The Execution of the Hangman of Riga - Anton Kuenzle and Gad Shimron

I chose this book as a birthday present for myself. It was an event I'd never heard of, and when I learned someone who was there was writing the story, I was on board. One of the great mysteries in life is the way many Nazis escaped justice. This is the story of one who didn't get away...

Anton Kuenzle is the pseudonym for Yaakov Meidad, a Mossad agent who not only assisted in the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann but had a much bigger role in the assassination of Herbert Cukurs. A distinct difference is made between the two events. Eichmann was more "a man behind the desk," so they took him back to stand trial. Cukurs was a sadist, and his trial was to take place on site as was his sentence.

This memoir was very interesting. It covers everything from discovering Cukurs' whereabouts, testimonies of witnesses, the formulation of a plan, and the execution of that plan. I commend Meidad for being able to maintain the ruse for as long as he did. He lost both his parents in the Holocaust, so it couldn't have been easy. 

It's a shame this book isn't more easily available. 

In this particular war of wits, there was a clear winner...

The Circular Staircase - Mary Roberts Rinehart

I was in the mood for a quick mystery and decided to read this one. I didn't know anything about it ahead of time, and it was released in 1908, so it's public domain.

Rachel rents a home for six months, but her regret is real. A dead body and mysterious happenings inside the house threaten her and the young people she considers her children. Suspicions land on those she loves, and the plot has a lot of twists and turns. I don't like to say too much when it comes to mysteries.

I really liked this book. It was well written, and I had no issues following the action. I didn't have the answer figured out, which was neat. Granted, I didn't really have enough information for that to happen, but still...

I didn't realize this, but Rinehart is considered by many to be the 'American Agatha Christie.' This was her first novel, and I wouldn't mind reading more from her. Good Book!

The Secret Service: Kingsman - Mark Millar (Comic)

One of my birthday presents to myself was this particular graphic novel/comic. Honestly, I have no idea what the difference is, but if there is one and I'm mislabeling this book, forgive me! 

It's been a while since I first saw the movie Kingsman, but when I found out it was based on this comic, I was interested. A lot of the things that interest me these days seem to be based on graphic novels/comics/manga, and it's been quite an eye opener for me. That movie was super cool by the way. The action sequences were unique, and the whole approach was great.

The comic is kind of the basis for the movie. The nuts and bolts are the same, but some of the details are different (I expected that). The main premise is a secret agent takes his streetwise nephew under his wing and tries to make him into a man. It's not an easy ride. For a number of reasons. It's also a bit gory for those that are super squeamish. I had to laugh at the beginning, though. Great rescue!

I really liked this story. It was kind of what I expected and totally surprising at the same time. There are a few other comics in this series, but they aren't that easy to find (not that this one was super accessible). I might try to track down The Red Diamond, but it has a different author and illustrator, so I'm holding my breath on whether or not I really want to pursue it. Sometimes a change in art style bothers me. Not because it looks bad, just because it's jarring to me for continuity's sake. 

This particular book easily earned a Good Book! review. I wish there was a lot more, and that it was in print. I snooze. I lose. To the used book market!

The Angel of Zin - Clifford Irving

This is one of the last books I have from our trip to HPB. I picked this one up because it sounded super interesting. I gravitate toward WWII stories, and this one was so different, I had to get it.

Zin is a concentration camp where death is an everyday occurrence. Some of the Jews help the Germans, and a few of them show up dead with strange notes attached to them. Those in charge don't really care too much until one of the dead is an SS lieutenant. That brings an investigator from Berlin.

Paul has lost an arm but not his humanity. He's one of those who have pretended they didn't understand what was going on, and they were just one person. He wasn't able to do anything. Paul's investigation into the Angel of Death is going to lead him to learn about himself and face facts. His plan is to solve the murder and get back to Berlin. All around him, though, the prisoners of the camp have a plan of their own...

This was one of the most unusual murder mysteries I've ever read. I'm not even sure I'd label it as a murder mystery, since there's so much more to it. The writing is superior, and I can't believe I only paid $1 for it! I'm happy to say this book is available on Kindle. It's well worth a read if you're at all interested in a book that will make you think. I will warn you that you're not getting a happy ending here, but it's an appropriate ending for the story. Great Book!

Incredible Victory - Walter Lord

This book is a detailed account of the Battle of Midway. Changing perspectives between the Americans and the Japanese, it follows the timeline of the decisions made on both sides that led to the fate of the tiny atoll and multiple ships.

While the book was well written, there were so many characters I couldn't follow them. Even if they popped up a lot, I'd have to wrack my brain to try and remember their role in the battle (unless they were an obvious figure e.g. Nimitz, Yamamoto). A lot of the bombing groups came from different carriers, but they had similar names. Some came back, some came late, and some came not at all.

Overall, I believe if you already have some background knowledge of the battle, you'd be able to follow this better than I did. If you're connected to it in some way (family member, research), I think this would be a good reference for you. There is a collection of pictures at the end that didn't really look super good on my Kindle Paperwhite, but they might look better on a different device. It wasn't one of my favorite books, but it wasn't unreadable. I just don't think I was the correct audience.

 

Memoirs of an Effort to Unlock the Mystery of Severe Storms - Tetsuya Theodore Fujita

Tornadoes are fascinating things. Living in the Midwest for my entire childhood, the sound of weekly tornado sirens was common. At least during the school year. Once we moved to the country, we weren't close enough to one to hear anything. Personally, I remember seeing one when I was pretty young, but it was pretty far away. When our kids were little, we also didn't have a siren close, so we relied on the radio/TV. The interesting thing about that was we lived very close to an elementary school. I never understood that. I remember taking the kids to the inner bathroom one night, but we were fortunate to never experience any damage.

Fujita was a fascinating character to me. He created the scale that we use to determine how destructive and deadly a tornado is. I wondered how he did that, so I wanted to read this memoir.

This was one of the strangest "memoirs" I've ever read. The first half of it reads like a meteorological paper. I was interested while he was talking about tornadoes (which surprised me), but when he started going into other weather phenomena, I was lost. There are tons of pictures, graphs and charts in there that I couldn't understand. I just skipped them.

About halfway through, the actual memoir of Fujita's life began. He talks about where he comes from, but he goes back and forth between his childhood and then referring to visits later on. There were a lot of pictures there, which I appreciated. Those were nice. Later on, Fujita goes back into weather topics, and I was lost again.

Shoutout to the very last page of the book. Fujita liked photography, but I never expected to see a full page of praying mantis pictures. That took me by surprise and made me smile. Other than that, there were bits and pieces of this I liked, but I don't think I'd call it a memoir. It feels like it's written for weather enthusiasts, and if you want to learn about Fujita as a person, you get a little glimpse of that here and there. An interesting man with an interesting journey into fame, but I wish it had focused more on the person and less on the weather.

 

Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery

It's the holiday season, so I don't get as much read as I usually do. I enjoy the time when my girls are home from college, and we can watch crappy movies together. With that being said, I did finish a book last night. When I was little, my uncle worked in a bookstore and gifted me two books. I've kept them all these years, but I'm not sure I ever actually read them. Oops!

Matthew and Marilla are expecting to adopt a boy to help them on the farm, but instead they get Anne. She's not at all what they were expecting. She's wiry, imaginative, and she doesn't have an 'off' button. But she instantly falls in love with Green Gables and wants to earn her place. She wants to stay.

She wants to be good, but she's a bit of a disaster. Her honesty and desire to be better slowly win over Marilla. The shy, quiet Matthew was instantly drawn to the red-haired little spitfire and can't imagine his life without her. Over time, Anne finds her place, and her home is Green Gables.

This was a cute book for sure. When I hit the end, I had the impression it wasn't over. I'm not sure how I didn't know this, but there's a whole series! I feel so silly. The last one (that was solely about Anne) was published in 1939. The others are mostly in public domain, so I plan to read more. I wasn't happy to only see Anne and Gilbert be friends for about five pages. I'm going to have to at least read the next book to see where that goes. It looks like the main story of Anne is covered in about six of the books. In the other three, Anne is either a side character or it involves her children.

The whole book wasn't nonstop action or a deep mystery. It's the wholesome story of a young woman struggling to try and find her place in the world. Saying it that way, the book should've been boring. But it really wasn't, and for that, the author deserves a lot of credit. Good Book!

 

Eerie Archives Volume 1 - Archie Goodwin (editor)

I didn't personally purchase this one, but it was from our favorite used book store. Mom likes creepy stories (older ones), and I'm not 100% sure if she'd heard of this magazine before she bought it. After moving into our new home, we were sifting through things to get rid of, and Mom had this in a donate pile! What?! I wasn't even to be given the chance to read new comics? The horror!

I'd never heard of this particular magazine, but this book collects volumes 1-5. Apparently volume 1 was super rare, so if you're into this magazine, this might be an incentive for you. I will say I really liked the stories of that first issue.

I'm not going to try and explain all the stories, but they're short and in black and white. These were released in the 1960s, and I found a lot of them to be unique and original. On the other hand, I did notice a bit of repetition when it came to certain things. mostly the grave robbing. Also, having a hunchbacked minion seemed to be popular. I will admit, there were some twists to the usual formula, so it wasn't boring.

I liked these little stories overall. Being only a few pages, they could be read if I only had a few minutes. Some of them impressed me with their originality. The one thing I wasn't a fan of was Cousin Eerie, the weird dude that did introductions to the stories. He didn't strike me as funny or useful. They had a similar character in their other magazine, Creepy, so I guess they felt the need to have one here as well.

I want to give a quick shoutout to the ads. I love they included those in here, and they were super fun. Some of them were for movies (a lot of which I've seen), music, toys, and my favorite page had some of the coolest stuff. A Frankenstein mask that weeps blood, a werewolf ring that sounds like a siren when you blow on it, and my personal favorite: real cannons! They can apparently be heard from 5 miles away, and I can imagine little kids with them. I mean, they were a lot more expensive than the ring ($4.95 vs. $0.75), but I just love the thought they were available back then.

This book easily gets the Good Book! review. The stories were cool, and the ads were the icing on the cake.

Operation Last Chance - Efraim Zuroff

Zuroff is more of a "modern" Nazi hunter. His journey is trying to track down men and women who have escaped justice for many years. The prey are, in many cases, over 80 years old. The book was originally published in 2009, so there were still a fair number of criminals hiding.

He faces more than his share of hate and pushback, which I found unfortunate. It was disappointing to read how the different countries were apathetic or outright protecting these people. One of the common excuses was related to the amount of time that had passed. I didn't really understand that. I equate it to a cold case. If your relative had been brutally murdered, would you care how long it had been? Wouldn't you want justice?

On the other side of the problem was the long-term consequences of the hunt. It made me think of the children of parents who are murderers. Granted, these criminals are so old, their family either already knows of their past, or they're old enough to cope with it. But I feel like the family would suffer more than the hunted. Many of the criminals died while waiting for the governments to decide what to do with them or didn't spend much time in jail. In a perfect world, these people wouldn't have gotten away with their crimes in the first place, so this whole operation wouldn't have been necessary. I guess what I'm trying to say is I have no sympathy for the criminals themselves, but for the innocent, (and I mean those that didn't know and share the views of their family member) I do have sympathy.

The book itself was a lot of dealing with governments. A few specific hunts are described in detail, but they don't really have a satisfying ending. How can they when these people lived for so long without any consequences for their actions? I think the best thing the operation accomplishes is making sure the criminals knew they weren't safe in their anonymity, and the Holocaust isn't forgotten. The latter is probably more important in 2024, as there probably aren't many Nazis from WWII still alive.

Nimona - ND Stevenson

This graphic novel was recommended to me by my daughter, so I was excited to read it. I didn't know anything about it.

Nimona is the new sidekick to the villain Ballister. He's bitter because the person he believed to be his friend attacked him and took his arm. Now they're on opposite sides. Goldenloin feels bad about the rift, but he also is part of the Institution pursuing Ballister. Nimona starts creating chaos around her, and Ballister isn't sure what to do about her.

I liked the story with this one. It made me smile a few times. My main complaint is the print. It was so tiny most of the time, I had troubles figuring it out at times. That bothered me through the whole story. The end was sweet. It didn't take me a long time to get through this one, but it was a neat read. Good Book!

Death - Neil Gaiman

One of the most interesting side characters while I was reading the Sandman series was his sister, Death. This book collects a couple installments from the Sandman and has some others as well. From Sandman, the issues 'The Sound of Her Wings,' 'Façade,' and 'Death and Venice.' Then it had two miniseries 'The High Cost of Living' and 'The Time of Your Life.' Finally, a couple short stories are sprinkled in there: 'A Winter's Tale,' 'The Wheel,' and 'Death Talks About Life.'

I'm not going to go through and explain the plots of all of these unconnected stories. There's a reason I gravitate toward this particular character, and it's because Gaiman has some interesting things to say about life and death. He reminds me of things I'd forgotten or started taking for granted. And the stories are so unique. The man is talented. There's not much else to say. Good Book!

