Sunday, January 02, 2022

December 2021 Additions to My Digital Security Blanket

 

 
Having received some gift cards, I found myself splurging a bit of them on audiobooks and eBooks. I've still got my eye on a few more titles because my birthday and wedding anniversary will be coming up at the end of the month. It used to be that family and friends would choose to get me non-book gifts because they didn't know (and wouldn't ask) which titles I wanted. They also probably thought their non-literary gifts to be a sort of intervention because they thought I already had too many. I'm sure many of you have experienced the same thing-- but these interventions don't work, do they? *wink*
 
Anyway, the creation of gift cards seems to have solved the Which Book Do I Buy Her conundrum, thank goodness, so let's get down to business and see which titles I couldn't resist last month. I've grouped them by genre/subgenre, and if you click on any of the book titles, you will be taken to Amazon US to learn more about the book. 


===Historical Fiction===

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi, set in India. I have a penchant for books set in India (I have Tarquin Hall and his marvelous Vish Puri mysteries to thank for that), and the synopsis of this book intrigued me. Plus, the price was right. Sound familiar?

Ardnish by Angus MacDonald, set in Scotland and South Africa. South Africa during the Boer War and a man's deathbed confession in the Scottish Highlands in 1944? Sign me up!

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, set in England. A young girl who discovers that there are words being left out of the Oxford English Dictionary as it's being created? Once again, sign me up!


===Private Investigator===

The Panama Murders by Pendelton Wallace, set in Panama and Costa Rica. My review.

AUDIO: One Got Away by S.A. Lelchuk, set in California. I enjoyed the first Nikki Griffin book, Save Me From Dangerous Men, so much that I knew I'd read the next one. I decided to listen to the audiobook version to hear Nikki's voice.


 ===Short Story===

Downriver by Jess Montgomery, set in Ohio. After falling in love with her Kinship historical mysteries, I'm not about to pass up anything written by her. I rated this short story three stars on Goodreads.

Many Deadly Returns edited by Martin Edwards, set in the United Kingdom. This anthology contains too many of my favorite authors to pass by. My review.
 
Be honest: how many of you are shocked that there are no Akashic anthologies listed? *grin*


===Amateur Sleuth===

A Mumbai Murder Mystery by Meeti Shroff-Shah, set in India. The synopsis of this first Temple Hill mystery intrigued me so much that I had to give it a try.
 
 
===Serial Fiction===
 
Dead Woman Driving: Episode 8: Sweaty Money by Sue Ann Jaffarian, set in Arkansas. I've been enjoying this serial novel a great deal. The author retired three years ago and has been traveling the USA in her RV, much like the heroine of the novel. If I can't have my own road trip, I'll hitch a ride with someone who can. I rated this one three stars on Goodreads.


===Cozy Mystery===

The Murder Mystery Book Club by C.A. Larmer, set in Australia. I've never read a cozy set in Australia before, and the price was so good that I decided I'd give this one a try.

Killer Research by Jenn McKinlay, set in Connecticut. I'd never miss one of McKinlay's Library Lovers mysteries. Never.


===Fiction===

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge, set on a cross-country road trip across the USA. Another "properly priced" book with an intriguing synopsis: 105-year-old Woodrow Wilson Nickel recounts a twelve-day road trip transporting two giraffes from the East Coast to the San Diego Zoo in Southern California during the Depression.


 ===Historical Mystery===

Lammas: 1588: A Calendar of Crime, Book Three by Shirley McKay, set in St. Andrews, Scotland. A seventy-page novella soon to be reviewed.


===Non-Fiction===

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore, set in Illinois. The story of Elizabeth Packard, an inconvenient woman her husband tried to rid himself of by committing her to an insane asylum. I want to know how she fought back, since so many other women were unsuccessful.
 
Unwell Women:Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn. I know a few facts about this subject, but something tells me I'm going to be very angry once I've read this.
 
The Comanche Empire by Pekka Hämäläinen. Another subject that I know a few things about, and I want to know more. I've always been interested in Native American history.
 
 
===Thriller===
 
AUDIO: The Necklace by Matt Witten, set during a road trip from New York State to North Dakota. Highly recommended by one of my dedicated readers, I look forward to listening to it.
 
AUDIO: The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey. Another recommendation by a reader that I look forward to.


As you can see, I've gathered together a variety of good'uns. Now all I have to do is find the time to read them all! Did I tempt any of you with my choices? Which ones?  Besides the ones that came highly recommended, have any of you read any of these? Which ones? You know that inquiring minds would love to know!
 
 

 

16 comments:

  1. This dedicated reader hopes you enjoy The Necklace and every other book you purchases.

    I don't know yet which books tempt me, but I will eagerly look for the reviews. Happy pre-birthday and anniversary. Oh, but the even more book ideas will add to my lists.

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    1. You know I'm not happy unless I'm adding to everyone's book lists!

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    2. What a noble and appreciated goal.

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    3. I don't know about noble, but I'm glad it's appreciated.

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  2. You've got some great choices here, Cathy! They all look good, but I'm especially interested in A Mumbai Murder Mystery. I'm tempted not just by the setting, but also by the blurb. I hope you'll debrief us when you get to it. And Happy Birthday and Anniversary!

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    1. Thanks for the birthday.anniversary wishes. I'll save them up for when they occur at the end of the month.

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  3. Thanks Cathy for the reading ideas. I too love books set in India - your choices here are on my list. Looking forward to your reviews of these and all for 2022. Be healthy, and safe. Ev

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  4. Some great selections, I thought The Woman They Couldn’t Silence was intriguing. Enjoy!

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    1. That's the book that I'm going to read next.

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  5. Yes, that book on Unwell Women will anger me, too, but I'll wait for your review.
    I am also interested in the books set in India. Although I love Perveen Mistry's books, I'd like to start on the series about the first woman police officer. Which author writes those?
    Right now, home sick, I"m ready to read cereal boxes. How can one be sick without books? I'll go through my stack and then order some delivered. I think anyone ill with a credit card deserves to do that. And so many of these and the newly published are tempting, plus so many on Best of an New Releases lists. I could rack up a fortune in bills, but wny not? I'm sick. I deserve them.

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    1. You deserve them even when you're not ill. Vaseem Khan writes the series you asked about, but from a comment you left on one of my review posts, you've already discovered that.

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  6. Wow, Cathy, every month you amaze me with the number and the quality of e-books that you add to your Kindle. Of all the ones mentioned this time around, I'm kind of fascinated by the serial-road-trip mysteries. As much as I love wandering the backroads, those are too hard to resist.

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    1. I'm the same way with road trips, both literal and figurative), Sam.

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  7. I already have The Henna Artist, West with Giraffes, and The Dictionary of Lost Words on my to-read list, so I'll be curious to see your reviews. And now I'm intrigued by The Woman They Couldn't Silence as well.

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    1. I think most females would be intrigued. (I'm not suggesting men wouldn't be.)

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