Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Release Date:  January 22, 2019

Publisher:  Dutton

From Goodreads:   An impossible-to-put-down domestic thriller about secrets and revenge, told from the perspectives of a husband and wife who are the most perfect, and the most dangerous, match for each other.

Rebecca didn’t know love was possible until she met Paul, a successful, charismatic, married man with a past as dark as her own. Their pain drew them together with an irresistible magnetism; they sensed that they were each other’s ideal (and perhaps only) match.

But twenty years later, Paul and Rebecca are drowning as the damage and secrets that ignited their love begin to consume their marriage. Paul is cheating on Rebecca, and his affair gets messy fast. His mistress is stalking them with growing audacity when Rebecca discovers Paul’s elaborate plan to build a new life without her. And though Rebecca is spiraling into an opiate addiction, it doesn’t stop her from coming up with a devious plot of her own, and this one could end absolutely everything.

What follows is an unpredictable and stylish game of cat and mouse—a shocking tale of unfaithfulness and unreliability that will keep you racing until the final twist and make you wonder how well you really know your spouse.

My thoughts:  Secrets, revenge, and a troubled marriage are winning ingredients for a domestic thriller and make this novel a can't wait read for me.

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.   

Today I'm featuring my current read, Watchers by Dean Koontz.  The excerpt shared is from a paperback version I purchased. 

  

Part One

Shattering the Past

1

On his thirty-sixth birthday, May 18, Travis Cornell rose at five o'clock in the morning.  He dressed in sturdy hiking boots, jeans, and a long-sleeved, blue-plaid cotton shirt.  He drove his pickup south from his home in Santa Barbara all the way to rural Santiago Canyon on the eastern edge of Orange County, south of Los Angeles.  He took only a package of Oreo cookies, a large canteen full of orange-flavored Kool-Aid, and a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Chief's Special.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

I must admit that this is not a book or author I would have chosen for myself, but one of my book clubs selected it.  Previously, what I've heard about the author's subject matter and the book covers I've seen have been too scary for me.  I've read a few chapters and it is indeed scary.  Guess that makes it a good read with Halloween fast-approaching.  It is also worth noting that this book made it to the PBS Top 100 Great American Read Book List, coming in at number 79.  (I was in the live audience when it was announced!)  

Have you read this book or others by Dean Koontz?  I'd like to know what you think.

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Exhibit Alexandra by Natasha Bell.  The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

  

Beginning:  Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Beginning

 

Marc sat on the bottom stair and tried not to think the worst.  The voice continued: "The vast majority of people return safe and well within the first forty-eight hours, Mr. Southwood.  There's no need to panic."  There was a pause.  Marc knew he should take comfort from this.  Sit tight and wait for his wife to return with a perfectly reasonable explanation.

 

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Page 56:  I remember those first months as blissful, but I know they were also tainted for Marc by his concern that I would regret staying.  He tried to hide it but I knew.

********************

My thoughts:  I'm always intrigued by stories about the relationship between spouses and the inner workings of marriages, so I'm looking forward to reading this psychological thriller.

Note:  This book has also been published under the title His Perfect Wife.

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From Goodreads:  A shocking, original psychological thriller about a mother gone missing and the family she leaves behind, ultimately proving how unknowable even those closest to us can be.

Alexandra Southwood is missing. Held in a room against her will, she's forced to imagine how her husband, Marc, and two daughters are coping in the wake of her disappearance. She's shown news clips of Marc, desperately appealing to the public for information on her whereabouts. She tortures herself with visions of her family's devastated new reality. She thinks of what's lost, remembering the beginnings of her romance with Marc and the beautiful family they built together.

Marc's pain is visceral. He thinks of nothing but his wife. He shifts from utter despair to frantic action, and when the police discover Alexandra's bloody belongings by the river, turning their missing-persons case into a murder investigation, he cannot accept that she is lost to him. He embarks on his own journey, through the dark maze of the art world that so gripped his wife, following a trail that leads him to find answers to questions he never meant to ask.

 

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

 

Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog

Happy Thursday . . .  aka Happy Almost Friday!!

It's time for Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books.  It's a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks . . . or on your eReader.

 

This week's neglected book is . . . 

 

Release Date:  July 29, 2014

Publisher:  Harlequin Mira

From Goodreads:   I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will.

One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.

Why I selected it:  This debut novel made it to my must-read list before it was published, and I've had a copy since May of 2014.  This book was well received, and the author has published several successful novels since.  I think about this book from time to time, and  I'm hoping to take The Good Girl off the shelf soon.  

This Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Release Date:  January 8, 2019

Publisher:  Algonquin Books

From Goodreads:  On the far side the view was nothing but ridgelines, the craggy silhouettes rising up against the night sky like the body of some dormant god. Jodi felt her breath go tight in her chest. This road went only one way, it seemed, in under the mountains until you were circled.

