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Title:   The Surrogate: A Novel by Tania Carver Publisher: Pegasus 272 pages Genre: Mystery Synopsis:  A shocking double-murder scene greets Detective Inspector Philip Brennan when he is called to a flat in Colchester. Two women are viciously cut open and lying spread-eagled, one tied to the bed, one on the floor. The woman on the bed has had her stomach cut into and her unborn child is missing. But this is the third time Phil and his team have seen such an atrocity. Two other pregnant women have been killed in this way and their babies taken from them. No one can imagine what sort of person would want to commit such horrible crimes. When psychologist Marina Esposito is brought in, Phil has to put aside his feelings about their shared past and get on with the job. But can they find the killer before another woman is targeted? Review:  This book is not for the faint of heart. The scenes are graphic, the story line frightening and twisted.  DI Brennan is cal...

Title:   The Twelve (Book Two of The Passage Trilogy): A Novel by Justin Cronin Publisher: Ballantine Books 589 pages Genre: Sci/fi Synopsis:  In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights. One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the r...

Title :  In the Unlikely Event... by Saxon Bennett Publisher: Bella Books 264 pages Genre: lgbt fiction, humor Synopsis:  Chase Banter has always been about risk avoidance, but parenthood has changed all that. Among other things, she’s embraced a writer’s life, joined the board of the Lesbian Illumination Institute and fomented rebellion within the PTA. When she and her BFF Lacey butt heads over the Institute, Chase decides it’s high time she prove once and for all that she is a changed woman. Her daughter, Bud, is an eight-year-old filmmaker, and will document her mother’s fearlessness, once she figures out how to focus past knee caps. Chase proves she can visit Urgent Care and not wash her hands afterward. She can skateboard, teach people how to drive and—to the surprise of many, including herself—she can gift wrap anything. All these changes can only lead to one thing: the Gift Wrapping National Finals. How hard can it be, after all? It’s not as if she’s going ...

Title:  Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass Publisher: Harper Element 352 pages Genre: memoir, foster parenting Synopsis:  Although Jodie is only eight years old, she is violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families. Her last hope is Cathy Glass… Cathy, an experienced foster carer, is pressured into taking Jodie as a new placement. Jodie's challenging behavior has seen off five carers in four months but Cathy decides to take her on to protect her from being placed in an institution. Jodie arrives, and her first act is to soil herself, and then wipe it on her face, grinning wickedly. Jodie meets Cathy's teenage children, and greets them with a sharp kick to the shins. That night, Cathy finds Jodie covered in blood, having cut her own wrist, and smeared the blood over her face. As Jodie begins to trust Cathy her behavior improves. Over time, with childish honesty, she reveals detai...

Title:   One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch Publisher: Pajama Press 128 Pages Genre: Adoption, Bio Synopsis:  Brought up in a Vietnamese orphanage and rescued from the invading North Vietnamese army, Tuyet has been adopted by a kind and loving family in Canada. But polio has left her with a weak leg, and her foot is turned inward, making walking painful and difficult. She must have a series of operations but dreads doctors and the hospital because they bring back troubling memories of helicopters, a field hospital and another operation in Vietnam. But now that she has been given a chance at a normal life, Tuyet is determined to do what it takes to finally stand on her own two feet. Review: Tuyet was born in Vietnam and raised in an orphanage until a family in the US adopts her.  Tuyet was stricken with polio which has left her leg weak and her foot twisted.  She needs to have a series of operations to help her walk ...

Title:   Ever After by Kim Harrison Publisher: Harper Voyager 448 Pages Genre: Fantasy, Witches, Demons, Synopsis:  The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart. Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after—the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru—has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die. Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack—a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul—to return to the ever-after and rescue those she lo...

Title:   Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, Book 2) by Suzanne Collins Publisher: Scholastic Press 391 Pages Genre: Fantasy, dystopian society Synopsis:  Katniss, again the narrator, returns home to find herself more the center of attention than ever. The sinister President Snow surprises her with a visit, and Katniss’s fear when Snow meets with her alone is both palpable and justified. Catching Fire is divided into three parts: Katniss and Peeta’s mandatory Victory Tour through the districts, preparations for the 75th Annual Hunger Games, and a truncated version of the Games themselves. Slower paced than its predecessor, this sequel explores the nation of Panem: its power structure, rumors of a secret district, and a spreading rebellion, ignited by Katniss and Peeta’s subversive victory. Review: The book starts with Katniss and Peeta needing to get ready for their Victory tour of the districts...where they get to go and stand in front of the families of those that th...