Subscription box, a Halloween anthology and Burning Secrets

 As promised, here is what I got in my Mystery Subscription Box from Strand Bookstore.

One hardback book: Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden who is an enrolled citizen of the Sincagu Lakota tribe. I think it sounds really good and the author sounds interesting too.

"A groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx." 

One paperback book: IQ by Joe Ide.  I did read this a couple of years ago, so will probably share it.

"A resident of one of LA's toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores. East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood's high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, lost children unrecovered. But someone from the neighborhood has taken it upon himself to help solve the cases the police can't or won't touch."

Four Short Stories: These are in the folded items on the left. They are short short stories but have very interesting pictures of art. If you open all of them and flip them over, they fit together to make one poster.

A carry bag from Strand: Their logo says "18 miles of books".

Earl Grey White Tea: Nice!

A Linda's Lollies Wild Cherry Pop

A little fun during this continuing saga.

I read one short story from a Halloween anthology, Pumpkins and Potions, so far. Apple Bobbing Horror by Mona Marple.

Cute, fast read about a Halloween party in the town of Mystic Springs - one of the series Mona writes. The other authors are listed below. Any you have read books by these authors?

About: "Bats, hats, and talking cats abound!

Are you ready for your annual dose of Halloween hijinx, magic, and mystery? Then brew up a cuppa, give your cauldron a stir, and carve out the time for some witchy fun in this holiday anthology.

Featuring loads of spooky tales brewed up by 16 of your favorite paranormal cozy mystery authors, including:

Tegan Maher, Misty Bane, Regina Welling and Erin Lynn, Leighann Dobbs, Samantha Silver, Ava Mallory, Stephanie Damore, Constance Barker, M.Z. Andrews, Mona Marple, Elle Adams, April Aasheim, Jenna St. James, Nikki Haverstock, K.M. Waller, and Amorette Anderson.'

Burning Secrets by Shawn McGuire - Whispering Pines Mystery book 11. Are you a Whispering Pines fan?

About: "Sheriff Jayne O’Shea is on edge. Hopeful applicants have taken over the commons area, all of them begging to become residents. Villagers who left long ago have returned, causing an uproar among the locals. The slow burn feud between the sister witches has reached the boiling point. And her parents are acting just plain weird. Fortunately, it’s time for the annual Beltane celebration, the last opportunity for everyone to gather before tourists invade the village for the summer. Attendees dance around the Maypole, decorate fairy chairs, weave witch ladders, and nibble Green Man cake. Good, innocent fun. Except, this year’s fire festival is being held during the driest spring the Northwoods has seen in a decade. And like bees to honey, the event has attracted an arsonist intent on burning the place to the ground one little fire at a time."

Backgound: This series takes place in the Northwoods of Wisc. (where my dad's family is from and where I lived as a kid and went to every summer to visit. Get the attraction?) Several towns that I know and inferences to others are mentioned and I get a kick out of that. 

Whispering Pines is a small village that is owned by Jayne O'Shea's parents, that was owned by Jaynes' grandmother. It is a village where visitors go in the summer to camp, stay in cabins, enjoy lake sports, partake of the homey cafes and shop at the unique shops. The villagers have lived there mostly all their lives. You cannot just move there. You have to go before the council and apply and be able to bring something to the village to sustain yourself and the village. Jayne came to the village after leaving a job in the police department in a big city and a break up with a fiance. She was voted Sheriff and plays a big part in the village. She started a B&B in her grandmother's house after a great deal of renovation.

In this book, the village is threatened in several ways; fire by an arsonist, sisters  Reva and Flavia are really feuding and causing a lot of unrest, and Jayne has a secret to tell the village which threatens the existence of the village and the villagers.

I would start at the beginning of this series as the back story is center in the series and relationships continue to develop. 

This book comes out September 28, 2020. (I received an ARC and voluntarily provided this review)

Next: The Widows by Jess Montgomery. 

I hope you are all well, reading lots and keeping busy with things you like to do. 

Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson - Moore

 I got to read this very good mystery/thriller/suspense as an ARC.