In 1989, Jodi McCarty is seventeen years old when she’s sentenced to life in prison for manslaughter. She’s released eighteen years later and finds herself at a Greyhound bus stop, reeling from the shock of unexpected freedom. Not yet able to return to her lost home in the Appalachian mountains, she goes searching for someone she left behind, but on the way, she meets and falls in love with Miranda, a troubled young mother. Together, they try to make a fresh start, but is that even possible in a town that refuses to change? Set within the charged insularity of rural West Virginia, Sugar Run is a searing and gritty debut about making a run for another life.

My thoughts:  I am drawn to stories about people trying to start over or who have the odds stacked against them, which is why this novel caught my attention.

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

  

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.   

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Little Comfort by Edwin Hill.  The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.  

 

CHAPTER 1

 

All Hester Thursby wanted was a single day to herself, and today was going to be that day--even if it killed her.  She left the baby monitor on the nightstand next to her snoring non-husband, Morgan, and slipped out of the house with Waffles on the leash.  Okay, maybe she glanced into Kate's bedroom to be sure her three-year-old niece was still alive; maybe she crept up to the queen-size bed where the tiny girl slept within a protective barricade of stuffed animals.  And maybe Hester felt a wave of relief when Kate rubbed her nose with a fist and rolled over.  Kate had been staying with them since September, and no matter how much Hester wanted to keep the kid from cramping her style, she still hadn't adjusted to worrying about another human being all day and every day.  "We're making this up as we go along, kid," she whispered, kissing Kate's forehead.

 

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

After reading the opening paragraph, I am wondering why Kate has been staying with Hester for an extended period of time.  This angle certainly piques my interest enough to continue reading.  Yet I was initially attracted to this novel for other reasons:  (a) it's the first in a series; (b) it's a mystery/thriller; and (c) the protagonist is a librarian. 

 

 

 

 

 

This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring my current read,  Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts.  The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  On Friday, July 22, 2005, Simone Knox ordered a large Fanta--orange--to go with her popcorn and Swedish Fish.  The choice, her standard night-at-the-movies fare, changed her life, and very likely saved it.  Still, she'd never drink Fanta again.

********************

Page 56:   Reed knew what the papers and TV said about Paulson, what neighbors and teachers said.  How shocked they were, how he'd never been violent.  Always bright and helpful.

********************

My thoughts:   This story is a bit of a departure for Nora Roberts, with its "ripped from the headlines" theme.  It may not be a comfortable read, but in her able hands, the story is taking some interesting and unexpected turns.

********************

From Goodreads:  Sometimes, there is nowhere safe to hide.

It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at the video-game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.

The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies' room, hopelessly clutching her cell phone--until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.

But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog

Happy Thursday . . .  aka Happy Almost Friday!!

It's time for Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books.  It's a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks . . . or on your eReader.

 

This week's neglected book is . . . 

 

Release Date:  September 10, 2013

Publisher:  Ballantine Books

From Goodreads:  Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese-American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.

Determined to find Willow, and prove his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigates the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive, but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen.

Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Songs of Willow Frost takes readers on an emotional journey of discovery. Jamie Ford’s sweeping book will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for the comforts of family and a place to call home.

Why I selected it: I loved Ford's debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and have been meaning to set aside time to read his sophomore novel.  As the days turn cooler here, I'm hoping to devote more time to indoor activities like reading.

This Thursday Thoughts ~ Books from the Backlog post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated. 

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Release Date:  February 19, 2019

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

From Goodreads:  DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA′I is the highly anticipated sequel to Alan Brennert’s acclaimed book club favorite, and national bestseller, MOLOKA′I. It’s a companion tale that tells the story of Ruth, the daughter that Rachel Kalama—quarantined for most of her life at the isolated leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa—was forced to give up at birth.

The book follows young Ruth from her arrival at the Kapi'olani Home for Girls in Honolulu, to her adoption by a Japanese couple who raise her on a farm in California, her marriage and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II—and then, after the war, to the life-altering day when she receives a letter from a woman who says she is Ruth’s birth mother, Rachel.DAUGHTER OF MOLOKA′I expands upon Ruth and Rachel’s 22-year relationship, only hinted at in MOLOKA′I. It’s a richly emotional tale of two women—different in some ways, similar in others—who never expected to meet, much less come to love, one another. And for Ruth it is a story of discovery, the unfolding of a past she knew nothing about. In prose that conjures up the beauty and history of both Hawaiian and Japanese cultures, it’s the powerful and poignant tale that readers of MOLOKA′I have been awaiting for fifteen years.

My thoughts:  One of the best pieces of information that was shared at the 2018 Tri-State Book Buzz for Librarians that I attended last week was during the Macmillan Library Adult Titles presentation.  That's when I learned there will be a long-awaited sequel to the much-loved book, Moloka'i.  Early next year, fans of the novel will have the chance to return to the continuation of this story set in Hawai'i. 

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.   

Today I'm featuring the book I just finished for a blog tour, The Spirit in Question by Cynthia Kuhn.  The excerpt shared is from the electronic version I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  

 

Chapter 1

"Commence the murder!" Everything went dark, a shot rang out, and something crashed to the ground.  

I held my breath, unable to move. 


What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

I did continue to read this humorous cozy mystery set on a college campus in Colorado, where English professor Lila Maclean finds herself serving as the assistant director of the play, Puzzled: The Musical, an outlandish post-modern mystery.  The play seems doomed from the start, as mishap after mishap unfolds.

If you'd like to know more about this book, click here, to read my review.  If you do click the link, be sure to enter the giveaway also. 





This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated. 

Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: The Spirit in Question by Cynthia Kuhn

 

Today I'm participating in the The Spirit in Question Blog Tour.  In this post you will find book and author information along with my review.

About the book . . .

 

The Spirit in Question (A Lila Maclean Academic Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Henery Press (October 2, 2018)
Trade Paperback | 252 pages
ISBN 9781635114065, 1635114063
Digital ASIN: B07FDL54HG
 

Synopsis . . .

English professor Lila Maclean knew drama would be involved when she agreed to consult on Stonedale University’s production of Puzzled: The Musical.

But she didn’t expect to find herself cast into such chaos: the incomprehensible play is a disaster, the crumbling theater appears to be haunted, and, before long, murder takes center stage.

The show must go on—yet as they speed toward opening night, it becomes clear that other members of the company may be targeted as well. Lila searches for answers while contending with a tenacious historical society, an eccentric playwright, an unsettling psychic, an enigmatic apparition, and a paranormal search squad.

With all of this in play, will she be able to identify who killed her colleague…or will it soon be curtains for Lila too?

My review . . . Competing forces and agendas collide over the staging of a play at the Stonedale Opera House, the historic college theater in Stonedale, Colorado. On one side is the college faculty led by the outspoken Jean Claude Lestronge, the visiting professor directing the musical written by another professor.  On the other side are members of the Stonedale Historical Society represented by its equally outspoken president, Mrs. Clara Worthingham.  The Society fears the fragile facility will be further compromised by going forward with the play and seems willing to stop it by any means.  And there is another interested party: developer Chip Turner who has offered to purchase the aging theater from the college, with plans to replace it with a state-of-the-art performance space.

With such a backdrop, is it any wonder that Puzzled: The Musical, a post-modern murder mystery featuring iconic sleuths and their authors seems doomed from the start?  A series of accidents and mishaps ensue during its production, most troubling of which is the onstage death of the play's director during a rehearsal.

Who killed Jean Claude?  Professor Lila Maclean, the play's assistant director and Detective Lex Archer are determined to find out.  There are plenty of people with motive and opportunity.  Is someone with evil intent in their midst, or are otherworldly forces responsible?  Some believe the theater is haunted by the ghost of a former professor who died there years before.  Instances of flickering lights, unexplained noises, and moved objects during rehearsals lend credence to such a theory.  As Lila and Lex concentrate on credible facts, a psychic and a paranormal team pursue the supernatural aspect.

Beyond their search for the killer,  Lila and Lex also come closer to unravelling a mystery from the past that has significance to several of Stonedale's citizens, and deepen their own relationship as well.

In The Spirit in Question, author Cynthia Kuhn has woven an eccentric cast of characters and humorous scenes into an entertaining madcap read.  The story's insider look at the larger-than-life egos, creativity, and passions involved in staging a play made this reader feel a part of the production.

The book is the third entry in the Lila Maclean Academic Mystery Series, but can be read as a stand alone.  I find Lila's adventures in academia intriguing, and will now immerse myself in the series' previous novels -- The Semester of Our Discontent, winner of an Agatha Award for Best New Novel in 2016, and The Art of Vanishing, Lefty Award Nominee for Best Humorous Novel in 2017 -- while awaiting the next installment.


Giveaway . . . Enter the The Spirit in Question giveaway by clicking on this link.  


About the author . . . 

Cynthia Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mystery series: The Semester of Our Discontent, an Agatha Award recipient for Best First Novel; The Art of Vanishing, a Lefty Award nominee for Best Humorous Mystery; and The Spirit in Question. She teaches in Denver, serves as president of Sisters in Crime-Colorado, and blogs with Chicks on the Case. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.

Author links . . .

Webpage: cynthiakuhn.wordpress.com
Blog: mysteristas.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cynthiakuhnwriter
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/cynthiakuhn  
Twitter: @cynthiakuhn

 
Purchase links . . .

Amazon   B&N     Kobo  BookBub 

 

Tour participants . . .

October 8 – Island Confidential – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

October 8 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

October 8 – Books Direct – SPOTLIGHT

October 9 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 9 – Varietats – SPOTLIGHT

October 9 – Handcrafted Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 10 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 10 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 11 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 11 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – SPOTLIGHT

October 12 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

October 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

October 14 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

October 15 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

October 15 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT  

October 16 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW  

October 16 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 17 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 17 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

October 18 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST

October 18 – A Cozy Experience– REVIEW

October 19 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW

October 19 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

October 20 – Jane Reads

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of The Spirit in Question from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.