Lori Handeland – Moon Cursed

The tenth book in the Night Creature series, published March 2011.



Kristin Daniels is passionate in her pursuit of the truth. As the host of the television show Hoax Hunters, she's travelled to the ends of the earth to explore - and expose - life's most enduring myths. Her latest undertaking is no exception: Kris is bound for Scotland, where she intends to get to the bottom of the Loch Ness monster legend for once and for all. Instead, Kris encounters something far more mysterious...For in the ruins of the lake's Urquhart Castle lies a heavenly creature - a sleek, muscled man with a seductive brogue named Liam Grant. One look into his eyes and Kris is already in danger of falling in too deep. Is Liam for real? Or has the spell of the moon touched them both?


To write a short recapitulation of this book, would certainly spoil too much. So I won’t, this time.
It took me a while to get into the story, it was certainly nothing like the rest of the series. I didn’t really understand Kris. And how she fell so fast for Liam, which was not according to her character, I just found it foolish. But that was explained during the story, and I did understand then. But she doesn’t give her trust easy, and there were some strange people in this book. Of course, being away from your own country, totally alone, makes you do things out of character.
I liked the early appearance of Edward Mandenauer, and how he gets Kris to do as he wants. But his way of communication was a bit over the top for me. And how she got what she needed to protect herself, also too mysterious for words.

This certainly is one original explanation of the Loch Ness monster, and I really grew in the story, and liked it. I was a bit sad with the ending at first, because, well, Nessie is explained, but the very last sentence of the book had me laughing again. Way to go Lori!
And I must admit, a nice change from the werewolves, even though I missed meeting any of the old cast of main characters.
So after a rough start, the book grew on me, and I liked it, but I don’t think it is the best one in the series. But from a non-believer in magic, creatures, monsters and legends, Kris really turns around into a believer, and how!

8 stars.

Ellery Adams – A killer plot

The first book in the Books by the Bay Mystery series, published June 2010.



In the small coastal town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina, you'll find plenty of characters, ne'er-do-wells, and even a few celebs trying to duck the paparazzi. But when murder joins this curious community, the Bayside Book Writers are there to get the story…

Olivia Limoges is the subject of constant gossip. Ever since she came back to town—a return as mysterious as the day she left—Olivia has kept to herself, her dog, and her unfinished novel. With a little cajoling from the eminently charming writer Camden Ford, she agrees to join the Bayside Book Writers, break her writer's block, and even make a few friends…
But when townspeople start turning up dead with haiku poems left with the bodies, anyone with a flair for language is suddenly suspect. And it's up to Olivia to catch the killer before she meets her own surprise ending."


Olivia Limoges is a very wealthy woman when she comes back to her home town. After travelling the world extensively, she knows she can only be happy near the ocean where she grew up. After the death of her parents, her grandmother whisked her away to boarding school, and taught her how to be a lady. Now Olivia owns a lot of property in town, including the only 5 star restaurant, called The Boot Top.
She lives alone with her black poodle called Captain Havilland, and is trying to write a novel. Unfortunately, the project is not going very well. Then one day, having breakfast at her favourite restaurant, Grumpy’s Diner. Her customary booth is taken by another group, so she has to eat at the bar. Dixie, the exuberant waitress, tells her they are a writers group, trying to critique each others work, to improve their own. Not able to silence her tongue, Olivia is invited to join their group, and have them critique her novel. She doesn’t know if she is ready for that. And they need a new place to come together, and Camden has heard she owns a cottage near the lighthouse.
As that used to be her childhood home, it holds a lot of memories for Olivia, pleasant ones about her mother, and very unpleasant ones when it was just her father and her living there, missing her mother. But she decides she is ready to clean up those memories, and with her usual vigor arranges to have the place fixed up, and fast.
Then, on their very first meeting in the approved lighthouse, Camden Ford doesn’t show up, and it would be his work to be reviewed by the rest of them. So they set of in search of him, and to their horror, find him dead in an alley near the bar Millay works as a waitress. A haiku is written on the wall above the body. Camden was busy writing a fictional novel about a local mighty but bad family, and perhaps they found out about that. Olivia and the rest of the group are determined to find out the why and who.


It took me a very long while to get into this book. It is not an usual cozy as I am used to. A woman with a shop or profession solving a mystery. Olivia doesn’t really work, even though she owns a lot of property. She is free to walk along the beach with her dog, go out to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and write her novel. And then there are the other writers, sharing their work, and the clues they find.
Olivia is attracted to the owner of the new bookshop, and wow, that is one shop I would love to visit! But she also is attracted to the chief of police, and I am really hoping she will choose him. They just have a bit more of a thing going. Olivia is scared of relationships, she always keeps them casual, never takes a man to her own house. Easier to break it of that way. But perhaps things are ready for a change now she is living in Oyster Bay again.
She is rich, and easy with the spending of her money, for her self, but also for other people.

I could not get a handle on the mystery part though. Yes, the murderer was mentioned casually in the book, and there was a vibe about him, but there were no clues to figure everything out before the police arrested him.

In the end I did like Olivia, she has a lot of issues, but is getting over them, and knows it herself too. Her dog is great though, as are the lot of secondary characters. I read this book, as some one mentioned the sequel as the best mystery she had ever read, so I wanted to find out for myself. In my opinion, this one is not really what I love, but I am curious about the next one, if it improves upon knowing the cast. The book is well written, no love scenes but a few kisses, but also not very much humor which for me is an important thing in a book.

I did like the description of the 4th of July Parade in the end though. Usually a book ends after the mystery has been solved, but this book had some more pages to unwind with.

So, for now, 7 stars

Jean M. Auel – The land of painted caves

The sixth book in the Earth's Children series, published March 2011.



THE LAND OF THE PAINTED CAVES continues the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their little daughter, Jonayla, taking readers on a journey of discovery and adventure as Ayla struggles to find a balance between her duties as a new mother and her training to become a Zelandoni -- one of the Ninth Cave community's spiritual leaders and healers. Once again, Jean Auel combines her brilliant narrative skills and appealing characters with a remarkable re-creation of the way life was lived thousands of years ago, rendering the terrain, dwelling places, longings, beliefs, creativity and daily lives of Ice Age Europeans as real to the reader as today's news.


If you haven’t read the previous books, you will have no idea what I am typing about.
After 11 years, I was so happy to be able to read this brand new book. Finally, the series is finished. I am happy, but also disappointed in the book.

As usual, there is a lot of repeating of the previous happenings. I skipped most of that. I don’t need to read the Song of the Mother 10 times. The book sometimes skips a few years, which was fine by me. I would have liked some more explaining of Ayla’s education to become a Zelandoni. Some more details.
I would have liked some more details on the little children with the worthless parents, some more helping by Jondalar and Ayla, and perhaps the other people in charge. Not just that tiny bit in the beginning and in the end of the book. It seemed to me that in the end it wasn’t necessary as the eldest sister and her mate and her oldest brother did a fine job of it.
I absolutely hated the fact that Jondalar started an affair with Marona, because Ayla was so busy with her study and sometimes had to forgo Pleasure. If he really needed some woman, why her? And after Ayla found out, why did both of them have to be so dense about it, not talking to each other at all? Didn’t they learn that lesson in book 3 already?

And when Ayla and Zelandoni, Jondalar, Jonayla and some others take a journey, a start of Ayla’s doni-journey to visit the sacred places of the Zelandoniers, I got bored soon. Cave after cave is being described. The journey itself was good to read, the meeting of new people and stuff, but after three caves, I had quite enough of that.

I liked the appearance of two of the Mamutiërs in the end, with a little info on their clan. Danug certainly was a great character.

Sometimes I liked Ayla, but often thought her spineless. She could have stood up for herself more. And there are some loose ends, some threads not fulfilled, so perhaps a new book is possible. Will she ever see Durc again, like she dreamed?
I found the dialogue often not fitting that time period, but as I was reading in Dutch, that could be the translation.

I admit, the book is way too heavy to read comfortably, and I skipped and skimmed a lot of it, just to be able to finish it. Perhaps when re-reading I will read a bit more careful. But for now, the series is done for and I am content with that.
I usually like the descriptions of the plants and animals living in that era, the uses, the many ways of preparation. I kind of missed that, I like it when Ayla heals people, or does new things. No new inventions in this book.

Reading my review back, there are a lot of things I did not really like, but all in all, I enjoyed reading the book. And at the end, it had me crying.

Grading this one is difficult. I’ll go for 7 stars.

J.D. Robb – Innocent in Death

Book 24 in the In Death series, published February 2007.



When history teacher Craig Foster is found dead in his classroom, his young wife is devastated, and his family, friends and colleagues all shocked. The two ten-year-old students who discovered his body may be traumatised for life.
Eve Dallas, of course, is more hardened to murder cases. And this is clearly a murder case – Foster’s thermos flask of hot chocolate tainted with deadly ricin. It’s Eve’s job to get a feel of all the potential suspects – and find out why someone would have done this to a man who seemed so inoffensive, so pleasant, so innocent.
But Magdalena Percell – now there’s someone Eve can picture as a murder victim. Possibly at Eve’s own hands. An old flame of her billionaire husband Roarke, she’s turned up in New York, and she’s anything but innocent. Unfortunately, Roarke seems blind to Magdalena’s manipulation, but not blind at all to her shapely figure and flirtatious ways. Eve’s so unnerved by the situation, that for once she’s finding it difficult to concentrate on her investigation. Still, she’ll have to put aside her personal heartbreak, for a while at least – because another man has just turned up dead …


Eve and Roarke are just home from a nice beach vacation, which they really deserved after witnessing Mavis give birth to her beautiful baby daughter. Eve is supposed to join him for dinner with some business relations that night. Something she really hates, but cannot always get out of. Having just caught a new case, where a young history teacher is murdered in his own classroom, she is late. No time to dress up, she has to hurry to the posh restaurant in her work clothes. Luckily, they are clean this time.
Then a stunningly beautiful woman in a red dress approaches Roarke, a woman from his past. Now that is nothing new to Eve, as Roarke certainly wasn’t a monk before they met. But this is different, as for just a tiny moment, Roarke looked at this woman the way he only ever looks at her. And when she finds out more about Magdalena, she is really frightened. Roarke is baffled by her jealousy, doesn’t understand it, and certainly will not give in to it. Magdalena is just an old friend, and he can meet her when he wants to. But he also notices this really hurts Eve, and he hates that. And for once, Summerset agrees with Eve, which pisses Roarke off even more.
Is this their first really big fight? Or a break between them?

It puts Eve of her stride with her work, she cannot seem to find the motive that killed Craig. But she does find another teacher, Reed Williams, with a questionable morality. He hits on other staff, teachers and parents for sex, so he is a prime suspect as Craig has warned him of repeatedly. Things get more difficult and twisted, when Oliver Straffo defends the man. It was his daughter who discovered the body, his wife who had an affair with Reed. And he wants to defend the man? Of course he doesn’t know about the affair (yet).
But then Williams gets killed in the school swimming pool, and Eve needs to find another suspect. She is looking very hard at the school principal, and would like to nail her for claiming rape when it certainly was not the case, but it still feels off. And when she finally finds out who the murderer has to be, no one wants to believe her. The truth is just to horrible. But she will have to find more evidence, and bit by bit she comes closer. But will she be in time to prevent the next murder to happen?


A great book again. Both on the private life of Eve and Roarke, as the case. I really cried along with Eve, how could Roarke not see what was happening? He knows Magdalena is a con artist, she knows how to net her mark, of course she wants him back now he is so mega rich. But when his eyes finally do open, he gets even with her, for putting his marriage at risk and causing Eve pain.
And then the case, two teachers murdered, but what is the motive? It is not in their private life, at least not with Craig. And when Eve suspects this person has killed before, it gets even more horrible. A family torn apart, and a father who has to choose: his wife, or his child.

9,5 stars.

J.D. Robb – Born in Death

Book 23 in the In Death series, published November 2006.




Technology has advanced in 2060 New York City, but childbirth has been the same since the beginning of time. And despite the brutal double homicide on Lieutenant Eve Dallas’ caseload, she has to be there for her pregnant friend Mavis, even if it means throwing the dreaded baby shower.
But Mavis needs an even bigger favor now. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in her birthing class, has gone missing, just days before her due date – not even showing up at the shower that Eve and Roarke’s place that she has been looking forward to so much. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family. When Eve enters Tandy’s apartment and finds Mavis’s shower gift wrapped and ready on the table – And Tandy’s birthing bag still on the floor – her spine starts tingling.
Normally, this would be turned over to missing persons. Eve has more than enough on her plate trying to find out who murdered Nathalie Copperfield and her fiancé, both employed at a highly prestigious accounting firm. But Mavis wants no one but Eve on the case, and Eve cannot say no. She’ll have to track Tandy down while tracing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city’s richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against a particularly vicious killer. Luckily she has her multimillionaire husband Roarke’s expertise to help with the number-crunching. But as he mines for the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all-too-real danger in the flesh-and- blood world.


