Fifty Mice: A Novel by Daniel Pyne - a man is kidnapped from the subway and finds himself an unwilling participant in the witness protection program. He doesn't know what he's seen or what he's being protected from. A rather confusing story that had me wondering if any of it was real. Quite a bit of strong language.
2 stars
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Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb - the 40th Eve Dallas book and I've read them all so who has the obsession? Someone has decided they have a relationship with Eve and is killing people who have crossed swords with her in the past. It seems to me the bad language has escalated in this book and there are the obligatory sex scenes with Eve and her incredibly handsome, rich husband that I skip over. I like these books for the slight futuristic element (this story is in 2060) and the relationships Eve has developed over time.
3 stars
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Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason - this is an Inspector Erlendur novel but he's not investigating a current crime. Instead, he's returned to his family's old home and is still wondering what exactly happened to his little brother when he was lost in a blizzard. He then becomes interested in the disappearance of a woman who vanished many years ago in similar circumstances. In previous novels Erlendur is always haunted by thoughts of his brother and this book seems to bring some closure. This is a series that needs to be read in order which is a little difficult since the first two have not been published in English.
4 stars
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
April 4 - 10, 2015
A Cursed Inheritance by Kate Ellis - another present/past mystery with Wesley Peterson and his archaeologist friend Neil. This time a witness to a 20 year old murder is beginning to recover her memories. And Neil is in America discovering unknown relations. Still lots of resentment on the part of Wesley's wife and lots of avoidance on his part. And there didn't seem too much urgency to actually investigate. Still like this series but I may be Googling to see if I can find out about Wes and Pam.
3 stars
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Cuba Straits by Randy Wayne White - half way through and I quit this book because I got so tired of the foul language, violence and constant ganja smoking. The plot was shadowy to start with and still wasn't clear at this point. Another author I think I'm done with.
3 stars
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Cuba Straits by Randy Wayne White - half way through and I quit this book because I got so tired of the foul language, violence and constant ganja smoking. The plot was shadowy to start with and still wasn't clear at this point. Another author I think I'm done with.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
March 29 - April 4, 2015
Dreaming Spies by Laurie R King - a Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery. The future emperor of Japan is being blackmailed and the couple is asked to investigate. Way too much padding, the ship board portion seems almost as long as the actual journey. I might not have been in the right mood for this one, I found it very disappointing.
2 stars
2 stars
Sunday, March 29, 2015
March 22 - 28, 2015
The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis - the 7th in the Wesley Peterson series. A body is fished from the sea and almost simultaneously a skeleton is found in a walled up room of an old house. Once again Wesley and his archaeologist friend find correlations between present and past evil. Totally had me guessing on the whodunnit.
4 stars
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The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley - the author draws a correlation between an interest in murder and the change from an agrarian society to an industrialized one. Not as boring as it sounds but this book just didn't grab me.
2 stars
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The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan - a wealthy businessman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff and Esa Khattak, the head of minority-sensitive cases is asked to investigate. The dead man may actually be a war crimes perpetrator. The mystery part was very good but it's the story of Bosnia that will stick with me. Some small irritation with the referencing of previous incidents (this is a first novel so it's not like I missed a book in the series) and some unfinished business. Graphic war scenes, taken from actual survivor accounts.
4.5 stars
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The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis - while Wesley Peterson deals with a case of an innocent man jailed for murder, a series of threats against a supermarket, a 12 year old murder case, and the impending birth of his second child, Neil is excavating the remains of a 14th century plague pit.
3 stars
4 stars
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The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley - the author draws a correlation between an interest in murder and the change from an agrarian society to an industrialized one. Not as boring as it sounds but this book just didn't grab me.
2 stars
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The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan - a wealthy businessman is found dead at the bottom of a cliff and Esa Khattak, the head of minority-sensitive cases is asked to investigate. The dead man may actually be a war crimes perpetrator. The mystery part was very good but it's the story of Bosnia that will stick with me. Some small irritation with the referencing of previous incidents (this is a first novel so it's not like I missed a book in the series) and some unfinished business. Graphic war scenes, taken from actual survivor accounts.
