Jean's Tending of Her TBR Garden

I'm going to try to keep track of when I bought the books as I ROOT them out:

ROOTS from 2013
God Save the Child - Robert B. Parker
Dark Star - Alan Furst
The Pure in Heart - Susan Hill
Polaris - Jack McDevitt
A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
The English Assassin - Daniel Silva
Bone River - Megan Chance
The Gauguin Connection - Estelle Ryan
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley
Mr Penumbra's 23-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan
Netherworld - Lisa Morton
The Polish Officer - Alan Furst
In the Garden of Iden - Kage Baker
The Damascened Blade - Barbara Cleverly
Mystery Mile - Margery Allingham
The Merchant's House - Kate Ellis
Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
White Nights - Ann Cleeves
The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley
Ice Station - Matthew Reilly
Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey
Seeker - Jack McDevitt
A Christmas Hope - Anne Perry
The Face of a Stranger - Anne Perry
The World at Night - Alan Furst
The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid
The Judas Strain - James Rollins
Murder is Binding - Lorna Barrett
Naked in Death - J. D. Robb
Ex-Heroes - Peter Clines
Gallows View - Peter Robinson
The Masqueraders - Georgette Heyer
Cold Days - Jim Butcher
The Somnambulist - Julian Barnes
The Spirit Lens - Carol Berg
Burn Me Deadly- Alex Bledsoe
When Gods Die - C.S. Harris

ROOTS from 2012
Return of the Crimson Guard - Ian C. Esslemont
The January Dancer - Michael Flynn
A Trace of Smoke - Rebecca Cantell
In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer Fleming
Hammered - Kevin Hearne
The Alexander Cipher - Will Adams
Death at La Fenice - Donna Leon
The Cloud Roads - Martha Wells
Dog On It - Spenser Quinn
Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks
Crystal Rain - Tobias Buckell
The Gods of Gotham - Lindsay Faye
The Bat - Jo Nesbo
The White Lioness - Henning Mankell
The Phoenix Guards - Steven Brust
The Picasso Scam - Stuart Pawson
The Blackhouse - Peter May
The Black Echo - Michael Connelly
Dying Light - Stuart MacBride
The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
A Spy in the House - Y. S. Lee
Her Royal Spyness - Rhys Bowen
Burglars Can't Be Choosers - Lawrence Block
Pines - Blake Crouch
The Alto Wore Tweed - Mark Schweizer



ROOTS from before the beginning of time
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
The League of Frightened Men - Rex Stout
Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks
The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks
Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds
The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
The Day of the Scorpion - Paul Scott
The Towers of Silence - Paul Scott
A Division of the Spoils - Paul Scott
The Old Fox Deceiv'd - Martha Grimes
Dies the Fire - S.M. Stirling

Early Reviewers and other Books given in Return for a Review

Half a King - Joe Abercrombie
Midnight in Europe - Alan Furst
The Martian - Andy Weir
The Marco Effect - Jussi Adler-Olsen
City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett
Peter Pan Must Die - John Verdon

Good to see you, Jean!

No vining? Oh, I like that. Nice to see you here.

Nice to see you and love the "advice"!

Hahaha take thyme for yourself! Love it. :)

Listen to sage advies ;-))

And I have no idea what vining means **oops**. Something to do with grapes?

#7 by connie53> In the US we say complaining is 'whining' which sounds like 'vining' - well, with a bit of an accent replacing W sound with V sound.

Ah! thanks for explaining!

I can relate to the "ROOTS from the beginning of time". I think a great majority of my books meet that description.

#10 by Familyhistorian> :)

Hi Jean. Good luck with your challenge.

#12 by rainpebble> Thank you!

Finally finished my first ROOT, and it is 'From Before the Beginning of Time'




Since LT folks are doing an HP yearly read, I thought I’d join in. I tried the audio version on this re-read hoping I'd find that more interesting than I had the written word, and at least found it amusing enough to listen to the whole thing.

When I first read this, not long after it came out, I found it boring and boorish on several levels. Can you tell I’m not enamored of kidlit?

Since I can get more audios from the library, I’ll probably continue the series, hoping the follow-on books are better.

Congratulations on finishing your first ROOT of the year! I am guessing you may like the later books in the series more. I found they grew much more 'adult' with each book.

Thanks for that Mary Ann. I was hoping that would be the case!

It certainly is, Jean. Much more 'adult'.

#17 by connie53> yay!

My second ROOT:

2. Return of the Crimson Guard - Ian C. Esslemont





Back to the world of the Malazan Empire with this book from Esslemont. Epic fantasy at its most epic, with world size wars, fought by tough men and women who appreciate the miseries and the horrors of their craft.

Not for the faint of heart, grim complex storyline and plot, lots of intrigue, backbiting, betrayal and the occasional honorable person who makes it all come together.  But don’t be so sure the good will survive.

TIOLI, ROOT (2012), GeoCAT, RandomCAT, Category Challenge Cat 1

Looking good Jean. I really enjoyed the Harry Potter series when I read them. My grandson challenged me to read them with him so we could discuss them. It was quite fun.

Oh majkia! Now, here you have the reverse of the Harry Potter thing. Return of the Crimson Guard would definitely be too mature for me! (Laughing)

#21 by Merryann> LOL, Mary Ann. Yeah, they are polar opposites aren't they.

Belva, I bought them for my granddaughters who loved them, so I felt I had to read at least the first one back then.

3. God Save the Child - Robert B. Parker



The second installment in Parker’s Spenser series, takes place in the 70s. Dated in some ways, intriguing in others. A bit sexist but comparatively speaking, for the time, not too bad really. More dated is the morality of the time, but true, I think, as I remember the days.

Spenser is hired to find a missing 15 year old boy. At first it seems like he’s run off, but a few days later, a ransom note arrives. And then things get more bizarre from there.

Interesting twists and turns, and Spenser’s smart arse commentary and retorts amuse.

And the clothes are a hoot. I remember them well.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), 2014 Category Challenge, CAT 5 Whodunnit, MysteryCAT, GeoCAT

ROOT #3 ! Very good.

from tor.com

4. Dark Star - Alan Furst




Second in Furst’s Night Soldier series follows a Soviet Jew newspaper man through the rise of Hitler, and the beginning of WWII. At first a spy for the Russians based in Germany when war begins his world is turned inside out and he flees through Europe.

I love how Furst shows what little control people in those circumstances have over their lives. At the mercy of powerful elements shoving them and forcing them this way and that. I also love that Furst downplays the horrors you know are going on around his characters. He keeps the focus on the story rather than the horror.

A terrific series with insights into the mood, realpolitik and underside of the run up to war.

TIOLI, 2014 Category Challenge, Category 7 - Spies and Lies, ROOT, AlphaCAT

5. The Pure in Heart - Susan Hill


Second in Hill’s Simon Serailler series, is just as deep and complex as her first. Simon, on vacation in Italy, is called home to the bedside of his sister. In her 20s she has the mind of a baby, and has been ill and in a home all her life, but Si cares deeply for her and rushes home when it looks as if she’ll succumb to this latest illness.

He arrives home just as a 9 year old boy has gone missing.

As with the first mystery, Si and his family figure prominently and at times the mystery of the boy takes second place to the mystery of Si himself, and his complex and multifaceted family and their friends. We delve into what it means to love, how we love, how we view the world and how we learn to deal with the tragedies and horrors it holds for us.

I can see how this might not appeal to everyone, as much of the mystery remains by the end of the book. But realistically speaking, the police don't always solve cases of child abduction, so I personally found that of little concern.

ROOT, TIOLI, 2014 Category Challenge Cat 5 - whodunnits, and a part of a series I hope to concentrate on this year.

Five ROOTS done already. Good for you, and it looks like you've had some interesting, thoughtful reading, too!

Second in the Nero Wolfe series, takes on a group of men who are responsible for a horrible accident to one of their number. They are certain he is killing them off.

Some of the story was interesting, but I found the morality of the time a bit wearing. I expected the attitudes toward women, so that wasn’t a surprise, but the continual use of ‘cripple’ to describe the main suspect I found annoying and troublesome.

Archie can be amusing but also annoying in his attitudes as well. Nero is a bit less so, which I found surprising.

A ROOT from before the beginning of time, a TIOLI, a 2014 Category Challenge - 5 - Whodunnit, MysteryCAT and GeoCAT

A down-at-the-heels starship captain takes his broken down ship to a world off the beaten path to mine for metals to fix his engines. When they start excavating they find instead a buried chamber which holds alien artifacts. He picks up the only one that is movable and there starts the tale of the January Dancer.

The artifact might be a powerful object and everyone and their siblings are after it. Thus begins a chase across the galaxy to get control of the Dancer.

The book is written as a tale a harper wants to set to music from an old man she finds in a bar. It’s an interesting method of telling the story but complicated it and made it a bit harder to follow for me.

ROOT (from 2012), 2014CC (Cat 3 - Travels in Time), RandomCAT, January Jaunts, and my first TBR Challenge

You are really on the right track, Jean!!!

oh I always do great for the first month or two, before the new and the shiny start to distract me from my straight and narrow path to the TBR pile!

Keep on track!! We will help you!

Majkia - I have the same problem, so let's press on while we're still motivated and dedicated TBR ROOTers!

8. A Trace of Smoke - Rebecca Cantrell



First of the Hannah Vogel series, the story begins with a 30 year old single woman on her own in 1931 Berlin, The Nazis are just beginning to step up their persecution of Jews and homosexuals.

Hannah’s young brother is a gay man who sings and dances at a gay club in the city. She writes a column for the newspaper and goes to the police station to gather information for a column and finds her brother’s picture on the wall of the unknown dead newly discovered in the city. He’d been stabbed and thrown into the river, naked. She admits to no one her brother is dead and determines to discover who has killed him – someone he knows? Or some roaming bad of Nazi soldiers?

The story takes many twists and turns and the discovery of the killer is complicated by secrets and lies her brother told and kept and the need to hide her interest from the authorities for fear she herself might be killed by learning too much about very powerful men.

I appreciated this view of Germany after the Great War and as Hitler was just beginning to create his fascist state. Hannah as believable and her actions obviously those of someone who navigated dangerous waters just barely ahead of people out to keep her brother’s secrets secret.

I hope to continue this series soon.

A ROOT (from 2012), a 2014Category Challenge (Category 8 Spies and Lies), a TIOLI and a RandomCAT.

#34 by Caramellunacy> oh fer sure!

You see you can do it!! Good for you.

9. Polaris - Jack McDevitt



Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider in Space!

Second in the Alex Benedict series.

Alex and Chase run a small antiquary company on the planet Rimway. Alex has a nose for finding lost or unknown antiquities and Chase pilots their superluminal ship. Between the two of them they’ve got a penchant for getting into trouble, rubbing planetary authorities the wrong way, and sticking their noses in where no one thinks it’s a good idea.

This time, through a series of events, they begin to get interested in the ship Polaris. The ship disappeared for a month or so with a small complement of crew and very well-known passengers. When the ship was finally found, no one was aboard. This all happened 60 years ago and no one has ever figured out what happened. Alex doesn’t figure it was some unknown alien who spirited the crew away, but who was it, and why?

But the more he researches the ship and the lost passengers the more his life and Chase’s suddenly are at risk. But whoever doesn’t want him and Chase looking into it, hasn’t realized how stubborn, and determined either he or his lovely partner are.

A ‘locked room’ mystery. Lots of fun. And the secrets are well worth discovering!

A ROOT (from 2013), a RandomCAT, a 2014CC (Cat 4 - Fame and Fortune)

Polaris sounds like a ton of fun. You sold me as soon as you said Indiana Jones in Space. I'm always on the lookout for space adventures :) On to the wishlist it goes - especially since you enjoyed it!

#39 by Caramellunacy> I hope you'll like it. I really enjoy the fact that Chase is just as competent as her employer, in some ways moreso!

10. Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks



This is a re-read for me, in order to join a group reading of the Culture novels at Library Thing.

This book certainly brought up a lot of mixed emotions for me. I spent 20 years in the US Air Force, most of it working with fighter pilots. The warrior culture at it's best. Needless to say, given that comment, all 20 years I was seen as an outsider, a rogue and a troublemaker. I retired at 20 years, as soon as I could.

Even though my particular career field was computers, not directly combat related, even so I participated in some vile things and watched lies and damn lies used to further the drumbeats for war and conflict, and worse, politics. I watched grown men cry when a Democrat was elected president, because, of course, they’ll sell us out.

Sorry if I offend anyone. Just my personal thoughts regarding my career, and still at odds with all my retiree friends and even my spouse.

More specific to the book: I found the depiction of the Idirans and Horza, and yes Belveda quite realistic throughout the book. I also agree with the depiction of the futility of war, how little the grinding reality of folks caught up in it matters in the big picture, and how it changes us and hardens us and makes us crazy, driving principles and conscience into a tiny little box as we’re caught up in the madness of group psychopathy.

ROOT (before the end of time), group read of the Culture, 2014Category Challenge, Cat 1 (Big Damn Heroes, Anti-Heroes)

February reading plan:

Currently reading:

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (xmas Swap)- AlphaCAT - TIOLI 1
A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny - TIOLI 5

On Deck:

In the Bleak Midwinter - Julia Spencer-Fleming - MysteryCAT TIOLI 2
The English Assassin - Daniel Silva - MysteryCAT TIOLI 8
Café on the Nile - Bartle Bull - GeoCAT
P.G. Wodehouse - Thank You Jeeves - GroupRead
Revelation Space - Peter F. Hamilton - TBR Challenge, AlphaCAT - TIOLI 1
Hammered - Kevin Hearne - AlphaCAT TIOLI 2
Chocolate Chip Murder Mystery - RandomCAT, GastroCAT - TIOLI 20

11. A Rule Against Murder - Louise Penny (aka: The Murder Stone)




Fourth book in the Armand Gamache Three Pines series, finally a murder happens in Quebec that isn’t in the tiny village of Three Pines. I was beginning to wonder….

Armand and his wife Reine-Marie are on vacation at a lodge hidden deep in the Quebec woods on a pretty lake. They go there every year for a few weeks, and this time they are there to celebrate their anniversary.

A wildly eccentric extended family arrives and under Armand’s nose, one of them is killed.

As usual the mystery and the killer are relatively minor factors in the book, the focus being on the psychology, the links, and the philosophy of the characters, Armand front and center.

I enjoy the series but am not a rabid fan as some folks I know are. They’re interesting and a little bit different in focus so I’ll keep reading them.

ROOT(2013), TIOLI, MysteryCAT, AlphaCAT, 2014CC (Category 5 - whodunnit). As usual, that mystery category gets filled up fast. I need a way to distribute mysteries to more categories! Maybe by geography or something... Sigh.

I want to live in that cover!!

yes. isn't that goriegous?

What a beautiful picture! I feel rested just looking at it!

12. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline




Parzival is the avatar for a young high school student. His life is a misery (as are so many others) and like so many others is ‘real’ life is in the OASIS, an online immersive world. When the creator of that world dies, his avatar announces that he’s leaving his unbelievable fortune to whoever can find three keys and the three gates they open.

Five years goes by with millions of kids trying to solve the first clue, in competition with a massive real life organization who wants to win the contest and take control of OASIS and start charging everyone to log on which would make kids like Parzival be unable to access the game.

Then Parzival has a breakthrough. He solves the first clue and suddenly he isn’t only competing for the prize, but fighting for his life against a corporation that will stop at nothing to win the contest.

A great fun read, lots of 80s nostalgia. Not just gamer nostalgia but music, TV series, movies and books as well.

I must say after the first three or four chapters, I wasn't sure I'd like this as much as I'd expected to. I'm a bit tired of dystopias and not all that crazy about teenage boys, but once the quest actually begins it is great fun. And there is a minimum of teen angst and hormones so that fear, ahem, dried up fairly quickly.

I do love quests and puzzles so was delighted with most of the book, and the dystopia was far from the central part of the story.

A ROOT (2013), an XMAS Swap I received from qebo, a TIOLI, a 2014CC (Cat 9 The Stars Made Manifest (ERs and Gifts))

The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks




The second book of Iain M. Banks’s Culture series, is startlingly different from the first one. The first, told from the viewpoint of someone outside the Culture, who hates it, was a rousing and crazy space opera. This book is instead a ‘comedy of manners.’

It follows the adventures of a Culture man whose entire existence revolves around playing games. Any game, any challenge, he will take on. So when Special Circumstances asks him to travel to another civilization and represent the Culture in a game that is the major be all and end of of that world, he agrees.

Fascinating world building, complex characterization, and terrifically detailed ideas on the clash between two worldviews that are entirely at odds and struggling to understand each other.

ROOT, TIOLI, and part of the Culture Series Read. 2014CC, Cat 1 - Big Damn Heroes etc.

15. The English Assassin - Daniel Silva



Second in the Gabriel Allon series.  Gabriel, an art restorer and ‘retired’ spy is approached by his former boss at Mossad and asked to make contact with a Swiss Banker who has contacted Israel and asked for a clandestine meeting, which is set up as a normal meeting to discuss the restoration of one of the man’s paintings.

But when Gabriel arrives to meet this man, he finds him dead. Things quickly escalate and Gabriel finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy and the target of an English assassin.

TIOLI, ROOT, MysteryCAT, 2014CC - Cat 7 Spies and Lies

I really like the cover for Ready Player One. If it was a big poster on my wall, I'd probably sit and stare at it for about ten minutes trying to look behind all the big marshmallowy letters at all the things behind the words.

16. Hammered - Kevin Hearne



Our favorite red-headed druid has to pay the piper. He’s called on friends to help him and now he has to take his friends to Asgard to kill Thor, as he’s promised for their help.

I wasn’t as enamored of this book as I have been the previous two, but will continue the series to follow his adventures and to hang out with Oberon, best dog in the fictional universe. Also, to see how Druid Child does.

Lots of bad things happen in this book and I’m sure the consequences will hammer our druid as a result.

I wasn't as happy with this book mainly because of the loss of his friends and that I pictured Atticus as far more peaceful. And here he's a warrior. I'm not sure that fits with his religion.

ROOT (from 2012), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 2 - Sword in the Darkness}, AlphaCAT

I keep on hoping those books will be translated into Dutch. A few members of my Readclub in Holland read everything in English and they thought this was a very nice series.

Oh I hope so for you as well, Connie. I think you'd enjoy them!

We are camping this week at St George Island State Park. It's a narrow island surrounded by lovely water. It's been cool here too but finally warming up.



Sunset from our RV's doorstep.

Thay looks perfect! *sigh*

But it looks cold also!!

our high today was 17C our low tonight will be 8C. Not very cold. What you might think is snow is sand.

Beautiful! Very serene looking.

St George Island Beach

Ohhhhh.....so beautiful!

17. The Alexander Cipher - Will Adams




Daniel Knox is a down on his luck archaeologist stuck in Egypt where he’s radioactive and cannot work on any dig. So he takes a job as a dive instructor for a notorious gangster so he can earn enough money to pursue his own quest for anything having to do with Alexander.

When Knox, knowing better but doing it anyway, defends a young woman from the gangster he suddenly finds himself pursued across Egypt.

Meanwhile, several other people suddenly come upon clues that might lead them to Alexander’s tomb. Knox, hiding out with an old friend in Alexandria, passes himself off as a diver gets a low level job at the dig.

Certainly not fine literature but this is the sort of thriller I really enjoy. Archaeology, ciphers, clues and a race to find a tomb.

I couldn’t put it down and will definitely try book two of the series.

ROOT (from 2012), TIOLI, 2014CC - Cat 4 Fame and Fortune, GeoCAT (Egypt)

#60 by Merryann> The area is really lovely and not that built up. We plan on a return trip next year.

Ooh, The Alexander Cipher looks like a lot of fun - that sort of thing is right up my alley, too!

#63 by Caramellunacy> I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

>59 majkia:, I may have to come back here sometimes just to rest my eyes on that picture. :)

It's even prettier knowing it looks like that, as opposed to some places where I'm aiming the camera at the one small slice of sand that's not filled with people and quickly taking the shot.

That beach is absolutly gorgeous!

And it goes on for miles that way. :) There are a few folks on the beach but there are also long stretches like that.

But why!! In holland there would be sunlovers all over the beach!

Hahahaha! Well, there are quite a few miles of free beach here too, and you have to pay to use the beach here at the state park unless you are camping here.

18. Bone River - Megan Chance




A woman is brought up by her father to be an ethnologist, then when he dies more or less handed off to his assistant. She marries Junius because that is what her father wants, and she loves the wild and rough life of Northwest Washington coast in the 1800s.

She thinks herself happy until she finds a mummy, decides to study it and it begins talking to her.

This is the second book of Megan Chance’s I’ve read. She’s wonderful at evoking eerie atmospheric settings and here she is wonderful with it. You can almost feel the cold constant rains and the water in your books as you gather oysters and relics.  You can almost hear the dead speaking to Leonie as she fights to retain her scientific ideal even as her body is struggling with her dreams and her voices.

She veers toward romance for a bit, but I’m willing to forgive that bit because of the strength of the atmosphere she evokes.

TIOLI, ROOT (2013), 2014CC (Cat 6 - Historical)

My first RANDOM READ- I've decided to use random.org to select a book from my TBR mountain each month.

I just went to random.org to see what it was. What a cool idea!

yeah, I thought so too! I like the random book it selected for March too.

So, you generate a number and in my case it was 84. And what do I do then?

I just go to my To Read collection and find the 84th book listed by however it is shown when I go there.

19. The Gauguin Connection - Estelle Ryan




I particularly love two kinds of ‘thrillers’.  Those about chasing down archaeological artifacts (on Earth or elsewhere) and art heist/forgery. Perhaps I watched the Thomas Crown Affair too many times, but I do love art thieves and forgers, probably because of necessity they have to be pretty educated and the crime is generally more about putting something over on others rather than just an attempt to gain filthy lucre.

At any rate, I did love this book. And the main character, a high-function autistic woman, is terrific. She’s smart, she has her life organized and feels fulfilled. She has a job reading people for a high priced insurance company who mainly insures art.

She reads people’s expressions and body language in order to tell if people are lying or to understand how they are interacting, if they are hostile to one another, or are cooperating.

She’s asked by law enforcement and her boss to help when an artist is found murdered by a weapon that was stolen from a European law enforcement agency.

Then the thief, throwing her well structured and safe life into a tailspin, breaks into her apartment and asks her to help him stop more artists/forgers from dying.

I can’t wait to get to the next book in this series.

ROOT, AlphaCAT, MysteryCAT

We are home from our RVing adventure to St. George Island State Park, near Carabelle, FL. We had a great two weeks despite having a site that flooded every time it rained. We honestly didn't care except we worried about it last night since we had to leave this morning. But we had no problems getting out of the site and made it home in good shape.

Now I just have to catch up on everyone's threads....

Jean - you've definitely made me want to pick up The Gauguin Connection - archaeological and art heist thrillers are my favorites, too. Love the Thomas Crown Affair, too... Have you read Heist Society by Ally Carter? It's a YA novel, but a lot of fun about an art heist pulled off by an Ocean's Eleven style posse of teenagers (though fewer than 11). I read it a while back and enjoyed it a lot.

#77 by Caramellunacy> I have not read Heist Society but will definitely take a look at it. Sounds right up my street! Thanks for the suggestion! And I hope you enjoy The Gauguin Conspiracy. I love the thief. He's very cool!

20. Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds



In a distant future, where faster than light travel does not exist, habited planets are strewn throughout the galaxy and are isolated except for their nearest neighbors given the time and distances that need to be traversed to link them up.

Ultras, humans who have, er, evolved/altered themselves, to live on light-hugger ships that travel the great distances, are even more isolated, as they can have no real ties on planets where they might not return for hundreds of years.

An obsessed archaeologist, who had gone to one planet where there are ruins of one of the few alien civilizations they’ve discovered existed, is haunted and driven by the disastrous consequences of his experiences there, which no one really understands. Nor, really does he seem to understand what happened to him. Still, he wants to go back there, to discover the truth about the Amarantans if he can.

Meanwhile, someone has hired an assassin to kill him, and she’s gotten herself aboard a light-hugger ship to come for him.

And, why, given how hospitable the universe seems, given what humans have learned about it, are there no other alien cultures, but only the husks of destroyed alien civilizations?  What’s happened to them all?  Where are they?

A very complex and rather grim universe is depicted with all the obvious failings of humans still present and affecting humanity’s civilization.  Will we, can we, ever learn?

First of a series.

ROOT, TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 3 - Travels in Time), an AlphaCAT and a TBR Challenge Book.

I love the picture, beautiful.

Since it doesn't look like I'll get my current books finished by end of month, here are the February Stats:

Total Read: 10 - female authors 4, male 6

Pages Read: 3758 - longest book: 592, shortest: 311

Breakdown by genre:
3 SciFi
1 Fantasy
4 Thrillers
2 Mystery

All 10 were ROOTS, 8 TIOLI

2014 CC challenge- state of play:

Cat 1: Big Damn Heroes: 2
Cat 2: Sword in the Darkness: 2
Cat 3:Travels in Time: 3
Cat 4: Fame and Fortune: 3
Cat 5: Whodunnits: 5
Cat 6: Historical/Alt History: 1
Cat 7: Spies and Lies: 3
Cat 8: So Say We All (group reads): 0
Cat 9: Stars Made Manifest (ERs and Gifts): 1
Cat 10: Librarians Rock: 0

My TBR Challenge to read 12 books from a pre-selected list: 4/24

Did Not Finish: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke

Favorite of the Month: The Alexander Cipher - Will Adams tied with The Gauguin Connection - Estelle Ryan

Lovely photo!

I've read the first two in that Estelle Ryan series. I understand that the fourth book in the series just came out a couple weeks ago.

Beautiful picture. If I had time, I'd just sit here and gaze at it. :)

21. Death at La Fenice - Donna Leon



First of a series of contemporary mysteries set in Venice.

Guido Brunelli is called to the opera house in Venice to investigate the death of the Conductor, a man who is considered the greatest conductor of his time. He’s found poisoned.

The main character of the book is really Venice itself. I loved the atmospheric descriptions and the concentration on settings and descriptive prose. Brunelli, in contrast with Venice, is a bit dull. He’s happily married, content and not particularly deep. But he does read people well and that goes a long way to helping him solve the mysteries surrounding the man and the murder.

I’ll read more of the series to enjoy the setting. And due to the fact this was a mystery I actually didn't figure out long before the end of the book.

22. The Cloud Roads - Martha Wells




First Book of the Raksura.

Moon has no idea who he is, never mind what he is. He’s different and has never seen another person like himself. He’s a shifter, can fly, and is living among groundlings. But he’s forced to flee often when his secret is discovered.

He’s learned to trust no one, with good reason, but when someone who looks like him saves his life, he reluctantly agrees to accompany his new friend Stone to Stone’s colony.

It’s a tale of self discovery, facing one’s fears and hopes, and learning to reach out to others so we can find a place for ourselves in the world.

There’s an interesting romantic subplot, which is crucial to Moon’s decisions, but does not drive the story.

Lots of suspense and action as Moon helps Stone and Stone’s people defeat the dreaded Fell who pray on everyone.

Very well written, with powerful female characters, lots of character development and complex and intriguing world building.

Will definitely read more of this series and Martha Wells in general.

A ROOT (from 2012), TIOLI, and 2014CC (Cat 2 - The Sword in the Darkness)

First book of the Raj Quartet. A wonderful, powerful book depicting British and Indian relations at the height of WWII when Gandhi was pushing for Independence and the British were more focused on defeating Japan and Hitler.

It’s the story of a rape, the events leading up to it, and how all sides, and individuals see it and interpret the events so differently, through their own prejudices and assumptions.

I read his way back in about 2000, so it was a surprise to see how well it held up to a re-read.

2014CC (Category 8 - So Say We All- Groupreads), a ROOT, a TIOLI.

24. Dog On It - Spencer Quinn




Chet might have failed K9 training but he’s landed on his feet, and is now a partner of the Little Detective Agency along with his human Bernie. When I young girl goes missing and the dicks are hired by the girl’s mother, Chet and Bernie set out on a journey to find the girl and bring her home.

A fun story, narrated by Chet who tends to be just a tad forgetful, but he remembers the important things, like half-off BBQ coupons, you can be sure!

TIOLI, ROOT, 2014CC (obviously Category 1 - Big Damn Heroes), and my RANDOM.org selection for March.

25. The Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas




A re-read for me. Actually, I listened to an audio version this time. Good fun, although I confess I found the supposed wonderfulness of Milady a bit hard to take. Or are men really that easy to dupe?

TIOLI, ROOT (from before the beginning of time - okay, before LT), and a group read.

26. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley



Flavia is a child who is introverted, smart and isolated from her dysfunctional family. When she finds a dead bird, then a dead man in her garden, she’s determined to use her knowledge of chemistry and her brains to figure out who killed him and to prove her father is innocent.

I can see where Flavia can be annoying to many people, but for me, she brought back a lot of my own childhood memories and miseries. Very nice scene setting, and interesting mystery, although watching Flavia figure it out was the most interesting thing.

ROOT (from 2013), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 6 - historical), RandomCAT and MysteryCAT

A Day Late and a Chocolate Bunny short but still, Happy Ostara everyone!

I never heard of Ostara! But I googled! It's like the Equinox, isn't it?

Love the picture!

Thank you, and to you also. :)

Dog on It sounds great. Was it? Was it funny? Was it too violent for very squeamish readers like me?

28. Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks (The Culture - 3)



Third novel of Banks’s The Culture. It follows a man frequently hired by Special Circumstances to destabilize planetary governments or sometimes to begin wars. He does the nasty things The Culture pretends to be above.

Told with two different timelines, one moving forward, the other backwards, we discover who this fellow is, and what his background as been, and why he is so very very effective.

Complex, in depth look at the characters with humor coming from the drones, as usual, and a surprisingly dense and complex look at the all too human cost of war.

Initially I had some issues with the two differing timelines, but after a bit it became easier, and by the end I saw how effective the technique proved to tell Zakalwe's story.

TIOLI, ROOT (2012), 2014CC (Cat 3 - Travels in Time - SciFi)

29. The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny



Fifth book in the Armand Gamache series, once again Three Pines, that tiny perfect village, has a murder to contend with. Emphasis is, per usual, on the odd characters who live here. Can one of their own be a murderer?

I continue to have a problem with so many murders in a tiny village, but otherwise, great character development and exploration.

ROOT(2013), 2014CC (Cat 5 - Whodunnits), AlphaCAT

29. Crystal Rain - Tobias Buckell



On an alien world settled primarily by Caribbean peoples, there is a battle raging between the Azteca, who believe in human sacrifice and worship their Teotl gods, and the rest of the population who worship the Loa and have been successfully holding back the Azteca with a mountain fort that commands the one useable pass through the Wicked Highs. But the Azteca dig a tunnel and invade.

The ‘gods’ are aliens of two different types who appear to be using the humans to continue to fight a long-standing interstellar battle. But the humans have little choice at this point but to fight for their lives.

An interesting and complex world, with lots of details. The characters are well-drawn and there are layers that complicate the main characters.

My main point of contention with the novel is the use of a patois for the locals that I found irritating to read. I kept having to go back and reread spoken sentences, not because I didn’t understand them, but because the English was twisted and it bothered me. Not to say others won’t find that not a problem, however.

This is the first book of a series, and I might, at some point, continue on, if only to learn more of the external world and the past history hinted at in this book.

A ROOT(2012), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 3 - Travels in Time) and a TBR challenge book.

30. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan



He has the strangest expression on his face -- the emotive equivalent of 404 PAGE NOT FOUND.

What a terrifically fun book. It’s got geeks, and a secret society, and books, and a quest and, yes, singing dragons!

What more can one want?? Okay, the dragons don’t really feature a lot in the plot but still….

If you understand the quote you’ll enjoy the book! Even if Google has stopped following its dictum of 'Don't be evil.'

TIOLI, ROOT, TBR Challenge, 2014CC (Cat 4 - Fame and Fortune) , AlphaCAT

Death at La Fenice - Donna Leon - AlphaCAT, TBR, TIOLI 2
The Cloud Roads - Martha Wells TIOLI 21, AlphaCAT, TBR
Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott group read TIOLI 8
Random Choice: Dog On It - Spencer Quinn TIOLI 9
The three Musketeers - Dumas group read TIOLI 10
Sweetness at the bottom of the Pie - MysteryCAT,Random TIOLI 17
Whispers Underground - Ben Aaronovich TIOLI 1
Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks TIOLI 3
The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny - AlphaCAT
Crystal Rain - Tobias Buckell - TIOLI 14
Mr Penumbra's24 Hour Bookstore - TIOLI 14, TBR, AlphaCAT

10 ROOTS, 11 Books Read, 4 of the TBR Challenge, 11 2014CC, 10 TIOLI.

3 Female authors, 8 Male Authors

3865 pages

2 historical fiction
1 period mystery
3 fantasy
1 urban fantasy
2 sci fi
2 mystery

My 31st ROOT for the year, first for April:

Netherworld - Lisa Morton



I obtained this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewer program.

Diana found her husband was far more than the titled handsome and fine man she married. She discovered he was a gatekeeper, one of the last to defend the gates to the Netherworld. When her husband goes to Transylvania and disappears, she feels required to take up her duties herself, but she plans not to just guard the portals, but instead to close every one of them she can find. Needless to say, she makes enemies on the far side of the portals.

A good first effort, but I certain scenes seemed to go on too long, and they dragged as a result. But I enjoyed the world building and the characters were all well drawn and interesting. I especially appreciated a fully capable heroine, and one who is admirable.

2014CC (Cat 9 -Stars Made Manifest - Gifts and ERs), ROOT(2013), TIOLI.

All I can say is "Wow!" 31st ROOT of the year, already?

#99 by tymfos> Hah! Well, I have to get the ROOTS read early as the new and shiny have already begun calling to me...

32. The Gods of Gotham - Lindsay Faye



I listened to an excellent audio version narrated by Steven Boyer.

New York City in the mid 1800s was a patchwork of competing and warring tribes. The newest immigrants getting the worst of it (the Irish) at that moment. But political bosses and religions were just as divisive. It was in the midst of that wild madness that the first police force was formed, most of the members of that force selected by the Democratic party bosses, rather than by any person looking for any real credentials. But then, policing was mostly knocking heads together, rather than solving crimes.

Into that mix comes Timothy Wilde, whose brother is a political boss and whose former job ended in a huge fire that swept through the city.

Timothy, much to his own surprise, finds he takes to the task, and when he discovers a dead kinchin, he’s swept up by his emotions and desires to solve the death of this little unwanted child. When yet more bodies turn up, he’s driven to create his own methods to find out just who is responsible and make them pay.

Beautifully written, period details are well drawn, and the tale is atmospheric and moving. You can almost imagine the misery that so many people experienced then.

The mystery itself is complex enough to draw you in and compel you forward to want to find out the whole story.

TIOLI, ROOT (2012), 2014CC (Cat 6 - Historical)

33. The Bat by Jo Nesbo


First in the Harry Hole series, set in Australia, rather than at home. Harry has come to Australia because a Norwegian woman was murdered and he’s there to investigate and find information about what has happened.

Not much in the way of character development for Harry in this book, and I thought it far too full of info dumps. Hopefully I’ll like others in the series better.

2014CC (Category 10 -Scandicrime), TIOLI, ROOT (from 2012)

34. The Polish Officer - Alan Furst



The third book in the excellent Night Soldiers series, follows a Polish Officer as he escapes from Poland just as the Nazis take his country. He joins the resistance and fights over much of Europe as he does whatever he can to help the Allies defeat Hitler.

Wonderfully done, understated on the violence and with a disturbing insight into the miseries of all out war.

2014CC (Category 7 - Spies and Lies), TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), AlphaCAT, GeoCAT

35. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville



China Mieville has such a rich imagination that the locations where he sets his works are a character in themselves. The city of Crobuzon is no exception. It is a rusting out, miserable run-down place populated with a multitude of peoples centered in various areas of the city. But most, traveling the city’s version of mass transport, will pass through Perdido Street Station.

The story begins with a renegade scientist’s quest to help a tortured Garuda regain his lost wings and return to the air. But the story quickly devolves into a quest to stop creatures that are terrorizing the city and leaving a wake of mindless bodies in their wake.

Complex, depressing at times, maddening at others, never boring.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2009), 2014CC (Category 6 -Steampunk), AlphaCAT

36. The White Lioness - Henning Mankell



Kurt Wallander is a struggling with the changes happening to his world. His country is changing and he’s not sure he’s happy with its new-found ways. But he’s also a cop so he’s focused on trying to find a missing woman.

From the first he’s baffled by seemingly unrelated clues that keep complicating the search.

When he finds her dead, he’s even more baffled because he can find no reason whatsoever that she’d be the victim of a crime, never mind the victim of what appears to be an assassination.

A terrific series and this a worthy entry to it.

TIOLI, ROOT(from 2012), 2014CC (Category 10 - Scandicrime), TBR Challenge, GeoCAT

I loved Station Perdido. I got **** stars from me too!

it was a great read. he's got such a great imagination.

37. A Stranger in Mayfair - Charles Finch



Something of a transitional book for Charles Lenox. He’s a newly minted member of Parliament and newly married, attempting to find his feet in both circumstances, and finding, to his dismay, that he misses sussing out murderers. So when an opportunity to do so arises, he finds that more interesting than putting his shoulder to the wheel with regard to blue books and study of proposals in Parliament.

Uh oh. Has he made a mistake?

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), 2014CC (Category 6 - Historical)

38. In the Garden of Iden - Kage Baker



First in the time travel series The Company, a wildly imaginative world where time travelers from the future create ‘immortals’ who then work for The Company collecting data, things, plants etc from the past to improve the lives of the people of the future.

They can only change children into immortals though, so they select children at risk to recruit to their purpose. Mendoza, a young child the Spanish Inquisition has locked in its dungeons is thusly recruited.

She grows up in a Company compound and the Garden of Iden is her first assignment.

It had a bit more romance than I like, but I suppose that was inevitable given the religious theme and the title. I did enjoy the story and especially the world-building.  I’ll read more of the series.

2014CC (Category 3 - Travels in Time), ROOT (from 2013), TBR Challenge.

I like the sound of In the Garden of Iden!

Great reading, Jean! I really love the Kurt Wallander series.

I am being exceedingly bad. I'm hooked on the Simon Serrailler series and going to read every book. Alas, they are not ROOTs.

Now I want to go watch the old Johnny Depp movie Crybaby again so I can remember how that song goes: 'feels so good to be so bad'? Something like that...

LOL

39. The Phoenix Guards - Steven Brust



More or less a retelling of The Three Musketeers set in Brust’s fantasy world of Dragaera.  Humorous swashbuckling antics in the highly political arena of House politics the disparate friends defy the odds and manage duels with all sides.

A ROOT (2012 SantaThing), 2014CC (Cat 9 Stars Made Manifest - Gifts and ERs)

40. Behold, Here's Poison - Georgette Heyer



I really enjoy Heyer’s mysteries. The murders are intriguing but really secondary to the complex social interactions of the characters. And the dialog is sparking and very much ‘airy persiflage.’

ROOT (from 2013), Tioli, MysteryCAT, 2014CC (Cat 6 - historical)

I like the cover!

#116 by MissWatson> It is gorgeous isn't it?

41. Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser



Accidental hero, self-admitted cad, coward, sexist, racist, and all-round asshat, Flashman stumbles into situations which kill better men and leave him looking like a shining example of the British Empire at her best.

A satire of Victorian ideals and prejudices, it is painfully funny and takes no prisoners.

ROOT (from 2013), 2014CC (Cat 1 Big Damn Heroes), TIOLI, GeoCAT

#118 Dear old Harry, so reprehensible and so much fun...

he is such a cad....

42. The Damascened Blade - Barbara Cleverly



The third of the Joe Sandilands mystery series. Joe ended the Great War stuck in India and he can’t seem to ever make it home. Here he begins taking a vacation to the NW frontier to visit one of his mates from the war. Unluckily for him, he gets a call and finds himself assigned to protect an American heiress who is looking for the mystery, magic and exotic wonders of India. She didn’t find that in Simla where she’d been pretty much locked up in the British cantonment, so she weedles her way to the one place where a shooting war could break out any time.

Not long after she arrives, along with some British high mucky mucks, a Pathan group arrive to escort a doctor through the Kyber Pass to Kabul. On the night of the welcoming dinner, one of the guests ends up poisoned.

I love this series, set in the 20s, and Joe is an interesting mix of stern DCI and military type who understands how politics can complicate matters.  Lovely local color and always an exotic feel for this series.

ROOT (from 2013), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 10 - Mysteries set elsewhere)

43. Mystery Mile - Margery Allingham



The second Albert Campion book, a bit better than the first, but Albert is still getting fleshed out. Not a bad mystery, though, and the setting and characters are well drawn.

ROOT (from 2013), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 5 - whodunnits)

43 books already! Way to go, Jean!

44. The Day of the Scorpion - Paul Scott



Second in the Raj Quartet, The Day of the Scorpion extends the examination of the last days of the Raj, as WWII comes ever closer to those living in the British Cantonments of India.

Told from multiple viewpoints, we return to the fallout of the rape of an English woman a year before. The Indians are still pushing for independence, the Brits are crying foul as the Japanese come closer and worse, are using some captured Indian soldiers as their own front lines.

Told incredibly intimately, and beautifully.

Due to my continually putting off read ER and other books that I've gotten in return for a review, because I want to ROOT, I'm changing my own rules to include these books as ROOTS. They are still getting off my TBR, after all. And I want to stop feeling guilty when I put them off!

>125 majkia: It's your ROOT to change. So go ahead!

45. - Half a King - Joe Abercrombie



Prince Yarvi, with a withered hand, has always known he'd never be king. His father and his older brother are warriors. He's perfectly content to become a minister, and for this he is suited. He's smart and clever (not the same thing).

But then all his plans go awry. His father and his brother are killed by treachery. And he's drawn into a complex world he's not equipped for. Then things really get bad.

This is Joe Abercrombie's first shot at YA fiction.  His adult fiction is bloody and uncompromising and deals with multiple layers of morality. I'm delighted to say the only thing that has changed in this book, is the level of violence.  His world is still just as complex and multilayered and his characters have to try to wend their way through choices that are bad, worse and impossible to make.

Very nice job.

This was a win from NetGalley so even though I've only recently got it, I'm counting it as a ROOT.

Very nice job of tickling my curiosity, too. I liked my first taste of Abercrombie and this sounds very readable!

I like Abercrombie too!

46. The Merchant's House - Kate Ellis



First in a series. Wes Petersen is newly assigned as a detective sergeant to Tradmouth, a small city on the coast of Devon. When he arrives he finds that a friend of his is heading up a dig nearby. Wes has a degree in archaeology, so wants to spend free time with his buddy Neil and hear about what they are discovering. In the meantime, a woman is found murdered and he’s drawn immediately into a complex and baffling case. Do they even know who the murdered woman is?

