Dead Run by PJ Tracy

The software developers known as the Monkeewrench team have volunteered their sophisticated computer programs and their considerable expertise to help police departments solve related crimes. When Sharon Mueller, a Wisconsin police deputy now working for the FBI in Minneapolis, asks Grace MacBride and Annie Belinsky of the Monkeewrench team to help her connect the dots in a series of Green Bay murders, the three women set off on a road trip through rural Wisconsin.

Along the way, they find the grisly remnants of a mysterious event: an abandoned town, a quasi-military blockade, and a farm field filled with unspeakable horrors. Is this some kind of secret government experiment? Or is it the beginning of a new kind of war? Drawn into the mystery against their will, the three women soon find themselves actively involved not only in saving themselves, but also in preventing the potential deaths of thousands of other people.

In the meantime, terrified by the women's disappearance, the rest of the Monkeewrench crew and law enforcement agencies in two states mobilize to find the three women before it's too late. For some, such as Detective Leo Magozzi, the motivation is as much about their personal desires as it is about professional concerns: "We're not on the job. What we really are is a couple of frantic guys chasing a couple of skirts. Saving our women. Caveman stuff." Little do these frantic guys know, though, that their women are more than capable of taking care of business, sometimes surprising even themselves.
The characters drew me in and kept me involved with the story.

I'll be lookimg for more PJ Tracy.

Mindscan by Robert J Sawyer

The premise of this novel is that in 2048, the time in which the story is set, researchers have developed the technology to digitally upload human consciousness. A multi-billion dollar corporation called Immortex is selling the uploading process to elderly people, in order to provide them with "immortality." What they do is make a digital copy of a person's consciousness by taking a MRI-like snapshot of their entire neural configuration. Using this copy, they use something called a quantum fog, which remains momentarily quantally entangled with the original copy, to grow a replica brain out of nanogel. This synthetic brain is then placed inside a synthetic body, modeled to resemble the person's original body (at least at some point in their life) so as not to throw the mind's calibration off too badly.

A well written and highly enjoyable story, one that will leave you pondering the eternal question of what it means to be a human being.

The School for Heiresses

In four new crowd-pleasing Regency novellas, students from Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies return home for the holidays with high hopes for entering society. Despite their careful training under the wise Mrs. Harris, each defies the rules in her own way and, in the process, gets her first taste of romance. Bestselling Jeffries, author of the series that inspired this anthology, leads with panache: her passionate tale of Eliza Crenshawe finds the young firebrand fleeing a marriage arranged by her cruel uncle, attempting to steal a horse and falling under the spell of the horse's owner, the new earl of Monteith. Rita-winner Carlyle weaves a complicated tale about Martinique, a courtesan's daughter with a mysterious past in the West Indies, whose bedchamber is mistakenly breached by the scandalous Lord St. Vrain. London presents Grace Holcomb, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant, who inherits her domineering father's distorted values and nearly misses out on the love of a good man from Leeds. Bernard's tale of mischievous Alyssa Martin, whose odd luck lands her in a series of comical misadventures, rounds out the collection with an "all's well that ends well" finale.

I bit of light, fluffy fun with a lot more sex than should be indulged in by unmarried Regency misses.

Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts

Having travelled through the Dance of the Gods to the land of Geall, the six members of the circle find themselves convincing then training the people of Geall to defeat Lilith's vampire army. The Valley of Silence is a forbidding place for the battle of all battles, but the circle continues to prepare through a series of magical tests that improve their strengths both individually and as a team. Moira finds herself playing the roles of warrior and royal, as she follows the tradition of her people and prepares to take the crown before leading them into battle. She must also deal with her feelings for Cian, who she finds her thoughts turning to more often than not. And how will the people of Geall fare against an army of blood-thirsty vampires who have had centuries to prepare?

This was better than book 2 in the trilogy. I liked the gradual development of the the relationship between Moira and Cian. The ending wasn't a big surprise, but it fitted.

Full House by Janet Evanovich

Her life was pleasant, proper, and predictable-- until he showed up and trouble moved in... Polo instructor Nicholas Kaharchek senses danger the minute he sees Billie Pearce. She represents everything he's so artfully avoided. Happy in her home life, a divorced mother of two, Billie is the epitome of stability. They have nothing in common. To his horror, Nick is fascinated-- and irresistibly attracted. When Billie generously offers to share her home with Nick's crazy cousin Deedee for a while, Nick finds himself visiting-- often. And while each is slowly seduced by the other's charms, and both are wildly encouraged by devious Deedee, Billie and Nick find out that what they have in common is most important of all. But neither one knows that danger is lurking where they least expect it and a killer is closing in on them.

A light fluffy read.

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts

the circle of six prepare for their battle against the powerful vampire Lilith and her undead army. The six members, culled by the goddess Morrigan from the past and the present, include the wizard Hoyt and his vampire brother Cian, the witch Glenna, ancient Geallian princess Moira and her shape-shifting cousin Larkin, and demon hunter Blair.

I enjoyed this book, but it did have the feel of a transitional novel to me. The circle was formed in the first book, the battle will be fought in the third. The romance wasn't as hot or as filled with difficulties as was Glenna and Hoyt's.

I loved the description of riding a dragon.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

Bella and Edward marry, then Bella gets pregnant on their honeymoon. The baby grows very rapidly and nearly kills Bella. Once the baby is born Edward transforms Bella into a vampire and the baby continues to grow rapidly. Jacob imprints on the baby (Nessie) so he now just feels friendship not love for Bella. Big showdown with the bad vampires. Everyone lives happily ev er after.

A good ending to the series but somehow lacking depth.

No Such Country by Gary Crew

In the isolated town of New Canaan, the mysterious Father reigns like a god. He alone interprets the signs and lately there have been many.
Eva Burgess's death is a sign, so the fater says. For Eva's daughter Rachel it is the end of her education and her dream of getting away - now there is no one the sheild her from the Angel, the Father's disciple, who wants to claim her for his own. Then comes the stranger,Sam Shadows, whose arrival is called 'the sign of the one who walked in'. Sam is seeking his own roots and with Rachel's help he begins to unearth the truth, not just about himself, but about the Father and his sinister role in the town's grisly past.

The idea for the plot was a good one, but it just didn't quite work. The author falters a bit in blending the paranormal with the prosaic, and his narrative swerves from being interesting to wondering what he is on about. I read the beginning and the end and skimmed the middle.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graguation approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

Bella has decisions to make - will she stay human or chose the life of a vampire.

I suppose as this is a YA novel Bella can't do an Anita and keep both the Vamp and the Were?

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

The book begins with Bella's birthday, and she gets a near-fatal papercut, resulting in the Cullens having a burning desire to feed on her. Edward realizes that he is turning Bella into a danger magnet, so he breaks her heart and leaves her. Because of this, Bella becomes depressed and zombie-like for months, until she decides she would do anything to see Edward again. However, Jacob Black is back, and has new secrets- he turns into a werewolf. An evil vampire returns to Forks, meaning Bella is in danger.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

When Bella Swan moves from sunny Phoenix to Forks, Washington, a damp and dreary town known for the most rainfall in the United States, to live with her dad, she isnt expecting to like it. But the level of hostility displayed by her standoffish high school biology lab partner, Edward Cullen, surprises her. After several strange interactions, his preternatural beauty, strength, and speed have her intrigued. Edward is just as fascinated with Bella, and their attraction to one another grows. As Bella discovers more about Edwards nature and his family, she is thrown headlong into a dangerous adventure .

I kept me enthralled even though the writing style kept me well aware this is aimed at a Young Adult (teenage) audience.

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride

Logan McRae is a Detective Sergeant with the Aberdeen police. After being away for a year, recuperating from a serious stabbing, he returns to find himself thrown into the worst kind of case. A child's mutilated body is found,and soon another child goes missing. The plot diverges into several, possibly-related, cases.

Detective Sgt. Logan McRae is a believeable cop, MacBride's description of Aberdeen and the way he skillfully weaves its lousy weather into his plot is satisfying.

Lots of twists and turns kept me guessing

Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson

For Nora Porteous, life is a series of escapes. To escape her tightly knit small-town family, she marries, only to find herself confined again, this time in a stifling Sydney suburb with a selfish, sanctimonious husband. With a courage born of desperation and sustained by a spirited sense of humour, Nora travels to London, and it is there that she becomes the woman she wants to be. Or does she

Nora returns to her family home where she immediately falls very ill - as she recovers she journey's back in her mind and we learn about her past.

The timeline jumps backwards and forwards, but it is easy to keep track.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Earth has been invaded by a peaceful but parasitic alien species who call themselves 'souls'. A beautiful silvery jellyfish type species, they insert themselves into the brains of their human hosts and take over their bodies, memories and mind. The human entity 'disappears' and the soul becomes the human. The souls bring about peace and cure every known illness. However, some humans are resisting - strangely enough they want their planet to stay the way it was, and to remain in control of their minds.

One of these resistors is Melanie - she is captured and the soul 'Wanderer' is inserted into Melanie's body. Wanderer finds that Melanie doesn't disappear like she is suppose to and she finds herself overwhelmed with memories of Melanie's life. At first this is good - as Wanderer is suppose to report back Melanie's memories so they can capture the resistors. However Melanie can close off her mind and not let Wanderer see everything. Gradually Wanderer and Melanie form a friendship as they share Melanie's body. Wanderer allows Melanie to join the resistance group deep in the US desert. When they finally get there, the two of them have to figure out a way to live peacefully with each other as well as with a group of humans who have grown to hate the souls. Emotions flare and relationships are tested as two lives share one body and as enemies learn to co-exist to survive.

