Books Read - June 2020

Carle-Sanders, Theresa

• Outlander Kitchen: From the New World and Back Again *****

Non-fiction.  Recipes based on the stories in the Outlander series.

Christie, Agatha

• The ABC Murders *****

Fiction.  Poirot receives letters that threaten a murder will take place in a particular town, and it takes several deaths before the murderer is discovered.

• Appointment with Death *****

Fiction.  Poirot is called into a case of suspected murder when the mother of a dysfunctional family is found dead on a trip to Petra.

• By the Pricking of My Thumbs *****

Fiction.  Tuppence is entranced by a painting of a house that she remembers having seen before, and as she travels the railways in search of this house, she finally finds it just outside a small village.  The house is mysteriously divided into two domiciles, with only one being occupied.  Tuppence has stumbled onto a house in a network used by criminals who will stop at nothing to stop her from finding the truth.

• Cards on the Table *****

Fiction.  A man is killed at a bridge party, and Hercule Poirot, along with Ariadne Oliver and Battle must solve the murder.

• Dead Man’s Folly *****

Fiction.  Ariadne Oliver invites Poirot down to Devon to help her with a murder mystery game.  But when the “victim” of the game is found dead, Poirot is at a loss to figure out who killed her.

• Death in the Clouds *****

Fiction.  While flying from France to England, Poirot suffers from air sickness.  There are eleven passengers in the section of the plane he sits in, and one of them dies of an apparent wasp sting, but a poisoned dart is found on the floor, and Poirot must discover who among the passengers is the murderer.

• Death on the Nile *****

Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation in Egypt, when he runs into a murder happening on a steamship along the nile.  He knows something will happen and tries to stop a woman from doing evil but fails.

• Dumb Witness *****

Fiction.  Poirot receives a letter asking for his help, but the author of the letter is dead before he receives it.  Still, he and Hastings travel to Market Basing to find out whether the death was natural, accident, or murder.

• Evil Under the Sun *****

Fiction.  Poirot is on vacation on an island off the Cornish coast when a femme fatale is murdered, and he must solve the mystery.

• Five Little Pigs *****

Fiction.  A woman dies in prison, accused of murdering her husband.  Sixteen years later, her daughter hires Poirot to find out the truth.

• Hercule Poirot’s Christmas *****

Fiction.  En estranged family is brought back together for Christmas, but when the patriarch is murdered, Poirot is brought in to discover who killed him.

• The Hollow ****

Fiction.  A doctor is found dead, and his wife stands over him holding a gun, but the gun turns out not to be the one used in the killing.  Poirot is involved in bringing justice.

• The Incredible Theft ***

Fiction.  Military plans have gone missing, and Poirot is brought in to discover the thief.

• Murder in Mesopotamia *****

Fiction.  A nurse takes a job working on an archaeological dig caring for the leader’s wife, but when the wife is murdered, Hercule Poirot arrives to solve the mystery.

• The Murder on the Orient Express *****

Fiction.  Hercule Poirot finds a mystery while riding the Orient Express.  A man has been murdered, and there are 12 suspects aboard the train.  When the train is stranded in a snowstorm, Hercule must find the murderer.

• N or M? *****

Fiction.  Tommy takes a job which puts him in a guesthouse among other tenants. To his surprise, Tuppence has joined him. They’re trying to find out the identities of the mysterious N and M, German spies who are planning an attack on England.

• One, Two, Buckle My Shoe ***

Fiction.  Poirot goes for his bi-annual dentist visit, but he soon learns that his dentist has committed suicide, something Poirot refuses to believe, and he sets about to prove it was murder.

• The Pale Horse *****

Fiction.  Mark Easterbrook, author and historian, gets drawn into a multiple murder case involving voodoo and witchcraft, but when he sets a trap to catch the culprits, he finds that a trap has been laid for him.

• Partners in Crime *****

Fiction.  Short mysteries involving Tommy & Tuppence.

• The Regatta Mystery *****

Fiction.  Parker Pyne gets involved with the case of a missing diamond.  Several acquaintances are at a dinner, when an expensive diamond goes missing, and only the people at the dinner could have taken it, but after being searched, it is nowhere in the room.

• Postern of Fate *****

Fiction.  The final Tommy & Tuppence adventure.  T&T are now grandparents and move out to the country to live a quiet and peaceful life.  But Tuppence stumbles across a decades old mystery that puts them both in danger.

• Sad Cypress *****

Fiction.  A young woman cares for a wealthy elderly woman, but when the old woman has a stroke, her niece and nephew arrive to check on here and to make sure they’re still in the will.  When the woman has a second stroke and dies, Poirot arrives to ensure the right person is found guilty.

• The Secret Adversary *****

Fiction.  Tommy meets Tuppence, who he met during the war, and they decide to band together and create The Young Adventurers.  Taking an add in the paper, they promise to fulfill a task.  A customer hires them to find a young woman, a Jane Finn, who was given secret documents during the war, but she and the documents have gone missing, and it’s up to the new sleuths to find her.

• The Three-Act Tragedy *****

Fiction.  Satterthwaite attends a party given by his friend, Carles, during which a vicar is poisoned.  A few months later, Satterthwaite meets up with Charles in Monte Carlo, and while the men are there, they learn of the death by poisoning of another of their friends, They, along with Poirot and a young woman, band together to solve the murders.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Witching Moon *****

Fiction.  Third in the Witching Hour series.  Raven has physically recovered from the torture she went through in the cave, but she still has disabling flashbacks. In trying to assist a ghost on her path to the next journey, she uncovers a deadly horror in an old veteran’s hospital and needs the Wild Hunt’s help in getting rid of it.

Harjo, Joy

• An American Sunrise *****

Fiction.  A collection of Native American poetry by a Poet Laureate.

Harkness, Deborah

• The Book of Life *****

Fiction.  Third in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  The twins are born, but Matthew has been captured by Benjamin who wants Diana to bear his child.  Baldwin hands over the key to Diana and acknowledges Matthew as scion of the Bishop-Clairemont family.  Diana goes to Venice to address the Congregation.

• A Discovery of Witches *****

Fiction.  First in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  College professor, Diana Bishop, settles into New College, Oxford, to continue her research into the history of alchemy. There she meets Matthew Clairmont, also working in research.  Diana is a witch, and Matthew is a vampire, and when they begin a relationship, their lives are in danger, and Diana must try to call an old manuscript from the Bodleian library to keep them safe.

• Shadow of Night *****

Fiction.  Second in the Discovery of Witches trilogy.  Diana and Matthew are in 1590, London, and they’re trying to find the Ashmole 782 manuscript while also trying not to let anyone know about their marriage.  They travel to Sept-Tours and on to Prague when they find out the manuscript is in the hands of Rudolph !!.

• Time’s Convert *****

Fiction.  Standalone novel in the Discovery of Witches altiverse.  Phoebe becomes a vampire, and Marcus remembers back to his early life before and after being turned.

Hunt, Brenda

• A Beginner’s Guide to Pendulum Dowsing ****

Non-fiction.  Guide to using a pendulum.

Rowling, J.K.

• HP and the Chamber of Secrets *****

Fiction.  Second in the HP series.  Harry hears mysterious whispering in the castle. Mrs. Norris and some of the students are found petrified.  It all comes down to a diary of a boy who was once a student at Hogwarts, and Harry must face a basilisk to save a friend.

• HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone *****

Fiction.  First in the HP series.  A special young boy lives with his Muggle relatives and has a rather miserable life.  But on his 11th birthday, he receives a letter that will change his life.

Books Read - May 2020

Carle-Sanders, Theresa

• Outlander Kitchen ****

Non-fiction.  Cookbook based on the Outlander series.

