Books Read - February 2017

Ash, Maureen

A Deadly Penance ****

Fiction.  Sixth book in the historical mystery series set in the early 1200’s England.  Sir Bascot de Marins is a Templar Knight stationed at Lincoln.  When a man is murdered at the castle, Lady Nicolaa de Hayes and her son, Richard, send for Bascot to help them solve the murder, as he has done in the past.

The Canterbury Murders ****

Fiction.  Seventh book in the historical mystery series set in the early 1200’s England.  Nicolaa de la Haye has been summoned to the king, who is staying in Canterbury.  As the king readies to take a bath, his washerwoman is brutally killed.  When another member of his household is also murdered, he asks Nicolaa if she can ask for permission for Bascot to come and help with the inquiries.

A Holy Vengeance ****

Fiction.  Eighth book in the Bascot de Marins historical mystery series.  A woman travels to a nearby shrine to pray to St. Dunstan that she will be fertile.  Instead of her prayers being answered, a knife slices twice into her back killing her.  Bascot must find her killer.

The Devil’s Companion ****

Fiction.  The story begins in 1087, when a young scribe is sent to court to record the daily lives of young squires.  He tells the tale of Robert fitzHaimo, who grows to become a worthy knight and familiare of King William Rufus of England.

Death Riddle ****

Fiction.  The story begins in 1088 in Rochester, England.  A local pig farmer and a Norman soldier are found murdered at the pig farm.  A young man happens by to check on his friend, the pig farmer, who failed to meet up with him as they had planned.  When he sees the carnage in the shack, he panics and runs out, only to come face to face with two men-at-arms who are searching for the soldier.  Thinking the young man is the murderer, the soldiers chase him.  The young man flees to the sanctuary of the cathedral, and his mother is given 40 days to prove his innocence.

Barrows, Annie & Mary Ann Shaffer

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ****

Fiction.  Story written in letters about a group of people living on Guernsey in the English Channel and their experiences during and after WWII.

Beaton, M.C.

As the Pig Turns ***

Fiction.  Agatha is ticketed by a belligerent police officer, and when she finds him spinning on a spit at the local barbecue, Agatha is surprised to find herself suspect number one.

Hiss and Hers ****

Fiction.  Agatha is always looking for love in the wrong places, and her current idol is the neighborhood gardener, George Marston.  When she finds him dead in a compost heap, she channels her grief into finding his murderer.

Christmas Crumble ***

Fiction.  Agatha hosts a Christmas dinner for some elderly villagers, and things quickly go sour as one of her guests dies.

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead ****

Fiction.  Agatha is hired to ferret out the murderer of a woman from the tiny hamlet of Piddleburt.  Gloria French was well known for borrowing items and never returning them.  She has died of poisoning with elderberry wine.

The Blood of an Englishman ****

Fiction.  Agatha gets talked into attending a local pantomime with Mrs. Bloxby.  Bored at first, but in one of the final scenes, a man is viciously murdered.  For real.  And Agatha must solve the mystery.

Agatha’s First Case ***

Fiction.  Agatha is a young twenty-something and working as a secretary at a PR agency.  Her boss sends her out to meet a client suspected of murder, and Agatha takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and prove his innocence.  In doing so, he sets her up in her own PR agency, and her new career takes off.

Dishing the Dirt ****

Fiction.  A new therapist has moved to Carsley, and she is telling tales about Agatha’s past, that Agatha would like to keep quiet.  After Agatha threatens to kill the woman, she becomes suspect number one when the therapist is found strangled.

Pushing Up Daisies ****

Fiction.  Mrs. Bloxby has a problem and needs Agatha’s help.  Lord Bellington wants to destroy the village gardening allotments to turn them into a housing estate.  Agatha agrees to speak to him and try to convince him not to go through with his plans.  He refuses to change his mind, but when he’s murdered, his son hires Agatha to discover the killer’s identity.

Berry, Steve

The Admiral’s Mark ****

Fiction.  Cotton’s brother-in-law has been killed in a diving accident in Haiti, and his wife asks Cotton to investigate.  

Bevill, C.L.

Forest of Dreams ****

Fiction.  Third book in the Dreams dystopian series.  Lulu is investigating an energy bubble but falls into a trap and is taken prisoner by her worst enemy.  Landers and the others are coming, but they might not there in time.

Gaarder, Jostein

The Christmas Mystery ****

Fiction.  Joachim finds an old Advent calendar in a bookshop, and each day as he opens a door, part of an intriguing story comes to light about a young girl who went missing in 1948 and follows a little lamb on an extraordinary adventure.

Galenorn, Yasmine

Bewitching Bedlam *****

Fiction.  Second book in the urban fantasy series set on Bedlam Island in the San Juans.  Maddy is getting ready to open her bed and breakfast, but when she hears that Aegis’ ex-girlfriend, vampire Rachel, is in town and gunning for her, Maddy has to do whatever she can to stop her.

Hamilton, Lyn

The African Quest ***

Fiction.  Fifth in the Lara McLintock cozy mystery series.  Lara is guiding a tour through Tunisia while search for antiques to furnish a client’s home back in Canada.  When members of her tour group start dying, she has to find the solution.  

Jaffarian, Sue Ann

The Ghosts of Misty Hollow *****

Fiction.  Ninth book in the Granny Apples paranormal cozy mystery series.  Emma and Phil are visiting their friend, Gino, a writer of crime novels, at a lovely vacation rental in the country.  As they arrive, Emma notices a number of ghosts waiting to speak with her.  A century-old mystery awaits her, and in investigating that, she and Phil discover a dead body.

Rhythm & Clues ***

Fiction.  Eleventh book in the Odelia Grey cozy mystery series.  Odelia’s mother asks her to investigate the whereabouts of her neighbor, a musician named Bo Shank, and they, along with Odelia’s niece, Lorraine, embark on an adventure that leads to murder.

Jordan, Lucia

Pleasure **

Fiction.  First in an erotic series about Kelly, an uptight rich CEO, and Levi, a hunky firefighter who saves her life.

Kontis, Alethea

Once Upon a Kiss *****

Fiction.  Anthology of 17 romantic tales based on well-known fairytales.

MacInerney, Karen

Mother Knows Best ****

Fiction.  Second in the Margie Peterson cozy mystery series set in Texas.  Margie is a private investigator who is married to a gay man and is the mother of two young children, one of whom thinks she is a pekingese named Fifi.  Margie and her boss, Peaches, are hired to investigate a possible cheating husband.  Where they follow him to is a strip club, but he’s not there to meet a woman.

Morton, Kate

The House at Riverton ****

Fiction.  Grace Reeves is sent to work at the House at Riverton when she is 14 years old.  Her mother had worked there before her as a lady’s maid.  Grace is introduced to a new world, a hard world in terms of hard work, and a restricted world in which the upstairs doesn’t mix with the downstairs.  But she forges a quiet relationship with the family for whom she works and is privy to their secrets.

Books Read - January 2017

Blake, Deborah

Guide to the Everyday Witch Tarot *****

Non-fiction.  Guidebook to the Everyday Witch Tarot.

Witchcraft on a Shoestring *****

Non-fiction.  Suggestions for practicing Witchcraft on a very small budget, with crafts, recipes, and more.

Dean, Liz

The Ultimate Guide to Tarot *****

Non-fiction.  Encyclopedic information about each card in the Rider-Waite tarot system.

Evanovich, Janet

Turbo Twenty-Three ****

Fiction.  Stephanie investigates an ice cream factory after discovering a body covered in chocolate and nuts.

Galenorn, Yasmine

Tarot Journeys *****

Non-fiction.  A walk through the Major Arcana with meditations for each card.

