Lights! Camera! Frendo! (Clown in a Cornfield #4) by Adam Cesare

 

Lights! Camera! Frendo!  (Clown in a Cornfield #4) by Adam Cesare - 400 pages

Let the killing continue in Lights! Camera! Frendo! It’s the fourth installment of Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning series, and this time Frendo goes Hollywood – with all the blood, guts, and mayhem you’d expect from the series that spawned the blockbuster motion picture.

Sabrina Alvarez is pretty much a nobody—until she lands the starring role in the big budget film based on the Kettle Springs Massacre. Sabrina knows she should be on top of the world. She’s going to be THE Quinn Maybrook, Final Girl of Final Girls, national hero and certified badass. But as soon as Sabrina gets to Kettle Springs, she just can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s off. A spate of deaths, an out-of-control director, a town decimated by loss and divided by anger, and a movie designed to glorify it all. Something bad is brewing, and this time, it’s all on film.

A meditation on the villains inside us all, it’s the latest installment of Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning series, Clown in a Cornfield.

This was better than the third one and was alright.  I didn't hate it but didn't love it.  I liked the blending of old characters with new.  

Jefferson Barracks by Sandie Grassino

 

Jefferson Barracks by Sandie Grassino-128 pages

Like many of us, I have loved ones who are buried in Jefferson Barracks.  My dad shipped out on a train from there in 1942 to head to Indio, CA to train under General Patton.  So, when this book came across my desk I grabbed it!  It is short and sweet with a lot of fascinating historic pictures. I enjoyed learning the history of Jefferson Barracks.

Founded in 1926 it was home to America's first permanent Dragoons (later the United States Cavalry), first school of Infantry, and first regiment of buffalo soldiers.  The largest induction and mustering-out center during both the First and Second World Wars. 

It is now home to the Missouri Air National Guard, the VA hospital, the Historic Park, a national cemetery and many museums.  It also has many wonderful walking trails that I highly recommend.  We are fortunate to have so much history so nearby.  I enjoyed this book very much.

Courting Misfortune by Regina Jennings

Courting Misfortune by Regina Jennings-330 pages

Miss York is undercover in Joplin, Missouri as a Pinkerton operative.  If she is successful in bringing back the mob bosses daughter who was kidnapped, she will secure her job as a Pinkerton.  

The problem is that she has a lot of family in the area and soon her cover is blown.  She gets herself into some very scary situations.  To top it off a handsome young preacher is trying to keep Miss York from turning to a life of sin.  Will she have to break her cover to convince him to leave her alone??

Kind of slow for me..I would give it a 3 out of 5.

Prelude To A Century by Patrick Murphy

                                                        

Prelude To A Century by Patrick Murphy-183 pages

To anyone who loves all things "1904 St. Louis World's Fair" this is a MUST read.  There are phenomenal pictures and wonderful descriptions that transport you back in time to one of the most colossal events in St. Louis history.  So many things I never knew before. I took it in small gulps just to digest it all! 

I LOVED it!

The Dead of Night by Elaine Viets

 

The Dead of Night by Elaine Viets-227 pages

Angela Richman, Death Investigator #8

When Angela Richman finds two dead bodies in a cursed crypt on Halloween, she is drawn into a spine-tingling mystery. Has a Chouteau Forest legend turned deadly, or is a dangerous killer on the loose?Everyone in Chouteau Forest knows the legend of the Cursed Crypt. It's claimed that the restless spirit of a professor nicknamed Mean Gene Cortini, buried in Chouteau Forest University's crypt, has been causing death and destruction in the Forest for almost two centuries.  When Trey Lawson outbids the wealthy Du Pres family at the university's annual Howl-o-ween Benefit Auction, he wins the chance to spend the night in the crypt with his fiancée, Lydia. Angela Richman, Death Investigator, finds their mutilated bodies there the following morning. As Angela investigates, she learns that Trey was threatening the established hierarchy of Chouteau Forest. Has the legend taken a deadly turn, or are Trey and Lydia victims of a vicious power struggle?

This series just gets better and better.  Since the author is originally from St. Louis she uses references about different places around town.  I look forward to the next one.

Appointment for Murder : the story of the killing dentist by Susan Crain Bakos

          Appointment with Murder : the story of the killing dentist by Susan Crain Bakos-384 pages

I was very interested in reading this book because my parents actually took me when I was 11; to have this dentist; Dr Glennon Engleman, pull two of my teeth.  He was cheap!  We were poor!  Little did we know he had a very lucrative side gig!  He was available to blow up anyone that you wanted to knock off for their insurance money. Or if he held a grudge against you..kaboom!  There were parts of the book that I had to skip over since it is also very sexually explicit.  He even performed back room abortions to achieve his goals.  One very sick man. Thankfully with the help of his third wife they finally caught him.  And did I mention this all took place here in St. louis from the 1950's - 1980's?!  I did not like the book, but since he was a part of my history I found it interesting.     

Winter's End by Paige Shelton

 Winter's End by Paige Shelton-263 pages

4th in the Alaskan Wild series.  Beth is in hiding from her abductor.  There are a few people in Benedict, Alaska who knows who she really is.  Besides being a famous author she is also an amateur sleuth.  The townspeople are conducting the death walk which occurs when winter is over just to make sure that all have survived.  When several people have gone missing they so not know if their disappearances are connected.  There are alot of plot twists that keeps you guessing.  I enjoy this series very much.  Beth is also originally from Missouri, which is another reason why I like the series.

Late For His Own Funeral by Elaine Viets

 Late For His Own Funeral by Elaine Viets--227 pages

7th in the Angela Richman, Death Investigator series.  The plot follows the title..quite shocking when the supposed dead man arrives at his own funeral!  There is always a lot more going on in Chouteau Forest than meets the eye.  Angela has great instincts and she always helps solve the murders.  I enjoy books from Elaine Viets.  Since she is originally from the St. Louis area her books have a lot of references to our great city.

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

 Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare-368 pages

Quinn Maybrook moves with her father to Kettle Springs, Missouri, a rural town near I-44. She and her father previously lived in Philadelphia until a year after her mother died of an overdose. Kettle Springs has a mascot, Frendo the clown, that represents the town's history. It was the mascot for Baypen corn syrup which was made in a factory on the outskirts of town until recently. The town's teenage population, especially Cole Hill, Janet Murray, Tucker, Ronnie Queen, and Matt, are pranksters. The town's older population, including the teens' parents, long for "the good old days" and loathe the teens. A year earlier, Victoria Hill, Cole's younger sister had died in a diving accident and Cole was held responsible by many of the town's older generation, including the Sheriff, George Dunne. A prank that ruins the town's Founders' Day Parade goes too far and is the last straw for many. Cole and his fellow teen friends plan a party on a remote farm outside of town. People clad in Frendo the Clown costumes show up and start murdering teen partygoers in gruesome fashion. Who is killing them and why? Who will survive, if anyone? I really liked this and found it to be a good read. I'm reading the sequel next for the monthly challenge.

The Impossible by Joyce Smith with Ginger Kolbaba

256 pages

"When Joyce Smith's 14-year-old son John fell through an icy Missouri lake one winter morning, she and her family had seemingly lost everything. At the hospital, John lay lifeless for more than 60 minutes. They asked themselves, How could God do this to us? But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She mustered all her faith and strength and cried out to God in a loud voice to save her son.

"Immediately, her son's heart miraculously started beating, again.

"In the coming days, her son would defy every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Sixteen days after falling through the ice and being clinically dead for an hour, John Smith walked out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed."  --from the publisher

This is a simple telling of an incredible story. Regardless of your religious beliefs, it's worth reading about all the medical norms that were defied by this miraculous event. Wow.
 

The Impossible: the miraculous story of a mother's faith and her child's resurrection by Joyce Smith with Ginger Kolbaba

 

The Impossible: the miraculous story of a mother's faith and her child's resurrection  by Joyce Smith with Ginger Kolbaba  250 pages

When Joyce Smith's fourteen-year-old son, John, fell through an icy Missouri lake one winter morning, she and her family had seemingly lost everything. At the hospital, John lay lifeless for more than sixty minutes. But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She mustered all her faith and strength into one force and cried out to God in a loud voice to save him. Miraculously, her son's heart immediately started beating again. In the coming days, John would defy every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Sixteen days after falling through the ice and being clinically dead for an hour, he walked out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed.

I have heard the story and watched the movie, but I wanted to read it for myself.  What a great story. I loved the way the author is transparent and reveals her true feelings in this book.  I truly felt like I was the young boy's mother and could relate to a son being in a hospital.  So glad this book has a happy ending.

The Branson Beauty by Claire Booth

 

The Branson Beauty by Claire Booth – 310 p.

 Hank Worth, the new sheriff of Branson County, Missouri, has his work cut out for him when old showboat The Branson Beauty runs ashore at Table Rock Lake, stranding a flock of tourists out for a winter excursion. The case gets really serious when a popular young local woman is discovered dead, strangled as it turns out. This debut features well-drawn characters, witty observations, and the mystery is mildly entertaining. I would have enjoyed more local Ozarks color, but may try another entry in the series to see if that aspect improves.  

Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan M. Metzl

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzl --- 342 Pages including Acknowledgments, End Notes and Index.

Metzl uses three case studies to investigate why so many poor and working class white Americans support government policies that undermine their own health and well being when politicians promise such policies will preserve white privilege and control. Even when the actual effect of these policies only deepens the divide between the wealthy elite and everybody else (regardless of race), working class whites cling to their illusion of privilege in the face of their own diminished lives. 

Metzl asks how did the politics of racial resentment become so powerful that it has overwhelmed even the basic instinct of self-preservation? To find out, he spent eight years talking to voters in Missouri, Tennessee and Kansas,  asking them to explain political actions they supported: repealing gun laws in Missouri; refusing to participate in the ACA and Medicaid expansion in Tennessee; slashing taxes and funding for infrastructure, education, and health programs in Kansas.   The answers he got are sobering and a testament to the damage still being inflicted on our nation by the legacy of racial animosity.

