So ready for Friday

TGIF

Currently reading THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET. 3rd of 4 in Greer Hogan series. 

Greer Hogan is a librarian turned sleuth, an avid reader of crime fiction who possesses an uncanny knack for deduction—and now, she’s drawn into another murder case as late autumn slowly turns to winter in the idyllic village of Raven Hill. When Anita Hunzeker, chair of the library board of trustees, is run off the road and killed, no one seems all that sorry. Anita was widely disliked, and the townsfolk would just as soon be rid of her. But when a local professor turns up dead as well, his connection to Anita and to other local residents leaves the suspect pool covering the entire county. Greer starts poking around, and the more she digs, the more it seems like everyone she knows is trying to hide something. When she unearths a clue in the old manor cemetery, she finally discovers the shocking truth—a cache of dark secrets stretching back decades that could rock the town to its core. Everyone who’s come close to the truth has ended up dead—and if Greer doesn’t tread lightly, she could be the next librarian to get archived for good.

Published 2023; 320 pages.

This next one I'll be starting; it's a library hold that came up this morning. BABY X by Kira Peikoff. Stand alone thriller. 

In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create egg or sperm from any person’s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety. Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault’s tricks–discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes–and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn’t let anything slip–love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off.   

Published 2024; 336 pages. Very interesting concept.

No sprints tonight, but I do have them tomorrow afternoon. And then the usual weekend stuff. Reading. Crochet. Walking Keo. Naps.

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Grant me the serenity

Thursday

I started a romance book yesterday but I don't think I'm going to continue with it.

1000 Pages Read Challenge Update

04/23: 208

04/24: 135

04/25: 129

04/25:

04/26:

04/27:

04/28:

TOTAL: 472/1000 

A hold came up for me from a library. I don't know if I'm going to read it. A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN TWELVE SHIPWRECKS by David Gibbons. Nonfiction.

From renowned underwater archaeologist David Gibbins comes an exciting and rich narrative of human history told through the archaeological discoveries of twelve shipwrecks across time. The Viking warship of King Cnut the Great. Henry VIII's the Mary Rose. Captain John Franklin's doomed HMS Terror. The SS Gairsoppa, destroyed by a Nazi U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II. Since we first set sail on the open sea, ships and their wrecks have been an inevitable part of human history. Archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries excavating these sunken ships, their protective underwater cocoon keeping evidence of past civilizations preserved. Now, for the first time, world renowned maritime archeologist David Gibbins ties together the stories of some of the most significant shipwrecks in time to form a single overarching narrative of world history. A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks is not just the story of those ships, the people who sailed on them, and the cargo and treasure they carried, but also the story of the spread of people, religion, and ideas around the world; it is a story of colonialism, migration, and the indominable human spirit that continues today. From the glittering Bronze Age, to the world of Caesar's Rome, through the era of the Vikings, to the exploration of the Arctic, Gibbins uses shipwrecks to tell all. Drawing on decades of experience excavating shipwrecks around the world, Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past that tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.

Published 2024; 304 pages.

I have sprints tonight. Reading and crocheting. Bed. I took the Cone of Shame off of Keo this morning. It may go back on tonight so I can sleep without worrying about him ripping the top of his head ouchies open. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

The week ... is slow ....

Wednesday

Keo's vet follow up happened as the last three have gone ... found something new. The ringworm spots are much better. The hot spot on top of his head is progressing but I'm going to keep the Cone of Shame on until the weekend at least. But.... I found a new ringworm spot while we were there. 

So we continue with the 10 pills a day.

We do what we have to do.

1000 Pages Read Challenge Update

04/23: 208

04/24: 135

04/25:

04/25:

04/26:

04/27:

04/28:

TOTAL: 343/1000 

I'll be finishing the Allison Montclair book today. Very close.

I think I'm going to listen to the audio of THE GILDED SHROUD by Elizabeth Bailey. 1st of 10 in historical mystery series

1789, London

When Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook, is found strangled in her bedchamber, suspicion immediately falls on those residing in the grand house in Hanover Square. Emily’s husband - Randal Fanshawe, Lord Polbrook - fled in the night and is chief suspect – much to the dismay of his family. Ottilia Draycott is brought in as the new lady’s companion to Sybilla, Dowager Marchioness and soon finds herself assisting younger son, Lord Francis Fanshawe in his investigations. Can Ottilia help clear the family name? Does the killer still reside in the house? Or could there be more to the mystery than meets the eye…?

