{FauxCast} CHOP IT UP: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie

More Hillerman with a Good Ole Jim Chee Collection

What I got in the mail yesterday! Yay! Finding Hillerman's three-Leaphorn-books-in-one collection at the FotL sale last weekend got me thirsting. So I had to order the follow-up collection containing the next three books in the Leaphorn series. Yet, People of Darkness (book 4), The Dark Wind (book 5) and The Ghost way (book 6) introduce Hillerman’s other Native American detective, Jim Chee. Which was always fine and cool with me, but...

...I was always curious why the first three books were Leaphorn-led. Then how the following three books were for Hillerman's Jim Chee detective. Later down the series the two become a team. Still what was behind this move? In this video, the late Hillerman breaks down why the difference.

I can see myself grabbing these Jim Chee stories now. I can taste it now. Navajo reservations. Native American culture. A murder mystery with mystic themes. Setting. Setting. Setting. And, well, this is what I’ve been craving.

The Irresistible 25-Cent Friends of the Library Sale This Weekend

The timing couldn’t be more than perfect. I spent the latter of Saturday morning prowling around the public library’s 25-cent book sale. Who could resist? Who does resist? Plus, earlier that morning, I returned a few new releases and detoxed a shelf. So why not see what one can pick up for 25-cent? :)

Contents Under Pressure is the first book in Edna Buchanan’s Miami-based crime reporter, Britt Montero, mystery series. I had it for years in mass market; spotted this hardcover, and made the exchange.

More male crime writers are on my reading agenda. Having never read a Le Carra British spy novel, this three-book collection seems fitting. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is the third book in Le Carra’s Smiley series. While The Looking Glass War is the 4th. A Small Town in Germany is a stand-alone. These books released in the ’60s. Another edge of interest and joy for something new to taste.

I could have screamed when I spotted this book containing the first three books in Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn series. I checked out an exact copy from my library back in June, and read each story back-to-back in less than a week. Matter-of-fact, I read the first book, The Blessing Way, in less than five hours. So when I saw this at the sale for 25-cent, I snatched it and held it close for my personal library. Now I need to get the follow-up omnibus collection to continue Leaphorn’s stories. My excitement for finding this particular book is an understatement.

While I looked around at the sale, nothing else really caught my attention.  So I left it at this.  Adding the Hillerman book to my personal library was worth it all! Serendipity at its finest!

What's in a REBOTCO TBR?

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.

2 Popular Cozy Mysteries I'm CANCELLING| #MarchMysteryMadness

Don't cuss me out, Sis.  But life is life, 'cause life is life.  And things of that nature.  LOL.  No, seriously.  I just couldn't get with these books.  Tell me where I went wrong, okay?

1.  The Long Quiche Goodbye (Cheese Shop Mystery Book 1) by Avery Aames

Welcome to the grand opening of Fromagerie Bessette. Or as it's more commonly known by the residents of small-town Providence, Ohio-the Cheese Shop. Proprietor Charlotte Bessette has prepared a delightful sampling of bold Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, delicious tortes of Stilton and Mascarpone, and a taste of Sauvignon Blanc-but someone else has decided to make a little crime of passion the piece de resistance. Right outside the shop Charlotte finds a body, the victim stabbed to death with one of her prized olive-wood handled knives.

2.  Knit One, Kill Two (Knitting Mysteries, No. 1) by Maggie Sefton

Kelly would be the first to admit her life in Washington, D.C., is a little on the dull side. But coming back to Colorado for her beloved aunt’s funeral wasn’t the kind of excitement she was seeking. The police are convinced that her Aunt Helen’s death was the result of a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren’t adding up. After all, why would her sensible, sixty-eight-year-old aunt borrow $20,000 just days before her death? With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly’s about to get a few lessons in cranking out a sumptuously colored scarf—and in luring a killer out of hiding...

IT IS WHAT IT IS!  BOOOOOMMMMMMM!  GOTTA JET!

CHOP IT UP: Inner City Blues by Paula L. Woods

What's going onnnnnnnn?  BHAH!  Y'all bare with me.  Y'all know my struggles.  Anyway, this book really did taste like some Inner City Blues.  And one I can't wait to slurp up in the book's follow-up.  Somebody go tell that MOFO to COME ONNNNN!  

:) 

Ohhhh, Sis!  I forgot to mention we get to actually go into the morgue in this book.  TWICE, bihhhhh!  Color me weird, but I love morgue and autopsy scenes in a mystery book.  I guess mystery lovers can relate (as well as those who stay glued to the ID Channel/A&E), but those tantalizing scenes amplify my mood to solve some murders with whatever given protagonist.  It's a rush.  It's a high.  

Now in real life...  Hunniiiiiii, you wouldn't catch my ass NO WHERE NEAR a damn morgue!  Baby, ME-NO play around the dead.  Anyway, major props to Woods for this.  Often times authors only allow the investigator to get the final report–instead of being present with the medical examiner.  So Woods hit the spot with this.  I can't express how her allowing the reader and Charlotte into the bowels of a city morgue raised my confidence in her work.  She was serious about her story.

Inner City Blues (Charlotte Justice #1) by Paula L. Woods (Amazon affiliate link)

"Meet Detective Charlotte Justice, a black woman in the very white, very male, and sometimes very racist Los Angeles Police Department. The time is 48 hours into the epochal L.A. riots and she and her fellow officers are exhausted. She saves the curfew-breaking black doctor Lance Mitchell from a potentially lethal beating from some white officers ― only to discover nearby the body of one-time radical Cinque Lewis, a thug who years before had murdered her husband and young daughter. Was it a random shooting or was Mitchell responsible? And what had brought Lewis back to a city he'd long since fled?"

Hey, Hey, HEY! New Susan Wittig Albert Novella Release

"From NYT bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert comes the first novella in the mesmerizing Crystal Cave series.Ruby has a rare gift for seeing things that others can’t...

Ruby Wilcox (owner of the Crystal Cave, Pecan Springs’ only New Age shop) has always tried to downplay her psychic gift—until she experiences a horrifying nightmare that just won’t stop. Again and again, she dreams that a woman is abducted on the hike-and-bike trail and knows that the victim is in deadly danger. 

Prodded by her friend and partner, China Bayles, Ruby goes to the police—only to find that her dream has already become far too real. Police chief Sheila Dawson puts Detective Ethan Connors in charge of this no-body case. But Connors is a skeptic who is convinced that all psychics are frauds. And Ruby herself still has plenty of doubts. What will she have to do to prove to Detective Connors—and to herself—that her gift can be trusted?  

Ruby Wilcox has always known that she has a rare gift for seeing things that others can’t. But how can she learn to use it when she’s haunted by the memory of loss, and by all the possible consequences?"

Well, guess this'll hold all the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries lovers over until the 27th Bayle's book's June release.  Especially given we normally get a Bayles book around this time each year.  Sooooooo... novella it is.  Here's to Susan Wittig Albert's NoBODY: A Novella (Crystal Cave Series Book 1).  At least Ruby Wilcox fans will be happy.  Bhah.  That includes me! 

FauxCast: CHOP (DUB) IT UP ~ High Hand by Gary Phillips

What's up, y'all? I hope everyone is having a blessed 2019. Shootttt. I'm LOVING mine. How about you guys? Yes. Yes. Ye-HAH. I had to do a voice over. I wanted to capture my thoughts about the book RIGHT away. Otherwise, time would slip away and I'll push it over until... well... probably never. Considering I don't think of my videos as reviews (chile, I ain't got that kind of finesse), I figured this casual approach will suit. Actually, that's why I use the slang phrase CHOP IT UP. LOL. I just want to talk about the ish. :) Anyway, thank you all for your support over the years. Hope you have fun and enjoy! And yes. Udder it is. LOL. High Hand by Gary Phillips (Amazon affiliate link).

3 Popular Cozy Mysteries I'm ADORING | #MarchMysteryMadness

Wellllllll, in keeping with #MarchMysteryMadness, I had to share three cozy mysteries (series, I guess) I recently read (as far as December) that I am ADORING.  These are older series.  I find myself liking series that's been around a while, more than the recent ones.  Following this video, I got three series I'm FENCING.  

FYI.  I'm pulling out of a cold here.  If I happen to sound funny; heck, that's why.  Nevertheless, the trick to stunt a cold: BLACK SEED OIL!  

Anyway.  As always READ WHAT YOU LOVE TO READ AND LOVE WHAT YOU LOVE READING.  BOOM.  Look at all those "READS".

And thanks everyone!

Books mentioned:

1.  Crewel World (A Needlecraft Mystery) by Monica Ferris 

2.  Them Bones (A Sarah Booth Mystery) by Carolyn Haines 

3.  Tea For Three (First Three Tea Shop Mysteries) by Laura Child  

Now I'm off to read!  And probably eat an orange or something.  TAKE CARE!

Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski Ebay Lot Sale Unboxing

So I'm suiting up for my 2019 Sara Paretsky V.I. Warshawski project.  Which, I guess I'll simply name, my 2019 Paretsky Project (mainly because those two P's sound so sweet together).  

Anyway, I made this purchase off Ebay–just as I did for my 2018 Marcia Muller Sharon McCone Project.  And just as with that one, I'm reading the entirety of the fictional female private-eye (Chicago-based) detective work of V.I. Warshawki this year.  

Have begun the project with book #9, I'm currently almost through book #11, Blacklist.  This leaves me with 9 entries (only pillar release and no short stories) left. But I'm taking them on a book-by-book bases; breaking whenever I need to.  So long as I get them all done before the end of 2019 to fulfill my project–I'm good.  Nevertheless, I'm doing so happily because I love challenging myself as an endurance reader.  And like with my reading of McCone, I'm taking on Warshawski in honor of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.  These are her peers, after all.

Okay, done babbling.

BOOK 10.  Total Recall (2001)
BOOK 11.  Blacklist (2003)
BOOK 12.  Fire Sale (2005)
BOOK 13.  Hardball (2009)
BOOK 14.  Body Work (2010)
BOOK 15.  Breakdown (2012)
BOOK 16.  Critical Mass (2013)
BOOK 17.  Brush Back (2015)
BOOK 18.  Fallout (2017)

Random BOOK - Nightseer by Laurell K. Hamilton

COVER REVEAL ~ Nevada Barr's What Rose Forgot

Sooooooo, YEAH. We all know I love me some Nevada Barr. And, well, I love me some of her park ranger murder mystery solving character, Anna Pigeon. True enough Anna is somewhere on hold–after her last adventure in 2016's release of Boar Island. Yet, Nevada Barr is back with a stand alone titled, What Rose Forgot. I learned about this book last summer, and have since kept watch on any and everything related to it. But now, we finally have the cover! I miss Anna dearly, and hope Barr at least give us a book twenty in the series. Until then… well… you know where I’ll be come this September 17th!

"Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog, only to discover that she's been committed to an Alzheimer's Unit in a nursing home. With no memory of how she ended up in this position, Rose is sure that something is very wrong. 

When she overhears one of the administrators saying about her that she's "not making it through the week," Rose is convinced that if she's to survive, she has to get out of the nursing home. She avoids taking her medication, putting on a show for the aides, then stages her escape. 

The only problem is―how does she convince anyone that she's not actually demented? Her relatives were the ones to commit her, all the legal papers were drawn up, the authorities are on the side of the nursing home, and even she isn't sure she sounds completely sane. But any lingering doubt Rose herself might have had is erased when a would-be killer shows up in her house in the middle of the night. Now Rose knows that someone is determined to get rid of her. 

With the help of her computer hacker/recluse sister Marion, thirteen-year old granddaughter Mel, and Mel's friend Royal, Rose begins to gather her strength and fight back―to find out who is after her and take back control of her own life. But someone out there is still determined to kill Rose, and they're holding all the cards."

Anna Pigeon or no Anna Pigeon, this is how I am for What Rose Forgot

2019 #MarchMysMadness Announcements & Things

Okay.  #MarchMysteryMadness...

March Mystery Madness Challenges...

1.  Old
2.  Again
3.  New
4.  Borrowed
5.  Blue
6.  Optional: Mystery featuring or themed around a wedding!

Connections in Death - J. D. Robb & Eve Dallas TIME!

"Homicide cop Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband, Roarke, are building a brand-new school and youth shelter. They know that the hard life can lead kids toward dangerous crossroads―and with this new project, they hope to nudge a few more of them onto the right path. For expert help, they hire child psychologist Dr. Rochelle Pickering―whose own brother pulled himself out of a spiral of addiction and crime with Rochelle’s support.

Dust jacket/Flaps

Lyle is living with Rochelle while he gets his life together, and he’s thrilled to hear about his sister’s new job offer. But within hours, triumph is followed by tragedy. Returning from a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend, she finds Lyle dead with a syringe in his lap, and Eve’s investigation confirms that this wasn’t just another OD. After all his work to get clean, Lyle’s been pumped full of poison―and a neighbor with a peephole reports seeing a scruffy, pink-haired girl fleeing the scene.

Inside flap.  A New York map marked with all the 1st murders from each book

Now Eve and Roarke must venture into the gang territory where Lyle used to run, and the ugly underground world of tattoo parlors and strip joints where everyone has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They both believe in giving people a second chance. Maybe even a third or fourth. But as far as they’re concerned, whoever gave the order on Lyle Pickering’s murder has run out of chances…"

A puzzle.  Can you solve where the next book's murder will take place?

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

What Design For Murder Left Me With ~ By Carolyn G. Hart

"When mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance is invited to stage a Mystery Night for the annual antebellum house tour of the Historical Preservation Society of Chastain, South Carolina, she instead finds herself the leading lady in a flesh-and-blood drama. The play's the thing wherein the curtain falls on mean-spirited grande dame Corinne Webster. While jeweled fingers point, accusing Annie of murder, the perpetrator lurks within the genteel cast of Murder-Most-Make-Believe . . . and the murder weapon is one of the props. 

In the tight-laced society of Chastain, Annie is guilty until proven innocent. With her fiance, Max Darling, Annie pieces together evidence to clear her name—until her chief witness is murdered. Now it will take all her sleuthing skills to discover the evil in the heart of Chastain's Beautiful People."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second book in the Death on Demand cozy series came away with a decent four stars from me. I wasn’t bothered by the lengthy coloring of the various characters. Nor was I bothered by the setup before the first murder and whodunit struck almost 100 pages in. Nope. It didn’t bother me because I like the way Hart writes characters–as they feel alive.

Yet, what did bother me was the main character, Anne. She came across as too much of a commanding, reactive know-it-all. And I found myself bothered with how she treated her boyfriend Max. She was rather dismissive of him one too many times.

Nonetheless, hey, I’m ready for the third book in the series. 

Clip Second Book Hesitations ~ Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

"The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.  

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Sisterhood & Victimhood

I am deeeeep on the fence about going into the second book of this series. I found the main character and bookshop owner, Trisha, to be obnoxious as all get-out. She had this laser, scornful and judgmental attitude that I couldn’t get with. And said attitude came aimed toward her older sister, Angelica. Yet, I got it. I got the reason why Trisha was more or less glad to see the arrival of her sister.

You see, the two have a jealous-geared and acrimonious relationship rooted in their childhood. It came from the individual treatment both ladies received from their parents. To keep it simple, Angelica's personality received much more parental attention than Trisha's. It's a cool way to build character and add backstory–for sure. Still, with over twenty years of Trisha begrudging Angelica's existence and whining about their childhood throughout the book; I grew to dislike Trisha.

It got to be too much. Especially when I didn't find her as pleasant as her sister. Which was kind of ironic considering Trisha is carrying the book. Anyway, I can't count how many times I screamed: “Good god, girl! Get over it!”

However, the twist is that I want to see how their relationship develops. The double-twist, I would read the second book for Angelica alone.

Interesting development, but it may take me a minute to get to the second book.

My added gripe. Trisha got more annoying to me the second she used the word "retarded" to describe another individual. As someone who works with people with certain disabilities, I was fuming. And certainly giving the author the side-eye.

GIRLLLL, YOU TRIED IT!

Anyway, this is what I left the book feeling.  The mystery wasn't exactly glowing.  Standard.  Formulaic.  Traditional.  Commercial.  Not all that exciting.  It was the relationship between the two sisters that made it worth the time.

(3) Last Year's Disappointing Reads | Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

(Sorry I forgot to put an accouterment/image of the book up on the screen.  I was multi-tasking and running out the door while doing the final save of the video.)

It took me a few years to get over my hesitation with going into this series.  I was just never sure as to what I was going to get, hence the "blind date" analogy mentioned in the video.  Nevertheless, while it did disappoint, I am going into the proceeding book with hope.

Her Royal Spyness (A Royal Spyness Mystery) by Rhys Bowen

"London, 1932. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the English throne, is flat broke. She's bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed. London is a place where she'll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH—oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name..."

I Guess the 1st Book Haul of 2019

Barnes & Noble Pick-Ups

Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles (A Mahalia Watkins Mystery) by A. L. Herbert.  I’ve seen this floating around once or twice.  It’s a black cozy mystery (series) with a soulfood-themed hook.  And Death by Dumpling is in the same vein of a food inspired mysteries.  Except the author, Vivien Chien, takes on the Chinese noodle shop as her hook.

 Barnes & Noble Online Pick-Ups

Sharon McCone NEW YEAR'S CLEAN UP

Allllllll DONE.  From books 4 [Games to Keep Away the Dark 1984] all the way to 33 [The Breakers 2018] (and with the exception of 3 partial DNF's and one completely uninteresting reading entry), I've read my way through the entirety of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries.  The pillar titles, though.  No short story collections or Kindle singlets.

It's been fun going throughout Sharon's MANY adventures.  I'll have to do a little list of my favorite entries, favorite villains, favorite Sharon quotes, etc.  But all of that has to come later.  

Anyway, I thought I was going to give the series up.  Thankfully, that has since changed.  While Muller is no Grafton.  And Sharon is certainly no Kinsey Millhone.  They're both something special for a guy who just loves tough female characters solving crimes her way.

Ready for a lifetime of McCone?  Indeed.  I'm in for the long haul–whichever direction Muller goes.

Reflecting on Reading Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone Series