Christine's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 24 Mar 2025 22:11:57 -0700 60 Christine's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Hide-and-Seek with Angels: A Life of J. M. Barrie]]> 19889280 Peter Pan first appeared on the London stage, author J. M. Barrie remains one of the most complex and enigmatic figures in modern literature. A few facts, of course, are widely known: Peter Pan made Barrie the richest author of his time, and he bequeathed the royalties to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. He was married, but later divorced, and he was devoted to the orphaned sons of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, one of whom was named Peter. And then the rumors begin--about the nature of his marriage; about his precise relationship with the Davies boys, whose guardian he became; about the fantasies and demons that determined his achievements.

In this brilliant biography, Lisa Chaney goes beyond the myths to discover the fascinating, frequently misunderstood man behind the famous boy. James Matthew Barrie was born in a village in Scotland in 1860, the ninth of 10 children of a linen-weaver and his wife. When James was six years old, his older brother died in a skating accident, and his mother began her withdrawal into grief. It is not an exaggeration to say that Barrie's entire life--both his professional triumphs as a writer and his personal tragedies--led up to the creation of Peter Pan, the play where "all children except one grow up." As Lisa Chaney explores Barrie's own struggles to grow up, she deepens our understanding both of his most famous character and of the complex relationship between life and art.

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447 Lisa Chaney 1466861401 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.75 2005 Hide-and-Seek with Angels: A Life of J. M. Barrie
author: Lisa Chaney
name: Christine
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/24
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<![CDATA[The Huguenot Chronicles: Books 1 - 3: A historical fiction trilogy]]> 59339689 3 books. 700+ pages of harrowing, historical adventure! Jeanne is the wife of a wealthy merchant, but now she risks losing everything. Louis XIV's soldiers will stop at nothing to forcibly convert the country's Protestants. The men ransack Jeanne's belongings and threaten her children.

If Jeanne and Jacob can't find a way to evade the soldiers' clutches, their family will face a fate far worse than poverty and imprisonment. They may never see each other again...

The Huguenot Chronicles is a gripping historical drama that spans continents, from King Louis’s France to the Caribbean, and from London to colonial New York. If you like fast-paced adventure, vivid depictions of the past, and heartfelt tales of love and loyalty, then you'll love Paul C.R. Monk's emotional saga.

Buy The Huguenot Chronicles to start a compelling, cross-continental journey through the 17th century today!]]>
763 Paul C.R. Monk 1919648615 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.38 The Huguenot Chronicles: Books 1 - 3: A historical fiction trilogy
author: Paul C.R. Monk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.38
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date added: 2024/11/23
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The Whisper Man 43278132
But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...]]>
373 Alex North 1250317975 Christine 4 4.07 2019 The Whisper Man
author: Alex North
name: Christine
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/08
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<![CDATA[A Creative Guide To Junk Journaling: *Full Instruction and Templates Included]]> 199534226 0 K.M. Seager Christine 1 1.00 A Creative Guide To Junk Journaling: *Full Instruction and Templates Included
author: K.M. Seager
name: Christine
average rating: 1.00
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rating: 1
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
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<![CDATA[Queen of Oak (The Celtic Rebels, #1)]]> 57949817 Destined to become a legend.

Britain, A.D. 42—Boudica, second daughter of a Celtic king, has little concern for tribal tensions and political intrigues. Called by the gods and the stirrings of her own wild heart, she listens instead to whispers of the oaks. But Boudica would be wiser to heed the warning cries of eagles.

Rumors abound that the Romans are amassing forces for another invasion. In an effort to consolidate power, Boudica’s father turns to Prasutagus, the formidable ruler of the Greater Iceni. To win Prasutagus’s aid, Boudica’s father must strike a bargain—a deal with implications beyond Boudica’s imagining.]]>
598 Melanie Karsak Christine 4 4.56 2021 Queen of Oak (The Celtic Rebels, #1)
author: Melanie Karsak
name: Christine
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/17
date added: 2024/10/17
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'Salem's Lot 5413 Also contains: One For the Road, Jerusalem's Lot. For standalone novel see ISBN 9780450031069.

Stephen King's second novel, the classic vampire bestseller 'Salem's Lot, tells the story of evil in small-town America. For the first time in a major trade edition, this terrifying novel is accompanied by previously unpublished material from King's archive, two short stories, and eerie photographs that bring King's fictional darkness and evil to vivid life.

When Stephen King’s classic thriller 'Salem's Lot hit the stands in 1975, it thrilled and terrified millions of readers with tales of demonic evil in small-town America. Now, thirty years later and still scaring readers witless, 'Salem's Lot reemerges in a brilliant new edition, complete with photographs, fifty pages of deleted and alternate scenes, and two short stories related to the events of the novel.

While the original edition of 'Salem's Lot will forever be a premier horror classic, 'Salem's Lot: Illustrated Edition, with the inclusion of material from King’s archive, is destined to become a classic in its own right and a must-have for all Stephen King fans. In this edition, the hair-raising story of Jerusalem’s Lot, a small town in Maine whose inhabitants succumb to the evil allure of a new resident, is told as the author envisioned it, complete with fifty pages of alternate and deleted scenes. With a new introduction by the author, two short stories related to the events and residents of Jerusalem’s Lot, the lavishly creepy photographs of Jerry Uelsmann, and a stunning new page design, this edition brings the story to life in words and pictures as never before.

No library will be complete without this ideal collector’s item for any King aficionado, the definitive illustrated edition of the great 'Salem's Lot.]]>
594 Stephen King 0385516487 Christine 3 4.28 1975 'Salem's Lot
author: Stephen King
name: Christine
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1975
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[The Island Stallion's Fury (The Black Stallion, #7)]]> 99751 208 Walter Farley 0394843738 Christine 3 4.03 1951 The Island Stallion's Fury (The Black Stallion, #7)
author: Walter Farley
name: Christine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1951
rating: 3
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<![CDATA[First Message (Dragon School, #7)]]> 38962683
After a stunning revelation at the healing arches, Amel is more desperate than ever to deliver her message to Comard Eaglespring. But nothing is ever that simple and when old friends and adversaries resurface, Amel discovers her world is not entirely what it seemed.]]>
95 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.40 2018 First Message (Dragon School, #7)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/10
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Jennifer Juniper 73882452 'Wise and honest.' Daily Mail
Jenny Boyd's extraordinary life is the stuff of movies and novels, a story of incredible people and places at a pivotal time in the 20th century.
As an up-and-coming young model, Jenny found herself at the heart of Carnaby Street in London, immersed in the fashion and pop culture of the Swinging 60s. With boyfriend Mick Fleetwood, sister Pattie Boyd, George Harrison and the rest of the Beatles, she lived the London scene.]]>
338 Jenny Boyd 1914518144 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.07 Jennifer Juniper
author: Jenny Boyd
name: Christine
average rating: 4.07
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<![CDATA[Dusk Covenant (Dragon School, #6)]]> 38594082
With the sky city of Vanika in chaos and the consequences of Amel’s decisions shaping the course of her training, Amel is given a special assignment. But the Dusk Covenant has other � more nefarious � plans for her and the Dominion. Can Amel keep those plans from destroying what she loves?]]>
96 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.41 2018 Dusk Covenant (Dragon School, #6)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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Sworn (Dragon School, #5) 38229102 Things are heating up.
With expulsion from Dragon School and the life of a friend hanging in the balance, Amel Leafbrought finds herself in another precarious position of choosing who to trust. Worse, people on all sides want her sworn loyalty. Can Amel navigate the political wasp's nest she finds herself in and finally secure her position in Dragon School?]]>
93 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.39 2018 Sworn (Dragon School, #5)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/22
date added: 2024/05/22
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<![CDATA[The Ruby Isles (Dragon School, #4)]]> 37938510 If you want a damsel in distress saved right, sometimes you have to save her yourself.
With Amel's friend Savette kidnapped, Amel hoped people would believe her about how important it is to rescue Savette. Unfortunately, all they want from her is her silence and obedience and they are willing to threaten both her life and her dragon Raolcan's to get it. That's not enough to stop Amel. She's determined that Savette will be rescued and she won't be stopped by threats or powerful enemies.]]>
81 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.33 2018 The Ruby Isles (Dragon School, #4)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/12
date added: 2024/05/12
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<![CDATA[Jack the Ripper: Straight for the Jugular]]> 59733302
At least five women were murdered in Whitechapel with incomprehensible savagery in 1888. It’s easy to see why this period of time became known as the Autumn of Terror, as a faceless killer prowled the narrow, gloomy alleyways, and women feared walking alone at night. Against a backdrop of poverty, violence, and social injustice, Jack the Ripper left his mark on London and still fascinates true crime enthusiasts, historians, and researchers over 130 years later.

This vivid, detailed, and impartial book brings to life the period of history in which elusive Jack stalked his victims. Jack the Ripper: Straight for the Jugular includes not only the stories of the victims, the sensational letters, and an examination of the crime scenes, but also addresses intriguing questions, such as:


Was The Ripper responsible for the murders of Emma Smith and Martha Tabram, which preceded the “canonical five�, and the later atrocities, like the Pinchin Street Torso?
What did the police and press get up to, and which colourful characters fell foul of the law along the way?
Can we apply modern criminology to help us deduce Jack’s identity?
Focusing on the facts and cutting through the myths, which one of the 10 key suspects tackled in this book is most likely to be the killer?
What happened afterwards to the police officials involved in the case, and what do the murder sites look like now?
How has the Whitechapel Fiend been portrayed in popular culture over the years?


This book puts one of the most infamous serial killers of all time into the geographical, historical, and social context of London’s East End, offering tantalising details about how its inhabitants lived and worked. Did you know that Londoners were charged tuppence for the privilege of sleeping on a washing line? You might have heard of the cryptic message left in Goulston Street, but did you know about the other Jack the Ripper graffiti scrawled on Whitechapel’s walls?

If you’re looking for a book which is thorough but eschews idle speculation, going “straight for the jugular�, this one is for you. Providing a comprehensive insight into one of the most shocking true crime murder cases in the world, Jack the Ripper: Straight for the Jugular is brought to life with pictures from the time, and will take you on an informative, thrilling, and atmospheric journey through the East End’s darkest hours.]]>
297 Prash Ganendran Christine 0 currently-reading 4.36 Jack the Ripper: Straight for the Jugular
author: Prash Ganendran
name: Christine
average rating: 4.36
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<![CDATA[The Dark Prince (Dragon School, #3)]]> 37655917 Who says all handsome princes are charming?

Hunted by the Magikas, Amel seeks refuge on a secluded island with her beloved dragon and an injured friend. But when she meets the Prince of Baojang there, she realizes she can't stay in hiding. Someone needs to warn the Dominion of the plotted treachery she’s sure he’s a part of - and quickly before her friend Savette is married off to the Dark Prince.

