What Are We Reading And Reviewing in February 2020?

Share Your February Reads With Us.

📌 - ★
Carol's February Reads

Group Reads
📌Stone Circle - Elly Griffith - 4.5★
📌Final Option- Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison - 5+★

Pick A Winner...
📌A Litter of Bones - J.D. Kirk - 2.5★

Others
📌Mirror Image - Michael Scott - 3★
📌Dead Sleeping Shaman - Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli - 3★
📌Every Heart A Doorway - Senan McGuire - 2.5★
📌In a House of Lies - Ian Rankin 4.5 ★
📌The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - by Dorothy L. Sayers - 4★
📌Triple Six - Erica Spindler - 3.5★
📌Spook House - Michael West - 3.5★
📌Her One Mistake - Heidi Perks - 5★
📌Desperation - Stephen King - 3★
📌In The Blood - Lisa Unger - 5★
📌Watching You - Lisa Jewell - 4★
📌If I Can't Have YouDeadly Notions - Elizabeth Lynn Casey - 3★
📌Burn Down The Ground - Kambri Crews - 3★
📌Silver Sparrow - Tayari Jones - 3★
📌The Snowman - Jo Nesbo - 3.5★
📌The Never-Open Desert Diner - James Anderson - 4.5★
📌The Heavens May Fall - Allen Eskens - 4.5★
📌Haunted - Kay Hooper - 4★
📌One Big Pair of Underwear - 4★
📌The Lucky Elephant Restaurant - Garry Ryan - 4.5★
📌Crooked River - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child - 5★
📌Ask Anna - Anna Koontz (Dean probably had a hand in it) - 5★
📌Fear The Dark - Kay Hooper - 3★
📌The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton - 4.5★
📌Big Lies in A Small Town - Diane Chamberlain - 5★

Dusty's TBR for February
SF/Fantasy
P K Dick - Ubik
Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon
Algis Budrys - Rogue Moon ✔
Ransom Riggs - Map of Days ✔
Simon Goodwin - Hubble's Universe ✔
Naomi Novik - His Majesty's Dragon✔
Naomi Novik - Throne of Jade ✔
Naomi Novik - Black Powder War ✔

from other genres

Kenneth Grahame - The Reluctant Dragon ✔
Arthur W Upfield - Murder Down Under
Katie Fforde - A Vintage Wedding ✔
Joan Aiken - A Necklace of Raindrops ✔

One Big Pair of Underwear - Laura Gehl
4★

Count and share with…underwear! Come along on a zany adventure with hilarious pictures from the New York Times bestselling illustrator of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. What’s one thing that two bears, three yaks, four goats, and six cats have in common? They hate to share. But look out—here comes a pack of twenty pigs ready to prove that sharing makes everything twice as fun!

Take one counting book...mix it with a comical tale of underwear-sharing...add some tongue-twisting rhymes...and soon there will be uncontrollable laughter. For those of you that may wonder if I have finally flipped out or am going through my second childhood...let me try to explain. It was for a challenge... and I "borrowed" 3 five year olds to share it with me. They loved it and so did I. The teacher in me competed with the biologist in me, and came to the conclusion that a fun and silly story with a focus on math and sharing concepts was okay for any age.

Every Heart A Doorway - Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children series Book #1
2.5★

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children...No Solicitations...No Visitors...No Quests. Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things. No matter the cost.

I was underwhelmed. I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels to begin with but have read some fairly good ones over the years. It was not the writing. It was well written... but the characters were all flat and one dimensional not to mention mostly unlikable. The plot boiled down to little more than a murder-mystery with an unsatisfying ending. I just didn't get the "other worlds" aspect. Fans of fantasy novels will probably love it.

The Lucky Elephant Restaurant - Garry Ryan
Detective Lane Series Book #2
4.5★

When the young daughter of popular radio talk show host Bobbie Reddie disappears along with Bobbie’s ex-husband, Detectives Lane and Harper are on the case. Haunted by flashbacks from a previous missing child case, Lane once again takes to the streets of Calgary looking for answers.

The book starts out with the mystery already known with Lane and his partner working to proof what they think they know. They are thoroughly convinced that the mother is responsible for the deaths of her four-year-old daughter and her ex-husband. Lane is now concerned with gathering the proof since the other child, a son, is clearly traumatized. While the search goes on his hands are being tied by an orchestrated campaign to convince the public the Calgary police are harassing a popular talk show host and religious leader. I like the characters of Lane and his partner, Arthur. They are smart…methodical and very likable. Anyone that likes a good detective series will like this one.

Moby-Dick, Or, the Whale – Herman Melville
Digital audiobook performed by Anthony Heald
4****

This is a re-read … sort of. The first time I attempted this book I was only 11 years old, in 7th grade, and participating in a “great books” discussion group. I gave up and relied on the Cliff’s notes and watching the movie with Gregory Peck as Ahab.

Some years ago, I read Nathaniel Philbrick’s excellent In the Heart Of the Sea, a nonfiction account of the whaleship Essex, which was the inspiration for Melville’s tale. I found it fascinating and commented “Almost makes me want to read Moby Dick.”

Well I didn’t forget that urge and decided to give the audiobook a try. I’m glad I did.

Yes, Melville writes in great detail – ad nauseum – about the intricacies of whaling, the various species of aquatic mammals, the arduous and dirty (even disgusting) job of butchering the carcass. But he also explores the relationships developed among the crew, the sights of new ports, the weeks of tedious boredom broken by a day or two of exhilarating chase.

And then there is the psychology of Ahab. A man tortured by his own obsession and need for revenge. That was the most interesting part of the book for me and I wanted much more of it.

I struggled with my rating and ultimately decided on 4 stars for the enduring quality of the work; despite its flaws and the things I disliked about it it’s a work that will stay with me.

Anthony Heald was the narrator of the audio book I got from my library. He did a fine job of the narration. He read at a good pace and brought some life to a work that frequently bogs down in minutia.

Saturday morning I woke up about 4:30 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep. about 5:00 a.m. I had decided to try reading "for a little bit" and by 8:30 a.m. finished Where Winter Finds You which is part of the Black Dagger Brotherhood paranormal/urban fantasy/romance series by J.R. Ward. It was good and quite engrossing to me. I liked that it wrapped up a not so very happy ending of one of her previous books.

In The Blood - Lisa Unger
5★

Lana Granger lives a life of lies. She has told so many lies about where she comes from and who she is that the truth is like a cloudy nightmare she can't quite recall. About to graduate from college and with her trust fund almost tapped out, she takes a job babysitting a troubled boy named Luke. Expelled from schools all over the country, the manipulative young Luke is accustomed to controlling the people in his life. But, in Lana, he may have met his match. Or has Lana met hers?

The book, from the very first chapter is a train wreck on it's way to happen. You know it's going to happen..you don't know when...but you just can't look away. it also brings up the debate of nature vs nurture...are some people just born bad? Lisa has a secret... but I didn't figure it out until I was nearly finished with the book. Fans of physiological, dark thrillers will not be sorry they read this one.

Manhattan Beach / Jennifer Egan
3 stars

When Anna is young, she goes on business with her father to visit Dexter Styles and while their fathers are talking, Anna and Dexter’s daughter head to the beach to play. When Anna is grown up, the Second World War is happening, her father has since disappeared, and Anna is working, but what she really wants to do is learn to dive.

I listened to the audio. There were three (?) narrators (the two male narrators (I think) sounded very similar to me; I couldn’t tell their voices apart, plus there was one female narrator). The book was mostly from Anna’s and Dexter’s points of view, but occasionally Eddie’s (Anna’s father’s) POV came into play, as well.

