The Amulet of Samarkand

Some books are just better as audiobooks. If you get the right reader, the book can really come alive! A bad reader, however, can make even the best book be awful. In the case of The Amulet of Samarkand, you have a combination of a clever, well-written story by Jonathan Stroud and a wonderful reader, Simon Jones.

Nathaniel is eleven and a magician's apprentice in London. He knows he is a smarter and better magician than his master. To prove it, he secretly summons a 5,000 year-old djinn (demon), Bartimaeus, to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, an evil and ruthless magician. Djinn and boy have soon bit off more than they can chew when the entire magical world is after them including a mysterious assassin who will never stop searching. . . .

Undead and Uneasy

Mary Janice Davidson's Undead and Uneasy is the 6th in the Undead series. I've liked reading this Vampire/chicklit/romance series but the last couple of books aren't up to the same high standard as the first and second (and even third) books. Don't get me wrong, I will keep reading them whenever Davidson publishes another but I miss the witty dialog and good plot of the first few books.

In this book, Betsy's wedding to Sinclair is just around the corner when he disappears, her father and stepmother are killed in a car accident, she becomes her half-brother's guardian, her personal assistant is stuck in France, the werewolf and the Fiend who live in the basement have disappeared, her best friend is in the hospital with a cancer relapse, the other roommate drops off the face of the earth and isn't returning any calls or emails, her mother is not around, her half-sister (who is literally the Spawn of Satan) is off at church, a werewolf pack is out for her blood (if she had any) and, oh, yeah, Betsy is the Queen of the Vampires. Let's just say it hasn't been the greatest of weeks.

If you do decide to read this series, reading them in order is important. Each story builds on the others. I would also recommend reading Davidson's other books, Dead and Loving it and Derik's Bane, in order to understand the minor characters around Betsy. If you've enjoyed any books by Laurell K. Hamilton or Charlaine Harris, you will probably like this series.

Way Off the Road

Anyone who has watched CBS’ Sunday Morning show knows and loves Bill Geist’s funny and irreverent segments. In Way Off the Road Geist recounts stories about some of the best small-town segments that he has done. Who wouldn’t want to read about the Land of Lost Luggage, sucking prairie dogs out of their holes with a sewer vacuum, the Museum of Towing, or even a town renowned for its cow chip exports? This book will have you laughing out loud with every chapter!

Tree of Smoke

The Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson is a book about a turbulent time in history, the Vietnam War. It follows Skip Sands through his espionage training, operations against the Vietcong and the disasters that befall him. It also follows the Houston brothers, two young men from Arizona, and their adjustment to war. This book is a gripping, dark epic that will change the way you think of human nature and what a person can be driven to do.

A Spy by Nature

Alec Milius has just been recruited to MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service. He is a natural spy, intelligent, adaptable, ambitious, and very adept at deceiving people. Soon Alec is working for both the CIA and MI6 as a double agent. The slightest mistake will cost him his life and he can’t trust anybody, least of all himself. This fast-paced story will make you read faster and faster just so you can find out what happens!

The author, Charles Cumming, was recruited to work for the British Secret Intelligence Service in 1995. But, as he says in the author's note, "Were the event of this story entirely true, they would inevitably breach clauses in The Official Secrets Act of the United Kingdom." It leaves one wondering how much is the truth and how much is fiction.

Murder Gets a Life

Sister and Mouse (Mary Alice and Patricia Anne) are back and meeting their match in Mary Alice's new daughter-in-law's family. The first introduction Mary Alice and Patricia Anne have to the new family is stumbling over a body in a trailer. Things just get better from there. When Sunshine (the daughter-in-law) disappears, the sisters have to find the solution to the puzzle before time runs out. Anne George's characters are a riot of fun and excitement. Sometimes the plot wanders but the characters make it well worth reading the books.

Sadly, the author, Anne George, passed away in 2001 from heart surgery complications. She was a celebrated poet as well as being a wonderful mystery writer.

Knots and Crosses

The streets of Edinburgh are being haunted by more than just ghosts. Girls are being kidnapped and murdered and the police have no suspects. Detective Sergeant John Rebus begins to receive notes from the killer which taunt and tease him with the same message and pieces of string tied into knots. Can he figure out who the killer is before his own daughter becomes a target?

As an interesting side-note, during the writing of Knots and Crosses, the author, Ian Rankin, briefly became a suspect in a murder case. The Edinburgh detectives had a real-life case on their hands which mirrored the plot of the story too closely for their liking. Once Rankin was able to prove that he had alibis for the relevant times, he was cleared of all suspicion.

Singled Out

Bella DePaulo sets out to show that people do not have to be married in order to be happy. She explores the discrimination that singles face in the workplace, the federal tax structure, and the marketplace. This book is an interesting read for people in (or not in!) every sort of relationship, not just singles.

Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm

Welcome back to Bedlam Farm. It's another year and some old friends have been lost but new ones have been found. Jon Katz shares his observations of life on the farm and its characters both animal and human. This book is a wonderful tale of companionship and love. I highly recommend this and Katz's other Bedlam Farm Books.

The Blue Zone

Kate’s world has suddenly been turned upside-down. Her beloved father has been implicated in a money laundering scheme and is a witness against a Columbian drug cartel. He and his family are now in witness protection but Kate refuses to go. She can’t leave the life she has built so has to say goodbye to her family and make some drastic changes in her own life. A year later, the trial is over but strange people seem to be following Kate, her friends are being hurt and the Witness Protection Program has lost track of her father. Now Kate has to track down her family and find out the truth.

The Blue Zone is written by Andrew Gross. Gross has co-written many books with James Patterson.