Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme: ONE-WORD REVIEWS FOR THE LAST 10 BOOKS I READ. Only my list is just 5 books this week...October was a rough reading month with lots of DNFs and so-so reads. But I liked most of these:

The Monk by Tim Sullivan:  irresistible

Murder on Threadneedle Street by Andrea Penrose:  immersive

I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie by Jaclyn Smith:  nostalgic

Well Versed by Jen DeLuca:  disappointing

The Bloodied Client by Peter Kirkland:  compelling

Until next time... Happy Reading! 

Welcome to November!

 

Vanished Beyond the Map by Adam Shoalts

 

Facts about Hubert Darrell:

• He was born in England in 1874 and emigrated to Canada when he was 16.
• He worked at farming for awhile, then panned for gold in the Klondike, but his true love in life was exploring the vast wilderness of Canada's Northwest Territory, on foot and alone.
• His exploration & map-making skills, uncanny abilities, physical endurance and tenacity earned the respect and admiration of Roald Amundsen.
• Famous polar explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson said: "The few white men who were on the north coast of Canada between 1906 and 1912 agree that Hubert Darrell was its greatest arctic traveler."
• His countless journeys added up to a record few could match. 
• "In November 1910, Darrell was exploring and filling in blanks on existing maps alone in the Western Arctic near the Anderson river when he mysteriously vanished."

Fascinated by this lost and largely forgotten explorer, author Adam Shoalts spent years combing through archives, tracking down letters and old newspapers, and even venturing on several canoe trips and wilderness expeditions of his own to track Hubert Darrell's accomplishments and trace his many solitary journeys, hoping to learn what became of him. His book is part history, part compelling detective story and part wilderness adventure. And his words transported me to the far northern reaches of Canada as he trekked through those remote arctic lands few have ever seen. I was enthralled. And I came away with profound respect for both Hubert Darrell and Adam Shoalts.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  HALLOWEEN FREEBIE.

So, I decided to go with 10 Past October Reads With a Suspenseful Halloween Vibe. 

2025:  Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft

2024:  Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

2023:  The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert

2022:  The Necromancer's Library by J.L. Bryan

2021:  The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

2020:  Hunted by Darcy Coates

2019:  The Retreat by Mark Edwards

2018:  Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye

2017:  Ghost Song by Sarah Rayne

2016:  Shiver by Alex Nye

Most of these are suspense/thrillers, but a few are ghostly stories. 

If you're looking for a fun October read, I enjoyed all of these. 

Happy Reading!

The House at Devil's Neck by Tom Mead

 Nine strangers.

A notorious mansion.

An isolated island. 

A suicide that might be murder.

And a locked-room mystery.

The plot:  While Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard investigates the apparent suicide of Rodney Edgecombe in London, Joseph Spector, former magician extraordinaire, heads to Devil's Neck for a weekend seance. When one of the other guests ends up dead, Spector immediately figures out it's murder. But finding the murderer is another matter.

My thoughts: Tom Mead's mysteries are like an homage to those classic locked-room Golden Age mysteries I love to read. There are always clever tricks and deceits in them. And Joseph Spector, a master of illusion himself, can spot them all. He's the other reason I really love these books. He and Flint work so well together. And even though they are apart for most of this book, I love how their two separate investigations come together at the end. There are a lot of surprises along the way, but also enough clues for you to figure it out if you're really clever. Which I was not. But I sure did have fun reading this one! 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

October's bookish art...

 

Nicolaas Van Der Waay--Amsterdam Orphan Girl

"Reading is better than life. Without reading, you're stuck with life."

--Fran Lebowitz

Haiku Reviews...

 

Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie

Poirot's sleuthing skills

are tested when a murder

game becomes all too real. 

Mystery .... 226 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(I always enjoy reading Christie's mysteries.)

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

Lord Peter and his 

cattery work to prove Harriet

is innocent of murder.

Mystery .... 240 pages .... 3/5 stars.

(Miss Katherine Climpson and Miss Joan Murchison go undercover in this one; they were my favorite characters.)

Sasq'et by Maxim Langstaff

A strange legacy

from her grandfather hints that

Sasquatch might exist.

Fiction .... 639 pages .... 2.5 stars.

(Loved the premise. And it's full of historical Sasquatch sightings. But there was too much research, not enough action, and it was way too long. Plus, the ending was a bit of a letdown.)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOK COVERS FEATURING AUTUMNAL COVERS.

Here are mine:

Aren't these fun? I love the fall vibes. 

Happy Reading!

The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

 

from the blurb:  Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

my thoughts:  I've read many of Elliot's mysteries, but somehow missed this one. And it's a good one. I really liked Agent Zander Wells and his partner, Agent Ava McLane; they worked well together, even when the local sheriff  wasn't very cooperative. I also liked Emily and her three elderly aunts. They are an eccentric bunch and made me laugh. I thought Elliot did a great job of weaving together the past and present mysteries. And she always brings life to her Oregon setting, which is another thing I like about her books. This is a compelling and well-written novel. 

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

 

Deputy Mattie Walker and her K-9 partner, Robo, have their hands full when a simple welfare check leads to murder, and a routine traffic stop reveals drugs and a possible link to a human trafficking ring. 

