2018

Hello everybody! I am back from our trip to Wisconsin Dells, which was wonderful by the way. If you every go there I highly recommend staying at the Wilderness Resort and check out Aunt Jenny’s Got It All shop. It has been so hot back here in North Dakota that one of the main streets near our house has buckled and had to be closed off. They had police all over the place yesterday but if I have a chance to get a picture I’ll post it. Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, let’s see if I actually read any books this week.

TBR – I’ve read 3 books since my last update and acquired 2 from NetGalley, of course. Total now stands at 274.

Goodreads Challenge – I am currently 4 books behind schedule.

NetGalley Score – I am at 85% still.

John Connolly Challenge – I am ashamed to say that I still have not finished listening to “The Unquiet”.

Coming Up – I am continuing to focus my reading on my backlog of NetGalley books. Currently I am reading “Gods of Howl Mountain” by Taylor Brown. After that will be another trip to Flaxborough with “The Naked Nuns” by Colin Watson. So that’s it for me this week. I hope you all are having an awesome summer and reading lots of wonderful stories. See you next Sunday!

Happy Reading!

“Miss Seeton Flies High” by Hamilton Crane

Let me introduce you to Miss Seeton. She is the 1970’s answer to Miss Marple. In this installment of the series, Miss Seeton is asked to design the sets for the annual school Christmas play. This year the story will be about King Arthur and in order to be inspired Miss Seeton travels to the West country to visit the historical sites. Meanwhile, her friend Chief Superintendent Delphick and a kidnapping to deal with and he needs some insight. Miss Seeton is well known at Scotland Yard for the pictures she draws that contain clues to crimes, so Delphick pays her a visit. Several drawings and a hot air balloon ride later Delphick is finally closing in on his suspect and Miss Seeton has new project.

This was a delightful little story. Miss Seeton is a charming character is like Miss Marple before her is more that she appears to be. This is not the first in the series but it stands on its own just fine. The plot has some really nice twists and a few red herrings to keep the reader guessing. My favorite part of the book is how well the author portrays the time period. I can’t quite tell you how but the feel of the 70’s really comes through. There are hippies, and illegal marijuana growing. There’s the clash between the older and younger generations of the time. Finally, there are the references to the legend of King Arthur and the historical sites related to the stories. All of this combined to make a very engaging story. I think this book will be especially enjoyable for cozy mystery lovers.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 4 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

“The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist” by Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington

A True Story of Injustice in the American South

President Lincoln freed the slaves but he couldn’t possibly anticipate how the justice system in the American South would work to continue to oppress them. In this book, the authors expose the institutionalized corruption within the state of Mississippi. They begin with two cases of wrongful incarceration and move into the history of the legal system within the state and the difficulties that have been encountered in trying to establish a medical examiner system. The book serves to expose two people in particular, Dr. Steven Hayne, who performs the majority of the autopsies for the state for over two decades, and Dr. Michael West, a country dentist. The both built careers for themselves in forensics, taking full advantage of the good-ol’-boy structure of the legal environment in the state.

I found this book both sad and compelling. It is always sad for me to be confronted by corruption in America. We call ourselves a Christian nation but too often there are very un-Christian things happening. I also found the tenacity and persistence of the victims of this system to be very compelling. The two wrongly convicted murderers, one of whom spent years on death row, did not give up and neither did their Project Innocence defense teams. In the process of working to free these two men they helped to expose the doctors whose actions had created the sole source of evidence against many wrongfully convicted defendants. I think this book serves as a good reminder that while our justice system may be good it is not always perfect and it is not free from the risk of corruption. If more people had this awareness perhaps improvement could be made at a more rapid pace. I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s written in a way that is appealing to a broad range of readers and the story moves at a really nice pace. This is a top-notch expose and I highly recommend it.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

This book was provided by NetGalley and Perseus Books in exchange for an honest review.

“Erasing Memory” by Scott Thornley

Book 1 in the MacNeice Mysteries series

MacNeice is a senior police detective in the city of Dundurn, a fictional city in Southern Ontario. While returning one evening from visiting his wife’s grave, he is called to a crime scene. A beautiful young woman who has just graduated from Conservatory, is found dead in a luxurious lake cottage. The crime scene is pristine and the girl has no identification with her. MacNeice and his team have their work cut out for them finding a suspect and a motive. When they find out the girl’s father is a former Romanian microbiologist and investigation turns international and gets really messy.

