Monday, May 30, 2016

Books Read - May 2016

Dalai Lama
  • How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life ****
Non-fiction.  Teachings on how to live a meaningful life.

Endo, Shusaku
  • Silence ****
Fiction.  Fictionalized story of a Portuguese priest who travels to Japan to serve the Christians there in the seventeenth century, during a time when the Japanese are trying to get rid of Christians.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Once Upon a Curse *****
Fiction.  Seventeen dark fairytales by seventeen talented authors.

Gauding, Madonna
  • The Meditation Bible *****
Non-fiction.  Introduction to meditation followed by 140 meditations for numerous occasions.

Hunter, Ellen Elizabeth
  • Murder on the Candlelight Tour ***
Fiction.  Ashley Wilkes makes her living as a vintage house renovator.  Her own victorian is being featured on the annual Candlelight Tour in Wilmington, N.C..  After the tour, Ashley hears sounds coming from her library, and finds her good friend and history professor, Binkie, holding the fireplace poker.  At his feet lies a dead body.  She knows he is innocent, but can she prove that to the police when Binkie’s are the only fingerprints on the murder weapon?

Semple, Maria
  • Where’d You Go, Bernadette **

Fiction.  Bee’s mother is having a breakdown, and Bee and her father are trying to save her from herself.  Things don’t go well, and suddenly Bernadette disappears.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Books Read - April 2016

Ash, Maureen
  • Shroud of Dishonour *****
Fiction.  Fifth book in the Templar mysteries set in England.  Sir Bascot de Marins is waiting to deploy to Portugal to fight the Moors, but the Preceptor belays any departures when a harlot is found dead inside the Templar enclave.  With arrows pointing toward a brother Templar as the murderer, the Preceptor asks de Marins for his help in solving the murder.

Berry, Steve
  • The Third Secret *****
Fiction.  Colin Michener is the papal secretary to Clement XV, whom he also counts as a mentor and great friend.  Clement is dealing with some great secrets that can topple or save the Catholic Church, but he needs Colin’s help with seeing that the Church comes through troubling times as a true reflection of God’s plan.

Bevill, C.L.
  • Bubba and the Wacky Wedding Wickedness ****
Fiction.  Bubba and Willodean are getting ready for their wedding.  It seems Miz Demetrice has invited the whole town, as well as agents from the FBI and Homeland Security.  The wedding plans come to a standstill when Bubba finds a dead body in his living room.  And then loses it.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Earthbound *****
Fiction.  Novella in the Otherworld series.  The D’Artigo sisters aren’t faring so well at the YIA, and they’ve been transferred to Earthside to liaise with Chase Johnson who heads up the OIA.  The girls are nervous at traveling to their mother’s home for the first time, and it’s a steep learning curve they face as they learn all about technology and life in Seattle.  Assisting them is Iris Kuusi, a house sprite, who helps them find a new home and gets them settled in their new jobs.  Delilah and Menolly think this might be a vacation for them, but Camille is worried that dark forces might be gathering in their near future.

Glaze, JH
  • The Spirit Box ***
Fiction.  A woman buys an unusual box in Paris and returns to the U.S.  Years later, she has died and left her own antique shop to her son, Walt.  Walt has been having dreams about a particular box, and when he finds it in his mother’s shop, he can’t believe his luck.  When the box begins talking to him, his life changes forever.

Marquis, Melanie
  • Beltane *****
Non-fiction.  Lore, rituals, recipes, and crafts of Beltane.

Miall, Antony, David Milstead
  • The Xenophobe’s Guide to the English **
Non-fiction.  Semi-humourous take on the English and their quirks.

Michie, David
  • The Dalai Lama’s Cat *****
Fiction.  The life of the Dalai Lama’s cat as told by herself.

Randisi, Robert J.
  • Curtains of Blood ****

Fiction.  Bram Stoker is the manager of the famed Lyceum Theatre in London, working closely with his idol, theatre owner Henry Irving, who is starring in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Jack the Ripper has begun his murderous spree in Whitechapel, and the police are working hard to catch him.  Bram is surprised at work when a police detective approaches him to tell him to shut down the play.  It’s possible that the character of Mr. Hyde might be encouraging Jack to continue killing.  Bram is shocked when Henry immediately agrees to close the play, and even more shocked when he realizes that the police suspect Henry of being the murderer.  Jack fascinates Bram who begins hunting for Jack.  Not to capture him, but to find out what makes him want to kill.  Jack is warned that Bram is seeking him and turns the tables on him by hunting Bram.