2007 Reads

January
Love, Lies, & Liquor (Agatha Raisin)
The Complete Peanuts (1950-1954)(2 books)
Then End- Lemony Snicket
The Year of Pleasures
The Tale of Despereaux
The Messenger of Magnolia Street

February
Miss Julia Stands Her Ground
The Edge of Darkness (Babylon Rising)
Cure for the Common Life
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
Blue Shoes and Happiness

March
My Antonia
Louisiana in Words

April
Strawberry Girl
Sounder
Homeschooling from Scratch
By the Pricking of my Thumbs
The Whipping Boy
Farenheit 451
Bad Kitty

May
The Giver
Breaking Free

June
Digging In
Before You Leap (Kermit the Frog)
Monster
By the Light of the Moon

July
nothing :-(

August
The Sign of the Beaver
Murder at the Vicarage

September
Death of a Dreamer
Death of a Poison Pen
Out of the Dust

October
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
Hatchet
Violet Dawn
Halloween Party

November
Invisible
In Plain Sight
On the Run

December
Stranded
Santa Cruise

2007 total: 41

Santa Cruise- Mary Higgins Clark

I am a big fan of Mary Higgins Clark.

That is why is pains me to say that this book was really bad.

There wasn't really any mystery to the story at all.

The characters were confusing, especially the Reillys:
Nora Regan Reilly, her daughter Regan Reilly, Regan's husband who also happens to have the last name of Reilly (and who calls Regan "Reilly Reilly"), and then there was Nora's husband whose name I forget.

There were a lot of characters, most of which were very under developed. It was hard to keep up with all of them. The plot felt was shaky. At times it felt like 2 separate stories that had been pieced together.

I hate to write such a terrible review (especially about one of my favorite authors), but this book was just really, really bad.

I'm sorry. :-(

Stranded- Lorena McCourtney

I actually finished this one a couple of weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to blogging about it.

I'm also glad to say that I finished it before Dec. 21, making it the last book in my Fall Reading Challenge goal. Yay! I did it. :-)

Now, on to the book.

I admit that the first book in this series was a tiny bit too "Christian fictiony" for me. (Yes, I know that's not a real word ;-))

The second one was better and the last two were even better. I loved these books. I only regret that there are no more for me to read.

I was thrilled (and quite surprised) to see that Ms. McCourtney left a comment on my last post!
If she happens to stop by again, I just want to say
Thank you, Ms. McCourtney. I really enjoyed these books and I can't wait to try your new series. :-)

On the Run- Lorena McCourtney

Ok, I admit it. I love these books.

I am addicted to LOL Ivy Malone.

My only reget is that there is only one more book in the series (to my knowledge). However, it is, thankfully, safely on my bed side table waiting for me to dig in this weekend. :-)

From Amazon.com:

Super senior sleuth Ivy Malone is spunkier than Miss Marple, with a curiosity that just won't quit.

That inquisitiveness has gotten her into plenty of trouble, including murder, mayhem, and a place on a mini-Mafia hit list.

Now Ivy's headed across the country with a stray cat and God as her only companions.

But just when she thinks she's safe, two dead bodies turn up-discovered by Ivy, of course.

A flock of emus, a survivalist outpost, and paintball are just a few of the strange things Ivy has to deal with in order to solve this latest crime.

But will anyone believe the truth?

On the Run, the third book in the Ivy Malone mysteries, is a mix of great fun and great suspense. Readers will love Ivy's latest lively adventure.

2007 total: 39

In Plain Sight- Lorena McCourtney

This book was better than the first.

It continues where "Invisible" left off.

I am really enjoying this series. It is believeable (this one more so than the last), well written, and the story flows along smoothly until the very end.

The "cheesiness" is much less in this book. The references to God are believable, not preachy or well..... cheesy. ;-)

I was pleased to see that our library had all 4 books in the series. I snatched up all of them. :-)


Book Description (from Amazon.com)
Ever wonder how a little old lady with possum-gray hair could wind up on a homicidal hit list? Well, nothing is too outlandish for Ivy Malone.


She's back and she's brought her mutant curiosity gene with her.


And ever since the evil-intentioned Drake Braxton and his family threatened to make road kill out of Ivy, her life has been crazier than ever! With the ever-present threat of looming Braxtons, Ivy decides to get out of Dodge for a while. But for someone who slides down banisters and drives a T-Bird, hiding from the mob does not come easily. And when strange things start happening to her new neighbors, Ivy's snooping sense kicks into overdrive. Will she unravel the mystery? Or will the threats to her safety scare her away? With Invisible, readers laughed so hard they cried. In Plain Sight, the second Ivy Malone mystery, promises to be even better!

2007 total: 38

Invisible- Lorena McCourtney

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not a big fan of most Christian fiction.
This book looked interesting, so I decided to give it a try.
I liked it for the most part.

From the back cover:
She's not your average crime fighter!
Ivy Malone has a curiosity that sometimes gets her into trouble, and it's only aggravated by her discovery that she can easily escape the public eye.
So when vandals romp through the local cemetery, she takes advantage of her newfound anonymity and its unforeseen advantages as she launches her own unofficial investigation.
Despite her oddball humor and unconventional snooping, Ivy soon becomes discouraged by her failure to turn up any solid clues.
And after Ivy witnesses something ominous and unexplained, she can't resist putting her investigative powers to work again.
Even the authorities' attempts to keep Ivy out of danger and her nosy neighbor's match-making schemes can't slow her down.
But will the determination that fuels this persistent, quirky sleuth threaten her very safety?

My thoughts:
~Some things in the book were predictable, some were not.
~There was a bit of the cheesiness that is common in Christian fiction, but not too much.
~While not laugh out loud funny, the book is humorous
~It was a delightful read.
~Ivy is a very likeable character, as are many of the other colorful characters in this book.

It seems like each subsequent book builds on the previous one, so if you're interested in this series you should start with the first one.

I will definitely be reading more of these.

2007 total: 37

Hallowe'en Party- Agatha Christie

A young girl is found drowned in a bucket of bobbing apples at a Halloween party.
Hercule Poirot is called in to find the killer.

As in any Christie novel, the motive is anything but simple.

I was excited though, because for the first time (in one of A.C.'s books) I guessed the culprit! I was totally wrong about the motive, but still!

This was not one of her best works, but it is still impressive when you consider that she wrote it when she was 79 years old.