Cold Killing by Luke Delaney - DCI Sean Corrigan is a detective who has the uncanny ability to think like the bad guys. And he's pretty sure there's a serial killer in London and pretty sure he knows who it is. This story also gives the viewpoint of the killer. Very graphic violence. Only because of the ending will I give it
2 stars
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Cathedral of the Wild: An African Journey Home by Boyd Varty - the author grew up at Londolozi Game Reserve. This book relates his adventures there. He's now working toward restoring an elephant corridor across part of Africa.
3 stars
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Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce - DC Gary Goodhew is a rather strange policeman. He's new on the force and yet seems to know quite a bit about people and crimes, maybe more than he should. He goes against his superior's orders and blithely runs the investigation the way he wants. I didn't find him very sympathetic. The plot kept me guessing until the end. Quite a bit of sex. I don't know if I'll continue this series.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postcards from Cookie: A Memoir of Motherhood, Miracles, and a Whole Lot of Mail by Caroline Clarke - what starts as a search for medical information leads to the discovery of who her birth mother is. And the famous family she comes from.
3 stars
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John Wayne: The Life and Legend by Scott Eyman - the author of this 672 page book seemed to think what I wanted to know was every.single.movie John Wayne ever made recounted in detail, including how much it cost, who got paid what, and how much it made. About page 400 is where it got interesting for me. Also, the author had, as far as I could tell, a single interview in 1972, that somehow gave him amazing insight into how John Wayne thought. Only finished this because I'm stubborn.
2 stars
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What She Saw by Sheila Lowe - a woman comes to on a train and doesn't know where she is or who she is. After several fortuitous incidents, she finds herself at work looking for mysterious missing files. Fairly mundane mystery, read because I was out of books and it was free on my Kindle.
2 stars
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The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham - set in Hong Kong in the 1920's, this is the story of Kitty Fane. She doesn't love her husband and embarks on an affair. Of course there are consequences. Written in 1925 it is certainly not pc.
4 stars
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The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) - the second Cormoran Strike book. Riding on the success generated by the events of the first book. Cormoran takes on a missing husband case because he feels sorry for the wife. Then he finds the husband horribly murdered. While the mystery part of this story was good, I thought the book was too long and overly redundant. I didn't need the (very) gory murder described over and over. Nor did I need to be reminded, several times, of the events of Cormoran's break up with his former girlfriend. The reveal at the end was a surprise though.
3 stars
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
June 15-21, 2014
Dead Scared by S.J. Bolton - DC Lacey Flint is recruited to go undercover as a student at Cambridge. There seems to be a very high rate of suicide. Someone is either encouraging or helping. And Lacey isn't being told the whole story by her superiors.
3 stars
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Untraceable by Laura Griffin - Alex helps women escape abusive partners. But now one of the women is missing and Alex is afraid she's been murdered by her husband, a policeman. And the case gets more and more complicated. Turns out this book was a romance with mystery, not the other way around. So too much sex. And the author kept introducing character after character.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths - another Ruth Galloway book. Ruth learns an old friend has died and the next day receives a letter from him saying he's made an amazing discovery. A story involving King Arthur and neo-Nazis. I thought this moved rather slow, it was almost about relationships rather than mystery. I also find the author's use of present tense annoying.
3 stars
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Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers by Nancy Pearl - not just a listing of books, it's more like the author is discussing the books with you and the reason she included them. I'll be buying this book so I can mark it up.
4 stars
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The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas - I'm really hooked on these Thomas Llewelyn and Clive Barker mysteries. Barker is still trying to solve the murder of his former assistant and discovers a Chinese book that may be the reason he was killed. Many people want the book for different reasons. Not quite as good as the previous two.
3 stars
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Lost by S.J. Bolton (some editions titled Like This, For Ever) - the 3rd Lacey Flint novel and Lacey is more tortured than ever. She's on sick leave and still finds herself caught in the hunt for a serial killer of young boys. Very suspenseful as the hunt turns to one suspect after another. I'm a little tired of the tortured not happening love affair.
