On another place on the internet I inhabit (called the Book and Candle Pub on Delphi Forums, which is the web remnants of what used to be a thriving text-based community where hundreds of bulletin board notes were posted daily) a couple of us have an old habit (dying hard) of posting our monthly reading lists with brief reviews. This is my list for July of 2007. (As if anyone cares...)

1. FREE FIRE, CJ Box. This series, featuring game warden/sleuth Joe Pickett, gets better and better. I think this one is the finest of the series to date. Pickett is "hired" back as a game warden, to do special projects, by the governor of his fair state himself. And he's sent to Yellowstone, a corner of the park that is under federal jurisdiction, and not under any particular state jurisdiction, where four people were murdered. They know who did it, but can't prosecute the guy because of the unique status of that land: no one resides there, so he can't be tried there. Not sure if that's completely true, but I suspect, given Box's knowledge of the area, it is. (Not sure if I'm describing it correctly either but that's the basics of the situation.) Pickett is sent in to stir things up, and finds a conspiracy going deeper than just one attorney shooting these four. And of course, there is a satisfying progression to the continuing backstory of Pickett's family life and his relationship with special forces renegade Nate (can't come up with his last name at the moment). If you haven't started this series, if you want to read something where the setting in the western US is almost as important as the characters; indeed, it almost IS a character, start this series and keep going. 9 of 10

2. DARK TORT, Diane Mott Davidson. At one point, Davidson's culinary mysteries set near Boulder, Colorado, were must reads for me, of the "buy 'em when they come out in hardcover" variety. But I felt, about 3 books ago, that she was going through the motions with this series, and decided to take her off my list. That didn't mean I didn't want to still read them, just that I was comfortable buying them in paperback or maybe even (God forbid!!) borrowing them from the library! So the last couple I've gotten in paperback, and found that whatever edge she had lost from the stories, she's pretty much gotten back. These are not deep mysteries by any stretch, but they can be fun easy reads with lots of food stuff in them. And this one was pretty good, as Goldy, the caterer, stumbles over a body at a law firm where she is preparing for one of the breakfasts that she is contracted to cater for the firm. The deceased is a close friend of her family's, and Goldy, at the request of the girl's mother, begins to investigate. She finds that there are some shady dealings going on at the firm with respect to a deceased local artist's will, and his paintings, which are worth a pretty penny. But is this the motive for her friend's murder? Some good twists and turns in this cozy mystery, and a stack of new recipes for those of you who like that sort of thing. 7.75 of 10 (Not quite an 8 but not exactly an average 7.5)

3, WALT DISNEY: THE TRIUMPH OF THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION, Neal Gabler. This biography of the visionary entertainment mogul was really very interesting. I must say I learned a lot about him and his company, and was inspired and awed by the level of his genius with respect to his type of art. It was a long read, but a worthwhile one. The only parts that sort of bored me were the parts where Disney got himself convinced that Communists were out to ruin him with the strike that put the studio in a bad spot in the 50's ( I think) and caused Walt to lose interest in both his staff and his product. But you can't keep a genius down and he found other outlets for his creativity, up to and including his revolutionizing of the theme park industry. Not Rated

4. HARD FREEZE, Dan Simmons. The second of the three Joe Kurtz novels, I just finished this one a few minutes ago. In this one Kurtz is up against cops who hate his guts because they suspect he had something to do with the murder of a (dirty) cop, a mobster who wants him dead and has hired some ex cons to make it so, and a psychopathic serial killer. The resolution is a little over the top, like HARD AS NAILS, but fun. Simmons still impresses me as one of the best writers working today. 8.75 (Not quite a 9, but better than an 8.5...)

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

(oops, wrong animation studio)