Hope Sets the Bar Low in '22

Hope's 22 in '22 - Setting the Bar Low - again!

This is where I will outline and post my personal reading. I'm setting the bar low again in 2022, since the past few years haven't been too productive. I'm hoping to do better in 2022.

Helpful Hints:

How to force a touchstone:
Left square bracket + title + comma + author last name + right square bracket will usually get you close to the correct (if not correct) touchstone.

The Library, Stewart = The Library, Stewart

If it still isn't the correct touchstone you can look to the right of the "add a message" box where the touchstones display, click (Others), scroll for the correct touchstone, click the link, and ta-da...correct touchstone.

Last way to get correct touchstone: left square bracket + work number + colon + colon + title + right square bracket.

The Library = The Library

To Make a Checkmark: = & # 1 0 0 0 4

To Make a Star: = & # 9 7 3 3

Other helpful "how-to's": http://www.librarything.com/topic/59470#

To insert a cover or other image: img src = "URL_HERE" (take out space around = sign an put in html brackets)

2017 Reading Pyramid - https://www.librarything.com/topic/244325
2018 Readings - https://www.librarything.com/topic/279502
2019 Readings - https://www.librarything.com/topic/300982
2020 Readings - https://www.librarything.com/topic/314462
2021 Readings - https://www.librarything.com/topic/328168#n7647720

Setting the Bar Low Again in '22 (Songs subject to change . . . )

1. Published in 1958: For the Good Times – Kris Kristofferson
2. Literary Fiction: Can’t Get It Out of My Head – Jeff Lynne / ELO
3. Historical Fiction: Remember When the Music - Harry Chapin
4. Science Fiction/Fantasy/Steampunk: Come take a trip in my airship – G. Evans / Natalie Merchant
5. Historical Romance: My Love for You – Les Pouliot / Gordon Lightfoot
6. Contemporary Romance: How Sweet It Is – James Taylor
7. Nonfiction: Too Much Time on My Hands - Tommy Shaw / Styx
8. Mystery / Crime: I shot the sheriff – Bob Marley / Eric Clapton
9. Psychological Suspense: 5150 - Van Halen
10. Memoir/Biography: Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Bret Michaels /Poison
11. Poetry, Coffee Table Books, Gift Books: What a Wonderful World - Thiele and Weiss / Louis Armstrong

1. Published in 1958: For the Good Times – Kris Kristofferson

2. Literary Fiction: Can’t Get It Out of My Head – Jeff Lynne / ELO

A. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - 562 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
B. Gone So Long by Andre Dubus III - 452 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
C. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - 347 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
D. Family of Liars by E. Lockhart - 298 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
E. As Good as Gone by Larry Watson - 370 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

3. Historical Fiction: Remember When the Music - Harry Chapin


A. Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles - 341 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
B. The English Wife by Lauren Willig - 376 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

4. Science Fiction/Fantasy/Steampunk: Come take a trip in my airship – G. Evans / Natalie Merchant

5. Historical Romance: My Love for You – Les Pouliot / Gordon Lightfoot

A. Heartbreaker: a Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah Maclean - 395 p. - ★ ★ ★ 1/2
B. Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson - 321 p. - ★ ★ ★ 1/2

6. Contemporary Romance: How Sweet It Is - James Taylor

A. No Judgments by Meg Cabot - 367 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2
B. No Offense by Meg Cabot - 350 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2
C. Protect Me Not by Natasha Anders - 456 p. - ★ ★ ★

7. Nonfiction: Too Much Time on My Hands - Tommy Shaw / Styx

8. Mystery / Crime: I shot the sheriff – Bob Marley / Eric Clapton

A. The Man Who Died Twice: a Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman - 355 pages - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
B. My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart - 404 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2
C. An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten - 184 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
D. The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda - 341 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
E. The Accomplice: A Novel by Lisa Lutz - 352 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
F. Something to Hide by Elizabeth George - 691 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
G. The Bullet that Missed: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman - 342 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
H. An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten - 255 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

9. Psychological Suspense: 5150 - Van Halen

A. The Last One Home by Victoria Helen Stone - 303 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
B. The Guest List by Lucy Foley - 313 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
C. Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens - 375 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

10. Memoir/Biography: Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Bret Michaels /Poison

11. Poetry, Coffee Table Books, Gift Books: What a Wonderful World - Thiele and Weiss / Louis Armstrong

A. 365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas by David E. Monn - 277 p. - ★ ★ ★
B. Woody's World by John H. Holm - unpaged - ★ ★ ★

Pick a Winner; Make a Friend - 2022

1. Hell in the Heartland - Jax Miller
2. Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann
3. Cry Macho - N. Richard Nash
✔ 4. An Elderly Lady Up to No Good - Helene Tursten
5. Roses - Leila Meacham (Library copy)
✔ 6. Gone So Long - Andre Dubus III
7. All Saints Hotel and Cocktail Lounge - Father Nathan Monk
✔ 8. As Good As Gone - Larry Watson
✔ 9. The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Oman
10. This Is Where I Leave You - Jonathan Tropper
11. Fortune's Children - Arthur T. Vanderbilt II
✔ 12. My Brother Michael - Mary Stewart

If I need to substitute because I have misplaced the original title:
The Next Five People You Meet in Heaven by Ablom
Sentenced to Life by Becker
Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Beckerman

Books by Rating

5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

4 ½ ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman
Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

4 ★ ★ ★ ★
Gone So Long by Andre Dubus III
The Last One Home by Victoria Helen Stone
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
The English Wife by Lauren Willig
The Accomplice: A Novel by Lisa Lutz
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens - 375 p.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - 347 p.
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart - 298 p.
Something to Hide by Elizabeth George - 691 p.
As Good As Gone by Larry Watson - 370 p.
The Bullet that Missed: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman - 342 p.
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten - 255 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

3 ½ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
No Judgments by Meg Cabot
My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
No Offense by Meg Cabot
Heartbreaker: a Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah Maclean
Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson


3 ★ ★ ★
365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas by David E. Monn
Woody's World by John H. Holm
Protect Me Not by Natasha Anders

2 1/2 ★ ★ 1/2

2 ★ ★

1 ★

Did Not Finish

Add to the TBR (Carried over from the past four years!)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Insight by Tasha Eurich
Missoula by Krakauer
The Child by Fiona Burton
Gone without a trace by Mary Torjussen
A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin
Deadliest Sea by Thompson
Abandon All Hope by Schiller
Losing It by Carmack
Terms of Surrender by Janet Dailey
Killer of the Flower Moon
Sisterhood Everlasting - Anne Brashares
Finding Rebecca
Dennis LeHane - title?
What the dead leave behind
Then she was gone by Lisa Jewell
A Prayer Before Dawn by Billy Moore
Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott Eyman.
*Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman
The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott
The Great Typo Hunt / Jeff Deck, Benjamin D. Henson
*Mary Oliver poems
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
The Five Families by Raab
To sleep with ? By Cowan
Summer Hours at the Robbers Library - Halpern
The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark by Meryl Gordon
Lies of the Heart - Michelle Boyajian
Inside the O'Briens - Lisa Genova
In a Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware
To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire - David Cowan, John Kuenster
The Downstairs Girl by Lee
*Furious Hours (Harper Lee and the trial inspiring TKM)
Simply Dead by Kuhns
The Murmer of Bees
John Grisham
Edgar Sawtell
Words of Silk by Sandra Brown
Border Bride by Arnette Lamb
Waiting for Deliverance
Fortune is a Woman - Adler
The Most Fun We Ever Had - Claire Lombardo
Song for the Missing - Stewart O'Nan
Women Talking - Toews
The Winter Men - Kold
*A Killer's Mind - Mike Omer
A Prayer for Travelers
Drive your plow over the bones
She's leaving home
Playing House - Lang
Dead Zone - Stephen King
Highway of Tears - Macdarmuid?
28 1/2 Wishes (Rec by Janene)
The Flying Circus (Rec by Donna)
The Gown by Robson
The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engle
The Ruthless – David Putnam
Love and Other Consolation Prizes - Jamie Ford
The Night Swim - Megan Goldin
The Woman Outside My Door / Rachel Ryan
Every Secret Thing Laura Lippman
Sold on a Monday - Krista McMorris
Yellow Wife
Before We Were Yours - Wingate
The Professor and the Madman
You Should Have Known
Boys Life - McCammon
L.A. Witt - Bad Behavior series
Julie Mulhurn books
Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey (true crime memoir)
We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper (True crime memoir)
Charlie Adhara - Big Bad Wolf series
Nana - Brandon Massey
Perfect Family - Robyn Harding
On the way to Birdland - Marelli
Hotel - Alex Hailey
Grand Hotel - V.Baum?
Martin Dressler - Millhauser
The Aster Orphan - Aldrich
Mad about the Marquess
A Promise of Spring
A Compromised Lady
Seducing Charlotte
Temporary Wife
Once upon a Marquess
Gone so Long - Andre Dubas III
Conversations with RBG
Honestly, We Meant Well - Grant Grinder
Be More RBG
Electric hotel - Dominic Smith
Local Woman Missing - Mary Kubrica
Grange House - Sarah Blake
This Tender Land - William Kent Krueger
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
Housekeeping - Robinson
We Were Rich and We Didn't Know It - Tom Phelan
Twenty-one Truths about Love - Matthew Dicks
This is How I Lied - Heather Gudenkauf
Irena's Children - Tilar J. Mazzeo
Suzanne's Children - Anne Nelson
GI Brides - Duncan Barrett
Grayson - Lynne Cox
Army Wives - Midge Gillies
Hidden Valley Road - Robert Koelker
The Dinner List - Rebecca Searle
Ethel Rosenberg - Anne Sebba
Battle for the Bigtop - Les Standiford
Your Brain is always listening - Daniel Amen
My Name is Selma - Selma Van de Verre
Obit by Victoria Chang
Crying in H Mart - Zauner
On Earth We're briefly Gorgeous - Vuong
Cider with Rosie - Laurie Lee
Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
A Country of Strangers by Conrad Richter
Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penny
Every Man Dies Alone
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
Prodigal by TA Moore
The son - Phillip Meyer
Wall of Silence - Tracy Buchanan
One of Us Is Lying
One of Us Is Next
The Cousins - mcManus
The Shootist - Swarthout
The Last Ride - Tom Eidson
Her Final Words - Brianna Labuskes
The Trauma Cleaner - Sarah Krasnostein
How to Disappear - Roat
When We Were Mermaids
Mary - A tale of the Old West - Janis Hoffman
Lost Children Archive
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
Rural Rebellion by Benes
Playing Nice by J. Delaney
Shuggie Bain by Stuart
The Chosen
Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
The Best of Richard Matheson
The Johnstown Flood
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto
The Boat Man by Dustin Stevens
The Monsters We Make by White
Pictures of an Exhibitionist by Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)
What you never knew by Jessica Hamilton
The Boy in the Field by Livesey
Grief Cottage by Godwin
The Deep Deep Snow by Freeman
The Personal Librarian by Benedict
A Single Thread by Chevalier
The Safe Place by Downes
The Last Train to London by Clayton
Fresh Water for Flowers by Perrin
We Keep the Dead Close by Cooper
The Library of Lost and Found by Patrick
All the Frequent Troubles of our Days by Donner
The Fortnight in September by Sherriff
The Lamplighters by Stonex
The Weekend by Wood
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Thursten
More News Tomorrow - S Shreve
Such a Fun Age by Reid
The Postscript Murders by Griffiths
Come Fly the World by Cooke
Tisha by Specht
Rose Cottage by Stewart
Lest Innocent Blood be Shed by Hallie
Montauk by Harrison
The Bride Wore Black by Woolrich
Haunting Paris by Chaudhry
A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska by Jacobs
An Elegant Woman by McPhee
The Paris Library by Charles
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories
In the Unlikely Event by Blume
The Left Handed Twin by Perry
Everything We Didn't Say by Baart
Mr. Nobody by Catherine Stead
The Great Hotel Murder by Starrett
Quiet in her Bones by Singh
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Fraser
A Town Called Solace by Lawson
Flight of Dreams by Lawhon
The History of Love by Krauss
The Night She Disappeared by Jewell
Village of Lost Girls by Martinez
The Dead Letter by Regester
The Whispering House by Brooks
The Temple House Vanishing by Donohue
The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Chase
The Last Flight by Clark
The Plot by Korelitz
The Hollywood Spy by MacNeal
I Found You by Jewell
The Room on Rue Amelie by Harmel
The Last Garden in England by Kelly
The Paris Hours by George
When All Is Said by Anne Griffin
I Had My Underwear On the Entire Time by Michael and Amy Blair
Children of Men by PD James
Dyatlov Pass by Eichar
The Personal Librarian by Benedict
River Lady - Jude Deveroux
How the Penguins Saved Veronica
Follow You Home by Mark Edwards
One Left Alive by Phifer
The Family Across the Street by Trope
Lessons in Chemistry by Garmus - read ASAP!
Steve Thayer (a few of these are rereads - read before I started tracking on Shelfari)
Meet Me in the Margins by Ferguson
Not My Child by Samantha King

Authors:
Jo Nesbo
Henning Mankell
Donald Harstad
Shari LaPena
Jane Harper
Lisa Wingate
Karin Slaughter
Helene Thursten
Simone St. James
Lucia St. Clair Robson

Alphabet Challenge

Semi-die hard:

A:
B:
C: Cabot, Meg - No Judgments
D: Dubus III, Andre - Gone So Long
E:
F: Foley, Lucy - The Guest List
G: George, Elizabeth - Something to Hide
H: Holm, John H - Woody's World
I:
J: Jiles, Paulette - Simon the Fiddler
K:
L: Lutz, Lisa - The Accomplice: a novel
M: Morton, Kate - The Distant Hours
N: Ng, Celeste - Little Fires Everywhere
O: Osman, Richard - The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery
P:
Q:
R:
S: Stewart, Mary - My Brother Michael
T: Tursten, Helene - An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good
U:
V:
W: Willig, Lauren - The English Wife
X:
Y:
Z:

Comments, Musings, and Other Ideas . . .
Landmark Childhood of Famous Americans series
Sunfire Series - Jessica by Mary Francis Shura
The Forest of Coubron - painted by Jean-Baptistie-Camille Carot - The art hanging on our wall!

Mosser Jennifer miniature glassware

Jeffty Is Five by Harlan Ellison
Gambling Man by Thomas Easton - ? - maybe? amusement park science fiction story?

Poem: For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon
High Flight by John Gillespie Magee

Block Optic
Tea Room
Pyramid

Red Gallagher

You Owe Me a Murder - Ellen Cook - rec by T Balthas

Picture Books with B & K

Barn Dance by Bill Martin, Jr.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Christmas Story by Jane Werner Watson
Spot's First Christmas by Eric Hill
Elf: A Short Story of a Tall Tale by David Berenbaum
Hand in Hand by Rosemary Wells
Two Little Gardeners by Margaret Wise Brown
Piggy Paints by Jim Benton
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Blueberry Cake by Sarah Dillard

Hi Hope! Sorry, I hope that I didn't disturb your planning. I'm Dea, and I just wanted to say that you have a ton of TBR books. Wow! I'm hoping to read just print books this year, so I can empty my shelves, and maybe buy some new or used books. You have so many amazing ideas! Good Luck😁

>20 deaflower: Most of those are titles I've found via LT - rarely ones I yet own! That TBR list does not include the 4 stacks next to my bed, the 8 boxes in the guest room, or the 1200 Kindle books that I own and haven't read. I subscribe to the theory that I will have to become immortal to get everything read that I want to read!

>21 Hope_H: 1200 Kindle books! Wow! I am sticking to print books in 2022. I'm going to see if I can get through some of my own, and make more room for new books. I don't have as many as I used to, but some have sat on the shelves for quite a while, so I'll see how I go.

>21 Hope_H: "I subscribe to the theory that I will have to become immortal" reminds me of a sentiment among knitters and stitchers! Something along the lines of "I have so many Un-Finished Objects, I can never die."

Enjoy all your reading in 2022!

