Book ~ "Sex, Murder and a Double Latte" (2005) Kyra Davis

From Goodreads ~ Thriller scribe Sophie Katz is as hard-boiled as a woman who drinks Grande Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos can be. So Sophie knows it’s not paranoia or post-divorce, living-alone-again jitters, when she becomes convinced that a crazed reader is sneaking into her apartment to reenact scenes from her books. The police, however, can’t tell a good plot from an unmarked grave.

When a filmmaker friend is brutally murdered in the manner of a death scene in one of his movies, Sophie becomes convinced that a copycat killer is on the loose - and that she’s the next target. If she doesn’t solve the mystery, her own bestseller will spell out her doom. Cursing her grisly imagination (why, oh, why did she have to pick the ax?), Sophie engages in some real-life gumshoe tactics. The man who swoops in to save her in dark alleys is mysterious new love interest Anatoly Darinsky. Of course, if this were fiction, Anatoly would be her prime suspect.

Sophie Katz is a mystery writer. She is excited that a filmmaker is interested in turning her book into a movie ... until he is found dead in his bathtub of an apparent suicide. His death is very similar to a death in one of his movies but that was a murder not a suicide, which leads Sophie to suspect that he has been murdered. When strange things start happening that mirror her book, Sex, Murder and a Double Latte, Sophie suspects she may be the next victim so starts investigating.

Around this time, Sophie meets and starts dating Anatoly, who has recently moved to town, and her friend, Dena, has recently started dating Jason, who is a vampire wannabe. Sophie starts to wonder if they have come into her life just make her the next victim.

This is the first in the Sophie Katz Murder Mystery Series (there are seven books in the series). I like reading series so I thought I'd check it out. I liked the writing style ... it was amusing at times. It is written in first person perspective in Sophie's voice. It was published in 2005 so is a bit dated with references to things that were relevant 20 years ago. I liked that she had a cat named Mr. Katz, who was full of personality. Sophie has three good but diverse friends who she leans on ... outspoken and sometimes mean Dena, dumb Mary Ann and Marcus, an overly stereotypical gay hairdresser. The whodunnit was a bit of a stretch. As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing and some violence.

I liked it enough to move on to the next book in the series. 

Book ~ "Vacation" (2005) Jane Green

From Goodreads ~ Just when she’d sworn off men for good, Sarah Evans met Eddie. Sarah was a magazine editor, living in Manhattan, and loving her life - except for the heartbreaks. A successful real estate developer, Eddie was a breath of fresh air, a meeting of minds - and bodies. Soon came wedded bliss, baby number one - and the proverbial move to the suburbs.

You just sit there like a slob while I do all the work. Nine years later, this is increasingly what goes through Sarah’s mind when she looks at Eddie, propped in front of the TV with a beer, ignoring their two children. The truth is, she misses her old life. She misses the old Eddie. She can’t help wondering if she’d be happier alone.

When Eddie’s job sends him to Chicago indefinitely, Sarah shocks him by suggesting a trial separation. But she knows it’s just a precursor to divorce - even if Eddie chooses to think of it as a “vacation.” Yet a lot can change - on both sides - as time goes by. And once Christmas arrives, Sarah and Eddie might re-discover gifts they’d forgotten they had.

When Sarah and Eddie met, they were in their twenties, living in New York, had great jobs and happening lives.  Nine years later, they are married with two children and living in the suburbs.  Sarah is an unhappy stay-at-home wife and Eddie works too much, eats too much and drinks too much.  Sarah has had enough so when he gets transferred to the Chicago office, she sees this as a chance to have a trial separation.  Apart, Eddie realizes that he's been a lousy husband and father and Sarah finds herself again.

This novella was originally published in 2005 in a trio of stories called This Christmas.  You can tell it's dated because someone puts a phone back in its cradle, when Sarah applies for jobs she finds in the newspaper she mails a cover letter and resume, and there is a reference to Demi Moore dating younger men.

I've read a few books by this author and this was okay.  It was a quick and easy read.  It's written in third person perspective with a focus on Sarah and Eddie.

Book ~ "Terry" (2005) Douglas Coupland

From Goodreads ~ In 1980, Terry Fox was just a young man with a dream. Three years earlier, he had lost a leg to cancer. Some combination of passion, idealism and sheer guts led to the impossible notion that he would run across Canada on one good leg and a prosthesis. His goal was to raise $1 from every Canadian to help find a cure for cancer. Twenty-five years later, the dream remains alive, and Terry's legacy has raised more than $360 million for cancer research.

