Summary:
More murder time for Skye, the school psychologist. This time around, the victim is a band mate of Skye's big brother, Vince, and Vince is one of the prime suspects. The vic goes down this time in a fire in the school gym while there's a school dance going on, and Vince and the rest of the band are playing for the dance. As a couple added bonuses, there's increased use of methamphetamines and a crazy theme park mogul wanting to set up shop in the town. To top it all off, the police chief is running for mayor and his opponent is smearing him with the fact that Skye has been solving murders in the town for the last two or three years, not the chief. It's always a good time in Scumble River.
Thoughts:
Once again, Skye saves the day. I'm getting really tired of her relationship with Simon, the boyfriend she's had since the beginning of the series. She's not a very giving person in that aspect of her life, and it seems like the boyfriend is always having to work for her affections. Not cool. Also, why can't the woman just get herself a job with the cops already, because she's solved, what, five murders at this point? Six, if you count this book, and there's a couple short stories that have come between books, which I'm sure hold some sort of crime solving. Just start getting paid for it already, Skye. It'll be worth it to you in the end, won't it?
The books are still fun, though, and worth wading through the crap romantic bits and the little dramas in Skye's own life to get to the murder solving bits. Also, let's get this girl hooked up with the chief already, because that has just gone on too long.
Book 35 of 50
Pages: 252
Genre: Mystery, faint romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Good for the cheesy mystery lovers, as usual.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Secrets Sisters Keep (Abby Drake)
Summary:
Four sisters, Ellie, Amanda, Babe, and Carleen, are brought together for their uncle's seventy-fifth birthday party. Carleen, the third child and black sheep of the family, hasn't been seen since her trial for burning down the family home ended. She was eighteen at the time, and is now in her forties. Babe, the baby, is an aging Hollywood starlet who hasn't been home since she was a teenager either. Ellie, the eldest, has lived with Uncle Edward at his Long Island lake house since her marriage ended in her twenties, and Amanda, second eldest, lives in nearby Manhattan with her husband and three children. The day before Uncle Edward's big bash, which will welcome back 200 of his oldest and dearest friends to the lake house, Uncle Edward goes missing. The book follows the sisters as they hunt for Uncle Edward, and try not to spill the beans on all their deepest and darkest secrets.
Thoughts:
Honestly, I kind of hated every character, in one respect or another. Amanda's a haughty bitch who needs to get her priorities straight. Ellie is scared of change, and everything that could make her life more meaningful. Babe is too wrapped up in herself to know anything. And Carleen, while being the most well-adjusted of the sisters, is bitter and feels the need to fix everything she may or may not have broken all those years ago. The story, overall, is an interesting one, but the players are just... Boring. Uninspired. They're cliches of the worst sort.
The book was fairly short, with big type, but I still had to push myself to get through it. At 100 pages, I was ready to be done already. The only good developments came along at page 250 or so, and went from there. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late for me to really care. I'm sorry, Ms. Drake, but you did not hook me at any point. The only reason I finished the book was that I truly hate starting a book and not seeing it through to the end. Thank goodness I got this through one of those "book of the month" clubs as one of the introductory books, so I didn't have to pay more than a few pennies for it. Otherwise, I would have been more upset.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 301
Genre: Chicklit, kinda
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Skip it. Boring, uninspired cliches aren't worth your time.
Four sisters, Ellie, Amanda, Babe, and Carleen, are brought together for their uncle's seventy-fifth birthday party. Carleen, the third child and black sheep of the family, hasn't been seen since her trial for burning down the family home ended. She was eighteen at the time, and is now in her forties. Babe, the baby, is an aging Hollywood starlet who hasn't been home since she was a teenager either. Ellie, the eldest, has lived with Uncle Edward at his Long Island lake house since her marriage ended in her twenties, and Amanda, second eldest, lives in nearby Manhattan with her husband and three children. The day before Uncle Edward's big bash, which will welcome back 200 of his oldest and dearest friends to the lake house, Uncle Edward goes missing. The book follows the sisters as they hunt for Uncle Edward, and try not to spill the beans on all their deepest and darkest secrets.
Thoughts:
Honestly, I kind of hated every character, in one respect or another. Amanda's a haughty bitch who needs to get her priorities straight. Ellie is scared of change, and everything that could make her life more meaningful. Babe is too wrapped up in herself to know anything. And Carleen, while being the most well-adjusted of the sisters, is bitter and feels the need to fix everything she may or may not have broken all those years ago. The story, overall, is an interesting one, but the players are just... Boring. Uninspired. They're cliches of the worst sort.
The book was fairly short, with big type, but I still had to push myself to get through it. At 100 pages, I was ready to be done already. The only good developments came along at page 250 or so, and went from there. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late for me to really care. I'm sorry, Ms. Drake, but you did not hook me at any point. The only reason I finished the book was that I truly hate starting a book and not seeing it through to the end. Thank goodness I got this through one of those "book of the month" clubs as one of the introductory books, so I didn't have to pay more than a few pennies for it. Otherwise, I would have been more upset.
Book 34 of 50
Pages: 301
Genre: Chicklit, kinda
Grade: D-
Would I Recommend?: Skip it. Boring, uninspired cliches aren't worth your time.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Murder of a Barbie and Ken (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Denison is still the school psychologist in a small town in Illinois. She's still dating the town's funeral director. This time she and her dad find the town's biggest movers and shakers, Barbie and Ken Addison, (yes, really.) dead in their home, strangled with the ribbon Barbie wraps around her Lean Cuisine style meals that she guilt-sells at Tupperware-like parties. Nice. Ken was grand poo-ba of the book's version of the Elks club, (within the book they're named something long that winds up making them be called the GUMBs. Seriously.) which Skye's boyfriend decided to join just a few months earlier. Skye is determined to keep her nose out of the police business for once, but the chief actually asks her to get into it this time around thanks to her involvement with the GUMBs and their wives. The other top GUMB members tell her to get into it too, and she uncovers some disturbing secrets within the GUMBs that no one wants to get out. Oh, and to top it off, someone from her boyfriend's past comes back to haunt, and makes Skye's home their personal hotel. What to do...
Thoughts:
I like Skye for the most part, and I like that for once, she's actually trying to stay OUT of the investigation. But I think she really should break it off with her boyfriend. He doesn't treat her completely right, often kind of condescending to her. I would actually like to see them broken up for the entirety of a book, and her getting into it with the police chief who not only has the hots for her, but who she's got a jonesing for too. It's really about time that the sexual tension there is resolved, one way or another. There's another 9 books in the series as of this date, and I'm hoping that the boyfriend goes away at some point, at least for a little while. My hopes will probably be dashed, but we'll see. Oh, and for once, I didn't spot the murderer a mile away.
Book 33 of 50
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery, with a side of romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Cheesy but fun. Good quick read for the holiday season.
Skye Denison is still the school psychologist in a small town in Illinois. She's still dating the town's funeral director. This time she and her dad find the town's biggest movers and shakers, Barbie and Ken Addison, (yes, really.) dead in their home, strangled with the ribbon Barbie wraps around her Lean Cuisine style meals that she guilt-sells at Tupperware-like parties. Nice. Ken was grand poo-ba of the book's version of the Elks club, (within the book they're named something long that winds up making them be called the GUMBs. Seriously.) which Skye's boyfriend decided to join just a few months earlier. Skye is determined to keep her nose out of the police business for once, but the chief actually asks her to get into it this time around thanks to her involvement with the GUMBs and their wives. The other top GUMB members tell her to get into it too, and she uncovers some disturbing secrets within the GUMBs that no one wants to get out. Oh, and to top it off, someone from her boyfriend's past comes back to haunt, and makes Skye's home their personal hotel. What to do...
Thoughts:
I like Skye for the most part, and I like that for once, she's actually trying to stay OUT of the investigation. But I think she really should break it off with her boyfriend. He doesn't treat her completely right, often kind of condescending to her. I would actually like to see them broken up for the entirety of a book, and her getting into it with the police chief who not only has the hots for her, but who she's got a jonesing for too. It's really about time that the sexual tension there is resolved, one way or another. There's another 9 books in the series as of this date, and I'm hoping that the boyfriend goes away at some point, at least for a little while. My hopes will probably be dashed, but we'll see. Oh, and for once, I didn't spot the murderer a mile away.
Book 33 of 50
Pages: 253
Genre: Mystery, with a side of romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Cheesy but fun. Good quick read for the holiday season.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Murder of a Snake in the Grass (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Another of the Scumble River mysteries, starring Skye Denison. This time around, the town is having its bicentennial celebration, complete with the descendant of the town's founder coming in from Montreal to join the festivities. When Gabriel Scumble turns up dead, Skye wants nothing to do with it, for once. She chooses instead to keep her nose clean, and deal with her creeper ex-fiance who's come to town to supposedly woo her and bring her back into his life. Skye's on-again-off-again man, Simon, is none too pleased with Skye's ex showing up, and all hell threatens to break loose in Skye's life. Of course, everyone that knows Skye knows that she won't keep her nose out of for long....
Thoughts:
Kind of a same-ol'-same-ol' for Swanson. I'm tiring of Skye not being able to choose to be with Simon, or not. With the way this one ended, I'm hoping the same old storyline isn't rehashed again in the next book of the series, but we'll have to wait and see about that, won't we? Skye is fairly good at her job, but her interpersonal skills when she's not working are rather lacking. The stories are good, but semi-predictable. The writing is fair, but readable. These are good books to pick up and read through when your mind needs a rest from the hardships of intense, thought-provoking masterpiece type books.
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 262
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, take a break from Austen and Hugo and breathe in a little down home cheesiness.
Another of the Scumble River mysteries, starring Skye Denison. This time around, the town is having its bicentennial celebration, complete with the descendant of the town's founder coming in from Montreal to join the festivities. When Gabriel Scumble turns up dead, Skye wants nothing to do with it, for once. She chooses instead to keep her nose clean, and deal with her creeper ex-fiance who's come to town to supposedly woo her and bring her back into his life. Skye's on-again-off-again man, Simon, is none too pleased with Skye's ex showing up, and all hell threatens to break loose in Skye's life. Of course, everyone that knows Skye knows that she won't keep her nose out of for long....
Thoughts:
Kind of a same-ol'-same-ol' for Swanson. I'm tiring of Skye not being able to choose to be with Simon, or not. With the way this one ended, I'm hoping the same old storyline isn't rehashed again in the next book of the series, but we'll have to wait and see about that, won't we? Skye is fairly good at her job, but her interpersonal skills when she's not working are rather lacking. The stories are good, but semi-predictable. The writing is fair, but readable. These are good books to pick up and read through when your mind needs a rest from the hardships of intense, thought-provoking masterpiece type books.
Book 32 of 50
Pages: 262
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, take a break from Austen and Hugo and breathe in a little down home cheesiness.
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