As expected, for me, I lost interest more in the male narrated portions. I did (eventually) enjoy Anna’s, particularly her quest to learn to dive. I did not like Dexter at all, though. (Not surprising, really, as he was a mobster), so I didn’t like when Anna’s and Dexter’s paths crossed. I also just didn’t like him. Not sure if I would have liked it better had I not listened to the audio; I’m still not sure the gangster/mobster aspect of Dexter would have interested me, anyway.

Haunted - Kay Hooper
Bishop SCU series Book #15
4★

How do you make peace with the dead if the dead aren’t ready to forgive? In New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper’s new novel, the answer lies in the twisting shadows of a small town, and its secrets yet unearthed. When Deacon James’s younger sister Melanie calls him, terrified, he goes to her aid in the small Georgia town of Sociable. What he finds is a scared young woman in the grip of what she insists is a paranormal nightmare—and murder. Two local men have been killed under mysterious circumstances. And Melanie is the prime suspect.

I have read almost all of Kay Hooper's work over the years and always found her Bishop series to be almost "hauntingly" perfect. It's been sometime since I read the last one so picked up one I hadn't read before. Maybe it's because it was the 15th book in this series but I found along with the start of a wonderful ghost/murder/mystery there was an unusual amount of background about the abilities of each character and things that had happened in the past. I gave it 4 stars because when the author got around to it...the actual story was still excellent and chilling...not to mention a great added character...Braden...the dog that was a lot more than just a dog.

The Lost Girls of Paris – Pam Jenoff
3***

Another WWII story featuring women working as spies through the underground resistance and facing untold dangers. This one starts after the war, when Grace Healey, taking a shortcut through Grand Central Station on her way to work, finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Curious, she opens the case and finds a packet of photos, each of the dozen pictures of a different woman. On impulse, she takes the photos. Later she learns the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, who died in a tragic auto accident. But Grace is determined to find out the women’s stories.

There’s much to like about this tale, though I am frankly tired of the back-and-forth timelines used by so many writers these days. The author also uses different points of view from chapter to chapter: Grace, Eleanor, and Marie Roux (a young mother who was one of the couriers working with the resistance in occupied France).

I could have done without the love interest and I thought some of Marie’s actions were inconsistent and downright stupid, given the circumstances. I thought Grace’s role was just padding. The story could easily have been told in a linear fashion with just Eleanor and Marie and would have been about 100 pages shorter.

The character I liked the most was relegated to a rather small role: Josie. She’s a spitfire of a girl and very resourceful. I loved every scene she was a part of.

The one that made the least sense to me was Julian – leader of a band of couriers, he’s in France but doesn’t speak French!

Still, the story, which is partly based on true events, moved quickly and was engaging and interesting. A decent vacation read.

A Noise Downstairs / Linwood Barclay
4 stars

When Paul came across Kenneth, a co-worker, on a deserted road, it appeared Kenneth was trying to dump a couple of bodies! Paul suffered a head injury while Kenneth was arrested and sent to jail on two counts of murder and one of attempted murder (Paul). Months later, Paul has been working with a therapist for both the head injury and just getting past what he went through. He decides he’d like to revisit the event and try to figure out what happened to make Kenneth do such a thing. When Paul’s wife, Charlotte, brings home an old typewriter – similar to one Kenneth used when he killed his victims – things start happening...

As with all Barclay’s books, this was really good. I loved the idea of the old typewriter and I could hear the sounds it made in my head. It was also quite creepy, at times. It was hard to know what was happening with Paul, and the twists were a surprise to me.

If I Can't Have You - Gregg Olsen
4★

Every once in a great while a genuine murder mystery unfolds before the eyes of the American public. The tragic story of Susan Powell and her murdered boys, Charlie and Braden, is the only case that rivals the Jon Benet Ramsey saga in the annals of true crime. When the pretty, blonde Utah mother went missing in December of 2009 the media was swept up in the story – with lenses and microphones trained on Susan's husband, Josh. He said he had no idea what happened to his young wife, and that he and the boys had been camping in the middle of a snowstorm. Over the next three years bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal more shocking secrets. Josh's father, Steve, who was sexually obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable perversion. Josh's brother, Michael, would commit suicide. And in the most stunning event of them all, Josh Powell would murder his two little boys and kill himself with brutality beyond belief.

Sometimes truth is more strange...and diffidently more horrific... than fiction ever thought of being. Believe me when I tell you that this IS NOT for everyone. It is an incredibly sad story that is filled with the unbelievable. You will ask yourself over and over how this could possibly be, when you read about the inadequacy of the investigation and how any law enforcement or legal system could handle a case like this the way it did? We've all heard that justice is blind but in this case it was down right, in your face, brain dead! The reader really never knows what exactly happened to this young wife and mother other than she was presumably murdered and those children were kept with their father despite all that was revealed over a staggering 2 years. It won't take you long to figure out that the story may...and should have had a different ending if the court and the legal system had only listened to the people that knew. The case in closed...still unsolved. It leaves the entire story feeling anticlimactic and reader feeling frustrated and cheated...but believe me we are not the ones that were cheated.

Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman
Anne Helen Petersen
5/5 stars
Petersen writes an engrossing book on the way the world views certain women that buck the traditional roles of mother, wife and female role model. Told through the stories of various women, including Serena Williams, Hillary Clinton, Lena Dunham, Melissa McCarthy and others in the public eye, this book will astound you (or not) about the treatment of women and the double standards that they have had to deal with.

Desperation - Stephen King
3★

A little mining town...Desperation...that many will enter on their way to somewhere else. But getting out is not easy as it would seem. Located off a desolate stretch of Interstate 50, Desperation, Nevada, has few connections with the rest of the world. It is a place, though, where the seams between worlds are thin. And it is a place where several travelers are abducted by Collie Entragian, the maniacal police officer of Desperation. Entragian uses various ploys for the abductions, from an arrest for drug possession to "rescuing" a family from a nonexistent gunman. There's something very wrong here, all right, and Entragian is only the surface of it. The secrets embedded in Desperation's landscape and the evil that infects the town like some viral hot zone are both awesome and terrifying. But as one of the travelers, young David Carver, seems to know - though it scares him nearly to death to realize it - so are the forces summoned to combat.

I love Stephen King and always look forward to a book he has written. While the story is good in the usual Stephen King fashion...the book itself is way, way, way too long with way, way, way too much useless detail... long and drawn out dialogues... and excessive over-the-top character development. After about 100 pages or so the plot thins and I found myself caring little for the characters. That was unfortunate as the paperback edition had 693. Still he is still the King of Horror...Long live the King!

The Fabulous Bouvier Sisters – Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger
Digital Audio narrated by Bernadette Dunne.
4****

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Tragic and Glamorous lives of Jackie and Lee
The book jacket notes that when Jackie Kennedy Onassis died she left numerous bequests to friends and family, but nothing to her sister. Jackie’s will stated: I have made no provision in this my Will for my sister, lee B Radziwill, for whom I have great affection, because I have already done so during my lifetime.” Ouch.

Based on interviews with Lee Radziwill and various friends of both Lee and Jackie, the authors have crafted a mini biography and exploration of their complicated and tight relationship, from children of divorced parents, to women married to powerful and/or wealthy men. Like any siblings there were disagreements, rivalries, jealousy, fierce loyalty, affection, and competition. Living so much of their adult lives in the spotlight certainly contributed to some of these feelings.

All told I found it fascinating and full of the kind of gossip that enthralls me. It’s an interesting look at the dynamic between these two sisters and their claims to fame.

Bernadette Dunne did a marvelous job of reading the audio version. She set a good pace, and her narration held my attention.

Dead Sleeping Shaman - Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
Emily Kincaid series Book #3
3★

The End Timers, a cult-like group, have descended on part-time journalist and aspiring mystery author Emily Kincaid’s small Michigan town. With dire warnings that the end of the world is just two weeks away, the entire community has been disrupted by psychics, cult followers, believers and disbelievers alike. But when Emily’s latest job assignment leads her to an eerily motionless woman propped against a tree, she realizes that at least one person’s world has come to an end all too soon.