MacInerney, Karen

Fatal Frost ****

Fiction.  Second in the Dewberry Farm cozy mystery series.  Lucy is struggling to keep her farm going and is happy that her friends are gifting each other homemade items for Christmas  A new church has settled into town, and when one of their young parishioners is murdered, Lucy brings her investigative reporter skills into service in order to save her friend Molly, who is suspected of murder.

Moon, Akasha

The Little Book of Pocket Spells ***

Non-fiction.  Small spells to help in all areas of your life.  Did not like that there were love spells to target specific people.

Morton, Kate

The Lake House *****

Fiction.  Sadie is in trouble with her boss at the CID, and her partner encourages her to take a month off.  Traveling to Cornwall to visit her grandfather, she doesn’t tell him that she’s in disgrace at work due to her obsession with a missing persons case.  While there, she stumbles over a cold case involving the Edavene family, one that began before WWI and ends up in the present time.

Obama, Barack

Words that Changed a Nation *****

Non-fiction.  Some of the most influential and eloquent speeches by President Barack Obama.

Reading Challenges 2017

Total books for the year
Read at least 100 books in 2017

2017 - 346/100 completed

2016 - 136/100 completed

2015 - 276/100 completed

2014 - 206/100 completed

2013 - 134/100 completed

2012 - 104/100 completed

2011 - 156/100 completed

*****

2017 Around the World 13/13 DONE

Read at least one book set in each location

US/Canada: 

U.S. - Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich ****

Central America/Caribbean: 
Haiti - The Admiral's Mark by Steve Berry ****

South America: 
Chile - Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende *****

British Isles/Ireland:
England - The Lake House by Kate Morton *****

Polar Regions/Scandinavia: 
Norway - The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder ****

Western Europe:
France - By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coehlo ****

Eastern Europe: 
Russia - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden *****

Middle East/North Africa:
Tunisia - The African Quest by Lyn Hamilton ***

Sub-Saharan Africa:
Botswana - The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith ***

East Asia:
Japan - Shiju by Laura Joh Rowland *****

South Asia:
Philippines - When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe *****

Australia/Oceania:
Australia - Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood *****

Islands/Bodies of Water:
Guernsey -- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer ****

*****

2017 Non-fiction 11/12

Read at least 12 non-fiction books

1. The Little Book of Pocket Spells by Akasha Moon ***

2. Guide to the Everyday Witch Tarot by Deborah Blake *****

3. The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean *****

4. Tarot Journeys by Yasmine Galenorn *****

5. Witchcraft on a Shoestring by Deborah Blake *****

6. Words that Changed a Nation by Barack Obama *****

7. Famous Imposters by Bram Stoker **

8. Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven *****

9. Writing Mysteries by Sue Grafton *****

10. Writing the Paranormal Novel by Steven Harper *****

11. A Year and A Day of Everyday Witchcraft by Deborah Blake ****

12.

Everyday Witch A to Z by Deborah Blake

Everyday Witch Book of Ritual by Deborah Blake

Circle, Coven & Grove by Deborah Blake

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Writing About Magic by Rayne Hall

*****

2017 Genres 12/12 DONE

Read at least one book in each genre

Mystery/Thriller/Crime - The Lake House by Kate Morton *****

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy - Bewitching Bedlam by Yasmine Galenorn *****

Paranormal - Ghostly Paws by Leighann Hobbs ****

Sci-Fi/High Fantasy - Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance ***

Women’s Fiction - The Secrets of Ghosts by Sarah Painter ***

Historical Fiction - The House at Riverton by Kate Morton ****

Erotic - Pleasure by Lucia Jordan **

Humor - Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich ****

Romance - Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende *****

Non-Fiction - Guide to the Everyday Witch Tarot by Deborah Blake *****

Memoir - Mishap and Mayhem by Bernhard Riegler **

Classics - 1984 by George Orwell *****

*****

Books Read - November 2016

(none)

Books Read - October 2016

Abbott, Victoria

The Hammett Hex ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Book Collector cozy mystery series.  Jordan and Tyler are off on a vacation in San Francisco.  Unbeknownst to Jordan, Tyler has a mission in mind.  He is reconnecting with his long lost grandmother.  While riding on a cable car, someone pushes Jordan out, into the swarm of traffic.

Adams, Ellery

Breach of Crust ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Charmed Pie Shoppe paranormal cozy mysteries.  Ella Mae has lost her magickal powers, but she is still a wonderful pie chef.  She is hired to spend a weekend teaching members of the prestigious Camellia Club how to make pies at the Havenwood Resort, but when members begin dying, she suspects magickal elements are the issue.

Murder in the Paperback Parlor ****

Fiction.  Second in the Storyton Hall cozy mystery series.  Jane is preparing for a week-long event at the Hall.  Romancing the Readers will feature romance writers and events related to romance.  When the most famous of the features authors is found dead. Jane and the Fins seek to help the police solve the murder.

Arlington, Lucy

- Off the Books ***

Fiction.  Fifth in the Inspiration Valley cozy mystery series.  Lila is a literary agent working for a publishing company set in a beautiful valley in the North Carolina mountains.  The entire town has a literary theme and stages many events during the year.  This event is set on brides and weddings, and one of Lila’s new authors will be speaking at her first presentation at the art center.  When notified that the refrigeration in the kitchen has gone off, Lila rushes to check on the situation and finds the handyman face down in a wedding cake.

Charles, Ann

The Rowdy Coyote Rumble ****

Fiction.  Fourth book in the humorous cozy mystery series of Jackrabbit Junction.  The girls are still in danger from a mystery person seeking the diamonds that Ronnie and Claire found a month ago.  Kate is suffering from the crazies of being pregnant with Butch’s baby.  Mac and Claire investigate the Humdigger mine that recently came into ownership by Ruby.

The Wild Turkey Tango ****

Fiction.  A novella in the Jackrabbit Junction cozy series.  The gang is getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, but when the girls attempt to set a live turkey free, they run into all kinds of trouble.

Dams, Jeanne M.

Blood Will Tell ****

Fiction.  17th book in the Dorothy Martin mystery series.  Dorothy’s husband is giving a talk at Cambridge, and Dorothy accompanies him for the week.  While wandering around the campus, she mistakenly enters a zoology lab and spies a large pool of blood on the floor.  She looks up just in time to see the tail end of a lab coat disappearing around the corner, but suddenly afraid, she retreats and runs to find her husband.

Galenorn, Yasmine

Flight from Mayhem *****

Fiction.  Second in the Fly By Night urban fantasy series.  Shimmer, the blue dragon, works for Alex, a vampire who also happens to be her lover.  A serial killer is roaming Seattle killing off Fae and stealing their money.  Chase Johnson, head of the FH-CSI, asks Alex to investigate the killings and to help stop the killer.  Tonya, Shimmer’s witch friend from Port Townsend, flees a stalker and moves in with Shimmer until the stalker can be stopped.

Shadow Silence *****

Fiction.  Second in the Whisper Hollow urban fantasy series.  Kerris Fellwater, the town’s spirit shaman, must save her town from evil influences.  The Hounds are causing problems, and Veronica, Queen of the Unliving, requires her presence at a meeting.  Peggin, Kerris’ best friend is being kicked out of her rental home and decides to move into a rundown Victorian on the shore of the lake, which is much too close to the Lady’s domain to suit Kerris.

Jones, Sarah Marie

Grace-Ella: Spells for Beginners ****

Fiction.  Grace-Ella is nine years old and has just found out she’s a witch.  While she’s never been great in school, she takes naturally to her spellwork with the assistance of Mr. Whiskins, the black cat who came to stay with her.  She takes on the school bully by using a bit of magick and has the time of her life at the school Halloween party.

Rajchel, Diana

Samhain ****

Non-fiction.  Lore, rituals, crafts, and recipes of Samhain.

