MURDER IS BINDING (Lorna Barrett)

New Hampshire, quaint themed book stores, quirky neighbors, a victim who just happens to have an identical twin, and a cat named Miss Marple...what more could a mystery reader ask?  Trish Miles, owner of  a mystery book shop, "Haven't Got a Clue," is horrified to discover a smoldering fire and fellow bookseller Doris Gleason with a knife in her back on the floor of "The Cookery," the shop next door.  Trish is immediately pegged by the local police as the prime suspect in the crime, so she and her contentious visiting sister, Angelica, set out to clear Tricia's name.  Attempting to track down the origins of a rare cookbook stolen from Doris' store, the sudden appearance of Deirdre, Doris' identical twin, and dealing with the collapse of Angela's 5th marriage make Trish wonder why she ever thought that moving to Stoneham, NH after her divorce was a good idea.  This is the first in Lorna Barrett's new Booktown Mystery series.  It's a first rate cozy and will appeal to almost anyone who loves the genre.

WAKING UP IN DIXIE (Haywood Smith)

Elizabeth Whittington's marriage to Howe, scion of their small Georgia town's most prominent family, staled long ago.  Concerned about appearances and about maintaining an intact family for their children, Elizabeth ignores her husband's philandering and emotional distance.  After meeting an old high school friend who makes it clear that he would like to be "more than friends," Elizabeths considers her future and tries to decide if maintaining appearances is worth the sacrifices she has made.  Then Howe suffers a massive stroke, remaining comatose for months.  When he awakes he is a changed man, suddenly concerned with righting past wrongs and repairing his broken marriage.  Can Elizabeth find it in her heart to trust Howe again, to believe that he has really changed?  Over the years Elizabeth has taken second place to Howe's mistresses and his domineering mother, Augusta, even to the point of being unable to  redecorate their home, which displays Augusta's taste in every room.  Spoiled daughter Patricia treats Elizabeth like a second class citizen while adoring her doting father.  Son Garrett is more sensible and sympathetic to Elizabeth's situation.

When Howe offers Elizabeth the chance to move to a place of her own to think through their marriage and her future, she jumps at the opportunity. Thenshe discovers the story behind her  new cottage is once again beset with doubts about Howe and his sincerity about mending fences and re-establishing old  relationships with new ground rules.

Haywood Smith's novels are always entertaining and laced with humor.  Waking Up in Dixie is a novel that deals with serious issues.  The comedic elements are there, but they blend seamlessly into the more serious theme of whether or not people and marriages CAN change and, if they do, whether it is better to salvage the relationship or to shed the baggage and move on.  My only regret in reading this book is that it ended too soon.

A STITCH BEFORE DYING (Anne Canadeo)

Author Jayne Ann Krentz says about Ann Canadeo's latest Black Sheep knitting mystery, "Friendship, knitting, murder...create the perfect  pattern.  Great fun."  I couldn't agree more!  The Black Sheep Knitting mysteries feature a group of close friends, all knitters, rather than a single amateur detective, and it is their relationship that makes the series so enjoyable. 

Maggie Messina, the owner of the Black Sheep Knitting Shop, is asked by her old friend Nadine Gould to run several knitting workshops at a spa resort in the Berkshires.  She has negotiated a cottage on the spa grounds so that the entire group, Phoebe, Suzanne, Dana, and Lucy, can join her for a luxurious, relaxing weekend of knitting and rejuvenation.  The spa is run by charismatic physician-turned- new age guru and best selling author, Dr. Max Fleming.  Lucy and Dana decide to participate in a moonlight meditation retreat, an overnight camp-out atop nearby Mount Wheaton, but when morning comes they awaken in the middle of a police investigation after the body of Curtis Hill, supposedly a travel guide writer, is discovered dead in one of the cabins.  When it is discovered that Hill's death was caused by a malfunctioning heater that had been deliberately adjusted to fill the cabin with carbon monoxide, the conclusion is MURDER. But who was the intended victim?  Suspicion centers on Dr. Fleming's former partner's son, Brian, a caretaker at the spa, and when a second murder is committed the investigation ramps up.

Canadeo has done a wonderful job creating appealing, humorous characters with very definite real-life qualities.  Knitters and non-knitters alike will love this series!

NOW YOU SEE HER (Joy Fielding)

In yet another edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, Fielding keeps the reader guessing until the very last pages.  Marcy Taggart is the grieving mother of Devon, who disappeared in Georgian Bay two years before, and the daughter of a manic-depressive who took her own life when Marcy was fifteen.  When her marriage to uptight orthodontist Peter (who appears as a character only in Marcy's mind and on the telephone) falls apart, Marcy decides to travel to Ireland, their second honeymoon destination, on her own.  While enjoying a cup of tea in a busy pub in Cork with Vic Sorvino, a fellow traveler, Marcy glimpses a girl who looks like Devon on the street outside, and thus begins a series of heart-wrenching gut twisting adventures as Maggie follows lead after lead trying to find Devon, whom she now believes is alive.

There are a lot of questions in this novel:  Is Maggie even sane, or is she losing her grip as her husband and sister believe?  Who in her life can actually be trusted?  Can she trust her own eyes or her feelings for Vic and Liam?  Will she find Devon alive or is she deluding herself completely?

There were times during this novel where I doubted Maggie's grip on reality.  Her overwhelming guilt over her mother's suicide and her perception of her own inadequate parenting drive her life and most of her actions.  In fact, a great deal of the dialog in the book takes place in Maggie's head as she replays old conversations and conflicts, lending credence to the idea that this "psychological" thriller might include more than a touch of "psycho."  Some of Maggie's conclusions and actions seem a little far-fetched to me, but as a mother perhaps on the brink of a breakdown she is amazingly rational and perceptive at times.  This is a real page turner.  I couldn't put it down once I started it.  It was definitely more intriguing than the Oscars broadcast!

THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE (Diann Ducharme)

Ducharme's first novel will appeal to fans of historical fiction and to young adults.  Its powerful sense of place and unusual perspective on post-Civil War life and attitudes in the South make it difficult to put down.

During the summer of 1868, Abigail Sinclair is the 17-year-old daughter of a North Carolina plantation owner nearly ruined by the Civil War.  Despite his financial difficulties, Abby's father builds a cottage on the beach at Nag's Head with the intention that his family will summer their, benefiting from the sea air.  After hiring illiterate "banker" Benjamin Whimble as his fishing guide he enlists his older daughter, Abby, to teach Ben to read and to write.  In return for the lessons and for helping Ben to procure a job at Cape Hatteras, which will enable Ben and his father to give up the hard life as fishermen, Mr. Sinclair asks Ben to find a freed slave, Elijah Africa, rumored to be a preacher on Roanoke Island, now a colony of former slaves.  Elijah is accused of murdering his former owners and needs to be brought to justice, according to Mr. Sinclair.  He can be identified by the letter "B" branded on his shoulder.

The story is told from the perspective of Abigail and Ben in alternating clusters of chapters.  Abigial is mesmerized by the sea and the sand and, eventually, by Ben.  She is sympathetic to the bankers (natives of the Outer Banks) and to the freed slaves who crave education.  One of the most memorable and telling moments in the novel is when Abby and her former wet nurse, now family maid, Winnie, are being introduced to members of the Roanoke colony.  Winnie corrects Abby's belief that "Winnie" is her given name and reveals that she is actually "Asha."  Winnifred is the name given to her by Abby's mother when she was purchased as a slave to work in the plantation house and Abby is shocked to realize that she had never given a thought to where Winnie came from or what she was called.  This was a true "coming of age" moment for Abby, a young woman of intelligence and compassion who finds her true self on the Outer Banks.

We have all read stories about the Civil War and its aftermath.  Ducharme creates what feels like a fresh, first-hand perspective on the attitudes of former slave owners, their families, and freed slaves.  I think that this is one of the shining attributes of "young adult" novels, meaning novels with main characters in their teens.  Youth is more open to new ideas and new persepctives and I like what is presented here.

AND FURTHERMORE (Judi Dench)

"The whole idea of a group of people coming together and working to one end somehow is very appealing to me.  It is the thing I have always wanted to do, and I am lucky enough to be doing it."
Judi Dench's memoir accentuates the positive (to borrow from Johnny Mercer), focusing on her obvious love of family and acting rather than highlighting the tragedies and setbacks in her life.  There is no whitewashing here, merely a recognition that with joy comes sorrow, and, with success, disappointment.  Not that Dench's life has been marked by any out-of-the ordinary tragedies.  In fact, she enjoyed a happy childhood and a successful 30-year marriage to fellow actor Michael Williams, she has a beautiful daughter and beloved grandson, and she has obviously achieved great success in her chosen field.  This memoir is not a celebration of Judi Dench's awards and achievements; it is the story of how she evolved into the person and actress she is today as told in her own words to John Miller.  Full of anectdotes about fellow actors and directors, Dench's story exudes humor, joy, and courage.  There are no scandals, no nasty revelations, no invasions of anyone's privacy.  This book is by Judi and about Judi, but without the ego you might expect from a beloved Oscar-winning actress.  I would recommend this memoir to any fan of Judi Dench and to anyone who is interested in life in the theater.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!

DEATH AT LA FENICE (Donna Leon)

Commissario Guido Brunetti is an Italian treasure with intelligence and insight worthy of Hercule Poirot and the sweetness of a happily married family man.  I read that author Donna Fenice came up with the idea for this wonderful series while actually in a conductor's dressing room at La Fenice (pronouned "La Fayneechay") Opera House in Venice.  She obviously knows Venice, having lived there for years, and there could be no other setting possible for Brunetti's adventures. 

Famed conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead from apparent cyanide poisoning in his dressing room between acts at La Fenice Opera House in Venice.  Was he murdered by the soprano whom he was blackmailing over her same-sex love affair, threatening the loss of her children to her nasty Spanish ex-husband?  Or was it his much youger wife of 2 years with whom he shared a supposedly idyllic relationship?  Could the perpetrator have been someone from his past who objected to his reported Nazi sympathies or his blatant homophobia?  Commisario Guido Brunetti, with the "help" of his inefficient assistants and his egotistical superior, investigates the crime in this first of a very successful series.  Leon is a superb writer and Brunetti is one of the most appealing fictional detectives to hit the mystery scene.  The twists and turns of this investigation are logical but unexpected.  I can't wait to read more of the Brunetti series.

SEPARATE BEDS (Elizabeth Buchan)

To me, the title Separate Beds screams ROMANCE or CHICK-LIT, but this novel is neither.  It is the sometimes heartbreaking story of a married couple, Tom and Annie Nicholson, who have made mistakes as spouses and parents, grown apart, and are now driven to the breaking point when Tom loses his job with the BBC.  Five years earlier eldest daughter Mia, twin to son Jake, left the family in anger and disgust, vowing never to see them again.  She left in her wake sadness, stress, and a perpetual sense of longing.  Tom's unexpected job loss brings the family to the brink of financial disaster and exacerbates the feeling of failure and uncertainty that permeate the family.  Without the supplementary financing provided by Tom's salary, his mother is forced to leave her retirement home and move in with the family.When Jake's marriage to the elegant and selfish Jocasta breaks up, he also moves back home along with his year-old daughter, Maisie, and finally accepts that his fine woodworking business is not lucrative enough to support himself and Maisie.  Youger sibling Emily, an aspiring writer, has been enjoying the financial support of her parents and is now forced to get a "real" job.  At the heart of this novel is Annie, the wife and mother whose best efforts have always seems to have fallen short in the eyes of her family.  Forced to again share a room and a bed with Tom, Annie is confronted with memories of happier times and an unexpected sense of desire for her husband and the life that they seem to have lost in the great effort of living.

Elizabeth Buchan is always delightful, a sort of combination of Joanna Trollope and Marcia Willett.  If you haven't read any of her novels, I'd recommend that you do.

LOVE LETTERS (Katie Fforde)

I am laughing as I write this because as I was reading Fforde's latest I was thinking, "Rupert and Fenella!  I love British novels with characters named Rupert and Fenella!"  Then I had a sense of déja vu and remembered that I had made the same observation while writing about Fforde's previous novel, Wedding Season.  At least I am consistent!  In fact,  Love Letters features a few of the same characters, Rupert, Fenella, and Hugo. 

What is most appealing about Fforde is that, instead of the typical "single career girl looking for love and success" chick-lit fare, she offers her readers an entertaining cultural experience and a charming glimpse into British life and attitudes.  Yes, there is always a single woman as the main character and yes, she does usually have career issues, but Fforde rarely ventures into the world of Jimmy Choos and shopping sprees.  Instead, her female characters are usually innovative entrepreneurs who happen to stumble upon true love during the process of building a business or a career while immersed in pure Britishness.

Laura Horsely is a shy 27-year-old bibliophile who is about to lose her job in a small bookshop because Henry, the owner and a good friend, is retiring.  When she is offered the opportunity to organize a literary festival at a stately country manor (owned by Rupert and Fenella!) she reluctantly agrees, concerned about her ability to attract prominent authors like Dermot Flynn, her literary idol, to the event.  She and her friend Monica travel to Ireland in an attempt to convince the reclusive and incredibly attractive Flynn, who has not written a new novel in years, to participate in the festival.  You can certainly guess what happens next, but you need to read the novel to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Ireland, the literary festival, British academics, life in a financially struggling English manor household, and true, strong friendships formed out of common interests and real affection.  You will finish this novel with a smile on your face.

THE OTHER FAMILY (Joanna Trollope)

This is an interesting novel, written in Trollope's usual insightful, British style.  That is one thing that always strikes me about Trollope: the incredible English-ness of her characters and settings.  There are many decent novelists whose stories are transferable to places other than those in which they are set.  They could just as easily take place in Texas or Canada with a few tweaks to place and language, but not Trollope's.  Her characters and setting are SO British that the reader becomes immersed in the every day life and surroundings to the point that it is almost surprising to look up and realize that you are in the United States.

Chrissie Rossiter and her 3 young-adult daughters (Tamsin, Dilly, and Amy) are grief-stricken at the sudden death of Richie Rossiter, famed composer and pianist, father, and husband.  What comes to light in the aftermath of Richie's death is that he and Chrissie never married and that he was, in fact, still married to his first and only wife, Margaret, with whom he had a son, Scott, now 37.   Despite Chrissie's encoragement, Richie would never divorce Margaret to marry her, but over the years they lived as a married couple but neglected to tell youngest daughter Amy about their true circumstances. Richie's will reveals shockingly that he has left his beloved piano and the rights to the music written before he abandoned her to estranged wife Margaret, while Chrissie and the girls face financial uncertainty.  Chrissie was not just Richie's lover and mother to his 3 girls, but also his manager.  She now has to cope with life without him, but also without any means of support, since he was her only client.  Margaret and Scott, still living in Newcastle, attend the funeral and are met with expected cold shoulders from Richie's second family.  Margaret has a successful business as a talent scout and agent, living a comfortable and satisfying life, while Scott is a lawyer who is very curious about the life his father led after leaving them when Scott was 14 years old.  The big question here is whether or not the animosity betwen the new and old families will ever be resolved as they work through their grief.

I have to say that I did not particularly like Chrissie, Tamsin, and Dilly.  They strike me not as women wronged, deceived, or victimized by circumstances, but as self-absorbed and stubborn.  Margaret, Scott, and Amy are delightful characters with a blossoming sense of self-awareness and an excitement about life and the future.  At times this novel is slow-moving, but it is well worth reading.

TO HAVE AND TO KILL (Mary Jane Clark)

This is the first in Mary Jane Clark's new wedding cake Mystery series.  Piper Donovan, the heroine, is a struggling New York actress who decides to move back to her parents' home in New Jersey when her soap opera character is killed off and acting gigs seem to be fewer and farther between than ever.   Piper helps out in mother's bakery (her name is derived from "piping" cake decorations) between acting jobs and getting involved in murders, in this case the poisoning by arsenic of one of the soap's major hearthrobs at a charity auction.  Piper's mother suffers from macular degeneraton and her father, Vin, is a former law-enforcement officer who has obsessively schooled his daughter in self defense and self preservation.  Piper also has a close friend, Jack, who is an FBI agent and promises to become a major romantic interest as the series progresses.  The mystery was interesting, with a large number of logical supects and a great resolution.  This promises to be a fun and entertaining cozy series. If you like Cake Boss and love mysteries, read it!

COVER HER FACE (P.D. James)

P.D. James is, of course, one of the best known authors of the English mystery genre.  It has been a long time since I read an Adam Dalgliesh mystery and I wasn't disappointed.  There is nothing like a slightly crumbling British estate, a disfunctional family, and servants who flaut the system by forming unsuitable emotional attachments to their "betters" to serve as the setting to a traditional locked room mystery.  Dalgliesh is amazingly subtle and cerebral, almost a background character as he works to solve the crime, the murder of maid Sally Jupp, who had received and announced a proposal of marriage from Stephen, the son of the house, just prior to her demise. Dalgliesh is quite a contrast to the romantic action heroes of many popular mysteries.  If you like your detectives quiet and thoughtful, try P.D. James.

THE NEIGHBORS ARE WATCHING (Debra Ginsberg)

I am honestly not sure whether I would recommend this novel or not.  Ginsberg is unique.  Each novel that she writes is completely different from the one before.  The story here has all of the elements of a thriller:  a long-lost daughter, an enticing "working girl" living across the street, a mysterious Asian family whom nobody seems to know at all, the couple who are pillars of the community yet seem to harbor dark secrets.  This is not a thriller;  there are no desperate chase scenes, no psychological manipulation, no sudden terror.  When wildfires strike the San Diego area, Joe Montana's teenage daughter, with whom he ha recently become acquainted, disappears, leaving her newborn baby and a lot of questions behind.  Joe takes several days to report the disappearance to the police, which I found to be a little unrealistic no matter what problems existed in their relationship. Joe lacks moral fiber, which is unusual in a man in his role.  He should be worried and proactive, but instead he seems emotionally cut off from his own life.

I guess what this novel lacks is two things: likable characters and excitement.  The characters are all flawed and and they tend to deal with problems very slowly and very ineffectively. They could actually live next door to any of us, though, but I don't think they would make for a very interesting neighborhood.  Ginsberg is an excellent writer, though, so don't let me discourage you completely.  This might just be a novel that deserves a second look and a little more in-depth analysis.

CAST INTO DOUBT (Patricia MacDonald)

If you are looking for a terrific thriller, place a hold on this one right now!  Patricia MacDonald never disappoints, providing nail-biting psychological suspense that makes this one a real page-turner.  Shelby Sloan is a 42-year-old grandmother and career woman who surprises her happily married daughter, Chloe, and son-in-law, Rob, with a relaxing Caribbean cruise and an offer to babysit for Jeremy, her 4 year old grandson, at their home while they are gone.  When a distraught Rob calls to inform Shelby that Chloe has disappeared from the cruise ship, Shelby flies to St. Thomas and invests her life savings in continuing the search for her daughter.  When all hope is lost for her daughter's survival, Shelby begins investigating her daughter's disappearance on her own with the help of her company's security chief, meeting many roadblocks along the way as she gathers information about Chloe's last hours on the cruise.  I won't say any more because I don't want to ruin the story.  Read it!  You'll love it!

MINI SHOPAHOLIC (Sophie Kinsella)

Those of you who have been following the adventures of Becky Bloomwood Brandon will enjoy "Mini Shopaholic."  Hard as it may be to believe (haha!), Becky's 2-year-old daughter Minnie is out of control and apparently following in her mother's footsteps where retail is concerned. 

Becky and Luke are living with Becky's parents after several real estate deals fall through, leaving them perpetually homeless.  Luke, who has, as usual, been working too hard, is still mourning the death of his beloved stepmother and is estranged from Elinor, his emotionally cold birth mother. Becky decides that a surprise party would be a great way to cheer Luke up, so she secretly enlists the help of his secretary, Bonnie, to help her with the guest list.  She also decides that in the spirit of economy (she has maxed out all of her credit cards and promised Luke that she will not buy any new clothes until she has worn the ones she already owns 3 times) she will barter for services and purchase decorations for the party at a discount shop.  Luke, perplexed by Becky's strange behavior (how hard it is to keep such a major secret!) and worried about Minnie's tantrums, hires the trendy Nanny Sue to evaluate their parenting skills and Minnie's attitudes, convincing Becky that her child is about to be torn from her arms and sent to a baby boot camp in Arizona.

