Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Books Read - August 2020

American Society of Dowsers Dowsing Widens Your World **** Non-fiction. Foundation Course in Dowsing, second version 2020. Berry, Steve & M.J. Rose The House of Long Ago ***** Fiction. Third in the Cassiopeia Vitt thriller series. Cassiopeia travels to her childhood house in Spain in order to ready it for sale, and she invites an art historian friend to come and value the paintings, only to find out they’re copies. In her search to find the originals, she learns a lesson about who her father really was. The Lake of Learning ***** Fiction. Second in the Cassiopeia Vitt thriller series. Digging at the castle uproots a golden box containing an ancient manuscript of the Cathars. This manuscript points to the only volume of Cathar religion in existence, and Cassopeia travels underground to find it. Blackwell, Juliet The Last Curtain Call ***** Fiction. Mel is hired by a consortium to renovate an old theatre, but there are squatters living there that she needs to remove, along with many ghosts. When one of the squatters is found dead, she needs to find the truth, even if it means putting her own life in jeopardy. Charles, Ann The Devil Days In Deadwood ***** Fiction. Eleventh in the Deadwood Humorous paranormal cozy mystery series. Violet and her friends face off against the liderc with the help of Prudence, who has take a shine to Harvey. Doerr, Anthony All The Light We Cannot See **** Fiction. Tale of a blind French girl and a German boy who live through WWII, how they met, and what happened to them. Doidge, Megan Ciana Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic **** Fiction. First in the Dowser urban fantasy series set in Vancouver. Jade is a half-witch who owns a cupcake bakery. She has a foster sister, Sienna, who is also a half-witch. Sienna’s boyfriend is a necromancer, and when Jade is accosted by a vampire and a werewolf who are looking for a killer, Jade believes the killer to be her sister’s boyfriend. Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic ***** Fiction. Jade must face off wit her foster sister, but she can’t do it alone. The Adepts gather on Vancouver Island to fight a horde of demons that Sienna has called forth, and not all of the heroes survive. Trinkets, Treasures and Other Bloody Magic ***** Fiction. Second in the Dowser urban fantasy series. Jade is still conflicted about her foster sister’s death, and she’s still discovering new adaptations to her own magic.When a sorcerer invites her to Portland, the vampire and the werewolves accompany, as does her mother, Scarlett. What she finds there is a horror. Her sister is back, and Jade finds out more about who she is. Garrett, Danielle Bad Ghosts Club **** Fiction. Scarlet is in Seattle to look for houses with her husband, when a ghost appears looking for someone to help her sister. Scar gets drawn into the mystery and stumbles upon a sdangerous ecret society. The Witch is Inn **** Fiction. Holly and her fiancè are planning to open the inn, but a liaison from the SPA is holding them up with his constant demands. When he is found dead on their property, they have to find the killer. Haig, Matt Reasons to Stay Alive *** Non-fiction. Treatise on depression as experienced by the author. Hamilton-Parker, Craig Lucid Dreaming and Dream Recall ***** Non-fiction. Methods of recalling dreams, keeping dream diaries, and learning to lucid dream. Johnson, Robert A. Inner Work ***** Non-fiction. Contacting and communicating with the unconscious through Dream Work and Active Imagination. Kimelman, Emily Blind Vigilance ***** Fiction. A pregnant Sydney wants only to hide away somewhere to work out how she feels about her life, but the threats keep coming, and her friends do what they can to protect her, even if that’s the last thing she wants. MacInerney, Karen A Killer Ending **** Fiction. First in the Snug Harbor cozy mystery series. Max has been divorced for ten months, when she decides to uproot her life and buy a bookshop in a small coastal town in Maine. When she finds a body the day after the grand opening, she becomes one of the main suspects. Neal, Toby Wired Strong ***** Fiction. Twelfth in the Sophie Ang thriller series. Sophie is expecting her second child, but threats from Pim Wat and the Master have her on tenterhooks. Conrad, as the Master’s Number One, must do what he can to protect Sophie and her children, but when he is driven to kill the Master, he takes up the mantle of the new Master, forming a barrier that he nor Sophie can get through. Penny, Louise Fatal Grace ***** Fiction. Second in the Armand Gamache mystery series set in Three Pines, Canada. An unlikable woman has been killed, and Armand’s task is to find her killer, no matter who it might be. Percy, Nigel & Maggie The Dowsing Encyclopedia **** Non-fiction. An encyclopedia about the art of dowsing. Rose, M.J. The Library of Light and Shadow ***** Fiction. Third in the Daughters of La Lune trilogy set in Paris and England. Delphine’s gift is drawing people’s hidden memories, and for this she has become famous. But when one of her drawings results in the death of a man, she refuses to draw any more of them, up until she’s asked to draw a castle that legend says is hiding a long sought-after manuscript. The Secret Language of Stones ***** Fiction. Second in the Daughters of La Lune trilogy set in Paris during WWI. Opaline is a jeweler with a special talent. Using the talisman’s she makes, she can retrieve a dead man’s last wishes for a family member. The Witch of Painted Sorrows ***** Fiction. First in the Daughters of La Lune trilogy set in Paris. Sandrine flees an unhappy marriage in America to travel to Paris and the safety of her grandmother, a grand courtesan. What she finds are family secrets that will take over her life and change it forever. Rowling, J.K. HP and the Deathly Hallows ***** Fiction. Harry and Voldemort face off in their final duel. HP and the Half-Blood Prince ***** Fiction. Harry finds a book of potions that someone has annotated with shortcuts and new spells. It belonged to the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry wonders if that was Voledmort, who has been ramping up his attempts to kill Harry. Dumbledore interferes and pays with his life. HP and the Order of the Phoenix ***** Fiction. Dolores Umbridge is installed as the new headmaster of Hogwarts after the minister of magic refusing to believe Dumbledore or Harry that Voldemort is back. The Weasley twins leave school in a spectacular way. Harry finds his mind invaded by Voldemore, and he and some of the D.A. travel to the Ministry to find a mystery. Schiller, Linda Yael Modern Dreamwork ***** Non-fiction. Combining training in different paths, the author shares her knowledge of dreamwork. Vida, Kezia The Dreaming I **** Non-fiction. Interactive dream journal. Warner, Sylvia Townsend Lolly Willowes **** Fiction. Laura, also known as Aunt Lolly to her relatives, leaves them behind in London to live out her life in a small village in the country far from restrictions placed on women in the 1920’s.

