Left to Die

Oh gosh, must be on a thriller kick!! I think it's time to change genres for the next book :-)

Left to Die written by Lisa Jackson was another page turner.

A serial killer is on the loose. Four bodies have been found in the woods around Grizzly, Montana. Brutally tortured and left to die in the freezing cold...naked!

Their only clues.....the women have all been killed the exact same way with only a few clues left by the killer, himself.

One being cryptic notes that supposedly make up a phrase of which will eventually give them the clue to his identity and a star carved in the trunk above their heads.

But, the clues come sporadically, not in order.

Will the detectives find the killer before all the clues and, worse yet, victims are found?
What makes this even more exciting is the introduction of a copy cat trying to kill and have the blame fall on the original killer. But, the killer doesn't follow the serial killer's exact MO and messes up on the clues left behind.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was at the end.......you have to get the next book to find out who the serial killer is......but you do find out who the copycat killer is. But, it's been ordered from my library....so hopefully, I should find out soon! Chosen to Die is the sequel.

I'll definitely read more by Lisa Jackson.....not only because I liked her style...she's a native OREGONIAN!!!

Sworn to Silence

Linda Castillo, another new to me author. While I enjoyed this book, I don't normally read thrillers but I wanted to read something outside the norm for me.

Basically, though, I checked it out because it had an Amish theme.

Synopsis (taken from FantasticFiction.com)

Kate Burkholder, who grew up in the Amish community of Painters Mill, Ohio, before leaving for the outside world and the study of law enforcement, has recently been appointed Chief of Police in her former hometown. Her knowledge of the Amish, their language and customs, makes her the perfect candidate. When a serial killer, whose spree sixteen years before was dubbed The Slaughterhouse Murders, returns with spectacular violence, Kate is determined to catch him. But she is also desperate to keep a secret from her past: the reason she fled the Amish world is that she was the young girl the killer attacked before disappearing - and she killed him in self defense. No one knows, except her Amish father and brother who helped bury the body. So who is behind the current murders? And what is the connection to Kate's past?

It does keep you going right to the end!!

Lots of books to share

Wow, It's been a busy summer and I am so behind in blogging my books. Actually, to tell ya the truth, I didn't keep really good track this summer :-(

But, I will attempt to get myself back up to speed with the books I feel were my best reads.

This was my first time reading anything by
Jennifer Erin Valent, "Fireflies in December". I will definitely be reading more by this author.

When Jessilyn Lassiter's best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a house fire, the Lassiter family take the girl in. The only trouble is, Gemma is black, the family is white and the year is 1932 and they live in a small Virginia town.

This author shows how one family endured the threats small and large of a prejudiced community while maintaining their moral integrity.

I give this book an A+

Face of Betrayal

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl

This book was recommended by Bill O'Reilly, on his nightly show. He interviewed Lis Wiehl, a Fox news commentator, and after listening to her talk about the book, I just had to get it from the library! She wrote this book along with April Henry, a mystery author.

Seventeen year old Katie Converse is a Senate page in D.C and is home for Christmas break visiting her parents in Portland, OR when she disappears while walking the family dog.

This case attracts the attention of three women, FBI agent Nicole Hedge, Federal Prosecutor, Allison Pierce and TV reporter Allison Shaw who make up their mind that they are determined to find Katie and bring her kidnapper to justice.

Only, things take on a whole new perspective when it's found out that Katie wasn't the picture of innocence that her parents portrayed her as. When it's found out that she had an affair with a Senator and the Senator's career could be in jeopardy if this hits the news, the plot thickens and it's a road of twists and turns till the ending.

Great book!!! Can't wait till her next one comes out in April of 2010 called "Hand of Fate".

Before Green Gables

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

What a FUN FUN read!!! If you have read the Green Gables series....and even if you haven't.....you have to go get this book and read it.

This is an authorized prequel to the popular series by L. M. Montgomery's classic series about the red-haired orphan knows as Anne of Green Gables!! (With an E)

Set in Nova Scotia, the author allows us to get to know Anne's parents and then follow her after she is orphaned at 3 months old by her school teacher parents.

We read as Anne ends up in a myriad of foster homes, through various circumstances and watch her build up hope, that finally she found a home, only to find that once again happiness is snatched away from her.

Until finally, she goes to an orphanage and then is adopted by the Cuthbert's.

