It’s Thursday! Thursday, always my favorite day of the week, and you’re part of the reason why. Are you ready to share what you’re reading this week?
While I finish a mystery for Library Journal, I’m also reading a collection of essays, although editor Victoria Zackheim calls them stories. It’s Private Investigations: Mystery Writers on the Secrets, Riddles, and Wonders in Their Lives. I actually picked it up because I heard Sulari Gentill reading the beginning of her essay, “An Extra Child”. Sulari should be reading audiobooks for children. She’s just that good, and made her essay sound magical. I’ve only read a few of the pieces, but what reader can resist Jeffery Deaver’s comments? “I had something better than sports; I had the Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Public Library. That was where I escaped in the summers and after school, and it was there that I fell in love with books.” Deaver’s essay, “Plot Twists”, isn’t about the library, but that one paragraph made me happy. Other authors who wrote essays include William Kent Krueger, Rhys Bowen, and Jacqueline Winspear.
What are you reading this week? Do you want to tell us about your books?
We had some nice weather this week so I was doing yard work instead of reading in the afternoons but I did finish two books.
An ARC of CHECKED OUT FOR MURDER by Allison Brook. It’s the latest in her Haunted Library series. I did enjoy it but I wish she had featured the library’s ghost more.
SECOND CHANCE MAGIC by Michelle Pillow. It’s a paranormal romance where the main characters are three women in their 40s who have all gone through some type of heartache. They each find a ring and discover that they have magical powers. One of them falls in love by the end of the book. There are more books in the series and each one will focus on another one of the women. It was OK but I think it could have been longer and had more depth to it.
Fans of Casablanca are legion, and they might want to check out Noah Isenberg's We'll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Beloved Movie. There is a lot of stuff about the behind the scenes stories as well as tales of how so many actors had escaped Nazi Germany and ended up in this tale of refugees, some of them even playing Nazis themselves.
If you're afraid of flying you might want to avoid Flight or Fright, a collection of flying related horror tales edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent, with tales going back to Conan Doyle and Ray Bradbury, and including probably the greatest of all, Richard Matheson's classic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," filmed for The Twilight Zone in 1963, and starring William Shatner as the fearful flyer who sees a gremlin on the wing. There are new stories by King and his son Joe Hill.
I have a friend who disagrees, but I found Peter Robinson's latest Supt. Alan Banks book, Many Rivers to Cross, one of his least interesting books ever, and something of a chore to slog my way through. I just didn't care whodunit and none of the cases interested me at all. My fault, undoubtedly, but disappointing as I have been reading the series since his first book in 1987.
I read the entertaining Lady on the Case: 22 Female Detective Stories, edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini. I particularly enjoyed rereading Cornell Woolrich's story about a dance hall girl, the very atmospheric "The Dancing Detective."
I'm continuing to work through three anthologies–one that just arrived: 101 Years’ Entertainment: The Great Detective Stories, 1841-1941, edited by Ellery Queen; Simply the Best Mysteries: Edgar Award Winners and Front-runners, edited by Janet Hutchings; and Fifty-Two Stories, a new translation of Chekhov’s stories. Also been reading the submissions for another anthology–this year's Bouchercon anthology. Some great stories in those blind submissions!
Listening to Vermilion Drift, a Cork Corcoran mystery. (I have been gradually listening to them in order.) Reading These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card (an ARC from Midwinter; published in March). To keep my husband in reading material I called the local used bookstore and asked the proprietor for any hardcover Baldacci, Grishm, Connolly, Turow that she had. Seven! And then when I was at Walmart I stopped at the book section. I splurged and bought two hardcover Grishams (2019 and 2020) and one hardcover Baldacci (2020)…..I'm a librarian! I borrow books! What I buy is from the library book sale rack! That goes to show you how this pandemic is getting to me.
……but yesterday I participated in our AAUW branch's first GOGO. That's give one / get one — a friend parked her car at the end of her driveway and had the trunk open with a laundry basket with books. We signed up at half-hour intervals to come to bring books and take others. And have a nice chat with the hostess.
