Reading and Reviews (Evanovich and Jance)
I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'llshare my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read islimited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook atnight for the last hour of my day.
I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. BesidesRomantic Suspense and mystery, I read crime and law novels, once in a while atrue story, WWII historicals, romance, and mainstream character driven books.
Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past.Maybe you'll discover a new book or author.
Look Alive Twenty-Five: A StephaniePlum Novel by Janet Evanovich
There's nothing like a good deli,and the Red River Deli in Trenton is one of the best. World-famous for itspastrami, cole slaw, and for its disappearing managers. Over the last month,three have vanished from the face of the earth, and the only clue in each caseis one shoe that's been left behind. The police are baffled. Lula is convincedthat it's a case of alien abduction. Whatever it is, they'd better figure outwhat's going on before they lose their new manager, Ms. Stephanie Plum.
My Review:
It’s been a while since I’ve read a Stephanie Plum novel. Howodd it took me a couple of chapters to actually start enjoying it. I like hercharacter Lulu, but the book started out being more about her than anythingelse. But true to form for Ms. Evanovich, it finally took off offering plentyof laughs, sighs at the two hunks Stephanie keeps company with, and anentertaining read.
Desert Heat (Joanna Brady MysteriesBook 1) by J. A. Jance
A cop lies dying beneath theblistering Arizona sun—a local lawman who may well have become the next sheriffof Cochise County. The police brass claim that Andy Brady was dirty, and thathis shooting was a suicide attempt. Joanna Brady, his devoted wife and motherof their nine-year-old daughter, knows a cover-up when she hears one . . . andmurder when she sees it. But her determined efforts to hunt down an assassinand clear her husband's name are placing Joanna and her surviving family inharm's way—because in the desert, the one thing more lethal than a rattler'sbite . . . is the truth.
My Review:
Being from Arizona, I could identifywith the heat and the small-town obstacles Joanna Brady encounters. I know thatthose readers who aren’t familiar with Arizona will get a good visual. Thecharacters are well-defined and the story is just twisty enough. Joanna istough enough, but relatable, for a new widow who wants answers. I’m glad Istarted with book one to see how it all began. I’ll look forward to the rest ofthe series. Jance is up to 11.
