Half In by Felice Cohen

Started: 5/25/2022

Finished: 5/27/2022

Year: 2022

Pages: 238

Genre: Memoir

Grade: C+

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "What if your first love was a forbidden one?

 At twenty-three, Felice Cohen was, like other recent college grads, hesitant about entering the real world, with the added stress of coming out in the early nineties. Focused on how to land a full-time position as a writer, falling in love was the last thing on her mind.

 But fall in love she did. With her boss, a woman thirty-four years older.

 Felice and Sarah embarked on a high-stakes, year-long love affair. Addicted to the high of first love, Felice was enthralled by Sarah's attention and content to hide their love in the shadows. Sarah, meanwhile, threw caution to the wind, risking her comfortably established life that included a prestigious job and long-term girlfriend. Though not perfect, it was enough.

 That was until their secret was exposed, forcing Felice to publicly acknowledge their illicit love or start a new life for herself. Felice chose to walk away.

 In this candid coming-of-age memoir-as compelling as a novel-Felice chronicles the happiness and heartbreak of an age-gap love affair while struggling to figure out the direction of her future.Ultimately, this is a story about navigating life's unpredictable path while following one's heart, and finding acceptance."

Opinion: a thorough review is on Reader views.

My Famous Brain by Diane Wald

Started: 5/20/2022

Finished: 5/24/2022

Year: 2021

Pages: 310

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "“My brain was famous, but I was not. Not every gifted child invents a pollutant-free fuel, paints a masterpiece, or finds the cure for cancer,” Jack MacLeod tells us. “Some of us just live out our lives.” Jack died in 1974; now, he’s ready to narrate his story from beyond the grave. Jack’s prodigious memory, which allows him to memorize books, and his penchant for psychic connections give him unusual insights into the events of his past life and make him fiercely curious about his current state of existence. Jack immerses us in interconnected tales of his childhood participation in a research study on the intellectually gifted, his dual career as a clinical psychologist and university professor, his participation in the unmasking of an unscrupulous colleague, his long-term health issues, his brief but life-changing love affair with a student, his deep friendship with another man, and his eventual acceptance and celebration of the circumstances of his fate. How Jack dies, and how he deals with the murder of someone close to him, mirrors how he has lived and grown, and marks the significance of everyone and everything that ultimately brings him to yet another level of brilliance."

Opinion: A thorough review is on readerviews.com

Fever by Janet Gilsdorf

Started: 5/18/2022

Finished: 5/20/2022

Year: 2022

Pages: 309

Genre: Scientific literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: Librarything.com early reviewer giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "In 1984, in the small Brazilian village of Promissão, a young child begins to fuss, her eyes turning pink and her skin flushed with heat. Four days later, she’s dead. Sidonie Royal, an accomplished physician and scientist, arrives in the small Brazilian village of Promissão to investigate and hopefully cure this insidious new disease. With several young children already dead, and more getting sick by the day, the stakes cannot get any higher. But Sid’s personal life is also in flux, as she struggles to balance a complicated relationship with her boyfriend, Paul, pressure to start a family from her well-meaning mother, conflict with her surly but brilliant coworker named Eliot, and a budding romantic attraction to her doctoral student’s twin brother. As Sid relentlessly pursues an explanation for the disease, the village’s physician calls in the Global Health Agency, triggering a scientific race that spans two continents and becomes increasingly defined by personal stakes."

Opinion: Scenes were choppy. Some subplots and characters were not necessary. The main story didn't seem to have a real ending but was interesting.

Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? by Tod Benoit

Started: 5/11/2022

Finished: 5/17/2022

Year: 2003

Pages: 554

Genre: History

Grade: B

Reason for reading: TBR pile

Type: Hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "This enlightening and browsable guide features more than 500 profiles of the lives, deaths, and final resting places of our most influential figures from sports, music, film, television, literature, and politics.

This unparalleled compilation of profiles of the deceased--from Abbott & Costello to Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, from Arthur Ashe to Andy Warhol--offers all of the pertinent details on their lives, deaths, and grave sites, providing a pop-cultural road map for anyone fascinated by celebrity, history, and travel. Listings include Mark Twain, Sonny Bono, Dr. Seuss, Salvador Dali, Mickey Mantle, Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Ingrid Bergman, William Shakespeare, Andy Kaufman, Bob Crane, Louis Armstrong, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn, Al Capone, Ella Fitzgerald, Mae West, Gertude Stein, and hundreds more.

Fifty photos and a number of informative sidebars (on such topics as how to find the grave of anyone you choose) round out this entertaining look at the permanent addresses of our most significant late citizens. And each listing offers concise directions to both the cemetery and the grave itself, an added benefit for tombstone travelers."

Opinion: Interesting little tidbits about several famous people and where they are buried or ashes scattered. I appreciate the time and research that the author did for this book. Upon looking on Amazon, there is an updated version.

Mine by JL Butler

Started: 5/3/2022

Finished: 5/10/2022

Year: 2018

Pages: 423

Genre: Thriller

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "In this riveting tale of psychological suspense, a divorce lawyer risks her career, her sanity, and her life when she falls into an illicit, all-consuming affair with her client—who becomes the primary suspect in his estranged wife’s sudden disappearance.

Young divorce lawyer Francine Day has methodically built her career doing everything right. She’s one big case away from securing her place among London’s legal elite. But when she meets her new client, Martin Joy, the natural caution that has protected Francine and fueled her rise melts away. Powerless to fight the irresistible magnetism between them, client and counsel tumble into a blistering affair that breaks every rule.

Though Martin insists his marriage is over, Francine doesn’t believe him. Certain details he’s told her don’t quite add up. Consumed with a passion she cannot control and increasingly obsessed with Martin’s relationship with his wife, Donna, Francine follows the woman one night . . . and discovers her having dinner with her supposedly soon-to-be-ex-husband.

The next morning, Francine awakens in her neighbor’s apartment with blood on her clothes and no recollection of what transpired after she spied Donna and Martin together. Then Francine receives more devastating news: Martin’s wife has vanished. That dinner was the last place anyone has seen Donna Joy alive.

Suddenly, Francine finds herself caught in a dangerous labyrinth of deception, lies, and secrets, in which one false move could lead to her undoing. What happened that night and why can’t Francine remember? Where is Donna and who is responsible for her disappearance? The further Francine goes to find answers, the tighter the net seems to draw—around her lover, herself, and the life she’s meticulously built."

Opinion: The obsession in this book was ridiculous. Definitely a thriller but the obsession was too much and was over way too quickly for it to be a true obsession.

She Was the Quiet One by Michele Campbell

Started: 4/29/2022

Finished: 5/3/2022

Year: 2018

Pages: 360

Genre: suspense/mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime. But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister Bel, Odell Academy is a place of temptation and danger. When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered. Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan, for advice. But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher. Is Heath trying to help Bel or take advantage of her? In a world of privilege, seduction, and manipulation, only one sister will live to tell the truth."

Opinion: If you can get over the teacher taking advantage of a student....this is a really good suspenseful novel. I like how it was told between what happened and police interviews

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna

Started: 4/27/2022

Finished: 4/29/2022

Year: 2018

Pages: 304

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: Hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated mother hires an enigmatic bounty hunter, Alice Vega, to help find the girls. Immediately shut out by a local police department already stretched thin by budget cuts and the growing OxyContin and meth epidemic, Vega enlists the help of a disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is a man trying to put the scandal of his past behind him and move on, but Vega needs his help to find the girls, and she will not be denied. 

    "With little to go on, Vega and Cap will go to extraordinary lengths to untangle a dangerous web of lies, false leads, and complex relationships to find the girls before time runs out, and they are gone forever.'"

Opinion: Alice Vega is a no holds bar, very independent woman. This was a great intensive mystery. This is the first in a series and I will be looking for the others.

I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton

Started: 4/25/2022

Finished: 4/27/2022

Year: 1992

Pages: 286

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

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

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "I IS FOR IF . . .

"Five years ago David Barney was acquitted of the murder of his rich wife, Isabelle. Now, Isabelle's ex-husband, Ken Voigt―who is suing Barney for her estate―is claiming the jury made a fatal mistake...

"I IS FOR INDICTMENT . . .

