13. Kill You Twice - Chelsea Cain

Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell #5

Audio read by Christina Delaine (really well, I might say....)

9 unabridged cds

2012 Macmillan Audio Books

326 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 2/27/2014

Goodreads Rating: 4.12

My Rating: 5 

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Portland, Oregon

My comments:  I can't believe how much I like (I can't really say "enjoy") these ultra-grizzly stories.  But Chelsea Cain certainly does know how to spin a tale.  Good people...bad people....conflicted people....and people that are just plain nuts....are all represented here. This is a fascinating look into the human mind.

Goodreads Review:  Nothing makes Portland detective Archie Sheridan happier than knowing that Gretchen Lowell, the serial killer whose stunning beauty is belied by the gruesome murders she's committed, is locked away in a psych ward. Archie can finally heal from the near-fatal physical and emotional wounds she's inflicted on him and start moving on with his life.

          To this end, Archie throws himself into the latest case to come across his desk: A cyclist has discovered a corpse in Mount Tabor Park on the eastern side of Portland. The man was gagged, skinned, and found hanging by his wrists from a tree. It's the work of a killer bold and clever enough to torture his victim for hours on a sunny summer morning in a big public park and yet leave no trace.
          And then Archie gets a message he can't ignore. Gretchen claims to have inside knowledge about this grisly murder. Archie finally agrees to visit Gretchen, because he can't risk losing his only lead in the case. At least, that's what he tells himself . . . but the ties between Archie and Gretchen have always been stronger, deeper, and more complex than he's willing to admit, even to himself. What game is she playing this time? And even more frightening, what long-hidden secrets from Gretchen's past have been dredged up that someone would kill to protect?
          At once terrifying and magnetic, Beauty Killer's Gretchen Lowell returns with a vengeance in Kill You Twice, Chelsea Cain's latest razor-sharp psychological thriller.

12. Insurgent - Veronica Roth

Divergent #2

2012 Katherine Tegen Books - Harper Collins

525 pgs.

YA Dystopian Fantasy

Finished 2/27/2014

Goodreads Rating: 4.24

My Rating: 4-Loved it

TPPL

1^st sentence/s:  "I wake with his name in my mouth.  Will.  Before I open my eyes, I watch him crumble to the pavement again.  Dead.  My doing.

My comments:  It took me almost three weeks to read this, but I had a lot going on and looked forward to every time I could sit down with it. The biggest problem was there were a LOT of characters from the first book that I didn't really remember and they were treated as if I really should know who they were. It sure does leave you hanging, waiting for the next installment.....

Goodreads Review:  One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

MOVIE - Winter's Tale

PG-13 (2:09)

Wide release 2/14/14

Viewed with Fran at the Orleans on Feb. 16, 2014

RT Critic: 13 Audience: 50

Cag: 1-Nope, didn't do it for me at all

Directed by Akiva Goldman

Warner Brothers Pictures

Colin Farrell, William Hurt, Russell Crowe

My comments: Colin Farrell did the best he could with this material. When the movie was over I looked at Fran and said, "Well that was stupid," and she burst out laughing.  She'd been holding it in, too.   I wanted to like it, I truly did.  But it just didn't work.  That flying horse just took the cake....  (I'm betting this did okay as a fantasy book.  It didn't translate well into a movie.)  PeterTraver's Rolling Stone review is right on perfect! (See below)

Fandango review:  One night in early 20th-century New York, master thief Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) breaks into a Central Park mansion -- and quickly has his heart stolen by its occupant, Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay). Unfortunately, their love is star-crossed; she is dying from consumption, and he is marked for death by his demonic former mentor, Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe). Peter battles the forces of time and darkness to save Beverly, even as Pearly does everything in his power to defeat Peter.

By Peter Travers

February 14, 2014

A kick in the ass to Valentine's Day and the very notion of a satisfying Somewhere In Time kind of romantic wallow at the movies. What happens to Mark Helprin's 1983 bestseller at the hands of Hollywood is a crying shame. In his feature directing debut, Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), creates a beautiful mess, an embarrassment of epic proportions. On deck is a supernatural love story that spans a century and even death, Colin Farrell—sporting the epitome of a bad haircut stars as Peter Lake. He's the son of immigrant parents who use a makeshift basket to send him ashore like an infant Moses at Ellis Island in 1895. By 1916, Peter is a thief, running from gangland boss Pearly Soames (a scowling Russell Crowe shouting in an indecipherable Irish brogue) with the help of a flying white horse. Hand to God, I'm not making this up. Pearly's scarred face morphs into demon shape when he's really pissed, which is often. His tantrums prompt a visit to the underground lair of Lucifer (Will Smith, following After Earth with another howling fiasco). But Lucifer won't interfere with Pearly's hunt for Peter who has now fallen hard for Beverly Penn, the dying daughter of a publishing tycoon (William Hurt). Findlay, the late Lady Sybil of Downton Abbey (let's hope she didn't leave that classic series for this!), has a breathtaking beauty that helps you suspend disbelief. But, sorry, not to this extent. Peter and Beverly's night of sexual union – her first and last – ends with an ageless Peter being swept into present-day New York where fate has him intervene in the life of a journalist (Jennifer Connolly) and her dying daughter. And then Eva Marie Saint, 89, shows up playing a figure from the past. And a star twinkles in the sky (could it be Beverly?). We're told in voiceover that everything is part of a grand pattern that we may one day understand. I'm calling bullshit. Winter's Tale is preposterous twaddle. Use it as a date movie only if you don't love the one you're with.

MOVIE - The Monuments Men

PG-13 (1:58)

Wide release 2/7/14

Viewed with Fran at the Orleans 2/15/2014

RT Critic: 34 Audience: 52

Cag: 3-Liked it

Directed by George Clooney

SONY Pictures

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchette,

My comments:  I enjoyed learning about the history behind this World War II true story.  The storyline was a little choppy, but the actors were enjoyable and the story extremely interesting.  And it's never difficult watching Bill Murray and Matt Damon!

Fandango review:  Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements.

Sepulchre - Kate Mosse

Audio read by Donada Peters

16 discs - I made it through 6 of them

2008 Penguin Audio

560 pgs. - I read 205

Adult - Switched back and forth between 1891 and the present

Historical Fiction & CRF

Goodreads Rating: 3.68

My Rating: 1 (Didn't like it)

Acquired through PBS

Set in France - Paris and the countryside

My comments: I listened attentively to the first six cds.  Since it takes place in France, the reader did a wonderful job using French accents, and I enjoyed her reading.  But the story dragged.  Switching back and forth in time, there are two protagonists.  The 1891 protagonist, Leonie - is a spoiled idiot.  The 2000 protagonist isn't too irritating (yet), but her primary interest - Claude Debussy - is of no interest to me. Ten more discs to go?  Sorry, life's not long enough.....

Goodreads:  In 1891, young Léonie Vernier and her brother Anatole arrive in the beautiful town of Rennes-les-Bains, in southwest France. They've come at the invitation of their widowed aunt, whose mountain estate, Domain de la Cade, is famous in the region. But it soon becomes clear that their aunt Isolde-and the Domain-are not what Léonie had imagined. The villagers claim that Isolde's late husband died after summoning a demon from the old Visigoth sepulchre high on the mountainside. A book from the Domain's cavernous library describes the strange tarot pack that mysteriously disappeared following the uncle's death. But while Léonie delves deeper into the ancient mysteries of the Domain, a different evil stalks her family-one which may explain why Léonie and Anatole were invited to the sinister Domain in the first place.
          More than a century later, Meredith Martin, an American graduate student, arrives in France to study the life of Claude Debussy, the nineteenth century French composer. In Rennesles- Bains, Meredith checks into a grand old hotel-the Domain de la Cade. Something about the hotel feels eerily familiar, and strange dreams and visions begin to haunt Meredith's waking hours. A chance encounter leads her to a pack of tarot cards painted by Léonie Vernier, which may hold the key to this twenty-first century American's fate . . . just as they did to the fate of Léonie Vernier more than a century earlier.

Next Reads

I thought it might be prudent to list the next books up in all the series that I've started and am still interested enough to continue, as well as some authors and titles that have been recommended to me.....

Ahern, Cecelia - One Hundred Names; Love, Rosie

Armstrong, Lori - Merciless (#3 Mercy Gunderson) (2013)  TPPL doesn't own it, but I've requested they find it for me- they did...and lots of other people wanted to read it, too, there was a WL. No new ones in sight.

Black, J. Carson - Laura Cardinal/Tucson #3 The Devil's Hour  #4 Cry Wolf  #5 Flight 12

Bolton, S. J. - she writes a series, but I have two standalones, Awakening and Sacrifice

Brennan, Allison - Love Me to Death (#1 Lucy Kincaid) own

Browning, Sinclair - I've read the first two, but so long ago I can't remember them.  Think I'll start over: (#1 The Last Song Dogs, #2 The Sporting Club, #3 Rode Hard, Put Away Dead, #4 Crack Shot, #5 Traggedy Ann)

Cain, Chelsea - Let Me Go (#6 Archie Sheridan & Gretchen Lowell) TPPL has audio  #6 was written in 2013 - watch for #7! She has begun a new series in 2014 - about a 21-year-old named Kick Lanagan.  It's called One Kick.

Castillo, Linda - waiting for #6 (Kate Burkholder Ohio Amich country police chief) The Dead Will Tell, coming out 7/8/14! Ingested $6 FAST...now waiting for #7 bummer.

Clare, Cassandra - City of Glass (Mortal Instruments #3)

Cleeves, Ann - Raven Black (#1 Jimmy Perez, Shetland Island) 5 books in series so far

Coben, Harlan - Fade Away (#3 Myron Bolitar) Back Spin (#4) One False Move (5)

Cole, David - Dragonfly Bones (#5 Laura Winslow, Arizona) Shadow Play (#6)

Condie, Ally - Reached (#3 Matched series)

Connelly, Michael - Lost Light (#9) The Narrows (#10 Harry Bosch) The Closers (#11)-have audio

Crais, Robert - (any except Indigo Slam, L.A. Requium, The Watchman,The Forgotten Man, Chasing Darkness, Taken).... reading out-of-order.   The Two Minute Rule and Suspect are both stand-alones and look great

Cramer, Rebecca - The View from Frog Mountain (#2 Linda Bluenight - Tucson Tohono O'Odham) didn't really like the first but am willing to try another

Doiron, Paul - Trespasser (Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch #2) Bad Little Falls (#3) Massacre Pond (#4)

Dunning, John - Booked to Die (#1 Denver Homocide Det. Cliff Janeway) The Bookman's Wake (#2) The Bookman's Promise (#3)

Evanovich, Janet - next up is #16 Stephanie Plum - Sizzling Sixteen

Fine, Sarah - Book 2 of the "Guards of the Shadowlands" series, not yet out (#1 was Sanctum)

Fowler, Earlene  - I've read the first one twice -ready to read Irish Chain (#2 Benni Harper) Kansas Troubles (#3) Goose in the Pond (#4)

Frost, Mark - Alliance (Paladin Prophecy #2) started it, was boring, don't bother to go on....

