Cadillac Beach, by Tim Dorsey (on CD)

Hmm, I'm not sure what to say about this except that once I got the hang of Serge's (ahem) temperament, I found it more enjoyable. A bit hard to follow, especially on CD, because it jumps around from place to place, person to person, and back and forth in time. At the end, I'm not even sure I remember what happened to the stolen gems, but that's because that's not the major part of the story. Except it is. Fun. ALMOST made me want to visit Miami and environs...almost.

Funny as hell, but also irritating as hell, much like Serge himself.

Unwanted, by Kristina Ohlsson

Very good, although I totally had the key to the puzzle figured out about 100 pages in. Still, watching the police team work through a very complex investigation of the kidnapping and subsequent death of a child followed by more mayhem and horror was fun. Plus, Sweden! And a cameo appearance of an American profiler of serial killers, whose description is worth the price of the book even if he's only around for about 6 pages.

The Rope, by Nevada Barr

This is a prequel to the series, and takes place in Glen Canyon where Anna has gone to try to escape after the death of her husband. Then she gets sort-of kidnapped and trapped for a couple of days in a deep hole in the desert. Creepy--had a little bit of trouble with the idea of her being at all willing to going underground in Carlsbad Caverns (in a later-in-life book written about 10 years ago, which cured me of EVER doing any spelunking!).

Anyway, this is how Anne ends up as a Park Ranger. Not sure how effective it is in explaining that, but it's wonderful to find out a bit more about what she was like as a young, pretty woman. A redhead? Who knew? :-)

Breakdown, by Sara Paretsky

Good. As usual, I was pretty annoyed by V.I. at times, but it's very fun to watch her careening around a city I know pretty well, getting irritated at traffic and some of the same stupid things that irritate me.

This is about a group of teenage girls doing some sort of vampire ritual in a cemetery at night when they happen upon a dead body. And then things get crazy: between a FOXNews-like local network, rabid right-wingers trying to dig up dirt on the Democratic candidate for Senate (or House?), and her supporters trying to keep their private lives private. There's a lot of stuff about a large mental hospital that houses the criminally insane, an old law school classmate, Vic's ex-husband...and WWII, sorta.

City of Whispers, by Marcia Muller

Good, as usual. I seem to have missed a book though. Anyway, this one is about her half-brother who is homeless and hopeless, and missing. He's also the main suspect in the murder of a wealthy young woman.

Winter's Child, by Margaret Maron (on CD)

I think one of the main reasons I like listening to this series is the reader (C.J. Critt). She may not get the accents or voices right, but she certainly nails the tone.

This one is about the death of Dwight's first wife.