“Robopocalypse”, by Daniel H. Wilson

At first you think that it is just a glitch.  After all your electronics do that once in a while.  First it is your smart phone, then your e-reader or ipad.  But then it is your smart car and the aircraft guidance systems.  Then chaos breaks out and you can’t stop it.  The machines are taking over and you can’t stop them, they are killing us because they no longer need us.  In fact we are just in their way, and they want us gone.

They nearly succeed.  If it wasn’t for Matilda, the teen with no eyes, but who can see like a machine, and the Osage Indian group called the Gray Horse Army, and the Brightboy Squad who all decided that they needed to fight to the bitter end to stay alive no matter what it took to do so, the machines might have won.  Archos the lead machine had a den that was impenetrable by mankind. It was a shaft that had been used for a nuclear blast in the 1950’s and every human that came near it died of radiation poisoning in just a few days.  Find out how man won the battle against Archos in this story about a dystopian world. It’s a book that you can hardly put down.

“Assassination at High Speed”, Richard Baldwin

The State of Michigan has been chosen to build a high speed rail line from Port Huron to New Buffalo. The train ride is called Victory Ride and is suppose to bring many jobs to Michigan, but someone or some group doesn’t want that to happen.

On the Victory Ride, is the United States President, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Michigan Governor. The train is to stop at different towns so people can hear what these important men have to say about the Victory Ride.

In Lapeer, the Prime Minister is shot in the shoulder, do they travel on or stop. Take a fast trip across Michigan in this high speed mystery novel.

“Lucky Penny”, by Catherine Anderson

In 1891 Colorado a single woman with a child had to be careful if she wanted to live a respectable life. That is why Brianna O’Keefe invented a husband who was a minor in the gold fields. David Paxton was the husband who went to find their fortune leaving Brianna and infant daughter Daphne alone to make their way in the semi-untamed west. Brianna worked every respectable job she could find to put a roof over their heads and food in her daughters belly but when times got truly desperate she never imagined her ‘husband’ would ride into town.

David Paxton is a rancher and Marshal who had just started thinking about marrying up and settling down when he receives a bag of letters from his ‘wife & daughter’ that he didn’t know he had. David is determine to discover the truth but one look at Daphne and he’s convinced that she is his child and nothing Brianna says can change his mind. To keep a family together David & Brianna are forced to marry but can a relationship based on deceit and mistakes have a chance of surviving?

“Forget Me Not”, by Vicki Hinze

BEN BRANDT WAS A FAMILY MAN, UNTIL HIS WIFE AND SON WERE MURDERED AND NOW HE IS LOOKING FOR THE MURDERERS. HE MET A MYSTERIOUS WOMEN WHO LOOKS LIKE BEN’S WIFE SUSAN AND WHO WAS ATTACKED THE SAME WAY HIS WIFE WAS.

THIS MYSTERY WOMEN HAS A PROBLEM SHE CANT REMEMBER WHO SHE IS , ALL SHE HAS IS A CROSS AND A CARD THAT HAS THE NAME CROSSROAD CRISIS CENTER AND THE NAME SUSAN ON THE BACK. WHY IS SOMEONE OUT TO KILL HER. WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HER AND SUSAN.

“There is No Dog”, by Meg Rosoff

“There Is No Dog” is written by the delightful Meg Rosoff.  This is an ironic and sarcastic book, with a main character who struck me as self-centered and annoying.   You’ll either like this book a lot or not at all.  What if God were a sulky, hormonal teenage boy?  Meg heads down a very different path from her previous books, and imagines a world where Earth was won in a poker match, and entrusted to the care of teenaged Bob and along with the help of wise Mr. B.

After winning Earth in a poker game, Mona hands the job of God over to her son who is spoiled and not very intelligent. He created the earth in six days because he was too tired and lazy to take any longer with it.  Mr. B has been left to clean up the mess, one prayer at a time. But there is only so much he can do because answering one prayer might affect other things in another way.   For example, if you cure one child of rabies then perhaps the stock markets crash? Help one girl’s dying mother and maybe the polar ice caps dry up? And the fact that God (whose name is Bob) created mortals in his own image is most troubling.  Mr. B worries how a planet filled with arrogant, greedy, intolerant boobs like Bob possibly survive?