Kinsella has once again created a enjoyable glimpse into the chaotic and slightly off-kilter world of Becky Bloomwood.  This is a wonderful light read, perfect for a lazy weekend when you just want to relax, put your feet up, and give your mind a little rest.  Keeping up with Becky's activities might not be so relaxing, though!

OPEN SEASON (Archer Mayor)

No wonder the Joe Gunther series is so successful!  This is Mayor's first foray into mystery writing and if you live in New England like I do you will thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere that this author creates.  Read the whole series if you enjoy a slightly gritty police procedural with a tremendous sense of place.  The wonderful details pay tribute to Mayor's own background as a Vermont police officer and forensic investigator.

THE TEA HOUSE ON MULBERRY STREET (Sharon Owens)

Penny Stanley and her husband, Daniel, run Muldoon's Tea House in Belfast.  While she longs for beauty and a family, he saves every penny and refuses to redecorate or consider having a child.  An assortment of characters, including a young woman obsessed with Nicholas Cage, a magazine editor searching for her lost sweetheart, and a lonely married bookshop owner whose wife is preoccupied with money and status, frequent the shop despite its dreary, outdated decor and somber atmnosphere.  This book didn't "wow" me, but I always enjoy the concept of disparate characters coming together on common ground to work through life's problems.

DEATH AT THE ALMA MATER (G.M. Malliet)

There is something so appealing about a lovely British college, castle, or village as the setting for murder!  G.M. Malliet writes in the tradition of Agatha Christie and this 3rd in the Arthur St. Just series is just as good as the first two.  Here, wealthy alumni are invited for a weekend reunion at financially troubled St. Michael's College in Cambridge in hopes of raising some much needed cash.  Any mystery fan knows that gathering a diverse group of  people with  past connections for the weekend will not end in anything good.  Here the murder victim is the beautiful Lexy Laurent, ex-wife of Sir James Bassett and renowned for her beauty and fashion sense.  When she is strangled in the college's boathouse, suspects abound, including her ex-husband, his stepson, his current wife, and almost everyone else at the reunion.  This mystery is great fun with clever and unexpected twist that helps to solve the murder.  Recommended!

VICTIM IN VICTORIA STATION (Jeanne Dams)

I know, I know.  I just can't stop reading about the adventures of Dorothy Martin!  This story is a bit unusual in that Dorothy is working independently, i.e. without police involvement, to solve a murder that only she and the murderers know actually happened.  After enjoying the comapany of young American businessman Bill Monaghan on the train to London, Dorothy is dismayed to learn that her new acquaintance has succumbed to an apparent heart attack.  A doctor who happens by assures her that he will take care of arrangements, so she heads to her orthopedist's appointment and scours the papers the next day looking for information about the unusual death.  She finally calls the police and is told that they have had no reports of a death in Victoria Station.  Since her husband, retired policeman Alan Nesbitt, is in Zimbabwe, Dorothy enlists the help of Tom and Lynn Alexander, her London-based American friends, and young Nigel, a computer expert, to find out who Bill Monaghan was and why he disappeared.  Dorothy arranges, with Tom's help, to work at the London office of Multilinks, Monaghan's software company, in an effort to gather information.  The combination of familiar, entertaining characters, a sub-plot of technolgical intrigue, and Dorothy's own down-to-earth investigative skills make this another appealing mystery by Jeanne Dams.

FEED ME (Edited by Harriet Brown)

Subtitled Writers Dish About Food, Eating, Weight, and Body Image, this book of essays is a must-read for any woman, of any age, who has ever felt inadequate about herself. 

Each of the contributors writes from personal experience on subjects ranging from cultural customs, eating disorders, family pressure, shopping for clothes, feminism, grief, health food, and cooking as an expression of love.  One size 14 author recounts her experience shopping with a thin friend in trendy stores where the "plus sizes" (bigger than 6!) are stored in the back room, presumably to avoid shocking the more desirable thin shoppers.  Another describes her Jordanian family, where eating without utensils is the norm and feeding children huge, choking portions of food by hand is considered an expression of love.

One woman, whose father grew up starving in Eastern Europe during WWII, learned to eat with lightening speed in order to avoid having her father finish off her food after gobbling up his own.   After several choking episodes she finally learns as an adult to slow down  and chew.  Another writes about her arrival at college, where the astounding excesses of food in the dining hall seem like miracle to her after years of living with a mother whose cooking repertoire consisted of 4 inedible meals and who never gave a second thought to keeping enough food in the house to satisfy her hungry children. 

The most memorable essay is the story of a woman overcome by grief after her fiancé dies unexpectedly just 2 weeks before their wedding.  After consulting psychics, therapists, and medical doctors in an effort to assuage her grief, she meets a man and moves in with him after only 3 weeks.  As their relationship develops he begins to undermine her self-esteem by controlling her eating and criticizing her whenever she eats high calorie treats, but she stays with him because she is afraid to be alone.  One day she shares a dessert with a friend, taking a very small sliver of cake under her boyfriend's disapproving gaze, and he responds by asking her how she can do that to herself, be so uncaring about her weight and her looks (despite the fact that everyone else who cares has told her that she is gaunt and too thin).  Eventually she meets a man who loves her normal-sized self as she is and suggest sharing TWO desserts so they can each try both.

Feed Me is more than a book about food.  It is a book about learning to nurture body and soul, to be healthy and happy and fulfilled as a woman and a person, to accept that real beauty comes from within no matter what size you are on the outside.  I've described just a few of these often poignant, always insightful essays. I hated finishing the last one.  These are not "fat" stories or a collection of essays by people who have overcome various eating disorders, although some of them have.  They are thoughtful vignettes from the lives of real women who are not afraid to admit that they are not perfect.

CAKE BOSS; STORIES AND RECIPES FROM MIA FAMIGLIA (Buddy Valastro)

If you like TLC's Cake Boss, or even if you have never seen the show but share Buddy's Italian heritage, you will enjoy this memoir.  This is not a book designed to promote a television show.  It is a heartfelt tribute to Buddy's parents and grandmothers, an appreciation of the hard work that went into building a life in America while maintaining family ties to Italy.  It is also the story of a brash teenager who disliked schoolwork, loved hanging out with his pals, and wasn't above accepting privileges born of his teachers' concern that his family might be connected with the Mafia (it isn't).  Buddy describes his growing love of and affinity for baking and his joy in discovering that he has his father's hands, hands that could pipe frosting with precision and work various doughs to perfection.  At the age of 54 Buddy Valastro, Sr. died of lung cancer, leaving 17-year-old Buddy to drop out of high school and become a full-time baker in the family business, working alongside his mother, 4 older sisters, and various other family members.

Buddy Valastro has a talent for dealing with people that has served him well in the family business.  He is hard-working, creative, and dedicated, motivated solely by his love of family and tradition.  His love for his wife and children and for the family he grew up in shines through in this enjoyable book.  I would recommend it!

A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS (M.C. Beaton)

Unlike most of Hamish MacBeth's adventures, this one does not include a murder.  Instead, Hamish is called to investigate a set of stolen Christmas lights in a town where celebration of the holiday is frowned upon.  As usual, Hamish is brilliant and Blair is a stupid jerk, just the way we like it!  This will get you in the mood for the holidays!

MALICE IN MINIATURE (Jeanne Dams)

Yes, I know, I can't seem to stop reading the adventures of the delightful Dorothy Martin.  She and Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt are now newlyweds and living in Dorthy's almost- restored cottage in Sherebury.  Ada Finch interrupts their tea time with the news that her often inebriated son, Bob, has been arrested for stealing a miniature tea set from Brocklesby Hall, where he is employed as a gardener.  The charges are dropped, but Dorothy becomes  intrigued by the monstrous Brocklesby Hall and the Museum of Miniatures housed there.  Sir Mordred Brocklesby, the museum's owner, is a strange little man who is obsessed with miniatures and surrounded by even stranger characters, so when his formidable housekeeper is found poisoned there are a plethora of suspects to be ruled out.  Since Alan is away, Dorothy investigates (with his blessing) and manages to uncover another murder in the process. This cozy includes some very interesting twists and turns, a few red herrings, and an adorable late-in-life marriage that warms the heart.  I can't waitr for dorothy's next adventure.

THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE (Wendy Webb)

Back in the day, when my hair was still brown and I could climb stairs without a handrail, I couldn't get enough of the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and Bram Stoker.  Frank Langella (remember him in "Dracula"?) was sexy and "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dark Shadows" were a required viewing for anyone who appreciated campy, quality horror.  Since then my tastes have run the gamut of classic literature, suspense, medical thrillers, chick-lit, women's fiction, and cozies, but I 've been interested in very few ghost stories, until now.

Today's young adults thrill to sexy vampires and shape changers, so this story might not interest them.  The Tale of Halcyon Crane is a good, old-fashioned ghost story with just the right combination of terror and practicality, enough to make it almost believable.  Webb unfolds her story with precise timing and just the right amount of suspense. The reader leaps to one conclusion, then to another, only to be lulled back to reality before being confronted again with the possibility that maybe they really are out there, watching and waiting.

Thirty-something Hallie James was raised by her father Thomas in Bellingham, WA after the tragic death of her mother in a house fire 30 years before.  As her father is dying of Alzheimer's she receives an envelope in the mail from Will Archer, an attorney on Great Manitou Island, Minnesota.  Inside the envelope are a letter from Archer informing her of the death of Madlyn Crane along with a letter to Hallie from Madlyn Crane, written just before her recent sudden death from a heat attack.  In the letter Madlyn tells Hallie that she is her mother and that she has believed for 30 years that her daughter and husband died in a tragic boating accident.  A chance picture of Hallie and her father in a newspaper article led Madlyn back to her daughter.  When Hallie arrives on Great Manitou after the death of her father, she meets with suspicion and apparent dislike on the part of many of the island's inhabitants.  She soon discovers why: her father was the main suspect in the death of Hallie's childhood friend, Julie, disappearing along with Hallie before he could be arrested for the crime.  Hallie decides to stay on the island for a few days to live in the house she inherited from her mother, the house that she lived in as a child, but of which she has no memory.  She soon starts hearing voices and experiencing disappearing jewelry, touches from unknown hands, and TV and lights turned inexplicably on and off.  She also discovers that she has inherited a very old housekeeper, Iris, who smells vaguely of dirt and rose petals and claims to have know her family for almost 100 years!

I won't tell you any more about the plot, but suffice it to say, I couldn't put this book down until I finished it.  It's perfect reading for a rainy November day.  It might be even better during a blizzard.  If you are looking for gore and guts, skip it, but if you like a gripping psychological thriller complete with graveyards, mediums, and ghosts, try this one.

THIRD WORLD AMERICA (Arianna Huffington)

In a third world country, the government works for the benefit of special interests and the rich rather than for the good of the majority.  Huffington does a brilliant job of analyzing the long downward spiral of the middle class lifestyle, a spiral precipitated not by reckless spending and irresponsibility of average Americans, but by years of legislation  riddled with loopholes that favor the monied top tier of our economic hierarchy.  Did you know that Washington lobbyists outnumber legislators by almost 26 to one?  Did you know that on average $6.5 million in contributions goes to each of our legislators from these lobbyists?  Did you know that many of the bills designed to help middle class citizens actually hurt them?  Did you know that many of the top government financial regulators used to work on Wall Street and still have strong connections there, that the teachers union has more clout in Washington than several of our largest compnaies combined, and that the top 1% of our citizens own 35% of the wealth?  The middle class is disappearing, but there is hope. 

Huffington's book is scary and depressing.  With each of the first 4 chapters I found myself feeling that our country was, indeed, heading toward destruction, that our days as the place where anyone can achieve success with hard work and a just little luck are truly behind us.  In the final chapter, however, Huffington introduces a glimmer of hope, with anectdotes about Americans who have used their bad luck to become better people, who refuse to accept that unemployment or even losing their home is the end of their dreams.  She talks about philanthropy and America's spirit of giving.  She and her colleagues take action themselves, transferring their money from the "big banks" and depositing it instead in local banks and credit unions, where it benefits communities instead of big business.  When I finshed reading, I was disgusted with politicians of both parties, but infused with new hope for our country and our economy.  This book is about politics, but it is most definitely NOT a political book.  Read it!

HOLY TERROR IN THE HEBRIDES (Jeanne Dams)

When Dorothy Martin agrees to accompany her friends on vacation to the Hebrides while her policeman beau Alan Nesbitt attends a conference in Brussels, she never imagines that she will end up stranded and incommunicado with strangers on an island immobilized by a massive storm.  She heads to the island alone when her firends are delayed due to a health scare, and finds herself staying at an inn with a group of disgruntled religious tourists after she realizes that she forgot to bring the key to her rental cottage.  After one of the religious group dies myteriously, Dorothy suspects foul play.  Is one of the less than travelers a murderer?  Are Dorothy and her fellow travelers, stranded with a murderer who might strike again?

Holy Terror in the Hebrides is a fun cozy and Dorothy, despite her age-related aches and pains, is in fine form as she dodges danger and discovers clues.  Look for a couple of unexpected surprises at the end!

BUSY BODY: AN AGATHA RAISIN MYSTERY (M.C. Beaton)

Unpopular Health and Safety Inspector John Sunday is not mourned by many when he is stabbed to death outside of a Cotswolds ladies society meeting.  Suspects abound, and Agatha Raisin is hired by millionaire incomer and prime suspect Miriam Courtny to clear her name.  When Miriam is also murdered, complications abound.  Agatha, true to form, enjoys some short-lived romantic fantasies about Miriam's handsome son, but soon finds herself grappling with the police and the uncooperative citizens of Oddley Cruesis, where Sunday had put the kibosh on many beloved Chritmas traditions.  If you are a fan of Agatha's friend Charles Fraith, you will like this one.  I miss him when he doesn't show up to mooch off of Agatha!

THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT (Robert B. Parker)

This novel, written in 1973 and the first of the popular Spenser series, was like a visit back to an era where people had to interact face-to-face and information was something you really had to dig for instead of paying an Internet service or calling a cell phone.  Spenser, as most everyone knows, is a charming Boston-based private eye with an eye for the ladies and a brash, unapologetic style.  He is also a great cook and a satisfying lover with a very 70's outlook on sex and romance.  One of the things I found most enjoyable in this novel were the descriptions, seeing the world through Spenser's eyes.  The reader is treated to Spenser's uncensored opinions on clothing, weather, neighborhoods, people, driving conditions, and food, as well as anything else that comes his way.  As for the crime-solving aspect of this mystery, Spenser works hard to investigate every clue and follow every lead, taking on dangerous opponents, beaing beaten and shot, and recuing damsels in distress.  The heroes of most of today's slick high-tech thrillers can't compare with Spenser's nitty-gritty hands-on style of crime-solving.  Spenser is a real PI, the kind we will always love to read about.

HEART OF THE MATTER (Emily Giffin)

The most interesting thing about Giffin's latest is the characters.  The premise is not new:  seemingly happliy married man meets vulnerable yet capable woman and finds himself falling in love.  In this case the married man is plastic surgeon Nick Russo.  The story is told alternately between Nick's wife, Tessa, who questions her decision to leave her professorship to become a full-time mom, and Valerie, an attorney and single mother whose son, Charlie, is burned in an accident.  I am not sure why Nick would allow himself to cross the line between friendship and love when there are no obvious problems in his marriage.  I don't think that Tessa questioning her abilities as a mother would be enough to drive her husband into the arms of another women.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Nick and Valerie and Nick and Charlie, Valerie's son.  The alternating points of view are done well.  This may not be Giffin's best, but I liked it.

PROMISES TO KEEP (Jane Green)

I seem to be on a sad track lately as far as my reading is concerned.  That being said, everyone knows someone who struggles with cancer, MS, heart disease, lupus, or another life-threatening condition.  Here we are introduced to Callie Perry, a talented photographer, loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and four-year breast cancer survivor.  Apparently 5% of the victims of a certain type of breast cancer eventually develop a secondary cancer that is virtually untreatable.  When Callie starts experiencing excruciating headaches, weight loss, and blackouts, her sister, Steffi, and long estraged parents, Warren and Honor, come together to support Callie and her husband, Reece, while they await a diagnosis.  This is a very emotional story and Callie is a little too perfect to exist on this earth, but overall, I enjoyed it and I think you will, too.

PERFECT READER (Maggie Pouncey)

When former Darwin College President and renowned scholar Lewis Dempsey dies, he leaves behind a twenty-something daughter, Flora, a collection of personal poetry, a house, and Cynthia, his lover and muse.  Flora leaves her job as a magazine editor in the city and returns to Darwin, scene of her childhood triumphs and traumas, to settle her father's affairs.  As his literary executor, it is Flora's task to manage the fate of his prose and poetry.  One problem is that she has never actually read her father's work, not his revered publication, "Reader as Understander," or the poems that he had entrusted to her care.  Cynthia, an art historian who shared Lewis' bed and intellectual passions, wants to buld a relationship with the reluctant Flora that includes a common goal of publishing Lewis' poetry.  Flora is overwhelmed with her return to Darwin and all of the complicated relationships, new and old, associated with the college town.  Her close childhood friend, Georgia, whose long-ago fall from a fire escape was blamed on Flora (who became somewhat of a pariah as a result), is now living in a Mongolian yurt. Georgia's parents, however, remain in Darwin and embrace Flora as a prodigal daughter.  Esther, the wild child turned born-again Christian, has a young daughter and is firmly grounded in the town.  Paul, Lewis' lawyer, becomes Flora's lover and confidante, but Flora has doubts that she has evolved enough to sustain a serious relationship for long.

Pouncey's first novel is a bit slow-paced, but offers a very insider's look at the politics and inbreeding of a college town and its cult of intellect.  Flora is not a heroine; she is a confused young woman coming to terms with who she is and where she stands on the people and issues closest to her heart.  The book has many things to offer to the patient reader and is well worth the time to read it.  At the end, although some issues were resolved and there were many aspects of Flora's life that remain a work in progress.  I guess we will never know how they turned out, but isn't that what real life is all about?

NEXT OF KIN (Joanna Trollope)

Death and all of its accoutrements are the stars of this novel, which reminded me of a rainy day with occasional breaks of sunshine.  Not everyone dislikes gray, damp days, though, as long as they don't go on forever.  The funeral of Caro Meredith, American wife of Robin and mother of Judy, sets the tone for the mood of "Next of Kin."  Caro was an American, married to dairy farmer Robin for more than a quarter of a century when a brain tumor claimed her life.  Atypically, this event doesn't inspire a series of flashbacks leading to the inevitable end of Caro's life, but rather propels the characters, the next of kin of the title, into a future without a woman who left an indelible mark on each of their lives.  Robin seems both bewildered and accepting, the stoic, hard working man of the earth whose intimate relationship with his inscrutable wife had ended years before.  Adopted daughter Judy is angry at her father, blaming him for Caro's apparent unhappiness and her own lack of direction.  Robin's brother Joe, supposedly happily married to Lindsay, seems bereft at the loss of Caroline. 

Judy brings her rommate, Zoe, a spiky, maroon-haired waif, along to Tideswell Farm for the weekend.  This quirky young woman falls in love with farm life and becomes an unexpected catalyst for change and self-examination for the Meredith family.  As in her other novels, Trollope is a master at developing real, flawed characters.  Here she also does an admirable job of potraying the gritty hardships of farm life in the English midlands.  Trollope specializes in immersion.  Coming out of this book I felt like I had lived through it rather than just reading it.  Depressing?  Yes, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

THE MOON SPINNERS ( Sally Goldenbaum)

This third in the Seaside Knitters series continues the adventures of sixty-something Nell, Ben, and Nell's niece Izzy Cahmbers, owner of the Seaside Knitting Studio.  Two things stand out in this cozy mystery:  the friendships and the food! This time the murder victim is Sylvia Santos, the beautiful, controversial wife of millionaire Angelo Santos.  When her red Ferrari careens off a cliff, the initial assumption is that she was the victim of an unfortunate accident.  Then it is discovered that the brake line hs been cut.  Complicating the investigation are Sylvia's unpopular decision to cut off beach access to the community, circumstantial evidence against Angelo's unstable sister Julianne, and an unexpected pregnancy.  As usual, Izzy, octogenarian Birdie, Nell, and the others knit their way to a surprising solution.  There is actually not too much knitting in this installment, but there is enough mention of yarn and knitting patterns to satisfy yarn enthusiasts.  I have to admit that I was surprised when I found out who the perpetrator of the crimes was.  Goldenbaum did a decent job on this one!

