38 weeks!

 38 weeks, can't wait for our Great Grandson to arrive!  Can't come soon enough for Kelsey!!!

Twins!!

 Born 4 days ago on a neighbours front lawn!!!

Eggs

 Next door neighbour came over yesterday with some farm fresh organic eggs for us.  Her coworker had given her 4 dozen. Unfortunately the colours are not showing up very well.  The one in the middle on the back row is a robin egg blue and the one second from the right on the front row is a quite dark green. The two brown ones are very dark brown.  The one sitting in the lid is a store bought one just to show the difference in size.  We're having some scrambled eggs for supper tonight!

Book 10- 17

Find You First by Linwood Barclay

Tech millionaire Miles Cookson has everything he could dream of-except time.  Only forty-two years old, he's recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and there is a 50 percent chance that it can be passed on to the next generation.  But Miles, a confirmed bachelor, doesn't have children.  Or does he?

Two decades ago, a struggling young Miles, desperate for cash, donated his sperm to a fertility clinic.  Somewhere out there, he has kids.  And they might be about to inherit both the the good and the bad from him-maybe his fortune, and possibly something much worse.

AS Miles begins to search for the children he's never known, aspiring film documentarian Chloe Swanson embarks on a quest to find her biological father, armed with the knowledge that twenty-two years ago, her mother used a New York sperm bank to become pregnant.  Chloe soon locates one sibling, a half brother, Todd, and she's eager to meet more.

When Miles and Chloe eventually connect, their excitement at finding each other is overshadowed by a series of mysterious and terrifying events.  One by one, the other potential heirs are vanishing-every trace of them erased, as if they never existed at all.

Who is the vicious killer eliminating Miles's offspring-is it one possible beneficiary methodically eliminating rivals?  Or is something even more sinister afoot?  It's a deadly race against time...

This seems like this could all happen in real life.  Pretty exciting in parts and kind of sad too.

The Incident by Lars Emmerich

- Inferno Rising

Special Agent Sam Jameson is having a bad week. People are trying to kill her.
That would be business as usual in the counterespionage world, except that it’s the good guys who have her in the crosshairs.
Why are the DC Metro police trying to kidnap her? Do her bosses at Homeland want her in a body bag, too?
And why does everyone she talks to seem to end up in the morgue?
Will a ruthless mercenary, a hapless American traitor, and a dead man’s cryptic clue hold the key to Sam’s survival?

-Reckoning

-Devolution

I read these books on my ereader.  They were billed as a trilogy. I really enjoyed the first two books. They were exciting and real page turners.  Everything seemed to be concluded at the end of the seconf book.  Started the third one-Devolution-and I was completely confused.  I was totally bored after about 100 pages and it had nothing to do with the first two books so I gave up on it.

I found thie following review of Devolution on Goodreads pretty well sums it up for me 'There are not too many books that I give up on, but this was one of them.

'After about 50 pages there were too many characters and so many different plot/story lines that I found it too much work to try to keep up. Also the author seems to be flaunting his knowledge of $10 words; really, is that necessary?'

The Magnolia Inn by Anne Marie Meyer

Maggie is thirty-six, recently divorced and embarrassingly unemployed.  With a bank account nearing zero she does the only thing she can think of-makes a business proposition to her gorgeous and successful estranged mother.

To Maggie's utter surprise, her mother agrees.  Any funds she can create off the sale of the dilapidated family inn on the island of Magnolia would be hers to invest.

So Maggie packs her few belongings and heads off to Rhode Island to make her dreams come true.

Clementine has been stuck in Magnolia her whole life. The moment her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s she knew she could never leave. And it was unrealistic for her to rely on her older brother, Archer, who can't seem to outrun the ghosts of his past.

So when Maggie blows into town, both Clementine and Archer find themselves intrigued by the new move-in.
When they stumble upon an old photograph of Maggie’s grandmother buried up in the attic, Maggie can’t help but be drawn to a woman she’s never met. In an attempt to feel closer to a family she never knew, a book club is revitalized.
The Red Stilettos Book Club.
What starts out as an act of desperation, soon becomes exactly what the women of Magnolia island were looking for, a sisterhood.

This was a great, light summer type read.  It was very predictable.  It didn't take too many chapters to figure what was going to happen but I quite enjoyed it.