About: "Julianna Burke, bestselling mystery novelist, has a secret that those closest to her are hiding from the world. Julianna is losing her memory, and with it her powerful gift for storytelling that propelled her to fame. A further devastating blow comes when Connor, Julianna’s beloved husband, is murdered. Even this is not something Julianna’s mind can hold on to, and every day her assistant has to break the heart-wrenching news all over again. Julianna is desperate to know what happened to her husband. As she battles her failing mind to investigate, a detail of the murder surfaces that makes Julianna question everything she’s ever known. Somehow she must fight to find the truth, even though her grip on reality is fading."

I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in South Carolina on Sullivan's Island. 

The author does a great job showing us what Juliana, a popular mystery writer, is thinking and what she can remember and can't remember day to day. The apparent beginnings of dementia. 

They mystery unfolds after Juliana finds her second husband, Connor, stabbed with a letter opener in his study. Her daughter Logan comes to stay with her. Margot is Juliana's assistant and lives with her. As the days go on after the memorial for Connor, Logan starts picking up clues to what maybe happened, who killed Connor. It had to be someone well known to the household because the dog Annabelle did not bark. Trouble is, everyone in the neighborhood, has a key to everyone's ones house in this close knit, well established neighborhood. But who has a key to Juliana's mind, to unlock what she is forgetting. 

As the days go on, everyone could be a suspect; including Logan's brother who has made it clear the house on the beach should be sold and a bundle made. Did Harrison want to get his stepfather out of the way and declare his mother incompetent? Was Connor having an affair and the lover's husband has taken revenge? Or the lover? Juliana in a moment of confusion? The answer may be in the latest novel Juliana is working on.

The story also shows the complicated relationships between family and friends, step-parents and step-children. The island setting adds to the mystique because it limits who the suspects could be and what could have happened. 

The pace really picks up as the another tragedy occurs and the investigation almost comes to a stop.

Very suspenseful ending. 

About Deb Richardson-Moore: Deb Richardson-Moore is a former journalist and former pastor of a church whose parishioners included homeless people. Those experiences combined in her first four books -- a 2012 memoir about her early years at the Triune Mercy Center, and the three-book Branigan Powers mystery series featuring a news reporter and a homeless man.

She has now turned to darker domestic thrillers with the release of "Murder, Forgotten" in 2020.

Deb lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband. They are the parents of three adult children.

She is also the author of The Brannigan Powers Mysteries and there are three books in that cozy mystery series.

This book comes out September 18, 2020.

I received an ARC and voluntarily provided this review.

Checking in

 How are you doing? I believe we are right at six months of this stay at home, masks, etc. Wow. No one thought it would last this long. 

I did take an extra few days off with our holiday last week and we got out and about some. Meaning we got in the car and drove about 50 miles with our masks, disinfectant wipes and just looked around. We were surprised that i.e. Starbucks was still only drive through, Chik fil A was only drive through. We were leery of going it to eat anywhere actually. Finally on Monday we got brave and went into a restaurant to eat. No one at surrounding tables, all masks except to eat etc. 

Meanwhile, don't forget Van der Valk starts on Masterpiece Sunday 9/13/20 at 8 p.m. central time that is.

I am currently listening to All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny. Always so good. 

I am currently reading Murder Forgotten by by Deb Richardson Moore - an ARC of the book that comes out 9/18/20. It is very good and will post here soon. I would finish it tonight but there is a college football game on that I am going to watch.

I also have a couple more books on my table; The Widows by Jess Montgomery for our Mystery Book Club for October,  and a couple three other "read and reviews" for October.

I participated in a "help me write" small group. An author I have followed for her woman's literature series with a supernatural twist, asked if anyone on her mailing list wanted to participate in her "help me write" group for the prequel she was working on. There were four of us that took her up on the offer. She would send out a chapter or two and sometimes ask specific questions, sometimes general, for our opinion about the characters, the flow, the plot etc. We just finished that up this weekend. She actually took some of our ideas and incorporated them. It was a lot of fun.

