“The Mystery Woman”, by Amanda Quick

In this 2nd book of the Ladies of Lantern Street, Quick tells the story of Beatrice Lockwood. Beatrice became a paranormal consultant at the Academy of the Occult only to have her boss murdered during a kidnapping attempt.

Now several months later, Beatrice is an investigative agent for the Finch & Marsh Agency. She is hired by Joshua Gage to catch a blackmailer. Gage’s history as an spy for the Crown has given him a special skill for investigation but injuries has forced him to retire.

A simple case of blackmail turns into a plan to once again kidnap Beatrice. Can a paranormal investigator and a retired spy, who does not believe in the paranormal, stop the evil plans of a killer?

Quick once again presents a well written British historical with touches of the paranormal and unique characters.

“Crystal Gardens”, by Amanda Quick

There aren’t a lot of respectable positions for a spinster in regency England and it is even more difficult when you possess a psychical talent. That is why the Flint and Marsh Agency specializes in placing women into positions as governesses, companions and tutors. Only their employers know the real job is to privately investigate suitors.

When Evangeline Ames’s last job results in 2 murder attempts she is given refuge at the Crystal Gardens, under the watchful eye of Lucas Sebastian.

Lucas has moved into the Crystal Gardens estate to uncover the mystery behind his uncle’s death and the paranormal energy that is causing a deadly danger in the estates gardens.

Together Evangeline and Lucas will uncover century old secrets, foil robbery attempts, unveil murderers and rescue themselves from death. All with Quick’s trademark paranormal abilities. This is the first in the Ladies of Lantern Street series.

“The Wanderer”, by Robyn Carr

Departing from Virgin River, Robyn Carr is exploring the new town of Thunder Point in this first book of the series. Hank Cooper arrives in Thunder Point following

the death of his Army friend Ben. Little does he know that Ben left him valuable beach front property and a hazard of a Bait Shop. Cooper never stays in one place very long so he plans to fix and sell quickly and wander on to a new place and new job.

Cooper never expected to make friends, fight against high school bullying, solve a murder or meet someone as adverse to permanent relationships as he is. But life proves to be full of surprises when Cooper starts to discover that settling down and taking on responsibilities leads to more happiness than traveling around the country.

“Because I Said So”, by Ken Jennings

If you follow this blog and actually read these posts you know that I do not read a lot of Non Fiction. Well hold on to your keyboards because here is a non fiction review.

Party Mythbusters, part Snopes.com this book by Jennings looks at the truth behind sayings that have been passed down through the generations and whether they are valid or myths.

Some of my favorite saying that he researches are: “Never sneeze with your eyes open- your eyeballs will pop out!” this was rated as MOSTLY FALSE and “It’s too dark to read in here, you’ll hurt your eyes!” I heard this one a lot and was happy to know it was rated FALSE.

If you like to increase random knowledge or just have a compulsion to never utter anything that isn’t 100% true then this book should definitely find its way into your hands.

“The Best Man”, by Kristan Higgins

Once again Higgins blends humor, heartache and hope into a fun romance.

Faith Holland left her hometown and family after being jilted at the alter. Instead of saying “I do” her groom says, “I’m gay”. Not wanting to feel the towns pity every day Faith heads out on her honeymoon and decides to stay.

When a family crisis brings her back home she finds that she still has to face the rumors, pity and heartbreak that she fled on her wedding day. And the biggest pain of all…Levi Cooper, the best man at her failed wedding and the one individual she blames for everything.

Through a series of family drama, community busy bodies, hijinks and kisses Higgins weaves a love story that not only mends a broken family but brings together soul mates who almost missed their chance.

“Shadow Woman”, by Linda Howard

Many of us have mornings when we don’t like what we see in the mirror but for Lizette Henry, the mirror’s reflection showed the face of a stranger.

As memories break free Lizette realizes that she is missing 2 years of her life and remembering skills that she hasn’t used or thought about in the last 3 years. Soon assassins are tracking her and she is running for her life trying to remember whether she is one of the ‘good guys’ or one of the ‘bad guys’.

Xavier has been watching over Lizzy for the last 3 years. Protecting her in a stalemate game of governmental security. When everything unravels he has to get to her before the assassins succeed. But how do you save the love of your life when she doesn’t remember you and thinks you plan to kill her?

“Shiver”, by Karen Robards

It doesn’t happen often but every once in a while a book cover will really bother me by the time I finish the book. I really like Robards’ storytelling ability and her stories tend to keep me wondering until the end but I kept waiting for the ‘blizzard’, ‘snowstorm’, ‘sub-zero weather’ that would explain the cover and title. I know it’s not the author’s fault as most of them have little to no say in the cover design but I really think they mixed up her books. Her last book “Sleepwalker” had a nice hot looking red cover but most of the book took place outside in Michigan in the middle of winter, yet her new book “Shiver” takes place with the characters in short sleeves and bare foot with maybe 5-10 pages on a snowy mountain near the end of the book.

I realize this isn’t my normal review type post so let me give you a quick run through of this great story that doesn’t match the book cover.

Samantha Jones is a young single mom who works nights as a repo agent in order to keep a roof over her son’s head and food on the table. She never thought she would find an almost dead body in the trunk of a car but when she does it sends her running for her life with her son and the ‘body’. Robards does a good job of building the suspense and characters just don’t judge this book by its cover.

“Cindy Moo” by Lori Mortensen & Jeff Mack (ill.)

I believe this is the first picture book I’ve posted here on “Let’s Talk Books” but it is worth sharing.

Cindy Moo lives on the Diddle Farm. After hearing about the cow who jumped over the moon Cindy and the other cows started debating if it is possible. Cindy is determined to jump the moon and won’t let anyone talk her out of it. She works hard and practices her jumping but doesn’t know how to jump over the moon. Discouraged she begins to doubt herself until one rainy night when she discovers how to jump the moon.

While sharing this story with my nephew, I really liked the lesson Cindy learns, “A cow can really jump the moon, as long as she knows how.” So if you have a child struggling to learn something new, I would recommend this book to share and discuss that perseverance in learning how to do something, makes it possible.

“The Blight Way”, by Patrick F. McManus

Bo Tully didn’t actually inherit the job of Blight County Sheriff but some days it sure feels like it. Located in the mountains of Idaho, Blights usual crime sprees are domestic affairs, truancy and disorderly conduct but when a triple murder occurs in the County Bo hauls out the big guns.

Investigating a triple murder is the perfect birthday gift to give his “Pap”, the retired sheriff, and this backwoods investigation will take them all over the county.

Patrick McManus, is more commonly known for his humorous writings on hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. This is the first in his Bo Tully series and he delivers with his trademark humor, wit and just the right amount of suspense.

“An Invisible Thread”, by Laura Schroff

Inspiration comes to us in many forms like music, nature, films and stories. Laura Schroff uses her story to provide inspiration to millions of readers in this book.

On a busy New York City street, Laura is compelled to help a young panhandler who is asking for change because he is hungry. What began as a lunch at McDonalds grew into a friendship that rescued both Laura and Maurice.

This is a story of kindness, perseverance, hope and courage that clearly demonstrates ones ability to overcome ones past and ones circumstances with love and a fearless friendship.

Request a copy today: http://lakenet.llcoop.org/search~S1?/Xan+invisible+thread&SORT=D&searchscope=1&=/Xan+invisible+thread&SORT=D&searchscope=1&=&SUBKEY=an+invisible+thread/1%2C16%2C16%2CB/frameset&FF=Xan+invisible+thread&SORT=D&searchscope=1&=&4%2C4%2C