Shelton, Paige

The Cracked Spine ****

Fiction.  First in the Scottish Bookshop cozy mystery series set in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Delaney has been laid off from her museum job in Wichita and answers an online ad for a job in Scotland.  She’s never been out of Kansas before but is ready for an adventure.  An adventure, she’s found, as the sister of her new boss is murdered during Delaney’s first week there.  As she gets to know her co-workers, the city of Edinburg, a handsome pub owner wearing a kilt, Delaney sets out to answer questions in the murder.

Silver, Samantha

The Purr-fect Crime *

Fiction.  First in a paranormal cozy mystery series set in a small town on the Oregon coast.  A witch veterinarian who can speak with animals lives with her sister and her best friend.  Early one morning as she arrives at work, she notices the door is ajar.  Walking into her exam room, she finds a body on the floor, and the women decide to solve the mystery.

Wiseman, D.J.

A Habit of Dying ****

Fiction.  Lydia buys a box at an auction sale containing  several photo albums, a ledger, and a few other items.  She’s bought them to solve the mystery of whose family owned the albums in the hope that she can reunite them with a family member.  She slowly weaves a tapestry of the family and realizes that there is another mystery attached to the ledger that needs to be solved.

Books Read - September 2016

Beaton, M.C.

Busy Body ****

Fiction.  21st book in the Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series.  The village should be putting up Christmas lights and decorations, but a new healthy and safety man has announced he will be fining anyone doing any decorating.  Agatha attends a meeting in nearby Odley Creusis, where the villagers gather to discuss how to rid themselves of this new man, John Sunday.  As the discussion takes place, a noise is heard outside, and to the villagers’ surprise, the bloody body of John Sunday appears in the window.  Somebody has killed him.

A Spoonful of Poison ****

Fiction.  Book 19 in the Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series.  Agatha’s detective agency is quite busy, but when Mrs. Bloxby introduces Agatha to the vicar of a neighboring village who wants to hire her to help organize the local fête, Agatha is happy to do so...after she sees the handsome man also helping the vicar.  When two women at the fête die after ingesting LSD-laced jam, Agatha must use her detective skills to discover who put the LSD in the jam.

There Goes the Bride ****

Fiction.  Book 20 in the Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series.  Agatha’s ex-husband, James Lacey, is getting remarried, and Agatha is invited to the wedding.  But when the time came for the bride to walk down the aisle, she didn’t.  The bride was later found shot to  death in her bedroom, and James is one of the suspects.

Blackwell, Juliet

Letters from Paris *****

Fiction.  Claire’s grandmother is ill, and though Claire is devastated, the timing seems fortuitous.  She packs up and leaves Chicago to head down to Louisiana’s bayou country to take care of her grandmother in her last days.  In the attic, she finds a long lost broken mask of a mysterious beautiful woman and remembers that when she was young, she would tell the mask her greatest secrets as if the woman were alive.  Before her grandmother passes, she urges Claire to fly to Paris and solve the mystery of the mask woman’s identity...and Claire’s journey is just beginning.

Fluke, Joanna

The Wedding Cake Murder ***

Fiction.  23rd book in the Hannah Swensen cozy mystery series.  Hannah is looking forward to her wedding and also to participating in a television dessert cooking show.  The head judge is harsh to most of the contestants, but when he’s found dead, Hannah feels it necessary to try to solve his murder.

Funke, Cornelia

Inkdeath *****

Fiction.  Final book in the Inkworld trilogy.  The children of Ombra are hidden by the robbers for fear that the Adderhead will enslave them all in the mines.  Meggie and her mother go with them, but the Bluejay, Mo, must surrender in order to keep them all safe.

