What Are We Reading And Reviewing in December 2020?

I Told Santa to Take His Library Books Back!!!

Carol Will be Sure To Return These
📌 - ★

📌Home - Harlan Coben - 4.5★
📌The Hollow Places – T. Kingfisher - 4★
📌The Sentinel – Andrew Childs – 4.5★
📌The Companion – Katie Alender – 3★
📌The Scorpion’s Tail – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs– 5★
📌Still Mine – Amy Stuart – 3★
📌A Beautiful Crime – Christopher Bollen - 3.5★
📌The Long Call – Ann Cleeves - 5★
📌These Ghosts are Family – Maisy Card - 2.5★
📌You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen - 1★
📌The Girls of Pearl Harbor - Soraya M. Lane – 4.5★
📌Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane - 4.5★
📌One of Us Is Next - Karen M. McManus - 3★
📌The Other Mrs - Mary Kubica - 3★
📌Where They Were Missed - Lucy Caldwell - 4★
📌High Heat - Annabeth Albert - 4.5★
📌Snow - John Banville - 4.5★ (Benjamin Black)
📌A Song For Dark Times - Ian Rankin - 4★
📌 Once Burned - L.A. Witt - 5★
📌These Violent Delights - Micah Nemerever 2.5★
📌Risky Behavior - L.A. Witt - 4★
📌Wheels Up – Annabeth Albert - 5★
📌On Point - Annabeth Albert - 5★
📌Squared Away - Annabeth Albert - 5★
📌Rough Terrain Annabeth Albert - 5★
📌Burn Zone - Annabeth Albert - 5★
📌Murder Most Gay -John Simpson -4 ★
📌Stolen Children - Michael Wood - 5★
📌The Hypnotist - Lars Kepler - 2.5★
📌They're Gone - E.A. Barres - 4★
📌How Much It May Storm A.N. Willis 5-★
📌The Night Lake - Liz Tichenor - 3.5★

Lynda and Oliver's December Reading Plans

Mystery and Suspense

Cut to the Bone - Ellison Cooper
Daylight - David Baldacci
Girl Beneath the Sea - Andrew Mayne
Law of Innocence - Michael Connelly
Nine Elms - Robert Bryndza
Sea of Lost Girls - Carol Goodman
Sentinel - Kee Child
Survivors - Jane Harper
Visitor - Amanda Stevens

Other Genres

Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillio
Nothing Short of Wondrous - Regina Scott
Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman

>1 Carol420: Home is one of my favorite reads for the year so far. Quintessential Coben. And Shutter Island is one of my all time favorite books.
>2 Olivermagnus: Bryndza, Child, Connelly and Baldacci are also on my list.

>3 ColinMichaelFelix: I love Harlan Coben books and I saw the Shutter Island movie but for some reason I had never read the book. It also amazes me how many of the same authors and the same books we all share a liking for here. I guess we are just people with good tastes:)

>3 ColinMichaelFelix:, >4 Carol420: I thought Shutter Island was great and one of my favorites too. Carol, since you’ve seen the movie you may be disappointed with the book as you already know the twist. I’ll be interested to see what you thought.

>5 gaylebutz: I do believe that i remember the twist but you know the old memory isn't what it once was so I may not remember as much as you think:)

>6 Carol420: LOL! In this case, it would actually be a good thing if you don't remember. Sometimes there are positives about getting old, as I need to remind myself :)

>4 Carol420: I'm not surprised by our similar tastes but when somebody reads as much you do it is satisfying that to have similar tastes cause I am aware of your elevated standards. I look forward to your thoughts on Shutter Island

>7 gaylebutz: Age is usually only a number. I know "young" people that act like they're 90 and older people that can out run, walk, dance them etc. My grandmother dies at 93 and she was playing some very active games with her great grandchildren. >8 ColinMichaelFelix: Thank you so much for the very kind words. I'm picking the book up on Monday when the library reopens after Thanksgiving. Maybe just to stir the old gray cells I'll grab the DVD also.

The Hollow Places – T. Kingfisher
4- ★
"Pray they are hungry". Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.

This author has a wonderfully twisted and endlessly fertile imagination. I found the story to be mildly creepy….but I read a lot of supernatural books so it takes a lot to really scare me. The story is good but the setting of the supernatural and other worldly aspects are a little confusing at times. I didn’t think the explanations really made a lot of sense and Kira…the heroine just blundered on into things that she should have been more cautious of, unless she does a lot of other dimensional traveling. It did have a good ending so I have to say that it was a good book but not an exceptional book…but certainly worthy of 4 stars.

A Geek Girl's Guide to Justice by Julie Anne Lindsey
#3 Geek Girl Mysteries
c. 2019
4*s

Mia Connors is the IT manager in the gated community of Horseshoe Falls, Ohio. He is also co-owner of her grandmother's beauty products company, as well as half owner with her best friend of an online game called Reign. Mia's life is hectic. Her twin sister is about to have another baby and puts Mia in charge of the baby shower, just a small affair of 200 people. Then one evening a friend of her grandmother is found dying in the pond at Horseshow Falls. Mia tries to revive him, but she was too late. Mia goes on the search to find out the killer to put her grandma's mind at ease.

I really enjoyed this book. the characters, settings and action were well done. It was fast moving and fun.

The Sentinel – Lee Child & Andrew Child
Jack Reacher Series Book #25
4.5★
As always, Jack Reacher has no particular place to go, and all the time in the world to get there. One morning he ends up in a town near Pleasantville, Tennessee. But there’s nothing pleasant about the place. In broad daylight Reacher spots a hapless soul walking into an ambush. “It was four against one” . . . so Reacher intervenes, with his own trademark brand of conflict resolution. The man he saves is Rusty Rutherford, an unassuming IT manager, recently fired after a cyber attack locked up the town’s data, records, information . . . and secrets. Rutherford wants to stay put, look innocent, and clear his name. Reacher is intrigued. There’s more to the story. The bad guys who jumped Rutherford are part of something serious and deadly, involving a conspiracy, a cover-up, and murder—all centered on a mousy little guy in a coffee-stained shirt who has no idea what he’s up against. Rule one: if you don’t know the trouble you’re in, keep Reacher by your side.

I have been a huge fan of the Jack Reacher series for many years. I've read and enjoyed every single one of them. Jack is a character with…well, character. He is really and truly one of the good guys. He always said what needed saying and knew when to just listen. He was steadfast and dependable to a fault. Now we are presented with a somewhat “different animal”. I knew that Lee Child was going to be joining efforts with his brother Andrew Childs (Grant)…a noteworthy author himself …and that the writing was going to be a combined effort by these two good writers. Since I had read and enjoyed Andrew Grant’s books before, I wasn’t too concerned about this change. The book is good but it does have some slight “first time” hiccups. Jack isn’t quite his old self. He talks way more than usual…the story contains more description that is really needed to set the scene...Jack gets off fewer of those great one-liners…he isn’t as “surprising” in his actions as he once was, except to the bad guys that still underestimate him… and he’s become more social. A “social” Jack Reacher is a scary thing. Did I dislike the change in the character or the book? Absolutely not!! I will just wait for the two authors to decide if readers will want the old tried and true Jack back or welcome this “new and improved” version. Either way…I hope this series goes on for a long, long time.

The Long Call – Ann Cleeves
Two Rivers series Book #1
5★
In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. On the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too. Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death. The case calls Matthew back to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind.

I believe that Jimmy Perez… (Shetland Island series) …has been resurrected and placed in the body of Detective Matthew Venn. He’s complicated for lack of a better word. He renounced his parent's “by the book and no excuses” religion...then to make matters worse he married the love of his life. I’ll leave you find out why that one went over like a lead balloon. The most recent murder he is investigating has several suspects that lead to the counseling center that is run by said “love of his life”. When past and present begin to collide Matthew must make the decision to either leave his team to continue the case or try to patch things with his family. I have always loved Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series and the Shetland Island series so I am really looking forward to seeing where Mathew Venn will take me.

>13 Carol420: Your review sounded good. I didn’t know Cleeves had a new series. I’ve also enjoyed the Vera and Jimmy books that I’ve read.

>13 Carol420: I read The Long Call late last year and loved it. I hope a new one comes out soon.

I just finished The Sentinel and didn't like it as much as you did. Jack is just not making any sense to me anymore. I'm staring to feel sorry for a guy that is so out of touch that he's still searching for a pay phone to use the directory to look up an address. I'm not suggesting he get a Twitter account but I'm thinking the lone drifter who hitch hikes across America is no longer believable to me. I'll probably still read them, though.

>14 gaylebutz: There's a lot of similarities in Ann Cleeves books but I believe that this character will make his own place. It took me awhile to really like the Shetland Island series but Jimmy cam through for me:)

>15 Olivermagnus: LOL! You would think that "drifter" and "stupid" were simultaneous wouldn't you? Jack is an educated, high ranking, Army veteran and it's not like he lived in a bubble...so I agree that he should have educated himself into the 20th century, at least to some degree. Does anyone still pick up hitch hikers???

The Companion – Katie Alender
3★
The other orphans say Margot is lucky…lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family…lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night…and finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate. But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha--and getting to know her handsome older brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself. Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.

The creepy old house was the perfect setting for this horror story. The characters were also perfect for the creepy old house. Combined it should have been a perfect tale…but…the characters reactions, or lack of, made the story off setting. Margot…orphaned and alone and chosen to come to this family, often appeared weak and rather dense. It began to drag out toward the end… almost as if the author needed so many words to complete the story so they just kept adding up when it could have been done faster and still produced the same results. Still a good read that would make an excellent movie.

These Violent Delights – Micah Nemerever
2.5 ★
When Paul enters university in early 1970s Pittsburgh, it’s with the hope of moving past the recent death of his father. Sensitive, insecure, and incomprehensible to his grieving family, Paul feels isolated and alone. When he meets the worldly Julian in his freshman ethics class, Paul is immediately drawn to his classmate’s effortless charm. Paul sees Julian as his sole intellectual equal—an ally against the conventional world he finds so suffocating. Paul will stop at nothing to prove himself worthy of their friendship, because with Julian life is more invigorating than Paul could ever have imagined. But as charismatic as he can choose to be, Julian is also volatile and capriciously cruel, and Paul becomes increasingly afraid that he can never live up to what Julian expects of him. As their friendship spirals into all-consuming intimacy, they each learn the lengths to which the other will go in order to stay together, their obsession ultimately hurtling them toward an act of irrevocable violence. Unfolding with a propulsive ferocity, These Violent Delights is an exquisitely plotted excavation of the depths of human desire and the darkness it can bring forth in us.

This is an explosively erotic and erudite thriller that the reader either really likes or really doesn’t. I don’t believe that I have read a single review that the reader is on the fence about this one. From the very first page it is filled with a tremendous sense of dread and urgency that remains until the final page. Paul is drawn to Julian like a moth to a flame and soon they develop much more than a friendship. Both are freshmen in 1970 at the University at Pittsburg. Paul is painfully shy and awkward where Julian presents the physical presence of excitement for Paul who constantly feels he must proof himself worthy…two boys so different… but yet so very chillingly alike. The two boys are extremely unlikable in spite of the author attempt early in the story to make the reader feel some sympathy for them. Don’t waste time trying because you just can’t. Paul soon recognizes that he’s “in love” with Julian and wants to have/do something that will seal Julian to him and Julian encourages the “game” rather than stopping it. Perhaps the sentence that best sums the feelings up is …Julian: “I can’t believe that you are the first person not to notice how twisted I am.” Paul: “You’re the first person to not want me to be”. That having been said… neither boy is prepared, nor do they really care that their “act of devotion” will yield such devastation. I read a lot of this genre of novels… but this author has almost outdone himself with the nearly unbearable tension and dread the reader feels throughout the entire story. I found myself searching desperately for an end to the events that these boys had caused to take place. I still give the book credit for accomplishing what I believe was it’s goal. 2.5 stars because, while it isn’t such a “page turner”…it certainly does have the ability to make the reader feel so many deep, dark emotions… to the extent that you feel like you need a long hot bath for a month or two.

Snow - Jon Banville - (Benjamin Black)
Inspector John Strafford series Book #1
4.5★
Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family. The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford—flinty, visibly Protestant and determined to identify the murderer—faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in the tight-knit community he begins to investigate. As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community’s secrets, like the snowfall itself, threaten to obliterate everything.

This is the first book that carries the name Jon Banville. This author usually writes under the name Benjamin Black whose books I have been a big fan of for sometime…so I was more than interested to see if there would be any difference in the writing style with this name. Inspector St. John Straffors is a man on the fence…both an insider and an outsider. For one thing he’s a Protestant in a country and a time...1957… that the Catholic Church ruled Ireland with an iron, unbreakable, ungiving, hand. This is a very seriously disturbing but beautifully written story but readers need to be aware that it contains some very graphic accounts of abuse that is going to seriously disturb some. The only thing that I hope is discontinued in future books…and I do so hope there are going to be many future books…is that DI Strafford steps so carefully among his peers and the town population that he sometimes comes off as completely clueless. I am looking forward to meeting St. John Strafford again soon.

Risky Behavior - L.A. Witt
Bad Business series Book #1
4★
It’s day one of Darren Corliss’ career as a detective, and not only has he been assigned a notoriously difficult partner, but the guy might also be a pill-popping dirty cop. Internal Affairs needs proof, and Darren gets to be their eyes and ears whether he wants to or not. Detective Andreas Ruffner doesn’t play by the rules, and he doesn’t play well with others. With bodies piling up and a list of suspects who are way above his pay grade, the last thing he needs is a wet-behind-the-ears kid for a partner. Or babysitter. Not even if that partner is easy on the eyes. As Darren gains Andreas’ hard-won trust, they both realize there’s more than just mutual suspicion simmering beneath the surface. Their investigation is heating up as quickly as their relationship, and Darren has no choice but to go along with Andreas’ unorthodox - and borderline unethical - methods. As IA puts the squeeze on Darren to give up the man he’s falling for, he has to wonder - is Andreas the only cop left in this town who isn’t dirty?

Good police procedural story with two characters that you know are both worth pulling for…especially when someone in their own ranks are dead set on destroying Andreas career and taking Darren down... just by association... with him. The books underlying subject will not be for all… so be aware that this author’s books all contain same sex couples.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks
4 ★

A twisted and deliciously chilling thriller that exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage, and the dangerous truths people ignore in the name of love.

I re-read this for my book club and still enjoyed it even though I knew what was coming.
The main character, Vanessa, has some secrets in her life and I was drawn in right away wondering about the secrets. I’m a sucker for secrets. She’s in a troubled marriage with a seemingly controlling husband. Is it Vanessa that’s the problem or her husband? This is a complicated story that jumps around in time before, during and after her marriage. For a while I thought I’d figured out what was going on but I was wrong. I enjoyed how this story kept me guessing all the way through and I was very surprised by what Vanessa did in the end.

A Fatal Winter by G. M. Malliet
4 ★

Max--Anglican priest, former MI5 agent, and village heartthrob--investigates two deaths at Chedrow Castle. But his growing attraction to Awena Owen complicates his case, as does the recent arrival at Chedrow Castle of a raucous group of long-lost, greedy relatives, any one of whom has a motive for murder.

This was a well-written traditional English village mystery. The Lord and Lady of the castle that die are unlikeable as are all of the greedy relatives that were invited there for Christmas. Max Tudor is quite likeable, smart and reasonable as he tries to figure out what is going on when everyone seems suspicious. The characters are well-developed, there’s a bit of humor and a dash of Christmas. There was too much explanation in the end but I still enjoyed the story and the writing style.

