We have a major addiction around here to books. We share, trade, and buy books as gifts (and read them next). We end up discussing characters we love and love to hate over coffee or wine. It’s something we share that brings us joy and we hope you can share these authors with your own Menopause Mafiosos to the same effect.
Janet Evanovich‘s Stephanie Plum Series plus all kinds of funny short novels. Janet will make you laugh out loud, which will make you look like a complete loon if you are out in public. If characters in ever start coming to life and pop out of books I hope it’s Ranger that shows up first!
Mary-Janice Davidson‘s Betsy Taylor Vampire Queen series starts with Undead and Unwed–and Betsy established her addiction to shoe in the first twenty pages. I can respect that. MJD does a few other series all of them a safe bet for a fun read.
Jennifer Cruise is one of my favorite authors of all time. Plus, she’s from Ohio so you’ll find Crispy Creme Donuts in her books! Two of my favorites are Bet Me and Faking It.
Charlaine Harris has never written a bad book and I would know I’ve read them all. There are three series to check out–the now famous thanks to HBO’s True Blood –Southern Vampires Series featuring Sookie (rhymes with cookie) Stackhouse, The Lily Bard Shakespeare Series and the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. Lily and Aurora’s series are traditional mysteries, no WooWoo in them like the vampire books.
Laurell K Hamilton (no relation to Tad) Her Anita Blake and Merry Gentry are two of my favorite people to visit with. These characters come to life on the page and Laurell keeps them growing as the series progress so that you never quite know what will happen next. These are not for the faint of heart, sex, violence and blood shed populate these books. You couldn’t get away from that after all, Anita is a Vampire Executioner and raises the dead for a living. Merry is a Fairy Princess–you have to read this series of book they are the best political thrillers I’ve ever come across. Life as a F airy Princess is fraught with court intrigue after all.
Kim Harrison has brought Cincinnati alive, and in her books, it’s a cool place for a witch with an attitude to set up shop as a Bounty Hunter. Dead Witch Walking creates a world you will want to visit and characters you will love–or hate. Kim writes real people in supernatural circumstances, refreshing!
Susan Johnson writes historical as well as contemporary romance. The thing a love about her books is the tension she can develop between two characters. It’s fun to read since it doesn’t happen like this in real life, well not often anyway.
Laura Leone isn’t as well know as the rest of the authors on this list but I had to include her here. If you pick up her books up you won’t be able to put them down. Falling from Grace- which I found by chance at a used book store- moved me. Laura doesn’t pull any punches as she tells the story of a young man who was a street prostitute, it was a difficult read at some points, but I loved the characters. I hope you will too!
Sus
an Elizabeth Phillips will have you laughing and crying in the same chapter. I don’t know how she does it, so I keep re-reading her books to try to figure it out. It will take you quite some time to work through her offerings , set aside some serious reading time and enjoy the trip!
