5. Hide by Tracy Clark

#1 Det. Harriet (Harry) Foster

listened on Audible (through Kindle Unlimited)

2023
377 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 1/12/2023
Goodreads rating: 4.20
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Chicago

My comments: Couldn't wait to read a 2023 published novel and this one looked good.  Didn't work for me, though.  The narrator did the protagonist voice okay, but all the other voices were just horrible.  The story was shown through different viewpoints, so you immediately knew what was going to happen, there weren't many secrets at all.  I did like the main protagonist, Harry.  This is the first in the series, wil I try the next?  Perhaps.

Goodreads synopsis:  From acclaimed author Tracy Clark comes a page-turning mystery featuring hard-boiled Chicago detective Harriet Foster, who’s on the hunt for a serial killer with a deadly affinity for redheads.

When a young red-haired woman is found brutally murdered in downtown Chicago, one detail stands out: the red lipstick encircling her wrists and ankles.

Detective Harriet Foster is on the case, even though she’s still grieving the sudden death of her partner. As a Black woman in a male-dominated department, Foster anticipates a rocky road ahead acclimating to a new team—and building trust with her new partner isn’t coming easily.

After another victim turns up with the same lipstick markings, Foster suspects she’s looking for a serial killer. Through a tip from a psychiatrist, Foster learns about Bodie Morgan: a troubled man with a twisted past and a penchant for pretty young redheads with the bluest eyes. As Foster wades into Morgan’s sinister history, the killer continues their gruesome assault on Chicago’s streets.

In her desperate race to catch the murderer before they strike again, Foster will have to confront the darkest of secrets—including her own.

114. The Fifth to Die by J. K. Barker

#2 MLK Murders
listened on Audible
narrated by Eduardo Ballerini and Graham Winton
Unabridged audio (15:07)
2018
416 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 8/6/2020
Goodreads rating:  432 - 5744 ratings
My rating:  5
Setting:  Contemporary Chicago, with forays to New Orleans and Sourth Carolina

First line/s:  "Darkness.  It swirled around him deep and thick, eating the light and leaving nothing behind but an inky void."

What I posted on GoodReads:  Flipping back and forth between many pov's, the interesting, though gritty, mystery continues.

My comments:  Talk about ending on a cliffhanger!  I'm so glad I have the next book, the final book, in the trilogy ready and waiting.   Flipping back and forth between three Chicago cops, different girls who have been abducted, an FBI agent, and the diary of Bishop, the story comes at you from all angles.  Anson Bishop, an incredibly smart serial murderer - and a particularly gruesome one at that - is still at it, this time having an accomplice.

Goodreads synopsis:  In the thrilling sequel to The Fourth Monkey, a new serial killer stalks the streets of Chicago, while Detective Porter delves deeper into the dark past of the Four Monkey Killer.
          Detective Porter and the team have been pulled from the hunt for Anson Bishop, the Four Monkey Killer, by the feds. When the body of a young girl is found beneath the frozen waters of Jackson Park Lagoon, she is quickly identified as Ella Reynolds, missing three weeks. But how did she get there? The lagoon froze months earlier. More baffling? She’s found wearing the clothes of another girl, missing less than two days. While the detectives of Chicago Metro try to make sense of the quickly developing case, Porter secretly continues his pursuit of 4MK, knowing the best way to find Bishop is to track down his mother. When the captain finds out about Porter’s activities, he’s suspended, leaving his partners Clair and Nash to continue the search for the new killer alone.
          Obsessed with catching Bishop, Porter follows a single grainy photograph from Chicago to the streets of New Orleans and stumbles into a world darker than he could have possibly imagined, where he quickly realizes that the only place more frightening than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.

57. Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid

#7 Knitting in the City
Listened on Audible Escape
narrated by Angela Dawe and Stephen Dexter
Unabridged audio (16:24)
2018 Cipher-Naught
506 pgs.
Romance
Finished 3/26/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 11,893 ratings
My rating: 3.5
Setting:  Chicago for 50%, then move to Boston

First line/s:  " 'What did you just say?' My sharp question earned me a sharp look from Ms. Opal. She eyed me from across the room."

My comments:  The most interesting thing about this book was the Boston accent used by the male protagonist, Dan.  Talk about over the top!  The story begins in Chicago and moves to Boston about halfway through.  It appears to be that this is book number seven in a series, and you can tell that most of the characters have been well flushed out previously.  There are a lot of characters in this friend-group, a few too many, actually, though I know they're included to satisfy people who have read the first six books.  For the most part, this is a standalone.  The hardest to comprehend is the difference between the inner insecure feelings of the two protagonists and what they showed outwardly.  They didn't coincide at all, just didn't work.  Super mixed feelings because I did enjoy the story, though it was excruciatingly draw out with very bad guys and very good guys and not much in between.  The epilogue takes place 15 years in the future, where the extended group of friends are still meeting together, only now the all have oodles of kids.  Hard to rate this one

Goodreads synopsis:  There are three things you need to know about Kat Tanner (aka Kathleen Tyson. . . and yes, she is *that* Kathleen Tyson): 1) She’s determined to make good decisions, 2) She must get married ASAP, and 3) She knows how to knit.
          Being a billionaire heiress isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Determined to live a quiet life, Kat Tanner changed her identity years ago and eschewed her family’s legacy. But now, Kat’s silver spoon past has finally caught up with her, and so have her youthful mistakes.
          To avoid imminent disaster, she must marry immediately; it is essential that the person she chooses have no romantic feelings for her whatsoever and be completely trustworthy. Fortunately, she knows exactly who to ask. Dan O’Malley checks all the boxes: single, romantically indifferent to her, completely trustworthy. Sure, she might have a wee little crush on Dan the Security Man, but with clear rules, expectations, and a legally binding contract, Kat is certain she can make it through this debacle with her sanity—and heart—all in one piece.
          Except, what happens when Dan O’Malley isn’t as indifferent—or as trustworthy—as she thought?
★★★★★ Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist for Best Romance ★★★★★

57. The Fourth Monkey by J. D. Barker

read on my iPhone
2017 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
404 pgs.
Adult murder mystery/police procedural
Finished 9/13/17
Goodreads rating:  4.19
My rating:  4.5/5
Setting:  contemporary Chicago

First line/s:  "There it was again, that incessant ping."

My comments:  A creepy, chilling, deliciously mesmerizing story of two men - one a cop, the other a psychopath.  So much happens in the story, and it's all told in very interesting ways.  We read the psychopath's diary, written especially for the cop, Sam Porter, to read.  We follow along with the cop as he returns to work after the murder of his wife (although it is slowly revealed that she has been murdered). And we suffer with the victim as she struggles through a horrible kidnapping.  There's a lot of violence.  Those parts sort of reminded me of the Archie Sheridan mysteries by Chelsea Cain.  I got creeped out a number of times, but couldn't wait to get back to find out what was going to happen next.  And the ending was really something.  Oh yes, there will be more....

Goodreads synopsis: Se7en meets The Silence of the Lambs in this dark and twisting novel from the author Jeffery Deaver called, A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind." 

          For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

          As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.
          With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer's identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.

26. In the Shadow of Lakecrest by Elizabeth Blackwell

read on my iPhone
2017 Lake Union Publishing
282 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction - gothic
Finished 4/27/17
Goodreads rating: 3.64 - 4763 ratings
My rating: 1
Setting: 1928 Chicago area/ on Lake Michigan

First line/s:  "Last night I dreamed Lakecrest was on fire."

My comments:  Bleh.  From slow, plodding, and boring to rushed and ridiculous at the end, I found nothing to like in this novel - not one of the characters, not the setting, and certainly not the mood.  It was supposed to have a Gothic feel, I'm sure, but it was just too ridiculous and ... off.  Nothing worked for me.  The plot was disjointed and choppy, and the characters didn't seem the least bit real.  I can't believe I didn't quit before the end..... (I always hate to give a negative review because I don't want to hurt the author's feelings, but I have to be honest, so apologies to the author, who spent a lot of time and energy, I'm sure, writing this book.)

