Sunday, July 31, 2016

Books Read - July 2016

Allende, Isabel
  • Ripper *****
Fiction.  Amanda Martín is the gamesmaster of an online sleuthing club known as Ripper.  The members of the group use their sleuthing skills to solve murders.  Their current case is a group of murders taking place in San Francisco, where Amanda lives with her mother and grandfather.  Ripper must use all of their resources when the danger becomes all too real and all too close for comfort.

Blackwell, Juliet
  • A Toxic Trousseau *****
Fiction.  Eighth in the Witchcraft Mystery paranormal cozy series.  Oscar has gotten into trouble, and Lily has been served with a summons.  When she visits the woman who is suing her, she finds her dead and a cursed trousseau nearby.

Blake, Deborah
  • The Witch’s Broom *****
Non-fiction.  Lore, rituals, crafting ideas on making and using a witch’s broom.

Carr-Gorm, Phillip
  • DruidCraft ****
Non-fiction.  The blending of Wicca and Druidry creates an interesting spiritual/magickal path.

Dolan, John
  • Everyone Burns ****
Fiction.  First in the Time, Blood, and Karma mystery series. David Braddock has hidden secrets of his own, as he plies his trade of private detective/psychologist on the Thai island of Samui.  Asked by the police chief to assist in investigating two murders, he finds that several of his cases are tied into that case, and he walks a narrow line as his personal and professional lives come together.

Gaiman, Neil
  • The American Gods ****
Fiction.  Shadow is released from jail to find that his wife has been killed in an auto accident.  At loose ends, he accepts a job  with a mysterious Mr. Wednesday, which leads him on a fantastical journey that ends in a battle between the old gods and the new.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Fury Rising *****
Fiction.  First in the Fury Unbound post-apocalyptic series set in Seattle.  Fury, a minor goddess attached to Hecate, is charged with finding  the Thunderstrike, a powerful weapon that can be used to wreak weather magic across the land.  Along with her two friends, Jason and Tam, Fury goes underground in order to locate the instrument.

Herr, Michael A.
  • The Old Queen’s Murder ****
Fiction.  Second in the Kohala Coast mystery series.  A serial killer is on the loose, and he’s come  to the Queen’s Beach and Resort to stalk his next victim.  On a visit to the Pono Family Hale for the luau, he finds the perfect person.

  • The Old Queen’s Treasure ****
Fiction.  Third in the Kohala Coast mystery series.  An archaeological team comes to the Big Island to recover some ancient bones found in a construction site, but greed takes place when an earthquake opens a lava tubes and the treasures that have ben hidden for hundreds of years.

Hilderbrand, Elin
  • The Island ****
Fiction.  Women’s fiction about four women who spend a month on Tuckernuck Island to recuperate from the chaos of their lives.

LaManna, Gina
  • Hex on the Beach ****
Fiction.  First in the Magic & Mixology paranormal cozy mystery series set on The Isle, which is located in Lake Superior.  Lily is preparing for the biggest presentation of her career, when everything begins to go wrong.  After losing her job, she stops off at the local bar to soothe her woes, when two very strange women appear claiming to be her aunts.  Against her better judgment, she accompanies them on a trip that will change her life.

  • Witchy Sour *****
Fiction.  Second in the Magic & Mixology paranormal cozy mystery series.  Lily’s magickal grimoire, the Manual of Mixology, has been stolen from her shop without setting off any of the numerous alarms and spells cast on the safe.  Poppy is in dire need of her Vamp’s Vitamins, but the one ingredient Lily hasn’t been able to find is located deep in The Forest, forcing her to head out alone into the dangerous quadrant of The Isle.

Myers, Tim
  • Reservations for Murder *
Fiction.  Second in the Lighthouse Inn series.  Alex owns the inn and has agreed to let Shantara host her craft fair on the grounds.  His maid, Elise, leaves for a family emergency, leaving Alex to take care of all the chores.  On the first day of the  fair, one of the blacksmiths is murdered, and Alex decides to do some sleuthing on his own to find the murderer.

Ness, Patrick
  • A Monster Calls ****
Fiction.  Poignant tale of a boy whose mother is ill with cancer, and how a monster helps him deal with it.

Rowling, J.K.
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ***
Fiction.  The script of the play production.  Harry and his friends are grown and have children of their own.  Albus Severus Potter is having a rough time at Hogwarts.  He doesn’t seem to be good at anything, and he’s been sorted into the Slytherin house.  There he meets the son of Draco Malfoy, Scorpius, who has troubles of his own.  Everyone believes him to be the true son of Voldemort.    Their adventures endanger everyone around them, and it’s only with love that everything is set right again.

Winspear, Jacqueline
  • Birds of a Feather ****

Fiction.  Second in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series.  Maisie is hired to find a wealthy businessman’s daughter who has runaway.  As Maisie and Billy work on the case, they discover  that it isn’t a simply missing person’s case, but rather a serial killer case, and Maisie must find the missing woman before she becomes the next victim.