What Are We Reading and Reviewing in September?

The Best Laid Plans of Carol & Mice & Men
✔ 9//18 -★

Group Reads
✔An Evil Mind by Chris Carter - 9/11/18 - 5★
✔Prayer For The Dead by James Oswald - 9/20/18 -4.5★
✔Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris - 9//18 -★
✔The Lincoln Myth by Steve Berry - 9/2/18 - 3★

Blind Date With A Book
✔Left To Die by Lisa Jackson - 9/8/18 - 4★

Others
✔Revival by Stephen King - 9/6/18 - 4★
✔The Doll-Maker by Joyce Carol Oates - 9/1/18 - 4★
✔Into The Black Nowhere by Meg Gardiner - 9/11/18 - 4.5★
✔Rise The Dark by Michael Koryta - 9/10/18 - 4.5★
✔The Guests on South Battery by Karen White - 9/15/18 - 3★
✔Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger - 9/17/18 - 3★
✔The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz - 9/14/18 - 3.5★
✔The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer - 9/24/18 -4★
✔Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub - 9/21/18 - 4★
✔Be A Good Girl by Tess Diamond - 9/22/18 - 2.5★
✔Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb - 9/13/18 -5★
✔Eragon by Christopher Paolini - 9/3/18 - 3★
✔After Glow by Jayne Castle - 9/4/18 - 3.5★
✔Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer - 9/14/18 - 5★
✔The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride - 9/20/18 -4.5★
✔The Guilty Dead by P. J. Tracy - 9//18 -★
✔The Wanted by Robert Crais - 9/25/18 -4.5★ (reread)

You are really on top of things, Carol. Good on you!

>2 rainpebble: Thanks. If I don't do it all when I'm thinking of it I find myself rushing at the last minute so I try for about 4 or 5 days before the end of the month.

Here’s my provisional list for September but don’t think I’ll get to them all.

Group Reads
An Evil Mind by Chris Carter, #5 in the Robert Hunter Series. Start Date : Friday 7th September
Prayer For The Dead by James Oswald, #4 in the Inspector McLean Series. Start Date : Saturday 15th September
Why Mermaids Sing by C S Harris, #3 in the Sebastian St Cyr Series. Start Date : Wednesday 26th September

Other Reads
The Stranger Within by Kathryn Croft 🎧
Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell
The Accidental Further Adventures Of The Hundred Year Old Man by Jonas Jonasson
Munich by Robert Harris
Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin 🎧
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty 🎧
The Love Letter by Lucinda Riley
The Ninth Step by Mark Dawson
The Beggar King by Oliver Potzsch 🎧
The Lost Empress by Steve Robinson 🎧
The Einstein Prophecy by Robert Masello 🎧
Waiting for Wednesday by NicciI French

Dusty's TBR for September
SF/F reads
Cherie Priest - Not Flesh Nor Feathers
Simon R Green - The Spy Who Haunted Me ✔
Kim Stanley Robinson - 2312 ✔
James White - The Galactic Gourmet ✔
James White - Tomorrow is Too Far ✔
Roger Zelazny - Night in the Lonesome October ✔
Andre Norton - Moon of Three Rings ✔

from other genres
Noel Streatfeild - Ballet Shoes ✔
E T A Hoffman - The Nutcracker and the Mouseking ✔
Catriona McPherson - Dandy Gilver and the Most Misleading Habit ✔
Margaret Duffy - Stone Cold,Stone Dead ✔
Wilfrid Owen - Selected Poems ✔
Jacqueline Winspear - Elegy for Eddie ✔
Nicci French - Thursday's Children ✔
Arthur Upfield - Mystery of Swordfish Reef ✔

Ballet Shoes brings back memories!

The Door / Magda Szabo
3 stars

The narrator (I don’t think we ever learn her name in the book, though the blurb on the back calls her Magda) is a writer who hires an older woman, Emerence, to do her housekeeping. Emerence does lots of cleaning jobs and shows up when she feels like it. The two women form a friendship, despise Emerence’s “quirks”, including where she doesn’t ever let anyone, anyone at all, see inside her home.

I hated Emerence and didn’t see how there was any kind of friendship on either side. I would, in fact, call Emerence a crazy old b**** - seriously crazy. She had temper tantrums that she took out on everyone around her, including the narrator’s dog, Viola. Not sure why Viola liked Emerence so much, when Emerence periodically beat Viola for no reason to do with the dog. Emerence also had cats and I worried for their safety, in addition to Viola’s. Though the book was pretty slow-moving, it did pick up a bit toward the end. But, I still hated Emerence and didn’t “get” the friendship, at all.

Dawn / Elie Wiesel
2 stars

Set after WWII, Elisha had been in a concentration camp, but when he got out, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He was then recruited into a terrorist group in Israel. At 18 years old, Elisha is told he is to murder a kidnapped English soldier. The (very short) book (in the intro, Wiesel calls it a novel, but it’s under 100 pages) is the day or two leading up to the murder, as Elisha is coming to terms with what he has been tasked to do.

Boring. The premise doesn’t sound too bad, but ultimately, it was mostly Elisha discussing philosophy with his fellow terrorists. It is billed as book 2 after “Night”, but it was fiction whereas Night was a memoir. I won’t be reading the 3rd book.

>6 Andrew-theQM: To me too! My copy is old and tatty.Its charmingly dated,but heartwarming.
I am doing a challenge to read something with a ''D'' on the cover,and that made a great excuse to do a little reread of Ballet Shoes. Thats something rather rare since I joined shelfari etc in 2010,so many new recommendations pouring in all the time there is rarely a chance to go back to old favourites unless I can slot them into challenges! :0).

The Doll - Master by Joyce Carol Oates
4★

Here are six of Joyce Carol Oates’s most “frightening—and deeply disturbing—short stories” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). In the titular story, a boy becomes obsessed with his cousin’s doll after her tragic death. As he grows older, he begins to collect “found dolls” from surrounding neighborhoods . . . each with its own sinister significance.

It wasn't the type of "terror" that I am accustomed to reading but it was still intriguing enough to satisfy this terror fan. The terror was so subtle that it gave you the chance to imagine what the characters were going through. The images that are built in the reader's own mind can sometimes be more frightening than any other kind. Overall it is a pretty good short story collection of bizarre and sinister tales.

The Lincoln Myth by Stave Berry
3 ★
Cotton Malone series Book #9

September 1861: All is not as it seems. With these cryptic words, a shocking secret passed down from president to president comes to rest in the hands of Abraham Lincoln. And as the first bloody clashes of the Civil War unfold, Lincoln alone must decide how best to use this volatile knowledge: save thousands of American lives, or keep the young nation from being torn apart forever?

The present: In Utah, the fabled remains of Mormon pioneers whose nineteenth-century expedition across the desert met with a murderous end have been uncovered. In Washington, D.C., the official investigation of an international entrepreneur, an elder in the Mormon church, has sparked a political battle between the White House and a powerful United States senator. In Denmark, a Justice Department agent, missing in action, has fallen into the hands of a dangerous zealot—a man driven by divine visions to make a prophet’s words reality. And in a matter of a few short hours, Cotton Malone has gone from quietly selling books at his shop in Denmark to dodging bullets in a high-speed boat chase. All it takes is a phone call from his former boss in Washington, and suddenly the ex-agent is racing to rescue an informant carrying critical intelligence. It’s just the kind of perilous business that Malone has been trying to leave behind, ever since he retired from the Justice Department. But once he draws enemy blood, Malone is plunged into a deadly conflict—a constitutional war secretly set in motion more than two hundred years ago by America’s Founding Fathers.

I actually started this book the last of August but the majority of it was read in September so I'm going to review it here.

The book didn't receive my 3 star rating because of anything reflecting on the writing style or the authors ability to hold the readers attention. It was that he took too much common sense and ability away from the two main characters...Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt, that have been prominent in the other 8 books and made the stories the brilliant, "can't-put-it-down" series that this reader has come to expect. History is a big draw for this series and is something that Steve Berry always excelled at. There is history here...but way more about the Mormon church than I ever cared to know. I acknowledge that it was necessary to carry on the plot but it was just more than I cared for. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series and hope that our two "heroes" have recovered their usual personalities.

The Fishermen
Chigozie Obioma
3.5/5 stars
This suspenseful book set in Africa in the turbulent 1990’s in the country of Nigeria concerns a young family who like most of the people in the area are struggling to make a living. The father is unable to work at home and lives away from the family and the mother supports the family running a small store. The four brothers are on their own a lot and the story surrounds them and their encounter with Abulu, a homeless man with mental health issues. Abulu makes a predication about the brothers that seems unlikely but sets off a chain of events which prove unstoppable. Well written!

The Heart's Invisible Furies / John Boyne
4.5 stars

When Cyril’s teenage mother gets pregnant in 1945 rural Ireland, she is publicly humiliated by her priest and kicked out of town. She heads to Dublin, not sure what she will do next. While there, she finds a job and decides to give up her baby for adoption. Cyril is raised by Maude and Charles Avery, who don’t really seem all that interested in Cyril, though he is not treated badly. He is, however, always reminded that he is their “adopted son”, and not a real Avery. When Cyril is 7, he meets Julian, whom he is fascinated by. They don’t see each other again until they are 14 and at school together, when they become best friends.

I won’t go into more, but the book jumps forward every 7 years and goes over something substantial that happens in Cyril’s life at those times. The book follows Cyril through his entire life. The book touches on many different issues as time goes on, particularly in very Catholic Ireland, but even beyond. To be honest, it’s slow paced, but I was interested and wanted to know what would happen. At almost 600 pages, I managed to finish it over 2 days in a long weekend. I can’t say I liked Cyril all the time, and I certainly didn’t like Julian all that much, but since it followed Cyril (and some of the people he interacted with) through his entire life, people grow and change. There were a lot of coincidences in the book. I suppose the world Cyril was a part of is smaller (probably especially at the time), but I think still some big coincidences.

The Mitten / Jan Brett
3.5 stars

This is a Ukrainian folk tale turned into a picture book. A boy asks his grandmother to knit white mittens for him and he promptly loses one of the mittens. In the time it takes him to find it again, various wildlife find their way into the mitten to get warm and cozy.

I’d rate the story 3 stars (ok), but the illustrations (as usual in her books) are gorgeous. There is a main picture on each page, with beautiful borders on either side. She does a very nice job of making it look Ukrainian (the first page describes some of the research she did for the book), and the borders add a bit of a preview as to what might be coming on the next page. So, 3 stars for the story and 4 stars for the illustrations gives it 3.5 stars from me, overall.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Inheritance Book #1
3 ★

Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save or destroy the Empire.

It's a very well written story especially when you consider that this author was 15 years old when he started this series. It's not intended to be an adult book but it does have the ability to grab your attention and imagination and take off from there. I will admit that I loved the movie that came out several years ago and have watched the DVD numerous times. The dragon was so cute...with the personality of a "scaly puppy". I haven't ventured into the remainder of the books but think I might give them a try.

After Glow by Jayne Castle
Ghost Hunter series Book #2
3.5★

Life is complicated for Lydia Smith. She’s working at a tacky, third-rate museum, Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, trying to salvage her career in para-archaeology—and dating the most dangerous man in town. Just when she thinks she might be getting things under control, she stumbles over a dead body and discovers that her lover has a secret past that could get him killed. Just to top it off, there’s trouble brewing underground in the eerie, glowing green passageways of the Dead City. Descending into these twisting catacombs, Lydia will learn just what it’s like to put her heart and life on the line.

I found the book to be less exciting than the selling description indicates but it did have it's moments...loved the 'dust bunnies" and what is a "Mystery Mistress's" job anyway? . I thought the characters were mostly "common"...for lack of a better description. Not an bad series...just not for me. I read the book for a challenge and it served that purpose well but I think I'll skip the remainder of the series.

The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzmán – Louis de Bernières
3.5*** (rounded up for use of language)

The third and final installment in this author’s “Latin American Trilogy” returns to the village of Cochadebajo, in the mountains of an unnamed South American country (presumably Columbia). Many of the characters from earlier novels reappear, including Dionisio Vivo, the General, the President, various rebels, and the giant panthers. De Bernières also gives us a demented Cardinal and his horde of fanatical followers, bent on destroying those who refuse to adhere to their version of the faith.

I love these books. I love his clever writing and vivid imagery, the outlandish plot points, and outrageous scenarios. While I am not a great fan of satire, I enjoy this kind of novel which satirizes and skewers political and religious fervor run amok. There are passages that had me laughing aloud, and others that completely horrified me.

The reader who can suspend disbelief and tolerate a great deal of magical occurrences will be delighted. However, I definitely recommend you begin with the first book in the trilogy: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts

The Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald
2.5 stars

Nick is renting a place on Long Island near some very rich people; his immediate neighbour is Jay Gatsby. They finally meet at one of Gatsby’s parties and Gatsby asks Nick to help set up a meeting with Nick’s friend (or cousin?) Daisy, who is married to Tom. Amidst adultery, drinking, partying, and driving (in the 1920s, when not everyone did drive), things go horribly wrong.

I thought about rating it 3 stars, ok, but decided to go with the lower rating when I read a wikipedia summary, knowing I’d missed what happened at one point (even after reading it a couple of times, I still couldn’t quite figure out exactly what had happened) and wanting to find out what it was I’d missed, only to realize I’d missed way more than I thought throughout the book!

I thought I was mostly following, but somehow, in Fitzgerald’s vagueness (or was it just not keeping my attention? Since I tried reading that one part twice and it still didn’t make sense, I’m saying vagueness – at least mostly), some things just went right over my head. It would be nice to not have to reread sections to figure out what he was trying to say, especially when I still couldn’t figure it out on the reread! I saw the diCaprio movie when it came out, and I thought it was good, but it was long enough ago, that I didn’t recall most of it to help me with the book. But hey – at least it wasn’t a long book.

Revival by Stephen King
4★

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

It was well written in Stephen King's usual style but it lacked that "King" feeling that we fans have come to expect and associate with his books. The element of evil...supernatural suspense...something lurking in the background...those things that have always been found just wasn't there. The story was really about Jamie and the minister, who had more interest in electricity and it's powers than he did God. The story covers many, many years of Jamie and the preachers lives and you just keep reading waiting for "IT", (no pun intended), to happen. It kinda did toward the end of the book but we had waited 450 pages. So I have to say good story...but not his best work .

Up the Down Staircase – Bel Kaufman
4****

From the book jacket: Never before has a novel so compellingly laid bare the inner workings of a metropolitan high school. This is the funny and touching story of a committed, idealistic teacher whose clash with school bureaucracy is a timeless lesson for students, teachers, parents – anyone concerned about public education.

My reactions
This is written in a kind of epistolary style – notes in the suggestion box, memos from the school principal or nurse or clerk, letters written to a college friend, messages from fellow teachers, items posted on the bulletin board, etc. There are misspellings and doodles (where the kids are writing in the suggestion box or school assignments), ALL CAPS (memos from the “all important” vice principal), and bureaucratic gobbledygook psychobabble (from the school counselor who fancies herself a Freudian psychoanalyst). Guess we can be thankful that Kaufman wrote this before texting abbreviations! It makes for a fast and very engaging read, and lends an air of verisimilitude.

The novel crams much truth into this wild ride of a semester’s experiences for this brand new teacher. It’s interesting to watch Sylvia Barrett come to recognize her students’ hidden talents, aspirations and needs. It’s also interesting to witness her growth as a professional educator, how she learns the ins and outs of the system, whom to trust, where to seek mentoring, and determining where her future lies.

I loved the way her students interpreted the classics! Some were hilariously off the mark. But many were poignant and reflected their modern-day experiences.

Some of these students have heartbreaking back stories. Children having to take on responsibility for ailing parents and younger siblings, or fearing for their own safety. Kids facing homelessness, tempted by gangs, or struggling with prejudice or bullying. Girls worrying about their appearance; boys concerned with looking tough. As in real life, this good teacher managed to connect to a few of these students, and tragically lost others.

Hard to believe this was written in the ‘60s and still stands up today. I’ve never seen the movie, but am tempted to track it down.

>20 BookConcierge: Nice review, Tessa. I remember reading this in my senior year of high school. I didn't appreciate it near as much then as I did in later years....but then do we ever?:)

Little Girl Lost / Richard Aleas
4 stars

John Blake is in his late 20s and is a private investigator. When he sees in the news that his high school girlfriend, now a stripper, has been murdered, he takes it upon himself to find out what happened. Not just the murder, but how did the girl he once knew, who left to go to school to become an eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist, he couldn’t remember), end up a murdered stripper ten years later?

I really liked this one. There was a personal element to it, so that might be why I liked this more than most “noir” mysteries that I’ve read. But also, I liked John and I liked one of the other characters who was helping him. It crossed my mind at one point (in part) what might have happened, but I had good reason to doubt that, so it only briefly floated through my mind. So, the end wasn’t a complete surprise, though it did have to be explained how that could even be (and it was explained). There is another book in the series, but only one more, so I’m not sure if there will be more or not, but I will definitely read the 2nd one.

Left To Die by Lisa Jackson
Alvarez & Pescoli series Book #1
4★

One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piece, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can't yet see the beauty in his work--but soon, very soon, they will. In the lonely woods around Grizzly Point, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come.

I have been a fan of Lisa Jackson's writing for years. I read this book when it first came out but remembered very little of the actual plot...so I was very much looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the two detectives when I drew this for my Blind Date With A Book. The only complaint I had with the book was that the ending had a feel of being unfinished...but that's how the next book is sold. Like all of Lisa Jackson's books it's an engrossing mystery with a good plot that leaves the reader waiting for the next one.

Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta
4.5★

Rise the dark. These were the last words written in Lauren Novak's notebook before she was murdered in a strange Florida village. They've never meant anything to the police or to her husband, investigator Markus Novak. Now the man he believes killed her is out of prison, and draws Markus to the place he's avoided for so long: the lonely road where his wife was shot to death beneath the cypress trees and Spanish moss in a town called Cassadaga.

In Red Lodge, Montana, a senseless act of vandalism shuts the lights off in the town where Sabrina Baldwin is still trying to adjust to a new home and mourning the loss of her brother, who was a high voltage linesman just like her husband, Jay. As the spring's final snowstorm calls Jay deeper into the mountains, chasing the destruction on the electrical grid, Sabrina is abducted by Garland Webb, the man Markus Novak believes killed his wife. Drawing them all together is a messianic villain who understands that you can never outpace your past. You can only rise against the future.

The one thing that has always made me love this author's books is that he doesn't waste time and space on useless descriptions...just writes a superb and intriguing story. The reader has no problem visualizing his settings. This one had some surprises...lots of suspense and just a touch of the paranormal. Stephen King and Dean Koontz fans should give this author a try.

The Blue Castle
By L.M. Montgomery
4/5 stars
A young woman lives a miserable life with her family. She has always had some issues with her heart and she goes to the doctor to have a checkup. After the visit, she receives a note from her doctor that tells her that she has a heart condition and only has a few months to live. She throws caution to the wind, does not tell her family and decides what she wants to do. She leaves her family to help a friend who is gravely ill. Her family is appalled and refuses to have anything to do with her. When the young woman dies, she decides to propose to Barney, someone who she cares deeply for and tells him of her health issue. They marry and have a wonderful life enjoying each other till an incident occurs and she leaves him. For a romance novel, I thought this was thoroughly compelling. Montgomery has always been one of my favorite authors and this hasn’t diminished that feeling.

Finders Keepers / Stephen King
4 stars

When Morris and a couple of friends break in to an author’s home, Morris really just wants to steal notebooks. His favourite series didn’t end how he wanted and Morris hoped to find a better ending to the series in the author’s notes. They end up murdering the author and they steal the notebooks and money. Morris later goes to jail for raping a girl, but only after he’s hidden the notebooks and money. Decades later, when teenager Pete finds them (his family now lives in what was once Morris’s home), he doesn’t tell his parents, but instead anonymously mails them some of the money every month, in order to try to stop them from breaking up over money. When Morris is released from prison, though, he is looking for that money and those notebooks…

I listened to the audio, and though there were occasional parts where my mind wandered somewhat, there was enough that kept my attention that I liked it. Even better, as it got closer to the end, I was kept wanting to listen to find out what would happen. What I’ve found with some mystery/suspense/thriller books – whether on audio or if I’m actually reading the words – the parts where I’m more likely to lose focus is usually when it’s the POV of the “bad guy”. Though that wasn’t the case all the time for this book, it was for a portion, I think. Overall, though, another really good book by King.

An Evil Mind by Chris Carter
Robert Hunter series Book #6
5 ★

A freak accident in rural Wyoming leads the sheriff’s department to arrest a man for a possible double homicide, but further investigations suggest a much more horrifying discovery: a serial killer who has been kidnapping, torturing, and mutilating victims all over the United States for at least twenty-five years. The suspect claims he is a pawn in a huge labyrinth of lies and deception—but can he be believed? The case is immediately handed over to the FBI, but this time they’re forced to ask for help from ex-criminal behavior psychologist and lead detective with the Ultra Violent Crime Unit of the LAPD, Robert Hunter. As he begins interviewing the apprehended suspect, terrifying secrets are revealed, including the real identity of a killer so elusive that no one, not even the FBI, had any idea he existed…until now.

If you don't care for gritty, dark mysteries then Chris Carter is not the author for you. At the very beginning of the book Carter makes a statement that you may find quiet disturbing for what it implies. "This novel differs immensely from all my previous books, mainly because this is the first thriller I've written in which most of the plot and characters are based on real facts and people I met during my criminal-behavior-psychology days. The names have been changed for obvious reasons." While reading it try to imagine this monster actually existing and walking among us....sitting down to dinner in the same restaurant...riding the same bus and watching you. If that doesn't give you chills and nightmares then this excellently told story certainly will.

Moonraker – Ian Fleming
Digital audiobook performed by Simon Vance
3***

Book three in the original James Bond series, starts with a little personal task. A noted British hero, Sir Hugo Drax, has been playing cards at M’s private club, and M suspects the man is cheating. Would Bond (a notable card player) take a look and confirm M’s suspicions?

This novel focuses on cold-war sensibilities and features a villain who is not who he purports to be. Of course, there’s a lovely young woman who’s paired with Bond to ferret out the truth behind Sir Hugo Drax’s magnanimous offer of a dedicated atomic rocket to protect and defend England, paid for out of his own pocket.