I picked the book mainly because it took place in my state...Michigan, and also because it fit into one of my never-ending challenges. I found it was...in a good way...a 'simple" read. it didn't require a great deal of thought and the writing flowed nicely. Anyone that doesn't want blood and guts cluttering up their murder mysteries will find this series fits that requirement perfectly.

Crooked River - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Agent Pendergast series Book #19
5★

Appearing out of nowhere to horrify the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, dozens of identical, ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and are washed up on the tropical beach--each one with a crudely severed human foot inside. An early pathology report only adds to the mystery. With an ocean of possibilities confronting the investigation, no one is sure what happened, why, or from where the feet originated. And they desperately need to know: are the victims still alive?

A shoe complete with a severed foot inside is not what the average beachcomber is looking to find. To make matters worse the foot is not alone...soon more a hundred more bob up. Special Agent Pendergast teams up with the junior Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon to investigate this strange phenomenon.. The source remains a mystery although Pendergast and Coldmoon come up with quirky ideas... but that isn't unusual for Pendergast. "Quirky" is a good word as any to use to describe this story as well as this entire series. There is plenty of suspense... but readers be warned that the action gets bloody. It's a great addition to this series that never becomes dull even after nearly 20 books.

A Litter of Bones - J.D. Kirk
DCI Logan series Book #1
2.5★

Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made? Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper,' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process. Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Investigations Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw...and what he did. When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home. But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago? If so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?

J.D. Kirk writes comedy under a different pen name but believe me this is far from comical. I liked the character of DCI Logan and I liked the team he worked with. The story plot was very good and the writing was excellent. So why not a 3 or 5 star rating?? Because the animal torture was NOT!!! I almost didn't finish the book. I'm going to try another and if it continues in that vain...it will be my last one.

Ask Anna- advice for the Furry and Forlorn - Anna Koontz-(okay...maybe Dean too)
5★

Anna Koontz is Dean's remarkable dog who is poised to follow in her dad's footsteps with her first advice book for canines. She will soon become canine columnist to the world! With her superior intellect, sharp wit, a warm and fuzzy heart, Anna Koontz debuts her talent as an advice columnist in her seminal work ASK ANNA: ADVICE FOR THE FURRY AND FORLORN. Some of her best advice: take time daily for ball-chasing and belly rubs - the keys (along with sausages) to true canine joy. Learn more about the problems that plague Anna's clients and be inspired by how she counsels them. Also delight in Dean's just slightly skewed perspective on the importance of dogs throughout history. Without their advice, we humans would be in even worse trouble than we are today. They're heaven-sent (what is dog spelled backwards?!)

96 pages of absolute cuteness on 4-legs. Anna's advice is 110% better than some I have recently heard from the two-legged species. If you like animals of any kind you will love spending a half hour with Anna. I believe her thoughts in the very last page is spot on. " How can you not worry about a species that won't always give a dog sofa privileges...that thinks tacos are only human food...that saves our poop in little plastic bags- to what possible purpose-...and that builds nuclear bombs? But you gotta love them. Love is the only thing that will save them."

The Infinite Sea / Rick Yancey
3 stars

This is a continuation of “The 5th Wave”. The human population has mostly been wiped out by an alien invasion. Some young people are left and a small group of them are trying to survive.

Ok, sadly, it’s hard to come up with a good synopsis. It wasn’t long ago I read the first book, but it was long enough that a recap would have been nice, but I didn’t get one (I don’t think; this time, I listened to the audio, so lost focus for a good portion of it). This was also harder to “get into” because many of the characters go by two names, so that didn’t help me remember things from the first one (I particularly forgot that “Zombie” = “Ben” for a good portion of this one).

I’m still rating it ok for the parts I paid attention to. I think I will continue with the third book, as I still want to know what’s going on (and I will admit that there was an interesting storyline happening at the end of this one). I will just have to remember to NOT listen to the audio. Oh, I also missed until 3/4 of the way through, that the female narrator wasn’t just narrating from Cassie’s POV, but also from Ringer’s. So, I’m not sure how much of Ringer’s story I heard (or, maybe, didn’t hear!), thinking I was listening to Cassie. Sigh.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident / Donnie Eichar
3.75 stars

Nine Russian hikers disappeared in February 1959 while hiking in the Ural Mountains in Siberia. When they were found, their tent was all set up nicely, though it had a few rips, and their bodies were a ways from the tent. The oddest part was that they were in various states of (un)dress and not one of them was wearing their boots. This was in very cold -- far below freezing -- weather. The American author heard of the mystery and was interested in trying to figure out what happened.

The book was told in three different “parts” - the hikers (almost all in their early 20s), based on photos and diaries; the searchers, only a month to three months following the hikers’ disappearance; and the author’s trek to Russia to see what he could find out (including a trip to the place they disappeared, and interviews with a tenth hiker (in his 70s when the author met him), who had had to turn back early due to health issues).

I was particularly interested in the parts from the ‘50s. The author’s story, I didn’t find quite as interesting, until he came closer to the end where he ruled out many theories (and, of course, explained why he ruled them out), and put forth a scientific theory as to what may have caused the hikers to retreat from their tent, to ultimately succumb to the elements. There were plenty of photos included, as well.

Honolulu – Alan Brennert
3.5***

From the book jacket: The rich, unforgettable story of a young "picture bride" who journeys to Hawai'i in 1914 in search of a better life. Instead of the affluent young husband and chance at an education that she has been promised, she is quickly married off to a poor, embittered laborer who takes his frustrations out on his new wife. Renaming herself Jin, she makes her own way in this strange land, finding both opportunity and prejudice. With the help of three of her fellow picture brides, Jin prospers along with her adopted city, now growing from a small territorial capital into the great multicultural city it is today.

My reactions:
I loved Brennert’s Molokai’i and wanted to love this one as well. My husband actually read the book a few years ago and thought it was good, but I just had never gotten around to it. A long travel journey prompted me to bring it along and I was glad that I did.

Regret / Jin is a marvelous character. She starts out a shy, subservient girl and grows throughout the novel into a strong woman. Yes, she still fills the traditional role of wife and mother, but she refuses to be held down by societal expectations. She finds a way to succeed and thrive, while still upholding the traditional ways she finds so hard to discard.

I’ve visited Hawaii several times and could picture many of the settings depicted in the novel, despite the vast differences in today’s Honolulu from that of 1914. I was fascinated by the history lesson and the glimpse into life during that time period. I also really appreciated the author’s note at the end, where he comments on the “real-life” May Thompson and how W. Sommerset Maugham used her life experiences in one of his novels.

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - Dorothy L. Sayers
Lord Peter Wimsey series
4★

On November 11, ninety-year-old General Fentiman is found dead in an armchair at the Bellona Club. No one knows exactly when his death occurred—information essential in determining the recipient of a substantial inheritance. But that is only one of the mysteries vexing Lord Peter Wimsey. The aristocratic sleuth needs every bit of his amazing skills to discover why the proud officer's lapel was missing the requisite red poppy on Armistice Day, how the Bellona Club's telephone was fixed without a repairman, and, most puzzling of all, why the great man's knee swung freely when the rest of him was stiff with rigor mortis.

I love the DVD's made from Dorothy Sayers' books so was excited to get this one. Like all her stories the plot was clever...the story was unusual not offering an easy solution to the strange puzzle confronting Lord Wimsey. These books fall into the the category of good old fashion murder mysteries. If this is something that appeals to you...give one of this author's books a try or start with a DVD.

Mirror Image - Michael Scott
3★

In an auction house in London, there is a mirror no one will buy. Standing seven feet tall and reaching four feet across, its size makes it unusual. Its horrific powers make it extraordinary. For centuries, the mirror has fed off of the lives of humans, giving them agonizing deaths and sucking their souls into its hellish world. Now the mirror is awakening again and its powers are resurfacing.

