HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman:  This is the "Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition" and it's a beauty.  I loved the first incarnation of this cookbook, and have given many copies away as engagement gifts and college graduation gifts and such.  It works well for the beginning cook as well as the more advanced one.  What I love about this new edition is that it really is new - about half the recipes have been tossed and replaced with new ones that reflect the changes in the culinary scene that have occurred over the past ten years.  Lots more vegetarian dishes and dishes emphasizing fresh produce, although if you are vegetarian, or even lean that way, check out How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, a massive tome that will inspire you for years.  Bittman highlights the recipes he thinks are essential, a nice touch for those unsure about their culinary repertoire, and there are sidebars, charts, and graphs on almost every page, explaining techniques and equipment and everything else you could possibly want to know about the world of cooking.  Definitely worth purchasing even if you own the original.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

MARTHA STEWART'S COOKING SCHOOL: Lessons for the Home Cook by Martha Stewart:  Is there another name more iconic in the kitchen than Martha Stewart?  To be honest, she scares me a bit; everything she makes is beautiful and accessorized to perfection, and I'm more about the flavors and the taste than getting a perfect curl of lemon peel to garnish a dish.  Although that is a lovely garnish.  So with a bit of trepidation I took to Martha's latest and was immediately put at ease.  The recipes are easy to follow and clearly explained - all these years of experience really shows well.  There are lots of pictures which I find really helpful; with cooking, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  This is a good cookbook for the beginning cook and anyone who is looking to expand their cooking horizons a bit and isn't sure how to do that, while advanced cooks may find it lacking.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE 731 LEGACY by Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore: Black Needles is the code name for an ancient virus discovered by an ultra-secret Japanese WWII Unit.  Now it is the hands of the North Koreans, specifically a descendent of the original Japanese Unit 731 with a grudge against the world and Americans in particular.  A dying man, an early victim of Black Needles, makes his way to SNN headquarters, where he delivers a mysterious message to Cotten Stone with his final breath.  As Cotton is trying to decipher the meaning of this, her friend, Cardinal John Tyler is kidnapped while on a diplomatic mission to the Eastern European Republic of Moldova.  Cotton rushes to Europe and there she finds that Black Needles and John’s kidnapping are intertwined.  While battling the forces of evil, Cotten fights for her soul as the Nephilim attack the person she loves most in the world.  A high-speed continuation of The Grail Conspiracy and very nicely done. 12/08 Jack Quick  

TOUGH LUCK by Jason Starr:  Mickey Prada is a good Brooklyn kid.  He is living at home, taking care of his widowed father, a victim of Alzheimer’s, and working at the fish market, saving his money to go to Baruch College and become an accountant.  His troubles start when a new customer, Angelo Santoro, asks Mickey to place a few sports bets for him.  Santoro seems to be a Made Guy, so Mickey doesn't feel he can refuse.  But Santoro never makes good on his losses.  As Mickey quickly plunges into debt, he grows desperate for a way out, even agreeing to go in on a house robbery with his pal Chris and some guys from his bowling team.  From that point on, his downward slide is steep and seemingly unstoppable.  Quite a ride and a great read. 12/08 Jack Quick  

DEAD DANCING WOMEN by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli:  Opening of chapter one - “This Monday was like all Mondays up in Northern Michigan.  No better.  No worse.  Another garbage day where first I lugged the battered can a black bear had been tossing around for the last few weeks up the drive, and then back down again…Some days things got worse.”  Closing of chapter one, when Emily goes to put the garbage can back – “I was laughing still, as I stared into the wide black eyes of an old woman’s severed head.”  Journalist and would-be mystery author Emily Kincaid has come to the woods of northern Michigan to get away from a philandering husband and work on her latest forgettable novel, when real life brings more mystery into her life than in any of her writings.  The Women of the Moon, a group of older ladies who sing and dance around a bonfire late at night, are being killed, one by one.  In addition to hosting her ex and his female 'assistant', reluctantly raising a rambunctious new puppy, and forming an uneasy alliance with local curmudgeon Deputy Dolly, Emily tries to put an end to the killings, and somehow preserve her own sanity. 12/08 Jack Quick  

