Embarrassment of Riches

Perhaps it was the abundance of rain, but last month provided me with a number of good reads. Apparently my book drought has been broken as well!



Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda was the June book discussion selection and I could kick myself for waiting so long to read it! OK, I readily admit that Africa is not my favorite locale for book settings (although The Camel Bookmobile worked for me) and post WWI isn't my favorite time period. But it didn't matter--this book was a great romp! And it was great to have to Suzanne at the discussion to answer our questions and ask us what we liked, disliked, want in a book, etc. The second Jade del Cameron book is checked out & waiting to be read.

I committed the cardinal sin--I judged a book by its cover. But how could I resist David Rosenfelt's Play Dead with the absolutely best cover photo seen so far this year? The golden retriever looked so much like my golden mix at home--complete with the greying muzzle--that I had to pick it up. Fortunately, the book lived up to it! What a great mystery, with a golden at the crux of the plot! And the many twists and turns livened up the action and kept me on my toes trying to figure where Rosenfelt was headed next. I'm so glad I discovered this author--who's also involved in Golden Retriever rescue so how can one not like him?

Plum Lovin', a between-the numbers offering by Janet Evanovich, was an easy and shall I say, mindless way to spend a weekend afternoon. Actually, I liked it better than some of her latest entries in the Stephanie Plum series which I've found to be repetitious. Shedding the whole Morelli/Ranger dilemma (is there really any question? Go with Joe--he has the dog) seemed to have liberated the author and I enjoyed this one.

Another new author (for me) is Lisa Gardner and I ate up Alone. My only complaint is that there are earlier books in this series that set up this one (not that you need to read them to understand this one) that I missed. And now that I know how things developed, I don't want to go back and read them (too many other books out there to read!) I enjoyed the setting (Oregon), the pacing (fast), and the characters. I'll have to keep my eyes open for future books by her.

I've enjoyed Ann Purser's writing in the past and Secrets on Saturday, the most recent in the Lois Meade mystery series, is up to snuff. I revel in reading about English villages and her books are spot on when it comes to describing the people and places. And come to think about it, dogs play a role in this book, too. Guess I'm just preparing for the upcoming dog days of summer.