Drew's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:07:02 -0700 60 Drew's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Chain-Gang All-Stars 61190770
Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America's increasingly dominant private prison industry. It's the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.

In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death-matches for packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, she considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games, but CAPE's corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar's path have devastating consequences.

Moving from the Links in the field to the protestors to the CAPE employees and beyond, Chain-Gang All-Stars is a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system's unholy alliance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and a clear-eyed reckoning with what freedom in this country really means.]]> 367 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 0593317335 Drew 0 4.13 2023 Chain-Gang All-Stars
author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
name: Drew
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: currently-reading, borrowed-from-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #7)]]> 216017751 The time has come! Book seven in the bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series is here!

They call it Faction Wars.

The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it.
This is what they’ve been fighting toward.
This is war.

This inevitable ruin.]]> 724 Matt Dinniman Drew 5 audible, geeky-fun, fantasy 4.64 2024 This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #7)
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Drew
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: audible, geeky-fun, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Corner Blitz (Burnside Series #5)]]> 24921504 The Governor of California's teenage daughter has gone missing, and it's happened right in the middle of a nasty re-election campaign.Adamant about keeping the investigation quiet, the governor brings in Burnside to find her. But when the disappearance turns into murder, everything changes and Burnside is plunged into a scenario where things are not what they appear to be.Cobbling together the world of politics, sports and teen romance, Corner Blitz moves through the wealthy canyon enclaves to the mean streets near downtown Los Angeles. And as Burnside overcomes the many obstacles in the investigation, he also comes face-to-face with his own past, one that haunts him to this day.The 5th Burnside mystery continues to deliver the sharp banter and unexpected surprises that readers have enjoyed in this series. Corner Blitz follows Burnside on another tightly written mystery, filled with numerous plot twists, and finishes with an unforeseen, yet very satisfying ending.Read the entire Burnside Mystery 1: POST PATTERNBook 2: FADE ROUTEBook 3: BUBBLE SCREENBook 4: SAFETY VALVEBook 5: CORNER BLITZBook 6: NICKEL PACKAGEBook 7: DOUBLE PASSBook 8: TAMPA TWOBook 9: FLEA FLICKERBook 10: SWIM MOVEBook 11: HARD COUNTBook 12: JET SWEEPBook 13: BULL RUSH]]> 297 David Chill Drew 0 4.14 2015 Corner Blitz (Burnside Series #5)
author: David Chill
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Safety Valve (Burnside Series # 4)]]> 28754750 Alternate cover edition
ASIN: B00N7SQJPW

A legendary sports agent is accused of trying to kill his business partner, and he asks Burnside for help. Despite their checkered history, Burnside, the former USC football star and LAPD officer, is intrigued enough to take the case.

As Burnside probes into the seamy world of sports marketing, he uncovers much more than he bargained for. There are a surprising number of former clients, spurned lovers and angry underworld figures who harbor plenty of motives to commit murder. With many avenues to go down, Burnside doggedly pursues an investigation that confounds everyone involved -- and also causes the authorities to suspect Burnside himself of a capital crime in which he had no involvement.

Combining an intricate plot with compelling characters, the fourth Burnside mystery leads readers down yet another treacherous path. Fraught with wry humor, the unexpected climax of the story will take readers by surprise -- in more ways than one!]]> 304 David Chill Drew 0 3.93 2014 Safety Valve (Burnside Series # 4)
author: David Chill
name: Drew
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way into Our Hearts]]> 208430671 The definitive book on the TV show Ted Lasso, written by New York Times journalist and editor Jeremy Egner, celebrating the show’s improbable rise and cultural impact while never losing sight of the heart, friendship, and passion that have made it an enduring favorite for the ages When Ted Lasso first aired in 2020, nobody—including those who had worked on it—knew how a show inspired by an ad, centered around soccer, filled mostly with unknown actors, and led by a wondrously mustached “nice guyâ€� would be received. Now, eleven Emmys and one Peabody Award later, it’s safe to say that the show’s status as a pop culture phenomenon is secure. And, for the first time, New York Times television editor Jeremy Egner explores the creation, production, and potent legacy of Ted Lasso. Drawing on dozens of interviews from key cast, creators, and more, Believe takes readers from the very first, silly NBC Premier League commercial to the pitch to Apple executives, then into the show’s writer’s room, through the brilliant international casting, and on to the unforgettable set and locations of the show itself. Ìý Egner approaches his reporting as a journalist and as a culturalÌýcritic, but also with an affection and admiration fans will appreciate,Ìýcarefully and humorously telling Ted Lasso’s story of teamwork, of hidden talent, of a group of friends looking around at the world’sÌýincreasingly nasty discourse and deciding that maybe simple decency still had the power to bring us together—a story about what happens when you dare to believe.]]> 368 Jeremy Egner 0593476069 Drew 3 3.97 2024 Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way into Our Hearts
author: Jeremy Egner
name: Drew
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: borrowed-from-library, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dirty Martini (Jack Daniels #4)]]> 509704 WHAT'S WORSE THAN A SERIAL KILLER?

In Whiskey Sour, Chicago police Lieutenant Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels hunted down a killer dubbed "The Gingerbread Man."

In Bloody Mary, she busted a psychopath with a penchant for dismemberment.

In Rusty Nail, it was a serial killer with a doozy of a family tree.

And now, in Dirty Martini, Jack faces her toughest adversary yet: a sicko who's poisoning the city's food supply. But that's just the start of what he has planned, because he's aiming to kill fifty thousand people in the single biggest act of terrorism the US has ever seen. Can she stop him -- and decide whether to accept boyfriend Latham's surprise proposal -- without destroying both her reputation and her sanity?

Join Jack, her partner Herb, and her nemesis Harry McGlade, for her fourth, and greatest, case so far.

DIRTY MARTINI by J.A. Konrath
Like all parties it ends with a bang...

If you are a more sensitive (or adventurous) reader, the Konrath scale rates specific categories from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) to give you some idea if this is your kind of book.

DIRTY MARTINI
Bad Language - 4
Scary - 6
Violent - 3
Funny - 8
Sexy - 5
Crossovers - Contains characters from the Jack Daniels and Associates series, the Timecaster series, and the Konrath Dark Thriller Collective series.]]> 292 J.A. Konrath 1401302793 Drew 4 4.04 2007 Dirty Martini (Jack Daniels #4)
author: J.A. Konrath
name: Drew
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2017/06/23
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: audio-from-other, thrillers, horror, on-my-kindle
review:
‘Dirty Martini� is a great addition to the Jack Daniels series. Not as gruesome or gory as some of the others but the way the story is crafted is even better than some of the previous ones in the series. A couple of new characters are added which is always fun and as always the main characters are a blast. If you like non-stop action with some humor mixed in this is your kind of book!
]]> <![CDATA[Interstellar MegaChef (Flavour Hacker, #1)]]> 207299482 Looking for your one shot to rise to the "top of the pots" in the cutthroat world of interstellar cuisine? Look no further--you might have what it takes to be an Interstellar MegaChef!

Stepping off a long-haul star freighter from Earth, Saras Kaveri has one bag of clothes, her little flying robot Kili... and an invitation to compete in the galaxy's most watched, most prestigious cooking show. Interstellar MegaChef is the showcase of the planet Primus's austere, carefully synthesised cuisine. No one from Earth--where they're so incredibly primitive they still cook with fire--has ever graced its flowmetal cookstations before, or smiled awkwardly for its buzzing drone-cams. Until now.

Corporate prodigy Serenity Ko, inventor of the smash-hit sim SoundSpace, has just got messily drunk at a floating bar, narrowly escaped an angry mob and been put on two weeks' mandatory leave to rest and get her work-life balance back. Perfect time to start a new project! And she's got just the idea: a sim for food. Now she just needs someone to teach her how to cook.

A chance meeting in the back of a flying cab has Saras and Serenity Ko working together on a new technology that could change the future of food--and both their lives--forever...]]> 453 Lavanya Lakshminarayan 1837862338 Drew 2 3.58 2024 Interstellar MegaChef (Flavour Hacker, #1)
author: Lavanya Lakshminarayan
name: Drew
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: borrowed-from-library, space-sci-fi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future]]> 201757917 A radical set of new ideas for how entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate leaders can use the pattern-breaking mindset to dominate the future

The breakthrough concepts of Pattern Breakers come from the observations of Mike Maples Jr., a seasoned venture capitalist, who noticed something strange. Start-ups like Twitter, Twitch, and Lyft had achieved extraordinary success despite their disregard for “best practices.� In contrast, other startups deemed highly promising often failed, even when they seemed to do everything right.

Seeking answers, Maples and coauthor Peter Ziebelman set out to discover the hidden forces that drive extraordinary start-up success. Pattern-breaking success, they reveal, demands a different mindset and actions to harness developments others miss or that may, at first, seem crazy.

Pattern Breakers is filled with firsthand storytelling about initial interactions with some of the most transformative start-ups of recent times. Maples and Ziebelman vividly illustrate an unexpected world where chaos is welcome, naysayers are a positive signal, movements galvanize believers—but one that ultimately change the future. They challenge us to rethink how to transcend the ordinary and achieve the extraordinary.
Ìý±Õ±Õ> 256 Mike Maples Jr. Drew 2 business 3.91 Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future
author: Mike Maples Jr.
name: Drew
average rating: 3.91
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: business
review:

]]> Tartufo 212924015
After nearly losing the election to a geriatric but wildly popular donkey named Maurizio, newly installed Mayor Delizia Miccuci can’t help but feel like the sun has finally set on the rural Italian village of Lazzarini Boscarino. Tourists only stop by to ask for directions, Nonna Amara’s cherished ristorante is long shuttered, and the town hall is disgustingly overrun with glis glis poo—even Postman Duccio has been disgraced. All that’s left is Bar Celebrità, a rustic establishment where weary locals gather to quibble over decades-long disputes, submit their poor stomachs to bartender Giuseppina’s volcanic espresso, and wonder what will become of the place where together they’ve spent their entire lives.

Little do the villagers know that, mere miles away in the forest, local truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza has just happened upon something that could change everything. Swollen to massive proportions, soaking the atmosphere in its pungent fumes, potentially worth six figures in certain international circles, a truffle—un tartufo, that is—sits beneath the soil with the power to either be the greatest gift or the foulest curse the village has ever seen—they’re not completely sure which since Giuseppina’s psychic was a bit unclear on the matter.

Tartufo is much more than a charming romp through the foothills of Tuscany. Written in the same enchanting style and raucous humor that defines Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures, Buxton’s newest story is a reflection on the interconnectedness of life in all its manifestations—and how holding on to harmony in the face of hardship can grow something beautiful and rare beneath the surface.]]> 352 Kira Jane Buxton 1538770814 Drew 3 3.80 2025 Tartufo
author: Kira Jane Buxton
name: Drew
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: borrowed-from-library, contemporary-fiction, travel
review:

]]> Pears and Perils 18038369
“Riveting. Ground Breaking. Truly Impressive.� � People talking about a shipment of tools in a hardware store.

“Dude, this digibook is so solid it four take powerlifting bros to budge it.� –Thunder

“It’s a masterful piece of fiction with laugh out loud humor and sparkling characters. There, I said it, now get the hell out of my house and leave me alone!� –Some guy we thought worked for the Wall Street Journal. (We were way wrong on that one)]]> Drew Hayes Drew 3 audible, beach-mysteries 3.82 2013 Pears and Perils
author: Drew Hayes
name: Drew
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: audible, beach-mysteries
review:

]]> Witchcraft for Wayward Girls 207611566 There’s power in a book�

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master� (NPR).]]> 482 Grady Hendrix 0593548981 Drew 4 4.02 2025 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Drew
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: borrowed-from-library, suspense
review:

]]> <![CDATA[BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company]]> 55270310
Beyond Entrepreneurship became a leadership staple, particularly among small and early-stage companies. And while Collins would go on to write a series of famous bestsellers that have sold more than ten million copies worldwide, this lesser-known early work remains the favourite of many of his loyal readers.