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Books Read - July 2020

Bonewitz, Ronald L.
  • How to Use a Pendulum for Dowsing and Divination ****
Non-fiction.  Introduces using colors when dowsing.

Brown, Elizabeth
  • Dowsing: The Ultimate Guide for the 21st Century *****
Non-fiction.  History, use, science behind dowsing.

Christie, Agatha
  • The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding ****
Fiction.  Short story of a “murder” that takes place in a country house.

  • After the Funeral ****
Fiction.  An elderly man dies, and while there’s no proof, certain of his relatives believe it was murder. Another relative is murdered, and a companion is poisoned. The family’s lawyer seeks out Poirot to help solve the murders.

  • Black Coffee ****
Fiction.  A man dies because of a secret formula he has developed, and Poirot must figure out the guilty party.

  • Cat Among the Pigeons *****
Fiction. Mistresses are being murdered at an exclusive girls’ school, and Poirot is brought in to solve them.

  • The Clocks ****
Fiction.  A secretarial typist goes to an employer’s home for work, only to find a dead man on the floor.  She runs screaming outside into the arms of a man with an unusual job.  He’s there on another case but takes an interest in discovering who the dead man was and who killed him.

  • The Complete Collection of Short Stories: Hercule Poirot *****
Fiction.  Fifty-one short stories involving Hercule Poirot.

  • Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case *****
Fiction.  Poirot and Hastings return to Styles, the site of their first case together.  Crippled, Poirot needs Hastings to be his eyes and ears as they work their way through this last case.