"Terry" has been written with the support of the Fox family and the design reflects the style of Douglas Coupland's Souvenir projects, mixing more than 145 superb photographs of a previously unknown collection of family memorabilia with a very moving text about Terry's life and the Marathon of Hope. Printed in full colour, the book brings a profound moment in Canadian history, and the young man who inspired it, freshly to life.

Terry Fox was an ordinary young man living in Port Coquitlam, BC.  He was athletic and enjoyed running and basketball.  When he was 19, they discovered he had a cancerous tumour and his right leg was amputated at the knee.  With an artificial leg, he began running again and played wheelchair basketball.

On April 12, 1980, Terry began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research.  He hoped to raise one dollar from each of Canada's 24 million people.  He began in St. John's, NF, and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day.  On September 1, 1980, he was forced to end his run outside Thunder Bay, ON, because the cancer had spread to his lungs.  He headed home to BC immediately to begin treatment and passed away in June 1981.

This book chronicles the Marathon of Hope.  I like the way it was written with bite-sized chunks of information.  Children and adults can read this book.  It is laid out with many full-colour pictures showing Terry's clothing during the marathon, people he met along the way, gifts and letters he received and more.

One of Terry's earliest supporters was Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons Hotels, who proposed an annual fundraising run in Terry's name. Terry agreed but insisted that the runs be non-competitive.  The first Terry Fox Run was on on September 13, 1981 ... over 300,000 people took part and raised $3.5 million. The Run has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research ... over $750 million has been raised (as of January 2018). I walked 5km in this Run in my 'hood the last two years and this past year became a volunteer.

The author is donating all of his royalties from this book to the Terry Fox Foundation.  The publisher, Douglas & McIntyre, is making a contribution to the Foundation by paying royalties at double the rate for every copy of this book that is sold.

Book ~ "S is for Silence" (2005) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ Cases don't get much colder than that of Violet Sullivan, who disappeared from her rural California town in 1953, leaving behind an abusive husband and a seven-year-old named Daisy. But P.I. Kinsey Millhone has promised Daisy she'll try her best to locate Violet, dead or alive. Kinsey tries to pick up a trail by speaking to those who remember her - and perhaps were more involved in her life than they let on.

But the trail could lead her somewhere very dangerous. Because the case may have gone cold, but some peoples' feelings about Violet Sullivan still run as hot as ever.

It's 1987 and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, in her mid-thirties.  She is hired by Daisy to find out once and for all what happened to her mother, Violet, who disappeared in 1953.  Daisy was seven-years-old and the last time she saw her mother was when Violet was getting ready to go out for the evening.  Violet, her brand new car and her puppy were never seen again after that night.  Violet had a trampy reputation around town (which was justified) and no one knows whether she is dead (killed by her jealous husband who had a history of beating her up) or took off with another man.  Either scenario could be true.

This was an interesting story but could have better.  I found it a bit confusing because there were so many characters.  Plus it jumps back and forth from 1953 and 1987 with the same characters.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice in 1987 and third person perspective in 1953.  None of the characters were really likable.  I found the ending wrapped up really quickly and I went "huh?" when the whodunnit was revealed.  There was no explanation as to how or why.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity (between minors).

This is the nineteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "Bury the Lead" (2005) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ His streak of murder case acquittals made him a regular on cable talk shows. His recent $22 million inheritance bought him a dog rescue operation named the Tara Foundation after his own beloved golden retriever. Yet after turning down cases left and right, Andy Carpenter thinks he's facing a midlife crisis. 

When a friend, a newspaper owner, calls in a favor and asks him to protect his star reporter, Andy is less than thrilled. His new client is Daniel Cummings, a journalist who is being used as a mouthpiece by a brutal serial killer. Things only get worse when Daniel is discovered near the body of the murderer's latest victim. And after Andy himself starts collecting anonymous death threats, he hears the news every defense lawyer dreads ... and moves to within a dangerous keystroke of becoming tomorrow's obituary. 

Women are getting murdered and their hands are cut off.  The serial killer has been calling reporter, Daniel Cummings, and giving  him the information which he writes about.  Vince, the owner of the newspaper where Daniel works, hires his friend, Andy, in case they need legal representation.  When the latest victim is killed, Daniel is found near the body and arrested for her murder.  It doesn't help that this victim had ties to the mob or that the victims' clothes and hands were found in Daniel's possession.  Andy now has to defend Daniel, even though he has his doubts that Daniel is actually innocent.

