Audiobook Review: Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters

Seeing a Large Cat
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Series: Amelia Peabody (Book 9)
Publication: Recorded Books (May 27, 2004)
Length: 14 hours and 31 minutes

Description: Amelia finds good luck - in her dreams!

'Stay away from tomb Twenty-Al' says an ominous message delivered by an unseen hand. The year is 1903, the place is Cairo, and it's time for Amelia's ninth adventure. She is asked for help by an old friend whose husband has fallen for a spiritualist; then a plea arrives from an expat colonel whose daughter is threatened by an unknown enemy, and Ramses, now a headstrong teenager, undertakes an adventure that is guaranteed to turn his mother's hair white!

Amelia then dreams of a large cat, an Egyptian sign of good luck - which as the situation stands, is in precious short supply...

My Thoughts: It's 1903 and the Emersons are back in Egypt. Ramses and David have spent six months with a sheik and have both matured but it will take Amelia some time to reconcile herself to her son not being a child anymore.

The receive a cryptic message telling them to stay away from a tomb that doesn't exist. They also receive a plea for help from an old friend. Her husband has fallen for a spiritualist and is hunting for a lost Egyptian princess. 

Then a Southern Colonel requests their help with someone who seems to be intent on kidnapping his nubile teenage daughter who is as spoiled and headstrong as a rich young woman can be. She sets her sights on Ramses who is not at all interested since he has long since fallen in love with Nefret who only sees him as a child and a brother. 

Between searching for a tomb that doesn't exist, helping out an old friend, and protecting while fending off a predatory young woman, the Emersons have their hands full. 

This episode includes excerpts from manuscript H which tells parts of the story from Ramses' point of view and provides more insight into his character and another viewpoint on the events of the story. Amelia's viewpoint dominates and is as eccentric as ever. 

This was another excellent adventure for the Emersons.

I got this one via audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle

The Twelve Books of Christmas
Author: Kate Carlisle
Series: Bibliofile Mystery (Book 17)
Publication: Berkley (October 24, 2023)

Description: The first ever Christmas mystery in the beloved New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series!

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her hunky security-expert husband, Derek Stone, face a locked-room murder mystery during the holidays in Scotland.

In the middle of a wonderful Christmas holiday in Dharma, Brooklyn and Derek receive a frantic phone call from their dear friend Claire in Loch Ness, Scotland. The laird of the castle, Cameron MacKinnon, has just proposed to her! They plan to be married on New Year’s Day, and they want Derek and Brooklyn to be their witnesses. And while they’re visiting, Claire hopes that Brooklyn will be able to solve a little mystery that’s occurred in the castle library—twelve very rare, very important books have gone missing.

Once in Scotland, Brooklyn starts working on the mystery of the missing books but is soon distracted by all of the thumping and bumping noises she’s been hearing in the middle of the night. You’d think the Ghost of Christmas Past had taken up residence. But when one of the guests is poisoned and another is killed by an arrow through the heart, Brooklyn and Derek know this is not the work of any ghost. Now they must race to find a killer and a book thief before another murder occurs and their friends’ bright and happy future turns dark and deadly.

My Thoughts: This is the seventeenth book in the Bibliophile Mystery series and Brooklyn and her husband Derek are invited to Scotland to take part in the wedding of their friends Claire and Cameron who is the laird of Castle MacKinnon. They want to get married on New Year's Day and it is already Christmas.

Brooklyn, Derek, and Brooklyn's parents arrive at Castle MacKinnon to celebrate and find that there is also a mystery to solve. Twelve books, each about some aspect of Christmas and with widely varied values, are missing from the castle library. But that isn't the only problem Claire and Cameron are facing. The local women's club has started a campaign to ostracize Claire and a local young woman is determined to steal Cameron away before he can marry Claire. 

Then there is the whole issue of the new librarian at the castle who seems to have an agenda of her own. She's much more interested in becoming rich than taking care of the library. Brooklyn immediately suspects her of being the one to steal the books in order to sell them. 

