Nancy Dale Army Nurse

Nancy Dale Army Nurse is by Ruth Lorraine Radford.  It tells the story of an Army Nurse whose brother had been reported missing in action.  I downloaded the book from Gutenberg.

I found this to be easy to read as I finished it in one reading.  It is an old book and it is easy to read.

It fits the forename or names for the What's In a Name? Challenge.

What An Animal Reading Challenge VII /******2014

I had signed up for Level 2 and have 13 books read to date.  So I thought I would post an end post even though I might read more.

1.  Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass

 2.  Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws by Jessica Beck

 3.  Murder with Puffins by Donna Andrews

 4.  Final Catcall by Sofie Kelly

5. The Cats that Surfed the Web  (The Cats That, #1) by Karen Ann Golden

 6.  Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown

 7.  The Silence of the Library (Cat in the Stacks, #5) by Miranda James

 8.  Crazy Va (Lil and Boris #1) by Shannon Hill

 9.  Nine Lives Last Forever(The Cats and Curios Mystery Series #2) by Rebecca M. Hale

`0.  Parrots Prove Deadly: A Dru Marlowe Myster by Clea Simons

11.  Not The Killing Type ( A Booktown Mystery #&) by Lorna Barrett

12.  The Whole Cat and Caboodle (Second Chance Cat Mystery #1) by Sofie Ryan

13.  Fat Cat at Large (A Fat Cat Mystery) by Janet Cantrell.

Bewitching Boots

The sixth category of What's In a Name? 2014 is a school subject. I contend that a wizard or a witch might take a course on Bewitching Boots.

This book is actually part of Joyce and Jim Lavene's Renaissance Faire Mysteries.

Jesse Morton found a cobbler (shoemaker) for the Village.  Unfortunately Bill Warren, the shoemaker had made a pair of shoes for Princess Isabelle and she is found dead.  He believes the "magical shoes" he made for her was the cause of her death.  Naturally, Jesse and her husband have to find the real killer.

I am in love with these books and would recommend them to any lover of mysteries.

Being Behind

I have not been keeping up with blogging.  I guess having a lot of pain and deciding to get a new knee has a lot to do with not blogging.  I will try to catch up when I can.

The Shoemaker

The Shoemaker(The Anatomy of a Psychotic) by Flora Rheta Schreiber is my True Crime book.  I choose this book because I knew about Joseph Kallinger and some of his crimes. (Read in May 2014)

Joe was an expert shoemaker.  Unfortunately, he was not raised by his natural parents, he was given up for adoption and was adopted by the Kallengers who wanted someone to take over their business.  He had issues from the beginning about his sexuality.  As an teen and adult he needed images of violence to be potent.  He tortured his children and involved his 12 year old in rape and murder.

I may have met him, I certainly knew his daughter, Mary Jo, as she was a student in the first class I taught - a 5th grade.  I wish I had known more about her family then.  I do know she missed a lot of school before she was in my class.  I did know Joe had been arrested for his crimes before I left Philadelphia.

Mrs, Schreiber is very familiar Criminal justice.  She has written many articles on psychology and psychiatry and is know for writing Sybil. She interviewed Mr. Kallinger in jail and talked to his family members.

I was very much surprised that his son, Joey, was almost murdered in the county in which I now live, Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Kallinger had a brochure from the Grand Canyon of PA and had taken a bus with his boys but could not get a bus to Wellsboro as it did not run on Sunday from where he would up - so Joey was killed in Philadelphia in a cellar.

It is interesting to read about someone you might have met.  I feel sorry for Mary Jo as it seemed as if she was raped by her own father, she was burnt by him, yet she did go to see him at the hospital where he finally was sent.  This book shows that judges can be wrong when it comes to people with mental problems.  It is very possible that if Joe had received help sooner, there might not have been any murders.

I would recommend this book to adults as it does get descriptive and is not for young eyes.

Silence of the Library

 












The Silence of the Library by Miranda James is a wonderful cozy mystery. Diesel Harris who is Charlie's maine coon cat is featured on the cover and helps capture the murderer in the end of the book.

This book is dedicated to three wonderful writers of children's mysteries: Mildred Wirt Benson, Margaret Sutton, and Julie Campbell Tatham.  I was lucky to meet the first two of the three authors as I have a collection of Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton books.  I love the fact that Mr. James created his own children's story character and story for this tome.

For National Library Week, the Athena Public Library planned to exhibit of children's series boosk and decided to feature the creator of Veronica Thane series, Electra Barnes Cartwright.   Charlie's aunt had a collection of her books and Charlie was surprised to find that Mrs. Cartwright was still alive.  So, Charlie and Theresa go to visit Mrs. Cartwright and bring Diesel with them. A few days later, Charlie meets Mrs. Carrie Taylor who is the president of the EBC (Electra Barnes Cartwright) fan club.  She is later murdered.

The Mystery at Spellwood Mansion by "Mrs. Cartwright (Miranda (Dean) James is being read by Charlie throughout the book.  Charlie finds out who murdered Mrs. Taylor while reading the book.  The whole book is supposed to appear on catinthestacks.com but was not there when I looked.

I have enjoyed reading this series and look forward to reading the next book in the series.  This is one of the few cozies with a male lead and a male writer who uses a pen name.  It would be a good book to use to introduce men to the world of cozy mysteries.

Their Instant Baby

 

Their Instant Baby is the 4th book in The Deveraux Legacy. I don't remember if I read any of the other books by Cathy Gillen Thacker.  This book does work as a stand-alone.

Amy Deverauz and Nick Everton are asked by his sister Lola to be baby sitters for her son, Dexter while she flies to Germany to be with her career-military husband who was injured on a Special Forces Mission and flown to Germany for surgery.  Lola signs document which will make them guardians of Dexter if anything happens to her and her husband and dictating his care while she is away.

Lola knows her brother does not want to marry but she tells Amy that she is the one woman who could change his mind.  This book tells about how they get along and about Amy's decorating business.  Nick is a producer who meets Lala's actress mother and offers her a job.  He asks Lola to decorate his office for him.  The problem is she gets too lose for his comfort and he tells her that he does not like it.

We learn why he does not want to marry and get a short peak at what happens to them in the futre.

I liked reading this book and would read others by the author if and when I find them.

The Whole Enchilada

The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson has been on my shelf in hardback for a bit.  Ilove Goldy Schultz and her family and friends.

Goldy is a caterer and one of her friends dies at a party for their sons.  Holly had a heart condition but some one decided to kill her.  A rival is also killed and a Minister is injured.  Goldy also finds herself with various injuries over the course of this tome.

Sometimes being married to a cop has its advantages.  You have him to protect you when you are home and he can call in his fellow cops when you need someone else to protect you.

I certainly would recommend that if you have not read any of the books about Goldy that you start at the beginning.  Though each book does give you background information, you can follow the relationships that Goldy has with the others by starting at the beginning.

Part of me fears that this might have been written to be the last book in the series.  Only time will tell.

Saving Raine

Saving Raine is by Federick Lee Brooke.  

The title of the book fits the Type of Weather Challenge - it just happens to be an e-book.  I have copied my review from Amazon.com.

Matt Carney has a girlfriend who is attending University in California. He receives a message from his father and decides to get to California to save his girlfriend.

This book takes place in the future where drones are prominent in the skies and people even have their own eyes in the sky. Not everyone approves of what is going on and the President of the U.S. and others in line are killed- leaving one man to become President.

Much of the book is about the trip to California and the obstacles on the way. I enjoyed reading of Matt's adventures but am still not sure of what is going on. This book makes you want to make sure that certain events never happen.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked following Matt's journey and the characters he encounters. I would recommend that other people buy and read this book and make up their own minds about how they feel about drones. I would consider reading more about what happens in the rest of the books in this series.

Murderous Matrimony

Murderous Matrimony is by Joyce and Jim Laverne.  I have to say this series has become one of my favorites.  It is set at a Renaissance Faire.  Jessie Morton is about to open an Arts and Crafts Museum in the village and to marry the baliff, Chase Manhatten.  As in the other books in this series, there is a murder to be solved.  There is also the complication of a ghost that is always appearing at the wrong moment.