What I am most excited about for this week is I received a notice that my MYSTERY SUBSCRIPTION BOX shipped! Yay! I almost thought I had missed out on it but it is happening. I will share about that too, when I get it.

Will post some books soon.

Gone Daddy Blues by Jane Tesh

 I completed this book for as a "read and review" book and really liked it.

Gone Daddy Blues is the seventh in the Grace Street Mysteries series by Jane Tesh. Have you read any in this series? I was not familiar with it but am interested to go back and read others. 

About: "Discouraged by a recent deadbeat dad case, PI David Randall wonders if he should close the detective agency he operates from his psychic friend Camden's boarding house at 302 Grace Street in Parkland, North Carolina. But Doreen Padgett, a scrappy teen, convinces him to find her useless father, Arliss. Arliss and Doreen's mother have divorced, and Doreen wants the man to pay what he owes her family. It's another deadbeat dad, but Randall agrees to take the case. Then policeman Jordan Finley comes to Grace Street with a blouse he wants Camden to touch. The blouse belongs to the victim of a suspected serial killer, a man with a bizarre fondness for blond hair. Camden has a serious reaction to the blouse, but can't see anything that will lead to the killer except a hatred for a woman named Margaret. Randall wants in on this case.Cam's wife Ellin is looking forward to her fifteen year high school reunion. Randall discovers Arliss Padgett was in her class and may attend the reunion, a good place to catch him. There is also a photo of a blond named Margaret and photos of boys who could fit the killer's description. When Cam has a reaction to a certain yearbook page, Randall knows he's on the right track. Of the two possibilities on the page, Bradley Wallace, former basketball star, seems most likely.Randall's girlfriend Kary, who loves going out in disguise, and her former school teacher mentor, Lottie, a slightly ditzy little woman who writes mystery novels, discover that Bradley Wallace was abandoned by his abusive mother and is dealing with rejection by stalking and killing women who ignore him, including Margaret Layton, the girl he lusted after in high school.Randall needs Cam's help, but Cam, always reluctant to use his psychic talent, has had an accident. While repairing the roof, he fell and lost his memory--or so it seems. Randall suspects Cam has convenient amnesia so he won't have to delve into the killer's mind. At the reunion, Arliss doesn't show, and Randall finds that Wallace has sent another man, Stuart King, in his place to find out more about Margaret. Randall doesn't know if Stuart is a harmless go-between or if he's part of Wallace's plan to kill Margaret. Where is Wallace hiding and how is he getting his information? Is there a connection to Arliss? Randall has to find the killer especially since he realizes that except for himself, everyone who lives at 302 Grace Street is blond.Gone Daddy Blues is the seventh in the Grace Street Mysteries, the continuing adventures of the family and friends who live at 302 Grace Street."

This was a delightful cozy mystery with a paranormal twist and a feel of film noir. 

The characters are all interesting and I love how the main characters live together in Cam's "boarding house". Even though some only barely tolerate each other, they can't do without each other. The story is solid with David looking for Doreen's deadbeat father who owes money to her mother and getting mixed up in that appears to be a serial killer. As the story goes, there seems to be a connection to the string of murders of women with blond hair and Arliss, Doreen's father. Cam and David get involved as Cam has some strong visions (that he would like to forget) and David's young daughter keeps urging him (from the other side) to help Doreen and also one of the victims that is with her. 

The story is peppered with hilarious banter between David and another housemate, Lottie, who fancies herself a mystery author, "what the British call crime novels". Trouble is Lottie just changes up the names of her friends and their escapades or famous novels and tout them as original fiction; i.e. "Dick and Dora, very rich...and a dog that helps them solve crimes" among others. (Nick and Nora from the 1940's movies). She often asks the other housemates to read her latest chapters and they try to provide encouragement while choking on laughter. But Lottie surprises them with some legitimate suggestions in solving the case. There actually is a lot of funny segments in the book. Everyone is afraid of Ellin, Cam's wife. Lottie and David's live in girlfriend Kary, often insert themselves into David's investigations, wearing disguises. In this story, they dress up as old ladies and borrow a car to add to the disguise.

Very good, ending with a good deal of tension. Some of the book reads like a '40's detective novel which I find fun. I really recommend this book. Quick enjoyable read.

About the author: "Jane Tesh lives and writes in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the real Mayberry. She is the author of the Grace Street Mystery Series, the Madeline Maclin Mysteries, four fantasy novels, and over thirty plays for children."

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily provided this review.

Couple of things to share

 I'm posting this with a heavy heart...

As much as I love reading and books, it takes up too much of my time and I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics such as cleaning and maintaining my home, so something has to give. I will be re-homing my collection.

Please don't ask any questions as I can't handle talking about it.

Below is a list of what's available. All FREE of charge, but to good homes only. Serious inquiries only please.

Thanks for reading and understanding...

1. Dustpan and brush
2. Sponges
3. Dusters
4. Mop and bucket
5. Window cleaner
6. Vacuum cleaner
7. Dishwashing liquid
8. Laundry detergent
9. Fabric softener
10. Laundry baskets
11. Toilet brush
12. Cleaning sprays
13. Scrubbing brushes

As a book lover, did that get you for just a minute? I have seen it on social media and thought it was funny.

Another thing I came across was a post (from a person in one of the online book groups I belong to), about her book subscription box that she had received from Strand Bookstore in New York. She had a picture and it looked so wonderful. Not only did she get some books but also some miscellaneous items and COFFEE. The deal is the contents of the subscription boxes are SURPRISES. You pick out the genre you are interested in and if you want a one time box, a year of boxes (4) or continuing. Here's the scoop:

Strand Bookstore 

https://www.strandbooks.com/

There main location is at Broadway and 12th in NYC. They have new books, vintage books, merchandise, virtual author events etc. etc. 

Under Books and Media, choose Book Hookup. Within the body of the description there is a FAQ link.

https://www.strandbooks.com/books-media/bookhookup/faq

You can choose from 9 different genres.

Fiction, Young Adult, Art/Photography, Feminist Literature, Political Nonfiction, Mystery and Suspense, SciFi and Fantasy, Little Readers, and Classics.

I signed up for one. Guess which one? I am excited. Fun thing to do while the stay at home continues. Ugh. Not that I was out and about so much, but we are still not able to work in the office, which included talks with friends face to face, lunches, celebrations, not able to have face to face book club or genealogy club (glad to have online meetings) or the yearly vacation to visit family out of state. After the early days of ordering toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and cat supplies online, time to order something fun. I think these would make great gifts too.

I will let you know how I like it. 

The Return of the Raven Mocker by Donis Casey

 This is book #9 in the Alafair Tucker mystery series by Donis Casey. I have not read the whole series but was particularly interested in this book because it takes place in 1918 during the (drum roll) Spanish flu epidemic. While it is fiction and there is a mystery to be solved, I found the description of the flu, how it spread in the town where this series takes place and how people dealt with very interesting. Being that we are in the middle of a similar epidemic I wanted to read this book.

About: "World War I is raging in Europe, but as the deadly influenza pandemic of 1918 sweeps like a wildfire through Boynton, Oklahoma, Alafair Tucker is fighting her own war. Her daughter, Alice, and son-in-law, Walter Kelley, have both come down with the flu, and Alafair has moved into town to care for them after quarantining her young children at their sister's farm. Boynton as a whole isolates itself like an old English plague village, discouraging anyone from coming into town and the residents from traveling outside. A new doctor applies science to treating the stricken, but Alafair applies all she knows about hygiene, nutrition, and old and trusted country remedies. Unable to aid her sons and sons-inlaw fighting overseas, this is danger she can combat. 

One autumn afternoon, screams coming from next door alert Alafair that Alice's neighbor, Nola Thomason, and her son Lewis have suddenly and unexpectedly succumbed. Yet there is something about the way the pair died that causes Alafair to suspect their deaths were due to poison rather than to influenza. The epidemic is so overwhelming that it is many days before the only doctor left in town can confirm Alafair's suspicions; neither Nola nor Lewis died of the flu. The only witness to their deaths, twelve-year-old Dorothy Thomason, a special friend of Alafair's daughter, Sophronia, is so traumatized that she is rendered mute. Were Nola and her son murdered, and if so, why?

