Third Degree by Greg Iles

Started: 11/18/2021

Finished: 3/9/2022

Year: 2007

Pages: 464

Genre: Mystery/suspense

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Blurb (from Amazon): "In the span of twenty-four hours, everything Laurel Shields believes about her life and her marriage to a prominent doctor will be shattered—if she survives a terrifying ordeal. The day begins with the jarring discovery that, soon after ending an affair, Laurel is pregnant. But when she returns home to find her husband ashen, unkempt, and on the brink of violence, a nightmare quickly unfolds. In the heart of an idyllic Mississippi town, behind the walls of her perfect house, Laurel is locked in a volatile standoff with a husband she barely recognizes. Confronted by evidence of her betrayal, she must tread a deadly path between truth and deception while a ring of armed police prepares a dangerous rescue. But Laurel’s only hope lies with her former lover, a man whom fate has granted the power to save both Laurel and her children—if she can protect his identity long enough..."

Opinion: Hard to believe that this takes place in a day....a lot of suspenseful action. A lot of wtf moments. Great read.

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Started: 3/4/2022

Finished: 3/7/2022

Year: 2007

Pages: 330

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booklender.com book, reading series in order

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "MISTAKE #1

Dickie Orr. Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping to never see either one of them again.

MISTAKE #2
Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger). Ranger needs her to meet with Dickie and find out if he's doing somets hing shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, he's also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turn out Ranger's favors always come with a price...

MISTAKE #3

Going completely nutso while doing the favor for Ranger, and trying to apply bodily injury to Dickie in front of the entire office.Now Dickie has disappeared and Stephanie is the natural suspect in his disappearance. Is Dickie dead? Can he be found? And can she stay one step ahead in this new, dangerous game? Joe Morelli, the hottest cop in Trenton, NJ is also keeping Stephanie on her toes―and he may know more than lets on about her…It's a cat-and-mouse game for Stephanie Plum, where the ultimate prize might be her life."

Opinion: It's amazing what Stephanie gets herself into. And the back and forth between Ranger and Morelli gets more heated.

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

Started: 2/25/2022

Finished: 2/28/2022

Year: 2006

Pages: 322

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: booklender.com, reading the series in order

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "New Jersey's premier troublemaker, Stephanie Plum is once again struggling with her tangled love life, her chaotic family and her gift for destroying every car she drives. Not to mention her attempts to bring in the always bizarre and sometimes dangerous bail jumpers of Trenton. But now the smart and sassy bounty hunter finds a crazed female stalker on her tail who dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to the deliciously dangerous Carlos Manoso...aka Ranger."

Opinion: More more of a mystery than humor which I liked. Getting tired of the Morelli/Ranger/Stephanie triangle but that's probably more that I'm reading them almost back to back.

The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring

 Started: 10/24/2021

Finished: 2/25/2022

Year: 2013

Pages: 513

Genre: paranormal mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from back cover): "1926

"My name is Sarah Grey.

"I knew of Harry Price before I became his trusted assistant. He was notorious-London's greatest ghost hunter.

"Working alongside Harry meant leaving behind my past-and I trusted him.

"I knew of Borley Rectory, too, before I visited it with Harry-supposedly the most haunted house in England.

"I knew there was no such thing as phantoms: that I could visit Borely without fear, return unharmed.

"These are the things I thought I knew

"I now understand the true meaning of terror."

Opinion: A little long but overall an enjoyable mystery. Interesting take on ghost hunting and the extreme that sceptics will take in proving what they think is the truth.

Last Girl Standing by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush

Started: 10/15/2021

Finished: 2/21/2022

Year: 2020

Pages: 428

Genre: Suspense

Grade: C

Reason for reading: Bookreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "First they were five. Then they were four.

Whose turn will it be next?

At Bristol High they were an elite clique known as the Five Firsts: Amanda, Bailey, Carmen, Delta and Zora . . . ABCD & Z. They could have accepted their classmate, Emmy, as "E", but with her bookish disposition and her embarrassing status of scholarship student to boot, they rejected her and chose wealthy Zora instead.

At a pre-graduation party just before the end of senior year, Lance Ventura, the hottest guy in school, falls down an embankment toward the river and is barely rescued in time to save his life. One of the Five Firsts, Carman, rushes to save him, but isn't so lucky. Her sudden death causes a community to mourn and rumors of foul play to swirl, but the tragedy is ruled an accident.

Fast forward ten years and the classmates all meet again at the high school reunion. Some of them have had good fortune in their lives. Others, not so much."

Opinion: If I wanted to return to the high school cliques bullshit, I'd find another way instead of reading a book about it. I couldn't really find one character that I cared about. The murder mystery was intense but the whodunit did not make sense.

Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich

Started: 2/17/2022

Finished: 2/19/2022

Year: 2005

Pages: 321

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: booklender.com book, reading the series in order

Type: Mass Market Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Stephanie Plum is thinking her career as a fugitive apprehension agent has run its course. She's been shot at, spat at, cussed at, fire-bombed, mooned, and attacked by dogs. Stephanie thinks it's time for a change. So she quits. She wants something safe and normal. But the kind of trouble she had at the bail bonds office can't compare to the kind of trouble she finds herself facing now…

Stephanie is stalked by a maniac returned from the grave for the sole purpose of putting her into a burial plot of her own. He's killed before, and he'll kill again if given the chance. Caught between staying far away from the bounty hunter business and staying alive, Stephanie reexamines her life and the possibility that being a bounty hunter is the solution rather than the problem. After disturbingly brief careers at the button factory, Kan Klean Dry Cleaners, and Cluck-in-a-Bucket, Stephanie takes an office position in security, working for Ranger, the sexiest, baddest bounty hunter and businessman on two continents. Tempers and temperatures rise as competition ratchets up between the two men in her life―her on-again, off-again boyfriend, tough Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and her boss, Ranger. Can Stephanie Plum take the heat? Can you?"

Opinion: Not as funny as some of the others in the series but still a fun read. It's amazing what Stephanie gets into.

The Vanishing by Bentley Little

 Started: 2/13/2022

Finished: 2/17/2022

Year: 2007

Pages: 386

Genre: Horror

Grade: C

Reason for reading: booklender.com book

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "In Beverly Hills, a wealthy CEO goes on a bloody rampage and videotapes the slaughter. He leaves behind a chilling cryptic message...“This is where it begins.”

 
Miles away, an alarmed mother receives an unsettling letter from her estranged husband, stained with bloody fingerprints.
 
And all across California, children are becoming affected by a monstrous change—and their parents, by a mounting fear.
 
Social worker Carrie Daniels and reporter Brian Howells are determined to find the link between these baffling crimes. But they shouldn’t look too deeply into the lives of the victims. It’s quite dark there. And God help them, they won’t like what they find."

Opinion: Gory for people with vivid imaginations. Decent horror. Suspenseful.

Psychopath by Keith Ablow

Started: 2/7/2022

Finished: 2/13/2022

Year: 2003

Pages: 342

Genre: suspense

Grade: B

Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR pile

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from back cover): "Twelve bodies, twelve states. What no one know is that the 'Highway Killer' is also a gifted psychiatrist who lures his victims into a false sense of security with his miraculous ability to understand their darkest emotional secrets. he is their confessor, but he is also their executioner. When the killer writes to The New York Times, challenging fames forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger to heal him through an exchange of open letters on the front page, he opens his diabolical mind to the one man with the courage to cure him-or die trying..."

Opinion: A fast paced suspenseful mystery where readers know the killer but are fascinated by the public exchange and wonder how will Clevenger find the killer. Subplots were reasonable.

Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich

Started: 2/3/2022

Finished: 2/6/2022

Year: 2004

Pages: 319

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booklender.com book, reading series in order

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Swing off the Jersey Turnpike and you'll be in bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's neighborhood. You'll know it because all hell will be breaking loose. Not that she attracts trouble-it just seems to follow her. In Ten Big Ones it explodes at a deli, and when Stephanie pegs a robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, they peg her as dead. Vice cop Joe Morelli fears she's in way too deep-even with the help of crime-solving cross-dressing bus driver, Sweet Sally, and Stephanie's friend Lula riding shotgun as backup. With a notorious killer on her tail, Stephanie figures the best hideout is Ranger's secret lair..."

