Authors I've Been Wanting to Read - City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong

 At the beginning of the year I made a list of authors that I've been saying I need to read and commit to reading at least one book by each of the authors in 2024.  Here's my thoughts on one of those books/authors.

Goodreads:  City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong

Blurb:  Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows that someday this crime will catch up to her. Casey's best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana's husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it's time for the two of them to disappear again.
Diana has heard of a town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you're accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, and living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council's approval. As a murderer, Casey isn't a good candidate, but she has something they want: She's a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn't the only secret Rockton is hiding—in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives.

My Thoughts:  I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book!  Casey is a complicated person.  She's good at her job but her backstory is a tough one.  Through a series of events she and Diana find themselves in a little town in the Yukon cut off from the rest of the world.  Everyone's running from something and no one asks too many questions.  But once a detective always a detective and Casey hits the ground running and is immediately pulled into an investigation.  There's secrets and murders and hostiles and everyone is hiding something.  I listened to the audiobook and was caught up from beginning to end!   I'm really glad I tried this author and I'm really looking forward to reading more from her!  My Rating:  Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)

This Week in Reading - 3/10

 
It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly - I've really enjoyed the previous two books in the series so I can't wait to virtually go to Scotland for Christmas! (Publisher)

Currently:

Reading:  The Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian and The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine

Listening:  The Beekeeper's Daughter by Santa Montefiore 

This week was pretty uneventful so here's a picture of Rover waiting in the car with me while we went to pick up barbecue.  Picking up food is one of his favorite activities.  He especially loves when the people bringing the food out say hi to him.  

Have a great week and happy reading!

The Secret Adversary - Classic Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Purchased

Description: Tommy Beresford and Prudence 'Tuppence' Cowley are young, in love… and flat broke. Just after Great War, there are few jobs available and the couple are desperately short of money. Restless for excitement, they decide to embark on a daring business scheme: Young Adventurers Ltd.—"willing to do anything, go anywhere." Hiring themselves out proves to be a smart move for the couple. In their first assignment for the mysterious Mr. Whittingtont, all Tuppence has to do in their first job is take an all-expense paid trip to Paris and pose as an American named Jane Finn. But with the assignment comes a bribe to keep quiet, a threat to her life, and the disappearance of her new employer. Now their newest job are playing detective.

Where is the real Jane Finn? The mere mention of her name produces a very strange reaction all over London. So strange, in fact, that they decided to find this mysterious missing lady. She has been missing for five years. And neither her body nor the secret documents she was carrying have ever been found. Now post-war England's economic recovery depends on finding her and getting the papers back. But he two young working undercover for the British ministry know only that her name and the only photo of her is in the hands of her rich American cousin. It isn’t long before they find themselves plunged into more danger than they ever could have imagined—a danger that could put an abrupt end to their business… and their lives.

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  I'm doing the Read Christie 2024 Challenge from Agatha Christie Ltd and this was the first pick.

My Impression: The second book in the Read Christie 2024 Challenge is the first Tommy and Tuppence book.  It's been awhile since I read this book and it was a refreshing surprise full of twists and turns and with lots of fun.  Tommy and Tuppence are both at loose ends when they meet by chance.  The war is over and they are both looking for jobs and trying to make ends meet and doing badly at it.  Right away they are pulled into an adventure at a pace that doesn't let up through the next 200 pages.

Christie has a number of more espionage focused thrillers and this is the first one - and I think the most fun.  Tommy and Tuppence are a fun pair and a good combination.  I thoroughly enjoyed following along with them as they figured out just who Jane Finn and how they're going to save the world and themselves.  

If you're looking for a bit of a lighter read and one with a bit of a different feel then the typical Christie mystery this is one to try.  In general this series is probably her weakest but this one is a lot of fun and there are hints of things to come in Christie's books in the future.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course!  I always enjoy reading a Christie mystery!

Would I Recommend this Book? Definitely!  While this isn't Christie's strongest it is a lot of fun.

Friday Fives - Books I Really Want to Read That Haven't Made it On Any List

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  I love nothing more than a good list and there are bonus points if it's a bookish list.  This year I made a few different TBR lists but there are always some books that fall through the cracks and don't make it on any lists.  Here are 5 I'm really hoping to read this year even though they aren't on any kind of list.

1.  The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor - This was the first book I ever came across by this author and I've been meaning to read it for YEARS but somehow never do and it never makes it on any official list.

2.  Tiny Little Things by Beatriz Williams - I read the first Schuyler Sister book last year and loved it.  I'm looking forward to reading about the other two sisters but somehow they didn't make it on any of my TBRs for 2024.

3.  One Mountain Away by Emilie Richards - I read the third book in the Goddess Anonymous series and really enjoyed and meant to go back and read the other books in the series but this first book didn't make it on any lists this year.

4.  Of Literature and Lattes by Katherine Reay - I absolutely loved the first book I read by this author but for whatever reason haven't picked up this book even though it's been on my TBR for ages.

5.  Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor - I read a few mysteries by this author years ago and loved them.  This series looks fantastic and I've been meaning to start it for ages but somehow it never makes it on any lists.

Do you have any books you're really hoping to read but haven't made it on any of your TBR lists?

Books from the Backlog - The Calamity Cafe

 

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  The Calamity Café by Gayle Leeson

Blurb:  Aspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition...
Tired of waiting tables at Lou’s Joint, Amy Flowers doesn’t just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can't wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.

At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her. Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her name by serving up the real killer—and with Lou Lou’s stack of enemies, that’s a tall order.

Why This Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I read a later book in this series and really enjoyed.  Plus, this series only has a few books in it (all of which I own) and it'd be an easy one to finish this year.

Speculations in Sin - Historical Mystery Review

Goodreads: Speculations in Sin (A Below Stairs Mystery #7) by Jennifer Ashley

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  To save an innocent man’s life, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must expose a financial scam that could ruin the most powerful aristocrats in Victorian-era London, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Bow Lane.

Kat Holloway is distressed to learn that Samuel Millburn, husband of the woman who looks after her daughter, has been accused of embezzling funds from the bank where he works as a clerk. The accusation is absurd, and Samuel’s wife fears that her husband will not only lose his post but be imprisoned. Kat vows to uncover the truth.

When she discovers the bank is involved in shockingly murky business dealings, Kat realizes she’s treading in dangerous waters. She turns to her confidante and handsome suitor, Daniel McAdam, for help. To exonerate Samuel, Kat and Daniel may have to expose the unseemly financial dealings of prominent aristocrats and government officials, and even those working to bring down the royal family. Kat will risk everything to protect the man who has sacrificed so much for her daughter, even if it means endangering herself and the friends she has come to love.

Genre:  Mystery - Historical 

Why I Picked This Book:  I have enjoyed every book in this series so of course I had to pick up this newest book.

My Impression: I have enjoyed this series from the beginning and I was super excited to have a book that focused a bit on the family where Kat's daughter, Grace, has lived since the beginning of the series.  I really enjoyed seeing what life in what is essentially the time's version of a middle class home as well as getting to know Joanna and her family better.  

Kat was very personally involved in this mystery as both the fate of her daughter and a family she cares deeply about.  She's also tackling a very different area than her previous investigations as she delves into an established financial institution that is very much not open to women.  Nor is it a world that Daniel McAdam is particularly comfortable in which made for an interesting change.  I enjoyed the mystery though my heart did break for Joanna through the majority of the book.  I wasn't quite sure how it would work out until close to the end.  

My only complaint is the will they/won't they aspect of Kat and Daniel's relationship.  I get why Kat would be hesitant giving her history but I wish the situation would be resolved.

This is a great historical mystery series with lots of upstairs/downstairs atmosphere.  This is the seventh book in the series and I think I've enjoyed every single book.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I would!  I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series and I would pick up any mystery they write.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy historical mysteries this is a fantastic series though best read in order.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

Library Loves - Ten Books From My Latest Library Wander

 Yesterday I had a good library wander and picked up all the books that caught my eye (and that I could carry).  Here are 10 I picked up.

1.  At the Chinese Table: A Memoir with Recipes by Carolyn J. Phillips -  I do love a memoir and this one involving the author's time in China sounds like it could be fantastic.  

2.  Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick - Every library wander for me involves picking up some kind of light romantic suspense and this is one I've been wanting to read by one of my favorite authors.

3.  The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss - I haven't heard of this author but the cover caught my attention and the blurb sold me.  

4.  Go Ask Fannie by Elizabeth Hyde - I feel like I had heard good things about this one and the blurb completely hooked me.

5.  The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel - I'm fascinated by art theft and this nonfiction book sounds interesting.  

6.  Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - I love this author and this one has been on my TBR for awhile so of course I had to pick it up.

7.  The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy E Reichert - The title totally got me.  I'm not sure if there's any connection to Anne of Green Gables but I had to try it.  If nothing else I love the title.

8.  The Gown by Jennifer Robson - This is a dual timeline historical fiction involving Queen Elizabeth's (well Princess Elizabeth at the time) wedding gown.  

9.  Epic Road Trips of the Americas: Exploring America's Most Thrilling Driving Adventures by Amy C. Balfour - I love a good road trip and I'm curious to see what trips the author talks about.

10.  The Glass Kitchen by Linda Francis Lee - This is another one I've had on my TBR for ages so when I saw this sitting on the shelf I had to pick it up.

What books have you gotten from the library recently?