The Great Forgetting by James Renner - what starts as a simple mystery becomes much more. Jack Felter returns to his hometown to visit his father who is suffering from Alzheimers. His old girlfriend asks him to help find her husband. And then things get really strange. A story of time and memories.
4 stars
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The House of Eyes by Kate Ellis - the 20th Wesley Peterson book starts with a missing girl. Or has she run off to London to be a model? It takes quite awhile for this story to get going and part of the problem is that there are too many cast members. I thought the ending rather farfetched. The author also throws in a health scare for Pam, Wesley's wife.
3 stars
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Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear - Maisie Dobbs is back in her 12th book with a much improved attitude. After returning to London from Spain, she is asked to assist her country by pretending to be the daughter of a man being released from Dachau. It's 1938 and things are more than a little dangerous in Germany. Maisie does one improbable thing near the end of the book but she seems almost her old self. The epilogue does make me wonder if the series will continue.
4 stars
Friday, April 29, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Apr 17 - 23, 2016
Cat Shout for Joy by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - Joe Grey and Dulcie, the talking cats featured in 18 other books, are expecting kittens. At the same time, one or more persons are targeting the elderly by pushing them down. Two have already died from their injuries and then there is an actual murder. How are they related? The mystery part is a little incidental in this story. Once again, the jacket synopsis is inaccurate, leading you to believe one of the kittens will have a much bigger role. Maybe in a future book but certainly not in this one. A quirk of the author - she uses the most outlandish names for some of the characters. Of course, you must believe in talking cats to enjoy these books.
3 stars
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The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R King - the 14th book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series begins with Mary being threatened in her home by a man claiming to be Mrs. Hudson's son. We then go back in time to learn Mrs. Hudson's history, beginning with her mother and father. This history takes most of the book, with brief flashes of present time and what's happening with Mary. Sherlock doesn't even appear until more than halfway through the book. The whole story seems somewhat forced and I didn't like the end. A low
3 stars
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Looking for Alaska by John Green - a YA book with lots of smoking, drinking, swearing, sex and talk of sex. Don't know why I continued but I kept waiting for it to get better. Miles Tanner goes to boarding school because he thinks life will be better there. He makes a few friends, something tragic happens, and there is much angst. I'm in the minority on Goodreads and this book won many awards.
2 stars
3 stars
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The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R King - the 14th book in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series begins with Mary being threatened in her home by a man claiming to be Mrs. Hudson's son. We then go back in time to learn Mrs. Hudson's history, beginning with her mother and father. This history takes most of the book, with brief flashes of present time and what's happening with Mary. Sherlock doesn't even appear until more than halfway through the book. The whole story seems somewhat forced and I didn't like the end. A low
3 stars
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Looking for Alaska by John Green - a YA book with lots of smoking, drinking, swearing, sex and talk of sex. Don't know why I continued but I kept waiting for it to get better. Miles Tanner goes to boarding school because he thinks life will be better there. He makes a few friends, something tragic happens, and there is much angst. I'm in the minority on Goodreads and this book won many awards.
2 stars
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Apr 10 - 16, 2016
The Blondes by Emily Schultz - graduate student Hazel Hayes has just discovered she's pregnant. And then she witnesses one of the first incidents caused by a pandemic affecting only blonde women. A virus is causing the women to go berserk and attack anyone in range. And it doesn't seem to matter if the blondes are natural or fake. I didn't find Hazel very likeable but was still swept up in the story. Frank and matter of fact in talk of sex and bodily functions. This is one you'll either love or hate.
4 stars
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The Kill by Jane Casey - the 5th Maeve Kerrigan book. A policeman is found dead in his car. Is it personal or is someone targeting cops? It's beginning to look like the latter and Maeve may know the reason. Maeve's superior, Derwent, is irritatingly chauvinistic and then he'll turn around and be understanding. He's part of what makes these books appealing to me but he's certainly not pc.
4.5 stars
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Of Things Gone Astray by Janina Matthewson - told in very short chapters about several different characters, all of whom have suddenly lost something important too them. Piano keys, house walls, the building where they worked. And Jake, a young boy whose mother has died, is in danger of losing the most important thing. I usually like quirky books like this but it seemed rather bland to me. And left too many questions unanswered. I'm in the minority on Goodreads.
2 stars
4 stars
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The Kill by Jane Casey - the 5th Maeve Kerrigan book. A policeman is found dead in his car. Is it personal or is someone targeting cops? It's beginning to look like the latter and Maeve may know the reason. Maeve's superior, Derwent, is irritatingly chauvinistic and then he'll turn around and be understanding. He's part of what makes these books appealing to me but he's certainly not pc.
4.5 stars
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Of Things Gone Astray by Janina Matthewson - told in very short chapters about several different characters, all of whom have suddenly lost something important too them. Piano keys, house walls, the building where they worked. And Jake, a young boy whose mother has died, is in danger of losing the most important thing. I usually like quirky books like this but it seemed rather bland to me. And left too many questions unanswered. I'm in the minority on Goodreads.
2 stars
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Apr 3 - 9, 2016
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart - Mark is a boy who has a dog, a best friend, and loving parents. He also has cancer. He decides the last thing he wants to do is climb Mt. Rainier so he runs away from home with his dog, a camera, and a notebook. I found the whole book sad and worried about the dog the whole time. Written for older children about a heavy subject. I did like the writing, just wasn't in the right mood.
2 stars
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Cold Call by Dean Wesley Smith - from a series about retired detectives who try to solve cold cases. This has the gang on the trail of a serial killer who is incredibly wealthy and thus able to thwart the law. Fortunately, the main character has a daughter with an incredibly wealthy boyfriend who makes his resources available to them! Very repetitive and like lots of ebooks, could have used some good editing. "Lot was stunned from the air that he could see the ruggedness of the wilderness they were flying over." Just one of many sentences that had me going ? I only finished this because I was waiting for an appt. to be over.
1 star
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Between the Living and the Dead by Bill Crider - the 22nd Sheriff Dan Rhodes book has the sheriff investigating the death of a drug dealer in a haunted house. Everyone jumps on the paranormal bandwagon, especially when a second body is found. Of course there are the usual county happenings, a runaway bull in the Walmart parking lot, feral pigs, and people not using their turn signals. Fits the cozy genre nicely.
3 stars
2 stars
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Cold Call by Dean Wesley Smith - from a series about retired detectives who try to solve cold cases. This has the gang on the trail of a serial killer who is incredibly wealthy and thus able to thwart the law. Fortunately, the main character has a daughter with an incredibly wealthy boyfriend who makes his resources available to them! Very repetitive and like lots of ebooks, could have used some good editing. "Lot was stunned from the air that he could see the ruggedness of the wilderness they were flying over." Just one of many sentences that had me going ? I only finished this because I was waiting for an appt. to be over.
1 star
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Between the Living and the Dead by Bill Crider - the 22nd Sheriff Dan Rhodes book has the sheriff investigating the death of a drug dealer in a haunted house. Everyone jumps on the paranormal bandwagon, especially when a second body is found. Of course there are the usual county happenings, a runaway bull in the Walmart parking lot, feral pigs, and people not using their turn signals. Fits the cozy genre nicely.
3 stars
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Mar 27 - Apr 2, 2016
The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon - the 25th Commissario Guido Brunetti book. He's asked to look into the almost drowning of a young woman that occurred 15 years ago. There is the usual finessing of his superior in order to re-open the case. I usually enjoy the family life over the mystery in these books. But this mystery is very compelling to Brunetti and I thought made for a better story.
3 stars
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The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton - Ruby and her mother arrive in Alaska to meet her father and almost immediately learn he has been killed in an accident in a native town. But Ruby's mother refuses to believe it and sets off into the dark Alaskan wild. What made this improbable plot work for me was Ruby - she's 10 and deaf and much of the story is told from her viewpoint. The other various viewpoints do get in the way. In spite of the flaws I enjoyed it quite a bit.
4 stars
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Thursday's Children by Nikki French - the 4th Freida Klein book. Freida is asked by an old school friend to talk to her daughter and this leads her to an incident from her past. She returns to her home town, reconnecting with her mother and friends. She seems very cold in this book, almost unlikable, and the ending was improbable.
2 stars
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Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean - the author wrote this book because of her own fascination with Rin Tin Tin. By the time she and I were watching the television show, the dog was already the 4th to portray Rinty. I hadn't realized the original had made so many movies. From the dog's beginnings in WWI Germany to the fairly recent lawsuits over who owns the rights to the story with some discussion of dogs in war.
3 stars
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Beastkeeper by Cat Hellison - Sarah's mother deserts her family and then things really get bad. A YA fantasy tale that I may have enjoyed if I were a tween. I just didn't get this at all and found it depressing.
1 star
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What You Left Behind by Samantha Hayes - DCI Lorraine Fisher is visiting her sister in a small village that had multiple teenage suicides two years ago. And now her nephew is moody and withdrawn. It appears two more teenagers have just taken their lives. This book seemed very disjointed to me. Told from various viewpoints. Also throw away comments relating to the first book in the series that made no sense if you hadn't read it.
2 stars
3 stars
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The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton - Ruby and her mother arrive in Alaska to meet her father and almost immediately learn he has been killed in an accident in a native town. But Ruby's mother refuses to believe it and sets off into the dark Alaskan wild. What made this improbable plot work for me was Ruby - she's 10 and deaf and much of the story is told from her viewpoint. The other various viewpoints do get in the way. In spite of the flaws I enjoyed it quite a bit.
4 stars
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Thursday's Children by Nikki French - the 4th Freida Klein book. Freida is asked by an old school friend to talk to her daughter and this leads her to an incident from her past. She returns to her home town, reconnecting with her mother and friends. She seems very cold in this book, almost unlikable, and the ending was improbable.
2 stars
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Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend by Susan Orlean - the author wrote this book because of her own fascination with Rin Tin Tin. By the time she and I were watching the television show, the dog was already the 4th to portray Rinty. I hadn't realized the original had made so many movies. From the dog's beginnings in WWI Germany to the fairly recent lawsuits over who owns the rights to the story with some discussion of dogs in war.
3 stars
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Beastkeeper by Cat Hellison - Sarah's mother deserts her family and then things really get bad. A YA fantasy tale that I may have enjoyed if I were a tween. I just didn't get this at all and found it depressing.
1 star
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What You Left Behind by Samantha Hayes - DCI Lorraine Fisher is visiting her sister in a small village that had multiple teenage suicides two years ago. And now her nephew is moody and withdrawn. It appears two more teenagers have just taken their lives. This book seemed very disjointed to me. Told from various viewpoints. Also throw away comments relating to the first book in the series that made no sense if you hadn't read it.
2 stars
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