William Kent Krueger Event At The Mystery Lover's Bookstore

Just attended an author event at The Mystery Lover's Independent Bookstore in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, with William Kent Krueger talking about his newest book, Sulfur Springs,  and his writing.

He is animated, personable, and very charismatic. Totally enjoyed the hour. 

Thank you.

Mini Bloggiesta Finish Line

Another fun, entertaining, and successful BLOGGIESTA has come to an end.

I love interacting with other bloggers and to see what they are doing to improve their blog and their blogging knowledge and experience.

Here is my list, and it is all finished.  :)  I actually am still deleting meme posts only.   :)

1.  Back Up My Blog - thank again to Steph from Cover2Cover for the directions.

2.  Clean up my taskbar - I have a ton of drafts of reviews and other items that have already been posted. 

3.  Visit other blogs - I have been visiting blog on the linky list and on the Twitter Page.  :)  Love seeing the lists.

4.  Delete some old posts from when I started blogging - I am afraid my blog will crash - will it?  :)

   •     I am currently deleting from 2010 and 2011...did some from 2013 and 2014 also.  Yippee!!

   •    Does anyone know the answer about the blog eventually crashing if there are too many posts????

   •    Getting tired of deleting, but I will continue later  -  I have taken the pages of posts down from 38 to 33 and the number of posts down from 1888 to 1618.

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Hope you can join in 2018 for the BLOGGIESTA.

THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and cheered me on and commented.

Libby The Library

Does your library have LIBBY?

Have you tried it?  It seems to be more user friendly to me.

When I did a search for audio books, it gave every audio book available.  I wasn't looking for anything in particular so I used that feature.

I hope your library has Libby, and you have tried it.

Let me know if you have used it. 

Happy Reading!!

How Many of These Banned Books Have You Read?

Image created by me and courtesy of Wordle.net

Banned Book Week is September 24 to September 30.

The Blog Hop Question was about Banned or Challenged Books.  Link to the post and the comments is here.

One of my wonderful followers was kind enough to take the time to look at my Goodreads list to see what banned books I have read.  THANK YOU, Wendy of Literary Feline, for taking the time to do that.

I can't believe some of them are banned, and does anyone know the reason for these books being banned and/or the criteria for banning a book? 

Here is the list of books Wendy found for me on my Goodreads list.  :)  

It looks like I am a BANNED BOOK lover.  LOL!!

Water for Elephants
The Pact
Twilight
Memoirs of a Geisha
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Rebecca
The Poisonwood Bible (challenged)
Snow Falling on Cedars
A Time to Kill (challenged)
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Glass Castle
The Art of Racing Rain
The Kite Runner (Challenged)

How many of these have you read?

The Trust by Ronald H. Balson

Being away from Ireland for 16 years had not eased the feelings a few of Liam Taggert's cousins had for him.

Liam had moved to Chicago from Ireland 16 years ago on bad terms, and now that his uncle had been murdered, he returned for the funeral. 

What Liam returned to was his being chosen as the Trustee of his uncle's will and a task that was both dangerous for Liam as well as his family.  There were a lot of stipulations set in the last will and testament for distribution of the estate as well as hard feelings because Liam had been out of touch and was now in charge.

Liam now wished he hadn't answered that phone call not more than a week ago.  If he had ignored it, he may not be in the legal predicament he was put in by his uncle nor the danger it was causing the entire family both in Ireland and the United States.

Being Trustee carried a lot of responsibility as well as legalities family members didn't want to understand. The family also couldn't understand why Liam wouldn't break the rules and tell them the details of the last will and testament of Uncle Fergus.

To further complicate things, the Taggert family was getting threats and notes indicating payback time. No one was sure who was murdering members of the Taggert family, but forty years of hatred, vengeance, and fighting still ran deep among the Northern Ireland residents.

The Taggert family was an interesting lot, and the murders and family mystery were intriguing.

THE TRUST is beautifully written and so well written that you smoothly move along and become captured in the story line and the characters.

If you enjoy books set in Ireland, mysteries, murders, and family drama, you definitely do not want to miss reading THE TRUST. 

I truly enjoyed the book and found it difficult to put down. ​ 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The information below including the photo is courtesy of Staci Burt and St. Martin's.

 

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RONALD H. BALSON is a Chicago trial attorney, an educator and writer. His practice has taken him to several international venues. 

He is also the author of Karolina’s Twins, Saving Sophie and the international bestseller Once We Were Brothers.

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PRAISE FOR RONALD H. BALSON

"A heart-wrenching...triumphant story." —The Chicago Tribune on Karolina’s Twins

“Secrets, friendships, survival, and the Holocaust are woven together in Ronald H. Balson’s haunting Karolina's Twins.”—Family Circle on Karolina’s Twins

“A new look at an old story…will stay with you long after you have finished it.” —The Huffington Post on Once We Were Brothers

“Uplifting and moving, intelligently written…an unusual insight into human character.” —Library Journal, starred review on Once We Were Brothers

“A page-turning read filled with despair and anger but with hope, love, and humanity at its core.” —Jewish Book Council on Saving Sophie

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COMMENT FROM ME

Karolina's Twins and Once We Were Brothers were both riveting, engaging reads.  Both are reviewed on my blog

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Mini Bloggiesta - 9/21 to 9/24

Fun awaits anyone who joins in.  You will learn things, get your blog and e-mail cleaned up, and meet new friends.

I hope you join in the fun too.

I will be out of town visiting my son so not sure how much I can join in, but I am submitting my list no matter what.

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Ready to clean things up?  I am.

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Taken directly from the Bloggiesta page:

Bloggiesta is almost here! Mark your calendars for September 21-24!!!!

If you’d like to participate with us this coming week for the Fall 2017 Bloggiesta, it’s time to write up a To Do List, post it on your blog, then come back here and link it up!

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Go to the Bloggiesta sign-up page if you want to participate and for MORE DETAILS.  The link is here.

I hope to see you there.

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My To Do List:

1.  Back Up My Blog - thank again to Steph from Cover2Cover for the directions.

2.  Clean up my taskbar - I have a ton of drafts of reviews and other items that have already been posted. 

3.  Visit other blogs - I have been visiting blog on the linky list and on the Twitter Page.  :)  Love seeing the lists.

4.  Delete some old posts from when I started blogging - I am afraid my blog will crash - will it?  :)

   •     I am currently deleting from 2010 and 2011...did some from 2013 and 2014 also.  Yippee!!

   •    Does anyone know the answer about the blog eventually crashing if there are too many posts????

   •    Getting tired of deleting, but I will continue later  -  I have taken the pages of posts down from 38 to 33 and the number of posts down from 1888 to 1618.

Giveaway and Spotlight of Murder in Little Shendon by A. H. Richardson

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All information in this post is courtesy of Kelsey Butts of Book Publicity Services.

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About the Book:

The first book in the series, Murder in Little Shendon, takes place in a quaint little village in England. Picture, if you will, a picturesque village called Little Shendon, suddenly caught up in dealing with a murder of one of its citizens — not a particularly well-liked one at that. Which makes it all the more intriguing because the list of suspects becomes very long. This tantalizing tale unfolds with twists and turns to find out whodunit to Mr. Bartholomew Fynche, the murdered shopkeeper.

Fear grips the community as the investigation slowly progresses. Everyone is interviewed; everyone is suspect! From his housekeeper to Lady Armstrong and her household staff. Or could it be the shy librarian new in town? Or the defiant retired army major and his ladyfriend, the post mistress? Or perhaps the weird sisters who live on the edge of town? Then there is the couple who own the local inn and pub, along with the two Americans who are staying there? Even the vicar and his wife fall under the gloom of suspicion.

Uncertainty, wariness, and terror reign as neighbors watch neighbors to discover the evil that permeates their upturned lives. No one feels safe in this charming little village. Who is the murderer? And why was this strange uncivil man dispatched in such a seemingly civil community?

A murder mystery that will keep you reading until you learn the details, uncovered by Police Inspector Stanley Burgess and his two amateur detectives, Sir Victor Hazlitt and Beresford Brandon. The three sift methodically through the Alibis and life stories of the suspects until they uncover…

You are challenged to discover the culprit before the last few pages. And no fair looking ahead — it’s the journey that proves the most enticing.

Sounds quite good don't you think? 

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About the Series:

The Hazlitt/Brandon Series of Murder Mystery Novels by A. H. Richardson

The Hazlitt/Brandon series of murder mystery novels follows a pair of clever, colorful and charismatic sleuths - Sir Victor Hazlitt and Beresford Brandon – as they scratch their heads searching for clues to figure out whodunit.

The first book in the series, Murder in Little Shendon, is a thriller murder mystery which takes place in a quaint little village in England after World War Two.

Picture, if you will, a picturesque village called Little Shendon, suddenly caught up in dealing with a murder of one of its citizens — not a particularly well-liked one at that. Which makes it all the more intriguing because the list of suspects becomes very long. This tantalizing tale unfolds with twists and turns to find out whodunit to Mr. Bartholomew Fynche, the murdered shopkeeper.

Fear grips the community as the investigation slowly progresses. Everyone is interviewed; everyone is suspect! From his housekeeper to Lady Armstrong and her household staff. Or could it be the shy librarian new in town? Or the defiant retired army major and his ladyfriend, the post mistress? Or perhaps the weird sisters who live on the edge of town? Then there is the couple who own the local inn and pub, along with the two Americans who are staying there? Even the vicar and his wife fall under the gloom of suspicion.

Uncertainty, wariness, and terror reign as neighbors watch neighbors to discover the evil that permeates their upturned lives. No one feels safe in this charming little village. Who is the murderer? And why was this strange uncivil man dispatched in such a seemingly civil community?

A murder mystery that will keep you reading until you learn the details, uncovered by Police Inspector Stanley Burgess and his two amateur detectives, Sir Victor Hazlitt and Beresford Brandon. The three sift methodically through the Alibis and life stories of the suspects until they uncover…

You are challenged to discover the culprit before the last few pages. And no fair looking ahead — it’s the journey that proves the most enticing. 

About the Author:

A. H. Richardson was born in London England and is the daughter of famous pianist and composer Clive Richardson. She studied drama and acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She was an actress, a musician, a painter and sculptor, and now an Author.

In addition to the Hazlitt Brandon series, she is also the author of a series of children’s chapter books, the Jorie series, which includes Jorie and the Magic Stones, Jorie and the Gold Key, and Jorie and the River of Fire.

A.H. Richardson lives happily in East Tennessee, her adopted state, and has three sons, three grandchildren, and two pugs. She speaks four languages and loves to do voiceovers. She plans on writing many more books and hopes to delight her readers further with her British twist, which all her books have.

Readers can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

To learn more, go to https://ahrichardson.com/

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Giveaway:

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I am partnering with Book Publicity Services for this giveaway.

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 International Giveaway

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Outside the USA - e-book only

Inside the USA - choice of print book or e-book

September 14 - 21

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Only ONE Winner 
The Winner is Mystica - she will receive an E-book 

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Enter Here

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford

Leaving your mother at age five, going with a stranger, and living in the bowels of a boat to America was not something anyone would wish for a child but what was done back in 1909.

Yung had to leave his mother because they both were starving, and her hope was for a better life for her son.

When Yung got to America, his name was changed to Ernest, and he spent his first few years at a school where he was always the underling even though a rich woman, Mrs. Irvine, was paying for his room and board.

One day Mrs. Irvine told Ernest she was taking him to the World's Fair.  She didn't take him to enjoy it, but to be auctioned off in a raffle as a strong, healthy boy.

Ernest ended up being won by the owner of a brothel as a houseboy, and the place he met his wife.

Now his childhood and his life before children and marriage were coming to light.  His daughter is a reporter and is investigating the World's Fair and stories she heard about those who attended.  She knew her father had been there and wants to know everything.

Ernest didn't want to tell his daughter his story because then she would find out about her mother's life at that time.  It was a life that wasn't anything to be proud of.  Gracie was now suffering from dementia, and Ernest was hoping she wouldn't accidentally remember the life she led when she was young and tell her daughter.

We follow Ernest from his childhood to present day and learn what life was like for him in both times.  We get a well-researched glimpse into everyday living during the early 1900’s as well as the life in a brothel.

LOVE AND OTHER CONSOLATION PRIZES is another marvelous, stunning, beautifully told story by Jamie Ford with  characters that will steal your heart.

Mr. Ford knows how to tell a story and keep your interest with his meticulous historical research, his history lesson, and his superb writing style.   

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I hope you are able to also read it.  5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and Net Galley in return for an honest review.

The Space Between Words by Michele Phoenix

Jessica was talked into going to a concert at The Bataclan Concert Hall in Paris with her friend, Vonda, instead of to an art show with Patrick, and it proved to be the wrong choice.

Jessica and her friend were caught in the terrorist attack at the 2015 Concert Hall, but thankfully Jessica and Vonda were only harmed.

After Jessica was released from the hospital, her parents insisted she return home to the United States, but Patrick insisted more heavily that she stay in France and go on their planned trip.

While staying at a bed and breakfast and as she was antique hunting, a sewing box caught Jessica's eye.

As Jessica pried the bottom of the sewing box off, she noticed a piece of red yarn sticking out from under the box's bottom and found pages torn from a Bible that triggered something in Jessica’s mind that she couldn't understand.
 
The Bible pages turned out to be a marvelous treasure with secrets of their own and also something that brought Jessica to a reality she hadn't been aware of.

I was intrigued when Jessica found the sewing box and the pages of handwritten notes.  I love finding out origins of things and especially diaries or notes from a  real person.  

The pages from the Bible spurred the characters to do research and find family members who fled France during the time in history when The Huguenots were forced out because of their religious beliefs.

THE SPACE BETWEEN WORDS moved from present to past telling the story of the Huguenot persecution and their flight out of France.  This is another part of history I had heard about but never studied.

I didn't know what to expect when I first started to read THE SPACE BETWEEN WORDS, but the story line quickly went from an OK read to a WOW read as the characters uncovered more history of the handwritten notes in the Bible pages.

THE SPACE BETWEEN WORDS also addressed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

If you enjoy historical fiction, finding treasures at flea markets, a marvelous story line, and detailed character description, you will not want to miss THE SPACE BETWEEN WORDS.

Ms. Phoenix paired two horrific historical events and created a marvelous book that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author, the publisher, and NetGalley in return for an honest review.