Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jane's day starts with her getting fired from a job she loves by an incompetent who wants her more incompetent relation to have Jane's job. She goes to "drowned her sorrows" where she meets an irresistibly handsome man who won't go home with her in her drunken condition...she who has not had sex in years! She starts driving herself home only to have her car die. Only to have someone she knows shot her...because he thinks she's a DEER! Really! A DEER?!

But wait...this book has just started. You guessed it. She wakes up to find that Mr. Irresistible is a vampire and has made her one!

What a great way to start a book! If I hadn't been drawn to the need for a light weight book that potentially had lots of laughs by the title, this beginning clenched it! From here I learned more about her "maker", his old but not now vampire friend, a strange "Welcome" lady (she welcomes newly made vampires to the group), her grabby sister, her ghosty aunt, her best friend (male who joins a support group for friends of the "newly turned"), etc.

How does a girl tell her parents of her new status? How does she find a job? How does she learn to deal with her undead status? And who the hell is trying to frame her for murder(s?)?

I know but I'm not going to tell. You have to listen to book to find out for yourself! It's a perfect book for an in-between from those more intense books; for those who just love reading fun books; for those who love a good mystery. It's so much fun you'll have to read the next installment!

I do hope Amanda Ronconi narrates the rest; she did such a good job with this one!

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Destroying Angel by Alanna Knight

Destroying Angel by Alanna Knight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Autumn 1897. Rose McQuinn's stubborn refusal to give up her job as "Lady Detective, Discretion Guaranteed", has cost her the love of her ambitious fiancé, Jack Macmerry. And now it seems that she is to lose her elusive deerhound, Thane, as well. His rightful owner is Hubert, a Royal photographer, who lost him while walking on Arthur's Seat three years earlier."

For a woman to have an "occupation" outside the home was not the norm. I worked for and with two women doctors (one a PhD, one a MD) who were born early in the 1900s. They had to give up much for their very notable careers. Imagine what strength it took Rose to commit to her career. How can a "man" of her time tolerate such behavior? To get a glimpse into the time is wonderful. And if there is a mystery involved, more's the better!

As a dog lover, I can well understand Rose feeling worse about the lose of Thane than the loss of Jack. Dogs love unconditionally. Men don't. And Thane is such a grand dog and companion.

"Hubert has a hidden agenda concerning her role as a crime investigator. As the family's tragic history unfolds, dark secrets are revealed...and a series of suspicious deaths."

This is where the book gets really interesting...the mystery. It's as twisty as you want a good mystery to be; with characters you want to follow.

Of course I did not read this in order! Did I feel I lost anything by jumping in with Book 5 in the series? No. Ms. Knight has a good book that stand well alone. That's my favorite kind of author. One who doesn't need to tack a teaser at the end of a book to get you to buy the next edition.

The narration by Hilary Neville is as good as you want!

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The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
Series: Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines, Book 5
Format: Unabridged
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

As autumn descends upon Three Pines, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antique store at the center of town. No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. What past did he leave behind, and why has he buried himself in the tiny village.

A trail of astounding clues and treasures - from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word "WOE" woven in it - lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, then back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the final brutal telling.

My Thoughts:

While reading a blurb on Audible.com about The Long Way Home: Chief Inspector, by Louise Penny, I suddenly realized I knew this main character! Off I went to check my library and sure enough, I had listened to this book! I don't know how long ago I listened to it but I had rated...just not written my review. But you gotta admit, that if I could remember the Inspector, the Three Pines community (and who done it) and more, it had to have been a memorable read (listen)!

It was a good mystery with a very interesting cast of characters! Oh, Three Pines is really one of the characters! This is NOT a "cozy" mystery; one very well narrated by Ralph Cosham.

I'm at a loss as to what more I can tell you without spoilers which I want you to be pulled along as I was!

If the blur above or my excitement doesn't make you want to grab this one any any of its various formats, I don't know what else I can say other than you are missing a damn good book!

P.S. For those who've not read my other views, I don't listen to abridged books...too much good gets lost! AND I adore writers who, while they write a series, make each book complete; without dangling the next one at the end; I adore Louise Penny!

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THE REINCARNATIONIST

Summary:

An epic thriller of secrets, history and murder that will challenge how we think about who we are, and who we were.

THE REINCARNATIONIST is equal parts modern-day thriller, historical fiction and love story. With one foot in present-day Rome and New York and another in Rome some 1,600 years ago, my story is about two worlds consumed by the fires of intrigue and passion.

Photojournalist Josh Ryder survives a terrorist's bomb, only to be haunted by near hallucinatory memories of a past life in Rome as a pagan priest whose dangerous congress with Sabina, one of the Vestal Virgins, poses a transgression so serious the lovers will face a certain death if exposed. Scents of jasmine and sandalwood and images of furtive liaisons and violence descend on Josh at will, pulling him to an ancient yet strangely familiar Roman burial chamber harboring the remains of a woman clutching a wooden box.

A trail of present-day murders takes us deeper into a labyrinth at whose heart lies the enigma of a collection of ancient gems or memory stones whose origins trace back to both ancient Egypt and India. The stones' promise to "assist the wearer in reaching his next incarnation" sets the ancient and modern worlds on a collision course.

The questions of who we are cannot be asked without first asking who we were. And I've tried to answer that using my own research into reincarnation theory - as well as the tenets and writings of those who have studied and believed in reincarnation over thousands of years

Don't miss this 99c sale! All links here to all storeshttp://www.mjrose.com/books/reincarnationist.asp?BookVar=Praise

Another book for my wish list!

'don't know how I got to this book but it is now on my WISH LIST. From the reviews I've read, it looks like the authors found "their voice" in this book so I am going to start my adventure with this one.

Listening to the sample and the narrator sounds good.

No one rated this one below 3 stars (out of 5) on Amazon.

Pub. Summary:  "Gideon Crew, brilliant scientist, master thief, is living on borrowed time. When his mysterious employer, Eli Glinn, gives him an eyebrow-raising mission, he has no reason to refuse. Gideon's task: steal a page from the priceless Book of Kells, now on display in New York City and protected by unbreakable security.
Accomplishing the impossible, Gideon steals the parchment - only to learn that hidden beneath the gorgeously illuminated image is a treasure map dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks. As they ponder the strange map, they realize that the treasure it leads to is no ordinary fortune. It is something far more precious: an amazing discovery that could perhaps even save Gideon's life.
Together with his new partner, Amy, Gideon follows a trail of cryptic clues to an unknown island in a remote corner of the Caribbean Sea. There, off the hostile and desolate Mosquito Coast, the pair realize the extraordinary treasure they are hunting conceals an even greater shock - a revelation so profound that it may benefit the entire human race - if Gideon and Amy can survive.
©2014 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (P)2014 Hachette Audio"

Ebook readers can get this from Amazon. Of course there are hard/paperback copies.

Fly, Fly, fly away home!

Diane Kidman, you've done it again!

Now I have a task for someone who asked me if there is anything I need! And keeping flies out of my room is A1! With all the people going in and out of here, there is no way to keep them out of the building (especially if you are close to the door). So if I can keep them out of my room, I'll be happy. Diane has a recipe that apparently works! AND, if it works here, it's gotta work at home!

Oh, you want the recipe, too? Click on A Simple Remedy to Get Rid of Houseflies!

Making the No ‘Poo Resolution

This title is the one that Diane Kidman used on her web side. I am sending you there because in it she has the recipes she uses.

Because I am in a medical facility, I decided to go the Wen way with their starter package as it will be easier on me and the aids that help me.

NOTE: when I get back home, I will go to the No 'Poo solution! I was talking with one of my Occupational Therapists and her Physical Therapist teammate and discovered they are both Wen girls. They, too, find it rather expensive. One has very short hair with the typical negroid texture. The other lady is from Porto Rico with dark, naturally wavy Polynesian hair of medium to long hair. My hair is fine, way thinner that it was when in my thirties when it was thick enough to require thinning and down to my waist. They are thinking about going to No 'Poo as well for the economics of it verse the cost of Wen. I will try to keep you posted when I get my shipment of Wen, then out of here and onto No 'Poo...also, what they experience if they go No 'Poo. 

How to Use Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) for Soft, Shiny Hair

Diane Kidman, has some old post that seem to have sprung back to the forefront of my mind. This one accompanies her postings about NoPoo. If you click on on her name, you will be whisked over to her site for data of another rinse that will help your hair to be soft and shiny!

One commenter said she lets the rinse stay on her hair without rinsing it out. I am assuming that they use this rinse instead of the vinegar. I need to check with Diane for verification.