Assassin's Creed: Forsaken - Oliver Bowden

I had been watching the first book of this series on eReaderIQ, because I thought it would be interesting. When we went to HPB, I was shocked to see three copies of this book in the clearance section! After a quick search to make sure it was okay to read them out of order (it is), I snagged this one up. It was in perfect condition and was only $2! 

This is the fifth book in the series. If you know anything about the Assassin's Creed video games, the books are separated the same way. There's a period of history the game/story focuses on, and the story is centered and unique to that particular era. I don't know a ton about the lore associated with this series, but that's my impression of it.

In this book, Haytham is still a young man when his father is murdered, and his sister is kidnapped. His father was teaching him to fight, and a Templar named Birch takes Haytham under his wing. As he ages, Haytham learns that both Assassin and Templar believe in what they're doing, and he ends up caught in the middle, not sure he really believes in either. The era is what I would call American Revolution.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style, even though it was in first person. It takes away some of the tension you would feel for the main character, because there wouldn't be more book if he had died, but Haytham's life was a sad and lonely one. The book was really good, and I look forward to reading more of Bowden's work. Out of the 10 books currently in the series, only 8 are written by Bowden. I'm not going to keep track of the others at this time, but you never know what the future holds! Good Book!

Sergeant Rex - Mike Dowling

My next nonfiction book was an easy pick. I love dog stories. Rex was a MWD and one of the first sent to Iraq. At that point, there hadn't been any K9 units since Vietnam, so the entire group was going in as guinea pigs. The troops they were stationed with weren't sure what to do with them. Mike had to take the initiative to show the officers what Rex was capable of. In no time, the K9 team a vital part of the group.

Rex has a personality the guys in the 2/2 Warlords end up loving. The team gets into firefights, but Rex and Mike prove their bravery every time. Not only were they courageous, Rex found caches of weapons and materials that would've been used for IEDs.

This is one of the better autobiographies I've gotten to read. Rex's personality really comes through. Mike sprinkles his past in the story at various points, but it wasn't in a jarring way. The writing style was easy to read, and I was invested in the story.

One thing I will point out is the pictures. The whole time I was reading, Mike would mention taking pictures, and I kept wondering if pictures were included. I hit the epilogue, then the acknowledgements, and then...there they were! The pictures were wonderful and cover many of the moments I wanted to see.

SPOILER: I'm sorry Mike wasn't able to adopt Rex. He did a wonderful thing by passing the opportunity on to a fellow soldier. It was a heartbreaking end to the story of a man who loved Rex so much. Even if it was the right thing to do, it was a bummer. I'm happy Rex made it through all his tours and got to live out his life in retirement.

Good Book!

Murder with Puffins (Meg Langslow #2) - Donna Andrews

When I saw this book at HPB, I knew I had to have it. I love birds, so seeing it was an instant purchase. It was $2. I knew absolutely nothing about it. I just saw "murder" and "puffins," and I was on board. Even though I was burned recently with the absence of owls in An Owl Too Many, this was a totally different author. And I couldn't resist the cute puffin.

Meg has come to the small island of Monhegan off the coast of Maine to spend some quiet time away from it all with her boyfriend, Michael. To her dismay, most of her family appears to be on the island as well. To top it off, a hurricane has picked the island to torment, and the local curmudgeon ends up dead.

The murderer is trapped on the island, and it seems that everyone is a suspect, including Meg's father and her aunt. Meg has something of a reputation (according to her father) as a detective, since she recently solved another mystery. That happened in book 1, Murder with Peacocks.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was easy to follow, and there were actual puffins! Okay, so the entire book isn't cover to cover puffins, and one of the puffins isn't in the best shape (as in it's dead), but I learned facts about puffins that I didn't know, and it wasn't shoehorned in there in an irritating way.

In total, there are apparently 37 books in this series. That was a bit of a downer at first, but I did a bit of research, and it doesn't look like they have to be read in order. I added the author's name to my watch list on eReaderIQ, so hopefully, I'll be able to get more bird-related murders solved in the future! Good Book!

The Hastings Conspiracy - Alfred Coppel

This was another one of my epic finds from the trip to the book store a few months ago. This particular book was on a clearance rack, and I ended up getting it for $1.

The book has a number of story lines, which overlap at times. A member of the CIA has taken the details of a contingency plan with the intent of sharing it. It's a plan for the invasion of Britain. A spy, Brede, is sent to Britain to meet up with an old friend. When Brede arrives, his friend's car blows up, taking away any chance for him to relay what he knows.

What follows is a twisty, turvy road involving multiple countries and a lot of nefarious intentions. Some of the characters had similar names, which gave me fits at times. The Russian guys that all started with K were the bane of my existence. Even if I could differentiate one name from the other, then I had to keep their roles separate. Then there was the Davis/David scenario. These two confused me as well.

The last part of the book was fairly interesting. I could tell it was a James Bond-ish story, so it had to have the obligatory disposable woman (although at the end, he goes back for her). She was more of a hindrance and only really came in handy once, so I wasn't really a fan of her. She also had a very strange attitude about the man who was taking care of her (the blown up guy). Not a fan of her.

So, the book was okay, but I wasn't sucked into the story. I didn't care about the characters since they would only show up for brief periods of time and disappear. I never really understood the son's motivation since he was barely in it. It was an okay book, but I don't see myself recommending it to anyone.

The Daughter of Auschwitz - Tova Friedman

Tova (who has gone through a few name changes through her life) was very, very young when she was first living in the ghetto in Poland and spent most of her childhood in concentration camps.

The book is written in an easy to read manner. The horrors this child went through were so difficult for me to wrap my head around. Thinking about children today, I can't really imagine most of them able to stay quiet/hidden/still for an entire day.

Sometimes I wonder about Tova's memory when it comes to those really early years, but I don't have any really traumatic events to compare. I do notice especially happy and tragic things are easier to remember, so I can't say for sure. It's just hard to accept that level of detail from a child that young after so many years. I'm not saying it didn't happen - I'm wondering how accurate the memories are.  

I commend Tova for her willpower and bravery. I admire anyone who had the courage to not only make it through the Holocaust, but to also relive those events so future generations can learn from the past. A fair amount of this book deals with Tova's life after being freed from the camp, and I always appreciate when these memoirs include that time of the subject's life. It's important to realize that freedom from the camps wasn't the end of these stories.

This was a good book, and one of the better Holocaust survivor stories I've read. Good Book!

Ragman - Ray Fawkes

My daughter picked this up at our favorite game store. She'd had exposure to the character through one of the shows she'd watched (I think it was Arrow). She'd really enjoyed the character and snatched up this comic.

Rory is the sole survivor of a tragic mission. Something happened when the team discovered a cloak, and now Rory is Ragman. Demons are streaming into reality, and they seem to be coming for everyone Rory cares about.

