2012 Challenge, pmarshall

# 1. Schemers by Bill Pronzini. In one case Jake Rayon follows a man who seeks revenge on the family of the father who denied his existence. Nameless' case is a version of the locked door murder, in this case valuable books are stolen from a private library to which only the owner has access and he is the person who reported the theft.

# 2. The Judge of Orphans by Rosemary Aubert. A child's rights lawyer is requested to take on one more case before becoming the Judge of Orphans. The case starts in New York City in 1873 and moves to Toronto in 1915. A number of people are searching for an old document and each says it is something different, a will, a deed... The safety of a twelve year old boy and the lawyer is dependent on it ending up in the right hands.

Welcome back!

# 3. Red is Best by Kathy Stinson. I have a nurse come in every day to change my dressings. Today it was not my usual one and early in our conversation she said she liked red a lot. So I had to raid Hannah, my great niece's shelf so I could could read "Red is Best". "My mom doesn't understand about red. ... I can jump higher in my red stocks. ... my red mitts make better snowballs. ... my red barrettes make my hair laugh. I like red because red is best."

# 4. The Last Days of Old Beijing Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed by Michael Meyer. Meyer's introduction to Beijing was as a teacher of English with the Peace Corp in 1995. He later returned to the city and lived in a hutong in a Chinese part of the city. He relates the changes in the city both prior to the awarding of the Olympics and after. Much of the historic city was destroyed and people moved to the edges of the city in poorly built highrises. His stories of the people are interesting, sad and heart wrenching.

# 5. Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron. A young high school senior is killed when her car goes off the road. This is followed by the deaths of two possible suspect for causing the accident.

# 6. The Nesting Dolls by Gail Bowen. I love it when I can walk the streets with the characters and know exactly where their house is, so close to where mine was! In early December a young woman passes a car seat with her six month old son in it to her half sister and disappears. Her murdered body is later found in her car. Questions are asked, who is her father, who is her son's father, which ultimately lead to a solution.

7. For the Death of Me by Quintin Jardine. Oz Blackstone and his family have made there primary home in Monaco. He has set up a lunch meeting with an unknown author to discuss a possible screenplay when, to his great surprise, the ‘author’ turns out to be a friend believed murdered in Amsterdam six or so years earlier. This is the beginning of an adventure, involving blackmail and triads, moving to Singapore, Scotland and the United States. It is the closing novel in the Oz Blackstone series.

January - 7

8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. The bare facts of this fictionalized biography are Hadley Richardson met Earnest Hemmingway in Chicago in 1920, they married in 1921, lived in Paris for most of their marriage and divorced in 1927. Paula McLain, while keeping to the facts builds on this and presents a well rounded account of the marriage.

# 9. Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books by Trevor J. Adams and Stephen Patrick Clare. A book such as this is a great undertaking and certainly opens the debate of what should be where on the annotated list. This contains both fiction and non-fiction.

I am such a sucker for list books like this. I love reading through and finding suggestions for interesting things to read. Its kind of limiting to choose only 100 titles but it does give one a good introduction.

# 10. Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs. This book is set entirely in Charlotte, North Carolina and uses the NASCAR Race Week as a backdrop to the mystery. A twelve years ago a teenage couple with links to NASCAR disappeared, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt in a landfill next to the race track and another man goes missing during Race Week. What ties these people together?

# 11. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Done with humour the author presents the lives of house maids in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a wonderful commentary of the civil rights movement in the southern United States in 1962.

I think that this will be a place to keep track of what I read as I am off to a bad start in getting to 250. I do have hopes of the number of audio books I can hear on my Kindle.

# 12. Back in 6 years: A Journey Around the Planet Without Leaving the Surface by Tony Robinson-Smith. I looked forward to reading this book for some and it didn't live up to my expectation. I would have liked more on his travels in Africa rather than on his terrible trip across the Pacific Ocean, or the canoe trip in the Indian Ocean. What was important to him was different from what was of interest to me. He writes well and it is an easy read. His maps were rather vague, another disappointment.

February - 5

I didn't make it last year but used this thread to keep track. Keep posting because I like seeing what everyone is reading so I can add to my never-ending wishlist :)

# 13. Camouflage by Bill Pronzini. Nameless is hired to find David Virden's third wife so she can sign a form he requires to apply for an annulment so he can marry his fourth wife. The search turns into one of identity theft. Jake Runyon is involved with a child abuse situation involving the son of a woman to whom he has become close.

# 14. A Play of Heresy by Margaret Frazer. Joliffe and company are in Coventry for the theatrical and religious festival of Corpus Christi. He has been directed by Bishop Beauford to watch for activities related to the Lollards. This quickly turns in a multiply murder investigation.

# 15. Three-day Town by Margaret Maron. Maron's two series characters come together. Judge Deborah Knott and her husband Dwight Bryant travel to New York for a much delayed honeymoon. On the first night they fins a dead man in the living room and a package they were asked to deliver to Sigrid Harald who turns out to be the NYPD investigating officer. She featured in Maron's first series written between 1981 and 1995. the Knott series started in 1992.

# 16. In Back From Africa by Corinne Hofmann she looks back on her time in Kenya and focuses on establishing a life for her and her daughter, Napirai, in Switzerland. She succumbs to pressure from her friends and writes The White Masai telling of her love, marriage and life in Kenya. It becomes a best seller almost world wide and this results in further changes in her life.

# 17. A Winter Kill by Vicki Delany. See review.

March = 5

# 18. Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison.Entertaining vignettes told by Australian, Peter Allison, of his time as wildlife guide in northern Botswana.

# 19. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. Kinsey Millhone observes two women shoplifting and becomes involved in a situation that is more than a simple shoplifting case.

# 20. The Midwife's Tale by Margaret Frazer. When Dame Clare and Dame Frevisse are called to the village by the midwife they find more than an orphaned new born. The body of one of the women assisting at the birth finds her husband dead when she returns home.

# 21. Damage by John Lescroart. The power of the press, ruthless people and money are behind proving the innocence of a convicted murderer and rapist. Having served nine years of a 25 to life sentence Ro Curtlee is released on appeal. One of his alleged first acts is to burn to dead a young woman who was a witness at his first trail thus preventing her from doing so at his second trial.

# 22. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill. Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler life, that he had kept in balance for so long, is starting to crack.The pressures of searching for a missing nine year old boy, the death of his sister, a woman from his past who is stalking him and family problems all weigh heavy on him.

# 23. The Hunter by John Lescroart. Wyatt Hunt was adopted young. It is not until he receives a text message "How did your mother die?" that he starts to remember events from the time his birth parents and he were a family. Searching for the answer to that and other queries results in murder, discovering a grandmother, murder. It is a good Lescroart.

April = 6

# 24. No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie. Another great book from Deborah Crombie. The pressure is on Duncan Kincaid to wrap up his case of the murdered rower by Sunday as Gemma James returns to work on Monday and Kincaid goes on Child Care Leave.This case leads back to open cold cases of raped women and one of rape and murder. The information of rowing on the Thames is fascinating.

Isn't Deborah Crombie great? I read this one right after it came out, which wasn't that long ago I suppose. I think this is one of the best mystery series out there. It's always nice to find another fan.

# 25. Death Before Compline by Sharan Newman is a collection of short stories featuring Catherine LeVendeur and people within her family circle. Published in chronological order rather than publishing order they add breadth to our knowledge of LeVendeur.

# 26. The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell. Read my review.

# 27. Gail Bowen's One Fine Day You're Gonna Die. Charlie D, the host of a late-night radio talk show is back. It is Halloween and the topic of conversation is death, what else could it be. A situation develops between Charlie's guest and a caller who is planning to commit suicide.

Who ever reads these postings must wonder what I am doing in the 250 Book Challenge. Actually this is my third year, in 2010 I read 170, just 86 in 2011 and this year only 27 to date (May 19). There was a time I would have been much closer to the ultimate goal, even reaching it but I have experienced health problems in the past couple of years as well as deteriorating vision. But I enjoy the company and it gives me a place to look back on what I have read in a year, and what I thought of the title through the annotation.

I didn't make it last year either so no worries. I like reading your blurbs so I do you hope you stick around and keep going.

# 28. The Stone-Worker's Tale by Margaret Frazer. A short novella in which one of Lady Alice's, Dame Frevisse's cousin, ladies disappears over night as does the apprentice stone mason. Is there a connection?

# 29. Winter Heart by Margaret Frazer is a short novella in the Dame Frevisse series. Two years prior to the time of "Winter Heart" a young man goes missing from the village. When he returns it is only a matter of hours before he is accused of murder. A murder that leads back to a bad land two year's prior.

# 30. The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell. Kurt Wallander is not a well man and is on leave but he still becomes involved in the case of the disappearance of a prominent man and later his wife. She has top secret papers in her purse. Is she a Soviet spy?

# 31. The Witch's Tale by Margaret Frazer. A village woman is charged with murder when her husband drops dead after she casts a spell on him.

May - 8

June, 2012

# 32. Deborah's Judgement by Margaret Maron. Deborah Knott is running in her first election to be a district judge. However her first judgement, based on law, comes when a friend of her mother's shoots her brother and then drowns herself in a nearby lake.

# 33. The Shadow Killer by Gail Bowen. Please see my review.

# 34. With this Ring by Margaret Maron is a short story that fits in between High Country Fall and Rituals of the Season. Deborah and Dwight are invited to a dance where all the women wear a bride's maid dress.

# 35. Deborah's Judgement by Margaret Maron. Deborah Knott is running for a district judgeship and family circumstances, involving friends of her mother's, cause her to make her first legal judgement. This predates Bootlegger's Daughter.

# 36. Bewreathed by Margaret Maron. Chronologically, this story takes place between "Rituals of the Season" and "Winter’s Child." An increasing number of home robberies are happening and the only common thread is having a one or more newspapers delivered.

# 37. One Coffee With by Margaret Maron. Lt. Sigrid Harald, NYPD, is investigating a murder caused by poison in a coffee cup at the Art Department of a local university. The major problem is determining exactly who was suppose to die.

# 38. Death of a Butterfly by Margaret Maron. The second in the Sigrid Harald series. A jealous women checking the comings and goings of a man she suspects is stepping out on her, a young woman watching the traffic in her apartment hallway. But no one sees the murderer of a young woman...

# 39. Breakthrough Banting, Best, and the Race to Save Millions of Diabetics by Thea Cooper and Arthur Ainsberg. An absolutely fascinating account of the discovery of insulin. Scientists working in different locations, in different countries come together with Eli Lilly and Company to produce a product that would save many millions of people worldwide. There are also glimpses of the lives of young people with diabetics waiting for a cure and the heart breaking times they and their parents are going through. HIGH RECOMMENDED.

# 40. Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron. Judge Deborah Knott is attending a judicial conference on the coast of North Carolina. It was said that the first judge to be murdered was getting payback for poor judicial practices which caused pain and death to people who had appeared in his court. The second judge was run down on his way to a party celebrating his 25 years on the bench. The third body belonged to the person who was suspected of these two acts. But did he?

# 41. Fifty Dresses That Changed the World by Design Museum. Highlights fifty dresses worn between 1915 and 2007 with a a short commentary about the designer and person/event where it was worn and a page size photo. For example the jersey flapper dress designed by Coco Chanel c. 1926, Queen Elizabeth II's coronation dress 1953, Diane von Furstenberg's wrap dress in 1973 and clothes inspired by television, Diana Riggs' clothes from "The Avengers," 1965 and in 1985- clothes from "Dallas."

# 42. Whispers of Murder by Cheryl Bradshaw. A poorly written romance/mystery novella with holes in the plot large enough to drive a large truck through. It starts on Isabelle Donnelly’s wedding day, a murdered groom and goes on from there.

Sounds like a winner! It sucks when you devote time and energy to something that fails on so many levels.

# 43. Grievous Angel by Quintin Jardine. This novel starts by revealing some of Skinner's past history to his wife Aileen and ends up as a review of a 15 year old case involving one family. It is interesting because it shows how Skinner starts to put his team together, Andy Martin, Mario McGuire, Maggie Rose and Allison Higgins. It also fills in some of his life as a single parent with Alex.

# 44. Funeral Note by Quintin Jardine. Murder, no natural causes. Is corruption possible in Skinner's ranks. This and much more is told by the leading players. A very different Skinner/Jardine tale.

# 45. Blackwork Band Sampler by Lesley Wilkins. Basic information on the history of blackwork and instruction on the stitches. The chart for the band sampler is included. Not very useful in the Kindle format.

# 46. Death in Blue Folders. by Margaret Maron. A top New York lawyer is murdered and his office ransacked and some files burned. The cases in the blue folders stand out, not just by colour, but because of the prominent people involved. What was he up too?

# 47. The Outlaw's Tale by Margaret Frazer. Dame Frevisse is kidnapped by her outlaw cousin Nicholas, when she and Sister Emma are on their way to a christening. Nicholas and his band of outlaws want pardons and believe that they can force her to ask her uncle, Thomas Chaucer to acquire them.

June - 16 - Double last month. It is so much easier to read using the Kindle. But I do miss the feel of a book and being able to flip back easily and to sneek a peek at the ending.

# 48. Watching Jeopardy by Norm Foster. Rainbow, New Brunswick, a small town of less than 10,000 appears to be a ghost town in the early evening of September 21, 1999. Most of the town is gathered around their televisions to watch one of their own on "Jeopardy." Two other events will also mark this evening as special, the first murder in 16 years occurs and an American woman from Maine is running from her abusive husband and stops in Rainbow.

# 49. Freaks: A Rizzoli and Isles Short Story by Tess Gerritsen. A young woman 'vampire' is found dead in an abandoned church. Did the male 'vampire' kill her or is there another cause?

# 50. The Right Jack by Margaret Maron. Lt. Sigrid Harald, NYPD is investigating a bombing at a cribbage tournament. Links are made back to the more violent student protests against the Vietnam War in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

# 51. Baby Doll Games by Margaret Maron. The lights come down on a Halloween dance concert for children when a dancer is brutally murdered during the performance. Lt. Sigrid Harald and hr NYPD team are hard pressed to follow the tangled threads, one of which leads back to the murder of a child almost a year previous.

# 52. The Simple Logic of It by Margaret Frazer. This is the first novella in the Bishop Pecock series. A messenger of Richard, Duke of York is murdered at Westminister and a letter found on his person suggests the Duke is working against King Henry VI in Normandy. But when looked at logically the evidence tells another tale, does it not?

# 53. Heretical Murder by Margaret Frazer is the second title in her Bishop Pecock series. A man is murdered in a tavern brawl but he wasn't in the tavern. Bishop Pecock and Dick Colop work out the solution as if it were an intellectual puzzle, with some foot work by Colop.

# 54. Lowly Death by Margaret Frazer's third tale featuring Bishop Pecock. The mother of a friend of Dick Colop dies. It doesn't feel right to Colop so he and his friend Bishop Pecock puzzle over the ladle, the blood, the wound and mostly the candle and come up with a correct solution.

# 55. The Lamp in the Desert by Ethel May Dell. India under British rule in the mid 1800's. Some romance, star crossed lovers, a little Christian religion, toss in a murdered soldier by a native and you have "The Lamp in the Desert." Better editing could have improved the book. It makes me think of The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye which was popular in the late 1970's.

# 56. Shimura Trouble by Sujata Massey. This ends the Rei Shimura series. Rei and her family are in Hawaii for a family reunion and get involved in an attempt to recover family land that was taken after WWI. Perhaps in a attempt to wind up all the threads Massey brings in former boyfriend Hugh as well as Michael Hendricks whom Rei marries.

# 57. The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson. Lily Moore, a travel writer, is asked by the NYPD to return from Spain to formally identify her sister, Claudia's body. But it is a stranger not Claudia. Drugs, fancy rehab centres, old boy friends all come into play as Lily searches for her sister's killer.

#58. I just finished Hilary Davidson's second novel in the Lily Moore series The Next One to Fall. It takes place at Machu Picchu, Peru which is probably the most interesting thing about it. There is a feeling of cloud coo-coo land about the end of it.

# 59. Convenience Boy and Other Stories of Japan by Sujata Massey. In this collection of short stories Rei Shimura solves 2 very different mysteries. The title story, "The Convenience Boy," tests Japanese romantic rituals in an unexpectedly humorous way. "Junior High Samurai" focuses on a bullying incident in a school.

July = 13 read

That's a pretty good number - congrats!

# 60. No Game for a Dame, a Maggie Sullivan mystery by M. Ruth Myers. Maggie is a P.I. in Dayton, Ohio during the 1930's. The strange behaviour of Throckmorton's nephew causes him to hire her and she quickly learns this is just a small piece of a large puzzle.

# 61. Corpus Christmas by Margaret Maron, sixth in the Sigrid Harald series. The case of the box of tiny bones, wrapped in four newspapers from the 1930's to 1947, is overshadowed by the murder of a well known art historian in Breul House.

# 62. The Deepest Blue by Sujata Massey. Rei Shimura is searching for information on indigo, a blue-black dye used in Japanese textiles.

# 63. Junior High Samurai by Sujata Massey. Rei Shimura is a temporary teacher and is faced with a very obvious case of bullying. Two junior high school boys are tormenting another boy in their class. The differences in how this issue is dealt with in Japan and how Rei deals with it are the focus of the short story.

# 64. Past Imperfect by Margaret Maron. In the seventh book in the series Sigrid Harald is forced to look at the real lives of her parents which don't always agree with her childhood memories. As well as the deception and death of a member of her team.

# 65. Fugitive Colors by Margaret Maron, the eighth and last in the Sigrid Harald series. In one day in February Harald faces the death and deception of one member of her team (see Past Imperfect), her father's feet of clay and the death of Oscar Nauman in a car accident in California. In Fugitive Colors she grieves, she changes. Her case takes place inside the world of art more than any other and brings together art stolen in World War II and the art world of today.

# 66. A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow. A January 2012 Early Reviewers book. See my review at http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=pmarshall

# 67. The Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie. Christie turns her mastery of mystery to a crime drama which turns the witness inside out and the judgement ... you decide.

# 68. Perfect Crime by Jack Erickson. A wife carefully plots the killing of her husband and latest girlfriend. She commits what she believes is the perfect crime. Was it?

# 69. Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King. In the Mary Russell series it is her voice that is heard as the principal narrator, not Sherlock Holmes. "Beekeeping for Beginners" reverses this and we hear Holmes recount his first meeting with Russell and the summer they spent together on the Sussex Downs. An interesting change.

That is quite the reading kick! Looks like you have read some interesting ones lately.

I now have a Kindle and I have been down loading free or nearly free books. Many are single short stories or novellas. It sure helps the numbers.

# 70. More Timeless Stories of New Brunswick by Peter D. Clark. Through personal anecdotes the little known history of a particular part of Fredericton, Rabbit Town, is related.

# 71. For Sale in Palm Springs by Albert Simon. Henry Wright, a retired policeman from Wisconsin, acts as a consultant to the FBI and the Palm Springs Police Department profiling criminals. He is investigating the murder of a well known real estate agent who has a shady background.

# 72. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. See review at http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=pmarshall.

# 73. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. The Queen finds a library bookmobile under attack by her corgis. Once they are under control she decides to enter the bookmobile and borrows her first book. The impact this has on the Queen and those around her are completely unforeseen and quite amusing.

# 74. Fragile and Fanciful: The Story of Nova Scotia Glass by Deborah Trask. This book tells the history of pressed glass made in Nova Scotia, Canada from the1860.s to the turn of the past century. It is a beautifully laid out book mixing the text and photos. It is of interest to both people just learning about pressed glass as well as long time collectors.

82 - I loved that one! Very cute.

# 75. Gamble by Felix Francis. A financial adviser is shot while watching a race at Aintree. The investigation connects him and his firm to an EU investment in Bulgaria. But that doesn't explain why he was shot or why attempts are being made on his business partner's life.

# 76. The Professional by Robert B. Parker. Gary Eisenhower has a nice life for himself. He seeks out young married women with older, wealth husbands, has sex with them and then comes the blackmail. Four of the women approach Spencer because they can't afford to pay and they can't tell their husbands.

August - 17

# 77. Glorious light : the stained glass of Fredericton by John Leroux. Architect and art historian Leroux looks into a building and sees the many parts that makes it more than others building. In "Glorious light" he takes you beyond the stain glass in public buildings and churches to a sampling of the hundreds of pieces in private homes, in the transom above the front door, the half window in a stair well and the upper portion of windows in living and dinning rooms.

# 78. Death Makes the Front Page by Teresa Watson and Jamie Lee Scott. Lizzie Crenshaw works for the local newspaper and she sees her boss in a fight with another man so she rushes in and tackles the stranger. This encounter leads to two murders before Lizzie figures it out.

# 79. Death Without Tenure by Joanne Dobson. Karen Pelletier is preparing her application for tenure at Enfield College when she is told it will most likely be going to Professor Joseph Lone Wolf whose ethnicity gives him minority-preference status. When he dies under suspicious circumstances her name is at the top of the State Police's list.

# 80. Deadly Aim by Patricia H. Rushford. Mix drugs, dirty cops, 12 year-olds with toy guns, a deadly shooting by Policewoman Angel Delaney of the 12 year-old and missing evidence and the result is a complex case in a small coastal town in Oregon.

# 81. Rafa by Rafael Nadal and John Carlin. "Rafa" grabbed me right at the beginning. I really liked the way he wove the telling of his story around his account of playing the three major matches of his career to date. He starts with Wimbledon, 2008 against Roger Federer. We are inside his head as he plays this match. Next is his first French Open win in 2005 against Mariano Puerta and he end with the 2010 U.S. Open with Novak Djokovic. This completed his grand slam, his Olympic medal made it a golden slam.

# 82. When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin. Godwin was born in Rhodesia in 1957 and at age 17, having been conscripted into the British South Africa Police, was fighting in the Rhodesian Bush War. This memoir focuses on the period of June, 1996 to February, 2004 when he was back and forth to see his aging parents, but covers most of the history of the country of Zimbabwe. A good read.

September = 6

# 83. I expect authors to have a bad day/book and they usually recover in the next book. I hope that is the case with Laurie R. King. I didn't finish Pirate King and I look forward to Garment of Shadows, next in the Russell/Holmes series.

# 84. Anne of Cleves - Fourth Wife of Henry VIII - A Short Biography by James Gairdner. See review at http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=pmarshall

93 - I hate when that happens. Hopefully it's a one-off!

# 85. I was looking forward to reading We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill. I have read a goodly number of biographies about the royal families in the United Kingdom but I missed Victoria for an unknown reason. Unfortunately the type in this book is a pale shade of gray and the font size is small. I read of both Victoria and Albert's early life until they were married. By then I knew I had to give up reading because it was too difficult to see the print. I was enjoying the book and recommend it to anyone with an interest in this royal couple. I just checked Audible and they have a copy and I have a credit so I can finish it!

# 86. Murder by Proxy by Suzanne Young. Edna Davies is challenged to find Anita Collier. Her life appears to be continuing in that the computer is paying her bills, depositing her cheques but where is she?

# 87. Murder by Mishap by Suzanne Young. Edna Davies finds a brooch in the newly-tilled soil of a friend’s yard. A heirloom piece that had been reported stolen fifty years ago. How did it come to appear in the front garden, why is her friend's husband showing so much interest? Who are the other strangers?

October = 6

# 88. Never Tell by Alafair Burke. It been a wait since 212 but Burke didn't disappoint with "NeverTell." Teen suicide, sexual abuse, wealth, drugs; it is all there and despite disagreement as to what they are investigating, suicide or murder, Ellie Hatcher and her partner work their way through to a surprise ending.

# 89. Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry. Troy Chance sees a small boy thrown off a passing ferry, her reaction is to dive in and try to rescue him. Paul, a six year old French Canadian, had been kidnapped and this was the kidnappers way of disposing of him. So begins a search for his family and the kidnappers.

11 more and 2 months left to go! Those are pretty good odds :)

# 90. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. See review.

# 91. Skeleton in the Closet, by Marcia Muller. Sharon McCone has finally accepted new office space is needed by her agency. She signs a contract for an old house on Sly Lane and then goes back to take another look. This look leads to the opening of an old box with, you guessed it, a skeleton inside.

# 92. Looking for Yesterday by Marcia Muller. The thirty Sharon McCone and it still has that special Muller touch. It draws me in and I can’t put it down once I am part of it and I hate it when it ends. The extra bit in this book is how you can lose so much and not let it drag you down following the first terrible shock, and still hold on to what is important.

# 93. Nocture by Deborah Crombie. A short, slice of life, story featuring Kit Kincaid and Erika Rosenthal. Over tea they discuss the mystery of a grand piano that survived a bombing and ended up in Erica's parlour.

# 94. Canadian Handbook Pressed Glass Tableware by Peter Unitt and Anne Worrall. A reference book for pressed glass manufactured in Canada in the period 1860 - 1930. I use it to check patterns of my water/wine goblets.

# 95. Reunion In Barsaloi by Corinne Hofmann. A disappointing sequel to "The White Masai: My Exotic Tale of Love and Adventure."

# 96. Wheel of Fate by Kate Sedley featuring Roger the Chapman. Roger returns to Bristol after many months away on the business and finds his wife and children have moved to London. It is necessary for Roger to solve a mystery concerning the deaths of a number of relatives of his wife's family before they will all return home.

# 97. The Loner by Quentin Jardine. "The Loner" is the autobiography of Xavier Aislando from boyhood through to middle age. He is half Spanish and half Scottish and brought up by his grandmother, Paloma Puig in Edinburgh. He is not alone in his life with close school friends and a love affair that reaches back to his early school days and they play a major role in his life. The book focuses on his successful years as a journalist and a puzzle he needs to solve.

# 98. The Dream by Agatha Christie, a Hercule Poirot short story. Poirot is summoned to the home of Benedict Farley and told the story of Mr. Farley's recurring dream. Later he is requested to go to the house to explain his previous presence because Mr. Farley was alleged to have committed suicide. Did he?

# 99. The Inheiritance by Simon Tolken. Stephen Cade is one of five people in the manor house the night his father was murdered. He is arrested, charged, found guilty and is waiting on Death's Row for his death by hanging. Inspector Trave believes Stephen is innocent and within days of the execution goes to France to prove this. Does he do it in time to get a reprieve for Stephen?

# 100. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future... by Michael J. Fox. Fox has written a short, entertaining autobiography as if he was delivering a convocation address.

# 101. Inspector Zhang Gets His Man by Stephen Leather. Inspector Zhang of the Singapore Force is happy to be called to a murder in a local hotel as the murder rate in Singapore is almost nil. His puzzle is a locked door murder.

# 102. Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel. A disappointment, see review.

115 - I can't say that I was all that impressed either. I found it rather scattered. Interesting at times but scattered and confusing overall.

# 103. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. A strange book. Two murders that appear to be unrelated, an almost stranger that steps in and pulls the strings to ensure the women say the right thing at the right time and a friend who keeps asking why?

# 104. Smoke and Murders by Nevada Barr. If you drive a Hummer and purposely drive over cats, BEWARE.

Sounds intriguing.... oh dear :)

# 105. Murder by Yew by Suzanne Young. Edna Davies is settling into a new home in Rhode Island and is excited about the garden and what she can do with it. Unfortunately yew ends up in her favourite tea mixture and she becomes the suspect in a murder.

# 106. Postcards From the Mediterranean by Margaret Maron. Three short stories sited in Mediterranean countries. The first two featuring Roman Tramegra are written as emails to Sigrid Harald and the third Harald.

# 107. Thorn in My Side by Karin Slaughter. Kirk, one of conjoined twin brothers, age 38, gets upset with his brother. It is his day to have sex and his brother is not suppose to react in any way. In his anger at his brother he/they murder the woman. They flee the scene and try to evade the law.

# 108. Snatched by Karen Slaughter. As punishment Will Trent has been assigned to the wash rooms of the Atlanta International Airport looking out for sex offenders. What he does hear is the cries of a small girl who has been kidnapped.

Happy 2013! Are you coming back to try again?