Haiku Reviews...

 

The Midwest Lawyer by Peter Kirkland

A former prosecutor,

Maggie defends a childhood

friend charged with murder.

Legal thriller .... 376 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(First book in a new series; I can't wait to read the next one.)

You Had Me at Bigfoot by Nancy Campbell Allen

(Daphne Drew Mystery #1)

Daphne Drew and Clark

investigate a missing maid,

lost treasure and bigfoot.

Cozy mystery .... 264 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(Delightful mystery with Scooby Doo references, humor and two cute dogs.)

Milo's Eyes by Lissa Bachner

Blindness didn't stop

Liss from showjumping with her

amazing horse, Milo.

Biography .... 348 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(Loved the bond between this horse and his rider.)

Happy Reading!

September's bookish art...

Perham Wilhelm Nahl -- Silhouette, 1921

 "The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever."

--Libby Page, This Book Made Me Think of You

Romantic Hero by Kirsty Greenwood

 

The Plot:  Gertie, a London romance author, is suffering from a broken heart...and writer's block. And her next romance novel is due in just a few weeks. But she can't write a word. Then she wakes one morning to find a rugged cowboy on her couch. And not just any cowboy. This cowboy looks exactly like River Oakley, the villain from her romances. But how can a fictional character from Bedlam Creek, Texas, a town she made up, be real? As for River, he just wants to go back home. So he agrees to help Gertie win back her ex in the hopes it will end her writer's block, enabling her to finally finish her novel and send him back to where he belongs. Neither one is expecting to fall in love. 

My thoughts:  Cute (and unique) plot. Fun characters. And a swoony romance...though I could have done without the spicy scenes and all the f-bombs. River was gruff, sexy and good for Gertie, helping her find her own main character energy. It was nice seeing her go from wanting to be someone's sidekick to being a romantic hero in her own right. And seeing River navigate London, tea, and her neighbor's dog, Squish, was both entertaining and humorous. I enjoyed this one. 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

 

The plot:  Needing a quiet place to recuperate after an airplane crash, Jerry Burton and his sister, Joanna, rent a cottage called Little Furze in Lymstock. They're not expecting to receive an anonymous letter soon after full of hateful, untruthful accusations. While it makes Joanna laugh, Jerry finds it a little unsettling. Especially when he learns several other people in Lymstock have received similar "poison pen" missives. Then one of the recipients dies by suicide. The police are called in to investigate. And Jerry realizes the culprit must be one of his own neighbors. But who? And why? 

My thoughts: This clever and fun mystery is billed as a Miss Marple mystery, but she doesn't even show up until page 167. And she only makes two other appearances after that. It would have been better, in my opinion, if Christie had just had Jerry solve the murder instead of bringing in Miss Marple for so few scenes at the end. Because Jerry is a personable and engaging narrator. I liked both him and his sister. And I enjoyed this mystery overall, too. I had two ideas of who might be behind it all....but I ended up being wrong on both accounts. Once again, Christie's plot twists were too clever for me. It's not a long book, and it reads fast. And while it's not my favorite Agatha Christie novel, I thought it was an entertaining read. And I never once thought about DNFing it.  😉

Happy Reading!

Randomness...

 I'm totally loving Olivia Rodrigo's album "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love". It's awesome!

I also got a fun new game to play. It's called Trailblazer: Hiking the John Muir Trail. It has lots of pieces and parts and takes about 2 hours to play, but I like it. Up to 4 people can play at one time, and there's also a solo version. I'm eager to play it again.

For me, the end of August/beginning of September means canning season, and I've been busy bottling peaches and pears and making zucchini relish and blackberry jam. We had early blossoms followed by hard frosts this past spring here in Utah, so I couldn't get any Gala apples to do applesauce this time around. Hopefully next year. Canning always cuts into my reading time, but nothing beats eating yummy bottled fruit from off your own shelf all winter long. 

And while I read several really good books last month, I also ended up DNFing six. Which is unusual for me. I don't know if I was stressed, running extra tired, or just too impatient to deal with slower plots, aggravating or unlikeable characters, or stories that felt like they were going nowhere like The Correspondent. But I just couldn't make myself finish any of those six books. I'm hoping for better books this month. And more reading patience. 

Happy Reading!

Who is DS George Cross?

 "He was Marmite to most of his colleagues at the MCU. They either liked him or loathed him. There was no in-between. He often came across as rude, difficult or plain obtuse. But it wasn't intentional. George Cross was on the spectrum, which sometimes made him a little challenging to work with. But it was what made him an extraordinary detective."

"...Cross would never give up, particularly when he was told to. He was like a terrier snapping at your heels; once he'd got hold of your trouser leg, he would stubbornly refuse to let go, even if you spun him round in circles."

"It was a full twelve months since she'd become his partner and although it had taken some time to get used to him she had come to respect and understand him. ...In many ways she had become Cross's apologist in the department; his interpreter. She confessed to friends that she might have been less understanding had he not been such an irritatingly brilliant cop. He had the highest conviction rate in the force. By far. Having said that, there were times when she would happily have thrown him off Clifton suspension bridge." 

 The Patient by Tim Sullivan is another excellent mystery in this fun British police procedural series that stars DS George Cross. He's the best kind of character. And I am loving these books. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

  

Haiku reviews...

 

Ambition by Natalie Keller Reinert

Jules has a dream of

being the best horse trainer 

and three day eventer.

Fiction .... 358 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(First book in a fun series that's all about dressage, cross-country jumping and horses.)

The Hike by Lucy Clarke

Four women, best friends,

stumble into danger while

backpacking in Norway.

Thriller .... 367 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Loved the setting!)

Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart

They're babysitting

for a friend when bad guys come

for Mark and Astrid.

Action/Thriller .... 287 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(I love this series! But read Assassins Anonymous first.)

Happy Reading!