I Shall Not Want by Debbie Viguie

Cindy Preston is a secretary at her church. She is helping Joseph, a member of the church, put on a charity benefit. Joseph breeds dogs and this benefit is a project that he came up with to put dogs and homeless people together. Each homeless person that adopts a dog also receives a voucher that they can use to feed their new pet.

Cindy has just recently helped the police stop a serial killer. It seems that her luck with dead bodies is still following her around. When asked to go find Josephs assistant Derick she finds more than she bargained for. Derick has been murdered and Josephs prize dog is missing.

When several murders happen and the owners dogs are missing Cindy is once again forced out of her comfort zone much to Homicide Detective Mark's dismay. He and his partner Paul insist that Cindy stay out of the investigation, but that is hard for Cindy to do since bodies keep turning up everywhere she goes!

I really enjoyed the story. I didn't read the first novel in the series The Lord is my Shepherd, I think it would have helped with some background with characters. But it wasn't too hard to jump into this book and understand what was going on. Cindy has a caring heart that seems to give her a knack for getting into trouble. I found it funny that she doesn't like danger and throughout the book talked about taking risks and expanding her experiences yet she has helped catch a serial killer and now in this book keeps getting into pickles. Her foray into speed dating cracked me up! But she may have found a match, maybe we will see in the 3rd installment of the Psalm 23 Mysteries? A little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery and a lot of suspense I Shall Not Want was a fun read for me!

I obtained my copy FREE from Amazon several months ago. It is no longer offered for free.

Injustice For All by Robin Caroll

Remington Wyatt worked for the FBI. She witnessed the killing of her godfather Judge Daniel Tate. Knowing who the killers are Remington decides quickly that she must make herself disappear. She doesn't know who she can trust in the FBI because she doesn't know how high up the corruption has gone. It is easy to make herself disappear.

Agent Rafe Baxter has been transferred to Arkansas. He is given the cold shoulder along with cold cases. One cold case happens to be Judge Daniel Tate's. Determined to pull his weight in his new job Rafe tracks down a clue that leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana. 

Remington has made a new life for herself. But after 3 years of hiding her old life seems to be catching up with her. Her godfather's killers are determined that this time she will not get away! Remington is also fighting a Spiritual battle. She has been angry at God for years. She blames Him for her parents' death and for her godfather's death. She is determined to have nothing to do with God. Her best friend Hayden Simpson has been praying that she will return to the Lord.

Packed with excitement, suspense and romance Injustice For All will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page is turned...it did me! Injustice For All is the first book in the new Justice Seekers series. The next book will be Rafe's sister Riley's story. I hope to read more about Remington and Rafe in that one too! I'm also hoping that Hayden Simpson will show up in a future novel too, with a love interest of his own of course.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

The year is 2083 and chocolate and caffeine are illegal. Anya Balanchine is the daughter of a now dead crime boss. Anya is determined to keep herself, her sister and brother and grandmother separated from her family's notorious connection. Having seen her father killed right in front of her she wants nothing to do with the family business.

For all intents and purposes Anya at 16 is the head of her little family. Her grandmother is dying, her brother has not been "right" since he was in an accident that killed their mother, and her sister is only 13. When some Balanchine chocolate ends up poisoning Anya's ex-boyfriend, she finds herself in trouble with the law and her family in the media spotlight.


Amidst all of this Anya meets Win,  the new guy at school, and is attracted to him until she finds out who his father is. With ambitions to become the next DA Win's father asks Anya to stay away from his son. It wouldn't look good for him in an election if his son was dating a crime boss's daughter.

Win and Anya begin secretly dating and soon fall in love with each other. Will their love be able to withstand her family name and his father's ambition?

All These Things is the first book in a series. I found the characters very believable but wasn't attached enough to them to continue on in the series. The storyline plodded along and I found myself getting distracted by other things. I guess it just wasn't the story for me.

Legacy of a Writer's Blogiversary Going on NOW!

Don't forget to go check out Katie's blog this week! Day 1 has already started with a GREAT character interview and sweet giveaway! Stop by and say CONGRATULATIONS to Katie for her 2 year blogiversary!

Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock

Jordan's mother has talked her into leaving the New Day rehabilitation center. Fifteen-year-old Jordan is an addict and about to be a mother. When Lance Covington decides to go try and talk her into coming back to New Day he gets into more trouble than he bargained for.

When he arrives at Jordan's home he finds that she has already had her baby(at home), she is high on drugs, and her mother and brother are getting ready to give Jordan's baby to a questionable looking couple. Jordan doesn't want to give her baby to them. She has already made plans to give her baby up for adoption to a Christian agency. Jordan locks herself in her room and climbs out the window. She stows her baby in Lance's car. When Lance drives away he is surprised to find the baby there.

Not knowing what to do and hoping that Jordan will come get her baby, he takes the baby to his home. In the meantime Jordan's mother and brother are furious with her and make her call the police and tell them that Lance has kidnapped her baby.

Not knowing what else to do Barbara Covington calls Kent from Atlanta to help her try and get Lance out of jail. Will they be able to talk Jordan into dropping the charges against Lance? Will Jordan be able to break the Vicious Cycle that has become her life and finally be able to do something for someone besides herself?

Vicious Cycle had me biting my nails! I seriously had to keep putting the book(my kindle) down to take a break from the intense suspense that permeates every page of the story. The second book in the Intervention series once again delves into drug addiction, but this time add human trafficking into the mix and it all adds up to one heart-pounding, intense read! I have to say that a couple of times I got frustrated with the characters. Just like in Intervention the characters seem to not want to do what they are told. Lance is told to stay home, he goes out. Barbara is told not to go looking for Jordan, she goes looking for Jordan. Emily is told to stay home away from her old drug stomping grounds, she goes right into the worst house of them all. As the reader I sat there wanting to yell at them "YOU WERE TOLD TO STAY HOME!" I know that those all add up to what makes the book a great read, but it sure gives me heart palpitations!

Now I'm on to the next book: DOWNFALL, but you won't get the review until February when the book is set to release. 

Intervention by Terri Blackstock

Barbara Covington is desperate to save her daughter from drug addiction. Emily has been in rehab before and has gone right back to the drugs that she craves. Barbara finally stages an intervention. Trish from Road Back Recovery Center arrives to escort Emily to rehab.

When Trish and Emily land in Atlanta Barbara's nightmare begins. Trish is found dead in the parking garage and Emily is missing. Barbara and her son Lance arrive in Atlanta where the police believe that Emily is the one who murdered Trish. Everyone sees Emily as a junkie willing to do anything for her next fix. Only Barbara believes that her daughter is not the cold-blooded killer that everyone believes her to be.

When Barbara receives a text from her daughter saying "mom help me" she is more than convinced that something horrible has happened to her daughter. Frustrated that the police seem to be doing nothing to help find Emily, Barbara is determined to go out on her own and find her no matter where it takes her.

Filled with the anguish and helplessness that a parent must feel when their child sinks into substance abuse the author captures those powerful feelings and emotions in each page of Intervention. At the end of the book Terri Blackstock shares about her own daughter's substance abuse. The feeling of first-hand experience and emotions are apparent throughout the story. The mystery and suspense of Intervention kept me on the edge of my seat. An excellent novel that has me ready to delve into the next book in the series Vicious Cycle.

Top pick of 2011

On our blog Edifying and Edgy Karin and I asked our readers to make a video of their favorite book of the year. This is my contribution:




There you have it, my number one pick of 2011.

May you all have a very blessed 2012! Happy Reading!