Death to Valentines Day by Catherine Cowles

​

This is the fifth of a group of six novellas in an unconnected series called The Improbable Meets-Cute: Second Chances. It is only 100 pages and can be quickly read in an afternoon. 

This story is about Maia whose relationship with Jackson, that lasted ten years, ended a year ago on Valentine’s Day when she caught him in bed with her cousin. She hasn’t dated much this past year and has come to hate Valentine’s Day. 

But her friends Vi and Erik have convinced her to dress up slutty in a lacy top that she normally wears with pants but instead, is wearing with a deep red pair of f**k me stiletto heels. They plan on dragging her to an anti-Valentines Day masquerade, being held at a castle in the mountains of Denver owned by a major donor at the Animal Preserve that the three work at.

At the party Maia sees her ex with another woman and grabs the closest guy to her and kisses him. She doesn’t know who he is, but he knows who she is, since he has been holding a torch for her for over a decade. The kiss is the best kiss either of them have ever had. But when she discovers who he really is she knows she has no future with him, Becker, because he is her ex’s brother. Besides, he lives far away and travels a lot as a professional footballer. Never mind the heartache it would likely cause their parents. Then Maia sees a dead woman on the patio and freaks out. 

In my opinion the dead body should be removed from the story. This book is only a hundred pages long and there isn’t time to properly solve a murder. The solution is utterly ridiculous and the story focuses on the romance between Maia and Becker. The book is not bad if you take out the murder and the e-book only costs ninety-nine cents. If you read romances and have an afternoon to kill this is the book for you.

Quotes 

Hate sex can be the best sex.

Catherine Cowles (Death to Valentines Day p 21)

“I still don’t understand the ‘ineligible recover downfield’ penalty thing”

“No one does.”

Catherine Cowles (Death to Valentines Day p 77)

Link to Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=death+to+valentine%27s+day+catherine&crid=2UYQVABS4CVUU&sprefix=%2Caps%2C288&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent

Immortal in Death by JD Robb

​

In this third Dallas/Roarke mystery, Dallas said “yes” to Roarke’s marriage proposal at the end of the last book. Now she has agreed to help Roarke with planning the wedding. She insists on paying for her own gown that will be made by her best friend Mavis’s new boyfriend, Leonardo, who is having trouble with his first show. The main model, Pandora, will pull out of the show and bad mouth Leonardo if he doesn’t stop seeing Mavis and come back to her, even though she doesn’t care for him, she just wants to own him. Leonardo knows if he gives into her she will keep dragging him along forever. Mavis doesn’t want to ruin his career before it’s had a chance to get off the ground.

Dallas gets a call that one of her weasels has died a very violent death where he was tortured. Dallas requests that Officer Peabody, who was introduced in the last book, be attached to her for this case. Boomer, the weasel, had a new drug and its formula in his apartment. This means that Dallas will be primary, but have to share the case with Illegals and a handsome cop named Casto, who is also Boomer’s trainer. 

Then Pandora is found beaten to death in Leonardo’s shop and Mavis wakes up there and sees the mess and calls Dallas. Dallas is forced to grill Mavis in interview and soon when all the physical evidence points to Mavis, she has to arrest her. However, Roarke posts bail and hires a team of lawyers to defend her. 

Dallas connects both murders together and believes that the new drug called Immortality (because it increases your sex drive, strength, and a cell regeneration that is youth in a bottle) is the thing both murders have in common. Meanwhile, Roarke is the one planning the wedding as Dallas begins to get cold feet. 

This book is a great read for the Valentine season. The series keeps getting better and better as you try to figure out who is behind the murders and the selling of Immortality. But the matter of clearing Mavis is foremost in Dallas’s mind leaving not a lot of time to think about the wedding or help plan it. Will Dallas solve the case in time to say “I do”. Or “don’t”.

Quotes 

“Clear me, you mean. I thought it was innocent until proven guilty.” “ That’s one of the biggest lies we live by.”

JD Robb (Immortal in Death p 52)

Beauty is easy, Lieutenant. Some are born with it, others buy it. An attractive physical shell is moronically simple to come by today. It’s still desired. Pleasing looks never fade from fashion, but in order to make a living from these looks, a person needs to have power.

JD Robb (Immortal in Death p103)

Death was the ultimate calmer, after all.

JD Robb (Immortal in Death p265)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-in-Death-J-D-Robb-audiobook/dp/0593545664/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=31ZKLTT1Y8O2O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IEnYnnr33QUA7TmZmnLOC8VE09yWnt9_JVS9tszdXIV69akC1UBIYtasqxGiduWjtLLkgECJHIy8oAUgRt-dkrSnrGkqn79Q2WQPx5LVc5sKqAdPJFeByOoBD45V-3AQbOw93dXRo3nOYjEaojKVNmH94FbxkGYtvytm70DRr4IK4s8arrql_eEEB531GhQVXhX-6g6_EWUu0jxhET6CsA.qeCbeqOWLw00Wgpyv3xyPq7uyn5B9wmTdxQVZSP-rFM&dib_tag=se&keywords=immortal%2Bin%2Bdeath%2Bby%2Bjd%2Brobb&qid=1769991759&sprefix=immortal%2Bin%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-1&th=1&psc=1

Glory in Death by J D Robb

This mystery is the second book in the Lieutenant Eve Dallas, and her partner, the richest man in the world, Rourke who live in NYC in 2058. Both of them had horrible experiences as children that they used to get ahead in their fields. In the last book, Roarke let Eve know that he loves her, but she is having difficulty letting him through her defenses. They get into a huge fight and take a break from each other.

Eve becomes tangled up in a high profile case of the DA being murdered in a bad part of town. Eve thinks she was there on a personal matter and considering the fact that she had a nice portfolio worth a great deal of money. Some of this portfolio directs back to her ex-husband and the rest to her two children. Her son is very deep in debt due to gambling. He tried to get his mother to dig him out of debt but she refused. The daughter is getting married to a man who gambles with her brother and has a dark secret from his past.

When a rising star in the acting world is found murdered in public with her throat cut, just like the DA, Eve connects her murder to that of the DA. Eve tries to use herself as bait but it goes wrong and an innocent young woman is killed instead. The killer isn’t done and Eve is finding evidence that links the DAs son to all thee murders and sees him as a strong suspect.

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and wondering who did it. It’s obvious that the killer is picking powerful women in order to get the glory he thinks he deserves that these women are preventing him from getting. I highly recommend this book and the series.

Link to Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Death-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0013380Z0/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=D266NML518BM&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hv1ve2wXzNwNz1f-mFjqnVbo6fFyDsqW3yBmPye0L8vsDf2UFBKPowzGHFGGY0B6hrg7eS8Ss_GIQnCVp5ITqb2LfeQJgsNYpb5jxPEskdE7UHiKkrMj6VQ34mTNhnbMaSqCUUGId6l2UGgb26KYDW89XB0TrV8OuvzmIDhyvttqGLJt2RbQvCikQB59LoHIxD9dcrrufkvCbUrlcf2lrg.FQFtIyxEUgIhEBa_6XTrsQXr5WZlnlV7ax0tHKgI_5Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=glory+in+death+by+jd+robb&qid=1769463171&sprefix=glory%2Caps%2C303&sr=8-1#immersive-view_1769463184157

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

 

I first read this cop mystery about twenty-five years ago, and, interestingly, there were things I didn't notice at the time, but do now.  Written by well-known author Nora Roberts under the pen name J.D. Robb, this book is the first in a series that currently has 63 books.  It was published in 1994 and takes place in 2058.  

It's amazing the things she got right and the number of things she was off about.  For instance, smartphones are called links, and can have a visual screen and internet access.  They still have phone booths, which disappeared from New York City, where this book takes place, around 2014.  Roarke, one of the main characters, is said to be the richest man in the world, with 8 billion, 600 million. This year, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, will soon hit the trillion mark.  

We've still got a little over thirty years to get cars that fly and create an Auto Chef that instantly produces food and drink.  This world is nearly smoke-free, has new and more dangerous drugs, a ban on guns, legal prostitution, and the job of homemaker is a paid one.  There are satellite stations in space that are constantly developing new things in entertainment.   

Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the main character and a homicide detective, is investigating the murder of a Licensed Companion who is the granddaughter of a prominent Senator who is trying to get a morals law passed. Eve is named as primary for the case, the only help she has since it’s a level five case, meaning very few people will have access to the information from the case, is Feeney, her former boss and the head of the electronics division. The LC was found spread eagle and naked shot in the forehead, chest, and into her vagina with the antique gun laying between her legs. She was a high classed LC who had been doing this awhile and had a long client list and kept diaries on them.

Roarke is close friends with the young woman’s parents, who were devastated by the loss of their daughter who they couldn’t save. They had asked Roarke to see their daughter and try to convince her to come home.

According to Dallas, this makes him a possible suspect. But when Eve meets him, she finds herself attracted to him and he to her. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer out there murdering female LCs in this warped manner and Eve needs to stop him.

I loved this book the first time I read it and it was just as good time the second time around. There’s a reason there are so many books in the series. It’s an excellent book.

Quotes

Sex doesn't have to be a power trip. It sure as hell doesn't have to be a punishment. It's supposed to be fun. And now and again, if you're lucky, it gets to be special.

J.D. Robb (Naked in Death p 219)

“Hell of a lot to spend on clothes.”

