Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

What a treat! I could hardly put this book down. Ruth Reichl gives an account of her adventures (and misadventures) as a "critic in disguise" as she visits a variety of restaurants in the course of her career at the New York Times. Interspersed with her descriptions of haute cuisine are fascinating explorations into how our appearance affects us and those around us. All in all, Garlic and Sapphires is a fun and thoughtful read. I give this book four stars!

I have not been having a good reading week! I tried 3 new books and didn't like any of them. So, I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the 3rd time. It is fabulous, but be sure you read these books in order--if you're not already a Harry Potter reader!

I had recommended the audio version of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Natural Born Charmer to a patron. When she came back, she asked if I had read it, since she was really enjoying the audio. So, I tried it. It is a fun romance with snappy dialog and characters described at one point as "a Norman Rockwell painting on crack". I loved it and would now recommend either the audio or the print version!

Once again, I would love to add new contributors to this blog. If you are interested, please email the Shenandoah Public Library at libraryq@heartland.net and I will send you an invitation to join. It's fun and we would love to hear from you!

Suzanne Brockmann has written a series of books about the fictional Navy SEALS Team Sixteen Troubleshooters. While primarily romantic suspense, they also have elements of military action and male friendship. Midway through the series, which begins with The Unsung Hero, the commanding officer of SEAL Team Sixteen retires and opens a private security firm, Troubleshooters, which employs many retired SEALs that we have met in previous books, as well as retired Marines, LAPD, and other highly trained personnel. You don't need to read these books in order, but if I were to do it over, I would. There are story arcs carried from book to book and many recurring characters. Also, in some of the books, particularly the early ones, there is a WWII flashback storyline, which is very interesting.

The latest in this series, Force of Nature, has spent the last couple of weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In addition to a storyline uncovering a plot to bring a terrorist into the United States, there is a continuation to a story begun in 2004's Hot Target regarding gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy and actor Robin Chadwick.

The Blue Rose: An English Garden Mystery by Anthony Eglin

Alex and Kate Sheppard have just moved into their dream home in the English countryside. A discovery in the garden - not a body, but a blue rose - turns their peaceful world upside down. The rose is worth a fortune, but Alex and Kate will be lucky to get out of the mess with their lives, as the rose becomes an object of desire to dangerous men. Professor Lawrence Kingston, a professor of botany "among other things," helps them sort out the mystery. All in all, an entertaining read, especially for gardeners. Sometimes it seemed like I was in a scene from Cottage Living magazine (my personal favorite), as we peek into the lives of these European professionals. The action keeps up at a moderate pace throughout, with plenty of interesting botanical tidbits. However, the characters use a lot more rough language than I enjoy. Other books in the series include The Lost Gardens and The Water Lily Cross.

THE SEVENTH SACRAMENT--David Hewson--A paragraph on the fly-leaf gives a great description, "In the heat of a Rome summer, a seven-year-old boy vanishes in the dank catacombs beneath the city. Now fourteen years have passed, and in acclaimed author David Hewson's stunning new crime novel the heart-wrenching case has come back to life as Detective Nic Costa nad his fellow investigators search through layers of their city's history--for a killer leaving a trail of bodies, lust and revenge." Another wonderful Hewson Nic Costa mystery, vivid descriptions, scrupulous plot, levels of suspense from multiple plot lines raised incrementally to a stunning, unexpected climax.