This is the third 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 third in the Andy Carpenter series (and the third 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's smart and shifty and recognizes his weaknesses.  He loves his dog, Tara.  In fact, he and Willie, a former client, have created a dog rescue which Willie runs full-time.  Andy gets help from Laurie, his investigator and girlfriend, Kevin, his associate who also owns/runs a laundramat, and Marcus, an investigator with persuasive reasoning skills.

Book ~ "4th of July" (2005) James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

From Goodreads ~ In a deadly late-night showdown, San Francisco police lieutenant Lindsay Boxer fires her weapon and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leaves a police force disgraced, a family destroyed and Lindsay herself at the mercy of twelve jurors. 

During a break in the trial, she retreats to a picturesque town that is reeling from a string of grisly murders-crimes that bear a link to a haunting, unsolved case from her rookie years.

Now, with her friends in the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay must battle for her life on two fronts: in a trial rushing to a climax, and against an unknown adversary willing to do anything to hide the truth about the homicides-including kill again? 

There are four members of the Women's Murder Club ... Lindsay, Cindy, Claire and Yuki.

Lindsay and her former partner, Jacobi, are chasing a car.  When it crashes, their first thought is to rescue the two people inside.  Bad move as it comes back to bite Lindsay in the butt when she is charged with the killing of one and injuring the other.  She has to go to trial for the charges, which could mean the end of her career.

To get away from the media attention, she stays at her sister's house.  There have been some murders in this community and which have a link to an unsolved murder from Lindsay's rookie days.

This is the fourth in the Women's Murder Club series (and the fifth one I've read). Though it is part of a series, it does work as a stand alone.  This book was less about the Women's Murder Club, though, and more about Lindsay.  Sweet Martha, Lindsay's dog, has more face-time than Claire and Cindy (but I was okay with that).

I enjoyed the writing style and it went at a good pace. I liked the short choppy chapters. The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I thought the trial (and the fact there was a trial) was a bit overblown.  The facts and evidence clearly showed that Lindsay did what she had to do so I'm surprised that there was even a doubt she acted inappropriately.

Lindsay discovers whodunnit and the book wraps up pretty quickly after that.  The whodunnit was a bit of a stretch but I went with it.

I liked this book and will continue to get caught up in the series.

Book ~ "Bloodlines" (2005) Jan Burke

From Amazon ~ In 1958, Conn O'Connor, a brash young reporter for the Las Piernas News-Express, is taken under the wing of veteran Jack Corrigan, who is nearly killed after claiming to have seen a blood-spattered car buried on a farm. In 1978, another brash youngster - Irene Kelly - in turn is taken under O'Connor's wing. By 1998, Irene is the veteran, mentoring two rookies. The sweep of events over such a long time span imparts a certain majesty.

There are murders, to be sure, but little mystery, since it's clear early on who is responsible. The deaths serve more as a tragic link across the years and to the heartbroken families who grow old awaiting resolution. Several secondary characters from Burke's earlier novels appear in part three, furthering the sense of events coming full circle.

In the end, it's the human relationships that stick in the mind and the heart. A few flaws - dangling loose ends, too many summaries and, most serious, a disappointing slide back into standard crime-fiction mode - don't diminish the book's overall strength and enormous charm. With its multiple rich story lines, dead-on newsroom atmosphere and friendships that deepen through the decades, this is an extremely satisfying work.

This is the ninth book in the series of eleven (as of 2011) ... I'm rereading the series.

This book is divided into three parts with 20-year intervals in between. We meet O'Connor as a kid and watch him grow and become a reporter, being mentored by Jack Corrigan. Two people have drowned and a couple and their baby have disappeared. Twenty years later, O'Connor and Irene Kelly start working together and the mystery of the disappearance couple and their baby is solved. Twenty years after that, Corrigan and O'Connor are long gone and the loose ends of the mysteries are finally solved.

I enjoyed this book. We get to know a lot of people in the past that we know now like O'Connor who died in the first book of the series and Lefebrve who was prominent in the last book. As with Burke's other books, there were a lot of characters but I was able to keep them all straight. I didn't find it dragged and I was okay with the ending.

Book ~ "The Canadian Housewife: An Affectionate History" (2005) Rosemary Neering

From Amazon ~ An engaging account of Canada's ingenious housewives.

Light and lively, but factual, The Canadian Housewife traces the various eras of this feminine icon of the north, from the 1600s with the first Acadian women along the Bay of Fundy, who lit their houses with candles and heated them with fires, to the 1950s suburban housewife, who treasured her new labor-saving kitchen devices and magazine recipes for jellied salads with marshmallows.

This engaging cultural history provides amusing information and anecdotes on how Canadian housewives dealt with the trials and tribulations of running a household through Canada's many social periods. Creating fascinating snapshots of specific times in the country's history, sidebars throughout The Canadian Housewife feature quotes, recipes, household hints, excerpts from books and magazines, advertisements and historical illustrations of housewives at work.

This book is an interesting read about housewives from the 1600s to the 1950s in Canada. Because of all the information, it's not a book you would sit and read in one sitting. Not only is there info broken up into sections per years like wife, nurse, mother, etc. to let you know how things were, there are sidebars (in blue) with letters from housewives telling about their lives, ads, recipes, etc. Washing machines and vacuum cleaners made such a difference in their lives!

I found myself reading parts of this book, shaking my head in wonderment at all that these women did and what was expected of them.

From the 1800s ...

"Monday night I would sort over the soiled clothing, fill up my tubs and set the white things to soak. While the family were eating breakfast, around six o'clock on Tuesday morning, I would set the wash water in two large galvanized iron wash-boilers on the stove to heat. By the time the dishes were cleared away and washed, the separator scoured, the beds made and the floors swept, and the table set for dinner, it would be nine 'o clock, and I would ready to start on the main business of the day - the washing."

From the 1920s ...

"You will want your husband to fall in love with you every day, as he will surely want you to fall in love with him. Of course, you can't always be dressed up but you can try to be always clean and neat, and you can welcome him always with a smile that comes so easy now."

From the 1950s ...

"A woman was urged to feed her man properly, keep a clean house for him, ask a bout his day but never complain about hers, keep the children from bothering hm when he was tired, make the very best of his paycheque, and always be cheerful and ready for whatever he suggested."

I would have been a lousy housewife in those years ... just ask Gord about the first (and last!) time he asked me to sew a button on a shirt for him or iron.

Book ~ "Toronto: Tales of the City" (2005) Glenn Cochrane

From Federal Publications Inc. ~ Glenn Cochrane's Toronto: Tales of the City is the ideal pocket companion for anyone looking for the underground city not only as it is, but as it was.

For a quarter century, Glenn Cochrane reported for CFTO's daily Worldbeat and Nightbeat news. He left viewers with a smile by scouring the city for the genuine eccentrics and landmark fests that put Hogtown on the map. Now Cochrane comes out of retirement to walk the old beat, unearthing the local lore and historic hijinks that make Toronto come to life. Peter Ustinov once said "Toronto is New York run by the Swiss," but Cochrane shows you a city with chutzpah and flair uniquely its own.

His roaming recollections include anecdotal "streeters" with the famous: Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Rich Little, George Burns, Phyllis Diller, Mickey Rooney, Carol Channing and Paul Hogan — and with the moms and pops of all the best shops. When Mike Myers accepted his place on Canada's Walk of Fame, he gave a nod to the retired newscaster by sporting "a Cochrane" signature mop top and impersonating Glenn’s comedic catch phrase.

From Dave Garrick's free dry cleaning policy for rainy Canadian National Exhibitions to an orangutan receiving CPR at the Toronto Zoo, and from neighbourhood thug Baldy Chard's grip on Cabbagetown to Sammy Taft's "milliner to the stars" on Spadina, Glenn Cochrane's Toronto: Tales of the City walks the old beat, telling tales and unearthing a history you won't find in tourist guides or municipal archives.

Gord read this book during the week and then passed it along to me as he knows I like to read about Toronto's history.

This book doesn't get into a lot of details ... but it gives you a taste of Toronto and its neighbourhoods.

I found Cochrane's writing rambling, which I found a bit annoying. Plus I found it kind of boring.

Book ~ "The Dead Don't Get Out Much" (2005) Mary Jane Maffini

From MaryJaneMaffini.com ~ It's the Year of the Veteran and that means a lot to Camilla's friend, Mrs. Violet Parnell. But Mrs. P. claims to have had a conversation with a dead man, which sets her on a journey to discover how that could be. Since she doesn't mention that she's leaving or where she's going, naturally this triggers a protectionist panic with Camilla and Alvin. Mrs. Parnell is well past eighty and, according to the emergency room doctors, it seems likely she's suffered a series of mini-strokes. Meanwhile, the extraordinarily patient Ray Deveau's been planning a romantic trip for Camilla and himself but looks like that just fell off Camilla's radar. So it's a transatlantic trauma as Camilla doggedly tracks Mrs. Parnell through the hills of Italy in search of old secrets with deadly ramifications in the present. Will she find Mrs. P. before someone with good reason to silence her does? Will Ray Deveau quit trying to get together? Will Alvin redecorate Camilla's new digs? Will those sisters ever shut up? What a nightmare!

This fifth book in the Camilla MacPhee series takes us from Ottawa to Italy where Camilla is tracking Mrs. P. down around the country.

It was a fun lively story with an interesting ending ... I didn't see it coming.

There were lots and lots of characters and towards the end, I had a hard time keeping them straight. I should have done what Camilla did and written them down.

As with Maffini's other books, this one has typos ... surprising considering Maffini is a former librarian.

Book ~ "Still Life with June" (2005) Darren Greer

From Amazon ~ The people in gay bars on Christmas Day are so desperate for basic human contact that they'd go home with a Doc Marten shoe if it made a move, and maybe even if it didn't.

So begins the story of Cameron Dodds, a disenfranchised writer who visits gay bars on Christmas and works at a Salvation Army Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in order to steal the stories of the people he meets there. But when Cameron finds a patient hanged in the utilities closet, his infatuation with other people's stories becomes an obsession. Assuming the man's identity, Cameron seeks out and forges a relationship with the victim's mentally challenged sister, who lives in a home uptown. As Cameron becomes more involved in the woman's life, he begins to discover truths that will challenge him to the very core of his existence.

I had read Greer's first novel, Tyler's Cape, last month and enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one too. If I can use one word to describe it, it would be "bizarre".

It's funny, sad, sarcastic, ironic, sleazy, self-indulgent and more.

There are other lies and deceptions in addition to the one with Cameron pretending to be Darrel in order to steal his life to have writing material. BTW, how sleazy is that?!

I didn't see the ending coming ... it was quite a surprise. I can see why some reviewers have said they had to reread it to pick up what they missed.

I'd definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something different and not fluffy.

Book ~ "The Night I Got Lucky" (2005) Laura Caldwell

From Amazon ~ At 32, Billy Rendell isn't exactly where she thought she'd be. She is still waiting, possibly in vain, for that promotion to VP at the PR company she works for, and her marriage to Chris seems to be in real trouble. Billy pays a visit to her kooky therapist, Blinda, and leaves with a good luck charm, a small frog. The next day, when Billy wakes up, things are different. Her formerly distant husband is attentive and loving, and she has received the promotion to VP at work and already has a posh new office. Billy is puzzled but soon settles in by firing a snooty coworker, Alexa, and engaging in a flirtation with the office hunk, Evan, whom she has always had a crush on. But as her perfect life rolls on, Billy is nowhere near as satisfied as she thought she would be. Caldwell is one of the most talented and inventive chick-lit writers around, and her latest features a likable heroine in an unusual situation and ends with a clever resolution.

Fluffy quick read.

Not great but not bad.

Book ~ "Same Soul, Many Bodies" (2005) Brian L. Weiss

From Amazon ~ How often have you wished you could peer into the future? In Same Soul, Many Bodies, Brian L. Weiss, M.D., shows us how. Through envisioning our lives to come, we can influence their outcome and use this process to bring more joy and healing to our present lives. Dr. Weiss pioneered regression therapy -- guiding people through their past lives. Here, he goes beyond that to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of progression therapy -- guiding people through the future in a scientific, responsible, healing way.

Through dozens of case histories detailing both past-life and future-life experiences, Dr. Weiss shows how the choices that we make now will determine our future quality of life. From Samantha, who overcame academic failure once she learned of her future as a great physician, to Evelyn, whose fears and prejudices ended after she envisioned prior and forthcoming lives as a hate victim, Dr. Weiss gives concrete examples of lives transformed by regression and progression therapy.

I'm not sure whether I believe in past lives but I don't disbelieve ... I'm open, I guess.

It was interesting to read about Dr. Weiss' patients and what they perceived to be their past and future lives. If nothing else, hopefully they can use this information to make their lives better and give them hope.

Do you believe in past lives?

Book ~ "An Ordinary Decent Criminal" (2005) Michael Van Rooy

From Amazon ~ All ex-drug addict and reformed thief Montgomery Haavik wants to do is settle down with his wife and baby in their new Winnipeg home and work on building a straight life; one free of the day-to-day hustle and danger of being a career criminal. But for a man who's never held down a legitimate job and who faces the daily temptation of returning to the drugs and violence of his past, it isn't going to be easy.When Monty foils a robbery in his new home, killing the intruders, it doesn't make staying on the straight and narrow any easier. He soon finds he has both a small-time crime boss and a star police sargeant looking for ways to ruin him and run him out of town. It's going to take all of the tricks this aging, streetwise ex-con has up his sleeves to prove his innocence and protect his family, all the while avoiding the seductive allure of the life he left behind.

There aren't many mystery novels set in Canada so I was excited to come across this one.

But I didn't enjoy it ... it was confusing, boring, dumb.

Book ~ "Bahamarama" (2005) Bob Morris

From Amazon ~ As Morris' hard-boiled, edgy debut novel opens, former Miami Dolphins linebacker Zachary Chasteen is being released after serving almost two years in a Florida penitentiary on trumped-up charges. Zack longs to be reunited with Barbara Pickering, his velvet-voiced lover, who is busy in the Bahamas shooting a spread for the magazine she owns. He gets ditched mid-journey by the limo driver she's sent ahead to fetch him and is suddenly on his own, penniless and without ID. Zack hitches a ride to his childhood home but once there, he's ambushed by the violent lackeys of Victor Ortiz, the man who framed him years before. Zack manages a narrow escape but is faced with even more trouble. Barbara's ex-fiancé, Brice, is found murdered and she's been kidnapped with a hefty ransom on her head. Police inspector (and former football player) Lynfield Pederson and Zack put their heads together as Hurricane Curt barrels toward them. After the limo driver who originally deserted Zack is identified as a well-known deadly criminal and the probable source of all things bad, Zack gets a lucky break and speeds off to a bat-filled sea cave to confront his nemesis at the novel's bullet-ridden climax. An array of colorful locals gives the story some much-needed texture, while juicy plotting keeps this impressive page-turner simmering. Morris has produced an accomplished first novel with a priceless final scene.

I'd read Morris' second novel last month and enjoyed it ... so wanted to check out the others in the series.

And this is where it all started.

It's a quick fun read with lots of action. I liked the writing style ... funny and fast-flowing.

I'm not a fan of Barbara's (too fussy and snooty) so was glad she wasn't in it too much.

Book ~ "The Dogs of Bedlam Farm" (2005) Jon Katz

From Goodreads ~ When Jon Katz adopted a border collie named Orson, his whole world changed. Gone were the two yellow Labs he wrote about in A Dog Year, as was the mountaintop cabin they loved. Katz moved into an old farmhouse on forty-two acres of pasture and woods with a menagerie: a ram named Nesbitt, fifteen ewes, a lonely donkey named Carol, a baby donkey named Fanny, and three border collies.

Training Orson was a demanding project. But a perceptive dog trainer and friend told Katz: “If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human.” It was a lesson Katz took to heart. He now sees his dogs as a reflection of his willingness to improve, as well as a critical reminder of his shortcomings. Katz shows us that dogs are often what we make them: They may have their own traits and personalities, but in the end, they are mirrors of our own lives–living, breathing testaments to our strengths and frustrations, our families and our pasts.

The Dogs of Bedlam Farm recounts a harrowing winter Katz spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming, and full of drama, insight, and hard-won wisdom, it is the story of his several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him and the ways a doge could change him.

I've read other of Katz' books about his dogs and have enjoyed them. He writes in an honest and straightforward manner.

I found this one a bit hard to get into at first because Katz seems colder and impersonal. In some parts, it's deep ... he talks about his estrangement from his family and reunion with his sister. Not what I was expecting from a lighthearted "dog" book.

I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because it was interesting and fun to read about his adventures with his sheep.

I've read the books out of order so know that Orson is put down in the next book (I won't be reading that one!). So it was odd to read about Katz and Orson's devotion to each other knowing Orson won't be around much longer.

