Showing posts with label Mystery bingo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mystery bingo. Show all posts

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Someone we know

This is the 3rd novel I have read by Sheri Lapena and she continues to capture my attention and keep me guessing as to who is the guilty party.   This one didn't reveal itself til the very end and it was quite shocking.  Cannot wait to read the rest of her works.   This is an amazing thriller that will keep you up til the wee hours. 



Someone We KnowSomeone We Know by Shari Lapena
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing thriller that keeps you guessing

Ms. Lapena writes amazing thriller with lots of possible guilty parties. She weaves the tale in such a suspenseful fashion that you cannot wait to pick up the book again. She is masterful at twisting the story and drawing the reader to believe in many different characters' guilt. She does a masterful job and creating sympathetic and despicable characters. Her story line ties all the loose ends together and shows how the different plot components come together. She kept regressing until the very end.


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:

  1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 17
  2.  Cloak and  Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal : Book 13
  3. Medical Examiner-  2 Toe Tag 
  4. Mystery Bingo:  
    • Weapons card :  Heavy blunt object, stocking/tie etc
    • Clues:  fingerprints
  5. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020  October #3 primary action takes place that month
  6. Wizarding World Tour  possible categories
    • Castelobruxo: Read a book that includes a troublemaker
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Monday, January 27, 2020

Stone Barrington is Stealth in the UK

Another quick read finished today.   Always a fun and mindless read when I delve into the adventures of Stone Barrington.   This is definitely the book that falls into my guilty pleasure box-  no real brain power needed and deep thinking involved.   I just kind of get lost in the story and chuckle at the absurdity of some of the escapades he finds himself in.   



Stealth (Stone Barrington, #51)Stealth by Stuart Woods
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A very typical Stone Barrington novel, actually a little less death than normal in this one. Plenty of intrigue and plot twists. Stealth finds Stone in the UK for the entire book, no Turtle Bay house visits and minimal interaction with Joan. He does visit with Holly, Felicity, Dino, Viv and CIA director Lance Cabot. Not suprisingly, Stone ruffles some feathers and lands in the bedroom repeatedly in this current title. He meets his newest romantic partner as well as his nemesis for this installment while laid up in a military hospital following a car wreck. From there the intrigue, espionage, and plot turns commence.

Overall a fun enjoyable quick read.


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Challenge Prompts 

These are the prompts for the different challenges that Stealth covers.

  1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book 10
  2. TBR Book #8  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
  3.  Cloak and  Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal : Book 7
  4. Calendar of Crime-  #CalendarOfCrime2020 Sept #7 Book that has a title beginning with S
  5. Six Shooter-  1 shot for Stuart Woods
  6. Mystery Bingo:  
    • Weapons card :  Poison, Bomb
    • Crime Scene:  Sidewalk
  7. Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge   "S"
  8. Alphabet soup Author- #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge  "W"
  9. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #49 book from a series with more than 20 books
  10. Book List Queen #39 A Book You Haven’t Read by an Author You Love
  11. Around the Year in 52 Books- #6 A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
  12.  Wizarding World Tour Beauxbatons -  Read a book Involving Horses
  13. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #14 one word title
  14. Beat the Backlist #BeatTheBacklist2020 #7 one word title
  15. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020  #15 a book by a favorite author
  16. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #12 A “guilty pleasure”

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Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Women's Murder Club

I finally had a chance to read the latest installment in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club.  This means I am all caught up until the next book is published, thus adding another title to my #FinishingtheSeries challenge. 

The 19th Christmas is set back in the usual San Francisco environment and continues to center on Lindsay Boxer and her friends.  Although this story differs from many of the others as there really is minimal storyline involving the friends.  There are some basic attempts to weave Yuki and the others in, the stories were very extraneous compared to the other installments in the series.


The 19th Christmas (Women's Murder Club, #19)The 19th Christmas by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While the main storyline involving Lindsay Boxer and Joe is a good story, it felt at times like a stretch to include the supporting friend characters. Their storylines are much more ancillary this time than in previous books in the series. I did enjoy the book and finished it in a single day. It felt like the authors were stretching to make it a Women's Murder Club versus a Lindsay Boxer story. The main mystery was a good twist and turn story though as always.


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Date Completed:  Jan 5, 2020


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Friday, December 27, 2019

Fun mystery challenges on Rick Mills Project

Rick Mills is hosting 3 fun challenges on his site.  They all involve fun and unique ways to track progress.  No advance sign up is necessary.  Just submit a form when you complete a book.


Medical Examiner 




The first is his Medical Examiner challenge.  This one involves reading murder mysteries and submitting a death certificate for each book.    Toe tags are issued for each character that is named and has a cause of death specified.   See the site for details on this fun challenge.

Toe Tags submitted:
1- 2 Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs blog post
3-6  19th Christmas by James Patterson GR review
7-  Death by Jack O'Lantern by Alexis Morgan blog post
8-  Three Widows and a corpse by Debra Sennefelder blog post
9 & 10 - Let's Fake a Deal by Sherry Harris blog post 
11 & 12 - The Medical Examiner by James Patterson  blog post and Goodreads review
13 -  Stealth by Stuart Woods   blog post and Goodreads review 1/27/20
14- Toxic Toffee by Amanda Flower blog post and Goodreads review  2/3/20
15- An Appetite for Murder by Lucy Burdette  blog post and Goodreads review 2/10/20
16- Treason by Stuart Woods  blog post and Goodreads review 2/11/20
17 & 18 Someone we Know by Shari Lapena  blog post and Goodreads review 2/12/20
19  Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie blog post and Goodreads review  2/19/20
20-23 Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark blog /Goodreads review 2/23/20
24-  Buried to the Brim by Jenn McKinlay  blog post and Goodreads review  3/6/20
25 & 26  Mumbo Gumbo Murder by Laura Childs 3/9/20  blog post and Goodreads review
27 & 28 Contraband  (#50) by Stuart Woods 3/12/20 blog post and Goodreads review
29 & 30  Word to the Wise by Jenn McKinlay 3/15/20 blog post and Goodreads review
31-35 Swipe Right for Murder by Derek Milman 3/18/20 blog post and Goodreads review
36-41 False Flags by DS Kane 3/24/20 blog post and Goodreads review
42  Dogs Don't Lie by Lisa Shay 3/27/20 blog post and Goodreads review
43- 45 The Secret History by Donna Tartt 3/27/20  blog post and Goodreads review
46-47 Aloha Betrayed by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain 4/2/20 blog post and Goodreads review
48-58 Private Games by James Patterson 4/5/20 blog post and Goodreads review
59 Hitting the Books by Jenn McKinlay 4/7/20 blog post and Goodreads review
60 Every Breath you Take by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke 4/9/20 blog post / Goodreads
61 Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke  4/23/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
62 Shell Game by Sara Paretsky 4/29/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
63 - 65 The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns 4/30/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
66 Read Herring Hunt by V.M. Burns 5/1/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
67-71 The Money Shot by Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall 5/5/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
72  Sweet Saboteur by CA Phipps 5/7/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
73-77  Pool of Life by Pete Trewin 5/8/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
78 Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz 5/11/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
80-81 The Novel Art of Murder by VM Burns  5/20/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
82-83 Wed, Read, & Dead by VM Burns 5/21/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
84-86 Bookmarked for Murder by VM Burns 5/26/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
87-88  Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly 5/28/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
89-91  Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum 6/7/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
92   Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinlay 6/10/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
93 The Murderous Macaron by Ana T. Drew 6/12/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
94-97 The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 6/13/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
98-102  Hit List by Stuart Woods 6/13/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
103-108 The Murder of Twelve by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land 6/16/20 blog / Goodreads Review
109  The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda 6/18/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
110-119 The 20th Victim by James Patterson 6/21/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
120   All Fudged Up by Nancy CoCo   6/23/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
121 Left Fur Dead by J M Griffin  7/1/20  blog post and Goodreads Revew
122 Dead in Dublin by Catie Murphy 7/9/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
123- 124 The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle 7/13/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
125 Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross 7/17/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
126 Class Reunions are Murder  by Libby Klein 7/21/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
127-128 Cabs, Cakes and Corpses by Jennifer Joy 7/22/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
129  Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein 7/26/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
130 Who's Dead Doc?   JM Griffin 8/3/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
131-132 Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu 8/5/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
133 The Killer Karma by Ana T. Drew 8/6/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
134-135 Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries by Tonya Kappes 8/7/20 blog post / Goodreads Review
136  Tokyo Summer by Joseph Mark Brewer 8/10/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
137 The Agatha Christie Book Club by C.A. Larmer 8/10/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
138 Restaurant Weeks are Murder by Libby Klein 8/20/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
139-141  The Guest List by Lucy Foley 8/22/20  blog post and a Goodreads Review
142  Chocolates with a side of Murder by Meredith Potts 8/23/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
143-144 The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware 8/25/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
145 Death in the English Countryside by Sara Rosett 8/30/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
146-147 Danger at the Dive Shack by Donna Amis Davis 8/31/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
148 Egg Drop Dead by Vivien Chien 9/1/20  blog post and Goodreads Review
149-150  Duplicity at the Dive Shop by Donna Amis Davis 9/2/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
151- 155 Bombshell by Stuart Woods 9/7/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
155 Parchment and Old Lace by Laura Childs 9/8/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
156-161 The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James 9/9/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
162 Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen 9/10/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
163-172 Private the Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan 9/13/20 blog post and Goodreads 
173-174 The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani 9/13/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
175 Rum Raisin Revenge by Jennifer Joy 9/15/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
176 Disquiet at the Dive Shack  by Donna Amis Davis 9/20/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
177 The Florist and the Funeral by Ruby Loren 9/22/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
178-179 Flour in the Attic by Winnie Archer 9/23/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
180 Wine and Punishment by Sarah Fox 9/24/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
181-182  Murder at the Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell 9/25/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
183 An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox 9/28/20   blog post and Goodreads Review
184 Who Moved My Goat Cheese by Lynn Cahoon 9/30/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
185-186 Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower 10/1/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
187-188 Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker 10/4/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
189-190 The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine 10/8/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
191 To Helvetica and Back by Paige Shelton 10/9/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
192 Deadly Fudge Divas by Christine DeSmet 10/11/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
193-196 Bless her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James 10/12/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
197 Darkness, My Old Friend by Lisa Unger 10/13/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
198 Gone with the Wings by Leena Clover 10/14/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
199-201 A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher 10/16/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
202 Dr. Shine Cracks the Case by Cathy Tully 10/19/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
203 Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass 10/24/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
204 Winner Cake All by Denise Swanson 10/29/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
205-208 The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson 11/1/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
209-210 Murder in Storybook Cottage by Ellery Adams 11/4/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
211-212 One for the Books by Jenn McKinlay 11/19/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
213 Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day 11/23/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
214 X Marks the Scot by Kaitlyn Dunnett 11/25/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
215 Mousse and Murder by Elizabeth Logan  11/26/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
216 Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey 11/28/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
217 The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton 12/16/20 blog post and Goodreads Review
218 The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio 12/19/20 blog post Goodreads Review
219 -220 The Bread of the Dead by Anne Myers 12/24/20 blog post and Goodreads Review



    Six Shooter 

    The other fun tracking task is his Six Shooter Challenge.  This one also involves reading mysteries.  Each distinct author you read opens a new target for you.  Then as you complete an additional book by that author you score an additional shot.   Continue to score until you complete 6 shots for an author.   You can start this challenge now as incomplete targets will carry to 2020.

    Target 1:  Laura Childs
    Target 2:  Debra Sennefelder

    Target 3:  James Patterson   Target Completed

    Target 4:  Sherry Harris

    Target 5:  Stuart Woods   Target Completed

    Target 6:  Amanda Flower

    Target 7:   Joanna Campbell Slan
    Target 8:  Lucy Burdette

    Target 9:  Agatha Christie
    Target 10:  Mary Higgins Clark
    Target 11:  Jenn McKinlay
    Target 12:  Jessica Fletcher
    Target 13:  Sara Paretsky

    Target 14:  V.M. Burns 
    Target 15:  CA Phipps
    Target 16:  Leslie Burdewitz
    Target 17:  Sheila Connolly  
    Target 18:  Sally Goldenbaum
    Target 19:  Nancy CoCo
    Target 20:  Kate Carlisle 
    Target 21:  Libby Klein
    Target 22:  Jennifer Joy
    Target 23:  J.M. Griffin
    Target 24:  Ovidia Yu
    Target 25:  Tonya Kappes
      Target 26:  Joseph Mark Brewer
      Target 27 C. A. Larmer
      Target 28  Meredith Potts
      Target 29 Ruth Ware
      Target 30  Colleen Mooney
      Target 31  Sara Rosett

      Target 32  Donna Amis Davis
      Target 33 Vivien Chien
      Target 34 Rhys Bowen
      Target 35 Ruby Loren

        Target 36 Winnie Archer
        Target 37  Sarah Fox
        Target 38 Alyssa Maxwell
        Target 39  Lynn Cahoon
        Target 40 Julie Anne Lindsey (Bree Baker/ Julie Chase are pseudonyms)
        Target 41 Paige Shelton
          Target 42 Miranda James 
            Target 43 Lizzie Josephson
            Target 44  Leena Clover
            Target 45 Laurie Cass
              Target 46 Ellery Adams
              Target 47 Denise Swanson
              Target 48 Maddie Day
              Target 49 Kaitlyn Dunnett
              Target 50 Elizabeth Logan  (pseudonym for Camille Minichino ) 
              Target 51 M. C. Beaton
              Target 52 Laura DiSilverio

              Target 53 Ann Myers

                Murder Mystery Bingo


                The final fun challenge he hosts is a Bingo challenge.  There are 4 different cards to track as you read books.  The categories are Weapons, Crime Scenes,  Clues and Cliches, and Red Herrings.  You can begin this challenge now.


                So start being an armchair detective and knock down some of these challenges.

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                Wednesday, December 11, 2019

                And then there were more

                Had you fooled for a minute didn't I?   No we are not talking about the Agatha Christie book just yet.  It is on my planned reading list for 2020 so we will get to it later.  Right now we are talking about more challenges.

                Apparently I am a bit crazy when it comes to reading.  I have found some additional challenges I am going to attempt in 2020.   Fortunately, most of them are just building on the others I have already selected.  Most of them just involve tracking my reading of my mysteries that I already do by default.

                One that is a bit more involved is the 2020 TBR List found at Stacked-reviews   This involves 22 challenge prompts many of which overlap with others I already am attempting.

                The other more complex challenge I just discovered is the 20 in 20 challenge hosted on A Bookworms musings.  This is 20 prompts to chose from but there's an additional spin to pick 10 nonfiction and 10 fiction titles to fit the prompts.

                Escape with DollyCas has several challenges she is hosting in 2020.


                • A bit more complex challenge is her Literary Escapes Challenge.  Trying to "visit" 50 States plus DC during the year.  You accumulate points for each you accomplish, with a bonus if you make all 50.  I will track for fun but doubt I will hit all 50 states. 
                Carolina Book Nook is hosting a challenge that is all about Titles.  There are 6 Categories in the What's in a Name 2020 challenge.  Seems pretty fun and straightforward

                I found 2 more challenges that are all about setting goals and tracking tallies.  Not too hard to do if you are already doing other challenges.
                1. The Library Love Challenge at Angel's Guilty Pleasures is just what it sounds like.  Track books borrowed from Library.
                2. Cloak and Dagger involves tracking mystery books you read.  It is hosted at Carol's Notebook
                This last group of challenges are quite unique.  They are hosted at Rick Mill Project.   Rather than prompts, Rick uses different themed ways to track mystery books you read.  
                1. The Medical Examiner Mystery challenge involves tracking who dies and how.  You then submit a Death Certificate report for each book you've read
                2. There is also a Murder Mystery Bingo  This involves tracking items you come across in the story you read, trying for Bingo.  
                3. The Six shooter challenge involves tracking how many times you read an author.  You aim for 6, but be careful not to be too ambitious because accuracy counts
                Well, this means if  I have added correctly that I might be trying to do more than 20 challenges in 2020.   I guess I better grab a cup of tea and a blanket and get started.  At least it's Winter and I have an excuse to stay indoors.  See you in Spring.
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