Dr. Metzl is a professor of sociology and psychiatry and director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University. A nationally recognized expert on gun violence and mental illness, Dr Metzl grew up in Kansas City, and has family ties in Missouri and Kansas. He lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee.

Click HERE to read the * review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Review.

Click HERE to read the review from Vox.com.

Click HERE to watch an interview with the author on PBS.

Click HERE to read a review from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  

A Swollen Red Sun by Matthew McBride

A Swollen Red Sun by Matthew McBride   243 p.

Author Chuck Wendig calls McBride’s particular brand of fiction Chainsaw Noir. While that’s a beautiful term, I will stick with “Missouri noir”, putting it firmly into Daniel Woodrell territory while taking nothing from this unique piece. Gasconade County is a contender for Missouri meth capital, and not so very far from here. Deputy Sheriff Dale Banks keeps the $52,000 he finds, knowing it’s drug money, knowing it’s wrong, but Dale is not a bad guy. Unfortunately, our actions do come back to haunt us, sometimes with a vengeance. McBride starts out with a number of disparate story lines, gradually weaving them together with brutal black humor, so that the finale is as inevitable as it is surprising.

Weird Missouri by James Strait

Weird Missouri by James Strait, 253 pages

I bought this book about a year ago, and I love looking at it.  It has beautiful pictures of oddities all over the state of Missouri.  The Weird state books is a whole series, and I believe there is a book for most of the states.  I believe there is also a Weird US book.  This book includes roadside attractions, haunted places, and local legends.  Also, there is such a thing as a hair museum in Missouri!

Forest Park by Don Corrigan and Holly Shanks

Forest Park by Don Corrigan and Holly Shanks - 128 pages

At 1,293 acres, Forest Park exceeds the size of New York's Central Park by nearly 500 acres, and within are lakes, hills, wetlands, woodlands, and bountiful recreational opportunities. Within a few decades of its 1876 opening, Forest Park became the host for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, as well as the 1904 Summer Olympics. Known as the "Heart of St. Louis," the park features amazing attractions, such as the Saint Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, The Muny, and the Saint Louis Science Center. Millions of Americans have come to Forest Park for world-class festivities and for celebrations of heroes, from Lewis and Clark to explorers of outer space. Today, the park continues to host remarkable events, including Fair St. Louis, Earth Day, Shakespeare in the Park, and LouFest.

I always enjoy reading about hometown history, but it's especially great when there's tons of old photos to bring you back in time and help you feel nostalgic!

The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg

The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg -- 402 pages

Elmwood Springs, Missouri, is a small town like any other, but something strange is happening out at the cemetery. “Still Meadows,” as it’s called, is anything but still. Funny and profound, this novel in the tradition of Flagg’s Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven and Thornton Wilder’s Our Town deals with universal themes of heaven and earth and everything in between, as Flagg tells a surprising story of life, afterlife, and the mysterious goings-on of ordinary people.

Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine by Victoria Cosner, Lorelei Shannon

Missouri's Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine by Victoria Cosner, Lorelei Shannon -- 144 pages


Body snatcher. Grave robber. Mad scientist. Brilliant surgeon. Delve into the macabre world of St. Louis's Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell, a man so loathed by the public that he wore body armor and so idolized by his anatomy students that they dug up corpses for his experiments. This ghoulish doctor cast a pall over the city and left a host of fiendish mysteries. Did his mother's ghost actually help him escape an angry mob? Did he really hang the corpse of his daughter in Hannibal's Mark Twain Cave? What very real horrors remained in his medical college after loyal Unionists drove him out? Dissect a life surrounded by speculation and a legend littered with ghosts.

Bettyville by George Hodgman

Bettyville by George Hodgman - 288 pages

This is a touching memoir of an adult child's return to small town Missouri to care for his aging mother.  Hodgman had an uncomfortable childhood growing up gay in the 1960s in rural America.  He left for the East Coast for college and lived his own life in the decades that followed just checking in but never staying too involved.  Hodgman comes home this time and ends up staying to care for his 90 year old mother as she struggles with dementia and failing health.  This all sounds horribly depressing but Hodgman finds the joy in the small moments and the dark humor that is the saving grace of dysfunctional families everywhere.  The narrative goes between the past and the present to help illuminate the relationships and how George and Betty got from there to here.  Don't get me wrong, this is overall a sad book, especially with the examination of Hodgman's relationship with his parents and the impact of the AIDS crisis on his life, but it will also make you laugh out loud many times.   

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, 413 pages

They were the perfect couple- perfect looks, perfect home, perfect jobs...until it all started to unravel. In the blink of an eye, both jobs are gone. Then a sudden illness in the family and their lives are turned upside down. So long NYC apartment, hello Missouri!

Full of twists and turns, this book will keep you guessing - just when you think you have it all figured out the book starts a new "act".

I enjoyed the story very much...the ending was very disappointing however!  Soon to be released as a motion picture starring Ben Affleck. Rumors are the ending to the movie does not follow the book. This is one situation where I hope the movie ending is very different form the book!