The Undead: Deleted Scene - R.R, Haywood - 3 stars

I discovered this story when I was looking for a book on Audible and decide to get it and read it since it was free. This is a short story and I was really excited to get into a new Zombie story but this is more along the lines of dark humor concerning Zombies rather than a horror. There is also a lot of vulgar language in this one but still gave me a laugh or two. Not bad for being a short and somewhat entertaining.

Chill Factor - Sandra Brown - 3.5

I decided on reading this book for my Month of Mystery TBR for August. I had heard that her books are standalone books and I had been collecting quite a few, so it was time to start reading some of her works since I had so many. I am glad that I read it.
Synopsis
Five women are missing from the sleepy mountain town of Cleary, North Carolina, and a blue ribbon has been left near where each woman was last seen. Lilly Martin has returned to Cleary to close the sale of her cabin. But when her car skids and strikes a stranger, Ben Tierney, as he emerges from the woods, they've no choice but to wait out a brutal blizzard in the cabin. And as the hours of their confinement mount, Lilly wonders if the greater threat to her safety isn't the storm, but the stranger beside her....

The plot was interesting, but I found that it did not flow all that well , it was pretty slow for the first half of the book. I also thought that it could have been cut by about 50 pages. With all of that said it did finally pick up quite a bit about midway through the story and I found that it became quite exciting. There is a lot of mystery involved with this one and I was fooled many times thinking I knew what was going on right from the start. I love the mystery so much!

I did quite enjoy the wide range of colorful characters in this one. So many different personalities with several of those you just cold not bring yourself to trust. I can't say too much more about them without giving something away. I found thme all to be vry well developed with plenty of characters to both love and hate.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery. I just must say you have to be patient for this one since it has a pretty slow start, but hang on because it takes off and spins a great tale. I do look forward to reading more of Sandra Brown's works and keeping fingers crossed that they have a better start to them. This could easily had been a 5 star read if the beginning had a bit ore to it, instead it is getting a 3.5 from me.

A Faint Cold Fear - Karin Slaughter - 4 stars

This book #3 of the Grant County series. Although this series is not as good as the Will Trent Series I am still enjoying it and plan on continuing with this story.
Synopsis
An apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But a horribly mutilated corpse yields up few answers. And a suspicious rash of subsequent "suicides" suggests that a different kind of terror is stalking the youth of Heartsdale, Georgia -- a nightmare that is coming to prey on Sara Linton's loved ones.

A small town is being transformed into a killing ground. And the key to a sadistic murderer's motive and identity may be held in the unsteady hands of a campus security guard -- a former police detective driven from the force by the hellish memories that will never leave her. Lena Adams survived the unthinkable and has paid a devastating price. Now the survival of future victims may depend upon her ... when she can barely protect herself.

I find the plots to most of these books are much more brutal than those of the Will Trent Series. So they may not be for the faint of heart. As the story unfolds we are introduced to A LOT of different characters, both the good and the bad, and those you think are bad might be good and vice versa. I thought there was a lot going on in this one, but it was still relatively easy to follow, and I still found the storytelling very fluid, but that is because I find Karin Slaughter an excellent writer. I felt like this one really makes readers think and try to decide who the bad guys are and it really is hard to figure it out. Then the ending of this book blew my mind and just opened me up to a ton more questions that I do hope eventually get answered somewhere in the rest of this series.

The characters, while pretty well developed at this point really kind of disappointed me. I ended up really hating Jeffrey because I found him to be a real ass, making me wonder what Sara still sees in him, and then doubting Lena because she is really showing a side of her that I did not expect to see. Sara, I still pretty much like, she is mostly the same as she is in the Will Trent series. Then there are characters in this book that I was just not sure about, showing that they were one way and end up being something completely different. So there is a lot to sort through and some pretty colorful characters as far as that all goes.

I definitely can recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Karin Slaughter. She is such a gifted writer. I look forward to continuing with this series.

Missing - Lisa Harris - 2 stars

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Baker Publishing, and again was unaware that this was a book 2 in a series. However, I still read the book since I felt obligated to do so. In the future I will be looking these books up first and then decide on what I want to review.

Synopsis
Nikki Boyd Enters the Deadly World of Counterfeit Drugs to Find a Missing Woman
Nikki Boyd isn't usually called in on homicides; her forte is missing persons. But when a case with two murdered and two missing pops up on a quiet suburban street, she's ready to start the investigation and find missing homeowners Mac and Lucy Hudson. When the first clues lead her to the boat of her friend Tyler Grant--and another dead body--Nikki must untangle what ties Tyler to the Hudsons. The clues pull her into a deadly maze of counterfeit drugs and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence anyone who threatens his business--including Nikki.
Christy Award-winning and bestselling author Lisa Harris puts readers right into the action in this fast-paced thriller that will have them turning pages long into the night.

This was just ok for me and was not a good book to read just after coming out of a reading slump. This story was so slow and lacked the excitement that I look for in Mystery. Part of this could be due to the fact that it was a book 2 rather than the first one. The actual mystery of the story was pretty good, it did make me think about whodunit, but the story itself was kind of like someone who talks monotone. It just kind of carried on, and then the finale of the story lacked excitement as well. The readers get built up on all the suspects and then the time comes to finding out and WOW it was so anti climatic when the perp was revealed.

I felt like the characters were semi developed, but I did not connect to the characters at all, again this could be due to the fact of not being the first book. They were pretty one dimensional and I felt like I did not really know who they were, and I will not learn anything else about them since I will not be continuing with the series. I am pretty picky when it coms to characters, especially in Mystery books, but I love to read about flawed characters who can beat the odds in the end, those who can use their trials to overcome future obstacles. I don't feel like I experienced those kinds of characters with this one.

I can't really recommend this book to anyone unless slow mysteries are your thing. I felt like I was trudging through Molasses. Like I said the 'whodunit' part was decent, so if you like those books here you need to solve the mystery then you may like this one.

The Wide WIndow - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

This was a great book to choose while being in a reading slump. It was fast paced, fun, and I got to be with Violet, Klaus and Sunny again. This series just seems to get better and better with each one that I read. Really enjoying it.
Synopsis
Dear Reader,

If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all. If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signaling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair. I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

This is a great addition to the series. I think that it had such great flow to it, I found it hard to put it down. The adventure in the story was pretty exciting and fun even though most events are attributed to the orphans demise but it does have the ability to keep readers interested and entertained. I also like how the orphans figure things out even though most of the time it is pretty unrealistic.

What can I say about the characters? I love them all, even the bad guys. Of course my favorite would be the orphans. They are bright, curious, and full of adventure. The bad guys, especially Count Olaf if the perfect evil antagonist that most readers love to hate. He is a vicious and cruel degenerate, that will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He also makes this story more YA then middle grade because he adds a darkness to the story.

If you have not read any of this series and you like the dark side of fiction, this may be for you. They are quick reads, so why not pick one up and get started on an adventure. I look forward to continuing on with this tale in the next book.

High Profile - Robert B. Parker - 5 stars

High Profile is book #6 in the Jesse Stone Series. I have to say that this one has been my favorite so far. It makes me look forward to all the other upcoming books in this series. Well Done Mr. Parker.
Synopsis
When the body of controversial talk-show host Walton Weeks is discovered hanging from a tree on the outskirts of Paradise, police chief Jesse Stone finds himself at the center of a highly public case, forcing him to deal with small-minded local officials and national media scrutiny. When another dead body - that of a young woman - is discovered just a few days later, the pressure becomes almost unbearable.

Two victims in less than a week should provide a host of clues, but all Jesse runs into are dead ends. But what may be the most disturbing aspect of these murders is the fact that no one seems to care-not a single one of Weeks' ex-wives, not the family of the girl. And when the medical examiner reveals a heartbreaking link between the two departed souls, the mystery only deepens. Despite Weeks' reputation and the girl's tender age, Jesse is hard-pressed to find legitimate suspects.

Though the crimes are perhaps the most gruesome Jesse has ever witnessed, it is the malevolence behind them that makes them all the more frightening. Forced to delve into a world of stormy relationships, Jesse soon comes to realize that knowing who he can trust is indeed a matter of life and death.

So, I have to say that I think the Author really stepped it up with this installment of the series. This is, so far, my favorite of the 6 that I have read. I loved all the mystery in this one, and so many questions. It flowed so well that I found it hard to put the book down. This is exactly what I needed to get out of the slump that I was in before I started this one.

The characters in this series are just phenomenal to me, and they just keep getting better with each book. I really love Jesse's character. I love how flawed he is. He is just so realistic and easy to relate to, that I feel like I know him outside of the pages. There were a few more characters than normal in this one, but I think everyone is well explained.

The Reader - Bernard Schlink - 3 stars

I decided to pick this book up and read it simply because I had heard some pretty decent things about it, so I looked forward to getting into it. It took me quite some time to get through and even had to put it down for a time because it made me a little slumpy.
Synopsis
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

It was the plot of the story that drew me to this book in the first place. I really did not know what to expect from it. I thought maybe it was going to be all about forbidden love, but it seemed to be more than that. Once I started reading the book it flowed pretty well, but I just felt like it got real slow about midway through the book. I felt like there was enough to it, for me to finish it, but decided to put it down for awhile. I also found that the writing was somewhat choppy, it skipped a lot detail and left me at a part where I did not understand how I got there. Those details all came after the fact, and the story picked up again once I understood what was going on. I think this story would benefit with a bit more backstory allowing us a better glimpse of the story and our characters.

I liked the characters but I did not feel like I really knew them. I wanted to know more about them and their lives before and after their relationship. There were some details about that, but not really enough to be able to really relate to them. I feel like readers really missed out on Hanna's life in this story. There would certainly be a lot more that the author could tell us about her, so we could understand more about who she was and what she believed.

As far as recommending this book, I could recommend it to those who like to read post war Germany, but it is not just about that, it is pretty vague on that subject until more towards the end, it is more about love and understanding of people and their situations. I do think it is worth the read if you are patient, there is a message to be told with this.