Currently Reading - Aug 11 2014 and a brief look ahead.

The house is quiet. Jo is off downtown until 5:30ish and the puppies have been dropped off for their second session of doggie daycare. If all goes well, we'll take a weekend trip to Victoria in the near future and see how they take to a weekend at the kennel. Megan and her assistants seem very nice. I have to say the dogs did need a bit of encouragement to go through the door to meet the other dogs there. Megan did say that Clyde's barking sounded different today, more inquisitive than aggressive. Poor puppies, but it's all for the good. :0)

So taking a bit of advantage of the quiet to put down a few thoughts before I head off to get the puppies and then Jo. Takeaway for supper tonight; we'll stop off at Toscanos on the way home.. Yummy!

The view from the den (improved a bit since this photo)

So let's see, it's been quite hot here lately, watering restrictions mean we can only water twice a week now, vice odd days. The garden is looking a mite brown, but at least this year we've had a yard of grass, not dirt. Looking out the den window, it's nice to see our efforts have started to come to fruition; there is grass, we've planted some ivies, more roses and the new hydrangea looks great so far...

Currently Reading

Onto my favourite topic, these are the books I'm currently working through -

1. The Axeman's Jazz by Julie Smith - This is the second in Julie Smith's Skip Langdon series. Skip is a lady cop working out of New Orleans, hence the jazzy title. I read the first book in the series, New Orleans Mourning, a few years back and enjoyed it. I started to pick up a few others, a couple more Skip Langdon, the first couple of the Rebecca Schwarz books, etc. So as part of my bed-time author's challenge this year, I decided to read a couple more of Smith's books, starting with The Axeman's Jazz. This is the synopsis "In hundred's of anonymous self-help groups, New Orlean's young and not so young search for love, self-esteem, freedom from addictions, a quick roll in the hay, the lost inner child, you name it. Enter the Axeman, a 1990's reincarnation of the city's notorious serial killer of seventy years ago. Pretty Linda Lee Strickland, strangled in her own apartment, is the first victim. For detective Skip Langdon, cheated of a romantic vacation by the killing, the case is a bummer. Yet as she threads her fascinated way from one self-help group to another, she finds she has more in common with the twelve-steppers than just the murder. And she knows what they do not: that among their anonymous numbers is a deadly dangerous, and dangerously attractive, psychopath... ".

I'm enjoying this very much so far, regret that it has been so long since I picked up a new Julie Smith. I'm thinking my second story of hers for my challenge will be the first of the first of the Rebecca Schwartz books, Death Turns a Trick, moving from New Orleans to San Francisco. Should be good.

Carol Drinkwater's The Olive Farm

2. The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater - This is the first book in the Olive Farm books by Carol Drinkwater, an actress/ author who describes in the first book, her purchase of a French estate, with an Olive orchard, with her partner, Michel. Carol Drinkwater may be known to you also as Helen Herriot in the BBC TV series, All Creatures Great and Small, but she also has written a number of books, non-fiction, children's fiction, etc; one of those under-achievers. I've about half way through this book; a slowish start but as I've gotten into it, I'm finding it very interesting and well-written. This is the synopsis "The Olive Farm is a powerful memoir of life, love and olive oil in the south of France. It is the tale of a real-life romance between actress Carol Drinkwater and Michel, a television producer, and of the abandoned Provencal olive farm with which they fall in love. Here, Carol reveals the highs and lows of this vibrant Mediterranean world: the customs and cuisines, the threats of fire and potential ruin, and the thrill of harvesting their own olives by hand - especially when they are discovered to produce the finest extra-virgin olive oil." It's an interesting book; who knows I may find myself visiting again if I purchase the other books in the series.

A Scandinavian mystery

3. The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler - I bought this book in August of 2013, had seen if a few times in my local book stores and finally bit the bullet and decided to try it out. It's one of my 12 + 4 Challenge reads, will be my 13th book completed in the challenge. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a chance. It's a fantastic, tense page-turner. I keep wondering how this story can go on for over 500 pages, but it's not letting me down at all. Very interesting characters, a plot that moves along at a clip, with twists and turns and lots of excitement and tension. I hope the second half of the book is as good as the first half. If so, I'll definitely be reading more books by Mr. Kepler. This is the synopsis - "Tumba, Sweden. A triple homicide - all the victims from the same family and murdered without apparent motive - captivates Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who goes against the grain of the national police and demands to investigate the grisly murders himself. The killer is at large, and it appears that the elder sister of the family escaped the carnage. but she is missing and it might be only a matter of time until she, too, is found dead. Where can Linna begin? The sole witness is an intended victim - the boy whose parents and younger sister were killed before his eyes. He has suffered multiple knife wounds and has been taken to the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm where he lies in a state of shock. Devoid of enough information on which to build his investigation, Linna enlists the help of a disgraced specialist, Dr. Erik Bark, who has sworn he will never again practise hypnosis, as it is ethically dubious and possibly scarring. But then he breaks his promise..... "

Book 10 of the Gaslight mystery series

So there you go, my current choices. What do I plan for next?.. Not sure yet. I will have to read another book for my alphabetical mystery author's challenge. My last selection was at the lower end of the alphabet, Karen Irving's Jupiter's Daughter, the second Katy Klein mystery, which I thought was excellent. It's a great trilogy, I recommend heartily. So next will find me at the upper end of the alphabet, Charles Todd was my last author, so I'll be moving onto Victoria Thompson and her Gaslight series. Unfortunately, I only have Book 10 on my shelf and have only previously read Books 1 and 2. I will hopefully find Book 3 before I get to this challenge, otherwise, the book will be Murder on Bank Street. I'm not sure what else I'll choose; I do have 3 more 12 + 4 Challenge books, and I will be starting a new series, or maybe just a freebie.. :0).. How exciting!!