Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

 Started: 1/20/2022

Finished: 1/22/2022

Year: 2002

Pages: 326

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: reading the series/www.booklender.com book

Blurb (from Amazon): "This time Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger. Lula, Valerie, and Grandma Mazur are strapped in for the ride of their lives. Stephanie is hired to find a missing child. But things aren't always as they seem and Stephanie must determine if she's working for the right side of the law. Plus, there's the Morelli question: can a Jersey girl keep her head on straight when more than just bullets are aimed for her heart? And with the Plum and Morelli relationship looking rocky, is it time for Ranger to move in for the kill? Janet Evanovich's latest thriller proves that Hard Eight will never be enough."

Opinion: a fun reread for me. Just trying to read the series in order. Fun little mystery for Plum and her co-characters

The Trail by Ethan Gallogly

 Started: 12/22/2021

Finished: 12/30/2021

Year: 2021

Pages: 348

Genre: Literature

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from back cover): "In the wake of his father's death and recently fired from his job, Gil agrees to accompany his father's best friend Syd on a month long hike on the John Muir Trail. There's just one problem: Gil hates camping and is woefully unprepared for the rigors of the 200-mile journey. Moreover, he learns Syd may not survive the hike.

"et authentically in the High Sierra and fused with insightful accounts of history and ecology, The Trail illustrates how wilderness can serve as our greatest guide."

Opinion: My review will be posted on Reader Views in the near future.

Riders on the Storm by Dave Schafer

 Started: 12/31/21

Finished 1/6/2022

Year: 2021

Pages: 325

Genre: Mystery/lawyer

Grade: D

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: Trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "After finding her lover cheating, Andi Quinn rides her horse in a park. She meets a black youth named Kel stranded at trail's end, and gradually forms a polo team with him and his three friends. Crime surrounds the inner-city players as they struggle to compete in the "sport of kings." Andi hires McGarrity to defend Bucky on an assault charge as a heroin conspiracy threatens the safety of everyone around them. But who killed Kel's uncle, Bobby?"

Opinion: full review will be on Reader Views soon

The Awakening of Jim Bishop: this changes things by Ben Sharpton

 Started: 1/6/2022

Finished: 1/14/2022

Year: 2022

Pages: 182

Genre: Literature

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: Trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Jim Bishop is alone. His wife died. He lost his job. His brother is on the west coast. But something else, something different, something new is waiting for him.

In uptown Charlotte, the lives of five strangers are bound together as tightly as the twisted metal frame of the bicycle at the center of a horrible hit-and-run accident.

A homeless woman watches as a minister tries to comfort the young computer coder who believes he killed the cyclist, while an exhausted nurse and a power-driven CEO slip off into the night.

As Jim begins to rebuild his life, a strange vagrant helps guide him to the five people involved in the accident, revealing the dangerous secrets and vulnerabilities threatening to destroy each one. Someone has a gun. Someone has been physically abused. A relationship desperately needs mending. Someone will die.

Jim finds himself in situations with his new friends he never expected, giving him opportunities he never saw coming, providing new meaning in ways he never could have imagined.

Filled with tragedy and promise, The Awakening of Jim Bishop is a powerful and moving story of loss, hope and healing sure to provoke thought long after the last page is turned."

Opinion: review will be posted on Reader Views soon

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Andre Lewis Carter

 Started: 1/13/2022

Finished: 1/19/2022

Year: 2022

Pages: 336

Genre: literature/naval

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Librarything.com giveaway

Type: Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The Vietnam War is raging, the US Navy has only recently begun the process of integration, and the country is reeling from racial turmoil and unrest. So why does César, a street-tough kid of Afro-Cuban descent, enlist in the navy? He is on the run from a life of crime and from Mr. Mike, a charismatic, sociopathic gangster who was once a mentor but has now turned on him.

Escaping into a navy wrestling with its history of racism and sexism, César soon sees the absurdity of certain prejudices that seem as old as the US Armed Forces. When he is deployed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, racial tensions are high and are moving quickly toward violence. Through it all, César’s ever-growing sense of honor and self-worth force him to make moral decisions he never knew he was capable of. It’s a fortitude he will desperately need."

Opinion: I really enjoyed the writing voice of this novel.  Overall a decent read without the high technical aspects of the Navy-but enough information that shows that the author knows what he's talking about (he's a retired US Navy veteran)

Murder, Interrupted by James Patterson

 Started: 1/10/2022

Finished: 1/13/2022

Year: 2018

Pages: 303

Genre: True Crime

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booklender.com book

Blurb (from Amazon): "In Murder, Interrupted (with Alex Abramovich), rich, cheating financier Frank Howard wants his wife dead, and he's willing to pay Billie Earl Johnson whatever it takes: $750,000, to be exact. When his bullet misses the mark, Billie Earl and Frank will turn on each other in a fight for their lives . . .

Mother of All Murders (with Christopher Charles) is the story of local celebrity Dee Dee Blancharde. Television reports praise her as a single mother who tirelessly cares for her wheelchair-bound, chronically ill daughter. But when the teenaged Gypsy Rose realizes she isn't actually sick and Dee Dee has lied all these years, Gypsy Rose exacts her revenge . . ."

Opinion: As with all Patterson's books-very short chapters, very fast read. The first story was more interesting to me and had more to it than the second.  But overall, interesting reads for true crime fans.