Book ~ "The Promise" (2015) Robert Crais

From Goodreads ~ Loyalty, commitment, and the fight for justice have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed.

When Elvis Cole is secretly hired to find a grief-stricken mother, he’s led to an ordinary house on a rainy night in Echo Park. Only the house isn’t ordinary, and the people hiding inside are a desperate fugitive and a murderous criminal with his own dangerous secrets. 

As helicopters swirl overhead, Scott and Maggie track the fugitive to this same house, coming face-to-face with Mr. Rollins, a killer who leaves behind a brutally murdered body and enough explosives to destroy the neighborhood. Scott is now the only person who can identify him but Mr. Rollins has a rule: Never leave a witness alive.

For all of them, the night is only beginning.

Sworn to secrecy by his client, Elvis finds himself targeted by the police even as Mr. Rollins targets Maggie and Scott. As Mr. Rollins closes in for the kill, Elvis and Joe join forces with Scott and Maggie to follow a trail of lies where no one is who they claim - and the very woman they promised to save might get them all killed. 

Elvis Cole is a private detective and he is hired to find a woman named Amy.  Meryl, her friend and colleague, said she stole over $400,000 before she disappeared.  Meryl doesn't want the company to know so wants Elvis to quietly find Amy so she can make things right again.  The only lead Meryl can give Elvis is that a friend of Amy's late son will probably know what's going on with Amy.   When Elvis goes to the last known address of the friend, he gets caught up in a murder along with a houseful of explosives ... and the cops figure he's involved somehow.  Elvis had promised Meryl he wouldn't disclose that he's working on a case and that makes him look even more suspicious.

Scott is a cop in the K-9 unit and Maggie is his dog (they were the focus of Crais' 2013 novel Suspect, which I enjoyed).  They are also at the scene and Scott gets a look at the killer's face, which then prompts the killer to go after Scott.  Elvis and Scott eventually work together to find Amy, find the killer before he finds Scott and clear Elvis' name.

I discovered the Elvis Cole series in the 1990s.  What attracted me to it was that Elvis was funny and tried to be charming ... the books were a fun read.  It seems like Crais has changed his writing style over the years and unfortunately so has Elvis.  There were bits of humour here and there but overall I found this book really heavy and serious.  The subject matter was heavy and I found the plot a bit convoluted.  When one of the bad guys was revealed, I kinda went "seriously?!"

The book is written from many perspectives.  It's first person when it's Elvis' voice and third person when it's Scott's, Maggie's, the killer's, etc. ... the beginning of the chapters are labelled so you know. There were A LOT of characters and I  had a hard time keeping them straight sometimes.  As a head's up, there is some swearing in this book.

Book ~ "Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me" (2008) Jon Katz

From Goodreads ~ In "Izzy & Lenore", Jon Katz delves deeper into his connection with the beautiful, once-abandoned dog, learning yet again about the unexpected places animals can take us. Affectionate and intuitive, Izzy is unlike any dog Katz has encountered and the two undertake a journey Katz could not have imagined without the arrival of a new companion: a spirited, bright-eyed black Labrador puppy named Lenore.

As trained hospice volunteers visiting homes and nursing facilities in upstate New York, Katz and Izzy bring comfort and canine companionship to people who most need it. An eighty-year-old Alzheimer’s patient smiles for the first time in months when she feels Izzy’s soft fur. A retired logger joyfully remembers his own beloved dog when he sees Izzy. As Izzy bonds with patients and Katz focuses on their families, the author begins to come to terms with his own life, discovering dark realities he has never confronted. Meanwhile, Lenore - quickly dubbed the Hound of Love - arrives at Bedlam. Her genial personality and boundless capacity for affection steer Katz out of the shadows, rekindle his love of working with dogs and restore his connection to the farm and the animals and people around him.

Humorous and deeply moving, "Izzy & Lenore" is a story of a man confronting his past, embracing the blessings of his current life and rediscovering the meaning of friendship, family, and faith. Katz shares an uplifting tale of love, compassion, and the rich and complex relationships between dogs and their humans.

Jon Katz is an author living on Bedlam Farm, which has a variety of animals.  He is contacted about a border collie named Izzy, who has been living his life fenced in with little contact with humans.  Katz adopts him and socializes him.  Katz discovers that Izzy may be a good hospice dog so they enrol in the program.  Izzy does indeed have a knack for comforting people who are dying but also those who are supporting people who are dying.  Katz also gets Lenore, a black Lab puppy who is a sweetie.  During this, Katz acknowledges that he has depression and works through it.

I love reading stories about animals.  This is the fifth book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I like the writing style and thought it flowed well.  I found it odd that it was called "Izzy & Lenore" since Izzy gets more focus than Lenore.

Book ~ "The Other Side" (2013) Chevy Stevens

From Goodreads ~ Sandy is working the biggest case of her life - the Campsite Killer, who has been hunting women for almost forty years. She’s finally close to nailing him, if she can just keep her head in the game. 

But when an old friend calls with a lead about Sandy’s mother’s murder, Sandy is pulled into the past - a past she thought she’d closed the door on. Her life is about to get real complicated, real fast.

