March Book Journal Entries

Books read in March:
CHRISTIETOWN - Susan Kandel, TPB, good cozy series
PREACHING TO THE CORPSE - Roberta Isleib, MPB, second in good cozy series
PACIFIC VORTEX - Clive Cussler, MPB, like watching a good Johnny Quest show
KILLER INSIGHT: PSYCHIC EYE MYSTERY - Victoria Laurie, MPB, so good!
KISSCUT - Karin Slaughter, MPB, WOW!
BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER - Sharyn McCrumb, BOT, amazing story
THE BODY IN THE IVY - Katherine Hall Page, MPB, good cozy
DRAGON'S BREATH - E D Baker, BOT, cute continuing faery tale series
THE MERMAIDS SINGING - Val McDermid, MPB, WOW, get more of this author, especially this series
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH - M C Beaton, MPB, 1st in a very good series
THE DEVIL'S FOOTSTEPS - Amanda Stevens, MPB, SUPER WOW! Good dark suspense!
THE MANGROVE COAST - Randy Wayne White, BOT, uneven but saved by good narrator WITCHLING - Yasmine Galenorn, MPB, super paranormal
SINCE YOU'RE LEAVING ANYWAY, TAKE OUT THE TRASH - Dixie Cash, TPB, cute mystery chick-lit with Texas flair

11 books, 3 audiobooks, 35 total for year

Happy Birthday Grandma Violet!!!

Grandma Violet was born 31 March 1898. She was the best grandma anyone could ask for. She taught me to garden, be brave, and love to read.

I don't have a picture of Grandma Violet to post, but will post her favorite flowers, hollyhocks.

This is for you Grandma Violet. I love you and I know you are with me always. And Katherine Madelyn Violet has your name and your spirit. And love of life. And orneriness.

SINCE YOU'RE LEAVING ANYWAY, TAKE OUT THE TRASH - Dixie Cash

This is a fun chick-lit romance mystery cozy. Loved the title, chose to read the book because of it. Glad the content matched the witty cover.

Debbie Sue lives in Salt Lick, Texas and owns Styling Station beauty salon that used to be the town gas station. Debbie Sue is a 'retired' rodeo barrel racer and trying her hand at settling down, but getting itchy feet. Her ex is the town's sheriff. Friction and attraction is still there.

Town's richest woman has been murdered and there is a $50,000 reward. This could be the ticket for something bigger and better than Salt Lick.

A lot of good characters and story in this and I will be reading more of this sister team writing as Dixie Cash.

THE MANGROVE COAST - Randy Wayne White

This was a rather uneven storytelling of a mystery suspense. I read a review that it was not one of the author's better efforts, so I will try at a later date to read another, perhaps first in the series.

The premise is very workable, Doc Ford is a marine biologist and used to work for the Company (guvment) back in the day. He is asked by a dead friend's daughter to rescue her mother from the clutches of a con artist. The story goes back and forth in past and present to tell the tale.

Saving grace of the whole audiobook was the narrator, Ron McLarty, has a marvelous faculty with voices. I especially was enamoured of the character Tomlinson, a friend of Doc Ford's. The character is portrayed as one half George Carlin and one half Tommy Chong and is 100% delightful. I have a crush on this character!

The ending is an amazing aspect of the whole book. It more than made up for the uneven beginning and middle.

WITCHLING - Yasmine Galenorn

Very very good start to this paranormal trilogy. The trilogy is about all of the D'Artigo sisters, but the focus and narration in first person is by one of the sisters in each one. The first one is told by Camille, the witch, hence the title.

The sisters are half-human, half-faerie, they're operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency here on Earth, specifically in Seattle WA. OtherWorld, or OW, is in chaos and the demons from the sub-realms are trying to take over there and on Earth. The sisters are tasked with ensuring that this does not occur.

If you like entertaining paranormal mystery/romance, then this is your book and your series. Not necessary to read in order. I've already read CHANGELING, second in the series, and it did not diminish my enjoyment one iota in this one. Cannot wait to read the third in the series, DARKLING.

And the race is ON!!

A Lady K Experiment...You CAN Blow Bubbles in the Snow!

Happy Easter! Photos of yesterday and this morning

Above....Yesterday......Below.....this morning......

We are thankful for the moisture in whatever form it takes....maybe more of these little beauties will make a show soon...thanks to the snow...

THE DEVIL'S FOOTSTEPS - Amanda Stevens

Just this very second finished THE DEVIL'S FOOTSTEPS. I read this one like THE DOLLMAKER, practically in one sitting. I had one whole shift of not much going on and I took extreme advantage of the situation and read 98% of this dark thriller. I even tried to stay up and read it when I got home, but this book and just before sleep was not a good mix for me. Very mental image inducing, so I put it back in my purse for after sleep reading time. That time was just now.
FOOTSTEPS takes place in the South like DOLLMAKER did. A good setting for thrillers, I think. Certain areas in the South, especially Louisiana, lend a deep, dark, murky aura to suspense and thrillers. Magic, gators, cypress, swamps....it's all conjured when you read a book set in this area.

