Field of Prey by John Sandford 392 pages

Oh, yes!  Young love!  It is 4th of July weekend and two teenagers find a secluded spot near an old, rundown, farm house to park and lose their virginity.  However, their experience is somewhat tainted by a horrible smell!  What is that?  It smells like something large and dead.  OMG!  They have discovered an abandoned cistern that a killer has been using for his dumping ground.  It holds at least 17 skulls and the recent remains of  a missing woman.  Lucas Davenport is called in to solve these murders that have been happening like clockwork, one every summer.  It has to be someone local, someone right next door, someone you see every day. As law enforcement closes in, will they be in time to save one of their own?  A great read!  This one I do recommend.

Carnal Curiosity by Stuart Woods 306 pages

Okay, this is the last Stuart Woods book I will read.  In case you could not guess, I do not recommend it, unless you like reading porn.  Less than 10 pages in, the female insurance adjuster Stone Barrington has just met, has removed her panties to allow him easy access to her "firm, smooth buttock" and other associated regions.  Really?!  Every woman he meets immediately becomes insatiable.  Oh well, these books are written strictly from a man's view point.  An older, money is no object, wealthy man.  Obviously, I am not the target audience. 

The Hollow Girl by Reed Farrel Coleman 303 pages

Moe Prager an unlikely hero to say the least. Widower, grandfather, stomach cancer survivor, living in a bottle. Although to be fair, his fiancé was just killed in a tragic accident and he did lose his first wife to murder. Not an easy life for anyone. But then an old could have been girlfriend had other things not intervened resurfaces to ask his help in locating her missing daughter and Moe, ex-policeman and sometimes PI lays the bottle aside—sort of— delves into the case, and finds that nothing is at it appears.

The Hollow Girl is the ninth book in the Moe Prager series and the first one I’ve read. I will read the others because Moe is a very real, humble and likeable character; you can’t help but root for him. He never forgets where he’s been and he doesn’t take crap from anyone. He doesn’t quit—although he does take a few detours—until he gets his man. I was highly entertained.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker 272 pages

For reasons unknown the Earth’s rotation begins to slow adding minutes to every day in increasing increments until days goes by before the sun rises or sets again. Gravity is out of whack: birds fall from the sky, whales beach themselves, people are getting the sickness, and inhibitions disappear. 

While it may seem this is a science fiction story it is anything but. The real story is the coming of age of eleven year old Julia who has to navigate through the challenges of this new life despite losing her best friend, watching her family fall apart, experiencing her first love and dealing with the vagaries of school yard bullies and changing relationships.

The Age of Miracles is an exceptional debut novel, a plausible and beautifully written story of survival, courage, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux 375 pages

This book is the first in the Edilean series.  Edilean is a small town in Virginia, near Williamsburg.  It was founded by a Scotsman, Angus Harcourt.  The town and the family "manor" are named for his beloved wife, Edilean.  This series is about their descendants and some of the mysteries surrounding the people of the town and the manor. 

Jocelyn Minton has lived most of her life in Boca Raton, Florida.  As a young girl, she was befriended by an elderly, disabled neighbor, Miss Edi, who teaches her about culture and education.  When Miss Edi dies many years later, she leaves behind lots of secrets and a manor house in Virginia, which she bequeaths to Joce. 

It is when Joce moves to Edilean and gets to know everyone in this small town that she discovers many things about Miss Edi, and herself.  Lots of the action in this book takes place during WWII.  I found it to be very interesting, but not something a real history buff would enjoy.  A nice read for a relaxing evening.

Field of Prey by John Sandford 400 pages

John Sandford’s books featuring Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are well written and fast paced reads.  Sandford’s newest Davenport novel, Field of Prey, is one of his better ones.

Even though most of the plots in these books contain gory, gruesome, and hideous acts of cruelty I almost always find myself chuckling at the repartee between the investigators.  The cast of characters in the Davenport books remains pretty consistent although new people are added from time to time.

Without sounding like I am telling anyone what to do, if you are not currently a reader of these books, you should be!

The Effects of Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore 349 pages

I finished this book because I wanted to know how it ended and what led up to the tragedies that occur in the lives of the characters.  I tried to read ahead and not sit through the whole thing, but that was unsuccessful, too much detail would have been left out and I still would have had unanswered questions.

There are still a lot of pieces missing but without giving a lot of the plot away, I will not include that information in this write up.

In short, two sisters grow up being photographed (in the nude) by a family friend named Ruth.  The girls’ mother died when they were very young and they are being raised by David, their permissive father.  Eventually, of course, the girls mature and questions arise as to whether the photographs are pornographic or pure art.

The story is told alternatively by the two sisters. Part of the story is in the present and part of the story is set in the past.  Some questions of choice and free will are posed in the story but a lot of the book is tedious going. After all is said and done I would not recommend this book.

Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux 374 pages

I have always pegged Jude Deveraux as a romance author.  I had just finished a rather dark novel and needed something light so I pulled this book from the shelf.  Much to my delight, it was pretty good!  Not as mushy as Debbie Macomber with just the right mix of mystery, suspense and, of course, a hot guy. 

Sara Shaw is a small town girl who prefers dresses over jeans, makes all her own clothes, loves to bake and is very close to her family.   When she is dumped by her boyfriend, she is easy pickings for Greg Anders.  Greg is really a con man who is after something valuable Sara owns.  Sara has completely fallen under his spell and has no clue she is being used, even though the whole town despises him. 

In swoops Mike Newland, undercover detective, former inhabitant of this small town, and work-out fanatic whose muscles have muscles!  His assignment is to find out what Greg, and his dangerous mother are after.  In the process, he sweeps Sara off her feet, saves the day, and she gets to see his buff body!  A light and enjoyable novel.  A fun summer read!  Take it to the beach and enjoy.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, 384 pages

Alice Hoffman is an author I've always intended to read, but never had so "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" is my first Alice Hoffman book.

The story is primarily set in 1911 in New York City and Coney Island and is a gritty tale of life for the not rich or famous. The two main characters are Coralie Sardie, a young woman with a birth defect that her father exploits and Ezekial "Eddie" Cohen, a Ukranian immigrant who has left the Jewish community he grew up in. Coralie's father owns the Museum of Extraordinary Things, a small museum on Coney Island.

Not surprisingly, Coralie and Eddie's stories intersect. There are some real events that are depicted in the novel, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Dreamland fire on Coney Island. Alice Hoffman is an excellent writer, but I found myself thinking, "I am going to be very disappointed if this ends badly for Coralie and Eddie." Don't worry, it doesn't, but it takes a good while and plenty of sorrow to get there.

Field of Prey by John Sandford 392 pages

John Sandford’s Buried Prey had just been released when I began the Prey series. I started with the first book and I read them all in order over a few months span and except for book club books they were the only books I read. I literally ate, breathed and slept Lucas Davenport and the officers of the BCA. I felt bereft when it was over.

In the latest installment, Field of Prey several bodies are found in a cistern in the middle of a corn field. Eventually they discover that the victims had been killed over a period of time dating back almost twenty years. Sandford introduces a new character, detective Catrin Mattsson who investigates with Lucas the Black Hole Killer as he has been named.

Field of Prey is vintage Sandford: fast paced, action packed, with enough twists and turns to keep your attention until the very end. A great part of the allure of the Prey books is the relationship that you develop with the characters as they grow and evolve. For that reason this is one series that I would recommend that you start with the first book and read them in order.