Search

Search only in certain items:

Piper thinks a booth at the local fair will be just the thing to get her new pickling business off the ground. However, the second morning, she finds a man dead in her pickle barrel. Can she figure out who the killer is?

The characters in this new series are wonderful, and I was drawn to them almost immediately. The plot was a bit uneven, but the climax was strong and logical. I will definitely be back for the second one.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/05/book-review-pickled-piper-by-mary-ellen.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
This Fallen Prey (Casey Duncan, #3)
Kelley Armstrong | 2018 | Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
10
9.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Kelley Armstrong is a cruel, evil woman.

This Fallen Prey takes you on a rollercoaster as Casey tells you all about the day the Council drops a dangerous serial killer into Rockton without any advance warning.

What you get from that point on is a crazy edge of the seat ride as you try and figure out whether he's really what the council have claimed, or if there's something deeper and more complex going on. With betrayals and deaths and twists that just keep you turning the pages, the third book of the Casey Duncan series does not disappoint.

It does leave us with a minor cliffhanger.. and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!
  
DP
Dark Passage (Kingdom Keepers, #6)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Kingdom Keepers are still on The Disney Dream and the passage from Florida to California. But they may have stumbled on a way to stop the Overtakers in their quest to take over the Disney theme parks.

The climax was great, but for the most part this book wasn't that different from the previous few. Very little changes or gets resolved. I'm hoping that will really change with the next in the series which is supposed to be the last. I'll definitely know that park the best since it is set at Disneyland.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-kingdom-keepers-vi-dark.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
A hardcover slipcase set of the first three books in the FunJungle series (Belly Up, Poached, and Big Game). Join Teddy Fitzroy as has finds danger and mystery involving the animals at FunJungle, a giant zoo/amusement park in Texas. Each book features a different animal as well, from hippos to koalas and rhinos.

These books are wonderful! They are filled with great mysteries, twists, danger, comedy, and characters you'd want to have as friends. Teddy's parents are just as great as the kid characters are. Anyone looking for a great mystery will be glad they read these books.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-review-funjungle-collection-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
This fun between the books e-novella focuses on Kelly, the daughter of the main character. She's just beginning to develop her gift of seeing and speaking to ghosts, but she gets involved in a mystery when a woman approaches her and asks if Kelly can figure out if the woman's condo is haunted. Will Kelly solve the mystery? I found it fun to see a minor character from the series take a larger role in this book, and Granny is a hoot as always. I just wish it had been longer.

My full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-review-silent-ghost-by-sue-ann.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Nabari No Ou - Book 1
Nabari No Ou - Book 1
Yuhki Kamatani | 2004 | Comics & Graphic Novels
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Nabari No Ou is a manga series about a middle school-aged boy that finds out that he holds a very sought-after secret power of a hidden ninja realm. While the book does contain some bloody and violent scenes, it also provides a look at school life, and plenty of humor. It's serious with a humorous overtone. The art is cute, and the book is pretty quick to read. However, you'll want to spend a little time studying the action in some of the drawings so that you don't miss what's going on. I wasn't sure what to expect from this manga, but I've been pleasantly surprised! It's definitely worth a read.
  
Apparently the first in a new series, and (for once) the comparison on the back of the book - which reads something like "in the tradition of Patrick O'Brian and Bernard Cornwell" - is actually pretty accurate!

Having said that, I would've replaced O'Brian reference with CS Forester: some of the events contained in the book have more than a passing resemblance to some of those in the Hornblower novels! The Cornwell reference, though, is pretty much spot on: an outsider officer (naval, in this case) who must contend with both his own immediate superiors as well as the enemy ... sound familiar at all?

Still, I'll be keeping an eye out for the sequel!
  
40x40

Ross (3284 KP) rated That's Your Lot in Books

Aug 1, 2019  
That&#039;s Your Lot
That's Your Lot
Brian Limond aka Limmy | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
7
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not as good as Daft Wee Stories
Some more daft wee stories from Limmy. I picked this up as a holiday read when my current fantasy book became too grim for poolside reading. These short stories are all of a similar feel to the first set but to my mind of lesser quality. The stories are generally all someone getting themselves into a ludicrous situation after a series of seemingly logical decisions. None of these quite match up with those in the first book, and some just end without his trademark twisted punchline. The final story, more of a novella, is more like a rejected Irvine Welsh story than his usual, and is really quite an unpleasant read.