33. Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

listened on Audible
read by the author in her wonderful, lilting southern style
Unabridged audio (12:03)
2013 William Morrow
320 pgs.
CRF
Finished 3/28/2019
Goodreads rating:  3.66 - 12,164 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  Contemporary Atlanta

First line/s:  "I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K."

My comments:  I could listen to Joshilyn Jackson read forever.  The story seemed particularly long and drawn out, but I didn't care because of that.  It's an intricate story that winds in and out and around itself, with its own little histories and pleasures and treasures peeking out every so often.  Many love stories are touched upon in this novel - right down, in a way, to the robber's as well.  told from two points of view, one even allows us a chance to climb inside the brain of someone with Asbergers.  Jackson has written tighter novels, but this is good nonetheless.

Goodreads synopsis:  At twenty-one, Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Natty, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Catholic mother and Jewish father. She’s got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up in a gas station mini-mart and falling in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who willingly steps between the armed robber and her son.
          Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It’s been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn’t define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.
           Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, in a funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness,; about a virgin birth, a sacrifice, and a resurrection; about falling in love, and learning that things aren’t always what they seem—or what we hope they will be. It’s a novel about discovering what we want and ultimately finding what we need. 

58. Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

# 2 Dr. Theo Cray
Listened on Audible
2018, Thomas & Mercer
312 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/30/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.36 - 4196 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA & Atlanta

First line/s:  "I'm playing a video game in which someone could actually get killed."

My comments:  Andrew Mayne thrusts you into the mind of a scientist, and reading these books are more than just solving mysteries.  You learn and hear a lot about science and technology that is perhaps "over your head," and a bit unbelievable (some may actually be so!), but entirely interesting and almost-believable.  And Dr. Cray is a really likable oddball.

Goodreads synopsis: Professor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.
       The desperate father of a missing child, ignored by the authorities and abandoned by his community, turns to Theo for help. The only clues are children’s drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.
       To unravel the mystery behind the Toy Man, Theo must set aside his scientific preconceptions and embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. As he becomes immersed in the case, he discovers a far-reaching conspiracy—one that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.

66. Once Shadows Fall by Robert Daniels

Sturgis & Kale #1
read on my Kindle AND listened on Audible
2015, Crooked Lane Books
352 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished  11/23/16
Goodreads rating:  4.03 - 186 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  Contemporary Atlanta, GA

First line/s:   "Luck:  hard to plan for it, hard to predict when it might show up."

My comments:  A new, female homicide detective gets handed a case that looks like a copycat -  a copycat because the deranged killer of what look like the same type of serial murders is locked away in a psychiatric hospital.   As more similar murders appear, she teams up with a brilliant - though reluctant - ex-FBI agent who is now a college professor.  Of course rapport between them grows as we slowly learn his story, which is deeply imbedded in the original serial killer's story.  Oh, these dark, twisted minds! This was a satisfying mystery, though quite easy to figure out early on if you've read a lot of murder mysteries.  I look forward to reading more in the series.

Goodreads synopsis:  After years of paying her dues on the force, Beth Sturgis has earned her place as a detective for the Robbery-Homicide division of the Atlanta PD. Now, she's heading up a major manhunt for a potential serial killer who’s working his way inward from the outskirts of the city. The copycat elements in the first crime scene lead Sturgis to retired FBI agent Jack Kale, who was responsible for apprehending and nearly killing the murderer known as the Scarecrow, the same Scarecrow who appears to be this new killer's terrible inspiration.
          A reclusive single father and university professor, Kale is trying to keep the demons at bay through therapy and avoidance. That is, until Sturgis shows up asking for his help. Against his better judgment, Kale is drawn into the most dangerous cat and mouse game of his life. Robert Daniels's Once Shadows Fall, is a gripping thriller in the bestselling tradition of Silence of the Lambs and is sure to become a crime fiction classic.

16. The Opposite of Everyone - Joshilyn Jackson

listened to this on Audible/iPhone
2016 - William Morrow
352 pgs.
Goodreads rating: 4.07
Adult CRF/Mystery
Finished 3/8/16
Setting: Contemporary Atlanta, and other places around the country - a traveling mama

First line/s:  "I was born blue.  If my mother hadn't pushed me out quick as a cat, I would have been born dead and even bluer; her cord was wrapped tight around my neck.  She looked at my little blue lips, my blue toes and baby fingers, and named me after Kali.  Kali Jai."

My comments:  I have definitely become a Joshilyn Jackson fan.  Her story-weaving gets better and better with each book.  She flips back and forth between Kali/Paula at 12 and currently, where we slowly learn/guess her background story.  What great characters!  Her protagonist has so many flaws - making her so real - that you love her and hate her and question her... keeps you busy throughout the whole novel!  I listened to this one, her brand new book.  I usually greatly enjoy her reading, but the voices she used on this one, other than Cali, Kai, and Birdwine, were a little bothersome.  She made her 23-year old brother sound around 12, and I had to keep resetting his image in my mind because of this.  Very engrossing.

Goodreads synopsis: Born in Alabama, Paula Vauss spent the first decade of her life on the road with her free-spirited young mother, Kai, an itinerant storyteller who blended Hindu mythology with Southern Oral Tradition to re-invent their history as they roved. But everything, including Paula’s birthname Kali Jai, changed when she told a story of her own—one that landed Kai in prison and Paula in foster care. Separated, each holding her own secrets, the intense bond they once shared was fractured.
          These days, Paula has reincarnated herself as a tough-as-nails divorce attorney with a successful practice in Atlanta. While she hasn’t seen Kai in fifteen years, she’s still making payments on that Karmic debt—until the day her last check is returned in the mail, along with a cryptic letter. “I am going on a journey, Kali. I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. You will be the end. We will meet again, and there will be new stories. You know how Karma works.”
          Then Kai’s most treasured secret literally lands on Paula’s doorstep, throwing her life into chaos and transforming her from only child to older sister. Desperate to find her mother before it’s too late, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery that will take her back to the past and into the deepest recesses of her heart. With the help of her ex-lover Birdwine, an intrepid and emotionally volatile private eye who still carries a torch for her, this brilliant woman, an expert at wrecking families, now has to figure out how to put one back together—her own.
          The Opposite of Everyone is a story about story itself, how the tales we tell connect us, break us, and define us, and how the endings and beginnings we choose can destroy us . . . and make us whole. Laced with sharp humor and poignant insight, it is beloved New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson at her very best.

MOVIE - Triple 9

(R) 1:55

Wide release 2/26/16

Viewed Tuesday, 3/1/16 at ElCon with Sheila

RT Critic:  54  Audience:  50
Critic's Consensus:  Triple 9's pulpy potboiler thrills don't quite live up to the ferocious talents of its cast, but the film's efficient, solidly crafted genre fun is often enough to balance its troublesome flaws.

Cag: 4 - this was a good movie, had to pay close attention to "get" it all (I hate that I love dark, gritty, full-of-murder books and movies)

Directed by John Hillcoat

Open Road Films

Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Chiwetei Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie

My comments: Very entertaining, once you got past two things.  One: very, VERY violent. Two: shows the "underbelly" of cities in the US in a really shocking way.  Even though I was aware of gloom, gangs,guns, drugs, darkness, crazy people this really, REALLY showed it - too well.  It was really unsettling.  The story was intricate and interesting.  You had to pay attention.  It wasn't until the drive home afterward that something said at the very beginning of the film was remembered and made sense (the three in the car were talking about their upcoming heist, and the guy in the back seat said he didn't worry about Marcus, but wasn't sure about the "other guy."  I'm glad I remembered that later!  (It always amazes me how Woody Harrelson totally takes on a role - he definitely becomes the perosn he's portraying.  He was great!)

RT Summary:  In TRIPLE NINE, a crew of dirty cops is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist and the only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for "officer down." Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie they set up to die foils the attack, triggering a breakneck action-packed finale tangled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.

56. Dangerous Passage - Lisa Harris

Supposedly Book #1 in a series called Southern Crimes

2013 Revell Publishing

311 pgs.

Romantic Christian Murder Mystery (HA!)

Finished 9/9/1014

Goodreads rating: 4.01

My rating:    1/Yuck

Acquired TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Atlanta (although I got no particular feel for the city)

1st sentence/s:"After another grueling weekend wrapping up another homicide, Detective Avery North was not about to let anything get in the way of her one nonnegotiable indulgence on her first day off in two weeks."

My comments:  My favorite genre is murder mystery, but this only falls softly into that genre.  This is much more a romantic novel.  There is no information about the nitty-gritty of the investigation, anything vital, the little details that I particularly enjoy, were not even mentioned.  The protagonist, a female detective, was an unbelievable character for me.  She spent most of her time on the job fretting about whether or not she was ready for a relationship, worrying about her teenage daughter, or sending little prayers upward. The mystery itself wasn't even particularly believable to me.  The question of motive was never fully examined and I was left with a huge question mark over my head.  I applaud the author for trying to bring to the forefront human trafficking, but this book just didn't do it for me. It might for others, though.

Goodreads book summary:  When two Jane Does are killed on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, detective and behavioral specialist Avery North discovers they share something in common--a tattoo of a magnolia on their shoulders. Suspecting a serial killer, Avery joins forces with medical examiner Jackson Bryant to solve the crimes and prevent another murder. But it doesn't take long for them to realize that there is much more to the case than meets the eye. As they venture deep into a sinister world of human trafficking, Avery and Jackson are taken to the very edge of their abilities--and their hearts. 
"Dangerous Passage "exposes a fully-realized and frightening world where every layer peeled back reveals more challenges ahead. Romantic suspense fans will be hooked from the start by Lisa Harris's first installment of the new Southern Crimes series

51. Criminal - Karin Slaughter

Will Trent #7 - but certainly a stand-alone
read (beautifully)  by Kathleen Early
2012, AudioGo
13 unabridged cds (15:35)
$29.95/ TPPL
448 pages
Goodreads rating:  4.22
My rating:  5

Setting:  1975 AND contemporary Atlanta, Ga
First impressions:  I listened to the audio version, which was read beautifully.  The plot switches between two periods, current day and the summer of 1975, same characters...more or less.  Really nicely crafted, delving not only into a series of murders of prostitutes in Atlanta, but the minds and thinking and attitudes between the perbitrator/s and the investigators.  The segregation/discrimination between females and blacks in the Atlanta police department in the mid-1970's is also an eyeopener!  Couldn't put it down.

Will Trent is beginning to discover some of the truth about his past, the past that has been kept hidden from him.  Will's a nice guy despite lots of baggage.  He's smart and has made the best in a world that gave him a pretty lousy start.  He was raised in an orphanage in the poorest part of Atlanta, went into the police force, and now works for the George Bureau of Investigation.  This is his backstory, a story he learns about in bits and pieces.  He has a not-yet-ex wife and a new girlfriend, a female boss and a female partner, a dog and a porsche. Nice twist at the end that you only get hints at throughout the book.  This is a good one!