Cecile > Recent Status Updates

Hoping this is in the caliber of The Finder series. Not sure I get The Expanse comparison except perhaps the setting with corrupt, overpowering corporate themes. I don’t like those themes—put up with it in The Murderbot series but only read the first Expanse novel. We’ll see how far it get.

I skipped the third of the series—didn’t capture my interest from reviews here—and went on to #4. So far so good. An interesting mixture of danger and humor.

I cannot say I’m enjoying this book. Not sure if I’ll finish it. I’m finding it a bit dull.

Not sure how committed I am to this story. The last set of trials from book 2 was enough for me. I’ll probably finish this one and then stop. More trials, different planet.

My stars. This book covers a lot of territory! So many mysteries in one book. I have not been able to keep up with all the characters, dead ones or “breathers.”

Would someone tell me how a spirit can walk through walls AND sit on a piece of furniture?

Downright silly—Abigail discovers she’s dead and reacts as though it’s a minor revelation. No time spent mourning for herself, etc.
Anyway, it’s perfectly silly for me as I am preferring escapism these days.
And there is edge to this cozy mystery. I noticed it in the first book I read of this series—#7.
I’m expecting more than one mystery to be solved before it ends, just as had occurred in episode 7.

Not sure what I think about this book yet. It is definitely an adventure story. A lot of the description of the terrain was over my head. I can’t visualize all the dynamics and little worlds. So, I’m just going for the ride.

Rereading this one. Mindless escape. Funny how the author works around using f$ck. But his substitute is even more distracting: moke. Moking foke.

I have to say, I hate whispersync. The inflections are off.

The Pavel character reminds me of the Belgian police show, Professor T. And of the American detective who was germ phobic and perhaps neurodivergent.

I get to this book every now and then.

For such a kooky book, it has some depth to it. Two stories in one, somewhat tied together.

Dragging for me. It feels as though it’s not going to be such a feel good tale.
I’ve decided to cheat so I can chat at my book club about the book by reading about the tale in SuperSummary.com!

On the saccharine and bittersweet side. More of a rumination than a dynamic tale. It’s so very long. I don’t know if I’ll finish it. Might have to go to SuperSummary and read the synopsis of the chapters I don’t get to.

Not sure what I think of this book so far. Overly eccentric and now a shifting tone of who’s telling the story. It starts with the omniscient voice and now it’s the young woman’s. Why, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ll finish it.

I’ve not read a book before that solved a murder mystery by the first half of the book and then moved on to another.
“Thank you, Betty. If you stick up for me anymore I might have to kill myself if I wasn’t already dead.”
How’s that for a line in a cozy mystery?

Charming enough. So. Many. Characters. Ghosts and living. I even have trouble with the baby and the cat—what name belongs to who. And so many dead and living!

Interesting. But too many characters to keep up with!

At times a bit of a slog as Weir shows off his science chops. Can’t imagine reading this. Listening is better. The audio version won the award back in 2022. The performer definitely earned it. A great listen most of the time. I have zoned out now and then with the science.

Ha! This story jumps right into normalizing a dead detective team. Spirits who help a medium help her police detective hubby solve crimes.

Continues to roll along. Having two narrators works fine. I have to say, men have it easier to do female voices, than the other way around. I appreciate the true diversity of the cast of characters with the snippet of southern cultural history. I enjoy when everyone gets to play. That’s how life should be. And, I’ll forgive the male gaze so far. Not over the top.

One of those easy reads. Actually, quite a find for me. I’m in my 70s and enjoy mysteries with crime solvers of a certain age and vital, bright, not to mention good-looking, clever, etc. May have been led here by AARP’s booklist of fiction and nonfiction that celebrate the positives of longevity. Although written by a man with the inherent male gaze, that part isn’t distracting as yet. Fingers crossed.

It is engaging. A bit long as the past and present are laid out. I’m starting to get anxious. I just know Rocky is going to die somewhere along the way, I just know it. The other source of tension for me is the devastating work on planet earth. Hard to believe one person can have so much power—that’s probably the most unbelievable part of an unbelievable story.

I am enjoying listening to the narrator. And the story is moving along nicely.
Another Martian-like romp with a white guy, but I suspect a white guy draws more readers. Tongue in cheek.

Although I don’t try to notice plot devices and clues in mystery books, so many of these are transparent: the skills of the characters, the transparent clues then redirection to keep the story going. There’s someone mentioned in the beginning who uses a wheelchair. Waiting for that one to return to the story.
Anyway, I don’t figure I’ll work things out, but enjoying the read.

Quite readable. Although I guess I’ve read so many mysteries I could spot how all the players were going to help the MC solve the mystery. And of course, the computer savvy step son—well, it’s hard to miss how he’ll be helpful in solving the case. I wouldn’t be surprised if the surly cat rescues the MC in the end. The reader’s male voices aren’t so great. So I’m reading the ebook mostly.

I’d dropped this series a while back weary of the sexism the detective Greene had to deal with on a daily basis. It was overbearing—gratuitous.
Then I learned of her post-retirement life with the force and decided to pick this one up. It’s fine so far—cold cases.
A bit heavy on how hot it is while solving this cold case. The typical trope of ambitious reporter. I have a suspect already. We’ll see.

Rough stuff, through and through. Thankfully, it’s a short read, so I’ll continue. Nothing redeemable about the corrosive and very powerful corporate future this book depicts.

An interesting mixture of cozy and gritty. Reviews prepared me for the dog side of things. I wonder how I would have reacted without the prior knowledge.
It doesn’t bother me, the communicating animals. I love dogs and cats, so, I’m game. These days I read for escape. This fits the bill.