Sandy is a cop looking for the Campsite Killer.  He has been on the run for many years but popped up recently when he contacted his adult daughter, Sara.  She is also dealing with something from her past ... her mother had been murdered by her father and then he disappeared.  And if that wasn't enough, her boyfriend of many years is pressuring her to have a baby.

This is a side story of Never Knowing focusing on Sandy, which I read last month.  It's written in first person perspective from Sandy's point of view.  There are characters from Never Knowing including Billy (Sandy's partner) and Nadine (Sara's psychiatrist).

Book ~ "Tricky Twenty-Two" (2015) Janet Evanovich

From Goodreads ~ Something big is brewing in Trenton, N.J., and it could blow at any minute.

Stephanie Plum might not be the world's greatest bounty hunter but she knows when she's being played. Ken Globovic (aka Gobbles), hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students at Kiltman College. Gobbles has missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus but no one will talk. Things just aren't adding up, and Stephanie can't shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college - and it's not just Zeta fraternity pranks.

As much as people love Gobbles, they hate Doug Linken. When Linken is gunned down in his backyard it's good riddance and the list of possible murder suspects is long. The only people who care about finding Linken's killer are Trenton cop Joe Morelli, who has been assigned the case, security expert Ranger, who was hired to protect Linken, and Stephanie, who has her eye on a cash prize and hopefully has some tricks up her sleeve. 

Stephanie is ready to say "yes" to Joe's proposal .... and she's surprised and shocked when he breaks up with her because he has to find himself.  Yet he keeps turning up and flirting with her.  And Ranger is still dogging after her and she's allowing it, even though she is heartbroken that Joe had dumped her.

Stephanie along with Lulu, a former 'ho, have a few people they have to find who have skipped bail.  Gobbles was accused of beating up the dean of students.  And then the dean and his business partner are found murdered.  This point of this storyline was dumb.  Stephanie and Lulu also have to track down Billy Bacon, who had slathered his body with body grease and slip down a chimney to rob someone, and a fella who kidnaps and rapes women and then cuts them up to feed to his cats.

This is the 22nd in the series and I've read them all.  As in previous books, Evanovich continues to follow her formula:

• Stephanie is lusting after Morelli and Ranger ... check
• Stephanie's mom's nerves are shot so drinks and irons ... check
• Grandma Masur is outrageous and checking out the viewings at the funeral home ... check
• Lulu talks about food all the time ... check
• Stephanie needs a car and Ranger lends her his ... check
• Stephanie goes home to mooch meals from her parents ... check 
• Morelli calls Stephanie "Cupcake" and just wants to have sex with her with no commitment
• Ranger calls Stephanie "Babe" and just wants to have sex with her with no commitment

Since it's basically the same story over and over, I stopped buying these books a long time ago and now borrow them from the library.  It's a mindless familiar read and there is some amusement.

It's written in first person perspective from Stephanie's point of view.  There is some swearing (like the "F-bomb") and some adult situations.

Book ~ "What Was Mine" (2016) Helen Klein Ross

From Goodreads ~ Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary woman who does something extraordinary in a desperate moment: she takes a baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her own. It’s a secret she manages to keep for over two decades - from her daughter, the babysitter who helped raise her, family, coworkers and friends.

When Lucy’s now-grown daughter Mia discovers the devastating truth of her origins, she is overwhelmed by confusion and anger and determines not to speak again to the mother who raised her. She reaches out to her birth mother for a tearful reunion and Lucy is forced to flee to China to avoid prosecution. What follows is a ripple effect that alters the lives of many and challenges our understanding of the very meaning of motherhood. 

There's nothing Lucy wants more than a baby.  Unfortunately it doesn't happen for her and her husband and eventually they split up.  From then on, Lucy focuses on her career.  She is in IKEA one day and comes across a four-month-old baby in a shopping cart.  She looks around for the mother but doesn't find her.  With good intentions, she takes the baby toward the customer service desk to let them know she found the baby ... but keeps on going to her car.  She tells everyone that she adopted Mia, the baby, from a teenager in Kansas and raises her as her own and Mia lacked for nothing.

Marilyn is shopping at IKEA and gets distracted by a phone call.  After the call, she realizes that Natalie, her baby she has left in a shopping cart, has disappeared.  Her life and marriage fall apart and she eventually moves to California where she starts a new life with a husband and three children.  But she never gave up hope that she would find Natalie.

When she is 21, Mia/Natalie discovers the truth and is devastated.  She heads to California to get to know her mother and her family.  Lucy takes off to China, where there are no extradition laws, to avoid prosecution.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I thought it was an interesting topic and I thought the author handled it well.

I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective with a shifting point of view ... Lucy, Mia, Marilyn, Wendy (Mia's nanny), Tom (Mia's father), Grant (Marilyn's husband), etc.  The names are at the top of the chapter so you know whose voice it is.

Book ~ "Leader of the Pack" (2012) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ Over the course of his legal career, Andy Carpenter has lost a few cases. But that doesn't mean he forgets his clients. Andy has always been convinced that Joey Desimone, a man convicted of murder nine years ago, was innocent and believes that Joey's family's connections to organized crime played a pivotal role in his conviction. While there isn't much Andy can do for him while he serves out his prison sentence, Joey suggests that he check up on Joey's elderly uncle. He'd rather not, but as a favor to Joey, Andy agrees to take his dog, Tara, on a few visits.

The old man's memory is going but when Andy tries to explain why he's there, it jogs something in the man's mind, and his comments leave Andy wondering if Uncle Nick is confused or if he just might hold the key to Joey's freedom after all this time.

Andy grabs on to this thread of possibility and follows it into a world where the oath of silence is stronger than blood ties and where people will do anything to make sure their secrets are kept.

Joey Desimone is a case that his lawyer, Andy Carpenter, had lost ... as a consequence, Joey has spent the last years in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend and her husband.  Andy goes to visit Joey four times a year.  Once every couple of months, Andy goes through the old case files of those he has lost to see if something new jumps out at him.  In Joey's case, something does and Andy is able to get a retrial.  Andy would rather not have a case on the go (he'd rather work in the dog rescue he and his friend, Willie, have started) but this is a chance to right a wrong.

As Andy and his team investigate, they focus on a different theory ... maybe the ex-girlfriend wasn't the target but her husband was.  This leads Andy to dig into the dealings of Joey's family, which is "the family" since they are into organized crime.

This is the tenth book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay.  Though the story was a bit convoluted, I thought the "whodunnit" at the end was an interesting surprise.  I liked the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written in first person perspective in Andy's voice but at times it was also written in third person perspective.  It is the tenth in the Andy Carpenter series (and the tenth I've read) and it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the ones before it to know what is going on).

I like Andy.  He loves his dog, Tara, and thinks she's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world.  Laurie, Andy's love interest, is living with him and working as his investigator.  Hike is Andy's associate and is the most depressed and downer person ever.  Sam, his accountant who is also a computer hacker, wants a more active role but finds out the hard way that maybe he should stick to staying behind his computer.  Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills, rounds out the team and continues to provide protection when it's most needed (which is often).

Book ~ "Dog Tags" (2011) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ For six years Noah Galloway has lived with a horrible secret and the fear that his rebuilt life could be shattered at any moment. Now his dread has become a certainty and he has been arrested for the arson murder of twenty-six people.

What he needs now is defense lawyer Andy Carpenter, who most definitely is not in the market for a new client. So Noah plays his hole card: a shared love for Andy’s golden retriever, Tara, and the knowledge of what her life was like before Andy rescued her. Because Andy wasn’t her first owner - Noah rescued Tara first, and when he wasn’t able to care for her any longer, he did everything in his power to make sure that she was placed in the right home: Andy’s.

With that knowledge, Andy has little choice but to take Noah on, and he soon learns that the long-ago event that may destroy Noah’s life is only the beginning of an ongoing conspiracy that grows more deadly by the day. 

Noah has been hiding a horrible secret and is relieved on the day he is arrested ... six years ago when he was a drug addict, he burned down a house, killing 26 people.  He is sad what it will do to his wife and son but he is prepared to go to prison as a consequence of his crime.

Andy is a wealthy lawyer who would rather work in the dog rescue that he and Willie have established.  He has no desire to take on the case of an admittedly guilty man ... until he finds out that Tara, his dog he had rescued years ago, was originally Noah's.  Noah had found Tara (then Hannah) hurt by the side of the road and had her fixed.  He could barely take care of himself at the time so he put her up for adoption hoping she'd have a better life.  As Andy starts to investigate, he starts to believe in Noah's innocence even when Noah doesn't.

This is the ninth book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay.  I liked the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written in first person perspective in Andy's voice but at times it was also written in third person perspective.  It is the ninth in the Andy Carpenter series (and the ninth I've read) and it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the ones before it to know what is going on).

I like Andy.  He loves his dog, Tara, and thinks she's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world.  Laurie, Andy's love interest, is living with him and working as his investigator.  Hike is Andy's associate and is the most depressed and downer person ever.  Sam, his accountant who is also a computer hacker, helped with the case and recruits an interesting team to help out.  In addition, he is looking forward to getting more physically involved in the case since he now has a gun.  Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills, rounds out the team.

There were quite of few other characters and at times I had a bit of a hard time keeping track who they were.  I didn't find the "why" everything was happening overly interesting.

Book ~ "Drink Dirt Eat Stone" (2015) Kyle Fleishman

From Goodreads ~ Former Native Syndicate hitman and Gulf War hero Tristan Stonehorse walks out of Stony Mountain Penitentiary a free man for the first time in fourteen years. 

But Tristan owes. Kill one last man and he can put his violent past behind him and possibly mend the relationship with his grown daughter. If only things were that simple. 

When the job goes sideways, his would-be killers are dead and Tristan finds himself on the run with a group of highly skilled, anonymous killers trying to put him down for good. As he traverses the country he must do the one thing he hates most. Explore his own past.

Tristan has just been released from prison.  He wants to put his life back together and hopefully reconnect with his now adult daughter.  Tristan just has to kill one more person and he can move on.  But things get complicated when he is being stalked and many are trying to kill him ... he has to figure out why and who is behind it.

