TGIF!

Cyber security protocols

Well, this is about the 7th try for a GarbAugust 3.5 read for this weekend. 

TOMB OF THE QUEEN by Joss Walker (pseudonym for J.T. Ellison).1st of 6 in CIA Librarian series. 

Librarian Jayne Thorne enjoys her quiet life of tea and books. That is, until she finds a spell book in the Vanderbilt University archives that accidentally gives her access to a magical dimension. Now she's hunted by a magic-wielding terrorist group, and the only way for her to survive is to team up with a secret branch of the CIA. Her first mission? Go undercover at Trinity College Library in Dublin and determine if the Book of Leinster is actually a magical necromantic grimoire. With the help of a handsome Irish kickboxer, Jayne uncovers the truth of her unexpected spell The Irish manuscript is one of five grimoires that can raise five dead, master magicians, and secure their totems of power. With these totems comes the power to control the world. But the spell book isn't the only thing with secrets in Jayne's new life. Danger lurks in every corner and Jayne must rise to meet her fated role...or perish alongside the rest of the world.

Published 2021; 502 pages.

No plans for the weekend. Sprints tomorrow afternoon. Lots of crocheting, listening to audiobooks, watching reactor to NCIS season 3. 

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Tuesday

 Cybersecurity protocols.

Started THE QUEENS OF CRIME by Marie Benedict. Stand alone. (so far)

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment. May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden.

Published 2025; 320 pages.

Sprints tonight.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Monday Monday

 Cyber protocols being followed.

I've once again twisted myself into trying to conform to a reading plan at times devised by other. This is creating a situation where I'm flirting with a slump. We can't have that. So I may drop the Retro-Romance-Readathon. I haven't decided yet about GarbAugust 3.5 for this weekend. The one I'm reading now could inadvertently count for the second scavenger hunt for this month.

I've started MURDER AT ARCHLY MANOR by Sara Rosett. 1st of 8 1920s era historical mystery series. 

London, 1923. Olive Belgrave needs a job. Despite her aristocratic upbringing, she’s penniless. Determined to support herself, she jumps at an unconventional job—looking into the background of her cousin's fiancé, Alfred. Alfred burst into the upper crust world of London’s high society, but his answers to questions about his past are decidedly vague. Before Olive can gather more than the basics, a murder occurs at a posh party. Suddenly, every Bright Young Person in attendance is a suspect, and Olive must race to find the culprit because a sly murderer is determined to make sure Olive’s first case is her last. 

Published 2018; 256 pages. I was liking it more than a little when I suddenly realized whodunnit is kinda obvious. Ah well. Maybe it's first-book-itis. 

Listening to THE RUBY DAGGER by Lynn Morrison & Anne Radcliffe. 

I started the baby blanket that isn't going to be a baby blanket anymore because the yarn is so pretty and I wanted to see the stitch for which this yarn was purchased. It would have been so flipping cute to give as a gift. Now this blanket will be mine. But I like this yarn/stitch combo - Caron Simply Soft with the prairie stitch I believe it's called. This may become a staple in my repertoire. But first, I have to finish the wedding bedspread and perhaps the orange spiral. 

We received over a foot of snow last week. This week is going to be in the negatives temperatures in the mornings. 

No sprints tonight for which I'm glad because I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Crocheting for the most part until bedtime.

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster 

Happy TGIF

 Cyber security protocols in effect. 

I finished BONDED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb. I gave it 5 stars. I have a general quibble. The bad guy planted a bomb under a table at a restaurant. Our good guys found it, defused, removed it. End of scene. If I were a bad guy, I would have set up TWO bombs. Let them find the first one. They apparently just stop after that so the backup will still be in play. 

Here's what I'll probably be reading in the next week.

THE RUBY DAGGER on audio.

I think I'm not being pulled to go back to THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR at the moment for Retro-Romance Readathon. However, I think I am going to dip into: 

Next weekend is scavenger hunt prompt "new to you author". I have two options that I'm considering. Both are histmyst. 

Next weekend is also GarbAugust 3.5 readathon. I need to finish one of the above so I can concentrate on one of these later in the week. 

And that's the weekly TBR plan. I'll do the individual summaries next week when I see what sticks.

It is freaking winter outside. Snowing now. Snow on top of old snow. Next week will be high temps in the single digits. Mleh. Hunkering down. I forgot it was Super Bowl on Sunday because I don't watch NFL anymore since they went political. However, Steve will probably watch the game (he doesn't follow as much either). I don't even watch the Puppy Bowl anymore. But I will catch up on a couple episodes of The Rookie, watch some more of Gray Wolf react to NCIS season 3. Lots of BookTube to catch up on. I'll be crocheting a lot. Sprints tomorrow afternoon. 

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster 

Ruby Tuesday

Cyber security protocols.

Receptionist out sick this morning. We'll see if she'll be in for the afternoon. I hope so. I'd like to leave a little early for the bad roads and getting home for sprints.

Currently starting/reading:

BONDED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb. 60th in Eve Dallas procedural series.

