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So August isn't over yet, but it's close enough. I should be sleeping right now, but for some reason I'm awake. I figured since I just finished the last novel on this list I'd go ahead and write a brief review and get this posted while it's on my mind. Lord knows that if I wait another day something will come along and I'll forget all about it! Please forgive the poor grammar/spelling/etc. Between being very sleep and having problems w/ my laptop keyboard I'm afraid this isn't the best blog post I've ever posted. :)
Time is a River by Mary Alice Monroe
Mia Landan flees to the mountains of North Carolina when she discovers her husband’s infidelity. A recent breast cancer survivor, Mia had recently attended a fly fishing retreat and takes refuge in the cabin of the retreat leader’s grandmother. What she does not know is that the late grandmother, Kate Watkins, was an amazing fly fisher herself. Her life had fallen to ruin when she was accused of murdering her lover, and she had spent the rest of her life sequestered in the cabin. As Mia gets the cabin in order, things in her life begin to fall in order as well. An excellent story about self discovery, recovery, and old secrets.
Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
Second in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. Less information about coffee and more murder mystery! Once again there is trouble at the Village Blend coffee house as Clare’s customers are starting to die. Detective Quinn is convinced that the deaths are not suicide, but are somehow related. And will Quinn end up as her new beau? Or will it be Bruce Bowman, who is also a prime suspect? Or is her daughter the next target? Great light mystery!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Yes, this childhood classic was just begging to be read for the zillionth time. It has been quite some time since I read it, and was surprised at how many things I did not remember. Mary Lennox, a sickly, spoiled child, is sent to live with her widower uncle in Englandafter the death of her parents. With no other children around and no one to wait on her or entertain her, Mary begins to explore on her own. What she discovers and who she discovers are the heart of this enjoyable children’s story.
Play Dead by David Rosenfelt
I like to read books in a series in order, so I was disappointed to find that this book is not the first in the Andy Carpenter series. It’s like the sixth or seventh in the series. I read it anyway, and I’m glad I did – it was a really good story. Andy Carpenter is a lawyer and a dog lover. He successfully appeals the death sentence of a golden retriever and soon discovers that the dog was an eye-witness to a five-year-old murder. Andy fights to free the owner of the dog from prison, certain that he is innocent of the murder he was convicted of. The investigation into the crime leads to more and more questions and several attempts on the lives of Andy and his coworkers. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to wrap everything up at the end, but he did so quite nicely. I will definitely be reading the earlier books in the series!
Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson
Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl at the beginning of this novel, and grows into a lonely woman. On her ninth birthday her only friend, Michael, left her with no hope of his ever returning. You see, Michael was imaginary. So how is it that, in the midst of yet another power struggle with her mother (who is a powerful Broadway producer AND her employer) and her ongoing struggles with her boyfriend, that she sees Michael on the streets of New York? When Michael left he promised that she would forget him, but she hasn’t. She remembers everything about him, and is certain that he is the only man she has ever loved and the only person that ever truly loved her. Has he returned? And if it is truly him, will he stay this time? Great novel!
