The Wrong Door by Bunty Avieson

Pete's dead and Gwennie's life will never be the same. How could Pete, a young, fit man, leave her now? Their lives together were only just beginning. And pneumonia? It was insane, unthinkable, unbearable. Somehow she struggles through the funeral in a daze, and the mysterious mourner in the tight-fitting red dress barely registers in her consciousness. It's only later, when spotting a discrepancy in Pete's tax records, that she begins to wonder. Who was that woman?
The woman in red is Clare Dalton, and she has stumbled into the wrong funeral service. Her brief appearance and signature in the condolence book are all it takes to set in motion a trail of deception, mystery, and buried secrets that connects these two strangers in ways they never thought imaginable. 

 I enjoyed this story. The two storylines eventually came together well. I liked Clare's story more than Gwennie's (annoying name didn't help). It was also a pleasant surprise to find Hat Hill Road, Blackheath mentioned.

Critical Judgment by Michael Palmer

Abby Dolan, a young, hot-shot emergency room physician, has left the big city environs of San Francisco to follow her fiance to a small town where he has taken a job with Colstar, the main source of the town's economy. In her work, Abby quickly comes across several patients with vague but troubling symptoms that she believes are caused by environmental poisoning and may be linked to Colstar. 

An ok read with a bit of a twist at the end. By the time I got to the twist I didn't really care any more.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey what words could not, from declarations of admiration to confessions of betrayal.

For Victoria Jones, alone after a childhood in foster care, it is her way of expressing a legacy of grief and guilt. Believing she is damaged beyond hope, she trusts nobody, connecting with the world only through message-laden bouquets. 

Really good. Loved the ending, everything not tied up neatly in bow but a real sense of hope. 

Dead But Not Forgotten

Variety of other authors wrote stories about Bon Temps and their favourite characters from the Sooky-verse.

A nice mix of stories.

My Favourite were The Bat Signal and Widower's Walk, though all were good. 

Wool by Hugh Howey

The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the people who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.


This is great story-telling, with well-developed, complex, characters, believable world-building and a plot with lots of action.

Bait by Karen Robards

It's a business trip that takes attorney Maddie Fitzgerald down to New Orleans, but it's hardly business as usual when a man breaks into her hotel room and tries to kill her. Barely escaping with her life, the sexy, stylish thirty-two-year-old brunette calls the police and finds herself face-to-face with FBI agent Sam McCabe. Unnerved by his questions-and his good looks-Maddie is told she's been targeted by a hired killer, one who has eluded McCabe for years.

Apparently, she's been mistaken for another woman, an FBI informant of the same name who was also staying at the hotel that night. McCabe grills her, and then disappears. Shaken, she finishes her business and returns home to St. Louis.

But days later, Maddie is attacked a second time, and again McCabe returns to question her. He convinces her that the only way she'll ever be safe again is if the killer is caught, and the quickest way to nab him is to use her as bait. Maddie reluctantly agrees, and sparks fly and then ignite as McCabe shadows her. But their unexpected romance throws McCabe off his stride-and puts Maddie in the hands of a killer.

An enjoyable romantic suspense, all tied up neatly at the end.  A decent editor could have shortened the book by about a third without loosing any of the the story. 

Devoted In Death by J D Robb

It's a new year in New York city, and two star-crossed lovers have just discovered an insatiable appetite...for murder.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has witnessed some grisly crimes in her career and she knows just how dark things can get on the streets. But when a much-loved musician is found dead, Eve soon realises that his murder is part of a horrifying killing spree, stretching right across the country.

Now the killers have reached New York, and they've found themselves another victim. Eve knows she only has a couple of days to save a young girl's life, and to stop the killers before their sadistic games escalate. Eve's husband Roarke is ready to put his brains and his considerable resources behind the search. But even as the couple works closely together, time is running out...

There is very little mystery here as you already knows from the start just who the killers are. What brought a fresh prospective to this book was the addition of a Deputy who refuses to just let his case slide and there's even dark cop humour to lighten the mood.

And as usual there as the relationship between Roarke and Eve, "his cop".