Violets are Blue by James Patterson

I have never been one to go for Patterson's books, but this one landed in my lap and I am glad that it did.  It was about a detective called in by the FBI to help solve a case.  The thing was, there was a whole other story underneath.  I am sure if I had read some of the previous books I would have been more invested, but it sure took me along.  While they are trying to solve murders that are happening all across the country the detective is being haunted by a crazy man.  How Patterson wove the two stories together was wonderful and even though I had not read his other books I did not feel in the dark about much.  A great book and I will be keeping Patterson in my sights.

Albatross by Deborah Scaling Kelty with Meg Noonan

Subtitle: The true story of a woman's survival at sea -- This was probably not a book I should have been reading as we were expecting very high winds in a very bumpy anchorage without much protection.  With that said, it was a very good book and we did fine during our windy conditions for two days.  She had been away from the water for a bit and was ready to crew for someone and head south.  She found a boat that fit that for her, but through a series of very, very unfortunate events things went terribly wrong.  The captain was questionable and some of the crew he took on even more so.  If she had gone with her gut feeling she probably would have gotten off the boat.  The terrible tragedy was that the boat sunk in a terrible storm and only two of the five crew survived.  She did a beautiful job retelling the story and I cannot even imagine what it was like and applaud her in her ability to tell the story and go sailing again.

Murder of a Small-Town Honey by Denise Swanson

This was a very fun little mystery.  A woman moves back home after trying to escape the place for more than twelve years.  There is not a dull moment when she gets there.  People don't let her forget her past and have a hard time seeing her as she is today.  The star of the parade gets murdered and she finds her.  A few more deaths occur and she is always there.  Her brother is accused, which he denies.  People through out the town are woven together by the events and things that you thought were benign have huge implications.  It was just a fun, easy book to read and I hope I can find more of her books.

No Defense by Kate Wilhelm

What do you do when there really seems to be no evidence that can help your case?  A man has died and everything points to his wife.  She is adamant that she did not do it.  Cryptic clues had been left and the lawyers had to dig through years and years of information that did not seem to have anything to do with his death.  As they dug into the histories of people who had been involved with this mans life more things start to come to life.  There were many twists and turns and things that took me by surprise.  One thing that is true is that you can't escape history, it can come back and bite you in the butt.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

She has a way of telling a story that leaves you either in tears or really questioning what you believe and your own thought process.  A girl needs a heart.  A guy wants to give her his heart.  He is in jail.  This guy was the murderer of the girls father and step sister.  What do you do?  Can you separate the emotion from the physical need of a heart?  Do you let your daughter die because you can't get over the fact of the circumstances that have brought you to this point?  There was much emotional struggle not only for the parent but the lawyers involved and everyone that was touched by these events.  It really gives you something to think about that you may not ever be faced with. (NOOK)

Simple Genius by David Baldacci

He writes very interesting stories that revolve around some form of government happening.  This was about a compound that had a bunch of geniuses trying to figure out something that would change the world.  Then people started to get murdered and strange things were happening at night.  There was a military base across the river that had strange planes and things going on under the cover of darkness.  The detectives called in each had their own stories that worked well through out and with each other that added some depth to the overall picture.  The end did surprise me.  I really could not figure it all out, as much as I tried.  There was much cover up and half truths that I don't feel were far from what really happens and it makes you wonder how far some of this is from the truth.

Wild Oranges by Joseph Hergesheimer

Very strange little story.  A man is on a ship and drops his anchor near an island and goes ashore.  There are some run down buildings and also some signs of life.  He does end up meeting some people, a woman that grabs his fancy and some skittish gentlemen.  The woman starts to relax around him and wants to go sailing.  There is an undercurrent of fear through out the story and a feeling of danger and suspicion.  Over all I found it very unsettling with an ending that felt strange and right at the same time. (NOOK)