Mini Review: Your Chariot Awaits

So, I've got a week to get the review done for the books I've read this Spring. And I'm still in May. So I'll be doing several of these this week.

Up today is Your Chariot Awaits by Lorena McCourtney

Andi McConnell is facing 60, but that's the best part of her week. Her job is downsized and her boyfriend dumps her. The only interesting thing to happen is her surprise inheritence from a long forgotten uncle, his limo. But even that turns into a downer when Andi finds a body in the trunk. Since the police are focusing on her, she teams up with her new friend, former star of a TV detective show, to find the killer.

The book is lots of fun with great characters. I absolutely loved them. And the idea of owning a limo has a certain appeal, even for this non-car guy.

The plot was uneven, however, often slowing down for time character time. Still, that was a minor complaint in a book I mostly enjoyed.

Thursday Threesome for June 12th

Welcome to this week's edition, brought to us by full lives and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Work?-- Work! Summer jobs: how about the worst one you've ever had! ...or maybe the most interesting one? You decide ...
My summer job history consists of a summer working at a local water slide park and two summers doing various accounting related jobs. Take your pick. The water slide park was lots of fun, but the temp jobs the last summer meant I had to commute, which I have no desire to do again.

Twosome: "Hard" and-- "Tight"? Words take on new meanings all the time. ...used to be both those words were compliments; now it appears "sick" is a good thing (according to the lexicon of the local fourteen year-old). What have you heard lately that took you a minute to figure out. I mean, like "bad" is still "good", right? Tight, man!
Shows how out of it I am. I didn't know that "tight" was now the "bad" thing to say.

Threesome: Play Hard?-- What is your idea of "Summer Fun"? ...and no, walking on the beach doesn't count for this one!
What about playing ultimate Frisbee on the beach? Okay, so I don't play down there all that often, but I do consider my ultimate Frisbee summer league to be part of my summer fun.

Mini Review: Murder is Binding

Today's mini review is on Murder is Binding, the debut mystery from Lorna Barrett.

Tricia is the newest owner in a town devoted to books. She's opened the mystery bookstore called Haven't Got a Clue.

But she'll have to get some clues when the owner of the cookbook store is found murdered and a rare cookbook vanishes. The locals seem to think she had something to do with it since she found the body. Can she find the killer while dealing with her sister?

This is one of those weird books. I enjoyed it, but it was flawed. Tricia and the other series regulars were well developed, but the other characters, including the suspects, were flat. The plot moved along in fits and starts and had a rather abrupt ending. But I have a feeling I will be back when the next Booktown Mystery comes out.

Free Download. Act Now!

Looking for some new music to brighten your summer? Well, today on Watercooler Wednesday, I am passing along info on a free download happening during the month of June only.

The band downhere is currently offering their latest release, 2006's Wide Eyed and Mystified, as a free download. The entire album. Just go here.

So, what to know a little more about the band?

downhere is a Christian rock band from Canada. I enjoyed their first CD, liked a couple songs from their second CD, and love this one. It's got some good rock songs like "The More" and "Stir" but plenty of slower, thoughtful songs like "A Better Way" or the smooth "1000 Miles Apart." (If you want to read my full review, follow this link.)

In the last two years, I've gotten to see the band live three times, and they rock. I also have the blogs of two of the band members on my list there on the right. (Lavs' Blog and Normal Rockstar.)

They have a new CD coming out in September, so now's the perfect time to discover their music.

Mini Review: Killing Bridezilla

Today's mini review is of Killing Bridezilla, the seventh in the Jaine Austen series by Laura Levine.

Freelance writer Jaine Austen has, unfortunately, taken on an assignment for high school nemesis Patti Marshall. Patti was a horrid person in high school, and she hasn't gotten any better since. So it's really no surprise when she plunges off a balcony to her death. But when the one decent girl in high school is accused of the crime, Jaine has to jump in and figure out who really did it.

This series is funny, but this book is the funniest. I was laughing out loud the entire way through. And it has one of the funniest scenes in the entire series. The characters are slightly over the top, but they work for the story.

The set up for the murder took a little while, but I was entertained the entire way through. And once the investigation got going, I was hooked. The ending was a surprise, but also made perfect sense.

This is my favorite book in the series so far.

Since Hawaii

I feel like I should have a nice, long, newsy post about my life since Hawaii. After all, it's been two and a half weeks since I got back. But there isn't much to report.

On Memorial Day, Angelique and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie, which we enjoyed. Then I wound up at Kurt's playing his Wii.

I've been connecting with friends making sure they have my cell phone number. That's been a good excuse to get in touch with people I should keep in touch with more often. I've really enjoyed that.

This last weekend, I went down to Santa Monica and played Ultimate Fresbee on the beach. It was a little windier then I thought it would be, but it turned out to be fun.

And Wednesday was the first Ultimate game of summer league. I'm on team purple this summer. I've only played with one of my teammates before. He was on my first summer league team, and it was his first summer, too. Anyway, Wednesday was cold, especially with the wind that was blowing for a while. (Which is funny, because now we're hitting 90 easy.) We started out trading points, then my team got ahead. We ended half 8-5.

