Needled to Death

Back under my post "A Month of Books", I wrote about Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. I was sort of ambivalent about that book but stated that I would probably read any other books by Sefton.

After waiting months for a copy of Needled to Death by Sefton, I finally received a copy from the library last week. I finished it this afternoon and I must say that I liked it a lot better than the first one. I'm glad I decided to give her another try.

Short synopsis:

CPA Kelly Flynn is still learning to knit in Fort Collins, CO and telecommuting to her job in Washington D.C. She gets involved in a murder investigation when she discovers the body of a local alpaca rancher/weaver. The murdered woman was a friend and Kelly volunteers to help her daughter straighten out the books for the estate. Some discrepancies in the finanaces pull her into the investigation.

This book didn't have the new author feel to it and I enjoyed getting to know the characters better. I hope she comes out with another one soon.

Carpe Demon!

I finished the book "Carpe Demon, Adventures of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom" by Julie Kenner last week. I really liked this book. One reviewer remarked that it was what would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer grew up, got married and had kids. Very fun read. I immediately ordered a couple more of her books from the library but they haven't come in yet. They don't appear to be about demon hunting but I liked her style of writing so I hope they don't disappoint.

Right now I'm reading "Blue Smoke" by Nora Roberts. And as I've said many, many times before I love the research she puts into her books.

This one is about a girl who becomes an arson investigator after her family's restaurant is torched. As usual, the details draw you right into the story. I needed a book that held my interest. After I finished Carpe, I couldn't settle on a book.

I went to the library last night for their knitting group and picked up "Basket Case" by Carl Hiaasen. His books are supposed to be hiliarious so I hope I like it. I had ordered "The Rosary Girls" by Richard Montanari and it was in so that's sitting on my TBR (to be read) pile, too. Someone on the 4 Mystery Addicts recommended it. It sounded interesting so I'm going to give it a try.

Hopefully, I'll come back here and let you know if I liked these books or not. Ciao!

"In A Dark House" by Deborah Crombie

I finished "In A Dark House" by Deborah Crombie a week or so ago. Much better book than her previous one "Now May You Weep". Well, maybe that's a little harsh. I should say I enjoyed it more. I love her Kincaid/James series.

This book has Duncan and Gemma working the same case from different angles. Or I should say cases as there are several intertwined stories. The main case is the body of a woman found in a burning apartment building. Trying to learn her identity turns up several missing women.

Right now I'm reading the third Harry Dresden, Wizard book "Grave Peril" by Jim Butcher. I just started it so I don't know much about it yet. I really enjoyed the first two books so I hope this one measures up. I have a little catching up to do since I think the series is up to 7 books or more. Unfortunately, my library system doesn't have most of them. So I'll have to find them at the bookstore.

How sad!

What a sad, neglected blog this is!! We're out of town so much during the summer that I let things slide. I can't promise to post a lot here but I will try to post more often.

I didn't read too many books during September. I finished Shadows by Edna Buchanan the 1st of the month and finished Fool's Moon by Jim Butcher on the 15th. I had a few "did not finish" books the rest of the month. I didn't even write most of them down in my log.

I love the Jim Butcher books. The main character, Harry Dresden, is an openly practicing wizard who assists the local police with any "special investigations". The first book in the series is "Storm Front". I have the third book on order from the library but someone else must be reading them, too, because it's been on hold for a few weeks now. I wish I'd thought of looking for it when I was at Barnes and Noble last Sunday.

We were in Cape Cod the last week of September and I had a chance to go to a used bookstore in Wellfleet. I was able to browse for as long as I wanted. I was very excited to find a copy of Beckoning Trails by Emily Loring. This was the first book of hers I read many years ago and it's always been my favorite. Mom used to have it but it disappeared during one of her many moves. I've been looking for it for years now. I immediately reread it and it's still my favorite. If the name is unfamiliar, she wrote quite a few books in the late 40's up through the early sixties (I think). They are romantic suspense and mostly take place during WWII. The heroine is always pure, good and beautiful, and so is the hero. The good guys always win, the guy always gets the girl, and everyone always lives happily ever after. What makes them special is her wonderful descriptive passages and the mystery part is very well done. Reading them is like watching an old movie. I was very happy to add this to my collection.

I just started Haunted Ground by Erin Hart. So far I'm enjoying it. It takes place in Ireland and starts off with a farmer finding a severed head in a peat bog. A little different than the Loring book!

On the treadmill right now is The Goodbye Body by Joan Hess. This is a Claire Malloy book and is very good. If you haven't read Joan Hess's books, find the first one in the series and read them in order. She also writes the Maggody books and they are quite funny.

That's it for now. I need to go clean my poor neglected house. Till next time!

