Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Books Read - April 2017

Baugniet, Gail M. 
Dark Paradise ***
Fiction.  Anthology of mysteries set in Hawai’i.

Berry, Steve
The King’s Deception *****
Fiction.  Eleventh book in the Cotton Malone adventure-mystery series.  Cotton has been in Georgia visiting his son Gary and is about to take him home to Copenhagen for the Thanksgiving holiday, when Stephanie Nelle asks him to accompany a British teenager back to London to be turned over to the police.  He has no idea this simple request will put both himself and his son in danger and have international consequences.

The Tudor Plot *****
Fiction.  A novella, the 12th book in the Cotton Malone series that takes place before the series began.  Cotton is still with the Magellan Billet and is working on a trial in London.  A messenger from the Queen comes to escort him to a meeting with the monarch and her husband.  Queen Victoria II is ill, and the entire country is worried about the next in line to the throne, her son Richard.  A playboy who is not interested in becoming king, he’s a pawn in a ruse to place his sister on the throne, after the death of his son.  Cotton must keep the boy safe.

Blake, Deborah
Dangerously Charming *****
Fiction. First in the Broken Riders urban fantasy series.  Mikhail Day, the former White Rider, has hidden himself away at a cabin in the woods hoping to figure out how to heal from the devastating events he and his brothers had gone through.  When a woman knocks on the cabin door, he has no idea that she will change his life forever.

Veiled Menace ****
Fiction.  Second in the Veiled Magic paranormal series.  Donata has been given a new office and additional job assignments, without a raise, however.  A rise in crimes dealing with Paranormals are spreading across the city, as Mother Nature is sending forth all sorts of natural disasters around the world.  Everything is tied to the Pentacle Pentimento painting that Donata came across six months earlier, and when she ignores a Dragon’s plea for help, she signs his death notice.

Blake, Heather
Gone with the Witch ****
Fiction.  Sixth book in the paranormal cozy mystery series set in the Enchanted Village of Salem.  Darcy Merriweather, owner of As You Wish, has been hired to spy on a competitor at the Extravaganza Pet Expo.  Ivy suspects Natasha of harming other contestants in order to win.  But what Darcy sees leads to murder.

The Witch and the Dead ****
Fiction.  Seventh book in the paranormal cozy mystery series.  Darcy is moving out of Aunt Ve’s home and into her newly renovated home two doors down, when a hideous discovery is made in her aunt’s garage.  A skeleton is found behind a stack of boxes, and Aunt Ve is horrified to discover that it is the skeleton of her second husband...and Aunt Ve is a suspect in his death.

Charlton, Karen
The Heiress of Linn Hagh *****
Fiction.  First in the Detective Lavender mystery series set in 1809 England.  Lavender and officer Woods travel to the northeast of England to try to find a missing heiress.  She somehow disappeared from her locked tower room in the middle of the night.  Lavender wonders at first if the gypsies who live in the woods have taken her, but the truth will shock everyone.

Cooperman, Kathy
Crimes Against a Book Club ****
Fiction.  When Annie and Sarah are in need of money, the begin a new business selling facial cream to the wealthy women of La Jolla.  Annie, without telling Sarah, has been adding a little cocaine to each jar just to give their product a little “kick”.  

Kinsey, T.E.
A Quiet Life in the Country ****
Fiction.  First in the Lady Hardcastle cozy mystery series set in England.  Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid, Armstrong, have moved to the country to live a quiet life.  But when the stumble upon a body hanging from a tree, they’re determined to discover who the culprit was.

McRaven, William H.
Make Your Bed *****
Non-fiction.  Admiral McRaven talks about the ten principles he learned in SEAL training, and we can apply it to our lives.

Neal, Toby
Bitter Feast *****
Fiction.  Eleventh book in the Lei Texeira crime series.  Lei is heavily pregnant and out on maternity leave.  Stevens draws a case of a murder at a famous restaurant.  A sous chef has been stabbed in the walk-in refrigerator, and Stevens and Mahoe have to find the murderer.  A tropical storm is on the way, setting up a dangerous situation when Lei goes into labor.

Bone Hook ****
Fiction.  Ninth book in the Lei Texeira crime series.  Lei and Stevens have been married for five years and are busy raising their son.  Stevens has ongoing PTSD and told Lei he signed up to work as a contractor for the military and will be deployed.  She’s enraged but can’t do anything to stop him.  A beautiful young marine biologist is found murdered 90 feet below the sea, and trying to find her murderer helps keep Lei occupied while waiting for Stevens’ return.

Dark Lava *****
Fiction.  Seventh book in the Lei Texeira crime series.  Lei and Stevens are starting out life as a married couple, they’re even trying to get pregnant, when Stevens gets a call from his ex-wife, Anchara, begging him to meet her.  When he arrives, it’s to find her dying of stab wounds and heavily pregnant.  With his child.

