Canal Days Calamity: A Dog Days Mystery #2 by Jamie M. Blair

The last thing Cam wanted to was find another dead body.  Her husband won't like this at all...

Midnight Ink and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 8th.

Cam's sister is starting a new business, Cam is heading up the Canal Days celebration, and Cam has her stepdaughter living with her.  When they arrest Andy, her handyman, for the murder, the little mystery solving group she has forms again and they go after the real murderer.

This is a light cozy mystery that was a pleasure to read.  Cam and her husband are separated but they still love each other.  He wants her to stay out of murder cases because it's dangerous.  He's right, she almost gets killed herself.  Between playing politics, trying to keep her mother from running her life, and keeping Canal Days moving forward and getting her sister's business ready for opening, she really shouldn't have time to do much investigating.  It's a good thing she's a snoop...

The Gift: The Amish of Hart County by Shelley Shepard Gray

She's making a new start in a new community but the people seem stand-offish.  She wants to find out why but when she does, she'll wish she hadn't.

Avon Inspire and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 7th.

Susanna hears gunshots while she's on her trip home and tries to hurry her horse along.  One of the shots comes too close, and she's thrown off the carriage.  She almost dies from the exposure, but a man shows up and saves her.  She thinks it was an accident but all of a sudden the family seems to be having a lot of them...

They purchased a farm from a family that was forced to sell.  That's why the community isn't sure about them.  The worst part?  Her savior was the son of the farmer that had to sell and he wants nothing to do with her when he hears her last name.  She's sad but she also knows it's not her family's fault.

Both of them have some growing up to do.  Neil learns some things about his father that he didn't know.  Susanna is busy trying to keep her family safe.  There's one more crisis that happens on Christmas day and it makes their Christmas bittersweet.  But there's hope for the future.

Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers Tim Powers

Here's an interesting read in fantasy and science fiction.  This collection of stories takes you out of this world.

Baen and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on November 7th.

This is a mix of time travel, religion, and other nebulous things in the universe.  He travels through a portal to a time where he already was once earlier but he has no knowledge of it because he hasn't done it yet.  If you can get your head around that, you'll have no trouble with the other stories in the collection.

The stories are eclectic, not many of them are satisfying, and some are downright weird.  Can you imagine dying so you can go hunt down your enemy and remove him from purgatory?  He thinks he'll be able to come back but it doesn't turn out that way.  Even the woman he was willing to kill for wasn't what he thought.

All these stories will give you cause for thought.  It's an odd but entertaining collection. 

The Sorcerer's Appendix by P. J. Brackston

Gretel is back and on another adventure.  She better be careful though.  They have to go into the deep dark forest they just barely escaped from in the past.  She doesn't want to find the witch is still alive!

Pegasus Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 7th.

I love this series.  Both Gretel and Hans are pigs.  They always get involved with another nursery rhyme character.  There's humor, silliness, danger, and Hans drinks too much.  I'm surprised they survive until the next adventure!

Their case this time is a missing sorcerer.  All that was left of him in his locked shed was his appendix.  His wife thinks he's dead.  The insurance company won't pay without a body.  The wife hires Gretel to find him, dead or alive...

The journey is dangerous, Gretel's heart is broken because her boyfriend is engaged to be married to someone else, and she's determined to solve this case so they have enough money to make it through winter comfortably.  However, she's not enthused about camping on their journey.  They have no choice...

With attacks coming from all around on the journey, I wasn't sure they'd make it all the way back alive.  Only Gretel gets hurt and that's because Hans jumped on her and broke her leg.  Sometimes brothers are not that big of a help.

The ending is great.  And I'm ready to go detecting with Gretel again in another story!

Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

Imagine a Christmas tradition that has gone on for years.  The host is a bachelor and he invites his friends over.  There are songs, games, and presents for everyone.  There's also an undercurrent of tension.  It gets worse when they find Santa dead in front of the tree...

Sourcebooks Landmark and Edelweiss gave the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It is being published today.

There's an extra guest this year.  He's a former tobacconist that dabbles in amateur sleuthing.  He was curious about the extra note on his invitation and came to find out what it meant.  It's hard to find anyone alone to talk to them.  And it's obvious there are a lot of secrets being kept in the household.

Santa should have been the host.  He's the one that decorates the tree.  But it's his business partner, not him.  Who killed him and why?

As Tremaine digs for answers, he finds all sorts of odd bits that show the host is not what he seems.  He desires power over other people so all those dear "friends" who come to Christmas were there because they had to be.  His Christmas presents were blackmail demands for money!  Then Tremaine figures out how the death happened.  Now he has to determine the killer...

This a good mystery with lots of clues, lots of misdirection, and an almost deadly confrontation with a killer.  I enjoyed reading it. 
 

Blackbird by Michael Fiegel

This is a very unusual read.  Why would an assassin pick up an eight-year old and take her with him after a kill?  He doesn't even know why he did it...

Skyhorse Publishing and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published November 7th.

This is written with two voices.  His is a bit larger print, hers is a bit smaller.  These two voices talk about the difficulty of a man who has never even been married trying to raise a child.  He can't let her go to school.  The things he teaches her will never get her a regular job.  But she wants to please him and enjoys learning the skills.

As she grows and learns she can also kill, the chemistry between them changes.  They move a lot, they change their appearance constantly, and they find out that the group that uses them for kills is trying to take over other cells.  Soon they are on the run from the killers.  But when they are killers, too, it's hard to hide.

It comes to a breaking point and she walks over a fine line.  He leaves her.  But she's not through trying to find him.  The problem is that someone finds her first.  He's created a monster...

This is full of psychological suspense.  Killers don't have a conscience and don't ask questions.  They also don't talk much.  But silence can say a lot, too.

Amanda in New Mexico: Ghosts in the Wind by Darlene Foster

Amanda lives in Canada and they are taking a school trip to New Mexico to visit the Taos area.  She and her classmates are excited to see the historical sites and buy some trinkets to take home.  Now if her roommate would just quit thinking she's seeing ghosts, all would be well.

Central Avenue Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

I live in New Mexico and I don't see ghosts, but I can hear them.  I've heard soldiers talking at an old deserted fort and Indians drumming and dances right below some petroglyphs.  I don't really believe in them but how can you ignore what you can hear?

In this story, Amanda's friend Cleo sees a young girl.  She's afraid to be in rooms where ghosts are rumored to be around.  And she ends up spooking Amanda, too.

When a wind knocks Amanda into a cemetery, she's scared.  The man who yells at her for trespassing isn't pleasant either.  Suddenly, it seems Amanda is in trouble everywhere.  When Amanda and Caleb find bones in one of the forbidden buildings, it gets even more eerie.  

This visit to New Mexico is well documented and shows some of the legends of the Land of Enchantment.  You feel like you visited the facilities the children did.  You also find out some of the history of people there.

Learn about New Mexico in the comfort of your favorite chair and you won't have to worry about ghosts visiting you...