A Sprig of Blossomed Thorn by Patrice Greenwood - the second in the Wisteria Tearoom series - a local matriarch is found dead in one of the tearooms, seemingly of natural causes. But we know that can't be. Ellen Rosings, owner of the tearoom, is also dealing with Goth teenagers hanging out in her flowerbeds, a moody office manager, and the ghost of her building. She also has a problem with her will he be her boyfriend/won't he police detective bringing his gun into her tearoom since she wants to "preserve an air of peace". Although two women have died there in as many months and not killed with guns. The mystery seems secondary and is suddenly solved although the book goes on for awhile longer. I'm not sure I like Ellen, she seems a little priggish. Okay for a cozy mystery.
3 stars
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - very active boy gets in lots of trouble because of his schemes but somehow always gets away with it. This is not the first time I've read this, I read it this time as part of the reading challenge I'm doing. I don't like books with dialects and this time I found it very grating. I didn't like this book 50 years ago and I still don't.
1 star
*RHC - an assigned book you hated or never finished.
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The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey - Helva was born with abnormalities and her parents agree that she will be trained as a brain for a spaceship. When she gets her ship she will be paired with a brawn and they will conduct business for the corporation/government. Helga turns out to be quite intelligent and outfoxes many opponents. The book ends on a supposedly happy note but I felt sorry for Helva. There was too much made up space gobbledygook for me.
2 stars
*RHC - sci-fi with a female protagonist written by a female author
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December's Secrets by A.E.Howe - deputy sheriff Larry Macklin gets a call from his old not quite girlfriend. Her father has seen a murdered man, a man that he knows. He also matches the description of a man seen arguing with the deceased. Larry believes that he's innocent but knows it doesn't look good. When there's another murder Larry hopes he hasn't made a mistake. Humor supplied by Larry's father's dog, a very large Great Dane.
3 stars
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Anne of Green Gables by L.M.Montgomery - orphaned Anne is brought by mistake to the farm of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla. They had wanted a boy to help on the farm but decide to take a chance on Anne even though she seems untrained and is very talkative. We see Anne and the Cuthberts change over the next four years, all of them for the better. I've avoided this book for years, for some reason I didn't think I would like it. And at first I found Anne very irritating, she talks a lot. But I really liked the way she developed over the years and learned from her mistakes. I did find it disturbing that children could be ordered from an orphanage like a catalog item.
4.5 stars
*RHC - a children's classic published before 1980.
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The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - the second book in the Winternight trilogy takes up where the first book ended. Vasya must flee her village or be locked up in a convent or burned as a witch. Disguised as a boy, she flees on her very special horse, Solovony. After saving some children from bandits she is reunited unexpectedly with her brother and the Prince of Moscow. Her brother agrees to continue her deception as a boy and all kinds of problems arise from that. Quite a rousing finish. Lots of historical detail (this takes place in the 14th century) along with old myths and magic.
4 stars
*RHC - a book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China or South Africa)
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The Wanted by Robert Crais - Elvis Cole agrees to look into why teenage Tyson has luxury items and unexplained cash. But the case is much deadlier than he realizes. Something has been stolen that someone desperately wants back. And they've hired the muscle to get it. Pretty soon there's a trail of dead bodies and Tyson has disappeared. Now Elvis has to be the first one to find him.
4 stars
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Cutting Edge by Ward Larsen - the last thing Trey DeBolt remembers is his coast guard helicopter crashing into the Alaskan sea. He comes to in a private home, not a hospital, but his caregiver is a nurse. Then he finds out he's in Maine and that officially he's been declared dead. Before he can ask many questions, intruders kill the nurse and try to kill him. Now he's on the run but he doesn't know why or who's after him. This book was pretty much straight action that kept ratcheting up. A pretty high body count.
4 stars
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Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch - Peter Grant, one of two detectives in the "magic"division of the London police force, is on the case of a jazz musician who dropped dead after a show. There is the distinct odor of vestigia (signs of magic) rising from the body. Peter is soon looking at the unexplained deaths of other jazz musicians while also looking for a gruesome killer on another case. This was a disappointment after the first book, I had trouble tracking his investigations. He seemed to be spinning his wheels quite a lot. Also a few unnecessarily lurid sex scenes. Just when I was thinking I wouldn't continue the series a character was introduced that I want to know more about. I'll give one more book a try.
2 stars
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The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer by Skip Hollandsworth - in the late 1880's, Austin was the scene of several graphic murders of women and the killer was never found. Several politicians lost their careers over the handling of the case. And a few years later it was speculated that the killer had moved to London and became Jack the Ripper. Lots of detail about the city and people but not so much about the crimes.
3 stars
*RCH - a true crime book
* Read Harder Challenge
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