Challenge: 50 Books discussion
2010
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Arlene's 2010 list
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81 Trail of Thread: A Woman's Westward Journey October 6, 2010This is a book written in the form of letters from a mother whose life is uprooted when her husband and his brothers decide that Kansas is the promised land. They load belongings on wagons and leave in the spring of 1854 from Kentucky. She shared quilt patterns along the way with other travelers and settlers. Traveling 750 miles in 66 days, they walked the trails and thru various settlements along the way. Imagine crossing all those rivers on unstable rafts and boats. Waiting near Westport landing (modern day Kansas City) for her husband to return from a scouting trip into Kansas, she is in a large camp of wagons when a cyclone storm hits. Having lived through a tornado as a child in that area I can't imagine what it would have been like without any shelter except wagons which were so easy to tip over by a wind like that. Scary!
This book is a fictionalize version of the real trip to Kansas by the author's great-great-great grandmother in 1854. I loved this little book borrowed from my quilt guild.
82 Frontier Woman: The LIfe of a Woman Homesteader on the Dakota Frontier October 8, 2010This book is the edited auto-biography of a South Dakota homesteader who moved "west of the Missouri" in 1902 with her husband and several children. Her husband was a widower with a son as old as she was and was really ill-prepared to live on the frontier. She ended up keeping the family together and fed by doing what she needed to do. In those days the nearest neighbor was a mile or more away. A facinating look at those times.
83 Close Up On Death October 11, 2010Millie Hale finds her best friend, Liza's mutilated body. What follows in the weeks and months is a trail of suspicion. There are no physical clues for the police to follow. The inspector focuses on Millie, Liza's mother and Paul, her common-law wife. The investigation slows down and is finally basically filed in the "not-filed" box. Who actually killed Liza? The suspense lasts till the very last pages.
84 Game Over October 24, 2010I picked up this book to read on a plane and that worked. I wish I had read some of the previous books in this series before picking up this one. That said, I did enjoy the story of the vigilantes and how they were planning on getting some promised pardons from the President of the United States. I think I will go to the used book store and try to find some of the earlier stories.
85 Heartstopper: A Novel October 29, 2010This book is a murder mystery that takes place in a small town in Florida. One of the main characters is Sandy, a school teacher who has moved to Torrence with her Dr. husband only to find out that he has come there to meet up with his on-line romantic partner. We follow two stories here: her personal story and the terror of knowing a murderer is on the loose, killing young women.
Total for October: 7 books, 2221 pages
87 Geometry of Sisters November 2, 2010Beck has lost her father in a storm off Mackinac Island. Her sister disappeared the same day, running away from the hospital emergency room. The following year her mother decides to move back to Rhode Island to take a teaching job and hopefully get back together with her own sister. Beck has been acting out following her losses by stealing. All these ghosts follow her to Rhode Island. This is a touching story about a family's search for forgiveness.
86 Twenties Girl October 30, 2010 This was a fun book that I picked up at a book store in the Philippines because I needed a book to read on a long plane ride home. I finished it on the plane. It was a cute book that starts out at the funeral of Lara's great-aunt Sadie. Lara is surprised when Aunt Sadie suddenly appears and demands that Lara find her necklace. This is the typical type of ghost that can only be seen by one person. They have some adventures as they try to solve the mystery of aunt Sadie's life and Lara's business.
88 Mini Shopaholic November 5, 2010This is a continuation of the series about the totally self-absorbed shopaholic Becky this time with her child.
89 Loitering With Intent January 15, 2010I actually forgot to put this in the list in January so I am putting it in here. Stone is given the job to go to KeyWest to find a young man so his father can sell the family company. What seems like an easy assignment turns dangerous when Stone is knocked unconscious at their first meeting.
90 Her Fearful Symmetry November 11, 2010I received my autographed copy from a book give-away.
This ghost story starts out when Elsbeth dies leaving her apartment to her twin nieces. After they move to London the dead aunt appears as a ghost who is trapped in the apartment.
91 Rough Country November 16, 2010This was a new series for me. Virgil Flowers is on a well earned fishing vacation when he is called to the scene of a murder. A successful advertising executive is shot in a canoe near a wooded resort full of other women. He must follow the twists and turns of the paths in the woods to unravel what really happened.
92 Evidence November 20, 2010The watchman at a large unfinished mansion finds a pair of bodies inside the house. Alex goes with Milo to analyze the scene. First they need to find the name of the female victim and why they are there.
93 Hotshots November 22, 2010Neil Hamel is asked to sue the forest service in a wrongful death case. Nine "Hotshots", firefighters, were killed in a flare-up. She goes to the scene of the tragedy and is almost killed in another fire.
94 The Quilter's Homecoming November 30, 2010This book is set in the 20's when Elizabeth marries Henry and sets off across country to the ranch he has bought in California. When the get there they discover that they have been swindled and take jobs on the ranch they were supposed to own. Instead of being the owners living in the nice ranch house they are the hired hands living in a shack. The back story of two quilts that she found in an old trunk is woven through the book.
