Monday, March 18, 2024

Theater of the Mind by Dave Schrader


Started: 3/16/2024

Finished: 3/17/2024

Year: 2024

Pages: 138

Genre: paranormal

Grade: B

Reason for reading: fan of author

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The realms of the ethereal and physical appear to be weaving themselves deeper into one another with the passing of every year. People from around the world are experiencing strange phenomena and encountering creatures of unknown origins in alarming numbers. It’s time we accepted the fact that what we consider normal and supernatural are set on a collision course and will finally reveal the proof that we are not alone, and never have been. That behind every closet door, and under every bed, in the dark of the forests and the light of day, in every town and every state of every country around the world, darkness is rising, and worlds will merge. These are just some of the stories pointing to that inevitability."

Opinion: There are so many stories revolving around the paranormal. This is a good collection of the author and some of his listeners/fans' stories. Almost every aspect of the paranormal is touched-UFOs, ghosts, aliens, blacked eyed children. The stories are quick to read.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman


Started: 3/13/2024

Finished: DNF

Year: 1989

Pages: 404

Genre: mystery

Grade: F

Reason for reading: continuing with the series, library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "At a party for a  controversial Los Angeles sex therapist, Alex  encounters a face from his own past--Sharon Ransom, an  exquisite, alluring lover who left him abruptly more  than a decade earlier. Sharon now hints that he  desperately needs help, but Alex evades her. The  next day she is dead, an apparent suicide. Driven by  guilt and sadness, Alex plunges into the maze of  Sharon's life--a journey that will take him through  the pleasure palaces of California's ultra-rich,  into the dark closets of a family's disturbing  past, and finally into the alleyways of the mind,  where childhood terrors still hold sway."

Opinion: The writing seem choppy especially for it being a continuation of a series. A lot of the explicit sexual background that Alex had with the victim was unnecessary to establish the relationship that they had. I will not be continuing on with the series.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam


Started: 3/12/2024

Finished: 3/12/2024

Pages: 241

Year: 2020

Genre: fiction

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

"Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?"

Opinion: Flamingos, booms, strange occurrences. 

The Moral Police by Janelle Perez


Started: 3/11/2024

Finished: 3/11/2024

Year: 2020

Pages: 209

Genre: biography

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "After nearly seven years as a police officer in Northern California, Janelle Perez was no stranger to a courtroom. But she never imagined that she would find herself in one as a plaintiff suing her former employer, the Roseville Police Department.

"In her lawsuit, Janelle cited gender discrimination and a right to privacy when she was fired for an off-duty relationship with a coworker while separated—an assertion denied by her employer and a loss only she endured. Despite winning a ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Janelle faced defeat when the ruling was suspiciously overturned.

"In The Moral Police, Janelle shares the story of her seven-year fight for justice in the biggest betrayal of her life. Providing an insider’s look at life as a female police officer, Janelle shares what happens when you follow the rules and respect the process in a system that doesn’t respect you. No matter your gender or profession, you’ll gain valuable insight into the power of leadership and the devastation caused when it’s misused. This book will inspire you to fight for what’s right and will reveal how we can come together and do better as a society."

Opinion: Unfortunately, I'm not surprised that a situation like this happened. It is a shame that women cannot be treated as equals.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson


Started: 3/10/2024

Finished: 3/11/2024

Year: 2009

Pages: 248

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series, library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "When school psychologist Skye Denison stumbles over the body of pushy “Promfest” chairperson Annette Paine during a Halloween fundraiser, it looks like a clear-cut case of promicide. Annette was not the only prom mom desperate to see her daughter crowned queen—and her skirt-chasing hubby is no prince either.

"Skye’s anxious to investigate, but she keeps getting sidetracked by the overeager new social worker at school, and her current beau’s emotional distance. Still, one question haunts her: Annette Paine was wearing a witch costume identical to Skye’s, so which witch was the intended victim? Will Skye realize too late that finding this killer is a matter of her own life or death?"

Opinion: A decent mystery and how one's lack of reality can affect others.

Thursday, March 07, 2024

The Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz


Started: 3/4/2024

Finished: 3/6/2024

Year: 2024

Pages: 370

Genre: Fiction, leaning towards supernatural

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book, fan of Koontz

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Benny Catspaw’s perpetually sunny disposition is tested when he loses his job, his reputation, his fiancĂ©e, and his favorite chair. He’s not paranoid. Someone is out to get him. He just doesn’t know who or why. Then Benny receives an inheritance from an uncle he’s never heard of: a giant crate and a video message. All will be well in time.

"How strange―though it’s a blessing, his uncle promises. Stranger yet is what’s inside the crate. He’s a seven-foot-tall self-described “bad weather friend” named Spike whose mission is to help people who are just too good for this world. Spike will take care of it. He’ll find Benny’s enemies. He’ll deal with them. This might be satisfying if Spike wasn’t such a menacing presence with terrifying techniques of intimidation.

"In the company of Spike and a fascinated young waitress-cum-PI-in-training named Harper, Benny plunges into a perilous high-speed adventure, the likes of which never would have crossed the mind of a decent guy like him."

Opinion: Sometimes being too nice really is a bad thing.

Monday, March 04, 2024

Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton


Started: 2/25/2024

Finished: 3/3/2024

Year: 2002

Pages: 554

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: continuing with series, bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved...

"That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body are nearing the end of their careers in law enforcement—and they want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone.

"Kinsey is intrigued by the cold case and agrees to take the job. But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer."

Opinion: One of the better books in the series. Some things that were put into the book were not necessary.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs


Started: 2/21/2024

Finished: 2/24/2024

Year: 2001

Pages: 432

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series, library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The journey begins with Temperance Brennan hearing shocking news on her car radio. An Air TransSouth flight has gone down in the mountains of western North Carolina, taking with it eighty-eight passengers and crew. As a forensic anthropologist and a member of the regional DMORT team, Tempe rushes to the scene to assist in body recovery and identification.

"As bomb theories abound, Tempe soon discovers a jarring piece of evidence that raises dangerous questions—and gets her thrown from the DMORT team. Relentless in her pursuit of its significance, Tempe uncovers a shocking, multilayered tale of deceit and depravity as she probes her way into frightening territory—where someone wants her stopped in her tracks."

Opinion: What started off as a plane crash turned into so much more.