THE DARK PRINCE is episode three of the completed series, Dragon School.]]>
95 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 currently-reading 4.28 2017 The Dark Prince (Dragon School, #3)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/22
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Initiate (Dragon School, #2) 36992408 Magic comes to Dragon School. Can it be trusted?

With First Flight behind her, sixteen-year-old Amel believes she can finally settle into her studies and learn to be a Dragon Rider.

But when a friend is brutally injured, another has a dark secret, and Amel is entrusted with a vital message, she must question where her loyalties lie. Worse, Magikas have arrived at Dragon School and they bring both change and new prejudice against Amel.

With the home Amel found at Dragon School quickly disappearing, will she know who to trust or will her new friendships disappear as quickly as her safety?]]>
86 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.25 2017 Initiate (Dragon School, #2)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/22
date added: 2024/04/22
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<![CDATA[Death Before Dragons: Books 1-3 (Death Before Dragons, #1-3)]]> 59040824
My half-elven blood, magical sword, and telepathic tiger give me an edge, at least against most villains. But when dragons show up in Seattle, the city is in serious trouble—and so am I. Dragons are bigger, stronger, and more powerful than anything I’ve battled, and they don’t appreciate it when you sass them.

Just ask Lord Zavryd’nokquetal. That’s a name, not a cat hacking up a hairball, and if you mispronounce it, he’ll either insult you, incinerate you, or throw your Jeep up in a tree. Trust me, I know.

Unfortunately, he’s taken an interest in me. Not in the “half-elves are sexy and appealing and I need a new girlfriend� kind of way. Nope, he wants to use me. He’s on a mission, and he’s decided I’ll make the perfect bait to lure his enemies to him.

That’s about as good for your longevity as it sounds, and I’d love to decline the gig, but dragons can magically coerce people into doing their bidding. If I can’t figure out how to get him to leave me alone, I’ll either end up his servant for the rest of my life� or dead. And who’s going to protect Seattle then?

This bundle includes the first three novels in the Death Before Dragons urban fantasy series:

Sinister Magic
Battle Bond
Tangled Truths]]>
706 Lindsay Buroker Christine 0 currently-reading 4.59 2021 Death Before Dragons: Books 1-3 (Death Before Dragons, #1-3)
author: Lindsay Buroker
name: Christine
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/16
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<![CDATA[First Flight (Dragon School #1)]]> 44801074 A disabled teen, an empathetic dragon, and a bond that will save the world.


Sixteen-year-old Amel arrived at Dragon School just like everyone else - with a dream to ride dragons and join the Dominion Dragon Riders.
But Amel has a crippled leg and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her First Flight on a dragon.
Can Amel survive First Flight and become a Dragon School initiate or will her dreams dash on the rocks below?

Fans of Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern and Christopher Paolini's Eragon will love Dragon School.

FIRST FLIGHT is episode one of the completed series, Dragon School. Enjoy the complete series today!
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102 Sarah K.L. Wilson Christine 0 4.35 2017 First Flight (Dragon School #1)
author: Sarah K.L. Wilson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/16
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<![CDATA[Whispers of the Lost Child: A Small Town Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Thriller]]> 203853674
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1292 James Hunt Christine 0 4.55 Whispers of the Lost Child: A Small Town Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Thriller
author: James Hunt
name: Christine
average rating: 4.55
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<![CDATA[Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"]]> 9482967 An unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour -- the provocative, politically charged program that shocked the censors, outraged the White House, and forever changed the face of television. Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this first-ever all-access history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run -- and the cultural impact that's still being felt today. Before it was suddenly removed from the CBS lineup (reportedly under pressure from the Nixon administration), The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was a ratings powerhouse. It helped launch the careers of comedy legends such as Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, featured groundbreaking musical acts like the Beatles and the Who, and served as a cultural touchstone for the antiwar movement of the late 1960s. Drawing on extensive original interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers and dozens of other key players -- as well as more than a decade's worth of original research -- Dangerously Funny brings readers behind the scenes for all the battles over censorship, mind-blowing musical performances, and unforgettable sketches that defined the show and its era. David Bianculli delves deep into this never-told story, to find out what really happened and to reveal why this show remains so significant to this day.]]> 420 David Bianculli Christine 0 currently-reading 4.20 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"
author: David Bianculli
name: Christine
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/02/18
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<![CDATA[Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth]]> 23615847 A lively and provocative double biography of first cousins Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth, two extraordinary women whose tangled lives provide a sweeping look at the twentieth century.

When Theodore Roosevelt became president in 1901, his beautiful and flamboyant daughter was transformed into "Princess Alice," arguably the century's first global celebrity. Thirty-two years later, her first cousin Eleanor moved into the White House as First Lady. Born eight months and twenty blocks apart from each other in New York City, Eleanor and Alice spent a large part of their childhoods together and were far more alike than most historians acknowledge.

But their politics and temperaments couldn't have been more distinct. Do-gooder Eleanor was committed to social justice but hated the limelight; acid-tongued Alice, who became the wife of philandering Republican congressman Nicholas Longworth, was an opponent of big government who gained notoriety for her cutting remarks (she famously quipped that dour President Coolidge “looked like he was weaned on a pickle�). While Eleanor revolutionized the role of First Lady with her outspoken passion for human rights, Alice made the most of her insider connections to influence politics, including doing as much to defeat the League of Nations as anyone in elective office.

The cousins themselves liked to play up their oil-and-water relationship. “When I think of Frank and Eleanor in the White House I could grind my teeth to powder and blow them out my nose,� Alice once said. In the 1930s they even wrote opposing syndicated newspaper columns and embarked on competing nationwide speaking tours. Blood may be thicker than water, but when the family business is politics, winning trumps everything.

Vivid, intimate, and stylishly written, Hissing Cousins finally sets this relationship center stage, revealing the contentious bond between two political trailblazers who short-circuited the rules of gender and power, each in her own way.]]>
352 Marc Peyser 038553602X Christine 0 currently-reading 4.05 2015 Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth
author: Marc Peyser
name: Christine
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/02
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A Crooked Cottage by the Sea 128387899
When Billie Cooper receives a startling medical diagnosis just before a summer-long vacation, she decides to keep it secret. Her husband Derek is a Defense Department official immersed in the Vietnam war effort. Her two sons are backpacking through Europe. She can’t burden them. She has to face the issue alone.

She settles into a beautiful house on a hundred-foot-high cliff just south of Bar Harbor. With her husband often in Washington, D.C., Billie befriends a part-time cook named Lillian Moore. Of Native American heritage, Lillian introduces her to ancient remedies in a desperate attempt to cure what might never be cured. Billie also befriends a senile neighbor, Riley James, a lonely but lovable man who tells preposterous stories and lives in a crooked cottage by the sea, as well as three young girls who joyfully play in a secret fort hidden in nearby woods. This mismatched band of friends, and the clues contained in an overgrown family cemetery, teach Billie the meaning of life, helping her see what she had never before seen. She touches the hearts and souls of those around her, just as they touch hers, friendships formed for eternity.]]>
310 John Anthony Miller Christine 0 currently-reading 4.28 A Crooked Cottage by the Sea
author: John Anthony Miller
name: Christine
average rating: 4.28
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date added: 2023/10/31
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Or Else 58832047 A secret love becomes a fatal affair in a twisting novel of suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart.

When novelist Andy Drake returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father, a reconnection with his childhood friend Rachel escalates into a secret love affair. For Rachel, struggling to maintain the facade of a picture-perfect life, it’s an escape from an emotionally abusive marriage. Then Andy receives an anonymous note warning him to end the affair. Or else.

Whoever’s been watching is going to make Andy pay. Weeks later, Rachel’s husband, David, is shot to death. Rachel and her two young sons vanish without a trace. One misstep, one careless reveal, and Andy could look as guilty as sin. Clue by clue, as his investigation into the mystery unfolds, Andy discovers that he and Rachel weren’t the only ones keeping secrets.

Nothing in this quiet neighborhood is as it seems. No one peeking from behind the curtains of their homes can be trusted. And the worst is yet to come. Because David isn’t the only one who will die.]]>
253 Joe Hart 1542035112 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.99 2022 Or Else
author: Joe Hart
name: Christine
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/28
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Toxic 40225187
Hana has known nothing but the isolation of a single room and the secret that has kept her there for seventeen years. When she meets Fennec, the boy assigned to watch her, she realizes that there is a world she has yet to experience but she is doomed to never meet.

When crew members begin mysteriously dying, Hana and Fenn realize that they are racing against the death of the ship to find a way to survive―unless someone kills them even before Hana’s truly had a chance to live.]]>
368 Lydia Kang 1640634231 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.92 2018 Toxic
author: Lydia Kang
name: Christine
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/27
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The Echo of Old Books 62060274
With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers� tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.]]>
431 Barbara Davis 1542038154 Christine 0 4.27 2023 The Echo of Old Books
author: Barbara Davis
name: Christine
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at: 2023/10/05
date added: 2023/10/05
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<![CDATA[The Girl Who Played With The Ouija Board]]> 53497732 282 William Malmborg 173487631X Christine 0 currently-reading 3.66 The Girl Who Played With The Ouija Board
author: William Malmborg
name: Christine
average rating: 3.66
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rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/30
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Her Last Breath 56377942 From the bestselling author of One Small Sacrifice comes a suspenseful thriller about a dead woman who predicted her own murder—and the sister who won’t let the truth be buried.

When her beloved sister Caroline dies suddenly, Deirdre is heartbroken. However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident. Long used to being a pariah to her family, Deirdre covers her tattoos and heads to Manhattan for her sister’s funeral.

The message claimed Caroline’s husband, Theo, killed his first wife and got away with it. Reeling from the news, Deirdre confronts Theo on the way to the cemetery, and he reveals both his temper and his suspicion that Deirdre’s “perfect� sister was having an affair.

Paranoid and armed with just enough information to make her dangerous, Deirdre digs into the disturbing secrets buried with Caroline. But as she gets closer to the truth, she realizes that her own life may be at risk…and that there may be more than one killer in the family.]]>
296 Hilary Davidson 1542026970 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.89 2021 Her Last Breath
author: Hilary Davidson
name: Christine
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/30
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Luster 49100158 Sharp, comic, disruptive, tender, Raven Leilani's debut novel, Luster, sees a young black woman fall into art and someone else's open marriage

Edie is stumbling her way through her twentiessharing a subpar apartment in Bushwick, clocking in and out of her admin job, making a series of inappropriate sexual choices. She's also, secretly, haltingly figuring her way into life as an artist. And then she meets Eric, a digital archivist with a family in New Jersey, including an autopsist wife who has agreed to an open marriagewith rules. As if navigating the constantly shifting landscapes of contemporary sexual manners and racial politics weren't hard enough, Edie finds herself unemployed and falling into Eric's family life, his home. She becomes hesitant friend to his wife and a de facto role model to his adopted daughter. Edie is the only black woman young Akila may know.

Razor sharp, darkly comic, sexually charged, socially disruptive, Luster is a portrait of a young woman trying to make her sense of her life in a tumultuous era. It is also a haunting, aching description of how hard it is to believe in your own talent and the unexpected influences that bring us into ourselves along the way.

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242 Raven Leilani Christine 0 currently-reading 3.59 2020 Luster
author: Raven Leilani
name: Christine
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/30
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Woodland Folk Tales 56058686 201 Lisa Schneidau Christine 0 currently-reading 3.99 2020 Woodland Folk Tales
author: Lisa Schneidau
name: Christine
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/28
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The Hidden People 49571396 The Cold Season returns with a chilling mystery—where superstition and myth bleed into real life with tragic consequences.

Pretty Lizzie Higgs is gone, burned to dead on her own hearth—but was she really a changeling, as her husband insists? Albie Mirralls met his cousin only once, in 1851, within the grand glass arches of the Crystal Palace, but unable to countenance the rumours that surround her murder, he leaves his young wife in London and travels to Halfoak, a village steeped in superstition.

Albie begins to look into Lizzie's death, but in this place where the old tales hold sway and the 'Hidden People' supposedly roam, answers are slippery and further tragedy is just a step away...]]>
304 Alison Littlewood 1848669917 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.46 2016 The Hidden People
author: Alison Littlewood
name: Christine
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/08/28
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[The Discovery of Magic (Elementals Academy #1)]]> 60184977 Welcome to Elementals Academy, where magic is the only hope of survival, forbidden romance beckons, and an ancient secret threatens to end it all.

Summer Donovan thinks paying her way through her expensive private college is her biggest problem.

She's about to find out how wrong she is.

Because when the president of the most exclusive sorority on campus goes off the rails and bullies her, Summer defends herself with something she never knew she had.

Magic.

It turns out she's a witch. But that's only the start of the surprises in store for her.

Soon after her magical breakthrough, Summer learns she's destined to attend Elementals Academy-an exclusive school dedicated to witches descended from the Greek gods.

At Elementals Academy, Summer finally finds the thing she's wanted her whole life: a place where she fits in. Although that doesn't last long, thanks to her magic not working the way it's supposed to, and no one knowing why.

But her biggest challenge isn't schoolwork. Or magic. It's Zane Caldwell-the iciest, most attractive, and most mysterious student at the school. Despite the way Zane's warm to her one minute and cold the next, Summer feels an irresistible draw to him.

While struggling to understand her feelings for Zane, Summer soon discovers she has another problem-one far more dangerous. There are secrets lurking within the hallowed halls of Elementals Academy, and she may hold the key to unraveling them. If she can survive long enough... and figure out who to trust.


Praise for the Elementals series:

"A must read!"
-USA Today

"Michelle Madow has a flair for keeping you enthralled, no matter what your age."
-Robert Schofield, Amazon Reviewer

"Elementals is one of the best in the YA genre!"
-Ziggy, Amazon Reviewer

"Michelle Madow dares to refresh our views on magic and storytelling."
-Dave Wilson, Amazon Reviewer

"Watch out, Percy Jackson! The Elementals are on the rise."
-DebBlove, Amazon Reviewer


Begin the long-anticipated series by USA Today bestselling author Michelle Madow-an adventure full of magic, romance, and mythology that's perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.]]>
316 Michelle Madow Christine 0 currently-reading 4.39 2022 The Discovery of Magic (Elementals Academy #1)
author: Michelle Madow
name: Christine
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/28
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Bedlam (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #3)]]> 53510813 In a world gone mad, who can you trust?

Fresh from a high-profile case in the Paris fashion world, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the FBI. The wife of a notorious criminal has been admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and can no longer testify in his upcoming trial. Without her, their case will collapse but, amidst reports that the staff are as unpredictable as their patients, who can the police trust?

In desperation, they turn to an outsider and now Gregory must find the courage to step inside the fortified walls of Buchanan Hospital to uncover the truth. The question is, will he ever be the same again?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Catskill Forest.]]>
291 L.J. Ross Christine 0 4.36 2020 Bedlam (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #3)
author: L.J. Ross
name: Christine
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2023/08/15
date added: 2023/08/15
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<![CDATA[Here Lie the Dead (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #15)]]> 61032358
When the body of a teenager is discovered near Eilean Donan Castle several months after she disappeared, DCI Jack Logan and his team journey across the Highlands to investigate.

As they start to unpick the young woman’s life, the secrets and lies they expose soon threaten to tear the small, rural community apart.

But, when a second girl goes missing in similar circumstances, it isn’t just a murder investigation that Jack finds himself running.

It’s a race against time.]]>
445 J.D. Kirk Christine 0 4.57 2022 Here Lie the Dead (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #15)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2023/08/02
date added: 2023/08/02
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The Ice Queen 5541106 There is an alternate cover edition for this ASIN here.

From the bestselling author of Here on Earth, a miraculous, enthralling tale of a woman who is struck by lightning, and finds her frozen heart is suddenly burning.
Be careful what you wish for. A woman who was touched by tragedy as a child now lives a quiet life, keeping other people at a cool distance. She even believes she wants it that way. Then one day she utters an idle wish and, while standing in her house, is struck by lightning. But instead of ending her life, this cataclysmic event sparks a strange and powerful new beginning.
She goes in search of Lazarus Jones, a fellow survivor who was struck dead, then simply got up and walked away. Perhaps this stranger who has seen death face to face can teach her to live without fear. When she finds him, he is her perfect opposite, a burning man whose breath can boil water and whose touch scorches. As an obsessive love affair begins between them, both hide their most dangerous secrets--what happened in the past that turned one to ice and the other to fire.
A magical story of passion, loss, and renewal, The Ice Queen is Alice Hoffman at her electrifying best.
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224 Alice Hoffman Christine 0 4.03 2005 The Ice Queen
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Christine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at: 2023/07/11
date added: 2023/07/11
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<![CDATA[Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies, #1)]]> 57162831 an alternate cover edition can be found here

Warning: This novel contains excessive humor, a fire-breathing unicorn on a mission of destruction, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution.

Catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day, but Bailey has few other options. Spiking drinks with pixie dust keeps the locals happy and beats cleaning up the world's nastiest magical substances. She could live without serving Police Chief Samuel Quinn most days of the week, especially after destroying his marriage.

But when she's targeted with a cell phone bomb containing gorgon dust capable of transforming her beloved home into a stone tomb, she's tossed head first into a mess with her sexiest enemy. Add in his ex-wife angling for revenge, and Bailey must use every trick up her sleeve to survive.

The last thing she needs is to fall in love with Manhattan's Most Wanted Bachelor.

Saving Manhattan will be tough enough.]]>
294 R.J. Blain Christine 0 currently-reading 4.24 2017 Playing with Fire (Magical Romantic Comedies, #1)
author: R.J. Blain
name: Christine
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/07
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3)]]> 55019 Book #3 from the series: Dave Robicheaux

BACK IN THE UNDERWORLD HE TRIED TO LEAVE BEHIND

Haunted by the memory of his wife's murder and his father's untimely death, ex-New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux spends his days in a fish-and-tackle business. But when an old friend makes a surprise appearance, Robicheaux finds himself thrust back into the violent world of Mafia goons and wily federal agents. From the Louisiana bayou to Montana's tribal lands, Robicheaux is running from the bottle, a homicide rap, a professional killer and the demons of his past.

Rich with fascinating characters and dramatic plot twists, James Lee Burke and his Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux recall the best of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe -- tough, complex and thoroughly entertaining.
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366 James Lee Burke 0380712040 Christine 4 4.14 1989 Black Cherry Blues (Dave Robicheaux, #3)
author: James Lee Burke
name: Christine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/23
date added: 2023/05/23
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<![CDATA[Dragonsdawn and Renegades of Pern (Pern #9, 10)]]> 465905 Dragonsdawn and Renegades of Pern are the ninth and tenth novels in her celebrated Dragonriders of Pern series. In Dragonsdawn, the beautiful planet Pern seems a paradise to its new colonists—until deadly spores fall like silver threads from the sky, devouring everything in their path. In Renegades of Pern, having lost their hold, Aramina’s family fears both outlaws and the dreaded Threadfall.

“Few are better at mixing elements of high fantasy and hard science fiction…� �The New York Times Book Review]]>
6 Anne McCaffrey 1574535331 Christine 3 4.49 1988 Dragonsdawn and Renegades of Pern (Pern #9, 10)
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Christine
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/05/02
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Cold Truth (Ellie Kline #1) 50513758
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, the Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and John seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.

But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?

Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realise: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.

A completely gripping, twist-packed psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth and Lisa Jewell.]]>
334 Mary Stone Christine 0 currently-reading 4.35 2020 Cold Truth (Ellie Kline #1)
author: Mary Stone
name: Christine
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/27
shelves: currently-reading
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Say Her Name 58656129
It’s twenty years since Eva, a biracial woman, was adopted as an eight-year-old, and Cherry and Carlton ‘Sugar� McNeil have always been the only parents she’s wanted or needed. But when she’s dealt the double blow of Cherry’s death and her own suspension from work, Eva decides it’s time to discover who she was before she was theirs.

Against Sugar’s advice, Eva joins a DNA database, desperate for a match that will unlock her identity. And when a positive hit comes, she’s excited to learn there are relations out there who might hold the key. But the closer Eva gets to uncovering her past, the more it appears someone is trying to stop her finally finding the truth�

As she continues to dig, Eva is drawn into a dark and merciless underside to society, where black women disappear without a word. Names erased from history, no search parties, no desperate pleas for their return. Once, someone tried to save Eva from all this. Someone wanted a better life for her. But now that she’s torn down the facade of her life, has she come too far to be spared again?]]>
308 Dreda Say Mitchell 1542029678 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.03 2022 Say Her Name
author: Dreda Say Mitchell
name: Christine
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/22
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[A Dirty Death (West Country Murder Mysteries #1)]]> 61831924
Early one morning Lilah Beardon finds her father, local farmer Guy, floating in the muck of his own slurry pit. The police assume his death was a tragic accident.

Lilah isn’t convinced. She knew her father better than anyone, and a clumsy accident like this doesn’t seem likely.

Everyone else in the village hated crabby old Farmer Guy: his neglected wife Miranda, his downtrodden son Roddy, even the vicar disliked him.

