Life and books

Hmmm... is there any life?

Oh, yeah! I forgot to report this - annoying cousin is homeless again - not sure she even made it a full month in the new place. Her cat is with someone else - I said no. I also said no to letting her sleep on my porch one night - I mean, come on - if she's on the porch, she may as well come in and sleep on the couch again and then I'd have to kick her out again. I did drive her places a couple of times since she has no car and the person she's been mooching off of is getting tired of her and turns off her cell phone so cousin can't get through. So, once, before she was evicted, I went to the bar where she hangs out (she goes for karaoake and who knows what else, but she doesn't seem to drink) and drove her home. At that point, her power was turned off and she said she had the money to pay to get it back on, but didn't have a way to the store where she would pay. So I said I'd come over the next day and take her. Went over - no one home. A couple of weeks later, she called from the hospital needing a ride (probably there trying to get her medications), so I went and got her, took her to a gas station where she could get some cigarettes; then she was going to walk next door to the Waffle House and sit there. She had a huge tale of woe, but I found it hard to believe - and just don't care anymore. Also called a different cousin to warn her that annoying cousin might try to hit her up again. {Sigh} I wish she could get a place and settle, but she seems to deliberately sabotage herself. Not my problem. And she got both of her checks at the end of the month, so she's not destitute.

Apparently my disability is supposed to start coming out on the 16th of the month. Goofy me forgot to ask what the monthly amount will be or if the first check will be the backdated amount. May have to either call again or go up to the SocSec office. Otherwise things are as usual here :)

( June books )

So I finished the 100 Books Challenge :) and am up to 118 for the year so far.

rest of the science fiction and fantasy for June

Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro -  another complex plot - read the summary :)  I liked it okay, didn't love it, wouldn't rave about it.  The science stuff was interesting, I liked the main character, but the romance part was draggy and, ultimately, I didn't really care. Which is disappointing as I've heard lots of raves for the author. But the series doesn't seem to be a single timeline - more of inter-related arcs, so I might try another.

The Marriage Spell by Mary Jo Putney -  Oooh! A Regency/fantasy mix! I've always had a weak spot for regency romances and I've liked everything of Putney's that I've read, so this sounded like a treat :)  It's England, but with magic - well, the lower classes use their magic. The upper class looks upon wizards with disdain and distrust. But when Jack Langdon breaks his neck during a hunt, he ends up agreeing to marry the local healer if she saves his life. Abagail does save him and offers to free him from their engagement, since she had used that to get his attention to calm him before the healing could begin. But Jack decides that Abby might make a fine wife - or at least, one that won't demand much from him. But then Abby finds out that Jack's overwhelming dislike of magic and his taste for reckless behavior are both rooted in spells placed upon him. Together they must confront Jack's past - and survive - in order to have a future. I really liked this :)

mystery/thrillers, again - part 1/June

I've got 8, but am going to divide them up into two parts.

Obedience by Will Lavender -  Great premise, not great story. Students taking Logic and Reasoning 204, taught by Professor Williams, find out that this class is different. Their assignment over the next six weeks is to find a missing girl named Polly, using the clues given to them by the professor (and logic and reasoning, of course). If they don't find her before the six weeks are up, Polly will be murdered. Three of the students are more intrigued - and more frightened when their class and the real world start to intersect. People from the clues are proven to be real, as are locations and events. Is this a class assignment or a real missing girl? The students weren't really interesting and the whole wrap up of the story just irritated me.  I can suspend disbelief with the best of them, but don't turn it into a farce.

Southern Fatality by T. Lynn Ocean - Jersey Barnes, a marine MP turned South Carlina private investigator, has just retired from her investigating job. She's tired of the danger and wants to spend time with her boyfriend Bill. Then Bill asks her to help out an old friend, a beautiful bombshell named Lolly, who thinks her rich husband is cheating on her. But instead of hanky panky between the sheets, Jersey finds kidnapping and cybercrime - and a plot to take down a bank and steal millions from hardworking tax payers. So she calls upon her best friend, a Lumbee Indian named Ox, a computer hacker named Soup, her retired dad, Spud, who drags along his geriatric poker buddies, and her loyal dog to outfox the bad guys. Set in WIlmington, NC.  Fun, fluffy. Would have been a great beach read. (SRC)

Out of Reach by Patricia Lewin - CIA operative Erin Baker is watching a magician entertain children in a park, when she thinks she recognizes the man from 19 years ago - the day her seven year old sister was snatched. Her sister was found several years later, and spends most of her time in a mental hospital. When Erin hears that a child was taken that day, she goes back to the scene and reports to the police, where she begins working with FBI agent Alec Donovan to bring down a child slavery ring. The story shifts between Erin and Alec to the kidnapper to Ryan, an imprisoned boy, who decides to finally fight back and help another boy (the one Donovan is looking for) escape.
Good story, mostly stock characters - the two boys were the most interesting.

Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell - newest in Lowell's St. Kilda Consulting series. Jill Breck saves the life of a St. Kilda's operative's son during a rafting trip downriver. Lane Faroe gives her his card and an offer of help if she ever needs it. She soon does.  Her great-aunt's death brings her back to the family homestead, where she finds some paintings hidden in a secret room. One painting had been sent out for examination and "lost" by the examiners. When Jill's attempt at getting the paintings evaluated ends in the destruction of her SUV, she calls St. Kilda's. Zach Balfour  comes in to be her bodyguard and to help her find out what is so dangerous about the paintings. Amid all the danger, they fall for each other, of course :)   Lowell writes a good, sexy, soap opera of a thriller - though I didn't find this one quite as good as the others, I'll still grab the next one whenever it comes out.

mystery/thrillers, part 2 - last of June's books

Black Widow by Randy Wayne White - Doc Ford's goddaughter is being blackmailed after she and 3 friends have a last fling on the island of Saint Arc. So Doc, at first, does as Shay asks and drops off the payment, but he warns her it might not end there. And he's right - one of Shay's bridesmaids tries to commit suicide after receiving another blackmail note. So Doc puts aside his clandestine research work for the US government and heads back to the Caribbean to take down a blackmailing voodoo queen. Fun stuff, great series.

Phantom Prey by John Sandford - I loves me some Lucas Davenport :)  This one has some weird psychological stuff going on, which hindered my enjoyment somewhat, but the Davenport stuff and the general police procedural part were good. Davenport delves into the world of Goths, trying to find out what happened to a young woman whose mother is an acquaintance of Davenport's wife. A couple other people in the Goth community are murdered and Davenport is hunting for a connection.  The killer is where the weird stuff is - just couldn't buy it, but the investigation and the subplot of watching a drug dealer's girlfriend were good.

Black Out by Lisa Unger -  Complex plot, read summary at link :)  Unger is excellent - twisty, suspenseful, haunting. Story switches between current time and the past, from the POV of a damaged woman who's not quite sure what is real and what is imagination/hallucination. But her confusion may not just be because of the repressed memories she's trying to sort out - other forces may be at work trying to keep her confused and helpless. A literary psychological thriller. Read her other books too!  (A to Z)

Infected by Scot Sigler -  Best book this month - Black Out is a close second, but Infected is much more accessible. Kind of a horror/science fiction/thriller combo. Icky, violent  - and totally gripping. People have been infected. Those people start out itching, but the itchy places turn into blue triangles under the skin. And the people turn into violent homicidal maniacs. Margaret Montoya, from the CDC, is working with CIA agent Dew Phillips (who's acting against all rules by working a domestic case) to find out what is making people crazy - the problem is that all the infected bodies rapidly liquidify, leaving nothing much to examine.  Former football player Perry Dawsy is infected, itching, and angry. But his father's abusive behavior when he was young and serious training when he was playing, have given him disipline and he doesn't take crap from anyone, not even his own body. But can he control the alien infection long enough for Montoya and Phillips to find him? And who or what is behind the infection? Excellent job at Perry's descent into homicidal rage and the things he does to fight off the influence of the triangles. You'll cringe, but you'll keep reading.