For the first summer in I think forever, I did not book any weeks off for vacation. Instead, Dave and I and momma waited until September to jump in the car and head “down home.” Good things are worth waiting for! It’s been a terrible summer for Nova Scotia with record-breaking fires, floods, and hurricane rains. But oh my heart, through it all it remains one of the best places on Earth. Beautiful, welcoming, and full of people I adore. Tha gaol agam air Alba Nuadh. Tha e cho àlainn.
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield. My teen son ripped through this novel in a week while working full-time in his summer job and keeping up with karate and myriad other activities. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so hooked. I picked it up next and was every bit as preoccupied. Absolutely riveting. Great action. mystery, and some for-real gasp out loud moments. Is there anything Chris Hadfield can’t do??
Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose by TA Willberg. The second in a series, this novel wasn’t quite as entrancing as the first. Possibly because it focuses less on revealing the peculiar, magical underground world of London in which Marian Lane finds herself working and more on a somewhat typical mystery. Still quite enjoyable, make no mistake.
My Murder by Katie Williams. What a gripping read! A woman is murdered by a serial killer, then brought back to life – sort of. She is a clone with transferred memories from her previous self. But as she starts to uncover information about her own murder, things just aren’t adding up. So, so good.
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah. A quietly lovely novel about a young woman who immigrates from war-torn Lebanon to cold, lonely, far away Montreal with her small son in the wake of her husband’s kidnapping and (likely) death. It was available a staff pick, I think, in the Libby app for my library. Caught my attention somehow, anyway, and I’m so glad it did.
The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu. At the beginning of this promising series, Ropa is a 15-year-old ghostalker of Zimbawean heritage in “post-Catastrophe” Edinburgh. Ghosts hire her to give convey messages to their surviving relatives. Her magic is considered to the lowest kind and is disdained by the great schools of magic. Events soon lead her to an underground library and she is drawn into higher-stakes magic than she’s ever imagined. Highly enjoyable, and I look forward to more.
The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John. I read this entire novel with the sneaking suspicion that I’d read it before. The title and a couple of plot elements seemed familiar – a character named “Amythest” (sic) and something about a watch – but I could not remember anything further. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. As it turns out, it was for the second time. I first read it in July of 2020 and thought it was a fabulous beach read then too. At least I’m consistent. Let’s see if it sticks with me this time!
Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu. Yeah, I always do this. I find a new-to-me author or series that I enjoy and tell myself that I will pace my reading of them - then I don’t. Mere days after reading the first, I found myself deep in the second instalment. It did not let me down. Now, a break. Probably.