Opinion: Not as good as the last one. Kinda filler but did learn more about Ranger.

I'm Supposed to Make a Difference by Kevin Vought

Started: 1/27/2022

Finished: 1/30/2022

Year: 2021

Pages: 172

Genre: Memoir

Grade: C

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Blurb (from Amazon): "This is what happens when true crime hits close to home.

Kevin’s mother was emotionally abusive and resented him, though she did her best to protect him and his brother from their father — a man who could be quite violent who may have inherited his own father’s evil, sadistic, pedophilic traits.

In the summer of 1980 Kevin found himself in the “care” of his paternal grandfather, on the same day the man abducted an 11-year-old girl with the sole intention of raping her.

Kevin tried to stop him, and nearly died for getting in the way.

And she wasn’t the only little girl.

I’m Supposed to Make a Difference describes how Kevin fought a grueling, decades-long battle against long-buried memories to overcome suicidal feelings, depression, and self-loathing to develop five principles for moving forward and normalizing trauma: be steadfast; be goal-oriented; find good people; accept help; and focus your anger.

Today, Kevin’s largely conquered his demons—and shares the strategies he used to heal and transform.

I’m Supposed to Make a Difference is a riveting, emotional and inspirational read for survivors of childhood trauma and those who appreciate the transformative power of the human experience."

Opinion: my review will be on Reader Views website

The Fixer's Mess by Orr Agam

 Started: 1/25/2022

Finished: 1/26/2022

Year: 2021

Pages: 108

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Blurb (from Amazon): "Max Cedar is the personal lawyer, aka "fixer," for the bombastic and crude hotel mogul Duncan Thomas of San Francisco. Since working for Duncan, he has become estranged from his family in New York and lately is convinced he is on the verge of having a stroke. When Duncan orders Max to "fix" a newspaper story about an alleged affair between Duncan and a stripper named London, things begin to unravel. Max gets caught up in a murder scheme and is forced to go on the run. As he tries to get himself out from under this mess, he must take on Duncan's close circle of creepy employees, family, and disturbing secrets. Now Max must use his skills and unethical tactics as Duncan's fixer to maneuver himself out of prison while remaining in one piece. Will Max be able to fix his very own mess?"

Opinion: full review will be up on Reader Views in the near future.

What the Hell are They Thinking? Edited by Daniel Ravner

 Started: 1/20/2022

Finished: 1/22/2022

Year: 2021

Pages: 380

Genre: social science

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Review for Reader Views

Blurb (from Amazon): "

How well are you keeping up with the hottest topics in our world today?

Should we legalize marijuana?
Are the Kardashians good or bad for feminism?
Is happiness a choice?
Is Federer the best tennis player of all time?
Should we raise taxes on the rich?
Are vaccines safe for kids?
Is there life after death?

What the Hell are They Thinking features 100 hotly debated topics that govern your life and covers politics and government, economics, popular culture, sports, health, religion, and more!

Constructed using a unique psychological writing methodology designed to open minds by reducing media biases, echo chambers, and filter bubbles, What the Hell are They Thinking offers a uniquely approachable and user-friendly way for busy, yet open-minded individuals to get a more complete understanding of what’s being discussed in our world today."

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

In Search of the Far Side by Gary Larson

Started: 2/3/2022

Finished: 2/3/2022

Year: 1984

Pages: 108

Genre: comic

Grade: B

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb: collection of some of Gary Larson's Far Side comics

Opinion: I was always a fan of reading these in the newspaper so when I had the opportunity to grab this book out of a book box, I couldn't pass it up. Some are dated.....some most definitely are not. Always fun.

To The Nines by Janet Evanovich

Started: 1/31/2022

Finished: 2/2/2022

Year: 2003

Pages: 320

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: booklender.com book/rereading/reading the series in order

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Stephanie Plum's got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli...oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure.

But hey, she's from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way...and she always gets her man. In
To The Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an immigrant who becomes an illegal alien by violating his Visa and extending his stay in the United States. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter...

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life."

Opinion: This was a fun read. Laugh out loud moments. Decent mystery plot.

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.