12 by Nolan King & David W Wright

What Would You Do With the Last 12 Hours of Your Life?
At 6 p.m. on a Wednesday in October, a gunman will enter Goldman’s Diner and commit one of the worst massacres the small coastal town of Palm Isles, Florida has ever seen.
Twelve hours earlier: twelve lives are on borrowed time, unaware that death is coming, or that their paths will collide in one tragic moment.
A young waitress and mother fights to protect her daughter from her violent estranged husband. Little does she know that a greater threat looms under her nose.
A cop is forced to decide between his job and his marriage.
A bullied teen with an abusive father is down to one friend when his world suddenly crumbles around him.
An old man struggles to hold onto his memories and do one last thing to honor his wife. But in doing so, he will have to reveal his darkest secret.
A cook with a shady past attempts to stay on the straight and narrow, until he gets a call which forces him to choose — his family or his honor?
A woman attempts to meet her father’s expectations, clinging to a struggling diner even as her relationship with her son falls apart.
TWELVE HOURS
TWELVE LIVES
WHO LIVES?
WHO DIES?

This book was really good.  I didn't want to put it down. All the lives are in one way or another, connected to the diner.  There's not much I can say without giving away what happens, I just highly recommend it.

The Obituary Society by Jessica L. Randall

When Lila Moore inherits her grandfather's house, she finds herself in a small Midwestern town where margarine is never an acceptable substitution for butter, a coveted family recipe can serve as currency, and the friend who will take your darkest secrets to the grave will still never give you the secret to her prize-winning begonias.
Lila is charmed by the people of Auburn, from the blue-eyed lawyer with the southern drawl to the little old lady who unceasingly tries to set Lila up with her grandson. But when strange things begin to happen, Lila realizes some of her new friends are guarding a secret like it's a precious family heirloom. It's a dangerous secret, and it has come back to haunt them. Lila is caught in the middle, and her life may depend on uncovering it. But even if she can, can she stay in Auburn when not everyone is what they seem, and even the house wants her gone?

I did enjoy this book although it could have done with much more careful editing. Things were out of order and things happened out of sequence etc.  But all in all it was pretty good.

Her Last Goodbye by Rick Mofina

Perfect wife. Doting mom. Jennifer Griffin was loved by everyone, including the women in her suburban neighbourhood book club.  Their meetings sometimes went late, but Jenn always came home.

Until that night.

When Greg Griffin wakes to find his wife is not in bed, his blood runs cold.  Her book club friends say Jenn left for home hours ago.  Bur she's missing. Greg tells detectives their marriage is good, but his alibi is razor-thin.  With their young son away at a sleepover, Greg had all night to commit a crime. And there are scrapes on his hands...

Investigators discover Jenn has troubling secrets, but she isn't the only one. With the threads of their picture perfect life unraveling, Greg is forced to confront the lies that hold their marriage together-and a dark past that refuses to stay buried.

I was quite engrossed in this book from start to finish. I had many theories throughout, and the most obvious answers didn't turn out to be correct. This is a novel full of twists and surprises that are sure to please even the most seasoned mystery readers. The only criticizme would be that I thought it was a bit too long and drawn out, and I while I love stories about missing people, I equally hate wrongfully accused characters and that got a bit tedious after a while.

The Last Bride in BallyMuir by Dorien Kelly

Miss Kylie "Soon-to-Be-a-Saint" O'Shea teaches at the Gaelic school, helps her neighbors and volunteers for every good cause. No one in Ballymuir can figure out why she keeps the interested lads at bay but they all warn her that she's in danger of fulfilling a local legend: becoming the last bride in Ballymuir. When a stranger named Michael Kilbride comes to the village wild rumors surround his every move. But Kylie, captivated by Michael's intense passions, lets herself go where Michael leads her -- into an awakening of dreams and desires...even if it means exposing her beloved village's and her own darkest secrets.

Michael the angry young man who hated everything and everyone at the beginning of the book, grew into a loving hardworking man who is fiercely protective of his family.
Kylie as well grew from a timid shy girl who kept away from most people embarrassed by her fathers sin and evasive of men due to her rape aged 18 also developed confidence and a bit of a temper.

For me, the best character was Michaels sister because she didn't what anybody said or thought. This was an easy read.

A Few Hours Later

 Here we have the same view as the last post a few hous later. Snow nearly all gone, the road is dry and the deer came to snack on the neighbours lawn!!

Spring!!!

 It started at about 7:00 this morning and stopped at about 11:00.  About 3" of wet heavy snow. Not fun to shovell.  Our neighbours shovelled the front sidewalk and now at 12:45 it is melting on the driveway, thank goodness!!❄⛄❄⛄❄

Sure glad we didn't take the snow tires off yet!!

Books 1-9

 Seabreeze Inn by Jan Moran

Ivy Bay’s life implodes after discovering that her late husband had spent their life savings on a beach house. Strapped for cash as an art teacher and with nowhere to go, Ivy and her recently jilted sister head to Summer Beach to recreate their lives. If only renovating a historical home didn’t unveil a host of hidden secrets in the beachside community—and the mayor wasn’t her former high school crush.
Bennett Dylan led a campaign against Ivy’s late husband to block the rezoning of the beach house land for a high-rise resort. Although it’s been ten years since his wife’s death, Bennett is avoiding the pain of loving—and possibly losing—another woman. And then the FBI shows up… Ivy’s demands for a zoning variance for a bed-and-breakfast couldn’t come at a worse time for him.
Despite distractions, Ivy has one summer to sway the town to salvage her livelihood and the new life in Summer Beach she’s come to love.

I enjoyed this book.  A quick, light summer read, even though I read it in January, lol. Lots of it was very predictable but still enjoyable.  Apparently there are 2 more books in the series which I would also read if I come across them, free, in my ereader!

Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

A recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings, Frankie Elkin has devoted her life to doing what no one else will-searching for the lost and forgotten.  When the police have moved on, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.

A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighbourhood with a rough reputation.  She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier.  Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own-and she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered.  But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.

I did enjoy this book although some of the things that Frankie would do would definitely got her killed in real life.  I thought quite a few parts of the book were slow and dragged along with nothing happening.  Maybe 100+ pages less would have kept the story moving along a little better!!

The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter

Investigating the killing of a prisoner during a riot inside a state penitentiary, GBI investigator Will Trent is confronted with disturbing information. One of the inmates claims that he is innocent of a brutal attack for which he has always been the prime suspect. The man insists that he was framed by a corrupt law enforcement team led by Jeffrey Tolliver and that the real culprit is still out there—a serial killer who has systematically been preying on women across the state for years. If Will reopens the investigation and implicates the dead police officer with a hero’s reputation of wrongdoing, the opportunistic convict is willing to provide the information GBI needs about the riot murder.
Only days ago, another young woman was viciously murdered in a state park in northern Georgia. Is it a fluke, or could there be a serial killer on the loose?
As Will Trent digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the cold case in order to find the answer. Yet nearly a decade has passed—time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear, and lies to become truth. But Will can’t crack either mystery without the help of the one person he doesn’t want involved: his girlfriend and Jeffrey Tolliver’s widow, medical examiner Sara Linton.
When the past and present begin to collide, Will realizes that everything he values is at stake . .

Even after 230/610 pages I just couldn't get into this book. I've read other books by this author and thought they were good but not this one.  Decided why am I continuing to read this book that I am not enjoying when I have hundreds of other books to read, so it's gone into the charity store bag!! 

Movie Club Mysteries by Zara Keane

• 1.Dial P For Poison 
• 
  Maggie Doyle gives her cheating ex and crumbling career in the San Francisco PD the proverbial middle finger, and moves to the Wild West…of Ireland.
  Lured by her aunt’s promise of a restful Irish vacation, Maggie agrees to help out at the Movie Theater Café in exchange for bed and board. Things are looking up—until the most hated woman on Whisper Island is poisoned at the café. With her aunt as the prime suspect, Maggie and her rock-hard muffins are hurled into the murder investigation.
  With the help of her UFO-enthusiast friend, a nun, and a feral puppy, Maggie is determined to clear her aunt’s name. Can she catch the murderer before they strike again? Or will her terrible baking skills burn down the cafe first?                             
• 2.The Postman Always Dies Twice 
• 
  When former San Francisco cop Maggie Doyle extends her stay in Ireland, dealing with more murder and mayhem isn’t on her to-do list. Too bad because the instant Maggie and her UFO-enthusiast friend Lenny discover the dead body of Whisper Island’s postman, Maggie’s plans to chill for the next two months are put on ice.
  Then Police Sergeant Reynolds, Maggie’s handsome neighbor, arrests Lenny’s brother for the murder, and her friend begs her to find the real killer. Meanwhile, Maggie is hired to investigate ghostly goings on at the Whisper Island Hotel. Can she solve two crimes before St. Patrick’s Day? Or will the island’s annual celebrations end in a glittery flame of green, white, and orange?
  