“Darling, I'm going to have to corrupt you. It's only too much if they're inferior clothes.

J. D. Robb (Naked in Death p285)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Death-Book-1-ebook/dp/B000P2A47M/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.25N-LT7duUJawU8gqB_Nd3JFeRzE00od23Iu77HavNGjDrYYXIMImbweNhPFPuYkoEgyw_wqGFtS2W-6l3ZInyDV488wJ0gRhkqor-a1_dP3Z9RXYah4zUiIkeMFiLiQ726q_a5jXDeinDgDntin5SuYPJ3L0juw8waXvl1SiAT1Y51H36ZSRfyvO3fhcX-hTN8SWcG04wMj1rEEMCLVVn4162OqIz2KM_MnzTOmn64.T4fZuII-U23mwX5E0J64Qw-xpeYOjQJLDs9KQhWin64&qid=1769189884&sr=8-1

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader

 

Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? includes the last issues of Batman #686, Detective Comics #853, three previous Batman-related comics from Secret Origins vol 2 #36 "Pavane", Secret Origins Special #1 "When Is a Door Not a Door?", and Batman Black and White #2.  This graphic novel came out in 2009 and won the SFX "Best Comic" award in 2010, as well as the 2009 British Fantasy Award and Goodreads pick for best comic.  

The first two comics in this collection are drawn in the style of the golden and silver-era Batman comics.  It opens with Batman's wake.  Everyone has shown up, including villains Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Joker, and Clayface, as well as Jim and Barbara Gordon, Alfred, and Superman.  Each tells a different tale of how he died and how they were involved in his death.  Selina Kyle, Catwoman, steps up to tell the crowd about her and Batman's storied history together, where she tried being a thief, then she tried being a vigilante like Batman, and finally settled into a normal life as a cat shop owner.  One night, Batman shows up at her store, hoping she will help him after he was shot by a punk kid in a nearby alley.  Instead, Selina lets him bleed to death.  

In "Pavane", Poison Ivey is in prison and gets a visit from a prison official with whom she had a great time playing.  In "When Is a Door Not a Door?", a news station is searching for villains of Batman to interview for a special.  They don't have much luck finding the "big" names and settle for the Riddler.  Batman Black and White is fun as Batman and the Joker are going over lines before their performance as actors on a TV show.  This is an excellent graphic novel, not just because Neil Gaiman wrote it, but also because of the artwork that takes you back to the comics of years ago in various different styles.  I really enjoyed reading it and recommend this to all the Batman fans out there.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Whatever-Happened-Crusader-1940-2011-ebook/dp/B08PL5D4YB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5RA4M74DCS8D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KgJjWPnuLdSa2uPuuq3OM1i8g5gNS3bjxNzMjd_SC7bs8A012HKxwK7zvcOA6WzbzCXZVq3LGP6hJptGDJsXfjm9JSfu6l8nX3Ws9itlpXw.kJ7f3FOPBLuoXoctceZI3tWh2AaUISWm5yQclTDbsAk&dib_tag=se&keywords=whatever+happened+to+the+caped+crusader&qid=1768244234&sprefix=what+ever+happened+to+the+caped+%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1

The Sittaford Mystery APA The Murder at Hazlemoor by Agatha Christie

Set in the winter in the wilds of Devonshire, this mystery doesn't have the usual suspects of Christie's detectives.  But it does have a very inventive beginning.  There's snow on the ground and more coming soon.  The Willetts, a mother and daughter who have rented Sittaford House for the winter from Captain Trevelyan, a retired navy man who only agreed to it because the money was good. He got himself a place to rent in Exhampton, six miles away.  The Willetts have invited the neighbors over for tea and company.  Major Burnaby, also retired, and a close friend of Trevelyan, is the first to arrive.  Then comes Mr. Rycoft, an amateur criminalist. And then Mr Garfield, a single young man, dancing attendance to his demanding aunt. And finally Mr Duke, a mysterious gentleman whom no one knows anything  They exchange pleasantries, and someone suggests playing table turning, which is an occult game where one knock equals "no" and two knocks equal "yes",  each knock starts off with the first letters of the alphabet: "a" is one knock, "b" is two knocks.    

At first, it's good fun, but it soon takes a turn when the "spirit" they are speaking to is Trevelyan's, and he is dead.  Everyone is upset after that, but Major Burnaby is the most upset and wonders if his best friend is okay.  He insists on leaving and walking to Trevellyan's rented house in Exhampton by himself.  When he finally gets there, he finds Trevelyan dead inside with a window open that a thief has apparently gotten in by.  The police believe that it is a burglar who thought the place was empty.  Inspector Narrcatt, the man brought in to investigate, does not believe this is the case.

Trevelyan has two nephews and a niece, as well as a sister who will inherit his vast estate.  Narrcatt arrests Jim Pearson, one of the nephews, when he finds out that Pearson had been in town that day and left early the next morning.  However, it seems too easy, and Pearson doesn't appear to be smart enough to have committed the crime.  Pearson's brother, who is supposed to be in Australia, has been sneaking around Sittaford House and the young Miss Willett.  The niece is married to a marginally selling writer who really needs the money.  Trevelyan's sister is married to a man who came back from The Great War paralyzed and in need of expensive treatment.  Trevellyan was not a particularly nice man.  He didn't like or trust women.  No one except Major Burnaby will truly miss him.  

The book really comes alive when Emily, the fiancée of Jim Pearson, comes down to investigate.  She is a beautiful, strong woman who can easily get men to do her bidding.   She works on her investigation and Narrcatt does his, but she makes sure to keep the Inspector informed of what she finds out.  This book was slow out of the gate, but it finishes with a real bang.  This is Agatha Christie at her best.  A perfect read for the winter months to come.

Quote

A real simple sailor at heart...Every woman loves a sailor.

Agatha Christie (Murder at Sittaford p 114)

Link to Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Sittaford-Christie-Mysteries-Collection-Paperback/dp/0062074148/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E9T61PJXN8FF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sWd3rmUnPDK1_cpjfRBsz6kelf77T79C1xBTBlOHeG8iUvtlPDa9ygDWm1kOTYI2PTG1mNa_D5VBf-M3FlzyNrpJ8VgG2Z47EWx6nVu-sU_Lk5uOPAb2DAeEVdGXQsRvRV-HLWoagrBaONjqbc8H4sR_P8QqJ41MAkBv4SrCLR7coBKbWZ9dkfSgqz5iP-u9UgNKpfWatEmbtx-zva68KcezRjvJL021BEUZ5RUS3w4.n5RfC7T1-U6yfm9uvbiXw2L0nPTSgiswQRVumciEb0M&dib_tag=se&keywords=sittaford+mystery&qid=1766608399&sprefix=sittaford%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1

Politically Correct Holiday Stories by James Finn Garner

Published in 1995, this book is the precursor to this age of "wokefullness".  It uses such words as: persun, womyn, womman, s/he, and herstory.  At the beginning of the book is an update of the poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas", called "'Twas the Night Before Solstice".  Some lines include: Or choosing a tree just to murder and stump it/ And dress it all up like a seasonal strumpet...I saw there below through the murk of the night/ A sleigh and eight reindeer of nonstandard height./ At the reins of that sleigh sat a mean-hearted knave/ Who treated each deer like his personal slave./ I'd seen him before in some ads for car loans,/ Plus fast food and soft drinks and cellular phones...His clothes were all covered with soot, but of course,/ From our wood-fueled alternative energy source./ Through the grime I distinguished the make of his duds--/ He was dressed all in fur, fairly dripping with blood.  The poem is delightfully funny in a new and fresh way.

Garner also adapts  Frosty the Persun of Snow, which is about the dangers of global warming, The Nutcracker, Rudolph the Nasally Empowered Reindeer, who is a union leader, and A Christmas Carol, which is the longest as it is separated into sections for the different ghosts.  The ebook version of this book has an extra two stories, "Santa's Ashes", a parody of "Angela's Ashes" that tells the story of Santa's ghetto childhood, "Jerry's Last Ride", which is a sweet Christmas story, and "Honk Honk, My Darling: A Rex Koko, Private Clown Mystery.  The book is only around a hundred pages, but it is worth reading as it pokes fun at a PC culture and rewrites beloved Christmas stories in a way that makes the holidays festive.

Quote

The happy childhood isn't much worth talking about. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish childhood at the North Pole.

James Finn Garner ("Santa's Ashes")

The hardcover book is priced at $13.99, and the Kindle edition is available for $2.99 on Amazon.

Amazon Link:https://www.amazon.com/Politically-Correct-Holiday-Stories-Storybook-ebook/dp/B004BA5EWE/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1TWYFWHB64SK0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hftwsykLwfX86lODfhBp4kObVissJe08zNOoZb3zrerjn3HrnbZ1mwgBP1q2QtQZTp3rjTQNHmcfq98Gvywg-rSbBHvvW4qGD1fjXN8kUKtw1UKQwk7yvGh3s3OGOpJhNbA4jgnMlZy9IWqQ3zb1w6QywJlBYWdsmVUQe_-r7yQe5X74idnzNSLOGfHlAAJu_9Ja8Ak2Wk9z3KM77L9WDysq23IYdkRnoJwTm8UobOw.RijhgyO5GYzQXgtGoUoUuco8alkPVsFsSZgwbYsMW4c&dib_tag=se&keywords=james+finn+garner&qid=1766416165&sprefix=james+finn+garner%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-2