Inkheart ****

Fiction.  First in the Inkworld trilogy.  Meggie’s father has a special gift.  He can sometimes read characters out of books.  Unfortunately, he cannot pick and choose which characters will emerge, or who in his life will disappear into a book.  When evil characters from a book called Inkheart enter our world, his wife disappears into its pages.  Ever since then, he has refused to read aloud from a book, and he and Meggie have moved from home to home to flee an evil man named Capricorn who came out of Inkheart.

Inkspell *****

Fiction.  Second in the Inkworld trilogy.  Meggie, her father, and her mother, are reunited at Elinor’s house.  But evil follows them there, when Basta and Mortola force their way into the manor and demand that Mo read them back into Inkworld.  Another reader, Orpheus, appears, who also can read people into and out of stories, but he has no conscience about his actions.  Farid begs Meggie to read him into Inkworld to find Dustfinger, but Meggie ends up sending  more than one person into the story when she reads the words.

Giltenan, Ceci

The Pocket Watch ****

Fiction.  Maggie Mitchell is suffering from heartbreak, when a strange woman approaches her at a park and offers to let Maggie swap souls with someone from a different place and time.  Maggie believes the woman to be mentally disturbed, but agrees to follow her instructions.  Surprisingly, Maggie wakes to find herself clinging to the back of a galloping horse headed directly for a cliff’s edge.

Rajchel, Diana

Mabon ****

Non-fiction.  Lore, celebration, crafts, recipes, spells, and rituals of Mabon.

Rowling, J.K.

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide ***

Fiction.  Trivia guide to Hogwarts.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies *****

Fction.  Stories of beloved characters of the HP world.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Political and Pesky Poltergeists ****

Fiction.  Stories of not-so-beloved characters of the HP world.

Books Read - August 2016

Allende, Isabel

• The Japanese Lover *****

Fiction.  Irina has traveled from another country and works at Lark House, an eldercare facility.  One of her charges is Alma Belasco, another refugee from a foreign country.  Both women have secrets from their pasts that drive their current lives, and it’s only at the end when their secrets comes to light that they can move forward.

Arthur, Keri

• Kissing Sin ***

Fiction.  Second in the Riley Jensen UF series set in Australia.  Riley escapes from a genetic research facility and is determined to bring down the person responsible for her capture.

Carriger, Gail

• The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn’t, the Mummy That Was, and the Cat in a Jar ****

Fiction.  Prequel to the Parasol Protectorate paranormal series.  Preternatural Alessandro Tarabotti is in Egypt to have his aunt’s deceased cat mummified, but his work accompanies him, and soon danger comes calling.

• Soulless *****

Fiction.  First book in the Parasol Protectorate paranormal series.  Alexia Tarabotti is a 26-year-old spinster in the 1850’s London.  She’s resigned herself to the fact that she might never marry, not only because of her age, but also her appearance, and the fact that her tongue has a mind of its own, which causes her many problems.  Werewolves and vampires are accepted members of society, except by a small group of scientists determined to study them to extermination.  Alexia finds herself falling for the Alpha werewolf, Lord Maccon, and in an unbelievable turnabout, she learns that he is falling for her.

Charles, Ann

• A Wild Fright in Deadwood *****

Fiction.  Seventh in the Deadwood mystery series.  Violet must face off again with Caly, who is determined to take Violet with her into the otherworld, but she has to wait in line behind Wilda, who is using Cornelius to lure  Violet into her clutches.  Meanwhile, Violet is struggling with saying those three little words to Doc.  Not because she doesn’t feel them, but because she is afraid of his reaction.

• Cold Flame ****

Fiction.  Third of the Deadwood Shorts stories.  Aunt Zoe finally tells Violet about her love affair with Reid.

Jackson, Shirley

• The Lottery and Other Stories *****

Fiction.  Collection of short stories about the calamities of life and the human condition.

Kavanagh, Brian

• The Embroidered Corpse **

Fiction.  First in a mystery series set in England.  A piece of the Bayeaux tapestry has been found and unlocks the location to a treasure people are willing to kill for.

Marquis, Melanie

• Lughnasadh *****

Non-fiction.  History, lore, crafts, spells, and rituals of the first harvest festival in the Pagan year.

Nahai, Gina

• Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith *****

Fiction.  The multi-generational tale of a family of women that begins in Tehran and ends in Los Angeles.  A tale of loss, magic, and redemption.

Perona, Elizabeth

• Murder on the Bucket List *

Fiction.  Five senior women stumble across a dead body as they try to knock an item off their bucket list.  One of their husbands is suspected of murder, but the women try their best to find another suspect.

Rowling, J.K.

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ****

Fiction.  Compendium of the magical creatures of the Harry Potter world.

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets *****

Fiction.  Second in the Harry Potter series.  Harry has been locked in his room at the Dursley’s, when Ron, Fred, and George rescue him and Hedwig using an illegal flying car belonging to Mr. Weasley.  Breaking one school law after another, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set forth to find out who is scribbling eerie messages on the castle walls at Hogwarts, and who is responsible for harming the students there.  Harry finds an old diary that has no writing in it, but the answer to the mysteries lie within its pages.

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows *****

Fiction.  Seventh in the Harry Potter series.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione have left Hogwarts to trace down and destroy the Horcruxes.  But Voldemort has been gaining power, and his army of Death Eaters has taken over the Ministry, and they are rounding up and punishing all the mudbloods and blood traitors they can find.  The final battle between Harry and Voldemort takes places on the grounds of Hogwarts, but Harry has a secret weapon that even he doesn’t know about.

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Harry Potter series.  Hogwarts is full  of excitement this year.  The Triwizard Tournament will be held for the first time in many years.  Three schools will be entering a champion to perform three tasks in the hope of winning the contest and bringing honor and prestige to the winning school.  The Goblet of Fire has chosen a champion from each school, when it suddenly spits out another name, and though underage, Harry Potter must face the challenge.

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *****

Fiction.  Sixth in the Harry Potter series.  Harry is using a used copy of an Advanced Potions book and finds that someone who owned it before him has scribbled notes all through the book.  In potions class, Harry decides to follow some of the instructions left by the scribbler instead of following directions listed in the book, and suddenly he is excelling in the class.  In addition to the mixing directions, the book includes many handwritten spells, and Harry begins to try them out, only finding out too late that one is very deadly.

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban *****

Fiction.  Third in the Harry Potter series.  Dementors are called on to protect Hogwarts while the search goes on for Sirius Black, and Harry is having trouble dealing with them.  Hagrid must mount a defense for Buckbeak, a hippogriff who attacked Draco Malfoy.  Harry’s godfather is revealed.

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Harry Potter series.  Harry is in his fifth year at Hogwarts and is spending the year getting ready to take his O.W.L.s at the end of the school year.  The pressure is on, and the teachers are assigning much homework.  Harry’s scar has been hurting more and more, and Dumbledore tells Harry that Professor Snape will be training him in Occulmency to help protect Harry from Voldemort.  In addition, Harry and his friends have begun a new club at school, Defense Against the Dark Arts, in response to a new Head Inquisitor established by the Ministry of Magic.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone *****

Fiction.  1st in the Harry Potter series.  Harry has been living with his aunt and uncle’s family for eleven years, and those have not been easy years for him.  When he receives a letter in the mail, he’s shocked to find out he is a wizard and has been admitted to the greatest wizarding school in Britain.  

• The Tales of Beedle the Bard ****

Fiction.  Children’s tales of the magical sort.

Smith, Alexander McCall

• Morality for Beautiful Girls ****

Fiction.  Third in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency cozy mystery series.  Mma Ramotse is engaged, but her fiancé is suffering from depression and has quit dealing with his autobody business, so Mma Ramotse  and her assistant at the detective agency take over running both businesses.

Spark, Muriel

• Not to Disturb *

Fiction.  Domestic help plan the deaths of their employers while marrying the upstairs maid to the lunatic son of the house locked in the attic.