This comic went way beyond my expectations. I knew absolutely nothing about this character when I opened the cover, and when I was done, I was super sad it was over. The depth of feelings explored was surprising. Topics like survivor's guilt, grief and finding a new normal are part of this tale. I mean, demons are getting demolished as well, but the core of what attracted me to the character was the internal conflict Rory dealt with.

The art was amazing and the story so good. Ragman is a seriously underrated character. He's had a series three times, this particular one being the most recent. His first series was in the 1970s. The one that drew my interest was in the 1990s, where it gave Rory a Jewish background, and he was fighting Nazis. I'd like to read more, but it seems like Ragman is hard to find. I'll see what I can do, but my hopes aren't high for more Ragman. This particular comic was excellent though. Highly recommend it. Even if you don't know anything about Ragman (like me), I think the character arc he goes through is so well done. Great Comic!

 

The Saga of "San Demetrio" - F. Tennyson Jesse

During WWII, the San Demetrio was attacked by the German cruiser Admiral Scheer. They were part of a convoy, and the Scheer did a lot of damage. Some of the crew of the San Demetrio was killed, and the rest abandoned ship.

The next day, one of the lifeboats found a burning vessel, only to discover it was their own. They had circled back to the San Demetrio. This short book is the account of the ship, and the men who brought her back to port.

The important thing to note here is that this was published in 1942. The war wasn't over, so a lot still remained to happen. It seems the San Demetrio was actually sunk in March of 1942, but the bravery shown by the men in late 1940 was probably a huge morale boost to those who read the tale.

With something this short, it's hard to pass any type of judgement. It was basically a factual telling of the events as they happened. A member of the crew wrote a book named after the ship, and that might have been a better way to go. His name was Calum Macneil.

I didn't really have time to get bored, so that's something. I'm not going to say this is good or bad, but it was a neat story. RIP to John Boyle, the man who died on the way to land. It's nice that his estate was given some of the proceeds of the salvage. I also thought it was neat they gave Second Officer Hawkins the Red Ensign (I actually learned what that was!).

Red Ensign

Snow Blind - Ragnar Jónasson

While at Half Price Books, I spent a lot of time in the Clearance area. I looked for some specific books, but I wanted to find some little gems as well. This one appealed to me mostly because it was an Icelandic author, and the story sounded cool. The book was $2.

Ari Thór has decided to head north to be a policeman in a small town in Iceland. He's told nothing ever happens there, but apparently that isn't true. A vicious attack leaves a woman bleeding in the snow, and an accident leaves an older gentleman dead. The past is going to come back to haunt the town, and the fresh perspective of Ari Thór is the only thing that will crack the case.

This book was a great find! I know it's a translated copy, so there are little typos here and there, but the story itself was excellent. I didn't look into anything about it before I started. I wanted to go in 'blind'! Puns aside, I really enjoy this one and recommend it highly for those who love a good mystery. The weather/town is almost a whole character in itself! Wow!

I also discovered this is the first book in a 6 book series. I was super happy to see the entire series is available on Kindle, so I'm going to watch the price of the second book, Nightblind. I may not be able to pronounce anything in Icelandic (places/names), but it didn't prevent me from enjoying this book. Great Find! Good Book!

Cover of Darkness - Roderick Chisholm

I'm a sucker for some WWII memoirs. Add in the air warfare, and I'm a happy camper!

The author was a night fighter, something that was in its infancy during WWII. It was a 'learn as you go' type of thing, and sometimes mistakes were made. Overall, it evolved into an important part of the war for the skies.

I was really happy for the first part of the book. I could easily follow along with the stories and understand his struggles. Then there was a section focusing on the technical side of radar usage. It brought it way down for me. Even with the examples, I sometimes wouldn't be able to follow what was going on. I was tempted to give it three stars, but then I read the postwar section. It was interesting how these two groups of men had so much in common. The author mentioned having to harden his heart and remember these men were the enemy. In other circumstances, these men could've probably talked about common experiences for hours.

A really sweet thing was the summary at the end written by the author's son. There's just something wholesome about someone referring to "Daddy" while describing the mundane and extraordinary events of Roderick's life. I'm giving it four stars out of five, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. If you're really curious about the in-depth workings of night flying during WWII, this book might be right up your alley. I'm going to give it a Decent Book! review. I couldn't bring myself to push it over into the Good category.

World of Warcraft (Comic) - Book 4 - Walter and Louise Simonson

We end this particular series with Book 4. The version I had also included the one-shot Beginnings and Endings by Mike Costa.

Things are coming to a breaking point in AQ. Garona's son is the key to Cho'gall's plans, but capturing and using him will be difficult. A council has come together to share their power with Me'dan since he's their best hope to win.

The art and story were pretty good yet again. My main elf Broll came back, so both Valeera and myself were happy. I'm glad I was able to read these fairly close together. I'm not sure I would've kept everything straight if I'd had too much of a gap. Even recognizing characters, events and places would only have helped me so much.

Overall, I liked this series. It was the last of the comics I had, and from what I could tell, the last one they made. I still have some manga to read, so this isn't going to be my last graphic adventure with WoW. On to the next one! Good Story!

The Burden - Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)

One of the books I was most excited to find was this little diet book. Not only was it Agatha Christie, but the cover was very reminiscent of the gothic romances I used to read back in the day. A young woman escaping from a castle? I was so excited!

This book is broken up into four parts: Laura, Shirley, Llewelyn and Back to the Beginning (or something along those lines). Each section focuses on that particular person, but their lives are intertwined. Laura and Shirley are sisters, and Llewelyn comes onto the scene later on.

Laura as a child hates Shirley until one fateful night when she saves her baby sister from a fire. From then on, she tries to protect her. After Shirley grows up, she falls in love with a man that isn't quite what Laura expected, but she isn't going to interfere.

Later in life, Llewelyn goes to an island and comes across one of the sisters. Her life isn't what she'd imagined, and she longs for escape. It gets a bit depressing after that.

This wasn't what I was expecting at all, but that's not affecting my review. The structure of the novel, while unique, was strange. Since this is a diet book, I didn't really have time to connect with the characters the way I wanted to. I'd get to know Laura, but then we'd switch to Shirley. It prevented me from connecting fully with any of the characters. The end was very strange, especially considering what happened when Shirley took the plunge soon after meeting Henry. This one just wasn't my style.

 

World of Warcraft (Comic) - Book 3 - Walter and Louise Simonson

And we're continuing our epic tale of King Varian and his crew. In this book, Varian is headed back to Theramore for a peace conference with Thrall from Orgrimmar. The peace conference doesn't really get a chance to start before there's an attack by the lich king's forces. The battle is complicated by the assassination attempts by Garona, who is under a spell. Her son comes to save her, but she doesn't trust herself around him. Toward the end, we find out Cho'gall is determined to use that son for some purpose, which I'm sure we'll discover in the next book.

