A series of books that I am reading out of order about the cases of Inspector Ian Rutledge. I do like his writing and I do like the other book that I have read. The first book I picked up was a flashback to Ian Rutledge before he left England and fought in the trenches during WWI. And this book (#2) is Ian as he is after the war, as that is how the series began.

I just don't remember what this book was about. So catch me later...I am going back to the beginning and starting over.

This book plunges one right into the thick of the author's mania, indeed, I felt almost manic after reading the prologue. It was a quite harrowing read. It is a testament to the overwhelming need for better mental health care, finding the right doctors, therapists, medications, and support. As a mother with a son with his own mental health and addiction problems I found my sympathizing a bit with his father. It is hard to tell if the author's impressions are reality based or mostly based on paranoid delusions. His father may have been gruff and stand-off ish but he continued unfailing to give his son support--a roof over his head, money, time, effort etc. even during the repeated times when the author subjected the man to nothing but physical and verbal abuse.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I wish I had realized that this was a continuation of a previous book, The Winter Sea. While I found the mind reading psychometry parts a little hard to believe--I went with it for the sake of the story. I love reading about little known parts of history and since (Outlander) a history buff for the Jacobites. I also do a fair amount of "Royal Reading" primarily about the English monarchy. By far my favorite part of this book was the several paragraphs at the end where the author discusses her nonfictional characters and her research. --Sometimes in books there are simply too many plot devices thrown into one book and I think in this case a lot of the plot devices got short shrifted. It is a book in which events are strung together but nothing really happens. And by the end I thought Rob was a bit shady in his treatment of Nicola. 

Of all the books in my "fire" category I had been looking forward to this one the most. Don't get me wrong this is a very readable book but I guess I have been down this particular pathway one too many times. I get it the dark ages are called the dark ages for very good reasons. This book read like a newpaper rag publication--flipping from one sensationalist gossipy historical tidbit to the next, the gorier, more gruesome the better. I did like learning more about Martin Luther and Magellean. And he has a good for further reading section at the end.

This is an Inspector Irene Huss investigation novel. Yet another series that I am reading out of order--this time the fault of a friend who supplies me with titles as she reads them--also out of order-when she gets them from her cousin. So far this has not been a problem as the author usually concentrates her writing more on the case rather than family back stories. Rather dark but it is Swedish Noir after all, a good tale. This one also featured a bit more family life and with no spoilers it was nice to finally read about the incident that caused her huband's difficulties and have one of her daughter's in tow for a few scenes.

This is the second book I have read by this author, who is writing a series around the cases overseen by Detective Inspector Jooma Linna--Swedish Noir at its best.

A book I wanted to like way more than I did. Don't get me wrong--it is vey readable--and an interesting story. I always like learning a little bit of history. In this case, the art thievery by Nazi's during WWII. 

I love Anita Shreve. I used to read her books all the time but somehow she must have fallen off my radar. I am so glad to have found her again. This is a marvelous book and reading time well spent.

This book is part of the Gabriel Allon series (#5) and as usual I like these books. But apparently I am intent of randomly reading through this series, reading each one that randomly stumbles across my path, often years apart. Always think I'm going seek out and polish off this series but as yet I never have...

A very unusual book. It travels from the United States to Italy and from the present day to WWII. From the horrors of the Holocaust, the plight of the Jews in Italy, to the weirdness of the human brain. I like a thriller with a history lesson thrown into the mix.

An enjoyable fast paced read. Likeable characters. I often find "heroes" to be too self righteous for my taste and don't get me started on the bad guys bullets always miss and yet even rusty old operative's bullets alway hit their mark. Must the good guys ALWAYS win???

I really enjoyed this book and will most likely try to read more by this author. At least try-- as she mostly writes historical romances and that just isn't my normal reading preference. But I must say this one had me hooked. I love books that switch back and forth in time, I love books about WWII and the London Blitz and books that have an intriquing mystery. The romance element in this instance was kept to a minimum so that worked well in keeping me reading.

I've had this memoir on my TBR shelf for awhile now. I'm glad I finally read it. It is a book that is hard to put down and her story continues to resonate with me and my own brain story. No need to go into details but I know what it is like to walk around in my daily life managing an undiagnosable (maybe) condition. I am definitely reading her next book.

I had previously read "The Girl on the Train" and really enjoyed it. I think I liked this one even better. I particularly enjoyed how she entangled her characters and wove many different elements into her plot. I will definitely read more from this author.

This is the first Celeste Ng book that I have read. I will read her other books and watch the Hulu miniseries based on this book. I particularly enjoyed the artistic element and the descriptions of how Mia developed her artwork for her photographs. I have a tendency to think other artists (I paint in watercolor) just slap paint down or take a random shot and these things turn out wonderously beautiful. It is nice to realize that it is not only me who struggles for their art.