Mary’s (Storeetllr's) Happy Place 2

Hi, and welcome to my second thread of 2026. I'm Mary, a retiree living in a small town in the Lower Hudson Valley after spending most of my adult life in Southern California and five years post-retirement in Colorado. I came here just before the birth of my oldest grandchild and stayed to be with my daughter and her growing family and help her with grandkids. I'm an avid reader, with an extensive library of books that I love but unfortunately cannot read due to visual issues, though I cannot bear to give them away. These days, I listen to audiobooks instead. This August, I will have been a member of LT for 20 years! I don't know how I managed without it, and actually can't recall what it was like in the days BLT (before LT). I've met so many wonderful people here - some in real life and many more virtually - and gotten so many amazing book recommendations. Thank you all!

Spring is bustin' out all over! My favorite time of the year! Some of the blossoming plants in our yard: azalea bush, redbud tree, lilac bush.

May

46. Interlude in Death by J. D. Robb. 4 stars. Eve hates to travel off planet. Really hates it. Here we meet the security police chief of Olympic.

47. Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb. 3 stars. ABRIDGED. FFS. Honestly, why why why do libraries offer abridged versions of audiobooks? Or at least why do they ONLY offer abridged versions? I have to say that skipping all the sex bits was fine with me, but they also skipped some relationship building between Eve and Roarke and Eve and her team. Even the narrator, Susan Ericson, sounded off. I mean, she made Peabody sound like Eve. It was offputting. Anyway, I wasn't going to listen to it, but it was the only choice in the entire library system, so I did it.

*48. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3 by Beth Brower. 4.5 stars. Highly enjoyable continuation of the journals of Emma Lion. For a young woman with dismal marriage prospects, she sure has a lot of eligible men hanging around her. Looking forward to Vol. 4.

*49. When the Wolves are Silent by C. S. Harris. 4 stars. Latest St. Cyr mystery has young aristos being murdered in gruesome ways that mimic Druid sacrifices.

*50. Platform Decay by Martha Wells. 5 stars. This may be my favorite Murderbot novella of all. Mini-review below at >10 Storeetllr:.

*51. Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh. 4.5 stars. Final book of the series, Archangel's Eternity is filled with nostalgia and hope. After a thousand years of peace and happiness, big changes are afoot, one of the members of the cadre is falling into madness while another is threatening war against another. You really had to read the entire series to appreciate this one. I hate to see the series end, but this is a fitting farewell and one I'll be rereading.

52. Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb. 3.5 stars. ABRIDGED. Ugh. No choice. Unabridged is just not available in my entire library system. In this one, psycho gets out of prison and goes after Eve, while Peabody's parents surprise her - as well as Eve and Roarke - with a visit.

53. Purity in Death by J. D. Robb. 3.5 stars. ABRIDGED. Double ugh. In this one, a computer virus is infecting people, causing them to go on murderous rampages, and Feeney's e-team is targeted. Yeah, sounds crazy, but somehow Roberts makes it work.

*54. The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick. 4 stars. Paranormal historical romantic mystery thriller in the Ladies of Lantern Street series. Beatrice and Joshua must foil a plot to kidnap her to facilitate a mad scientist raising his dead wife using a formula created by an ancient Egyptians cult. Yeah, it's out there, but it's easy reading and fun.

*55. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 4 by Beth Bower. 4.5 stars. This one had me tearing up more than once, though it also gave me a few giggles along the way. I am enjoying Emma's adventures and her relationships with the various wonderfully drawn characters.

*56. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 5 by Beth Bower. 4.5 stars. The adventure continues, and is getting better and better.

57. Portrait in Death by J. D. Robb. 4 stars. Reread. In this one, Roarke meets his family and Trueheart gets put in for a medal of valor and Peabody gets put up for detective exam. Meanwhile, some whacked out photographer is killing people to take their light and make them immortal and then staging the dead bodies in bizarre ways.

*58. The Lost Night by Jayne Castle. 4 stars. Rachel, able to read auras and trained in psychic martial arts, runs a bookstore/cafe on Rainshadow Island after she's fired from her job at a secure clinic for unstable psys. Harry, a hunter, comes to Rainshadow Island to stop whoever is using The Preserve for nefarious purposes. Mind candy.

*59. Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle. 4 stars. Amber tuner/independent prospector Lyra Dore discovered a chamber filled with amethyst amber. Her claim was stolen by Amber, Inc.'s head of security Cruz Sweetwater, the man she'd lost her heart to. After withdrawing the financially disastrous lawsuit she'd filed against him and Amber, Inc., she was on the way to getting over the heartbreak when he comes back into her life to ask her a favor: open the chamber which closed suddenly, trapping a group of Amber, Inc. employees. I just love these mind candy books, but the narrator (Laurel Merlington) was pretty bad.

60. Imitation in Death by J. D. Robb. 3.5 stars. Another effing abridged audiobook. *sigh* I didn't realize until I was partway through, then checked and, yes, it is not available from the library in full audio. Disappointing, and the story was not as compelling as I know the full version is. Really ticks me off that libraries buy abridged versions of any audio. If I could read the print version, I would, but dammit, my vision is just too wonky. I can only read print for a short time before my eyes get too bad to see the words. Okay, enough of the pity party. In this one, someone is acting out infamous serial killers of the past, beginning with maybe the most famous of all - Jack the Ripper.

*61. Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara. 4 stars. The chronicles of Elantra, continued. In this one, fief lord Nightshade is badly wounded in an attack by Barrani war bands, and Kaylin can't reach him to heal him through her marks or the Errene. Soon after, she is called to the High Halls by The Lady who can no longer see the names in the Lake, she meets a young woman who has taken the first test of the Lake and passed it, and gains a shadow familiar. Then, Helen is invaded. A lot going on, though, as usual, a lot of talking and more second guessing by Kaylin of her actions, all in the midst of fighting.

62. Remember When by J. D. Robb. 4 stars. Back in the early 2000s, Big Jack is on the run after a heist of diamonds, which goes off without a hitch. Then one of the gang murders another for his share of the take, and another is killed in an accident before his share can be recovered. Big Jack's daughter and her insurance investigator lover find his share and and one of the other shares and turn them in, but there are still a fortune in diamonds missing. Fifty some years later, Eve Dallas is investigating the murder of a woman connected to Big Jack's granddaughter.

*63. Deception Cove by Jayne Castle. 4 stars. Light psy Alice North teams up with light blind Drake Sebastian to investigate what is happening on Rainshadow Island after a paranormal storm cut off the island from the mainland.

*64. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 6 by Beth Bower. 4.5 stars. This one frequently had me laughing. Such absurd yet lovable people! And the villains are so deliciously horrible.

June

*65. The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery. 3.5 stars. I don't remember who recommended this, but I thank them kindly for it! It was really enjoyable, though I'm no longer much one for Golden Age British locked-room style mysteries. It was the unlikely pairing between Miss Decima Stockingham, crusty daughter of the original owner of the manor, and second footman and ex-con Stephen Pike that really made it special.

Currently Reading

Strange Affair 14% (2 people waiting)
The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances 34% (7 people waiting)

Next Up

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 7

On Deck

Between Two Rivers (2 people waiting)
Hench 1
Divided in Death (kindle book)
Boss Lincoln

On Hold

Theo of Golden 88% (Have put a hold on the kindle version because I don't think I can finish it on audio; it was too traumatic)
The Violence by Andriana E. Rameriz (Joe's dil)
The People's History of the United States
Your Behavior Will Be Monitored (Richard)
The Five (vancouverdeb)
Sixth Extinction (Weird-O Bill) (I couldn't finish it before it was due back, so it's back on hold at the library)
Bonds of Hercules
One of Us (Richard)
Bring the House Down by Runcie
Twelve Months
Battle Ground
He's to Die For (Richard?)
The Burial Tide
Red at the Bone
Wide Awake (Weird-O Bill)
The Murder at World's End (Deborah)
The Man Who Spoke Snakish (ebook; Richard) - My eyes are acting up/getting worse, and I just didn't have it in me to try and read it on the Kindle. It's back on hold, though, in case my vision improves.
Radiant Star by Leckie (LT) May 2026