  • Elephants Can Remember ****
Fiction.  Ariadne Oliver is approached at a party by a woman who claims that Ariadne’s goddaughter is about to marry the woman’s son, and the woman has questions about the deaths of the girl’s parents.  Ariadne seeks Poirot’s assistance in looking into the past to solve the case.

  • Hallowe’en Party ****
Fiction.  A child is murdered at a Halloween Party that Mrs. Oliver is attending, and when she asks Poirot for his help, he comes to the rescue.

  • Hickory, Dickory, Dock *****
Fiction.  Young people living in a rooming house, and when things go missing, Miss Lemon asks Poirot to help her sister solve the thefts, but it turns into murder.

  • Labours of Hercules ****
Fiction.  A series of short stories based on the labors of Hercules.

  • Mrs. McGinty’s Dead *****
Fiction.  A charwoman is murdered, and it looks like the guilty party is tired to old crimes.  Poirot must solve the case.

  • Taken at the Flood ****
Fiction.  Members of a family are shattered when the wealthy member dies, leaving behind a new wife and no new will.  Under the law, she retains use of the money for her lifetime, then it will revert back to the old will, to be shared by the family.  But they’re not willing to wait that long.

  • Third Girl ***
Fiction.  A young woman approaches Poirot and tells him she might have murdered someone, but then she runs away, and it is up to him to find her and figure out what’s going on.

Graves, Tom
  • Elements of Pendulum Dowsing **
Non-fiction.  Some information about pendulum dowsing.

Hannah, Sophie
  • Closed Casket ****
Fiction.  Poirot and Catchpool are again on the search for a murderer.

  • The Monogram Murders  ***
Fiction.  Catchpool and Poirot solve the case of three murders in a hotel.

  • The Mystery of the Three Quarters *****
Fiction.  Four people accuse Poirot of sending them letters accusing them of murder, but Poirot must clear his name and find the true killer.

Miller, Hamish
  • The Definitive Wee Book on Dowsing *****
Non-fiction.  Brief book that touches on every aspect of dowsing.

Rowling, J.K.
  • HP and the Goblet of Fire *****
Fiction.  Harry is entered into the Triwizard Competition unexpectedly, and he must complete three tasks in order to vie for champion.

  • HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban *****
Fiction.  Book three in the HP series.  A murderer has escaped from Azkaban Prison and seems to be on his way to kill Harry, but the truth is finally out, and Harry meets his godfather, only to have him ride off into the sunset.

Staffen, Joan Rose 
  • The Book of Pendulum Healing ****
Non-fiction.  Book of charts to use with the pendulum, as well as other healing modalities.

Trump, Mary L.
  • Too Much and Never Enough *****
Non-fiction.  An expose of the family that created Trump and made him the man he is today.

Webster, Richard
  • How to Use a Pendulum *****
Non-fiction.  50 uses for pendulums.

  • Pendulum Magic *****

Non-fiction.  A “how-to” book on using the pendulum, including using it for spiritual issues.

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Books Read - June 2020

Carle-Sanders, Theresa
  • Outlander Kitchen: From the New World and Back Again *****
Non-fiction.  Recipes based on the stories in the Outlander series.

Christie, Agatha
  • The ABC Murders *****
Fiction.  Poirot receives letters that threaten a murder will take place in a particular town, and it takes several deaths before the murderer is discovered.

  • Appointment with Death *****
Fiction.  Poirot is called into a case of suspected murder when the mother of a dysfunctional family is found dead on a trip to Petra.

  • By the Pricking of My Thumbs *****
Fiction.  Tuppence is entranced by a painting of a house that she remembers having seen before, and as she travels the railways in search of this house, she finally finds it just outside a small village.  The house is mysteriously divided into two domiciles, with only one being occupied.  Tuppence has stumbled onto a house in a network used by criminals who will stop at nothing to stop her from finding the truth.

  • Cards on the Table *****
Fiction.  A man is killed at a bridge party, and Hercule Poirot, along with Ariadne Oliver and Battle must solve the murder.

