Lisa's Off the Shelf and Holiday Themed Reads

Hi Everyone!

I have three books left in my challenge, which I may or may not finish this week. But I still want to hang around here until the 12-12 begins so I will be devoting my efforts to my leaning bookshelves and piles of books at home.

I also noticed that I have a few Halloweenish and Christmas books, so I thought it would be fun to combine both as 2011 winds down.

I'm not going to set a number of books to read, whatever falls off the shelf at the time!

Hey Lisa! So glad you're sticking around.

Yay, glad to see you'll still be posting what you read! Enjoy the "free time" before the 12 in 12!

Great you are sticking around, looking forward to seeing what "falls" off the shelf.

Hi Victoria, Christina, and Judy! Thanks for stopping by!

My October reads:

RTT= Reading Through Time
OTS=Off the Shelf

1) Lady Audley's Secret RTT, Nook **** October 7
2) The 8th Confession October 22 **** OTS
3)The Next Accident OTS October 10 ****
4)Ford County OTS October 3rd ***1/2
5)Southern Ghost October 16 ***1/2 OTS
6)The Devil's Star October 15 **** OTS
7)In the Midst of Death October 7 **** OTS
8)Time to Murder and Create Nook October 5 ***1/2
9)Calling Out For You OTS October 24?
10The Poet October 20 **** OTS
11Friend of the Devil October 7 ****
12Bootlegger's Daughter October 9 **** Library
13The Devil's Closet October 12 ***1/2
14The Narrows October 22 **** OTS
15) The 9th Judgement October 24??

Hi Lisa, I used to read the John Sandford "Prey Series" but I have lost track of where I am in that series as well. I hate that all the names are so alike! I want to try and pick it up again one day, but I think I am going to have to go back to the earlier books in the series, I think I got somewhere between the 5th or 6th book.

Hi Judy, yes you're right about the "Prey" series. Since I was reading this series before LT, I think I'm at book 7 or 8. I guess I will find out soon, when I begin reading and the story seems familiar!

1. Ford County

I used to read John Grisham's legal thrillers faithfully and then stopped for some reason. I think I have them all and will get to them at some point. This book, however, is a collection of seven short stories which are all set in Ford County, Mississippi, the setting of A Time to Kill. Short stories aren't for everyone, some are really good, some not so much. It's almost impossible to flesh out the characters, but here I think Grisham does a good job.

My favorites were:

Blood Drive- hilarious story of three men who take a drive to the hospital to donate blood

Fetching Raymond- a story of a mother and her two sons going to see her other son who is on Death Row and scheduled to be executed very soon.

Funny Boy- a story of a wealthy Caucasian man dying of AIDS, who is shunned by his family who finds kindness from a Black woman from the other side of town.

I've been curious about Ford County ever since Amazon showed it to me a few months ago. I haven't read any Grisham for years although I loved The Client, The Runaway Jury and A Time to Kill. Thanks for the review!

#9 Hi Victoria: I think that the books you mentioned above were his best, and I think when I started to read some of his later works they didn't grab my attention right away. Since they are here on my shelf I will read them at some point. The Testament, The Brethren, The Appeal etc. I think my favorite of his is The Street Lawyer.

2. Time to Murder and Create

In this 2nd installment of the Matthew Scudder series, the alcoholic ex cop turned detective, works to find out which one of Jake "The Spinner" Jablon's blackmail clients killed him, and dumped his body in the river.

I like this series and want to move further along with it. It's kind of hard when you're a series addict!

I think I will move to the next book: In the Midst of Death as these are short reads.

3. Lady Audley's Secret

This book is one of the best examples of Victorian sensation fiction. I found myself captivated at the end of just about every chapter.

Sometimes I forget that the some of the books that we enjoy today were actually written in serial form and released chapter by chapter with cliffhangers galore!

This is the story of the golden haired angelic Lucy Audley, an orphan turned governess who marries Sir Michael of Audley Court.

When Michael's nephew Robert, meets his angelic aunt he is at once under her spell, fascinated by her, yet suspicious at the same time when his good friend George Talboys seemingly disappears without a trace on the grounds after meeing with her.

This was a good gothic type read with many plot twists, evil intentions, and secret passageways. It reminded me a lot of The Woman In White.

4.Friend of the Devil The Alan Banks series is one of my favorites, this is the 17th (I think) and it felt good to free a hardback from my bursting shelves!

Banks and Annie Cabbot are working on two separate cases this time. He's working on the murder of young Hayley Daniels, a 19 year old who after drinking with her friends one night is brutally murdered.

Annie's case is that of the murder of Karen Drew, a woman in a wheelchair found with her throat slit. Then a breakthrough in Annie's case leads straight to Alan, and the two of them must work together again.

The books in this series are always good, but there are a few which were excellent. Now I think I may have to read All the Colors of Darkness.

I like Peter Robinson's series as well. I have several on my TBR waiting to be read, so I understand the satisfaction of removing a hardcover edition. I have All the Colors of Darkness, so maybe we can read it together?

Hi Kay: I sent you a message re: All the Colors of Darkness, whenever you're ready.

5. Ok, this isn't a book from my TBR. I went to the library to drop off a bag of books for the upcoming sale next month, and saw that this book wasn't checked out for once, and scooped it up along with the delightful collection of short stories from Shirley Jackson.

Bootlegger's Daughter I was very curious about this series and this author who keeps showing up for me in "if you like"....

I found this first installment to be an enjoyable and quick read, and of course it's a series I would continue with. The only thing that annoyed me slightly was that in the very beginning there's a character thrown in who wasn't introduced and I couldn't figure out who the heck he was. Then I determined that perhaps this was a minor character and I shouldn't get bogged down with a minor detail and just enjoy the story, I did!

Deborah Knott was raised to be the conventional good Southern girl, but instead became an attorney in Colleton County North Carolina. She has a father with a shady past, a seemingly endless supply of brothers (10)? and decides to stir the pot even more by running for judge.

While she tries to focus on her campaign, Gayle Whitehead, a young girl who Deborah used to babysit asks her to investigate her mother's death which occurred when Gayle was an infant.

The author successfully combined a Southern setting with a satisfying mystery, I will be on the lookout for the rest of the series.

The Deborah Knott Mysteries is a series that keeps coming up in my Recommendations as well. Looks like I am going to have to give them a try!

6. The Next Accident I am a big fan of Lisa Gardner's work and her D.D. Warren police detective series is one of my favorites. I decided to also try her FBI Profiler series which features Special Agent Pierce Quincy.

In this installment, Pierce is still grieving the loss of his daughter Amanda, who struggled with alcohol and was presumed to have been killed in a car accident. Pierce asks ex-cop and potential love interest Rainie Connor to look into his daughter's death. Pierce and Rainie also have unresolved personal issues from when they worked their last case together in The Third Victim, which provides a good secondary storyline.

This was a good psychopath killer read and a real page turner.

>14 lsh63: I discovered the Deborah Knott series several years ago. I've enjoyed it and I'm planning to read Christmas Mourning as part of this year's holiday books (last year's book, but it's not scheduled for paperback until Nov this year). I like Deborah and her multitude of brothers, but what I like best about the series is that most of them explore a different area or industry or event in North Carolina. I think my favorites are in about the middle of the series: Storm Track about Hurricane Andrew, Uncommon Clay about the pottery industry, High Country Fall set in the Appalachians, and Winter's Child.

# 17 Hi Ivy: I usually try to read series in order; does it matter with the Deborah Knott?

>18 lsh63: Hi, Lisa! They need to be read in order to avoid spoilers of Deborah's story; there are a lot of changes in her life through the series, and quite a few recurring characters. The mysteries are pretty much stand alone, though, and I don't recall any major spoilers of earlier mysteries in the later books (as opposed to some series, where a subsequent book gives the solution or builds on the mystery of an earlier book). I've read them in order (my preference, too) except for the prequel Bloody Kin, which I didn't read until after about 5 of the Deborah Knott series. Bloody Kin isn't about Deborah, but it's set in the same place, takes place before Bootlegger's Daughter, and some of the recurring characters are in it.

There's family tree of sorts of Deborah and her brothers on Margaret Maron's website, but it does contain a spoiler:
http://www.margaretmaron.com/biblio.html

I plan to do something similar. Focus on holiday books and books on my shelf, once I finish 11 in 11. I'm planning to start 12 in 12 on 12/12.

#19 Thanks for the link and the info Ivy! I will heed your advice, and restrain myself until I can get the books that I am missing.

#20 Hi Linda! Iwas very close to starting my 12 in 12 on Dec 12th too. I didn't realize how many holiday type books I had.

7. I just couldn't keep my nose out of The Devil's Closet. This was on my Nook, possibly a free download at some point.

I have never read the author before, which was a refreshing change, since I tend to gravitate towards the familiar a little too often.

Admittedly the subject matter about the abuse of little girls was tough to read, but the author didn't go overboard with graphic detail. The detective in charge of the case, CeeCee Gallagher, is a juvenile sex crime and homicide expert, who is tough, and does whatever she needs to in order to catch the killer.

The other plotline in the story is that of CeeCee's crumbling marriage to her police officer husband Eric, who is rumored to be having an affair with his trainee. CeeCee is also in love with FBI agent Michael Hagerman, and CeeCee's partner Coop is having a fling with the police captain. Trying to keep all of that straight tired me out!

I thought that this was a pretty good book overall, with one thing that bothered me throughout: there are several references to a previous case, where CeeCee's life was in danger, and where she first met Michael and had a brief fling with him. Since this is the first book in the series, I think a prequel was probably written in order to address this.

8. In The Midst of Death Another good read in the Matthew Scudder series.

Jerry Broadfield is working on police corruption when he is arrested for murder after a dead prostitute is found in his apartment.

Matt is hired to help clear officer's name, while others in the department would just as soon see the "rat" get what's coming to him.

9. The Devil's Star

This is the 3rd in the Harry Hole series.

Harry's life is a mess, his job is hanging by a thread, and he is in an alcoholic stupor most of the time.

If that wasn't bad enough, he is forced to work with Tom Waaler to solve the case of a serial killer who severs the fingers of his victims and leave diamonds in the shape of five-pointed stars at the various crime scenes.

I have to say that something that I have been waiting for finally happened, and I was glad, but I wonder how final the outcome really is????

I'm glad The Devil's Star measures up. I'll be there soon!

10. Southern Ghost I've been enjoying the Annie Darling series very much. As a mystery fan, I can always count on learning about an author that I didn't know about.

In Southern Ghost Annie is doing her sleuthing away from her Death on Demand bookstore, which made the story a little different, but still pretty good overall. A young girl hires Annie's husband Max which ties into a murder and suicide that took place twenty years earlier.

The only thing that nagged at me is that the author kept the reader in the dark that another person had figured out what happened, and for that reason, the ending fell just a little flat for me.

11.The Poet I was about a hundred pages into The Narrows when I realized that there were just too many references to a serial killer known as the Poet who has now resurfaced.

Reporter Jack McEvoy actually lends the FBI a hand when he figures out that his homicide detective brother did not commit suicide as everyone thought. This in turn, led to the re-opening of several other homicide detective suicide cases that had been closed.

Each detective at the time of his death, was haunted by a case that seemingly couldn't be solved. In addition, the Poet leaves a quotation from the works of Edgar Allen Poe.

Long story short, I loved the Poet, even though I kind of knew what happened already, the book was so well plotted, that it kept me in suspense right up until the end.

Sometimes I don't know how I feel about character crossovers, but I think Michael Connelly does it exceptionally well.

12. The Narrows This is the book that I was reading before I realized that I needed to read The Poet in order to get the full story.

In The Narrows, the Poet is back, taunting Rachel Walling with his poetry and serial killings. Meanwhile, Harry Bosch gets a call from Graciela McCaleb, whose husband Terry, has died.

Everyone thinks that Terry's death is a result of his heart transplant, but his widow wants Harry to investigate.

