We’re back on schedule this week. So, what have you been reading?
I finished The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. It’s a fun, sexy romance with serious overtones. I’ve reviewed it for Saturday, so I won’t say too much. A pro baseball player wants to save his marriage. His buddies step in to help, using romance novels as guide books. It’s popular at my library, and Amazon picked it as the top romance of the year. I enjoy romances with a little twist.
What have you been reading this week? Do you have some books you want to tell us about?
I read DECEPTION COVE by Owen Laukkanen this week, recommended by someone (can't remember who). As mentioned, I thought it was going to be yet a third K-9 series, but this one is different from Margaret Mizushima's and Paula Munier's. Yes, there is an ex-Marine with PTSD and a sort of comfort dog, but there is also an ex-con who trained said dog before he got out of prison, who wants to make sure the dog is still OK. This brings the two of them (Jess Winslow is the former Marine, Mason Burke the ex-con) together in northwest Washington, facing crooked cops and drug dealers. Not surprisingly, at the end, we see this is the first in a prospective series. Recommended.
Definitely recommended is a British spy novel (no one does them better than the British), Tom Bradby's SECRET SERVICE. Kate Henderson is a top MI6 operative, whose bug on a Russian's yacht brings the information that (1) the British Prime Minister has prostate cancer and is going to resign, (2) the Russians have a strong vested interest in one of the candidates to succeed him, and (3) there could be a mole in the highest levels of British Intelligence feeding them information. When the PM resigns, it all seems true, and Kate and her team have to find the traitor(s), while she has to navigate tricky family issues.
I'll be picking up the new Michael Connelly and two other books at the library today. Fall and winter are definitely reading season.
A slow reading week for me. I finished ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER by Hazel Prior which was very good.
I hope to finish the last 135 pages TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS by Kate Racculia this afternoon. I love her writing style and the story is, fun. I am anxious to see how it ends up. Thanks for the recommendation Lesa.
Happy Reading!
I read FUDGE BITES by Nancy Coco. It’s a pretty standard cozy mystery set on Mackinac Island but I like the characters.
THE CACTUS PLOT: MURDER IN THE HIGH DESERT by Vicky Ramakka. A mystery featuring a botanist from NJ who has a summer job working for the Bureau of Land Management in the 4 corners area of New Mexico. It was fun that the main character comes from a town about 30 minutes from where I live and I’ve also been to that part of New Mexico. I hope the author is going to write a sequel.
The last book I read also features NJ. DACHSHUND THROUGH THE SNOW by David Rosenfelt has attorney Andy Carpenter trying to clear a man accused of murder so he can rejoin his family for Christmas. This is the first book in this series that I’ve read rather than listening to the audio book. I enjoyed this but prefer the audiobooks
Jeff, I have Deception Cove someplace or other. I'll have to look for it. I like the premise, and the fact it's going to be a series.
You're welcome, Sharon. I'm glad you're enjoying Tuesday Mooney. My friend, Donna, didn't like it as much as I did, but I think the constant interruptions didn't help with her reading of it, either. And, eventually, I'll get back to Ellie and the Harpmaker.
Sandy, I think the reader of that series on audiobooks must make a big difference. I know someone else who likes to listen to them.
Lesa, The Bromance Book Club is on hold at the library–coming soon, I hope. It was also recommended on Anne Bogel's excellent podcast, "What Should I Read Next?"
Veteran cop Harry Bosch again teams up with night shift renegade detective Renee Ballard to work on a cold case in Michael Connelly's THE NIGHT FIRE. No longer officially a detective and recovering from hip surgery, Harry receives a murder book from the widow of his recently departed mentor and doesn't understand why his mentor never worked the case in the years since the murder occurred. Ballard is involved with other cases while investigating this one alongside Harry, and both are puzzled by conflicting clues. I'm liking this pair-up more and more, and Harry's half-brother Mickey (the Lincoln Lawyer) also makes a welcome appearance.
In recent years, Ann Patchett's books have been hit-or-miss for me, but I liked THE DUTCH HOUSE and found it to be a quick read. The overarching theme is finding and sticking to one's passion, regardless of others' interference. Brother and sister Danny (the narrator) and Maeve are children when their mother leaves home and when their father marries a younger woman with two children. Later on, Danny suddenly finds he must move in with his older sister when his stepmother tells him he can no longer live in the mansion that has been his home since a very early age. The story follows Danny and Maeve through their lives, as they struggle to forge their own way and deal with mistakes they have made. I appreciated the character development in this quiet but effective story.
If you've read any of the books in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, you know the formula (and this is #20!). I've read them all, and they are an opportunity to spend some time in a quieter, quainter place with people for whom a cup of red bush tea is is always refreshing and inspiring. Alexander McCall Smith's TO THE LAND OF LONG LOST FRIENDS was no exception.
In NATALIE TAN'S BOOK OF LOVE AND FORTUNE by Roselle Lim, Natalie left home in San Francisco's Chinatown after her mother refused to honor her desire for a degree in culinary arts. Natalie had never met her father, and she was bitter than she hadn't received any help from the community with her mother, whose agoraphobia had kept her from leaving the house. When her mother died suddenly, Natalie returned home to a crumbling community, with many of the neighbors considering offers to sell their businesses. Although she had flunked out of culinary school from lack of focus, Natalie decided to revive her late grandmother's restaurant, which had long been in disrepair, and attempt to revitalize the community with the help of her grandmother's book of recipes and the power of shared food. She faced many obstacles and began an unconvincing (to me) romance with a local, only to see her dreams crumble. Until, with the help of magic realism (prevalent through most of the book), she made it all work. It was a quick read that had the elements of a good story, but I found it a bit overwrought and not as engaging as I would have liked it to be. Hopefully this debut author will improve with experience.
Lesa, just wanted to say hi and trust everything is going great for you and your beautiful fur babies. How is the weather ❓We are having cold weather. Better than the hot weather we had this summer, which isn’t my favorite weather.
I have a book checked out from the library by Frank Viola and George Brana. Not very far into it yet. Took a long time for me to receive it after I placed it on hold. I have two other books on hold. They have been listed as in transit. They must be on a ship from the other side of the world. I might not be interested by the time they get here.
Hugs~~
Margie! Thank you! I'm bringing Natalie Tan back, unread, then. Thanks for the review. Donna really liked the audiobook of Ann Patchett's The Dutch House. She said she doesn't know if she would have liked it, but Tom Hanks read it, and she loved his reading of it. I'm reviewing The Bromance Book Club on Saturday. Fun. It was just fun.
Hi Charlotte! It's cold here – 12 degrees yesterday morning, but we're on our way up. 40s today, and maybe 50s this weekend. I hope it stays for a while. The cats and I cuddle together every night in order to stay warm. Josh is either on my lap, or beside me on the couch, and he always comes to bed. I think he's as cold-blooded as I am.
Sorry about the long delay with your books. That's no fun!
By coincidence, my friend George reviewed the audiobook of the Padgett book on his blog today, and his said Tom Hanks did a great job reading it.
I’m reading the MURDER, SHE WROTE book you reviewed yesterday. I’m enjoying it more than you did, but I’m more willing to let Jessica question people than you appear to be. Realistic? No. But I accept it as part of the series and move on.
Jeff – If you catch this, info for you. Following his well-received 2019 thriller Deception Cove, author Owen Laukkanen is bringing back Jess Winslow for another adventure in Lone Jack Trail, available in bookstores on May 26, 2020
Mark, I'm waiting to see what you think of the climax.
I read:
Melmoth by Sarah Perry; a Gothic about lonely people.
God's Hand on America by Michael Medved; inspirational type short vignettes on American history.
Trailblazer by Marc Benioff; Useless autobiography mostly consisting of trendy buzzwords.
Blood Money by William Ritlow; An inspirational mystery about a mysterious island.
I was waiting for that third summary, Glen. It wouldn't feel right if there wasn't at least one snarky description from you. Thank you!
Oh no. That doesn't sound good. 80 pages to go. Should finish it tomorrow.
I didn't say that, Mark. I'm just curious.
I feel like I'm in good company here since I just started Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen last night.
I just finished Martha Grimes latest Richard Jury novel The Old Success and the best thing about it was meeting up with characters from the previous books in the series. I have read them all and this was confusing and sad for me to say but disappointing in the disjointed story telling, plot line. I kept thinking that I must have missed parts of the story. However it was good to spend time with characters that I have been reading about for more than thirty years.
Kathy, You're always in good company here if you want to talk about books. I'm sorry about Martha Grimes' latest book. Isn't it disappointing when a favorite author or series lets you down? Darn.
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