Onyx Webb Book Six

Finished Onyx Webb Book Six...in two days.



Have you been reading this series? 

If so, this could be the best in the series....so far. Books 1-5 were really good but this one was great. Book six in which we have; a very interesting new character in Newt, old ghosts, new ghosts, and we get to go to Loll! As always, this was a page turner, easily read in one sitting but the characters are more developed now and more intertwined. The story is like a web but this one is being woven from the outside in...I am already worried about Book 10 and how there MAY be no more. I have written about the first five books in this series of 10 books. They are really quick reads because they are written like a soap opera. There are many characters that are leading separate lives but all tied together in one way or another...with a supernatural twist. We are skillfully taken all over the United States and through many decades with the characters, but it is easy to follow. There is not a lot of description as in a traditional book so each chapter is quick and to the point. Think Twilight, Harry Potter and even Once Upon a Time. This could be a Netflix or HBO series and be great. (Quicker for the fans than getting it to Hollywood, I would guess, so I say this for me.) The authors, Richard Fenton and Andrea Walsh have an interesting background too. They haven't always done fiction. Here's a couple of links.  I highly recommend the series but you have to start with Book One. Two links to the series and info about the authors. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28487279-onyx-webb https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Webb-Book-One-Episodes-ebook/dp/B00VIP8KLC#nav-subnav I received a free copy in exchange for a review - but I am ENTANGLED.

Some Mystery Book Club Members Recommendations

As you may have seen in a previous post, for our MBC meeting for August, we read any mystery set in/along the Appalachian Trail.

Several people were absent this month and were somewhere cooler than Central Texas but we had a good group and a good discussion. Here is what others read and it seemed everyone recommended the book that had read.

The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron: 1st in a series with Mike Bowditch, a retired game warden.


This book takes place in Maine. The main character, Mike Bowditch is very likeable. There are lots of good descriptions, lots of twists and a surprise ending!

The Precipice by Paul Doiron: #6 in the Mike Bowditch series


Very good writing, good thriller, good description of the countryside. Mike Bowditch reminded the club member of Joe Pickett in C.J. Box books.

A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller: #1 in the Bell Elkins series

This book takes place in West Virginia. Three club members read this book and recommend it. They all really liked it saying the writing is very good, really liked the use of metaphors, the places mentioned are real places that they are familiar with (that always makes a person even more interested in a story, I think), the descriptions were very good such that you could visualize the scene, and the ending was really good. The book has two story lines running through it which was done very well.

Bitter River by Julia Keller: #2 in the Bell Elkins series

One person also read this second book and said it was very good, great descriptions and two story lines that merge. All definitely recommend this series.

The Gray Mountain by John Grisham

Two members read this book. It takes place in Virginia.  They said is was good, felt the information/description about lawyers and their work was correct. One person felt the ending was abrupt but took it to mean there will be another book with the characters.

The Devil's Hearth by Phillip DePoy: #1 in the Fever Devlin series

This book took place in Georgia. Comments for this book are: well written, page turner, gave the reader a pretty good feeling of what it would be like to live in a cabin, and recommended it.

Black Heart on The Appalachian Trail by T.J. Forrester

One person read this book. This book takes place in Maine. It is about several people, not known to each other, that take to the Appalachia Trail for different reasons, different goals. They all have "issues."

One comment that seemed to be made by most of us, was that the main character in many of the books, grew up in the Appalachians in different states, moved away, but came back.

We finished up by discussing T.V. shows and movies, which we so often do. One person recommended the movie A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.

It is based on the book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: Red Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.


I watched it after our meeting. It is a very entertaining, funny story of Bill Bryson who attempts to walk the trail from Georgia to Maine with one of his friends from the past (because no one else will go with him).

I will end with this line from the movie: Stephen, Bill's friend ask him how he knows so much. Bill answers: "There's these things called books. It's like television for smart people."

Blind Malice

For our August Mystery Book Club, we are reading mysteries set in/along the Appalachian Trail.

My choice was Blind Malice by Annis Ward Jackson. Blind Malice is the first in the Rachel Myers Murder Series set along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.





"First in a series of 12 murder mysteries set along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Blind Malice introduces Rachel Myers, a native of the area who has come home for her father's funeral. The service is barely over when questions surrounding her father's death and his financial affairs begin to pile up.

Myers is not a professional detective but her natural ability for solving intricate puzzles, her tenacity, and her faith in that little spark that says she's on the right track, enable her to uncover shocking secrets from her father's past and come face to face with the menace that led to his death. "

If you don't know, and I didn't remember, the Appalachian Trail is a 2200 mile trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. In the late 1970's, while camping in the Florida Keys, we met a guy who had recently hiked the entire trail. Whew.

I really liked this book. Rachel is a likeable character that you empathize with immediately. Some real issues are explored in this book: aging parents, commercial development of the country side and what the locals think about it. (I found this to hit home, living in Central Texas and the huge population explosion and development.)

Rachel also has to deal with suspicious "friends" of the family, a high school sweet heart, a current sweetheart and a BIG family secret all wrapped up very cozy at the end. I really liked the descriptions of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Must be beautiful and I can sympathize with the people in their small town.

 I plan on reading more in this series.

Murder Run by Shelly Frome

If you like 1940's mob movies, you will love this book. The story is set in today's time but the character's are out of an old movie. I could picture Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney as a couple of the characters. :)

Jed has made some mistakes in his life and is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. He moves away from the bad influences, and gets a job as a handyman for Miss Julie. She has moved out to the country in Connecticut and seems to be afraid of something or someone. When Miss Julie turns up dead, and everything seems to point to him, he must return to his old acquaintance's and neighborhood to clear himself. Unfortunately, those acquaintance's are "mobsters".




