11. Tall, Dark, and Dead

Tall, Dark, and Dead, by Tate Hallaway (2006)

Last year, I read Halloway's Dead Sexy, the second Garnet Lacy book. I finally got around to reading the first. This was more of an adventure than I expected. I requested the book from a partner library and didn't read it right away when it came in because I always go on sprees and order several at a time. Then, I realized it was coming due soon and I couldn't find it anywhere, so I renewed it and hoped I'd run across it at home or in my office, but hoping I didn't do something stupid like take it with me to Midwinter and leave it in the hotel or on a plane somewhere. When the renewal was finally up, I still couldn't find it and just paid the replacement fee so I wouldn't have a block on my account.

Of course you know what happened. I moved offices a couple of weeks later and found the book wedged beween my desk and the wall, suspended in the air. I hadn't been able to see it when I crawled around the floor and rummaged through every stack of paperwork and books in the office, so I had thought it was gone for good. But, to make a long story a tiny bit shorter, I quickly read the book before turning it in for a refund of my fine.

I have to say I really like these books. The treatment of wicca, while very much magical in the spells and possessions kind of witchcraft, is still pretty respectful to the religion. The characters are interesting, and nobody's all good or all bad. Garnet, the main character, could easily go wrong, but she feels pretty real to me. She makes mistakes and hooks up with (the wrong) guys too quickly, and she doesn't always get what she wants. I like her. It's chick lit in the best sense of the term. I'm trying to get over that label, and was happy to read this in a Q&A with Jennifer Weiner she posted to her blog today:

The good news is, no matter how the publishers and booksellers label the books, and what the critics say (that’s if they bother to say anything at all), readers know what they’re getting with quote-unquote chick lit. They know they’ll laugh, they know they’ll identify with the heroine and her dilemmas, they know her voice will be familiar and that her story will end well. And if that’s what chick lit is, I don’t think it’s so terrible, or so dangerous.

Right on. I read more so-called chick lit and young adult lit than most other stuff, and that's okay. More "serious" stuff is great, but I don't always feel like it, especially these days when I'm reading about research methods, pedagogy, and library trends and services all day long. Sometimes I just want something fun to curl up with in the evening. The Garnet Lacy books really do the trick.

10. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, by Ally Carter (2007)

I can't remember why I ordered this one from the library--it was probably something I saw at the Hyperion booth. I definitely like teen lit with interesting settings. This one's set in an elite private school for girls (pretty typical) in Washington D.C. (less typical), but the twist is that the school trains teens to be future spies (atypical). The protagonist is Cammie, the headmistress's daughter, who had gotten into some trouble in the first Gallagher Girls book, which took place earlier in the same school year.

I think I'm cursed to grab the second book in every series I encounter. I don't think it really made much difference in this case, because even though Cammie's previous escapades were referenced often, there was enough explanation to fill me in, as is often the case in series like this. The story is pretty simple, actually, but I still enjoyed it. I found the ending of the book kind of unsatisfactory, but I expect this in

9. Bye Bye Love

Bye Bye Love, by Virginia Swift (2005)

This mystery is set in Laramie, where I live, so I was excited to read it. I wasn't familiar with the author or the series before this book, so I didn't really have any expectations. The heroine, "Mustang" Sally Adler is a professor at the University of Wyoming and singer in a local band. She's approached by a musical hero of hers and asked to look after his ex-wife, who lives outside of town. Of course, the ex-wife is murdered, and Sally goes to work to find out who killed her.

I like mysteries because they're entertaining and usually fairly quick, easy reads. I especially like ones set in places I know because it's fun to recognize the landscape of the story. The Laramie in this story didn't really feel like the town I'm still getting to know. I'm thinking that some of the bars and restaurants are renamed versions of real places, but I'm not sure. The mystery was pretty good, though. The victim was involved in an animal rights/environmental group, which was an interesting choice that build in good conflict with the hunting culture. Even though the local flavor wasn't quite what I was looking for, I'll probably check out more from this author.

8. Dead Dry

Dead Dry, by Sarah Andrews (2005)

My friend Mary Ann lent me a couple of mysteries set in the Mountain West. I've been meaning to start reading more stuff set here, so this was a good start. The protagonist of the Em Hansen series was born in Wyoming, educated as a geologist in Colorado, and works as a forensic geologist in Salt Lake City. So, we've got the MW pretty well covered.

I generally don't have a lot to say about mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. There was a lot of discussion of the unique land formations in this area, which was cool. The discussion of the impending drought really freaks me out, though, because it's so real. Before moving here, I never considered that people would actually live on land on which they couldn't drill a well. I know a few people who haul their own water, which seems insane to me. Then again, I now live on an unpaved road and I never thought that would happen, either.

The Em character is appealing, and so were her friends and colleagues. I'll probably try to read more from this series, especially if any of the books spend time in Wyoming.

7. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, by Peter Cameron (2007)

My friend SJ recommended this and I ordered it from the library immediately. I suggest you do the same.

The narrator, James, is an eighteen-year-old alienated misfit from a wealthy family in New York. Don't let that description turn you off. I really liked this kid and his descriptions of the people around him. There are lots of novels about angsty teen outsiders, but this one didn't come off as pretentious or derivative.

James can't really relate to most people, but he isn't cruel or weird. He's just uncomfortable and disinterested. I can't really explain what I liked about this, but I read it in a two-hour binge when I was tired and it was well-past bedtime (check the timestamp on this post). I just couldn't stop reading it. I especially liked the semantic arguments James has with other people, most notably his therapist. It made sense for this character to really care about using the right words. I also liked all the art references in the book. James' mother owns a gallery, and three pivotal scenes take place in museums. It works.

6. Notorious

Notorious, by Michele Martinez (March 2008)

This book wins the prize for creepiest cover I've run across in a while. Seriously, look at the obscenely long toenails on the woman pictured. The trend of showing just a woman's feet or legs on a book cover is getting kind of old in general, but they could have at least given this model a pedicure before taking the picture.

Anyway, there's nothing remarkable about Notorious, really. It's well-written and the story was interesting enough to make me finish it, though it did take me almost a week to get through it. I generally read books in one or two sittings, but the last two haven't grabbed me enough to sit still. This one's the fourth in a series, which I didn't realize when I picked it up. I'd never heard of the author, but then, I don't really follow the genre.

The protagonist, Melanie Vargas, is an Assistant U.S. Attorney on a big murder case against a ganster-turned-rapper named Atari Briggs. Her opposing counsel is blown to bits in front of her, right after approaching her with an offer of cooperation. The story follows the case as Melanie and the feds unravel the story of who killed Lester Poe and why, at the same time they continue their investigation and case against Briggs. The problem I had was that there's really no mystery. We know from the beginning who's good and who's bad and the conspiracy is pretty easy to figure out. The characters rang true, and that's probably why I kept reading, but I think the story suffered because we knew too much about too many of them. Maybe I harp on this too much, but it's not fun to know more than the hero of the story. I wanted to figure out the case right alongside Melanie, but I was always two steps ahead of her because Martinez let us inside the heads of the other characters. It was disappointing.

5. Night Road

Night Road (A.M. Jenkins, 2008)

Vampire novels are fun, and I enjoy seeing the different mythologies authors come up with. This story is the first that makes being a vampire seem completely unglamorous. Jenkins' vampires don't even like to be called vampires--they're hemivores and regular humans are omnivores, or "omnis."
The story is about Cole, who's part of a hemi collective in New York City, but spends most of his time traveling alone on the road. Johnny, the leader of the group, calls Cole back to the Building and charges him with the task of mentoring a new and problematic young hemi.

Night Road is very well written and I was interested in the characters, but the story is pretty flat. Not much actually happens. This is pretty effective, because it reinforced how dreary and repetitive the lives of the hemis really are. I liked the novel, but I wasn't completely captivated by it. It has potential as the start of a series, but I don't know for sure that's what's going to happen. The pots would have to get more interesting, but the characters are interesting enough that some excitement would keep my interest. So, I have mixed feelings about this one.