November's Books

 

In "Desperate Housedogs," pet therapist Caro Lamott makes a house call to visit Kevin Blackwell's German Shepherds, Zeus and Tommy Boy. The dogs are disturbing their neighbors in the exclusive Ruby Point neighborhood of Laguna Beach, California. When Blackwell is murdered, Caro's friend Diana Knight, a former movie star and animal activist, is arrested. Fun characters and lots of appeal for animal lovers, this is the first in the Pampered Pets mystery series. 

Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange by Isis Crawford
Silent Night: a Spenser holiday novel by Robert B. Parker
Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger
Desperate Housedogs by Sparkle Abbey 
Crow's Landing by Brad Smith
White Fire by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson
Murder on the Orient Espresso by Sandra Balzo
Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George

Gimme Five!: All Latkes, All the Time: Children’s Books for Hanukkah

The latke who couldn't stop screaming : a Christmas story / by Lemony Snicket ; illustrations by Lisa Brown.  San Francisco : McSweeny's Books ; c2007.

"Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukah. Lemony Snicket is an alleged children's author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. People who are interested in either or both of these things will find this book so enjoyable it will feel as if Hanukah is being celebrated for several years, rather than eight nights....

Lots of latkes / Sandy Lanton ; illustrated by Vicki Jo Redenbaugh.  New York : Kar-Ben Pub., c2003.

Rivka Leah invites her neighbors to a Hanukkah party, but a series of mishaps causes each of them to bring the same dish-- latkes.

The runaway latkes / written by Leslie Kimmelman ; illustrated by Paul Yalowitz.
Morton Grove, Ill. : Albert Whitman & Co., 2000.

When three potato latkes escape Rachel Bloom's frying pan on the first night of Hanukkah, everyone including the cantor, the rabbi, and the mayor joins in the chase.

The borrowed Hanukkah latkes / Linda Glaser ; illustrations by Nancy Cote.
Morton Grove, Ill. : A. Whitman, 1997.

A young girl finds a way to include her elderly neighbor in her family's Hanukkah celebration.

Grandma's latkes / written by Malka Drucker ; illustrated by Eve Chwast.

San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1992.

Grandma explains the meaning of Hanukkah while showing Molly how to cook latkes for the holiday.

Gimme Five for Thanksgiving

Borden, Kate.  Death of a Turkey

It's Thanksgiving--and it's not just the turkey who's in danger.
As tourists arrive at Cobb's Landing to enjoy an authentic Colonial-style Thanksgiving, mayor Peggy Turner would be thankful for nothing more than a clue as to who killed her neighbor--a clue that didn't point to her.

Daheim, Mary.  Fowl Prey

Leaving the Hillside manor in capable hands, bed-and-breakfast owner Judith McMonigle heads north to Vancouver's Hotel Clovia with her cousin Renie for a pre-Thanksgiving getaway. But when a popcorn vendor is murdered-along with his foul-mouthed pet parakeet-a local cop's suspicious gaze settles on the two visiting Americans. The cousins suspect one of the "Sacred Eight" -- an assortment of glamorous showbiz glitterati gathered at the historic hotel. And unless Judith and Renie can pluck a killer from the secretive group, their geese will be cooked in short order!

Didbin, Michael.  Thanksgiving

British journalist Anthony becomes obsessed with his late wife's early life and travels to Nevada to meet her first husband.

Davis, Krista.  The Diva Runs Out of Thyme

Few can compete with Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. Natasha may have stolen the spotlight—and Sophie’s husband—but Sophie is determined to rob her of the prize for the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown. She just needs the right ingredient.
But Sophie’s search for the perfect turkey takes a basting when she stumbles across a corpse. And when the police find her name and photo inside the victim’s car, Sophie will have to solve the murder—or she’ll be serving up prison grub.

Harris, Lee.  The Thanksgiving Day Murder

More than a year ago Natalie Gordon went to buy a balloon at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and dissolved into thin air. The police and a private investigator still have no leads. So when Natalie's  husband pleads with ex-nun Christine Bennett to help, she can't say no.
Not only are Natalie's whereabouts a mystery, but so is her past.
Starting with a cardboard box of Natalie's belongings--a few books, keys, some cosmetics--Chris searches for a life someone has tried very hard to erase and finds a cast of characters so chilling that murder seems not only inevitable but likely to happen again. . . .

October's Books

Jeffery Deaver’s latest novel, “The October List,” tells a story in a backwards time progression. In the first chapter we meet office manager Gabriela McKenzie, frantic because her six year old daughter has been kidnapped, and time is running out. There is also Daniel Reardon, a financial manager who is attempting to help Gabriela save her daughter’s life. The kidnapper is demanding half a million dollars in cash, plus a mysterious “October List.” Each subsequent chapter takes places earlier in time, and by the time we read the last chapter (actually the first), all our assumptions about the characters have been shattered. Not as satisfying as Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme or Kathryn Dance novels, this is more of a mind teaser than a mystery. 


Big Man Coming Down the Road by Brad Smith
Northwest Angle by William Kent Drueger
Complete Cooks Country TV Show Cookbook
The October List by Jeffery Deaver
Killing Critics by Carol O'Connell
Something Borrowed, Something Dead by M.C. Beaton
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Joyland by Stephen King
Taste of Home Casseroles: 377 dishes
Pagan Spring by G. M. Malliet
How the Light Gets in by Louise Penny
A Lack of Temperence by Anna Loan-Wilsey
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall

Gimme Five: Even More Halloween Mysteries

Albert, Susan Wittig.  Witches’ Bane

Texas herb shop owner and part-time private eye China Bayles sets out to catch a Halloween night killer when one of her friends turns up dead at the witching hour and another becomes a prime suspect.

Allan, Barbara.  Antiques’ Maul

As Halloween approaches, Brandy and her meddling mother must unmask a killer when a body is found at the antiques mall, supposedly mauled to death by a good-natured pit bull, launching an investigation that results in the disappearance of her ten-year-old son.

Bain, Donald and Jessica Fletcher.  Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery

With the arrival of a spiritual medium in town, the annual Halloween party in Cabot Cave takes on a real scary tone. When a self-proclaimed witch ends up dead in the graveyard, Jessica stirs through a witches' brew of motives--and concocts a scary scheme of her own to make sure the guilty ghoul doesn't get away with murder.

Burley, W.J. Wycliffe and the Scapegoat

Each year at Halloween, high on the Cornish cliffs, a life-size effigy of a man is strapped to a blazing wheel and run into the sea—a re-enactment of a hideous ancient legend of human sacrifice. So when Jonathan Riddle, a respected local builder and undertaker, disappears, it seems all too likely that his corpse has gone the way of the historic “scapegoat.” As Wycliffe begins to investigate Riddle’s family life, more and more unpleasant facts begin to emerge, until eventually he’s left with an incredible, seemingly impossible, solution.

Campbell, Ann. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

On Halloween night, Annie O'Hara's elderly tenant is found murdered, and her brother Tom is the number one suspect. With the help of her hot-tempered canine, Claudius, Annie must fetch the real killer.

Longbourn by Jo Baker

While the Bennet girls were giggling over officers and practicing piano, the servants of the household were boiling laundry and emptying chamberpots. “Longbourn” is Jo Baker’s look at what life is like downstairs at the Bennet residence during the same period of time as “Pride and Prejudice.” While Elizabeth Bennet drags her petticoats through the mud to visit Jane at Netherfield, it is housemaid Sarah who, with cracked and bleeding hands, has to launder them. And when new shoe-roses are wanted for the upcoming ball, it is Sarah who is sent out in the rain to get them, only to suffer miserably from the cold she caught while on her errand.

Elderly Mr. and Mrs. Hill, and young Polly, a maid, and the sum total of help who run the household of the Bennets and their five marriageable daughters. That is, until the mysterious James Smith is hired on as a coachman and all around laborer.

Readers expecting the gentle narrative of the original book should expect some graphic scenes of war, flogging, and expletives that the genteel folks would not use. A fresh look at the Austen classic, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Gimme Five: More Halloween Mysteries

Hayter, Sparkle.  Revenge of the Cootie Girls

New York TV producer Robin Hudson invites Kathy, an intern, to a girls' night out. When Kathy fails to show up Robin and the girls go looking for her, encountering murder and men from their past.

Greenwood, Kerry. Trick or Treat

When a cut-price franchise bakery opens its doors just down the street from Earthly Delights, Corinna Chapman is understandably nervous. Meanwhile, Daniel's old friend Georgiana Hope has set up residence in his house, and it doesn't take Corinna long to discover that she's tall, blonde, gorgeous and up to something. Daniel is making excuses and Corinna is worried about his absences and also the strange outbreak of madness which seems to be centered on Lonsdale Street.

Lavene, Joyce and Jim. Ghastly Glass

At her glass-blowing apprenticeship, Renaissance reveler Jessie Morton's crabby boss and his creepy nephew are causing her problems. But when the man playing the Grim Reaper is killed, Jess has to find the lady, lord or serf whodunit.

Meier, Leslie. Trick or Treat Murder

It's going to be one heck of a Halloween for Lucy Stone and Tinker's Cove...It's October in Maine, and everyone is preparing for the annual festival. While Lucy is whipping up orange-frosted cupcakes, recycling tutus for her daughters' costumes, and helping her son with his pre-teen rebellion, an arsonist is loose in Tinker's Cove. When the latest fire claims the life of the owner of the town's oldest house, arson turns into murder. 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.

Myers, Tamar.  Nightmare in Shining Armor

Den of Antiquity owner Abigail Timberlake's Halloween costume party is a roaring success -- until an unexpected fire sends the panicked guests fleeing from her store. One person she is only too happy to see leave is Tweetie "Little Bo Peep" Timberlake -- wife of Abby's faithless ex, Buford. But not long after the fire is brought under control, the Abby discovers an unfamiliar suit of armor in her house. And stuffed inside is the heavily siliconed, dead body ofTweetie.

Certainly some enraged collector of medieval chain mail has sent Abby this deadly delivery. But asking questions could prove a lethal proposition for the plucky antiques dealer. And even a metal suit may not protect Abby from the attentions of a crazed killer.