Bookreview: State of the Onion

Author: Julie Hyzy
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2008
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 38


White House Assistant Chef Olivia ‘Ollie’ Paras has enough problems in her day to day life. Aside from working in the most important kitchen in the world, which is stressful enough on its own, she’s also in the running for the position of Executive Chef. But Laurel Anne, a celebrity chef with whom Ollie has a less than pleasant past, is vying for the same position. If that’s not enough, Ollie gets ensnared into a plot to assassinate the president when she takes out an intruder on the White House lawn. She’s the only one who knows what the assassin looks like and he is willing to kill her to protect his identity.

I thought the first half of the book was a bit slow paced. It’s not that there isn’t anything going on, but most of the problems are work related while the thriller aspect simmers on the backburner. But about half-way through the book the assassin plot picks up the pace and from there it’s a race to the finish. While reading I began to suspect virtually everyone, becoming as paranoid as Ollie. In the end, I didn’t guess correctly who was the assassin, but he was on my short list of suspects. So the author did a good job of keeping the true identity hidden without taking all the fun out of guessing by coming up with someone completely left-field. I liked that.

One point I want to make is that a lot of reviews I’ve read have had something to say about Tom, Ollie’s secret service boyfriend. Most of them didn’t like how he was acting towards Ollie, especially in regards to her need to know more about what was going on with the threat to the President’s life. But I thought he was very realistic. Tom’s a guy who wants to leave a fairly stressful job at work and not take it home, who doesn’t like talking about it, even the few bits and pieces that aren’t classified, and who certainly won’t like talking about an active case considering he knows Ollie will always push for more. And I can totally get why he was absolutely furious with her for pushing it and thereby endangering her life.

Ollie vying for executive chef position with Laurel Anne was a nice subplot, although the ending to that is easy to guess. Still, it was a nice addition to the book, creating some added tension and comic relief here and there. My favorite part of the book was the ending, where a lot of little things came together to create the situation that was the big finish for the main plot. All in all I thought it was a great book, and a very promising beginning to a new series.

Bookreview: Desert Ice Daddy

Author: Dana Marton
Genre: Romance
Published: 2009
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 37


The second in the Diamonds and Daddies series continues with a new mystery, but this one builds on the happenings in the previous book. Akeem Abdul arrives at the McKade ranch for business related to the incident in the first book, Rita Herron’s Platinum Cowboy, but that is quickly shifted aside when he learns Taylor McKade's little boy had disappeared. This kidnapping is very personal for Akeem, as he has loved Taylor for years and now that she’s divorced, he finally sees a chance to win her heart.

This book was very tension filled, even more than Platinum Cowboy. Where in Platinum Cowboy several small incidents led to the big finish, this book revolved around one thing and one thing only: the kidnapping. It was a very good read with a very believable romance, but there was one moment in the book that stood out in a negative way. I mean, really, sex in the middle of a kidnapping case, while in danger, on top of a ledge? It was an obvious and fairly unbelievable ploy, just to get in the obligatory sex scene. I’d have been happier if Dana Marton had left that out and just stuck with the one sex scene at the end, which did feel real and believable.

Bookreview: Contract With God

Author: Juan Gomez-Jurado
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2009
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 36


Contract With God is also known as The Moses Expedition and together these titles give a pretty good idea as to the plot of this book. An expedition to search for the Ark of the Covenant is at the center of this book. Where other expeditions have tried and failed, this expedition might end up actually succeeding. It is therefore not unexpected that it draws the attention of some not so savory types as well as the Vatican. Father Anthony Fowler, who was one of the main characters in Juan Gomez-Jurado’s first book Spy of God, is ‘persuaded’ to join the expedition to keep an eye on things. But will his presence be enough to keep the expedition members alive?

I loved this book, just as I did Spy of God. It’s a fast paced thriller and I just could not put it away. I like how Juan Gomez-Jurado always shows so many sides of what is going on, even going so far as to show the point of view of the bad guys. And he’s a master of weaving all kinds of different threads, only to bring them all together in one big finish.

The only point of complaint I might have is that it seems this is the last book with Father Anthony Fowler as the main character. Two books isn’t nearly enough time with him! I e-mailed the author to ask if it is indeed the last we’ll see of Anthony Fowler, but as of yet have not heard back from him. But I will say that if this is the last Anthony Fowler book, the ending couldn’t have been better.

