Showing posts with label book recommendation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book recommendation. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2026

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!

  

Friday, August 14, 2026

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman

 I just finished reading this eighth book in Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series and I loved it. But it's so long, and so much happens in it, I'm not even going to try and summarize the plot, or write a long review of it. Instead, I'm going to take the easy way out and write a haiku review instead. Because that's how I roll these days. 😉


A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman


They've reached level ten.
Racing to stay alive, how
many more will die?


Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action & Adventure.... 688 pages ....4.5/5 stars.
(Chaos runs rampant in the dungeon as Carl and Princess Donut fight to save as many of their friends as they can. This is one crazy, fun series! I can't wait for the next one.)



Happy Reading!


Here is my review of Dungeon Crawler Carl, the first book. 

Monday, April 3, 2023

Quick book recommendations...

 
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Mika Moon is a witch. And while she loves her ability to do magic, she hates having to keep it secret from everyone around her. Mika is also an orphan (as all witches are). She doesn't have a home of her own, or any family. But when she's invited to Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic, she finds both. And with Jamie, the scowling and distrustful yet handsome librarian, she might have also found love. This book is enchantting, uplifting and magical. I loved it.





Off the Map by Trish Doller

I loved Doller's Float Plan and this latest book by her is almost as good. Carla is on her way to Ireland for Anna's wedding; Eamon, as best man, is tasked with picking her up at the airport. Their chemistry is immediate and off the charts. And their drive to Tralee brings several unexpected detours along the way, and a chance at love for both of them. I really liked Carla and Eamon; their relationship is full of humor, brutal honesty, amusing banter, and steamy sex. This is another captivating romance from Trish Doller. 




Happy Reading!

Friday, March 10, 2023

Quick Book Recommendation...

 

Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill

I read so many positive reviews of this book when it came out in 2021, I knew I would probably like it, too. It just took me awhile to get around to reading it. (Surprise, surprise.) And I didn't just like it; I loved it! It's a very compelling and original take on a future robot apocalypse. And I adored Pounce, the tiger nannybot wired to protect his young charge, Ezra, no matter what. He's such an irresistible and likable narrator. The book made me laugh and cry. I'd give it 5 stars.

Happy Reading!




Similar read (which I also gave 5 stars!): 




Saturday, February 25, 2023

Quick book recommendation...

 

Flamebringer by Elle Katharine White

This is the third book in White's Heartstone trilogy, and I almost didn't read it. Not because I didn't love the first two books,  Heartstone  and Dragonshadow, which I first read back in 2019, but because it had been so long since I'd read them I felt like I'd forgotten too many of the important plot points. Luckily, I decided to give this one a try anyway, and I'm so glad I did. It quickly drew me back into the story of Aliza and Alastair Daired and their dragon, Akarra, and all the dark intrigue and magical battles brewing across their land. I love these characters! And White's writing is so compelling and lyrical. And I love that the first book in this series is a loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice but with magic, swords and dragons. If you're looking for a captivating fantasy series, I absolutely recommend this one. 


Happy Reading!


Wednesday, November 3, 2021

A Recent Read...

 

John Connolly's Every Dead Thing is a complicated and darkly compelling thriller. And too long for me to even attempt to summarize it here. (Plus, I'm lazy.) But I loved Charlie "Bird" Parker and his criminally-inclined friends, Angel and Louis, and I can't wait to read the next book in this series. Just be warned, parts of this book are very dark and not for the faint of heart. But if you like Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X series with Evan Smoak, or Nicholas Petrie's The Drifter with Peter Ash, then you'll probably like this one, too. I did! 

Happy Reading!

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Two more from my TBR shelf....(because my library is still closed!)

Title & Author:  Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris

Why I bought it:  Actually, I didn't. I won this copy from Goodreads. But it's one I would have bought anyway because this mystery series is one of my favorites.

The plot in brief:  This is the fifteenth Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. It takes place in London in the summer of 1814, and it revolves around the murder of Nicholas Hayes, the third son of the late Earl of Seaforth. Only, everyone thought Haves died years ago in Botany Bay. So why did he come back to England? And who killed him? Viscount Devlin and his wife, Hero, are on the case.

