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 The "owner" of these unofficial, unpublished geocaches is a highly calculating and elusive fiend who leaves his victims' body-parts sealed in plastic bags, complete with riddles that culminate in a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.