Andean Express is a glimpse into the life of the recently graduated Ricardo. We follow Ricardo on his train ride from Bolivia to Chile. He has made this trip with his parents numerous times in the past, but this is his first solo trip and a whirlwind of chaos ensues.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. I read the book for the mystery book group, but I didn't find it to be a mystery. The only mysterious thing about the book is wondering who hired Rocha, but I really didn't care enough about the story or the characters to wonder all that much. It ends rather abruptly, leaving a loose end or two and introducing a new character in the last couple of chapters. At times, I was intrigued by the story, but as a whole it didn't draw me in. Most of the time, it is well written. At other times, I had difficulty understanding what was going on. I almost think I'd have understood it better if I read it in the original Spanish.

It's not bad, but it's not a book I would choose to read again.

This is a story of three sisters, Caroline, Clea and Skye and their mother Agusta who live in a New England town.  A tragedy took place in their house many years earlier on Christmas Eve--a man shot himself in their house in front of the family.  Years later his son comes to town to retrieve treasure from a shipwreck that had taken place in the 1700s.  The son and Caroline had been pen pals for many years and their correspondence had abrubtly stopped when he had found out the truth about his fathers death.  Skye is a sculpture who likes alcohol.  Caroline owns an inn in town and Clea is married with two children.  The man, Joe, finds the ship and the treasure and brings it up to be salvaged.  Later, after Joe and Caroline have reconciled, they leave for Greece together.  This book was fine; I believe my preference is non-fiction.

This was an interesting debut novel by Ellen Airgood.  It is set in the area she resides in, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the town of McAllaster.  Madeline Stone, running away from her old life, takes a job as a live in helper for Arbutus, a shut in friend of her grandfather.  She comes to a small village where the new people and the old timers are in a feud.  The old timers want things the way that they have always been, although they see that time marches on, and that things can't stay the same.  Madeline gets involved in the community's on going disagreement with the owners of the grocery, who have done away with credit accounts for the eldery folks.  She also meets Paul, who owned the local pizza joint, Randi, an unwed mother with a dear little boy, and may of the town's inhabitiants.

With Madeline's help, the town comes together, joins forces and tries to revitalize the ecomony.  Madeline is able to reopen the hotel, the grocers give in, she goes on to marry Paul and all the inhabitants get a better way of life.  This was not too bad of a 1st novel , although it was a little jumpy in spots. 

I enjoyed this book.  Tim Gunn is a fashion icon, due to the success of Project Runway.  He is the mentor to the 15 or so designers who participate in the fashion reality show.  His famous catchprase is: "Make it Work", and that is what he believes in life.  He believes that treating people well, helping them reach their potential and learning from mistakes will make all of us better.  As he talks about life's little lessons, we also see the man behind the beliefs and learn some things about his family and the Project Runway contestants.  It's a fun but serious book that teaches the reader that being nice has very many advantages.

Read about 100 pages of this locally written tome.  It is full of violence, murders, rapes, suicides,drug deals gone wrong and just plain awfulness.  Did not meet even one worthwhile character.  This book is just gorey and scarey.  I could not see anything redeeming about the book.  Wish the author had disguised the location a little better.  The book would discourage anyone from ever coming to Harrison County for fear they would end up dead.  Not a book I would recommend to anyone I know or didn't know. 

Three generations of Colorado women hide some secrets, marry and raise their children in a beautiful victorian house in Georgetown, Colorado.  Georgetown is a small, former prosperous, mining town in the Rockies.  Grandma Nealy gave birth to her daughter, Pearl, in the house. Pearl grows up in the house, marries late in life and gives birth to Susan, who grows up in Chicago but loves the "Bride's House" all the same.  Each woman has a secret to hide, the secrets are the same for each generation. 

Not the best of Sandra Dallas's books, but a good read with more information about the mining history of the Colorado Rockies. 

Lexicographer Abigail Harker leaves behind a personal tragedy to move to Chapel Isle, North Carolina.  She becomes the caretaker of a non-functioning lighthouse full of secrets.  Along the way she meets a whole town of quirky folks, who help her come to terms with her life.  She helps solve the mystery of who is breaking in to the vaction homes of the rich, solves the mystery of the lighthouse and rejuvenates the yard and buildings she calls home.  She even survives a brush with a hurricane, finds romance and helps a wrongly accused friend extricate himself from false murder charges.  Not bad for a woman who came to get away from her problems and bad memories!

The people of Crystal Hill feel that the former mayor, Mayor Crystal, is punishing them for wrongdoings. He had been a straight-laced, hard man in life and the citizens were sure he was still watching and judging them. Adam, an eleven-year-old boy, takes it upon himself to discover why Mayor Crystal is punishing them and set it all right. However, things don't go exactly according to plan.

Being from Indiana, there were quite a few things in the story to which I can relate. I can also relate to Adam’s curiosity. I found the book to be very interesting and I just had to know what was going to happen next. It is written in country slang, reminiscent of a Mark Twain novel, so I did struggle at times, but the language adds to the flavor of the story and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I give The Liberation of Crystal Hill four stars!

Skyjack is a fascinating story of the successful skyjacking of a Boeing 737 in the fall of 1971.  The hijacker,D. B. Cooper (alias) demanded a ransom of $200,000 in twenties along with parachutes.  Today this ransom would be worth more than a million dollars.  The author has done research into the lives of the four likely suspects, the pilots, flight attendants, FBI agents and amateur sleuths.  The boy who found some of the money nine years later on a river feels it was a curse to his family.  I liked the re-creation of the crime from cabin to cockpit to tower.  It took a skilled person to jump out of a plane into a dark rainy night falling toward the forest.  There was nothing to show if Cooper escaped or died in the fall.  Only a small amount of the money was found.  It’s great reading about the suspects and their backgrounds.  Some confessed to the crime, but not enough evidence.  The motive didn’t appear to be just about money but getting away with something.  When asked by the flight attendant, if he had a grudge against the airline, Cooper responded “no I just have a grudge.  One of the great cold cases of the twentieth century. 

This is a book about a small mixed breed dog, who get lost from his first owner and travels the country with the help of many people in hope of finding her.  Nelson is a beagle/poodle mix.  As a puppy he is purchased from a pet store by Katey and Don.  He loves Katey, her piano playing and her gentleness to him.  Her husband, Don, is ok, but not overly enthused with the dog, especially when Katey is gone on concert tours and he is left to care for Nelson.  He is also not faithful to Katey.  One day he accidently leaves the gate open in the back yard, enabling Nelson to escape.  Then the adventure begins for little Nelson.

He lives at a landfill, finds a friend named Thatcher who is a truck driver.  For several years they crisscross the United States delivering freight until one night in Kalispell, Montana, Thatcher is assaulted and taken to the hospital.  When the tow truck driver atttempts to move Thatcher's semi, Nelson escapes.  For awhile, he lives in the town with Lucy, another stray.  Then he is hit by a motorcycle and ends up first at a vet's, where his back leg is amputated, and then at a kill shelter.  Only by the skin of his teeth, he escapes before being euthanized.

After living on the road for a little while, Nelson is adopted by a pack of wolves.  He grows up with the wolf cubs, but leaves the safety of the wolves' den to go back on the road.  Somehow he wanders from Montana to California; is picked up by animal control and ends up in another shelter, where he is passed over for adoption.  He is just about ready to be euthanized again, when a little boy named Oliver, and his father Jake adopt him.  He has a great life with them, until one day a relative posts a picture of Nelson dancing to "Here Comes the Sun", which was Katey's favorite tune to play just for Nelson.  Katey sees the video and comes to take Nelson home.  Since the family loved him so much, she allows them to come often to see him.  Of course, in the end, Jake and Katey get married and the four of them live happily ever after.

This was a good book, fairly predictable and well written.  The author lets the reader view the world thru the eyes of Nelson.  As an added bonus there is music, that given the correct equipment, you can download from the internet.  Each chapter has its own musical work.