Galbraith, Robert (JK Rowling) - The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) will be published in June, 2014

Gardner, Lisa -Alone (#1) - a new-for-me series by Gardner about D. D. Warren (Mass state trooper?)

Grabenstein, Chris - Tilt A Whirl (John Ceepak #1)

Grafton, Sue - U is for Undertow (Kinsey Milhone) have audio  V is for Vengeance  W is for Wasted after that...

Greenlaw, Linda - Fisherman's Bend (#2 Jane Bunker, Maine)

Hamilton, Denise - Sugar Skull (LA Investigative Reporter Eve Diamond #2)

Hand, Elizabeth - Generation Loss - which takes place in Downeast Maine (Cass Neary #1 - I've read #2 Available Dark) or Standalone Waking the Moon sounds really good....

Hayman, James (McCabe & Savage; Portland, ME) #3 Darkness First

Jackson, Joshilyn - NOT a series, but I eat up her books - and still have three left that I haven't read! I MUST listen to them - she reads them herself and she's terrific! The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (2008) Backseat Saints (2010) and Someone Else's Love Story (2013)

Jacobson, Alan - The 7th Victim (Karen Vail #1) Crush (#2) Velocity (#3)

Hilton, Matt - Dead Men's Dust (#1 ex-military op & CIA Agent Joe Hunter) Judgement and Wrath (#2) Slash and Burn (#3)

Jance, J. A. - Yuck

Kate, Lauren - Fallen (#1 Fallen series) I'm not going to bother to continue with this series.

Kaufman, Thomas - Steal the Show (#2 Willis Gidney)

Kellerman, Faye -

Krueger, William Kent - Boundary Waters (#2 Cork O'Connor) Purgatory Ridge (#3) Blood Hollow (#4)

Laybourne, Emmy - Sky on Fire (#2 Monument 14) Savage Drift (#3 - due out later in 2014)

Lippman, Laura - I've read 8 & 10 Tess Monaghan- try Girl in the Green Raincoat (#11)  or any previous titles....

McGarrity, Michael - Hermit's Peak (#4 Kevin Kearney, NM) The Judas Judge (#5) Under the Color of Law (#6)

Miller, Susan Cummins - Detachment Fault (#2 Tucson-based Frankie McFarlane) Quarry (#3) Hoodoo (#4)

Morrell, David - Scavenger (which is #2 after Creepers, don't think there are any more) and a 1st-in-3 The Brotherhood of the Rose (#1)

O'Connell, Carol - The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (#2 Kathleen Mallory, NYPC) Killing Critics (#3) Stone Angel (#4)

O'Shaughenessy, Perri - have read 1 and #10, so I imagine any order would be okay (there are 13 so far) Invasion of Privacy (#2 Nina Reilly Lake Tahoe lawyer) Obstruction of Justice (#3) Breach of Promise (#4)

Oliver, Lauren - Requiem (#3 Delirium) ALSO Annabel (#0.5) Hanna (#1.5) Raven (#2.5) and Alex (#3.5)

Parks, Brad - Eyes of the Innocent (#2 Newark investigative reporter Carter Ross) OWN, The Girl Next Door (#3) The Good Cop (#4) The Player (#5)

Pearson, Ridley - Killer Summer (#3 Walt Fleming, Sun Valley, ID sheriff) In Harm's Way (#4) HAVE NOT YET READ #1

Pelecanos, George - The Double (#2 Spero Lucas)

Picoult, Jodi - Plain Truth

Riordan, Rick - The Widower's Two-Step (#2 Tres Navarre, San Antonio) The Last King of Texas (#3) The Devil Went Down to Austin (#4)

Roth, Veronica - Allegiant (#3 Divergent)  Read the beginning - blech, tired of them, plus I think the protagonist dies at the end, who needs it?

Roy, Lori - Bent Road

Sandford, John - Shock Wave (#5 Virgil Flowers) (Already read #6, skipped #5) Storm Front (#7)
Deadline (#8)

Satterthwaite, Walter - A Flower in the Desert (#3 Joshua Croft, wisecracking Santa Fe PI) The Hanged Man (#4) Accustomed to the Dark (#5)

Sefton, Maggie - Needled to Death (#2 A Knitting Mystery) don't usually like cozy mysteries, but....try another - there are 11 - then A Deadly Yarn (#3)

Slaughter, Karin - Unseen (#7 Will Trent) I read the previous book, #6-Criminal and loved it.  Guess I should go back and try the ones before it, too.... couldn't get into it, so have gone back to my original thinking to bypass this author.

