Pines, by Blake Crouch

Title: Pines

Author: Blake Crouch

Borrowed from DC Public library Kindle Edition

Started: 2/19/2023

Finished: 2/19/2023

Quick, easy read.  Decent but not amazing, first in the trilogy.  

No Plan B, by Andrew Child

Title: No Plan B

Author: Andrew Child

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 2/13/2023

Finished: 2/15/2023

Decent Reacher book.  

Cunning Folk, by Adam Neville

Title: Cunning Folk

Author: Adam Neville

Purchased from Amazon Kindle Edition

Started: 2/5/2023

Finished: 2/11/2023

I've read several by Neville recently, this was solid but probably lower on my list of his best works.  Some hard to read scenes (one in particular), but that's been true of all his works. 

So I liked it, just didn't love it. 

Blood on the Chesapeake, by Randy Overbeck

• Title: Blood on the Chesapeake
• Author: Randy Overbeck
• Purchased from book store in Easton, MD in paperback
• Started: 10/1/2023
• Finished: 1/341/2023

This one wasn't my kind of book.  Bought it on a whim on the Eastern Shore of MD having spent a lot of time in the area for the last 15 years.  Didn't expect great things, but had hoped it would be a fun beach-type read.  But took me three months to slog through it.

Those Across the River, by Christopher Buehlman

• Title:  Those Across the River
• Author: Christopher Buehlman
• Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
• Started: 1/26/2023
• Finished: 1/27/2023

Like this one a lot, almost as much as The Lesser Dead, but not quite.  

The Suicide Motor Club, by Christopher Buehlman

• Title:  The Suicide Motor Club
• Author:  Christoper Buehlman
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 1/24/2023
• Finished: 1/25/2023

I liked this one ok, it's a decent aside to "The Lesser Dead" but not great as a stand alone novel.  

The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman

Title: The Blacktongue Thief

Author: Christopher Buehlman

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 1/21/2022

Finished: 1/23/2022

I'm not much of a fantasy book guy, but I like smartassed banter. So while I wasn't much for the setting of this one, the characters were entertaining.  

The Lesser Dead, by Christopher Buehlman

• Title: The Lesser Dead
• Author: Christopher Buehlman
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 1/18/2023
• Finished: 1/20/2023

This was a pleasant surprise.  Normally not a vampire book fan, and never, ever, ever, a fan of audiobooks read by the author.  Those are never good, it's a firm rule.

And of course there has to be an exception that proves said rule.  This is that one, Buehlman is an outstanding performer.  Great book.

When Things Get Dark, Edited by Ellen Datlow

Title:  When Things Get Dark

Author (Editor): Ellen Datlow

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 1/15/2023

Finished: 1/18/2023

I've read several anthologies edited by Datlow, but this has to be my favorite.  Great combo of authors and stories.  Like many, the final story (Skinder's Veil, by Kelly Link) was a stand out.  But I enjoyed them all.  

Mr. Monk in Outer Space, by Lee Goldberg

Title: Mr. Monk in Outer Space

Author: Lee Goldberg

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 1/10/2023

Finished: 1/12/2023

Another pretty terrible entry in this series.  I'll finish the series, but not now, need a break.  

Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants, by Lee Goldberg

Title:  Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants

Author:  Lee Goldberg

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 1/7/2023

Finished: 1/9/2023

This one was pretty terrible, and makes me feel even more embarrassed about reading so many of these in a row.  But not so embarrassed as to stop me from continuing, at least until I find something better.

Mr. Monk and the Blue Fin, by Lee Goldberg

Title: Mr. Monk and the Blue Fin

Author:  Lee Goldberg

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 1/4/2023

Finished: 1/5/2023

Not as good as the Hawaii one, and definitely not as good as the TV show, but certainly an easy way to pass the time.

Mr. Monk goes to Hawaii

Title: Mr. Monk goes to Hawaii

Author: Lee Goldberg

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 1/3/2023

Finished: 1/4/2023

This was better than the first, more like a normal Monk episode.  But I've seen a few comments on Reddit about the fixation on women's bodies in these books and I have to agree.  It doesn't fit the Monk vibe to have so much talk about boobs/asses.  

Mr. Monk goes to the Firehouse, by Lee Goldberg

Title: Mr. Monk goes to the Firehouse

Author: Lee Goldberg

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 1/2/2023

Finished: 1/3/2023

A little embarrassed to be starting the Monk book series.  Always enjoyed the TV show, but this feels almost like giving up.  

But I've been in a bit if a reading slump, and something easy, fun, and comfortable sounds good right now. So that's where I've found myself...

Book was only so-so. 

Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge

Title: Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge

Author: Mike Resnick

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library eBook

Started: 12/5/2022

Finished: 12/6/2022

Extremely enjoyable sci-fi/apocalyptic novella.  This one was incredible. 

Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstor

Author: Grady Hendrix

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle Edition 

Started: 12/1/2022

Finished: 12/5/2022

Fun concept (horror set in Ikea), but overall didn't take to this one. 

Slow Horses, by Mick Herron

Title; Slow Horses

Author: Mick Herron

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started;  11/20/2022

Finished: 11/28/2022

Decent spy thriller, but I didn't this one as much as other, I suspect,given it was popular enough to spawn a TV series. 

Legacies, by F Paul Wilson

Title: Legacies

Author: F Paul Wilson

Purchased from used book store in Sacramento, CA Paperback

Started: 118/2022

Finished: 11/15/2022

Took a work trip to Houston in mid October that morphed into a three week travel adventure. Most of that time I was in northern California, in and around Sacramento.  Hadn't brought my Kindle and my eyes were straining to read the Kindle app on my phone. 

Found a used book store one day while out hunting for a place to buy lottery tickets (this was the week of the 1 to 2 billion dollar jackpot).  

Years ago I had started but never continued Wilson's Repairman Jack series.  Since this bookstore had the next book in line, I grabbed it.  

Liked it well enough -- dated for sure, but not offensive.  The fear of being near aids/hiv patients is the most dated piece of the book. Having grown up in the 80s/90s, I recall the very real fear of those with HIV.  Seems crazy now, but of course we were all recently terrified of COVID positive folks...

Anyway I'm off topic. Book wasn't great but a decent way to pass time on flights.  

Hide, by Kiersten White

• Title: Hide
• Author: Kiersten White
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 11/14/2022
• Finished: 11/15/2022

The elements were all there, but this one didn't come together for me.  I liked it enough to blow through it in two days, but overall it wasn't right for me. 

The Bullet that Missed, by Richard Osman

• Title:  The Bullet that Missed
• Author:  Richard Osman
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library
• Started: 11/ 2/2022
• Finished: 11/9/2022

Another in the Thursday Murder Club series.  These are extremely silly, but easy & satisfying to read. 

Split Image, by Robert B Parker

Title: Split Image

Author: Robert B Parker

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 10/25/2022

Finished: 10/28/2022

Another late Jess Stone novel, Parker really phoning these in near the end. But easy comfortable books to pick up/put down at will.  

Night and Day, by Robert B Parker

Title: Night and Day

Author: Robert B Parker

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 10/23/2022

Finished: 10/24/2022

Pretty terrible Jesse Stone novel, but damn these are so easy to read and good time killers.  

Duma Key, by Stephen King

Title: Duma Key

Author: Stephen King

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 10/10/2022

Finished: 10/22/2022

Not scary, but being from the area I enjoyed the first two thirds as a fun book about the main character on the gulf coast of fla, overcoming his injuries after an accident.  But the last third with the horror part wasnt scary at all. 

No One Gets Out Alive, by Adam Nevill

Title: No One Gets Out Alive

Author: Adam Nevill

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 10/12/2022

Finished: 10/16/2022

Another Nevill horror book. Harder to read with the rape/sex slavery stuff. 

The Reddening, by Adam Nevill

Title: The Reddening

Author: Adam Nevill

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 10/11/2022

Finished: 10/13/0222

Not my favorite Nevill book, but still good & scary, or maybe more anxiety producing, but enjoyable. 

Comfort Me with Apples, by Catherynne M. Valente

• Title: Comfort Me with Apples
• Author: Catherynne M. Valenta
• Borrowed from
• Started: 10/10/2022
• Finished: 10/11/2022

Very short & enjoyable novella.  Didn't know what to expect from this one and that made it all the more fun. 

Powers of Darkness, by Bram Stoker & Valdimar Asmundsson

• Title: Powers of Darkness
• Author: Bram Stoker & Valdimar Asmundsson
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 10/8/2022
• Finished: 10/10/2022

Interesting take on Stoker's Dracula, a very different story in this retelling/translation.

Stolen Tongues, by Felix Blkackwell

• Title:  Stolen Tongues
• Author:  Felix Blackwell
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 10/4/2022
• Finished: 10/7/2022

Wanted to like this one more than I did -- some good creepy stuff at times, but too long, disjointed, and overall not great.

Holy Chow, by David Rosenfelt

• Title: Holy Chow
• Author: David Rosenfelt
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook
• Started: 10/3/2022
• Finished: 10/4/2022

Another very silly, but entertaining, Andy Carpenter book.

The Fisherman, by John Langan

Title: The Fisherman

Author: John Langan

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 9/30/2022

Finished: 10/3/2022

Very enjoyable, loved the story-within-a-story writing.  

The House of Small Shadows, by Adam Nevill

Title: The House of Small Shadows

Author: Adam Nevill

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Hardback

Started: 10/1/2022

Finished: 10/2/2022

Scary little dolls.  Cover of this one is a nightmare. Good scary read for October. 

Last Days, by Adam Nevill

Title: Last Days

Author: Adam Nevill

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Paperback

Started: 9/28/2022

Finished: 9/30/2022

I enjoyed Neville's "The Ritual" enough to want to read more of his work. This one was tight up my alley with the found footage/documentary angle.  I liked it, less moody than TR, but enjoyable scary. 

The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay

• Title:  The Cabin at the End of the World
• Author: Paul Tremblay
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition
• Started: 9/25/2022
• Finished: 9/27/2022

I generally like Tremblay's books, but am always disappointed by the end.  This one was no exception.  

Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells

Title: Fugitive Telemetry

Author: Martha Wells

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 9/25/2022

Finished: 9/26/2022

Another entry in the Murderbot series, cute and enjoyable. 

The Ritual, by Adam Nevill

Title: The Ritual

Author: Adam Nevill

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 9/24/2022

Finished: 9/24/2022

This was a pretty good, claustrophobic, anxiety ridden lost in the wood horror novel.  Had a hard time putting it down. 

Network Effect, by Martha Wells

• Title:  Network Effect
• Author:  Martha Wells
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition
• Started:9/20/2022
• Finished: 9/22/2022

Awww, Murderbot Diaries has turned into a love story.  Ok, it was obvious it was going that way, but still cute and fun.

Best in Snow, by David Rosenfelt

• Title:  Best in Snow
• Author: David Rosenfelt
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library (audiobook)
• Started: 9/19/2022
• Finished: 9/20/2022

Two of these Andy Carpenter books in a row is a bit much, but they're always entertaining, even if plots/jokes are largely identical.

Dog Eat Dog, by David Rosenfelt

• Title:  Dog Eat Dog
• Author:  David Rosenfelt
• Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library (Audiobook)
• Started: 9/14/2022
• Finished: 9/19/2022

Another in the Andy Carpenter series -- while I do enjoy these very silly novels, I honestly picked this one because I was looking to listen to something narrated by Grover Gardner -- it had been a while.

Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells

Title: Exit Strategy

Author: Martha Wells

Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 9/15/2022

Finished: 9/18/2022

Another short, silly, but very fun entry in the Murderbot Diaries series. 

Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells

• Title:  Rogue Protocol
• Author:  Martha Wells
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public LIbrary Kindle Edition
• Started: 9/14/2022
• FInished: 9/15/2022

Yes, another in the Murderbot Diaries series.  What can I say -- they're short, silly, and stupidly enjoyable. 

Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells

Title: Artificial Condition

Author: Martha Wells

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Audiobook

Started: 9/12/2022

Finished: 9/14/2022

Haven't been in much of an audiobook mood lately, but the wait times for the Kindle edition at the library were nuts so I went with what I could get.  Fun story, so-so narration.  Second in the Murderbot Diaries series.  

Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell, by Nathan Ballingrud

• Title:  Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
• Author: Nathan Ballingrud
• Purchased from Amazon.com Kindle Edition
• Started:  9/11/2022
• Finished: 9/12/2022

After reading Ballingrud's North American Lake Monsters and loving that collection of short stories, I was really interested to read Wounds.  As a dedicated public library user (and not a collector of books) I try my hardest not to purchase books, but I made an exception on this one because I wanted to "skip the line" and get it asap.

It was worth the money.  I'm torn on which I liked better, NA Lake Monsters or Wounds.  I had never read Ballingrud before (unless he had a story in a horror anthology I've read previously) so the first story in NA Lake Monsters was such a surprise to me, in a good way.

But the stories in Wounds relate more (or maybe I just noticed it more), the first & last being true bookends to the collection.  

All in all, a great collection of stories that I will no doubt revisit once enough time has passed that they'll be new to me, again (with my memory that won't take very long).

Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero

Title: Meddling Kids

Author: Edgar Cantero

Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition

Started: 9/6/2022

Finished: 9/9/2022

Mixed bag, but overall enjoyable.  A very gen-x pop culture horror-ish novel. 

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

Title: All Systems Red

Author: Martha Wells

Borrowed from

Started: 9/5/2022

Finished: 9/5/2022

A very cute novella, but felt like an incomplete draft -- still I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series. 

North American Lake Monsters, by Nathan Ballingrud

Title: North American Lake Monsters

Author: Nathan Ballingrud

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library eBook

Started: 9/3/2022

Finished:9/5/2022

Several  online recommendations for Ballingrud's work.  I've had this one flagged at the public library for a while, but it was only on Hoopla, which doesn't export to Kindle -- can only read it through the Hoopla site/app, and it is not as easy on my eyes as the Kindle.

Anyway, have a flip chromebook that works pretty well as an e-reader so devoured this one over the last few days.  True to the recs, Ballingrud is good.  I'll be reading his other stuff, moving onto Wounds next.

Home Before Dark, by Riley Sager

Title: Home Before Dark

Author: Riley Sager

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle edition

Started: 8/30/2022

Finished: 9/3/2022

Fun and easy beach read.  Good end of summer quasi-haunted house book. 

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Mexican Gothic

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Borrowed from Queen Anne County Public Library Kindle edition

Started: 8/26/2022

Finished: 8/29/2022

Enjoyable horror melodrama. 

The Elementals, by Michael McDowell

Title: The Elementals

Author: Michael McDowell

Purchased from Amazon.com Kindle edition

Started: 8/21/2022

Finished: 8/24/2022

Enjoyable southern haunted house book, fun summer read. 

Penpal, by Dathan Auerbach

Title: Penpal

Author: Dathan Auerbach

Purchased from Amazon.com Kindle edition

Started: 8/3/2022

Finished: 8/21/2022

Started this one on a cross country flight then put it down until today. I liked it, but I had read the original reddit posts years ago and this didn't pack the same punch as those did at the time. 

Devil's Canyon, by Ralph Compton

Title: Devil's Canyon

Author: Ralph Compton

Second hand store in Monticello, UT paperback

Started: 8/14/2022

Finished: 8/19/202

Forgettable western novel.