A Life Without You by Shari Low (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

If you're in need of a good cry mixed with some good laughs, this is a book you'll want to get your hands on. It's sad and hopeful and angry and beautiful and .... well, it runs the whole gamut of emotions. I've really come to care about the characters and already know that I would love to see them again in another book. 

(A Life Without You is being released by Aria on April 1st 2017. I received a review copy via NetGalley.)

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the digital ARC) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Amazon Description

Touching, funny, and bittersweet, this is a story that will make you laugh, cry, and call your best friend to tell her you love her.Dee and Jen have been best friends since their days of teenage crushes, bad 90's make-up and huge hair.
They’ve passed every milestone of their lives together and now in their thirties own a successful boutique, sharing a bond that is as strong as the closest of sisters.
Until one day everything changes.
Dee is gone, killed by a reckless driver, leaving Jen to face the harsh reality of a world without her.
Jen vows to honour Dee’s dreams and take care of everything and everyone she loved.
Until she realises that sometimes the only way forward is to let go of the past.

You Suck by Christopher Moore (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

If you have any issues with "questionable" language 

and/or vampires and/or absurdity ...

click on out of here now and go on your 

merry little way back to wherever it is you

came from. This is your warning.

Really.

There are "bad words" in Christopher Moore's books.

And vampires (in some of them, anyway).

And absurdity galore.

Therefore, the teasers in this post will also have those things.

I will delete any comment that complains.

(I will then pity the complainers for missing out as

Moore is likely my favorite male author. Ever.)

You've been warned.

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Amazon Description

Being undead sucks. Literally.

Just ask C. Thomas Flood. Waking up after a fantastic night unlike anything he's ever experienced, he discovers that his girlfriend, Jody, is a vampire. And surprise! Now he's one, too. For some couples, the whole biting-and-blood thing would have been a deal breaker. But Tommy and Jody are in love, and they vow to work through their issues.

But word has it that the vampire who initially nibbled on Jody wasn't supposed to be recruiting. Even worse, Tommy's erstwhile turkey-bowling pals are out to get him, at the urging of a blue-dyed Las Vegas call girl named (duh) Blue.

And that really sucks.

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This is your final warning.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

The Choir on Hope Street by Annie Lyons (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Annie Lyons has been on my "to read" list for a while now so I was thrilled when her upcoming The Choir on Hope Street appeared on NetGalley (and, soon after, my NetGalley shelf!).  It's set to be released on April 6th and if you're a fan of chick lit, romantic comedies (although the romance is light), singing and/or really good stories about community spirit, I highly recommend giving this one a shot.

Natalie and Caroline are the two main characters and, seemingly, all they have in common are their children who are in the same school and the fact that they both live on Hope Street. The chapters alternate between the two of them and their issues. Natalie is having trouble with her husband; Caroline is having trouble with her mother. They're brought together in an effort to help save the local community center (after, that is, one of them kind of hits the other with their car), and a beautifully unexpected friendship forms.

Lyons has created a wonderful community here and I found myself caring about all of the members of the choir. From Jim the mailman (with the surprising musical past), to shy songbird Doly, to Pamela and her amazing cakes -- these are all people I would want to know and have in my corner. I'm hoping that Lyons will decide to revisit them all again!

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the digital ARC) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Amazon Description

The best things in life happen when you least expect them
Nat’s husband has just said the six words no one wants to hear – ‘I don’t love you any more’.
Caroline’s estranged mother has to move into her house turning her perfectly ordered world upside down.
Living on the same street these two women couldn’t be more different. Until the beloved local community centre is threatened with closure. And when the only way to save it is to form a community choir – none of the Hope Street residents, least of all Nat and Caroline, expect the results…
This spring, hope is coming!

A June of Ordinary Murders by Conor Brady - #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017 (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

A June of Ordinary Murders is the first book in Conor Brady's series featuring Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow. The story begins 17 June 1887 -- just a few days before Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. (At this point in history Ireland was still under British rule.) Swallow is called in to investigate after a man and child have been found murdered in a park and, while puzzling, he feels it to be just an "ordinary crime." Of course, the further he digs the less ordinary it is.

I started reading this Sunday night at work after accidentally leaving Black Rabbit Hall at home.  Right now I'm about a third of the way through and I'm enjoying it immensely. Brady has a very similar style as Charles Finch (in fact, Finch wrote a blurb for the book which almost never happens), and since I was just thinking to myself last week that I need to dive back into the Charles Lenox series this came as great timing to scratch that itch (which, you probably know, only makes it itch more). I've read and loved quite a lot of books based in and around London during this time period, but I believe this is my first set in Ireland (thanks, Begorrathon!). It definitely won't be my last.

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

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See more Begorrathon posts HERE.

Blog Tour! Mystery at Maplemead Castle by Kitty French

I have made absolutely no secret as to how much I adore Melody Bittersweet so when I was asked to participate in the blog tour for the second Chapelwick Mysteries book I jumped at the chance. The whole gang from the first book is back for another hauntingly hilarious tale that, once again, is as full of heartfelt "awwws" as it is belly laughs. It's always a joy to find a book that can make me laugh until I cry and then turn right around and break my heart. I honestly didn't think it would be possible to love this as much as I loved the first one. Truth of the matter is, I may have even loved it more!

Too many times a series can go on without much in the way of character development. Here, though, everyone has had a bit of a boost. (Well, except for Leo's maniacal fembots. I don't think they can get a boost without plastic surgery or Victoria's Secret being involved!) Artie is truly coming into his own even though he's still living at home with his mum; Marina is even more terrifying when she's in her defend-the-bestie mode; even the one-eared pug, Lestat, is becoming an actual part of the team! 

 
And then there's Melody. 

 
Dear, sweet, slightly messed up Melody. 

Melody Bittersweet, of course, is my BBGBFFL (best book ghostbusting friend for life). She's a geektastic spitfire full of spunk ... and pancakes ... and biscuits ... and cake ... and she has rather interesting taste in clothing and men. Of course, both her ex-boyfriend Leo AND her ... ummm ... well ... Fletch are back for this latest adventure. Her relationships with both go through quite a lot and it's really no surprise at all (to me, anyway) that a biscuit tin is almost at the ready. 

This time the three of them (plus respective teams) are at Maplemead Castle in order to assist the new owners with their not-so-little ghost problem that includes an all-too-lifelike (for those who can see it) lion. Yes, ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages .... the circus is in town! 

There are twists and turns galore -- of both the physical and metaphorical variety. It took a while to know what the real issue being investigated was and I totally did not guess the outcome until it was right in front of my face in all of its glory. I think maybe I was too delighted to just lose myself in the story to bother trying to get a step or two ahead of it. Or, maybe I was distracted by the latest love polygon to have put all of pieces together in the right spots. Or, just maybe, I was too busy expanding my vocabulary (I found myself calling someone a "hippocrocotwunt" the other day with great delight!).

Whatever. 

I am ever-so-grateful to Kitty French for writing such phenomenal stories, to Bookouture for being brilliant enough to publish them, and to NetGalley for existing so folks like me have an easier time getting our grubby little mitts on the awesomeness in advance. 

The world needs more awesomeness like all of them and, most of all, more Bittersweet! 

More books... 

A TV series... 

A t-shirt line... 

Action figures... 

Cartoon knickers... ???

All of it!

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Buy from Amazon UK  http://amzn.to/2kQqows

Buy from Amazon US  http://amzn.to/2kd2Qjp

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Welcome to Chapelwick, a leafy English town in the hills of Shropshire, where chocolate pecan cookies come with a helping of sabotage.

Maplemead Castle is crawling with ghosts, and the new owners need them gone. When Melody Bittersweet and the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency arrive on scene, they quickly identify the troublemakers swinging from the chandeliers… literally.

A century ago, stunning trapeze artist Britannia Lovell plunged to her death, and has done every night since. But did she really just fall, or was there something more to her demise?

Forced to work with Leo Dark, her scoundrel ex, and infuriating, irresistible reporter Fletcher Gunn, Melody’s investigative powers are under strain (i.e. lost in a pink mist of lust and confusion). She needs her team on top form, but best friend Marina’s cake pipeline goes AWOL, assistant Artie’s distracted by a giant sausage roll, and the pug is scared witless by a lion.

Somewhere, hidden in the castle, is a heart-breaking secret, but what will it take to find it? And is there a chance it could set Britannia free, or is she doomed to repeat her last fateful act forever?

An utterly hilarious, gripping, spooktastic read for fans of HY Hanna, MC Beaton, Gina LaManna and Jana DeLeon.

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Buy from Amazon UK  http://amzn.to/2kQqows

Buy from Amazon US  http://amzn.to/2kd2Qjp

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Be sure to visit the other tour stops, too!

Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I'm finding it rather amusing that I decide to take a break from all of the Irish books .... just in time for a meme that falls on St. Patrick's Day. Then again, I did always wear orange to school on March 17th so maybe it's just that my Northern Irish Protestant ancestors wiggled into my subconscious to get me to shun the day. Or maybe I just wasn't thinking about anything besides wanting to read one of my new acquisitions ....

Eve Chase's Black Rabbit Hall was pretty much a cover-buy one day on Amazon. It was one of the "people who bought _____ also bought _____" recommendations and, so far, those people seem pretty brilliant. I almost passed on it because I kept seeing comparisons to Daphne du Maurier and, quite frankly, she always kind of freaked me out .... but then I realized that it's probably been at least 25 years since I last attempted du Maurier and I've probably matured a little since then in my reading tastes.

I'm not very far into it but hope to knock it off this weekend curled up in my pajamas with a steady flow of tea by my side. So far it definitely appears to be the type of book that will be hard to put down once I can get as distraction-free as possible! I'm loving how it alternates between Amber's story beginning in 1968 and Lorna's story 30 years later.

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Amazon Description

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Amber Alton knows that the hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall, her London family’s country estate, where no two clocks read the same. Summers there are perfect, timeless. Not much ever happens. Until, of course, it does. 
More than three decades later, Lorna is determined to be married within the grand, ivy-covered walls of Pencraw Hall, known as Black Rabbit Hall among the locals. But as she’s drawn deeper into the overgrown grounds, half-buried memories of her mother begin to surface and Lorna soon finds herself ensnared within the manor’s labyrinthine history, overcome with an insatiable need for answers about her own past and that of the once-happy family whose memory still haunts the estate.
Stunning and atmospheric, this debut novel is a thrilling spiral into the hearts of two women separated by decades but inescapably linked by the dark and tangled secrets of Black Rabbit Hall. 

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Friday 56 (today is page 256 from the hardcover) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.


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Ramble -- Reposted from Goodreads
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4 out of 5 stars

I'm having a hard time classifying this book in my head. It's not really any one thing. Not a mystery -- although there are mysteries uncovered. It's not a romance -- although there are romances. It's ... just a book that I bought thanks to Amazon saying "people who bought ____ also bought Black Rabbit Hall" and me going "ooooh pretty cover!" And I'm glad Amazon told me and I'm glad there was a hardcover in the Marketplace for ridiculously little $ and I'm super glad that I read it even though I'm not quite sure what I actually read. I DO know that once I started I had an incredibly hard time putting it down and only did so for food, sleep, work and the 76ers. (The missing star is because I was able to put it down while basketball was on without flipping out mentally over not reading. 5* books I'll read and then half pay attention to the game in question.)

The Ministry of S.U.I.T.S by Paul Gamble - #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017 (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

So, I made it all the way to Chapter 6 pf Paul Gamble's The Ministry of S.U.I.Ts before I had to stop reading the ebook, hop onto Amazon and order the hardcover. My darling boy prefers "real" books and I just know that this is one he'll love. 

Amazon Description

Memo: For Ministry of Strange, Unusual, and Impossible Things Operatives Only

A series of strange incidents have been reported in Belfast:

* Oddball kids are going missing
* There are several unconfirmed signs of pirates.
* A wild bear known to be a very sore loser at musical statues has escaped from the museum and is on the rampage.

Fortunately, our newest recruits, Jack Pearse, a curious boy skilled at logical thinking and seeing what's actually there, and Trudy Emerson, the most dangerous girl in his school, are on the case. As per Ministry policy, they are currently being trained in the use of The Speed (patent pending) and will have full access to Ministry supplies (assuming they manage to navigate the paperwork without going insane), so we are confident that they will succeed in their mission to discover and foil this villainous plot.

Please provide all assistance possible, as a) they don't know who they are actually up against, b) the world is much stranger than they realized, and c) they are only 12 and have to be in bed by 10 p.m.

P.S.-Could all Ministry operatives who have borrowed dinosaurs in the past two weeks please return them? We're running low on inventory.

Seriously. It's as much fun as it sounds (at least the first 5 chapters have been) ... and it has FOOTNOTES!!! If you've been around here for any length of time, you probably know how much I adore a good footnote. I'm even using one for this week's teaser ...

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

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See more Begorrathon posts HERE.

Rambling About.. Back to Blackbrick by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017

Author: Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Title: Back to Blackbrick

Publication: 1 January 2013 -- Margaret K McElderry Books

First Lines: My Granddad was pretty much the cleverest person I ever met, so it was strange in the end to see the way people treated him -- as if he was a complete moron.

Favorites on 4s:

4% : Tragedy isn't the thing that makes the world a stressful place; it's the chance of tragedy that makes it stressful, and I guess that's what tormented me. Constantly being frightened about losing the things that I needed most -- it was exhausting.

14% : My granddad used to say that the best way to make the gods laugh was to tell them your plans.

44% : I only had a couple more days before I had to get back home and give Granddad lessons about the past so that he'd pass the memory test and nobody would take him away.

74% : ...there comes a time when you've got to stop using your past as a license to do whatever you want. There comes a time when you have to get over things like that and get on with being the best person you can be. If you let the past determine your future, you're probably screwed.

Ramble:
So, I went from the snarky hilarity of Skulduggery Pleasant to the heartbreak of Back to Blackbrick. Now, I did find myself chuckling from time to time ... but, overall, for every chuckle I was just waiting for next heartbreaking shoe to drop. 

The narrator of Back to Blackbrick is Cosmo. His brother died years back when he was 10 years old, his mother took off for Australia for "business," and he's been living with his grandparents ever since. He's always been close to his grandfather, especially, so it's hard for Cosmo when he develops Alzheimer's and begins to forget pretty much everything and every body. Cosmo tries to help with some tips he finds on the Internet -- i.e. labelling pictures and household objects, increasing the Omega-3s in their diet. One night, after a social worker says that it's probably time for a nursing home if he can't recall things about his past or present anymore, Cosmo is given a key for Blackbrick Abbey. Cosmo is to go and take notes to help him remember earlier memories as that's where he once lived and worked when he was 16.

So Cosmo goes and his grandfather is there. And 16.

Yep. It's a heartbreaking and sometimes funny book with time travel.

I don't want to say anything more about the plot because I'm afraid that once I start I wouldn't be able to stop. Then there would be no reason at all for you to read it! It definitely is one that I'm happy to have read and did so in the matter of an afternoon -- heartbreak and all. It's kind of like a tween/teen Mitch Albom. It has that same sort of poignancy about it. 

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See more Begorrathon posts HERE.

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant # 1 -- #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017 (Book Beginnings, Friday 56 & a Ramble)

I used the first paragraph of Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant # 1 for my Teaser Tuesday/Tuesday Intro post this week and part of me thought "eh ... just use the book you're going to start reading next" and then the snarkier part of me slapped that part of me upside the head, called it a few dirty names, and decided that the world should not be deprived of the second paragraph ... as well as a blurb from the 56% point in the digital copy of the book. 

(Hey ... the snarky part also wanted to share bits from the paperback's page 56, 156, 256 and 356 but there has to be a limit somewhere. I suppose. Begrudgingly. Stupid $#%$@# self-control.)

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

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***RAMBLE***
(copied from Goodreads due to laziness)

This is absolutely a marvelous wonderful splenderific where-has-it-been-all-my-life book and I have to say ... it's not so bad.
I originally grabbed a digital edition of just this first book because I was looking for more new-to-me Irish authors and/or books set in Ireland and the cover jumped out at me on Goodreads. I now own the paperbacks for all 9 books and it definitely won't be long before I dive back in for more. If only I didn't have other books I've committed myself to read I would likely be breaking my "no marathoning book series" rule.
Skulduggery is everything I would ever hope for in a skeletal lead character and Stephanie? Well, I pretty much want to be her when I grow up. Or Tanith. It's a tough call. Granted, Stephanie is 12 and I'm 41 so ..... anyway ..... let's just say she's pretty much overthrown Hermione as my magical tween book bestie (when, you know, Hermione was still a tween). And their big baddie? Yeah .... found myself in a "love to hate" relationship with him even greater than my pre-existing "love to hate" relationship with Voldemort.
I can't believe I've actually found a book series that I can say I have "more than" feelings about than Harry Potter. Not that I won't always love Harry Potter, of course. Skulduggery Pleasant is just .... a different kind of magical. 
It's snarky. I love snarky.
It's hilarious. I love hilarity.
It's ....
well ....
not so bad.

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See more Begorrathon posts HERE.

WWW Wednesday -- 8 March 2017

WWW Wednesday is hosted over at Taking On A World Of Words

What I'm Currently Reading

Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant #1

I'm just starting Chapter 16 of this marvelous wonderful splenderific where-has-it-been-all-my-life book and I have to say, it's not bad. I used it for my Tuesday Intros/Teaser Tuesday post this week, have been bombarding my Instagram & personal Facebook with oohs and aahs over it, and will likely use it again for this week's Book Beginnings/Friday 56. Of course, since I already used the first paragraph for Tuesday Intros I'll have to get creative with the beginning bit .... maybe the second paragraph .... 

What I Recently Finished

Erin Hart

Hallowed Ground

This was my first book for The Begorrathon and it was surprisingly wonderful. It's a lot more serious than what I normally read nowadays and made me miss books with more nitty gritty to them than my typical cozies. I teased and rambled about it here.

What I Think I'll Read Next

Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Back to Blackbrick

I had just started reading this when my Skulduggery Pleasant box set arrived and I immediately set it aside. I'll pick it up again once SP is done because it really does seem like it'll be a good one. Maybe not a "where-has-it-been-all-my-life" good ... but still good. I'll be sure to let you know!

Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant - #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017 (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Today I'm sharing another book I likely wouldn't have known about had it not been for The Begorrathon and my quest for new-to-me Irish authors! Derek Landy is a Dubliner and, quite possibly, one of my new favorite people. As soon as I saw the writeup on Goodreads I knew it would be worth a shot to at least pick up the first of his books:

Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction. Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source - the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

Once I saw the Amazon description I was absolutely sold:

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant
Ace Detective
Snappy Dresser
Razor–tongued Wit
Crackerjack Sorcerer
and
Walking, Talking,
Fire-throwing Skeleton
—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.
These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.
The end of the world?
Over his dead body.

I posted on Instagram about being excited about reading it and then once Rachel McMillan mentioned how much she loves them, I hopped onto ebay and bought all 9 paperbacks from the UK. They arrived Monday afternoon and I think John is already hoping that I'll fly through the first one so then he can borrow it to read.

Oh, yeah. They happen to be middle grade books. I happen to not care.

It's highly unusual for me to use two passages from early in a book for a Tuesday Intros/Teaser Tuesday post. For Skulduggery Pleasant (aka Scepter of the Ancients in the US), though, I feel I need to make the exception. The bit from page 48 when Stephanie discovers what Skulduggery looks like is just too good to not share! 

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Erin Hart's Haunted Ground - #readireland2017 #begorrathon2017 (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Happy March and, therefore, Happy Begorrathon/Read Ireland 2017! 

My first book is set in Ireland and I couldn't resist it. It was first released in 2003 and I'm finding it difficult to fathom the fact that it's taken me this long to pick it up! Maybe the reasoning is because it's not exactly "cozy."  It is, however, beautifully written (at least the first 15% has been) and I'm extremely excited about some gloriously uninterrupted quality time with it this weekend!

The dazzling, award-winning debut in a series that delivers mystery, romance, suspense, and fascinating forensic detail.
When farmers cutting turf in an Irish peat bog make a grisly discovery—the perfectly preserved head of a young woman with long red hair—Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin must use cutting-edge techniques to preserve ancient evidence. Because the bog’s watery, acidic environment prevents decay, it’s difficult to tell how long the red-haired girl has been buried—two years, two centuries, or even much longer.
Who is she? The extraordinary find leads to even more disturbing puzzles. The red-haired girl is not the only enigma in this remote corner of Galway. Two years earlier, Mina Osborne, the wife of a local landowner, went for a walk with her young son and vanished without a trace. Could they, too, be hidden in the bog’s treacherous depths, only to be discovered centuries from now? Or did Hugh Osborne murder his family, as some villagers suspect? Bracklyn House, Osborne’s stately home, holds many secrets, and Nora and Cormac's inquiries threaten to expose them all.   (Description from Amazon)

Friday 56 (today is 56% from the ebook) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

See more Begorrathon posts HERE.


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***UPDATED WITH RAMBLE***
(copied from Goodreads due to laziness)

Cormac Maguire is an Irish archaeologist and Nora Gavin is an Ireland-born American pathologist who have been called to research the finding of a "bog body." Actually, it's just a bog head. At first the locals wonder if it's related to any of the still-open missing persons cases involving women -- particularly the wife (and child) of the area's primarily landowner, Hugh Osborne. While studying and researching the mysteries surrounding the head, Cormac and Nora also begin to look into the mysteries surrounding Osborne's missing wife and child. Hart does a beautiful job with the back-and-forth of the two stories with local color and history giving each an added oomph (I especially loved the musical tie-ins and the elderly aunt.)

So, I'm taking part in The Begorrathon where my goal is to read books either set in Ireland or written by Irish authors for the month of March. When I was trying to narrow down my TBR for the month I stumbled on the Nora Gavin series by Erin Hart and knew I would have to at least add the first one. I was originally going to put it off until later in the month, but decided that I need a break from feel-good romcoms and lighthearted cozy mysteries and this definitely fit the bill. 

I'm more than a bit of a history junkie. I love learning about the past -- the good, the bad and the dirty. Thanks to my dearly departed mom and her love of genealogy it's not unusual for me to get lost for hours in centuries-old letters and articles trying to learn more about people (whether "mine" or not). Add this to my love of mysteries and it's probably not surprising that I've been fascinated with forensic anthropology and archaeology for years (thanks, in large part, to Sharyn McCrumb -- whose books often include surnames found scattered throughout my family tree).

My biggest complaint: even though it's dubbed "Nora Gavin #1," Haunted Ground has several main characters -- Cormac Maguire and Detective Garrett Devaney being the most prominent. For me, anyway, Nora was probably the least interesting of the three and probably would have knocked a full star off of my rating had it not been cancelled out by how much I loved the other two. [From the descriptions of the next installments in the series, though, it looks like we'll at least be seeing a lot more of Cormac and, possibly, another appearance of Devaney.]

4 1/2 out of 5 stars