The Guide by Peter Heller

 The Guide by Peter Heller - 273 pages, Audiobook - 7 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Kingfisher Lodge, nestled in a canyon on a mile and a half of the most pristine river water on the planet, is known by locals as Billionaire's Mile and is locked behind a heavy gate. Sandwiched between barbed wire and a meadow with a sign that reads Don't Get Shot! the resort boasts boutique fishing at its finest. Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher offers a respite for wealthy clients. Now it also promises a second chance for Jack, a return to normalcy after a young life filled with loss. When he is assigned to guide a well-known singer, his only job is to rig her line, carry her gear, and steer her to the best trout he can find.

But then a human scream pierces the night, and Jack soon realizes that this idyllic fishing lodge may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation.

This was a pretty good mystery/suspense story. However, Heller could have gone into less detail about the specifics of fishing. I really liked the relationship between Jack and Allison. It was different and refreshing.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

 Beastly (Beastly #1) by Alex Flinn - 300 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

This modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in New York City tells the story of a very arrogant, popular, rich, "beautiful" boy who makes fun of the wrong witch and is cursed to look as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. Thus, the beast is born.

New characters are added to this modern fairy tale: the beast's father, who can probably be given credit for the person his son turned to be, a blind tutor, and a housekeeper with a secret.

I thought this book was really cute, and I enjoyed the internet chats between chapters.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

 Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas - 576 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak. She is now alone in Wendlin with a broken heart and no motivation to complete an impossible task. She has hit rock bottom and blames herself for the fates and deaths of loved ones until she reaches a turning point and realizes she has to accept the pain and regret and move forward. Her character development throughout is phenomenal as she becomes stronger, wiser, and more determined while also staying stubborn, snarky, and brave. In short, she develops into a queen ready to fight for her kingdom as, with the help of Fae Prince Rowan Whitethorn, she tries to "become worthy" of being allowed into Doranelle to get information about the Wyrdkeys from the Fae Queen Maeve.

I love this series, and this 3rd installment is even better than the first two. I can't wait to see what lies in store as Celaena returns to Erilea.

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

 The Book of Life (The All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness - 561 pages, Audiobook - 24 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London. They left loved ones behind but have reunited with (most of) those in the present at Matthew's ancestral home. With Diana pregnant with twins and their enemies closing in, they must deal with secrets from Matthew's past being revealed while still searching for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages.

I like that she brought some characters we met in the past back into the story in the present. There were interesting and unexpected twists, and I thought she wrapped the story up well. The entire trilogy was extremely well written, and I loved all three books.

The Whistler by John Grisham

 The Whistler (The Whistler #1) by John Grisham - 470 pages, Audiobook - 13 hours

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

We expect our judges to be honest and wise, to ensure fair trials, and to protect the rights of all litigants. But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe?

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.

But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer who now goes by Greg Myers, claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

It seems the judge was secretly involved with the construction of a large casino on Native American land. The Coast Mafia financed the casino and is now helping itself to a sizable skim of each month’s cash with the judge getting a cut and looking the other way. It’s a sweet deal: Everyone is making money.

But now Greg wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. Greg files a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct, and the case is assigned to Lacy, who immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

I was a little disappointed by this book. I have liked other John Grisham books and thought this story sounded really interesting. There was a lot going on, and corruption was definitely rampant, but it didn't excite me the way I expect a thriller to.

Ice by Linda Howard

 Ice by Linda Howard - 198 pages, Audiobook - 5 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

On holiday leave from the service, Gabriel McQueen is sent into a brewing ice storm to make sure that his father’s distant neighbor, Lolly Helton, who has fallen out of contact, is safe and sound. It’s a trip that Gabriel would rather not make, given the bitter winter weather—and the icy conditions that have always existed between him and Lolly. Arriving at Lolly’s home, Gabriel spots strangers through the windows—one of them packing a weapon—and kicks into combat mode. But once Lolly is rescued, the heat—and the hunt—are on. Snowbound, unarmed, and literally under the gun, Gabriel and Lolly must depend on each other to endure the merciless forces of nature and evade the ruthless enemy out in the blackness of the silent night—and out for their blood.

This was a fun, easy read. While Gabriel is the one with military training, Lolly is no shrinking violet. It was nice to see a real partnership with them relying on each other to survive a horrible situation instead of the helpless female being saved by the big, tough man.

Absolute Power by David Baldacci

 Absolute Power by David Baldacci - 550 pages, Audiobook - 18.5 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A grizzled professional cat burglar gets trapped inside the bedroom closet of one of the world's richest men, only to witness, through a one-way mirror, two Secret Service agents kill the billionaire's young wife as she tries to fight off the drunken sexual advances of the nation's chief executive. Running for his life, but not before he picks up a bloodstained letter opener that puts the president at the scene of the crime, the burglar becomes the target of a clandestine manhunt orchestrated by leading members of the executive branch.

Meanwhile, Jack Graham, once a public defender and now a high-powered corporate attorney, gets drawn into the case because the on-the-lam burglar just happens to be the father of his former financee, a crusading Virginia prosecutor.

Embroidering the narrative are the hero's broken romance, the prosecutor's confused love-hate for her burglar father, the relentless investigation by a northern Virginia cop, the dilemma of government agents trapped in a moral catch-22, and the amoral ambitions of a sexy White House Chief of Staff, all with a sociopathic president at its center.

Especially since this was David Baldacci's debut novel, it's exceedingly good. It captures your attention from the very beginning and just keeps going from there. While there are a lot of characters and a lot of moving parts, it never gets confusing and kept me wondering how it would end throughout the entire book.

The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

 The Last Place You Look (Roxane Weary #1) by Kristen Lepionka - 323 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Sarah Cook, a beautiful blonde teenager, disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case.

Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she thinks she's linked Sarah's disappearance to one of her father's unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad's life and her own.

I really liked the story and am interested in reading the 2nd book in the series. She could have included more hints about who did it and how Roxane put it together. There were also a few scenes that could have been shortened or excluded. But, especially for a debut novel, she did a good job of building a main character trying to find her own way in spite of the influence of several strong personalities and her own demons.

The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci

 The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci - 432 pages, Audiobook - 11 hours 45 minutes

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Every day without fail, Travis Devine puts on a cheap suit, grabs his faux-leather briefcase, and boards the 6:20 commuter train to Manhattan, where he works as an entry-level analyst at the city’s most prestigious investment firm. In the mornings, he gazes out the train window at the lavish homes of the uberwealthy, dreaming about joining their ranks. In the evenings, he listens to the fiscal news on his phone, already preparing for the next grueling day in the cutthroat realm of finance.

Then one morning Devine’s tedious routine is shattered by an anonymous email: She is dead.

Sara Ewes, Devine’s coworker and former girlfriend, has been found hanging in a storage room of his office building—presumably a suicide, prompting the NYPD to come calling on him. If that wasn’t enough, Devine receives another ominous visit, a confrontation that threatens to dredge up grim secrets from his past in the Army unless he participates in a clandestine investigation into his firm.

This treacherous role will take Travis from the impossibly glittering lives he once saw only through a train window, to the darkest corners of the country’s economic halls of power…where something rotten lurks. And apart from this high-stakes conspiracy, there’s a killer out there with their own agenda, and Devine is the bullseye.

I love David Baldacci's Amos Decker series, and I enjoyed the Mercy series. I didn't enjoy this book as much, and if he turns this into a series, I'm not sure I would read any more of it. I enjoyed the mystery/thriller part of the plot, but there was a lot of computer lingo that went over my head.

No Ordinary Man by Suzanne Brockmann

 No Ordinary Man by Suzanne Brockmann - 250 pages

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Vital Statistics of Rob Carpenter:

- early thirties
- traveling consultant
- no family
- likes Chinese takeout and action moves

That was all Jess Baxter knew about her newest tenant, Rob Carpenter. That and the fact that he liked her daughter - and was the sexiest guy she'd ever met. But as Jess found out, no one got to know the elusive Mr. Carpenter. He was a master at dodging questions...and igniting her desires.

But then the murders started - all women who looked like her. And the profile of the killer matched Rob... Was Rob an innocent victim - or had his burning kisses only been a smoke screen?

I'm a big Suzanne Brockmann fan. Most of her books are about Special Forces operators or ex-military contractors. The Troubleshooters and Talk, Dark, and Dangerous series are some of my favorite books. This book was a stand-alone, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't one of my favorite Suzanne Brockmann novels.

Night Passage by Robert B. Parker

 Night Passage (Jesse Stone #1) by Robert B. Parker - 322 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problem into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dumps him, thirty-five-year-old Jesse Stone’s future looks bleak. So he’s shocked when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise recruits him as police chief. He can’t help wondering if this job is a genuine chance to start over, the kind of offer he can’t refuse.

Once on board, Jesse doesn’t have to look for trouble in Paradise: it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption—replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman. Against all this, Jesse stands utterly alone, with no one to trust—even he and the woman he’s seeing are like ships passing in the night. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero—or the deadest of dupes.

The only reason I read this was because it was chosen by our Mystery/Suspense Book Club. But, I'm really glad they did, because I loved it. I usually don't like short chapters, but Parker makes them work well, and the short chapters make it feel like a very quick read. I felt like I got to know the characters, and some of them are pretty unique. I look forward to reading more of the Jesse Stone series.

Some of the books in this series have been made into TV movies starring Tom Selleck. I also enjoyed the movie adaptation even though the plot had been streamlined and some character traits had been changed.

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson

 Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson - 439 pages, Audiobook 10 hours

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

She's a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her.

She's also on the run. Find a future, lose a past.

AnnieLee has run away to Nashville determined to become a country music star. When a studio musician for the world-famous, and retired, Ruthanna Ryder, hears her perform in Ruthanna's bar, he knows she has something special and makes sure Ruthanna knows it too. After Ruthanna takes AnnieLee under her wing, the past she ran away from comes back to haunt her.

This book was a little slow at the beginning but got more exciting toward the middle. My biggest complaint about this book is that the ending was rather short and abrupt after all the build-up throughout the book.

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

 The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass Prequel-Novellas #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas - 451 pages

⭐⭐⭐✩✩

Novellas included:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
The Assassin and the Healer
The Assassin and the Desert
The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. She may work for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, but Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

Along the way, she makes friends and enemies and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .

On the recommendation of my daughter, who LOVES this series, I read this after I finished the 2nd book. I'm not sure if it was because I was not familiar with all the characters or because I really wanted to see what happens in the 3rd book, but at times I had difficulty staying engaged. That being said, I did enjoy it. The insight into Celaena's relationship with Arobynn Hamel and the contrast between Arobynn's domain and that of the Silent Master's, along with the betrayals she experienced, definitely helped me understand her better. 

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

 Shadow of Night (The All Souls Trilogy #2) by Deborah Harkness - 584 pages, Audiobook - 24 hours, 30 minutes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. Their adventure is not restricted to London as they also travel to other countries, and Diana discovers more than she ever imagined about cultures and daily life in 1590.

Their search for Ashmole 782 takes interesting turns while Diana uncovers more of Matthew's secrets while the search for a witch to tutor her in magic turns out to be much more difficult than Matthew thought it would be.

I LOVE this series. I struggled a little with the reaction one of the characters had to Diana, but once I got a little way into this 2nd book, I just wanted to keep listening to see what happened next.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

 Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas - 432 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie... and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

I liked this 2nd installment in the Throne of Glass series just as much as I liked the 1st book. I definitely did not anticipate several of the revelations that came to light in this book, and I'm just as anxious to see what comes next as I was at the end of the 1st book.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

 Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas - 432 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In a land without magic, the king rules with an iron hand. An assassin is brought to the castle from the salt mines - not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she will be released from slaverey to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

I'm not usually a reader of Teen books, but this one captured my interest from the beginning. The characters have a lot of depth, especially Celaena. I really like the way you learn about her a little at a time, and I like her more and more with every revelation about her background and true character. It's very easy to hate the king and his minions and wish for their downfall to come immediately even though this is only the beginning of the series.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

 Hidden Figures by Margo Lee Shetterly - 349 pages, 10 hour 47 minute Audiobook

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Set amid the civil rights movement, the never-before-told true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America’s space program. Before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of professionals worked as ‘Human Computers’ calculating the flight paths that would enable space travel. A group of talented ‘colored computers’ who were segregated from their white counterparts, used pencil and paper to write the equations that would launch rockets and astronauts into space. This true story moves from World War II, when an executive order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt made it possible for women and African-Americans to work in professional positions in government workplaces, through NASA’s golden age, touching on the civil rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War and the women’s rights movement. This book tells the story of courageous women whose work forever changed the world.

At times, it was difficult to keep track of all the names, events and dates in this book as she tended to throw out one fact after another. I feel like I learned facts about some people's lives, but I didn't get to know Dorothy Vaughan or Katherine Johnson on a personal level. I did find all the information about the discrimination and segregation African-Americans, especially those in Viriginia during the 1940's through 1960's, faced on a daily basis. I enjoyed the movie "Hidden Figures" much more than the book even though the screen adaptation portrayed NASA as a segregated workplace in 1961 even though they ended the practice when NACA became NASA in 1958. The movie told the story of the three main characters, instead of mostly stating facts about them, and helped you get to know them on a much more personal level.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches (The All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness - 579 pages, Audiobook - 24 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist, Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos.

I loved this book, and I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook and the different accents she used for the various characters. There are a lot of different characters and relationships between them, but she does a good job of making sure you know exactly what is going on with the various characters and groups. The ending definitely makes you want to start reading the next book in the series.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - 331 pages, Audiobook - 11.5 hours

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This gritty and compelling novel tells the story of star-crossed lovers set in the circus world circa 1932.

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

I'm not a huge circus fan, so this is not a book I would have chosen on my own. However, I'm very glad it was selected in our Book to Movie Club as I enjoyed it immensely. The book, told from Jacob's point of view while he was working on the circus and years later when he is in a nursing home, transports you into the world of circus trains.

A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

 A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron - 336 pages (11 hours 20 minutes Audiobook)

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Lucas Ray is shocked when an adorable puppy jumps out of an abandoned building and into his arms. Though the apartment he shares with his mother, a disabled veteran, doesn't allow dogs, Lucas can't resist taking Bella home.

As it becomes more difficult to hide her from the neighbors, Lucas begins to sneak Bella into the VA where he works. There, Bella brings joy and comfort to the patients.

After Bella is picked up by Animal Control because pit bulls are banned in Denver, Lucas has no choice but to send her to a foster home until he can figure out what to do. But Bella, distraught at the separation, doesn't plan to wait. With four hundred miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness between her and her person, Bella sets off on a seemingly impossible and completely unforgettable adventure home.

The book is told from the dog's perspective, and that made it feels a bit odd to me. This book was one our Book to Movie Club selections, and I must admit I liked the movie better. The dog's narration in the movie felt more organic than in the book.