June Wrap Up

June was a bit of a weird reading month in that I started about 16 books but only finished 7: 1 fantasy book, 3 mysteries, and 3 Audible shows.

Title: Blood of Elves
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Page Count: 324
Rating: B
Format Read: Kindle 
Genre: Fantasy
Keywords: War, magic, Witcher
Kid Appropriate: Teen and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher.
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world - for good, or for evil.

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all - and the Witcher never accepts defeat.

The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.

My Review:

Overall, this was a fun fantasy that took you throughout the world created in the short story bind ups that begin this series. The characters are enjoyable but the story did feel slow from time to time and I wanted it to dive deeper into the plot. Right as the story started to pick up the book ended. Maybe the rest of the series will have more action.

Title: A Great Deliverance
Author: Elizabeth George
Page Count: 431
Rating: A
Format Read: Kindle 
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: England, Inspector, Murder
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.

Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry."

Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.

My Review:

I LOVED THIS BOOK! If you are a mystery fan, especially English mysteries, then you absolutely need to pick up this series. It is unexpected, creepy, dark, and a great adventure.

While this book was originally published in 1988 I did keep getting similar vibes to the Cormoran Strike series from J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith. There is a detective duo with a strong cast of supporting characters. My only downside was that the character of Barbara Havers legitimately was one of the most frustrating, rude, and annoying characters I have encountered in a long time. I constantly wanted to skim her sections of the story and would have to walk away from the book. If you have a similar issue with her character while reading don't worry too much. Her development throughout the series is fantastic and by book five I actually like her now!

If you're into twisted mysteries and don't mind being slightly disturbed and/or crying uncontrollably at certain points in the story then I highly recommend checking out this series.

Title: The Sandman
Author: Lars Kepler
Page Count: 464
Rating: A
Format Read: Kindle 
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: Sweden, Murder, Kidnapping, Sanity
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The #1 internationally best-selling thriller from the author of The Hypnotist tells the chilling story of a manipulative serial killer and the two brilliant police agents who must try to beat him at his own game.

Late one night, outside Stockholm, Mikael Kohler-Frost is found wandering. Thirteen years earlier, he went missing along with his younger sister. They were long thought to have been victims of Sweden's most notorious serial killer, Jurek Walter, now serving a life sentence in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Now Mikael tells the police that his sister is still alive and being held by someone he knows only as the Sandman. Years ago, Detective Inspector Joona Linna made an excruciating personal sacrifice to ensure Jurek's capture. He is keenly aware of what this killer is capable of, and now he is certain that Jurek has an accomplice. He knows that any chance of rescuing Mikael's sister depends on getting Jurek to talk, and that the only agent capable of this is Inspector Saga Bauer, a twenty-seven-year-old prodigy. She will have to go under deep cover in the psychiatric ward where Jurek is imprisoned, and she will have to find a way to get to the psychopath before it's too late--and before he gets inside her head.

My Review:

I've raved about this series repeatedly and this book did not disappoint! As the fourth book in the Joona Linna series this one was just a crazy, fast paced, and creepy as the first three installments in the series. I was already scared in the first chapter of this one! If you're looking for a psychological thriller that will leave you freaking out and tense for the entirety of the 400+ pages then you NEED to check out this series.

Title: Payment in Blood
Author: Elizabeth George
Page Count: 432
Rating: B
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Mystery
Keywords: Murder, Inspector, Family, Loyalty
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The career of playwright Joy Sinclair comes to an abrupt end on an isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands when someone drives an eighteen-inch dirk through her neck. Called upon to investigate the case in a country where they have virtually no authority, aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, grapple for both a motive and a murderer. Emotions run deep in this highly charged drama, for the list of suspects soon includes Britain's foremost actress, its most successful theatrical producer, and the woman Lynley loves. He and Havers must tread carefully through the complicated terrain of human relationships, while they work to solve a case rooted in the darkest corners of the past and the unexplored regions of the human heart.

My Review:

This one was not as good as the first book in the series. It was fun overall but could drag on in certain sections. For most of the book I was reminded quite heavily of the board game Clue. Despite this it was still a solid, enjoyable read.

Title: West Cork

Author: Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde
Run time: 7 hours and 52 minutes
Rating: A
Format Read: Audible 
Genre: True crime
Keywords: Ireland, France, Murder, Cold case
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This much we do know: Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered days before Christmas in 1996, her broken body discovered at the edge of her property near the town of Schull in West Cork, Ireland. The rest remains a mystery.

Gripping, yet ever elusive, join the real-life hunt for answers in the year’s first not-to-be-missed, true-crime series. Investigative journalist, Sam Bungey, and documentation, Jennifer Forde, guide listeners through the brutal, unsolved murder and the tangled web of its investigation, while introducing an intricate cast of characters, a provocative prime suspect, and a recovering community whose story begs to be heard.

My Review:

This podcast never felt slow and is a great listen for fans of true crime! It was really well done and stays consistently interesting.

Title: Damned Spot
Author: Eric Nuzum
Run time: each episode (there are 4) is 25-30 minutes
Rating: D
Format Read: Audible
Genre: Documentary
Keywords: Crime, reputation, connotations 
Kid Appropriate: No

My synopsis and review:

This podcast has four episodes that cover locations with negative connotations from why they are seen as negative and any potential fixes people attempted.

I did not care for this one. I ended up tuning out most of it and found other sections to be overly judgmental and condescending. Some of it was interesting but overall I would not recommend it.

Title: Unheard: The Story of Anna Winslow

Author: Anthony Del Col
Length: 8 episodes (20-30 min each) 
Rating: B
Format Read: Audible 
Genre: Paranormal mystery
Keywords: Sanity, investigation, podcast
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

University student Anna Winslow has gone missing. The circumstances of her disappearance are far from ordinary, a fact that only fellow student Melissa Lopez appears to appreciate. Motivated by an unexplained and disturbing voicemail message from Anna on the night of her disappearance, Melissa's curiosity quickly turns into a deeper investigation, an obsession even, which she chronicles as a regular podcast - the very recordings that you are about to listen to. She quickly discovers that Anna was a loner with hearing difficulties and had disappeared for a week earlier in the year, only to return with perfect hearing, but with increasingly unstable

My Review:

I listened to this mostly while I was driving and doing cardio at the gym. It was so much better than I was expecting! It is a truly creepy mystery with hints of science fiction elements throughout. You follow Melissa Lopez as she tries to figure out this mystery of Anna Winslow's death and you feel like you're starting to lose your mind with her. Great listen for horror fans.