Once again Margaret Mizushima has crafted a tightly plotted and dynamic mystery. This is the 11th book in her Timber Creek K-9 series, and it's every bit as good as all her previous books. This is one of my favorite series. The mysteries are always interesting and the characters entertaining. I really like Mattie and her veterinarian husband, Cole, and how well they deal with their demanding jobs, his two daughters, and their ever-deepening relationship. And I love Robo! He's such a cute and engaging character. Dogs make every book better imo. And Robo is the best.

Happy Reading!

Other books in this series that I've reviewed:

Killing Time (#1)

Stalking Ground (#2)

Hunting Hour (#3)

Burning Ridge (#4)

Tracking Game (#5) 

Hanging Falls (#6) 

Striking Range (#7)

Gathering Mist (#9) 

Dying Cry (#10) 

Randomness

 I finally got around to watching the first season of Wednesday last month, and I loved it! Especially the clever dialogue and all the quirky characters. It was just so fun. 

And I'm very excited that a new season of Tracker starts on Sunday. It's one of my favorite shows. My other favorite? The Amazing Race! I don't always love the teams, but I do love seeing all the places they go. 

I'm still DNFing a lot of books. I'm not sure why...maybe because I'm running tired, or feeling more stressed lately. Maybe it's work taking up so much of my free time. Whatever the reason, I'm finding it hard to stick with a book that doesn't instantly pull me in. I don't seem to have any patience for slower starts, so-so plots, or 3-star characters. But I did do a lot of rereading last month because of it. Thank heavens I have so many favorite books sitting on my shelves. I'm hoping to actually finish more books this month; I have a new stack checked out from the library and they all look good. So fingers crossed! 

Favorite line from a recent read I did manage to finish: "The next morning, the autumn weather had changed from golden to Gothic." --Julia McKay, Something About September

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is a FALL-THEMED FREEBIE.

So I decided to have a little fun and go with Fall Titles.

1. The Fall of Lord Drayson by Rachael Anderson

2. Fall With Me by Amanda Jones

3. The Friendly Fall by Kristine W. Joy

4. Fall I Want by Lyra Parish

5. Just Don't Fall by Emma St. Clair

6. A Sweet Alaskan Fall by Jennifer Snow

7. Never Fall For Your Fiancée by Virginia Heath

8. See You Next Fall by Annabelle McCormanck

9. The Fall Back Plan by Melanie Jacobsen

10.  A Fall to Remember by Ellie Alexander

Happy Reading!

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

 

Who:  Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Baroness Emma Orczy and Margery Allingham.

When:  1931

Where:  London, England and Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France

What: These five mystery writers, otherwise known as the Queens of Crime, are determined to solve the very real murder of a young English nurse named May Daniels.

Why read it: This book is a fun combination of historical fiction and mystery. And it's so well written. Dorothy Sayers is the main narrator and the main driver of the plot. I thought the author did a good job of depicting her and the other four women authors. I really enjoyed their interactions. And the mystery was interesting, too. I liked how these five women call on their unique writerly skills to aid in their investigation. It's an interesting time period to read about, too. All in all, an entertaining and satisfying novel. 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme:  BOOKS ON MY FALL 2026 TO-READ LIST.

Always an easy one. 

Though narrowing down any booklist to just 10 books is always tricky for me. 

But here are 10 books I really want to read this fall.

1. Well Versed by Jen DeLuca

2. Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

3. The Pumpkin Bride by Fiona Buttercup

4. Some Kind of Haunted by Hazel Beck

5. The House at Devil's Neck by Tom Mead

6. Chasing Creed by Alex Kava

7. Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison

8. A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham

9. The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson

10. The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty

11. The Monk by Tim Sullivan

12. I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie by Jaclyn Smith

See...once again I didn't manage to stick with only 10 books. Oh, well.

What books are you looking forward to reading this fall?

Happy Reading!

Stay For a Spell by Amy Coombe

     An old woman handed me a key, told me she hoped it would unlock my heart's desire, and now I'm trapped inside a bookshop. 

    I think about it for a moment. My head's clearing up and I'm steadier on my feet than I was a moment ago. I'm stuck inside a bookshop. A thousand miles from my parents. Unable to carry on with my royal duties. I'm stuck. Inside. A bookshop.

    For as long as it takes someone to break the curse, or for me to fulfill it and unlock my heart's desire. 

    I lean my head against the door and start to laugh.

What's the one surefire way to break a curse, any curse, according to every story, every legend, every fable recorded? True love's kiss. And what does true love look like, if you're a princess? .... It looks like a prince....my parents? They're going to try to find a prince. 

My thoughts: A princess. A curse. A pirate. Seven princes; seven kisses. And one magical bookshop. What an enchanting novel! I loved Princess Tanadelle (Tandy to her friends), and her funny predicament. All the princes who come to rescue her with their unromantic kisses totally made me laugh. I also really liked Bash, the teasing and sarcastic pirate, who has a curse of his own, and all the magical creatures and characters who help Tandy with the bookshop. This cozy fantasy has humor, heart and a sweet and swoony romance. I read it in a day and loved every page.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

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!