Killed by the Narrator

And the narrator was good.
And the book was good.
But...the book was set in the American South...at a college...the main character is a college student...so why a middle age British narrator.
Just pretty much ruined the whole thing.
I didn't have high hopes for Watching, the first in the Making of Riley Paige series. 
Blake Pierce and the series and all of the others books and series written under the name Blake Pierce are one of those...what are they called...I can't remember the term...hang on...syndicate is the word I found right now, but there is another word for it.  Like Nancy Drew but for adults.  But all of these books under this name are on hoopla and when there is nothing else to read, I have been tempted.  But man...the British narrator?  Just weird and maybe lazy. 

Jack McEvoy kinda troubles me...(NOT!)

Of course, one doesn't have to love a character to appreciate a book or series.  And Jack McEvoy didn't trouble me until The Scarecrow.  I really did enjoy The Poet but then I didn't like Scarecrow so much I was surprised by how much I really did enjoy Fair Warning. But FW was so good that I will read the book about Jack.  Even though I do find him troubling...I don't remember why...but there were some things in Scarecrow that really made me raise my eyebrows...but maybe I am just being picky.

NO NO NO WAIT!

Dude while I didn't like Scarecrow, it wasn't Jack that bothered me...it was the guy from the other book by that woman who writes about a woman priest and a sheriff.  And the sheriff guy is a HUGE Blame-the-Victim dude.  BIG Time!  This one! 

So I had to change my title of the "review."  Jack is just a regular dude.  I mean, do feel bad for him because he lacks a lot of self confidence, especially when it comes to love.  But he isn't a creep like the law guy in that other series!  Sorry! 

So...this is weird.

In the Bleak Midwinter is the first book in the Rev. Clare Fergusson, and Russ Van Alstyne series.    This was not a book that came highly recommended.  In fact, when my friend told me about it she said, "These characters are terrible.  They are such jerks.  They are completely incompetent at what they do."  But then she told me that she has read every one of the books in the series.  And has every intention to read any forthcoming books in the series.  
Well I had to read one, right?
I am a pastor and so is Fergusson and so I figured that might be interesting.  And I love detective fiction, so I figured that might be interesting.  
It was not interesting at all!
My friend was right!  Neither Fergusson nor Val Alstyne are good at their jobs.  They are not sympathetic characters either.  But will I read the next one?  Yes.  I have already started it.  Will I probably read the rest of the series.  Probably.  It is like not being able to look away from an accident I guess.  I actually don't know.  It is just so bizarre.
Just.  Yeah.  I can't recommend this book either, but I will say if you read it, you might get hooked.  

Perfect for a Pandemic

I think it has been wonderful that Stuart Woods (along with Parnell Hall in this case) has released two books in pandemic time.  The world is in an awful place.  The United States is in chaos, "led" by a hateful man.  I feel helpless.  What better way to take a break from the hell that is reality right now than to read about Stone Barrington and his rich and charmed friends and family.  This is the fourth Teddy Fay book, Bombshell.  At was a great escape.

Not that we can escape all the time.  In fact, now more than ever we need to raise our voices and raise our hands and do all we can to protest the murder of African Americans, most recently George Floyd.  For the first time I preached what some might call a political sermon. I was very afraid.  The church at which I serve does not really address current circumstances in the world and country but I am trying to change that.  And it was Pentecost.  And if the Holy Spirit is with us well, we CANNOT be silent.  We MUST speak up.  Tomorrow I am going to my first protest vigil at my old church.  I am embarrassed and ashamed that it is just my first one.  But I can't be silent anymore.

I know I went off on a tangent.  But an important one.
I just wanted to make sure that it didn't seem as though it was okay to just escape into a book.  There is time for relaxing and reading, but there is also time (and the time is now) to stand up for what is right.  

I Do Love

these audible originals.  Second Skin was QUITE good!  It was sad and surprising and smart and keep me wanting to keep on listening.  It most certainly was an original as far as a story goes, too.  And I was surprised by the ending! 

Good Old Stone!

Hit List is the FIFTY THIRD installment in the Stone Barrington series and man, I hope Mr. Woods is planning to or has already written many more.  This one was really good and the ending means WOW (not that it was a shock but I am so looking forward to see how this all develops)!  I hope too that Peter and Ben come back into the stories soon!  Great stuff!  And no Felicity, which always makes a better Stone book for me!

It Might Just Be

the time...this time of great uncertainty and worry and fear...it is hard to get sucked into a book.  Maybe had I read Eight Perfect Murders in January or this November or last December, I would feel differently.  It just didn't hold my interest as much as I had hoped. But if you have read a lot of mysteries you might really enjoy this one.  I have not read a lot of "classic" mysteries and this book very creatively refers to them, so it might be really neat if you were already familiar with the titles referred to in the book! 

For some odd reason

I had never read the first two books in the Jonathan Stride series!  Which is kinda good because I was just able to enjoy them tremendously for the first time.  Immoral and Stripped.
These were simply excellent mystery/thriller/detective books, man.  Just awesome.  And Stripped has a character in it who was way before her time and I think that the way in which Freeman writes about her, Amanda, shows the beauty of this writer's character.  He dealt with gender and sexuality in such a Christ-like, decent human being way in this book.  Totally freaking awesome.  Love this series!

Skeleton Stories

I am trying very hard to find out if the spooky story that Bruchac tells in Skeleton Man and The Return of Skeleton Man.  It is such a good, spooky story!   Both of these books are!  Good, good, good! 

