Summer Reading Week 4

Welcome to the results of Week 4 of Summer Reading 2012.  We have 328 people signed up.  This week, out of 43 people submitting entries, 17 were new.  They read 150 books.  For the four weeks, 105 people read 466 books.

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V Is for Vengeance By Grafton, Sue 2011-11 - Marian Wood Book 9780399157868 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title A woman with a murky past who kills herself. A dying old man. A lovely woman. A professional shoplifting ring. A brutal and unscrupulous gangster. A wandering husband. A spoiled kid. A lonely widower. An elegant but ruthless businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the spider at the center of the web. And in the middle of it all is Kinsey Millhone, whose 38th-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose. 448 pp. 1,250,000 print. (Mystery/Detective) A crafty plot between Las Vegas and California, past and present, law abiding and law breaking, and all shades between.  The heroine private eye ties all ends together ultimately, after many misadventures.  Would be a good plot for a TV series!  Fast, compelling read. …More

The Summons By Grisham, John 2002-02 - Doubleday Books 9780385503822 Check Our Catalog Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He's forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family's black sheep. And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse. With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study. Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray. And perhaps someone else. I thought I read most of his work, but discovering Summons was a nice surprise.  I admit I was intrigued and that I guessed the wrong culprit in the mystery, but it was nice escapism.  I think the Southern culture portrayed in his many books offer interesting insights into our diverse nation of people.  Some mind sets of the "traditional south" are very foreign to me, such as those families who's daily life still revolves around teh Civil War (which they won, by the way), as I do not consider the old battles when I start my day. …More

The Skeleton Box: A Starvation Lake Mystery By Gruley, Bryan 2012-06 - Touchstone Books 9781416563662 Check Our Catalog Award-winning author Gruley returns with the third novel in his critically acclaimed mystery series. Mysterious break-ins are plaguing the small town of Starvation Lake and worry turns to panic when a break-in leads to the death of a beloved citizen. …More

Blood in the Water By Haddam, Jane 2012-03 - Minotaur Books 9780312644345 Check Our Catalog Former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian returns in a mind-bending case of death anddisappearance amongst the wealthy suburban elite in Philadelphia. …More

Roots: The Saga of an American Family By Haley, Alex Introduction by Dyson, Michael Eric 2007-05 - Vanguard Press 9781593154493 Check Our Catalog One of the most important books and television series ever to appear, "Roots" opened up the minds of Americans to one of the darkest and most painful parts of its past. This anniversary edition reminds the generation that originally read it that there are issues that still need to be discussed. Definitely a truly inspiring book and one that I could not put down. …More

Naughty No More By Hampton, Brenda 2010-04 - Urban Books 9781601622099 Check Our Catalog "Essence"-bestselling author Hampton delivers a riveting sequel to "Naughty," in which Jaylin and Nokea Rogers struggle to keep their marriage together as each of their infidelities comes back to haunt them. A marriage deal made for pure infidelity by both partners.  Ending up with the wife suing for every penny if he cheats again, but what about her cheating again. …More

Winter Garden By Hannah, Kristin 2010-02 - St. Martin's Press 9780312364120 Check Our Catalog Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother? From the author of "Firefly Lane" comes a powerful novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past. …More

Gone By Hanauer, Cathi 2012-06 - Atria Books 9781451626414 Check Our Catalog From the editor of the "New York Times"-bestselling essay anthology "The Bitch in the House" and the novel "Sweet Ruin" comes a compelling domestic drama about a woman who must hold her family together after her husband disappears. …More

Dead in the Family By Harris, Charlaine 2011-10 - Ace Books 9780441020683 Check Our Catalog After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Fae War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she's mad. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he's under scrutiny by the new vampire king because of their relationship. And, as the political implications of the shifters' coming-out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to one particular Were draws her into the dangerous debate. Also, unknown to her, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry. Just when you think you know Sookie to the core, this book comes along and takes you even deeper into Sookie's mind and heart.  Harris takes her readers into Sookie's fears as well as showing the audience that this main character has backbone and some lines that can't be crossed. …More

Holy Fools By Harris, Joanne 2004-02 - William Morrow & Company 9780060559120 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title From the bestselling author of "Chocolat" comes a novel of love and betrayal, friendship and revenge, set in 17th-century France. Holy Fools begins by bringing the reader to 1610 in France where a traveling theater troupe is introduced.  Our main hero in the story-Juliette or known as sister or "Souer Auguste" in the Abbey on a coastal island off France-trades her gypsy potions and former life of being a aerial performer in a theater group for the austere life of a nun.  She now heals with herbal remedies learned in a gypsy wagon but hid her taort and knowledge of the world as hid herself and her hobby in an abbey.  Juliette is forced into a drama of intrigue full of color and danger as her disguise and life is threatened. …More

