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The Wrath of Angels - John Connolly                                                                                         (Series)

This is the 11th in the Charlie Parker series. I am surprised that I have stuck with it this long because of the dark beings from the netherworld that John Connolly throws into his novels. And this one had a lot of them.

There were many returning characters along with ALOT of new characters. Some were important to the storyline, while others seemed to be there and then gone. SO many people that I tended to get lost many times.   

It is a well-written book, but I enjoy them better when they are about Charlie, Louis and Angel.   An I have invested 11 books into this series,  you know I can not quit now.!!!!

Goodreads Summary:

In the depths of the Maine woods, the wreckage of an aeroplane is discovered. There are no bodies, and no such plane has ever been reported missing, but men both good and evil have been seeking it for a long, long time. What the wreckage conceals is more important than money: it is power. Hidden in the plane is a list of names, a record of those who have struck a deal with the Devil. Now a battle is about to commence between those who want the list to remain secret and those who believe that it represents a crucial weapon in the struggle against the forces of darkness.

The race to secure the prize draws in private detective Charlie Parker, a man who knows more than most about the nature of the terrible evil that seeks to impose itself on the world, and who fears that his own name may be on the list. It lures others too: a beautiful, scarred woman with a taste for killing; a silent child who remembers his own death; and the serial killer known as the Collector, who sees in the list new lambs for his slaughter.

But as the rival forces descend upon this northern state, the woods prepare to meet them, for the forest depths hide other secrets.

Someone has survived the crash.
Some thing has survived the crash.
And it is waiting 

 

 Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

Monopoly Book Challenge - Free Parking - Read any book you choose.
"Y" Author

The premise of this book sounded fascinating, but it didn't quite live up to its billing of "A Novel of Suspense".  Quite often the murder plot got bogged down in the details of the history of Icelandic witchcraft and witch hunts and the weird flirtations between the 2 main characters (Thóra and Matthew).

Two interesting facts though: 1. Icelandic witch trials were centered around men - 20 men were executed for sorcery, while only 2 women were convicted as witches; 2. Malleus Maleficarum a/k/a Hammer of Witches (1486) is the leading treatise on witchcraft and for a time sold more copies than any other book other than the Bible.

While the murder mystery neglected to capture my interest, the beauty of Iceland did (pic of lava fields)!

Summary from Goodreads: At a university in Reykjavík, the body of a young German student is discovered, his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. Police waste no time in making an arrest, but the victim's family isn't convinced that the right man is in custody. They ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, an attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. It isn't long before Thóra and her associate, Matthew Reich, uncover the deceased student's obsession with Iceland's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts. But there are very contemporary horrors hidden in the long, cold shadow of dark traditions. And for two suddenly endangered investigators, nothing is quite what it seems . . . and no one can be trusted.

  The House of Brides - Jane Cockram                                                                                            (Debut)

This debut novel was written in a gothic style with family drama and suspense. So of course, we have the spooky manor house set on a rocky coast in England. Along with the people of the manor who we cannot trust.  Or can we trust some but not others and which ones of them should we trust?    Oh, and family secrets. Would not be a gothic suspense with secrets!!!

Anyway, it was a quick and easy read.

Goodreads summary :

Miranda’s life and career has been a roller-coaster ride. Her successful rise to the top of the booming lifestyle industry as a social media influencer led to a humiliating fall after a controversial product she endorsed flopped. Desperate to get away from the hate-spewing trolls shaming her on the internet, she receives a mysterious letter from a young cousin in England that plunges her into a dark family mystery.

Miranda’s mother Tessa Summers, a famous author, died when Miranda was a child. The young woman’s only connection to the Summers family is through Tessa’s famous book The House of Brides—a chronicle of the generations of women who married into the infamous Summers family and made their home in the rambling Barnsley House, the family’s estate. From Gertrude Summers, a famed crime novelist, to Miranda’s grandmother Beatrice, who killed herself after setting fire to Barnsley while her children slept, each woman in The House of Brides is more notorious than the next. The house’s current “bride” is the beautiful, effervescent Daphne, her Uncle Max’s wife—a famed celebrity chef who saved Barnsley from ruin turning the estate into an exclusive culinary destination and hotel.

Curious about this legendary family she has never met, Miranda arrives at Barnsley posing as a prospective nanny answering an advertisement. She’s greeted by the compelling yet cold housekeeper Mrs. Mins, and meets the children and her Uncle Max—none of whom know her true identity. But Barnsley is not what Miranda expected. The luxury destination and award-winning restaurant is gone, and Daphne is nowhere to be found. Most disturbing, one of the children is in a wheelchair after a mysterious accident. What happened in this house? Where is Daphne? What darkness lies hidden in Barnsley?

 

             Crippen - John Boyne                                                                                                           ("C"book)

#2021MonopolyChallenge - (Penn Ave - Book that involves a trip)

Mr. Boyne introduces us to a Mr. Crippen who is accused of murdering his wife, circa 1860.  Part of the story takes in America in 1860, London 1910 and on a boat 1910.  

This is a slow read but an  interesting one. Mr. Boyne does a great job of bringing life to his characters. 

Goodreads summary::

July 1910: A gruesome discovery has been made at 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden.

Chief Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard did not expect the house to be empty. Nor did he expect to find a body in the cellar. Buried under the flagstones are the remains of Cora Crippen, former music-hall singer and wife of Dr. Hawley Crippen. No one would have thought the quiet, unassuming Dr. Crippen capable of murder, yet the doctor and his mistress have disappeared from London, and now a full-scale hunt for them has begun.

Across the Channel in Antwerp, the S.S. Montrose has just set off on its two-week voyage to North America. Slipping in among the first-class passengers is a Mr. John Robinson, accompanied by his teenage son, Edmund. The pair may be hoping for a quiet, private voyage, but in the close confines of a luxury ocean liner, anonymity is rare. And with others aboard looking for romance, or violence, or escape from their past in Europe, it will take more than just luck for the Robinsons to survive the voyage unnoticed.

Wildland by Rebecca Hodge

Monopoly Book Challenge - Virginia Avenue - a book set in one of the South Atlantic states: North Carolina
Once Upon a Book Club - March 2020

Debut

Heart pounding, gripping, heart-stopping are just some of the descriptions of this book and they got it right. Rebecca Hodge's debut is a wonderful drama that has you wanting to stay up all night to finish it!  Characters you will love and adore and others you will want to punch in the face.  I look forward to her next book (due out September 2021!)

Summary from Goodreads: When Kat Jamison retreats to the Blue Ridge Mountains, she's counting on peace and solitude to help her make a difficult decision. Her breast cancer has returned, but after the death of her husband, her will to fight is dampened. Now she has a choice to make: face yet another round of chemotherapy or surrender gracefully.

Self-reflection quickly proves impossible as her getaway is complicated by a pair of abandoned dogs and two friendly children staying nearby, Lily and Nirav. In no time at all, Kat's quiet seclusion is invaded by the happy confusion of children and pets.

But when lightning ignites a deadly wildfire, Kat's cabin is cut off from the rest of the camp, separating Lily and Nirav from their parents. Left with no choice, Kat, the children, and the dogs must flee on foot through the drought-stricken forest, away from the ravenous flames. As a frantic rescue mission is launched below the fire line, Kat drives the party deeper into the mountains, determined to save four innocent lives. But when the moment comes to save her own, Kat will have to decide just how hard she's willing to fight to survive--and what's worth living for.

Quote: "I finally decided to embrace what life handed me, even though it wasn't what I was seeking."

 Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

Monopoly Book Challenge - Community Chest #1 - a book by one of your favorite authors

Oldest Book on TBR

Son of a Witch is the 2nd in the Wicked Years series and chronicles the early life of Liir, Elphaba's son. Traversing the Land of Oz, meeting quirky characters and seeing Liir navigate the complications of being the "Wicked Witch"'s son.

The sequel didn't captivate me quite as much as Wicked did, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was left a bit unfinished but there are 2 more books to go in the series.

Summary from Goodreads: Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Bruised, comatose, and left for dead in a gully, Liir is shattered in spirit as well as in form. But he is tended at the Cloister of Saint Glinda by the silent novice called Candle, who wills him back to life with her musical gifts.