Another good one. Maybe I should have waited and reviewed these all together, but it's too late to think of that now! My one issue with this one was Broll. Where is BROLL!? I mean, I know where he is, but I didn't get enough Broll. I'm also hoping Valeera is okay after her demon encounter. I can't remember her in game, and I'm not cheating by looking anything up, so I'll have to blaze through the last one soon. Good Comic!

Festival for Spies - David St. John (E.Howard Hunt)

Ok, so this is a bit of a mess, so I'm going to start by talking about the book itself and then go on to the author. Because he became super interesting...

This is one of the picks from our Half Price Books journey. It attracted my attention because it looked weird, and the back cover was insane. Sexpionage? Festival of Virgins? $1? I’m in!

What I read was nothing like what I was expecting. The book was advertising itself as being written by a former CIA agent and had an advertisement for a James Bond book on the back cover (The Man with the Golden Gun wasn’t one of my favorite Roger Moore movies, but it was still pretty good).

Peter is supposed to be on vacation when he’s called back for an assignment in Hong Kong. The leader of Cambodia has left suddenly, and Peter needs to figure out why. The leader has his wife and sister-in-law living with him, and Peter gets to know the sister very well.

There are a lot of espionage and political tensions with the Chinese in this, and Peter’s life is in danger. He’s also got help from his brother-in-law and sort of from his contacts in town. They’re not as trustworthy, of course, but he knows what he’s getting into most of the time.

Now let's move on to the author. I honestly had no idea who this person was. I had so much trouble looking up the book on the internet (also I was on my phone, and I hate navigating on that), but eventually I came across the true author's name: E. Howard Hunt. Now, I'm not familiar with his name, but I've heard of his work. Namely Watergate. This is the man who was part of the Watergate burglaries and spent 33 months in prison. 

Another side of him is the author. He had five aliases he wrote under! I believe the book I found is the second in his Peter Ward series. I actually was pretty invested in this book. It wasn't full of sex, and it was well written. I really liked it and hope to track down some more of this man's work in the future. It doesn't look like his fiction has hit the digital market, which is a shame. He had some talent! Good Book!

World of Warcraft (Comic) - Book 2 - Walter Simonson

In the continuing saga of Lo’gosh/Varian, the two men are going to come face to face. The son becomes involved, and it seems that both men are two halves of a whole. They’ve been manipulated and put under a spell by a well-known black dragon. One I’m very familiar with…

The circle of friends has expanded a bit, but my favorite part is the relationship between Valeera and Broll. These two, who started out looking like they were going to tear each other apart, are turning into the best of friends.

There are two more of these, and I’ve got the other two loaded on my Kindle ready to go. I’m just hoping nothing happens to my favorite characters. I’m going to be very upset...Good Comic!

 

World of Warcraft (Comic) - Book One - Walter Simonson (writer)

Next up in my graphic journey is the comic series for WoW. I had no idea what to expect going into this.

Three very unlikely teammates are entered into the competition at Dire Maul. A human, a night elf and a blood elf have to put any prejudices aside and work together to save themselves and each other. They end up forming a bond, but the human is missing something. He has amnesia, and he wants to find out who he really is. Finding the answer will eventually lead them to Jaina Proudmore, where he learns he's the true king of Stormwind. There are also assassins after him, so it's a good thing he's got his new friends. They've got their own problems, but when they work together, they are a force to be reckoned with.

I liked this one. It's a bit of a cliffhanger since Lo'gosh doesn't make it back to Stormwind, but I suppose that's why there's a Book 2! I really enjoy the memories these familiar places/characters bring back, and I look forward to diving into the next one. Good Comic!  

The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (Nancy Drew #22) - Carolyn Keene

I was excited to get through my latest book so I could start on my Half Price Books pile. Sometimes it's good to take a trip across the mountains and go to three different stores! I did go a bit overboard, but I haven't been to a HPB in years, so that's the excuse I'm using. 

If you're not familiar with Nancy Drew, I don't know what to tell you. I have a few of these hardbacks. They're super fun to read, and they make no sense in reality (policemen aren't going to ask teenagers for help on a case). They're just nifty little mysteries for kids. And they're a jolt of nostalgia for me. 

Nancy is asked to help find a woman that's been missing for ten years. It will help a little girl stay out of trouble, because the little urchin keeps listening to the young ruffian next door. The little girl does terrible, horrific things like stealing rose bushes!

Anyway, Nancy is given the key to this rundown estate, and she heads there to search for clues. There's a lot to deal with, though. Locked in a tower, dogs, her friend's clothes are stolen, her other friend hides from the dogs in a tree and also decides to hide in the villain's car, an explosion...all sorts of exciting things!

Salty is definitely my favorite character. I know he's selling oysters, and I don't eat fish, but if he came by with a cart full of those things and was singing a ditty, I'd totally buy some! Don't know what I'd do with them after that, but that's irrelevanat.

Not much more to say. It's Nancy Drew! Good Book!

The Nuremberg Interviews - Leon Goldensohn

This book has general observations of German men on trial for war crimes committed during WWII. The sections are of varying length, and there are two parts to the book. The first part is dedicated to those on trial. The second is focused on witnesses.

Each section begins with a brief summary of the accused's role in the war, what they are accused of, and their fate. After that is a picture. In the following pages, the interviewer documents various answers and ramblings of the men. He tries to get each man's family history, and he tries to gauge their level of guilt and responsibility for the fate of the Jews. He does this for each man. He also allows them to say whatever is on their mind.

For me, this wasn't quite what I was expecting. When I read this was the notes of a psychiatrist, I thought there would be some breakdowns of what he thought of each individual. Instead, he puts down the facts with almost no bias (it does pop in there once in a while). You're just not going to get anything close to diagnoses in this book.

The other thing that was disturbing was the attitudes of these men toward the Holocaust. I always figured there would be a disconnect with them, a mental misfire that would be apparent when they were confronted with their actions. On the contrary, they acted like you would expect a self-serving person who was trying to save their own life. It was all "It was someone else's fault." and "I never knew anything about that." I think the nonchalant attitude was more vile than the one man who seemed to actually have outright issues having basic emotions. It's much harder to imagine so many men involved in something so destructive when they're capable of feeling something.

Overall, even though the book wasn't what I expected, it was an eye opener. These men would tell lies that sounded reasonable, but then I remembered who they were and why they were there. When they were confronted with evidence of their acts, they had no real answers. Good Book!

The Halfling's Gem (Icewind Dale #3) - R. A. Salvatore

The third book in the trilogy finds our heroes headed toward Calimport to rescue Regis. To my great delight, a certain flaming dwarf has reappeared!

Drizzt had a lot to deal with in this book. He had a personal struggle with who he was as a person. The assassin seemed to be the antithesis of Drizzt, and it really bothered him. He's also lost his panther, his friend, and he's trying to travel incognito. He has a mask, but his friends aren't happy about him wearing it. He puts it on for the sake of Regis, but it makes him think.

There's some great action in this book, and I really enjoyed it. I was a bit bummed Mr. Assassin slipped away. I'm thinking he'll pop up again sometime in the future, but I don't know. Next up in my Drizzt list is the Legacy of the Drow series, but it might be a bit. We had a trip to some bookstores recently, so I'm going to try and get through some of those. It's been years since I'd been in a Half Price Books, and going in three may have given me more to read than I really needed...

Who am I kidding? I can never have too much to read!

The Halfling's Gem? Good Book! Neat Trilogy! 

Curse of the Worgen (World of Warcraft comic)

This is my last single shot comic in my WoW folder.

The town of Gilneas is under attack by the Forsaken, and now a new threat looms on the horizon: the worgen. These beasts have their roots in the night elves. They've been forbidden to shapeshift into this particular form due to its dangerous nature. Transforming into the wolf can make the druid forget who they are and give themselves to the beast form. An investigator from town is abducted and forced to hear the story of the worgen.

I liked the steampunk vibe I was getting from the people of the town. Bowler hats, vests and long-barrel pistols were highlights of the art style for me. I liked Hadley Ramsey's character, and his outfit was the icing on the cake. In Ashbringer, a bunch of men had the same hair. In this one, the worgen ended up looking alike. Fortunately, at least one of them had an eyepatch. I always knew who that one was.

I liked this one. The art was really good, and the story kept me entertained. It wasn't an emotional roller coaster or anything, but it was enough for me to give it a Good Comic! review.

 

Ashbringer (World of Warcraft comic) PLUS Happy Little Accidents!

This is going to be another one of those reviews that I'm making more so I remember I've read the comic than to make any kind of statement about the content.

This particular story is centered around the Plaguelands, Scarlet Crusade, Argent Dawn, etc. The Mograine family is a mess of insecurity and betrayal, leading to deaths all around. Tirion Fordring also shows up, a very familiar name among many others.

I liked this one for the most part, but there were too many auburn-haired men with the same general hairstyle. They got a bit confusing at times. Other than that, the art was good, and I enjoyed the story. My favorite part was when both Darion and his horse were scowling at the same time.

Happy Little Accidents

I accidentally discovered something really cool, and it kind of made my day. It's not a super big deal, but sometimes it's the little things that make ya smile. These comics and manga are in PDF form. So far, I've been zooming in and moving around every page like a goober. Well, when I put my Kindle down today, it auto-rotated and...TA-DA! I could see the entire page across and could read the little bubbles without an issue! Then all I had to do was pull the page up to see the rest of it.

That made reading the comic easier, and I was able to read it so much faster. Love those happy little accidents!

Tangent over. Back to Ashbringer. The story was cool, and I liked it. I'm giving it a Good Comic! review.

I still have a couple comics, and I discovered I had a set in the wrong folder, so I have more manga than I initially thought. I like to read these when I'm not quite in the mood to settle in with my current novel, or I just want the feeling of accomplishment that comes with finishing something that's been sitting on my virtual pile waiting to be read.

James Willard Schultz Collection

This book has been on my list for so long, I have no idea how I heard of it or why it's on the list. James Willard Schultz was an explorer and historian. In this volume, he collects four eyewitness accounts and preserves them for future generations.

The stories are Bird Woman (Sacajawea [sic]), Lone Bull's Mistake, Rising Wolf - the White Blackfoot and Apauk Caller of Buffalo. I didn't make it through the whole book.

The first story kept my interest, but I can't really relate much of what I read. All I know is Sacajawea had a horrible husband, and her original name was Grass Woman.

The second story was the highlight for me. It's the story of Lone Bull and his pride. He gets punished for disobeying the hunting rules and relocates his family. It's not an easy thing for them, and disaster seems to follow them everywhere. But Lone Bull lives up to his name of being stubborn, and the hits just keep on coming.

Toward the end of the third story, I was done. In the story, Hugh Monroe describes his first year with the Blackfoot tribe. He worked for a trapping company, married a Blackfoot woman and had 10 children. The issue I had was the killing. I am definitely an animal person, so while I would understand the killing of the buffalo, I wasn't super happy about it. This story had a whole section dedicated on how to butcher an animal. Yeah, I skipped that. I didn't like the senseless killing. To me, killing an animal for its pelt, and only for its pelt, is a senseless killing. The mountain goat killing seemed pointless to me. They even knew ahead of time the meat was bad. Killing a mountain lion and her young that had run from you and hidden was just too much. The wolf trap? It created a fish-in-a-barrel scenario. And the story about running a herd of buffalo over a cliff? Pass. I understand it's a personal thing with me. I'm not a fan of hunting, and there was so much of it in this section that I was over the whole thing. And they killed so many beavers.

When I read a snippet of the fourth story, I saw that Apauk was a buffalo caller, or a man who was renowned for his skill in calling the buffalo to their deaths. So I stopped reading.

Overall, I'm not sorry I started reading it. The hunting was just too much for me. I didn't realize it would be such a large part of the book overall. Lone Bull is still a worthwhile story, and my non-hunter heart was okay with that one. The third story just lost me, but these are still important stories that I'm glad aren't lost to time. Even if they do make me cringe.

Death Knight (World of Warcraft manga) - Dan Jolley

This was the other class specific manga that came in my Humble Bundle.  Apparently, there was also one focused on the shaman, but I don't have that one. The only manga I have left is the Sunwell Trilogy.

Thassarian is turned down for a promotion. He's told that he's more of a follower than a leader. Ouch. He finds purpose following Arthas against the Scourge, but eventually, Thassarian is killed and turned into a death knight. Arthas is behind the change, and for a while, Thassarian is a mindless servant. His father helps him break free, and he's the first of the Ebon Blade. Thassarian wants revenge on Arthas.

In contrast to the first manga I read, this one is focused on an actual character I'm familiar with. Aodhan (Mage) was a name I'd never heard before, and I couldn't find evidence of him anywhere. I liked reading the story of Thassarian, and between the two, I liked this one more than Mage. Maybe it was the horses. Maybe it was Lurid, the summoned skeleton. This one was just better. Good Story!

