Final Girls by Riley Sager - Quincy Carpenter is a Final Girl, she's the only survivor of a brutal knife attack that left all her friends dead. Forcibly linked by media outlets with two other Final Girls, her world is rocked when the oldest Girl commits suicide and the second turns up on her doorstep. Quincy has no memories of her trauma and would like to keep it that way. Because she has a niggling doubt about her own role in it. I blazed through this one, it really kept my mind whirling. Dabs of language, sex, and violence.
4 stars
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A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of King George III by Janet Hadlow - Americans know this king as the one fought against in the Revolutionary War and for his madness. The author takes a look at his family life, one that he was determined would not be like previous generations, known for infidelity and coldness towards their children. He was very purposeful in the qualities he looked for in a wife as he wanted to form a warm family life. He and his wife, Caroline, had 15 children, 13 of whom lived to adulthood. Unfortunately, George wasn't quite able to live up to his own ideas, growing colder towards his children as they grew up and wanted to live their own lives. And his descent into madness altered the way the queen viewed him. This was a very long book and I was only able to read about 50 pages at a time. The writing was good but there were just so many people. I don't think I ever got all the princes figured out and which was the duke of what.
3.5 stars
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Reykjavik Nights by Arnaldur Indridason - a prequel to the Inspector Erlender novels. This goes back to the very beginning of his career as a policeman. He's working nights as a traffic cop and begins dwelling on the drowning death of a homeless man he's acquainted with. His unofficial investigation leads him to believe it was murder. This was rather a plodding book, Erlender goes through several suspects and there is some repetition. A low
3 stars
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Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan - Jessie Cole became a private investigator primarily so she could search for her sister, missing for the last ten years. When reporter Ben Morrison comes to her with the idea of doing a story about her search, she reluctantly agrees. Ben lost his memory in a fiery crash ten years ago and it may have something to do with her sister. Meanwhile, the whole city is on edge because the Heartless Killer has struck again. The book switches back and forth between these two stories with a couple of subplots in between. Too graphic when the Killer is the focus. And I didn't warm up to the two main characters. For me, the writing wasn't stellar. Once again, I'm in the minority on Goodreads.
2 stars
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Dec 3 - 9, 2017
The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline K. Ogburn - Eric Harper still resents the fact that his family had to sell his grandmother's house and part of their land to take care of her medical costs. But when he follows an injured unicorn to their barn his life changes. I loved the unicorn but I think my favorite character was the talking cat. A charming children's book with some illustrations.
4 stars
4 stars
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Nov 26 - Dec 2, 2017
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz - an homage to Agatha Christie and cozy English village mysteries. The story starts with Susan Ryeland reading the manuscript of author Alan Conway's latest book. She doesn't like the author much but does like his books featuring Atticus Pund, a German detective. We then read the book within the book, Magpie Murders. But that book ends suddenly just when Atticus is about to reveal all. And when Alan Conway is found dead it looks like there won't be an ending after all. I was really looking forward to this book but have to admit I was a little disappointed. I had a real problem with the book in the book, there were many characters introduced all at once and I found the story a little disjointed. I put the book down several times thinking I would quit. But things picked up about halfway when we get back to the"real" world. I guessed the murderer in the "real" book, but was quite surprised at the solution to Magpie Murders. Anthony Horowitz is the creator of Foyle's War and a writer for Midsomer Murders.
3.5 stars
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Glass Houses by Louise Penny - the 13th Inspector Armand Gamache begins in a courtroom with the inspector on the witness stand. He is recounting the events that occurred in Three Pines a year ago, beginning with the appearance of a mysterious person clad in black who stands on the village green. We then go back and forth in time as things gradually unfold. The author handles the buildup in tension wonderfully, I couldn't wait to get to the end. Everything is on the line for Gamache including his career and family. Just a little bit of niggling irritation as the jumps in time were sometimes confusing. And I do get tired of the police corruption angle but that's not the focus.
5 stars
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Cast Iron by Peter May - the sixth in the Enzo Macleod series. Enzo is still working his way through a set of cold cases he took on as the result of a bet. This one is the murder of a young girl 20 years ago. Everyone thinks she was killed by a man in prison for other murders but he denies it. I don't find Enzo a likeable man, he seems to be a serial womanizer with a messy personal life. I think I may have started a previous book in the series and disliked him so much I quit. This is a series that definitely needs to be read in order. The mystery part was okay but I liked few of the people.
3 stars
3.5 stars
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Glass Houses by Louise Penny - the 13th Inspector Armand Gamache begins in a courtroom with the inspector on the witness stand. He is recounting the events that occurred in Three Pines a year ago, beginning with the appearance of a mysterious person clad in black who stands on the village green. We then go back and forth in time as things gradually unfold. The author handles the buildup in tension wonderfully, I couldn't wait to get to the end. Everything is on the line for Gamache including his career and family. Just a little bit of niggling irritation as the jumps in time were sometimes confusing. And I do get tired of the police corruption angle but that's not the focus.
5 stars
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Cast Iron by Peter May - the sixth in the Enzo Macleod series. Enzo is still working his way through a set of cold cases he took on as the result of a bet. This one is the murder of a young girl 20 years ago. Everyone thinks she was killed by a man in prison for other murders but he denies it. I don't find Enzo a likeable man, he seems to be a serial womanizer with a messy personal life. I think I may have started a previous book in the series and disliked him so much I quit. This is a series that definitely needs to be read in order. The mystery part was okay but I liked few of the people.
3 stars
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Nov 19 - 25, 2017
The Mapmaker's Children - the fictionalized story of Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown, and the completely fictional Eden Anderson. Told in alternating chapters of characters and timelines, I found the switching back and forth a little jarring. The story is based on real facts pertaining to the Underground Railroad. The modern story has Eden finding a doll head that leads to a search for the history behind it. I found Eden unlikable at first, her desperation to have a child is ruining all her relationships.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Nov 12 - 18, 2017
Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks - 17 short stories connected by typewriters. I found the first story the most humorous, friends decide to become lovers and then she begins to "improve" him. Some of the stories are in the past and some seem to take place in a near future. Nothing profound but enjoyable.
4 stars
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One Dead Dean by Bill Crider - a hated dean at a small denominational college is murdered. Carl Burns, a professor with a penchant for list-making, somehow keeps getting involved in the investigation. He thinks he can do a better job than the bumbling sheriff and, what a surprise, he can. This is the first in a short series started in 1988 by the author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series.
2 stars
4 stars
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One Dead Dean by Bill Crider - a hated dean at a small denominational college is murdered. Carl Burns, a professor with a penchant for list-making, somehow keeps getting involved in the investigation. He thinks he can do a better job than the bumbling sheriff and, what a surprise, he can. This is the first in a short series started in 1988 by the author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series.
2 stars
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Nov 5 - 11, 2017
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones - in this dystopian thriller, humanity is living in zones behind a destructive salt line because miner ticks carry a deadly disease that kills quickly and horribly. A group of adventure seekers pay a lot of money to go on an excursion beyond the salt line to see what things used to look like. The story is told from the viewpoint of three of these people, all of whom have very different reasons for being there. But very soon in their journey they are taken captive by a group of people living in the wilderness who have very definite plans for their group. The ending was somewhat of a letdown. Some violence.
4 stars
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The Sorbonne Affair by Mark Pryor - the 7th Hugo Marston book has a wealth of suspects, false clues, many theories, and a touch of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. Marston is approached by a famous author who says she has found a hidden camera in her hotel room. Soon there's a murder, leaked videos, and more murders. And to top it off, a criminal with revenge on his mind has been released back in the states and may be on his way to Paris.
3.5 stars
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Secrets in Death by J.D.Robb - the 45th Lt. Eve Dallas book. Eve is meeting a colleague at a posh bar when a famous gossip monger staggers up the stairs and dies in her arms. It turns out many people had reason to wish Larinda Mars dead, she was blackmailing them. Eve and her team have almost too many suspects. People aren't dropping like flies as they often do in these books, this is pretty much a procedural. There are only two of the obligatory sex scenes, easily skipped.
3.5 stars
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House of Spies by Daniel Silva - the 17th Gabriel Allon book. At the end of the previous book, Allon had finally become the head of Israel's intelligence agency. But that doesn't stop him from becoming very involved in the hunt for Saladin, the terrorist responsible for attacks in America, London, and France. The whole team is back including one of my favorite's, Keller, who is a stone cold killer. The 544 page book is mostly the setting up and recruiting of the people necessary to reach Saladin but I didn't find it boring at all. Much of that is due to the author's smooth writing. Plus, I always wonder how much he really knows.
4.5 stars
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MatchUp edited by Lee Child - 22 authors, 11 stories featuring such diverse characters as Jack Reacher, Termperance Brennan, Joe Pickett, and Lucan Thorne. This introduced me to some new authors and characters, some of which I'll investigate further. Equally interesting to me was how the authors worked together on the stories, I'm glad that part was included.
3 stars
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Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason - one of the books in the Inspector Erlendur series, which are not published in English in the order of their Icelandic publication. This is one of the prequels, taking place in 1979. A man's body is found in a lagoon but evidence shows that he fell from a great height onto a hard surface. Suspicion focuses on the American base that has caused a great difference of opinion in Iceland. At the same time, Erlendur is unofficially looking into the disappearance of a young girl that took place forty years ago. Both cases end quite climatically.
4 stars
4 stars
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The Sorbonne Affair by Mark Pryor - the 7th Hugo Marston book has a wealth of suspects, false clues, many theories, and a touch of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. Marston is approached by a famous author who says she has found a hidden camera in her hotel room. Soon there's a murder, leaked videos, and more murders. And to top it off, a criminal with revenge on his mind has been released back in the states and may be on his way to Paris.
