5. Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb

listened on Libby

336 pgs.

2024
Adult romance
Finished 1/21/2026
Goodreads rating: 3.59
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Tucson

My comments: Great, fun premise, set in Tucson.  Birding interests me, I love Tucson, and fake dating is always I trope that can be quite enjoyable.  However, the protagonist was too over-the-top for me - very believable as such, but she sorta drove me nuts.  So-so romance. And not enough Tucson.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A divorcee embarks on her “year of yes” and crosses paths with a shy but sensitive birdwatcher who changes her life in this charming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood.

Newly divorced, almost-empty-nester Celeste is finally seeking adventure and putting herself first, cliches be damned. So when a friend asks Celeste to “partner” with his buddy John for an event, Celeste throws herself into the role of his temporary girlfriend. But quiet cinnamon roll John isn’t looking for love, just birds—he needs a partner for Tucson’s biggest bird-watching contest if he’s ever going to launch his own guiding business. By the time they untangle their crossed signals, they’ve become teammates…and thanks to his meddling friends, a fake couple.

Celeste can’t tell a sparrow from a swallow, but John is a great teacher, and the hours they spend hiking in the Arizona wilderness feed Celeste’s hunger for new adventures while giving John a chance to practice his dream job. As the two spend more time together, they end up watching more than just the birds, and their chemistry becomes undeniable. Since they’re both committed to the single life, Celeste suggests a status upgrade: birders with benefits, just until the contest is done. But as the bird count goes up and their time together ticks down, John and Celeste will have to decide if their benefits can last a lifetime, or if this love affair is for the birds.

54. Darkscope - J. Carson Black (Writing as Margaret Falk)

read on my Kindle
it says 2010 as a publishing date, but I think it's older than that...
349 pgs.
Adult murder mystery/ghost story
Finished Friday, 10/7/16 - spent the day reading
Goodreads rating:  3.57 - 107 ratings
My rating: 4/ quite an enjoyable read, especially because of the setting, which was a major character in itself!
Setting: Bisbee, Arizona and it surroundings....1930's to 1980's

First line/s: PROLOGUE:  "Lucas McCord knew his death was imminent.  It didn't matter how he knew.  Like an animal searching for a quiet place to die, he had already retreated into that part of his sould reserved for waiting."
PART ONE:  "The volunteer caretaker at the Bisbee Historical Society whisked a feather duster over the display case near the window.  And halted, mid-whisk."

My comments:  The only "ghost" stories I've ever read have been for kids.  This adult ghost story was great fun for me on a number of levels.  I LOVED the setting - Bisbee, Arizona (with forays to Tucson and the area/s between) including lots of explanation and history.  And the story was multi-layered and a really interesting mystery.  I actually could have done without the ghost parts (I think it could have been written as an un-ghostly mystery and been even better), but I enjoy the occasional fantasy, and so much the better if it's about an interesting mystery.

Goodreads synopsis:  After photographer Chelsea McCord’s marriage falls apart, her great uncle Bob talks her into starting a new life in 1980s Bisbee, Arizona, the historic mining town with a notorious past. Bob's father, mining magnate Lucas McCord, helped build Bisbee in the early 20th century.
     Chelsea discovers an old box camera in a dusty trunk, the film still inside. Sfjhe uses it to photograph the town. Is it her imagination, or does the stench of death emanate from the camera’s inner workings?
     And when Chelsea looks through a viewfinder wavy with age, she sees children in gunny sack clothes, their eyes dark and grainy. Children from the 1920’s. She sees a young man and woman at a train station that no longer exists. The same young woman appears in each of the camera's photographs.
     As the past superimposes itself on the present, Chelsea learns the secret of her powerful family’s dark legacy. With one click of the shutter, she has unleashed a pure and hungry evil that will consume everyone she loves.
     Pitted against a supernatural force and stalked by a psychopathic killer, Chelsea rediscovers her capacity to love as she fights to save her beloved uncle–and herself.
     “Skillfully blending elements of mystery, horror and a nice touch of irony, DARKSCOPE weaves a fascinating spell. 4 ½ stars."
---Frank A. Loporto, Rave Reviews
     “Buy the book and send it to people you want to visit here. If they aren’t scared away by the plot, they’ll soon come in.”
---Bisbee Gazette

33. The Survivor's Club - J. Carson Black

read on my iPhone
2013 Thomas & Mercer
364 pgs.
Adult murder mystery
Finished 5/7/15
Goodreads rating: 3.54
My rating: 4
Setting: mostly in Tucson, AZ, with a little outside LA

My comments:  Plot, characters, setting.  It's the setting that was most wonderful for me in this fairly grizzly mystery - in and around and south of the streets and mountains I know so well - from the Rincon foothills of Tucson to Patagonia and Nogales, even the lonely close-to-the-border ghosts towns where I snooped when I first arrived in this city-in-the-desert. (I never realized the danger I might be in until a few years later, but that's another story!)  The protagonist is okay, quite smart and real, making occasional choices that might be a bit questionable, which makes her even more believable.  The plot, although interesting, is difficult to totally believe, since I don't think Ms. Black ever really gave enough information about why this family did what they did - all as adult siblings. I can understand one of them, and maybe two, but I needed more proof as to how the other two might have been motivated to participate in some of the things they took part in.  All in all I enjoyed its many facets, its many personalities, and its many stops along the route!

Goodreads synopsis: Detective Tess McCrae investigates a grisly crime scene in the ghost town of Credo, Arizona. The evidence suggests a cartel drug hit. But Tess, with a nearly faultless photographic memory, sees what others might miss: this is no drug killing. Someone went to gruesome lengths to cover their tracks.
          The killer’s trail leads from Tucson to California — from anti-government squatters to the heights of wealthy society. As Tess follows the trail of gore and betrayal, perfect and indelible in her memory, she uncovers far more than one man’s murder and solves much more than one isolated crime.

23. Flight 12: A Laura Cardinal Thriller - J. Carson Black

#2 in a set of connected mysteries

Read on my iPhone through Kindle

June, 2014, Breakaway Media

92 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 3/18/2015

Goodreads rating: 4.23

My rating:  4 - Enjoyed it greatly

Acquired: Amazon/Kindle

Setting: contemporary Tucson, Arizona

1st sentence/s:

My comments:  I read this book because it's a Laura Cardinal mystery set in Tucson, not because it's part of this Flight 12 series.  However, I am unfamiliar with the other 11 authors and protagonists, so I think I might try some out to see what's going on -- and to find some new mystery writers.  This shortish story is an interesting read, as Black takes us back to characters we've met before.  She plays on the good-and-bad-twisting-and-writhing personality changes that lay, usually dormant, inside people, and makes one think hard about how fragile we can all be - without even realizing it.  I didn't want this particular "bad guy" to go downhill!  Ah well, I'd love to see what's going to happen with this (probably) ill-fated flight!

The 12 Website

Interesting quote from a reader on Amazon:  J. Carson Black has always been a good writer, but it's a pleasure seeing her find her niche and master it. How much suspense can be built in just over 20,000 words. Black's Flight 12 contribution answers the question, and demonstrates surprising depth in the process. Laura Cardinal is becoming more of a hardened veteran in Black's series, but someone who's absolutely committed to getting it right. Thanks to the ghost of her former partner, Frank Entwistle, she's got a delightful though not especially well groomed conscience to keep her on course. Great read, fast and fun and highly recommended!

Goodreads book summary:  Hailed by New York Times Bestselling Author T. Jefferson Parker as “a strong new voice in American Crime Fiction,” New York Times and U.S.A. Today Bestselling Author J. Carson Black is back—and so is her iconic detective, Arizona DPS Criminal Investigator Laura Cardinal. 
          Ten minutes to midnight: 
A man waits in line at JFK International Airport to board Skyways Airlines Flight 12 to Rome. His face is impassive, his eyes bleak. His fists are clenched. The woman behind him has a bad feeling . . . 
          Months before: 
A young woman approaches Arizona Department of Public Safety detective Laura at the fitness center they share, telling her that she is slated for death, and wants Laura to “investigate her murder” when it happens. Weeks later, the woman is found dead in her car—forcing Laura to revisit the most disturbing homicide case of her career. During the course of her investigation, Laura learns the truth about the killer she arrested long ago. 
          What Laura doesn’t know: 
What will happen to the 388 souls on Flight 12? 
* * * * * 
          What do you get when a dozen bestselling, award-winning mystery/thriller authors write brand-new material centered on one heart-stopping event? 
          You get FLIGHT 12, the revolutionary followup by The Twelve to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling DEADLY DOZEN. The groundbreaking FLIGHT 12 series will feature a new release from each member of The Twelve, plus very special guests, with a conclusion so thrilling it could only come from the minds of our readers. 
          Join The Twelve in the ongoing FLIGHT 12 project. Don't just read about your favorite characters, participate in the story, win prizes, and see storytelling in a totally new way . . .

