REVIEW: The Night House

 The Night House
Author: Jo Nesbo

Richard is only 14 years old when his parents are killed in a fire and he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He has a rough time with his new life, town and school. He doesn't really fit in and starts causing major trouble. Stealing, pranks...just being a juvenile asshole. So, when he ropes another local teen into joining in on a prank and the kid disappears, most people think Richard had something to do with it. Richard has a wild, horrific story about what happened to Tom, but nobody believes him. 

Because really.....telephone booths at the edge of the woods don't make kids disappear, right? The logical explanation is that the weird, new kid pushed him in the river, or did something to him. Local law enforcement is pretty much convinced that Richard killed Tom. 

So, he forms a friendship with another local outsider to follow clues and investigate what happened to Tom.

I have read a couple of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole Detective novels and enjoyed them. When I saw he had written a horror novel, I had to give it a read. This book is completely a departure from the gritty investigative Harry Hole novels.

This story is bizarre, yet completely sucked me in. It wasn't really that scary, but I found myself wanting to know WTH was going on. Creepy more than scary. Can you imagine being an outsider, and having something so fantastical and horrific happen right in front of you....and nobody believes you. Yikes!

I hope he writes more horror. I really enjoyed this book! The story was so weird, but engaging.

I kept thinking as I read that the story would make a really good creepy movie. I'd watch it!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Knopf. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Christmas Mittens Murder

 Christmas Mittens Murder
Authors: Lynn Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, Maddie Day

I love the holiday themed Cozy Mystery Collections that Kensington puts out each year. These have become a tradition for me, and I read each one as it comes out! Always enjoyable and gets me in the mood for each holiday season. This one gathers 3 stories from 3 skilled cozy authors all themed around hand knit mittens. 

I enjoyed each story!

Death of a Christmas Mitten Knitter - This story features Hayley Powell from Lee Hollis' Food & Cocktails cozy series. I have not read this series yet, so I enjoyed the introduction to the premise, characters and setting. Things get heated at the annual Bar Harbor Church Christmas Bazaar when a piece of jewelry goes missing. While looking for the ring, Hayley finds a dead body instead. 

Two Christmas Mittens - This story is a Kitchen Witch series novella by Lynn Cahoon. Mia Malone is working a second job at a local Lodge to make ends meet. A dead body, one red mitten, and an ancient curse form the mystery that Mia has to solve before more people die! 

Murderous Mittens - CeCe Barton, owner of a Wine Bar in LA, is the main character in this novella by Maddie Day. Spending a restful Christmas at her sister's B&B away from LA, CeCe finds herself sucked into a mystery when a local bar owner and mitten maker is found dead. Can she unravel the mystery before the holiday is ruined? I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I enjoyed this story!

Reading these three enjoyable cozy novellas made me want to delve into each of these cozy series! I have read other books and novellas by these authors, but not the series featured here!! I have added all three to my TBR list and will definitely be reading more! 

This book made me not only want to pick up my knitting needles, but also got me feeling that holiday spirit!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington Books. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: A Deadly Education

 A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik

I really did not know what to expect from this book. I went in with bare minimum knowledge of the plot. 

All I can say is ..... wow! I really enjoyed this book! Sometimes YA Fantasy is really hit or miss for me. It's a genre not really written for adults...so at times it's a bit too juvenile or I just feel the story line doesn't hit the mark for me. But when I find a YA book or series that really does hit the mark with me despite my being 55 -- I really get excited! The story lines can be so adventurous, interesting, and new. And, this book, I am thankful to say hit all the marks for me. 

It's sort of like Hogwarts meets Hunger Games? But not exactly....it's too hard to explain. Read the book! I don't want to give any of the plot away, as I enjoyed this more coming in without any spoilers. The premise makes total sense really. Magic would be inherently dangerous. And a school of magic with no instructors, just the goal to survive, plus real monsters lurking around....yikes! Gives surviving school a whole new meaning! 

 I love it when a book whisks me away into a world where I can imagine actually being there....and whether I could survive the situation. This story is awesome!

If you like magical fantasy -- read this book!! 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Random House Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Surely You Can't Be Serious

 Surely You Can't Be Serious
Author: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker

I have watched the movie Airplane! hundreds of times over the years. When I was first living on my own after college, my dad would just show up sometimes on my porch with a DVD of Airplane! and dinner. We'd hang out and just laugh our butts off, even though we had seen the movie so many times. It didn't matter.....the jokes were always funny. 

