Book 13
Mr. Monk on the Couch
Lee Goldberg, 2011
Another quick but fun read, especially for "Monk" TV fans! This story takes place shortly after the end of the TV series.
Natalie Teeger has picked up a few detective skills during her years as Adrian Monk's loyal assistant -- and she's eager to put them to use. But that's not easy when you work with a deductive genius who can solve a murder in no time.
Natalie gets her chance when a man with no identity is found dead of natural causes, and neither Monk nor the police see any reason to get involved. It helps that Monk is distracted by a crime-scene cleaning crew's abilities while investigating a series of brutal murders tied to a secondhand couch.
Book 14
Started Early, Took My Dog
Kate Atkinson, 2011
It's a day like any other for Tracy Waterhouse, working security at the local shopping center to supplement her pension from the police force. Then she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained on. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger and the first sparks of love.
Witnesses to Tracy's Faustian exchange are Till, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie, the reluctant detective whose own life has been stolen and who has now been hired to find someone else's. Variously accompanied, pursued, or haunted by neglected dogs, unwanted children, and keepers of dark secrets, soon all three will learn that the past is never history -- and that no good deed goes unpunished.
Brimming with wit, wisdom, and a fierce moral intelligence, Started Early, Took My Dog confirms Kate Atkinson's status as one of the most original and entertaining writers of our time.
I had never heard of Kate Atkinson, but have been reading through a bag of books loaned and recommended by a friend, interspersed with some of my "old faithful" favorite authors. It took me a while to really get interested in this book, but by the end I was ready to find some more. One of the most intriguing aspects was how so many seemingly unrelated people ended up as key components of one of the main mysteries. Since some parts of the story remained unresolved, to me at least, I wonder if there'll be a sequel or another with some of these same characters? Must keep an eye on this author!
Book 15
Now You See Her
A Novel by James Patterson
and Michael Ledwidge, 2011
To save her own life, Nina Bloom vanished. Now, to rescue an innocent man, she confronts the killer she thought she escaped forever.
Not sure if I've read any James Pattersons before, but certainly will again! I want to check our The Women's Murder Club series!
A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York -- including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.
Nina's secret life began nineteen years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world shattered when she unearthed a terrible secret that caused her to run for her life and change her identity.
Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense, James Patterson gives us his most head-spinning, action-filled novel yet -- a Hitchcockian blend of unquenchable drama and pleasure.
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