My sister gave me this book the other day; I looked at it and saw a horse on it and thought "not another horse book"!  but this is a great book, beautifully written and researched by the author.  The book is based on the song "Tennessee Stud" by Jimmy Driftwood and recorded by many country singers.  The author was intrigued with the story and the song, so he set out to research the orgins of the lyrics.

This is the story of Robert Johnson, a resident of Tennessee.  He lives on a small farm and wants to settle down, marry and raise horses from his special stud horse.  He is  in love with Jo, a neighbor's daughter.  Her family does not want them to marry and they would like to dispute the ownership of the land Robert claims as his own.  They would also like to steal his horse.  They end up framing him for a murder he did not committ.  To escape hanging, Robert takes off through Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas, one step in front of the bounty hunter, MacDonald.  Riding his gifted and beloved "Stud", they have many adventures, do some racing and come close to starving to death several times.  Set in the 1820's, the horse and owner endure many hardships as they avoid being brought in by the bounty hunter.  They meet up with some Indians, who steal the stud, Robert's belongings including his shoes and clothing and leave him to die in the wilderness.  Some Mexican vaqueros find and rescue him and the story continues. 

Will Robert find his horse, return home to the woman he loves and prove his innocence?  Read and see.

I enjoyed this book, it is part history, part romance and part suspense.  Set in Walls of Water, North Carolina, it is the story of an old hotel called the Blue Ridge Madam, and two ladies who love their small town, its people, and the old hotel.  It is also about keeping and discovering secrets, old and new.

Willa, a sporting goods store owner and Paxton, a young socialite and business woman, were not very good friends in high school, Paxton was "Miss Everythng" and Willa was the high school prankster from hell.  However, the grandmothers, who are best friends, and former workers at the Madam, wish the girls were friends.  Now the two older ladies are in the same nursing home, one has alzheimers and the other is nearly blind. 

Paxton is the head of the Women's Club and is helping it celebrate its 75th anniversary.  At the same time, the Blue Ridge Madam is undergowing renovation and Paxton hopes to have the gala there.  Things are soon complicated when a skeleton is found under a peach tree.  Grandma Georgia knows who the skeleton belongs to and why he is buried there and how he died.

To tell more about the book would spoil the story.  While unraveling the mystery, realtionships are formed, friendships are tested and things will never be the same.  Read the book to see who killed the stranger under the peach tree and why it happened.

A very good book by one of my favorite authors, Last Light over Carolina is set in South Carolina.  It is the story of the Morrison Family; Bud, Carolina and Lizzy.  Bud and Carolina are about 30 years into their marriage.  Lizzy is a divorced, single mother of a little boy.  They all live together and help each other out.  Bud runs a shrimp boat, Carolina is a housewife, and Lizzy works at the local diner to make ends meet. 

The story of the relationship between Bud and Carolina is told in a series of flashbacks after Bud goes shrimping alone and gets his hand caught in the winch of his boat.   Trapped with no help, he must hope that the townspeople and his wife figure out where he is and that he needs help.  Can they realize that Bud is in trouble and find him in time?

Set in California, this book is about Tracy Potter and her son, Matt.  Her husband, Glenn, has just passed away and left her a mountain of debt from his business dealings and the Heartbreak Hotel, an old run down inn that Tracy decides to remodel and sell.  Tracy can't figure out where Glenn's money has gone, but she sells her home and moves into the hotel.  During the renovation, a man on a Harley stops and checks in to get out of the rain.  Wade MacAllister, unknown to Tracy, is a world famous author whose last book inspired a killer to copy the methods in his book and kill 12 people.  Wade is just trying to get some peace in his life.

The book is full of twists and turns.  Wade begins to dream about a ship's captain who returned from being shipwrecked for a year, to find that his wife died in childbirth and his child was still born.  The dreams are so real that he stays on at the hotel to find out about the story of the captain and his wife.  Tracy works on the hotel, discovers she is strong, then finds out a terrible thing about her dead husband; he had an affair with her best friend and fathered a child. 

The writing is very good but a little predictable.  I enjoyed the book. It mixes historical fiction with present day lives.  Mystery lovers will like it, too.  There are several mysteries to be solved in the story.

I liked this book.  It is a series of short stories about a small town in Maine called Crosby.  The inhabitants of ths small town are somewhat sad to see progress come to the village, including Olive, a math rteacher and her pharamacist husband, Henry.  The short stories revole around the town's people and the Kitteridge family.  Olive, a grumpy, frumpy stick in the mud type lady, has something to say about all the goings on in her town and most of it is not pleasant to hear.  She is  appalled at what goes on and the problems that seem to visit Crosby. 

Although each story is not about Olive and Henry, she plays a part in each section.  Although she is not an overly friendly favorite in the town, she gives sound advice and guidance and seems to at times, be the town guardian.  At the end of the book, the reader will find a softer, gentler side of Olive and she becomes more likable,

After I read the book, I saw a lot of Olive in me and in others.  Olive may have been an old, opinionate grouch, but her advice is usually sound and she is a strong shoulder to lean on.  I guess every small town needs an Olive to look out for it.

Serge and Coleman are back with all the gang in Tim Dorsey's new Christmas story When Elves Attack. Our favorite anti-hero decides it's time to celebrate the holidays in a big way and recruits City and Country to help out. With G-Unit along for the ride, you know there's going to be plenty of sparkle. Unfortunately, all these old characters make When Elves Attack a poor choice for newcomers to the Serge mythos. They'll be completely lost. Of course, there's lots of mayhem as Serge deals with bad guys, Grinches and naughty elves using his own special style. Along the way, he helps the Davenports (Jim and Martha) handle some family crises and defends them from thugs with pain in mind. He even guides their daughter Nicole through teenage angst and the pitfalls of young love.

Many people believe Serge is a psychotic serial killer, but in reality he's so much more. He's our collective id, doing battle with 21st century evil and stupidity. Serge is, dare I say it, a new Dark Knight with Coleman as his (literally) dopey Boy Wonder. He's also one of the great philosophers and commentators of our time.

"But why are we wearing elf suit?"

"To spread good cheer."

"What for?"

"Because of the War on Christmas."

"Who started the war?" asked Coleman.

"Ironically, the very people who coined the term and claim others started the war. They're upset that people of different faiths, along with the coexistence crowd who respect those faiths, are saying 'Seasons Greetings' and 'Happy Holidays.' But nobody's stopp;ing anyone from saying 'Merry Christmas.'"

"And they're still mad?"

Serge shrugged. "It's the new holiness: Tolerance can't be tolerated."

Forget what I said earlier. Read the book even if you've never read any of Dorsey's others. Sure, you'll be confused, but that's a common state in Dorseyland. Despite your confusion, you'll discover a great series with quirky, enjoyable characters and wonderful plots, and you'll love the ride.

Season's greetings, merry Christmas, and happy holidays.

An excellent book about Nellie, her little brother, Henry, her rebellious half sister Ruth and their disfunctional parents.  Throw in along the way are the weird neighbors, the Humboldts; she is a huge woman and her brother is a cross dresser.  Dad owns the hardware store which is about to go under due to Home Depot, Walmart and all the other chain stores. Mom is a beautician forced to go back to work to help support the family.  Charlie, the grandpa, owns the junkyard and employs ex-convict Max as a helper.  Add in the bunch of local weird kids that Nellie and Henry go to school with for a place that is never dull. 

To make more money, Mom rents the small attached apartment to her friend's niece, Dolly Bedelia, who is a stripper and exotic dancer at a local watering hole.  She is also having an affair with Mr. Cooper, who wants to buy the family hardware store and whose children go to school with Henry and Nellie.  When Dolly's water heater goes out, Max comes to fix it.  Nellie is watching him.  When he asks Nellie to see if Dolly is home so he can finish the connections, Nellie finds Dollie dead in her kitchen and the house in shambles.  Max is soon arrested but Nellie is sure he did not kill Dolly. She thinks she knows, but no one takes her seriously.  No one will listen.  Instead, her parents take Nellie to a psychiatrist.

Can Nellie get Max off the hook and help the adults discover the real killer?  Read and see! 

This is the second book of the series about lexicographer Abigail Harker and her adventures living on Chapel Isle, NC.  Abby has survived the winter at the lighthouse she lives in and now must survive the North Carolina coastal summer: heat, humidity, flies, and most of all, tourists.  Now there is talk of looking for a shipwreck, there is an arsonist or arsonists on the loose, the visitors can't do much but tear up the rental houses and someone keeps trying to break in to Abby's place.

Abby also meets a guy named Tim who seems to have his eye on her.  Is it romance he's after or something else? 

In this sequel to Watersmeet, Abisina must fight to unite the North and the South in the aftermath of the war against Charach. Watersmeet's supplies are exhausted due to refugees flooding in from the South and the surviving villages in the South are in the same situation. It's up to Abisina to help them all.

I was skeptical at first, because I thought Watersmeet was a decent stand-alone book. However, I actually liked The Centaur's Daughter better. This book deals more with the depth of the characters and their attempts to overcome generations of prejudice. I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy and anyone looking for a great allegory.

What would you do if your very rich husband was arrested and charged with bilking all sorts of investors of their life savings in the amount of $14 billion dollars and you had no idea what he was doing?  Meredith Martin Delinn's husband ran a Ponzi scheme and took money from friends, family and complete strangers to finance his scheme.  Unsuspecting Meredith escapes to Cape Cod and her friend Connie's home.  Even though Meredith has no knowledge of what her husband has been doing, the police think she does and offer to let her off the hook, if she can help them recover the money.  Connie helps Meredith and in return, her house gets spray painted with "Crook", her tires are slashed and the seal who shows up daily is killed and left on the front porch.  Meredith must seach through her memories and knowledge of her husband's activities to figure out just where the money is hidden or she also faces going to jail.  By putting the many clues that her husband has left behind, Meredith is able to figure out where the money is and make sure that most of the investors get part of their money back.