Rocky Road To Romance

The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich is the romance of Steve Crow the operations manager of WZZZ, an AM radio station; Daisy Adams, writer of Bones for Bowser as well as a graduate student, paper deliverer, crossing guard , cab driver, waitress and Monday morning radio personality; and Bob, the dog Steve adopts who appears on the books cover.

Daisy decides to become the weather reporter after the regular reporter breaks his leg.  Steve shows her the ropes of the job and before you know it, Daisy hits a drug dealer who was running from the police.  Steve was on his way to the pound to get a dog when this occurs.  He picks a gray and white sheepdog, to be Bob, the name of the dog he told Daisy he owned.  Bob did not fit into Steve's car so Steve who came from wealthy parents goes out and buys a SUV for cash.  Daisy cooks a meal for Bob and he gobbles it down.  The TV news show Daisy on the news being threatened by the drug dealer and Steve becomes very protective.  He wants her to hire a guard.  Daisy picks an older woman named Elsie Hawkins who carries a bag with a very large gun inside.

Unfortunately, Steve had left Bob in his condo and finds an eviction notice when he returns home.  He goes in search of a house with a big fenced-in yard which he finds within two hours.  After he shows Daisy the house, they make love for the first time and he proposes which Daisy does not take seriously.  Many other things happen, cars are stolen, there is a fire bomb and shots are fired.

I don't want to tell every thing that happens, as it will spoil the ending for anyone else who decides to read this book.  I read seven pages at first, then finished the book the next morning.  I did not want to put it down!  Though it is not a mystery, you wonder if Daisy will ever slow down, and will they wind up getting engaged before the end.  I would highly recommend this book to romance lovers and to those who enjoy books about animals as Bob keeps you guessing about what he will eat next.

 

Crown of Creation

I obtained Crown of Creation by Robert Arias from Smashwords thanks to a special free book promotion. The story is set in the year 2026. The U.S.A. is now only east of the Mississippi and the Republic of Franklin is to the west. Detective Adam Henry originally worked with computers in Philadelphia. ATW (after the war) he moved to Colorado, studied law and became a policeman and then a detective. He is skiing with a friend in Telluride, Colorado when a man goes down in front of him. The man is taken to the hospital and later dies. The dead man is identified as Ralph DeMarco and is from the Philadelphia area. Two of his friends who were staying in Colorado go home suddenly before they even find out he died. Adam is sent back east to investigate. There is a group called the "Crown of Creation" which was named after a song by Jefferson Airplane that is considered a terrorist group. In fact, the Pruitts who were the friends of the dead man, mention that the "Crown of Creation" may have followed them to the west. Two computer firms are later bombed. Is there a connection between the bombings and the death and the terrorist group? Will the "Crown of Creation" group be stopped? I do not wish to give anything away. I enjoyed reading this book. AS a trekker, I will admit that I did like the idea that there should have been communication devies as those on Star Trek Uniforms. I was not a follower of groups as Jefferson Airplane and am thus not familiar with their work. The differences between the west and the east are brought out nicely and one would prefer to be in the Republic of Franklin vs the east just from the describtions.

Snow Place

Snow Place to Die by Mary Daheim does not take place at Judith Flynn's Bed & Breakfast but at a retreat at secluded Mountain Goat Lodge. I am using this as part of my A-Z Challenge as even though there were several murders occurring in this book there actually were a few places that made me laugh. When Judith talks about her husband being stuck with a stiff in the classy part of town. Also when her husband is worried about clean underwear and Judith wants to get the police to where she is located. Another part that made me laugh is when the park ranger was believing Judith was a nobody compared to a well-known businessman until her son comes in (who is with the Park Service) and she says, "I am somebody after all. I'm his mother." This book also meets the Cozy Mystery challenge because Snow is a form of water. Renee, Judith's cousin is to give a presentation the OTIOSE group and a caterer is needed so naturally Renee asks Judith to fill the position. The caterer from the year before had disappeared and was not found until the women get to the Lodge and discover his body. A storm comes and the women and the OTIOSE executives are trapped in the lodge. Before, the book ends there are other bodies discovered. Will they find the guilty party or parties? Will the food hold out? You don't know as they don't know while reading when the phone will work and when it won't. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others.

Digital Fortress

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown is a suspense/thriller.  It deals with the "ultimate code" that is considered  dangerous, powerful and unbreakable. The National Security Agency (NSA) has a computer which it calls TRANSLTR that is very successful in breaking codes but as far as the public knows it was a complete failure.  This computer is located in a place known to those who work there as Crypto.

Susan Fletcher and her fiance, David Becker had planned a trip to Stone Manor which has to be postponed when David is called away.  She is then called into work by her boss, Commander Strathmore on Saturday due to an emergency.  David is a foreign language specialist who is employed by Georgetown University but to make extra money he will translate for government agencies.  They met when he was called in by the NSA to help translate a code.  Susan had been breaking codes since she was in junior high school.  Susan taught David how to break simple codes.

David had been sent to Spain to find a pass-key that Ensei Tankado had before he died.  Pass-keys are the way to get into some programs.  Tankado was known to be the programmer of Digital Fortress which was an encrypted program that people could download for free but could not open with out the key.  His program is considered to be unbreakable even by TRANSLTR.   Why was this important to NSA?  Tankado's program would kill intelligence gathering of the United States.

Supposedly. Tankado had a person named NDakota who might have a copy of the pass-key.  Susan was trying to find who NDakota was while David was trying to track down Tankado's ring in Spain.  She was completely unaware of where he was or what he was doing.  People in Spain are being killed and others in Crypto are wondering what is going on with TRANSLTR as it had never taken more than three hours to solve a code.  Was it a virus?  Who is NDAkota?  What is the pass-key?  Do David and Susan make it through the book and back to Stone Manor?  I had to read the book to find out, so I will not give away any secrets.


This book is very easy to get through.  There were times that I did not wish to put it down.  I always loved codes though I am not good at solving them without hints.  I liked this book more than the Da Vinci Code.  My girlfriend from Philadelphia lent me her copy and I wish I did not have to return it to her.