Goodreads synopsis:  The year is 1928. Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed.
          After exchanging wedding vows, Kate quickly discovers that something isn’t quite right with her husband—or her new family. As Mrs. Matthew Lemont, she must contend with her husband’s disturbing past, his domineering mother, and his overly close sister. Isolated at Lakecrest, the sprawling, secluded Lemont estate, she searches desperately for clues to Matthew’s terrors, which she suspects stem from the mysterious disappearance of his aunt years before. As Kate stumbles deeper into a maze of family secrets, she begins to question everyone’s sanity—especially her own. But just how far will she go to break free of this family’s twisted past? 

11. The Life List - Lori Nelson Spielman

read on my iPhone
2013, Bantam
368 pgs.
Chick Lit/ CRF
Finished 2/20/16
Goodreads rating: 4.09
My rating: 4 (lots of 4s lately, it seems.....)
Setting: Contemporary Chicago

First line/s: "Voices from the dining room echo up the walnut staircase, indistinct, buzzing, intrusive.  With trembling hands I lock the door behind me.My world goes silent."

My comments:  Definitely chick lit, of which I'm not the biggest fan, but every chick needs to read one every so often.  I found this sitting in my Nook app, not sure where it came from or how long it had been there, so with nothing better to do, dug right in.  Entertaining, predictable, aggravating, interesting, and fun.  I learned a bit about the geography of the city of Chicago, which was a nice bonus.

Goodreads synopsis:  In this utterly charming debut — one woman sets out to complete her old list of childhood goals, and finds that her lifelong dreams lead her down a path she never expects.
1. Go to Paris
2. Perform live, on a super big stage
3. Have a baby, maybe two
4. Fall in love 
          Brett Bohlinger has forgotten all about the list of life goals she’d written as a naïve teenager. In fact, at thirty-four, Brett seems to have it all—a plum job at her family’s multimillion-dollar company and a spacious loft with her irresistibly handsome boyfriend. But when her beloved mother, Elizabeth, dies, Brett’s world is turned upside down. Rather than simply naming her daughter the new CEO of Bohlinger Cosmetics, Elizabeth’s will comes with one big stipulation: Brett must fulfill the list of childhood dreams she made so long ago. 
          Grief-stricken, Brett can barely make sense of her mother’s decision. Some of her old hopes seem impossible. How can she possibly have a relationship with a father who died seven years ago? Other dreams (Be an awesome teacher!) would require her to reinvent her entire future. For each goal attempted, her mother has left behind a bittersweet letter, offering words of wisdom, warmth, and—just when Brett needs it—tough love. 
          As Brett struggles to complete her abandoned life list, one thing becomes clear: Sometimes life’s sweetest gifts can be found in the most unexpected places.

PICTURE BOOK - Fiona's Lace - Patricia Polacco

Illustrated by the author

2014 Paula Wiseman; Simon & Schuster

HC $17.99

40  pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.03

My rating: 4

Endpapers: solid bold green background with intricate last recctangle almost covering the entire page

Illustrations: ah, Patricia Polacco......

1^st line/s:  "Many years ago my father's family lived in a small, poor village a few miles from Limerick in Ireland.  Everyone in the village depended on the textile mill that was soon to close.  Most of the vilagers were unsure of their futures.  But Glen Kerry was their home and all that any of them had ever known."

My comments:  Another lovely family story from Patricia Polacco with many themes and at least one strong moral.  Most of Polacco's stories come from family stories, and within the book itself there is usually some sort of oral story-telling.  This is very strongly of that sort - a piece of the lace that is the second protagonist in the story is framed on the wall in Polacco's home.  This is also a very vibrant immigration story.

Goodreads:  An Irish family stays together with the help of Fiona's talent for making one-of-a-kind lace in this heartwarming immigration story from the New York Times bestselling creator of The Keeping Quilt.

          Many years ago, times were hard in all of Ireland, so when passage to America becomes available, Fiona and her family travel to Chicago. They find work in domestic service to pay back their passage, and at night Fiona turns tangles of thread into a fine, glorious lace. Then when the family is separated, it is the lace that Fiona's parents follow to find her and her sister and bring the family back together. And it is the lace that will always provide Fiona with memories of Ireland and of her mother's words; "In your heart your true home resides, and it will always be with you as long as you remember those you love."
          This generational story from the family of Patricia Polacco's Irish father brims with the same warmth and heart as the classic The Keeping Quilt and The Blessing Cup, which Kirkus Reviews called "deeply affecting" in a starred review, and embraces the comfort of family commitment and togetherness that Patricia Polacco's books are known for.

