Origin In Death by J.D. Robb

Origin In Death by J.D. Robb

My Rating: 10*'s

Description: Set in 2059 in New York City, the number-one bestselling In Death series has given fans a searing glimpse into near-future law and order. Now, as scientists work to expand the limits of technology, Detective Eve Dallas tracks the cunning, cold-blooded killer of a father and son.

A pioneer of modern reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, Dr. Wilfred B. Icove, is found dead in his office -- murdered in a chillingly efficient manner: one swift stab to the heart. Struck by the immaculate condition of the crime scene, Dallas suspects a professional killing. Security disks show a stunningly beautiful woman calmly entering and leaving the building -- the good doctor's final appointment.

Known as "Dr. Perfect," the saintly Icove devoted his life to his family and his work. His record is clean. Too clean for Dallas. She knows he was hiding something and suspects that his son -- and successor -- knows what it is. Then, like father, like son, the young Dr. Icove is killed... with the same deadly precision.

But who is the mystery woman -- and what was her relationship with the good doctors? While her husband, Roarke, works behind the scenes, Dallas follows her darkest instincts into the Icoves' pasts. What she discovers are men driven to create perfection -- playing fast and loose with the laws of nature, the limits of science, and the morals of humanity.

In "a series that gets better with each book" (Publishers Weekly), ORIGIN IN DEATH proves once again the incredible appeal of Eve Dallas and the bestselling popularity of her creator. Whether writing as herself or as J. D. Robb, Nora Roberts continues to push the boundaries of suspense -- and she takes delighted fans along for the ride.

My Thoughts: A fantastic installment that pulls Eve, Roark and company into the world of genetic cloning and what else --- murder! What starts out as a typical homicide investigation for Eve quickly spirals into a whirlpool of family secrets, ethics and integrity issues that pull Eve into different directions as she must confront her own ethics and integrity while making judgments on others.

Throwing into the mix is the arrival of Roark's LARGE extended family from Ireland to celebrate Thanksgiving, which pleases Roark to no end but has Eve struggling to take it all in, especially the children. I am thoroughly enjoying watching how Eve and Roark handle themselves around children. It's very entertaining and laughed quite a few times. Better them than me.

If you haven't read this series before, give yourself a treat and start. You won't be disappointed.

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Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My Rating: 10 *'s

Description: Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

My Thoughts: Excellent series featuring a strong heroine who is half human and half vampire. Cat's mission to hunt and destroy all vampires brings her into contact with a vampire who is a bounty hunter and whom she learns to trust and ultimately love as they form a partnership to bring down a group of killers whose connections reach quite high. The chemistry between Cat and Bones is very intense. As a woman who has grown up hating half of who she is and vowing to kill every vampire, she is reluctant to trust Bones and would gladly kill him at her first opportunity. She doesn't count on trusting him and finally loving him enough to make a great sacrifice to keep him safe.

This book ends on a downer but it holds promise of what the next installment of this series may bring. I am looking forward to finding out what adventures are in store for Cat and Bones as well as the direction their relationship takes. Fans of the paranormal genre will enjoy this series for the unique story it tells and the witty, sarcastic dialogue between Cat and Bones.

Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb

Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb

My Rating: 10 *'s

Description: No affairs. No criminal connections. No DNA. No clues. Eve Dallas may be the best cop in the city --- not to mention having the lavish resources of her husband, Roarke, at her disposal --- but the Swisher case has her baffled. The family members were murdered in their beds with brutal, military precision. The state of the art security was breached, and the killers used night vision equipment to find their way through the upper middle class house. Clearly, Dallas is dealing with pros. The only mistake they made was to overlook the nine year old girl cowering in the dark kitchen.

Now Nixie Swisher is an orphan --- and the sole eyewitness to a seemingly inexplicable crime. Kids are not Dallas's strong suit. But Nixie needs a safe place to stay, and Dallas needs to solve this case. Not only because of the promise she made to Nixie. Not only for the cause of justice. But also to put to rest some of her own darkest memories --- and deepest fears. With her partner, Peabody, on the job, and watching her back --- and with Roarke providing the kind of help that only he can give --- Lieutenant Eve Dallas is running after shadows, and dead set on finding out who's behind them.

