Books 20-24

 Past Transgressions by Dave Sinclair

Retired spy. Trained killing machine. Pacifist.
Retired MI6 spy Mason Nash moved to a sleepy English town so he could leave his former violent life behind.
He soon learns that past transgressions have a way of catching up with you.
When hired killers invade his peaceful new existence Nash is forced to fall back on his old ways to find out who sent assassins after him and why.
What he uncovers sends him on a globetrotting quest involving old friends, a new clandestine spy agency and a world-wide conspiracy where no one is quite who they seem.
Nash finds out how hard it is to adhere to non-violent ways when everyone is trying to kill you.

This was a fast paced book. Lots of shooting and killing which goes against everything the main character is against in his retirement. I enjoyed it.

Sleep by M K Boers & Miranda Kate

A marriage made in heaven, a murder made in hell.
Why kill the man you love?
Lizzy was struggling, everyone knew that.
He shouldn't have done those things.
He shouldn't have pushed her so hard.
And now, her children, her marriage, her hope - gone.
It was all her fault, she knew that, but was there a chance of redemption?
Lizzy Dyson's on trial for her life. She knows she must pay for what she did, even if it wasn't planned, but will the jury believe her?

This is the worst result of someone who constantly forgives a husband that is always having affairs but thinks she can make it all go way.  It's pretty sad.

Final Justice by Jasmine Cresswell

As an operative with the covert government group Unit One, Melody Beecham has made her share of enemies. Her would-be assassin could be any number of criminals she's put behind bars. But when the evidence points to someone who has no knowledge of her connection to Unit One, the pool of suspects suddenly expands to include almost every person she's ever met.
Melody's partner, Nick Anwar, isn't about to let the woman he loves become the victim of a stone-cold killer. As a web of intrigue and danger follows Melody from Mexico to Washington and New York, Nick comes up with a daring plan to trap their elusive quarry. It will take chilling deception, ruthless determination and complete trust. Because although a killer is out for revenge, Nick and Melody are looking for final justice.

This was pretty action packed but it didn't take too long to figure out who was responsible for the assassination attempts.

A Child far from Home by Lizzie Page

England 1939: A heart-wrenching story of a mother and daughter separated by war, and finding hope in the darkest of times.
With the country on the brink of war, single mother Jean embraces her ten-year-old daughter, Valerie, before she puts her on a train to Somerset alongside hundreds of other evacuees. Jean’s heart breaks as she vows they’ll be together again soon, knowing it’s a promise she might not be able to keep.
Wrenched away from her mother and everything familiar, Valerie arrives in Somerset and nervously waits in the village hall to find a host family. When she is the only child left, she is sent to live with Mrs. Woods, a woman so horrible that Valerie is desperate for Jean to bring her home. But as the weeks turns into months, Valerie finally accepts her mother isn’t coming.
Meanwhile in London, Jean’s life has been torn apart by the war. Desperate and with nowhere to live, she turns to someone from her past, someone she has always kept a secret from her daughter. But when Valerie finally visits and discovers the truth, both their worlds come crashing down. Questioning if she can ever be the mother that Valerie deserves, Jean makes a heartbreaking decision that will have consequences long after the war has ended.

I did enjoy this book, although I found it really dragged in parts. I felt so sorry for Valerie as she found herself in a horrible situation when she was first evacuated. Her mother, Jean, was very frustrating at times. She always felt she was doing the right thing but never seemed to take into consideration Valerie's feelings.

 

The Girl from Seaforth Sands by Katie Flynn

Liverpool, 1902. Bill and Isobel Logan scratch a living by selling their shrimps around the streets, but Amy, their youngest daughter, hates the smell, about which their neighbour, Paddy Keagan, constantly taunts her. When Isobel dies, Bill marries Suzie Keagan, a good-looking widow but lazy and selfish. The Keagans move in and tension begins to mount ...Amy is desperate to get away. She takes a room-share in the city centre but Liverpool is in turmoil with strikes and riots, and life is hard for young girls. Furthermore, Amy's visits home are spoiled by the presence of the hated Paddy ...A warm and moving story of young people and their loves and jealousies, played out against the hardship and humour of their Liverpool background.

I did enjoy this book, even though the ending was so predictable.

Trick or Treat!

 This little panda came to visit this morning!

It was a great night for the trick or treaters. 8C and no wind so no need for snow suites underneath costumes. We had about 40 kids which is a lot for our street.

Time Flies!

 This is what was on our lawn yesterday morning when we got up!!

This was all arranged by our GD Kelsey and her mom, our DIL Rhonda. It was all set up by the company at 6:00am and would be removed at 6:00am the next morning. I knew about them arranging this but Garry was totally shocked, surprised and thrilled! There were so many people coming by and taking pictures, cars slowing down and all the walkers stopping. Lots of neighbours came over. It was the talk of the street!

Books 13-19

 Tribute by Nora Roberts 

Cilla McGowan, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life restoring homes. So she comes to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to save the dilapidated farmhouse of her grandmother—a legendary actress who died of an overdose there more than thirty years ago.
Plunging into the project with gusto, Cilla’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, though she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.
But it’s reality that holds its share of dangers for Cilla. A cache of unsigned letters found in the attic points to a mysterious romance in her grandmother’s life, and may be what sparks a frightening, violent assault. Now, if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, just like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life

This was a good book. It kept me guessing right to the end. I thought I had it figured out several times and I was wrong every time!!!!

The Girl Who Lied by Shannon Hollinger

Rain hammers the earth and a vicious wind rattles the trees. Then lightning strikes, the flash illuminating a young girl staggering out of the woods, her brown eyes wide with fright, a silent scream on her lips…
There’s a storm approaching the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove when Chief Maggie Riley comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. As she desperately struggles to secure the evidence before the rain hits, Heather , a local teenage girl, emerges from the woods, shivering and unable to talk.
Maggie, once a high flying big-city detective, lost everything when her four-year-old brother went missing five years ago. Heart-broken, she’s never stopped searching for but now she is plunged back into the world she left behind.
The victim, Maggie discovers, knew secrets about everyone in isolated Coyote Cove. It seems there are more local suspects in this case than people she can rule out. And with Heather still traumatised, Maggie struggles to unravel her strange appearance at the crime scene. Until, following a faint, bloody trail deep into the forest, she’s horrified to unearth what the terrified girl’s been hiding…
But when Heather is kidnapped, the battle to identify the killer becomes a race to save an innocent girl’s life. And with the whole town terrified, Maggie is shocked to uncover that this twisted killer is much closer to home than she’d ever imagined. Battling her own demons and memories of her missing brother, how far will Maggie have to go to save Heather? Or will another innocent young life be lost forever...?

I did enjoy this book. There were lots of twists and turns. I didn't like the ending though. It was almost like the author remembered she had to write more than one book so lets wind this up pretty quick and not tell the reader too much.

Can't Go Home by Melinda Di Lorenzo

Two decades ago, Trinity Calhoun‘s best friend—18-year-old Savannah Stuart—went missing. Just weeks later, Savannah’s body was found brutally slain outside the mountain town. With no suspects or leads, the local authorities dismissed the murder as a tragic one-off, likely perpetrated by a tourist. But Trinity wasn’t convinced.
Determined to do better for other victims, she left town and settled in Vancouver, rising through the ranks to become a detective. She’s never looked back. But now, an unexpected phone call from her former lover has her barreling down the highway to face the past.
Another young woman has disappeared under eerily similar circumstances. Allegedly. But the local police are disinterested. Trinity’s ex has a tenuous—at best—hold on his mental and physical health. And Savannah’s secretive and handsome brother is in town, asking an awful lot of questions.
Trinity’s focus is clouded. Maybe her judgment, too. As she wades through her past, she needs to answer a potentially life-threatening question: is there a dangerous, repeat criminal on the loose, or is she just desperate for closure?

I wasn't crazy about this book.  I didn't think Trinity was much of a cop. Some of the things she did were just ridiculous.  It really dragged in parts. I had a good idea right from the beginning 'who done it' but it took an age to get there!!

The Librarian by Judith A. Barrett

Maggie Sloan survives an explosion and begins the slow process of healing with the help of her unusual team. When her world is shattered by a heart-wrenching murder, Maggie's team trains her to fight to win, whatever the cost.
Her grief and rage transform her from prey to relentless hunter, and her brilliant observational talents threaten a complex criminal scheme.
As Maggie closes in on the truth, she realizes she's on the trail of a mastermind, a dark puppeteer of serial killers, whose intellect threatens to match her own. It all comes down to kill or be killed.

This was quite a crazy story.  I think Maggie is on the autism spectrum, which explains a lot of her behaviours. It was a bit far fetched in parts.  Amazing how she always turned out to be an expert at everything they wanted her to do. I think it stepped over the line when the imaginary friends were even talking to the detectives and others!!

Echoes by Maeve Binchy

Clare and David--divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love--and ready to defy a world determined to keep them apart.
Even at fifteen, David Power knew the echo would answer eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize. But it was years before Dr. Power's cherished only son saw in the huckster's daughter the answer to his own heart's desire.
Here in Castlebay, perched precariously on the seaside cliffs, the lines between them were clearly drawn. Clare's only hope is to leave the town where time stopped, propelled by scholarships to Dublin, fueled by her own drive and brilliance, far from the insular, gossipy world of Castlebay and those in its thrall... Angela O'Hara, beautiful, isolated, a teacher trapped in the convent school, who risks everything to help Clare escape... Gerry Doyle, the town charmer who finds in Clare the woman he vows to have at any price... Caroline Nolan, the beautiful, rich outsider who comes to plunder...
For Clare, that was before the wild freedom of Dublin, and love. And David.  Before fate drove them back to Castlebay, and the past...

Her Silent Bones by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Fifteen years ago I watched my father’s murder. Now, having never truly recovered from losing her father all those years ago, Detective Delaney Pace is devastated when her brother and sister-in-law are killed in a car crash. Packing up her life she heads back to the rugged cowboy town of Kearney, Wyoming. Her niece Kateena is just eleven years old and Delaney will do anything to keep her safe…Now there’s another killer on the loose, and he’s already taken his first victim. New to the local police force, when a body is found on a secluded mountain trail Delaney is called to the scene. Surrounded by imposing pine trees, a young woman lies still in the moonlight. Gazing into her dark, unblinking eyes Delaney’s heart pounds wildly in her chest as she recognises the victim. It’s her beloved Kateena’s mother, Lila. But she died weeks before. Didn’t she? There’s evil lurking in this town and I’ll stop at nothing to hunt down the truth and deliver justice. With Kateena traumatised all over again, when Delaney links Lila’s murder back to the place where her own father was killed she realizes she must face her own dark past to catch the man responsible. But little does she know that the killer has already made their next deadly move. Back at home, Kateena should be in bed sleeping soundly, but her room is empty. Kateena is missing…Can Delaney uncover the truth behind the killings and save Kateena before it’s too late?

Secret Sins by Jasmine Cresswell

Twenty-seven years ago. A cold, snowy night in Cleveland...
And a traffic pileup that left eight cars wrecked, at least four people dead. But in the midst of this ugliness and pain, a small miracle. A little girl was alive. Her parents weren't so lucky.
Gene Zajak, a cop who'd seen more than his share of dead bodies, took the toddler home. Jessica Marie Pazmany became Jessica Marie Zajak.
Now--twenty-seven years later--Jessica's fascinating, if less than faithful, ex-husband has come to see her, armed with some terrifying evidence. Jessica Marie Pazmany is dead. And she'd died seven months before the car crash.
There are answers, and they're out there. He's determined to find them. She may not live to find them..

The Boys

We have had deer on our street for many many years but I don't remember ever seeing two bucks together.  Usually just one with his ladies. No ladies today, just the boys! 

They were snacking on the fallen fruit from the crab apple tree across the street.

They've moved on down the street to eat another neighbours flowers! Oh dear, she won't be happy!!

Books 9-12

Out of Sight by Morgan James

Ainsley Layne is running from something—or someone. Sheriff Dare Jensen can see it in the way she watches her surroundings, the way she flinches away from him every time he comes near. Though she tries to hide the shadows in her eyes, the dark bruises that riddle her body tell their own dark tale.
Dare knows that winning her trust won't be easy. She's been hurt too many times and, despite his offer of a safe haven, she refuses to confide in him. Until the killings begin…
When a young woman is found strangled to death and left posed on a park bench, the murder rocks the small town of Brookhaven. Coinciding so closely with Ainsley's arrival, Dare can't help but wonder… Is it a coincidence? Or is it somehow connected to the woman residing under his roof?
Ainsley stirs his protective instincts in a way no other woman ever has, and Dare soon finds himself caught between love and duty. As sheriff, he takes pride in his strong moral compass. Taking advantage of the woman in his care goes against everything he believes in. But as a man, he can't deny the passion that blazes between them…
When Ainsley is drawn into a sinister plan for revenge, Dare must rely on every ounce of training to save the woman he loves—before she becomes the next victim in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

 Ainsley has been held captive by an abusive boyfriend and is so frightened that she can not think straight! She finally makes a plan and escapes to her hometown. She meets 

Sheriff Dare Jensen who offers her a place to stay on his property as she needed a new place to live and stay safe. He has a feeling that there is something wrong and he needed to protect and help her.  Things start to happen in the town, death and a shooting which haven't happened in years. I enjoyed this book, except for the cliff hanger at the end!!

Silent Boy by Janet Fix & Cheryl Bradshaw

Private Investigator Sloane Monroe is about to face the most challenging case of her life, and this time, it hits a little too close to home.
In the dirty hallway of a local tavern, six-year-old Louie Alvarez plays with his race cars, waiting for his mother to take him home. A scream rips through the air. Louie freezes, then turns, staring at the room at the end of the hallway where the sound had come from.
His mom was in that room.
Louie inches toward the door and peeks through the crack. Inside, his mother begs for her life, but it’s far too late. Her fate has already been sealed. As a gunshot sounds off, a terrified Louie drops his race cars. In an instant, all eyes are on him, and there’s only one thing he can do now—run.

This is a short, fast paced story and was kind of surprising when I found out the motives behind what happened.

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts

Reece Gilmore has come a long way to see the stunning view below her. As the sole survivor of a brutal crime back East, she has been on the run, desperately fighting the nightmares and panic attacks that haunt her. Reece settles in Angel's Fist, Wyoming-temporarily, at least-and takes a job at a local diner. And now she's hiked this mountain all by herself. It was glorious, she thought, as she peered through her binoculars at the Snake River churning below.
Then Reece saw the man and woman on the opposite bank. Arguing. Fighting. And suddenly, the man was on top of the woman, his hands around her throat . . .
Enjoying a moment of solitude a bit farther down the trail is a gruff loner named Brody. But by the time Reece reaches him and brings him to the scene, the pair has vanished. When authorities comb the area where she saw the attack, they find nothing. No signs of struggle. No freshly turned earth. Not even a tire track.
And no one in Angel's Fist seems to believe her. After all, she's a newcomer in town, with a reputation for being jumpy and jittery-maybe even a little fragile. Maybe it's time to run again, to move on . . .
Reece Gilmore knows there's a killer in Angel's Fist, even if Brody, despite his seeming impatience and desire to keep her at arm's length, is the only one willing to believe her. When a series of menacing events makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reece must put her trust in Brody-and herself-to find out if there is a killer in Angel's Fist before it's too late.

This was a good story although I was pretty sure who did it, fairly early on.

Lola is Missing by Alison James

Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom. Her mother is distraught. She is convinced her estranged husband, Gavin Harper, has abducted their daughter.
Detective Rachel Prince is leading the investigation but is soon out of her depth as she searches for the most high-profile missing child in the country. To uncover the truth about Lola’s disappearance, Rachel must untangle the Harper family’s complicated web of secrets and lies.
As the case progresses, the body of a local woman is found. The death at first seems unrelated, until a trail of social media posts lead Rachel to a chilling discovery.
And then another little girl is taken…
With growing pressure from the public and the appearance of someone from her past she’d rather forget, will Rachel be able to solve the connection between the two missing children and the murder - before it’s too late?

Good story. It was easy to figure out who but the how was more complicated!!

The Final Chapter!

 Continuing on from the last installment! 

 April 29th I had to go in for a review of the tests I had had so far.  I saw a different Internal Medicine doctor this time.  He said all my results were in the normal range.  No problems at all with anything-except the sleep test. I told him everything that had happened with the sleep clinic and he wasn't very pleased with how I had been treated. I told him I was using the dental splint and I had had no sleep apnea incidents. He wanted me to go back and see someone else at the clinic. I declined and so he asked me to think about it and we would talk again when I come back again. Come back again? Yes, they had forgotten to order a Pulmonary Function test for me!

May 15th I went for the P.F. test which was a lot of huffing and puffing and then some more huffing and puffing and that was that. 

June 23rd I had to go back to see the Endocrinologist.  She was very pleased with all the bloodwork again and the weight loss. She increased the dose of Metformin and in a month increase again to 3tabs twice a day and go from there. I'm on that last dose now for the last week and no adverse affects. 

July 16th I had to go back to see the Internal Medicine doctor again to get the results of the P.F. test. Once again everything is fine. He said I am very healthy! Well that's good to know! He also mentioned that he had had several other complaints about the sleep clinic I had gone to. He will no longer refer to that clinic (It is a chain of many) and is now referring to 2 other clinics.  He said that if I was still fine with the splint, to continue with it. If anything changes, come back to see him.

The only thing I have to do now is go back to see the Endocrinologist in December for a follow up.

So after 187 days, (6months) the 'I want you to go for a stress test' is finally complete. I hate to think what all those tests and specialist visits cost! Thank goodness for our healthcare system!

Some pictures of Walker, the birthday boy.

With his best friend, Cooper.

Cleaning for the party.