CARDINGTON CRESCENT (Anne Perry)

I didn't realize how much I missed Anne Perry's astounding ability to immerse her readers in the everyday life of Victorian England.  From the squalor of London's slums to the unabashed hypocrisy of the privileged classes, Perry makes us feel as if we are there.  When Charlotte's brother-in-law, George, is found poisoned at his cousin's family home, Bow Street detective Thomas Pitt, her husband, is called in to investigate.  With today's plethora of television shows and novels about forensics and police procedures it is fascinating to see how far we have come from Victorian times!  The family stands in the way of Thomas's investigation, insisting (with no evidence whatsoever) that widow Emily must be guilty, primarily because of her lower social standing!  A simultaneous investigation involving the murder and dismemberment of a young woman is rather too neatly tied into this upper-class murder, but the investigations of both are intriguing from start to finish, as are the various related sub-plots that round out the novel, enriching the Victorian experience.  Thomas and Charlotte are an intelligent, practical, and very loving couple. They will charm and entertain you through every page.  Read this series, or re-read it!

TROUBLE IN THE TOWN HALL (Jeanne Dams)

This is the second in Dams' charming Dorothy Martin series.   American ex-pat Dorothy, now a widow of one year, has grown increasing closer to Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt while establishing a new life in the shadow of England's fictional Sherebury Cathedral.  While out walking (she still has trouble adapting to England's driving habits) one day, Dorothy happens to notice movement in the town's deserted old town hall, prompting her to enter and to meet charwoman Ada Finch, leading (of course) to the discovery of a dead body in a closet.  Since the ancient town hall is the subject of a tug of war between developers and preservationists, suspects and possible motives abound.  Naturally, Dorothy is drawn into investigating the death.

Dams (who does NOT live in the UK!) has a way of interweaving so many details of small-town English life into her novels that you would swear you were actually in Sherebury.  Readers are almost able to feel the rain relentlessly dripping down their necks or pounding on the roof or to taste the chocolate biscuits and piping hot tea.  Dams creates an almost flawless sense of place in her mysteries.  As for characters, Dorothy is level-headed, age appropriate in her behavior and dress, and emotionally realistic while Alan is gentlemanly and  intelligent.  There are few "Perils of Pauline" type adventures here and the realism adds immeasurably to the appeal of this series. I can't wait to order some more!

FLY AWAY HOME (Jennifer Weiner)

When I started reading the description of this novel, my first thought was, "Older woman deals with marital problems by moving to vacation home in CT, eventually joined by adult daughters with problems of their own?....The Three Weissmanns of Westport!"  I imagine that Jennifer Weiner must have been dismayed when Catherine Schine's novel was first publicized, because the similarities in plot seem striking.  Closer reading reveals a completely different feel to Weiner's novel, though.  Her heroine, Sylvie Serfer Woodruff, is strong and resilient, living firmly in the real world and facing her husband's infidelity by withdrawing to her family's country ocean-side vacation retreat to heal and to think about her choices for the future.  Daughters Lizzie, a recovering drug addict, and Diana, a high achieving, staunchly correct physician who has herself been unfaithful to her boring husband, also face life-changing dilemmas that result in their joining their mother in Connecticut to think through their options, or perhaps to hide. 

Weiner has an interesting way of taking current events like the ubiquitous trend toward cheating married politicians and turning them into a thoughful, entertaining novel.  Her treatment of Sylvie's approach to dealing with her husband's infidelity is right on the mark.  I think I might behave the same way, assuming that I am an itelligent, thoughtful woman, in a similar situation.  Lizzie's happy ending and Diana's marriage are a little too trite and predictable, but perhaps Weiner preferred to produce an uplifting, life-affirming novel rather than a contender for an eventual Oprah pick.  If you are a fan of Jennifer Weiner, or even if you are not, this novel is well worth taking a look at!

OUT OF THE BLUE (Isabel Wolff)

Faith and Peter Smith have been comfortably married for 15 years, though lately things have been a little less than blissful due to Peter's stressful job situation.  Faith's glamorous friend Lily suggests that Peter is showing classic signs of infidelity when he forgets their anniversary and sends her flowers to apologize.  As circumstantial evidence piles up, Lily, a glossy magazine editor with and annoying dog named Jennifer Aniston, offers to pay for a private detective to tail Peter as part of an article on infidelity.  When Peter finally confesses to a fling with his head hunter, Andie, Faith is devastated, throws him out, and reluctantly embarks on a new life as a soon-to-be divorced woman.

Wolff's style is light and appealing.  Her characters can, intentionally, I think, border on stereotypical, but the sympathetic ones are likeable and the reader will find herself rooting for a happy ending.

MRS. MALORY WONDERS WHY (Hazel Holt)

Like Jeanne Dams with her Dorothy Martin series, Holt manages to create a strong sense of place in her Sheila Malory series.  Mrs. Malory is a widow who lives in the cozy village of Taviscombe with her grown son, Michael.  She discovers Miss Graham dead one afternoon after her elderly friend has asked her to stop by so she can share some important and disturbing news.  What appears to be a heart attack turns out to be murder, and suspects abound.  Was porr Miss Graham poisoned by Dr. Cowley, the greedy physician with questionable ethics who wants to turn her building into a nursing home?  Could it have been her wimpy and ineffectual nephew Ronnie, who stands to inherit, or his exasperated wife, Carol?  What about "Mrs." Wheatley, the woman of questionable reputation rumored to be friendly with Dr. Cowley?  Mrs. Malory, in the great tradition of Miss Marple, cannot resist investigating the crime.  There are some surprises at the end.  If you enjoy a good English cozy, you will love Mrs. Malory.

THE WEED THAT STRINGS THE HANGMAN'S BAG (Alan Bradley)

Flavia de Luce is back!  When famous puppeteer Rupert Porson and his assistant Nialla arrive in Bishop's Lacey, murder soon follows, and Flavia is on the case.  Flavia possesses a beguilingly childish curiosity combined with the deductive powers of Hercule Poirot and the scientific savvy of Alfred Noble.  In this, Bradley's second mystery featuring the 11-year-old detective, the reader is treated to 2 intertwined cases: the supposedly accidental hanging of young Robin 5 years before and the electrocution of Rupert during a perfromance of "Jack and the Beanstalk."  Flavia, with the aid of her bicycle, Gladys, manages to solve both mysteries, much to the chagrin of Inspector Hewitt.  I'm not sure how Alan Bradley manages to channel an 11-year-old girl in 1950 so well, but he does.  I look forward eagerly to the next installment in Flavia's life as an amateur detective!

THE YELLOW HOUSE (Patricia Falvey)

Eileen O'Neill is a 10-year-old girl in early 20th century Ulster when her younger sister Lizzie falls gravely ill and is taken to the fever hospital and subsequently reported dead.  This event marks the beginning of Eileen's bad luck.  Her mother, after giving birth to brother Paddy soon after the loss of Lizzie, takes oldest son Frank and leaves the family's home (the Yellow House of the title) to return to her father's house.  Eventually Mrs. O'Neill's guilt and sorrow drive her into a deep depression and she is institutionalized.  Eileen struggles to help her Da raise Paddy in the midst of Northern Ireland's violent struggle over Home Rule. Eventually losing their Da to IRA violence, she and Paddy move in with Eileen's godparents and she goes to work in the local mill, owned by the wealthy Sheridan family. Eileen's dream, to reunite her family in the yellow house, slips further and further away as her marriage to James Conlon founders and the increasing violence of the IRA threatens to destroy all that she holds dear.

In addition to Falvey's wonderful historical research, she has created vivid characters with depth and richness that reflect the tumultuous political climate beautifully.  The reader will leave feeling that they have been both educated and captivated.

BEHAVING BADLY (Isabel Wolff)

Anyone who thinks that chick-lit is primarily mindless fluff needs to have another think!  Behaving Badly is a wonderful story with several layers of plot that keep the reader engaged throughout the novel.  Miranda Sweet is a veterinarian turned animal behaviorist who is recovering from a recent traumatic (not in the usual way) break-up with her actor fiancé.  During a session with a client she notices a picture of the woman's familiar-looking husband, an up and coming member of Parliament.  Eventually she realizes that MP James Mulholland is Jimmy Smith, with whom she shares a radical and possibly criminal past.  Weighed down by guilt for 16 years, she seeks out the victim of her youthful mistake intending to confess and take the consequences, but "Jimmy" has other ideas that might destroy her life and career.  Wolff manages to combine an endearing heroine, political intrigue, and romantic suspense with thoroughly fascinating glimpses into various animal behaviors. This novel is a must read for anyone who is looking for something fun that will keep them interested from start to finish.

AS HUSBANDS GO (Susan Isaacs)

The great Susan Isaacs has done it again, adding an irresistible touch of mystery to her usual Jewish woman-with-a-problem story.  Happily married and the mother of triplets, Susie Gerston is in a state of shock when her husband and best friend, successful Manhattan plastic surgeon Jonah Gerston, is found murdered in the seedy apartment of "escort" Dorinda Dillon, who is eventually tracked down in Vegas and arrested for the crime.  The police are happy with their open and shut case, but Susie won't be satisfied until she is convinced that the real killer is being brought to justice.  She enlists the aid of her look-alike grandmother, Ethel O'Shea, and her best friend Andrea, and husband "Fat Boy", to help her investigate.  Susie thought that Jonah was happy with their life and their three rambunctious boys and cannot believe that he sought out the services of a prostitute.  Adding to her stress are Jonah's parents, who are anxious to see Dorinda convicted, and brother-in-law Theo, who is more concerned with a possible inheritance from Jonah than seeing justice served.  As Susie discovers signs of problems in Jonah's medical practice and reviews evidence gathered by the private investigator that she had hired initially to investigate Jonah's disappearance, she becomes convinced that there is much more to Jonah's murder than meets the eye.  How can she convince the authorities to reopen the case?