THE 12 - FLIGHT 12

Apparently there's a group of 12 authors - mystery/thriller writers - who have joined together to create a set of connected stories.  This seems to be their second outing.  I discovered it because I was looking to read another J. Carson Black in her Laura Cardinal/Tucson series.  Now I think I'll try to catch up on all the "installments" for this Fligh 12 series to see where it's going.  And maybe I'll find some new authors/protagonists/settings to love!

Now, the big question.  Should I start with the first title, or skip around reading about characters that sound interesting?

#1 (5/12/14) A Kristin Cunningham Thriller by Allan Levorone (Goodreads review)  Kristine Cunningham is an FBI Special Agent based in the Boston field office.  The passenger that she chases to the airport, almost-but-not-quite-in-time-to-catch, is Ivan Lukyanov, a Russian mafia "exporter" of kidnapped young women for the European and Middle Easter sex trade - girls as young as ten years old.

#2 (6/12/2014) A Laura Cardinal Thriller by J. Carson Black (Goodreads review) (My review) Laura Cardinal is an Arizona law enforcer/detective, based in Tucson, Arizona.  Ms. Black's passenger on Flight 12 is a sort-of-bad-guy-set-free that has returned to his black-out, black days (and I can't help but like this guy, so this should be interesting).....

#3 (7/12/2014)  A Jess Kimball Thriller by Diana Capri (Goodreads review)

#4 (8/12/14) A Sloane Monroe Thriller by Cheryl Bradshaw (Goodreads review)

#5 (9/12/14) A Kirk Weston Thriller by Aaron Patterson (Goodreads review)

#6 (10/12/14) A Dick Moonlight PI Thriller by Vincent Zandri (Goodreads review)

#7  (11/12/14) An Evie Preston Thriller by Michele Scott (Goodreads review)

#8 (1/12/15) A Jonathan Quinn Thriller by Brett Battles (Goodreads review)

#9 (1/12/15) A Xandra Carrick Thriller by Joshua Graham (Goodreads review)

#10 (2/12/15) A Kylie Cain Thriller by A. K. Alexander & J. R. Rain (Goodreads review)

#11 (3/12/15) A Jessie Knight Thriller by Carol Davis Luce (Goodreads review)

11. Cry Wolf - J. Carson Black

Laura Cardinal #4 (Tucson, AZ)

Read on my iPhone

2013 Breakaway Media

132 pgs. Kindle edition

Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural

Finished 1/29/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.55

My rating:   2/ It was okay....

Setting: contemporary Tucson, AZ

1st sentence/s:  "Laura Cardinal was just finishing up breakfast when she got the call."

My comments:  Short, but not sweet.  Loved the setting - in and around Tucson, including Madera Canyon to the south, and the story was good.  So why didn't I like it more? All of a sudden Laura Cardinal has a (very) serious relationship that is close-to-meaningless because I've gotten to know her in the previous three books and this is entirely and completely just thrown in.  There is not enough development of the relationship between Laura and her partner. I think it must be the lack of character development that's thrown me off....

Goodreads book summary:  Laura Cardinal: Packs a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Investigates homicides in small towns that have limited resources. Brings justice to murder victims--and to their killers. Laura’s job description: Criminal Investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. But maybe it should just say “Troubleshooter”.
          Tell me no lies.
          Laura and her aspiring-film-director partner, Anthony, catch a homicide case where nothing is as it appears. When pathological liar Sean Perrin is found dead in his car at a trailhead in scenic Madera Canyon, he leaves behind a skein of lies and half-truths that are impossible to untangle. From violent death in a sordid motel room to a high-end prostitution ring in Las Vegas, Laura and Anthony follow Sean’s trail across a landscape of broken dreams and convincing lies—until they confront the true evil behind the mask.

1. Grounded - Heather Ordover

Supposedly #1 in a series (called The Seven) ....

Read on my iPhone

2013, Crafting a Life Books

482 (endless) pgs.

YA fantasy-ish

Finished 1/1/2014

Goodreads rating: 4.19 (this is very hard for me to believe)

My rating:  (1) Yuck

1st sixth - Tucson, AZ, the rest in Brooklyn NY and Stockbridge, MA

1st sentence/s: "This all started because I lit my boyfriend on fire."

My comments:  Holy catfish, this book was NOT for me.  It was endless, but I had no other book on my phone so this was it. I so badly wanted to like it, particularly for the parts that described Tucson so beautifully, but this was a definite DRONE....on and on and on and on with very little meat. Sketchy, too.  There are so few books that I flat out don't like, and my apologies to the author, but....