Fire Beach *****
Fiction.  Eighth book in the Lei Texeira crime series.  Lei and Stevens are still well-aware of the threat on their lives from the shroud killer, but they’re trying to move forward with their lives.  Lei’s father has moved in with them to act as manny for Kiet, and Jared, Stevens’ brother, has transferred to the Kahului Fire Station from the mainland.  There have been several cane field fires set by arson, but when the arsonist is blackmailed into targeting Lei’s house, things go up in flames.

Red Rain *****
Fiction.  Tenth book in the Lei Texeira crime series set in Hawai’i.  While trying to solve a possible old case, Lei stumbles on a large marijuana-growing enterprises.  Stevens is in Honduras, supposedly to train military investigators, but he is kidnapped and has to fight his way to safety.

Rip Tides ****
Fiction.  Ninth book in the Lei Texeira crime series.  A well-known surfer is killed while surfing, and Lei and Pono have to sort out his complicated love life and figure out who killed the man.

Shattered Palms *****
Fiction.  Sixth in the Lei Texeira crime series set on Mau’i.  Lei is called to investigate a dead body with an arrow in its back located in the wilderness park on Haleakala.  She uncovers a bird poaching scheme and the presence of more than one unknown persons in the park.  

Stolen in Paradise ****
Fiction.  FBI sgent, Marcela Scott, must solve a murder, and the handsome Marcus Kamuela, police detective, is assisting on the case.  Though Marcela has sworn off relationships, she’s intrigued by the detective, who helps her when is in danger.

Unsound ****
Fiction.  Dr. Caprice Wilson has recently gone through a divorce and started drinking.  When she’s told to go to rehab or get fired, she decides to try to fight her problem on her own and spend a week drying out and hiking through the Heleakala crater on Mau’i.  She doesn’t realize that she’s being followed or that her life is in danger.

Orenduff, Michael J.
The Pot Thief Who Studied Billy the Kid ****
Fiction.  Sixth book in the cozy mystery series set in Albuquerque, NM.  Hubie is approached by a man selling a pot he said came from a cliff dwelling.  When Hubie arrives there to see if there are any more pots, he discovers a body that he believes to be of an ancient cliff dweller.  When he suddenly has doubts, he returns to the spot only to discover the body has disappeared.

The Pot Thief Who Studied D.H. Lawrence ****
Fiction.  Fifth book in the cozy mystery series set in New Mexico.  Hubie and Susannah travel to Taos, where Hubie plans to give a lecture on native pots to a group of University donors.  A storm has followed them, and they end up stranded there for the weekend with the other attendees.  When a man is found dead in a chilly bathtub, they consider that maybe it was an accident.  When a second man is found naked in the walk-in freezer, they realize that they’re stranded with a killer.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Escoffier ****
Fiction.  Fourth in the cozy mystery series set in New Mexico.  Hubie is hired by a restaurant owner to design some chargers for the new restaurant.  He had no idea the job would entail so much of his time and energy, nor that it would become deadly.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe ****
Fiction. Seventh book in the cozy mystery series starring Hubie Schuze, the Pot Thief.  A man approaches Hubie to obtain a Tompiro pot for him.  The site is within the White Sands Missile Range, but even that doesn’t stop Hubie.

Painter, Sarah
The Garden of Magic ****
Fiction.  Prequel to The Spells of Language.  Iris is getting older, and her powers are fading.  Her garden is taking over, and she refuses to ask for help.  Bex gets fired from her job as a nanny for stealing something she never stole, and they end up helping each other.

In the Light of What We See ****
Fiction.  A double story told from the POV of Mina and Grace.  Mina has just broken up with her boyfriend, when he causes her to have an accident that ends up with her in a coma.  Grace is a junior nurse just finding her way around the hospital.  When Mina sees Grace’s ghost warning her about Mark, she has no idea that Grace is trying to save her.

Pepper, Angela
Wisteria Witches ****
Fiction.  First in the Wisteria Witches paranormal book series.  Zara and her teenage daughter, Zoey, have moved to Wisteria, where they find some of the townspeople a bit more extraordinary than usual.  They also meet Zara’s aunt, Zinnia, who has family secrets to share.

Robinson, Steve
In the Blood ****
Fiction.  First in the Jefferson Tayte genealogical mystery series.  Jefferson has been hired to trace a family tree, which leads him to England and sends him on a quest to solve a two-hundred year old mystery that just might get him killed.

To The Grave ****
Fiction.  Second in the genealogical mystery series.  Tayte is off to England again in search of information about a client’s birthmother.  A young girl falls in love, but when she is raped and falls pregnant, a series of tragedies follow her.

Stoker, Bram
Famous Imposters **

Non-fiction.  Collection of stories about true imposters through the ages.