This one is a thriller (stand-alone I believe) involving 3 convicts escaped from a federal prison in Kansas, a bus carrying 8 deaf students and two teachers (1 deaf) who they are holding hostage, and the FBI team charged with negotiating the recapture of the convicts/release of the hostages. Very well done, but I would have enjoyed it more if I could have skipped work and read it straight through.That said, I’ve got a couple more Deavers in my queue.

This is the first novel, beginning a series featuring Dr. Linton, her ex-husband Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver and detective Lena Adams. Well written and plotted, if on the gorey side. Slaughter was obviously a fan of Emily Bronte, as the doctor’s mother is Cathy Linton and she has a cousin named Hareton Earnshaw - maybe Heathcliff shows up in a later book. That aside, I have volume 2, Kisscut in my queue. I do want to know if the doctor and her ex reconnect.

The subtitle of this book is George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the frontier rebels who challenged America’s newfound sovereignty. It is, I am told, the definitive work on this episode of early American history which nearly lead to civil war. Alexander Hamilton is the villain of the piece; Washington the ailing, aging leader and the only sitting president to lead troops into combat.

To pay off Revolutionary War debt and achieve Hamilton’s financial goals, an excise tax on whiskey was approved by Congress. It seemed expressly designed to drive small distillers out of business and force them into the factories of large distillers - class warfare at its worst - the drama played out in western Pennsylvania in the late 1790’s. Whiskey was used in lieu of currency by small landowners who distilled their grain into whiskey to transport it ove the mountains to the east coast. The reaction of the locals to the actions of the government in Philadelphia; the machinations of the wealthy to keep the upper hand, the intimidation of moderate thinkers by the radicals on both sides all have a compelling immediacy. Although there are an abundance of lessons, we don’t seem to learn much from history.

This was a Trantor audio book, well narrated. Guaranteed to make time a long drive pass quickly.

I thought we had seen the last of Lynley, and am pleased to find him again in this, one of the best of the series. A well plotted, compelling story with many likeable characters (aside from the angry-macho female detective who orders the super about) , far less of the self-conscious angst that makes me cringe, and fairly happy endings for all the deserving. I look forward to more of this Lynley.

Franklin is presented as a delightful sleuth, astute, observant, brilliant and eccentric. And quite the ladies man. All told I have read 5 books in the series (Murder at Drury Lane, Benjamin Franklin and a case of Christmas murder, Benjamin Franklin and a case of Artful Murder, Murder by the Waters). There are still a few to go.

Thoroughly entertaining, light mystery fare, liberally sprinkled with views of life in 18th century London.

Barron sets up the story as from recently discovered journals and letters from Austen herself. The device is rather heavy handed as in the pretense of footnotes explaining some of the historical references or references to Austen’s “letters”. She writes well in Austen’s style and this is a good series if you are seeking light entertainment.

The second book in the series, Jane and the man of the cloth, evokes Pride and Prejudice. I was figuratively screaming at her for being taken in by Captain Fielding as Eliza Bennett was taken in by George Wickham. He She, of all people, should have known better than to be taken in by slanders against a gentleman from a new acquaintance.  The Captain and a laborer are murdered. Geoffrey Sidmouth of High Down Grange is charged with murder. As in book 1, Jane rises to the occasion to save the falsely accused master of the grange - and once again meets the mysterious Lord Harold  who helps her apprehend the real murderer, and determine what is really going on at the Grange.

I’ve long been a fan of novels written in poems, and this was no exception. Following the stories of three teens, hospitalized after their various suicide attempts, it isn’t always the easiest book to read.

Vanessa is a cutter, and was hospitalized after her brother came home to find her bleeding to death in the bathroom. Connor was the perfect kid, aside from his affair, and his incident with the gun. Tony’s life was different from the outset. He spent years in Juvenile Detention, and then some on the streets. After the loss of the closest friend he ever had, he wasn’t sure he could go on anymore.

Throughout the story, Vanessa, Tony and Connor’s stories intertwine, weaving in and out of one another. Tony and Vanessa form a bond which will likely last the rest of the their lives, and which is instrumental to their healing process. Connor, left feeling only he has nowhere to turn, has the hardest time of all. With seemingly the best life, based on appearances, he is a hard lesson in things are not always what they seem.

Any Hopkins fan will definitely appreciate Impulse, as would any poetry lover, or anyone who’s found themselves in a similar situation to its main characters.

Find it in the Catalog

Sam Jones has some plans for his life. Mainly, be the first in the family to go to college, and not to impregnate anyone while still in his teens. While his grades aren’t stellar, they’re not bad, and his Art teacher recently recommended he study Art & design after school. He’s single, and spends most of his time skating (on a board) so all in all, his plans seem to be going all right. He worries, every now and then, whether it will all really turn out all right, but who doesn’t? Pretty much, he’s content.

When his mother wants to bring him to a party to meet a girl, he has the reaction you’d expect. No way. But she presses the point, and off he goes. And Alicia is certainly something to look at. Not much to be with though. Obnoxious, pretty much. But the approach of telling her so and walking away seems to be some sort of magic for soon enough, she’s at his side and pulling him back to the living room.

Alicia is not the kind of girl Sam would have expected to go for him. But she did. And soon his life has whittled down to a very small world.  Mainly, Alicia. They hang out, they watch tv in her room, they have sex. That’s about the extent of it. Which of course worries the parents. But as far as Sam and Alicia are concerned, everything’s fine.

Until it’s not.

Eventually, Sam goes back to skating. Somehow, one day he was tired of her. And rather than tell her, well, he just stopped going round, or answering calls. He figured she’d get the point. Unfortunately for him, there was this whole potential incident he’d kept to himself, and would like to have forgotten. So when he gets a text one morning at breakfast, he’s not really surprised. He’s not happy either. But he goes to meet her.

And then he runs away.

And comes back.

Out the window go the plans. In come a whole new slew of worries. Like death at parent’s hands. And how can this work? And how can it be, even though he’s pretty sure he knows that part. Not that he’s telling anyone.

A couple of trips into the future while sleeping don’t do much to make Sam feel any better about the way things have turned out, though when he gets to those moments in real time it turns out they’re not so bad.

This is a pretty funny look into accidental pregnancy. While the subject is itself heavy, Sam’s dealings with it, while oh so wrong at points, are a riot to read about. And in the end he does what’s right, which is the important part. And things will be ok, or they won’t, but not for lack of trying