The Professional, by Robert B. Parker

Typical Spenser, in that he gets the job done, although in this case his employers try to call him off and he actually ends up liking the 'bad guy' a little more than the people who hired him. The case centers on a con man who really enjoys sleeping with women who are married to wealthy older men. After setting the hook, he then blackmails them but somehow still manages to charm them into thinking he really loves them. And then...things go badly wrong. And Spenser fixes it. Sort of.

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics, by Eleanor Herman

Quite the history of the sex habits of wealthy women over the centuries. Kinda depressing, really.

Smile When You're Lying : Confessions of a Rogue Travel Writer, by Chuck Thompson

I read this at work at lunch hours over the past month or so. Fun book, explores the difference between tourism and actually living in a culture. Actually, he talks about how travel-writing has become more or less a scam, filled with inane 'experiences' and some out-and-out lies in order to bring in the tourist dollars. The more interesting the story, the less likely it will make it into a travel book or article, according to Thompson. In this book, several of his interesting stories are on display, not all of which are horrible. In the end, though, what is a vacation but the stories you bring back from it? At least, that's his argument.

On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan

Nothing like starting the year off with a really good book. This one could be about me...almost. Thank God for sex ed.!

McEwan has a way of describing things without being noticed describing them. It's lovely.