This is a great beginning to a new series. MacNeice is a top-notch detective with a definite soft-spot. The death of his wife has left him a bit of an emotional mess and I think the author did a really good job of portraying that aspect of him. He has a couple of great characters on his team, Aziz and Verestri, who all work together brilliantly and offset each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I found the storyline fascinating. The manner of death in particular got my attention because of its uniqueness, and I just couldn’t stop until I knew how this had come about and who was responsible. The international intrigue that is brought in through the Romanian connection really amped up the drama of the story. There are fistfights and gunfights and car chases for those who like thrills with their mysteries. I would definitely recommend this book for mystery and thrill lovers.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 4 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads | Amazon CA | Author’s website

Weekly Round-Up 7/1/2018

Happy 1st of July! We are about to experience a heat wave here in the Upper Plains and I am not happy about it. Temperatures are expected to be in the 90’s for several days and my husband and I are going to be traveling for most of them. Sidenote: I’m not sure how much reading I will get done this next week because we will also be having family visiting. News update over; let’s look at the numbers:

TBR – I finished one book and I did not add any. The TBR ends the week at 275.

Goodreads Challenge – I am 3 books behind schedule! I really don’t know how I got myself into this situation.

NetGalley Score – 84%

John Connolly Challenge – I’m still listening to “The Unquiet” but I’m about 60% complete so, cross my fingers, maybe I’ll finish it this week.

Coming Up – So I’ve decided for the month of July to primarily read from my NetGalley list. Up next will be “Erasing Memory” by Scott Thornley, after that “Miss Seeton Flies High” by Hamilton Crane. That’s what it looks like folks. I will be on a vacation trip next weekend so I’m not sure if I’ll get a round-up posted but if not you will see me again the following Sunday. If you’re in the U.S., have a Happy 4th of July!

Happy Reading!

“The Sentinel’s Reign” by Suzanne Rogerson

Spoiler Alert!! There is a plot spoiler in this review – proceed with caution!!

Today is release day for this, the newest book, from Suzanne Rogerson! The Sentinel’s Reign is book 2 in the Silent Sea Chronicles. In this installment, Calissa has become the Sentinel and Tei her confidante. Both are struggling a bit with the adjustment to their new roles. At the same time, Rathnor is upping his campaign against magic and the death and destruction is increasing. As Rathnor continues to get stronger the fate of Kalaya and its magic is becoming more and more precarious. Meanwhile, Captain Farrell is desperately trying to improve the lives of his people on Stone Haven, but unknown to him Rathnor is gradually taking over his mind and bending him to his will. What will the fate of Kalaya and Stone Haven be? Will Rathnor’s evil schemes be defeated? Will Calissa and Tei learn how to work together for the future of Kalaya?

Yummy is the word that comes to mind when I think about this book. As the second book in the series, my favorite characters are back, Callisa, Tei, Brogan and Mara. There are also some secondary characters that get a bigger role in this one, like Hafender the giant of a man who commands the military forces of the exiles. The characters that return just continue to develop as individuals and in their relationships with each other. The attraction between Tei and the handsome Brogan sees the most development and it is quite charming. I loved revisiting Kalaya and as in previous books the descriptions of the world and of the magic it contains are beautiful. I always appreciate the way the descriptions are woven into the story and don’t feel heavy or lecture-y. The story moves forward at a good pace that keeps the reader’s attention and there are enough curveballs to keep you guessing at the final outcome. There is a 3^rd book planned for this series so don’t despair if you get to the end and want more. Even if you don’t like fantasy books usually, you will like this series, so don’t delay, get your copy today!

Alinefromabook’s rating: 4.5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads | Amazon CA | Author’s website

Weekly Round-Up 6/24/2018

Happy Sunday followers! I can’t believe that this is the last Sunday in June. Not much going on around here this past week, but tomorrow my son and I will be going to his new college for registration and orientation, so that will be a big day. But you’re just here to see what my numbers look like this week, so let’s get into it.

