Origin (Robert Langdon, #5)

Origin by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Edmond Kirsch is murdered in front of millions of people as he prepares to make a startling announcement about where we come from and where we are going Robert Langdon is determined to find out just what the announcement was. With the help of Ambra Vidal (Prince Julian's fiancee) Langdon embarks on a quest to discover the passcode to Edmond's cloud account where the announcement has been prerecorded and saved. But the assassin is determined to stop them at any cost. And the Palace places them in further danger when they announce that Ambra was kidnapped by Langdon.

Once the message is out and the Palace clears up the misunderstanding about the "kidnapping" Langdon has time to think and as he puts the clues together he comes to a startling conclusion about the role Winston (AI Kirsch created) played in the events surrounding Edmond's death.

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Flower Friday, Bellingrath Garden Paths

 The Church is very peaceful.

 Wild Azaleas I need to get some of these.

Secrets in Death (In Death, #45)

Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Larinda literally dies at Eve's feet, Eve has to put aside her distaste for the "social information reporter" to find her killer. And thanks to Larinda's sideline of blackmailing those weak enough to pay the list of potential killers is long. As Eve uncovers their secrets she removes them from the suspect list as most of Larinda's victims are decent people trying to protect loved ones or haunted by past abuse. As the "marks" are removed from the suspect list one by one Eve broadens it to include people close to the marks. But it isn't until a innocent woman is killed because she was unwittingly used as an alibi that Eve zeroes in on her man.

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Killing Season by Faye Kellerman

Killing Season: A Thriller by Faye Kellerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Benjamin Vicksburg, "Vicks" to his friends is obsessed with finding the serial killer who murdered his older sister three years ago. When Dorothy moves to town she befriends Vicks while dating the BMOC John David "JD". When Dorothy breaks up with JD, her and Vicks hook up for awhile, but when she thinks he forgot Valentines she falls back into JD's arms. Vicks is totally disgusted with her and in an effort to make things up to him Dorothy gets a job working at a lodge that offers discounts to people who work in the government labs in the area, as Vicks suspects the killer does. She uses her job to print out reams of data on the guest and then she and Vicks narrow down the suspect list.

But while Vicks is zeroing in on the killer the killer is stalking Ben's sister Haley and her best friend Lily. Which one will be his victim and will Ben be able to save her.

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Bissel Bolt Pet

I won the Bissel Bolt Pet Handheld Vacuum.  I like the way it just plugs into any power outlet. Big plus in my opinion. I find it rather heavy to hold and I kept accidentally turning it off as the power button is near the handle.

I had hoped to use it to vacuum out the Fenris hair in the car, but the hair stubbornly clung to the upholstery and had the vacumn outmatched. It is great for picking up spills in the house.  

Flower Friday

 More from Bellingrath Gardens. I love the charming paths through the property I would like to do something similar here with more environmentally friendly material.

Deep Freeze (Virgil Flowers, #10)

Deep Freeze by John Sandford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Virgil gets sent back to Trippton, Minnesota ( home of the school board killers) to solve the murder of local bank President Gina Hemming who was found floating in the Mississippi shortly after she hosted a Class Reunion committee meeting. He is also instructed to help a Private Investigator track down the maker of Barbie Os.

After a series of misadventures and another murder Flowers arrest the killer and heads home to make a baby with Frankie.

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Bellingrath Garden Paths

 I really like the flowers planted with the Sky Flower. I think I will repot mine and add some similar flowers this Winter while I have it in the greenhouse. I also need to trim mine up so it will look more like this.

 Didn't get to look at this area as much as I would have liked they had a car show going on and it was very noisy.

The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels

The Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After her Father's death Heather embarks on the garden tours they had planned to take together. Denied admittance to Troytan Heather sneaks onto the grounds through a hedge when she encounters a statue it gives her a fright and she flees right into the arms of Jordan.

His Father, Frank, soon invites her to stay and work on restoring the gardens with him. But the local legends of witchcraft give Heather more than her usual nightmares.

When a fire breaks out at Troytan Heather, Jordan and Frank barely escape with their lives. Frank's bodyguard Sean was passed out in the cottage, so if Tipp the cat hadn't woken Heather they would have perished in the fire.When arson is confirmed suspicion falls on Bobby the troubled son of Lindsay and Giles. But when Bobby's body is found in the maze Heather realizes that there isn't anything Lindsay won't do to marry money.

And when Jordan finally confesses his "feelings" Heather has other things on her mind than food thankfully. Heather is a "little obsessed" with meals.

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Mind Game (Eve Duncan #22)

Mind Game by Iris Johansen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jane starts dreaming about a woman in trouble who looks vaguely familiar. Trying to track down clues in order to help "Lisa" she soon realizes that the reason the woman looks familiar is she resembles Seth Caleb. Confronting Caleb Jane discovers that the woman is his sister and that she shares his mysterious blood powers although she has managed to keep her talent hidden.

Now Lisa is being used as bait in order to get Caleb to do what her kidnappers (Teresa Romano & her hired gun Santara) want, but after Jane and Caleb rescue Lisa, the kidnappers decided to use Jane as bait instead.

After helping MacDuff (with an assist from Margaret and Juno) find Cira's treasure Jane leaves the safety of Loch Gaelkar to take the treasure to the Bank in Edinburgh with MacDuff and Jock. Jane decides to go back to camp before they are finished with one set of guards and is waylaid by Caleb's enemies. Caleb, Joe and Lisa working together manage to extricate Jane from their grasp while leaving their intended victim unharmed.

Eve and Joe's friends gather at Loch Gaelkar to celebrate their wedding.

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Dona Nobis Pacem

Flowers on Friday

Coral Bean from April.

Still Loving my DEEBOTN79

I blogged about the DEEBOTN79 back in April when I first got it. I am still LOVING it. Someone asked about the capacity so I thought I would show you. This is the tray that dirt/fur is collected in. It holds a lot more than you would think as the dirt is very compacted inside. It's also very simple to empty it.
 

Really wish I had one that mopped too. But if you are trying to find a Christmas present for someone this nifty tool would definitely be on my list. And the customer service at Ecovacs is top notch.