Red Cat by Peter Spiegelman

Growing up brothers John and David March detested one another; as adults their scorn for the other remains unabated. Thus John is more than shocked when his snobbish business executive David turns to him for help. The married David used an Internet site to arrange a tryst. The woman videotaped their performance, which if revealed would cost the older sibling his job and probably his wife; he wants his younger sibling, a private investigator to find out what is going on and how to prevent the personal disaster from occurring. The only additional clue is a red cat tattoo on the hooker.

John learns the female is Wren, who is not blackmailing David per say, but considers herself an artist selling her tapes of married men cheating with her to the highest bidding collector. The scenario takes a deadly spin when someone murders Wren. John assumes that a sex client committed the homicide, but wonders if righteous David could have performed the deed even as he ponders whether blood is thick enough to propel him to protect David especially if he turns out to be the killer.

Red Cat is a dark, brooding work, full of secrets, shame and desperation in even the most unexpected corners. John is terrific as he loathes his pompous "superior" older brother, but also resolves to do his best by him as he is family. Peter Spiegelman provides a great whodunit starring one of the best sleuths to hit the information age.

Utopia by LIncoln Child

Utopia's not just a theme park--it's a world. Or, rather, four seperate worlds, located in the remote Nevada desert. High tech--Utopia runs on robotics, all controlled by the Metanet, developed by Dr. Andrew Warne. Incidently, Warne's ex-lover, Sarah Boatwright, is running the park.

Utopia's a safe, fun place. Everything is "real"--it's as if you've stepped out of the normal world, and into a side demension. It's so nice, the security force doesn't even carry weapons.

Today, however, is different. Because today, someone new has entered the park. He calls himself John Doe: a suave, intelligent, sophisticated, ruthless man looking to earn himself a retirement fund from his day job--terrorism. With Doe is a small team of professional terrorists and hackers. Their goal: to take control of Utopia.

Doe is perfectly willing to negotiate transactions with Boatwright in secret, without the guests of Utopia knowing. But if she dares to cross him...well, if that should happen, then Doe will turn this Heaven into Hell on Earth.

"Utopia" is a thrillride of thrillrides, a pulse-pounding race as Warne, Boatwright, a robotics technician, and a professional bodyguard who happens to get caught up in the action, pursue the menacing Doe through the park. You will be on the edge of your seat the entire time, I kid you not.

Lincoln Child's "Utopia" is a suspense novel to be reckoned with. The park comes alive around you, and the characters develop their own heartbeats. It's a novel of suspense, emotion, humor, thrills, and science, as a "perfect" world is turned upside down by one man's horrific greed.

I'm surprised this novel never did do to theme parks what "Jaws" did to the ocean. Definitely a must-read for thrill seekers!

American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Welcome to down-and-out small-town America: the dreamers, the unemployed, the hunters, the meth addicts, the damaged, the rape survivors, the prematurely old.

Edgy and brutally honest, this collection of short stories by Bonnie Jo Campbell shows the dark side of rural life in post-industrial Michigan. The characters are downtrodden and suffering in some way. Their lives are depressing, but in spite of all the poverty, addiction, violence and hopelessness, the characters live and love vigorously, and dream of better lives.

In the first story “The Trespasser,” a family finds that squatters have turned their vacation cottage into a meth lab. Remnants of their depravity remain scattered throughout the home, and while the story is only a few pages long, it conveys a devastating loss of innocence.

In another story, a man stockpiles gas in anticipation of Y2K. Jovial and goodnatured, Hal Little repairs washing machines, and warns a young couple of the possible disaster. His paranoia is amusing especially combined with his fanatical religious beliefs, make this a delightful break from the glum seriousness of most of the other stories in the collection.

These stories are overwhelmingly about people you hope you'll never meet (or be), but you can believe in them, and care about what happens to them.

Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka

"Cloud of Sparrows" is Takashi Matsuoka's first novel, an ambitious tale set in Japan in the 1860's, as the country is being forcibly opened by "outsiders" and the era of the Shogun and samurai moves toward an end.

The plot involves a trio of American missionaries who go to Japan to set up their church, and the fate of the Tokumichi samurai clan from Akaoka.

The central character is Lord Genji, a minor lord and somewhat of a dilletante of a samurai, more concerned with poetry and lovemaking than swordsmanship. He also happens to have the family curse of seeing visions of the future.

The story of full of plots within plots, characters who are more than they appear to be, and plenty of action. There is subterfuge, counter-plotting, revenge and romance.

In addition to Genji, the other primary characters are Heiko, the most lovely geisha in all Japan, Emily, a beautiful young American perceived as ugly in Japan, and Matthew Stark, a gunfighter seeking revenge on a man who has fled to Japan and become a Buddhist monk. Important sub-characters include Genji's uncle Shigeru, who has horrific visions of a WWII era and overpopulated future Japan. There are also a trio of Genji's captains, Saiki, Kudo and Sohaku, who may or may not be plotting against their lord. Throw in the treacherous Kawakami, the Shogun's chief of secret police, as well as Kuma the Bear, the deadliest ninja in Japan, and Genji has plenty of antagonists.

The story was intriguing, and the plot moved along quickly, with rarely a dull moment. It's a page-turning read. I enjoyed the comparison/contrast of Japan and outside cultures, and Matsuoka went to considerable detail on clothing. Genji is a likable protaganist, who faces a number of challenges, and exhibits some character arc by the end of the story. He makes some unexpected decisions. Emily also grows in the story, and has to make some difficult choices as well.

Finally, the novel is very graphically violent. Especially involving children. So if you are sensitive to that type of thing, beware.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I am so glad I have at last read Dracula. I liked it much more than I thought I would. I especially liked how Stoker tells the story through a fascinating mix of letters, diary entries, ship logs and occasional newspaper clippings. Of course I have seen several version of the Dracula story on old movies on TV. The book has a lot of Gothic Horror cliches but that is just because the book created the cliches in the first place.

Once I began to read the book it was as though I was meeting old friends. There is the good Professor Abraham Van Helsing learned in vampire lore who is at first reluctant to voice his thoughts for fear he will seem deranged. There is the beautiful young virginal Lucy with the mysterious bites who has fallen into a mysterious coma like state. We meet the disgusting insect eating Renfield who I for sure recall from the movies. We meet the required attorney who travels to Transylvania to visit Count Dracula at his sinister castle deep in the Carpathian mountains. At first the attorney is intimidated by the seemingly great wealth and culture of the Count, but he quickly realizes something is badly wrong. Why does the wealthy Count Dracula have no servants? Who are the three very evil looking women he encounters in the castle? Where does Dracula disappear to during the day time and in a great scene he wonders how he can seemingly climb the interior walls of the castle. I cannot see Dracula as any body but Bella Lugosi.

Even though I pretty much knew what was going to happen Stoker does such a great job with the narration that I was kept very interested throughout. Stoker does a wonderful job in creating the atmosphere. The sea voyages to and from England to continental Europe are really wonderful. You can feel the terror on the ships.

The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King

Willowdean "Dean" Lynch is the wife of a Methodist minister, who happens to be an ambitious and self-serving rising star in the church. Dean had a difficult childhood and ended up in foster care. She carries a number of scars from her childhood, the number one being low self-esteem. But one thing that enriches her life is her musical heritage and her musical talent.

She falls for a young, handsome preacher, Ben Lynch, and somehow "wins" this lucky prize. But what Dean quickly discovers is that it is not easy being the wife of a minister. Not only does she live in a fishbowl, but everyone (including Dean) is expected to orbit around her husband. She is expected to suppress all personal desires including the desire for a musical career and a family.

The bulk of the story begins as Ben takes a job with a prestigious parish in the Florida panhandle. The adjustment isn't easy for Dean. But she becomes friends with the "rebel" Augusta, who slowly gets Dean to open her eyes to the fact that she is not living life on her own terms, and that she is certainly not meeting her potential. When a crisis occurs, Dean is finally faced with making difficult decisions about her life and her future.

The Sunday Wife appealed to me as the cast of characters found in this fictional parish can be found in almost any church. There were women that were jealous of Dean, women that were overly critical of her, and those who continuously and unashamedly flirted with her husband. There were control freaks, divas, gossips and those who feigned friendship for the wrong reasons. Many of them were superficial, holier-than-thou hypocrites. But there were one or two who truly cared about Dean and opened their hearts to her.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Wow, what an incredibly moving and emotional story! What really struck me as I read this book was just how brave and " full of life" Pausch remained even toward the end of his battle with terminal cancer. He just had a good attitude until the end, and wanted to focus not on himself, but on how his situation could help and inspire others.

Your heart literally breaks as you realize that he will be leaving behind his beloved wife, and his three young children. Now that he has been gone several years, I find myself incredibly curious as to whether his wife remarried and how his kids are doing! I plan on trying to find their website after posting this :).

Even though Pausch died at a relatively young age, he had an amazing opportunity that few of us will ever have...the chance to write a book and leave a legacy that has ended up inspiring thousands, if not millions.

What I liked least: You will go through at least an entire box of Kleenex while you read this!

What I liked most: I love that his "last lecture" didn't focus on dying, but instead he talked about achieving your childhood dreams and remembering the person that you used to be. I love this angle that he took...wouldn't life be a little bit better if we all just focused on being happy and a good person rather than focusing on death and the future so much? Lots of food for thought in this book!

Finally, I also liked reading about the days he spent realizing HIS childhood dream of being a Disney Imagineer...how cool is that?!