Just Because It's FRIDAY Book Haul

Just because it’s freakin’ Friday and I got paid Book Haul.  Let me tell you, I be out of the house by 11:30am every other Friday to handle some business.  Once that’s done, I hit up bookstores while the traffic is low.  And today, here’s what I got…

1.  The Gunslinger by Stephen King.  Tried to read this thing back in 2008–per the urging of a co-worker.  I couldn’t get into it, and eventually sold my copy.  Flash-forward eleven years later; I think I’m finally ready for it.

2.  The Institute by Stephen King.  While I stopped buying Stephen King books upon their releases (mainly because of shelf space), I ended up bending to The Institute.  I had it on hold at my library.  However, being number 15 in line didn’t sound fun.  This was one of those purchases where I knew I would think about the book until I bought my own copy.  So I just did it.  Plus, I love the cover's composition!  And it sounds interesting.  Maybe if it’s good I’ll go back and check out some of his latest releases that I’ve skipped over the past few years.

{CHIT OL' CHAT} I Read My 1st Robert Jordan Wheel of Time Book (And YES, It Was the Prequel)

CHOP IT UP: Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark (Cass Raines Chicago P.I. Book #2)

4 1/2 Cozies Mysteries YOU Recommended

NEW RELEASE ~ J D Robb's Vendetta in Death ~ Eve Dallas Came to Town Again

Vendetta in Death by J. D. Robb (Amazon affiliate link)

"She calls herself Lady Justice. And once she has chosen a man as her target, she turns herself into a tall blonde or a curvaceous redhead, makes herself as alluring and seductive as possible to them. Once they are in her grasp, they are powerless. 

The first victim is wealthy businessman Nigel McEnroy. His company’s human resources department has already paid out settlements to a couple of his young victims―but they don’t know that his crimes go far beyond workplace harassment. Lady Justice knows. And in one shocking night of brutality, she makes him pay a much steeper price. 

Now Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, are combing through the evidence of McEnroy’s secret life. His compulsive need to record his misdeeds provides them with a wide range of suspects, but the true identity of Lady Justice remains elusive. It’s a challenging case, made even more difficult by McEnroy’s widow, who reacts to the investigation with fury, denial, and threats. Meanwhile, Lady Justice’s criminal crusade is escalating rapidly, and if Eve can’t stop this vigilante, there’s no telling how much blood may be spilled…"

CHOP IT UP: Blanche Cleans Up by Barbara Neely

CHOP IT UP: Blanche Passes Go by Barbara Neely

Current & Future BWMW Series Reading Plans

Sooooooo. I spent the first week of August polishing off Barbara Neely Blanche White series, as well as Nora DeLoach’s Mama series. The second and third week I finished Chassie West’s Leigh Ann Warren series. But, also, the grande dame Eleanor Taylor Bland’s, Marti MacAlister series. All four mentioned were series I’ve been reading featured entries for the past seven to eight years. And, well, they’re some of the founding voices in this whole area of mystery reading.

Down the line I have Charlotte Carter’s jazzy Nanette Hayes series to finished. Years ago I ended up reading the second book in the series, Coq au Vin, thinking it was the first book. And, well, now I have the proper first book, Rhode Island Red, and the third and final book, Drumsticks, available for later consumption.

There's also a fourth book, but evidently it never got published. BOO! Anyway, it's been a long time since I read a book featuring musician/amateur sleuth Nanette Hayes book. Color my ass excited to revisit this lady.

Click HERE for my written thoughts on Carter's Coq au Vin.

Polishing off Nikki Baker’s work is on my future reading list as well. Her series features our lesbian sleuth, Virginia Kelly. I can't say I found myself wow'ed by the first book the series, In the Game. Still, I'm anticipating some stronger entries down the pipe in this four-book series. But all that is going to have to wait.

He's... READYYYYYYY...

I be showing all my business sometimes.  Nevertheless, this kid is readyyyyyyy!  Faye Snowden's A Killing Fire is out tomorrow, August 22nd!  I HAD to buy the hardback (who else loves HB?), but the trade paperback will release the same day.  And shout out to Books-A-Million for that 20% off coupon on top of the normal 10% members discount.  Y'all know I love groceries (and an oil change), too.  So a little extra off helps an ole NASTY budgeting thug like myself!  Anyway, I want nothing but success for this book/author!  No, for real.  Black women writers tackling the mystery genre is my literary reading Candyland.  As many of you know by now... I'm sure... :)

I come with receipts!  LOL.

ICON!  And reasons WHY!

Speaking of Sisters in Crime reading in the month of August, I have an update coming soon...

PEACE!

GET YOUR TAILS READY BECAUSE...

...TRACY CLARK IS COMING OUT WITH THE THIRD BOOK IN HER CASS RAINES CHICAGO DETECTIVE MYSTERY SERIES IN MAY OF 2020!  Go 'HEAD, Ms. Clark!  You better sign those contracts and get these books out!

I ain't mad at'cha!  You better come through with your series! (Something told me the cover was going to be red!)

YOU CAN CATCH UP WITH CLARK'S SERIES BELOW (AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS)

BOOK 1

BOOK 2

{What This Chile's Been Reading} Sisters in Crime Situation

Hel-looo-oooooooo.  What's up, y'all?  What is everyone over yonder reading?  Trust you're all doing well out there in this heat.

All right...
  
Books/Authors Mentioned (links are all Amazon affiliate)...

A bit of blog postie on my little reading "project" at Comic Towel 

Most of you guys are familiar with these ladies, but for those in the back...

{Spotlight Release} A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden

Hel-looo-oooooooo.  What's up, y'all?  What is everyone over yonder reading?  Trust you're all doing well out there in this summer heat.

All right...

A Light (Spotlight) on author Faye Snowden's book, A Killing Fire.

"As a child forced to witness her father’s crimes, homicide Detective Raven Burns dedicates every waking moment to proving that she is not her father’s child. But when she shoots a suspect who has what turns out to be an unloaded weapon, Raven finds that she must confront both the demons of her past and the stains on her soul in order to stop a killer."

{Let Me Know} Is Mercedes Lackey's "Arrows" Trilogy Worth It?

Not too much to add here that hasn't been said in the video.  LOL.  Heck, the title alone, right?

Anyway, books and such mentioned (all links are Amazon affiliate):

1.  By the Sword 
2.  Diana Tregarde Investigates (Children of the Night, Burning Water, & Jinx High)
3.  The Complete Arrows Trilogy (Valdemar) 

Plain Vanilla BORING by Susan Wittig Albert

"China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual 'Not Just Plain Vanilla Workshop,' always a huge hit with customers at Thyme & Seasons Herb Shop. But someone involved with the workshop is driven by a deadly motive, and China soon finds herself teaming up with the very pregnant Pecan Springs police chief Sheila Dawson to solve a vanilla-flavored murder. 

Sheila, happy to get out from behind the chief’s desk, is investigating the death of a botany professor, a prominent researcher specializing in vanilla orchids. China is trying to help a longtime friend: the dead professor’s ex-wife and a prime suspect in his murder.  

However, there’s no shortage of other suspects: a betrayed lover, a disgruntled graduate student, jealous colleagues, and a gang of orchid smugglers. But the lethal roots of this mystery reach back into the dark tropical jungles of Mexico, where the vanilla vine was first cultivated. At stake: a lucrative plant patent, an orchid that is extinct in the wild, and the life of an innocent little girl."

A. Just. Plain. BORING. Book.

As many who frequent my book blog know, I love and adore Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles series. My loyalty for the series' is boundless. I love the mysteries, small town setting and herb shop hook. Most of all, I love the business owner/attorney duality of China Bayles' character. This series has gotten me through some hard times, as well as joyous times. So, in essence, I’m pretty tied and committed. Nothing but excitement comes out of reading a new title in this series.

Yet, here I am reading through the 27th latest entry into the series darn near sleep. A Plain Vanilla Murder was a complete and total bore! There's no way around it. I halfway want to believe Albert was trying to get back into plotting a light murder mystery. Because in the previous two books she veered away from doing so. But man, oh man. She veered Vanilla over a ravine and into a compose heap. Straight-up boredom. Still, let me get into what I found aggravating and boring about A Plain Vanilla Murder.

Week Two Prep: AUGUST BWM AUTHORS SERIES CLEAN UP

GETTING READYYYYYYYY!

My mood slaying (in a good way) these series DOWN

WEEK ONE: AUGUST BLACK WOMEN MYSTERY AUTHORS SERIES CLEAN UP

Do you ever start a mystery series and it takes you years to complete it? Or, if the series is on-going, it takes you years to catch up with the latest release? Too many books, two little time? Or is it the other way around?

Either way...

I also find myself starting new (usually exciting) mystery series each year. I also find myself juggling too many series each year. Then I find myself losing sight of one or two series each year–in favor of a new love. And, hell, each year I’m spending more money on books instead of reading what I already got! (Or that's speculation and not fact–I'll have to check my wallet.) So with all that in the air, there comes a season of buckling down and finishing what one has started ages ago. And that season is now.

So with that all in mind... here's my latest focus...

I must finish the last two books in Barbara Neely’s Blanche White series. As well, I have to finish the final book in Nora DeLoach's Mama series. Both series written by black women mystery writers. Both carrying respective protagonists sharing her unique crime-stopping traversals through the genre. I began both series years ago, and have been collecting/reading entries in each series off and on for too long. Until now–this week.

Sister Pelagia Fell in the Sea!

"The ship carrying the devout to Jerusalem has run into rough waters. Onboard is Manuila, controversial leader of the “Foundlings,” a sect that worships him as the Messiah. But soon the polarizing leader is no longer a passenger or a prophet but a corpse, beaten to death by someone almost supernaturally strong. But not everything is as it seems, and someone else sailing has become enmeshed in the mystery: the seemingly slow but actually astute sleuth Sister Pelagia. Her investigation of the crime will take her deep into the most dangerous areas of the Middle East and Russia, running from one-eyed criminals and after such unlikely animals as a red cockerel that may be more than a red herring. To her shock, she will emerge with not just the culprit in a murder case but a clue to the earth’s greatest secret."

