Books Read in 2015

The Girl Without A Name by Sandra Block

the girl without a name by sandra block

Photo Credit: Grand Central Pub

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Girl Without A Name

Dr. Zoe Goldman is back!

It’s a regular day in the psych ward until a strange case arrives. Stranger than other cases that come in- this one has many of the doctors stumped.

A young African-American girl has arrived in a catatonic state at Zoe’s hospital. With no way to identify her, Zoe is unsure how they are going to identify this girl- unless she wakes up and tells them exactly who she is.

When other treatments prove to not work, Zoe and the doctors begin to think outside the box- and one day, a change is made. She wakes up and says her name is Candy. What happened to Candy? How did she get into the catatonic state? And is Candy truly safe? Continue reading →

Charm City by Laura Lippman

charm city

Photo Credit: William Morrow

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Charm City

Summary from Goodreads:

Reporter-turned-P.I. Tess Monaghan loves every inch of her native Baltimore–a quirky city where baseball reigns, and homicide seems to be the second most popular sport. Business tycoon “Wink” Wynkowski wants to change all of that by bringing pro-basketball back to town–a laudable mission that’s greeted with widespread cheers . . . and a muckraking front page expose of his past in the Baltimore Beacon-Light. The “Blight’s” surprised editors are sure they killed the piece. Instead, the piece kills Wynkowski, who’s discovered asphyxiated in his garage with his car’s engine running. Now the paper wants former newshound Tess to track down the rogue computer hacker whose prank took a human life. But there’s more than cyber-crime involved here–and Tess is about to discover firsthand that trying to stay alive in Charm City is murder these days.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I am SO late to the game of the awesomeness that Laura Lippman is, it’s not even funny. Having read her last 2 Tess Monaghan books, AFTER I’M GONE and HUSH HUSH (along with a couple of her stand-alones), when William Morrow offered review copies of some of her earlier books, I jumped at the chance.  Continue reading →

Moonlight on Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

Moonlight on Butternut lake by mary mcnear

Photo Credit: William Morrow Publishing

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Moonlight on Butternut Lake

Reid Ford is a difficult man lately. At one point in life, he was haunted by the need to succeed- to be the best businessman ever. Now, he’s haunted by the accident that nearly took his life and determined to run off every aide that is assigned the task of caring for him.

Mila Jones knows about difficulty. Her past is littered with objects of difficulty. A neglectful mom. A love that promised so much- but delivered so little. When Mila sees an opportunity to escape- she runs and soon becomes the aide to Reid Ford- a man who just wants to be left alone. Continue reading →

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

Photo Credit: Crooked Lane Books

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Plantation Shudders

Summary from Goodreads:

Check in for some Southern hospitality in Plantation Shudders, the Cajun Country series debut from Ellen Byron.

It’s the end of the summer and Prodigal Daughter Maggie Crozat has returned home to her family’s plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast in Louisiana. The Crozats have an inn full of guests for the local food festival–elderly honeymooners, the Cajun Cuties, a mysterious stranger from Texas, a couple of hipster lovebirds, and a trio of Georgia frat boys. But when the elderly couple keels over dead within minutes of each other–one from very unnatural causes– Maggie and the others suddenly become suspects in a murder.

With the help of Bo Durand, the town’s handsome new detective, Maggie must investigate to clear her name while holding the family business together at the same time. And the deeper she digs, the more she wonders: are all of the guests really there for a vacation or do they have ulterior motives? Decades-old secrets and stunning revelations abound in Ellen Byron’s charming cozy debut, Plantation Shudders.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Cozy mysteries are a book type that are close to my heart. I find them to be filled with great characters that I look forward to seeing again and again.  Continue reading →

Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Season of Salt and Honey

Photo Credit: Touchstone Books, 9/1

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Season of Salt and Honey

Frankie Caputo thought she had life in the palm of her hand. She was going to marry Alex and live life forever with the man she loves more than anything in the world.

Fate, though, has other plans.

After Alex’s untimely death, Frankie does not know what she wants- but she knows that she cannot deal with her large Italian family, grieving along with her, checking on her to make sure she’s eating.

Frankie needs alone time and she goes to the one place that she can go- a place that is not filled with the daily reminders of Alex and the life that was tragically cut short. Frankie heads to the cabin, the Gardner family cabin. Continue reading →

The Middle of Somewhere by Sonja Yoerg

The middle of somewhere by sonja yoerg

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Middle of Somewhere

Liz Kroft is struggling under a boulder of emotional baggage. Lying to her boyfriend about her past has taken it’s toll on her and she craves the solitude that the hike along John Muir Trail promises.

Of course, her boyfriend, Dante, puts a crimp in her plans when he decides to tag along- even though being outdoors is so not his thing.

At first Liz feels stifled by Dante- she wanted this time alone to sort out things she needed, yet dreaded telling him. But when 2 brothers show up on the trail- she’s kind of glad to have a male presence around- because the brothers are shady acting. Continue reading →

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman

evergreen falls

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Evergreen Falls

Lauren Beck- relatively young; but very sheltered. Her mom has kept her close during her older brother’s sickness and now that she’s been able to cut the apron strings (somewhat) her mom is still determined to keep tabs on her every move.

When Lauren meets a man, they become friendly and during a little trip to Evergreen Spa’s hotel- Lauren finds some letters. Letters that spell out a very passionate relationship- but give few clues to who was involved or what happened.

Lauren becomes very intrigued and feels that she is up to the task of finding out the secrets- but is she prepared for what all she will find? Continue reading →

The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young

The Gates of Evangeline

Photo Credit: Putnam Books

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Gates of Evangeline

Charlotte “Charlie” Cates is living every mother’s worst nightmare. Her child has died and she is drowning in her grief. Not wanting to go back to her job at the magazine and concern herself with things like fashion, make-up and other magazine things that she cares nothing about since her child has died- she’s unsure what to do.

When an opportunity arises to go to Louisiana and meet with the Deveau family about writing a story about the case of the missing child, Gabriel Deveau- a case that has never been solved- Charlie takes the opportunity with both hands and runs with it. Continue reading →

Best Laid Plans by Allison Brennan

best laid plans by allison brennan

Photo Credit: Macmillan Audio

This audio book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Best Laid Plans

Lucy Kincaid is settling into life in San Antonio, Texas- when she gets a call to come to a crime scene.

The victim is Harper Worthington, husband to Congresswoman Adeline Reyes-Worthington, and the potential fall-out from this investigation is messy.

Harper is found in a seedy motel off the beaten path in San Antonio and it looks like he came in for some fun and then the fun killed him.

Of course, looks can be deceiving as Lucy Kincaid finds out.  Continue reading →

The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

The Third Wife

Photo Credit: Atria Books

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Third Wife

Three wives. 5 children. 1 happy man.

Or maybe not?

Adrian is a man who loves love. He’s on his third marriage- to the young Maya. He has 2 ex-wives and 5 kids with those wives. Maya meets Adrian, falls for him and expects life to be happily ever after.

Here’s the thing- when you are the third wife, you are the last in line with the family. You may be the apple of the eye of your husband- but to the kids, you are just the woman who stole their daddy. To the ex-wives, you are the lady who took the children’s father away. Continue reading →