"Enter P.I. Kinsey Millhone, who takes the Barney case over from a former colleague…and comes up with more questions than answers. Why are Mr. Barney's witnesses denying ever having spoken to him? Why did Isabelle have so many enemies―including but not limited to her best friend, Voight's second wife, and her own twin sister?

"I IS FOR INNOCENT

"But the most troubling question of all is: Why is it that everything David Barney has to say about his beloved Isabelle still checks out? Now it's up to Kinsey to figure out who's getting away with murder . . . .before she courts her own."

Opinion: The changes in Kinsey's speech when talking with people seemed kinda off in this one-like she would jump personalities and not even when it was appropriate. Still overall a good mystery that had an exciting ending.

Behind the Fourth Wall by Michael Solomowitz

Started: 4/11/2022

Finished: 4/14/2022

Year: 2022

Pages: 277

Genre: Literature

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: Trade Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "New York playwright Noah Miller had it all–a supportive wife, a precocious daughter, a promising career. Then, suddenly, all is lost.

Still mourning his family, Noah reluctantly agrees to oversee the summer production of his play on Cape Cod. There he befriends a woman who sympathizes with his grief. But her true objectives run deeper–into his very soul–and Noah becomes an unwitting victim of her deception.

Immersed in his production, he begins an affair with one of his actors but the guilt from their relationship leads to tragic consequences. Then, on the anniversary of his wife's passing, Noah discovers the harrowing mystery behind her unexpected death and the part he played in it.

Harboring this devastating secret, his show about to open without one of its lead actors, and a dubious figure harassing him, Behind the Fourth Wall is a story of hope and redemption, forgiveness and second chances, and ultimately, the courage to face one's darkest fears."

Opinion: review will be on Readerviews.com

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

Started: 4/21/2022

Finished: 4/25/2022

Year: 2008

Pages: 334

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

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

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars. Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn't be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin: Joe Morelli. Morelli is Dom's cousin. He's also a cop. Less than a week after Dom's release from prison, Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. Meanwhile, Dom has gone missing…

The Catastrophe: Moonman. Morelli hires Walter "Mooner" Dunphy, stoner and "inventor" turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli is low on cash. Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum. Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She's a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she's involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis: Ranger. Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie's evening activities.

The Conclusion: Only the fearless should listen to Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich.

Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result."

Opinion: I did like how Ranger played a much smaller role in this book and how it wasn't so focused on the triangle between Ranger, Stephanie and Morelli. Much more focus was on the mystery.

H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton

Started: 4/18/2022

Finished: 4/21/2022

Year: 1991

Pages: 256

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

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

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "H IS FOR HUSTLER…

"When PI Kinsey Millhone's good friend and colleague Parnell Perkins is found murdered in the parking lot behind California Fidelity Insurance, she can't believe he had any enemies. The only clue that raises a red flag for Kinsey is one of Parnell's files on a Bibianna Diaz, who appears to have made a lucrative career out of scamming insurance companies with phony claims…

"H IS FOR HAZARDOUS…

"Taking an alias, Kinsey goes undercover to befriend Bibianna, hoping she'll get close enough to catch the con artist at her own game. But Kinsey never dreams that hanging out with Bibianna will get them both thrown in jail. And when they're released, Bibianna's very jealous, very dangerous ex-fiancé Raymond Maldonado is waiting for them.

"H IS FOR HOMICIDE

"Kinsey soon discovers the short-tempered thug is the kingpin behind Bibianna's and countless other phony insurance claims. But was Raymond also responsible for Parnell's death? All Kinsey knows is that she'll have to think quick to nab one of the most treacherous criminals she's come face to face with―and keep herself alive…"

Opinion: Kinsey going undercover for the police...entertaining

G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton

Started: 4/19/2022

Finished: 4/20/2022

Year: 1990

Pages: 261

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

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

Type: mass market paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "G IS FOR GAME…

"When Irene Gersh asks PI Kinsey Millhone to locate her elderly mother Agnes, whom she hasn't heard from in six months, it's not exactly the kind of case Kinsey jumps for. But a girl's gotta pay her bills, and this should be easy money―or so she thinks. Kinsey finds Agnes in a hospital. Aside from her occasional memory lapses, the octogenarian seems fine. And frightened.

"G IS FOR GUN…

"Kinsey doesn't know what to make of Agnes's vague fears and bizarre ramblings, but she's got her own worries. It seems Tyrone Patty, a criminal she helped put behind bars, is looking to make a hit. First, Kinsey's car is run off the road, and then days later, she's almost gunned down, setting in motion a harrowing cat and mouse game…

"G IS FOR GUMSHOE

"So Kinsey decides to hire a bodyguard. With PI Robert Dietz watching her 24/7, Kinsey is feeling on edge…especially with their growing sexual tension. Then, Agnes dies of an apparent homicide, Kinsey realizes the old lady wasn't so senile after all―and maybe she was trying to tell her something? Now Kinsey's determined to learn the truth…even if it kills her."

Opinion: Another adventurous Millhone mystery...interesting turn of events.

Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima

Started: 4/15/2022

Finished: 4/18/2022

Year: 2016

Pages:  307

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: fan of the series, TBR pile

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "When Deputy Ken Brody's sweetheart goes missing in the mountains outside Timber Creek, Mattie Cobb and Robo are called to search. But it's mid-October and a dark snow storm is brewing over the high country—and they're already too late. By the time they find her body, the storm has broken and the snow is coming down hard.

While Brody hikes down to bring back the forensics team and veterinarian Cole Walker gathers supplies to protect them from the storm, Mattie and Robo find themselves alone, guarding the gravesite overnight in the dead of the early winter. And that's only the first long, dark night in a series of them, because as their investigation develops, Mattie, Robo, Brody, and Cole find themselves in the middle of the killer's stalking ground—with no way out unless they can catch a predator more deadly than any natural threat."

Opinion: I really enjoy this series even though I'm reading them out of order-this is book 2. Lots of action. Predictable mystery but the action and the characterization makes up for the predictability.

F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton

Started: 4/8/2022

Finished: 4/11/2022

Year: 1989

Pages: 261

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

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

Type: Mass Market Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "When Kinsey Millhone first arrives in Floral Beach, California, it's hard for her to picture the idyllic coastal town as the setting of a brutal murder. Seventeen years ago, the body of Jean Timberlake―a troubled teen who had a reputation with the boys―was found on the beach. Her boyfriend Bailey Fowler was convicted of her murder and imprisoned, but he escaped.

After all this time, Bailey's finally been captured. Believing in his son's innocence, Bailey's father wants Kinsey to find Jean's real killer. But most of the residents in this tight-knit community are convinced Bailey strangled Jean. So why are they so reluctant to answer Kinsey's questions? If there's one thing Kinsey's got plenty of it's persistence. And that's exactly what it's going to take to crack the lid on this case.

As Kinsey gets closer to solving Jean's murder, the more dirty little secrets she uncovers in a town where everyone has something to hide―and a killer will kill again to keep the past buried..."

Opinion: Another decent mystery with twists and turns....not sure whodunit until the end.

E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton

Started: 4/6/2022

Finished: 4/8/2022

Year: 1988

Pages: 227

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

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

Type: Mass Market Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "E IS FOR EX

Being a twice-divorced, happily independent loner has worked like a charm for P.I. Kinsey Millhone―until holiday weekends like this one roll around. What she needs is a little diversion to ward off the blues. She gets her much-needed distraction with a case that places her career on the line. And if that isn't enough to keep her busy, her ex-husband, who walked out on her eight years ago, pops back on the radar...

It all begins with a $5,000 deposit made into Kinsey's bank account. Problem is she's not the one who deposited the money. But when she's accused of being on the take in an industrial arson case, Kinsey realizes someone is framing her…

Now Kinsey's working for herself. But with new evidence―and corpses―surfacing around her, she's going to have to act quickly to clear her name before she loses her career, her reputation―and quite possibly her life…"

Opinion: A quick read-Kinsey is being set up and she's bound to find out who did it or die in the process. I've always enjoyed reading these.

Between You & Me by Susan Wiggs

Started: 4/1/2022

Finished: 4/5/2022

Year: 2018

Pages: 357

Genre: Romance

Grade: C

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: ARC

Blurb (from Amazon): "Deep within the peaceful heart of Amish country, a life-or-death emergency shatters a quiet world to its core. Number-one New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs delivers a riveting story that challenges our deepest-held beliefs.

Caught between two worlds, Caleb Stoltz is bound by a deathbed promise to raise his orphaned niece and nephew in Middle Grove, where life revolves around family, farm, faith—and long-held suspicions about outsiders. When disaster strikes, Caleb is thrust into an urban environment of high-tech medicine and the relentless rush of modern life.

Dr. Reese Powell is poised to join the medical dynasty of her wealthy, successful parents. Bold, assertive, and quick-thinking, she lives for the addictive rush of saving lives. When a shocking accident brings Caleb Stoltz into her life, Reese is forced to deal with a situation that challenges everything she thinks she knows—and ultimately emboldens her to question her most powerful beliefs.

Then one impulsive act brings about a clash of cultures in a tug-of-war that plays out in a courtroom, challenging the very nature of justice and reverberating through generations, straining the fragile threads of faith and family.

Deeply moving and unforgettable, Between You and Me is an emotionally complex story of love and loss, family and friendship, and the arduous road to discovering the heart’s true path."

Opinion: The timing throughout is off. Some spans are among days and then it jumps to years and back to days. Predictable romance plotline. One part near the end made me furious

Rules of Prey by John Sandford

Started: 3/26/2022

Finished: 3/31/2022

Year: 1989

Pages: 479

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Grade: B

Reason for reading: TBR pile-starting the series

Type: Mass Market Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The killer was mad but brilliant.

 He left notes with every woman he killed. Rules of murder: Never have a motive. Never follow a discernible pattern. Never carry a weapon after it has been used...So many rules to his sick, violent games of death.
 

But Lucas Davenport, the cop who’s out to get him, isn’t playing by the rules."

Opinion: Lots of twists and turns....lots of questionable acts by a police detective. Not a huge fan of Davenport's personal behavior but it adds to his character and how he isn't the most likeable person.

Daughter of the Ganges by Asha Miro

Started: 3/25/2-22

Finished: 3/25/2022

Year: 2007

Pages: 263

Genre: memoir

Grade: C

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book

Type: Trade paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Growing up in an Indian orphanage, Asha Miró; dreamed that someday she would be adopted. At the age of six, her wish finally came true, but only at the misfortune of another. A Catalan family was in the process of adopting twins when one of the children suddenly fell ill and died -- a twist of fate that led the family to adopt Asha instead. Leaving a life of poverty behind, Asha was given a second chance.

Twenty-one years later, Asha takes a heart-wrenching trip back to India to uncover her native roots. Full of unexpected encounters, this adventure informs and touches Asha beyond her expectations. She visits her old orphanage, speaks with her former caretakers, explores the land that she might not have ever left, and comes to form a more solid identity. Yet one trip is not enough. Eight years later she returns, this time visiting the small rural village where she was born. While uncovering the details behind her adoption, Asha discovers the only living member of her immediate Indian family: a sister she never knew she had."

Opinion: Not something that I normally read but this was an interesting story about an international adoptee and her search for her biological family and family history.

Cardiff, By The Sea by Joyce Carol Oates

Started: 3/25/2022

Finished: 3/25/2022

Year: 2020

Pages: 402

Genre: suspense

Grade: B

Reason for reading: goodreads.com giveaway

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "An academic in Pennsylvania discovers a terrifying trauma from her past after inheriting a house in Cardiff, Maine from someone she has never heard of. A pubescent girl, overcome with loneliness, befriends a feral cat that becomes her protector from the increasingly aggressive males that surround her. A brilliant but shy college sophomore is distraught to discover that she’s pregnant, and the professor who takes her under his wing may not have innocent intentions. And a woman who marries into a family shattered by tragedy finds herself haunted by her predecessor’s voice, an inexplicably befouled well, and a compulsive attraction to a garage that took two lives."

Opinion: Some interesting novellas. Each different but similar.

the hypnotist by lars kepler

Started: 3/21/2022

Finished: 3/25/2022

Year: 2009

Pages: 503

Genre: mystery/suspense

Grade: B

Reason for reading; TBR pile

Type: Trade Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.

It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl."

Opinion: This can be considered gory if you have a good imagination but the mystery has lots of unexpected twists. Glad that I found this at my local bookstore and that I also grabbed the other two in the series at the same time.