4. Cathy's Ring

Cathy's Ring, by Sean Stewart (May 2009)

I read this one soon after picking it up at Midwinter in Denver. Driving to a big conference meant I came home with 36 free books, and it's taking me a while to get through them. And to blog them, I guess.

This is the third installment in a series, and I haven't read the others. The publisher rep told me this series is controversial because of the promotional tie-ins and multimedia enhancements (the email addresses and phone numbers in the books actually work). I didn't try any of this stuff out, so I reserve judgment.

The story is pretty engaging and exciting, though I'm missing context from the earlier books. To the author's credit, he doesn't re-explain everything to the readers, something I find really annoying in series fiction. Cathy, the main character, is in love with an immortal. There's a whole cabal of immortals, most of them evil. For some reason, the main baddie, Ancestor Lu, is trying to kill her and she goes on the run with some friends. There's a semi-bad doppleganger, a love triangle, and some family intrigue to make things interesting. Maybe after I finish up my huge stack of unread galleys, I'll check out the rest of this series.

2. Absolutely Maybe

Absolutely Maybe, by Lisa Yee (2009, February)

I came home from ALA Midwinter with a huge stack of galleys, as usual. In fact, my stack was even huger than ever because we drove down to Denver and I didn't have to worry about how to get it all back with me on a plane. Also, the vendors were practically shoving books into my hands this year.

This one's about a kind of typical outsider girl in Kissamee, Florida named Maybelline "Maybe" Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnutt, who runs away from her trainwreck of a mother in search of her biological father in Hollywood. She and her odd-duck best friend Ted tag along with "Hollywood," their only other friend, who's headed for USC for a summer film school program. Hijinx ensue, of course.

The series of events is too neat and implausable for me to suspend my disbelief: Hollywood is indeed a film prodigy, Ted goes to work as the personal assistant for a famous movie vixen of old, and Maybe lands on her feet in ways I won't spoil. Still, unrealistic events aside, I liked these kids and th0ught their relationships and the way they spoke rang true. Maybe's likable, but kind of an ass sometimes--just like a real teenage girl. It was a fast read and I enjoyed it. I might check out Yee's three previous books at some point. Probably after I finish the four dozen unread books sitting in my living room alone!

21. Compulsion

Compulsion, by Jonathan Kellerman

I used to really like Jonathan Kellerman's books. I'll probably never forget Silent Partner, which creeped me out and fascinated me as a teenager. This one was an impulse purchase at the grocery store when I was sick and knew I would need something trashy and easy to read while staying home from work, since I don't have cable tv--no talk shows or soaps for me.

Alex Delaware, the psychiatrist protagonist, seems so boring and stiff as a main character. He seemed so irrelevant to the plot of this "mystery." The story starts with the gruesome stabbing of a retired teacher in a nice neighborhood, in full view of a neighbor. Delaware and his old friend, LAPD Lt. Milo Sturgis, figure out who dunnit really early in the book, so it's more like they're chasing the guy as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Milo is a far more interesting character, and I think Kellerman should consider writing from his perspective. The shrink plus cop buddy formula used to work pretty well, but only when Dr. Delaware actually did some in-person analysis of people instead of vaguely diagnosing sociopathy from afar, as he did here. There was really very little psychology involoved in the story. Maybe the author is just getting stale, but this book was pretty dang boring. I considered not finishing it, but decided I had nothing better to do on my sickbed. Don't waste your time.

33. Obsession

Obsession (Jonathan Kellerman, 2007)

Back in the day, I read all the Jonathan Kellerman I could get my grubby, teenaged hands on. They all blend together, and the only title I can actually remember is Silent Partner, because of the creepy twin angle and the graphic sex. Obsession is already blending into the rest of Kellerman's oeuvre, even though this is the first of his I've read in probably ten years. It all feels like a retread: implausible "mystery," waif-like patient with obsessive disorder, creepy psychopaths, hints of incest. I should have followed Nancy Pearl's 50 page rule and bailed on this, but it was a fast, brainless read that got me through a half-day home with an upset stomach. So I guess it was worth it.