A month's worth of books

Don't worry, I'm not going to post about every book I've read in the past month. I will post a list of them, though.

In July I read the following:

Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb
Blue Blood by Susan McBride
Death in Rough Waters by Francine Mathews
Death in a Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews
Origin in Death by J.D. Robb
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton

Started in July and finished in August:

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterhill
Cold Case Squad by Edna Buchanan

Started and finished in August so far:

A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber

Started in May and finished in August:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I know, you're saying "The Hitchhiker's Guide" isn't a very long book. Why did it take so long to read?" That's because it was on my treadmill and I didn't even get on the treadmill during the month of July. But the past couple of days I did and I finished the book. Now I have to find another book to put on it. I think it will probably be "The Resaurant at the End of the Universe" by Douglas Adams as it's the sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide. And I hope to read it faster this time. (Meaning I hope to be on my treadmill more often.)

Random comments - I like the Mathews books that take place on Nantucket. The characters are well drawn and the events are plausible. Unfortunately, I think I read the only three she wrote in this series. I'll have to check because the end of Mood Indigo left the series open to another book.

The Coroner's Lunch was a group read at the 4 Mystery Addicts group (link on right). I wasn't sure I'd like a book based in Lao with a 70 year old coroner as the protaganist but I needn't have worried. Dr. Siri and his merry band of cohorts were delightful. It was a good read.

Knit One, Kill Two was an okay book. Especially if you are a knitter. It was obviously a first novel. As a knitter, I loved the description of the yarn shop, yarns, and knitting projects. The mystery was okay but not anything startling. The characters were fine except for the main character. She was a little unlikeable at times. If Sefton writes another book in this series, I'll read it.

That's all I'm going to comment on for now. Some of the other books I may go into more depth on at a later time. Keep on reading!

I'm on a roll!

I did finish "Blue Blood" and in only two days. There were a couple of times that I thought of giving up on it because it got a little slow but I persevered and it picked up again. It was an okay book. I don't know what other books (if any) Susan McBride has written but I'd give them a try.

Now I'm reading "Death in Rough Water" by Francine Mathews. It's the second book about Nantucket police detective Meredith Folger. I've read the first one and really liked it and the second is not disappointing. I love the descriptions of Nantucket and the characters click for me. One of these days I'll make the 2 hour ferry trip to Nantucket. We go to Cape Cod every year (sometimes several times a year) and we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard but not Nantucket yet. Now that I think about it, I have a cousin who lives on Nantucket. And also a girl I went all through grade school and high school with but she's not a favorite person of mine. But that won't stop me if we decide to go sometime.

Well, it's Sunday morning and I need to get ready for church. So I'm cutting this short. Enjoy!

What is it that I want to read?

I have started and stopped so many books lately that I either need to keep reading even when I don't want to or find a different type of book.

I did not finish "Dead Witch Walking". I got about half way through it and decided I didn't like it. The characters just didn't make me care what happened to them. So I picked up "The Girls' Guide to Vampires" by Katie MacAlister. I really wanted to like this book because the premise seemed so interesting. But I wanted to strangle the characters instead. They jumped to so many conclusions without even a little shred of proof that I was about to scream. I can't stand blatantly stupid protaganists!

I was saved by "Eleven on Top" by Janet Evanovich. I love her books and this one didn't disappoint. Well, I should qualify that. I read the whole thing and liked it but I think more could have happened. If you don't read her books, give them a try. Especially if you want to laugh out loud. And I did, in several places. After that I read "Ghost Riders" by Sharyn McCrumb. It was very good. It starts out in the present day but most of it takes place during the Civil War in North Carolina and Tennesee. Two of the main characters were actual people - Zebulon B. Vance who was governor of North Carolina for the Confederate government, and Malinda Blalock who was the wife of Union sympathizer and a mountain woman.

Since I finished "Ghost Riders", I've started and stopped a couple more books. "Flashpoint" by Suzanne Brockmann and "Mind Game" by Christine Feehan. The former is a spy thriller and the latter is a paranormal spy thriller. And I wasn't in the mood for spy thriller of any sort.

I went to the library last night and picked up 6 books that I had on order. (Why do they always come in at the same time?) I started "Blue Blood" by Susan McBride. It's a cozy and I don't know that it's grabbing me by the throat but I am going to try to finish it. It's about a society girl turned web designer who has an old friend accused of murdering her sleazy boss. The web designer goes undercover to clear her friend's name at the sleazy restaurant/bar where her friend worked. So far I like the characters and don't want to choke any of them for being total jerks so chances are, I'll finish it.

You will hear about the other 5 books when I get to them. Maybe.