Currently reading BENEATH THE DEPTHS by Bruce Robert Coffin. Billed as a Detective Byron Mystery, this is the second book in this series that are police procedurals. This came by way of the author in print format.
Just finished the short story releases in eBook only from Linda Castillo and Paul Doiron. Both are pretty good reads. Still have to write out the reviews for them.
KRT
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
Sandy, I hope we have your kind of weather so I can get outside and enjoy it the last couple days before I go back to work. I can understand why that was more enjoyable than books this past week.
Jeff, It just makes me sad when one of my favorite author's books are disappointing, and then I know I have to wait a year for the next one. I'm sorry about the Peter Robinson. Oh, I saw "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". Fabulous episode of The Twilight Zone. Lady on the Case sounds interesting.
Art, I'm a fan of anthologies, so they sound good. I'm sure Jeff Meyerson has already read them, though. It's a speciality of his. Happy to hear the works submitted for the Bouchercon anthology, though, are living up to past submissions.
Nann! I love the sound of the GOGO. However, I'd just want to give one. I think I"m going to kick off my giveaways again this Friday since I"m going back to work Monday. That means I'll already be out a week from Friday to go to the post office. I'm sure your husband appreciates your readers' advisory skills!
Aha, Kevin! You're probably the reason Bruce Robert Coffin befriended me on Facebook. You were already undoubtedly a friend of his. And, since you're so good about sharing my reviews, he probably saw them. Thank you! I have that Linda Castillo short story. I need to read it before her next book is out.
I finished THE OTHER FAMILY by Loretta Nyhan this week. I really loved it. Kylie has a compromised immune system. Ally has gone from doctor to doctor trying to find help to the point that her marriage is crumbling as well as her finances.
She pins her last hope on a holistic allergist who after discovering Ally is adopted suggests a DNA test. Ally connects with an aunt she never knew existed and finds some clues to help Kylie.
I got totally wrapped up in this story and could not put it down (especially because I was able to have a ridiculously huge font on my new Kindle). It was funny at times and touching and to me just a good story.
Now I am reading THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY by Genevieve Cogman. My daughter bought it for me as a gift. I am not far enough into it to decide how much I am liking it. It is a fantasy book which is definitely out of my comfort zone.
I am so happy for you that your library is reopening Lesa. I am anxiously awaiting word when the Columbus Metropolitan Library system will reopen. I miss my weekly visit to my branch.
Happy Reading!
I think he and I connected through Killer Nashville many moons ago. After I read and reviewed his first one (which Scott also really enjoyed), I put his second on hold. By then the library was on lockdown. Scott took it on his own to put in a request for them to purchase books three and four.
While all that was going on, a couple of weeks to a month passed, and he suddenly reached out and offered book two by mail. I gladly accepted on our behalf and told him that the library had no sign of opening and that my son had put in requests for books three and four to be ordered. By this point he had heard back on the purchase requests and both had been approved.
he said he would send book two and I told him there was no rush. I certainly do not want anyone risking their health to mail me a book. he assured me all was fine and about five days later, all three books showed up here. Made our day.
So, the reading of book two is underway. I am trying to read one from the library and then one of mine and go back and forth a bit.
I have about 75 books from the library, at this point, on my card and maybe another 60 on Scott's card. The library remains closed as are the book drops. If those ever reopen we have about ten bags of books to take back as the kid has been reading up a storm. With so much of our television shows ending early, he has been reading way more than me. Most of his books are way bigger too.
This Saturday he will be reviewing FIRE & BLOOD by George R. Martin. A fantasy deal that explains how the Iron Throne and other stuff happened. Set way before Game of Thrones. Over seven hundred pages long, this is one of my son's shorter reads when he is not doing the graphic novels.
Part I: I was intrigued to find out why Abby Jimenez's THE HAPPY EVER PLAYLIST has 93% 5-star ratings in Amazon–something you don't see often. It's about Sloan, still grieving and unable to move on two years after her fiance died in an accident. In a variation of the usual "meet cute" in contemporary romances, Sloan meets . . . a dog, when he jumps into her car after she has stopped to avoid hitting him. She finds out that his human is Jason, and she tries contacting him for weeks. When he finally sees her messages, he can't believe the friend he left in charge of Tucker had lost track of him. He and Sloan strike up an online conversation, which quickly leads to mutual attraction even before they meet in person. The challenge is whether Sloan can adjust when she finds out that this traveling musician is really much more than that. Very enjoyable, verging on fantasy. A nice escape from our current situation.
