Minnesota

I wonder if I will ever find a book set in Minnesota that I don't like.  It hasn't happened yet.  What a great song.  Jonathan Stride's seventh book, Goodbye to the Dead was just so good.  SO GOOD!  I need to go back to Duluth.  I miss Minnesota so much. 

While I Didn't LOVE

Robert B. Parker's Colorblind, I had to give it the five stars because I am just so darn proud of Jesse Stone.  I just love that he went to rehab and I just love that Jen is no more.  I just really, really love that.  And that made all the difference.  Yes, Reed Farrel Coleman writes a different Jesse from Parker's Jesse, but Jesse is still a great guy.  This one just didn't grab me like some have.  But still, you go, Jesse.  I love you. Long may you run. 

Very Glad

When I read Summer Knight I thought the reason I didn't fall in love with it was the abundance of fairies.  And I think it was.  Because I really did enjoy, 5 stars worth, Death Masks.

I think it was the fairies....

I LOVE The Dresden Files.  And I am for sure going to read more in the series.  This one was only 4 of 5 stars for me and that is only because it was so heavy on the fairies. I thought that maybe it would be about Michael, because it is called Summer Knight and he's a knight and all, but no.  But I still really am looking forward to the next one!

Terrible Peril

Grave Peril was awesome!   I was so happy to finally get it!  I love this series to much and it just keeps getting better and better.  I especially love the character of Michael and wonder if faith will become a topic in future books.  Oh how I LOVE Bob!
Another thing that made me so grateful was that when Harry's Double was doing evil things, everyone saw that the double wasn't really Harry.  I would have been SO frustrated and also disappointed that Butcher had used such a common theme in a very uncommon series if it would have been one of those "we are all after Harry" thing of mistaken identity. 

Finally!

My hold on Fool Moon finally came through and I read it in one day.  I am so enjoying The Dresden Files.  I think that they are hilarious.  They have been around since 2000 and given the long list of holds for even the first few books, a lot of people feel the same way!  

When the first two books were written cellphones were around and used a lot, sure, but not in the way in which they are used today.  So I don't know if it was intentional that Butcher explains Dresden's lack of technology in such a brilliant and believable way!  I will definitely find out though, as I fully hope to read the whole series!  

It's not Minnesota but it's still

Brian Freeman and Brian Freeman is AWESOME!  And while I do LOVE Minnesota, and in fact, did not really love San Francisco and the Frost Easton books are set in San Francisco, as opposed to the Jonathan Stride books, by Mr. Freeman, I still LOVED the Frost Easton books! 

Oh Wow!

My dear friend, Everett Hitch (okay, that is not her name, but we often pretend we are Virgil and Everett and she has taken great care over the years to render herself unable to find on the internet, with great success) recommended The Dresden Files  by Jim Butcher to me.  Storm Front is the first. 
Because we both love Robert B. Parker, Stuart Woods and Dean Kootz's Odd Thomas, I was very thankful for the recommendation.  There aren't any Stone-ish qualities to Harry, but there are qualities off all of the rest, especially Odd.  And wow, wow, wow, I am so excited to have a new series!  This is great! 

Jonathan Stride

is one of those real characters.  I mean, the guy has made mistakes.  He is human.  I love him.  I also love the series because it is set in Duluth, of course!  Alter Ego was very good and it completely kept me guessing.  Great characters and a truly great mystery here.  If you haven't read a Brian Freeman book, I feel envious because now you MUST read them and you will love every minute of it. 

Spoilers!

Robert B. Parker's The Hangman's Sonnet written by Reed Farrel Coleman is Jesse #16.  I gave it a 4 of 5 stars but maybe it is 4.5 because (SPOILER) Jesse goes to rehab at the end!  I was so happy!  And also very happy that Jen seems to finally be gone!  Jesse's decision to try to give up alcohol just made me so happy.  I loved Jesse in this book and the characters and town of Paradise, of course, it was just that the mystery itself didn't thrill me so I didn't give it 5 stars.  But it is still a great addition!  Great cover!  And a cameo from Spenser, but I didn't like the voice for him!  Haha! 

One Too Many?

I couldn't give 5 stars to Paradise Valley, because I think that maybe the series should have stopped at three.  I don't know.  It just didn't hold my interest like the others.  Maybe that is because it was so far removed from Cody Hoyt and I just really seem to like male detectives more than female detectives! Again, my personal opinion, so remember, these aren't "reviews" as much as "how I felt." I am glad I read it though.  I found myself caring enough about the characters to want to see it through to the end.  And it was a satisfying end, indeed.

Not Fair

The thing is, had a never read a Faye Kellerman book, I think I would be more fair to Jonathan Kellerman books.  It's just that every page of every Faye Kellerman book has made me want to keep turning.  I have never wanted to skip or skim.  Not so with many books that I still love.  But F. Kellerman is just that good!
Breakdown was a good book!  And again the thing is, I would have given it a five if I wasn't always saying, "Man I wish Peter and Rina were involved!"  So not fair of me!
Anyway, I recommend Dr. Delaware to anyone.

Badlands

This is the third in a series of four from C.J. Box and I read the first two a long, long time ago, but I still remembered them once I got started with Badlands.  The last book just came out and I will be buying it and listening to it as soon as I finish One for Sorrow, which I am loving.
I loved this book, I really did.  And I need to read more of Box because he is just so good at painting a picture and telling a story. Great stuff.

Another All True Kinda Deal!

Robert B. Parker's Little White Lies by Ace Atkins has a message that is all too true, sadly.  In this case the "bad guy" is a big time fraud and yet has been on countless news shows as an expert, faking his way through it all.  Claiming to be a former Navy SEAL or special forces, serious military hero, all kinds of things.  And one of the reasons he is easily able to defraud the woman who hires Spenser is that the guy has really been on these news shows- the media having never checked his background!   There are a lot of creeps who do this.  Great book, as usual.  Atkins, as I have said before, does a really terrific job with Spenser!  

WOW

The 15th Jesse Stone book, Debt to Pay is just incredible.  Incredible.  Reed Farrel Coleman has done incredible things with Jesse.  And I would bet that Robert B. Parker is proud.  And just as blown away as Jesse fans must be.
This book is a must-read for Jesse fans.  If you have not read the others, you will want to do that first, but man, you need to get to this one.  Wow.

Kellermans in a Row

After reading Savage Spawn, I thought I would pick up an Alex Delaware, as it had been a while for me.  As I have said before, I am more of a Faye fan than Jonathan.  Compulsion was okay.  It seems that I still favor the Mrs. over the Mr.  It might be the whole Robin-Alex thing.  It might have been that this particular mystery seemed to lose me.  I still love Milo though.

A New Direction

As I was reading Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot I noticed that there was no longer the usual:
Jesse said.
Jenn said.
Jesse said.
But I didn't think too much of it.  I was listening to it, so I didn't even notice that it wasn't written by Michael Brandman, who had penned the three books after Parker's death.  I found this here.   The latest book is written by Reed Farrel Colemen.  And it has gotten great views.  I found this all out after I read the book and gave it a 4 of 5 stars.  Now that I have this new information, it has made me re-think the book.  Especially this part, "Unlike Atkins, Coleman hasn’t attempted to mimic Parker. Instead, Coleman is continuing the Stone saga in his own crisp prose style. For one thing, Coleman says, he doubts that he could reproduce Parker’s distinctive voice. For another, Spenser is the late author’s most iconic character; Parker wrote only nine Stone novels. That, Coleman says, gives him the freedom to continue the series in his own style -- and room to explore fresh aspects of the character."
Now I have changed by rating to 5 of 5 stars.  Because, what was I really expecting?  Robert B. Parker to come back from Heaven and write more books?  Would ANYONE come back from Heaven?  Na, I don't think so!
But you know what I mean.  Coleman has something good going on here.  And I am excited about the change.

Maybe I'm Wrong...

But as I have been saying, I don't think Jesse Stone was as mean and lawless when Parker gave him voice.  It is just so odd.  Maybe I need to go back and reread the originals.  Everyone else tells me I am just remembering him wrong. 

There's a Killer on the Road

Of course that blog title refers to the great song by The Doors.  The lyrics are quoted in The Highway by C.J. Box, a new author for me, recommended by Sharon!  You have to read Back of Beyond first!  She told me that and so I bought both of them on audible and blew right through them.  The Highway was so good that I had to skip to the end and work backward.  It was that nail-biting.  Cody Hoyt is the cowboy version of Schudder, a hard-drinking, hard-living detective.  The books are set in Montana.