Month: April 2012

Re-release of Jane Langton’s Homer Kelly mysteries…

/ drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Have you read Jane Langton’s books? I’ve loved Ms. Langton’s books since I was a little girl, especially  her Hall Family children’s books. Jane’s “Homer Kelly” cozy mysteries follow the exploits of a mild-mannered Harvard professor who stumbles upon and solves mysteries, often in the New England countryside. While I was in Hawaii I received an email from an editor at Open Road Media to say that Ms. Langton’s mysteries were being re-released with new e-book covers. You can check out this link with video for more info; it focuses on how Ms. Langton does her own illustrations. Check it out!

http://www.openroadmedia.com/authors/jane-langton.aspx

Thanks, Open Road Media, for letting me know and having me pass the word along! And if you have never read Ms. Langton, and you enjoy mysteries and New England, you are in for a real treat. 🙂

Review: She Can Run by Melinda Leigh

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

         For my beach reading, I downloaded (on Amazon Prime’s read-for-free) “She Can Run”. (Just a note- it looks like this book is currently $1.99 on Kindle). This novel is a thriller of romantic suspense, telling the story of Beth Baker and her two young children as she is running and hiding from her pretty much insane congressman husband (another note- she is formerly widowed and the children are from her first happy marriage). Beth comes to work on a friend of her uncle’s horse farm; however, the friend has died unexpectedly and the farm is now the property of his attractive, young nephew, Jack (who is on leave from the police force after an injury). What follows is a lot of suspense and romance as Beth tries to get her life together and stay alive while her estranged husband seeks her out and a serial killer takes an interest in her.

     I enjoyed this light read and found it perfect beach reading in Hawaii! I always like a character that shares my name, though the book’s Beth was far more svelte/attractive/in danger than I am! 🙂

    

Quick Review: Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Coming out this week, I received this book, the first of the “Grantchester Mysteries” from Net Galley. I just loved the character of Sidney Chambers, a man of the cloth who lives simply yet solves murder and mysteries in his small English town in the 1950’s. These are cozy-type mysteries, similar to Agatha Christie tales, but they are short and there are several different vignettes in this book. I really enjoyed reading them and loved the character of Sidney: attractive and young, yet a bit set in his bachelor ways. There is certainly a lot of directions that this series could take, and I look forward to reading more of it!

Thank you Net Galley and Bloomsbury USA for my copy!

Quick YA Review- Titanic: The Long Night by Diane Hoh

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

From Net Galley I received this teen romance/page-turner, telling the story of several teens on board the Titanic for its ill-fated voyage. Elizabeth is a bored, wealthy teen, who seeks to rebel against the conventions of her family and her class (including an impending engagement). Max, another teen, is also in first-class, but has been living the bohemian life as an itinerant artist in Europe (Elizabeth finds him irresistible). Katie has travelled from Ireland with two brother friends: Patrick and Brian (a bit of a love triangle ensues). More characters are met on board as the ship sails toward that fateful night and disaster.

I really enjoyed this read! I found it quick and easy and with accurate details of the disaster.

Thank you Open Road and Net Galley for my download!

Where Has Beth Been?

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Hello, Readers — I’ve been a bit out of touch lately due to illness and vacation. Right now I’m writing from sunny Hawaii!! I’ve started several books and bagged on finishing three of them. But – most terrifying – I cannot get my Kindle to get internet reception here! I have lots of things to download but I can’t. Fortunately, I had a book already downloaded and I brought a few traditional paper books along (and about six New Yorkers).
In time I’ll have some reviews for you. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the sun (now that I’m well) and next week we are headed back to the States and to Disney!
Happy Reading!!