 

Kobo - my new nemesis...

A few weeks ago, I saw a Humble Bundle with a series of books by Terry Brooks. I downloaded a sample of the first book of the series and was interested enough to read more. As with every Humble Bundle I've bought, the deal is extremely good. I saw the warning that the books were on another site, Kobo, and headed over there to check things out.

And everything seemed fine. I've been out of the loop for a while, so I'd never heard of Kobo or the new (?) Kobo reader. To me, it sounded like a Nook, where you can only read those things on that device. It's why I never purchased a Nook. But! The website said you could use a free Adobe program to change the files into a different format and then put them on other devices. Cool!

So I was in. Got my Bundle and claimed my books. Went to download one and...nothing. It wouldn't open, and I couldn't get anything to happen. I used the Adobe program mentioned, but it wouldn't recognize my device (I have older Kindles), so that was a problem. Upon searching, it seems the program hasn't been recognizing Kindles for at least four years. I wasn't giving up yet, though.

My next step was to take my Kindle Fire and try to download the Kobo app. My Kindle would not download that app. It wouldn't even pretend to try. I even tried to use Google Play to try and download it there. Didn't work. My husband messed around with it, even trying to push back the OS. He was able to get Google Play, but not the app. It was at that moment, I raised the white flag. Between my husband and myself, we had wasted waaay too much time on this.

So, my options boiled down to reading these books on my phone or my laptop. My phone is too small for my old self, and my laptop is too large to lounge around comfortably with. Or I could buy a Kobo! Pass. I'm peeved now. It all sounded so simple at first, and it turned into a frustrating exercise.

I realize this is probably my "old man yells at cloud" moment. I'll have more. But maybe I'll save one person from going through this same thing. If you have older Kindles and are believing you'll get Kobo books to work on them, look a little deeper. Make sure your device will connect to the program. Or just avoid the site. That's what I'll be doing in the future. I've gotten books from other sites before, Coachwhip to name one, and never had an issue getting it to work. Circumstances were just not in my favor this time.

Mage (World of Warcraft manga) - Richard A. Knaak

*This review is mostly for my memory.*

Digging into one of my other Humble Bundles, I had some World of Warcraft titles. My husband and I have a lot of history with that game and made a few friends while playing (a few we still keep in touch with!). The bundle is a mix of comics, manga and novels. This was my first manga from the bundle.

Dalaran is under attack by a force led by Malygos, the great blue dragon. Aodhan is a young mage who hears a voice in the prison. He follows the voice and finds his uncle, a man who he believed to be dead. What follows is Aodhan's journey of choosing sides and testing the limits of his knowledge.

I definitely would not recommend this to anyone who knows zero about WoW. You're just dropped into the world, and being plopped onto a floating city would make most people just ask questions. For me, familiar names like Dalaran, Kirin Tor, and Azeroth brought back memories. A few of the major events were mentioned as well. 

At first I didn't realize this was a manga, so I was a bit confused why it was in black and white. Knowing it's a manga, I understood. I was a bit bummed, though, since Malygos is a really pretty color of blue. Other than that, it didn't bother me. I read this on my Kindle, so I had to zoom in and move the pages around to read it. A bit of work, but I do what I have to! Good Story!

Streams of Silver (Icewind Dale #2) - R. A. Salvatore

This is the second book in the series. The first book was The Crystal Shard, and I'll be diving into The Halfling's Gem after my next nonfiction book. 

In this book, we're on a quest with Bruenor to find his ancestral home of Mithral Hall. There are a few things going on. Drizzt is being pursued by a wizard searching for the buried Crystal Shard. Regis is being pursued by Entreri, an assassin sent to retrieve the ruby pendant he stole, and Catti-Brie, though left behind, gets wrapped up in the adventure as well. Shimmergloom, a shadow dragon, has taken up residence in Mithral Hall, so even if the party can get there in one piece, there's danger waiting.

This was another good book. I liked the depth to the characters and how Entreri was the antithesis of Drizzt. That'll come in the next book. The assassin has the gem, Regis, and Drizzt's shadow cat. Not cool. I really liked the storyline with Morkai, the slave wizard who was trying to break free from Dendybar. I mean, the man had a golem that was practically indestructible. Scary stuff. The end was sad, but I want to read into one sentence about a stone moving. Maybe the dwarf torch still lives? That made me super sad. It can't be the end for him, can it?

There's not much more to say. I'm just glad I have the whole trilogy, because otherwise I would be peeved at the cliffhanger nature of these. But I don't have to worry about it. Good Book!

Soldier Dogs - Maria Goodavage

I love dogs. They're wonderful creatures, and my little heart melts when I see them. I've been blessed with having two great dogs during my life.

This book explains the training process and lives of soldier dogs. It doesn't just tell stories of particular dogs. While there are specific stories in the book, that's not the main focus. It was interesting to get an in-depth look in their lives.

There is a glaring omission in the book I would like to point out. The book is so well researched, I was surprised with the gap. The author mentions seeing surgery for dogs who are getting ready for retirement. She is glad the heroes aren't forgotten. But they are.

Once those dogs go into retirement, all costs for medical care fall on the owner. Some of these dogs live out their lives fairly normally, but others have issues. The government is no longer responsible for their care, so the owner (many times the former handler) has to choose between costly care and their best friend's life. It is the reason groups like Project K9 Hero, Mission K9 Rescue and The Warrior Dog Foundation (among many others) were created. Sometimes they're even able to save a dog from being euthanized. 

This book was well researched, and the author had access to many areas the general public will never see. I was almost crying multiple times reading this book. It was published in 2012, and I'm happy to say that in 2013, the law changed so these heroes were no longer considered equipment. In 2018, President Obama signed a law that allows overseas MWDs to come home to retire. Steps are being taken to recognize these heroes, but they still aren't allowed to receive medals intended for "humans." I mean, dogs are people, too!

Overall, I liked this book. It was well written and informative. If it hadn't had the glaring omission in it, I wouldn't have anything negative to say. But I'm passionate about K9s, so if you love dogs, appreciate working dogs, and want to show some appreciation, find a charity. Donate. Buy a shirt. Everyone looks good with a dog on their shirt! Help those who have been helping us for centuries. Good Book!

The Crystal Shard (Icewind Dale #1) - R. A. Salvatore

Recently, I remembered we had purchased a ton of Drizzt books through Humble Bundle. I decided to track them down and see how far behind I was. Answer: so far behind...

The Ten-Towns are under attack by the barbarians of the tundra. They've been warned by Drizzt, the drow elf that very few trust. Since they were forewarned, the people come out on top, but one of the barbarians is spared and taken in by Bruenor the dwarf to learn the ways of their world. There's something about this barbarian...

As this is going on, Akar Kessel is amassing an army. He's under the influence of the Crystal Shard. He's got a demon by his side, and he feels invincible. His army is made up of races and tribes that don't normally work together, but the crystal gives him the power to keep them in line.

I got sucked into this book early on. It's broken up into three parts with an epilogue on each part, but it's simply a continuation of the story. The characters were easy to sympathize with, and the action easy to follow. I could put the book down, and I wouldn't have a problem remembering what was happening when I picked it back up. Sometimes that's a problem when you have this many different threads in one story.

Salvatore's a pro at what he does. There's a reason he has so many books under his belt, and I think a lot of it has to do with the character building he does. Something that really stood out to me in particular were the fight scenes. Those are really difficult to write, and making them engaging and easy to follow is hard to master.

Drizzt is an intriguing character, and now he's on his way with Bruenor, Wulfgar and Regis to find Mithril Hall. Next up is Streams of Silver, and I'll be reading that one soon. Good Book!

Desert Encounter - Knud Holmboe

This book was one of the oldest on my TBR pile, and I'm not sure what prompted me to put it on there.

Knud is a man from Denmark, but he's no ordinary European. He's embraced Islam and wants to drive from the west side of Africa to the east and then on to Mecca. This is 1930, and a war is raging between the Italians and the native people of the lands Knud has to pass through.

Along the way, he picks up and drops off a few traveling companions, gets lost in the desert and has various dangerous encounters - with both the natives and the Italians. He also witnesses the harsh realities of what the Italians are doing to the people. In areas as remote as the ones Knud is going through, it's all too easy to get away with cruelty and evil.

I can't really explain why this book intrigued me so much. I couldn't see any of the pictures. For some reason, they were so washed out, I couldn't read the captions or tell what most of them were. The story itself wasn't uplifting, and Knud didn't accomplish his goal. He was imprisoned and left Africa before he could make it. Honestly, with the amount of times his car broke down, I would've quit long before he did. If there's a chance I'm stuck in the middle of the desert, I'm not going. 

Anyway, I did like this book. I appreciate everything Knud went through, and it was a once in a lifetime experience. The book was published in 1931, and later that year, he tried to make his way to Mecca again. This time, though, he was attacked and killed while on the journey. Rumors claim the Italians ordered the murder, but no evidence was ever found. Knud's book was highly controversial and banned in Italy, so it's plausible they are responsible for his death. Either way, the world lost a good writer and explorer. Good Book!

Years of Wrath: A Cartoon History: 1931-1945 - David Low (Chronology and text by Quincy Howe)

This book is a collection of political cartoons created by David Low. He started making political cartoons early in life and eventually made his way to the Star, a paper in London. He was given free rein, so even though his views didn't mesh with those of his editor, he wasn't censored. The cartoons in this collection cover the lead up and duration of WWII.

Full confession: I hate political cartoons. I've never understood them, so I've always avoided them like the plague. I saw this had text with it, and I figured maybe I could get some understanding. Each panel has a paragraph with it explaining what was going on in the world at the time and inspired the cartoon. It was helpful, and I really appreciated it.

At the end of the book, there is a chronology of the events of the war. There was so much going on at the same time, having it broken up into smaller chunks like this was super helpful. The only thing I would point out is this was published in 1946, so some of the information doesn't appear to have all the details that later investigations provided.

The other thing I noticed was the quality of the cartoons. Digitally, they were okay for the most part, but many of them had parts where the text inside was hard to read. I ended up reading this on my laptop, and I had it blown up where the cartoon took up the whole screen. I still couldn't read some of them. I initially tried to read it on my Kindle, but they were way too small. Overall, with the explanations, I didn't hate the political cartoons. I was able to understand and learn more about the government side of the war, and all the text was short and to the point. I'll easily give this a Good Book! review. If you aren't fond of the cartoons and are just looking for a chronology of significant events of WWII, check this book out. I found it on Internet Archive.

 

The Trumpeter of Krakow - Eric P. Kelly

This book was solely on my radar because it entered public domain this year. I don't remember if I read a synopsis.

Joseph is traveling with his mother and father to Krakow. Their home has been destroyed, and they're on their way to find some family in the city. Unfortunately, their relative has died, and their name needs to be changed for safety. The father is also hiding something in a pumpkin.

At the Church of Our Lady St. Mary, a trumpeter marks the hour by playing a tune at each of the four windows of the tower. Joseph's father ends up in the position, and Joseph will become part of the tradition. Back at their lodgings, the alchemist upstairs prevents some thieves from acquiring the contents of the pumpkin, but it doesn't turn out the way you'd expect.

This story was pretty wild. Apparently, the story takes inspiration from an actual historical fire that destroyed a lot of Krakow in 1462, so that was pretty neat. I also liked the background story for the trumpeter. I played the trumpet, so I have some boas there.

In a time when superstition and science were both led to accusations of black magic, I can well believe a huge crystal could cause this much chaos. The best books I've read are the ones where I can't tell when it was written. I feel like this one showed its age in a few places, but it wasn't bad. I don't know that I'll remember it in a few months, though. It's unique for what it is, and I appreciate that. At the end of the day, I wouldn't recommend it to my kids (it's a young adult book), so I suppose it doesn't merit the stamp of approval. But it's close.

Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow - Dr. Jan Pol

Dr. Jan Pol is a character. If you've ever seen his show on TV, you won't forget him. He shows the life and death struggles of the patients in his country veterinary practice.

In this book, we start with Jan's roots and work our way up to the show. It's also a collection of stories and it almost feels like a print version of the show. The conversational tone was engaging and easy to read.

I love critters, so I was on board with this book. I have to say, I struggle with the parts of the show (and the book) where the animals don't make it. But, it is part of the circle. I appreciated this book and ate it up. Finished it in two days and recommend it! Good Book!

The Leavenworth Case - Anna Katherine Green

I believe I was put on the track of this book when I read the autobiography of Agatha Christie. She mentioned this book was influential in her own work. This is the first book I've read by this author.

Horatio Leavenworth has been murdered. His normal lawyer is out of town, so the task of watching out for his nieces falls to Mr. Raymond. Raymond is entranced by one of the women, but all the evidence is pointing at her. Will he be able to unravel the mystery and save her?

The plot for this story was very well laid out. It became a bit repetitive at the end, since the same information was told by multiple people. Other than that, I really did like this book. It's in the public domain, so anyone can find a copy of it. I got mine from gutenberg,org.

I didn't want to say much about the plot, so this review is short. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie, I think you'd enjoy this book. The other amazing thing is this book was written in 1878. I would never have guessed that by the writing. Good Book!