  • Dead Man’s Folly *****
Fiction.  Ariadne Oliver invites Poirot down to Devon to help her with a murder mystery game.  But when the “victim” of the game is found dead, Poirot is at a loss to figure out who killed her.

  • Death in the Clouds *****
Fiction.  While flying from France to England, Poirot suffers from air sickness.  There are eleven passengers in the section of the plane he sits in, and one of them dies of an apparent wasp sting, but a poisoned dart is found on the floor, and Poirot must discover who among the passengers is the murderer.

  • Death on the Nile *****
Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation in Egypt, when he runs into a murder happening on a steamship along the nile.  He knows something will happen and tries to stop a woman from doing evil but fails.

  • Dumb Witness *****
Fiction.  Poirot receives a letter asking for his help, but the author of the letter is dead before he receives it.  Still, he and Hastings travel to Market Basing to find out whether the death was natural, accident, or murder.

  • Evil Under the Sun *****
Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation on an island off the Cornish coast when a femme fatale is murdered, and he must solve the mystery.

  • Five Little Pigs *****
Fiction.  A woman dies in prison, accused of murdering her husband.  Sixteen years later, her daughter hires Poirot to find out the truth.

  • Hercule Poirot’s Christmas *****
Fiction.  En estranged family is brought back together for Christmas, but when the patriarch is murdered, Poirot is brought in to discover who killed him.

  • The Hollow ****
Fiction.  A doctor is found dead, and his wife stands over him holding a gun, but the gun turns out not to be the one used in the killing.  Poirot is involved in bringing justice.

  • The Incredible Theft ***
Fiction.  Military plans have gone missing, and Poirot is brought in to discover the thief.

  • Murder in Mesopotamia *****
Fiction.  A nurse takes a job working on an archaeological dig caring for the leader’s wife, but when the wife is murdered, Hercule Poirot arrives to solve the mystery.

  • The Murder on the Orient Express *****
Fiction.  Hercule Poirot finds a mystery while riding the Orient Express.  A man has been murdered, and there are 12 suspects aboard the train.  When the train is stranded in a snowstorm, Hercule must find the murderer.

  • N or M? *****
Fiction.  Tommy takes a job which puts him in a guesthouse among other tenants. To his surprise, Tuppence has joined him. They’re trying to find out the identities of the mysterious N and M, German spies who are planning an attack on England.

  • One, Two, Buckle My Shoe ***
Fiction.  Poirot goes for his bi-annual dentist visit, but he soon learns that his dentist has committed suicide, something Poirot refuses to believe, and he sets about to prove it was murder.

  • The Pale Horse *****
Fiction.  Mark Easterbrook, author and historian, gets drawn into a multiple murder case involving voodoo and witchcraft, but when he sets a trap to catch the culprits, he finds that a trap has been laid for him.

  • Partners in Crime *****
Fiction.  Short mysteries involving Tommy & Tuppence.

  • The Regatta Mystery *****
Fiction.  Parker Pyne gets involved with the case of a missing diamond.  Several acquaintances are at a dinner, when an expensive diamond goes missing, and only the people at the dinner could have taken it, but after being searched, it is nowhere in the room.

  • Postern of Fate *****
Fiction.  The final Tommy & Tuppence adventure.  T&T are now grandparents and move out to the country to live a quiet and peaceful life.  But Tuppence stumbles across a decades old mystery that puts them both in danger.

  • Sad Cypress *****
Fiction.  A young woman cares for a wealthy elderly woman, but when the old woman has a stroke, her niece and nephew arrive to check on here and to make sure they’re still in the will.  When the woman has a second stroke and dies, Poirot arrives to ensure the right person is found guilty.

  • The Secret Adversary *****
Fiction.  Tommy meets Tuppence, who he met during the war, and they decide to band together and create The Young Adventurers.  Taking an add in the paper, they promise to fulfill a task.  A customer hires them to find a young woman, a Jane Finn, who was given secret documents during the war, but she and the documents have gone missing, and it’s up to the new sleuths to find her.

  • The Three-Act Tragedy *****
Fiction.  Satterthwaite attends a party given by his friend, Carles, during which a vicar is poisoned.  A few months later, Satterthwaite meets up with Charles in Monte Carlo, and while the men are there, they learn of the death by poisoning of another of their friends, They, along with Poirot and a young woman, band together to solve the murders.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Witching Moon *****
Fiction.  Third in the Witching Hour series.  Raven has physically recovered from the torture she went through in the cave, but she still has disabling flashbacks. In trying to assist a ghost on her path to the next journey, she uncovers a deadly horror in an old veteran’s hospital and needs the Wild Hunt’s help in getting rid of it.

Harjo, Joy
  • An American Sunrise *****
Fiction.  A collection of Native American poetry by a Poet Laureate.

Harkness, Deborah
  • The Book of Life *****
Fiction.  Third in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  The twins are born, but Matthew has been captured by Benjamin who wants Diana to bear his child.  Baldwin hands over the key to Diana and acknowledges Matthew as scion of the Bishop-Clairemont family.  Diana goes to Venice to address the Congregation.

  • A Discovery of Witches *****
Fiction.  First in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  College professor, Diana Bishop, settles into New College, Oxford, to continue her research into the history of alchemy. There she meets Matthew Clairmont, also working in research.  Diana is a witch, and Matthew is a vampire, and when they begin a relationship, their lives are in danger, and Diana must try to call an old manuscript from the Bodleian library to keep them safe.

  • Shadow of Night *****
Fiction.  Second in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  Diana and Matthew are in 1590, London, and they’re trying to find the Ashmole 782 manuscript while also trying not to let anyone know about their marriage.  They travel to Sept-Tours and on to Prague when they find out the manuscript is in the hands of Rudolph !!.

  • Time’s Convert *****
Fiction.  Standalone novel in the Discovery of Witches altiverse.  Phoebe becomes a vampire, and Marcus remembers back to his early life before and after being turned.

Hunt, Brenda
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Pendulum Dowsing ****
Non-fiction.  Guide to using a pendulum.

Rowling, J.K.
  • HP and the Chamber of Secrets *****
Fiction.  Second in the HP series.  Harry hears mysterious whispering in the castle. Mrs. Norris and some of the students are found petrified.  It all comes down to a diary of a boy who was once a student at Hogwarts, and Harry must face a basilisk to save a friend.

  • HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone *****

Fiction.  First in the HP series.  A special young boy lives with his Muggle relatives and has a rather miserable life.  But on his 11th birthday, he receives a letter that will change his life.

Monday, June 1, 2020

Books Read - May 2020

Carle-Sanders, Theresa
  • Outlander Kitchen ****
Non-fiction.  Cookbook based on the Outlander series.

Christie, Agatha
  • Lord Edgware Dies ****
Fiction.  Poirot and Hastings must solve the murder of Lord Edgware when his young wife is suspected of the murder, but she can’t have been in two places at once.

  • Mr. Parker Pyne Investigates *****
Fiction.  Collection of short stories manned by Parker Pyne, a retired clerk who solves people’s unhappiness problems.

  • The Mysterious Mr. Quin ****
Fiction. A collection of short stories starring Mr. Satterthwaite and the mysterious Mr. Quin.

  • The Mystery of the Blue Train *****
Fiction.  A woman carrying a fortune in rubies is murdered on a train, and Hercule Poirot is determined to find out who the culprit is.

  • Peril at End House *****
Fiction.  Poirot and Hastings are on the trail of a murderer again when a young woman’s life is in danger.  Or is it?

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Autumn Whispers *****
Fiction.  Telazhar’s sorcerers have sent a sentient storm to destroy Elqaneve, and Delilah and Camille are in the palace when the storm hits.  Iris gives birth to twins, and Sharah has Chase’s baby, but as she must return to Otherworld as the Elfin Queen, Chase must raise Astrid on his own and moves in with Iris and Bruce.

