The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

 Finally we are out of the freeze here is Central Texas! I know there are many that have much worse weather but we sure is hard to take here. Disclaimer - I grew up in the Midwest.

My most recent "listen" was The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. It was Goodreads Readers' Favorite Mystery and Thriller for 2024.

About: "Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet."

The story alternates between two timelines: the early 1960s, when Barbara Van Laar's brother disappeared, and 1975, when Barbara herself goes missing. The Van Laar family owns a large property in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, which includes Camp Emerson. Every summer, wealthy parents send their children, aged 9 to 14, to this camp. The camp counselors, aged 18 to 19, are only slightly older than the oldest campers and are overseen by T.J. Hewitt, the daughter of the groundskeeper, Vic Hewitt.

Barbara is a troubled 13-year-old girl, and her parents are equally troubled adults, all products of dysfunctional families. When Barbara disappears, just as her brother did, the entire community is shocked that such a tragedy could strike the same family twice.

Judyta “Judy” Luptack, a young State Trooper, is brought in to assist with the search. At a time when women are not commonly seen in such roles, Judy faces significant challenges and preconceptions as she takes on more responsibility in the investigation.

The story is multi-layered and complex, filled with family and community secrets. Initially, it may seem like a typical tale of a missing child and ensuing chaos, but the outcomes are unexpected and surprising.

An interesting note: "The God of the Woods" is based on a real serial killer and the author's own experiences with summer camps. Robert Garrow, a serial killer who murdered four people in the Adirondacks in 1973, inspired the fictional character Jacob Sluiter, also known as "Slitter." The author, Moore, drew on her own experiences at Adirondack summer camps and wrote the novel while staying in a cabin in the Adirondacks. Moore also has family history in the area, as her mother grew up there, and she spent time there as a child.

I recommend this book. Be be prepared for lots of holds on this one, if you are trying to check it out from your local library. :)

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin

 Hi all! Happy Superbowl Sunday!! American football is done after today. (yay)

For the February Mystery Book Club, we read:

How to Solve Your Own Murder: Castle Knoll Files #1

About: "For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate.... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune."

The story is told by flipping back and forth between the 1960's when Frances is a teenager and current time when Annie, Frances' great niece, is a young adult. Everyone thought Annie's mother (Laura) would inherit Frances' estate. So it is a surprise when Annie is contacted and told Frances wants to meet with her regarding the future of the estate. Laura doesn't care too much as she has an important art show during that time, so Annie makes the trip to Castle Knoll. There she meets with Walter, Frances' lawyer and is introduced to Oliver, Walter's grandson and real estate developer. Add Saxon, Frances's nephew by marriage (to Ford) and his wife Elva and you have many people interested in the estate.

As in any good English manor mystery, someone is murdered. In this case it is Frances, before anyone can get to her estate at the scheduled time. Enter Detective Crane and Joe the ambulance driver.

Annie gets ahold of her great aunt's diaries that she has kept since she was a teenager and learns all about her friends, several who are still living i.e. Walter the lawyer, Rose who runs the local B&B. Annie reads the diaries because it is a pretty interesting story and to find clues as to who may have murdered Frances. The more she snoops, somebody starts getting nervous and starts leaving threatening notes in her room.

The MBC members all liked the book. We actually had a pretty good discussion about it. There are a lot of characters to keep track of. But everyone agreed it was a quick read because they couldn't put it down. Lots of red herrings. We all want to read the second book too.

This is Kristen Perrin's debut murder mystery for adults. Prior to this, she wrote several YA books. How to Solve Your Own Murder was nominated for a Goodreads Reader's Favorite Mystery and Thriller for 2024.

The second Castle Knoll's Files book is coming out April 29th, 2025. It is titled, How to Seal Your Own Fate.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2286846/kristen-perrin/

Dead Liar by Ruth Nina Welsh and Groundhog Day predictions

Well, I heard that Punxsutawney Phil in Pa. (groundhog) saw his shadow and perdicts six more weeks of winter. Here in Texas, Bee Cave Bob predicted an early spring. Nacho the dachshund in Buda Texas predicted six more weeks of winter.  Luckenbach Lloyd (armadillo) says "winter will last until it's over and then it will be spring."  :)

I wanted to share the information on the ARC I mentioned in my last post.

Dead Liar by Ruth Nina Welsh was just published on January 29, 2025. I really liked this book and am recommending it.

About: 

"Jamie buried her husband two years ago.

But now he’s alive.

And she’s on the run.

Army nurse Jamie Shaw loses everything when her husband, Ed, dies in a tragic car crash. But on the anniversary of his death, her world shatters again. She glimpses a man she’s certain is her husband – and he is very much alive.

Jamie barely has time to process her shock before the unimaginable happens…

Armed men are invading her home. And she is running for her life.

How is Ed alive?

Why has he betrayed her?

And who are the armed men hunting her?

Desperate for answers, Jamie embarks on a perilous journey to find her lying husband. But she is unaware of the dangerous conspiracy about to ensnare her and the dark secret hiding behind a string of murders. Murders which her husband is at the heart of.

Will Jamie survive the sinister forces closing in on her? And can she help to expose their deadly secret? A secret which, if revealed, could change the world forever…

Dead Liar is a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller with a breathtaking twist. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final heart-stopping pages."

This book is very suspenseful and gripping, truly a page turner and hard to put down.
Jamie is trying to get on with her life after the death of her husband Ed. She goes to work as a nurse each day and then straight home. She is still having a difficult time after two years. Her only "social life" is virtual traveling. She sees the world through an online travel group. The only family she has is her father in law. When she sees her husband alive on an online travel experience, she quickly reaches out to her husbands best friend and notifies him she thinks Ed is alive. She then realizes she may not be able to trust those she thinks she can trust and sets out with Conor, who she served with in Afghanistan in the Army. But who can Jamie really trust? The more she discovers, the more danger she and Conor are in. At the base of this book is a thought provoking story about a pharmaceutical company, research and greed. It could be right out of the television series Greed. It is set in today's environment with modern technology playing a big part in the story. 

This is a debut thriller for the author. You wouldn't believe this is her first thriller. 

About the Ruth Nina Welsh:

"Ruth Nina Welsh lives in Northamptonshire, in the UK. She began writing songs in her late teens after becoming severely ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Creativity has been her strength and solace as a musician and writer living with chronic illness for four decades. She has been a piano teacher, practised as a counsellor and coach, written self-help articles as a freelance writer, and released three albums of her own music – Breathe, Somehow & Heartland. Ruth’s first thriller, Dead Liar, was released in January 2025. At home all the time now, she lives for her family and friends, her creative world, and her gorgeous garden view."

https://ruthninawelsh.com/

Coming up next time: How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin.

We Begin at the End by Chis Whitaker

 Happy 2025! I guess we are passed that celebration.

The holidays were good. We had company for Christmas which we don't have often. We enjoyed that. 

January started off with the Mystery Book Club having our first meeting of the year. We read One Wrong Word by Hank Phillip Ryan. I had read it in the summer and did a post on it. Everyone liked it! Lots of twists and a surprise ending. We don't always have a thumbs up from everyone but we did for this book. Several of us are fans of the author.

Then at the house we started some reality episodes of This Old House followed by The Artic Blast; Will It Be Another Snowmageddon. Luckily it was not but had several days of below freezing and some snow. Not a fan. And we did get the repairs taken care of before that happened. Lots of distractions though.

I did finish We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. This is the first book by this author, published prior to the popular All The Colors of the Dark. We Begin...is just as popular, based on the number of holds at the library. Makes me think of the chicken and the egg question. I wonder if, like me, people read All The Colors...and then found there was another book by the author and are now clamoring to read it.

It is really good also. I listened to it on audio and loved it.

About: "Right. Wrong. Life is lived somewhere in between.

Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids.

Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother.

Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. And Duchess and Walk must face the trouble that comes with his return. We Begin at the End is an extraordinary novel about two kinds of families—the ones we are born into and the ones we create. "

There is so much more to this story. It takes place in a small town. The main adult characters have all grown up together. They have all had hard lives for different reasons. They all still live if not across the street from each other, just down the street from each other. Mix in some unsavory characters and you have problems. Someone is killed and everyone is quick to point at Vincent. He is so depressed and ridiculed after having been in prison for an incident that touched these same people, that he is quick to say he did it. But Walk doesn't think he did. But is his vision blurred because they were best friends in school?

Duchess is old way beyond her years. She takes care of her mother and her five year old brother. And if anyone harms, threatens or talks bad of them, she will take things into her own hands. 

Throughout the story, Walk is working on solving the murder as Duchess and Robin are trying to survive with the help of some other people. But it is a struggle.

Lots of ups and downs and a good unexpected ending. 

I would recommend it. We Begin at the End and All Colors of the Dark are standalones. The themes have similarities but as a whole the books are different.

I also started The Gray Wolf by Louise Penny during the Christmas holiday. It is very good as expected. I then received and ARC I had signed up for and turned my attention to it. It is also good - a spy/thriller story. I will share that when it is published in February. I now need to pick up our February MBC selection: How to Solve You're Own Murder by Kristin Perrin.

So I have several books to talk about soon! I am actually taking a day off to READ. I am thinking I should do that once a month. What do you think?

All the Colors of the Dark, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! 

I read two books this month that I really liked and want to tell you about.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

About: "1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Mohammed Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession, and the blinding light of hope."

Patch and Saint are childhood best friends. (Saint is a girl) They explore the woods together as children and preteens. Saint often sticks up for Patch as he is bullied for wearing a patch where his eye should be. They are both from poor families struggling. Misty lives in the other side of town; wealthy family, pretty, has it all. Patch has a crush on her. One day when they are walking in the woods, someone attempts to kidnap Misty. Patch goes to her rescue, Misty escapes but Patch is taken and held somewhere in the dark for quite awhile. There is one other person seemingly being held also, Grace, who keeps Patch alive.