This is a beautiful story with many themes - tolerance, love, sacrifice and what it means to be human.

It captured me from the beginning and I didn't want to put it down.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

An accident plunges an unnamed narrator, a drug-addicted porn actor into a physical and mental nightmare in a life that is already spiraling downward. Horrifically burned, he loses the beautiful body of which he had prided himself. His manhood, his human resemblance and his very life are at stake as doctors and burn specialists try to help him survive and recover when death itself appears the best result in his own mind. Into the burn unit walks Marianne Engel, a carver of gargoyles. She recognizes him as her lover, the mercenary whom her medieval convent took in the first time he was burned. As he lies in the burn unit, she tells him the story of her life as a medieval scribe at Engelthal. Telling tales of spiritual and romantic love, of Meister Eckhart, medieval German Christian life, Dante's INFERNO, medieval Iceland and Japan, Marianne does for him what the doctors cannot do. She reaches the space in him beneath the body. Is she insane as some claim or is she a woman with a mystical vision from another time?"

This book had me hooked from the first few chapters. The writing style kept me going through the hard to read beginning.

The intertwining of past and present worked. The characters, a psychiatric patient and a drug addicted, burned pornographer worked.

A story of redemption and of what it means to love and be loved.

Lord Nick's Folly by Emily Hendrickson

When Nympha Herbert embarks on a journey to visit her wealthy great-aunt, she expects nothing more than a staid, dreary trip. But then a surprising twist of fate has her sharing a coach with Lord Nicholas - decidedly the most aggravating man in all of England. Only suddenly he seems far less irritating and infinitely more dashing than she remembered...

Lord Nick has been far too busy with what is widely considered his folly - constructing a golf course on his property - to get himself a bride. Besides, with his brother about to produce a successor, the burden of being the heir presumptive is off his shoulders. But when he finds himself travelling to Mansfield with the rector's lovely daughter, he decides it's his duty to save her from a gold-digging suitor - and convince her that his protection is required for her life's happiness...

A nice light read with a pretty good mystery and surprise resolution at the end.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Teppic is the heir to the throne of Djelibeybi. For each generation going back as far as anyone can remember the new king, upon the death of his father, builds a pyramid that will serve both as his tomb and an eternal monument. This would be fine but for the fact that each succeeding generation is expected to build a monument that is greater than the last. This keep Djelibeybi locked in a perpetual financial crisis and has caused each succeeding ruler (Pharaoh) to lead a life that is overly regimented to the point of insanity, or at the very least officious inanity.

Teppic's father, Teppicymon XXVII, seems to want a bit more from his son then a life of idleness sitting on the throne and when the story opens we find Teppic going off to `college' in this instance the famed school run by the Guild of Assasins on Ankh-Morpork. No sooneer does Teppic pass his Assasin's exit examination (a typical Pratchett tour de `farce') then his father dies and Teppic is called back to assume the throne.

Teppic chafes at the constraints put upon him and his life by Dios, the nation's chief holy man and enforcement officer. Dios is the type of horrifically evil bureaucrat who, smitten with a bit of power, tends to be the person you must deal with at the Department of Motor Vehicles or at the bank or at the office who's biggest skill is the ability to say `NO!!!' in an infinite number of ways. The rest of the story follows Teppic's adventures as the power of the new pyramid built to honor his father causes havoc with the time-space continuum and which in turn threatens to engulf the region in a disastrous war.

This is my first Discworld novel, but won't be my last.

It's easily read, with lots of likeable characters and had me chuckling all the way through.

Where The Heart Leads by Stephanie Laurens

When attractive society belle Penelope Ashford enlists Barnaby's help in finding four kidnapped orphan boys, Barnaby is as intrigued by Penelope as he is by the case; her reputation as something of a firebrand and her dedication to her work at Foundling House far outstrip her desire to conform to society's wishes—a worldview not unlike Barnaby's. Penelope insists on accompanying Barnaby through every step of his investigation, and with some input from an old friend at Scotland Yard, the pair begins navigating the slums of London's East End in search of a burglary school. As the orphans' fate begins to slide into focus, so, too, does Barnaby and Penelope's attraction for one another.

The mystery was good. The writing, as always is well done, even if there is a few oft repeated phrases. I liked that although Barnaby felt protective, he wasn't constantly demanding that she obey him, or trying to force her to do things as he wished. He appeared to respect her opinion and listen to her comments.

There's a secondary romance between a policeman and his informant which was well-written and an interesting insight into life for the middle classes and working classes in Regency London.

All in all this was a really enjoyable read.