Review: V is for Vengeance

V is for Vengeance
V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There’s nothing I enjoy more (okay, a few things, but this isn’t the place for that kind of talk) than a Kinsey Millhone mystery/crime/romance. This one had everything.

Kinsey is hired by a widower to look into the alleged suicide of his fiancé who was recently arrested for shoplifting when Kinsey caught her stuffing a lace teddy and two pair of silk pajamas in her bag at Nordstrom’s. What Kinsey uncovers about the woman’s past leads her to more than she ever thought and pulls the reader through a delicately woven plot of organized crime, dirty cops, blackmail, deceit, and romance.

The story opens on a spoiled college graduate, Phillip, with a penchant for gambling. Can he beat the system and pay back what he borrowed from a “financier” named Dante? Can he go to his parents for help?

Nora is an upscale housewife. When she discovers her husband cheating, she sets out to be prepared for the inevitable. While trying to sell an expensive ring, she meets an intriguing man. But is he a crime boss?

Dante runs his family business with an unusual moral code not common in the crime world. But, he’s under investigation and it looks like they might have him this time. Will Dante throw in the towel for a married women with a wandering husband? Will he leave the family business to Cappi, his bumbling thug of a brother?

How are all these lives tied together? It’s a mammoth web of intertwined lives with a full line-up of characters. Sue Grafton has outdone herself. I’ve loved all of the alphabet mysteries, but this one is by far my favorite.

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Review: Mercury Rises

Mercury Rises
Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A sequel to the hilarious Mercury Falls, Mercury Rises gives readers a insightful backstory on Mercury and his relationship to Tiamat who vows to make Lucifer’s rebellion look like a toddler tantrum. I can see satan kicking and screaming now.

And who would have guessed the ark had a name? Noah makes a wonderful appearance with his big boat and been-cooped-up-too-long family and we learn what really happened to certain mystical creatures.

The apocalypse looms large yet again and much-loved characters return. This installment in Mercury’s story is rife with plot lines moving faster than a particle collider and more twists and turns than a Tawani mountain crevice.

Kroese’s whimsical version of Biblical events is pure genius. But will the world survive his next book? Beware the sparkly apples.

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Funny Who You Run Into Over Coffee

Took Allyson to Hobknobb Coffee Shop to make homework more palatable. I’d barely finished my pumpkin spice latte when I heard, “Karen!?”

It was a friend I hadn’t seen in ages. I use “ages” to avoid giving away increments of time that can be compiled to determine my real age.

The funny part of this story is discovering she co-authored a book and she was holding a signing in the coffee shop. On the day my most recent children’s book hits cyber-shelves. It was kismet.

So, obviously, I bought the book, got it signed and it’s moved to the head of my reading list.

You can find it at Live Unbroken.

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Review: Tommy Nightmare

Tommy Nightmare
Tommy Nightmare by J.L. Bryan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Pox thickens…

The second installment in the Jenny Pox series, Tommy Nightmare, is a wonderful dream come true. More Jenny, more Seth and more fantastic characters with unexpected powers.

This book picks up where Jenny Pox left off and as things return to normal (sort of) in Fallen Oak after the apoxalypse, new friends and enemies emerge. But how do you tell them apart? I don’t know! That’s what’s great about this series. Just when I think I know something, I get slapped right in the face. This book series has it all: fascinating plot, fresh ideas, detailed characters, heart-wrenchingly sad moments, skin-crawlingly (is that a word?) spooky moments, intelligent dialogue, twists, turns and double parking. Love, love, love this series.

So, in the words of the famous Ninja Turtle, Raphael, “I do hope there’s more o’ them.”

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