To their mutual horror, Eve and Roarke have to go to birthing class with Mavis. As they agreed to be her birthing coaches in case Leonardo cannot do it, they have to know what will happen and what their roles are. And so they end up watching a vid of childbirth, learn how to coach Mavis with her breathing and stuff. After that class, they don’t know how fast to escape all those happy pregnant women, and take Mavis and Leonardo and their friend Tandy out to dinner. And then there is the baby shower she is throwing for Mavis. Luckily, Peabody helps her with the planning and decorating.
The next morning Eve and Peabody catch a new case. A young, soon to be married accountant is found tortured and murdered in her own apartment. Her sister, who would spend the night with her, found her. And when they go to break the news to the fiancée, Bick Byson, who was sleeping in the apartment they were renovating, he is murdered as well. When Eve and Peabody can’t find any motive in their private lives, it has to be something Nathalie came across at work. Especially when she has made some cryptic link messages with Bick about whatever she discovered. About needing a bit more information before going to the police, or the media.
So Eve needs to get all the files of all the clients Nathalie was working on. Ofcourse, the accounting firm’s lawyers delay her warrant giving the murderer or an associate the time to doctor Nathalie’s files. But with the help of her husband Roarke and the E-detectives, she will get to the bottom of it all.

When Tandy goes missing, and Mavis begs her to find her, and not give the case to Missing Persons, Eve is stretching herself very tin. When she finds like crimes in Europe, she gets a sniff of the horrible truth. Pregnant woman snatched from the street for their babies. Babies which are then sold to rich adoption parents for a high fee. And somehow, her two cases are linked together. As she finds Tandy just in time, still pregnant and holding on, she will be able to close both cases and put some real monsters in a cage.


I really enjoyed this book, even for the second time. I totally relate to the horror Eve and Roarke must feel about having to witness birth, and help with it. It is not something I will ever do, no matter how good the friend I am. There are boundaries people!
But the case, wow, that was a good one. And it is a horror to think it might really happen.

The interaction between all the cast is great as usual, and Mavis goes over the top. Getting married to her Leonardo, while giving birth. And Nadine gets her own real time crime show, and nets Eve as her first guest.

9 stars.

New addition to my addiction

It has been years since I last bought a book in a real bookshop. I usually order everything online. But then, this one I bought is in Dutch.

Jean M. Auel – The land of painted caves

Published March 29, 2011, and at the same time available in my own language. And yes, I started reading right away. Unfortunately, it is too heavy to read comfortably so I take a lot of breaks while reading. Which is a good thing, as I should be getting my house in order for the guests I will be having tonight for dinner.

New books to look forward to for April 2011

Well, the list of new books to be published this month is huge! I am really looking forward to some of them:

Alexis Morgan – Bound by Darkness – Paladins of Darkness 7
Stephanie Laurens – It happened one season anth.
Annette Blair – Vampire Dragon – Works like magic 3
Christine Feehan – Savage Nature – Leopard people 5
Cheyenne McCray – Clay – Armed and Dangerous
Johanna Lindsey – That perfect someone – Malory 10
Sherrilyn Kenyon – Born of Shadows – League 5 HC
Sherrilyn Kenyon – Born of Desire – League 6
Susan Wittig Albert – Morning Glory – China Bayles 19 - HC
Susan Wittig Albert – Holly Blues – China Bayles 18 - PB
Cherry Adair – Hush
Christina Skye – The knitting diaries – anth.
Laura Childs – Fibre and brimstone – Scrapbooking series 8

I have only read 4 of last month's list, but then some of them have not yet arrived on my doorstep. But I read a whopping total of 23 books last month. Actually 24, but I still have to write a review of Born in Death, so that will be counted for April.

I wish you all a good reading month, and merry April Fool's day today.