The Girls of Pearl Harbor – Soraya M. Lane
4.5★
When Grace, April, and Poppy join the US Army Nurse Corps, they see it as little more than an adventure, one made all the better by their first station: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Joined at the hip, idealistic Grace, exuberant Poppy, and brave but haunted April frolic in the sun, attending parties, flirting with the handsome soldiers, and becoming fast friends with seasoned nurse Eva. Like the Hawaiian sun, their future seems warm and bright—until the infamous morning of December 7. Within just a few horrifying hours, their sparkling hopes turn to black rubble and ash. Now embroiled in a war they never could have imagined, they must decide what truly matters to them and face grief as they never have before. Death may await them—but so do hope and purpose. In the midst of the carnage, can they find happiness and learn to fight not just for their country’s honor but for themselves?

It’s the story of three nurses who faced the attack on Pearl Harbor and their deployment to Northern Africa afterwards. It focused on the individual lives of the women who just couldn’t believe their good fortune to be stationed in beautiful Hawaii and on a naval base at that…lots of good looking available sailors. Their joy soon turned to horror when the Japanese launched a surprise attack that made it impossible for the U.S. not to enter the war. I thought that the characters are very interesting individuals with each one displaying vividly their individual personalities and quirks. I remember as a child my mother telling me about Pearl Harbor and the day that set in motion the event that would take three of her 6 brothers….December 7, 1941…her 18th birthday. She says she has no memories of that birthday at all other than her small town preparing to lose most of the young men that lived there. I liked that the author showed that life did go on in the midst of unimaginable devastation. The suffering and amazing bravery of the fighting men and woman during that time, or in any time in any war, is truly an incredible testimony of the human heart and spirit.

A Beautiful Crime Christopher Bollen
3.5★
When Nick Brink and his boyfriend Clay Guillory meet up on the Grand Canal in Venice, they have a plan in mind—and it doesn’t involve a vacation. Nick and Clay are running away from their turbulent lives in New York City, each desperate for a happier, freer future someplace else. Their method of escape?... selling a collection of counterfeit antiques to a brash, unsuspecting American living out his retirement years in a grand palazzo. With Clay’s smarts and Nick’s charm, their scheme is sure to succeed. As it turns out, tricking a millionaire out of money isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when Clay and Nick let greed get the best of them. As Nick falls under the spell of the city’s decrepit magic, Clay comes to terms with personal loss and the price of letting go of the past. Their future waits, but it is built on disastrous deceits, and more than one life stands in the way of their dreams.

I liked the story and I liked the characters of Nick and Clay. They were very naïve and somehow that turned out to be a good thing for them. They certainly shouldn’t continue their career of art counterfeit since they really sucked at it. The heist went on way too long and actually began to drag the story down. I came to the conclusion that they need to think about what they really want in their relationship as that is in total jeopardy if they don’t tread carefully. The book does have a tension filled plot and the author has a smooth, easy to get into, writing style. These things will make it fairly easy to connect with Nick and Clay.

You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
1★
Shay Miller wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is increasingly lonely…until Shay meets the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better. Shay would die for them to like her. She may have to.

This doesn’t seem to be my month for 4 and 5 star reads. I’m searching my data base brain to find some kind words for this mess. Opps!! That wasn’t very kind was it? Honestly, I found it to be silly…totally contrived and unbelievable….just a ridiculous scenario all the way around. With two authors it seems like one of them could have said “Wait a minute…this is terrible. Redo!!!” I believe I can count on one hand the number of times I have given a book a 1 star rating. Believe me, one star was extremely generous.

A Song For Dark Times - Ian Rankin
Inspector Rebus series Book #23
4★
He’s gone!!! When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days. Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect. He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective? As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find.

Our Rebus sees to not only retired but also to have slightly mellowed with age. He’s no longer drinking as heavily, he’s settling into a new apartment and he has the company of a dog…Brillo. He’s also getting the chance to mend some badly damaged fences with his daughter. The story actually consists of two mysteries…the murder of a wealthy Saudi student and the disappearance of Rebus’s son-in-law . As Rubus takes off for the Scottish Highlands to do what he does best…catch the bad guys and make them pay…we do have to wonder if John Rebus might be headed for a more permanent retirement than we readers are ready for. I hope Ian Rankin can make this new life that he has Rebus walking into work.

Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower
c. 2016
#2 Magical Bookshop Mystery
4 *

Violet Waverly has moved back home to Cascade Springs, NY. She is the new Caretaker of the birch tree which grows in the middle of the bookstore which she and her Grandma Daisy own. The tree's essence helps Violet pick the right books for customers and also gives help when solving murders. On the first day of Crystal Spring's Food and Wine Festival one of the members of a writing group "Red Inkers" falls down the back steps of the bookstore. She was wearing a period costume in preparation for a reading of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Violet found her at the bottom of the steps, and there was an unusual scent of strawberry about the dead writer. The police suspect Sadie, the proprietor of Midcentury Vintage clothing and Red Inker. Violet sets out to help solve the mysterious death.

I really enjoy the characters in this series. They are slightly quirky, but not outlandishly so. The action is relatively fast paced. The dialogue is witty and not the least bit contrived sounding. I'm really liking this series.

Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane
4.5★
In the year 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate an unexplained disappearance. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept under constant surveillance in a locked, guarded cell. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on the island, hints of radical experimentation and covert government machinations add darker, more sinister shades to an already bizarre case. Because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems.

The less you know the better can be truly said about this thriller that takes the reader on a stumbling journey through the battlefields of the human mind with an epic storm and setting that may well ruin a good night’s sleep. This book has been made into a movie that I confess I watched many years before ever reading he book. Personally…I liked the movie better. The story is one that is best seen to get the entire horror and hopelessness of the hospital and the dreary atmosphere surrounding the entire place. The author is a brilliant writer and manages to combine the complexities of the past and the present to create a world that stays with the reader long after the book is closed or the movie runs to credits.

