“The Lovers” by John Connolly – Audiobook

Narrated by George Guidall

Listening to this story was like a chocolate truffle melting on the tongue. This story is the most personal of the books so far in that the mystery Charlie is trying to unravel is that of his father’s suicide. This incident, obviously, had a huge impact on Charlie’s life and at this point in time he has lost his PI’s license and been working as a bartender. He decides to take a week off and travel to New York to try and determine once and for all what drove his father to take his own life. In the process, he opens up a hornet’s nest of secrets. He comes in contact with former colleagues of his father, revisits his own former home in the city and has a heart-to-heart with the rabbi who was there when Charlie was born.

I really enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about Charlie Parker’s life and family. Who could have imagined all of the supernatural events that surrounded Charlie’s birth? Only the mind of John Connolly. I have to also give high praise to the narrator for his excellent reading of this story. He really kept my attention throughout. This series continues to thrill and boggle my mind, and I highly recommend it.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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

Weekly Round-Up 9/16/2018

Well, as it turns out I didn’t finish reading anything this week so there is nothing to report book-wise. Since I had used up all my credits on Audible I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts this last week. Question: would you guys be interested in reviews of podcasts? This new job I have is really cutting down on my reading time. I’ve also dabbling a little bit into Librivox recordings which are free to listen to. Would reviews of those be interesting?

What I’m Currently Reading: I’m still working on “A Georgian Heroine” by Joanne Major & Sarah Murden, which I’m a little over half way through. It’s a fascinating story and I would love to finish it today if I can sneak some reading in between chores. I have started reading “A Measure of Darkness” by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman. This story has started out with some real intensity so I’m hopeful that I will enjoy it. I will be posting my review of “The Lovers” by John Connolly today or tomorrow. I’ll catch up with you guys again next week. If you are in the path of Florence my thoughts are with you.

Happy Reading!

“The Forgotten Garden” by Kate Morgan – Audiobook

Narrated by Caroline Lee

I just loved, loved, loved this story. I have not read the book but the narration her was so compelling that it felt like I was being read a beautiful, dreamy, bedtime story. The story starts in London with a young woman who lives in poverty with her brother after their mother dies. Then she loses her brother and the uncle she’s never known finds her and takes her into his manor home to be a companion for his sickly daughter. The two girls form an intense bond that continues until one of them gets married. Meantime, the reader is also hearing the story of Nell in Australia. Nell was found as an orphan on a ship that came from Britain. No one seems to be looking for her and the man who found her takes her into his family and raises her as one of his own. Years pass and Nell has raised her own daughter and granddaughter and when she dies she leaves everything to her granddaughter, including a cottage in England. Why did she buy a cottage in Britain? And just where did she come from? Nell’s granddaughter sets out to answer these questions.

This is a sweeping story covering 4 generations of women and secrets galore. I am just in awe of Kate Morgan and her ability to create really rich and unique characters in her stories. I also admire the complexity of her plots. In this book, the story moves back and forth between the past and the present, which in an audiobook can be a little confusing for me until I get a feel for the narrator’s voicing of the different characters. That being said, Ms. Lee did a superb job with this book. I enjoyed the narration as much as the story itself. One of my favorite things about this book is the way the ocean was used as kind of an anchor for each of the characters. And let me talk a little bit about the garden. The garden belongs to the cottage owned by Nell. I place she visited once and never saw again. The cottage and garden have been unoccupied for decades when Nell’s granddaughter finds it and sets about bringing it back to life. The garden is a place full of secrets and possibilities. This is a rich and compelling story with a top-of-the-line narration. Get a copy today.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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

“One Man’s Meat” by Colin Watson

A young man has fallen out of a carnival ride to his death in the city of Flaxborough. DI Purbright and Sgt. Love are charged with the investigation. While busy with this, the wife of the local dog food manufacturer’s manager goes missing. But her husband thinks she just setting him up to look bad during the divorce proceedings. And then, Miss Teatime is asked for assistance by an old friend who’s in a bit of a muddle with a job he was hired to do by the dog food people and know wants to get out of. When Miss Teatime discovers that dogs have been disappearing from the local shelter you have to wonder what’s to become of Flaxborough. Will Purbright and Love be able to untangle all these knots? You’ll have to get yourself a copy of the book and find out.

You all know how much I have been enjoying this series and this one is no exception. I found this story a little bit different in that much of the story is told from the perspective of those perpetrating the crimes, rather than all from the investigator’s standpoint. The story starts with the riders in the carnival ride shortly before the fall and left me feeling a little off balance right from the start. The drama increase from there and the kidnapping plot gets underway. In the end, Purbright brings the investigation to a mostly satisfying conclusion and Flaxborough returns to its quirky self once again. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads

Weekly Round-Up 9/9/2018

Happy Sunday everyone! It’s a beautiful day here in North Dakota and the trees are starting to show signs of fall color. So let’s take a quick peek at the numbers and see what they look like.

TBR – I added 2 books this week and I finished reading or listening to a whopping 4 books. That makes the new total 267!

Goodreads Challenge – I am back on schedule.

NetGalley Score – I’m back at 85% here.

John Connolly Challenge – Progress here – I was able to listen to the audiobook of “The Lovers“ which is #8 in the series. Next up “The Whisperers“.

Coming Up – I am currently reading “A Georgian Heroine” by Joanne Major & Sarah Murden, and “A Measure of Darkness“ by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman. I hope you all have a great week and read lots of fabulous books.

Happy Reading!