FUN and interesting read!!!

Columbine

Columbine by David Cullen

Ten years after the Columbine tragedy, David Cullen offers his eyewitness testimony and research that went into his telling of this horrific event.

It does take some getting used to as he jumps back in forth in time, but he gives insight into the massacre and suicides and clarifies misconceptions that soon followed the tragedy.

He includes not only survivor interviews, writings from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold but also gleanings from police reports.

He documents his resources at the end of the book.

This book was a very interesting read, not only because it's a true event but because he offers so much information and insight into the two boys that performed this act and the survivors as well.

The Judges

The Judges by Elie Wiesel

I don't know what my problem was with this book. Yes, I did make myself finish it, but I also found myself skipping parts because it seemed the book skipped forward and back in time and it just didn't keep my interest. I really have to say, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I guess I still am a little confused about it all.

Please, someone read it and let me know what I missed out on....cause I don't think I would recommend it to anyone.

Here is what my library had to say about the book:

It's hardly surprising that Le Monde called this latest from Nobel Peace Prize winner Wiesel astonishing, though harrowing is another word that comes to mind. When a plane bound for New York from Tel Aviv makes an emergency landing, five passengers find refuge with a stranger who slowly compels them to reexamine their lives. Then he announces that the least worthy will die.

Blood of the Prodigal

Blood of the Prodigal by Paul L. Gaus

This mystery is set in Ohio among the Amish. A Bishop's grandson, Jeremiah, disappears. The bishop turns to a local "English" professor to help locate the boy, as he really doesn't want the whole matter to go public by contacting authorities. He feels that the grandson is with his father, who was banished from the community 10 years earlier.

Eventually, the Bishop's Son is found.....dead......shot to death near the Bishop's farm...but still no sign of his grandson.

With no other recourse, the case does go public as the professor works with the sheriff and his deputy to solve the murder and find the grandson.

Mystery Read-A-Thon

Hi,

I just joined a 12 hour Mystery Read A Thon over at http://mysteryreadathon.blogspot.com/

It will be June 7th, you pick the 12 time slot :-)

First time I have ever done anything like this, but it sounds FUN!!! One whole day set aside to do nothing but read mysteries.

Come on over and join me!!!

Hugs,
Char

Quaker Summer

Another great read by Lisa Samson.

Quaker Summer is a story about Heather Curridge who has what some would call, EVERYTHING, a successful, loving husband, a wonderful teenage son, a beautiful home and a life most would envy. But, Heather feels as if she is falling apart on the inside.

She buys, buys, buys and does, does, does....to help fill that inner void within herself. But is her affluence keeping her from the will of God?

When her Son is the target of bullying, at school. Heather struggles over the guilt of her own past of bullying two less fortunate children.

Through unusual circumstances, Heather ends up at the home of two elderly Quaker women and through their example, she comes to learn what it is she is actually seeking...forgiveness and a purpose in life.

Picking Cotton: our memoir of injustice and redemption

by

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton, with Erin Torneo.

I have to admit that when I picked this book, I did it entirely by it's name. So, I thought it was about cotton pickers and what they went through. Can you tell I didn't read the flap? I just picked it from a list of books.

I was surprised to find out that it was actually about a man who was wrongfully identified in a rape case and sent to prison for 11 years.

This is the true story of his life in prison and his forgiveness for the person who sent him there.

This story not only tells of his prison experience but also tells what happened between he and his accuser after he is released and their unlikely friendship that ensues.

It makes you question just how many people ARE in prison for crimes they never committed.

The Secret Life of Bees

I really enjoyed reading this book by Sue Monk Kidd, about Lily, who grew up believing she had accidentally killed her Mother when she was four years old.
At fourteen, she yearns to know more about her Mother and gain forgiveness for the act, somehow.

She lives on a peach farm in South Carolina with her father and her only friend, Rosaleen, who is a black servant.

Living in the sixties, in South Carolina, where segregation is still prevalent, she and Rosaleen find themselves in a predicament with some white men who Rosaleen will not 'bow' down to. Subsequently, Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, by these same men. Lily, decides to act.

Fleeing from the law and from Lily's demanding and harsh father, they subsequently end up at the home of three beekeeping sisters, Lily starts a journey that will eventually change both she and Rosaleen's life.

Southern Storm

I just finished "Southern Storm" by Terri Blackstock. This is her second in the Cape Refuge series. I have really enjoyed her last two books and will continue reading the series.

I am taking a break from that series to read a book I got from the library, "The necklace : thirteen women and the experiment that transformed their lives" by the women of jewelia and Cheryl Jarvis.

Four years ago, Jonell McLain saw a diamond necklace in a jewelry store window. The necklace aroused desire first, then a provocative question: What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a leap of faith later, Jonell bought the necklace with twelve other women. With vastly dissimilar histories and lives, the women transcended their individual personalities and politics to join together in an uncommon journey. Part charm, part metaphor, part mirror, the necklace weaves in and out of each woman's life, and comes to mean something dramatically different to each of them. What started as a quirky social experiment became something far richer and deeper, as the women transformed a symbol of exclusivity into a symbol of inclusiveness. They discovered that sharing the necklace was only the beginning: the more they shared with others, the more profound this experience became.--From publisher description.

I just started it last night. It's looking like it will be more than a book about sharing a necklace but how it affects each woman and what they learn from it.

What have YOU been reading?

Char

Cape Refuge Series

Another great read!

I just finished, "Cape Refuge" by Terri Blackstock and am starting the second in this series, "Southern Storm".

What I like about reading a series is that you get to know the characters and when the book 'ends'....you know that when you pick up the next in the series, you will basically take up where the first book ended. You will get to stick with the same characters and be introduced to new characters. This is good if you really like the characters to begin with. The characters will become more and more familiar to you, so to speak as you watch their personalities evolve through out the series.

"Cape Refuge" is not only about a small coastal town and a homeless refuge called "Hanover House", but it also involves a double murder. Who did it? WHY? Was it someone visiting the town, was it one of the residents of the town?? You will constantly be wondering which person did it as suspicion gets cast on first one person and then the next.

I kind of figured it out towards the end, but it was still a good read! My first book my Terri Blackstock, but not my last.

"Dewey: The small town library cat who touched the World"

by Vicki Myron

I don't know how many people recommended this book, to me, before I actually checked it out at my library. I have to say that it was a great read! And, it's a true story! :-)

I love cats, so it was a no brainer that I would love this book. The thing is, it was also interesting to read about a small town named, Spencer, Iowa.

Here is an excerpt from my Library website:

This book traces the author's discovery of a half-frozen kitten in the drop-box of her small-community Iowa library and the feline's development into an affable library mascot whose intuitive nature prompted hundreds of abiding friendships, in a tale told against a backdrop of the town's struggles with the 1980s farm crisis.

Let me know if you, too, have read this book! I seem to be on a animal kick, lately with several other animal books I have read.

Have a great day!!
Char

Back to blogging

After having my reading blog at Wordpress for awhile, I have decided to try it over here again.
Blogger seems to be easier for me to navigate and I am used to it.  So, maybe that will make it easier for me to actually keep up??  We'll see!
This past few months, I have read a few books.....and a variety, I might add.

January

A Cedar Cove Christmas Debbie Macomber
A Christmas Wish Richard Siddoway
The Angels of Morgan Hill Donna VanLiere
Snow Blind P.J. Tracy
The Church Ladies Lisa Samson

                              

February

The Art of Racing in the rain: A Novel Garth Stein
The Moment I Saw You Lisa Samson

March

Open Season C. J. Box

The Help Kathryn Stockett
I really enjoyed this book written about several black maids that told their stories of working for white women back in the 60's.  I just felt like I was right there visiting with them and hearing their story.
I'm currently reading: Dewey: The small town library cat ….. Vicki Myron
Of course, being a cat lover, I had to pick up this book when so many people recommended it to me.  But, it's more than just about Dewey.  The author tells the story of small town living in rural America.
Next in line are:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel David Wroblewski
Tell Me Pretty Maiden Rhys Bowen
Tell Me Where It Hurts Nick Trout  ( I started this book and just can't seem to finish it)
Cape Refuge Terry Blackstock

Moved my Blog

I set up this blog and then decided to try Wordpress....and set up a reading blog there. But, I didn't have the heart to take down this one with my dog photos on it ;-)

If you would like to visit my other reading blog....just click on the link!

http://pawsn2read.wordpress.com

As you will notice, I am behind on that one too but hope to get back to it now that the holidays are over.