“Born in Death,” by J. D. Robb

FM's ratings:


          1. Premise 10
          2. Prose 10
          3. Plot 10
          4. Characters 10
          5. Overall 10


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Each “…in Death” book I read becomes my new favorite in the series.  Eve Dallas is one of the most compelling heroines in fiction.  Near the end, one of the other characters tells her, “…you’re the best person I know.”  The reader - at least this reader - is inclined to agree.  For those of us who can’t get enough of Eve, fortunately there are about 40 of these books available!  Like the Sue Grafton alphabet series, one wonders if they are all going to start being too similar to one another.  What is surprising, however, is how dissimilar they are, each one a real treat.  This one juxtaposes a criminal investigation into a baby-selling ring against pregnancies, baby showers, and births on the home front – with an interesting twist tying the two together.  And Eve comes through heroically with the help of some other well-wrought characters.  Fiction writing just doesn’t get any more intelligent, any more captivating than this.

Here’s the May line-up!

“The Edible Woman,” by Margaret Atwood [5-7]

“Deliver Us From Evil,” by David Baldacci [5-14]

“Un Lun Dun,” by China Mieville [5-21]

“Blood Faerie,” by India Drummond [5-28]


(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Adrenaline,” by Jeff Abbott

FM's rating:

1.      Premise 8

2.      Prose 8

3.      Plot 10

4.      Characters 7

5.      Overall 8

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As the blurb on the cover of the paperback version says, “Twisty, Turny, and Terrific.” – USA Today.  The main attraction here is the plot, which does indeed twist and turn in a very entertaining series of surprises.  The prose is slightly wooden, as are the characters: a surprise for me because the only other book I have read by this author was much livelier in these areas.  Not the first time that an author has seemed like a different person in one series than another, of course, though it still seems strange to me.  (Could it be that I gravitate toward schizophrenic authors?)  The premise seems to shift with the plot, and while that can create confusion and disorientation in other novels, the flow is smooth and effortless here; very impressive.  To be fair, there really isn’t space for much narrative speculation or character development in a breakneck full-speed-ahead plotline such as this.  At 500+ pages, this book was long enough; thought it does escape the tediousness that has been haunting me lately in many other lengthier books I have read.  I will definitely be going back to this author, the next book being the sequel to the first one of his that I read, “Do Unto Others.”

Here’s the May line-up!

“The Edible Woman,” by Margaret Atwood [5-7]

“Deliver Us From Evil,” by David Baldacci [5-14]

“Un Lun Dun,” by China Mieville [5-21]

“Blood Faerie,” by India Drummond [5-28]


(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Grave Surprise,” by Charlaine Harris

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 10
          2. Prose 9
          3. Plot 9
          4. Characters 9
          5. Overall 9

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Another fascinating read by my favorite lady author!  This is the second book in the Harper Connelly series, Harris’ shortest series (except for the new Midnight, Texas series, which she’s two books into) with only four books.  The last one was copyrighted 2009, so this series is probably finished.  The plot twists in this book are, perhaps, even more unexpected due to the subdued, almost morose tone of voice of the heroine, Harper Connelly.  With such a low-key personality, there’s risk of the narrative bogging down, but the author side-steps that easily. The attraction to Harper is, of course, her supernatural ability to locate corpses and decipher how they met their ends.  Contrast this to Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas, who actually sees dead people and even communicates with them non-verbally.  Harper’s is a much more subtle ability, though every bit as difficult to deal with, and she and her brother are actually making a business of it.  She can see HOW they died, but not WHO the murderer was, which makes all the difference in plotting these ingenious murder mysteries.  Each of Charlaine Harris’ books is amazing in a different way.  This one has a special charm of its own, and I am looking forward to books 3 and 4!

“The Lunatic Café,” by Laurell K. Hamilton

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 9
          2. Prose 9
          3. Plot 8
          4. Characters 8
          5. Overall 9


Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

“Who’s your favorite novelist?”  My answer to that question has changed from time to time over the years, every 15 years or so.  When my favorite genre changed from Science Fiction to Supernatural Suspense, my favorites changed along with it, but they were always men.  Until now.  The ladies have now taken over, especially Charlaine Harris, J. D. Robb, Sue Grafton, Joan Hess, and now, Laurell K. Hamilton.  It has mostly to do with the styles of humor these ladies incorporate into their writing.  Stephen King’s humor is still a huge draw for me and I still find him perhaps the most impressive wordsmith of our time.  But both King and, increasingly, Koontz seem to drift away from humor too much of the time.  Koontz’s Odd Thomas series uses humor very well, and I still love them.  But the lady writers – even in the so-called “cozy” mysteries – use humor more consistently and, often, more appealingly.  In “Lunatic,” Hamilton delights us with unlikely scenarios involving supernatural monsters.  Anita Blake, the heroine (you cannot help falling in love with her!) of this series – accompanied by her boyfriend who just happens to be in the first stages of changing into a werewolf during a full moon – has discovered a murder victim that was a friend of his and he is now very conflicted.  “He opened his eyes and looked at me.  There was sorrow in his eyes, but mostly there was darkness.  His beast was looking out through his eyes.  I turned away.  I couldn’t hold his gaze.  ‘I’ve got to make this phone call.  Don’t eat any of the evidence.’”  Will I end up reading a steady diet of humorists such as Dave Barry?  I doubt it.  The ladies also craft excellent plots and develop characters very well.  I have always been something of a bookworm.  But I’m in danger of becoming a book recluse under the influence of these wonderful authors!

“Ashley Bell,” by Dean Koontz

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 9
          2. Prose 9
          3. Plot 9
          4. Characters 8
          5. Overall 9


Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)


I read somewhere that this book was notably better than the last few written by Koontz, and I have to agree.  Some said they felt he had begun to just crank out books for money, not really interested in writing to the best of his ability anymore.  I don’t agree with that, although I can sort of see where they were coming from.  This one brings back the paranoia of dark, evil, and mysterious organizations of men hunting down the protagonist that is a feature in so many of his best works.  The supernatural element is there, but not overdone.  The witty dialog is back, one of the most endearing features of a Koontz book.  But we don’t really fall in love with the characters; even the protagonist Bibi Blair, as interesting as she is, doesn’t draw us in like Odd Thomas does, or Christopher Snow from “Seize the Night.”  I kept waiting for something about the story to induce a rating of “10” but it never quite tipped over into that.  I could be a little jaded when it comes to this author; I have, as of the completion of this one, read ALL of his books; a total of 81, including independently published short stories and novelettes.  (There are some earlier sci-fi works written under pen names that might still be floating around out there somewhere, and I will try to hunt them down, but his official oeuvre is now under my belt!)  I will now begin to start buying his new ones as soon as they are available … on Kindle.  I will also re-read some of my favorites – though I have already done that with a handful of them.  Soon, I’ll pick up a copy of “Dragon Tears,” the first Koontz book I ever read, and give it another go.  Thanks, DK, for all the many wonderful hours I’ve spent with your amazing imagination!