"In this crime novel, a wayward handyman grapples with the suspicious death of his employer, a fragile choreographer who secluded herself in the Litchfield Hills. As the fallout mounts, the reader is taken to various locales in and around Manhattan, an escapade in Miami Springs and back again to the hills of Connecticut until this twisty conundrum is finally laid to rest."

Here is a bit about the author, which I found interesting too.

"Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, and has written over twenty-five plays and novels and continuing profiles for Gannett Media.
A frequent contributor of articles on all facets of creative writing and acting, Shelly appears in numerous periodicals including Southern Writers Magazine. He is also a film critic and contributor to writers' blogs and websites in the U.S. and the U.K.
His fiction includes Twilight of the Drifter, The Twinning Murders,and Lilac Moon. His Hollywood crime caper Tinseltown Riff was released in March 2013.
Among his works of non-fiction are the acclaimed The Actors Studio and texts on The Art and Craft of Screenwriting and writing for the stage. Shelly lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina."

Good lazy summer day read.

I received a free copy in exchange for a review.

251 Things to do in Tofino

Went off my usual path and read this book. It is not a mystery and it is not fiction. I "met" Kait on Goodreads and she offered me a free copy of her book on Tofino.

251 Things To Do In Tofino: And It Is Not Just About Surfing by Kait Fennell



The mystery for me would be "Where is Tofino? Why would a person want to go there?"

"Welcome to Tofino, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, the surf capital of Canada and much, much more. They call this the “end of the road” for Western Canada, but you are going to be calling it the start of the best time of your life. All you need is this eBook, an open mind, an open heart and the sense of wonder and adventure to embark on the journey of a thousand lifetimes."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"Kait Fennell is a permanent resident of Tofino who finds herself more at home in the water than anywhere else. An islander at heart, she has travelled all over the world - from flying and developing pilot guide books in the Okavango Delta, Botswana to volunteering for a small pilot school in Durban, South Africa. Recognized as a National Garfield Weston Foundation Scholar, and graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Technology with a Commercial Pilot License, she left her aviation roots to pursue her passion for surfing, healthy living, the environment and indigenous culture."

I enjoyed reading through this book.  This book is so comprehensive. I particularly liked the history of Tofino and its native people that is given at the beginning. One of my favorite books when I was a kid was Island of the Blue Dolphins. I was very intrigued about the people that lived on the Aleutian Islands. Not Tofino, but I also liked reading about the natives of Tofino.

 The book then goes on to give you 251 things you could do while in Tofino: from hiking, biking, surfing, camping, to where to stay, places to eat (lots of fish, sushi, but even Tex Mex, ice cream, coffee), shopping and how to get around, things to do in the summer and things to do in the winter. The Appendix provides a list with contact information of places to stay, restaurants, stores and even emergency services. A bonus is short interviews of some of the people that call Tofino home, with their favorite things to do and information about businesses. Again a WIDE variety.

If you are planning a trip to Tofino or Vancouver area, grab this book! Easy to read, not dry and stuffy.

I received a free copy in exchange for a review.

Missing Inheritance

Just finished Missing Inheritance by Ken Herring.



"JT Lockie and Shawna have to solve the mystery before it's too late as they are swept up in a mystery going back several decades. It starts with the mysterious death of his father and a stranger who appears out to get Shawna. The story centers around stolen art, Colorado gold mines, Russian rubles, murders, and family secrets. JT and Shawna must travel to Italy in search of clues and solve the mystery before more people die."

This book is exciting and suspenseful all the way up to the end. I liked it because it is a different storyline than I have read lately. It deals with the stolen artwork by the Nazi's in WWII. People are after some of the artwork that they believe J.T. knows something about, and they are serious about getting it back. Can J.T. and Shawna stay one step ahead of them? And there are people going after those people. There is a lot of history mixed in with this fictional story. Or is it?

This story made me want to look up information about the stolen artwork. Here is a interesting article from a couple of years ago about finding some of it. You will see that this book, Missing Inheritance, isn't that far fetched. Wow!

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2014/04/degenerate-art-cornelius-gurlitt-munich-apartment

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

A Kind Worth Killing

Our Mystery Book Club selection for July is A Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson.

What happens when the child of Nick and Amy Dunne (Gone Girl) grows up? You get Lily Kintner.



"A devious tale of psychological suspense involving sex, deception, and an accidental encounter that leads to murder. This is a modern re-imagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train from the author of the acclaimed The Girl with a Clock for a Heart.

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. But their game turns dark when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.”

From there, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they plot Miranda's demise, but soon these co-conspirators are embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse--one they both cannot survive--with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail."

This one is hard to put down and has a turn in the middle that makes you say "ohhh". It is told in the first person by four different characters, Lily, Ted, Miranda and the detective. I liked that style in this story. You could see what the characters were thinking and how they got to where they did more than a traditional third person story.

I then watched the movie Strangers on a Train directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I had seen it before. I have seen most of Hitchcock's movies. But I didn't remember it in detail. I would say they are pretty close (although one starts out on a train, one on a plane), but then there is an added twist in the middle taking the story to a different level.

And then there is always Throw Momma From the Train. A hilarious take off of Strangers on a Train. I love that movie. :)

Criss cross....