Hello, and Happy July! What's everyone reading this month?

I finished Dissolution by C.J. Sansom last evening. It was fairly good.  I'm still not a huge historical fiction fan.  Sansom's stuff is always highly recommended, so perhaps I will never be a historical fiction lover.  I started Deadwood by Pete Dexter, but it was getting late for me, and I was getting sleepy, so I only got a few pages in.  I'm sure it'll make me want to re-watch the show "Deadwood," which is one of my all-time favorite television series - most likely in the #1 spot.  I haven't started a new audio book yet.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer so far! 

I just finished Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose. I really enjoy the science aspects of this series, I always end up with plenty of things to Google after each book! I could take or leave the "will they/won't they" romance, but it's a series I'll keep reading. Starting The Rose Code by Kate Quinn next. 

Read News of the World: A Novel by Paulette Jiles, a National Book Award finalist, for the second time.  And, finished A Cruel Deception (Bess Crawford, Bk 11) by Charles Todd, easy relaxing read.  Not as tense as some of the series is but an entertaining read anyway.

I finished The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton. Very good set during Spanish American War. Beautiful cover art too

I just finished Deadwood by Pete Dexter.  Pretty good.  I was a big fan of the show "Deadwood," and I've read up on a lot of the history of that city in the time period of Seth Bullock, Sol Star, Al Swearingen, Wild Bill Hickcock, Calamity Jane, etc.  This book had all the usual characters but told the story with a slightly different twist and mostly through the persepective of Charley Utter, Wild Bill's friend. 

Tonight I will start Waterfall by Mary Caanova, which I had never heard of but found in a local bookstore.  It just came out this year.  It's by a Minnesota woman and set in northern Minnesota in 1922.  I've never read a book set in that time period that takes in Minnesota, so I am kind of excited to read yet another "local" book to me this year.  The first was Stillwater by Nicole Helget.  

Not currently listening to an audio book but since we are headed to Wisconsin this weekend, and I will be in the car for awhile, I will likely start something. 

Read Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson, 7/15/2021, a historical fiction defined by the author as historical fantasy.  There actually were no thieftakers in Boston in 1765 although they were emerging in England.  The hero of this novel is Ethan Kaille, a conjurer who uses his talents to solve robberies never murder at least until this situation.  The unexplained death of a young beautiful woman from a wealthy family draws him into this case because when he examines the body he knows that she died because of a killing spell.  It's a well written story with conjurers dueling in the end that almost leads to Ethan's death.  Well done.  4.5 stars.

Out of Easy by Ruta Sepetys, 7/17/2021, 4 stars.  Some books have so many sad experiences for the characters.  This one certainly does.  Josie Moraine has an alcoholic mother who loves wealth and fame in whatever form it comes, even in gangsters.  She steals from her daughter time and again and denies being her mother except when she has something to gain.  Josie is lovely, bright and works hard to be different from her mother.  Above all she wants to leave New Orleans and attend Smith College.  Is this a dream beyond all expections?  Read this story to see what happens to Josie, how she survives a threat from a mobster seeking her mother, if she can find her way to love, and whether or not she gets to attend Smith College.

I finished The Venice Sketechbook by Rhys Bowen. I enjoyed it a lot. Set in 1928,  WWII and 2001.  Very good job of tying time periods together, and lovely discussions of Venice. 

Hello!  I just finished a quick Audible "read," Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman.  I found this to be a charming book - particulary because I listened to it and there were a lot of French phrases thrown in.  I could listen to French being spoken for hours and hours! It was another book a bit light on dialogue.  Much more "train of thought" by Lydia Cassatt, the sister of artist Mary Cassatt and the subject of many of her paintings.  I loved this imagining of the relationship between Mary Cassatt and her ill-fated sister.  It was sweet and a little poignant.  I'm not sure what I'll listen to next.  

I started reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

I finished Waterfall by Mary Casanova last night.  I found this book in my local book store.  It's by a Minnesota author I had never heard of and it was set in northern Minnesota, on Rainy Lake, in the early 1920s.  It was okay.  Nothing much exciting happened.  More like a coming of age story of a young woman in the 1920s.  The book touched on some issues of the day but never dove very deep into them.  Anyway, I was happy to support a local book store and a local author. Next I am going to read The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. 

Carolyn - I absolutely loved Lonesome Dove!  I never thought I'd be interested in Westerns, but in my quest to read some more "classic" HF novels, I read it.  Now I have a couple of other McMurty books on my shelf!

Years ago I read a few of McMurtry's books and enjoyed them all but especially Lonesome Dove!!!

Finish Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd, 3 stars.  Pretty good mystery with lots of twists and turns.  The person I thought was the murderer wasn't and there was another murderer who accounted for earlier deaths.  The murderer who call Scotland Yard to the fens was misled and the people who died were not responsible for the deaths for which he was seeking revenge.  However, I felt that the tale was slow in some spots.  Hence the three star rating rather than 4 stars.

I've never read Lonesome Dove but I did enjoy News of the World.  Perhaps I should put LD on my TBR.

I am reading the Lonesome Dove series in chronological order, not publication order, which in my opinion is the best way to read them.  At this point I feel like Gus and Call are old friends.  :)

I finally started a new audio book, St. Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters.  I realize it's like the 4th book in the series, and I haven't read the prior ones, but I don't care.  LOL!  I am really enjoying it!  Perhaps good ol' Brother Cadfael will make me like historical mysteries.  

Plowing my way through The Lost Apothecary, partly because I am really enjoying it and partly because I am reading it on my new Kindle Paperwhite.  Why did I wait so long to get one of these things???  I mean, I've had a Kindle Fire for years and read books on the Kindle App there, but I read outside a lot and reading on the tablet was so hard.  Since I am only buying new books in digital form (sadly am going to read through my large collection of physical books and not add to it), I wanted a better digital reading experience.  This Paperwhite is the bomb! 

Finished The Lost Apothecary last night.  Must be a record for me.  Finished it in 3 days!  I normally don't love books with a dual timeline, and the present day part of this one wasn't my favorite part of the book, but I really enjoyed it.  I recommend!