Books I've Read This Week (Vol. I, Issue 3)

In my last BIRTW column, I promised to let you know how Dead Aim by Thomas Perry ended. Well, it ended oddly. The main character was left not really knowing if he did the right thing or if he could live with it. Well, I don't know about him, but I wasn't too sure.

Marne David Kellogg: Priceless and Perfect (Kick Keswick, jewel thief);
Bad Manners, Curtsey and Tramp (Lilly Bennett, U.S. Marshal)
As you can see by the number of MDK books I read this week, I found them fun and quick reads. I love discovering a new author or character or series that I can really get into. I definitely found all three in both series by MDK. I think I like the Kick Keswick ones better, but the Lilly Bennett series is great too.

They take place in a small ficticious city in Wyoming where the Bennetts are the cream of high society. Lilly decided early on she didn't want to just be a wife and mother so she left for California to become a police officer. After being caught literally with her pants down in an affair with a local judge, she fled back to Wyoming to start her own security firm. You'll just have to read Bad Manners to see how she became a U.S. Marshal. Enjoy!

Cynthia Harrod-Eagle: Death to Go (Inspector Bill Slider)
I thought I'd try this English mystery series when I found one of the books on the new books shelf, but again I fell into the trap of trying to read a book out of order (the first book wasn't on the shelf at my library). I got about four chapters in and decided that between the references to what happened in the past and the body parts found in a local fish and chip shop, I just couldn't stomach this book. If I'm looking for a new series in the future, maybe I'll take the time to go back to this one and start at the beginning. But right now I have too many other books to read!

Phillipa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl
This is the book that was recommended to a friend. I can see why. It's nothing at all like The Wise Woman (which I detested). I'm glad a few weeks had passed between reading Robin Maxwell's The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn and starting this one because some of the same material is covered in both, though in very different voices. Boleyn Girl is told by Anne's sister Mary who was at the English court as the queen's lady-in-waiting while Anne was still living in France.

Mary barely had time to get used to being married before being pushed by her family (father, uncle) to curry the king's favor and become his mistress. She struggles constantly with her loyalty to family and to the queen during the tumulteous years that follow as Anne rises in power. I'll let you know it all turns out for Mary in next week's Books I've Read This Week.