4 stars
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Pulse by Jeremy Robinson - a sci-fi/Greek mythology meets Delta Force mix-up. Jack Sigler leads a black ops team - all with chess piece code names against an enemy trying to find a regeneration serum. Lots of non-stop action and totally unbelievable.
3 stars
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A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton(formerly writing as S.J. Bolton) - LOTS of twists at the the end of this twisted tale. Lacey Flint is back at work in the police force, this time working with the river police on the Thames. When she finds a body while swimming, it is soon evident it was placed there for her to find. This book wasn't as cohesive as previous in the series, it's told from several viewpoints. I'm all caught up on this series.
3 stars
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Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins - the author and his wife move to Hay on Wye, a Welsh town with 40 bookstores. He has some amusing thoughts on the British way of things but much of the book was spent pawing through old smelly books.
2 stars
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An Unhallowed Grave by Kate Ellis - a Wesley Peterson book. A woman is found hanged in a churchyard and at first it seems a motiveless crime. This ties in with a body found at an archeological dig being run by Wesley's friend Neil. I enjoy these mysteries set in small towns and always connected to a mystery in the past. I'm a little worried about Wesley's marriage. There are 19 books in the series so far and this was #3. And I just discovered #4 is not available at the library. How annoying.
3 stars
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Untraceable by Laura Griffin - Alex helps women escape abusive partners. But now one of the women is missing and Alex is afraid she's been murdered by her husband, a policeman. And the case gets more and more complicated. Turns out this book was a romance with mystery, not the other way around. So too much sex. And the author kept introducing character after character.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths - another Ruth Galloway book. Ruth learns an old friend has died and the next day receives a letter from him saying he's made an amazing discovery. A story involving King Arthur and neo-Nazis. I thought this moved rather slow, it was almost about relationships rather than mystery. I also find the author's use of present tense annoying.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers by Nancy Pearl - not just a listing of books, it's more like the author is discussing the books with you and the reason she included them. I'll be buying this book so I can mark it up.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas - I'm really hooked on these Thomas Llewelyn and Clive Barker mysteries. Barker is still trying to solve the murder of his former assistant and discovers a Chinese book that may be the reason he was killed. Many people want the book for different reasons. Not quite as good as the previous two.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost by S.J. Bolton (some editions titled Like This, For Ever) - the 3rd Lacey Flint novel and Lacey is more tortured than ever. She's on sick leave and still finds herself caught in the hunt for a serial killer of young boys. Very suspenseful as the hunt turns to one suspect after another. I'm a little tired of the tortured not happening love affair.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pulse by Jeremy Robinson - a sci-fi/Greek mythology meets Delta Force mix-up. Jack Sigler leads a black ops team - all with chess piece code names against an enemy trying to find a regeneration serum. Lots of non-stop action and totally unbelievable.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton(formerly writing as S.J. Bolton) - LOTS of twists at the the end of this twisted tale. Lacey Flint is back at work in the police force, this time working with the river police on the Thames. When she finds a body while swimming, it is soon evident it was placed there for her to find. This book wasn't as cohesive as previous in the series, it's told from several viewpoints. I'm all caught up on this series.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins - the author and his wife move to Hay on Wye, a Welsh town with 40 bookstores. He has some amusing thoughts on the British way of things but much of the book was spent pawing through old smelly books.
2 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Unhallowed Grave by Kate Ellis - a Wesley Peterson book. A woman is found hanged in a churchyard and at first it seems a motiveless crime. This ties in with a body found at an archeological dig being run by Wesley's friend Neil. I enjoy these mysteries set in small towns and always connected to a mystery in the past. I'm a little worried about Wesley's marriage. There are 19 books in the series so far and this was #3. And I just discovered #4 is not available at the library. How annoying.
3 stars
Sunday, June 15, 2014
June 8-14, 2014
The Black-Eyed Blonde: a Phillip Marlowe novel by Benjamin Black -this is supposed to be hard-boiled detective noir but I thought the detective seemed tired and lonely. Not much mystery until halfway through the book and then suddenly there's lots of violence and a mundane ending.
2 stars
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Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie - Mrs. Ariadne Oliver is approached by a woman in a very obnoxious way. She has questions about a double suicide that took place 20 years ago. She enlists the help of Hercule Poirot. Solved the old fashioned way - lots of interviews.
3 stars
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Love Life by Rob Lowe - not as much of a memoir as his first book, this is more of a collection of his thoughts on different subjects. Sometimes I wished he would just come out and name names. He does seem to really love his family. Some language.
3 stars
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In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker - The Company has discovered immortality and time travel and uses both to save plants, animals, and humans from extinction. All for the benefit of the Company. Mendoza is an operative working in England during the reign of Bloody Mary. I just didn't get this book. The sci-fi part was confusing and I really didn't follow the plot at all.
2 stars
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To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas - it's 1884, and Thomas Llewelyn and his employer go undercover in an Irish group wanting to blow up London. William Yeats, the Prince of Wales, and Charles Spurgeon make appearances. I'm enjoying this series and the little bits of humor that are slipped in.
3.5 stars
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Invisible City by Julia Dahl - a woman has been murdered in the Hasidic community of New York and it looks like there's a cover-up going on. Rebekah Roberts is assigned the story by her newspaper and gets drawn into the community. An interesting look at an insular group. There is totally unnecessary, descriptive sex that has nothing to do with the story.
3 stars
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Life Reader by K.M. Shea - Raven is a page turner with a special power, whatever she reads aloud in a book comes to life. But it becomes a little difficult to keep it hidden when she's asked by her father to go undercover at a library to find a magical artifact. This book plunges you right into a fantasy world without a lot of explanation, in fact I was never sure exactly what a page turner is. I took a chance on it as a free Kindle book and am glad I did. I was hoping it was a part of a series, but it doesn't look like it is.
4 stars
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Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman - Buck Schatz is 87 years old and retired from the Memphis police force 35 years ago. When he learns that an enemy from WWII is still alive, he finds himself involved in a hunt for Nazi gold. Buck is not a geriatric movie hero, he's physically fragile and is worrying that he's going into dementia. He's also not very likeable. I didn't find his character sympathetic. Too much language.
2 stars
2 stars
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Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie - Mrs. Ariadne Oliver is approached by a woman in a very obnoxious way. She has questions about a double suicide that took place 20 years ago. She enlists the help of Hercule Poirot. Solved the old fashioned way - lots of interviews.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love Life by Rob Lowe - not as much of a memoir as his first book, this is more of a collection of his thoughts on different subjects. Sometimes I wished he would just come out and name names. He does seem to really love his family. Some language.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker - The Company has discovered immortality and time travel and uses both to save plants, animals, and humans from extinction. All for the benefit of the Company. Mendoza is an operative working in England during the reign of Bloody Mary. I just didn't get this book. The sci-fi part was confusing and I really didn't follow the plot at all.
2 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas - it's 1884, and Thomas Llewelyn and his employer go undercover in an Irish group wanting to blow up London. William Yeats, the Prince of Wales, and Charles Spurgeon make appearances. I'm enjoying this series and the little bits of humor that are slipped in.
3.5 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invisible City by Julia Dahl - a woman has been murdered in the Hasidic community of New York and it looks like there's a cover-up going on. Rebekah Roberts is assigned the story by her newspaper and gets drawn into the community. An interesting look at an insular group. There is totally unnecessary, descriptive sex that has nothing to do with the story.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life Reader by K.M. Shea - Raven is a page turner with a special power, whatever she reads aloud in a book comes to life. But it becomes a little difficult to keep it hidden when she's asked by her father to go undercover at a library to find a magical artifact. This book plunges you right into a fantasy world without a lot of explanation, in fact I was never sure exactly what a page turner is. I took a chance on it as a free Kindle book and am glad I did. I was hoping it was a part of a series, but it doesn't look like it is.
4 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman - Buck Schatz is 87 years old and retired from the Memphis police force 35 years ago. When he learns that an enemy from WWII is still alive, he finds himself involved in a hunt for Nazi gold. Buck is not a geriatric movie hero, he's physically fragile and is worrying that he's going into dementia. He's also not very likeable. I didn't find his character sympathetic. Too much language.
2 stars
Sunday, June 8, 2014
June 1-7, 2014
The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor - Gordianus the Finder is in his 60's now and pretty much retired from the finding business. Caesar's wife wants him to find out who is trying to kill her husband. Not the best in the series.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley - a wagon full of books pulls up in a farmyard and the heroine of the story buys it to keep her brother from buying it and taking off again. She feels she's due a little adventure of her own. This book was written in 1917 and the edition I read was re- released in 1948. It's interesting to read the introduction, which talks about bookselling. I thought it an amusing little book.
4 stars
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The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley - the characters in the previous book are also in this but I don't find them quite as endearing. They now own a second hand bookshop and into it comes a young man trying to interest them in advertising their store. LOTS of talking about books and ideas, most of it in a monologue by Roger Mifflin. Written in 1918, quite a bit of the book doesn't hold up in current times.
2 stars
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Any Other Name by Craig Johnson - a Walt Longmire story. Walt is in another county looking into the suicide of a friend of Lucien's, his ex-boss. It turns into a missing women case and of course Walt is trudging through the snow. Sometimes his efforts seem super-human. Not one of the best plots, but the writing is still great.
If you only know Longmire from the tv show, the books are very different and not filled with all the political stuff of the show.
3 stars
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Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas - Thomas Lleweyn answers an ad with those words and finds himself working for Cyrus Barker, a private inquiry agent in Victorian England. In their first case together, they try to find who is inciting a pogrom against the Jews of London. There's an air of mystery surrounding Barker that I'm hoping will be explored in further books (5 more so far in the series). Also slyly humorous at times.
4 stars
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Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey - Darko Dawson goes out of town again to investigate the murder of an oil executive and his wife. Another fascinating look at police work in Ghana. Lots of twists in this one and I always enjoy it when I don't have a clue who did it. The author has quite a different take on the national health system of Ghana than Wikipedia does.
4 stars
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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron - Julian is introduced to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books by his father and while there finds a book titled The Shadow of the Wind. He becomes fascinated by the author and tries to find other books by him. He learns someone else is also looking for and destroying the books. The story begins in 1945 Barcelona when the city is reeling from the civil and world wars. A combo mystery/love story.
4 stars
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The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh - Lucy Dane is disturbed by the disappearance and then murder of a school friend. Then she finds something that makes her begin to investigate and this leads her to also try to find out why her mother disappeared so many years ago. Told from a variety of viewpoints that is ultimately distracting.
2 stars
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Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark - in 1810, Astor sent two separate parties to establish a fur trading post in the Northwest. One went overland and one went around South America on ship. The ship would pick up furs, sell them in China and then take Chinese goods to Europe, returning to America with a 2,500% profit. Things didn't quite turn out that way. Told in a fairly straightforward manner, although there are some suppositions about conversations that may have taken place.
3 stars
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley - a wagon full of books pulls up in a farmyard and the heroine of the story buys it to keep her brother from buying it and taking off again. She feels she's due a little adventure of her own. This book was written in 1917 and the edition I read was re- released in 1948. It's interesting to read the introduction, which talks about bookselling. I thought it an amusing little book.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley - the characters in the previous book are also in this but I don't find them quite as endearing. They now own a second hand bookshop and into it comes a young man trying to interest them in advertising their store. LOTS of talking about books and ideas, most of it in a monologue by Roger Mifflin. Written in 1918, quite a bit of the book doesn't hold up in current times.
2 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any Other Name by Craig Johnson - a Walt Longmire story. Walt is in another county looking into the suicide of a friend of Lucien's, his ex-boss. It turns into a missing women case and of course Walt is trudging through the snow. Sometimes his efforts seem super-human. Not one of the best plots, but the writing is still great.
If you only know Longmire from the tv show, the books are very different and not filled with all the political stuff of the show.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas - Thomas Lleweyn answers an ad with those words and finds himself working for Cyrus Barker, a private inquiry agent in Victorian England. In their first case together, they try to find who is inciting a pogrom against the Jews of London. There's an air of mystery surrounding Barker that I'm hoping will be explored in further books (5 more so far in the series). Also slyly humorous at times.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder at Cape Three Points by Kwei Quartey - Darko Dawson goes out of town again to investigate the murder of an oil executive and his wife. Another fascinating look at police work in Ghana. Lots of twists in this one and I always enjoy it when I don't have a clue who did it. The author has quite a different take on the national health system of Ghana than Wikipedia does.
4 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron - Julian is introduced to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books by his father and while there finds a book titled The Shadow of the Wind. He becomes fascinated by the author and tries to find other books by him. He learns someone else is also looking for and destroying the books. The story begins in 1945 Barcelona when the city is reeling from the civil and world wars. A combo mystery/love story.
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh - Lucy Dane is disturbed by the disappearance and then murder of a school friend. Then she finds something that makes her begin to investigate and this leads her to also try to find out why her mother disappeared so many years ago. Told from a variety of viewpoints that is ultimately distracting.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark - in 1810, Astor sent two separate parties to establish a fur trading post in the Northwest. One went overland and one went around South America on ship. The ship would pick up furs, sell them in China and then take Chinese goods to Europe, returning to America with a 2,500% profit. Things didn't quite turn out that way. Told in a fairly straightforward manner, although there are some suppositions about conversations that may have taken place.
3 stars
Sunday, June 1, 2014
May 25-31, 2014
Finding Monsters by Liss Thomas - a girl who has been fighting cancer all her life touches the hand of the monster under her bed and her life is transformed. Transported to his world she becomes quite a warrior. And of course they're in love, with all the deep eye gazing and chaste yearning that entails. This is the first in a YA series called Guardians of Esurack. I didn't care for the writing and my free e-book had lots of errors, enough to be distracting. I'm in the minority, this book and the sequel have high ratings on Goodreads. Because I did finish it,
2 stars
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The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna - I have to be honest and say that I read the second half of this book by skimming it in large chunks. The first half really drug but still I wanted to know what happens. Two lonely-hearts in 1976 Ireland are searching for each other. This story alternates with a quite horrific story in an orphanage. It could be I wasn't in the right mood for this one.
2 stars
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Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey - someone is killing the street children in Accra, Ghana. This is the second in the Darko Dawson series. I liked this better than the first, it's quite interesting to read about police forces in other countries struggling to do modern police work. I already have the third book on hold.
3.5 stars
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The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - a novella about what happens when the Queen of England becomes a reader.
4 stars
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Song of the Summer King by Jess E. Owen - Shard is a young gryfon, the last full-blooded of the Vanir. He struggles to be accepted and prove himself loyal to the conquering king. When he discovers he can understand other animal's talk, he begins to wonder about his destiny. I'll probably read the next in the series.
3 stars
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Kane by Steve Gannon - a hunt for a serial killer. Kane is one of the detectives and he's a very angry man. Lots of time is spent on his family life and the way he treats them didn't make me feel very sympathetic to him. Also, there's way too much detail in this book. The killer is known very early on and then it's a matter of how they will catch him. Pretty exciting ending but by then I almost didn't care.
2 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I quit almost as many books this week as I read. I hope I'm not getting tired of reading!
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna - I have to be honest and say that I read the second half of this book by skimming it in large chunks. The first half really drug but still I wanted to know what happens. Two lonely-hearts in 1976 Ireland are searching for each other. This story alternates with a quite horrific story in an orphanage. It could be I wasn't in the right mood for this one.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey - someone is killing the street children in Accra, Ghana. This is the second in the Darko Dawson series. I liked this better than the first, it's quite interesting to read about police forces in other countries struggling to do modern police work. I already have the third book on hold.
3.5 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - a novella about what happens when the Queen of England becomes a reader.
4 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song of the Summer King by Jess E. Owen - Shard is a young gryfon, the last full-blooded of the Vanir. He struggles to be accepted and prove himself loyal to the conquering king. When he discovers he can understand other animal's talk, he begins to wonder about his destiny. I'll probably read the next in the series.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kane by Steve Gannon - a hunt for a serial killer. Kane is one of the detectives and he's a very angry man. Lots of time is spent on his family life and the way he treats them didn't make me feel very sympathetic to him. Also, there's way too much detail in this book. The killer is known very early on and then it's a matter of how they will catch him. Pretty exciting ending but by then I almost didn't care.