I was hunting for a totally different book to review when I came across the listing for this one -- I can't even remember the book I was actually looking for. My brain latched onto this one - oh, hell yeah I'm reading this book! And when I'm done.....I'm watching the movie again and wishing my dad were still here to enjoy it with me.  His favorite line? The one I used to purposely feed to him so that he could use it on me? The dialogue would go something like this:  Me: Surely you aren't serious that you don't plan to watch the Chiefs play on Sunday!  Him: Yes I'm serious.....and don't call me Shirley. 

This book discusses the directors' careers in theater before the movie, how they cast so many famous actors in a project that was so wonderfully silly, and just how the entire project came about. I loved every word!! There are also lots of photos, quotes, anecdotes and other types of wonderful information! 

My favorite scene? Oh easily any of the bits with Stephen Stucker as Johnny. So funny! If you don't know who I'm talking about -- watch the movie! :) 

I looked through all of my streaming services to see where I could watch the movie....even restored my STARZ subscription because a site told me it was there.....nope. None of them. Unless I want to buy it again. Which I'm not going to do. Rats!

......Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

Murder at Haven's Rock

 Murder at Haven's Rock
Author: Kelley Armstrong

 

This book is the first in the new Haven's Rock series. If you haven't read the Rockton series, I recommend you read those books first, as this is a continuation-of-sorts of that prior series. 

A town is under construction in an isolated area of the Yukon in Alaska. Haven's Rock isn't an ordinary town...the project is secret and its isolated location was chosen on purpose. Haven's Rock will be an oasis in the wilderness for people who need to disappear. A safe place. A prior town with a similar set-up just failed, and its leaders Casey and Eric are re-locating, starting over with a new town in a new place. They hope to avoid the problems they encountered in Rockton. But, just as they arrive to check out the new location ahead of allowing residents to arrive, there is already trouble brewing. There's only one rule in Haven's Rock -- stay out of the forest. Two members of the construction crew broke that rule. And, now they are both missing.....

I loved the Rockton series, and I was incredibly happy to see this new series! Characters from the Rockton series are present, and several new characters introduced in this first book. I love the concept of a town where people can go when they need to disappear. Casey and Eric are strong, intelligent and motivated main characters. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to manage a town in the middle of nowhere that has to maintain secrecy. 

Loved this book! I am definitely going to continue reading this series! Kelley Armstrong never disappoints!! 

I listened to the audio book version of this novel. The audio is just over 10.5 hours long and narrated by Therese Plummer. She does an excellent job of narrating and brings the story to life. Enjoyable listen! 

I can't wait to see what happens next in this series! 

REVIEW: Chapter and Curse

 Chapter and Curse
Author: Elizabeth Penney

Molly Kimball and her mother, Nina, move to Cambridge, England to help run the family bookstore. Thomas Marlowe Manuscripts & Folios has been in business for more than 400 years, but Nina's Aunt Violet needs help to keep the business going. Molly & Nina quickly start helping give the shop a better online presence and even schedule a poetry reading by a local famous writer. When a woman is found dead outside the shop right after the poetry reading, they find themselves doing a bit of amateur sleuthing to clear Aunt Violet of suspicion in the murder. 

I enjoyed this book! I love the concept - the idea of a 400 year old family bookstore! Love it! The characters are engaging, and the mystery developed at a nice pace. There were a few surprises I did not expect, and a couple I saw coming. I'm definitely going to continue reading this series. Very enjoyable! 

REVIEW: The Writing Retreat

 The Writing Retreat
Author: Julia Bartz

5 lucky winners. A writing retreat with a famous, but eccentric, horror author at her very remote estate. Alex feels this is her chance to finally get published. But, it turns out there is a reason why everyone says never meet your heroes......

I listened to the audio book version of this debut novel by Julia Bartz. The audio is 11.5 hours long and narrated by Gail Shalan. Gail is a skilled narrator with a pleasant voice. She read at a good pace and brought each character to life.

I'm not going to say a lot about the plot to avoid spoilers. But, this book went in some directions I didn't expect...and a few I did. The story dragged in the middle for me and I almost stopped listening. I stuck with it because I wanted to know the ending. But, I was disappointed - the ending was a bit of a mess, in my opinion.

The story was interesting, but this book overall missed the mark for me.  I didn't really believe the characters or the events. It just seemed a bit too contrived and odd in places. I felt there were some plot points that were just dropped and never given a satisfying conclusion. 

I'm glad I finished the story, but I wish I had enjoyed it more.