Raining Cats and Dogs by Laurien Berenson was a murder mystery with some dog and cat stories tossed in. The main character has five poodles and a neighbor who has a bunch of cats. Her private life relating to her neighbor was the humorous part of the book. She and her poodle went to a dog obedience class which invited her to join them on their visit to the nursing home. Although they weren't therapy dogs exactly, many of the residents enjoyed seeing the dogs and I was interested in this part of the book because it's something I would like to do with Abby some day. The murder was committed while they were at the nursing home and the main character is the one who just started her own informal investigation and discovered who did it.
The highlight of the book for me was the lady who didn't like dogs but tolerated the poodle. She was really a cat person. She gave the main character helpful information and the poodle owner brought a surprise visitor for her at the end, a cat! Her neighbor let her bring one of hers.
(Karen's review 9/09)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
Saturday, August 28, 2010
"Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom
Thought Tuesdays With Morrie was a bit slow reading, but it was touching and certainly thought provoking. It's a record of conversations between a man and his former college professor who he admired and became friends with when the professor was dying from Lou Gehring's disease. The professor shared his feelings about a variety of subjects, including how he felt about dying and becoming like a baby again, helpless. It was sort of depressing, but yet had enough good philosophical thoughts to keep me reading. The one I liked best is that he said "Love Goes On." When the professor was asked if he worried about being forgotten when he died, his answer was,
(Karen's review 3/09)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
I don't think I will be. I've got so many people who have been involved with me in close, intimate ways. And love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.I agree with this because the loved ones I've lost are still alive in my thoughts.
(Karen's review 3/09)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Virtual Book Tour: Patricia Rockwell, Author of "Sounds Of Murder"
Today, we are featuring an interview with a new author, Patricia Rockwell, author of Sounds of Murder.
1. Patricia, your book, Sounds of Murder, is labeled as a "cozy mystery." What do you mean by that?
Karen, pretty much just what it sounds like. A cozy mystery is a particular sub-genre of mysteries that features an amateur sleuth who typically solves a crime--usually murder--with intelligence, perseverance, and common sense. The emphasis is on the detecting, not on graphic violence, gratuitous sex, or manic chase scenes. The characters are typically well developed and the style is warm and full of humor. In other words, a cozy mystery is the kind of book you’d like read when you want to relax and enjoy yourself.
2. I noticed that your book is published by Cozy Cat Press. What is the significance of the cat?
Cozy Cat Press is the new publishing company started by me and my writing partner Diane Morlan. We are focusing totally on cozy mysteries. We selected a cat as our logo because we believe a “cozy cat” is just the perfect image to convey the warm, by the fire, kind of feeling that readers get from cozy mysteries. We even had a contest to name our company’s mascot. My blog readers chose Cozette as her name. We think it fits her perfectly. By the way, I notice that you feature a cat prominently on your book review blog. There must be something about cats and books that go together.
3. There must be. Does Cozy Cat Press have any other books published besides Sounds of Murder?
Yes, Diane’s book Too Dead to Dance is our second book. We will have my second book, tentatively titled Radio Murder, coming out next summer. I have a third novel underway and Diane is working on a second one. We are actively looking for a third cozy mystery writer to join our ranks, so if any of your readers knows of a cozy writer who is looking for a publisher, please have them contact us.
4. I’ll do that. Does your book, Sounds of Murder, have any unusual features about it?
Most cozy mysteries have a gimmick. Some have heroines (most have heroines not heroes) who are librarians or school teachers, or tea shop or coffee shop owners. I read one cozy where the main character created crossword puzzles. In Sounds of Murder, my heroine is a college Psychology professor and expert in acoustics. I didn’t just pull this out of a hat. Before I retired, I was a college professor myself and my research area was vocal behavior and I used acoustic technology in a lot of my studies.
In my book, my main character uses her knowledge of sound to track down a killer. This happens when one of her colleagues is found murdered in the department’s computer lab. The police have no idea who killed the teacher and the only clue appears to be a recording of the actual murder that is accidentally made on one of the computer voice recorders. My heroine takes it upon herself to investigate, using this recording and she tries to match the sounds on the recording to noises and voices of various suspects. As she gets closer to finding the killer’s identity, the killer becomes worried and attempts to stop her.
