Excuses

I haven't been a very good example of a blogger recently, have I?

Well, I have excuses.

It all started over a month ago with intentional home fixing up which has morphed into "have to do things" because we looked too close. You know how that goes. Example: you intend to clean off the stove and the next thing you know, you are cleaning the oven, the refrigerator, and cabinet. If you happen to walk in the next room in the same time period, you will start it all over again in that room.

We are into several big things (I think) which has involved numerous trips to do it yourself stores, walking around the house inside and out, looking at various things on the internet, holding the net on the ground in case husband falls off the roof, moving things on and off decks blah blah blah.

I don't really like to do this kind of thing. I am more of a "let me know when you're done, I will keep out of the way" person.



Currently reading and will share soon:

Onyx Webb book 5. Thanks Andrea and Richard. Just a very few pages to go.
Laying Ghosts: A Selkie Moon Mystery prequel. Thanks Virginia.

Anyone notice a theme here?

Then on my reading radar: The Doctor's Lounge (thanks Larry) - queued up in my Nook.

For my June Mystery Book Club, we will be reading books from the Mystery Award Nominees 2016. These can be easily found on http://stopyourekillingme.com/


What is the date today? 


Gotta run! Be back soon.

Houdini and Doyle

Did you know about this mini series starting tonight? I didn't tell one of my friends told me about it.
How did I not know about this? 10 episode series on Fox 8 p.m. Central

IMDB
"At the turn of the 20th century the Metropolitan Police were overwhelmed with bizarre cases so they turned to outsiders including Houdini and Doyle, who collaborated with New Scotland Yard on some unsolved and inexplicable crimes. "

Wiki
        

"Harry Houdini is a skeptic who doesn't believe anything unless he can see it himself. Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle is a believer who wants to prove that the supernatural is real. The drama opens in 1900, shortly after the publication of Doyle's The Great Boer War. Houdini and Doyle become involved in the investigation of several mysterious deaths. They argue over whether the causes are natural or supernatural, and often wager on the cause, which causes their police liaison, Constable Stratton, some embarrassment."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houdini_and_Doyle

 

I didn't know Houdini and Doyle were good friends. Did you? Here is a real picture of them.

 

Got to go set this up on my DVR!

 

 



 

 

Rage Against the Dying

Our May Mystery Book Club book is Rage Against the Dying: A Brigid Quinn Series Book 1 by Becky Masterman.



The description:


"You have never met an (ex) FBI agent like Brigid Quinn

"Keeping secrets, telling lies, they require the same skill. Both become a habit, almost an addiction, that's hard to break even with the people closest to you, out of the business. For example, they say never trust a woman who tells you her age; if she can't keep that secret, she can't keep yours. I'm fifty-nine."

Brigid Quinn's experiences in hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn't have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she's put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she is settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs.
But the past intervenes when a man named Floyd Lynch confesses to the worst unsolved case of Brigid's career—the disappearance and presumed murder of her young protégée, Jessica. Floyd knows things about that terrible night that were never made public, and offers to lead the cops to Jessica's body in return for a plea bargain.
It should finally be the end of a dark chapter in Brigid's life. Except…the new FBI agent on the case, Laura Coleman, thinks the confession is fake, and Brigid finds she cannot walk away from violence and retribution after all, no matter what the cost.
With a fiercely original and compelling voice, Becky Masterman's Rage Against the Dying marks the heart-stopping debut of a brilliant new thriller writer."

Sigh...
The writing is very good. Brigid is a likeable character. I am familiar with many of the landmarks described in Tucson. I give it a 3 1/2 on my "icky meter."

The case Brigid gets sucked back into, after supposed to have been retired, or should we say couldn't stay out of, is "icky" with despicable people and violence. Not my thing. But about 1/2 through, we didn't have to read too much about that anymore. I have a bad feeling that this stuff has happened.

My other thought was that, for being ex FBI, Brigid made some really bad choices in this story bordering on dumb moves. I kept saying to myself, "Why would she do that? OMG, don't do that. While she is obviously a brave woman in her work life, I didn't find that in her personal life. Interesting contrast. I did find her thought processes when working through the case, interesting.

After letting it all settle for a couple of days, I think I might read book 2:  Fear the Darkness.

What did you think?

Addendum: We had a really good discussion at out MBC earlier this month. Most members really liked the book. We all agreed Brigid is a likeable character. After the discussion, I see why Brigid possibly made some of the decisions she did. Most, including me, agreed we want to read the next book in the series.

"Extremely Accurate Charts for Book Nerds

I am supposed to be looking up something important or doing something important and saw  this. So of course I am reading that and wanted to share it with you. All true. Click the link for more charts.

http://www.epicreads.com/blog/extremely-accurate-charts-for-book-nerds/



Here's a couple more truisms (is that a word?).





This is very true. Or that moment of panic when you are almost finished and not sure what you are reading next!


I think this everyday.



 Now what am I supposed to be doing? Happy weekend!

The First Lie

  The  First Lie (Selkie Moon Mystery #1) by Virginia King
http://www.selkiemoon.com/


I won The First Lie in an online book scavenger hunt a few months back. That was a lot of fun and even more fun to win 3rd place with a prize of books. Being a book addict/collector, I just got to The First Lie a couple of weeks ago. I like it a lot.

Here is the description:

"When Selkie Moon flees Sydney to start over in Hawaii, it’s to live life on her own terms. But Life has other plans.
Though she tries to dismiss the warning as just another nightmare, it soon becomes apparent that someone, or something, is stalking her. Attacked by frightening visions and mysterious compulsions, she must piece together the fragmented clues before time runs out.
Virginia King effortlessly blends funky creativity and deep spirituality – with a dash of Celtic folklore – to craft a story of one woman’s fight for truth, and her discovery that the lies we tell ourselves are the most dangerous of all." 

