Darkness First by James Hayman

When a doctor reaches out to try to help an abused woman, the woman ends up dead and the doctor severely injured.   Suspicion surrounds the doctor when a bag of Oxy is found in her pocket.  Detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe know the killers name, but soon learn that is leading them nowhere, and the murdered woman’s young sister is in grave danger.

Darkness First does an amazing job of drawing the reader deep into the story. With its shifting locations and characters, the story is progresses very meticulously.  There is the perfect balance of narration and dialog, and the characters are well-developed and interesting. This mystery/police procedural was an all-around great read, and I highly recommend it for fans of this genre.

I received a review copy of this book from Witness Impulse in return for an honest and fair review.

If You Were Me and Lived In Norway by Carole P. Roman

Carole P. Roman's If You Were Me series travels this time to "The Land of the Midnight Sun", Norway.  As her previous books in this series,she gives bits of information about the country that would be most
interesting to children.  It covers places you would go, activities you would participate in, foods you would eat, and basic information about daily life in Norway.

I am always so impressed with these books. Text appears on one page with a full page illustration on the facing page. The illustrations are colorful and detailed.  This is an excellent introduction for children to the world around us and cultures that are different from ours. I highly recommend the entire series.

Robert B Parker's Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman

I enjoyed very much this latest Jesse Stone book. The author, Michael Brandman, is carrying forward the late Robert B Parker's series.   I have not read all of books in the original Stone series, but the character in this book was exactly as I expected him to be. His moods, actions, and interactions with the characters are all as I envisioned Jesse to be.  The only problem I had was the portrayal of Jesse as a cat person instead of a dog person!  

 I especially enjoyed the interaction with Jesse and his friend in the nursing home and it was absolutely in character for Jesse. Although a little different, it is still a great addition to the story of Jesse Stone. I hope CBS will pick up this book and make another Tom Sellick Jesse Stone movie!

365 Pocket Devotions

The best way to start my day is a good devotion to focus on the things of God. 365 Pocket Devotions has a daily text with a Bible verse taken mostly from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Each day begins with “A reflection on:” and then a main topic, followed by times when this topic will be most applicable to my life. Just a few of the topics are Gentleness, Hope, Joy, Unanswered Prayer, Finding True Life and Grace. There is also a Topical Index at the back for those days you may need a particular topic.  In spite of our busy days, these brief passages are perfect for a quick focus for the day.

The Bible passages are perfectly matched with the devotion text, not something I always find in devotionals, and even though the text is short, they are meaningful. One of the shortest devotions was on Hope, and I thought it was also one of the most powerful.

The cover is a pretty color that stands out so I can’t misplace it. It is made of smooth imitation leather and the binding seems very secure for long use.

My only complaint was the numbering of the pages. Instead of a perpetual calendar type labeling, it was just Day 1, Day 2, etc. I found it much more difficult to remember where I was, although it does have a ribbon place marker which does help. I would still have preferred a month and day format.

I received a review copy from Tyndale in return for my honest opinion. 

Grievous Bodily Harm by Jane Bennett Munro

Marcus Manning is hired to help with transitioning a privately owned hospital to one of the large hospital corporations. Unfortunately, he is an over-the-top jerk harassing his subordinates. Just one of those subordinates is the main character, Toni Day. The story held my interest, but there was absolutely nothing believable in the story. The culture in the hospital didn't ring true, and most of the characters have such exaggerated personalities that they became obnoxious, especially the wise-crackin’ Toni. While I know the book was written in a lighthearted manner, there was one incident in the book that just irritated me. Toni and another character, Jeannie, are talking about other hospital employees and one in particular. She was a fellow medical professional, a Certified Nursing Assistant, and they ridiculed her lack of education. They also called her feeble minded.
It was Just OK for me and I think it needed less dialog and more narration.

Bumper Wipe Clean Activities by Juliet David and Illustrated by Marie Allen

Nice and compact, this Bumper Wipe Clean Activities book can be carried along for use while traveling or for a home busy-book. The book has bright colors and good illustrations and with seventy pages of activities, it will keep a child busy for a quite a while. Of course, the wipe-clean feature allows for reuse.  The activities include dot-to-dot, mazes, tracing words and numbers, color pages, drawing pages, misplaced items, same or different, and so much more.  The hardcover and laminated pages are very sturdy and the book opens flat for ease of use.

The book comes with one dry-erase marker, but a note on the back of the book states that most good quality felt-tip pens and crayons can be used on the laminated pages.  The book is labeled for 3+ and for most of the activities that is a good guideline.  I recommend this as a project book or a fun devotional activity book.

I received a review copy for Kregel in exchange for a honest review.

Stillwell, A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash

Stillwell is a very sad story of the grief of a newly widowed father, his children, and the adjustments they must make. The grief overwhelms most of the book and the ghost story gets rather lost in it. I wish the dramatic scenes at the old home had started more slowly and built up gradually. The house and grounds needed more description in a way to create more of a creepy atmosphere. I did like the characters and it was a fast easy read.

Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold by Joyce Magnin

Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold is the second Harriet Beamer book. In the first book Harriet has come to point in her life when her family thinks it is best that she move across the country to live with them. Now in the second book Harriet is settle in, but is restless and looks for things to do and friends to find. She meets Lily and Old Man Crickets, a teen and her father. Harriet immediately gets swept into “gold fever”. This is a lighthearted book a quick read, and even a little silly in places. The message of what having a true treasure is evident as Harriet spends more time with her son and gets better acquainted with her daughter-in-law, Prudence. It was an OK book, but I preferred the first book for two reasons. In the first book Harriet’s personality was that of a long-time married woman, recently widowed, becoming a bit of a free spirit. Although I don’t think it was the intent of the author, in this book, I think Harriet came across as someone flighty and of impaired judgment due to aging. The other reason was that I was totally put off by a conversation Harriet had with the illegal aliens hired to do construction work in Henry’s home and the following discussion about it between Henry and Prudence.

