January's Books

Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid takes a badly needed vacation when a cousin gives him a timeshare in a Yorkshire manor turned resort. He just wants to relax, but when the assistant manager is discovered electrocuted in the swimming pool, Kincaid's cover is blown. The local police resent his presence, especially since he's one step ahead of them. The other guests include a father and his sullen teenage daughter, a politician and his wife who drinks too much, an attractive woman scientist, and a good looking and manipulative manager. Very much of a traditional British mystery series--readers will stay up late to see whodunit.


A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
Good and Cheap: eat well on $4 a day by Leanne Brown
The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
Suede to Rest by Diane Vallere
Shelter from the Storm by Tony Dunbar
Jazz Funeral by Julie Smith

December's Books

History nerd and radio essayist Sarah Vowell casts her eye at the 19 year old Marquis de Lafayette in Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, who joined the Revolutionary Army and served under George Washington and became his friend. Because the Continental Congress had underfunded the army, they were poorly fed and clothed, not to mention untrained soldiers. Vowell visited Monticello, Valley Forge, and Colonial Williamsburg in her quest to discover why a French nobleman would join the fight of the American colonists. Humorous and enlightening.

Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything by Nancy Martin
The Egyptian File by Janis Susan May
All Fall Down by Ally Carter
Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George
Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sara Vowell