A mirror that feeds on human souls...what a great premise for a terrorizing novel! For several chapters the author pulled it off...well enough to earn it 3 stars from me. The problem was that it turns out the mirror not only fed on blood and souls...it also fed on sex. I'm not opposed to sex in a book or a movie but there was a LOT of it here and it seemed to be endless. The shift through different timelines was also sometimes hard to follow. Still the idea and and the story minus the endless sex...was worthy of the 3 stars.

Fear The Dark - Kay Hooper
Bishop SCU series Book #16
3★

Something strange is happening in the small mountain town of Serenity, Tennessee. People going on routine errands never reach their destination. It’s as if they simply disappear. Over the past few weeks, it’s happened to five men and women—and now a child. The local police chief calls the FBI, and a team from the Special Crimes Unit is immediately sent in. Agents Lucas and Samantha Jordan, partners in work and in life, have very different abilities. Samantha is clairvoyant and Lucas possesses a unique ability to find the lost or abducted. With them are new partners Dante Swann, a medium, and Robbie Hodge, a telepath. The town is already on the edge of panic, but the mysterious events take a sinister turn when a body unrelated to the missing persons case surfaces and one of the SCU agents vanishes. Now, the team’s hunt for the lost has turned into something very personal…and very dangerous.

The story was especially interesting at the beginning. How did the teenagers disappear leaving all of their belongings in the car with the doors all open...but when the police photographed the car the doors all appeared to be closed and the footprints that they had seen had all disappeared? I almost expected space aliens. The story would have progressed better from then on if it had been space aliens. Five more people just vanished and the FBI team of psychics arrived and spent countless hours going over their various skills...just as they did in the book I read before this one, Haunted. I don't know how or why an interesting beginning seems to always turn into the same old same old. I gave it 3 stars because I really liked the beginning of the story and the little mountain town of Serenity along with Jonah, the sheriff. I wish it would have continued in the vein that it started out in.

Triple Six - Erica Spndler
The Lightkeepers series Book #2
3.5★

A string of shocking home invasions . . . The desperate search for the child who holds the secrets to them all . . .A series of sixes tattooed on a victim’s neck . . .The countdown continues . Detectives Micki Dare and Zach Harris are back. It’s been three months since that night - the night that Micki almost died. Physically, she's healed but the nightmares remain, and she can't shake the feeling that more happened that night than Zach is telling her. But why would her partner lie to her? Micki focuses on putting the past behind her and solving the latest case she and Zach have been assigned to. A string of brutal home invasions are rocking New Orleans, and the families targeted seemingly have nothing in common. Why do the victim’s children have such startlingly different accounts of the invasions? These are no ordinary crimes and there’s something terrifyingly familiar at work. A dark force has returned, more powerful than ever. Suddenly, Do they really want to learn the truth about that night?

This is part of a paranormal series with characters that are likable and really come to life. I was hoping for a little more paranormal theme and by the end of the book I felt that it had more of a "secret experiment that had gone sideways" feel to it. However the mystery/thriller feel with a romantic angle is there in spades. I believe that Erica Spindler should decide which genre these books are going to take and stick more to it. Good stories...good plots...great characters... but too much an across the board feel overall.

Thanks to my insomnia, I finished off my re-read of Summer Knight by Jim Butcher about 2:00 this morning. My second go-around doesn't really change much of what I thought of the book from my original review from a few years back (review on the book page). I really like the characters, although the battle sequences got to be a little wordy for me and I have to admit I did a little skimming on that front. It was nice to see Harry, the main character, come out a little less pulverized at the end. Overall, certainly not my favorite installment of this series, but I am looking forward to re-reading the next of the series.

I will be taking a short break on Dresden while I wait on the next book to come in from the library. In the meantime I plan to start The Hand on the Wall which is the last of a YA murder/mystery trilogy I started about a month or two ago. Also, still reading Bitter Pill on my Kindle off and on.

Split Estate / Charlotte Bacon
3 stars

After Arthur’s wife, Laura, kills herself by throwing herself off their balcony in New York, Arthur decides to take his two teenage kids to Wyoming, where they will all stay with his mother on what land she has left that she hasn’t sold (can’t really call it a ranch!). The kids have to learn how to fit in to this rural area, as well as figure out how to deal with their grief.

It’s told from all four characters points of view: Arthur; his mother Lucy; his son Cam; and his daughter Celia. It’s kind of slow, but a decent story. I liked the different points of view that explored their new life in Wyoming, as well as thinking back on each of their relationships with Laura. I wasn’t real happy with the ending, though.

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know
Malcolm Gladwell
5/5 stars
I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell and this book did not disappoint me. Gladwell discusses the differences in how people communicate and what can go wrong when our communication styles don’t match. I thought the chapter on the arrest of Sandra Bland quite disheartening and definitely a case of miscommunication.

The Heavens May Fall - Allen Eskens
4.5★

Detective Max Rupert's and attorney Boady Sanden's friendship is being pushed to the breaking point. Max is convinced that Jennavieve Pruitt was killed by her husband, Ben. Boady is equally convinced that Ben, his client, is innocent. As the case unfolds, the two are forced to confront their own personal demons. Max is still struggling with the death of his wife four years earlier, and the Pruitt case stirs up old memories. Boady hasn't taken on a defense case since the death of an innocent client, a man Boady believes he could have saved but didn't. Now he is back in court, with student Lila Nash at his side, and he's determined to redeem himself for having failed in the past. Vividly told from two opposing perspectives, the truth about the stunning death of Jennavieve Pruitt remains a mystery until the very end.

The only book... until this one...that I had read by this author was The Life We Bury and I hoped at the end of that one that he was going to write another one. Seems I'm a day late and a dollar short seeing as how he wrote 2 more since that one. Glad I found this one and was reacquainted with some old friends from the first one. Like most mystery readers, I love to try to figure out the who and why of the story, but one twist was proceeded by another and another making the ending something that I never contemplated. Lets get on with the next book, Mr. Eskens.

>31 JulieLill: Oh, I think I should add this. BB it is!

Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, A Mother's Love... / Terri Roberts
3 stars

In 2006, Charlie Roberts walked in to an Amish school and shot 10 girls – 5 died, 5 were injured – between the ages of 6 and 13. He then shot himself. He and his family were neighbours to the Amish community, and he (and his father) often worked with the Amish. He knew some of the girls he shot. This was written by his mother, detailing how she came to terms with what happened with the help of the Amish community as they supported each other in this tragedy.

It was interesting, but there was a LOT of God and religion. (I was warned just before I started reading the book.) After a bit, I mostly skimmed over those parts. I will admit that it was quite amazing how the Amish families were able to reach out and support the Roberts’ while the Amish were trying to come to grips with their own losses. It is impressive that years later, she still has a relationship with many of those Amish families (as well as the one injured girl (6-years old at the time) who will never heal).

Burn Down The Ground - Kambri Crews
3★

A powerful, affecting, and unflinching memoir, a daughter looks back on her unconventional childhood with deaf parents in rural Texas while trying to reconcile it to her present life—one in which her father is serving a twenty-year sentence in a maximum-security prison.

It was an okay read. I don't know why it just didn't grab me and I confess that I skimmed some parts. The thing that I thought stood out the most was how the author explained many things about the deaf culture that are not even thought of by people that can hear. I will have to give Kambri Crews a great deal of credit for writing from compassion and honesty. It's on the same order as Jeanette Walls The Glass Castle. The two authors shared very similar backgrounds.

Deadly Notions - Elizabeth Lynn Casey
Southern Sewing Circle series Book #4
3★

Librarian Tori Sinclair would do anything for her new circle of friends-including throw a birthday bash for a fellow sewer's daughter. While the party is a hit, self-important pageant mom Ashley Lawson leaves the ladies wanting to permanently shut her high maintenance mouth. But when Ashley turns up dead, Tori and the girls need to figure out who really murdered the monster mom, before the finger-pointing causes their friendship to unravel.