(Plucked from my Goodreads update.  Punched into my phone via a moment of ranting.)

I'm on page 224 of 432 of Sister Pelagia and the Red Cockerel.  One of the most saddening DNF's I've ever experienced. The 1st book in this series was NEXT LEVEL. The 2nd book was a creepy yet gripping follow-up. And now this third book? Tsk-tsk. While the first 160 pages got my reading blood racing for more, the story derailed when the author strayed from Sister Pelagia's POV and into other characters for just a little too long. I found myself skimming and skipping around wondering what the hell happened to my girl Pelagia.  Needless to say, once I found her, I also found myself unable to continue with the book.  It was as if the momentum just slipped out the window like a plumb of sage smoke.  Or, something to that effect.  Anyway, for any book I'm stuck inside of reading for over 8 days, BAD NEWS approaches! With only three books in this series, I have to say I'm sad the ending of Pelagia's journey went down like this.  Evidently, I wasn't the only reader who felt her final book was a huge disappointment. Oh well!  Moving right along!

Brush (the Hell) BACK by Sara Paretsky

"Chicago's V. I. Warshawski confronts crooked politicians and buried family secrets in the gritty new novel from New York Times - bestselling author Sara Paretsky. 

No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but there are a few she'd be happy to avoid. High on that list is tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that's precisely what she ends up doing when she responds to Frank Guzzo's plea for help. 

For six stormy weeks back in high school, V. I. thought she was in love with Frank. He broke up with her, she went off to college, he started driving trucks for Bagby Haulage. She forgot about him until the day his mother was convicted of bludgeoning his kid sister, Annie, to death. Stella Guzzo was an angry, uncooperative prisoner and did a full twenty-five years for her daughter's murder. 

Newly released from prison, Stella is looking for exoneration, so Frank asks V. I. for help. V. I. doesn't want to get involved. Stella hated the Warshawskis, in particular V. I.'s adored mother, Gabriella. 

But life has been hard on Frank and on V. I.'s other childhood friends, still stuck on the hardscrabble streets around the dead steel mills, and V. I. agrees to ask a few questions. Those questions lead her straight into the vipers' nest of Illinois politics she's wanted to avoid. When V. I. takes a beating at a youth meeting in her old hood, her main question becomes whether she will live long enough to find answers."

(Stripped from my Goodreads review.  Plunked into my cell phone in a moment of ranting.)

Boring. Unexciting entry. Terribly convoluted, confusing and contrive (why has her editors not checked her on this by now!?). Too many characters, with little to no character. Repetitive (sick of the dogs jumping in lakes, ransacked break-ins, squeaking young woman sidekick, stupid fist fights, prejudice-ass Mr. Contreras, one-dimensional politicians/goons, whiplash pacing). All the characters are either angry or spastic AND angry. Nothing worth investing into, really. 

NEW RELEASE ~ Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark (Spotlight on Sisters in Crime)

Gurllllll, Mrs. Clark got me getting off my tail to make (errr, upload) a video.  Anyway, we're back with Clark's former cop turned PI Chicago-based crime fighter, Cassandra (Cass) Raines in Borrowed Time.  Good times, baby.  Good.  TIMES!  Welcome to a second book, Mrs. Clark.  We're rooting for a 3rd.  4th.  5th.  6th.  7th.  Hell, all the way up to 82!

Tracy Clark's Cass Raines Chicago Mystery Series on Amazon 

Mini Amazon synopsis...

"Sitting in cold cars for hours, serving lowlifes with summonses . . . being a P.I. means riding out a lot of slow patches. But sometimes the most familiar paths can lead straight to danger—like at Cass’s go-to diner, where new delivery guy Jung Byson wants to enlist her expertise. Jung’s friend, Tim Ayers, scion of a wealthy Chicago family, has been found dead, floating in Lake Michigan near his luxury boat. And Jung is convinced there’s a murderer on the loose . . . "

What have I been up to lately on my blog Comic Towel?  Check these links out!

1.  GUEST POST: How to Always be on the Lookout for New Inspiration by Kelvyn Fernandes

2. CHOP IT UP: Call Numbers by Syntell Smith 

3.  David Weber's Honor Harrington Series HYPE (Yeah, a Book Haul of Sorts)

FauxCast ~ CHOP IT UP: War Trash by Ha Jin

WHADUPPPPP!  So, yeah.  Ha Jin's War Trash.  Let's GO!

War Trash by Ha Jin on Amazon (affiliate link)

Ha Jin’s masterful new novel casts a searchlight into a forgotten corner of modern history, the experience of Chinese soldiers held in U.S. POW camps during the Korean War. In 1951 Yu Yuan, a scholarly and self-effacing clerical officer in Mao’s “volunteer” army, is taken prisoner south of the 38th Parallel. Because he speaks English, he soon becomes an intermediary between his compatriots and their American captors.With Yuan as guide, we are ushered into the secret world behind the barbed wire, a world where kindness alternates with blinding cruelty and one has infinitely more to fear from one’s fellow prisoners than from the guards.