Sun Valley Sheriff Walt Fleming

Ridley Pearson currently has four books in a series about Sheriff Walt Fleming set in the Sun Valley area -- another series I recommend reading in order. I was introduced to Fleming when I picked up "Killer Weekend" to read this summer and I can't get enough of him. However, when I pick up one of his books and start reading, I don't want to put it down until I finish it! They've all been real page turners!

They are in order:
"Killer Weekend"
"Killer View"
"Killer Summer"
"Killer Silence"

Unfortunately, "Killer Silence" isn't due to be released until August of 2010 so I'll have to exercise some patience to see what happens to Sheriff Fleming, his two daughters, and his soon-to-be ex-wife as well as other members of his family and staff.

If you're looking for excitement and want to be lost in a book for a day, check these out!

pazt

Italian Fever

Stretching beyond my favorite mystery thrillers to look at other genres led me to Valerie Martin's "Italian Fever."

Lucy Stark works for a best selling author of so-so talent. When he dies in Italy while writing his latest book, she's sent to settle his affairs and handle his burial. It leads her from her solitary life to a bit of an adventure with some twists and turns along the way. It's a mix of romance and Gothic suspense. The jury is still out as to how much I liked this book as I continue to digest it. I did like it well enough that I'm open to reading another book by Valerie Martin.

Although I don't remember hearing anything about this author before, I have heard of the 1995 movie, "Mary Reilly" which is based on her book of the same name.

I'd love to hear what you think if you've read any of this author's work.

pazt

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

While I was waiting to read Book 10 in Harrod-Eagles' Bill Slider detective series, I checked out Harrod-Eagles book, "Real Life," which is a collection of short stories. I found them to be a mix of quirky, strange, and downright funny tales! It's not at all like what I have come to expect in the Bill slider series but an enjoyable read none the less.

In the last couple of years my daughter and son-in-law in England have been house hunting so the concept of real estate "chains" were explained to me in some detail and that came in handy in reading one of the stories. Basically, if the person purchasing a home has a home to sell and the person below or above them also is in the same position, it's like falling dominoes -- any deal in the chain that doesn't go has the potential to affect all the transactions in the chain below.

Back to "Real Life," though -- a good read but not all stories gave me the same feeling as the Detective Bill Slider series which I can't get enough of!

pazt

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Strawberry Shortcake, and Blueberry Muffins

What do chocolate chip cookies, strawberry shortcake, and blueberry muffins have in common?
If you said "food," in this case you would be wrong. The answer is murder -- They're all in the titles of books by Joanne Fluke and they share a heroine - Hannah Swenson. Hannah is single and owns a bakery that provides Lake Eden, MN, with cookies.

In "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" Hannah discovers her local dairy delivery man murdered behind her bakery with her cookies all around him. She sets out to find his killer against the advice of local law enforcement and her family.

In "Strawberry Shortcake Murder" Hannah is the head judge for the annual dessert bake-off when another judge is murdered and she is off sleuthing again.

In "Blueberry Muffin Murder" Hannah discovers a murder victim in her bakery in the middle of the annual winter carnival and she wants to find out who committed the murder so she can return to her bakery instead of borrowing facilities to bake her cookies.

I picked up the first book in this series at my local library looking for some light summer reading and found myself wanting to learn more about Hannah. I know some of my friends are content to read books "out of order" but in a series such as this that also delves into the heroine's personal life, I like to read them in order. My friend, Mary Ann, told me about a wonderful web site last year that I have found invaluable - http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/. Although this site doesn't list every author, I find most of the ones I like are there. You can look up an author and find a list of all the books they've written as well as authors they recommend and/or like to read. If they have books that are series, the series will also be listed in order.

I love to try to solve murders while I'm reading mysteries but I had no luck with this series until the third book when I began to have an inkling about who might be the murderer. I love a challenge so I'll keep reading about Hannah and have added the next in the series, "Lemon Meringue Pie Murder" to my "to be read" stack.

Fluke's cast of characters in this series include:
Hannah Swenson - our heroine
Hannah's mother who is busy trying to marry Hannah off
Hannah's sister who is married to a law enforcement officer and spends her days worrying about her appearance and selling real estate
Hannah's precocious niece
And a cast of local townspeople that include a couple of possible love interests for Hannah.

Happy reading!

pazt

The Rose

I consider myself a "late bloomer" - When I was in my early thirty's and seeing a therapist in Rockford, IL, I complained about the fact that I always seemed to be behind others my age in my accomplishments. I have not forgotten the words that therapist said to me, "A rose blooms in its own time."

So....when I find myself thinking about my late blooming status, I remind myself of this phrase. My spouse has since given me a framed photograph of a red rose in bloom which is in our bedroom as a constant reminder to me that a "rose does bloom in its own time."

I also have a tendency to downplay my skills and abilities so that's my current growing edge. I've always wanted to write but lacked faith in my ability so this blog is my start and, hopefully, you'll dialogue with me along my path.

Since I saw that therapist, I went on to finish my last year and a half of college in one year at the University of Washington and obtained a B. A. in Psychology. I immediately started graduate school at Seattle University where I earned a M.ED. in counseling. After that I worked in the field of adoption for almost 10 years -- my most rewarding occupation outside of being a wife, mother, and grandmother!

Currently, I'm enjoying semi-retirement with my spouse and I cherish the time we're able to spend together. My children and grandchildren are an important part of my life, too, and I'm lucky to have four of our six grandchildren living nearby. The youngest are 5 and 2 and I welcome opportunities to spend time with them. Friends also play an important part in my life -- spending time with other couples with my spouse or spending alone time with my women friends.

I love to read mysteries so I'll be sharing with you some of my favorite authors and/or books in future blogs as well as favorite movies and music. I'm also attempting to stretch my reading material beyond mysteries so I'm in a couples book club which has me reading books I might not otherwise have given a second glance to. I try to check out new books or recommended books at the library, too, to see if I can find new authors or genres that appeal to me. I'm also a fan of science fiction and fantasy and one of my all-time favorites is "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

One of my favorite songs (Can you guess why?) is The Rose." Until recently I'd only heard it performed by Bette Midler but last week I heard a version by Scottie Haskell and both women are equally good in my opinion.

So, that's it for my first post but I look forward to sharing more of my life with you soon.

pazt

Check out the link below to find the book and music I recommended above: