33. Nightshade by Michael Connelly

#1 Det. Stilwel, Catalina Island, CA

listened on Libby

345 pgs.

2025
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 7/14/2025
Goodreads rating: 4.16
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Catalina Island, California

My comments: A new character and a new setting for Michael Connelly!  "Stil" is a detective on Catalina Island, which looks like its main offices are in Long Beach (not LA).  He's been sent there for unwarranted reasons, all the cops they want to "get rid of" are sent there.  He's got a girlfriend and has come to very much like living and working on the island.  Then all sorts of you-know-what hits the fan.  Robberies, beheadings of protected wildlife, murder....and more.  A HUGE variety of partially related problems that keep him on his toes.  He's smart and he's good at what he does, although he's pretty abrasive.  I'm not sure if I 100% like him, so I'm looking forward (already!) to the next in the series so I can form a better opinion.

Goodreads synopsis:  #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

3. The Big Empty by Robert Crais

#20 Elvis Cole and Joe Pike

listened on Audible - purchased

373 pgs. (8:25)

2025
Adult Contemporary Mystery/series
Finished 1/20/2025
Goodreads rating: 4.65
My rating: 5
Setting: southern California

My comments: Interesting, edge-of-your seat story that pretty much had me guessing till the end.  What else can you ask for in a murder mystery procedural?  A protagonist/PI with a sense of humor?  Check.  Interesting, well-flushed out characters?  Check that off, too.  Disturbing murders....unfortunately.  This was a good one.

Goodreads synopsis:  Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. The police couldn't find her dad and neither could the detectives her mother hired, but now, ten years later, Traci is a super-popular influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire a new detective: Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a loser, but Elvis heads to Rancha where he learns an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the simple missing persons case becomes far more sinister and dangerous. Elvis calls in his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, to help, but even Pike might not be able to help.

As Elvis Cole and Joe Pike follow Tommy Beller's trail into the twisted, nightmare depths of a monstrous evil, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey, and when everyone is a victim, can Elvis Cole save them all?

In a case that tests Elvis Cole's loyalty to his clients and himself, the truth must come out no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done.

34. Sleeping Dogs Lie by Samantha Downing

listened on Audible
Novella - 100? pgs.(2:08)

2021
Adult Mystery Novella
Finished 4/11/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.60
My rating: 4.25
Setting: contemporary Bel Marin Keys, Novato, CA

My comments: This was just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump.  First of all, it took place on Bel Marin Keys off Novato Boulevard!  Over on the other side of the key from where Dede lives, and a house that was backed up directly to the lagoon.  That in itself was pretty cool, and so was the story - fun and descriptive and it didn't take long for you to figure out that something very weird was going on. Dog walking!  Fun mystery with red herrings.

Goodreads synopsis:  From the internationally best-selling author of My Lovely Wife and He Started It comes a twisted, entertaining novella about a dog walker swept into a criminal investigation when her client winds up dead.

Shelby works as a dog walker in Northern California, and she’s just finished up her biweekly trip to the park with a husky named Pluto. When she brings him back to his house, she finds his owner—Todd Burke, a well-known local businessman and founder of an organic supplements company—dead on the bathroom floor. As a detective interviews Shelby, a medical examiner inspects the body, and more cops search Todd’s home, it becomes clear that the victim’s life was less picture-perfect than his clean-cut persona might lead you to believe.

7. Dark Highway by Lisa Gray

#3 Jessica Gray

listened on Audible

2020
318 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 1/19/23
Goodreads rating: 4.40
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary 29 Palms Highway, California

My comments: Third in the Jessica Shaw, Private Detective, series. A great protagonist - smart, lots of emotional baggage but devoid of physical baggage… she practically lives out of her car. Set in 29 Palms, California, it‘s about the disappearance/abduction of several women and goes back and forth between time periods and voices. I liked it a lot and could clearly picture it because I‘ve visited this area several times. Good one!

Goodreads synopsis:  LA-based artist Laurie Simmonds disappeared two months ago, her campervan abandoned on the isolated Twentynine Palms Highway, miles from anything—or anyone. With the police investigation stalled, her parents put all their faith in private investigator Jessica Shaw to find out the truth of what happened.

Jessica and her partner Matt Connor discover that two other women are missing, their disappearances connected to the same highway. When a link emerges between these women and a group of former college friends, Jessica feels certain they’re closing in on their target.

But no sooner do they follow this up than Laurie’s parents get spooked and drop the case. Jessica is blindsided but determined not to give up: three women are missing, and many more may be at risk. She can’t turn her back on them. But the more she pulls at the threads of the truth, the closer she comes to danger. Can she find out who’s behind these crimes before they come for her?

77. Gathering Dark by Candice Fox

listened on Chirp

2020
319 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 12/13/22
Goodreads rating: 3.92
My rating: 4.5/5
Setting: Contemporary LA

My comments: Two points of view:  a female cop who's having a rough time with the rest of the cops in LA and an ex-con, ex-doctor who was convicted as an innocent person.  This book is rift with bad cops, which really, REALLY pissed me off to the point that I had to stop listening once in awhile.  Lots of tarnished characters...which is a great thing.  The plot is complicated and there are points that were really difficult to fathom because of so much ... badness.  But there's also positivity, lots and lots of it, and even humor thrown in.  I loved all the flawed personalities. I loved being kept on my toes throughout the story, and as unbelievable as it seemed in places, I really liked the way it was put together and told.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A convicted killer. A gifted thief. A vicious ganglord. A disillusioned cop. Together they’re a missing girl’s only hope.

Dr. Blair Harbour, once a wealthy, respected pediatric surgeon, is now an ex-con down on her luck. She’s determined to keep her nose clean and win back custody of her son. But when her former cellmate begs for help to find her missing daughter, Blair is compelled to put her new-found freedom on the line.

Detective Jessica Sanchez has always had a difficult relationship with the LAPD. And her inheritance of a multi-million dollar mansion as a reward for catching a killer has just made her police enemy number one.

It’s been ten years since Jessica arrested Blair for cold-blooded murder. So when Jessica opens the door to the disgraced doctor late one night she expects abuse, maybe even violence. What comes next is a plea for help…

9. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

listened on Libby, borrowed from library

2018
432 pgs.
Chick-Lit Romance
Finished 1/29/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.33
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary San Francisco, Berkeley, and Healdsburg, California

My comments: The setting was awesome, I knew everything they were talking about and could see it in my mind's eye.  Christina Lauren's storytelling gets better and better.  Not just the plot, but the way she weaves words together seems unusual for this sort of "chick-lit romance."  Bringing two time periods, 12 to 15 years apart, together, was done smoothly and deftly.  In the "then," two young people care intensely about each other, not pushing each other physically, but being able to talk about most everything without embarrassment.  And two 29-year olds in the "now," trying to make their way towards each other knowing that the caring is still as strong as it ever was.  This is a wonderful story, a true love story, as unbelievable as that might be!

Goodreads synopsis:  The story of the heart can never be unwritten.

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

115. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

listened on Libby - borrowed from the library

2021

352 pgs.
Adult Rom Com with one steamy part
Finished 12/24/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.44
My rating: 4.5
Setting: mostly Stanford University campus, a little at a Boston conference

My comments: For some reason I really loved this story.  A romcom about fake dating that anyone and everyone will realize is going to have a HEA, but its telling is pretty cool.  Yes, frustration's because the protagonist lies so much to protect herself and the guys she's falling for, but otherwise the story would have been about a quarter of its length, lol.  I love that it was set in academia, at Stanford, with really smart protagonists.  And the bad guys is so bad, no glossing over it.  Of course the good guy is really good (and of course has the fantastic body hidden under ordinary clothing to go along with it.}  Maybe it's just my current mood, but this story really tickled me in many ways.

Goodreads synopsis:  As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope. 

111. The Dark Hours - Michael Connelly

#4 Renee Ballard/#23 Harry Bosch

listened on Audible

2021
400 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 12/10/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.51
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary LA

My comments: Two mysteries keep Renee Ballard busy with the help of Harry Bosch.  Both are super intuitive and puzzle solvers.  One of the cases is about a bad cop, now retired, who is a hitman of sorts; and the other is about two guys who are serial rapists.  Renee even gets a teeny tiny bit of a love interest in this one, and an apartment!  It was so excellent!

Goodreads synopsis:   Has a killer lain dormant for years only to strike again on New Year’s Eve? LAPD Detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch team up to find justice for an innocent victim in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly

There's chaos in Hollywood on New Year's Eve. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD Detective Renée Ballard seeks shelter at the end of the countdown to wait out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. As reports start to roll in of shattered windshields and other damage, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party.

It doesn't take long for Ballard to determine that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky. Ballard’s investigation leads her to look into another unsolved murder—a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch.

Ballard and Bosch team up once again to find out where the old and new cases intersect. All the while they must look over their shoulders. The killer who has stayed undetected for so long knows they are coming after him

72. When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

listened on Libby, borrowed from Library

narrated by Marin Ireland

Unabridged audio (11:29)
2021
371 pgs.
Adult Mystery set 28 years ago (hard to call in HistFict!!)
Finished  6/30/2021
Goodreads rating: 3.92 - 20,891 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: 1993 Mendocino, California

First line/s: "The mother who tore off her dress when the police came to her house with the news and then ran down the street in only her shoes, while her neighbors, even the ones who knew her well, hid behind their doors and windows, afraid of her grief."

My comments: A very intense story about child abduction/s and one woman who has overcome a rough childhood in foster care to become tough, smart detective bent on saving kids. This is a good mystery with the unfolding of her own story beautifully woven in.  Set in Mendocino, California in 1993 - no cell phones or internet!

Goodreads synopsis:   Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San Francisco. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns a local teenage girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever.
        As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.
        Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives--and our faith in one another.

        From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes a novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

California Trip - May, 2021

Tuesday 5/11 Flew from BWI to OAK

                dinner at home - steak and grilled asparagus

Wednesday 5/12 Headed north on 101 to Humboldt County and the Avenue of the Giants

        On to Eureka and Arcata, night at Hampton Inn

            Knit, Eureka - Dede bought wool yarn for matching She & ME slippers!

                 lunch at Avenue Cafe in Miranda at the very start of the Avenue of the Giants

                 dinner at La Fiesta Grill in Arcata (yum! taco salad for me, enchilada for Dede)

Thursday 5/13 Arcata to Redding across 299 - wow -  then 5 to Corning (OLIVES!) 99 to Chico, home via 5/505/80/37 

    Sew Simple, Redding - nice shop with small rooms for babies, Christmas, kitchen

    The Sewing Room - Park Marina Drive, Redding (no photo, large shop with crafters items along perimeter)

     The Quilt Basket, Corning (great old building outside, not much fabric but notions and machines inside)

     Honey Run Quilters, Chico - huge store with lots of machines, quilt shop in back corner, but fabric                 and ideas everywhere.  Clothing patterns and ideas, too.

                     lunch at From the Hearth (similar to Panera) in Redding, 

                     dinner at home, grilled sausages and Quinoa salad

Friday 5/14 Accidental Quilt Shop Hop

        Cloth Carousel, Vacaville (found free cowlette/dog coat pattern)

        Fabric Garden, Sacramento (very nice shop, Dede bought Mondo bag pattern)

        Swifty Stitches, Carmichael (bought Laura's 4th July fabric, women sewing in the back)

        Runs with Scissors, Citrus Heights (Dede taught customer how to sew the "kites" strip quilt she just finished.

                lunch at West Coast Sour Dough (outside) in Sacramento

                dinner at home, grilled sausages and salad

   

Saturday, 5/15 Novato to oompa loompa state park 

        through Greenbrae, Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Woodacre, West Marin (Olema, Pt. Reyes Station, Inverness Park, Inverness, Marshall)

        Samuel P. Taylor State Park - Redwood groves and grassy hills, nice campground

        Tomales State Park - has beach and picnicking down a half mile road)     

                lunch at Boca Pizzeria, Novato - chicken flatbread wrap with hummus, tomatoes, yummy dressing)

                dinner at home - Grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, sliced brown tomatoes  

Sunday, 5/16

        Over the Golden Gate Bridge - a little bit of good old SF fog - to San Bruno Mountain - up to the foggy summit where there were no other cars, because Steve had the secret entry code.  Windy.  Super windy.  If there were no fog, we would have looked down onto several huge cemeteries on one side and the city of San Francisco on the other.

