Books Read - January 2019

Ashford, Lindsay Jayne

• The Snow Gypsy *****

Fiction.  Two women born in different countries are brought together due to a linked past.  Rose is looking for her brother who went off to fight in the Spanish Civil War, and Lola who finds a newborn baby at the same moment she finds her mother and twin brother murdered by the Guardia Civil.

Beaton, M.C.

• The Dead Ringer ****

Fiction.  Thirty-second in the Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series.  Agatha gets involved with another murder, this time involving a group of bell ringers in a nearby town.

Belcamino, Krist

• City of the Dead ***

Fiction.  First in the Gia Santella thriller series.  Gia’s parents and brother were murdered, and now the mob is after her.  She wants to turn to the only person she has left, her godfather, but she’s suddenly unsure if she can trust him or if he is the one responsible for killing her family.

Bradbury, Laura

• My Grape Year *****

Fiction.  First in the Grape memoir series.  Laura travels to France on an exchange program, and she falls in love with the country and the people, not to mention the food and the wine.  She dreams of falling in love and hopes that her time in France will help that dream come true.

Calverley, J.M.

• Lokahi’s Triangle *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Reef Kahili detective series set on the Big Island.  The bizarre death of a doctor brings Reef and his partner, Kalani, a case that hits close to home and involves the art of lomilomi healing and illicit drugs.

Garrett, Danielle

• Cupid in A Bottle ***

Fiction.  First in the Touch of Magic paranormal cozy mystery series.  Anastasia is working on a wedding, but when the groom declares his love for the maid of honor, the bride calls off the wedding.  This might all have resulted from a love potion created by Anastasia’s little sister.

Green, Cass

• In a Cottage in a Wood ****

Fiction.  A young woman sees someone on a bridge late at night and asks if she is okay.  They speak for a moment, and the second woman jumps off the bridge to her death.  The young woman is shocked to find that she has been left a cottage in a wood and finds herself in the middle of a mystery that has far reaching consequences.

Hanna, H.Y.

• Tea with Milk and Murder ****

Fiction.  Second in the Oxford Tea Room mysteries.  Gemma’s best friend has fallen in love with an art dealer, but Gemma is suspicious of him from the beginning, though she can’t tell why.  When he hosts a showing at his gallery and a woman who claims a previous relationship with him falls dead at Gemma’s feet, she wonders if she suspects him because he’s guilty or if it’s because she just doesn’t trust him.

Krentz, Jayne Ann

• Copper Beach ***

Fiction.  First in the Dark Legacy sci-fi thriller.  A woman is hunted for her psi abilities, and she is hired by a man who is willing to serve as her bodyguard, to find a lab book.

Kuhn, Cynthia

• The Semester of Our Discontent ****

Fiction.  First in the Lila MacLean Literary mysteries.  Lila is teaching her first semester at Stonewood College, and she finds the politics of academia disturbing.  When the head of her department insults her work and is then found murdered, she becomes a suspect.

Lackey, Mercedes

• The Fairy Godmother ****

Fiction.  First in the 500 Kingdoms series.  Elena (Cinderella) seeks to hire herself out when her wicked stepmother and stepsisters run away from their creditors leaving her alone.  But the one who hires her is a Godmother, and Elena’s whole life is changed.

• One Good Knight ****

Fiction.  Second in the 500 Kingdoms series.  Princess Andromeda lives a lonely life, for the most part ignored by her mother, Queen Cassiopeia.  But when the queen devises a plan to have Andie killed by a dragon, Andie and her Champion, Gina, and their rag tag army return with a vengeance.

Larsson, Asa

• Sun Storm ***

Fiction.  First in the Rebecka Martinsson mystery series.  Rebecca returns to her hometown and gets involved in a murder mystery.  She has to protect two young girls from their mother and their uncle’s murderer against the church.

Llewellyn, A.J.

• Uhane Hunter ****

Fiction.  First in the Danny Morales P.I. paranormal mystery series.  Danny sees ghosts.  Ghosts of victims, ghosts of murderers, ghosts of dogs, and ghosts of ancestral spirits.

Neal, TW

• Freckled: A Memoir of Growing Up in Hawai’i *****

Non-fiction.  A fascinating tale of a young girl growing up with hippie parents on the island of Kaua’i.

Pandian, Gigi

• The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories *****

Fiction.  Short stories in the Jaya Jones mystery series.