My thoughts:  This is a good one! I love Devlin and Hero; they're such great characters. They are definitely the reason I enjoy reading these books so much. The time period these books are set in is an interesting one, which is another draw. And while I know you're supposed to read a series like this in order, I actually read the fourth book, Where Serpents Sleep, first, and I'm kind of glad I did because that's the book where Devlin and Hero meet. Of course, I then went back to the beginning and read the first three books to catch up; I've been reading this series ever since. 15 books later and I'm still hooked.

My rating:  4/5 stars.




Title & Author:  A Climate of Fear by Fred Vargas

Why I bought it:  I love Fred Vargas's books. So last year when I spotted this one at a library book sale, along with four other Vargas mysteries that I'd already read and knew I loved, I quickly snatched them all up. ($1.25 well spent!)

The plot in brief:  When the same symbol is found at two apparent suicides, Commissaire Adamsberg and his unique team of detectives think they might have a serial killer on their hands. The twists and turns of their investigation lead them to a tragic expedition in Iceland that took place ten years earlier, and to a strange society in Paris obsessed with Robespierre.

My thoughts:  What I love about Vargas's mysteries is that they're always so unexpected. I never know where they're going to end up, but I always enjoy the ride. I also love the quirky eccentricity of Adamsberg and the other members of his team. These are just fun reads. A little strange at times, but always entertaining. My two favorites are An Uncertain Place and The Chalk Circle Man. But this one is good, too.

My rating:  4/5 stars.

Happy Reading!



Monday, July 3, 2017

A Great July Read...

The Declaration of Independence was the promise;
The Constitution was the fulfillment.


The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1787. Over the course of that summer, 55 men from 12 states worked to create the Constitution of the United States of America. (Rhode Island did not participate.) The rooms where they met were hot and stifling, secrecy was paramount, and they didn't always agree.
"When a broad table is to be made, and the edges of the planks do not fit, the artist takes a little from both, and makes a good joint. In like manner here both sides must part with some of their demands in order that they may join in some accommodating  proportion."                      --Benjamin Franklin
George Washington acted as President of the Convention and oversaw the process; Benjamin Franklin and James Madison were two of the delegates. Who were the rest? Plain, Honest Men. And Richard Beeman tells their story in this amazing account of the birth of our constitution. I loved this book. And I have great respect for all of these men. This is a moment in our country's history that should not be forgotten.

At the conclusion of the Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked,
"What have you wrought?" He answered, "...a Republic, if you can keep it."

Other great July reads:




Happy Reading!
And Happy 4th of July!!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Going deep...

James M. Tabor defines "supercaves" as vast geologic monsters that are miles long and many thousands of feet deep; they are rare and as difficult to conquer as Mt. Everest. Their hazards include darkness, vertical drops, fatal falls, hypothermia, fissures, rock slides, hurricane-force winds, dangerous microbes, asphyxiation and poisonous gases. They also have turquoise pools, cascading waterfalls, beautiful water-carved limestone formations, and caverns immense enough to hold several Greyhound buses. I find them alluring and completely fascinating, but the thought of actually exploring one scares me to death. So I read about them instead.



In Blind Descent, James M. Tabor chronicles the stories of two men--American Bill Stone and Ukranian Alexander Klimchouk--two caves, and two quests to find the deepest place on earth. It's Cheve Cave in southern Mexico vs. Krubera Cave in the Republic of Georgia. Both are incredible supercaves, and both pose great risks to anyone who enters them. And Tabor does a masterful job of taking the reader on an incredible journey deep into the center of the earth. It's a memorable and well-written true life adventure story.





But my favorite caving adventure is told in William Stone's and Barbara am Ende's Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent Into the World's Most Treacherous Cave. This firsthand account of Stone's 1994 expedition into Huatla Cave in Mexico is 'unputdownable'. What the cavers experience is scary, and sometimes deadly, and very hard to forget. Talk about going where no one has gone before! Both of these bookish descents into darkness are compelling reads that I absolutely loved!




Happy Reading!