Based in a small town in South Carolina, you have to laugh at times at the antics and nosiness of some of the characters. By the same token there are times that you would gladly kill the whole bunch. The books are cozies and they are not my favorite mystery genre… but occasionally they will fit…you guessed it…a challenge. Don’t expect anything intense or “on the edge of your seat” excitement in these mysteries. On the other hand they won’t give you nightmares either. They are among some of the best of this genre that I have read. If you just want something light to read…these just might be fit the bill..

Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops
James Robert Parish
3.5/5 stars
Written in 2006, this book can certainly be updated but as a movie buff, I had seen many of the movies in the book as the author breaks down the reasons each movie failed. There are a couple of movies in the book that I did enjoyed. I liked Paint Your Wagon and Last Action Hero but I definitely agree that Showgirls, Robin William’s Popeye and Ishtar were completely terrible. This book is definitely for movie fans. It would be interesting to see a updated version of this book!

Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof / Blaize Clement
4 stars

Pet sitter Dixie is watching (with the help of her elderly friend, Pete), a service dog to a little 3-year old boy (who needs to be in the hospital for a surgery). Next door, Dixie meets Laura, a beautiful woman who recently moved in. Dixie and Laura quickly become friends when Laura reveals that she recently left her husband and is hiding from him. It’s not long before Laura is found murdered in her house.

This is a pretty good rating for a cozy mystery from me (often they are 3 or 3.5 stars). It’s a light book and a light series, but I really enjoyed this one. Of course, I love the pets in these stories and I love some of the secondary characters – Dixie’s friends and family – particularly her brother Michael, and his partner, Paco.

Final Option - Clive Cussler & Boyd Morrison
Oregon Files series Book #14
5+★

When the CIA realizes the identities of three American spies in Brazil have been compromised, they turn to Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon to rescue the agents. What seems a routine operation turns out to be a trap designed by Juan Cabrillo's greatest enemy, a man driven by hate to seek the ultimate revenge. At the heart of the plot is a state-of-the-art ship that is identical to the Oregon: same weaponry, same technology, same ability to evade capture. The only thing it doesn't have is Cabrillo and his talented crew. But will they be enough to go up against the one ship that rivals their own? The crew of the Oregon must piece together a series of disturbing events, including the mysterious sinking of a nuclear attack submarine and the possible discovery of a WWII-era weapon that was thought to be lost in the jungles of Brazil, in the ultimate game of cat and mouse.

If anyone remembers going to Saturday matinees that ended in a cliffhanger that kept you coming back week after week for more until finally the unforgettable, climatic ending started another adventure the next week...will really love this book. I have read all the previous books in this series and have never been disappointed but this one is on an entirely different level. I can't wait for the next installment to see what the Oregon crew has come up with to carry on their missions. Boyd Morrison really outdid himself here. I learned long ago that fiction was just that...fiction...it's just a story and not reality...but there was one scene in this one that brought tears to my eyes. Bet it won't take most readers long to find it.

Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows – Balli Kaur Jaswal
Digital audiobook performed by Meera Syal
4****

From the book jacket: Nikki, a modern-day daughter of Indian immigrants, has spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki impulsively takes a job teaching a “creative writing” course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-kknit Punjabi community.

My Reactions:
I was expecting something light and breezy and I was pleasantly surprised to find some depth here. Nikki is a wonderful character who shepherds her students through to success. Along the way she discovers that her long-held assumptions about the women in the community need to be examined and her opinions updated. She finds women who have suffered, and women who have relished in the joys of their role, women who are brave and those who are shy or hesitant. But all the women she encounters want MORE, and want to take some control of their lives even in the relatively small way of reading – and writing – erotic stories.

I loved the women in Nikki’s classes. Some of their stories were heartbreaking, but all of them were so willing to be open and honest in their writing. That their subject matter would “shock” their peers was not a deterrent to their need to express themselves. Brava, ladies! And through their bravery and openness, Nikki comes to learn something about herself and about the value of forgiveness and second chances.

Just a delightful book.

Meera Syal did a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. She really brought these characters to life.

WEDNESDAY – 01 Jan 20

The Cat Who Came For Christmas– Cleveland Amory
3***

On a snowy Christmas eve, Amory was contacted by a friend who had been trying to gain the trust of a stray cat who had been hanging about in a nearby alley. Ruth was sure that with the two of them working together they’d be able to capture the skittish feline. Against his better judgment, Amory went out in the snow and eventually they succeeded. But now where to take the cat? Thus this (eventually discovered to be white) cat came into Amory’s life, and they developed a close relationship (or as close as anyone can get to a cat). Polar Bear filled a hole in Amory’s life, and the animal advocate certainly ensured that Polar Bear not only survived, but thrived.

This book is a memoir of their first year together and the ways in which man and beast became a team.

I’m not much of an animal lover, but I found this reasonably interesting and entertaining. There were some quite humorous episodes (the first “bath”). Amory was a dedicated animal advocate and he uses this story to expound on many of his efforts, including stopping the slaughter of baby seals. I thought many of these sidelines detracted from the central story of a Cat and His Man.

Despite the title, there was nothing particularly “Christmassy” about the book.

Spook House - Michael West
3.5★

There are some places in this world that go far beyond any normal definition of "haunted". These places are so evil and so diabolical that they become gateways to hell itself. The Fuller Farm is one such place. It is said that old man Fuller conducted unspeakable acts, blood rituals, and human sacrifices, all in an attempt to gain the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate power. And then, he was killed - horribly murdered on his own land, leaving the house to stand as a vacant monument to his wickedness. But once a door is opened, it can never really be closed. Now, the stars are right. The gateway is ready to once more unleash unspeakable horror upon the town of Harmony, Indiana. And this will be one Halloween that they will never forget!

This was a pretty good read with some great action and likable characters. The story reminds me a great deal of the King of Horror…Stephen King’s classics such as Children of the Corn and one of my all time King favorites…Pet Sematary If you like Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft's old gods fiction/ mythology…or if you search the shelves for Halloween themed scares… you'll really like this book.

Silver Sparrow - Tayari Jones
3★

A story about a man's deception, a family's complicity, and the two teenage girls caught in the middle.Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon's two families—the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode.

The book was a quick read and reminded me somewhat of a YA novel. it was a complicated situation that the author did well, for the most part...attempting to outline and bring to a conclusion...however there was entire chapters devoted to nothing but the parents backstory and the ending was way too abrupt. It could have been very a very compelling story with some clever editing, but as it was...while I enjoyed the story for the most part...I felt it was just average.

The Family Nobody Wanted
Helen Grigsby Doss
4/5 stars
Set in the 40’s this is the true story of the Doss’s who were unable to have any children. Reaching out to an adoption agency they eventually were able to adopt one child. When they went back to try for another adoption, they were told they could only adopt one white child so Helen reached out to other agencies that had different race or mixed race children. They, eventually, through sheer determination adopted a total of 12 children. Wonderfully written and so inspirational, I sped through this book. 1954

Interesting article on the family- https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/familynobodywanted.htm

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats / Jan-Philipp Sendker
2 stars

Julia’s father disappeared, so she heads to Burma to find him. When there, she meets someone who tells her a tale of her father and another woman, a women who was not her mother.

Summed up in one word: boring. I have no idea what prompted me to add this to my tbr! Even just before starting, I looked at the title, and wondered about that – based on the title, it did not sound like something that I would like... and I was right. It actually started a bit creepy, I thought, what the man (who ultimately told the story) said to Julia. It might have been more entertaining for me had it stayed creepy! The end was super-unrealistic and eye-rolling.

