CHILE DEATH - Susan Wittig Albert

From the back of the book: China Bayles is looking forward to the annual chili cook-off in Pecan Springs. And when the event arrives, she takes along her fiance, giving both of them a nice break from China's visiting (i.e. meddling ) mother. But then cook-off judge Jerry Jeff Cody dies of allergic reaction --to a peanut. Everyone knows peanuts don't belong in a bowl of Texas chili...and China knows something suspicious is afoot. Now, with rumors flying about foul play--and whispered stories about Jerry Jeff's womanizing ways--things are heating up all over.....

***************

Just when I think I've read my favorite China Bayles mystery, I read one more that is just about perfect to take its place...INDIGO DYING is going to be my favorite for a little while longer, but this one is a very close second. I always learn a ton of fab info from this series and this one was all about chiles in all forms, hot icing on the mystery that keeps the reader guessing throughout. China admits her foibles and her strengths. I like how human she is. I love the relationship between China and McQuaid, it's like a real couple with arguments and love and friendship.

Ruby is my favorite character, still. She is who I want to be when I grow up....she's colorful, smart, and funny.

Five smokin' hot beans.....

Finders Keepers Monday

A rather nice week last week for arrivals on the doorstep. From B&N: The DVD My Name is Bruce with my boyfriend, Bruce Campbell and the DVD of Dresden Files, season only. I love this show and can't wait to have an uninterrupted day of viewing. I also received DISAPPEARING NIGHTLY - Laura Resnick, which I think is going to be next up to read.
And from BittenByBooks, the latest Mike Carey, DEAD MEN'S BOOTS I won from the interview she had with the author.

TGIF!!!

TGIF!! Holey mackanolee, it was a long week of training to be topped off with the test today to see if everything soaked in. Apparently it did with me, I passed with reasonably flying colors...sort of floaty pastel-y. So the PTB can have even more confidence in my abilities and I can move on to the next level of training....
Plans for the weekend...semi-normal with breakfast out, grocery shopping, shopping-shopping since there's an Eddie Bauer coupon burning a hole in my purse.
Might mow the lawn if it cools off in the afternoon or early in the morning if DH gets up from sleeping in either day. I have some wood blinds to clean, that might wait.
I'd love to watch my Dresden Files Season Only on DVD. Or My Name is Bruce, starring my boyfriend Bruce Campbell...sigh....got those with a heckuva nifty DVD deal with a coupon from B&N.
Hope you all have a fab weekend. Plans??

Tooth Fairy Rides Again

I Won a Cobrahead!!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!! Look what came in the mail today!!! I love reading May Dreams Gardens blog on a daily basis and I was lucky to catch a contest Carol was having a couple of weeks ago. The prize for one lucky commentor was a CobraHead gardening tool. Carol absolutely adores hers and wanted someone else to enjoy one, too. The day of the winner announcement....she said we ALL won one!! I am so excited to get out there and go weed the garden! Well, as excited as one can be to weed a garden...but this will make it go faster!

Thank you Carol and thank you CobraHead!!

Lady K's Veggie Stand is Now Open for Business

Here we go, 3 tomatoes for one dollah!

The pan was full just ten minutes before the pic was taken. We didn't have to wait long as some of the neighbors have been waiting patiently for the first veggie stand of the season....

THE UNSCRATCHABLES - Cornelius Kane

On the back of the book: Crusher McNash is the police force's most fearless detective , a barrel-chested bull terrier with a biscuit-thin temper and a barbed-wire tongue.

Cassius Lap is the finest agen in the Feline Bureau of Investigation, an imperturbable Siamese with a midn as sharp as a can opener.

San Bernardo is their territor, a seething metropoliswhere fat-cats prance in the exclusive island enclave of Kathattan while working dogs wallow in the stinking squalor of the Kennels.

When a couple of Rottweiler gangsters are brutally murdered, Crusher McNash tries to convince himself that it's nothing unusual--just another uderworld territorial dispute. But after the sniffer squad identifies a feral-cat killer, McNash is forced to do the unthinkable--team up with a prissy Siamese from the FBI. The trail leads from junkyards to gambling dens, from cat prisons to baronial estates, in the process unraveling an awesome conspiracy involving domination techniques, population control, and the megalomaniacal ambitions of fox media magnate Phineas Reynard.

Both a hard-bitten crime story and a sharp-fanged satire, THE UNSCRATCHABLES is the genre-bending mystery of the year.

*******************

I was intrigued by the premise of the book when I read a review somewhere. The cover definitely caught my eye. I liked the story for the most part, but had a hard time getting through the dog-talk, cat-talk, etc. It started distracting me from the story. I did finish it and if this is a series, I'll likely give the next one a try. Now that the relationship of Crusher and Cassius is established, they can get on with the crime solving....and butt sniffing and sandbox kicking and soy milk drinking and biscuit eatin'....

Three genre-bending beans......

Finders Keepers Monday

I received and bought some fun books this past week:
My buddy Marie-Louise sent the ARC of FEAR THE WORST - Linwood Barclay. She loved it and sent it on with good wishes and some prezzies for Lady K. I really look forward to this read.

From Online Publisher I received THE WOODSTOCK STORYBOOK to review. I was only 8 years old at the time, but the music resonates still.

I meandered over to Orchard Books to see if they wanted any of the 20 or so books I'd cleared from the shelves. They did and I now have $285 in trade bucks. I put a baby dent in that with:
MURDER BY THE BOOK - anthology
DIED IN THE WOOL - Rhett MacPherson
MURDER IS BINDING: A Booktown Mystery - Lorna Barrett
EMPEROR NORTON'S GHOST: A Fremont Jones Mystery - Dianne Day, #4 in series
FIRE & FOG: A Fremont Jones Mystery - Dianne Day, 2nd in series

Butterfly in the Garden

Look what we found this afternoon...diggin' on the yummy agastache
Lady K trying to coax it to her finger

This is one happy butterfly....

STREET MAGIC: A Black London Novel - Caitlin Kittredge

From the back of the book: Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete's eyes--or so she thought. now a detective, Pete is investigating the kidnapping of a young girl from the streets of London...a case that brings her face to face with Jack.

Strung out on heroin, Jack is a shadow of his former self. But he's able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget's kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey. Pete follows Jack into the fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget--and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago....

***************

Pete and Jack make a reluctant team at first. They work well together, but there's a lot of head-butting and dislike from the past they shared. Pete would be a good friend to have, if only to be at your side in a fight. She rocks and kicks serious ass. Jack has his charm, in a rough and tumble kind of way. He is a powerful mage and there are some people from the Black, the realm of the fey in London, who would like to see him dead.

Caitlin should write a horror novel one day. There are some scenes throughout the book that made my skin crawl.

There are no light moments in this book. It's dark, moody and superb. I read it as my bedside book and it completely took over my dreams. Holy schmokes, what dreams. I read it quickly, so the dreams were only for a few nights.

Five dark moody beans......

GRAVE PERIL: Book 3 Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

From the back of the book: Harry Dresden--Wizard. Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting . Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden's face some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book.

But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this. The spirit world has gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble--and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone--or some thing -- is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc. But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself....

****************

I have some favorite quotes from the book:

Time to get it. Five white candles surrounded my summoning circle, the points of an invisible pentacle. White for protection. And because they're the cheapest color at Wal-Mart. Hey,being a wizard doesn't make money grow on trees.

I don't remember the spell, or the words I said. But I remember reaching for that pain. I remember reaching for it, and thinking that if we had to go, then so help me God, weakened or not, hopeless or not, I was going to take these murdering, bloodsucking sons of bitches with me.

The above two examples are why I will read everything in this series and hope that Jim Butcher never tires of writing Harry Dresden.

Five kickin' ghost ass in Chicago beans....

SUCCUBUS ON TOP - Richelle Mead

From the back of the book: Georgina Kincaid's job sucks. Literally. Love hurts , and no one knows it better than Georgina Kincaid. If she so much as kisses Seth Mortensen, the shy, sexy, incredibly gifted Seattle writer she's been dating, she'll drain his life force. Georgina is a succubus--a demon who draws her power from other men's pleasure. Admittedly, the shapeshifting and immorality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can't get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is....

It's not just her personal life that's in chaos. Doug, Georgina's co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behavior, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work. She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistably charming incubus and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk show radio star--and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes. Georgina is going to have to work solo on this one--and fast because soon, Doug's life won't be the only one on the line....

******************

Thank you, Jenna, for letting me borrow this book! I cannot get over how much I enjoy this series. Georgina and the gang are so much fun to hang with (in the me being the book reader sense). I think Carter the angel is my favorite, but I may have a slight crush on Jerome, Georgina's boss who has taken on the image of John Cusack (which is why I have a slight crush on a demon boss).

The characters are written so well that I wanted to reach in and smack the radio talk show host, Dana Dailey. She is also head of Committee for the Preservation of Family Values, an uber right wing organization that is against anything that they are not for...I know, I know....but that's how they are.

There is something going around Doug's band and friends that is causing personality changes, extreme ups and then crashes.

Georgina is trying to figure out what's going on with Doug as well as help Bastien in his crusade. All of this and trying to reconcile her relationship with Seth.

This is a fast moving book and I stayed up late on a few nights to just get in a few more pages or one more chapter. One of those danger books dontcha know...

Five danger book beans.....

First Day of First Grade 2009-2010

Off she goes...

Aren't I smashing?Yay! Lady K's friend Brooklyn is in her class! Before heading into Room C....

Lordy, she looks so tiny.....my baby is growing up....

SciFi Guy Interviews John Shirley & Will Give Away BLEAK HISTORY

SciFi Guy has an amazing interview with John Shirley and gives a shot at a copy of BLEAK HISTORY. Contest is good til midnight 24 Aug 09. Best hurry!

Lady K and the 'Tea Pawty'

Just a little more sprinkles.....
Ahhhhh....a propah tea pawty.....

TBR Tuesday (from the back of the shelves)

Working on clearing the bookshelves and found these titles in the back of Mt Git'r'Read in the closet...

MARY CALLED MAGDALENE - Margaret George
CHILDREN OF THE VAMPIRE - Jeanne Kalogridis
ZORRO - Isabel Allende
THE GIRL AT THE LION D'OR - Sebastian Faulks
AUNT DIMITY'S GOOD DEED - Nancy Atherton
A MIDWIFE'S TALE - Laurel Thatcher Uris
HIDDEN RIVER - Adrian McKinty
THE VISITANT - Kathleen O'Neal Gear & W Michael Gear
THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH - Simon Beckett
THE UPRIGHT MAN - Michael Marshall
ALREADY DEAD - Charlie Huston
THE BOY NEXT DOOR - Meg Cabot

Patricia's Vampire Notes and book giveaway

Patricia's Vampire Notes has a book to giveaway, BLEAK HISTORY - John Shirley. Go on over and read the synopsis of this intriguing book. I hope to win. I left a comment and linked PVNs site to my blog...easy-cheesy!

Lady K-ism of the Day

Lady K: What do you think of Barbie now? (after coming out of the bathroom with one of her many many Barbies)
Me: She looks fine, but naked.
Lady K: Well, she needs to be naked. She's going to be in a contest.
Me: A contest?
Lady K: Yep, a naked dancing Barbie contest for Ballerina Barbies only. Okay, gotta go get more naked Barbies and give them a bath and get them ready.

Finders Keepers Monday

From my buddy Ginny, I received the ARC for SHADOW OF BETRAYAL - Brett Battles.

From B&N I have VICIOUS CIRCLE - Mike Carey, the second in the Felix Castor series.

And from newly moved and way bigger Orchard Center Bookshop (using the Old Possum Bookshop link til sister store Orchard Bookshop link site is up and running), I found FEAR - Jeff Abbott.

Lady K-ism of the Day

"Mommie, when Daddy is playing basketball, his name is Mr Padookie! Remember that please."

DEAD MARCH: A Civil War Mystery - Ann McMillan

From the back of the book: The opening salvo in a series that will delight mystery fans and Civil War buffs alike.

It's the spring of 1861 and the War Between the States is in its infancy. That's not to say Richmond, Virginia is free of vilent death, however, as two astute and courageous women soon discover. Narcissa Powers, a young white widow, and Judah Daniel, a free black herbalist and conjure woman, try to solve the murder of a young slave woman whose body was unearthed by graverobbers along with the mysterious silk scarf that casts suspicion on the circumstances of her death--and leads to more victims. As the War's casualties begin to pour into the city and the "Dead March" echoes through the Richmond streets, Narcissa and Judah, aided by an eager young British war correspondent, must risk their own lives to discover the killer--or killers--and to save the life of an innocent child.

*****************

I expected to enjoy reading this Civil War mystery, but I had no idea how much I'd look forward to the time I could spend with the characters. Narcissa is a strong-willed woman, not in a aggressive way, but in a well-mannered way. Southern women are to be cherished, but she is a widow and hasn't a place in the world until her sister-in-law, Mirrie, asks her to help her with running of the house so that Mirrie can assist her invalid father with his work. This gives Narcissa a purpose in life as well as the opportunity to investigate the cause of what she is sure is the murder of her brother.

Judah Daniel is cautious with her dealings with Narcissa, but they work well together as they can in the South during the time of the Civil War. I liked learning about the plants she chose for her medicines and what she grew in her garden. I enjoyed watching the relationship build between the two women.

This is a very well written mystery story and I was taken aback by the whodunnit. It made sense, but it was startling.

I am very glad that this is a series. I have the third in the series, CIVIL BLOOD, and I am looking for ANGEL TRUMPET, second in the series. Ideally I'll read the series in order. Keep your fingers crossed.

Five shivery Southern beans.....

PANIC - Jeff Abbott, narr L J Ganser

From the back of the book: The recipient of multiple nominations for both the Edgar and Anthony Awards, author Jeff Abbott crafts no-holds-barred page-turners of almost unbearable suspense. Abbott's go-for-broke style is on full display in PANIC, the tale of a man dodging trheats on his life after his world is turned upside down.

Evan Casher makes an unplanned visit to his parents' house after his mother surprises him with an early morning phone call. Upon arrival, Evan finds his mother viciously murdered and is nearly killed himself before being rescued by a shotgun-wielding stranger. Blindsided by grief, his life in immediate deadly peril, Evan soon discovers that most of what he knows about himself is a lie--and that he'll have to shelve everything he knows to be true if he's to have any chance of staying alive.

With PANIC, Abbott delivers a cutthroat potboiler whose frenzied pace will leave readers gasping for breath as they approach the book's stunning conclusion.

******

Yeah, what he said.....I'm not sure I can add anything to what was on the back of the book without giving away key details (and the use of more hyphens in the description)...I already love Jeff Abbott's Whit Mosely series. It's action with humor. PANIC is all action, no humor, and it was exhausting. The good kind of stay-in-your-car-just-a-little-longer-to-find-out-what's-going -to-happen-next kind of exhaustion (ahhhh, there're my hyphens). It was just like that, though.

It took a little bit for me to get used to Evan just jumping into action, but maybe his career as a documentary filmmaker carries him along. He's a quick thinker and it helps him keep as balanced as one can be when one's life is in danger and everything he thought was true just isn't.

Five seat-of-your-pants beans....

Ponyo

Lady K and I saw this today. It is a wonderful movie! A great story, wonderful animation, and fab voices for the characters (Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Lily Tomlin...)

My only iffy bit was the movie theater that has 24 theaters to host a flick, chose the smallest one for this newly released children's movie on a Friday the week before school starts.....the place was puh-hacked! Thankfully it was all sweet mommies, grandmothers and their assorted younguns, so we all got along and sat together, made room for each other and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Lady K and I both give this one high marks..say...five teddybears!

