This is one messed up book. I loved it. If you like novels with dysfunctional characters, this one has got a bunch. The lake, the town, the desert, the canals, the orchards, it all feels dysfunctional. I wouldn‘t choose to live there. Murder, mayhem, the bogeyman, ecological destruction, a crazy, desperate cabal of sorts. It‘s a twisty tale and no one is really innocent. What a ride. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well, that was certainly creepy. I don‘t really like reading about this kind of trauma, but it was well done. Nature or nurture? Can nurture overcome nature? Not likely in most cases. Suicidal thoughts, rape, pubic humiliation, a mom‘s courage, justice. This is a short, fast read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This 3rd novel in the Detective Elin Warner series was good. I liked the 2 perspectives, one in first person and one in third person. I felt closer to Kier than I did to Elin, but they were both going through similar emotional trauma. The story does quite a few flip flops, each one quite surprising. Psychological and physical abuse, obfuscation on a giant scale, murder, of course. This is a pretty good series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martini Club is once again helping the police chief of their tiny Maine town solve a crime, a crime that reaches back decades, and reveals answers to other mysteries. But this case also has them questioning whether their age is starting to hinder their abilities. Physical abilities, yes. Mental abilities? Kidnapping, drowning, murder, intrigue, family, betrayal. You will fly through this book. I love the characters in this series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! Just wow! This series is so wonderful. Deanna Raybourn has done it again. These 4 unofficially “retired” assassins are unofficially “unretired” because once again someone wants them dead. And so they go on the hunt all over the globe to be sure they strike first. Unbeknownst to them this case has ties to a previously semi successful case. I love these fierce women of a certain age. They are kickass. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book just about killed me. I didn‘t feel until the end just how deeply its roots have embedded themselves in my mind and my heart. Two lifelong friends spending a lifetime each, searching for a voice from the darkness. More than that, it‘s a search for a serial killer. But each of those descriptions does not do this epic novel justice. Yes it‘s long, but it is so worth the investment. Did I cry at the end? You know I did. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This classic bears up under more than one reading. I had forgotten how utterly unlikable the main characters are. But it‘s a novel that you just can‘t put down. The story is so compelling and the ending is so satisfying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a very cute short story. What do you do the day your ex gets married? Probably not what happens in this story. On the other hand, who knows what might work for you? A short and sweet tale of redemption. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I didn‘t know what to expect from this book in this genre I rarely read, but it surprised me half way through when we finally learn the identity of the woman in the title. I probably should have known sooner, but I honestly didn‘t know this woman‘s history, or anyway the version of it in this novel. Abuse, intrigue, espionage, escape, stardom, WWII, invention, misogyny. Not a lot has changed, but this book has made me want to learn more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is not my genre. (I read it to get a Goodreads bookmark.) So I didn‘t know what to expect. This book is a bit more sappy than I really like, but it was also a bit more magical than I thought it would be. That combination was just right and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Witches and humans solve a problem and maybe start a bit of a revolution in the world of both. Magic, love, family, and a happy ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I expected this book to be sad, and it was, but it was also honest and open and cathartic, both for the author and for the reader. Geraldine Brooks generously shares her experience of the loss of her husband and her delayed period and method of mourning. It‘s an inevitability that we will all experience in our own unique ways. This is a lovely book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Edwidge Danticat‘s writing is clear and succinct. She is a master of the essay form. This book covers a wide range of topics, both personal and global. One of the later essays in the book is about Haiti and its political climate and it sounded eerily familiar. Definitely a book to add to your library. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OMG! I can‘t believe I finished this book so quickly, but I CAN believe it because it was so damn GOOD! Alex Carter is back again looking to protect another endangered species. And almost getting herself killed in the process. These books make me yell, out loud, very often. Jaguars, racism, murder, human and animal sacrifice, heroism. Please, when is the next book coming? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story reminds me a lot of the movie Hellboy. Magic, djinn, angels(?), otherworldly beings, the threat of total destruction of our world, doom, despair. It was interesting but just OK. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Having read and loved Meet Me at the Museum, I was already prepared to love this novel. The same gentle style of writing draws you in like a warm blanket. It‘s not that tough issues aren‘t tackled. They are, but matter of factly. This is about 3 women who bond together through a narrowboat and each needing a fresh start. Their personal growth and growing friendship lead to the book‘s hope filled conclusion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a tidy little short story mystery. Anne is a ghostwriter hired by a fitness lifestyle guru. Things start to get strange as her client gets too close for comfort. Who is she really ghostwriting for? And is she safe? I got goosebumps reading it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another stellar installment in the Cash Blackbear mystery series. I love Cash, so much, and in this novel we see her vulnerability and emerging maturity. She‘s still “dangerous”, as one character states, and she probably always will be, but her intuition is still right on and her “visions” serve her well. Murder, foster care, betrayal, racism, family, and so much more. Please, I‘d like another. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What could be better than a book of haunting short stories picked by Edward Gorey? Same book with Edward Gorey illustrations. These short stories will make you shiver and one or two might make you sleep with the lights on. I loved this book, so much. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had only ever read Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel and they are very different novels from Jamaica Inn. Both of the former novels are what we expect from du Maurier, gothic type romance/pseudo ghost stories. Jamaica Inn is more rough and ready and the heroine is more self reliant. It also feels like quite a wild ride. I had guessed at the villain, and was surprised by the, I guess, first ending, but not by the final ending. 5⭐️

It‘s not until near the end of the book that we learn the significance of the title, and it‘s a little disappointing, to be honest. Also, I think the way the author ended the novel is what made me rate it only 4 stars. It was quite abrupt and a bit of a let down and mood breaker. But this was a charming coming of age novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

These are really compelling short stories and unlike any I have read. Dystopian, horrifying, world turned upside down, laugh out loud, cry out loud. They cover it all. You will tear through these stories and want more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This third novelette in the series ties things up, but leaves the ends out. I don‘t think there needs to be another book, but I know I‘ll think about this family and wonder what they‘re doing and know that they‘re happy. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely adore Anjelica Henley. She is a badass but so beautifully human. This is one of my favorite series. How to prove that the wrong man has been convicted of 5 murders that happened 30 years ago? Why is somebody killing again? Better question. Why had they stopped? And why are the victims being buried alive? Such a chilling novel. You won‘t want to put it down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I didn‘t know what to expect from this book, but I really, really liked it. It reads quickly and is very engaging. Family, love, loyalty, murder, intrigue, shadowy figures, obfuscation. Part way toward the end, I started figuring some things out, but that just added to my reading enjoyment. And there‘s a happy ending. I loved that. This is a terrific book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Why do I feel manipulated? This Alex Delaware mystery was a head scratcher. Seemingly unrelated murders. Frustrating amounts of time spent coming to the conclusion that they were murders. Alex Delaware predictably magics the solution. The ending was a bit of a let down and a puzzle and were we deliberately left thinking that there was more to this than what we are told? Or is that just a ploy? Despite that I enjoyed the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has got to be the weirdest book I‘ve read in a while. I wish there were real magic in the world, but this kind of magic creeped me the hell out. I haven‘t been able to look at my shadow without feeling a chill go up my spine. I love the back and forth between past and present, Charlie‘s and Vince‘s. And the truth will shock you. Such a good read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have very rarely read an Armand Gamache novel that didn‘t deserve a full five stars, and this one is no exception. Even though it clearly leads into the next one, it‘s not such a terrible cliff hanger, and I only have to wait until October. The theme of this book, domestic terrorism, is scarier than some horror books I‘ve read, because it feels so very plausible. Louise Penny is a master story teller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the extraordinary true story of a woman who joins her husband in the Arctic and lives in a primitive hut for a year, absolutely falling in love with the polar region and with the wild lifestyle. She has such an engaging personality and writing style. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nothing in this novel is what it seems. Are there ghosts? Maybe. Are there murderers? Maybe. Is everyone lying? Maybe. A husband and wife in a snowstorm in Scotland in a place called Blackwater. What could go wrong? I‘m sure you know the answer to that. I also loved the semi-epistolary insertions. Alice Feeney delivers a chilling story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to like this book more, but it just felt like a cheesy imitation of a Raymond Chandler novel, from the dialogue to the action to the characters. I didn‘t like any of them. I was probably meant to sympathize with Addison, but she‘s just not a sympathetic character. The plot got stretched a little too thin for my taste and there were too many gotcha moments. I still don‘t know who to believe on some of them. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love the way Lee Child writes. Simple. Clean. Subtly suspenseful. This is an elegantly written short story. Too much description about the premise would spoil it for other readers. But it will leave you smiling at its cleverness. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WOW! This book! I don‘t know where to begin. This is certainly not your typical haunted house tale. And I really didn‘t expect to laugh hysterically at the end. That being said, this is not at all a funny book. It‘s horrifying and gory and bloody and mystifying. Unreliable narrator is an understatement and actually does the narrator a disservice. You‘ll have to read it to find out for yourself what is real and what is reality.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, the cover of this book is stunning. Second of all, I had to take my time with these essays. There is a lot to absorb. Thirdly, this is a powerful journey of awakening and discovery and growth and self-embracing and power. And the author offers us the same gifts. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. This is a dark, dark read. Starts out pretty tamely, but we end up in a place that I could never have foreseen. Obsession, disappearance, obfuscation, abduction, cult(?), murder, bombastic gaslighting, Scottish island. This book is one helluva ride. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel was not at all what I expected. It was so much better. A dystopian story from Indigenous point of view, expelling the systemic prejudice that tries to take over their lives. In the process, their community grows tighter and stronger as times become more desperate. The final straw will shock you. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Well that was not the ending I expected. It was probably the only way it could end, but I was hoping for something else. I can‘t say that I really liked any of the characters, but it made for a much more interesting story. An island , an artist, her muse(?), an art curator, a wealthy family, murder, the truth masterfully unraveled. This is a subtly chilling novel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This series of essays is thought provoking and disturbing and educational and stirring and you can‘t help coming away with a new perspective on the world. My privilege does not exempt me from my own ignorance and I encourage everyone to read and promote Black authors, Indigenous authors, Women authors, and anyone whose voice is underrepresented. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

These short stories are intense. I have read and loved du Maurier‘s novels, but I had no idea she had written short stories or that they would scare the bejesus out of me. It‘s a subtle kind of spine tingling scare. You shudder and kind of look over your shoulder. They are so good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From cover to cover, you have to admire the layout and the illustrations. Subtitled, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World is the text. The writer acknowledges that we have to have some consumerism to pay the bills, but that if we combine that with a gift economy, we will live in an infinitely better world. The Serviceberry is the example of the gift economy used throughout. Robin Wall Kimmerer is our collective conscience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a must read. Told from the perspective of the dolls of different generations within a family of Indigenous women, this novel is about “Indian” boarding schools and the damage they have done and continue to do. It is about generational trauma and the healing power of ancestral wisdom. Community is powerful. Identity is powerful. Respect is powerful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If I were a Fredrik Backman fan, I‘m sure I would find this short story hilarious. It has that potential. Unfortunately, I am not a fan, and the absurdity of this short story is merely annoying. It is a commentary on society, that much is plain to see. I read it because it was free and short and got me one book closer to my Kindle reading goal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve only read the short story, The Birds, but it is ten times scarier than the Hitchcock movie. It has a different slant and fills the imagination with all kinds of horrible possibilities. Well worth the read. On to the rest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Secret societies create unhealthy environments. They look glamorous on the surface, but there‘s an ugly worm in the center. This novel switches back and forth between past and present and between 2 different characters. There is murder and intrigue and too many secrets. I felt the story could have been a little shorter and the twists were really just kind of curves, but overall, I enjoyed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don‘t read a lot of horror because I‘m a chicken, but this novel had just the right amount of horror. Kari has never believed in anything so how does she explain her sudden visions? I‘m not saying anything more as I don‘t want to spoil anything. You will not regret reading this wildly entertaining book, just maybe not at night. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Marcie Rendon is one of my favorite authors. This is a standalone novel. Quill is fierce and determined and independent and her husband Crow has to come to terms with her nature. There is trauma, mystery, violence to indigenous women, love, loyalty. This is an excellent read. Be sure to read the Author‘s Note. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a gentle mystery, and not really about the mystery, so much, and more about the characters and their relationships. Family, death, love, loyalty, secrets, identity, inheritance, self discovery. This is a fast read and you won‘t want to put it down. If you liked the author‘s book The Last Thing He Told Me, you‘ll like this one even better. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a grim, gruesome, gory novel, but it has a joyous ending. Rita Todacheene‘s gift may just kill her this time. But she has a secret weapon, a community of love. Will she be able to solve the murders before it‘s too late? This is such a fantastic series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had to take a break in the middle of this novel because I knew what was coming and I wasn‘t emotionally ready. I‘m glad I waited and I‘m glad I finished it. I have loved this series and this felt like an ending. I‘m sure I‘ll continue to wonder how all of the Thursday Murder Club is faring. Maybe we‘ll hear from them again. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This has got to be one of the best Ruth Galloway mysteries, yet. Have we reached the end? It feels like it, but I think that‘s OK. There‘s a murder to solve, of course, but, personally, I was more interested in the involvements of all of the characters that I have come to love. No spoilers, but that ending had me bawling. All is as it should be. And I will forever wonder what they are all doing now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once again, Patricia Cornwell has completely captured me. These novels are never better than when Kay Scarpetta is recovering a weird dead body. Is one of her greatest enemies back in play? The Wizard of Oz, UFOs (?), fake moon dust, secret government facilities, mysterious occurrences. The whole wonderful, familiar cast of characters. And an ending that ties everything up and is pretty satisfying. I want more! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️