The one thing that bothered me about this novel (and it's only a little detail) is the transition just before the ending, whne we see that the killer has been arrested and convicted.  I'm not quite sure how that happened so quickly but, like Susie, I was glad to have all of the pieces of the puzzle finally put together.  One thing that makes this novel stand out from a typical whodunnit is the emotional development of the characters.  I recommend Isaacs' latest wholeheartedly!  Check it out!

THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT (Jeanne Dams)

American widow Dorothy Martin is possessed of the best traits of Jessica Fletcher with a touch of Hyacinth Bucket.  She is intelligent and inquisitive, sensitive and self-sufficient, but doesn't feel completely decked out without a beautiful hat.  Having recently lost her beloved husband, Frank, Dorothy has decided to continue with their plans of settling in Sherebury, an English academic town, in the shadow of a great cathedral.  After the Christmas Eve service Dorothy trips over the dead body of a brilliant but universally disliked canon of the church in the transept, and so begins her career as an amateur sleuth.  Dorothy is wonderful: low key, logical, and refined.  Dams manages to present Dorothy as a fully developed character despite the fact that this is the first in the Dorothy Martin series.  Will I read more?  Without a doubt (and I already have, come to think of it!).  The mystery is great and the characters are even better.  The setting is thoroughly Englad - you can almost feel the damp and cold fog coming in under your door as you read.  This is a great series for any time of year and any time you want to just escape from everyday life and be thoroughly entertained.

A VINTAGE AFFAIR (Isabel Wolff)

What can I say but that I loved this book!  It is full of layers and texture and color, all woven together in Phoebe Swift's struggle to forgive herself for the death of her best friend, Emma.  Phoebe has broken her engagement and left her prestigious position at Sotheby's, partly to fulfill her dream of owning a vintage clothing shop, but also to attempt to heal emotionally and begin life anew.  During the course of setting up her shop she encounters new friends and possibilities for new romances.  She also meets Therése Bell, a dying woman with a closet full of beautiful vintage outfits plus one handmade blue woolen coat with a story all its own that becomes an important part of Phoebe's story as well.

Wolff succeeds on several levels with this novel.  The detailed descriptions of the clothing in Phoebe's shop will delight vintage fashion afficionados as well as anyone who loves fabrics, colors, and textures.  There is just enough romance to satisfy, and enough humor to lift a readers' spirits.  The characters are lovable and quirky, especially Phoebe's mother and Dan.  There is a universal psychological aspect not found that often in "chick lit" and the parent-child dynamics are true-to-life. The heart of the book, however, lies with Therése Bell and her unexpected friendship with Phoebe, a friendship that allows Phoebe to come to terms with her own emotions and to move on with her life.  My verdict?  Two thumbs up for this one!

31 BOND STREET (Ellen Horan)

Horan manages to combine all of the elements of a good mystery with excellent historical detail.  In January,1857 Dr. Harvey Burdell is found dead in his room, his throat slashed from side to side and his torso riddled with stab wounds.  His housekeeper / fiancé, Emma Cunningham, is the prime suspect and, despite lack of any solid evidence, she is arrested for the crime.  Attorney Henry Clinton, at the cost of his successful law practice, agrees to take the case and defend Emma, whom he believes to be innocent of the crime.

What sets Horan's novel apart from your typical mystery is the texture.  She skillfully weaves together several storylines, all related to the murder, in such a way that the reader, although privy to knowledge and motives that Clinton and Cunningham are not, is still in the dark about how the crime was committed until the very end.  The historical details are wonderful.  The legal system in pre-Civil War New York is frightening, but Henry Clinton, based on a real person, rivals the best fictional attorneys with his dedication and willingness to possibly ruin his career in his quest for justice.  Everything in this novel is fascinating because, despite the passing of 150 years, the role of the media, human nature, and the greed that drives humans to abuse and kill are all the same now as they were back then.  I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good historical or an intriguing mystery, or both!

HEARTS ON A STRING (Kris Radish)

Hearts on a String is  novel of sisterhood.  Five disparate, troubled women meet by chance in a Tampa airport restroom  and end up sharing a luxury hotel room when all flights are cancelled due to a giant storm.  As far as female bonding goes, I would recommend some of the others books that I have read, like Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (Lorna Landvik),  before this particular novel.  It was not bad by any means, but something was off for me.  That doesn't mean that you as a reader would feel the same.  Holly (a shy hairdresser with psychic tendencies), Nan (a troubled business woman with a foundering marriage), Cathy (a sexy exceutive), Patti (a lounge singer), and Margo (a nurturing mother) are all unique and interesting characters, but they are a little too glib and their situation seems a little forced, not quite comfortable or natural.  I could be that Radish manages expertly to communicate the stress and anxiety of the women's situation through her writing, but I think I would rather watch the story unfold from the sidelines rather than feeling the angst of the characters so closely.  There are some interesting surprises as the secrets and problems of the women are revealed and the book did hold my interest.  I just had trouble feeling love for this book.

PATTERNS IN THE SAND (Sally Goldenbaum)

Knitting fiction is very popular nowadays and reading a knitting mystery is a fun way to spend a relaxing summer evening.  Patterns in the Sand is set in an art colony in Sea Harbor, MA.  The mystery action begins when fiber artist Willow Adams is found in the display window of Izzy Chambers' knitting shop, not dead, but asleep! When popular artist Aiden Peabody is poisoned Willow is a suspect, especially when it is discovered that she is the sole beneficiary of his will.  When yet another suspicious death occurs Izzy and her knitting group are determined to discover what's going on.  Goldenbaum does an excellent job of interspersing clues and suspects throughout the story without giving away the plot and several surprises in the latter part of the book make this a mystery worth reading.  This is the second in a series.

ROSES (Leila Meacham)

Roses is an old-fashioned family saga covering more than a century in the lives of the Toliver, Wawruck, and DuMont familes of Howbutker, Texas.  The younger sons of these three wealthy and prominent eastern families make their way west to seek their fortunes during the 1800's, eventually deciding to settle on an area of land that came to be know as Howbutker, a variation of "how about here?"  All decide to continue in the tradition of their families back home, establishing successful businesses in Howbutker:  the Tolivers in cotton, the Wawrucks in lumber, and the DuMonts in retail.  By the early 20th century the familes are firmly established as leaders of commerce and society in Texas.  The focus of this saga is on Mary Toliver, the love of her life, Percy Wawruck, and sweet, patient Ollie DuMont, who also loves Mary.  As in every family saga worth its salt, bad choices are made, love goes awry, tragedies strike, and history repeats itself over and over again.

Although I enjoyed Roses, I did not find it to be a satisfying read.  How can a love be true when it is so carelessly thrown aside for a greater love, the land?  I guess in some respects you could compare Meacham's saga to Edna Ferber's Giant or Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, but Mary is much more capable and independent than Scarlett and should have know better, been able to foresee the consequences of her actions.  They do share the ability to use men to further their own ambitions and I guess this trait is what turned me off to the novel as a whole.  I would say go ahead and read it if you like family sagas.  This one has all of the elements necessary to a good saga.  I just couldn't get over the poor decisions, but without them I guess there would not have been a story!

SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE (Alan Bradley)

Everyone has favorites that they return to over and over again: the restaurant with the best burgers ever, that song that reminds them of the senior prom, or the author that keeps getting better and better with each new novel.  Every once in a while something new and different comes along, something that unexpectedly appeals to your sense of whimsey or makes you look at life a bit differently, and you find yourself falling in love yet again! 

Chances are that an 11-year-old girl detective with a rich fantasy life and a brain for chemistry sounds like a great reading choice for a middle-schooler, but not for a fully developed adult bibliophile.  Wrong!  Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce is wonderful!  In her dealings with her two obnoxious older sisters, boy-obsessed Ophelia and bookish Daphne, she is self-possessed and wildly imaginitive.  For example, in her fully equipped chemistry lab, once the domain of great uncle Tar, she infuses Ophelia's favorite lipstick with poison ivy then waits patiently for symptoms to manifest themselves.  How many of us with sisters wish we had the skill and gumption to have done something like this?

When Flavia discovers a nearly-dead man in the family cucumber patch, the Latin word "vale" whispered in his dying breath, she embarks on her first murder investigation.  Her widowed father, a philatelist and acquaintence of the victim, is the prime suspect, and Flavia uses every resource at her disposal to solve the crime, displaying powers of deduction, scientific knowledge, and attention to detail rivaling those of the great Sherlock Holmes.  There are no "boring" interludes in this wonderful mystery;  it will hold your interest from beginning to end.  I am looking forward to reading the next installment very soon!

KNIT, PURL, DIE (Anne Canadeo)

The Black Sheep knitters are at it again!  Maggie Messina, owner of the Black Sheep knitting shop, has invited old friend Gloria Sterling, a wealthy, fifty-something beauty recently married to a much younger man, to join the knitting group that includes graphic artist Lucy, realtor Suzanne, psychologist Dana, and student Phoebe.  The women are delighted to see Gloria's newfound marital bliss with Jamie Barnett, a struggling artist who is completely besotted with his bride.  The group is nearly as devastated as Jamie when Gloria drowns  in her swimming pool one night while Jamie is in Bosoton arranging a gallery showing of his artwork.  The police believe that Gloria's death was an accident, the sad result of too many painkillers and too much wine.  The Black Sheep knitters are not convinced.  To whom did the second wine glass found by Suzanne belong?  Why did Gloria sound so upbeat on the phone just before her death if she was despondent?  Why was her favorite deck chair on the other side of the pool when she died?  What about her real estate holdings?  Read this charming cozy and find out!