The Odd One

I know I am odd in my ambivalent feelings for Stephen King.  Some people who have written critical comments about Gwendy's Magic Feather say that it isn't good because it is written by Chizmar and not King.  For me, I think it seems as if it is written by King alone!  I have been much more disappointed with King than Chizmar, though I do admit that I have enjoyed a lot of King's stuff.  I am just saying this reads like one of King's boring titles.  And there are many of those, too!  I liked the first one a lot!  And I know, I know, King is credited with the main authorship of that one...I'm just saying. 

Spot on Dot

Dot Hutchinson is a new-to-me author and while the romance is something I can live without, I still found The Collector to be a very guilty-pleasure kind of read.  And I really enjoyed it!  I do wonder if agents really have this kind of relationship though...it does seem a little like Scooby Doo.  Still I loved them all!  Oh wait-wait!  I just discovered she is a YA author!  That makes sense!  I like it even more!  

More YA Thriller

Just seems like there are so many these days....Six Lies We Told is one of them and I didn't enjoy it too much.  It was okay and as long as one isn't turned off by the "We did this Molly, didn't we?" writing style, whatever that is called, I think it can be enjoyable.  But for me, it just didn't work.  I did think that the ending was cool though, and it made it worth reading.  I never saw the end coming until we were supposed to see it coming. 

Secrets

Two Can Keep a Secret was a really good mystery, one that I didn't see coming.  A lot of twists and turns and really believable, I think.  Good, good stuff.  After reading One of Us is Lying, this was top on my to read-list.  And it didn't disappoint.  If you like OOUIL, check it out!

In the Interest of Sanity

I have not posted in SO long and I know that has been so troublesome and sad for so many.
Not.
Thing is, I had shingles.
IN MY MOUTH!
I am so glad it was shingles.  I had no clue what the pain could have been.  When the ER doc told me shingles, I was actually so relieved!
Also I have been preaching a lot, and even did that while I was shingled, and so that was the priority.  So in the interest of my sanity, I am going to make this post all about the millions of Boxcar Children books I read while shingled. 
And I think I  might be done with them.
I do have to say that I enjoy them now!
The last ones I reviewed were books 1-10. 
I have completed the first 24 now! 
And if you look, I actually gave some 3 star reviews.  The Mystery of the Hidden Painting and The Old Motel Mystery and Benny Uncovers a Mystery and The Tree House Mystery! 
I appreciated the differences in how "Indian" language changed...now specific tribes are mentioned, instead of this general term. 

Five More Boxes

This time I binged on the next five in the Boxcar Children series:  Blue Bay Mystery, The Woodshed Mystery, The Lighthouse Mystery, Mountain Top Mystery and Schoolhouse Mystery.  I am not sure if they are getting better, but I can say for sure that Benny isn't as annoying as he once was.  I am going to read all of the ones written by GCW and then try the "new" ones to see the difference.

A Big Box of

terrible.
That's all I can say about the first three Boxcar Children.  I am going to publish this post when I finish four of them.  Why four?
Well, they are so popular, even today.  So I feel like I have to give them a chance.  People I love and respect and even admire claim to love the books.  But man.
The Boxcar Children, the first one, written by Gertrude Chandler Warner is just well...sad.
And the second one, Surprise Island is offensive and boring.  And The Yellow House Mystery is offensive, boring and just ridiculous.  Two and three have all of the "Indian" stuff, some tribe that is never named, just "Indian" so that is a huge problem.
I just can't see how these books are still popular.  The language is so dated.
I do want to listen to a new one just to see if Benny is still so freaking annoying.
So I went on and read Mystery Ranch, which was actually two stars!  And so was Mike's Mystery was a two star one as well.  But I am done now!  And glad for it. 

 

  

Really Different

Courtney Summers has written a great book in Sadie and has told it in a unique way, as the book alternates between Sadie's POV and a podcast like Serial.  She has told it so well that the idea of book told at least in part as a podcast doesn't come across as a gimmick or cheesy.  And because of the nature of podcasts, this book was just meant for audio and so really enjoyed the listen.  I got so caught up in it that it was one of those books that I had to listen to the end and then go back just because the suspense was killing me. 

My Stars

are always so up in the air.  When I finished The Lying Woods I gave it 4 stars and I am keeping it like that because 4 stars does mean "I really liked it" and I did really like it!  I will for sure read another by Ashley Elston.  When I get my audible credits this month I am going to buy This is Our Story.  It was between that one and this one for this month, but Louisiana won!  It was quite good.  The only thing that kept it from being a 5 was that it moved a wee bit too slow in the beginning for me, but keep in mind, I am a short book kinda gal.  The book was EXTREMELY clever and kept me guessing and the end really surprised me but it was fair, you know?  It wasn't one of those POP out-of-nowhere kind of endings that are really cheaters.  THEY HAVE A NAME THAT I ALWAYS ALWAYS FORGET! Anyway,  I can highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys a good, good mystery. 

Broken

Broken Things was a book I probably would have given five stars to if there had been two different narrators instead of one.  I had a hard time knowing who was telling their story.  Of course, maybe that is because I didn't find the story as compelling as some stories.  So I am not sure.  Not to say I won't recommend this book, because I will.  I think that Lauren Oliver is great.  It was she who really started my foray back into YA lit with Before I Fall, which I loved. 

My First Agatha Christie

Yes, I am not a fan of off-putting Briticisms.  Yes, I had tried to read this very Agatha Christie book when I was a kid, but I really needed a read and had nothing else and so I read Hallowe'en Party, the thirty-ninth Hercule Poirot book.  And it was SO funny!  Now I know someone died.  But it was funny.  It reminded me a lot of Columbo, which I loved, too.  I do want to read more and was glad that I read this in October!  Tis the season and all!  Loved it!I had seen a middle schooler reading it and asked her about it and other AC books and she just said she really liked them so I thought, well, maybe I am mature enough now!