S Is For Leann Sweeney

Leann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry and as a school nurse; she now writes full time.

She began crafting fiction in 1980, fulfilling her lifelong dream. After perfecting her skills with classes and a small fortune in writing books, she joined MWA and Sisters in Crime. Now she’s the creator of two NAL/Obsidian mystery series: The Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries. The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse, first in the Cats in Trouble Mysteries was the #1 bestseller on the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s List when it debuted and made several top twenty lists for 2009 at bookstores across the country. 

R Is For Sofie Ryan

Sofie Ryan/Sofie Kelly are the pseudonyms of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Sofie Ryan writes the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series which started in April 2014 and is set in Maine. It features Sarah Grayson who is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis.

As Sofie Kelly she writes the New York Times bestselling Magical Cats mysteries. It features Kathleen Paulson, who is a librarian in Mayville Heights, Minnesota. She is adopted by two stray cats, Hercules and Owen, and is shocked to learn they have magical abilities.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

What I read last week:
1) Still Alice by Lisa Genova
2) Killing Weeds by Joyce Lavene
3) because by Jack Langedijk
4) Metro Diaries by Namrata

What I listened to last week:
1) All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1) by Ally Carter
2) The Witchcraft of Salem Village, by Shirley Jackson

What I'm currently reading:
1) The Rhyme Of The Magpie (A Birds Of A Feather Mystery) by Marty Wingate
2) Booker: Tap That, by John W. Mefford
3) First Frost, by Sarah Addison Allen

What I'm currently listening to:
1)  Night Night Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron

What I plan to read this week:
1) Ruby Circle, by Richelle Mead
2) We'll Always Have New York, by Jill Knapp


What I plan to listen to this week:
1) A Necessary End, by Peter Robinson
2) In Some Other World, Maybe, by Shari Goldhagen

Q Is For Spencer Quinn

Spencer Quinn, who is the alter ego of Peter Abrahams, lives on Cape Cod with his wife, children, and his dog, Audrey. As Peter Abrahams, he writes crime thrillers such as Oblivion, The Tutor, The Fury of Rachel Monette, Hard Rain, The Fan, Crying Wolf, Last of the Dixie Heroes, and Lights Out. He also writes a young adult series, the Echo Falls Mysteries, which includes Down The Rabbit Hole, Behind The Curtain and Into The Dark.

As Spencer Quinn, he writes the Chet and Bernie Mysteries. These stories are told from the point of view of Chet, the canine partner of Bernie Little in the Little Detective Agency.
There are currently eight volumes in this cozy series.

because by Jack A. Langedijk

Synopsis: Robert had reached the summit of many mountains. His adventures took him to unimaginable heights, yet his greatest achievements were not in conquering these majestic beauties, but in his ability to reach people in need. That is, until he’s the one facing the toughest climb of his life. 

Roberto Sanchez is living the dream; one could say the man had it all. He is blessed with a beautiful wife and daughter who complete him. A career that reaches at-risk kids that brings him true joy. Then a tragic accident leads Robert to a chasm of dark despair. Although his interventions have reached many, he found he is incapable of helping himself off the edge of a cliff, jeopardizing his career, his marriage, and himself. 

because takes us on a journey of two Roberts as he struggles to find a way to once again believe.

Thoughts: I really wanted to like this book, but it just never really held my attention and sucked me in the way books do which I truly enjoy. I get the premise behind it, but it didn't really bring out any emotions in me. I was not inspired the way I expected I would be. I was incredibly disappointed by this book. 

My biggest problem with it was the way the story jumped from the present day to four months prior and back again. I would have been able to follow it much easier if it had been in chronological order.

**I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

My rating: One star

Killing Weeds (A Peggy Lee Garden Mystery) by Joyce and Jim Lavene

Synopsis: It’s spring in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of forensic botanist and garden shop owner, Peggy Lee. This spring has been beautiful, as always, with flowering trees and blue skies. 
But a killer is on the loose, and seems determined to destroy everyone and everything she cares about. 
When her garden shop, the Potting Shed, is brutally vandalized, Peggy doesn’t realize that it is only the beginning. Her son, Paul, who has been moonlighting as a private detective to investigate the death of his father, John Lee, is suspected of murder when a mink coat lined with poison kills the woman who is wearing it. 
Peggy identifies the particularly virile blend of botanical poisons in the coat. Unfortunately, her work as a specialist with plant poisons makes Paul even more interesting to the police. When attacks against her and her family continue, Peggy must go back through her years of sleuthing to finger the person responsible . . . before it’s too late. 

Thoughts: This is my first book in this series, but I can't wait to read more. I love that each chapter starts out with a description of a plant, flower, or tree that somehow ties into that particular chapter. 

The story is very well-written, and the characters are very believable. They have their problems and issues, and life is never trouble-free. I thought the case was all wrapped up at one point, but realized I still had 25% more of the book to read, so I knew something else was going to happen--and it did!

There's a cliff-hanger at the very end of the book which has me very anxious for the next installment in this series.

**I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

My rating: Four stars

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Synopsis: Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's Ordinary People.

Thoughts: This book really blew me away. The journey of Alice and her family as they deal with her diagnosis and her ever-changing symptoms is heartbreaking.  We get a lot of insight into things from Alice's point of view as the disease progresses. As a woman in her fifties who has Alzheimer's in her family history, I can relate to this story on several levels.

I can't wait to see the movie, which I hope will truly do this story justice.

My ratings: Five stars