NEEDLES AND PEARLS (Gil McNeil)

Widow Jo MacKenzie has settled into her new life in the seaside English village of Broadgate and her boys, Jack and Archie, are thriving in the community as Jo's yarn shop, McKnits, slowly grows.  A year has now passed since Jo's husband, Nick, announced that he was leaving her for another woman and then promptly died in an auto accident.  Jo's grandmother, Mary, and best friend, Ellen, have fallen in love and are planning their weddings, both of which will prominently feature Jo and her sons.  In the midst of trying to expand her business online with the help of handsome carpenter Martin and dealing with all of the wedding preparations and other dramas in her life, Jo makes a discovery that will change her life forever.

Needles and Pearls continues where The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club leaves off.  This installment (and I hope there will be more!) is just as charming.  McNeil has a way of making the reader feel like they actually  know her characters and that comfortable feeling permeates the novel.  I hated to see ithe last page!

PUSHING UP DAISIES (Rosemary Harris)

Small town politics, a wise-cracking cafe owner, gardening, murder, a beautiful bff, and a couple of good-looking potential love interests ... What more could you ask for in a good cozy?  Paula Holliday has left her high pressure media job in New York to pursue a new, more relaxing (or so she thinks) career as a master gardener in fictional Springfield, CT.  One of her first accomplishments when she is hired to restore the historic gardens at Halcyon is to dig up a box containing a mummified  baby.  Her investigation into the identity of the baby and its mother leads her into an increasingly complicated web of intrigue and the discovery of several local scandals from the past.  Rosemary Harris does an excellent job of weaving all of the plot lines seamlessly into a delightful novel, the first in her "Dirty Business" series.

KNITTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (Claire LaZebnik)

I took this novel on a recent trip to Atlanta for my nephew's wedding (Congratulations, Matthew & Brittney!) and managed to finish it soon after our return home.  I was disappointed, but that is not a reflection on LaZebnik's talent.  The book had a little too much "earthy" language for my taste, but a younger reader would probably not even notice because that's the way most people converse nowadays.  I also had a strange feeling that I had read this novel before, but I really don't think I have.

Kathleen, Lucy, and Sari are three longtime friends of around age 27.  Lucy is a respected researcher with an overbearingly egotistical boyfriend, Sari is a therapist who works with autistic children, and Kathleen is a triplet who has spent her adult life working for and catering to her 2 sisters, who are identical and have enjoyed a career much like that of the Olsen twins.  The three meet and bond every Sunday over knitting.  Kathleen, after an unfortunate comment to the press about her famous sisters, quits her job and ends up living in an apartment below a much older man, a friend of the family, who arranges a job for her and becomes her unwilling confidante as she embarks on a romance with the son of her wealthy employer.  Sari, single and lonely, finds herself fighting an attraction for an old classmate, the father of one of her clients, whom she believes tormented her autistic brother during high school.  Lucy finds herself increasingly irritated with James, her intolerant and critical lover.  Through it all, they knit! 

LaZebnik uses the process of knitting a project as the chapter headings in this book, which is a clever way to enhance the knitting theme.  This is definitely a romance, and definitely chick-lit.  I would not recommend it for an older, more conservative knitter, but the under-thirty crowd would definitely enjoy it.

THE THREE WEISSMANNS OF WESTPORT (Catherine Schine)

This novel has been compared to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and rightly so.  The 3 Weissmanns are dumped wife Betty and her daughters, practical librarian Anne, who is divorced and the mother of 2 grown sons, and flighty Miranda, whose successful literary agency has been destroyed by several James Frey-like memoirists.  Betty's husband, Joseph, has recently become enamored of co-worker Felicity and decides that the time is right to end his 48-year marriage and embark on new adventures in love.  Joseph, with Felicity's encouragement, freezes 70-year-old Betty out financially until the details of their divorce are settled, and Betty is forced to leave their New York city apartment and move to a small cottage in Westport, CT, available due to the beneficence of eccentric cousin Lou, to whom almost everyone is "like family".  Miranda, on the verge of bankruptcy and with her professional reputation in ruins, decides to accompany her mother to Westport.  Anne sublets her apartment and moves to Westport with them, commuting daily to her library job in the city.

Betty is in denial about her divorce and decides to adapt the persona of a grieving widow.  Rather than being angry at Joseph's legal maneuverings, she believes that she will return to her home and that things will eventually straighten out financially.  Miranda, whose pattern of short-lived love affairs and poor choices continues, meets a younger man with an adorable son and falls in love with them both while pretending that her business dealings haven't drained her of all her resources.  Both Betty and Miranda spend Anne's money with total abandon while she struggles to maintain their home and keep their heads above water.

This entertaining novel, like Jane Austen's, has a bit of everything: tragedy, thwarted love, revenge, and the universal struggle to survive against great odds.  Schine shows us a family of women who are survivors and whose story is well-worth reading.

WHILE MY PRETTY ONE KNITS (Anne Canadeo)

Initially, I had a little bit of trouble remembering who was who as I read this entertaining cozy knitting mystery, but I quickly straightened out the cast of characters in my mind.  Lucy, Suzanne, Maggie, Dana, and Phoebe are a group of woman at different stages of life who share a love of knitting and a close friendship.  They meet on a regular basis to knit and socialize at each other's homes or at the Black Sheep.  Maggie Messina, a widow and the owner of the Black Sheep knitting shop, is the mother-figure of the group.  She is also the prime suspect when Amanda Goran, who runs a rival knitting shop in Plum Harbor, MA, is murdered in her store.  When the murder weapon is found in Maggie's shop among the stock that she purchased from Amanda's estranged husband, Peter, the police close in, ready to close the case and arrest Maggie.  I did figure out who the murderer was early on in the book, but this was probably a function of my keen eye for detection rather than a problem with the plot! :) There are a couple of VERY likely suspects here!  I thoroughly enjoyed Canadeo's first knitting mystery.  This is truly a cozy, complete with small town charm, an unlikable victim, an amateur sleuth who is thrust by necessity into the role, and a perfect setting that evokes warmth and friendship.  I certainly plan to read the next installment in this series!

BRAVA VALENTINE (Adriana Trigiani)

Sometimes it bothers me to return to quickly to the same characters and at other times I can't wait to find out what happens in their lives.  "Brava Valentine" is one of the ones I couldn't wait to read.  Valentine Roncalli is probably one of the most true-to-life literary characters that I have encountered.  She is driven yet vulnerable, uncertain and confident at the same time.  She loves her family deeply, yet doesn't always like them.  In her mid-thrities, she has yet to discover what she really wants out of life.  Her career path is certain: she is a cobbler, a creator of custom wedding shoes, the carrier of the family torch.  Her personal life, however, is in chaos as she is torn between two countries and just beginning to consider her biological clock.  She is the unwilling keeper of secrets and the solver of past mysteries.

Trigiani has a knack for mixing humor with pathos, joy with sorrow.  The Angelini/Roncalli family is SO typical, yet so unique, laced with humor, stress, marital angst, and money worries.  They have evolved and become more human since the first installment in Valentine's story and I like them even more now.  Adriana Trigiani excels at writing about love among family members, friends, lovers, and generations linked and unlinked by decisions of the past.  She also provides detailed glimpses into the world of fine shoe manufacturing that are fascinating enough to make me want to know more about the whole process.  I can recommend this novel on so many levels, so I will.  Read it, but read Very Valentine first, if you haven't yet.

EGGS IN PURGATORY (Laura Childs)

Laura Childs' new Cackleberry Club series lives up nicely to her two others.  The Cackleberry Club is a restaurant devoted primarily to egg dishes, but the business also includes knitting and book nooks, so readers can look forward to future mysteries focusing on book clubs and yarn crafts as well as eggs!  The business is run by a recent widow, Suzanne, along with Toni, who has a sort of "reputation' in town and is in the process of divorcing her husband, and Petra, whose husband suffers from Alzheimers.  Suzanne Deitz's physician husband died recently as a result of pancreatic cancer, and now he may be linked to an illegal kickback scheme that could be related to 2 recent murders that hit way to close to home for Suzanne's comfort. Childs throws in a cult complete with a messainic leader, lots of quirky local characters, and some great down-home cooking that all combine into an entertaining and very promising new series.

THE FINISHING TOUCHES (Hester Browne)

One the day of Charles and Diana's wedding, a baby girl is left on the steps of the Phillamore Academy, an exclusive finishing school in London.  Adopted by Lord and Lady Phillamore, the foundling, named Betsy, lives for the day when she, too, can become a Phillamore girl.  Her world is turned upside down when her adoptive parents advise against her attending the academy because she is not the sort of girl who would fit in there.  Instead they suggest that she hone her mathematical skills at university.  She sadly accepts the fact that she is not seen as good enough for high society.  She excels at school but, unfortunately, her career hits a snag and she becomes a shoe store manager while leading her family to believe that she is a successful management consultant.  When Betsy returns home for Lady Frances Phillimore's memorial service she is dismayed to see that the academy is in disrepair and that the classes being taught are hopelessly outdated.  At Lord Phillimore's request she agrees to hire on as a consultant to find ways to improve the school and, hopefully, at the same time find her birth mother.  With the help of her dilettante best friend, Liv, and Liv's brother, on whom Betsy has an unrequited crush, Betsy plans a series of new trial classes and an Open Day to attract new students, all the while fighting against the horrible headmistress and the gold-digging widow with her sights set on Lord Phillimore as her next husband.

Like Hester Browne's other novels, The Finishing Touches is hilarious, heartwarming, and a significant cut above many of the single-girl novels that are popular today.  Her heroines have both a heart and a brain and quickly endear themselves to the reader.  I can't wait for the next one!

THE LONG WAY HOME (Robin Pilcher)

Claire Barclay is a young girl when her widowed mother, Daphne, meets Leo Harrison, a Scottish plant expert who captures her heart.  Leo and Daphne marry and the new family settles in at Leo's estate in Alloa, Scotland.  Leo's two nasty children make Claire feel like an outsider, and Jonas Fairweather, the son of Leo's tenant farmer/mechanic, becomes her only friend.  As the two mature their relationship becomes closer, but when Claire finally declares her love for Jonas she is summarily rejected and flees Alloa to see the world and get over her heartbreak.  In New York she meets restaurant owner Art Barringer and quickly falls in love.