• The Elusive Elixir ****

Fiction.  Third in the Accidental Alchemist series.  Zoe travels to Paris to learn more about backward alchemy and to find another gargoyle who was captured in stone.  When she returns home, others are following her and bring nothing but trouble.

• Michelangelo’s Ghost ****

Fiction. Fourth in the Jaya Jones mystery series.  Jaya travels to Italy to track down the art studio of a centuries’ old artist at the Parco dei Mostri.  Her brother and his new girlfriend accompany her, and Lane shows up with a big surprise.

• The Ninja’s Illusion ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Jaya Jones mystery series.  Sanjay flies Jaya to Japan to see his new magic show in which the magician he’s working with will be performing a famous illusion.  But when the magician is killed, and the murderer seems to have Sanjay in his sights, Jaya and Tamarind have to help solve the mystery.

Parker, Lehua

• Fractured Beauty ****

Fiction.  Anthology of fractured Beauty and the Beast fairytales.

• One Boy, No Water *****

Fiction.  First in the Niuhi Shark Saga trilogy.  Zader had a mysterious birth, and when Uncle Kahana found him lying on the lava at the beach, he took the baby home and gave him to his sister who raised him as her own son.  Zader is allergic to water, which causes all sorts of problems for him, but he’s a truly talented artist.  Uncle Kahana has not yet told Zader where he came from or who he really is.

Schumann, Katrin

• The Forgotten Hours ***

Fiction.  A woman remembers her best friend as a girl in an idyllic time that ended when the best friend accused the woman’s father of rape.  She doesn’t understand why her friend turned on her family, but the effects of that summer lasted well into her adulthood.

Shaw, Rebecca

• The New Rector ****

Fiction.  First in the Tales from Turnham Malpas series.  Very light mystery about people living in a village going through their lives with the occasional murder.

Books Read - March 2019

Ashmore, Carl

• The Time Hunters ****

Fiction.  First in the Time Hunters adventure series.  Two young children spent the summer with their uncle who turns out to be a time traveler.  They accompany him on his travels back in time to acquire the Golden Fleece, but there are evil men out to stop and capture them.

Cheetham, Ben

• Don’t Look Back ****

Fiction.  A London couple loses one of their twin sons in an accident, and nine months later they enter a contest to win free rent at a Cornish mansion.  They figure the move will help their remaining son and them heal from the loss.  But their idyllic new residence might also be home to others of an undead sort.

Clark, Becky

• Fiction Can Be Murder ***

Fiction.  First in the Mystery Writer’s mysteries.  Charlee is a member of a writing circle, but when her agent is found murdered as copied from her own manuscript, she is the main suspect.

Clifford, V.

• Beyond Cutting ****

Fiction.  First in the Vic Fraser mystery series.  Vic is an anthropologist who earns her living as a hairdresser and part time journalist.  When she is assigned to look into the disappearance of a young gay man, she gets drawn into a mystery that threatens her own life.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• The Hallowed Hunt *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Wild Hunt urban fantasy series set in Seattle.  The agency has taken on two cases, a missing child and a rogue group of Fae activists who are causing mayhem around the city.  Ember is fast approaching her Cruharach ritual, but she is caught up and injured in an attack by the rogue group.

Hanna, H.Y.

• Blood, Sweets and Tears ****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal cozy mystery series.  Viktor isn’t the only vampire about, and when jewels are stolen and a man is found dead, Caitlyn finds herself in the clutches of a blood-sucking vampire.

• Bonbons and Broomsticks ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal cozy mystery series.  A mysterious black dog has been haunting the woods, and when two men are killed along the same path, the Black Shuck becomes the scapegoat, but Caitlyn believes the murderer is human, and with Victor’s help she’s out to find the culprit.

• Deadhead and Buried ***

Fiction.  First in the English Cottage Garden mystery series.  Poppy is working a dead end job when she suddenly inherits a cottage with a garden in Oxfordshire.  The kicker in the will stipulates that she must agree to run the family business, a garden center, but Poppy knows nothing about flowers.  When she visits the cottage, she trips over a corpse, leading her on a quest to find the murderer.

• Witch Chocolate Fudge ****

Fiction.  Second in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal cozy mystery series.  When the housekeeper at the big house is killed, Caitlyn is questioned as a suspect.  She can prove her innocence if one of the wicked women in town will tell the truth and admit to seeing Caitlyn on the mountain.  When she refuses, Caitlyn has to try to discover the murderer on her own.

