Barb's reading list / February 2019

[Barb]

BARB'S READING LIST / FEBRUARY 2019
I have a rather lengthy Wish List this month and I'm not sure I'll get to any of them, but if I make a public commitment to them, it might provide the motivation to tackle some of them... maybe?

ARCs
The Stranger Diaries, by Elly Griffiths (continues series)
Chocolate a la Murder, by Kirsten Weiss (continues series)

TO ADVANCE SERIES
Fatal, Family, Album, by Joanna Campbell Slan (continues series) - read in January
The Great Chili Kill-Off, by Livia J. Washburn (continues series)
Wound Up in Murder, by Betty Hechtman (continues series)
The Skeleton Paints a Picture, by Leigh Perry (continues series)
Berried to the Hilt, Karen MacInerney (continues series)
A Killer Margarita, by Michele Scott (continues series)

NEW SERIES TO START FOR CHALLENGES / BOOK GROUP
A Man Lay Dead, by Ngaio Marsh
A Pattern for Murder, by Ann Yost
The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler

AUDIOBOOKS
Tripwire, by Lee Child (continues series)
Fool Me Once, by Harlan Coben (stand alone)
The Cruelest Month, by Louise Penny (continues series)

WISH LIST
Dead Man's Bones, by Susan Wittig Albert (continues series)
Death Tidies Up, by Barbara Colley (continues series)
Royal Blood, Rhys Bowen (continues series)
Chocolate Macaroons and a Dead Groom, by A. Gardner (continues series)
Grace Cries Uncle, by Julie Hyzy (continues series)
A Killer Crop, by Sheila Connolly (continues series)
Death of a Country Fried Redneck, by Lee Hollis (continues series)
Dead to the Last Drop, by Cleo Coyle (continues series)
Corpse on the Cob, by Sue Ann Jaffarian (continues series)
Death Al Dente, by Leslie Budewitz (new series / for a challenge)

[Michelle]

Enjoy whatever you get to read. Good luck

[Jonetta]

What an outstanding list, Barb! I hope you plan to post links to your reviews as so many of these titles are new to me. I’ve seen the Raymond Chandler movie but not read the book.

I also like how you’ve organized your titles.

Have a wonderful month💕

[Barb]

Jonetta wrote: "What an outstanding list, Barb! I hope you plan to post links to your reviews as so many of these titles are new to me. I’ve seen the Raymond Chandler movie but not read the book."

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm one of those readers who doesn't regularly write reviews :( I struggle with it, then get frustrated that I'm spending so much time thinking about what to say when I could be reading instead. I do give star ratings, but I know that's not close to being the same as a review.

The Chandler book was chosen for my F2F book group this month. It's been buried in Mt. TBR for quite some time, so I'm excited to have an 'excuse' to read it at long last :)

[Jonetta]

That’s okay, no need to be ashamed! Just give us an up or down sign here and that would be just fine☺️. I used to write two or three sentences before I started blogging, which got me used to doing the reviews. Even today I refuse to spend more than 15 minutes writing them.

[Barb]

Jonetta wrote: "That’s okay, no need to be ashamed! Just give us an up or down sign here and that would be just fine☺️"

I can do that... as long as I remember :) I *do write pseudo-reviews for the books I get from NetGalley and other sources, but per most publisher's requests, don't put them here on GR until a week or so before the pub date.

[Barb]

Ack, in getting ready to post my list for March, I remembered that I never came back to "report in" with my February books! To go along with the better-late-than-never theory, here's a very quick summary of what I've read so far. I still hope to finish or three books before Thursday night, but that may be overly optimistic :)

ARCs:
Criminally Cocoa (Amish Candy Shop #3.5), by Amanda Flower, finished 2/18 ★★★★ (continues series) - a really fun short story in a series by one of my favorite authors
Courting Mr. Lincoln, by Louis Bayard, finished 2/21 ★★★★ (stand alone) - really good historical fiction
The Stranger Diaries, by Elly Griffiths, finished 2/22 ★★★★ (continues series) - Griffiths' first stand-alone; I hope it's not her last!

TO ADVANCE SERIES:
The Great Chili Kill-Off (Fresh Baked #12), by Livia J. Washburn, finished 2/3 ★★★.5 (continues series)
A Killer Margarita (Wine Lovers #7), by Michele Scott, finished 2/5 ★★★.5 (continues series)
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (Ballad #2), by Sharyn McCrumb, finished 2/7 ★★★ continues series - not sure if I'm going to continue this series or not
The Skeleton Paints a Picture (Family Skeleton #4), by Leigh Perry, finished 2/10 ★★★★ continues series - this series is so much fun, and this book is no exception
Wound Up in Murder (Yarn Retreat #3), by Betty Hechtman, finished 2/17 ★★★.5 (continues series)

NEW SERIES TO START FOR CHALLENGES / BOOK GROUP:
A Pattern for Murder (Bait & Stitch #1), by Ann Yost, finished 2/12 ★★★.5 - a so-so book, but I'll give the series one more shot, maybe more
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1), by Raymond Chandler, finished 2/14 ★★★.5 - most of my book group friends didn't care for this one; I liked it more than I thought I would

AUDIOBOOKS:
Tripwire (Jack Reacher #3), by Lee Child, finished 2/15 ★★★.5 (continues series) - IMO, you can't go wrong with Jack Reacher!
The Last Town(Wayward Pines #3), by Blake Crouch, finished 2/24 ★★★.5 (finishes series) - the first in this series was the best, and they got progressively worse as the series progressed