4.5 stars
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The Plague Maiden by Kate Ellis - while Wesley Peterson deals with a case of an innocent man jailed for murder, a series of threats against a supermarket, a 12 year old murder case, and the impending birth of his second child, Neil is excavating the remains of a 14th century plague pit.
3 stars
Sunday, March 22, 2015
March 15 - 21, 2015
I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short - to me this was one of those celebrity name-dropping books, he seemed almost more interested in the people he knew than his own story. The telling of his wife's passing was quite touching though.
3 stars
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Motive by Jonathan Kellerman - psychologist Alex Delaware and his friend Detective Milo Sturgis suspect a cold case is connected to a more recent killing. Several twists and turns but they seemed to be more of an effort to pad out the story rather than make it interesting.
3 stars
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The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac by Sharma Shields - When Eli was 9, his mother ran off with a sasquatch. He spends the rest of his life hunting for evidence of what he saw and it affects everyone around him. A very strange book.
2 stars
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The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black - Hazel and Ben live in Fairfold where humans and fairies have an uneasy co-existence. For as long as they can remember a prince has been sleeping in a glass coffin in the woods. One day he's missing and everything changes. A YA with what seems to be the norm for these books, teenage longing.
3 stars
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The Birds of Pandemonium by Michele Raffin - stories from the author's experience with rare birds living at her bird refuge. She started with no knowledge and now has a successful breeding program for birds on the verge of extinction.
3 stars
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Books I quit
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville - extremely confusing and very dark, not worth the effort
We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler - an adult book by the author of the Series of Unfortunate Events for children. And I mean adult in every sense. And written so strangely I couldn't read it.
The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth - told from too many viewpoints, including the dead victim. Read the end to see if I was right about who I suspected. I was. Very disappointing, I gave her book Precious Thing 5 stars.
Murder on the Champ De Mars by Cara Black - couldn't get into it, it's possible I wasn't in the right mood.
The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid - rather thin plot with too many characters, just not interesting.
3 stars
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Motive by Jonathan Kellerman - psychologist Alex Delaware and his friend Detective Milo Sturgis suspect a cold case is connected to a more recent killing. Several twists and turns but they seemed to be more of an effort to pad out the story rather than make it interesting.
3 stars
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The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac by Sharma Shields - When Eli was 9, his mother ran off with a sasquatch. He spends the rest of his life hunting for evidence of what he saw and it affects everyone around him. A very strange book.
2 stars
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The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black - Hazel and Ben live in Fairfold where humans and fairies have an uneasy co-existence. For as long as they can remember a prince has been sleeping in a glass coffin in the woods. One day he's missing and everything changes. A YA with what seems to be the norm for these books, teenage longing.
3 stars
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The Birds of Pandemonium by Michele Raffin - stories from the author's experience with rare birds living at her bird refuge. She started with no knowledge and now has a successful breeding program for birds on the verge of extinction.
3 stars
*************************************************************************
Books I quit
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville - extremely confusing and very dark, not worth the effort
We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler - an adult book by the author of the Series of Unfortunate Events for children. And I mean adult in every sense. And written so strangely I couldn't read it.
The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth - told from too many viewpoints, including the dead victim. Read the end to see if I was right about who I suspected. I was. Very disappointing, I gave her book Precious Thing 5 stars.
Murder on the Champ De Mars by Cara Black - couldn't get into it, it's possible I wasn't in the right mood.
The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid - rather thin plot with too many characters, just not interesting.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
March 8 - 14, 2015
A Painted Doom by Kate Ellis - the 6th Wesley Peterson book. A faded rock star is found dead in a farmer's field and many false threads are followed before the murderer is found. And Wesley's friend Neil is doing an archeological dig that parallels the investigation.
3 stars
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The Coldest Summer by Kate Rice - Australian transplant police detective Mick Downey finds himself leading an investigation hampered by a wealthy family in San Fransisco. This is a first novel by the author and it seemed to flutter between being a straight mystery or romance. The Kindle version needed some serious editing.
2 stars
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Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper - 82 yo Etta leaves a note for her husband that she is going to see the ocean and begins walking east from Saskatchewan. Memories and thoughts go back and forth in time and it's not always clear who is remembering what. A very different book that I liked quite a lot.
4 stars
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Lost and Found by Brooke Davis - Millie Bird, whose father has recently died is left in a department store by her grieving mother. Agatha, 82, hasn't left her home since her husband died 7 years ago. Karl, 87, escapes from a nursing home. Somehow they all end up together as they grieve in their own ways. Sex and language.
3 stars
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A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray - a YA scifi. Marguerite's parents have invented a way to travel between dimensions. Before it can be tested, their research assistant kills her father and steals the device, traveling to another dimension. Marguerite and Theo follow him, planning to take their revenge. This has an ending but it is the beginning of a trilogy. This is also a romance with the obligatory teenage angst.
4 stars
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Numbers by Rachel Ward - another YA. Jem sees numbers when she looks in people's eyes and it's only when her mother dies that she realizes the numbers are the day the person will die. At 15 she's a loner and outcast. Then she meets Spider and slowly starts to thaw. When they go to London for the day she realizes many people are going to die that day. The beginning of a trilogy. Teenage love and sex.
3 stars
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Death on the Move by Bill Crider - the 4th Sheriff Dan Rhodes. This time someone is stealing jewelry from the bodies at the funeral home. And while investigating robberies at weekend homes, the sheriff discovers a dead body. Not quite as good as some but I'll still give it
3 stars
3 stars
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The Coldest Summer by Kate Rice - Australian transplant police detective Mick Downey finds himself leading an investigation hampered by a wealthy family in San Fransisco. This is a first novel by the author and it seemed to flutter between being a straight mystery or romance. The Kindle version needed some serious editing.
2 stars
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Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper - 82 yo Etta leaves a note for her husband that she is going to see the ocean and begins walking east from Saskatchewan. Memories and thoughts go back and forth in time and it's not always clear who is remembering what. A very different book that I liked quite a lot.
4 stars
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Lost and Found by Brooke Davis - Millie Bird, whose father has recently died is left in a department store by her grieving mother. Agatha, 82, hasn't left her home since her husband died 7 years ago. Karl, 87, escapes from a nursing home. Somehow they all end up together as they grieve in their own ways. Sex and language.
3 stars
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A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray - a YA scifi. Marguerite's parents have invented a way to travel between dimensions. Before it can be tested, their research assistant kills her father and steals the device, traveling to another dimension. Marguerite and Theo follow him, planning to take their revenge. This has an ending but it is the beginning of a trilogy. This is also a romance with the obligatory teenage angst.
4 stars
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Numbers by Rachel Ward - another YA. Jem sees numbers when she looks in people's eyes and it's only when her mother dies that she realizes the numbers are the day the person will die. At 15 she's a loner and outcast. Then she meets Spider and slowly starts to thaw. When they go to London for the day she realizes many people are going to die that day. The beginning of a trilogy. Teenage love and sex.
3 stars
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Death on the Move by Bill Crider - the 4th Sheriff Dan Rhodes. This time someone is stealing jewelry from the bodies at the funeral home. And while investigating robberies at weekend homes, the sheriff discovers a dead body. Not quite as good as some but I'll still give it
3 stars
Monday, March 2, 2015
March 1 - 7, 2015
Touch by Claire North - Kepler can move into other people's bodies at the touch of bare skin. And he's on the run from a shadowy organization out to kill him and others like him. This started in a confusing way, it took about 60 pages to really get into it. Both a fantasy and a thriller.
4 stars
4 stars
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