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.

Feet of Clay, by Terry Pratchett (on CD)

Clever wordplay and funny names aside, this is a pretty deep book about how to define life, and the acceptance of those who are different from what you expect. Nice. Plus, I found out that even female dwarves have beards which is a nice little factoid to have.

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.

Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo (on CD)

Kill My Darling, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

I love Slider, but I haven't read one of these in years. This reminded me of why I like them: the in-jokes, the clever repartee, the slang...and Slider and his team being smart and politically adept within the department. In this book, we've got a missing (and eventually found murdered) woman with a horrific background who is surrounded by people who could have had reason to kill her. By the end, the murderer is found, but it's so sad and wasteful and horrible that it makes me glad I'm not a cop.

Dead on the Fourth of July, by R.E. Derouin

OK, so these are self-published, but really-and-truly, every book is better in terms of writing, and the description of the city of Ouray and the scenery and history are well-done, I'm totally enjoying the series. In this one, David and Cynthia's pseudo-foster daughter is reunited with her recently-released-from-prison mother and removed to Denver, and the rest of the crew are in the midst of David's campaign for sheriff and a search for a missing skeleton while dealing with four very unpleasant b&b guests.

Rituals of the Season, by Margaret Maron (on CD)

Deborah and Dwight are on the verge of getting married, but in the meantime a local attorney and a cop are killed, and a death-row inmate's case is re-investigated.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeffry Lindsay (on CD)

Since we've been watching the TV show on DVD, I picked this up to see if the books are different. They are, somewhat, though only in superficial ways. The whole first season of the show is the first book, so of course there was a good deal of padding and rearranging of elements, but Dexter is far creepier in print than on TV. No shock, really. Part of the creep factor is that sense of wanting to hate Dexter--he is, after all, a murderer--while at the same time admiring him for ridding society of other killers in a completely rational way. Talk about a deeply flawed narrator!

Good Morning, Midnight, by Reginald Hill (on CD)

Wow. Good book: I caught myself thinking through some of the themes yesterday at work. The end brings readers to the realization that a lot of our lives go on below the surface, and things aren't always spelled out clearly. The narrator was outstanding.

And I think I'll take a page from Dalziel and start calling political maneuverers "funny buggers."

Bury Him Kindly, by Pat Burden

Yet another in this series. This is a little dated in that the car around which the case revolves is a Datsun...er, not anymore. But I liked this one, even though I was pretty sure of the WHO if not the WHY of things.

Wreath of Honesty, by Pat Burden

Interesting reading. Takes place immediately after the first book of the series, but the corpse is from before that book. Clever concept, fun writing.

Screaming Bones, by Pat Burden

One of the paperbacks I picked up at the Friends of the Library book sale to take on trips. Pretty good: about the discovery of a mummy, which immediately disappears. There are also sheep being stolen. Generally, pretty fun.

Gone, by Lisa Gardner (on CD)

Very good, but COLD!

Strangers in Death, by J.D. Robb

Good stuff. Better than anticipated!

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon (on CD)

A clever book that is ostensibly about solving the murder of a heroin addict living in the same SRO hotel in which the main character--a Sitka policeman--lives.

The set-up of the story is, however, that Sitka and environs was set aside in the 40s as a settlement for European Jews when it became apparent that Hitler was going to target them. As a result of this, fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and Israel never became a country in 1948. The settlement is set to 'expire' just weeks after the murder in question, and the U.S. government wants all cases solved or dispatched to the cold case files before they take over.

The problem with this case is that the victim turns out not to be some faceless nobody, but the son of the most powerful rabbi in the area, a man once thought to be the Messiah.

And then the fun begins. It's a good book. A bit weird to hear what (to me) sounds like New York accents coming from Alaskans, but the man who did the reading did an outstanding job with voices and accents. One of the best I've listened to, actually.

The Judas Judge, by Michael McGarrity

Probable Cause, by Theresa Schwegel

This was a Christmas gift, signed by the author. I read about 20 pages and donated it to the library.

I'm not fond of books about crooked cops, even if it turns out that they are just cops who are fond of high-jinks. Pass.