The Dark Remains by William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin

 Started: 12/17/2021

Finished: 12/22/2021

Year: 2021

Pages: 242

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: Hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong kind of people. When his body is found in an alley behind a pub that is known to be under the protective wing of a local crime boss, the fragile equilibrium that has been keeping Glasgow relatively safe for months is shattered. Besides a distraught family and any number of powerful friends, Carter has left behind his fair share of enemies. So who is responsible for his death?

DC Jack Laidlaw’s reputation precedes him. He’s not a team player, but he’s got a sixth sense for what’s happening on the streets. His boss chalks Carter’s death up to the usual rivalries, but Laidlaw knows it can’t be that simple. As two Glasgow gangs go to war, he needs to find Carter’s killer before the whole city explodes.

William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw books changed the face of crime fiction. When he died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw’s first case. Ian Rankin has finished what McIlvanney started. Here, in The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and Laidlaw’s relentless quest for truth."

Opinion: review will be on readerviews.com soon

Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton

 Started: 12/4/2021

Finished: 12/6/2021

Year: 2020

Pages: 310

Genre: Travel/Memoir

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway

Type: Hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion.

 
In Leave Only Footprints, Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he's waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you're not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring. Along the way, he identifies the threads that tie these wildly different places together—and that tie us to nature—and reveals how his trip ended up changing his views on everything from God and love to politics and technology.
 
Filled with fascinating tidbits about our parks' past and reflections on their fragile future, this book is both a celebration of and a passionate case for the natural wonders that all Americans share."

Opinion: An interesting look at the National Parks of America. For me, I would have wanted to read them in the order that Knighton went to them instead of them being grouped together by similar topics like Animals, God, Love, etc. It seemed like Knighton took a bad personal experience and transformed into a better person. I can relate from my experience of traveling cross country from FL to OR by myself.

Ghost Stories of Texas by Jo-Anne Christensen

 Started: 12/12/2021

Finished: 12/12/2021

Year: 2001

Pages: 232

Genre: Paranormal

Grade: C

Reason for reading: bookslender.com book

Type: Trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Along with its Wild West spirit, geographical diversity, dramatic history and sheer size, Texas contains a wealth of spine-tingling stories of the supernatural. Enjoy tales of Texas hauntings from the Alamo, Big Bend National Park, Dallas, Fort Worth, Laredo, Galveston, Corpus Christi and more."

Opinion: A bunch of quick blurbs about several different paranormal things in Texas-definitely a quick read.

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins

 Started: 12/9/2021

Finished: 12/12/2021

Year: 2004

Pages: 302

Genre: Memoir/true crime

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booklender.com book

Type: Trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummins’ story of a night in April, 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry, and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. Louis. When, after a harrowing ordeal, Tom managed to escape the attackers and flag down help, he thought the nightmare would soon be over. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Tom, his sister Jeanine, and their entire family were just at the beginning of a horrific odyssey through the aftermath of a violent crime, a world of shocking betrayal, endless heartbreak, and utter disillusionment. It was a trial by fire from which no family member would emerge unscathed."

Opinion: A truly tragic story. Well written from an insider point of view. One of the better true crime stories that I've read.

Ghettoside by Jill Leovy

 Started: 11/28/21

Finished: 12/3/2021

Year: 2015

Pages: 308

Genre: True Crime

Grade: C

Reason for reading: Librarything giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from back cover): "On a warm spring evening in South Los Angeles, a young man is shot and killed on a sidewalk minutes away from his home, one of hundreds of young men slain in L.A. every year. His assailant runs down the street, jumps into an SUV, and vanishes, hoping to join the vast majority of killers in American cities who are never arrested for their crimes.

"But as soon as the case is assigned to Detective John Skaggs, the odds shift.

"Here is the kaleidoscopic story of the quintessential American murder-one young black man slaying another-and a driven crew of detectives whose creed is to pursue justice for forgotten victims at all costs. Ghettoside is a fast-paced narrative of a devastating crime, an intimate portrait of detective and a community bonded in tragedy, and a surprising new lens into the great subject of why murder happens in America-and how the plague of killings might yet be stopped."

