Started: 7/6/19
Finished: 8/12/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 214
Genre: Literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading: review for Librarything.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Cornelius Sky is a doorman in a posh Fifth Avenue apartment building that houses New York City's elite, including a former First Lady whose husband was assassinated while in office. It is 1974 and New York City is heading toward a financial crisis. At work, Connie prides himself on his ability to buff a marble floor better than anyone, a talent that so far has kept him from being fired for his drinking. He pushes the boundaries of his duties, partying and playing boards games with the former First lady's lonely thirteen-year-old son in the service stairwell-the only place where the boy is not spied upon mercilessly by the tabloid press and his Secret Service detail.
Connie believes he is the only nine who can offer true solace and companionship to this fatherless boy, but his constant neglect of his own sons and their mother reaches a boiling point. His wife changes the locks on his down door, and he finds himself wandering the mean streets of the city in his uniform, where unlikely angels offer him a path towards redemption."
Opinion: An average read about a drunk who suffers in all aspects of his life.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Monday, August 12, 2019
Tracking Game by Margaret Mizushima
Started: 8/12/19
Finished: 8/12/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 282
Genre: mystery
Grade: A
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "An explosion outside a community dance sends Mattie Cobb and Cole Walker reeling into the night, where they discover a burning van and beside it the body of outfitter Nate Fletcher. but the explosion didn't kill Nate-it was two gunshots to the heart.
"The investigation leads them to the home of rancher Doyle Redman, whose daughter is Nate's widow and the object of one of their suspect's affection. But before they can make an arrest, they receive an emergency call from a man who's been shot in the mountains. Mattie and Robo rush to the scene, only to be confronted by the ominous growl of a wild predator.
"As new players emerge on the scene, Mattie begins to understand the true danger that's enveloping Timber Creek. They journey into the cold, misty mountains to track the animal-but discover something even more deadly."
Opinion: I really enjoy this K-9 series and this one is right on line with the rest of the series. A more complete review will be posted on MyShelf.com in the near future.
Finished: 8/12/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 282
Genre: mystery
Grade: A
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "An explosion outside a community dance sends Mattie Cobb and Cole Walker reeling into the night, where they discover a burning van and beside it the body of outfitter Nate Fletcher. but the explosion didn't kill Nate-it was two gunshots to the heart.
"The investigation leads them to the home of rancher Doyle Redman, whose daughter is Nate's widow and the object of one of their suspect's affection. But before they can make an arrest, they receive an emergency call from a man who's been shot in the mountains. Mattie and Robo rush to the scene, only to be confronted by the ominous growl of a wild predator.
"As new players emerge on the scene, Mattie begins to understand the true danger that's enveloping Timber Creek. They journey into the cold, misty mountains to track the animal-but discover something even more deadly."
Opinion: I really enjoy this K-9 series and this one is right on line with the rest of the series. A more complete review will be posted on MyShelf.com in the near future.
Sunday, August 04, 2019
"Whiskers in the Dark" by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown
Started: 6/23/19
Finished: 7/31/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway
Blurb (from book jacket)" A massive nor'easter has hit northern Virginia, where Mary Minor 'Harry' Harristeen joins groundskeeping efforts at the national Beagle Club at Aldie as the date for its springtime Hounds for Heroes veterans' benefit approaches. Harry's fellow volunteers, including her oldest friend, Susan Tucker, comprise a spirited group of hunting enthusiasts, one former service members themselves. But things take a sinister turn when, after a routine tree cleanup along the Club's hunting rails, retired foreign services officer Jason Holzknect is found dead, throat slit from ear to ear. Soon enough, another murder in their midst jolts the preparations, convincing Harry that the killer is familiar with the Club-and must be close by, masked in plain sight.
"The intrigue extends to the grounds of Harry's beloved local church, where the identity of an eighteenth-century skeleton wearing precious pearls remains a mystery. The anonymous woman's neck had been snapped, and marks on the grave where her body was secreted indicate that someone recently tried to remove it, leading Harry to question how well she really knows those around her.