While searching the castle for the missing books, Brooklyn and Derek find the body of a young man named Willy stuffed on one of the closets. Willy worked on the estate and was known to everyone. Brooklyn has a number of possible suspects for murderer. 

And when Bitsy, the rival for Cameron's affections, is found with an arrow through her heart the day after she and Claire competed in an archery competition, it looks like Claire would be the perfect suspect. However, Brooklyn knows she didn't do it and searches for the murderer before the happy couple needs to postpone the wedding again.

This was a fun story. I haven't read any of the other books in this series, but the hints thrown out about other times Brooklyn finds herself solving mysteries make me want to read more.

Favorite Quote:

"What is that interesting fragrance?"

"It's nothing."

"That's funny, because it smells like white sage." He gazed into my eyes. "Darling, if you were driven to the point of burning your mother's white sage, you must've been very frightened indeed. I'm sorry."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 30, 2023)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was a quiet week. It was cold most of the week. In fact, I awoke to snow on the deck Saturday morning which was fortunately gone by noon. 

I spent a lot of time working on my blog this week. I've decided to try to reread the Amelia Peabody books in order of their internal chronology which was not the way the books were written. I had to look at a variety of websites to finally come to some consensus about the way to read the books. I also arranged and rearranged my blog calendar and blog posts to conform to the final order of reading. 

Then, just when I was finished rearranging my blog calendar and blog posts, I received notice that I had been approved for two review copies with very short turnaround dates. In fact, The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle arrived in my inbox three days after it was published. Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty will be published on November 7. My blog is scheduled into December which meant I needed to move reviews around in order to fit these two books onto it which explains why the review of Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews won't show up on my blog until December 28 even though I finished it on October 22.

This coming week will contain a doctor's appointment on Wednesday but only a short one. I will also be completing my State of the Stack post which I use to keep me on track with my review copies. Right now, my perception is that I've accepted more review copies than I've read this month. It helps that two of my new ones aren't being released until May and June. 

Also keeping me busy this week are The Voice and the World Series which inconsiderately are both being televised at the same time. I ended up watching The Voice on my computer the next day last week which worked out all right. And then there is Halloween. With Halloween on Tuesday and a predicted forecast of temperatures in the high twenties or low thirties and a strong wind, I have no idea how many kids will come knocking on my door. My best year since I've lived here only totaled about 15 kids. My nearest neighbors have grown kids or no kids which means I don't know the kids who come to my door or where they live. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews (Chirp Audiobook) -- This is the 12th in the Meg Langslow mystery series and was another fun adventure told by Meg who is 8 and one-half months pregnant with twins and who just wants a nap instead of solving a murder. My review will be posted on December 28.
• Dog Tags by David Rosenfelt (Mine since December 17, 2022) -- 8th in the Andy Carpenter series. Andy gets a dog out of a shelter and defends his owner from a murder conviction while uncovering a much bigger plot. My review will be posted on November 23.
• The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor (Review, November 28) -- A very meta story about an author who wrote a book which was a retelling of REBECCA and now is living the story. My review will be posted on November 22.

• A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook Reread) -- It's 1910 and the Emersons are in Palestine to protect antiquities and thwart German spies. My review will be posted on December 5.
• Road Queens by MaryJanice Davidson (Review, November 28) -- A fun story about friends, motorcycles and murder told in Davidson's quirky style. My review will be posted on November 23.
• Lost Hours by Paige Shelton (Review, December 5) -- 5th in the Alaska Wild series. This was an entertaining story with lots of twists and turns. My review will be posted on November 28.

• Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook Reread) -- I wanted to revisit the Liaden Universe and grabbed Priscilla and Shan's first appearance. 
• The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle (Review, October 24) -- The 17th in the Bibliophile Mystery series was an entertaining story which includes a wedding, missing books, and two murders. My review will be posted on October 31.

Currently

• Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (Review, November 7)
• Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson (Review, December 5)
• Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter (Review, December 5)
• The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong (Review, December 5)

• The Buried Hours by R. S. Grant (Review, December 5)
• Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Mine since July 19, 2009)
• The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook reread)

Reviews Posted

• The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook)
• The Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson (from deep in TBR mountain)
• The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (Audiobook)

• The Engagement Party by Finley Turner (Review copy)
• Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie (Review copy)
• Forgotten Trail by Claire Kells (Review copy)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle (Review, October 24)
• Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty (Review, November 7)

• The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks (Review, January 23)
• Of Hoaxes and Homicides by Anastasia Hastings (Review, January 30)
• A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander (Review, February 20)

• Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver (Review, May 14)
• Don't Ask, Don't Follow by Mary Keliikoa (Review, June 4)

Bought:

• The Serpent on the Crown by Elizabeth Peters (Chirp Audiobook, $4.99)
• Serpent in Paradise by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)
• A Coral Kiss by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)

• The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (Kindle)
• The Desperate Game by Jayne Castle (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)
• The Chilling Deception by Jayne Castle (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)

• The Sinister Touch by Jayne Castle (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)
• The Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle (Kindle copy of a book I own in print)
• Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart (BookBub, $1.99)

What was your week like?

Audiobook Review: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

The Cater Street Hangman
Author: Anne Perry
Narrator: Davina Porter
Series: Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Series (Book 1)
Publication: Recorded Books (March 19, 2009)
Length: 10 hours and 3 minutes

Description: In the debut of the New York Times–bestselling Victorian crime series, Inspector Thomas Pitt seeks an elusive strangler among upper-class British society.

Panic and fear strike the Ellison household when one of their own falls prey to the Cater Street murderer. While Mrs. Ellison and her three daughters are out, their maid becomes the third victim of a killer who strangles young women with cheese wire, leaving their swollen-faced bodies on the dark streets of this genteel neighborhood. Inspector Pitt, assigned to the case, must break through the walls of upper-class society to get at the truth. His in-depth investigation gradually peels away the proper veneer of the elite world, exposing secrets and desires until suspicion becomes more frightening than truth. Outspoken Charlotte Ellison, struggling to remain within the confining boundaries of Victorian manners, has no trouble expressing herself to the irritating policeman. As their relationship shifts from antagonistic sparring to a romantic connection, the socially mismatched pair must solve the mystery before the hangman strikes again.

Rich with authentic period details and blending suspenseful mystery with a budding romance between Inspector Pitt and Charlotte Ellison, The Cater Street Hangman launched the long-running series by Edgar Award–winning author Anne Perry, with recent titles including The Angel Court Affair and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. Also the creator of the William Monk Novels, Perry has become one of the great names in detective fiction. As the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Pitt’s compassion and Charlotte’s cleverness make them compatible sleuths, as well as extremely congenial characters. . . Perry has the gift of making [the Victorian era] seem immediate and very much alive.”

My Thoughts: Inspector Thomas Pitt is assigned the case of the Cater Street Hangman. After two housemaids and a gentlewoman of the area are found garroted on Cater Street, Inspector Pitt has to interview the upper middle-class residents of the street.

Miss Charlotte Ellison and her family are residents. In her Victorian household, it is her father who makes the rules. One of his rules that his daughters not read the newspapers as the news is too unpleasant for ladies. Charlotte has taken to sneaking the newspapers from the butler's pantry so that she can find out what is happening. While outwardly obedient, she sometimes rebels against the constraints of her life. 

Charlotte has an older sister Sarah who is married to a man Charlotte has fancied herself in love with since he first began courting her sister. She also has a younger sister named Emily who is determined to marry a man with a title. However, he has a reputation as a rogue and a gambler which makes Charlotte fear for her sister's future and reputation. 

With an unknown killer stalking the neighborhood, suspicions begin to grow and they grow in Charlotte's house too. She wonders and fears that either her father or her brother-in-law could be the murderer. And she is not alone in her fears or suspicions. Her mother and her sisters share them. Both her mother and her sister Sarah begin to question how much they really know about the lives of the men they married. 

Meanwhile, Pitt is visiting and questioning both Charlotte's father and brother-in-law and interviewing the servants too. During his frequent visits, he and Charlotte come to know and admire each other. But there seems to be little future for the two of them since he is not of her social class. 

The story was filled with Victorian details and attitudes complete with a double standard regarding what men and women are allowed to do. Secrets exposed threaten the futures of her mother's and her sister's marriages. But then Sarah becomes another victim of the Hangman.

This was an entertaining mystery filled with vivid characters. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The Friday 56 is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including them.

Beginning:

Charlotte Ellison stood in the centre of the withdrawing room, the newspaper in her hand. Her father had been very lax in leaving it on the side table. He disapproved of her reading such things, preferring to tell her such matters of interest as he felt suitable for young ladies to know. And this excluded all scandal, personal or political, all matters of a controversial nature, and naturally all crime of any sort: in fact just about everything that was interesting!

Friday 56:

A month later the whole event was only and embarrassing memory. Charlotte was delighted to have been prohibited from attending and had agreed, as fervently as politic, that she might well say something to cause ill-feeling--inadvertently, of course.

This week I am spotlighting the first book in a series that has reached 32 books. The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry begins the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Series of historical mysteries. The Kindle book was a Kindle Daily Deal and the audiobook was available through Audible Plus so I decided to give a new-to-me series a try. Here is the description from Amazon:

In the debut of the New York Times–bestselling Victorian crime series, Inspector Thomas Pitt seeks an elusive strangler among upper-class British society.

Panic and fear strike the Ellison household when one of their own falls prey to the Cater Street murderer. While Mrs. Ellison and her three daughters are out, their maid becomes the third victim of a killer who strangles young women with cheese wire, leaving their swollen-faced bodies on the dark streets of this genteel neighborhood. Inspector Pitt, assigned to the case, must break through the walls of upper-class society to get at the truth. His in-depth investigation gradually peels away the proper veneer of the elite world, exposing secrets and desires until suspicion becomes more frightening than truth. Outspoken Charlotte Ellison, struggling to remain within the confining boundaries of Victorian manners, has no trouble expressing herself to the irritating policeman. As their relationship shifts from antagonistic sparring to a romantic connection, the socially mismatched pair must solve the mystery before the hangman strikes again.

Rich with authentic period details and blending suspenseful mystery with a budding romance between Inspector Pitt and Charlotte Ellison, The Cater Street Hangman launched the long-running series by Edgar Award–winning author Anne Perry, with recent titles including The Angel Court Affair and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. Also the creator of the William Monk Novels, Perry has become one of the great names in detective fiction. As the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Pitt’s compassion and Charlotte’s cleverness make them compatible sleuths, as well as extremely congenial characters. . . Perry has the gift of making [the Victorian era] seem immediate and very much alive.”

ARC Review: Blood Sisters by Vanessa Little

Blood Sisters
Author: Vanessa Little
Publication: Berkley (October 31, 2023)

Description: A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister.

There are secrets in the land.

As an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own.

While Syd is dedicated to her job, she’s haunted by a night of violence she barely escaped in her Oklahoma hometown fifteen years ago. Though she swore she’d never go back, the past comes calling.

When a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, just as her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she must return home. She refuses to let her sister's disappearance, or the remains, go ignored—as so often happens in cases of missing Native women.

But not everyone is glad to have Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. Still, the deeper Syd digs, the more she uncovers about a string of missing indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face—not even Syd.

The truth will be unearthed.

My Thoughts: This historical mystery is set in 2008. Syd Walker is an archaeologist for the BIA. She's sent home to Oklahoma when a skull is found on the land where a terrible tragedy occurred when she was young. The skull has one of Syd's old IDs in its teeth.

Syd has a number of issues. Her wife has just become pregnant, and Syd is conflicted about being a parent. She also doesn't want to go back to Oklahoma which was the site of her worst experience. But her sister Emma Lou has disappeared. Syd fears that she is using drugs again and that is why she left. She has been an addict off-and-on since she and Syd survived a home invasion that killed their best friend and her parents. But everyone insists that she wasn't using again. 