The reader gets what’s expected: danger, car chases, explosions, dastardly villains, beautiful women, and ever debonair, intelligent and resourceful Bond.

Simon Vance does a fine job performing the audio. He sets a good pace for this kind of thriller, and I love his voice for both Bond and the villainous Drax.

Into The Black Nowhere by Meg Gardiner
Unsub series Book #2
4.5★

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin and the FBI's serial crime unit discover the first victim's body in the woods. She's laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest's darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a woman in a white negligee, wrists slashed, suicide-style--posed like Snow White awaiting her prince's kiss.

This is one series that must be read in order. "Into The Black Nowhere" picks up where "The Unsub" left off and you will be lost if you start with this one. We find out fairly early who the killer is but the fun is watching the killer play cat and mouse games with the FBI. I really prefer books that leaves more mystery for the ending of the book but Meg Gardiner pulled this off very well. The only thing was that after revealing the killer the book went on a little too long. Anyone that likes a good thriller will like both "The Unsub" and "Into the Dark Nowhere".

Book Club Humor

https://comicskingdom.com/six-chix/2018-09-12

After the Funeral – Agatha Christie
Audiobook read by Hugh Fraser
3***

Originally published as Funerals Are Fatal

From the book jacket: When Cora Lansquenet is savagely murdered with a hatchet, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother Richard’s funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard’s will, Cora was clearly heard to say, “It’s been hushed up very nicely, hasn’t it… But he was murdered, wasn’t he?” In desperation the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery.

My reactions
Oh, I love Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. Always entertaining and always keeping me guessing. Here we have quite a number of characters, all of whom seem to have some motive for killing Cora Lansquenet and/or Richard Abernathie. I’m glad I had a text copy along, because it has a family tree printed in it, which is a great help in keeping these various Abernathie relations straight. What a family! Hardly a likeable person in the bunch. I’d have been happy to have any one of them be the murderer. But that’s the joy of a Christie mystery.

The killer and Dame Christie cleverly give us many red herrings, false clues, misleading statements, and seemingly meaningless occurrences to confuse, baffle and thwart any attempts at solving the mystery. But, of course, Hercule Poirot will unveil the person responsible. I was almost as surprised as the culprit when the reveal came.

Hugh Fraser does a commendable job of voicing the audio. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep them straight at time, especially when there is a meeting of two or more women, but Fraser manages quite well. And I do love his interpretation of Hercule Poirot!

The Clockmaker's Daughter / Kate Morton
4.5 stars

When an archivist, Elodie, in 2017 comes into possession of a few items, it leads her to a house that holds all kinds of secrets since the mid-1800s. In fact, her family is even connected to the house; her grandmother and her grandmother’s children once lived in that house.

This one covered snippets of many points in time, starting with the mid-1800s onward (well, it hopped around back and forth in time), though the bulk of the story is in that earliest time period. It took me a long time to figure out who the “I” was, to be honest, as there was an “I” character in many different time periods. The shocker at the end (quite horrifying, really) was what brought up my rating to 4.5.

I'm Down / Mishna Wolff
4 stars

Mishna was a white girl raised in a poor black neighbourhood in Seattle. Her father wanted to think he was black, so that’s the neighbourhood he chose to raise his two daughters. Mishna, in particular, had a hard time fitting in when she was young. Once she finally started making friends in the neighbourhood, though she still lived there, she had tested high on some academic tests, so she had to switch to a school in a rich neighbourhood with smart rich kids, and once again, she didn’t know how to fit in there.

I really liked this book. She wrote it, mostly with a humourous slant, but it was sad to see that her father did not treat her well. His girlfriends varied on how they treated Mishna. She did learn later on that even some of the rich kids, despite their money, had problems, as well. She was born not long after me, so I certainly identified with much of the 80s culture, in general, which is always fun. It was a quick read.

Cactus Blood – Lucha Corpi
1*

From the book jacket: Gloria Damasco, the Chicana detective tempered during the civil rights movement, is involved in solving another mystery complete with gruesome murders. Is it a serial killer that is leaving the corpses strewn with artifacts from Native American rituals? Does it have something to do with the farm workers’ union which the victims had worked for in the seventies?

My reactions
There’s just so much going on here that I don’t know where to begin.

First we have all of Gloria’s vivid and violent dreams … a woman crucified on a cactus, being cornered by a large rattlesnake, blood dripping everywhere. Supposedly Gloria has a gift for premonition, but will all her dreams come to life literally? Or are they more allegorical, portending danger, if not actual crucifixion.

Then we have all the political, social justice issues these characters face and faced. Reminders of the struggles for the farm workers in the ‘70s, with grape boycotts, marches, and violent altercations. And the issues of undocumented workers and their constant fear of reprisal.

Ultimately, though, I found these characters too stupid to live. Attacked in her own home, Gloria says, “No don’t call the police.” Instead she goes off in the dark to chase this provenly violent assailant, and potential killer. S*I*G*H.

Maybe my problem is that I never read the first book in the series, so don’t know enough of the back story, but I never connected with Gloria or Justin, and really didn’t care what happened to any of them. I thought the plot was far too convoluted and the resolution was weak and unbelievable. If it weren’t a book-club selection, I would have abandoned it.

Lily and the Octopus
Steven Rowley
3.5/5 stars
Ted Flask, a gay man has been in many relationships but his longest one has been with Lily, a dachshund. She has been with him through thick and thin but now it his turn to help her. One day he notices an odd growth on her head that is shaped like an octopus. It is cancer but he sees it as an adversary that he needs to fight off in this magical realism story line about love, loss and moving on. Sweet story!

Leverage In Death by J.D. Robb
In Death series Book #47
4.5★

For the airline executives finalizing a merger that would make news in the business world, the nine a.m. meeting would be a major milestone. But after marketing VP Paul Rogan walked into the plush conference room, strapped with explosives, the headlines told of death and destruction instead. The NYPSD’s Eve Dallas confirms that Rogan was cruelly coerced by two masked men holding his family hostage. His motive was saving his wife and daughter―but what was the motive of the masked men?

Despite the chaos and bad publicity, blowing up one meeting isn’t going to put the brakes on the merger. All it’s accomplished is shattering a lot of innocent lives. Now, with the help of her billionaire husband Roarke, Eve must untangle the reason for an inexplicable act of terror, look at suspects inside and outside both corporations, and determine whether the root of this crime lies in simple sabotage, or something far more complex and twisted.

It all begins with a murder...don't they all? But it's a king-sized, over the top murder. A mild mannered account manager...loyal employee and loving family man walks into a merger meeting and blows himself and 12 other people up. Now Detective Eve Dallas thinks it's all about the money. It's not only about money... but as the title says...it's about Leverage. What's not to love about this series and these wonderful, sometimes funny characters. "Leverage in Death" can take it's place with the other 46 equally entertaining additions to this series. Can't wait till February to meet Eve's crew again.

The Pearl Thief – Elizabeth E Wein
Book on CD performed by Maggie Service
3.5***

15-year-old Julia-Beaufort Stuart comes home from finishing school for one final summer at the family’s ancestral home: Strathfearn House. She has many fond memories of time spent with her older brothers, Sandy and Jamie, and especially with her grandfather, the recently deceased Earl of Strathfearn. Now the property has been sold and is being converted into a school for boys. The construction workers have pretty much taken over the house and grounds, with the family ensconced in a few upstairs rooms, and the morning room. But a chance encounter by the river, will result in charges of murder and theft.