Christie, Agatha

• Lord Edgware Dies ****

Fiction.  Poirot and Hastings must solve the murder of Lord Edgware when his young wife is suspected of the murder, but she can’t have been in two places at once.

• Mr. Parker Pyne Investigates *****

Fiction.  Collection of short stories manned by Parker Pyne, a retired clerk who solves people’s unhappiness problems.

• The Mysterious Mr. Quin ****

Fiction. A collection of short stories starring Mr. Satterthwaite and the mysterious Mr. Quin.

• The Mystery of the Blue Train *****

Fiction.  A woman carrying a fortune in rubies is murdered on a train, and Hercule Poirot is determined to find out who the culprit is.

• Peril at End House *****

Fiction.  Poirot and Hastings are on the trail of a murderer again when a young woman’s life is in danger.  Or is it?

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Autumn Whispers *****

Fiction.  Telazhar’s sorcerers have sent a sentient storm to destroy Elqaneve, and Delilah and Camille are in the palace when the storm hits.  Iris gives birth to twins, and Sharah has Chase’s baby, but as she must return to Otherworld as the Elfin Queen, Chase must raise Astrid on his own and moves in with Iris and Bruce.

• Blood Bonds *****

Fiction. The finale.  The sisters and their friends and family face up to Shadow Wing and hope to bring and end to his reign.

• Blood Wyne *****

Fiction.  Menolly is summoned to attend an event with Roman, the vampire prince, and she needs his help to stop a rogue vampire who has been preying on women.

• Bone Magic *****

Fiction.  Novel in the Otherworld urban fantasy series.  Camille has married both Morio and Smoky in a Soul Symbiont ceremony, but she has yet to tell Trillion about it.  She, Morio, and Iris travel to visit the king of the unicorns, where Trillion is waiting for them, and they receive more warnings of trouble to come in the form of Stacia Bonecrusher.

• Courting Darkness *****

Fiction.  Chase goes missing through a portal, and Camille and Delilah go searching for him, but before they can find him, Smoky’s father kidnaps Camille and takes her to his dreyerie in the Northlands.  After suffering his abuse and rape, Camille escapes, which only serves to enrage Hyto even more, and he challenges Smoky and Camille to meet him for a duel.

• Crimson Veil *****

Fiction.  Menolly leads the team through the sewers below Seattle to find and stop a daemon from killing two innocents and waking an evil demigod.

• Darkness Raging *****

Fiction.  The battle with Telazhar is ramping up as the ladies are going through changes of their own.  Camille is set to be the Queen of Dusk and Twlight, Menolly and Nerissa are marrying Roman and becoming princesses, and Delilah’s Death Maiden skills are evolving.

• Harvest Hunting *****

Fiction.  Tenth in the Otherworld series.  Delilah and Chase are finished but will remain friends, but she has a new love entering the picture.  The ladies are fighting Stacia the Bonecruser and her horde of the undead.  Camille’s father breaks her heart when she marries Trillion.

• Harvest Song *****

Fiction.  When a demon stabs Shade with a soul releasing sword, Shade’s soul leaves his body, and it takes Delilah and three of their family to retrieve his soul.  After the Autumn Lord gives Shade back his Stradolin powers, he and Delilah are finally wed.

• Haunted Moon *****

Fiction.  Gulalkah is still causing problems, but Camille has to travel to the Netherworld so they can destroy him.  Her powers are growing, and Morio becomes the priest to her priestess, and she learns she will be the Moon Mother’s earthside emissary as the Dark Moon Priestess.

• Ice Shards *****

Fiction.  Novella about Iris’ past and how she was rejected from the temple of Undutar for killing her beloved, who in turn, tries to kill her.

• Knight Magic *****

Fiction.  Novella after Moon Shimmers that tells how Camille was able to defeat one of the Fae Lords with the help of her men and to find the last Keraasster Knight, someone she never thought she’d see again.

• Men of Otherworld: Collection One *****

Fiction. Short stories about the men from the Otherworld series.