I found the mystery a bit too easy, but I liked the characters and the setting was well drawn. I love the parallel to what is being discovered at the dig with what is happening in current day. It seems little changes over time. Little that matters, anyway.

47. Doomsday Book - Connie Willis



\Historians who travel back in time necessarily take a lot of risks. But when Kivrin goes back things definitely go pear-shaped.  Firstly, she arrives extremely ill, and nearly dies, and then things go from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, back in her own time, a major outbreak starts up and puts the team who she hopes will open the net to retrieve her are equally ill and have no idea that she isn’t where she should be, but is instead in the midst of the Black Death.

I can see where some people found this book repetitive and slow going. It is that, especially in the first 200 pages or so. But at the same time, it is riveting, and emotional and awesome in its breadth and depth of understanding.

48. Midnight in Europe - Alan Furst



Furst is in his element in painting the febrile underside of life in Europe in the late 1930s as everyone knows a war is coming. He focuses in this book on expats from Spain who are attempting to send armament to the Republic despite the efforts of a number of countries to interfere in their efforts. Russia and Germany are both building up their own armaments so do not want those resources sent to Spain.

Furst is very good at atmosphere and tension, and as usual downplays the violence, although there is some. He creates believable and complex characters who are multi-faceted and nowhere near what 007 taught us to expect of our spies.

48. From Doon with Death - Ruth Rendell



First in the Inspector Wexler series. I was a bit disappointed in this, as we learned little of the Inspector and he came across, to me, as not at all the sort of guy I’d like to know better. Hopefully that will change as the series progresses.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), 2014CC (Cat 5 - Whodunnits), MysteryCAT

49. The Absent One - Jussi Adler-Olsen



Second book in the Department Q series, Carl Mørck returns to follow a cold case, where the convicted killer might actually be innocent.

Adler-Olsen can paint the most horrific murderers, and he doesn’t fail to continue that trend here. Hard to read at times, but compelling and complex. His characterization of the murderers is impressive and convincing.

TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 10 - Scandi Crime), MysteryCAT, AlphaCAT.

50. White Nights - Ann Cleeves



Second book of the Shetland Island series, Jimmy Perez returns to investigate the death of an Englishman found hanging in a fishing shack.

As usual for her, the setting is as important as the characters and the plot. Wonderful descriptions and complex characters, whose pasts are dredged up as Jimmy tries to understand just why this man is dead and just who he is.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), 2014CC (Cat 9 Whodunnit), MysteryCAT, RAndomCAT, GeoCAT, and AlphaKit. :)

51. The Picasso Scam - Stuart Pawson

more coming in a bit.

52. The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley



Listed as YA but not really in my opinion.  Well written, with lots of non-stop action and surprises. Character development was nicely done, and the world building and descriptions were gripping.

I could barely put the book down, I was so eager to see what was happening next.

I've only read one other Robin McKinley - Sunshine. I enjoyed that but since I'm not much of a vampire fan, I wasn't all that crazy about it. I enjoyed this one very much though.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), RandomCAT, 2014CC (Cat 2 - A Sword in the Darkness)

54. The Blackhouse - Peter May

DS Fin MacLeod is sent to the island where he was born and grew up when a murder there is eerily similar to one he’d been working on in the mainland of Scotland. He’s a mess, when he arrives, due to the death of his son and the subsequent breakup of his marriage. He hadn’t wanted to go but it was go or lose his job, so he went.

From the moment of his arrival, his childhood memories and connections to the murder victim and all the suspects force him to remember things from his childhood he’d buried and did not want to resurrect now. But the longer he stays, the worse it gets, and the more we learn of the murder victim, Fin, and the others on the island.

This is a powerful novel, not easy to read or stomach in parts, Fin comes across as a not very likeable fellow. But as we learn more of his childhood, we see how his past has formed him and how he’s had to deal with it.

The ending is very emotional, and I’d advise abuse victims that there are lots of triggers especially in the second half of the book.

And As to Fin forgetting the abuse that we learn of at the end, I myself only remembered my own when I was in my mid-forties, triggered when I was working with a woman with a child who was being abused, and we were talking about the little girl's behavior due to that abuse. I'd realized there was something very wrong in my childhood and had sort of guessed what it was, but that was intellectual rather than the emotional crash I experienced at that moment. So from personal experience, blocking that stuff out is entirely realistic

53. Ice Station - Matthew Reilly

What a terrific thriller. Action is fast and furious and things go pear-shaped from page one. The characters are well drawn and interesting, the descriptions of the action places you right in the thick of things, and the plot is buried in the action, so you are drawn from scene to scene wondering how the heck Scarecrow and his tactical unit can possibly survive from one moment to the next. Couldn't put it down.

A 2014CC (Cat 1 - Big Damn Heroes). a ROOT (from 2013), and a GeoCAT.

55. The Towers of Silence - Paul Scott

Third book of the Raj Quartet. Further detailing the events of the first and second books, and moving forward to the end of WWII.  The British people are beginning to see the writing on the wall, and know that their world is coming to an end.

Such a wonderful, if very sad book. Scott’s way of telling the story is so very different from most novels, and yet so very intriguing. Seeing the events from different viewpoints, each one colored by assumptions and prejudices.

TIOLI, ROOT (from before the beginning of time), 2014CC (Cat 8 - So Say We All)

56. Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey

Second book of The Expanse series.  

Terrific space opera. Political implications, a shooting war about to start between Mars and Earth, a lost little girl, and the protovirus loose. Again. And Jim Holden and his rogue ship and crew  are once again in the middle of things.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2013), 2014CC (Cat 3 - Travels in Time), TBR Challenge, AlphaCAT

57. Seeker - Jack McDevitt

Third book of the Alex Benedict series. Alex is an antiquities dealer and a guy who goes out in search of them throughout the galaxy. His pilot and partner, Chase, does her best to keep him alive, although sometimes that is pretty hard to do, as Alex has a lot of enemies not to mention his penchant for dangerous places.

I really enjoy these books, told from Chase’s POV. She takes Alex with a healthy dash of salt and is by far the more sensible and practical of the two.

In this book, Alex is off on a quest to find his time’s equivalent of Atlantis, a very long lost colony.

ROOT(from 2013), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 4 - Fame and Fortune)

58. The Black Echo - Michael Connelly

First of the Harry Bosch series, a dark, gritty, noirish book about a Los Angeles detective looking into the death of a tunnel rat he knew in Viet Nam.

Harry is suspected by Internal Affairs of nefarious things, so not only does he have to deal with a search for a murderer, but also the IADs men who follow him around. And from there it goes to worst when suddenly the FBI is involved.

Definitely will read more of this series. I do like Connelly’s novels.

TIOLI, ROOT (from 2012), 2014CC (Cat 7 - Spies and Lies), TBR Challenge

>144 majkia: That's a series I want to get to! I think I read one (in the middle of the series) ages ago, but want to go back and start at the beginning there.

59. A Christmas Hope - Anne Perry



I received this book as an Early Reviewer book from Library Thing. It is the latest of Anne Perry’s Christmas series, set in London during the 19th Century.

It chronicles a married woman’s attempts to discover the truth behind the murder of a street walker, murdered during a party at the home of a wealthy acquaintance.

I found it a tad bit heavy handed, but enjoyed it quite a bit despite that. Nice to see a woman, despite the realities of her limitations in her society, stick to her beliefs and values despite pressure and win through.

ROOT (ER from 2013), TIOLI, 2014CC (Cat 9 - The Stars Made Manifest - ERs and Gifts). AlphaKit

60. Dying Light - Stuart MacBride



Second book in the Logan McRae series, Logan is as usual in trouble. He’d lead a botched raid into a warehouse and a PC has been shot. But that is the least of his worries as he’s assigned to the F*&^& up squad as they find prostitutes who have been beaten then killed.  Oh, and there appears to be a drug war going on in Aberdeen.

Gritty, gruesome at times, but with the gallows humor I’ve come to love in his characters, MacBride takes us on a wild ride through the gritty parts of his city.

ROOT, TIOLI, 2014CC (CAT 1: Big Damn Heroes), MysteryCAT

You made your yearly goal, didn't you? Congratulations!

I did! THanks!

61. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly. Fairy tales within fairy tales. All interestingly fractured. (from 2012)

62. Face of a Stranger - Anne Perry First of the William Monk series. Will be reading on. (my audiobook is from 2013 but I've had the paperback far longer).

63. The Martian - Andy Weir

'duct tape is magic and should be worshiped'

Yes, The Martian should be subtitled MacGyver in Space.

The Martian mission had landed and all was well, until a violent storm swept over the Habitat and caught the crew outside. Mark Watney is swept away, and struck by flying debris. His suit alerts the ship his bio readings are flatline. The rest of the crew fights to get to their vehicle and leaves Mars only barely in time to survive themselves.

Then things get weird for Mark Watney when he wakes up and finds he's alone, hurt and has to figure out how to survive for four years, until the next mission arrives on Mars, with no one knowing he's alive.

What a terrifically fun book! Mark's upbeat, snarky attitude toward Mars and the problems he faces proves he's just not going to let being stranded, nearly killed and then facing starvation kill him, despite Mars's best efforts.

Mark: 'You're sending me to space in a convertible?'

And NASA is just as snarky and geeky

At NASA 'oh no,' Mindy said. 'I might lose my job as an interplanetary voyeur?' 'I remember when you were shy.' 'I'm space paparazzi now. The attitude comes with the job.'

NOTE: I received this copy free through Blogging for Books in exchange for a truthful review

A ROOT because it fits my ER criteria.

>151 majkia: I'm currently reading this and couldn't agree more. What fun!

#152 by MissWatson> It is a terrific book!

Congrats! It looks like you are "finished" with this challenge!

Thanks Tess! But I'm still counting to help with the group totals.

Good idea, I'm doing that, also!

Yes, you reached your goal, Congrats!!

And reading for the group total is something i plan to do too.

Hooray, well done on meeting your goal. I'm just 3 away from mine (admittedly I did revise it downwards from my original goal), so hopefully will be able to add to the group total too.

go, Jackie, go!

64. Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal.

An interesting start to a series, that details the adventures of a young British woman, raised in America, who is in London at the outbreak of war. Due to friends, she takes a job as a secretary at 10 Downing Street when her predecessor is murdered. Lots of spies, terrorists, both German and Irish, and secrets are revealed.

65. Farthing - Jo Walton

First in the Small Change series, set in an alternate world where Hitler captures all of Europe and comes to a peace with England. Jews have fled when they could but up until the story begins, Jews are safe, if merely put up with in England.

The main story is that about the murder of a politician at Farthing, a country house. The man is found dead with a German Jewish star pinned to his chest, and the only Jew around is, of course, in the frame.

A difficult book to read because it shows us how easily all our assumptions about safety and humanity can be overthrown.

Definitely planning to continue the series.

You've zipped right past your goal! Great going!

Congratulations on surpassing your goal!

The Martian sounds like a good book. :)

Well done!

66. The World at Night - Alan Furst.

Paris, just before the Germans roll in is a city trying its best to ignore reality. Of course, it can't do so for too long, and that's the case for Jean Casson as well. First he's call up to duty to fight the invasion, but when the French army collapses he has to find his own way to survive, and maybe even strike a blow or two for France (much to his own surprise).

ROOT from 2013

67. A Spy in the House - Y. S. Lee - A fun romp through Victorian London. (ROOT from 2013)

68. The Mermaids Singing - Val McDermid - First in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series about a profiler and a budding partnership with a female detective. Can be quite grim, and unsettling as you find yourself looking out the eyes of a serial killer. (ROOT from 2013)

69 The Marco Effect - Jussi Adler-Olsen

Curmudgeonly detective Carl Mørck runs his Department Q - closed cases only - in his own way. His assistant Assad, is a Middle Easterner with lots of secrets, some that keep Carl up at night. And his other assistant Rose, has her own problems, one of which is telling Carl off whenever she thinks he needs it.

This out of his squad finds them looking into a missing persons case, with ties to Africa. Meanwhile, a young boy, Marco, is forced to flee when his thieving clan decides he needs to have his legs broken to make him a better beggar. How exactly these two cases fit together leads Carl, Assad and Rose into a world filled with both the down and out and the filthy rich.

Adler-Olsen creates wonderfully complex and intriguing characters, all of whom have depth and breadth. His plots are intricate and told with just enough humor to alleviate the meanness and venality he uncovers.

I received this book through Peguin First Reads for an honest review.

(ROOT because its an ER)

70. Her Royal Spyness - Rhys Bowen

Fun romp through 1930s London (and a short stay in Scotland) with a minor royal. Since Georgie has no money, her return to London is a bit strained. So she has to come up with some schemes to help her find a way to eat. Oh, and avoid the Queen who wants to marry her off to another royal family. And, try to figure out just what that handsome Irish man who keeps running into her is up to. And there's that annoyingly upsetting dead man in her bathtub. (ROOT from 2012)

71. Burglars Can't be Choosers - Lawrence Block

Bernie might be a burglar but he isn't out to hurt anyone. So when he's approached to burgle an apartment for one specific item (a blue box -no not the Doctor's Blue Box), he figures it's easy money.

Well, it was until he's caught flat-footed by two flatfoots. Oh and he too finds an annoyingly dead guy though this one is in the bedroom at least, not the bathtub.
(ROOT from 2012)

72. A Division of the Spoils - Paul Scott

Final piece of the Raj Quartet. WWII has ended and India is about to gain its independence. The British 'occupiers' are pulling out or at least making arrangements for dealing with their new reality.

Incredibly complex social commentary marks the entire series as we see events from all points of view. Alas, not everyone finds their new reality a happy one.

73. The Judas Strain - James Rollins

Fourth in the Sigma series, our intrepid soldier scientists are trying to discover how a mutant virus has gotten loose and more importantly how to neutralize it.

A solid entry in the series. Good fun.

74 Murder is Binding - Lorna Barrett

Cozy murder mystery, first in a series. At least the women talk about things other than guys. I've decided these fluffy books are just not my cup of tea. I like my heroines a bit less perfect.

75. Naked in Death - J. D. Robb

First in the 'In Death' series. A book to my taste as far as the mystery and noirish aspects go, and that it is a bit science fictiony is a plus. However, I could have done without so much of the panting sex stuff. I have several others in the series, which I might read to see if there is less in subsequent books, but I don't see this as becoming a favorite series.

76. Ex-Heroes -Peter Clines (bought in 2013)

Interesting world building. But as I'm not a fan of zombies I had to struggle a bit to keep with it. Fun for the most part, with some surprises. I have book 2 of the series so I'll probably read that and hope for the best.

I'm currently reading City of Stairs which I got for free through Blogging for Books. I was unhappy with it when I started reading it, since it is written in present tense which I really dislike. But somehow this version of present tense is not so annoying as most books I've struggled with .

I'm definitely getting into it, and enjoying it a lot.

77. City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett

What is reality? Is it something solid and independent of us, each and every one of us? Or is it created by what we believe, and how we think it is? Can we make the world change by merely creating a shared reality that we all agree to live within? And if so, how can that be altered? Can it be?

Saypur, once a vassal state to the Continent, enslaved, kept poor and controlled, suddenly, by the hand of one man, the Kaj, manages to kill the Divinities that provide the power and knowledge to the Continent. And then, with their protection gone, Saypur goes on to conquer the Continent and turn the tables utterly.

Generations later, a young woman, Shara, who has served Saypur as a spy and provocateur, arrives at the central city on the Continent, the city the Divinities had created as their own, to investigate the death of a rather unimportant professor who'd been sent to Bulikov by Shara's superior.

Shara arrives, and as she delves into the reasons for the professor's death, she finds out that what the professor has discovered could very well change everything.

This was a terrific read. A strong female protagonist, a complex plot, world-building that was deep and elaborate and well-planned. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a fantasy that has depth and thought behind it.

I received this book for a review through Blogging for Books in return for an honest review.

78. The Old Fox Deceiv'd - Martha Grimes

This is a re-read for me, second in the Richard Jury series. I really adore this mystery series. Richard Jury is such a sweetheart. He's always got an eye out to any children and dogs involved (not to mention fresh snow to stomp through) and doesn't mind bending the rules in hopes of meeting out justice as opposed to just locking up the bad guys.

And his buddy Melrose Plant is adorable even as Melrose's Aunt Agatha is a hoot.

79. Gallows View - Peter Robinson

I was a bit disappointed in this book, mainly because I’d just watched DCI Banks on netflix and it was beautifully broody with lots of shots of the location.  None of that was in this book, alas.

The mystery was intricate and the character complex, and I already have book 2 so I’ll read it and hope for more atmosphere!

WOW, that's a lot of reading for the group!

I try. :)

80. The Masqueraders - Georgette Heyer (a ROOT from 2013)

Not at all what I expected when I began it, this comedy of manners and silliness of society tells the tale of a pair of grifters, who are masquerading as brother and sister, with the added fun of a sex reversal for both of them.
Confusing at first, but great fun once it gets going. Can they manage not to be caught, when certain acquaintances begin to look into their backgrounds?  And just why are they so intent on keeping up the disguise and what exactly is their mysterious father up to?

81. Cold Days - Jim Butcher (ROOT from 2013)

Fourteenth in the Harry Dresden series.  Harry, once a lowly magical PI in Chicago, is now the Winter Knight for Mab a Queen of Fairie (It’s a long complicated road).  He’s not happy in his new position and is even less happy when he hears the world is in danger and he’s the only one who can do something about it. And, of course, Mab picks right then to give him is first assignment, and it’s a doozy.

Very much the usual sort of story, with Harry so harried on all sides he doesn’t have five minutes to think about anything, but is rushing around ducking enemies and trying desperately to come up with a plan to save the world.

The usual suspects put in an appearance and do what they can to help him.

The end was a real surprise, and it changes the game once again, with Harry reeling as his position suddenly impacts his friends – again.

Wow-lots of great reading and well past your goal! Congrats

Thanks Tess!

91. The Dervish House - Ian McDonald

A typically complexly plotted and dense sci fi entry from McDonald. The location is a major part of the story with wonderful descriptions and atmosphere. The characters are intriguing and interesting, and you can't imagine how these disparate people will eventually come together to resolve this futuristic thriller.

I loved it.

92. Pines - Blake Crouch (ROOT from 2012)

First book of the series,  Wayward Pines.

A sort of cross between the TV shows Twin Peaks and The Prisoner.

Ethan, a Secret Service agent, is on his way to Wayward Pines, Idaho, to investigate the disappearance of two of his colleagues., when he is involved in a major traffic accident. At first he can’t remember much, not even sure who he is. But as his memories come back, he’s faced with stranger and stranger facts regarding the town, its inhabitants and if he will ever find a way to leave.

108. The Cabinet of Curiosities - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Third in the Pendergast series, this one finds our mysterious FBI agent once again haunting the halls of the Museum of Natural History. A tearing down of an old NYC neighborhood has uncovered a buried basement that is full of bodies, bodies that have had horrible surgical practices done upon them.

Pendergast again enlists the help of a museum employee and the reporter Smithback to discover the secrets of the serial killer. And, as the investigation progresses, a copycat is suddenly killing more people.

At last we learn more about Pendergast, his interests and a little of his past.

A compelling read, with definite touches of horror.

We woke up to a surprise.



Grand daughter Kerra gave birth to her second child, a boy, Ryvr James. Her hubby is currently in Afghanistan with the Air Force.

Her mom took her to the hospital yesterday afternoon having contractions but they sent her home. She got home and a few hours later her water broke. Back to the hospital.

They'd planned to induce her on the 17th so we weren't expecting his arrival quite yet!

Congratulations!

Lovely little boy! congrats.

Thanks for the kind comments and positive thoughts! Mom and Son are doing very well!

85. Peter Pan Must Die - John Verdon (ROOT because it is a Reviewer book)

4th Book in the Dave Gurney series.

I received this book free through Edelweiss publishing in return for an unbiased review.

I have not read the previous Dave Gurney books, and although I'm a serial reader and try to only read series books in order, I did not feel too confused regarding happenings in the previous books, even when they are mentioned directly.

The characters were interesting and complex enough to keep me interested. The settings were interesting and colorful and fit the story quite well.

As for the puzzle and the mystery, I solved it long before our crack detective got to it. Even so, I enjoyed the psychological complexity involved in trying to understand who the killer was, and what the motivation for the murders were in the first place. And I can see how assumptions can easily blind people personally involved into missing key pieces of a puzzle and thus be led astray.

In short, I enjoyed the book and found it interesting enough to consider reading the series from the beginning.

Congratulations, what a beautiful baby boy!

86. Dies the Fire - S.M. Stirling

First in the Emberverse series, 4th if you include the Nantucket books.

One of the best writers of dystopia novels, in my opinion. Stirling concentrates on how people will adapt, change, adjust, survive when a real disaster strikes.

In the Nantucket series, the island is hit by some sort of brilliant light and sent back in time to the Iron Age.

In the Emberverse series, he moves westward to Idaho and we learn the same event did not move the rest of the world into the past, but instead just turns out the lights as well as stops every other machine beyond the very basic sort.

We follow two people primarily: Juniper, an old fashioned witch as she calls herself, a believer in the goddess and the coven leader of a small group, and Mike, who, when the change comes is piloting a small plane across Idaho taking a wealthy family to their ranch for a vacation.

Mike first has to fight his suddenly non-functional plane to the ground and keep himself and his passengers alive, then he has to trek them out of the wilderness to find some sort of help. It takes them a bit longer to realize what has happened, although Mike is aware that his emergency equipment is non-functional, like the plane.

Juniper, meanwhile, is caught in a small town, and experiences the first evidences of lawlessness and violence. She’s a smart cookie though, and works to get herself, her daughter and a few friends out of town toward the small cabin she inherited from her grandfather.

Highly recommended, but bluntly violent given the situations the good guys find themselves in. Still, good to see how people can learn to rise above disaster and fight to do what is right.

That sounds real good, Jean!

87. The Spirit Lens - Carol Berg (a ROOT from 2013)

Genre Rating:

Portier de Savin-Duplais is a failed magician. He’s archivist at the Collegia Magica. He’s settled, and expects nothing more. But one day his distant cousin, Phillipe, the King of Sabria, requires his presence. With that visit, Portier is drawn into an investigation of a plot to kill the king. And, Portier meets a very different, very frightening mage, who while they investigate proves almost everything Portier believes about magic to be wrong.

Interesting and well drawn world. The characters are complex and the writing is very good.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed the narrator.

Hi Jean, just popping in and saying Hi.

Hi Connie! Thanks for the drive-by!

88. Burn Me Deadly- Alex Bledsoe (ROOT from 2013)

Genre: Fantasy, the sword kind. Rating: Great fun.

I was too old to keep having ephiphanies.

But the advantage to my plan was that, for the most part, all I had to do was wait. Since there was no way to get around this animal, it seemed an especially good plan.

Eddie LaCrosse is a sword-jockey, as he calls himself. He's a bit past his prime, has an, ahem, colorful background, and is therefore smart- most of the time- and has no illusions.

So when a girl who'd obviously been beaten and tortured runs into him on the road, he's a bit less than enthusiastic to help her. But, well, what the hell, he doesn't have anything else on at the moment.

Well, that's when things start going pear-shaped.

Second in the Eddie LaCrosse series (and how can you not like a hero named Eddie), Burn me Deadly is a fun read, with a reluctant hero, some intriguing pals, and a chase that keeps you guessing throughout.

I look forward to reading more of Eddie, Liz and Little Blackie.

>193 majkia: Sounds good, Jean.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

89. A Conspiracy of Violence - Susanna Gregory

Genre:  Historical Mystery

Rating: Very Good

A complexly woven mystery set in the aftermath of the Restoration. Tomas Chaloner was a spy for Therloe, the spymaster for the now dead and not missed Cromwell. Charles II is firmly in place but there is still much thoughts of revenge and suspicion regarding those who were seen as helping Cromwell and killing the King when he took power.

Chaloner is newly returned from Holland where he’d been spying on the Dutch, and is now penniless and masterless.  He becomes sucked into conspiracies, or at least perceived conspiracies and finds himself unable to trust anyone but his Dutch lover.

Then things get even more complicated.

Colorful and detailed settings, well developed characters and a mystery that keeps one guessing throughout most of the book.

90. The Alto Wore Tweed - Mark Schweizer (ROOT from 2012)

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating:  Good

I confess I missed a lot of humor in this book, since it is based on Episcopal church happenings. But I did enjoy what I understood and found the main character a hoot, literally, when he gets his owl.

The mystery was pretty convoluted and was hard to solve which is a plus especially for cozy mysteries.

If you get all the musical and religious humor you’ll enjoy it probably more than I did.

Wishing everyone happy holidays. Especially, Happy Mithras Day!

Happy holidays to you too! :D

91. When Gods Die - C.S. Harris (ROOT from 2013)



Genre: Period Mysteries

Rating: Very Good

Second in the Sebastian St. Cyr series of period mysteries.

It is 1811 and Prinny is, as usual, in Brighton. But he wasn’t prepared for the dead woman he found in his rooms.

Devlin is called in and asked to investigate. Did the Regent kill her, or was it a set up?  Devlin is inclined to tell them all to go to Hell, but then he sees a necklace around the dead woman’s neck. The last time he’d seen that necklace was around his mother’s throat just before her sailboat sank and took her to the bottom of the channel.

Nicely complex characters, with a hero who can be single-mindedly bloodthirsty yet caring for those he loves. The miseries of the time were all too clearly painted. The murder and the mystery surrounding it was convoluted and complex enough to keep me from figuring out the fine points throughout.

I’ll be eager to get to the next in the series.

I received some great books from my LT Santa:

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Alehouse Murders by Maureen Ash
The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
A Darkling Sea - James L Cambias

@diana.n did a great job! And, I had a lot of great suggestions in the comments, as well. Thanks everyone!