Wishlist

Fury in Death (Sep 2026)
What Strange Paradise Judy
🎃The Exchange Judy
Lyrics 1961-2012 Judy
Locklands (Jim)
Wearing the Lion (Richard)
You Glow in the Dark (Mary Bell)
The Creation of Half Broken People (Mary Bell)
Medusa (Anne)
The Silence of Flesh (Richard)
The Golden Toad (Richard)
Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed (Meg - )
Solito (Meg)
The Book of Murder, A Prosecutor's Journey (Meg)
Bleeding Heart Square (Deborah)
Culpability (Mark)
Soft Burial (Richard?)
Invisible Rulers
How Democracies Die
Sunrise on the Reaping
How to Love Your Afro
🎄Wishin' and Hopin' (Shelly)
🎃The Devils
🎃A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
🎃 More from DocRocket: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378381#9122709
🎃And even more from the Doc: https://www.librarything.com/topic/378381#9142155
🎄A Yuletide Kiss

DNFs

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Joanne) 1% - The narrator (Soneela Nankani) was horrible! I just couldn't listen to it.



Okay, I think that'll do it! Welcome!

I posted this on my last thread, but am posting it again. My 50th book of the year.

50. Platform Decay by Martha Wells. 5 stars. This may be my favorite Murderbot novella yet. It starts out smack in the midst of the action, as many of Wells' books do, and it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Turns out...well, not sure I should give any details, as it's a novella, and it would be too easy to give away too much. Let me just say that I love this one. Many characters from earlier stories show up, and some new ones, one of them an elderly woman from Preservation and a few of them children, and the interactions between those characters and MB are both hilarious and touching. An old adversary makes an appearance, plus a bunch of new corporate villains, and there is pretty much nonstop action, but the star of the show is, as always, Murderbot. Its interior monologue had me laughing out loud and also tearing up all through the nearly 6-hour audiobook. Kevin R. Free does a stellar job narrating. A satisfying read altogether, and I'll definitely be rereading it really soon.

Happy new thread, Mary! Spring hasn't really arrived yet here in southern Ontario. Not to stay, anyhow. A few days of tease, then cold again. Still, the damn squirrels have managed to destroy 4 of the very few flowers I have. I am not a happy camper today.

Your spring, on the other hand, looks glorious!

>3 Storeetllr: I flat will not read abridgements, I do not care whose books they are. I really hate them!

I loved Platform Decay too! What a great book for #50!

Happy new thread, Mary! Have a fantastic Friday!

>11 jessibud2: Hey, there, Shelley! I'm sorry you're having a cold spring. As for the squirrels...they are a menace here too. I've decided not to plant anything this year. Last year, they got EVERYTHING except the nasturtiums and marigolds. Maybe I'll just plant those. No veggies though. That's a lost cause, between the squirrels, deer, chipmunks, and/or the groudhog/gopher (can't tell which) that lives under our shed out in back.

>12 alcottacre: Oh, I'm right there with you on abridgements, Stasia. I hate them too, but I've already read (and reread) the In Death series, so it wasn't that big a deal, especially since it was the only option for that book and I really just wanted a refresher. I just don't understand why abridgments are though. So much gets left out that is important, even if it doesn't seem important, and they can't be that much less expensive than the full book.

Yes, Platform Decay was really wonderful! I admit I was a little afraid it wouldn't be all that good (System Collapse wasn't a favorite), but it exceeded the wildest expectations anyone could have had.

>14 Storeetllr: My re-read of the In Death series is perpetual. I love that series that much. Lol
Ah, I see - a last resort for you.

I am very glad I got a chance to read Platform Decay so soon after its release! I had no expectations going in other than it was Murderbot and those books, by and large, are pretty darn good.

Happy New Thread, Mary! I didn't realize your vision doesn't allow you to read . I glad you enjoy audio books and have good access to them.