Now, with Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, Collins re-shares the timeless insights in Beyond Entrepreneurship alongside new perspectives gleaned after decades of additional research into what makes great companies tick. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll learn how to turn your company into the 2.0 version of itself. You'll be challenged to grow your own leadership as your company grows, from 1x to 2x to 5x to 10x. You'll learn Collins's newest reflections on people decisions, insights that extend beyond his seminal "first who" principle about getting the right people on the bus. You'll learn why luck favours the persistent, and what it means to look for "who luck." You'll learn about the origins of the "BHAG" (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and why even a small business needs a galvanising BHAG to have a complete and inspiring vision.

You'll also unlock what Collins calls "The Map." The Map is a road map that pulls together the key concepts developed from thirty years of research and writing into one integrated framework for building a company that delivers superior results, makes a distinctive impact, and achieves lasting endurance.

Finally, you'll learn the lessons that Jim Collins himself learned from the most influential mentor in his life, Bill Lazier.

Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 is the ambitious upgrade to a classic. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll discover that the goal to turn your business into an enduring great company is as relevant - and as within your reach - as ever.]]> 344 Jim Collins 0399564241 Drew 5 4.40 2020 BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
author: Jim Collins
name: Drew
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/12
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: audible, business, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All]]> 12675109 183 Jim Collins 0062121006 Drew 5 4.10 2011 Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
author: Jim Collins
name: Drew
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/01
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: borrowed-from-library, business
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer]]> 214175211 Stow away with Rick Steves for a glimpse into the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his 1978 journey on the legendary Hippie Trail.

In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail� from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year-old Rick Steves made the trek, and like a travel writer in training, he documented everything along the way. From taking wild bus rides through Turkey to enduring monsoons in India, the experience ignited his love of travel and forever broadened his perspective on the world.
Ìý
On the Hippie TrailÌýcontains Rick's journals from 1978â€�the last year the trip was possibleâ€�and full-color travel photos from this trek of a lifetimeÌýthrough Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal, plusÌýa brand-new preface and afterword reflecting on the historic context of the moment and how the journey changed his life.

You know Rick Steves. Now discover the adventure that made him the travel writer he is today.]]> 256 Rick Steves 1641716436 Drew 4 3.86 2025 On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer
author: Rick Steves
name: Drew
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves: borrowed-from-library, memoir, travel
review:

]]> The Midnight Club 208155307 Four friends. A campus reunion. A dark new way to relive the past.

“How could you leave the past undisturbed when it was hiding parts of you from yourself?�

It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

Twisty, nostalgic, and emotionally thrilling, The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we’d be.]]> 368 Margot Harrison 1525809881 Drew 3 3.28 2024 The Midnight Club
author: Margot Harrison
name: Drew
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves: borrowed-from-library, contemporary-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Drew 4 4.66 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Drew
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/21
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: borrowed-from-library, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Topped Chef (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #3)]]> 15808610
Hoping for some good publicity, Hayley’s boss signs her up to help judge the Key West Topped Chef contest. Stakes are high as the winner could be the next cooking-show superstar. Hayley shows up for the filming nervous but excited, until she sees who’s on the judging panel with her: Sam Rizzoli, big shot businessman—and owner of the restaurant she just panned in her first negative review.

When Rizzoli turns up dead, the police assume his killer is one of his business rivals. But Hayley wonders whether someone is taking the contest a little too seriously. With the police following the wrong recipe, it’s up to Hayley to find the killer before she’s eliminated from the show…permanently.]]> 292 Lucy Burdette 0451239709 Drew 0 3.85 2013 Topped Chef (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #3)
author: Lucy Burdette
name: Drew
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, beach-mysteries, cozy-mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1)]]> 11071581 310 Lucy Burdette 0451235517 Drew 4 3.71 2012 An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1)
author: Lucy Burdette
name: Drew
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2017/12/26
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle, cozy-mystery, audio-from-other
review:
A fun little cozy mystery which will transport you (and your stomach) to Key West. The writing is good and the plot is well thought out and fun so that it will keep you guessing. My biggest complaint about this book is that while I found the main character liable I also found her a bit annoying. She does everything that you’re not supposed to do and was just too oblivious for my liking. Hopefully in the future stories she’s not the focus of the investigation so those choices she makes wont seem so foolish.
]]> <![CDATA[Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2)]]> 13542371 As the new food critic for Key Zest magazine, Hayley Snow went from being a culinary groupie to one of Florida’s cutting-edge tastemakers. But as always, when life serves Haley a dream come true, it comes paired with a most exquisite murder....

The annual Key West literary conference is drawing the biggest names in food writing from all over the country, and Haley is there to catch a few fresh morsels of insider gossip. Superstar restaurant critic Jonah Barrows has already ruffled a few foodie feathers with his recent tell-all memoir, and as keynote speaker, he promises more of the same jaw-dropping honesty.

But when Hayley discovers Jonah’s body in a nearby dipping pool, the cocktail-hour buzz takes a sour turn, and Hayley finds herself at the center of attention—especially with the police. Now it’s up to her to catch the killer before she comes to her own bitter finish.]]> 293 Lucy Burdette 0451237838 Drew 0 3.77 2012 Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2)
author: Lucy Burdette
name: Drew
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, beach-mysteries, cozy-mystery
review:

]]> Maui Lies 220543637
With their friend's life on the line, they rush to his aid, but what they discover is far more twisted and dangerous than they could have ever imagined. It seems that everyone connected to Myles has vanished.

As they navigate the tangled web of deceit and disappearances, Del and Sabrina must race against time to uncover the truth � and stay alive in the process!]]> 247 Andrew Cunningham Drew 0 4.26 Maui Lies
author: Andrew Cunningham
name: Drew
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> High Output Management 324750
The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses—the art of the entrepreneur—can be summed up in a single word: managing.ÌýBorn of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies (as CEO and employee number three at Intel), High Output Management is equally appropriate for sales managers, accountants, consultants, and teachers, as well as CEOs and startup founders. Grove covers techniques for creating highly productive teams, demonstrating methods of motivation that lead to peak performance.Ìý

"Generous enough with advice and observations to be required reading."Ìýâ€� The Wall Street Journal]]> 272 Andrew S. Grove 0679762884 Drew 2 4.27 1983 High Output Management
author: Andrew S. Grove
name: Drew
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1983
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: borrowed-from-library, business
review:

]]> Rental House 208584952 From the award-winning author of Chemistry, a sharp-witted, insightful novel about a marriage as seen through the lens of two family vacations

Keru and Nate are college sweethearts who marry despite their family differences: Keru’s strict, Chinese, immigrant parents demand perfection (“To use a dishwasher is to admit defeat,� says her father), while Nate’s rural, white, working-class family distrusts his intellectual ambitions and his “foreign� wife.

Some years into their marriage, the couple invites their families on vacation. At a Cape Cod beach house, and later at a luxury Catskills bungalow, Keru, Nate, and their giant sheepdog navigate visits from in-laws and unexpected guests, all while wondering if they have what it takes to answer the big questions: How do you cope when your spouse and your family of origin clash? How many people (and dogs) make a family? And when the pack starts to disintegrate, what can you do to shepherd everyone back together?

With her “wry, wise, and simply spectacular� style (People) and “hilarious deadpan that recalls Gish Jen and Nora Ephron� (O, The Oprah Magazine), Weike Wang offers a portrait of family that is equally witty, incisive, and tender.]]> 224 Weike Wang 0593545540 Drew 1 3.31 2024 Rental House
author: Weike Wang
name: Drew
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/31
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: borrowed-from-library, contemporary-fiction
review:

]]> 9d6 (Caverns and Creatures) 218627143 278 Robert Bevan Drew 4 audible, fantasy, geeky-fun 4.51 9d6 (Caverns and Creatures)
author: Robert Bevan
name: Drew
average rating: 4.51
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: audible, fantasy, geeky-fun
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp, #23)]]> 207595657 Mitch Rapp faces an Iranian foe bent on destabilizing the Middle East in the newest thriller from Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, now written by Don Bentley.

April 2011: On a remote mountaintop overlooking the remains of the Iranian nuclear weapons program, Azad Ashani witnesses a Quds Force demonstration of a capability meant to upend America’s war in the Middle East. Ashani, director of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security and Irene Kennedy’s former back channel to the Iranian government, recognizes the demonstration’s true significance, and the nation-ending conflict it will provoke. Alone, Ashani stands no chance of preventing this rush to madness.

But with the help of one man, he just might.

In Washington, DC, CIA director Irene Kennedy briefs the president that the operational window to kill or capture Osama bin Laden at his recently discovered compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan is rapidly closing. But before he’ll authorize a commando raid on Pakistani soil, the president demands irrefutable proof of bin Laden’s presence.

Proof he trusts just one man to provide.

Preventing a looming war in the Middle East while delivering justice for the nearly 3,000 Americans killed on 9/11 would be a big ask for anyone.

Mitch Rapp isn’t just anyone.]]> 459 Don Bentley 1668045869 Drew 3 4.38 2024 Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp, #23)
author: Don Bentley
name: Drew
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: borrowed-from-library, spy-books, thrillers
review:

]]> Draculas 9378084
Mortimer Moorecook, retired Wall Street raider, avid collector, is losing his fight against cancer. With weeks to live, a package arrives at the door of his hillside mansion—an artifact he paid millions for…a hominoid skull with elongated teeth, discovered in a farmer’s field in the Romanian countryside. With Shanna, his beautiful research assistant looking on, he sinks the skull’s razor sharp fangs into his neck, and immediately goes into convulsions.

OPENS THE DOOR TO AN ANCIENT EVIL...

A rural hospital. A slow night in the ER. Until Moorecook arrives strapped to a gurney, where he promptly codes and dies.

WHERE DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

Four well-known horror authors pool their penchants for scares and thrills, and tackle one of the greatest of all legends, with each writer creating a unique character and following them through a vampire outbreak in a secluded hospital.

The goal was simple: write the most intense novel they possibly could.

Which they did.

A Word of Warning:

Within these pages, you will find no black capes, no satin-lined coffins, no brooding heartthrobs who want to talk about your feelings. Forget sunlight and stakes. Throw out your garlic and your crosses. This is the Anti-TWILIGHT.

NOTE: DRACULAS is a full length novel, 80,000 words long. But this ebook is also brimming with an additional 80,000 words of extras and bonuses:

- a clickable table of contents
- a round-robin interview with Strand, Wilson, Crouch, and Kilborn about writing DRACULAS
- deleted scenes
- two alternate endings
- four excerpts from the authors� other works
- the short story “Serial� by Crouch and Kilborn
- the short story “Cub Scout Gore Feast� by Kilborn and Strand
- the short story “A Sound of Blunder� by Kilborn and Wilson
- author biographies
- comprehensive clickable bibliographies
- an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the writing of DRACULAS, delivered through a collection of over seven hundred emails between the writers as they were brainstorming and writing the book]]> 326 Blake Crouch Drew 0 3.85 2010 Draculas
author: Blake Crouch
name: Drew
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, vampires
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom]]> 203578812 A standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.]]> 400 Jason Pargin 125028595X Drew 3 audible, humor 3.98 2024 I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom
author: Jason Pargin
name: Drew
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/24
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: audible, humor
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ten Restaurants That Changed America]]> 28789680 Ten Restaurants That Changed America reveals how the history of our restaurants reflects nothing less than the history of America itself. Whether charting the rise of our love affair with Chinese food through San Francisco’s fabled The Mandarin, evoking the richness of Italian food through Mamma Leone’s, or chronicling the rise and fall of French haute cuisine through Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, food historian Paul Freedman uses each restaurant to tell a wider story of race and class, immigration and assimilation.

Freedman also treats us to a scintillating history of the then-revolutionary Schrafft’s, a chain of convivial lunch spots that catered to women, and that bygone favorite, Howard Johnson’s, which pioneered midcentury, on-the-road dining, only to be swept aside by McDonald's.

Lavishly designed with more than 100 photographs and images, including original menus, Ten Restaurants That Changed America is a significant and highly entertaining social history.]]> 560 Paul Freedman 0871406802 Drew 1 audio-from-other, food 3.76 Ten Restaurants That Changed America
author: Paul Freedman
name: Drew
average rating: 3.76
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: audio-from-other, food
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Master of Puppets (Master of Puppets #1)]]> 206286409 He thought he was ready for the apocalypse. Then it happened...
A Secret Service operative and dedicated survivalist, Special Agent Del Roosevelt had a plan for every world-ending scenario, and regularly trained for them all.

He was even ready for a date with the hottest woman in his office next Friday. At least he hoped so.

But all that training, all those rations, all that prepping? Useless for the apocalypse that actually played out. Del wakes up half buried in a giant trash pile, missing his thumbs. And, um, covered in red fur.

He’s stuck in a world of fuzzy monsters, senseless violence, and cult-like crusaders. And instead of falling back on known strategy, or making smart decisions based on, I don’t know, logic, Del kind of just freaks out. Big time.

He knows he’s got to get to the top of the tower he’s in to find the wizard who presumably turned him into a living toy. Will the help of an academic rat and an exiled little dinosaur get him there?

Doubtful.

But in all his failing, in all his traipsing around as a silly little red doll, Del starts to realize how ridiculous his life as a prepper actually was. After all, what’s the point in surviving if you have no one to live for?

Master of Puppets is the first book in an all-new LitRPG Adventure by Eric Ugland, bestselling author of The Good Guys. Strap in for an immersive adventure full of quests, powerful magic, tower climbing, leveling up, wise-cracking landlords, and murderous cookies.]]> 504 Eric Ugland Drew 0 to-read, audible, humor 3.85 2024 Master of Puppets (Master of Puppets #1)
author: Eric Ugland
name: Drew
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read, audible, humor
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Box (A Derek Reed Thriller, #1)]]> 54353401
Plagued by nightmares, he decides to take a road trip to see his family. While traveling, he finds a mysterious box filled with trinkets. Upon further inspection, Derek realizes the box holds the souvenirs of a killer's victims.


With hardly any clues to go on, he wonders if he should just bury the box and walk away. However, the guilt he carries won't let him do that. Instead, he uses this journey to atone for his past sins and right a long-ago wrong.


Can he keep the nightmares at bay long enough to figure out who the killer is? Or are they not nightmares at all, but his new reality of living with the dead?]]> Victoria M. Patton 1946934143 Drew 0 4.35 2019 The Box (A Derek Reed Thriller, #1)
author: Victoria M. Patton
name: Drew
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, thrillers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Kate Reid FBI Thrillers Box Set: Books 1-5]]> 222667350 The first five books in the Kate Reid series.Start at the beginning�

When a killer reemerges, Kate Reid learns the devastating truth about her past. Now, the tables are turned, and the hunted becomes the hunter. Follow her along this journey as she chooses a path that will alter her life forever.


Praise for Kate

â­â­â­â­â­� "A fresh voice that is highly addictive!" --Suzie, Bunny's Review

â­â­â­â­â­� "Amazing, gripping, jettison my toes!" --Erica Lutfy, Amazon Reviewer

â­â­â­â­â­� "Edge of your seat intense" -- KCAgain, Amazon Reviewer

These page-turning thrillers are packed with heart-stopping suspense. Fans of Mary Stone, Melinda Leigh, and Robert Dugoni should get to know Kate Reid. Grab this discounted omnibus edition now. ]]> 1624 Robin Mahle Drew 0 4.56 The Kate Reid FBI Thrillers Box Set: Books 1-5
author: Robin Mahle
name: Drew
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, thrillers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society]]> 204316914 A librarian with a knack for solving murders realizes there is something decidedly supernatural afoot in her little town in this cozy fantasy mystery.

Librarian Sherry Pinkwhistle keeps finding bodies—and solving murders. But she's concerned by just how many killers she's had to track down in her quaint village. None of her neighbors seem surprised by the rising body count...but Sherry is becoming convinced that whatever has been causing these deaths is unnatural. But when someone close to Sherry ends up dead, and her cat, Lord Thomas Crowell, becomes possessed by what seems to be an ancient demon, Sherry begins to think she’s going to need to become an exorcist as well as an amateur sleuth. With the help of her town's new priest, and an assortment of friends who dub themselves the "Demon-Hunting Society," Sherry will have to solve the murder and get rid of a demon. This riotous mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Murder, She Wrote is a lesson for demons and murderers.

Never mess with a librarian.]]> 339 C.M. Waggoner 1984805886 Drew 2 3.39 2024 The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society
author: C.M. Waggoner
name: Drew
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: borrowed-from-library, cozy-mystery
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Try Not to Die on Slashtag: An Interactive Adventure]]> 210361799
Trapped in a twisted world of puzzles, challenges, and evil spirits, you must use your skills to survive and unravel the mystery behind The Propitius Hotel. Will you push further into the hotel, or risk it all for a chance at one of the show's many horrific endings?

Try Not to On Slashtag is a prequel to the novel Slashtag, but can be enjoyed on its own. Whether you're a die-hard Slashtag fan or new to the world, this book will have you on the edge of your seat as you Try Not to Die!

Grab your copy today]]> 203 Jon Cohn 1961740893 Drew 0 to-read, horror, on-my-kindle 4.14 Try Not to Die on Slashtag: An Interactive Adventure
author: Jon Cohn
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read, horror, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind]]> 212755924 From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.�

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.]]> 464 Yuval Noah Harari 006342200X Drew 0 to-read 4.32 2011 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
author: Yuval Noah Harari
name: Drew
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Grand Theft Astro 58658568 It is the distant future, and Baird is a loner, a part time spy, and a notorious alleged thief. “Notorious� for the audacity of her crimes; “alleged� because nobody has ever been able to legally prove she committed any of them.

When the hush-hush agency known as the Toolbox recruits Baird, being a clandestine operative seems like a great way to get paid to do what she already does anyway. That is, until a mission goes wrong, and Baird is infected with a deadly virus. With only seven days to live, Baird has to complete a series of daring missions, each one designed to bring her closer to a cure.

Allegedly.

Baird suspects the Toolbox might not be telling her the whole truth. She’s not sure what to believe or who to trust.

And the clock is ticking.]]> Scott Meyer Drew 3 borrowed-kindle-or-audible 3.58 2021 Grand Theft Astro
author: Scott Meyer
name: Drew
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: borrowed-kindle-or-audible
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea]]> 38532197
The cast members of Below Deck are known for their catfights, scheming, personal attacks, and long-held grudges, but what keeps viewers coming back week after week is resident hero Captain Lee, the only cast member to appear in all five seasons.

But you don’t have to be one of Below Deck ’s 1.5 million weekly viewers to appreciate Captain Lee’s story, which offers a glimpse behind-the-scenes at the luxury yachting industry and one of Bravo’s biggest franchises. From having to reclaim his drunk captain's lost papers in the Dominican Republic to unwittingly crewing a drug boat out of Turks and Caicos to navigating the outrageous demands of the super-rich in New York City, Captain Lee's tales from the high seas run the gamut, proving time and time again why he’s a fan he’s occasionally profane, he’s often surprising, but he’s never dull and, for the first time, he’s here to tell all.]]> 256 Captain Lee 150118444X Drew 3 borrowed-from-library, memoir 3.95 2018 Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea
author: Captain Lee
name: Drew
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: borrowed-from-library, memoir
review:

]]> Wool - Holston (Wool, #1) 12287209
Or you'll get what you wish for.]]> 56 Hugh Howey Drew 3 4.14 2012 Wool - Holston (Wool, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/04/28
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: on-my-kindle, post-apocalyptic, dystopia
review:
Wood is very well written and I liked the characters, but it left too many unanswered questions. Just when I started to get into it and really engaged it was over and left me feeling unfulfilled. I think reading the whole Wool series or the omnibus would probably take care of all that but Wool on its own is just OK.
]]> Horror Movie 200101541 A chilling twist on the “cursed filmâ€� genre from the bestselling author ofÌýThe Pallbearers Club andÌýThe Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part?ÌýOnly three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid� is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions � demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?Ìý

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful twist on the “cursed film� that breathlessly builds to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.]]> 277 Paul Tremblay 0063070014 Drew 3 3.31 2024 Horror Movie
author: Paul Tremblay
name: Drew
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: borrowed-from-library, suspense
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life]]> 199017130
At the very heart of all the success and failure I've been exposed to - both my own entrepreneurial journey and through the thousands of interviews I’ve conducted on my chart-topping podcast - are a set of principles that ensure excellence.

These fundamental laws underpinned my meteoric rise, and they will fuel yours too, whether you want to build something great or become someone great. The laws are rooted in psychology and behavioral science, in my own experiences, and those of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, entertainers, artists, writers, and athletes, who I’ve interviewed on my podcast.

These laws will stand the test of time and will help anyone master their life and unleash their potential, no matter the field.

They are the secret sauce to success.]]> 368 Steven Bartlett 0593715837 Drew 5 business, on-my-kindle 4.15 The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life
author: Steven Bartlett
name: Drew
average rating: 4.15
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/05
shelves: business, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #5)]]> 200998630 Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:

- The father who could not allow his daughter to get married
- A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one
- A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents
- A wife holding a child with no name . . .

They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.]]> 224 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 1035046245 Drew 3 3.93 2023 Before We Forget Kindness (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #5)
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: Drew
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/03
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: borrowed-from-library, contemporary-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Monster Hunter Nemesis (Monster Hunter International, #5)]]> 18775169 #5 in multiple New York Times bestseller Larry Correia's Monster Hunter series.

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts—parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He's nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself.

Good thing he’s on our side. More or less.

Sworn to serve and protect the United States of America from all monsters by one of the country’s founding fathers, Franks has only one condition to the agreement: no matter what the government learns of him, no matter what is discovered concerning his odd physiology or the alchemy behind the elixir that made him, the government is never, ever allowed to try and make more like him. Such is absolutely forbidden and should the powers-that-be do so, then the agreement is null and void.

Project Nemesis: in a secret location, using sophisticated technology and advanced genetic engineering, the director of the very agency Franks works for is making more like him. And the director is not content with making one. Nope, he’s making thirteen.

Now all bets are off, and Hell hath no fury like a monster betrayed. Particularly if that monster happens to be an undying killing machine capable of taking out vampires and werewolves with one hand tied behind his back.]]> 368 Larry Correia 1476736553 Drew 4 audible, fantasy 4.36 2014 Monster Hunter Nemesis (Monster Hunter International, #5)
author: Larry Correia
name: Drew
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/02
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: audible, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Before the Coffee Gets Cold / Tales from the Café / Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1-3)]]> 86036682 Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer, in order to: confront the man who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by early onset Alzheimer's, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.

On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.

In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time, From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold comes Tales from the Café, a story of four new customers each of whom is hoping to take advantage of Cafe Funiculi Funicula's time-travelling offer.]]> 736 Toshikazu Kawaguchi 9123553936 Drew 3 3.86 2023 Before the Coffee Gets Cold / Tales from the Café / Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1-3)
author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
name: Drew
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Missing in Christmas River (Christmas River #9)]]> 32318373
What happened to Search & Rescue volunteer Wes Dulany?
That’s the question on everyone’s mind this fall in the small town of Christmas River, Oregon. And it’s especially on the mind of pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters, who returns home after spending the summer working in Portland to find that one of the town’s most beloved citizens has gone missing while looking for legendary treasure in The Christmas River National Forest.
But when Cinnamon and her husband Sheriff Daniel Brightman come across a small piece of the legendary treasure in town, and become a target of violence shortly after, it’s clear that Wes Dulany’s disappearance isn’t nearly as cut and dry as it seems.
Because a dangerous game is afoot in Christmas River this autumn.
And the stakes are higher than anybody ever imagined.

If you enjoy a clever mystery with heart-pounding twists and sweet romance, then you will love Missing in Christmas River. Download your copy of the newest Christmas River book today!]]> 218 Meg Muldoon Drew 2 4.34 2016 Missing in Christmas River (Christmas River #9)
author: Meg Muldoon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: cozy-mystery, holiday, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twisted Lives: A heart-pounding thrill ride with covert adventures and a jaw-dropping twist]]> 213742784 The Fugitive meets Gone Girl.
It happens more than you might think.
One second someone’s life is totally typical,
the next it’s terribly tragic.
Everything they had,
everything they planned,
everything they were,
all of it vanishes in a flash.

Shock and sorrow leave the victim staring into tomorrow’s void, How it happened? Who did it? And why?

What would you do if you woke to find that someone had framed you for a horrible crime and the police were at your door? What if the evidence were so compelling that even you had doubts? Would you collapse? Surrender? Question your sanity? Or would you do whatever it takes to save your family?]]> 356 Tim Tigner Drew 0 4.25 Twisted Lives: A heart-pounding thrill ride with covert adventures and a jaw-dropping twist
author: Tim Tigner
name: Drew
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: to-read, avil-on-audible, fantasy, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> Asset One (Lara King #1) 216383669 --Midwest Book Review (Any Means Necessary)
â­â­â­â­â­�

From the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author Jack Mars (with over 10,000 five-star reviews) comes a groundbreaking new spy thriller orphan Lara King has been raised and trained from a young girl to become one of the CIA’s deadliest and most effective agents.

In ASSET ONE (Book #1), nuclear Armageddon becomes a pawn in a game of international terror, and CIA's elite operative Lara King is faced with no choice but to infiltrate an extremist cell threatening global security. Can she disarm the ticking doomsday clock set in motion by her own government's secrets?

The Lara King series delivers a captivating spy thriller with twists you won’t see coming, hooking you from start to finish. Embark on a riveting adventure with this new and thrilling action protagonist that guarantees to keep you engrossed well past your bedtime. Fans of Vince Flynn, Brad Taylor, and Lee Child are sure to fall in love.


Future books in the series are also available!

“Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that's hard to put down.�
--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)
â­â­â­â­â­�

“One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.�
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)
â­â­â­â­â­]±Õ> 213 Jack Mars Drew 0 4.13 Asset One (Lara King #1)
author: Jack Mars
name: Drew
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/29
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, spy-books
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Piper Harris Mysteries: Volumes 1-3]]> 196933671
"I wanted to read it from the first two sentences."

This box set

COMING IN HOT

Starting a new life in Florida means year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches, and balmy breezes. For most people, anyway. But not for thirtysomething Piper and her grandmother, former members of a motorcycle gang in Oregon.
For them, it means entering the witness protection program and moving to Bitter End in the Sunshine State. Yes, to Bitter End. It doesn’t get much more ironic than this.
But hey, it’s better than rotting in jail for getting busted with tax evasion and money laundering, and infinitely better than getting killed by said gang for testifying against them.

Needless to say, they both have difficulties adjusting to life in Florida. Moving into a retirement community and dealing with all those quirky characters? Wearing flip-flops instead of biker boots? Where do you even hide your gun if you’re wearing those godawful muumuu dresses? Not to mention, they’re supposed to keep everything on the right side of the law now? Ugh!

Oh, and there’s that dead body in their neighbor’s front yard. Instead of laying low, Piper and her Gran somehow get sucked into that murder mystery.
When they realize they’re in too deep and their cover is almost blown, they have no other choice but to find the killer before it’s too late.

FOOL ME ONCE

Thirtysomething Piper Harris and her grandmother, former members of a motorcycle gang, are struggling to adjust to their new life in Bitter End, Florida, after being relocated there at a retirement complex as part of the witness protection program.
Let’s just say Gran laundered money so well, she washed away their freedom.
It’s crucial for Piper and Gran to lay low, but how can they do that when they get involved in another murder investigation?

Lloyd and Tammy Feldman are financial managers, offering investments to the seniors of the Bitter End retirement community.
But when Tammy turns up dead and Lloyd becomes a fugitive, their business is exposed as a fraud. Now, the seniors are searching for answers, for Lloyd, and for their money.
And Piper searches as well. Nobody messes with her tribe. Yes, okay, it takes some convincing from her mischief-loving next-door neighbor, Edie, but what else is new?

Will Piper blow the lid off the swindle, or will she blow her own cover?

BAR NONE

It’s been two months since Piper and her Gran relocated to Bitter End, Florida, as part of the witness protection program, and things are only slightly looking up.
That is, if you don’t count another murder.
Piper has taken a bartending job at a dive bar that’s shadier than a palm tree at night. Dealing with questionable characters comes with the territory, but she’s used to that. After she threatens one of the patrons with a knife, she stumbles upon his dead body in the alley later that night. She is not used to that.

She is content to let the police deal with it, but then, on the corpse, she finds a note with her name on it—her witness protection name—which will now need further protection! Piper is then propelled into a high-stakes pursuit of uncovering her mysterious connection to a total stranger-turned-murder-victim.]]> 682 Deany Ray Drew 0 4.38 The Piper Harris Mysteries: Volumes 1-3
author: Deany Ray
name: Drew
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read, cozy-mystery, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Monster Hunters (Monster Hunter International #1-3)]]> 13260260 Monster Hunter International, Monster Hunter Vendetta andÌýMonster Hunter AlphaÌýin one huge volume!Ìý Two New York Times bestsellers in together for the first time, and the first three entries in Larry Correia’s blockbuster Monster Hunter series.

Monster Hunter InternationalFive days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living.ÌýMonster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit. It’s actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem.ÌýAn ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta.ÌýShould the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.Ìý

Monster Hunter VendettaAccountant turned professional monster hunter Owen Zastava Pitt managed to stop the nefarious Old One’s invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.The Condition is led by a fanatical necromancer known as the Shadow Man. The government wants to capture the Shadow Man and has assigned the enigmatic Agent Franks to be Owen’s full time bodyguard -- which is a polite way of saying that Owen is monster bait.Ìý Fortunately, this bait is armed and very dangerous.

Monster Hunter AlphaEarl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he’s also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business. But another force is working to bring about the creation of a whole new species of werewolf. When darkness falls, the final hunt begins, and the only thing standing in their way is a handful of locals, a lot of firepower, and Earl Harbinger’s stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead.]]> 1191 Larry Correia 1451637845 Drew 4 4.49 2012 The Monster Hunters (Monster Hunter International #1-3)
author: Larry Correia
name: Drew
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Roverpowered: Tales of an Aspiring Alchemist]]> 213449495 A wizard's first quest. An unlikely companion. Grand adventure awaits!
Wanda and Wumble are a small pair with vast ambitions. One an aspiring alchemist, and the other her faithful hound, the pair bond as wizard and familiar to begin their pursuit of magic.

As a newly made wizard without any training, resources, or even a home to return to, Wanda will have to forge her own way on a path where constant dangers lurk. Even the simple act of furthering her alchemy education swiftly becomes a harrowing ordeal.

Luckily for Wanda, Wumble is no ordinary hound.

Contained within her one-eyed companion is a power many factions of the world are actively hunting for. A seed with unfathomable potential waiting to sprout.

And anyone who trifles with Wumble’s wizard is in for a ruff time.

Experience a brand new universe from Drew Hayes, the bestselling author of Super Powereds and NPCs. Featuring a lovable pair of heroes out on their first adventure, learning about both magic and life in a progression fantasy suitable for all ages!]]> 129 Drew Hayes Drew 1 audible, fantasy 4.25 2024 Roverpowered: Tales of an Aspiring Alchemist
author: Drew Hayes
name: Drew
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/23
date added: 2024/12/23
shelves: audible, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You Weren’t Supposed To See That: Secrets Every Investor Should Know]]> 203579220
Overlooked things that tip the balance from failure to success.

Hidden truths that make the critical difference between understanding the world and being dangerously naive.

And surprising realities that determine whether or not you and your family are on the path to generational wealth.

In You Weren’t Supposed to See That, Downtown Josh Brown—the original Wall Street blogger, star of CNBC’s Halftime Report, and manager of billions of dollars as CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management—collects and shares the most important of these secrets.

Drawing on 15 years of The Reformed Broker, the most-read financial blog in the world, Josh revisits, updates, and expands on the best of his wildly popular writing. As he does so, he helps you to discover all the most important, surprising, and sometimes painfully true secrets of finance, investing, and Wall Street that you need to know to thrive today.

With Downtown Josh Brown as your guide, you’ll see things how they really are—and as you never have before.]]> 256 Joshua M. Brown 180409059X Drew 4 4.08 You Weren’t Supposed To See That: Secrets Every Investor Should Know
author: Joshua M. Brown
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/19
date added: 2024/12/19
shelves: borrowed-from-library, business
review:

]]> I Was a Teenage Slasher 199798522 From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, and shared sense of unfairness of being on the outside through the slasher horror Jones loves, but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.]]> 373 Stephen Graham Jones 1668022249 Drew 3 3.54 2024 I Was a Teenage Slasher
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Drew
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: borrowed-from-library, thrillers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shingles Audio Collection, Volume 5 (Shingles Audio Collections, #5)]]> 55185604 Stranger's Thing by Robert Bevan: Four friends get more than they bargained for when they break into a seemingly abandoned research lab.

Jizz World by Rick Gualtieri: Zach Johnson was an idiot. So, when given the chance to wish for anything the universe had to offer, only one thing came to mind: he wanted his life to be just like a porno.

The Shingling by Steve Wetherell: Johnny Terry, a recovering meth addict, is excited to start his new life as the caretaker at the Underpass Motel. Unfortunately, the Underpass is haunted by the ghosts of dead porn stars.

The Haunting of Whore House by Robert Bevan: Lucy and her brother, Junkie, find out that moving was only the beginning of their troubles when they encounter the ghost of a little boy in the woods.

Snatched: Grandma Annie and the Cooter of Doom by John G. Hartness: Jefferson Smith decides to shadow a detective, a coroner, and an OB/GYN for Career Week, with unexpected results.

28 Dicks Later by E.M. Kaplan: When a mysterious illness spreads like wildfire through Boneville, it's do or die time for Willie. Will she rise to the occasion?


*CONTAINS MATURE THEMES.*]]> 14 Authors and Dragons 170527482X Drew 3 audible, humor 4.25 2020 Shingles Audio Collection, Volume 5 (Shingles Audio Collections, #5)
author: Authors and Dragons
name: Drew
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/13
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: audible, humor
review:

]]> The Cricket on the Hearth 549938
The title creature is a sort of barometer of life at the home of John Peerybingle and his much younger wife Dot. When things go well, the cricket on the hearth chirps; it is silent when there is sorrow. Tackleton, a jealous old man, poisons John's mind about Dot, but the cricket through its supernatural powers restores John's confidence and all ends happily.]]> 82 Charles Dickens 0809500418 Drew 2 audible, holiday 3.49 1845 The Cricket on the Hearth
author: Charles Dickens
name: Drew
average rating: 3.49
book published: 1845
rating: 2
read at: 2014/04/14
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: audible, holiday
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What I Ate in One Year (And Related Thoughts)]]> 207298822
“Sharing food is one of the purest human acts.�

Food has always been an integral part of Stanley Tucci’s life: from stracciatella soup served in the shadow of the Pantheon, to marinara sauce cooked between scene rehearsals and costume fittings, to home-made pizza eaten with his children before bedtime.

Now, in What I Ate in One Year Tucci records twelve months of eating—in restaurants, kitchens, film sets, press junkets, at home and abroad, with friends, with family, with strangers, and occasionally just by himself.

Ranging from the mouth-wateringly memorable to the comfortingly domestic and to the infuriatingly inedible, the meals memorialised in this diary are a prism for him to reflect on the ways his life, and his family, are constantly evolving. Through food he marks—and mourns—the passing of time, the loss of loved ones, and steels himself for what is to come.

Whether it’s duck a l’orange eaten with fellow actors and cooked by singing Carmelite nuns, steaks barbequed at a gathering with friends, or meatballs made by his mother and son and shared at the table with three generations of his family, these meals give shape and add emotional richness to his days.

