JIGSAW-(Alex Delaware #41) by JONATHAN KELLERMAN

 JIGSAW-(Alex Delaware #41) by JONATHAN KELLERMAN (Pg 244)

Goodreads Review: This one looked like a slam a young woman found dead at her kitchen table, DNA on cigarette butts linking quickly to an ex-boyfriend with a criminal record. Or so homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis thought. Then everything changed and a quick close turned into a mind-bending whodunit. That’s when Milo called in psychologist Alex Delaware, his best friend and a long-term consultant on “those cases.” The ones that are different.

Then there’s another an old woman found brutally murdered, her body stashed in a deep freeze and mutilated. And when Milo learns who she is, he’s stunned. This victim is someone he once knew. Complicating matters further, her home is an extreme hoarder’s den, virtually impassable due to years of stored trash and apparently meaningless objects. Except for the envelopes of cash stashed among the garbage. As Alex and Milo dig deeper into the seemingly unrelated crimes, they discover shocking links between the victims and realize they have a labyrinthine—and deadly—puzzle to solve.

1st to Die by James Patterson

 

1st to Die by James Patterson - 488 pages

Four women-four friends-share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.

But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving one another a hand.

The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered-before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong.

I thought I should read a Patterson to see what all the hype is about.  I was really surprised that I really, truly enjoyed this one. I like it enough that I will probably continue on with the series, at least for a while, there are too darn many of them.

Bloodguard

Bloodguard - 706 pages (Large Print Edition)

Cecy Robson

Summary (From Goodreads)

One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…

Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.

Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.

He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.

All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.

Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.

But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.

Nor will his ultimate revenge…

Review

I felt the dual-pov structure served this story well, particularly in allowing for a comparison and contrast between Maeve and Leith's personalities.  Though the pacing did feel a little off-kilter in some places, and the motivations and actions of some characters didn't feel especially well-thought-through, it still managed a decent pace overall with sound worldbuilding.  Personally, I'm hoping for a sequel!  

The Midnight Library

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 288 pages

Synopsis: Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

My Thoughts: A few of my favorite quotes:

“You’re overthinking it.’ ‘I have anxiety. I have no other type of thinking available.”

“She realised that you could be as honest as possible in life, but people only see the truth if it is close enough to their reality.”

This book was such a good book, I wasn't expecting it to be. I loved the idea of getting to explore multiple different lives, of what could have been. Though the moral is the life you have should be cherished and don't live life with regrets. 

Fake it til you Mate it

 Fake it til You Mate it by Sarah Spade 302 pages

Synopsis: When I wake up in the morgue, I know it’s time to move on…When people think of shifters, they always bring up the wolves, bears, big cats. But prey shifters exist, too; the bunnies, the hedgehogs, and my old childhood nemesis, Roxy, who was an adorable raccoon and a huge headache.

Then there’s me. Honey Morgan, one in a long line of Virginia opossums—and who has a tendency to ‘play dead’ at the worst possible moments.

For nearly my whole life, I’ve managed to live among humans who have no clue that I’m a supe. But when I get startled and drop only to wake up in the morgue, I have to admit my mother was us opossums need to be around other shifters, even if the local predators have me hissing.
Or maybe that’s just one.

Max Lobo. To the outsiders who might pass through Moonburrow, he is the scowly sheriff. To the supe residents, he is the all-powerful Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack.
To me? He’s my mate.

He doesn’t seem to recognize me as his, though, and I’m okay with that. After all, I’m too busy taking over my witchy grandmother’s old bakery. With her recipes, my sense of humor and work ethic, and my sidekick, Gus, I focus on making Dough You Believe In Magic a success.

Which probably would’ve been a lot easier if I didn’t stumble upon a dead predator outside my back door—or if it didn’t bring the Alpha repeatedly to my front one.

Thrown together with Max, I have to figure out who targeted my bakery, why it seems like I might’ve been the one they were after, and how to survive being around the Alpha as he begins to realize that I’m not just some newcomer prey bumbling around on his territory that he needs to protect… but the other half of his wolf’s soul he has to claim.
Hey. Fake it ’til you mate it, right?

My Thoughts: This book was just going to be a book I read for fun and that I didn't take seriously. I was wrong, I adored this book. I love the fact that the author decided to write a book about an Opossum shifter, there are Never books about those types of shifters. This book had me laughing and kicking my feet. I love the main character and her tension with Max. 

For the Wolf

 For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten 437 pages

Synopsis: As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.

My Thoughts: It did take a while for me to get into this book. I'm not sure if it was because I just wasn't in the mood for it or if it was just too chock full of information. I did love the idea of the Wilderwood. I do love that this is a mix of Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Little Red Reding Hood. 

Stars Above

 Stars Above by Marissa Meyer 400 pages

Synopsis: The universe of the Lunar Chronicles holds stories—and secrets—that are wondrous, vicious, and romantic. How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies? With nine stories—five of which have never before been published—and an excerpt from Marissa Meyer’s novel, Heartless, about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Stars Above is essential for fans of the bestselling and beloved Lunar Chronicles.

My Thoughts: This was a nice little epilogue for everyone. I did enjoy reading it. It's not necessary to read and it was a little long, but I did enjoy it. I loved getting back stories of several of the characters we didn't know much about.