No Middle Name:The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child - just what the title says. From his teenage years, through his military career, and his ramblings around the country, Jack always manages to get himself out of a predicament.
3 stars
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The Right Side by Spencer Quinn - the author of the Chet and Bernie series takes a much more serious tone. LeAnne Hogan doesn't remember what happened during a military operation in Afghanistan that went wrong during which she suffered serious injuries and lost her right eye. Bitter and confused, she leaves the hospital after her roommate, Marcie, suddenly dies. Almost by accident she arrives in Marci's hometown where she learns Marci's daughter is missing. She's also adopted by a large stray dog, no one's idea of a pet. Her search for Mia becomes a search for herself. I don't know if this will become a series but I hope so.
4 stars
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Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley - a used bookshop has a section where the books aren't sold, instead they are used by people to leave letters and notes to others. And that's the most interesting part of the book. Otherwise it's a typical YA book with language, sex, and the always present love triangle.
2 stars
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Aug 13 - 19, 2017
Still Dead by J.A. Jance - a J.P. Beaumont novella. J.P. is a little bit at loose ends since he retired and his wife became chief of police in Bellingham. So when a friend offers him a 30 year old cold case he's interested. A woman's empty car was found at Deception Pass Bridge but her body was never found. The case is pretty easily solved and I liked the way he got a confession. I enjoyed this because it takes place where I used to live. A fun, quick read.
3 stars
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Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths - Brighton, 1951. DI Stephens is looking for two missing children and not having much success. No one has seen anything and there are very little clues. When it becomes a case of murder, he's desperate for any help. His friend, Max Mephisto, performing in a Christmas pantomime, tells him of a possible link to an old murder many years ago. The very slow pace of the investigation wouldn't be tolerated now. Lots of red herrings with a surprise (to me) ending.
3 stars
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Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann - samurai Hiro and Father Matteo are after justice again when their friend is accused of murdering a man outside his sake brewery. Given only a short time by the magistrate before Ginjiro is executed, they have many suspects to talk to. Lots of walking, as there would be in 16th century Japan, but I found it tiresome. I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous two in the series.
2 stars
3 stars
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Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths - Brighton, 1951. DI Stephens is looking for two missing children and not having much success. No one has seen anything and there are very little clues. When it becomes a case of murder, he's desperate for any help. His friend, Max Mephisto, performing in a Christmas pantomime, tells him of a possible link to an old murder many years ago. The very slow pace of the investigation wouldn't be tolerated now. Lots of red herrings with a surprise (to me) ending.
3 stars
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Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann - samurai Hiro and Father Matteo are after justice again when their friend is accused of murdering a man outside his sake brewery. Given only a short time by the magistrate before Ginjiro is executed, they have many suspects to talk to. Lots of walking, as there would be in 16th century Japan, but I found it tiresome. I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous two in the series.
2 stars
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Aug 6 - 12, 2017
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths - it's Brighton in 1950 and parts of the body of a young woman have just been found. It reminds Edgar Stephens of a magician's act performed by Max Mephisto, an old friend from the war. The two of them join forces when it looks like someone has got their sights on their unit from WWII, the Magic Men. A new series by the author of the Ruth Galloway series, this didn't engage me quite as much. I'll still read the next in the series. A low
3 stars
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi - a collections of short stories with absolutely no meaning whatsoever as far as I could tell. The blurb said they interconnect but I didn't find it. Confession: I skipped the last two stories as I was exhausted from the tedium of trying to find an actual story.
1 star
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Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor - the third in the Ancient World Series, these are the stories of Gordianus the Finder when he was a young man. The ancient world is in upheaval with Mithidrates conquering Roman Asia, Italian states rebelling against Rome, and a coup in Egypt. Among all this, Gordianus sails to Ephesus to find his old tutor who may be in some trouble. He gets there just in time to be caught up in a plot to kill all the Romans in town. I first met Gordianus in the Roma Sub Rosa series and enjoyed this younger version of him.
3 stars
3 stars
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi - a collections of short stories with absolutely no meaning whatsoever as far as I could tell. The blurb said they interconnect but I didn't find it. Confession: I skipped the last two stories as I was exhausted from the tedium of trying to find an actual story.
1 star
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Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor - the third in the Ancient World Series, these are the stories of Gordianus the Finder when he was a young man. The ancient world is in upheaval with Mithidrates conquering Roman Asia, Italian states rebelling against Rome, and a coup in Egypt. Among all this, Gordianus sails to Ephesus to find his old tutor who may be in some trouble. He gets there just in time to be caught up in a plot to kill all the Romans in town. I first met Gordianus in the Roma Sub Rosa series and enjoyed this younger version of him.
3 stars
Sunday, August 6, 2017
July 30 - Aug 5, 2017
Making Faces by Amy Harmon - plain girl Fern(except she's not really, is she?) has been in love with beautiful boy Ambrose for years. A story about what makes us actually beautiful. I found the characters too good to be true. A strange combination of bodice buster without sex, typical Harlequin romance, and religious overtones. Once again, I am very much in the minority on Goodreads.
2 stars
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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant has very poor social skills and lives a solitary life, usually speaking to no one at all on the weekends. She has good reason for her lack of skills which is very gradually revealed. She suddenly develops a crush on a band singer and begins to take an interest in her appearance to be worthy of him. In the meantime, she develops a friendship with the sloppy IT person at her work when they witness the medical emergency of an elderly man. Funny, sad, hopeful, and angry were some of my feelings as I read this.
5 stars
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Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson - Kate has always been anxious and when an ex-boyfriend kidnaps her before ending his own life, hers is brought to a standstill by anxiety attacks. When her cousin suggests an apartment swap, his in Boston for hers in London, she takes it, hoping for a fresh starts. When she arrives, she learns the woman in the apt next to hers has just been found murdered. Clues point to her cousin, or is it the rather odd but interesting man in the building? Told from different viewpoints, I found it hard to relate to any of them. The suspense part was good.
3.5 stars
2 stars
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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Eleanor Oliphant has very poor social skills and lives a solitary life, usually speaking to no one at all on the weekends. She has good reason for her lack of skills which is very gradually revealed. She suddenly develops a crush on a band singer and begins to take an interest in her appearance to be worthy of him. In the meantime, she develops a friendship with the sloppy IT person at her work when they witness the medical emergency of an elderly man. Funny, sad, hopeful, and angry were some of my feelings as I read this.
5 stars
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Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson - Kate has always been anxious and when an ex-boyfriend kidnaps her before ending his own life, hers is brought to a standstill by anxiety attacks. When her cousin suggests an apartment swap, his in Boston for hers in London, she takes it, hoping for a fresh starts. When she arrives, she learns the woman in the apt next to hers has just been found murdered. Clues point to her cousin, or is it the rather odd but interesting man in the building? Told from different viewpoints, I found it hard to relate to any of them. The suspense part was good.
3.5 stars
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