Dec 30-Jan5

The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.

5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Buzzard's Table by Margaret Maron - a part of a series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. She's a judge in a rather small town and sometimes gets caught up in murder mysteries. This is the last in a fairly long series and I've missed a few in the middle.

3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theoren - a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one although it's a bit melancholy as are many Scandanavian mysteries. A young boy went missing 20 years ago and his mother is still trying to deal with it. Her father thinks he has received some new evidence so she returns to her hometown. I was totally surprised at the end by what really happened. I already have the next book on hold at the library.

4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe Clear by Stuart Woods - a Stone Barrington novel. There's a plot afoot to take out the President and most of LA. Many characters from previous novels are here. Sometimes annoying because everyone is either very rich, very smart or both. Stone usually has sexual encounters with at least two women per novel - I find him rather amoral. Enjoyed this one more than the last few. If you want to read a good book by Stuart Woods, try Chief, his very first.

3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I enjoyed this one more than most because China leaves Pecan Springs and goes to a Shaker village to help with an herb class. Of course a mystery ensues, but interwoven are chapters from journals written by the village inhabitants in 1912. 

3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise by Will Wheaton - a lot of this is taken from his blog.  Some language and sex jokes.

3 stars