In a profession where attention to details is a top job requirement, having OCD works. So Nadia Stafford thinks she may have found the perfect (temporary) career to help her get by after being retired early from the police force. She never expected to be working with partners in her new line of work, but when a professional killer goes on a murdering spree endangering everyone in the biz, it takes a team of pros to catch them.

While Exit Strategy differs from Armstrong's usual novels in that there are no supernatural elements, the central character in Exit Strategy is still a strong female you can't help but root for. Even when she's doing something as questionable as preparing to murder a mark, Nadia manages to remain a likable character. I had a hard time feeling much for the other characters in the story though. It seems a common trait among professional killers is to keep all personal information secret. While this makes sense, it's hard to generate any emotion for a group of characters who you know nothing about. And I must note that the male lead's tendency to speak in two word sentences grew increasingly frustrating as the book went on.

Despite those issues, Exit Strategy is a captivating story with a well-crafted mystery that unravels slowly, never giving away too much, ensuring that we're always wanting more. An interesting touch was that the reader got to see each of the murders happen from the killer's point of view, instead of learning about them along with the main characters as they investigated the killings. Overall I didn't enjoy Exit Strategy as much as I do Armstrong's Otherworld novels, but I do think it's a great read for those who prefer their mysteries to remain in reality.

Fantastic! That's what I think of Men of the Otherworld! As a fan of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, I was very excited to read this collection of stories told from the men's point of view. I was definitely not disappointed! For someone who loves continuity and a good back-story, (both of which Men of the Otherworld has in spades!) it's a perfect addition to an already great series.

Comprised of four short stories, Men of the Otherworld begins with a story on Jeremy's father Malcolm, followed by two longer stories on a young Clayton, and concludes with a new present-day story narrated by Jeremy. As always, Kelley Armstrong's writing is fantastic - the characters are well rounded and believable, and the story is engaging and flows easily.

While it was great to get a glimpse into Jeremy past by meeting his father, and to see things from his point of view, it was the stories on Clay that really made this book for me. These two stories (which almost read as one long story) fill in all the information we don't get in the Women of the Underworld novels. We learn how Clay became a werewolf, how he came to be with Jeremy, and we get to watch him grow from a young wild boy into the man we later meet through Elena. As an added bonus, the hierarchy and structure of the pack are explained, and stories of how current Pack members came to take their place are intertwined with Clay's story. We even get a glimpse into what caused previous Pack members to abandon their status in the Pack.

Men of the Otherworld is a must read for fans of Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld books. The fact that proceeds from this anthology go to World Literacy of Canada is even more of a reason to run right out and get your copy.

I loved the first 3 books, and while I did enjoy Holy Smokes, and am happy with the way the series has concluded, I also found it to be the weakest of the four books in the Aisling Grey, Guardian series. All the great characters are still there, and there's still plenty of action and chuckles, but I found the story to be very jumpy. Ideally, the whole Vendiger situation could have been resolved in Light My Fire, making for a more focused novel for the final chapter in Aisling's story. I also found the many unsuccessful wedding attempts didn't so much enhance the story as distract from it. But it was nice to see Aisling finally come into her own as a Guardian, and to see that she's now on the right path both in her 'career' and in her relationship with Drake. Not the best book of the series, but definitely a satisfying ending to the series.

There are few things better than discovering a new author whose writing you fall immediately in love with. And that's just what's happened with Michael Baron and Crossing the Bridge!

Ever since the death of his younger brother 10 years earlier, Hugh Penders has felt his presence acts as a painful reminder of what was lost, and has kept his distance from his parents as a result. But when his father suffers a heart attack, Hugh picks up his life and heads home to small town Amber, Connecticut to help his parents out during this time of need. What begins as a dull and tedious existence, becomes a fresh start at life with the help of some new (and old) friends that Hugh discovers as he re-acquaints himself with his hometown.

I can't think of a better way to describe Crossing the Bridge than it felt like 'going home'. I grew up in a small town, so reading Hugh's reactions to returning to Amber felt familiar and comfortable. All of the characters in Crossing the Bridge feel very real - like people you know in everyday life as opposed to characters created for a story. I was very sad to have to say goodbye to them at the end of the book. So much so that I've been dreaming of a sequel. Even though you can kind of see where the story is going from fairly early on, I still found I couldn't put the book down as I was eager to see the next interaction between these characters, and I was never really sure things would turn out the way I hoped.

Crossing the Bridge isn't a fast-paced read, but its tale about real people with real issues unfurls slowly and wraps you up in its cozy story. I will definitely be checking out more of Michael Baron's books!

Light My Fire is my favourite of the Aisling Grey, Guardian novels so far. I really couldn't put this book down, although I did find things got a bit confusing at the end.

Aisling has moved to London to begin her Guardian training when things begin to go awry. Surprise, surprise! As in the previous two novels, trouble seems to find Aisling no matter where she goes. Through no fault of her own (or at least not much of her own) she finds herself being hunted by imps, demon lords, dragons and even the International Guardians' Guild. Jim the trusty demon is faithful and funny as always, and we finally learn a little bit more about what's going on with Renee the ever-present taxi-driver.

The story is fast-paced, and filled with enough twists to keep you guessing right up until the surprising end. Events at the end of the book seem to be shifting things in a new direction for Aisling, and I'm really looking forward to Holy Smokes, the next (and final) installment in the Aisling Grey, Guardian series to see where these new paths will lead.

