Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. 4.25/5 stars, mystery, 477 pages, 2016
Alan Conway is a bestselling crime writer. His editor, Susan Ryeland, has worked with him for years, and she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. Alan’s traditional formula pays homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. It’s proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.
When Susan receives Alan’s latest manuscript, in which Atticus Pünd investigates a murder at Pye Hall, an English manor house, she has no reason to think it will be any different from the others. There will be dead bodies, a cast of intriguing suspects, and plenty of red herrings and clues. But the more Susan reads, the more she realizes that there’s another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript—one of ambition, jealousy, and greed—and that soon it will lead to murder. from Goodreads
It’s a gray, rainy day here, easy to cozy up for fall. Magpie Murders is a murder mystery wrapped in a murder mystery, perfect for the changing of the seasons. I’m told it’s also a miniseries on PBS Masterpiece.
Susan is a book editor and she’s just been given a book by her most famous author, only the last chapter is missing. When her author is also found dead she tries to track down the last chapter only to become convinced that her author, like the main detective in his novel, was also murdered.
I listened to this one and almost gave up on it because after the first hour I was still not invested with the myriad of characters. I’m glad I stuck with it because I ended up really liking both mysteries and moving between the two became easier the more I listened.
English mystery lovers will love it. I know there are more in this series about Susan Ryland, and I’m looking forward to checking them out.
This has been a very bookish week. It started with a Friends of the Library beard meeting. If you aren’t involved with your library Friends group (or they don’t have one) I encourage to check it out. We hosted our annual meeting event on Thursday night, a family poetry jam and it was so much fun.
On Wednesday I volunteered at the Cleveland Kids Book Bank with friends. A great nonprofit that takes used books in good condition and distributes them to the Cleveland area to schools or organizations that would like to send books home with kids who might not otherwise own books. We spent a few hours sorting.
I’ve been to library almost every day doing some prepping for our upcoming big fall book sale next week. After I get done with this post I’ll emailing all of the volunteers reminding them of their shifts. I have always loved library book sales and love coordinating these big ones. It takes a village for sure.
This week has been particularly bookish!
Posts you may have missed over the last few weeks…
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. 4.25/5 stars. romance, 352 pages, 2024
I will be adding more Christina Lauren books to my TBR list. Fun and sexy with a bonafide hot multi millionaire as a fake husband. Sign me up (just don’t tell Jason). Did I totally buy the Cinderella-like transformation? No, but it was still fun.
Happy Place by Emily Henry. 4/5 stars, romance, 400 pages, 2023
The six friends meet once a year in Maine for a week at the cottage, but this year will be the last since the cottage has been sold. Harriet and Wyn are there, pretending to still be engaged, even though they broke up six months ago.
There’s more than just a broken romance. Friends who are family can break your heart just as easily and a week spent nursing lies and resentment can cause fireworks.
I’ve now read all five Emily Henry books. The few that I haven’t loved as much (still loved though) have had something in the end that felt unfinished. This felt a little rushed with some issues that needed more attention in the end, but I will still read everything she writes because she’s just that good.
5th book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. (technically book #4)
What a fun ride this series is. Adventure, love, magic, lots of magic, death, battles, friendship, family, wings, winnowing, and a large cast of characters. This last one was from only two perspectives, Nesta and Cassian. I know after 751 pages I’m supposed to like Nesta, but I’m still not her biggest fan 🤷🏻♀️ I don’t dislike her but she’s got a lot of sharp edges that are willfully sharpened to slice. She did have a nice story progression in this one, but every few chapters she kept finding new miraculous powers and it seemed a bit much.
On the Screen…
We watched the 6 episode miniseries on Netflix. The Perfect Couple was a frilly, fun whodunit. Great cast and a beautiful Nantucket setting.
We watched season 1 of The Boys on Amazon. What a crazy, messed up ride this show is! Superheroes among us, only idolized and accepted without a check on their powers.
Plans for the weekend
We’re headed to the Guardians baseball game this afternoon. The last time I attended a game they were still the Indians so I’m excited!
I read this book at the end of 2022 and was apparently so busy at the time that I didn’t write a review of any sort. On Goodreads I said, “Perfect book to end the year on a high note.” On Instagram I included it in a post of 5 star reads. I took my mom to see the movie last week and we both liked it. Yes, I know some about the controversies surrounded the film, but they didn’t ruin my enjoyment at all. I think it’s best knowing that while there is a love story there is also a more serious theme. I think it’s fantastic that young women have a story like this as a cautionary, yet hopeful, tale.
So, now you know that I liked them both. But which did I like better? Let’s find out!
I’ll try to keep it spoiler free but read at your own risk.
