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Chili to Die For

Willow Crier has moved to Oklahoma from parts north as a result of inheriting her grandfather’s ice cream shop and is determined to make it – and herself – a go in the tiny town of Turtle. She begins by entering cook-offs, the latest featuring chili, and encounters her first difficulty driving home with her supplies – a fellow motorist, angry that she’s ambling far below the speed limit, throws a road rage fit at Willow’s window, which she and her fellow drivers record. She shrugs it off until she shows up for the contest – and finds that the road rage lady is none other than Delonda Posey, vicious local food vlogger and one of the three competition judges. Add to that the fact that the lady in the next stall is the sanctimonious Annabelle Butterfield, who needles Willow on everything from her northern heritage to her lack of makeup, and it looks like it’s going to be a rough day. And then Delonda lands face down in a bowl of chili, instantly dead. After being quickly cleared ...
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The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus: A Novel About Marriage, Motherhood, and Mayhem

Holly is a 50-year-old mother and wife facing the crisis of her only child heading to college, not to mention her fear that her husband is having an affair, and her manuscript is seriously overdue to her editor. Her fears coalesce during a shopping trip, where she spots a elderly hunchbacked woman she fears becoming, and pours everything into a series of poems written in blank verse. The story's structure is unusual, to be sure, but ultimately offers a hackneyed story a fresh viewpoint. 
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My Life in France

While I came to Julia Child’s My Life in France on the crest of her resurgent popularity, based on Meryl Streep’s turn in Julie & Julia, her story is always fresh for those aspiring to follow her gastronomic path to success. In this lovely book, co-authored with her husband’s grand-nephew, Alex Prud’homme, she details not only her discovery of food, cooking and the domestic life, but her relationship with the love of her life – and the man she credits for making her the household name she became – Paul Child. Covering their years in France – from Paul’s USIS assignment in 1948 to when she closed their home in Provence in 1992 – she not only covers her stint at Le Cordon Bleu, the lengthy and arduous co-production of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her enchantment with everything francais, but her long and loyal partnership with the man who devoted his life to helping her succeed in bringing European dishes to American kitchens. Filled with Paul Child’s marvelous photos an...
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Dog Health Care: 7 Simple Ways To Keep Your Dog Healthy

Dr. Baker has written a great guide to caring for your dog, and it's as important for longtime owners like me as it is for new dog parents. In simple, clear terms (no Latin words that other pet authors like to add as fluff), Dr. Baker outlines the essentials of dog care in nine chapters: Best Nutrition (explaining just about every aspect of dog food from puppyhood to old age); Keeping Your Dog at a Healthy Weight (including food tips, especially important for my rotund brown chihuahua); Fun Exercise Options for Your Dog (by following Dr. Baker's suggestion, I've found my rotund brown chihuahua enjoys paddling in an inflatable kiddie pool filled with warm water, as well as walks to the mailbox); Taking Care of Your Dog's Teeth (brush daily if your dog tolerates it -- none of mine do -- but give them chewable cleaners -- mine love Greenies -- and make sure they have a yearly dental cleaning with the vet); Protecting Your Dog from Fleas & Ticks -- how and why you sh...
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Into the Storm (The Thunderbird Chronicles #2)

This second installment of the Thunderbirds Chronicles reunites its main characters four months after the first book, Into the Dust, ended. As Augusto trains Janey in transformation, telepathy, and how to draw energy from sacred spots in the desert in order to continue her father’s work, Janey and her family are not only threatened by the gangsters who killed her father, but by secrets her loved ones are concealing. Even as Janey believes she and Augusto are working toward the same goal, she gradually discovers the breach that time travel forms between them, as well as the fact that his goals may not match hers. I received this ebook free in exchange for an honest review, and I can truly say I found the story gripping — so compelling, in fact, that I can’t wait for the next installment. However, trying to read Into the Storm without having read its predecessor is confusing, so I strongly suggest reading Into the Dust first, which is what I did.   (less)
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Rhino Ranch (The Last Picture Show #5)

I’ve read most of Larry McMurtry’s non-Western novels, which is habit more than enjoyment, because every time I finish one, I wonder not only why he’s lauded, but why I spent time chasing his words. More than any other “literary” novelist, he seems to make stories out of nothing at all … the page-turning equivalent of Seinfeld. And of all the characters he’s chronicled, he’s made the most out of the nothing that is Duane Moore, most recently sighted in Rhino Ranch. Moore is, as previously titled, depressed: his second wife has dumped him for another man, he’s being pursued by a teenaged porn star, and is intrigued by a globe-trotting billionaire with the urge to rescue the endangered black rhinoceros on a dusty Texas preserve. He also uses a lot of phone minutes chatting with his former therapist, Honor Carmichael, who now lives in New England with her latest lover. Duane engages in all sorts of silly behavior – the most egregious being a vasectomy – basically giving McMurtry 278 pa...
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Gator A-Go-Go (Serge A. Storms #12)

Serge A. Storms and Dexter Morgan have a lot in common. Both are Florida-based serial killers who only target those who deserve their fate, and each has a wicked sense of humor. But Dexter – in print, if not onscreen – has been hampered by his increasingly barren creator, Jeff Lindsay, while Serge’s inventor, Tim Dorsey, continues his character’s breakneck momentum into his 12th novel, juggling a complicated and intense story with antics that can only be attributed to the Sunshine State’s greatest maniac. Gator a-Go-Go reunites all the Dorsey characters that have survived so far: Coleman, City and Country, the G-Unit, the Davenports (in the form of their son Melvin), Johnny Vegas and, of course, Agent Mahoney. (Lenny and the lone surviving Diaz brother appear as drive-by references, as does the not-so-dearly-departed Sharon). The story revolves around Patrick McKenna and his son Andy, who have just been unmasked after fifteen years in the Witness Protection Program. The question run...
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