To Fetch a Thief, by Spencer Quinn (on CD)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, so Chet is now an elephant whisperer. Man, that dog is brilliant, in a purely doggy sort of way. I want to read more in this series, but probably not all at once. A little too much sweetness.

The Old Gray Wolf, by James D. Doss

I've really come to enjoy these books, which are really good stories (mysteries) while also being full of silliness and general amusement at the ridiculousness of people. This is supposedly the "final novel in the series," and that makes me very sad. I'm fairly happy for Sarah, though.... :-)

Looking for Yesterday, by Marcia Muller

A little clunky, one of those moving-the-Big-Story-along books. Actually several of hers have been like this lately. The mystery itself was a little weird too. Maybe I read it too fast, mostly all in one day....

A Necessary Evil, by Alex Kava (on CD)

Priests are being murdered in the Midwest. Women are being dismembered in the D.C. area. How are these cases connected? Or are they? It's a bit of a stretch to say that they are, and although the end was kind of a feel-good ending, I can't help thinking about the housekeeper in Boston who was in the wrong place at the worst possible time. Still, an interesting puzzle, if a little too convoluted. I wasn't thrilled with the reader, but the story was good enough that I could see reading more by this author.

Before The Poison, by Peter Robinson

Interesting take on grief and how dissociation, distraction can bring you right back to it. Loved. It. Too bad the big bombshell in the last 20 pages didn't come as much of a surprise to me....

XO, by Jeffrey Deaver

This sounded interesting, and Deaver's a popular author. Well, I enjoyed the story, but it was pretty formulaic. I think I have read my last by this author, which is too bad; I sorta like the main character.

Drawing Conclusions, by Donna Leon (on CD)

OK, I think I may have to add Leon to my authors list. Sigh. ;-)

An Apple for the Creature, by Charlaine Charlaine

Some nice stories in here about various kinds of "creatures"--not all the stories are scary. Most aren't.

Odd Hours, by Dean Koontz (on CD)

OK, this was a very weird book. I haven't read any Koontz before, but I have to say that this character, Odd Thomas, has me hooked. He's funny and smart and can see ghosts. Sort of Melinda Gordon without eyelashes and lingerie and oh, the ghosts don't actually speak.

This one was about a group of lunatics buying atomic bombs and how Odd stops their plot.

Judgment Call, J.A. Jance

After the high school principal disappears, Jenny finds her body up the road from their ranch, and Joanna finds that this woman had a very strange personal history. The story unfolds, involves a local artists' charity and in the midst of it all Joanna discovers some facts about her father that lead to another old case (or two) being resolved. Pretty good.

Death in August, by Marco Vichi

Set in Florence, in August, in 1963. I will never go to Florence in August; sounds like hell. However, this made me want to go back to wander the streets. The story is quite good but much slower than I expected. And cats...what's the deal with cats? lol

Agent 6, by Tom Rob Smith

Wow. Convoluted. Takes place over the course of 30 years, from the visit to the USSR of a black American singer in the early 50s, to New York City 15 years later, to 1980 in Afghanistan. I really wanted to like Leo, but he really annoyed the crap out of me in this book. There were a lot of rather unbelievable situations here, but the story is pretty good.

"Agent 6" shows up early in the book, but under his actual name. It's not till the last 50 or so pages that we find out who that name refers to. And the end....what the heck? I don't even know what to say about it.

Worth Dying For, by Lee Child (on CD)

There is a certain suspension of belief that must take place in these books. I realized partway through that there are parts of this that are very "porn-y" about violence (without sex). Yuck. Still...I love these books. How is Reacher going to get rid of 20 people arrayed against him? Luck plays a major part.

In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero, by Otto Penzler

My main thought as I was reading this was that I can now claim that I've read a festschrift, and for an author I had come to adore well before he died a couple of years ago.

This was a collection of essays on Parker, Spenser, some of the other characters and series Parker wrote, and even the TV show and movies based on his work. Fun. Not difficult reading. If you love the series(es), you'd enjoy the book.

Death Dance, by Linda Fairstein (on CD)

OK. Could have used a little tighter editing--there were some "wait, she already knew that!" moments, and clear seams where chapters had been reworked and moved around.

Still, if you're into the New York theatrical world, this is an interesting look at the backstage antics of some major players. Also, drugged date rape hits this series.

Entombed, by Linda Fairstein (on CD)

Interesting, if a bit of a potboiler, about a team of two police detectives and a DA in New York investigating a series of women who have been attacked and/or raped over a long period of time, as well as trying to figure out who bricked up a woman in the basement of a brownstone. The cases are not related, but one of them revolved around Edgar A. Poe, his stories and his biography. Fun, though a bit cheesy at times. However, it was read by Barbara Rosenblatt, who remains the best female narrator in my opinion, with no one else being even close.

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.

File M for Murder, by Miranda James

I believe I came across this in my reading for work; the author and I are on the same listserv. It's not bad. Quite silly, in parts, but fun. The main character is a cataloger at a small Southern college. His daughter and a guest professor are friends, and the prof ends up dead with said daughter as the mostly likely murderer. And so it goes.

1222, by Anne Holt

There are books that should be read slowly, but this is a book that should be read quickly, in big gulps. Unfortunately, I didn't do that. Still, it was pretty good, as "locked-room puzzles" go. Wouldn't mind reading more by Holt.

Deader Homes & Gardens, by Joan Hess (on CD)