Down the TBR Hole (26 of 29+)

My first thought when I saw the ten books on the chopping block today was, “Well, the List isn’t going to lose a lot of entries this week.” I think four or five of them came from the same list of “new PI novels to try” or something and all look too intriguing to cut (even if I figure I’m only going to really like half of them—I just don’t know which half).

But I didn’t expect these results.

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
Read the synopses of the books.
Decide: keep it or should it go?
Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

	Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo Blurb: A woman who left her Amish community comes back to the area after many years away as Chief of Police. Soon, a murder pits her family and past against her duty. My Thoughts: Recommended by a friend, and while “Amish Mystery” doesn’t necessarily scream my style, she hasn’t led me wrong yet. Verdict:
	By Sea & Sky: An Esowon Story by Antoine Bandel My Thoughts: There’s some sort of magic and pirates inspired by “the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia”, and some sort of airship. Magic pirates in the sky=a combination that I’ve got to try. Verdict:
	The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka Blurb: An emotionally troubled PI is on the hunt for a murder victim who might actually be alive in order to save the man convicted of her murder. Verdict:
	Broken Places by Tracey Clark Blurb: “former Chicago cop turned private investigator looks into a suspicious death as a favor to a friend—and makes some powerful enemies.” Verdict:
	Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould Blurb: There’s a former LAPD detective living in solitude as some sort of penance for failure in a case. He’s brought back to LA by his former love to help an eccentric actor suspected of a murder My Thoughts: That’s a lousy 2 sentence summary, but the blurbs are too long for this space. I like the idea of the damaged cop back to try to navigate through the case, his personal baggage, and other problems. John Michael Higgins does the audiobook, and I am incredibly curious about him as a narrator. Not curious enough to buy it, but curious. I wonder if that says something abou the tone of the book, too. It may be unfair, but I don’t see Higgins doing a great job on a dead-serious crime novel. Verdict:
	What Doesn’t Kill You by Aimee Hix Blurb: “Willa Pennington thought that becoming a PI would be better than being a cop. She thought she’d never have to make another death notification or don a bulletproof vest again…But she couldn’t have been more wrong, because Willa’s real problem is that she’s always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong…Now, agreeing to do a simple favor has netted her a dead body, a missing person, and an old friend who just may be a very bad guy. If whoever is trying to kill her would lay off she could solve the murder, find the missing girl, and figure out if the person she’s trusted with her life is the one trying to end it.” My Thoughts: I think it was the “becoming a PI would be better than being a cop. She thought she’d never have to make another death notification or don a bulletproof vest again” part of the blurb that gets the hooks in me. Because you know it’s going to go wrong, and with that as the baseline, it’s going to be very wrong. Verdict:
	Black and Blue in Harlem by Delia C. Pitts Blurb: “Rook came to Harlem to re-build a life. You hit bottom, the only way out is up, right? Nice home, nice job, nice girl. With a few breaks, a hard-luck private eye can land on his feet, even if his balance is still shaky. But now that cozy home has turned deadly. With his pal NYPD Detective Archie Lin working the case, Rook joins the investigation into the death of his neighbor. Nomie George was a gentle, unassuming city bureaucrat, with few friends and no apparent enemies. Minding her own business, following government rules, and hoarding her skimpy paycheck were Nomie’s chief pleasures. But a frosty fifteen-story plunge ended her life. Could her lonely death be a suicide? Or might a brutal murderer be on the loose?” My Thoughts: The premise of this makes this a slam dunk for me. But I see that it’s the third in a series. Reading it would probably bug me, so I’m going to give it the ax (and we’ll just ignore the fact that I’ve just added the first in the series to the list, because I need to cut something in this post). Verdict:
	*Random Sht Flying Through the Air by Jackson Ford Blurb: Teagan Frost, “psychokinetic operative” for the government seems to have her life about on track for the first time in ages, and then a “young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map.” My Thoughts: I thought the first Teagan Frost book was a blast and have been looking forward to digging into this one. Not sure why I haven’t. With book 3 coming out at the end of this month, I’d best get to it. Verdict**:
	Half a World Away by Mike Gayle Blurb: When they were children, siblings Kerry and Noah, ended up in the UK equivalent of the foster system, and ended up in very different places as adults. Kerry cleans homes and barely makes ends meet. Noah is a very successful barrister. When they reconnect, everything changes. My Thoughts: Years ago, I tore through my local library system’s collection of Gayle books in a few weeks and couldn’t find any more. I’m not sure why I stopped looking. I saw a reference to this somewhere last year and it brought back a lot of good memories, I need to start reading Gayle again and I might as well start with this. Verdict:
	Just Like You by Nick Hornby Blurb: Lucy is “a nearly divorced, forty-one-year-old schoolteacher with two school-aged sons, and there is no script anymore. So when she meets Joseph, she isn’t exactly looking for love—she’s more in the market for a babysitter. Joseph is twenty-two, living at home with his mother, and working several jobs, including the butcher counter where he and Lucy meet. It’s not a match anyone could have predicted. He’s of a different class, a different culture, and a different generation. But sometimes it turns out that the person who can make you happiest is the one you least expect, though it can take some maneuvering to see it through.” My Thoughts: It’s Hornby. The only reason I didn’t read it last fall (and probably have it on a best-of 2020 list) is that it fell victim to that time and money crunch that was my unexpected move. Verdict: