Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth by Stephen van Olsen

The FBI's Highway Serial Killings Initiative keeps track of murders on the highway, and over 850 have been linked to truck drivers.  This is a novel that is written in the voice of serial killer Stephen, a truck driver who kills in many states on the road.  He is an independent truck driver and works when he wants.  He lives, works, and kills out of his truck.  The goal is fifty teeth that he etches a name, a fact about the person, and a date on, which reside inside a red velvet roll with fifty pockets.  

Stephen didn't start off killing people.  The taking of a tooth was the first goal.  He wasn't entirely successful in removing a tooth from a person until he broke into a dentist's office and forced him to show him how to do it.  Stephen took the instruments and some Novocain and left the dentist alive.  Soon, he discovered that it was easier to remove the tooth when the person is dead and can't fight back.  He added to his kit a piano wire and Dr. Pepper loaded with a drug to knock the person out.  Stephen prefers women because they take better care of their teeth.  That's not to say that he doesn't kill men.  He does to those who deserve it.

Each chapter is a story of a tooth, but not the story of every tooth.  There are too many.  Not everyone dies, and some of the victims have a plan in place to kill him and believe he is the one in the trap.  He only takes those no one will miss and those that deserve to die.  Stephen has a bit of an epiphany on the road and changes his rules somewhat.  Eventually, a woman known as The Poet, for her reading of poetry of being on the road on a CB station, begins to offer news of a killer on the highway and missing women.  She asks for tips, and FBI agent Mara Holt begins to follow her on air and hunt for this killer who takes a tooth from each victim.     

I haven't read any books about a trucker serial killer, so, for me, this novel is unique.  This is the second horror story from Olsen.  He wrote another one that comes before this one, but it in no way hinders you or loses you by reading this book first.  You will want to read the other book once you finish this one. This book was a spectacular read and one I can't recommend enough. It keeps you captivated, and sometimes crossing your fingers that he won't kill this victim and rooting for him to not get caught and kill those that truly deserve it.  Every page you turn, you have no idea what will come next.  Each chapter is a thrill ride that will keep you guessing until the end of the book.       

Quotes

He taught me the sound a belt makes when it whistles through the air at midnight.  He also taught me something else without meaning it.  Pain has a rhythm. A cadence. A music.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p 11)

Coincidence is a language for people who aren't paying attention.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p 33)

Memory was crueler than accuracy.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 74)

The he said it. Matter-of-fact with a cracked little melody under it.  Kids who talked like that had already survived things adults didn't want to imagine.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 76)

The sky keeps changing colors. Don't want to miss the moment it becomes itself.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 81)

Kids don't savor.  Kids devour.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 88)

Her voice carried road dust, cheap coffee, too many nights without sleep.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 110)

"Headed where?" I asked. She hesitated. "West. Far enough." A pause. "Not back."  Back was a person not a place.  Back was a man with a belt. Back was a house with alcohol and backhands. A house that finally felt apart.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 111)

I've been tired longer than you've been breathing.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 113)

The kind of silence where everyone was trying to figure out whether they could breathe.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 116)

I knew their type.  California bred them. Feral, bright, desperate kids raised under sodium lamps behind strip malls, learning to navigate men the way other girls learned algebra. They were used to choosing their predators.  They believed they had.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 135)

Predators recognize predators not by teeth or speed, but by silence.  The kind of silence that doesn't come from having nothing to say.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth, p, 139)

Fear made people waste their last seconds on impossible math.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth,  p, 202)

Everything's creepy if you look at it long enough.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth,  p, 211)

It still amazes me how friendly and polite people in the South are.  Makes it so much easier for hunters, and the others, the really bad ones.

Stephen Van Olsen (Ghost Hauler: Fifty Teeth,  p, 257)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHHPJXZR/?bestFormat=true&k=ghost%20hauler&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k0_1_12_de&crid=2ZQIGEZEC8V39&sprefix=ghost%20hauler

 

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/ghost-hauler-fifty-teeth-stephen-van-olsen/59326021/?resultid=18aa50ad-01f3-43cf-b292-ca0dc5573875#edition=75905312&idiq=89484287

Daredevil. Yellow by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

 

Loeb and Sale have written four books with color titles, including: Captain America White, Hulk Grey, and Spider-Man Blue.  This one has Daredevil, Matt Murdock, looking back after the death of Karen Page, his and Foggy's secretary and Matt's love.  While he was in law school, he and Foggy were roommates, and Matt's father was a boxer.  When Matt's father refuses to take a dive for The Fixer, he has him killed.  The Fixer knows people in law enforcement, and he is never charged.  Matt takes his father's boxing robe to create a secret identity and goes out to get justice for his father.  Daredevil runs into various villains, including Electro and The Purple Man, who puts Karen in danger.

This book lives up to the other books in the series and is a perfect example of Loeb's work.  He makes reading about Matt's father's death fresh again.  His rock-solid relationship with Foggy begins to show cracks when both of them fall in love with Karen.  Of course, Karen is only interested in Daredevil. Sale has her dressed in the height of 1950's fashion, wearing A-line dresses and pedal pushers.  When Karen becomes a victim of The Purple Man, Daredevil will do anything to save her.  This is an excellent book, and I recommend the whole series. 

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daredevil-Yellow-Jeph-Loeb-ebook/dp/B00AAJQYK6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2F8I49G1ZHI8H&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.muG1Z2xLrGa7Itj83Rl27VC5NmgGmn68_8tkpFM6181xL2n-q2rVkiUqZPMPkWJAZS-XjFRrBOJ268-g9JPSRxCH_9KyyTioenchKSxIIfDM9qqNZrCrtpoESwiK_kkbueZs43G1jOG_WGoDbk0PEESsWmZ5luAuYE1aaaCv7qj4yUxK6X9G1J2mHVbwK28rdfeo6jKZwy7obOumYIoSTH70lWi8tzh5uqSG908or3E.bYjyuS4iZRi5kL-LMwmmFukSI6GnqexZ_7tXCuJIILo&dib_tag=se&keywords=daredevil+yellow&qid=1780515815&s=digital-text&sprefix=daredevil+%2Cdigital-text%2C252&sr=1-1

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

Cecilia is the perfect Victorian young woman who yearns to become a member of the Wisteria Society of Lady Scondrels.  This is a group of women pirates who sail their houses in the air, thieve, pickpocket, blackmail, try to assassinate one another, and fight for women's rights.  The book is set in England in the late 1800s.  Cecilia lives with her smothering aunt, Miss Darlington, since her mother, Cilla, was killed by Cecilia's father, Captain Morvath, an evil pirate who wants to see all women subjugated to men and to take over England from Queen Victoria.  He also writes awful poetry and believes he is the descendant of Bramwell Bronte, the useless (in his mind, the genius author) brother of the Bronte Sisters.  He has hired Ned Lightbourne to kidnap his daughter and bring her to him so he can marry her off to her vapid cousin and have a grand estate to fly.  

Ned Lightbourne, as Eduardo Luca, was hired by Lady Armitage to assassinate Cecelia, to break her aunt's heart and hurt her before killing Miss Darlington.   Ned appears at Miss Darlington's door to warn Cecilia of the dastardly plan.  Cecilia shuts the door on him, and he is forced to blow up a window to try to gain entry.  Miss Darlington sets the house to sail to Bath, which begins Cecilia's quest to find a library to steal books from.  She is caught up reading Wuthering Heights in secret, as her aunt would kill her if caught.   Several people in this novel quote poetry of the time from luminaries such as Longfellow, Wordsworth, and Byron.  Also, Captain Morvath's house is named Northangerland Abbey, from Jane Austen's book Northanger Abbey. There are also many references to the Brontë sisters' books.  

When the Wisteria Ladies get together to discuss Morvath, their houses are stolen, and they are kidnapped by Morvath.  Ned and Cecilia set out to rescue them from Northangerland Abbey.  Ned reveals that he is secretly working for the Queen, who wants Cecilia killed because she may turn out to be like her father.  Ned, by the way, has as many names as Cary Grant's character in Hitchcock's movie, Charade. But Ned finds himself falling for the redhead, and maybe Cecilia is falling for him too, but she believes that her place is by her elderly aunt's side.  Will the two work things out? Will Morvath kill the Wisteria Ladies and take over the world?  This novel was quite entertaining and charming.  It is the first book in a trilogy that I cannot wait to read.  The writing is so incredible that I wanted to add the whole novel to my quotation collection.  I had to stop myself from writing everything down.  I loved Cecilia, who carries an emergency book with her always for those times when nothing is going on, like when the other person is reloading their gun.  I flew through this delightful book and highly recommend it.

Quotes

"What would I have done, had he broken in?"

"Shot him?"

"Good heavens, child, what do you take me for, a maniac? Think of the damage a ricocheting bullet would do in this room."

"Stabbed him, then?"

"And get blood over the rug? It's a sixteenth-century Persian antique, you know, part of a royal collection."

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p 4)

Murdering three husbands (and misplacing a fourth) tended to inure a woman to masculine charms.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,  p, 12)

They had swindled lords together, got drunk together more times than either could remember, and once they forced Alex's remshackle house to its limits, making the London-Cashel run in less than twelve hours, although they did lose a few windowpanes along the way.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 19)

It was a soft voice, typical of those who long had spoken with great power; a voice that could whisper death in a tower room and far below a man would be strangled among the garden roses.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 21)

We have only three laws in our Society, Cecilia. No killing civilians. Pour the tea before the milk.  And no stealing each other's houses. Anyone breaking these laws is cast out--literally, and in most cases from a very significant height.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,  p, 42)

It is violence that best overcomes hate, that most certainly heals injury, and a good cup of tea that soothes the most anguished soul; thus ran the motto of the Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 54)

Navy. Well, that's about as useless as a feather in a sword fight.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 67)

Yes, I've been meaning to be in touch ever since you framed me for the Marlborough House robbery twelve years ago. But you know how it is, busy, busy. I've quite lost count of all my heists and husbands.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,  p, 52)

Mrs. Rotunder had recently failed in an attempt to have Miss Darlington assassinated by means of a trained parrot, unaware of Miss Darlington's belief that parrots carried syphilis and were therefore to be scrupulously avoided. This had been in retaliation for Miss Darlington's theft of Mr. Rotunder's leg, which was said to be inlaid with wood from the True Cross, and yet only fetched five hundred pounds on the Catholic black market. Mr. Rotunder--a thin, anemic gentleman who hadn't been quite right since a mad doctor sawed off two of his limbs before rescue arrived--had been willing to let the matter go, but his wife would have none of that.  When the assassination attempt failed, she took solace in stealing Miss Darlington's favorite mahogany cabinet, from which a new leg was made for Mr. Rotunder, and thereafter all was well again between the ladies.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,p, 56)

After all, the Wisteria Ladies Junior Division's motto was: Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do, and hopefully the other person dies.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 66)

Morvath stood in the Dole foyer, dressed in black like a vampire or an opera singer.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 69)

"En garde!" she cried, much to the horror of Miss Darlington's sensibilities--"A lady shall not use French on the street."

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 78)

I'm sure you will find the chitchat of old ladies tedious--it will be all about firming lotions and bulletproof eyeglasses, and the best guns to use when you have arthritis.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,p, 79)

"Only keep your hat on, and use your parasole, and don't, whatever you do, remove your gloves. Remember the Great Peril, dear".  At that phrase, half the company went silent..." Freckles."

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 81)

She had renounced her proud pirate heritage to marry a man whose only crime up until then had been the composition of a novel so bad publishers had him threatened with legal action if he ever submitted to them again.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels,p, 88)

Aunty believes too much education corrupts the delicate mind of young ladies. I received only to basic instruction at home--reading, writing, horse riding, navigation, weapons handling, piano, harp, the principles of burglary, geography, arithmetic, anatomy, metal work, confidence trickery, history, battle tactics, dining etiquette.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels  p, 93)

Nothing's impossible if you can pay enough.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels  p, 111)

She was smart, strong, and God, just the way she held a gun made his toes curl up in lust.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 135)

"Fine", she said in a sterling British fashion, meaning that she was either fine or on the verge of complete internal catastrophe.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 136)

One can be happy in solitude: a book, a cup of tea, and no company; that was Cecilia's idea of heaven.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 148)

Cecilia was fast for a woman in a long dress and petticoats. She made it down a flight of stairs, along two corridors, past an astonished henchman whose thereafter unconscious body Ned had to leap over as he ran, and partway down the portrait gallery before he caught up with her. "Look, a bookshelf!" he shouted, as she glanced up she stumbled. Her foot caught in the hem of her dress and she fell.

India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 198)

Please, I don't want to shoot you.  It would make kissing you decidedly unpleasant.

 India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels  p, 244)

For her, an unanswered knock was equivalent to having to put down a book three pages before the ending.

  India Holton (The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, p, 270)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wisteria-Society-Lady-Scoundrels/dp/0593200160/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.c5NDZlfIeMOnX87vRM9eArMrI9T_gK4Q8fgwkKFTPyQ4RRlDrL4MQoP0cwmVhsI3iUKgeGeVJlrIsg_bnZaV4Stc-nBw6jIXSA9rYy4GDR7qj1NTX-qfGJRX1Z29pqBIic1AkdXmOoCH8_reXlQJT2PeEMlUa_5yha9PK0tby4HXQkB7jlCfzMvwjDzuhmF3P51xDzXpAT_bXqFp3PLMeqzqtdeKa7BmJkjo7I-wyr4.lO5F65WxwTiW5dY3qvlWFsExyNCp9sQpizg4xGGI4nA&qid=1783356682&sr=1-3

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-wisteria-society-of-lady-scoundrels_india-holton/26966202/?resultid=7e5333e4-8f85-4b4d-8eb8-424999db2ffa#edition=57595972&idiq=46385435

The Land and Its People by David Sedaris

 

In this latest collection of searing and oftentimes funny twenty-eight essays, Sedaris captures everyday life in the simplest yet most hammering-the-nail-on-the-head way.  For example, he sees a hotel owner demand that a patron remove his feet from the table in front of him.  Sedaris wishes that action could be taken elsewhere, like on trains, when a patron is playing music too loudly; shoot him in the face if he doesn't comply.  This, from a man who opposes the death penalty, but apparently only in certain situations.  In another essay, Sedaris's friend has a ChatGPT write a story based on Sedaris's work.  What comes out is a tale of Uncle Melvin who gets stuck in a bathroom.  Sedaris thinks this essay is nothing like what he would write, so he writes his own version of that story the way he would have actually written it.  

He also writes about topics like traveling to different places and dealing with dumb questions, going to a new country for only one night to check it off his list, or going on a safari with Hugh in Africa.  He writes about his relationships with his husband (he prefers to call him his boyfriend), his sisters and brother, and close old friends. These vignettes really touch home with his readers, and you'll find yourself nodding along in agreement with the quirks of fate that make you smile and laugh out loud.  This is David Sedaris at his best.

Quotes

Hugh became a nonstop grouse. Ghosts in movies moan less than he did.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 4)

You donate money to charity, and they spend it all trying to get you to donate more.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 36)

She was so close I could see the craziness in her eyes, could see how completely unpredictable she was, the sort who could either shake your hand or slash your face with a razor blade.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 47)

Also, I wasn't bothered by the pope's use of faggotry because I'm not queer; I'm gay. The difference is that queer people are offended by just about everything. They have the rest of us walking on potato chips, afraid we're using the wrong pronoun or saying "motherfucker" instead of "mothering person fucker."  Gay people just wonder what they'll wear to the Vatican at the crack of dawn and what the proper etiquette is.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 86)

Who are these hothouse flowers, all so easily and constantly wounded? People whose parents never hit them, that's who.  People who don't know what real pain is but still wants to throw the word around.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 98)

A child needs brothers and sisters; the more the better. Good siblings will press your favorite doll's face into a red-hot barbecue, then steal the money the tooth fairy left under your pillow. They'll deposit things inside of you when you're four, then sleep with your boyfriend twelve years later--will, in short, prepare you to live in the real world.  Better still, they'll dilute the Eye of Sauron-like attention given to an only child.  My mother couldn't remember our names half the time, much less care whether we felt anxious or depressed.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 99)

One of [Jean] Stafford's book ideas--never realized--was Cooking For One While Drunk.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 110)

Being a cool mom is like being a folk artist---defining yourself as one is all the proof the world needs that you're a fraud.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, 113)

When we were fourteen, for example, we had to find volunteer jobs. Mine was at Dorthea Dix, the state psychiatric hospital...I was regularly threatened by patients. I was cornered and shouted at, accused of everything you can imagine. It was excellent training for my later life in New York City.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 117)

Duolingo was seemingly designed for people with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.  The same could be said for my fitness-tracking Apple Watch. And so I had combined the two and was walking my minimum of ten miles per day while pointlessly reading sentences out loud in Japanese, German, Spanish, and French.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 147)

I'm in the hard part of getting old--the part where everything irritates you.  The easy part comes a little later, when my short-term memory disappears, and I forget I've heard "perfect" two hundred already that day.  Each occasion will be the first. Then I'll die and go to Heaven, where Saint Peter will say, "Welcome in! How were your travels?" and I'll realize I'm actually in Hell.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 218)

I've often spent an afternoon with my friend Ronnie, then come home and wonder the same thing: what did she and I talk about? When it's effortless, you don't really think about it.  At the end of the day, you're left with a feeling — of contentment or comfort — but rarely any specifics.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 245)

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Land-Its-People-Essays/dp/0316264830/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Uj2HdLlqCSECEgGGuR2iYv_0t1uwJWJCNAmUgJh57bx3jTP31HdJCpyMLLhV54j3BUGjV00YpUY-2HXbxDNScuLddtv0qkY0B-zGldz-ebgWeXrGB7XFrMIa-grZQrmb6nJk0cEzTAHyT0vR2lmAwd94K-S8407m4PWn_Onh8qdG3beJf3VJUJiIBiF74RdD.Yhprj4MYVgU-_H6DGFC7D8wc9knqt2bFhmdO8nP4Jcg&qid=1782661295&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-land-and-its-people-essays_david-sedaris/57632630/#edition=74787256&idiq=87548946

Independent Hearts by Kiva Hart

 Zoey runs the historical society in Whispering Falls, Arkansas. She inherited the job from her father, deceased, who started the society and museum years ago. The society is quickly running out of money, but Zoey was hired as a tour guide for a documentary filmmaker named Nick and his on air talent, Damian. The studio also provided money that Zoey is using to celebrate the town’s 200th anniversary on July fourth. 

Damian lets it be known from the start that he has no interest in being there. Nick, however, finds the town fascinating and Zoey, in particular, the best thing about the town.  When Damian books a better gig in Houston that will go nationwide, he leaves and expects Nick to come with him. Nick knows that it will really boost his career, but he is starting to feel a connection with Zoey and the town. If he doesn’t go, the studio will fire him, and if the documentary on Whispering Falls is not made, then Zoey will have to close the historical society and museum.

This next book in the Holiday Hearts series by Kiva Hart was a delightful read and the two characters were engaging and fresh. This is a sweet romance that nonetheless explores the relationship between Nick and Zoey who are possibly falling in love and are afraid to commit due to Nick’s job.

*Only available as an ebook.  Free for those who have Kindle Unlimited.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Independent-Hearts-Romance-Little-Holiday-ebook/dp/B0H2C8ZKCN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.X_8f4iRvA6YW7h2YCLeaIQVVlSjqS9oQtVfD-wmpBWjUD7_gqeYOSYn68zSFJdbHWk2vz44E8DLwvR8BAv3aAbNMBAQDLvIHHynxjWyJhr1l_OqG0YVECJ1vLM3rwlHj6YtTePIKrJcxwZoQebg4aZWsiUt0FkKYl0wfM-WZuKLUu7OTvx9r1HSj6mouOBLJlGH6kmrMNq8aWHvVdr0GzF8XkHXkZ44IuafedP1Avj4.7iISxP-SJ48KTQTK76lHlkV5YGPtrWGuiobFL6zyLwc&qid=1782687849&sr=1-1

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones by Emily Kim (Writer), Triona Farrell (Colorist), VC's Ariana Maher (Letterer), and David Nakayama (Cover Art)

 

Spider-Gwen goes to a lab run by a doctor named Lyla and her husband Lee to fight the Sinister Six from Earth-616.  In the process, Gwen sends the Sinister-Six back and causes the lab to blow, killing Lee and injuring Lyla.  Lyla uses her work to clone a Spider-Gwen with each member of the Sinister Six and bring Spider-Gwen to Lyla along with a quantum box.  When Gwen meets up with Gwen Ock, she realizes she isn't from another Earth, but a clone being controlled by a halo on the back of her neck.  Gwen removes the one on Gwen Ock, along with Sand Gwen, whom she meets later.  With the help of twelve-year-old Reed Richards, they discover that someone is cloning Gwens for a reason that is a mystery to them.   

I really enjoyed this book, which featured so many cool Gwens.  Gwen really feels like she can't get close to anyone, lest they get hurt because of her, even the cloned Gwens. She's been avoiding dating a guy she really likes.  She's keeping her distance from her roomie and former bandmate, MJ.  Emily Kim has written an interesting story that entangles you in its web.  The artwork is stellar, as each Gwen is created to be a mix with the Sinister Six, so it's like a new Gwen Stacey, with Gwen's memories.  There is another graphic novel featuring Gwen fighting variants, called Gwen-Verse.  It was published before this one and is mentioned. After this book, I'm eager to read it too.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Gwen-Shadow-Clones-ebook/dp/B0CCZN3ZMM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NW0WHEYS5AGQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FGwScM038TIoX3RnoQXVwGGyC3afowS_eMfMtRId-wDrum-4uKTsJ48miWS_GUIJbCqFPKu7Denze-9eMLBf9ut6xojnq5tv-4liV_pfx-sGb0SZY-CrrX0-BObvdZ-FV-y_WQiWk3cwgRJxbImYM84M2itPBiIeJVBDG0_ozlekVPUHCwNuLF9Vpb5v5odnNYajUPnNbUnrY1_NLylKnXTuUIvvEhdkP4yPVZGujW0.sjUQDnk3nhVzzMOBVswTVw-do_zdUReY4oin_f9luUY&dib_tag=se&keywords=spider+gwen+shadow+clones&qid=1781982000&sprefix=shadow+clones%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1

Brave Hearts: A Grumpy/Sunshine Romance With a Little Bit Of Father's Day Magic by Kiva Hart

 

This is a new book in the Holiday Romance series, which now contains thirteen books, by Kiva Hart.  It opens when Beth, a professional guitarist and singer who has been on the road for the last five years, is making cupcakes for her niece.  She forgets to get them out of the oven, and her fire alarm goes off.  While she is emptying the burnt cupcakes into the sink, she hears a knock at the door.  It is the one and only local fireman, Leo, checking to see that there isn't a major fire.  He proceeds to give her a lecture about kitchen fires and paying more attention to what you have in the oven.  This really ticks Beth off.  So the two are off to a rocky start.

Leo helped put out a fire in the next town over years ago.  The only survivor of the family was a toddler named Danni.  He adopted her and has been raising her ever since.  She is ten, the same age as Beth's niece, Matty.  The two girls are school friends.  At the last concert of the school year, Beth sings and plays a song, inspiring Danni to take lessons.  Beth, with nothing to do until the next tour, which could be a while, agrees to teach her.  As the two get closer, Leo backs off because he is scared of her going on the road, leaving him and Danni behind.  

Leo is so serious and Beth is so flighty.  Can the two make a match of it before Father's Day?   This is not a bad novella that can be read in a few hours.  It's a nice way to spend your lazy summer afternoon on something that is a very light and easy read.  On top of that, it gets you in the mood for the holiday approaching on Sunday.  

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Hearts-Sunshine-Romance-Fathers-ebook/dp/B0GT287Y5X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1O9SPYX0FT7NA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W4XK9ada0B5pOUcud19kOqV_Khvw5E4q-4LF6eqJW8zRPXiz72RlznYV8i3EtC7_uDqdqgNfLzaQ9OF0D13gseb-V_Fn1is_-7-9MaxuKwVM874_XLYqkPtqyXmqGoELfA-qumY7_th7rnvF_cQo7ak9-GZphP3yaTtvOgUKlC3ajrgnCqfyw9PtW9iw5CzwZlHFLXV5rW_G_ykZsMFy6ixRdeLB3hqViL0Q_7eIhvk.hfdGrYTxGN3c9WIYssZZedINRd2V4BLGvJaqshd83hk&dib_tag=se&keywords=brave+hearts+book&qid=1781635233&sprefix=brave+hearts%2Caps%2C299&sr=8-1

How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson

 

How To Survive a Slasher

1. Don't Have Sex

2.Always Hide For Longer Than You Should

3. Find a Weapon

4. Turn on the Light

5. Don't Split Up

6. Watch Your Back

7. Don't Run Up the Stairs

8. Don't Say "I'll Be Right Back."

9. Sobriety Equals Survival

10. Down Doesn't Mean Dead--Double Tap

 

Jamie is a grad student in film studies, and her dissertation is on the rules of horror and rom-coms. Jamie's best friend and roommate is Laurie, a documentary filmmaker who makes her watch boring documentaries in exchange for one of Jamie's horror flicks.  They also watch true crime stories and have been following in the news the stories of a man who is killing women.  

Laurie also convinced Jamie to do one in-person event where you could meet men.  Both are sick of swiping left. That month, they are going to a speed-dating event at a club called Serendipity.  Ten men, ten women, a ten-minute date. When they get there, everyone must turn over their phones and smartwatches.  

Jamie makes an enemy of one of the guys, Stu, who is more Laurie's type, meets John, her type, and is instantly attracted, then meets Wes, a mysterious man.  Her date with Wes starts out well, but takes a nosedive at the end when she goes off on her favorite subject, horror.         

Curtis, the next-to-last date of the evening for Jamie, comes across as a Neanderthal whom she must put in his place.  Then the lights go out for a short while, and when they come back on, Jamie stares at Curtis, unable to figure out what is wrong with him, as he stares straight ahead.  When she notices the bloody swipe across his throat and the blood coming out of his mouth, she screams.  Then the lights go out again, and Jamie can hear others getting killed. Over half of the daters make a run for it, while Jamie and Laurie find a place to hide with a weapon, just like the rules state to do.  

Those who hid in the basement of Serendipity, where the event takes place, decide to head up to the ground floor and look for the others and a way out.  When they make it out of the basement, Stu suggests that they split up and search for an exit.  Jamie is against this as it goes against the rules, and eight people against one is better than one against a man with a knife.  Laurie gets them to compromise by breaking them into two groups of four.  John, Dani, Jennifer, and Stu are in one group, while Jamie, Laurie, Wes, and Campbell are in the other group.  Billie, who gets along with no one, has gone off on her own.  

It soon becomes obvious that this is not just a slasher film come to life, but also a rom-com where the killer is searching for his/her Leading Lady, not just a Final Girl.  The killer leaves out scattered rose petals, roses, a note saying "You belong to me", and intestines spelling out someone's name.  Jamie tries to follow the rules, but soon finds that even the easy one, don't have sex, is difficult with John and Wes around.  

This book has secret Easter eggs. If you look at the characters in this story, you find links to films. For instance, Jamie Prescott, the lead character in this book, is also the lead character in the Scream series. Wes Craven, one of her love interests, shares a name with the director of the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream series. John could be John Carpenter, who directed such horror classics as The Thing. At the beginning of each chapter is an altered quote from a romance movie.  An example from Dirty Dancing is, "I'm scared of walking out of this room and never killing the rest of my life the way I kill when I'm with you." I spent the whole book praying that it wouldn't be Wes, John, or Laurie.  Honestly, I wanted it to be Stu.  He's such a pain in the ass, the person who keeps splitting up the group, and is the least likable character. Jamie is a sarcastic, powerful woman who can hold her own against a killer and a club full of suspects.  Also, who knew that a dissertation could be useful in a speed-dating situation that has gone tragically wrong? I sprinted through this darkly humorous romance/slasher story, which is so well written with catchy quotes and pithy observations of the event. I promise you, you won't regret reading this novel. It's the best I've read in a long while.

Quotes

Yeah, she still watches the news.  I think it's a guilty pleasure, the closest thing to fiction she'll view willingly.

Shailee Thompson (How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, p 6)

It seems more likely you'll get murdered rather than finding love through Tinder these days.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 7)

It is familiar in that fuzzy 'this place is the reason I don't drink Kamikazes anymore' kind of way.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 11)

Once we get inside, I realize the cool blue signage above the doors was a ruse because the interior of Serendipity is red.  Like Susperia red. Carrie red.  The iconic river of blood spewing out of the elevator in Stanley Kubrick's seminal masterpiece, 'The Shining' red.  Serendipity looks like the set designer of Moulin Rouge! took LSD and cleaned out every velvet and gas lamp supplier in the state.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 12)

The interaction--if we can call it that--is brief, but that doesn't stop the self-conscious thoughts from arising, popping up stronger than Michael Myers after being shot six times in the chest.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 18)

I'd even go so far as to say Curtis falls into a specific category of men who only appeal to a very small group of women who haven't discovered therapy, the concept of gender equality, and are color-blind in a way that prevents them from seeing glaring red flags.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 39)

If you find yourself in a situation where it seems like you're surrounded by an unusually high number of bitches, there's a really good chance you are probably being an asshole.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 40)

"When a woman doesn't appreciate your 'compliment', don't blame her for your inability to read the room." I make my voice softer, lighter, and enjoy his confusion at the contrast when I said, "Shut your fucking mouth and stop talking."

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 41)

I could live with the idea of him thinking I'm a bitch. I'm starting to accept that he thinks I'm a ntcase. But I draw the line at him believing I'm both.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 57)

Keep us alive.  That's the goal of every survivor in a slasher, isn't it?  I've seen enough of them to know that the choices characters make either lead to their demise or land them a spot in the sequel.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 58)

If you say I’m cute, it won’t be the killer you have to worry about.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 75)

If we were in a slasher, or even a rom-com, this would be the part where he tells me I don’t have to be scared because he’s not going to let anything happen to me. Then there’d be a series of events that would leave him to being disemboweled by an ice hook and leave me incapable of trusting men at their word.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 92-93)

When I turn to glare at her, she has the most serious face on. The one she usually reserves for when I try to girl math my way to dropping two hundred dollars on skin care.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 108)

This is not exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted a man to go the extra mile for me. I meant unprompted good morning messages, noticing I’ve done something special with my hair, buying tampons every now and then. Not slowly but surely, knock off complete strangers in creative and gruesome ways.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 166)

For the first time ever, I disagree with Kate Winslet. I don’t want to be the Leading Lady of my own life if this is what my life has led to.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 168)

But it’s too late, she’s going into the vent if I have to shove her into it like an uncooperative tampon.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 190)

Hitchcock once said that blondes make the best victims because they make the blood show up better on screen. “Like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprint” is the exact quote.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 197)

I interpret that as him accepting he can’t bring a knife to a machete fight and expect to win.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 216)

The air is so thick with tension I’m surprised it doesn’t bleed.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 237)

His voice is deep, breathless, rougher than the first cut of a student film.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 251)

My anger vanishes like the body of a villain at the end of a slasher.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 246)

My therapist is very proud of me, and really, that’s the whole point in therapy, isn’t it? To pay a stranger hundreds of dollars so the eye can show you how to deal with your demons and then tell you you’re doing a good job at it. And after all of the sessions and exercises and strategies and support people, I feel okay.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 344)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Kill-Guy-Ten-Dates/dp/1668206714/ref=sr_1_1?crid=173VINTT6OSHJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Wvoi6Up3-4Jji-WGPbvBqsuOZH5_80TxHjbPQJwgpKtu6-CWDDM3M3-aw4a2yOxwNDV4zi8r82mzJhBUHKbNUHrf3B3b4yhvYWralpSXsdm427aWt2W6GZC53U2OcaB9.vlBXkS6GHXgFBd8s-N9hjZi4hzIH8cwkzIs1YXyshEw&dib_tag=se&keywords=how+to+kill+a+guy+in+10+dates+book&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1780516013&sprefix=how+to+kill+a+guy+%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/how-to-kill-a-guy-in-ten-dates-a-novel/55858176/?resultid=2d26bc60-2989-441e-8010-e247fb6b6646#edition=73595376&idiq=85374783

The Death of Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Antonio Fabella (colorist), and VC's Cory Petit (letterer)

This graphic novel opens with Doctor Strange thinking about why he went into medicine.  He wanted to cheat death.  In his studies, he came across a myth about a man named Koschei. Koschei found a way to live forever.  He hid his soul in a secret place that none would find. It’s sort of like Voldemort and the Horcruxes.  Strange is living a good life, until he goes to answer the door and is stabbed and killed by someone.  

He kinda did what Koschei did, but a version of himself from years ago, when he called himself The Master of Black Magic, that will last only a week.  Long enough to solve his murder.  His death is known immediately when the magical forcefield comes down around the earth and lets in such baddies as Aggamon, Tiboro, Mordo, Umar, and Kaecilius who was already on earth working for Mordo.

These formidable magical forces have come to Earth seeking shelter from three warrior queens who are traversing the universe to find magic to feed the Perrigrine Child, a thaumovore who is always hungry. The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers all come out to fight them, but they are no match for the women.  It will take Doctor Strange teaming up with all those who hold magic that are on the planet Earth, which include: Aggamon (Sorcerer Supreme of the Purple Dimension), Tiboro (Sorcerer Supreme of the Sixth Dimension), Clea (Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension), and Illyana Rasputina (Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo).      

It is hard to believe that a simple stabbing with a knife by an assailant, which Strange will soon discover, could kill him.  It was nice to see all the characters who showed up for the fight, including his wife, Clea. The story by MacKay is interesting and excellent.   The art is typical Strange. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and can’t wait to see in what direction MacKay takes the series into.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Doctor-Strange-2021-2022-ebook/dp/B09NL6Y6Q5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RQZ8TSF9RMO0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W8KGMJTsFZ6q0xuqrTKsAiVbzhkPPN66eZdWQt7J-Q5JHOYmL4Oz0-fFh4X-yXtdZOsUccydzSYy6c73kQGAp4EmwgMVwsSm1Ti8-znqJyZlVHEtkmDZ8yy689gr92AXI3jKEvds9x3T9eMWdGO3O0sNIiai3uCxw_Wu8i7YW4kE59cjqttL91UE-7jkezqsdPWJLGPmfl8hXdNT5zKIgVgZ7pJ6SvHhC5HkivzShbw.sZuCB4tKf_jl_fZiq2Ry0ANok4p9axgIhjQ8EsI6Dpk&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+death+of+doctor+strange&qid=1780938334&sprefix=The+death+of+doc%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/death-of-doctor-strange_jed-mackay/29242256/?resultid=7c2713af-1e25-4386-afb6-2be269273809#isbn=1302930222&edition=60290481 

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

 

Cherry is in management, working her way up the ladder at a big train company.  Cherry is a fat woman who comes from a family of fat women, including her four sisters named Hope Honesty (Honny), Cherity (Cherry), Faith, and Joy.  Her mother is deeply religious, as are some of her sisters, but Cherry isn't.  The sisters have texting threads where they talk to each other.  Recently, they started one without Hope, whom Honny believes has committed the unforgivable sin of going on Ozempic.  The sisters believe that it is alright to be fat because they cannot lose the weight, no matter how hard they try, and that Ozempic is cheating and denying who they are.  

Her husband, Tom, worked for an ad agency that did a lot of work for the train company, and that was how they met.  They both studied art in college, but Tom was the real talent of the two.  Tom has been writing a comic strip since before he met Cherry.  The main character is 'The Guy, and Tom adds Chery as the character Baby.  He posts the comic, as a kind of diary of his thoughts, online, where no one really notices it for a long while, until they do.  A publisher of graphic novels offers Tom a contract, and Cherry encourages Tom to take it.  Cherry is the driving force behind Tom, who can't seem to make decisions.  The graphic novel becomes a hit, and Hollywood wants to make a movie out of it with Tom as screenwriter.  Tom goes to L.A. and ends up staying there for a year.  All the traveling for the book and writing the screenplay have put a strain on their marriage. Cherry tells him she wants a divorce when she catches him with another woman via FaceTime.

It's been a year, and Cherry is going to a concert by a much-beloved band from her youth.  While there, she meets Russ, a guy she fell in love with in college, but who decided to date her skinny, beautiful friend.  They leave the concert early and go home together.  Pretty soon, they are dating. Russ is very different from Tom, and he makes her happy.  Then Tom comes back from L.A. to pack up his stuff to move to California.  Cherry hasn't spoken to him in a year, so things are a bit awkward between them, though they accidentally share a kiss.  

Cherry is under a lot of pressure because of the movie, and everyone sees her as Baby, not Cherry.  Russ has some problems with it too when he sees the trailer by accident, and begins to think he may be dating Garfield.  Cherry invites Russ to Thanksgiving and Tom to Christmas with her family.  Two men can possibly make her happy, but both must accept Cherry as she is.  I loved this book, and I loved Cherry, who is confident, except in certain situations, like her job, but less so in her private life.  This is a very interesting, well-written read, as evidenced by the quotes I took from it. The book goes back and forth in time, examining her relationships with Tom and Guss from the beginning to the present, and leaves you rooting for both.  They've both made mistakes with Cherry and want to make it up to her.  Rowell is known for her young adult novel "Eleanor and Park," which I reviewed here https://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2019/08/eleanor-and-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html)

Quotes

Anytime Cherry had tried to take Tom to a concert, he'd spent the whole night frowning at everyone, and he didn't even realize he was doing it.  Tom had resting uncomfortable face.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 3)

Cherry watched them for a while-- then realized she was staring at people like some sort of twentieth-century weirdo. She should stare at her phone like a normal person.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 7)

He looked like the token Irish actor on a BBC drama--a little flintier than everyone else and a little more alive.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 10-11)

Goldenrod was the band that made "Omaha emo" a thing.  Simple, pretty guitars, whiny, breathy vocals. Base-level unhappiness. All of Goldenrod's songs were about being lonely or feeling guilty. The lead singer was a famous depressive.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby)

Everybody was going to the Galway that night.  They were twenty-two and still feeling like they had to go out and drink legally every weekend just because they could-- because it's what adults did.  Adults drank in bars, not in dorm rooms and basements.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 15)

All Russ had told Cherry about his ex-wife was, "I think she always kind of hated me, and I mistook that for 'interesting.'"

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 91)

Cherry parked her used Hyundai at the end of a long line of black SUVs (Railroad execs drove the same cars as rappers).

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 125)

If you charted Tom's attractiveness to Cherry over these first few weeks, it would have looked like runaway inflation.  

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 140)

It was chilly, but Cherry wasn't wearing a coat over her baby blue angora cardigan.  It would spoil the effect.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 146)

She thought about texting someone, but there came a point when you'd been so sad for so long, and so repeatedly, that you could not actually bear telling people anymore. When it felt like you were telling the same story.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 234)

I'm very pretty for a fat girl. It's like being very pretty for someone with three eyes or no nose, or very pretty for a malamute.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 241)

Dimples and freckles, that shouldn't be legal.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 269)

Women are born with clocks in their hips and calendars in their bodies, and Cherry's brain never stopped ticking.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 276)

Cherry's mom ignored everything that she possibly could, and forgave everything that she couldn't.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 365)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Baby-Novel-Rainbow-Rowell-ebook/dp/B0FCS6PL5X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2M3FX7HN0A3O5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ueg-2DZkrA0ePm-DcnlsV42b9C9sPsohSHTxzkGX-3H33FOIo74wndi9DrDj7jkxi8YXbGO_k2HabVPwn1ehgCo6BTWBf207p7dLo5G0hbGpPhDXrFDjoU9v3-QKlr2G.RVuLUOubeIVWVL9xKOmMafDj5WSLvKInHZ2_xfQ9RhI&dib_tag=se&keywords=cherry+baby+rainbow+rowell&qid=1780498280&s=digital-text&sprefix=cherry%2Cdigital-text%2C334&sr=1-1

Healing Hearts : A Workplace Romance With A Little Bit of Mother's Day Magic (Holiday Hearts) by Kiva Hart

 

This is one of the latest novellas in the twelve-book series centered on the holidays.  Alyssa is a single mother and a nurse on the pediatric ward of the hospital in Whispering Falls, Arkansas.  Her child's father left around the time Cathy was born.  Alyssa's parents help out, but it's hard to hold down a demanding job and raise a five-year-old.  Matthew is a new doctor taking over her ward, and is from Oklahoma City, and thinks they should keep talking to the patient at a minimum, asking only questions about the injury, and quickly move on to the next patient.  That was how things were done when he ran the emergency room in Oklahoma City.

Alyssa despises him right off the bat.  She believes in getting to know the kids and the families.  Matthew keeps screwing up with what he says to her.  Back in Oklahoma City, his job had a very high turnover rate as doctors burned out.  His boss insisted that he take this position in a small town where the pace is slower and he can learn to relax and think of things other than the hospital.  Alyssa believes that he wants to return to his emergency room job, but the truth is, he is beginning to fall for her and the way of life in Whispering Falls.   

This sweet romance tells the story of a single mother who does not feel she can trust the doctor with her heart and the heart of her daughter.  This is one of the better novellas of the series.  Alyssa is a character easy to fall in love with.  Matthew grows on you until you realize that he is perfect for Alyssa, if only she could discover this herself.  These characters will stay with you long after you put this book down.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Hearts-Workplace-Romance-Mothers-ebook/dp/B0GGX9XTZB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=73659DW7XTWL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D-rYLR-fB9FUdX_uGeNdWDLwZGhv7Nj0RCQgAy3NVRwPC9NDgyByifMavox7E-_Jdi8WOXlCJcjeuCvgqjPhnLb11aCf1NPee03EMPC4IYKWDPAF04roMEaCDHFtqHDcAHPjwnHTjAlIpVwS0r2mqTZiljngKvOu_N0RYzBATUA9B0oCyD-rVrJpwXCywc4RaO7ee4J_HwK3ojWVVIQzrWxkMe2HtO9SckkwUCoOss8.ESF-_HKzgzS0BpWj8keS5JuT80GA3ZCs-EohOUuB7TY&dib_tag=se&keywords=healing+hearts&qid=1780242573&s=digital-text&sprefix=Healing+hearts%2Cdigital-text%2C304&sr=1-2

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

 

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Virginia. She has taken over the cases of a serial killer in Richmond who ties women's hands behind their backs, then uses an electrical cord from her bedroom to tie her up so that the cord is wrapped around her throat and will strangle her if she tries to straighten her legs out from being bent.  The killer rapes them multiple ways and lets them strangle and die, leaving behind a substance from his hands and body that sparkles like the Fourth of July under the laser, which is used to pick up on fibers and other trace elements missed by the eye.   The book opens with the fourth killing, a young surgeon whose husband spends the week away at school and comes home for the weekends.  All the other women lived alone, and if the killer was staking out their houses, he would assume that the surgeon also lived alone.  But nothing else connects the women; they are different sizes, different hair colors, and even different races, as in one case where the woman was African American.  

Detective Marino, who is running these cases, strongly believes the fourth victim's husband killed her because she found out about him raping and killing these women.  He does have greasepaint on his hands from acting in a play and was once accused of rape years ago.  The charges were dropped for whatever reason.  Marino does not want to let this go.  This is your first meeting with him, and you tend to want to hit him.  He is so annoying.  He is a man of the streets from a working-class background who feels threatened by those who have higher degrees.  Bill Botz, the Commonwealth Attorney (CA), is seeing Kay in secret (according to her wishes) and finds himself a suspect when someone comes forward to say he has roofied them.  Kay doesn't know what to think, and Bill leaves for vacation to avoid talking to her, which is a rather guilty response.  

Kay's niece, Lucy, is staying with her for vacation at her sister's insistence; then the sister runs off to travel with her new husband, the illustrator of her children's books. Lucy is a precocious ten-year-old with a very high IQ and knows how to work computers.  Kay feels guilty that the cases keep her from spending time with her niece.  When it appears that someone has tried to get into the computers at work, looking for information on the fourth case, which hadn't been entered in yet.  Kay doesn't want to suspect Lucy, but it's the better option when otherwise it's possibly the killer or worse, a reporter.  

Kay is also having trouble with Dr. Amburgey, the commissioner and her boss.  She is summoned to his office, and her office is accused of leaking information to the press.  From now on, she is not to release a press release.  Instead, it will come from Amburgey's office.  He has never cared for Scarpetta, and it shows in how he treats her.  Kay feels as though her legs have been cut out from underneath her and that she may be set up to be the scapegoat.  

This book is a hard-driving mystery that could have used a little more editing.  It's a little long at 440 pages.  Cornwell explains everything in depth, considering it was all new when this book was written in 1990.  DNA, for example, only tells you so much, considering that the human genome hasn't been mapped yet.  It also takes 4-6 weeks to get results at a lab in New York.  Today's reader knows how lasers work and doesn't need a tutorial.  But overall, it's a great read, and Dr. Kay Scarpetta makes a great detective, solving the case with a little help from Marino.  

Quotes

I assumed when she came home from school most days, she walked into a quiet, indifferent house where dinner was a drudgery to be put off until the last minute. My sister should never have been a mother.  My sister should never have been Italian.

Patricia Cornwell (Postmortem, pp. 164-5)

Link to Amazon

; https://www.amazon.com/Postmortem-Kay-Scarpetta-Book-1-ebook/dp/B002YPORR6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2E38Q2TV1YBMX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RcCAFfby4bTxtwYQRImay46Rq8Tymo6ICHK8nd4fdGuVq6MR6mhMEasEKd_8ceSYCSm4Tu7lS2jQpd3PCP4-5x9mBd8NtBn6dH1VXdjtb46lGXKuZnvHmhqNiPCUfHu3wEae9mLCm4YyLQQ6AaGPG-b5YE8H8vskWVayyJkAnSEsIIMcJkWT5AIeo7Svq36wcd-vnUNp-WzXKvmHz4wUKMrOVT1qH_sK4_GSiMZ4TzM.A9nsafZDg61Tu4JKzeAkVo7tjkINTB5vpAczHXamcz4&dib_tag=se&keywords=postmortem+patricia+cornwell&qid=1780163259&s=digital-text&sprefix=post%2Cdigital-text%2C259&sr=1-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/postmortem-by-patricia-cornwell/245820/?resultid=46ad0699-e8d6-49eb-bfd1-a6161f4c5f3e#edition=2377084&idiq=888689

Entwined Hearts by Kiva Hart

 

Mia is the owner of an Italian restaurant that her late mother started up.  The restaurant is a real place for the community, where they hold events like a book club.  Mia's life is the restaurant, and because dates get canceled and she has little free time, her dating life is nonexistent.  Thom is from Dallas, Texas, and is a businessman who, after meeting her at the wedding of Mia's last single friend and sharing a memorable kiss with her, decides he wants to franchise her restaurant across the state.  Mia doesn't think he could possibly be serious, or he might be interested in her romantically, and she knows how that will end and doesn't want to go there.  The two make a deal where Thom will work at the restaurant doing what she tells him to do for two months.  At the end of the two months, will she be able to say goodbye to him?  

This book is part of the twelve-book Holiday Hearts series.  This one is for Wedding Magic.  They are sweet romances that are better written than they have a right to be.  This one, however, wasn't as well written as Lucky Hearts, the St. Patrick's Day book.  This is supposed to be an opposites attract book, but it doesn't come off that way.  The only thing standing in their way is Mia, who feels the relationship is doomed from the start.  Parts of this book were good, like when Thom is working at the restaurant and convinces everyone there to order less sought-after meals, and when he goes to the all-female book club.  I give it three out of five stars.    

*Only available as an E-Book or on Amazon Kindle Unlimited for free.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Entwined-Hearts-Opposites-Attract-Romance-ebook/dp/B0D46NQGHY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=N8S5JOGNIFK3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.g9vHDQiO-weptd0sABe06OzFLBeqNhPvAGwU_9364_E_rKNRug_xl4t78RdJOf6ViqiPy-_VqJV6KJmJiGYAyuEDHStbqBEwN9uzXVUJMVSFw6l_V6xZ_3Ulw_BRdoEHXSMaMi4B-yXww8N5RAnN-IRI78TINfwDsvumSj7iK2L5iWlbJ6SJ72nbOn3iA3jbR84gDkaOEeQ_aEf9s5733ejS1lFFWfnGF2IYajJHszQ.84gHi5zfSwY0nDBCqLPrORukrBygz0B-xUesr5wJrHg&dib_tag=se&keywords=entwined+hearts&qid=1779985036&s=digital-text&sprefix=entwined+hearts%2Cdigital-text%2C250&sr=1-2

The Variants: A Jessica Jones Mystery by Gail Simone (writer), Phil Noto (artist), and VC's Cory Petit (letterer)

 

This collection of comics picks up where the last Jessica Jones book left off, with Jessica marrying Luke Cage when she finds herself pregnant with the Purple Man's child. Matt Murdoch has a client who was the first victim of the Purple Man, who takes over people's minds and control of their bodies.  He left this victim alive but promised to return.  Ten years to the date, she kills her entire family while under his control. Jessica talks to her and realizes that it will be ten years for her the next day.  She sends Luke and their child away for their protection.  Every time she gets a massive migraine, a variant of her shows up.  They include Captain America, Omega, Jewel, and Knightress. At first, she tries to fight them, but realizes that they are from other universes.  What these variants are doing here and how to prevent the Purple Man from taking over Jessica again.

Gail Simone, known for writing graphic novels with strong female characters, such as Wonder Woman, takes Brian Bendis's series and expands on it.  Phil Noto, known for his art on several Star Wars books, keeps up the watercolor look started by David Mack.  The art is well done and muted in tone.  My only complaint, and this after reading an incredible story with vivid characters, is that the very end of it, the answer is a little lame.  But this book is still worth reading for the strong female characters and storyline.   

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Variants-Gail-Simone-ebook/dp/B0BQJTC8XB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UFIYP0H3KKV5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VNSToxnQ1_OWPUwaH2Dl15Rwz7l1s_2LVgpvntNzNJtLiB6Ilv0zhjG2qNhqQX-r40a2BmYtpgreiPjwvDhZrGMKisODZJzEmoBMRIomHezKYOXYtujGl9f8qF6WoJ6viXrRbttwCDdTV0AwSFSTpTVmI5__onk5B2jyefP_RzMwPDtCsB5kKKnOqR3zqwVcL4db2rS9Bfsh4Xl5rVJ6I1_gju-SKsJ96RQNtgpntvA.OfMfX-mhXEZfrYtZXubvduEN5yxc0Q-60cqGJzmD2hg&dib_tag=se&keywords=variants&qid=1779816890&s=digital-text&sprefix=variants%2Cdigital-text%2C210&sr=1-1

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

In this third installment of the Dr. Temperance Brennan series, Brennan, a well-respected forensic anthropologist, finds herself called to a plane crash in the mountains of North Carolina.  A girl's college soccer team was on board, as well as her partner from Canada, Chief Inspector Ryan's fellow officer, who was escorting a dangerous criminal back to Canada.  The NTSB believes the plane fell apart in midair due to an explosion.  There are plenty of people on the plane who could have been the intended victim.  

Brennan finds a foot that doesn't belong to the plane crash victims.  It seems to be from a Native American who was quite old.  Brennan goes out to where she found the foot and looks for more body parts with the lone foot. She stumbles upon a lodge where no one seems to live and no one seems to know about.

Suddenly, Brennan finds herself in the crosshairs of the Lieutenant Governor, who has set out to destroy her reputation and career.  Brennan is then kicked off the plane crash investigation, but this doesn't stop her from continuing her investigation into the foot and the mysterious lodge, where a spot against the wall has soil with human remains in it.  The material from the soil matches the foot, but where is the rest of the body, and why is someone trying to stop her from investigating the lodge?  

The ending of this mystery goes far into left field, but you feel confident of going there with Brennan, who is a strong character who refuses to back down from those who seek to destroy her.  Warning, though, when you get into the last third or fourth of the book, you won't be able to put it down, so plan for that contingency.  Brennan must also choose between her estranged, philandering husband and Ryan, who is a mystery and seems to be seeing someone.  

Quotes

Look at you, you're thin as the broth at a homeless shelter.

Kathy Reichs (Fatal Voyage, p 48)

A poster had decorated Pete's office during his stint in uniform, guiding words embraced by JAG attorneys uncommitted to the military system: Indecision Is the Key to Flexibility.

Kathy Reichs (Fatal Voyage, p 221)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Voyage-Novel-Temperance-Brennan-ebook/dp/B000FC0OCC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=193P2IFQNJZI6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m4HgTirQDHstBrTd_mjpT0U09RRH1vNxYZ_zMiM8e7faiYo2xJL9UwrRbQjWe58ixSsJYoHuVOxKIFu3DqHxUlZQrQdP2M8DNP2Yw1SCEMuCvsn9Qw4NRaW9FqgQy597W22Ogq_teGvzsZavAzaVIhzl-f0FYWYkwDMqDsdsqHVNtAKM-Q5_bP5F79oMZ6fx54ouD1_CdwYJu9FimWxgc1w1qDctj6yla3OwMPfN4bs.YJlFwCZdRk4wl50gWrM6yQk_Wk9ihkwkjOpRlwv7iO8&dib_tag=se&keywords=fatal+voyage+kathy+reichs&qid=1779034635&sprefix=fatal+voya%2Caps%2C479&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks:https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/fatal-voyage_kathy-reichs/260527/?resultid=2a43a0dd-e7ae-4303-a6d1-d4e129048be4#edition=2278546&idiq=489659

Cut Off From Sky and Earth by Melissa F. Miller

 

Emily is a women's fiction writer who has been asked to write one of a twelve-book series that features retellings of fairy tales.  She has chosen the Grim tale, Maleen the Maiden, in which a princess defies her father by wanting to marry whom she wants to marry.  Maleen and her hand servant are locked up in a windowless tower for seven years, only to realize no one is rescuing them, and they must break out on their own.  Seven years ago, Emily walked into her apartment to find her roommate dead from a stabbing.  Emily is a readhead and believes that she was the intended target. She hasn't told her husband any of this. Tristan, her husband, works as a forensics expert.  He also knows about Emily's past and believes that the recent stabbing death of a local redhead is connected to what happened to her.  He believes that there is a serial killer who may want to circle back and kill his intended victim, Emily.  Tristan is keeping all of this from Emily due to her anxiety and panic attacks.  He's also hiding the fact that he has an evil brother and a father who committed suicide.   

Tristan's therapist (also Emilly's therapist, though she does not know this) suggests a cabin retreat to get away from all his problems.  Triston sees this as perfect for Emily, who has writer's block and a deadline looming.  The cabin is owned by Alex Liu, a woman running from her own past, who is married to a military man and lives on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  When Tristan and Emily drive down from Pennsylvania and meet Alex for the first time, she tells them that she was born and raised in a small town in Maine, where Tristan lived until he was nine.  Tristan recognizes the redhead as the woman who was stabbed but survived.  He realizes that her stabbing fits in with the others, and the serial killer seems to strike every seven years.  There is a massive snowstorm coming, and Alex and Emily will find themselves all alone with the sense that someone is watching them.

I enjoyed this book that entwines sections of Emily's book with what is going on.  It is a true page-turning thriller.  But as with books of this nature, there is a real twist at the end that doesn't make a lot of sense.  The ending is not as good as the rest of the book, but I'm still going to recommend it because it is a very enjoyable read with interesting characters, including a marriage where both parties are keeping major secrets from the other and believe they have a great marriage.  They love each other incredibly, but do not really know each other.  This book has a great start to it, but fizzles at the end.  I give it three out of five stars.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Off-Sky-Earth-Novel-ebook/dp/B0FCCMLW8T/ref=sr_1_1?crid=10V5AG59VF87O&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SOo_z3jGgQ2d6P2Qh6aXSEGsJgPYnEIdpjiSEEAAjCruAeRYE55nnfQloSgTgxUvyfkdr2ox9A6YNLZTiKP37_vIquUXRxFuklmhVjoW5p4.ElG-pzfbEoCJU-_r6hIhOkWNdp7IbKVjbGQAQQKdhCc&dib_tag=se&keywords=cut+off+from+sky+and+earth&qid=1779030880&sprefix=cut+off+from+%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1