Book 'em Sunday - A mixture

For Book 'em Sunday, we are doing books with no pictures.

Why, how boring! - you might say. And you would be right on the money! But this is what happens when you don't write on the outside of your moving boxes what is inside the box. Add in that you make fun of all people who do write on their boxes and you will have me with no camera cords. Let this be a lesson to all.

I have been reading a ton. Lots and lots of summertime books of little to no substance just plain fun.

I am almost finished with Knock Out by Catherine Coulter, which is an FBI thriller. The FBI thrillers feature FBI agents Dillion Savich and Lacey Sherlock. This one is about a madman who can control others simply by looking at them. Ethan Merriweather, the sheriff of Titusville, Virginia, goes searching for a missing 7-year-old girl, Autumn, who is being pursued by the madman. These books are a little on the predictable side, but still a nice summer time read. The writing is nicely done and the plot is easy enough to follow when you have to put it down every five minutes to do something else. Like get Olive from the neighbors yard, yet again.

I have also finished Janet Evanovich "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" which is a Stephanie Plum novel. Stephanie is a bounty hunter, slightly accident prone and caught between two men. As you can guess, there are fourteen more before it, which are in paperback. Janet Evanovich is an excellent writer and the Plum books are her best work. These are super funny, very fast paced, and the cast of characters are just that "characters." Definitely worth checking out.

I have also read a decorating book called "Small Spaces and Cozy Corners" by Janice Easton-Epner. This came out in 2005 and I found it at a used book store. I am trying to find some ideas to redo the laundry room in my basement because frankly, it terrifies me. I think there may be spiders and other disgusting basement creatures down there. I have tried to get the kid to do the laundry but it is a no go. The dogs just yawn at me and give me the look that spiders are in no way a concern of theirs. I'm pretty sure the bird could do a sock load, but putting the jeans into the washer may be a bit much to ask of a parakeet. So it is just me. I have some ideas now but no cash, maybe after my garage sale.

Anyway, I wish I could show pictures, just trust me when I say they all have pretty covers and are playing nicely with my iced latte.

Book 'em Sunday - Greg Rucka

Today for Book 'em Sunday we are going to do Greg Rucka, the Atticus Kodiak series.
Patriot Acts and Walking Dead are the latest two in the Atticus Kodiak series. The other ones are Keeper, Finder, Smoker, Shooting at Midnight, and Critical Space.

These books are a excellent addition to the mystery field. They are very well written and the plots are tightly woven. Atticus is a bodyguard and as such runs into all sorts of unsavory characters. These are in the same line as the Robert Parker "Spenser" or the Lee Child "Reacher" books.

Atticus has a moral code and the skills to back it up. I really enjoy this series. The writing is fast paced and the characters are great. It has a lot of action which is what I look for in a mystery. The only problem I would say that I have with this series, is one I have with many mysteries, are the relationships. I don't really care for couples in mysteries but that is just me. Sometimes I just fast forward through those pages and then I am good to go.

I enjoy the mystery part, the shoot 'em up find the bad dudes and save the day stuff. Not really the "I love you, you love me, blah blah blah." But all the mysteries have that stuff in it, so I just read around it.

Greg Rucka has become quite a successful comic book writer and he has written some non Atticus Kodiak books. He also lives in Portland, one of the greatest cities EVER! It seems that quite a bit of the mystery genre has come from other countries lately. Sweden has put out some excellent mysteries as well as Japan and of course Great Britain. So it is great to see some strong mystery writers from the Northwest.
The earlier novels are in paperback and I just picked up Walking Dead in hardback, so I think that one will be a while until it is in soft cover. Which will give you ample time to read the rest of the series.