Cheli's run at her 10th Category Challenge

Hi everyone, this is my 10th annual category challenge and this year I'm switching things up a bit with a theme I've been working on for several years.

This year my theme is BASEBALL. I have been a Baltimore Oriole fan all my life and what better way to combine two of my favorite things. Since baseball has two leagues and 3 divisions in each, my categories are also divided up and I will endeavor to read 18 books in each division. Here is how the categories stack up per division:

AL EAST - Stadium Division- Groundskeeping, Bullpen, Fans
AL Central - Concessions Division - Programs, Snacks, Souvenirs
AL West - Player Division - Rookies, Veterans, On Deck Hitters
NL East - Start of the Game - Spring Training, Public Addresses, National Anthem
NL Central - Keep playing - Travel Days, Bottom of the 9th, Doubleheaders
NL West - Winners Division - Playoffs, World Series, Hall of Fame

I want to try again to have at least 75% of the books I read come off my TBR pile - meaning the books had to be in my possession for at least 6 months, either on my Nook, Kindle, MP3 for audio, or physical shelves unless they were ARCs or ER books which need to be read in a timely manner. At this point in time, it looks like I should finish 2017 with about 120 books read and of those over 100 should be from my shelves or ARCs. So I did really well with this goal.

In 2018 I'll be continuing the following formal challenges:

The 75 Book Challenge This is where I spend most of my time. I can chat about my grandchildren, themes for the day or just anything I feel like as well as BOOKS.
US Presidents Challenge So far I've finished through Herbert Hoover and am moving into the Great Depression. Needless to say, this challenge has been extended to 2020 at least.
European Challenge - I still have 2/3 of Europe to explore. Hopefully, a few foreign countries are in my future this year.
50 States challenge - Only six states left on the itinerary, and I'm hoping to finish this challenge in 2018.
Miscellanous monthly challenges that will help me find new things to stretch my reading include the CAT challenges, Alpha Kit - and books for my ladies' book club.

Then there are also several personal challenges that I will be endeavoring to work on in 2018.

Bookshelf Bootie - I'm trying to remind myself that when books come into to my house they need to be read soon. My goal is that 50% of new books in are read in the current year. Hopefully, that will include the books that I actually purchased as well as downloaded to my Nook so that those books that show in my acquisition ticker will be read in timely manner. I want to dwindle down my TBRs by reading old books as well as all the new acquired. This will be tough. I did manage to read 53% of new books acquired in 2017. YEAH!!!
ROOT Challenge is my effort to read 72 books off my own shelves (This includes books on my Nook/Kindle, ER & ARCs I receive for review, and audiobooks that I've downloaded in the past.) I've resolved to reduce the number of ARCs/ERs that I request so that more of the old books have priority. This resolution is very hard for me to do, but I'll try again in 2018. I did poorly in 2017 because I received over 85 books that had to be read and reviewed in the current year.
Series Catchup - In 2018 I again plan to try to keep catching up on series that I've already started and make a conscious effort to stay current on any new series that I start. Last year I managed to bring or keep 20 series current which is only about 10% - I have to do better.

So here we go!

Now that everything has been explained, here are my categories for 2018:

I. Groundskeeping - ROOTs
II. Bullpen - TBRs
III. Fans - Group/Shared reads/Book Club
IV. Get your Program here! - NetGalley, Early Reviewers, and other ARCs e-books
V. Peanuts, PopCorn, Cracker Jack - Food and Drink
VI. Seventh Inning Stretch - Souvenirs - Romances
VII. Rookies - New authors/Series
VIII. On Deck Hitters - Next in a series
IX. Veterans - Ongoing series
X. Spring Training - youth & children's
XI. Public Addresses - Audiobooks
XII. National Anthem - Histories and Presidential BIOS
XIII. Travel Days - foreign settings
XIV. Bottom of the 9th - Currently last in a series
XV. Doubleheaders - Classics
XVI. Playoffs - highly anticipated Books in a series
XVII. World Series - new series/old author
XVIII. Hall of Fame - Best of the best 4½-5 ★

Division records
AL EAST - Stadium Division = 18 Division Complete
Groundskeeping = 7
Bullpen = 6
Fans = 5
AL Central - Concessions Division = 21 Division Complete
Programs = 8
Snacks = 12
Souvenirs = 1
AL West - Player Division = 19 Division Complete
Rookies = 10
On Deck Hitters= 5
Veterans = 4
NL East - Start of the Game = 18 Division Complete
Spring Training = 6
Public Addresses = 9
National Anthem =3
NL Central - Keep playing = 19 Division Complete
Travel Days = 10
Bottom of the 9th = 6
Doubleheaders = 3
NL West - Winners Division = 19 Division Complete
Playoffs = 7
World Series = 8
Hall of Fame = 4

I. Groundskeeping - ROOTs and Flowers
I'm working again to read those books that have been sitting on my shelves, both actual and virtual, so this category is for miscellaneous ROOTS that are read but don't fit another category as well as books with a flower theme.

1. Plantation Shudders - ROOT
2. Death by the Sea - ROOT
3. Death and Daisies
4. Pairing a Deception - ROOT
5. Murder Borrowed, Murder Blue - ROOT
6. Cake and Punishment - ROOT
7. Chardonnayed to Rest - ROOT

These are some of the candidates for this category:

Flower Shop

Sleeping With Anemone
Dirty Rotten Tendrils
Night of the Living Dandelion
To Catch a Leaf
Nightshade on Elm Street
Seed No Evil
Throw in the Trowel

China Bayles Herbal Mysteries

Witches' Bane
Hangman's Root

Pink Carnation

The Garden Intrigue
The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla
The Lure of the Moonflower

Forget Me Knot

Meg Langslow

We'll Always Have Parrots
Owls Well That Ends Well
No Nest for the Wicket
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much
Cockatiels At Seven
Six Geese A-slaying
Swan for the Money

II. BULLPEN - TBRs

In the game when the pitcher isn't doing well, the manager will turn to the Bullpen for a reliever. This category will be for books that I will turn to when my reading slackens off. My favorite series or authors are those that will fill in here.

1. A Vintage Murder
2. Killer Green Tomatoes
3. Battered Body
4. Black Beans & Vice
5. A Deadly Brew
6. Christmas Cake Murder

These are some of the candidates:

Threadville Mystery

Seven Threadly Sins

Booktown Mystery

Chapter and Hearse
Sentenced to Death
Murder on the Half Shelf

Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries

Read and Buried
Cover Story
Book Fair and Foul

Bibliophile Mystery

Peril in Paperback
A Cookbook Conspiracy
The Book Stops Here
Ripped from the Pages
Books of a Feather

Library Lover's Mystery

On Borrowed Time
A Likely Story

Novel Idea Mysteries

Every Trick in the Book
Books, Cooks, and Crooks
Played by the Book

Aurora Teagarden

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
The Julius House
Dead Over Heels

Wine Lover's Mysteries

✔A Vintage Murder

III. Fans - Group/Shared reads/Book Club
I have several book clubs that I read with and several shared reads usually occur, so this is where those books will be recorded.

1. In the Unlikely Event - LILIES Book Club
2. Shelved Under Murder - lindapanzo
3. Class Reunions are Murder LILIES Book Club
4. I see Rude People LILIES Book Club
5. The Immortalists

IV. Get your Program here! - NetGalley, Early Reviewers, and other ARCs e-books
The majority of the books that I have been acquiring in the past few years have been e-books. My shelves were just getting too full and my arthritic hands can't always hold a book. Nevertheless, now my virtual shelves are overflowing and I need to get these read!
Just as when you are at the game, and you hear the call for a program, new releases keep calling to me. These are NetGalley, Early Reviewers, and other ARCs.

1. The Plot is Murder
2. Lost Books and Old Bones
3. The Woman in the Water
4. Southern Discomfort
5. The Advice Column Murders
6. Murder in the Manuscript Room
7. Bear Witness to Murder
8. Read Herring Hunt

Here are the candidates for this category:

Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession
✔Body in the Woods
Chasing a Dream
Courting Murder
✔Death Distilled
Devious Lot
✔Doom with a View
Fatal Masquerade
Full Bodied Murder
✔Hive of Homicides
Knot What You Think
✔Lost Books and Old Bones
Lost Letter
✔Macramé Murder
✔Mayhem and Mass
Murder at Chateau sur Mer
✔Murder in Blomsbury
✔Murder in the Manuscript Room
✔Of Murder and Men
Permanently Booked
✔Plot is Murder
Proposal to Die For
Prose and Cons
✔Quiche and the Dead
✔Shadow of Death
✔Single Malt Murder
Southern Spirits
✔Southern Discomfort
Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
Study in Amber
✔Woman in the Water

V. Peanuts, PopCorn, Cracker Jack - Food and Drink!

Can't go to the game without getting a hotdog or hot pretzel or ice cream! Here food related books will be categorized.

1. Single Malt Murder
2. Death Distilled
3. Full Bodied Murder
4. Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes
5. The Quiche and the Dead
6. Death and a Pot of Chowder
7. Bleeding Tarts
8. Scone Cold Killer
9. Murder with Cinnamon Scones
10.The Pint of No Return
11. Seven Deadly Zins
12. Murder Made to Order (All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery)


So these are the books for this category:

Cupcake Mystery

Going, Going, Ganache%
Sugar and Iced
Dark Chocolate Demise

Fresh Baked Mysteries

★Murder By The Slice%
The Christmas Cookie Killer
Killer Crab Cakes

Culinary Mystery

Lemon Tart
English Trifle
Devil's Food Cake
Key Lime Pie
Blackberry Crumble
Pumpkin Roll
Banana Split

Domestic Diva

The Diva Frosts a Cupcake
The Diva Wraps It Up
The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss
The Diva Serves High Tea

Merry Muffin Mystery

★Muffin But Murder

Bread Shop Mystery

✔Crust No One

Amish Candy Shop Mystery

✔Lethal Licorice

Southern Pasta Shop Mysteries

Murder A La Flambe

Pizza Lovers Mysteries

Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder

Memphis Barbeque Mystery

Hickory Smoked Homicide
Rubbed Out

Donut Shop Mystery series

★Sinister Sprinkles
Evil Eclairs
Tragic Toppings

Coffeehouse Mysteries

★French Pressed
Espresso Shot
Holiday Grind

Supper Club Mystery

Stiffs and Swine
✔The Battered Body
✔Black Beans & Vice

Daisy's Tea Garden Mysteries

✔Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes
✔Murder with Cinnamon Sconces

VI. Seventh Inning Stretch - Souvenirs - Romances

After sitting in the stands for 6 full innings you need to get up and stretch. Most of my reading consists of histories and mysteries so my stretch away is in the Romance department. Here is where those books will be recorded.

1. A Secret Affair

These are some of the candidates for this category:

A Bride in the Bargain
A Duke's Temptation: The Bridal Pleasures Series
A Husband's Wicked Ways
A Night Like This
A Precious Jewel
✔A Secret Affair
A Summer Affair: A Novel
A Wicked Lord At the Wedding
Believe (Heartspell)
Candle in the Window
Dancing at Midnight
Everlasting
Fascinated
His Every Kiss (Avon Romantic Treasure)
His Favorite Mistress: A Novel
Irresistible (Berkley Sensation Historical Romance)
It Happened One Season
It Happens Every Spring (The Four Seasons of a Marriage Series #1)
Keeper of the Heart
Kissed by Shadows (Get Connected Romances)
Knight of Pleasure (All the King's Men)
Lady Rogue
Never Less Than a Lady
Never Seduce a Scoundrel (The School for Heiresses, Book 1)
Once a Knight
Only a Duke Will Do (The School for Heiresses, Book 2)
Only a Promise: A Survivors' Club Novel
Priceless
Shameless (Banning Sisters Trilogy)
Talk of the Ton (Berkley Sensation)
Ten Things I Love About You
Tender Rebel
The French Maid
The Greatest Lover in All England
The Lady Most Likely...: A Novel in Three Parts
The Lady Risks All
The Magic Of You (Malory Novels)
The Marriage Bed (Avon Romantic Treasure)
The Perfect Mistress
The Princess and the Pea (Faerie Tale Romance)
The Runaway Princess
The Second Mrs. Darcy: A Novel
The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh (Cynster Sisters Duo, Book 2)
The True Darcy Spirit: A Novel
The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall)
The Virgin's Secret
Unmasked
Until Forever
Warrior's Woman (Ly-san-ter Book 1)
Wedding of the Season: Abandoned at the Altar
Yesterday & Forever

VII. Rookies - New authors/Series

Every year, no matter how hard I try, I end up starting new series and reading new authors. This is their debut with me so I count them as ROOKIES.