TBR – I finished one book but I didn’t add any this week. TBR is now at 276.

Goodreads Challenge – Not so good, I am 2 books behind schedule this week.

NetGalley Score – Good news here, my score rose to 84%.

John Connolly Challenge – I’m still listening to “The Unquiet”. I’m about halfway through.

Coming Up – I’m thinking about reading nothing but NetGalley titles for the month of July so I can bring down my backlist of titles. But for this coming week, I hope to finish “The Sentinel’s Reign” by Suzanne Rogerson and maybe “The Unquiet” also. I have some other irons in the fire right now that are taking away some of my reading time so I’m not going to commit myself to too much.

Have a wonderful week.

Happy Reading!

“Broomsticks Over Flaxborough” by Colin Watson

It’s been a couple weeks since I visited Flaxborough and I just had to check and see what Inspector Purbright is up to. Well, he certainly has his hands full in this story with witches and Lucies and dead store managers. Once again, Colin Watson does not disappoint. When Edna Hillyard disappears and Mr. Persimmon is found dead, both after a night of dancing with the local witches’ coven, Purbright and Sgt. Love and hot on the trail of the culprit. Miss Teatime is also making herself useful with some inside knowledge into local going-on. And because it’s the 60’s there are Lucies going door-to-door asking questions. I’m not going to say any more about the Lucie’s because you really need to read the book and experience them for yourself. This is book 7 in the series and one of the best so far. Any of the books in this series will make a great summer read.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads | Amazon CA

P.S. The Kindle edition is only 99 cents on Amazon US right now!

Weekly Round-Up 6/17/2018

Good morning one and all! It’s been a rainy weekend here so far. We even had some hail on Friday night. My new flowers are looking pretty sad after that but they appear to still be alive at least. It’s been a slow reading week for me so let’s take a look and see just how slow.

TBR – I finished reading … wait for it … 1 book! Woo-hoo! Yea me! I also added 2 to the list. So my total is now 277.

Goodreads Challenge – I am 1 book behind schedule.

NetGalley score – Still stuck at 83%.

John Connolly Challenge – I am listening to book 6 “The Unquiet” but I haven’t been very consistent with my listening so I haven’t gotten very far yet.

Coming Up – I am currently reading “Broomsticks Over Flaxborough” by Colin Watson, and “The Sentinel’s Reign” by Suzanne Rogerson. The Sentinel's Reign Broomsticks is already out and Suzanne’s book releases on the 29th if I’m not mistaken.

So that’s how the week ends. I hope you all are doing better with your reading goals than I am. See you next week!

Happy Reading!

“Jar of Hearts” by Jennifer Hillier

Need a little suspense while you’re soaking up the sun this summer? Then take a copy of “Jar of Hearts” in your luggage. Geo is serving a 5-year sentence for the part she played in the murder of her best friend when she was 16. Her former boyfriend is sentenced to life. As her release date approaches, Calvin, the ex-boyfriend, has escaped from prison. And then, two bodies are found in the same location as the original murder victim. Kaiser, the police detective on the case has been in love with Geo since high school, and fears that Calvin may be coming back for her. With her only support coming from her widowed father Geo is trying to put her life back together but can she overcome the memories, and will they locate Calvin before more women have to die?

Do not hesitate to pick up this book. If you like psychological thrillers you will not be disappointed. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but it won’t be the last. This story is complex and twisty is all the right ways. The story is told both in the present and the past through the memories of the characters. The circumstances of the original murder unfold gradually in way that keeps you wondering and wanting more. I also really loved the characters created here. Geo may at first seem predictable but as you follow her you begin to see just how complicated her life has been and how she came to make the choices she did, good and bad. I liked her both as a teenager and as an adult. Kaiser is also a very likeable guy. He’s handsome, devoted to duty, but also a very caring and loyal person. He matures through the story from an awkward teenage boy into a highly respected law enforcement officer and friend. The icing on the cake for me is that the story is set in the Pacific Northwest, my favorite part of the country. I hope you check this one out because it’s worth the hype.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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A True Story of Injustice in the American South

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Book 1 in the MacNeice Mysteries series

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Spoiler Alert!! There is a plot spoiler in this review – proceed with caution!!

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