  
• 3.How to Murder a Millionaire 
• 
  Armed with her newly issued private investigator's license, Maggie Doyle is on the case…of a sheep that went missing twenty-two years ago. When she trips over a dead body on the first day of the investigation, Maggie realizes there’s more to this cold case than a fight over lamb chops.
  An invitation to spend the weekend with her grandmother’s oldest friend and her family, the super wealthy Huffingtons, gives Maggie the perfect excuse to sniff out the killer. After the family patriarch is electrocuted in the swimming pool, Maggie finds herself embroiled in yet another murder inquiry.
  With the body count rising, can Maggie catch the killer before they strike again?
• Well, that was the first 3 books in The Movie Club Mysteries.  They were a fun read, light, predictable and very easy reads.
• 
  

Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham

Summer 1755, Acadia

Young, beautiful Amelie Belliveau lives an idyllic life with her family among the Acadians and neighbouring Mi'kmaq of Grande Pre, Nova Scotia.  After years of peace, the settlers believe that they can remain on neutral political ground despite the rising tensions between Britain and France.  But peace can be fragile, and faith is not always enough.  When the British army lands in Grande Pre, the redcoats demand the Acadians' allegiance and threaten to exile them if they refuse.

Fortunately, Amelie has made a powerful ally in the handsome Corporal Connor MacDonnell, a reluctant participant in the British plan to expel the Acadians from their homeland.  His sympathy for Amelie gradually evolves into a profound love-a love worth taking risks for.  As the last warmth of summer fades and dilapidated ships arrive to ferry the Acadians away, Connor is compelled to make a difficult decision that will alter the future forever.

Interesting read about Nova Scotia when the British invaded and took over a large amount of Grande Pre and Mik'maq land.  How the people were treated and how they were banished from their homes.

Bodies, Baddies and a Crabby Tabby by Sherri Bryan

Thirty-nine-year-old Megan Fallon is in a pickle.
Not only is she suffering from empty-nest syndrome, but she's lost the job she loved, and her fiancé's run off with her hairdresser.
A complete life change is what's called for, so when the opportunity to make a new start presents itself following news of a family celebration, Megan is lured back to her childhood home.
With a party to organise, old friends to catch up with, an ex-husband and his jealous wife to avoid, a mischievous uncle on the lookout for adventure, a clumsy childhood acquaintance who has undergone a startling transformation, and a cantankerous tabby cat to contend with, Megan has her hands full.
However, what started off as a leisurely break soon takes a chilling turn when members of the community start getting bumped off at an alarming rate, and Megan finds herself at the heart of an investigation that has her suspecting everyone.
Could the murderer be the local finance advisor, whose misjudged investment recommendation cost his clients their life savings?
Or maybe the village celebrity; a footballer who appears to have at least one skeleton in a cupboard he'd prefer was kept firmly locked?
Or perhaps it's a member of a classical music trio who seem to have plenty of secrets they'd rather keep to themselves?
Or is the killer someone else entirely?
As Megan becomes involved in the hunt for a murderer, it's not long before she finds out that some of the villagers are harbouring other secrets too.

All the characters make this an interesting read and there are several that could be the murderer.  It was easy to read and enjoyable.

Sweet Revenge by Morgan Best

When a car accident leads to extensive plastic surgery and an inability to gain weight, Cocoa Narel finds herself transformed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. 
No longer forced to temper her love for chocolate, Cocoa plans to open a candy store and begins to enjoy the sweet life along with her quirky rescue cat. But when her high school bullies start being murdered one by one, Cocoa becomes the prime suspect. 
Can she clear her name, or does the true culprit have a few Twix up their sleeve?

The premise of this 'ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan' was a bit ridiculous, especially how she behaved trying to solve the murders.  It was an easy read and didn't use common sense and logic it's a fun read.