9th in a popular series

I'm so lucky that I get the opportunity to read books before they are published!  This particular book will be the 9th in a popular cozy series, and fans and newcomers alike will be clamoring for this when it's released.  The plotting is great and the characters are as engaging as ever!

lethal white By: Robert Galbraith

A twisted tale for Strike and Robin to unravel...which is a welcome relief for them, as trying to untangle their own lives is more complicated and in some cases, less dangerous!  This series is so well written, and the characters are amazing.  Lethal White is a great addition and a great read!

Face It By: Debbie Harry

An absolutely amazing artist...an absolutely amazing life...an absolutely amazing book! I always thought that Debbie Harry was cool, and after reading this riveting memoir, she is so much cooler than I ever thought!!

Find Me By: Andre Aciman

A stunning follow-up to Call Me By Your Name.  Set years after CMBYN, we get to catch up with Dad, Elio and Oliver, in their lives now.  If CMBYN can be said to be about young love, then Find Me can be said to be about love as you age.  As we get older we tend to find out who we are; we find out what it is we want out of life and love; we find out we we're happy to let go of and what we aren't willing to give up. As we get older and we discover the above, we are able to say to ourselves and to others, Find Me!

A Tale of Magic... By: Chris Colfer

An origin tale of the Fairy Council, and an allegory for the life of the different.  Brilliantly written in Colfer's usual breezy, witty style, this tale will take you on an adventure through the Southern Kingdom and the In-Between, and allows fans of The Land of Stories series to meet the Fairy Godmother, Mother Goose, the Enchantress and other members of the Fairy Council as children. As his readers have aged, so to has Colfer's books-filled with life lessons and some hard truths, he doesn't speak down to his readers, instead he couches issues in language and situations that grow with them.

Mycroft and Sherlock By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse

Another riveting adventure of Mycroft Holmes and his best friends Douglas and Huan...oh, and his little brother Sherlock!  What I love about this series is that it's a smartly written mystery staring Mycroft were the reader is given a more in depth look at who he is, while at the same time, shedding light on how Sherlock becomes the Sherlock Holmes that we all know.  Fascinating bits of history pepper this story of two parallel investigations that meet in a heart pounding conclusion.

The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third By: Neil Patrick Harris

I adore this series.  I love the diversity in the cast of characters and I love that each book focuses on a specific member of the Misfits, yet doesn't lose the thread of the over-arching story line.  Great fun and a great read!

Crashing Heat By: Richard Castle

While I enjoyed this one as much as the others in the series, I did find it to be a little less gritty, as compared to the others.  This is not a good, nor a bad thing, but it just read a little differently from the others, as if a different writer was in charge of this one.

Follies of God: Tennessee Williams and te Women of the Fog By: James Grissom

I have always been fascinated by Tennessee Williams and his work.  He is my favorite playwright.  This book is endlessly fascinating, informative, revelatory and enjoyable readable.  It's an enticing look at the women (and some men) who influenced Tennessee, and thus his work, and whom Tennessee influenced.  This book starts with the author writing to Tennessee for advice on writing, and becomes a quest by the author, at the behest of Tennessee, to contact certain people to find out if he matters(ed). It's a stunning read and accomplishment!

The Bodies in the Library By: Marty Wingate

A fun and well plotted cozy that pays homage to Christie and the other Golden Age writers.  Very creative-this will be a great series!

The Chalk Artist By: Allegra Goodman

The synopsis on the dust jacket led me to believe that this would be a good book...this was misleading...it is GREAT book!  Aside form the fact that I knew where (and in a lot of instances have visited) most of the locations in this book, it is a lovingly crafted character study.  The main characters all have a gift, what they choose to do with that gift throughout the book is what sets the action in motion.  How they discover their gift, or don't, how it hinders or enhances themselves and those around them is what keeps the reader engrossed.  Even the supporting characters follow this same path.  We each have our own unique gift, whether it's something tangible or something less so, like a personality trait; and these gifts affect people whether we know it or not.  Just a splendid read!

The Other Side of Everything By: Lauren Doyle Owens

I really liked this different take on a traditional mystery!  It was more of a mystery told from the point of view of the people around the violent events and directly (or indirectly) affected by them.  Interesting characters and plot points.  A surprising read, yet thoroughly engrossing read!

Our Kind of Cruelty By: Araminta Hall

An exceptionally written, but deeply disturbing look at a severely disturbed young man and his obsession with a woman that he can't see as anything but his.