Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher

 Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher - 304 pages

Jessica is invited to deliver a lecture at the Boston Public Library around the same time Seth is headed to Boston to give a lecture for an old med school buddy.  They decide to travel together and see some sites while they are there.  Jessica is excited to plan to see some local friends including PI  Harry McGraw.  What they didn't plan was to get caught up in investigating a murder that the local pub bartender's daughter is accused of.   I enjoyed the book.  Looking forward to another.

Robin, Vol. 1: The Lazarus Tournament by Joshua Williamson

Robin, Vol. 1: The Lazarus Tournament by Joshua Williamson
Robin (2021), 184 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
Damian Wayne will be forced to find his own path as Robin away from both sides of his family—his father, Bruce Wayne, the Dark Knight, and his mother, Talia al-Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, the ecoterrorist known as The Demon’s Head!

After learning of the deadly League of Lazarus tournament, Damian Wayne has a new mission: win the tournament and prove he is the greatest fighter in the DC Universe! But first he must find the secret island where it’s all going down!

Dark Knights of Steel, Vol. 1 by Tom Taylor

Dark Knights of Steel, Vol. 1 by Tom Taylor
Dark Knights of Steel #1, 176 pages

⭐⭐⭐.75/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
An entire medieval world will be forever changed when a spaceship crash-lands from a doomed planet. Years later the El Kingdom reins and Jefferson Pierce, the head of the Kingdom of Storms sees their family as a threat and gathers allies to challenge them. Monarchs will die, kingdoms will rise, and what seemed like the end of the world for many…was only the beginning! An epic high-fantasy story set in a DC Universe where nothing is what it seems…

Monday, January 5, 2026

Try Not to Die: With Satan Inside: An Extreme Interactive Adventure by Mark Tullius

 

Try Not to Die: With Satan Inside: An Extreme Interactive Adventure by Mark Tullius - 157 pages


Try Not to With Satan Inside – Evil Is Closer Than You Think.You should be celebrating the happiest night of your life. But as churches burn, suicides spread like wildfire, and brutal murders shatter your town, your engagement quickly descends into hell on earth.

When your fiancĂ©e becomes possessed by Satan himself, you’re forced to make impossible choices—each one dragging you further into darkness. The Devil doesn’t just want her soul… he wants yours.

Can you resist his influence? Save the woman you love? Or will you embrace the evil already growing inside you?


This was a quick read, I liked finding out how many different ways the character died.  There were some creative ways to die.  

Wretch: A Novel by Jeremy Wagner

 

Wretch: A Novel by Jeremy Wagner - 376 pages


"If you only read one more horror novel this year, make sure this is it.” —Edward Lee

Wretch is a relentless descent into crime, horror, and vengeance. A brutal unflinching thriller for fans of organized crime sagas, dark detective fiction, and monsters born in the shadows of science.

Chicago is choking under the hottest summer on record, but the true heat comes from the blood spilled on its streets.

Detective Donnie Lynch trails a killer who shouldn’t exist. Mob boss Tico “The Meatgrinder” Tortellio has stepped out from the shadows of his empire with a personal vendetta to avenge his daughter—and nothing short of blood will settle the score. Both men are hunting the same man— if “man” is still the right word…

The elusive killer, Derek Hoffman, is a steroid-abusing-sociopath twisted beyond recognition whose body and mind have been grotesquely transformed after his participation in a clinical trial for an experimental ED-arousal-drug called, LIBIDONAL. Hoffman has become something monstrous, a predator driven by lust, rage, and a thirst for blood.

With the city becoming a killing ground for a new apex predator, Lynch and Tortellio race toward the same target. But who will reach Hoffman first? And when they do, can bullets or brutality be enough to stop him?


Holy moly, I was not prepared for the level of depravity that this book brought.  It was a wild, crazy ride.  This was a decent book, definitely crude but good for horror lovers, but only if you are fine with gore.

Flying Witch, Volume 1

Flying Witch, Volume 1 - 160 pages

Chihiro Ishizuka, Melissa Tanaka (Translator)



Summary (From Goodreads)

Prepare to be Bewitched!

Makoto Kowata, a novice witch, packs up her belongings (including a black cat familiar) and moves in with her distant cousins in rural Aomori to complete her training and become a full-fledged witch. 

Review

In many ways, this book reminds me of Kiki's Delivery Service - a young witch venturing out into the world with only her cat by her side, hoping to complete her training as a witch.  It's shaping up to be a cute and cozy slice-of-life series and I'm all in favor of reading more!  

Astonishing and Extinct Professions by Markus Rottman

Astonishing and Extinct Professions: 89 Jobs You Will Never Do by Markus Rottman - 88 pages

I read this book in preparation for a homeschool class I was teaching.  It was very interesting.  It covered a range of professions that you really don't see any more.  I would definitely recommend this informational book to children.