This is a prequel of sorts to Wein’s Code Name Verity, giving readers a little background on the character of Julia. It’s a good mystery and coming-of-age tale set in 1938 in the Scottish Highlands.

Julia is awakening to the pleasures of love, and she has two somewhat competing crushes. The construction manager, Francis Dunbar, is obviously forbidden. He is “much” older (in his 30s), and has no idea that she’s only fifteen, and she’s rather forward in showing her attraction (at least in private). Then there’s the enigmatic Ellen McEwen. She and her brother Euan are members of a family of Travelers who have worked seasonally on the Strathfearn estate for generations. Ellen is confident, bold, accomplished and angry. But she also immensely attractive to Julia.

The plot focuses on the estates treasure trove of ancient artifacts, including Bronze-age spear points, centuries-old hand-crafted items, and a jar full of Scottish river pearls, some purportedly once belonging to Mary Queen of Scots. When the archeologist hired to inventory the collection goes missing, at about the same time that Julia is found near the river with her head bashed by an unknown solid object, the local officials are quick to suspect the Travelers. Julia is certain they had nothing to do with either event, but she really cannot remember how she came to be injured.

I thought Wein did a good job of moving the plot forward and keeping the reader guessing. There are plenty of suspects and certain bits of evidence point first in one direction and then in another. I figured it out barely ahead of Julia. I was a little disappointed in how the final act played out, but still thoroughly enjoyed the novel.

There are several really good supporting characters in the book. Librarian Mary Kinnaird stands out for her dedication as the curator of the library’s collections, and her accomplishments despite her disabilities. Born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, her facial features are distorted, and she has some hearing loss, but she’s a fierce defender and stands her ground more than once. Julia’s nanny, Solange, who is also the French companion of Julia’s grandmother, stands out as well; although, she is a bit weepy and prone to hysteria. And on the other side of the coin, Sergeant Angus Henderson, the water bailiff, is a power-drunk bully who goes toe-to-toe with Julia one time too many.

The author’s note at the end of the novel gives additional historical information about Travelers as well as Scottish river pearls. Very interesting and makes me want to read more.

Maggie Service does a marvelous job voicing the audiobook. She sets a great pace, and brings Julia, Ellen, Euan and Jamie to life.

Everything is Illuminated / Jonathan Safran Foer
1.5 stars

I don’t even have a summary. There was a Ukrainian translator with horrible English. There was an author visiting Ukraine, who met up with the translator and they, along with the translator’s grandfather were looking for a village that didn’t seem to exist, so it seemed. And, throughout the book, some chapters backed up in time to Jewish people starting in the 1700s, but I never quite figured out what was going on there, as the time jumped forward in other chapters; at some point it was during WWII. Apparently, these were ancestors of the author (the author character, not the actual author)?

This was weird. It is going to be my lowest rated book of the year (I think this is only the 2nd book, ever, I’ve rated less than 2 stars). I couldn’t figure out how the translator could even be a translator with his awful English; the author had the same name as the actual author of the book, Jonathan Safran Foer, so that simply confused me for ages. There were other odd parts written like a play or written like Bible verses. Weird. Not good. At all. It’s too bad – I think the only other book I’ve read by this author (nonfiction) made it on my favourites list for that year.

Hank & Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart
Scott Eyman
4.5/5 stars
Being a huge movie fan, when I saw this at the bookstore, I knew I had to buy this book and I was not disappointed. The two met in New York as stage actors and became friendly and ended up as roommates. This book follows them through that period to the end of their lives even discussing their time in the military during WWII and their movie and stage careers. So interesting, this will be one of my top books this year.

House of Thunder by Dean Koontz
3.5 ★

She woke up in a hospital room, barely able to remember her own name. What secrets are hidden within Susan Thorton’s mind? What terrible accident brought her here? And who are the four shadowy strangers—waiting, like death—in the darkened corridors? One by one, Susan unlocks these mysteries. And step by step, she approaches the torment of her past—a single night of violence, waged by four young men.

I have never been disappointed with A Dean Koontz novel...until this one. In all fairness to the author, it wasn't all his fault. I listened to the audio book and the reader was horrible and that's putting it graciously. Somehow the story just didn't seem to be in the usual "Koontz" style. It started out okay but then developed into an unbelievable middle and didn't seem to really have an end. A really bad first book for a new Dean Koontz reader. Long time readers will be a bit more forgiving because we know how really good this author can be.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – Kate Douglas Wiggin
4****

Rebecca Randall is the young girl at the center of this classic coming-of-age novel. Living on the idyllic Sunnybrook Farm with her six siblings and her widowed mother, she is sent at age nine to live with her two elderly aunts in Riverboro, Maine. In exchange for her help they will provide room and board, a suitable wardrobe and ensure she receives an education. Her mother hopes it will be “the making of Rebecca.” The novel follows Rebecca through young adulthood.

What a delight this classic is! Of course, I had seen the Shirley Temple movie several times when I was a child, but never read the book. While the novel is very different from Temple’s movie, Rebecca’s irrepressible character is the same. First published in 1903, it is set primarily in the late 19th century.

From the first introduction, as she boards the stagecoach as the lone passenger, Rebecca charms and entertains. She is ever curious, constantly moving, always exploring, and chattering away. She makes friends easily, whether it be with the elderly coach driver, or the girls and boys in her school. She makes mistakes and gets into mischief (what child doesn’t!), but she wins over even her irascible oldest aunt, Miranda.

I wish Wiggin had written a sequel; I sure would read more about Rebecca as a young woman. She’s every bit as engaging and interesting as Anne Shirley (of Green Gables) who was brought to life by L.M. Montgomery some five years after Rebecca Randall debuted.

The Supreme Macaroni Company / Adriana Trigiani
3 stars

In this third book of the series, Valentine is getting married. While on her honeymoon, she discovers something that could be very bad for her shoe-making business and has to figure out what to do about it.

I didn’t like her husband, Gianluca. I actually agreed with most of her thoughts, actions, etc, except I couldn’t understand why they rushed into their marriage and didn’t talk about many of the things that ended up creating conflict beforehand. I’m not sure why I didn’t like Gianluca, but every time he did something nice, I had this foreboding feeling. Overall, the story kept me interested. I was listening to the audio and I think the narrator did a good job with accents and such. Overall, I’m rating it ok. Not as good as the others in the series, though; the first book was definitely the best one.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley
4/5 stars
I needed to re-read a book for a book challenge so I picked one of my favorite series to pick from and this is the first book in the series. It still holds up and I still wonder why this has never been made into a film or TV series.

The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride
Logan MacRae series Book #11
4.5★

Some things just won’t stay buried. Logan McRae’s personal history is hardly squeaky clean, but now that he works for Professional Standards he’s policing his fellow officers. When Detective Inspector Bell turns up dead in the driver’s seat of a crashed car it’s a shock to everyone. Because Bell died two years ago, they buried him. Or they thought they did. As an investigation is launched into Bell’s stabbing, Logan digs into his past. Where has he been all this time? Why did he disappear? And what’s so important that he felt the need to come back from the dead? The deeper Logan digs, the more bones he uncovers – and there are people out there who’ll kill to keep those skeletons buried. If Logan can’t stop them, DI Bell won’t be the only one to die.

I really like this series even if I do have some conflict with how the police are portrayed. I sincerely hope there is no police force in the world as incompetent and stupidly careless as the way that Police Scotland is portrayed in this series. There is a great deal of humor in these books in spite of the bodies piling up and evil rearing it's ugly head. The constant bickering among the police officers causes the plot to drag along at times but it really picks up toward the end and presents a more than satisfactory conclusion. Looking forward to #12.

Prayer For The Dead by James Oswald
Inspector McLean series Book #4
4.5★

Detective Inspector Tony McLean is on the case when the search for a missing journalist uncovers the scene of a carefully staged murder. In a sealed chamber, deep in the heart of Gilmerton Cove, a mysterious network of caves and passages sprawling beneath Edinburgh, the body is discovered in a seemingly macabre ritual of purification. But McLean knew the dead man and can't shake off the suspicion that there is far more to this case than meets the eye.

For one thing, the baffling lack of forensics at the crime scene seems impossible. But that's just the first in a series of revelations about this case that seems beyond belief. Teamed with the most unlikely and unwelcome of allies, McLean must track down a killer--driven by the darkest compulsions and who will answer only to a higher power--until it's his own blood on the altar.

If you are looking for a great mystery series that's just a tad different...then Inspector McLean just might be it. Every case has a touch of the bazaar as James Oswald always introduces a touch of the supernatural. Tony always gets "his man"..."or woman"...or "thing" and when it is all worked out it's usually more unbelievable than even he imagined. This series has been as "a police procedural on steroids" and that's not far from the truth.

The Guests On South Battery by Karen White
Tradd Street series Book #5
3★

With her extended maternity leave at its end, Melanie Trenholm is less than thrilled to leave her new husband and beautiful twins to return to work, especially when she’s awoken by a phone call with no voice on the other end—and the uneasy feeling that the ghostly apparitions that have stayed silent for more than a year are about to invade her life once more.

But her return to the realty office goes better than she could have hoped, with a new client eager to sell the home she recently inherited on South Battery. Most would treasure living in one of the grandest old homes in the famous historic district of Charleston, but Jayne Smith would rather sell hers as soon as possible, guaranteeing Melanie a quick commission. Despite her stroke of luck, Melanie can’t deny that spirits—both malevolent and benign—have started to show themselves to her again. One is shrouded from sight, but appears whenever Jayne is near. Another arrives when an old cistern is discovered in Melanie’s backyard on Tradd Street. Melanie knows nothing good can come from unearthing the past. But some secrets refuse to stay buried.

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a good ghost story. This ghost was little too 'cozy" for me though. I liked the idea of the ghost and of someone who could communicate with it but other than than that the ghost was treated almost like the family pet. The characters were okay but I found Melanie to be a bit too obsessive to really form any bond with. I had heard many good things about this series..and I'm sure they are all true... but I don't think I'm going to pursue it in spite of the 3 stars I gave this one.

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger
3★

Darkness has a way of creeping up when Ian is with Priss. Even when they were kids, playing in the woods of their small upstate New York town, The Hollows, he could feel it. Still, Priss was his best friend, his salvation from the bullies who called him "loser" and "fatboy"... and from his family's deadly secrets. Now that they've both escaped to New York City, Ian no longer inhabits the tortured shell of his childhood. He is a talented and successful graphic novelist, and Priss...Priss is still trouble. The booze, the drugs, the sex--Ian is growing tired of late nights together trying to keep the past at bay. Especially now that he's met sweet, beautiful Megan, whose love makes him want to change for the better. But Priss doesn't like change. Change makes her angry. And when Priss is angry, terrible things begin to happen.

I've read many of Lisa Unger's books and have always found them to be, while not physiological thrillers, at least a fairly good mystery...not so much this one. I didn't hate the book but this author has done so much better. I really didn't like either of the main characters so I really didn't care very much about what happened to them. It was also difficult to figure out what was real and what imagination. The jumping back and forth between two time periods was also difficult. I did enjoy the ending which didn't leave you hanging waiting for the continuation in another book.

Ink and Bone / Rachel Caine
3.5 stars

I’m not even sure how to describe the world, but Jess has been called to become a librarian. Well, he is amongst a group of teens who will be trained and six of them will become librarians. Librarians aren’t quite how we think of them now, though. In this world, they protect the books from even falling into the hands of regular people. There is some kind of war going on.

I was a bit confused by the world itself, which is why I don’t have much of a summary. What I did like about the book was the characters and the friendships/relationships. I don’t even feel like I should rate it as high as I have, given that I didn’t quite understand what-all was going on. But, I liked the characters and given the situations they were in, I was interested to find out if they would make it out ok. Maybe a bit surprisingly, I think I will read the next in the series.

The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica
Laurie Gwen Shapiro
4/5 stars
This is the wonderful true story about William "Billy" Gawronski, a young man who longs to go to Antarctica with Admiral Byrd who had a soft spot in his heart for stowaways. After 3 attempts to hide on the boat, he has been allowed to stay and work on one of the ships on the trip doing odd jobs. Shapiro does a very nice job writing about Gawronksi through his life and highlighting the time period which included the beginning of the Great Depression that rocks Gawronski’s life and the lives of millions of people.

The Guilty Dead by P.J. Tracy
Momkeewrench series Book #9
5★

Gregory Norwood is Minnesota’s most beloved philanthropist, and the story of his son’s overdose was splashed across the front page of all the papers. When a photojournalist sets out to get a candid shot of the highly successful businessman on the one year anniversary of his son’s death, he’s shocked to find Norwood dead with a smoking gun in his hand. The city is devastated, and Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called in to handle the delicate case. It should be open and shut, but something is not right. Norwood's death is no suicide.

With no suspects and an increasing tangle of digital evidence that confounds the Minneapolis Police Department’s most seasoned cops, Magozzi calls on Grace MacBride, Monkeewrench Software’s founder and chief computer genius and the soon to be mother of their child together. She and her motley crew of partners begin to unravel connections between Norwood’s death and an even larger plot. Norwood wasn’t the first, won’t be the last, and by the end, may be just one of many to die.

I was happy to see that this series would be continued after the unfortunate death of one of this mother & daughter writing team. Traci did her mother proud with this writing.

There were two plots running throughout this story and that keeps you constantly guessing what was truly happening. In addition to the crime and suspense, there is the appearance of another “little monkeewrench”. Anyone that has read any of this series already loves the characters and more than likely finds it difficult to choose a favorite. Personally I like Charlie the dog. As with all of the previous books there were plenty of twists and turns as well as subterfuge and surprises. It was an easy, fast paced read. I would recommend this series to anyone that loves crime fiction

Be A Good Girl by Tess Diamond
2.5 ★

As the head of an elite FBI unit, Special Agent Paul Harrison seems to have everything figured out, but beneath the surface, an internal war is raging. When he returns to his rural hometown for the first time in a few years, he’s faced with the memories that led to his losing the love of his life.

Fifteen years ago, Abigail Winthrop’s best friend, and Paul’s girlfriend, was murdered by the infamous serial killer Doctor X. Now an investigative journalist, she’s determined to find the truth. But when Abigail discovers evidence that clears Doctor X, she realizes the real killer is still out there and is striking again when local young girls begin disappearing. Turning to Paul for help, Abigail joins forces with him. As an undeniable attraction develops between them, they must heal deep wounds from their past—and find a relentless psychopath who could extinguish their hopes for a future together.

There was really nothing particularily "wrong" with the book, the writing or the storyline...it just didn't catch my interest or appeal to me in any way. That's not saying that someone else won't simpy love it.

Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub
4★

MAY, 1968
On a murky pre-dawn Mother’s Day, sinister secrets play out miles apart in New York City. In Harlem, a church janitor finds an innocent newborn in a basket. In Brooklyn, an elusive serial killer prowls slumbering families, leaving a trail of blood and a twisted calling card. Cloaked in lies, these seemingly unrelated lives—and deaths—are destined to intersect on a distant, blood-soaked day.

OCTOBER, 1987
Reeling from shocking personal discoveries, two strangers navigate a world where nothing is as it seems. Amelia Crenshaw embarks on a search to discover the truth about the birth mother who abandoned her, never suspecting she’s on a collision course with a killer. Detective Stockton Barnes, a brash young NYPD detective, trails a missing millionaire whose disappearance is rooted in a nightmare that began twenty years ago. The past returns with a brutal vengeance as a masked predator picks off victims whose fates intertwine with a notorious murder spree solved back in ‘68—or was it?

I believe that I may have read everything this author has ever written...if I'm wrong in that then I can say that what I have read has never disappointed me. This may not be to everyone's liking as it quotes a great deal of scripture from Revalation in support of the many gruesom acts that occur. It's a dark, complicated story of psychological suspense with several interrelated threads and subplots that are eventually woven together. The only drawback I could see to the book was that the ending was very abrupt.

The Widow Clicquot – Tilar J Mazzeo
3***

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It.

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born on the eve of the French Revolution. Her wealthy father read the signs of change and positioned himself to ride the wave, saving his textile business, his homes, his fortune and his family. When Barb-Nicole was of age, she married Francois Clicquot, the only son of another wealthy textile merchant, whose family had begun to dabble in wine. As fate would have it, Francois died before his vision was realized, but his young widow took over and cornered the market before anyone realized what she was doing. The dynasty she built remains today as one of the premier champagne houses.

The author, in an effort to not misrepresent, frequently qualifies statements with “perhaps” or “might have.” Mazzeo herself writes about this lack of information.
It is a surprisingly thin biographical record, considering Barbe-Nicole’s celebrity and accomplishments, and writing this book has been an exercise in the oblique. … I wanted to discover not just what she did and when she lived, but how she was able to imagine for herself a different future and how she was able to negotiate those familiar crossroads of grief, despair, and opportunity.

I appreciate that Mazzeo was stymied by scarce records, few (if any) letters or documents that would support a definitive and declarative portrait, and that she wanted to produce a work of non-fiction, not a fictionalized biography. But the result, in my humble opinion, is a book that gives me facts but never brings the lady at the center of the story to life.

I love champagne, though I admit to never having sampled Veuve Clicquot. I also love reading about strong, independent women, especially when they were clearly ahead of their time. But I was bored for much of this book. I wanted more of Barbe-Nicole, herself.

Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns
Digital Audiobook performed by Grover Gardner
4****

Thirteen-year-old Will Tweedy narrates Burns’ historical novel which takes place in the small Georgia town of Cold Sassy Tree circa 1906. It starts when his grandfather, E Rucker Blakeslee elopes with Miss Love Simpson. It’s a scandal, given that Blakeslee’s wife was buried just three weeks prior, that Miss Simpson is only half Blakeslee’s age, and even worse, Love is a Yankee!

Oh ,what a treat this novel is! The characters are richly drawn, and cover the gamut of personalities. I was completely engaged in the story from beginning to end, laughing aloud several times as I watched the residents engage in gossip and speculation. Change is a constant theme … from the personal relationships to the introduction of automobiles, the citizens of Cold Sassy Tree manage to adjust, sometimes with grace and other times with more than a little consternation.

Will is a wonderful observer with the curiosity of a young boy, especially when it comes to relationships between male and female adults. I loved the pranks he played and the tall tales he wove. And was touched by the tenderness of his first love.

Grover Gardner does a marvelous job performing the audio. He has a lot of characters to interpret and does a great job of Will Tweedy and Grandpa Blakeslee. He even does an acceptable rendition of the female voices.

Strangers on a Train / Patricia Highsmith
3.5 stars

When Guy is on a train from New York to Texas, in order to obtain a divorce from his wife, he meets Bruno. While in conversation, Bruno makes a proposal: if Bruno kills Guy’s wife, Guy should kill Bruno’s father, in return. They don’t really know each other, so neither would be suspected of murder. Guy is rightly horrified with the thought, but Bruno won’t give up that easily.

This was good. Very much a psychological novel, as we are mostly in Guy’s mind as he tries to deal with Bruno, and at the same time, move on with his life. It does switch to a couple of other perspectives, as well, but mostly we follow Guy. Good book.

The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer
4 ★

WHO IS NOLA BROWN?
Nola is a mystery
Nola is trouble.
And Nola is supposed to be dead.

Her body was found on a plane that mysteriously fell from the sky as it left a secret military base in the Alaskan wilderness. Her commanding officer verifies she's dead. The US government confirms it. But Jim "Zig" Zigarowski has just found out the truth: Nola is still alive. And on the run. Zig works at Dover Air Force Base, helping put to rest the bodies of those who die on top-secret missions. Nola was a childhood friend of Zig's daughter and someone who once saved his daughter's life. So when Zig realizes Nola is still alive, he's determined to find her. Yet as Zig digs into Nola's past, he learns that trouble follows Nola everywhere she goes.

I found this book a little hard to believe the main characters were capable of some of the things they did when you consider how mentally damaged they appeared to be. However they were interesting and carried the story line well as they went about their respective "jobs"...which none were what they really were. Overall it wasn't one of Brad Meltzer's great books but certainly a 4 star one.

>56 Carol420: I need to get back to Brad Meltzer.

Suspect / Robert Crais
3.5 stars

Maggie was a military dog whose handler died and she herself was shot. Scott is a police officer who was shot and his partner murdered. Maggie and Scott are later paired up, and months later, Scott wants to find who killed his partner and shot him.

I listened to the audio and never lost interest. I loved Maggie and the story was good. I thought about upping the rating, just for Maggie, but I kept it to a respectable 3.5 stars (good). There is another in this series that I will plan to read.

The Awakening
Kate Chopin
3/5 stars
Edna Pontieller is struggling as a parent and a wife. She decides to move out of her home to live on her own for the first time in her life doing what she wants to do, leaving her children and husband to focus on her happiness and desire for independence and love for another man. This 1899 book is considered an early work of feminism and according to Wikipedia was censored though not banned. It initially had bad reviews and went out of print until interest in the book was revived by those interested in women authors’ works. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/27/books/books-of-the-times-a-woman-who-portraye...

The Little French Bistro – Nina George
Audiobook read by Emma Bering.
3***

Marianne is 60 years old and feels trapped in a loveless marriage. On a trip to Paris with her husband she decides she has had enough and walks out of dinner intent on throwing herself into the Seine. Running away from it all she winds up in Britanny and finds a community of friends who embrace her and help her find her inner strengths. And love.

I was not a big fan of George’s previous hit – The Little Paris Bookshop - but, like that earlier title, this was a selection for my F2F book group. So here I am again.

It’s an okay story and there are some moments that are really tender and enjoyable. But mostly I found it just ‘meh.’ The whole Celtic Druid connection didn’t work for me at all. However, I did like how Marianne eventually comes to take charge of her life. There’s one scene in a church confessional that is particularly entertaining!

George also peoples the town with a variety of residents, all of whom seem to have some story of love gone wrong. And some of these side stories are very entertaining.

Emma Bering does a marvelous job performing the audio. She sets a good pace and has a pleasant voice. She has many accents to deal with and really shines voicing the many characters, bringing all their individual characteristics and quirks to life. I was never confused about who was speaking.

A Separate Peace
By John Knowles
3.5/5 stars
The book is set at the beginning of WWII amidst the tumult of that period and Gene and Phineas (Finny) are best of friends at a boarding school on the East Coast where they reside. One day while hanging out with friends, the two friends climb a tree to jump into the river as an initiation. Gene impetuously jostles the branch and causes Finny to fall and break his leg. Finny has to leave school causing Gene to have to deal with his feelings. Did he do it on purpose, was he jealous of Finny?

Immortal in Death / J.D. Robb
3.5 stars

When Eve’s best friend, Mavis, is charged with murdering a model, Eve has to get to the bottom of it and free Mavis. She knows Mavis would never do such a thing, though it does look bad.

Thought I’d leave any of Eve’s personal details out of the summary, so as not to be spoilery (though this is only the 3rd book in the ridiculously long series, so I suspect most people who are interested have already (probably long since!) bypassed this one). I will say that I didn’t dislike Rourke nearly as much in this one as I did in the previous two books. The book was good. This was probably a similar rating as what I gave the first two books, I think. Decent story, but nothing overly special. I was surprised at the ending. Will I continue the series? I suppose I probably will, at least for now. They are quick to read.

Follow Follow / Marilyn Singer
4 stars

This is the author’s 2nd book of “reverso” poems. She takes a fairy tale and writes a short poem; the poem is then presented in reverse to give a slightly different angle on the story – maybe another character’s POV, or the same character, but just a slightly different look at the story. The poem, in reverse, might have slightly different capitalization and punctuation, but the words and lines are the same, just in reverse.

Some of the fairy tales she represents in this one include The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Tortoise and the Hare, and more.

It’s really very clever and I loved the first book! This one is also very good, and it amazes me that she can come up with these! It’s presented very nicely in a picture book. The poems themselves are side-by-side – the poem, then its reverse, beside in a different colour. The pictures to go with are presented on the page beside, with two slightly different pictures side-by-side, representing each poem and its reverse.

Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #3
5★

Murder has jarred London’s elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, partially butchered, with strange objects stuffed in their mouths. Once again, the local magistrate turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Moving from the gritty world of London’s docks to the drawing rooms of Mayfair, Sebastian confronts his most puzzling—and disturbing—case yet.

I thought this one was the best of the series yet...and they have all been 4.5-5 star books. In addition to several murders to solve we also learned some well kept secrets of the St. Cyr family and what lengths people will go to and what they will sacrifice to cover their guilt and shame. It's a fast paced page turner that you won't want to end.

The Tin Ticket / Deborah J. Swiss
4 stars

In the early to mid-1800s, women “criminals” were transported from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales to Tasmania (a small island off Australia) to serve their time. Of course, almost none of them came home when they served their time. Not only that, a large number of these criminals were merely stealing food or clothing because they couldn’t afford it.

This book takes a look at a few of these women throughout their lives – how they grew up and what caused them to steal, which caused them to be sent to Tasmania; it followed them into the horrible gaols of the time; and it followed them to Tasmania – their time imprisoned, as well as a short section on how they lived after they were freed. There was also a Quaker woman who, ahead of her time, realized the horrible conditions these women were living in in the jails, and worked hard to make things better for them, as much as she could.

I found this very interesting. I knew that criminals had been sent to Australia, but I had never before read any of their stories. It’s pretty sad how little it took to be charged and sent away.

Shelter in Place – Nora Roberts
2.5**

From the book jacket: It was a typical summer evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine – until the shooting began. For eight minutes the chaos and carnage spread – eight minutes that transformed the lives of everyone in its wake. Some had their futures stolen from then, while others would discover their true calling. But for one person, it would be the start of a far more calculated plan, one that would force the survivors to face an even greater test in the years to come.

My reactions
Well that blurb is certainly full of hyperbole. Roberts, best known as a romance writer, turns her attention to the thriller genre, and she fills it will all the stereotypical characters of that genre. A seemingly fragile, but really strong-as-steel heroine. A big, strong, handsome hero cop who will save the day. A devious, brilliant psychopath intent on killing as many people as possible.
An eccentric, “just a little bit psychic” grandmother full of new-age advice to heal the soul. (And in case you didn’t pick up on this key trait, Roberts reminds us of Cici’s “little bit psychic” talent about every other time she appears in the novel … and she appears OFTEN.)

She fills out the plot with a lot of soul searching as Simone becomes an artist, scenes of her close friendship with a girl who shared the horror at the mall, and some family drama between the heroine and her bratty sister Natalie. Talk about a bridezilla! Of course, one key event (and the love of a good man) will repair this sisterly bond practically overnight. It’s a side plot that is totally unnecessary to the main storyline. In fact, Roberts (or her editor) could have cut about 150 pages of this book and still had the basic plot.

There wasn’t much suspense as I could see the end coming practically from the beginning of the novel. Still, it was a pretty fast read and mostly held my attention.

Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon
4 ****

Once a sheepfarmer's daughter, now a seasoned veteran, Paksenarrion has proven herself a fighter. Years with Duke Phelan's Company taught her weaponry, discipline, and how to react as part of a military unit.

Now, though, Paks feels spurred to a solitary destiny. Against all odds she is accepted as a paladin-candidate by the Fellowship of Gird. Years of study will follow, for a paladin must be versed in diplomacy and magic as well as the fighting arts. But before she is fully trained, Paks is called to her first mission: to seek out the fabled stronghold of Luap far to the west. The way is long, the dangers many--and not even the Marshal-General of Gird can say whether glory or ruin awaits.

Picking up after Paks leaves Duke Phelan's Company, there are many, many adventures and journeys she undertakes: across and through a mountain range with the half-elf Macenion (who reminds me of many early boyfriends who still had to learn the term "integrity"), into a village where she might or might not fit in but finds a use for her veteran status, to her journey into paladin training. What impresses me most is the internal learning that Paks undergoes, a realism that corresponds with my own life's journey. Her decision to become a paladin candidate, for example, comes with an honest lecture from one of her instructors who challenges her with her intentions at the Grange. She is their guest, but does she realize how she is coming across to the other students? Or how her knowledge of warfare and weaponry are affecting the instructors?

The realism that Moon brings to her writing is not limited to fights and battles and evil and good. It's the internal struggles and realizations that make her characters much more human and relatable. And the final battle she undergoes in the domain of the iyinisin is not the end of the book, either, something that might be an ending in the hands of other authors. Instead, Moon deals with the aftermath of capture and forced combat on not just Paks but her fellow candidates and finally how she grows in esteem by Duke Phelan.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
3 ***

Unlike most teenaged boys, Teppic isn't chasing girls and working at the mall. Instead he's just inherited the throne of the desert kingdom Djelibeybi--a job that's come a bit earlier than he expected (a turn of fate his recently departed father wasn't too happy about either).

It's bad enough being new on the job, but Teppic hasn't a clue as to what a pharaoh is supposed to do. After all, he's been trained at Ankh-Morpork's famed assassins' school, across the sea from the Kingdom of the Sun. First, there's the monumental task of building a suitable resting place for Dad--a pyramid to end all pyramids. Then there are the myriad administrative duties, such as dealing with mad priests, sacred crocodiles, and marching mummies. And to top it all off, the adolescent pharaoh discovers deceit and betrayal--not to mention a headstrong handmaiden--at the heart of his realm.

Read for the SFFKit challenge for August (and finished finally in September), this is a book that finds its stride about a quarter of the way through. And it helped that instead of picking up and putting down like I read at lunch, I sat down one weekend and read it through to the end. The jokes are much more understandable that way and with Pratchett's sense of dry humor (humour?) they are much funnier that way. Not so much laugh-out-loud funny but that "a-ha! Great observation!" kind of humor. I do like Pratchett when I need a light reading mood and this book was my first in Discworld. Sounding out the name of Teppic's kingdom was a great hint of how this world works.