January has flown by for me (I don’t know about you guys).
Indie Authors/Publishers
NetGalley
Reading Challenges:
Here is what I read/posted in November.
As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.
Books I Read:
Books I got from NetGalley:
Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:
Goodreads Giveaway
Books Reviewed:
The Last Huntress by Lenore Borja (review here)
Alias Emma by Ava Glass (review here)
A Broken Clock Never Boils by C.J. Weiss (review here)
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu (review here)
A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor (review here)
Shadowed Intent by Reily Garrett (review here)
Death in a Dark Alley by Bradley Pay (review here)
Conviction by Michael Cordell (review here)
The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang (review here)
Wicked Bleu by E. Denise Billups (review here)
A Maiden of Snakes by Jane McGarry (review here)
Mostly Human 2 by D.I. Jolly (review here)
Shampoo & Condition by M.L. Ortega (review here)
Spies Never Lose by M. Taylor Christensen (review here)
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez (review here)
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Date of Publication: February 8th 2022
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Suspense
Series: Alex Delaware
When the Bough Breaks—Book 1
Blood Test—Book 2
Over the Edge—Book 3
Silent Partner—Book 4
Time Bomb—Book 5
Private Eyes—Book 6
Devil’s Waltz—Book 7
Bad Love—Book 8
Self-Defense—Book 9
The Web—Book 10
The Clinic—Book 11
Survival of the Fittest—Book 12
Monster—Book 13
Dr. Death—Book 14
Flesh and Blood—Book 15
The Murder Book—Book 16
A Cold Heart—Book 17
Therapy—Book 18
Rage—Book 19
Gone—Book 20
Obsession—Book 21
Compulsion—Book 22
Bones—Book 23
Evidence—Book 24
Deception—Book 25
Mystery—Book 26
Victims—Book 27
Guilt—Book 28
Killer—Book 29
Motive—Book 30
Breakdown—Book 31
Heartbreak Hotel—Book 32
Night Moves—Book 33
The Wedding Guest—Book 34
The Museum of Desire—Book 35
Serpentine—Book 36
City of the Dead—Book 37
Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | WorldCat
Goodreads Synopsis:
The past comes back to haunt psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis when they investigate a grisly double homicide and uncover an even more unspeakable motive in this riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.
Los Angeles is a city of sunlight, celebrity, and possibility. The L.A. often experienced by Homicide Lt. Detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware, is a city of the dead.
Early one morning, the two of them find themselves in a neighborhood of pretty houses, pretty cars, and pretty people. The scene they encounter is anything but. A naked young man lies dead in the street, the apparent victim of a collision with a moving van hurtling through suburbia in the darkness. But any thoughts of accidental death vanish when a blood trail leads to a nearby home.
Inside, a young woman lies butchered. The identity of the male victim and his role in the horror remain elusive, but that of the woman creates additional questions. And adding to the shock, Alex has met her while working a convoluted child custody case. Cordelia Gannett was a self-styled internet influencer who’d gotten into legal troubles by palming herself off as a psychologist. Even after promising to desist, she’s found a loophole and has continued her online career, aiming to amass clicks and ads by cyber-coaching and cyber-counseling people plagued with relationship issues.
But upon closer examination, Alex and Milo discover that her own relationships are troublesome, including a tortured family history and a dubious personal past. Has that come back to haunt her in the worst way? Is the mystery man out in the street collateral damage or will he turn out to be the key to solving a grisly double homicide? As the psychologist and the detective explore L.A.’s meanest streets, they peel back layer after layer of secrets and encounter a savage, psychologically twisted, almost unthinkable motive for violence and bloodshed.
This is classic Delaware: Alex, a man Milo has come to see as irreplaceable, at his most insightful and brilliant.
First Line:
Four fifty-three in the morning was too early for anything.
city of the dead by jonathan kellerman
When I got the email to review City of the Dead from the publisher, I decided to wait on it for a little bit. I have heard of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series, and I might have read a couple of books from it (my memory is very fuzzy on that). But that wasn’t why I was iffy about reading this book. My main reason was that this is book 37 of that series, and I don’t particularly appreciate reading books out of order. I ultimately decided to read City of the Dead because I like books that combine psychology with criminal investigations. I prefer (as most people do) to read a series in order. That way, I get a feel for the characters (main and supporting). I am glad that I read it because it was an excellent book.
City of the Dead had an engaging storyline. A pair of movers, eager to deliver their load, is driving down a side street when they are hit by something. Thinking it was a dog, they pull over and discover that they were hit by a naked man who is dead and very unrecognizable. Alex is called to the scene to assess it from a psychologist’s point of view, and while he is there, it is discovered that the man was killed by the moving truck. Instead, a trail of blood leads to a house, where a more gruesome crime is. A young woman is found dead in her bedroom. Alex is shocked to realize that he knows this woman. She is known to him as an expert called into a custody case and exposed as a fraud. As Alex and his friend, Detective Milo, dig deeper into her murder case (and try to figure out who her naked friend was), the more convoluted the case gets. Who murdered Cordy? What was the motive?
