I've Got You Under My Skin - Mary Higgins Clark

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

By:  Mary Higgins Clark

Genre:  Murder/Mystery

                LOVE THIS AUTHOR!  I also loved this book.  I think I have read all her books and have loved all of them.  She writes in a way that leaves you hanging until the last chapter.  I do not think I have ever figured out any of her books.  I am usually surprised by the ending.

                In I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Mary Higgins Clark actually writes about 2 murders while intertwining the lives  characters from each murder together.  The book opens with the murder of a 20 something doctor who is at the park with his son.  The murderer runs away while promising to come back and kill the son and mother.

                Laurie, the wife of the slain doctor, is a TV producer.  She is working on a new series that highlights old unsolved murders.  She decides to highlight the “Graduation Gala Murder”.  There are 5 suspects in this 20 year old murder but no one was ever charged.  The suspects have not seen each other since 4 months after the murder.  Are you wondering what the murder of Laurie’s husband has to do with a 20 year old murder?  I hope so!

                To tell you more would give away the story.  Mary Higgins Clark masterfully tells the tale of both murders.  Each chapter is from a different character’s point of view.

                This is a newer book so you may have to get on a waiting list for it at the library.  However, it is well worth the wait!

                Happy Reading! J

Finding Sarah - Terry Odell

Finding Sarah

By:  Terry Odell

Genre – Romantic/Mystery/Fiction

                Sarah is the proprietor of a small artsy sort of store.  Her husband died 18 months earlier.  She thinks it was an accident.  The police and insurance company say it was suicide and won't release the insurance money.  Now, 18 months later, Sarah’s shop is struggling and Sarah is hurting.  Enter her sister-law who wants her sell her shop and is bossy and demanding.  Then, there is her friend Chris.  He just wants to help Sarah by giving her money to keep the shop running.  

              Then, strange things begin to happen in the shop.  Randy, the local detective, is assigned to the case.  Randy and Sarah work together to follow the clues while also falling in love.  It seems they follow many clues but keep coming up empty handed.  All clues seem to lead to a dead end.

                Can Randy and Sarah unravel the mystery before Sarah loses the shop or is there something more sinister going on?

                This was a quick read and although I mostly had it figured out, I did not see the twist coming at the end.

                Just as a disclaimer:  This is not a Christian book and contains language and sensual scenes.

Happy Reading! J

Bridge To Haven - Francine Rivers

It has been a while since I blogged about the books that I read.  I have had several people asking me for book recommendations so I thought I would start blogging again.


My plan is to read about 20 books this summer.  I will attempt (can't promise) to blog about each one and let you know what I thought.


Here is the first one!

Bridge to Haven

By: Francine Rivers

Genre:   Christian Fiction

                I LOVE this author. There are very few of her books that I have not truly enjoyed.  This one is excellent.
                Abra, the main character, is born under a bridge in the little town of Haven.  She is left there by her mother.  Pastor Zeke, while on his daily prayer walk, finds her.  Pastor Zeke and his wife Marianne take the baby in and caller her “Abra”.  There are many wonderful people who pour into Abra’s life as she grows up.
                However, Abra’s life is not an easy one, or so she believes.  She finds herself making choices that will affect her life for many years.  As with many of us, Abra cannot get past her own pride in order to make better choices.  The story is filled with pictures and messages of God's grace and forgiveness.
                I can’t tell you more without giving away the book.  I will tell you that the ending came as a bit of surprise J  I hope that entices you to search it out and read it!

Happy Reading!!!

Heiress by Susan May Warren

I really, really like this author.  This book is a departure from her normal genre.  Her other series that I love is a modern day detective series.  Daughters of Fortune is a historical fiction series with a bit of mystery thrown in.  Heiress, the first book in the series, was a quick read but very enjoyable.  I had to resist the urge to download the next book in the series!

Here is the rundown:

It is set in the late 1800s and the early 1900s.  The Price family is a part of the ultra rich in New York City.  Mr. Price is the publisher of The Chronicle.  Mrs. Price yearns to make an advantageous match for her oldest daughter in order to save the family fortune.

Esme the oldest daughter fancies herself a writer but the culture of this time period will not allow her to write.  She desires nothing more than to turn her back on what is expected of her.  Jinx the younger daughter cannot wait to be launched into society and live in the dream world of riches.  Her father, however, will not allow her to marry or "come out" until Esme is married.

Both girls make choices to achieve their dreams only to find that perhaps it was not really what they had hoped for.  Each girl realizes by the books end that what they really wanted and worked for all their lives was empty and vain.

Susan May Warren did a fabulous job of writing a great story with some twists and turns that I did not see coming.  I highly recommend it.

Happy Reading! J

The Body Departed by J. R. Rain

This is a book about a ghost.  

Here is the premise.  James, the ghost, is killed in his sleep.  He is shot multiple times.  James watched it all from above.  He knows what his killer looks like but he doesn’t know who it is.  James is now stuck in his apartment building.  He can’t seem to “cross over”.

Then there is Pauline, a medium who lives in the apartment building.  She can hear James and sometimes even see him.  It is Pauline who helps him figure out how to cross over.  It even appears at certain spots in the story that she loves James.

Ghosts apparently lose the memories of their real life.  James is beginning to forget events and people. He is bothered by this.  Then one day he reads an article about an elderly music teacher who is murdered.  James knows this lady and the church where she was murdered. There are no clues as to who did it.  James believes that solving her murder is his key to crossing over.

The only problem is that as an earth bound spirit he can’t leave his apartment building.  This is where Pauline comes in handy.  She is able to help him get to the Catholic Church where the murder took place.

I won’t give away the rest of the story.  I will say it was a good story.  There is a part in the story where James speaks with Christ.  Christ then explains how the afterlife works.  As a Christian I had some issues with this part of the story.  It is obviously fiction and not meant to be taken as truth.

This is not a Christian book and there is some unnecessary language in parts of the book.

Did I like it?  I will say that I have read better but it wasn’t so bad that I didn’t want finish it.  So, I guess I must have liked it at least a little. 

Happy Reading! J

Believe in Me: A Teen Mom's Story by Judith Dickerman-Nelson

This is a true story about Judith who finds herself deeply in love with her 17 year old boyfriend Kevin.  After a summer of dating, Kevin heads off to prep-school and Judith finds herself pregnant in her senior year of high school.

Judith tells this story through the eyes of a scared teenager trying to do the right thing.  The story basically takes place from the few months before she is pregnant until the baby is just over a year old.  Most of the chapters are short put packed with great story.

I read this book quickly because I found myself drawn into her story.  I was rooting for her to do the right thing and in doing so get what she desired most.  I had a hard time putting the story down.

Happy Reading! J

The Bronze and the Brimstone by Lory Kaufman

This was a book that would be categorized as a young adult book.  This would be another departure from what I usually read.  That is the beauty of free books from Amazon.  I can easily take advantage of unknown authors without being out any money if the book is really bad.  I also don’t feel bad not reading the book because I didn’t spend any money on it.  J

If you have a Kindle and would like to know how I get my free books, let me know.  I would be happy to share.

Now about The Bronze and the Brimstone.

The book is set in the 14^th century.  The main characters are 3 time traveling teenagers from the 24^th century.  This is actually the 2^nd book in the series but you do not need to have read the first to follow it.  I didn’t read book one and had no troubles.

The main character Hansom is being sought after by the man who is the head of Verona.  This man believes that Hansom is a savant because he has brought the idea of a cannon and gun powder into the 14^th century.  Hansom can share these ideas because he has an artificial intelligence that guides he and his 2 friends.  

Hansom has convinced the head of Verona that he can be the next emperor if he only follows the plans that Hansom is sharing.  In the end Hansom’s desire to make himself important to this man causes a great deal of trouble.

Hansom has fallen in love with the daughter of his master.  The master has taken the 3 teens in (this happens in the first book) and taught them to be lens makers because Hansom has introduced them to corrective lenses.  The head of Verona, however, wishes for Hansom to marry his beautiful daughter and form an alliance. 

Now, because the main characters are teenagers they tend to behave as teenagers from any century would.  This causes all sorts of conflict throughout the story.  The author also uses it to connect with you the reader.

I did enjoy the way the book ended.  At about chapter 19 I could not figure out how the author was going to wrap it up with a neat little bow.  Then he did it and left me asking for more.  I love it when that happens in a book. J

I enjoyed the book and was a little bummed to discover that the next book in the series has not been released yet.  If you enjoy a bit a time travel, young love and teenage angst then this is the book for you.

Happy Reading.