    Daly City - the song "Little Boxes, on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky" was written about Daly City

!                           

    Through Pacifica to Moss Beach. 

        Late Lunch at Moss Beach Distillery with Dede's cousin Terry, at window with incredible view.  Seafood Platter: fried cod, fried calamari, fried "prawns" with crispy fries and yummy coleslaw....and a Bloody Mary!

            Dessert at Tuttimelon in Novato, Pineapple Whip Sorbet. Blissful day!

Monday, 5/17/2021

     Drove into San Francisco for the day, eating lunch at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, just beside the Bay Bridge in South Beach.  

     I've posted the photos on a separate blog post here.

Took some photos of Dede's flowers and lemons as well as California poppies and other cool flowers on the side of the roadway.

Tuesday, 5/18/2021

Homeward bound.  Left Oakland at 9:20 am, arriving in Baltimore at 8:10 pm.  By the time I got my bag and reached the car it was almost 10 pm.  I'm so glad that I had reserved a night at the BWI Garden Hilton, which was around 3 miles from the parking garage!

What a wonderful week!

35. Redeeming Vows by Catherine Bybee

#3 MacCoinnich Time Travels

listened on Kindle Unlimited Audio/Audible

narrated by David Monteath

Unabridged audio (9:42)
2010
314 pgs.
Adult Time Travel/Romance
Finished 4/9/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.25 - 1781 ratings
My rating: 3.5/4
Setting: Contemporary LA and 16th century Scotland

First line/s: "Liz snapped out of her daydream with Simon's voice ringing in her ears."

My comments: Most of my review was erased!!!  all that was left was: "they were able to return with the help of a modern-day druid and a lunar eclipse...."  This one was about Finn and Lizzie.

Goodreads synopsis:  For her own safety, modern day, single mom, Lizzy McAllister is forced to bow to the medieval men who surround her when she's thrust back in time to the sixteenth century against her will. When Lizzie finds herself trapped in time with Fin, the one man she finds both irresistible and maddening, she agrees to combine forces with him to rid Scotland of the evil witch, Grainna. Finlay MacCoinnich's attraction to Lizzie sizzles the very air they breathe. Tearing down the solid walls the woman has built around her won't be easy, but he's willing to do anything to keep her by his side. When a spell cast by their deadliest foe throws them forward in time, will they manage to find their way back in time to save their family from peril? And will Lizzy willingly stay in his time, or abandon him altogether?

34. Silent Vows by Catherine Bybee

#2 MacCoinnich Time Travels

listened on Kindle Unlimited Audio/Audible

narrated by David Monteath with GREAT accents and voice tones

Unabridged audio (9:35)
2010
302 pgs.
Adult Time Travel/Hist. Fiction
Finished 4/8/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.18 - 1924 ratings
My rating: 3.5
Setting: Contemporary LA/1570's Scotland

First line/s:  "My life is over.  Myra MacCoinnich sat astride her horse, marching toward death, death of her life, as she knew it.  Why?"

My comments: The second installment focuses mainly on Myra, the 21-year-old Scottish sister of Duncan and Todd Blakely, the young, fit cop that she meets when she is sent back to the 21st century.  Tara and Duncan are still on the scene, but background characters.  Lizzie and Finn come to a little more proinence, as do Simon and Kieran and Amber, sibling of Myra, Duncan, and Finn.  Gwen, the bad "witch," ges stronger and stronger and viler and meaner.  HEA.  Book 3 to come will be good.  This romance was steamier than the first, could've done with a little less. I don't know how the narrator keeps all the different accents and tones of voice he uses separate, but he does a great job!

Goodreads synopsis:  Myra, a medieval virgin druidess, flees five hundred years into the future to escape death at the hands of a cursed witch and lands in the arms of a handsome but cynical twenty-first century cop. Officer Todd Blakely knows Myra is hiding something, but can't resist her innocent charms. Destiny throws them both into a world of intrigue and mysticism. Can Todd be the true white knight she needs? Or will magic and the winds of time tear them apart?

