Compared to the progress I had been making, my reading list for the month of May is a short one. As we adjust to the new normal, I’ve found myself with less time for listening to audio books and less time to read. I did read one whole print book last month, so that’s something for me.
Here’s what I read in May:
Heaven Adjacent by Catherine Ryan Hide I’m still exploring authors I haven’t read before. I rate this book 3 stars. It was a nice story with some good lines, but nothing I’m going to shout about.
Roseanna drives away from her high power job as a lawyer one day in search of as simple, quiet life. She finds a run down farm to make her own, but there are squatters. As she gets to know these people and their stories, some are allowed to stay and some have to go. After a reporter does a story on the junk art in her yard, her son Lance tracks her down and they settle some unresolved differences.
A Steep Price (Tracy Crosswhite) #6 Robert Dugoni 3 stars. A good read but no my favorite of the series. Tracy is trying to conceal her pregnancy in this story while working a missing persons case on a young women who balked at an arranged marriage and family traditions and customs. Meanwhile, Faz, Tracy’s coworker is investigating a different murder and gets into some grave danger.
A Merciful Death (Mercy Kilpatrick Book 1) Kendra Elliot 4 stars. I really liked this one and listened and read on Kindle Unlimited. I will continue reading this series. “FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land—and off the grid—in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.” Mercy is sent back to her hometown to work the murders and she has to face her own demons and heal her past. Includes a touch of romance.
How to Walk Away: A Novel by Katherine Center Listened via Audible. 4 stars Margaret Jacobson is left paralyzed after a plane crash and had to deal with a fiance who can’t deal with the situation, a sister who reappears after a three year disappearance and a therapist that pushes her really hard. Some critics said the book was too upbeat for such a serious subject but I found Margaret’s humor and attitude to be comic relief and very likable.
Before We Were Yours: A Novel Lisa Wingate 5 stars. Read the print version/ hardback. I could not walk away from this one. Talk about injustice! “Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.” Rill Foss and her siblings are some of the children kidnapped and sold. Avery Stafford is a successful prosecutor and possible political candidate. A chance meeting has her digging into her family’s past and her grandmother’s secrets. Rill and Avery are connected but I won’t spoil it for you. The story is told back and forth from past to present between Rill and Avery.
Linking up with Show Us Your Books and looking forward to seeing what you read!