The usual motives for murder are greed, or jealousy, or hatred. Or could it be, as Alafair fears, that the Raven Mocker, the most dreaded of the Cherokee wizards or witches, the evil spirit who takes to the air in a fiery shape to rob the old, the sick, and the dying of their lives, is hunting victims and bringing misery to the innocent?"

I really love the story telling of life in the early 20th century in this series. The songs the little girls sing I remember singing in the '60's. I love the story of the small town, farming community. I lived in one as a small child and many things in the book remind me of that. The mystery is good - what happened to the Thomason's? 

I  reading a true account of the Great Flu Epidemic also. I guess I am looking for signs of an end to this one. Funny how many similarities I am seeing. The symptoms are very similar with the terrible headaches, the fevers and the pneumonia. Because of the time and record keeping of that time, they are not sure how many people actually died of the flu in 1918 but the estimate is 30-50 million worldwide with 600,000 being Americans. There were no antibiotics or vaccines then. Why some people got it and some did not is unknown. Safety measures taken were similar; home made masks were worn,  deliveries were iffy, quarantines were in effect. Houses in those times were marked with a red cross to indicate they had the flu. 

My grandparents were children during that time. I knew them all and they never spoke of that flu epidemic. As an amateur genealogist, I have not seen any of their parents or siblings that appear to have died from it, except maybe one. A great uncle was in WWI in England and died of pneumonia in 1918. I had that information for years but now I wonder if he had the Spanish flu. 

No one knows why it went away. One theory is that all of the people that were vulnerable got it. When "it" had no other good hosts to replicate, it died out. Hmmm

Well I recommend this book for not only a good story and mystery but to read about what that pandemic was like. 

Here is the title of the nonfiction book I am also purusing: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. (I wonder if they will have to change that title.) t is much drier reading of course but has great pictures of everyone in masks in 1918, hospital wards, military camps etc. 

Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison

 If you like locked room mysteries and classic mysteries, I think you would like this book. It reminded me of a Victoria Holt book.

This is the first in a new series for Hannah Dennison and I really liked it.

About:  "In the first installment in the delightful Island Sisters series, two sisters inherit an old hotel in the remote Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance." 

When Evie Mead's husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly. Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets--one way--to Tregarrick. Once at the hotel--used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all--Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them--alongside Robert's first wife--in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read. But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There's no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations--and several of their own--if they want to make it back alive. "

I would call this a locked island mystery. It is a very engrossing and suspenseful story. The wonderful descriptions of the island; weather, mists, rain, cold, add to the suspense as Evie tries to tweeze out if she owns the hotel on Tregarrick Rock. I got the feeling of those old spooky house on the cliff all by itself movies and books. Evie's sister Margot has told an elaborate tale of who they are and why they are on the island in the middle of November. Then it appears Margot disappears after acting very strangely since they left for the island. The owners of the hotel, Jago and Tegan are rude and suspicious of Evie. Vanessa the cook is very strange. The only normal person seems to be Cador, Jago's son. A tale of inheritance, families with secrets, small villages and pasts. I didn't see the ending coming.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series. This book comes out 8/18/20. 

I haven't read any of Hannah Dennison's other books. Actually I am not familiar with her, but this book was so well written, I do want to take a look at her other books. She writes The Vicky Hill Mysteries with five books in the series and The Honeychurch Hall Mysteries with six books in that series.

About Hannah Dennison: "British born, Hannah Dennison originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. Hannah continues to teach mystery writing workshops at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program in Los Angeles, California and wherever she is invited! After twenty-five years living on the West Coast, Hannah returned to the UK where she shares her life with Draco and Athena, two energetic Hungarian Vizslas. She enjoys all country pursuits, movies, and theatre, reading and seriously good chocolate."

Here is her website: https://www.hannahdennison.com/index.htm

I received an Advanced Reader Copy and voluntarily provided this review.