A Little Bit Wicked
Victoria Alexander

Audrey and I trade books back and forth, and neither one of us can remember if she happened to review this one. If she did, and this is a repeat Book Club Pick, then apparently we both really liked it! Yes, I’m somewhat behind on my TBR pile, and many of you may have read A LITTLE BIT WICKED. If so, you’ll know why delving into this delicious story was perfect while I was juggling holiday plans and a January 1 deadline. I’m talking about Escape with a capital E!

But – and this is why I’ll seek out Victoria Alexander’s current release, BELIEVE (11/09) – there was depth to the characters, as well. Both Gideon and Judith have issues to deal with and past wounds to heal before they can fully embrace each other in every sense of the word. In the meantime, though, they embrace each other in one very steamy sense of the word. Hot stuff. That was part of the escape factor in the book. The other part was that both characters have oodles of money so they don’t have to worry about paltry concerns like deadlines and taxes. Because my life is – ahem – slightly different from that, I loved hanging out with Gideon and Judith. If you’ve somehow missed this gem, by all means go find it and create your own yummy escape!

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U is for Undertow
Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton is amazing – there’s no other way to say it. “U” IS FOR UNDERTOW is the twenty-first book in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series, which started with “A” IS FOR ALIBI back in the eighties, and the series just keeps getting better! In this book, Kinsey is called on to investigate the abduction and presumed death of a little girl, a little girl who disappeared more than twenty years earlier. With only the vague recollections of a young man who was six at the time of the abduction to go on, Kinsey finds herself unraveling a web of disparate stories that at first glance don’t make any sense, but which pull her, and the reader, forward with a steadfast determination to learn what really happened to Mary Claire all those years ago.

I adore the character of Kinsey, whose self-reliance and quick wit make her a character you love to see succeed. I’m also very impressed with Sue Grafton’s ability to keep her character rooted in the late eighties, a task which must become more challenging with each new year. Kinsey has to do her investigating without the benefits of a cell phone, the internet, or even her very own fax machine. Kudos to Ms. Grafton for continually pulling it off!

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Vicki's Previous Picks

A Highlander of Her Own -- Melissa Mayhue
Tarot for Writers -- Corrine Kenner
Your Backyard Herb Garden -- Miranda Smith
Simple Abundance -- Sarah Ban Breathnach
Lord of Scoundrels -- Loretta Chase
It Happened One Night -- Stephanie Laurens,
Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'Allesandro, & Candice Hern

Audrey's Previous Picks

Seducing a Scottish Bride -- Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Forbidden: The Temptation -- Samantha Sommersby
Year of Living Consciously -- Gay Hendricks
A Lady's Secret -- Jo Beverley
An Assembly Such as This -- Pamela Aidan
Carpe Demon -- Julie Kenner