In Ellery Adams' MURDER IN THE STORYBOOK VILLAGE, Jane Steward, proprietor of the Storyton (VA) Hall resort, is preparing for another busy weekend–the Peppermint Press convention featuring writers and illustrators of children's books, and the opening of Storyton Village with amazing venues, food and projects designed just for kids. But then Jane comes upon the body of a mysterious woman dressed as Red Riding Hood and carrying a basket with a valuable copy of a book of fairy tales. She works with the police and the Fins, a cadre of employees at her resort who know its hidden purpose of protecting unseen items of great literary value, to find the killer while the weekend's events proceed. This excellent series continues to be a favorite of mine. Although the mysteries are always well thought out, I believe Adams' strong suit is her rich imagination and her luxurious descriptions of the colors, smells, events, venues, and people that populate her books. I want to visit Storyton Hall and meet Jane, her intrepid twin sons, her lover Edwin, the Fins, and the Cover Girls (Jane's book club that consists of the female owners of many of the town's businesses). A superior cozy series, and this book is one of the best.
me."
Part II: Although thriller is not my favorite genre, Kate White's HAVE YOU SEEN ME? got me wondering what happened in the three days that financial journalist Ally can't remember. She doesn't understand why she showed up for work at a place where she hasn't worked for 5 years. Why she has had a dissociative event after an argument with her husband, Hugh. Why she has tissues with blood stains in her pocket and can't find her phone or her purse. And why she suddenly becomes a target for persons unknown. She starts thinking about the time when she was nine years old and found a dead toddler in the woods and wonders whether it has any bearing on her current situation. Thrillers are typically not big on character development, and this one is no exception. I particularly felt that Hugh was not well drawn. The twist seemed to come out of nowhere, and the ending was too abrupt. But it kept me reading until the end.
I haven't read a Terry McMillan novel in years, but I remember enjoying them. In IT'S NOT ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE, she focuses on Loretha (Lo), who loses her third husband (and the love of her life) on her 68th birthday. Fortunately, she has money to spare, so finances are not a problem. That comes in handy when she has to intermittently support her estranged daughter (an addict), her husband's newly discovered out-of-wedlock son from before she knew him, and others among her family and friends. A college graduate, Lo also has her own business, two beauty supply stores. She misses her son, who lives in Japan with his Japanese wife and twin girls, and she struggles with her weight and the onset of diabetes. This story is all about how Lo tries to move forward after the tragedy, with the help of her close friends (who have their own problems) and family members–not a sad story. It's told in the first person, which took some getting used to, but I caught on to the rhythm and happily followed Lo through a 2-year period. I love this quote: "I'm doing everything I can to slide into home so I leave gold dust behind
Just finished Thin Ice by Paige Shelton – you were correct it saying it was a good one. Loved the characters – and it was a cast of characters who were important in the book. And the descriptions of rural Alaska are amazing. Cannot wait for number 2 – but it will be at least December.
Read The Pint of No Return by Ellie Alexander and enjoyed it a lot and currently reading one that I am not sure of Sugar and Vice by Eva Calder. It is the second in a series, liked the first one am ambivalent about this one so far.
Hope everything goes smoothly at the library – not sure the timing of ours here – it changes depending on what the county and state are recommending.
I finished up SPIDERS FROM MARS last night. This is the fourth in Diane Vallere's space mystery series. It's fun, although there did seem to be a few jumps in the book. Either I read it too quickly because I was hooked or it needed a little smoothing out.
Today, I'll be digging into MURDER MOST FERMENTED by Christine E. Blum. The first one was only okay, but I already had book two, so I thought I'd see if the series improved.
