November And December 2023 Reads
I fulfilled my 2023 Reading Challenge of 40 Books, did you? Here are the books I’ve read last November and December. How many books did you pledge to read for 2024? I’m sticking to 40 because that’s pretty much a safe number for me, HAH. Anyhooo, I hope you’re all off to a good start in your reading pile. BIBLIOPHILES UNITE!
Stone Maidens by Lloyd Devereux Richards: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
As the chief forensic anthropologist for the FBI’s Chicago field office, Christine Prusik has worked her fair share of bizarre cases. Yet this one trumps them all: a serial killer is strangling young women and dumping their bodies in the steep, forested ravines of southern Indiana.
With each victim, the killer leaves a calling card: a stone figurine carved like the spirit stones found among the primitive tribes of Papua New Guinea — the same tribes from whom Prusik narrowly escaped a decade earlier while doing field research. The similarity is eerie and, frankly, terrifying; Prusik still carries the scars from the tribesmen’s attack. But is the connection real? Or have the dark details of Prusik’s nightmares finally wormed their way into her waking life? (SOURCE)
Touch of Regret by Autumn Reed: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
At twenty-four, I’d resigned myself to a simple life following in my mother’s footsteps. I would manage the antique shop she left me and marry a kind, stable man. Most importantly, I would never tell a soul about my psychic abilities.
But with a single, intentional touch and a vision of the past, I set events in motion that expose my secret. I’m part of a world I never knew existed, and my new allies are dismantling my carefully constructed walls.
Except, those walls had a purpose–they kept me hidden. (SOURCE)
Once Upon A Crime by Nolon King: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
New detective Chelsea Sullivan is partnered with a maverick famous for closing cases and infamous for how he does it. He has a target on his back and a chip on his shoulder. Not exactly how she hoped to kick off her first homicide case.
Jim McPherson doesn’t mind showing an up-and-comer the ropes, but he does mind when she keeps putting herself in harm’s way. Especially since her innocence is exactly the trait the serial killer seems to be targeting. Unless they’re missing a crucial detail. And he can’t help but think his new partner knows what it is.
The body count is rising and the Grimm Reaper is after Chelsea. If they can’t catch him before he catches her, there will be no happily ever after.(SOURCE)
Beneath This Mask by Meghan March: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
Former Navy fighter pilot. Son of a congressman. Successful businessman in my own right. With a résumé like mine, women have never been a challenge.
Until I met her.
This sexy, tatted-up bad girl wasn’t part of my plans, but that punch to my gut every time I see her tells me I have to know more.
She’s a mystery. An enigma. A challenge.
I’m going to figure her out — and then I’m going to make her mine.
We’ll find out what she’s hiding… beneath this mask. (SOURCE)
Death is in the Details by Heather Sunseri: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐
A woman haunted by her past. A killer who won’t let her forget.
Faith Day’s condition curses her to recall her mother’s fiery murder like it was yesterday. And when the forensic photographer’s convicted stepbrother is somehow cleared 12 years later and released from prison, Faith wonders if he’ll put an end to her tortured memories. But after a string of eerily familiar fires tear through her small town, Faith starts to question every detail of her traumatic past.
Luke Justice won’t rest until he catches a notorious serial killer masking his murders in arson. Following a trail of deadly blazes to Faith’s doorstep, the FBI agent senses she holds the key to the case. But if he can’t convince her to open up, Luke fears he’ll miss his best chance to put a psychopath behind bars. (SOURCE)
Mr. Miracle by Debbie Macomber: 3⭐⭐⭐
Harry Mills is a guardian angel on a mission: help twenty-four-year-old Addie Folsom get her life back on track—and, if the right moment strikes, help her find love. Posing as a teacher at a local college in Tacoma, Washington, Harry is up to the task, but not even he can predict the surprises that lay in store.
After trying to make it on her own, Addie has returned home to Tacoma for the holidays, but this time she plans to stay for good, enrolling in the local community college to earn her degree. What she doesn’t plan to do is run into Erich Simmons.
Addie and her next-door neighbor, Erich, are like night and day. Growing up, he was popular and outgoing while she was rebellious and headstrong, and he never missed an opportunity to tease her. Now she intends to avoid him entirely, yet when they’re suddenly forced to spend Christmas together, Addie braces for trouble. (SOURCE)