Published 1992; 392 pages. I've been meaning to read this series for years. The time period is one of my favorites so I don't know why I've not done it sooner.

No sprints tonight but I will be reading and crocheting anyway. Steve has the gun range.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

How dare you, sir

Tuesday

I kept with the Allison Montclair book yesterday. Really liking it per usual.

1000 Pages Read Challenge - April

04/23: 208

04/24:

04/25:

04/25:

04/26:

04/27:

04/28:

TOTAL: 208/1000 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Seriously

Monday. Receptionist out sick.

I read/listened to a FANTASTIC thriller this weekend. LISTEN FOR THE LIE by Amy Tintera. 

What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter? After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.

Published 2024; 352 pages. I gave it 5 stars. Soooo good. 

I also finished WHAT CANNOT BE SAID by C.S. Harris last night. 4 stars. 

I solved the problem I was having with the wedding afghan so now it is fun to work on and I think will go more quickly. 

So I think I'll be starting A ROGUE'S COMPANY by Allison Montclair. 3rd of 6 in series featuring Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, proprietors of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, in post-war London.

In London, 1946, the Right Sort Marriage Bureau is getting on its feet and expanding. Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are making a go of it. That is until Lord Bainbridge—the widowed Gwen's father-in-law and legal guardian—returns from a business trip to Africa and threatens to undo everything important to her, even sending her six-year-old son away to a boarding school. But there's more going on than that. A new client shows up at the agency, one whom Sparks and Bainbridge begin to suspect really has a secret agenda, somehow involving the Bainbridge family. A murder and a subsequent kidnapping sends Sparks to seek help from a dangerous quarter—and now their very survival is at stake.

Published 2021; 400 pages.

And now that I'm back in wedding afghan crochet mode, I'm looking for another audiobook to keep my attention. I'm going to start -- don't know if I'll stick with it -- but I'll give it an audition, THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Published 2020; 386 pages. The audiobook is free via YouTube; the ebook is "free" via Kindle Unlimited. So no huge investment if it doesn't work out at this time.

No sprints tonight. Crocheting and reading. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster 

Weekend vibe

TGIF

I started and finished this book yesterday. SYLVIA'S SECOND ACT by Hillary Yablon. Stand alone.

When sixty-three-year-old Sylvia finds her husband in bed with the floozy of their Boca retirement community, she’s shocked and furious . . . at first. By the time her head stops spinning, Sylvia realizes that actually, this isn’t what she wants anymore anyway. So she enlists her best friend, the glamorous older widow Evie, to join her in setting up a new life in Manhattan. Sylvia’s ex-husband may have lost her life savings, but Sylvia and Evie are scrappy and determined, unopposed to pawning jewelry and roughing it in tiny apartments. And before long, Sylvia signs on to revive her decades-old wedding planning business with a former professional rival. Sylvia has a lot to prove, and beneath it all, she can’t help but Will she ever be able to get back into the dating game? Sylvia doesn't want to be twenty-five or thirty again. Her age gives her wisdom, experience, and perspective. A career, sex, fun, and a new romance—her entire second act is stretched out in front of her, beckoning to her. It’s her time, and watch out, world, Sylvia is coming!

Published 2024; 348 pages. 5 stars.

The second half of the Dune film was released to streaming so I plan to watch that sometime this weekend. 

Maybe it's time to read some of the books by the son or re-read some of the original DUNE books. Hmmm. 

So I'm thinking I may re-read DUNE MESSIAH by Frank Herbert. 2nd in original series. 

The story of Paul Atreides, better known--and feared--as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne--and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence. And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...

Published 1969; 337 pages.

Sprints tomorrow afternoon; otherwise, the same stuff. No plans. Walking Keo, giving Keo meds and ointments, reading, crocheting, napping, etc.

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Goals

Thursday

Just plugging along. Nothing much to report. It's been quiet.

Sprints tonight. The usual options: reading, watching YouTube, or crocheting.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster