20. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

listened on Libby/borrowed from the library

2022
360 pgs.
Adult Magical Realism
Finished 3/10/23
Goodreads rating: 4.41
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary coastal Washington state

My comments: Okay, I loved this book.  It was different and interesting and although you knew exactly what was coming and how it would end, it was the route that it took to get there that was so fascinating.  A cantankerous 70-year-old woman, an elderly octopus living out his life in captivity, and a 30-year-old young man abandoned by his mother and raised by his aunt are the three main characters.  All unique and wonderful.  Michael Uri read the character of Marcellus, the octopus, perfectly, oh so perfectly!  Sure, a lot of sadness, but brilliantly done ... a perfect title for this story!  Five star setting: small town on the ocean just north of Seattle, WA.  Genre: magical realism?  To be able to hear the thoughts of an octopus would make it that, I think, the rest is definitely realistic fiction.

Goodreads synopsis:  Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

21. The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni

#4 Tracy Crosswhite

listened on Audible

2017
424 pgs.
Adult murder mystery, police procedural
Finished 3/14/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.38
My rating: 4.5
Setting:  Contemporary Seattle & other parts of Washington state

My comments: A woman's body is found in a crab pot in Puget Sound, off Seattle, and has jurisdiction flip flopping back and forth, with Tracy never fully giving up looking for answers...   An excellently plotted mystery that keeps you guessing and figuring things out along with Tracy.  Dugoni is great with creating his characters, setting, and plot....liked this one a whole lot.  (Tracy ends up getting married to Dan at the very end so it's going to be interesting to see how that changes things.)

Goodreads synopsis:   When a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD’s Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. So who was she running from?

After evidence surfaces that their Jane Doe may be a woman who suspiciously disappeared months earlier, Tracy is once again haunted by the memory of her sister’s unsolved murder. Dredging up details from the woman’s past leads to conflicting clues that only seem to muddy the investigation. As Tracy begins to uncover a twisted tale of brutal betrayal and desperate greed, she’ll find herself risking everything to confront a killer who won’t go down without a deadly fight. Once again, New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni delivers a taut, riveting thriller in the fourth installment of his acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite series.

74. Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni

#2 Tracy Crosswhite

listened on Audible

unabridged audio (11:28)

narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith

2015
426 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished  7/7/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.29 - 4129 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Seattle, Washington

First line/s: "Tracy Crosswhite watched the minivan pull into the parking lot, noting a car seat strapped into the back seat and a yellow "Child on Board" placard dangling in the window."

My comments: This was definitely an excellent mystery, kept you wondering and questioning and worrying throughout the story.  There were lots of characters and lots of suspects, but for some reason I didn't get them mixed up or forget who was who when their names were mentioned, like I frequently do.  It was read really well, and it's so nice to know that the asshole gets it in the end.  Picchu!  (A five rating, because I didn't want it to end and I can't wait to read the next one in the series)

Goodreads synopsis:   Homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite has returned to the police force after the sensational retrial of her sister’s killer. Still scarred from that ordeal, Tracy is pulled into an investigation that threatens to end her career, if not her life.

        A serial killer known as the Cowboy is killing young women in cheap motels in North Seattle. Even after a stalker leaves a menacing message for Crosswhite, suggesting the killer or a copycat could be targeting her personally, she is charged with bringing the murderer to justice. With clues scarce and more victims dying, Tracy realizes the key to solving the murders may lie in a decade-old homicide investigation that others, including her captain, Johnny Nolasco, would prefer to keep buried. With the Cowboy on the hunt, can Tracy find the evidence to stop him, or will she become his next victim?

35. Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

listened on Audible
read by Kathleen Wilhoite
Unabridged audio (9:35)
2012, Little Brown
330 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 4/1/19
Goodreads rating: 3.90 - 341,732 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Seattle, WA

First line/s: "The first annoying thing is when I ask Dad what he thinks happened to Mom, he always says, 'What's most important is for you to understand it's not your fault.' "

My comments: What a funky, funny, unusual novel.  (I can't say I was enamored with the reader, her voice got a little excessively overstimulated/excited in too many places.)  However - clever, over-the-top, and extremely humorous, the story kept me giggling, rolling my eyes, and completely hooked.  Written mostly as emails, letters, faxes, etc., the glimpses of Microsoft, Seattle, private schools, TED talks, architecture, the Antarctic, and five unique personalities are an absolute delight!

Goodreads synopsis:  Bernadette Fox has vanished.
          When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.

51. Outage by Ellisa Barr

Powerless Nation #1
read on my iPhone
2014 Parker Heritage Press
218 pgs.
YA CRF/Dystopia
Finished
Goodreads rating:  3.81 - 458 ratings
My rating: 3.5
Setting: contemporary rural Washington state

First line/s:  "Dee sat outside the farmhouse and peeled slivers of paint from the old porch swing."

My comments:  A survival story, and a believable one, for the most part. Definitely entertaining, I felt like I was watching this story. Not necessarily living it like other stories, but intensely observing. The only character you really get to know is the protagonist, Dee, because you get inside her head. Near the beginning you discover that one of the characters is part of a Mormon family, but to my relief and delight the book never gets preachy or religious. I've watched enough of the new tv shows about post-apocalyptic survival, so there was nothing particularly surprising happening, but the descriptions and panic and planning and problem-solving kept me interest from beginning to end.  

Goodreads synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Dee is left at her grandpa's farm in rural Washington, she thinks life is over. She may be right.
          A high-tech electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack destroys the country's power and communication grids, and sends the U.S. hurtling back to the Dark Ages. Can Dee learn to survive without the basics: electricity, clean water... even her cell phone?
          The chaos caused by the EMP isn't her only problem. A sinister plot by a corrupt official threatens Dee and all she holds dear. She will have to fight if she wants to survive in this hostile new world.
          Written for all fans who love apocalypse stories, Outage is a Young Adult novel of survival with a hint of romance and a lot of action-adventure.

32, My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni

Tracy Crosswhite #1
read on my iPhone
2014 Thomas & Mercer
416 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 6/10/17
Goodreads rating:  3.99 - 53,305 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: Contemporary mountains of Washington state

First line/s:  "Her tactical instructor at the police academy liked taunting them during early morning drills.  'Sleep is overrated,' he would say.  'You'll learn to do without.'  He lied."

My comments:  Set in a small town where everyone knows and likes your family, throw in a somewhat likable heroine who's lived with 20 years of a mystery that has stilted her life, just for the heck-of-it sprinkle with a sideline of romance with a "perfect" guy and layer on lots of secrets....that's what this book is all about!

Goodreads synopsis:  Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House — a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder — is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers.
          When Sarah’s remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she’s been seeking. As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long-kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past — and open the door to deadly danger.

2. - Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James

Fifty Shades #1

2011, Vintage Books

510 pgs.

X-rated Adult Erotica

Finished 1/6/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating:   (3) Liked it  

Setting:  contemporary Washington State (including Seattle)

1st sentence/s:  "I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror.  Damn my hair -- it just won't behave, and damn Katherine Kavanaugh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal."

My comments:  There have been many negative reviews by people that consider this book horrible because of all the erotica and sexual content.  Well....the genre is erotica, so if you don't like erotica and read it anyway, of course you're not going to like it.  Me?  I liked it.  The characters were interesting, thought-provoking (I might even read the second in the series to see if more is revealed about Christian's hangups) and ..... fun.  Neither were entirely believable, but that's okay in this story, for me.  Ana's innocence and inexperience, at 21--- not believable.  Oh well.  The humor that appears in the many emails that go back and forth between them is clesver.  My biggest complaint?  Ms. James used the word "clamber" dozens and dozens of times. THAT'S what drove ME crazy! (The movie is coming out next month, the trailer enticed me to read the book before seeing the movie - and yes, I'm going to see it!)

Goodreads book summary:  When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
           Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
          Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
          This book is intended for mature audiences.

35. After the River the Sun - Dia Calhoun

2013, Atheneum Books for Young Readers

348 pgs.

Written for middle grades

Finished 9/1/2013

CRF told in verse

Goodreads Rating: 4.0

My Rating: 4/ Loved it

TPPL

Setting: contemporary eastern Washington state

1^st sentence/s: 

"Eckhart rode a Greyhound bus

that charged down'the icy mountain road

like a knight's steed,

heedless of danger.

Lost in a game

on his Nintendo 3DS,

Eckhart didn't hear 

the tire chains rattle, didn't see

the snow pelting the window,

didn't think

about where he was going."

My comments:  Gorgeous writing. Really beautiful. Storyline is also excellent, but there are a few downfalls for me - two, actually. Uncle Al's turnaround towards Eckhart is just too sudden. A 360-degree turnaround practically overnight? I know he'd had the revelation of Eckhart's bravery, but only a few hours before this turnaround he wouldn't even look or speak to the boy? I don't care how much this adult was suffering, other personality traits didn't jive with his actions. And the second, for me personally, there was too much King Arthur. I know much of the book's premise was following the King Arthur story, but it was too much for me. It would be great for the King Arthur lover. Oh, and one more thing? $500,000 for a violin? I'm with Uncle Al on that one!  And isn't the cover gorgeous?

Goodreads Review:  Will Eckhart find the courage to rise from his past—and climb to his future? This quest for home is a stunning companion to Eva of the Farm. When Eckhart Lyon arrives at Sunrise Orchard, all he wants to do is play video games and read about King Arthur’s knights. Anything that helps him forget that his parents drowned in a river, forget his own cowardliness. Eckhart doesn’t want to clear the dead orchard, or explore the canyon, or do anything else that stern Uncle Al asks. After all, Uncle Al is only taking him in on trial, and Eckhart can’t imagine the orchard ever becoming his real home.  Then, up in the canyon, he meets Eva—a girl with a wild imagination and boundless hope who knows all about King Arthur’s knights. With her help, Eckhart sees that he is on a knightly quest of his own: a quest for home and courage. But what if he’s forced to choose between a new home and his most treasured possession—a gift from his mom?

15. Unraveling Isobel - Eileen Cook

2012, Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)
TPPL Teen
290 pgs.
Rating:  2.5/It was okay

Setting:  An island off the coast of Washington state, big enough for its own high school.
OSS:  When Isobel's mother marries a guy with a "hot" son her own age, she has to move to a strange high school during her senior year and deal with weird, ghostly things that happen in the huge old mansion she must now inhabit.
1st sentence/s:  "When the minister asked if anyone knew any reason why these two shouldn't be married, I should have said something.

Isobel's mother is a self-centered woman who has never been a particularly good mother, and this sort of things irritates me (of course).  It's a real happenstance, and I like that it was written that way.  The new stepfather, Dick, has only been widowed for seven months, so that's cause for head scratching and great and immediate questioning about his   The developing relationship between Isobel and her stepbrother Nathaniel is.....interesting.  And then there's the weird happenings in Isobel's bedroom - the room that used to house Nathaniel's drowned sister.
A fast read, perfect for reluctant teen readers. I found it predictable, but I've read many similar books. It went fast and was interesting, but isn't a standout for me. There were also a number of misspellings that hadn't been caught or edited, and this bothered me (although it shouldn't have!)

60. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

Audio read by Ilyana Kadushin (Bella) and Matt Walters (Jacob)
Random House Audio, 2008
16 unabridged cds
20 hrs. 29 minutes
768 pages
Rating: 3.5

Finally. I've finished the saga. 768 pages worth - 768 pages that should have and could have been written in about 350. Oh well. It had a happy ending, which is a good thing.....I.....guess.......

At least Meyers didn't mamby-pamby around. Throughout the three first installments, I was quite sure that she wouldn't turn Bella into a vampire. Her twist, the catalyst for all the events in this book, was quite unexpected, and quite interesting. However, I had a fourth grader that read the series last year. I had read the first three installments, but not this one, and felt the sexuality was hazy enough to keep the book appropriate for a sophisticated tne-year-old reader. Part of the time I was reading this fourth installment, I was thinking that it was probably a bit much for her. When I saw here a couple of days ago at Back-to-School Night, she told me she LOVED Breaking Dawn. Okeedokeee.

I didn't love it. But it was certainly entertaining. It was very exciting in places. It D R A G G E D in places. The movie is going to be made in two parts (groan). I will be in line to see it, I must admit.....

My Senator and Me - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D. C.
Illustrated by David Small
Scholastic Press, 2006
$16.99
56 pages
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Red (but of sort of washed-out red)

Written from the point-of-view of Sen. Kennedy's Portugese water dog, Splash, who accompanies the senator to and from his office and meetings in Washington D. C. We see places in D. C. and learn about the government. We accompany them around the capitol and watch a bill being formed and passed.

This makes the people who run our country in Washington REAL. It's really well-written with warmth, intelligence and humor.

David Small does a wonderful job illustrating - his depiction of Sen. Kennedy is right-on.

What a great way to learn about our nation's capitol and the work of our elected officials there!