Happy new thread, Mary - love the spring colours prominent in your topper.

>15 alcottacre: I love that you love the In Death series that much! This is probably my third full reread, maybe fourth, but I reread certain of the more recent ones of them over and over as I find them so satisfying.

Have you ever read the Mallory series by Carol O'Connell? The first in the series is Mallory's Oracle, first published in the same year as Naked in Death. Both series feature an NYPD woman detective with similar childhood trauma, severe social issues, and a dogged pursuit of justice. I would reread the Mallory series if I could get them as audiobooks, but only a few are available in that format. Her standalone thriller Judas Child, along with Find Me (a Mallory mystery) are two of the best mystery thrillers I've ever read.

Well, I guess I'll be rereading as many of these books as I can find on audio.

>16 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah! Yes, it's a pain, but there it is. I can read large print for short periods of time, but my vision gets progressively worse the longer I read, and my eyes get so tired! I'm so grateful for audiobooks!

>17 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Spring is such a lovely time of year, especially for those of us living in climates that include drab, dark, cold winters. I admit I wasn't quite as enthralled by spring when I lived in Southern California, though it was always a special time for me as a gardener.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new one, Mary!! Love the photos of flowering shrubs above and on your last thread!

>21 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>22 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba! I love spring flowers!

I hope all the moms here enjoyed a wonderful Mothers' Day yesterday! We spent the day at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, then finished up with dinner at a charming restaurant in the Bronx's Little Italy. It was a lovely day, for the most part, with a LOT of walking. I admit to having borrowed a wheelchair which I rode in part of the time and pushed part of the time. It would have been hard to manage otherwise. That place is HUGE! The rhododendrons were in full bloom, while the peonies were just starting to fade, though they were still gorgeous, and the daffodils were only a memory. We never made it to the lilacs (the place really is immense), but there was so much else to see and do, especially for the children. They had fun potting plants (marigold seedlings) and making a seed tape at the children's activity area, climbing on big rocks, picking up pine cones in the Pine Grove, and looking for tadpoles in the Native Plants Garden.

Here are a few images from our excursion.

I am so happy to hear that you got to enjoy a day at the Botanical Garden. Here in Toronto, it is one of my favourite places to go. It's only a 10 minute or so drive from my house and never disappoints. Your spring is way ahead of ours, though. Buds are just starting to emerge on my lilac tree.

Your photos are gorgeous .

edited to correct typos. That's what happens when I post from my phone.

>25 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley! I'm envious that you still have lilacs to look forward to! Theirs is such a short season. The NYBG is about a 40 minute drive from my house in good traffic - I can't imagine how long it would be in rush hour - so it's not going to be a weekly or even monthly thing, but I hope to get back at least a couple more times this year. When I lived in Pasadena, Descanso Gardens and The Huntington were both within a short drive, which was great!

Happy new thread!

No shame in using a wheelchair if it gets you out into nature! The pictures are lovely.

Thanks, Karen! No shame, but it was annoying. I was at the mercy of the one pushing the chair, so couldn't stop and look at everything that caught my eye along the way. Well, I could have, but I didn't want to be more of a bother than I already was. But yes, you're right. It got me out into nature, after a long cold winter, so it was worth it.

Oh, the Botanical Gardens! If I remember correctly, the grounds are pretty extensive so you were smart to use the wheelchair. Glad to see you had a lovely Mothers Day!

Sweet Thursday, Mary. Slowly getting back into our usual routine. Love the flower pics. I wish I could go birding with you at the Botanical Gardens. Looks lovely.

>18 Storeetllr: Yes, the In Death series is my all-time favorite series of books. I will keep reading them perpetually, I think.

I have read at least the first couple of the Mallory series and own a few of them. I just need to get reading them :)

>24 Storeetllr: Lovely pictures, Mary! Thank you for sharing them.

Happy new thread!

Love all the spring blooms.

Happy new thread, Mary. Your Mothers Day outing looked wonderful. Perfect weather for a stroll in the Botanical Gardens, it looks like.