Which of his many enemies in this close-knit community wanted him dead?

Working alongside handsome Detective Constable Den Cooper, Lilah is determined to uncover the truth.

But someone in the village doesn’t appreciate her snooping. And now another body is discovered . . .]]>
384 Rebecca Tope 1804054410 Christine 3 4.02 1999 A Dirty Death (West Country Murder Mysteries #1)
author: Rebecca Tope
name: Christine
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/18
date added: 2023/04/18
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<![CDATA[HOW TO MAKE WIRE WRAP JEWELRY : MODERN INSPIRATIONAL TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS FOR MAKING STUNNING WIRE WRAPPED JEWELRY PROJECTS FOR ALL LEVEL JEWELERS]]> 56264504 If you are into jewelry making or you desire to know how to make jewelries using the wire wrap techniques, then you just found the right material. In this book I will be showing you simple modern techniques on how you can twist wire to form beautiful loops and designs for your jewelries. Also, I have included easy to practice projects with clear pictures for your practical practice. You will be learning how to make earrings, bracelets, rings, bangles, pedals, necklaces and lots more
Grab your copy now by clicking BUY NOW]]>
52 LIZZY DERICK Christine 0 currently-reading 3.47 HOW TO MAKE WIRE WRAP JEWELRY : MODERN INSPIRATIONAL TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS FOR MAKING STUNNING WIRE WRAPPED JEWELRY PROJECTS FOR ALL LEVEL JEWELERS
author: LIZZY DERICK
name: Christine
average rating: 3.47
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/04/15
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[The Body: A Guide for Occupants]]> 43611499 Bill Bryson, bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body—with a new afterword for this edition.

Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body—how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Brysonesque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular.

As Bill Bryson writes, “We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted.� The Body will cure that indifference with generous doses of wondrous, compulsively readable facts and information. As addictive as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best, a must-read owner’s manual for every body.]]>
478 Bill Bryson Christine 5 4.41 2019 The Body: A Guide for Occupants
author: Bill Bryson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/16
date added: 2023/03/20
shelves:
review:
Another fascinating work by Bill Bryson. The amount of detail included is astounding- he leaves no process unturned. I can't imagine the hours Mr. Bryson spent researching this. I believe that even if you don't like science you will find yourself totally involved in this book & learn a few things you didn't know.
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The Bookstore Sisters 62337113 From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a heartfelt short story about family, independence, and finding your place in the world.

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.]]>
36 Alice Hoffman 1662510500 Christine 5 Charming tale from Alice Hoffman

I loved the simple language used in this story. Its a simple honest story with no need for fa inncy words. It shows how easy it is to wake up to your whole life, hour full potdntial. Loved it.

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4.00 2022 The Bookstore Sisters
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Christine
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/19
date added: 2023/03/19
shelves:
review:
Charming tale from Alice Hoffman

I loved the simple language used in this story. Its a simple honest story with no need for fa inncy words. It shows how easy it is to wake up to your whole life, hour full potdntial. Loved it.


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<![CDATA[The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)]]> 60556912
Every day I clean the Winchesters� beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out� and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of�

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!]]>
329 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.31 2022 The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Christine
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/13
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[HUNKY DORY (WHO KNEW?): The best I can remember from twenty years at the heart of '60s and '70s rock and pop]]> 52288862 280 Laurence Myers Christine 0 currently-reading 3.84 HUNKY DORY (WHO KNEW?): The best I can remember from twenty years at the heart of '60s and '70s rock and pop
author: Laurence Myers
name: Christine
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/03/03
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[City of Scars (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #14)]]> 60802671
Life has been slowly improving for DCI Jack Logan lately. Happily settled down with the woman of his dreams and a dog he begrudgingly tolerates, things are finally going Jack’s way.

But, could all that be about to change?

When a sadistic killer begins picking off victims on the streets of Inverness, Jack’s boss decides to bring in some outside help. But the new team member is an old flame from Jack’s past who isn’t quite ready to let him go.

And, as the dead bodies rack up, the Happily Ever After that Jack has been building for himself might just be the next victim to fall�

City of Scars is the 14th books in the multi-million selling DCI Logan Scottish crime fiction series. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, LJ Ross, and Stuart MacBride.]]>
384 J.D. Kirk Christine 0 4.56 2022 City of Scars (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #14)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2023/01/16
date added: 2023/01/16
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The Last Rose of Shanghai 59232498 In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi's club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz—but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.

As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.]]>
429 Weina Dai Randel 1542032881 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.13 2021 The Last Rose of Shanghai
author: Weina Dai Randel
name: Christine
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/12/16
shelves: currently-reading
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The Witch's Tree 60691225 'A wonderful book by a fabulous author, very highly recommended.� Louise Douglas A tale as old as time. A spirit that has never rested. Present day

As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat.  The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives.  But it isn’t long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden.

1682

Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett’s healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mis-move and Grace’s fate looks set�

Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter’s spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now.

USA Today bestselling author Judy Leigh writing as Elena Collins, brings you this unforgettable, heart-breaking, gripping timeslip novel set in a world when women were hung as witches, and fates could be sealed by a wrong word. Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Diana Gabaldon and Louise Douglas.

Praise for Elena

'A profoundly moving, beautifully written and emotional story that skilfully combines two time frames into one unputdownable book. I was completely immersed in Grace’s story from the despite it taking place 400 years ago. The modern day storyline was also delightful with some wonderful characters. In short a wonderful book by a fabulous author, very highly recommended.' Louise Douglas]]>
366 Elena Collins 1802800123 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.43 2022 The Witch's Tree
author: Elena Collins
name: Christine
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/12/12
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Hysteria (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #2)]]> 48760299 In a beautiful world, murder is always ugly�

Recently returned from his last case in Ireland, elite forensic psychologist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the French police that he can’t ignore. It’s Paris fashion week and some of the world’s most beautiful women are turning up dead, their faces slashed in a series of frenzied attacks while the world’s press looks on.

Amidst the carnage, one victim has survived but she’s too traumatised to talk. Without her help, the police are powerless to stop the killer before he strikes again � can Gregory unlock the secrets of her mind, before it’s too late?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Parisian landscape.]]>
232 L.J. Ross Christine 0 4.18 2019 Hysteria (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #2)
author: L.J. Ross
name: Christine
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2022/12/12
date added: 2022/12/12
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<![CDATA[Southpaw (Robert Hoon Thrillers, #2)]]> 60155307
Following his brutal search for the missing daughter of an old army colleague, Hoon is being hunted by the Loop, a secretive criminal cabal with members in very high places and a tendency to eliminate all those who stand against it.

Unfortunately for them, Hoon has never been one to back down from a fight, and he isn’t about to start now. Instead, he’s going to burn their whole damn organisation to the ground.

But first, he’s going to have to get inside.

He may be a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking psychopath with a death wish, but Bob Hoon is about to do something he hasn’t done in years.

He’s going undercover.]]>
402 J.D. Kirk Christine 0 currently-reading 4.52 Southpaw (Robert Hoon Thrillers, #2)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/11/18
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[The Fairytale Code (Anne Anderson #1)]]> 60853595 A global cult of women...
An ancient code in everyone's bedtime story...

Anne Anderson, a brilliant folklorist on the verge of a shocking discovery about the origins of fairytales, is haunted by her memories of what happened to her sister as a child: a brutal crime that is drowning her in guilt. Anne's redemption is a lifetime quest to decipher the hidden codes her sister discovered in a certain folklore story that leads to atrocious crimes to this very day.

Detective David Tale is not that different from Anne. Witnessing his mother's murder as a child left him with an unholy lust for catching killers, especially the rich and powerful who think they're above the law. However, his mental state isn't up to par, and his superiors only cover for him because of his relentless quest for truth.

When David is assigned to solve the case of a dead, teenage girl hung on a cross inside the Westminster Abbey, he is exposed to a web of clues by a killer who claims that only folklorist Anne Anderson can match his brilliance. A killer raised by a cult of women who have been keeping history's darkest secrets for centuries.

A secret that will shatter the world and its history... one that has been cleverly encoded in the Brothers Grimm original version centuries ago... disguised as fairy tales.

Anne's sister was right. It's her duty to uncover the shocking secret that would pull the rug from under politicians, the Vatican, the Royal Family and mankind's history that has suspiciously been written by men � and never allowed women
to tell their side of the story...

* The Fairytale Code is NOT a fantasy. It's a real-life, factual, and fast-paced page-turner that takes place in Europe's most neglected historical 600-miles long strip called the Fairy Tale Road, where the true-life stories of fairy tale originated.

The codes and revelations in the novel are based on facts that have never been exposed before. Author Cameron Jace spent two years traveling Europe to put the puzzle together. And though the book's priority is entertainment, it presents a conclusion that will leave you speechless about history, women's rights, and your very own childhood.]]>
581 Cameron Jace Christine 0 currently-reading 3.92 2022 The Fairytale Code (Anne Anderson #1)
author: Cameron Jace
name: Christine
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/02
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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<![CDATA[The Peacekeeper (The Good Lands, #1)]]> 58723037
North America was never colonized. The United States and Canada don’t exist. The Great Lakes are surrounded by an independent Ojibwe nation. And in the village of Baawitigong, a Peacekeeper confronts his devastating past.

Twenty years ago to the day, Chibenashi’s mother was murdered and his father confessed. Ever since, caring for his still-traumatized younger sister has been Chibenashi’s privilege and penance. Now, on the same night of the Manoomin harvest, another woman is slain. His mother’s best friend. The leads to a seemingly impossible connection take Chibenashi far from the only world he’s ever known.

The major city of Shikaakwa is home to the victim’s cruelly estranged family—and to two people Chibenashi never wanted to see again: his imprisoned father and the lover who broke his heart. As the questions mount, the answers will change his and his sister’s lives forever. Because Chibenashi is about to discover that everything about those lives has been a lie.

- Michigan Notable Books 2023]]>
312 B.L. Blanchard 154203650X Christine 0 currently-reading 3.87 2022 The Peacekeeper (The Good Lands, #1)
author: B.L. Blanchard
name: Christine
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/10/31
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour]]> 57542668 A candid and colorful memoir by the singer, songwriter, and “Duchess of Coolsville� (Time).This troubadour life is only for the fiercest hearts, only for those vessels that can be broken to smithereens and still keep beating out the rhythm for a new song . . . Last Chance Texaco is the first-ever no-holds-barred account of the life of two-time Grammy Award-winner and Rickie Lee Jones in her own words (Hilton Als). It is a tale of desperate chances and impossible triumphs, an adventure story of a girl who beat the odds and grew up to become one of the most legendary artists of her time, turning adversity and hopelessness into timeless music. With candor and lyricism, she takes us on a singular journey through her nomadic childhood, her years as a teenage runaway, her legendary love affair with Tom Waits, and ultimately her longevity as the hardest working woman in rock and roll. Rickie Lee’s stories are rich with the infamous characters of her early songs—“Chuck E’s in Love,� “Weasel and the White Boys Cool,� “Danny’s All-Star Joint,� and “Easy Money”—but long before her notoriety in show business, there was a vaudevillian cast of hitchhikers, bank robbers, jail breaks, drug mules, and a pimp with a heart of gold, and tales of her fabled ancestors. This intimate memoir by one of the most trailblazing and tenacious women in music is filled with never-before-told stories of the girl in the raspberry beret, whose songs defied categorization and inspired American pop culture for decades. “A striking, distinctive self-portrait.� —The New York Times “Terrific . . . Jones is as fearless in prose as she is on stage.� —Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Men leave, fame fizzles, family breaks your heart . . . but Jones knows a good story and how to tell it.� —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “[The] premiere song-stylist and songwriter of her generation.� —Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize–winner and author of White Girls]]> 432 Rickie Lee Jones 080218880X Christine 0 4.32 2021 Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour
author: Rickie Lee Jones
name: Christine
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2022/10/31
date added: 2022/10/31
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<![CDATA[Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers]]> 56769575
For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They’ve tested France’s first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way. Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?]]>
320 Mary Roach 0393881725 Christine 0 to-read 4.13 2003 Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
author: Mary Roach
name: Christine
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/15
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<![CDATA[Come Hell or High Water (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #13)]]> 59777319
When a badly burned body is found near the remote Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on the west coast of Scotland, it feels like just another day on the job for DCI Jack Logan and his team.

But the victim’s list of enemies―including a diminutive loan shark and a powerful local politician―is far longer than Jack was prepared for.

And don’t even get him started on the magic psychic sex cult.

With political scandal brewing, conspiracy theories running wild, and a team member stuck inside a giant road safety squirrel costume, DCI Logan’s latest case might just be his most bizarre to date.

Come Hell or High Water is the thirteenth book in the multi-million selling DCI Logan Scottish Crime Fiction series. Packed with action, pathos, and dark humour, the series is perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Stuart MacBride.]]>
365 J.D. Kirk Christine 5 4.51 2021 Come Hell or High Water (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #13)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/10/10
date added: 2022/10/10
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<![CDATA[The Dirty on Billy the Kid (Cold West Case Files Book 1)]]> 53602368
Excerpt
“The Little Rat-Bastard�, was pretty much the kindest description I could muster for Billy the Kid. I saw him as little more than saddle trash, on the opposite side of everything for which I’ve ever stood and as a result, I had no use for this buck-toothed derelict. I’ve worn a badge my entire adult life, I bleed blue, and admittedly it’s from that perspective I had formed my opinion. As a result, I had no problem with Pat Garrett voiding this scumbag’s birth certificate. Well, that is until I saw the “dirty�. Everyone has a secret they hope will remain hidden; cops call that “the dirty�. It’s not until you see the dirty do you understand the entire truth. When secrets are hidden, there’s someone who doesn’t want the truth known.
Cops understand the truth cannot be reached until you see the raw evidence and facts void of the spin. You’ll overlook the dirty if you’re unable to pick up the “tells�. Those signs, always present, pointing to the evidence, which, if followed, will drop you off at the doorstep of truth.In a criminal investigation, you may find evidence pointing to guilt, or uncover evidence clearing the suspect; in legal jargon, the evidence in the suspect’s favor is called exculpatory. The state is bound by law to disclose exculpatory evidence; however, the same does not apply to history. In the case of Billy the Kid, the exculpatory evidence has never been presented. The story has always been filtered through what historians “thought�, knowledge gained through the reading of documents. As a result, we’ve been spoon-fed that version of history, which gave birth to the “legend�. However, legend and truth ride different horses. Legend by definition is a non-historical, unverified story, passed down through the years. In other words, a legend is an unproven story accepted as history. Pay close attention and you’ll notice the words “legend� and “history� are used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings.
In the search for truth, the detective knows both witnesses and suspects, in words and actions, unknowingly provide “tells�. As a suspect becomes nervous and their eyes dart about, they’re telling you they’re about to run or fight. If they look up before answering or take a long pause, more often than not, they’re searching for a plausible lie. Justifying normal actions, unnecessarily filling in gaps, providing pointless details, or a lack of detail when required, are “tells�; you’re being led away from the truth. If the question is parroted back with one or two words changed, a lie has just been laid at your feet.
In the case of Billy the Kid, a glaring “tell� can be found in the transcript of the Court of Inquiry into the actions of Colonel N. A. M. Dudley. Early in the trial, a witness� accused George Peppin of stealing a pair of pants from the Tunstall store, after Tunstall’s death. On June 10th, 1879, Peppin took the stand. Since he was a friendly witness, Colonel Dudley didn’t want him looking like a common thief, stealing from a dead man. So, the Colonel did his best to rehabilitate the testimony of the ex-sheriff.
Dudley asked, “Did you have a pair of pants or blanket under your arm at any time when you went out of the Tunstall Store the morning of the 20th of July, last, or did you remark at the time of leaving the store that morning, ‘By God, I will pay for it some of these days.� Or something to that effect?� Peppin snaps back, “I did not have a pair of pants or blanket over my arm.� To the casual reader, Peppin denied being a thief; to the cold case detective, he just confessed.]]>
353 Steven M. Sederwall Christine 0 currently-reading 4.41 The Dirty on Billy the Kid (Cold West Case Files Book 1)
author: Steven M. Sederwall
name: Christine
average rating: 4.41
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/09/23
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<![CDATA[The WitchSlayer (Witch Bound, #1)]]> 61903046
She expected to feel trapped, but he somehow makes her feel unbelievably... safe.

Rurik’s only goal is to kill the Dark Witch, Strolguil the Vast. He never expected to find himself in a White Witch’s home in need of healing, or that she would be completely oblivious about his kind, or her own. He intends to abandon her, a lowly Witch, to her fiery fate, but he can’t ignore his blood-debt after she saves him.

Nor can he ignore the fierce desire that she grows in him when she roams free inside his lair.

However, there are Dark Witches afoot, and Rurik isn’t sure if he can shed years of hatred to trust the enchanting woman he has in his keeping.

*Author This book contains a trigger that may be unsettling for some readers. Please read the warning at the beginning of the book.*]]>
550 Opal Reyne Christine 0 to-read 3.96 2022 The WitchSlayer (Witch Bound, #1)
author: Opal Reyne
name: Christine
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/09/15
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<![CDATA[She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)]]> 48727813 Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist

Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…�

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness�

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother's abandoned greatness.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]>
416 Shelley Parker-Chan 1250621798 Christine 0 to-read 3.87 2021 She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)
author: Shelley Parker-Chan
name: Christine
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/09/15
shelves: to-read
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<![CDATA[The Devil's Cliff Killings (DI Ruth Hunter #4)]]> 52859199 Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter has resolved to put the grief of her missing partner behind her and continue to make a life away from London in Snowdonia. When a sixteen year old girl, Rosie, mysteriously vanishes, the case brings up unresolved issues from the past for Ruth.

Ruth realises that the key to Rosie’s disappearance might lie within a violent battle for control of a local prison. As they race against the clock, Ruth, and her sidekick DS Nick Evans, begin to uncover slavery, intimidation and bribery, only to find that the repercussions of the investigation damage those they are closest to.]]>
386 Simon McCleave Christine 0 4.44 2020 The Devil's Cliff Killings (DI Ruth Hunter #4)
author: Simon McCleave
name: Christine
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2022/09/14
date added: 2022/09/14
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<![CDATA[Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth]]> 28487992 231 Bruce Paley Christine 0 currently-reading 3.70 1995 Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth
author: Bruce Paley
name: Christine
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/31
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<![CDATA[Impostor (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #1)]]> 51815833 There’s a killer inside all of us�

After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation.

In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community and the Garda are running out of time. Gregory has sworn to follow a quiet life but, when the call comes, can he refuse to help their desperate search for justice?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Irish landscape.]]>
311 L.J. Ross Christine 5 4.29 2019 Impostor (Alexander Gregory Thrillers, #1)
author: L.J. Ross
name: Christine
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/22
date added: 2022/08/31
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<![CDATA[The Sisters of the Winter Wood]]> 39851957 Captivating and boldly imaginative, with a tale of sisterhood at its heart, Rena Rossner's debut fantasy invites you to enter a world filled with magic, folklore, and the dangers of the woods.

In a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine, sisters Liba and Laya have been raised on the honeyed scent of their Mami's babka and the low rumble of their Tati's prayers. But when a troupe of mysterious men arrives, Laya falls under their spell-despite their mother's warning to be wary of strangers. And this is not the only danger lurking in the woods.

As dark forces close in on their village, Liba and Laya discover a family secret passed down through generations. Faced with a magical heritage they never knew existed, the sisters realize the old fairy tales are true...and could save them all.]]>
482 Rena Rossner Christine 0 currently-reading 3.72 2018 The Sisters of the Winter Wood
author: Rena Rossner
name: Christine
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/01
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<![CDATA[The Patient Man (Jackman & Evans #6)]]> 52231421 Jackman and Evans� most dangerous enemy is back to finish things off

The domestic bliss of Detective Inspector Rowan Jackman> of Fenland Constabulary doesn’t last long. His nemesis, serial killer Alistair Ashcroft, is back in town and ready to tidy up unfinished business.

Ashcroft sends a sinister text to DS Marie Evans. His opening move in what will prove to be a lethal game of cat-and-mouse. Yet for all his taunts, where is he? In a county crawling with police on the lookout for him, Ashcroft is nowhere to be found.

Everyone Jackman cares about is in danger

Alongside the hunt for Ashcroft, normal police work must continue. The separate thefts of guns, six pigs, a thoroughbred stallion and some oil lead Jackman’s crew to the notorious Lorimer family, ruled over on their farm by the fearsome matriarch Rachel.

Meanwhile, a seemingly routine break-in at the home of gun-club owner Kenneth Harcourt quickly becomes more complicated when the man long held responsible for having killed Harcourt’s young daughter in a hit-and-run is shot dead in a carpark � by a sniper.

A killer is on the loose in the quiet streets of Saltern-le-Fen and he isn’t going to stop at claiming one life. But why is he focusing on young Kevin, so close to promotion to detective?

A lethal game with a very patient man

And the sniper, like Ashcroft, takes to taunting the police: they’ll never catch him, they need to respect him, they shouldn’t be side-tracked looking for their old adversary. In a stunning conclusion, Jackman and Evans race against time to catch the sniper and track down their deadly adversary.

Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending. Set in the atmospheric Lincolnshire Fens whose towns and isolated villages hide many dark secrets.

Can they finally stop Alistair Ashcroft?
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317 Joy Ellis Christine 0 4.37 2020 The Patient Man (Jackman & Evans #6)
author: Joy Ellis
name: Christine
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2022/07/31
date added: 2022/07/31
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<![CDATA[To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett]]> 53620968 From Spur Award-winning author Mark Lee Gardner, his classic dual biography of Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett, detailing Garrett’s riveting chase of the notorious bandit—now updated with a new afterword covering new developments in the Billy the Kid story.

“So richly detailed, you can almost smell the gunsmoke and the sweat of the saddles.”—Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author

Billy the Kid—a.k.a. Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim, and William Bonney—was a horse thief, cattle rustler, charismatic rogue, and cold-blooded killer. A superb shot, the Kid gunned down four men single handedly and five others with the help of cronies. Two of his victims were Lincoln County, NM, deputies, killed during the Kid’s brazen daylight escape from the courthouse jail on April 28, 1881. After dspensing with his guards and filing through the chain securing his leg irons, The Kid danced a macabre jig on the jail’s porch before riding away on a stolen horse as terrified townspeople—and many sympathizers—watched. For new sheriff, Pat Garrett, the chase was on . . .



To Hell on a Fast Horse recreates the thrilling manhunt for the Wild West’s most iconic outlaw. It is also the first “dual biography� of the Kid and Garrett, two larger-than-life figures who would not have become the stuff of legend without the other. Drawing on voluminous primary sources and a wealth of published scholarship, Mark L. Gardner digs beneath the myth to take a fresh look at these two men, their relationship, and what they would come to mean to a public enamored of a violent national past.]]>
336 Mark Lee Gardner 006301193X Christine 0 currently-reading 4.27 2010 To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett
author: Mark Lee Gardner
name: Christine
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2010
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/07/28
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Blacktop Wasteland 50713345 A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.

“Sensationally good—new, fresh, real, authentic, twisty, with characters and dilemmas that will break your heart. More than recommended.� —Lee Child

Beauregard “Bug� Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.

He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime.]]>
304 S.A. Cosby Christine 0 currently-reading 4.18 2020 Blacktop Wasteland
author: S.A. Cosby
name: Christine
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/07/08
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Phantom Limb 35648431
But there’s some horrors love can’t erase�

Elizabeth wakes in a hospital, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak. The last thing she remembers is finding Emily’s body in their bathroom. Days before, she was falling in love and starting college. Now, she’s surrounded by men who talk to themselves and women who pull out their eyebrows.

As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Emily’s death, she discovers shocking secrets and holes in her memory that force her to remember what she’s worked so hard to forget—the beatings, the blood, the special friends. Her life spins out of control at a terrifying speed as she desperately tries to unravel the psychological puzzle of her past before it’s too late.]]>
260 Lucinda Berry 1662501404 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.92 2016 Phantom Limb
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Christine
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/07/08
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Jack The Ripper: The Truth About The Whitechapel Murders]]> 35167182 58 Tom King Christine 0 currently-reading 3.53 Jack The Ripper: The Truth About The Whitechapel Murders
author: Tom King
name: Christine
average rating: 3.53
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/07/07
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[The World of The Gateway: Books 1-3 (The Gateway Trilogy #1-3)]]> 34538266 The first three paranormal thrillers in the World of the Gateway Spirit Legacy, Spirit Prophecy and Spirit Ascendancy.A young woman with a troubled past now faces a haunted future�

Jess Ballard has never had it easy, but at least her problems never included terrifying encounters with ghosts� until now. With the dead pursuing her at every turn, Jess must unravel the mystery behind her hauntings, and uncover a dark family legacy that promises to shape her future—and the future of the spirit world—forever.

Experience the captivating paranormal series that obsessed readers have described as “unputdownable� and “spellbinding�. If you love ghost stories, with plenty of action and suspense, along with a tough and independent heroine you’ll want to stand up and cheer for, you will fall in love with this best-selling series� but proceed with you’ll be up all night reading!

What Amazon readers are

★★★★� 'One of THE BEST ghost-themed paranormal books I've ever read!'

★★★★� 'Hauntingly thrilling.'

★★★★� 'A must-read for those interested in the paranormal.'

★★★★� 'Every turn of the page is like a new discovery.'

★★★★� 'A masterfully woven story.'

★★★★� 'Holmes has written a lovely series with something for everyone; humor, self-reflection, loyalty, mystery, intrigue, action and so much more. '

★★★★� 'If you're into the paranormal, like ghosts, ghost hunting, ghost stories, crossing over, Gaelic folklore, dark secrets, plot twists that I didn't even see coming (and I am a writer myself!) and even a little magic, you should definitely read this book.'

Buy the box set and start a series you won’t want to put down!]]>
1196 E.E. Holmes Christine 0 currently-reading 4.57 The World of The Gateway: Books 1-3 (The Gateway Trilogy #1-3)
author: E.E. Holmes
name: Christine
average rating: 4.57
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date added: 2022/07/07
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Walking to Israel 22671063 283 Emma Gates Christine 0 5.00 2014 Walking to Israel
author: Emma Gates
name: Christine
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2022/07/07
date added: 2022/07/07
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<![CDATA[An Isolated Incident (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #11)]]> 57046451
After a violent home invasion in the remote wilds of Glen Coe leaves a family of four dead, DCI Jack Logan and his team are brought in to lead the manhunt.

But, when one of the victims is revealed to be one half of legendary 1980s Glasgow-based comedy double act, ‘Neeps & Tatties�, Logan is forced to leave the Highlands and head back to his old stomping ground.

He may have spent his career dealing with the worst humanity has to offer, but to find out who killed Archie Tatties and his family, Logan will have to confront his most terrifying challenge yet - the seedy world of Scottish light entertainment.

An Isolated Incident is the eleventh book in JD Kirk’s internationally bestselling DCI Logan crime fiction series. Perfect for fans of Chris Brookmyre, Stuart Macbride, and Alex Smith.]]>
399 J.D. Kirk Christine 0 4.55 2021 An Isolated Incident (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #11)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2022/06/29
date added: 2022/06/29
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<![CDATA[Colder than the Grave (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #12)]]> 57932171
DCI Jack Logan should’ve known things were going too well. Genuinely happy for the first time in years, Jack has almost fooled himself into believing that the world is a decent place.

But, when the discovery of a mutilated body kicks off a series of grisly murders, Jack’s dream of a peaceful life rapidly begins to crumble around him.

With friends in danger, and enemies begging for his help, Jack must risk everything to protect the final would-be victim, and stop the most monstrous killer he’s ever faced.

And to do that, sacrifices will have to be made�

Colder than the Grave is the 12th novel in the #1 bestselling DCI Jack Logan series set in the Highlands of Scotland. Perfect for fans of Stuart Macbride, Chris Brookmyre, Ian Rankin, and LJ Ross.]]>
307 J.D. Kirk Christine 5 Unexpected reaction

Is it common for people to tear up at the end of a detective story? I was so happy with this conclusion that it really felt like friends of mine were finally safe. JD Kirk has an awesome sense of humour too = I love being surprised by his ironic touches on a situation. Comic relief indeed. Can't wait to read the next book in thisseries!]]>
4.65 2021 Colder than the Grave (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #12)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/01
date added: 2022/06/01
shelves:
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Unexpected reaction

Is it common for people to tear up at the end of a detective story? I was so happy with this conclusion that it really felt like friends of mine were finally safe. JD Kirk has an awesome sense of humour too = I love being surprised by his ironic touches on a situation. Comic relief indeed. Can't wait to read the next book in thisseries!
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<![CDATA[Northwind (Robert Hoon Thrillers, #1)]]> 57670094
Shunned by his old colleagues, and dividing his time between a dead-end job and the bottom of a whisky bottle, former Police Scotland Detective Superintendent Bob Hoon’s life is a mess.

Then an old face from Hoon’s Special Forces days turns up asking for help: his teenage daughter has been missing for months, the police have drawn a blank, and he needs the kind of help that only Hoon can provide.

And besides, Hoon owes him one.

From the Highlands of Scotland, to the mean streets of London, Hoon’s relentless hunt for the girl will see him make new friends and encounter old enemies. Enemies who know what happened to the girl. And to hundreds more like her.

But Hoon’s been given something that makes him dangerous, something he thought he’d long-since lost: a purpose.
He may be a disgraced ex-copper, a barely-functioning alcoholic, and a borderline psychopath, but Bob Hoon still believes in justice.

And he’s just the foul-mouthed **** to dish some out.]]>
332 J.D. Kirk Christine 5 4.52 Northwind (Robert Hoon Thrillers, #1)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.52
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/04
date added: 2022/05/04
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<![CDATA[The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding]]> 58920594 From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Poison comes a spellbinding historical mystery about hidden identities, wartime paranoia, and the tantalizing power of deceit.

Brooklyn, 1942. War rages overseas as brother and sister Will and Maggie Scripps contribute to the war effort stateside. Ambitious Will secretly scouts for the Manhattan Project while grief-stricken Maggie works at the Navy Yard, writing letters to her dead mother between shifts.

But the siblings� quiet lives change when they discover a beautiful woman hiding under their back stairs. This stranger harbors an obsession with poisons, an affection for fine things, and a singular talent for killing small creatures. As she draws Will and Maggie deeper into her mysterious past, they both begin to suspect she’s quite dangerous―all while falling helplessly under her spell.

With whispers of spies in dark corners and the world’s first atomic bomb in the works, the visitor’s sudden presence in Maggie’s and Will’s lives raises questions about who she is and what she wants. Is this mysterious woman someone they can trust―or a threat to everything they hold dear?]]>
361 Lydia Kang 1542020077 Christine 0 currently-reading 3.71 2022 The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding
author: Lydia Kang
name: Christine
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/05/03
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe]]> 24951413 Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies -- in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales. Like many of his generation, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe in the early seventies--in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. Twenty years later he decided to retrace the journey he undertook in the halcyon days of his youth. The result is Neither Here Nor There, an affectionate and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul, with stops along the way in Europe's most diverting and historic locales.

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322 Bill Bryson Christine 4 3.83 1991 Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe
author: Bill Bryson
name: Christine
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/13
date added: 2022/04/13
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The Clockmaker's Daughter 39337521 A rich, spellbinding new novel from the author of The Lake House—the story of a love affair and a mysterious murder that cast their shadow across generations, set in England from the 1860's until the present day.

My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.


In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.]]>
492 Kate Morton Christine 5 3.89 2018 The Clockmaker's Daughter
author: Kate Morton
name: Christine
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/12
date added: 2022/04/12
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The Widow Nash: A Novel 35218108 419 Jamie Harrison 1619029901 Christine 0 to-read 3.77 2017 The Widow Nash: A Novel
author: Jamie Harrison
name: Christine
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/05
shelves: to-read
review:

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<![CDATA[The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children, #4)]]> 74331 The Clan of the Cave Bear, is known and loved by millions of readers. Now, in The Plains of Passage, Ayla’s story continues.

Ayla and Jondalar set out on horseback across the windswept grasslands of Ice Age Europe. To the hunter-gatherers of their world--who have never seen tame animals--Ayla and Jondalar appear enigmatic and frightening. The mystery surrounding the woman, who speaks with a strange accent and talks to animals with their own sounds, is heightened by her uncanny control of a large, powerful wolf. The tall, yellow-haired man who rides by her side is also held in awe, not only for the magnificent stallion he commands, but also for his skill as a crafter of stone tools, and for the new weapon he devises, the spear-thrower.

In the course of their cross-continental odyssey, Ayla and Jondalar encounter both savage enemies and brave friends. Together they learn that the vast and unknown world can be difficult and treacherous, but breathtakingly beautiful and enlightening as well. All the pain and pleasure bring them closer to their ultimate destination, for the orphaned Ayla and the wandering Jondalar must reach that place on earth they can call home.

As sweeping and spectacular as the land she creates, Jean M. Auel’s The Plains of Passage is an astonishing novel of discovery, danger, and love, a triumph for one of the world’s most original and popular authors.]]>
760 Jean M. Auel 0517580497 Christine 3 3.69 1990 The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children, #4)
author: Jean M. Auel
name: Christine
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1990
rating: 3
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date added: 2022/02/05
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<![CDATA[THE COLLECTED POEMS OF W.B. YEATS]]> 58917230 The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats includes all of the poems authorized by Yeats for inclusion in his standard canon. Breathtaking in range, it encompasses the entire arc of his career, from luminous reworking of ancient Irish myths and legends to passionate meditations on the demands and rewards of youth and old age, from exquisite, occasionally whimsical songs of love, nature, and art to somber and angry poems of life in a nation torn by war and uprising. In observing the development of rich and recurring images and themes over the course of his body of work, we can trace the quest of this century's greatest poet to unite intellect and artistry in a single magnificent vision.

Revised and corrected, this edition includes Yeat's own notes on his poetry, complemented by explanatory notes from esteemed Yeats scholar Richard J. Finneran. The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats is the most comprehensive edition of one of the world's most beloved poets available in paperback.]]>
W.B. Yeats Christine 4 currently-reading 4.00 1933 THE COLLECTED POEMS OF W.B. YEATS
author: W.B. Yeats
name: Christine
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1933
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/01/27
shelves: currently-reading
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Truly Madly Guilty 26247008
Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.

Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.

Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.]]>
432 Liane Moriarty 1250125561 Christine 0 to-read 3.49 2016 Truly Madly Guilty
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Christine
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/04
shelves: to-read
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Star Mother (Star Mother, #1) 56858949
When a star dies, a new one must be born.

The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden, who considers herself an outsider, sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor and take control of her legacy. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, however, it’s not nine months later—it’s seven hundred years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants.

Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious—and desperate—godling. Ristriel is incorporeal, a fugitive, a trickster, and the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.

Together, pursued across the Earth and trespassing the heavens, Ceris and Ristriel are on a path to illuminate the mysteries that bind them and discover the secrets of the celestial world.]]>
268 Charlie N. Holmberg 1542030455 Christine 0 4.13 2021 Star Mother (Star Mother, #1)
author: Charlie N. Holmberg
name: Christine
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/12/05
date added: 2021/12/05
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<![CDATA[The DCI Jack Logan Collection #1-3 (DCI Jack Logan, #1-3)]]> 55680003 738 J.D. Kirk Christine 5 4.54 The DCI Jack Logan Collection #1-3 (DCI Jack Logan, #1-3)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/03
date added: 2021/11/03
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The Coffin Path 36414051 Maybe you've heard tales about Scarcross Hall, the house on the old coffin path that winds from village to moor top. They say there's something up here, something evil.

Mercy Booth isn't afraid. The moors and Scarcross are her home and lifeblood. But, beneath her certainty, small things are beginning to trouble her. Three ancient coins missing from her father's study, the shadowy figure out by the gatepost, an unshakeable sense that someone is watching.

When a stranger appears seeking work, Mercy reluctantly takes him in. As their stories entwine, this man will change everything. She just can't see it yet.

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395 Katherine Clements 1472204298 Christine 0 3.82 2018 The Coffin Path
author: Katherine Clements
name: Christine
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2021/09/27
date added: 2021/09/27
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<![CDATA[Wicca for Beginners: Wiccan Traditions and Beliefs, Witchcraft Philosophy, Practical Magic, Candle, Crystals and Herbal Rituals]]> 50180084 Discover the life-changing ways of Wicca with this all-in-one guide.

Are you looking to learn about Wicca? Have you heard about it before, but you're not sure what it's all about? Then Wicca for Beginners is your answer.

Written with the beginner in mind, this comprehensive and detailed guide gives you everything you need to know about the ancient practice of Wicca. From learning how to practice rituals to understanding Wiccan mindsets and philosophies, Wicca for Beginners is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about Wicca regardless of experience.

Inside this guide, you'll discover:

The History of This Ancient Practice The Countless Benefits of Wicca The Philosophies, Mindsets, and Types of Wicca Common Myths and Misconceptions Wiccan Holidays and Festivals How Wicca Relates to Astrology, Meditation, and Tarot Initiation Techniques How to Construct a Ritual And So Much More!

With simple, easy-to-understand explanations, along with step-by-step instructions to construct a ritual, now you can harness the power of Wicca with this incredible guide. Using spells, crystals, candles and more, Wicca for Beginners is your ticket to the world of Wicca!

So what are you waiting for? Buy now to join the millions of people already practicing Wicca!


Buy the paperback version of this book and get the Kindle version for free!!

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133 Dora McGregor Christine 0 currently-reading 3.90 Wicca for Beginners: Wiccan Traditions and Beliefs, Witchcraft Philosophy, Practical Magic, Candle, Crystals and Herbal Rituals
author: Dora McGregor
name: Christine
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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The Light Through the Leaves 54741127
In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended—for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone.

In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts—and more important, how to hide them. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.

As Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.]]>
455 Glendy Vanderah 1542026210 Christine 0 4.40 2021 The Light Through the Leaves
author: Glendy Vanderah
name: Christine
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2021/09/16
date added: 2021/09/16
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<![CDATA[Where the Forest Meets the Stars]]> 41818297
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.]]>
333 Glendy Vanderah 1503959910 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.29 2019 Where the Forest Meets the Stars
author: Glendy Vanderah
name: Christine
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/31
shelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Ahead of the Game (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #10)]]> 56326926
Except this body is missing a very vital component, and given its location - The Well of Seven Heads - it seems like someone is trying to send a message. But why? And to whom?

With pressure mounting from his superiors, six hundred teenagers baying for blood, and the press sniffing around for a scandal, the only chance Jack has of cracking his latest case is if he finds a way to keep the heid, while all around are losing theirs.

Ahead of the Game is the tenth book from bestselling Scottish crime author, JD Kirk, and is perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart Macbride, and Val McDermid.]]>
452 J.D. Kirk Christine 5 Love this seriex

Good plot kept me guessing and second guessing. I love the humorous bits added by the author = sometimes the procedural gets bit heavy and a break for some humanity comes along at just the right time]]>
4.55 2021 Ahead of the Game (DCI Logan Crime Thrillers, #10)
author: J.D. Kirk
name: Christine
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/31
date added: 2021/08/31
shelves:
review:
Love this seriex

Good plot kept me guessing and second guessing. I love the humorous bits added by the author = sometimes the procedural gets bit heavy and a break for some humanity comes along at just the right time
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The Impossible Girl 39358474 Two hearts. Twice as vulnerable.

Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public.

Cora’s specialty is not only profitable, it’s a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She’s the girl born with two hearts—a legend among grave robbers and anatomists—sought after as an endangered prize.

Now, as a series of murders unfolds closer and closer to Cora, she can no longer trust those she holds dear, including the young medical student she’s fallen for. Because someone has no intention of waiting for Cora to die a natural death.]]>
357 Lydia Kang 1503958361 Christine 0 4.25 2018 The Impossible Girl
author: Lydia Kang
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2021/08/19
date added: 2021/08/19
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<![CDATA[I Thought You Said This Would Work]]> 56439404
Widowed Samantha Arias hasn’t spoken to Holly Dunfee in forever. It’s for the best. Samantha prefers to avoid conflict. The blisteringly honest Holly craves it. What they still have in common puts them both back on speed dial: a mutual love for Katie, their best friend of twenty-five years, now hospitalized with cancer and needing one little errand from her old college roomies.

It’s simple: travel cross-country together, steal her loathsome ex-husband’s VW camper, find Katie’s diabetic Great Pyrenees at a Utah rescue, and drive him back home to Wisconsin. If it’ll make Katie happy, no favor is too big (one hundred pounds), too daunting (two thousand miles), or too illegal (ish), even when a boho D-list celebrity hitches a ride and drives the road trip in fresh directions.

Samantha and Holly are following every new turn—toward second chances, unexpected romance, and self-discovery—and finally blowing the dust off the secret that broke their friendship. On the open road, they’ll try to put it back together—for themselves, and especially for the love of Katie.]]>
301 Ann Garvin 1542022347 Christine 5 Three friends delivered

I chose this rating because this story ended up really touching my heart. There were so many moments that felt like something I had experienced and expressed here quite well with no sappy=nessplus that touch of humor . here are people you would like in your life. A fast read & a great summer pleasure. Loved it.]]>
4.14 2021 I Thought You Said This Would Work
author: Ann Garvin
name: Christine
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/15
date added: 2021/07/15
shelves:
review:
Three friends delivered

I chose this rating because this story ended up really touching my heart. There were so many moments that felt like something I had experienced and expressed here quite well with no sappy=nessplus that touch of humor . here are people you would like in your life. A fast read & a great summer pleasure. Loved it.
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The End of Temperance Dare 33127341
When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists� retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor’s dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a “waiting room for death.� After years of covering murder and violence as a crime reporter, Eleanor hopes that being around artists and writers in this new job will be a peaceful retreat for her as much as for them.

