Happy New Year and Best of 2023!

 Happy New Year!

Do you have book goals for each year? Number of books? Specific books you want to read? Try other genres? 

I track mine in Goodreads. It helps me if I want to go back and see if I read a certain book, did I like it etc. I also do book goals of how many I want to read in a year. Not because I want to read as many as possible. I am about enjoying a book, not being able to say I read 100 books. I read 35 books this year. I knew I did not get to many of the books that I wanted to read. 2023 got off to a rough start in Central Texas with another winter storm, We spent every weekend and evening cutting trees that fell, loading them up and lining them up for pick up, for at least two months. Just seemed that I lost some free time last year. In contrast, I read 75 books in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Just shows me that I had less to do that year because of restrictions and the work load was about one quarter of normal. 

Here is what our Mystery Book Club shared as their favorite books of 2023. You may want to add some to your reading list for 2024. Here are the top mysteries.

The Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson

I wrote about this series in November. https://gbmysteries.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-gaslight-mysteries.html

The Haven Rock series by Kelley Armstong

About: ..."spinoff series of her beloved Rockton books. Set in a small town deep in the Yukon wilderness, Haven’s Rock is the perfect series of police procedurals for old and new fans alike. In this first book in this propulsive series, Murder at Haven’s Rock, Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, must track down a pair of construction workers who have ignored the town’s only rule: don’t go in the forest."

The Maid and The Guest List by Nita Prose: books one and two of the series.

I wrote about The Maid here: https://gbmysteries.blogspot.com/2023/11/happy-holidays-and-maid-by-nita-prose.html

Book two continues with Molly the Maid in another murder mystery.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb: https://gbmysteries.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-violin-conspiracy-by-brenda-slocumb.html

All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

About: One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally.

Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Rayburn

About: "They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller."

David Sloane and Tracy Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni

David Sloane series: five books in the series. 

"In this exhilarating legal thriller from Robert Dugoni, the #1 Kindle bestselling author of MY SISTER'S GRAVE, attorney David Sloane must take the law into his own hands to save his son from a corrupt juvenile detention center.

As David Sloane continues to piece his life back together in the wake of his wife's vicious murder, he also struggles to handle his difficult teenage son, Jake. Reeling from the loss of his mother, Jake's bad behavior escalates and his relationship with Sloane is pushed to the brink. When Sloane's old friend, Detective Tom Molia, recruits Sloane and Jake to join him and his son on a camping trip, Sloane sees the trip as an opportunity to repair their broken father/son bond.

Tracy Crosswhite series: Ten book series

About book one: My Sister's Grave: "racy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House—a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder—is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers."

Anxious People by Frederick Backman

About: ..."a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths."

The Last Mrs, Parrish by Liv Constantine

About: "Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn't have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

About: "For fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a shivery, atmospheric, page-turning novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of Agatha Christie, in which a group of old college friends are snowed in at a hunting lodge . . . and murder and mayhem ensue.

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

About: "Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

Well what do you think? An equal number of historical fiction was noted to be favorites in this group. I know I always add more to my TBR list after our group suggestions. 

I hope you have a wonderful start to 2024!. See you then.

Happy Holidays and a holiday read

 Happy Holidays everyone!

I have a holiday book recommendation written by James Patterson for you. It was recommended to me as a good holiday read, a quick read and laugh out loud funny. 

About: "Move over, Dickens—America’s favorite storyteller has written a modern Christmas story for the ages. 

Every year at Christmastime, Will and Ella Sullivan, and their father, Henry, come to a family agreement: Christmas is a holiday for other people. 

At their brownstone in Harlem, stockings go unstuffed, tinsel unstrewn, gifts unbought, mistletoe unhung, chestnuts unroasted, carols unplayed, cookies uncooked, a tree un-visible, and guests uninvited. 

Until guests start arriving anyway. In pairs and sixes, in sevens and tens—they keep coming. And they stay. For twelve long, hard, topsy-turvy, very messy days. That’s when the Sullivans discover that those moments in life that defy hope, expectation, or even imagination, might be the best gifts of all.  

I hope you enjoy your holiday with who or what brings you joy. 

I will share the Mystery Book Club's Best Reads of 2023 soon!

The Murder Rule and a good historical fiction

 Well, I am off to a slow return to blogging, aren't I. Busier than I anticipated holiday season. Extra work things and both my Mystery Book Club and my Norwegian Society had holiday get togethers. Also went to a Celtic concert. Just extra things and extra prep. 

But I did want to tell you about two good books I read/listened to recently. I do intend to catch up with our MBC selections from this year too.

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

About: "For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

 They're wrong. I’m going to bury him."

Hannah is a college student living with her mother, who is an alcoholic. Hannah has always taken care of her mother. She finds her mother's diary from when she was a teenager, that explains her mothers behavior. There was a summer that her mother (Laura) worked as a maid for an agency that provided services for wealthy people. The story is so traumatic for Laura, that Hannah decides she will get revenge for her, find the man who made her what she is today. 

Hannah applies to work for a legal project that helps people who have been wrongly accused and sent to prison, to get new trials with the goal of getting them released. She has to convince the project of her intentions and make a place for herself, literally. 

Very good page turner. Who is the "bad guy" in this story? Who is the "good guy"? Are there any? The ending was very twisty and unexpected. 

The other book I wanted to share is a historical fiction. Historical fiction seems to be very popular right now. I have always liked biographies and historical fiction. While not a mystery, it seems alot of mystery lovers, cross into historical fiction, like I do,

Switchboard Solders by Jennifer Chiaverini,

About: "In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information.

At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them.

More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium.

They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds.

Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu. Not all of them would survive.

The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now."

Really good account of these telephone operators who were recruited in 1918 to manage the switchboards in France during WWI. They volunteered, wanting to "do their part". Many of their families of course did not understand why a woman would want to do this, should stay at home and roll bandages and get married. The women went through some Army training and as the war went on, did not live in the best of conditions,. It was interesting to read about their devotion to the cause, how they managed and how they kept up their spirits. This was also during the pandemic of 1918 (sound familiar) of the Spanish flu. It was interesting to read about the women making masks and the mask requirements. Yep. Same thing. 

Some of the characters are based on "real people". Some are added to make the story flow. There is also a documentary on Prime called The Hello Girls. Relatives of the actual "hello girls"  are interviewed and there are pictures from there time. The book talks about how they didn't like being called "Hello Girls", by the way.

Next week, I will share the MBC choices for Best of the Year.