TBR Tuesday (08 Nov 2016)

November already,   I can’t believe how fast this year has gone!

Today is Election Day in the US (FINALLY) and I’m so over the drama.  I plan on spending as much of the day offline/unplugged as I can.  Going to crack open some new books, maybe catch up on the 4,000,000 reviews I have to finish (ok, maybe more like 8) and in general, just have a drama free day.

This week’s TBR is heavy on the Cozy but still full of great reads:

A Killer Kebab (Greek To Me Mystery #3) y Susannah Hardy

The Bonaparte House is closed for the season, and Georgie Nikolopatos looks forward to fixing up the Greek restaurant and historic landmark—until her renovation plans hit a fatal snag.

I got into this series because I love cozy mysteries and I love Greek food. That’s one of the things I love about cozies; no matter what your interest, there’s a series for it.  Besides the yummy Greek food, I love the characters and the great, suspenseful plots.

Dead Nasty (Calladine  & Bayliss #6) by Helen H. Durrant

A GIRL’S BODY IS FOUND IN A DUSTBIN. DEAD MEAT IS WRITTEN ON A NOTE FOUND WITH HER.

The girl was part of a group of bullies from the local school. But DI Calladine recognises the MO of Craig Donnelly, a killer he thought he’d put away forever. And coincidentally Donnelly has just been released from prison. But when Detective Calladine charges in, he finds out that Donnelly has a watertight alibi and is under the protection of the local vicar, who thinks Donnelly is a changed man.

When another girl goes missing from the same group of friends, Calladine must look elsewhere for the killer and comes across a sinister online predator who was in touch with all the girls.

I read #5 in this series a few months ago and was amazed how quickly I sank into this book, so I’m expecting this to be just as good.

Earthbound Wings by ReGina Welling

Some days even an angel can’t catch a break.

Waking up in strange places has become stock in trade for earthbound angel, Adriel. This time she has landed right in the middle of a crime scene where some guy who looks like a superhero wannabe gives her a hard time about her performance. The Powers That Be keep sending her on jobs without explanation and now she has to rescue her own guardian angel from the clutches of evil.

I love this series, Adriel first makes an appearance in the Psychic Seasons series (which was excellent, you really ought to check it out) and now has her own series where she Quantum-Leaps from situation to situation.   I’m already about a quarter of the way into this one and it’s shaping up to be a great read.

Death at First Sight by Lena Gregory

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that something’s not right on Bay Island…
Since she left her psychiatric practice in New York City to open up a psychic shop in her hometown on Long Island, Cass Donovan has given her fair share of readings to conflicted customers. But what she sees in Ellie Hawkins’ future doesn’t bode well.

This is a first in a new series, so I have no idea what to expect, but there were several 4 and 5 star reviews.  I quite like the idea of a psychiatrist becoming a psychic,  should be an interesting angle.

Kiss & Tell by Luke Murphy

With the death of her father…

Officer Charlene Taylor has received her dream promotion—working Homicide with the LAPD. Her first case is the high-profile murder of Ken Anderson, a playboy UCLA professor with a haunted past. A mafia kingpin, billionaire tycoon, cheated wife and jaded lover are only a few on a long list of suspects, all with motive and opportunity.

…all hope of reconciliation is lost.

Not only does she feel the pressure from media and her boss to solve her first case, but Charlene must also deal with her father’s murderer, the “Celebrity Slayer,” a serial killer who enjoys baiting her with his knowledge of her life and routines.

Can a rookie detective work two high-profile cases and still keep her sanity?

I was offered a copy of this to read and review and after reading an excerpt on Amazon, I was hooked!

That’s the top of my TBR this week.  What’s at the top of yours?  I’d love to hear about it!

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TBR Tuesday (October 18, 2016)

Managed to get through 4 of the 5 books from last week, so I’m feeling pretty good about my 2016 Reading Challenge progress. But then again, there’s about 30 more waiting in my Soon-To-Be-Read pile, fighting to make it on the list.

Great, now I’m picturing some kind of Thunder Dome battle between books fighting to be read next. Aaaannd now I can’t think about anything else.

Ok, where was I?  Oh yes.  This week’s TBR is chock-full of this and that and everything else.  There’s some seriously good reads on this list, I may have to turn off the phone, tv, computer and everything else so I don’t get interrupted!

Darkscope

“A frightening tale of lost souls, lost love, murder and deceit.”
—The Sierra Vista Herald
This is the one I didn’t get to last week, and it’s first on my list this week.

The United States of Absurdity

From the creators of the comedy/history podcast “The Dollop,” “The United States of Absurdity” presents short, informative, and hilarious stories of the most outlandish (but true) people, events, and more from United States history. Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds cover the weird stories you didn’t learn in history class, such as 10-Cent Beer Night, the Jackson Cheese, and the Kentucky Meat Shower, each accompanied by a full-page illustration that brings these historical “milestones” to life in full-color. Adding to the giftable history/comedy package, each story is accompanied by tongue-in-cheek trivia and timelines that help place the stories in context with the more well-known historical events that occurred around them

I  saw this on Netgalley and I knew this was right up my alley when I saw “Kentucky Meat Shower.”  Who can resist that?  Not me, that’s who.

Behead Me

Retired FBI agent Cliff Knowles thought he was being hired by a Fortune 500 company just to find out why their sales of spare parts were down. He soon learns that where there’s money there’s mayhem – and murder.

Written by a former FBI agent,  his books are loosely based  on his real life cases.  I read the excerpt on Amazon and was hooked from the first page

Frog Legs

The body was found in the early morning, face down in the murky waters of the marsh. There was no question that he had drowned. The question was did he have help? And if he did, who, among the many, irate people upon whose toes he had trod, had helped to send him on his way? The only witnesses have frog legs and they have nothing to say on the matter.

I had just seen Dunbartons mysteries somewhere (must’ve been recommended on Goodreads or something)  and when I was offered a copy of this book, I thought I’d give it a try.  I read the excerpt on Amazon and it sounds really good, I liked the writing right from the beginning.

Ghostland

An intellectual feast for fans of offbeat history, Ghostland takes readers on a road trip through some of the country’s most infamously haunted places–and deep into the dark side of our history.

*squee*  I’m hoping this one has some good thrills and chills.  I love true ghost stories!

What’s on top of your TBR list this week?

TBR Tuesday October 11, 2016

I’ve finally caught up on my reading challenge and I’m back on track to meet my goal of 150 books in 2016.  I’m at 117 books read so far this year, and I still have a ton of really great books to finish.  I love having a full TBR pile!

This week’s TBR list is full of hauntings, magic and bone-chilling thrills just in time for Halloween, so I’ll have a spooktacular time reading this week! (Sorry about the pun, I couldn’t resist.)

Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss

Perfectly pressed. Perfectly proper. Perfectly deadly.

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski thinks she has the perfect paranormal exhibit for the harvest festival—a haunted grape press. But before she can open the exhibit, she’s accused of stealing the antique press. And when her accuser is found murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie.

In this light, cozy mystery, haunted houses, runaway wine barrels, and murder combine in a perfect storm of chaos. Facing down danger and her own over-active imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.

Woo! The second in the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series looks to be a great read, and perfect to put me in the Halloween spirit!

Paws and Effect  by Sofie Kelly

Magical cats Owen and Hercules and resourceful librarian Kathleen Paulson are back in the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of Faux Paw…
 
Kathleen is excited to meet three old pals of her beau, Detective Marcus Gordon, while they visit charming Mayville Heights on business. But the reunion is cut short when one of the friends is killed—and the evidence points towards Marcus as the murderer.

I love catching up with Owen & Hercules and their magical hi-jinx, I’m really looking foward to this one.

Southern Spirits by  Angie Fox

One simple mistake…
For a girl who is about to lose her family home,
Releases the ghost of a long-dead gangster,
And opens Verity Long’s eyes to a whole new world.

When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.

I picked this one up on Amazon as a freebie.  I’ve read 2 other books in the series, so I’m excited to start from the beginning and see how it all began.

Darkscope by J. Carson Black

“A frightening tale of lost souls, lost love, murder and deceit.”
—The Sierra Vista Herald

After photographer Chelsea McCord’s marriage falls apart, her great uncle Bob talks her into starting a new life in 1980s Bisbee, Arizona, the historic mining town with a notorious past. Bob’s father, mining magnate Lucas McCord, helped build Bisbee in the early 20th century.

Chelsea discovers an old box camera in a dusty trunk, the film still inside. Sfjhe uses it to photograph the town. Is it her imagination, or does the stench of death emanate from the camera’s inner workings?

And when Chelsea looks through a viewfinder wavy with age, she sees children in gunny sack clothes, their eyes dark and grainy. Children from the 1920’s. She sees a young man and woman at a train station that no longer exists. The same young woman appears in each of the camera’s photographs.

As the past superimposes itself on the present, Chelsea learns the secret of her powerful family’s dark legacy. With one click of the shutter, she has unleashed a pure and hungry evil that will consume everyone she loves.

Pitted against a supernatural force and stalked by a psychopathic killer, Chelsea rediscovers her capacity to love as she fights to save her beloved uncle–and herself.

I picked this one up after I saw it in a weekly book bargain email I subscribe to.  After reading the first chapter, I was hooked.   I’m anticipating a good, spooky read.

The Skeletons of Birkbury by Diana J. Febry

Twenty years ago no connection was made between the disappearance of a girl from Cheltenham and a fatal car accident in the small village of Birkbury. But that changes when the body is found buried in Birkbury and there are two further car accidents and a local girl goes missing.

After I read Who Killed Vivien Morse not long ago,  I put the rest of the series on my TBR list and I’m finally getting to the first book in the series.  I’m looking forward to visiting DCI Hatherall & friends and seeing where it all began.  This isn’t a spooky or ghostly, or paranormal book but it has the word skeletons in the title, so I’m counting it as a Halloween read.

TBR Tuesday – September 06, 2016

TBR Tuesday is a feature on Mystereity Reviews where I’ll highlight what’s at the top of my To Be Read list.

Labor Day has been and gone (where the heck did summer go?) and I’m now 3 books behind on my 2016 reading challenge.  I’m hoping to make a dent in my reading this month, and I’ve got some promising titles:

 

Daufuskie Island – John Lueder

This magical story of time travel, magic, and adventure is a modern-day quest through the low country paradise of Daufuskie Island.

I’m already halfway through this one and really enjoying it.  In the vein of Half Magic by Edward Eager (one of my favorite childhood books) this would appeal to middle graders who love adventure and magic.

 

 

The Hope that Kills – Ed James

New series from one my favorite authors, The Hope that Kills has been at the top of my TBR list since the author first began teasing readers about it, so I was beyond excited to find it on NetGalley.  Set in London, DI Fenchurch investigates the savage murder of a prostitute and uncovers a complex and evil scheme as he delves into London’s sex trade.

 

 

A Deadly Thaw – Sarah Ward

Lena Grey is found guilty of murdering her husband, who was found smothered in their bed. She offers no defense, and serves fourteen long years in prison. But within months of her release nearly two decades later, his body is found in a disused morgue, recently killed. Who was the man she killed before, and why did she lie about his identity?

I’ve been seeing a lot about this book recently, and I was intrigued by this story of family secrets and murder.

 

 

Much Ado About Muffin – Victoria Hamilton

In this fresh mystery from the national bestselling author of Death of an English Muffin, baker Merry Wynter comes to the aid of an innocent woman accused of murder.
 
When muffin baker Merry Wynter sees an innocent woman accused of murder, it’s dough or die...

I love this series, set not far from where I grew up in Western New York, and I’ve been looking forward to catching up with Merry and her gang for a while now.

 

 

What’s at the top of your TBR list this week?  Leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it!