Sunday, June 2, 2013

What I Read in May 2013

Here once again is my summary of everything I read and reviewed in the last month.  The links will take you to my full review of the book.

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

Maggie is dropped in Nazi Germany to plant a bug in her mother's house - the mother she thought was dead.  But along the way, she'll meet her half sister and get caught up in the horrors of Germany in 1941.  As always with the series, I was pulled into another time and place with very real characters while I was reading.  A few flaws (same ones as the two previous in the series), but for the most part I enjoyed this book.

A friend of Danny's is facing a restraining order at the same time that Ceepak's father comes to town to harass his ex-wife.  All of this happens just as the first tourist season since Hurricane Sandy starts.  Looks like Ceepak and Danny will be very busy.  I absolutely love these characters, and this was another good chance to see what is happening with them.  I did feel the book took a bit of time to get going, but once it did I couldn't put it down.

In the (unfortunately) final book of the Alcatraz Smedry series, Alcatraz is off to Mokia to try to keep the librarians from adding that kingdom to the Hushlands.  Along the way, he gets a few surprises about his family and his talent.  Fans of the series will love this latest adventure.  It's filled with humor and action like all the others.  Unfortunately, it also sets things up for a final book, which doesn't seem to be happening.

Ben Ripley is thrilled to have completed his first semester at spy school and is looking forward to a summer to relax with family and friends.  Unfortunately, he has to attend Spy Camp instead.  Worse yet, evil organization SPYDER is after him again.  Either he will join them or be killed.  The action is not stop and we get to know the main characters a little better.  Mix in a dose of humor, and you've got a winner that kids and adults will all enjoy.

The reality TV competition Ballroom with the B-Listers has hit DC, and Graysin Motion is one of the featured studios.  But when one of the show's producers dies, Stacy begins digging around to find the killer.  The characters and plot are a little light even for a cozy, but the story comes together well at the end.  Anyone with an interest in ballroom dance will certainly enjoy it.

The trilogy comes to an end as Jack completes his training for his new master and sets out on a mysterious quest of his own.  Meanwhile, May is living with her wicked step-mother and Phillip is wishing for more adventures.  Will these three reunite to overthrow the Evil Queen?  If you've enjoyed the first two, you'll love how the series ends.  There's more humor and more twists and suspense.  I always had a hard time putting it down.  And if you haven't read the series?  Don't start here, but read all three of them.

The Womens Murder Club is back and investigating a psychic who dreams about murders before they happen, a sleazy lawyer who might have murdered his wife, and a murder where the body was stolen from the morgue.  You'd think these cases would be interesting by themselves, but the authors throw in a few more storylines for good measure.  The result winds up being more jumbled mess than enjoyable.  And very little detecting actually happens.  Most of the solutions just fall in their laps.


Paige Marshall has taken a job coaching a show choir until her big break singing opera comes through.  But when a rival coach is murdered, she starts trying to clear one of her students of the crime.  The book is fun with great characters, fast moving plot, and gentle humor woven in.  Paige took a couple more risks than I felt like she should have, but I enjoyed it and definitely plan to read the sequel.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.