69. Going Zero by Anthony McCarten

listened on Libby

copyright 2023
304 pgs.
Adult mystery/thriller
Finished 9/30/2023
Goodreads rating: 3.90
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Washington, DC and the woods of PA

My comments: After completing this book, I am re-enraged about our government's secret agencies, information, and place in the world.  It's so easy to grow complacent, and I can actually understand why so many people get caught up in the idea of conspiracy theories.  I think I ight have rated this book a five, except the bad guy wins...and the chances of him ever losing are unknow as the last word is read.  Boo hoo hoo, I do like an HEA, and this was definitely not that .... but an interesting read.

Goodreads synopsis:  From four-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten comes a breakneck, wickedly entertaining thriller for our times, a twisty, action-packed novel reminiscent of the best Michael Crichton technothrillers, in which a woman must find a way to elude the most powerful forces of government and high tech.

In the name of national security, the CIA in partnership with Silicon Valley wunderkind Cy Baxter have created the ultimate surveillance program known as FUSION. Ahead of its roll out, ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test the groundbreaking system.

At the appointed hour, each of the ten will have two hours to “Go Zero”—to turn their cellphones off, cut ties with friends and family, and use any means possible to disappear. They will then have 30 days to evade detection and elude the highly sophisticated Capture Teams tasked to find them using the most cutting-edge technology. The goal is to see if it is possible to successfully go “off the grid” and escape detection.

The stakes are immense. If FUSION is a success, Cy Baxter will secure a coveted 10-year, $100 billion dollar government contract and access to intelligence resources he truly believes will save lives. For any participant who beats the massive surveillance, it means a $3 million cash prize.

Among the contestants is an unassuming Boston librarian named Kaitlyn Day. She’s been chosen as the gimme, the easy target expected to be found first. But Kaitlyn excels at confounding expectations. Her talents at this particular game are far more effective than all the security experts suspect, and her reasons for playing far more personal than anyone can imagine. . . .

68. Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

listened on Audible

2021
416 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 9/24/23
Goodreads rating: 4.40
My rating: 4
Setting: A contemporary-ish US city

My comments:  My second go at this....got partway through when it first came out and stopped for some reason. Glad I tried it again, it was a fun story. Of any kids' fantasies I've read in recent years, it's the most Harry Potter-ish without being too much like Harry Potter. Characters you hate to love and love to hate...yup, I'll read the second in the series.

Goodreads synopsis:  Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?

Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.

With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

Cheeseburger Tater Tot Crockpot Casserole

1 (32 oz.) bag of frozen tater tots

1 lb. lean ground beef, scrambled

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T yellow mustard

1 t. black pepper

1 t. salt

1 t. garlic powder

1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained

1 (15 oz.) can green beans, drained

2 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

Mix milk, soup, Worcestershire, mustard, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

Spray crockpot.

Place half the tater tots, then evenly spread half of the ground beef.  Next goes 1 cup of the cheese.

Then all the corn and green beans.

Repeat with remainder of ground beef, remainder of tater tots.

Cover with the sauce.

Top with remaining cheese.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

67. These Silent Woods - Kimi Cunningham Grant

listened on Audible

2021
275 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 9/21/2023 
Goodreads rating: 4.10
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary - in the middle of the woods off a long, private dirt road, on the edge of a National Forest....I'm thinking somewhere in remote PA

My comments: This is one of the best books I've read in a long while.  I loved every beautiful word, the plt, the complex characters, and the very special setting...all the details.  It was almost like I'be been waiting for the story with these kinds of details - living alone in the wodds on your own (Cooper is with his 8-year old daughter) surviving, enjoying nature and the birds, and loving your kid.  It was the details that really made it for me, as well as the brief flashbacks that explained what had happened to Cooper to bring him to this place.  So well done.  And the HEA that I would have never imagined.   Loved it.

Goodreads synopsis:   No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper's old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn't show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

Crockpot Baked Beans

56 oz. Homestyle Bush's Baked Beans

    (2 large cans)
8 oz. bacon, 1-inch pieces half-cooked

1 c. diced onion

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

1 T. brown sugar

2 T. Yellow mustard

2 t. Worcestershire Sauce

(extras:  throw in a dollop of molasses and a bit of chopped garlic)

Mix together in crockpot, cover.

Cook on low for 5 hours or on high for 3.5 hours

If your slow cooker gets hot, stir once in awhile near end of cooking.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Equal to ONE PACKET store-bought

This equals about 3 Tablespoons

1T. chili powder

1 1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

1/2 t. dried cilantro or oregano

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

1/2 t. paprika

1 t. sea salt

1 t. fresh cracked pepper

Shake together in a jar.

If making ahead, put into an airtight jar.