Ford County by John Grisham

Ford County by John Grisham

My Rating: 3 *'s

Description: In his first collection of short stories, John Grisham takes us back to Ford County, Mississipppi, the setting of his first novel, A Time To Kill.

Fetching Raymond --- Wheelchair-bound Inez Graney and her two older sons, Leon and Butch, take a bizarre road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit the youngest Graney brother, Raymond, who's been locked away on death row for eleven years. It could well be their last visit.

Fish Files --- Mack Stafford, a hard-drinking and low-grossing run-of-the-mill divorce lawyer, gets a miracle phone call with a completely unexpected offer to settle some old, forgotten cases for more money than he has ever seen. Mack is suddenly bored with the law, fed up with his wife and his life, and makes drastic plans to finally escape.

Casino --- Quiet, dull Sidney, a data collector for an insurance company, perfects his blackjack skills in hopes of bringing down the casino empire of Clanton's most ambitious hustler, Bobby Carl Leach, who, among other crimes, has stolen Sidney's wife.

Blood Drive --- Three good ol' boys from rural Ford County begin a journey to the big city of Memphis to give blood to a grievously injured friend. However, they are unable to drive past a beer store as the trip takes longer and longer. The journey comes to an abrupt end when they make a fateful stop at a Memphis strip club.

Quiet Haven --- The Quiet Haven Retirement Home is the final stop for the elderly of Clanton. It's a sad, languid place with little controversy, until Gilbert arrives. Posing as a low-paid bedpan boy, he is in reality a brilliant stalker with an uncanny ability to sniff out the assets of those "seniors" he professes to love.

Michael's Room --- One of the hazards of litigating against people in a small town is that one day, long after the trial, you will probably come face-to-face with someone you've beaten in a lawsuit. Lawyer Stanley Wade bumps into an old adversary, a man with a long memory, and the encounter becomes a violent ordeal.

Funny Boy --- Clanton is rocked with the rumor that the gay son of a prominent family has finally come home, to die. Of AIDS. Fear permeates the town as gossip runs unabated. But in Lowtown, the colored section of Clanton, the young man finds a soul mate in his final days.

Featuring a cast of characters you'll never forget, these stories bring Ford County to vivid and colorful life. Often hilarious, frequently moving, and always entertaining, this collection makes it abundantly clear why John Grisham is our most popular storyteller.

My Thoughts: Pretty good stories filled with the interesting characters that Grisham is known for.

Fatal Truth by Robin Burcell

Fatal Truth by Robin Burcell

My Rating: 8 *'s

Description: A Homicide Inspector with the San Francisco Police Department, Kate Gillespie worked hard to get where she is. But a frantic phone call from a snitch threatens to destroy everything she is and everything she's earned. Pulled from the bright lights of the Homicide office onto the shadowy night streets, she arrives at a clandestine meet just in time to see the frightened informer shot dead ... by another cop. Now Kate is a target, on a trail of dirty deals, corruption, and escalating violence that reaches back into her own troubled family history and deep into a department riddled with dark secrets and truths that kill. Suddenly Kate Gillespie is teetering on a "blue wall of silence" and being set up to take a long, fatal fall --- by a relentless killer who's hiding in plain sight.

My Thoughts: A fast paced, adrenaline charged story that will keep the reader guessing. Kate Gillespie is a character I can admire and root for. Looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing what develops between Kate and Torrance.

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

My Rating: 9 *'s

Description: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.

My Thoughts: Alot of interesting plot twists greet Rachel and her friends in this installment of the series. Some good and some quite sad and some extremely unwanted and disappointing. The longer the series goes gives me more curiosity to the direction the author will take Rachel and Trent's relationship. In this book, the reader is given a glimpse of their childhood past and, for me, a little bit more understanding of their history. Jenks remains my favorite character in the series with his Tinkerbell expletives that keep me laughing until my sides hurt.

One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My Rating: 10*'s

Description: You can run from the grave, but you can't hide...

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield is now Special Agent Cat Crawfield, working for the government to rid the world of the rogue undead. She's still using everything Bones, her sexy and dangerous ex, taught her, but when Cat is targeted for assassination, the only man who can help her is the vampire she left behind.

