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Laura’s Year In Books

Laura’s 2025 Year in Books

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Laura Harrison McBride

Goodreads Author

Born

in Brooklyn, NY, The United States

Website

http://www.lauraharrisonmcbride.com

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Humor, Nonfiction

Influences

Geoffrey Chaucer, John D. MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, Father Andrew ...more

Member Since

May 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lauraharrisonmcbride

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Possibly the weirdest thing about being an author is the research--especially when it turns up Eleanor of Aquitaine as one's 23rd great-grandmother. I'm also descended from a Tunisian who married a Spanish princess during the Crusades. And I can count among my ancestors a bunch of Brits who descended upon Providence, Rhode Island, in the early days of the colonies, and brought their incredibly fundamentalist Plymouth Brethren beliefs with them. Nonetheless, the grandfather who contributed that DNA to my mix was a first-class rascal, having been expelled from Albany Business College about 1901 for overturning an outhouse. He later went on to create a milk co-op in New York State that protected farmers' income for decades until corporate cong Possibly the weirdest thing about being an author is the research--especially when it turns up Eleanor of Aquitaine as one's 23rd great-grandmother. I'm also descended from a Tunisian who married a Spanish princess during the Crusades. And I can count among my ancestors a bunch of Brits who descended upon Providence, Rhode Island, in the early days of the colonies, and brought their incredibly fundamentalist Plymouth Brethren beliefs with them. Nonetheless, the grandfather who contributed that DNA to my mix was a first-class rascal, having been expelled from Albany Business College about 1901 for overturning an outhouse. He later went on to create a milk co-op in New York State that protected farmers' income for decades until corporate conglomerates dismantled it in court in the late 1980s. He was dead by then, thank goodness, or I expect he'd have had something to say about it.

I'm quite proud of my late quietly crusading accountant grandfather; I'm quite amazed by my genetic connection to European royalty. I'm proud of my First Place Virginia Press Association awards, but possibly more fond of my ribbons for riding my beloved horse, the late Major Yeats, over fences.

But I'm still just a kid born in Brooklyn, NY, to ordinary working parents. And that's the person who writes the snarky cozy mysteries featuring shelf Barker, a Brit with an Italian-American wife, and a large dose of attitude.

Aside from that, Granny Eleanor might be quite proud of some of my achievements, not least of which is having a "day job" for only about five years of my adult life, spending the rest freelancing. She might approve my love of horses and dogs and fine cuisine; not sure she'd approve of my liberal politics. But my rascally humanitarian grandfather clearly would...even though he was a lifelong Republican.

So here I am: a Brooklyn-born bundle of extreme contradictions. I love the Anglican Church for its beautiful music and liturgy, not to mention a number of lovely piles of rocks and stained-glass. But I follow a more shamanic path myself. I treasure America's energy, but I live in the EU where the pace is more measured. I love the idea of travel, but rarely set foot on an airplane. (OK, that has more to do with the misery of flight these days, and a soupcon of terror.) I'd love to be a vegetarian for spiritual reasons, but...do mussels come in vegetable form?

You can think Shelf Barker is my alter ego if you wish, or wait until the beginning of the new year and see if the heroine of the second series of mystery novels is more like me than the fictional man named Graham Barker (no middle name because of his Trotskyite parents), but called Shelf. Or maybe none of the above.

Let me know.

Thanks.

...more

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Combine Editions
Laura Harrison McBride’s books

Average rating: 4.47 · 34 ratings · 0 reviews · 24 distinct works

	FabJob Guide to Become a Personal Shopper by Laura Harrison McBride (Goodreads Author), Peter J. Gallanis, Tag Goulet (Goodreads Author) 4.50 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pumpkin Head Affair (A Shelf Barker Mystery Short Story Book 1) 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — expected publication 2105 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Disasters by Laura Harrison McBride (Goodreads Author), Alpha Group liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2000 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Crash Course, A Shelf Barker Mystery it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Car Full of Death: A Shelf & Chloe Barker Mystery it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Visit From O̶l̶d̶ Dead Saint Nick: A Shelf Barker cozy mystery novelette it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trailer-Training Your Horse: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-279 (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, A-279) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2001 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Teaching Your Horse To Overcome Fears 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2001 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beginning English Rider's Companion 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Unofficial Guide to Surviving Y2K (Unofficial Guides) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1999 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Laura Harrison McBride's Blog

Michael Collins and me

If one is Irish-American, which I was before I was granted Irish citizenship as well, then one will either be a sentimental Irish person, or a history buff. I admit to being a bit of both. Maybe we all are.

I spent a good deal of the late 1970s and the 1980s in Ireland, often doing writing jobs for a US magazine, or other promotional jobs that contributed, I like to think, in a small way to the gr Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 28, 2014 10:27 • Tags: eamonn-devalera, irish, irish-army, irish-rising, jury-s-dublin, liam-neeson, michael-collins, terrible-beauty

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Laura is Currently Reading

Laura is currently reading

The Celtic Wheel of the Year: Ancient Wisdom for Living in Harmony with the Land

by Rhonda McCrimmon

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Jan 29, 2026 03:27PM

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25 Alive (Women's Murder Club #25)

by James Patterson (Goodreads Author)

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Jan 27, 2026 03:46PM

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Naked Came the Stranger

by Penelope Ashe

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Jan 25, 2026 03:49PM

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Laura is currently reading The Celtic Wheel of the Year: Ancient Wisdom for Living in Harmony with the Land by Rhonda McCrimmon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 29, 2026 03:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Celtic Wheel of the Year by Rhonda McCrimmon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Celtic Wheel of the Year by Rhonda McCrimmon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Laura is currently reading 25 Alive (Women's Murder Club #25) by James Patterson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 27, 2026 03:46PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of 25 Alive by James Patterson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — 25 Alive by James Patterson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Laura is currently reading Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laura is currently reading Say Goodbye to Irritating Fungal Infections (Japanese Edition) by Suhaas Qasim	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laura is currently reading The Signs: The New Science of How to Trust Your Instincts, as featured on The Diary of a CEO by Tara Swart	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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