Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon (Goodreads Author)

Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The book was good and I did enjoy it but I found it annoying how it kept switching between the past and present.

When Rhonda witnesses the kidnapping of a young girl, she starts thinking about her childhood and how Lizzie (her best friend) disappeared supposedly taken by her Father who disappeared a few years before Lizzie.

Slowly Rhonda is manipulated into believing the kidnapper is Peter (Lizzie's brother and Rhonda's secret crush) as the story unfolds tangled family relationships are revealed, bodies are uncovered and the identity of the real Peter Rabbit is brought to light.

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Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry

Dark Tide Rising by Anne Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Exeter ask for Monk's help after his wife is kidnapped Monk is happy to give it remembering the fear he felt when Hester was kidnapped, but when the ransom delivery goes awry Monk is left to wonder which of his men betrayed them.


Loath to believe that it was Hooper Monk digs into his past and learns of an accused mutiny that could have Hooper hanging if Monk can't find the evidence to clear him. And when Exeter uses Hooper's past to blackmail Celia Darwin (a young woman Hooper is romantically interested in and Kate Exeter's best friend) into giving him an alibi. It's only Hooper's willingness to sacrifice himself that allows justice to be served and Exeter convicted of killing his wife, as well as his accomplice Lister and the Bookkeeper (Bella Franken) that discovered Exeter's need for his wife's money.

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Knick Knacks

 Really love how well the Tempered Gray table looks against the Flood Time and with the Urban Sunrise trim.

 It's perfect for my knick knacks.

 Love how well the vase looks here.

 My Cat salt and pepper shakers.

 The Butterfly salt and pepper shakers

And the Butterfly Watering Cans salt & pepper shakers.

Past Tense (Jack Reacher, #23)

Past Tense by Lee Child
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reacher is headed to San Diego but decides to stop in Laconia, New Hampshire to visit his Father's birthplace. First he learns that Stan didn't actually live in Laconia but in a small mill town (Ryantown) outside the city limits and that Stan was the boy who ran away from a fight with the town bully. His cousin (together they were known as the bird watching boys) was the one who beat him up. No one seems to know his name or where he came from.

Then he learns the bird watching boys (Stan and William Reacher) wrote a paper for their bird watching club and he decides to take a gander at it when he discovers it's available at the town library. The professor who told him about the paper also insist Stan's alive and that he returned to town around 30 years ago (about the time Reacher's Father died). Deciding to stay and track down Stan Reacher, Reacher has his friend Burke drop him off at the hotel out of town, where he soon realizes somethings wrong. He tells Burke to go home and not to come back and heads off to investigate and finds that six men are hunting a young couple with bows and arrows. After rescuing the couple (who did a good bit to help themselves) he heads to town to meet Stan and discovers that Bill borrowed his birth certificate to join the Marines.

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Verses for the Dead (Pendergast #18)

Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"He remained pressed against the trunk, a shooter on the far side and alligators all around."

Have to say I love Armstrong Coldmoon, Pendergast's partner in this book I hope to see more of him either in future Pendergast novels or in a spinoff of his own.

The ambitious Pickett hopes to get rid of Pendergast so he saddles him with a partner, who he task with spying on Pendergast but Coldmoon is more loyal to his partner than Pickett had hoped. Tasked with discovering who is cutting the hearts out of women and leaving them on the graves of women who committed suicide the duo head off to Florida

Pendergast soon goes off on what Pickett sees as a waste of time when he starts investigating the deaths of the suicides, and when Pendergast has the body of one of the suicides exhumed against orders and against the family's wishes Pickett seizes the opportunity to get rid of the rouge agent. Until Pendergast is proved right about the suicide actually being a murder.

When Mr Brokenhearts starts communicating with Smithback (alas not our Bill but his brother) Pendergast goes on TV in order to address Mr Brokenhearts directly. A ploy that will pay off big time in the end.

When Commander Grove (the police liaison with the FBI) gives Pendergast and Coldmoon a folder with doctored info on John Vance. Pendergast and Coldmoon set off to the Florida Everglades to interview him too late they realize they walked into an ambush. The agents fall into a sinkhole and before they can get out Coldmoon is shot, forced to leave his partner behind Pendergast comes up with a daring plan to lure the shooter into the open but pressed against the trunk of a cypress tree, a shooter on the far side, alligators all around and out of ammo Pendergast seems to be out of options. Then Grove comes up and Pendergast gets him to confess to killing Lydia Vance the murder that started it all. Luckily for Pendergast Mr. Brokenhearts chooses that moment to emerge from the shadows to take his revenge on the man who murdered his Mother and started him and his Father on their murderous journey.

With Mr. Brokenhearts help Pendergast saves Coldmoon and takes Mr. Brokenhearts into custody.

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Dining Room Treasures

 Another picture of the Table painted Tempered Gray.

This tea set was given to me by my Grandmother so it's very special to me. It's the Moss Rose pattern. Alas you can't use it as it contains lead.

 The tea set on the bottom was made by my husbands Grandparents.

And on the top of the curio cabinet we have the flower arrangement I redid.

The Table

I got the table painted Tempered Gray, this is the same color I am using in the entryway and it's technically a cool white, it's somewhere between a buff and a gray and it works well with almost any color.