I liked the writing style and story.  Tristan didn't have a nice upbringing so did what he had to do what he had to do to survive.  He ended up becoming a hitman, eventually eliminating most of the members of the Hell's Angels when they tried to take over Vancouver.  With not a lot of options, he joins the military and because of his unique skills, he becomes a war hero.  When he returns home, he has revenge in mind for things done to him when he was a child, which is what lands him in prison.

The book jumps back and forth from the present to the past.  I found it confusing at first until I picked up on the rhythm ... the present is written in present tense and the past is written in past tense.  I'm assuming the author did this to build suspense as nothing is revealed right away.  It is written in third person perspective with a focus on Tristan.  As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing and brutal violence and some adult activity.

This is the debut novel from this author and I look forward to reading more in the future.

Book ~ "Dog Tags" (2010) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ A German Shepherd police dog witnesses a murder and if his owner - an Iraq war vet and former cop-turned-thief - is convicted of the crime, the dog could be put down. Few rival Andy Carpenter's affection for dogs and he decides to represent the poor canine. 

As Andy struggles to convince a judge that this dog should be set free, he discovers that the dog and his owner have become involved unwittingly in a case of much greater proportions than the one they've been charged with. Andy will have to call upon the unique abilities of this ex-police dog to help solve the crime and prevent a catastrophic event from taking place.

Billy is an ex-cop and Iraq war vet, who lost his leg in a bombing.  Since he has been back in the States, he hasn't been able to get a job so turns to stealing along with his ex-partner, his dog Milo.  One night, Billy's ex-boss in Iraq is murdered and Billy is found next to the body and his fingerprints are on the gun.  No one believes Billy when he says he had tried to save the victim and he is arrested.  Milo had run off and was put in a shelter when he was found.

Andy is a dog-loving lawyer.  His friend, Pete, who is a cop, asks him to help his friend, Billy.  Andy manages to get Milo released from the shelter and into his custody.  In addition, Billy hires him to defend him against the murder charge.

This is the eighth book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay.  I found it a bit confusing because there were so many characters (ex-soldiers from Iraq, the FBI, generals in the military, financiers, hit men, etc.) and I had a hard time keeping them straight.  Plus I found the subject matter involving a teenage suicide bomber in Iraq a heavy topic.

I liked the writing style, though, as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written in first person perspective in Andy's voice but at times it was also written in third person perspective.  It is the eighth in the Andy Carpenter series (and the eighth I've read) and it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the first one to know what is going on).

I like Andy.  He loves his dog, Tara, and thinks she's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world.  Laurie, Andy's love interest, is back full-time and living with him.  Kevin, Andy's hypochondriac associate, has gotten married and moved away so this introduced a new character named Hike to the series as Andy's associate ... different personality so a different dynamic (he's a funny guy).  Sam, his accountant who is also a computer hacker, helped with the case but didn't add as much humour as usual.  And there wasn't enough of Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills.

Book ~ "The Big Bucket List Book: 133 Experiences of a Lifetime" (2016) Gin Sander

From Goodreads ~ Everyone has an extensive, daunting bucket list of things to complete “before you die.” But it’s time to stop listing and start living. 

"The Big Bucket List Book" will change the way you look at the world and empower you to reach for all of the big and little things you want to achieve. 

Gin Sander offers 133 fresh ideas for infusing your life with a bit of glamour, adventure and style - whatever your budget. Learn to make your next chapter the most enriching and personally fulfilling of them all ... and maybe change the world while you’re at it! 

Gin Sanders offers you ideas at any point in your life (starting out, midway through a career or winding down workwise) if you want a challenge, a touch of glamour, and a sense of satisfaction, enjoyment and accomplishment in your pursuit of a well-live life.

There are a variety of ideas to check out and they are organized in categories:

• Galas, parties and get-togethers:  marvelous ways to mix, mingle and meet new friends
• Thrill your taste buds:  food and wine experiences
• Make your mark:  irresistibly fun DIY activities and skills
• Life is learning:  must-know new skills
• Create and inspire:  art, film, theatre and more
• Giving back:  make your mark
• Off the beaten path:  one-of-a-kind travel experiences
• Epic experiences
• Glamorous goals and getaways

In the table of contents, there is a dollar sign next to the ideas so you'll have an idea of what's inexpensive and what's higher in cost.

Depending on your circumstance, some of ideas are doable and others may provide you with a goal to work towards.  The author offers some tips in achieving some of your goals such as asking your friends to join so you can split the cost, put money away in a special account, volunteer, etc.

Book ~ "Yes, My Accent Is Real and Some Other Things I Haven't Told You" (2015) Kunal Nayyar

From Goodreads ~ Of all the charming misfits on television, there’s no doubt Raj from "The Big Bang Theory" - the sincere yet incurably geeky Indian-American astrophysicist - ranks among the misfittingest. Now, we meet the actor who is every bit as loveable as the character he plays on TV. In this revealing collection of essays written in his irreverent, hilarious and self-deprecating voice, Kunal Nayyar traces his journey from a little boy in New Delhi who mistakes an awkward first kiss for a sacred commitment, gets nosebleeds chugging Coca-Cola to impress other students, and excels in the sport of badminton, to the confident, successful actor on the set of TV’s most-watched sitcom since "Friends".

