The book I am going to discuss is my second foray with this author, Death by the Light of the Moon by Joan Hess. I found this one just as good as the other one. This one is in another of her series and is about another character, but was a good read. At only 200 pages that is one of the downfalls of this book. I find this a refreshing change over the books dealing with mysteries that add sex and gruesome violence to their stories where it isn’t always needed. I don’t believe because of the length of the books I would want to buy them, unless you can get them in an anthologies or find them used. I think that they have some re-reading value, but I may just explore the local library for more of her books instead of buying. All in all this book also takes place on the edge of the bayou with a “landed” family that is all crazy, but takes themselves all very seriously. The main character is visiting her in-laws which takes her outside of her normal place. I am giving this quick great read 3 1/2 stars.

The next book I am going to discuss is  Kim Harrison’s For a Few Demons More. First of all if you do not like the vampire fiction you may not like this series. This is book five of the Rachel Morgan series. The series starts off with a bang and introduces a world of vampires, werewolves, witches, pixies, elves, just to name a few. It takes place in Cincinnati and entails the adventures of a vampire, Ivy, Pixy, Jax, and witch, Rachel. It is a very entertaining series and in fact the latest installment is going to be rated 4 stars. Just for all of those skeptic out there: there is not all the romance that is found in a lot of other series. There are some passes to the romance angle, but none of the attachments some series have. This is a great installment and I highly recommend it. Read the rest of the series first!

The next one in the bag was by a newer author for me. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson, was a very quick and suspenseful read. I on many occasions wondered if they would outsmart the master adversary. In time they did, but it took them months to completely break him, maybe even years. The twist ending to the book that rounded out more enemies surprised me and left me hanging until the very end. This book left a lot unsaid but it answered all the questions while throwing in a little DC flavor in the mix. I highly recommend this book and give it three and half stars.

In the same bag from my mom is Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts. I have read a few of her books in the past, but she is not an author I seek out. This book about a Italian girl that grows up surrounded by fire. She studies it and works for an arson unit in the old neighborhood. It relies heavily on her family and past to get the book rolling and continuing throughout the story. The one fault I think of is that when something is going down I could always guess who it is. If the father was shamed the son would be too right? The police do not make the obvious leaps until the very end of the story when the guy introduces himself basically. It raps the rest of the story up well, but leaves you hanging in other aspects of the story. Is her sister, Isabella, really that stupid? Would she really stand for what she does with the background she has in her family. Overall a quick read and I give it also about 2 stars.

I pulled this book out of the bag of books my mom gave me. Basically it is about a rural cop that is trying to solve a murder, find the fathers for a passel of illegitimate children and the growers of a massive patch of weed. In this book much mayhem in sues as the children are filthy and foul in every since of the word and the fact that this town only has 756 residents. Yes it is one of those small southern towns. The first tip off this book might not be too bad was the fact that Barbara Michaels (a favorite author of mine) is quoted on the front of the book. This was in my opinion a good read for a classic mystery, but no suspense as some can be so I am giving it 2 stars out of five.