2018, it's here and February is gone already. Reading for January and February

Not reading a lot so far this year.  But here's what I have managed.

In January and February

Skeleton God by Eliot Pattison;  An extraordinary mystery. My favorite Chinese detective working in Tibet. (even if he is the only one).  I recommend this series to everyone who enjoys mysteries and the sense of place.  It's almost like reading fantasy because Tibet is so far away and so different from how I live. Shan really stole my heart from the very first book and this is the ninth and there is no let up.

The GateKeeper by Charles Todd; Post WWI detective  Ian Rutledge solving murder cases all over England while fighting his own inner demons.  Good stuff. If you are one to fall in love with a fictional character he'd be high on the list and easy to fall for.  This is the twentieth book in this series, and I pretty much recommend all the books to my mystery reading friends.  WWI and right after has always fascinated me.

The Fever by Megan Abbott:  a really well-done mystery about relationships among teenage girls. A mystery illness that affects many but has its root in one.  Good characterizations.

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff: a book club selection and truly a gem.  I love books about bookstores and books and this one is a classic.

Penny the story of a free soul Bassett Hound by Hal Borland:  Books about dogs, great stuff.  This is about a dog with a free spirit.  Comes and stays and then one day is off to other pastures. 

The Crimes of the Papin Sisters by Amy Delaney fascinating real crime story about people I'd not heard of but are notorious. Short and fact-filled..

I'm not sure how it's December already and I haven't updated since my July reading, So here goes
In August:
Cat Under Fire by Shirley Murphy
Cat on the Edge by Shirley Murphy - both these talking cat mysteries were fun reads.  She has the cat personalities down.

The Body by Richard Ben Sapir.  I kept feeling I'd read this before.  Finding a body that might be Jesus Christ and some of the science and pseudoscience surrounding the possibilities. Was an engrossing read, though like I said it felt overly familiar.

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, I'll read about anything about libraries and bookshops, even if they have a bit of woo-woo in them. But a fun read about setting up shop and trying to keep it going through adversity. 

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron.  And I'll read almost anything about Neanderthals as well, not sure why, but I'm fascinated.  This was a gorgeous story of modern and Neanderthal women.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt. A really good retelling of the Borden murders. Lots of great questions about motives and people.

Glass Houses by Louise Penny.  Undoubtedly the best book I've read so far this year.  Gamache is back and there's a lot going on around him. 

Then in September there was;

 Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves.  No one writes like Ann Cleeves. The characters come across amazingly real. And I do adore Vera. I loved how this story talks about storytelling.

Black and blue by Emma Jameson; #4 in a series.  I do like the real feel of most of the characters and the mysteries are always good.

Red Ribbons by Louise Phillips;  I picked this book up by accident thinking it was another authors.  And ended up loving the writing and the great intricate story.  Fine mystery with great telling.

From the Cradle by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards, Every parent's nightmare.   Well written kidnap story.  

In Praise of Bees by Kristin Gleeson Fascinating historical mystery.

Then there was October

The Blissfully dead by Voss and Edwards.  Intensely written, a fan's nightmare.

Murder of a Cranky Catnapper by Denise Swanson, an unlikely investigation helped by a school psychologist.  Lots of the day to day work, but a good little mystery in it.

Origin by Dan Brown, I'm at a loss for what to say about the book.
I like how Brown writes most of the time, this time it just felt like he was leading us on, trying to build interest, Just FYI it's exactly what you imagine will happen.

And November

Broken Bones by Angela Marsons; Marsons can really write a compelling mystery.  Kim Stone continues to work detective magic on the genre.

The Case of the Screaming Beauty by Alison Golden.  Bed and Breakfast mystery.  Yeah, you'll figure this one out but have fun along the way.

My reading compulsion has slowed with increased time with art and music.  Not that it will continue in that way.

July reading;

Almost caught up, July was a month with a lot of books in it.  The weather was hot so I spent hours indoors reading;

A Place of Safety, by Emma Salisbury.  I love how ES writes.  The characters are just real, This is about a drive by shooting.  It's deeply disturbing, sometimes I don't like the main guy.  But he's a  detective and good at it.  5 stars cause it's a great read.

Did they Really do it; From Lizzie Borden to the 20th Hijacker by Fred Rosen.  I like that the book comes off as a conversation with the reader.  Not the best thing I've read this summer, but worth the time for sure. 3-ish stars

One Thousand White Women; the Journals of Mary Dodd by Jim Fergus.  Life among the native americans.  A very strange tale for sure. Pretty well written, the whole going native thing well handled.  4 stars.

A Little Too Broken by Brad Vance; another animal assistance type story.  Nicely written, dealing with mental and physical issues. 4 stars

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.  Cozy and I really liked it.  About books and likeable (mostly) people.  4 stars

A Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell  What's it like to live in the Country, it's all here and more.  A wonderful read.  5 stars (seriously good read)

Fun and Easy Ukulele Riffs by Andrew McCormick.  fun yes, not always easy.   4 stars

Requiem by Celina Grace;   5 stars.  Well written mystery.  Edgy

Stan and Ollie the roots of comedy by Simon Louvish a good biography of two of the greats of early cinematic comedy. Lots of info. 4 stars

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson;  sortof a reboot Peter Wimsey to the 21st century.  Good mysteries.  Well drawn characters.  People dealing with real situations.  Well written.  5 stars

Blue Murder by Emma Jameson.  See above.

