Blackberry Creek Home Arts: A Day of Sewing

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Books Read in '2024

Billy O'Gallaghan: Dead House
Written somewhat in the style of Daphne du Maurier, but with an added touch of the supernatural, this book entranced me from the first page. The setting, an isolated cottage on the foggy coast of County Cork Ireland, sets up a spooky atmosphere in which a young artist comes in contact with an ancient evil. (****)
Karin Slaughter: Pretty Girls
More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia's teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two have been estranged since then. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak. Old woulds are ripped open when Claire's husband is killed. Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it. (****)
Michael Connelly: The Poet
A cunning and savage serial killer is at large. His targets: homicide cops, each haunted by a murder case he couldn't crack. The killer's calling card: a quotation from the works of Edgar Allan Poe. His latest victim is reporter Jack McEvoy's brother. McEvoy inserts himself into the investigation and risks his career and even his life to bring the killer to justice. (****)
Dennis Lehane: Gone, Baby, Gone
The tough Boston neighborhood of Dorchester is no place for the innocent or the weak. Its streets are littered with broken families, hearts, and dreams. Now, one of its youngest is missing. Private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro risk everything, including their relationship and their sanity to find a little girl lost. (****)
Stephen King: You Like It Darker
A dozen stories by one of the most prolific and talented writers of our time. It even contains a sequel to CUJO entitled "Rattlesnakes." (****)
Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. Ripley
The excellent book on which the 1999 movie starring Matt Damon and the and the more recent Netflix series is based. The book is excellent, as are both he film and series. (*****)
Kristin Hannah: Night Road
Maybe her best book. Jude Farraday finds that even a helicopter mom can't always protect her children. A tear-jerker for sure. Keep the tissues handy. (*****)
Clemence Michallon: The Quiet Tenant
Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life. (***)
Shanessa Glum: A River of Crows
In 1988, Sloan Hadfield's brother Ridge went fishing with their father and never came home. Their father was arrested and charged with murder. Ridge's body was never recovered, and Sloan's mother slowly descended into madness, insisting her son was still alive as a crow. Good books (****)
Stacy Willingham: All the Dangerous Things
One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally. (****)
Ariel Lawton: The Frozen River
1789 Maine. Midwife Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body of a man who has been entombed in the frozen Kennebec River and determine cause of death. This is not only an intriguing murder mystery, but also a snapshot of lives that women were subjected to in young America. For instance, a woman couldn't testify at trial without the permission of her husband or father. I loved this book, but it disturbed me. (****)
Hannah Tinti: The Good Thief
Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. (***)
Mary Kubica: The Good Girl
One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. Talk about your surprise ending. At least it was to me. In fact, I wasn't sure how it ended until I read the last few pages a second time. Actually the every last sentence of the book makes it clear. This is the first book I've read byt his author, but it won't be the last. (****)
Simone St. James: Murder Road
A young newlywed couple on their way to their honeymoon get involved in a decades-old murder mystery after they take a wrong turn onto a dark and spooky road. (***)
Dennis Lehane: Since We Fell
After a very public mental breakdown, Rachel Childs, once a tenacious, globe-trotting journalist, now lives as a virtual shut-in. In all other respects, however, she enjoys an ideal life with an ideal husband. Until a chance encounter on a rainy afternoon causes that ideal life to fray. As does Rachel’s marriage. As does Rachel herself. Sucked into a conspiracy thick with deception, violence, and possibly madness, Rachel must find the strength within herself to conquer unimaginable fears and mind-altering truths. (***)
Dennis Lehane: The Drop
Lehane returns to the streets of Boston for this love story wrapped in a crime story wrapped in a journey of faith. (***)
Coben, Harlan: I Will Find You
David Burroughs was once a devoted father to his three-year-old son Matthew, until one night when David woke suddenly to discover Matthew had been murdered. Five years later, David having been wrongly accused and convicted of the murder, is serving time in prison. He has lost interesting in everything, including the will to live. Until, that is, his ex-wife's sister shows him a photograph. (****)
McFadden, Freida: The Housemaid
Young, jobless, broke Millie is living in her car when she snags a job as a live-in housekeeper for a well-to-do family. Millie thinks she has hit the jackpot until she arrives at her first day and finds nothing is what she had thought. Her employer Nina is a vindictive gaslighter and the 8-year-old daughter is a small copy of her mom. The only normal person in the household seems to be the husband Andy. If only Millie had followed her instincts and left that house immediately. But she didn't. Twisty as an amusement park roller coaster. (****)
Wallace, Daniel: Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician
Henry Walker, once the "greatest magician in the world," has been reduced to a minstrel show–like novelty act in a traveling circus. Henry's story, told by a succession of narrators—including members of the circus and a private detective—begins during the Depression, when Henry's family fell on hard times. While down and out, Henry meets and apprentices with the devilish magician Mr. Sebastian. Henry learns the secrets of magic, but his ambition and ability are crimped when his beloved sister, Hannah, disappears. The truths of Henry's and Mr. Sebastian's identities and the fate of Hannah are gradually revealed, and what appears to be a Faustian tale of a pact with the devil turns out to be something more tragic. (****)
McFadden, Freida: The Ex
Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. And then the twists begin. This book has so many twists and turns, you might get dizzy reading it. One of the best thrillers yet. (****)
Sager, Riley: The Last Time I Lied: A Novel
Four girls share a cabin at the exclusive Nightingale summer camp. During the night three of them disappear without a trace. Fifteen years later, Emma, the sole survivor of the four friends, returns to Camp Nightingale to teach art of the young campers. But her real purpose is finding what happened to her three friends on that long ago summer night. (***)
Swarthout, Glendon: The Homesman: A Novel
A devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s American West. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of: the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by a life of bitter hardship. A “homesman” must be found to escort a handful of them back East to a sanitarium. When none of the county’s men steps up, the job falls to Mary Bee Cuddy—ex-teacher, spinster, indomitable and resourceful. (*****)
Macmillan, Gilly: What She Knew: A Novel
Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes. I was completely surprised when the perpetrator was revealed. (****)
Stainton, Jack: You're Family Now
Matt Walker has spent his entire life chasing the next job and the next relationship. Life was slowly drifting him by. Until one evening, in a hotel bar, he meets the quiet and unassuming Julia who clues him in to the perfect job opportunity. Not only did the subsequent interview provide him with his dream job, it's also where he meets the love of his life. All he has to do is love her family. (****)

Books Read in 2023

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

A Day of Sewing

After about 48 hours of mind-numbing fatigue and feeling like my body was on fire, I have felt much better today. I even got a lot of sewing done. I've been working on the "Give Thanks" banner for the church narthex.