Wanting Sheila Dead (Gregor Demarkian Series #25) by Jane Haddam

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Publishers Weekly

Edgar-finalist Haddam craftily leaves major clues in plain sight in her outstanding 25th mystery featuring Armenian-American detective Gregor Demarkian (after 2009's Living Witness). Demarkian, who's recently returned home to Philadelphia from his honeymoon, gets involved in two cases: the possible poisoning of a reclusive elderly neighbor and the attempted murder of repellent Sheila Dunham, the moving force behind a top-rated TV reality show, America's Next Superstar. When an unknown young woman, who's not a show contestant, tries to shoot Dunham as Dunham prepares to choose finalists for a contest from a pool of 30, Dunham's personal assistant calls in Demarkian. The puzzle deepens when a murder occurs on the very spot where Demarkian's father-in-law was killed years earlier. Haddam has few peers at misdirection, and she cleverly satirizes the reality show industry while continuing to add depth to the relationship between her lead and his wife, Bennis. Fair-play fans will be delighted by Demarkian's insights into Agatha Christie's work.

Another great entry in the Gregor Demarkian series.

  Catching up on summer reading... I know I've forgotten some books, and I'm just not going to tally the umpteenth re-reading of the wonderful Vorkosigan books .....

Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions by Rachel Held Evans

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This was a delightful, insightful and just plain fun book.  A serious read about wrestling with faith, from a personal perspective.  Karl Giberson describes it well:

Evans' meditation on religious doubt is consistently readable, even if you aren't on the edge of a peaceful lake. It's a perfect gift for smart teenagers beginning to formulate their own questions about their faith. But what struck me the most is Evans' philosophical depth. Her comments on the Bible are insightful but never sound the least bit like a primer on hermeneutics. In fact, I don't think she even used that ponderous word. The book is permeated with a kind of "Yoda-like" wisdom, as deep insights pop out in simple, homey prose. Here, for example, is her summary reflection on the search for truth: "I suppose that if absolute truth exists, it must be something we experience indirectly, like the sun. We see it in shadows, watch it light up the moon, and feel it tingle our skin, but it's generally not a good idea to stare at it or claim it as one's own."