56.
Author: Donna Andrews
Title: Swan for the Money
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 306 pages
Genre: Mystery
Acquisition: Beach read #1
Date Completed: July 17, 2010
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Swan for the Money is pretty typical for Donna Andrews and Meg Langlsow, although this is the first book of the series that left me without some way to relate personally.

Unfortunately, the publishers yanked all copies of this book from stores in preparation for the paperback publication in August ... and the latest Langslow mystery was published a month before. I eventually gave in and located a used copy of the title, but I would have much preferred that the publisher either a) left the hardcopies in stores or b) published the paperback before the latest edition. Not Ms. Andrews' fault, but a minor disappointment.

57.
Author: Donna Andrews
Title: Stork Raving Mad
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 309 pages
Genre: Mystery
Acquisition: Beach read #2
Date Completed: July 18, 2010
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Stork Raving Mad is the latest book in the Meg Langslow series, and it picks up approximately thirty-four weeks after the previous novel. I appreciate Andrews' sense of timing for the novels; instead of detailing every months or week bit by bit, Andrews hops and skips through a timeline that allows her to remain current, and gloss over major events without drawing them out unnecessarily. The hijinks are in full swing, the familiar cast of characters are accounted for, and the reader will be happy to meet the characteristically miserable victim and the even less likable guilty party.

I do have this to say about the last page: No fair.