Wow! That was my initial reaction upon finishing The Gift by Richard Paul Evans. What an incredible story! I first learned of The Gift in a review in Entertainment Weekly, and then I came across it while doing some Christmas shopping, and thought I'd pick it up in an effort to awaken my holiday cheer. While not exactly a Christmas story, The Gift does take place around the holidays, and is truly a heart-warming story that did succeed in helping me get in the spirit.

With lots of short chapters, The Gift is a quick, easy read, and one that I could not put down. The characters are well written and completely likable, the dialogue flows and is realistic, and the story is gripping and heartfelt. There are no major shockers in the story, but there were a few unexpected twists, and be warned - there's also a need for tissues. I can't wait to read more by Richard Paul Evans, and I highly recommend The Gift to anyone looking for a heartfelt and miraculous story.

As a long-time fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series, I'd been anxiously awaiting All Together Dead, the 7th installment in the Southern Vampire series for some time. Sadly, I was mostly disappointed by this latest effort. My first reaction was that it felt as if the book had been written by someone else. All the great characters are still there, but they just don't sound quite right. This certainly didn't stop me from reading the book, but I didn't burn through All Together Dead as fast as I normally do with the Sookie novels, and I often had to re-read bits of dialogue before they made sense. In the end, it was a good story, but getting to the end wasn't as enjoyable as it normally is with Charlaine Harris's books.

Ms. Harris did a good job of recognizing the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and working her story around it, but that doesn't change the fact that parts of the book didn't quite flow. The stories that were took place back in Bon Temps felt truncated, and the overall mystery was full of big, glaring clues that left me frustrated with the characters for missing them.

All that aside, there were still some great things about All Together Dead. Sookie has grown quite a bit in these last 2 novels, and I think that's important for the future of the series - things need to advance in order to keep the stories interesting and believable. I love that she has a new roommate, and that she's becoming more of a prominent figure in the supernatural world. I enjoyed getting to know Barry the other telepath, and liked that he and Sookie figured out how to work together to achieve better results. And I'm actually a big fan of Quinn, so I also enjoyed the growth of their relationship as well.

Overall, the character development was great, and I'm eager to see where Harris will take Sookie and her supernatural crew in the future, but All Together Dead was not the best installment of the series.

Another wonderfully touching Richard Paul Evans story that left me wishing I had more books of his on hand. The message driven home in Finding Noel is that no matter how small, your actions can have a great impact on the world. We meet Mark Smart as he is struggling through the low point of his life, and discover that a simple act of kindness can change a life immeasurably, when he encounters a woman named Macy on that fateful night. By providing that simple act of kindness, Macy sets off a chain of events that will change both Mark's life and her own in ways they never could have imagined.

The characters in Finding Noel are layered and likable - despite being flawed, and their stories are intriguing and heartfelt. The short chapters make it an easy book to pick up and put down whenever you have a few minutes, though if you're anything like me, you'll find it hard to put this one down at all. I highly recommend Finding Noel to anyone who enjoys a good heart-warming story about life and its possibilities. After discovering the wonder of Richard Paul Evans stories, I plan on reading many more of his novels.

As a fan of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series, I picked up Grave Sight in hopes of discovering another well-written series with a likable female heroine and some fun supernatural mysteries. And that's just what I got with Book 1 of the Harper Connelly Mysteries!

Harper is a quiet and somewhat scared young woman who, after being struck by lightning as a young girl, can sense the dead. This extremely unusual skill has lead to a somewhat lucrative career for Harper and her stepbrother Tolliver (who acts as business manager) as they help solve murders and missing persons cases. And this is actually not as creepy as it sounds! Harper and Tolliver perform this 'service' in order to assist those who have lost loved ones and are unable to find closure in unsolved crimes. In this first book in the series, Harper and her brother are called into a small town in Arkansas to assist in the search for a missing local teenager. Once there, they discover, that there's a lot more going on in this small town than just one missing boy.

While this series has a slightly darker tone than the Sookie Stackhouse books, I really enjoyed getting to know Harper and Tolliver, and was quite intrigued by the pieces of their back-story that we were given. I found the secondary characters to be interesting as well, although it's unlikely we'll see many of them again since Harper and Tolliver seem to move around with every case. The mystery itself wasn't all that difficult to figure out, but Grave Sight was still a fun and enjoyable read.

After reading and loving Grave Sight, the first book in Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series, I eagerly dove into Grave Surprise expecting another clever mystery and looking forward to getting to know Harper and Tolliver better. Unfortunately, I didn't really get either out of this second Harper Connelly mystery.

Not to say that I didn't enjoy the story, or that I had any problems with how the characters were portrayed - but I guessed the killer pretty much the moment they were introduced, and we weren't provided with much new information about Harper and Tolliver. Rather than adding to what we already knew about the step-siblings, Grave Surprise merely seemed to recap what we learned about them in the first novel.

Despite the lack of character development, and my quick assumption as to who the killer was, I had no trouble finishing the story and still found it an enjoyable read. However, it does seem that certain aspects of the story (trying to stay spoiler-free here) are heading in a direction that I don't think I'm going to like. As a fan of Harris' writing I may still read An Ice Cold Grave, the third volume in this series to see if I'm correct in my assumptions before I give up on the series.