Opinion: This isn't written like most other true crime novels. The beginning was a lot more chaotic with statistics instead of being focused on the one killing that this book ends up being focused on. Beside the beginning, this was a decent look at how one killing was resolved in L.A.

The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals by Becky Mandelbaum

 Started: 11/14/2021

Finished: 11/17/2021

Year: 2020

Pages: 319

Genre: Literature

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals is in trouble.

It’s late 2016 when Ariel discovers that her mother Mona’s animal sanctuary in Western Kansas has not only been the target of anti-Semitic hate crimes—but that it’s also for sale, due to hidden financial ruin. Ariel, living a new life in progressive Lawrence, and estranged from her mother for six long years, knows she has to return to her childhood home—especially since her own past may have played a role in the attack on the sanctuary. Ariel expects tension, maybe even fury, but she doesn’t anticipate that her first love, a ranch hand named Gideon, will still be working at Bright Side.

Back in Lawrence, Ariel’s charming but hapless fiancé, Dex, grows paranoid about her sudden departure. After uncovering Mona’s address, he sets out to confront Ariel, but instead finds her grappling with the life she’s abandoned. Amid the reparations with her mother, it’s clear that Ariel is questioning the meaning of her life in Lawrence, and whether she belongs with Dex or someone else, somewhere else."

Opinion: A sentimental novel about the importance of family. Well developed characters. I can understand why it was part of several conversations when it came out.

Oh! Olivia by Patricia Fry

 Started: 10/31/2021

Finished: 11/6/2021

Year: 2021

Pages: 252

Genre: cozy mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Olivia proves she’s not just a pretty face. Parker Campbell, an investigative reporter, and her calico cat, Olivia, have been summoned to help save a long-standing cat colony site from the grips of eager developers. They arrive on scene to discover that the property has become enshrouded in a most unsettling mystery. The feral cats are digging up personal items belonging to missing persons who vanished years earlier. Was this the site of a mass murder, a cult ritual gone wrong, or an unexplained phenomenon? Parker teams up with Detective Judson Caldwell, who has taken a personal leave to secretly investigate the mystery, and soon learns what drives his obsession with this case.Olivia, the sweet and sassy calico, struts her stuff in this story. She locates a lost toddler and ends up getting herself arrested. She isn’t about to take this insult lying down, however. She escapes from custody and trashes the police station. Olivia alerts Parker to trouble when they visit her aunt’s home and find that the woman has detained a burglar in a most unusual way. Olivia also finds major clues in the convoluted cat colony mystery, one that promises a glimmer of hope for a long-grieving parent."

Opinion: a complete review is on Reader Views

Striking Range by Margaret Mizushima

 Started: 10/8/2021

Finished: 10/15/2021

Year: 2021

Pages: 275

Genre: mystery

Grade: A

Reason for reading: TBR/review for Reader Views

Blurb from Amazon: "He was suspect number one--the man who tried to kill Deputy Mattie Cobb and may have killed her father thirty years earlier. But when Mattie and cold case detective Jim Hauck reach the Colorado state prison where they will finally get to interview him, he's found dead in his cell. There's only one clue: a map leading to Timber Creek and rugged Redstone Ridge.

Though she usually works with veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie's K-9 partner Robo has just sired a litter of pups, who require special, time-consuming care at Cole's clinic. Left to explore the map's clue without him, Mattie and Robo journey into the burned forest surrounding Redstone Ridge. But before they can finish their search they're called to help investigate the death of a young woman found in a campground filled with elk hunters. Identification of the deceased points to her having recently given birth, but the infant is nowhere to be found.

As a deadly storm descends upon the mountains, covering everything with a layer of ice and snow, Mattie and her team search for the missing newborn. The storm batters the area, taking its toll on the team and forcing the sheriff to call in reinforcements. When new evidence surfaces, they decide that finding the woman's killer will lead them to her baby, making them even more desperate to solve the case.

Then Cole goes missing, stranded alone in the high country with a person that Mattie now suspects is the mastermind behind several murders, including her father's. She and Robo take to the trail to find Cole--but the killer has a cold-blooded plan that threatens them all."

Opinion: Loved it. Full review is on Reader Views

 

The City by Dean Koontz

 Started: 9/30/2021

Finished: 10/8/2021

Year: 2014

Pages: 482

Genre: Literature

Grade: B

Reason for reading: TBR pile

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "A young boy, a musical prodigy, discovering life’s wonders—and mortal dangers.

His best friend, also a gifted musician, who will share his journey into destiny.
His remarkable family, tested by the extremes of evil and bound by the depths of love . . . on a collision course with a band of killers about to unleash anarchy.
And two unlikely allies, an everyday hero tempered by the past and a woman of mystery who holds the key to the future.

These are the people of The City, a place where enchantment and malice entwine, courage and honor are found in the most unexpected quarters, and the way forward lies buried deep inside the heart. Brilliantly illumined by magic dark and light, their unforgettable story is a riveting, soul-stirring saga that speaks to everyone, a major milestone in the celebrated career of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz and a dazzling realization of the evergreen dreams we all share."

Opinion: A slightly different type of book coming from Kootnz-it's been several years since I've read one of his and those have been more on the suspense/horror genre. This was more literature but still had a good mystery/suspense to it. This is the first of a series and I'm not 100% sure if I will go searching out for the rest of them.

Comic Relief by David M. Carner

 Started: 9/24/2021

Finished: 10/6/2021

Year: 2021

Pages: 329

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: help my friend out with his book

Type: rough draft/ARC

Blurb: Zach finds more than what he expects when led on a wild chase.

Opinion: An interesting ride though San Francisco and LA....all in helping out a mysterious guest and their quest in finding out the truth.

Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott

 Started: 9/24/2021

Finished: 9/29/2021

Year: 1930

Pages: 329

Genre: Romance

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Vernon Deyre is a sensitive and brilliant musician, even a genius. But there is a high price to be paid for his talent, especially by his family and the two women in his life. His sheltered childhood in the home he loves has not prepared Vernon for the harsh reality of his adult years, and in order to write the great masterpiece of his life, he has to make a crucial decision with no time left to count the cost..."

Opinion: I think that this is the first romance that I read by Agatha Christie. Much prefer her mysteries. Karma got the characters that needed it.

good morning, monster by Catherine Gildiner

 Started: 9/19/2021

Finished: 9/24/2021

Year: 2019

Pages: 358

Genre: Psychology

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "In this fascinating narrative, therapist Catherine Gildiner’s presents five of what she calls her most heroic and memorable patients. Among them: a successful, first generation Chinese immigrant musician suffering sexual dysfunction; a young woman whose father abandoned her at age nine with her younger siblings in an isolated cottage in the depth of winter; and a glamorous workaholic whose narcissistic, negligent mother greeted her each morning of her childhood with "Good morning, Monster."

Each patient presents a mystery, one that will only be unpacked over years. They seek Gildiner's help to overcome an immediate challenge in their lives, but discover that the source of their suffering has been long buried.

As in such recent classics as The Glass Castle and Educated, each patient embodies self-reflection, stoicism, perseverance, and forgiveness as they work unflinchingly to face the truth. Gildiner's account of her journeys with them is moving, insightful, and sometimes very funny. Good Morning Monster offers an almost novelistic, behind-the-scenes look into the therapist's office, illustrating how the process can heal even the most unimaginable wounds."

Opinion: If you're a student or fan of true psychological insights about real people, then you will probably enjoy this book.  I don't agree with the length of therapy that these 5 people had because most therapies are meant to be short term-not years upon years-even though each person had overwhelming trauma that they had to recover from.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

 Started: 9/19/2021

Finished: 9/19/2021

Year: 1982

Pages: 295

Genre: Literature

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: grabbed off TBR pile

Type: Mass Market Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The lives of two sisters--Nettie, a missionary in Africa, and Celie, a southern woman married to a man she hates--are revealed in a series of letters exchanged over thirty years"

Opinion: I loved the movie. The book seemed to be different than the movie-more makes me want to rewatch the movie and see how closely they follow each other.

Flesh by Richard Laymon

 Started: 9/17/2021

Finished: 9/19/2021

Year: 1988

Pages: 355

Genre: Horror

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booklender.com

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "No one in town has ever seen anything like it: a slimy, mobile tube of glistening yellow flesh with dull, staring eyes and an obscene, probing mouth. But the real horror is not what it looks like, or what it does when it invades your flesh—but what it makes you do to others."

