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.

Jane, by April Lindner

When I cataloged this, I knew I had to read it: it's a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. In spite of having reservations towards the beginning of it, by the middle of the book I was firmly pulled in, trying to figure out how Lindner was going to work the original plot out.

Now I need to go find my copy of JE and reread it....

Cemetery Dance, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (on CD)

Check this series off as one I don't need to look in on again. Pretty good plotting, with some outrageous red herrings and coincidences. Got a little tired of hearing the saw descriptions of the "zombies"--their horrifying aspect and scent, etc.

Still the descriptions of "vodou" and of the last original bit of original forest on Manhattan (yeah, Manhattan still has forest on it!) drove me to find a map and really explore the entire length of the island and realize just how big it is. And we really don't hear much about over 85% of it.

Hell is Other Parents, by Deborah Copaken Kogan

AWESOME funny!!!!

Born in Death, by J.D. Robb (on CD)

So, Dallas is supposed to be planning a baby shower for her best friend, but she gets sidetracked by the murders of two account execs about to be married. Good. Nice ending.

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx, by Sally Koslow

Chick lit meets The Lovely Bones. Funny, silly, lightweight with enough 'nutritional value' to keep me reading.

The Burglar in the Rye, by Lawrence Block (on CD)

Salvation in Death, by J. D. Robb

Strangers in Death, by J.D. Robb

Good stuff. Better than anticipated!

Winter and Night, by S.J. Rozan

Uh-oh--yet another List Author.

This series features P.I. Bill Smith and in this book we meet his family, such as they are since he hasn't actually seen any of them in decades. Yet, his nephew Gary shows up unexpectedly, just long enough to make it clear he's in trouble and then disappears again. Even though everyone involved wants Smith to back off, he feels compelled to nose around, "stirring up trouble."

Somehow, Rozan weaves together high school and small-town sociology, bullying, and family history without losing the flow of suspense.

Dead Time by Stephen White

I believe I've missed a book. Or something. I was very confused about where this picks up the timeline of Dr. Gregory's life.

However, this books finds both the doctor and his cop friend not working due to emotional issues. Sam is on administrative leave--or something--from the police force. Alan is coping with the death of an old and very close friend, the 'inheritance' of her son and her pushy brother, and a startling distance in his relationship with his wife. In the midst of all this, his ex-wife appears on the scene and asks him to track down the woman who is carrying her child to term.

OK, weird. It involves a trip this other woman took into the Grand Canyon a few years ago, during which ANOTHER woman disappeared mysteriously. It's all strange and spooky and menacing.

But rather shockingly good. I literally couldn't put the book down towards the end, staying up till 2 a.m. to finish it! I haven't done that in awhile.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer (on CD)

Disclaimer 1: I tried reading Foer's Everything Is Illuminated which sounded wonderful...till I tried read it. Gave up; too weird.

Disclaimer 2: I wouldn't have read this book with my eyes. It's also very weird. But the narrators are excellent in this version, and I was hooked on the kid...the main character.

The kid, Oskar Schell is precocious in the extreme. At age 9 he knows far more than he 'should' about many things, including the death of his father in the World Trade Center tragedy. Oskar discovers a key in his father's closet months after his death, and spends the next several months searching for the owner of the lock based on some very slim evidence.

Interwoven in the main story are the stories of Oskar's grandmother and grandfather--separate stories but both equally sad and poignant that also begin with bombs, bombs that were dropped on Dresden over 60 years ago.

Wonderful stories, really fabulous characterizations of all the very different people. This is probably the first book I've ever read that made me think that living in New York City might not be such a bad thing.

Quality of Life Report, by Meghan Daum

Hmm. Sort of chick lit for the Ivy League set. I didn't like many people in this book, especially the narrator who is the personification of one of my own personal pet peeves: Life Does Not Exist Outside of New York City. That attitude has been the major reason for my unwillingness to EVER visit the city, which was finally (I thought) exorcised by the events of September 11, 2001.

And yet, here it raises its head again in a story about a 30ish "woman" who heads into the wilds of the midwest to report on life there for the viewers of a New York talk/information show that's about as deep and meaningful as the layer of scum on a spring-fed pond. As is the 'heroine.'

Reading this book was painful and depressing for me on many levels. I know this chick, and can't STAND her! Since a tiny bit of her exists in me, that led to feelings of desperation at the sight of my own failings. She is also the embodiment of all I loathe about women's magazines (Cosmo, et al.) and their cheap attempts at "serious" articles. The author's description of winter in the upper midwest is spot-on, which means that I'm having my usual mid-winter blecchhhhh NOW, in the midst of a perfectly lovely stretch of 70-degree-and-sunny weather. The only person I liked in the book turns out to be a meth addict, and I can totally see WHY because I'd probably do meth too if I had to be around this dingbat for more than 30 seconds. By the way, I hardly think it's as easy as it appears to quit cranking on meth. In any case, what I'm saying is that everything negative about the main character is me, and....there is nothing particularly positive about her except that on the last page she pulls her head out of her butt for the first time in the book. She is the least proactive person I think I've ever read about, which is precisely the way I was raised NEVER to be. She drove me frickin' CRAZY!

And then the end. Poof: magic wand time. Tie it all up in a neat little package of sudden awareness, motivation, and being saved by the evil NewYorkians. This is definitely a book I will remember, but certainly not fondly, since the things I liked about it made me profoundly depressed about my life, and the parts I didn't like (see the opening lines of this paragraph for example) were simply hideous.