April 2025 - Malice Domestic Again

 I made it back to Malice Domestic again in April.  I figured out I hadn't been since 2017.  Quite a long stretch.  But the weekend they picked worked for me, so I was able to go.

For those who don't know, it's a convention for mystery authors and readers. It's held every spring just outside of Washington DC.  It focuses on the traditional and cozy mystery, which is what I typically read.

I had an extra motivation for going since their Malice Remembers author they were honoring was Dorothy Gilman.  She wrote the Mrs. Pollifax series which is where I stole Carstairs.  I co-lead a book discussion of the first book in that series, in fact.  It was such fun to reread it.  The event itself went well with plenty of people talking about our questions.  And, it truly made me happy that the room was about half and half people who had never read the series before but picked up the book for this event and people who were long time fans.  Always happy to find people enjoying the series.

The rest of the weekend was a blur.  I didn't feel like I had the time to really talk to half the people I wanted to talk to.  I did get to meet some of the authors I've started reading in the years since I was last there, which was a treat.  And I met a new author with a book coming out in September that I'm looking forward to reading.

Friday night, I got to have dinner with a couple of friends I've made in the Trixie Belden community.  One of them was at Malice Domestic since she's also an author, but the other lives in the area.  We'd hoped to meet up with more, but they were busy or sick.  

The only down side was that for the first time in over 20 years, I missed the LA Times Festival of Books, which was the same weekend.  

September 2023 - Bouchercon for a Day and a Wedding

(Just a quick note:  If you are landed here because of a comment I left on your book blog, you might be more interested in my review blog, Carstairs Considers.  But you are very welcome to stick around here, too.)

Bouchercon is a world wide mystery convention - where mystery authors and readers come together to talk books.  Authors talk about their books, trying to connect with readers.  I went once when it was in Long Beach about 10 or so years ago.  This year, it was in San Diego.  I couldn't go for the entire weekend thanks to work.  It was Labor Day weekend, which is also the start of quarter end close at work.  I did ask, but there was no way to make it work.  But I did go down for one day - Saturday.  Okay, I left early on Friday to drive down, and I drove back on Sunday.  But I was only there for one day.

And it was great.  I went to several panels, and I got to see several authors again that I haven't seen in a few years.  I had a stack of Donna Andrews books to get signed, for example.  Plus, I got to meet some authors I had never met before, which was wonderful.

I spent most of my time hanging out with a friend who has started writing again.  She'd recently self-published the first in a new series, and her panel was on Saturday.  It was a fun panel.  I had dinner with her and her husband on Friday night and lunch with her and another author on Saturday.  It was fun spending time with her.

At the end of the month I went to a wedding.  These are some people I've met at the monthly game days.  It was a nice wedding a reception.  Simple, but nice.

In news of things I didn't do, I'd gotten excited when Camp Pendleton announced they were bringing back their mud run.  That's been one of my favorite weekends of the year.  Last year, they had the mud run, but for base personnel only.  This year, it was semi opened to the public.  If you weren't base personnel, you had to be sponsored on to the base.  Well, that leaves me out, unfortunately.  I'm hoping they will fully opened it to the public again soon.

2022's LA Times Festival of Books

(Just a quick note:  If you are landed here because of a comment you left on my bookish post, you might be more interested in my review blog, Carstairs Considers.  But you are very welcome to stick around here, too.)

After taking the last couple of years off, the LA Times Festival of Books was back this year!  It was back at the USC campus.  Of course, I went down for it.  Instead of going both days, I just went on Sunday since that was the day I could meet up with my friend.  We had fun walking around the booths and talking to authors, mainly in the mystery booths, of course.  It didn't seem to be that crowded this year, although I heard Saturday was very busy.  I was good and only bought three books, which was a nice change, although I bought quite a few to get signed by one author I hadn't seen for a couple of years.

The weather was warm.  Just a little on the too hot side, at least for walking around.  But don't let anyone catch me saying that.

I also got to meet one of the co-hosts of the podcast All Things Cozy.  Since I'd met the other one a couple years ago, that was a lot of fun.  Just talked to her for a few minutes.

A Second Book Signing and a Mission

I actually went to two book signings in February.  The second one was for Caramel Pecan Roll Murder, the newest Hannah Swensen mystery from Joanne Fluke.  I didn't spend much time there.  I got there late, and the tables all had people at them.  Rather than try to get a chair, I just got my books signed (the new one plus the older ones I hadn't gotten autographed yet), and left again.

However, before the signing, I did something I'd been wanting to do for a long time - I went to the San Fernando Mission.  I see signs for it all the time while I'm driving around.  It was a mission.  There wasn't anything super exciting about it, but it was nice to finally get there.

I also finally looked for a couple Little Free Libraries after the signing.  Thanks to the app, they were fairly easy to find.  I left a couple of extra books I have around here (duplicates I got from publishers) with my business cards for my review blog in them.  We'll see if they ever get read and anyone starts reading my blog as a result, but I had fun finding them and leaving the books.  I need a cheap way to get more books I would be willing to leave.  We've mentioned how much of a hard time I have letting go of books, right?

Left Coast Crime 2020

I find it funny that my last post here was about being strangely productive.  Then I proceeded to not post anything for almost two months.  Actually, it is because I have been so busy I haven't had time to come back and post, but that's a post for another day.

Right now, I'm going to talk about Left Coast Crime 2020.

With the Corona virus beginning to break out in the states, I was surprised that it wasn't cancelled early.  But it was still scheduled as of March 11th, so I headed down.  It took place in San Diego, and I was looking forward to spending some time with fellow mystery lovers.

However, March 12th was a strange day.  For one thing, it was rainy and cold.  The first real rain we'd had since December.  Then, the major bookseller decided the risk to their employees was too great, so at the last possible moment (the books were on the tables to be sold), they backed out of selling books.  Panels were constantly changing since people were cancelling left and right.

But I still managed to have some fun.  I got books signed by most of the authors I brought from home.  I was able to talk to a few friends while maintaining a distance from there.  Still, the entire thing felt surreal somehow.

And I had a panel to moderate.  When I registered, I'd volunteered to moderate a panel if they needed me, and they put me on one for culinary cozies.  Right up my ally, right?  One of the authors cancelled week of, but I had three of the original four panels, and no new panelists.  I consider myself very lucky.

The panel went well.  The authors were engaging and interacted well with each other.  I had way way more questions than I needed for a 45 minute panel, but that was okay.  I'd rather that than the other way around.  The audience was engaged.  I was happy with how it went, and plenty of people said they thought it went well, which made me happy, too.

It was right after the panel that the word came down that San Diego County was banning all gatherings of a large size, so we were shut down effective that evening.  Fortunately, the hotel was willing to not charge me for the rest of my reservation, so I packed up and headed home, going into work the next day.  I stopped in Oceanside for dinner at the Pit Stop Diner, which was fun.

I'm glad I went.  Yes, part of me is disappointed things turned out as they did, but with everything going on in the world, I certainly understand it.

Malice Domestic 2017

The last weekend of April, I was at Malice Domestic for the second year in a row.  This is the annual convention for writers and readers of the traditional mystery.  The most popular form of the traditional mystery these days is the cozy, you know the type of mystery I read 95% of the time.

The convention is always in Maryland right outside of Washington DC.  I didn’t try to add any days for sightseeing this year, but flew out on Thursday and back on Sunday.  I was also staying at the convention hotel this year, which was so wonderful.  I was leaving my books to get signed in my roommate and popping in there whenever I needed anything.  Yes, I was very spoiled.

Thursday, I did get together with some friends from the Trixie Belden boards who live in the area.  And another Trixie friend was actually coming to the convention, so I had breakfast with her one day and talked to her the next afternoon.

I said I was going to cut down on panels this year, but I didn’t.  There were too many I wanted to go to.  But I still managed to talk to the authors I had hoped to catch.  Some of them were only for a few minutes, however.  I really would have liked to chat with some of them longer.  There just isn’t enough time period.

One highlight was hanging out with a group of mostly authors after the banquet the final night.  We were hanging out chatting until midnight, when security asked us to move since where we were was right outside some rooms.  We weren’t being loud, but it was polite.  I went to bed at that point, which was good since I was trying to make the new author breakfast at 7 the next morning.

I even had three authors and two other attendees on my flight out and back.  We weren’t sitting near each other, but we did hang out chatting in the airport before our flights took off.

I had so much fun it felt like I was only there for one day at most.  It is a lot of money by the time you factor in airfare and hotel, but I really would like to go again.  We’ll just have to see if it works out next year.

LA Times Festival of Books 2017

This last weekend was the annual LA Times Festival of Books.  Naturally, that meant Angelique and I were there.

It was hot this year (unlike last year where it threatened to rain).  We only went on Saturday, and it was close to 90.  That didn’t keep us from having a fantastic time, however.  We did our usual wander all over the festival, but we mainly haunted the mystery booths so we could talk to authors.

It seemed like more authors were doing only one day or the other this year, so I missed some I would have enjoyed chatting with.  But I’ll see a few of those this weekend at Malice Domestic.  (Flight leaves in the morning!)  Of course, I had fun chatting with those who were there.

Nothing really out of the ordinary happened.  We had fun hanging out and looking at books.  It was a nice, relaxing day.

One Busy Weekend, One Quieter Weekend

The last weekend of September was pretty busy.

It all started Saturday morning when I met up with my friends Sue Ann, Heidi, and Angelique for brunch.  We met at a Marie Calendar’s and we sat there and chatted for a couple of hours.  Yes, we ate as well, but it was mostly about the chatting.

Then it was home where I spent a couple of hours finishing up the book I was reading.

Which was appropriate since I then went to a dinner and mystery author talk at one of the libraries in town.  The problem was, I was thinking it started half an hour later than it did, but I was able to get in and there was still plenty of food.  There were several authors I enjoy on the panel, and I bought a book from an author I wasn’t familiar with.  It was a fun night.

That Sunday was the season premiere of Once Upon a Time, and my friend Christy was having her annual party.  I headed over a little early and hung out with my friend Luke beforehand.  The party itself was smaller than the last couple of years, but no less fun.  I really look forward to the events each year.

This last weekend was quieter by comparison.  Saturday was ornament debut at Hallmark, so I was up early and at my local Hallmark store.  Then I came home and went for a run.  The rest of the day was spent on reviews, movies, and a little reading.

Sunday was the usual mix of church, ultimate, and hanging out with friends here in town for Once Upon a Time with a bit of reading mixed in.

As I said, a much quieter weekend overall.

Malice Domestic

The rest of my trip, I was at Malice Domestic, a mystery convention dedicated to cozy mysteries, which is the kind of mystery I like to read.  I just posted a long post about it on my review blog, so I’m going to direct you over there if you want to read about it.

Instead, I’ll talk here about some of the down points, like my hotel room.  I wasn’t staying at the conference hotel, but instead stayed half a mile away.  It wasn’t a bad walk at all, and I didn’t mind.  However, they have one of those heating options that is either hot or cold, and they’d switched it to AC before I arrived.  My room was cold that first night.  They didn’t turn on the heat again until late in the second day I was there, but it had warmed up significantly before I went to bed, which was fantastic.

The flight home was an adventure as well.  I had two carry-ons coming home, my normal backpack and the bag I’d gotten at registration.  I was trying to avoid having to ship books home.  They plane home was packed, and they didn’t have room for all the carry-ons.  Guess who was stopped when he was boarding the plane for having two carry-ons.  Yep.  So I checked the bag full of books.