City of the Dead is book 37 in the Alex Delaware series. Thankfully, readers can read this book as a stand-alone. I suggest that the reader at least read the blurbs or reviews of the previous 36 books. That way, you can get a good feel for the characters and any secondary characters in the book.
City of the Dead did have a medium-paced plotline. I was a little surprised by the pacing. I did think it was going to be a bit faster than it was. Any books that I have read that mix this genre has been faster. But weirdly, it did work for me. I was able to take some time, digest what the author was throwing at me, and try to form who killed Cordy.
I liked Alex. I think he was pretty chill for being involved in a murder investigation. But, he is on call for the police department, and he does get called to do this type of work all the time, so he could afford to be chill. I also liked how he handled his clients and soon-to-be clients. That one scene with the slimy lawyer cracked me up mainly because he hit the nail on the head with his assessment of him. Talk about a steel backbone with the parents and gentleness with the kids.
The author very well wrote the mystery angle of City of the Dead. The author did a great job of drawing me in from the beginning and making me work on who killed Cordy and her friend. I had thought I had it figured out around the middle of the book. Then, a twist made me go “WHAT” and drop that person from my internal list like a hot potato.
The author did a great job of keeping the plotline on course with the book. The secondary characters that the author introduced didn’t take over the book. A couple of times, the book referenced events that happened in previous books that made me go “huh?” but they were few and far between.
I loved the twist in the plotline. It threw me for a loop when I realized I was wrong about who the killer was. After the twist, the author leaked the why and how very slowly and built up to a memorable end. He was able to tie everything that happened in the book (the killings) and add a few extras that surprised me.
The end of City of the Dead did make me a little sad. Mainly because I did wonder about the child involved and how everything was going to affect her. Alex did give some excellent advice, but still. I still wonder. But, reading this book has also made me want to read the previous 36 books. I do plan on reading them at some point in my life.
I would recommend City of the Dead to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and graphic murder scenes.
March is the month of spring, Daylight Savings, and St. Patrick’s Day (which is also my brother’s birthday).
I plan on doing a lot of reading this month. I need to catch up on my NetGalley TBR (which is huge….39 books).
So, here’s my list. Please let me know if you have read or are reading any of these books!!
February backlog:
March TBR:
The Paradise Tree by R.A. Denny (not on Goodreads yet)
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Personal:
Last week, I had done an update of what was happening with me (why I wasn’t posting). Here’s the update to that.
My arm is better. I got back my full range of motion but it still hurts when I move it in certain directions (like taking my bra on/off or brushing my hair). Other than giving birth naturally (which happened with Miss R), that is the most painful thing I have experienced to date and do not wish to experience again.
We got the results of Miss R’s sleep study. She was diagnosed with periodic limb movement disorder. I am still waiting to hear from the Dr but got the diagnosis from the patient portal when I logged on yesterday. I am expecting a phone call from the specialist today (maybe?) and then we will discuss what will happen going forward.
Mr. Z got his braces last Thursday!!! They only put on the top braces which weren’t something I was expecting. I had thought they were going to do top and bottom. But, ortho explained that he wants the top teeth to start to straighten out before he puts the bottom and the Herbst device on. Mr. Z wasn’t thrilled with that change in plan but oh well, what is he going to do?
Miss B had her doctor’s appointment yesterday (for her 16 well-child) and we found out that she has slight scoliosis of the spine. Her Dr wasn’t that concerned with it. She has reached her adult height of 5’0″ and the curvature isn’t going to affect her in any way. Still, was very surprised to find out.
Reading
I have been reading like a fiend. I have finished 4 books (I think) since last week and plan on finishing at least 2 more by the end of this week. I have caught up with all of my indie authors and now am working on my NetGalley backlog. So yay!!!!
But, I am very behind on reviews. I have two reviews due this week (one I am working on after I am done with this post) and then 2 more that need to get written by next week. I am planning on buckling down after this post and getting at least 2 reviews written today and hopefully the rest is written tomorrow (keeping my fingers crossed).
Watching:
I had been watching the Olympics and put most of my shows on pause while that was going on. I wasn’t too impressed with what was shown. I would have loved to see some of the lesser-known or newer sports on prime time. Instead, it was repeat upon repeat of the same thing. NBC dropped the ball on that one (and I refused to get Peacock to watch what I wanted). I had the same complaints about the Summer Olympics too.