2 stars
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I quit almost as many books this week as I read. I hope I'm not getting tired of reading!
Sunday, May 25, 2014
May 18-24, 2014
The Bees by Laline Paull - Flora 717 is a sanitation worker in the hive. But she seems to be a little different from other workers and is put to work in the nursery. Royal intrigue, becoming more than your destiny, danger, and jealousy - all within a beehive.
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dying Words by C.A. Larmer - a free e-book and part of a series about a ghostwriter who seems to get involved in murder mysteries while working on a book. A man's dying words are about Roxy Parker and something he gave her. She's hired by the man's daughter to find out what. I might have enjoyed it more if I had started the series at the beginning but I won't be reading anymore.
2 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raiders of the Nile by Steven Saylor - a prequel to the Gordianus the Finder novels, this finds Gordianus in Alexandria as young man. His slave (and love), Bethesda is kidnapped in error and he must join a band of thieves to get her back.
3.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer - I don't usually like political intrigue stories but this moved right along and didn't have a lot of characters. An archivist at the National Archives sneaks an old friend into a secret area and starts a chain of events that lead all the way to the president.
3 stars
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Bird Box by Josh Malerman - something is out there and if you see it you go mad. Malorie decides to leave the house where she has lived with her children the last four years to try to find a safe place. And she has to make the trip blindfolded, using her children as her ears. The story goes back and forth between the journey and what has lead up to it. This book made me really nervous, I didn't have a clue how it would end. A little gruesome in parts. Also, one of the most beautiful dedications I've read.
5 stars
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Hollow City by Ransom Riggs - the second of the Miss Peregrine and the peculiar children novels. Now the children are trying to get to London during WWII to return Miss Peregrine to her human form. These are YA books and there is the obligatory romance and matter of factness violence.
4 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notorious by Allison Brennan - Maxine is an investigative reporter back in her hometown to attend the funeral of her high school friend. She begins to investigate a recent unsolved murder and that leads her to secrets about an old murder.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Son by Jo Nesbo - this is a stand alone, not part of his Harry Hole' series. Sonny has spent almost half his life in prison when he discovers something about his father and escapes. He begins revenge killing. The police and criminals are looking for him. Although Sonny is also a criminal and does some horrendous things, I somehow found myself rooting for him. A couple of unexpected twists at the end. I really like the way this author writes. Would be rated R for violence if it were a movie.
5 stars
4 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dying Words by C.A. Larmer - a free e-book and part of a series about a ghostwriter who seems to get involved in murder mysteries while working on a book. A man's dying words are about Roxy Parker and something he gave her. She's hired by the man's daughter to find out what. I might have enjoyed it more if I had started the series at the beginning but I won't be reading anymore.
2 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raiders of the Nile by Steven Saylor - a prequel to the Gordianus the Finder novels, this finds Gordianus in Alexandria as young man. His slave (and love), Bethesda is kidnapped in error and he must join a band of thieves to get her back.
3.5 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer - I don't usually like political intrigue stories but this moved right along and didn't have a lot of characters. An archivist at the National Archives sneaks an old friend into a secret area and starts a chain of events that lead all the way to the president.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bird Box by Josh Malerman - something is out there and if you see it you go mad. Malorie decides to leave the house where she has lived with her children the last four years to try to find a safe place. And she has to make the trip blindfolded, using her children as her ears. The story goes back and forth between the journey and what has lead up to it. This book made me really nervous, I didn't have a clue how it would end. A little gruesome in parts. Also, one of the most beautiful dedications I've read.
5 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs - the second of the Miss Peregrine and the peculiar children novels. Now the children are trying to get to London during WWII to return Miss Peregrine to her human form. These are YA books and there is the obligatory romance and matter of factness violence.
4 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notorious by Allison Brennan - Maxine is an investigative reporter back in her hometown to attend the funeral of her high school friend. She begins to investigate a recent unsolved murder and that leads her to secrets about an old murder.
