Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week has a different theme.

This week's theme:  Cover Freebie!

I decided just to have fun with this one; I haven't read any of these books, but I do love their covers. And can you believe how similar they are? I was having so much fun, I couldn't stop at just ten.

1. Resistance by J.L. Knight

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

3. Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

4. Malice by John Gwynne

5. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

6. The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan

7. Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman 

8. The Lords of the Wind by C.J. Adrien

9. The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

10. Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

11. Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra

12.  Sword of Ruyn by R.G. Long

13. The Legend of Avondel by Bella Dawn

Happy Reading!

A haunting read...

 "He'd thought Rookward would be a sanctuary, their safe shelter to keep the hungry tiger out. But it had become a cage instead."

 Guy's life isn't going well. Not only has he lost his fiancee and his job, he's had to move back in with his mother. So when he finds the deed to Rookward House in his mother's attic, he has a glimmer of hope. If he can fix it up and sell it, he might have enough money to make a fresh start somewhere else. But while Rookward House has been abandoned for fifty years, it's not exactly empty. Doors open and shut; Guy hears footsteps and the crackle of a baby monitor; he even sees the face of a woman with long, dark hair. Either he's losing his mind, or there's a malevolent spirit haunting Rookward House.

"His mind unravelled as it fought to make sense of what he'd seen. ... This house is messing with my mind. He'd never been a jumpy sort of person, but he guessed the isolation and claustrophobic spaces were making him see things that didn't exist."

 The Haunting of Rookward House by Darcy Coates is an entertaining ghost story, but then I always like a book with a haunted house in it. Guy's a likable protagonist, and the back story of Rookward House is suitably creepy. I liked the way the truth about it unfolded bit by bit. Most of the intense ghostly action doesn't take place until the second half of the book, but then...it's page-turning, chilling and scary fun. Talk about a creepy psycho ghost! Overall, this one's a good, quick read that's perfect for this time of year.

Happy Reading!

Other haunting reads by Darcy Coates:

(My Review)

 

(My Review)

September's Bookish Art...

Hubert Salentin -- Reading after the day's work, 1875

"Reading gives us someplace to go 
when we have to stay where we are."

--Mason Cooley

I love Agatha Christie!

"Hercule Poirot was silent for a minute and a half. Did he wish to embroil himself in the troubles of Miss Lemon's sister and the passions and grievances of a polyglot hostel? But it was very annoying and inconvenient to have Miss Lemon making mistakes in typing his letters. He told himself that if he were to embroil himself in the matter, that would be the reason. He did not admit to himself that he had been rather bored of late and that the very triviality of the business attracted him."

In Agatha Christie's Hickory Dickory Dock, Hercule Poirot agrees to investigate a series of small thefts and mean-spirited pranks at a student hostel where the sister of his secretary works and boards. It's an odd list of incidents: missing lightbulbs, a stolen ring, a slashed rucksack, minor objects taken, ink spilled on a homework assignment, etc. What's really puzzling is that not all of these separate incidents feel like they're related. But Poirot sees patterns no one else does. Only just as he thinks he has a handle on the minor thefts, there's a murder. And the case gets even more complicated.

This is a well-written and entertaining mystery that does not disappoint. And after reading Eight Perfect Murders, I was totally in the mood for a mystery like this. Poirot is always a favorite. And I really enjoyed the mix of students living at the hostel with all their quirks and eccentricities. Of course, it kept me guessing, as all Christie mysteries do, but all the pieces came together at the end thanks to Poirot's genius and persistence. I liked this one a lot!

Happy Reading!

Three things to make you smile...

(Because, really, does anybody truly know how to drive these things??)

(Haven't we all had days that felt like this??) 

Keep smiling!

And happy reading.

A bookish thriller...

Malcolm Kershaw owns The Old Devils Bookstore, a bookstore in Boston specializing in mysteries, even though he no longer likes to read mysteries. These days he prefers history and poetry. Not that he tells his customers that. Or Agent Mulvey, the FBI agent who enlists his help looking into a string of murders tied to a list he once wrote: a list of eight perfect murders drawn from eight classic mysteries that includes Strangers on a Train, The A.B.C. Murders, and Deathtrap.  Malcolm's not a murder suspect, yet, but he does have some terrible secrets he wants to keep hidden. And if these murders are truly tied to that list he wrote, then the killer might be targeting Malcolm next.

There's a lot to like about Peter Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders. The mystery itself is clever, with good suspense and some unexpected twists along the way. And it revolves around books, something I always like. I'd read several of the mystery novels mentioned in this one, which made it even more fun. There's an awesome bookstore cat named Nero. And Malcolm is a likable narrator and, with all his flaws, felt very human. I knew he was hiding something, but I wasn't sure what. It made me not quite trust him, and the reveal at the end left me feeling a little cold, but I still really liked this one. In fact, I thought it was as enjoyable as the Agatha Christie mysteries it references.

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

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

This week's theme: Books That Make Me Hungry.

So, here are my choices...10 books that look and sound good enough to read:

1. One S'more Summer by Beth Merlin

2. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichart

3. Vanity Fare by Megan Caldwell

4. Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee

5. The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

6. Delicious by Adrianne Lee

7. Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

8. Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

9. The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

10. Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick

(I tried not to make them all cakes on the cover, but it was tricky.)

Happy eating...and reading!