Years later, Claire's mother dies and Claire and Art discover that Leo has developed the beginnings of dementia.  In an effort to help him, they plan to purchase the estate and convert it into a conference center that will include a home for Leo and access to his beloved greenhouses.  They are dismayed to learn that Jonas, who has been helping Leo to manage his finances, also has plans for the property and they come to question his apparent devotion to Leo.

Robin Pilcher has crafted a fine novel, a combination of romance, financial intrigue, mystery, and complicated family dynamics, with a very satisfying conclusion that could easily have been written by one of today's many popular mystery novelists.  This one is a winner.  I miss Rosamund Pilcher's novels, but I'm glad that her son is continuing in her fine tradition!

GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS (Gaynor Arnold)

....A novel Inspired by the Life and Marriage of Charles Dickens.
Young Dorothea (Dodo) Millar is mesmerized by the wit and humor of the brilliant actor / writer Alfred Gibson, a protege of her father, and she contrives, with the help of a becomingly altered blue dress, to win his admiration and his heart.  During her marriage to "The One and Only", a marriage revolving almost exclusively around her increasingly successful husband's wants and needs, Dodo strives to support her husband's career.  Her own problems and desires are lost in the demands of his rising popularity as eight pregnancies deplete her strength and attractiveness.  Eventually Alfred turns Dodo out of their home, publishing a very public and humiliating (to Dorothea) message suggesting that her inadequacies as a wife and mother made it impossible for him, a loving and caring father, to continue with the marriage.

Girl in a Blue Dress is a heartbreaking novel.  It provides us with a very non-idealized view of Dickens the man and with first-hand insight into how his talent and life experience propelled him into becoming the most celebrated and revered writer of the Victorian era.  Dickens spent part of his youth in the workhouse and began working to support his family at the tender age of eight, and many of his experiences from childhood and beyond found their way into his novels.  His talent was indisputable but, if Arnold's interpretation of his life is accurate, he was a megalomaniac whose ego demanded constant stroking.  He had magic, though, and something akin to the celebrity that surrounds today's top athletes and movie stars.  Even his cruelty and his self-serving use of his wife and children did not in any way diminish the public's or Dorothea's love and admiration.

I found the first half of this 414 page book to be somewhat plodding.  Dorothea's depression and inability to cope with Alfred's increasing lack of interest in her, her lack of spunk (she left her six living children behind and regretted that they never came to see her in ten years, never venturing to look at the separation from their point of view!), and her tireless devotion to the man who had cast her out of his life and never looked back, all combine into a portrait of a rather tiresome woman.  I won't even comment on her nickname, "Dodo"!  What makes this novel interesting is Ms. Arnold's detailed portrayal of Gibson /Dickens and the way in which Dorothea begins to come to life and into her own after her husband's death at the age of 58, 10 years after their separation.  After reading this, I want very much to learn more about the literary phenomenon that was Charles Dickens and about his marriage to Catherine Dickens, the real-life Dodo.

WEDDING SEASON (Katie Fforde)

Katie Fforde's novels are always fresh and different.  They are chick-lit, yes, but Fforde has a witty, comical style and creates characters that the reader can care about.  We know that the ending will be happy becausre it wouldn't be a romance without that! 

The main characters in this novel are Sarah, a wedding planner, Elsa, a dress maker, and Bron, a hairdresser who is also talented at makeup and cake making.  I think that one of the unique features of the story is that all three young women are very talented, hard working, and innovative.  No one falls into a career with the help of a handsome man, no one is working in publishing, and no one lives in a grotty apartment or sleeps around with a bunch of low-lifes before finding true love.  Sarah has been hurt in the past and doesn't believe in love, but Bron and Elsa certainly do.  Sarah's loopy sister, Lily, is sweet and comical, a typical chick-lit character whose wedding is planned for the very day that Sarah is supposed to plan a celebrity wedding that could make her career.  With the help of Hugo, James, and Laurence and the requisite misunderstandings and near disasters, Sarah, Elsa, and Bron form a winning team and everyone lives happily ever after.  If you love English ambience in your reading, how could you resist a book populated by a run-down country estate and people named Hugo, Fenella, AND Rupert!  I was in Anglo-Heaven throughout.  This is a great, relaxing book, perfect for a rainy weekend or anytime you want to escape from everyday worries!

THE BAKER'S APPRENTICE (Judith Ryan Hendricks)

I think the thing that I enjoyed most about this novel was the bread-making.  I myself am great at cookies, but very bad at creating edible food that contains yeast (Hooray for bread machines!), so I enjoyed learning how the kneading of the dough develops the texture of the bread and how slight changes in the comBination of ingredients  can completely change the final product.

This is a sort of coming-of-age story for thirty-somethings.  Wyn is in the process of divorcing and in dire financial straits.  She has been part owner of a bread bakery for about a year as the story begins and is newly in love with Mac McLeod, a friend and comforter who is seeking to publish his first novel.  Mac is rough around the edges and Wyn is worried about the transition from friends to lovers.  Everyone is worried about money and no one seems to have any.  This was a pleasant book, but I am still not sure about the title.  Tyler, a blue-haired waif with a difficult family background, becomes Wyn's apprentice, working the night shift by her side creating delicious bread.  Tyler, the apprentice, is not the focus of the novel though; that is the relationship between Wyn and Mac, who for a good part of the novel is living in the Yukon where his truck broke down on his way to Alaska to think for a few months.  The main characters are all well-developed and three-dimensional, easy-going in their relationships despite a significant amount of angst and indecision in their lives.  Wyn and Mac sort of mirror Tyler's transition from aimless child to focused adult.  I'm sure that a good book critic would pull out the symbolism represented by making the bread and figure out the significance of the title.  If you have read it I would appreciate your comments.

RED HOT MURDER (Joanne Pence)

Angie Amalfi is a little out of the ordinary as amateur sleuths go. She has the requisite handsome cop / boyfriend, San Francisco homicide detective Paavo Smith, an interesting career (cooking related), and an insatiable need to investigate any crime that crosses her path. What sets her apart is her wardrobe (designer all the way) and her romantic nature (she spends quite a bit of time waiting for Paavo in bed!).

In Red Hot Murder Angie and Paavo travel to Arizona, he to meet someone to discuss the mysterious death of an old friend, she to scout it as a possible venue for their upcoming wedding. On arrival they find another missing person and a hilarious herd of ostriches that manage to disrupt most of the events in novel. Pence has created a very endearing and likeable character in Angie and overall I enjoyed the story, but I found the large cast of characters difficult to keep track of. Hal, the original victim, was an eccentric retail giant and ranch owner, divorced from Clarissa and father to Joey, who hopes to inherit the ranch. Maritza, Lupe, and Teresa are three generations of a family whose lives are intertwined with several of the other characters. Dolores is the charming cook/housekeeper at the ranch, devoted to the late Hal, and Doc is the local medicine man, in love with the divorced Lupe, who cannot marry him because of her strict Catholic faith. Junior is Hal's cousin, I think, and Lionel runs the ranch, Ned is the vanished friend that Paavo had hoped to meet, and Laverne is the chef with a secret that causes people to run in the other direction when she offers a new recipe for tasting. See what I mean? Overall though, Pence's novel, one of the most recent in this series is colorful and hilarious. If you pay close attention to names and relationships you will enjoy it from the first page to the last.

THE SIDE OF ANGELS (Christina Bartolomeo)

I admit that reading 3 books by this author in 7 weeks is a little excessive, but I enjoy her style and her themes so much!  In this novel we met Dominica (Nicky) Malone, an Irish-Italian single woman employed by a "2nd rate" PR firm.  Nicky has been unlucky in love, leaving Tony, the love of her life, after 5 years of cohabitation and emotional disconnect.  Her most recent ex-boyfriend Jeremy, is an English stunner with questionable morals (he cheated on her for 6 months before she found out) who badly wants to to re-establish their relationship, aided and abetted by Nicky's mother.  Nicky has a quirky, lovable cousin, Louise, who is like a sister to her and runs a successful matchmaking agency.  Nicky's somewhat smarmy boss, Ron, concerned brothers, a close male cousin who shares an unackowledged love with Louise, but is engaged to Betsey, who is all wrong for him, and her interfering mother round out Nicky's immdiate family.  All of them are delightful additions to the mix.

Nicky is assigned to travel to RI from her home in Washington, DC to handle the PR for a threatened nurses strike, a strike being adeptly handles by none other than Tony Boltanski, Nicky's former love.  The details surrounding the strike, the personal situations of the participants and the PR working that go on behind the scenes, are fascinating.  All of the characters are colorful and, amazingly, both believable and, somehow, lovable.  I can't wait for Bartolomeo's next novel to come out!

THE PRODIGAL WIFE (Marcia Willett)

Sometimes the word "twee" comes to mind when I am reading Marcia Willett.  I find her books sweet and relaxing, peopled with real individuals who are just a bit stilted but very human and imperfect.  In this novel the title character is Maria, a recent widow who years ago left her husband and young son, Jolyon, to live with the love of her life, taking her younger son, Edward, with her.  Now that her husband is dead and Edward has lost much of her money in a bad investment and left for greener pastures in America with his girlfriend, Maria is alone and at loose ends.  She seeks to reconnect with her previous life by visiting the Keep, home of her former husband Hal and son Jolyon.  Hal is now married the love of HIS life, Fliss, a widow and his first cousin, from whom he was separated (romantically) by his family years before.  Jolyon is a well-known entrepreneur and television personality who has very mixed feelings about his mother's new interest in him and in the Keep.  As he finds himself falling in love with Henrietta, daughter of old family friend Cordelia (herself embroiled in a romantically intriguing situation), Jolyon tries to deal with his mother and establish a role for her in his life.  In addition to all of the family angst, Willett also creates an interesting and mysterious subplot involving Cordelia and her lover.

Willett's characters are a sometimes a little bit shallow and under-developed and the outcomes of their problems a little bit too neat, but I love her books.  Picture yourself in an English cottage on a gray day with a roaring fire to dispel the damp, a cup of tea and some scones fresh from the Aga, and a couple of large dogs and a pair of wellies by the door.  If this scenario appeals to you, so will Willett!