MAMA DOES TIME by Deborah Sharp:  Imagine Stephanie Plum in rural Florida.  Her Mama is a true Southern woman partial to sherbet colored pantsuits and marriage (4 ex-husbands).  Mace, and her sisters Maddie and Marty, are called by Mama from the police station.  After an inopportune fender bender at the Dairy Queen, the body of the fiancé of the Police Department receptionist is found in the trunk of Mama’s car.  The new handsome detective from Miami has few problems in seeing Mama for the crime.  So it’s up to the girls, primarily Mace, to prove the man wrong.  Colorful characters and a segment of Florida seldom seen by tourists evoke a Southern Sisters feeling in this very well written Southern fried epic.  “Her voice was so cold, they could have pumped it into the beer cooler down at the Booze ‘n’ Breeze drive-through.”  Or this scene at the office of Mace’s lawyer cousin – “Mr. Bauer, this lady says she’s Ms. Bauer. “Thanks, Amber.  I might not have recognized Ms. Bauer with her clothes on.  We used to splash nekkid together in the kiddy pool in my back yard.  That was decades ago, darlin’, way before you was even born.”  A winner. 12/08 Jack Quick  

REBEL ISLAND by Rick Riordan: Tres Navarre and his new bride are honeymooning on Re bel Island, a place Tres and his family visited when he was growing up.  Newly married but with a baby on the way very soon, Tres is dismayed to find himself in the middle of a hurricane, stranded on the island, with the possibility of a serial killer on the loose.  A reminder of the past shows up in the form of a corpse shot dead in room 12.  As more guests die, it is up to Tres to sort out the reasons and relate them to the summer that changed everything in his life. A summer he could never forget but never entirely remember either.  This series just keeps getting better and better. 12/08 Jack Quick  

KILLING CASTRO by Lawrence Block:  Hardcase Crime Number Fifty One is a reprint of a 1961 classic by one of the masters.  Five guys on a mission.  The reward - $20,000 each.  The target – Fidel Castro.  Originally published just before the Cuban Missile Crisis under a pen-name used only this once, it reads as good today.  From the opening line – “The taxi, one headlight out and one fender crimped, cut through downtown Tampa and into Ybor City.” to the final scene at the airport, you know this book was not written on a word processor.  At best it was typed two fingered on a battered Remington with a cigarette in the ashtray on one side and half a glass of good scotch on the other.  No pretty boys here, no psychological insights, no sensitive touchy feely – just what the name implies – Kill him. 12/08 Jack Quick 

CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS by Laura Benedict:  Everyone knows that teen girls can be cruel. When friends Roxanne, Del, and Alice plot against one man in particular, they can’t possibly imagine how it will come back to bite them in the end. Playing at witchcraft and Santeria, the girls thought they brought back an angelic being in the form of the perfect man. They were wrong. This man was very real and now this man is very angry. All grown up now, Del is happily married with her very own young step-daughter. But still, Del yearns for more. Roxanne is a successful artist, living the single life and seemingly loving it. And Alice, poor Alice, her marriage is falling apart and her husband is having a child with another woman. But then Alice meets a man who changes everything. She doesn’t know that Varick, her new lover, has been meeting with Del and Roxanne as well. She doesn’t know that man from all those years ago is finally having his revenge and Varick is the one who will bring it all about. Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts is quite a bit darker than Benedicts debut, Isabella Moon. Benedict tears down her characters, displaying their emotions and motivations with agonizing accuracy. Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts is a chilling read about the darkness that lives in us all. 12/08 Becky Lejeune  

THE MESSENGER by Jan Burke:  In 1815, Tyler Hawthorne was a soldier fighting against Napolean at Waterloo. He was in his early twenties. He still is today. On the brink of death, Tyler was offered a deal, if he were to agree, he would never grow old and he would never die. In exchange, he must walk the Earth delivering the messages of the dead. His trusty sidekick, a massive dog called Shade, a cemetery dog, is his constant companion. Problem is, the deal was never meant to be for longer than a few years. Course Tyler had no way of knowing this, and his would-be enemy was eliminated long ago, or so he thought. This entity has finally returned and is determined to gain back what was once his.

Amanda Clark has only just met her newest neighbor, and after mistakenly assuming that the man is a con artist of the worst kind, she finds herself drawn to him. Unfortunately, Amanda’s association with Tyler lands her right in the middle of the conflict. The Messenger is quite different from what Burke’s fans may be used to with the Irene Kelly series. At its heart, though, the plot is all her and will please new and old readers alike. A fantastic paranormal thriller. 12/08 Becky Lejeune   

BLACK CATHEDRAL by L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims:  When corporate employees on a “survival week” trip to remote Kulsay Island all go missing without a trace, the Ministry of Defense decides that it is time to call in Department 18. This group of paranormal investigators is trained to deal with the strangest occurrences out there, but in Kulsay Island, they may have met their match. The Ministry stipulates that Department 18’s Robert Carter must be involved. This is a bit of an issue considering Carter just recently lost his partner on a case; lost in the literal sense considering she vanished without a trace as well. Carter draws the connection to Kulsay Island, however, and agrees to go. When the team arrives, all seems normal except for the palpable air of menace that surrounds the place. As with the other group, the Department 18 folks find themselves cut off from the rest of the world and forced to defend themselves against an evil that has existed for hundreds of years. A fun sort of haunted house tale that brings to mind the old Poltergeist TV show. 12/08 Becky Lejeune  

NEED by Carrie Jones:  After the sudden death of her step-father, Zara is sent to live with her grandmother in Maine. Her mother had hoped that the trip would do her some good considering she’s been walking around like a zombie ever since the funeral. Zara is dreading it, though. Then she meets Issie and her friend Devyn and things begin to look up. And then there is Nick Colt, resident hunk, who also seems to want to be her friend. Yep, things are definitely looking up for Zara. That is until she learns about the missing boys in town, and she realizes that a strange guy has been following her around. Could he be connected to the disappearances? You bet. After some research, Zara and her friends come to the conclusion that the guy in question is actually a pixie, and not the Tinkerbell variety either. Nope, this kind of pixie feeds off of human blood. It also seems that this is not the first time the pixies have plagued their small town. Need definitely bears strong resemblance to Twilight, but is interesting in that pixies have not really been cast in much of the paranormal fiction hitting shelves of late. This read will most likely appeal to younger teens who enjoy paranormal fiction. 12/08 Becky Lejeune 

THE GODMOTHER by Carrie Adams:  Tessa King is a thirty-ish single unemployed attorney in London. She's out of work because her boss was sexually harassing/stalking her, so she revs up her social life and becomes friend on call for all her godchildren (always a Godmother, never a mother); the oldest, Caspar, is a teen in trouble.  Then there's sickly Cora, whose single mom is so hung-up on her ex she's letting him get away without supporting them.  Finally, the newest godchildren, infant twins Bobby and Tommy, whose parents have a very rocky marriage and lots of dark secrets.  But Tessa's relationships aren't all about the kids, this is a very tight group of friends, including the parents of the aforementioned godchildren, plus fertility-challenged Claudia and Al, and Tessa's best friend Ben and his wife, Sasha.  Rather than being just another chick-lit, happy, sexy book, Adams takes a more serious look at what makes marriage and parenting and friendships work, often in a humorous way, but also in some very troubling ones.  A thought-provoking yet very entertaining read.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

FIRST DAUGHTER by Eric Van Lustbader:  A potentially great thriller flawed by errant attempts to inject religion to the point you wonder what the book is really all about.  The plot: - Nineteen-year-old Alli Carson, daughter of the U.S. President-elect, is abducted just before her father’s inauguration.  The current President has become a born-again Conservative who believes God-less atheists are responsible and is seeking an excuse to have an all-out Holy war on non-believers, sort of a Christian Jihad.  Dyslexic ATF agent Jack McClure is chosen to lead the search for Alli, primarily because she was the boarding school roommate of his now deceased daughter, Emma.  Jack has his own issues since he feels his devotion to his job cost Emma her life.  Throw in McClure’s ritualistic abuse as a child, because of his dyslexia, the First American Secular Revivalists and their secret partners, the E-Two terrorist group and you have the makings of what could have been an excellent book. Regrettably, the pauses to preach sermons and espouse various personal beliefs reduce the action to a crawl.  First Lustbader I haven’t liked. 12/08 Jack Quick 

NIGHT FREEZE by Lee Emory:  I suppose by definition all serial killers are creepy, but this one is off the creepiness scale.  Ex-Marine and ex-Phoenix Police Detective Niall Malone is leaving the Valley of the Sun.  His wife has divorced him after the death of their child in a school bus accident and he is looking for a fresh start.  Maybe the fact that a highway sniper wounds him on his way out of town should have caused him to re-think his options.  However he has already accepted the new post in Kansas City and a Marine always go forward and onward.  What he finds in the “Heart of America:” is a weirdo who is sending packages of gruesome, butchered body pieces, usually frozen, to the local Medical Examiner, Dr. Shyla Clifford.  Each has been marked with a meat stamp designed in a US Marine Corps insignia.  The good Doctor, a Navy retiree, is the ultimate target of this whack job, but can Malone save her.  Interesting departure from Ms. Emory’s other efforts. 12/08 Jack Quick 

DEATH OF A COZY WRITER by G.M. Malliet:  No, this actually is not THE CAT WHO KILLED LILLIAN JACKSON BRAUN.  It’s the first of a series featuring Detective Chief Inspector St. Just (with a name like that he’s got to be good).  Millionaire mystery writer Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk gathers his four children together for a family dinner to announce a secret elopement with the beautiful Violet, who was once suspected of murdering her husband.  Within hours, eldest son and appointed heir Ruthven is found cleaved to death by a medieval mace.  Its just an typical English parlor mystery for St. Just until Sir Adrian himself is found slumped over his writing desk – an ornate knife thrust into his heart.  Who is the killer and who is the potential next victim? 12/08 Jack Quick 

DEAD HEAD SHOT by Victoria Houston:  It’s Thanksgiving in Loon Lake, in the north woods of Wisconsin, but more bodies are falling than stuffed turkeys.  It’s a holiday Chief of Police Lew Ferris had just as soon forget, what with credit card theft, dysfunctional families, a Canadian connection, and general disruption of everyone’s plans.  Ninth in the series, and in spite of the subject matter, it is a breezy read, with great descriptions and likable characters. 12/08 Jack Quick 

TSUNAMI by Gordon Gumpertz:  With a name like Gumpertz, it has to be good.  Sorry, and my apologies to the author, I just couldn’t resist it.  Actually, this is a very good book.  What would happen if there were another Mt St Helens type volcanic eruption – but this time deep in the mid-Pacific.  Seismologist Dr. Leilani Sanches is alarmed by an ancient volcano’s rumblings but no one wants to believe it could cause a tsunami on the Southern California coast that would make the 2004 Asian event a minor happening.  There’s a Coast Guard love interest, some Chinese gangsters involved in gun smuggling, the FBI, an unscrupulous land developer and plenty of action.  If you enjoy Cussler type adventures, this one is up your alley. 12/08 Jack Quick 

OLD MAID’S PUZZLE by Terri Thayer:  There are two mysteries here.  One, why would anyone want to run a quilt shop, and two, who left the dead body in the alley behind the store.  Dewey Pellicano has inherited Quilter Paradiso from her mother along with problems with competition and employee relations.  The employee is her sister-in-law which makes firing her problematic.  Anyway, Dewey hopes the store’s 20^th anniversary sale and appearance on national television will help her save the business.  In the meantime, the killer better be found or there might not be a business to save.  Heavy on the estrogen, but readable. 12/08 Jack Quick

THE REACH by Nate Kenyon:  Psychology major Jess Chambers is top her class and has been pegged for a special project by her professor and mentor, Dr. Shelley. It seems Shelley is guardian of a very special little girl, a girl who until now has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Strange considering the girl was diagnosed such at just six years of age and schizophrenia usually begins to show around puberty. The girl has become unresponsive, almost catatonic even, and the doctors think that a new face may be just the thing to bring her back to reality. Jess agrees and instantly can see that there is something much more going on with this case than her superiors are willing to share. As Jess grows to know the girl, she can tell that there is something terribly wrong with what she’s been told. Meanwhile, scientists have also come to notice the young girl and hope to cash in on a new drug designed to enhance powers that have manifested in the child. These powers are beyond Jess’s belief, but she will have to open herself to their possibility in order to help the girl as best she can. Kenyon’s second release is an extremely satisfying horror read that’s already earning him comparison to Stephen King himself. The story is certainly reminiscent of classics like Carrie and Firestarter, but I believe Kenyon has a voice and style that are all his own, both of which will place him firmly at the top of any horror fan’s must read. 12/08 Becky Lejeune 

MURDER WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS by Elaine Viets:  Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper is checking out the local Christmas stores and it's not putting her in the Christmas spirit - not when you have to buy Christmas "pornaments" and your gingerbread cake has a raisin with legs in it.  Townspeople are furious, and they are picketing the store when a mysterious Santa up on the roof upends a shovelfull of snow onto one of the picketers, putting her at death's door.  Then at the lovely Christmas store across the way, two customers end up hospitalized after eating chocolate sauce laced with antifreeze.  One of those customers is Josie's ex, a drug dealer whose sharp lawyer got me out of jail on a technicality.  Lots of family angst amid the Christmas mayhem in this simple, light holiday mystery, which at this time of year, may be the perfect read.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE FLAVOR BIBLE: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page:  This is not your typical cookbook; instead of recipes, there's flavor matching.  There is an alphabetical list, from achiote seeds to zucchini blossoms, and under each listing are techniques for cooking, and the flavorings best suited for that ingredient.  For instance, "skirt steak" has broiling, grilling or sautéing listed as the best techniques, and a list of flavorings that include some of the more obvious, like garlic (which is emphasized,) to some that you may not have thought of, like allspice, balsamic vinegar or cinnamon.  For some of the lesser known listings, like Kohlrabi, the author also offers seasonal information, botanical relatives, weight, and volume, and for Kumquats, she also offers that the taste is "sour, bitter."  There are comments from well known chefs sprinkled throughout the book, along with the names of some of the dishes they make (here recipes might have been nice) and some short essays as well, like a piece by "Vitaly Paley of Paley's Place in Portland, Oregon, on Cooking with Mushrooms."  An excellent, interesting addition to a well established cookbook collection, but probably not for beginners.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

LEGALLY DEAD by Edna Buchanan:  Move over Thomas Perry.  Buchanan has started her third series that features Michael Venturi, a deputy U.S. marshal involved in running the Federal Witness Protection Program.  After one of the criminals he has helped relocate kills two girls and stages an armored car robbery, Venturi decides he has had it with the Witness Security Program.  With an untouched $19 million wrongful death settlement from the accidental death of his wife and their unborn child, Venturi really doesn’t have to work anyway.  But then he comes to realize that he can use his skills helping people disappear and assume a new identity.  He gets back into that business, but this time it isn’t mobsters, its decent people who deserve another chance.  Nicely done.  Looking forward to succeeding outings. 12/08 Jack Quick

SMALL CRIMES by Dave Zeltserman:  It starts with alcohol, and gambling, and cocaine, and minor theft and then major theft and arson and the maiming of a District Attorney.  Joe Denton, ex-cop, now on parole, is having a hard time returning to Bradley, Massachusetts. DA Phil Oakley, whose face is horribly disfigured from Denton’s attack seven years ago has sworn he will get revenge, Oakley’s daughter tries to frame Denton on rape charges, and Denton’s corrupt ex-boss want him to commit murder.  Amazingly, Zeltserman makes Denton's manipulations, evasions and self-deceptions comprehensible, if not still reprehensible.  Highly recommended, if you enjoy gritty cop noir. 12/08 Jack Quick

THE DEVIL CAN WAIT by Marta Stephens:  A convoluted tale involving a cursed black pearl ring, a demonic prophecy and the bodies of three local teenagers washing ashore in Chandler, Massachusetts.  Newspaper reporter Jennifer Blake is captured by the story of the ring and tries to pick it up from a local pawnshop for her former college professor.  This makes her a primary suspect for homicide detective Sam Harper.  Throw in the Vatican, some drugs thefts, and a few other development and try to stay unconfused. Writing is pretty good, plot is not believable and book suffers from poor organization.  12/08 Jack Quick 

THE DARKER SIDE by Cody McFayden:  Agent Smoky Barrett and her band of merry men (and woman) are on the trail of a serial killer.  It starts with the in-flight stabbing of the transsexual child of Texas Congressman Dillon Reid, front-runner for the Democratic Presidential nomination.  Barrett, specifically requested for the case by the grieving mother of the late Lisa/Dexter Reid, learns from the medical examiner that Lisa/Dexter met her/his maker in a window seat and that the killer stuffed a wee crucifix in the fatal stab wound before disappearing. Further investigation shows that there have been scores of earlier crucifix-stuffed victims, perhaps as many as 150.  So the search is on.  Lots of actions but few thrills.  Probably my last McFayden.  While the plots are good, the execution leaves much to be desired.  It becomes the kind of book where you are ready for a break after every chapter rather than feeling a desire to keep turning pages. 12/08 Jack Quick

CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT by Steve Berry:  In the fourth title to feature Cotton Malone, Berry finally gives readers a glimpse into Malone’s past. In 1971, Cotton Malone’s father was stationed on a navy sub that went down in the Atlantic, or so he and his mother were told. Unofficially, the sub sank while on a mission to Antarctica - the files have been sealed ever since. Cotton requests access to the files as a favor from his boss, and within minutes of receiving the information he is attacked. He escapes, but then comes face to face with a set of ruthless twins who claim that their own father was part of the same mission as the elder Malone. It seems the sub may have been on a covert op that was inspired by Hitler’s own search for the Aryan race. Malone will have to retrace his father’s long lost steps in order to get out of this one alive. Meanwhile, back at the home base, Malone’s boss is teamed up with none other than the president’s right hand man in an attempt to lean the reason behind the mission and who has been keeping it under wraps all these years. Charlemagne Pursuit is full of the page-turning suspense that readers expect from Berry. The plot is expertly woven and the insight into Malone’s character is a welcome addition to the series. My favorite Berry title yet.  12/08 Becky Lejeune 

SUICIDE COLLECTORS by by David Oppegaard:  It started slowly and by the time everyone realized what was happening, it was too late. There was no treatment or cure for Despair. Norman, his wife, and their neighbor Pops are all that remain in their Florida town. That is, until Norman returns home one afternoon to find that his wife is dead by her own hand just like everyone else. The Collectors appear that evening to take the body and Norman kills one in his rage. After that, he and Pops decide it is time to hit the road and see if the rumors of a growing community of survivors in Seattle are true. It is said that there is a doctor there working on a cure and that society is trying to rebuild. Shortly after taking off in a rebuilt plane, however, they are shot down and must continue on foot. The journey will be long and arduous, but for Norman and his friend it is their last hope. Although this debut is not being billed as a horror, readers will find that parts of this novel are truly horrific, not to mention utterly bleak. This painfully thought provoking and somewhat strange novel is both disturbing and amazing.  12/08 Becky Lejeune   

BAD TRAFFIC by Simon Lewis:  When Inspector Jian receives a strange phone call from his daughter, begging for his help, he sets off from China to England determined to find out what is going on. Although is daughter has excelled in English studies, enough so that she can attend university in England, Jian has never been able to learn. He arrives without any resources but his own experience as a somewhat crooked cop and his resolve that he will not fail his only daughter again. The first thing he finds upon his arrival is that his daughter has not been attending classes for quite some time. Not only that, but she has moved out of her flat and no one knows where she is. He is able to trace her to her last place of employment where a gang of local Chinese proceed to rough him up in response to his queries. Sadly, Jian learns that the local tong have murdered his daughter in order to send a message to local business owners, her boss in particular. Hellbent on revenge, Jian meets up with an illegal worker who inadvertently gets caught up in his mission. Fast paced and completely enthralling, this stranger-in-a-strange-land mystery/thriller should be on everyone’s holiday reading list. Lewis grabs you from the beginning with that fateful voice mail and keeps hold all the way up to the surprising conclusion. 12/08 Becky Lejeune 

DECIDING THE NEXT DECIDER: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme by Calvin Trillin: Is it wrong to gloat?  In rhyme, no less?  Not if you've been as disillusioned as most Democrats over the past eight years.  Although to be fair, Trillin has some fun with Obama:

    Experience was what he seemed to lack.

    And to be frank, they pointed out, he’s black.

 and Biden too:

    Joe carries many thoughts inside his head,

    And often leaves but few of them unsaid.

It is rather amazing how Trillin captured the highlights of the election process as it was happening.  If you're going through election withdrawal, here is the perfect antidote.  12/08 Stacy Alesi, AKA The BookBitch

THE WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga: If not a “must read”, Aravind Adiga’s debut novel, The White Tiger, certainly qualifies as a “should read.” It was the recipient of this year’s Man Booker prize in the face of very stiff competition. (Salman Rushdie was not even short-listed). Adiga, who describes himself as influenced by Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, tells the story of Balgram, a precocious but extremely poor Indian child, who through use of his wits and a disturbing crime of opportunity, converts himself into a successful entrepreneur in the New India. The story is told in epistolary fashion in a series of letters to the premier of China in order to facilitate the premier’s understanding of India before he comes to visit. While it is told in humorous fashion, the magnitude of Indian poverty, corruption, and class restrictions are starkly outlined and a reminder to us all that even during times of economic miracles, many are left behind. And after his success, Balgram remains as invisible to the authorities as he was as a poor child in the keeping of a corrupt school master.  12/08 Geoffrey R. Hamlin

ROUGH WEATHER by Robert B. Parker: For Spenser’s 36th adventure, Parker brings back an old nemesis, the Gray Man, who almost killed him in 1977’s SMALL VICES. This time around Spenser is hired by the wealthy Heidi Bradshaw to be at her daughter's wedding on Tashtego Island in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The ceremony is interrupted by an armed gang, headed by Ruger (the Gray Man), who kills the groom and abducts the bride. With the assistance of Spenser’s usual friends, he sets out to recover the missing bride. It’s another great Spenser and it possibly sets the stage for number 37.  12/08 Jack Quick

LOVE KILLS by Edna Buchanan: After eight Britt Montero novels and two Cold Case Squad novels, Edgar-finalist Buchanan brings Britt and the Cold Case Squad together in this outing. When Miami police discover the remains of Spencer York, a kidnapper who worked for divorced fathers, members of the Cold Case Squad question veteran Miami News crime reporter Britt Montero, the last person to see him alive. In the meantime Britt has found a disposable camera in the ocean with pictures of a honeymooning couple lost at sea. The groom in the photo, Marsh Holt, later turns up alive, but his bride has drowned. Britt's investigative journalism leads her to an amazing discovery — Marsh has a habit of marrying women who meet their demise while honeymooning, and he plans to marry once again. The two cases remain intertwined to the very end in this delightfully twisty outing.  12/08 Jack Quick

CHINA LAKE by Meg Gardiner: In the first Evan Delaney outing, Evan is dealing with an unstable sister-in-law who has become involved with a religious cult. The sister-in-law, Tabitha, thinks she wants her young son back, although her past performance as a mother has enabled the boy’s father to have total custody. One semi-accidental death followed by a murder puts Delaney i n the middle between police who aren’t really into deep thinking and a bunch of doomsday fanatics “chosen by the Lord.” Not bad for a first effort although a bit uneven. Will be interesting to see how she develops Delany in subsequent adventures. 12/08 Jack Quick

FIDELITY by Thomas Perry: Is anyone ever who you think they are? Los Angeles PI Phil Kramer is shot dead. His wife Emily and his staff set out to solve the crime and unearth more about Kramer that anyone suspected. Meanwhile, Jerry Hobart, the killer hired to eliminate Kramer decides he might be better off learning the secret of his client that Kramer allegedly held, a secret that his principal is now willing to have Emily killed for. It gets complicated but provides an interesting insight into how certain actions can be viewed so differently by different people. Not as spare as Robert B. Parker, but approaching Parker’s economy of detail. 12/08 Jack Quick

IGGY by Dalton Stephenson: Stephenson is a retired Alabama school teacher and former corporate executive. Like his previous efforts, this short work is a morality tale. Igor Goren “Iggy” Yasananovich is the disfigured son of an immigrant Russian coal miner. Added to his misfortune was the family’s location in the rural South of the early twentieth century, where the vast majority of people were of either British or African ancestry. John Luke Smart befriends Iggy and helps him through his troubles. Short, simple, and morally correct. 12/08 Jack Quick 

KING OF SWORDS by Nick Stone:  Nick Stone made his debut last year with the award-winning Mr. Clarinet. In his first thriller, readers were introduced to PI Max Mingus. Now, Stone takes readers back to 1980 when Mingus was still a Miami cop. In King of Swords, Miami is suffering the results of years of racial intolerance and turmoil. It’s only a matter of time before a wrong step is taken and the whole city explodes. Max is part of an elite team of cops who don’t always go by the books, or follow the rules, to get their results. Max’s partner, however, is another matter. Joe has been left out of the loop and only Max’s dedication to his friend has kept him in his current position. When a prominent member of the Miami drug trade is gunned down on the witness stand, Max is told to make a certain connection in an attempt to bring down a wanted drug lord. He and Joe decide to play it the boss’s way, but continue to investigate on their own in hopes of actually solving the case. When it is discovered that the killing is linked to yet another series of murders that took place just months before, Max and Joe know that they have stumbled onto something big. Miami gangsters, drug lords, dirty cops, and Haitian voodoo are just some of the key aspects of this gritty and dark prequel. King is a great starting point for new readers, and fans of Mr. Clarinet are guaranteed to enjoy reading about how Max Mingus got his start. 12/08 Becky Lejeune 

