WILD WEDNESDAY?!! Who thought that up as a weekly theme day? Oh, right, it was me, what was I thinking with that? Hump day is too crazy to add in any kind of a ‘WILD’ post. I’m taking it down a notch to MILD WEDNESDAY for today with two extra funny mysteries: Double Dip by Gretchen Archer and Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp.
I’m knee deep in both of these and having a blast. My favorite books are always the ones where the characters act & talk like they should, and both these authors nail it every time. I feel like the books really happened and they are just relaying the story back to the reader. Very much ‘hey, girlfriend, let me give you the scoop on all that mess that happened’. If you dig that kind of vibe in your books, Archer and Sharp deliver. I can’t wait to finish these so I can read more!
Now back to my 5-star reads so far this year:
10. What Ho, Automaton by Chris Dolley
Wow, there’s Chris Dolley again-twice on the 5-star list. I devoured P.G. Wodehouse back in the day-Jeeves & Wooster are so over the top I couldn’t get enough. Chris Dolley channels Wodehouse and absolutely NAILS it in this series. Using a steampunk setting and naming the characters Reeves & Worcester is hilarious-wonderful, funny and includes actual mysteries that get solved! Fantastic!
9. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn
This lovely little book was my first 5-star of the year way back in January. The beginning part of the book is quite detailed and takes a bit to get started on the actual plot of the Queen slipping out of the palace, whence adventures ensue! Her staff must find her without alerting ..gasp, the media!, that she is gone. Very sweet with subplots that put us in the minds & hearts of her faithful staff. I very well could believed this book actually happened so if you meet a no-nonsense lady on a train, mayhap you should be respectful and offer her your seat and your cup of tea!
8. Kill Fee by Owen Laukkanen
I wish I had read the first two in this series before this one because there are spoilers. That said, this is a killer book! It works as a standalone novel and after a couple of months to forget the details I intend to go back and read the other books. As this one opens, State Investigator Kirk Stevens and his colleague, FBI Agent Carla Windermere are enjoying their Saturday afternoon when they witness an assassination and get a look at the shooter. Their investigation uncovers a secret murder-for-hire website. Who is behind it all and why? This book does turn dark so expect some uncomfortable moments as Laukkanen gives the reader plot twists galore. Very reminiscent of John Sandford and highly recommended.
7. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
First in a brilliant time travel series. Intrepid historians go back & forth through time righting wrongs, encountering various historical figures and drinking more than just ‘quite a bit’ of tea. A bit convoluted at times but, hey, it’s time travel. Just stay calm and keep reading, all loose ends will be wrapped up…until book 2! Fans of Connie Willis will LOVE this one.
6. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Odd Thomas was a re-read that just gets better every time through. Dean Koontz scares the living daylights out of me! Seriously, every book that comes out by him I snatch up, read the first couple of chapters and then put down far far away from me!
Odd Thomas, though, I just adore in every book, every time. Odd is one of those characters that are so well written, so simple on the surface; I mean, seriously, a fry cook? Spongebob Squarepants is a fry cook! But Odd is so complex under the surface, with his ‘odd’ abilities and his friends, and his MOTHER! yikes!! Koontz writes every Odd book with such simple prose that is so disarmingly stark when in fact it is so rich and lyrical that it just begs to be read aloud. Yep, I’m a fan!!
So, tomorrow will be the TOP 5 on the 5 STAR LIST. Read a little something in the meantime!!