"As always, Harry's crime-solving cats, Mrs, Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friends, even those long buried, Harry will need her four-legged companions' help more than ever: a ghostly beagle only they can see may hold the key to the culprit."
Opinion: The main mystery wasn't well developed and had a nobody as the culprit. The older story that was intertwined was not needed and added nothing to the story. Not one of the better stories in this series.
Finished: 7/31/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway
Blurb (from book jacket)" A massive nor'easter has hit northern Virginia, where Mary Minor 'Harry' Harristeen joins groundskeeping efforts at the national Beagle Club at Aldie as the date for its springtime Hounds for Heroes veterans' benefit approaches. Harry's fellow volunteers, including her oldest friend, Susan Tucker, comprise a spirited group of hunting enthusiasts, one former service members themselves. But things take a sinister turn when, after a routine tree cleanup along the Club's hunting rails, retired foreign services officer Jason Holzknect is found dead, throat slit from ear to ear. Soon enough, another murder in their midst jolts the preparations, convincing Harry that the killer is familiar with the Club-and must be close by, masked in plain sight.
"The intrigue extends to the grounds of Harry's beloved local church, where the identity of an eighteenth-century skeleton wearing precious pearls remains a mystery. The anonymous woman's neck had been snapped, and marks on the grave where her body was secreted indicate that someone recently tried to remove it, leading Harry to question how well she really knows those around her.
"As always, Harry's crime-solving cats, Mrs, Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friends, even those long buried, Harry will need her four-legged companions' help more than ever: a ghostly beagle only they can see may hold the key to the culprit."
Opinion: The main mystery wasn't well developed and had a nobody as the culprit. The older story that was intertwined was not needed and added nothing to the story. Not one of the better stories in this series.
Never Look Back by Alison Gaylin
Started: 5/23/19
Finished: 7/30/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 339
Genre: B
Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway
Blurb (from back cover): "When website columnist Robin Diamond is contacted by true-crime podcast produce Quentin Garrison, she assumes it's a business matter. It's not. Quentin's podcast, Closure, focuses on a series of murders in the 1970s committed by teen couple April Copper and Gabriel LeRoy. It seems that Quentin has reason to believe Robins' own mother may be intimately connected with the killings.
"Robin thinks Quentin's claim is absolutely absurd. But is it? The more she researches the Cooper/LeRoy murders herself, the more disturbed she becomes by what she finds. Living just a few blocks from her, Robin's beloved parents are the one absolute she's always been able to trust in, especially now amid rising doubts about her husband ad frequent threats from Internet trolls. She knows her mother better than anyone-or so she believes. But all that changes after a brutal home invasion destroys everything Robin once relied on.
Opinion: A strong idea but there are some minor plotlines that are unnecessary and took away from the main story. Interesting twist at the end and some things were never well explained.
Finished: 7/30/19
Year: 2019
Pages: 339
Genre: B
Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway
Blurb (from back cover): "When website columnist Robin Diamond is contacted by true-crime podcast produce Quentin Garrison, she assumes it's a business matter. It's not. Quentin's podcast, Closure, focuses on a series of murders in the 1970s committed by teen couple April Copper and Gabriel LeRoy. It seems that Quentin has reason to believe Robins' own mother may be intimately connected with the killings.
"Robin thinks Quentin's claim is absolutely absurd. But is it? The more she researches the Cooper/LeRoy murders herself, the more disturbed she becomes by what she finds. Living just a few blocks from her, Robin's beloved parents are the one absolute she's always been able to trust in, especially now amid rising doubts about her husband ad frequent threats from Internet trolls. She knows her mother better than anyone-or so she believes. But all that changes after a brutal home invasion destroys everything Robin once relied on.
Opinion: A strong idea but there are some minor plotlines that are unnecessary and took away from the main story. Interesting twist at the end and some things were never well explained.
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