I just finished working on China Lake by Meg Gardiner. Judging by the praise she's received from Stephen King, I was expecting a good read. But it didn't matter--the publisher was paying me to read it and to ferret out any mistakes that others hadn't caught. (Some people find it hard to believe that humans still actually proofread, but folks, it's not done by computers. Not yet, and I hope not ever.)

China Lake ended up being a darn good read about lawyer-turned-writer Evan Delaney, paraplegic beau, flyboy brother, and assorted whack-job end-timer Bible thumpers looking to bring on Armageddon. I loved that the characters were multidimensional. I liked that not everyone lives happily ever after. But mainly I appreciated that Evan was a funny and loving guardian to her 6-year-old nephew, Luke, and that she knew firsthand that chopsticks are easier to pull out of nostrils than raisins. I could feel the boy love coming from Gardiner's pen.