Opinion: A fun horror book with lots of characters who eventually get tied together. If you have a good imagination, then you will get caught up in the horror and suspense.

3096 Days in Captivity by Natascha Kampusch

 Started: 9/16/2021

Finished: 9/17/2021

Year: 2010

Pages: 310

Genre: Autobiography

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: booklender.com

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "On March 2, 1998, ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was kidnapped, and found herself locked in a house that would be her home for the next eight years. She was starved, beaten, treated as a slave, and forced to work for her deranged captor. But she never forgot who she was-and she never gave up hope of returning to the world. This is her story."

Opinion: An interesting look inside a traumatic kidnapping. It is pretty amazing how Natascha survived.

Nathaniel by John Saul

 Started: 9/9/2021

Finished: 9/15/2021

Year: 1984

Pages: 343

Genre: Horror

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: booklender.com book

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from back cover): "For a hundred years, the people of Prairie Bend have whispered Nathaniel's name in wonder and fear. Some say he is a folktale, created to frighten children on cold winter nights. Some sear he is a terrifying spirit returned to avenge the past. But soon...very soon....some will learn that Nathaniel lives still-that he is darkly, horrifyingly real.

"Nathaniel-he is the voice that calls to young Michael Hall across the prairie night...the voice that draws the boy into the shadowy depths of the old, crumbling, forbidden barn...the changing, compelling voice he will follow faithfully beyond the edge of terror...."

Opinion: Been a while since I read a decent horror book. Full of decent suspense. I need to read more Saul books-I have always enjoyed them.

Private Duty by Faith Baldwin

 Started: 9/9/2021

Finished: DNF

Year: 1964

Pages: 256

Genre: Romance

Grade: F

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from back cover): "She was young and pretty and the world was hers. But all too quickly that world became overcrowded with attractive and persuasive men-

"One, a promising surgeon, who said he worked best with Carolyn at his side.

"Another, a young widower, who demanded her help....and her time.

"And a carefree bachelor who wouldn't let anyone but Carolyn nurse him through a grave illness.

"They all wanted Carolyn Cutler, the nurse, but only one loved Carolyn Cutler, the woman. Her problem was-which one?"

Opinion: Couldn't even get to page 50. Hard to follow and just blah

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

 Started: 9/2/2021

Finished: 9/9/2021

Year: 2020

Pages: 319

Genre: Romance

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from back cover): "Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hears. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans on what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store. Jesse wants to keep it open. His brothers want to tie off loose ends and close shop...

"Part-time shop employee Kerry Fuller has kept her crush on Jesse a secert. When she overhears his impassioned plea to his brother to keep the knitting shop open, she volunteers to help. Unlike Jesse, Kerry knows the 'knitty-gritty' of the business

"But the more time they spend together, the stronger the chemistry builds between them. Kerry, knowing Jesse's history, doesn't believe their relationship can last. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her forever and always-after all, real men knit."

Opinion: A decent contemporary romance. Predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. Any fan of romance would probably enjoy this one.

A River for Gemma by Debra Whiting Alexander

 Started: 8/26/21

Finished: DNF

Year: 2021

Pages: 407

Genre: Literature

Grade: F

Reason for reading: Review for Reader Views

Type: Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Miracles abound in Sugar Creek, a small-town nestled near the horse trails and hazelnut orchards of Oregon's lush countryside. It is here, where twenty-six-year old Gemma Porter lives a vibrant life chasing her dreams. But Gemma is underestimated by a world that pigeonholes her as 'intellectually disabled.' While the naysayers and bullies only see Gemma's limitations, her beloved grandmother sees the heart of a genius--and a soul of divination. When Gemma's longing to be a mother collides with her grandmother's hidden past, three generations of Porter women are put in peril. A harrowing adventure unfolds into a heroic quest to save their lives. As Gemma's bravery is tested, she will need to prove that regardless of age or intellect, a mother's love knows no bounds."

Opinion: This had a painfully slow pace. There was a mystery subplot going on but I couldn't even be interested enough to try to find out what it was all about because of the slow pace. Well written characters which was the book's saving grace.