5. That sounds unusual for sure. And you say you have another mystery written in this same series?
Yes, my heroine will be back again next summer to solve the mystery of a disk jockey who is murdered on air. Again, the police have no clues to the identity of the killer, but they ask my heroine to help by examining the recording of the murder as it was committed.
6. Do you think that such sound detecting will provide the source for a lot of cozy mysteries?
I hope so. As I said, the second one in this series is ready to go next summer. The third one is in the planning stages. I’ve had some critics suggest that there wouldn’t be enough story lines for crimes that could be solved using sound clues, but I beg to differ. My brain is just teeming with all sorts of sound-related mysteries.
7. Well, I look forward to seeing what you come up with, Patricia. I want to thank you for telling us about Sounds of Murder. Where can readers purchase it?
It’s available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, for print versions, and also Amazon.com in the Kindle version, and Smashwords.com for other electronic versions.You can also check out the Cozy Cat website at: www.cozycatpress.com and my two blogs: http://subjectivesoup.blogspot.com and http://communicationexchange.blogspot.com
1. Patricia, your book, Sounds of Murder, is labeled as a "cozy mystery." What do you mean by that?
Karen, pretty much just what it sounds like. A cozy mystery is a particular sub-genre of mysteries that features an amateur sleuth who typically solves a crime--usually murder--with intelligence, perseverance, and common sense. The emphasis is on the detecting, not on graphic violence, gratuitous sex, or manic chase scenes. The characters are typically well developed and the style is warm and full of humor. In other words, a cozy mystery is the kind of book you’d like read when you want to relax and enjoy yourself.
2. I noticed that your book is published by Cozy Cat Press. What is the significance of the cat?
Cozy Cat Press is the new publishing company started by me and my writing partner Diane Morlan. We are focusing totally on cozy mysteries. We selected a cat as our logo because we believe a “cozy cat” is just the perfect image to convey the warm, by the fire, kind of feeling that readers get from cozy mysteries. We even had a contest to name our company’s mascot. My blog readers chose Cozette as her name. We think it fits her perfectly. By the way, I notice that you feature a cat prominently on your book review blog. There must be something about cats and books that go together.
3. There must be. Does Cozy Cat Press have any other books published besides Sounds of Murder?
Yes, Diane’s book Too Dead to Dance is our second book. We will have my second book, tentatively titled Radio Murder, coming out next summer. I have a third novel underway and Diane is working on a second one. We are actively looking for a third cozy mystery writer to join our ranks, so if any of your readers knows of a cozy writer who is looking for a publisher, please have them contact us.
4. I’ll do that. Does your book, Sounds of Murder, have any unusual features about it?
Most cozy mysteries have a gimmick. Some have heroines (most have heroines not heroes) who are librarians or school teachers, or tea shop or coffee shop owners. I read one cozy where the main character created crossword puzzles. In Sounds of Murder, my heroine is a college Psychology professor and expert in acoustics. I didn’t just pull this out of a hat. Before I retired, I was a college professor myself and my research area was vocal behavior and I used acoustic technology in a lot of my studies.
In my book, my main character uses her knowledge of sound to track down a killer. This happens when one of her colleagues is found murdered in the department’s computer lab. The police have no idea who killed the teacher and the only clue appears to be a recording of the actual murder that is accidentally made on one of the computer voice recorders. My heroine takes it upon herself to investigate, using this recording and she tries to match the sounds on the recording to noises and voices of various suspects. As she gets closer to finding the killer’s identity, the killer becomes worried and attempts to stop her.
5. That sounds unusual for sure. And you say you have another mystery written in this same series?
Yes, my heroine will be back again next summer to solve the mystery of a disk jockey who is murdered on air. Again, the police have no clues to the identity of the killer, but they ask my heroine to help by examining the recording of the murder as it was committed.
6. Do you think that such sound detecting will provide the source for a lot of cozy mysteries?
I hope so. As I said, the second one in this series is ready to go next summer. The third one is in the planning stages. I’ve had some critics suggest that there wouldn’t be enough story lines for crimes that could be solved using sound clues, but I beg to differ. My brain is just teeming with all sorts of sound-related mysteries.
7. Well, I look forward to seeing what you come up with, Patricia. I want to thank you for telling us about Sounds of Murder. Where can readers purchase it?
It’s available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, for print versions, and also Amazon.com in the Kindle version, and Smashwords.com for other electronic versions.You can also check out the Cozy Cat website at: www.cozycatpress.com and my two blogs: http://subjectivesoup.blogspot.com and http://communicationexchange.blogspot.com
Thursday, August 26, 2010
"Pray For Silence" by Linda Castillo
Pray For Silence by Linda Castillo is a thriller set in Amish country, the second in a series of three books. Kate Burkholder is the Chief of police who left the Amish community. When she is confronted with a mass murder of a whole Amish family, the Planks, she not only seeks justice but also revenge when she discovers the torture Mary, one of the teen girls suffered. The low life scum bags in this book are repulsive, hideous, vile and nauseating! Kate feels a real connection with Mary as she reads her journal.
Pray For Silence contains crimes of murder, rape, pornography and has quite a bit of foul language. The crime investigation was fascinating and once Kate realizes there is more than one predator on the loose, suspense builds quickly. If you can hang on through the disgusting crimes, the ending is very good. I enjoyed the subplot of romance between Kate and Special Agent Tomasetti who unofficially helped her with the case. I felt good that I had the murderer pegged fairly early on in this one.
(Karen's review)
UPDATED 8/28/10:
Gerard loves this series too! Pray For Silence is as good as Sworn To Silence, her first book about Kate Burkholder, Chief of police in Amish country. I could not figure out the killer ahead. This is a real page turner! You better believe I am going to read the next book she writes! Super job, Linda!
(Gerard's review)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
Pray For Silence contains crimes of murder, rape, pornography and has quite a bit of foul language. The crime investigation was fascinating and once Kate realizes there is more than one predator on the loose, suspense builds quickly. If you can hang on through the disgusting crimes, the ending is very good. I enjoyed the subplot of romance between Kate and Special Agent Tomasetti who unofficially helped her with the case. I felt good that I had the murderer pegged fairly early on in this one.
(Karen's review)
UPDATED 8/28/10:
Gerard loves this series too! Pray For Silence is as good as Sworn To Silence, her first book about Kate Burkholder, Chief of police in Amish country. I could not figure out the killer ahead. This is a real page turner! You better believe I am going to read the next book she writes! Super job, Linda!
(Gerard's review)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
"The Appeal" by John Grisham
The Appeal by John Grisham is a very good novel about the corruption of our justice system and how politics influence verdicts. It is certainly thought provoking and forces us to really question if we know for what and for whom we are voting. It was very interesting to see how devious and manipulative powerful people can be and how easily decent people can be duped and used when they focus on money and pride.
There are many different characters, but really only the main ones were well developed. I really liked the plaintiff's attorneys, Wes and Mary Grace Peyton from start to finish. I also liked Judge Sheila McCarthy from the start and felt sorry for her when the political campaign by her opponents could portray her as something she wasn't. It was enlightening to see how much money played a role in the election of the candidates. Again, if this is true, and I'm afraid it is, our country is in serious trouble!
Ron Fisk, although he was presented in a good light, I didn't like him because he went along with a plan he suspected was shady, even after seeking Godly wisdom and guidance. I was astounded at the way he voted once he became an Appellate Judge.
The only thing I really did not like about this book is that Christians are portrayed as being gullible, stupid and easily manipulated. Again, I hope this is fiction, but unfortunately, I'm afraid it's more truth than fiction. Great book!
Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
There are many different characters, but really only the main ones were well developed. I really liked the plaintiff's attorneys, Wes and Mary Grace Peyton from start to finish. I also liked Judge Sheila McCarthy from the start and felt sorry for her when the political campaign by her opponents could portray her as something she wasn't. It was enlightening to see how much money played a role in the election of the candidates. Again, if this is true, and I'm afraid it is, our country is in serious trouble!
Ron Fisk, although he was presented in a good light, I didn't like him because he went along with a plan he suspected was shady, even after seeking Godly wisdom and guidance. I was astounded at the way he voted once he became an Appellate Judge.
The only thing I really did not like about this book is that Christians are portrayed as being gullible, stupid and easily manipulated. Again, I hope this is fiction, but unfortunately, I'm afraid it's more truth than fiction. Great book!
Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
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