The Moscow Deception--#54 finished

 This is the 2nd in series book about a woman criminal/spy sort.  Bianca found out at end of last book that she was genetically altered to be a more super human type & the person who she believed was her father was really a guy inside that found a way to save her & her mom.  Her mom was killed when she was young when CIA types trying to find them, Mason--the father/not father guy then raised her but with a series of boarding schools.  She is around 28 years old and owns and runs a security company in Savannah, GA as her front type place, she had also been doing criminal work with her father and gets paid very well at that.  The first book was about an attempted robbery that went wrong and then discovering people were after her.  This is sort of a continuation of that where she has to find a way to stop the people from tracking her down.  It ends with a easy storyline that will be continued to 3rd book.  I do have this 3rd book--it was actually first one I had and then had to pick up these other 2 & read to get to that 3rd book.  I will probably get this one read later in year.

I have posted this one PBS, there were already 3 other copies so not sure it will go anywhere anytime soon but figured since I have already posted 1st should post 2nd too.

Played--#53 finished

 This is a stand alone book by the author of the Rachel Gold series that I am in process on.  It is a local St Louis author and the series is located here too.  This book is also in St Louis and Rachel makes an appearance but not involved in what is going on with this story other than a real bit part.  Brothers--one a very successful lawyer and the other one was a once promising baseball player that is injured in motorcycle accident.  Baseball playing brother just sort of screwing around while trying to decide what to do in life is a lifeguard at an exclusive country club.  He meets a sexy married woman and she gets him involved with her running away from her husband but instead he gets setup by her and then her husband.  A good quick story, investigation by brother comes together quickly and police work a little shoddy.  A fun read. 

I have been keeping the books in the Rachel Gold series and was thinking about keeping this one too but really no reason to do so.  I will go ahead and post on PBS, this will be the only copy in system so should move at some point.

Dream Town--#52 finished

 This is the 3rd in series of Archer a private investigator.  This time he has made it to LA and while still sort of attached to Bay Town and his mentor Willie Dash, he is mostly operating alone.  He gets hired by a lady that said she is afraid someone is watching her and making threatening calls to her house.  She disappears and when he checks out her house a dead body is there.  It starts as a good mystery but just gets really very complicated and many moving parts.  Just can't believe that it gets put together like he does and that the bad people haven't sorted out all of the other bad people along the way.  Still a good action sort of read with some old time--1950s, detective read.  It ended with it sounding like there will be more and I will keep at it--the characters and times are interesting at least.

There are 16 WL for this book but will look to get it posted & moved soon.

The New Order--#51 finished

 This is a short story book with some really good and memorable stories.  The Three Interviews was really interesting with the lady going through the emotions of interviewing for jobs after she has been out of work so long and then the thoughts of the people that were conducting the interview--just really insightful.  Also today, the man in Pittsburgh that shot of a Jewish synagogue was convicted and one of the stories talked about 2 ladies going through their synagogue looking at escape routes, etc in case of an attack.  I don't know exactly when the story was written but guessing could have been soon after this event.  This is a good short story book.

There are 4 WL for this one on PBS and I will post and mail off at some point. 

Brother, I'm Dying--#50 finished

This is again a sort of memoir, Edwidge Danticat's parents moved to New York when she was young, she and her younger brother had to remain behind in Haiti with their uncle that raised them.  This is the story of her life growing up with her family in Haiti and mixed in with what was going in currently in her life while writing this--she is expecting her & her husband's first child and her father's health is failing.  Haiti is one of those countries that I just don't understand--it is poor and just bad things and bad leaders happen there.  There is a good sense of some of that here along with the personal touches of how her family made it through at least till the end.  A really good read, I read a book by this author before & remember enjoying it and again another good read even if sad at many points.

There is 1 WL for this book on PBS but I think this one will also go into the possible loan out pile for now. 

The Lincoln Highway--#49 finished

 A good read about a boy that was at a juvenile center that gets taken back home to his farm in NE because his father passed away and there is only a younger brother left.  Their mom had left years before.  The warden drives him back & leaves him there to sort of pick up the pieces.  There were two stowaways in the trunk of the car too from the center.  Emmett the boy returning home and his brother Billy also find out that they are losing the farm to the bank and will be forced to move on.  Emmett has a car he had bought before being sent away and also gets a stash of money left to him.  Well the other two join up and talk them into heading to New York to get one of the others inheritance so they can all start a new life.  Then the real quest begins--the other two steal the car & drive on to New York.  Emmett and Billy jump a train and with some very timely help travel to New York too.  Eventually the neighbor's daughter Sally gets to New York too--she was tired of taking care of her dad and family and decided to track down Emmett.  A good story but long at times.  Too many points were just sort of unbelievable how they catch up to each other and how things work out.  Overall though not bad but it is a long book.

There are around 159 WL for this book last I checked so I will post & mail off on PBS at some point but no hurry on this.

Jokes My Father Never Taught Me--#48 finished

 This is a sort of memoir by Rain Pryor, one of Richard Pryor's daughters.  She is about the same age as me so interesting hearing her growing up but a completely different life than mine.  Her mom & Richard Pryor were married but it didn't last long and she didn't meet Richard again till she was 4.  Her mom was a hippie sort of Jewish girl but a ton of f-bombs thrown in.  They struggled, I guess Richard didn't help them out at all--she was married to him before he became famous.  The book mentions the several wives and the countless whores that were a constant in Richard's life.  It is a sad story on several levels and even in his death it was sad.  Rain, I think, tried to present a positive spin on their lives but it just doesn't come through.  Lots of interesting stories and info that I didn't know about Richard Pryor but still a tough read overall.

There are no copies and no WL for this book on PBS but for now it goes into a pile that I might loan out to friends if someone is interested.

Jell-O Girls--#47 finished

This is a sort of memoir, the author had her mother's papers for her memoir and it sounds like incorporated those into this story which is also sort of her memoir.  The tie into Jell-O is that that a relative way back bought the Jell-O patent from it's founder/discoverer and formed it into the huge sales it became.  While it was sold off at some point, it was a huge profit and sounds like all relatives enjoy this money as some sort of trust.  This connection to Jell-O money isn't really explored in the book, there was mention of the trust fund and how her mother was fighting with her mother's brother(author's uncle) about gaining more control of the money but really only played a minor point in the book.  The book was more about a sort of curse on the family which sort of evolved into a curse on women fighting for a voice outside of the home and some sicknesses that came about.  An interesting story about a mother and daughter relationship but seems like book was striving for more and I just didn't get that.

I have posted it on PBS, there were 2 WL and it has been accepted so will probably mail off in next few days. 

A Gambling Man--#46 finished

 This is the 2nd book in a series, a guy goes by Archer becomes a private investigator.  He moved from I think more midwest in first book to west coast in this book.  He stops in Reno where action starts & then gets to CA--sounds like a made up city Bay City between San Fran & LA, where he starts training under a PI.  Good action and many moving parts.  It is also set in the late 40's early '50s time period so has a little of the old time feel to it as well.  Good story and good series.  I just got the 3rd book in series and have started on it as well.

There are already 9 copies in system so will probably not add another, will put in my donation pile instead.