The Kidnapping by Charles Todd - a very short e-book featuring Ian Rutledge. A man runs into Scotland Yard claiming his daughter has just been kidnapped. I think this was quickly written just so the authors could get in on e-books. It was more like a chapter than a book.
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mistletoe Man by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I'm still catching up on the ones I've missed in the middle of the series. This one involves a hit and run.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bloodroot by Susan Wittig Albert - this time China goes to her family plantation to help her mother care for her great aunt. Long time family mysteries are solved. A little woo-woo with ghostly visions and mysterious smells.
3.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indigo Dying
Dead Man's Bones both by Susan Wittig Albert - I've finally caught up on the series except for the latest book. A little too much foreshadowing in both of these books.
3.5 stars for Indigo
3 stars for Dead
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo- a new detective series for me and an older one. The first book in the series (which I haven't read yet) was published in 1965. This is the second and somewhat atypical in that the majority doesn't take place in Sweden.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Death Without Company by Craig Johnson - a Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery. A little slow moving at first but finishes with a bang.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron - a Judge Deborah Knott story. Takes place in a pottery community. The deaths are a little gruesome.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat's Claw by Susan Wittig Albert - finally caught up on the China Bales series. This was different in that it alternates between China's first person view and police chief's Sheila Dawson's third person view. I'm not sure I liked that.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Unthymely Death and Other Stories by Susan Wittig Albert - just when I thought I was done I discovered there was a book of short stories featuring China. I was able to get it from the library on my Kindle so I could get the last book in this week.
2.5 stars
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Jan 13-19, 2013
Storm Track by Margaret Maron - I had forgotten about this series and somehow read the latest while missing quite a few previous books. Deborah Knott is a judge and the youngest and only daughter in a family of 11 sons. She usually finds herself involved in a murder but she doesn't try to actively solve them. This one takes place right before a hurricane hits.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - the first Hercules Poirot story. I'm sure I've read this before, but it may have been as long ago as 6th grade. So I didn't remember it. Hercules is my favorite detective of Agatha's. A couple of good twists at the end.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - the second Hercules Poirot. Almost too convoluted, I got a little confused at the end. Another surprise murderer.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - the first Tommy and Tuppence book. Takes place after WWI and I had to overlook all the slang and bright chatter. I don't have any idea if that's how young people talked then or if that's how Agatha thought they talked. It really kept me interested, though, and I couldn't know who the mysterious, evil Mr. Brown was until the end.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Wolf by Kathryn Lasky - the sixth book in the Wolves of the Beyond series and I think maybe the last. This is a children's book but I've really enjoyed the whole series. I got hooked on the Owls of Ga'hoole when the movie came out and then moved on to this series.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bookseller by Mark Pryor - this is called the first Hugo Marston novel but I don't know how the author knows that until he sells the second. Anyway, someone is killing the keepers of the bookstalls along the Seine in Paris. Hugo Marston is head of security for the American Embassy and he's not satisfied with the answers when his friend disappears. Quite exciting at the end.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd - a novel set in Dickens time. A disgraced detective is hired to find the author of two letters and of course it develops into so much more. The only thing I didn't like was that it was written in present tense and with us knowing much more than the detective. Also, I've not read any Dickens so missed those references.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voices by Arnaldur Indridason - set in Iceland and very dark in tone. A hotel doorman/Santa is found murdered in his squalid room in the basement. But it's also as much about the main detective and something that happened in his childhood.
4.5 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - I loved everything about this book. It had such a fairy-tale, dreamy quality to it. An older couple homesteading in Alaska make a snowgirl that seemingly turns into a real girl. Delves into grieving and communication.
5 stars
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie - the first Hercules Poirot story. I'm sure I've read this before, but it may have been as long ago as 6th grade. So I didn't remember it. Hercules is my favorite detective of Agatha's. A couple of good twists at the end.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie - the second Hercules Poirot. Almost too convoluted, I got a little confused at the end. Another surprise murderer.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie - the first Tommy and Tuppence book. Takes place after WWI and I had to overlook all the slang and bright chatter. I don't have any idea if that's how young people talked then or if that's how Agatha thought they talked. It really kept me interested, though, and I couldn't know who the mysterious, evil Mr. Brown was until the end.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Star Wolf by Kathryn Lasky - the sixth book in the Wolves of the Beyond series and I think maybe the last. This is a children's book but I've really enjoyed the whole series. I got hooked on the Owls of Ga'hoole when the movie came out and then moved on to this series.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bookseller by Mark Pryor - this is called the first Hugo Marston novel but I don't know how the author knows that until he sells the second. Anyway, someone is killing the keepers of the bookstalls along the Seine in Paris. Hugo Marston is head of security for the American Embassy and he's not satisfied with the answers when his friend disappears. Quite exciting at the end.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd - a novel set in Dickens time. A disgraced detective is hired to find the author of two letters and of course it develops into so much more. The only thing I didn't like was that it was written in present tense and with us knowing much more than the detective. Also, I've not read any Dickens so missed those references.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voices by Arnaldur Indridason - set in Iceland and very dark in tone. A hotel doorman/Santa is found murdered in his squalid room in the basement. But it's also as much about the main detective and something that happened in his childhood.
4.5 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - I loved everything about this book. It had such a fairy-tale, dreamy quality to it. An older couple homesteading in Alaska make a snowgirl that seemingly turns into a real girl. Delves into grieving and communication.
5 stars
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Jan 6-12, 2013
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - as she says, everyone's happiness project is different, so this is her research into what makes people happy and her experiment in becoming happier over a year's time. I'm actually going to read this again and jot down some ideas. I'll be reading her second book, too, in preparation for a scrapbooking project.
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat Bearing Gifts by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - this is the 18th in the Joe Grey series about talking cats. I started out loving this series but I think this will probably be the last I read. At first the stories were just about Joe Grey and how his humans discovered he could talk and how together they solved mysteries. But now the author involves every.single.person.and.cat she has introduced and it's just too much. Also, getting a little woo-woo with the reason the cats can talk.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Art Forger by B A Shapiro - is a Degas a forgery or the real thing? There are two stories in this book - the main character is making a copy of a Degas that is supposed to be an original and at the same time she is becoming convinced that the original is a forgery. Small amount of sex, not blatant.
5 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son by Lois Lowry - the fourth and last book in The Giver series. This one wraps everything up in a nice way, although a character introduced at the end seemed off to me. Still, I don't have to wonder what happened to everyone anymore.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Darkest Room by Johan Theorin - really liked his first book and this has some of the same characters. Takes place on an island off Sweden and the weather is almost another character in the book. The story has ghostly elements that I found a little off-putting. If a third book is translated, I'll be looking at it more closely before I read.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin - the sequel to her 1st book. I found this to be pretty repetitious, besides repeating many ideas from the first book, she also repeated herself a lot within this book.
2 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill by Gretchen Rubin - a different take on a biography as the author writes 40 very short chapters, some of them taking opposing views of Churchill. A quick read and I learned a lot more than I got from the 250 pages I read of a 1,043 page book I couldn't finish.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Child's Child by Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell - this was a book within a book, with the book withing much longer than the book without. The inner book takes place in 1929 and the outer 2011. It's supposed to be about the difference in public opinion toward homosexuals and unwed mothers in those time periods. But I found it to be more about the danger of loving the wrong person. I've read quite a few books by this author and found myself disappointed in this one.
2 stars
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cat Bearing Gifts by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - this is the 18th in the Joe Grey series about talking cats. I started out loving this series but I think this will probably be the last I read. At first the stories were just about Joe Grey and how his humans discovered he could talk and how together they solved mysteries. But now the author involves every.single.person.and.cat she has introduced and it's just too much. Also, getting a little woo-woo with the reason the cats can talk.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Art Forger by B A Shapiro - is a Degas a forgery or the real thing? There are two stories in this book - the main character is making a copy of a Degas that is supposed to be an original and at the same time she is becoming convinced that the original is a forgery. Small amount of sex, not blatant.
5 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son by Lois Lowry - the fourth and last book in The Giver series. This one wraps everything up in a nice way, although a character introduced at the end seemed off to me. Still, I don't have to wonder what happened to everyone anymore.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Darkest Room by Johan Theorin - really liked his first book and this has some of the same characters. Takes place on an island off Sweden and the weather is almost another character in the book. The story has ghostly elements that I found a little off-putting. If a third book is translated, I'll be looking at it more closely before I read.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin - the sequel to her 1st book. I found this to be pretty repetitious, besides repeating many ideas from the first book, she also repeated herself a lot within this book.
2 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill by Gretchen Rubin - a different take on a biography as the author writes 40 very short chapters, some of them taking opposing views of Churchill. A quick read and I learned a lot more than I got from the 250 pages I read of a 1,043 page book I couldn't finish.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Child's Child by Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell - this was a book within a book, with the book withing much longer than the book without. The inner book takes place in 1929 and the outer 2011. It's supposed to be about the difference in public opinion toward homosexuals and unwed mothers in those time periods. But I found it to be more about the danger of loving the wrong person. I've read quite a few books by this author and found myself disappointed in this one.
2 stars
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Dec 30-Jan5
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Buzzard's Table by Margaret Maron - a part of a series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. She's a judge in a rather small town and sometimes gets caught up in murder mysteries. This is the last in a fairly long series and I've missed a few in the middle.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theoren - a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one although it's a bit melancholy as are many Scandanavian mysteries. A young boy went missing 20 years ago and his mother is still trying to deal with it. Her father thinks he has received some new evidence so she returns to her hometown. I was totally surprised at the end by what really happened. I already have the next book on hold at the library.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe Clear by Stuart Woods - a Stone Barrington novel. There's a plot afoot to take out the President and most of LA. Many characters from previous novels are here. Sometimes annoying because everyone is either very rich, very smart or both. Stone usually has sexual encounters with at least two women per novel - I find him rather amoral. Enjoyed this one more than the last few. If you want to read a good book by Stuart Woods, try Chief, his very first.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I enjoyed this one more than most because China leaves Pecan Springs and goes to a Shaker village to help with an herb class. Of course a mystery ensues, but interwoven are chapters from journals written by the village inhabitants in 1912.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise by Will Wheaton - a lot of this is taken from his blog. Some language and sex jokes.
3 stars
5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Buzzard's Table by Margaret Maron - a part of a series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. She's a judge in a rather small town and sometimes gets caught up in murder mysteries. This is the last in a fairly long series and I've missed a few in the middle.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Echoes From the Dead by Johan Theoren - a new author for me and I really enjoyed this one although it's a bit melancholy as are many Scandanavian mysteries. A young boy went missing 20 years ago and his mother is still trying to deal with it. Her father thinks he has received some new evidence so she returns to her hometown. I was totally surprised at the end by what really happened. I already have the next book on hold at the library.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe Clear by Stuart Woods - a Stone Barrington novel. There's a plot afoot to take out the President and most of LA. Many characters from previous novels are here. Sometimes annoying because everyone is either very rich, very smart or both. Stone usually has sexual encounters with at least two women per novel - I find him rather amoral. Enjoyed this one more than the last few. If you want to read a good book by Stuart Woods, try Chief, his very first.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert - another China Bayles mystery. I enjoyed this one more than most because China leaves Pecan Springs and goes to a Shaker village to help with an herb class. Of course a mystery ensues, but interwoven are chapters from journals written by the village inhabitants in 1912.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise by Will Wheaton - a lot of this is taken from his blog. Some language and sex jokes.
3 stars
Thursday, January 3, 2013
5 star books for 2012
First I'll explain how a book gets 5 stars from me. My criteria will likely differ from yours.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - an absolutely lyrical book, it pulled me in right away. A story of lost love, Japanese internment, family tradition and kindness when unexpected.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton - Bee's sister has gone missing and she's determined to find her. Absolutely unexpected ending.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Myfawny Thomas wakes up in a body that is not hers and without her memory. She only has a note in the pocket of her coat to guide her. That's the beginning of a very unusual fantasy/mystery. Everything is revealed to the reader as Myfawny discovers it. Loved it, very different.
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer - a married couple is going through a crisis: her wig has fallen off in a car wreck, revealing her baldness and her husband is on his way to the moon to colonize it. Another very unusual book. And despite the moon part I wouldn't classify it as sci-fi. There is some sex. Written by a homeschool mom.
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - a 16 year old girl witnesses her mother commit a crime and 50 years later tries to discover the reason. I thought the writing was beautiful.
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
- It has to interest me from the first page.
- If it's a mystery, I can't guess the bad guy.
- I don't read the end to see if I should keep reading.
- I have to enjoy the way the book is written.
- Nothing irritates me. And believe me, after 56 years of reading I'm easily irritated.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - an absolutely lyrical book, it pulled me in right away. A story of lost love, Japanese internment, family tradition and kindness when unexpected.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton - Bee's sister has gone missing and she's determined to find her. Absolutely unexpected ending.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Myfawny Thomas wakes up in a body that is not hers and without her memory. She only has a note in the pocket of her coat to guide her. That's the beginning of a very unusual fantasy/mystery. Everything is revealed to the reader as Myfawny discovers it. Loved it, very different.
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer - a married couple is going through a crisis: her wig has fallen off in a car wreck, revealing her baldness and her husband is on his way to the moon to colonize it. Another very unusual book. And despite the moon part I wouldn't classify it as sci-fi. There is some sex. Written by a homeschool mom.
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - a 16 year old girl witnesses her mother commit a crime and 50 years later tries to discover the reason. I thought the writing was beautiful.
The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal - a search into the past about a families loss and regaining of a collection of netsuke. I really liked the way this was written and found it fascinating. I thought it was as much about anti-Semitism as lost treasure.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)