Reading
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Special Feature: The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
When this one came across my desk for review, I almost passed for a couple of reasons. One, I had no room on my review calendar and two, I try to keep my horror or creepy books for the fall. But then something in the description popped and there was no way I could pass this one up. In the description that the publisher sent over it noted that this book would be featuring some Guatemalan history and folklore. My husband is from Guatemala and I know that there just isn’t a lot out there when it comes to Guatemalan anything for literature. So that sold me on this one…
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Special Feature: Muffin But The Truth (A Bakeshop Mystery #16) by Ellie Alexander
Ellie Alexander has written a number of cozy mysteries series, her most well known being this one. Clearly it’s popular as it currently has 16 books in the series! I have skipped around in this series without too much trouble and I have also read some of Alexander’s other book series and really enjoyed her mix of classic Oregon towns and interesting characters—-not to mention the food! Alexander is from Oregon and this particular series is set in Ashland. I live in Oregon so naturally I am partial to any book set in the PacNW. Ashland is a fun town and they have an annual Shakespeare Festival there as well…
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Review: Touch of Red (Tracers #12) by Laura Griffin
In this book, we meet Detective Sean Byrne. Well that’s not quite accurate, we met Sean in a couple of other books prior to this one and he is always portrayed as the cocky devils advocate. At least that’s how I read him. I wasn’t really a fan of him in previous books but at the same time I was intrigued a bit by his character so when I saw he was getting his own story I was excited to reconnect with him and see what he was like as the hero. Brooke was also in a couple of other books but we barely get a glimpse of her beyond…
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Review: At Close Range (Tracers #11) by Laura Griffin
Throughout this series the stand out hero for me has been Derek from a few books back, as for stand out story, all of them have been so complex and interesting that it’s hard to pick a favorite. The last couple of books in the series have been a but disappointing in the romance category so I wasn’t really sure about picking this one up. I recalled Scott from a couple of books back but he didn’t really stand out to me as a swoon worthy hero. I briefly skimmed the summary of this one mostly just looking for who the main characters were because I already know that Griffin’s…
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Review: Deep Dark (Tracers #10) by Laura Griffin
Laura Griffin really has a way of getting under your skin. Her mysteries always leave me more aware of cars following me, my cyber security, being on alert for terrorists, and of course watching out for stalkers who might tamper with my home security. She has such a great way of tapping into the very real fears that women live with—make sure you have a peephole, always check the inside of your car, have a home security system, keep your hedged trimmed etc. This book left me chilled to the bone even if I didn’t understand half of what was going on. This book takes a much more techy turn.…
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Review: Shadow Fall (Tracers #9) by Laura Griffin
Having met Mark Wolfe, FBI Profiler, a few books back I was excited to meet his brother, Liam, in this book. Liam is a former Marine and I loved that this book had this great military angle along with a twisty murder mystery. All in all I was stoked to get into this one, not to mention Griffin has a break out series based on Liam’s security company, Wolfe Security Series. I plan on reading the Wolf Security series once I am done with the tracers series. In this book we are introduced to potential characters in the Wolfe Security series so that made me excited since this series is…
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Review: Beyond Limits (Tracers #8) by Laura Griffin
This is the book that I have been waiting for! I loved meeting Derek in the sixth book of this series and was really anticipating the romance between him and Elizabeth. I was also kind of ready for another terrorist plot and this book delivered on both counts. While we meet both Derek and Elizabeth briefly in an earlier book, that would in no way impact this one if you are considering picking this one up out of order in the series. The author does a great job orientating readers and making sure they understand that Derek and Elizabeth have at least met before etc. If you are a fan…
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Review: Exposed (Tracers #7) by Laura Griffin
After finishing the sixth book in the series, I was fully ready for the next book to be all about Derek—and then I got this book. So it was a surprise that we meet Derek in one book and then to have the next book not be about him seemed a little shocking. But I was willing to go with it, who knows it could be that somehow we meet another character in this book that somehow ties in with Derek’s ultimate love story that will likely be the seventh book I guess. With any long standing series, there are always some books that I like better than others. I…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: Under a Veiled Moon (Inspector Corravan #2) by Karen Odden
Karen Odden has written a couple of different historical mystery series most of which are set in the Victorian era. She has also written introductions for some well known classics like Hard Time by Charles Dickens. Clearly she has a love of Victorian literature and history. I have enjoyed her Victorian Mysteries series even if there has only been two books so far. This latest series featuring Inspector Corravan, is currently on its second book. Odden’s books are recommended for fans of CS Harris and Anne Perry and I would agree, her mysteries are more complex and rich in historical detail. The focus is usually on the mystery itself rather…
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Review: City of Fortune (Counterfeit Lady #6) by Victoria Thompson
I featured this one last week and ever since then I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! The cover fully lured me in as well as the horse racing aspect and I just couldn’t get it out of my head! I had planned to read this one a little bit later this spring when my calendar wasn’t so full but sometimes it just happens like this where I can’t get a book out of my head and then boom here we are reading it way before I planned to ! I have read some of Victoria Thompson’s books but have been limited to the Gaslight Mystery series. They…