Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

by Carol3 Comments
Janet Evanovich can be hit and miss for me. I'm not sure which category Curious Minds falls into. I like Knight and Moon. He is over the top eccentric, but cute and funny. Moon follows the rules, usually, but ends of having to go along with Knight. They are a good couple, and the dialogue at times is laugh-out-loud funny, but I'm not quite buying the sparks yet. I think for the pair of them, this was a good first novel. I think I'll enjoy them in later books, as long as the plot is a bit better. The whole conspiracy in this one was just over the top. Brothers working together to steal money from the Federal Reserve and more or less control all the world's economy, I think. The conspiracy reaches into the NSA and the Supreme Court. Maybe something like that could happen, but it stretched believability for me. It's just too big for the wacko and side kick to deal with...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Fox Girl

by Carol1 Comment
I'm still in fox story mode. "The Fox Girl" was retold by James Riordan in Korean Folktales, 1994. It's a sad, bloody story. There was once a wealthy man who had a son but no daughter. So badly did he want a daughter that he spent much of his time praying at temples and consulting fortunetellers. Finally, his prayers were answered and a girl was born: she was the apple of her fathers’ eye and could do no wrong. When she was fifteen years old, the girl went mushrooming on the mountainside and was so engaged in her task that she did not notice the gathering shadows of dusk. Meanwhile, at home, her parents were becoming anxious, and they formed a search-party to comb the hills. However, just as they reached the top of a ridge they spotted the girl through the gloom in the valley below. Her father was much relieved. ‘Where have you bee, my dear?’ asked her father ‘We were...
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The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle

by Carol1 Comment
I was going running/walking at the park the other night and didn't have anything to listen to. I found "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" on Audible's Mystery Channel and it was just the perfect length for how long I wanted to spend exercising. I have been a Sherlock Holmes fan forever, but I don't remember reading this one before. That doesn't necessarily mean I haven't though - I don't have the best memory. What seems like an open and shut case - James McCarthy killed his father - of course isn't and it's up to Sherlock Holmes to prove James' innocence. There's not much action, but we do see Holmes doing a thorough crime scene investigation, even making use of his knowledge of tobacco ash. I guessed who the killer was, although I didn't know all the ins and outs of why. For a short story, the motive is pretty complicated and I enjoyed the solution. Holmes softer side comes through a bit...
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#ReadersWorkouts 8/9

by Carol6 Comments
Here are my steps for the week. I didn't come anywhere near my goal of 9,000 steps a day. :(   My current plan is to do cardio on Tuesday (60 mins), upper body on Wednesday, cardio on Thursday (60 mins), a total body workout on Friday, cardio on Saturday (60+ mins), and a core workout on Monday. I'm also trying to do a 10 minute-ish Pilates workout each day. Tuesday - 22 mins Pilates Wednesday - 10 mins Pilates, 10 mins arms Thursday - ran/walked for an hour at the park. Saturday - took the dog for a walk Sunday - went fishing I usually listen to a book while I'm walking, jogging, whatever. This week I finished A Midsummer’s Equation by Keigo Higashino, Murder in a Wish-Book House by Wayne Zurl, and The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I started The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. My new goal (which shouldn't really have to be a goal at all, but I have a bit of a sweet tooth) is to avoid...
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Murder in a Wish-Book House by Wayne Zurl

by Carol1 Comment
Murder in a Wish-Book House is a novella that's heavy on plot, light on character, but is definitely enjoyable and a good little mystery. Sam Jenkins is a police chief in small town Tennessee, but he used to be a New York detective so he's got plenty of experience, friends on call and a bit of an attitude - all of which help him out here. The narrator does a great job with Sam, giving him a bit of that New York accent. At first the mystery seems simple enough, but there's a bit of a twist that worked well. Sam is used to knowing what's going on, he's good at reading people and tough to fool, but this time around someone gets the better of him. There's action, blood, some good dialogue. A lot's crammed into this hour of audio. It's available on the Audible mystery channel, free for members. I think it makes a nice introduction to the series, even though...
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Thursday’s Tale: Enough Is Enough!

by Carol1 Comment
I've got another fox tale today. In this one, they are mischievous, but also a bit magical. Major Counselor Yasumichi's mansion had many foxes that live in the house and grounds. They were always making mischief but didn't do any harm to Yasumichi just ignored it. But over the years they became naughtier and naughtier and finally he became fed up and decided that enough was enough. Yasumichi announced a fox hunt for the next day. The servants were to bring bows and arrows, sticks, or whatever weapons they could devise, and flush out every last fox. They would surround the house, and every fox that showed itself would be killed. Rather a major change in attitude I think. Couldn't they have just decided to scare them away from the mansion, not kill them. Don't worry though, these are foxes. Near dawn Yasumichi had a dream. A white-haired old man, looking rather like an aged servant, was kneeling under the tangerine tree in...
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