Syd finds herself looking for her sister and trying to find out who sent the message with the skull to her. And who is leaving her cryptic clues saying "Find me." And everyone seems to be keeping secrets. 

This mystery hits a lot of key notes: missing indigenous women, an area filled with poverty and drugs, and the results of lead pollution after mining is stopped. And through it all is the role of the BIA who is Syd's employer.

This was an excellent story about a woman almost consumed by survivor guilt who manages to finally come to terms with what she did. The story was packed with action and danger and even included a tornado. 

I enjoyed this story and will be looking for more about Syd Walker.

Favorite Quote:

"You should get paid for the land, finally, and be compensated for the pollutions and remediation."

"How about an ass like JLo while we're dreaming," she says with a snort. 

"I'm not joking, Aunt Missy. It's not right."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Forgotten Trail by Claire Kells

Forgotten Trail
Author: Claire Kells
Series: A National Parks Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (November 7, 2023)

Description: In this third installment of Claire Kells’s thrilling National Park mystery series, Investigative Services Branch agent Felicity Harland ventures through volcanic wilderness to investigate a murder at a new hike-in lodge at Pinnacles National Park.

When a guest turns up dead at the newly opened Pinnacles Grand Hotel, ISB agent Felicity Harland finds herself summoned to a peculiar scene. A gentle breeze blows in from the balcony window, belying the violence of a man stabbed to death in his hotel room. It’s clear to Harland that this murder was personal, especially when the victim’s wife admits that she wanted him dead.

But Harland isn’t so sure that this was a domestic dispute gone bad. When she hears about the Park Service searching for a missing person out on the trails, she sets out with her partner, Ferdinand “Hux” Huxley, to see if the two cases are connected.

As Harland and Hux take on the rocky, exposed terrain of California’s ancient volcanic wonderland, they soon realize that the mystery at the Pinnacles Grand is not at all what it seems—and that a predator may be closing in.

My Thoughts: ISB Agent Felicity Harland is busy working on cold cases when she is called to the new Pinnacles Grand Hotel recently opened in Pinnacles National Park. A body has been found in one of the guest suites during Grand Opening week.

It is a 4.5-mile hike to the hotel. Harland meets her partner Hux there and the two begin their investigation. The FBI should be involved but a credible terrorist threat at the airport in San Francisco is keeping every agent busy. The case looks open-and-shut. After all, the estranged wife was found standing over the body. However, nothing is as it looks at first glance.

The victim - Chris Denton - checked into the resort with a woman who was not his wife. His wife's private investigator told her about the rendezvous, and she decided to confront him. She claims that she didn't kill him but found him in his hotel room. And the woman he checked in with is missing. Nothing is left of her in the hotel room.

But the murder isn't the only case in the park. A woman's dress shoe has been found on a trail with no sign of the woman. Harland and Hux find a driver's license stuck in a tree outside the suite where the body was found. It says Aria Privar who might be the missing person in the murder and who might also be the owner of the shoe in the park. 

As Harland and Hux try to unravel this complicated case, they find hints that it might be related to a suspected murder-suicide that took place in the park back in 1994. 

This was an engaging mystery. It is the third in a series. I enjoyed getting to know more about Harland in this episode and am curious to know where her relationship with Hux will go. 

Favorite Quote:

For the most part, it was common for law enforcement agencies to engage in turf ward, but the "open-and-shut" cases tended to te especially popular. Everyone wanted to tell their superior they'd closed a case and added it to their clearance record.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Engagement Party by Finley Turner

The Engagement Party
Author: Finley Turner
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (November 7, 2023)

Description: A lavish engagement party turns deadly and the bride-to-be is the primary suspect in this heart-stopping thriller exploring the dark underbelly of the uber wealthy and just how far people will go for revenge, in the vein of Sarah Pinborough and Ruth Ware.

Kass Baptiste is newly engaged to her fiancé Murray Sedgemont after a whirlwind romance. Before they even get to share the news, an invitation arrives via messenger - to an engagement party hosted by Murray’s parents. When Kass and Murray arrive at the Sedgemont Estate, she is astonished to learn that Murray’s family is one of the most powerful families in North Carolina. As Kass’s future mother-in-law, Beatrice, whips herself into a frenzy over the perfect party for the state’s elite, Kass begins to receive anonymous threatening social media messages.

On the night of the event, as champagne is popped and the celebrations begin, a body is found in the lavish home. All eyes are on Kass, the interloper amongst the rich and powerful guests. Over the course of the party , Kass’s dark past unexpectedly becomes intertwined with the murder, and in order to prove her innocence, she must finally come to terms with her secrets.

As Murray’s family secrets are revealed, Kass must prove herself innocent while evading the anonymous threats that haunt her every move.

My Thoughts: Kass Baptiste has just become engaged to Murray Sedgemont after a whirlwind courtship and will now learn some of the secrets he has been hiding at an engagement party thrown by his parents at their magnificent estate.

After graduating from NYU, Kass is working in her dream job as a set designer for plays. Murray runs an art gallery. But both of them are hiding secrets from their past that are exposed at the lavish party which also includes a murder.

The story is told from Kass's point of view and depicts a woman who is a fish out of water in the world of the uber rich. Her trip to Murray's family home in North Carolina exposes her to a side of her fiancé that had never seen before and wasn't at all sure that she liked. She also dislikes his parents. His ineffectual father and barracuda mother make no effort to welcome her, and his twin brothers are really, really creepy. 

When the man who was in line to take over the family business is murdered at the party, it seems someone is trying to frame Kass for the crime. An old enemy from her troubled past has finally seen an opportunity to get the revenge he has wanted for years.

The story was almost claustrophobic centered as it was on what Kass saw and knew. I liked Kass who finally managed to come to terms with her past and plan for her future. 

The descriptions of the characters and the home which included secret passages were vivid and eerie. Fans of domestic thrillers will enjoy this one.

Favorite Quote:

I lifted my drink in thanks and turned back to the crowd of people. I took a deep breath, holding it full in my chest before taking a gulp of my drink. I exhaled the fumes after I swallowed. It seemed like a crime to drink such an expensive bourbon so quickly, but it was my silent middle finger to Beatrice and everyone here who had given me a sideways glance tonight.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters

The Hippopotamus Pool
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Series: Amelia Peabody (Book 8)
Publication: Recorded Books (May 15, 2007)
Length: 14 hours and 29 minutes

Description: Is the Hippopotamus Pool a legend? Or Amelia's nemesis!

A masked stranger offers to reveal an Egyptian queens' lost tomb - and Amelia Peabody and her irascible archaeologist husband Emerson are intrigued, to say the least. When the guide mysteriously disappears before he can tell them his secret, the Peabody-Emersons sail to Thebes to follow his trail, helped - and hampered - by their teenage son Rameses, and beautiful ward Nefret. Before the sands of time shift very far, all of them will be risking their lives foiling murderers, kidnappers, grave robbers, and ancient curses. off once again on a rollicking adventure involving archaeology, murderers, kidnappers, grave robbers and ancient curses.

And the hippopotamus Pool? It's a legend of war and wits that Amelia is translating, one that alerts her to a hippo of a different type - a nefarious, overweight art dealer who is on course to become her new arch-enemy!

My Thoughts: This eighth in the Amelia Peabody series takes place in 1900. Amelia, Emerson, and their children Ramses and Nefret are in Egypt hunting for a queen's tomb. But they are not the only ones on the trail. Not one, but two sets of villains have plans for the Emersons. 

When a mysterious stranger invades their hotel room and offers to give them directions to a tomb not yet discovered and then disappears, the Emerson are off to Thebes. There they discover a villain creating forgeries and his apprentice who is Abdullah's grandson David. They rescue David from the forger and Ramses becomes his blood brother. Emerson is less eager to trust the young boy.

Walter and Evelyn Emerson also join them in Egypt once the tomb has been discovered. Evelyn has been in a state of depression since the death of one of young children and Emerson is hoping that the work in Egypt will help her out of it. Evelyn and Walter are estranged when the story begins but through the story, she exposes depths of character that Amelia wasn't aware of when she takes part in Amelia's adventures.

With both Ramses and Nefret kidnapped in this adventure - though by two different sets of villains -- the action is fast-paced and furious in this story. The descriptions of the search for the lost tomb and the treasures they find within it was also engrossing. 

This was another excellent entry into the series as Amelia's voice and viewpoint are always entertaining.

I got this one via Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

Vicious Circle
Author: Linda Robertson
Publication: Pocket Books (June 11, 2009)

Description: This exciting urban fantasy debut mixes a modern-day witch with a rock’n’roll werewolf boyfriend, pitted against a powerful vampire!

A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do...

Being a witch doesn't pay the bills, but Persephone Alcmedi gets by between reading Tarot cards, writing her syndicated newspaper column, and kenneling werewolves in the basement when the moon is full—even if witches aren't supposed to mingle with wolves. She really reaches the end of her leash, though, when her grandmother gets kicked out of the nursing home and Seph finds herself in the doghouse about some things she's written. Then her werewolf friend Lorrie is murdered...and the high priestess of an important coven offers Seph big money to destroy the killer, a powerful vampire named Goliath Kline. Seph is a tough girl, but this time she bites off more than she can chew. She needs a little help from her friends—werewolf friends. One of those friends, Johnny, the motorcycle-riding lead singer for the techno-metal-Goth band Lycanthropia, has a crush on her. And while Seph has always been on edge around this 6'2" leather-clad hunk, she's starting to realize that although their attraction may be dangerous, nothing could be as lethal as the showdown that awaits them.

My Thoughts: Persephone Alcmedi's life is changing. She's always been a witch who keeps under the radar. She makes her living reading tarot cards, writing a syndicated newspaper column about werewolves, and kenneling werewolves in her basement during the full moon. But now, the grandmother who raised her has been kicked out of her nursing home and moved in with her and one of her werewolf friends is murdered leaving a nine-year-old daughter.

Seph is hired by the head of the local coven to take out Lorrie's killer which goes against the Rede but is not new to Seph. She accidentally caused the death of her friend Lorrie's stalker. She's offered big money which would certainly come in useful but, then she finds out that the killer is a vampire who is way out of her league.

When another werewolf friend is attacked for trying to find information on the vampire, she and her other werewolf friends bring her home since human hospitals are very prejudiced against the weres. Seph needs to perform a difficult ceremony in order to heal her friend which, among other difficulties, means that she has to invite a couple of vampires into her home. 

Seph also finds out that she is The Lustrata - the one destined to unite the humans, witches, weres and vampires. This is a responsibility she has never wanted and will require many changes in her life. 

The world building was engaging in this story. The fact that the paranormals have come out of hiding and that humans are not very accepting and in fact are completely hostile is a central point of the story. 

I enjoyed this book which is the first of a series. 

Favorite Quote:

Nana followed me. "What is wrong with you?"

"I feel like I'm playing some nightmarish game of tag. Everyone keeps telling me I'm it and nothing can undo the fact. I don't want to be it. Being it scares me."

I bought this one August 5, 2009. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (October 23, 2023)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was another quiet week. It has been mostly cloudy and rainy this past week which isn't good for making solar power to bank for the snowy months. The forecast is saying that we might receive our first measurable snowfall this coming week. I'm hoping they are wrong. 

My brother took a sick day this week when a cold kept him up and coughing all night. It was his first sick day since his open-heart surgery in September 2019. He had a yen for minestrone soup which had me going to the grocery store to get the ingredients we didn't already have in our well-stocked pantry (fresh zucchini and refrigerated three-cheese tortellini) and then acting as his sous chef as we put the recipe together. He has been kind enough to share his cold with me too and just when I had finally gotten rid of my cough.