The Story/Plot
We begin with Lily ‘delivering’ her father’s eulogy. When she returns back to Boston she has a rooftop encounter with Ryle, a very attractive neurosurgeon. Lily opens up her own flower shop and, unaware of the connection, hires Ryle’s sister to work for her.
We also see flashbacks to her teen years in Maine. Her parents have a violent relationship. Lily befriends Atlas, a boy from school who’s been kicked out of his house.
So as the story moves forward I feel that they are both fairly true to each other. The book features Lily’s diaries written to Ellen DeGeneres as a way to move the story forward, the movie doesn’t. I think that was a missed opportunity to enrich the story.
Thumbs up – Book
The Visual
So, I loved seeing Lily’s flower shop come to life onscreen. But, spoiler alert, the hot neurosurgeon was also fun to see come to life onscreen. It was steamy in all the right places.
Thumbs up – Movie
Characters vs. Actors
I thought Blake Lively was a good Lily and Brandon Sklenar was a good Atlas. Isabela Ferrer was a fantastic young Lily. I thought Justin Baldoni shined as Ryle and Jenny Slate sparkled as Allysa.
Thumbs Up – Both/Neither. I’m calling it a draw
The Ending
Most movies muck things up by changing an ending too much. In this case there were a few details changed, but it mostly got it right. But I didn’t like them leaving out visitation issues near the end. It may be a small thing, but it still missed an opportunity to show the story more truthfully.
Thumbs Up – Book
And the winner is…the BOOK! This was a close call because I really liked them both.
Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.
And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.
Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.
Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.
After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.
Clementine is publicist for a New York publishing company. James is a famous young chef. They’ve just met, haven’t they?
This took a few minutes for me to get in to since I thought I could see where it was going. And then it took a nice turn and I was hooked.
What happens when you meet in different times, 7 years apart. I loved this story of heartbreak and waiting, acknowledging that a person is never the same moment to moment. In love and life timing is everything. Romantic and sweet.
I listened to the audio and could have listened to him calling her Lemon all day long. Oh wait, I did that!
I did take off half a point for the somewhat slow start of the book.
Have you read it? Do you like time bending books?
I also loved her first book The Dead Romantics and gave it 5 stars last year.
June has been a good reading month, 6 fiction books, 2 nonfiction, and 10 picture books. I’ll do another post about the the 74 books I’ve read so far in a few days, but let’s get to my favorites of the month.
Favorites
I already wrote a post about this being on my favorites list here. This was a reread for me.
Don’t worry, be happy! Everyone could use some tips on how to increase the happiness in their lives and this fun book is just the thing. I loved it and have a few new tips and resources to check out. The illustrations and short entries make it perfect for daily reflection time. They cover the obvious (excercise, laugh, be grateful, turn of screens) and the unexpected (develop discipline, understand buddhist theory, get in flow, seek internal goals).
She was such an inspiration! Joining the Navy at 37 and retiring at 80, there probably won’t be another like her. Answers the question of why we call it a computer ‘bug’
It’s about the 1931 case Roberto Alvarez v. The Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. I loved the story and the art and the 6 pages of photos and extra information at the end.
It starts with Ruth’s mother wanting more for her daughter and ends with her friendship with Antonin Scalia and showed everything she did in between to make this country one that treats women more fairly.
Also Good
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. 4 stars, Spooky thriller, 327 pages, 2020.
There is a creepy, sinister, and forgotten feeling you get when reading about Fell, NY and The Sun Down Hotel. There are ghosts, killers, and missing and murdered girls. The book is a whole vibe.
One storyline is about Viv in 1982 and the second is about her niece Carly in 2017. Lots of parallels and mystery that will keep you reading. There are even a few boys! It didn’t love this one at first, but it didn’t take me long to be hooked.
I saw it all over my feeds, my husband told me I had to read it, my book club read it (I missed that month), and it’s STILL taken me over a year to read it. A talking octopus wasn’t really calling to me. But, dang, if I didn’t fall for that eight armed smarty, Marcellus!
Alternating, but connected, storylines about several struggling humans and one bored cephalopod make this a sweet, healing debut novel. Did I love Marcellus? Of course! Did I read through the other parts to get to Marcellus? Yes! Did I like the rest of story? After reading all of the parts I did indeed like the book, BUT it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. The small mysteries kept the plot moving along.
I had a hard time getting into this one, but as it went on and I embraced the ridiculousness of a divorced mom with so little money her electric gets shut off becoming an inadvertent killer for hire. It ended up being fun, although I’m unlikely to continue with the series.
The colorful illustrations brought this story about Sam to life. This talks about so many aspects of being on the autism spectrum, but all to highlight Sam. I loved this one and it starts before he even gets diagnosed with tips for neurotypical kids in the back.
Peace by Baptiste Paul, Miranda Paul & Esteli Meza. 4 stars, fiction picture book, 40 pages, 2021.
efinitely for the younger child. I loved these gorgeous illustrations so much! So many great things showing what peace is, like pronouncing your friend’s name correctly and giving far more than you take. The last page talked about how war and violence around the world affects wildlife and nature. A wonderful discussion starter.
Good information for a younger girl to help understand her autism diagnosis.
She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica. 3.5 stars, Thriller, 330 pages, 2024
I took nurse Meaghan on a few walks this week and followed her story of caring for a coma patient while being concerned about Chicago’s serial attacker. I had a hard time connecting with Meghan and so the book was only okay for me. I liked the few twists in the second half of the book, but the end fell a little flat.
These were okay
Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming & Boris Kulikov. Fictional picture book about the man who made the first submarine.
Yetta the Trickster by Andrew Griffing Zimmerman and Harold Berson. Four trickster stories for younger kids.
This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens….When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend. Now they have only us, Daniel. Do you think you’ll be able to keep such a secret?” (p 5)
This is my review from when I first read this in 2010…
This is a book for book lovers just in case you couldn’t tell from the passage above. In 1945, Daniel is just a boy when his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books hidden in the back streets of Barcelona and when his obsession with the mysterious author, Julian Carax begins. Daniel chose The Shadow of Wind to take home and he soon began to search out other Carax titles. Only there weren’t any. Someone had been destroying them all one by one. Daniel was sixteen when he began to search out the books in earnest and he was aided in his quest by the cagey and charming Fermin.
I couldn’t help but fall in love with Daniel and Fermin and I was drawn into the mess they got themselves into when they started asking questions about Carax. Why were so many people trying to keep the truth hidden? And who were the good guys? The characters they meet along the way heightened the suspense and I loved them all (well, I loved their addition to the story!).
I have the attention span of a gnat these days, but this book kept me reading every spare moment I had, even if it was only a few minutes at a time. I loved the drama, the mystery, the love, the Spanish setting, the wide cast of characters, and the love and respect of books shown in the story. This book has a little bit of everything and I loved it. Since I’m rating this a 5 it is obviously one of my favorites this year!
I’ve spent the last week listening to the audio and much of what I loved the first time was still there. The atmosphere, the characters, the stories, the mystery, and the absolute devotion to the written word all combine to make this a great read. I liked experiencing the book a second time and think the reading the words on the page is the way to go with this one. I’m keeping the book on my favorites list for now as I try to work through what belongs there and why, but I’m not sure it will stay.
“Books are mirrors – you only see in them what you already have inside you.”
“In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.”
The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…
There is a creepy, sinister, and forgotten feeling you get when reading about Fell, NY and The Sun Down Hotel. There are ghosts, killers, and missing and murdered girls. The book is a whole vibe.
One storyline is about Viv in 1982 and the second is about her niece Carly in 2017. Lots of parallels and mystery that will keep you reading. There are even a few boys!
I didn’t love this one at first, but it didn’t take me long to be hooked. I listened to the audio and Brittany Pressley and Kirsten Potter took turns narrating.
I loved Broken Girls last year and loved this one too, so I guess I have another author to read!
“The person who could be truly alone, in the company of no one but oneself and one’s own thoughts—that person was stronger than anyone else.”
“I put my book down, finding a Post-it note to use as a bookmark, because folding the corner of a page—even in a thirty-year-old book—is sacrilege.”
Broken Harbor, #4 in the Dublin Murder Squad series. 4 stars, mystery, 450 pages, 2012
This story begins with a young family murdered in their home. Well there was one survivor, but it wasn’t either of the young kids. This was an especially hard one and when I finished it on Mother’s Day it felt especially wrong.
Families can look glossy on the surface, but once you rub a bit of that shine off there’s usually something more interesting going on and in this case it was deadly. Bizarre revelations, old friends, and financial instability make the mystery of this family a tough one. This hasn’t been my favorite of the series, but they’re all so good that it didn’t need to be to be good.
The Secret Place, #5 in the Dublin Murder Squad series, 4/5 stars, 452 pages, 2014
You don’t need to read these books in order, but I’d recommend it if you can. My favorite of the series so far, Faithful Place, featured Detective Frank Mackey and he and his daughter make another appearance here. Stephen Moran is also back.
This one takes place at a boarding school for girls. A year after a boy from a neighboring school was murdered on school grounds the detectives have a new lead and it comes from inside the school. Oh, to be amongst all of that teen angst and those friendship circles again!
