The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

I am having a hard time figuring out where to start on this one. My reaction is more contradictory and conflicted than usual. At the most basic level, it's fair to say that I enjoyed the read while hating the characters, but not in that delicious love-to-hate-them kind of way. I appreciated the fresh, non-sainted, unlikeable take on Elizabeth I. I'm as familiar as her reign as any non-Brit, non-scholar, royalty & pop culture fan can be, but all the portrayals of her that I've seen to date emphasize her strength rather than her vulnerability. Some of her weakness got on my nerves - her neurotic whining was as irritating as neurotic whining always is, and narcissistic preening picked up wherever that left off. She was venal and weak and generally horrible to behold. I have a colleague who's a descendant of the Dudleys, and it always gives me a happy to read and hear about her messed up family. This is as rich a portrait as I've encountered of Robert Dudley, though I preferred seeing him from a bit more distance as in The Queen's Fool, where he was far enough away to still be mysterious and charismatic. I suppose he's someone that needs to be viewed through soft focus in order to like him. Interestingly, the person I really wanted more of was William Cecil. He's always been a bit of a cipher, a stock character - the reliable bureaucrat, menacing and ruthless, but not overly ambitious or reaching. However, his layers here and the glimpses of his relationship with his wife were the best in the book. I'd love to see him take center stage in the next outing.

Dead Watch by John Sandford

For some reason, I failed to notice the absence of the word prey in the title of this book, and so sat down expecting to see my good pal Lucas Davenport. After taking a while to regroup and reset my expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this story was. I don't know if this is intended to be the first installment in a new series, but I for one would welcome it. I love political stories, and this one is interesting enough without going too far over-the-top into "political thriller" territory (Dan Brown & Tom Clancy, I'm looking at you here). The main character is a straight up political operative and all-purpose fixer, and one who is plausibly good at his job. He's smart and interesting and his limits are realistic. The whole narrative rang true and I just enjoyed the heck out of it. More, please.

Gone by Jonathan Kellerman

So long, Kellermans. I stopped reading Faye a while ago, and now I'm done with Jonathan too. I stuck with it for longer than most series (20 Alex Delaware books!), but this one was so disappointing I just can't hang on any longer. The magic has been gone for a while, but until now I was still hoping to get it back somehow. About the only interesting thing about the book is the continuing relationship negotiations between Robin & Alex, but that's not enough to keep me around any longer and I already feel that I've given them more than enough time to get with the program. My complaints about the last Delaware book are out in force again this time - it's all way too linear. Delaware never takes a wrong turn, never explores multiple threads or more than one solution at a time. This spells B-O-R-I-N-G reading. And, of course, the actual mystery / whodunit is about as implausible as it can be. So, whatever - I'm Gone too.

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

I really really wanted to like this book. Sarah Vowell's pieces on This American Life amuse me to no end, and she was lovely in person when she made her appearance at work. But this book just bugged the crap out of me. Far too much emphasis on how quirky and special Sarah Vowell is, and not nearly enough focus on the topic at hand. Very disappointing.