It's Nothing Personal by Sherry Gorman-The dark side of medical practice

As a fan of Robin Cook, medical thrillers are a genre I've always enjoyed and It's Nothing Personal is a medical-legal thriller that kept me interested all the way to the end.There's more legal in it than I necessarily need but hey, that's just me.  It's the story of an anesthesiologist who is being sued for giving a patient Hep C because a drug-addicted tech in the OR stole some drugs and replaced them with drugs in dirty needles. Interesting and timely premise. Having had surgery shortly before I read this, it certainly makes one think.

I believe this is the first novel from this author and it shows a lot of promise. I found the characters to be well-drawn and easy to relate to. I like seeing families that aren't completely dysfunctional.

There were a few passages that were overly technical on either the legal or medical side. There was a little too much crying. There was a little too much back-and-forth over whether this would go to trial or settle. All that aside, I did find myself wanting to find out what happens next and I read this in two sittings. It was a pleasurable read and I'll be looking forward to more from this author.

More about Sherry Gorman

Would I pay money for it? A reasonable amount

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a Kindle freebie May 24, 2013

Death Comes to Town-Like eating cotton candy

Reading Death Comes to Town reminds me of being  in the kiddie pool with my granddaughters. Yes, it’s cool water on a hot summer day and that’s nice but boy, there’s not much to it. If someone asks you if you were at the pool today you’re probably going to say “just barely.”

Death Comes to Town is the story of Darcy who inherited her aunt’s house and bookstore and apparently her ghost in some unnamed northern state. Her sister Grace and Grace’s husband also live in Misty Hollow and Grace is a detective on the police force. One of Darcy’s close friends and members of her book club is murdered. When Darcy and her ex-husband begin to look into it, another murder follows.

Things that made me go “hmmm.” At one point it is mentioned that because Misty Hollow is a small town and you can walk across it in 15 minutes, there aren’t many cars in town. In my experience living in small towns, EVERYONE owns a car, precisely because the town is so small. You have to go somewhere else to do most of your shopping or for any kind of entertainment. Also, the book “And Then There Were None” is brought up by the ghost several times making me think that there could be some real potential for Agatha Christie’s classic plot to have some relevance to the mystery at hand. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

All pretense of reality in the murder investigation is given up in this book. Even though Darcy is a civilian, her sister and her sister’s partner Jon include her in every phase of the investigation. She and Jon stay up late together one night working on the case. Really? A police detective stayed up late working on the case with his civilian girlfriend instead of his detective partner? Even the other people in town are asking her how the case is coming. At one point she responds with “We have a very strong suspect. Jon and Grace thing we’re close to solving the case.” We? When did Darcy join the police force??

There was one brief moment of dialogue that gave me hope for some depth. Darcy runs into her sister coming out of the coffee shop and asks what she’s doing. Her sister says, “Well, I don’t know Darcy. Maybe I was digging for gold or working on my car or something. What do you think I’m doing here. It’s a coffee shop. I’m getting coffee.” But then the writing descended into things like “Inside Anna’s cozy little home, death had visited” and “I’m getting signs from my sixth sense that I need to solve Anna’s death.”

There are at least two TSTL moments. One occurs when Darcy wakes to a figure standing over her bed whom she assumes is the murderer. She throws a book at it. Great defense strategy there. Fortunately for her, the figure is also TSTL and flees when assaulted with a flying book. There other occurs when she breaks into the house of who she believes to be the murderer. Alone. Though a window that she barely fit through.

Because there’s a ghost and Darcy has visions I guess you could call this a paranormal cozy which is normally not my thing but it’s a very light touch. Nothing offensive. In fact, that would be the description of this book in general. Nothing offensive. Nothing offensive is why I gave it three stars when I wavered between 2 and 3 stars. Just be aware this isn’t even comfort food reading, it’s cotton candy reading. Super-lightweight, most readers will finish it in less than two hours.

K.J. Emrick website

Would I pay money for it? I wouldn't because of it's length but I'm sure there are people who will

Would I read more by this author? If it was free.

Would I recommend this to a friend? I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it it they like this kind of thing.

Purchased as a Kindle freebie April 8, 2014

Matanzas Bay-An excellent beginning to a series set in St. Augustine

Matanzas Bay-An excellent beginning to a series set in St. Augustine by Parker Francis

This is the first book in the Quint Mitchell series but it doesn't read like a first book. So many times the first book in a series is spent getting to know the characters and setting them in their place. The character already feels like he has a history and timeline that he is anchored in. I liked that a lot and I consider it excellent writing on the part of the author.

I'm not familiar with St. Augustine but as a setting, it was very interesting! There is a good sense that this is a real place with real history.  Atmosphere is my favorite aspect of any story and I think I understand the atmosphere of St. Augustine a bit more after reading this.

The mystery was certainly full of a lot of twists and turns. There are some very good suspenseful scenes. You really don't figure it out until the author wants you to, even though all the clues are there.

All in all, this is one I would recommend to my friends. It kept me interested from the beginning, great setting, well-developed characters, puzzling mystery. The next book in this series is definitely on my TBR list.

Parker Francis' website

Would I pay money for it? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a Kindle freebie February 24, 2013

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington-Definitely not one I loved!

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington-Definitely not one I loved!

I love mysteries and thrillers but there was nothing thrilling about this story. I gave it the 40% try and then gave up on it. The dialogue was as stilted as I've ever seen in a published work and it sounded like an assignment for high school creative writing class. That's just something I can't get by.  When the dialogue is that unrealistic, the characters feel unreal and plastic.  The plot line was also uninspired and as it went on, I just really didn't care about anyone or anything happening in the book.  I definitely won't be reading anything more from this series.

Would I pay money for it? No

Would I read more by this author? No

Would I recommend this to a friend? No

Purchased as a Kindle freebie February 19, 2013

The Angel of Hever Castle-A bit more melodramatic than I expected

The Angel of Hever Castle

The Angel of Hever Castle is a Christmas novella in the City of Mystery series.  I have been enjoying that series.  I feel they are well researched historical mysteries with interesting characters. I've reviewed them before on this blog,  City of Darkness   City of Light   City of Silence This one didn't quite live up to what I had come to expect from this series.

It's set at Christmas time and the Thursday Night Murder Games Club are planning their quiet holidays when they are beseeched by a desperate mother to recover her daughter from the clutches of an despicable artist who has lured her away to Hever Castle. Hever Castle, as I learned in the book, is the ancestral home of Anne Boleyn.  It's been deserted and a colony of bohemian artist types have taken over, led by the afore mentioned despicable artist.  Scotland Yard detectives Trevor Welles and Rayley Abrams go undercover immediately to see if they can have her back by Christmas.  The events at Hever Castle uncover more evil than they had bargained for.

I found this book to be melodramatic and quite reminiscent of Gothic romances which was not what I was looking for with these characters.  The interaction between the team that I have come to appreciate was not there.  Not a badly written book, it just didn't feel like it fit in this series.

Would I pay money for it?Yes because I am one of those who like to read every book of a series

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie April 16, 2014

Dance of the Winnebagos-Big on humour, short on mystery

Dance of the Winnebagos by Ann Charles

"Dance of the Winnebagos" is a light little romantic mystery, heavy on the heavy breathing, light on the mystery.

Claire has been sent with her grandfather when he goes to Arizona to stay in an RV park with his buddies in the hopes of meeting some women.  Claire's job is to keep him out of trouble.  She's pretty clear that's not going to happen.  But when his dog finds a human femur in the desert and Claire find the hunky nephew of the RV park owner, she's in a lot more trouble than her grandfather is.

The answer to the mystery is pretty obvious from the beginning and it's seems it's just a background for Claire and Mac to get hot and heavy together.  That's ok if that's what you're looking for.  I prefer a little more mystery in my mysteries but I will say that this was a fun couple of hours read.  The grandfather and his friends are spicy, the RV park owner's daughter is realistic and the characters are likeable.  I'm sure I'll read the next in the series just to find out how the various relationships progress.  But I won't be reading them for the mystery.



Would I pay money for it?Yes but I would have a fairly low limit

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on the friend.  The language and the degree of sexiness would definitely not be appropriate for everyone.

Strong Spirits-A fun look at the 1920's

Strong Spirits-A fun look at the 1920's

The cover of this book really drew me in. I love the look of the 1920's so it immediately intrigued me to read a mystery set in that era. The period details were rich so I wasn't disappointed. There was a lot to like here!

Daisy Gumm Majesty is a fake spiritualist. She makes her money holding seances and tarot card readings for the rich in her beautiful California town of Pasadena. She helps support her husband who was gassed in WWI and her parents, a bookkeeper and a chauffeur.

Though this says it is a mystery, the mystery element is weak. A crime is central to the story but there isn't anything very mysterious about it. The characters are so real and likeable however, that the lack of a strong mystery didn't faze me. I love the look at the day-to-day lives of the characters, both the lower income Gumms and the more wealthy Kincaids. Daisy's relationship to her handicapped husband and to the police detective seemed realistic to me.

The reason this didn't get more stars was an underlying agenda running through the book that I did not enjoy. I don't care if I have the same social beliefs as the author, I don't want to feel like I'm having social commentary thrown in my face when I'm reading for escapism and relaxation. Also, the editing could have been a little tighter in a couple of places where there was some noticeable repetition. I'll be reading the next one in the series in hopes I can enjoy the story and the characters without the social
commentary.

Would I pay money for it?Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on the friend.  The social agenda running through would bother some of my friends.

Purchased as a freebie October 24, 2013