Book: Voyage of the Damned

 Book: Voyage of the Damned

Author: Frances White

Pages: 464

This is my 70th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces.  To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a 12 day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.  Aboard are the 12 heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.  All except one: Ganymedes Piscero - class clown, slacker, and all-around disappointment.  When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect.  Stuck at sea and surrounded by a powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes's odds of survival are slim.  But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be.  Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

This was a pretty good book.  I will say upfront that it is not normally my type of read - I have been trying to veer away from YA.  But this one started out pretty great.  I liked the main character, Ganymedes  - who goes by Dee - immediately.  His wit and snarkiness spoke to me.  I could not figure out where the mystery was going, but loved the world building from the start.  It did lose me a bit getting closer to the end - starting to become a bit more YA than it started (I know I know), but redeemed itself in the end.  Did have a bit of a twist as well.  Glad I read it.

Stars: 4

Book: Basket Full of Heads

 Book: Basket Full of Heads

Author: Joe Hill

Pages: 187

This is my 69th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

Twisted tale of June Branch - trapped with 4 cunning ciminals who have snatched her boyfriend for deranged reasons of their own.  How she must fight for her life with the help of an impossible 8th century Viking axe that can pass through a man's neck in a single swipe-and leave the severed head still conscious and capable of supernatural speech.  Each disembodied head has a malevolent story of its own to tell, and it isn't long before June finds herself in a desperate struggle to hack through their lies and manipulations - racing to save the man she loves before time runs out.  But is Jun Branch a woman fighting for her life-or a deranged axe murderer with a basketful of paranoid fantasies?  The truth is even more horrifying than a basketful of heads.

This was an interesting graphic novel.  I read anything by Joe Hill, just like I do his dad, and he does not disappoint in the horror genre. It is a wild story with quite the woman hero.  It is a pretty quick read overall, but a lot of great art on each page that will slow you down some.  Well written.

Stars: 4

Book: Edge of Madness

 Book: Edge of Madness

Author: Kyla Stone

Pages: 314

This is my 68th read for the year

What Amazon says:

On the 5th anniversary of his wife Hannah's disappearance, small-town cop Noah Sheridan takes his son Milo to a local ski resort to remember - and to try to heal.  Then the impossible happens.  Everything electronic dies.  The power grid fails.  Cars stall.  Phones go dark.  In an instant, their quiet holiday becomes a desperate fight to stay alive.  When a white out blizzard slams Southwest Michigan, the town is cut off from the rest of civilization, and the rule of law swiftly collapses along with the power grid.  The frigid cold sets in.  Food supplies dwindles.  Strangers turn threatening and neighbors choose sides.  Noah must make impossible choices, forge uneasy alliances, and face enemies unlike any he's ever known.  At the end of the world, he'll have to risk everything to save his son and protect the home he loves.

This was another good book in this series.  The first was about the Hannah character in this book, and this one was about her family.  It back tracks back to the beginning of the EMP and the world being thrown into chaos, but told from the view of her husband and little boy.  It is well written and has a very intense story line.  Hard to read parts of it.  Makes me want to run out and start to hoard food for sure.  This is a 7 book series, and so I plan on continuing.

Stars: 4

Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

 Book: Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel

Author: Graeme Malcom

Pages: 480

This is my 67th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

The newspaper refers to the body only as Victim 2117 - the 2117 refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea.  But to 3 people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and the death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division lead by Detective Carl Morch, into a deeply dangerous - and deeply personal - case.  A case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.  For troubled Danish teen Alexander, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life.  For Ghaalib, one of the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib - Saddam Hussein's infamous prison - the death of Victim 2117 is the 1st step in a terrorist plot years in the making.  And for Department Q's Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past - and the family he assumed was long dead.  With the help of the Department Q squad - Carl, Rose, and Gordon - ASsad must finally confront painful memories from his years in the Middle East in order to find and capture Ghaalib.  But with the clock ticking down to Alexander's first kill and Ghaalib's devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step head of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

Stars: 3

Book: Necessary Lies

 Book: Necessary Lies

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 354

This is my 66th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After losing her parents, 15 year old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on asmall tobacco farm.  As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.  When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County's newest social worker, she doesn't realize just how much her help is needed.  She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband.  But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover secrets of the small farm - secrets much darker than she would have guessed.  Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.  Set in rural Grace County, NC in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, this book tells the story of these 2 young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy.  Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you beleive is right, when everyone is telling you it's wrong?

This was a pretty good book.  I do like Chamberlain's books - I think she is a great writer.  She took a complicated subject and let readers visit it from two sides.  It is a quick read - keeps you wanting to see where it is going for both sides of this story.  Jane was infurating at points, but I see where the author was trying to go with that character.  I did not know much about the sterilizations that were happening in the 40s, so it was a learning curve for me as well.  It has a really nice wrap up ending which I appreciated.

Stars: 4

Book: Shogun

 Book: Shogun

Author: James Clavell

Pages: 1000

This is my 65th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

After Englishman John Blackthoren is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen-Nippon.  Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-tin, Blackthrone must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs, and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom.  As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne's loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.

This was a good book.  It is a Tome that has been on my shelf for awhile.  We watched the show on Disney and it was excellent.  The whole first season is the entire book.  I will admit this one I listened to on two very long car trips to get it done, and it was a good listen.  It is an intense story and about something I knew nothing about, so I was intrigued.  Glad I finally tackled this one.

Stars: 4.5

Book: End of Watch

 Book: End of Watch

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 448

This is my 64th read for the year

What Amazon Says:

For nearly 6 years, in Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Brady Hartsfield has been in a persistent vegetative state.  A complete recovery seems unlikely for the insane perpetrator of the "Mercedes Massacre" in which eight people were killed and many more maimed for life.  But behind the vacant stare, Brady is very much awake and aware, having been pumped full of experimental drugs - scheming, biding his time as he trains himself to take full advantage of the deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.  Brady Hartsfield is about to embark on a new reign of terror against thousands of innocents, hell-bent on taking revenge against anyone who crossed his path - with retired police detective Bill Hodges at the very top of that long list.

This is the final book in the Bill Hodges trilogy.  It took me longer than necessary to get to this one - considering I do really like this world.  There have been a few spinoffs of this world that are equally as good.  This book is well written and a good wrap up to the trilogy.  The paranormal activites continue in this book.  It will keep you guessing on where it is going and how Bill and Holly are going to get the bad guy in the end.  Was it a bit more of a word salad than I would like?  Yes.  True to Stephen King, he doesn't to short.  But overall - good wrap up.

Stars: 4