The story goes on over the next 30 years as Patch escapes and is determined and obsessed with finding Grace. Saint is married to a local boy. 

It is such a gripping story, filled with horrific moments, tension, but also deep lifelong  friendships. 

I highly recommend it. The author has another book that came out before this book: We Begin at the End which promises to be equally as good. I have it on my TBR list.

https://sites.prh.com/chriswhitaker

*The second book I listened to this month that I absolutely loved is:

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

About: "Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth."

This is an excellent mystery. It is very humorous at times, (hilarious actually), very heartwarming and emotional at times.

Vera Wong decides she will solve the murder of the man found in her Tea Shop because, based on what she has seen on the CSI T.V. show, the San Francisco police do not know what they are doing. she even outlined the body - in permanent marker- for the police, before she called them. Several people stop by the shop to see what happened, seemingly unrelated or unknown to each other. Vera is suspicious of them all, starts a notebook of her investigation and brings them all together, through food and tea, to find out who is the murderer. I loved how Vera brings them all together and figures out "who did it". I never guessed the ending. I want to hang out with Vera and try some of her "famous" tea.

Book two is coming out April 1, 2025: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man). I am really looking forward to it.

You may know Jesse Q. Sutanto for the Aunties books. I have not read those but may check them out.

https://jesseqsutantoauthor.com/

Enjoy your holidays and see you in 2025.

Happy Holidays and A Traitor in Whitehall

Aren't the holidays coming up so fast? Everyone feels that this year but we all decided it is because Thanksgiving is at the end of the month and then Christmas is the middle of the week. Zooming by.

Did want to share (finally) what the Mystery Book Club read recently:

A Traitor in Whitehall (Evelyne Redfern #1) by Julia Kelly, for our Novemeber book.

About: "1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?"

Historical fictions especially WWII books seem so popular these days. There are several fans in our book club so I chose this book with them in mind. I was so surprised and relieved that everyone loved this book, even saying this was the best book they read this year! Seldom does everyone like the book of the month.

What did they like about it? The liked the main character Evelyne. They liked reading about how the women that were working as secretaries in the "war room" lived and their duties. Churchill made some cameo appearances. They liked the puzzle of the mystery.

Me: I liked all of the above and the humor between Evelyne and David. There are also several references to detective novels and authors that you will recognize, Evelyne is a big reader. We all liked the discussions about codes and lists that they used. (without saying too much). I liked the ending, leading into the next book.

The second book in this series Betrayal at Blackthorn Park came out October 1, 2024. 

Here is the link for Julia Kelly.

https://www.juliakellywrites.com/

Enjoy! 

Someone Else's Home by Janet Pywell

Hi all. Just wanted to stop in quick and say happy November. The holiday season begins!

I just finished Someone Else's Home by Janet Pywell. This is book four in the Westbay Romance series. I have read several mysteries written by this author and liked them. So when she offered me the books in this series as ARC's I wanted to read them.

Someone Else's Home

About: "There’s a buzz of excitement when Carmen arrives in Westbay to open a soft furnishing interiors shop.

Once a top model, Carmen is married to Jack Bailey, a footballer, whose previous sporting career as a striker for England has turned him into a celebrity. Their two children are embarking on their own lives but there are secrets.

The family is in debt and about to lose their house.

Carmen is desperate to protect her family as much as herself, but she has to fight to win over local businesses in the town. As she comes to grips with conflicts and challenges in her life, she must consider her future and the changes that face them all.

Will they all be able to come together as a family when it counts? And, will Carmen find the home that they all so desperately crave?

A heart-warming, uplifting, feel-good novel about determination, ambition and honesty that comes together at Christmas..."

Someone Else's Home is a heartwarming story of a family, each at a crossroads in their life, trying to figure out where they fit in as an individual and as part of the family. Carmen was a high fashion model, who gave up her career to get married and have a family. Her children are grown and her husband is on his own journey. She makes a major life change. Jack, her husband, was a famous football (soccer) player. An injury ended his career. He is trying to find a new career. Elena is the daughter who is engaged to be married and has a glamorous job as a stewardess, traveling all over the world. But is this what she really wants? Luis is the their son who is soon to go away to college and is finding their way as a person who identifies as non binary. Luis struggles trying to fit in in the small village Carmen has chosen to start over in, public opinions of them and whether to go to college. This is a story of the family struggling with their decisions on their own and whether the family unit can survive the changes each is making.

Wonderful story. I couldn't put it down. I would say the books are not so much about "romance" as in romantic love. They are all more about individuals and families falling in love with Westbay and what it has to offer, then bringing families together. 

If you have read the other books in the Westbay Romance Series, you will find characters from those books here also.

Currently reading: A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly.