Another author with a continuing character that I can always count on is Martha Grimes' Richard Jury. This latest is Dust which refers to a club whee the upscale victim was last seen. My favorite part of the Richard Jury novels are in the interaction with his friend Melrose Plant, of which there was not enough, and his upstairs neighbor Caroline, whose relationship with Jury gets murkier and murkier. As always, though, great characters and worth the read.

I began reading Web of Evil by J.A. Jance only to remember that I had already read it-shoot.

Back to Andrew Greeley. I picked up Irish Whiskey from the library which I knew was part of a series not starring Father Blackie. I figured I'd just jump in midway through the series and, if i like it, I'd request the first ones. However, the librarian convinced me that I should really start at the beginning-that may not have been the best advice. The first one is Irish Gold and the only adjective I can find for it is overwrought. Obviously, well-researched, it is the mystery of who actually killed Michael Collins and why the grandparents of the main character left Ireland and could never return. Using verifiable history, of which there is little enough in Ireland, Greeley fabricates a story about the Troubles in Galway and interweaves it with the history of Dermot Coines' family. On top of this is the story of boy meets girl, etc. Probably enough plot for a book half its size, the irritating angst of Dermot and should he or shouldn't he love Nuala takes up the other half.

I had ordered two because the librarian was enthusiastic and I already knew I liked Greeley. And, I have to admit I liked the second one better. This one is Irish Lace. Nuala has moved to Chicago to work and to continue her angst-filled relationship with Dermot. For some reason, Greeley is turning her into a full-fledged "fey" character who sees visions, and understands truth behind events that the police and detective agencies can't ferret out. This series frustrates me because it always seems to be on the verge of actually being interesting and then goes of the deep end again. This one involves the American Civil War, a buried treasure in the form of a lost letter written by Lincoln, art heists, and funding of the Irish IRA. A little much.

Andrew M Greeley, so far, has been a sure thing for me. There's an engaging character, witty, intelligent writing, and a good mystery. I just finished two of them and one I enjoyed, the other-not so much-to use a phrase of the day. The Bishop and the Missing L Train was terrific. The Archbishop in Andalusia was boring. I have a feeling the fault lay with me. It felt more like a explanation of current and historical Spain rather than a good mystery. There wasn't much of Bishop Blackie and his world and I, frankly, have never been much interested in Spain-again my failing, probably not that of the book.

Twilight came out last year (2 years ago?) and then was made into a blockbuster movie, the town of Forks, WA, which is where it was set, is making a bundle off of tourism (and I say "Go Forks!"), other vampire movies and tv series' are jumping on the bandwagon, and everyone is vampire crazy. Twilight, the book and the movie, were awful with an awful premise of a sexy, sweet vampire, his close-knit mainstream vampire clan, and a really stupid teenage girl who likes being stalked by him-not a great role model in my opinion. And, I have to admit, that I've never found vampires to be either sexy, adventurous, or even particularly interesting so this trend bores and annoys me. I heard an interview on the radio with S.E. Hinton and was intrigued so I picked up her latest book called Hawkes Harbor. NOWHERE on the cover or the blurb does it say this is about a VAMPIRE!!! You know there is a mystery coming and, in spite of the fact that it just wasn't a very compelling start, I waded through about half of it anticipating the mystery behind Hawkes Harbor only to find out it was a vampire. That's where I gave up on the book.

Two books this time. One terrific, one just pleasant. I read another one by SJ Bolton and was so impressed that I found her first one-Sacrifice. The first one I read was full of really interesting facts about snakes as well as a well-written, flawed main character. This was similar in that the main character is, again, flawed but brilliantly brought to life. It, too, is filled with interesting facts about the topic which happens to be the field of obstetrics. I hope she keeps writing.

The other one which was a pleasant time-waster was Dead Man's Bones by Susan Wittig Albert. China Bayles lives in Texas and runs Thyme and Seasons, an herb shop in partnership with Ruby who runs the Crystal Cave, a new age shop, and a tearoom called Thyme for Tea. Each chapter is headed with a tidbit about an herb and its qualities. China, of course, in the course of her life, marriage, and businesses, knows several law officers and regularly gets involved in murder investigations.

As always, Michael Connelly gabs my attention and keeps it all the way to the end. This time it was again Jack McEvoy a reporter for the LA Times who is being downsized because all newspapers are in financial trouble. He commands a large salary because of his experience and knowledge, others with less experience and smaller salaries are being kept. So he decides to find a last big story to go out with a bang. A serial killer will do!

I was in the middle of The Book Thief when I mentionned to my older daughter that it certainly was depressing. She just laughed and asked me what I was expecting! It was about a young girl in Germany in the middle of the Second World War and it was narrated by Death. I think the message was supposed to be about the uplifting power of words and books-i was just depressed.

The next one was Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible. I have a very high tolerance for tweaking religions and beliefs but this one was even over th top for me as far as mocking things religious. Couldn't quite finish it.

Another one I couldn't quite finish was The October Country. It's a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury. My main problem is I really don't like short stories. I always feel shortchanged. I like really getting to know the characters and to follow their lives which is probably why I like continuing series. Even following an author you really like (for example, Dick Francis) allows you to find their own particular voice and feel some familiarity.