Hey book friends! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer. I've been doing fine and reading and walking and getting new landscaping and going to book groups. As I often do at this time of year, I'm going to take an 'official' summer break for a few weeks. We've got some travel planned and some family stuff going on. I'll see you all in late August or early September. Take care and read some good books please. I'll try to do the same.
'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about. I used to do this in the past and am making it a priority to do again. Seriously, who among us doesn't have a book or two or twenty that we are excited about reading? Plus, it lets us 'spread the word' about authors and series that we personally enjoy.
This week's book I want to mention is the third in Sarah Pearse's series featuring Detective Elin Warner. I have read the previous two books and enjoyed both. The first one, The Sanatorium, is set in the Swiss Alps at a hotel that was once a sanatorium. The second book, The Retreat, takes place on an island off the coast of England and involves a wellness retreat. The new book, which will be out next month, takes place at a Portuguese national park. As you can probably surmise, setting plays a big part in these books. Have you tried this series or might this encourage you to look for these books? Do tell!
by Sarah Pearse
Publication Date: July 16th
Detective Elin Warner unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of a young woman in a propulsive new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium
Since the dark events that scarred her childhood, Kier Templer escaped her hometown to live life on the road. She and her twin have never lost contact until, on a trip to a Portuguese national park, Kier vanishes without a trace.
Detective Elin Warner arrives in the same park ready to immerse herself in its vast wilderness – only to hear about Kier’s disappearance, and discover a disturbing map she left behind. The few strangers at an isolated campsite close ranks against Elin’s questions, and the park’s wild beauty starts to turn sinister.
Elin must untangle the clues to find out what really happened to Kier. But when you follow a trail, you have to be careful to watch your back...
Sarah Pearse brilliantly introduced readers to Elin Warner in The Sanatorium, with her exploits continuing in The Retreat; here, the series concludes with The Wilds, where the unanswered questions plaguing Elin are finally resolved.
'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about. I used to do this in the past and am making it a priority to do again. Seriously, who among us doesn't have a book or two or twenty that we are excited about reading? Plus, it lets us 'spread the word' about authors and series that we personally enjoy.
The book I'm extra excited about this week will be the latest in Ann Cleeves' series featuring DI Vera Stanhope. It's #11 and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I've enjoyed not only the book series starring DI Stanhope but have also watched all the seasons of the TV adaptation - which is called 'Vera', of course. Ha! There are 13 seasons and I'm fairly certain the show is finished. Brenda Blethyn announced that she is retiring from the role and honestly, no one else could play 'Vera'. The book series will continue though. And 'yay' for that.
I have met Ann Cleeves at more than one book conference and talked with her a bit. She's very friendly and is a big supporter of libraries. When I met her the first time and she found that I had worked in that environment, she asked a lot of questions and it was very apparent that she loves libraries. Have you read any of Ann's books or watched 'Vera' or 'Shetland'? I recommend her works highly.
by Ann Cleeves
Publication Date: August 27th
As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death.
The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.
DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home’s residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.
Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.
'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about. I used to do this in the past and am making it a priority to do again. Seriously, who among us doesn't have a book or two or twenty that we are excited about reading? Plus, it lets us 'spread the word' about authors and series that we personally enjoy.
I have enjoyed Karin Slaughter's Will Trent books for many years. This newest one will be #12 in the series. I'm a bit behind in my reading here so the August publication will hopefully let me catch up on the ones I haven't read as yet. Some of you may know that there is an ABC series entitled 'Will Trent' and it is indeed based on the protagonist here. I like it well enough. I will warn you that the book 'Will Trent' and the TV 'Will Trent' are very different in many ways and yet, the adaptation has included a lot of characteristics that make Will himself. Other characters from the TV series are extremely different from the books, but not all. I'm probably confusing you. I've read that Karin Slaughter herself is satisfied with the adaptation. Me - well, I honestly just have to kind of think of them as different characters completely. I don't say this to discourage you from trying the series if you haven't read it or visa versa. In any case, I'm going to be looking forward to the new addition. Have you read any of these or watched the TV show?
Publication Date: August 20th
Everyone here is a liar, but only one of us is a killer…
A secluded cabin retreat
For GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, McAlpine Lodge seems like the ideal getaway to celebrate their honeymoon. Set on a gorgeous, off-the-grid mountaintop property, it’s the perfect place to unplug and reconnect. Until a bone-chilling scream cuts through the night.
