3 new reviews to be posted soon

So I've finished 3 wonderful books over the last several days and I will get the reviews posted as soon as possible.

First up is Black at Heart by Leslie Parrish. It is the third book in her Black CATs series and is my favorite book in the series. Next is Kiss of the Phantom by Julie Leto. It is currently her final book in her Phantom series and I'm really hoping the publisher changes their mind and lets Julie write more books in this series. Finally, I finished The 8th Confession by James Patterson. It is the latest installment in his Women's Murder Club series and will be the only one released this year.

I'll post a more detailed review for each book hopefully before the weekend is over.

Fatally Flaky

Fatally Flaky is the latest book in the Goldy Schultz series by Diane Mott Davidson. From the inside cover.~

Cynics say getting married is a death wish…

It’s been a long, rainy summer for Goldy Schultz, who is engaged in planning wedding receptions for what seems to be all of Aspen Meadows. It’s bad enough that Billie Attenborough, the bride from hell, has changed her menu six times and the event date twice. Now she wants to move the location to the Gold Gulch Spa just a scant two days before tying the knot to her doctor fiancé.

Then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend to Goldy’s godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. At least that’s what appears to have happened. But Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the spa-allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.

So Goldy dons chef’s whites and goes undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of calming smoothies, and the fruit cocktail doesn’t include fresh fruit. Add in the obstreperous owner, who years ago tried to sabotage Goldy’s fledgling business, and she’s got her hands full.

Above all, there seems to be a clever killer on the spa grounds, watching her every move. After what befell Jack, Goldy knows that she might be next. Catering weddings, and cooking low-fat food, could be killing her-literally.

I have always enjoyed the Goldy Schultz books and Fatally Flaky was another winner for me. I was able to figure out the bad guy before the end of the book, but there were a few twist and turns to throw me off initially. Overall, Fatally Flaky was a fun and entertaining mystery that I would recommend to anyone who likes to read light mysteries.

Pitch Black

Pitch Black by Leslie Parrish is the second book in her phenomenal Black CATs series. From the back cover.~

A group of elite FBI special agents has been brought together to form the Cyber Action Team, aka CAT – and they have one mission: to solve Internet-related murders.

Former profiler Alec Lambert would give anything to catch the Professor, a serial killer who lures his victims with Internet scams. Now working with the Black CATs, Alec finally has his chance.

When two teen boys are lured to a cruel, icy death, Alec teams up with reclusive scam expert Samantha Dalton, who may be able to find out where the madman will strike next. Despite Alec’s intense attraction to Sam, he’s fiercely determined to keep their relationship professional. As they draw ever closer to discovering the Professor’s identity and stopping his murderous rampage, they realize Sam is the psychotic killer’s new obsession. And possibly his next target…

As I said when I read Fade to Black, the first book in the Black CATs series, Leslie has found her true voice with romantic suspense. Pitch Black is filled with mystery, romance and suspense.  Alec Lambert is new to the Black CATs and immediately starts to investigate the Professor, who he had investigated in the past as a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. When two teen boys are killed, the email correspondence between one of the boys and Samantha Dalton sends Alec and his partner to Sam’s door for help. Alec is attracted to Sam from the very first, but she is still recovering from her divorce and fights her attraction in the beginning. Unknown to Alec or any of the other agents in the Black CATs, the Professor has set his sights on Sam.  I thought I had who the Professor was figured out several times throughout Pitch Black, but Leslie kept me in the dark until almost the very end. I really liked the build- up of tension between Alec and Sam. Alec wants to keep their relationship strictly professional until the case is solved, but Sam doesn’t want to let another day go by without being with him. The passion between them is so true to life that it leaps off the pages.

I think the Black CATs series gets better with each book. I have really loved both Fade to Black and Pitch Black.  The release date for Pitch Black  is August 4, 2009 and everyone should pre-order it today! I've also already read Black at Heart, the third and currently final book in this series and will blog about it soon. As much as I loved Fade to Black and Pitch Black, Black at Heart is my favorite book in the series!

Release Day for Fade to Black

Just wanted to remind everyone that today is the official release day for Fade to Black by Leslie Parrish. Run to your nearest bookstore or on-line bookstore and buy it today! Fade to Black is the first book in Leslie's amazing Black CATs series. I finished Pitch Black, which is the second book in the series and will try to get a post up tonight. I'm currently reading Black at Heart, which is the 3rd and final book in the series. I'm about a third of the way in and I'm loving it!

Rest in Peace Steve McNair

Former Tennessee Titan Steve McNair was found shot to death in a downtown condo in Nashville, Tennessee yesterday afternoon. The Nashville police have now ruled his death as a homicide. The Titans became my team when the then Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee. They became the Tennessee Oilers and played one year in Memphis before moving to Nashville, and playing one year at Vanderbilt before moving to their stadium home at The Coliseum, and becoming the Tennessee Titans. McNair (our #9)  was the heart and soul of the team and played even when he was too injured to practice. Even once he left the Titans, he has always had a presence in Nashville. Only a few weeks ago, he had opened a restaurant over by the TSU campus to help out the community. He hosted football camps every year, would always stop to have his picture taken with a fan, and was seen around the city on a regular basis.

With all the speculation surrounding his death, I hope that everyone remembers all the good he has done on and off the field for so many years. 

Goodbye Steve "Air" McNair. You will always be missed!