1. Mayhem & Mass (A Sister Lou Mystery)
2. Murderous Mistral
3. Doom with a View
4. Case of Syrah, Syrah
5. The Shadow of Death: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery
6. Until Again
7. Murder at the 42nd Street Library
8. Murder at the Breakers
9. Decanting a Murder
10. Riesling to Die

These are some of the candidates for this category that I already have in my possession:

Alexander Cipher
Anatomist's Apprentice
Beauty to Die For
Blood Spangled Banner: A First Ladies Mystery
✔Case of Syrah, Syrah: A Wine Country Mystery
A Chili Death %
Courting Murder
Cuckoo's Calling
Deadly Blessings
Double Whammy
Earthly Delights
Fellowship of the Ring
Foreclosed
✔Full Bodied Murder
Garden Plot
Ghost a la Mode
Going through the Notions
Golden Compass,
Golden Door
Hearse and Buggy
Jury of One
Larcent and Old Lace
✔Mayhem & Mass
MELODY and MURDER
Messenger of Athens: A Novel
Mind over Murder
Mr. Mercedes: A Novel
Murder and Marinara
Murder at the Breakers
★Murder on the Côte d'Azure %
✔Murderous Mistral
Murphy's Law
Napoleon's Pyramids
Pillars of the Earth
✔Plantation Shudders
Proposal to Die For
✔Quiche and the Dead
★Sex and Salmonella %
✔Shadow of Death
Shot in the Bark
✔Single Malt Murder
Sloane Monroe Series Boxed Set
Southern Spirits
★A spoonful of Murder %
Still Life with Murder
Stuck in the Middle
Study in Amber
Sweet Masterpiece
Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse
Tastes Like Murder
Tempest in a Teapot
✔The Plot Is Murder
The Queen's Bastard
Timely Vision
Too Close to Home %
Unleashed
✔Until Again
Wedding Dress
Zen For Murder

Raven's Nest Bookstore series
Mind over Murder
A Sinister Sense
Trouble Vision
Extra Sensory Deception

✔Scone Cold Killer

Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery

Ghost A la Mode%

VIII. On Deck Hitters - Next in a series
At last count I have nearly 200 series that are on my radar, so here is where I will post the next book in a series just in case it doesn't fit somewhere else.

1. Diamond Girl
2. Etched in Tears
3. Rockets' Dead Glare
4. Read and Gone
5. Peril and Prayers

Craft Corner

String of Lies

A Book Collector Mystery

The Sayers Swindle
The Wolfe Widow

Fixer-Upper Mystery

Crowned and Moldering

Fredrickson Winery

Crushed
Savor

IX. Veterans - books in a series

Since I have been reading so many series, I have been trying for the last few years to catch up on those that I've started. Numerous series have more than 3 books and if I am reading the third or further in the series, I am considering them veterans. This is where they belong.

1. Of Murder and Men
2. A Hive of Homicides
3. Macramé Murder
4. Pressing the Issue
5.

Here are the candidates for the category:

Needlecraft Mysteries

Cutwork

Crochet Mystery

You Better Knot Die
Behind the Seams
If Hooks Could Kill

Embroidery Mystery

Thread on Arrival
Cross Stitch Before Dying
Thread End

Knitting Mystery

A Deadly Yarn
A Killer Stitch
Dyer Consequences

Beaufort and Company Mystery

Avenging Angels
Angel's Verdict
Angel Condemned

Robert Langdon

Inferno
Origin

Museum Mysteries

Razing the Dead
Privy to the Dead
Dead End Street

Deborah Knott

Rituals of the Season
Last Lessons of Summer
Winters Child
Hard Row

Butch Karp legal thriller series

Immoral Certainty
Reversible Error

Gray Whale Inn Mysteries

Murder Most Maine
Berried to the Hilt
Blueberry Blues

Home Repair is Homicide Mysteries

★Triple Witch %
★Wicked Fix %
★Repair to Her Grave%

★Foreclosed%

Books by the Bay

Lethal Letters
Writing All the Wrongs

Cat Latimer Mystery

✔Of Murder and Men

Seaside Knitters Mystery

Moon Spinners
A Holiday Yarn
The Wedding Shawl
A Fatal Fleece
Angora Alibi
Murder in Merino
A Finely Knit Murder
Trimmed With Murder
Murder at Lambswool Farm

Craft Corner

Paper-Thin Alibi

Southern Sewing Circle Mystery

★Deadly Notions
Dangerous Alterations
Reap What You Sew

X.Spring Training - youth & children's
Ever since the Harry Potter books were released I have found that there are great young adult and children's books out there that I have yet to read.

1. Into the Gauntlet
2. Vespers Rising 6 discs 6¼ hrs
3 The Graveyard Book
4. Bah! Humbug!
5. A Curious Beginning
6. The Fate of the Tearling

Here are the candidates for this category:

Hunger Games

★Catching Fire
MockingJay

39 Clues

✔Into the Gauntlet
✔Vespers Rising
Medusa Plot
The Dead of Night

Princess

Princess and the Snowbird%
Princess and the Horse

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
2. The Hammer of Thor The Magicians: A Novel

Peter and the Sword of Mercy
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
Peter and the Shadow Thieves

XI. Public Addresses - Audiobooks
Since a fan in the stands wants to watch the activity that's going on, we listen to the Public Address system to know who's at bat or coming into the game. This category will be for those books that are audio versions and to which I will listen.

1. Packing for Mars
2. The Mummy Case
3. Casual Vacancy
4. Broken Harbour
5. Firefly Lane
6. Inferno
7. Lion in the Valley
8. Christmas Blizzard LILIES Book Club
9. The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

A is for alibi
All Over Creation
Benediction
Betrayal of Trust
The Bonesetter's Daughter
The Book Thief
Bridesmaids Revisited (An Ellie Haskell Mystery)
★Broken Harbor
Bulls Island,
By a Spider's Thread
✔Casual Vacancy
★Cloud Atlas
Columbus Affair: A Novel
Cuckoo's Calling
★Dressmaker
★FDR
★Fellowship of the Ring: Book One of The Lord of the Rings
✔Firefly Lane: A Novel
★Golden Compass,
★Goldfinch: A Novel
Guests on Earth
Handle With Care
Hardly Knew Her
Heartstopper
Heavenly Pleasures
Honor Thyself
House I Loved
I Shall Not Want
In Big Trouble
✔★Inferno: A Novel
✔★Into the Gauntlet (The 39 Clues, Book 10)
Jefferson Key: A Novel
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
King's Deception: A Novel
Lady of the Rivers
Last Lessons of Summer
The last place
★Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters
Life Sentences
Lily and the Octopus
Lincoln Myth: A Novel
✔★Lion in the Valley
The Magicians: A Novel
Medicus: A Novel (Roman Empire)
Mr. Mercedes: A Novel
✔Mummy Case
No Good Deeds
On the Run
One Good Turn: A Novel
One Was a Soldier (A Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery)
Over Sea, Under Stone
✔Packing for Mars
✔★The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
Pawleys Island: A Lowcountry Tale
Persona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire
★Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
★Peter and the Shadow Thieves
★Peter and the Sword of Mercy
★Pillars of the Earth
Plainsong
Porch Lights
Queen of the Flowers
Return to Sullivans Island
Rituals of the Season
Sarah's Key
Save the Date
A Secret Kept
★Silkworm (A Cormoran Strike Novel)
Size 12 Is Not Fat
Size 14 Is Not Fat Either
Started Early, Took My Dog: A Novel
★Storm Warning (The 39 Clues, Book 9)
Summer Rental
To the Power of Three
✔★Vespers Rising (The 39 Clues, Book 11) - Audio
The Warden
What Came Before He Shot Her
What the Dead Know

XII. National Anthem - Histories and Presidential BIOS

This is my 10th year of working my way through American history by reading biographies of the American Presidents and related background historical data. (Funny my sister and I thought we could do this is 4 years.) I have a few books that are timed in the Great Depression but I am also moving forward with the Administration of FDR and the New Deal.

I am hoping to reach the point where I will be starting my reading of WWII but I want to be throughly prepared for that, so I will be trying to finish the thirties by the end of 2018.

1. The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency
2.The Federal Reserve and its Founders
3. Scarlet Letter
4.
5.

Man of destiny : FDR and the making of the American century
Such good girls : the journey of the Holocaust's hidden child survivors / R.D. Rosen.
City of ambition : FDR, La Guardia, and the making of modern New York / Mason B. Williams.
America 1933 : the Great Depression, Lorena Hickok, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the shaping of the New Deal / by Michael Golay.
Fear itself : the New Deal and the origins of our time / Ira Katznelson.
The New Deal : a modern history / Michael Hiltzik.
✔The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency

XIII. Travel Days - foreign settings
Baseball teams can't play all their games in their home stadiums and so they travel from city to city. When the distance is large, there are Travel days built into the schedule. This category will be for my travels to foreign settings outside of the United States.

1. Murder in Bloomsbury - England
2. The Secret Place - Ireland
3. Murder on the Green - England
4. Dark Tide Rising- England
5. 'Love & Death in Burgundy - France
6. Deadly Dram - Scotland
7. The Body in the Woods -Britain
8. lady helena investigates Britain
9. A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder -England -Britain
10. Novel Art of Murder

Dublin Murder Squad - IRELAND

✔★Broken Harbour
✔★The Secret Place %

The Borgia Mistress

William Monk - England

✔Dark Tide Rising

Amelia Peabody - EGYPT

★The Mummy Case
Lion in the Valley

Irish Country - IRELAND

An Irish Country Christmas
An Irish Country Girl

Cotton Malone - CHINA, GERMANY

6. The Emperor's Tomb (2010)
6.5. The Devil's Gold (2011)
7. The Jefferson Key (2011)
7.5. The Tudor Plot (2013)
8. The King's Deception (2013)
9. Lincoln Myth
Czech Republic
The Columbus Affair
Bosnia
Third Secret

Vicky Bliss (Historian) Germany, Italy, Sweden, Egypt

2. Street of the Five Moons
3. Silhouette in Scarlet
6. Laughter of Dead Kings

XIV. Bottom of the 9th - Currently last in a series

The Bottom of the 9th is usually the end of the Game unless of course there is tie and then we go into extra innings. For my ongoing series, the latest book will be counted as the Bottom of the 9th with me always hoping that there will be another book in the series.
I've worked hard to get some series caught up so I want to keep them that way.

1. Raspberry Danish Murder
2. Lethal Licorice
3. Murder at the Mushroom Festival
4. Midnight Snacks are Murder
5. Pasta Mortem
6. No Grater Danger

The Temptation of Forgiveness

The Crown of Ptolemy
Seven Threadly Sins
★A Secret Affair
✔Murder at the Mushroom Festival
★Etched in Tears
★Knit Fast, Die Young
✔Crust No One
✔Raspberry Danish Murder
Rubies in the Roses
✔Lethal Licorice

XV. Doubleheaders - Classics

Baseball doesn't have many of the old-fashioned doubleheaders anymore. Teams try to split the games so that they get twice the revenue, but a real doubleheader is part of classic baseball. So this category is for Classics. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a few I like.

1. A Wrinkle in Time LILIES
2. Prince and the Pauper
3. Winnie the Pooh

Here are a few possibilities:

Treasure Island%
Charlotte's Web
Les Miserables
Grapes of Wrath
Moby Dick
Fellowship of the Rings
Persuasion
The Pillars of the Earth%
Book Thief
Aesops Fables
Robinson Crusoe%
Emma
The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales%
Scarlet Letter
Little Dorrit
The Phantom of the Opera
Middlemarch%
David Copperfield
Prince and the Pauper %
Jungle Books
50 Classic Children's Books

Miss Marple
3. The Moving Finger (1942)
4. A Murder Is Announced (1950)
5. They Do It with Mirrors (1952)
6. A Pocket Full of Rye (1953)
7. 4.50 from Paddington (1957)
8. The Mirror Crack'd (1961)
9. A Caribbean Mystery (1964)
10. At Bertram's Hotel (1965)
11. Nemesis (1971)
12. Sleeping Murder (1976)

Sherlock Holmes
1. A Study in Scarlet (1887)
2. The Sign of Four (1890)
3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
4. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes(1893)
5. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
6. The Return of Sherlock Holmes(1905)
7. The Valley of Fear (1914)
8. His Last Bow (1917)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes(1927)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes (1930)

Tommy and Tuppence
2. Partners in Crime (1929)
3. N or M? (1941)
4. By the Pricking of My Thumbs(1968)
5. Postern of Fate (1973)

XVI. Playoffs - highly anticipated Books in a series
Every year 30 teams vie for a chance to go to the World Series. The process over the years has become somewhat complicated with Wild Card teams and division series and league series, but the playoffs eventually get the winners that much closer to the being World Champions. The entire season is played in anticipation of getting into these games. This category is for the books that I just can't wait to be published.

1. Plum Tea Crazy
2. Island of the Mad
3. A Souffle of Suspicion
4. The Prisoner in the Castle
5. Harvest of Secrets
6. Glitter Bomb
7. The Whispered Word


✔Plum Tea Crazy in the Tea Shoppe series due 3/7/2018
✔The Prisoner in the Castle in the Maggie Hope series due 8/7/2018
✔Island of the Mad in the Mary Russell series due 6/12/2018
Harvest of Secrets - Wine Country Mystery due 11/6/18
✔Murder in the Locked Library in the Book Retreat series due 4/24/2018 recorded as Hall of Fame Category 18
✔A Soufflé of Suspicion French Bistro 7/10/2018
Room Service in the Innkeepers series due 7/31/2018
Kingdom of the Blind Three Pines 11/27/18

XVII. World Series - new series/old author

I have many authors that I follow faithfully with a great series, so when they decide to start something new, I'm on it. This category is for books by authors that I read but new series.

1. Twenty-one Days: A Daniel Pitt Novel
2. Flowers and Foul Play
3. Who Moved my Goat Cheese?
4. Color Me Murder
5. Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
6. Into the Lion's Den
7. Snowed Inn
8. Murder at the Mansion

Here are a few possibilities:

Devlin Quick Mystery - Linda Fairstein
✔Into the Lion's Den

Afton Tangler Thriller - Gerry Schmitt
Little Girl Gone
Shadow Girl

Cynsters Next Generation - Stephanie Laurens
By Winter's Light

Magic Garden Mysteries - Amanda Flower
✔Flowers and Foul Play

Farm to Fork Mystery
✔Who Moved my Goat Cheese? - Lynn Cahoon

Pen & Ink Mystery - Krista Davis
✔Color Me Murder

XVIII. Hall of Fame - Best of the best 4½-5 ★
Baseball's Hall of Fame is for those players that had a tremendously outstanding career and influenced the game in a postitive way. For this category I will enter only those books that get a 4½ or 5 Star rating in my opinion. I'm hoping to find at least one or two.

1. Murder in the Locked Library
2. Shadow Dancing
3. Crust No One
4. Back Stabbers

Title contains a person’s rank, real or fictional
Story involves travel = A Wrinkle in Time
A long-time TBR/TBR the longest = The Mummy Case 11/25/2008
Poetry or plays
New-to-you author = Mayhem & Mass Olivia Matthews
Autobiography/memoir
Book with a beautiful cover (in your opinion)= Murderous Mistral
Book that fits at least 2 KIT’s/CAT’s = Packing for Mars
Related to the Pacific Ocean
Title contains something you would see in the sky
Book bought in 2017 that hasn’t been read yet = A Vintage Murder
Number in the title - Twenty-One Days
Book that is humorous = Winnie the Pooh
Book on the 1001 list
LGBT central character
Book set during a holiday = Glitter Bomb
Fat book - 500 plus pages - Broken Harbor
X somewhere in the title
Money in the title - any form of currency, type of payment, etc...
Book published in 2018 = Murder in Bloomsbury
Relative name in the title (aunt, niece, etc...)
Originally in a different language
Published more than 100 years ago =The Prince and the Pauper
Title contains name of a famous person, real or fictional = The man he became : how FDR defied polio to win the presidency
Read a CAT (middle square)= Murder in the Locked Library April Release Random CAT

Hi Chèli, great to see you here. What an amazingly inventive challenge. And so well-organised! Happy hitting!

I love the setup for this! So organized!

Great job on reading those ROOTs before they become deep ROOTs. Have a great reading year in 2018!

Excellent challenge setup. I know next to nothing about baseball, so at least I have now learnt something - so thank you.

Same as >24 Helenliz: from me too! Your devotion to the team and the game is commendable!

I look forward to following you again. It's so much fun to see Challenges that are personal and I think you hit this one out of the park!

Great set up! Hope you have a joyful and well read year.

Hi Cheli, great to see you all set up for another year! I love the idea behind your Bullpen Category, there are times when we all need to reach for those comfort reads and favorite series to help us get back in the game.

Fabulous setup, Chèli!

You have so many interesting books lined up for 2018. I hope they are all hits!

Very clever categories!

I think this is the best setup I have ever seen on LT, really well done. Enjoy your reading and the upcoming baseball season!

Nice to see you swinging for the fences in 2018! :)

Love how you tied everything together! What a very fun challenge.

Wow! This is so good. Now I am totally intimidated. I don't read that fast; I am not that organized....etc, etc. LOL Whimsy, yeah, I like whimsy. ; ) Good luck and have fun.

Single Malt Murder
Melinda Mullet

Abi Logan, award-winning photojournalist, isn't at her uncle's deathbed, so she feels she needs to go to see her inheritance, Abbey Glen distillery in Scotland. She soon discovers that a woman owner is not going to receive a warm welcome - quite the contrary - death threats and sabotage greet her. When one of the workers is found dead in a whiskey vat, Abi decides that she isn't giving up ownership until she figures out wheat is really going on.

I thought that this was a great first series offering with complex characters, great setting, and interesting background information all woven together to grab the readers interest immediately. Sure wish I could truly visit this venue.

My husband's not a reader but I know he would have enjoyed the parts about the whiskey tastings!

Looks like a fun and ambitious challenge! I'll be sure to check in often.

Death Distilled
Melinda Mullet

Abi Logan returns with her wheaten terrier, Liam, to Abbey Glen, the whisky distillery she inherited. Rory Hendricks, a childhood crush, has moved to the village and enlists Abi to photograph his return to the rock stage and possibly figure out who has been killing off his former bandmates.

Love the story and the characters that are developing. Hope that some of Abi's photo-journalistic adventures are incorporated in the future.

A Hive of Homicides
Meera Lester

Abby Mackenzie's her friend Paola renews her vows but at the reception afterward the happy couple are missing. Going out to the parking lot, Abby finds Paola in critical condition and her husband dead.

Abby retired from the police force but feels the need to find out what happened and who harmed her friend who is physically fighting for her life. Trying to keep her friend safe while investigating all the possibilities of who killed the groom, may have Abby is trouble herself.

Love the characters and the setting.

Of Murder and Men
Lynn Cahoon

Just as Cat Latimer's newest writer's retreat session is about to start Cat's partner Shauna finds that her fiancé is missing and is later found dead. Cat has to keep the retreat on an even keel help her friend through the trauma, and at the same time find out what happened.

The setting of a writer's retreat is so much fun and brings great fresh characters each time.

Mayhem & Mass
Olivia Matthews

Sister Lou has asked a friend from her past to be the guest speaker for the St. Hermione of Ephesus Feast Day presentation. At dinner the evening before when they are catching up, Sister Lou gets the feeling that something wrong, so when her friend doesn't show up on time, she rushes to his hotel and finds that he has been murdered.

The police seem to be leaning toward her fellow nuns as suspects so Sister Lou decides that she needs to investigate herself. Combining forces with her nephew and a reporter they uncover numerous paths that lead toward an answer.

Fun characters, good writing

A Vintage Murder
Michele Scott

Nikki has joined Derek on a "business" trip to Australia but while there the winery that they have come to negotiate with is having a movie shot on their land. When the female lead is found dead, the movie crew persuades Nikki to take on the role. Is she putting herself in danger or investigating undercover?

Love the characters and the growth of their backgrounds.

Macramé Murder
Mollie Cox Bryan

Cora has gone to the Big Island Craft Retreat on Sea Glass Island with her partners Ruby and Jane. Her boyfriend Adrian has come along as well. Adrian and Cora are walking on the beach when they come across a wedding in progress. In the morning Cora is startled to find out that the bride was found dead on the beach and that Adrian has been taken in for questioning. Learning that Adrian had some secrets regarding the bride, Cora sets out to prove that he is not responsible for the murder.

Crafts are woven throughout and keep the mystery fresh as well as fun.

Packing for Mars
Mary Roach

I never really thought about some of the details that have to be taken into consideration for space travel. Possibly we as a society are taken with Star Trek and Star Wars and don't really think about the early beginnings of space travel.

The details related in the book ranged from food development (soup wouldn't work, worrying about crumbs that might float into the mechanisms), sex for long trips (Mars and beyond, weightlessness for sex), recycling urine for water, bone and body reactions, and even Bowel movements and body odors.

The way that it was presented was informative and entertaining.

Very thought-provoking.

Looks like you're mostly reading cozies with the space travel exception.

Murder in Bloomsbury
D. M. Quincy

Atlas Catesby has been trying to move forward and forget his feelings for Lady Roslyn but he is drawn into another investigation when she requests his help regarding the death of her maid's brother, Gordon Davis. His research finds numerous people, women as well as men, who were unhappy with Davis' behaviors.

Love how the characters interact as well as the portrayal of the period.

>45 thornton37814: I have a bunch of cozies that I got from NetGalley and have been reading those. But I did want to listen to some audio books and Packing for Mars was the one I chose to start with.

Murderous Mistral
Cay Rademacher

I had a very difficult time with this book because of the over use of French terms as well as French words and elaborate names.
The main character was not one that I could embrace with any warmth.

>44 cyderry: The book sounds really interesting. I love the idea of colonizing another planet. I think the reality of it probably would not be as fun.

Packing for Mars was one of my top books in January.

>47 cyderry: I tend to go in spurts on NetGalley, but I'm pretty selective there. I'm becoming more discriminating in cozies because some of the characters just turn me off in some of the newer authors. I'm not sure what it is. I still love a good cozy, but I'm finding it harder to find "good" ones.

Doom with a View
Kate Kingsbury

The Merry Ghost Inn has its grand opening and 6 senior readers arrive. However, everything isn't smooth sailing because one of the guests is found dead and the other members of the group are the prime suspects. Melanie and Liza still have to have business as usual while trying to find the killer or their B&B will be filled with hold over guests with a murderer among them.

Not having read the first in this series, I was still able to get the character relationships and part of the past history. A fun cozy!

The Mummy Case
Elizabeth Peters

6 year old Ramses, a precocious little boy who is half Amelia and half Emerson, takes centerstage in this third in the series. The mystery I found lacking any real depth, but the interaction of the characters (Mother, Father, and child) was extremely entertaining.

Pressing the Issue
Daryl Wood Gerber

Crystal Cove is holding a Renaissance Fair and the entire town is caught up in the festivities. At the same time, Bailey, Jenna Hart's assistant at the Cookbook Nook, is preparing for her wedding to be held at one of the local wineries. When the winery owner (a huge fair advocate) is found murdered, investigations get underway, but was he killed because of the winery or the fair?

The twists and turns that are incorporated into this finely crafted cozy mystery keep the reader searching for answers right up unto the end.

The Casual Vacancy
J. K. Rowling

I had really been looking forward to this book, because I love the Harry Potter series, I thought that the same wonderful, entertaining writing in an adult story would capture me as well.

Unfortunately, this book didn't do it. Characters needed more fleshing out at the beginning so that the reader becomes attached. The politics and family struggles in this little village made the story too dark and depression for my tastes.

The Plot Is Murder
V. M. Burns

This was an interesting start for a new series. There is a mystery within the mystery. Samantha Washington has been recently widowed, retired from teaching, sold her home and is opening a mystery book shop - a dream she and her late husband shared. The real estate agent who sold Sam the building for her bookshop repeatedly has been bothering her but one morning she finds him dead in her backyard.

As the police investigate, she works on her book - a mystery. There is a marked resemblance with her mystery to the murder of her real estate agent so the police believe that she may be a suspect.

The characters which include Samantha's grandmother and her cronies add a sense of humor to the search for the truth.

Great fun!

>55 cyderry: Have you tried the Cormoran Strike books she writes as Robert Galbraith? The first was Cuckoo's Calling. I loved Harry Potter, too, but I avoided The Casual Vacancy because of other reviews that said basically what you did. The Cormoran series is very good, though.

>57 virginiahomeschooler: I have it and hope to start it this year. Thanks for the recommendation.

>54 cyderry: I apparently own a copy of the first in that series. I'll see if I can find it.

>56 cyderry: New series! I'll have to check that one out!

The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency
James Tobin

I'm really surprised at how interesting the story came out. I thought that it would be deadly dull but informative, but instead it was very entertaining as well as giving a very interesting insight into FDR before and after polio.

It was extremely well written, never getting too technical but still giving a great deal of information as to the affliction and its results.

Spent the weekend celebrating my grandson's birthday, his expression was priceless!

It sure is, pure joy!

A Case of Syrah, Syrah
Nancy J. Parra

Taylor O’Brian returns to Sonoma Wine Country to help her Aunt Jemma after a heart attack scare. Wanting something she can call her own, she starts a tour company called Off the Beaten Path but her first tour proves fatal as one of her clients is found murdered at the bottom of a cliff. Not only is Taylor a suspect but her business could be killed before it gets off the ground!

I liked the characters and the setting, I see great potential for growth in both.

A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle

Meg Murry is a misfit in her school and neighborhood but then again so is her younger brother Charles Wallace. Part of their problem is the disappearance of their father and their mother's dedication to scientific research to try and bring him home. The story is about 3 entities - Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which who transport the two Murry children and a friend to a far-off planet to try to rescue Mr. Murry.

My book club selected this book so that we could discuss it and then when the movie comes out next month we could compare the story in the book to the story on the screen. I'm not sure that I really liked the story in the book and maybe it's because it is 50 some years old. It was also difficult to follow in parts and the characters weren't easy to embrace.

Lost Books and Old Bones
Paige Shelton

Delaney is settling in to her new life in Scotland and after an evening out with some girl friends, she is startled to learn that one of the girls has been found murdered outside of the bookshop where she works. Her friends are all medical students and Delaney gets to wondering if a special set of books that her boss has acquired may be behind the murder. Since it's her job to verify the value of the books, she is drawn into the investigation of the murder.

The background of the history of Burke and Hare, murderers from the past who killed to provide corpses for the medical college and its incorporation into the story was magnificent. Again I was drawn to the regular characters and their closeness to each other and their desire to protect each other.

Diamond Girl (A Country Club Murder Short)
Julie Mulhern

I love this series and as soon as I can get my hands on the next in the series, I'm on it. This short story was no exception. Taking Aggie, a major supporting character in all the previous full novels and giving the readers not just some background on her but also putting her front and center while Ellison played the supporting role was brilliant! The story was very well crafted while maintaining the characters' integrity. I laughed as usual at the humorous aspects - especially Aggie's makeover. I wonder what Frances will say in the future!

>65 cyderry: The reviews seem to be better for that one than for the first installment. I read the first installment and never moved to the second. Maybe I'll try the series again at some point.

The Shadow of Death: A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery
Jane Willan

Sister Agatha of Gwenafwy Abbey has been working on writing a murder mystery so when the sexton is found dead in the aging room of the cheese making facility, she believes it was murder while the sheriff says it was an accident. Determined to show that she is right, Sister Agatha enlists Father Selwyn to help her investigate the death and all the mysterious goings on surrounding the local cheese contest.

So of the mystery was a bit predictable but there were several red herrings that were creative and entertaining. Characters were well written but left room for growth.

An Interesting start for a new series.

>44 cyderry:
One of my favorites - I do love Ms. Roach.

>61 cyderry:
Wonderful! That is a very excited little boy.

A few extra prayers for my 93 year old mother would be appreciated, I think she's dying.

>70 cyderry: oh Cheli, that's so unbearably sad. My heart goes out to you. Loosing a parent is one of those things that we know will come to most of us, but that doesn't make it any easier. No matter how old you are, you somehow feel very alone in the world when they go.

Will definitely pray for your mom and for you!

Cheli, you and your mother are in my thoughts and prayers.

>70 cyderry:
So sorry to hear about your mother. Sending all my best thoughts to you and her. ❤

So sorry, will keep your mom in prayer.

Mom is so much better! Difference of night and day!
Thanks for all the prayers!

>76 cyderry:
This is wonderful news!

Awesome! :)

Very good news, Cheli. :)

>76 cyderry: Bet that feels better all round. >:-)

Twenty-one Days: A Daniel Pitt Novel
Anne Perry

A new series starring the son of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt gets off to a great start. Daniel, a young lawyer, manages to find a way to convince the jury that his client is innocent of murder. He is then immediately ordered to assist another lawyer in his firm with a high profile case. When they are unable to come out with a favorable verdict, they must somehow find the real murderer or find reason for an appeal in 21 days before their client is hanged.

I found it quite fascinating that in this time era that there was so little time for appeal. Definitely a great start for a new series!



Challenge Book # 24
Plantation Shudders
Ellen Byron

Maggie Crozat returns to Cajun country to help her family run the ancestral home as a B&B. However when one of their guests is found murdered and the local Sheriff has a feud with her family, Maggie has to step into the investigation so that their new business doesn't get held up in channels.

The location was fun, the mystery entertaining, but the characters need a bit more fleshing out.
Hope to see more in the future.

Challenge Book # 25
The Woman in the Water
Charles Finch

I read the Beautiful Blue Death which was the first in this series so when I saw this Prequel offered on NetGalley and asked for it and was fortunate enough to receive it for review.

This book chronicles the first case of Charles Lenox and also highlights his personal misgivings about going against his family wishes and starting his career as a private investigator. What I found fascinating was how Charles and his valet would peruse the daily newspapers to find a crime that they would decide needed investigating and then present themselves for that task.

The book was well-written with clues planted strategically for the reader but not making it easy to solve.
The characters were believable and the setting attention grabbing.

Challenge Book # 26
Raspberry Danish Murder
Joanne Fluke

The latest Hannah Swensen mystery has Hannah confused and hurt by the sudden disappearance of her new husband Ross Barton. Trying to keep up appearances, she works diligently at the Cookie Jar devising new recipes helping others stock up for the coming holidays. When her husband's assistant borrows Ross' car and then dies in a car crash (later it was determined that he was poisoned by candy found on Ross' desk) Hannah wonders if Ross was the actual intended victim and sets out to find out how it happened. What she finds are more mysteries!

I've been a faithfully follower of Hannah from the beginning but it seems a bit odd that we have a new love interest, a fast wedding and then the groom disappears. Did the author regret not having Hannah chose Mike or Norman?

A typical Hannah mystery - enjoyable and a titillation for our taste buds!

Challenge Book # 27
Lethal Licorice
Amanda Flower

Bailey King has given up her dreams of being a top chocolatier in New York and returned to the Amish country in Harvest, OH to help her grandmother in their candy business and in particular in this book make the candies the Amish way for the Amish Confectionery Competition. One of the other Amish entrants is not happy that Bailey is their since technically she is not Amish, but Bailey is allowed to continued since she is representing her grandmother's shop. The other entrant is found dead, however, from an allergic reaction to licorice (the main ingredient for one of the candies being made in the competition). Since Bailey and the victim were seen arguing and she was one of the people who found the body, Bailey feels compelled to investigate to clear her name.

This was a fun mystery with numerous twists and turns but also great characters and yummy sounding candy!

Can't wait for another trip to the Amish country!

Challenge Book # 28
Broken Harbor
Tana French

This book was profound in so many ways that I'm sure that I will be able to do it justice. First the crime to be investigated is the murder and attempted murder of a family - father and 2 small children are dead and the mother is in serious condition. The location is a development that was many years before a vacation area that Mick Kennedy, the homicide detective, and his family used to frequent until his own mother disappeared (committed suicide?). So the parallels of a broken families run through out.

The writing and mystery is extremely skillful in carrying the reader through not just the victims impacted but also keeping Kennedy's feeling woven through as well. I will admit that at times it is difficult to follow the trail that is blazed, but it was definitely worth the journey.

Challenge Book # 29
Murder at the Mushroom Festival
Janet Finsilver

Kelly Jackson, manager at the Redwood Cove B&B, decided that she needs to find out more about the region so she signs up for a few of the events related to the Mushroom Festival. When the body of a local reporter is found murdered in an area where she was with a friend, Kelly knows that she needs to find out what happened. This story revolves around valuable regional resources, greedy, and jealousy. I love how the characters are growing with the stories.

>85 cyderry:
I love Tana French - her stories always have so much texture. I do hope she's continuing the "series."

Challenge Book # 30
Into the Gauntlet
Margaret Peterson Haddix

Amy and Dan Cahill have been battling time in trying to find the clues to the power which could rule the world - wanting to keep it away from the "evil" branches of the family. The final clue is located in England and is related to William Shakespeare.

The journey that these two have taken through this and the previous books and shown how they have grown and matured as well as when to trust and when not to.

A series that I will definitely suggest for my grandchildren.

Challenge Book # 31
In the Unlikely Event
Judy Blume

This book to me was absolutely fascinating! Rarely will a work of fiction surrounding actual events urge me to seek additional information of the reality depicted, but before I was halfway through, I had to search out more information about the plane crashes in Elizabeth, NJ.

The writing was superb and the imaginings of the characters, whether based on real life individuals or characters of the author's imagination, I was engrossed by their feelings and reactions to the events.

This book was selected for my book club and we all enjoyed it.

Challenge Book # 32
Southern Discomfort
Caroline Fardig

Quinn Bellandini has opted to help her grandfather by working with her sister Delilah running the family B&B in Savannah. She also has been told by Delilah and her grandfather that her deceased Uncle Frank is there to lend aid as well. So when she discovers the body of the brother of her friend Drew, she feels that she needs to prove his innocence (clearing her name as well - the police seem to think they were in it together).

The characters of Quinn and her family were fun and I look forward to more of her adventures, but some of the other characters need some additional dimension. The story was fun!

Challenge Book # 33
Flowers and Foul Play
Amanda Flower

Fiona Knox feels like the world is crashing in on her - her flower shop has been closed, her wedding is off (her fiancé ran off with the wedding cake baker) so running away seems like a good idea. Having been notified earlier that she has inherited her godfather's cottage in Scotland, she flies away from her troubles - or is it to more trouble? As soon as she arrives she and the caretaker discover the body of her godfather's lawyer in the magical garden. But where is the magic? Everything in the garden seems dead along with the lawyer. In the small village, everyone seems to have a reason to kill the lawyer, but who? Fiona works to find out while trying to blend into the village life.

Loved it! The descriptions of the area and the garden were breathtaking. The characters were fun, leaving room for growth while still have a good amount of depth.

Challenge Book # 34
The Secret Place
Tana French

As much as I truly enjoyed Tana French's previous entry in this series (Broken Harbor) which made me want to like this one as much, it just wasn't possible.
This story centered around a near Cold Case of the murder of a teenage boy at a girl's boarding school. The characters of the girls in attendance lack dimension and made it very difficult to plow through the story. The pace was too slow in spots which made me as the reader want to say "Get on with it" and the high school girls just were too over the top caricatures of what I suppose boarding school girls are believed to be. Sadly disappointed.

Challenge Book # 35
Until Again
Lou Aronica

This book was really a short story as a prequel to the fantasy regarding Chris and his daughter Becky who tell a story of a fantasy land. It's their father/daughter bonding which is greatly reflected in their story telling.

Very interesting and caught me wanting more.

Challenge Book # 36
Shelved Under Murder
Victoria Gilbert

While preparing for a yard sale fundraiser for the library, Library director Amy Webber comes across a local artist murdered with her own palette knife. Since the murder seems to be related to the artist's paintings and a link has been found to Amy's deceased uncle, she feels compelled to find out the truth with the help of her hunky boyfriend.

I love the story and the locale but especially the characters.

Challenge Book # 37
Murder in the Locked Library
Ellery Adams

Jane Steward of Storyton Hall is finally seeing one of the items that has been on her "wish list" get underway. The Walt Whitman Spa has finally broken ground, however, there is a complication - bones have been found in the ground and so construction is halted while an investigation is put in place. Archaeologists come to the "dig" and must determine if this is an old death or something that the police should look into.

In the meantime the retreat is hosting the Robert Harley Rare Book Society led by a man with severe superstitions but Jane has managed to keep him on an even keel, however, the construction issues throw a damper all around, things only get worse. Somehow the society leader is murdered in the locked library while Jane is sitting right next to him.

Fascinating writing, great mystery and wonderful how it all comes together in the end! Can't wait for the next one!

Challenge Book # 38
Murder at the 42nd Street Library
Con Lehane

I had a very difficult time getting into this book. It was very slow at the beginning and didn't hold my interest well. However, I persevered because I have the next in the series and wanted to be sure that I had all the background for that one.

I think that part of my problem came with the character names, sometimes the writer used the last name only sometimes the first name and so it was confusing until I got into the story. The plot was good as was the mystery, the writing needed to be a bit crisper I'm hoping for improvements in Book 2.

Challenge Book # 39
The Advice Column Murders
Leslie Nagel

Charley Carpenter is unsettled because her boyfriend is out of town and her business is undergoing renovations but the worst is her insomnia which isn't helped by the new neighbors who are constantly yelling at the top of the voices. One of the neighbors reaches out to Charley apparently for help but their conversation is cut short and never continued because of murder. Was she also seeking help in the advice columns?

Charley feels a need to find justice for the young woman and doesn't believe that the good old boys in the sheriff's office are capable of doing that. Can she, or will she become the next victim because of their incompetence?

I like this series, the characters and the writing.

You had a whole string of library murders there. I need to get back to that Ellery Adams series.

>96 cyderry:
That's a shame - intriguing cover!

Challenge Book # 40
Who Moved My Goat Cheese?
Lynn Cahoon

Angie and Felicia lost their restaurant in San Francisco (rent issues) so they move back to Angie's home state of Idaho and start a new restaurant where they are only using farm fresh ingredients. When their goat cheese supplier turns up dead, Angie feels she needs to solve this murder especially when she starts getting threats.

The characters were fun, the setting humorous and the mystery well-crafted.

Challenge Book # 41
Full Bodied Murder
Christine E. Blum

Annie “Halsey” Hall inherits her grandmother's house in California and decides that it's a perfect place to start over when her marriage in New York fails. She is invited by her new neighbors to the Rose Avenue Wine Club but enters the wrong residence only to find a dead body. Finding that she is the chief suspect, Halsey enlists the aid of the Wine Club to find the real killer.

Great mix of characters good writing and good setting.

Challenge Book # 42
Color Me Murder
Krista Davis

Florrie Fox has been trying to find a new place to live which would be closer to her work so when the owner of the book store that she manages offers her his carriage house right down the street, she's thrilled but she has to move in right away. It seems that her employer has an obnoxious nephew that also wants the space and to thwart him, Florrie has to make it look like she's lived there a while.

After her hasty move, the following day Florrie finds the nephew's body in a hidden cavity in the old staircase at the bookstore. Of course, her employer is the prime suspect for the murder, setting Florrie off to prove his innocence by finding the real murderer.

The story is set in Georgetown of Washington, D.C. (close to where I live) and so the story had me wishing that there really was this bookstore and that these characters were just around the corner. I guess I'll just have to visit in the books when they are written, Loved it all!

Challenge Book # 43
Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes
Karen Rose Smith

Daisy's Tea Garden is a delightful setting that turns dangerous when the owner(Daisy)'s aunt is suspected of the murder of her boyfriend. Daisy has so much going on in her life but still takes the investigation to protect her aunt as a priority.

The plot was crisp, the characters were warm and felt like old friends and the tea descriptions -mouth-watering.

Challenge Book # 44
Death by the Sea
Kathleen Bridge

Liz Holt comes home to Melbourne, FL and her family's hotel, The Indialantic, to help manage the property now that it is getting a bit older and not quite in the best of condition. Surprisingly, a wealthy patron books a suite which should help business but not when she is murdered in that suite. Needing to clear the name of the hotel, Liz decides she needs to "assist" the police in their investigation.

This story really dragged at the beginning with too many characters to be introduced and put in place, too much background information and the mystery was pretty slow as well. Not sure this is a series I will continue.

Challenge Book # 45
The Quiche and the Dead
Kirsten Weiss

Val Harris has opened her new PIETOWN bakery at the same time as she prepares to get married. When the wedding is called off, Val throws everything into her bakery but she runs into a few problems - a hostile neighbor (her ex-fiancé's new girlfriend and a fitness nut) and a dead body in the shop.

Feeling worried by the town's reaction to the death, she decides that she needs to find out what happened. The death is determined murder but not food poisoning, so figuring out who is responsible could be tricky.

Nice start for a new series, some strange characters (maybe some a few too strange) food sounds yummy, and fun mystery.

Challenge Book # 46
Class Reunions Are Murder
Libby Klein

Poppy McAllister has recently been widowed and she is having a hard time adjusting, spiraling downward in depression, hiding away in her house and eating carbs galore. Her best friend Sawyer convinces her to return to her home town for her 25th class reunion. On her arrival, she realizes that her Aunt Ginny is having some difficulties and taking care of those will need to be a priority while she is visiting. Poppy has received a special message from the girl who made her life miserable in high school - apparently, Barbie wants to make amends, But circumstances don't work in Poppy's favor but before the two can reconcile, Poppy finds Barbie dead in the hallway right by Poppy's old locker.

Since Sawyer had been in a fight with Barbie right before the murder, Poppy feels the need to fid the murder and keep herself and Sawyer from landing in jail.

My ladies group chose this book for our May read and the author was kind enough to attend our discussion. It was fascinating to hear about the writing process and learn how the entertaining characters came to life. Already have the next book in the series can't wait to see Poppy again.

Challenge Book # 47
Death and a Pot of Chowder
Cornelia Kidd

Anna Winslow lives on Quarry Island with her son and husband, a lobsterman. When her brother-in-law is found dead, and it is determined that he was murdered, Anna's husband is arrested because he had an argument with his brother and because he knew his brother had forged a check stealing all their savings the police feel they have the murderer. Anna is forced to delve into the murder to save her family.

This was a good start for a new series, but I think it needs a few more interesting characters in the future. The characters are a bit ordinary, nothing special.

Challenge Book # 48
Firefly Lane
Kristin Hannah

This book was about a friendship of two girls from youth through college and on. I found it a bit tedious, too much of the same story told over and over again, with just different setting throughout.

Normally I like Kristin Hannah's books, this one fell short.

Challenge Book # 49
Bleeding Tarts
Kirsten Weiss

The second Installment from Pietown goes along pretty well with a nice cozy mystery but the main characters seem to me a bit stagnant. Charlene is a bit too loopy - carrying a cat around her neck, always a bit alien/fairy/ghost excessive. Not sure that I can take much more of that. It definitely IMO needs to be toned down. Charlene's antics really detract from the mystery. Maybe a different sidekick? Petronella maybe?
I like the premise and other characters, but Charlene I can do without.

>108 cyderry: - That is the only book by Kristin Hannah that I've read and it made me really reluctant to try anything else of hers.

>110 LittleTaiko: I wouldn't judge all her books by this one. This one just seemed to me to be slow. I usually give an author 2-3 books in case they had a bad one, unless of course, it was really bad.

Looks like you've had a string of mostly 3 star or less books. Here's hoping your next one will be 4 star or higher!

PS - I'm adding >103 cyderry: the lemon tea cake one to my wish list. I don't need it at the moment, but it will be there when I'm looking for one and can be easily downloaded if the library doesn't own a copy by then.

Challenge Book # 50
Shadow Dancing
Julie Mulhern

Ellison has stopped finding bodies, now Frances has started. Frances urgently calls Ellison because she has found an urn with ashes in the back of her hall closet and doesn't know what to do. If helping her mother discover who the ashes are isn't enough, Ellison embroils herself into a dangerous situation when she hits a young girl in the street and then she is later found murdered. Detective Anarchy Jones sees Ellison in danger because of the young girl's profession(a prostitute) and Ellison's efforts to help another young girl in the same situation.

I look forward to everyone of the Country Club Murders because of the spectacular writing, the full-blooded characters, and the humor that is woven so skillfully throughout. Sad that I now have to wait for the next one. But they are well worth the wait! A great #50 for the year and best so far for me in 2018!

Challenge Book # 51
Island of the Mad
Laurie R. King

Mary Russell is asked by her university friend to try to find an aunt that has gone missing after visiting the family estate while on leave from Bedlam. Yes, Bedlam - the asylum for the insane. Mary manages to infiltrate the establishment and deduces that Aunt Vivian, apparently sane all along, has now opted to escape her prison to live a reclusive existence elsewhere - presumably Venice. Planning her travels, Holmes is reluctant to accompany her until Mycroft persuades him to look into the "Fascist" situation while in Italy. Their efforts to uncover the truth had some interesting links to historical figures, I'm not sure they were true or not.

I have adored the Mary Russell series since it first was published in 1994 and have faithfully awaited each new installment of the adventures of Mary Russell with the mature Sherlock Holmes. However, this one fell a bit flat for me. It seem to lack the tension that all the other stories have elicited when danger seem to be in the offing. It seemed a bit too predictable. The situations and characters seemed a bit stale this time.

Challenge Book # 52
Vespers Rising
Rick Riordan

I was excited when I realized that the 39 Clues continued in a new series with the Cahills vs. the Vespers. However, I realize now that this first book is just a bridge between the old series and the new series - giving background of how the Cahill branches separated and what they're fighting for now.

Good bridge, not great book.

Challenge Book # 53
I SEE RUDE PEOPLE: One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society
Amy Alkon

I was extremely disappointed by this book. I thought that there would be some really constructive ideas of how to handle rudeness, especially Cell phone users, parents who let their children run wild and even telemarketers. Her actions as identified in this book are just as rude as those people that she is complaining about. Maybe she should take a look at herself.

Challenge Book # 54
Scone Cold Killer
Lena Gregory

Gia Morelli has fled New York City and her scambag ex-husband (awaiting sentencing for investment fraud) and takes refuge in a small Florida town with her best friend. Opening up her own Breakfast cafe, the first day wasn't perfect (she didn't have grits and the newly hired cook was worthless) but it gets worse when she discovers her ex dead in her own dumpster.

Apparently, some people were not happy with him and now they're after Gia believing that she has something they want.

I loved the setting, characters and the special little somethings that were added. This was a great first book in a new series.

Challenge Book # 55
Murder on the Green
H. V. Coombs

Described as Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake Off - it fell a bit short on both but was still entertaining in the mystery category. In my opinion it had a few too many characters and didn't really stand alone as a mystery alluding to a activities and character connections from a previous book. I think I would havew enjoyed it more had I read the first book in this series.

Challenge Book # 56
Murder with Cinnamon Scones
Karen Rose Smith

This second installment of the Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries was just as good as the first. Daisy and other shopkeepers in Willow Creek are hosting Quilt Lover's Week but Reese Masemer will be missing out on all the fun - He's found murdered by the covered bridge and Daisy's best friend Tessa (Reese's girlfriend) is the prime suspect.

The story moves along so well with insights into running the business, blossoming romance and delectable sounding treats all intermix with the clues for this fun whodunnit. I only wish I could find Willow Creek on a real map so I could visit the Tea Garden.

Challenge Book # 57
Killer Green Tomatoes
Lynn Cahoon

Angie Turner is finally ready to open her new hometown restaurant the County Seat, but she is till trying to find a few more suppliers for her all natural recipes so when her sous chef recommends his cousin's farm, she's willing to give it a try. The cousin, Javier, is somewhat of a ladies man, so when his current girlfriend is found murdered, he is the natural suspect.

Angie has a strong sense of family that drives her to assist trying to clear Javier of suspicion, but when he disappears the investigation gets trickier. I love the way that the food images and descriptions are easily woven into thew story as well as well-hidden clues.

Challenge Book # 58
Murder in the Manuscript Room
Con Lehane

Spies can be found anywhere including the library but when an undercover agent is found murdered and stuffed on the shelf, Raymond Ambler knows he needs to figure why his library was "targeted"

I have to admit that this second installment was a bit easier to read than the first and I got the beginnings of an interest in the characters. They seemed more real this book, but still have need to grow. I do think that the plot was a bit to convoluted and the book could have withstood a bit more editing..

Challenge Book # 59
A Soufflé of Suspicion
Daryl Wood Gerber

Mimi Rousseau is still working to get her new French Bistro on the lips of the tourists and locals alike, so Maison Rousseau is hosting the Sweet Treats Festival during Crush Week. Her head chef Camille's sister Renée is the coordinator but things are not all good. Renée purchased the Festival rights from Allie O'Malley and now since the Festival seems to be on the verge of success, Allie is feeling cheated. The discovery of Renée murdered has many of the vendors wondering if Allie is the murderer or is it Camille or Renée's estranged husband. There are many possibilities since Renée was not everyone's favorite person.

Mimi feels the need to help find the guilty person since her friend Camille needs closure as well as clearance of guilt. The characters as just a well-developed and charming as in the first installment and once again I find myself wishing that the Bistro really did exist and I could go and taste all the delectable sounding dishes.

Great story!

You are making me hungry! Now I want cinnamon scones and fried green tomatoes--maybe a souffle too. I suspect I'd be the body in the manuscript room if I ate all those things there.

>123 thornton37814: Reading these culinary cozies does te d to make you crave what is described, but somehow I manage to suffer through. However, when I visit my local tea room I do buy extra scones to take home!

>124 cyderry:
I'd have to do what I do when I watch British Bake-off - prep with snacks beforehand. :D

Challenge Book # 60
Midnight Snacks are Murder
Libby Klein

After her decision to remain in Cape May with her Aunt Ginny, Poppy is working to settle in and start her gluten free baking business as well as open the B&B. Aunt Ginny is having some health issue so the doctor prescribes anti-anxiety meds as well as some sleeping pills. Problems arise because Aunt Ginny begins to sleepwalk, visiting neighbors homes in the middle of the night snacking and thieving her way around the neighborhood. When a neighbor turns up dead, could Aunt Ginny have been responsible?

Not only does Poppy need to protect Aunt Ginny and prove she isn't the murderer, she has to deal with her overbearing mother-in-law Georgina who has moved in and taken over the renovation project for the B&B.

I absolutely loved the book. The characters are fun and whimsical and the mystery kept my interest and I can't wait for the next one!

>126 cyderry: Hi Cheli. The title of the book above really made me smile as midnight snacks are something I like to indulge in, and yes, they can be murder to the hips!!

>127 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I started this series (2 books so far) when my book club chose the first for May and the author actual came and signed our books and told us about the writing process and how she created her characters. We all loved the book and the author too! She brought us gluten free (we didn't know) brownies and we loved those too. The character in the book Poppy is so real (weight issues that we all deal with). I couldn't wait to get the second and I loved that too!

How great to hear about an author that really takes the time to connect with their readers. I am currently reading a book that deals with obesity and society's treatment of the overweight. It's called Dumplin', a YA story. Not sure about this one, there seems to be a lot of teen angst.

Challenge Book # 61
A Secret Affair
Mary Balogh

As readers if you have read the preceding 4 books in this series, you have seen Constantine Huxtable as a variety of characters - recluse, friend, supposed rake - but in this - his story - the true Constantine is revealed. Those who "know" him are happy that he will finally get his happily ever after, but are we sure?

Usually we see romance novels from the female characters point of view and we do here, but we also see Constantine's POV as well. It was refreshing and entertaining and for those that are not a stranger to Constantine's past, at times a tearjerker.

Well done!

Challenge Book # 62
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain

I think the majority of readers know the story, the Prince and Pauper who exchange places because of their uncanny resemblance, but I was surprised at the political undertones that were skillfully woven throughout. Twain has shown the cruelty of the time as well as the naivete of the nobility to the hardship inflicted by unjust laws.

I usually have a hard time with Classics, but I liked this one.

Challenge Book # 63
Winnie-the-Pooh
A. A. Milne

Another Classic that I really thought I would enjoy since I am an arctophile (a person who collects or is very fond of teddy bears) but imagine my surprise when I didn't like it.

I don't know whether it was the treatment that Winnie received or the writing, but not a favorite for me.

Challenge Book # 64
Dark Tide Rising
Anne Perry

Rathbone enlists Monk help when one of his clients' wife is kidnapped for ransom. Monk is supposed to accompany the client to pay the ransom and recover the wife but it all goes terribly wrong and the wife is killed. Now Monk needs to find the kidnappers/murderers. He feels the clients grief particularly since he is reminded of Hester's kidnapping and his own feelings in the situation. But there's even more guilt on his part because he believes that one of his own men was partially responsible for the bad outcome.

The mystery of the kidnapping, murder and subsequent investigation is filled with twists and turns that are Ms. Perry's norm - not saying this in a bad way because the reader is kept on the edge of their seat waiting for a thoroughly satisfactory though surprising resolution - again her norm.

Challenge Book # 65
Read and Gone
Allison Brook

Carrie Singleton is not pleasantly surprised when her estranged father shows up out of the blue. He's return to try to recover some gems that he stole and left with Benton Parr, the local jeweler. Before her father and Parr can exchange anything, Parr is found dead and her father flees the scene.

The plot was a bit thin and the characters still need some fleshing out, but it was fun.

Challenge Book # 66
Etched in Tears
Cheryl Hollon

Savannah's first boyfriend, Dennis Lansing, is having his own show at the museum but before they get a chance to talk, Dennis is whisked away by the museum director. The next thing Savannah knows is that Dennis has been found murdered in the museum garden.

The police dept. asks Savannah to help with the art interface of the investigation and the more Savannah looks at Dennis' art, the more she is drawn to the apprentice program that her father had run and which Dennis had been a member.

The mystery and characters are well drawn and the solution evident if the reader picks up all the clues, but the clues are well hidden.

Looking forward to the next one!

Challenge Book # 67
Murder at the Breakers
Alyssa Maxwell

Emma Cross, a poor relation of the Vanderbilt family, earns her keep in Newport by writing society columns for the local newspaper. However, when there is a murder at her cousins coming out ball, Emma decides that it's time for her to get into writing more than fluff pieces and starts her own investigation, after all she was a witness.

The background of the end of the 19th century added a certain degree of glitzto this mystery. Writing was good and so were the characters.

Challenge Book # 68
Love & Death in Burgundy
Susan C. Shea

Katherine Goff has been living in the region of Burgundy for three years but she still doesn't feel that she has been accepted by the locals.. She tries to join in on different village activities so that the natives will acknowledge her as one of them. When another non-native is found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his home, the new widow pleads with Katherine to find out what happened. Was it really an accident or was it murder?

I found a hard time getting through the beginning of this story. I'm not sure if it was the great number of characters being introduced or the fact that their wasn't enough character definition. I'm hoping that the next installment will remedy this shortfall.

Challenge Book # 69
Rockets' Dead Glare
Lynn Cahoon

This novella, set around the Fourth of July, has Jill trying to find out who murdered the Fire Chief without stepping on the toes of her boyfriend who is town homicide detective. Barry Gleason, Fire Chief, had threatened just about every local business with a shut down order due to fire code violations, so when he was found dead there were numerous suspects including Jill.

I love this series and even this short novella is well written with the characters interacting naturally and the clues well placed and the solution well thought out.

Challenge Book # 70
The Immortalists
Chloe Benjamin

The concept of this book is rather intriguing, however, I don't think that the product did the concept justice. What would you, how would you live your life if you knew the date that you were going to die? This book centers around that concept for 4 children who learn the date their date from a gypsy/foretuneteller. Each child is told in private a date and then they are sent away. One is told he will die young, another will live to old age, and the others are given various dates. Interesting idea but then it seems that the stories are contrived to live to those dates rather than giving the reader other possibilities. The characters were not likeable and the only portion that seem realistic at all was the dysfunction of the family. I read it for my book club. otherwise I would have ditched it early on.

Challenge Book # 71
Crust No One
Winnie Archer

Ivy Culpepper is still honing her skills at the Yeast of Eden Bread shop and when one of the patrons goes missing and her old boyfriend ask her help to try to find him, Ivy gets caught up in the mystery of what happened to Mustache Hank?

I really, really enjoyed this mystery mainly I think because of the variation from the typical cozy mystery where within the first few chapters, a character that you have no connection with is found murdered and you are expected to follow the amateur detective (main character) as they try to find out whodunnit. That is not the case here. In this mystery instead of a murder we are handed a missing person - what made Hank disappear, did he run away from a messy divorce, did he leave a failing business, did he swindle a friend out of a lot of money? What really happened?

I loved this story, plot and the characters, including the eventual victim because we really dug down into the personalities of those involved.

I wish more cozies were atypical once in a while. My favorite book so far for 2018!!!

Challenge Book # 72
Peril & Prayer
Olivia Matthews

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Hermione of Ephesus are holding their annual Advent Retreat at the pastoral Briar Coast Cabin Resorts. It should be peaceful and serene but when Sister Lou and hot-headed Sister Marianna witness issues with the owner at a planning session and then the owner is murdered, Sister Lou has to trade her running shoes for her detective gear to clear Sister Marianna.

I love Sister Lou (had nuns as teachers through 12th grade) for her vitality, determination and her willingness to help others even if they aren't necessarily her favorite people.

I just wish the police in these mysteries would stop thinking that the nuns are the bad guys immediately.

Challenge Book # 73
Decanting a Murder
Nadine Nettmann

The first book in A Sommelier Mystery series shows Katie Stillwell immediately after the Certified Sommelier Exam when she is headed to a private party at the Frontier Winery. She tastes some phenomenal wine but then later finds the owner of Frontier floating in a wine tank. Since her friend's personalized cork screw is found near the body, Katie feels she has to work to clear her friend of suspicion.

The idea of this mystery was good, and I had read a later one so I felt I needed more background. I'm glad I read the later one (unusual for me) because otherwise I probably wouldn't have read on. The characters needed work as well as the writing style. But the future holds promise.

Challenge Book # 74
Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
Sarah Graves

Jake (Jacobia) and her friend Ellie are opening a Bake shop called the Chocolate Moose in their island town of Eastport Maine. They've been asked to make a number of chocolate cherry cheesecakes for the 4th of July auction to raise the funds for the town fireworks. Happy to help out, their timing plans are drowned in chocolate when a disgruntled neighbor is found murdered in their shop literally drowning in the melting chocolate.

Since the last person to claim to have seen the victim alive is Ellie, the two bakers set out to clear Ellie's name while at the same time baking those dozens of cheesecakes. Problems co tinue when a hurricane sets its sights on Eastport making the timetable for investigating and baking even tighter.

It was interesting to see familiar characters in a new setting (home repair vs. chocolate baker) and hope that they continue to move forward in their new venture.

Challenge Book # 75
A Riesling to Die
J. C. Eaton

Norrie Ellington has been persuaded by her sister Francine to take over the management of the family winery so that Francine and her husband can head to the rain-forest of Costa Rica for an entomology study. They'll be gone an entire year but since Norrie is a screenwriter she can work from anywhere. Hardly gone 24 hours after their departure, Norrie is awakened by vineyard workers yelling a body is in the Riesling vineyard. Unhappy that not only is there trouble at the winery but that she's not finding writing time that she needs, Norrie is bombarded with problem after problem regarding the murder and the efforts of Vanna Enterprises efforts to buy up all the local wineries. Could Vanna have gone too far in trying to persuade the victim to sell?

The descriptions of the winery operations as well as the characters were a great start for this new series and left plenty of room for advancement in the future. Love to see Norrie get more into the operations but would also like to see her interactions with her sister on her return.

Congrats on 75!

Challenge Book # 76
Deadly Dram
Melinda Mullet

Abi Logan, Owner of Abbey Glen Whiskey Distillery, attends a Whisky industry competition where two of the judges turn up poisoned. Chief Inspector Craig asks Abi to photograph the crime scenes due to a flu epidemic at the police station.

Suspicion of tampering with competition judging, attempts on her life as well as those with her, cause Abi to set out to find the murderer.

Loved the plot, the characters and the competition.

Looking forward to the next story of Abbey Glen Whisky!

You have really found a lot of "new" cozy series. I'm leaning more toward reading books featuring Inspectors, Constables, Garda, Commissarios, etc. than amateur detectives. I still enjoy a few of the cozy ones, but some of them drive me crazy.

Challenge Book # 77
Death and Daisies
Amanda Flower

Fiona Knox is now the Keeper of the magical garden in Duncreigan, Scotland which she inherited from her godfather. Her love of flowers is also expanding now to a flower shop in the village. Storms are brewing literally and figuratively so when the village minister is found murdered the morning after he and Fiona had a"disagreement" Fiona feels that she is under suspicion and decides that she needs to find out what happened.

I absolutely love the setting and characters here and the mystery was entertaining as well. Can't wait for my next visit to the MAGIC GARDEN!

Challenge Book # 78
The Body in the Woods
Matthew Costello

Carnival week has arrived in Cherringham but the discovery of a body at a nearby archaeological dig has Jack and Sarah scrabbling to try to uncover the victim's identity as well as determine if the .missing carnival committee member is connected. Uncovering the motive for the old murder could lead not just to the murderer but result in another murder as well.

In this second installment there is more character growth as well as connection between the characters. I liked it

Challenge Book # 79
Cake and Punishment
Maymee Bell

Sophia Cummings is a pastry chef and her dream was to work alongside her fiancé, a chef, but those dreams were dashed when she discovered him playing around with the Maitre d' at the restaurant where they worked. She leaves and heads home to nurse her wounds. When she arrives she is persuaded my a longtime friend to make the wedding cake for the upcoming nuptials. Planning to work her magic in the Country Club kitchen, surprise, surprise, when they walk in and find the Head Chef dead. So Sophie sets out to find the murderer while doing her culinary specialties,

There may have been a few too many characters in this new series to start but I liked their interaction and assume that their development will improve in future installment. It was fun.

Challenge Book # 80
Bear Witness to Murder
Meg Macy

Sasha Silverman has things in full swing for the fall season including Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the opening event of the Oktobear Fest in town. Sasha's rivalry with her high school nemesis, Holly Parker, is heating up as the temperatures fall - Holly's new toy shop could cut into the profits of the Teddy bear factory. The murder of Holly's assistant throw things even further off kilter and it doesn't help that Sasha's ex is rumored to have been having an affair with the victim. But was the victim the intended target? Sasha has a lot to clear up before things will quiet down.

I love teddy bears so I can't help but love these stories. I do feel that the characters need a bit more fleshing out but hopefully that is in the future plans.

Challenge Book # 81
Inferno
Dan Brown

Having read Dante's Inferno, I was pleasant surprised that I could easily following the references to that classic as Professor Langdon races through Florence attempting to prevent a global catastrophe. I'm not sure that the supporting characters were a s well written as in the previous insatallments of this book, but I will still read the next one.

Challenge Book # 82
The Prisoner in the Castle
Susan Elia MacNeal

Maggie Hope knows too much about the plans of the Allied forces so she is being held on a remote Scottish island with other agents that also know too much. Little do they know that their ranks have been infiltrated by a German spy and that one by one this spy is killing them off while waiting to be pickup by a German U boat. Who is, how will they all protect themselves, will they survive until help comes?

Fascinating change of pace for the series. Lots of plot twists and character changes. Loved it!

Challenge Book # 83
Murder Borrowed, Murder Blue
Stephanie Blackmoore

Actress Dakota Craig has decided that she's going to tie the knot in her hometown and arranges for the wedding to be part of a Reality TV series. However, in the week racing up to the nuptials, the Maid of Honor is murdered but the show's producer says that the show must go on. Can Mallory conquer a snowstorm of clues and save the bride from disastrous publicity for an uncertain marriage?

I love this setting and the characters are growing a long with their B&B/wedding planning business. I like how Mallory wants the wedding to be what the bride wants rather than what everyone else thinks it should be.

Challenge Book # 84
The Battered Body
Ellery Adams

James Henry,the head librarian for Shenandoah County Library, is preparing for the marriage of his elderly father to a sweet lady so when she says that her sister , the Diva of Dough, is coming to town to make their wedding cake, James Henry is sure that his waistline will be expanding. Expecting that his future stepmother's sister will be just as sweet, the reality is a different matter and when the Diva is murdered, no one is surprised. James Henry is in for multiple surprises before he and his Supper Club friends find the murderer.

Love this series, the characters are ones I can truly sympathize with regarding the problems of weight-control.

Challenge Book # 85
Read Herring Hunt
V. M. Burns

Samantha Washington, the owner of the Market Street Mysteries Bookstore, has sort of adopted Dawson Alexander, the hometown college quarterback, so when the girl he was dating turns up dead after their breakup, Sam knows the Dawson is in for some trouble - suspension from the team, numerous interrogations, even arrest. Sam together with her grandmother and sister work to keep Dawson free and find the killer.

This story is also intermixed with the novel that Sam is writing. I really love the way that this is written, weaving two mysteries two sets of characters but keeping them separate and distinct.

Challenge Book # 86
Black Beans & Vice
Ellery Adams

The Supper Club has decided that it's time to try hypnosis or something close to try to control their weight issues, so they all sign up with the herbalist/hypnotist in the Wellness Village. Things are progressing well until during the Food Festival a local councilman is found dead. The Supper club thinks chewing on clues could distract them from other foods.

The personal story of the characters is flowing well and fits cleverly with the mystery. I love seeing James Henry with Jane and their son, Eliot.

Challenge Book # 87
Pasta Mortem
Ellery Adams

This 7th installment of the Supper Club mysteries is by far my favorite because we see so much growth (not necessarily their waistlines) in the characters. Tricked by Murphy into being photographed, supposedly for an article in the town newspaper, the club members realize that she has used them again to advertise her next book as well as her new project with developer Ray Edwards, to change small town to resort town. At the same time, there is a reunion of a popular TV series (originally filmed in Quincy Gap) but the actors aren't all what they had appeared on screen. When Edwards turns up dead and Murphy the prime suspect, James and the Supper Club know they have to find the real killer. They may not like her, but know she's not a killer.

While all this is front and center, in the background James is dealing with a 10 year old vehicle that is having issues and a wife ready to deliver in the middle of February. I'm sure you can imagine the problems that arise.

Looking forward and hoping for another Supper Club Mystery!

Challenge Book # 88
A Deadly Brew
Lynn Cahoon

It's almost Halloween and Jill Gardner and friends have agreed to a locked room experience (it's really a house rumored to be haunted). Holding a seance the group is visited by the resident ghost who is searching for her lost child.

What happened in the past and why is the house haunted? Great Novella for the Halloween season!

Challenge Book # 89
Chardonnayed to Rest
J. C. Eaton

Norrie Ellington is winery sitting for her family for a year since she can work anywhere (she's a screenwriter). One of the area winery owners is having difficulty because of an increase in the rent for the on which a water pipeline runs, and when the owner of the land is found murdered, Norrie is the one they turn to, after all she's been through this before.

Checking out the area where the body was found after the crime scene investigators are through, Norrie finds a clue and decides that rather than let the police run with it (would they even believe her?) she and her friends will track down the murderer themselves.

The mystery was a bit lacking but the characters were fun especially the bowlers and quilters in their capacity of sleuths. The plot seemed to be a bit of a rerun from the first book, just set at another winery, so I hope the next will be a bit different.

Challenge Book # 90
Lady Helena Investigates
Jane Steen

Lady Helena Scott-De Quincy Whitcombe is now a widow. Her husband of only three years has died as a result of a fall into the river that runs over their estate. The doctor who examined the body thinks there was foul play but the coroner's jury ruled accidental death. When other discrepancies arise, Lady Helena begins to feel that something is amiss and starts her own private inquiry. Was her husband's death an accident, if not why was he murdered?

This was very slow moving and didn't really seem like a mystery at all until maybe the last 50 pages. The characters were very 2 dimensional.

If this series is going to continue, it definitely needs to have the characters infused with a bit more life.

Challenge Book # 91
Pairing a Deception
Nadine Nettmann

Katie Stillwell has been practicing for the Advanced Sommelier test but has taken the last week "off" to go to a food and wine festival with her boyfriend. She did volunteer to pour some wine on the last day which gave her special access to staff areas. The festival is being hosted by a Master Sommelier and when one of the attendees is found murdered outside his hotel room, Katie feels compelled to figure out who did it. Otherwise the Master will not be able to proctor her test the following week and she'll have to wait months.

I love mysteries, I love wine and these are a good combination. I especially like the wine pairing tips that were included as well as the characters tips on wine tasting.

>161 cyderry: Oh, too bad that one was a dud -- it looks like the kind of thing I'd enjoy, but based on your review, I think I'll stay away!

Challenge Book # 92
No Grater Danger
Victoria Hamilton

Now that Jaymie Leighton Muller has taken on the job of wife and stepmother, she has been working with the school principal and been asked to create a program that teaches through object. She's decided to teach about the Spice trade and enlists the help of Lois Perry, an elder lady whose family made their fortune in spices and their home is even known as the Nutmeg Palace. On a visit to puck up a few vintage nutmeg graters, Jaymie finds Mrs. Perry at the bottom of the steps in her home seriously injured. Someone tried to kill her! Why? Was it for the inheritance, the properties that a developer is trying to buy? When the developer is found dead on Mrs. Perry's property - murdered - and other attempts on Mrs. Perry's life come to light, things are turning serious and Jaymie not only has to protect Mrs. Perry but herself as well.

I love this series, the details of the vintage items as well as the characters and setting.

Challenge Book # 93
A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder
Dianne Freeman

Frances Wynn, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, is nearing the end of her period of mourning. American-born and wed for her family fortune, Frances has decided that she will move away from her country estate and live in London, where she will not be as "controlled" by the family who want only her money. Her father, however, had arranged for her to have money of her own, and when her husband's heir discovers he hasn't full control, tempers flare. At the same time, Frances younger sister, Lily, arrives from America with their Aunt for a Season in London. Lily's suitors bring romance and mystery into their lives.

Can Frances handle the gentleman callers and the issues that come with them while maintaining her standing in society?

Fun, entertaining, characters were well-developed and story was interesting.

Challenge Book # 94
Glitter Bomb
Laura Childs

Carmela Bertrand and her BFF,Ava Gruiex, are watching the Mardi Gras parade when the King Neptune float directly in front of them explodes spewing glitter and bodies allover! Carmela's ex-husband, Shamus, was part of the krewe and when it is discovered that the Krewe captain has been killed, Shamus is a suspect in the murder. Begging Carmela for her help, Shamus's request could cause problems with her relationship with her fiancé Detective Babcock.

Carmela and Ava keep the action moving while entertaining the reader with their jazzy repartee.

Challenge Book # 95
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman

At the beginning of the book, the reader is immediately thrown into a mystery - a strange man has come to a house and has killed mother, father and daughter, however, the infant son escapes just walking out the door with no one noticing. Where does this child go? He wanders up the street and enters a graveyard where the ghosts of long dead people take him and protect him from the murderer.

The child, named Nobody by the spirits in the graveyard, called Bod, is safe as long as he remains in the graveyard. Many of the spirits take to his education as he grows up not just teaching him to read and write but special abilities - fading, dreamwalking. Bod makes a friend for a short time with a little girl named Scarlett, who later moves away. He actually attends school for awhile but instead of staying in the shadows, he bring himself to the attention of others which puts his life at risk. As he grows he knows he needs to find out who he is and what happened to his family.

My book club chose this "spooky" book for our October read and we were pleased with the story and how it evolved. It was fun and quirky but showed different sides of humanity.

Challenge Book # 96
Into the Lion's Den
Linda Fairstein

Devlin Quick is the daughter of the Police Commissioner in NYC and because of her exposure to police investigations, Devlin is a young "detective". So when the foreign exchange student who is spending the summer with Devlin says that she saw a man cut out a page from a rare map book, Devlin decides that they are going to find the man and get the map back.

Devlin uses all her "connections" and knowledge of the city of NY to solve this mystery.

I loved it! A light-hearted mystery with a young detective reminding me of Nancy Drew! Linda Fairstein writes great adult mysteries that shine a light on NYC and now she has one for the youngsters, BRAVO!

Challenge Book # 97
The Pint of No Return
Ellie Alexander

Leavenworth, WA is holding is annual Oktoberfest celebration and since the town is a "recreation" of a Bavarian village, a movie crew has also moved in to film a documentary about the beer making process. A former child star is slated to be the fil;m host, but he is found murdered before the celebrations begin. Considering that the victim managed to make several enemies in a short of time, there was more than a few suspects. Sloan Krause needed first to make sure the death wasn't related to the microbrew from their establishment that the victim had been drinking and once done set out to make sure the murderer wasn't any of her family or friends.

This a nice change from the "wine" cozies with beer being the center ingredient. The characters are great and the writing is crisp.

Challenge Book # 98
The Federal Reserve and its Founders: Money, Politics, and Power
Richard Naclerio
I really felt that a little bit of background regarding the banking industry would be helpful when I started to delve into the Great Depression so seeing this book about the Federal Reserve I thought would be a good fit.
It may well have been however, the writing was such that unless I needed to read this book for credit to receive a Masters in Economics or Finance there was no way that I was going to plunge through it. I really tried, however, it appeared that the writer was trying to show how many 4 syllable words he could fit into each sentence. When even 2 or 3 syllable words were unknown to me and I spent more time using the dictionary than actually reading the book, I knew it was time to abandon it.

Definitely not for the casual reader.

>170 cyderry: Some authors really set out to be inscrutable, don't they? I was intrigued enough to look this up in my library and peeked at the table of contents. There's a chapter on Paul M Warburg, who crops up in my current read, but there was no mention of the Fed. I think I'll keep this in mind.

>171 MissWatson: I really was interested, as a former accountant I thought that it would be interesting to see more details how it all came about. I guess since I am older now and value my reading time too much, it just wasn't in me to battle through.

>173 MissWatson: Yes, time is at a premium now and I'm much quicker at ditching books if they don't deliver.

Challenge Book # 99
Back Stabbers
Julie Mulhern

Ellison has a meeting with her stockbroker but has been waiting a long time, so when she finally gets perturbed enough by the sick person sitting next to her in the waiting room to ask to wait in the office, of course, Ellison is the one who finds him dead at his desk.

Ellison not only tries to determine who murdered her broker, she is also trying to get the remaining partners to stop harassing the female staff. Caught in between the murder investigation and her family issues (her new-to-her half sister wants to visit and has a history with Anarchy) Ellison is juggling her emotions as well as mourners who aren't mourning.

This a great addition to the series, the characters are still just as fun as ever and the events/actions that take place just make me laugh! I would have given 5 stars but there wasn't enough Frances in this book!

Challenge Book # 100
The Novel Art of Murder
V. M. Burns

Samantha (Sam) Washington, owner of the Mystery Bookshop, has a bit of a problem. Her grandmother Nana Jo, has for the last ten years played the lead role in the Senior Follies at her retirement home. However, this year, when the part was given to Maria Romanov (bad actress, lousy singer), Nana Jo erupts in front of everyone and so is cast in the role of prime suspect when Maria is found with a bullet in her head. Situations don't improve when another resident is found poisoned. Since Sam is pretty good at solving mysteries, she's writing one of her own, she decides that Nana Jo could use some help staying out of jail, and sets out to find the murderer, or is there more than one?

This series seems to improve with each book. I love the way that it is crafted with the book in a book - Sam's novel efforts mirroring the actual mystery and wind clues through out. Great addition to the series!

Always love reading through your thread and seeing the variety of mysteries out there. Definitely have noted a few that I need to check out.

Challenge Book # 101
Seven Deadly Zins
Nancy J. Parra

Taylor O’Brian, owner and tour guide of “Off the Beaten Path” in Sonoma Valley, wasn't exactly planning that the possible investors that she was guiding would see a body floating a vat of pressed grapes. But that's what the found when they arrived at the winery owned by her friend Tim Slade. Every time Taylor thinks that she has found a way to prove Tim's innocence, she finds him in another compromising situation. And Tim's girlfriend isn't helping much. She is spending most of her time (and Tim's money) following a guru who she's to have some kind of special formula to attract and control others - is it something in the tea of something in the air?

The mystery part of the storyline was pretty straight forward, however, there were some strange red herrings that didn't really seem to work, or if they did I didn't see it - problems with her would-be boyfriend, possible love triangle, as well as some competition on the tour guide front. Hopefully, these will be resolved in future installments.

Challenge Book # 102
Murder Made to Order
Lena Gregory

This second book in An All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery series is filled with twists and turns, threats, laughter and some great sounding food! Gia has moved to Boggy Creek but the future is in question because of an old zoning statute being highlighted by a city council member but when Gia finds that person dead, things seem a bit too convenient. Great structure to the mystery. Looking forward to more.

Challenge Book # 103
Harvest of Secrets
Ellen Crosby

Workers come across a skull while clearing the shed near the family graveyard. Bones by a graveyard not so unusual, right? But it's determined that these are from the Civil War era and DNA confirms that it is a member of the Montgomerie clan. Luicie decides that she needs to figure who this ancestor was and why they weren't officially buried in the family graveyard. As she investigates this historical mystery a current day mystery develops on a parallel line. Absolutely fascinating on both sides! Love this series!

>179 cyderry: Ohh - a genealogy twist! Off to check it out.

ETA: I just put a hold on the audio version. I'm next in line!

I just realized that with the books that I want to finish the year with, I will not complete my BINGO card. Too many hard squares.

Just dropping by to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Cheli!

>181 cyderry: Don't worry about it! You read more than 100 books this year, which is super impressive! Happy New Year to you. :)

I have completed my challenge!!!

Now to get my 2019 Category challenge setup before the new year starts!

I will hopefully be posting my reviews for the rest of my 2018 reads sometime this week.

>186 cyderry: Congrats! :D

I'm going to try to finish my reviews for the 2018 books I read.

Here goes!

Challenge Book # 104
Shattered at Sea

Cheryl Hollon

Savannah Webb accepts a job on a cruise ship to fill in for a glass blower. She arranges for her boyfriend Edward to come along and after stopping in to see his family, his younger cousin, Ian, comes along for the cruise. Ian d is appears so much of Savannah's off hours are spent trying to find him. Did he go overboard? Is her still here? Is he hiding for some reason?

This was fun because of the look at the other side of cruising - the crew rules and regulations, etc. The characters are still fun and it was great to see the ones left behind at home still got to take part in the investigation.

Challenge Book # 105
Tart of Darkness
Denise Swanson

Dani has decided to start over in life when she inherits a house in a small college town. Always wanting to have been a chef/cook, Dani starts a take-out/catering business as well as renting some of the rooms in the house to College students. When a friend of a boarder is found murdered, Dani is deep in the fire and has to find the murderer before her goose is cooked.

A fun start for a series with great characters and lots of room for adventures in the future!

Challenge Book # 106
Lion in the Valley
Elizabeth Peters

Amelia, Emerson and their 8yr. old son Ramses have returned to Egypt for another dig. During a failed kidnapping attempt of Ramses, Amelia and Emerson connect with a young man down on his luck as well as a young woman who is searching for a lost love. The "master Criminal" is suspected by Amelia and so she sets out to thwart his evil plans.

The plot lacked a lot for me so I am debating whether I will continue this series or not.

Challenge Book # 107
Poppy Harmon Investigates
Lee Hollis

Poppy Harmon finds after her husband's sudden death that he had a gambling problem and lost all their money. Broke, the only way that Poppy can think to fill her coffers, is to become a Private investigator. Passing the test and getting her license, Poppy opens the Desert Flower Detective agency with her two friends Iris and Violet but discovers that people don't want to hire old ladies to do their investigations. Poppy persuades her daughter's boyfriend, an actor, to become the face of the agency while the ladies handle the investigations. A local celebrity hires Desert Flowers to find some stolen jewelry which leads to the discovery of the murder of a suspect.

The characters came off well for a start but I see vast room for expansion of their personalities. Great start.

Challenge Book # 108
Murder at Harbor Village
GP Gardner

Cleo Mack decides to take early retirement from her position as a Social Work professor and chooses to settle at Harbor Village retirement community where she will get a reduced rent on an apartment by working part-time. After moving in, she is placed in an awkward situation when the Executive Director is discovered murdered. It turns out that the victim was the current wife of her Ex and that he is in control of the Corporation that runs the community. He now wants Cleo to take over and find out what happened.

The story was fun (reminding me a great deal of the Assisted Living facility where my Mom is) and how that characters interacted. Nice start.

Challenge Book # 109
Just in Time
Suzanne Trauth

Dodie O'dell has her hands full at the Windjammer restaurant she manages coordinating the restaurant specials with the latest theatrical production of Bye, Bye Birdie by the Etonville Little Theatre and the neighboring town of Creston. When the accompanist is found murdered Dodie feels the need to solve the crime When her boyfriend, the town police chief asks for her to keep her ears open for any clues, Dodie moves full speed ahead.

The clues were will scattered throughout and the characters are as quirky as ever..

Challenge Book # 110
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne

I'm not a big Classics fan but I do try to read a few each year. This time my Book Club chose A Scarlet Letter because of the Puritan connection and Thanksgiving time-frame. I had never read this book even in high school though I thought I knew the basics. There were aspects of the story to which I was unaware and it added a bit to the story IMO. However, the treatment of anyone - man, woman, or child - in this manner, saddened me so I think that it did give me a greater reason to be thankful for the blessings I have.

>196 cyderry: I first read that one in high school. Our teacher made it an interesting read for us. I've re-read it many times over the years, especially after discovering one of the wives of an ancestor (although not the one from which I descend) is allegedly the inspiration for the novel.

Challenge Book # 111
Bah! Humbug!
Michael Rosen

Harry Gruber has been chosen to play Scrooge in the school play and with the help of his Mom and little sister Eva he has learned his lines and practices behaving like a nasty old man. Everyone is excited about the performance except for his father who sees it only as an interruption to his work, until he realizes that his work may not be as important as he thinks.

Nice way to introduce young readers to the Christmas Carol themes with current time events.

Challenge Book # 112
Snowed Inn
Sara Robbins

The Gingerbread House competition has been relocated to the Aspen Valley Inn. The snow is falling and the bakers are baking, but assistant to the producer goes missing in a blizzard and once found, the competition seems to have taken on a sinister coating.

Fun to see the sisters and Wyatt return to this cozy setting.

Challenge Book # 113
The Whispered Word
Ellery Adams

Nora Pennington, the owner of Miracle Books, is startled when she finds a battered young woman hiding in her bookshop. Nora, Hester, Estella and June offer the young woman a job and a place to live and try to reassure her that they are there to help. Their kindness tote bags are a sample of their efforts to help others and while on a delivery, they discover Amanda Frye floating in the algae filled pond near her home.

Virtual Genie, a new shop in town where people in need of cash can sell their items. However, Nora hears about some problems with their business practices and after some investigation, sees the three mysteries are connected. A second person is found dead, so Nora and her friends need to quickly to persuade the young woman to tell her secrets before another person is harmed.

I loved the weay the stories were woven together and led to a very interesting conclusion.

Challenge Book # 114
Murder at the Mansion
Sheila Connolly

Kate Hamilton left her hometown of Asheboro, MD for the big wide world and didn't look back. She kept in touch with one friend from high school, but got her degree in hospitality management and secured a great job at a big hotel in Baltimore. However at the same time as her friend needs help in their hometown, a chain buys the hotel and Kate is laid off.

Figuring what has she got to lose, Kate heeds "home" to find that the little town is nearly bankrupt and needing a plan to revitalize. While working on a plan, Kate discovers her high school nemesis murdered and becomes an outside consultant to the police in the investigation.

Loved the beginning of this series! The setting and issues of a small town (near my hometown) really grabbed me.
I loved the characters too!

Challenge Book # 115
A Curious Beginning
Deanna Raybourn

VIctoria Speedwell has lost the last of her two "aunts" who raised her and after a discussion with the local vicar about an arranged marriage that she turns down, our heroine returns to the cottage to find it ransacked. A run-in with the invader nearly ends in abduction, but she is rescued by Baron Max von Stauffenbach, who says he knew her mother. The story carries her to London in his carriage where he places her in the care of Stoker, a taxidermist/doctor/adventurer. When they discover that the Baron has been murdered, they flee because of the apparent danger to Veronica. Their travels take them to a traveling circus and finally return them to London where Veronica is confronted with an amazing detail about her parents.

A fun book with unique and entertaining characters.

Challenge Book # 116
A Christmas Revelation
Anne Perry

Each year I try to read the Christmas novella by Anne Perry because it seems I nice way to connect with the minor characters of her booms. This year it was nice to see Worm and Squeaky in an expanded role, however, I failed to see this as a Christmas story. Yes, it did have some Christmas notes, but overall not enough for me to consider it a Christmas piece. Nice little story , though, for these two characters.

Challenge Book # 117
A Christmas Blizzard
Garrison Keillor

Jack Sparrow, a self-made millionaire has decided that rather than spending Christmas in cold, snowy Chicago, he would prefer sunny Hawaii. He sets off in his private plane, sans wife who is ill, but is diverted to Loose Leaf, North Dakota, his home town to see a dying uncle. He gets trapped by a blizzard and is forced to do a good deal of soul searching when he encounters old friends and family.

I listened to the audio version (narrated by the author) who left a lot to be desired in the narration area. I frequently felt as if the battery (there was none) was winding down because his voice just seemed to drag. This made the story to drag. Because of this, I doubt I will read anything else by this author.

Challenge Book # 118
Christmas Cake Murder
Joanne Fluke

This book was so fun because it was a prequel to the Hannah Swensen series, showing how Hannah came to open the Cookie Jar and start her cookie business. We also see younger Dolores, Michelle, and Andrea pregnant with Tracy. There is no romance dilemmas so it was just a fun read. I do like books that have a story in the story and this one had that too, actually it was the mystery within.

Great addition (or was it the start?) of this series.

Challenge Book # 119
The Fate of the Tearling
Erika Johansen

As the final installment f the Tearling trilogy, I was disappointed. I loved the first book, was not thrilled with the second, but hoping that the final one would tie everything together, which in a way it did, but I was confused at times by the back and forth in the characters mind (it didn't work as well as in the previous books. It was a nice series, I think it could have been better.

Challenge Book # 120
Wreath Between the Lines
Daryl Wood Gerber

This holiday addition to the Cookbook Nook series is filled with the holiday spirit, good and bad. There are elf-like characters and Grinches too! The mystery of who used strangled Geoffrey with Christmas lights and impaled him with a tree topper, makes one wonder how safe are Christmas decorations. But the characters and story were woven together with the holiday magnificently!

Challenge Book # 121
Santa Puppy
Lynn Cahoon

Jill Gardner loves animals which is why she is holding a pet adoption event at her store. Jill discovers that one of the dogs needing a forever home was found next to his homeless owner who had died and that he holds a secret - a safety deposit box key. The items in the box lead Jill and the police on a merry chase to find the details of who the man was and who will love this dog.

A wonderful, wonderful Christmas addition to this series!

Challenge Book # 122
The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
Lauren Willig

Gwendolyn Meadows has been the companion of Jane Wooliston, the Pink Carnation, since the start of the series and now we finally get to see who she really is! Jane's younger sister Agnes has gone missing so Jane and Gwendolyn return to England to find her. They are thrown together with Colonel William Reid, the father of Agnes roommate, also missing. Gwen and William concentrate on the search while Jane waits for news. The reader us treated to the background story of Gwen which is sensational. At the same time, as in all the other Pink Carnation novels, the reader also sees the current time romance of Eloise and Colin and the difficulties that they encounter during the research saga.

One of the best so far!

...and last but not least



Challenge Book # 123
Slay in Character
Lynn Cahoon

The latest book retreat is for romance writers and as in the past, one of the local college writers, Jessie, is invited to take part. While visiting the local ghost town, Jesse's roommate is found murdered. But was she the intended victim or was Jessie the one who should be lying dead?
Cat Latimer feels the need to find out the answers to protect herself and her guests, Would she uncovers may put her in danger as well.

Loved the setting and characters, maybe not so much the mob guys, but definitely the mystery.

RECAP for 2018

Books read - 123

Series Reads - 109 (22 brought or kept current)

Firsts - 36
Seconds - 23
Thirds - 10
Fourth and beyond - 38
Prequels -2

Non-Fiction - 3
Young Adult - 3
Classics - 3
General Fiction - 5

Type of book
E-books - 103 (i LOVE E-BOOKS!)
Audio - 15
ARDs (Antique reading devices - Paper) - 5

Source
Net-Galley - 86
Nook - 13
Shelves - 5 (2 from author)
PC Downloads - 15
Library - 4

Well, that's the end for 2018! Finally, my reviews are caught up and my totals are done. Now I can concentrate on 2019!

You closed the year out well!

Congrats on finishing your challenge (and all those reviews)!