July Books

The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams -- Another books from Miracle Springs, NC, featuring the Secret, Book, and Scone Society members. This time a stranger in town Abilene needs help, and the SB&SS helps her and hears her story. An easy, OK read.

The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans -- the final book in the Broken Road trilogy. Charles James, the multimillionaire seminar speaker who supposedly died in a plane crash, is finishing up his walk along Route 66. An easy, good read.

Exposed by Lisa Scottoline -- Mary DiNunzio agrees to help out a childhood friend who believes he was wrongly terminated because his daughter's cancer treatment cost the company a lot of money. Mary agrees to the case, but then finds out that her partner Bennie Rosato represents the parent company. Another exciting book in this series!

Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong -- a pretty good book; I liked the main character, Aubrey, who tries hard to be a good mom to Charlotte, but her past haunts her and she looses her marriage and seems to be hanging onto her child by a thread. When Aubrey witnesses a kidnapping, she isn't taken seriously by the police so she starts looking for the child on her own. Is she crazy? Will this be more ammunition for her ex-husband in a custody battle?

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith -- book 2 in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series; Mma Ramotswe shows me life through her eyes; cute story.

The Very Picture of You by Isabel Wolff -- this was much much better than the two previous books; this book was more like the library books I've read from this author. In fact, this reminded me of the Vintage Affair book due to the portraiture going to people's houses or hosting them in her studio and learning some of their stories. But I like that aspect and this book was a much better read than the Tiffany and Minty books.

Morality For Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith -- book 3 in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series; Mma Ramotswe and her secretary/assistant detective move headquarters to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's garage. Another cute story and easy read while the kids are in town. I read nearly half this book while Sophie played four hours at the park yesterday.

The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith -- book 4 in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series; Mma Ramotswe looks for tips in dealing with her foster son; meanwhile her secretary/assistant detective decides on a way to earn a little more money by using her typing skills. I enjoy these books!

Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson -- a look at acceptance and life at West Point (and a bit beyond) through the eyes of three friends, Dani, Hannah, and Avery. The author's father was stationed at West Point so she lived there several years. Pretty good story.

A Question of Love by Isabel Wolff -- I received this book for my birthday from my Amazon Wishlist. It wasn't as good as some of hers, but I liked it pretty well. Laura likes facts, trivia, useless information, and she is the new host of a show involving puzzles. An old boyfriend is one of the first contestants on the show, and suddenly Luke is back in her life. Is this a good thing?

Feared by Lisa Scottoline -- Mary DiNunzio and her partners are being sued for reverse-sex discrimination when three men claim they were not hired due to their not being female. The lone male associate is thinking of quitting when something terrible happens that .. well, just read it if you like these types of books.

The Memory House by Rachel Hauck -- Beck Holiday, of the NYPD, inherits a house in Florida after a lady named Everleigh dies. Since she's currently suspended from the force, she travels to Fernandina Beach and finds people who knew who during the years her father was alive, years Beck cannot remember.

Everywhere That Mary Went by Lisa Scottoline -- remember all those books I've been reading about Mary DiNunzio and her associates at the law firm? Well, as far as I know, this book introduces readers to Mary and it goes way back to 1993 when people had car phones, but not smartphones that we use nowadays. I enjoyed reading about Mary and Judy back in the day, and compare/contrast them then to what I learned about them in the newer series.  In this book, Mary is being harassed by hang-up phone calls, anonymous letters, and the fact that she no longer thinks her husband's death was an accident.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly -- I enjoyed this story about Cara who works for an antique company and finds a diary from World War II. She decides to track down L.K.'s family, if possible. In the meantime - or between chapters, we learn more of the story of Louise Keene and her work in the Ack-Ack Command. Good book!

 The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith -- book 5 in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series; the story continues; Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is supposed to jump out of an airplane in order to raise funds for the orphan farm. Meanwhile Mma Ramotswe wonders when they will ever set a date to be married. 

All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner -- Annie Jacobson and her family survived their father leaving a dozen years ago, but now that Mike, the older brother, is headed to Vietnam, Frank (formerly known as "dad") comes back into the picture.  A pretty good story.

Legal Tender by Lisa Scottoline -- this book introduces readers to Benedetta Rosato aka Bennie who was quite prominent in the later series featuring her and Mary. In this book Bennie's partner wants to dissolve the company that they built together.

Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn -- an easy read I found in the New Books area; After a few years of living with her inlaws in North Carolina, Emily and her husband and daughter move across the country to take over a car lot ownership in southern California. As the family struggles to make it, they make friends - especially good girl friends. This book focuses a lot on family togetherness and friendship togetherness.

Troublesome Creek by Jan Watson -- an easy read and fairly interesting look at life on a mountain farm in the l800s. Copper Brown is 15 years old, and her mother (actually her natural mom's sister) is talking about sending her off to boarding school. But Copper loves her way of life, and wants to stay.  Pretty good book. I actually read this years ago, but it's been so long that hardly any of it seems familiar. My mom read it recently and there are two follow-up books which I don't think I ever read so I plan to do that soon. 

Willow Springs by Jan Watson -- this continues the story of Copper Brown as she marries and makes a life with her husband in a new area, outside her beloved mountains. She battles homesickness, but then starts making friends in the community.