29. One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak

listened on Audible

narrated by Erin Bennett -- Excellently

Unabridged audio (12:40)
2020
464 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 3/31/2021
Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 4218 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Lake Tahoe, California, summertime

First line/s: "Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Serenity Alston navigated the winding freeway heading east toward Donner Summit."

My comments: Three women discover, through DNA testing, that they are sisters.  They had NO clue.  They end up finding each other, then spending a summer together in a cabin on Lake Tahoe where they not only get to know each other, but support each other in each of their individual difficulties with life.  Serenity, the eldest, helped to put her husband in Jail.  Regan, the middle sister has just had an affair with her married boss and iss suffering the consequences of that.  Lauralee, the youngest, mother of four-year-old Lucy, has just discovered that her husband not only had an affair with her best friend, but that best friend is now pregnant.  So, yeah, three up-and-down love stories and the description of how three women who had never known each other before become inseparable.  Just a little too sappy and disjointed for me.  Excellent narrator.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for 23andMe, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn't know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.
           Serenity has always found solace at her family's Lake Tahoe cabin, so what better place for the three women to dig into the mystery that has shaken the foundation each of them was raised on? With Reagan navigating romantic politics at her New York City advertising firm, and Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they'll have to confront the paths they walked to get there and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true was a lie.
          But any future is easier to face with family by your side

146. The Last Flight by Julie Clark

read on Audible
narrated by Kristine Hvam and Lauren Fortgang
Unabridged audio (9:23)
2020
302 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 12/4/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.13 - 33,696 ratings

My rating: 4
Setting: mostly Berkeley, CA, contemporary

First line/s:  "Terminal 4 swarms with people, the smell of wet wool and jet fuel thick around me.  I wait for her, just inside the sliding glass doors, the frigid winter wind slamming into me whenever they open, and instead force myself to visualize a balmy Puerto Rican breeze, laced with the scent of hibiscus and sea salt."

What I posted on Goodreads:  A story of two women switching places, one abused, one running for her life because of bad choices.  Certainly kept my interest!  Set mostly in Berkeley, California.  Great readers.

Goodreads synopsis:  Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.

          Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he's not above using his staff to track Claire's every move, making sure she's living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn't know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.
          A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets ― Claire taking Eva's flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.
           The Last Flight is the story of two women―both alone, both scared―and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives.

109. Thin Air by Lisa Gray

#1 Jessica Shaw, wandering PI
listened on Audible - have on Kindle, too
narrated by Amy Landon, who was excellent
Unabridged audio (8:44)
2019 Thomas & Mercer
288 pgs.
Adult Mystery, Series
Finished 7/25/2020
Goodreads rating:  3.87 - 39,273 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary Los Angles area, CA

First line/s: "I park the car four streets away, and walk the rest of the way."

My comments: Jessica discovers herself as a stolen child  when she was three years old.  We start with her discovery of that information.  She had had absolutely no idea.  Her mother had been murdered, herself as a baby gone. Raised in NY, she is now on the road in California, just a year or two after her much-loved father's death.  Of course she jumps into the case, which proves very interesting.  She's pretty smart and tracks down many clues, of course solving it.  She likes to drink and hit the road for the unknown....and that's how the book ends, with her hitting the road for parts unknown.  Sort of a female Jack Reacher, but without all his physical skills (and brilliance, lol).  I'm going to definitely check out other books to come in this series.  Next one is called Bad Memory, with number three coming out in November 2020.

Goodreads synopsis:  She investigates missing persons—now she is one.
           Private investigator Jessica Shaw is used to getting anonymous tips. But after receiving a photo of a three-year-old kidnapped from Los Angeles twenty-five years ago, Jessica is stunned to recognize the little girl as herself.
          Eager for answers, Jessica heads to LA’s dark underbelly. When she learns that her biological mother was killed the night she was abducted, Jessica’s determined to solve a case the police have forgotten. Meanwhile, veteran LAPD detective Jason Pryce is in the midst of a gruesome investigation into a murdered college student moonlighting as a prostitute. A chance encounter leads to them crossing paths, but Jessica soon realizes that Pryce is hiding something about her father’s checkered history and her mother’s death.
           To solve her mother’s murder and her own disappearance, Jessica must dig into the past and find the secrets buried there. But the air gets thinner as she crawls closer to the truth, and it’s getting harder and harder to breathe.

107. Find Me by Ann Frasier

#1 Inland Empire

listened on Audible
narrated by Erin Bennett

Unabridged audio (9:16)
2020
282 pgs.
Genre/Level
Finished 7/21/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 21,189 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Palm Springs/Joshua Tree/29 Palms/High  Desert of southern California

First line/s:  "It was dark by the time Cathy Baker took off along the Southern California trail just outside the town of Redlands."

My comments: Anne Frasier is becoming one of my favorite authors in the mystery/murder mystery genre.  Always plenty to anticipate, never a dull moment; believable characters, and lots of twists and turns.  Psychopaths and sociopaths -- imagine being born into a family with these characteristices...and imagine living your whole life knowing that, as a kid, your much-adored father uses you as bait to reel in innocent young women to their deaths.  How do you live with that?  Anne Frasier takes you into the minds of her characters to allow you to hear their thoughts and feel their pain.  Couldn't put it down  Looks like there might be more in the series, too, yippee!

Goodreads synopsis:   A bone-chilling family history is unearthed in a heart-stopping thriller by New York Times bestselling author Anne Frasier.

          Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has finally offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: he’ll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.

          Perfect to play a lost little girl, Reni was the bait to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths. It’s time for closure. For her. For the families. And for Daniel. He shares Reni’s obsession with the past. Ever since he was a boy, he’s been convinced that his mother was one of Fisher’s victims.

A five-hundred-mile road trip lies ahead. Thirty years of bad memories are flooding back. A master manipulator has gained their trust. For Reni and Daniel, this isn’t the end of a nightmare. It’s only the beginning

30. Blood Relations by Jonathan Moore

listened to audio/Audible
narrated by David Colacci
Unabridged audio (12:12)
2019 Mariner Books
357 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 2/14/2020
Goodreads rating:  3.92 - 222 ratings
My rating:  4 (but 5 with a different narrator
Setting:  Contemporary San Francisco, with forays to LA, Mendocino, and Carmel - and Boston

First line/s:  "The first time I saw Clare Gravesend she was already dead."

My comments: Super interesting story, great plot and extremely interesting characters.  I loved the setting - from San Francisco to LA and all along the California coast including Carmel, Monterrey, Mendocino, all places I know fairly well and have a strong picture in my mind.  My biggest - and only - problem was with the narrated voice of the protagonist.  It didn't match what I would have considered his personality in even the slightest way.  His voice was deep, gruff, and much older sounding than I think he was supposed to be.  It threw me off completely with what I physically pictured and I didn't like that part of it at all.  And I think that means I have to take my overall rating down.  I would love to have another book in the series, but I felt the same way about the last book I read by this author and no second book as appeared for that one, either!

Goodreads synopsis:  Who is Claire Gravesend?
          So wonders PI Lee Crowe when he finds her dead, in a fine cocktail dress, on top of a Rolls Royce, in the most dangerous neighborhood in San Francisco. Claire’s mother, Olivia, is one of the richest people in California. She doesn’t believe the coroner: her daughter did not kill herself. Olivia hires Crowe, who—having just foiled a federal case against a cartel kingpin—is eager for distraction. But the questions about the Gravesend family pile up fast.
          First, the autopsy reveals round scars running down Claire’s spine, old marks Olivia won’t explain. Then, Crowe visits Claire’s Boston townhouse and has to fend off an armed intruder. Is it the Feds out for revenge? Or is this connected to the Gravesends? He leaves Boston afraid, but finds his way to Claire’s secret San Francisco pied-à-terre. It’s there that his questions come to a head. Sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, he finds Claire—her face, her hair, her scars—and as far as he can tell, she’s alive. And Crowe’s back at the start:
          Who is Claire Gravesend? 

24. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

#22 Kinsey Millhone
listened to eAudio/Bosler Library
narrated by Judy Kaye
Unabridged audio (15:11)
2011 Putnam Adult
437 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 2/4/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.96 - 26,591 ratings
My rating:
Setting: 1988 Santa Theresa (Santa Barbara), California, and a bit in San Luis Obisbo

First line/s: "So this is how it went down, folks.  I turned 38 on May 5, 1988, and my big birthday surprise was a big punch in the face that left me with two black eyes and a busted nose."

My comments:  I haven't read a Kinsey Millhone in years, so it was really fun to start listening to this.  I totally remembered the voice of Judy Kay, which is definitely the voice of Kinsey Millhone from my past.  Sue Grafton was the detail queen of the police procedural!  They were so many minute details - many of them unnecessary -  but it was fun to listen and try to determine which were important and which weren't.  Back-and-forth between a number of characters, it was fun looking at the story from all sorts of angles, including the sorta bad guy, which = spoiler alert!! = you really begin rooting for.  An entrancing story, even though it was over fifteen hours of listening, which did seem a little long at one or two points.  Fun book.

Goodreads synopsis:  A spiderweb of dangerous relationships lies at the heart.
          A woman with a murky past jumps off a bridge, or was she thrown? A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt thinks he can beat the system. A lovely woman whose marriage is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring working for the Mob, racks up millions from stolen goods. A wandering husband is rich and ruthless. A dirty cop is so entrenched on the force he is immune to exposure. A sinister gangster is conscienceless and brutal. A lonely widower mourns the death of his lover, desperate for answers, which may be worse than the pain of his loss. Private detective, Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose.
           And an elegant and powerful businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the magus at the center of the web.
          V: Victim. Violence. Vengeance.

23. My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

listened to eAudio/Bosler Library
narrated by Shayna Thibodeaux and Deacon Lee
Unabridged audio (7:08)
2018 Gallery Books
384 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 2/3/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.83 - 22,195 ratings
My rating:
Setting: Contemporary Santa Barbara, California

First line/s:   "When I was in grade school, my best friend, Alison Kim, was obsessed with horses."

My comments:  Very enjoyable romantic comedy with some serious stuff, too...  Five college professors at University of California Santa Barbara are best friends - four males and one female.  What happens when two of them take it a little bit farther?  Throw in escapades with online dating, California vineyards, misunderstandings, and a teeny tiny bit of steam and you have this very enjoyable story.  I'm really beginning to like this author a lot.  She even used the word CACOPHONY!!!

Goodreads synopsis:  Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.
          So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.
          But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

18. The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

#3 Renee Ballard & Harry Bosch
Listened to Audible
narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin
Unabridged audio (10:04)
2019 Little Brown & Co.
405 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 1/26/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.35 - 18,962 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s:  "Bosch arrived late and had to park on a cemetery lane far from the grave site."

My comments:  This was an intricately woven series of mysteries stemming from a cold case that Harry Bosch had received from his deceased mentor, and an arson case that Renee Ballard covered on her night shift, as well as some investigative work that Harry completed for his half-brother, Mickey Haller.  Complex but easy to follow, the working relationship and almost affection they have for each other is palpable.  I hate that Harry is pushing 70, but I adore him just as much as I always have.  I love the back-and-forth chapters hearing the voices of both of them.

Goodreads synopsis:  Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch's mentor, the man who trained him -- new from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly
          Back when Harry Bosch was just a rookie homicide detective, he had an inspiring mentor who taught him to take the work personally and light the fire of relentlessness for every case. Now that mentor, John Jack Thompson, is dead, but after his funeral his widow hands Bosch a murder book that Thompson took with him when he left the LAPD 20 years before -- the unsolved killing of a troubled young man in an alley used for drug deals.
          Bosch brings the murder book to Renée Ballard and asks her to help him find what about the case lit Thompson's fire all those years ago. That will be their starting point.
          The bond between Bosch and Ballard tightens as they become a formidable investigation team. And they soon arrive at a worrying question: Did Thompson steal the murder book to work the case in retirement, or to make sure it never got solved?