• Men of Otherworld: Collection Two *****

Fiction. Short stories about the men from the Otherworld series.

• Moon Shimmers *****

Fiction.  Now that the final spirit seal has been found, Camille is on the search for the Keraastar Diamond, a search that takes them to the Nebulveori Mountains.  The women are readying themselves to part company as Camille, her men, and Vanzir, Chase, and Astrid will move to Talamh Lonrach Oll, where she will take on the crown of Queen of Dusk and Twilight and Queen of the Keraastar Knights and Menolly and Nerissa will move into Roman’s mansion as they take their places as princesses of the Vampire Nation.  Delilah, Shade, and Rozurial will remain in the manor with Hanna and Maggie, and Iris and Bruce and their twins will also remain on the property.

• Otherworld Tales: Collection Two *****

Fiction.  Short stories from the Otherworld series.

• Panther Prowling *****

Fiction.  A Viking king from the past seeks to reign again, and a necromancer helps him regain his sword.  Once the king can possess a living body, he will come back to life and wreak danger on the city.  Delilah’s Death Maiden skills are growing, and Camille finds out she is destined to be the next Queen of Darkness and Twilight.

• Priestess Dreaming *****

Fiction.  A great wyrm is waking, and it will take the might of Myrddin to help destroy him.  Camille and some of the others venture into the realm of the Elder Fae to find the cave where Myrddin lies asleep for a thousand years.

• Shaded Vision *****

Fiction.  Delilah leads in their fight against Van and Jaycee, and find they also have Telazhar and Gulakah to fight once the tregarts are out of the way. But this time they lose the spirit seal.  Isis and Bruce are wed and head off to Ireland to visit his family.  Hanna is stepping up fill Iris’ shoes while she’s away.

• Shadow Rising *****

Fiction.  Menolly and Nerissa are getting ready for their wedding.  Gulakah has released more ghostly spirits, and the ladies work with both Queen Aeval and the Elder Fae to get rid of them.

• Tales from Otherworld: Collection One *****

Fiction.  Collection of Otherworld stories. 

Harkness, Deborah

- A Discovery of Witches (reading)

Neal, Toby

• Wired Ghost ****

Fiction.  Sophie and Jake are on the Big Island looking for a runaway who has taken shelter with her meth dealer boyfriend.  Earthquakes and flowing lava may impede their extraction, but when Sophie and Jake end up in a lava tube with sulphur dioxide gas seeping into the cavern, their lives are at stake.

Books Read - April 2020

Bradbury, Laura

• My Grape Quebec *****

Non-fiction.  Memoir of Laura’s time attending university in Montreal and Franck moving to Canada to live with her.

Christie, Agatha

• The Big Four *****

Fiction.  Hastings if back in England, and he and Poirot are drawn into a number of cases dealing with the Big Four, a group of international criminals.

• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd *****

Fiction.  Hercule has retired from the detective business and moved to a village in the country, but when he befriends the local GP, Dr. Sheppard, he gets drawn into another case of murder with very surprising results.

• The Murder on the Links ****

Fiction.  Third in the Hercule Poirot series.  Hastings meets a young woman on the train from Paris to Calais, and when he meets up with her again in the midst of a murder investigation, he decides to hide her participation in the murder.

• The Mysterious Affair at Styles ****

Fiction.  First in the Hercule Poirot mystery series.  Hastings is a house guest when the lady of the manor is murdered, and he calls upon his friend Poirot, who happens to be staying nearby, to come solve the case.

• Poirot’s Early Cases *****

Fiction.  Short stories of Hercule Poirot.

• While the Light Lasts ****

Fiction.  Short story in the Poirot series.  A wealthy woman discovers her lost love is still alive and thinks about leaving her husband, but the next day her old love is found dead of a suicide.

Dyer, K.C.

• Finding Fraser ****

Fiction. Emma is an Outlander fan and makes the decision to travel to Scotland in search of her very own Jamie Fraser.  What she finds is her inner Claire.