That would have been a brilliant plan, expect we hit a huge thunderstorm in Chicago, where I had a transfer.  It delayed us from leaving for an hour, and when I arrived in LA, I discovered that a few of my books were wet.  I had to talk to them to make a claim in that case, which delayed me so much that I missed a shuttle back to where I’d parked my car.  All told, I didn’t get home until 2:30AM Monday morning and had to be at work that day.  Yes, I was a bit slow and fuzzy, but I made it through the day.  And, in even better news, I think my books will dry out without any real damage, so that’s good as well.  They weren’t wet enough to be ruined, but they certainly aren’t in perfect shape any more.

Yes, this is a complaining post.  But really, go see the other post and you’ll see that I did have a fantastic time.  I had some complications along the way, but overall it was a great trip.

Lazy Update

So I'm just going to be lazy and point you to my post at Carstairs Considers to update you on my weekend this last weekend.  It's cause I have more there than I'd put here, and I don't want to repeat it.

After Bouchercon was over on Sunday, I went down to the beach for a bit.  It was in the upper 70's and a very pleasant day.  I just couldn't rush back, especially since we were having high winds up here that were making it cold.  Didn't want to play ultimate in that weather and didn't want to leave gorgeous beach weather in the middle of November.  We need rain, and I hope we get plenty of it this winter.  But that doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy the warm weather while we are getting it.

Week at a Glance

So let's take a look at this last week, shall we?

Saturday and Sunday, I was at the LA Times Festival of Books.  It was a fun as always, although the event doesn't seem to be as big as it used to be.  Still, there were several authors to visit with and plenty to see and do.  And I had enough fun I managed to go back on Sunday.  Actually, there were three middle grade authors there on Sunday only that I needed to get autographs from.  Saturday, I spent the day with Angelique and my friends Luke and Sarah were there, too.  Sunday, I was by myself, so I left after I got that last signature I needed.

Tuesday, I drove down to Anaheim for dinner.  A Trixie friend from Australia was in the area, so I had to get together to meet her.  Diana was really nice, and it was fun getting to talk to her face to face.  Vivian and her daughter and Angelique and her boyfriend were also there.  It was a great time.

Currently?  My car is in the shop.  After my allergy shots yesterday, I had a hard time getting it started.  Finally did, however it died again almost right away.  After that, it ran until I got it to my mechanic.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to be able to replicate the problem.  They kept it over night to play around with it more today.  I hope they can figure out what it is and fix it so I don't get stranded somewhere.

I think that's about all the news on my end for the time being.

2013 LA Times Festival of Books

This last weekend was the weekend for the Festival of Books yet again.  Yes, that means I skipped my ultimate beach league game, which I did feel a little badly about since it was a nice warm day.  I bet it was perfect.

But I had a blast.  Met up with Angelique (of course), and we hit the booths, stalked authors, and generally enjoyed the day and books.  It was at USC for the third time in a row, and I feel like I’m getting the feel for the campus a tiny bit more.  I did have a hard time finding a place to park, but somehow I stumbled upon the best parking spot imaginable.  It wasn’t that far at all from the mystery booths section, which is naturally where we spend all our time.

And this turned out to be a big help.  I’d found out that Ridley Pearson, who writes the Kingdom Keepers books, was going to be there.  I bought the sixth in the series, and brought the other five in hardcover from home.  I left them in my car until just before the signing, and then stopped by my car and switched them out.  I never would have tried to do that at UCLA since parking was always a long walk from any of the booths.

I only made three impulse buys.  Well, one was a book I had debated about buying before, but I missed that signing.  The others were a series I’ve been thinking about going back to and a new series.  Hopefully, I’ll like them when I get a chance to read them.

The weather was definitely on the warm side.  The slight breeze and the shade were always welcome.  Yet it wasn’t as hot as it has been in the past, but again I can’t complain.

We opened the place at 10 and left not too long before they closed at 6.  I’d call that a successful day.

What I Read in January

Been patiently waiting for my monthly what I read list?  You're looking in the wrong place.  It's now posted on Carstairs Considers, which blogger has decided to let me post at again.

What I Read in December

And here's the list of books I read in December.

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

DISNEYLAND THROUGH THE DECADES by Jeff Kurtti - 3

I was expecting this book to be filled with vintage pictures of the park, but most of the pictures were from the past 5 years or so.  I did find the behind the scenes essays interesting, however.

THE TWELVE CLUES OF CHRISTMAS by Rhys Bowen - 5

Lady Georgie is looking to escape her family castle and lands herself a position helping with a Christmas house party.  But amidst the old fashioned Christmas, she finds the members of the village dying off one by one.  Is there a pattern to the deaths, or are they the tragic accidents they appear to be?  I made a connection early on that Georgie missed, but once she made it the book took off and never quite let go.  I really enjoyed this one.

PETER AND THE SWORD OF MERCY by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - 5

The authors take their Peter Pan prequels to the era we know best as Peter much team up with Wendy to save Molly, George, and all of England from a new threat still after the star stuff.  If you've enjoyed the others in the YA series, you'll certainly enjoy this one.  The multiple plots actually seemed to compliment each other, and I always had a hard time putting the book down.

NAUGHTY: NINE TALES OF CHRISTMAS CRIME by Steve Hockensmith - 5

All nine of these short stories have been previous released, but I got a kick out of them because I hadn't read them before.  From a murder at the North Pole to a suspicious mall Santa and a murderous fruitcake, this one has it all.  Some humor and light crime - what could be more perfect at Christmas?

MRS. POLLIFAX AND THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE by Dorothy Gilman - 4

Mrs. Pollifax and her husband Cyrus are hours away from a vacation to Thailand when Bishop shows up asking if they could possibly make one small detour for the CIA.  Of course, things go wildly wrong when Cyrus is kidnapped and Mrs. Pollifax has to hunt for him with a man she doesn't trust.  The plot to this one is a little different.  The scenes with Bishop and Carstairs drive it more than Mrs. Pollifax's action does.  As a result, it's not as good as the classic books in the series, but it's still fun.

TALES OF A SIXTH GRADE MUPPET by Kirk Scroggs - 4

Danvers hates his life, especially since no one appreciates his attempts to create stunts that his idol, Gonzo, would love.  But one morning Danvers wakes up as a Muppet.  What is happening?  And how will his life change?  I found the book to be a very fast read, the large number of pictures certainly helped.  Yet, I also found it quite funny.  Any fan of the Muppets will enjoy it, down to the elementary school target audience.

THE MYSTERY AT MEAD'S MOUNTAIN by Kathryn Kenny - 4

Trixie and her friends are spending the week between Christmas and New Year's at a ski lodge in Vermont.  But when they are greeted by an ominous warning, it appears there is more happening here than meets the eye.  The plot is great with some twists I didn't expect - at least the first time I read it.  The characters are their true selves as well.  The pacing of the book could be better, but it's still one of the better of the later books.

Cruisin' Through the Cozies - 2013

How could I pass up the Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge for 2013?  With the number of cozies I read how could I pass it up?

Naturally, I'm signing up for level 3, which means I have to read 13+ in the next year.  That's going to be so hard.  :)

I will list the books and link to my reviews as I get them read.

1. Mr. Monk Gets Even by Lee Goldberg
2. The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton
3. Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Suan Elia MacNeal
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14.

Criminal Plots Reading Challenge III

It's January, so it's time to sign up for some reading challenges that run all year long.

Up first is the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge.  Each year, our hostess Jen comes up with some new categories to challenge us.  I've got to admit, I'm not sure what I'll be doing for some of these, but I may be finally getting some of the books off my shelves that have been sitting there for years.

Anyway, the categories this year are...

1. Novel with an Animal in the Title
2. Two Short Stories Written by Two Different Authors Who are New to You
3. Book Written by More than One Person
4. A YA Crime Novel
5. A Book from a Series Options for Television
6. A Novel that's been Nominated for an Edgar in the last 5 Years

Since I don't have to list the books until I read them, I won't.  But I will come back and post the books and link to the reviews when I've read them.

1.
2.
3.
4. Black Ice by Andrew Lane
5.
6. Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Fall Into Reading 2012 Wrap Up

Well, fall is over, although the weather here in LA has been telling me that for a week now.  That means it's time to wrap up Callapidder Day's Fall into Reading 2012 Challenge.

I did very well this time, getting through all the books on my list.  That means both times this year I made it through my list.  Pretty amazing since I've only done that three times period.  Granted, I started with a substantially smaller list than normal, which really helped.  I supplemented along the way just finishing my last book on the list last week.  So, while I'll break these down by those on my original list and the others I read, know this isn't in order.

If any of these titles catch your interest, please follow the link to my review at Epinions.

Books from My Original List Read:
Frozen Heat by Richard Castle
Running Ransom Road by Caleb Daniloff
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Poster Art of the Disney Parks by Daniel Handke and Vanessa Hunt
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The Chocolate Moose Motive by JoAnna Carl
Kingdom Keepers V: Shell Games by Ridley Pearson
Skating Around the Law by Joelle Charbonneau
Disneyland Through the Decades by Jeff Kurtti
The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Additional Books I Read:
The Mystery of the Castaway Children by Kathryn Kenny
Popped Off by Jeffrey Allen
How to Dine on Killer Wine by Penny Warner
Alcatraz Versus the the Scrivener's Bones by Brandon Sanderson
Naughty: Nine Tales of Christmas Crime by Steve Hockensmith
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman

Book in Progress:
Tales of a Sixth Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs

So there you have it.  I'll see you in the Spring with a fresh collection of books to read.

My November Reads

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

KINGDOM KEEPERS V: SHELL GAME by Ridley Pearson - 3

A Disney cruise proves dangerous for the Kingdom Keepers as the Overtakers are there as well trying to stop them permanently.  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the series has stalled out.  Not much forward movement happens, and the book doesn't even bothering resolving much of the plot, instead just setting things up for the next book.

SKATING AROUND THE LAW by Joelle Charbonneau - 4

Rebecca Robbins has returned to her small home town just long enough to sell her mother's roller rink.  But when the town handy man is found murdered in the women's bathroom, she realizes she needs to get his murder solved quickly since no one is interested in it.  A typical cozy series debut, but I really enjoyed the characters and found the story fun.

THE MYSTERY OF THE CASTAWAY CHILDREN by Kathryn Kenney - 5

When the Belden family find a baby in their doghouse, it sets Trixie off on another mystery.  Who is the baby?  And why would someone leave him in the doghouse?  This is a great entry in the second half of the series since it gives all the main characters a part to play and develops one of the secondary characters.

POPPED OFF by Jeffrey Allen - 4

Stay-at-home dad Deuce Winters gets roped into tracking down the president of the local youth soccer league who has disappeared along with all the funds from the league.  Can he find him before the rest of the soccer season is canceled?  The humor in this book is great and the mystery shots off in some wild, fun directions.  I really enjoyed it.

HOW TO DINE ON KILLER WINE by Penny Warner - 4

Presley Parker's latest party is a wine tasting in the beautiful Napa Valley.  But murder follows her when a despised environmental crusader is found murdered after the party.  Convinced the cops have the wrong killer, she starts investigating.  I find these books fun.  The plot was a bit uneven, but overall an enjoyable read.

ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE SCRIVENER'S BONES by Brandon Sanderson - 5

Alcatraz and some new friends and relatives are off to the Library of Alexandria to hopefully track down his grandfather and maybe even his long lost father.  But will they be able to do it while escaping the assassin on their tail and the keepers of the library who want their souls.  A second absolutely delightful adventure for kids that keeps you laughing and turning pages to find out what will happen next.

My October Reads

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

 RUNNING RANSOM ROAD by Craig Danloff - 5
Caleb Daniloff opens up about his life as an alcoholic as he travels to the cities he used to live in to run marathons. The book mixes the past and the present to weave a compelling and emotionally captivating story. I really got caught up in his story and enjoyed every page of it. And as a running, I certainly identified with the descriptions of the races.

KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES by Shannon Messenger - 5
Sophie Foster discovers that she is not really human but part of another entire world that co-exists within ours. And just like that, she is whisked away to a world she doesn't know and tries to learn about it. But she also finds a danger and a potential conspiracy. Can she fit in and still find out what is really happening? I was pulled into this book and really enjoyed it from start to finish. I can't wait for the next one.

POSTER ART OF THE MAGIC KINGDOM by Daniel Handke and Vanessa Hunt - 5
As you'd expect, this is a collection of the poster art from the Magic Kingdom parks over the world and over the decade from the founding of Disneyland up to some of the recent posters in California Adventure. As a fan of the posters, I loved looking at them and am thrilled to have this book.

THE MARK OF ATHENA by Rick Riordan - 3
The seven demigods from Camp Half-Blood and New Rome set off on their journey to Rome to face down the rising ancient powers. With several side quests calling to them, will they be able to survive until they reach Rome? While all these books have been formulaic, this was one very bad in that regard. I was bored until we actually reached Rome, where things really picked up.

THE CHOCOLATE MOOSE MOTIVE by JoAnna Carl - 4
When Lee meets Sissy Smith, she begins to wonder about the rumors that this young woman killer her husband a few months back. When Sissy comes under suspicion of a new death, Lee jumps in to figure out what is happening. The characters are always enjoyable, although I miss the supporting cast we used to see. Still the plot is strong and keeps the pages turning.

What I Read in September

I just knew if I didn't get this out today, it wouldn't happen for at least a week, so here we go.

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

THE OTHER WOMAN by Hank Phillippi Ryan - 4

Disgraced Boston TV Reporter Jane Ryland is trying to rebuild your life with a job on a newspaper.  Her first assignment is to get an interview with a Senate candidate's wife.  But Jane begins to suspect there is more going on than meets the eye - like the Senator is having an affair.  Meanwhile, several dead bodies are showing up.  Is there a serial killer on the loose?  There are so many plot threads and characters that it took forever for me to get into the book.  Once I did, it was a fun ride and I couldn't put down.  Worth the effort, but it took about 100 pages to really start to click.

DEATH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH by Laura Levine - 5

Jaine usually gets along well with her neighbors, but no one gets along well with Cryptessa Muldoon the star of an old one season sitcom.  But when someone kills Cryptessa during a Halloween party while wearing Jaine's costume, she leaps to the top of the suspect list.  Can she clear her name?  As always, this is a fun and funny mystery.  I was laughing at some of the sub-plots while wondering what secret and twist Jaine would uncover next.

NERDS: THE VILLAIN VIRUS by Michael Buckley - 5

Flinch takes center stage in this fourth book in a middle grade series.  Part James Bond spoof part adventure, it's another fun ride as everyone on earth starts trying to take it over.  And the team survive a new school and figure out why everyone is turning evil and how to stop it?  I've loved all of these books so far and can't wait for next year's entry already.

FROZEN HEAT by Richard Castle - 4

When Nikki arrives at her newest case, she's puzzled by how the woman wound up in a freezer truck.  But then she finds a clue that links this woman with the cold case of her mother's murder.  Will she finally solve that mystery as well as solving this current one?  As a fan of the show, I was surprised they went here before they resolved the parallel plot on the show.  But fans don't need to worry because this book goes off in a completely different direction.  There are lots of twists to keep you entertained.  Sadly, the writing is still poor, but you can still get through it.