The Plot and the Pendulum

 

The Plot and the Pendulum is the 13th installment in Jenn McKinlay's  Library Lovers mystery series.  It has been fun to watch the characters and their relationships grow with the series.   It is like visiting old friends when reading it.   I appreciate that there are fresh storylines and they don't all feel like a formulaic read.   

This particular book has some atmospheric vibes as it is set around Halloween and there is the question of whether the house they are visiting is haunted.   This book felt very much like an adult version of a Nancy Drew book;  that is not an insult in my opinion.

I hope to keep reading about Lindsay and Sully for a good while.  

The Plot and the Pendulum by Jenn McKinlay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable read with some spooky seasonal elements. This is a case of an old mystery being solved today. There are quite a few twists and turns and attempts to cast suspicion on others. I enjoy reading about the daily activities as well as the mystery solving aspects in these books


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #  76 
3. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  CT
4. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2023  Series: 13  Book #1
5. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 13
6. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 3
7. What an Animal Book #34
8. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #85
9. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #42
10. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #70
11. Craving for Cozies  Book #59
12. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 69 Shot #3
13. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
14. Read Your Bookshelf   August: A book that is the same genre as your July book.

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

 Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is the 2nd book by Taylor Jenkins Reid that I have read.  I have enjoyed both of the books.   The prior read was an audiobook of Daisy Jones and the Six.  I plan to read another one of Reid's books later this year- Carrie Soto is back.  

Evelyn Hugo is a fun book that is based on the life of a Hollywood starlet.   The story is reputed to be loosely based on Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and  Rita Hayworth's lives.  I enjoyed how on the surface it is a fun and engaging book with snippets of the life of the famous.  There are deeper topics covered within the story.  

Additionally, the format of the book is a somewhat different approach.  Monique is called by Evelyn Hugo to hear her life's story and publish the biography upon Evelyn's death.   The book delves into both of their characters and what drives their personalities.  The reader is not really sure whether they should like Evelyn or dislike her.  Evelyn believes she lived her life as true as possible given the circumstances of her fame.   She doesn't regret her decisions and says she would do it all again.   It is hard to be sure if that would really be the case but it certainly makes for a polarizing character in the story.  

If you are looking for a relatively light read that does address deeper issues and gets you to think this is a great choice for you.  

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

very engaging read. hard to put down

Jenkins Reid certainly addresses some questions about people and how they define their truths to themselves. Evelyn Hugo was viewed by the public as an icon and celebrity this book shows the cost and benefits of this fame. If you ever wish you were famous this book will make you think twice about having the world wanting to know your business. And this was before social media

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  92
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book # 75  
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #84
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #65
5. Historic Fiction  #histficreadingchallenge   Book #6
6. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2023  #  25 A Fashionable Character
7. 52 books in 52 weeks  #22 book to movie
8. Around the Year in 52 Books #49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023  
9. BooklistQueen  #booklistqueenreadingchallenge2023  #14. Recommended by a Librarian
10. Beat the Backlist #BTB2023  #14  a character is lost royalty
11. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #11 A book about or set in Hollywood
12. Pick your Poison  # 67 A book you want to dive into
13. Diversify your reading #DYRC23   August: Contemporary Fiction
14. Read Around the US   Aug California
15. TBRChallenge  #TBRChallenge  July 19 - Opposites Attract

Murder, Simple Stitched

 Murder, Simply Stitched is the 2nd installment in the Amish Quilt Shop series by Isabella Alan.  This book is a good perspective on how the Amish and Englisch interact in parts of the country.   If you have any interest in quilting or reading about different cultures while enjoying a cozy mystery you will enjoy this series.  The mystery has lots of twists and turns will following the trope of clearing a friends name from a crime.   I enjoy the simplicity of the lifestyles represented in this book.  I look forward to reading more of this series.  

Murder, Simply Stitched by Isabella Alan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Angie is a bit of a busybody but aren’t most amateur sleuths in cozy mysteries. This mystery is well written and reaches a good conclusion. There are definitely charming settings and good relationships included in the story line. I appreciate that Angie tries to find the best n people despite initial impressions to the contrary. There is quite a cliff hanger at the end of the story. I will have to read the next book to see what happens

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  91
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #  74 
3. Alphabet Soup Author Edition #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  I 
4. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 2
5. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 1
6. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #83
7. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #64
8. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #41
9. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #69
10. Craving for Cozies  Book #58
11. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 3 Shot #4
12. Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
13. Pick your Poison  # 36 A book published in a year that includes a 4
14. TBRChallenge  #TBRChallenge August 16 - Tropetastic!

  

Hook, Line and Sinker

 Hook, Line and Sinker is the 3rd Lake of the Ozarks book by Marc Jedel.   I enjoy the aspect of this book that there are 2 narrators who are husband and wife.   It makes for an interesting perspective on the storyline.   This book has an interesting mystery related to the background of 

Hook, Line and Sinker by Marc Jedel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

enjoyable cozy from 2 pov

I like how Marc Jewel writes the series from both the husband and wife’s perspective. It’s also nice to not have the simmering sexual tension hanging over the main character like it is in so many books The mystery is interesting if not a bit loose on its solution. I do enjoy the series

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  90
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  AR 
3. AtoZ   #2023AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge   H
4. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2023  Series: 12  Book #1
5. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 3
6. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 3
7. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #82
8. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #40
9. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #68
10. Craving for Cozies  Book #57
11. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #53  Shot #3
12. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
13. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2023  #4 Title starting with letter "H"
14. Read Around the US   Jul Arkansas

saint x

 I selected Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin because I needed a full-cast audiobook for the month of July for one of my challenges.   Saint X looked like an intriguing read and thus I selected it.  I'm glad I did as it was an engaging suspense novel with some depth in characters.  The motivation behind people's actions and desire to seek the truth is well-plotted and interesting.  While this is a tragic mystery behind the death of Alison, while on vacation in Saint X the book feels more about the discovery of who her sister is, who Clive is, and what really happened on that day of Jan in the 1990s.  

The book does jump around time frames so if you don't like that style this is not a book for you.   I really enjoyed the narration and think it contributed to my decision to give this book 4 stars.  If you are looking for a suspense novel with minimal graphic descriptions this is a good choice. 

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an intriguing novel with suspense throughout. But in a nice balance, there was plenty of character depth. I listened to the audio and it was a great read with a full cast doing the narration. The story moves between different time periods quite well. There were fluid shifts with the story starting out focusing on the past (1990s) and then current day. In the present time the narrators reflected back on their past this connecting the 2 periods of time plus Clive’s childhood. This book built the suspense well and had a very surprising ending

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  89
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #  73 
3. Audiobook  #2023AudiobookChallenge 16
4. AtoZ   #2023AtoZReadingChallenge  #AlphabetSoupChallenge  X
5. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #81
6. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #63
7. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #67
8. Medical Examiner Challenge  1 Toe Tags
9. Nerd Daily #thenerddaily #nerdreading2023 #2. 2023 ADAPTATION
10. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #20 A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023
11. Uncorked Reader #UncorkedReading2023 8 Made Into A Series Or Movie
12. Beyond the Bookends  June- Listen to a full-cast audiobook