Book ~ "Tonight I Said Goodbye" (2005) Michael Koryta

From Goodreads ~ Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead of an apparent suicide in his upscale Cleveland suburban home. His wife and six-year-old daughter are now missing. The police think the former Marine murdered them. Hoping to exonerate his son, Weston's father hires PIs Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard.

Perry and Pritchard soon discover there is much more lying beneath the surface, including rumors of gambling debts, extortion, and a Russian mob that likes to wield baseball bats. But just when Perry and Pritchard believe they are making swift progress, a millionaire real estate tycoon and the FBI advise them to back off of the investigation.

Then without warning, another murder suddenly forces them to change direction in the case as they uncover a trail of deadly twists - but the most shocking secret of all has yet to be unraveled.

I had read A Welcome Grave, the third book in the series, last month and enjoyed it so wanted to go back and catch up with the first two.

As with A Welcome Grave, I enjoyed the writing style. It's fast paced, funny and sarcastic at times. I liked the characters, especially Lincoln and Joe. It's interesting to see how they have developed since I've read the third book.

The ending took a twist I hadn't expected, which was a nice surprise.

I'm looking forward to reading the next one (which is the second one)!

Book ~ "Bad Guys" - Linwood Barclay (2005)

From Goodreads ~ Zack is back, and much to his family’s relief, the work-at-home science-fiction writer has left the house to take a job as a features writer for the city paper. But now that Zack’s incessant plotting can no longer be hatched from the comforts of his own home, he must be ever more vigilant to outwit the evil at large, whether in the suburbs, the city, or his own imagination. Zack is ready … or so he thinks.

While researching his first feature article, Zack stumbles upon a real-life crime scene, but what seems like an ordinary hit-and-run may actually be a homicide linked to a gang that’s been burglarizing Crandall’s high-end shops. Suddenly Zack finds himself at the center of a violent crime wave and destined for a confrontation with Barbie Bullock, an unsettling figure infamous in the crime syndicate for his ruthless business tactics and peculiar proclivity for collecting dolls.

And all is not quiet on the home front either. Zack’s protective instincts launch into overdrive when he discovers that his daughter’s rejected suitor has been tracing her every step and may harbor a much more ominous motivation than winning a Saturday night date. Nor does his son’s strange behavior and recent friendship with a creepy computer recluse inspire joy in a father’s heart.

As worlds begin to collide and boundaries between family and foe blur, Zack goes on the attack, and heaven help the bad guys when this resourceful father comes to make good on a deal gone bad.

This is the first book I've read by Barclay and I really enjoyed it. I'm into mysteries and this was comical too. The writing style is quick and funny and I look forward to reading the others in the series.

Book ~ "Tattoo Blues" - Michael McClelland (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Tattoo Blues is a rollicking and playful comic-mystery, featuring runaway rich kid, Desiree Dean, who discovers her prized tattoo is a fraud - the Chinese character etched on her left breast says "with hot sauce", not "golden dragon" - and goes after the artist, and in the resulting confrontation accidentally, sets his tattoo parlor ablaze. That results in a mysterious explosion that destroys the parlor and leaves the injured Desiree in the care of a lesbian clam pirate and turns the sleepy Florida Gulf Coast fishing village of Cedar Key upside down.

This book grabbed me right from the start ... I liked the fast funny pace and odd characters. Then it fell apart towards the end, got predictable and wrapped up very quickly.

Still, I'd give the author another chance and will look for other books by him.

Book ~ "Mindscan" - Robert J. Sawyer (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Jake Sullivan watched his father, suffering from a rare condition, collapse and linger in a vegetative state, and he's incredibly paranoid because he inherited that condition. When mindscanning technology becomes available, he has himself scanned, which involves dispatching his biological body to the moon and assuming an android body. In possession of everything the biological Jake Sullivan had on Earth, android Jake finds love with Karen, who has also been mindscanned. Meanwhile, biological Jake discovers there is finally another, brand-new cure for his condition. Moreover, Karen's son sues her, declaring that his mother is dead, and android Karen has no right to deprive him of his considerable inheritance. Biological Jake, unable to leave the moon because of the contract he signed, becomes steadily more unstable, until finally, in a fit of paranoia, he takes hostages.

I'm not usually into SciFi stories but this one caught my attention because it was set in Toronto in 2045 (and the Blue Jays still aren't winning!).

And given the storyline, I wasn't expecting to like it ... but it drew me in right away.

Excellent bizarre story! I'd definitely recommend it!

Here's the author's blog.