Caution, Sharon. We are not reopening to the public yet, and have no date scheduled to do that. I know a lot of us are nervous about going back to being with. The newspaper shouldn't have run the article saying cases went up here over the weekend after the governor allowed some places to reopen. And, we're even more concerned that churches are going to reopen on Sunday. We haven't even started curbside service, yet, so it might be a little while until the public gets in, and, even then, at reduced numbers. Our Director is being cautious, which is good. My entire department is in a high risk category, and, although we seldom deal with the public, we do work with the staff who has constant contact with them. Some of most staff who are most at risk will still be working from home after an initial meeting with the Director on Monday.
Good for Scott, Kevin! I think it's great that all those young men are avid readers. And, they may read fewer books than us, but they're reading those enormous tomes with a killer number of pages. And, I don't know about Scott, but my nephews reread, too! I seldom reread. Too many other good ones out there.
I'm going to kick off my contests again this Friday. If I have to go to work starting on Monday, I might as well go to the post office. I wear a mask, and, when I was at the grocery store last Thursday, every person there had on a mask. Trying to stay safe.
That was so kind of Bruce Robert Coffin to send you all three books. Good for him, and for you! (And, you tell Scott he deserves another roll of toilet paper. He's a good son.)
He is handling all the online orders so now I have ti get my roll from him. This means that he who controls the TP does not care about the spice as he controls the universe. lol
Lesa, CML is also very cautiously looking at reopening with very limited services and only select branches. The article in my Grove City Record by our library director said they were hoping by the end of May and then it will be curbside service only. So far Gov. DeWine has not made a decision on libraries, restaurants and hair salons. Our daily are also increasing.
I understand your hesitation. That is why I finally bought an electronic reader as I was concerned about the safety of library books but I am encouraged about Battelle coming up with something to make borrowing materials from our local libraries as safe as possible.
I know it will be a while before I can go into the Southwest Public Library but I am looking forward to seeing the friendly faces behind our circulation desk.
I just finished Rachel Caine's Wolfhunter River and must go back to read the novels that begin this series. Page turners!!
Am also working on an advance copy (through Net Galley) of Brian Kaufman's Sins in Blue which is a wonderful historical of a guy who's tried his whole life to be a success playing the blues. The only trouble is, he's an old white guy.
And a book I won on Goodreads: Kristy Woodson's Feels Like Falling. A different kind of read for me, but it's a great distraction.
I've read some really good books lately!
All of Gigi Pandian's Accidental Alchemist books, which are fun. I'm in love with a French chef named Dorian in the series. Dorian is a gargoyle.
Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau takes place in NYC during the Gilded Age and is wonderfully researched.
I was late getting to The Dry by Jane Harper and now wondering why it took me so long! What a terrific writer Ms. Harper is. Then, me being me, couldn't wait to read her other two. Force of Nature was excellent, but The Lost Man absolutely knocked my socks off. Wow. If you haven't read it you're in for a treat.
Jenn McKinlay's Paris is Always a Good Idea was as yummy as you would think just from the title. I loved it and cried buckets.
And finally, I stayed up until the wee hours reading an ARC of Alice Hoffman's Magic Lessons.
I fell in love with her Practical Magic 25 years ago and have never forgotten it. A couple years back she came out with a prequel, The Rules of Magic which I loved every bit as much as Practical Magic.
Magic Lessons introduces us to the matriarch, Maria Owens, when it all started. Loved Loved Loved it!
And a Happy Thursday to you!
xxoo
K.
Thank you, Margie. It sounds as if I'd like the Happy-Ever-After Playlist. I'm going to have to look for that one. I love Ellery Adams' books as well, but I'm way behind in her series. I'm glad you had a couple books you really enjoyed in the last week. I imagine you're packing & have a lot of other things on your mind. Take care of yourself.
Netteanna! I'm so glad you liked Thin Ice. I thought it was terrific. It's a long wait until the next one, though. Thank you for the wishes for good luck!
The new Linda Castillo (OUTSIDER) is scheduled for July 7, so I guess I should look for the short story first.
Ah, Mark. I hope it was because you were enjoying and reading the first book so quickly. Good luck with the second one!
Well, then good luck with that, Kevin, with Scott now in control!
Sharon, I think all the Midwestern governors are working together – at least Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky & Illinois. We border all of those states, and have people who work across the border, so I think they are cautiously cooperating. Hair salons can reopen on Monday, here, but by appointment only. I need a haircut, but I'm sure 100,000 other people do, too, so we'll see how soon that is. Our Director is following Battelle's study as well. My sister in Columbus has originally sent me the article about CML and Battelle.
Patricia, I know I read one of Rachel Caine's sometime or another, and it was good. Funny, I just read a book that comes out in a couple months about a white man in a blues band in the 1940s.
Kaye, I thought you might like Gigi's books, but I wasn't sure.
I know exactly why I was so late in getting to Jane Harper – too much hype. I'm not usually the first to jump on a book that has that much hype. The Lost Man, though, was wonderful, as you said.
I can't wait to read Paris is Always a Good Idea, but it sounds as if I better read it on a Saturday so my eyes have a chance to recover since you said you cried buckets. Two of my favorite locations – Ireland and Paris!
And, I may have to pick up Alice Hoffman's prequels. Just what I need, more books, Kaye. 😉
Thank you! Lots of love! Lesa
Lesa, would you believe my houses (current and new) both closed escrow yesterday–lots of delays! But now I know I'll be moving out June 3 and into the new house June 4 so it's full speed ahead on the packing, address changes, and everything else that goes with it.
And speaking of hair appointments, the salons won't open in my county this month, but my hairdresser lives in another county (Monterey) and just finished having a one-station salon built in her garage. She is taking one customer a day and doing lots of sanitizing. I have an appointment for May 20 and I am wrestling with guilt. I think maybe I'll just get a haircut and wait till later for my twice-a-year highlights. My hair is light so the gray (what little I have) doesn't look that bad. My hair, however, is getting pretty shaggy, even though I have tackled the bangs a bit.
My county is almost totally open now, despite the best efforts of the governor.
This week I read:
Double Down by WL Ripley; another new character from the guy, but a little too reminiscent of his earlier work.
Where the Wolf Lies; a corporate drone goes to Paris and gets in way over his head despite never knowing what is going on.
Sherlock Holmes in Japan; an inferior piece of Sherlockiana.
The Second Law by LA Starks; A strange book. A Yellow Peril novel with a Texan Energy Company Executive as a heroine.
We do tend to "help" one another build up those TBR piles, huh? LOL!!
Love you
xxoo
For what it is worth….Dallas County is having a massive uptick in cases as the reopening continues. Libraries remain closed as are the book drops. Staff has been working–according to the news releases– and it is pretty clear nothing is going to open soon as they have yet to start moving holds in the system.how or even if they will open at all remains to be seen.
Our old library stomping grounds in Plano started with opening the book drops and allegedly will start curbside pickup next week as are other library systems in neighboring counties. There has bee a cone of silence from the Dallas folks and any query is responded to with the same canned response they have given since the shutdown began.
The Linda Castillo short story seems to be written as stand alone in the series as there are no references to earlier events. It does seem to introduce a possible new character. It has an excerpt from the new book which is billed as a prologue and has nobody from the series in the few pages. It works for folks who know the series and those newbies who should have listened to us long ago and complied with our instructions to read the series.
KRT
Take care of yourself, Margie. That's all I ask. I'm happy everything closed, and you now have dates. It sounds as if you'll be scrambling for a little while. Rest, though. Sending hugs.
Glen, I'm sorry about this week's books. They don't sound as if they were that terrific. Good luck with the next pile.
We, to, Kaye. Sending love and hugs!
Love that final sentence, Kevin, about the newbies who should have listened to us long ago.
Well, our library has no date as to reopening. According to our director, no large libraries in the country have yet started curbside. We're going to be planning for it, but no date for that yet, either.
I think the important thing is to keep everyone safe. We have over 3,000 people in our libraries a day. We're really not one of the largest systems, but can you imagine how the virus could spread with those kind of numbers?
My current read is Close Up by Amanda Quick. In the car, I am listening to the 20th Victim by James Patterson