But from her first fog-filled moments on the manor’s grounds, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom and realizes there’s more to the institution than its reputation of being a haven for creativity. After the arrival of the new fellows―including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks―she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows—and herself—from sinister forces.]]>
316 Wendy Webb 1477826874 Christine 3 ]]> 4.05 2017 The End of Temperance Dare
author: Wendy Webb
name: Christine
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/05
date added: 2021/07/07
shelves:
review:
It was okay. It kept me reading the story was fairly involving altho I figured out the ending early on & mostly kept reading to see if I was right. I was.

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<![CDATA[Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything]]> 35565991 492 Lydia Kang 1523501855 Christine 5 4.10 2017 Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything
author: Lydia Kang
name: Christine
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/17
date added: 2021/06/17
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A Witch in Time 49857078
In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet LaCompte has a passionate, doomed romance with the married Parisian painter Auguste Marchant. When her mother � a witch � botches a curse on Marchant, she unwittingly binds Juliet to the artist through time, damning her to re-live her affair and die tragically young lifetime after lifetime as the star-crossed lovers reincarnate through history.

Luke Varner, the worldly demon tasked with maintaining this badly crafted curse, has been helplessly in love with his charge, in all her reincarnations, since 19th century France. He’s in love with Nora, a silver screen starlet in 1930s Hollywood. He’s in love with Sandra, a struggling musician in 1970s Los Angeles. And he’s in love with Helen, a magazine exec in present-day DC who has the power to “suggest� others do her bidding.

In this life, Helen starts to recall the curse and her tragic previous lives. But this time, she might have the power to break the cycle�

A Witch in Time is perfect for fans of A Secret History of Witches, Outlander, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.]]>
448 Constance Sayers Christine 0 4.29 2020 A Witch in Time
author: Constance Sayers
name: Christine
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2021/06/01
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Opium and Absinthe 48671529
A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won’t rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister’s death. Unfortunately, Tillie’s addicted to more than just truth; to ease the pain from a recent injury, she’s taking more and more laudanum…and some in her immediate circle are happy to keep her well supplied.

Tillie can’t bring herself to believe vampires exist. But with the hysteria surrounding her sister’s death, the continued vampiric slayings, and the opium swirling through her body, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for a girl who relies on facts and figures to know what’s real—or whether she can trust those closest to her.]]>
379 Lydia Kang 1542017807 Christine 0 Tension with great payoff

Well written, good plotting. Provided a nice twist on who the killer turned out to be. I kept wanting to jump ahead because I was able finding it hard to wait to find out who the culprit was! I love when books do that to me like a movie keeping you on the edge of your seat. I'll be looking out for more Lydia Many titles. ]]>
3.97 2020 Opium and Absinthe
author: Lydia Kang
name: Christine
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2021/05/14
date added: 2021/05/14
shelves:
review:
Tension with great payoff

Well written, good plotting. Provided a nice twist on who the killer turned out to be. I kept wanting to jump ahead because I was able finding it hard to wait to find out who the culprit was! I love when books do that to me like a movie keeping you on the edge of your seat. I'll be looking out for more Lydia Many titles.
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s.t.p rolling stones 4743116 376 Robert Greenfield 291537872X Christine 3 4.00 1973 s.t.p rolling stones
author: Robert Greenfield
name: Christine
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1973
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/05/05
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The Liar’s Daughter 49484462 ‘AMAZING!� Marian Keyes

No one deserves to be taken before their time. Do they?

Joe McKee � pillar of the Derry community � is dead. As arrangements are made for the traditional Irish wake, friends and family are left reeling at how cancer could have taken this much-loved man so soon.

But grief is the last thing that Joe’s daughter Ciara and step-daughter Heidi feel. For they knew the real Joe � the man who was supposed to protect them and did anything but.

As the mourners gather, the police do too, with doubt being cast over whether Joe’s death was due to natural causes. Because the lies that Joe told won’t be taken to the grave after all � and the truth gives his daughters the best possible motive for killing him�

A gripping suspense novel about deadly secrets and lies. The perfect read for fans of Clare Mackintosh.

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400 Claire Allan Christine 4 3.86 2020 The Liar’s Daughter
author: Claire Allan
name: Christine
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/29
date added: 2021/04/29
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<![CDATA[Spellbreaker (Spellbreaker Duology, #1)]]> 49338237 A world of enchanted injustice needs a disenchanting woman in the newest fantasy series by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician.

The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.

Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.

For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?]]>
305 Charlie N. Holmberg 1542020107 Christine 0 currently-reading 4.07 2020 Spellbreaker (Spellbreaker Duology, #1)
author: Charlie N. Holmberg
name: Christine
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/15
shelves: currently-reading
review:

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Refuge 41740984 “An intensely readable novel of the complexity of family ties . . . Dot Jackson is a true Southern voice, a master storyteller and an Appalachian treasure� (Dori Sanders, author of Clover and Her Own Place).   Early one morning in 1929, Mary Seneca Steele spontaneously packs a suitcase, gathers up her son and daughter, and drives away in her abusive and dissolute husband’s brand-new Auburn Phaeton automobile leaving her privileged life in Charleston behind. It is the beginning of a journey of enlightenment that leads Mary “Sen� to the mountains and mysteries of Appalachia where she will learn unexpected family secrets, create a new life for herself and her children, and finally experience love and happiness before tragedy will once again test her.   Written by Pulitzer Prize–nominated author, Dot Jackson has spun a story that will captivate readers looking for an entertaining saga of self-discovery, family, love, loss, and redemption.   “Refuge is a wonderful story about the need to find one’s place in the world—and the price paid to remain there. With her narrative gift and keen ear for Appalachian speech, Dot Jackson gives her readers a beautifully rendered portrait of a lost time and place.� —Ron Rash, author of Serena and The Cove  ]]> 306 Dot Jackson 1635763428 Christine 0 4.25 2006 Refuge
author: Dot Jackson
name: Christine
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 2021/04/15
date added: 2021/04/15
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<![CDATA[The Man Who Would Be Jack: The hunt for the real Ripper]]> 55376671 In 1893, two years after the last Ripper murder, Detective Inspector William Race met with two journalists working for The Sun and told them that he knew the identity of Jack the Ripper. Two years earlier, Race had arrested 25-year-old Thomas Hayne Cutbush for attacking two young girls with a knife. Having worked on the Ripper case, Race noted a number of startling Cutbush matched eyewitness descriptions of the Ripper; took long night-time walks, returning at dawn with mud and blood on his clothing, and once tried to cut his mother's throat. Ignored by his superiors the Inspector eventually decided to take his story to the press. His actions unleashed the biggest journalistic investigation of the time with The Sun putting its star reporters on the trail of Thomas Cutbush. When they published their results they caused a sensation, leading to the now infamous and deeply flawed Macnaghten Memoranda. In The Man Who Would Be Jack, the author re-examines Inspector Race's and the journalists' findings and uncovers startling new evidence to support the idea that Cutbush was indeed Jack the Ripper. This is a fresh, exciting detective and whodunnit story that whips along at a cracking pace. Praise for The Man Who Would be ‘A watertight case. Rarely is a factual book such a page turner� - TV presenter Nick Knowles ‘Brilliantly researched and expertly written� - The Whitechapel Society ‘It is one of the volumes every Ripperologist should have on their bookshelf' - Paul Begg ‘As you’d expect from a Jack the Ripper walking tour guide, David Bullock excels as a narrator... A thrilling tale� - Fortean Times David Bullock lives in Hampshire with his wife and son. He has been researching the Jack the Ripper case for over twenty years and in 2013 appeared in the Channel 5 documentary Inside Broadmoor. He is a highly regarded public speaker and he has also been a contributor to the Whitechapel Society Journal.]]> 233 David Bullock Christine 3 4.10 2012 The Man Who Would Be Jack: The hunt for the real Ripper
author: David Bullock
name: Christine
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2021/03/31
date added: 2021/03/31
shelves:
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I Will Make You Pay 44424442 Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns.

It seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.

Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.

With every passing Wednesday the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?]]>
321 Teresa Driscoll Christine 5 4.13 2019 I Will Make You Pay
author: Teresa Driscoll
name: Christine
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/23
date added: 2021/02/23
shelves:
review:

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West With Giraffes 56449476 An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…�

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.]]>
346 Lynda Rutledge 1542023351 Christine 5 Journey to become yourself

Choosing this rating was easy as this story provided me two days with every emotion you can I'm imagine and it was wonderful. The characters are very realistically drawn and relatable, ending up endearing. This hook is part "Water for Elephants" part "Grapes of wrath" all in a coming of age quest story. I am now a huge fan of Lynda Rutledge and will be looking for more _ like now;]]>
4.35 2021 West With Giraffes
author: Lynda Rutledge
name: Christine
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/05
date added: 2021/02/06
shelves:
review:
Journey to become yourself

Choosing this rating was easy as this story provided me two days with every emotion you can I'm imagine and it was wonderful. The characters are very realistically drawn and relatable, ending up endearing. This hook is part "Water for Elephants" part "Grapes of wrath" all in a coming of age quest story. I am now a huge fan of Lynda Rutledge and will be looking for more _ like now;
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<![CDATA[Murder the Boys (Kate Power, #1)]]> 53822200 Please note this book was first published as Power on Her Own.

THE DETECTIVE
Introducing Birmingham Detective Sergeant Kate Power, exiled from London's Metropolitan Police by personal tragedy and making a new start in the distant outpost of Birmingham CID. Many of her new colleagues are good men but some won’t leave their new female colleague alone long enough to get on with her job. Kate is anxious to lose herself in her work, and before too long a case comes along that will consume her in a way she could never have imagined.

THE CASE
Boys are being abducted, abused, and murdered on her patch, and Kate feels intense personal and professional pressure to catch those responsible. Are her colleagues being deliberately obstructive or simply dragging their feet? Who is behind the vile crimes?

SHE WON’T LET THE BULLIES STOP HER. KATE WILL RISK HER CAREER AND HER LIFE TO BRING JUSTICE TO THE VICTIMS.

Set in the late 90s in England’s second city, this is the first in a series of compulsively readable crime thrillers.]]>
265 Judith Cutler 1789314364 Christine 3 4.08 1998 Murder the Boys (Kate Power, #1)
author: Judith Cutler
name: Christine
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2020/12/21
date added: 2020/12/21
shelves:
review:

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The Last of the Moon Girls 49343950
Lizzy discovers a Book of Remembrances meant to help Lizzy embrace her own special gifts. When she reconnects with Andrew Greyson, one of the few in town who believed in Althea’s innocence, she resolves to clear her Grandmother’s name.]]>
397 Barbara Davis 1542006481 Christine 3 4.20 2020 The Last of the Moon Girls
author: Barbara Davis
name: Christine
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/11/11
date added: 2020/11/11
shelves:
review:

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