• Witch Summer Night’s Cream ***

Fiction.  Third in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal cozy mystery series.  A professor has arrived in town to prove his theory that Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was based on a true story.  When Caitlyn realizes that her grandmother is using a love potion in her chocolates, she tries to keep that news to herself, but the professor is determined to get his hands on it.

Harper, Karen

• Broken Bonds ****

Fiction.  Third in the Cold Creek mystery trilogy.  Char has returned from the West and is busy trying to get mountain children into school.  She meets Matt when his truck has been pushed off the road, and she saves his life.  But when hers is in danger, Matt must gather everyone around to save hers.

• Forbidden Ground ***

Fiction.  Second in the Cold Creek mystery trilogy.  Kate has come home for Tess’ wedding, but she also wants to dig at the Adena Mason Mound that sits on Grant’s land.  Grant is determined not to give her access because of what he saw there when he was a boy.  When his friends who share the secret start dying and getting hurt, Grant realizes a target is on his head as well.

Hayton, Katherine

• Mrs. Pettigrew Saw a Ghost ***

Fiction.  Emily is recovering from a near-fatal car accident that left her with a brain injury that causes her not to be able to read or write.  Her physical body is in bad shape, but she is determined to find work, which she does at a charity shop.  When she visits a home to collect some goods that belonged to the recently departed wife, the wife’s ghost comes along for the ride and claims to have been murdered.

Hunt, Isabella

• Black Bear’s Due ****

Fiction.  Second in the Northbane Shifters series.  Rett is an Alpha, and when a tired and sick refugee collapses at the gate, he takes her home to heal.  Laia has been searching for her cousin but shows up at Wynfire with an Excris weapon in her pack, and Rett is determined to keep an eye on her.

• Dragon’s Oath *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Northbane Shifters series.  Xander is a man full of many secrets, but he meets his match in Tiana, who reluctantly travels to Winfyre to reunite with Iris.  She knows she can’t stay, she knows that by being there she puts everyone in danger.  But Xander isn’t ready to let her go.

• Ice Bear’s Bid *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Northbane Shifters series.  The Ice Bear, Kallen, saves Iris from a black market auction, but he has no intention of falling for her.  The inevitable happens, and the thing he most fears is losing her.

Ryker’s Security ****

Fiction.  Wolf shifters and werewolves living in Alaska clash, and the members of Ryker’s Security get involved with local issues and in finding their own loves.

• Tiger’s Prey *****

Fiction.  Third in the Northbane Shifters series.  Tristan has been searching for her for five years, but when he runs into Sierra at a bar far from Winfyre, he can’t believe he’s found her.  She has remembered him all these years but is determined to have her revenge on him.

• Wolf’s Wager ***

Fiction.  First in the Northbane Shifters series.  Luke is an Alpha, and when he meets Reagan, he claims her as his own.  Her Riftborn abilities are just starting to bloom, but the SB and others are on her trail.  Luke tries to keep her safe and realizes that her powers might save the whole community.

Keim, Judith

• Fat Fridays ****

Fiction.  A group of women meet every Friday for lunch and to share the news of their lives.  Sukie is a new member, and she quickly becomes close to each of the women as they support each other through good times and bad.

• Sassy Saturdays *****
• Fiction.  Second in the Fat Fridays series.  Sukie is getting ready for her wedding, and Tiffany is getting ready to give birth.  When her husband dies on a trip, she’s left to bring up her baby alone but for the care of the Fat Fridays women.  Lynetta, a new member of the group, has arrived in town with her two teenage sons who can’t keep out of trouble, and Carol Ann is still looking in the wrong places for love.

• Secret Sundays *****

Fiction.  Third in the Fat Fridays Group series.  The ladies continue their supportive relationships as they deal with their problems.

Moral, Tony Lee

• The Haunting of Alice May ***

Fiction.  First in the Ghost Maven paranormal series.  Alice is new in town, and when she meets a ghost boy, she falls in love.  But in trying to save her life, he takes her to a mysterious island, incurring the wrath of the sailors living there.  When they come for her, the whole town is in danger.

Roethle, Sara C.

• Tree of Ages ***

Fiction.  First in the Tree of Ages fantasy series.  Finn woke up one day to find that she was no longer a tree but has been turned into a human woman.  Aed, an elderly conjurer, finds her and takes her under his wing.  Finn wants only to find out how she can return to being a tree, and the duo sets off on a quest to find the Archtree.

Warren, Nancy

• The Vampire Knitting Club ****

Fiction.  First in the Vampire Knitting Club cozy mystery series set in Oxford.  Lucy arrives in Oxford for a visit with her Gran, only to find out that her grandmother died three weeks earlier, having left Lucy the knitting shop and small apartment above it.  A unique knitting group meets at the shop, and when Lucy finds out they’re all vampires, she doesn’t know who to trust.

Books Read - February 2019

Bradbury, Laura

• My Grape Escape *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Grape memoir series.  Laura and Francke buy a dilapidated stone cottage to renovate in order to rent it out to vacationers.

• My Grape Paris *****

Fiction.  Second in the Grape memoir seres.  Laura is in her third year of college and taking a year studying at the Sorbonne.  She’s wondering where their relationship is going and whether Franck will be returning to Montreal with her at the end of the year or if he will be staying in Paris without her.

• My Grape Village *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Grape memoir series.  Laura and Francke and their two young daughters move back to France to renovate another rental cottage and also to buy their own home in Burgundy.  The girls starts school at Sacre Coeur, where Laura had spent her one exchange year in high school.

• My Grape Wedding *****

Fiction.  Third in the Grape memoir series.  Laura and Francke are in England, while Laura finishes her first year as a law student at Oxford.  They’re engaged now, but Laura is too busy stressing over school to concentrate on their upcoming wedding in Burgundy.  

Cleeland, Anne

• Murder in Hindsight ****

Fiction.  Third in the New Scotland Yard police thriller series.  Doyle has been approached by Savoie, the French gangster, who tells her not to trust Acton.  Williams has also told Doyle the same thing.  Acton still holds secrets from her, and when he takes up with a newspaper woman determined to be the next Lady Acton, Doyle is angered but determined to trust him.

• Murder in Retribution ****

Fiction.  Second in the New Scotland Yard police thriller series.  Deaths in the Russian and Irish mob are still happening, and Acton and Doyle are on the trail of the killers.  But Doyle suspects not all of the victims were killed by the mob.  Perhaps one was killed by her own husband in retaliation for an attempt on her life.

• Murder in Thrall ****

Fiction.  First in the New Scotland Yard police thriller.  DCI Doyle has been handpicked to work with DI Acton but has no idea he has been forming an attachment to her.  In the midst of several related murders, Doyle becomes a target.

Coehlo, Paulo

• Veronika Decides to Die ***

Fiction.  A young woman decides to kill herself but ends up at a mental asylum where she gets to know the other patients.  Her doctor tells her she has only a week to live, because the overdose she took adversely affected her heart, so she determines to figure out who she really is and what her purpose in life is.

Davenport, Kiana

• Song of the Exile *

Fiction.  Dismal tale of the atrocities suffered by prisoners at the hands of their guards in concentration camps.  Had nothing to do with the Hawaiian culture.

Dennison, Hannah

• Murder at Honeychurch Hall **

Fiction.  A woman travels to Devon to talk her mother into moving back to London but gets embroiled in a murder case where everyone is lying.  Couldn’t stand the mother, rude and obnoxious and a ditz.

Edwards, Martin

• The Coffin Trail ****

Fiction.  An Oxford don and his partner leave the big city to buy an old cottage in the Lake District.  He remembers the cottage from a short period of time that he spent there as a child.  His friend, Barrie, lived in that cottage, but when a woman is found murdered, Barrie is suspected of being the killer.  But Barrie died that same night.

Garrett, Danielle

• Newly Wed and Slightly Dead ****

Fiction.  Second in the Touch of Magic paranormal cozy mystery series.  Anatasia is working on a wedding for a high-society vampire and his human fiancee.  The groom’s mother is very much against the wedding, but when she turns up dead at the rehearsal dinner, the bride is suspect number one.

Hanna, H.Y.

• Dark Witch & Creamy ****

Fiction.  First in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal mystery series.    Caitlyn travels to the small Cotswold village of Tillyhenge to try to find information about her birth family.  She had been found as an infant on the side of the road and adopted by an American singer who recently passed away.  In Tillyhenge, Caitlyn is drawn into a murder mystery, during which she discovers magic and possibly the secrets surrounding her birth.

• Witch Mocha Morsel ****

Fiction.  Book 2.5 in the Bewitched by Chocolate paranormal cozy series.  Caitlyn chases after Nibs, who runs off into the forest at night.  She traces him to a cave under a bridge and finds herself face to face with a troll.

Hannah, Mari

• The Murder Wall ***

Fiction.  First in the Kate Daniels police mystery series.  A serial killer is on the loose, and Kate and her team are working hard to identify and stop him.  When her former lover becomes a possible suspect, Kate works without the bounds of the law to try and rescue her.

Harper, Karen

• Shattered Secrets *****

Fiction.  First in the Cold Creek mystery trilogy.  Tess returns to Cold Creek to sell her mother’s house, but she’s terrified of the memories, or lack of memories, she has of being abducted as a child.  When another child go missing, Tess works with the local sheriff to try to find her.

Heckart, Kelley

• Cat’s Curse ****

Fiction.  First in the Dark Goddess fantasy trilogy.  Cardea was a high priestess of Astarte many centuries ago, but she has been cursed to spend the rest of her days as a bloodsucker who must stay out of the sunlight.  Aedan is a prince whose clan has been cursed by Cat Anna to turn into a cat if he ever touches a woman.  Cardea and Aedan meet and fall in love, but their relationship is doomed from the beginning.

Hoffman, Alice

• At Risk ****

Fiction.  A family is struck by tragedy when their 11-year-old daughter contracts AIDS through a blood transfusion.  Each member of the family has a different reaction and coping method, but they’re trying to keep the family together.

Lackey, Mercedes

• A Tangled Web *****

Fiction.  Tangle tale of the Gods of Olympus, a Valkyrie, and her mortal husband.  Persephone is in love with Hades, but Demeter is trying to keep Persephone safe at home.  Hades comes up with a plan to have his love join him in the Underworld.

Larmer, C.A.

• The Agatha Christie Book Club ****

Fiction.  First in the Agatha Christie Book Club cozy mystery series.  Alicia decides to start a book club featuring her favorite author, Agatha Christie, but when reality begins to follow fiction, the whole club is swept up in an investigation.

• Evil Under the Stars ***

Fiction.  Third in the Agatha Christie Book Club cozy mystery series.  The club attends a cinema in the park, but when a body is found just a few feet away, they jump into the investigation despite the police warnings to stay out of it.

• Murder on the Orient (SS) ****

Fiction.  Second in the Agatha Christie Book Club cozy mystery series.  The club is on a 4-day cruise from Sydney to Auckland, when the wife of the captain is lost at sea.  It is unknown whether she committed suicide, it was an accident, or is was murder.

Martin, Faith

• The Birthday Mystery ***

Fiction.  First in the Jenny Starling cozy mystery series.  Jenny is a traveling cook who is hired to cater a birthday party for a wealthy set of twins at The Beeches.  On the morning before she arrives, a body is found in the pond, but the party is still scheduled to happen.  When both of the twins are poisoned, Jenny assists the local coppers in solving the murder. 

• The Winter Mystery ****

Fiction.  Second in the Jenny Starling cozy mystery series.  Jenny has been hired to cook at a farm over the Christmas holiday.  Two brothers run the farm, along with the younger generation.  One of the brothers, Sid, is a very kind, caring person.  His younger brother, Stan, on the other hand is feared by everyone.  When Sid is found dead at the kitchen table, Jenny steps in to help the police discover the murderer.

Swan, Penelope

• The Netherfield Affair ****

Fiction.  Fan fiction of the Pride and Prejudice world.  Elizabeth Bennett travels to the next mansion to care for her ailing sister.  While there she uncovers the theft of jewelry, though she is thought to be a suspect herself by her hosts.

Vanderah, Glendy

• Where the Forest Meets the Stars *****

Fiction.  Jo’s cancer is in remission, and she’s getting caught up with her graduate studies by spending the summer doing research in southern Illinois.  She’s staying at a cabin owned by a professor, and one evening she is surprised to see a young girl hanging around the cabin.  She tries to get the girl to go home, but the girl insists she is an alien from the Pinwheel Galaxy and cannot go home until she witnesses five miracles.

Reading Challenges 2019

Total books for the year

2019 - 354/200 <b>completed</b>

2018 - 339/100 <b>completed</b>

2017 - 347/100 <b>completed</b>

2016 - 136/100 <b>completed</b>

2015 - 276/100 <b>completed</b>

2014 - 206/100 <b>completed</b>

2013 - 134/100 <b>completed</b>

2012 - 104/100 <b>completed</b>

2011 - 156/100 <b>completed</b>

*****

2019 - Read one book of poetry 1/1

The Essential Rumi

*****

2019 - Books Set in Foreign Countries 141/100

Australia - 16

Canada - 7

China - 1
Egypt - 2

England - 62

France - 17
Greece - 1

Hungary - 1

India - 2

Ireland - 9

Italy - 3

Japan - 1

Malta - 1
Philippines - 1
Russia - 1

Scotland - 10

Slovenia - 1

Spain - 1

Sweden - 1
Switzerland - 1
Wales - 2

Books Read - December 2018

Charles, Ann

• Don’t Let It Snow in Deadwood *****

Fiction.  Tenth in the Deadwood Humorous cozy mystery series.  The kids and Aunt Zoe are already at Violet’s parents’ house in Rapid City, but Violet, Doc, Harvey, Nat, and Cornelius are stuck in the snow on the way there.  Reid and Coop come to the rescue in a snowcat, but Violet’s worried that her sister Susan will ruin Christmas all the same.

Craney, Glen

• The Fire and the Light ****

Fiction.  The Catholics have condemned the Cathars, and Esclarmonde de Foix has been caught up in the ongoing battle to save her people.

Flowers, R. Barri

• Dead in Pukalani **

Fiction.  First in a mystery series.  The main character, a private investigator, is hired to find out who killed a woman’s sister. The sister was involved in gunrunning but was also having an affair with a married man, so there are many suspects.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• The Longest Night ***

Fiction.  Short story in the Starwood pagan series.  

• A Shadow of Crows *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Wild Hunt urban fantasy series.  Ember is shocked to find out that Herne has a daughter that he’s never known about, and as they’re getting acquainted with her, they’re in search of a missing man whose fiancee has come to them for help.

Garrett, Danielle

• One Bad Witch ***

Fiction.  Ninth in the Beechwood Harbor Witch cozy mystery series.  Holly gets an extra assignment by the SPA to keep an eye on a new resident at the manor.  When the new resident takes up with Nick, Holly is torn between doing her job and keeping her friendship.

• Tide Dance ****

Fiction.  Tenth in the Beechwood Harbor Witch cozy mystery series.  A mysterious girl appears in town and needs Holly’s help.  She’s a selkie and has lost her pelt.

• When Good Ghosts Get the Blues ****

Fiction.  Third in the Beechwood Harbor Ghost cozy mystery series.  All she wants is a quiet romantic vacation with her boyfriend in New Orleans, but when a man is killed and the only witness is a ghost, her boyfriend is the prime suspect.

Goddin, Nell

• The Third Girl ****

Fiction.  First in the Molly Sutton mystery series set in France.  Molly is newly divorced and has moved to a village in southern France where she’s bought a house with a rental cottage on the property.  A young woman attending the local art school has disappeared, and it turns out she is the third one who has gone missing in the past several years.  When the girl’s parents rent Molly’s cottage for their stay, she is drawn into the mystery.

Hoover, Colleen

• Verity *****

Fiction.  A mediocore writer is hired to finish the last three books in a series by an incapacitated well-known author who was in a car accident.  She travels to the author’s home to go through her  records and acquaint herself with Verity’s books, but when she finds an autobiography, she realizes the horrifying truth.

Kinsey, T.E.

• In the Market for Murder ***

Fiction.  Second in the Lady Hardcastle mystery series.  Lady Hardcastle and her main, Armstrong, are asked by the local constable to assist in a robbery case at the rugby center.  While solving that case, they are drawn into the larger mystery of a murdered man.

Lavene, Joyce

• Dae’s Christmas Past ****

Fiction. Sixth in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  Demon horses are called forth to kill humans in Duck, and Dae has to face an old shaman to rid the town of the beasts.

• A Finder’s Fee ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  Dae puts on an antique amber necklace and connects to Maggie, a tavern wench who lived 400 years ago.  Maggie begs Dae to help her retriever her bones so they can be buried next to her pirate lover.  The mayoral election is drawing near, but when Dae finds an old race car belonging to her opponent while searching for Maggie’s bones, she also uncovers the skeleton of a race car driver that sends her opponent to jail.

• A Haunting Dream ***

Fiction.  Fourth in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  Kevin’s fiancee who he hasn’t seen in several years has shown up in town and puts the breaks on Kevin’s and Dae’s relationship.  A young girl goes missing, and several men have been murdered.  Dae is busy campaigning for re-election the next year.

• A Spirited Gift ***

Fiction.  Third in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  A fierce storm brews through town and brings a pirate ghost who needs Dae’s help.  During a meeting of mayors at the Blue Whale Inn, one of them is killed, and Dae needs her ghost relative to help her solve that msytery.

• A Timely Vision ***

Fiction.  First in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  An elderly woman is murdered on the beach, and when her sister is accused of the crime, the mayor stands up to the police chief and refuses to let her be taken into custody.

• A Touch of Gold ***

Fiction.  Second in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  Dae touches a piece of old gold, which leads her on a quest to solve a murder and to find a missing person that everyone thought was dead.

• A Watery Death ****

Fiction. Seventh in the Missing Pieces cozy mystery series.  Merfolk appear in Duck after the captain of a gambling ship is found murdered, and Dae must prove their innocence.

Leigh, Lora

• Shattered Legacy ***

Fiction.  First in the Legacies erotic fantasy series.  Four daughters of a sorcerer marry four immortal warriors.  An evil being, Jonar, is out to capture his granddaughter, one of the daughters.  The warriors set forth to beat him in battle.

Levy, Marc

• The Last of the Stanfields ****

Fiction.  Set in England, France, the US, and Canada, this mystery spans several generations and bounces back and forth between the 40’s, the 80’s, and the present time.  Beginning during the second world war with a young American pilot who crash lands in France, missing art and several love affairs tell a fascinating tale.

MacInerney, Karen

• Iced Inn ****

Fiction.  Ninth book in the Gray Whale Inn cozy mystery series set on Cranberry Island in Maine.  Gwen’s wedding is just a few days away, and the in-laws and wedding guests are showing up to the inn.  In town, someone has stolen all of the toys people have donated for a fundraiser, and it’s up to Nat to find them.

Neal, Toby

• Wired Courage *****

Fiction.  Eighth in the Paradise Crime thriller series.  Sophie gives birth to her daughter Momi, only to have her ripped from her side by her evil mother, Pim Wat.  Pim Wat plans to keep Momi for her own, but Sophie and her cadre of fighting men, headed by Jake and Connor, rush to find and save her.

Obama, Michelle

• Becoming *****

Non-fiction.  The story of America’s first black First Lady, an amazing woman who has led an amazing life, and who continues to give back to the people of this country.

Pandian, Gigi

• The Accidental Alchemist *****

Fiction.  First in the Accidental Alchemist series.  Zoe has been running for years, but settling in Portland is her shot at a normal life, or so she thinks.  When she opens one of her shipping crates, expecting to find some alchemical ingredients, she finds a stone gargoyle, one who comes to life right in front of her.

• Artifact ****

Fiction.  First in the Jaya Jones mystery series.  Jaya’s ex-boyfriend sends her a mysterious and very old ruby bracelet for safekeeping.  When she finds out that he has been killed, she travels to Scotland to find out what really happened and where the bracelet came from.

• The Masquerading Magician *****

Fiction.  Second in the Accidental Alchemist series.  A traveling magic show has come to town, and Zoe suspects the magician of being an alchemist.  Hoping he’ll be able to help her decipher the codes in Dorian’s book, she unwittingly lets her secret be known.

• Pirate Vishnu ****

Fiction.  Second in the Jaya Jones mystery series.  Jaya receives a treasure map from a man who is murdered that night.  It leads her on an adventure to India and back to San Francisco.  The mysterious Lane appears once again to save her life but soon disappears again.

• Quicksand ****

Fiction.  Third in the Jaya Jones mystery series.  Lane sends a first-class plane ticket to Jaya, and she jumps at the chance to visit Paris even though the school semester has just started.  When she arrives at the hotel, she finds out that the ticket hadn’t come from Lane, it was from a man named North, the man Lane had been hiding from for years.  He coerces Lane and Jaya to help him steal a treasure from Mont St. Michel, but an encounter with a rising tide brings danger to them all.