Happy Holidays and two Christmas Anthologies

Happy Holidays! This will be my last post for 2019.

Here are two Christmas anthologies for you. If you are traveling and need something to read and get in the spirit or just chillin', check these out.

The Twelve Cozy Mystery Carols of Christmas.

A Collection of Holiday Cozy Mystery Novellas by Members of the Sleuthing Women Author Collective

Deck the Halls with books of mystery, fa la la la la, it’s murder most foul.

The season is rife with tasks and obligations. Shopping, cleaning, cooking, and parties...you need some downtime. So, cue up your favorite holiday album and stoke up a blazing fire. Grab your preferred beverage and a bowl of freshly popped corn, and immerse yourself in murderous fun from a dozen goddesses of mystery, mayhem, and murder.

Deck the halls with mystery, hear sleigh-bells in the bloody snow, wish for a merry murder, and make this holiday season your very own with this fun collection of cozy mystery novellas featuring Ava Mallory, Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, Jenna St. James, K.M. Waller, Laina Turner, Rachael Stapleton, Sam Cheever, Stephanie Damore, Susan Boles, Tara Meyers, Tricia L. Sanders, and Wendy Meadows. 

Meows and Mistletoe: A Holiday Anthology

Eight holiday tales in the magical town of Cat’s Paw Cove by authors:

Sharon Buchbinder, Candace Cold, Darcy Devion, Mia Ellas, Kerry Evelyn, Kristal Hollis, Debra Jess, Sue-Ellen Welfonder

See ya next year!

Making it Rain in Texas by Russ Hall

This was a book offered with Authors/XP/Elite Reader group. 

Making it Rain in Texas is Al Quinn Novel Book 5.

About: 

"Once again, Al Quinn’s wish to lead a quiet life as a retired sheriff’s department detective gets interrupted. This time, a female con artist has ripped off a charity drive his brother, Maury, and his sister-in-law, Bonnie, are heading.

Sheriff Clayton also wants a favor. He asks Al to look into a report of a chupacabra, a mythological Texas beast that sucks the blood from goats. The tangled web causes Al and his “starting-to-get-serious” partner, Fergie, to cross paths with two hardened killers who decide Al and Fergie need to die.

Their dance across the drought-stricken countryside threatens to finish Al and Fergie, along with the rest of his household, including the baby, Little Al, and their dog, Tanner."

I really liked this book. New series to me and a new author. Very suspenseful with constant action beginning to end. Although it takes place in current day central Texas, it had a wild west feel to me, with the posse of Al and Fergie, Maury and Bonnie trying to bring in a fund raising scammer, while checking out reports of a Chupacabra. They are chasing down the bad guys, while being chased by other bad guys, all out in the hills of central Texas.

I liked all the references to the small towns, as I am very familiar with them. The story about the fund raising (rain maker) scam really opened my eyes, and I wonder and suppose there is some truth to it.

Likeable characters, fast paced, definitely kept my interest. If you are from Central Texas I think you would like to follow Al's adventures. He was just a few miles from me in this story.

If you are interested in receiving free books for review, check out Authors XP. You will get emails about books currently available for review, you can choose the genres you are interested it. You submit with a click, the book you are interested in and it will show up on your dashboard for the download method of your choice. Then post the link to your review in the dashboard when you are done. It is pretty simple. I figured it out. :) Here is the link:

https://authorsxp.com/readers/join-the-axp-elite-book-squad

I received a free copy and voluntarily provided this review.

Best of 2019

It is a busy time of year isn't it? Even if you don't decorate much, or bake, or shop a lot, somehow it sure is busy. I am looking forward to some down time coming up which for me means more reading time. :)

We had our last Mystery Book Club meeting of the year almost two weeks ago. We don't read a book for this last meeting of the year, but share our favorite books of the year, bring books to share and bring snacks to share. We had quite a spread! All so good.

I want to share the book clubs favorite picks. Interestingly, there were several non fiction books that people really liked, not just mysteries. Let's see if I can force the list I made to send out to the members, into this post.

First I will tell you my favorites:
Turn of the Key, Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware: We had read In a Dark Dark Wood last year I think which introduced this author to me. I really like her books. These three books all have a house in them. I like spooky house stories.

Trust Me: Hank Phillip Ryan: This was also a new author for me and I really liked this book.

Need to Know: Karen Cleveland: Another new author. I really liked this book also and plan on reading the next book.

Here are the group picks. They are in no particular order.

China Thrillers  -  Peter May

Phryne Fisher books – Kerry Greenwood

Lena Jones Books – Betty Webb

Tracy Crosswhite books – Robert Dugoni

The Ruin (Cormac Riley #1) – Dervla McTiernan

The Scholar (Cormac Riley #2) – Dervla McTiernan

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane – Lisa See

The Island of Sea Women –Lisa See

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone – Lori Gottlieb

Lock Every Door – Riley Sager

The Mystery of Three Quarters (New Hercule Poirot Mysteries, #3) – Sophie Hannah

Death in a Desert Land (New Agatha Christie #3) – Andrew Wilson

Wish You Well – David Baldacci

Wolf Pack (Joe Picket #19) – C.J. Box

Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain – Mark Twain

People Power and Profits – Joseph Stiglitz

One Step Behind (Kurt Wallander #7) – Henning Mankell

The Huntress – Kate Quinn

The Code Girls – Daisy Styles

A Better Man (Inspector Gamache #15) – Louise Penny

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs,  Victory Garden – Rhys Bowen

Lady in the Lake – Laura Lippman

Becoming – Michelle Obama

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owen

Blow Out – Rachel Maddow

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI – David Grann

Tell the Wolves I'm Home – Carol Rifka-Brunt

Stillhouse Lake (Stillhouse Lake #1) – Rachel Caine

The Laws of Human Nature – Robert Greene Have a great holiday, whatever you celebrate.