"The Midnight Mayor"

"The Midnight Mayor" is Kate Griffin's second book in the Matthew Swift urban fantasy novels.  Griffin is one of Carnegie Medal nominated young adult author Catherine Webb's pseudonyms.

Griffin introduced her sorcerer, Matthew Swift, in the first book in this series, "A Madness Of Angels," and continues his story in "The Midnight Mayor" -- both books set in her native city of London.

Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall.  Sorcerer Matthew Swift discovers that the magical wards guarding the city of London are falling away one by one and he comes to the understanding that something is threatening the city of London -- but what and what can be done?

Although Swift would prefer to stay uninvolved, his life doesn't seem to work that way and he finds himself in the middle of danger with more than one enemy (as usual) wanting to kill him.  Can he survive and save the city?

Although the two Swift books I've read tend to be large tomes and very wordy, once I get to the meat of the story I have a need to find out how they end so I persevere to their very satisfying endings and, yes, I will look for "The Neon Court" - the next book in the Swift series.  pazt

"The Yard Dog"

"The Yard Dog" is the first book in the Hook Runyon mystery series authored by Sheldon Russell.
The setting is rural Oklahoma during World War II at a time when there a large number of Nazi POW's scattered in camps across the prairies of the United States.  The book offers insights into how these camps were run with discipline maintained by the German officers and some of the prisoners being allowed to exit the camps during the day to serve on work details.  Although they are helping locals at a time when a lot of the young men are off fighting a war in Europe, there is still a fear of these prisoners by the locals -- perhaps with some justification.

Hook Runyon is the local railroad detective and his job is mostly catching pickpockets on local train runs.  However, when a friend of his, Spark Dugan, is discovered run over by a reefer car, it doesn't set well with Hook because there are some discrepancies that raise questions in his mind.  Spark was a local indigent who lived in a shack and picked up loose coal, drank moonshine, and stole milk bottles off locals porches but he'd been seen to hop freight trains while drunk so the idea that he had an accident just doesn't fit with Hook.  His suspicions grow when he checks out Spark's shack and is beaten by two men who find him there.

Hook enlists Runt, the local moonshiner (who has taken a job at the POW Camp Alva to help support his mother and younger siblings while his older brothers are in Europe fighting Nazis) to assist him in his investigations.

Hook lives in a caboose that he has the railroad move from location to location and Spark used to keep him supplied in coal.  Hook also is well read and likes to collect books -- rare editions when he can find them.  When he meets Dr. Reina Kaplan, they hit it off and find they have a lot in common.

Dr. Kaplan, a Jewess, is an unlikely candidate to be sent to Camp Alva but there she is nonetheless and she is charged with "reeducating the prisoners."  The thinking is that the Germans are losing the war and the government would like to send them home with some changed thinking.

I read the last book in this series ("The Hanging of Samuel Ash") and decided I want to learn more about Hook Runyon starting with the first book in the series..  I highly recommend this book as I found the mystery interesting and the historical information fascinating.   pazt

"Body Heat"

I checked out the DVD,"Body Heat," from the library after learning it was Kathleen Turner's first film although she'd acted on stage and in a soap opera prior to this.  She stars opposite William Hurt and Richard Crenna in this film directed by Lawrence Kasdan -- his directing debut, I believe.

"Body Heat" is a rather dark, steamy, sexy romance thriller that echos 1940's film noirs.  Turner plays Matty Walker, a young woman married to a wealthy man.  Hurt portrays a small town lawyer, Ned Racine, who manages to seduce and woo her during the week when her husband is in Miami at his office.  Ned doesn't particularly like having to give Matty up on weekends but what choice does he have when her husband comes home.

Matty has signed a prenuptial and isn't wild about the idea of giving up anything to divorce her husband so she and Ned scheme another way to get rid of him and live off his fortune for the rest of their lives.  But after her husband dies questions come up, fingers are pointed and it becomes unclear who seduced who!  The twists and turns at the end of the movie are quite satisfying.  However, if you prefer no nudity, this film is not for you!  pazt

"The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish"

"The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish" by Neil Gaiman (with pictures by Dave McKean) was chosen as one of Newsweek magazine's Best Children's Books of the Year.  I can understand why after reading it.  I loved the story myself and believe children will, too.  In fact, I liked it so well that I just ordered 2 paperback copies - one for my grandson's 8th birthday and one for my great-niece even though she's still a preschooler.  It may be a year or two before she's ready for it but in the meantime I hope her parents will enjoy it immensely.  pazt

"Ice Shear"

M. P. Cooley is an author to watch!  "Ice Shear" is her first novel and I can hardly wait to find and read her second book, "Flame Out."  She also has a prequel to Ice Shear which is an e-book novella available for 99 cents.  If you haven't yet read "Ice Shear," you might want to read the prequel (if it has been released) before reading "Ice Shear."

The heroine in "Ice Shear" is June Lyons, a former FBI agent who left the bureau to care for her dying husband.  She and her young daughter now live in upstate New York with her father, who retired as the town chief of police.  He helps care for her daughter while she works the night shift in Hopewell Falls.

Hopewell Falls is a dying town with factory closures and high unemployment.  Most of the time June's job is boring as she drives drunks home or picks up doughnuts.  It's a far cry from her FBI tasks where she was assigned to a drug task force working with gangs.

However, when a congresswoman's daughter is found murdered, the FBI arrive and deputize her to work on the murder investigation with them.  One murder leads to more murders and the discovery of a meth lab.  She and her colleagues work around the clock to find the murderer and prevent other deaths.  She finds herself enjoying working alongside some of her former FBI colleagues despite the fact that some resent her leaving the agency.  I look forward to many more books by Cooley in this series!  pazt

"Death In The Cards"

"Death In The Cards" is the third book in Sharon Short's Stain Busting Mystery series "starring" Josie Toadfern.  Josie inherited Toadfern's Laundromat from her aunt and uncle and has become a stain expert but she's also an amateur detective with a high rate of solving mysteries.

Josie's newest tenants of the apartment she owns above the laundromat have come to town to open a psychic store.  However, when they decide to hold a Psychic Fair, there is some opposition -- especially from a local evangelist and his church.  When a psychic ends up dead, Josie doesn't agree with the police verdict of suicide and sets out to prove it is murder -- at some risk to herself and those she cares about.

Behind the scenes Josie is dealing with lack of communication in her relationship with her boyfriend, Owen, and she's not sure what the future holds -- if anything -- for their relationship.  Also, her cousin Guy, who is autistic, has been having some health challenges and, as his guardian and because she does truly care for him, she is worried.

None of this keeps Josie from solving a murder, though, with a little help from her friends and a deceased school teacher.  This was another fun read that I managed to finish in about 24 hours.  pazt

"Big Girl Panties"

"Big Girl Panties" by Stephanie Evanovich was a book I picked up by mistake.  I guess I confused Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum with Stephanie Evanovich and thought I was picking up a Janet Evanovich novel -- even the title sounded like Janet.  That's where the similarity ends except both Evanovich authors are from New Jersey.

"Big Girl Panties" is a lighthearted love story.  When Holly Busch, who is terrified of flying, ends up on a flight with personal trainer, Logan Montgomery, he sees a woman who is overweight and needs to get fit.  Her sense of humor appeals to him and he ends up offering her a special at one of his two personal training gyms to help her get back in shape.  She is smitten but has no illusions about someone as drop dead gorgeous as Logan is having a romantic interest in her.

What starts out as a professional relationship eventually turns to friendship when Logan learns Holly is a widow estranged from her family and without many friends.  He introduces her to his best friend Chase Walker, a professional baseball player, and his wife, Amanda.  Amanda takes Holly under her wing and as she loses weight, Amanda helps her learn how to dress her new body.

Logan eventually begins to take a romantic interest in Holly after many outings with her and the Walkers.  However, the course of true love doesn't run smooth so, of course, there are some glitches along the way.

I have to admit I skimmed over the last part of the book to get to the ending.  It was a fun read but I really like mysteries better so I doubt that I'll be checking out any more Stephanie Evanovich books.  pazt