Still Reading

Still reading but not much else happening!

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark

At age 82 and in failing health Olivia Morrow faces a momentous choice: expose a devastating family secret, or take it with her to her grave. Olivia has in her possession letters from her deceased cousin Catherine, a nun now being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church. The letters are evidence that Catherine gave birth at age seventeen to a son she gave up for adoption. The young man who fathered Catherine's child, Alex Gannon, went on to become a world-famous doctor and scientist. Now, thirty-one year old pediatrician Dr. Monica Farrell, their granddaughter, stands as the rightful heir to what remains of Gannon's fortune. But to silence Olivia and prevent Monica from learning the secret, those who are exploiting the inheritance will stop at nothing-even murder.

Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb

When a murder disrupts the Irish vacation she is taking with her husband, Roarke, Eve realizes that no place is safe- not an Irish wood or the streets of the manic city she calls home. But nothing prepares her for what she discovers upon her return to the sop shop in New York.

A limo driver is shot through the neck with a crossbow. Then a high priced escort is found stabbed through the heart with a bayonet. Eve begins to fear she has come across the most dangerous criminal: a thrill killer, and one with a taste for the finer things in life-and death'

As time runs out on another innocent victim's life. Eve's investigation will take her into the rarefied circle that her husband, Roarke, travels in-and into the perverted heart of madness.

Lap of Luxury by Kristine Rolofson

The perfect husband-once upon a time there was a fair maiden who found a sleeping prince on her doorstep. But the fantasy had one catch...

Stuck on you-who would have thought hanging wallpaper would lead to the perfect man and the perfect ready made family? Still-it was turning into a sticky situation.

Make believe honeymoon-a jilted bride, a sexy duke-a make believe honeymoon to die for. Except marriage wasn't on the menu.

Bye for now.

Spring in Canada

This is what it looked like two weekends ago.

We got 30cm./12" of snow.

Then we got 20cm./8" yesterday.

We are going to get another 20cm./8" tomorrow!!!

When will this ever end.

Books Again!!

Someday Soon/Sooner or Later by Debbie Macomber

I had already read the second story in this book.

Someday Soon is about a lonely young woman who gets under the skin of a dangerous mercenary who discovers that love wins over war every time.

Where Yesterday Lives by Karen Kingsbury

Ellen Barrett is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist with an uncertain marriage, a forgotten faith, and haunting memories of her hometown and the love she left behind. The eldest of five siblings, Ellen longs for the time, long ago, when they were happy-when they were a family. Then tragedy strikes. Ellen's father is dead, and she must go back home. As she returns an avalanche of memories is unleashed. She is on a quest to make peace with the people who still live there.

An Afternoon Walk by Dorothy Eden

On an afternoon walk Ella and her five year old daughter come upon an abandoned house with an eerie overgrown garden. The house conjures up images of grand parties and bygone fashions. Then they hear a horrible scream and from a second story window, see the spreading white wings of an owl taking flight. When she tells her husband that evening he reminds her that having recently lost a child at birth she is still emotionally unstable. Then she starts receiving a series of anonymous phone calls. Who did she hear scream?

Staying at Daisy's by Jill Mansell

Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel owned by her flamboyant father, Hector. When she hears who's about to get married there, she isn't worried at all-her friend Tara absolutely promises there won't be any trouble between her and ex-boyfriend Dominic, whom she hasn't seen for years. But Daisy should have been worried. Dominic has other ideas. And seeing Tara again sets in motion a chaotic train of events with far-reaching consequences for all concerned.

Devices and Desires by P.D. James

A serial killer of women is on the loose in a remote area of the Norfolk coast.

Overshadowing the bleak landscape and the lives of the local community is the Larksoken nuclear power station, run by the charismatic Alex Mair. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who is staying at his aunt's converted windmill, becomes involved in the hunt for the murderer, a search that implicates him in the concerns and dangerous secrets of the headland community. And then one moonlit night it becomes chillingly apparent that the mass murderer isn't the only killer at work in Larksoken.

Bye for now.

New Year, More Books

Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Following a terrifying encounter, a beautiful young woman flees her quiet English countryside in search of a new life. She adopts the initial M as her name and embarks on a journey that will lead her onto the catwalks of Paris to New York, where she meets and soon marries a handsome Hollywood actor. M believes she has truly put the demons of her earlier days behind her. But life in the spotlight is about to take a dark turn. Someone from her past, a psychopath with deadly intent, has made a vow to shatter M's world forever. M also makes a vow: to do everything in her power to keep herself safe and protect her loved ones-even if that means breaking the rules.

O'Hurley Born by Nora Roberts

Two stories in one book.
The Last Honest Woman

If sex sells, then so do lies-especially when the truth is revealed. And cynical journalist Dylan Crosby knew that the just-a-simple-widow routine Abby O'Hurley was giving him wasn't anything close to the truth. There was a story there. All he had to do was turn on the charm, turn down the lights and she would whisper all her secrets. Unless she uncovered his first.

Dance to the Piper

Maddy O'Hurley shone in the spotlight. Her passion for dancing set the stage aflame and left no one in her audience unaffected-including business mogal Reed Valentine. But Reed wasn't used to burning-not for anything or anyone. And he wasn't about to let the ruthless business skills he honed be affected by wild passion. So was he prepared to fight fire with fire?

More light reading with the usual predictable endings.

Exclusive by Fern Michaels

When Toots Loudenberry relocated to Los Angeles from South Carolina to be near her daughter, Abby, she expected to bump into the occasional celebrity. She just never expected them to be dead. Meanwhile, Toots, Sophie, and Mavis are concerned that the prestigious Dr. Sameer's budding romance with Ida may have something to do with his ailing bank balance. And Abby's attempted makeover of the celebrity magazine the Informer into the most talked-about tabloid in town could end more than just her career.

But the Godmothers wouldn't be Godmothers if they weren't pulling a few behind-the-scenes strings, and Abby's hopes of changing the fortunes of The Informer are still alive. Yet it'll take an assist from a source no one could have predicted, let alone see, to secure a story that will shake Tinseltown to its very core.

This was cute and funny although I think its part of a continuing story that I haven't read.

Bye for now.

Beautiful Orchid

I changed the picture in my header.

I received this beautiful orchid as a Christmas present. It is absolutely gorgeous and has more than 20 flowers on it. It started out with four leaves but it is down to one now. I think I may have messed up . I was listening to a gardening show on the radio shortly after Christmas and they were saying that if you received an orchid and it is in moss take it out . So I took all the moss out and I was sure that they said to replace it with rock, so I did. Of course, now I'm thinking how will it retain water for the roots in rocks? I think that is why I've lost three of the leaves. I've only just lost one flower so that is pretty good as it's six weeks since Christmas. I think I need to get some wood chips and replace most of the rocks with that. Hopefully it doesn't die on me!!

Bye for now.

Books

1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber

This is a continuation of the Cedar Cove books. This one focuses on Mack McAfee and Mary Jo Wyse, their budding romance. Also Mary Jo finds some old letters hidden under the floorboards in her side of the duplex. They are determined to trace who they came from. Another good light read.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

I found this book a little difficult to get into but once I was over the first few chapters I really couldn't put it down. The book is about Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker. They set out to solve the disappearance of Harriet Vanger forty years ago.

This book is number one in a trilogy and I'm already part way into the second one, and waiting for number 3 to come out in paperback. Unfortunately the author died so this will be it from him.

Birthright by Nora Roberts

When 5,000 year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance. While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project-fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her ex-husband, Jake and when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her past as well.

I enjoyed this book, it kept you wanting to read more.

By Summer's End by Pamela Morsi

Some things are just too hard to imagine. For instance, Dawn Leland never thought in a million years that she and her girls would end up back with her in-laws. Sixteen years is a long time to be away, but life has dealt her something unexpected. Now she has no choice. And some things don't bear thinking about. Sephora Leland said good riddance to bad rubbish when her son's widow took her two little girls and left Knoxville all those years ago. And despite her husband's best efforts the bitterness still remains. But all things turn out in the end. It takes some forgiveness, a little understanding and the magic of two young girls to make everyone see that.This was a good light read.

Married in Seattle by Debbie Macomber


How to meet and marry a man in Seattle. There are all the usual ways, of course, but here's how Janine Hartman and Meg Remington did it.
Janine: My grandfather Hartman arranged a husband for me! Zach Thomas, the intended groom, was just as outraged as I was. But Gramps insisted we'd be "a perfect match"
Meg: My teenage daughter, Lindsey, had the nerve to place a personal ad on my behalf-Wanted: Perfect Partner. Worse, Steve Conlan, who answered the ad, was perfect, according to her
Cute, but sooooo predictable!!


The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Crusading publisher Mikael Blomkvist has decided to run an explosive expose of a wide-ranging sex trafficking operation. Just before the piece is published, the two reporters responsible are murdered. The fingerprints on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled hacker genius Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Lisbeth herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, and is forced to face her dark past.
I think this second book was even better than the first and I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out in paperback.
This post was started way back in November and was put in the 'draft' area. It's taken me ages to get the pictures taken and the rest of the writing done and finally finish the post. Although this is actually being posted in February it is really the end of the books that I read in 2010.
Bye for now.

More Books

This is such a long post, only because I keep putting it off and the read pile keeps getting higher.

The Whispering Room by Amanda Stevens

Detective Evangeline Theroux is feeling suffocated by her new baby as every time she looks at him she is reminded of her dead husband. She throws herself into her work-a high-profile murder case. Reclusive writer Lena Saunders offers Evangeline a provocative theory about the crime: it is the work of a lunatic vigilante. Lena spins the sordid story of Ruth and Rebecca Lemay, whose mother brutally murdered her male children in an insane effort to root out an "evil" gene. The girls survived and grew to adulthood-but one is carrying on her mother's grisly work. I enjoyed this book as it had a few unexpected twists and turns along the way. A good read.

Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

When famous actress Natalie Raines is found in her home dying from a gunshot wound police immediately suspect her theatrical agent and jealous soon to be ex-husband, Gregg Aldrich. But no charges are brought against him until two years later when a career criminal suddenly claims Aldrich had tried to hire him to kill her. The case is a plum assignment for 32 year old assistant prosecutor Emily Wallace. She spends long hours preparing for the trial and unaware of a seemingly well-meaning neighbor's violent past, she gives him a key to her house to care for her dog. The trial makes headlines, threatening to reveal personal matters about Emily, such as the fact that she had a heart transplant-especially when she experiences eerie sentiments that defy all reason and continue even after the jury decides Gregg Aldrich's fate. This is one of MHC's better stories. I've read all her books and some are not so great but I would recommend reading this one.

Country Brides by Debbie Macomber

Cory Campbell has a pleasant, predictable life in San Francisco, where she's seeing a pleasant, predictable man. Then, one vacation, her car breaks down on an Oregon country road and horse rancher Clay Franklin comes to her rescue. This is so predictable, but a pleasant, mindless read. There is a second story in this book which is a continuation of the first.

Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

The yarn shop on Blossom Street, owned by Lydia, offers a class called Knit to Quit. It's for people that want to quit something-or someone-and start a new phase of their lives. Phoebe joins because she wants to get over a man. Alix joins because she wants to have a baby so she wants to quit smoking. Bryan joins because he wants to learn how to deal with the stress of running a family business. Lydia's friend Anne Marie and her adopted daughter, Ellen, have to deal with a stranger that has come into their lives. Lydia and her husband, Brad, have to deal with an angry 12 year old foster daughter.

204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber

This another of the Cedar Cove books. This story is centered around Grace. She works at the library. Her husband disappeared 6 months ago. This story is about accepting that Dan, the husband and father of 2 grown daughters may never come back

The Mannning Brides by Debbie Macomber

Rich Manning and Jamie Warren have always been friends-and nothing but friends. However, that changes when she asks him to father the child she so desperately wants. Rich agrees-if she'll marry him. Because he thinks their 'Marriage of Inconvenience' could become a real marriage instead. Another predictable story. There is also another story in this book that is a continuation of the first.

Just for the record I don't buy Debbie Macomber books, my mum gives them to me. She's not an author I would buy but if I'm given a book I'll read it. They are very light reading and good for a quick read.

The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi

This book has 880 pages. Because it has so many pages it is difficult to read lying in bed. Also, because the book is so fat it is difficult to get the pages open far enough to read the words close to the spine. They should make the pages another half inch wide. That's my only complaint about this book. I really enjoyed the story and had it read in 4 days.

It all centers around a traffic accident on a motorway in England. The consequences of this accident that affect many lives. People are with people they shouldn't be (married men with mistresses etc.) people are on that road when they are supposed to be somewhere else and all the truth comes out. Very interesting. I recommend this book, it you can hold the damned thing open to read it.

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Another author that I enjoy and this book didn't let me down.
206 Bones opens with Temperance Brenan regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. She slowly begins to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy-and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts

Cooper Sullivan spent summers of his youth on his grandparents' South Dakota ranch. His best friend and first romance was Lil Chance. Twelve years later he has come back to take care of his; aging grandparents and the ranch. Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge. Someone or something has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil's beloved cougar, memories of an unsolved murder in these hills have Coo[ springing into action to keep Lil safe.

Remember When by Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb

In part one Nora Roberts introduces us to Laine Tavish. She lives in Angel Cap, Maryland, and owns Remember When, an antique treasures and gift shop. Nobody has any idea that she used to be Elaine O'Hara, daughter of the notorious con man Jack O'Hara. Laine's past has caught up to her. Her long lost uncle has visited her shop, leaving a warning before dying in the street, run down by a car. Soon after her house is ransacked and now it's up to her and a stranger named Max Gannon, to find out who's chasing her and why. The answer lies in a hidden fortune that will change Laine's life.

In part two J.D. Robb takes us to New York City in 2058 and puts Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas on the case. The treasure that Laine and Max sought has never been recovered. Now someone else is pursuing the missing gems and is willing to kill for them.

Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb

No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it's the season to bring lonely hearts together. Lieutenant Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery. All of the killer's victims have been traced to Personally Yours. As the murders continue, Eve enters an elite world of people searching for their one true ;love, and a killer searching for his next victim.

Born in Death by J.D. Robb

Just as Eve Dallas begins to investigate the double homicide of two young lovers, both employees of the same prestigious accounting firm, her friend Mavis needs a favour. One of the moms=to=be in Mavis's birthing class has gone missing. Eve tries to track down the missing woman, while simultaneously unearthing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city's richest and most secretive citizens.

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

Bart Minnock, founder of the computer gaming giant U-Play is found inside his locked private playroom, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body. This is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced and it's not a game. Eve can't find anyone who has a problem with the enthusiastic, high-spirited millionaire.

Bad Behaviour by Sheila O'Flanagan

Darcy has a great career, an apartment in the centre of Dublin and a wardrobe full of designer labels. She doesn't have Mr. Right but she's not short of admirers. So why does an unexpected wedding invitation send shivers down her spine? Because the groom, Aidan dumped her for her ex-best friend. Nieve lives across the Atlantic but is coming home to get married. It's going to be the event of the year and she wants ALL her friends to be there.

Finally, that brings me up to date with books read. Why does it take so long to download and organize pictures in Blogger? There must be an easier, faster way. I just don't know it.

Bye for now.