The Three Fates by Nora Roberts

I'll be back later to tell you about this book. 

First of all I liked this book much better than the average Nora Roberts book, but not as much as I liked The Witness. 

Little Shop of Homicide by Denise Swanson

Devereaux Sinclair returned to her hometown after she quit her job and right before her boss was arrested in a Ponzi like scheme.  She bought the local dime store and makes extra money making themed gift baskets. She's also acting as caregiver to her feisty grandmother who just may be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's or she may just be faking to get her beloved granddaughter home.

When Devereaux's ex-boyfriend's fiancee is murdered in a bizarre manner, Devereaux becomes the prime suspect, and the investigating detective wants to take her down, mainly because he lost money in the Ponzi scheme.

I liked the series, but I found the names of the characters overdone.  Maybe it's just me, but what's wrong with a name you can remember.  

Corpse in the Crystal Ball by Kari Lee Townsend

Everything is going well for Sunny Meadows.  She's been cleared of the murder charge, Detective Mitch Stone is looking like a maybe in the romance department, the town in welcoming her with open arms, and her parents have gone back to NYC.   And then Mitch's ex-girlfriend, Isabel, shows up in town.  Beautiful, smart, and obviously wanting to get Mitch back.  Unfortunately, in no time at all she's dead and Mitch is the primary suspect. 

Suspended from his job, Mitch vows to investigate on his own.  The police department has other plans, they ask Sunny to look into the death and clear Mitch, if he can be cleared. 

Kari Lee Townsend's fortune teller series is one of my new favorite series.  The characters are funny, real, and  just the right amount of quirky.  If you like cozy mysteries, I recommend this one. 

Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

Forever and a Day is the sixth installment in the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis.  I read the first four and they were entertaining, but they all really have the same plot.  However, the characters are likable and I am easily entertained.  Plus it was only $3.50 at B&N.com for my Nook.  My Nook just loves cheap books. 

I read the first book because it was based in Lucky Harbor, Washington, a mythical city where all the men are 6' 4" gods with six pack abs and probably able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  I read the next two books because I wanted to see what happened to the other two sisters, then I read the next two because I'm still trying to figure out where this town is and why I'm not living there.

And so it goes. 

Grace left her job at a financial institution after her boss made a pass.  She started driving and ended up in Lucky Harbor, where she decided she just wanted to have fun jobs for awhile. Barely able to make ends meet, she takes a job as a dog walker for Doctor Josh Scott, a single father of a five year old son, and guardian for his paraplegic 21 year old cranky pants sister.   Grace ends up babysitting  for the son, looking out for the sister, and making Josh Scott re-evaluate what he wants out of life. 

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

What a bunch of whiny, indecisive women.  I wanted to reach through the pages and slap the childishness out of Annie, the daughter of Bethanne, granddaughter of Ruth.  Then I wanted to shake Debbie Macomber for turning her characters in 1950s caricatures of women.  

I've read most of the Blossom Street books, mostly because they are yarn shop based, easy-to-read (and put down), and there was always a knitting pattern included.  However, in this installment there was no yarn shop, no knitting pattern, and I couldn't wait to be down reading. 

It starts pretty good.  Ruth has decided to drive from Seattle to Florida to attend her 50th class and see her high school boyfriend. She runs into her ex-daughter-in-law Bethanne (from the first Blossom Street book) at an outdoor restaurant and Bethanne, who is now a successful party planner/entrepreneur, and Bethanne volunteers to drive with her.  Then Annie, Bethanne's college educated daughter's boyfriend goes off to Europe suddenly with two friends and leaves her home, so Annie decides to tag along.  Unfortunately for Bethanne, and also us readers, Annie's sole purpose in life is to get her parents back together, even though Grant (the ex and Ruth's son) left Bethanne and the children for another woman, married her, and then after they divorced he decided he wanted the now successful Bethanne back. 

The first day on the road Annie decides to change all of Ruth's plans and drive to Florida through Tigard, Oregon, where Grant was born.  In the diner of a long ago friend of Ruth's they meet a group of bikers.  The next day their rental car breaks down at a lake and here come the bikers to help them.  One of the bikers is Max and he and Bethanne are soon connecting, much to the chagrin of Annie and Grant, who Annie keeps informed of every little move Bethanne makes. 

So now Bethanne must make a decision and it only takes her 400 pages.