  • Blood Bonds *****
Fiction. The finale.  The sisters and their friends and family face up to Shadow Wing and hope to bring and end to his reign.

  • Blood Wyne *****
Fiction.  Menolly is summoned to attend an event with Roman, the vampire prince, and she needs his help to stop a rogue vampire who has been preying on women.

  • Bone Magic *****
Fiction.  Novel in the Otherworld urban fantasy series.  Camille has married both Morio and Smoky in a Soul Symbiont ceremony, but she has yet to tell Trillion about it.  She, Morio, and Iris travel to visit the king of the unicorns, where Trillion is waiting for them, and they receive more warnings of trouble to come in the form of Stacia Bonecrusher.

  • Courting Darkness *****
Fiction.  Chase goes missing through a portal, and Camille and Delilah go searching for him, but before they can find him, Smoky’s father kidnaps Camille and takes her to his dreyerie in the Northlands.  After suffering his abuse and rape, Camille escapes, which only serves to enrage Hyto even more, and he challenges Smoky and Camille to meet him for a duel.

  • Crimson Veil *****
Fiction.  Menolly leads the team through the sewers below Seattle to find and stop a daemon from killing two innocents and waking an evil demigod.

  • Darkness Raging *****
Fiction.  The battle with Telazhar is ramping up as the ladies are going through changes of their own.  Camille is set to be the Queen of Dusk and Twlight, Menolly and Nerissa are marrying Roman and becoming princesses, and Delilah’s Death Maiden skills are evolving.

  • Harvest Hunting *****
Fiction.  Tenth in the Otherworld series.  Delilah and Chase are finished but will remain friends, but she has a new love entering the picture.  The ladies are fighting Stacia the Bonecruser and her horde of the undead.  Camille’s father breaks her heart when she marries Trillion.

  • Harvest Song *****
Fiction.  When a demon stabs Shade with a soul releasing sword, Shade’s soul leaves his body, and it takes Delilah and three of their family to retrieve his soul.  After the Autumn Lord gives Shade back his Stradolin powers, he and Delilah are finally wed.

  • Haunted Moon *****
Fiction.  Gulalkah is still causing problems, but Camille has to travel to the Netherworld so they can destroy him.  Her powers are growing, and Morio becomes the priest to her priestess, and she learns she will be the Moon Mother’s earthside emissary as the Dark Moon Priestess.

  • Ice Shards *****
Fiction.  Novella about Iris’ past and how she was rejected from the temple of Undutar for killing her beloved, who in turn, tries to kill her.

  • Knight Magic *****
Fiction.  Novella after Moon Shimmers that tells how Camille was able to defeat one of the Fae Lords with the help of her men and to find the last Keraasster Knight, someone she never thought she’d see again.

  • Men of Otherworld: Collection One *****
Fiction. Short stories about the men from the Otherworld series.

  • Men of Otherworld: Collection Two *****
Fiction. Short stories about the men from the Otherworld series.

  • Moon Shimmers *****
Fiction.  Now that the final spirit seal has been found, Camille is on the search for the Keraastar Diamond, a search that takes them to the Nebulveori Mountains.  The women are readying themselves to part company as Camille, her men, and Vanzir, Chase, and Astrid will move to Talamh Lonrach Oll, where she will take on the crown of Queen of Dusk and Twilight and Queen of the Keraastar Knights and Menolly and Nerissa will move into Roman’s mansion as they take their places as princesses of the Vampire Nation.  Delilah, Shade, and Rozurial will remain in the manor with Hanna and Maggie, and Iris and Bruce and their twins will also remain on the property.

  • Otherworld Tales: Collection Two *****
Fiction.  Short stories from the Otherworld series.

  • Panther Prowling *****
Fiction.  A Viking king from the past seeks to reign again, and a necromancer helps him regain his sword.  Once the king can possess a living body, he will come back to life and wreak danger on the city.  Delilah’s Death Maiden skills are growing, and Camille finds out she is destined to be the next Queen of Darkness and Twilight.

