The Classics Club ~ The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins ~ 30 Day Winter Writing Challenge ~Day 20

Good mystery. Every time I thought I had the solution, something happened that changed my opinion. It certainly kept me guessing.

The Moonstone, a famous diamond is stolen! Rachel, our lovely female protagonist inherited the Moonstone. I didn’t like Rachel, I thought she was a snob. I did like our hero, Franklin and her family’s butler Betteredge. Betteredge was my favorite character. I thought he was amusing and light-hearted. He loved the book Robinson Crusoe. He quotes Crusoe off and on throughout the book and the famous story seems to offer Betteredge direction and answers in life right when he needs answers. I like butlers in fiction and Betteredge is one that I will add to my list of favorites.

This book has so much to offer. A stolen diamond, an exotic location, skulking characters, a wealthy family, a likable family attorney and a hero accused of the crime. How rude!

This is without a doubt a baffling detective story! I enjoyed the different points of view. I thought it was very well done!

Happy Reading! 5 intriguing stars!!!!!

https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 19

Hello Peoples! I discovered this fun tag at Meegan Reads! I jumped, that’s right, jumped at the chance to participate. Ice skate on over and visit her fun blog. Click on the link below ~

https://meeghanreads.com/

The Wanderlust Book Tag ~

RULES ~

~ Mention the creator of the tag and link back to the original post ~

https://readingbystarlightblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/28/the-wanderlust-book-tag-an-original-tag/

~ Thank the blogger who tagged you.

She tagged everyone who was reading her post! THANK-YOU!

~ Answer the ten questions below using any genre.

~ Tag 5+ friends.

That was easy. 😁

ONWARD!

Secrets and Lies ~ A book set in a sleepy small town.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte! I had difficulty finding a sleepy small town, so, I chose Emily Bronte’s book. LOL! Hey! It could work!😉

Salt and Sand ~ A book with a beach side community.

The Seaside Cafe Mysteries by Bree Baker! This is a fun series. Please read them in order.

Here there be Dragons: A book with a voyage on the high seas!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis! Need I say more???

Tread Lightly: A book set down a murky river or jungle!

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs! Loved it! What a great jungle adventure!

Frozen waster: A book with a frost-bitten atmosphere!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis! YAY!

The boonies: A book with rough or isolated terrain!

Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart! The Hebrides! Oh yes!

Hinterlands and cowboys: A book with a western-esque setting!

A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley! Loved it! The outlaw and the preacher!

Look lively: A book set across sweeping desert sands!

The Sands of Ethryn by C. S. Lakin! Good series!

Wild and untamed: A book set in the heart of the woods!

The Girl Behind the Red Rope by Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker! Interesting story!

Wildest dreams: A whimsical book shrouded in magic!

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis! I don’t read many books shrouded in magic; The Silver Chair was the only book I could think of that might fit this category.

Tagging!

I really enjoyed this fun tag! So! I tag everyone who reads this blog post!

Have fun!

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 18

Hello Peoples! It’s 28 degrees this morning. The high today is 48 degrees but windy. I do not like wind chill. Brrr. ⛄ Since snow, cold and winter are usually on my mind these brisk days, I thought I would share books, I’ve read, with snow on the cover.

Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan ~ Loved it!

Murder She Wrote The Murder of Twelve by Jessica Fletcher & Jon Land ~ I liked it!

Anna Karenin by Leo Tolstoy ~ Interesting read. I did like it.

A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson ~ Another interesting story.

Meet You Under the Stars by Traci Borum ~ A sweet romance.

A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd ~ A very good Ian Rutledge Mystery!

Snowfire by Phyllis A. Whitney ~ Mystery! Suspense!

Death In St. Petersburg by Tasha Alexander ~ Very good mystery.

And there you have it! Books I’ve read with snow on the cover!

Have a great day!

Stay warm and cozy!

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 17

Hello Peoples! Oh my word! It’s Monday. It’s cold. We have snow. Yesterday we watched football! 🏈🏈🏈 The 49ers beat the Cowboys and the Chiefs beat the Steelers. I did go to the bakery to read for a while, and it was crazy there! It was entertaining. There were only a few people there, but it was so NOISEY! Laughter, loud talking, children playing, etc. Not exactly the place to read a book. 📚 So! I enjoyed my hot chocolate, read for a while and came home.

What Am I Reading?

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I’m more than halfway through it. It’s good. It seems a little different to me. I’ll write a review when I finish reading it.

Today I am making beef stew in the crockpot for Rick. I don’t eat meat.

Stay warm and cozy!

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 16

Hello Peoples! Yesterday was a nice, quiet day. Rick worked on his jigsaw puzzle, most of the day, and he did finish it. I sat in the dining room reading magazines. We did journey to a local furniture store and order a sofa sleeper bed. We had been wanting a sofa sleeper bed for a long time and we finally ordered one. It will arrive in two weeks. 🙂

Stay warm and cozy.