My Thoughts: This installment really tugs at the reader's heartstrings to see how Eve tries to balance doing her job to bring justice to a little girl and not getting personally attached. I found myself wondering throughout the book if Eve and Roark would go ahead and become Nixie's legal guardians, though having a child in Eve's care full time would change the concept of this series. Couldn't help but admire Nixie's spirit while trying to cope with the loss of her family and best friend. The stages of trauma displayed by Nixie were realistic and well-written.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In July

The Heroines by Eileen Favorite

Description: Although a true lover of books, Anne-Marie Entwhistle prefers not to read to her spirited daughter, Penny, especially from the likes of Madame Bovary, Gone With the Wind, or The Scarlet Letter. These novels, devoted to the lives of the Heroines that make them so irresistible, have a way of hitting too close to home -- well, to the Homestead actually, where Anne-Marie runs the quaint family-owned bed and breakfast.

In this enchanting debut novel, Penny and her mother encounter great women from classic works of literature who make the Homestead their destination of choice just as the plots of their tumultuous, unforgettable stories begin to unravel. They appear at all hours of the day and in all manners of distress. A lovesick Madame Bovary languishes in their hammock after Rodolphe has abandoned her, and Scarlett O'Hara's emotions are not easily tempered by tea and eiderdowns. These visitors long for comfort, consolation, and sometimes for more attention than the adolescent Penny wants her mother to give.

Knowing that to interfere with their stories would cause mayhem in literature, Anne-Marie does her best to make each Heroine feel at home, with a roof over her head and a shoulder to cry on. But when Penny begins to feel overshadowed by her mother's indulgence of each and every Heroine, havoc ensues, and the thirteen-year-old embarks on her own memorable tale.



Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Description: Turn on all the lights and check under your bed. Things are about to get spooky in Trenton, New Jersey. According to legend, the Jersey Devil prowls the Pine Barrens and soars above the treetops in the dark of night. As eerie as this might seem, there are things in the Barrens that are even more frightening and dangerous. And there are monkeys. Lots of monkeys. Wulf Grimoire is a world wanderer and an opportunist who can kill without remorse and disappear like smoke. He’s chosen Martin Munch, boy genius, as his new business partner, and he’s chosen the Barrens as his new playground. Munch received his doctorate degree in quantum physics when he was twenty-two. He’s now twenty-four, and while his brain is large, his body hasn’t made it out of the boys’ department at Macy’s. Anyone who says good things come in small packages hasn’t met Munch. Wulf Grimoire is looking for world domination. Martin Munch would be happy if he could just get a woman naked and tied to a tree. Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has Munch on her most-wanted list for failure to appear in court. Plum is the all-American girl stuck in an uncomfortable job, succeeding on luck and tenacity. Usually she gets her man. This time she gets a monkey. She also gets a big guy named Diesel. Diesel pops in and out of Plum’s life like birthday cake – delicious to look at and taste, not especially healthy as a steady diet, gone by the end of the week if not sooner. He’s an über bounty hunter with special skills when it comes to tracking men and pleasing women. He’s after Grimoire, and now he’s also after Munch. And if truth were told, he wouldn’t mind setting Stephanie Plum in his crosshairs. Diesel and Plum hunt down Munch and Grimoire, following them into the Barrens, surviving cranberry bogs, the Jersey Devil, a hair-raising experience, sand in their underwear, and, of course . . . monkeys.



My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, et al

Description: WEREWOLVES, VAMPIRES, WITCHES, VOODOO, ELVIS --- AND WEDDINGS

An "ordinary" wedding can get crazy enough, so can you imagine what happens when otherworldly creatures are involved? Nine of the hottest authors of paranormal fiction answer that question in this delightful collection of supernatural wedding stories. What's the seating plan when rival clans of werewolves and vampires meet under the same roof? How can a couple in the throes of love overcome traps set by feuding relatives...who are experts at voodoo? Will you have a good marriage if your high-seas wedding is held on a cursed ship? How do you deal with a wedding singer who's just a little too good at impersonating Elvis?

Shape-shifters, Wizards, and Magic, Oh My!

Contents:
-- Spellbound / L.A. Banks
-- Something borrowed / Jim Butcher
-- Dead man's chest / Rachel Caine
-- "All shook up" / P.N. Elrod
-- The wedding of Wylda Serene / Esther M. Friesner
-- Charmed by the moon / Lori Handeland
-- Tacky / Charlaine Harris
-- A hard day's night-searcher / Sherrilyn Kenyon
-- "-- or forever hold your peace" / Susan Krinard



Momzillas by Jill Kargman

Description: A hilarious and deliciously scathing send-up of motherhood as practiced in the upper echelons of Manhattan society, from the coauthor of The Right Address and Wolves in Chic Clothing.

The mothers on Manhattan’s chic Upper East Side are highly educated, extremely wealthy, and very competitive. They throw themselves and all of their energy and resources into full-time child rearing, turning their kids into the unwitting pawns in a game where success is measured in precocious achievements, jam-packed schedules, and elite private-school pedigrees.

Hannah Allen has recently moved to the neighborhood with her New York City–bred investment banker husband and their two-year-old daughter, Violet. She’s immediately inundated by an outpouring of advice from her not-so-well-intentioned new friends and her overbearing, socially conscious mother-in-law, who coach her on matters ranging from where to buy the must-have $300 baby dress to how to get into the only pre-pre-preschool that counts. Despite her better instincts and common sense, Hannah soon finds herself caught up in the competitive whirl of high-stakes mothering.



Mayhem In High Heels by Gemma Halliday

Description: Maddie Springer is finally walking down the aisle with the man of her dreams. And she's got the perfect wedding planner to pull it all off in style. Well, perfect, that is, until the woman winds up dead --- murdered in buttercream frosting. Suddenly Maddie's dream wedding melts faster than an ice sculpture at an outdoor buffet. And when her groom to be is made the detective in charge of the case, there goes any chance of a honeymoon. Unless, of course, Maddie can find the murderer before her big day.

With the help of her fellow fashionista friends, Maddie vows to unveil the cold-blooded killer. Is it the powerful ex-husband, the hot young boy toy, a secret lover from the past or a billionaire bridezilla on the warpath? As the wedding day grows closer, tempers flare, old flames return, and Maddie's race to the altar turns into a race against time.




Devil May Ride by Wendy Roberts

Description: Sadie Novak is blessed with the gift of second sight. More of a curse, really, since she's the owner of a crime scene cleanup company and can' get through a job without the ghost of a murder victim popping in for a chat.

Sadie and her sexy partner, Zack, find themselves knee-deep in trouble on their latest job when they stumble over evidence of a chilling cult ritual in an abandoned meth lab, and Sadie comes face-to-face with an evil spirit unlike any she's seen before. And it's no coincidence that a depleted hoard of stolen cash turns up at her next crime scene just in time to convince a gang of meth-deprived motorcyclists that Sadie made off with their money.

With a hell-raising band of bikers hot on her heels, Sadie has to act fast. She knows the threads are connected, but how? It's a shock to discover that everything is linked to her own family --- and a secret so dark it makes gossiping with ghosts look like child's play.





Crazy For You by Kate Angell

Description: From the moment she spotted his hamburger-and-French-fry emblazoned boxers with the word supersized on them, Bree knew Sexton St. Croix was trouble. Here was a man with just one thing on his mind, but Sex had hired her to do a job and she'd let nothing get in her way. Not even a sudden insatiable craving for fast food, the hotter the better.

Sexton St. Croix had a big problem. His luxury ocean liner was haunted--by the ghost of an unflappable flapper named Daisy. Now, in an effort to persuade Daisy to “cheese it,” he'd opened the ship to a veritable psychic circus. With every type of paranormal phony swarming the decks, he was counting on Bree's “clairsentience” to save his bacon. Her exquisitely sensitive fingers could detect the emotional vibrations of an 80-year-old love triangle and the unsolved murder that had resulted, while her tender touch unlocked secrets in his own heart. Here, at last, was the woman to convince the pleasure-before-promises playboy of the virtues of good, old-fashioned romance.