A murderer in their midst
Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the Lodge, is dead. With a vicious storm raging and the one access road to the property washed out, the murderer must be someone on the mountain. But as Will and Sara investigate the McAlpine family and the other guests, they realize that everyone here is lying….Lying about their past. Lying to their family. Lying to themselves.
Who killed Mercy McAlpine?
It soon becomes clear that normal rules don’t apply at McAlpine Lodge, and Will and Sara are going to have to watch their step at every turn. Trapped on the resort, they must untangle a decades-old web of secrets to discover what happened to Mercy. And with the killer poised to strike again, the trip of a lifetime becomes a race against the clock…
Hello and Happy Saturday to all! Hope this is a good weekend for everyone and includes fun things. I've been up early and made my bigger grocery shop already and am now washing clothes. Decided it's a good time to share a bit about what I've been reading lately. I'm going to try to get back to sharing my 'Waiting For' posts on Wednesdays. I like to do that so you all know what's coming (if you're interested) and also to remind myself as well.
OK, my reading has been going well. I've been making my way through a reread of J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas series on audio for my walks and times alone in the car. I've read them all before, but I do enjoy visiting with Eve and Roarke. If you can believe it, #59 in the series will be published in September. And I still like these. Go figure! LOL
I attended my two book groups recently and enjoyed a nice discussion of Circling The Sun by Paula McLain at the 'Afternoon Book Group'. This is a historical fiction book that tells of Beryl Markham's life and includes other characters from the Out Of Africa movie as well. We also talked quite a bit about other historical fiction authors and those who had read Kristin Hannah's new book, The Women, shared some of their experiences. My come-away with that part was that The Women seems to inspire quite varied opinions. Have you read it? I have not as yet.
I also got to take part in the June meeting of the 'Mystery Book Group'. This month has traditionally been the one that we read 'Books that won or were nominated for Mystery Awards in the previous year'. It's always a fun one because everyone reads different things and then comes and shares what they thought. Plus, we get a list of the books talked about and that's helpful for summer reading in the mystery realm.
Next month, we will be reading Fiona Barton's book, Local Gone Missing. I have read it before a while back, but will probably do a reread to refresh my memory.
In other reading, I decided that I might do a bit of 'Summer Reading' before a couple of my favorite mystery series authors have their next book published. Then I'll be diving into a new 'Lady Sherlock' book (by Sherry Thomas) and also visiting 'Kate Burkholder' (by Linda Castillo).
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren - I've only read one other book by this author (who are actually two friends) and liked it. This one was fun.
Look On The Bright Side by Kristan Higgins - I read several of this author's books a few years ago and enjoyed them. This one is sweet and poignant and has a woman who is trying to get past a loss and deal with things as best she can. She's stronger than she knows though and all is good in the end.
Right now, I'm reading The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts. - I think I've only read one other book by her and it was a Christmas-themed book a long while back. Anyway, the 'book club' angle caught my eye and the setting is the Pacific Northwest. So far, so good. A woman with a young daughter moves to a new town after a divorce and she meets a couple of neighbors and the sister of one of the neighbors. They all could use a 'refresh' and so start a book club to help them with that. As I said, I'm liking it so far (19% in).
Think that's about it for now. What are you reading these days? Have you picked up any good 'Summer Books' or what else do you recommend? I always love to hear. Take care!
Hello book friends. I'm glad to say 'welcome to summer' to all of you. Hope you are doing well and enjoying the seasonal things in your part of the world. Here at my house - well, it's June - it's hot and muggy. No surprise there. However, our part of Texas has had a lot more rain this year than in recent years and so the grass and wildflowers and especially the lakes are in better shape. Our lakes have been way, way down for several years and so even though the rain can bring thunderstorms and wind and hail at times, the downpours are very welcome.
We've been a bit busy with some things and though I've been reading (and will update with some book thoughts later this week), I just haven't felt the blog post writing vibe for a bit. That happens with me, but I do so much enjoy reading what all of you have been up to. As I said, I'm planning on doing another post later this week and will share some book stuff. I recently attended an author event in our area and will also tell about our mystery book group meeting tonight. The June meeting is always a fun one as everyone reads 'Mystery Award-winning or nominated' books and one always comes away with a great list of books to try.
I am going to share a few pictures today of the bluebonnets we had in our yard earlier in the spring. I had promised to do that and I also have a couple of shots of cactus blooms. And I have a sweet picture that I took today of a couple of fawn twins that were in the area behind us. There were actually three fawns out there, but I could only get two in the shot without actually going outside and startling them.
Here are the lovely bluebonnets. Two pictures below. We have been working on getting a new plan for some updated landscaping at our house, so this will be the only year we'll have these exactly like this.
This has been a banner year for flowers in Texas this year. Even the cactus have been blooming profusely. Love this!
Lastly, here are the cute and precious little fawns. Don't you love them? Not everyone understands about letting the deer (and their fawns) be wild. Many people worry when the mother deer tuck their babies away and go forage for food. People think that the mothers have abandoned them. Don't think that ever happens. We always tell people to leave the fawns alone. The moms will come back for them.
I'll post again soon. Enjoy your reading!!
Hey everyone! Hope all is well with my reader friends. I haven't disappeared, but have been busy with some things. And I've been walking and yoga-ing and admiring the wildflowers and planning a bit for what we might do in our back yard area. Oh, yes - I've been reading - ha! I have some flower pictures to share with you and will report on my books and book group attendance, etc. See you in a while!
'Waiting on Wednesday' is an event where I feature an upcoming book that I am extra excited about. I used to do this in the past and am making it a priority to do again. Seriously, who among us doesn't have a book or two or twenty that we are excited about reading? Plus, it lets us 'spread the word' about authors and series that we personally enjoy.
The book I'm featuring this week is another series book that has been a long time in coming. It's kind of interesting that several books that are grabbing my attention are ones where authors are adding to mystery series after a long gap. I have truly missed a bunch of the characters that populate these featured books. You're probably thinking - well, Kay, what's the book? Ha! OK, I'll tell you. It's the 12th book in Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series and it's called Think Twice. The last Myron book was written by Coben in 2016. So, an eight-year gap. Whew! Myron is a sports agent that also is a retired pro basketball player. And he tends to get into the middle of murder situations. I have read most of this series and am delighted to see Myron and his friend, Win, sleuthing again. By the way, the first book in the series was Deal Breaker and it came out in 1995.
by Harlan Coben
Publication Date: May 14th
A man presumed dead is suddenly wanted for murder in this thriller of secrets, lies, and dangerous conspiracies that threaten to cover up the truth.
Three years ago, sports agent Myron Bolitar gave a eulogy at the funeral of his client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing. Myron and Greg had history: initially as deeply personal rivals, and later as unexpected business associates. Myron made peace and moved on – until now, when twofederal agents walked into his office, demanding to know where Greg Downing is.
According to the agents, Greg is still alive—and has been placed at the scene of a double homicide, making him their main suspect. Shocked, Myron needs answers.
Myron and Win, longtime friends and colleagues, set out to find the truth, but the more they discover about Greg, the more dangerous their world becomes. Secrets, lies, and a murderous conspiracy that stretches back into the past churn at the heart of Harlan Coben's blistering new novel.
First Paragraph(s):
A steady rain falls as Benjamin and Raphael Duvalier work their excavator alongside a dark lake on the misted flanks of Hemlock Mountain. The brothers are digging up the concrete foundation of an old and tiny wooden A-frame chapel. The chapel is located at the Hemlock Ski Resort area base and is being moved higher into the alpine to make way for an expansion. It's barely dawn, and the temperature hovers around freezing. Behind them the forest creeps down the mountain and wraiths of mist finger between the trees. Empty lift chairs hang motionless on cables that disappear into the low clouds.
My Thoughts:
The Unquiet Bones is the first book I've read by Loreth Anne White. I have been aware of her books, but just never sampled one. I got a nudge to try this one from the review that Lesa Holstine published on her blog here. By the way, if you've not checked out Lesa's blog, Lesa's Book Critiques, I highly recommend it. She's a now-retired librarian and she write a bunch of reviews for various places, including Library Journal.
This is the story of the discovery of bones buried beneath a structure in the woods and they have been there for a long time. The investigator, Jane Munro, is at a complicated place in life. She's recently been assigned to a cold case squad because of difficulties personally. What was supposed to be a more 'quiet' job very quickly ramps up because of this case. Two missing teens from long ago, families that have never had answers, and a group of friends that were also teens at the time and who are now well-known older adults complicate the investigation. The author tells things from various points of view and I followed along guessing all the way. Was I correct in my guesses? Partly, but not completely. I did enjoy this one and will plan to try others by this author. Have you read any of her books?
Blurb:
When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen.
Homicide detective Jane Munro—pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life—hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl’s family. But for a group of Annalise’s old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago.
The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?
The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body—that of the boy long blamed for Annalise’s disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.
