Annual Reading Challenge 2019

[Tiggerish]

The Dog That Whispered by Jim Kraus. Christian fiction with the traditional happy ending but an interesting storyline involving a dog. I read another book by this author, 'Conversion with Saint Bernard' that also involved a dog and liked that better.

Brushed Away (A Benny James Mystery) by Jason Deas. Benny James is a retired FBI agent who occasionally helps the local police in his small town. It was interesting but not enough that I need to seek out any others in the series.

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartel. I got this from the library based on a review from Colleen27 in this thread. As she said, it was a very good read.

93, 94 and 95 of 104

 

[bobbiwoz]

74/75 If God is Love by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland

Offering a way to live in grace, and explaining why it’s right. There’s a lot to absorb.

 

[willowsnn3]

#57
"Q" is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
She was a "Jane Doe," an unidentified white female whose decomposed body was discovered near a quarry off California's Highway 1. The case fell to the Santa Teresa County Sheriff's Department, but the detectives had little to go on. The woman was young, her hands were bound with a length of wire, there were multiple stab wounds, and her throat had been slashed. After months of investigation, the murder remained unsolved.

That was eighteen years ago. Now the two men who found the body, both nearing the end of long careers in law enforcement, want one last shot at the case. Old and ill, they need someone to help with their legwork and they turn to Kinsey Millhone. They will, they tell her, find closure if they can just identify the victim. Kinsey is intrigued and agrees to the job.

But revisiting the past can be a dangerous business, and what begins with the pursuit of Jane Doe's real identity ends in a high-risk hunt for her killer.

This is #17 in the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series. Pretty good.

 

[Disney_Alli]

50/50 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

I definitely cried listening to this one. Partly because I love these stories so much, partly because it was my first time through them since my brother-in-law passed in April and he's one of the only people I've ever know IRL who loves these books like my sister and I do.

 

[Disney_Alli]

51/50 - An Extraordinary Union - Alyssa Cole

I read and really enjoyed one of Cole's contemporary romances earlier but only because I was on the waitlist for this one and while that one was really good this one was... extraordinary. (Sorry dad jokes for days around here)

 

[bobbiwoz]

27. “The Beantown Girls” by Jane Healey. Set in WW II, it is about Red Cross Clubmobile girls who boosted the morale of the troops. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s a time period I’m drawn to, and the characters were very likeable.

75/75 The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In September I went to The Normandy Beaches of D Day and this book added to my gratitude to all who served in WWII.

 

[OKW8297]

34. A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan. I enjoyed this book-feel it ended a little abruptly.

 

[bobbiwoz]

76/75. A Mrs. Miracle Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Christmas joy comes to a family!

 

[Disney_Alli]

52/50 - The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband - Julia Quinn

a fairly light read a a prequel/spin-off from my favorite series of hers. It also appears to be the first in a series so off I go to find the next one.

 

[Disney_Alli]

53/50 - A Hope Divided - Alyssa Cole

This book is a sequel to An Extraordinary Union and I enjoyed it equally. A very well researched fictional story set during the civil war. Excellent.

 

[Kirby]

46/50 - The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester. Genre - Sagas
1940: As the Germans advance upon Paris, young seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee everything she's ever known. She's bound for New York City with her signature gold dress, a few francs, and a dream: to make her mark on the world of fashion.

Present day: Fabienne Bissette journeys to the Met's annual gala for an exhibit featuring the work of her ailing grandmother - a legend of women's fashion design. But as Fabienne begins to learn more about her beloved grandmother's past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak, and family secrets that will dramatically change her own life.

 

[mini22]

35/30-Some Kind of Hero by Suzanne Brockmann

 

[willowsnn3]

#58 The Whisper Man by Alex North
After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.
But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.
Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.
And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window...

Good one. Pretty creepy tho.

 

[OKW8297]

35. The Nantucket Inn by Pamela Kelley. First in a trilogy. Really a sweet book about a middle aged widow and her grown children. An easy read and I’ve already started the second and ordered the third.

 

[mini22]

36/30 -Nora Roberts Land by Ava Miles

 

[Tiggerish]

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen. A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bonds of Sisterhood. This was not a fun read as it deals with very disturbing subject matter in a fairly graphic manner.

The Heritage: A Jewish Historical Fiction Novel by Jack Michonik. It follows the life of Leib Edri who left peasant Russia in 1926 at 16 years old to go to America and make his fortune. Through a series of chance encounters, he ends up in South America. He does make his a fortune in the textile industry and a small but thriving Jewish community grows in the area. The story ends in 1961 with the marriage of his oldest son to a local Catholic girl. It is a wedding that he sees as the beginning of the dying out of his Jewish heritage in this new land.

96 & 97 of 104

 

[willowsnn3]

#59 The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . .

 

[OKW8297]

36. Nantucket Neighbors by Pamela Kelley. Second in the trilogy- sweet, easy read. Last book releases next week....already pre ordered!

 

[bobbiwoz]

30. Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
Light, magical, and sweet. I really enjoyed this.

Thanks for this review, I also enjoyed this book and it is one I would not have read without your having mentioned it.

89 of 104

77/75
I read it and enjoyed it too!

 

[Kirby]

47/50 - Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci. Genre - Mystery
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a tiger by its toe.

It's seared into Atlee Pine's memory: the kidnapper's chilling rhyme as he chose between six-year-old Atlee and her twin sister, Mercy. Mercy was taken. Atlee was spared.

She never saw Mercy again.

Three decades after that terrifying night, Atlee Pine works for the FBI. She's the lone agent assigned to the Shattered Rock, Arizona resident agency, which is responsible for protecting the Grand Canyon.

So when one of the Grand Canyon's mules is found stabbed to death at the bottom of the canyon - and its rider missing - Pine is called in to investigate. It soon seems clear the lost tourist had something more clandestine than sightseeing in mind. But just as Pine begins to put together clues pointing to a terrifying plot, she's abruptly called off the case.

If she disobeys direct orders by continuing to search for the missing man, it will mean the end of her career. But unless Pine keeps working the case and discovers the truth, it could spell the very end of democracy in America as we know it....