Extreme Prey by John Sandford 406 pages

This mystery novel is the latest in the Prey Series with Lucas Davenport.  Lucas is at loose ends and renovating his lake house when he gets the call from his friend the Govenor.  The  Govenor has been hearing disturbing rumors about a threat to female presidential candidate Bowden, on the campaign trail in Iowa.  The local authorities have investigated but Davenport's particular brand of expertise is needed.  Little does he know the hell-hole of crazies he has just stepped into.  Political emotions run hot and when you've, literally, already lost the farm, what else do you have to loose?  This is a real page turner so clear your calendar!

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, 97 pages

This is a little gem of a book that I read because it was listed as similar to another book I am on the wait-list for.  It can be classified in one of my favorite nerdy librarian genres "Books about Books."

Helene Hanff was a New Yorker with a hankering for classic British literature and she couldn't afford to buy the books from New York book sellers, or often find what she wanted.  She began a 20 year correspondence and love fest in 1949 with a bookstore, Marks & Co. Booksellers located at 84, Charing Cross Road, London.

The book is a collection of the real letters that were exchanged between Helene and Frank Doel (and others) at the store.  Beautiful, wonderful, uplifting.  And oh yes, jolly good!

Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman, 255 pages

Tony Hillerman has long been on my "to be read or listened to" list and I finally got a start on it.

Joe Leaphorn is a lieutenant on the Navajo tribal police force in the 4-corners area of the American Southwest.  He is called to help solve the mystery of the disappearance of two Indian boys, one a Zuni, the other a Navajo.  It soon turns into a murder investigation.

The book kept me interested, if not totally enthralled, but I have another Hillerman in the hopper ready to be read soon so will keep on the Hillerman trail.

Time of Fog and Fire by Rhys Bowen 277 pages

This is the latest in the Molly Murphy series.  Molly's husband, NYPD Captain Daniel Sullivan, is on the outs with his bosses, so when an offer comes from Secret Servce Director John Wilkie to do some undercover work, Daniel jumps at the chance.  It is so secret, he cannot even tell Molly where he is going!  But she spots him on a newsreel at the cinema!  He is at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  When she then receives a cryptic letter from him, she and Baby Liam take the train across country to track Daniel down.  When she arrives, she is told Captain Sullivan has met an untimely death! Oh!  Say it ain't so!  Molly is taken under the wing of influential San Franciscan and Nob Hill resident Bella Rodriguez.  But all is not as it seems and just when Molly thinks she has the pieces to solve the puzzle,  the San Francisco earthquake hits and chaos ensues.  Will she ever make it back to New York with her family intact?
An interesting side note:  While reading this I noticed an error.  Molly's train stops in Council Bluffs, IA, then crosses the Mississippi River into the western frontier.  Not!  So I e-mailed the author and received a prompt reply:

Oh dear. So many people have caught this error. Sorry. The embarrassing thing is that I have driven across that bridge a couple of times so I should have known better. Also my manuscript is read by a whole line of editors who should have checked my facts.

At least she got to San Francisco safely?

Best wishes

Rhys Bowen

Cool, right?!

Endangered by C.J. Box 369 pages

This is a real page turner so be prepared!  Once again, Game Warden Joe Pickett is in it up to his eyeballs.  1st of all, daughter April, the wild child, has been found on the side of the road, severely beaten with head trauma.  Boyfriend Dallas Cates, youngest son of the despicable Cates family, is the primary suspect but he has an alibi!  Thrown by a bucking bull, he is laid up with broken ribs and other injuries. Meanwhile, someone has ambushed Nate Romanowski and he is near death, but where is his companion, Liv Brannon?  And this is just the drama in Joe's private life!  Someone has wiped out LEK 64, a brace of grouse that the Feds have been monitoring as a possible endangered species.  Can Joe solve this crime and keep it together for his family?  Well.....we are talking Joe Pickett!

The Widow by Fiona Barton 324 pages

Jean Taylor’s husband, poor thing, has died. Now she doesn’t have to put up with anymore of his nonsense. Nonsense as in being accused, tried, and acquitted of kidnapping and murdering a child. Now that he’s gone, the world wants to know if he did it and if she knew.

With multiple narrators, none of which are likeable or even trustworthy, The Widow focuses on the widow Jean and what she may or may not know about what really happened to little Bella. Although the subject matter is dark, it seems almost an afterthought: there’s no gore, overt violence, or graphic details. The real story seems to lie with a suddenly free (since poor Glen got hit by a bus) Jean who must navigate life without her controlling and emotionally abusive husband.

Still, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and even if the characters leave much to be desired, you still want to know what happens to them.

The Martian by Andy Weir, 369 pages

This is one fantastic book.  Okay, okay it is very technical in parts but if you are unscientific like me just think of it as getting a free pass to skim.  Astronaut Mark Watney is one witty, wicked smart and optimistic guy.  That's all good because he gets stranded on the planet Mars when the rest of his crew think he's dead and abandons the planet in a hurry during a devastating sandstorm.

NASA figures out he survived about 60 days later and Mark and NASA figure out how to communicate close to 40 days after that.  NASA, his old crew and pretty much everyone on earth do everything they can to bring Mark home.  The suspense is fantastically excruciating.  Will they do it?  Luckily, I saw the movie first. Loved the movie, LOVED the book.   Andy Weir, I can't wait to see what you bring us next.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett 377 pages

Have you ever read any Terry Pratchett?  If not, you really should.  He had a real knack for presenting the absurd and outlandish, and making it not just accessible, but believable.  If you love British humor and fantasy in the sense that this is just a different world, where golems and vampires rub elbows with trolls, many of whom are on the police force, and just regular Joes, you really need to give him a try.  This particular story opens with a hanging death.  Kind of.  Moist Von Lipwig has many names, but that is his true name.  He's a master of fraud and a cunning con man.  He's done well being completely bland and unmemorable, but it finally catches up to him.  He's sentenced to death.  He hangs.  Then he's cut down...still drawing breath.  Lord Vetenari seems to know everything there is to know about Lipwig and he makes him an offer he has not choice but to accept.  Live and become the new postmaster or go through the door to your left.  (By the way, the door to his left leads only to a plummeting death).  Welcome the new postmaster.  The post office has been closed for a long while, but mail was never thrown out.  Every inch of every surface is piled with mail.  Then Lipwig does something very simple, very...natural.  He delivers a letter.  The rest is a roller coaster of mad fun.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough!   I loved it!

The Last Mile by David Baldacci, 417 pages

This is book #2 in the Amos Decker series by Baldacci.  Amos played professional football for about 30 seconds.  He was injured in his first pro game and that injury left him with a condition, hyperthymesia, which translates into never forgetting anything.

In this outing, the FBI puts Amos and his extraordinary memory to work on a special team working on cold cases.  Amos lobbies the team to take up the case of Melvin Mars, a gifted college football player who ended up on death row instead of playing in the NFL.  Right before Melvin is to be executed someone else confesses to the murders for which he was convicted 20 years ago.

Typical Baldacci fare, which frankly is exactly what I like.  And, I 'd like to throw out a big kiss to David Baldacci for making a library book very important to the story! 

In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward 311 pages

I usually enjoy reading debut novels.  It is sometimes a great way to discover a new favorite author.  However, I found this novel to be a disappointment.   In my opinion, the characters were not fleshed out enough for me to identify with.  The story did not draw me in.  Overall, a thumbs down.
In Derbyshire, England, in 1978, two young girls are kidnapped on their way to school.  One is found several hours later, traumatized, but otherwise unharmed.  The other is never found. Fast forward thirty years later.  The mother of the missing girl commits suicide.  Days later, a teacher from the school ( not the girl's teacher) is found strangled in the woods.  Rachel, the surviving girl, is now a genealogist.  She uses her research skills to see how the recent deaths could be tied to the kidnapping.  In the process, she also uncovers some family secrets.  Has she also put herself in danger?