Gathering Mist by Margaret by Mizushima

Started: 11/22/2024

Finished: 11/25/2024

Year: 2024

Pages: 245

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with the series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington’s Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity’s missing child. With only a week left before her wedding, Mattie is hesitant to leave Timber Creek, but her K-9 partner Robo’s tracking skills are needed.

"Dense forest, chilling rain, and unfriendly locals hamper their efforts, and soon Mattie suspects something more sinister than a lost child is at play. When one of the SAR dogs becomes ill, her fiancé, Cole Walker, suspects poison. Fearing for Mattie’s and Robo’s safety, Cole joins the search and rescue team as veterinary support.

"Secrets that have lain hidden within the rugged terrain come to light, and when it is uncovered that the missing child was kidnapped, the search becomes a full-blown crime scene investigation, forcing Mattie, Robo, and Cole into a desperate search to find the missing child before it's too late."

Opinion: A great continuation of the series. Totally picked the wrong suspect. Good mystery...fantastic ending

Second-Chance Dogs edited by Callie Smith Grant

Started: 11/19/2024

Finished: 11/21/2024

Year: 2018

Pages: 199

Genre: animals

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Everyone loves an underdog, and nothing gives us warmer feelings than seeing someone get a second chance in life. A problem pup who flourishes under the right kind of training. The struggling veteran who finds unconditional love wiggling around at the end of a leash. The lonely child who finds comfort in the steady breathing of the warm, furry friend at her side. Each of us needs to be rescued from something--and each of us has the capacity to rescue someone, or something, else.

"This collection of more than thirty contemporary, true, feel-good stories spotlights the beauty of being rescued--dogs rescued by people, people rescued by dogs, and even dogs who rescue other animals. It's the perfect companion--well, besides the four-legged, tail-wagging kind--for your morning cup of coffee or an evening curled up on the couch. Contributors include Susy Flory, Dusty Rainbolt, Lauraine Snelling, Melody Carlson, Wanda Dyson, Suzanne Woods Fisher, and many more."

Opinion: Some hearttouching stories. Some better than others like with all collections of short stories.

Bones are Forever by Kathy Reichs

Started: 11/15/2024

Finished: 11/19/2024

Year: 2012

Pages: 283

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "A woman calling herself Amy Roberts checks into a Montreal hospital complaining of uncontrolled bleeding. Doctors see evidence of a recent birth, but before they can act, Roberts disappears. Dispatched to the address she gave at the hospital, police discover bloody towels outside in a Dumpster. Fearing the worst, they call Temperance Brennan to investigate.

"In a run-down apartment Tempe makes a ghastly discovery: the decomposing bodies of three infants. According to the landlord, a woman named Alma Rogers lives there. Then a man shows up looking for Alva Rodriguez. Are Amy Roberts, Alma Rogers, and Alva Rodriguez the same person? Did she kill her own babies? And where is she now?

"Heading up the investigation is Tempe’s old flame, homicide detective Andrew Ryan. His counterpart from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sergeant Ollie Hasty, who happens to have a little history with Tempe himself, which she regrets. This unlikely trio follows the woman’s trail, first to Edmonton and then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining city deep in the Northwest Territories. What they find in Yellowknife is more sinister than they ever could have imagined."

Opinion: Interesting story considering what a recent headline has been.

Lone Wolf by Diana Palmer, Kate Pearce, Rebecca Zanetti

Started: 11/13/2024

Finished: 11/14/2024

Year: 2021

Pages: 388

Genre: Romance

Grade: D

Reason for reading: TBR pile

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "COLORADO COWBOY by DIANA PALMER

"Fleeing her mother's killer, Esther Marist ends up at a rugged stranger's cabin. A wildlife rehabilitator with a menagerie that includes an elderly wolf, Matthews isn't the type to turn any creature away. As Esther heals, she realizes how much danger she's brought to his door--and how far he'll go to protect her.

"THE WOLF ON HER DOORSTEP by KATE PEARCE

"Beth Baker senses her grumpy summer tenant must be in trouble when his pet wolf shows up at her door, demanding she follow. Conner O'Neil, solitary and stubborn, doesn't want Beth's help--but only he can show her how to trust again.

"RESCUE: COWBOY STYLE by REBECCA ZANETTI

"Trent Logan has his ranch, his friends, and his wolf, and that's more than enough--until a shivering city girl runs into the Cattle Club to escape a Wyoming storm. Her eyes hold a world of secrets, and he'll have to face the demons of his own past in order to save them both.?

Opinion: Only one novella was worth reading IMO. The other two were not. Pearce was the only decent story. The other two had naive main women characters which just irk me. Writing was fine.

Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

Started: 11/9/2024

Finished: 11/13/2024

Year: 2024

Pages: 330

Genre: True Crime

Grade: A

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system.

"A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse."

Opinion: Most of us are aware of some sort of injustice when it has come to innocent people being wrongly convicted; some even executed. This book will make you shake your head at the level of injustice.

Come Homicide or High Waters by Denise Swanson

Started: 11/7/2024

Finised: 11/8/2024

Year: 2020

Pages: 337

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Welcome back to Scumble River! Skye Denison-Boyd is getting ready to return to work from her maternity leave and hoping for a peaceful year in her job as a school psychologist. But when an elderly woman disappears on her first day back and a disgruntled parent threatens to sue the school, Skye realizes that her return will be anything but quiet.

"When the parent suing Skye's school is found dead and with the missing woman's case is still unsolved, Skye suspects the crimes are somehow linked. With her chief of police husband, Wally, at her side, Skye dives into the investigations. Now she and Wally barely have enough time for date night once the babies are asleep! But as tensions rise and Skye and Wally's suspect list lengthens, they start to wonder whether they'll be able to catch the guilty ones before tragedy strikes again."

Opinion: A good continuation of Skye's life and murder mystery

Innocent Until Proven Quilty by Donna Kelly

Started: 11/5/2024

Finished: 11/7/2024

Year: 2014

Pages: 203

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with series, TBR

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Beantown is the backdrop when Emma Cotton and Kelly Grace, the owners of Cotton & Grace quilt design shop in Mystic Harbor, Mass., take on the next suspect who may have been involved in the death of their friend Rose. Vanessa Nelson, now an assistant curator at a prestigious Boston art museum, was one of the last to see Rose alive. Now Vanessa is in trouble with the museum, accused of stealing an exquisite painting and dismissed from her position. She seems like the kind of person accustomed to living on the wrong side of the law. Could she be both a thief and a murderer? Emma and Kelly must go undercover at the museum, hoping to find a link between the theft of a priceless work of art and an unsolved death fifteen years ago. Meanwhile, Emma finds herself in the crosshairs of a conspiracy between her aunt, Dottie Faye Sinclair, and Kelly's mother, Maeve Quigley, who want to "help" Emma gain the attention of Eric Hart, the handsome doctor Dottie Faye believes is Emma's soul mate. Thanks to Vanessa Nelson's underhanded scheming, Emma and Kelly must get to the bottom of the museum heist before they can move forward in their quest to discover the true identity of Rose's killer. Will that journey once again throw their lives into mortal peril?"

Opinion: A mystery within a mystery. Predictable but still enjoyable

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

Started: 11/1/2024

Finished: 11/5/2024

Year: 2021

Pages: 369

Genre: psychological mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.

"After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family―his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister―have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain―and they won’t tell Matt why.

"The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny―currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte―was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

"When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison―putting his own life in peril―and forcing him to confront his every last fear."

Opinion: Decent murder mystery with twists and turns