Death at the Falls (Gilded Age Mystery #7) by Rosemary Simpson

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language

 

Set amidst the opulent mansions and cobblestone streets of 1800’s New York, this atmospheric new historical mystery brings the Gilded Age to life in a tantalizing tale of old money, new love, and grave suspicion, as newly-minted lawyer Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter travel to Niagara Falls for a dangerous assignment…

October 1890: As Prudence and Geoffrey settle into the most elegant hotel in Canadian Niagara, they observe a popular tourist area torn between natural beauty and industrial power. Also attracting their attentions are the antics of daredevil Crazy Louie Whiting, determined to be the first person to navigate the falls without drowning. Shortly after their arrival, Crazy Louie sends a specially designed test barrel containing a sheep over the falls. But when the barrel is retrieved and opened, the battered body of a local Tuscarora Indian spills out.

When Geoffrey and Prudence learn of the dead man’s suspicions about rampant bribery among greedy land developers and local officials, they wonder if there’s a connection to their client, Rowan Adderly. A young woman whose father disappeared while she was a child, the land she is due to inherit could be worth millions—and inevitably the sharks have come feeding.

In a move to block Rowan’s inheritance, her greedy grandmother has declared Rowan to be the illegitimate offspring of an illicit affair between her son and a seductive Irish songstress. As Prudence and Geoffrey dig deeper into the region’s undercurrent of opportunistic greed, their investigation is impeded at every turn by murder and attempted murder. They will have to work quickly to solve a convoluted case before a determined killer sends one of them on a fatal plunge . . .

 

This is the seventh book in the Gilded Age Mystery Series and I've enjoyed some of the books while others have been lackluster for me. This one ended up being a lackluster read. I definitely haven't liked the books where the author changes the setting. In this one Prudence and Geoffrey travel to Niagra Falls for a case. I had a hard time getting into this book. The overall plot just didn't interest me. I started to get interested more when Josiah and Amos came on the scene to help with the investigation. Their characters were more interesting to me this time than Prudence and Geoffrey. 

There were some twists and reveals in the book that were pretty easy to figure out. This was one of those books where the reader is privy to more information than the characters doing the investigation, and I really don't like those kinds of mysteries. After I got into the book about halfway, I realized that Prudence and Geoffrey basically did nothing but talk to some people in this book. They didn't uncover anything related to the investigation themselves. It was all other people, at least for most of the book. Then of course Prudence goes and gets herself into trouble yet again. At least this time she got herself out of it.

In the beginning I thought there would be relationship progress between Prudence and Geoffrey, but nothing ends up happening besides a small teaser at the end, which felt like it came out of nowhere. I didn't feel any chemistry between them in this book. I know this is mainly about the mystery, but the background romance was something I was hoping would progress and develop by now. At this point, I think it may be time for me to part ways with this series. It's been too up and down for me and I'm just not liking it enough to keep going.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

   

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean

 

From seat No. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers on the short flight from Paris to London. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No. 13, sat a countess with a poorly concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No. 8, a writer of detective fiction was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.

Yes, Poirot is almost ideally placed to take it all in, except what he did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No. 2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman. Murdered, and likely by someone in Poirot’s immediate proximity.  

 

An enjoyable mystery, although not one of my favorites. I did figure out who the murderer was pretty early on, although I did second guess myself a few times. There are a ton of red herrings in this book, so that made it hard to know for sure if I was right. I was also sure I knew how the murder was done the whole time, only to find out I was wrong about that part. I didn't find any of the passengers on the plane to be likable as they all had some serious flaws, even the one person I'm pretty sure I was supposed to like. I think that made me not like the book quite as much as I could have. Mostly, I found this to be interesting, but with some dull spots that caused me to get bored with the story. Still, it was a solid mystery.

The TV episode of Poirot was pretty good, and stayed pretty faithful to the book, but there were some changes. A few of the characters were cut out. Inspector Japp is given a larger role than in the book. Jane Grey is an air stewardess on the plane. And the whole bit about Jean Dupont falling in love with Jane is left out.

 

 

 

“Close your eyes, my friend instead of opening them wide. Use the eyes of the brain, not of the body. Let the little grey cells of the mind function … Let it be their task to show you what actually happened.

 

 

 

 

November 2022 Book Club: Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy

Content: Strong language, Gory deaths

 

The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast—and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.
 
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.
 
In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.
 
Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.
 
Yet it is also far more than that.
 
Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.
 
Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before. 

 

Horror isn't my usual genre, but this one was a bit different. In the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to like this, and not because of the horror aspect of it. It was because of the clueless, unlikable characters. But as I read, I realized that these clueless characters were going to get the surprise of their lives, and I was in! This starts out with Kate and her husband arriving at a planned green community out in the middle of a forest. Everything is supposed to be echo friendly and sustainable. But they find out how very unprepared they are when disaster strikes. 

 

“They all want to live “in harmony with nature” before some of them realize, too late, that nature is anything but harmonious.” 

 

If you've read books about preppers, then I would say this one is kind of the opposite of that. These people think they are prepared to live their lives out there in the wilderness, but they have no idea what they are doing. I think the best thing about the book is how some very naive, inept people learned and grew into tough individuals because they had to. And they are so very lucky to have a lady who lived through some very tough things, help them along. There are also others who completely break down mentally. 

 

 “This is when, as the saying goes, adversity introduces us to ourselves.”

 

Another thing I liked about this book was the bigfoot aspect of it. It reminded me a little of an episode of The Lost Tapes, a found footage mockumentary series that aired on Animal Planet at one time. The bigfoot episode was pretty creepy, and this book had the same feeling. Funnily enough, the book even mentions films like this at one point.

 

  

 

This story was written through Kate's journal entries, that to me didn't completely come off as journal entries. There was too much detail added. I was a little disappointed that it didn't read as much like real journal entries as I had wanted. It was the whole reason I decided to read the book instead of listen to it, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story. The story was a slow burn that took its time to get to what happened to everyone. I liked that about it. The fact that I was anticipating when things would start happening helped to build the tension and suspense. In the end, this book left me with a lot of thoughts, one being who the title of the book referred to. Was it the humans or the Sasquatches? Or perhaps it was both.

“It’s great to live free of the other sheep until you hear the wolves howl.”

 

 

 

 

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb

       

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance

Content: Strong language

 

After a devastating loss, Brynn Wilder escapes to Wharton, a tourist town on Lake Superior, to reset. Checking into a quaint boardinghouse for the summer, she hopes to put her life into perspective. In her fellow lodgers, she finds a friendly company of strangers: the frail Alice, cared for by a married couple with a heartbreaking story of their own; LuAnn, the eccentric and lovable owner of the inn; and Dominic, an unsettlingly handsome man inked from head to toe in mesmerizing tattoos.

But in this inviting refuge, where a century of souls has passed, a mystery begins to swirl. Alice knows things about Brynn, about all of them, that she shouldn’t. Bad dreams and night whispers lure Brynn to a shuttered room at the end of the hall, a room still heavy with a recent death. And now she’s become irresistibly drawn to Dominic—even in the shadow of rumors that wherever he goes, suspicious death follows.

In this chilling season of love, transformation, and fear, something is calling for Brynn. To settle her past, she may have no choice but to answer.

 

“A century of souls inhabiting a place will leave an imprint that lingers long after they’re gone, and it lingered here. Not in a bad way. It felt well lived in.”   

 

I was wanting to read a creepy ghost story for Halloween, and this one sounded like it would be creepy, and from the cover, it looked like it would be creepy. However, this was not that kind of ghost story. Normally that would be disappointing. I didn't get what I was wanting, but in this case I ended up being ok with it. I wasn't expecting the many different emotions this book had me feeling. It was a bittersweet read that included a lot of tragedy. I don't always like those kind of books, but this one left me with a lot of feelings to think about. I figured out what was going on somewhere in the middle of reading the book, but that was ok. I very much enjoyed this romantic, bittersweet ghost story. 

I do think that the title and cover misrepresent the type of book this is. Or, maybe it's the two combined that do that. I think if the cover was changed to something more fitting the kind of book it is, then the title would work ok. I actually like the title because it doesn't exactly mean what you think it means. That's all I'm going to say about that though.

I'm interested in reading more books by this author. She seems to write nothing but books set on Lake Superior that have ghosts in them. Apparently one of them—Daughter's of the Lake— is loosely related to this one, as in they share one character in common. 

“Everyone is haunted by something. A road not taken. A hurt, carried deep inside. Harsh words that echo long after the sting of them is carried away on the wind.”

Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn’t the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story’s existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There’s always another secret.  

 

I've had Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection sitting on my shelf for a while now. I've slowly been reading the stories in it that relate to the books I've read. I finally got around to reading this one because I wanted to read it before I read The Lost Metal. I tend to enjoy Sanderson's shorter works the most. The Emperor's Soul and Snapshot are two favorites, with The Emperor's Soul being my all time favorite thing Sanderson has ever written. This one, however, was an exception. There are some interesting revelations, but at the same time this story went on for too long. That sounds weird when I'm talking about a novella, but there were parts that rambled on too much and dragged. Those parts could have been shortened and the story would have been fine. This is the same thing I thought about the original Mistborn trilogy, which I still very much enjoyed. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the pulling of certain strings by the character in this book. It almost feels like it took something away from the original story, instead of adding to it, because none of them were able to do these things themselves. Having said all this, I still love Sanderson's books. I've enjoyed reading all of them, and I'm looking forward to reading more about the Cosmere. 

 

 

 

 

Empire of Exiles (Books of the Usurper, #1) by Erin M. Evans

 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Content: Implied child abuse

 

Twenty-seven years ago, a Duke with a grudge led a ruthless coup against the empire of Semilla, killing thousands. He failed. The Duke was executed, a terrifyingly powerful sorcerer was imprisoned, and an unwilling princess disappeared.

The empire moved on.

Now, when Quill, an apprentice scribe, arrives in the capital city, he believes he’s on a simple errand for another pompous noble: fetch ancient artifacts from the magical Imperial Archives. He’s always found his apprenticeship to be dull work. But these aren’t just any artifacts — these are the instruments of revolution, the banners under which the Duke lead his coup.

Just as the artifacts are unearthed, the city is shaken by a brutal murder that seems to have been caused by a weapon not seen since the days of rebellion.

Since Quill is the only reliable witness to the murder, and no one in power believes his story, he must join with a young mage, a seasoned archivist, and a disillusioned detective to find the truth of the attack. And what they uncover will be the key to saving the empire – or destroying it for good.

 

I've tried and tried to get into this book, but I just can't. That's a shame too, because this is a mashup of two genres that I love, fantasy and mystery. Right off the bat, I didn't care for the writing style. This is an incredibly slow book, and I found it dull and boring. I kind of liked the main character, Quill, but didn't care enough about the characters to keep trudging through the slow and sometimes confusing story. I don't think the setup for the story was very good. There's a lot of info dumping while not enough explanation about the magic system and other political things that are going on. At least for a large part of the book. I'm giving up on this one, at least for now. 

 

 

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

 

 

 

The Sword of Kaigen Special Edition!

I was so excited when I found out about this Kickstarter! I counted down the days until this Kickstarter began and I backed it on the first day. If you love The Sword of Kaigen, you should check it out. There are 17 days left to back it, and get this special hardcover edition. The book is going to be beautiful!

 

November Reading List

Here are my planned reads for November. I'll be reading two books from the Tracy Crosswhite series this month and also two in December so that I can be caught up on the series up by the end of the year. The mystery book club I'm participating in on Goodreads is planning on moving onto two new series in January, so I'll be all caught with both the Tracy Series and the Lady Darby series by then. Lady Darby worked out just right for that at one a month so I don't have to double up on that one.

The book I'm most excited to read is The Lost Metal. It's been such a long wait for this book and it's almost here! I can't wait for it to get here.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi-

The Lost Metal (The Mistborn Saga #7) by Brandon Sanderson

 

Spaceside (Planetside #2) by Michael Mammay

 

 

Son of Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier

 

 

Mystery/Suspense-

Death at the Falls (Gilded Age Mystery #7) by Rosemary Simpson

 

 

Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot #11) by Agatha Christie

 

A Steep Price (Tracy Crosswhite #6) by Robert Dugoni

 

 

A Cold Trail (Tracy Crosswhite #7) by Robert Dugoni

 

A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby #9) by Anna Lee Huber

 

Book Club Pick-

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Release Book Mail!

Release day for The Sword's Elegy (the third book in The Sorcerer's Song trilogy) was yesterday. I had forgotten about it, so I had a nice surprise waiting in my mailbox!

 

October Wrap-Up

I had five books on my list for October and I read four of them. 

 

A Stroke of Malice (Lady Darby #8) by Anna Lee Huber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Content: Strong Language

 

 

Close to Home (Tracy Crosswhite #5) by Robert Dugoni

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Content: Strong Language

 

 

Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot #10) by Agatha Christie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Content: Clean

See my review here.

 

 

Monster hunter International (Monster Hunter International #1) by Larry Correia 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Content: Strong Language, Off page sex

See my review here.

 

 

I'm still working on the fifth one, Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans. I'm having a hard time getting into this book. It's really slow, and there are character names that are annoying to try to pronounce. I think mostly though, that the writing style is just not clicking with me, and that's a shame because I love fantasy and mystery and this book has both. I'm still plugging away at it, but it may end up being a DNF.

 

I didn't include the books I had intended to read for the monthly challenge, but I should have. If you missed my post about the Owned in October Challenge, these are the books that I read for the challenge in October:

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Women's Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary Fiction

Content: Strong language, Off page sex, Infidelity

 

 

 

Sanditon: Jane Austen's Last Novel Completed by Jane Austen, Another Lady (Anne Telscombe)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult, Classic

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Content: Clean

 

 

 

 

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin Mckinley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Fairy Tale, Romance, Fantasy

Content: Clean

 

 

 

Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult, Classic

Genre: Mystery

Content: Strong Language, Racial Slurs

 

I also ended up reading a few other books that weren't planned at all. 

 

Planetside (Planetside #1) by Micheal Mammay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery, Space Opera

Content: Strong language

See my review here.

 

Junkyard Cats (Junkyard Cats #1) by Faith Hunter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult

Genre: Sci-fi, Post Apocalyptic

Content: Strong language

 

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult

Genre: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance

Content: Strong language

 

Review to be posted soon. 

 

Overall, October was a good reading month! I ended up reading more than I planned, and getting to a few books that I've had on my list for a while.