His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…

Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset―fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets―may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then. When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear―because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must―not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain―and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

Published 2025; 368 pages.

THE RUBY DAGGER by Lynn Morrison & Anne Radcliffe. 2nd of 4 The Crown Jewels Regency Mysteries. 

London, 1813. In the gilded corridors of St James's Palace, Lord Percy and Lady Grace face a mystery that could shake the throne itself. A murder and audacious theft of the Prince Regent’s ruby collar of state thrusts them back into a web of deception and treachery. Tarnished by his past behaviour, Lord Percy is focused on regaining favour with the Ton. When the queen demands he deliver the murderer and the stolen jewels, he cannot refuse. Lady Grace sees her chance to prove her value to the crown. She’ll do anything to avoid endless weeks of ballrooms and beaus, even if that means being in close quarters with the man pledged to her best friend. As Lord Percy and Lady Grace wade deeper into London's underbelly, love and loyalty will face the ultimate trial. Especially since this culprit is willing to spill blood. In a society where everyone has an agenda, and half the ton is suspect, they will need to watch each other’s backs. If they cannot unveil the criminal mastermind, this time it will cost them more than their reputations.

Published 2024; 244 pages. Listening to the audiobook done excellently by the performer. 

The Retro-Romance read I'm doing for the readathon is THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR by R. A. Dick. Stand alone.

Burdened by debt after her husband's death, Lucy Muir insists on moving into the very cheap Gull Cottage in the quaint seaside village of Whitecliff, despite multiple warnings that the house is haunted. Upon discovering the rumors to be true, the young widow ends up forming a special companionship with the ghost of handsome former sea captain Daniel Gregg. Through the struggles of supporting her children, seeking out romance from the wrong places, and working to publish the captain's story as a book, Blood and Swash, Lucy finds in her secret relationship with Captain Gregg a comfort and blossoming love she never could have predicted.

Published 1945; 194 pages. A classic made into a classic movie that I've not read nor seen. 

I'm still reading THE COMFORTS OF A MUDDY SATURDAY by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm at 82%.

Sprints tonight. I'm getting going pretty well on the wedding blanket. 

Have a good day

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

TGIF at last

 Cyber security protocol

I'm soft DNFing the Stanley Tucci book. It is a library loan that is up in about three days. I'm at about 55% in it. It is a diary of sorts and pretty much about his meals and the people he meets. It is a book that is best dabbled into rather than reading straight through. Reading it straight through is kinda tedious. I'll pick it up again some day. 

I think I'll be starting HEAD CASES by John McMahon. 1st in a new series it appears. 

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He also has a blind spot on the human side of investigations, a blindness that sometimes even includes people in his own life, like his beloved seven-year-old daughter Camila. Gardner and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve. When DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead, the team springs into action. A second victim establishes a pattern, and the murderer begins leaving a trail of clues and riddles especially for Gardner. And while the PAR team is usually relegated to working cold cases from behind a desk, the investigation puts them on the road and into the public eye, following in the footsteps of a killer. Along with Gardner, PAR consists of a mathematician, a weapons expert, a computer analyst, and their leader, a career agent. Each of them must use every skill they have to solve the riddle of the killer’s identity. But with the perpetrator somehow learning more and more about the team at PAR, can they protect themselves and their families…before it’s too late?

Published 2025; 352 pages. 

On Tuesday is a new JD Robb. Woot! 

Last night I finished the February crochet project other than threading in the two ends. Now onto the wedding blanket in cream, orange, and blue. 

Sprints tomorrow afternoon. I need to make a vat of egg roll soup. Otherwise, making no plans. Supposed to be getting winter again on Sunday.

Have a good weekend

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster

Still January

Cyber security protocols, doncha know. 

I have thirteen books in my TBR possibilities so of course I choose to read something completely different. 

THE COMFORTS OF A MUDDY SATURDAY by Alexander McCall Smith 5th in Isabel Dalhousie series. 

Isabel Dalhousie is a new mother and a connoisseur of philosophy; she'd rather not be a sleuth. But when a chance conversation at a dinner party draws her into the case of a doctor whose career has been ruined, she cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Because for Isabel ethics are not theoretical at all, but an everyday matter of life and death. As she attempts to unravel the truth behind Dr Thompson's disgrace, Isabel's patient intelligence is also required to deal with challenges in her own life. There is her baby son Charlie; Cat's deli to look after, not to mention her vulnerable assistant Eddie; and a mysterious and unlikeable composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel fear for the future of her new family. Isabel treads a difficult path between trust and gullibility, philanthropy and interference, while keeping in her sights the small but certain comforts of family, philosophy and a fine Saturday morning.

Published 2008; 278 pages. Both ebook and audiobook I have out from the library. We'll see if this hits the spot.

I've been enjoying in general the Stanley Tucci book, WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR but as it is a sort of diary about what his meals are and who he meets with, it can get a little tedious. Even though this is also from the library and it took six months to get it, I may pause on it and come back to it later. I'm only in July of the book right now and it goes back in five days. 

Sprints tonight.

Have a good day.

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster