Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - April 21, 2017

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and join the fun.

The Beginning:

Prologue "The male mockingbird teeters on the edge of a whitewashed brick wall and flexes his wings in a motion designed to flush unwary insects from the ground below."

Chapter One: "My swearing-in ceremony was held on a hot and humid Monday afternoon in Colleton County's oldest courtroom, a big cavernous space paneled in dark oak and weighty with the stone-footed majesty of nineteenth century law."

Page 56: 

"Number sixteen on the add-on calendar, Your Honor. Lydia Marie Duncan, three counts of issuing worthless checks."

From Southern Discomfort by Margaret Maron.  

This is the second book in the Deborah Knott Mystery series copyrighted 1993. I started this series with book three and have skipped around. I am down to two more titles in the middle of the 15 book series and Southern Discomfort the second in the series. If you like interesting mysteries with a lot of background and character development give this series a try.

Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 86 - A Mystery at Carlton House by Ashley Gardner, The Earl's Dilemma by Emily Larkin, Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron

A Mystery at Carlton House by Ashley Gardner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is a lot going on in A Mystery At Carlton House. It starts with Captain Lacey and his wife Donata giving birth to their daughter but not without problems. From there Lacey gets involved with the disappearance of objects at Carlton House. Lacey and Donata are an unusual couple and their relationship is explored and strengthened as the story progresses. I loved the moment when Lacey finally convinces Donata that she is the most important person in his life. The mystery itself has a number of twists and turns. Grenville and Maryanne, Mr Denis and Brewster all play an important part in the story as do the Bow Street Runners. This is a great series that just keeps getting better and better. I always have the books on pre-order and read as soon as they up-load to my Kindle.

The Earl's Dilemma by Emily Larkin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the characters and loved how Kate held her own with James after hearing why he was asking her to marry him. Finding him the perfect bride made for some really fun and interesting moments. For James it also was an eye opener. Showing that PTSD is something that happened in the past was a nice inculcation. This is Larkin's first book and is not as smooth as her later novels but was still a nice read.

Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am sad, sad, sad. This is another great story featuring the Knott Family but it is the last one and that is why I am sad. Maron finished it off in a very grand manner. I did get to see most of the characters and see how Kenzie and Sue got together. That was very satisfying. The dates did not bother me that much. That is a big problem with long running series. The technology just changes so fast that it often messes up the time line. Start at the beginning for a really great mystery series.

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Short and Sweet Book Reviews #85 - Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron, Change Management by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Somebody's Baby by Donna Alward

Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This turns out to be my least favorite of the Deborah Knott Mysteries. While I enjoyed seeing Dwight and Deborah finally going on a honeymoon the mix with Sigrid Harald from another of Maron's series did not resonate with me. The mystery was interesting. I really did not know who done it. I think reading that the book released in 2015 was the last one in the Deborah Knott series was also a downer. While I would not have missed listening to Three-Day Town it just did not catch me as the other books have. CJ Critt did her usually outstanding job on the audio book.


Change Management by Sharon Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I alway enjoy seeing the characters featured in the Liaden Universe. Wise Child was first published on Baen's website and is the story of a sentient spaceship and the person who brought her to life. Street Cred features Val Con and Miri on Surebreak. Things are changing but maybe not as much as they wish. There are side stories in the Liaden Universe and are for fans of the series. They are not a good place to start.


Somebody's Baby by Donna Alward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once again one of the Gallagher boys is finds love. This time it is the veterinarian Rory. He has been hiding a broken heart since leaving veterinary school. Oakley Ferguson has also had her heart crushed. This is a slow moving story as each struggles with issues of trust. I liked how each knew what was holding them back. I enjoyed seeing the couples from the two previous stories. It is nice to visit with a town brought to life in Alward's Darling, VT. There was not a hint about who will be featured next or if there was I did not pick up on it. This is a very nice series with great characters and a charming town. You can start the series anywhere as each is a stand-alone but it is best if started at the beginning.

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Book Beginnings and The Friday 56 - March 31, 2017

I'm linking up with Rose City Reader for Book Beginnings and Freda's Voice for Page 56. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Pick the closest book on your book stack and join the fun.

The Beginning:

Prolog: 1943 - "She first notices him because he always sits at a table off to the side of the USO club and he usually sits alone."

Chapter 1 - "I almost forgot," my brother Will said. ....Got another present for you."

Page 56:

"She leads them over to the fire and wraps the second blanket around them once they have shed their drenched outer garments, then forages for more wood until the flames leap up."

From Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron. This is the 15th and final book in the Judge Deborah Knotts mystery series. I finished it yesterday and it does ends in a very good and slightly funny way. I love this series. I have not read in order and still have several books in the middle of the series left to read I am still feeling down about the series being over. I loved all of the Knott family, the fictional North Carolina county where they live, and all the relationships that made the stories come alive.

I wonder if any of you have the same reaction as a favorite series ends.

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #81Judge Deborah Knott Mysteries by Margaret Maron

Slow Dollar by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been listening to the Judge Knott mysteries out of order. I found where she broke up with the game warden and then the next one I read she was married to Dwight. I wanted to know how they got together and Slow Dollar is the start of their romance. It also adds another character to the mix. It seems that Deborah's oldest brother had a daughter who disappeared with her Mother years ago. Now she is back and is part owner of the carnival playing in town. This was an interesting setting for showing how the family reacted to the new cousin. Of course it is set around a murder and in the middle we see Dwight suggest he and Deborah marry and she agrees. One of the most powerful scenes in the book is when Deborah tells her Daddy she is marrying Dwight. That scene alone makes the book a five star read.


High Country Fall by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love listening to the Deborah Knott Mysteries. C.J. Critt does a great job of bringing the characters to life. Like the other books in the series there is a murder and a mystery to be solved but the heart of the story is Deborah's reaction to her upcoming marriage to Dwight. She is in a panic and takes the opportunity to substitute for a judge in the western part of the state. There she does something that looks bad but in the end shows her something that is apparent to the rest of us. She is a slow learner but in the end everything ends well. I really like Dwight and have to wonder how she could have overlooked him for so long. The wedding is in the next book and I am starting it next.


Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I checked Christmas Mourning out on CD at my local library. That is how I started the series and why I keep reading out of order. This story is a year after Deborah and Dwight's wedding. The season should be full of joy but the death of a popular cheerleader takes away some of the cheer. What follows are more deaths and a secret from the past coming back to haunt several characters. This was one of the darker stories in the series. I was surprised by who caused the cheerleader's wreck but did see signed of the secret from the past. Again C.J. Critt did a wonder joy of bringing the story to life.

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Short and Sweet Book Reviews - #74 - Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron, Wrangled by B.J. Daniels,

Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another slow walk with Judge Knott. This time she is at a judges meeting and we get to follow her as she visits with friends, sees several men she interacted with in the past and watch as she helps solve the murder of a fellow judge. Dwight is at another conference and Cal is visiting friends so this one features mostly Deborah. I am listening to these out of order so my next one I will check out will the the one before this. I keep moving back to get to the one where she and Dwight get together. I did love meeting Alan, who was almost her first husband. Only reason he was not - he was still married to someone else when he married Deborah.


Wrangled by B.J. Daniels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this on up at in the used book section of a local non-profit store. I like B.J. Daniels books and had not read any of The Chisholm Cattle Company books. This is the last in the series and it is a nice finish. I liked Zack and Dakota. What I really liked about Dakota was the fact that she believed Zack even though the evidence was against him. The set up with Zack was just part of the mystery. Watching Zack and Dakota work against time to find the answers kept my attention.

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #71 - Justice Ascending by Rebecca Zanetti, Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron,The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron

The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another gentle mystery featuring Deborah Knott. There is a lot of dialog that features the people and everyday events that Deborah, Dwight, their family and others living in Colleton County experience giving a feel for the setting of the story. This mystery is a little different as someone is looking for revenge and Dwight and Deborah are drawn into the resulting murder. Look for a very different ending. Deborah and her family continue to be the center of some very interesting storylines.


Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this story to be a little lighter in content and the mystery to be pushed a little further to the side as other events took center stage. They were all connected to the death of Deborah's aunt and it was interesting to see how the dots to events that happened in the past were followed. At the heart of the story was the fact that secrets have a way of coming back to haunt you. I enjoyed the book and as I am hooked on this series will continue to follow Deborah, Dwight and Cal as events and murder seem to find them wherever they go.


Justice Ascending by Rebecca Zanetti
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Trace and Sami's story. Trace is fighting the effects of the Scorpius virus and watching him fight to keep the darkness from overcoming him is a big part of the story. Sami is hiding a secret and fighting her attraction to Trace at the same time. Zanetti wove those two facts into a story that brings more of the world left in the aftermath of the Scorpius virus into focus. All of the previous characters are part of the plot. New information is revealed and new allies are brought into the story. A good romance and a nice addition to the world building. I look forward to the next book to see who will be the featured romance and where the plot will go from here.

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Short and Sweet Book Reviews #64 - Winter's Child by Margaret Maron, The Cowboys's Christmas Bride by Patricia Johns, Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Winter's Child by Margaret Maron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Deborah Knott Mysteries are a new series that I just recently discovered. I have not been able to read them in order but find that I don't mind skipping around. In Winter's Child Deborah has just married Sheriff Deputy Dwight Bryan. I missed the courtship in the earlier books but had no trouble following the story. I have found each book can stand-alone. The mystery here starts when Cal calls Dwight wanting him show up at his school the next day. It turns out Cal's mother did not come home the night before and then someone takes Cal. There are a lot of red herrings along the way. Both Deborah and Dwight start to look for both Cal and his mother. There is the mystery with Cal and a murder at home that has to be solved. Each keeps the plot moving and the story fun to read or in my case listen too.


The Cowboy's Christmas Bride by Patricia Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Patricia Johns and I enjoyed it. The characters all interesting and the story line a great set up for two people to change their opinion of the other. Andy Granger did a lot of hiding what he was really like growing up in Hope, Montana. Dakota Mason never liked him but on a cattle drive she begins to realize there more to Andy than she thought. The big problem is something that Andy did in the past that had unexpected consequences. Can the past be overcome and a HEA arrive for the two. This is Harlequin so that is a forgone conclusion. A nice easy read for just before Christmas.


Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not missed one book in the Maiden Lane series. while I did not warm to or really like the characters in Duke of Sin, the previous book in the series, I loved the characters in Duke of Pleasure. When I read Hugh Fitzroy, the Duke of Kyle's name I knew he was a bastard but he is an acknowledged one. Alf, on the other hand is just a St. Giles orphan. What makes her special? She is the Ghost of St Giles at night and passes as a young boy in the day time. Her path crosses Hugh's when she saves him form an attack one night. Turns out someone is trying to kill Hugh and he turns to Alf for help. The story turns really interesting when he discovers that Alf is a woman. There is danger, mystery and romance all mixed up in The Duke of Pleasure. In addition there is a hook for the next book in the series. As long as Hoyt keeps writing Maiden Lane story I will keep reading.

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Stacking the Shelves - December 3, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

From The Library:

Ghost of Havana by Todd Moss
Winter's Child by Margaret Maron
Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein

Short and Sweet Book Reviews #46 - Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron, Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan, The Widow's Auction by Sabrina Jeffries

Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My library had just received several of the Deborah Knott Mysteries on CD. I had never read any of the books so I picked the one with the earliest copyright. I enjoyed the story. It was a very easy going mystery. There was a lot of background about the location and the people who live there. Nothing moved at a fast pace. There was plenty of time to enjoy the story and the characters while wondering who did what. There were several twist as the story progresses. There were things in the story that dated it but it did fit the time when it was written. It is a good read when you want something a little light with a mystery attached.


Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shadow Rider follows the same path as other Christine Feehan books. The main female character is slightly needy. The main male is over the top with looks, sex drive and dominance. Stefano Ferraro also has a hidden talent; the ability to ride the shadows. That is a talent he has know from birth so he is surprised when he meets Francesca Capello and sees that she has that same talent. From there the story follows the pattern in other books. He wants her, she wants him but has questions. She has a problem that he promises to solve. There is a lot of sex, a lot of redundant prose that I skimmed when I read one of Feehan's books. Since I was listening to this on CD it really hit home how much was repeated and repeated. Not a book I will re-read or listen to but since I knew what to expect I enjoyed it for what it was.


The Widow's Auction by Sabrina Jeffries
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We have all heard "Don't judge a book by its cover" In The Widow's Auction two people learn not to judge each other by their public face. Isobel Lamberton, the widowed Lady Kingsley and Justin Antony, Lord Warbrooke seem to always be on opposite sides. It takes the night of the widow's auction to bring them together. There they both learn that they have more in common than either suspected. A nice easy read with great characters and good action.

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Stacking the Shelves - September 16, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

From Amazon Vine:

Forsaken Skies by D. Noland Clark

Audio Books From the Library:

Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron
People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman

Stacking the Shelves - September 16, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

From Amazon Vine:

Forsaken Skies by D. Noland Clark

Audio Books From the Library:

Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
Uncommon Clay by Margaret Maron
People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman

Stacking the Shelves - September 3, 2016

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves. 

Once again I have all audio books.

From the Library:

Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron - There were several in the series out on Thursday (the day they put out new purchases).  I picked the one with the earliest copyright.

Swept Away by Robyn Carr - This is one I did not take to review but since I like the author decided to give it a try on CD.

Make Me Love You by Johanna Lindsey - I have this one going in the car and so far it is very entertaining.  It is a new release by Lindsey.






Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson - This is the first one is a long running series.  I have seen it several times and have seen great reviews so it is the one I am listening to in the house.  So far it is great fun.