Bookreview: Introduction to Ecological Genomics

Author: Nico van Straalen and Dick Roelofs
Genre: Non-fiction
Published: 2006
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 35
2011 Non-Fiction Challenge: 5/9
Off The Shelf Challenge: 11/15


First off, let me say that I did not come into this book with a clean slate. Not only am I a biologist, and therefore have some pre-knowledge of this subject, I also know both authors. Nico van Straalen and Dick Roelofs have taught me a lot over the years and they write the way they teach: very accessible. I’m sure everyone knows the type of textbook that has a lot of information but just isn’t readable. This book is very readable, has a well-thought out order and the voice of the authors sounds through in every word – but perhaps that last only if you know them like I do.

The aim of this book is to explore and explain a fairly new field, that of ecological genomics. It’s basically using genomics – research based on genes and everything associated with genes – to answer ecological questions and further ecological understanding. The first three chapters are fairly technical, focusing more on the relevant genomic techniques and ways to use them, where the other four chapters of the book focus more on ecological questions and how genomics can help answer them. This order is very logical, for you have to understand the techniques used before you can understand how to apply them (or how they have been applied already). The downside of this is that the ‘fun’ ecological stuff doesn’t start until chapter four.

While we’re talking about technical chapters and more ecological ones, I want to say some things about the level of knowledge that is required to appreciate this book. Let me make it very clear from the start that this book is not for the layperson. A reader might be able to follow without the assumed ecological knowledge, as a lot of the necessary ecological knowledge is explained in the book. But if you don’t have a firm grounding in genetics, you will be lost very, very fast. And with a firm grounding I do not merely mean knowing that DNA is transcribed into RNA and then into proteins. You need to know the specifics of the mechanisms involved in that process, as well as the difference between the different domains of life, and a working knowledge of transposable elements is also recommended. Knowledge of cellular processes and techniques commonly used in genetics research (which is different from genomics) is something I’d also recommend. So as you can see, background knowledge is fairly essential to understanding this book.

Even with the required background knowledge, it’s easy to get lost sometimes when there are a lot of gene names bandied about in a short amount of text. But that is often off-set by the very clear pictures that elucidate the text. All in all, this is a very good book if you’re interested in this subject, but I do recommend that you read a good book about genetics first.

Bookreview: Murder Takes the Cake

Author: Gayle Trent
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2008
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 34
Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2/13


When Daphne Martin’s first client of her new cake decorating business is found dead by her, it seems as if her business is doomed from the start. When fingers start pointing at her cakes as the cause of death, even though there were plenty of people in town who wanted Yodel dead, Daphne decided she needs to find out who really did it, before there’s nothing left to save of her new company.

I loved this book. Daphne had a tragic past, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying life. She’s returned to her hometown, so there is some reconnecting with people from her past, but most characters she doesn’t know from before. I really liked the mystery, mostly because Daphne didn’t try to stick her nose in it, yet still found herself smack dab in the middle of it. She seemed very real, as did her reactions. And don’t get me started on how hungry I became reading about all those cakes! All in all, a great begin to a new series.

So why the 4 stars instead of 5? Sometimes the cake decorating information was a little technical. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the details, but I would have liked a little section in the back that maybe explained some terms. She used a lot of tools I have never heard of before, so I couldn’t really picture them.

Sunday Salon: Flash Reviews

I’m a bit behind with my reviews, so today I’m using the Sunday Salon to give a brief review for three suspense romances I read recently. I don’t have a lot to say about them anyway, as they’re fairly light fare.

Platinum Cowboy by Rita Herron (5 stars, nr. 31)

Platinum Cowboy is the first in a series of 4 and set on a ranch that suffers from sabotage. But there’s more to it than just someone trying to ruin the owner Flint McKade. In the midst of this all, the new veterinarian Lora Leigh Whittaker is searching for her brother that disappeared while working for Flint under an assumed name. The more she learns, the more she believes something bad happened, and Flint is the man she suspects. But at the end of the day, the two of them might need each other if they are to come out of this alive. I really liked this one, from the romance to the plot, it was all very believable and fast-paced.

Security Blanket by Delores Fossen ( 5 stars, nr. 32)

Texas P.I. Quinn “Lukcy” Bacelli is tracking Marin Sheppard, convinced she knew where her criminal brother was. But he’s not the only one to think so and someone else is willing to kill Marin and her son to get the information. A pretend engagement is the last thing Lucky was expecting, but it might just be what he wants. I liked this one, at times it read more as a thriller than a romance and you never knew who to trust. There was a lot more going on behind the obvious plot than I thought. This book is the first in the Texas Paternity series, although the order is a bit ambiguous.

Armed and Devastating by Julie Miller (4 stars, nr. 33)

This is actually the second one in this series, which I figured out pretty soon. Still, I liked this one. But although the mystery is somewhat resolved, not everything is. This one definitely can't stand on its own if you want to know everything that happened.