Sarah has had a time of it, trying to find her way in the world since her sister was murdered 14 years ago. Sarah has always loved being an artist and seeing the world for what it is and portraying it as such. Much to some folks discomfort. She became a tattoo artist and this expertise is what her ex, Sean, a cop, calls upon to help in a murder investigation. This event triggers memories long supressed in Sarah's subconcious. Can she go home again and continue this search for her past? Especially when Ashe Cain is still around. And what about the bells? And the Devil's footsteps?

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH - M C Beaton

Well done, M C Beaton, well done!! This is a super fun beginning of a series I've long ignored for some dumb reason. I love Agatha Raisin. I think I like her and this series better than M C Beaton's other with Hamish Macbeth.

Agatha moves from fast paced London to slow as a turtle pace Cotswolds after selling her very popular public relations firm. She is soon regretting the move, but works through to become accepted by the community. The rest is funny along with a murder or two.....

I HAVE to read the rest of this series!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!

THE MERMAIDS SINGING - Val McDermid

HUMDINGER! That's the first descriptive word! This is a new to me author and I am definitely looking for more of her, especially of this series. The characters are well drawn and I had no idea who the bad guy was til the end.

It gets a little heavy on the Brit slang, but I could follow along. Amazing if it's true how long it's taken for the cops over there to cotton onto profiling. It made a very good part of the story. There is teamwork and discomfort, an interesting mix.

I will claim ignorance as I don't have any idea what the title of the book has to do with the storyline, but I don't care. It's a good one! Go get it!!

DRAGON'S BREATH : Tales of the Frog Princess #2 - E D Baker

Cute as can be book in a really sweet, funny, magical series. I am not listening to them in order, only as RecordedBooks sends them out. I can keep up as they are short sweet books to listen to and very easy to follow.

Princess Emeralda is back in human form after being a frog in the first book and is in training to be a better witch. Emma finds herself helping her Aunt, the Green Witch, turn Haywood back to a human. Haywood is the Green Witch's long lost love, who had been turned into an otter many years ago by the Green Witch's mean mother.

Many adventures follow in the quest for all of the ingredients for the potion to make Haywood human again. Dragons, witches, wizards, seawitches, singing swords....all kinds of fun. Highly recommend for a fun fast read....or listen....

THE BODY IN THE IVY - Katherine Hall Page

I finished this finely written cozy this morning, again thanks to the stomach giving me issues, but the reading (and the Nexium) helped calm me. I read and finished and slept. I hope to read more of this series. This is my first and won't be my last.

The main character, Faith Fairchild, is hired to cater a week long reunion for a group of women who were friends at an all girl college in the 60's. She soon finds that all is not as it seems. It is a sort of Agatha Christie like story and Faith is caught in the middle. She also doesn't appear in the book very often. It's a refreshing change to the cozies, or any of the other mysteries I read, and I liked it.

I Will Miss High Crimes Mystery Bookshop

A sad weekend for local area mystery book lovers....High Crimes Mystery Bookshop in Boulder CO closed its doors. The very last day of store business was Saturday. I was able to make it in last Wednesday after my root canal. I thought some shopping therapy might help and I was right. I came out loaded to the gills with two bags of used books ($1 per bag), free ARCs and 5 or 6 she had from my wishlist as well as THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS - Amanda Stevens that I had asked Cynthia to order for me. It arrived in time for my visit.

The wonderful thing is Cynthia will still be available via the internet. We can order books through her and she will gladly help us out. I will miss the wandering of the shelves and finding treasures and new to me authors, though. Cynthia will still have her book-a-month subscription available, YAY. I love having that for my gifts for my dad and my sister.

I won't need to go book shopping for a while. I can catch up with Mt Git'r'Read and make a dent, but I don't like the reason. I will miss High Crimes.

HULU.COM

http://www.hulu.com/

This has been added to my favorite sites!!! Watch TV episodes, movies, whatever they have in their files. It's free, with minimal commercial interruption to let you watch for free. I have the first episode of Firefly on as I type this.....I can also watch my other favorite show Eureka. Now if they have Bones, I am set!

KISSCUT - Karin Slaughter

WOW! Another powerfully written story from Karin Slaughter. It is not for the faint of heart, especially if you have children. I don't know of too many authors who could take this awful subject and portray it and the characters in such a way that makes the reader need to keep reading if only to ensure the bad guys get what's coming or not.

The good guys are tortured souls, the bad guys are tortured souls and then there's the truly horrendous who have no soul, just a black pit.

All that said, I can't wait to get the third in the series. I will read this one in order. The characters intertwine and move apart and I need to know the reasons. It will definitely have to be a while before I can read the third one.

THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER: An Appalachian Ballad Mystery - Sharyn McCrumb

I highly recommend this book. I have enjoyed Sharyn McCrumb's work in the past, so much so that I have begun to collect her books for my keeper shelves. This one is second in being my favorite only to SHE WALKS THESE HILLS:An Appalachian Ballad Mystery. That one will remain my favorite, it was my introduction to this series and to Sharyn McCrumb.

Sharyn McCrumb gave an interview at the end of the audiobook, sharing with the listener her process of taking the ballads and legends from her upbringing and breathing them to life. Frankie Silver was a real person, she lived and died just as in the book. Sharyn places present day along with the past to show how things really haven't changed all that much even we'd like to think that we are more enlightened and evolved. We aren't.

Barbara Rosenblat shared narration with Jeff Woodman and both gave a superb performance.

Pleeeeease Tune in to Today's Lipstick Chronicles

http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/

If you love good blogging and have a yen to read a very good viewpoint on what the Guv in NY has been up to (and into) please tune over to Lipstick Chronicles for today, 11 Mar 08. Lordhavemercy! Sarah hit it right ON!!

KILLER INSIGHT: A PSYCHIC EYE MSTERY - Victoria Laurie

Now if you want a highly enjoyable mystery series, this is one of the best. I really like this one. I've read several and I think in order. They are a quick read and this one especially was. I started last night before bed and read more upon my early morning wake up thanks to that lovely thing called Daylight Savings Time (please note sarcasm). In this instance, it was a good thing. I woke, couldn't go back to sleep, decided it would be a fab time to get back to this super cozy mystery. It's a little grim, but not in a deep dark way. I love Abby Cooper's character. She is a person who has come to terms with her gift of being a psychic. It is her career. I like how Victoria Laurie explains how Abby gets her messages.

Another plus aspect in this particular book was the locale. Abby gets invited out to Denver CO to be a bridesmaid. I live here and like reading books set in the local area. Call me goofy....yeah, whatever.

PACIFIC VORTEX - Clive Cussler

Reading Clive Cussler, especially this first Dirk Pitt, is like watching a really good Johnny Quest show. There's a mysterious message canister found in the ocean, an exotic woman, work with the US Navy looking for a missing nuclean submarine, evil frogmen.....This is a good thrill ride, action beyond belief, last minute reprieves of death. Makes me tired, but a good kind of tired.

This is only my second Clive Cussler, third if you count watching Sahara many times. I'll read more later, some time in my life. Need a vacation from the thrill ride, something mellow....maybe a vamp or werewolf book......

First Sign of Spring!!!

Albeit a teeny tiny itty bitty sign, it's a sign and I'll take it!

PREACHING TO THE CORPSE - Roberta Isleib

I finished this morning while I was waiting for my stomach to feel better. It was actually soothing as I finished the rest of the book. And then the Nexium kicked in and I felt even better.

I think I liked the first one better, but this one was a good follow up in the series. I should have waited to read in December as it takes place in the holiday season. Or in the summer when it's smokin' hot! This takes place in a friggin' cold in the winter state, so reading it in February/March in Colorado was maybe a mistake. Couldn't seem to get warm....

CHRISTIETOWN - Susan Kandel

What a super fast read this was! Very entertaining, fun, intriguing, with two stories going at the same time. The main character, CeCe, is an author who writes books of mystery writers. This one is about Agatha Christie. The back story is the 11 days she went missing from her life and the public eye.

The present day story revolves around a planned community on the outskirts of LA. Said community is based on Agatha Christie's novels. Shades of the movie 'Chinatown' appear from time to time.

This was one of the ARCs I picked up from High Crimes last week. Cynthia saw me browsing the titles and told me they were free ARCs and to please help myself. I took her up on the invite.

I have read one other Susan Kandel, NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE (about the author/s of the Nancy Drew mystery series), and immediately put her other books in the series on my wishlist.

If you want a smart, funny, sassy cozy this series is for you. I especially like the cozies that teach me something. This one has a background of vintage clothing as much as the background of the mystery writers premiered in the books.

FEBRUARY BOOKS

Books read in February:

THE DOLLMAKER - Amanda Stevens, MPB, SUPER!

CIRCLE OF QUILTERS - Jennifer Chiaverini, BOT, my favorite of the series (so far)

DEATH'S ACRE - Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, TPB, non-fic, very good book on how the Body Farm came to be

CITY OF MASKS - Daniel Hecht, TPB, WOW!

HOUNDING THE MOON - P R Frost, MPB, very good start to this series

THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS - Mario Acevedo, TPB, very fun vamp book

STRIPPED - Brian Freeman, BOT, SUPER, more please!

STORM FRONT - Jim Butcher:Book One of Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, MPB, yowzah!

ONCE UPON A CURSE - E D Baker, BOT, cute

DROP SHOT - Harlen Coben, MPB, sigh...I love Myron....

Books - 7 Audio - 3 Total for the year - 21

I'd be hard pressed to choose the favorite of the month. Best title goes to NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS. It would be a tie between THE DOLLMAKER - Amanda Stevens and STRIPPED - Brian Freeman. Both are new to me authors and both had well written gripping suspense. The one I am most proud of myself for reading of the two would be THE DOLLMAKER. I had to get over the cover. I have a dread fear of clowns and those lifelike dolls.....here, you take a look....