18. Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell
Another mystery involving Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta. The writing is really uneven, but I am so fascinated by the main character I just keep reading.

19. The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
Cloudscome read this book and did not like it (and some commenters agreed), but she mentioned it was about a Catholic school girl and as I am a former Catholic school girl I wanted to read it. Also, it has been a long time since I read a young adult novel. Anyway, I didn't really get into the book at first, but by the end I was absorbed and couldn't put it down. I think I just really related to the journey Francine went through of finding her own voice, and entering adult hood in a turbulent time. My Catholic school was a lot more friendlier than the 1950 one portrayed in the book, but in grade school we still had a lot of the same unquestioning obedience and strive for conformity, so I think that helped me relate. Anyway, I enjoyed this book and by the end was really invested in Francine.