56. Divergent - Veronica Roth

First in a new series
Katherine Tegen Books (Harper Collins) 2011
HC $17.99
for:  Young Adults
487 pgs.
Rating:  4

First Line/s:  There is one mirror in my house.  It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs.   Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.

Setting: Chicago, somewhere in the future.
OSS:  Beatrice Prior has come to the vital point in every 16-year-old's life, when they must choose one of society's five factions  in which to spend the remainder of their days.

Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the truthful), Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful/happy), and the Erudite (the smart).  Beatrice has been born and raised as an Abnegation.  She loves her family - her parents and her brother, Caleb.  But when the time comes to choose the faction in which she best fits, it's more than difficult.  Because if she chooses anything other than Abnegation she will have to leave her family, her home, everything she knows.....forever.

In a story that intertwines a somewhat recognizable dystopia with rethinking the parameters of war and peace, we watch the initiation of Beatrice (who renames herself "Tris") into a new and exciting faction, where she finds new friends, new foes, (a boyfriend, of course), and a life that she could have never imagined.

I read this in one day....staying up late.  Tris is a great character, brave, smart, loving....and really, quite real.  I was quite drawn to her.  You had your stereotypical nasty peers, lots of action and adventure, and the requisite layers of bad guy vs. good guy. It's left so that you know there will be sequels.

MOVIE - Source Code

Super!
Released 4-1-11
PG-13 (1:27)
Wed. 6-8-11 at Crossroads, alone
RT:  91, I'll go with the same
Director:  Duncan Jones

JAKE GYLLENHAAL (need I say more?) Michelle Monaghan, Vra Farmiga

Great movie.  Air Force Captain Cotter Stevens wakes up on a train heading for Chicago, sitting across from a young woman who keeps calling him Sean.  As the train approaches the city, it blows up.  Stevens "comes to" in some sort of a dark, cold, weird underground holding room.  He can't remember anything that's happened to him, but the woman who he can see and talk to on a screen tells him, slowly, what he needs to know.  He has 8 minutes to keep returning to the same situation to discover information about the bombing so he can stop the next one that is going to take place. Most of this is shown in the first fifteen minutes, its the roller coaster ride after that  that I won't retell.  It's an interesting story, and if you can put aside wondering how being able to go back and forth works, you'll progress right through the movie understanding almost everything that happens.

Gyllenhall is his usual wonderful, handsome, athletic, smart self.  Michelle Monaghan as the girl on the train and Vera Farmiga as the person on the other side of the screen are both very good.  It's the story that works here, at least for me....it's a good one!

1. Bloody Mary - J. A. Konrath

#2 Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series
Audio read by Susie Breck & Dick Hill
Brilliance Audio, 2005
7 unabridged cds
7 hrs, $29.95
(HC 320 pgs.)
Rating: 2

Very grizzly...almost upsettingly so, I literally cringed at some of the descriptions. And also quite funny in some places. They didn't really seem to work together for me. I read the first- Whiskey Sour - and didn't really care for the protagonist. And I didn't like her any more in this installment. So kick me if I decide to read another.

One of Lt. Daniels' coworkers is a cruel serial killer and he has decided that Jack is his ultimate target. In the meantime, he kills randomly, going somewhat crazy, and dismembering his female victims. When he is caught it is discovered that he has a tumor and it is blamed on all his previous vicious behavior. He fakes amnesia and is set free...free to stalk Jack and kill even more. Her mother is one of the next victims, but she's still somewhat alive when the story ends.

Put on Your Travelin' Shoes: CHICAGO

Chicago, Chicago......Sunday through Saturday at the beginning of September. Perfect weather. Sunshine. 70's and low 80's. Greeness and plantings everywhere. Close friends. What more could I ask for?

What were my favorite things?

The architecture. The skyline. The views. The history of the buildings and the city. We took an architecture boat cruise down the Chicago River, which was superlative. We craned our heads looking up. We viewed the city from the Hancock Observatory (somewhere on the 94th (or so) floor. We saw two models of the downtown area - one at the fantastic Museum of Science and Industry and one at the Chicago Architecture Foundation on Madison Avenue.