3.5 stars
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Secrets in Death by J.D.Robb - the 45th Lt. Eve Dallas book. Eve is meeting a colleague at a posh bar when a famous gossip monger staggers up the stairs and dies in her arms. It turns out many people had reason to wish Larinda Mars dead, she was blackmailing them. Eve and her team have almost too many suspects. People aren't dropping like flies as they often do in these books, this is pretty much a procedural. There are only two of the obligatory sex scenes, easily skipped.
3.5 stars
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House of Spies by Daniel Silva - the 17th Gabriel Allon book. At the end of the previous book, Allon had finally become the head of Israel's intelligence agency. But that doesn't stop him from becoming very involved in the hunt for Saladin, the terrorist responsible for attacks in America, London, and France. The whole team is back including one of my favorite's, Keller, who is a stone cold killer. The 544 page book is mostly the setting up and recruiting of the people necessary to reach Saladin but I didn't find it boring at all. Much of that is due to the author's smooth writing. Plus, I always wonder how much he really knows.
4.5 stars
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MatchUp edited by Lee Child - 22 authors, 11 stories featuring such diverse characters as Jack Reacher, Termperance Brennan, Joe Pickett, and Lucan Thorne. This introduced me to some new authors and characters, some of which I'll investigate further. Equally interesting to me was how the authors worked together on the stories, I'm glad that part was included.
3 stars
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Into Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason - one of the books in the Inspector Erlendur series, which are not published in English in the order of their Icelandic publication. This is one of the prequels, taking place in 1979. A man's body is found in a lagoon but evidence shows that he fell from a great height onto a hard surface. Suspicion focuses on the American base that has caused a great difference of opinion in Iceland. At the same time, Erlendur is unofficially looking into the disappearance of a young girl that took place forty years ago. Both cases end quite climatically.
4 stars
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Oct 30 - Nov 4, 2017
Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey - 18 yo Chloe arrives home unexpectedly to find lots of blood and a missing mother. Maeve Kerrigan and her team find some of the neighbors odd and turn their attention to them. The very religious Norrises seem very tense but they accuse William Turner who has already beat an accusation of a knife attack. So many twists and turns, this really kept me interested. It would have been perfect if not for the cliched "Christians".
4 stars
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The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan - the ladies of Chilbury find they can be more than they thought when WWII empties their village of men and they must rely on themselves. Told in a series of letters and journals. It was interesting to watch the women change as the book went on.
3.5 stars
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Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan - Lydia leads a carefully constructed cautious life as a clerk in a bookstore. But when one of her favorite patrons commits suicide in the store things begin to fall apart. In the books he has left to her she discovers clues that lead her to her estranged father and a horrific night from her childhood. What I considered unnecessary crude language kept this from being a 5 star book.
4.5 stars
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Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf - an accident has left nurse Amelia Winn deaf. She doesn't handle the change well, losing her husband, stepdaughter, job, and friends to alcohol. She is just getting her life back together when she discovers the body of an old friend along the river where she is paddle boarding. She feels compelled to discover the murderer, putting herself and her service dog, Stitch, in danger. It was the element of deafness (and Stitch) that kept this mystery compelling to me. I didn't really care for Amelia, she jumped to conclusions rather quickly. The author is hearing impaired herself.
4 stars
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The Complete Father Brown Mysteries by G.K.Chesterton - 24 short stories that I read over a few months as they were the perfect length for "waiting". I found some of them so old fashioned that I just didn't get them. And it was very hard to get past racial caricatures of the times. I only found a few of the stories enjoyable.
2 stars
4 stars
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The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan - the ladies of Chilbury find they can be more than they thought when WWII empties their village of men and they must rely on themselves. Told in a series of letters and journals. It was interesting to watch the women change as the book went on.
3.5 stars
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Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan - Lydia leads a carefully constructed cautious life as a clerk in a bookstore. But when one of her favorite patrons commits suicide in the store things begin to fall apart. In the books he has left to her she discovers clues that lead her to her estranged father and a horrific night from her childhood. What I considered unnecessary crude language kept this from being a 5 star book.
4.5 stars
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Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf - an accident has left nurse Amelia Winn deaf. She doesn't handle the change well, losing her husband, stepdaughter, job, and friends to alcohol. She is just getting her life back together when she discovers the body of an old friend along the river where she is paddle boarding. She feels compelled to discover the murderer, putting herself and her service dog, Stitch, in danger. It was the element of deafness (and Stitch) that kept this mystery compelling to me. I didn't really care for Amelia, she jumped to conclusions rather quickly. The author is hearing impaired herself.
4 stars
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The Complete Father Brown Mysteries by G.K.Chesterton - 24 short stories that I read over a few months as they were the perfect length for "waiting". I found some of them so old fashioned that I just didn't get them. And it was very hard to get past racial caricatures of the times. I only found a few of the stories enjoyable.
2 stars
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