You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2008.
Psychologist and soon-to-be-divorced Kate Holly is almost as confused as her patients. She loves her husband but can’t take the stress of his job as a Firefighter. So, rather than try and work through her fears, she runs from their relationship and files for divorce. In the mean time she is also dealing with her patients, all of whom are a little off-kilter. She’s dealing with the explicit sculpture that her Mother and Aunt have placed in her front yard. She’s somehow adopted a dog who has just had puppies in her laundry room. And she’s having to deal with her ex-boyfriend and collegue who not only refers patients to her, but seems to want her back, if only for the sex. What’s a lady to do?
This book was an amusing and touching look into the life of a woman who has her own obsessive-compulsive tendencies to deal with while trying to keep all the people in her life from driving her over the edge. Holly is at times vulnerable and strong, an appealing combination that makes this character more “real” than many I’ve read in a while. “Mike”, the dog who adopts Holly is a small, but loveable contribution to the book, as well as her puppies.
There are laugh out loud moments, tear inducing moments and times when you just want to shake Holly. A thoroughly enjoyable book with memorable characters.
Charlotte Hughes is best known for her “Full House” books written with Janet Evanovich. This is her first book in a few years and is a welcome addition to my shelves, as Hughes proves she is moving forward with her writing career. I hope you’ll give this book a try.
Ghost of a Chance by Kate Marsh is not your normal mystery. Written by one of todays more prolific paranormal writers, Katie MacAlister, her trademark humor and paranormal settings abound. Not all worlds are seen or understood, and people aren’t always what they seem. That is the basis for this paranormal mystery.
Karma Marx is an exorcist, one who is weregeld, meaning she is bound as punishment to work for the Otherworld. As she is also married to Spider, a sleazy real-estate agent, she is feeling burdened and over-whelmed. As part of a Divorce agreement to Spider, Karma will expunge his current real-estate purchase of all it’s Ghosties. But, this will be a serious problem for Karma because the houses occupants are not normal, nor are they willing to go, and their care-taker Adam is the least of her worries when the house becomes sealed and Spider turns up dead. Add in a Foster-teen who is not what she seems, her late husbands underhanded partner and his flaky wife, her well-meaning but sneaky father, and Adam who is a cop in BOTH worlds and Karma has her work cut out for her in solving this murder mystery.
Many different elements are introduced within this book that are hard to pigeon-hole into one genre; paranormal, mystery, and a bit of romance. But, it works. The characters that are introduced and their motives are weaved into layers that make this an engrossing book. The lead character, Karma, has many character traits that a reader may sense within themselves. The mystery was easy to solve but isn’t the largest portion of this book; the characters are. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can not wait for another in what I hope turns out to be a LONG series. Seriously, one for my keeper shelf.
