Margaret Maron - Shooting at Loons

5. Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron (1994)
The Judge Deborah Knott Mysteries Book 3
Length: 229 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 14 January 2014
Finished: 16 January 2014
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 November 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Margaret Maron is a new author for me.

When Judge Deborah Knott is asked to substitute for a hospitalized judge in gracious old Beaufort, North Carolina, she is looking forward to spending a restful week at her cousin's cottage on nearby Harkers Island - relative peace and quiet is Deborah's plan for the entire week.  However, when her first clamming expedition turns up the corpse of a well-known fisherman in the shallow water, peace and quiet quickly flies out the window. Discovering the body puts her right in the middle of the contentious fight between the long-established locals who make their living from the sea and the more recent - and rising - tide of well-to-do "dingbatters": weekenders and land developers who view the coast as their personal playground and gold mine.  

Deborah soon realizes that the centuries-old way of life in this isolated part of the South is just as endangered as loons and sea turtles, and the fisherman's murder is somehow tied to the coming changes. In her time both on the bench as well as off, Deborah has certainly seen her share of change, and she's intensely aware of the rage and fear and greed such changes arouse. 

Even so, sipping her bourbon in the fresh salt air does wonders for Deborah's weary soul, and life at the beach takes a definite upswing when she meets a game warden who's hunting for loon poachers. Yes, in her mind, Deborah's short vacation certainly has proved to be beneficial. Not until a second murder occurs and a lover from her past is implicated does Deborah realize she's up to her own neck in intrigue - and dangerously close to a killer...

To be perfectly honest, I may not have been in the proper mood to read this book to begin with. It was very difficult for me to get into the flow of the story. I had such trouble keeping the characters straight in my mind, that it lessened my enjoyment of the book somewhat. Actually, it was only when the story picked up appreciably - about halfway though, I think - that I began to enjoy it more.

I have one other book by Margaret Maron on my bookshelf, the twelfth book in this series. I may read Winter's Child some time in the future, but I have to give this book - Shooting at Loons - a B!

B! - (80-88%)
   
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Christina Crawford - Survivor

31. Survivor by Christina Crawford (1988)
Length: 268 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 13 April 2012
Finished: 15 April 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 April 2009
Why do I have it? I like autobiographies and I had also read Mommie Dearest several years ago and wanted to read the sequel.

In this sequel to the ground-breaking and shocking Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford dissects her first book and the public outcry that it caused; the subsequent movie adaptation of that book; her debilitating stroke and struggle for recovery and the breakup of her marriage. Mommie Dearest was the first celebrity "tell-all" book, and garnered quite a lot of attention - both positive and negative - for Christina Crawford.

I have to say that while I truly admire Christina's fervor to bring to light the until that time unspoken horror of child abuse, I found her sequel to be somewhat self-obsessed and too wrapped up in placing blame for all her present problems at her mother's feet. I understand that many adult child abuse survivors must overcome many obstacles to become productive citizens of the world, but surely, just because a person has been horribly abused as a child doesn't mean that everything that they have ever experienced or will potentially experience during their lifetimes can always be traced back to how they were raised?

Joan Crawford quite possibly shouldn't have been a mother, both because of her personal problems or her psychological state, but is she entirely to blame for the breakup of her daughter's marriage? I just found it so sad that Joan Crawford's surviving children have a non-existent relationship with each other. I give this book a B!

B!- (80-88%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Christina Crawford - Survivor

31. Survivor by Christina Crawford (1988)
Length: 268 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 13 April 2012
Finished: 15 April 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 April 2009
Why do I have it? I like autobiographies and I had also read Mommie Dearest several years ago and wanted to read the sequel.


In this sequel to the ground-breaking and shocking Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford dissects her first book and the public outcry that it caused; the subsequent movie adaptation of that book; her debilitating stroke and struggle for recovery and the breakup of her marriage. Mommie Dearest was the first celebrity "tell-all" book, and garnered quite a lot of attention - both positive and negative - for Christina Crawford. 


I have to say that while I truly admire Christina's fervor to bring to light the until that time unspoken horror of child abuse, I found her sequel to be somewhat self-obsessed and too wrapped up in placing blame for all her present problems at her mother's feet. I understand that many adult child abuse survivors must overcome many obstacles to become productive citizens of the world, but surely, just because a person has been horribly abused as a child doesn't mean that everything that they have ever experienced or will potentially experience during their lifetimes can always be traced back to how they were raised?


Joan Crawford quite possibly shouldn't have been a mother, both because of her personal problems or her psychological state, but is she entirely to blame for the breakup of her daughter's marriage? I just found it so sad that Joan Crawford's surviving children have a non-existent relationship with each other. I give this book a B!


B!- (80-88%)

 
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

William Peter Blatty - Legion

57. Legion by William Peter Blatty (1983)
The Exorcist Series Book 2
Length: 269 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 26 November 2011
Finished: 28 November 2011
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 26 November 2011
Why do I have it? I had read The Exorcist years ago by the same author and jumped for joy when Mareena got another book by William Peter Blatty for me.

When a young boy is found brutally murdered in a mock crucifixion, there are four totally unlikely suspects. Was it the elderly woman who witnessed the crime? A neurologist who can no longer bear the pain life inflicts on his patients? A psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor and a guilty secret, or a mysterious mental patient, locked in silent isolation?

Detective Kinderman follows a bewildering trail in a case that grows more mysterious with each subsequent murder. Why are two murder victims priests? Why does each victim suffer the same dreadful mutilations? Is there some connection with a series of equally gruesome murders which took place a dozen years earlier and supposedly ended with the death of the killer?

I have to say that I didn't really enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I had seen the sequel to The Exorcist the movie version, which this book is based on. The second movie was absolutely terrible, in my opinion, the third movie was alright for a first time watcher, but was not really able to hold up to a second watching.. That is sort of the same reaction that I had at the end of Legion, I was certainly glad that I read it, but I don't think that I will read it again. I give this book a B!


B! - (80-88%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Paul Theroux - The Black House

24. The Black House by Paul Theroux (1974)
Length: 256 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 13 April 2011
Finished: 17 April 2011
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 24 April 2009
Why do I have it? I like horror and Paul Theroux is a new author for me.


When Alfred and Emma Munday return from Africa they buy a house in the Dorset countryside. Their marriage is slowly disintergrating and when ghostly occurances start happening to them they don't tell each other about them. This book had great promise but didn't fulfill in my opinion. The plot was great but had a lot of sections that went nowhere. I give this book a B!


B! - (80-88%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Janice Graham - Firebird

24. Firebird by Janice Graham (1998)
Length: 301 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 1 October 2009
Finished: 10 October 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like historical fiction and Janice Graham is a new author for me.


I just finished Firebird by Janice Graham. Ethan Browne is a Kansas doctor who chooses Katie Anne to be his bride, even though he is in love with Annette who just returned to town for her mother's funeral. Ethan sets out to win Katie Anne because he believes that is what he needs to do.

Ethan is also a rancher and Katie Anne has an aversion to the land he loves. She also is aware that he is in love with Annette, but is determined to hold on to him in spite of that fact.

Janice Graham's style of writing is beautiful, but in my opinion, the plot twist at the end is a little strange. I give this book a B!

B! - (80-88%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight