Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb

Another entry in the J.D. Robb series.

Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb
(2010, Suspense)
Grade: 4

Eve gets back from a vaccation in Ireland to find a new case waiting for her- a limo driver killed with a crossbow. More deaths follow, each meticulously planned and using a hunting weapon. Eve and Roarke soon believe that the murderer is hunting... people.

This was a typical, reliable J.D. Robb book - not many surprises but still enjoyable. This one included a lot of interplay between Eve and the other detectives on the squad, and a lot of fun asides from Eve about her work. Who did it was solved pretty early on and the book mostly involves putting together evidence to make the case stick - it got a little repetitive after a while. But still, a reasonably good entry in the series.

Unfortunately, I found this book very "put-downable". I read it in bits and pieces over a week. But still,I enjoy them as a refreshing change from my usual reading, and Eve Dallas is still a unique character that you won't find anywhere else. So I keep reading them.

Billy Bob Walker Got Married by Lisa G. Brown

Still in search of good contemporaries. This is an older book and very hard to find, but people still love it. It's unfortunate that the author only published three books! Maybe she was ahead of her time.

Billy Bob Walker Got Married by Lisa G. Brown
(1993, Contemporary)
Grade: 4

Shiloh Pennington is the daughter of the richest man in Sweetwater, Mississippi, and she’s engaged to marry the son of the most powerful judge. But she’s more interested in Billy Bob, the illegitimate son of the judge and the town bad boy. But bad boys have their soft sides,don’t they? Especially when a girl needs a husband to get out of a bad engagement?

This book had a very appealing “down home” feeling. The characters were interesting and realistic, and the writing was excellent. I felt like I was hearing a great storyteller telling me a tale. The characters were well written and the emotions felt real. However, the book lacked a bit when it came to plot. It meandered all over the place, spending too much time on some sections and not enough on others. The middle section dragged and the end was too abrupt. The book also felt a bit dated - it was published in 1993but some of the situations and attitudes felt 20-30 years out of date. Even for a small town, it seemed a bit much. However, these were fairly small problems compared to the likeability of the characters and the book as a whole. Overall,an enjoyable read.

I had to laugh at one section in the beginning of the book, which describes Billy Bob's hair. Short in the front, long in the back- oh no! Billy Bob had a mullet! (The cover does not reflect this, thankfully - unless that's a ponytail hiding in the shadows?) I'll try not to think of Billy Ray Cyrus when I read this book.

Best of 2010

I'm disappointed in my reading this year. I read 50 books, which is almost one per week, but most of that was concentrated in a couple of months. Most of the time, I found other things to do besides read. (The internet is my biggest temptation - it's so easy to waste a few hours reading all the news sites.) One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more, although I said the same thing last year.

But on the positive side, I had a pretty good reading year. I didn't read a single book graded lower than 3 stars - which is an average read. I either got better at picking books or better at giving up on the bad ones. And almost half of my reads were rated at 4 stars or more.

I gave one book 5 stars, which is unusual for me. I really loved Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight, a book I probably wouldn't have picked up at all a couple of years ago.



Some other books I particularly liked:

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel (a complex and interesting historical)
Lead by On by Victoria Dahl (a great contemporary is so hard to find!)
Daughter of the Game by Tracy Grant (finally read it after almost 10 years)
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh (only novella length but fun to read)
Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh (the best book she's written in many years)
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn (a book that's grown on me over time)

I did do a lot of rereading this year, as I cleared out some of my keepers and transferred others to the Kindle. So I guess that counts as reading. My goal is to clear out some of the 2010 books in the new year - and hopefully read some new ones too!