Murder is a Family Business by Heather Haven

There's a lot to like about this story. You got a 34 year old strong Latina woman, Lee Alvarez with a closet full of designer clothes, a classic car, and a kitten named Tugger (cause he tugs on your heartstrings.) Plus, this chick is a P.I. and part owner of an elite investigative company that specializes in computer and technology and theft and.. stuff.  That stuff rarely includes stake outs on cheating husbands, but because of a special request from a friend of the family, Lee finds herself on one and the cheating husband being spied upon winds up dead. No, she didn't do it..

But events that follow have others thinking she did.. Lee keeps finding herself in all the wrong places at the wrong times and ends up uncovering more than she bargained for. This is a mystery so I can't reveal too much, but let's just say Lee ends up in the hospital with chopped off hair that thankfully gets salvaged into this look:

Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"

 I knew whodunit long before it was officially revealed. Call it a hunch or a nagging feeling, but I enjoyed the story and how it was told. I especially like the heroine and her wit and the funny way she expresses her thoughts, like comparing her mother's friend to a dog.. LOL She's also real. She gets saved, but also does some saving of her own. She's not Super Woman, but neither is she is damsel in distress.

Something else that I really like is the way it educates readers about San Francisco. It mentions numerous historical places or streets with interesting facts about them. However, it is incorporated into the story. For example, I have been to Coit Tower, but I never realized until reading it in here, that the building was intended to look like a fire hose.

5 stars. I received this ebook from the publisher and I understand it is the first in a series, The Alvarez Family Murder Mystery Series.

"WHERE THE DOG STAR NEVER GLOWS" by Tara L. Masih is Now Available on Ebook

I reviewed this book last year. See review here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/07/where-dog-star-never-glows-by-tara-l.html and I liked it enough that I want to let everyone know, especially my fellow ebook readers, that there is special going on right now. Not only has it been released on ebook, but until March 1st, it is on sale for $4.49.

To purchase it on Untreed Reads, here is the link: http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_7_47_64&products_id=108.

For my fellow kindle users it is $4.50: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Star-Never-Glows-ebook/dp/B004M5HUYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296845323&sr=1-1

And for you Nook users (tsk, tsk) it also $4.50: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&WRD=where+the+dog+star+never+glows&box=where%20the%20dog%20star%20never%20glows&pos=-1&ugrp=1

For those of you that do not yet have an ereader (Shame on you!!) you can read it on your computer if you want. That option and pdf format is available on Untreed Reads as well.

And there is also a Giveaway for this going on!!!! For more information on that and how to enter: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/934098-snowbound-ebook-giveaway-from-untreed-reads

So I just wanted to give you all a heads up and again, do click on the link to view my review.

The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson

 I'm very impressed with the writing style of this. It does not feel like a debut at all, but like it is written by a very experienced and established author. Very well done.

The year is 1609 and a young woman, Elizabeth, is a servant to a cruel witch of a lady aboard a ship sailing from England to the new colony, Virginia. A storm causes them to be shipwreched in the Bermudas where they wash up on a little island and proceed to build a little camp of sorts, attempt to maintain law and order, and build a new ship.

You wouldn't think there would be much intrigue on a little island full of castaways but there is.. There's mutiny, marriage, attempted rape, and a secretive poet passenger.. William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare becomes a father figure to Elizabeth while Elizabeth struggles to satisfy her evil mistress, gather miscellaneous herbs from the island, cook for the colony, and fend off the unwanted advances of a man named Thomas.

This is where it bothered me. One day she is cursing Thomas, telling him to go away, and the next day she is missing him, pining for him, and then bedding him. Her personality changes so drastically from page to the next... This brings this novel down to a four star.

It is superbly written, however. I liked how Elizabeth comes to battle her inner demons regarding men and how she begins a friendly comeptition of sorts with the cook, Thomas, as she attempts to outdo him in cooking.

Favorite quote: "How was it that men obsessed on the female form? The mere passing of a fully dressed woman set their bodies to stiffening. Drunk at the sight of her, even if not a swallow of ale had passed their lips, they'd titter and guffaw amongst themselves. Revolting behavoir!"

I bought this book from Amazon.