But Earth must survive, even if God doesn’t want anything to do with it. He is currently obsessed with a young mortal girl named Lucy. He loves her. He wants to marry her. He wants to have sex with her. Driven by the lust and feelings of a teenage boy, the weather starts to be affected by Bob’s wants and desires. His moods are mirrored in unpredictable weather. Snow falls one day to be replaced by floods the next day only to be replaced by sunshine and then the rain begins to fall. It seems his heart is in the right place most of the time, and he doesn’t mean any harm.

This book does a good job of describing bad parenting.  Mona is a terrible parent who drinks and gambles.  She is very self-centered herself.

This book is written for mature teens and young adults. Some may find this novel blasphemous but take it for what it is a hilarious fiction what if… novel.

“Sleepwalker”, by Karen Robards

Finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was the worst possible thing that could happen to Micayla (Mick) on New Years Eve, or so she thought.

Arriving early to house sit for her Uncle Nicco, Mick finds thieves robbing his safe, and as a Detroit Police Officer she can’t let them leave unchallenged. During the struggle Mick discovers the truth about ‘Uncle Nicco’ and must decide who she has a better chance with, Nicco’s security or the thieves who robbed him.

Take a winter ride on Lake Erie, a frozen walk though Michigan woods and high speed car chases on the streets of Detroit. Read this book!

“Skating Around the Law”, by Joelle Charbonneau

  This book made me a little nostalgic for my childhood when we would go roller skating on the weekends in the Lakeview Middle School gym. Those were fun times but thankfully we never found a dead body in the girls bathroom like Rebecca Robbins does when she comes back home to sell her mother’s rollerskating rink.

Rebecca is determined to get back to Chicago and out of the small town she grew up in even if it means solving the crime herself. With the help of her scoundrel of a grandfather, a hat wearing camel and the new vet in town Rebecca skates into a mystery that you just have to read.

“Head Over Heels”, by Jill Shalvis

If you haven’t visited Lucky Harbor yet you are in for a treat. Chloe is the youngest of 3 half sisters who inherited a rundown inn from their mother. Chloe, Maddie and Tara grew up apart and now as adults are not only trying to connect as sisters but also create a thriving Bed and Breakfast in Lucky Harbor.

Chloe is the perpetual Wild Child and is trying hard to live down the reputation without having to change everything else about herself. Falling for the town’s Sheriff, who is living down his own childhood reputation may not be the smartest move. Add to the story an octogenarian facebook gossip, a DEA drug bust and a lot of mud and you have a funny and romantic read.

Don’t miss the first two books in the Lucky Harbor series “Simply Irresistible” and “The Sweetest Thing”.

“Eyes of the Dragon”, by Stephen King

Classic fantasy comes to life from horror novelist Stephen King. Written for his daughter, The Eyes of the Dragon, brings you heroes, kings, princes, and a very evil wizard named Flagg.

After the death of the king, the two princes are separated as one goes to prison and the other becomes Flagg’s puppet. Flagg believes he has the perfect plan to take over and rule the kingdom but as every evil wizard should know, there is always a hero waiting to spoil your dream.

“Explosive Eighteen”, by Janet Evanovich

I almost feel that this book doesn’t need any other introduction other than it’s the 18th book of Stephanie Plum’s adventures in bounty hunting. While I may not be able to imagine it I do have to realize that there may be some readers out there who have not yet been introduced to Stephanie. (She hits the big screen in January 2012)

Once again Stephanie is juggling a handful of bond jumpers, a crazy grandma, a hilarious sidekick and 2 men who she still can’t decide between. (It’s a question of love verses chemistry) In Explosive Eighteen, Stephanie has returned from Hawaii to find an unknown photo in her bag and multiple skips to track. After tossing the photo she tackles a purse snatcher, an identity thief, and her arch nemesis who skipped bail on a robbery charge. While she is tracking skips she ends up being tracked by 2 sets of FBI agents and a deranged killer looking for the photo she no longer has.

If your new the the Evanovich fan club hurry up and get reading but if your a long time fan you won’t be disappointed with this newest addition to the Plum funny book series.