The Eye of God : A Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins

Nobody, and I mean nobody does Action-Adventure like James Rollins.  The Eye of God is the 9th in the Sigma Force series, and is just as amazing as the others.  Usually, I find myself bored with the characters, plots, or seemingly cookie cutter methods that authors employ when writing long running series, but not with Sigma Force.  James Rollins is a gem and his writing always has you on the edge of your seat.  My favorite part of the Rollins' books is the "fact vs. fiction" section at the end.  James Rollins is a researcher, an academic, through and through, so it's always interesting to find out what pieces of the story were real and which were fictional.
I have read other reviews of this book online and one of the complaints are that the people who work for Sigma Force seem unnaturally talented.  Well, when one is working for a covert government agency you should be resourceful and intelligent - duh.  I never heard anyone complaining about James Bond - geez.  Second, this book may be hard to follow if you have never read any of the proceeding Sigma Force books.  The relationships between the characters have depth, the depth that one may expect after "working together" in nine books.  All in all, I love James Rollins, his characters and his books.  Just a warning, this is probably not a good book for bedtime reading - I was up until 2am one night and eventually put the book down after I couldn't take the suspense.

Roses by Leila Meacham

     Red and White roses - symbols of the warring English houses of Lancaster and York are the inspiration for this novel. However this is a decidedly American story - a sweeping saga ala "Gone With the Wind" which spans some 100 years in east Texas.

     Second sons of 3 rival English & French families, deprived by primogeniture of their estates, move westward from South Carolina intending to establish a gentile Southern enclave of cotton plantations, timber farms, & mercantile stores. 

     Prospering and settling into stately homes set back on tree-lined streets, they leave to generations of offspring -  family mysteries, supposed curses, and legal disputes - in addition to their land and their money.  

     An engrossing, good old-fashioned story of love, land, war, family secrets, and destiny.  

Strawberry Picker by Monika Feth

 I ordered this book because I read a review that touted it as Dexter for teens, and I can't tell you how many teens come into the library asking for suspense and horror books.  Unfortunately, I'd have to disagree.  The book alternates between the viewpoints of the killer and his victims, but it doesn't leave you rooting for the killer.  This guy doesn't kill bad guys, but unsuspecting women.  The reader, or at least I, felt absolutely no empathy for this guy. 
  I decided that if the book turned out to be good I would order it for the library, since no library in the Delaware system owned it.  I think I'll pass.  Our collection dollars could be spent in wiser ways within the same genre.  Oh well, no harm in trying.