Being around him awakens all her emotions, from the adrenaline kick of slaying vamps side by side to the reckless passion that consumed them. But a price on her head -- wanted: dead or half-alive -- means her survival depends on teaming up with Bones. And no matter how hard she tries to keep things professional between them, she'll find that desire lasts forever... and that Bones won't let her get away again.

My Thoughts: This series just keeps getting better and better! Cat finally meets her father and her intention to kill him is stronger than ever, so I expect we will see more of this storyline in future books. After four years apart, Bones and Cat still have the chemistry that brought them together in the first book. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the storyline of Cat's para-military vampire killing team, but they are all great characters and the twist involving Don's involvement in Cat's life was an interesting revelation.

New Additions To The TBR Pile In June

I'm a book addict...hopelessly addicted...is there a pill or medical procedure out there that can cure me? :o)

Undead And Unwelcome by MaryJanice Davidson

Description: Betsy Taylor has problems that only a vampire queen/suburban wife could possibly understand. Such as taking the body of her werewolf friend Antonia-who died in her service-to Cape Cod, where she's not sure if the Wyndham werewolves will welcome her with fangs or friendship. Meanwhile, her posse back in St. Paul is sending frantic e-mails alerting Betsy to her half-sister's increasingly erratic behavior. Looks like the devil's daughter is coming into her own-and raising hell.

Same As It Never Was by Claire LaZebnik

Description: "Olivia Martin has mastered the art of cynicism. She's sailing through college, indifferent to grades or the people around her, just grateful to be living on her own, away from her divorced parents. Her rich father's second marriage is no happier than his first and has only strengthened Olivia's determination never to let herself fall in love. Unfortunately, some things are out of her control, and while Olivia does her best to stave off the early signs of infatuation, she can't deny she's interested in her dangerously handsome T.A. Just when she's thinking she might let herself fall for the guy, a car accident changes her life in ways she never expected. Suddenly, Olivia has to figure out the right thing to do - and whether or not she wants to do it." Olivia narrates her own story in a bold and honest voice. Plunked down against her will in a huge mansion in the wealthiest part of Los Angeles, and forced for the first time in her life to take responsibility for others, she finds herself more pampered than she's ever been before - and more burdened. Used to skimming along the surface of life, Olivia learns that no amount of ironic detachment can completely insulate you from the siren call of family and love.

First Drop Of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Description: The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows - her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield - and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's dark past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness - and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who craves a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human - even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the demon nightmare together...

Because once the first drop of crimson falls, they will both be lost.

Fat Chance by Rhonda Pollero

Description: The difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of your mother is that eventually God forgives you.

Finley Anderson Tanner just landed a quaint new cottage on posh Palm Beach. Not bad for an underachieving, sample-sale-shopping paralegal -- until she finds the place in shambles. She should have known better than to accept her overbearing mother's offer to sell her a house unseen at a bargain-basement mortgage rate. Good-bye Rolex dreams. At this rate, she'll be shopping designer outlets forever.

When Finley discovers a skeleton in her new closet, right where her Jimmy Choos should be, a total home renovation is the least of her worries. Sure, she knows how to catch a crook, but when a girl's sandwiched between sexy P.I. Liam McGarrity and her hot new boss, defense attorney Tony Caprelli, she can only be headed for commitment. To an institution. With her fabulous (but slightly more successful) friends to keep her sane and her interfering mother out of town, Finley vows to get this bad guy -- and decorate her new house -- even if she has to pay full price.

Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Description: Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger...

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won't stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor's hold over her. She'll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she's ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

Description: Rachel Morgan has fought and hunted vampires, werewolves, banshees, demons, and other supernatural dangers as both witch and bounty hunter--and lived to tell the tale. But she's never faced off against her own kind . . . until now. Denounced and shunned for dealing with demons and black magic, her best hope is life imprisonment--at worst, a forced lobotomy and genetic slavery.Only her enemies are strong enough to help her win her freedom, but trust comes hard when it hinges on the unscrupulous tycoon Trent Kalamack, the demon Algaliarept, and an ex-boyfriend turned thief.