Once they ended, I started watching my shows again. I binged Archive 81 in 4 days. I don’t know if any of you have watched that but it is freaking creepy. I also didn’t like the ending. Put it this way, I didn’t see it coming and wasn’t thrilled with what happened. But, it did lead into a Season 2 (maybe, hopefully). So, we’ll see. Right now, I am watching Chosen. It is a Dutch show about a girl finding out the truth about their small, quiet town. I am still on episode 1 and not really feeling it. But, I felt the same way about Archive 81 and ended up liking it, so we’ll see.
Making:
This week I am making a Philly Cheesesteak French Onion Soup. Not having high hopes for this recipe….lol. BK is home and he is making marinated chicken also, so there is a backup. Next week, I’m making a garlic lover’s pot roast.
So, that the catch up with me. As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and what you have thought about them.
What I Recently Finished Reading:
I wasn’t a big fan of how this book went. It seemed a little rushed. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Mainly because in the first two books, Mare was portrayed as someone different and in this book, she did a 180. Still, would highly recommend this Robin Hood retelling!!
What I am currently reading:
I am enjoying this book. It is a cute read and I am 100% team Grace. Noah is rubbing me the wrong way, even with him trying to make amends. I am about 50% (or so) through and I have a feeling this book is going to get a lot better!!!
What books I think I’ll read next:
All of these books are NetGalley ARC’s that are past their publication date. I am expecting to get to at least the first 3 by next Wednesday.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Personal:
For the 4th week in a row, we are expecting snow here in Western NC. Our local weather people are going insane over this because it never happens. I am OK with it as long as the kids don’t miss school.
Miss R is having a sleep study done. She has been waking up gasping and isn’t getting a good night’s sleep. Her Dr said to do a sleep study to rule out sleep apnea and then onto an ENT. Was not expecting that but it needs to be looked at. Keeping my fingers crossed that the sleep test rules out stuff and that the ENT doesn’t need to do surgery.
Mr. Z has officially applied to the high school of his choice. In my area of NC, the city has 4 different high schools. There is the local high school, the magnate high school, and two charter high schools. His choice (drum roll please): the magnate high school that his sister attends. While she attends the criminal justice academy, he will be attending the computer programming academy. That is if he gets in (but I have it on good authority that he will).
Miss B had to drop out of the air rifle team. Their practices were after school (for the local high school) but during her last period. So she couldn’t attend and she was very upset. She was looking forward to it. I have pushed her into joining the Gay/Straight Student Alliance but she is not really feeling it. In her words: “I don’t need to announce to everyone that I’m gay.” She is debating on trying out for the play (I think it’s called Zombie Prom??) but she hasn’t made up her mind.
Reading
January sucked for me with reading. My start into February has been great and I am hoping to keep my reading streak up. I am a little behind with my indie author reading. I have a paperback that an author sent me that I haven’t picked up and the review was due two weeks ago…sigh. I am also severely behind with my NetGalley ARCs. I am not sweating it, though. A lot of those ARCs have archive dates way in the future and I am getting to them when I get to them. The indie authors are more important.
I am just about caught up with my indie author reviews (I have to buckle down and finish one for tomorrow and one over the weekend). I am caught up with my NetGalley reviews (for once).
Watching:
Honestly, I haven’t been watching much of anything. I have been either too tired to watch TV or I have lost interest in anything that I was watching (except ER). So, any suggestions would be nice.
Making:
I made a chile-lime pulled beef (not pork like I said in last week’s post) on Monday. I served it over white rice. It was alright. The kids liked it but they all said it wouldn’t be something that they asked for again. Next week, I plan on making a beef bourguignon in the crockpot. On paper it looks good, we’ll see about how it tastes. The author of the recipe says to serve it with mashed potatoes but since it has potatoes in the recipe, I’ll be skipping that.
So, that the catch up with me. As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and what you have thought about them. Just a warning, it will basically be the same as last week.
What I Recently Finished Reading:
I enjoyed reading this book. But, I wouldn’t go as far as to recommend it to younger kids. This is a higher middle-grade book (think over 13). There are a lot of very dark undertones in the book. There are also some scenes where younger kids would be scared.
What I am currently reading:
What books I think I’ll read next:
I am listing these in the order that I expect to read them. Barring an act of God (or my kids not having school), I do plan on reading at least the first 4 by next week.
February is the month of groundhogs, love, and the Winter Olympics. I plan on ignoring the first one, celebrating the second, and watching the third.
I also plan on doing reading. A lot of reading. I have carried over a bunch of books from January. Maybe not as much as what I carried over from December, but still a lot.
So, here’s my list. Please let me know if you have read or are reading any of these books!!
January backlog:
February TBR
The Insect Room by Felicity Hughes