{I've Been Reading} Every Living Thing - The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life

 

Every Living Thing - The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life Jason Roberts 

This is the story of Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon, two scientists who were determined to document all life on earth and who both vastly underestimated how many plants and animals existed. Based on the book's description, I had hoped that the author would spend more time on the search for specimens.  It's long and a bit dry, covering the lives of Linnaeus and Buffon in exhausting detail. There were some sections I found absolutely fascinating,  but overall I slogged through it. 

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

Imagine two men living in a vast greenhouse, the only structure that survived after a fire took the adjoining manor house. Living walls separate the rooms. Humidity is taking a toll on everything, especially the grand piano. Gregor deals in exotic plants.  Simon creates whimsical taxidermy in his basement retreat. Once Gregor realizes that his newly imported sample of fungus seems to be intelligent and capable of movement, he sets out to see how much it's capable of. Before he's done, he's created Chloe, a walking, talking, sometimes angry combination of plants. Something about old glass greenhouses has always intrigued and fascinated me and the setting of this book was incredibly vivid. The story itself is hauntingly beautiful and it left me wondering if the parts I found most horrifying were what the author intended. It wasn't the grisly deaths that got to me, it was the awful lack of consent. (And one particularly explicit scene near the end of the book.) 

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

This creepy folk horror is set in 1901, told through the writings of Ada Byrd, a school teacher who has accepted a post in a small town to escape the scandal that caused her to leave her last teaching position. Ada is fascinated by the owl skull and feathers and bits of stuff she finds in the woods. Not every thing she finds out there, though, is natural. The thing waiting for her in the woods is unsettling, but I found myself more horrified by the idea of how powerles Ada was against the members of her new community. The unpleasant depictions of pregnancy and childbirth also got to me. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} The Fortune Teller

 The Fortune Teller by Natasha Boydell 

Not long after a fortune teller promises Simone she'll meet the love her life but their marriage will end in tragedy after five years, she does meet the perfect guy. She plunges into the relationship, ignoring the ridiculous warning, but it never leaves her thoughts and as time passes she becomes more and more certain that disaster is looming. Watching Simone unravel as time passes made this one a sad but compelling read. There are some intriguing twists near the end, but the last bit left me confused. 

Murder Takes Root by Rosie Sandler 

Steph and her big dog, Mouse, are on to a new job at Ashford Manor where she'll be restoring the historic gardens to something resembling their original design. I enjoyed the second Gardener Mystery. The bond between Steph and her dog (the only two characters to return from the first book) is absolutely adorable. Her work in the garden is fascinating. The mystery itself is a unique one. I do miss the unusual setting of the first book and it looks like the third will be set in a new place with new characters. 

One by One by Freida McFadden 

Three couples are driving to a week long getaway at a luxurious cabin when they take a wrong turn and the mini van breaks down. With no cell phone reception, they set off on foot and before dark they're hopelessly turned around. Soon, one of them is dead. Then another.... I started reading this one late one night and made it half way through before bed time, then had to get through a busy day before I could pick it up again. I had an absolute blast trying to figure out which of the four surviving characters could be the bad guy. I'm still not sure how they got so lost so quickly. If the dirt road you're on dead ends, wouldn't you backtrack to the main road? It seems obvious that they weren't going the right way, but these characters didn't know how to pee behind a tree so I was willing to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride. 

The Perfect Village by J M Hewitt 

A woman who lives alone and is no longer allowed to foster children finds a boy and girl next to the centuries old well behind her property and brings them home. The children are filthy and refuse to speak. Their skin is a troubling shade of green. The first few chapters of this book left me extremely confused and wondering whether the children were real or a figment of Vivacia's imagination. Based on the cover and description, I expected this to be a typical domestic thriller, but things in the gated community are a lot more complex, especially after a heavy rainstorm floods the old well and a body literally bubbles to the surface. It's definitely different and left me trying to figure a lot of things out. 

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

{I've Been Reading} Three Fudges and a Baby

Three Fudges and a Baby by Nancy Coco

Can fudge maker Allie McMurphy clear the name of her best friend's midwife before the baby is born? It's not looking good, since Hannah was found holding the gun and the baby is already overdue. The Candy Coated mystery series is everything I love about cozies, with an interesting setting I'm not likely to ever get to in real life and a fun cast of characters. Although I've only read a few of this twelve book series, there was just enough backstory to keep me from feeling lost.  I was seriously tempted to put this book down just long enough to make one on fudge recipes included between the chapters, but the plot kept me reading.  I definitely want to try making some fudge and  want to spend more time with Allie and her friends in her historic hotel on Mackinac island. 

Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke 

The Record Shop Mystery Series keeps getting better and better! In this one, a killer strikes during a violent storm that knocks out the power and phones. The victim is an investor who had his eyes on Sip and Spin Records and was already involved with a number of local businesses, leaving some of his new partners thrilled and others unhappy...maybe angry enough to want to do away with him? The blocked roads and lack of communication really complicate things, making this one a slightly more suspenseful than the usual cozy. It's set in a tight knit community with a bunch of likeable characters and the quirky names of the shop's coffee creations add to the fun.

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. 

{I've Been Reading} The Playgroup

 The Playgroup by Leah Mercer

The Nest, a community run nursery co-op, should have been where little Florence was safest. Bur a responsible adult made a mistake and now the little girl is in the hospital with life threatening injuries. Accusations are flying. The depiction of the accident itself is absolutely chilling and although I was concerned to see that the chapters alternate between four different women, that didn't turn out to be a problem and it was always clear who I was reading about at the moment. All of the women are desperate to save their own hides, no matter who they have to blame to keep their own names clear. Everyone is hiding dark secrets and would do just about anything to keep them. This one is a fast paced page turner. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies.