Crooked River by Valerie Geary

L​iving in a meadow in a tepee with their father is how​ Sam and Ollie spent their summers because it was the only way they saw him after he left them and their mother.  ​Would the meadow and the tepee be their permanent home now because their mother had died?

That was the plan, but when a dead body is found floating in their swimming hole that summer, all is changed.  Their father was accused of the murder, and all evidence pointed to this homeless beekeeper.  His appearance and ​lifestyle made him the perfect suspect.
        
Both Sam and Ollie ​are endearing, quite bright, and love their father.  Ollie doesn't talk when she is upset,​ and she ​see​s​ things that others do not.  She sees things called Shimmerings that warn her about good and bad.  Sam knows why Ollie doesn't talk, but she doesn't know what Ollie sees.

CROOKED RIVER has wonderful characters and a wonderful storyline.  You will fall in love with both of the girls and their adopted grandparents, Franny and Zeb, but their father, Bear/Frank,​ was​ a bit more difficult to like.
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Ms. Geary's writing is very descriptive, exceptionally absorbing, and keeps you glued to the pages as Sam and Ollie search for clues that could prove their father is innocent.  ​As so many reviewers have said:  "This book is difficult to put down."  I wholeheartedly agree.

Ms. Geary seamlessly and creatively takes you back and forth​ in time as the story unfolds​ and is told through each girl's voice in alternating chapters.​

Everything about CROOKED RIVER is warm and family oriented.  CROOKED RIVER had me wanting to be there with Sam and Ollie to mother them and to tell them to be careful with their investigation of the murder and who they were befriending.

I really enjoyed this book.  I will be looking for more from Ms. Geary.  Don't miss reading CROOKED RIVER. 

CROOKED RIVER  just had a homey feel to it along with a storyline that had situations that ​could actually happen and a very suspenseful, tense ending.  5/5

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

Mystery Monday From Atria

Happy first Monday of October! 

 

In honor of the first work day of the month, Atria Newsroom is proud to present Mystery Mondays, where they tell you about the heart-pounding, brain-twisting mysteries going on sale this month.

1. THE WOLF IN WINTER by John Connolly

The next pulse-pounding thriller in John Connolly’s internationally bestselling Charlie Parker series.

Order Links:

Amazon
B&N
BAM
IndieBound
iBooks

2. FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave

In the latest thriller by the Edgar-nominated author of Joe Victim, someone is helping rape victims exact revenge on their attackers, prompting an edge-of-your-seat, cat-and-mouse chase between old friends, detectives Theodore Tate and Carl Schroder.

Order Links:

Amazon
B&N
BAM
IndieBound
iBooks

3. BLOODLINE by Alan Gold and Mike Jones

 

Two individuals from different countries but who share one ancestral bloodline race to thwart a terrorist plot in Jerusalem—the first heart-pounding book in a new epic trilogy that delves into the dark underbelly of the Holy City.

Order Links:

Amazon
B&N
BAM
IndieBound
iBooks

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories Video and Giveaway!!

A Pre-Halloween giveaway!!!!

Watch this awesome video, and don't forget to enter the giveaway that is going on until October 9.

Enter here.

Don't you just love this video?

 

Giveaway of THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND OTHER STORIES

For this Halloween season......a new edition of the timeless collection that introduced Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle.

This new collection of larger-than-life tales contains Washington Irving’s best-known literary inventions—Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle—that continue to capture our imaginations today, and features an introduction and notes by Elizabeth L. Bradley, author of Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York and literary consultant to Historic Hudson Valley, the caretakers of Irving’s Tarrytown, New York home.

Not only is this collection a riveting must-read for the fall 2014 season, it also is an excellent companion to Fox’s hit television series Sleepy Hollow. 

The series is a modern-day adaption of Irving’s classic short story with a supernatural twist, and premiered in September 2013. Sleepy Hollow ended its first season with enormous success and the second season debuts on September 22, 2014.

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You can be the lucky winner of a copy of Washington Irving’s, THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND OTHER STORIES, out September 30, in time for Halloween.  

Complete this form to enter until October 9.

USA and CANADA Entries Only Please

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About the Authors:

Washington Irving (1783–1859) is generally credited with being the father of the American short story and was the first American writer to achieve international renown.

He debuted in 1802 with a series of observational letters to the Morning Chronicle, and is best known for his short stories Rip Van Winkle (1819) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He has written several historical works covering figures such as George Washington and Christopher Columbus.

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Elizabeth L. Bradley, the author of Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York, serves as literary consultant to Historic Hudson Valley, the caretakers of Sunnyside—Irving’s Tarrytown, New York, home. She also wrote the introduction and notes for the Penguin Classics edition of Irving’s A History of New York.

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SLEEPY HOLLOW EVENTS, FEATURING ELIZABETH BRADLEY

Brooklyn, NY 

Headless Horseman Variety Show October 16 

The Morbid Anatomy Museum - 8pm

New York, NY 

Reading of the Legend, featuring Lev Grossman, October 29

Megan Abbott, Randy Cohen and Tonya Hurley - 7pm

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“It is an early American horror story...And that’s why people know it.
 

Because it’s got the kind of symbolism that good fairy tales or horror stories have.”

—Tim Burton

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 THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND OTHER STORIES - Washington Irving

Introduction and Notes by Elizabeth L. Bradley

Penguin Classics - $11.00 

On-sale: October 7, 2014  

978-0-14-310753-8

This Is The Water Yannick Murphy

The first two words in the title of the book is the way Ms. Murphy began many sentences in THIS IS THE WATER, and it seems to be her writing style. To me, it was an odd, unique style and took a bit of getting used to.

THIS IS THE WATER is about a swim team, the parents of the swimmers, and about a murder that affected the entire community.

I was looking for a mystery, but found a book mostly about swimming and the personal lives of the team's parents.

It was a bit difficult to get started because of how the book was written.  ​The book did keep you guessing, though, about who the murderer was that was killing young girls at ​rest stops. When it was revealed, the scene was quite scary, and the murderer was someone you wouldn't expect.

I continued to read the book because I wanted to find out how it would end, but I did skim quite a few pages.  2/5

This book was given to me and my book club as a win in a contest on TLC.  No compensation was given, and this review is my opinion.

Love My Library

I was quoted on The Geeky Blogger's Book Blog during her "LOVE YOUR LIBRARY" month.

Stop by to see all the quotes if you like...use this link.

Giveaway of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES

“Fascinating and insightful. With her usual skill, Katherine Howe navigates the winding path leading to Salem’s hysteria and beyond. A must-read for anyone who wants to know not only what happened but also how and why.”

—Brunonia Barry, New York Times-bestselling author of The Lace Reader

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Enter here for a chance to win a copy of this book until October 7.

USA and CANADA ONLY please

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THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES

Edited by Katherine Howe

Publishing in time for Halloween, Penguin Classics is proud to present an original collection of chilling real-life accounts of accused witches, from medieval Europe through colonial America: 

THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES (A Penguin Classics Original; On-sale September 30, 2014; $17.00; ISBN: 978-0-14-310618-0), edited and with an introduction by Katherine Howe, the New York Times-bestselling author of several novels about witches and a teacher in the American Studies program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

From a manual for witch hunters written by King James himself in 1597, to court documents from the Salem witch trials of 1692, to newspaper coverage of a woman stoned to death on the streets of Philadelphia while the Continental Congress met, THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES is a treasury of historical accounts of accused witches that sheds light on the reality behind the legends.

Bringing to life stories like that of Eunice Cole, tried for attacking a teenage girl with a rock and buried with a stake through her heart; Jane Jacobs, a Bostonian so often accused of witchcraft that she took her tormentors to court on charges of slander; and Increase Mather, an exorcism-performing minister famed for his knowledge of witches, THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES provides a unique tour through the darkest history of English and North American witchcraft.

Ideal for fans of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, the Harry Potter series, and Half Bad by Sally Green, THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES is sure to thrill, fascinate, and perhaps even frighten readers of all kinds.

MORE PRAISE FOR THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES

“This comprehensive collection of carefully selected documents and published primary materials, coupled with judicious and informative introductions, will help modern readers understand the seemingly inexplicable and persistent popular phenomenon of belief in witchcraft from the seventeenth century into more modern times.”

—Mary Beth Norton, author of In the Devil’s Snare

“An informative and engaging series of texts that Katherine Howe introduces in a crisp and well-informed manner. The chronological breadth is unusual, but it allows us to grasp more fully the continuities that mark the history of witch-hunting on both sides of the Atlantic.”

—David D. Hall, Harvard Divinity School

About the Editor: 

KATHERINE HOWE, the direct descendant of three accused Salem witches, is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, The House of Velvet and Glass, and the young-adult novel Conversion, a modern-day retelling of The Crucible set in a Massachusetts prep school. She teaches in the American Studies program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. You can visit her website at www.katherinehowe.com.

THE PENGUIN BOOK OF WITCHES

Katherine Howe ▪ A Penguin Classics Original ▪ $17.00

On-sale September 30, 2014 ▪ ISBN: 978-0-14-310618-0

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK

www.penguinclassics.com