Cat Shout for Joy by Shirley Rousseau Murphy.Yes.  Talking cats.  I liked it.  Cozy.  4 stars

The Girl With No Name; The Incredible True Story of a Girl Raised by Monkeys by Marina Chapman.  Self explanatory, fascinatingly written.  4 stars

The Wonder by JD Beresford written in 1931.  Dealing with someone incredibly different from the norm. Scary stuff, dated prose, but wow good story.

Something Blue by Emma Jameson;  good mystery, I love the whole idea of these detectives. 5 stars

Here we are at June;  I was on vacation, but did some reading.

The Stranger you Know by Jane Casey.  A great mystery by one of the fine writers of today in the genre.  I'm very taken by the way the main characters are drawn.  So very real.

Fragile Cord by Emma Salisbury; this book really gave me pause, good pace, well written, amazing work with how an investigation proceeds. If I recommend one book this month this would be it.

Wonder by RJ Palacio; An extraordinary insightful book on a regular kid who looks a bit different.  Deeply warming

The Underdogs:Children, Dogs and the Power of Unconditional Love by Melissa Fay Greene.  Small stories of people working with assistant dogs.  Interesting stories, well written

Curiousity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly.  Cozy.  I liked the cats a lot.

One Bad Turn by Emma Salisbury.  Well done mystery, a great read.  Consuming.

And then there was May;

Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves; there are few better mystery writers, and this book doesn't change how I feel about Ann Cleeves, she's just one of the best.  Great characters, amazing sense of place and mysteries that don't disappoint.

Two Silent Cries by TN Tarant, a m/m romance mystery thing.  I was reading about assistance dogs and came across this.  Well written.

My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison, a mystery in a medieval Irish town.  Good stuff.

The Silent Twin by Caroline Mitchell freaky good story, about a missing child.

Wasn't a busy month, but the reads weren't bad.

Catching up for April

I'll try to be better at keeping up this blog.  But it's hard to say.

From April the reading list went this way:

Fixin' to Die by Tonya Kappes - this was a good mystery, a little woowoo but not overwelming with it.  I did like the main character, she did come off very real.

The Last Girl by Jane Casey.  Jane Casey's books are very tight well written mysteries.  Her main character is incredibly believable, she gets under your skin and lives there for the length of the story.  Good stuff.

Killing Jane by Stacy Green; another story that will keep you up at night to finish, just in case it remains real in your imagination.  A new Jack the Ripper tale, well done.

Forget Me Not by Fern Michaels. Very Cozy.  An airport read.

Gaudi Afternoon by Barbara Sjoholm I think it was because it was a mystery taking place in Barcelona that I tried this book.  Sort of a gender bending type of mystery. Great pace.

The Finder by JE Loren; an m/m mystery.  I love this sort of naturally supernatural book.  August the main character is so well drawn.  He's not happy with his ability to find people, but he's good at it.

Sister: The War Diary of a Nurse by Helen Dore Boylston.  This was written at the time of the war, so it's daily realism is amazing.  The past has much to teach us and this book is a start.

February Reading.  The month was way too short.

I did some very light and very heavy reading in February.  It's time for me to go through it.

Racing the Dead by Charles Todd. Always well written, I'll read anything by them, but the Ian Rutledge mysteries are my favorite.  Post World War One setting is somehow familiar and yet foreign and Rutledge's PTSD is just so very real.  One of two 5 star books this month, both by Todd.

A Dog's Purpose by Bruce W. Cameron.  I read this because I heard there was a movie coming out and it's been on my TBR file forever.  I loved it, such a sweet story and the point of view was well done.  Not nearly as sad as a lot of doggie tales.

What remains of Me by Alison Gaylin.  Hollywood murder. A good mystery. The protagonist was as confused and confusing as she was meant to be.  Very well written.

The Deadline by Ron Franscell.  Good stuff, a journalist trying to solve whether a man is innocent of a long ago murder.  Nobody wants him to mess with it.

The Obituary by Ron Francell.  Complex.  This guy gets into all kinds of trouble, missing bodies, highway piracy, hacking, lost silver. It all has such a real feel to it.

The Dolphins of Pern by Ann McCaffrey.  I really needed an escape this month and this was it.  I don't remember reading this before, but completely enjoyed it.  Intelligent dolphins that eat thread..what's not to like?

Orphan Number 8 by Kim Van Alkemade; Frightening stuff, a woman remembering her abused childhood meets her abuser years later. There is no remorse, no forgiveness.

A Bird in the Hand by Terry Everitt.  A very short book about art, about the nature of talent and skill.

The Piper by Charles Todd.  Hamish the voice in Rutledge's head when he was still alive before the war, with his own mystery.