One of my favorite movies that my children watched was The Secret of Roan Inish. It was about  the Irish legend of the selkies - seals that can shed their skin to become human. I think I watched the movie more than my kids did. That made me even more interested in this story.

This story combines that myth with a modern mystery. Selkie Moon is the main character. She has left her abusive husband in Sydney and moved to Hawaii to get far away from him and start a business giving motivational seminars. She has several quirky friends including her roommate Wanda who makes art out of dried fish, Derek her assistant, Nigel Derek's partner (they are Selkie's guardians), Coral, a woman who lives on the street but has some ability to see what others cannot and Davina, who is a dress maker but so much more. Selkie has also left her father, stepmother and sister in Sydney and is somewhat estranged from them.

The story begins when Selkie sees a woman in a mirror that belongs to Wanda. The woman is looking right at her and appears to be real. Selkie hears words in her head as if the woman is giving her a message that someone is trying to kill her. When Selkie turns around, the woman is not there. (I always like a little supernatural thing going on). We follow Selkie as she tries to find out who the woman is, get her business going, not fall for another abusive man, not get killed and finally find out what was the first lie.

I loved the writing. It is a good thriller but also has some wonderfully written descriptions of Selkie's experiences? dreams? visions? The story also brings in some the legends and myths in Hawaii. There are many layers to this story. What part does Selkie's childhood play in all that is happening to her? Are these things real, magical, psychological?

The story ends with you wanting to know more. Luckily, book #2, The Second Path, looks like it picks up right where The First Lie, leaves off.

Here is little bit about the author:  "Before Selkie Moon invaded her life, Virginia had been a teacher, an unemployed ex-teacher, the author of over 50 children’s books, an audio-book producer, a workshop presenter and a prize-winning publisher. These days she lives in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney with her husband, where she disappears each day into Selkie Moon’s latest mystery. Bliss"

Bonus: Here is a link to get a free download of the 24 page prequel to the Selkie Moon mysteries: Laying Ghosts.

http://www.selkiemoon.com/#popup

Another great author from Australia/New Zealand part of the world.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186550.Virginia_King

Addendum: I read the prequel, Laying Ghosts. Really quick, short story really. I love how the author plays between reality and supernatural? Serendipity? Luck? Really good and I look forward to reading the next in the series.


I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Currrently reading....

Goodness, record amount of work at work this week. (I don't think that is good grammar). It is as bad as the week was, you might say.

I am currently reading:

The First Lie (Selkie Moon Mystery Series Book 1) by Virginia King. I won it in the scavenger hunt I participated in and finally am checking out those books I won. This the second of five and have not been disappointed.



I hope to finish it this weekend, if it rains as promised and I don't feel compelled to "work outside".

Then I will be reading our MBC selection for May:

Rage Against the Dying (Brigid Quinn, #1) by Becky Masterman



One last thing, the final season of Wallander on PBS May 8. We will also have Endeavor and Inspector Lewis in the summer. This will also be the final season for Inspector Lewis. I hope they have some good mysteries in the works for us. :)

In The Blood

Yes I have been missing from this blog for a couple of weeks, I think. And missing reading. We are well into spring here, which has generated spring cleaning during all free time. You know, clearing out weeds, leaves from flower beds, bringing out the patio furniture etc. I have not been able to read much and that is really not making me happy.

I found myself sitting in the middle of the yard on a chair, standing or sitting guard, as my husband was power washing the upstairs "just in case something happens, you stay there". As I sat there looking around, I said to myself, "Hey you could be reading", ran and got my book and finished:

In the Blood (Genealogical Crime Mystery #1) by Steve Robinson



Here's the book description:

"Two hundred years ago a loyalist family fled to England to escape the American War of Independence and seemingly vanished into thin air. American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find out what happened, but it soon becomes apparent that a calculated killer is out to stop him.
In the Blood combines a centuries-old mystery with a present-day thriller that brings two people from opposite sides of the Atlantic together to uncover a series of carefully hidden crimes. Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and will stop at nothing to find them."

My best friend Kathy recommended this to me last month. My other hobby is genealogy. I have traced my ancestors back to late 1400's on one side and early 1600's on the other side. And I watch all of those family tree shows. So this was a good book for me.

Jeff is hired by Walter Sloane to find more information on the his ancestors. When Jeff hits a "brick wall", Sloane insists he go to England and search over there. Well, Jeff is afraid of flying. But there is an unusual sense of urgency by Sloane. Jeff makes it to England, checks into a bed and breakfast and starts right off to find the Fairborne family that lives in England. No one really wants to talk to James. He is knocked out on his first visit to the Fairborne's and wakes up to a note basically telling him to mind his own business. The records about the family in the historical center have been stolen. His search leads him to Ferryman House, where Amy Fallon lives and runs a ferry service. Her husband went missing over a year ago, when he went out fishing. Work men have found an old writing box during renovations. Seems others are interested in this box. What is the connection?

The story goes back and forth from the story of the Fairborne family in England in the 1700's to Jeff's search which he continues despite, a murder, a kidnapping and someone trying to kill him.

It's a quite a page turner and I loved the historical fiction. The story goes from 1784 to present day. Without saying too much, I will tell you that it involves something devious that you probably thought only goes on today in the modern world of technology. I was surprised to think that may have happened hundreds of years ago, with even worse outcomes.

Can Jeff unweave this centuries old mystery?

There are a total of five books in this genealogical mystery series. And I hear each one is better than the last.