER (Joanne Fluke)

There are some very good reasons for this particular entry in the Hannah Swenson series to be included in this week's top ten New York Times best sellers. I wouldn't call it classic literature, but it is definitely a great mystery and well worth reading. One word of caution, though...you REALLY have to like cookies! If you didn't at the beginning you certainly will find them appealing by the time you finish this cozy!

Fluke introduces her recurring characters in each book with enough detail to satisfy a new reader, but subtlety enough to avoid boring anyone who has read the whole series. In this particular mystery she also throws in enough convincing red herrings that the reader begins to fear that perhaps one of the "regulars" has turned to murder, and the ending, while very logical, is unexpected and satisfying. Two things that I especially enjoy about Fluke's series are Hannah's struggles with weight (how could you not if you bake cookies for a living) and with love (I think I'm seeing a glimmer of the future in this one), two problem areas that have plagued most of us at one time or another. The recipes are great, too. I haven't read a single Joanne Fluke novel that wasn't good, and this is one of her best. If you like cozies and cookies and haven't tried this series, it might be the right time now!

JANE AUSTIN RUINED MY LIFE (Beth Patillo)

This pleasant novel is by the author of The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, but it is completely different in theme. Emma Grant is a disgraced Austen scholar who has lost her marriage, her career, and her reputation thanks to the machinations of her unfaithful husband and his new love. She flees to her cousin's house in London to pursue the lost letters of Jane Austen in hopes of resurrecting her ruined career. The letters are supposedly in the possession of Mrs. Gwendolyn Parrot, who sends Emma on a series of Austen-related adventures that ultimately teach her as much about herself and her marriage as about Jane Austen. During the course of her stay in England Emma, like Austen's heroines, finds love, but, more importantly, she rediscovers herself. The ending of this novel will be a surprise, but not a disappointment.