“Queens of Georgian Britain” by Catherine Curzon

Back in January I reviewed “Kings of Georgian Britain” by this author and now it’s time to talk about the Queens. This book is organized chronologically with four section, each describing the life and relationships of the queens. Act I starts with Sophia Dorothea, then we have Queen Caroline, Queen Charlotte and another Queen Caroline to end the Georgian era. Each of these women have unique stories that the author narrates expertly. The reader has a chance to become familiar with their personalities, their strengths and their weaknesses. Some of them were loved, while others were despised and rejected. Sophia’s story is one of disappointment and heartache, while the other 3 enjoyed great popularity, at least with the people if not their husbands. One thing is very clear and that is that you can’t pigeonhole these women, they are complex and intriguing.

Having now read a second book by this author, she has become a favorite. The writing style is clear and engaging. There is no heaviness and she uses lots of subsections which I like because sometimes you only have 5 or 10 minutes to read. It seems clear to me that she really enjoys her subject and has done copious amounts of research. After reading this book, I would say that these women have become real people in my mind, not just pictures in a history text. I highly recommend both this book and the companion book about the kings if you want to get a better understanding of the period of the Georgians. Well done!

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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

“American Nations” by Colin Woodard

A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America

Narrated by Walter Dixon

If you ask a resident of America what it means to be an American, they will always have an answer. But what that answer is will depend on where you are in America. What Colin Woodard set out to do in this book is reveal the eleven distinct cultures that exist in North America and delineate how the differences have affected the development of the United States and continue to influence our politics going forward. If there is one thing that I could explain to the rest of the world it’s that America is different in every state, county, city and town. This is why when driving in Minnesota the speed limit is 70, but when you cross the border into North Dakota it goes up to 75. The rules and cultures that influence them change from region to region and if you understand this you can begin to see why American politics are so complicated.

If I could I would make this book required reading (or listening) in every school and give a copy to every immigrant. Colin Woodard has done a fantastic job, in my opinion, of explaining the origins of these cultures and delineating their differences in beliefs and influence on the national stage. I learned so much about the history of the United States that explained so much. I listened to this book through Audible and the narration was top-notch. Walter Dixon did a great job with this project and while this book doesn’t have different characters, per se, there are many places where historic figures are quoted and he did a great job of differentiating this material with his voice. I think this is an excellent book in every aspect, content, organization and narration, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a greater understanding of America.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

Links: Amazon US | Goodreads | Author’s website

Weekly Round-Up 9/2/2018

Welcome back faithful followers! It’s time for another round-up. No life news this week so we’ll just go straight to the numbers.

TBR – I posted some reviews this week but those were books I had read the previous week. This week I did not actually finish reading any books (shame is written all over my face). On the other hand, I didn’t add any books this week (though I did request a couple from NetGalley). So the TBR stands at 269.

Goodreads Challenge – I am two books behind schedule, as usual.

NetGalley score – The reviews that I posted bumped me up one notch to 86%.

John Connolly Challenge – I haven’t yet picked up “The Lovers”, so no change here.

Coming up – I will be finishing “Queens of Georgian Britain” today (I’ve only got about 20 pages left). I’m also hoping to finish “One Man’s Meat” One Man's Meat in the next couple of days. I’m also listening to “The Forgotten Garden” by Kate Morton and should be able to finish that this week. So that’s what the week is shaping up to be. Hope you all have a great one!

Happy Reading!

“No Cure for the Dead” by Christine Trent

We all know Florence Nightingale and her contributions to the nursing profession, but was she also a detective? In “No Cure for the Dead”, Christine Trent presents Florence as just that. She has recently been appointed as director of a hospital for women in London. One week into her new job she finds one of her nurses hanging from the ceiling in the hospital’s library. The board of directors start to think that hiring her was a mistake, the police seem to think it’s a case of suicide, but when more strange things start to happen in the hospital Florence is convinced there is more to this story. With the help of her companion she begins an investigation of her own. Will she be able to uncover the culprit before more people are hurt?

This one really surprised me with its suspense and charm. “No Cure for the Dead” is the first in a new series from the author and I’d say it’s off to a great start. I really loved the Florence character that the author created and the personality felt true to life. I could see Florence Nightingale doing this investigation. In addition, there is a whole host of other fun characters from the daft old lady patient to the young boy who does odd jobs for the hospital, they were all believable and fit in with the story and the setting. The investigation has a lot of unexpected twists which makes it a very engaging mystery. I found that the author’s descriptions of London at the time really drew me into the story. Basically, I loved this story and can’t wait for the next installment in the series.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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

“The Reapers” by John Connolly

Narrated by George Guidall

Circumstances have changed for Charlie Parker since he lost his PI’s license. Meanwhile, Angel and Louis are faced with a potentially fatal decision. Someone is coming after them by targeting their business interests and the people that they care about. Tracking down the person behind it all brings Louis back in contact with a key figure from his past and puts them all in danger. Louis and Angel are out-numbered and out-maneuvered until a faithful friend contacts Charlie to come to the rescue. The question is, who will still be standing when the smoke clears away?

Book 7 in the Charlie Parker series is different from the previous books in that the story focuses on Louis and Angel more than on Charlie. In this one we get to learn a lot about Louis and Angel’s history and their relationship with each other. We meet some of the characters at the periphery of their lives, like the mechanic that Louis saved from ruin and who is infinitely loyal in return. I really enjoyed the opportunity to understand these two pivotal characters better. I did however miss Charlie as he really doesn’t show up until the middle of the book, but I liked the role reversal here where Charlie is the back-up man instead of the lead. The story itself is one you really have to pay attention to as these guys have lived very complicated lives. I think the change of focus in this book really shows the creativity of the author and his skill at developing multiple characters simultaneously. Finally, George Guidall, as narrator, has once again delivered a stellar performance.

Alinefromabook’s rating: 5 stars!!

Happy Reading!

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

Narrated by George Guidall

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Narrated by Caroline Lee

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