The Secret Cardinal by Tom Grace
The ailing and beloved Pope Leo meets with ex-Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny to share his concerns about a imprisoned catholic priest in China. This priest is one the Pope has named a cardinal in his heart (not publically) but who he would like to have rescued. Soon after this meeting the pope dies and the cardinals meet to elect his successor--but the secret mission to extract the Chinese cardinal Yin Daoming continues, with possibly world shattering results.
My Thoughts: A good thrill read, not much in the way of character development. I found the details about the inner workings of the Vatican and the China scenes interesting. I didn't realize that Nolan Kilkenny is a series character, but I would definitely be willing to try another in this series after reading this one

Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxes
This is a biography of the man who almost single-handedly ended the slave trade in Britian.  This may seem to be a lofty claim, but after reading this book you will realize how important a figure Wilberforce was and how history would be much different without him.  The book goes chronologically through his life, presenting quite a detailed portrait of him as a youth, young politician, converted politician, and Christian activist.  Of note is that this is the book that the recent movie Amazing Grace was based on.
My Thoughts: I learned so much that I didn't know about Wilberforce and the England of his times.  It was a bit dry at times, but I'm glad I read it and I found Wilberforces' life inspiring--the way he did so much good with his life is certainly a worthy example to follow.

Death of a Garage Sale Newbie by Sharon Dunn
A group of women who bond over discount shopping are thrown into turmoil when one of them mysteriously dies. The rest of them try to figure out what happened to their friend by re-tracing her garage sale route from the day that she died.
My Thoughts: This is a pretty fluffy mystery, and very light reading. It doesn't delve much into deeper issues but you might get some ideas on how to find some really good bargains.

Red Sea: A Novel by Emily Benedek
A terrorist attack that brings down several planes prompts Israel to put together a team to investigate. The head investigator soon becomes suspicious of an Arab businessman, he then teams up with a journalist and an American FBI agent who have information helpful to the investigation. Suddenly they discover that the Arab businessman has acquired some nuclear weapons and is planning on sending them to New York to blow up the city. Will they be able to stop him in time?
My Thoughts: There is some interesting stuff the author uncovered about security loopholes in here, but as a novel it has a very loosely joined together plot and the characters are not very well developed.

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
My favorite of the bunch, this classic regency romance features as its main character the irrepressable Sophy, who shocks her London relatives by doing things like driving her own team of spirited horses and managing her own money.  They don't always appreciate Sophy or the way she meddles in their affairs, though they should be glad that she does because she makes sure everything turns out right in the end. 
My Thoughts: Sophy is so much fun, she has one adventure after another and it's amusing to see how her uptight relatives react.  I adored the ways she found to be assertive, even though society dissapproved.  I want to be more like Sophy!