The 6 Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly - sequel to 7 Deadly Wonders. Nonstop "save the world" action that ends on a huge cliffhanger. Throw away reality and hold on the roller coaster! (100 books)

Blue Heaven by C. J. Box - Two kids (older sister, younger brother) witness a murder - and the murderers, a group of ex-cops who've retired to a small town in Idaho that has the nickname of Blue Heaven due to all the retirees, see them. The kids end up hiding out with local rancher Jesse Rawlins, who cautiously heads to town only to find out that the ex-cops have "volunteered" to coordinate the town's search for the missing children. Not as good as his Joe Pickett series - too many characters to keep track of, but still a good thriller.

The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes - for fans of The DaVinci Code and similar books. Two plot lines - one in Jerusalem investigating the theft of an ossuary(an ancient stone burial box) from a hidden room beneath the Temple Mount - the other in Vatican City as an American geneticist and an anthropologist examine the bones from the stolen ossuary (they don't know about the theft) while under covert observation by ruthless mercenary working for the Vatican. Plus some Templar Knight history. The scientific stuff was very interesting, the rest of the plot was more typical, but well written.

Perdition House by Kathryn R. Wall -  The oddness of family relations permeates this mystery about Bay Tanner, a widowed former accountant turned quasi-investigator. She bails a 'half fifth cousin' out of jail and steps into a mystery that has its roots in the Civil War. Set in low country South Carolina, with side trips to Georgia, Bay tracks her cousin's path and finds out some unknown family history. Very good sense of place, good story. (SRC)

Santa Fe Dead by Stuart Woods - Ed Eagle's ex-wife escapes from the courthouse during her trial - but she was acquited so it ended up not mattering. But her subsequent whirlwind marriage to a very rich man causes him to write to the man to warn him. But the man dies in a huge traffic accident and his lawyer is determined to protect the man's estate from the greedy murderous woman. She's pissed and decides to get the lawyer and Ed. Meanwhile Ed is representing a man who's wife and son were brutally murdered while he was out of the country, but Ed's not completely sure of the man's innocence. Convoluted coincidence connects the two cases. Fairly unbelievable, but entertaining.

Night Echoes by Holly Lisle -   A haunted house/past lives thriller. Artist Emma Beck leaves her Wisconsin home and heads to Benina, SC - where her biological mother is from. She buys a house - one she's seen in her mind/artwork ever since she was a child. She also clicks with the handyman - their attraction is hot, immediate, and scarily familiar. Creepy sounds and a phantom cat are almost nothing, though, when she tries to find out about her mother. Two women are murdered. And the feelings of familiarity and possession are growing. I enjoyed this,  even though I'm not a big paranormal fan. I read this for the Southern Reading Challenge (and because I like Holly LIsle), but other than the Civil War stuff in the past lives, I didn't really get a huge Southern feel - more of just a small town, 'everyone knows everybody's business' kind of feel (and I'm from SC :>  )

Charley's Web by Joy Fielding - another good one from Joy Fielding. Charlotte "Charley" Webb, a columnist who writes a kind of shallow 'slice of life' column gets a letter from a female convicted murderer, who wants Charley to write a book about the murders. Charley, a single mom of two, is conflicted about the offer and about the killer, who is alternately sweet  and shy and hardnosed and petty. Her life is further complicated by threatening emails, problems with her neighbors, and a severely dysfunctional family that she's trying to save. Enjoyed this, but didn't actually like Charley all that much.


both:100 books

Rules here


My books:

Killer Diller by Clyde Edgerton

Night Echoes by Holly Lisle - read in May

Perdition House by Kathryn R. Wall  -  read in June