Category: By Genre
42. A Death in Live Oak (Jack Swyteck # 14) – James GrippandoThree-Inch Teeth – C.J.Box (Joe Pickett #24) A Great Addition to the Series!
Three-Inch Teeth – C.J.Box (Joe Pickett #24)
Book 13 for 2024
Three- Inch Teeth is the 24th book in the Joe Pickett series from C.J.Box, It is also the 23rd book I have read in the series. The only book in the series I haven’t read is Cold Wind. (Note to self read Cold Wind this year!). As a long-time fan of the series, while Three- Inch Teeth is one of his best books, it is for me one of the most disturbing.
The Death of Us – Lori Rader-Day – A Great Read!
Ok so for a few days I was doing pretty well in writing new posts, Then I sort of fell off the wagon again. The good thing is that I have still been reading, listening to good music and even running. Well, maybe slowly jogging is more correct description! As I said I have been reading and have finished two books so far this month. The first book was from one of my favorite authors Linwood Barclay. His latest I Will Ruin You. The second was from Lori Rader-Day an author, who was unfamiliar to me. Like Barclay’s latest I read Lori’s latest The Death of Us. Since that one is fresher in my mind I’ll write about it in this post,
The Death of Us – Lori Rader-Day
The novel opens with a flashback to 15 years early. On a rainy night Ashley Hay arrives a Lissette Kehoe’s door and entrusts her with her new born baby Gallan. Ashley was never seen or heard from again, For the next fifteen years Liss raised Gallan as her own. And for most of those years the question of what happened to Ashley hung over both Link and Lissette Kehoe.
Until Gallan other members of his high school football team go for a joyride after a cancelled practice. They head for the Kehoe house, take a curve too fast and almost drive into the quarry lake. When they do they see a car in the murky lake. Could it be Ashley’s car? Needless to say the discovery turned life upside down for Gallan, Liss and Link along with the whole town!
The quest to figure out what happened to Ashley falls on the shoulders of Marshal Mercer Alarie. Mercer has also been romantically involved with Liss while she has been estranged from Link. Oh, Boy!
The Bottom Line
Ok so now that I’ve read a book written by Lori Rader-Day. I can safely say it will not be my last! I found The Death of Us a compelling and thorough read. I loved the story and all the characters, The plot kept me turning the pages as did the several twists at the end. All and all the books comes highly recommended!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Lori Rader-Day
Village in the Dark – Iris Yamashita (Cara Kennedy Book#2)
Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita is book number 2 in her Cara Kennedy series. It is a mystery thriller set in Alaska. Book 1 in the series is City Under One Roof. Cara Kennedy is an Anchorage Police Department Detective. She is on administrative leave after her husband and son disappear while on vacation in Point Mettier. Point Mettier is an isolated town where its residents all live in one high-rise. In book one Cara finds some of the answers to her husband and son’s disappearance and they weren’t pleasant. (I’m not spoiling things by telling you what she discovered). Anyway at the end of the book she makes another discovery that leads her back to Point Mettier to see if she can find the final answers!
Scott Carson – Lost Man’s Lane. His Best yet? Yes!
Three-Inch Teeth – C.J.Box (Joe Pickett #24) A Great Addition to the Series!
Three-Inch Teeth – C.J.Box (Joe Pickett #24)
Book 13 for 2024
Three- Inch Teeth is the 24th book in the Joe Pickett series from C.J.Box, It is also the 23rd book I have read in the series. The only book in the series I haven’t read is Cold Wind. (Note to self read Cold Wind this year!). As a long-time fan of the series, while Three- Inch Teeth is one of his best books, it is for me one of the most disturbing.
Goodbye Girl – James Grippando – April Reads -Part 1
Ok so after having read only two books in all of March, I finished my second book for April yesterday! The two books I’ve finished are Goodbye Girl by James Grippando and Innercise: The New Science to Unlock Your Brain’s Hidden Potential by John Assaraf. Goodbye Girl is the 18th book in Grippando’s Jack Swyteck series. While Innercise is a self-help book.
The Last Ranger – Peter Heller (Book 9 of 2024)
The Last Ranger is the second book I’ve written by Peter Heller. The River was the first of Heller’s books I read back in 2020. In a year where I read 56 books (thanks to the pandemic,) it was one of the best books I read. So I was looking forward to reading The Last Ranger. I must admit that I found it a little slow going in the beginning and and actually set it aside and started reading James Grippando’s latest Goodbye Girl. However, I went back to it as the library due date for the book approached, uh it’s today! Anyway, I’m glad I returned.
Starter Villain – John Scalzi – AnotherWinner for Scalzi
So on Friday January 12 I finished reading my second book for 2024, John Scalzi’s Starter Villain. It is the ninth book by Scalzi on my Goodreads shelves. I began reading Scalzi’s books in 2008. The first book I read was Old Man’s War. that book among the others in the Old Man’s War series may still be my favorites written by Scalzi.
The hero of the book, well maybe not a hero, let’s just say main character of the book is Charlie Fister. Charlie is a divorced ex-newspaper journalist. Who is now a substitute teacher living with his cat. A house his siblings want to sell. All Charlie wants is to buy and run a pub downtown. But the cost is astronomical and his only collateral for a bank loan is the house he lives in, which his estranged siblings want to sell!
Then his estranged Uncle Jake dies and leaves Charlie his business. Charlie realizes he may be in trouble, when he’s asked to represent the family at his uncle’s memorial service. At the service, first it was the message sent on a vase of flowers. The message See You in Hell” During the visitation, one guest checks Jake’s pulse another tries to stab him! It seems his uncle was not too popular. “
When Charlie is whisked away to his uncle’s island (I won’t tell you why) he learns Uncle is a “villain”. Additionally, the people who were out to get Jake are out to get his heir, i.e. Charlie. Can Charlie survive??
Thoughts on Starter Villain
Starter Villain is the ninth book written by John Scalzi I have read. While I enjoy his hard science a little more I also enjoy his other books.I thought The Kaiju Preservation Society was a great read. The book was nominated for a Goodreads Award as Best Science Fiction book of the year so others liked it, too. It finished as the 8th most popular book.
Starter Villain reminds me a lot of The Kaiju Preservation, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps until she becomes involved with the Society. Cuarlie on the other hand is an ex-journalist stuck working as a substitute teacher. Both are characters that you can root for as they both face formidable opponents.
John Scalzi’s sense of humor always comes out in his characters and it certainly does in Charlie Fister. It certainly is one of the aspects of Scalzi’s books I love.
Even though I keep waiting for something big to happen in Starter Villain, overall i was satisfied with the surprising final twist at the end. Actually, the more I think about the book the more I realize that I really liked the book.
In 2023 Starter Villain was also nominated for the best science fiction book at Goodreads. This time Scalzi’s book finished fourth in the voting. So check it out.
Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of John Scalzi
