Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Like a junk food junkie who goes looking for that last Little Debbie Snack Cake, I was delighted to see that the Waterloo Library had the newest Stephanie Plum book -- Plum Spooky. I had to have it--and finished it off in under a day. Evanovich began her writing career as a romance writer, and there is something about her writing style that retains some of those qualities. However, her characters are fun, plots sometimes take some crazy twists and turns, and the mini series of novels "between the numbers" are developing something of their own personality. The setting is also fun: Trenton, New Jersey.

For the uninitiated, Stephanie Plum works as a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie; she is not the caliber of Dog the Bounty Hunter, however. She is more like a work study bounty hunter--who doesn't like guns and seems to blow up cars and lose her hand cuffs. What she does have is determination, some good friends, and dumb luck. She has a cute boyfriend, Joe Morelli, who is a cop but they seem to both have some commitment issues, so the relationship heats up and cools down. She also flirts with danger in the form of Ranger, a professional bounty hunter with other business interests, a crew of helpers, lots of tech toys, and a soft spot for Stephanie. From time to time, he rescues her or provides her another car or helps her take down a tough guy; sometimes, he uses her talents to get closer to a bad guy.

Stephanie hangs out with Lula, a plus size former hooker turned clerical worker and side kick at the bounty office. Connie,the office manager, is good with computers, stays cool, and has an endless supply of handcuffs and file folders with "perps" needing to be brought in by Stephanie. Stephanie also visits her family, especially at meal time. Her mother is a little upset by Stephanie's unusual career but is a good cook; her father mumbles a lot and seems like a nice man driven crazy by Grandma Mazur, who lives with them. Grandma is a handful, to say the least; she likes going to the funeral home for viewings, and if it is a closed casket, she wants to take a peek.

In Plum Spooky a mysterious man named Diesel shows up; he has some remarkable powers and has appeared in previous between the numbers novels. Diesel has some special powers, and is on the hunt for a bad guy, and needs Stephanie's help; it just so happens that one of her current fugitives is hanging out with the bad guy that Diesel is tracking. So they work together. At the same time, a friend of Stephanie's leaves her pet monkey at the apartment door; Carl needs to be babysat while his "mommy" goes on her honeymoon. Since this was not pre-arranged, Stephanie is rather surprised and not sure how to care for Carl. As it turns out, however, Carl becomes rather important in the story.

I liked the book, but it made me hungry for junk food; Stephanie could really use some of my Weight Watchers literature, to learn about the basic food groups and incorporate a little more fresh fruits and vegetables in her diet. I woke up today craving chocolate cake. If you're craving a good read, check out Plum Spooky. You can find it in the Express Books display; I promise it is going back tomorrow.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Nailbiter by Sarah Graves

Nailbiter (2006) is a bittersweet story in many ways; Jake and Ellie are faced with the challenge of finding a missing girl after a man is found murdered in a rental house they co-own. At the same time, Jake notices that something is going on with Victor, her ex-husband, who is a surgeon. Victor moved to the island to be closer to their son Sam and opened a clinic; since then, Victor's skill has saved a number of residents and he has become a part of their lives again. Sam is getting older, still struggling with some of the problems of the past, but maturing.

As is the case so often, Jake and Ellie unravel the mystery only to learn that things are not always as they seem, and that applies to several of the characters in the book as well as some of the plot twists. Through it all, Jake and Ellie must rely on each other, and come to recognize the gifts of the strange young woman they rescue.

You can find Nailbiter on CD Books at the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

My book club is reading Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to promote peace one school at a time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. There is also a version for younger readers, and I read both.

Greg Mortenson is a remarkable man in many ways; his parents were missionaries to Africa, and he spent a chunk of his childhood there. His father took Greg mountain climbing and that became his passion, along with studying to become a nurse. His younger sister had a lot of health problems and Greg wanted to find cures for her disease. Christa died and in 1993 he decided to climb K2 and leave her necklace at the top as a way to honor her; however, only 600 feet from the summit, another climber became ill. Greg helped the man get down to safety and then got separated from his climbing partner. He wandered-- lost -- before being found by his guide Mouzafer, who guided him down the mountain. However, they got separated again and Greg ended up in the village of Korphe, a Balti village, where he was greeted by the chief and given tea and a place to sleep.

Greg rested for several days and then wandered through the village; he asked Haji Ali to take him to see the village's school. The village was poor and could not afford a teacher and had no school building: Greg saw a group of children (mostly boys) kneeling on the ground, studying lessons without a teacher and using sticks to draw in the dirt. Greg decided that the best way to honor his sister's memory was to build the children a school. However, Greg was not a wealthy man and did not know how he would get the money to fulfill his promise.

The book traces his efforts to raise money, writing letters and speaking to groups. He gets help from some unexpected sources along the way--other mountain climbers and a wealthy man named Dr. Jean Hoerni who gave Greg the money to build a bridge so that they could get the materials to Korphe to build a school. In the process, he gains the respect and friendship--and fierce loyalty--of many people in Pakistan, and one of the amazing things about the book is seeing their country through his eyes.

He also describes meeting his wife at a dinner honoring one of the most famous mountain climbers of all time, Sir Edmund Hillary; Tara was there and noticed Greg standing in the back of the room. They began to talk, and discovered a connection. Six days later, they got married. They now have two children and live in Montana, where he continues to direct efforts to build schools. The book jacket reports that his organization has now built 55 schools, many of them for girls.

If you have not read this book, you need to read it! He describes being in Pakistan when September 11th took place, as well as being there shortly before the start up of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He talks about the extreme poverty of the people he met, and yet how willing they were to help him. He also gives insights into the origins of the Taliban, the very intense dislike of Osama Bin Laden by many Pakistanis, and the role of education in building a better world and a better relationship with the west.

You can find the book at the Cedar Falls library, listen to it on CD book from the WPL, borrow copies from the WPL book club collection, or WPL@HCC.

You may also want to learn more about the book, Greg, and his organization, Central Asia Institute (CAI).

http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
The book's website

http://www.gregmortenson.com
Greg's website

http://www.penniesforpeace.org/home.html
Greg also founded Pennies for Peace; one of his first contributions came from children at his mother's school, who collected pennies.


c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves

Like a junk food junkie, I'm on a Sarah Graves kick. Mike brought home The Dead Cat Bounce, which is the first book in the series. Jake has only lived in Eastport for about a year, but all of the familiar characters are there--her friends Ellie and George have not married yet, however. Jake has gotten involved with Wade, who she later marries -- a solid, tough man who works as a harbor pilot, and her son Sam is finding his way as he decides to follow his own wishes, and not those of his father.

As the book opens, Jake and Ellie are talking in her kitchen when Jake walks into her storeroom and finds a dead man. Of course, they call for the police, and George is the first to arrive--among his other jobs, he works as a part time police officer. He checks the murder scene and takes pictures, and then he and Jake discover that the murder weapon--an ice pick--is missing. Jake also realizes that only Ellie could have taken it. Things get worse when Ellie confesses to the crime to Police Chief Bob Arnold.

The dead man turns out to be Threnody Mellwaine, a local boy who grew up with Ellie's father, Alvin. However, while Alvin stayed on the island and ran a lumberyard, Thren went off to the big city and became a wealthy businessman. He had an argument with Alvin the morning of the murder and it is not clear how he ended up in Jake's storeroom. Ellie seems to be protecting someone, but who? As the obedient only daughter, she lives with her parents and cares for her mean spirited mother, who was once a beautiful young dancer but is now a bitter, crippled old woman. Ellie broke off her engagement with George after concluding that she could not break a promise to her father, who is the one who really raised her. Now Ellie will not defend herself but tells Jake that it is up to her to find out what happened.

As the book progresses, we get a better sense of the characters and their relationships--as well as the setting. Victor, Jake's ex-husband, makes an appearance and the contrast between Victor's self-centered personality and that of Wade could not be greater. Jake puts herself in danger unwittingly, while she tries to solve the mystery of who killed Thren and why Ellie confessed.

As it turns out, the title of the book is stock market jargon "for a small, temporary rise in a stock's trading price after a sharp drop." (from the book's backcover). Part of the unraveling of the mystery is finding out more about the financial dealings of Alvin and Thren.

Every time I read one of these books, I can smell the salt air, picture the harbor and recall the sound of the ocean waves crashing up on the shore. Having lived in Newport, Rhode Island for eleven years, I came to appreciate the wild beauty of the ocean and having lived in Newport, I understand something of what it means to live on an island. There were only a couple of routes off the island-- a very high bridge to Fall River and a toll bridge to Jamestown.

My first husband and I took a camping trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and I remember that trip with great memories of little fishing villages, wonderful food, and magnificent mountains and scenery. After reading this series, I want to take a road trip!

You can find The Dead Cat Bounce in the Waterloo Library's mystery section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Mallets Aforethought by Sarah Graves

One of the problems of discovering a great series is that you get so excited over each NEW book you don't always think to go back and read all of the earlier ones. So, I just finished yet another one of Sarah Grave's books in the Home Repair is Homicide Series--Mallets Aforethought. The series features best friends Jake and Ellie in Eastport, Maine. Ellie is in the last trimester of her pregnancy, but she and Jake are hard at work on restoring a local landmark, the Harlequin House. They discover a secret room--and an unpleasant surprise of two bodies inside that secret room. One of the bodies is that of Eva, an infamous flapper who was once involved with the owner of Harlequin House, an ancestor of Ellie's. Eva has apparently been there for at least 70 years; however, the other body seems like a fairly recent arrival.

It turns out that someone has killed Hector Gosling, a local businessman with shady ethics and a list of enemies--including George, Ellie's husband. When evidence seems to suggest that George killed Hector, he's put in jail and Jake has to support her friend through childbirth classes and try to investigate the case, all the while worrying that Ellie will give birth at any minute.

Published in 2004, this is the seventh book in the series, and another great read. I love the characters and relationships in this series, the description of the small town in Maine, the attention to details, quirky home repair advice, and clever storytelling. You can find Mallets Aforethought in the mystery section at the Waterloo Public Library.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Simple Genius by David Baldacci

I just finished a great book by an author new to me: David Baldacci's Simple Genius. The book is about two former Secret Service agents, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, who now work as private investigators. They are good friends and partners; however, Michelle is exhausted and troubled and enters a rehab facility while Sean scrambles to find a case that will help him pay for it all. He gets hired to investigate the mysterious death of a brillant scientist, Monk Turing, at Babbage Town, a secretive facility that just happens to be across the river from Camp Peary, once a naval station and now a CIA training camp.

Michelle settles into her new routine, meeting with Psychologist Horatio Barnes, while Sean settles into his assignment. However, answers to his questions are not easily obtained, and after he arrives, the one man who speaks with him ends up dead himself. After meeting the local sheriff and M. E., Sean next meets Turing's young daughter, Viggie, who has a fascination with manipulating numbers but problems relating to people. Viggie is being looked after by another scientist named Alicia, and Alicia soon begs Sean for his help keeping Viggie safe. Sean continues to investigate, but feels as though he is getting nowhere.

In the meantime, Michelle struggles to resolve her resistance to therapy and makes friends with another woman at the facility; she also notes some strange behavior at night, and discovers that one of the workers is sending mysterious packages from the facility, so she begins her own investigation. Horatio gets permission to speak to Michelle's older brother and becomes convinced that her current problem stem from something traumatic that happened many years ago. When he has a week of vacation, Horatio decides to do some investigation of his own and visits Michelle's girlhood home town and talks to one of her old neighbors. While he's gone, Michelle is able to prove that the creepy worker is committing a crime and contacts the authorities; she is able to avert a tragedy as well. Feeling back on top of her game, she checks herself out of treatment shortly before Horatio returns; she is determined to join Sean and resume their partnership.

Sean has already decided he needs help and has contacted Horatio about coming down to meet Viggie, who has been called autistic because of her strange way of behaving around other people. However, Sean is convinced that Viggie knows things that will help him determine what happened to her father. Thus, both Horatio and Michelle arrive at Babbage Town and the book's action really takes off.

The book has all of the ingredients I need for a good read: authentic characters, plot twists, good dialogue, a little history, a mix of action and mystery, and a very contemporary feel. However, like the cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae, the book also includes other elements: the scientists at Babbage Town are trying to develop a quantum computer, the C. I. A. is in the throes of the war against terrorism, and much of the action relies on the the cooperation (and sometimes the competition) between various law enforcement agencies.

You can find Simple Genius in the WPL adult fiction area as well as in large type and CDbook. Check it out: you won't need an advanced degree in Quantum Physics to appreciate it!

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

The Secret of Lost Things

The Secret of Lost Things is the story of Rosemary, an 18 year old orphan who comes to New York City after the death of her mother; she grew up in Tasmania, in a little apartment over her mother's hat shop. She never knew her father. Her mother's dearest friend Chaps buys her a ticket and gives her some money, and Rosemary is off on her great adventure.

Rosemary arrives in New York in the rain, with her few possessions. She finds a room in a shabby hotel and soon finds a job at a very unusual secondhand bookstore called the Arcade; owned by the eccentric Mr. Pike and managed by Walter Geist (an albino), the Arcade is filled with used books of all sorts, and has a Rare book room. As Rosemary settles in, she develops a friendship with Pearl, the cashier,and a crush on Oscar, who is in charge of Nonfiction. As the story progresses, Rosemary stumbles onto a mystery when Walter Geist, who is growing blinder by the day, asks her to read him a letter about a lost manuscript by Herman Melville--and an offer by an unknown party to sell the manuscript to the Arcade.

Sheridan Hay has a wonderful writing style: richly descriptive, she captures not only the feel of a large city like New York, an eccentric cast of characters and a variety of settings, but she also gives the reader a sense of what it would feel like to lose a parent and set off on a journey and huild a life for oneself. The power of friendship, the betrayal of passion, and the enduring love of family (including those friends who become family, like Chaps and Pearl) all make this a satisfying read. Literature lovers will be fascinated by the inclusion of actual correspondence between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

You can find The Secret of Lost Things in the WPL Adult Fiction section.

c Waterloo Public Library 2008