What Are We Reading And Reviewing in July?

This is the place to let everyone know the books you are reading during July, and then to leave reviews of these books. You can put up a list of the books you are reading for the month or put a post about a book as you start it, or even both.

Don't worry we are not back at school a review can be something as simple as a sentence about the book or as comprehensive as you want to make it - whatever is good for you.

This then allows people to discuss the book with you, and after all that is one of the main reasons we are all on here - to discuss books and our love of them. And to add to our TBRs because we never have enough books to read do we! 😂

Carol's July Reads

Group Read
✔The Night Stalker by Chris Carter - 7/6/17 - 4.5★'s
✔Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis - 7/25/17 - 4★'s

Mini Challenges
✔Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart - ATW - 7/10/17 - 3★'s
✔I Let You Go by Clare MacKintosh - ATW - 7/1/17 - 4 ★'s
✔The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James - ATW - 7/26/17 - 4.5★'s

Blind Date With A Book - Treasure Trove
✔ Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen - June's date - 7/4/17 - 5★'s
✔ Quartet in August by Barbara Pym - July date - 7/16/17 - 4★'s

Others That Followed Me home & Won't Leave
✔The Prisoner's Gold by Chris Kuzneski - group read from June - 7/21/17 - 5★'s
✔The Book of Souls by James Oswald - group read for June - 7/15/17 - 5 ★'s
✔The Night Stalker by Chris Carter - 7/6/17 - 4.5★'s
✔Most Dangerous Place by James Grippando - 7/24/17 - 4.5★'s
✔The Skeleton Box by Brian Gruley - 7/3/17 - 3★'s
✔I See You by Clare MacKintosh - 7/5/17 - 4★'s
✔The Ex by Alafair Burke - 7/15/17 - 4★'s
✔Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt - 7/22/17 - 4.5★'s
✔Every Dead Thing by John Connolly - 7/8/17 - 4★'s
✔The Hanging Tree a.k.a The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch -7/13/17 - 4★'s
✔Requiem Mass by Elizabeth Corley - 7/1/17 - 3.5★'s
✔A Game of Ghosts by John Connolly - 7/11/17 - 4.5★'s
✔A Time of Torment by John Connolly - 7/27/17 - 4★'s
✔Yesternight by Cat Winters - 7/30/17 - 5★'s
✔The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz - 7/18/17 - 4.5★'s
✔Down A Dark Road by Linda Castillo - 7/20/17 - 4.5★'s
✔Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula by Andi Watson - 7/17/17 - 3★'s
✔The Late Show by Michael Connelly - 7/25/17 - 4.5★'s
✔This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston - (Reread) - CURRENT

July 2017 Reads
✔★ ☊ ☞

Finished Reads
✔93. MysterySub-Genre - Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith - 281 pgs. - ★★★★★ - 7/1/2017
✔94. Falkland Islands - Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton - 365 pgs. - ★★★★★ - 7/3/2017
✔95. ☞☊ Bookie Jar The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton - 288 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/4/2017
✔96. Colombia - No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - 62 pgs. - ★★★ - 7/5/2017
✔97. ☊ New Author - Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris - 305 Pages - ★★★★ - 7/1/2017
✔98. Group Read The Night Stalker by Chris Carter - 454 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/7/2017
✔99. ☊ Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbo - 224 pages - ★★★ - 7/8/2017
✔100. Suriname - Monkey Love and Murder by Edith McClintock - 255 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/9/2017
✔101. Black Dog by Stephen Booth - 351 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/11/2017
✔102. Last In Series - Down A Dark Road by Linda Castillo - 292 pgs. - ★★★★★ - 7/15/2017
✔103. Early Reviewer - White Sand Blues by Vicki Delany - 144 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/15/2017
✔104. Environmentally Friendly by Elias Zanbaka - 29 pgs. - ★★★★ - 7/17/2017
✔105. ☊ Exit strategy sound recording by Steve Hamilton - 304 pgs. ★★★★★ - 7/17/2017
✔106. Mystery Sub-Genre - The Alchemy of Murder by Carol McCleary - ★★★★★ - 7/20/2017

Currently Reading
107. The Boy Who Saw by Simon Toyne - 499 pgs.
108. ☊ An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris - Historical Thriller - 373 pgs.

Brazil - The Partner by John Grisham - 468 pgs.
French Guiana - The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammet - 256 pgs.
Guyana - Company Orders by David J. Walker - 365 pgs.
Paraguay - Wild About Harry by Paul Pickering - 212 pgs.
Planned Group Read #2 - Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis - Saturday July 22
Manderley Forever by Tatiana De Rosnay - 340 pgs.

Dusty's reads in July
SF/F reads
Randall Garrett - Too Many Magicians ✔
Kate Griffin - The Neon Court ✔
Benedict Jacka - Veiled ✔
Ken McLeod - The Cassini Division ✔
Jeff VanderMeer - Acceptance ✔
Roger Zelazny - Madwand ✔
John Scalzi - The Last Colony ✔

from other genres
Ed Young - Seven Blind Mice ✔
Emily Rodda - The Lake of Tears✔
George D MacDonald - The Light Princess ✔
Tamora Pierce- Alanna:the First Adventure ✔
Margery Allingham - Tether's End ✔
Qiu Xiaolong - When Red is Black ✔
Romesh Gunesekera - Reef ✔
Chris Carter - The Caller
Enid Blyton - Secret Seven Adventure

You all are too organized, I am lucky if I know what the next book I am reading is - let alone the next 10!

>5 JulieLill: LOL! I'm like you, Julie. I have three library books up next, but I might squeeze in a new release on my kindle first, plus there's an old favorite begging for my attention, so I never know what's up next!

>5 JulieLill: >6 Hope_H: I eventually produce lists at the beginning of a new month, but at the moment don't really know what I will be reading next month. However often still read many books not off that list and never read all the books off the list. Purely as a guide which I followor ignore as the mood takes me.

>5 JulieLill: >6 Hope_H: Just checked there are 9 books on my current list (June) I haven't read this month, and by the end of the month I Project there are 9 books I read that weren't on my original list. So only read 8 books off my list!

Lynda and Oliver's July Reading List

Mystery/Suspense

✔ Cloak of Darkness - Helen McInnes - 3.5 Stars
✔ Death at La Fenice - Donna Leon - 5 Stars
✔ Down a Dark Road - Linda Castillo - 4.5 Stars
✔ Final Detail - Harlan Coben - 4.5 Stars
✔ Gallow's View - Peter Robison - 4 Stars
✔ Game of Ghosts - John Connolly - 4.5 Stars
✔ Girl in Disguise - Greer Macallister - 3.5 Stars
✔ Hat Dance - Carmen Amato - 4 Stars
✔ Her Final Breath - Robert Dugoni - 4.5 Stars
✔ Kissing the Demons - Kate Ellis - 4 Stars
✔ Mercy Falls - William Kent Krueger - 4.5 Stars
✔ Night Stalker - Chris Carter - 4 Stars
✔ Orchid Blues - Stuart Woods - 3.5 Stars
✔ Ringer - Steve Thayer - 3 Stars
✔ Stolen Ones - Owen Laukkanen - 4.5 Stars
✔ Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke - 3 Stars
✔ Your Killin' Heart - Peggy Peden - 3.5 Stars

Other.

✔ A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn - 4 Stars
✔ Far Side of the Sky - Daniel Kalla - 5 Stars
✔ Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd - 4.5 Stars
✔ Last Man Off - Matt Lewis - 3.5 Stars
✔ Mendel's Dwarf - Simon Mawrer - 3 Stars
✔ Midnight in Berlin - James MacManus - 3.5 Stars
✔ Rules of Civility - Amor Towles - 4.5 Stars
✔ To the Bright Edge of the World - Eowyn Ivey - 4.5 Stars
✔ Winter Sea - Susanna Kearsley - 3.5 Stars
✔ Wonder - RJ Palacios - 4.5 Stars

Now finally got a provisional list pulled together for July!

Group Reads
👉The Night Stalker by Chris Carter : starts Saturday 1st July
Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis: Starts Saturday 22nd July

Other Reads
16th Seduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The Amorous Nightingale by Edward Marston
Mrs Jeffries on the Ball by Emily Brightwell
👉As The Pig Turns by M C Beaton
Private Berlin by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
✔️Relentless by Simon Kernick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 2/7/17
✔️Storm Front by Jim Butcher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/7/17
The Two Towers by J R R Tolkien
Need You Dead by Peter James
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear
Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor
Pachinko Min Jin Lee
Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn
Scared to Live by Stephen Booth
Soft Target by Stephen Leather
The Ambivalent Corpse by Jerold Last
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
Temple by Matthew Reilly
Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

Requiem Mass by Elizabrth Corley
Andrew Fenwick series Book #1
3.5 ★'s

What's It About?
When young mother Debbie Fearnside goes missing, police interest is minimal. Then DCI Andrew Fenwick notices a curious set of coincidences with the case of murder victim Kate Johnstone. It becomes clear they have both been murdered, revenge for a long-forgotten death.

What I Think?
It doesn't carry much of a surprise. It is the first book in the series and I know they can sometimes be a bit awkward but there was just some points that were a bit fuzzy and not cleared up very well. I have read the second book and found that it's plot was more tightly construed. I still need to post the review for it but I will give this series the chance that I feel it deserves.

I Let You Go by Clare MacKintosh
4★'s

What's It About?
In a split second, Jenna Gray's world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating .

What Did I Think?
I thought it was an outstanding plot, well written and genuinely shocking. A hit-and-run accident (???) kills a 5-year-old Jacob. The driver of the car drives away without stopping as his horror stricken mother watches. “It happened so quickly. . . . I only let go for a second.” Every parents worse nightmare is what Jenna is forced to live over and over even after escaping to Wales.

MacKintosh shifts the point of view throughout the book. Was she a bad mother? Why didn't any other witnesses come forward? Why aren't the police finding any leads? These and many other questions combine to make a chilling story that is well worth the reading time.

The Middlesteins
by Jami Attenberg
4/5 stars
Set in Chicago and the nearby suburbs, we find a Jewish family that is falling apart. When Edie, an accountant and her husband, Richard Middlestein, a pharmacist, separate the children are appalled and it affects the lives of all including their grandchildren and friends. This was a fascinating, quick read for me and I love the ending which is probably one of the most realistic endings I have read in a while.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 - 484 pages

The lives of three women are tracked from 1939 to 1959. Socialite and former actress Caroline Ferriday spends her days volunteering for the French consulate, sending clothing and treats to French orphans and helping French citizens in the US. She meets Paul Rodierre, a handsome but unhappily-married French actor. Kasia Kuzmerick is a teenager in Poland, who, after watching her city get bombed and her home invaded, begins to work with a resistance movement. Herta Oberheuser, a German physician, chafes under the rules she must live under (no women surgeons) and the poverty in her home. She is offered a position at a "re-education camp" - Ravensbruck. The lives of the three women intersect and they grow and search for justice.

Excellent story, based on real-life people. Caroline was fantastic (although she probably never would have used the word "snuck.") (She also should have read Paul's letters . . . ) Kasia was well-drawn, especially as a maturing woman. We are left with hope for her, even though she is in Communist Poland. At some point in the book, we stop hearing much from Herta. It is as if she has shut down her soul to continue doing the work she was supposed to do.

This is a story of women and love, guilt, freedom, and second chances.

The Skeleton Box by Brian Gruley
Starvation Lake Series Book #3
3★'s

What's It About?
Mysterious break-ins are plaguing the small town of Starvation Lake. While elderly residents enjoy their weekly bingo night at St. Valentine’s Catholic Church, someone is slipping into their homes to rifle through financial and personal files. Oddly, the intruder takes nothing—yet the “Bingo Night Burglaries” leave the entire town uneasy.

Worry turns into panic when a break-in escalates to murder. Suddenly, Gus Carpenter, editor of the Pine County Pilot, is forced to investigate the most difficult story of his life. Not only is the victim his ex-girlfriend Darlene’s mother, but her body was found in the home of Bea Carpenter—Gus’s own mother. Suffering from worsening dementia and under the influence of sleeping pills, Bea remembers little of the break-in.

With the help of Luke Whistler, a former Detroit Free Press reporter who came north looking for slower days and some old-fashioned newspaper work, Gus sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder.

What Did I Think?
One reason for the 3 star rating is that this is not an edge-of-your-seat thriller. I have to admit that it is suspenseful...it's a good detective story filled with local color and interesting characters.... but it is simply too easy going. It will diffidently appeal to those that like something a little more than a cozy mystery but not so much on the gritty side.

Found the July thread!

Cool Water / Dianne Warren
4 stars

Juliet is a small town (just over 1,000 people) in Southern Saskatchewan, near Swift Current. This book follows some of the town residents (and local farmers) for one day. We meet Lee, who has taken over his “family” farm (we learn early on, that Lester and Astrid were not his biological parents); Norval, the town banker, whose daughter, just out of high school, is pregnant and is getting married… neither she nor her fiance are particularly responsible; Blaine, whose farm has failed and he is having trouble making ends meet for him and his family, including six children; and more.

I really enjoyed this. I grew up in a small town/farming community in Southern Sask, and loved reading about the area, though this town was meant to be (I believe it’s a fictional town) just north of the Trans-Canada highway by the sand dunes, whereas I lived a ways south of the highway. Either way, it’s not fast-paced, but I was drawn in and interested in the characters, anyway. It actually reminded me a bit of Kent Haruf’s books and his small town characters. It does switch between characters quite frequently, but – for the most part – I was able to fairly quickly figure out who was who and whose perspective we were getting each time.

I See You by Clare MacKintosh
4★'s

What's It About?
Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her. It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com. Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose...A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target. And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move.

What Did I Think?
There were so many possibilities offered up to the reader. Every male in Zoe's life could be a suspect. The story is filled with twists and turns and delivers a wallop of a surprising ending. I don't think it's quite as good as the first one..."I Let You Go"...but it has enough of a plot and enough strong content to hold it's own.

The Japanese Lover - Isabel Allende
Audio book read by Joanna Gleason
3***

In 1939, with the Nazis rising in power throughout Europe, Alma Mendel’s parents send her from their Warsaw home to live with her aunt and uncle in their San Francisco mansion. Her childhood playmate becomes Ichimei Fukuda, the son of the estate’s gardener. But Ichimei and his family are sent to an internment camp after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Decades later, Irina Bazili, a care worker with a troubled past, meets Alma Belasco and her grandson, Seth, at Lark House, where Alma resides in an assisted living apartment. Irina and Seth become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, and thus learn about Alma’s secret passion.

This is a sweeping love story that spans decades. Told in alternating time frames, and with alternating points of view, the story unfolds as Irina and Seth discover tidbits of information. I loved Alma; she’s an independent, intelligent, strong-willed woman. But she has had decades of practice guarding her privacy and she’s not about to give up her secrets easily.

Which makes Irina a perfect care giver / companion / assistant for her. Irina has a pretty big secret in her life as well. Like Alma, she left her home to come to the US as a child for the promise of a safer, more secure life. But Irina’s childhood was much different from the pampered Alma’s. She’s a fighter, emotionally fragile, but intelligent, resilient, fiercely independent, scrupulously honest, a hard worker and a tender care giver. As her friendship with Seth and Alma develops, Irina’s past slowly comes out.

I was intrigued and interested in the puzzle of Alma and Ichimei’s relationship. The title alone is a pretty clear indication of what is to come in the novel, and yet I was fascinated to learn the details. I thought the subplot of Irina’s background story was a distraction, however. And while it does remind me that everyone has a story to tell, even the minor characters, I wish that Allende had left it out of this book. I also felt that the men in the story – Ichimei, Nathaniel, and Seth – deserved a little more attention. I felt their characters were not so developed as the two women’s were.

Joanna Gleason does a fine job performing the audiobook. She has a good pace, and I was never confused about time frame or which character’s story was being told. That being said, she does nothing to try to differentiate the voices of the characters. Everyone sounded the same – man or woman, old or young.

The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland - Rebekah Crane
1*

From the book jacket: According to sixteen-year-old Zander Osborne, nowhere is an actual place – and she’s just fine there. But her parents insist that she get out of her head – and her home state – and attend Camp Padua, a summer camp for at-risk teens. Zander has only one word for her fellow campers: crazy. In fact, the whole camp population exists somewhere between disaster and diagnosis. … Amid group “share-apy” sessions and forbidden late-night outings, unlikely friendships form, and the teens begin to reveal their tragic secrets. Zander finds herself inextricably drawn to (fellow camper) Grover Cleveland’s earnest charms, and she begins to wonder if she could be happy.

My reactions
Okay, I knew this was a YA novel about a summer camp for at-risk teens, going into it. I knew from the title and cover art that some sort of summer romance would come into play. But I am so over the teen angst phase of my life, that I find it overly dramatic and cliched.

In addition to Zander the kids at camp include: her cabin mate Cassie, who describes herself as a a “manic-depressive-bipolar-anorexic,” Alex Trebec, called Bek, who is a pathological liar, and Grover Cleveland (yes, like the president), a cute guy who is certain he’ll be schizophrenic one day, given his family history. We don’t know Zander’s problem up front, but she has a tendency to obsessively conjugate French verbs when feeling stressed. Populating the novel with these kids was just a bit too over-the-top for me to enjoy it.

The crisis that results in some break throughs is somewhat believable given the emotional and mental difficulties these kids face. But the way in which this is resolved is totally unbelievable. It’s a relatively fast read, and satisfied a couple of challenges, so I finished it, but that was really time wasted.

We Could Be Beautiful by Swan Huntley
★ ★ ★ ★ - 385 pages

Catherine West is part of the 1%. She owns a store, lunches with her friends, collects art, and shops. Her mother, now in a care facility, has Alzheimer's, and her sister worries that her husband is having an affair. Caroline is vapid and condescending to her help. Her life is empty. At 43, she is searching for connection. And then she meets William. He tells her he is an old family friend and knew her parents before her birth. When she asks her mother about him, her mother expresses disapproval and shuts down. Catherine sets out to find out why her mother doesn't like him and uncovers family secrets.

I had a hard time getting into this because I didn't like Catherine. She's going broke, but thinks nothing of spending thousands on a purse. She has no concept of what her employees do for her and their needs. As she begins to trace her family's connection with William, though, she begins to change, and this is when I started to like her. An interesting book that makes us think about just how well do really ever know someone.

So Big by Edna Ferber
4/5 stars
Edna Ferber's So Big though written in 1924 is still a wonderful and relate-able read to modern readers. It follows the story of Selina Peake DeJong, who after losing her father has to make over her life while coping with a change of fortune. She ends up in a farm community teaching their children and falling in love with a young farmer and supporting the artistic talents of a young neighbor. Despite hard times she puts her whole life into her family's farm and raising her son who is her pride and joy but who will make choices he eventually will regret.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers – Mordecai Gerstein
4****

From the book jacket: In 1974, as the World Trade Center was being completed, a young French aerialist, Philippe Petit, threw a tightrope between the two towers and spent almost an hour walking, dancing and performing tricks a quarter of a mile in the sky.

My reactions
Gerstein brings the sense of awe and wonder to Petit’s amazing feat. He also recognizes the illegality of the stunt and that Petit was arrested and charged with a crime for trespassing, though his sentence was to perform free for the children of New York.

His illustrations are beautifully rendered, and I particularly enjoyed those from a “bird’s-eye” perspective. They even evoked a sense of vertigo. Two fold-outs expand the scope, one showing the view as Petit crosses the wire, with birds flying beneath him, and the Hudson far below, the other giving a sense of the vertical height from the ground as spectators watch in amazement.

The Night Stalker by Chris Carter
Robert Hunter series Book #3
4.5★'s

What's It About?
When an unidentified female body is discovered laid out on a slab in an abandoned butcher's shop, the cause of death is unclear. Her body bares no marks; except for the fact that her lips have been carefully stitched shut. It is only when the full autopsy gets underway at the Los Angeles County morgue that the pathologist will reveal the true horror of the situation - a discovery so devastating that Detective Robert Hunter of the Los Angeles Homicide Special Section has to be pulled off a different case to take over the investigation But when his inquiry collides with a missing persons' case being investigated by the razor-sharp Whitney Meyers, Hunter suspects the killer might be keeping several women hostage. Soon Robert finds himself on the hunt for a murderer with a warped obsession, a stalker for whom love has become hate.

What Did I Think?
If you don't like gritty murder mysteries than leave this book...in fact the entire series...on the shelf. If this type of book is right up your alley then buckle up and get ready for a wild ride. Start with the first book in the series...The Crucifix Killer. Even though I am notorious for ROO, this series is better understood and enjoyed if RIO.

Mr. Carter...you did it again. Wrote a story that just begged to not be put down. Unfortunately I had to since it was being read for a book discussion and we do it over several days reading a few chapters at a time. So many twists and turns...so many ways to die. How does he conjure up these ideas and put them on paper? It's suspenseful, gruesome and very dark, not for everyone but those that go for this type of book will love it.

The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - 256 pages

The summer and fall of 1947 were exceptionally dry in Maine. Grace Holland is a twenty-three-year-old mother of two, pregnant with her third child, questioning everything in her marriage. She knew her marriage wasn't fantastic, but she wasn't prepared for the depth of the problems in it When fire breaks out and destroys several towns along the coast, Grace's husband Gene goes to fight the fire. Grace and her friend and neighbor Rosie watch their homes burn as they try to save themselves and their children by first huddling on the beach and then moving into the ocean. The next morning, Grace is homeless, penniless, and perhaps a widow, as Gene is missing. In the midst of all the loss and destruction, Grace discovers resourcefulness and freedoms she never would have found with her limiting life with Gene. She provides a home for her children and mother, learns to drive a car, and meets people who broaden her horizons. And then something happens to upend her world again.

I loved Grace. She reminded me of my mom with her resolve and determination (although not with the bad marriage part!) I find I either love or hate Shreve's books; this one I loved. I knew nothing about the fires of 1947, but I know a lot about rebuilding your life after tragedy. You go, Grace!

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
Charlie Parker series Book #1
4 stars

What's It About?
Former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker is on the verge of madness. Tortured by the unsolved slayings of his wife and young daughter, he is a man consumed by guilt, regret, and the desire for revenge. When his former partner asks him to track down a missing girl, Parker finds himself drawn into a world beyond his imagining: a world where thirty-year-old killings remain shrouded in fear and lies, a world where the ghosts of the dead torment the living, a world haunted by the murderer responsible for the deaths in his family—a serial killer who uses the human body to create works of art and takes faces as his prize. But the search awakens buried instincts in Parker: instincts for survival, for compassion, for love, and, ultimately, for killing.

Aided by a beautiful young psychologist and a pair of bickering career criminals, Parker becomes the bait in a trap set in the humid bayous of Louisiana, a trap that threatens the lives of everyone in its reach. Driven by visions of the dead and the voice of an old black psychic who met a terrible end, Parker must seek a final, brutal confrontation with a murderer who has moved beyond all notions of humanity, who has set out to create a hell on earth: the serial killer known only as the Traveling Man.

What Did I Think?
Go figure. I managed to read every other book in this series and somehow missed this one...the first . I really liked Every Dead Thing but it lacked that certain "zing" that the ones after it had...which is often true of first books.

There is an extremely large cast of unusual and interesting characters that Connolly brings to life, Some will follow along through the next 12 books in the series. Two characters that frequent the stories and we meet for the first time in Every Dead Thing are Angel And Louis who have remained a personal favorite of mine. They are the bad guys that you just have to root for. There is a paranormal overtone throughout all the books as well as just enough of a dose of mystery to make the series well worth the reading time. Believe me when I tell you that these books just keep getting better and better.

Tigers in Red Weather - Liza Klaussmann
Book on CD read by Katherine Kellgren
2**

Cousins Nick and Helena grew up spending idyllic summers at Tiger House, the family’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard. As World War 2 ends, the two young women are about to begin their “real” lives – Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage to producer Avery Lewis, while Nick travels to Florida to reunite with her husband Hughes Derringer, home from the war. But reality doesn’t meet their expectations. Twelve years later, the cousins – along with their children Daisy and Ed – try to recapture their memories by once again spending the summer at Tiger House. But when Daisy and Ed make a gruesome discovery, the secrets and lies that each family member thought were safely buried begin to push to the surface.

This is Klaussmann’s debut and I see a nugget of a good novel here. But the execution falters. The dialogue is tortured. And the fractured timeline and changes in point of view do little to help the story arc. Klaussmann gives the reader some clues … dividing the book into sections titled with the character from whose point of view events will be relayed: Nick, Daisy, Helena, Hughes, Ed, and heading each chapter with the year and month. However, within the chapters events go back and forth in time as the character reflects on things. So, a chapter might be titled 1947: February, but some events relayed may have taken place months or years previously. I’m sure the author intended that this device would help build suspense, but mostly it just confused me. By the time the big reveal takes place I didn’t care, I just wanted the book to end.

Katherine Kellgren’s performance on the audio does nothing to help the novel. She has a tendency to be overly dramatic when voicing the characters. I wound up reading the text for more than half the novel. ZERO stars for the audio performance.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Book on CD read by Gerard Doyle
3***

From the book jacket: When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

My reactions
This is # 1 in The Inheritance Cycle series. I am clearly not the target audience for this fantasy novel. I found the continued “danger – fight – use of magic - flight” sequence repetitive.

However, kudos to Paolini for creating this complex world, with many characters and beings, mythology, history, diverse landscape, and complex social structure. I liked the central relationship between Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. I also liked the relationships Eragon forged with both Brom and Murtagh – two men who genuinely help the youngster on his quest.

The final battle scene is exciting and innovative in some aspects, though I found the use of magic a little bit of a “cheat” to get the characters out of the impossible situation Paolini had put them in. That’s a small quibble, though – I DO recognize that this is a fantasy novel. The open-ended finale is an obvious attempt to get readers to buy/read the next installment. Totally understandable in this kind of series, but it irritates me nonetheless.

I definitely see the appeal for the intended audience, even if it’s not really my cup of tea. I’ll have to ask my nephew if he read it.

Gerard Doyle does a fine job narrating the audio book, although I thought the voice he used for Saphira was unnecessarily “growly” (can’t think of a better adjective). He especially does a fine job of narrating the battle scenes, adding a sense of apprehension, danger and excitement all at once.

>27 BookConcierge: Have you seen the movie? I liked it so much I bought the DVD and have watched it over and over. Loved the dragon.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire
4 ****

From the book jacket:
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

My Reaction:
I read this book as my TBR challenge for the month of June, general fiction. There were parts of this book that I thought were brilliant, and others that just got bogged down into toooooo much political detail. But I guess that was the Witch's motivation overall.

It also challenged my "take" on the beloved story, both the movie and the book. Elphaba, known in later life as the Wicked Witch of the West, is a real person. She is born green with pointy teeth to an itinerant missionary and her mother was a member of a noble house. And it's elements like that one, of a different culture with different peoples living in different parts of the Land of Oz, where Maguire really shines. He opens up the world in a magnificent way. I read the first two in the Baum series, stopping at Ozma of Oz because it was not as focused on Dorothy, but this book examines the usurption of Ozma by the Wizard, and when young Elphaba and her close friend, Galinda (later Glinda) visit the Wizard in the Emerald City he is a really creepy character.

Overall, I liked it. Again, a little too much detail on what to me were disjointed political parties in the different countries of Oz.

Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
5***** and a favorite

From the book jacket:
True Thomas lay on Huntlie bank,
A ferlie he spied wi' his ee,
And there he saw a lady bright
Come riding down the Eildon tree.

Abducted by the Queen of Elfland, True Thomas, the brilliant Rhymer, lives unaging with her in Faerie's inhuman splendor for years beyond count.

Finally, dazed with enchantment, Thomas is returned to the world of dirt and work and passing time. Tormented by his memories and desiring nothing but mortal life, he has only his harp and the Queen's parting gift: the inability to speak anything but the truth

My Reaction:
The ability of Ellen Kushner to recognize that there is a story from *before* the time Thomas is taken is one of those "of course there was!" moments. And Kushner's lyrical, well-painted language describes a farmland, of no discernible time, with alliances between Barons and Earls and the King of England as having little bearing on the day-to-day affairs of a sheep farmer, Gavin, and his beloved wife, Meg. Each section of this book is presented by a different character: first Gavin talks about "his Meg" and the household she runs, a young spirited farm girl named Elspeth, and a sudden knock on the door from a strange harpist.

Time passes, and young Thomas the Harpist goes from Earl's hall to the King's hall and off-hand mentions the various lady's he has (ahem) known, all the while bantering with Elspeth until the two young people find that they are falling in love. When Thomas is taken by the Faerie Queen, the story is told from his point, and again, Kushner is able to make the bedroom scenes an element of many when she describes the Land of Faerie and the magic that now surrounds him. Upon return to the world of Humans, much has changed, including Elspeth, though she is widowed and lonely, and all find that being a truth-teller and a seer is both a blessing and a curse.

This is a detour on my TBR challenge for July that I'm calling TBRR of the books on my shelf relating to the story of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer.

The Story of Kullervo, edited by Verlyn Flieger
5*****

Truly, what's not to love for a Tolkien enthusiast geek in the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's first story? It has been referenced during all of the popularity of his books, but here I got to read it. In its entirety. With scratch outs and unfinished ending.

Further enticement is a publication of Tolkien's essay on the Kalevala as well as notes and commentaries on both the essay and the short story itself that add depth to a young writer's first work. Finally, Flieger offers her own commentary of the importance of Kullervo to interpreting Tolkien's writing. What sticks with me the most is that Tolkien wrote to fill in the missing gaps: the characterization in the Kalevala is minimal and in places is obviously pulling from several different parts of the Finnish culture, each of which had its own version of the rune. Tolkien wants to know who his characters are, what there motivation is, and that desire to answer the unwritten parts begins his larger work on Turin Turambar and the larger Silmarillion. Later, he wonders what was on the English countryside, so The Hobbit came into being; when he wanted to fill in the gaps in the history before Bilbo's adventures, as well of course to what happened afterwards, we have the history mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I often wonder what would have happened if I had continued in Prof. Tolkien's path, which I wanted to do at the age of 13+, to become a linguist. But would I have enjoyed Language quite so much?

Drums of Autumn / Diana Gabaldon
4 stars

Claire and Jamie (and Jamie’s nephew Ian) are travelling from South Carolina, heading north. Jamie has an aunt in North Carolina, so they stop there for a while. Meanwhile, back in the 20th century, Brianna and Roger are becoming better acquainted, but Bree misses her mother. Way more going on in this one, but I don’t want to give too much away.

I really liked this one. It picked up in the 2nd half. One thing that gets tricky with these long books, though (at least for me) is remembering all the characters (some of the characters, I’m sure are being reintroduced from earlier in the series, as well)! Someone will be reintroduced at some point, and it takes me ages (and some kind of hint by the author, usually!) to remember who they are! It’s just that that hint doesn’t always come… or it comes quite some time after the character has reappeared. Have to admit, I was very angry with Jamie for a while. However, this may be my favourite in the series, so far.

>28 Carol420:
No, Carol, I haven't seen the movie. I rarely go to the movies or watch TV.

Saint George And the Dragon – Margaret Hodges
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
5*****

This is a retelling from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, which recounts the legend of Saint George who slew the dragon which was terrorizing the country. It’s a wonderful tale of courage, dedication, and perseverance. George is pure of heart, generous of spirit, and brave beyond measure. A lovely fable.

Trina Schart Hyman was awarded the Caldecott Medal for excellence in illustration. Her paintings are rich and vibrant, and full of small details that support the storytelling. After I finished reading the story, I started again at the beginning just to pore over the pictures.

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
3★'s

What's It About?
A governess in a French château encounters an apparent plot against her young charge's life in this unforgettably haunting and beautifully written suspense novel. When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe's uncle, Leon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant—his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room. Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma—though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda's innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count.

What Did I Think?
I probably would never have read the book if not for a challenge that I was trying to complete. It was better than I had anticipated since this is not my usual type of book. It was a good combination of mystery and romance although I wished it had been a little heavier on the mystery side. The atmosphere of the story reminded me a lot of Rebecca. Those that like Gothic romance/mysteries will redoubtably love this book.

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig
5★'s

What’s It About?
Eleven-year-old Nikolas—nicknamed “Christmas”—has received only one toy in his life: a doll carved out of a turnip. But he’s happy with his turnip doll, because it came from his parents, who love him. Then one day his father goes missing, and Nikolas must travel to the North Pole to save him.

Along the way, Nikolas befriends a surly reindeer, bests a troublesome troll, and discovers a hidden world of enchantment in the frozen village of Elfhelm. But the elves of Elfhelm have troubles of their own: Christmas spirit and goodwill are at an all-time low, and Nikolas may be the only person who can fix things—if only he can reach his father before it’s too late.

What Did I Think?
Hello…my name is Brian and Aunt Carol says that I should write and tell you how I liked this book. Thank you, Mr. Sergierocks for telling Aunt Carol about it so she could tell me.

Nicholas lived in Finland with his father who worked as a woodcutter. He had a mouse and a doll made out of a turnip for friends. Nicholas’s father wanted to prove that there were really elves so he went looking for them at the North Pole. When his father didn’t come back Nicholas went to look for him and had some very funny adventures. He met some elves, trolls, pixies and reindeer that were magic. When Nicholas finds the elves he is sad because they are so different. I learned that it is okay to not be like everyone else and that people can make the world a better place by how they act.

I really liked the book and think that everybody should read it.

Note: Brian is almost 10 years old and he thought that Sergei recommended this book just for him. He’s almost as fascinated with Sergei being a “meerkat” as he was with his recommendation:) I told Brian that when we finish with a book we write something about it s others will know if they would like to read it or not. He would have told you the entire story if I had let him. I typed it for him but the words are all his.

>36 Carol420: Carol, I left a message for Brian on the Mystery and Suspense page.
I hope you enjoyed the story, too. I likened it to a fairytale for grownups!

>36 Carol420: Nice to see our honorary member leaving a review. 😊
Will have to search this out for school on his recommendation.

Summer Schedule of Group Reads being undertaken by Mystery and Suspense Group in case anyone wants to join us - a good time as one is a standalone and one is the first book in a series. All welcome in as few or as many as you want to join in 😊

July
Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis - #3 in the Joe Plantagenet Series : Start date Saturday 22nd July

August
The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul - #7 in the Oregon Files Series : Start Date Tuesday 1st August

Take No Farewell by Robert Goddard - Standalone : Start Date Friday 11th August (Also published as Debt of Dishonour )

The Innocent by David Baldacci - #1 in the Will Robie Series : Start Date Wednesday 23rd August

Hope this organisation helps people.

A Game of Ghosts by John Connolly
Charlie Parker series Book #15
4.5 ★'s

What's it About?
It is deep winter and the darkness is unending. A private detective named Jaycob Eklund has vanished and Charlie Parker is assigned to track him down. Parker’s employer, Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has his own reasons for wanting Eklund found. Eklund is no ordinary investigator—he is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings. Now Parker is drawn into Eklund’s world: a realm in which the monstrous Mother rules a crumbling criminal empire, in which men strike bargains with angels, and in which the innocent and guilty alike are pawns in a game of ghosts.

What Did I Think ?
Another great addition to this long running series. I believe I may read this series more for Louis and Angel than Charlie but they all have their individual personalities to provide such entertainment value. The combined cast makes them unique. Connolly blends mystery with the unconventional, doused with supernatural overtones. The books are dark but oh so yummy. Can't wait for the next one .

Hamlet – William Shakespeare
BBC Audiobook performed by Michael Sheen (Hamlet), Kenneth Cranham (Claudius), Juliet Stevenson (Gertrude) and Ellie Beaven (Ophelia), and a full cast
4****

I’ll dispense with the summary for this classic tragedy by William Shakespeare, but as I’ve said before, I really dislike reading plays. I much prefer to see them performed live by talented actors, the medium for which they are written. The next best thing to a live performance, however, must be an audio such as this one, with talented actors taking on the roles and really bringing the play to life for the listener.

There are hundreds of editions of this work, and I recommend that readers get one that is annotated. The text copy I had as an accompaniment to the audio was published by the Oxford University Press, and included several scholarly articles, appendices and footnotes to help the modern-day reader understand Shakespeare’s Elizabethan terms and use of language, as well as historical references. One appendix even includes the music to accompany the songs!

Band of Brothers – Stephen E Ambrose
Book on CD read by Collin Smith
4****

The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.

Ambrose chose one unit and followed the men of that unit through their years of training, and combat during World War II. He profiles the officers and enlisted men alike, showing their reactions to training, to the regimented lifestyle the military requires, to combat, and to each other. In this way, the reader experiences the boredom of routine drill, the excitement and anxiety of waiting to go on the next mission, the adrenaline rush and terror of combat, the anger and compassion on seeing your comrades wounded or killed.

Ambrose conducted hours of interviews with the survivors, and was given access to letters, journals and military documents. The personal stories lend great authenticity to the narrative. The text edition includes photos of the soldiers, and maps of Europe, as well as of specific battle sites.

Collin Smith does a fine job narrating the audio book. He has great pacing and really brought the work to life. However … after listening to the first disc I realized the copy I got from the library was an abridged audio, so I read the text for the remainder of the book.

One final footnote: In the last year of his life, Ambrose was accused of plagiarizing several passages in his book The Wild Blue. He responded that all his works are footnoted, and his sources documented. He said that his main concern was with telling the story, and he regretted that he didn’t always use quotation marks. Forbes magazine did additional research and found suspect passages in at least six of Ambrose’s books. However, THIS book, was NOT cited.

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean
★ ★ ★ ★ - 400 pages

The Duke of Haven requires an heir. He needs to find a wife. More specifically, he needs to find his wife, Seraphina, who left him three years ago. He has looked all over Europe for her and even went to Boston, with no luck. He is beyond shocked, then, when Sera appears in Parliament to request a divorce.

This is the third in the Scandal and Scoundrel series. We first met Haven when Sera's sister Sophie caught him fooling around with someone else at a party and pushed him into a fish pond. Sera is one of my favorites of "The Dangerous Daughters." Of the five sisters, two do not have defined characters - they are there, but they are kind of interchangeable. The remaining sister will have her own book in another year.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Claire North
4/5 stars
Lead character, Harry August is born a kalachakra which is a person who lives multiple but not infinite lives. When he dies, his life is reset and he is reborn to live his life again. Harry does not have a boring life and has encountered a similar kalachakra, Vincent Rankis who is bent on making a quantum mirror which could have devastating results for the Earth. Harry spends each of his lives tracking Vincent down in hopes of preventing a possible catastrophe that could be caused by Rankis with the only means possible of destroying him. Not a perfect book but very intriguing and thought provoking!

The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
PC Peter Grant series Book # 6
4 ★'s

What's It About?
Suspicious deaths are not usually the concern of Police Constable Peter Grant or the Folly—London’s police department for supernatural cases—even when they happen at an exclusive party in one of the flats of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. But the daughter of Lady Ty, influential goddess of the Tyburn river, was there, and Peter owes Lady Ty a favor. Plunged into the alien world of the super-rich, where the basements are bigger than the houses, where the law is something bought and sold on the open market, a sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean. But this is Peter Grant we’re talking about. He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week.

What Did I Think?
This was my first Peter Grant book so I tried to get a sense of the Grant character. I found him to be funny, and despite what higher-ups seem to think - a good cop. He seems to try very hard to do the right thing...even when it gets him in trouble or puts his life in danger. Some of the other characters were just unbelievably naive...thus making the story somewhat disjointed. I found the humor... the magic... and supernatural element to be something I would like to investigate further so will give this series another try.

So You Want to be President?– Judith St George
Illustrated by David Small
4****

This picture book for young children tells some of the interesting tidbits about the American Presidents, from George Washington to Bill Clinton. The message is that almost anyone can be president – fat, thin, tall, short, born in a log cabin or a mansion, college graduate or struggled to learn to read, army general or tailor. There is an updated edition, that includes George W Bush, but even that one states all that all the presidents have been white men, and that no woman has even run for the office. (Although there is acknowledgement of Geraldine Ferraro’s historic run for Vice President.)

David Small’s illustrations earned the Caldecott medal. His near caricatures are fun and engaging, and he includes small details to delight both children and the adults who may be reading aloud. I loved Teddy Roosevelt playing with a train set on the floor, or Richard Nixon bowling, or the Presidential “band” with Bill Clinton on the sax, Chester Arthur on the banjo, and Thomas Jefferson on the violin.

I think I would probably rate this only three stars if it weren’t for the illustrations. Small’s drawings earned that extra star from me.

BTW ... I've corrected the Touchstone for message # 42 so it goes to the BOOK and not to the TV mini-series.

The Couple Next Door by Sheri Lepena
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 - 308 pages

Anne and Marco Conti have, to all appearances, a good life. They have a nice house, an Audi, and an adorable new baby. But when you look below the surface, you see post-partum depression, a failing business, and distrust. After the sitter cancels, Anne and Marco leave the baby in her crib and take the monitor to their next-door neighbors' house for a dinner party. They check her every half hour. By the time they leave around 1:30, the baby is missing. As Detective Rasbach digs into the events of the night and the Contis' lives, more secrets threaten to surface and keep the frantic parents from finding their baby.

Very suspenseful, full of plot twists. I really didn't like any of the characters except the detective. Usually, when I don't like the characters, I don't care for the book, but this is an exception. I think part of this is because the characters are so well-drawn. There was definitely a twist at the end I wasn't prepared for.

Blood Bound / Patricia Briggs
4 stars

This is book 2 of the series. Mercedes (Mercy) is a mechanic and a shapeshifter (coyote) who was raised by werewolves, so she knows them and their society well. There are also vampires in the area with whom she is acquainted. She owes Stefan, one of those vampires, a favour, so she accompanies him in her coyote form to see someone. When they arrive, Stefan is put under a spell while they watch a hotel maid murdered; other hotel employees have already been murdered this night. They discover that the guy who brought them there, and who did the murdering is a sorcerer-vampire, and Mercy is warned away while the vampires and werewolves try to hunt him down to destroy him before he murders more.

I really liked this one. It especially picked up in the second half when Mercy (of course!) had to get more involved again. There was a particularly tense (i.e. scary!) scene, at one point (at least for me it was!). There are a lot of characters and I did get a few mixed up occasionally (Stefan/Samuel, Adam/Andre, and a few others who I just couldn’t remember if they were introduced in book 1 or if I “skimmed” a section where they were introduced earlier in this book). However, that didn’t diminish my enjoyment very much.

The Secret History / Donna Tartt
3 stars

Richard is on a scholarship when he goes to college in New England. He gets into an elite Greek program, with only a few other students in it. All the other students are rich and don’t think about money. One of their little clique is murdered by the rest of them at the start of the book, then Richard, the narrator, backs up to tell how they got there, and how things went afterward.

Based on the first half of the book, I would have given this 2 stars. I didn’t like any of the characters at all. I found them snobby and pretentious. I’m not sure if they were meant to come across that way via the writing, or if it was the narration of the audio (by the author herself), so the tone as she read, or if it was just the way I saw them, but either way, I didn’t like them at all. Oh, yeah and twins: Charles and Camilla… really? Every time they were mentioned as a pair, my mind went to the Royal Family in England!

So much of the first half of the book was taken up discussing boring Greek stuff, philosophy, academic stuff. I just wasn’t interested. The second half of the book picked up, though only enough for me to give it 3 stars (ok) - and I suspect, as I write this within hours of finishing, that the further I get from it, I might actually feel like I should have rated it only 2.5, not 3 (average for 2 stars in the first half and 3 stars in the second half). However, I did find the stuff that happened after the murder to be more interesting. As for the ending…. I liked part of it, but disliked another part.

Oops ... my mistake - duplicate post

The Ex by Alafair Burke
4★'s

What's It About?
Twenty years ago she ruined his life. Now she has the chance to save it. Widower Jack Harris has resisted the dating scene ever since the shooting of his wife Molly by a fifteen-year-old boy three years ago. An early morning run along the Hudson River changes that when he spots a woman in last night’s party dress, barefoot, enjoying a champagne picnic alone, reading his favorite novel. Everything about her reminds him of what he used to have with Molly. Eager to help Jack find love again, his best friend posts a message on a popular website after he mentions the encounter. Days later, that same beautiful stranger responds and invites Jack to meet her in person at the waterfront. That’s when Jack’s world falls apart.

What Did I Think?
I really enjoyed this book. The characters that Burke has created are so much like real people...not always likable but ever changing...sometimes for the good and sometimes not. The story itself is rather complicated but not to the point of loosing the reader. We learn about past history and how and if it affected current situations.

The Ex will appeal to those that like crime novels mixed with mysteries and legal thrillers. I highly recommend it.

Secondhand Lions: A novelization by John Whitman, based on the screenplay by Tim McCanlies
★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 - 137 pages

Walter Caldwell is left at Uncle Hub and Uncle Garth's place for the summer while his mother allegedly attends court reporting school. She's told him the uncles have lots of money hidden around the farm and he should spend his time looking for it. After a less-than-warm welcome, Walter starts to appreciate his great uncles and the tall tale Uncle Garth tells him about Hub and Jasmine, a beautiful princess he fell in love with.

This is one of my favorite movies, and I always hoped it was based on a book. It wasn't, but this is the novelization of the movie's screenplay (with a slightly different ending.)

Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, virtue, and courage mean everything; that money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. That true love never dies. Doesn't matter if they're true or not A man should believe in those things anyway. Because they are the things worth believing in.

The Book of Souls by James Oswald
Detective Inspector McLean series Book #2
5★'s

What's It About?
Each year for ten years, a young woman’s body was found in Edinburgh at Christmastime: naked, throat slit, body washed clean. The final victim, Kirsty Summers, was Detective Constable Tony McLean's fiancée. But the Christmas Killer made a mistake, and McLean put an end to the brutal killing spree.
It’s now twelve years later. A fellow prisoner has just murdered the incarcerated Christmas Killer. But with the arrival of the festive season comes a body. A young woman: naked, washed, her throat cut. Is this a copycat killer? Was the wrong man behind bars all this time? Or is there a more frightening explanation? McLean must revisit the most disturbing case of his life and discover what he missed before the killer strikes again .

What Did I Think?
I love the supernatural overtones of this series. I do get rather frustrated with the bullying that is allowed by the higher ups in the police department. If this a true reenactment of all police headquarters in Edinburgh then there is a strong need for major counselling and anger control sessions.

What the book actually was and what it was capable of was not revealed until almost the very last and it let the reader form their own opinion of what it was and how it fit in with the story. I will say the ending was not a total surprise but it did leave a major string dangling. Perhaps it will be answered in the third book. Looking forward to it.

Quartet in August by Barbara Pym
4★'s

What's It About?
This is the story of four people in late middle-age - Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia - whose chief point of contact is that they work in the same office and they suffer the same problem - loneliness. Lovingly, poignantly, satirically and with much humor, Pym conducts us through their small lives and the facade they erect to defend themselves against the outside world. There is nevertheless an obstinate optimism in her characters, allowing them in their different ways to win through to a kind of hope.

What Did I Think?
I think that sneaky Barbara Pym has been hiding behind the door and then wrote a book...that in many ways... is about a few of my friends:)

One of the things that I really liked about this book is that the author didn't waste one single word more than she needed to in order to tell these people's story. Each character has a private set of personal quirks, but remain unable to connect in a meaningful way with any of the others that they have worked beside for years. My friend who is from Scotland tells me that "it's due to British emotional reserve." I'll take her word for it. I started out early in the story feeling very sorry for them but in the end I found that they just followed personal... quiet and generally unheralded journeys. Barbara Pym summed it up very well when she said ...."There was something to be said for tea and a comfortable chat about."

For those of you who like tough men Series, e.g. Mitch Rapp, Gabriel Allon, Jack Reacher, Scot Horvath, John Puller etc, I strongly recommend the Spider Shepherd Series by Stephen Leather, have read the first two books in the series and one from later in the series and loved them all. He is a former SAS operative who is now an undercover cop. I have just finished Soft Target which was hard to put down. My only complaint is there are no chapters, just 528 pages of text!

>56 Andrew-theQM: No chapters! That's strange! What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. I always finish the chapter first and then do my business.

>57 EadieB: Do have a break of a line or two between different parts of the story but that is it! The fact it wasn't a problem was another way it showed me it was an excellent read.

>58 Andrew-theQM: Interesting! I'll have to check it out. My library doesn't carry his books so I have to order from UK.

Your touchstone is connecting to a Stephen Hunter book.

Natural Selection on Kindle is free - I can see why he is a good writer by his bio.
An action-packed short story featuring Dan “Spider” Shepherd during his days on the SAS selection course. Shepherd is tested to his limits - and is given his nickname.

Natural Selection is about 14,000 words, about thirty pages, perfect if you have half an hour to spare.

Stephen Leather is one of the UK's most successful thriller writers. He was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. Two of his books, The Stretch and The Bombmaker, were made into movies. You can find out more from his website, www.stephenleather.com.

>59 EadieB: I have corrected the touchstone.

>60 Andrew-theQM: Great! That will help those who want to read it.

The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency – Kathryn Smith
4****

From the book jacket: Marguerite “Missy” LeHand was the private secretary and right-hand woman of Franklin Delano Roosevelt for more than twenty years, serving as de facto chief of staff in the White House – a position never held by a woman before or since. From her perch at Roosevelt’s side, she offered him counsel on Supreme Court and cabinet appointments – and on events as momentous as the unfolding war in Europe (and as minor as whom to invite for dinner).

My reactions
I had never heard of Miss LeHand, and yet she was written about during her tenure as Roosevelt’s private secretary, with a Time magazine cover in 1934 that featured the four people who formed FDR’s secretariat, and several profile articles in Life and Look magazines, as well as regular mention in newspapers. So how is it that she has slipped out of our collective memories?

Perhaps the answer is that, until this work, there has never been a biography of this extraordinary woman. Smith did extensive research and she includes detailed notes and a bibliography at the end of the main biography. Her interest in Missy and her access to letters, journals and records, helped Smith craft a book that is interesting, balanced and fascinating. There is controversy, to be sure, about LeHand’s actual role in FDR’s life, with some people claiming that she was the President’s mistress, while others refute that. Smith’s research leads her to the conclusion that Missy was not a love interest but a close and reliable confidant, a person the Roosevelts (both Franklin and Eleanor) trusted and depended upon. The high regard in which Missy LeHand was held is evidenced by the fact that the Roosevelts paid for all her medical expenses after her major stroke, and the family continues to pay for the maintenance of her gravesite.

I found the Afterword and Acknowledgements section almost as fascinating as the main biography. In it Smith relates how she came across a reference to Missy LeHand which piqued her interest. When she began searching for a biography to read, she discovered the lack of one. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Serpent’s Tale – Ariana Franklin
Book on CD performed by Kate Reading
3.5***

From the book jacket: Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died an agonizing death by poison—and the king's estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry suspects that Rosamund's murder is probably the first move in Eleanor's long-simmering plot to overthrow him. If Eleanor is guilty, the result could be civil war. The king must once again summon Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, to uncover the truth.

My reactions
There are several things I like about this series. I love a strong, independent, resilient, and resourceful heroine. Adelia Aguilar is all these things, and then some. Her personal life is more complicated now that she is a mother, but this also adds interest.

I like the return of certain characters (even if I don’t necessarily like all of them): Mansur (Adelia’s Arabic manservant), Gyltha (their housekeeper), Sir Rowley Picot (Bishop of Saint Albans), and King Henry. And I loved her smelly little dog, Ward!

Franklin does a lot of research and it shows in the way she sets the tone and describes the landscape and relationships in 12th century England. Book two in this popular series includes much more actual history of the period, though Franklin takes liberties in imagining this plot. The plot is intricate, and had more than one surprise for the reader.

Kate Reading is fast becoming a favorite narrator. She has great pacing, and is a talented voice artist, able to give the many characters unique voices.

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula by Andi Watson
3★'s my rating
5★'s Brian's rating - He'd give them all 5's:)

What's it About?
Princess Decomposia is overworked and underappreciated. This princess of the underworld has plenty of her own work to do but always seems to find herself doing her layabout father's job, as well. The king doesn't feel quite well, you see. Ever. So the princess is left scurrying through the halls, dodging her mummy, werewolf, and ghost subjects, always running behind and always buried under a ton of paperwork. Oh, and her father just fired the chef, so now she has to hire a new cook as well. Luckily for Princess Decomposia, she makes a good hire in Count Spatula, the vampire chef with a sweet tooth. He's a charming go-getter of a blood-sucker, and pretty soon the two young ghouls become friends. And then...more than friends? Maybe eventually, but first Princess Decomposia has to sort out her life. And with Count Spatula at her side, you can be sure she'll succeed.

What Did I Think?
My little reading pal, Brian, brought this one home from the library a few weeks ago and said I want you to read this one with me...which he is asking me to do less and less now that he feels more confident....and that's a good thing:) I needed a book with a household item in the title or on the cover and "Count Splatula" fit the bill. I'll let Brian take it from here. Be aware if you are over 10 years old that it will take you about 45 minutes to read this from cover to cover...but it's a cute story.

Hi I'm Brian
It was a fun book because it had funny people in it. The king ate too much and got really fat and Princess Decomposia wanted him to not spend all his time being King and eat things that were good for him so she hired Count Spatula to be the cook. Princess Decomposia has to do all the work because the King just wants to eat. Count Spatula was in love with the Princess and just wanted her to be happy and nor so tired all the time. Another thing that I really liked about the book was that Count Spatula was really a vampire and his friend was a zombie. Aunt Carol read it with me so I know that grownups will like it too.

Rebel Queen / Michelle Moran
4 stars

It’s India in the 19th century. Sita is only a child when her mother dies in childbirth. While her grandmother wants to sell her to a brothel, her father won’t allow it. Instead, he and a neighbour train her on everything she might need to know to become a “Durgavasi”, one of the ten elite women who protect India’s queen. Sita’s younger sister’s hopes of a dowry rest on Sita getting this position. India is in a bit of turmoil at this time, as England has occupied India, and is, for the moment, allowing India’s royalty to lead India, but things take a turn for the worse.

This was really good. I didn’t know about this bit of history, nor about India’s queen. I found Sati to be very interesting and enjoyed following her story. I also, as always, appreciated Moran’s historical note at the end explaining which events of the book really happened.

The Sandman. Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes / Neil Gaiman
3.5 stars

Dream (aka The Sandman) was captured and imprisoned 70 years ago. Once he escapes, he goes looking for his objects of power, at least one of which is being used by a madman.

I liked this, particularly the last issue in this volume, the introduction of Dream’s sister, Death. I also enjoyed the bit in the diner. Some parts were hard to follow, but I enjoyed the parts that were a bit easier. Funny most of the parts I liked best (except for Death) focused more on human characters. I guess I can’t do a very good summary because I suppose I missed too many things. I did like the artwork and I do plan to continue the series, though.

Beauty and the Beast by Hannah Howell
★ ★ ★ - 352 pages

The beautiful Gytha knows that she is supposed to marry the heir of the Saiturn Manor. William, the first heir, is dead, as is Thayer, the second heir. That leaves weakling Robert as the heir. However, on the eve of the wedding, in waltzes Thayer, his large, plain, red-haired cousin, who wasn't really dead. Thayer, known as the Red Devil for his skill with a sword, now becomes the bridegroom at the wedding. Having been made a fool of love once, he is reluctant to have it happen a second time.

Do you know how few authors have the initials HH? I read this for the Darth-Heather challenge. What I liked was the setting - 1350's, because that was somewhat unique. I liked the relationships between the characters - especially Thayer and his son Bek. What I didn't like were all the "Old Skool" romance elements (in the first thirty pages we get the innocent girl who knows nothing of sex and the "Will it fit?" question) and, for being a fairly forthright character, Gytha doesn't share her thoughts with Thayer. The story was overlong because of it.

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz
Jane Hawk series Book#1
4.5★'s

What's It About?

“I very much need to be dead.”

These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what. People of talent and accomplishment, people admired and happy and sound of mind, have been committing suicide in surprising numbers. When Jane seeks to learn why, she becomes the most-wanted fugitive in America. Her powerful enemies are protecting a secret so important—so terrifying—that they will exterminate anyone in their way.

But all their power and viciousness may not be enough to stop a woman as clever as they are cold-blooded, as relentless as they are ruthless—and who is driven by a righteous rage they can never comprehend. Because it is born of love.

What Did I Think?
I loved Dean Koontz in his early years of writing, but it seemed that in the past few years he had started to write what I would call "tamer" stuff. The stories just didn't have the same feeling that all of his earlier works did. They were still good...just not AS good. It was with some hesitation that I picked up "The Silent Corner'...the first book in his new Jane Hawk series. If all the rest of the books are like this one then Mr. Koontz has a diffident winner.

Jane is not your usual FBI agent. In this opening book she's fighting a huge bio-tech corporation that plants the idea of suicide and murder into previously innocent, happy, well adjusted individuals...one that just happened to be Jane's Marine Corp husband. The plot is scary but very believable...the character of Jane Hawk is a likable everyday mother and wife that just happens to be able to out think and out shoot the bad guys while remaining smart and appealing. I can't wait to see where Dean Koontz takes Jane next.

Final Jeopardy – Linda Fairstein
3***

Linda Fairstein mined her own experience as a top prosecutor in New York’s Sex Crimes Unit for this debut thriller, starring NYC prosecutor Alexandra Cooper. The book opens with Alex reading her own obituary – a case of mistaken identity when she loaned her vacation home to a Hollywood star.

This is definitely what I look for in this genre. It’s a fast-paced mystery with plenty of suspects, interesting plot twists, a likeable main character, and some complicated relationships. I was kept guessing right along with Alex and the detectives. In the meantime, I became invested in Alex’s personal life and public work. She’s a complex woman, and I like that she doesn’t wait around to be rescued but figures out a way out of her own dilemmas.

Into the Beautiful North – Luis Alberto Urrea
Book on CD narrated by Susan Ericksen
3.5***

In the tiny coastal town of Tres Camarones, Sinaloa, Mexico, nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop and dreams about her father, who left for America years ago. Her aunt Irma is campaigning for Mayor, and when a gang of bandidos begins to move in, the women and children of Tres Camarones realize that they are helpless – all the men have left for “el norte.” Inspired by a showing of Steve McQueen’s The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli and her girlfriends: Vampi, Yolo and Tacho (who is the local homosexual), agree to go on a mission to bring some Mexican men back from the United States to repopulate their village.

This is a quest novel, a coming-of-age story, and a road trip adventure, populated by one of the most eclectic cast of characters in literature. I loved Nayeli, whose smile is like the sunrise. She’s honest, fierce, loyal to her friends, and determined to succeed in her mission. Despite many set-backs – losing all their luggage, being mugged, caught by the border patrol, etc – she keeps her mind on their goal and keeps her troops together and moving forward. Along the way the warriors meet some people who help them: Porfirio and Ariceli, who share their meager shack and a meal, Atómiko, who is their best chance for getting across, Rodrigo, who rescues Tacho, Matt, a surfer dude and former missionary who welcomes them to his late mother’s San Diego house, and – my favorite – a librarian who provides the key to Nayeli’s quest.

Despite loving Nayeli, Tacho, Tía Irma and a host of other characters, I thought the novel was a just okay. The plot and message seemed to get lost in the quirkiness. I liked it. I’m glad I read it. But it wasn’t the kind of memorable read that gets a fourth star – at least not from me.

The novel is translated from Spanish to English, but still includes much Spanish and even some “Spanglish.” This may be challenging for readers who don’t speak Spanish.

The audio book is performed by Susan Ericksen. While she did a reasonable job with all the many characters she had one major flaw. Her Spanish pronunciation is TERRIBLE. Surely the publisher could have found a narrator with better Spanish for this very MEXICAN book. 1 star for her performance.

Noah’s Ark – Peter Spier
5*****

A seventeenth-century Dutch poem by Jacobus Revius is the inspiration for this gloriously detailed picture book, which earned a Caldecott Medal. Spier translated the poem which mentions
“Cow and moose,
Hare and goose,
Sheep and ox,
Bee and fox…”
The poem, itself, is on page 1, but the story really begins on the front inside cover and flyleaf, with a two-page panoramic spread that shows destruction of a village in the distance, while Noah and his family prosper on a hillside and the words “…But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

This is followed by two more “double truck” pictorial panoramas showing the construction of the ark, while a parade of villagers streams past, and the stacks of provisions ready to be loaded aboard, before the poem is printed.

The rest of the book is entirely pictorial. And these are wonderful illustrations! I poured over them, noticing the pairs of different animals, and marveling at the minute details he included. There are even pairs of spiders, scorpions, dodos and echidnas! The big cats are carefully crated before being loaded aboard the Ark. Mrs Noah is obviously unhappy about the mice and creepy-crawlies. The animals and people left behind are slowly engulfed by the rising waters, as is the landscape.

I especially liked how Spier showed the work involved in caring for this menagerie … feeding the animals, mucking out stalls, providing water. Noah and his family members are delighted when new chicks hatch, or puppies are born, but visibly tired and worn as time passes and the rains continue. By the time the dove returns with the olive branch the people and animals are all equally relieved that their ordeal will soon be over. The elephants are first off, followed by a parade of animals and people. The slow-pokes – turtles and snails are the last to depart. The final panoramic spread, composing the back inside cover, shows the miraculous rainbow, and Noah on a hillside “…and he planted a vineyard.”

What I particularly appreciate about this richly drawn book is that it will allow children to use their imaginations to tell the story of what is happening in each panel. I don’t have any little ones in my life, but I want to go out and buy this book so I can look at the pictures again and again to my heart’s content.

>71 BookConcierge: I love Peter Spier! My favorite is Bored, Nothing to Do. I love the imagination used in the book.

I'm looking for a copy of that one to buy - apparently I never replaced it after our house disaster six years ago.

Down Dark Road by Linda Castillo
Kate Bunkholder series Book #9
4.5★'s

What's It About?
Two years ago, Joseph King was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. He was a “fallen” Amish man and a known drug user with a violent temper. Now King has escaped, and he’s headed for Painters Mill.

What Did I Think?
I really liked the personal connection that Kate had in this one. From the start you knew that things were not going to end well...but the reader had no idea how many different twists events were going to take before it concluded. Not only did Kate have to come to gripes with events from her childhood but she had to face something that every cop dreads and finds so hard to comprehend...betrayal by their own.

This is a great series with a likable, believable character in Kate Bunkholder. The entire series will appeal to all that love a mystery that doesn't have a lot of blood and guts but yet is not a cozy

The Prisoner's Gold by Chris Kuzneski
The Hunters series Book #3
5★'s

What's It About?
At the end of the 13th century, Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan gave an Italian merchant unfettered access to his kingdom. The traveler was Marco Polo, and his journey would become legendary. Aided by a special passport that protected him throughout the land, Polo amassed unbelievable wealth and hid it before his return to Italy. To this day, the location of his treasure remains a mystery.

The Hunters—an elite group assembled by an enigmatic billionaire to locate the world’s greatest treasures—are tasked with finding the missing fortune. Guided by firsthand accounts of Polo’s travels, they quickly discover there are hostile forces willing to do anything to stop them from taking the riches from Chinese soil. Before long, the treasure hunt becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse that will rewrite history while taking the lives of many.

What Did I Think?
This is an exceptional series written by a very talented writer. The excitement is high level... going from a car chase to an air chase to fights to shooting and everything imaginable in between. This one had a twist that I didn't see coming, but it was a good thing. Glad it wasn't like the twist in the book before this one. You really must read this series in order or you will never figure out what is happening or why. This series will appeal to all that like a good thriller with plenty of action and a large dose of history.

Schedule for the Group Read of Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis, which is book 3 of the Joe Plantagenet Series:

Saturday 22nd July : Chapters 1 to 6
Sunday 23rd July: Chapters 7 to 12
Monday 24th July : Chapters 13 to 18
Tuesday 25th July : Chapters 19 to 24

I will post the Group once it is set up for anyone who wants to join us.

This is the Group for the book Discussion:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/bookdiscussionkissin

Still Life With Bread Crumbs / Anna Quindlen
3.5 stars

Rebecca is an award-winning, famous photographer. When she runs into some money trouble, she decides to rent out her NYC apartment and move to a small place in rural NY. While there, she meets the locals and finds more interesting items to photograph.

I enjoyed this. It wasn’t fast-moving or anything, but I liked the characters and enjoyed the story.

Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
4.5★'s

What's It About?
1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

What Did I Think?
Fourteen year old June knows that her Godfather is dying of AIDS. It's the 1980's and the AIDS epidemic is a big part of the life scene. There is also an entire nation offering various opinions on the subject. We soon see that June's family is diffidently divided on the issue. You had to feel compassion for June when finding out she did not know everything about her Uncle...such as his being bullied by her sister and further alienated by a mother who wanted her brother, Finn, to suffer for the life choices he made. She succeeded in making not only Finn, but everyone suffer, most especially Toby, Finn's love who June had no idea even existed before the funeral. This brought more guilt and questions to June. Brunt managed to depict the public's conception and reaction to the emergence of this disease without being overly dramatic or sensational. The characters had a story to tell and it was so well woven throughout the whole book.

Mudbound / Hillary Jordan
4.5 stars

The opening chapter has brothers Henry and Jamie burying their seemingly unlikable father. From there, the book backs up in time to tell of Laura and Henry’s marriage in the late 1930s, into the 1940s, and their move from a city to rural Mississippi to run a farm, Henry’s dream. But, they have Henry’s father, Pappy, living with them and their two daughters and making their lives miserable. Jamie has been over in Europe fighting in the Second World War. Henry employs three black families on the farm, one of which is the Jacksons, and Laura employs Florence Jackson to help in the house. The Jacksons eldest son, Ronsel, has also been fighting in the war. Things get worse for the families once Jamie and Ronsel come home. It is the South, after all, and racism and the KKK are still alive and kicking.

Wow, this was really good. It mostly wasn’t fast-paced, but I wanted to keep reading. It was told from multiple points of view, so that made things a little more interesting (and it was easy to follow whose viewpoint it was, as the chapter was not only introduced with their name, their name was the “running title” at the top of each page for that chapter). Ugh, some of those people are so hateful! Even the nicer people have unlikeable reactions, in some cases! This is likely to be one of my favourites for this year.