3 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Son by Jo Nesbo - this is a stand alone, not part of his Harry Hole' series. Sonny has spent almost half his life in prison when he discovers something about his father and escapes. He begins revenge killing. The police and criminals are looking for him. Although Sonny is also a criminal and does some horrendous things, I somehow found myself rooting for him. A couple of unexpected twists at the end. I really like the way this author writes. Would be rated R for violence if it were a movie.
5 stars
Sunday, May 18, 2014
May 11-17, 2014
The Flatey Enigma by Victor Arnar Ingolfsson - The Flatey Saga is a real book that is a collection of Icelandic sagas. The story is built around a riddle posed by the sagas. An unidentified body is found on an uninhabited islet close to Flatey island. The story takes place in 1960 and is a good look at how the islanders live. In between each chapter is a portion of the Saga. Usually gruesome. There are so many Icelandic names and places that I had a little trouble keeping track of things.
2 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman - a woman involved in a hit and run claims she is one of two sisters kidnapped 30 years ago but she refuses to talk about it. The story goes back and forth in time and has many viewpoints.
4 stars
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3 a.m. by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins has a condition so rare it's named after him. He is only awake one hour a day, 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. One night he hears a woman scream and sees a man coming out of her house - the President. This was a free ebook and I really enjoyed it. Parts were amusing but it was also a little crude in places.
4 stars
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Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey - a murder investigation set in Ghana. Inspector Donnie Darko is sent to the same town his mother disappeared from 25 years ago to investigate a murder. He's hot tempered and sometimes lets that get the best of him when dealing with suspects. He's not always a law abiding policeman. It was interesting to read a mystery set in a country I'm not familiar with. I'll be reading the next in the series.
3 stars
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The Creaky Knees Guide Washington by Seabury Blair Jr. - a guide to 100 hikes the author thinks are easy. Actually, the ratings go from stroll in the park to knee punishing, so they're not all easy. A brief description of each hike.
2 stars
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Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter - everyone in this book has an anger problem: the killer, the coroner, the ex-husband sheriff, the detective. Also very graphic. I should have quit but wanted to know who dunnit. Won't be reading any more by this author.
1 star
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Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - the first Phyrne Fisher novel. I have watched the first season of the Miss Fisher mysteries but my sister told me the books were different enough to read. Phyrne is a wealthy (although not always so) single woman in the 1920's. She is asked to go to Australia to find out what is wrong with a young woman. She gets caught up in a cocaine ring. Some s*x scenes. A little too much description of what she's wearing and eating.
3 stars
2 stars
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What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman - a woman involved in a hit and run claims she is one of two sisters kidnapped 30 years ago but she refuses to talk about it. The story goes back and forth in time and has many viewpoints.
4 stars
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3 a.m. by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins has a condition so rare it's named after him. He is only awake one hour a day, 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. One night he hears a woman scream and sees a man coming out of her house - the President. This was a free ebook and I really enjoyed it. Parts were amusing but it was also a little crude in places.
4 stars
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Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey - a murder investigation set in Ghana. Inspector Donnie Darko is sent to the same town his mother disappeared from 25 years ago to investigate a murder. He's hot tempered and sometimes lets that get the best of him when dealing with suspects. He's not always a law abiding policeman. It was interesting to read a mystery set in a country I'm not familiar with. I'll be reading the next in the series.
3 stars
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The Creaky Knees Guide Washington by Seabury Blair Jr. - a guide to 100 hikes the author thinks are easy. Actually, the ratings go from stroll in the park to knee punishing, so they're not all easy. A brief description of each hike.
2 stars
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Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter - everyone in this book has an anger problem: the killer, the coroner, the ex-husband sheriff, the detective. Also very graphic. I should have quit but wanted to know who dunnit. Won't be reading any more by this author.
1 star
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Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - the first Phyrne Fisher novel. I have watched the first season of the Miss Fisher mysteries but my sister told me the books were different enough to read. Phyrne is a wealthy (although not always so) single woman in the 1920's. She is asked to go to Australia to find out what is wrong with a young woman. She gets caught up in a cocaine ring. Some s*x scenes. A little too much description of what she's wearing and eating.
3 stars
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