What I Ate in One Year is a funny, poignant, heartfelt, and deeply satisfying serving of memories and meals and an irresistible celebration of the profound role that food plays in all our lives.]]> 368 Stanley Tucci 1668055686 Drew 3 food, memoir, audible 3.86 2024 What I Ate in One Year (And Related Thoughts)
author: Stanley Tucci
name: Drew
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: food, memoir, audible
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Malice in Christmas River (Christmas River #4)]]> 23295807 Somehow, pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon Peters has managed to stay above it all. Recently married, Cinnamon’s been happily working hard at her pie shop all summer to help pay for her and Sheriff Daniel Brightman’s upcoming honeymoon to Hawaii. All that stands between them and paradise is the upcoming Christmas River Rodeo. Then it’s nothing but blue skies, tropical waters, and Mai Tai cocktails.
But when a terrible accident occurs at the Rodeo, Cinnamon realizes that getting to the honeymoon won’t be so easy.
Something sinister is going on in Christmas River.
And Cinnamon soon discovers that it threatens to destroy everything she has.
Malice in Christmas River is the fourth book in the Christmas Cozy Mystery series.
]]> 220 Meg Muldoon Drew 2 4.03 2014 Malice in Christmas River (Christmas River #4)
author: Meg Muldoon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
shelves: audio-from-other, cozy-mystery, holiday
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow]]> 56383028 *Winner of the International Ski Association's Ullr Book Award *

"A sparkling account."� Wall Street Journal

An electrifying adventure into the rich history of skiing and the modern heart of ski-bum culture, from one of America's most preeminent ski journalists

The story of skiing is, in many ways, the story of America itself. Blossoming from the Tenth Mountain Division in World War II, the sport took hold across the country, driven by adventurers seeking the rush of freedom that only cold mountain air could provide. As skiing gained in popularity, mom-and-pop backcountry hills gave way to groomed trails and eventually the megaresorts of today. Along the way, the pioneers and diehards—the ski bums—remained the beating heart of the scene.

Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider. Hopping from Vermont to Colorado, Montana to West Virginia, Hansman profiles the people who have built their lives around a cold-weather obsession. Along the way she reckons with skiing's problematic elements and investigates how the sport is evolving in the face of the existential threat of climate change.]]> 272 Heather Hansman 1335081119 Drew 3 audible, memoir, outdoors 3.88 Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow
author: Heather Hansman
name: Drew
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: audible, memoir, outdoors
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Constituent Service: A Third District Story]]> 219359162 The aliens are here . . . and they want municipal services!

Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District—the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself.

And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.

It's Parks and Recreation meets the Federation of Planets in this fast and funny audio exclusive by Hugo Award winner and Audible best seller John Scalzi.]]> 3 John Scalzi Drew 3 3.85 2024 Constituent Service: A Third District Story
author: John Scalzi
name: Drew
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: audible, borrowed-kindle-or-audible, fantasy, short-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)]]> 203956647 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 059365322X.]]> 400 Richard Osman Drew 3 4.07 2024 We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Drew
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/02
date added: 2024/12/02
shelves: borrowed-from-library, mysteries
review:

]]> Tell Me Who You Are 195790821 The Silent Patient meets Gone Girl in this sharp psychological thriller about a psychiatrist with a shocking past and her dangerous new patient.

Brooklyn psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Strange is certain she knows what's best for her patients, her family, and pretty much everyone else, but that all changes when a troubled young man arrives for his appointment and makes a pair of alarming confessions: I am going to kill someone, and I know who you really are.

Dr. Caroline is accustomed to hearing her patients� deepest, darkest secrets, but it seems Nelson Schack may be one step ahead when detectives show up later that day, inquiring about a missing woman. It looks like Nelson has made good on his threat—yet somehow it’s Dr. Caroline who becomes the prime suspect.

Convinced the police are incompetent, Dr. Caroline takes matters into her own hands, chasing down the elusive Nelson and running headlong into a past she has spent her entire life trying to forget. As she closes in on her target, all the polished pieces of her manicured life splinter when people begin to question who she really is.

Harrowing, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, award-winning author Louisa Luna’s Tell Me Who You Are is an utterly gripping psychological thriller that begs the question: Can a person ever really outrun their past?]]> 352 Louisa Luna 037461279X Drew 0 to-read, audible, mysteries 3.50 2024 Tell Me Who You Are
author: Louisa Luna
name: Drew
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves: to-read, audible, mysteries
review:

]]> Starter Villain 61885029
Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.]]> 264 John Scalzi 0765389223 Drew 4 audible, humor 4.09 2023 Starter Villain
author: John Scalzi
name: Drew
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/27
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves: audible, humor
review:

]]> Reliquary (Pendergast, #2) 39030 464 Douglas Preston 0765354950 Drew 0 to-read, audio-from-other 4.03 1997 Reliquary (Pendergast, #2)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Drew
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other
review:

]]> Worst Case Scenario 210331622 Following her explosive debut thriller Falling and its harrowing follow-up Drowning, #1 internationally bestselling author T.J. Newman is back with Worst Case Scenario.

When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications.

The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now.

In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends� are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large.]]> 336 T.J. Newman 0316576794 Drew 4 audio-from-other, thrillers 4.05 2024 Worst Case Scenario
author: T.J. Newman
name: Drew
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/22
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: audio-from-other, thrillers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia (Zoey Ashe, #3)]]> 65213633
That will be a problem this year, with history's most ridiculous mayoral election playing out in the background. The city has divided into roughly two camps, supporting each of the major candidates: One is a stern, calculating activist out to restore traditional morality to the city at all costs, the other is Megaboss Alonzo, whose platform is that he will pay you ten dollars if you vote for him.

When a horrific crime is broadcast live on the all-seeing social network Blink, the former seems poised to reap the benefits in the polls. The Suits suspect the nature and timing of the crime are a little too convenient and may be a carefully-staged hoax. But in a city in which lies are always served in layers, even that explanation will prove to be far too simple.

As tensions ratchet tighter, Zoey comes to realize that this is really a battle of narratives: Every culture needs a collective story to believe in, so it's just a matter of coming up with one and then carefully sculpting reality to make it fit. How hard can that be? They have the whole weekend.]]> 416 Jason Pargin 1250285933 Drew 3 audio-from-other, fantasy 4.23 2023 Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia (Zoey Ashe, #3)
author: Jason Pargin
name: Drew
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: audio-from-other, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (Zoey Ashe, #2)]]> 49127471 New York Times bestselling author David Wong's Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is the latest—and arguably greatest–sci-fi thriller in the Zoey Ashe Series.

In the futuristic city of Tabula Ra$a, Zoey Ashe is like a fish so far out of water that it has achieved orbit. After inheriting a criminal empire, the twenty-three year-old finds herself under threat from all sides as a rogue's gallery of larger-than-life enemies think they smell weakness.

On the eve of the world's most lavish and ridiculous Halloween celebration, a steamer trunk-sized box arrives at Zoey's door and she is shocked to find that it contains a disembowelled corpse. She is even more shocked when that corpse, controlled by an unknown party, rises and goes on a rampage through the house. Speaking in an electronic voice, it publicly accuses Zoey of being its murderer. This is the kind of thing that almost never happened at her old job.

The city was already a ticking time bomb of publicity-hungry vigilantes with superhuman enhancements and Zoey knows this turn of events is unlikely to improve the situation. Now, she and her team of high-tech tricksters have to solve this bizarre murder while simultaneously keeping Tabula Ra$a from descending into chaos.]]> 368 David Wong 1250195799 Drew 3 audible, fantasy, humor 4.09 2020 Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick (Zoey Ashe, #2)
author: David Wong
name: Drew
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: audible, fantasy, humor
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock]]> 127547335
Set in a world of the near future, the celebrity elite have access to a technology that allows them to make perfect copies of themselves, known as Portraits. These Portraits exist to fulfil all the various duties that come as the price of fame.

Our protagonist is the thirteenth copy made of the actress known as Lulabelle Rock. Her purpose is very to track down and eliminate her predecessors.

While initially easy, her task is made difficult by the labyrinthine confusion of Bubble City and the unfortunate stirrings of a developing conscience. When she makes the mistake of falling in love with one of her targets, the would-be assassin faces the ultimate question; when you don’t want to kill yourself, what’s the alternative?]]> 240 Maud Woolf 1915202906 Drew 1 borrowed-from-library 3.67 2024 Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock
author: Maud Woolf
name: Drew
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/11/17
date added: 2024/11/17
shelves: borrowed-from-library
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Man With One of Those Faces (Dublin Trilogy publication order, #1; Dublin Trilogy chronological order, #6)]]> 31817712
The second time was deliberate.

Now Paul Mulchrone finds himself on the run with nobody to turn to except a nurse who has read one-too-many crime novels and a renegade copper with a penchant for violence. Together they must solve one of the most notorious crimes in Irish history...

...or else they’ll be history.

A Man With One of Those Faces is the first book in Caimh McDonnell's Dublin Trilogy, which melds fast-paced action with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit.]]> 364 Caimh McDonnell 0995507511 Drew 0 4.07 2016 A Man With One of Those Faces (Dublin Trilogy publication order, #1; Dublin Trilogy chronological order, #6)
author: Caimh McDonnell
name: Drew
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, mysteries
review:

]]> New Arcadia: Revolution 62613354 In the not-so-distant future, a deadly plague has forced billions into their homes, and locked them up tight. Hope may soon arrive in the form of an effective new cure from the mega-global Chum Corporation, but not before they decide their customers are ready for it.

That’s why they’ve created New Arcadia - a real-as-life virtual reality game designed to bring the isolated people of the world together again.

After its successful launch in New Arcadia: Stage One, the game is being updated and expanded with a new rhythm-game mechanic to bring players together on the dance floor. No longer just for 1990s arcade fighting game fans, all ages are being welcomed to the virtual party now.

For Prime Beta Tester John Chambers and his friends in New Arcadia, the stakes have never been higher. As the original players of the game, they feel a duty to ensure the new arrivals in New Arcadia adapt successfully to the world, and prove to the Chum Corporation that people are ready to come together again in real life.

But there are other players within the game who have a more sinister objective - and they’ll do anything to ensure that the online experiment of New Arcadia is doomed to disaster, and the people of the world continue to languish in solitude for a long, long time.

To succeed, John and his friends will have to conquer the mean streets of New Arcadia. And kill it on the dance floor.

New Arcadia: Revolution is the fast-paced and funny second installment of the New Arcadia LitRPG series by Eric Jason Martin - which seamlessly blends the dystopian setting and nostalgic charm of Ready Player One with the sharp humor and complex world-building of Shirtaloon’s He Who Fights with Monsters.]]> 413 Eric Jason Martin Drew 3 audible, fantasy, geeky-fun 3.94 New Arcadia: Revolution
author: Eric Jason Martin
name: Drew
average rating: 3.94
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: audible, fantasy, geeky-fun
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tampa Two (Burnside Series #8)]]> 37489744
But Judy is back in L.A. again, and is desperate for Burnside’s help. Her life is in danger, and she tries to persuade Burnside to accompany her into a dangerous situation. While Burnside isn’t fooled this time, she still manages to rope him in, and he quickly finds himself to be a person of interest in a grizzly Santa Monica homicide.

Tampa Two continues to showcase Burnside at his wise-cracking best, exchanging quips with an assortment of fascinating characters, no matter what side of the law they are on. This well-crafted novel is the embodiment of the classic Southern California noir mystery, set against a Los Angeles backdrop, a city that many think they know, but few really do. The story leads readers down a trail of theft, murder and deceit, with sharply honed banter and strikingly original characters.]]> 298 David Chill Drew 0 4.28 Tampa Two (Burnside Series #8)
author: David Chill
name: Drew
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend 200174139 White Lotus meets Kevin Wilson in this whip-smart social satire about a man who finds himself trapped on an island resort after the sun literally explodes, and suddenly must choose whether to save himself from the chaos, or help fellow guests make it off the island alive�

Vacation Checklist: Ìý
Pack swim trunks.Ìý
Apply sunscreen.Ìý
Survive the apocalypse?

Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a vacation. Sure, his life has been average at best, and yeah, he’s never quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Miller Lites in paradise with his girlfriend, Mara, things are starting to look up.

Then the sun explodes.

With the island resort suddenly plunged into darkness (he really should’ve sprung for the travel insurance), Dan’s holiday goes from bad to worse when elite guests stage a coup and commandeer supplies. As temperatures drop and class tensions rise, revolution begins to brew on the island, and Dan accidentally becomes a beacon of hope for the surviving vacationers. But when one six-person plane is discovered that could get them back to the mainland, Dan realizes he has a choice to make.

Does he escape the island with Mara? Or does he stay and fight to become the most unlikely hero of the end of the world?

]]> 384 M.J. Wassmer 1464218021 Drew 4 3.70 2024 Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend
author: M.J. Wassmer
name: Drew
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: audio-from-other, contemporary-fiction
review:

]]> The Road to Roswell 58775691 A delightful novel about alien invasions, conspiracies, and the incredibly silly things people are willing to believe—some of which may actually be true—from the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of Blackout and All Clear

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one.

Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet.

But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.

Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid’s dress, save the world—and still make it back for the wedding?]]> 399 Connie Willis 0593499859 Drew 1 3.65 2023 The Road to Roswell
author: Connie Willis
name: Drew
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: audio-from-other, space-sci-fi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fall of the Governor: Part One (The Walking Dead: Novels, #3)]]> 17286685 The third book in Robert Kirkman's New York Times bestselling series: The Walking Dead: The Fall of the Governor � Part One!

The Walking Dead original novel series, set in the universe of Robert Kirkman's iconic comic book, continues with The Fall of the Governor � Part One. From co-authors Kirkman, creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic as well as executive producer of AMC's blockbuster TV series, and Jay Bonansinga, Stoker Award-finalist and internationally acclaimed author, comes the gripping third novel in this richly woven, page-turning literary saga, which began with The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.

In Rise of the Governor, uber-villain Philip Blake journeyed from his humble beginnings directly into the dark heart of the zombie apocalypse, and became the self-proclaimed leader of a small town called Woodbury. In The Road to Woodbury, an innocent traveler named Lilly Caul wound up in the terrifying thrall of Phillip Blake’s twisted, violent dictatorship within Woodbury’s ever tightening barricades.

And now, in The Fall of the Governor � Part One, the Governor’s descent into madness finally erupts in a tour de force of action and horror. Beloved characters from the comic book, including Rick, Michonne and Glenn, finally make their entrance onto this nightmarish stage, and fans of The Walking Dead will see these characters in a whole new light. Simmering grudges boil over into unthinkable confrontations, battle lines are drawn, and unexpected twists seal the fates of the innocent and guilty alike.]]> 256 Robert Kirkman 0312548176 Drew 0 3.72 The Fall of the Governor: Part One (The Walking Dead: Novels, #3)
author: Robert Kirkman
name: Drew
average rating: 3.72
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, zombies
review:

]]> Bury Your Gays 195790870 From Chuck Tingle, author of the USA Today bestselling Camp Damascus, comes a new heart-pounding story about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead.

Misha is a jaded scriptwriter who has been working in Hollywood for years, and has just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he's pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale�"for the algorithm"―Misha discovers that it's not that simple.

As he is haunted by his past, and past mistakes, Misha must risk everything to find a way to do what's right―before it's too late.]]> 295 Chuck Tingle 1250874653 Drew 4 audio-from-other 4.14 2024 Bury Your Gays
author: Chuck Tingle
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/30
date added: 2024/10/30
shelves: audio-from-other
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Haunting of Blackstone Mansion (Dark Realm #1)]]> 137951829 An abandoned mansion. A restless spirit. A terrible secret...

Seeking to escape a recent tragedy, antiques expert Katherine relocates to Blackstone, Oregon. Her new home lies within reach of the majestic Mt. Hood, and tucked away in the thick forest of those foothills looms the dark, foreboding, and abandoned Blackstone mansion.

In its shadowy, labyrinthine halls, she can see the tiniest movements, feel the deepest chills, and hear the faintest sounds.

She braves the mansion and its salons packed with antiques that she might broker to collectors when the restless spirit of a woman who died far too young reaches out to her.

Determined to help the ghost, Katherine discovers a past filled with jealousy, unrequited love, and murder.

But with the past, not everything is as it seems, and Katherine’s time is running out. Caught between powerful, deceptive forces, she must find a way to aid the spirit even if it costs her her own sanity� and life.

Start reading now!]]> 328 Augustine Pierce Drew 0 to-read, horror, on-my-kindle 3.99 2023 The Haunting of Blackstone Mansion (Dark Realm #1)
author: Augustine Pierce
name: Drew
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: to-read, horror, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)]]> 61827543 Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective� work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could � because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands � Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.]]> 339 Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593549228 Drew 3 audio-from-other, mysteries 4.01 2023 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Vera Wong, #1)
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Drew
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves: audio-from-other, mysteries
review:

]]> Four Minutes 199902799
It is said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, but what if you remove the one thing no one can control: Uncertainty about the future?

Special Operations Chief Tyler Brooks might not know quantum mechanics, or have an eidetic memory, but he is the very best in the world at one thing: leading covert ops. When an unpredictable enemy causes the catastrophic loss of his entire SEAL team, Brooks is recruited by Pat Moody to lead a new elite squad, Task Force Omega. Moody’s promise—access to mind-bending tech that grants a glimpse of the future.

Together with Navy Intelligence Specialist Zee Williams, Brooks leads a new kind of counterterrorism task force, one that collects intel from the future to stop attacks in the present. But there’s a catch. Each mission can only last FOUR MINUTES. Stakes quickly escalate when Omega discovers an unprecedented future attack against America threatening the lives of millions—including Tyler’s daughter.

Despite their prescient advantage, Brooks and Williams find themselves thwarted at every turn as they try to stop the plot. To make matters worse, they have somehow gone from hunter to hunted, targeted by an unknown enemy hidden in the shadows. With the country on the brink of nuclear war, Tyler’s daughter in mortal danger, and a commanding officer they’re not sure they can trust, Omega Team faces a terrible dilemma: Even if you know the future, is FOUR MINUTES enough time to change it?]]> 356 Brian Andrews 1665041951 Drew 4 audible, thrillers 4.19 2024 Four Minutes
author: Brian Andrews
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves: audible, thrillers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Five Nights at Freddy's Collection: An AFK Series]]> 40720604 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of Five Nights at Freddy's, don't miss this three-book boxed set, which includes an original print inspired by the trilogy!

It's been 10 years since the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza tore the town of Hurricane, Utah, apart. Charlie, whose father owned the pizzeria, reunites with her childhood friends on the anniversary of the tragedy, and together they revisit the abandoned pizza place. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have a dark secret . . . one that sets Charlie and her friends on a path to unravel the many mysteries her father -- and his twisted partner -- left behind.]]> 2112 Scott Cawthon 1338323024 Drew 1 4.68 2018 Five Nights at Freddy's Collection: An AFK Series
author: Scott Cawthon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fourth Closet (Five Nights at Freddy's, #3)]]> 36127329
Meanwhile, there's a new animatronic pizzeria opening in Hurricane, along with a new rash of kidnappings that feel all too familiar. Bound together by their childhood loss, John reluctantly teams up with Jessica, Marla, and Carlton to solve the case and find the missing children. Along the way, they'll unravel the twisted mystery of what really happened to Charlie, and the haunting legacy of her father's creations.]]> 352 Scott Cawthon 1338139320 Drew 1 audio-from-other, horror 4.19 2018 The Fourth Closet (Five Nights at Freddy's, #3)
author: Scott Cawthon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2024/10/22
date added: 2024/10/22
shelves: audio-from-other, horror
review:

]]> How to Sell a Haunted House 59414094 Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…]]> 419 Grady Hendrix 0593201264 Drew 3 audio-from-other, suspense 3.65 2023 How to Sell a Haunted House
author: Grady Hendrix
name: Drew
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/21
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: audio-from-other, suspense
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Twisted Ones (Five Nights at Freddy's, #2)]]> 33917881 The highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes.

It's been a year since the horrific events at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, and Charlie is just trying to move on. Even with the excitement of a new school and a fresh start, she's still haunted by nightmares of a masked murderer and four gruesome animatronic puppets. Charlie thinks her ordeal is over, but when a series of bodies are discovered near her school bearing wounds that are disturbingly familiar she finds herself drawn back into the world of her father's frightening creations. Something twisted is hunting Charlie, and this time if it finds her, it's not letting her go.]]> 297 Scott Cawthon 1338139304 Drew 2 audio-from-other, horror 4.10 2017 The Twisted Ones (Five Nights at Freddy's, #2)
author: Scott Cawthon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/16
date added: 2024/10/16
shelves: audio-from-other, horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Destructive Reasoning (The Authorities, #2)]]> 63289754
A note arrives claiming responsibility and explaining the man died not for who he was, but for who he pretended to be. He played Dr. Watson in a production of Sherlock Holmes. The note promises to kill everybody in Hollywood currently playing Dr. Watson: a surprisingly long list.

Billionaire Vince Capp sends his crime fighting team, the Authorities, down from Seattle to solve the crime, stop the killer, save lives, and above all else, increase their national profile. But it won't be easy. Detective Sloan will have to wrestle with the most irritating case of her career while two of her key operatives are terribly distracted: Rutherford has found a new role model to follow and emulate, and Max must tangle with a mysterious figure from a past he'd rather forget.]]> 336 Scott Meyer 1950056066 Drew 0 to-read, audible, fantasy 4.14 2022 Destructive Reasoning (The Authorities, #2)
author: Scott Meyer
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: to-read, audible, fantasy
review:

]]> The Broken Room 59419365
Natalie can't remember much of her life before her family brought her to the US, but she remembers the cages. And getting taken away to the Project with dozens of other young children to become part of their nightmarish experiments. That's how she ended up with the ghost of a dead secret agent stuck in her head.

And Hector owes Natalie's ghost a big favor.

Now Hector and Natalie are on the run from an army of killers sent to retrieve her. Because the people behind the Project are willing to risk almost anything to get Natalie back and complete their experiments.]]> 382 Peter Clines Drew 4 audible, fantasy 3.75 2022 The Broken Room
author: Peter Clines
name: Drew
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: audible, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Four (Tales from the Gas Station #4)]]> 60658770
To top it all off, the entire town’s collective memories have been haphazardly rewritten, and Jack's placement in these recollections are decidedly unflattering.

Fortunately, he has help. There’s Jerry - who’s always willing to lend a hand (or a sword-bat, if the situation calls for it). Rosa - who secretly contains the incredible powers of a dark god. And the new guy - a deadly doppelgänger with terrible people skills.

But Jack’s best efforts to stay out of trouble are torn asunder when a serial killer emerges in his small town, leaving a trail of clues that points straight to him. Too bad his best hope of clearing his name, the new sheriff Amy O'Brien, had all her memories of their friendship completely erased.

And worst of all? Jack's high school reunion is right around the corner - just in time for the prophesied end of the world.

With days left until Armageddon, Jack is forced to go on the run, chased by the authorities, an obsessed god, demons of both the metaphorical and literal variety, and not the least of all... his own past.]]> 465 Jack Townsend Drew 4 audible, horror, humor 4.46 2022 Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Four (Tales from the Gas Station #4)
author: Jack Townsend
name: Drew
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves: audible, horror, humor
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1)]]> 198493860
Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

Burningblade & Silvereye
Ashes of the Sun Ìý
Blood of the Chosen Ìý
Emperor of Ruin]]> 392 Django Wexler 0316392200 Drew 3 audio-from-other, fantasy 3.67 2024 How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Drew
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/10
shelves: audio-from-other, fantasy
review:

]]> Oregon 213995704 But they were five inseparable high school friends with something incredible in common: an unwavering resolve to look after each other no matter what hell life threw at them. And they were on a mission.

The plan was simple: Go off the grid before they turned 18 to avoid the draft. They’d sell some grass, stack some cash, then head west and start a commune. What could possibly go wrong?

Oregon is an emotionally charged new Audible Original short thriller from Audie Award-winning and internationally bestselling author Don Winslow. Masterfully performed by four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris, it delivers an audio experience that will stay with you long after it’s over. Listen now.]]> 2 Don Winslow Drew 2 3.40 2024 Oregon
author: Don Winslow
name: Drew
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: audible, borrowed-kindle-or-audible, short-story
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Three (Tales from the Gas Station, #3)]]> 53180022
Coming as a surprise to absolutely no one, Jack—night-shift clerk and local crazy person—has found himself neck-deep in the middle of yet another world-ending terror. And this time around, nobody can be trusted. Not that tough-as-nails cop who probably knows a lot more than she’s letting on. Not the adorkable new employee who might be something far less innocent than she appears. Not even Jack’s best friend/emotional support human, whose mysterious past seems to have finally caught up with him.

In this latest installment of the Gas Station saga, Jack’s world will change forever. Questions will be answered, and answers will be questioned. Friends become enemies. Strangers become enemies. Frenemies become enemies. (You know what? Jack is going to have a lot of new enemies.)

Prepare yourself. Things are about to get weird.]]> 413 Jack Townsend Drew 3 audible, horror, humor 4.45 Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Three (Tales from the Gas Station, #3)
author: Jack Townsend
name: Drew
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/06
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: audible, horror, humor
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Silver Eyes (Five Nights at Freddy's, #1)]]> 28233096 384 Scott Cawthon Drew 2 audio-from-other, horror 4.11 2016 The Silver Eyes (Five Nights at Freddy's, #1)
author: Scott Cawthon
name: Drew
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: audio-from-other, horror
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Charlotte Gibson Mysteries Books 1-3 Boxed Set]]> 62088360 Get three of Jasmine Webb's hilarious novels, set in sunny Hawaii, in this boxed

Aloha
Most people flee to Hawaii for gorgeous weather, white-sand beaches, and cocktails at sunset. Charlotte Gibson, however, is fleeing for her life after a vengeful mobster leaves a severed finger on her doorstep as a warning. Message very much received.

That’s how Charlotte—Charlie to everyone except her mom� finds herself on Maui with six dollars to her name, living with a mother who can’t stop giving her advice on how to land herself a husband. But when a businessman is murdered and his company offers a reward to whoever finds the killer, Charlie sees an with that kind of cash, she could afford her own place and start a new life here away from the people who want her dead. After all, how hard can hunting down a murderer be?

Teaming up with a couple of old ladies with more spunk than Betty White, Charlie is sure she’s on the right track to snag the reward money. However, the infuriating-but-smoldering-hot cop trying to keep her away from his case has other ideas. Throw in a day job at an ice cream shop, corrupt local politicians, and a best friend trying to act as the voice of reason, and Charlie has her work cut out for her.

Will she be able to find the killer, or is Charlie’s time in paradise going to go straight to hell in a handbasket?

Maui
Charlie finally feels like she’s got a bit of breathing room. She’s flush with cash, she and Zoe are moving into a snazzy new apartment, and she’s riding the wave of having solved a murder a few weeks earlier. But when a local woman is murdered and her family hires Charlie to find the killer, she finds herself embroiled in yet another investigation.

However, what Charlie initially thinks might be an easy solve quickly finds her mired in Maui’s seedy underworld, with a victim who led a double life. Finding herself dealing with a suspect list longer than a CVS receipt, Charlie enlists the help of Dot and Rosie to narrow down that list and get a lead on the real killer.

But between Jake trying to keep her out of the investigation, new neighbors who make Ozzy Osbourne look normal, and an attempted robbery at her day job, Charlie quickly finds she’s got her hands full once again. And to make matters worse, as Charlie gets closer to solving the crime, she realizes the killer has another target in her.

Can Charlie bring another killer to justice before she’s turned into shark bait?

Beachside
Charlie is taking the plunge to become a private investigator, and her first official case is a doozy. When three of Zoe’s coworkers are shot in a brazen mid-day attack, Charlie is initially content to let the police deal with it. But when it becomes obvious the detective in charge has the IQ of a box of crayons, she decides to step in to ensure the killer is found.

What appears at first glance to be a random attack quickly becomes more than that, and before she knows it Charlie finds herself scouring the island for a murderer, with the help of Dot and Rosie, of course.

In case hunting down a shooter wasn’t enough, Charlie quickly nets herself another customer in the form of her eight-year-old neighbor. And of course, Charlie isn’t expecting Jake to take the news of her new career very well. Luckily, Charlie isn’t especially worried about his opinion, especially when she has so much on her plate.

Is Charlie about to make a splash in her new career, or will she quickly find herself drowning, instead?]]> 670 Jasmine Webb Drew 0 4.56 Charlotte Gibson Mysteries Books 1-3 Boxed Set
author: Jasmine Webb
name: Drew
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, hawaii, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Beachside Bullet (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #3)]]> 58273210
What appears at first glance to be a random attack quickly becomes more than that, and before she knows it Charlie finds herself scouring the island for a murderer, with the help of Dot and Rosie, of course.

In case hunting down a shooter wasn’t enough, Charlie quickly nets herself another customer in the form of her eight-year-old neighbor. And of course, Charlie isn’t expecting Jake to take the news of her new career very well. Luckily, Charlie isn’t especially worried about his opinion, especially when she has so much on her plate.

Is Charlie about to make a splash in her new career, or will she quickly find herself drowning, instead?]]> 292 Jasmine Webb Drew 0 4.39 2021 Beachside Bullet (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #3)
author: Jasmine Webb
name: Drew
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, hawaii, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Maui Murder (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #2)]]> 58314518
However, what Charlie initially thinks might be an easy solve quickly finds her mired in Maui’s seedy underworld, with a victim who led a double life. Finding herself dealing with a suspect list longer than a CVS receipt, Charlie enlists the help of Dot and Rosie to narrow down that list and get a lead on the real killer.

But between Jake trying to keep her out of the investigation, new neighbors who make Ozzy Osbourne look normal, and an attempted robbery at her day job, Charlie quickly finds she’s got her hands full once again. And to make matters worse, as Charlie gets closer to solving the crime, she realizes the killer has another target in mind: her.

Can Charlie bring another killer to justice before she’s turned into shark bait?]]> 268 Jasmine Webb Drew 0 4.33 2021 Maui Murder (Charlotte Gibson Mysteries #2)
author: Jasmine Webb
name: Drew
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, beach-mysteries, hawaii, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Battle for Survival! (Invasion USA, #3)]]> 18941224
From the U.S. electrical grid and all its back-ups, engine control-management systems, early warning systems on U.S. satellites, every motor vehicle, aircraft and ship made after 1985, to even simple memory chips inside children’s teddy bears—every electronic fuse, resistor, or connector that was “Made in China� becomes dormant� forever.

The shutdown of the United States of America, and 97% of the entire world, is accomplished by 12:30 am U.S. Eastern time on the first day of the New Year.

It takes only 30 minutes to completely dismantle the whole of modern Western civilization as we know it.

INVASION USA I - The End of Modern Civilization
INVASION USA II - The Battle for New York
INVASION USA III - The Battle for Survival
INVASION USA IV - The Battle for Houston-The Aftermath

Also check out T I WADE's "AMERICA ONE" Series.]]> 453 T.I. Wade 0976117088 Drew 0 to-read, post-apocalyptic 3.90 2012 The Battle for Survival! (Invasion USA, #3)
author: T.I. Wade
name: Drew
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/01
shelves: to-read, post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> Under Vanishing Skies 20370629 For Aron Atherton, hell is a small tropical island with white sand beaches surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

Trapped in Maldives after a massive solar event kills his family and nearly wipes out the human race, Aron plans to fish and drink until the apocalypse finally catches up with him. But when his best friend is murdered and he becomes the guardian of a ten year old boy, Aron’s plans fizzle away like the vanishing skies above him.

Drawn into a struggle that will decide who leaves the dying planet and who stays behind, Aron tries to escape the vortex of political corruption that has engulfed him. But when he uncovers a plot that threatens mankind’s last hope for survival, Aron must stay alive long enough to stop them.

]]> 282 G.S. Fields 0615896278 Drew 0 to-read, post-apocalyptic 3.68 2013 Under Vanishing Skies
author: G.S. Fields
name: Drew
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves: to-read, post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alaska Traveler: Dispatches from America's Last Frontier]]> 18601206
Writing for Alaska Magazine, she revisited old haunts and explored many new ones to capture the vital pioneering spirit of the state she calls home. From cruising the Inner Passage to hiking the Chilkoot Trail, bidding on bachelors at Talkeetna's Winterfest, to a behind-the-scenes look at the Iditarod sled dog race, Alaska Traveler collects over 50 of Stabenow's columns about life on America's last frontier. It's Alaska in all seasons—not just the summer months—and in all its quirky, iconoclastic glory.

Travelers planning a trip to Alaska will find much to inspire them, as will those just interested to read more about the state that residents call The Great Land.]]> 281 Dana Stabenow 1936666863 Drew 0 3.84 2012 Alaska Traveler: Dispatches from America's Last Frontier
author: Dana Stabenow
name: Drew
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, outdoors
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pope of Palm Beach (Serge Storms, #21)]]> 40389348 Boston Globe) New York Times bestselling author Tim Dorsey—comes a diabolically madcap adventure featuring the indomitable Serge A. Storms.

No one worships the Sunshine State as much as Serge A. Storms. Perpetually hunting Floridian arcana and lore, he and his permanently baked sidekick, Coleman, are on the road again. This time they’re on a frenzied literary pilgrimage that leads them back to Riviera Beach, the cozy seaside town where the boys spent their formative years.

Growing up, Serge was enthralled by the Legend of Riviera Beach, aka Darby, a welder at the port who surfed the local waves long before the hot spots were hot. A god on the water, the big-hearted surfer was a friend to everyone—the younger surfers, cops, politicians, wealthy businessmen and ordinary Joes—a generosity of spirit that earned him the admiration of all. Meanwhile, there was a much murkier legend that made the rounds of the schoolyards from Serge’s youth—that of the crazy hermit living in a makeshift jungle compound farther up the mysterious Loxahatchee River than anyone dared to venture.

Then Serge moved away. But never forgot.

Now he’s back, with those legends looming larger than ever in the rearview mirror of his memory. As his literary odyssey moves north from Key West, closer and closer to his old stomping grounds, Serge digs into the past as only Serge can. Along the way, he unintentionally disturbs some long-forgotten ground, attracting the attention of a cast of villains that only Florida can produce.

As the body count grows, so does the list of

Why are the guys in the hard hats worried about the monkeys? When do you hack a motel air-conditioner? How does Coleman get high with cat toys? Who is expecting the dildo? And will book tours ever be the same after Serge decides to check one out?

Told in alternating flashbacks between Serge and Coleman’s childhoods and the present day, The Pope of Palm Beach is a witty and deliciously violent delight from the twisted imagination of Tim Dorsey.]]> 357 Tim Dorsey 0062429272 Drew 4
Merged review:

‘The Pope of Palm Beach� is another great Serge Storms novel. While it felt a bit lighter than normal on time with Serge, it still packs a ton of fun. From Florida trivia to creative games and ‘bonus rounds� this book is non-stop hilarity from start to finish. If you love this series you’ll love this book as well.]]> 4.06 2018 The Pope of Palm Beach (Serge Storms, #21)
author: Tim Dorsey
name: Drew
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2018/05/21
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: audio-from-other, beach-mysteries, humor
review:
‘The Pope of Palm Beach� is another great Serge Storms novel. While it felt a bit lighter than normal on time with Serge, it still packs a ton of fun. From Florida trivia to creative games and ‘bonus rounds� this book is non-stop hilarity from start to finish. If you love this series you’ll love this book as well.

Merged review:

‘The Pope of Palm Beach� is another great Serge Storms novel. While it felt a bit lighter than normal on time with Serge, it still packs a ton of fun. From Florida trivia to creative games and ‘bonus rounds� this book is non-stop hilarity from start to finish. If you love this series you’ll love this book as well.
]]> Crash (Crash, #1) 18270309
Cowering in his home, he watches as his neighbours are dragged into the street and brutally executed. The scavengers have one more house to go, and then it will be his turn. He has to act fast, or he and his son will meet the same fate.

Driven by the need to survive, Chris has decided to keep secrets from his son. Secrets that will make all of the events up until this point seem trivial. Secrets that, one way or another, will come out before the day is done.

*** Warning - This is a horror book and contains scenes that may be upsetting for some readers. ***]]> 108 Michael Robertson 1628400277 Drew 2
Merged review:

This novella paints a very bleak picture of what life could be like after a catastrophic economic collapse. Set in London it tells the tale of one family’s morning and how they came to be that way. The story is well written if a bit incomplete. The author does a good job of telling how the bottom fell out with some great flashbacks but there are too many gaps. I feel a great story is in there but this book is just too short. The biggest example is that when the book opens the main character is in a bad way, but I think the back story of how he got that way would be really intriguing. Plus the main character is a complete prick. I can understand him being that way post collapse but even in the flashbacks he’s that way from the start. Break out the back story and make this into a 250-400 page novel and it’s 4-5 stars easy.]]> 3.38 2013 Crash (Crash, #1)
author: Michael Robertson
name: Drew
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2013/08/10
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: post-apocalyptic, economic-collapse, downloaded-ebook
review:
This novella paints a very bleak picture of what life could be like after a catastrophic economic collapse. Set in London it tells the tale of one family’s morning and how they came to be that way. The story is well written if a bit incomplete. The author does a good job of telling how the bottom fell out with some great flashbacks but there are too many gaps. I feel a great story is in there but this book is just too short. The biggest example is that when the book opens the main character is in a bad way, but I think the back story of how he got that way would be really intriguing. Plus the main character is a complete prick. I can understand him being that way post collapse but even in the flashbacks he’s that way from the start. Break out the back story and make this into a 250-400 page novel and it’s 4-5 stars easy.

Merged review:

This novella paints a very bleak picture of what life could be like after a catastrophic economic collapse. Set in London it tells the tale of one family’s morning and how they came to be that way. The story is well written if a bit incomplete. The author does a good job of telling how the bottom fell out with some great flashbacks but there are too many gaps. I feel a great story is in there but this book is just too short. The biggest example is that when the book opens the main character is in a bad way, but I think the back story of how he got that way would be really intriguing. Plus the main character is a complete prick. I can understand him being that way post collapse but even in the flashbacks he’s that way from the start. Break out the back story and make this into a 250-400 page novel and it’s 4-5 stars easy.
]]> <![CDATA[No Man's Land (Russell Carter #1)]]> 22787307 Non-stop action thriller spans Australian outback, wild surf and New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour..
AMAZON AUSTRALIA #2 International, Mystery & Crime, CANADA #3 Action Adventure, USA #7 Thrillers, Terrorism

"A plot ripped straight from today's front-page headlines. A Muslim extremist group based in Indonesia has plans to launch devastating attacks on Sydney on New Year's Eve - and only one man can stop them: special operative Russell Carter, an Australian version of Lee Child's Jack Reacher - a man of few words but much action...

"A thriller that has all the elements for success; a surfing, martial-arts proficient and taciturn hero and a beautiful sidekick with whom he still has unresolved issues... Fishman sets a fierce pace over almost 400 pages with the action seldom slowing...This is the first in a series of thrillers featuring the enigmatic and lethal Carter."
MELBOURNE SUNDAY AGE - Australia's New York Times

"All of this makes Carter an unexpected hero type - flawed, questioning, brave with enough of the all action hero type to be very believable. And it doesn't hurt that there's nothing decorative female about Erina - she's a strong, capable woman in her own right...Added to the believability of the unexpected, the realistic portray of the two central characters, and a strong plot, there's a hefty dose of good, dry very Australian humour."
KAREN CHISHOLM - AUSTRALIA & NZ CRIME FICTION REVIEWS

"Several of the action sequences are portrayed in such granular detail that often time dilates ... As it draws to its conclusion the conflict explodes like a display of fireworks."
NICK LATHOURIS - CO-WRITER MAD MAX FURY ROAD

"This is the rare international thriller with an engaging romantic subplot that features full-bodied human beings. Be ready to be thrilled and charmed. A thriller lovers delight."
JAMES N. FREY - Author of nine acclaimed thrillers and the best selling HOW TO WRITE A DAM GOOD THRILLER

"Fishman is the real deal. He knows how to sustain a cracking pace from start to finish, so much so that I found myself saying after each chapter, 'just one more'... Carter is a terrific protagonist, as dangerous as Jack Reacher but with a spiritual dimension."
ALEX GILLY, author of DEVIL'S HARBOUR]]> 378 Roland Fishman 099232291X Drew 0 3.81 2014 No Man's Land (Russell Carter #1)
author: Roland Fishman
name: Drew
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/26
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, thrillers
review:

]]> Ode to a Fish Sandwich 20514464
Jilted at the altar, Dr. Walcott Emerson Jones sets off on his honeymoon without his runaway bride. A week on a remote Caribbean island is just what the sun-averse dermatologist needs to mend his broken heart.

Along the way, he braves a haunted cane field, tracks a grief-stricken fisherman up the side of a volcano, and befriends a chef at the local beachside diner.

But the cook has broader ambitions than spending the rest of her life serving up fish sandwiches, and the spurned diamond ring hanging from the doctor’s neck is a prize too tempting to resist. Will the vacationer’s last meal on the island turn into his last meal � ever?]]> 103 Rebecca M. Hale 0979634415 Drew 4 beach, on-my-kindle
Merged review:

Not what I was expecting but a very good short-ish story. I was expecting a tropical tale of an outlandish Caribbean vacation. While it has some of that it turns a bit more dark towards the end. The characters are very unique and interesting and again not at all what I expected but I liked them in their quirky ways. The book was well written but I could have used a bit more description to help transport me to the beach along side Wally. 3.5 starts for the first book Quirky Tales from the Caribbean series.]]> 3.52 2013 Ode to a Fish Sandwich
author: Rebecca M. Hale
name: Drew
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/07
date added: 2024/09/25
shelves: beach, on-my-kindle
review:
Not what I was expecting but a very good short-ish story. I was expecting a tropical tale of an outlandish Caribbean vacation. While it has some of that it turns a bit more dark towards the end. The characters are very unique and interesting and again not at all what I expected but I liked them in their quirky ways. The book was well written but I could have used a bit more description to help transport me to the beach along side Wally. 3.5 starts for the first book Quirky Tales from the Caribbean series.

Merged review:

Not what I was expecting but a very good short-ish story. I was expecting a tropical tale of an outlandish Caribbean vacation. While it has some of that it turns a bit more dark towards the end. The characters are very unique and interesting and again not at all what I expected but I liked them in their quirky ways. The book was well written but I could have used a bit more description to help transport me to the beach along side Wally. 3.5 starts for the first book Quirky Tales from the Caribbean series.
]]> The Bones of Texas City 18882244
State Tracker Rick Edwards knew it wasn't a vagrant he was looking for. But he didn't expect to find someone like her.]]> 14 Regan Wolfrom 0991680413 Drew 0 3.33 2012 The Bones of Texas City
author: Regan Wolfrom
name: Drew
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read, on-my-kindle, post-apocalyptic
review:

]]> Our Island Inn 22605560
For years, Glenn and Oliver looked forward to their island retirement. They searched far and wide for the right property to renovate and turn into a bed and breakfast inn. The moment they saw Parrot Ridge, they knew they’d found the place.

The innkeepers� dream location comes with a spectacular Caribbean view, a discounted price � and a disturbing history. Unbeknownst to Glenn and Oliver, the previous owners died in a violent domestic dispute. As a result, the islanders believe an evil spirit haunts the steep ravine beneath the property and will curse anyone who tries to build there.

The first few disappearances are explained away, perhaps because no one wants to see the missing guests return.

But as the body count rises, the story takes a dark turn.

And one of the innkeepers falls victim to the curse of Parrot Ridge.]]> 233 Rebecca M. Hale 0979634423 Drew 0 to-read, beach, on-my-kindle 3.71 2014 Our Island Inn
author: Rebecca M. Hale
name: Drew
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read, beach, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bonfires, Backpacks, & Brawls (Camper & Criminals #36)]]> 198250723
Imagine stumbling upon a body in the woods—only it's not hunting season, and this isn't a deer we're talking about. This twist sends Mae and her gang on a trek through a forest thick with secrets, where every turn in the trail could be the clue they need or a dead end. The victim, a real outdoorsman with a complex web of connections to the wilderness, has left behind a trail as puzzling as a switchback path.

"Bonfires, Backpacks, & Brawls" isn't just any cozy caper; it's a romp through the great outdoors, complete with twists, turns, and Tonya Kappes' signature dose of humor. Prepare to be hooked from the first gunshot to the last guffaw as Mae digs into a case that proves even the most scenic spots can hide dark secrets and dastardly deeds.

This book is the perfect campsite companion for mystery lovers looking for fun, frights, and friendship. With a backdrop as enchanting as Kentucky's own wilderness and a story brimming with intrigue, betrayal, and, of course, a hefty helping of laughter, you won't want to put it down. So, pack your sense of adventure (and maybe a flashlight) and join Mae and the gang as they navigate the wilds of human nature. "Bonfires, Backpacks, & Brawls" is more than a mystery; it's an expedition into excitement, proving once and for all that where there's smoke... there's laughter, lies, and a darn good read. Catch your copy today and become a happy camper in the world of cozy mysteries!]]> 215 Tonya Kappes Drew 0 4.19 2024 Bonfires, Backpacks, & Brawls (Camper & Criminals #36)
author: Tonya Kappes
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/22
shelves: to-read, audio-from-other, cozy-mystery
review:

]]> Dreadful 63051209 A sharp-witted, high fantasy farce featuring killer moat squid, toxic masculinity, evil wizards and a garlic festival - all at once. Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, K. J. Parker and Travis Baldree.

It’s bad enough waking up in a half-destroyed evil wizard’s workshop with no eyebrows, no memories, and no idea how long you have before the Dread Lord Whomever shows up to murder you horribly and then turn your skull into a goblet or something.
It’s a lot worse when you realize that Dread Lord Whomever is� you.
Gav isn’t really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed.
But as he realizes that nothing � from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess � is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he’ll have to answer the hardest question of all � who does he want to be?
Dread Lord Gavrax has had better weeks.]]> 344 Caitlin Rozakis 1803365471 Drew 1 audio-from-other, fantasy 3.67 2024 Dreadful
author: Caitlin Rozakis
name: Drew
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/21
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: audio-from-other, fantasy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Five Days to Live (Jensen Beach Mysteries Book 5)]]> 201215677
Join John Burton and his sidekick, Kurt Powell in this fifth installment of the Jensen Beach Mystery Series, as the put the clues together to stop a murder before it happens.
]]> 274 Rodney Riesel Drew 4 beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle 4.38 Five Days to Live (Jensen Beach Mysteries Book 5)
author: Rodney Riesel
name: Drew
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/21
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: beach-mysteries, on-my-kindle
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ukulele Murder (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #1)]]> 30826837
But when one of Nani's competitors drops dead right after a public feud, Nani becomes the police's main suspect. A missing murder weapon, mysterious threats, and a heck of a frame-up job all have Nani worrying she'll be trading in her flowery muumuus for prison orange. Enter hunky local botanist Nick Woodfield, who just might be able to help her clear her name...that is if he doesn't have secrets of his own. With the bodies stacking up, the danger closing in, and the authorities circling, Nani must track down a killer...before she ends up the latest victim of the Ukulele Murderer!]]> 225 Leslie Langtry 1943587531 Drew 4 Since I love all things beach, especially Hawaii, I had been eyeing the Aloha Lagoon series for a while and when I saw that there was an audio version I had to jump at the chance to get it. The story is fun with interesting characters and good writing. There were a couple of times I thought I knew who the killer was but couldn’t bring myself to commit but in the end the clues are there but not too noticeable to be clear. The characters are fun if a bit naive and overall, I thought it was fun and I’ll be sure to move along in the series!
]]> 3.86 2016 Ukulele Murder (Aloha Lagoon Mysteries #1)
author: Leslie Langtry
name: Drew
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2018/08/20
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: audible, beach-mysteries, hawaii
review:
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Since I love all things beach, especially Hawaii, I had been eyeing the Aloha Lagoon series for a while and when I saw that there was an audio version I had to jump at the chance to get it. The story is fun with interesting characters and good writing. There were a couple of times I thought I knew who the killer was but couldn’t bring myself to commit but in the end the clues are there but not too noticeable to be clear. The characters are fun if a bit naive and overall, I thought it was fun and I’ll be sure to move along in the series!

]]>