This is the second book I have read this summer by this author and I really enjoyed this one. It is an old time western, with the traditional “tenderfoot” family moving out west, but having no idea what they were up against which, in this case, is lack of law. Enter Con Vallian, a man who seems to live on the range with just his horse and who decides to stay around to help this family. What I liked most was how well developed the characters were, particularly Con. This author has opened up a whole new genre for me.

I started this as an audio book on a day that was challenging, and I found it was just want I needed. What fun!! This is done as an old-time radio production complete with authentic and amazing sound effects. Guy, the detective and central character, is brought such exciting cases as the theft of a four-year-old goldfish. If you are looking for something really fun, you will not be dissatisfied with this!

A great book

Full disclosure: I am a Stephen King fan. But as I read this I was a little disappointed in the first half as I found it predictable. But I should have had faith in King, because the second half delivered what I was waiting for. A young man hitches a ride from his college to the hospital where his mother has been taken. When it comes to choosing a ride, do you use your head and logic, or do you listen to your instinct? King will help you look at this a whole new way.

Always nice to visit Dream Harbor, but I felt like I couldn't relax while reading this book. I was constantly braced for a heartbreaking conversation with a child. Overall, it's handled sweetly, but not my cup of tea.

In this story about women who go missing and then have their dead images appear in paintings, Isles does an excellent job in developing the characters and their connections to one another. And this is important because the subject matter here is often harsh and without this development of characters, it would simply be a brutal story. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and liked the ending.

A fun academic mystery in a beautiful location. Great cast of characters to spend a little time with in the summer.

While the writing was not terrible, the trouble is that while the author had a lot to say, there really is no story here. A 40-year-old woman loses her mother and is so distraught that she cannot get beyond it. The setting is Spain and all the character talks about is seducing men. The only interesting part was the epilog which was very articulate and summed up thing well.

A great exploration of the attention economy throughout history. It was a little slow in the first half, but that could just be my extremely deteriorated attention span. Last two chapters on the current state of affairs are excellent.

This was an interesting look at Russian life set in the early 1900’s. Though one sister is unhappily married, another will marry a man she does not love just to be married, one sister is in college and worried about the future, and a brother who is gambling away their home, they all share the belief that life would be better in the city than in the country and there is a circulating feeling that life may be, should be better in the future. A good read.