Squared Away Annabeth Albert
Out of Uniform series Book #4
5★

Mark & Isaiah suddenly find themselves the foster parents of Marks's sister's and Isaiah's brother's 3 children The makeshift family works very hard to be able to stay together and of course along the way makes numerous mistakes...but it doesn't stop them. I have discovered a reoccurring theme in Annabeth Albert's books. The perfect couple always has to have a rough patch that really just serves to break your heart and sometimes causes you to want to shake some sense into them...but isn't life usually like that and isn't real love wonderful no matter what sex the couple is? This author gives the reader a glimpse of what true love can and should be...especially for those that society says is wrong to want the same things as other couples...love, devotion, family, and above all...acceptance to make these decisions.. I have two very good gay friends that fought through hell and highwater to just be together and keep their baby who is the biological child of both of them.... the most adorable, amazing 18 year old son that will be entering university this year and just celebrated his high school graduation with his two beautiful, talented fathers. I can't look at this family and believe that anything about it was ever "wrong". Good work in getting that message across, Ms. Albert.

These Ghosts Are Family - Maisy Card
2.5★
Stanford Solomon’s shocking, thirty-year-old secret is about to change the lives of everyone around him. Stanford has done something no one could ever imagine. He is a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend. Stanford Solomon is actually Abel Paisley. And now, nearing the end of his life, Stanford is about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene Paisley, a home health aide who has unwittingly shown up for her first day of work to tend to the father she thought was dead.

Several generations of a Jamaican family grapple with the legacy of slavery and secrets. Good idea that should have been extremely interesting from a humanitarian as well as a historical stand point. The main problem that I had with the book was that the plot just took off wandering on its own two feet. So many multi generational characters made it difficult to keep up with who was related to who. It would have maybe been better if it had been broken down somehow into two or even three books as the time line went from the early 1800’s to the present day. It is also composed of some really good short stories…which added to the confusion but would have been a beautiful contribution to the book on their own. I hate to give any book that obviously took so much work to produce a low rating but I just couldn’t make this one work for me.

Home – Harlan Coben
Myron Bolitar series Book #11
4.5★
A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For ten years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend Win believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for ten years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken? And most critically: What can he tell Myron and Win about the fate of his missing friend? Drawing on his singular talent, Harlan Coben delivers an explosive and deeply moving thriller about friendship, family, and the meaning of home.>/i>

Don’t know how I missed this one when reading the rest of the series…but I did. Glad that I can rectify that blunder. The story tells of a 10 year old kidnapping involving Win's cousin's son. When Win gets a new lead he goes to London hoping to follow the clues and bring home the missing boy who is now a teenager. I really like these two characters and their zany and sometimes half-baked adventures. There is a good mystery for the guys to solve…there are a few laughs and chuckles for the readers. The “bromance” continues and a couple of new friends join the gang. Overall a real pleasure to spend some time with...as always.

Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey
3 ★

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny's beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. They're trying to drum up business with the "First Annual Christmas at the Orchard," until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny's long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder.

This was a light, cozy mystery with likeable characters that weren't too "cutesy". There was a good dose of Christmas, a bit of humor, a dash of romance, and a number of suspects. I did enjoy the story and the small town but it was slow at times. Still, it was a good story to satisfy my interest for holiday reading.

One Of Us Is Next - Karen M. McManus
Sequel to “One of Us Is Lying”
3★

This is a sequel to One of Us Is Lying. It appears that it will become a trilogy perhaps and not a series but they need to be read in order or the reader will be completely lost. This one picks up a little over a year after the events of book one. The original Bayview four have graduated and a new set of Bayview students are up to play the game. Where the first book focused almost entirely on the “Truth or Dare” game…this time there were a lot of side stories that made the game almost seem like a sideline. It was still an “okay” story but I didn’t like these characters very much. During the time that I went into High Schools and Middle Schools when I was in the education field…I saw far too much of this behavior displayed and swept under the rug. The ending was also fairly predicable by the middle of the story.

The Bishop's Pawn by Steve Berry
Cotton Malone mysteries
c. 2018
3 *

I normally devour Cotton Malone mysteries. This, however, was a very different read for me. The whole story is told in a first person flashback. I find first person narratives more difficult. Cotton Malone is requested at the home of a Civil Rights activist, Rev. Foster. Foster was a close associate of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Cotton is reminiscing his first case dealing with the aftermath of King's assassination and Foster's connection with it. The author weaves fact and fiction to tell a tale of the possible reason for King's death. The story was relatively slow moving as Cotton relates his very first mission as an agent for the Magellan Billet. At the time he was still a JAG lawyer, recruited for this single mission to recover documents and a gold Double Eagle which are associated with the late FBI's J. Edgar Hoover's coverup of the King assassination. It's a twisted tale of racism, power struggles, and government coverups. I'm glad I read it, but it's not something I'd read again.

