Old Dogs Are the Best Dogs, by Gene Weingarten and Michael S. Williamson *****

This book is not a novel. It's a cross between a picture book and a collection of (very) short stories. I ordered it a few weeks ago, while feeling sentimental and kind of sad that my own pup is becoming an old man.

Each page has a black and white shot of an old dog, opposite of a description, tidbit, antic or memory from when they were younger.  Some make you laugh, others make you cry.

After my basement flooded last night, it was exactly what I needed. I was too stressed to sleep, so I whipped through it in the night. It's an easy - if emotional - read that any dog lover will want to read over and over. Loved it. Friends be forewarned: I will be giving it as gifts.

Rainwater, by Sandra Brown ****

Ella Barron is determined that even the ravages of the Dust Bowl will not affect the well-ordered life she has built for herself and her special child, Solly, who lives in a world of his own that even she can’t enter. Aware that he evokes pity and distrust, Ella holds herself aloof from her small community, but her new boarder, David Rainwater, comes into her life— and changes it forever. As economic desperation creates bitter social unrest in the town and surrounding farms, Ella finds herself relying on Mr. Rainwater’s soft-spoken advice and the steely resolve of his convictions. But tensions escalate in the summer heat, until one violent night everything they believe in will be put to the ultimate test.

This was not your typical Sandra Brown novel. The focus was about the difficulties of the times, not the romance between the two main characters. Actually, I was still wondering if she'd have them get together well into the book. I found it reminiscent of Bridges of Madison County, or a Nicholas Sparks novel... not what you'd call great literature, but a quick easy read. I liked it. It was a welcome change, and I hope she writes more like this.

The Lincoln Lawyer, by Michael Connelly ****

Veteran bestseller Connelly enters the crowded legal thriller field with flash and panache. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller regularly represents lowlifes, but he's no slickster trolling for loopholes in the ethics laws. He's haunted by how he mishandled the case of (probably innocent) Jesus Menendez, and, though twice divorced, he's on good terms with his ex-wives; one of them manages his office, and the other, an ambitious assistant DA, occasionally tumbles back into bed with him. When Mickey signs on to defend young real estate agent Louis Roulet against charges of assault, he can't help seeing dollar signs: Roulet's imperious mother will spend any amount to prove her beloved son's innocence. But probing the details of the case, Mickey and private investigator Raul Levin dig up a far darker picture of Roulet's personality and his past. Levin's murder and a new connection to the Menendez case make Mickey wonder if he's in over his head, and his defense of Roulet becomes a question of morality as well as a test of his own survival. After Connelly spends the book's first half involving the reader in Mickey's complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight storytelling.

This was one of the best mysteries that I've read yet.  It had all sorts of twists and turns, and took me off guard numerous times.  Very well written.

The Girl She Used to Be, by David Cristofano ***

When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, and they went gratefully. But the program took Melody's name, her home, her innocence, and, ultimately, her family. She's been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others--everyone but the one person she longs to be: herself. So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in another town, she's stunned when a man confronts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to hunt her down, knows her, the real her, and it's a dangerous thrill that Melody can't resist. He's insistent that she's just a pawn in the government's war against the Bovaro family. But can she trust her life and her identity to this vicious stranger whose acts of violence are legendary?

I think that maybe I missed reading the last three sentences in that description.   I certainly didn't read the description on the back of the book until after I was a good 100 pages in.  If I'd read either, I don't think I'd have started it.

I thought, going in, that this book was going to be how difficult it's been to have to change identities and be uprooted throughout her life, and how the heroine deals with it.  The story does touch on that, but the focus is more about the push and the pull between Jonathan and Melody.  The description on the back cover implies that there is romance between the two.  There is, in a way, but not in the bodice-ripper, harlequin romance sort of way.  (Which is good, because lately I have been very much not in the mood for that sort of romantic story.)

The first 100 pages or so were pretty good.  Right about the time that Jonathan was introduced, I read the back cover and my perception of the whole story changed.  I almost didn't finish it.   I kept pushing on, though, and while I'm hesitant to say that it was a pleasant surprise, I will say that it wasn't the disappointment that I was sure it was going to be.  It was fluff.  It wasn't even believable fluff.  The heroine was unsympathetic and made incredibly bad choices.  The men that she encountered and waffled between were caricatures of stereotypes, and neither was engaging.  But, the story was somewhat entertaining for a while.  It was a quick, easy read.   I think it's probably a good thing that it was under 250 pages, because I probably would have required more substance to read anything longer.

Love Me to Death, by Allison Brennan **

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy’s goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she’s volunteering with a victim’s rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.

With her future and possibly even her freedom suddenly in jeopardy, Lucy discovers she’s a pawn in someone’s twisted plot to mete out vigilante justice. She joins forces with security expert and daredevil Sean Rogan, and together they track their elusive quarry from anonymous online chat rooms onto the mean streets of Washington, D.C. But someone else is shadowing them: A merciless stalker has his savage eye on Lucy. The only way for her to escape his brutality may be another fight to the death.

You know a <500 page book isn't good when it takes me more than two weeks to read it.

I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, despite the name.  At first, it seemed as though it would rise above and make its way to  become an acceptable mystery, but it started to lose my interest by page 100.  The first half introduced a plot that could have had potential - a former victim of assault working with a volunteer group to keep parolees in  jail suddenly discovers that the criminals that she comes into contact with are being murdered.  Unfortunately, it wasn't presented in a manner that kept my attention.  I found my mind wandering, and more often than not, I had to reread pages because I'd been going over my grocery list or thinking about work.  

As if that's not bad enough, eventually the main character meets up with the man of her dreams and then everything goes down hill from there.  I'm not against a good romance, in fact I quite enjoy them; but this was not good.  In fact, there were times that the book made me uncomfortable.  It made me think of the middle age, over the top couples who are all about Public Displays of Affection and really need to get a room.  There's only so much hugging, kissing and cuddling that a murder mystery can take, and this one went too far. It made the female lead - who is supposedly an FBI applicant - seem weak and helpless when a kiss from her  beloved hero could make everything seem all better.

This is my first foray in to Allison Brennan.  From the recommendations that I'd gotten, I had hoped to have found a new source of easy to read but entertaining mysteries.  Unfortunately, I did not.

Mocking Jay, by Suzanne Collins *****

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

This is the last book in the Hunger Games series, which I read back to back. I loved it. Admittedly, there were a few brief chapters near the beginning that were a little slower than the rest of the series. Just when I started to think that maybe the third book wouldn't measure up to the others, the story kicked in and it was great.

I'm a little surprised that a YA book contained so much death, but it wasn't overly detailed about the violence. I would suppose that most kids are exposed to more violence and gore by watching TV or playing video games.

Excellent, well written book, and I've told a tonne or people to read the whole series.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins *****

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
Suzanne Collins continues the amazing story of Katniss Everdeen in this second novel of the phenomenal Hunger Games trilogy.

Loved this book, and am about to start the next one. I highly recommend this series... it keeps getting better and better as it goes on.