Sleep, Pale Sister By Harris, Joanne 2005-08 - Harper Perennial 9780060787110 Check Our Catalog Harris' early novel, never before published in the United States, is a powerful, darkly Gothic evocation of Victorian artistic life. An illicit love draws a controlling artist's wife into a dangerous world of intrigue, blackmail, and revenge. Joanne Harris is a powerful evocative author who charmed me originally with Chocolat.  Sleep, Pale Sister would be recommended to readers who enjoy dark terror as this book deals with cruel, morbid aspects of humanity.  While very well written, I am not a big reader of horror and torture.  I appreciated the courage of the heroine but her dilemma was too painful for me to want to re-read this as there are still many pockets of the Puritanical mindset that villianize the sacred aspects of the feminie spirit still occurring today (and in West Michigan.) …More

172 Hours on the Moon By Harstad, Johan Translator Chace, Tara F. 2012-04 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 9780316182881 Check Our Catalog In 2019, teens Mia, Antoine, and Midori are selected by lottery to join experienced astronauts on a NASA mission to the once top-secret moon base, DARLAH 2, while in a Florida nursing home, a former astronaut struggles to warn someone of the terrible danger there. A very good book for teens.  It's very thrilling and slightly creepy.  It's beautifully translated from Norwegian! …More

April Fool Dead By Hart, Carolyn 2002-04 - William Morrow & Company 9780380977741 Check Our Catalog To celebrate an April Fool's Day appearance by the island's most famous mystery author, Death on Demand Bookstore owner Annie Darling creates a unique promotion that embarrassingly backfires, thanks to an interfering prankster. …More

Engaged to Die By Hart, Carolyn 2004-01 - Avon Inspire 9780060004705 Check Our Catalog Bookstore owner Annie Darling is determined to untangle an unholy marriage--even if she has to cross swords with hubby Max and cross paths with a cruelly clever stalker. …More

The Outlaw Viking By Hill, Sandra 2011-05 - Avon Books 9780062019097 Check Our Catalog Dr. Rain Jordan is proud of her Norse ancestors despite their warlike ways. But she can't believe her eyes when a blow to the head transports her to a nightmarish battlefield where she must save the barbarian of her dreams. Reissue. …More

The Tarnished Lady By Hill, Sandra 2011-06 - Avon Books 9780062019134 Check Our Catalog Banished from polite society, a beautiful beekeeper enters into a chaste marriage with England's most virile bachelor in order to save her property and to protect her child. …More

The Betrayal of Trust By Hill, Susan 2011-11 - Overlook Press 9781590202807 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Freak weather and flash floods all over southern England. Lafferton is underwater and a landship on the Moor has closed the roads. As the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave--and a skeleton--are exposed; 20 years on, the remains of a missing teenager have finally been uncovered. 368 pp. 30,000 print. …More

Come Sunday Morning By Hill, Terry E. 2011-02 - Urban Books 9781601622457 Check Our Catalog …More

The Ghostway By Hillerman, Tony 2010-05 - Harper 9780061967788 Check Our Catalog Old Joseph Joe sees it all. Two strangers spill blood at the Shiprock Wash-O-Mat. One dies. The other drives off into the dry lands of the Big Reservation, but not before he shows the old Navajo a photo of the man he seeks. This is all Tribal Policeman Jim Chee needs to set him off on an odyssey that moves from a trapped ghost in an Indian hogan to the seedy underbelly of L.A. to an ancient healing ceremony where death is the cure, and into the dark heart of murder and revenge. …More

Strategy for You: Building a Bridge to the Life You Want By Horwath, Rich 2012-01 - Greenleaf Book Group 9781608322510 Check Our Catalog Most people have spent their lives randomly bouncing around like bumper cars, never arriving at the life they want. If fact, new research shows that only 15 percent of adults have a plan for their life. But what if there was a way, a proven way, to experience more of what life has to offer? In "Strategy for You," world-renowned strategist Rich Horwath provides a proven plan for building the bridge to an exceptional life. …More

Prey By Howard, Linda 2011-09 - Ballantine Books 9780345506917 Check Our Catalog Montana wilderness guide Angie Powell wants nothing to do with ex-soldier Dare Callahan, especially as she blames him for her failing business. But she has to put her feelings to one side when they are suddenly thrust together to stop an animal with a thirst for blood--of a human variety. …More

Bachelor Undone By Jackson, Brenda 2011-11 - Kimani Press 9780373862368 Check Our Catalog When Darcy Owens leaves snowy weather for some Jamaican sun, the city planner isn't expecting to meet the hero of her fantasies. But sexy security expert York Ellis comes pretty close. When York looks at Darcy, he knows she's the woman he'd give his life for. Original. …More

Devious By Jackson, Lisa 2012-02 - Zebra Books 9781420102758 Check Our Catalog From a #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author comes an edge-of-your-seat romantic thriller, in which New Orleans detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya investigate the murder of a young nun and uncover a serial killer as devious and depraved as they come. 1.) Awesome.  I love her Rick Bentz/Reuben Montana novels. 2.) A cleverly spun tale around life in a convent, with a concomitant story of thwarted romance.  A big wordy in places with information the reader does not need, but plot is intriguing and compelling.  Overall good read. …More