  • Priestess Dreaming *****
Fiction.  A great wyrm is waking, and it will take the might of Myrddin to help destroy him.  Camille and some of the others venture into the realm of the Elder Fae to find the cave where Myrddin lies asleep for a thousand years.

  • Shaded Vision *****
Fiction.  Delilah leads in their fight against Van and Jaycee, and find they also have Telazhar and Gulakah to fight once the tregarts are out of the way. But this time they lose the spirit seal.  Isis and Bruce are wed and head off to Ireland to visit his family.  Hanna is stepping up fill Iris’ shoes while she’s away.

  • Shadow Rising *****
Fiction.  Menolly and Nerissa are getting ready for their wedding.  Gulakah has released more ghostly spirits, and the ladies work with both Queen Aeval and the Elder Fae to get rid of them.

  • Tales from Otherworld: Collection One *****
Fiction.  Collection of Otherworld stories. 

Harkness, Deborah
- A Discovery of Witches (reading)

Neal, Toby
  • Wired Ghost ****

Fiction.  Sophie and Jake are on the Big Island looking for a runaway who has taken shelter with her meth dealer boyfriend.  Earthquakes and flowing lava may impede their extraction, but when Sophie and Jake end up in a lava tube with sulphur dioxide gas seeping into the cavern, their lives are at stake.

Friday, May 1, 2020

Books Read - April 2020

Bradbury, Laura
  • My Grape Quebec *****
Non-fiction.  Memoir of Laura’s time attending university in Montreal and Franck moving to Canada to live with her.

Christie, Agatha
  • The Big Four *****
Fiction.  Hastings if back in England, and he and Poirot are drawn into a number of cases dealing with the Big Four, a group of international criminals.

  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd *****
Fiction.  Hercule has retired from the detective business and moved to a village in the country, but when he befriends the local GP, Dr. Sheppard, he gets drawn into another case of murder with very surprising results.

  • The Murder on the Links ****
Fiction.  Third in the Hercule Poirot series.  Hastings meets a young woman on the train from Paris to Calais, and when he meets up with her again in the midst of a murder investigation, he decides to hide her participation in the murder.

  • The Mysterious Affair at Styles ****
Fiction.  First in the Hercule Poirot mystery series.  Hastings is a house guest when the lady of the manor is murdered, and he calls upon his friend Poirot, who happens to be staying nearby, to come solve the case.

  • Poirot’s Early Cases *****
Fiction.  Short stories of Hercule Poirot.

  • While the Light Lasts ****
Fiction.  Short story in the Poirot series.  A wealthy woman discovers her lost love is still alive and thinks about leaving her husband, but the next day her old love is found dead of a suicide.

Dyer, K.C.
  • Finding Fraser ****
Fiction. Emma is an Outlander fan and makes the decision to travel to Scotland in search of her very own Jamie Fraser.  What she finds is her inner Claire.

Gabaldon, Diana
  • The Outlandish Companion I *****
Non-fiction. In which Gabaldon explains her writing process, talks about the first four books, and shares her feelings about the TV series.

  • The Outlandish Companion II *****
Non-fiction. In which Gabaldon discusses books 5-8 and the Lord John Grey books.

  • The Scottish Prisoner *****
Fiction. Novel in the Lord John series.  John finds some papers supporting the theory that Irish Jacobites are still trying to see their king on the throne, and he needs Jamie’s help to stop them.

(w/Tara Bennett)
  • The Making of Outlander: The Series Seasons One & Two *****
Non-fiction.  On the process of creating seasons one and two of Outlander.

= The Making of Outlander: The Series Seasons Three & Four *****
Non-fiction.  On the process of creating seasons three and four of Outlander.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Changeling *****
Fiction.  Third in the Otherworld series.  Delilah is having to face the reality of how their lives have changed, and she takes on additional responsibility by becoming a Death Maiden for the Autumn Lord when Zach asks the girls for their help in saving the Rainier Puma Pride, which is being attacked by werespiders.

  • Darkling *****
Fiction.  Menolly has to face her nemesis, her sire, and fight to gain her freedom from him.

  • Demon Mistress *****
Fiction.  Seventh in the Otherworld series.  Fae and vampire women are disappearing, and the ladies uncover a demonic cult attempting to bring Shadow Wing to Earthside using their horrendous sacrifices._

  • Dragon Wytch *****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Otherworld series.  Camille must keep her word to Smoky and spend time with him in his barrow.  A Rakshasa is in town causing trouble and searching for the third spirit seal. Camille ends up marrying both Smoky and Morio in an attempt to gather their energy to find Trillion, who has gone missing in Otherworld.

  • Etched in Silver *****
Fiction.  First in the Otherworld series.  Camille has been assigned to track down Roche for the YIA, but while looking for him, she runs into Trillian, a Svartan warrior, and a strong attraction is held by both of them.  Her sisters also work for the YIA, but their half-human blood causes problems with their innate talents.

  • Night Huntress *****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Otherworld urban fantasy series.  Delilah is having relationship problems, and when she finds Chase having sex with his ex-girlfriend, she’s not sure whether she wants to see him again.  Trillion is still missing, but the girls are briefly reunited with their father.  Vanzir is proving that he’s loyal to the women when they go up against his former master.

  • The Shadow of Mist *****
Fiction. Novella of Siobhan, a wereseal living in the Puget Sound.  An old enemy, one she’s traveled around the world to escape, has found her and beat up her fiancee. A short story about Maggie, who gets out of her outdoor playpen and finds herself lost and at the hands of a goblin.

  • Sun Broken *****
Fiction.  Eleventh in the Wild Hunt series.  Raven Bonetalker has gone missing, and the team heard about Typhon who is opening to gates to flood the world with his dragons. As the team tries to trace Raven’s whereabouts, Herne’s mother and grandfather arrive to help them.

  • Witchling *****
Fiction.  Second in the Otherworld series.  Camille and her sisters have moved Earthside and are working for the OIA.  Camille works in a bookshop, Delilah is a private detective, and Menolly works at the Wayfarer, a bar that caters to Subs. When three demons arrive searching for the spirit seals, the women are tasked to find Tam Lin, the keeper of the seal, and return him to Otherworld.

Garrett, Danielle
  • Sassy Witch *****
Fiction.  A succubus is loose in Beechwood Harbor, and while Holly is busy running a week of singles’ events, she has to help stop the succubus from killing more men.

MacInerney, Karen
  • Anchored Inn ****
Fiction.  Fourteenth in the Gray Whale Inn cozy mystery series.  A wealthy man comes to the island to search for a sunken U-boat. What they find is the skeleton of a missing teenager.  When a man is found dead near the inn and a friend of Natalie’s is arrested for the murder, she is determined to find the real killer.

  • Lupine Lies ****
Fiction. Thirteenth in the Gray Whale Inn cozy mystery series.  A ruby ring is rumored to have been buried years ago, and people are once again trying to find it.

Pandian, Gigi
  • The Alchemist’s Illusion *****
Fiction.  Fourth in the Accidental Alchemist series.  An art forger is in town, and a local artist has died in mysterious circumstances. Zoe visits his art gallery only to see a picture of someone she knew hundreds of years ago.  The painting calls to her, and she suspects alchemy has a part to play in the mystery.

  • Lost Gargoyle of Paris ****
Fiction.  Fifth in the Accidental Alchemist series.  Zoe takes Dorian to Paris to find out if a recently discovered sketch found in Notre Dame after the great fire is an authentic sketch or a fake.  If real, it could mean certain dark alchemists will be after it.

Troy, Alyn 
  • Lattes and Spirits ***

Fiction.  First in the Welsh Witch cozy mystery series.  April moves to Wales to run a tea/coffeehouse with her aunt and learns that she comes from a magical community. One of her gifts is seeing and communication with ghosts, and when two of them appear needing her help in solving their murders, she’s ready to help.