Of course as in any good series, you really don't know if they will or won't get married until the last minute.  We also finally get to meet Chase's relatives and find out how he got his name.

I was hooked from the time I picked up the first book and will keep reading them as long as they are written.

Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws

 

Ghost Cat:  Midnight Paws by Jessica Beck is an e-book that was read for What an Animal Challenge and Alphabet Soup Challenges. 

Christy sees her dead cat Midnight shortly after the cat and her boss, Cora Anthony were killed.  Cora decided to leave part of the shop, Memories and Dreams to Christy and the other to her relatives.  Christy was to stay on with a raise in salary for two years and at the end of the time, she could buy-out her partners.  If she decides to leave, she would only get half of what her share was worth.  The partners were forbidden to step foot in the store or they would lose their share.  In addition, Christy could pick any two items from the store she wished.

Since Cora used to leave her notes, Christy picks a wooden box in which she found a letter and a necklace with a big C.  What she could not find was Cora's journal.  With the aid of Midnight, Christy finds other clues and eventually the journal.  In the mean time, there is a break-in at the store.  A few people want the necklace that she picked out but the murderer finally shows up and is caught.

I am not sure how I feel about this book.  It was interesting to read and to follow the discussion the cat mystery lovers had about it.  I feel it is worth reading and allowing someone to make up their own mind about the book.

Pearls and Poison and Me

Published
March 2014
How do you feel about being a character in Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown?
            I am so happy I won the right to be a character in one of Duffy's books by becoming a member of her street team and in the process making a new friend.

Are you anything like Rachelle Lerner the caterer?
             I can make a few things without a recipe and miss baking but certainly not on her level.

Do you like your character?
             Most of her but I wish she dyed her hair so it wasn't grey.  I love my red hair.  Though if I had a son and he had done drugs, I would want him to be judged fairly.

Would you like to see the character continued in other stories?
              I would love to see her come back and cater some more events.

I certainly would like to see more people buy this book and have told lots of friends and relatives that they will recognize a name in the book.  I certainly liked the other books and plan to read more when Duffy writes them.

Read for Cruising Through the Cozies and Alphabet Soup Reading Challenges.  Also fits published in 2014 for eclectic challenge.

Final Catcall

 

 


Final Catcall (Magical Cats Mystery #5) by Sofie Kelly has two cats on the cover and Kathleen has two cats which play a small part in the story.

Kathleen Paulson is a librarian in Mayville Heights who has had a fight with Detective Marcus Gordon just before a theater festival is coming to town. Her ex, Andrew, had married a waitress while drunk and has ended that marriage and has come to town to convince Kathleen to go back to Boston with him.  He becomes more persistent after she finds the body of Hugh Davis who was to be the director of the plays. Her mother who is an actress/director is called and is able to come and fill the directors position.

Owen and Hercules are Kathleen's magical cats who came from a feral colony.  Kathleen and Marcus are still on the schedule to feed the feral cats together.  Heather, who is Marcus' sister is a member of the theater troop and a suspect so Marcus is taken off the murder case.

Owen even manages to her Kathleen find a clue in the case.  Since Kathleen is a librarian, she puts the bits and pieces of what she sees and hears together and does research to fill in missing parts.  Which leads her to the murderer and puts her own life in danger.

Ms Kelly makes you feel you are in Mayville Heights through her vivid descriptions of the places and the locals.  I am sure my cats would like the cat treats described and might even like sardines which they have never had.  I love the fact that they discover another cat at the colony who might or might not be magical.
I would highly recommend any mystery lover read this book.

Murder with Puffins

 

Murder with Puffins by Donna Andrews has been in my collection for awhile.  It has a puffin on the cover and puffins play a part in the story.  The story takes place on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine after puffins have left the island, but there are lots of birders there and a dog.  Though Meg does see a live puffin at the end of the story, there are stuffed puffins, paintings of puffins and a dead puffin in the story.

Meg and Michael decide they want a romantic getaway at her aunt Phoebe's summer cottage.  They did not expect to find Meg's parents, brother and Michael's mother's dog, Spike to be there.  They find a body and her aunt confesses. Her father is also a suspect.  They even find a nude painting of her mother.   Everyone is trapped on the island because of a storm.

There are many possibilities as to who actually committed the crime and Meg continues to search until she finds the real culprit. 

Marquis In A Minute

 


Marquis in a Minute by Roni S. Denholtz was an e-book I had purchased and not had the opportunity ro read until now.  I am using it for the Royal Title of What's In a Name Challenge.

Andrew Pennington was at a club with his friends after the death of his Uncle Elias, The Marquis of Whitbury.. His cousin, Cyril was there drinking too much and Andrew offered him a ride home. Before, he knew it, some men came in and told him that Cyril's body had been found in water and he was now the Marquis.

There was one major problem with Andrew being the Marquis, he was single and  all the woman wanted to meet their daughters hoping he would perhaps marry one of them.  After listening to music at a friend's home, he was tired of avoiding women's advances so he went outside and bumped into the daughter of an old family friend, Justine Rawlings.  They had both changed since the last time they met and they talked about the last time they met.

Charlotte, Justine's sister was younger and was in love with Kevin.  However, Mr. Rawlings would not allow Charlotte to marry unless Justine was married.  So Justine decides she needs a fake fiance and Andrew fits the bill perfectly because that would stop the women trying to fix him up.

Andrew asks Justine's father for her hand in marriage and then asks her.  She says, "Yes" and Charlotte's coming out and subsequent engagement are planned.  After her engagement is announced an arrow is shot which lands too close to the girls and the men in their lives decide to protect them.  A double wedding is planned.  Unfortunately, Justine falls in love with Andrew and does not want to end their engagement even after she is hit with a candle stick.

When Andrew is away, Justine comes up with a plot to trap the person she believes to be guilty. To find out who this is and what happens, you will have to buy the book.

I must admit that though I have not met the author, we have both been members of the same Yahoo group and have corresponded, especially after I read some of her other books. Roni describes the surrounds well and has wonderful plots.  This was a very fast read for me.

King and I

 

Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon is my book for A in the alphabet challenge.  It was written in 1944.  It is the story of Anna Leonowens who wrote of her experiences working in Siam for King Mongkut.

Anna was hired to teach English to the Kings children and she was promised a certain salary and a house.  She finally got her house but never received a raise in pay while working in Siam.  The book includes letters written by Anna and some by the King which were given to Ms. Landon by Miss Avis S. Fyshe who was Mrs. Leonowens' granddaughter.

It tells of slavery and the punishments given to slaves.  The palaces and royal rituals are described as trials, coronations and burials.  It seemed to me that Anna and the King liked to argue and the King really did not have a sense of time as he would call for her to write letters for him at all times of day.

This book was the basis for the musical, The King and I.  I was able to see Yul Brenner perform this at a theater and wish I had been able to take his picture when he was talking to someone he knew in the audience.  The musical is one of my favorites.  Recently, on one of the blogs that I read there was an interview with a new author who happened to sing opera and a link to her singing "Shall We Dance?" on youtube.  I also listened to "Whisle A Happy Tune" and "March of the Siamese Children."

There are some things that transfer between book and musical.  The name Tuptim wh was killed in the book, children looking under her skirt, and the fact that the woman did not wear underwear when they wore fancy dresses.  There was a friendship between Anna and the King but the real Anna was not in Siam when the King died.  His son did make changes for the good and freed his slaves and stopped cast system as it was.

The hardest part was that the book was written in wartime and the print is very small.  I had to renew it from the library in order to finish reading it and because a storm is due when the book was due.

Aftermath (For 18 and older readers)

 
Aftermath by E. Harper is the last book of three about Mathis and Amanda's relationship.  The first chapter is very graphic and this book is for those 18 or over.  If you still want to know the conclusion, skip chapter 1 as chapter 2 is not as graphic.

Mathis had his reasons for staying away from Amanda which included a promise to her Uncle Andrew.  Something happens that changes his resolve.  The ending is very romantic.

I really enjoyed reading about this romance and loved the ending.  I would have gladly purchased the book, had I not received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.