The Illuminati, by Larry Burkett

Starting this blog back up again, hoping I can keep it going this year with no health related interruptions.  Here's the first book I've finished this year.

Synopsis: From before the time of Christ, there have been rumors of a secret society called The Illuminati...a vicious tribe of Druids with mystical, supernatural powers. Many saw them as demons or gods. Those who opposed them simply disappeared...or met an even worse fate.

Unknown to all but the very few, this group slowly infiltrated world organizations and financial institutions with a singular goal--to control the world's economic system.

Now fast-forward to the year 2020. The Illuminati has succeeded in placing one of their people in the office of the presidency of the United States. With the worldwide launch of a financial system known as Data-Net, they suddenly have the power to single out groups of people and control their money, fuel, and food supply. How do you escape an unknown enemy operating at the highest levels who can track your every move? And how do you defeat a society that practices ancient rituals and appears to have power beyond the grave?

The Illuminati is a futuristic thriller tied to ancient mysticism that will appeal to fans of The DaVinci Code and the Left Behind series. It will also leave readers wondering where fact ends and fiction begins.

Thoughts:  This is one of those books that really hit home for me. It was written years ago, it's based in the future, but some of it was like reading a current newspaper. We all need to keep our eyes open and be aware of what is going on around us.

My rating: Three stars

In A Witch's Wardrobe: A Witchcraft Mystery, by Juliet Blackwell

Synopsis: Lily Ivory is living her dream of owning a vintage clothing store—and practicing magic on the side. But when she encounters a sinister sleeping spell, Lily comes face-to-face with a nightmarish evil… 

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman’s corsage. 

Before Lily can solve the woman’s magical ailment, she’s asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She’s gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women’s charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany…  

Thoughts:  A quick, fun read that I spotted on display in the library while picking up some other things. Now that I've read this one, though, I'm going to have to read the rest of the series. From Lily and her vintage clothing store, to her "familiar" Oscar--a gobgoyle (half goblin, half gargoyle) who changes into a potbellied pig around non-supernaturals, to her friends and neighbors, both human and not....it's a fun group of characters!

The Queen's Fool, by Phillippa Gregory

Synopsis:  A young woman caught in the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivalries, loss of faith, and unrequited love.

It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires.

Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen's Fool is another rich and emotionally resonant gem from this wonderful storyteller.

Thoughts:  Another historical novel about one of my favorite time periods, by one of my favorite authors. This one provides a different view of Queen Mary than you see in most...a much more sympathetic picture than the typical "Bloody Mary" most people think of when they hear her name. This view actually seems more realistic to me...a tormented, tortured woman, born to be the Queen of England, and yet never in her life sure of her status in the court, or in the heart of her father. 

Private :#1 Suspect, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Synopsis:
Unsolvable cases
Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm--sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world--and they always uncover the truth.

Impossible murders

When his former lover is found murdered in Jack Morgan's bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While Jack is under police investigation, the mob strong-arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals for them. And the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a string of murders at her properties. 

The #1 suspect is Jack Morgan

While Jack is fighting for his life, one of his most trusted colleagues threatens to leave Private, and Jack realizes he is confronting the cleverest and most powerful enemies ever. With more action, more intrigue, and more twists than ever before, PRIVATE: #1 SUSPECT is James Patterson at his unstoppable best.

Thoughts:  This one was okay, but not one of my favorites. The ending was just a little too predictable to suit me.

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School, Book The First), by Gail Carriger

Synopsis:  It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail's legions of fans have come to adore. 

Thoughts: What a fun read! Not only is it a good story line, but for those of us who have read the Parasol Protectorate series, it provides back story for many of the characters we met there. It also introduces new characters to flesh out the plot. Victorian era clothing, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, spies, airships, mechanical dogs.....what more can you ask for?  :)

Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis

Synopsis: 
No husbands allowed 

Only minutes after Abbie Elliot and her three best friends step off of a private helicopter, they enter the most luxurious, sumptuous, sensually pampering hotel they have ever been to. Their lavish presidential suite overlooks Monte Carlo, and they surrender: to the sun and pool, to the sashimi and sake, to the Bruno Paillard champagne. For four days they're free to live someone else's life. As the weekend moves into pulsating discos, high-stakes casinos, and beyond, Abbie is transported to the greatest pleasure and release she has ever known.

What happened last night?

In the morning's harsh light, Abbie awakens on a yacht, surrounded by police. Something awful has happened--something impossible, unthinkable. Abbie, Winnie, Serena, and Bryah are arrested and accused of the foulest crime imaginable. And now the vacation of a lifetime becomes the fight of a lifetime--for survival. GUILTY WIVES is the ultimate indulgence, the kind of nonstop joy-ride of excess, friendship, betrayal, and danger that only James Patterson can create.
Thoughts: One of the best Patterson's I've read in a while. The description of what these four women go through in a foreign prison after being wrongly convicted of the murder of a high ranking politician, and of the fight to prove their innocence, makes for a gripping page-turner--especially with the surprise ending and the reveal of the actual killer.

Indiscretion by Charles Dubow

Synopsis: "Every story has a narrator. Someone who writes it down after it's all over. Why am I the narrator of this story? I am because it is the story of my life—and of the people I love most. . . ."

Harry and Madeleine Winslow have been blessed with talent, money, and charm. Harry is a National Book Award–winning author on the cusp of greatness. Madeleine is a woman of sublime beauty and grace whose elemental goodness and serenity belie a privileged upbringing. Bonded by deep devotion, they share a love that is both envied and admired. The Winslows play host to a coterie of close friends and acolytes eager to bask in their golden radiance, whether they are in their bucolic East Hampton cottage, abroad in Rome thanks to Harry's writing grant, or in their comfortable Manhattan brownstone.

One weekend at the start of the summer season, Harry and Maddy, who are in their early forties, meet Claire and cannot help but be enchanted by her winsome youth, quiet intelligence, and disarming naivete. Drawn by the Winslows' inscrutable magnetism, Claire eagerly falls into their welcoming orbit. But over the course of the summer, her reverence transforms into a dangerous desire. By Labor Day, it is no longer enough to remain one of their hangers-on.

A story of love, lust, deception, and betrayal as seen through the omniscient eyes of Maddy's childhood friend Walter, a narrator akin to Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, Indiscretion is a juicy, richly textured novel filled with fascinating, true-to-life characters—an irresistibly sensual page-turner that explores having it all and the consequences of wanting more.

Indiscretion also marks the debut of a remarkably gifted writer and storyteller whose unique voice bears all the hallmarks of an exciting new literary talent.

Thoughts:  An amazing first novel! There were at least three spots where a plot twist caught me totally off guard. I'm definitely going to be looking for more from this author. All the characters were very well written, and their stories tied together almost seamlessly.