In the second half, we got several more points before they started making up lost ground. By the time it was over, we won 15-12.

No one on my team is a beginner this year, which is a first. That will either make us too cocky and we'll start loosing, or it will help us and I'll be on another strong team. I was running harder than normal out there, and it felt good. I hope if I keep up my running and walking (which I haven't done this week) that maybe I would be as pathetic out there as I normally am. That would be nice. Not that I touched the disc this week. But it's a good start.

Thursday Threesome for June 5th

This week's edition is brought to us by iTunes and The Back Porch.

Onesome: So-- what if everyone else does it?!? I'm different and I'm going to do it my way! Heh, what is that for you? ...the peanut butter and banana sandwich? ...tie-dyed seat covers for the car? ...or maybe an unusual sport?
I do everything my way, in case you hadn't noticed. :) For example, I play ultimate Frisbee, but not much else. I read, but hardly ever the best sellers. In fact, I read books that few men read. And I still enjoy family oriented movies and TV even though I have no kids.

Twosome: Ya'll-- gonna' be catchin' any big ol' trout this year? ...any fishing people out there on the porch? Hey, even watching on TV counts for something...
I have never gone fishing once in my life. I have a feeling I'd find it boring rather quickly. And since I don't like to eat fish, there's really no motivation.

Threesome: "like Music--, like friends": we all have different varieties we listen to from time to time. How about an update on your musical tastes? Go for it!
I stick with mostly Christian music, but I've been pulling out my soundtracks a bit more right now. I tend to go through phases. I'm even considering buying the revival casts of Fiddler on the Roof and Sound of Music since I seem to enjoy the contemporary version more than the Original Cast recordings.

Mini Review: Night Light

Today's mini review will be on Night Light by Terri Blackstock.

The Branning family is beginning to adjust to life with out technology, and growing closer as a result of the constant time spent together. But then one day they find thieves in the house. Two boys are robbing them of their food. They soon discover that the boys are the oldest of four kids left alone for months. Should they take them in? Where is their mother?

A mystery novel this ain't. While there are some mystery like plot threads, the climax was a let down.

Fortunately, I was reading it for other reasons. And watching these characters grow as they struggle with living a Christian life in their current trial was very entertaining. In fact, I could hardly put the book down waiting to see what would happen next.

I am quite anxious to move on to book three in this series.

Some Great New Music

For this week's Watercooler Wednesday, I thought I would highlight a debut CD I got recently and am loving.

The CD's is Josh Wilson's debut, Trying to Fight the Ocean in a Cup. (Link takes you to my full Epinions review.)

This CD fits perfectly into the singer/songwriter pop mold I like so much. In fact, it almost fits in there too perfectly. I was about to dismiss it, but I gave it a second listen. And now I'm hooked.

The music is fun and catchy. I find myself bopping my head along with multiple songs as I listen.

Yet the words are wonderful. Some songs are encouraging. Some are challenging. "Beautiful Like This" is a wonderful praise ballad. "Oak Avenue" is a sobering reminder of opportunity lost.

The standout is the writing is is absolutely honest, even when it is having fun.

And there's plenty of fun. I do think this is the first CD I've ever seen that has a "No Thanks" section. (For the record, Josh Wilson doesn't thank high gas prices, cavities, pop-up ads, and the Black Smoke Monster from Lost. That last one cracked me up.)

The first single from the disc is "3 Minute Song," which is exactly as advertised. During those three minutes, Josh muses on how hard it is to fit all there is to know about God and eternity in a short pop song. Yes, it's slightly tongue in cheek, but it manages to be fun (I'm always smiling as I hear it) and a good reminder about how big God really is all at the same time. I like this song enough that I downloaded the chorus as the ringtone for my cell phone.

So if you're in the market for a new artist, give Josh a chance.

Mini Review: Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

Where was I with these things? That's right, with the book I finished right before my vacation. (And I've got to hurry up with them, don't I? You know, before Spring ends.)

So today we will be talking about Tell Me, Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen. This is the seventh in a historical mystery series set in New York City at the turn of the last century and starring Irish immigrant Molly Murphy.

Molly's detective agency seems to be booming. In fact, she has more cases then she can handle. She's been hired to follow a potential husband for a wealthy family. And she's been asked to look into the disappearance of a young man accused of robbery and murder.

But the other two cases are on her mind the most. While out with sometimes boyfriend Daniel Sullivan in Central Park, Molly found a young woman in the snow. The woman has no memory and no ability to speak.

And Molly has been hired to protect famous Broadway actress Blanch Lovejoy from the ghost haunting the theater where she is trying to make her comeback.

With all this going on, it is amazing how well things flow together. I had no trouble keeping the various sets of characters straight. One of the cases brought us to a weak and overdrawn climax, but the other three ended well. Naturally, there is some overlap, but not everything ties together at the end.

And the series characters are absolutely fun. Molly is entertaining and well worth spending time with. Her neighbors Sid and Gus are a hoot. I even liked Daniel in this book, something I haven't done since book two. There might be hope for me yet.

You could jump in here, but I recommend following the evolution of the characters from book one. Trust me, you'll enjoy the journey.