The Apprentice

Number: 102
Title: The Apprentice
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Started: September 13, 2007
Finished: September 28, 2007
Pages: 413
Genre: mystery

Language: German

Where The Book Came From: From Mom and mine shared bookshelf.

First Sentence: [translate by: me] Today I saw a man die.

Cover Blurb: [translate by: me] A hot summer in Boston. Detective Jane Rizzoli is called in an exclusive residential area where she finds the corpse of the medic Richard Yaeger. The forensic examination shows that Gail Yaeger was raped in front of her husband before his throat was cut through. And Gail Yaeger disappeared.
The perverse arrangement of the murder evokes haunting memories in Jane. Only a year ago she arrested a psychopathic serial killer - after she almost fell prey to him. And all of a sudden Jane realizes that she once again is becoming the center of events...

Reason For Reading: It was part of the medical mystery challenge hosted by Debi and I also just had to read more about Det. Rizzoli and Maura Isles.

Comments: Well, as I mentioned in the review to The Sinner, I'm reading this series starting with #4 (Body Double) backwards before I read from #5 on until I'm all up to date. This now causes me a problem because The Apprentice

Favorite Part: The first appearance of Agent Gabriel Dean :D

Miscellaneous: The German title was "Der Meister", which translates to "The Master".

Rating: A-

The Ritual Bath

Number: 101
Title: The Ritual Bath
Author: Faye Kellerman
Started: September 22, 2007
Finished: September 25, 2007
Pages: 358
Genre: mystery
ISBN: 0-380-73266-1

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: It has been waiting for me on my shelves for a bit.

First Sentence: "The key to a good potato kugel is good potatoes," Sarah Libba shouted over the noise of the blow dryer.

Cover Blurb: Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.

The crime was called in by Rina Lazarus, and Decker is relieved to discover that she is a calm and intelligent witness. She is also the only one in the sheltered community willing to speak of this unspeakable violation. As Rina tries to steer Decker through the maze of religious laws the two grow closer. But before they get to the bottom of this horrendous crime, revelations come to light that are so shocking that they threaten to come between the hard-nosed cop and the deeply religious woman with whom he has become irrevocably linked.

Reason For Reading: It was for a buddy read and I also had wanted to read this book for quite a while now.

Favorite Part: The last scene, when Peter Decker decides to no deal with the press and instead danced with the other men. That was such a great scene *sigh*

Miscellaneous: Argh! How those reporters mis-pronounced "yeshiva" it hurts my eyes to read it and my ears to imagine the sound! So much for good research...

Rating: A-

Ah well...

Well, as you might see the reviews have beena bit shorter lately. I'm just way behind on reviews and other things for my blog, so I'd like to catch up a bit before the new semester begins.
Also, it seems I'm ill with the flu, so I can't concentrate too well right now. I hope to feel better soon, though, so that I can get back to normal.

Also a short info: I have a few wonderful meme's waiting.

Murder Uncorked

Number: 100
Title: Murder Uncorked
Author: Michele Scott
Started: September 17, 2007
Finished: September 20, 2007
Pages: 220
Genre: mystery
ISBN: 0-425-20684-X

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: I got this book along with a few others from two wonderful women. Thanks, girls!

First Sentence: Nikki Sands hated her job almost as much as she hated her past.

Cover Blurb: Nikki has just set foot on Napa Valley's rich soil when she realizes her new job may not be as safe as she thought. First off, Derek Malveaux is dosconcertingly sexy. Second, his top winemaker is dead in the bushes outside Nikki's cottage. It doesn't take a connoisseur of foul play to know something's taken a terrible turn...

Reason For Reading: In a way for the Cozy Mystery Month, but also because it sounded like a fun read.

Comments: I'm everything but a wine connoisseur. Actually, I tried wine once and decided it's not for me. I love my various tea blends :)
But nonetheless, I just had to try this mystery. And it was a great decision because it is an awesome first in series.

Favorite Part: Oh so many! LOL

Rating: B+

Trick Or Treat Murder

Number: 97
Title: Trick Or Treat Murder
Author: Leslie Meier
Started: September 03, 2007
Finished: September 14, 2007
Pages: 245
Genre: mystery
ISBN: 1-57566-219-1

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: I got this book along with a few others from two wonderful women. Thanks, girls!

First Sentence: "I could just kill him."

Cover Blurb: It's October in Maine, and everyone in Tinker's Cove is preparing for the annual Halloween festival. While Lucy Stone is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters' Halloween costumes, helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, and breast-feeding her brand-new baby, an arsonist is loose in Tinker's Cove. When the latest claims the life of the owner of the town's oldest house, arson turns into murder.
While the townsfolk work to transform a dilappidated mansion into a haunted house for the All-Ghouls festival, the hunt for the culprit heats up Trick-or-treat turns deadly as a little digging in all the wrong places puts Lucy too close to a shocking discovery that could send all her best-laid plans up in smoke...

Reason For Reading: Just for the fun of it, a little for the Cozy Mystery Month and also to get out of a slump.

Comments: This was my first Lucy Stone mystery and I heard a lot about the books way ahead. I heard about Lucy, Bill, Toby and the girls. About their antics and their relationship(s), about how they are and what they will be doing. And now I'm finally part of the story, I read about them and I will read about them in the future.
I was a bit reluctant to read it as I heard quite a bit about Bill and his at times weird to rude behaviour. When I finally got to the book, though, I was glad because it is written in a wonderful way and I am already excited to read another of the Lúcy Stone mysteries!

Miscellaneous: I already have the first in series on my shelves. This was the third in series.

Rating: A-

Tears Of The Moon

Number: 99
Title: Tears Of The Moon
Author: Nora Roberts
Started: September 14, 2007
Finished: September 17, 2007
Pages: 413
Genre: romance

Language: German

Where The Book Came From: From tauschticket.de , a German swap page

First Sentence: [translated by: me] Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels.

Cover Blurb: [translated by: me] Daydreams seem to be enough for the musically high talented Shawn Gallagher besides his job in the family-owned pub. Neither Brenna O'Toole, his best friend, nor his siblings Aidan and Darcy can understand why he doesn't make something out of his talent. But his longings are in another world full of music, myths and magic - until the love of a bubbly red-haired curly head sneaks into his heart, secretly and completely unexpected...

Reason For Reading: It was what I needed to get out of a slump.

Comments: To be honest, I'm a bit afraid I might spoil the story line of the Gallagher trilogy for someone who reads this without having read the books. So I will refrain from my own thoughts other than:
It was a great book, though I enjoyed the first better. Also, it was fun to see the dynamics between the sisters and the visitors in the pub again!

Favorite Part: When Darcy catches them kissing!

Miscellaneous: I want to go to Ireland!!!

Rating: B+

The case Madeleine

Well, I haven't posted anything at all about this case even though I followed it as close as I could. The reason for my not posting was, that I had a then uncommon thought about the whole situation, but chose to leave it alone. I had discussed it with some people I know, but that was different.

But finally, my thought from all the weeks ago is officially a possibility.

Madeleine's parents, Gerry & Kate McCann, are now officially suspects in the disappearance of their 4-year old daughter. I had been suspicious weeks ago already, because they kept meeting important people to get more press coverage. It was too public.

I hope that they'll at least find the poor girl so that she can rest in peace, so that other family members have a place to go to...

Series Challenge

I hope I now understood how Mr Linky works, so if those of you who mentioned that they want to join in could please add your name (and the link your blog/website) to Mr Linky (if it appears, that is ;) ), it would be great! That way we'd have a complete list of all participants and it would probably be easier to check out your posts and your progress.

The original three post for the Series Challenge can be found here, here and here.

The Trouble With Valentine's Day

Number: 96
Title: The Trouble With Valentine's Day
Author: Rachel Gibson
Started: September 2, 2007
Finished: September 2, 2007
Pages: 350
Genre: romance
ISBN: 3-442-46218-6

Language: German

Where The Book Came From: It's one of Mom's.

First Sentence: [translate by: me] Valentine's Day sucked.

Cover Blurb: [translated by: me] Kate Hamilton has problems with men: First her long-time boyfriend Manny rejects her proposal, and when she tries to seduce the charming Rob in a bar, he flees from her head over heels. Desperate from so much failure, Kate retreats to a small town in the mountains of Idaho, where her Grandfather lives. But even there she doesn't find tranquility, because her Grandfather's new neighbor is Rob...

Reason For Reading: I needed a fast, fun read, and so far Rachel Gibson always gave me just that!

Rating: B+

Steamed

Number: 95
Title: Steamed
Author: Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant
Started: August 28, 2007
Finished: August 31, 2007
Pages: 287
Genre: mystery
ISBN: 0-425-21038-3

Language: English

Where The Book Came From:

First Sentence: Om Saturday morning I woke up at eight, poured a nasty cup of coffee that had automatically brewed itself at 5:00 a.m. instead of the programmed time of 8:00 a.m., and plopped myself at my kitchen table to do some early mourning people watching out the window.

Cover Blurb: Chloe Carter, food connoisseur and resilient survivor of failed romances, is forever on a quest for the perfect meal and the perfect man. Getting both in one shot is irresistible. That's why Chloe (aka GourmetGirl) accepts a date with DinnerDude online. Too bad her fellow food lover is just another cheap, pompous, well-fed bore. But there must be an easier way to run out on a tab than being stabbed to death in the men's room.

Talk about a rocky love life. Chloe's first date of the week is murdered - and her second is a sweet chef who'd be ideal if he wasn't the prime suspect. As the investigatioon plunges the amateur sleuth into the gourmet restaurant scene, she discovers a cutthroat world rife with killer competition, stormy love affairs, and a recipe for Baby Bok Choy Slaw that's to die for...

Rating: A-

The Jasmine Moon Murder

Number: 91
Title: The Jasmine Moon Murder
Author: Laura Childs
Started: August 18, 2007
Finished: August 22, 2007
Pages: 245
Genre: mystery
ISBN: 0-425-19986-X

Language: German

Where The Book Came From: It was on Mt. TBR.

First Sentence: Theodosia Browning rested her steaming cup of tea atop a marble gravestone and gazed tát the ghostly tableau unfolding before her.

Cover Blurb: Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning and her staff are catering an unusual Charleston society benefit - a "Ghost Crawl" through the spooky grounds of the historic Jasmine Cemetery. Sadly, the doctor who thought up the event doesn't live to enjoy his own work. He drops dead during the Crawl, and it looks like foul play - but how could such a fine, upstanding sitizen have any mortal enemies? Theodosia starts stirring things up with her own investigation to find the do-badder behind this most uncharitable act. But before long, chasing down the culprit gets her in hot water up to her neck...

Rating: A-

New Orleans Mourning

Number: 94
Title: New Orleans Mourning
Author: Julie Smith
Started: July 17, 2007
Finished: August 30, 2007
Time: 13 hours and 39 minutes
Genre: mystery

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: I got this one from audible.de.

Cover Blurb: [from audible.de] This Edgar Award-winning work offers a revealing glimpse into the hidden world of New Orleans high society and an intricately plotted murder mystery. The novel introduces rookie cop Skip Langdon, as she investigates a seamy Mardi Gras murder.

Everyone in town is shocked when Chauncey St. Amant, a prominent citizen and this year's King of Carnival, is killed on his parade float by a shooter in a Dolly Parton get-up. Skip Langdon is assigned the case because of her own upper-crust background. Skip's investigation takes her deep into the Garden District to dig up the St. Amant family skeletons and a dangerous ancient secret.

Reason For Reading: I wanted to try something completely new, something I hadn't heard anything about, so I picked this one. It sounded interesting, but I didn't remember anyone mentioning it.

Comments: My feelings about this book are ambivalent. When I first started listening to it, it was okay, then it got great. While I was on vacation, I made a break listening to it and once I was back, it felt bad. And when I had gotten back into the story it was great again - before it turned confusing!
I'm not sure whether I will read another of Smith's mysteries yet, but it is still possible. At first, though, I have to try to figure out what this book really was like. It's been a while since I felt so confused by a book!

Rating: B

Relic

Number: 75
Title: Relic
Author: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Started: July 2, 2007
Finished: July 15, 2007
Time: 17 hours and 3 minutes
Genre: mystery/thriller/sci-fi

Language: German

Where The Book Came From: I got it from audible.de.

Cover Blurb: [from audible.de, translated by me] In the Museum of Natural History in New York, two horribly battered bodies are found. Since they are close to the opening of a new exhibition, the head of the museum doesn't want to make a big fuss about the two dead, but then, more bodies are found, accompanied by a weird stench...

Reason For Reading: I wanted to listen to something in German because during a course at university, where I had to translate English texts into German, I realized I had forgotten quite a few words *blush*

Comments: This was "a wild ride"! LOL At least you could call it that. It had everything I was looking for at that time and I'm still impressed with the storyline and the research that must be behind this work!

Rating: A-

Web Of Evil

Number: 62
Title: Web Of Evil
Author: J.A. Jance
Started: ???
Finished: July 1, 2007
Time: 10 hours and 30 minutes
Genre: mystery

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: I got it from audible.de.

Cover Blurb: [from audible.de] The highway from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs desert is parched, unforgiving, and deadly. In the suffocating stillness of a car trunk, a man, his mouth and hands bound with duct tape, awaits his fate. What possible enemy could be bitter enough to commit such a heinous crime? And when will the monster make another move?

Ali Reynolds is traveling that same blistering, lonesome highway, looking forward to putting her past behind her. But her cheating husband is in a hurry for a divorce, and the television network that wrongfully dismissed her for the sole sin of being over 40 will face her in court as well.

As she passes the site of a horrifying accident, Ali is grateful that it's no longer her job to report the news, until she finds out that the news is her own: the victim is Ali's cheating husband. And soon she'll find herself the prime suspect at the center of a terrifying web of evil.

A twisted and lethal drama of heart-pounding suspense, Web of Evil asks the question: If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, just what punishment could that fury unleash?

Reason For Reading: I heard a few remarks about J.A. Jance in one of my online reading groups and had to see for myself how good she writes!

Comments: This was the second in series, so I was a bit off at first. I didn't know the characters, so it took a bit to get to know them, but I just loved Ali's blog entries, so I read on. This book was filled with suspense and I already have a second of Jance's books on my iPod - but not with Ali, this time with JP Beaumont (I chose A Long Time Gone).
If you haven't tried this series now: Do it! I can really enjoy it!

Rating: A-

reading challenges

To make it easier I decided to create one post for all my challenge reads. Here you will find all the books I intend to read for my various challenges.

2007 TBR Challenge
one book/month throughout the year
Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity Digs In
Stephanie Barron - Jane And The Unpleasantness At Scargrave Manor
(review here, finished Apr 07)
Enid Blyton - Malory Towers omnibus 5
(finished Mar 07)
Ann Brashares - The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants
Harlan Coben - Drop Shot
Janet Evanovich - Seven Up
Theodor Fontane - Frau Jenny Treibel
Nancy Peske & Beverly West - Cinematherapy For Lovers
J.D. Robb - Naked In Death
(review here, finished Mar 07)
Julia Spencer-Fleming - In The Bleak Midwinter
Susan Sussman & Sarajane Avidon - Audition For Murder
(review here, finished Jan 07)
P.J. Tracy - Dead Run

additionals for the 2007 TBR Challenge
Catherine Alliot - The Old-Girl Network
Jane Austen - Mansfield Park
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Bill Bryson - In A Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson - The Lost Continent
Tom Clancy - Without Remorse
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Living History
Jeffery Deaver - Speaking In Tongues
Nancy Fairbanks - Death A L'Orange
Sue Grafton - C Is For Corpse
John Grisham - The Brethren
John Grisham - The Testament
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity
James Patterson - 1st To Die
Cameron West - First Person Plural: My Life As A Multiple