A Wing and a Prayer by Ginger Simpson

When I saw this cover, I had to read the book. See, I fancied myself a flight attendant at one time, but alas.. it was not meant to be... The FAA frowns upon deaf flight attendants.. safety hazard, you know? LOL

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this short, very short story. Callie is fresh out of flight attendant school and on her first trans atlantic flight, Cali to England. On top of pre flight jitters, discomfort with sitting backwards, and slight fear of turbulence, Callie has two interesting passengers; one a sexy cowboy complete with stetson and dreamy blue eyes (sigh) and one an Arab appearing man with a gun under his jacket and dark black eyes...

Callie gets a bit uncomfortable with it all. The cowboy unnerves her and the Arab has her frightened. Was it a gun she seen or a cell phone? Should she say something? It's her first day on the job. She can't very well accuse a passenger of packing and then have him whip out a blackberry... How embarassing.

So Callie begins to have serious doubts about her career choice.. And then all hell breaks lose... and Callie passes out. This is my sole complaint about the story and the only reason it doesn't hit the five star mark for me. Things get good and interesting and the action heats up and the heroine passes out... when she wakes, we get to find out what happened through her fellow co worker's brief narrative. Though I must say, I didn't see this coming. The ending surprised me.

A very short story with a very good moral. Four stars

Credo's Hope by Alison Naomi Holt

This is the first in a new police detective series, the detective being a tough, but realistic woman named Alex. Her partner is another tough chick, Casey. Her boss is also a strong woman, Kate, and throughout the novel, one strong, remarkable, or ballsy woman after another enters the picture. There's Gina, a Mafia boss who smokes cigars and has people kidnapped. There's Megan, a dog trainer that usually gets her way and flashes her boobs at drive thru employees. (It's hillarious. You have to read it to understand.)

Alex is talked into investigating a closed case by her friend Meg. There's a chance a man is wrongly imprisoned and about to die for a crime he did not commit. Unfortunately for Alex, however, the lead detective on the old case is now a very high up officer on the force... This does not bode well for her career and she steps on numerous toes just to get a few answers. Not to mention, someone has been following her and shooting at her since she started asking questions, she gets kidnapped, hit on the head, and ends up needing an air tight alibi for a sticky situation...

Meanwhile, another case is ongoing. Someone has been shooting prostitutes, a little girl is hospitalized, a rental home trashed... and chasing this culprit leads to two ER visits for Alex. Thankfully, Alex has two really cool friends in the ER, both nurses, one a bisexual man with a major dose of sex appeal.

And did I mention that one of these cases leads to Alex meeting a lady Mafia boss? GREAT STUFF.

There's no lack of excitement, but for me the best thing was the humor. I laughed numerous times at the character's mishaps or comments. Alex's thoughts were funny as well:

"...the aunt was showing a pretty vivid imagination concerning various parts of my anatomy. I was pretty sure I couldn't do most of the sex acts she suggested, but I tucked them away anyway so I could run them by Marcos (the sexy bisexual nurse) to see if he thought any of them were possible. Some actually sounded pretty interesting, but I think I'd had to do some stretching first."

I love Alex and the other strong woman characters. I think this is a great beginning to what looks like it will be a fun, exciting, and funny detective series. I have only one complaint: The story of how Alex finds her dog, Tessa.. good stuff, but the tale is related via her telling it in a diner. I think it should have been "experienced" by readers and would have been a good addition to the book, perhaps in the beginning, seeing as the incident occurrs just days before the prostitute gets shot and demands fifteen bucks from Alex for "copping a feel." (Again, you would have to read it. Very funny.)

I enjoyed this very much despite my one complaint and look forward to reading the rest of the series. 5 stars.

I downloaded the ebook from smashwords.

Finding Jack by Gareth Crocker

While reading this book, I thought about my dad. No, he was not in Vietnam, but he was a soldier and this book is full of testosterone and war. (There is not a single woman character until the end but I loved it!!) I told him I was reading a Vietnam novel and asked if he liked to read soldier/war/Vietnam books. My dad said they can get a bit wild, that there was often too much drug use in them.

This gets a bit wild with booby traps, intense fear everday, jumping out of helicopters into enemy fire, night watches, covert missions, and lots of killing, but the men do not use drugs to get through their trials. Instead there is comradeship, bonds formed between men, and there is a dog named Jack. It's about a soldier and how, believe it or not, he finds a way to heal in the war torn jungle of Vietnam with a dog by his side.

Fletcher is still reeling from the loss of his wife and daughter and goes to Vietnam with a death wish.  
Jack is a lab. There's a lot of drama surrounding the finding and rescue of Jack. I didn't realize until reading this book that dogs played such a large role in the Vietnam war. They were able to sniff out traps, aid in rescues, and provide moral support. Jack does all the above and then some as he walks by Fletcher's side.

But....When the war is declared over, some 4000 dogs that have aided the soldiers, saved lives and risked their own, and braved the war are declared "surplus military equipment." Jack is about to be abandoned and Fletcher knows "that just as he had lost his wife and daughter, he was on the brink of losing Jack. He knew that if that happened, then he, too, would be lost."

The last quarter is another adventure as Fletcher and Jack hike for approximately a month thru Vietnam and Laos, struggling to reach Thailand in hopes that the American friendly country can help them get home, both of them. There's hungry tigers, more soldiers, and once again, Jack proves he's more than "just a dog."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the soldiers' POV about the war and the situations they faced everyday. I enjoyed the bonding, jesting, ribbing, and grief the men shared. I actually came to know and like each one of the men and found myself mourning the losses just as though I was in the novel. I found myself growing teary eyed as the men sang Amazing Grace over a dead comrade in a helicopter. I was moved. And of course, I loved Jack.

I also liked reading about Fletcher's conflicting emotions about the killing he was performing. There's one situation in which he really questions what he is doing.. when he must follow orders but doesn't feel good about what he is doing. I found this thought evoking.  Sometimes, a soldier's duty to country conflicts with his duty to humanity.

Laugh out loud quote from one of the soldiers: "You know, for some time now, I've been seriously contemplating sticking my boot--laced or otherwise--up your ass. But I can't figure out which end it is."

Five stars.

Note to readers: Have a tissue handy.

I got this ARC from the publisher and all pictures are from the U.S. National Archives.

Countdown: Lady Pilots

Time for this month's Countdown!  What is Countdown?  It's a feature I have started in which I pick a topic, genre, country, or subject and list five books that I have read related to that topic or subject.  There is a 5 star read (loved it!), a four star read (liked it), a three star read (it was okay but had some issues and I'm not recommending it to 5000 people), a two star read (had a LOT of issues, I struggled with it), and the dreaded one star read (I hated it).

This month's topic is one of my favorites: Lady Pilots.

Five star read:

Flygirl by Sheri L. Smith. First published in 2009. It's a YA historical about a young African American girl who wants to join the WASP during WWII... Problem is, the WASP is whites only. So what does this gutsy gal do? She passes herself off as white and she becomes a WASP even though her mother and her best friend don't approve.. Terrific look at life in the 1940s for an African American female and what life was like on Avenger field. And of course, Ida faces numerous conflicts.. A book I plan to read again.

Four star read:

The Woman in the Wing by Jean Sheldon. First published in 2008. Historical fiction and mystery. A WASP pilot, Char is "demoted" to riveter when she refuses to sleep with the boss. She thinks she is demoted, but I assure all of you that being a sheet metal mechanic is NOT a demotion. Without us, those planes would not be flying.. However, I digress. Char is undercover in an aircraft factory... someone is sabotaging the planes.. and the war effort. Has a Nancy Drew feel. Didn't hit the 5 star mark due to too much repetition, but an enjoyable read.

Three star read:

The Lady in the Spitfire by Helena P. Schrader. First published in 2006. Historical fiction, WWII again, but this one takes place in England where the heroine is a ferry pilot. Great air battles and aircraft descriptions. My quibbles: The roomate and her love affairs. Couldn't stand her. The romance between the hero and heroine fell flat and I didn't care for her love interest either.

Two star read:

The Flamboyant by Lori Marie Carlson. First published in 2002. Though it takes place in one my favorite settings, Puerto Rico, the story was rushed, the heroine rarely took the skies, and there was little to no detail whatsoever about planes. The heroine has numerous suitors that she leads along and refuses to marry, her very own leopard as a pet, and collects jewelry as a mere hobby. There is also very little conversation. It's really just a spoiled woman in PR who happens to have a pilot's license.

One star read:

I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn. First published in 1996. The worst Amelia book I have ever read. The narrative bounces back and forth constantly from first person to third. I only finished it because it was the only bit of reading material I happened to have with me on a trip to the lake. Very short read. Two hours max.