Where They Were Missed - Lucy Caldwell
4★
The backyard of Saoirse and Daisy's house can be a perilous place: boys down the street leave unwelcome 'presents' at the gate and they have to rush indoors and shut the windows tight when marchers pass, even on the hottest days. And while there is respite to be had at Antonini's Ice Cream Parlor and in their mother's bedtime stories, the walls of the house cannot protect this family. Ten years later in rural Ireland, Saoirse is dreaming again: of her prom night, of her future, and of the wayward but handsome Johnny Mahon. But, as she learns to her cost, she has still not fully escaped the fallout of that unforgettable Belfast summer a decade before.

The author is tackling an extremely tricky…somewhat delicate…subject…but she captures vividly a particularly troubled part of Ireland's past. Her use of Irish myths…some I grew up hearing from my grandmother who left this area in 1926....was a really good part of the book. The stories are entrancing and a great deal about the situation she describes is what relatives that are still there have described and lived through. The book definitely shows that Caldwell was a promising writer and attempts to shed light on an important chronicle in a very dark chapter in Irish history. However it appeared that the authors believed that in order to write tragedy you must spread the misery on as heavily as possible. The only thing it did was just produce more misery on top of what these people were experiencing at the time. The parts that chronicled Saoirse's relationship with her aunt and uncle and her dreams of school and those wonderful Irish myths lightened the atmosphere to some degree but not enough to make the reader come away with any real good feeling…but then this time in Ireland’s history didn’t produce many “good" feelings. If anyone is interested in pursing this bleak subject to more extent… may I recommend Deirdre Madden's One By One In the Darkness.

Anything Goes by Jill Churchill
#1 Grace and Favor Mystery
c. 1999
3 1/2 *

Lily Brewster and her brother Robert had grown up idle rich in NYC. But, the stock market crashed in 1929. Their mother was dead and their father committed suicide. The siblings were left destitute. Lily found a job at a bank and Robert often worked waiting tables at fancy restaurants. They lived in a poorly furnished tenement, barely scraping by. Then one day they recieved word that their still wealthy Great Uncle Horatio had died and left them his estate, with conditions. Lily and Robert immediately moved to upstate New York, taking residence at Grace and Favor Cottage, a huge mansion along the river. In order to help the Brewsters with living expenses, their uncle's lawyer and wife decide to board at Grace and Favor Cottage. Soon the Brewster siblings realize that their uncle's death had not been an accident aboard a yacht, but rather a murder. Lily and Robert want justice for Uncle Horatio, but who in the sleepy town of Voorburg-on-Hudson had a motive?

This was an engaging fast read. I liked the setting, interesting characters, and the sparely written plot, with a few twists and turns to keep me guessing.

In the still of the Night by Jill Churchill
#2 Grace and Favor Mystery
c. 1999
3 *

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster inherited Grace and Favor Cottage from their Great Uncle Horatio, but the inheritance came with stipulations. They had to live there 10 years, the upkeep was paid by the estate, but Lily and Robert had to be self-supporting. Considering that they had no marketable skills and jobs were few and far between during the Depression year of 1932, they decided to become a sort of Bed and Breakfast location for the wealthy. They were lucky enough to get the famous author, Julian West, to be among their first paying guests. However, the next morning one of the guests, a beautiful 50-something widow was found murdered in her room. Lily set out to solve the murder, as it seemed that there was more to her guests than met the eye...

A nice quick cozy mystery with interesting background on Pres. Hoover, the Depression and the aftermath of The Great War.

The Scorpion’s Tail - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Nora Kelly series Book #2
5★
A mummified corpse, over half a century old, is found in the cellar of an abandoned building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Corrie is assigned what seems to her a throwaway case: to ID the body and determine cause of death. She brings archaeologist Nora Kelly to excavate the body and lend her expertise to the investigation, and together they uncover something unexpected and shocking: the deceased apparently died in agony, in a fetal position, skin coming off in sheets, with a rictus of horror frozen on his face and hidden on the corpse lies a 16th century Spanish gold cross of immense value. When they at last identify the body -- and the bizarre cause of death -- Corrie and Nora open a door into a terrifying, secret world of ancient treasure and modern obsession: a world centered on arguably the most defining, frightening, and transformative moment in American history.

I can never find very much wrong with anything that Douglas Preston and/or Lincoln Childs produces. I thought the first book in this series got off to a rather slow start but when I became better acquainted with Nora Kelly I found that the series was not only entertaining but actually was high quality with great characters and fascinating subject matter. The discovery of the mummified body is on federal land, so the FBI gets involved. This brings on Special Agent Corrie Swanson who we met in the first book. Looks like these two characters may become a team…and that would be great. Corrie would have liked a juicier and more exciting assignment rather than checking out some old bones in the high desert, but she has a degree in forensic anthropology…plus she’s a rookie…so off she goes. She persuades a reluctant Dr. Nora Kelly, senior curator at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, to help puzzle out what happened to the man, as it’s unclear whether a crime has even been committed. These two authors are experts when it comes to plotting and telling the story. It all comes together with some nice twists and nail biting danger to give us another great offering form Preston and Childs.

Someone to Watch over Me by Jill Churchill
#3 Grace and Favor Mystery
c . 2001
4 *

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster were born into a wealthy family, but all that changed with the 1929 Stock Market Crash. After living in a NYC tenement, they were informed that they inherited their late Uncle Horatio's estate and holdings, but with conditions. They had live on the estate fir 10 yrs, and support themselves. They were too embarrassed to let their new community know that they were moneyless. During their second summer at Grace and Favor Cottage, the world was changing. Many of the local Great War veterans had headed to Washington D.C. for the Bonus Army March. The Bonus was money promised to the veterans, but not to be given to them until 1945. With so much of the country out of work, the veterans wanted the money to be distributed now. Jack, the local newspaper editor decided to go check out the March. Meanwhile Robert found a mummified man in an icehouse which he was tearing down for the wood and building supplies. The mummy was unidentifiable. Lily joined a local woman's organization which tried to help those is need. One of the members, the local vegetable grower, had her husband found dead. Lily and Robert took it upon themselves to solve these murders.