Gabaldon, Diana

• The Outlandish Companion I *****

Non-fiction. In which Gabaldon explains her writing process, talks about the first four books, and shares her feelings about the TV series.

• The Outlandish Companion II *****

Non-fiction. In which Gabaldon discusses books 5-8 and the Lord John Grey books.

• The Scottish Prisoner *****

Fiction. Novel in the Lord John series.  John finds some papers supporting the theory that Irish Jacobites are still trying to see their king on the throne, and he needs Jamie’s help to stop them.

(w/Tara Bennett)

• The Making of Outlander: The Series Seasons One & Two *****

Non-fiction.  On the process of creating seasons one and two of Outlander.

= The Making of Outlander: The Series Seasons Three & Four *****

Non-fiction.  On the process of creating seasons three and four of Outlander.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Changeling *****

Fiction.  Third in the Otherworld series.  Delilah is having to face the reality of how their lives have changed, and she takes on additional responsibility by becoming a Death Maiden for the Autumn Lord when Zach asks the girls for their help in saving the Rainier Puma Pride, which is being attacked by werespiders.

• Darkling *****

Fiction.  Menolly has to face her nemesis, her sire, and fight to gain her freedom from him.

• Demon Mistress *****

Fiction.  Seventh in the Otherworld series.  Fae and vampire women are disappearing, and the ladies uncover a demonic cult attempting to bring Shadow Wing to Earthside using their horrendous sacrifices._

• Dragon Wytch *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Otherworld series.  Camille must keep her word to Smoky and spend time with him in his barrow.  A Rakshasa is in town causing trouble and searching for the third spirit seal. Camille ends up marrying both Smoky and Morio in an attempt to gather their energy to find Trillion, who has gone missing in Otherworld.

• Etched in Silver *****

Fiction.  First in the Otherworld series.  Camille has been assigned to track down Roche for the YIA, but while looking for him, she runs into Trillian, a Svartan warrior, and a strong attraction is held by both of them.  Her sisters also work for the YIA, but their half-human blood causes problems with their innate talents.

• Night Huntress *****

Fiction.  Sixth in the Otherworld urban fantasy series.  Delilah is having relationship problems, and when she finds Chase having sex with his ex-girlfriend, she’s not sure whether she wants to see him again.  Trillion is still missing, but the girls are briefly reunited with their father.  Vanzir is proving that he’s loyal to the women when they go up against his former master.

• The Shadow of Mist *****

Fiction. Novella of Siobhan, a wereseal living in the Puget Sound.  An old enemy, one she’s traveled around the world to escape, has found her and beat up her fiancee. A short story about Maggie, who gets out of her outdoor playpen and finds herself lost and at the hands of a goblin.

• Sun Broken *****

Fiction.  Eleventh in the Wild Hunt series.  Raven Bonetalker has gone missing, and the team heard about Typhon who is opening to gates to flood the world with his dragons. As the team tries to trace Raven’s whereabouts, Herne’s mother and grandfather arrive to help them.

• Witchling *****

Fiction.  Second in the Otherworld series.  Camille and her sisters have moved Earthside and are working for the OIA.  Camille works in a bookshop, Delilah is a private detective, and Menolly works at the Wayfarer, a bar that caters to Subs. When three demons arrive searching for the spirit seals, the women are tasked to find Tam Lin, the keeper of the seal, and return him to Otherworld.

Garrett, Danielle

• Sassy Witch *****

Fiction.  A succubus is loose in Beechwood Harbor, and while Holly is busy running a week of singles’ events, she has to help stop the succubus from killing more men.

MacInerney, Karen

• Anchored Inn ****

Fiction.  Fourteenth in the Gray Whale Inn cozy mystery series.  A wealthy man comes to the island to search for a sunken U-boat. What they find is the skeleton of a missing teenager.  When a man is found dead near the inn and a friend of Natalie’s is arrested for the murder, she is determined to find the real killer.