RBL Summer Mystery Reading Challenge
6 mysteries between June 1 and August 31
Elizabeth Peters - Crocodile On A Sandbank
(review here, finished June 07)
Kathy Reichs - Déjà Dead
(review here, finished August 07)
J.A. Jance - Web Of Evil
(review here, finished July 07)
Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain - Gin & Daggers
(review here, finished August 07)
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - Relic
(review here, finished July 07)
Julie Smith - New Orleans Mourning
(review here, finished August 07)

Medical Mystery Challenge
2+ medical mysteries between June 1 and November 1
Eileen Dreyer - With A Vengeance
Tess Gerritsen - The Apprentice
Kathy Reichs - Déjà Dead
(review here, finished August 07)

Classics Challenge
3-5 classics between July 1 and November 30
Honoré de Balzac - The Girl With The Golden Eyes
(review here, finished July 07)
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Theodor Fontane - Frau Jenny Treibel

alternates for Classics Challenge
Jane Austen - Mansfield Park
Paul Auster - Moon Palace
Victor Hugo - Les Misérables

Something About Me challenge
5 books between August 1 and November 30
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Sophie Kinsella - The Undomestic Goddess
Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler’s Wife
Stephenie Meyer - Twilight
Josh Grogan - Marley and Me

alternates for Something About Me Challenge
Bill Bryson - A Short History Of Nearly Everything
Jonathan Stroud - The Amulet of Samarkand
Anne Frank - Diary Of A Young Girl

Cozy Mystery Month challenge - possibles
September 2007
Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity's Christmas
Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity Beats The Devil
Rhys Bowen - Death Of Riley
Lilian Jackson Braun - The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Rita Mae Brown - Wish You Were Here
Jill Churchill - In The Still Of The Night
Shirley Damsgaard - Charmed To Death
Eileen Dreyer - With A Vengeance
Janet Evanovich - Seven Up
Nancy Fairbanks - Death A L'Orange
Joanne Fluke - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
Sue Grafton - C Is For Corpse
Lee Harris - The Valentine's Day Murder
India Ink - A Blush With Death
Anna Maclean - Louisa And The Missing Heiress
Leslie Meier - Mistletoe Murder
Leslie Meier - Trick Or Treat Murder
Tamar Myers - The Ming And I
Emilie Richards - Let There Be Suspects
Madeleine E. Robins - Point Of Honor
Michele Scott - Murder Uncorked
David Skibbins - Eight Of Swords
Julia Spencer-Fleming - In The Bleak Midwinter
Victoria Thompson - Murder On Astor Place
P.J. Tracy - Dead Run
Peter Tremayne - Absolution by Murder

Déjà Dead

Number: 90
Title: Déjà Dead
Author: Kathy Reichs
Started: August 9, 2007
Finished: August 17, 2007
Pages/Time: 532
Genre: forensic mystery
ISBN: 0-671-01136-7

Language: English

Where The Book Came From: From the ever-growing Mt. TBR.

First Sentence: I easn't thinking about the man ho'd blown himself up.

Cover Blurb: Her life is devoted to justice - for those she never even knew.
In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Temoe detects an alarming pattern - and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her - her best friend and her own daughter - in mortal danger...

Reason For Reading: I loved the TV series Bones and heard so much about the books I just had to read the first one - and it also fitted in with the medical mystery challenge and the RBL Summer Mystery Challenge, which helped me speed up on reading it.

Comments: It has been a while since I read this book, but I'll try to get a good summary up. I found all the terms about forensic pathology really hard to understand at first, which distracted at me during the first few chapters and made it hard for me to concentrate in the story for more than an hour. But once I had gotten into the story it was flowing along just fine.
It sure is more hard-boiled that the other mysteries I read these past few months, but it was still comfortable to read. It was not overly bloody and Reichs used the "gory details" only in places where it made sense and added to the story line.
Of course, it was quite a difference after watching the TV show, especially because Tempe "all of a sudden" has a daughter and an ex-husband. It changes her character quite a bit in my opinion, but not necessarily to the bad...

Miscellaneous: There are quite a few differences between the TV show and the books, but I think both are good in their own ways! I'll sure enjoy both the next season of Bones and the next books with Tempe :)

Rating: B+