Books & TV

Last night I finished my first book of the year. It was The Hand of Evil by J.A. Jance featuring Ali Reynolds, her ex-reporter/blogger character. I must say it was quite a page turner as I read it in one evening but by the end of it after being held hostage by two separate killers and then helping to catch them plus a pedophile in the space of a few days, Ali was less exhausted than I was. This is the main reason I rarely read mysteries these days - is it foolish for me to think that ordinary mystery writers, ex-reporter/bloggers, caterers, catsitters, dog handlers and other civilians wouldn't do their best to avoid getting into the thick of things when there are murderers on the loose? I know I would.

I also caught James Marsters on last night's episode of "Without a Trace" and this time he was able to give a bit of spark to his character. However it  appears now that Detective Grant Mars is on the outs with Vivian and her special task force. Does anyone know if JM will be in future episodes and when he'll return to "Smallville" (supposedly he's going to be in 4 episodes so I don't think I've missed his return)?