>23 threadnsong: I have a "project closet" like that! Immortality it is!

The Man Who Died Twice: a Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman
355 pages - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

A delightful sequel and a wonderful way to start the new year of reading!

Joyce is thinking of getting a dog. Ron's grandson will soon be visiting. Ibrahim ventures out to Fairhaven and is mugged. Elizabeth receives a letter from a dead man. These events all come together as we learn more about Elizabeth's MI5 background, hide her ex-husband, and search for missing diamonds.

Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
341 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

This companion to Jiles' News of the World is beautifully written. It follows Simon Boudlin, a young man from the Ohio River Valley who escaped to Texas to avoid conscription into the Confederate army. Simon is a fiddler, living through his music. In Texas at the close of the war, he is conscripted and assigned to a regimental band, along with a piper and drummer. After the surrender, he plays at a military banquet, and sees the beautiful Irish Doris Dillon. He and Doris go their separate ways, but Simon vows to find her again and dreams of the life he wants to have.

I loved this book! When Simon and Doris appeared in News of the World, I found them interesting. In this story, I find them fascinating. Simon is a man of principles and honor, and in this novel he has a wonderful supporting cast. I was particularly drawn to Patrick, the young drummer, and Damon Lessing, the weary piper. A worth-while read.

I know we're already into Feb, but I thought I'd pop in and follow along. :-)

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
562 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Book Club Selection for February

A letter delivered 50 years after it was mailed leads Edie Burchill to Milderhurst Castle, where her mother had been evacuated to during the early years of World War II. Edie meets the three Blythe sisters: Percy, the brusque, efficient eldest; Saffy, Percy's more domestically-inclined twin; and Juniper, their younger half-sister. Percy and Saffy have dedicated their lives to protecting and caring for Juniper, who has never been the same since her fiance appeared to jilt her in 1941. Their father had been a famous writer, notable for his novel about the mysterious Mud Man. Edie sets out to find more about her mother's connection to the castle and discovers there are more secrets "in the distant hours" of the castle walls.

I love Morton's work, and this is no exception. I appreciated that this one relied less on coincidence than a few of her others. I loved the characters and their complexity. My only wish - a timeline. I have to create my own when I read her books!

Gone So Long by Andre Dubus III
452 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
Read for Pick a Winner, Make a Friend

An exploration on the search for love, Gone So Long profiles three people: Daniel Ahearn, a dying ex-con who killed his young wife 40 years prior; Susan Dunn, his daughter with whom he has had no contact for 40 years; and Lois Dubie, his mother-in-law who reared Susan and wants to see Daniel dead. Daniel leads a quiet, reclusive life, but when he is diagnosed with cancer, he begins thinking about finding his daughter Susan. Susan, who witnessed her mother's murder, leaves behind a messy trail of broken relationships. Lois, now an antiques dealer in Florida, has let her hate and bitterness consume her and poison her relationships with others. Daniel writes a letter to Susan, which sets off the story.

Slow-moving and introspective, this novel is very well-written. At times, it is too slow-moving, though, and I was slightly under-whelmed with the ending. Of the three main characters, Daniel is the most interesting. I did find the setting in the early years fascinating - an amusement park in Massachusetts.

No Judgments by Meg Cabot
367 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Sabrina "Bree" Beckham has escaped to Florida's Little Bridge Island where she has dyed her hair pink, taken a waitressing job, and adopted a toothless rescue cat. So when she is urged to evacuate the island in anticipation of a Category 5 hurricane, she decides to stay behind. Her boss's wife insists she shelter with them, and they are upset that their nephew Drew is sheltering in his own home with his four dogs. Bree knows Drew as the hot construction guy who has breakfast in the cafe each morning. What she doesn't know is how much Drew is attracted to her!

A cute romance. Fairly well-written. Good for any pet-lover!

My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart
404 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2
Read for Pick a Winner; Make a Friend

Actually, this was revisiting an old friend! I read this book back when I was either in junior high or high school.

Camilla Haven, having recently broken her engagement, is vacationing in Greece. She wants to go to Delphi, and when she is given the keys to a car with the instructions to take it to Mr. Simon in Delphi, she does. In Delphi, she meets Simon Lester, an English teacher, who has come to Greece to meet the family who took in his brother Michael during World War II. Simon wants to learn more about Michael's death at the hands of Angelos. Camilla is drawn into the mystery the surrounding caves hold.

Hmmm - I had a hard time getting into the book. I got a little tired of everything left unsaid between Camilla and Simon. That definitely reflects an older style of writing.

>31 Hope_H: I love Mary Stewart's books!

The Last One Home by Victoria Helen Stone
303 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

Lauren Abrams' mother's testimony sent Lauren's father to prison for the murder of a waitress. After a serial killer confessed to the crime and her father was released, Lauren chose to leave her mother and live with her father and grandmother. To her Grandmother Abrams, the land is everything. Having suffered a severe stroke, Grandmother arranges to sell her remaining land to Lauren, who has just broken up with her boyfriend. Lauren starts to renovate the old house, but her father warns her about leaving his old room alone. Donna, Lauren's mother, warns Lauren that there's more to the story than any one of them knows, and when Lauren starts getting letters and phone calls from the serial killer who exonerated her father, Lauren struggles to learn the truth.

A bit slow-moving to start, the conclusion to this is quite satisfying.

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
184 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
Pick a Winner; Make a Friend

Maud is the elderly lady - 88 years old, no family nor friends - living in her family's large apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden. She lives there rent-free, thanks to a clause her father put in place years ago. Maud finds people annoying - in particular, the celebrity who wants her apartment, the gold-digger who is going to marry Maud's former fiance, the antiques dealer who wants her silver, and the neighbor who beats his wife. Maud - an actress at heart - has no problem taking care of these few matters.

Clever, but Maud should be careful - the detectives may be on to her! Maybe not quite a 4 star read, but more than a 3 1/2.

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
341 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

Avery Greer has led a difficult life. Her parents were killed when she was fourteen, and living with her grandmother, she spiraled out of control. The police in Littleport, Maine, were quite familiar with her. One of the summer residents - Sadie Loman - and her family take an interest in Avery. Sadie' father pays for Avery's community college courses and hires her to manage his properties in the Littleport area. Things are finally going Avery's way - until the last party of the summer season. Sadie appears to have killed herself at some point during the party.

Avery soldiers on, but in the intervening year, she begins to question whether Sadie really killed herself or whether there was foul play. Suspects are lining up - Faith, Avery's childhood friend with a grudge against the Lomans; Connor, Avery's former boyfriend who had been seen with Sadie; Parker, Sadie's cruel brother; Lucia, Parker's distant girlfriend. Or is something even more sinister going on?

A good mystery! I didn't figure it out until just before Avery did. I'm going to read more of this author!

The English Wife by Lauren Willig
376 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
Read for NAPL Evening Book Club

1894 - Georgie Evans is an actress in a failing bawdy theater in London. She meets Bay Van Duyvil, a wealthy American man and the son of one of the "400." Each is hiding who they really are. After their marriage, Bay builds a replica of her childhood home, Illyria, on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. After Bay is found murdered and Georgie goes missing, their truths are discovered by Bay's sister Janie and newspaper reporter James Burke.

Ultimately, a very good read! The first third was a little slow, with the Georgie/Annabelle twist, but the last third of the book raced.

365 Ways to Prepare for Christmas by David E. Monn
277 p. - ★ ★ ★

This was published in 1993, and it shows. It is very similar to the Gooseberry Patch books. It was on the library's give-away table. Some of the recipes look kind of good, so I'll tear those out and keep them.

The Accomplice: A Novel by Lisa Lutz
352 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

in a novel that jumps between 2003, 2014, and 2019, Luna Grey harbors a secret. A few people figure it out - college friend Mason and best friend's brother Griff. Owen, her best friend, knows she has a secret, but doesn't really know what it is. Unfortunately, people around Owen and Luna tend to die. Scarlet, who would like to be Owen's girlfriend, is found dead off a hiking trail in their college town. Years later, Owen's wife is found dead after she went for a jog. Owen, Luna, and Griff need to unpack layers of suspicions as they each try to figure out what to believe.

This started out a little slowly, but quickly picked up. Many layers to tunnel through, with a few twists I hadn't seen coming.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
313 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

At an upscale wedding off the coast of Ireland, all of the principal attendees are hiding secrets: The bride Jules, the plus-one Hannah, the best man Johnno, the wedding planner Aoife, and the bridesmaid Olivia. Unbeknownst to them all, their secrets all revolve around the groom, Will Staker. As a fierce storm hits the island, the secrets start to come out, as do thoughts of murder.

This was a quick read for me. Very engaging as I tried to figure out each person's secret and who would be the one to kill.

Woody's World by John H. Holm
unpaged - ★ ★ ★

Woody's World was one of the first things I started reading in the newspaper. I appreciated the gentle humor even then. This is a collection of some of the cartoons from the 1960's. Unfortunately, the two I particularly wanted weren't included. (I think they were from the 1970's, but figured it was worth a try.) A few of the cartoons haven't aged well, but most did.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
375 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

Hailey McBride lives in Cold Creek, British Columbia, very near the highway where many women have gone misssing. Hailey's mother died when she was small and her father reared her to be independent, so when he died in an accident, Hailey was unprepared to move in with her aunt and her aunt's police sergeant husband, Vaughn. Hailey discovers Vaughn is dirty. She and her best friend Jonny fake her death, with Hailey living in a mining cabin up on the mountain. One year later, Beth Chevalier moves to Cold Creek, hoping to find information about her sister Amber, who was Hailey's girlfriend. Taking a job in the same diner as Amber and hanging out by the same lake as Amber had puts a target on Beth's back.

Not an easy book to get into, it was well worth it. I didn't really find Beth, Hailey, or Amber really likeable - but they were very real. A satisfying read!

No Offense by Meg Cabot
350 pages - ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Molly Montgomery, the new children's librarian on Little Bridge Island, finds an abandoned baby in the library restroom. Sheriff John Hartwell, single dad to a teenager, butts heads with Molly when he insists that whoever left the baby is a criminal. Molly and John spar over this and a few other aspects of the case, as they also fall for each other.

Cute, but not cloying.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
347 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

Everything in Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb, is planned and perfect. Elena Richardson embodies this. She has a large home, a perfect lawyer husband, and four perfect children. Well, maybe Izzy, the youngest, isn't perfect, but Elena is working on her. Single mother Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl arrive and rent a house from Elena. All of the children are taken with Mia and Pearl, especially Izzy. Elena starts digging up Mia's past, and when friends of the Richardsons become embroiled in an interracial custody/adoption dispute, the perfect, planned world starts to fall apart.

Read for book club, I really liked this one. I like the characters of Mia and Izzy.

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
298 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

A prequel to E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, this tells the story of Harris and Tipper Sinclair's four daughters - Carrie, Penny, Bess, and Rosemary. Carrie is telling her story to her late son Jonny, focusing on her 17th summer. This is the summer that she figured out the depths of the lies in her family.

A good story! This is definitely to be read after the first one, as the events of the first story play a role in this one. I hadn't like the sisters much in the first book, but now I have more sympathy for them.

Something to Hide by Elizabeth George
691 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

Havers and Lynley are back! The Met is called in to solve the murder of Detective Teo Bontempi. She had been working as a member of a special task force working with London's Nigerian community. Race and culture both come in to play with their investigation, which focuses on female genital mutilation.

Another good entry into the series. The best parts of book are the interactions among Barbara, Thomas, and Winston Nkata. I also like Nkata's family and Tani, the young man whose refusal to marry a procured bride sets a lot of the action in motion. The not-so-best parts of the book include the extremely large cast of characters. We were almost a hundred pages in before we met up with the crew at the Met. And while I appreciate George giving the location for each section, there were a lot of locations, and having no clue where they are in London makes them kind of meaningless. I really would like a map in her next book.

>45 Hope_H: I love that series!

>46 JulieLill: Me, too! I just wish she'd write faster!

As Good as Gone by Larry Watson
370 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

During the summer of 1963, Calvin Sidey returns to Gladstone, Montana, to supervise his granddaughter Ann and grandson Will while their parents are in Missoula for Marjorie's operation. Calvine hadn't wanted to come back, having left that house years ago - after his wife died, and when he should have stayed to care for his own children. There is trouble brewing, though, as Ann's ex-boyfriend won't take "no" for an answer and Will's friends become more aggressive. Calvin tries to solve problems in the way of Old West cowboys, but trouble lies in that way.

It was really hard not to picture Sam Elliott as Calvin Sidey! My favorite character was Beverly Lodge, who could push back against Calvin. I don't think this is Watson's best, but it is close.

Heartbreaker: a Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah Maclean
395 p. - ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Adelaide Frampton - formerly Adelaide Trumbull - grew up as the best thief and pickpocket in London. She prefers to be plain and unnoticed, but she has caught the attention of Henry Carrington, Duke of Clayborn. When she steals two items from her father's desk, Alfie Trumbull sets his goons out to find her, and she gets tangled up with the Duke of Clayborn.

Hmmm - a so-so read. Adelaide and Henry were fine characters. But I do get tired of the dithering, and the love scenes really dragged on too long. (Seriously - these people are supposed to be in lust!) And while her "out of the box" characters and situations were quite entertaining at first, they are growing a little old now. The next one in the series does look to be a little more fun, featuring Lady Imogen and an officer of the law.

The Bullet that Missed: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman
342 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★

The Thursday Murder Club is back! This time they are investigating the 10-year-ago death of Bethany Waites, a researcher and reporter for the local television station. When they start investigating, which involved a money-laundering scheme, Elizabeth gets a message from someone unknown - she needs to kill former KGB spy Viktor Illyich, or Joyce will be killed.

A very enjoyable read! I thought this one started slowly - it didn't grab my attention right away, but it moved quickly and became very engaging. I still love Bogdan, and Stephen is quite endearing.

Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson
321 p. - ★ ★ ★ 1/2

In 1381, Lady Delia Raynesford watches as her seven brothers (ranging in ages from 10 - 21) are taken to the Tower of London, accused of killing one of the King's coroners. She suspects her stepmother is behind this accusation, and Delia also believes her stepmother had a role in the death of the family's father, Earl of Dericott. Sir Geoffrey, who had to arrest the boys, also suspects their innocence. As Delia works to free her brothers, she needs to figure out whom she can trust - Sir Geoffrey, or Sir Elliott, who has promised to help her brothers escape.

Not a bad read. I got a little tired of the "God's will" line of thought. I'm not sure if that was in the book because someone in 1381 would have thought that, or because Dickerson's first publisher was Zondervan.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten
255 p. - ★ ★ ★ ★
88-year-old Maud, who once in while has to do someone in, finds the police are leaning on her a bit heavily, so she books a holiday trip to South Africa. While on the plane, Maud begins to think about her past - rescuing her sister Charlotte from the neighborhood bullies, getting her full-time teaching position, Charlotte's death, a friendship with her neighbor, revisiting a friend in Cape Town while rescuing a girl from a rapist.

I enjoyed these short stories. It took a while to see where the last one was headed, but enjoyable none-the-less. I really liked getting a glimpse of Maud's humanity (especially her friendship with her seamstress neighbor) and Maud's wrap-up of her estate. Very charming - just don't eat any cookies she's made for you!

Protect Me Not by Natasha Anders
456 p. - ★ ★ ★

In the second book in the Unprofessionally Yours series, Ty Chambers is the bodyguard assigned to Miles Hollingsworth's sister Vicki. Vicki doesn't relish having a bodyguard, especially one as closed off and remote as Ty. Can the bubbly, wearing-her-heart-on-her-sleeve Vicki get Ty to open up? Of course, because this is a so-so romance.

In looking through my kindle for something to read, I realized I had started this book - had actually gotten about 70% of the way through it - but had not finished it. Now I know why. It was only so-so - nothing to really shout about, but not horrible. Memorable characters were Vicki's other brother Hugh and Jazz, her new assistant at her flower shop.

Also - sorry about the touchstone. LT won't let me select anything else.