Today's Fun Project at Lady K and Mommie Day Camp

Lady K's

Mine...I found my bead box!! We are doing this again! I love paint the flower pots day at Mommie and Lady K day camp

BBB's Weekly Poll is Up!

BBB's weekly poll is up! This week it's to see which three book releases are you most looking forward this month? It's a good lineup and some have been added to the WWBL (big surprise, yeah?)

PVN and SciFiGuy Both Have David Mack book contest

Here's are two chances to win what looks to be a superb read! Angels versus demons....what could be better? Patricia'sVampireNotes has her book giveaway here. And SciFi Guy has his here.

Southern Reading Challenge Completed!

I completed one of my few challenges I joined this year. This one was fairly mellow in context, read three books set in the South. Okie dokie!

I read:

BOOTLEGGER'S DAUGHTER - Margarent Maron, BOCD, June

GARDEN SPELLS - Sarah Addison Allen, ARC, June

THEM BONES - Carolyn Haines, MPB, Aug

THEM BONES: A Mystery from the Mississippi Delta - Carolyn Haines

From the back of the book: If only I hadn't kidnapped the dog...but the ransom paid the mortgage....Now I seem to be a private eye....I shouldn't have listened to that ghost....

Meet Sarah Booth Delaney...an unconventional Southern belle whose knack for uncovering the truth is about to make her the hottest detective in Zinnia, Mississippi...if it doesn't make her the deadest.No self-respecting lady would allow herself to end up in Sarah Booth's situation. Unwed, unemployed, and over thirty, she's flat broke and about to lose the family plantation. Not to mention being haunted by the ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of her sorry state—or to suggest a plan of action, like ransoming her friend's prize pooch to raise some cash.But soon Sarah Booth's walk on the criminal side leads her deeper into unladylike territory, and she's hired to solve a murder. Did gorgeous, landed Hamilton Garrett V really kill his mother twenty years ago? And if so, what is Sarah Booth doing falling for this possible murderer? When she asks one too many questions and a new corpse turns up, she is suddenly a suspect herself...and Sarah Booth finds that digging up the bones of the past could leave her rolling over in her grave.

********

I had so much fun reading this book. I can't believe it's taken me this long to find this series. Sarah Booth Delaney is a Daddy's Girl, a group of privileged young ladies whose only real goal in life was to marry well and live a life of leisure. Sarah Booth jumped that ship and went to New York after college (Catching the male was an entire course of study for Delta girls and Ole Miss was the preferred hunting ground) to become an actress. That didn't pan out so well and she came home to Zinnia Mississippi to save her home, Dahlia House, which she is about to lose to the bank if she can't find the money. She kidnaps her friend Tinkie's dog and 'rescues' it for the reward. Tinkie hires her as a person she can trust to keep a secret and use her intelligence to find out why Garrett Hamilton the Fifth is in town. All kinds of secrets, lies and long ago murders and deaths come to the surface.

I love getting the inside look at the use of feminine wiles, the gallantry of men, how to make an entrance, how to make an exit, conversational skills to include how to cloak an insult with a sweet smile. One of my favorites: "Oh Kincaid, you look lovely tonight. But how do you get your eyeliner so straight when you don't cast a reflection in the mirror?"

The conversations are great fun and I love Sarah Booth's moxie, think Scarlett O'Hara without the bitchy 'tude.

Five Southern moxie beans....

The Garden in Bloom

Maltese Cross next to the Little Red Wagon sedum garden
The hibiscus with its dinner plate size blooms

Our Vanderwulf Limber Pine

(I love this tree!)

TGIF!

TGIF people!! The week was pretty good if a little extra busy. The weekend looks mellow so far. Usual of out to breakfast and grocery shopping. Maybe a side trip to EddieBauer and/or DSW to use the coupons they insist on sending out.
Today was the last day of Summer BASE and school doesn't start until 19 Aug, so DH stays home with Lady K Monday and Tuesday and I am home for Chickie Days Wed-Fri and the following Mon and Tues. Movies, shopping, chill time.....
What are your plans? I hope they are fun and mellow.