Blue Heaven, by C.J. Box

2008 Edgar Award winner, this thriller set in North Idaho follows a 12 year old girl and her younger brother who go on the run after witnessing a brutal execution-style murder, and know that the killers saw them. Fun read, and really well done look at what happens when people (in this case retired LAPD) move into an area with well-established locals, and no one has the same ideas about what the town should feel like.

Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

Wonderful, very dark and gruesome. Libby Day was 7 when she was the sole survivor of the murders of her mother and two sisters, and based on evidence she gave, her 15 year old brother Ben was convicted of the very violent murders. Now as an adult, the last of the sympathy fund that had been established for her has run out, and she has no life skills to earn a living. A group of true crime enthusiasts offers her money to tell them about that night, and she begins to explore, for the first time, the facts of the case, and to find out what really happened that night. This was pretty fantastic, but disturbing- not for the squeamish, but a really well written take on a very unsympathetic character and a wonderfully plotted story.

Frozen Fire, by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson

Fast paced disaster thriller, very James Bond-y with hot brilliant scientists willing to die for charismatic leader of covert group, great explosions, etc. Ridic, but super fun.

The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

Dreadful improbable schlock, but quick.

Lush Life, by Richard Price

Gritty with amazingly realistic dialogue. The mix of immigrants, projects, and hipsterish newcomers to the lower east side of NYC leads to what feels like inevitable tragedy.

Moonlight in Odessa, by Janet Skeslein Charles

This was so good, yet frothy somehow. Ukrainian Daria is working in Odessa at an inport/export company, avoiding her lecherous boss, and takes a second job helping translate for a Valentina, who is running a dating site to match Ukrainian women to American men. Daria's character was so well developed, and her insight into the world of mail-order brides was fascinating, but I felt the story lost strength when Daria herself came to America.

Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Sarah Rainone

I really wanted to like this book, but found it hard. Set in Rhode Island over a wedding weekend, this story of friends gathering in what was clearly Cranston felt overwritten.

Killer, by Sara Shepard

The fifth in the increasingly nonsensical Pretty Little Liars YA series.

The Season, by Sarah MacLean

Exceptionally bad YA regency romance, interesting only in that- YA regency romance? really?

Divine Justice, by David Baldacci

Lukewarm thriller. This is a less than satisfying entry into the Baldacci's wildly popular Camel Club series. It had a lot of distracting subplots set in rural Divine, Virginia, and a kind of unsatisfying end. The kind of book you might buy at the airport and leave on the plane when it was done.

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, by Lizzie Skurnik

I loved her Fine Lines column on Jezebel.com, and had been excited about this book, but it seems that a. lots of it I had read already, as it was posted, and b. small doses, you know what I mean?

What I Saw And How I Lied, by Judy Blundell

FANTASTIC historical YA. Set in 1947, 15 year old Evelyn is taken on an impromptu trip to Palm Beach, Florida by her mother and stepfather. There, she falls in love, learns about racial and religious segregation, and learns that much of her life has been built on a foundation of lies. The way she handles this is wonderful, an awesome example of a person recognizing shades of gray in morality, and the conclusion was immensely satisfying. The clothes and cars and material ambition of the post-war era were beautifully depicted. This was wonderfully written, and may be the best YA I've read this year.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

Flawed post-apocalyptic zombie YA. Interesting, but too many holes in the plot, not enough background, and unsatisfying ending. Pretty gross, though, if that's a plus.

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Well. This was, of course, long. But, the thing is, I had read another translation many and many a moon ago, and had thought I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if the difference is the translation (and if I have to read it again to figure it out, it may never happen) but I did not enjoy this much.
Pierre is an idiot, Andrei insufferable, Natasha is ok, I guess, Helene and Dolokhov were the only interesting characters, so of course aren't around much, and Nikolai was a swine to do what he did.
Too long, too many rants about philosophy and politics, too detailed with the battles, all in all, not a fun summer read.

Swan for the Money, by Donna Andrews

Another fun, fast paced funny Meg Langslow mystery. Not a whole lot more to say about that.

Flood, by Stephen Baxter

Post apocalyptic dystopia, but was sadly disappointing as the science behind the flooding seemed sketch at best. Undersea pockets of frozen ocean are released, resulting in rapid and catastrophic flooding, and a group of characters, who bonded while living as hostages with various Spanish breakaway groups are the focus of the plot. Some interesting ideas, some good scenes, but nothing really spectacular. Save this for when you need something mindless and disastery.

Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters

Well, after Sarah Waters ghost story The Little Stranger was placed on the long list for the Booker prize, to my surprise, I decided I had to find out what all this was about, so went ahead and read this one. 1998, and it is a hell of a good book, if surprisingly bawdy and explicit. Nan's life, from an oyster girl in Victorian Whitstable, to her days on the music hall stage, to her time as a kept girl of a wealthy woman of varied and unusual tastes, was extraordinary reading, and I understand why she has the reputation as a writer that she does. I still don't see nominating The Little Stranger as one of the 13 best books of the year, but if there's any taking into account other works by the same writer, she should certainly win something, at any rate.

Man Booker Prize Long List

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

Summertime by J.M Coetzee

The Quickening Time by Adam Foulds

How to Paint A Dead Man by Sarah Hall

The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
Me Cheeta by James Lever

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

Not Untrue and Not Unkind by Ed O'Loughlin

Helopolis by James Scudamore

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Love and Summer by William Trevor

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Maggody Militia, by Joan Hess

As usual, very funny Joan Hess Maggody book. Read it before, will probably read it again, to be honest.

The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson

Wonderful, again. This was so good, and I'm half in love with both Blomquist and Salander.
Sequel to the amazing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, this was violent, dramatic, political, dealt with gender issues and human trafficking and commercialized sexuality, has interesting and well developed characters, and I CANNOT WAIT for the third (and final, presumably, unless that story about the laptop with the last book on it is true) book in the Millenium trilogy.

Twenties Girl, by Sophie Kinsella

As always, fun. I wonder how much longer she will keep the Madeleine Wickham and the Sophie Kinsella writing separate- I think this very much blurred the line, as did The Wedding Girl. I had thought that she was keeping the Wickham for more kind of lit-fic style writing, and Kinsella for the sex+shoes kind of writing, but both The Wedding Girl and Twenties Girl had the same kind of Katie Fforde went to London vibe, and it seems silly almost to keep the brands separate. Just saying.
Anyway, this was great fun, for what it is.