The Mercedes Coffin, by Faye Kellerman

When a young billionaire woman reads about a crime in the L.A. newspapers about a man found shot in the head and stuffed into the trunk of his Mercedes, it reminds her of a similar crime from 15 years earlier, the murder of her favorite high school teacher, a crime that had never been solved. She contacts the police & offers a multi-million dollar award for the solving of the cold case. Upon investigation of the two cases, detectives discover many similarities. Certain students from the high school where the teacher had worked seemed to be connected, including two aspiring rap artists and members of a late-1980s punk rock band. Detective Peter Decker, although not involved in the most current murder investigation, pokes around at solving the cold case which turns out to be connected to the more recent murder. After many interviews with the former students and the original (now retired) detectives (one of whom apparently commits suicide the day after being questioned), all the clues start to fall into place and everything points to a guy named Rudy Banks, the former lead-singer of the punk band. Just when police are ready to arrest him, Rudy is trailed to a motel where he holds 3 women hostage. After a very long stand-off, Decker convinces Rudy to let go of the hostages and walk out of the motel with hands up, but someone else (another former band member) shoots & kills Rudy as soon as he is out in the open. This is the first Faye Kellerman book that I have read, but it definitely won't be the last.

Love The One You're With, by Emily Giffin

Photographer Ellen has been married to Andy for 100 days when she bumps into her ex-boyfriend, Leo, at a crosswalk in New York. She had never understood the reason for the breakup eight years earlier. Leo wants to be friends, and Ellen reluctantly says yes. The past relationship had been very intense. A few weeks later, Leo calls Ellen to offer her a photo shoot with a famous star that he is writing a magazine article for. The job is in L.A. and when she arrives there, she finds that Leo is there waiting. Having never felt closure about their separation, she asks him why he broke up with her. They end up sharing the plane ride home & Ellen feels old emotions start to stir. She doesn't contact him after the flight & a few months later, she & Andy move to Atlanta where he (a lawyer) works with his father & they live close to his family, including his sister, Margot (who happens to be Ellen's best friend since college). Ellen is not too happy living in Atlanta & longs to return to New York even though her husband seems to be happy with the move. When Ellen reads Leo's magazine article that accompanies her photos, she emails him to say she liked the article. He then invites her back to New York, the place she wishes she would've stayed, to take photos at Coney Island. While there, Leo reveals that he still has feelings for Ellen, and although she feels the same & considers leaving Andy & everything else behind, a phone call from her sister, Suzanne, brings her to realize that she could be making an irreversible mistake. She leaves Leo's place & calls Andy, who has flown to New York to find her. The choice between what is and what could have been is the theme throughout this book. I really enjoyed the writing style.

All That Matters, by Stef Ann Holm

Chloe, divorced & about to turn 40, has her own bakery shop called Not Just Cakes. Before her lease is up on the building where she does business, a large chain grocery store wants to take over her space, even offering her a settlement to move out early. She meets a lawyer, John, who talks with her on the details. But Chloe isn't budging from her location and is ready to fight to the very end. John keeps finding excuses to ask her to dinner and before long they are pretty serious about each other. Chloe's stubbornness toward the grocery chain pays off later when she is offered her own spot within the grocery store, a move that will increase her profits significantly. I read through this book quite quickly as it had me interested throughout to see what would happen between Chloe & John.