My life has been a lot like this .gif the last few months, where life is the Squirtle jumping on the cuter yet exhausted Squirtle on the bottom of the pile repeatedly. Some days I feel like I could really use a clone! With family, writing, and trying to get a fledgling business off the ground, I feel like I have been put through a wringer, and then rerung.
I am working on playing catch up on blog posts. I wrote this post the start of March, and for some reason didn’t hit publish. Posting it anyway, and will work on updating you all on my current reads.
I got reading time for my Goodreads challenge in February. I read 5 books. March, I am still struggling to get through Greg Iles’ The Bone Tree, book 5 in the Penn Series.
I was excited when I pulled the hardcover out of the gift bag from my mom this past Yule. It’s not a bad book, it’s a great book. The Bone Tree is a deep book, a book that deals with murders during the Civil Rights movements, JFK’s assassination, the KKK and atrocities committed… 800 pages of story; I think I should wait until I can rest my brain or after rereading the first four in the series over.
February 2017 Reading List
Same as last month, I will NOT be putting spoilers on this page, but I am including the blurb summary. 😉 All links in this post link to the book’s Goodreads page.
Day of the Vikings, Arkane # 5 by J.F. Penn
A ritual murder on a remote island under the shifting skies of the aurora borealis.
A staff of power that can summon Ragnarok, the Viking apocalypse.When Neo-Viking terrorists invade the British Museum in London to reclaim the staff of Skara Brae, ARKANE agent Dr. Morgan Sierra is trapped in the building along with hostages under mortal threat.
As the slaughter begins, Morgan works alongside psychic Blake Daniel to discern the past of the staff, dating back to islands invaded by the Vikings generations ago.
Can Morgan and Blake uncover the truth before Ragnarok is unleashed, consuming all in its wake?
Day of the Vikings is a fast-paced, action adventure thriller set in the British Museum, the British Library and the islands of Orkney, Lindisfarne and Iona.
Set in the present day, it resonates with the history and myth of the Vikings. If you love an action-packed thriller, download a sample or buy Day of the Vikings now.
Day of the Vikings features Dr. Morgan Sierra from the ARKANE thrillers, and Blake Daniel from the London Mysteries, but it is also a stand-alone novella that can be read and enjoyed separately. – Day of the Vikings blurb
J.F. Penn is fantastic at spinning a story. She reminds me of Dan Brown, and as a fan of his, that is a compliment given. This novella is a gripping page-turner I couldn’t put my nook down. Short chapters, fast paced and thrilling, you can read this book as a stand alone if you have not read the others in the series and not feel lost. I am fighting the urge to include spoilers for this book, I suggest you read it for yourself.
Gallows View, Inspector Banks #1 By Peter Robinson
A Peeping Tom is frightening the women of Eastvale; two glue-sniffing young thugs are breaking into homes and robbing people; an old woman may or may not have been murdered. Investigating these cases is Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a perceptive, curious and compassionate policeman recently moved to the Yorkshire Dales from London to escape the stress of city life. In addition to all this, Banks has to deal with the local feminists and his attraction to a young psychologist, Jenny Fuller. As the tension mounts, both Jenny and Banks’s wife, Sandra, are drawn deeper into the events. The cases weave together as the story reaches a tense and surprising climax.–Author’s website.
A Dedicated Man, Inspector Banks #2 By Peter Robinson
The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a drystone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry’s editor and a local thriller writer are all suspects – and all are figures from Harry’s previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger. Inspector Banks’ second case unearths disturbing secrets behind a bucolic facade. “The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced worksof art.” – Dennis Lehane. “If you haven’t encountered Chief Inspector Alan Banks before, prepare for a crash course in taut, clean writing and subtle psychology. And watch for those twists – they’ll get you every time.” – Ian Rankin.
The Trial, Women’s Murder Club #15.5 By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a drystone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man? Penny Cartwright, a beautiful folk singer with a mysterious past, a shady land-developer, Harry’s editor and a local thriller writer are all suspects – and all are figures from Harry’s previous, idyllic summers in the dale. A young girl, Sally Lumb, knows more than she lets on, and her knowledge could lead to danger. Inspector Banks’ second case unearths disturbing secrets behind a bucolic facade. “The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced worksof art.” – Dennis Lehane. “If you haven’t encountered Chief Inspector Alan Banks before, prepare for a crash course in taut, clean writing and subtle psychology. And watch for those twists – they’ll get you every time.” – Ian Rankin.
