What I've been reading..

Compromising Positions (a Judith Singer novel)
Susan Isaacs
Orginal Pub date: 1978

Judith Singer is a bored housewife with two small children to look after, a husband that she is vaguely disappointed in, and no motivation to finish her dissertation.

All this changes when a dentist she once went to is murdered.  She becomes interested in the murder and then becomes more involved when the police question her about her neighbor - who was apparently the last person to see the dentist alive.

Despite her husband's protests, she becomes more and more involved in ferreting around in the situtation.  Eventually helping the police to solve the murder.

Susan Isaacs books were discussed on a reading list I subscribe to so I decided to give this one a try.  I didn't care for it.  The writing was fine, the characters well done, the plot moved along nicely.  I just didn't care for it.  Didn't find anything particularly that made it stand out  - if there were places that were suppose to be funny, I didn't find them.  There was no real suspense.

I'd give it a C-  and I doubt I'll try another one.

No Substitute for Murder (first in series)
Carolyn J Rose
2012

Barbara Reed is trying to hold her life together as a substitute teacher while she recovers from a nasty divorce. Unfortunately, when she finds the school's most disliked teacher dead in his classroom, holding it together becomes even harder.

If you have ever taught school, or God forbid - done a stint as a substitute - you will identify with the characters in this book. Some of the teachers are a bit over the top - but not too bad. The school secretary as the power that runs everything is great. In every school I've taught at, you have to be in good with the secretary - cuz she is the one that can make or break you. Rose has nailed this one!!

But the one that steals the show -0--has to be Barb's little dog, Cheese Puff, and her neighbors that have formed the Cheese Puff Care and Comfort Committee.  And step in to help Barb eventually solve the mystery.  The secondary characters in this book are one of the strong points and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in future books.

I downloaded this book and just couldn't put it down. It's light hearted but does address some issues inherent in working with high school students.


Light, refreshing, funny....I've already downloaded the next in the series.