I learned about the Bonus Army March, and how President Hoover forcefully disbanded it using the military. I had never heard of this March. Churchill weaves a truthful tale about how the Depression effected the life of the general population. A very well written historical mystery.

Burn Zone - Annabeth Albert
Hotshot series Book #1
5 Stars
Smokejumper Lincoln Reid is speechless to see Jacob Hartman among his squad’s new recruits. Linc had promised his late best friend he’d stay away from his little brother. And yet here Jacob is…and almost instantly, the same temptation Linc has always felt around him is causing way too many problems. Jacob gets everyone’s concerns, but he’s waited years for his shot at joining the elite smoke jumping team, hoping to honor his brother’s memory. He’s ready to tackle any challenge Linc throws his way, and senses the chemistry between them—chemistry Linc insists on ignoring —is still alive and kicking. This time, Jacob’s determined to get what he wants.

There was no denying the chemistry that existed between Linc and Jacob. You could slice it with a knife. I became very frustrated with the team’s efforts to keep Jacob “alive” for his mother’s sake. While I understood their beginning reasons…she had lost one son already to this job but… hello people…Jacob is 25 years old and he has the ability and the right to make his own decisions. He didn’t need to be wrapped up in cotton and protected. This idea of theirs also delayed Jacob and Linc from finding what they needed from one another which kind of slowed the story down some. I read the other books in the series out of order and found that this didn’t happen again in any of them…thank you Ms. Albert! Those readers that don’t care for the romance parts should find the details of the training and the everyday in the life of the Smokejumpers informative and very well researched by the author.

Love for Sale by Jill Churchill
#4 Grace and Favor Mystery
4 *

This series gets better and better. I so enjoy all the historical background, especially that of the building of the Hoover Dam and the election of FDR. Churchill's writing style is a pleasure to read.

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster have inherited their Great Uncle's estate and mansion , Grace and Favor Cottage. In order to support themselves in 1932 upstate New York, they have decided to take in boarders. A mysterious man comes to the door and rents rooms for the weekend for an outrageously large amount of money. Lily couldn't afford to waste the opportunity. With trepidation the siblings decide to agree on the mysterious renters. Meanwhile the local school principal is in desperate need of a substitute teacher, as her 5/6 grade teacher needed to leave for an appendix operation. Lily and Robert agree to split the teaching position until the teacher returns, as it is a paying position. However, the mysterious weekend renter is found stabbed to death in the bathtub. Chief of Police Howard Walker sets out to find the murderer with the help of Lily.

The Hypnotist - Lars Kepler
2.5★

A gruesome triple homicide. There’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes . . . and he can’t remember what happened. The police are desperate for information. Detective Joona Linna enlists the help of hypnotist Erik Maria Bark. But when Bark unlocks the secrets in the boy’s memory, he triggers a terrifying chain of events that will put all their lives in jeopardy.

I so wanted to like this book more. The description was intriguing…the cover was eye-catching...it was the authors first book. How exciting that must be for a new author to see your "baby' in print? The story wasn’t all bad....but lacked way too much "good". It did start off with promise although a little slow...but it soon just turned “outlandish”, for lack of a better word. The characters were bland and really, truly unlikable… even the ones that had the honor of being the “main characters” …the ones the reader is supposed to care about and root for. On top of that we were presented with too many plot lines….a really unnecessary sex scene when the son was kidnapped…and too much jumping around with confusing flashbacks. The book was written in 2018...I know that my not caring for this book and only giving it 2.5 stars...(the .5 was given out of my sense of remorse for the author)…certainly didn’t cause Mr. Kepler to crawl off and hide his head under the covers and never write another book…so I will search out another from a later year before giving it up.

Irish Eyes by Kathy Hogan Trocheck
3.5 ★

Callahan Garrity is the owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta's elite. She's also a former cop and a part-time sleuth. When Callahan Garrity gets caught in a liquor store holdup on the way home from a St. Paddy's Day party, one of her best friends is shot. Callahan and her House Mouse cleaning crew dive into the investigation-only to discover that her old friend might have been working both sides of the law as an accomplice in a string of robberies.

Callahan is a likeable, no-nonsense character who doesn’t hesitate to get involved in other people’s business when a good friend and cop gets shot. With help from other ex-cop friends and her cleaning crew, she gets into a few risky situations trying to get information. The story was interesting and had a couple of surprises. It was a light and enjoyable mystery with a bit of humor.

Court of Lies by Gerry Spence
3.5 ★

Beautiful Lillian Adams is going on trial for the murder of her wealthy husband before Judge John Murray. The prosecutor, Haskins Sewell, however, is consumed by political ambition. He plans to advance his own career by framing Lillian for murder one and by railroading the judge into prison. A fast-paced, up-all-night courtroom thriller, Court of Lies is also a harsh indictment of today's legal system.

This story had a lot going on in the courtroom with good questions, contentious objections and other lawyer strategies. I didn’t strongly like any of the characters but I did grow to hate the prosecutor. The prosecutor was presented as purposely lying and making false accusations to win his case. The author is a successful defense lawyer and I think this may be his view of many prosecutors he encountered over the years. The characters were a bit over the top and not always believable. Still, the story was entertaining.

They're Gone - E.A. Barres
4★

Two men from vastly different backgrounds are murdered one after another on the same night, in the same fashion with two bullet wounds: one in the head, another in the heart. The two slayings sends their wives on a desperate search for answers--and a desperate attempt to save their families' lives.

First book I have read by this author. About halfway through the book, the killer is revealed... but revealing the killer is only the first of serval things that makes this novel more than average. It's not a only a "whodunit" but also a "whydunit" and "whatdunit." It was a mix of good guys and bad guys and even worse guys causing the reader to kinda loose track of who is one which team. There are a lot of characters also but each one is well defined with their own purposes. On the good side there is a ton of diversity and the women well written and not make to look like "weeping willies" or silly, nervous Nellies. Well worth 4 stars.

How Much It May Storm - A.N. Willis
5★

Their secret didn’t die with her.
Colorado, 1918: Millie Boylan is a nurse who sees darkness marking those soon to die. When she falls for a doomed soldier named Edward Gainsbury, she vows to save his life. But Millie soon finds the greatest danger is the one she cannot see.
Colorado, 1943: With a brother gone to war, Dinah must learn how to fend for herself. She spends her days working an abandoned mine and her nights longing to escape her dying town. When Dinah sees a young soldier who looks just like Edward Gainsbury out in the snow—though he supposedly died in 1918—she follows him into the woods.
Dinah is quickly drawn into the mysteries surrounding the Gainsbury family. Unexplained events begin to follow her wherever she goes—strange footsteps appearing in the snow, hands pressed to windows of buildings long abandoned. But what she discovers will force Dinah to confront the true history of her town and the darkness hiding inside those she least suspects.

I can't begin to even begin to describe how much I loved this story! It's loaded with history and it's got wonderful believable characters some that just happen to be ghosts ...well...as believable as ghosts might be. This was one of the best books I have ever read and I have read some good ones this year. It has you undivided attention right from page one and keeps you turning pages until you are finished. Cancel the party you may have planned...lock the doors so you don't get any uninvited guests...just put out sandwich makings for the family...find the most comfortable place you have and READ! In a nutshell what I have to say about it??? WOW! just WOW!

It had to be You by Jill Churchill
#5 Grace and Favor Mystery
c. 2004
3 1/2 *s

This is another great addition to the Grace and Favor Mystery series. Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster are helping out at a nursing home, until one of the workers starts feeling better. The first day there, one of the residents is found dead, smothered with a pillow. The odd thing was that he would probably have died later that day due to a severe infection. chief of Police Howard Walker is called upon to investigate. The new widow, a statuesque strong woman, was furious that her husband died before planting season could get underway. Howard was investigating several other suspects. Meanwhile, Robert decided that the nursing home needed a dumb waiter, to lessen the workload in the large 2 story house. An interesting tale of greed, hate, and dysfunctional families. I am very sad that there is only one morr published book in the series.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
3.5 ★

Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can't afford to pay for. That's Jess's life in a nutshell-until an unexpected knight in shining armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess's knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages. Maybe ever.

This story had likeable and believable characters with good intentions who make some bad decisions. Their ups and downs are somewhat interesting, a bit humorous, sometimes touching and occasionally surprising. I liked the gentle life lesson of facing the consequences of your actions and make necessary changes to improve the situation. This was light and easy to read. I was looking for a feel good story when I found this and it did that for me.

The Night Lake - Liz Tichenor
3.5★

This is an autobiography where the author tells of her own personal journey through the "shadows" of grief. . Whatever your experience is with grief and/or faith, The Night Lake will manage to surprise you. That it's not easy reading is an understatement. Liz finds her month old son is in an ambulance racing to the hospital and barely clinging to life with a previously undiagnosed medical condition. A month earlier her mother had died. She finds that even the strength of her husband and her daughter are not enough nd as a priest she feels aghast that for the first time in her life she questions the existence of a God of any kind. If you are still reading this and not running to save your sanity...you will find yourself wanting to just sit with Liz and hold her hand. What i wasn't sure I wanted to do was read one more sentence in this book...but I did. I realized that in the depth of this young mother/daughters/wife's almost unbearable grief, was a lesson in how to not only simply "be there", but that a friend's mere presence...not their often useless words, helps to convey compassion and the will to go on to those mired in grief and overcome with tragedy. I gave the book 3.5 stars for the author's ability to even write this. Not a good book to end the year with.

War and Peas by Jill Churchill
#8 Jane Jeffry mystery
c. 1996
3 1/2 *

This is a reread, and I started in the middle of the series, as I can't find the first 7 books packed away. Anyway... Jane Jeffers and her best friend, Shelly Nowack, volunteer at the local museum. The Sneeden Museum is dedicated to peas among other things, so it sponsors the local Pea Festival. This year, a Civil War enactment needed volunteer extras, and among them are Shelly and Jane. Unfortunately, during the reenactment, someone used live ammunition causing a death. The death put the museum into chaos as the death made no sense. Shelly and Jane set about finding the reason, as they didn't want to be volunteering in a place which might have a murderer lurking about. This was a fun fast read. Plenty of tiny clues were given to help the reader solve the mystery.