Goodreads book summary:  Hannah Rose was able to convince herself that she was a normal teenager, even though she usually knew exactly what was about to happen next. Until one day when she set her jerk of an ex-boyfriend on fire-from 15 feet away-propelling herself into a world of weirdness.       
          Rosie is sent to live with her aunt in Brooklyn. There, Rosie discovers a family legacy of strange abilities and dangerous talents. Her training tests her gifts-and her patience-but over the summer she does begin to learn to control her unique skills and meets a boy with equally dangerous strengths. Together, they find a sort of peace that neither has ever experienced, and it looks like it will last-until disaster breaks them apart in a way neither saw coming.

78. The Devil's Hour - J. Carson Black

#3 Laura Cardinal, Tucson Police

Read on my iPhone

2007, Breakaway Media

287 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 12/26//2014

Goodreads rating:  3.72

My rating:    4 - Loved it

Contemporary Tucson, AZ

1st sentence/s:  "Steve Lawson was on his way back to the cabin when he met the little girl.  It was a beautiful morning, the kind Steve loved.  As he hiked, his eye automatically cataloged the glittery trail of schist mixed in with the dirt along the dry creek bed, the granitic boulders flecked with biotite flakes and garnet.  But this morning, he wasn't thinking about the geological events that had shaped these mountains.  He was preoccupied with the message someone had left on his cell phone.  He wondered if the message had anything to do with the break-ins."

My comments:  When I read the first two books in the series, I loved tracing the story in, around, and through the Tucson I know and love.  I've hunted for years for more in the series, to no avail, until I stumbled across a reference to the series here on Goodreads.  Apparently there ARE more in the series, but they're in ebook form.  Fine with me!  I flew through this installment, and loved it.  The story was well told (although I wish there had been a few more surprises), but the descriptions of many places where action took place (up on Mt. Lemmon and out on the Pinal Highway going towards Florence, particularly) were so right on -- I really love this!  Laura Cardinal is smart but not as savvy as she should be, despite some of the training she still reviews from her now-dead mentor, Frank Entwhistle.  Ah well, without goof-ups there'd really be no story, right?

Goodreads book summary:  “J. Carson Black's THE DEVIL'S HOUR is a superior mystery novel in all respects. Fine prose, terrific suspense, believable characters, and one of the most unexpected and satisfying conclusions I've read in a long time. Highly recommended." — John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of DAMAGE 
     Laura Cardinal: Packs a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Investigates homicides in small towns that have limited resources. Brings justice to murder victims—and to their killers. Laura’s job description: Criminal Investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. But maybe it should just say “Troubleshooter.” 
     In 1997, the disappearance of three young girls rocked the city of Tucson, Arizona. Eleven years later, one of those girls, Micaela Brashear, comes home—alive. 
     Laura Cardinal worked homicide for Arizona DPS, but now she's been moved to the Open-Unsolved Unit. With a new job and a new partner who questions her every move, Laura pieces together Micaela's fragmented memories in the hope she will learn the whereabouts of the other two children. 
     When a man walking his dog finds the bones of a child in a shallow grave on the mountain above town, it becomes clear to Laura that Micaela was the lucky one. 
     But the killer isn't through yet, and after the fiery death of someone close to Laura, she realizes she faces an implacable enemy.

Santa is Coming to Tucson - Steve Smallman

Illustrated by Robert Dunn & Alan Brown

2013, Sourcebooks, Inc.

Small HC (no dust cover) $9.99

32 pages

Goodreads rating: (There are none - except for mine)

My rating: 1 - Didn't like it at all

Endpapers:  Light blue sky with wrapped gifts floating

My comments:  I really wanted to like this book and I feel badly about giving a negative review.  But the story was of the fill-in-the-blank type, a stereotypical story of Santa delivering gifts on Christmas Eve with "Tucson" stuck in here and there and a few place names scattered around.  All the illustrations were pretty generic except for one double-page spread of Tucson highlights. Very unimpressive.

From Goodreads:  It's Christmas Eve, Have you been good? Santa's packed up all the presents and is headed your way! With the help of a certain red - nosed reindeer, Santa flies over:

-St. Augustine Cathedral
-University of Arizona
-Tucson Music Hall
-Pima Air & Space Museum
-La Placita Village
-Sosa-Carillo-Fremont House
-Pima County Court House
-Saguaro Cactus
-Fox Theater
-St. Xavier del Bac Mission
-UniSource Energy Tower

"Ho, ho ho!" laughs Santa. "Merry Christmas, Tuscon!"