Zondervan has provided me with a complimentary advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®. in exchange for an honest review.

The Fastest Growing Religion on Earth by Doug Bremner

Full Title: The Fastest Growing Religion on Earth: How Genealogy Captured the Brains and Imaginations of Americans

The title is a little misleading as this book is not about religion, but more about a growing obsession and passion for genealogy. I have spent about twelve years researching my genealogy, but I have always found that it is difficult to be interested in someone else’s history. Fortunately, Douglas Bremner is an excellent writer, and he has the ability to draw the reader into his story. I found it a little difficult to follow at times, but then I find it hard to follow my research when it gets a few generations back. This is not a recitation of names and places, but a real story of the history of this family and the struggle in finding information about a broken family. I enjoyed reading about his method of finding and connecting with people for whom he hoped would hold the key to his story.

Death Never Sleeps by David Grace

Death Never Sleeps is another great detective story from David Grace. He always has interesting twists and surprise connections in his stories, and Death Never Sleeps is the perfect example of this style. There are two murders, seemingly unconnected, with nothing but a gut feeling that leads the detectives to believe they are connected. There are also previously unsolved cases that haunt the detectives. The main characters, Big Jim and Chris are both interesting and likable. Big Jim is a more traditional detective, but with secrets. Chris is very intelligent, but his social skills and interpersonal associations are limited. The characteristics of these two men blend well together to create a great partnership. This is a good story with complex and unusual characters. It has the prefect balance of dialog and narration, and the story held my interest throughout. I read mainly in the mystery and police genres so it is difficult to surprise me, but this book certainly did.

The One Year My Princess Devotions Preschool Edition by Karen Whiting

This is a very well-timed book with the new Princess movies and television cartoons. The book is absolutely beautiful with lovely illustrations and princess “doodles” through out the book. Even more importantly, the book is a well-written devotional for young children.

Each day has a theme for the day, Royal Words, Princess Thoughts, A Prayer for the King, and Princess in Action.  The Royal Words is, of course, a Bible verse.  The verses are taken from versions NIrV, NIV, NLT and CEV. Each are very well explained so that the child will not be confused and will know exactly what the verse is about.  Princess Thoughts is a short explanation and application. A Prayer for the King is a short, one or two sentence prayer, and Princess in Action is a suggested activity that helps apply what she has learned to her life. 

This is an excellent devotional that can be read to a preschool girl, but I would also expand the recommended 3-5 year age group to 3-7.

I received a review copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers  in return for an honest and fair review.  I provide a link to Amazon.com to purchase the book, but it is only as a courtesy and I receive no compensation if purchased.

Amazon.com link for My Princess Devotions

Capturing Every Day Life by Jane Goodrich

This is the perfect book for those of us who think we can't do without a point-and-shoot camera. It has an easy tutorial of light, shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, and ISO that didn't make my eyes glaze over. So how do we get those amazing shots? It is all explained in her chapters on working with children and the tips she gives by age group, from infants to teens. There is also a chapter on troubleshooting that explains what is wrong when a photo doesn't look right.

I am surprised with how much is packed into this 63 page book. Not only is there good information, but it is filled with stunning photographs which immediately gave me ideas for unique photographs of my own. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about taking eye-catching photographs.

Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin

Golden Boy is the story of an intersex teen growing up as a boy in a family divided in how to deal with his birth defect.  The story was definitely interesting and held my interest, but it was a bit melodramatic for me.  The main character seemed to be lost in this story that is broken up by the other characters. Each section starts with a character’s name with their POV, much of which just breaks up the continuity of the story and makes it choppy. 

I didn't find the story all that believable and the end was a little too simplistic. As I said, it held my interest, but I wasn't moved emotionally by it. As I was reading I kept thinking it was a plot for a Lifetime channel movie.

The Longings of Wayward Girls by Karen Brown

The Longings of Wayward Girls has a rather slow start, but eventually the story unfolds as Sadie and her friends play a cruel trick on a friend. With the descriptions of the woods, the pond, and the inclusion of a town map hand drawn in the book, the sense of location was well done.

Reading about the playtime of children is not exactly compelling, and the book spends quite a bit of time with the main characters as children. The story covers the lives and actions of childhood friends and the repercussions of their childish behavior that lingers after they have grown into adults.

 I guess the character of Sadie was meant to be portrayed as a sympathetic character because of the loss of a baby and overwhelming depression, but Sadie seemed to me to be a selfish, self-focused woman still acting like a child. Caring about her was difficult. Her obsession with a childhood friend and his connection to her mother was a little odd and not very believable.

My biggest disappointment is that the book begins with the disappearance of Laura Loomis and although it appears to be basis of the book, it was really not part of the story at all. Ultimately, the only thing I cared about is never resolved.

If You Were Me And Lived In ...South Korea by Carole P. Roman

I absolutely love this series! If You Were Me And Lived In South Korea... is another in a series by Carole P. Roman introducing young readers to cultures around the world. The book teaches about location, common names of boys and girls, favorite toys, foods, hobbies, holidays, and so much more.

The book is very colorful with very charming illustrations. One page has text and the facing page has the full-page illustration. The series is both educational and fun, and I hope very much to see more of these books in the future. Although for young readers, my two-year old granddaughter was very excited when she spotted the book on my end table and immediately began going through it. I would definitely recommend it for ages 2 and up.