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 15

Hello Peoples! Wow! It’s already day 15 of my winter blogging challenge! It hasn’t zoomed on by, but it has been steady. And! January is cold.⛄⛸

The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge (1991)

David Suchet Hugh Fraser Phillip Jackson

Ya know, Poirot (David Suchet) is so comical when he’s sick. 🤒 He’s such a baby. lol. In The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge poor Poirot is “a corpse waiting to die.” lol. He somehow rallies himself to get out of bed and solve the mystery.

Harrington Pace (Bernard Horsfall) is an unlikable man. He controls his relatives with the promise of money in the future. In this mystery, he invites several people to his lodge in an isolated location to shoot birds. Hastings and Poirot are invited. Well, during the course of the weekend, Harrington is shot in his lodge with his own gun. Poirot is sick in bed; however, Hastings is up for the challenge and begins to investigate, reporting back to Poirot. Eventually, Poirot can’t handle being out of the investigation, so he thrusts himself out of bed, dresses and joins in to solve the murder and expose the identity of the nefarious person who shot Harrington Pace. This is a good puzzle.

I’ve watched this mystery several times. I like the location of the lodge; I like the puzzle and I like poor Poirot ill. He was ill in Third Floor Flat (1989) and Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan (1993). He was amusing in all of these episodes.

Highly recommend!

Enjoy!

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 14

Hello Peoples! Yawn! Stretch! It’s morning??? It snowed sometime during the night. ⛄ Rick has been putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It’s a tough one. It’s a collage of Disney movies. Mickey Mouse is in the center of the puzzle and characters from other animated films surround Mickey. Many of the images are from Fantasia.

Yesterday I woke, walked downstairs into the kitchen. I grabbed a 2-quart carton of milk out of the refrigerator. Well! It was wet and full. It slipped out of my hands and hit the floor HARD. It made a LOUD noise! The boom was big. It didn’t break, not even a crack or a split or a hole. The noise!!! Rick was sleeping and I was waiting for him to come charging down the stairway asking, along the way, what happened??? He slept right through the big kaboom. I am so thankful the container didn’t break. There would have been milk everywhere and I probably would have had a back splash of milk all over me.🥛

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Blogging Challenge ~ Day 13

Lady at the Window by Robert Waldron

a Novella

The Lost Journal of Julian of Norwich

This is an interesting book. Julian was a medieval mystic and anchoress. This fictionalized journal was kept secret for a lengthy period of time, because it was forbidden for women to write. Fictionalized seems peculiar to me. Alone, for the most part, in her “cell,” she did have visitors. She shares in her journal her relationship with Jesus and her experiences with the people who came to her for direction in life. Her visitors were unable to enter her “cell,” they speak to her through a window.

I though this book was fascinating with so much to reflect upon. I liked Julian. All I know about her is written in this short book. I don’t think I had ever heard of her until I read this journal. I will be reading this book again sometime in the near future.

Happy Reading!

30 Day Winter Writing Challenge ~ Day 12

Hello Peoples! It’s 36 degrees here this morning! YAY! The high today is 45 degrees! Woot! Woot! Yesterday was a nice day. It was a little breezy at times, which made if chilly, but the day was so much warmer. Not warm. Warmer. 😉I even walked to a Little Free Library and donated three books. I drove to the bookstore in the evening. It was quiet at the bookstore, not many people browsing.

Rick and I are going to buy a new vehicle. Buying a vehicle has to be my most unfavorite job in life. I really do not like purchasing a vehicle. Pbtttt. Rick sold our truck. A random guy came to our humble abode and took our truck away. It is gone. We do have a car. We are not walking. *haha* So, Rick and I will search for the vehicle for us. I will tag along and offer my opinion. Mmm. Maybe, I will buy a Vespa! Or! A dune buggy! YAY!

Much love ~

Kathy

30 Day Winter Writing Challenge ~ Day 11

A Very Private Grave by Donna Fletcher Crow

The Monastery Murders

When Father Dominic returns from a pilgrimage, he is soon discovered dead in his room at the College of Transfiguration in Yorkshire. Father Antony is next to the deceased, covered in blood.

My my my. I shake my head. Our female protagonist, Felicity Howard discovers Antony, next to the body, and is a witness, after the fact, to the diabolical scene in Father Dominic’s room. Not a good situation to find oneself in, for Father Antony and Felicity. The day before his death, Dominic is able to give Felicity a book of poetry. This precious book, she keeps with her during the entire story.

Felicity and Father Antony flee The College of Transfiguration and follow the path Dominic traveled on his pilgrimage to find clues and discover the identity of that nefarious person who brutally killed the most beloved Father Dominic.

This book is packed with history and the reader is certainly taken on a journey through northern England and southern Scotland. While I was reading the mystery, I googled some of the history and the locations in the story. Well! The author seems to be right on! I thought the mystery moved along slowly in places though. And. I was sorry I didn’t become acquainted with Father Dominic. He died so early in the story.

Felicity is a strong female protagonist. I liked her. Father Antony is a great guy. Him and Felicity work well together. I honestly didn’t know who Felicity and Antony could trust. There was one particular character I was very suspicious of. I only solved a portion of the mystery.

Ancient and modern clues come together in this mystery!

Happy Reading!