Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger

Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger – Not an Ordinary book – an extraordinary book!

So while I have not posted much over the last few days, I have finished three books. Finished first was William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace, which was closely followed up by The Forgotten Room from Lincoln Child. Then today, I finished The Toaster Oven Mocks Me by Steve Margolis. Two novels and a personal memoir, all very good. In this post I will write about the first book Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. William Kent Krueger is the author of the Cork O’Connor series set in northern Minnesota. I am a big fan of those novels. Read More

Orphan X – Gregg Hurwitz – Book 9 of 2016

Gregg Hurwitz – New Evan Smoak series is off to a great start with Orphan X ****

Gregg Hurwitz is one of those authors whose books I read sporadically and when I  do read one of his books, after I finish it I usually say “Can You Tell me Edward, why you don’t read every Hurwitz book when it comes out?? To which I answer simply no – which is better than omitting I am a fool!! So when I recently saw that Hurwitz had started a new series and the first book Orphan X would be released soon, I knew I’d be a fool again not to read it!! Having just finished it the other day – I can say I am thankful I am not an old fool and bring on book 2 of the Evan Smoak series!! Read More

The Death Relic – Chris Kuzneski

The Death Relic - Chris Kuzneski

The Death Relic by Chris Kuzneski helps me pleasantly procrastinate! 

So yesterday morning I was all set to write a nice post about how it was the first day that I had done my Kundalini, Weights and Band morning exercise routine in about a month. I was going to writing about how I made it through the routine with a minimal amount of coughing and even was able to end with a nice 15 minute meditation. Then I’d write how I was able to make a nice strawberry, blueberry, banana smoothie and sit down and read with no grandchildren to babysit! The reading part was what did me in The Death Relic  by Chris Kuzneski took over and wouldn’t let me breakaway. Even though the pages were flying by time was still marching on, and I was not writing!! I finished just before lunch and I still hadn’t written anything….I’d done some laundry and the dishes, but no writing!! Then it was afternoon and I rationalized that I shouldn’t really write about the morning now! Before I knew it, it was four o’clock and time to go pickup up Oliver at the sitters and take him to his mommy, who works in Cherry Hill.  Bottom line was that I had successfully put off writing all day and I continued to procrastinate all night until it was time to turn in. So while I am not going to write any more about the exercising or meditation from yesterday morning, I will tell you a little about The Death Relic. Read More

Signal – Patrick Lee’s Latest!

Patrick Lee Author of Signal

Signal – Patrick Lee (Sam Dryden # 2) ****

Patrick Lee has a penchant for writing thrillers with a bit of science fiction weaved into the storyline. His last two books Runner and  his current release Signal, both feature Sam Dryden and ex-special forces operative battling forces against advanced technologies. My first encounters with the works of Patrick Lee was the Travis Chase trilogy which included The Breach, Ghost Country and Deep Sky. In that series The Breach sends artifacts and people back and forth through a time portal. In Signal, Dryden confronts a machine that receives signals from the future! Read More

Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson

Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson – Pen/Faulkner Award Winner

Snow Falling on Cedars is kinda’ the type of books I read, but well not quite. While the basic storyline is the murder trial of Kabuo Miyamoto there’s a lot more that to it that sets this Pen/Faulkner Award winning novel apart from a typical book in the mystery genre. The novel provides not only a great trial mystery that keeps you guessing until the end of the book, but it provides a glimpse into the lives of Japanese-Americans during World War II and beyond. Read More

No Sanctuary – Richard Laymon

Book 42 of 2015 – No Sanctuary – Richard Laymon a little less than expected….

As I was sitting around over the weekend not feeling well, I spent my time in typical fashion reading!! Did I read any of the three books that I picked up at the library on Saturday? Of course not! I read some in Gracie: A Love Story and then started No Sanctuary by Richard Laymon. I am not sure where I got the book but it has been on my TBR shelves for a long while now. Anyway, on Saturday when I was moving things around I saw the back of the book and read the following Read More

Silent Creed – Alex Kava

Ryder Creed and Maggie O’Dell Team Up Again in Alex Kava‘s Silent Creed

So in the midst of all the goings on over the last week I did manage to finish my second book in October. It helped that the book, Silent Creed from Alex Kava was a real page-turner!! Silent Creed is the second book from Kava to feature dog-handler Ryder Creed and so far it has been a wild ride!! In Silent Creed Ryder is teamed with FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell for the second time. The initial pairing of Creed and O’Dell was in the thriller Breaking Creed. Maggie has been a favorite of mine through eleven thrillers! Read More

Broken Promise – Linwood Barclay

Broken Promise – Linwood Barclay (Promise Falls #1)

In Broken Promise, the latest from Linwood Barclay, the author returns to the town of Promise Falls, New York and pens another terrific thriller. Promise Falls was the setting for two of Barclay’s previous books, Never Look Away and Too Close to Home. Many familiar character populate Broken Promise including: Police Detective Barry Duckworth, Landscaper Eddie Cutter and his son Derek and the main protagonist David Harwood. Harwood and his family wife Jan and son Ethan were the main characters in Never Look Away. Broken Promise picks up David’s life several years after Never Look Back,  David and Ethan have returned to Promise Falls where David has returned to his former job as a reporter for the town newspaper, only to have the newspaper shut down on his first day of work! His only option is to move back in with mom and dad! One day his mom asks David to look in on his cousin Marla. Marla is having a hard time after losing a baby about ten months prior.When David arrives at Marla’s he notices a spot of blood on the front door and Marla is caring for a ten-month old baby, that she says an “Angel” delivered to her door! Read More

The Shining Girls – Lauren Beukes

The Shining Girls Didn’t Shine for me! (Book 39 for 2015)

So – have you ever zipped through a book, enjoyed it, and yet felt that you never really connected with the book? That may be the best way to describe how I feel about The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. It obviously wasn’t how Tana French felt about the book, on the cover of the book French’s quote reads….. Read More