Going behind the scenes of "The Big Bang Theory" and into his personal experiences, Kunal introduces readers to the people who helped him grow, such as his James Bond-loving, mustachioed father who taught him the most important lessons in life: Treat a beggar as you would a king. There are two sides to every story. A smile goes a long way. And, when in doubt, use a spreadsheet. Kunal also walks us through his college years in Portland, where he takes his first sips of alcohol and learns to let loose with his French, 6’8” gentle-giant roommate, works his first-ever job for the university’s housekeeping department cleaning toilets for minimum wage, and begins a series of romantic exploits that go just about as well as they would for Raj (that is, until he meets and marries a former Miss India in an elaborate seven-day event that we get to experience in a chapter titled “My Big Fat Indian Wedding”).

Full of heart but never taking itself too seriously, this witty and often inspiring collection of underdog tales follows a young man as he traverses two continents in search of a dream, along the way transcending culture and language (and many, many embarrassing incidents) to somehow miraculously land the role of a lifetime.

I like Big Bang Theory and the character of Raj Koothrappali, played by actor Kunal Nayyar ... so that's why this book caught my eye.  And I enjoyed it.  It is a collection of stories from the author's life.

Nayyar was born in England but moved to India with his family when he was young.  In this book, he tells stories of his childhood ... his first kiss with his cousin's friend and how his heart was broken when he discovered that she actually had a boyfriend, how he was a badminton champion, etc.

He moved to the States to go to university.  He first moved to Portland, OR, to study business (he went on to graduate with a degree in business).  There he was roommates with Dziko, a giant French guy, who became a lifelong friend.  He tells stories of the girls he thought he loved and the jobs he did to get by.  He started acting in plays as a way of making new friends, which led to him taking acting classes (he ended up a master's degree in fine arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA).  While working in a raw food restaurant in Los Angeles, he got his big break as Raj.

He married Neha Kapur, a former Miss India, in 2011.  He tells of their week long traditional wedding celebrations and ceremony.

I liked the writing style ... it was casual and as if he was sitting with me and telling me the stories.  I liked his humour and honesty.  As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "New Tricks" (2009) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ Andy Carpenter gains possession of an adorable Bernese puppy whose owner was brutally murdered. Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs and he will do whatever it takes to insure that this little pup doesn't fall into the wrong hands. However, his playful new friend is valued by several people, many of whom are willing to resort to violence to get what they want. 

It will take more than Andy's usual courtroom theatrics to save this dog, including a little help from his beloved golden retriever, Tara. 

Andy soon discovers that anyone around him is in danger, including his long-time girlfriend, Laurie, and he will have to muster all of his wits to save those he holds most dear.

Andy is a lawyer.  His father left him $22 million a couple years ago so he has the luxury of only occasionally taking on cases.  He is assigned a pro bono case of deciding on the custody of Waggy, a Bernese puppy.  Waggy's owner, Walter, has been murdered so it's up to Andy to decide who gets Waggy ... Walter's second wife, Diana, or his son, Steven (Diana and Steven hate each other).  That decision becomes easy when Diana is murdered but harder because Steven is arrested for his father and stepmother's murdered.  Steven hires Andy to be his lawyer and it's going to be a tough case to defend because everything points to Steven.

Andy and Laurie have been together for a while and dating long-distance since she moved back home to Wisconsin.  In addition to temporarily taking care of Waggy and defending Steven, he is also trying to figure out how to make Laurie stay.

This is the seventh book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written in first person perspective in Andy's voice.  It is the seventh in the Andy Carpenter series (and the seventh I've read) and it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the first one to know what is going on).

I like Andy.  He loves his dog, Tara, and thinks she's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world, and Laurie.  Andy's team is made up of Kevin, his hypochondriac associate who also owns/runs a laundramat, Sam, his accountant who is also a computer hacker who he sing-talks with, and Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills.  His friends are Vince, the editor of the local newspaper, and Pete, a local police officer, who love taking advantage of Andy's wealth to pick up the tab at restaurants.

Book ~ "Fixed in Fear" (2015) T.E. Woods

From Goodreads ~ Seattle Chief of Detectives Mort Grant cannot reconcile the memories of his vibrant, headstrong young daughter with the cold, deadly woman she has become. The head of one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world, Allie Grant seized power by wrenching it away from her lover, a notorious Russian gangster. How she maintains her control, Mort doesn’t even want to imagine.

Only two other people know the truth about Allie: the vigilante known as The Fixer, and Mort’s best friend, Larry, who’s undergoing a crisis of his own. Someone close to Larry, his last real connection to his beloved late wife, has been slain in a mass murder at a sweat lodge deep in the woods of Washington State. When word gets out, Mort immediately takes on the gruesome case.

But as Mort hunts down a pair of methodical killers, The Fixer does some deep digging of her own. And what she unearths will rock Mort’s family forever. Because The Fixer has set her sights on Allie Grant - and nothing will ever be the same again.

Mort is the chief of the homicide detectives in Seattle.  Five people are found murdered in a spiritual sweat lodge not far from Seattle ... one of them is Carleton, the uncle of the late wife of Mort's good friend, Larry.  Because of this, Mort offers to help the chief of police in the town find out what's going on.

In the meantime, Mort's estranged daughter, Allie, is back in town wanting to have a relationship with her dad, brother, sister-in-law and nieces.  But Allie was the mistress of a Russian gangster ... she had killed him and taken over his power.  Obviously Mort and his family don't want anything to do with her until she confesses her crimes and takes responsibility for them.  Well, that's not going to happen so Allie turns to Mort's friend, Lydia, for help to persuade Mort to change his mind.

This is the fifth book I've read by this author and the fifth in the Mort Grant series (I've read them all) ... I liked it.  Though it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone as there is enough information provided. It's written in third person perspective and I liked the writing style. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Mort had a lot going on.  In one of the storylines, Mort is trying protect his family against his dangerous daughter.  In the other, he is supporting his friend, Larry, who as executor, has to go through Carleton's things, which brings back memories of his beloved late wife.  Lydia is trying to stay in the background, as usual, but Allie's actions make her consider some actions she doesn't want to do.  There was a lot of focus on Robbie's twins, Hayden and Hadley, and I found them a bit annoying.

I look forward to the next one!

Book ~ "Tell Me to My Face" (2011) Angelo Mosca and Steve Milton

From Goodreads ~ "Tell Me To My Face" is an intimate and surprising story of Angelo Mosca's journey from a hard-scrabble upbringing to playing in a record nine Grey Cups, becoming the most hated man in the CFL and wrestling as the infamous King Kong Mosca.

Angelo Mosco is a former football player (primarily for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Gord's favourite CFL team) and wrestler.  To be honest, I've never heard of him but Gord recently read this book and said I'd enjoy it as I like reading bios ... and I did like this book.

Mosca was born outside of Boston to Italian parents who were alcoholics.  His father physically abused him and his siblings and his mother allowed it.  He took advantage of football scholarship at Notre Dame to get away from home, which led him to play football for the Tiger-Cats.

During the off-season, he wrestled as King Kong Mosca and continued after he left football.

I thought his story was interesting. He was honest in both his achievements and his faults. He sounds like a fun guy to sit down and talk with.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

It was self-published and there were a lot of typos and grammatical errors, which is surprising considering he had a sports writer helping him out.

Book ~ "A Wedding on Primrose Street" (2015) Sheila Roberts

From Goodreads ~ There's nothing like a wedding! 

The joy, the fun, the memories - the stress. As a wedding planner, Anne Richardson has seen mothers of the bride turn into Momzillas, and she's determined not to do that when it's her daughter's turn to get married. But once Laney gets engaged, all bets are off. Anne becomes obsessed with giving Laney the perfect wedding she herself never had. And that wedding needs to be held in Icicle Falls at Primrose Haus, the perfect setting. 

Roberta Gilbert, owner of Primrose Haus, has been hosting events at her charming Victorian for thirty years. She's an expert on weddings but not on mother-daughter relations. When her daughter, Daphne, comes home and decides to help with the business, the receptions become truly memorable - and not in a good way. Then there's the added complication of Roberta's gardener, who seems more interested in Daphne than he is in planting primroses.

Tying the knot is a business that has everyone tied up in knots!

Anne is a wedding planner and has had her share of Momzillas.  When her daughter, Laney, gets engaged, Anne takes charge to ensure that Laney gets the best wedding ever ... except what she plans is what she had wanted when she got married 25 years ago but didn't have.  Laney and Drake want to elope to Las Vegas but go along with Anne's plans.  Anne wants to have Laney's wedding in Icicle Falls, which is a cute German-themed town.  There she meets with Roberta, who rents out her Victoria house for weddings.

Roberta is in her seventies and her 50ish daughter, Daphne, has just moved home from Seattle following her third divorce.  She is hoping to stay with her mom and help her with her wedding arrangement business until she figures out what she wants to do with her life.

This is the tenth I've read by this author (and the seventh in the Icicle Falls series ... it works as a standalone).  Written in third person perspective, the focus shifts among the characters and you get to know what they are thinking.  As a head's up, there is some mild swearing.  At the end, there are some recipes.

I didn't like Anne or Roberta.  They were both very critical of their daughters.  With Anne, she was embarrassed by Laney and Drake's tattoos, crazy hair colour and piercings.  In fact, when they went shopping for a wedding dress, Laney found the one she wanted but Anne wanted one that had sleeves and a high neck to cover her tattoos (even though everyone knew she had them!).  Everything that Laney wanted for her wedding, Anne shot down.  Laney sounded like a cool person and I wished she'd stood up to her mother.  Yes, Daphne had made some mistakes but Roberta was always making snippy remarks to her and had no trust in her.  I found the behavior of the mothers too overbearing and tiring.

It wasn't my favourite in the series (I found it too negative and not as light as the others) but I look forward to reading future ones.

Book ~ "The Only Average Guy: Inside the Uncommon World of Rob Ford" (2015) John Filion

From Goodreads ~ The first book to go beyond the scandal and distraction of the world's most infamous local politician and reveal what drives Rob Ford and the many voters who steadfastly support him.

Eye-opening and at times frightening, "The Only Average Guy" cuts through the uproar that followed Ford everywhere. A journalist before entering politics, Filion peels back the layers of an extremely complicated man. Weaving together the personal and political stories, he explains how Ford's tragic weaknesses helped propel him to power before leading to his inevitable failure. Through Ford, the book also explains the growing North American phenomenon by which angry voters are attracted to outspoken candidates flaunting outrageous flaws.

For fifteen years, Toronto city councillor John Filion has had an uncommon relationship with Rob Ford. Sitting two seats away from the wildly unpredictable councillor from Etobicoke, who served as mayor from 2010 to 2014, Filion formed an unlikely camaraderie that allowed him to look beyond Rob's red-faced persona, seeing a boy still longing for the approval of his father, struggling with the impossible expectations of a family that fancied itself a political dynasty. 

Rob Ford was a councillor of Etobicoke from 2000 to 2010 and mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014.  He appealed to many because of his promises to save taxpayer and "stop the gravy train" and "Ford Nation" formed.  When Rob was mayor, his brother, Doug, was councillor of Etobicoke.  Together they were a united front.  I've never been a fan of either of the Fords ... I think they are lying arrogant bullies.

As Rob's alcohol and drug addictions took hold of him, having him as our mayor became an embarrassment to our city (it is North America’s fourth largest city and Canada’s sixth largest government) and he became a laughingstock around the world.

Rob spent less and less time at City Hall and more time on the missing list. He started showing up at events hammered and stoned. There were rumours that he was hanging out with drug dealers and murderers. When it was reported that there was a video of Ford doing coke, he denied its existence and proclaimed that he didn't do drugs. It was only when he was backed up against a wall that he admitted the truth ... that seemed to be the way he dealt with everything. Deny deny deny until proof comes out to show he was lying.

Eventually because he couldn't be kicked out of the office, the councillors voted to strip him of his powers so for his last year he was our mayor in name only. When yet another video surfaced of him in less-than-stellar behaviour, he said he was heading to rehab (he was only there for about a month).  He vowed to become elected again as mayor in the 2014 election but was forced to quit because it was discovered he had cancer and he needed to have it treated.  Instead he ran for his former position as councillor and won.

This book is written by Rob's fellow councillor, John Filion who spent 15 years working with him.  Filion interviewed more than 75 people (including Rob and Doug) to get the story on what Rob makes Rob who he is today.  He starts by telling about their parents, Doug Sr. and Diane, who seem to have only cared about prestige and it didn't sound like they gave their four children (Rob and Doug are the third and fourth children) praise or love.  Rob is dysfunctionally always trying to make his father proud, even though the man's been dead for many years.  Rob liked the idea of being mayor but didn't actually enjoy doing the work.  He has a short attention span and no filters.

This book gave a good insight on Rob Ford and his family. I enjoyed it ... it's an interesting read, especially for people living in Toronto.

Book ~ "Bricking It" (2015) Nick Spalding

From Goodreads ~ When siblings Dan and Hayley Daley inherit their late grandmother’s derelict Victorian farmhouse, it seems like a dream come true. All they have to do is fix the place up and sell it for a tidy profit!

Except, as anyone who has renovated an old house knows, things are never that easy.

The walls are rapidly crumbling around them, the architect is a certified lunatic, the budget is spiraling … and then there’s the disturbingly intelligent cow to worry about.

On top of all this, the renovation is being featured on a daytime reality TV show and as soon as "Great Locations" presenter Gerard O’Keefe catches sight of Hayley’s first-floor balcony, he’s determined to woo her out of her ban on romance, whether she wants him to or not.

Will Dan and Hayley survive and sell up? Or will the whole thing collapse on them like a ton of bricks?

Haley and Dan's grandmother has died and left them a house in the English countryside.  No one has lived in it or kept it up for fifty years so it's really rundown ... no one in their family even knew about the house.  Their plan is to borrow money to fixed it up and sell it to make a profit.  They hire Mitchell, an eccentric architect, and Fred, an gruff handyman, and his team because they are cheap.  In addition, they take a leave of absence from their jobs so they can help out however they can in order to keep costs down.  Mitchell knows Gerard, the host of a renovation show, and Haley and Dan agree to let him film their renovation in hopes that it will raise awareness of their house and it will sell for lots of money.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I liked the writing style ... it was funny and sarcastic.  It is written in first person perspective, alternating between Haley and Dan (the chapters are labeled so you know whose voice it is).  The author lives in England so there are some English references I didn't get.  As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing and some adult activity.

I liked Haley and Dan.  It was interesting to see how they went from feeling that the house was a burden to loving it.  The characters are amusing, especially Fred and Pat The Cow.

It was a fun read.

Book ~ "Play Dead" (2007) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara. 

After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another golden's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years before. 

Andy pushes the boundaries of the law even further as he struggles to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take canine testimony seriously. It will take all the tricks Andy's fertile mind can conceive to get to the bottom of a remarkable chain of impersonations and murder, and save a dog's life - and his own - in the process.

Andy is a lawyer.  Though the dog rescue that he and his former client, Willie, have opened, he comes across a golden retriever named Yogi who is supposed to be put down.  Because he has a golden retriever named Tara which he love love loves, he is determined to save Yogi.  He is successful but this leads him to defend Richard, the owner of Yogi.

Richard has been in prison for five years for murdering his fiancée ... until now, it was believed that he had also killed his beloved dog.  Richard lost everything when he went to prison ... his fiancée, his job and his freedom.  It's up to Andy, with the help of Karen, Richard's loyal sister, and his team of Sam, Kevin and Marcus, to fix this wrong.

This is the sixth book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing.  It was written in first person perspective in Andy's voice.  It is the sixth in the Andy Carpenter series (and the sixth I've read) and it works as a stand alone (so you don't need to have read the first one to know what is going on).

I like Andy and it was good to see him back in the courtroom, where he belongs.  He's smart and shifty and recognizes his weaknesses ,,, he acknowledges that he's a coward.  He loves his dog, Tara, and thinks she's the most wonderful dog in the whole wide world.  Andy's team is made up of Kevin, his hypochondriac associate who also owns/runs a laundramat, Sam, his accountant who is also a computer hacker, and Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills.  He calls in favours from his friends, Vince, the editor of the local newspaper, and Pete, a local police officer.

Book ~ "After You" (2015) Jojo Moyes

From Goodreads ~ How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding - the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future.

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

This is the sequel to Me Before You, which I read last year.  It picks up with Louisa a couple years after Will has died.  She spent some time travelling and has returned to London, has bought an apartment and is working in an airport bar.  She's not happy and is drinking too much.  One night she has an accident and has to move back home with her parents for a while to recover.

In order to help her move on with her life, she joins a support group but doesn't feel like she has a lot in common with the others since she only spent six months with Will.  She starts seeing Sam, the paramedic who helped save her, but she can't let go of Will.  In the meantime, someone from Will's past shows up which brings her back in contact with Will's parents.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay.  I found the writing and the pacing was up and down ... sometimes I felt like I couldn't keep reading it and then something would happen to draw me back in.  It is written mostly in first person perspective from Lou's point of view.  I found some of the situations a bit extreme and unbelievable.

I know Lou was grieving and trying to find her life again but she is a bit of a drag and letting everyone walk over her.  She's in a job that's going nowhere with a new boss who is a jerk.  I liked Sam ... for some reason, I kept imagining nice guy actor Chris O'Dowd.  Lou's mom has discovered feminism and her dad doesn't like it.

Though it is a sequel, there is background (eventually) about what happened in the first book so you can figure it out but I found that it was drawn out ... so I would recommend you read Me Before You before you read this on so you know what's going on.

Book ~ "Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable: How I Tried to Help the World's Most Notorious Mayor" (2015) Mark Towhey and Johanna Schneller

From Goodreads ~ In February 2013, Toronto’s former mayor, Rob Ford, was caught on video smoking crack cocaine. Weeks later, he was accused of groping a campaign rival, had to leave a gala for being too intoxicated and was fired as the coach of a high school football team. The events were part of a stream of Rob Ford “mishaps”, which include a DUI, accusations of domestic violence, a trial where the Toronto City Council stripped him of his powers, even accusations of murder.

Through it all, Ford’s former chief of staff, Mark Towhey, stood by his side. Towhey was part of Ford’s inner circle; he’d joined Ford’s mayoral campaign in 2010 and quickly became one of his closest advisors. He responded to media questions regarding Ford’s drug and alcohol additions, his anger management problems, and, of course, the video of Ford smoking crack.

In May 2013, Mark Towhey had a confidential conversation with Ford. Much speculations has been about this conversation but thus far, the public only knows two words from that conversation; Towhey told Ford to “get help.” They also know what happened next, Towhey was fired.

In "Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable", Towhey recounts the conversation and shares what Ford was like behind the scenes. This is a candid insider account of working with Ford, covering for him, respecting his strengths, and managing his weaknesses. 

Mark Towhey was senior advisor and Chief of Staff to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford from 2010 to 2013.  This is his story of what it was like working with Rob Ford and his brother, Doug, and all the damage control he and others did to protect Ford and make decisions in his absence.

I've never been a fan of either of the Fords ... I think they are lying arrogant bullies.  But from the sound of it, Ford's heart was in the right place in the beginning ... fighting for the "little guy".  But as Ford's alcohol and drug addictions took hold of him, having him as our mayor became an embarrassment to our city (it is North America’s fourth largest city and Canada’s sixth largest government) and he became a laughingstock around the world.

As time went on, Ford spent less and less time at City Hall and more time on the missing list.  He started showing up at events hammered and stoned.  There were rumours that he was hanging out with drug dealers and murderers.  When it was reported that there was a video of Ford doing coke, he denied its existence and proclaimed that he didn't do drugs.  It was only when he was backed up against a wall that he admitted the truth ... that seemed to be the way he dealt with everything.  Deny deny deny until proof comes out to show he was lying.

Eventually because he couldn't be kicked out of the office, the councillors voted to strip him of his powers so for his last year he was our mayor in name only.  When yet another video surfaced of him in less-than-stellar behaviour, he said he was heading to rehab (he was only there for about a month).  All these events played out in the news and it was interesting to get a behind-the-scene view of what was going on.

I enjoyed this book.  It's an interesting read, especially for people living in Toronto.  If more of the "Ford Nation" read it, perhaps they wouldn't be as brainwashed into still idolizing Ford.