I'm also an avid reader of the in Death series but I've never read any of the .5 novels. Your write up of Interlude in Death intrigued me and got me hunting down the rest. There are a lot of them!

>29 Copperskye: Hi, Joanne! Yes, the NYBG was huge! I wouldn't have made it without help. I think I walked about 1/3 of the time and rode around like a queen the other 2/3 of the time.

>30 msf59: How lovely to see you, Mark! I was surprised that there were so few birds at the Botanical Gardens, at least that day. I did see a woodpecker and a red-winged blackbird, as well as a few wrens (I think they were wrens) and pigeons, but it was strangely quiet. I am hoping it was because there were such crowds there (being Mother's Day). I'll report again next time I get there.

>31 alcottacre: Glad you enjoyed the pics, Stasia! And I know you are a lover of the In Death series. They are such satisfying reads. I just picked up the audiobooks of New York to Dallas and Imitation in Death from the library. The next in the series, Divided in Death, isn't available as an audiobook, so I am going to have to try to read it on the kindle (using the next to the largest font). I hope I manage it.

>32 figsfromthistle: Hi, Anita! So nice to see you here! Glad you enjoyed the spring blooms.

>33 Familyhistorian: Hi, Meg! Yes, it was lovely weather, most of the day, though we got rained on for about 10 minutes mid-afternoon. We had to race over to one of the pavilions and wait it out, but we got soaked before we could get under cover. It was fun.

I've found that the earlier novels and novellas are a bit rougher than the later ones, both in writing style and in character presentation, but it's been fun to see how all the relationships between the characters develop over time.

Oh, my God. Got to Chapter 58 in Theo of Golden and had to stop. I just couldn't. I wasn't ready for that. Not sure I can continue.

>34 Storeetllr: The next in the series, Divided in Death, isn't available as an audiobook I am guessing that you mean from the library, Mary, as I own the audiobook myself?

Have a fantastic Friday!

>36 Storeetllr: - Continue, Mary. You won't be sorry.

>38 jessibud2: Yes, do continue

>37 alcottacre: Yes, from the library. I own a few of the In Death audiobooks, but I really can't afford to buy a lot of audiobooks, though I might if I can't manage to read Divided in Death on the Kindle. Have a great weekend!

>38 jessibud2: >39 RebaRelishesReading: Not sure I can. Just a fleeting thought of that last scene makes me feel ill. I may give it a few more days and see if the trauma is less intense.

For what it's worth, Mary, you've read the worst. The rest is surprisingly uplifting. I won't give any spoilers but there is a twist I did not expect and it is worth continuing, in my humble opinion. Take your time.

That wasn't enough of a twist? I admit I was half expecting a death, but not like that. The wanton destruction... It gutted me. Well, I've got 3 days to get back to it before it goes back to the library. I'm still not sure I can do it. I do trust you (and Reba), but I was really traumatized by what happened and am still shaky when I think about it. It's not often when a book does that to me.

>42 Storeetllr:- I can't make you do it, Mary, but I encourage you to try. I think you will be glad you did.

>43 jessibud2: Thanks for your encouragement, Shelley. I've decided to try finishing it in print format rather than as an audiobook so I put a hold on the book and it should be available soon.

>44 Storeetllr:- I'm happy to hear that, Mary. It's such a well-written story, and memorable. I still think about it.

Thanks, Shelley. It'll be awhile before the book becomes available, so I should have gotten over the worst of the shock by them. :)

May Reading Roundup

Total number of books read: 19
Total number of new books read: 12
Total number of rereads: 7

Favorite book of the month:

Platform Decay of course! (Review here)

Runners up: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion series, because they are consistently delightful.

By the end of chapter 57 the worst in Theo of Golden is over, Mary. Definitely worth continuing to see the revelations at the end of the book.

I'm just on the first of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and I agree that they are delightful - well at least what I've listened to so far.

>47 Storeetllr: 19 books read in May! Amazing, Mary.

Sweet summertime wishes, Mary!