15. "What The Cat Saw" by Carolyn Hart (Hardcover)
I believe that Carolyn Hart is one of the top mystery writers of our time. It doesn't matter if you read her "Death on Demand" series or her "Henri O" series or her "Bailey Ruth" series - she will NOT disappoint. Her latest, "What The Cat Saw" is more suspense and mystery than any attempt to hop on the "talking animals" band wagon. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE those books! I've been reading them for a long time...from Lillian Jackson Braun's "KoKo" and "Yum Yum" to Carole Nelson Douglas' "Midnight Louie" to "Rudy", the yorkiepoo rescue who can "talk" to his mistress Ellie Engleman in Judi McCoy's "dog Walker" mysteries.But, the ability of Nela (the lead character in this new work) to read the thoughts of "Jugs" the cat is so strategically placed in this novel, allows the plot to flow. I will read ANYTHING written by Ms. Hart...anything.
16. "Fashion Faux Paw" by Judi McCoy (Paperback)
Once again, Ellie Engleman gets herself hip-deep in solving yet another murder, much to the chagrin of her NYPD Police Officer boyfriend, Sam. This time, the book is set during Fashion Week in NYC. A new design house is sponsoring a contest to choose the next designer to be added to their house. The deal is that each contestant design 3 outfits. The catch is that the final outfit must also have doggie couture that matches each model's canine companion. Naturally, Ellie is in charge of the models dogs during the week. Fashionistas and murder go hand in glove (if you will...). If you like dogs, haute couture and murder with a clever plot and "talking" dogs, this is the book for you!
17. "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris (Audio Book)
I am continuing along with my listening to the Sookie Stackhouse aka Southern Vampire mysteries. This doesn't mean that I'm rushing out to buy HBO's "True Blood" series DVDs, but I am enjoying this series. I love Sookie! I am finding that I am reading or listening to more and more "paranormal" stories. I guess that after confessing that I have placed over 900 books on my "read" shelf on the Goodreads site, I've been ready for a bit of a change. This was the 11th book in the series, which is ending with the publication of the 13th book in May of this year (oh boo whore!). I already have purchased and downloaded #12 "Deadlocked" from Audible.com. I am waiting to read if #13 will be released in audio format as well, or just in hardcover and e-reader....
18. "The Bookcase" by Nelson DeMille (Audio Book)
I love DeMille's character, John Cory and have listened to all of DeMille's John Cory books that have been written so far, so I could not pass up the chance to listen to this short story set back when John was still working for the NYPD and not the Feds. This was a nice change from the usual fare. Sarcastic and typically "New York", the story was everything I expect from Mr. DeMille. I have a love-hate relationship with this character, but that won't stop me from reading and listening every time he is the main character.
19. "A Touch of Dead" by Charlaine Harris (Audio Book)
This is a collection of Sookie Stackhouse short stories. A bit of fun to fill in the gaps in the Southern Vampire mysteries. Delightful. :-)
20. "Murder on the House" by Juliette Blackwell (Paperback)
Juliet Blackwell is the author of many series: the first I read were the books in the "Art Lovers" mysteries. Then I picked up the "Witchcraft" mysteries and have read all of those that have been published so far, so when I heard that she would write the "Haunted Home Renovations" mysteries, I was already on board before the first, "If Walls Could Talk" was even published.
Mel Turner is running Turner Construction for her Dad, who hasn't been able to take much of an interest in the company since Mel's mother passed away. Not only did she inherit her father's love of construction, she coupled that with her own love of restoration and recently realized that she also has her mother's ability to communicate with the departed. As the Library Journal has already stated "...theses books are cleverly plotted...Blackwell's series has plenty of ghosts and supernatural happenings to keep readers entertained." Let me tell you that THIS reader is very entertained!
21. "11th Hour" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Hardcover)
I like some of James Patterson's work - I have read a few of his stand-alones, but if you haven't figured it out by now, I love to read or listen to a series. I never "got into" his Alex Cross books (although they are very popular) but I have read every single one from "The Women's Murder Club" series. It seems that whenever I start one of these books, I. Can. Not. Put. It. Down. These women are growing and we are following them through their lives. I enjoy how we get a glimpse of every one's life but still have our attention focused on one or two of the women at a time...and everything is woven together beautifully...seamlessly... I cannot wait for number 12...
22. "Shaded Vision" by Yasmine Galenorn (Audio Book)
The 11th book in the Otherworld series continues the story from Delilah's point of view. There is love and passion and weddings and promises as well as death and magic and mayhem and all of the other things that I have come to expect from Ms. Galenorn. She keeps writing, Cassandra Campbell keeps reading and I keep listening...