Harry and Rachel work against the FBI, in order to solve both cases.

13 The 8th Confession I've always been a big Alex Cross fan, and I wasn't sure if I would like the Women's Murder Club mysteries as much, but I do.

In The 8th Confession Lindsay and her partner Rich work the cases of millionaires being killed with snakes and a homeless preacher who wasn't what he seemed.

Lindsay also notices the sparks fly between her partner and her friend Cindy and doesn't like it one bit.

THis is just to let everyone know, that even though I am not on LT everyday, I will be missing for a little bit.

I had my appendix removed Wednesday afternoon, and the combo of the pain and loopiness of the happy pills is pretty much making me doze off. I'm having a lucid moment right now, but it won't last long!

On a side note, and all you fellow Lt'ers can appreciate this: When I knew I had to go to the emergency room, I packed two book PLUS the Nook!!!! All the nurses, technicians, and surgical residents thought I was nuts! My mom picked up my bag and said "You didn't think you were going to read all these book did you?" It became quite the topic of conversation.

I'll be back once I've been able to read and stop taking the pills.

Lisa, hope you're soon on the mend. Enjoy your reading time during your recovery.

Warm wishes for a speedy recovery Lisa. We'll be waiting to hear about your reading when you get back to us.

Take good care of yourself and rest!

And enjoy the pills while they last! Take care of yourself.

Two books and the Nook for a short hospital stay.... Makes sense to me! Glad to hear you are back home. Sending good wishes for a restful and speedy recovery.

Books should be packed first. You can always get by without, say, a toothbrush or a second pair of socks. But imagine being stuck in a room for hours with nothing to read at all. For hours.

Lisa, you were very sensible.

I'm back!!! I've been peeking at threads here and there, but haven't felt well enough to sit at the computer for any length of time.

#30-35, thank you so much for the get well wishes!

I will be posting a lot of mind relaxing reads with a good many culinary mysteries in the bunch. I can't believe how time flew and dragged for me at the same time!

First read for November:

The Christmas Cookie Killer This is th first book I put my hands on, and I wanted to read about food because I was hungry lol!

I think I am finding this series kind of ho-hum, I'm not sure why. Phyllis hopes to win the Christmas Cookie Contest with her snowflake lime sugar cookies.

While hosting the annual cookie exchange, Phyllis gets decides to take cookies over to her neighbor, when she finds her strangled., and Phyllis is hit over the head. The sleuthing just didn't make sense to me.

2. Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog

This was a very funny book, although I realized that I was familiar with most of the material from the author's weekly column, Chick Wit, in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The author shares funny stories about her larger than life mother, Mother Mary, her daughter Francesca, and her love for her dogs.

I laughed so hard that I hurt my stomach with her tale of running braless through the emergency room when she cut her finger.

3. The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle

Again I wanted to read about food in any form. A film producer comes to town with the intention of turning a local author's novel into a movie. Lee thinks that the suave Aubrey Andrews Armstrong is after her Aunt Nettie and decides to keep a close eye on things.

4 Bright Young Things This was a Nook free download that I thought was pretty good.

Set in 1929 New York City, the story is filled with flappers, speakeasies, and intrigue.

Letty and Cordelia flee their small Midwestern town for an exciting life in New York. Letty dreams of stardom, while Cordelia searches for her father, the notorious bootlegger, Darius Grey.

Cordelia befriends Astrid, a society girl who seemingly has it all, looks, money and status, but whose family has many secrets.

I think the author captured the 1920's beautifully. The plot flowed smoothly with excellent character development. The ending was very abrupt, but of course, there is a sequel.

5. Sugarplum Dead

I'm loving the Death on Demand series right now. I still have plenty of them left to read, and I am trying to space them out.

The actual mysteries themselves are good and then ther's the bonus of finding out about various authors that I don't know about, which is great!

Marguerite Dumaney Ladson, former movie star, and extremely wealthy, summons all of her relatives to Broward's Rock for a combination brithday/Christmas bash. Her family quicky learns that she plans on leaving all of her money to a spiritualist guru. When she is found dead, there is seemingly no end to the list of suspects.

In addition, Annie Darling's long lost father shows up after 25 years.

6 The Most Dangerous Thing This was my August ER book which I was really looking forward to. Overall, I found the book to be just ok.

This story about five friends; Gordon (GoGo), Mickey, Gwen, Sean and Tim was very character driven with a slightly weak plot.

The five friends make a habit of playing in the woods near their homes, until a tragic event occurs which alters their lives and their parents lives forever.The story drags between past and present without a clear understanding of whose story is being told.

The basic premise I suppose, is was it better to keep the secret all those years or deal with the heartbreaking truth?

7. Death by the Dozen Yes, another food mystery! Melanie and Angie compete against their nemesis, Olivia at the Scottsdale Food Festival.

Melanie's culinary school mentor is one of the judges, just to add more pressure to the event. When his body is found in a freezer, she vows to find his killer.

This book was unusual in that much like an episode of Chopped or Iron Chef it was full of unusual ingredients that one wouldn't think of when making cupcakes, such as parsnips, beets, chili peppers and chocolate stout.

I won't be copying any of those recipes haha!

So good to have you back Lisa!

Are you feeling better? We missed you!

Glad you're back, Lisa!

I enjoyed the first few Death on Demand books, and had intended to continue with the series this year, but I haven't. Maybe next year...

Hi Lisa, glad to see you are back and feeling better. I have Bright Young Things on my wishlist, good to know you enjoyed it.

Glad to see you're back, Lisa!!

#44-#50 Hi to Victoria, Kay, Ivy, Judy and Linda.

Thanks! I am feeling much better, not that much pain anymore, just an occassional twinge when I do too much bending or lifting.

The true test will come on Monday when I go back to work after three and a half weeks away, I'm a little scared of my desk and e-mail since it was an emergency situation and I had no time to plan for an extended absence.

At least next week is a short work week! You'll catch up, just take it slow the first few days, even if you have way too much to do. It will wait.

Your back! Nice to hear things are good and great to see you have been reading during your recovery. What a fun list of books!

Hopefully, you are able to work you way at your own pace back into work mode.

More books to post.....

8. Death of a Prankster

Wealthy Andrew Trent summons his entire family to his residence, Arrat House, after he has informed all of them that he is dying. They arrive only to find him the picture of health and eager to torment them with his endless not so funny jokes.

When Andrew is later found dead, it's soon discovered that it is no joke. Hamish and Priscilla work together to solve the case.

Good fun read!

9.Chocolate Mouse Trap Lee McKinney is part of a professional group, all in the party/food business and one member, Julie Singtree, keeps sending irritating inspirational e-mails. When Julie is killed and her computer is stolen, Lee begins to realize that other members of the group, including herself may be in danger.

10. White Elephant Dead

The Women's Club of Broward's Rock prepares for its annual White Elephant Sale. This year, a blackmailer coerces five prominent citizens into donating valuable items, or their secrets will be revealed.

When one of the volunteers doesn't return the pick up vehicle, Henny Brawley, Annie Darling's best customer, goes off to find the missing woman.

When Henny is also missing, Annie goes fo find her and instead find the corpse of the missing volunteer aka the blackmailer. When the police chief suspects Henny of the murder, Annie and Max set out to clear her name.

11. A Stab in the Dark

Matthew Scudder is hired by a murder victim's father to find out who killed his daughter nine years ago. At the time, the police believed she was the victim of the serial killer known as the Ice Pick Prowler, who admitted to all his other crimes but not this one. It was a good surprise as to who the real killer was!

12 The Closers Harry Bosch has been retired for three years when he is asked to join the Open/Unsolved Unit, where unsolved murders are given another attempt at being solved.

He and his former partner, Kiz Rider, get the case of a teenaged girl dragged off a mountain to her death. DNA on the murder weapon is traced to a small time criminal, but Harry suspects that the case is more complicated than it seems.

13 Sinister Sprinkles It's the Winter Festival in April Springs North Carolina, and donut shop owner Suzanne Hart is surprised to find that her ex-husband's girlfriend Darlene, has been killed.

