The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt

First sentence:

"I don't know what it was that made me abandon my usual path to work on that particular October Tuesday."

Description:

"Bored with her office job (and subsequently fired for excessive tardiness), Maggie jumps at the opportunity to work in Enchantments. She was a little weirded out when Felicity described herself as a witch, but if her boss wants to play with broomsticks and cauldrons, where's the harm. However, Maggie's first day on the job may turn out to be her last when police question Felicity in the murder of her estranged sister.

With everyone in town proclaiming Felicity's guilt faster than the Salem Witch Trials, Maggie finds herself wondering if she'll also be tied to the stake. And lately, she's been receiving messages on a spiritual frequency guiding her to prove Felicity's innocence--and to embrace her own 'charmed' life. . ."

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this first book of the Bewitching Mystery series. I liked how Maggie learned about Felicity and about herself. I look forward to the next book in the series, A Charmed Death.

Date read: 5/30/2013
Book #: 12
Series: Bewitching Mysteries, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Paranormal Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425207563
ISBN-13: 978042507568
Publisher: Berkeley Prime Crime
Year: 2006
# of pages: 261
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman

First sentence:

"The radio on the helicopter was tuned to the tower frequency, and the crisp metallic voices said Air Force One was on final approach long before anyone could see it."

Description:

In a town where the weapon of choice is usually a well-aimed rumor, the strangling of Secretary of State Lansard Blaine in the Lincoln Bedroom is a gruesome first. White House counsel Ron Fairbanks is ordered to investigate. There are persistent rumors that the Secretary was an accomplished womanizer with ties to a glamorous call girl. There is also troubling evidence of unofficial connections with international wheeler-dealers.

In death as in life, Blaine is a power to be reckoned with. For Fairbanks, who loves the President’s daughter, one point is soon clear: only a few highly placed insiders had access to the Lincoln Bedroom that fateful evening. And one of them was the president. . . . -- from Amazon.com

My thoughts:

I liked this first book in the "Capital Crimes Series". I enjoyed meeting the characters as well as trying to figure out who killed Blaine.  I look forward to reading the next book, Murder on Capitol Hill.

Date read: 5/27/2013
Book #: 11
Series: Capital Crimes Series #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0446310700
ISBN-13: 9780446310703
Publisher: Warner Books
Year: 1980
# of pages: 252
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams

First sentence:

"The wind sawed across the empty battlements, yowling like a thousand condemned souls crying for mercy."

Description:

"It is a time of darkness, dread, and ultimate testing for the realm of Osten Ard, for the wild magic and terrifying minions of the undead Sithi ruler, Ineluki the Storm King, are spreading their seemingly undefeatable evil across the kingdom. With the very land blighted by the power of Ineluki's wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point - the Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow.

And even as Prince Josua seeks to rally his scattered forces, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll are desperately struggling to fulfill missions which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the hidden mountain caves of the Qanuc trolls - across storm-tormented waters to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend - to the secret heartland of the Sithi, where the near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood. . . ." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

I read the previous book, The Dragonbone Chair years ago, so I was glad to read the recap before reading on. There were times when the plot jumped around and I had trouble keeping track, but overall I liked this book and I look forward to reading the final book, To the Green Tower.

Date read: 5/20/2013
Book #: 10
Series: Memory, Sorrow, Thorn #2
Rating: 3*/5
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0756402972
ISBN-13:9780756402976
Publisher: DAW Books
Year: 1990
# of pages: 727
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing page

The Museum of Horrors edited by Dennis Etchison

First sentence:

"It is not on any map."

Description:

"Here for the first time in paperback are eighteen original tales of terror and the grotesque from the greatest modern masters of the macabre selected by award-winning editor Dennis Etchison. Step inside the museum and gaze upon the dark works of . . ."

PETER STRAUB	JOYCE CAROL OATES
RICHARD LAYMON	RAMSEY CAMPBELL
WILLIAM F. NOLAN	CHARLES L. GRANT
ROBERT DEVEREAUX	GORDON LINZNER
S.P. SOMTOW	TOM PICCIRILLI
MELANIE TEM	PETER ATKINS
DARREN O. GODFREY	JOEL LANE
CONRAD WILLIAMS	TH. METZGER
SUSAN FRY	LISA MORTON

-- from the back cover 

My thoughts:

This was a good collection of horror tales. Ones I liked included "Piano Bar Blues" by Melanie Tem and "Hammerhead"by Richard Laymon.

Date read: 5/12/2013
Book #: 9
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843950773
ISBN-13: 9780843950779
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 369
LibraryThing page

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

First sentence:

"Anyone born and bred in Massachusetts learns early on to recognize the end of winter."

Description:

"The women of the Sparrow family have lived in New England for generations. Each is born in the month of March, and at the age of thirteen, each develops an unusual gift. Elinor can literally smell a lie. Her daughter, Jenny, can see people’s dreams as they’re dreaming them. Granddaughter Stella, newly a teen, has just developed the ability to see how other people will die. Ironically, it is their gifts that have kept Elinor and Jenny apart for the last twenty-five years. But as Stella struggles to cope with her disturbing clairvoyance, the unthinkable happens: One of her premonitions lands her father in jail, wrongly accused of homicide. The ordeal leads Stella to the grandmother she’s never met and to Cake House, the Sparrow ancestral home full of talismans and fraught with history. Now three generations of estranged Sparrow women must come together to turn Stella’s potential to ruin into a potential to redeem." - from the back cover

My thoughts:

I loved this book about family, history and magic. Each character has a rich story to tell and Hoffman gives them the space to tell it.

Date read: 3/20/2013
Book #:8
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0345455916
ISBN-13: 9780345455918
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 322
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing page

Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille by Steven Brust

First sentence:

"Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille has the best matzo ball soup in the galaxy."

Description:

"So you've had a hard day?

Your planet's just been nuked?

Welcome to Cowboy Feng's!

. . .If you can find it, that is. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille is a great place to visit, but t tends to move around a bit--from Earth to the Moon to Mars to another solar system--and always one ste

Still, Cowboy Feng's s worth tracking down. Not only does it dish up the best matzo ball soup and Irish music in the known cosmos, it may also be humanity's last hope for survival. . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this books about musicians in a traveling restaurant. I liked the character interactions, especially between Billy and Libby.

Date read: 3/19/2013
Book #: 7
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genres: SF, Thriller

ISBN-10: 044111816X
ISBN-13: 9780441118168
Publisher: Ace Books
Year 1990
# of pages: 223
LibraryThing page

Ghosts of Cape Sabine by Leonard F. Guttridge

First sentence:

"It was 18 September, 1883."

Description:

"Twenty-five men went north. Only six returned alive.

In July 1881, an expedition compose mainly of American soldiers sailed off to establish a scientific base in the remote Arctic region of Lady Franklin Bay. What happened afterward is a remarkable saga of human achievement and human frailty, of heroism, hardship, bad luck and worse judgment. Compounded by deliberate political negligence back home, especially on the part of Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the late president, and increasingly fierce dissension in its own camp, the expedition's fate, and that of its would-be rescuers, eventually encompassed starvation, mutiny, suicide, shipwreck, execution. . . and cannibalism.

The story has been only partly known, and full of dark riddles, but more than seven years of research by acclaimed historian Leonard Guttridge have uncovered journals, letters, diaries, and other documentary material that for the first time provide intimate day-by-day details of the swirling events surrounding that ill-fated voyage, from turbulent birth to bizarre and tragic finale. The result is a work of nonfiction narrative that reads like a novel--a raw, vivid, harrowing adventure, brilliantly told." -- from the inside flap.

My thoughts:

Last year I read North by Roger Hubank, a fictional account of the Greely expedition. Afterwards, I wanted to read an historical account of the Greeley expedition. In this book, I learned more about problems with the first two relief attempts. I liked Guttridge's detailed end notes describing the sources from institutions such as the National Archives and the Library of Congress.

Date read: 3/12/2013
Book #: 6
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: History

ISBN-10: 0399145893
ISBN-13: 9780399145896
Publisher:G.P. Putnam's Sons
Year: 2000
# of pages: 354
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page