Total for November: 7 books, 2695 pages
95 Plum Pudding Murder December 4, 2010Somehow Hannah finds another dead body. This Minnesota murder is at a Christmas Tree lot that is selling Hannah's cookies. All through the book there are recipes for the mouth watering cookies that she bakes for her shop. The story also has a back story of the two men that Hannah is dating and a small mystery about Norman's mother. I really like this type of light reading.
96 The Quick and the Thread December 7, 2010Marcy has just moved to Oregon to open an embroidery shop. There is a party to celebrate the Grand Opening of the store. The next morning she discovers a dead body in her storeroom. Why has the former occupant of the space scratched a cryptic message on the wall? Marcy is almost frantic in her desire to clear her name and solve the death. Meantime there are two dishy guys interested in her. A cute little mystery.
97 Motif for Murder December 9, 2010This was a a new (to me) series and a quick read. I love the French Quarter charm of New Orleans and the quirky characters. When Carmela's husband Shamus is kidnapped and his uncle Henry murdered, she is kicked out of her home by her sister-in-law. So Carmela starts investigating while running her scrapbooking shop. Interesting crafting tips are included.
98 Frill Kill December 10, 2010This is another installment in the scrap-booking series set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Halloween is celebrated in the French Quarter in a typical New Orleans way but scrap-book store owner Carmela discovers a body and is attacked on her way home. She and her friend Ava are embroiled in another mystery. This one includes crafty tips also.
99 The Lies That Bind December 17, 2010This is also a new series for me. The world of book binders and restorers in San Francisco is the setting for this mystery. Expert Brooklyn Wainwright is in San Francisco to teach a bookbinding class. She has issues with the director of the Bay Area Book Arts center over a copy of "Oliver Twist", then the director is killed. Brooklyn is hoping to be involved with the body guard of a visiting artist but the investigation gets in the way.
100 Real Murders December 20, 2010
The detective in this series is small-town librarian, Aurora Teagarten. She is a member of a club called "Real Murders" that meets once a month to discuss historic cases. Then she finds the body of one of the members in the kitchen of the VFW building where the club meets. The body is staged to look like the murder that the club is due to discuss that evening. This is bad enough but another attack follows. Roe is caught up in the middle of the investigation. Meanwhile she is contemplating her lack of a relationship when both the detective investigating the cases and a new writer in town show interest in her. Another quick read.
101 A Bone to Pick December 23, 2010I enjoyed this 2nd book in the Aurora Teagarden series. After the funeral of her elderly friend, Aurora finds herself inheriting Ruth's home and estate except a small legacy to a cousin. She also inherits a mystery.
102 Three Bedrooms, One Corpse December 26, 2010The saga of heiress and former librarian, Aurora Teagarten, continues in this novel. Roe is following her realtor around while studying for her own license when she meets a client in a local mansion. Everything goes wrong when they go upstairs to see the bedrooms and find a corpse in the master bedroom bed. She also is caught up in the dating dilemma of being attracted to the dangerous and older client while seeing the local Episcopal priest.
103 The Julius House December 27, 2010Aurora Teagarden has married her rich businessman husband and moved into a lovely house a mile out of town. She looks into the mystery of the disappearance of the home's previous owners because she really doesn't know what to do with herself. She also is distracted by the lack of complete honesty in her new husband.
104 Dead Over Heels December 28, 2010Aurora Teagarden is trying to relax in her back yard when a body falls out of an airplane, landing in her lawn. With this, Roe is plunged into yet another murder investigation. Of course there is no question that she had anything to do with this one since the body just missed hitting her but she has to wonder when another small town associate is attacked. This was another quick read for me. I am enjoying this series.
105 A Fool and His Honey December 31, 2010In this book Aurora's husband's niece shows up on her doorstep with a baby nobody knew she had. Later that evening, the niece is missing and her young husband is dead on the steps. The baby is found hidden under the bed. Roe and her husband Martin set out for Ohio, hoping to find Regina and what has happened.
106 A Killer Stitch July 24, 2010This one was included in my summary for July but I didn't post it here:
I liked this little mystery. It takes place in Fort Connor, Colorado (thinly disguised Ft. Collins) where there is an interplay between ranchers and knitters/spinners who meet in a local yarn shop.
Total for December: 11 books, 3052 pages
Total for the year: 106 books, 34,580 pages
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Her Fearful Symmetry (other topics)Dead Over Heels (other topics)
The Empty Chair (other topics)
The Secret of Annexe 3 (other topics)
The Julius House (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Maisie Mosco (other topics)Janet Evanovich (other topics)
Dr. Seuss (other topics)
Carrie Fisher (other topics)
J.D. Robb (other topics)
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I have really like the character, Jesse Stone, in the Tom Selleck series of TV movies, so I was delighted to find this book. I could hear Selleck's voice in the dialogues of the book. It was almost like having an audio book!
This story starts with an unidentified woman falling off a boat. The Paradise police department, headed by unconventional chief, Jesse Stone, finds her body in the water at the start of "Race Week", a yearly yacht gathering there. The investigation into who she is and why she ended up there is convoluted and disturbing.
I am going to look for more of Parker's books in this series.