Review of City Of Lost Girls

City of Lost Girls
Declan Hughes
Harper Collins
297 pages

No one does crime fiction better than Declan Hughes who’s Ed Loy with his mixture of European savvy and Irish Blarney give new light to the no-nonsense PI.
Declan shines once again as he sends Ed Loy on an unsolvable case twenty years old that started on the shores of LA and now it’s happening again as Dublin turns into The City of Lost Girls. But crime fighting is never easy and made harder by the fact that he’s dealing with Hollywood movers and shakers in Ireland to make a film, no matter their all sons of Éire.
Be prepared to hold your breath often as he takes us on a ride of bright spots and blight spots of Dublin and if that’s not enough we’ll spend half of the novel in LA fighting traffic, crowds and ghosts of the dead. His plot is current in it’s content and context, interesting in it’s reading and terrorizing in it’s implications. He’s masterful at words as well as feelings as he imparts both into his incredible work of fiction. His characters are all wonderfully crafted and Ed Loy shines once again as his hard nosed hard headed protagonist. His supporting characters some of whom we’re reacquainting with are equally important to the telling of the tale. And what a tale it is, snatched off the front papers of any major acropolis, missing young women presumed dead. It’s a grand scale who-done-it with a touch of noir and a whole lot of heart that will keep you guessing until and only until Declan let’s us in on his secret.
Ed Loy has a prosperous career in front of him and I can’t think of a more capable detective to handle the worst of what society can throw at him. Let him lead you through the pages as he unwraps the clues and gets to the bottom of that all elusive Case Solved. The City of Lost Girls is Declan Hughes 5th in his Ed Loy detective series.

Review of Eight Days to Live

Eight Days to Live
Iris Johansen
408 pages
Iris has another smash hit with her newest paranormal thriller

At the age of seventeen Jane MacGuire started having precognitive dreams, already in art school she paints what she dreams as a release. These dreams have led her once before into troubled waters and she’s having them again. Any artist worth his/her salt should love gallery shows especially when you’re the artist on show, but Jane hates the notoriety and she does it only because her friend and gallery owner insist. What she doesn’t know is that disaster is right around the corner. Seth Caleb has been obsessed with Jane since he helped her and her adoptive parents rid the world of a ruthless serial killer. Now she needs him again, will they find the answers they need in time and what about what they feel for each other, is it a simple case of lust or does it run deeper.
You can never go wrong with an Iris Johansen mystery, and this one is no exception. The main-stream mystery lover will appreciate the attention to detail, the complicated plot and the myriad of wonderful characters both good and evil. The paranormal mystery lover will love the touch of woo woo that Iris includes in this titillating read and I’m not talking mythological or mystical she just dips her toe in the paranormal stream. You will recognize her dialogue if you’re a fan as you re-connect with the characters you’ve come to love and respect. Her characters are very real and almost three dimensional as this wonderful storyteller brings them to life for her audience. Her heroine Jane is a complicated player but Iris portrays her to a tee. Caleb is an enigma and she goes beneath all the layers to find what makes him tick. Together they are a powerful force. There is a romance and you’re present for it’s birth. Her supporting cast of characters including her usual protagonists Eve and Joe are essential to the telling of the story.
If you love a great mystery, look no farther. If you love a little paranormal thrown in, this is your read. If you want it told by a ace storyteller, here she is.

Review of Out of Mind

Out of Mind
Stella Cameron
394 pages
Continue the quest of the Millet family to find answers to a curse, to save New Orleans with the second in the Court of Angels trilogy.

Willow Millet has long denied she posses any of the paranormal abilities her family is known for but that is about to come to a halt when those abilities so long held back come rushing forward. Ben Fortune is also a part of a family with strong paranormal qualities and has loved Willow for as long as he can remember. She long ago sent him away, but now he’s back. Can he convince her that he’s what she needs or are they doomed to repeat the same mistake over again.
Stella, a wonderful storyteller gives us a view of New Orleans unlike any other, she does it with flowing dialogue, interesting characters and scenes from our worst nightmares to our brightest wishes. Her scenes are descriptively vivid and some are unbelievable as she spins her tale of the macabre. Her main characters of Willow and Ben are well defined and enigmatic to each other and to her readers. Her supporting characters are also interesting and some are very scary, but they all have their place in the book. Her romance is sweet and powerful, it’s innocent and worldly. Her love scenes are hot, sexy and elemental and they will sizzle on the page.
If you feel a need for the eerie or the weird, for the dreadful and ominous or for the outlandish then Stella’s New Orleans is where you want to be. If you like love on the sizzle burner, you’ve come to the right place and if you want that all inclusive battle between good and evil here you have it.

Review of A Farewell To Arms

A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
332 pages
I know what you’re saying, I said it too. Why with so many wonderful contemporary authors do I want to go back and read this out dated novel. Well my in-person book club decided for me that’s what I was going to do. And I am so glad I did.

First published in 1929 when Hemingway was 30 A Farewell to Arms is viewed through the eyes of an American serving in the Italian army during the WW1, his love of one woman and his eventual life on the run. We today are used to the prose like, flowing dialogue of contemporary authors, so I was at first un-prepared for Hemingway’s staccato, and very pragmatic verse, he puts us on the front lines with the soldiers and shows us how life away from the front was spent. He tells us of medical procedures of the time, procedures that we view as expectant as an aspirin, but in his day were life saving and sometimes life taking techniques. He takes us on an unequaled journey from the Mountains to the small villages and finally to the cities of Italy and ends our voyage in a small village in Switzerland. He takes us behind enemy lines and in the trenches of allies and he does it with an amazing proficiency. His characters are unforgettable in their portrayals from his protagonist Frederic and his love interest Catherine to his comrades in arms. His love story is poignant and heartwarming and tragic and yet beautiful in it’s telling. He was truly a masterful narrator.
So come back to the classic tale of love found and love lost, of war and desertion and of human frailty. Come back and see why this tale has survived a number of reprints and almost a century in time. Come back and make Papa proud. Come back and read the one and only A Farewell to Arms.

Review of Hero at Large

Hero at Large
Janet Evanovich
288 pages

A classic Evanovich, a must read and an introduction to Bob the dog.
Way back in 1987 Janet published her first novel it was called A Second Chance at love and was written by her alter ego Steffie Hall. Here’s a quote from Janet “ This was the book that changed my life forever and made me a published author. When Hero finally reached the bookstores, I was almost arrested for loitering in Walden’s. I stationed myself in the romance section and wouldn’t leave until I saw someone buy my book. It took three days.” What a rush that must have been for Janet. Well join me now and read this slightly revised version as Hero At Large.
In this light romantic comedy we can see why Janet is now a household name. The humor, romance and just down to earthness about it is classic Evanovich. Her dialogue is funny, witty and fast paced. Her characters, let’s talk a minute about these quite over the top enigmatic players. We have our heroine Chris a divorced single mom skating coach, our hero Ken a supposed out of work carpenter who’s hiding his real identity, Aunt Edna Chris’s medling and quite eccentric Great Aunt, Lucy, Chris’s daughter and an array of supporting characters that make the novel a read to remember. Her love story is definitely Cinderella meets Prince Charming, only Cinderella really wants the Frog instead of the Prince, so now it’s up to the Prince to convince her that he’s her man warts and all, but Chris has known heartbreak and she isn’t sure if she can stand the pain again and now she has more than just her to consider, she has to think of Lucy. Her love scenes are the behind closed door variety and won’t offend any reader.
So take a trip back with us and give into that feel good read. And if you’re a fan of Janet here in the present I’m sure you’ll see a few familiar faces even though the names have changed. First we have Bob the dog, need I say more, then Aunt Edna who could easily be a pre curser to a certain Granny we all know and love. Give into those baser instincts and run don’t walk to your nearest bookseller and check out what started a revolution.

Review of Fairest of Them All

Fairest of Them All
Teresa Medeiros
Random House
400 pages
Welcome to the Middle Ages where the Gavenmore men have been cursed for centuries doomed by loving fair faced women, is it real or imaginary. It will take Austyn of Gavenmore to find the answer and it will take the head strong willful antics of Holly of Tewksbury proclaimed the fairest face in all of England to bring him to that end. But what end will it be, will she fulfill the prophecy of doom and disaster or will love reign over all else.
Teresa Medeiros is an amazing storyteller, from the first page her readers will be enchanted by her plot. They will be compelled to turn page after page to reach the outcome, to have their questions answered and they will be enthralled by her constant flowing dialogue that will take them to the imaginary castle high on a hill where all the secrets reside. Her characters are all unforgettable and memorable and her intimate knowledge of them will be apparent as you read. Her hero and heroine are two of the most likable and equally irritating people you will ever have the pleasure of knowing, but know them you will and by the end you will be rooting for their lives, their love and their future. Her supporting characters are also unforgettable and add depth to the story. Her romance is tragic and heartbreaking and pulls at your heartstrings. Her love scenes are sexy, sensual and sizzle on the page.
This is a historical classic tale of love conquers all and you will not read anything better no matter how hard you look.

Happy Earth Day

If you listened to 50 different reports by "experts" on the condition of Mother Earth you'd likely get 30 different answers, list 35 different sources and only lead to your being more confused then when you first tuned in.
Like many of you I'm a realist with idealist tendencies. I like to see the best in people and things and I have hope for a better future. I want our children to know what a Tiger, a Polar Bear or a Tree Frog is without having to view them either stuffed or in pictures. I want our grandchildren to be able to breathe without the use of masks, to be able to procreate without the fear of birth defects and to be able to glow in the unobstructed sunlight.
So I say, no matter what the experts say let's all help. If each of us turn off lights as we exit a room, if we use less disposable items, if we use reusable bags when we shop. There is no such thing as "there's nothing I can do", we all have a responsibility to make sure that the future generations are here to enjoy not only what we can, but more than we can. We all have the responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint. If all of us did just one thing on the list life as we know it would not end it would improve.
So after you read this turn off your computer until you need it next and turn out the light when you leave the room go outside and plant something that gives off oxygen and give the Earth more time.

http://green.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_reduce_your_carbon_footprint