Her One Mistake - Heidi Perks
5★

Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. But while her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing—and admit that she’s solely to blame. Harriet, devastated by this unbearable loss, can no longer bring herself to speak to Charlotte again, much less trust her. Now, more isolated than ever and struggling to keep her marriage afloat, Harriet believes nothing and no one. But as the police bear down on both women, trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to this little girl, dark secrets begin to surface—and Harriet discovers that trusting Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter.

Few books get a 5 star ratings from me…they have to EARN them…and this one won the grand prize. Heidi Perks has produced a bone-chilling work of psychological suspense. The characters of both Charlotte and Harriet present as very sympathetic…people that any parent can relate to. Toward the middle of the book I began to think that there might be something a little “off” about Charlotte. One of the problems I saw with her was a real-life familiar one... and of her own making. While she was supposed to be watching the girls at the fair, she was posting on her Facebook account. Everyone who follows her on the website knew that she was not only notwatching...but was entirely unaware of the children for a long extended period of time. The story goes on to explores some dark topics like abuse...isolation...deception...and desperation...with a big focus on friendships and how easily they can be destroyed. Even though it plays on a familiar and often already done before theme…it does it very well and is well worth the time to read.

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
4.5★

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dock master and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity.

The story is mysterious...interesting...and provoking. The characters were vivid...wonderful...and very believable. It is an extremely long read...over 500 pages...that jumps between three different time periods starting just before the first World War. It's not a book that will leave you pondering life's meaning but then we all know that there is nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned escapism. Overall.. it won't challenge you intellectually nor will it feed you a steady diet of sex or violence. It's just a book that will stay with you long after you close the covers.

You Are Here: Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon, but Get Lost in the Mall / Colin Ellard
3.5 stars

In this book, the author, a psychologist with a particular interest in navigation, explores why humans are so bad at finding their way. In the first section of the book, he compares us to various animals: birds, ants, bees, wasps, sea turtles, and more. In the second section, he looks at places/spaces like our houses, workplaces, cities, cyberspace and green spaces.

This was interesting. There were a few places where I tuned out a bit (during some of the scientific explanations mostly, but not all), but mostly I found it interesting. It’s no surprise that most animals are much better at navigation (for various reasons) than humans are. This was published in 2009, so the cyberspace chapter may be a bit outdated already.

Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir
Robin Ha
4/5 stars
Author Robin Ha’s graphic novel is the true story of her coming to America with her mother after being raised in South Korea. Since she only speaks Korean, she has a hard time adapting to the United States, let alone learning an unfamiliar complicated new language and trying to make new friends especially in high school where the students aren’t the friendliest. Well done!

Finished The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson last night which is the final book of her Truly Devious series. As a whole I really did enjoy the series which is a YA murder/mystery involving two time periods, the 1930s and present day. I liked the way the author tied up her loose ends here. I would definitely recommend having all three books available at the same time as they really all tell one long story.

The Laramie Project - Moises Kaufman
4.5★

Matthew Shepard was about two months short of his twenty-second birth when he was robbed, beaten, tied to a fence post and left to die in a rural area of Wyoming. The man who found him at first thought he was a scarecrow. Rushed to Poudre Valley Hospital at Fort Collins, he died on 12 October 1998--and when Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney were arrested for the crime they resorted to a defense known as "gay panic." Matthew Shepherd had propositioned them, they said, and they were so horrified that they killed him in response.

Seems there is no end to man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. I remember reading about this when it happened and everyone I encountered, that had read about it, or had seen the report on TV news…was speechless and/or horrified. The book is a quick read and very well presented. I read a lot of horror and graphic murder books but this one was so much worse because it was real. One thing that impressed me about it was that the author didn’t take sides, thus leaving the reader to make up their own mind…but I can’t image even the most staunchly homophobic individual not finding something terribly wrong or being able to make a case to justify what happened here. Just a side note…this is also on DVD.

The Snowman - Jo Nesbo
Harry Hole series Book #7
3.5 ★

One night, after the first snowfall of the year, a boy named Jonas wakes up and discovers that his mother has disappeared. Only one trace of her remains: a pink scarf, his Christmas gift to her, now worn by the snowman that inexplicably appeared in their yard earlier that day. Inspector Harry Hole suspects a link between the missing woman and a suspicious letter he’s received. The case deepens when a pattern emerges: over the past decade, eleven women have vanished—all on the day of the first snow. But this is a killer who makes his own rules . . . and he’ll break his pattern just to keep the game interesting, as he draws Harry ever closer into his twisted web.

As I was reading this I thought it was familiar. Then I remembered that I had watched the DVD that was based on this book. Mixed views on the movie but I have to say the book is much better. The scarf of a woman who had disappeared has been found wrapped around a snowman. Harry Hole of course, is the lead investigator. I didn't quiet comprehend the plot and the character motivation at first...I believe something may have gotten lost in the translation. The idea of the ever watching, evil snowman was down right creepy but things get creepier as the story shifts from substation... to plastic surgeon’s office... to coroner’s gurney... Then Harry announces, “I just have the feeling that someone is watching me the whole time, that someone is watching me now. I’m part of someone’s plan.”and so he is. I believe of all the characters involved that I actually found that I kinda liked that snowman.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes – Gennifer Choldenko
Digital audiobook narrated Kirby Heyborne.
3***

Book two in this entertaining middle-school series, set on Alcatraz Island during the Great Depression. Moose Flanagan’s dad is a guard at the maximum security prison, and the family lives in the apartments provided for workers and their families. His sister, Natalie, has a condition that is apparently autism (though that diagnosis wasn’t used in this time frame, so it is never identified as such), and attends a special boarding school. But she comes home for a visit during a school holiday and that coincides with some major events on the island.

I was completely charmed by the first book, and certainly interested in this second outing. The relationships between the kids seem real to me. Moose is unfailingly “nice” to everyone, and so is liked by both kids and adults. He’s passionate about baseball, and has a huge crush on the warden’s daughter, Piper. His gang of friends includes Jimmy, who is terrible at sports but fascinated by insects, Annie, who can throw better than most boys, and Theresa, a wise-beyond-her-years 7-year old who is Jimmy’s little sister.

Moose deals with many of the things most 12-year-olds have to face, including bullying, peer pressure, and adults who don’t understand him. But he’s also burdened by a unique relationship with one particular inmate: Al Capone.

Kirby Heyborne does a find job narrating the audiobook. He’s a little less successful trying to voice the various female characters, though he does a reasonably good job with Natalie and Theresa.

Watching You - Lisa Jewell
4★

Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.

A young newlywed couples life is upended, and a picturesque neighborhood is shattered, when she is suspected of a savage murder. As the police gather evidence, it soon becomes clear how many secrets each family has been hiding. The story consists of a complex array of characters. Sometimes it’s almost too complex along with the fact that large parts are written in third person narrative doesn’t help. The novel opens with the murder investigation and deftly maintains its intensity and brisk pace even as the story moves through different moments in time over the previous three months. Like most of this authors books the story can best be described as being a haunting psychological thriller.

The Widow / Fiona Barton
3.5 stars

Glen Taylor has been hit by a bus and killed. It is very quickly obvious that he was not a nice man and that he’d likely done some terrible things. His wife, Jean, is left behind to deal with the reporters and her new life without him. One reporter, Kate, soon “befriends” Jean to see if she can get a story.

The book flips back and forth in time and switches viewpoints (between Jean, Kate, a detective, and a couple of other viewpoints - if I’m remembering correctly, though not as often on the others). But, it’s mostly easy to follow as each chapter is headed with whose POV it is and the date. Of course, as the book continues, we learn what those terrible things Glen might have done were. With short chapters, it kept me wanting to read. I did think the ending was a bit abrupt, though.

The Library Book
Susan Orlean
5/5 stars
One of my favorite books was Orlean's book on Rin Tin Tin and so I was excited to read The Library Book and I was not disappointed. This book concentrates on the fire of the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986 and the chief suspect in the case. However, she does not tie herself down to that topic but also talks about the history of libraries and some of the people responsible for building and influencing libraries. Highly recommended!

The Never-Open Desert Diner - James Anderson
4.5★

What really happened all those years ago at the never-open desert diner? In this unforgettable story of love and loss, Ben learns the enduring truth that some violent crimes renew themselves across generations. At times it turns funny, heartbreaking and thrilling, The Never-Open Desert Diner powerfully evokes an unforgettable setting and introduces readers to a cast of characters who will linger long after the last page.

We travel a lonely stretch of desolate highway…State Road 117…in northern Utah. The highway sees it’s share of loners…drifters…ranchers, and the few “natives” that live along this road and get almost all their life supplying supplies from Ben Jones. Jones is quiet a character in himself…a half-Indian, half-Jewish independent trucker with a dry sense of humor. Ben isn’t what you would call highly or even slightly, “observant” ...but he does notice a single building standing in what was to be housing development and the woman that appears to be occupying the “such as it is” dwelling. He diffidently notices her the second time he sees her as she is naked, sitting on the porch with a stringless cello and a gun which she is diffidently pointing at him. The cast of characters and the happening continue in this vein until the last page. Think of this as a somewhat “bent”... certainly different...mystery/romance. Of the many strange characters you will meet along the pages is the one I liked the most… and from whom the book takes it’s title… the widowed septuagenarian owner, operator of the diner…an empty but well-maintained relic much like its owner, who we find has many secrets… one of which is literally too awful to comptemplate.

World Made by Hand / James Howard Kunstler
3 stars

The world has run out of oil. There has been illness, and not a lot of people are left. Robert is living in his small world in Union Grove, New York. People don’t get very far from where they live, anymore, without vehicles. There is a settlement closeby with a criminal leader, where most of the townspeople avoid. A religious cult has just moved into the abandoned high school. When Robert heads toward the closeby settlement with a friend to buy some supplies, things go terribly wrong and Robert’s young friend is shot and killed.

Despite starting off with a “bang” (so to speak), I found the book moved really slowly. It was ok. There was a bit of weirdness involving the religious cult toward the end, but the happenings picked up a little bit (with a horrible thing happening!). Overall, it was still an interesting read on people trying to get by on a much older way of life – without electricity and so many other modern conveniences as we are used to.

The President is Missing – Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Book on CD read by Dennis Quade with January LaVoy, Peter Ganim, Jeremy Davidson and Mozhan Marno
3.5***

President Jonathan Duncan is facing a possible impeachment for actions he took – he says – to protect the safety of America. Against the advice of his senior staff he’s agreed to go before a Congressional Committee, but three days before the hearing he’s visited by a person who can clearly prove that the US systems have been compromised. And the President leaves the White House without his Secret Service detail in an effort to get answers he feels only HE can obtain and act on.

This is a fast-paced thriller, with a believable (if somewhat over-the-top) scenario. There were several times when I thought I knew where it was headed but was surprised by a twist in the plot. The basic plot line is something we should all be concerned about and I found myself wondering about our reliance on technology. The last 50 pages were particularly nail-biting. I’ve recommended the book to several people, including my husband.

I do have a bone to pick re the title. The President is the narrator throughout most of the book and is hardly “missing” in that sense of the word. But based on the title and the very limited information on the plot from the publisher, I kept waiting for him to actually go missing. Guess that was my fault.

Dennis Quade is a talented actor and I could see him (a few years younger) portraying President Duncan in a film version of this book. But his deep, gravelly voice just grated on my nerves. I am glad that the producers chose a number of different voice artists to portray various characters, because Quade was definitely NOT up to the task of providing different voices. (The couple of times he tried were laughably bad.)

Me
Elton John
5/5 stars
Elton John relates his amazing career as a song writer, composer, singer, film maker and the incredible ups and downs of his life through childhood to the present. Well written and hard to put down.

Endangered / Eliot Schrefer
5 stars

14-year old Sophie is half Congolese and half American. She mostly lives in Miami with her father, but comes back to the Democratic Republic of Congo to live with her mother in the summers. Sophie’s mom runs a bonobo sanctuary. On the way to the sanctuary, Sophie insists on buying a baby bonobo from a trafficker. She only wants to save the little bonobo she calls Otto, but she doesn’t initially realize that although she has helped Otto, overall, it’s not a good idea to buy from the traffickers.

In any case, she is now in charge of taking care of Otto and helping him live. Not long before Sophie is to head back to Miami, her mother has to leave to release some of the bonobos back into the wild. Not long after her mother leaves, civil war breaks out...

Of course, I love animals, so right off the bat, I’m loving the bonobos and the sanctuary. Once the war starts, it is almost non-stop suspense. Not only – how will Sophie get out of this, but what will happen to Otto and the other bonobos? Keep Kleenex handy. Ugly crying all the way. Loved this book! There is also an interview with the author at the end. And, I am happy to see that this is part of a series.

Ike And Kay – James MacManus
3***

In his work of historical fiction, MacManus explores the relationship between General Dwight D Eisenhower and his assigned driver during WWII, Kay Sommersby. Rumor, innuendo and gossip have surrounded their affair for decades. Only after both Dwight and his wife, Mamie, died did much of the truth come out.

I have to say that Ike came off like a real jerk in this book. Kay, of course, was hardly blameless. She knew he was a married man, and a powerful one as well. If she thought she could win this man she was deluding only herself. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how the relationship unfolded and to get a glimpse of what they may have meant to one another, especially during the stress of wartime.

I also appreciated the details of other wartime relationships between generals and heads of state. President Franklin D Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchhill and many others make appearances in this novel. One glaring error very nearly spoiled it for me (and totally turned my husband off). MacManus goes on about Patton serving in the Pacific and how he abandoned the Philippines for the relative safety of Australia. The general who did that was MacArthur, not Patton. Wonder what else he got wrong?

Oh well, it’s historical FICTION, and it certainly held my attention.

The Amish Christmas Kitchen – Kelly Long, Jennifer Beckstrand, and Lisa Jones Baker
2**

This is a collection of three novellas all focusing on the Amish community and the Christmas season. Frankly, Christmas is pretty much in the background, as they are mostly about a young woman and a young man and how the two of them get together. He’s shy (or she’s shy); she is a marvelous baker of cookies; he is hardworking and always willing to help out; some wise adult will conspire to ensure they end up together. There will be buggy rides, snow, family dinners, and farm chores.

The stories are tender and clean romances, rather straightforward and predictable. The writing is very simple and repetitious. Not my cup of tea.

The three stories:
Baking Love on Ice Mountain by Kelly Long
The Christmas Bakery on Huckleberry Hill by Jennifer Beckstrand
The Special Christmas Cookie by Lisa Jones Baker

>63 BookConcierge: LOL! I saw Amish, and immediately figured it had to be someone from PBT reading for Poll Ballot! (I looked at title before seeing who posted it.)

Big Lies in a Small Town - Diane Chamberlain
5★

North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women's Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold - until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.

It's a tale of two artists, living 78 years apart in a small Southern town, and the third artist who links them. Two aspiring young artists arrive in the "small town of big lies"... Edenton, North Carolina. In 1939. Anna Dale won a prestigious Fine Arts award...one of only forty eight...to design, paint, and install an 8’ x 12’ mural in the Edenton post office. She had hoped to be assigned to her hometown in New Jersey but gallantly accepts this honor. However she finds the task more difficult than she imagined as she tries to learn the culture of the area and quickly produce an acceptable mural. It then skips to 2018 when another young artist arrives assigned the task of restoring and installing the mural that has laid wrapped in canvas for the past 78 years. All of the character, including the small town native population are interesting people. The two young artist were both times eager to connect with the Edenton residents and doggedly determined to succeed. The people bring with them a taste of Southern, small town environment and how that environment has changed yet stayed the same over the 80 years. It was very different from the murder...paranormal...and horror novels I usually read. It builds a tension that is somehow relaxing. A really well told story.

Run Silent, Run Deep
Edward L. Beach
3.5/5 stars
Written by an actual Commodore in the Navy during WWII, Beach weaves an interesting fictional tale surrounding the navy adventures of Edward Richardson as he starts to command the submarine USS Walrus. Richardson’s crew encounter many battles but their major battle is against Captain Tateo Nakame ( Bungo Pete) who is sinking ships and subs in the Bungo Channel that is a strait separating the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. I thought there was a nice balance between the battle descriptions and the story of Richardson and his crew. Recommended!

Riders Of the Purple Sage – Zane Grey
3***

From the book jacket: Cottonwoods, Utah, 1871. A woman stands accused. A man, sentenced to whipping. In … rides … Lassiter, a notorious gunman who’s come to avenge his sister’s death. It doesn't take Lassiter long to see that this once-peaceful Mormon community is controlled by the corrupt Deacon Tull – a powerful elder who’s trying to take the woman’s land by forcing her to marry him, branding her foreman a dangerous “outsider.” Lassiter vows to help them. But when the ranch is attacked by horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and a mysterious Masked Rider, he realizes they’re up against something bigger, and more brutal, than the land itself…

My reactions
I hardly know what to write about this classic of the Western genre. It’s full of adventure, violence, strong men and women, tenderness, brutality and an abiding sense of justice. And, of course, there is the landscape, which Grey paints so vividly it is practically a character.

Yes, the story line and dialogue are a bit melodramatic. But Grey’s story still captured this reader’s imagination with its sense of drama, almost non-stop action, and bold characters. I was reminded of the many western movies I watched with my Daddy in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They were exciting and the good guys always won. Clearly those movies (and other books of the genre) had Grey’s strong foundation on which to build. I’m glad I finally read it.

UPDATE on second reading, January 17, 2020: I chose to read the text in preparation for my F2F book club discussion. If anything, the chase scenes were even more thrilling. And the descriptions of the landscape! The melodramatic - "bodice-heaving" - dialogue was also more evident and I found myself laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the "love" scenes. Still, now that I know there is a sequel ... well I may just have to read it.

The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse / Leann Sweeney
4 stars

Jillian comes home from an overnight trip to find that not only has her house been broken into, one of her three cats is missing! When the police come, they find that there is nothing else missing. Was Syrah catnapped or did he head outside on his own? Only one of the police is interested in helping figure out if Jillian’s cat was stolen and was the reason for the break-in, but she is quickly taken off the case, so she and Jillian set off to see what they can figure out on their own. Jillian is certain Syrah was stolen.

I really enjoyed this one. The cats seemed extra-involved somehow, which of course, made it more fun for me. And there were a lot of them. I suppose they were a bigger part of the storyline, due to the catnapping. I liked some of the additional characters and some not-so-much. There was one conversation near the start of the book between Jillian and her new policewoman friend, Candace, where I rolled my eyes a bit and thought – neither woman is the brightest bulb, is she? But, it got (much) better.

The Stone Circle - Elly Griffith
Ruth Galloway series Book # 11
4.5★

DCI Nelson has been receiving threatening letters. They are anonymous, yet reminiscent of ones he has received in the past, from the person who drew him into a case that’s haunted him for years. At the same time, Ruth receives a letter purporting to be from that very same person—her former mentor, and the reason she first started working with Nelson. But the author of those letters is dead. Or is he? The past is reaching out for Ruth and Nelson, and its grip is deadly.

This has been a series that is sometimes slow to take off but it never disappoints. When the ingredients consisting of very mysterious circumstances…excellent police work…and true to life relationship with everyday problems combine… we are presented with a top notch, superb series. The usual setting is a salt marsh which is almost a character in its own right with its colorful atmosphere. Since references are made to past books…readers should start at the beginning of the series to understand all the intertwined, often complicated relationships. New characters are introduced in almost every book…some good and some not so much. If you like a character driven mystery series …not to mention that you learn a bit about ancient Celtic mythology and archaeology…you might want to give this one a try.

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Audible audio performed by George Guidall
4****

Who hasn’t heard of Don Quixote fighting windmills, or wearing a barber’s basin as a helmet? Who doesn’t know about his faithful squire, Sancho Panza? Or the beautiful Dulcinea, for whom the Knight is ready to lay down his life?

I’d read snippets from this work over the years but never experienced the whole thing. I’m sorry I waited so long to do so. It is a marvelous piece of fiction and is widely acknowledged as the first modern-day novel.

Cervantes gives us a main character who has lofty ideals and a noble purpose, but who is fatally flawed (possibly insane). His attempts to replicate the feats of chivalry he has long read about and admired are met with scorn and ridicule, yet he remains faithful to his ideal. Certain that he will save the imprisoned Dulcinea and win her heart and everlasting gratitude.

Sancho is the faithful servant, commenting frequently in pithy sayings and proverbs, trying, in vain to steer his master away from disaster, but gamely following and taking his punishment. My favorite section is toward the end when Sancho is “appointed governor” and asked to hand out judgment on a variety of disputes. His solutions are surprisingly wise, despite his convoluted explanations.

This edition is translated by Edith Grossman, and was published in 2003. While I have not read other translations, nor the original Spanish, I thought it flowed smoothly and gave me a sense of Cervantes’ style.

The audiobook of this translation is performed by George Guidall, and he does a fantastic job of it. I was fully engaged and recalled those long-ago days when my grandparents, aunts or uncles would tell stories on the porch on summer evenings, all us children listening in rapt attention. I particularly liked the voices he used for both Don Quixote and for Sancho Panza.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
5 *****

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good . . . and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: "Love as thou wilt." Phedre no Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with a very special mission . . . and the first to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Wow, what a fantastic book! I picked it up a few years back, intrigued by the idea of political machinations and a woman who uses her abilities as a spy while also a courtesan, and I was so totally immersed in the world I found it hard to put down. Jacqueline Carey's abilities as a writer breathe life from the first few sentences into the live of Phedre and her world (loosely based on medieval Western Europe and the British Isles). She can turn a swordfight into a song of 5 sentences, or the siege of 30,000 Skaldic warriors into a panorama of 2 paragraphs, and still I felt as though I were there. There are political intrigues a-plenty for any "Game of Thrones" fans.

The main character is born into a world where "Love as thou wilt" is woven into the fabric of Terre d'Ange (France), where a son of Mary Magdalene's tears and Yeshua's blood from the Cross is born from the Earth and Elua wanders it with His Chosen. One of them is his mistress, Naamah, the Companion of Love, and Phedre is born into this world. She is abandoned by her parents so that they may go more a-roving, and the mote of red in her eye marks her as an "anguisette" who experiences pain as pleasure.

There are some S&M sex scenes, though not nearly as graphic as vampire-does-everyone-s/he-can (they are more part of the plot than thrown in to sell books), and being a scion of one of Naamah's Thirteen Houses is seen as a calling in the way that others are wheelwrights or shop keepers. Phedre is brought up to serve and finally taken into the care of Delauney, a learned man with a household and a mysterious past. He brings up Phedre and Alcuin to serve as spies while training them at their craft of sexual pleasure. And there are strict rules in this world: for every assignation, a contract is drawn up; a courtesan has a marque tatooed into her/his back, and when that marque is complete, they are no longer under contract to a House and may choose their own assignations. In addition, Delauney guards his charges with an armed guard for their safety.

And there is royalty in and out of these pages, and an aged King, his unwed granddaughter, traitors to the crown, Universities of learning, legends of the Master of the Straits (the seas between Terre d'Ange and Alba), and raids by the Skaldi into the fertile lands. The writing is gripping, the action takes place without apology, and over it all is a worshipfulness of love in its many forms.