As March gives way to April and to the Final Four of March Madness, I am realizing that my resolution to read more this year is going much better than those who filled in brackets for the basketball pools.  Most people were destroyed in those choices this year, and who will finally win is still to be decided. 

However, in the reading category, the list of the books that I read during the month of March is as follows:

   Public Lies  by Brenda Youngerman

   The Good, Good Pig by Sy Montgomery

   The Ex-Debutante by Linda Francis Lee

   The Widower's Two-Step by Rick Riordan

   Third Degree by Greg Iles

   Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

   One Day at a Time  by Danielle Steel

Looking at the list, again I see a diverse set of books.  One book in the list is a memoir, while the rest are all fiction. The first three were discussed earlier, but the erk-zoom continues with the final four books.  The Widower's Two-Step  by Rick Riordan is the second mystery in the Tres Navarre mystery series.  Like its predecessor, it is based in San Antonio, but this time Tres is involved in solving the murders of several people who are all involved in the music business.  He does all this while trying to get enough hours to get his private investigator's license without getting killed himself.  

Having finished that novel, I moved on to a book that my father gave me.  Third Degree by Greg Iles is a suspense novel that takes place during a twenty-four hour period.   A husband finds a love letter in a book of his wife's, and he becomes obsessed with finding out  about his wife's lover.  He is convinced it is his partner in his medical practice, and when she returns home, he holds her hostage.  When their children return home from school, he holds them hostage, also.  Flashbacks show the events leading up to the hostage situation, but still the ending is a surprise.  All in all, it's a suspenseful thriller by an author that was new to me, and definitely worth the read.

Next came Anita Shreve's Body Surfing, which is a typical Shreve read.  The novel is set in the same house that was the setting for two of her other novels, one of which was The Pilot's Wife. Body Surfing tells the story of a family with complex issues.  It's told from the perspective of Sydney, the woman who is tutoring the mentally challenged daughter.  Into this mix comes the two older brothers, who both become infatuated with Sydney.  I enjoyed reading this one; in my opinion, it wasn't as satisfying as some of her other novels such as The Pilot's Wife, but a decent read, nonetheless.

One Day at a Time was the first Danielle Steel that I have read in probably fifteen to twenty years (or perhaps longer).  Like all of Steel's novels, it was a romance.  This one was set in California, in particular Los Angeles and San Francisco.  A quick synopsis...a stunning-looking "dropout" (that is, a dog-walker) from a glamorous Hollywood family meets an equally hunky, famous Hollywood actor  and they fall in love.  But too many issues on both sides have to be resolved before love will triumph. Added to the mix are side romances that also play into the fabric of the novel.  It was light and fluffy...a true Danielle Steel romance, but it was not her best, in my opinion.  It was an okay read, but I guess I prefer some of her earlier works, like Palomino and The Promise, better.   Perhaps, it is just that I am much older and more cynical now.

So, who are you betting on to win it all?  Me, I'm going to root for Michigan State!