PK the Bookeemonster: Three-day weekend

As far as my reading goes, I've been productive. I finished reading/skimming the Gabaldon book. 870 pages. It was a digital library loan and about to expire so I had to work against a deadline on that one. Season three starts next weekend and I wanted a refresher. I hadn't read that one since 1994.

If one just lived the crazy events in that one book alone ... you'd learn to stay the hell away from Claire and Jamie.

And I just finished the Louise Penny book today. A lot of soap box disguised as story telling.

I swear each time in the past few books, that I won't read anymore. I've got to remember that.

I've got two books showing up tomorrow.

I'll probably read the JD Robb first.

And here's a round up of what I read in August:

THE NETSCHER CONNECTION by Estelle Ryan

11th of 11 in series featuring Dr. Genevieve Lenard, nonverbal communication expert and high-functioning autistic, and her team. “Doctor Genevieve Lenard is on holiday in Hungary when she and her team are asked to assist in a missing person case. Her autistic mind is already having difficulties dealing with the new environment, and having to co-operate with local authorities might push her past her limits. Even more so when the missing person turns out to be an important, and painful, part of a team member's past. The seemingly simple case takes a gruesome turn as their search uncovers artwork drenched in violent history, numerous deaths presumed to be by natural causes and the menacing online presence of a serial killer who's been cyber-stalking victims for years. Bodies are piling up at an alarming rate and, knowing that one of their own is in the killer's sights, Genevieve will have to use all her inner strength and expertise to stop this ruthless murderer.” Published in 2017, 244 pages. I wanted to like it more than I did. The quirks of the characters are taking over.

ARTEMIS by Andy Weir.

Stand alone. “Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.” Published 2017, 320 pages. The opposite of the hero of THE MARTIAN in every way except they are both clever and have an excellent handle on science. Not as good as his first book, but THE MARTIAN was an exceptional story. I can see this being made into a movie as well.

THE LATE SHOW by Michael Connelly

1st in a new series featuring Renée Ballard, a young detective in Hollywood, California, demoted to night shift after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. “Renee Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood--also known as the Late Show--beginning many investigations but finishing none, as each morning she turns everything over to the day shift. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But one night she catches two assignments she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the investigations entwine, they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won't give up her job, no matter what the department throws at her.” Published 2017, 448 pages. To be honest, I didn’t want to like it and I didn’t even want to read it but my digital library put a hold on it for me (Can they do that? Apparently.) So I started it …. And liked it quite a bit other than she seems to be an Energizer Bunny who doesn’t need sleep.

RITUALS by Kelley Armstrong

5th of 5 in series featuring Olivia Taylor Jones, from a prominent Chicago family, finds out she’s the adopted daughter of notorious serial killers, in Cainsville, Illinois. “When Olivia Taylor-Jones found out she was not actually the adopted child of a privileged Chicago family but of a notorious pair of convicted serial killers, her life exploded. Running from the fall-out, she found a refuge in the secluded but oddly welcoming town of Cainsville, Illinois, but she couldn't resist trying to dig out the truth about her birth parents' crimes. She began working with Gabriel Walsh, a fiendishly successful criminal lawyer who also had links to the town; their investigation soon revealed Celtic mysteries at work in Cainsville, and also entangled Olivia in a tense love triangle with Gabriel and her charming biker boyfriend, Ricky. Worse, troubling visions revealed to Olivia that the three of them were reenacting an ancient drama pitting the elders of Cainsville against the mysterious Huntsmen with Olivia as the prize. It turns out a third supernatural force has been at work all along, a dark and malevolent entity that has had its eye on Olivia since she was a baby and wants to win at any cost.” Published 2017, 498 pages. Very strong woo-woo elements to this series and I’m sad to see it end but the ending was satisfying to me.

LIE TO ME by JT Ellison

Stand alone. ARC. “They built a life on lies. Sutton and Ethan Montclair's idyllic life is not as it appears. They seem made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional and personal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate each other. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her. Ethan finds himself the target of vicious gossip as friends, family and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies the couple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer? Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child she never wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.” Published 2017; 416 pages. It is very much in the same line as GONE GIRL -- isn't everything these days? However, it did pull me into the story right away. Twisty.

THE LOST BOOK OF THE GRAIL by Charlie Lovett

Stand alone. “Arthur Prescott is happiest when surrounded by the ancient books and manuscripts of the Barchester Cathedral library. Increasingly, he feels like a fish out of water among the concrete buildings of the University of Barchester, where he works as an English professor. His one respite is his time spent nestled in the library, nurturing his secret obsession with the Holy Grail and researching his perennially unfinished guidebook to the medieval cathedral. But when a beautiful young American named Bethany Davis arrives in Barchester charged with the task of digitizing the library’s manuscripts, Arthur’s tranquility is broken. Appalled by the threat modern technology poses to the library he loves, he sets out to thwart Bethany, only to find in her a kindred spirit with a similar love for knowledge and books—and a fellow Grail fanatic. Bethany soon joins Arthur in a quest to find the lost Book of Ewolda, the ancient manuscript telling the story of the cathedral’s founder. And when the future of the cathedral itself is threatened, Arthur and Bethany’s search takes on grave importance, leading the pair to discover secrets about the cathedral, about the Grail, and about themselves.” Published 2017, 329 pages. Interesting take on the grail.

GLORY IN DEATH by JD Robb (reread)

2nd of 45 in series featuring Eve Dallas, a homicide lieutenant in futuristic New York City. “The first victim was found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second was murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas had no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provided Eve with a long list of suspects—including her own lover, Roarke. As a woman, Eve was compelled to trust the man who shared her bed. But as a cop, it was her job to follow every lead...to investigate every scandalous rumor...to explore every secret passion, no matter how dark. Or how dangerous.” Published in 1995, 300 pages. Still more “Nora Roberts-ish” than “JD Robb-ish” in this one but it’s going to get there, guys. Peabody makes an appearance! I miss her. Author is still getting her procedural legs under her.

THE SPYMASTER'S LADY by Joanna Bourne

1st of 6 in Spymaster series set during Napoleonic wars. “She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit.” Published 2008; 386 pages. It looks very like a romance series yet I learned of this series through a mystery newsletter. I compare it to Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series which I really enjoyed.

INTRIGUE IN CAPRI by Ashley Weaver.

Novella. 3.5 of 4 in series featuring Amory Ames, a wealthy young socialite in 1930s England. “On holiday in Capri, Amory and Milo Ames have expected to trade intrigue for a romantic month of blue seas and sunshine. Things take a strange turn, however, when Amory comes into contact with a mysterious woman and begins to suspect she is the missing opera star whose sudden disappearance has been the talk of Europe. Before long, Amory and Milo find their peaceful holiday disrupted by the rumor of purloined pearls, a clandestine relationship, and a sinister stranger lurking in the shadows.” Published 2017, 54 pages. I like this time period and it whet my appetite for the new book coming out on Tuesday.

Nothing on TV tonight. Back to work tomorrow.