Spencer-Fleming, Julia - In the Bleak Midwinter (#1 of 7 Rev. Clare Ferguson and Russ VanAlstyne) A Fountain Filled with Blood (#2) Out of the Deep I Cry (#3)  tried - didn't like - too much religion

Spinella, Art - Drago #1 (Oregon coast Nick Drago)

Swain, James - The Night Monster (#3) Jack Carpenter, south Florida) The Program (#4)

Talton, Jon - Camelback Falls (#2 David Mapstone, Phoenix ex-cop) Dry Heat (#3) Arizona Dreams (#4)

Thompson, James - Kari Vaara, Finnish (Lapland) Police Chief  #2 Lucifer's Tears  #3 Helsinki White  #4 Helsinki Blood  #5  Helsinki Dead 

Thornton, Betsy - Dream Queen (prequel to the others, which I've read)

Thurlo, David & Aimee - Blood Retribution (#2 Lee Nez, Vampire Navajo cop) Pale Death (#3) Surrogate Evil (#4)

Verdon, John - Peter Pan Must Die (#4 Dave Gurney) coming in July, 2014!!

Webb, Betty - Desert Shadows (#3 Lena Jones, Phoenix) Desert Run (#4) Desert Cut (#5) Desert Lost (#6) Desert Wind (#7)
                         

11. Monument 14 - Emmy Laybourne

#1 in the Monument 14 Trilogy

2012 Square Fish (Feiwel & Friends) a branch of Macmillan

294 pgs. (plus 40+ afterwards)

YA Dystopian Fantasy

Finished 2/11/2014

Goodreads Rating: 3.84 (6,000+ ratings)

My Rating:  4.5  Really liked it a lot - super entertaining

TPPL

Setting: 2024 Monument, Colorado - just outside Colorado Springs

1^st paragraph:  "Your mother hollers that you're going to miss the bus.  She can see it coming down the street.  You don't stop and hug her and tell her you love her.  You don't thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother.  Of course not - you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner."

My comments:  :It's been a long time since I read a book in one (long) sitting.  But this one grabbed me right from the start and I was totally entertained until the last page.  Fourteen kids trapped in a superstore while the air outside is filled with all sorts of nasty chemicals that affect them in different ways. Crazies trying to force themselves in.  Survival.  A bully.  A couple of jocks.  A nerd.  A reader. A hottie.  A techie.  A non-English speaker.  A Bible-thumper.  A loudmouth know-it-all.  A couple of sweeties.  All ranging in ages from 5 to 17.  All told in the voice of one of the high-schoolers, an imperfect(yay!), though thoughtful young man.  However, the added-on 40+ pages at the end were totally unnecessary. This is a GREAT story for a YA reluctant reader!

Goodreads Review  Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.   In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

MOVIE - Run and Jump

Unrated (an Irish film) (1:45)
Limited release 1/24/14
Viewed at the Loft 2/10/14
RT: 81 audience: 61
cag;  5- I Loved it
Steph Green
IFC Films

Will Forte, Maxine Peake

My comments:  Filmed in Counties Wicklow and Kerry in Ireland, I considered this a wonderful movie.  I was afraid the Irish brogue might be too thick to understand, but it wasn't at all.  I have discovered that it's the storytelling that means the most to me in a movie or a book, and this was one heck of a story.  The actors portraying the characters did an incredible job.  The female lead was PERFECT and I've decided I'll follow Will Forte anywhere.  Some people might consider this a sad movie (there was a lot of "sad," I guess) but the spirit in which the story is told does not dwell on the sadness.  There's a great sense of positivity, of optimism, of life going on and we deal.  It was really, really good and I highly recommend it.

Rotten Tomatoes "Movie Info":  A headstrong Irish housewife finds her life transforming in ways she never thought possible after her husband suffers a life-altering stroke, and an American doctor arrives to chronicle the family's recovery process in this intimate drama from director Steph Green (whose short film New Boy was nominated for an Oscar in 2007). In the wake of her husband's stroke, loving wife and mother Vanetia (Maxine Peake) gradually comes to realize that her household will never be the same again. Much to Vanetia's relief, a research grant from American doctor Ted Fielding (Will Forte) provides the funds needed to remain financially afloat. Ted wants to study how the family copes with such a severe trauma, and though at first his presence in the home strikes a chord of resentment in the overburdened Vanetia, he exhibits an air of tranquility that soon becomes a source of deep comfort to her. Likewise, Vanetia's unwavering strong will awakens a newfound sense of vitality in the reserved Dr. Fielding, resulting in growth and healing for all involved.  

10. The Paladin Prophecy - Mark Frost

#1 Paladin Prophecy
2012, Random House
550 pages
Goodreads rating: 4.13
cag rating:  5/A really great yarn

1st sentence:  "The Importance of an Orderly Mind.  Will West began each day with that thought even before he opened his eyes.  When he did open them, the same words greeted him on a banner across his bedroom wall:  #1: THE IMPORTANCE OF AN ORDERLY MIND."

My comments:  I was hooked on this story almost immediately.  It had many things going for it, and those that didn't failed to bother me in any way.  Characterization - excellent.  Plot - exciting (I just ignored anything too implausible or that I couldn't quite fathom because the rest of the story line was super) with enough adventure and mystery to keep the reader guessing and interested. Setting - really well defined and shown. Excitement scale - pretty high, especially for a  young adult.   A great mixture of realistic and scifi/fantasy with a lot of technology and imagination included.  I have three or four 4th graders that will really love this story....can't wait to read number two!

Goodreads:  Will West is careful to live life under the radar. At his parents' insistence, he's made sure to get mediocre grades and to stay in the middle of the pack on his cross-country team. Then Will slips up, accidentally scoring off the charts on a nationwide exam.
          Now Will is being courted by an exclusive prep school . . . and is being followed by men driving black sedans. When Will suddenly loses his parents, he must flee to the school. There he begins to explore all that he's capable of--physical and mental feats that should be impossible--and learns that his abilities are connected to a struggle between titanic forces that has lasted for millennia.
          Co-creator of the groundbreaking television series Twin Peaks, Mark Frost brings his unique vision to this sophisticated adventure, which combines mystery, heart-pounding action, and the supernatural.

9. Dead Watch - John Sandford

This is a standalone Sandford novel

audio read by Richard Ferrone

9 discs/10 hours

2006 Penguin Audio

373 pgs.

Adult Political Murder Mystery

Finished Sunday, 2/9/2014

Goodreads Rating: 3.81

My Rating: 3.5  I liked it okay

Acquired: PBS (will no trade it on

Setting:  mostly Washington DC and surrounding Virginia area

My comments:  This was an interesting political mystery that included murder, mayhem, and a questionably ethical protagonist, Jake Winter.  Jake's smart, knows his way around DC, and works for the White House - principally the President's Chief of Staff.  It always pisses me off (but never surprises me) to hear of all the shenanigans that happen on the taxpayer's dime and this one certainly was no exception.  It read fast, and I was happy to see the touches of Virgil Flowers that Sandford gave Jake.  I guess it's time for another dose of Virgil....

Goodreads Review: Sometimes, justice isn't enough.

          From the author of the number-one-bestselling Prey novels comes an extraordinary story of murder, passion, and deadly ambition——a political thriller like no other.
          Through twenty-one novels featuring Lucas Davenport, Kidd, or the razor-edge world of the Night Crew, John Sandford has been writing brilliantly suspenseful, consistently surprising thrillers filled with rich characters and exceptional drama.
           But Dead Watch sets a whole new level.
           Late afternoon, Virginia, and a woman is on the run. Her husband, a former U.S. Senator named Lincoln Bowe, has been missing for days. Kidnapped? Murdered? She doesn't know, but she thinks she knows who's involved, and why. And that she's next.
          Hours later a phone rings in the pocket of Jacob Winter. An Army Intelligence veteran, Winter specialises in what he thinks of as forensic bureacracy. Congress, the Pentagon, the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security——when something goes wrong, Winter kicks over rocks until he finds out what really happened. The White House is his main client, and the chief of staff is on the phone now.
          If Bowe isn't located soon, he is told, all hell will break loose.
          What Winter doesn't realise is——all hell will break loose anyway. And he will be right in the middle of it. Large forces are at work, men determined to do whatever it takes to achieve unprecedented ends. Before the next few days are out, Winter will discover he has to use every one of his resources not only to prevail...but just to survive.
          And so will the nation.

8. The Night Season - Chelsea Cain

#4 Archie Sheridan

audio read by Christina Delaine

7 unabridged cds

2011, Macmillan Audio

322 pgs.

Adult murder mystery

Finished 2/2/2014

Goodreads Rating:  3.84

My Rating: 4/It was very, very good

Acquired: PBS

Setting: Portland, Oregon

My comments:  It was with relief that I realized there was no horrible body mutilation and painful death as in the previous installments that included Gretchen Lowell.  The Night Season is more about flooding - in downtown Portland, Oregon, no less - drowning, and another serial killer.  This is as much Susan's story as it is Archie's, a quick, not-quite-so-heavy read as the previous in the series.

Goodreads Review: He captured the Beauty Killer, one of the most deranged serial killers in the country. Now, Portland police detective Archie Sheridan faces a different kind of killer - a brutal rain season that has flooded the Willamette River, claiming several lives. As water levels rise, so does the fear. Because some of the victims didn't drown;they were murdered.  The first body contains a rare poison. Three others prove to be murders as well. And with each gruesome discovery the medical examiner uncovers, Archie begins to realize he has not escaped his nightmares, even with his deadliest enemy behind bars. The flood has washed up old skeletons from the past. And a ruthless new serial killer rules the night¦

Audio Readers - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

There are certain audio readers that are really, really outstanding, so not-so-much-so.

Adams, Lee - The Gooney Bird Collection (Lowry)
Ankoh, Adjoa - The White Giraffe (St. John)
Auberjonois, Rene - Two Graves (Preston & Child) read flawlessly, but pretentiously
Bean, Joyce - Once Upon a Day (Tucker) beautifully read
........................The White Mary (Salak)
........................The Art of Mending (Berg)
.........................Shiver (Jackson) some major southern accents goin' on here
.........................Cape Perdido  (Muller) She read two parts and shared the reading with Dick Hill
Berkrot, Peter - The Accident (Barclay) excellent reader
Bramhall, Mark - The Widower's Tale (Glass)
Breck, Susie - Bloody Mary (Konrath) one of two readers
.........................Whiskey Sour (Konrath) one of two readers-
Bresnahan, Alyssa - The Lace Reader (Barry) great reader
Brick, Scott - The Book of Lies (Meltzer)  Six Years (Coben) don't like the intonations he uses - at all
Burr, Sandra - Sullivan's Law (Rosenberg) did not enjoy this reader (more info in review)
Cabezas, Maria - Maya's Notebook (Allende) loved it - found her voice mesmerizing
........................Half a Chance (Lord) Lovely!
Campbell, Cassandra - The Beach House (Green)
Cariou, Len - Lost Light (Harry Bosch #9) Connelly - very good for this part
.......................The Narrows (Harry Bosch #10)
.......................The Closers (Harry Bosch #11)
Chamberlain, Mike - Spanking Shakespeare (Wizner)
Chandler, David - Boundary Waters  (Krueger) great reader, wonderful voices and accents
Conger, Eric - Mad River (Sandford) he has definitely become the voice of Virgil Flowers!
....................Rough Country (Sandford)
....................Heat Lightning (Sandford)
....................Bad Blood (Sandford)
....................Dark of the Moon (Sandford)
....................Shock Wave (Sandford)
Corbett, Clare - The Night Ferry (Robotham) enjoyable, lilting British accent
Critt, C. J. - Bean Trees (Kingsolver) okay
Dakin, Kymberly - Wildwater Walking Club (Cook) didn't care for this reader (see review)
Daniels, James - The Watchman (Crais) Chasing Darkness (Crais) Thumbs Up! (I like the way he sort of whispers when Joe Pike speaks)
Daniels, Luke - Taken (Crais) Really good reader - but he makes Pike whisper a little too much
Davis, Jonathan - Chasing the Dime (Connelly)
....................The Cutting (Hayman) very decent job
Delaine, Christina - The Night Season (Cain)
....................Kill You Twice (Cain) excellent
....................Let Me Go (Cain) very good
Dillon, Wendy - City of Ember (DuPrau)
Dolan, Amanda - Red Queen (Aveyard) splendid!
Early, Kathleen - Criminal (Slaughter) read beautifully
Emond, Linda - Another Thing to Fall (Lippman) excellent reading
..........................Life Sentences (Lippman) excellent reading
Fernandez, Peter J. - City of Bones (Connelly) great reader (musical accompaniment stunk)
Ferrone, Richard - Dead Watch (Sandford) a very good reader, but his voice seemed a little too old and gravelly for this protagonist
Flanagan, Laura - Burned (Hopkins) high marks
Flosnick, Anne - Little Bee (Cleave) incredibly read with three different spot-on accents
.......................The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, The (O'Farrell) beautifully read with Scottish/English accent
Ganim, Peter - The Intercept (Wolf)
Ganser, L. J. - Forced Out (Frey)
Gigante, Phil - Deadly Harvest (Graham) didn't like his Mass. accent (too southern) and the way he depicted women's voices.  Nice voice.
Glenister, Robert - The Cuckoo's Calling (Galbraith) British
Goe, Holly B. - Girls' Night Out (Flora) nice job
Goethals, Angela - The Time Between (White) one of three voices
................................Sisterhood Everlasting (Brashares) excellently read
Graham, Dion - The Circle (Eggers)
...........................The Cut (Pelecanos) read really nicely
Graybill, Christopher - The Book of Names (Gregory & Tintori)
Greenberg, Mitchell - Gun Games (Kellerman) - great reader
Guidall, George - Mercedes Coffin (Kellerman) great reader, wonderful job
..............................Burnt House (Kellerman)
..............................Ser(pent Gate (McGarrity)
Gurley, Nan - Twisted Innocence okay reader, I could swear I've listened to her before....
Heyborne, Kirby - Gone Girl (Flynn)
Hicks, Denise - The Island (Hildebrand)
Hill, Dick - Small Wars (Child)
....................The Killing Floor (Child)
....................Second Son (Child)
................... Never Go Back (Child)
....................61 Hours (Child)
...................The Affair (Child)
...................The Hard Way (Child)
...................Hawkes Harbor (Hinton) great reading - lots more comments on review
...................Bloody Mary (Konrath) one of two readers
...................Chill of Fear (Hooper)
...................Bad Luck and Trouble (Child)
...................Nothing to Lose (Child)
...................Whiskey Sour (Konrath) one of two readers
....................Blood Work (Connelly)
....................Angels Flight (Connelly)
....................Trunk Music (Connelly)
....................Last Coyote (Connelly)
....................Cape Perdido  (Muller)
....................Dead Time (White)
Hirner, Lara - Opposite of Invisible (Gallagher)
Hoffman, Dominic - Home of the Brave (Applegate) wonderfully read
Hoppe, Lincoln - Say Goodbye (Gardner) one of two voices
Houck, Linde - Carpe Diem (Cornwell) didn't do great with voices
Hoye, Stephen - The Book of Air and Shadows (Gruber)
..........................Crime of Privilege (Walker) He puts so much of his own personality/reading style into it that it's off putting...he does a fine job, but I don't think I like to listen to him....
Ikeda, Jennifer - The Time Between (White) one of three voices
.............................Leap (Zalben) one of two readers
Jackson, Joshilyn - Between, Georgia (Jackson) she wrote this book and she read it PERFECTLY
............................A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty (Jackson) just fabulous - I LOVE her 'voice'
...........................Girl Who Stopped Swimming, The (Jackson) WOW
...........................Shine Shine Shine (Netzer)- This is a book that she did not write, and I loved her reading!
................................Breaking Dawn (Meyer) Two readers
Kaplan, Neil - The Power of Six (Lore) Reads a sold male voice but has a difficult time reading any other sort of voice - made the other characters sound sillly....
Kaye, Judy - U is for Undertow (Grafton)
.......................T  is for Trespass (Grafton)
.......................S is for Silence (Grafton)
Kellgren, Katherine - Austenland (Hale) mediocre
King, Kevin - Saint (Dekker) Hated the book, enjoyed the reader
King, Lorelei - Finger-Lickin' Fifteen (Evanovich)
.......................Fearless Fourteen (Evanovich)
.......................Lean Mean Thirteen (Evanovich)
.......................Twelve Sharp (Evanovich)
Kingsolver, Barbara - Flight Behavior - read by the author BEAUTIFULLY (love her voice)
Landor, Rosalyn - Week in Winter, A (Binchy) - lovely Irish accent, changing to others when needed, a great reading which added to the charm of the book
Lane, Christopher - Killer View (Pearson)
Lee, Ann Marie - Say Goodbye (Gardner) one of two voices
Leigh, Madisun - Chains (Anderson)
Leo, Melissa - Dark Tide (Gross)
Lind, Heather - One Kick (Cain) Excellent
Light, Judith - Museum of Extraordinary Things, The (Hoffman) one of three voices, definitely a pro
Linari, Nancy - Fragile (Unger)
MacDuffie, Carrington - Buddha in the Attic (Otsuka)
Mantagna, Joe - Robert B. Parker's Lullaby (Atkins) (he's become the voice of Spenser/Parker for me)
.............................Bad Business (Parker)
.............................Painted Ladies (Parker)
.............................School Days (Parker)
.............................Rough Weather (Parker)
.............................The Professional (Parker)
Marosz, Jonathan - Drop Shot (Coben) Don't like the way he reads that part of Win
Mazur, Kathe - Last Witness (Hoffman)
McClain, Jonathan - Running Blind  (Child) He did a fine job, I'm sure, but it's not the Reacher voice I'm used to (Dick Hill), though given a chance I might enjoy his reading and voice more than Hill's...
McCormick, Carolyn - Evil at Heart (Cain)
....................................Sweetheart (Cain)
....................................Heartsick (Cain)
McDowell, Jane - The Crossing Places (Griffiths) ah, those British pronunciations!  Lovely.
McFadden, Amy - Sanctum (Fine) a really good reader!
McInerney, Kathleen - After the Storm  (Castillo)
Merlington, Laural - Unlucky in Law (O'Shaughnessy)
Miles, Robin - The Garden of Burning Sand - great job, nailed a multitude of accents
Miller, Sue - Lake Shore Limited - read by the author
Moore, Natalie - Front and Center (Murdock) (perfect high school girl - love her reading!)
....................Off Season (Murdock) brilliant!
....................Dairy Queen (Murdock) beautifully read
Morris, Cassandra - Eggs (Spinelli) two readers
Morton, Elizabeth - The Testing (Charbonneau) she read the female protagonist nicely, but didn't do as well with the male characters.
Mover, Richard - The Night Stalker (Swain) great job
Musser, Rebecca - The Witness Wore Red (Musser)  read by the author - she has a nice voice but made awkward pauses between words where pauses should not have been
Naughton, James - Stranger in Paradise (Parker)
Nobbs, Keith - The Map Trap  (Clements) excellent!
Osmanski, Joy - The Program (Young) super
Parks, Tom - Anything But Typical (Baskin) beautifully read
Postel, Donna - The Shop (Black) she is a good reader, but she had a weirdish way of saying her s's that sor t of bugged me....
Potter, Kirsten - The Weird Sisters (Brown) great reader, Station Eleven  (Mandel) excellent
Quan, Samantha - Buddha in the Attic (Otsuka)
Paris, Andy - Mr. Cooper is Super! (Gutman)  Does a great kid voice as the voice of AJ
Peters, Donada - Sepulchre (Mosse) British accent, French accent so real it's hard to understand the words!
Pittu, David - Maze of Bones; 39 Clues #1 (Riordan) didn't really enjoy this reader
Ramirez, Marisol - The Power of Six (Lore) reads a young teenager's voice perfectly
Raudman, Renee - Sister of Mine (O'Dell)
Reed, Maggi-Meg - Prayers for Sale (Dallas)
Roberts, Tony - Hot Mahogany (Woods) ihh
Rogers, Elizabeth S. - Dark of Day (Parker) beautifully read
Rosenblat, Barbara - Judy Moody, Mood Martian (McDonald)
...............................The Time Between (White) one of three voices
...............................Killer Smile (Scottoline)
Ross, Jonathan Todd - Leap (Zalben) one of two readers
Ross, Natalie - Where There's Smoke (Brown) just fine
Rowatt, Graham - Blood Ties (Guild) really nice reading job
Rubinate, Amy - The One (Cass) just fine
Rubenstein, John - Victims  (Kellerman) excellent, especially with the lead detective/almost-protagonist's voice
...........................Deception (Kellerman) yup, totally enjoy his reading of this
Scott, Campbell - The Abstinence Teacher (Perrotta) terrific
Shockley, Anaka - The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Cushman) wonderful
Siegfried, Mandy - A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life (Reinhardt) she was great
Sklar, Alan - The Sins of the Fathers (Block) really disliked the intonation he put into the way some of the people spoke - added personality traits that didn't work for me.
Snell, Staci - Eleven - (Giff) excellent reading
Soler, Rebecca -   Cress (Meyer)  I am more and more impressed by the inflections and nuances she gives to the voice of each character.  It really adds to their personality. Terrific reading.
............................Cinder (Meyer) good
............................Scarlet (Meyer) great voice to make the protagonist sound young, but does great voices for others as well.  Very nice
Steele, Diana - Wonder (Polacio) she did the speaking for 10-year old Auggie...part of me liked it a lot, but part of me balked at occasional "femalenesss"- but to be fair, she did an amazing job
Stone, Polly - Sarah's Key (deRosnay) beautiful job with the French accents
Stuart, David - Indigo Slam (Crais)
Taber, Catherine - Gods in Alabama (Jackson) the reader's soft, lovely southern accent was perfect for this!
Toren, Suzanne - Eggs (Spinelli) two readers, enjoyable
...........................-Through the Evil Days (Spencer--Fleming) didn't like the way she read the male voices
Travis, Nancy - The Ice Queen (Hoffman) exceptional reader
...........................The Third Angel (Hoffman) magnificent
Walls, Jeannette - The Silver Star read by the author - and I wasn't the greatest fan of her reading
Walters, Matt - Breaking Dawn (Meyer) Two readers
Weber, Jake - Night Film (Pessl)
Wheaton, Wil - Ready Player One (Cline) super
Whelan, Julia - Gone Girl (Flynn)
Wilbanks, Denise - Where I'd Like to Be (Dowell) great southern accent
Winningham, Mare - Skylight Confessions (Hoffman) beautiful
Wu, Nancy - The Year of the Dog (Lin) nicely done
Ziemba, Karen - Hand of Evil (Jance)
............................Web of Evil (Jance) well read

MOVIE - August: Osage County

R (2:10)

Wide release 12/25/2013

Viewed 1/28/2014 with Sheila & Connie - El Con

RT Critic: 65   Audience:  72

Cag: 5/ I ended up thinking it was quite an exceptional movie - both story AND acting

Directed by John Wells

The Weinstein Company

Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Abigail Breslin, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulrooney

My comments:  This is the story of the most dysfunctional of dysfunctional families.  I've decided I have a very (VERY) dark sense of humor, because this is another movie that when I started looking at it for the humor, I loved it.  Yup, it's a pretty dark story.  People dig themselves up out of a crappy childhood or they burrow themselves deeper.  This story contains a little of both.  And it's the kind of story that keeps adding layers after layer of "What the F?"  The lineup of actors was amazing, and the acting itself was, too.  I've got to give it to Meryl Streep - she doesn't care what she looks like or what kind of a woman she portrays, she gives it her all and her all is always unbelievably believable.  So I didn't even walk away from this could-have-been dark story with a cloud of darkness.  I enjoyed it very much, and I'm really glad I went to see it.  I loved it.

Reviews:  AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest (actually, Oklahoma plains, which I don't really consider midwest) house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Letts' play made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago's legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run

7. Deadly Harvest - Heather Graham

There are supposedly three books, each about a different PI brother....This is Flynn Brothers #2

Audio read by Phil Gigante

9 unabridged discs/ 10:28

2008, Brilliance Audio

385 pgs.

Finished 1/28/2014

Adult Murder Mystery

Goodreads Rating: 3.96 (Whaaaaa?)

My Rating:  1/Didn't like it at all -  actually, it was painful .....

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Salem, Massachusetts

My comments:  Yuck.  I always hate writing a negative review, it makes me feel so badly for the author.  But this book really stunk.  Predictable, repetitious, boring dialogue, stereotypical relationships, characters that could be interchangeable, a head-scratching inclusion of the sort-of-supernatural....and a depiction of the city of contemporary Salem, Massachusetts that is completely misleading.  Top that off with an audio reading that gives the characters crazy southern accents and I'm left cringing.  I can't believe I finished it.  Yuck.  Again.  No more Heather Graham for me.  Just not my cuppa tea.

Goodreads:  When a young woman is found dead in a field, dressed up as a scarecrow with a slashed grin and a broken neck, the residents of Salem, Massachusetts, begin to fear that the infamous Harvest Man is more than just a rumor. But out-of-town cop Jeremy Flynn doesn't have time for ghost stories. He's in town on another investigation, looking for a friend's wife, who mysteriously vanished in a cemetery.  

     Complicating his efforts is local occult expert Rowenna Cavanaugh, who launches her own investigation, convinced that a horror from the past has crept into the present and is seducing women to their deaths. Jeremy uses logic and solid police work. Rowenna depends on intuition. But they both have the same goal: to stop the abductions and locate the missing women before Rowenna herself falls prey to the Harvest Man's dark seduction.