{"id":7740,"date":"2025-01-22T16:01:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T21:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/?p=7740"},"modified":"2025-01-22T16:01:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T21:01:18","slug":"books-of-note-january-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/2025\/01\/books-of-note-january-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Books of Note – January, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there are no paragraph separations in this article, please double-click on the title to create a more readable version.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPruning the Dead\u201d<\/strong> by Julia Henry \u2013 \u201cPruning the Dead\u201d is the first book in the marvelous Garden Squad<\/em> Mystery<\/em> series. Lilly Jayne is a charming 65 year old expert gardener, leader of the stealthy Goosebush Garden Squad, do-gooders of a certain age. They weed and plot at midnight, and remain anonymous while they tidy the town gardens and unsightly neighborhood patches.<\/span><\/p>\n

A park cleanup is underway when the body of a conniving moneygrubber is discovered on top of the mulch. The Garden Squad must thwart an unpleasant city clerk and solve a murder before Goosebush can shovel in peace again. Henry delivers engaging, savvy senior citizens and a clever plot against the background of small-town intrigue. Nicely done!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cold Dish\u201d <\/strong>by Craig Johnson \u2013 Walt Longmire is a modern American sheriff from Wyoming. Each of the books in the series features our gruff middle-aged lawman, an attorney daughter of whom he is so very proud, and a Cheyenne best friend\/sidekick whom he has known since childhood. Longmire mostly follows the rules, but when justice is in question, the rules are sometimes open to interpretation. This first book in the series deals with a rape case that ended badly in acquittal. Two years later, one of the attackers is murdered and Longmire must save the others from befalling the same fate, warranted or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stories are full of wonderful dialogue, intriguing mysteries, and life and death situations. Johnson\u2019s obvious love of the wide-open spaces of Wyoming spills onto the pages when the landscape becomes a character, as suddenly dangerous as any killer could be or as mesmerizing as a beautiful painting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe New Girl\u201d <\/strong>by Daniel Silva – #19 in the intense Gabriel Allon series. Throughout history, political leaders have made deals with the enemy in order to work on a common goal, each accepting that the other has special skills to achieve success. Now chief of the Israeli intelligence agency, Gabriel Allon is approached by a progressive leader in Saudi Arabia, a sworn enemy of Israel. They must work together behind the scenes to save the \u2018new girl\u2019 while preserving the stability of a more modern Middle East. Silva has created a riveting, complex plot, written in part because of the brutal killing of a real-life journalist as well as the deaths of more than 50 other journalists in one year.\u00a0 Contains kidnapping, Middle East tensions, and the grim realities of negotiations with some not very nice people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWink of an Eye\u201d<\/strong> by Lynn Chandler Willis. Gypsy Moran, PI, tries to escape his colorful past by returning home to Wink, Texas. What could go wrong at his sister\u2019s house? Gypsy runs into nasty sorts holding old debts, and turns to mush around an old flame, but his biggest problem is the 12 year old who wants his help. Tatum McCallan wants Gypsy to prove his Deputy Sheriff dad was murdered after looking into a missing girls case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gypsy has his doubts, but takes the case and quickly gets up to his neck in complications. The internal dialogue is marvelous and descriptions spot-on. The supporting cast is an absorbing mix of innocents, loyal relatives, corrupt officials, and anxious illegals.<\/span><\/p>\n

I lived in Texas for more than a dozen years, and Willis (a native North Carolinian) has truly captured the clothes-sticking-to-you August-in-Texas heat. The dust covers your shoes on the dry days and people will walk for a couple of blocks just to park the car in the shade. I laughed out loud when one of Gypsy\u2019s romantic fantasies was cut short by the reality of sweat.<\/span><\/p>\n

It won Minotaur’s PWA Best First Private Eye novel competition. Well deserved!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Superb entertainment from Julia Henry, Craig Johnson, Daniel Silva, and Lynn Willis. 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