Piece of My Heart

 This is the latest installment in the Under Suspicion series by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke.  I was excited to see this book available as I wasn't sure if they would have more in the series after MHC passed away.  I am hoping Alafair continues to write about Laurie Moran and Alex Buckley.  I find the series based upon cold cases to be an interesting take on mysteries.  The cases generally seem probable since Moran and her production crew dig into old cases, thus making themselves targets of guilty parties who have gotten away with a crime for a very long time.  

This latest has a bit of a twist as you are not sure if the crime is related to the one Laurie is investigating or not.  The story has plenty of red herrings and paths down dead ends.  As a reader I was certainly able to relate to the fear the victims were experiencing and felt the actions of the characters were a realistic response to the situation.  

Piece of My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

A suspenseful addition to the Under Suspicion series. This one finds the crime a bit closer to home than usual and feels much more urgent. The character relationships and emotions are well written and the guilty party is not immediately revealed. The leadup to the conclusion is well written and seems possible especially given the stressful circumstances the characters are experiencing. I certainly hope Alafair Burke continues this series 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book # 138
2. Finishing the Series-  #FinishingTheSeries2020   up on the Under Suspicion series as of Dec 2020
3. Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book # 116
4. Six Shooter- 3rd shot

The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco

 This is the first installment in the Book Club mystery sereis by Laura DiSilverio.  The book is set in Heaven, Colorado and centers around Amy Faye and her friends.  She is the founder of the book club, the Readaholics.  The book they were reading that month was the Maltese Falcon.  In a strange twist of fate, they discuss the MacGuffin which is a term I had never heard of until preparing for my 2021 challenges.  I found this to be an extra aspect of interest when reading the story.     

The story has some more outrageous moments but all in all it is easy to relate to the characters and their relationships are quite entertaining.   I will be reading more of this series going forward.  

The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

I enjoyed reading this new series based on a book club group in Heaven, Colorado. The mystery is the center of the book but there is additional storyline development involving the main character, Amy Faye and her friends. While some of the things that happen to Amy Faye seem a bit far fetched at times, the book is still quite enjoyable and I would like to read more in the series. This is a great book if you like reading about mysteries within your cozy books. The characters are quirky and you find yourself rooting for them to succeed 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book # 137
2. Literary Escapes-  CO
3. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book # 116
4. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice #54
5. Medical Examiner-  1 Toe Tag 
6. Six Shooter- new target

Shakespeare light

 I selected the book, A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister to provide a prompt for several of my challenges.  These were a little bent in their intentions but since the year was ending and I am not a huge reader of plays and classics I decided to go this route.  I am resolving myself to read a few classics next year and to not procrastinate til Dec to do so.

The book was an enjoyable refresher for plays I had read and a nice overview of the plots for ones I had not read previously.  It is a great book for sharing Shakespeare with younger readers as well.   Very nice illustrations in the book too.  

A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories by Angela McAllister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

great synopsis of Shakespearre's works. perfect for those looking to share with children or just get a personal refresher on what the plays were all about 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #136
2. Popsugar- #popsugarreadingchallenge #3-  with a  great first line-  Twelfth Night
3. NJM #NJMBookChallenge2020 #8- pre 1900s
4. Book List Queen #30 A Play
5. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #22- a classic
6. Monthly Keyword-  #MonthlyKeyWordChallenge- "of"

The Quiche of Death

 This is the first Agatha Raisin book by M.C. Beaton and is the first book I have read in the series.    I thoroughly enjoyed the book in the end.  At first I felt Agatha was an annoying character who I had found irritating in the first portion of the book.   As I read further into the story, I came to realize this was the author's intention.    In addition to the mystery at the center of the story, there was definitely an underlying development of her character and her relationship with her new neighbors   I appreciated this focus of the story and the fact the book didn't actually end with the solution of the mystery.  The story continued to showcase Agatha and her budding friendship with her neighbors.  I look forward to reading more in the series.

The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

I will admit when I first started reading this book I did NOT like the MC, Agatha Raisin. That being said, that was the author's intention as it became clear. The reader is not only given the pleasure of reading a cozy mystery that is well written with plenty of misdirection and guessing as to the guilty party. The story has the added benefit of being a novel about Agatha Raisin and her transition into retirement and her new lifestyle in Carsley. I appreciated the fact the story didn't end when the mystery was wrapped up, but rather we continue to see Agatha develop as a character . It felt like a little deeper book than the typical cozy. 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #135
2. AtoZ and Alphabet soup challenge #AlphabetSoupChallenge "Q"
3. Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and  Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book # 114
4. Cruising through cozies -  Free choice #53
5. Medical Examiner-  1 Toe Tag 
6. Six Shooter-  1st shot new target

84 Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff is a delightful read that explores the long lost art of communication by letters.  This is a series of correspondence between Helene and Frank, an employee of a book store in London.  What begins as a business relationship ends up becoming one of friendship.  The letters are insightful into the world of London just after WWII ends and the rationing that still remained.  The letters give glimpses of the political fronts of both countries at the election of Churchill and the campaign of Stevenson.   The series of letters is a wonderful glimpse into the lives and careers of both Frank and Helene.  I am certainly glad I read this book.  

 I originally selected this book as a non fiction read for the epistolary book but ended up discovering it was written the year I was born so I was able to use it for that prompt as well.  It was a quick, enjoyable read for this time of the year.   

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

This proved to be a very charming and heartwarming book. I really had no idea what to expect when I selected it. It was a fascinating experience to watch the relationship between Helene and Frank grow over the years. The sarcastic nature of both their tones is hard to pick up initially but really added to the book as you read along. It is amazing to watch Helene's career grow alongside their correspondence. All in all a good book. 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #134
2. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #6- Written in the 1970’s
3. Book List Queen #51- Borrowed From a Friend 
4. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #11 An epistolary book
5. 2020 TBR  #2020TBRReadingChallenge #2- book published the yr you were born
6. TBR Book #57  #Backlistreader ; #MountTBR2020; #StartOnYourShelfathon
7. Monthly Motif   #MonthlyMotifGXO-  Everything nice- as a feel good book
8. Memoir     One you want to reread
9. Historical NonFiction   Book 3

Literary Escapes

 I am once again attempting to travel the USA and parts of the world through my book selections.  This challenge hosted  by Dolly at EscapewithDollyCas  will combine well with my Goodreads Around the World challenge.   There I have an ongoing circumnavigation challenge and the 2021 specific challenge for the USA and the world regions.   

  Challenge – Try to read 1 book set in each of the 50 states + the District of Columbia. (51 Points). If you complete the challenge you earn 50 Bonus Points. You also can earn Bonus Points for books set in Countries around the world. 1 Bonus Point for each country. (No repeats – only 1 point can be earned for each country.)  Signup here

Your books can be fiction or non-fiction and can be in any format, print, digital, audio. 

You can either track in a list or use a fun map, your choice

So, come travel with me as we work on this challenge.  I am listing my destinations below.  Be sure to use #LiteraryEscapes  if you are on social media

The Langoliers

 This is the first Stephen King book I have read, I needed to read one for the 52 Books in 52 weeks  challenge.  I have seen some movies based on his books but I've never attempted to read one.  Originally I had selected to read 11/22/63 but the sheer size of it turned me off as the year progressed on my challenges and I decided this one was a much more manageable length.  

Generally I am not a big horror reader and that tends to be what I associate King with in terms of genres.  This book was somewhat of a horror book, but more so I would say it was a SciFi book.  

The premise of what happened on a flight across country while the characters were sleeping is a terrifying idea to say the least.  I did find myself very engaged in their emotions and felt as though I was in the center of the action.  I kept trying to figure out what was going on and how it would end, just as a person experiencing the book itself would probably have been feeling.  I was pleasantly surprised at how it ended, not a clean pat resolution but one that resolved the situation and kept with the overall story premise.  I am glad I stepped outside my comfort zone and read the book.  I look forward to reading 11/22/63 in the future.  

The Langoliers by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

What a crazy intense story

This is quite a fascinating sci fi thriller. As I read it I felt like I was there with the characters and experiencing the same emotions as them. It takes a bit of time to settle into the story but once it gets going hold on. I kept wondering what the twist would be and it wasn’t what I expected at all. 

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #133
2. 52 Books in 52 weeks  #19- A Stephen King novel 
3. Book List Queen #14- Famous Author You’ve Never Read
4. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #6 Book originally published in 1990s