The Inn by James Patterson and Candice Fox

The Inn by James Patterson and Candice Fox, 385 pages

In this newest James Patterson novel we find ex Boston cop, Bill Robinson, trying to put his life back together after moving to the inn he and his wife bought in Glouchester before his wife was killed in a hit and run.  All Bill wants is peace, but between the adventures of his boarders and the local drug dealers wreaking havoc on their peaceful town, he is dragged back in to the detective business.

All At Sea by Decca Aitkenhead

All At Sea by Decca Aitkenhead, 225pages

Decca Aitkenhead is one the United Kingdom's most popular journalists. All At Sea is the heartbreaking story of how she lost the love of her life, Tony, while on holiday in Jamaica.  Decca and Tony were partners in life who were raising two young sons.  On this particular holiday the eldest of their sons, Jake, had decided to go for a swim in the ocean without his life jacket.  What follows is every parents nightmare.  Both Tony and Decca noticed the undertow had taken him far out to sea.  Tony, not a strong swimmer, leapt to his son's rescue.  Decca saw Tony struggling pulling their son to shore, so she swam to take Jake from Tony and let some locals rescue Tony.  Unfortunately, Tony made it back to shore but was not able to be revived.  Tony saved his young son's life but could not save his own.  Decca writes a poignant story beginning with her first meeting with Tony and how she left her husband for Tony, a troubled man with dreadlocks who earned his livelihood by selling cocaine.  Tony lead a very sketchy life, even serving time in prison. Decca seemed to turn him around and get him on the right track after their sons were born. Unfortunately, they were never married and Decca was faced with life after Tony with no legal rights to his fortunes or properties.  Decca tells a heartfelt story of loss and survival with two young sons.

The Book of Matt by Stephen Jimenez

The Book of Matt by Stephen Jimenez - 353 pages


Late on the night of October 6, 1998, twenty-one-year-old Matthew Shepard left a bar in Laramie, Wyoming with two alleged “strangers,” Aaron McKin­ney and Russell Henderson. Eighteen hours later, Matthew was found tied to a log fence on the outskirts of town, unconscious and barely alive. He had been pistol-whipped so severely that the mountain biker who discovered his battered frame mistook him for a Halloween scarecrow. Overnight, a politically expedient myth took the place of important facts. By the time Matthew died a few days later, his name was synonymous with anti-gay hate. 

Stephen Jimenez went to Laramie to research the story of Matthew Shepard’s murder in 2000, after the two men convicted of killing him had gone to prison, and after the national media had moved on. His aim was to write a screenplay on what he, and the rest of the nation, believed to be an open-and-shut case of bigoted violence. As a gay man, he felt an added moral imperative to tell Matthew’s story. But what Jimenez eventually found in Wyoming was a tangled web of secrets. His exhaustive investigation also plunged him deep into the deadly underworld of drug trafficking. Over the course of a thirteen-year investigation, Jimenez traveled to twenty states and Washington DC, and interviewed more than a hundred named sources. 

Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, 386 pages

In this newest James Patterson novel, we find Detective Michael Bennett and his family in the witness protection program.  Michael, his nanny, and his 10 children are in hiding from drug king Manuel Perrine, who is out to get him for sending him to prison.  Manuel is released early and goes on a killing frenzy, killing drug lords all over the United States and Mexico.  It isn't enough that Michael has to stay in hiding and protect his own family, but now, he has to go out and stop Manuel from killing not only drug lords, but also Michael's family.  This was a very suspenseful read!

Junky, by William S. Burroughs

Junky, by William S. Burroughs, 208 pages

Junky is William S. Burroughs' semi-autobiographical story of his years being addicted to heroin.  For someone who led such a fascinating life (fun fact: he accidentally killed his wife by drunkenly playing a William Tell-style game), his drug-addicted years related in this book really seem to be the least interesting.  Every day of addiction is one of finding money to buy drugs, hanging around with people he can't stand because they have access to drugs, feeling miserable when he stops taking them, and never being able to quit. And that's about it- very much a downer. The book was not much of a story- more of just him relating how he got hooked, and how he never got un-hooked. There are occasional glimmers of the man who would one day write Naked Lunch, but those are rare. Burroughs' fans will want to read this in order to form a more rounded image of the author, but I would not recommend this to the average reader.

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, 383 pgs
Michael Bennett is a New York City police detective who is trying to bust a big time drug lord, Perrine.  The cops set up a sting to lure him back in the country for his daughter's college graduation.  This makes Michael Bennett and his nanny, Mary Catherine and his many children targets for revenge.  Michael takes the family to the family cabin in Newburgh, New York to escape, but somehow his two sons get entangled in a bad drug deal and become wounded.  Michael seeks to venge his family.  In the end Perrine ends up in jail and Michael's family ends up in witness protection.

Private #1 Suspect

Private #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, 401 pages

This had to be one of my favorite Patterson books.  I am always shy about reading series books especially when I have not read the previous one.  This is the second in the Private series, and I thought I could follow the characters fairly well.  This was a fast pace book with multiple stories going on with multiple characters.  The story follows Jack Morgan, head of Private, as he is accused of murdering his ex girlfriend.  His current love interest is also involved in helping prove his innocence. I liked the fact there was some interesting subplots to follow involving $30 million in stolen prescriptions, multiple murders at a luxury hotel and a murder involving a "celebrity."  I find Patterson to be a quick read I don't want to put down.

Stolen Prey by John Sandford

Stolen Prey by John Sandford --- 402 pages

The latest in the Lucas Davenport series of suspense thrillers by the prolific Sandford is one of his best efforts, with a plot that twists and strikes like a snake.

The Twin Cities in Minnesota seems like an unlikely place for a Mexican drug gang to run amuck, but that's what appears to be happening, when an entire family is found brutally murdered. Lucas Davenport, the head of the state's Department of Criminal Apprehension, figures out that the family's Spanish language software export business was a front for a drug money laundering operation. When millions of dollars of laundered money vanished during the process, the Mexican gang sent a team of killers to recoup their losses.
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But it appears the launderers were themselves the victims of an audaciously clever crime. A trio of rogue computer geeks working inside the bank figured out what was going on, hacked into the account, and diverted the money. Now the drug gang is hot on the trail of the hackers, more mutilated corpses are turning up on the nightly news, and Davenport has the DEA breathing down his neck, hoping to capitalize on his investigation.

The men are macho, the women are devious, and Lucas's daughter is smart, fast and deadly. This sizzling hot  thriller makes a perfect distraction on a long summer day.

Pill Head by Joshua Long

Pill Head by Joshua Long 265 pages.  I stumbled upon this book during an intransit list.  I love biographies and this one just happened to look intriguing.  Pill Head shares the journey of a young journalist who is employed by Jane Magazine. He takes on an assignment of writing an article on how easy it is to obtain painkillers illegally through the Internet.  Promising his editor he would flush the pills down the toilet, he takes a few and immediately he is hooked.  The book follows his life as it spirals out of control.  He writes about his addiction as well as his homosexual affairs, including a close call with being exposed to the aids virus.  He writes about struggling to make a living and his struggles to become clean.  Though at times this book was tough to get through, I was fascinated by his brutal honesty and was cheering for him to get clean.

Chocolate Covered Murder:A Lucy Stone Mystery by Leslie Meier

Chocolate Covered Murder: A Lucy Stone Mystery by Leslie Meier 249 pages                                                                                      In the newest  Lucy Stone mystery, Lucy investigates two murders involving competing chocolate stores during the Valentine holiday.  When one of the employees of Chanticleer's Chocolate Shop is found murdered and her body laid out and dipped in chocolate, Lucy digs deep into the store owners' backgrounds to try and find a motive.  With local heroin use on the rise, Lucy discovers it is more than chocolate being delivered to the number one chocolate store in Tinker's Cove.

                                                                                

Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton

Death of a Kingfisher: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M.C. Beaton --- 245 pages

Scottish tourism has taken a hit from the recession, but the Highland village of Braikie is pulling in busloads of tourists thanks to Mary Leinster, who persuaded the town council to hire her as their tourism director. The recently deceased owner of a local estate bequeathed a picturesque woodland, complete with waterfall and pond, to the town, and canny Mary has christened it "The Fairy Glen," with a fanciful "history" to match.

But then strange events begin to swirl around the glen and Mary's faerie fantasies acquire a lurid edge, starting with a poisoned bird left hanging from a tree, and progressing to a series of violent and inexplicable deaths. At first it seems to local constable Hamish Macbeth that someone is conspiring to pin the blame on poor, hapless, lovely Mary. But just as Hamish begins to suspect that Mary is no innocent victim, she herself in found, murdered, in the Fairy Glen. As Hamish puts the pieces of the puzzle together the murderer decides to seek revenge. Will Hamish survive long enough to solve the crime?