Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen

Some stories are just so strange they have to be true - and the con artist at the core of Razor Girl is one of those; her scam involves shaving her privates while behind the wheel, "accidentally" rear-ending someone, her hiked skirt and blood droplets for effect.

This book is a return to former-detective, health officer Andrew Yancy and his endangered bit of paradise. A big-city lawyer and his high-maintenance fiance are planning a new McMansion on the lot next to Yancy's house. Things didn't go so well for the last guy that tried to build there ...

Throw into the mix a reality TV star who isn't what he seems, his beleaguered Hollywood agent, and a Florida redneck with a man-crush. Typical Hiaasen!

Truly, it's prime-form Hiaasen too, with a story that hums right along and a plot you couldn't possibly predict. Nobody does comedy-mixed-with-satire the way he does, and it seems like Florida is determined to provide fodder for these novels (we'll call that a silver lining).

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson has spent his career working for the poor, the mentally ill, for youth tried as adults, and for other people somehow disadvantaged and lost in the American justice system. It's hard work, and it doesn't pay well. Every day he's faced with horrible stories of lives lost and damaged - yet he keeps at it with grace and diligence and perseverance.

In this book, Stevenson discusses his legal cases, uses notable individual stories to exemplify his points, and outlines the cultural need for compassion.

The book is heartbreaking, yet optimistic. The plight of some of their clients is truly upsetting - innocent people on death row, children abused in all ways and incarcerated with adults, mentally ill individuals without medical treatment. Stevenson and his Equal Justice Initiative staff have made great strides in cases argued and won with the Supreme Court.

It's the kind of book that forces you to look around you and wonder how you can make some difference. I can't argue a case before the Supreme Court. But I could lend a hand to the homeless. I could try to be a role model for disadvantaged kids. I could ... do something. And that's where it starts.

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

Paula Vauss is a tough-as-nails divorce lawyer with no time for personal relations. So when a didn't-know-he-existed college-aged half-brother appears in her office one day, it sets off a chain of events that lead Paula to redemption, love, and more family than she'd ever thought possible,

I absolutely adore Joshilyn Jackson's writing and will greedily snatch up anything she publishes. Like her other novels, this is a contemporary fiction with a slightly broken female protagonist: Paula's had a rough life, and her tough exterior hides a scared, lonely little girl. She pushes off all forms of personal relations because she's scared to get hurt.

There's a lot of Hindu mysticism mixed in - Paula's mother was a storyteller who twisted tales to her own needs. But as Paula researches the past 25 years of history she thought she knew, she discovers Kai's stories had more subtext woven in than she'd ever suspected.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

How I managed 40+ years old without having read this book (or even seen the movie) is startling in itself. But when we decided to read "Go Set a Watchman" for book discussion at the library, I knew this was the perfect time to set that right.

I listened to the audiobook from our library, performed by Sissy Spacek - I hope I don't have to tell you how incredibly rich and wonderful it was to listen to her interpretation.

The book won a Pulitzer Prize, and until 2015 was the only book Harper Lee published. While the overall theme of the book is racism, it's also really about the first time kids discover the world is a cruel place. I won't go into synopsis or review - there have been more than 50 years of that already.

I did enjoy the book immensely, and reading this book may spur me to try out other "classics" that I somehow skipped previously.

Hollow Man by Mark Pryor

What's it like to be a functional, passing-for-normal psychotic?

Dominic is an American lawyer who grew up in England and supplements his income as a musician in the thriving Austin scene. He's a part of the justice system and works hard for his clients.

And yet there's something he's hiding. He's known he was a psychopath since childhood and his move to the US may have been strategic - he's spent his life controlling himself (and everyone around him, honestly).

So when an opportunity for a long-shot windfall drops in his lap, it's not a big leap for him to enjoy a life of crime. It may be both the perfect crime and a way to get revenge on someone who's trying to tarnish his reputation ... or maybe not. It may all fall apart.

I loved the unpredictability of the storyline - how far will the scam go, and who will it take down? It's an interesting look inside the head of someone decidedly different and also a frightening look at how reasonable and rational planning a crime can be. I'm really enjoying Pryor's style of writing (he also writes the Hugo Marston series) and his characters - who all share just a bit of his own backstory, once you read his bio!

Thank You, Goodnight by Andy Abramowitz

After the 90s band Tremble's one-hit-wonder career, the band members all drifted into boring normal lives. But when Teddy Tremble finds he's the object of ridicule in a photo displayed at the Tate Museum, his long-forgotten creative juices begin flowing anew and he decides it's time to get the band back together. It may be a midlife crisis - but does that mean it can't also be a good thing?

I loved this book. It's funny and sweet and there are some great philosophical theories on music scattered in too. Teddy's adorable, but also a bit of a self-centered asshole (typical lead singer) - and you soon learn everybody else feels that way about him, too. Their agent and guitarist both provide some comic relief, and I think this is a pretty fair peek inside the dynamics of a band and the way music gets made.

Someone like you

by Susan Mallery

In a search for downloadable books to take on vacation, I came across a Mallery title that was completely new to me.  The best part is: there's also a sequel.  On that note, the foreshadowing has me desperately clinging to hope that either the physical or downloadable hold for the next title will hurry up!  Of course, I finished Someone Like You just before a national holiday.

Jill finds herself filing for divorce, out of a job, and back in her dreaded hometown.  To top it all off, her childhood crush is also back and even more tempting than before.  Too bad he's still hung up on a hands off policy where she's concerned.

Mac pretty much owes his life to Jill's father.  He's also intent on fixing his relationship with his eight year old who will only eat foods that match her outfit.  Jill, her clients, and her family are complications in his life. 

This story will make you want to snuggle under a favorite quilt as you watch the one-time bad boy show that he's not only all grown-up, but also a very good man to boot.

Icebreaker

by Deirdre Martin

Hockey's hardest hitter is being charged with assault for an on ice hit. Lucky for him the league has hired an attorney who's just as tough in the courtroom as he is on the ice. Sinead and Adam are both known for their single-minded dedication to work. Can these two intense individuals relax enough to open their hearts when the time is right? It's a fast paced, steamy romance from an author who has proven time and again that she knows hockey as well as she knows flirtation.

Maybe this time

by Jennifer Crusie

Do you like ghost stories? How about romance? This one has them both. Andie stops by to tell her ex-husband that she's getting remarried. The next thing she knows, she is in charge of two very disturbed children that live in a haunted house. Can she get the kids up to grade level, and moved out before the ghosts kill again? Normally, I am not a fan of ghost stories. However, I was absolutely riveted. Just like Andie, I began to see more to the children and the haunting than previous characters were given credit for seeing. The twist at the end was also a nice touch.