Arizona - My Adopted State

Books set in Arizona:

Picture books
Little Red Cowboy Hat - Susan Lowell
Mule Train Mail - Craig Brown

For kids/YA
Amelia Hits the Road - Marissa Moss
Fat Cat - Robin Brande


For Adults
All the Wrong Moves - Merline Lovelace (mystery)
At Ease with the Dead - Walter Satterthwaite (mystery)
Cowboy Rides Away - Thornton (mystery)
Dead for the Winter - Betsy Thornton (mystery)
Ghost Towns - Betsy Thornton (mystery)
High Lonesome Road - Betsy Thornton (mystery)
Mission to Sonora - Rebecca Cramer (mystery)
A Song for You - Betsy Thornton (mystery)

BETSY THORNTON Author Page

 NonFiction
The Spanish Missions of Arizona - Robin Lyon

Places to visit in Arizona 
Coronado National Memorial
Kartchner Caverns

Places to Visit In and Around Tucson
Mini Time Museum of Miniatures
Pima County Libraries
Postal History Foundation
University of Arizona Poetry Center

74. All the Wrong Moves - Merline Lovelace

A Samantha Spade Mystery
Berkley Prime Crime (paper), 2009
230 pages
Rating: 2

The setting of this book is El Paso and just east of there, with a foray to Tucson and Sahuarita. I love it when the protagonist hits I-10! I enjoyed the setting a lot.

Sam Spade joined the Air Force after her quickie Las Vegas marriage disintegrated and ended up getting a pretty cushy job - the head of a unit that tests all sorts of new inventions/contraptions that people all over the country cook up, possible technology for the government. While trying out a robot (by being strapped inside it), she discovers two corpses in the desert.

There are lots and lots of acronyms here, as well as humor, hormones, and all the things that belong in a "cozy" mystery. Unfortunately, cozy mysteries are not really my cup of tea. The book went fast, but I must admit this isn't my genre and I won't read this author again. Oh well. It was the setting I went after, and I enjoyed that part a lot.

20. Mission to Sonora - Rebecca Cramer

for: Adults
1998
Book World, Inc. (Sun Lakes, Az)
$10.95
Rating: 2

I had really high hopes for this murder mystery set in Tucson. Actually, the protagonist lives and teaches on the Tohono O’odham reservation at San Xavier, a great setting, to say the least. Linda Bluenight is a fourth grade teacher, single parent to a high-school son named Matty. And this woman does it all. She cooks intricate meals, teaches thoroughly and well, and single-handedly nabs a multi-murderer while attracting (unwanted) male advances. The Tucson police department begs her to oversee an autopsy because that’s what she did in her previous life and they’re backed up......? ? ? In other words, the story is not at all set in reality, and although there are glimmers of good writing, it’s pretty darn boring. It took me four weeks to plow through it. The only reason I did is because I have the two sequels and I was sure this would get better. It got worse. The setting is great, though. She talks about Tucson in great detail, and I really love that part. But the story, of murder among the developers of Tucson, is one-sided, stereotypical, and thoroughly not plausible. I guess you can’t have it all!

MOVIE: Hamlet 2

Rating: Expecting More
Viewed: Friday Sept. 28, 2008
Crossroads Cheap Theater
Rotten Tomato Rating: 63%
Mine: Lower, Probably about 40%
EW: B+ cag: C-
Genre: Comedy
Released Aug. 27, 2008
R (1 hr. 32 min.)
Biggest Hit of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival

I couldn't wait to see this movie. It's set in Tucson (although filmed in NM and Mesa, the name of the high school, is near Phoenix).

We spend the first 2/3 of the movie laughing at this poor schmuck who loves movies and, though he has had a few roles. is not a very good actor. So he and his wife (the wonderful Catherine Keener) move to Tucson where he becomes a HS drama teacher to an adoring class of two. You feel badly laughing at him, but it's eaither that or roll your eyes.

The last 1/3 of the movie is the best. A group of Hispanic students have joined them - their extra curricular activities have been cut - and they produce Hamlet 2, a play that our protagonist has written - about what would have happened if there'd been a time machine and everyone hadn't died at the end of the original Halmlet. It was great! It was a musical -- the number "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" was a HOOT!

Lots of cuts and slurs about Tucson. Grrrrr. Gary, the "boring" boarder who runs off with Catherine Keener was an unrecongnizable David Arquette. That was fun. Elizabeth Shue is a herself as a nurse that's fed up with Hollywood. There's a LOT of great stuff in this movie, but there's enough not-great stuff to overshadow it. Darn. It was entertaining, but I wouldn't watch it again. (I WILL download Sexy Jesus, though...)