Thorn in My Heart

Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs was recommended to me by the good folks at Amazon based on my love for the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The story is set in the 17oo's of Lowland Scotland. It follows the story from the Bible of Jacob stealing his brother's birthright and fleeing to his uncle's home to find a wife. His uncle tricks him into marrying the older sister first in exchange for working for him for free. Of course nothing goes as planned for poor Jacob or our hero Jamie either and the story ventures a little from the original Bible story. The novel is filled with historically accurate details, language and descriptions of Scottish customs. The real story here is not of Jamie and his love for the younger sister, Rose (Rachel in the Bible) but of the older sister, Leana. It is Leana's pain I felt as the pages wound down and she turned to God with her sorrow of loving a man who did not love her in return. Although the story wore on in the beginning with its predictable story line in the end it was an enjoyable title. I will be glad to move onto something more compelling, however, and I'm not sure how quick I will be to pick up another book in this series.

O is for Outlaw

I believe that O is for Outlaw may be Sue Grafton's best Kinsey Millhone novel yet. In this installment we find out a little more about Kinsey's past and her first, brief marriage. The mystery is enthralling until the end. Of course, Kinsey finds herself as always in mortal peril but she survives to sleuth another day.

The Old Wine Shades

Oh how I love a good Martha Grimes, Richard Jury mystery. This installment was no exception as I breezed right through it as I could hardly put it down. The Old Wine Shades takes a different tack to Jury's traditional murder mysteries. Jury is on suspension resulting from actions in the previous novel. He is told a hardly believable story by a stranger in a bar and gets caught up by his on curiosity in the investigation. All is not as it appears, however, and Jury finds himself in a position to defend himself. Frustrating, though, Grimes leaves the situation unresolved. Of course, we know who did the deed, but Jury is unable to prove it and the novel ends. What?!? How can she (the author) do this to us. It was bad enough when Jury was shot at the end of one of her novels and left to die. Now we are left wondering if this case will ever be resolved. Well, I am still behind on this series so I guess I'll find the next installment so that I can find the answer.

A Bride Most Begrudging

I read Deeanne Gist's A Bride Most Begrudging this week. I breezed through it rather quickly. Normally I do not consider myself a big fan of historical fiction especially romance. When I do enjoy historical fiction I prefer that of the Colonial American time period. Although the romance of this novel followed a very predictable course the story was quite interesting. This book is listed as Christian fiction, however not of the "in the face" kind that turns so many people off. The characters faith plays a central role in their lives but is not the focus of the story. The focus of the story is Cassandra, a young English Lady, kidnapped and sold as a "tobacco bride" to a farmer in 1600's Virginia. Of course they resist falling in love and of course they inevitably do anyway. A good story and I will enjoy discovering more from this author.