56. 
Title: [Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology, and My Harrowing Escape]
Author: Jenna Miscavige Hill
Pages: 416
Genre: Autobiography
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 2013
Rating: ****

I picked up Hill's memoir on a LibraryThing recommendation, and like the original review I can't help but scoff a bit at the author's claim to a "harrowing escape" - a phrase which inspires images of midnight excursions by leaky raft as one flees a communist state, perhaps, as opposed to arguing with family and inlaws. 

What I appreciated and enjoyed about Hill's story is the information she provides on Scientology - the practices, the beliefs, and the politics. This story could potentially describe any number of cults, and for that I found it supremely interesting and engrossing. However, the narrative itself is often alienating (no pun intended); it's difficult to feel sympathy for someone who already feels so very sorry for herself.  I applaud her efforts to shed light on the institution and its often nefarious practices, but many times in her story it seems that Hill's negative reactions are not to the abuses she experiences growing up in the church as a child or young adult, but rather that she would be exposed to this same abuse as the niece of the church's leader. 

Overall, the story is enlightening, and worth a read.

57. 
Title: [Some Like it Lethal] (#3)
Author: Nancy Martin
Pages: 320
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 2013
Rating: ****

58. 
Title: [Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die] (#4)
Author: Nancy Martin
Pages: 288
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 2013
Rating: ****



 59.
Title: [Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too] (#5)
Author: Nancy Martin
Pages: 272
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 2013
Rating: ****

60. 
Title: [A Crazy Little Thing Called Death] (#6)
Author: Nancy Martin
Pages: 368
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 2013
Rating: ****

As a typical cozy series, I find I can review most of the books as a whole.  Obviously, I enjoy them - I enjoy the parties, I enjoy the clothes, and I enjoy several characters.  However, Nora Blackbird is a ninny; her sisters and Mick are far more entertaining.  My real problem so far is a question of consistency; one of my biggest pet peeves in serial fiction is a lack of consistency, particularly in character development.  I enjoy watching characters evolve and grow and even take nose-dives into a dark abyss now and again, but one cannot simply be the upright, sensible prude of the family ... and then have sex in a phone booth. Or kiss other men while seeing someone exclusively. I understand that Nora's sense of self and propriety are supposed to be terribly at odds with her personal life, but there are several moments when one has to question just how strict her moral compass truly is. 

61. 
Title: [Murder Melts in Your Mouth] (#7)
Author: Nancy Martin
Pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: July 31, 2013
Rating: ****

This last read was far more satisfactory than most of the others in the series.  The pacing of the mystery was strong, with a highly satisfying conclusion. emotional and personal matters develop in a far more natural fashion, and for once Nora seems like an actual person.  However, I spent the whole day craving chocolate.