Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

Summary from BN.com: Amish-raised Ada Rupp knows it's time to make a commitment to the faith and join the church, especially if she wants a future with the handsome Amish widower Will Gundy. But when she has the chance to travel to Switzerland as the caregiver of a young child, she leaps at the opportunity. Anxious to learn more about her forebears, Ada enlists the help of a young Mennonite scholar named Daniel, but even as she develops feelings for him, she cannot get Will from her mind—or her heart. At a crossroads, Ada must decide what she is willing to give up from the past in order to embrace her future. First off, I'm just going to say that I am not a fan of the title of this book nor am I of the cover. Both do really nothing for the story and in fact have good potential to turn readers away. I really didn't feel like a nanny is best way to describe Ada throughout the story. That being said, the story is a great book. The authors take this book into new levels w...

Summary from BN.com: A dusty carved box containing two locks of hair and a century-old letter regarding property in Switzerland, and a burning desire to learn about her biological family lead nurse-midwife Lexie Jaeger from her home in Oregon to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. There she meets Marta Bayer, a mysterious lay-midwife who desperately needs help after an Amish client and her baby die. Lexie steps in to assume Marta's patient load even as she continues the search for her birth family, and from her patients she learns the true meaning of the Pennsylvania Dutch word demut, which means 'to let be' as she changes from a woman who wants to control everything to a woman who depends on God. I shouldn't have been surprised at how much I enjoy this book. Every Mindy Starns Clark book that I've read includes such a good mystery story that I find myself completely sucked in as I try to solve it along with the characters. Lexie's search to find out w...

When New York marketing executive Samantha Collins finds herself unemployed, she moves out of her pricey Manhattan apartment to sleepy Harmony Grove, Pennsylvania. She plans on running the bed-and-breakfast she had bought as an investment in Lancaster County. However, when the manager she lets go is later found murdered on the property, Samantha's troubles take a serious turn. A handsome local wishes to befriend her, but can she trust him? And when her ex-boyfriend shows up, wanting to reconcile, can she cope with him in the middle of this crisis? Samantha must learn to depend on the Savior she has recently taken into her heart. And she'll need all the help she can get, because the secrets she uncovers in Harmony Grove threaten her livelihood, her safety, and ultimately her life. First I must start off by saying that even though this book is set in Amish country, it is NOT an Amish book. There are some Amish characters but this is not a book about the Amish nor does...

The best mystery novel of the year Miranda Miller can't remember anything that happened to her before she was five years old. All she's known is a life in the city with her aunt. Now an adult with a family of her own, mysterious circumstances involving a tattoo she never knew existed and a grounds keeper dying bring her back to Louisiana. There she discovers she's now the owner of her grandparents' estate. Secrets abound on the plantation, dating back to centuries before Miranda was born. She also discovers the reason why her childhood memory left her and the shocking truth about her family. Ok I will admit it. Books set in Louisiana dealing with Cajun and bayou subjects scare me to death. Something about swamps and voodoo give me the creeps and make me want to leave my lights on. This book definitely gives the chills due to the setting which was described so perfectly I could imagine myself being there. This is the BEST mystery book I have read this year. ...

Wooden Nickel = Be Cautious Callie Webber has come back to her Chesapeake Bay home to relax after working hard for the J.O.S.H.U.A. foundation. However , she ends up investigating another charity, one that helps out troubled women with clothes and accessories to start a new job. Callie is drawn to one of the young women, Shayna and is eager to get her started with her new career. But then Shayna's boyfriend goes missing. Eddie Ray then ends up dead in the trunk of her car. Not believing the rumors that Shayna is a murderer Callie goes to investigate who it really is. The clues she discovers all lead up to finding out that Eddie Ray might have stumbled onto something that he shouldn't have. This is another wonderful work from Mindy Starns Clark. Callie continues to be a likable heroine, who shows that she can remain calm and cool in heated situations. I also liked that the detective working with Callie was female as well showing that women can do men's jobs. The suspe...

Dead Dates Tell No Tales After finally getting over being left at the alter Jo has decided to move on by joining a blind dating service. Her first date isn't at all what she expected him to be and then even worse: he dies during their date! Suddenly Jo finds that she's the target of kidnapping, stalking, and death threats. She has no idea why but clues seem to lead back to her deceased date. Along with best friend Danny (who is now hopelessly in love with Jo) the two set out to find out why Jo is being victimized. Once again Mindy Starns Clark has written a winner. I absolutely adore Jo, she is one of the best recent female characters I have read. Just like in Trouble With Tulip, you can find household hints sprinkled throughout the book (now in email format!) and which also help to solve the mystery. I'm really glad that Danny was able to talk to Jo, now the ball's in her court. It'll be interesting to see how all that happens. I found the blind dating servi...

A penny well spent Callie Webber works for the J.O.S.H.U.A. Foundation, checking out charities to make sure they are practicing what they preach. If she finds them to be in good standing, she awards them with a check for their hard work. Her boss is a man named Tom, who Callie knows very little about. As she prepares to take a well earned vacation, Tom asks her to do a favor for an old friend of his and check out his charity. Callie obliges and postpones her trip, only to visit the guy and have him turn up dead minutes after she arrives. As a former PI, it's in her nature to find out who the murderer is and also as a favor to Tom. There are many suspects with many motives making this a challenge for Callie while also testing her relationship with Tom. I had enjoyed Mindy's SmartChick series so I wanted to go back and read the rest of her books. I had heard really good things about this series, and boy I was not not disappointed. This was a top-notch mystery with a strong,...

Martha Stewart meets Nancy Drew Jo Tulip has just been jilted at the altar and been involved in murder investigation, all in the same day. Her best friend Danny (who's secretly in love with her) gets Jo to come to the crime scene of an elderly woman who turns up mysteriously dead in her own home. The police rule it as an accident but with Jo's knack for household tips, she discovers it to be a murder. Theft, fraud, the deceiving of old ladies, and alchemy all come into play to as Jo and Danny try to discover the truth about really happened. This was my first Mindy Starns Clark book and I really got a kick out of it. I loved all the household advice spread throughout the novel. Very interesting techniques given how to combat any home problem. I have yet to try out any but I may do so in the future. The murder investigation was really gutsy of Jo to do it mostly by herself. There were a lot of twists I wasn't expecting. I really Jo's character. I do hope we get ...