Alasandra's Reading List ~ December

1. Third Degree by Greg Iles ~ First Warren Shields finds out he has an inoperable brain tumor and will die at 37. All he wants is to provide for his wife (Laurel) and two kids. Then in an attempt to warn him that his partner is framing him for Medicare Fraud, Nell sends an email telling him to look for something hidden in his home and he discovers his wife in cheating on him. When Laurel refuses to tell him her lover's name he snaps and holds his family hostage. Meanwhile the lover rethinks his decision to stay with his wife and kids and makes a desperate attempt to save Laurel. Terrible book the one decent person in the whole book dies while the cheaters get to live happily ever after, after destroying his life.
2. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts ~ Book Three in the Bride Quartet. Laurel convinces Del he should stop treating her like his sister.
3. Don't Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan - Nick Daniels will do anything in order to report THE TRUTH. So when he is conveniently seated next to mob lawyer Vincent Marcozza when Torenzi kills him, he is elated to discover he has Torenzi's whispered words on tape naming mob boss Eddie Pinero as the man who ordered the hit on tape. But then he starts to wonder if his being there and getting "the evidence" on tape wasn't just a little too convenient. Now somebody wants him dead before he finds out the answer. Can he stay alive longer enough to get the story.
4. The Sister by Poppy Adams - I didn't care for this book. The story is told from 70 year old Ginny's point of view. When her sister Vivi returns to the ancestral home after a absence of almost 50 years Ginny begins to recall things from their past. One gets a sense right away that there is something not right with Ginny (In an online discussion group several people speculated Ginny had Asperger's Syndrome from the information provided in the book). There is her obsession with time, her lack of emotion, the way she refers to her parents by their first names (Clive and Maude), Maude's belief that Ginny was responsible for Vivi's fall from the bell tower (a fall that destroyed Vivi's ability to have children), Maude's accusation that Ginny ruined Maude's life, as well as  the mysterious Dr Moyse's interest in Ginny. Once Vivi returns home she seems determined to tell Ginny some family secret and asserts their parents had no right to keep Ginny's condition from her. Finally forced to confront the way her sister used her to have a baby and then forgot the baby when it didn't survive Ginny poisons Vivi. The narrative is disjointed and none of the questions (Did Ginny push Vivi off the bell tower? Who killed Maude? What is wrong with Ginny) raised are answered.
5. The Devil in The White City by Erik Larson - you can read my book review here. I highly recommend this book. (Non-Fiction)
6. Cross Fire by James Patterson - Alex Cross and Bree Stone say I do. Kyle Craig is loose and out to kill Alex. Agent Max Siegel works closely with Alex to bring down the Numbers Killer as well as the Patriot Snipers. Fast paced, the only question is will Kyle Craig succeed in his quest to kill Alex. After all he is closer then even Alex imagines. 
7. Nightshade by Nora Roberts - Colt Nightshade is looking for his friends daughter who is being held by some unsavory characters who make "adult movies". His best shot at finding Liz is to work with detective Althea Grayson, but will she cooperate. 
8. Night Moves by Nora Roberts - Ry Piasecki carries Natalie Fletcher through a burning building but can he mend her broken heart.
9. Road of the Patriarch by R. A. Salvatore - After winning Artemis Entreri's  heart Calihye attempts to kill him. Jarlaxle's plots gets himself, Entreri and the dwarf Athrogate banished from the Bloodstone Lands. Artemis returns to his childhood home and confronts is past. Artemis chooses to part company with Jarlaxle and Athrogate and to return to Calimport and Dwahvel.
10. Turning Angel by Greg Iles - When Husband Stealing S*** Kate Townsend is murdered Penn Gage sets out to prove his childhood friend isn't the killer even though he was having an affair with the underage girl. Unfortunately for Penn the real killer is willing to kill again and again to keep his secret.
11. Tripwire by Lee Child - A dying Leon Garber promises the Hobies he will find out what happened to their son who disappeared in Vietnam. Running out of time he hires a detective to find Reacher. But Victor Truman Hobie doesn't want to be found and he is willing to kill to keep his identity a secret. But Reacher is willing to die to save Jodi Garber (Leon's daughter).
12. Daniel X Demons and Druids by James Patterson (Young Adult/Teen) - well there weren't any Druids in the book. But Daniel did travel back in time and meet the young boy Arthur (you know King Arthur) and Merlin (who is another alien from Daniel's planet). Merlin & Daniel join forces to defeat Beta. Who knew Stonehenge would prove so useful. Daniel's usual pals are behaving a bit unusual to Daniel's surprise.  Hints that future books will reveal what is going on with Dana and Willy.