Friday, April 15, 2016
Showers of Books Giveaway Hop
Friday Memes: 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now 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.
Beginning:
This week I am spotlighting 'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick. I got this eARC from NetGalley. I have read all of Amanda Quick's books and am always eager to read the next. Here is the description from Amazon:
Beginning:
"I've got to get rid of her, Birch." Nestor Kettering reached for the brandy bottle and refilled his glass.Friday 56 (Location 560 on my Kindle):
"Yes, we understand, dear," Martha said. "One can hardly put an advertisement in the newspapers, can one? Can't have just anyone turning up on your doorstep, demanding to be introduced to other people. Discretion is the key to your business."
Calista Langley operates an exclusive “introduction” agency in Victorian London, catering to respectable ladies and gentlemen who find themselves alone in the world. But now, a dangerously obsessed individual has begun sending her trinkets and gifts suitable only for those in deepest mourning—a black mirror, a funeral wreath, a ring set with black jet stone. Each is engraved with her initials.
Desperate for help and fearing that the police will be of no assistance, Calista turns to Trent Hastings, a reclusive author of popular crime novels. Believing that Calista may be taking advantage of his lonely sister, who has become one of her clients, Trent doesn’t trust her. Scarred by his past, he’s learned to keep his emotions at bay, even as an instant attraction threatens his resolve.
But as Trent and Calista comb through files of rejected clients in hopes of identifying her tormentor, it becomes clear that the danger may be coming from Calista’s own secret past—and that only her death will satisfy the stalker...
Thursday, April 14, 2016
ARC Review: Cold Girl by RM Greenaway
Author: RM Greenaway
Series: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Dundurn (April 19, 2016)
Description: A popular rockabilly singer has vanished in the snowbound Hazeltons of northern B.C. Lead RCMP investigator David Leith and his team work through the possibilities: has she been snatched by the so-called Pickup Killer, or does the answer lie here in the community, somewhere among her reticent fans and friends?
Leith has much to contend with: rough terrain and punishing weather, motel-living and wily witnesses. The local police force is tiny but headstrong, and one young constable seems more hindrance than help — until he wanders straight into the heart of the matter.
The urgency ramps up as one missing woman becomes two, the second barely a ghost passing through. Suspects multiply, but only at the bitter end does Leith discover who is the coldest girl of all.
My Thoughts: RCMP investigator David Leith is called to the Hazeltons in northern British Columbia when a popular young rockabilly singer vanishes. Leith has been working the case of the Pickup Killer for a couple of years and it looks like this disappearance could be another victim. He finds himself working with a small insular team of investigators who might be too familiar with the area and the suspects. The head of the local force has trouble believing that anyone she knows could be involved.
Also posted to the area is Dion who was previously a detective in a more prestigious city until a car accident killed his partner, left Dion in a coma for six days, and has left with with a brain injury. Apparently, no one in his new office read his files because he is thought to be some combination of stupid and incompetent by his supervisor and by Leith. I enjoyed the parts from his point of view which seemed like good descriptions of the issues people with brain injuries suffer. One moment his is bright and insightful and the next he is confused and bewildered. He has useful insights to the case but his reputation and the petty behavior of another officer almost lead to disaster.
This was a gritty police procedural that really showed that police work is a matter of putting together massive amounts of information much of it obtained from people who are lying. I enjoyed the mixed assortment of characters who were witnesses or suspects.
While this story is complete and has a satisfying conclusion, there are still questions I want answered especially about Dion and his past.
Favorite Quote:
Leith thought about murder and its aftermath, all the damage done. There were the victims themselves; that went without saying. Then there were those left behind, their lives forever bent out of shape. The family of the killer, also in tatters. There were the cops, working night and day and getting ulcers. Like himself.I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
ARC Review: Dying for a Taste by Leslie Karst
Author: Leslie Karst
Series: A Sally Solari Mystery
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (April 12, 2016)
Description: After losing her mother to cancer, Sally Solari quits her job as an attorney to help her dad run his old-style Italian eatery in Santa Cruz, California. But managing the front of the house is far from her dream job.
Then in a sudden twist her Aunt Letta is found murdered in her own restaurant, and Sally is the only one who can keep the place running. But when her sous chef is accused of the crime, and she finds herself suddenly short-staffed, Sally must delve into the world of sustainable farming—not to mention a few family secrets--to help him clear his name and catch the true culprit before her timer runs out.
Leslie Karst serves a platter of intrigue in her stirring and satisfying debut Dying for a Taste, which is sure to become a new favorite of food mystery fans.
My Thoughts: Sally Solari joined her father in the family's Italian restaurant in Santa Cruz, California, after her mother died of cancer. Sally had been a corporate lawyer but wasn't happy in that career. Unfortunately, she isn't happy running the front of the house for her father either. When her Aunt Letta is murdered, Sally finds herself investigating the crime.
Sally finds that she has inherited the restaurant from her aunt and, if she wants it to survive, she has to find another suspect than her head chef. The police think he makes the perfect suspect. He was the last to see Letta alive and his favorite chef knife was the murder weapon.
Sally uncovers a number of other possible suspects when she begins to look into her aunt's life. Is it her fiance? Is it the old lover who now supplies produce to the restaurant? Is it someone who wants the restaurant to serve responsibly raised meat? The more Sally investigates, the more suspects she uncovers.
I liked Sally and could understand her search for the career that is right for her. I liked her friendship with her ex-boyfriend. I liked the tangled family relationships in the story. And the recipes at the end of the book sound good too.
Favorite Quote:
My dad does a spaghetti Bolognese at Solari's that's a pretty hot seller, but it's nothing compared to Nonna's Sunday gravy. When I say "gravy," I don't mean the kind you'd serve over fried chicken and mashed potatoes. This is Italian gravy, and Nonna's is the very best there is.I received this one from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Teaser Tuesday: Cold Girl by RM Greenaway
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Teaser (from 10% on my Kindle):
Another photocopy was passed around, a printout of a direct screenshot from an iPhone. Bosko looked it over and then passed it to Leith. The text came from Kiera at 1:26 PM.
Kiera: "Screw U. Find yrsf another lead"
Frank: "WTF? Where RU?"
A popular rockabilly singer has vanished in the snowbound Hazeltons of northern B.C. Lead RCMP investigator David Leith and his team work through the possibilities: has she been snatched by the so-called Pickup Killer, or does the answer lie here in the community, somewhere among her reticent fans and friends?
Leith has much to contend with: rough terrain and punishing weather, motel-living and wily witnesses. The local police force is tiny but headstrong, and one young constable seems more hindrance than help — until he wanders straight into the heart of the matter.
The urgency ramps up as one missing woman becomes two, the second barely a ghost passing through. Suspects multiply, but only at the bitter end does Leith discover who is the coldest girl of all.
Monday, April 11, 2016
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (April 11, 2016)
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.
Other Than Reading...
What a weird weather week! On Friday, we alternated between sunny skies and snow squalls with very limited visibility...and a high temperature of 30 degrees F. I am getting so tired of my winter jacket. At school, we have now entered into seven consecutive 5 day weeks before our next weekday off. There are only 8 weeks of school left.
I'm really getting into the new baseball season and juggling watching games on my computer, watching The Voice on TV, and reading too. Soon, The Voice will be over and I can just split my attention two ways.
Read Last Week
Currently
Next Week
- Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop
- Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
Reviews Posted
- Luck Is No Lady by Amy Sandas
- The Obsession by Nora Roberts
- The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
- The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
- Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris
State of TBR Mountain:
- New in April - 7
- New in 2016 - 108
- Unread April - 5
- Unread 2016 - 67
- Total Unread - 1929
To see what Young Adult books I have been reading and plan to read, check out Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
ARC Review: The Obsession by Nora Roberts
Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: Berkley (April 12, 2016)
Description: “She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.”
Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.
Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
My Thoughts: Eleven-year-old Naomi Bowes followed her father into the woods one late night and walked into a nightmare. Her father had a young woman locked in an underground cellar beside a burnt out cabin. He had raped her and tortured her and would have killed her like he had killed countless others before her if Noami hadn't rescued her and taken her to the sheriff.
That act of courage changed Naomi's life. She and her brother and her mother became almost as notorious as her father. They couldn't escape the media frenzy until her mother's gay brother and his husband swooped in to rescue them. They moved first to Washington, DC, and than later to New York City. Each time Bowes wanted something from prison, the media frenzy kicked in again, and the family moved again. Naomi's mother couldn't deal with the situation and took her own life when Naomi was in high school. Naomi and her brother Mason changed their name to Carson which was their mother's maiden name. But determined reporters kept finding them ... when the tell-all book came out, when the movie was released...
Naomi grew up to become a photographer who traveled almost constantly. She didn't set down any roots or let anyone into her life except her brother and her uncles. But then she arrived in Sunrise Cove on the West Coast and fell in love with an old house that needed major renovation, very reluctantly found herself adopting an abandoned dog, and found a man to love too. Xander Keaton was born and raised in Sunrise Cove, owned his own garage, played in a bar band, and wouldn't let Naomi keep him at a distance.
Only, though Naomi didn't know it, she had attracted a stalker who had followed her to Sunrise Cove and who committed a couple of murders that were eerily like those committed by her father. Her first instinct was to run because that was what she was used to doing. Xander convinced her to make a stand and try to end the problem once and for all.
I loved this story. The relationship between Naomi and Xander was so well written. Neither one of them was looking for love but love had a way of finding them. I loved watching Naomi become part of the Sunrise Cove community and make some good friends. I think that this building of community and connections is a hallmark of Nora Roberts' writing and it is done very well here.
Fans of romantic suspense and Nora's fans won't want to miss this excellent story.
Favorite Quote:
He’d walked up the steps with lilacs in a blue pitcher, set them down unceremoniously. Stolen flowers in an old pitcher, carried in big, callused hands.I got this eARC from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.
And she’d fallen in love.
It couldn’t be that fast. It couldn’t be that simple. It couldn’t be.
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