The book spans one day of investigation, but it goes into the past investigation and events in depth. I wasn’t crazy about it at first, boarding school stories are iffy for me, but it grew on me and Frank Mackey appeared at just the right time to reel me in for the somewaht surprising finish.
Tana French is such a talented writer! Both books had a paranormal element that mostly worked, even if I think it could have been avoided altogether in The Secret Place and been fine, or even better.
Have you read any of this series? I love the Ireland setting.
In March I went to a book swap and I came home with this. I knew next to nothing about Nat Turner, but I’m a sucker for graphic novels. What a book! The only words in the book are quotes, most coming from Nat Turner as he sat in prison. Over 200 pages of shocking, emotional, and violent black and white drawings.
We start at the beginning of incarceration from the villages in Africa, cross the sea in slave ships, and sold to the highest bidder. There is one horrific image from this section that will surely stick with me for quite awhile.
The middle is full of how Nat became this religious figure, who received visions from God, and finally decided that it was time to revolt. The revolt, or insurrection, section was shocking in its violence. Nat and his men were responsible for killing 55 men, women, and children, but even knowing that from the introduction didn’t prepare me. Those images are also going to stick me for quite awhile.
This book is powerful. Some will find the images too violent. It’s not for everyone. The shocking images served the purpose of making me take notice and feel the horror, to see it. It’s a great book.
Recommend for graphic novel lovers and for those who want to know more about Nate Turner and the slave rebellion of 1831.
I attended Avon’s KissCon in 2016 when it came to a library near me and was able hang out and drink wine with one of my first romance crushes, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She is just as sparkly and quick as you might expect if you read her books I’m not sure when I read my first SEP romance, but it had to be in the 1990s.
I’ve read all of her books. They are fast, fun, sassy, and usually feature spunky heroines and alpha male heroes. She infuses her stories with larger than life characters, lots of humor, and real romantic sparks. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances, but I make the exception for Phillips and am never disappointed.
Some of these I read so long ago, before blogging, and I’m not going to try and give my thoughts on them. Just know that the early ones I loved enough to continue to buy all of her books when they come out.
What I Did for Love. Georgie and Bram hated each other, but a few drugged drinks, a marriage certificate, and a sleazy paparazzi forced them to come to terms with each other, literally. Georgie could not endure another scandalous marriage so soon after Lance, so she made a deal with the devil. Bram would stay married to Georgie for a hefty fee and use her to gain respectability. My thoughts here.
Call Me Irresistable. Lucy, daughter of the former President of the United States, is preparing to walk down the aisle to marry Mr. Perfect, Ted Beaudine ,when her best friend, Meg voices doubts about the marriage. Lucy takes them to heart and walks out on Ted at the church. Meg is blamed by everyone and is asked to stay in the small Texas town for a few days to see if Lucy returns. But not only is Meg completely broke and cut off from her family, she is also stranded in the town when everyone blames her for the heartbreak of their mayor, Ted. My thoughts here.
The Great Escape. Lucy Jorik’s story has been told by Phillips in First Lady and last year’s Call Me Irresistable. This time around she gets her own book. What happened when she walked out of her wedding to the perfect man and jumped on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle? It’s not easy for the daughter of the first woman President of the United States to disappear, but with Panda’s help she manages to do just that. My thoughts here.
First Star I See Tonight. Coop, a recently retired pro football player is being followed by a fledgling private investigator. When he calls her on it she uses her humor and wit to power through all the way to a new job. Sparks, fly, of course, and there’s plenty of hot sex to keep them panting after each other. My thoughts here.
Simply the Best. Rory is a gifted chocolate maker who makes questionable decisions and her prickly relationship with her younger brother, the quarterback of the Stars. When a neighbor is murdered she must join forces with Brett, her brother’s agent, to keep him out of jail. This book made me want to go to a chocolate shop and try all of the flavors!
Stand Alones
Hot Shot was published in 1991 and I read it then. It was enough to make me a fast fan.
Honey Moon was published in 1993 and I remember loving it, but I’m not going to say more unless I reread it.
I read Breathing Room and according to Good Reads only gave it 3 stars.
Ain’t She Sweet is one of her higher rated ones on Good Reads.
Heroes Are My Weakness. The book opens with our heroine, Annie, having a conversation with her multitude of puppets as she drives to her secluded cabin in the middle of a snowstorm. It’s those puppets that kept me from investing fully in Annie from the beginning. She grew on me but the absurdity of the puppets (and their continued butting into the story) turned me off. My thoughts here.
Dance Away with Me. Tess and Ian are a great couple and their love story was very satisfying, but there was a lot of loss along the way. The book felt very 2020 even though I know it wasn’t written this year. My thoughts here.
Stacy's Books 