What I’m Reading – November 2020

What I’m Reading Now:

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay – Found this one browsing the Libby app. Looks interesting.

What I Recently Finished:

Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp – Very enjoyable read!

The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen – I liked the characters, but wasn’t too crazy about the plot.

Being Known by Robin Jones Gunn – I’m not quite the demographic for this series, but it was fairly good anyway.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – Amazing book! Even though I could tell where it was headed fairly early on, I was still entranced by the story and I cried at the ending (which is rare for me).

The Shepherd’s Wife by Angela Elwell Hunt – This was actually better than the first one in the series. I liked it.

The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman – Satisfying read. #35 in the Alex Delaware series.

Your First Step to Celebrate Recovery by John Baker – Easy read about the founding of Celebrate Recovery as well as an overview of the principles and steps.

By John Flanagan

• The Hunters, Brotherband Chronicles #3
• Slaves of Socorro, Brotherband Chronicles #4
• The Missing Prince, The Royal Ranger #4

By Sherryl Woods

• Sea Glass Island, Ocean Breeze #3
• The Inn at Eagle Point, Chesapeake Shores #1
• Isn’t It Rich?, Million Dollar Destinies #1

What I’ve Added to my TBR list:

Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman

Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan

A Picture of Love by Beth Wiseman

Scorpion Mountain by John Flanagan

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton

Did Not Finish:

Memories in the Drift by Melissa Payne

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

What I’m Reading – October 2020

What I’m Reading Now:

The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen – My friend Kim lent me this one. It’s better than I expected.

What I Recently Finished:

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs – Enjoyable read.

Mum & Dad by Joanna Trollope – The latest by one of my favorite authors, this one was pretty good.

Shadows in Death by JD Robb – The newest installment of the futuristic detective series, not as good as some of her others.

Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn – Book 1 of the Haven Makers series, fairly good.

The Outcasts by John Flanagan – Book 1 of the Brotherband Chronicles, really enjoyed it.

The Invaders by John Flanagan – Book 2 of the Brotherband Chronicles, pretty good.

The Sweet Magnolias series by Sherryl Woods – fun romance series.

• Stealing Home
• A Slice of Heaven
• Feels Like Family
• Welcome to Serenity
• Home in Carolina
• Sweet Tea at Sunrise
• Honeysuckle Summer
• Midnight Promises
• Catching Fireflies
• Where Azaleas Bloom
• Swan Point

What I’ve Added to my TBR list:

Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp – from Amazon’s October First Reads

The Hunters by John Flanagan – Book 3 in the Brotherband Chronicles

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg – always love her books

Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber – looks like a cute holiday read

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – getting rave reviews

Did Not Finish:

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer – this is Twilight from Edward’s point of view. I only made it through the first two chapters and just could not get into it.

If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I’m always looking for new recommendations!

4 Detective Novels To Check Out

I have read several mystery/detective novels in the last couple of months. They are definitely a pleasant diversion, so I wanted to share them with you.

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde – Having enjoyed several of Fforde’s Thursday Next books, I was eager to get into this new series about Inspector Jack Spratt, head detective in the Nursery Crimes Division.  This book centers on the investigation into the death of Humpty Dumpty, who has fallen off his favorite place to sit and reflect, the wall in his garden.  But was it an accident, or were more nefarious forces at work?

I will leave that question unanswered so you can discover it on your own.  Suffice it to say, I appreciated the writing style and all of the nursery rhyme references.  However, I’m not sure I will be reading any of the others because, as my friend Melissa and I agreed, once you’ve gotten the joke, you’ve pretty much gotten it.  3 stars.

X by Sue Grafton – This is book #24 in the Kinsey Millhone/Alphabet series; the first one is A is for Alibi, so you can start there if you’re like me and want to read things in order.  Kinsey Millhone is a private investigator in Santa Teresa, California, and a no-nonsense, independent woman who values her few friends highly.  The books, which started coming out in 1982, continue one after the other without any jumps in time between them, so this story takes place in 1989.

I like Kinsey, so I liked this book, although it would have been nice to have something new happen in her personal life.  I won’t get into the plot other than to say it wasn’t the most exciting of her novels.  I’m still looking forward to the final two in the series, though.  3 stars.

Rough Country by John Sandford – This is #3 in the Virgil Flowers series – there are actually 9 out so far, so I still have some catching up to do.  The first book was Dark of the Moon, although Virgil Flowers was actually introduced in Sandford’s Prey series, featuring the character of Lucas Davenport.

In this story, Virgil is called away from his vacation by Lucas to investigate the murder of a woman at a women-only resort in northern Minnesota.  As he delves into the various angles of the case, he uncovers another murder that may be related and begins to think this is a much bigger case than it started out to be.  It was a good story, and I enjoyed the characters as well.  4 stars.

Devoted in Death by J.D. Robb –  This is #41 in one of my favorite series in any genre, the In Death series.  I love Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her charming, good-looking husband Roarke, along with the rest of their friends and associates, and I really enjoy the futuristic setting of mid 21st century New York as well.  Again, if you want to start from the beginning, the first book is Naked in Death.

Devoted begins with the introduction of the villains, who have come from Alabama, and flips between the investigation and their activities as the book continues.  By the time they hit New York, they have left a string of bodies behind them, and it’s only getting worse now that they have settled in to the big city.  But no matter how good they are at concealing themselves and not leaving a trail, they are still no match for Lieutenant Dallas and her gang.  5 stars.