The art.
I could move into the Chicago Institute of Art. It is immense, it is lovely, it has more art - the kind I personally love - than anywhere I've ever been. Kandinskys and Van Goghs and O'Keeffes and Matisses and Picassos and on and on.
There's also the public art - by famous and not-so-famous artists. We saw refrigerator art and a brand new installation in Pritzker Park, just beside the library, of a 30 foot tall eyeball!

The food.
We only had one meal that wasn't great - but we were compensated by the best table in the house - front corner, with the windows open to the street - with the occupants of Lincoln Park jogging, walking, rushing by after work. We loved Harry Carays (we split a number of different, incredible dishes), the Original Pancake House (thanks, Emily, for suggesting the 49ers Flapjacks) the deep dish pizza at Gino's East, where the tables, booths, walls are all covered with grafitti. We loved the margaritas, beer, and pub fries at Bennigans, which revived our aching legs more than once. We even found the perfect breakfast spot at a nearby Marriott, where I enjoyed one egg (broken and over hard), bacon, toast and home fries for $3.50! We stumbled onto Nookies Too and had a restaurants.com coupon for Bijan's Bistro - we either lucked out all week or there's nothing but great food in Chicago!

The Entertainment
We laughted until we were crying at Second City. We saw "Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies."
We saw "Billy Elliot, the Musical" at the Oriental Theater Ford Center (we got half price tickets at HotTix at the Water Tower Visitor Center).
We saw the Hubble mjovie at the IMax theater at the Museum of Science and Industry.
NOTE: The city itself would have been enough entertainment!

My five favorite places (in no particular order):
The 9-story Harold Washington Library in downtown. I spent quite awhile riding up and down the escalators, sitting in the 9th floor Winter Garden, and checking out the new books in the 2nd floor children's room. Room? It could have been 20 rooms! And the librarians (and the security guards) were really, really nice.

The observation deck at the John Hancock Observatory. The views of the city and downtown were breathtaking.

The Art Institute of Chicago. Enough said above, I guess. Even the cafe --- we sat (and ate) there twice, outside beside the fountain. I could have sat there with a book and/or journal all day.

The Wendella Boat Cruise down the Chicago River was definitely a fave. When we got off, we walked through and around the Wrigley buidling and over to the Tribune building, where, imbedded all around its outside walls, are pieces from other famous buildings all over the world....
The Amalfi Hotel, at 20 W. Kinzie Street, was the perfect location for us. Accomodations were wonderful, free drinks and lavish appetizers served every evening on the 6th floor. Rooms were spotless and housekeeping was extra-good, making us feel like our room had been thoroughly cleaned upon every return. One block north of downtown, one block to the buses, two blocks to the red line, right across the street from Harry Caray's.....a real delight.

The only downers, we decided, were the constant horns blaring and the multitude of beggars. You couldn't seem to avoid either. And the Adler Planetarium was a bit of a disappointment. We were glad that we went on free admission day (although we had to pay for the two extra shows we saw). Aching legs for me and knees for Fran. And we left on 9/11, which is such a sad day anyways. Other than that primo, primo, primo!

53. Whiskey Sour - J. A. Konrath

Audio Read by Susie Breck and Dick Hill
Brilliance Audio, 2004
For: adults
6 CD's/7 hrs.
288 pgs.
Rating: 4

Grizzly murders, humorous female protagonist, overeating side-kick, and the city of Chicago frame this humorous introduction to Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, a lieutenant of detectives in the Chicago PD.

Jack is in charge of a particularly grizzly murder of a Jane Doe, dumped into a 7-11 trash can, badly brutalized. The next day, at another 7-11, the same thing. The Gingerbread Man is taking lives quickly...brutally....and has become mesmerized by Jack, trying to get to her, too. He is meticulous, thinks through every move, hard-to-track or catch. But Jack is smart, funny, brave and brazen and she figures it all out, much to the sociopath's chagrin. Hair-raising, scary, and quite funny, I'm sure I'll look for the next in this bar-drink titled series.

At the end of the audio the author himself reads the short story from which this book came. Great way to end the book.