• Lupine Lies ****

Fiction. Thirteenth in the Gray Whale Inn cozy mystery series.  A ruby ring is rumored to have been buried years ago, and people are once again trying to find it.

Pandian, Gigi

• The Alchemist’s Illusion *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Accidental Alchemist series.  An art forger is in town, and a local artist has died in mysterious circumstances. Zoe visits his art gallery only to see a picture of someone she knew hundreds of years ago.  The painting calls to her, and she suspects alchemy has a part to play in the mystery.

• Lost Gargoyle of Paris ****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Accidental Alchemist series.  Zoe takes Dorian to Paris to find out if a recently discovered sketch found in Notre Dame after the great fire is an authentic sketch or a fake.  If real, it could mean certain dark alchemists will be after it.

Troy, Alyn 

• Lattes and Spirits ***

Fiction.  First in the Welsh Witch cozy mystery series.  April moves to Wales to run a tea/coffeehouse with her aunt and learns that she comes from a magical community. One of her gifts is seeing and communication with ghosts, and when two of them appear needing her help in solving their murders, she’s ready to help.

Books Read - February/March 2020

Blake, Deborah

• King Me! ***

Fiction.  Morgan and her coven cast a spell to find a hero to save the world. What she gets is a mythical king in the form of Arthur.  What she finds is love.

Christie, Agatha

• 4:50 From Paddington *****

Fiction.  Tenth Miss Marple mystery.  An elderly woman sees a murder happen on a parallel train, but when no mention of it appears in the news, she appeals to Miss Marple to help solve the case, which she does with the help of the able Lucy.

• A Caribbean Mystery *****

Fiction.  Eleventh Miss Marple mystery.  Miss Marple’s nephew springs for a Caribbean vacation, and as she spends her time knitting quietly, a murder is being planned, one that has happened before.

• At Bertram’s Hotel ****

Fiction.  Twelfth Miss Marple mystery.  Miss Marple goes to Bertram’s Hotel in London for a brief holiday away from home, but what she finds is a crime syndicate and a murder/

• Greenshaw’s Folly ****

Fiction.  Ninth Miss Marple mystery.  Miss Marple’s young friend gets a job transcribing diaries with an elderly woman.  When she sees the woman shot by an arrow, Miss Marple gets involved.

• The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side *****

Fiction.  Eleventh Miss Marple mystery.  A famous actress and her husband have bought Gossington Hall, and the whole village is fascinated by them.  At a fete at the Hall, a local woman is greeted by the actress but ends up death moments later, and Miss Marple must solve the murder.

• Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories *****

Fiction.  All of the short stories involving Miss Marple.

• Nemesis *****

Fiction.  Thirteenth Miss Marple mystery.  Miss Marple is on another quest.  An old friend she met in the West Indies has died but has left instructions with his lawyer to engage Miss Marple in solving a mystery.  What the mystery is, he doesn’t say, but tickets on a bus tour of homes and gardens starts Miss Marple off on her way.

• A Pocket Full of Rye ****

Fiction.  Eighth Miss Marple mystery.  A wealthy man is poisoned, and when his parlour maid is murdered, Miss Marple arrives to solve the mystery. 

• Sleeping Murder *****

Fiction.  Fourteenth Miss Marple mystery.  A young couple buy a house that brings back memories for the wife, as she had lived there as a small child and had witnessed a murder.  Her father had claimed he was the killer and languished in a mental asylum, but the young couple, along with the help of Miss Marple, prove that he was innocent.

Gabaldon, Diana

• Besieged *****

Fiction. Novella in the Lord John series. Lord John is asked by his father-in-law to travel to Cuba and bring back his mother, his cousin, and her children to Jamaica, but he gets involved in a slave revolt and the British and Spanish War in the meantime.