Suzanne struggles with her unresolved feelings for him and helps to clear his name.

14 Turkey Day Murder Lucy Stone prepares for Thanksgiving and also tries to find out who killed an Indian activist.

These sound like a delightful bunch of mysteries! White Elephant Dead especially caught my attention... I must get back to Annie Darling and Broward's Rock next year!

15. Black Seconds

Ten year old Ida Joner rides her brand new bike to the store, and doesn't come home. A seemingly mentally challenged man and his mother are blamed for her disappearance, but Inspector Sejer finds that there is more to the case than meets the eye.

16. Mistletoe Murder

First in the Lucy Stone series, the busy mom takes time out from her Christmas preparations in order to find out who killed her boss, Sam Miller.

17. Christmas Cookie Murder

Another Lucy Stone which features the Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange and the investigation into the murder of a young day care aide.

18 Frost at Christmas I think this will be my last book for the month of November.

I loved this first in the series of six novels featuring the slovenly, crude, and resistant to his superior's orders, Inspector Jack Frost. He's like a British Columbo! Ten days before Christmas, he is put in charge of a missing child case and also finds himself babysitting the Chief Constable's nephew, Clive Barnard.

During the course of the investigation, they also stumble across a long buried corpse and try to work both cases at the same time, while Frost gets himself into more and more trouble.

I can't wait to read the rest of this series, I enjoyed it very much!

Hi Lisa, I see you've met my favorite - Inspector Jack Frost. My only advice would be not to read the books too closely together as they are quite similar. I find that knowing what to expect, I save his stuff for when I really need a pick-me-up. Unfortunately I only have one more of his left to read.

I can't believe I haven't posted yet this month! I guess busy time at work and trying to catch up on holiday shopping and prep got the best of me!

1. Dead Simple I loved this book! I'm a little sorry I started reading the series in a way, because I think many of the books in the series will be difficult to obtain.

The story was good, in a creepy kind of way. Michael Harrison is engaged to marry his fiance Ashley, and his friends decide to get back at him for all of his past practical jokes and pull one over on him a few days before his wedding.

They put him in a coffin, with a flashlight, breathing tube and a walkie talkie. It's all in good fun until all the culprits are killed in a car accident and no one knows where he is. Or do they?

Dt. Supt Grace intends to get to the truth of the matter and find Michael before it's too late.

This book really had me on the edge of my seat!

2. Wishin and Hopin

This was a cute circa 1964 story featuring Felix Funicello (cousin of Annette), a fifth grader at St. Aloysius Parochial Shool.

The title is a little misleading, because the only part of the story that has to do with Christmas is the school pageant, which is absolutely hilarious.

3.Eight Million Ways to Die Matthew Scudder takes the case of a prostitute who wants out of the life, and then tries to find out who killed her.

Good fast paced novel with excellent character development. There's a hint that Matthew may just come to terms with his drinking.

4. Chocolate Snowman Murders

This book takes place around the holiday season as Lee prepares for the Winter Arts Festival. When the art show judge is found dead, Lee and her husband Joe become the prime murder suspects.

5. Envious Casca This is a fun typical locked room murder mystery which takes place during the Christmas season. I thought that there was a little extra added to the book to make it just a little longer than it needed to be.

The identity of the murderer became pretty obvious early on, but it was still fun to read, especially for the well developed characters.

6. Holiday in Death Eve Dallas tracks a killer who is using an elite dating serive to target victime, while dressed as Santa Claus. I really need to catch up with this series!

Midnight in Death is a novella which takes place right after Holiday in Death. I didn't care for the novella so much. It was basically Eve and her team knowing the identity of their killer, and them trying to catch him.

7 Snow Angels A beautiful Somali immigrant is found brutally murdered. Detective Kari Vaara tries to solve the case while struggling a bit in his marriage to his American wife. His world turns upside down when one of the suspects turns out to be someone he'd rather not deal with. I found this book to be a very good read, very dark and intense, but very engrossing.

Merry Christmas, Lisa!

Merry Christmas, Lisa.