Hitman

Hitman by Parnell Hall

In ten words or less: A hit man hires PI Stanley Hastings for a job.

Review: P.I. Stanley Hastings gets most of his jobs from a lawyer. He interviews potential clients and photographs potholes and slippery floors for personal injury suits. Martin Kessler wants to hire Hastings for a particular job. Kessler is a hitman, and wants Hastings to prevent him from carrying out his latest assignment. Hastings asks his cop friend to check out Kessler, who turns out to be a school teacher with a clean record. Something isn't right, but Hastings can't quite figure it out.

Why bother? The marginally competant Stanley Hastings manages to get in over his head once again. Another entertaining installment in the series.

Dead Man's Puzzle by Parnell Hall

In ten words or less: Sherry's in Africa; Cora bluffs her way through another investigation.

Review: Cora Felton is at loose ends with her niece Sherry on her honeymoon in Africa. Sherry had it all planned out for Cora--she left her a supply of crossword puzzles to fax to her editor, for few people know that Cora's a fake and that Sherry is the real Puzzle Lady.

But when an elderly man is found dead in a dilapidated shack, the Chief of Police brings Cora a puzzle the man had on his table. And what had been assumed to be a natural death turned into a murder, and as usual, Sherry's ex-husband is right in the middle.

Why bother? A reader might wonder why the police chief lets a nosy amateur push her way into every murder investigation in his jurisdiction, but Cora always manages to close the case--even when they're fifty years old. Always great fun!

With this Puzzle I thee Kill by Parnell Hall

In ten words or less: Cora plans to wed again; Sherry's best friend marries Dennis.

Review: The many-times wed Cora Felton is planning to tie the knot again with the mysterious Raymond Harstein III. She's asked her niece Sherry to be her maid of honor. Sherry's best friend Brenda is getting married too, and has asked Sherry to stand up for her. But when Sherry discovers Brenda's finace is Sherry's abusive ex-husband Dennis, she wants nothing to do with the wedding. Threatening cryptograms arrive, warning Cora to cancel the wedding.

Why bother? Fans of the series will enjoy the opportunity to get to know one of Cora's husbands before he becomes an "ex."

November's Books

Peter Walsh, from TLC's "Clean Sweep" and the "Oprah Winfrey Show," presents a workbook. "It's all too much," to help you organize your living space. It's a guide to help you think about what you expect your house to be, and how to achieve it in manageable steps.

Unnatural causes by P.D. James
Bury your dead by Louise Penny
With this puzzle, I thee kill by Parnell Hall
It's all too much: an easy plan for living a richer life with less stuff by Peter Walsh
Dead man's puzzle by Parnell Hall
Puzzled to death by Parnell Hall
Squirrel seeks chipmunk by David Sedaris
The civility solution: what to do when people are rude by P.M. Forni
Why? Because we still like you: an oral history of the Mickey Mouse Club by Jennifer Armstrong
Frankly my dear, I'm dead by Livia J. Washburn
Djibouti by Elmore Leonard
Simple times: crafts for poor people by Amy Sedaris