The Game of Silence / Louise Erdrich
3.5 stars

This is a children’s book, a continuation of “The Birchbark House”. It is 1850 and Omakayas is now 9-years old. This book goes through another year in her life, all four seasons. In the spring, Omakayas, her family, and the other Ojibwe discover that they are being told by the white people that they need to leave. They send out four men to find out what happened, why they must leave – did they break the treaty? While the four men are gone, Omakayas learns about medicines from her grandmother, while her cousin, Two Strikes, though a girl, wants to build her own little army made up of the boys. And, there is more day-to-day stuff happening, as well.

I enjoyed this. Not quite as much as “The Birchbark House”, but it was still enjoyable and I will continue the series. There are very nice illustrations, and some well done descriptions of how things are done (similar to the first book).

Most Dangerous Place by James Grippando
Jack Swyteck series Book #13
4.5 ★'s

What's It About?
Defending a woman accused of murdering the man who sexually assaulted her, Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck must uncover where the truth lies between innocence, vengeance, and justice in this spellbinding tale of suspense—based on shocking true-life events.
According to the FBI, the most dangerous place for a woman between the ages of twenty and thirty is in a relationship with a man. Those statistics become all too personal when Jack Swyteck takes on a new client tied to his past. It begins at the airport, where Jack is waiting to meet his old high school buddy, Keith Ingraham, a high-powered banker based in Hong Kong, coming to Miami for his young daughter’s surgery. But their long-awaited reunion is abruptly derailed when the police arrest Keith’s wife, Isabelle, in the terminal, accusing her of conspiring to kill the man who raped her in college. Jack quickly agrees to represent Isa, but soon discovers that to see justice done, he must separate truth from lies—an undertaking that proves more complicated than the seasoned attorney expects.

Inspired by an actual case involving a victim of sexual assault sent to prison for the death of her attacker, James Grippando’s twisty thriller brilliantly explores the fine line between victim and perpetrator, innocence and guilt, and cold-blooded revenge and rightful retribution.

What Did I Think?
I have been a long time fan of this series. It seems that it just gets better and better with each additional episode. You are eager to find out more from the very first page. Rape has more than one victim...entire families, marriages and relationships suffer often irreparable damage that can lead to revenge that often sets off a disastrous chain of events. Thus is the case of this young woman....but is she truly only a victim or is she as much a predator as her attacker? A complex plot with so many twists and turns that Grippando pulls off beautifully.

Evelyn, After by Victoria Helen Stone
★ ★ ★ ★ - 258 pages

Evelyn's tidy, ordered life comes crashing down around her after a late-night phone call from her psychiatrist husband. His car is in the ditch, and he needs her to bring their SUV to pull it out. When Evelyn gets there, she discovers he isn't alone. He is with one of his patients, Juliette. Evelyn must try to figure out how much she wants to hurt her husband, her son, Juliette, and Juliette's family. She must also decide what she wants for herself.

Stone (a pen name for Victoria Dahl) did an excellent job of portraying Evelyn and how she lost herself in her marriage, motherhood, and suburban life, and of how she tried to find herself, as well

The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Renee'Ballard series Book #1
4.5★'s

What's It About?
Renee' Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood--also known as the Late Show--beginning many investigations but finishing none, as each morning she turns everything over to the day shift. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.

But one night she catches two assignments she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the investigations entwine, they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won't give up her job, no matter what the department throws at her.

What Did I Think?
I hope Harry Bosch is not retired but just taking a long over-due vacation. Where ever he is he should be aware that a new star has risen on the police horizons...Detective Renee' Ballard. Ballard is in her own way as complicated and scared as Harry...and like Harry this woman is driven to succeed..to leave no stone unturned in her pursuit to solve the case. When the piece fall into place for Renee'Ballard the reader shares her adrenaline jolt. When her demons come to haunt her, the reader shares her sorrow.

The book is fast paced and the character of Renee' Ballard is everything this series needs to become as big a hit...perhaps even bigger than Harry Bosch....although that's hard to imagine right now Thank you Mr. Connelly... and please take good care of Harry.

>83 Carol420: He certainly keeps them coming.

The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James
4.5★'s

What's It About?
London, 1925. Glamorous medium Gloria Sutter made her fortune helping the bereaved contact loved ones killed during the Great War. Now she's been murdered at one of her own séances, after leaving a message requesting the help of her former friend and sole rival, Ellie Winter.

Ellie doesn't contact the dead—at least, not anymore. She specializes in miraculously finding lost items. Still, she can't refuse the final request of the only other true psychic she has known. Now Ellie must delve into Gloria's secrets and plunge back into the world of hucksters, lowlifes, and fakes. Worse, she cannot shake the attentions of handsome James Hawley, a damaged war veteran who has dedicated himself to debunking psychics.

As Ellie and James uncover the sinister mysteries of Gloria's life and death, Ellie is tormented by nightmarish visions that herald the grisly murders of those in Gloria's circle. And as Ellie’s uneasy partnership with James turns dangerously intimate, an insidious evil force begins to undermine their quest for clues, a force determined to bury the truth, and whoever seeks to expose it.

What Did I Think?
Another great read by this very talented author. I believe that this was the most original and interesting of her books thus far...and I think I've read almost all of them and gave them very high ratings. The characters of Ellie, the physic and James, the shell-shock vet, were simply made for one another. The information about mediums and seances seemed to be well researched. I didn't realize that these seance "parties" were so popular in England and the U.S. after WWI. Overall the supernatural aspects were well written and the main plot is a solid "who done it" mystery. We have a good cop...an old adversary who becomes an ally... and several more interesting characters who add to the story line. This book will appeal to everyone that loves a good mystery even if they are skeptical about the supernatural.

Kissing the Demons by Kate Ellis
Joe Plantagenet Series Book #3
4 ★'s

What's It About?
Thirteen Torland Place is a house with a disturbing past. When a student living there is found murdered, DI Joe Plantagenet wonders whether her death has anything to do with its grim history. Then other, similar deaths come to light and he fears that a ruthless serial killer is at work. Could the deaths be connected to Obediah Shrowton, an executed murderer whose presence still seems to linger in the house? Or is there a yet more sinister and dangerous explanation?

What Did I Think?
If you enjoy a good, solid police procedural with strong supernatural overtones, you will diffidently like the Joe Plantagenet series. Kate Ellis has skillfully blended history with present-day crime to produce an outstanding series with excellent characters.

The story is complex...perhaps a bit too complex, which lost it the 5th star...and suspenseful. This is due partly to the fact that there are so many people who have a great deal to lose if their secrets are revealed. It's the third book in the series but it can very well be read as a standalone. However, something tells me that you'll want to go back to read the others. The atmosphere of the town of Eborby along with a strong story line and believable characters make this one a winner.

The Girl on Legare Street / Karen White
3 stars

In book 2 of the series, realtor Melanie is brought together with her mother, whom she hasn’t seen, nor heard from, in 33 years; her mother left when Melanie was 7. Her mother wants “Melly” to help her buy their ancestral home. In the meantime, a ship has been recovered... a ship belonging to their ancestors, and a body is found on it. Also, there are mysterious portraits in the attic of the house – who are the girls in the portraits?

I should have reread my review for the first book before getting this one on audio. I warned myself that I should not do the audio for the second one. Oops! So, I listened to the audio again and it was no better. It didn’t hold my attention enough to follow everything, though I got the gist. I’m giving it (like the first one) an “ok” rating, but I’m stopping the series here.

The author ended both books with a “cliffhanger” kind of ending, in hopes that it would intrigue the reader enough to continue. It worked after the first book, but it’s not working again. I don’t think I liked a single character in the book! The main character, Melanie, I was neutral about, but I really disliked both her mother and the potential love interest, Jack. Wow, could either of them be any more pushy!? They both constantly annoyed me.

Malicious Intent – Kathryn Fox
3.5***

From the book jacket: (Sydney’s) only female freelancer in the male-dominated field, pathologist Dr. Anya Crichton will take any work she can find to pay child support and her mortgage, get her new business of the ground, and battle her ex-husband for custody of their three-year-old son. When her expert forensic evidence is instrumental in winning a high-profile case, new work offers start pouring in. But Anya’s investigation into the drug overdose of a young Lebanese girl is raising troubling questions. Startling coincidences between this death and a series of seemingly unrelated suicides that Anya is also examining, suggest that there’s a (serial killer) at work.

My reactions:
Great debut in a crowded field. Fox writes a tense, compelling mystery thriller with a (mostly) strong female lead. Anya is intelligent, resourceful, and tenacious. But she is also prone to self-doubt when it comes to certain aspects of her life. As a free-lancer, and female to boot, she’s fighting an uphill battle convincing the police that her findings point to a crime, so she forced to pursue the investigation on her own. Her best friend, Kate, is a detective and begins to become an ally, but then betrays Anya’s trust when dealing with the lone survivor.

Because this is number one in a series, there’s a lot of personal background that has to be covered, and in this case Anya’s own back story is instrumental in shaping the current plot. It helps to explain why she’s such a loner, and her personal troubles with her ex-husband make her emotionally vulnerable.

I had identified the culprit pretty quickly, certainly by half-way through the novel, but enjoyed watching the characters figure it out for themselves. I recognized that Fox gave the reader clues that Anya and the police did not have. The ending somewhat sets the reader up for future installments. I would hope that her relationships with Kate, Martin and Brody are continued and developed further as the series progresses.

Happy Never After – Kathy Hogan Trochek
Digital audio book narrated by Hillary Huber.
3***

From the book jacket: In this fourth installment of the Callahan Garrity series, the South’s favorite cleaning lady/sleuth immerses herself in the world of sixties girl groups and nineties rap groups to hunt the killer of a suave, self-serving record producer.

My reactions:
I like this mystery series. It’s a little edgier than a traditional cozy, because Callahan is a former Atlanta Police Officer, but it has many of the classic elements of a cozy: an “amateur” sleuth, a regular cast of characters surrounding the main character’s life/business (in this case, her mother and the other maids of her house-cleaning business), and murder that happens (mostly) off the page. We also have a love interest that is getting complicated. Callahan, however is NOT an amateur – she’s a licensed private investigator, and can carry a gun (and shot it). She’s also intelligent, determined and usually gets herself out of a jam rather than wait around for help.

I really enjoyed the premise in this installment, especially as I was a teenager in the era of the sixties girl groups. There were plenty of references to that era that kept me entertained and enough plot twists and red herrings to keep me interested. And … I did NOT guess the perpetrator until the reveal.

Hilary Huber does a fine job of narrating the audio version. She has good pacing, clear diction, and the skill to give the many characters distinct voices, making it easy for the listener to distinguish who is speaking. I particularly love how she voices the elderly Easterbrooks: Baby and Sister.

As Seen on TV / Sarah Mlynowski
3.75 stars

Sunny is leaving Florida for New York City to move in with her boyfriend, but at the last minute, her job falls through. When a friend offers to help get her a spot on a reality tv show, Party Girls, Sunny is hesitant, but it’s a job to keep her going for a few weeks until she find a real job. Unfortunately, Sunny gets all caught up in being a star and being on tv, and she forgets what’s important.

I quite enjoyed this (overall). Sunny was very unlikeable in the middle of the story, though, when she was all caught up in herself, her image, and the show. What an awful reality show, though! I enjoyed the few parts where there were roommates watching the show, so there was a bit of an outsider’s perspective on the show itself.