• A Breath of Snow and Ashes *****

Fiction.  Sixth in the Outlander series.  The Revolutionary War is coming, but Jamie has to first find a way to switch to the rebels’ side and turn his back on Britain.  Claire is kidnapped, not once, but twice, and Jamie is accused of getting a young girl pregnant, after which Claire is accused of murdering her.  Trouble is coming to River Run, and people are disappearing all over the place.

• The Brotherhood of the Blade *****

Fiction. Third in the Lord John Grey series.  Lord John and Hal meet their new-to-be stepfather and stepbrother, General Stanley and Percival.  Percy and John are attracted to each other and begin a relationship, but they know that with Percy joining Hal’s regiment, they must be very careful not to be found out. John and Hal’s mother, Benedicta, is determined to find her former husband’s murderer but is afraid to let her sons know that their father didn’t commit suicide, in fear that they will go after the killer and be killed in turn, but Lord John begins to put the clues together.

• The Custom of the Army ****

Fiction.  Second in the Lord John Grey series.  Lord John is sent to Canada to defend a friend during a court martial but is caught up in the battle for Quebec.

• Dragonfly in Amber *****

Fiction.  Second in the Outlander series.  Claire and Jamie head to France to stop Charles from obtaining support for the rebellion, but they fail.  Their daughter, Faith, is stillborn, and Claire languishes in fever, while Jamie is imprisoned in the Bastille waiting for his hanging.  The rebellion goes forward, and Jamie sends Claire back through the stones carrying their second child.

• Drums of Autumn *****

Fiction.  Fourth in the Outlander series.  Jamie and Claire have settled at Fraser’s Ridge and are making it their home.  Bree and Roger find a newspaper clipping telling of her parents’ death in a fire at the Ridge some time in the future.  Without telling Roger, Bree decides to follow her mother into the past to warn them about the fire.  Once Roger learns of this, he too is determined to follow Bree through the stones.

• An Echo in the Bone *****

Fiction.  The seventh in the Outlander series.  The Revolutionary War has begun, and Jamie is serving as Colonel in the Continental Army.  Claire travels with him, putting her doctor’s skills to work.  Brianna, Roger, and their children return to Scotland in 1980 and buy Lallybroch from the bank and set up their home. But danger lurks when Brianna’s co-worker takes too close an interest in the narrative Roger is writing about time travel, and the man kidnaps Jemmy to force Brianna to tell him where the gold is located.

• The Exile ****

Fiction.  Graphic novel of the Outlander book.

• The Fiery Cross *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Outlander series.  Claire is busy doctoring, and Jamie is busy with the administration of Fraser’s Ridge and the people who have settled there.  They learn that Stephen Bonnet is still alive, and Jamie sets up a trap to meet with him.

• A Fugitive Green *****

Fiction. Novella in the Lord John series. This is the story of Minnie, a purveyor of books and information, who set out to steal love letters from Hal, Lord John’s brother, but in fact fell in love with him herself.

• A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows *****

Fiction.  Novella in the Outlander series.  Roger’s father, Jerry, is an RAF pilot who goes on assignment to take photographs of the Polish concentration camps. But during his training session, his plane goes down next to a circle of standing stones, and he unwittingly walks through them back in time.

• Lord John and the Haunted Soldier ***

Fiction.  Novella in the Lord John series.  Lord John has recovered from his brush with death at the hand of an exploding cannon in Prussia, but now the military questions his part in the explosion. In trying to clear his name, he finds that the metal alloy used in construction of the cannons was faulty and sets about to find those responsible.

• Lord John and the Hellfire Club ****

Fiction. Novella in the Lord John series.  A man Lord John has just met has been murdered, and Lord John receives an invitation to attend a house party at Lord Dashwood’s residence, a place of mystery and intrigue.

• Lord John and the Succubus ****

Fiction.  Novella in the Lord John series.  Lord John is on assignment in Prussia, when rumors of a succubus abound upon the death of a soldier.  When a second soldier is found dead, the people of the town are terrified a demon is in their midst, but Lord John is determined to prove the killer is human.

