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.

The Haunted Looking Glass: Ghost Stories Chosen and Illustrated by Edward Gorey

 

Started: 8/23/2021

Finished: 8/25/2021

Year: 1959

Pages: 251

Genre: Short Stories

Grade: B

Reason for reading: booksfree.com book

Type: Paperback

Blurb: from Amazon:

The Haunted Looking Glass is the late Edward Gorey's selection of his favorite tales of ghosts, ghouls, and grisly goings-on. It includes stories by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, M. R. James, W. W. Jacobs, and L. P. Hartley, among other masters of the fine art of making the flesh creep, all accompanied by Gorey's inimitable illustrations.

ALGERNON BLACKWOOD, "The Empty House"
W.F. HARVEY, "August Heat"
CHARLES DICKENS, "The Signalman"
L.P. HARTLEY, "A Visitor from Down Under"
R.H. MALDEN, "The Thirteenth Tree"
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, "The Body-Snatcher"
E. NESBIT, "Man-Size in Marble"
BRAM STOKER, "The Judge's House"
TOM HOOD, "The Shadow of a Shade"
W.W. JACOBS, "The Monkey's Paw,"
WILKIE COLLINS, "The Dream Woman"
M.R. JAMES, "Casting the Runes"

Opinion: as with all short story collections, I enjoy some more than others. The illustrations were impressive.