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Location: Vero Beach, Florida, United States

My name is Pat and I live in Florida. My skin will never be smooth again and my hair will never see color. I enjoy collecting autographs and playing in Paint Shop Pro.,along with reading and writing. Sometimes, I enjoy myself by doing volunteer "work" helping celebrities at autograph shows. I love animals and at one time I did volunteer work for Tippi Hedren's Shambala Preserve.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton.

Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Atria Books;(October 9, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1451649398



Amazon Review:

My real name, no one remembers.

The truth about that summer, no one else knows.


In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love, and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.

I have read all of Kate Morton's books.  This one is different from all others.  I admit I kept getting lost and then found again.. I am guessing that it is because it is told by many voices, and often I wouldn't notice ( got lost) for a bit until I could figure out what was going on.   Should you consider reading this book, I would say most wouldn't get lost like I do! So don't let that stop you if it sounds interesting to you.


The story unfolds slowly (and by different views and times). At 150 pgs I thought I might put it down...  then at 326 pages I thought I would put it down.  But for whatever reason I had to find out the ending  and so 496 pages later I felt sort of sad that it ended!  Go figure!

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Edinburgh Dusk

Edinburgh Dusk by Carole Lawrence.

Paperback: 397 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (September 18, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1503903907 



 

Amazon Review:

A wicked Scottish winter has just begun when pioneering female physician Sophia Jex-Blake calls on Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton to investigate the suspicious death of one of her patients—a railroad lineman who she believes succumbed to the horrific effects of arsenic poisoning. The most provocative aspect of the case doesn’t escape Hamilton: the married victim’s numerous sexual transgressions.
 
Now, for the first time since the unexplained fire that killed his parents, Hamilton enters the Royal Infirmary to gain the insights of brilliant medical student Arthur Conan Doyle. Then a second poisoning occurs—this time, a prominent banker who died in the bed of a prostitute. It appears that someone is making Edinburgh’s more promiscuous citizens pay for their sins.
 
As the body count rises and public panic takes hold, Hamilton and Doyle delve into the seedy underbelly of the city, where nothing is as it seems, no one is immune to murder, and even trusted friends can be enemies in disguise.
 

A good second book using many from book one, allowing you to learn more about them while trying to solve the mystery of the poisonings.

A third book is in the workings and I look forward to it's release.  I like the short chapters and that the author writes, quite like, a normal conversation. She doesn't seem to try to impress some readers who like "big words" that they have to look up to know what they mean. Her books are very comfortable to read while still having interesting characters and a good murder mystery. 

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Girl in the Ice

Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza.

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (April 24, 2018)
ISBN-10: 153871342X



Amazon Review:

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice . . . she is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park's pond, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation. The victim appeared to have the perfect life -- what dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

When Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes. All were found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London. As she inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in. With her failing career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she's faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

A good, "who done it".  All my guesses were wrong! lol.  I sometimes wonder how all the detective books I read can come up with something original in order to keep the reader want to keep reading.  Sometimes it's a character.. and sometimes the author just knows how to "keep the secret" of who it is until the very end!

Sunday, November 03, 2019

The Girl Who Lived

The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson.

Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Greyson Media Associates (November 4, 2017)
ISBN-10: 1683993039


 

Amazon Review:

Ten years ago, four people were brutally murdered—one girl lived. No one believes her story. The police think she's crazy. Her therapist thinks she's suicidal. Everyone else thinks she's a dangerous drunk. They're all right—but did she see the killer?

As the anniversary of the murders approaches, Faith Winters is released from the psychiatric hospital and yanked back to the last spot on earth she wants to be—her hometown where the slayings took place. Wracked by the lingering echoes of survivor's guilt, Faith spirals into a black hole of alcoholism and wanton self-destruction. Finding no solace at the bottom of a bottle, Faith decides to track down her sister's killer—only to discover that she's the one being hunted. How can one woman uncover the truth when everyone's a suspect—including herself?

I liked that the main character was very different from any I've read before.  She was in a mental institution, very angry, and it was hard to believe what she said was true or not.

This leave the reader to try to figure "her" out "as well as" trying to figure out what actually happened and who did it.  To say this book is fast paced may be not saying that it is so captivating you do find yourself reading even when your eyes tell you to put the book down!

I do recommend this book to most people who think they figure it out long before the ending!