What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape -- but what of her powers? Can he find his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prison, Southstairs? Can he fulfill the last wishes of a dying princess? In an Oz that, since the Wizard's departure, is under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enough to grow up?

Quotes: "I always thought a soul was private, but it appears it can be colonized against your will if you don't watch out."

"It survived for the sole purpose of insuring its own survival."

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

Shakespeare Project 2020

When I embarked on the Shakespeare Project last year I attempted to include all the Shakespeare in my library which entails the Hogarth adaptations (read all but 2) and 2 non-fiction books about the Bard; one of which is this renowned work by Stephen Greenblatt.

While I had started it, I unfortunately didn't finish it during the Project year of 2020. But I did return to it.

There is a lot of questions surrounding the biography of William Shakespeare, including his actual date of birth and his cause of death and much of his life in between including the authorship of many of his plays.

Through extensive research of past and present scholars, Greenblatt strips away some of the romanticism of Shakespeare and shows a more accurate picture of the flawed genius.

Aside from the life of arguably the most famous man, I was astounded and dismayed at England's history including religious persecutions, expulsion of Jewish citizens and plague outbreaks. The latter especially as we are currently enduring a global pandemic.

Quote: "But people had grasped, through bitter experience, that the isolation of plague victims slowed the spread of the disease - ... - and they grasped too that there was a relation between the progress of epidemics and large crowds. Authorities did not cancel church services, but when plague deaths began to rise, they looked askance at any other public assemblies, and when such deaths reached a certain number (above 30 a week in London), they shut the theaters down."

Black-Eyed Susans - Julia Heaberlin                                                                                         (New Author)

#2021monoplychallenge - Marvin Gardens - Yellow Cover

The 1st half seemed to move rather slowly but it did pick up for the 2nd half. 

It is told in 2 timelines. One timeline is the main character, Tessie, at the age of 16 where she talks to her therapist about the trauma she suffered.  She was kidnapped and thrown into a shallow grave with 2 dead girls. There were black-eyed susans growing around the grave.

The other timeline is present day and the man who was accused of the crime is soon to be put to death.  But some evidence has come to light that he may be innocent and Tessa has been finding black-eyed susans being planted around her place.  

Enjoyed the book but I am not sure if I liked the ending.  

Goodreads summary

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,” the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.
 
Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.
 
What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

 

    Woman 99 - Greer Macallister
                   (HF)

#2021monopolychallenge - Chance (A favorite author)

I chose this book for this challenge because I really enjoyed Ms. Macallister's first book "A Magician's Lie".  I think if I had read "Woman 99"  first, I may not have chosen Ms. Macallister as a favorite author.   "Woman 99"  dragged at times and seem to have some repetitiveness.   Still it was a good story but not a favorite. 

 Interesting storyline about  women in insane asylums at a time when women were admitted into the asylums because of many reasons other than mental illnesses.   

Goodreads:  A vivid historical thriller about a young woman whose quest to free her sister from an infamous insane asylum risks her sanity, her safety and her life

Charlotte Smith's future is planned to the last detail, and so was her sister's - until Phoebe became a disruption. When their parents commit Phoebe to a notorious asylum, Charlotte knows there's more to the story than madness. Shedding her identity to become an anonymous inmate, "Woman Ninety-Nine," Charlotte uncovers dangerous secrets. Insanity isn't the only reason her fellow inmates were put away - and those in power will do anything to keep the truth, or Charlotte, from getting out.

 With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Monopoly Book Challenge - North Carolina Avenue - a book in which food plays an important role.

Newest Book on TBR

Okay, so it's not the newest book on my TBR but is newish enough to fit.

This was an easy read, short chapters and characters to adore; mouth watering descriptions of Puerto Rican and Spanish dishes, a little romance and commentary on stereotypes.

And discovering Seville, Spain.

Summary from Goodreads: With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain—and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life—and all the rules everyone expects her to play by—once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free

Quotes: "I wanted to give Babygirl a nice name. The kind of name that doesn't tell you too much before you meet her, the way mine does....as soon as they see my name on a resume or college application they think they know exactly what kind of girl they getting."

"The world is a turntable that never stops spinning, as humans we merely choose the tracks we want to sit out and the ones that inspire us to dance."

"You can't make too much space for a father like mine in your life. Because he'll elbow his way in and stretch the corners wide, and when he leaves all you have is the oversized empty - the gap in your heart where a parent should be."

 The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase

Monopoly Book Challenge - Marvin Gardens - a book with a garden or plants on the cover
Once Upon a Book Club - August 2020
New Author

This was an easy read with an alternating timeline and mystery that kept the reader's interest. Some, but not all of the mystery was predictable but still entertaining, with characters one becomes invested in.

One thing that stuck out to me was how much the author loves the color green! Besides the obvious forest descriptions, there were: gold & pea green engagement ring, eyes like wet green glass, greenish clay mask, jelly-green water, Stiletto heels green as a Granny Smith, a green nut in a shell, and a vintage pea-green Porsche.

Summary from Goodreads: Outside a remote manor house in an idyllic wood, a baby girl is found. The Harrington family takes her in and disbelief quickly turns to joy. They're grieving a terrible tragedy of their own and the beautiful baby fills them with hope, lighting up the house's dark, dusty corners. Desperate not to lose her to the authorities, they keep her secret, suspended in a blissful summer world where normal rules of behaviour - and the law - don't seem to apply. But within days a body will lie dead in the grounds. And their dreams of a perfect family will shatter like glass. Years later, the truth will need to be put back together again, piece by piece . . .

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghost. - Kate Racculia                                                                         (Newest on TBR)

This book has lots of quirky characters. Starting with Tuesday Mooney ( who in my opinion does not really talk to ghosts, one yes, plural ghosts, no) So for me the title was a little misleading.

Then we have the concept of a scavenger hunt, again a little misleading. Still, there is a bit of a mystery surrounding the quirky people we meet. Seemed to be more of a mystery around the man who set up the scavenger hunt.

I was somewhat disappointed in what I thought would be a fun read. It dragged a bit,  I lost interest in it but I did finish it. Maybe my expectations were too high. I can ruin a good book by expecting more out of it because of the write-ups.  

 Goodreads summary:  A dying billionaire sends one woman and a cast of dreamers and rivals on a citywide treasure hunt in this irresistible novel by the author of Bellweather Rhapsody.

Tuesday Mooney is a loner. She keeps to herself, begrudgingly socializes, and spends much of her time watching old Twin Peaks and X-Files DVDs. But when Vincent Pryce, Boston’s most eccentric billionaire, dies—leaving behind an epic treasure hunt through the city, with clues inspired by his hero, Edgar Allan Poe—Tuesday’s adventure finally begins.

Puzzle-loving Tuesday searches for clue after clue, joined by a ragtag crew: a wisecracking friend, an adoring teen neighbor, and a handsome, cagey young heir. The hunt tests their mettle, and with other teams from around the city also vying for the promised prize—a share of Pryce’s immense wealth—they must move quickly. Pryce’s clues can't be cracked with sharp wit alone; the searchers must summon the courage to face painful ghosts from their pasts (some more vivid than others) and discover their most guarded desires and dreams

Sweet Little Lies – Caz Frear                                                                                           (Debut)

Meet Cat , a 26 year old detective with the London police.

18 years ago, a teenage girl, MaryAnne, disappeared and Cat was sure her father had something to do with MaryAnne’s disappearance. Now 8 years later, a young woman is found dead near her father’s bar.  Cat’s suspicions are brought back to the surface because the dead woman seems to have a possible link to the missing MaryAnne.

Was her father involved 8 years ago?? And is he involved now?? What is he hiding??  Cat is not sure she wants to find out.

The book kept my interest and the story line is different.  A good read.

Goodreads summary: In this gripping debut procedural, a young London policewoman must probe dark secrets buried deep in her own family's past to solve a murder and a long-ago disappearance.

Your father is a liar. But is he a killer?
Even liars tell the truth... sometimes.

Twenty-six-year-old Cat Kinsella overcame a troubled childhood to become a Detective Constable with the Metropolitan Police Force, but she's never been able to banish these ghosts. When she's called to the scene of a murder in Islington, not far from the pub her estranged father still runs, she discovers that Alice Lapaine, a young housewife who didn't get out much, has been found strangled.

Cat and her team immediately suspect Alice's husband, until she receives a mysterious phone call that links the victim to Maryanne Doyle, a teenage girl who went missing in Ireland eighteen years earlier. The call raises uneasy memories for Cat--her family met Maryanne while on holiday, right before she vanished. Though she was only a child, Cat knew that her charming but dissolute father wasn't telling the truth when he denied knowing anything about Maryanne or her disappearance. Did her father do something to the teenage girl all those years ago? Could he have harmed Alice now? And how can you trust a liar even if he might be telling the truth? 

 

 The Unquiet by John Connolly

Monopoly Book Challenge - Community Chest #2 - Your favorite genre
Series

After going more than a little paranormal in the last couple books in the series, Connolly came back to a more traditional murder mystery/suspense-thriller (don't worry there's still some supernatural stuff going on).

One of the things I like best about Connolly's writing is his descriptive writing: "...a large woman with a pile of big black hair balanced precariously on her head like dirty ice cream on a cone....she looked old, but age had not dimmed her affection for cosmetics or hair dye, even if it deprived her of some of the skills required to apply both without making the final effect look less like an act of vanity than an act of vandalism."

"She wet her lips, as though her system was trying to silence her by drying out her mouth."

As in prior novels, Connolly does detailed historical research. I learned some interesting Maine facts such as it being the homeplace of candlepin bowling

And the dark history of Maine's largest prison and its Special Management Unit which doles out questionable punishments.

Summary from Goodreads: Daniel Clay, a once-respected psychiatrist, has gone missing. His daughter insists that he killed himself after allegations surfaced that he had betrayed his patients to foul and evil men -- but when a killer obsessed with uncovering the truth behind his own daughter's disappearance comes seeking revenge, long-forgotten secrets begin to emerge. Hired by Dr. Clay's daughter to protect her from the predator on the loose, tortured and ingenious private detective Charlie Parker finds himself trapped between those who want the truth to be revealed and those who will go to any length to keep it hidden.

Quotes: "The law doesn't require truth, only the appearance of it. Most cases simply rest on a version of it that's acceptable to both sides. You want to know what the only truth is? Everybody lies."

Fleet Street Murders – Charles Finch

           (Guilty Pleasure)

#2012monopolychallenge – St. Charles Place – a character who is a member of royalty

Third in the Charles Lenox series.

Not really royalty but Charles Lenox comes from an aristocratic family. Both his father and older brother have seats in Parliament. So he is encouraged to run for a seat representing a small town north of London .

As it would happen, 2 men are murdered just at the time Charles has to leave London to do some campaigning for 2 weeks. The murders seems unrelated and Charles is constantly thinking about them and trying to gather information about them while away.

A little boring with the run for a seat in Parliament, even though it has it’s own little mystery surrounding it. But his problem solving of the double murder was intriguing as always.

Goodreads summary:

The third book in the Charles Lenox series finds the gentleman detective trying to balance a heated race for Parliament with the investigation of the mysterious simultaneous deaths of two veteran reporters. It’s Christmas, 1866, and amateur sleuth Charles Lenox, recently engaged to his best friend, Lady Jane Grey, is happily celebrating the holiday in his Mayfair townhouse. Across London, however, two journalists have just met with violent deaths--one shot, one throttled. Lenox soon involves himself in the strange case, which proves only more complicated as he digs deeper. However, he must leave it behind to go north to Stirrington, where he is fulfilling a lifelong dream: running for a Parliamentary seat. Once there, he gets a further shock when Lady Jane sends him a letter whose contents might threaten their nuptials. In London, the police apprehend two unlikely and unrelated murder suspects. From the start, Lenox has his doubts; the crimes, he is sure, are tied, but how? Racing back and forth between London and Stirrington, Lenox must negotiate the complexities of crime and politics, not to mention his imperiled engagement. As the case mounts, Lenox learns that the person behind the murders might be closer to him--and his beloved--than he knows

 

Shiver – Allie Reynolds 

         (Debut)

A psychological thriller set in the French Alps. Alternating chapters from present day to 10 years ago.

In present day, we have 5 people meeting up for a reunion of sorts. Strange things happen like all of their phones go missing, their laptops are gone. Are they there to find out what happened 10 years ago? Is someone else there with them or is it one of them. Who do you trust??

10 years ago, these 5 people meet for the first time at a snowboarding competition. What starts out as a friendly rivalry turns ugly. Things happen but not ever explained.

I enjoyed the mystery part of this book but the relationships seem immature at times. Overall, I would recommend this as a good thriller.

Goodreads summary:

In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm.

When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she's expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. It might have been a decade since she saw them last, but she's never forgotten the bond they forged on this very mountain during a winter spent fiercely training for an elite snowboarding competition.

Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. The resort is deserted. The cable cars that delivered them to the mountaintop have stopped working. Their cell phones--missing. And inside the hotel, detailed instructions await them: an icebreaker game, designed to draw out their secrets. A game meant to remind them of Saskia, the enigmatic sixth member of their group, who vanished the morning of the competition years before and has long been presumed dead.

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea – T.J.Klune                                                                                (Newest on TBR)

What a lovely book. Linus is a caseworker for a company that provides homes for magical children. He is sent to an orphanage on an island to make sure that is run properly and that the children are taken care of.

He meets some very interesting characters. Oh, and what wonderful characters they turned out to be. I wanted to go there and meet them myself.

A story about hope, accepting others and learning to believe in yourself.

Goodreads summary:

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

.

A Burning Soul - John Connolly                                                                               (Series)

This is the 10^th in the series

This is a typical John Connolly with lots of characters who don’t seem to connect but as always, they are all brought together at the end.

Another good mystery thriller where a young teen-age girl goes missing, lots of twists and turns following the people who may or may not be involved in taking her. There were not as many spirit entities as Mr. Connolly sometimes has and the ending, well, I did not see it coming.

Goodreads summary:

There are some truths so terrible that they should not be spoken aloud. Here is one of those truths: after three hours, the abduction of a child is routinely treated as a homicide.

When a girl disappears from a small Maine town, her neighbor—a recluse named Randall Haight—starts receiving anonymous letters that contain tormenting references to a different teenage girl, murdered long ago. For many years, Randall has kept a secret: when he was fourteen, he was convicted of killing that girl. Now, his former life has returned to haunt him, and he hires private detective Charlie Parker to make it go away. But in a town built on blood and shadowed by old ghosts, where too many of the living are hiding secrets, the past cannot be dismissed so easily. As Parker unravels a twisted, violent history involving a doomed mobster and his enemies, the police, and the FBI, his search returns again and again to Randall Haight. Because Randall is still telling lies…

 Five by Ursula Archer

Monopoly Book Challenge - Vermont Avenue - Book with mostly White Cover
Newest Book on TBR

A fantastically creepy novel that I stayed up late to finish! A mystery that I thought I had figured out, but Archer was much more devious than that!

The map coordinates were added fun to research and I discovered the beauty of Austria!

My only disappointment is that the subsequent 3 novels in this series haven't been translated into English yet!!

Summary from Goodreads: A woman's corpse is discovered in a meadow. A strange combination of letters and numbers has been tattooed on the soles of her feet. Detective inspector Beatrice Kaspary from the local murder squad quickly identifies the digits as map coordinates. These lead to a series of gruesome discoveries as she and her colleague Florin Wenninger embark on a bloody trail - a modern-day scavenger hunt using GPS navigation devices to locate hidden caches. The "owner" of these unofficial, unpublished geocaches is a highly calculating and elusive fiend who leaves his victims' body-parts sealed in plastic bags, complete with riddles that culminate in a five-stage plot. Kaspary herself becomes an unwilling pawn in the perpetrator's game of cat and mouse as she risks all to uncover the motives behind the murderer's actions. Five is definitely not a book for the faint-hearted, but it delivers great suspense, unexpected plot twists, and multi-dimensional characters.

 Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard

Monopoly Book Challenge - Reading Railroad - Author whose first and last name begin with the same letter.

Guilty Pleasure

What a fun little ride of a book. To discover life's lessons through the rediscovery of the fun of a carnival!!

Summary from Goodreads: A classic inspirational parable; a triumphant tale of personal growth and change that will inspire anyone who has ever wished for a second chance.
What if you were handed a golden ticket that could magically start your life anew?
Burchard tells the story of a man who is so trapped in the prison of his past that he cannot see the possibilities, the choices, and the gifts before him. To soothe his fiancée Mary, clinging to life in a hospital bed, the man takes the envelope she offers and heads to an old, abandoned amusement park that she begs him to visit.
To his surprise, when he steps through the rusted entrance gates, the park magically comes to life. Guided by the wise groundskeeper Henry, the man will encounter park employees, answer difficult questions, overcome obstacles, listen to lessons from those wiser than he, and take a hard look at himself.

 Water Witches - Chris Bohjalain

#2021monoplychallenge - Oriental Ave.(white cover)

I did not expect to like this book. The main characters are a lobbyist lawyer working for a ski resort and an environmentalist fighting to save a mountain and a river.  The ski resort wants to cut down trees on the mountain and also tap into the river for a snowmaking machine. Of course , the environmentalist is trying to save the trees and a drought has put the river in jeopardy. All of this takes place in beautiful Vermont and I enjoyed in immensely. I also learned about water dowsing which is very interesting.

Chris Bohjalian does a wonderful job of bringing his characters to life. I had empathy for both sides.   

Goodreads summary:

Set in the Vermont countryside, Water Witches is a tale of the clash between progress and tradition, science and magic. In the midst of a nightmarish New England drought, cynical ski industry lobbyist Scottie Winston is trying to get a large ski resort the permits it needs to tap already beleaguered rivers for snow. His wife, his little girl, and his sister-in-law-dowsers or "water witches" all-hope to stop him, however, in this gentle, comic, life-affirming novel.

 Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

ARC from BookBrowse First Impressions

Monopoly Book Challenge - Go - Read any book
Debut

A reviewer said this was a book they wanted to portion out to make it last but also didn't want to put it down, which is a perfect description of this fantastic debut!

The premise of 7 psychopaths in a college clinical study when 1 is murdered is intriguing enough to get you to open the book and from there you will have a hard time closing it until you reach the last page!

Summary from Goodreads: Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

The Girl with No Shadow - Joanne Harris                                                                                    ( Oldest on TBR)

#2021monopolychallenge - Mostly blue cover

This is the continuation of Vianne Rocher's life, who we first met in 
 "Chocolat".   Here Vianne and her two young daughters try to be "normal" and not use her magic and even stops making her chocolates.  Vianne does not want to bring attention to herself or to have a repeat of what happened before.

Things go along well until Zozie comes into Vianne's life and upsets the balance.

Wonderfully magical and mystical!!

Goodreads Summary:  The wind has always dictated Vianne Rocher's every move, buffeting her from the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes to the crowded streets of Paris. Cloaked in a new identity, that of widow Yanne Charbonneau, she opens a chocolaterie on a small Montmartre street, determined to still the wind at last and keep her daughters, Anouk and baby Rosette, safe. But the weather vane soon turns, and Zozie de l'Alba blows into their lives. Charming and enigmatic, Zozie provides the brightness that Yanne's life needs--as her vivacity and bold lollipop shoes dazzle rebellious and impressionable preadolescent Anouk. But beneath their new friend's benevolent facade lies a ruthless treachery--for devious, seductive Zozie has plans that will shake their world to pieces.

 where the lost wander by Amy Harmon

Monopoly Book Challenge - Pennsylvania Avenue - a book which involves a trip of some kind.
Once Upon a Book Club - May 2020
Historical Fiction

The opening scene of this wonderful novel is positively gut-wrenching and the following chapters which lay out the characters and their travels along the Oregon Trail only make it more so. 

But reading the journey of the May family and John Lowry brings to life the difficulties of the Oregon Trail and highlights the amazing strength of the people of the time.

Summary from Goodreads: The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both. But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together. When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.

Quotes: "I realize now that life is just a continual parting of the ways, some more painful than others."

All Is Not Forgotten - Wendy Walker                                                                                        ( New Author)
 

#2021Monopolychallenge - Venture Ave - Starts with "A"

Not at all what I was expecting.

The narrator is a therapist who is treating a young girl and her parents. The girl was violently raped by an unknown man and she is treated with drugs to have the memory of it erased. The therapist is also treating a soldier who had the same treatment for the trauma of war.

So instead of learning how Jenny deals with her "raging emotional memory"(from back of the book) and Jenny's parents struggles,  the egotistical therapist tells us how wonderful he is in his treatment of them all. Jenny, her dad, her mom and the soldier.  Also, if reading about rape is a trigger for anyone , do not read this book.  The violent and horrific rape is mentioned several times.

I will say that I did not see the end coming, the way it is written, I don't think anyone would.

Goodreads summary:

In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut everything seems picture perfect.

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town - or perhaps lives among them - drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

 

     The Yellow Wife - Sadeqa Johnson                                                                                               (HF)

2021monopolychallenge - New York Ave.-title starts with "Y"

An historical account of Lumpkin's Jail on the Devil's Half Acre in Richmond Va. and the "mistress" of the jail., A slave woman owner by the Jailer..  The jail was for runaway slaves or black men, women and children being put up for auction.

I always hate to say I have enjoyed a book about slavery because it was such a horrible time in our history, but I do enjoy reading a book that I makes me feel for the characters.  This is such a book.   I have visited the area of Devil's Half Acre so I was able to visualize this area. None of the buildings are standing but there is a plaque telling about the jail. 

   So an interesting read but I felt that the end was rushed.  I was left with questions. 

Goodreads:

A young female slave is sold to a married man who intends to start a family with her, even as he manages the particularly cruel estate, the Devil's Half Acre, where thousands of black people are beaten, broken, and sold.

 today we go home by Kelli Estes

Monopoly Book Challenge - Atlantic Ave. - A book with a mostly yellow cover.
Once Upon a Book Club - October 2019
Historical Fiction

A captivating read that depicts women in the military both currently and those disguised as men who served in the Civil War. The novel alternates between Larkin who has returned from serving in Afghanistan and Emily who served in the Civil War.

The bravery of these women serving our country in the midst of discrimination, inequality and misogyny is incomparable. 

Highly recommended read as well as the research notes and sources by the author!

Summary from Goodreads: Seattle, Washington. Larkin Bennett has always known her place, whether it’s surrounded by her loving family in the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest, or riding on a dusty convoy in Afghanistan. But all that changed the day tragedy struck her unit and took away everything she held dear. Soon after, Larkin discovers an unexpected treasure: the diary of Emily Wilson, a young woman who disguised herself as a man to fight for the Union in the Civil War. As Larkin struggles to heal, she finds herself drawn deep into Emily’s life and the secrets she kept. Indiana, 1861. The only thing more dangerous to Emily Wilson than a rebel soldier is her own comrades in the Union. But in the minds of her fellow soldiers, if it dresses like a man, swears like a man, and shoots like a man, it must be a man. As the war marches on and takes its terrible toll, Emily begins to question everything she has been told about the freedom she is supposed to be fighting for.

    The Intruder - Peter Blauner                                                                                                      ( "B" book)

#2021monoplychallange - St. Charles Place - book with black cover

First of all,   this book was written in 1995. The world was different then.  Now reading a book that has racial slurs and unnecessary violence was difficult to read. 

Jake is an attorney who makes a wrong decision in trying to protect his family from a man with a mental problem.  Unknowingly he gets involved with a mob guy and soon finds himself  on trial for murder.

This was a decent legal thriller with twists and turns that I did not always see coming.

Goodreads : Sold to Hollywood for nearly $3 million, this blockbuster thriller pulls readers into its stranglehold of terror in the tradition of Cape Fear. Having survived a childhood of beatings and psychological torture, successful Manhattan lawyer Jacob Schiff cherishes his stable family life with his wife, a psychiatric social worker, and his son. But Jake sees it all unraveling when John Gates, a homeless man who has become his wife's patient, starts stalking her and menacing the family.