• A Plague of Zombies *****

Fiction.  Fifth in the Lord John series.  Lord John is in Jamaica trying to quell a slave rebellion, but he finds that the two slaves accused of theft weren’t actually the culprits.  When the governor is killed by zombies, John heads into the maroons’ territory to speak with the headman and see if they can resolve the issues.

• The Private Matter ***

Fiction.  First in the Lord John series.  Lord John chases a traitor and a murderer through London’s bawdy houses and elegant upperclass homes, but it isn’t until he is kidnapped on a ship bound for India that he finds the answers to the puzzles.

• The Space Between *****

Fiction.  7.5 in the Outlander series.  Michael Murray accompanies Laoghaire’s daughter, Joan, to her convent in Paris, but along the way she attracts the attention of the Comte de St-Germain, who believes her to be the daughter of Claire Fraser.  He kidnaps her and takes her to the chalk mines under the cemetery, where Maitre Raymond informs him that Joan is not of his blood, but the Comte is.

• Virgins *****

Fiction.  Prequel to the Outlander series.  Jamie has been released from prison after having been flogged over 100 times. But his father, Brian, believing Jamie was killed, dies of an apoplexy.  Jamie flees to France to become a mercenary with his best friend, Ian, and they accept a job guarding a young Jewess and a sacred Torah on their way to Paris. After a night at an inn, they wake to find the woman and her maid gone, along with the Torah and track them down to a manor house where they find the woman about to be married to the owner.

• Voyager *****

Fiction.  Third in the Outlander series.  While Claire is busy raising Brianna and getting her medical degree, Jamie is fighting at Culloden.  He’s terribly injured but is returned to Lallybroch by Lord John Grey’s older brother due to the debt Jamie is owed by their family for saving LJG’s life.  Jamie spends the next seven years hiding from the British in a cave near Lallybroch, but when he can’t take it anymore, he surrenders and is sent to Ardsmuir prison.

• Written in My Own Heart’s Blood *****

Fiction.  Eighth in the Outlander series.  Brianna and Roger and their two kids flee Lallybroch 1980, when Rod Cameron kidnaps Jem in order to find the Spaniard’s Gold. After getting Jem back, they go back through the stones to Fraser’s Ridge. Lord John and his brother, Hal, are searching for Hal’s son, Ben, who has been reported dead.  Dorothea and Dr. Hunter are still with Washington’s Army patching up the wounded. Ian has married Rachel, who has just given him a son. Marsali and Fergus lost their son Henri-Christian when there was a fire at the print shop.  They resettled in Savannah. William has gone off on his own after losing Jane, the young prostitute he had taken under his wing. He has resigned his commission.  Jamie has also resigned and has returned to Fraser’s Ridge to build a new house with Claire. Fanny, Jane’s sister is living with them now, as is Germaine, Fergus and Marsali’s oldest, as he is of age to be conscripted. Ian has lost Rollo to old age, but he and Rachel are making their new home on the Ridge.

Galenorn, Yasmine

• Autumn Thorns ****

Fiction.  First in the Whisper Hollow urban fantasy series.  Kerris returns to Whisper Hollow upon the death of her grandmother, Lila, who was the spirit shaman.  Kerris is ready  to take her place, but she faces dangers from all sides.

• Demon’s Delight *****

Fiction.  Maddy has been receiving messages from a mysterious person who is declaring his love for her, but when he is revealed as being her former love, Tom, she is finally able to lay her feelings about him to rest.

• Shadow Silence *****

Fiction.  Third in the Whisper Hollow urban fantasy series.  A necromancer serial killer has come to town and has been killing teenagers.  Kerris has to come up with a plan to get rid of him and turns to Veronica who furnishes her with an Unliving general of Veronica’s army.

Kelsey, Anita

• Claws: Confessions of a Professional Cat Groomer *****

Non-fiction.  Short stories of a groomer’s experiences with various moggies, along with many cat tips and website URLs dealing with cats.