Winter Study

Winter Study is Nevada Barr's 14th installment in the Anna Pigeon mystery series. It's been three years since her last novel. As always Barr really delivers on this mystery. Park Ranger Anna manages to escape near death not once but 3 times. January finds Anna back on Isle Royal, the site of one of her earlier adventures (A Superior Death). In winter the park is closed to the public and the site of a prestigious wolf study. It takes the book a while to get going. (I believe it was after page 100 before the first body shows up.) Once it starts moving it's not stop adrenaline until the end. I did not figure out the mystery until Anna spelled it out for me and it came as a surprise. The ending is a little different also and fizzles out a little. Certainly, not the best book in the series and by all means don't begin with this one if you haven't already read some others. I just wish these mysteries would come a little faster.

Christmas Letters

Christmas Letters is written by Debbie Macomber. She usually puts out a different Christmas book each year. I think this one is from a few years back. It was light reading following the last novel I read. I needed something light. The story is upbeat and has a predictable ending but a nice read overall.

Careless in Red

Careless in Red is the latest book by Elizabeth George. I think everyone who enjoyed her Thomas Lynley series anticipated this being another installment. However, this is far from the case. That aside it was a brilliant and well written mystery. Lynley and his partner Barbara Havers have only peripheral roles in this novel. Other characters are developed to such an extent you have to wonder if the author is starting a new series. At least one of the story lines in the book have so little to do with the actual murder investigation it could have been left out entirely without much notice. Because of these details the author leaves you guessing until nearly the end. I myself didn't figure out who the murderer was until page 563 and that was pretty much when all the pieces fell into place. I admit that I have missed Lynley somewhat but have survived by reading about Richard Jury, Martha Grimes Scotland Yard Detective. The one I really missed though was Havers. She is the most down-to-earth character I've ever read about and I can relate so well to her if not her life. I hope that the author is not going to abandon these well-loved characters.

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.