Mr. Adam
by Pat Frank
3/5 stars
In this science fiction satire written in 1946, we find Mr. Adam as the only man left in the world with the ability to sire children after a atomic plant explosion. He is whisked away to Washington to assist in impregnating women but the politicians leave him disgusted and he does the only thing he can think of to prevent him from being the only fertile man around. I think this story has held up pretty well and while not a perfect novel, I found it pretty entertaining.

Schedule for Group Read of The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul, which starts on Tuesday 1st August. This is #7 in the Oregon Files Series.

Tuesday 1st August : Prologue and 1 - 5
Wednesday 2nd August : 6 - 12
Thursday 3rd August : 13 - 17
Friday 4th August : 18 - 23
Saturday 5th August : 24 - 29

>91 JulieLill: OK - now you've got my curiosity going! Your review recalled for me Harlan Ellison's A Boy and his Dog, so now I'm going to have to reread Ellison and get my hands on Mr. Adam.

Dying Inside / Robert Silverberg
3 stars

David gets paid to write university papers for college students. He has been telepathic (he can read minds) all his life. He is now in his 40s(?), and his “gift” seems to be disappearing. He looks back on the good and bad his telepathy has brought him and is trying to deal with the seemingly inevitable loss of it.

Overall, it was ok. The 1970s definitely came through in the book (it was originally published in ‘72): sex and drugs. I enjoyed some of the relationships David had – the rocky relationship with his adopted younger sister, adopted when David was 10 years old; and his long-ago relationship with Kitty were particularly interesting to me. Some of the rest of it wasn’t as interesting, though. I’m not sure why the author felt it necessary to include some of the university papers her wrote for students; I found those boring and mostly skimmed those. The edition I read was published in 2008 and there was a good introduction by the author as to how the book came about.

Elephant Company – Vicki Constantine Croke
3.5***

Subtitle: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II

Jim “Elephant Bill” Williams was a veteran of World War I when he went to colonial Burma in 1920 to work as a “forest man” for a British teak company. He was immediately fascinated by the large beasts who were the true workers in this industry. He appreciated their intelligence and social structure, and keenly observed the relationships between the elephants and the uzis/mahouts who were their constant companions. One Burmese man, Po Toke, helped Williams develop a different method of training and caring for the valuable animals, and introduced him to the young male calf who would become his favorite tusker – Bandoola.

The subtitle really intrigued me and I was eager to read about this particular episode, but the author gives us more than 200 pages of background before we get to World War II and the vital role Williams and his elephants played in the fight against the Japanese. Admittedly all that background was interesting and helped to explain the extraordinary relationship Williams had with these animals and their riders. His respect for and loyalty to them was returned in kind, making him an exemplary leader.

Croke did extensive research. In addition to the memoirs written by Williams, she was able to access a treasure trove of personal papers kept by Williams’ children and other descendants of key people. I read all the notes following the main text, they were so interesting.

Baker Towers – Jennifer Haigh
Audio book performed by Anna Fields.
3.5*** rounded up to 4****

Adapted from the book jacket: Bakerton is a company town built on coal, a town of church festivals and ethnic neighborhoods, hunters’ breakfasts and firemen’s parades. The looming black piles of mine dirt (are called) Baker Towers; they are local landmarks, clear evidence that the mines are booming. The mines were not named for Bakerton; Bakerton was named for the mines. This is an important distinction. It explains the order of things. Born and raised on Bakerton’s Polish Hill, the five Novak children come of age during wartime.

My reaction:
This is the kind of character-driven literary fiction that I love to read and discuss with my F2F book club. Haigh focuses on the Novak family to tell the story of America in the years following World War II. It’s a microcosm of American life, that encompasses many of the issues faced by the nation during the 1930s through 1970s.

The five Novaks are as different as night and day. The oldest, Georgie, serves in the Pacific during World War II, but after the war he moves away with his new wife, rarely returning home. Next is Dorothy, a pretty but insecure young woman who takes a job in Washington D.C., but falters. Joyce is the middle child, smart and driven, always helping out and taking charge of the household when her widowed mother is unable to cope. Sandy is the family charmer, relying on his good looks and smooth talk to get by in life; like his older brother, he leaves home and rarely returns. And finally, there is Lucy, who is showered with affection and seems unable to grow out of her role as the baby of the family.

Through the lens of this family the reader watches the changes in America as the town prospers in the post-war era, deals with changes in American manufacturing, and begins an inevitable decline. The residents face the changing expectations as women get a taste of “important” work during the war and chafe against restrictions when the men return. Haigh mentions the changes outside Bakerton – the death of FDR, the Eisenhower years, the assassination of President Kennedy, Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon, etc – but the changes within the town have greater impact, from getting a phone or car, to a long strike for better conditions and wages at the mine.

I do not usually round up when awarding half-stars, but I will in this case because it’s a discussion-worthy book.

Anna Fields does a fine job performing the audio book. She has a good pace and enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the many characters.

The Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats
5*****

A young boy in the city wakes to a world covered in snow. He grabs his snowsuit and heads outside, where he is continually delighted by what he sees and feels.

Ezra Jack Keats noticed a lack of children’s books that depicted the kids of his Brooklyn neighborhood, and so began the “Peter” series, featuring this delightful little boy. When the book was first published in 1962, there weren’t many (or any?) children’s picture books depicting African American families. But this is a universal story. All children delight in that first snowfall, in making different tracks in the snow, poking at a tree with a stick, making a snowman, “saving” a snowball, making snow angels, etc.

I was completely caught up in Peter’s adventures. How even a change in the way he walks to produce different footprint patterns intrigues him and captures his imagination. I get the sense of wonder and the desire to be “bigger” so he can get into a snowball fight like the older kids. I also love the tender scene with his mother when she helps him off with his wet clothes and gets him into a warm bath (complete with sailboat and rubber duckie).

The illustrations earned Keats a Caldecott Medal. They are bright and cheerful, and Peter’s red snowsuit stands out in each frame.

Yesternight by Cat Winters
5★'s

What's It About?
A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

What Did I Think?
How many lives can and do we live? It was a book that you just couldn't put down. Cat Winters weaves this story of a family with a seven year old daughter that is at times old beyond her years, and a school physiologist that struggles to believe that what she suspects isn't happening. Alice Lind tells herself that what she is doing is to help Janie O'Daire and her estranged mother and father but the deeper she digs the more her own troubled past seems to be catching up to overpower her. You hoped that everything would turn out okay but you knew that at some point their world was going to collapse around their ears.

Even though there is a supernatural flavor...not of ghostly hauntings but of reincarnation.... throughout the story line it is also a story of how society viewed the roles of males and females during the flapper era and how thankful we should be that those attitudes are past...but it seems that nothing may really remain in the past. Historical and paranormal fans will love the book.

Desperate Characters
Paula Fox
3/5 stars
I have never read Paula Fox and when she passed away recently, I heard good things about her writing and had decided to add her to my reading list. In this book, Fox writes about a couple who are undergoing many changes in their lives but when a stray cat scratches Sophie, this act seems to exacerbate all their problems and causes Sophie to re-evaluate her life and her marriage. Fox does a wonderful job building up the tension in and between her and her husband. It is so palpable it makes the reader uncomfortably share their despair.

Tell the Story to Its End by Simon P. Clark
★ ★ ★ - 198 pages

Oli's mother has whisked him from London to live in the countryside with his uncle and aunt. Oli knows something is going on with his father, but he isn't sure what. His mother only says that his father will join them later. Uncle Rob shows Oli the stairsteps to the attic; when Oli investigates, he discovers a very hungry being living there. Eren is an ancient winged creature who lives on the stories of others. He inhabits Oli's thoughts and Oli goes to greater and greater lengths to find stories for Eren, just as he goes to greater lengths to figure out what is going on with his father.

Each chapter starts with dialog between Eren and Oli - usually talking about stories and truth, something Oli desperately wants to find.

I thought I was really going to like this novel, so I'm disappointed that I only find it so-so. It's creepy, but there is no real resolution to the story, and Oli never gets the clarification from Eren that he really wants. Lines between reality, fantasy, and perception are blurred.

Sycamore Row – John Grisham
Audio book performed by Michael Beck
3***

Seth Hubbard, a wealthy man dying of lung cancer, hangs himself from a sycamore tree. Before he dies, he hand-writes a new will, mailing it to lawyer Jake Brigance, and instructing him to ensure it is enforced. In it he specifically disowns his children and grandchildren, and leaves the majority of his estate to his housekeeper, Lettie Lang, an African-American woman. The courtroom brawl that ensues will keep everyone scrambling.

John Grisham can certainly write a thriller, and his courtroom scenes are entertaining, suspenseful and informative. I liked the various characters in the novel, even the smarmy attorneys hired by Seth’s children and Lettie’s n’er-do-well husband and distant relatives. That is to say, I like the way Grisham writes these characters. I particularly enjoyed the back-and-forth play between Jake and sheriff Ozzie Walls, or Jake and Judge Atlee.

However, I thought the conclusion was rushed and dissatisfying, even if it was more realistic that other alternatives.

Michael Beck does a great job of voicing the audio book. He has great pacing and can easily differentiate the various characters.

They Were Strong and Good – Robert Lawson
2**

Lawson tells the story of his parents and grandparents, and how they came to help shape the history of America. He accompanies the stories with detailed pen and ink drawings, for which he won the Caldecott medal. Some of these illustrations are delightful – I liked the contrast between “modern” city and the farm land that was just two generations pervious, and laughed at the illustration of the aftermath when a parrot nearly devoured a Panama hat. I also appreciate Lawson’s acknowledgment of oral story telling traditions, and of children listening and learning their own family histories from their elders. I certainly spent many an enjoyable evening listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles regaling us with stories of our family’s past.

So why the low rating? I realize this is a product of its time (originally published in 1940), and that Lawson was proud of his ancestors and their accomplishments. But I am disturbed by the racism within. The depictions of “happy slaves” and “thieving Indians” just leave a really bad taste in my mouth. And now that I know this is the “revised” edition (see WIKIPEDIA entry for some of the original language), I’m even more unhappy. Perhaps it offers an opportunity for parents to have difficult discussions with their children about those episodes in America’s history, and the changing attitudes over the years. But I just don’t like it.

Bliss – Kathryn Littlewood
2**

From the book jacket: Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke – an ancient leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and key while their parents are out of town, but then a m mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic dishes for dinner.

My reactions
Okay, I knew it was a children’s middle-grade book, and I knew it involved magic. But still … this was just so awful I don’t even need some Cookies of Truth to write this review.

Rose is only eleven, but she is so unsure of herself, so certain she isn’t pretty or clever or (insert positive attribute here), and she bemoans her lack of looks, brains, etc on practically every page! Given her lack of confidence, it’s no wonder that she’s quickly seduced by Aunt Lily’s glamour and flattery. This, of course, makes me wonder why her parents would entrust the key to the special cabinet to Rose – or any of the children, for that matter. Why not just lock it up and take the key with them? Clearly, I’m not the intended audience, but I can’t imagine my nieces and nephews enjoying this either.

Still, I admit that some of the unintended results of their experiments were entertaining. So I’ll give it 2 stars.

>101 BookConcierge: That's disappointing!

>101 BookConcierge: I really liked Sycamore Row! I rated it 4.5 and it was on my favourites list for last year. Thinking back, maybe 4 stars would have been plenty, but I don't go back and re-rate later. I also listened to the audio.