all your Reads in Here

Congratulations to the winners of the last giveaway. Nann H. from Winthrop Harbor, IL will receive The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes . Patty S. from Farmington, NM won A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder. The books are going out in the mail today. There's no contest this week. I'm going to be at Bouchercon next Friday, so I won't be able to mail the packages to the winners. But, I already have the books picked out for next Friday's contest kick-off. I have all kinds of books ready to be reviewed next week. I hope to get pictures at both conferences I'm at this week. Watch for them! Oh, and tomorrow? There's a large Treasures in My Closet post. I hope you'll come back to read it.

You know me. I tend to bounce around, picking something up and trying it, coming back to it later. That's how I do a lot of reading, other than when I'm reading for a review. Right now, I'm sampling a new book called  American Theatre Wing: An Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 10 Million Miracle s edited by Patrick Pacheco. It's a beautiful book with historical photos and gorgeous contemporary ones. It's about the 100 years of contributions made to the theatre world by a group that was originally started by playwright Rachel Crothers and six others in 1917, in partnership with the British Stage Women's War Relief. At the time I'm writing this post, I've only read the introduction written by Angela Lansbury. She was one of the beneficiaries of the joint group because the American group took in the children of English actors during the war, and she and her brothers were some of those children. You all know how much I love theatre. I'm going to enjoy...

Rhys Bowen's latest Royal Spyness mystery has been out almost a month, but I just had a chance to read it.   Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding is a fun romp that wraps up the suspense so many readers have been awaiting. Will Lady Georgiana Rannoch finally marry the love of her life, Darcy O'Mara? All along, there have been all kinds of barriers in the way. Georgie was in line for the throne, so the King has to allow her to marry a Catholic, but she'll no long be in the line of succession. And, neither Georgie or Darcy have much money, although she has a title and he'll inherit a castle in Ireland. And, now that the marriage has been approved, Georgie has to get a dress, a trousseau, and the pair have to find a place to live. And, Queen Mary wants the royal family and maybe some of the extended family invited to the wedding, and proposes Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret as bridesmaids. Oh, and don't forget that Georgie's mother and her grandfather both h...

When Willow Lake asks her daughters for help renovating the family home, each has a reason to hesitate about returning to Maplewood . . . For quiet and bookish Emmy going back to the town that ridiculed her fills her with dread. The youngest Noelle is perfectly comfortable in herself now , but once wanted to fit in so badly that she walked away from her first love. A first love who still lives in Maplewood. And outspoken Rae is painfully aware of how much the townspeople hurt her little sisters growing up. She didn't protect them then, but there's no way she'll let history repeat itself. The sisters agree to go home and make the best of it. After all if they've changed over the years, it's possible the townspeople have too . . . isn't it? Having enjoyed Lisa Dickenson’s previous novels where I have enjoyed her easy flowing wit weaved through the storyline I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her new release My Sister’s and Me. The storyline follo...

Thank heavens Sandie Herron has a few posts for me to use when I get backed up with reviews or posts. I'm trying to finish a book, and I'm working on the large Treasures in My Closet post for Saturday. Today, Sandie reviews Victoria Laurie's audiobook Vision Impossible. Vision Impossible                                                                    Series:  Psychic Eye Book 9 Written by Victoria Laurie Narrated by Elizabeth Michaels Unabridged Audiobook Listening Length: 11 hours and 55 minutes Publisher: Audible Studios Release Date: July 5, 2011 ASIN: B005ACDTQ0 ***** stars Offered a way to help “save her country,” new civilian profiler for the FBI Abby Cooper does not really want this opportunity, until she hears all the details and learns that her boyfriend Dutch will also be involved.  She...

My Wellness Toolbox by Alison Swift is, without a doubt, the best self-help book that has been written and published in the past couple of decades. By using the techniques that she outlines in her book Alison Swift was able to "banish the blues" and "nuke negativity." It is a very simple book and very easy to read and to follow. It contains 26 tools that you can employ, right now, to make

I thought T. Jefferson Parker's second novel featuring PI Roland Ford was terrific. Swift Vengeance is a fast-paced story that is all too plausible. This was my first one of Parker's books, so I can't compare them to earlier ones. I found the characters well-developed, a little quirky, and fascinating. It was a page turner. Ford first met Lindsey Rakes in a casino when the drone operator for the Air Force was a heavy drinker and gambler, trying to escape her day job. Two and a half years later, when she turns to him for help, she's trying to get her life back together again. She lost custody of her son due to her lifestyle, and now she's desperate to regain her ex-husband's trust and share custody. But, that won't happen if she turns a threatening note over to the FBI. Rakes has received a note signed "Caliphornia" that threatens her with death by decapitation. She's a little worried that a man she once dated is behind the threats. Ford offers...

Jonathan Santolofer's book, The Widower's Notebook, is a memoir. The author of The Death Artist and Anatomy of Fear did not write an instructional manual as to how to survive grief. It's a very personal account of the sudden death of his wife, Joy, and his own struggle with grief and his emotions around her death. Joy Santlofer was "only" scheduled for outpatient surgery on her leg, but a day later she was dying. What caused it is not the focus of the book, although it took her husband over a year to learn what the cause of death was. And, that's an unusual story in itself. But, at the time Joy was dying, her husband could only watch in panic as the paramedics worked on her, rushed her to the hospital, and then she was gone. Jonathan Santlofer needed comfort after she was gone, but he couldn't ask for it. There was "a stance I maintained for months, the strong man who needs no one." He and their daughter, Doria, were united in loss, but neither...

Alice is settling down. It might not be the adventurous life she once imagined, but more than anything she wants to make everyone happy - her steady boyfriend, her over-protective mother - even if it means a little part of her will always feel stifled. Max is shaking things up. After a devastating injury, he is determined to prove himself. To find the man beyond the disability, to escape his smothering family and go on an adventure. A trip to Sri Lanka is Alice's last hurrah - her chance to throw herself into the heat, chaos and colour of a place thousands of miles from home. It's also the moment she meets Max. Alice doesn't know it yet, but her whole life is about to change. Max doesn't know it yet, but he's the one who's going to change it. Isabelle Broom is back and this time she is showing us the sites of Sri Lanka in One Thousand Stars and You. As best friends Alice, Maureen and Steph have their Big 30 looming they decide to spend their birthdays together i...

Hi! I was out of town all day yesterday, so there's no blog today. Check back tomorrow, please!

Congratulations to the winners of the last contest. Lisa W. from Rochester, IN won The Night of the Flood . Daniel M. from Weymouth, MA will receive Ten Year Stretch . The books will go out in the mail on Saturday. This week, I'm giving away two mysteries set in London. Let's start with a fun Victorian mystery, Dianne Freeman's  A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder . Frances Wynn, an American-born wealthy young widow encounters the pleasures and scandals of a London social season. She's been accused of Killing her philandering husband, although he died in his lover's bed. But, together with the neighbor who helped her move the body, she's caught up in the investigation of a mysterious burglar who's stealing from London's elite. It's a fun mystery that is so good it calls for a sequel. The second mystery is set in 1914 when Joanna Black and her son witness a man fall from a building.   Leonard Goldberg's The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes  intr...

That's Christmas: A guaranteed, easy way to make extra money for Chr...: We can all do with some extra money at Christmas, whether it is for spending on Christmas gifts, Christmas foods or decorations. Several...

I've met this month's deadline for mystery reviews, so I'm doing a little reading for myself at the end of the week. I haven't finished The Widower's Notebook by Jonathan Santlofer yet, but I will shortly. I have a few books to pick from, of course (ha - a few). I did pick up a debut novel today at the library.  Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson is written in the form of letters between a professor in Denmark and a farm wife on an English farm. They're brought together by a shared interest in the Tollund Man. Because I looked it up, I'll share a link with you. (Yes, I know it's Wikipedia, but I find that a good place to start, and then I can branch out.)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollund_Man We'll see if that's really where I end up. What are you reading this week? What books or audiobooks have caught you're attention? We'd love to know.

What if someone else was living your happy ever after? When Maddie wakes up in a hospital bed, she can't remember anything about what happened to her or what has changed. She just remembers she was about to be married and had everything to look forward to. But it seems life has become a lot more complicated while she has been asleep … I am broken…. While I was Sleeping by Dani Atkins has taken me on such a heart-breaking journey and this is definitely her best book yet and one of my top 3 books of 2018. With only days left before her Wedding day to Ryan, Maddie is running last minute errands when she feels that she is being followed. After a desperate phone call to Ryan he arranges to meet Maddie as she gets off the bus. As she catches a glimpse of the stranger as she disembarks the bus she is relieved to see Ryan over the road but as she makes her way to him the unthinkable happens. As her love ones sit by her bedside willing her to come around from her coma time moves on...

I'm not into creepy characters and thrillers. Occasionally, I read one, sometimes by accident. And, I don't like women and children in jeopardy books. If you like books with menacing atmospheres and intense scenes, you might want to try Edwin Hill's debut mystery, Little Comfort . Hester Thursby is a librarian at Harvard, but she's on leave right now. Her best friend, Daphne, took off one night while Hester and her partner, Morgan, Daphne's brother, were out with friends. And, Daphne left her three-year-old, Kate, with Hester and Morgan, saying she'd be back in an hour or so. Months later, Hester is still acting as stay-at-home mom, a job she doesn't feel up to handling. She does have a little side business though. Hester, using her skills as a librarian, is very good at tracking down missing people. When Lila Blaine shows up, Hester assumes it will be easy to track down Lila's brother, Sam. He ran away from home twelve years earlier. Despite the lack of...

Are you a fan of older sleuths? If you like Rita Lakin's Gladdy Gold mysteries or J.C. Eaton's Sophie Kimball ones, you might want to try  Poppy Harmon Investigates by Lee Hollis. When Poppy Harmon's fourth husband, Chester, dies, the retired actress is stunned to learn he left her penniless. She has no practical skills. Once, though, she did assist a private investigator turned screenwriter with some of his plot ideas. Maybe that qualifies her to be a PI? Poppy gets her California license, and together with her best friends, Iris and Violet, she opens The Desert Flowers Detective Agency. Then they discover no one wants to hire three sixty-year-old women as PIs. But, Poppy's daughter is dating an actor, and she asks him if they can put his face on the website. However, Matt wants to be more than the face of the agency. He becomes "Matt Flowers" detective, which only enrages Poppy's daughter. With Matt's face as the face of the agency, though, business...

Jean McClellan spends her time in almost complete silence, limited to just one hundred words a day. Any more, and a thousand volts of electricity will course through her veins. Now the new government is in power, everything has changed. But only if you’re a woman . Almost overnight, bank accounts are frozen, passports are taken away and seventy million women lose their jobs. Even more terrifyingly, young girls are no longer taught to read or write. For herself, her daughter, and for every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice. This is only the beginning… I was really intrigued by the synopsis of debut novel Vox which is a dystopian novel which sees religious rights enforce their beliefs that females should not be allowed to speak over 100 words which they enforce by fitting all females even young children with wrist counters that clock up the words spoken. Women have had to give up their jobs to stay at home and look after their families. Our main character is Dr Jean McClellan w...

I know it was actually a joke when a friend gave me The Feckin' Book of Everything Irish . He said he saw it, and thought of me. But, it really is a fun, informative book, filled with quotes, definitions of Irish words and phrases, jokes, cartoons, recipes, and even the words to traditional Irish songs. It's great craic (fun). The authors "translate" Irish slang, and tell readers how it's traditionally used in conversation. Of course, they could be putting us all on, but I recognize enough of the words and phrases to doubt it. The definitions are fun, especially when they then use the words to make fun of the government. For instance, let's take the word "bowsie". According to the authors, it's a noun, "Person (esp. male) of very disreputable character. A useless good-for-nothing. (usage) 'Is there anyone in the government who isn't a bleedin' bowsie?'" Or take the phrase "If he went to a wedding, he'd stay for ...

Listen, It's Wednesday, is set during the vibrant era of the 1960s. Music is of vital importance and blues music was at the zenith of its influence.  Listen, It's Wednesday follows the varied fortunes of a highly talented and very important member of an all woman brass band (a rarity of the day) who is saved from a suicide attempt by the loyal members of her band. She was brought to

Vapi is not doing well at school, to be perfectly honest. But it's not really Vapi's fault. He is a misfit at school, but this seems to be as a result of the fact that he struggles in lessons. The situation is made worse by the fact that poor Vapi is being targeted by the school bully. But Vapi has an escape route that he employs when his day-to-day life threatens to become too unbearably. He

This is an amazing book for children from ages 9 to 11, from Gavin Neale. Siblings Abbey and Chris moved into a new home four summers ago. They learned a number of things including the fact that magic is not a fantasy, it is as very real thing and they met up with a lovely pair of witches who lived just down their road. The children undertook a perilous rescue mission to save their mother