House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
The second Dune prequel. It blends in a lot in my mind with the first one, so I won't go on about it.
The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane
First of all, the title is a lie. It was two separate girls who disappeared twenty years apart. Second, I knew immediately what happened, so it made the characters seem stupid for taking the whole book to figure it out. But I read it anyway--it wasn't too bad.
The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The last book in the Diogenes trilogy. So delicious. An awesome prison break. Pendergast in top form, but also Pendergast at his most vulnerable. The only irritating thing is that the badly drawn women feature prominently in this book, including an absolutely wretched and inauthentic scene between Pendergast and Viola. Ugh. I should memorize the page number so I can just skip it.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
In this second offering, which I liked better than the first, the Gallagher Girls find out there's a spy school for boys, and that they have to work together. The main character, Cammie, also finds out more about her father, who was killed while on a super secret mission.
The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Still my favorite Pendergast novel. Lots and lots of Pendergast. Pendergast having fun (he doesn't actually laugh, but he shakes with silent mirth several times). Pendergast getting the best of everyone, arrogant Pendergast, Pendergast wrestling with and defeating the worst parts of himself. It kind of makes me hesitant to ever get on a cruise ship or an ocean liner, though. I mean, if something happens, there's nowhere to run.
U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
I listened to this on my iPod. SG did a lot of moving from private detective Kinsey Millhone's 1988 POW to various POVs in the mid-60s. I felt like I wasn't getting enough Kinsey. Also, the pacing was weird. When it ended, I was surprised. It built so slowly that I almost missed the climactic scene.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Pendergast does zombies and voodoo. The guys drop some tantalizing hints about Pendergast's past in New Orleans, which we know hardly anything about. Pendergast was awesome as usual. I loved his cleverness, and his ability to beat the bad guy, even though he'd been shot and it had punctured his lung. The man is made of some seriously tough stuff.
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
This mystery about a woman who takes a job as a bounty hunter/skip tracer was a bit crass in parts, but it was a fun ride. Especially when Grandma picked up the gun and shot the turkey off the dining room table.
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
I read this book because one of my former teen writers has said it's one of her favorite books ever. Half the time I was bored with this paranormal (urban fantasy?) YA, and the other half I was entertained. The humor was fun, but it's hard to relate to a main character who seems so emotionless.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
I'd tried reading this second book in the Hunger Games trilogy before and couldn't finish it. This time, I read it on the Nook e-reader I got from the library. I figured out what the issue was the first time around: I just don't connect very well to Katniss, the main character. But I was able to push past it because of the other characters who I liked more, and the rest of it wasn't bad.
