Monday, October 12, 2009

Mailbox Monday-- Missed It by *This* Much!


Last week, I sent 7 books to new Paperback Swap foster homes and received 8, 7 of them from my PBS wish list. (Ever noticed how it's either feast or famine with your wish list there?) Here's the scoop on the books I received last week:

--The Wrong Kind of Blood by Declan Hughes (PBS). "PI Edward Loy returns to Ireland from California to bury his mother and lands himself in a knotty thicket of iniquity, as the Irish real estate boom unearths old corpses and creates a few new ones. Retained by a profligate lady friend to find her missing husband, Loy wades into the labyrinthine dealings of two conspicuous families, the land-developing Dawsons and the drug-dealing Halligans, who may have more in common than either would like to admit."

--Wild Inferno by Sandi Ault (PBS). The second in the Jamaica Wild mystery series. "Jamaica Wild, the Bureau of Land Management agent known for her wolf companion, Mountain, and her ability to attract trouble, enters a fire area to locate an old Ute called Grampa Ned. Instead, she finds a smoldering firefighter who can only utter Save the grandmother before he collapses. Later, the discovery of Grampa Ned's burned body and an unusual artifact provides more mystery. Readers will share the author's obvious admiration for the skill and bravery of the fire teams as they battle fires in such rugged terrain. Ault credibly charts Jamaica's education and indoctrination into the ways of the Pueblo people, leaving her poised for the next phase of her promising career."

--Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique (PBS). "We have a new family-run funeral parlor with its resident amateur sleuth. With his father in the grip of Alzheimer's, Charlotte, N.C., cop Barry Clayton has quit his job and returned to his hometown, a small mountain village near Asheville, to help his mother and his Uncle Wayne run the funeral business. Local police chief Tommy Lee Wadkins, recognizing that Barry regrets leaving the police, finds ways to involve the reluctant mortician in his investigations. Their latest case, searching for fugitive Dallas Willard, touches Barry in a very personal way: Dallas shot and wounded him while murdering two others during the funeral of Grandmother Willard. As they seek a motive for the shooting spree, Barry and Tommy Lee uncover a mountain feud turned lethal."

--The Island by Gary Paulsen (PBS). "Fifteen-year-old Wil Neuton is forced to leave Madison for the upper reaches of Wisconsin when his ne'er-do-well father takes a position with the state highway department. Wil leaves behind the security of old friends and old crushes. In the course of adjusting to his new environment, he discovers an uninhabited island sitting in the middle of Sucker Lake. It is on this island that Wil chooses to emulate `The Thinker' by Rodin and learn more about himself."

--Larkspur by Sheila Simonson (PBS). "Distinguished poet Dai Llewellyn was throwing his annual summer house party - with the cream of Northern California's literary crop in attendance. Lark Daily, owner of Larkspur Books, knew four days of bookish chitchat could be tedious - but good for business. But no sooner had the party come to life when the host died - sipping a glass of Campari laced with a lethal dose of larkspur. Evidently the killer had a sense of humor. Lark wasn't laughing." First in the Lark Dodge mystery series.

--Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (PBS). "One of the most important works of twentieth-century American literature, Zora Neale Hurston's beloved 1937 classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is an enduring Southern love story sparkling with wit, beauty, and heartfelt wisdom. Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose. A true literary wonder, Hurston's masterwork remains as relevant and affecting today as when it was first published -- perhaps the most widely read and highly regarded novel in the entire canon of African American literature."

--The Blight Way by Patrick F. McManus (PBS). The first in the Sheriff Bo Tully mystery series. "Single, slimmed-down from the Atkins diet and highly interested in the ladies, Bo is blessedly unconcerned with the niceties of search warrants, suspect rights or any other impediment to his effective style of law enforcement. On the 75th birthday of his father, Eldon "Pap" Tully, former Blight County sheriff, a dead body turns up at the ranch of a family of ex-cons. Bo decides a murder investigation would be the perfect birthday present for Pap. The dead man is from Los Angeles, as are the next two corpses Bo and Pap find at the scene of a heavy firepower ambush—not Blight County's usual low-rent crime."

--Christmas Traditions in Plastic Canvas edited by Judy Crow (auto-ship from The Needlecraft Shop). I thought I'd stopped these auto-ships, but they managed to slip one past me. I decided to keep it since I love Christmas decorations (and making them) almost as much as I love books. Besides...it has a pattern for magnetic bookmarks inside!

That's what Mr. Postman brought to my house last week. If you'd like to see what the USPS brought other folks, go up to the top and click on that redhead wearing the flirty skirt. You'll be taken directly to the home of Mailbox Monday, Marcia's The Printed Page. Thanks so much for hosting this fun meme, Marcia!


13 comments:

  1. Great week :D
    A lot of fun looking reads in there

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  2. I see a few mysteries there and i'm a tad envious ;). Enjoy!
    Here's my Mailbox

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  3. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a fabulous book. Enjoy!

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  4. There Eyes Were Watching God is a wonderful book. It's fun to revisit the classics. Enjoy!

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  5. you got a lot of goodies this week. happy reading... here's my mailbox:
    http://www.savvyverseandwit.com/2009/10/mailbox-monday-51.html

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  6. I did not know Patrick McManus writes mysteries! My dad probably has all of his humor books, including A Fine and Pleasant Misery and The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw. I have fond memories of my dad reading parts of Pat's books out loud and laughing his head off. LOL

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  7. You need to make some of those magnetic bookmarks for a giveaway and then you need to draw my name to win it!

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  8. Blodeuedd--Yes, there are. I think I'm looking forward to the Patrick McManus book the most.

    Snowbell-- There are always mysteries in my book stacks!

    Lola-- Thanks for the thumbs up. I've heard so much about this book.

    Mary-- It does, doesn't it? :)

    DC-- Thanks. I've heard this book praised so much that I've been leery of reading it... afraid that it wouldn't live up to all the praise.

    Serena-- I always love it when I get several books from my PBS wish list. I'm almost guaranteed to enjoy them all!

    Beth-- Almost! LOL

    Katy-- Glad I could bring back some great memories. I vaguely remembered hearing of McManus, but this will be my first time reading one of his books. It sounds as though it's going to be really good. Thanks for stopping by!

    Kathy-- Now how did you know I was thinking the exact same thing???

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  9. The Island sounds interesting. Would love one of my own :)

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  10. Cathy - you always receive such a wonderful selection of books. :) The Island and Larkspur both sound really great.

    :) wendi

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  11. Harvee-- So would I!

    Wendi-- Those two books really appeal to me, too!

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