I've been watching The Voice and the baseball playoffs which should be concluded in the next couple of days. Otherwise, I've been doing reading and listening. I finished three audiobooks this week and five that I read with my eyes. Four of last week's books were review copies being released November 14 and November 21. I also read two books - one with my eyes and the other as an Audible Plus title - that I've had since 2009.

Next week's reading is all review books. I should finish up November releases and start on the stack I have that are releasing on December 5. I'll likely slide in at least one audiobook too. These reviews will also finish my November calendar which means I need to spend some time this week preparing posts for my December calendar. 

I had a good week for adding books to my stack too. I was approved for six new titles from NetGalley including The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz and The Lantern's Dance by Laurie R. King which I am especially eager to read. BookBub and Chirp also had deals that were too good for me to pass up this week. And Jayne Ann Krentz's newsletter made me want to get three of her older futuristic titles on Kindle even though I already have and have read these same books in print copies on my keeper shelves. I found that I already had one of the three on Kindle and just added the other two. One of them had an audiobook that I could add for $1.99 too. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower (Review; November 14) -- The second Emily Dickinson mystery as told by her maid Willa. Entertaining historical mystery. My review will be posted on November 11.
• The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell (Review; November 21) -- First in a new series starring a detective who needs to work among the rich and aimless to solve the murder of a party girl. My review will be posted on November 15.
• Show No Mercy by Cindy Gerard (Mine since 7/19/2009; Audible Plus title) -- This contemporary romantic suspense stars a reporter who has lost her nerve and a security expert who wants to keep her alive without falling in love with her. My review will be posted on November 18.

• There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh (Review; November 21) -- This twisty locked room thriller was entertaining. My review will be posted on November 14.
• Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry (Mine since 7/17/2009 when it was free for my Kindle) -- This clean Christian Romantic Suspense story was an entertaining story. My review will be posted on November 21.
• Inheritance by Nora Roberts (Review; November 21) -- Start of a new trilogy filled with ghosts and wonderful characters. The only flaw is that so much is left unresolved at the end of the story. My review will be posted on November 16.

• Found Object by Anne Frasier (Mine since February; Audiobook) -- Contemporary thriller in which an investigate reporter goes home to Savannah to write a puff piece and finds herself solving her mother's brutal murder. My review will be posted on November 25.
• Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb (Mine; Audiobook) -- Reread of an early In Death episode since it is being talked about on Facebook's In Death Universe's discussion group. I most recently reread this one last February and don't plan a formal review. 

Currently

• Dog Tags by David Rosenfelt (Mine) -- Catching up on the Andy Carpenter series
• Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews (Mine; Audiobook) -- Chipping away at the Meg Langslow series
• The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor (Review; November 28) -- Slowly reading this review copy which is much too meta for my tastes

Next Week

• Road Queens by MaryJanice Davidson (Review; November 28)
• Lost Hours by Paige Shelton (Review; December 5)
• The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson (Review; December 5)

• Death by Demo by Callie Carpenter (Review; December 5)
• The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong (Review; December 5)
• The Buried Hours by R. S. Grant (Review; December 5)

Reviews Posted

• The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths (Audiobook)
• The Snake, the Crocodile & the Dog by Elizabeth Peters (Audiobook)
• The Fatal Folio by Elizabeth Penney (Review copy)

• Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly (Review copy)
• Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa (Review copy)
• The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin (Review copy)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 9)
• Northwoods by Amy Pease (January 9)
• The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews (January 16)

• The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller (February 6)
• The Lantern's Dance by Laurie R. King (February 13)
• The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs (March 19)

Bought:

• Agents of the Crown by Lindsay Buroker (BookBub; $.99)
• A Samantha True Mystery by Kristi Rose (BookBub; $.99)

• Spock's World by Diane Duane (BookBub; $.99)
• Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle; $1.99 after Kindle Rewards)
• Shield's Lady by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle & $1.99 Audiobook)

• Immortal in Death by J. D. Robb (Chirp Audiobook; $4.99)
• Rapture in Death by J. D. Robb (Chirp Audiobook; $4.99)
• Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook; Whispersync)

What was your week like?