SUCCUBUS TAKES MANHATTAN by Nina Harper:  In the second book of the series, Lily, a succubus in the service of satan, has just been dumped. Yes, it’s true, even the most desirable woman in the world can have her heart broken, and by a mortal no less. See Lily has been told that she can earn her freedom if a man in full knowledge of her “career” falls in love with her. Well, PI Nathan Coleman just couldn’t handle dating one of the devil’s minions so Lily is alone once again. Or is she? Her one-time fling from the Caribbean has arrived in New York claiming he just couldn’t miss the opportunity to see her again. And just what is it that brings him there in the first place? Official business with the devil’s second in command. It seems there may be a coup in the works and Lily could possibly help discover who’s behind it. When a lower demon is kidnapped in Lily’s place, though, her plans begin to go all wrong. Out of desperation, Lily calls on Nathan for help, but her barely mended heart could be getting the best of her. Funny and feisty Lily and her fashionista pals make fore super fun reading. This humorous paranormal series is perfect for fans of other supernatural reads such as Kim Harrison’s Hollows series, and even Charlain Harris’s Southern Vampire mysteries.  12/08 Becky Lejeune 

HOT BLOODED by Lisa Jackson: Psychologist and radio talk show host Dr. Samantha Leeds returns home from vacation to find a disturbing message on her machine and a mangled photo of herself in the mail. Then someone calling himself John begins harassing her on her show and an upsetting event from Leeds’s past is revealed to her audience. Meanwhile, detectives are investigating a string of murders in the Big Easy that seem to point to a possible serial killer. Detective Rick Bentz suspects the two cases are linked somehow, but is on probation with his new department and needs more evidence before he can speak up. Sam receives some help in the form of new neighbor and beau Ty Wheeler, but Ty’s  got his own agenda and is not being completely honest with her. Will Sam survive this and will Bentz be able to unravel the mystery before it’s too late for Sam and for another young victim of this so-called serial killer? Jackson’s novels are always quick paced and full of suspense. Hot Blooded marks to first in her New Orleans "series” and introduces readers to Bentz.  12/08 Becky Lejeune 

NIGHT SHIFT by Lilith Saintcrow:  Jill Kismet is a hunter and as such, it falls on her to take care of the things that go bump in the night - the things that are outside local law enforcement's area of specialty. When a rogue were and a crazy hellbreed go on a killing spree in Jill's town, she's the one who gets called in. But Jill doesn't have the whole story and she knows that people are holding out on her. It helps that she has a reluctant agreement with a local demon in power, but this is one agreement she’d rather do without. Jill must use her instincts to get her through this one and stop the bloodshed before it’s too late for her city. Making matters worse, she finds that she is paired with a visiting tracker, also a were, who in spite of her fears, might just do her some good for a change. Jill is very different from Saintcrow's previous heroine, Dante Valentine. Even though Danny's adventures have come to an end, readers will be pleased to know that Jill is just as much fun to follow. 12/08 Becky Lejeune 

BLIND RAGE by Terri Persons:  In the follow-up to Persons's Blind Spot, FBI Agent Bernadette Saint Clare is called to assist on what appears to be a rash of coed suicides. Each of the girls has emotional/psychological issues and has displayed suicidal tendencies. There’s something fishy going on, though, and Bernadette isn’t completely convinced that these girls were responsible for their own deaths. When the latest vic turns up dead in her bathtub, Bernadette gets her chance to take a closer look and hopes that her unique talent will come in handy. See, Bernadette has the power to touch an item and see through a killer’s eyes, and her current boss is the first one to support her and her gift.
Of course, it's not an exact science and Bernadette still has to use regular investigative skills as well, and that's what makes this a stand out series. Bernadette even occasionally gets some help from beyond the grave, but must do everything she can to keep her ability under wraps in order to be taken seriously. Sadly, Bernadette’s mysterious landlord is absent from this installment (no spoilers there). Persons’s second novel holds up to the expectations set by Blind Spot and I can’t wait to see what happens next for Bernadette. 12/08 Becky Lejeune