What Are We Reading And Reviewing in February 2020?

Some hearts are just meant to be broken.

📌 - ★
Carol's Looks for February Reads

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

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

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

Lynda and Oliver's February Reading List

Mystery

✔ Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder - Rachel McMillan - 3 Stars - 2/23/20
✔ Bitter Falls - Rachel Caine - 4 Stars - 2/9/20
✔ Defiant Hero - Suzanne Brockmann - 3 Stars - 2/27/20
✔ Flight Attendant - Chris Bohjalian - 3 Stars - 2/26/20
✔ Final Option - Clive Cussler- 5 Stars - 1/16/20
✔ Foe - Iain Reid - 5 Stars - 2/20/20
✔ Last Sister - Kenda Elliott - 3.5 Stars - 2/19/20
✔ Night Stages - Jane Urquehart - 3.5 Stars - 2/21/20
✔ North Water - Ian McGuire - 4 Stars - 2/28/20
✔ Prior Bad Acts - Tami Hoag - 4.5 Stars - 2/2/20
✔ Proof - Dick Francis - 4 Stars - 2/18/20
✔ Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny - 4.5 Stars - 2/12/20
✔ Scared to Death - Rachel Amphlett - 4 Stars - 2/27/20
Stone Circle - Elly Griffiths
✔ Sworn to Silence - Linda Castillo - 4.5 Stars - 2/7/20
✔ Unsung Hero - Suzanne Brockmann - 4 Stars - 2/4/20
✔ Weight of Night - Christine Carbo - 4 Stars - 2/1/20

Other Than Mystery

✔ Into the Raging Sea - Rachel Slade - 4 Stars - 2/29/20
✔ Lost Vintage - Ann Mah -3.5 Stars - 2/23/20
✔ Mrs. Mike - Benedict Freedman - 4 Stars - 2/8/20
✔ Part Time Cowboy - Maisey Yates - 2.5 Stars - 2/17/20
✔ Pompeii - Robert Harris - 4 Stars - 2/24/20
✔ Rogue by Any Other Name - Sarah McLean - 3.5 Stars - 2/6/20
✔ Rose Under Fire - Elizabeth Wein - 5 Stars - 2/25/20
✔ Salems Lot - Stephen King - 4.5 Stars - 2/13/20
✔ Second Amendment - Michael Waldeman - 3.5 Stars - 2/15/20
✔ Silver Bay - Jojo Moyes - 3.5 Stars - 2/11/20
✔ Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden- 4.5 Stars - 2/15/20
✔ Uncommon Grounds - Mark Pendergast - 3 Stars - 2/27/20
✔ Vision in White - Nora Roberts - 4 Stars - 2/10/20
✔ Wench - Dolan Perkins-Valdez - 3.5 Stars - 2/3/20
✔ Wild - Cheryl Strayed - 2.5 Stars - 2/5/20

Not much mystery or suspense but it was one heck of a lot of fun!


One Big Pair of Underwear - Laura Gehl
4★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In The Blood - Lisa Unger
5★

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

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

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

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

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

If I Can't Have You - Gregg Olsen
4★

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

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

Desperation - Stephen King
3★

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

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

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Medicine, Madness and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
4 ★

A narrative account of twentieth president James Garfield’s political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment, and Alexander Graham Bell's failed attempt to save him from an assassin's bullet.

This non-fiction account of President James Garfield’s life leading up to his assassination read like a novel. It discussed the politics of the day, the life of the crazy and delusional assassin Charles Guiteau and the state of medicine in the U.S. The gunshot didn’t kill Garfield. It was the doctors who didn’t think germs were real and didn’t sterilize their hands, instruments or anything else when probing the patient. Garfield died 2 ½ months after he was shot and had massive infections throughout his body. So sad. This was very interesting and well written.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
3.5 ★

As private detective Jackson Brodie investigates three cold cases, including that of two sisters who discover a shocking clue to the disappearance of their third sister thirty years earlier, startling connections emerge. Jackson finds himself inextricably caught up in his clients' lives — their grief, their joy, their desire, and their unshakable need for resolution are very much like his own.

This story started out with Brodie investigating 3 cold cases that didn’t have any connection to each other. As it goes along, the cases become somewhat intermingled in ways that I didn’t expect. The story jumps around a lot and, at times, is a bit confusing to keep track of the many characters in different unconnected situations. Still, it was interesting throughout with a sprinkling of humor throughout and I found it enjoyable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Planned Group Reads in February, forgot to post this 🙄

The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths, #11 in the Ruth Galloway Series : Start Date Tuesday 11th February.

Final Option by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison, #14 in the Oregon Files Series : Start Date Tuesday 25th February.

>17 Andrew-theQM: Is there any way we could do Final Option first? It's okay if we can't..it's just that I'm not sure I can renew the book and the other one isn't due until March 20th.

>18 Carol420: Yes Carol we’ll just swap the two books around.

>19 Andrew-theQM: Thank you.

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

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

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

Mirror Image - Michael Scott
3★

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

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

Schedule for the Group Read of Final Option, #14 in the Oregon Files Series, starting tomorrow :

Tues 11th Feb : Prologue, 1 - 12
Wed 12th Feb : 13 - 25
Thurs 13th Feb : 26 - 40
Fri 14th Feb : 41 - 57
Sat 15th Feb : 58 - 75, Epilogue

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Heavens May Fall - Allen Eskens
4.5★

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

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

>26 Carol420: That sounds like a good combination of interesting things. So I've downloaded it from my library and plan to read it when I finish my current book. In my library there are 6 books listed by Eskens. I'm guessing they're all mysteries but I didn't look at each one. Anyway, thanks for the review!

>27 gaylebutz: My library has all of them also. I was just lax in getting any after the first one. They are all mysteries. Hope you enjoy it.

Burn Down The Ground - Kambri Crews
3★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spook House - Michael West
3.5★

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

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

>31 Carol420: Totally agree.

Silver Sparrow - Tayari Jones
3★

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

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

>34 Carol420: This is one I’d like to get to. I really enjoyed An American Marriage.

Her One Mistake - Heidi Perks
5★

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

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

>35 Andrew-theQM: I know the library also has this one. I see it's out so I'll put it on hold.

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
4.5★

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

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

Silver Lies by Ann Parker
3.5 ★
The crooked, the greedy, and those with a checkered past-they all came to Leadville with the same purpose: Get in, get rich, get out. As 1879 draws to a close, silver fever burns hot in the Rocky Mountain boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. Unfortunately for Joe Rose, an assayer of precious metals, death stakes its own claim. Joe's body is found trampled into the muck behind Inez Stannert's saloon. Most of the townsfolk, including Inez's business partner, Abe Jackson, dismiss Joe's death as an accident. When Joe's widow Emma asks Inez to settle Joe's affairs, Inez reluctantly agrees and soon uncovers skewed assays, bogus greenbacks, and blackmail, leading her to believe that Joe was murdered.

This was a pretty good story, if a bit complicated to follow. Inez is not easily intimidated and willing to take things into her own hands, which is sometimes a bit of a stretch. It’s set in the wild west in the 1800s. The feeling of that comes across pretty well but sometimes the danger seemed to be missing. I thought the second half of the book was more interesting than the first. Overall, a decent story.

>38 Carol420: My favourite Kate Morton book.

The Laramie Project - Moises Kaufman
4.5★

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

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

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

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

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

Next Group Read : The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths, #11 in the Ruth Galloway Series : Start Date Tuesday 25th February.

Next Group Read : The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths, #11 in the Ruth Galloway Series : Start Date Tuesday 25th February.

Watching You - Lisa Jewell
4★

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

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

The Never-Open Desert Diner - James Anderson
4.5★

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

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

Schedule for Group Read of The Stone Circle, Book 11 in the Ruth Galloway Series

Tues 25th Feb : Chapter 1 - 9
Wed 26th Feb : Chapter 10 -16
Thurs 27th Feb : Chapter 17 - 23
Fri 28th Feb : Chapter 24 - 30
Sat 29th Feb : Chapter 31 - 38

The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskens
4 ★
Detective Max Rupert and attorney Boady Sanden's friendship is being pushed to the breaking point. Max is convinced that Jennavieve Pruitt was killed by her husband, Ben. Boady is equally convinced that Ben, his client, is innocent. As the case unfolds, the two are forced to confront their own personal demons. Vividly told from two opposing perspectives, the truth about the stunning death of Jennavieve Pruitt remains a mystery until the very end.

The story did a good job switching back and forth between evidence that made Ben look guilty and evidence that made him look innocent. It kept me interested and guessing which was right. The characters were well developed and believable. There were a couple of surprises at the end but the ending wasn’t completely believable. Still, I enjoyed the story and plan to read more by this author.

Big Lies in a Small Town - Diane Chamberlain
5★

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

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

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

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

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