"Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.... "This blog is for Missouri State Library staff members to record their books read for the annual Missouri Book Challenge.
Welcome to the MOSL Book Challenge
Monday, August 15, 2022
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Friday, October 22, 2021
Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side
Pages: 358
Rating 3 out of 5
Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series and several mystery series, edits this collection of short stories about crimes and vampires. The volume includes a short story set in the world of Sookie Stackhouse and the events in the story occur between books 7 and 8 of the series.
Other authors in the collection are mystery writers but for some this was their first venture into supernatural fiction. They include: Steve Brewer, Dana Cameron, Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane, Barbara D'Amato, Carolyn Hart, Toni L. P. Kelner, Lou Kemp, William Kent Kreuger, Margaret Mahon, Elaine Viets and others.
Sunday, August 22, 2021
Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo
The by products of an abusive household are the heroin addiction and crime sprees a young Danny Trejo finds himself dealing with. These lead to time in some of the United States’ most notorious prisons, including Folsom and San Quentin. After a gut-wrenching reality check, Danny begins to rebuild himself, finding sobriety and spirituality along the way.
His checkered past comes in handy, though. Danny uses it as inspiration for acting roles in everything from The Muppets to Machete, which make him a household name across the globe. His personal life remains far from rosy, however. While Danny speaks at prisons and rehabilitation centers, helping others to know they’re not alone in their struggles, he can’t seem to break through to his children, who have inherited his battles.
288 pages
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Some January Reads
I have loved The Venture Bros. for years and I finally got this companion book for Christmas. It's awesome, has great pictures from the show and insights on each episode.
Pages: 376
The Sun Down Motel
Ghosts, murder, mystery??!! Everything I love in one book!
Pages: 327
Monday, August 31, 2020
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
by Ronan Farrow
Pages: 448
5 stars out of 5
This book made me angry. But, I think it is supposed to make you angry. Reporter Ronan Farrow stumbled upon a conspiracy that had long protected men in power in the media, the government, the world of finance and Hollywood. As he dug deeper to find out how many women had been sexually harassed and some assaulted, he discovered a network that covered up what was going on for decades. Women were afraid to come forward both because of a threat to their careers but for some their life and the lives of the family members had also been threatened. Some people disappeared. Ronan thought about backing off the story when he realized he was being followed and photographed but his partner and his sister kept encouraging him not to be another man who had let these women down. He lost his job and had to sell the story freelance but eventually the truth won out. Several people in this book have recently been convicted of their crimes while others are still awaiting trial. Sadly, some are still protected.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Puddin' by Julie Murphy
Puddin' by Julie MurphyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is an okay read, with a lot of diverse characters and interesting relationship dynamics, especially in regards to the friendships between the girls and women in this story. It did take me a bit of time to find a groove at the start, especially with the multiple POVs. I had trouble settling in with the characters and placing them for some reason. In fact, I mixed some of the girls up in the beginning, which led to some general confusion.
Also, I don’t know what went wrong for me in the last 1/2 of the book, but I really started to lose interest. It just didn’t capture me, and I kept zoning out and rewinding. It wasn’t that the story was completely boring. It’s just that there wasn’t enough action and tension to keep my attention. I think maybe the storyline started to drag, and the characters just weren’t showing as much growth and development as I’d hoped for.
I remember not wanting to put the first book down, and that just wasn’t the case with this story. I even found myself wishing it would hurry up and end, so I could start something else. I guess I just didn’t take to the really slow pace and meandering plot. It’s also pretty predictable, which may have been part of the problem, so don’t expect any twists or surprises with this one.
And sometimes it’s just a bit too preachy for me. The more I think about this and identify things that didn’t work for me with this story, the more I decide to drop my rating. I’m going to let it stand at 3 stars, since I round up anyway, but it may even be more of a 2.5 for me, which I’m pretty sad about.
Book 351 read in 2018
Pages: 448
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
The Gun Runner by Scott HildrethMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I didn't know if I would like a Mafia book, but I enjoyed it because most of the book was about someone that wasn't truly in the Mafia. The only thing that I didn't like about the story was who dishonest they both are with each other. While I get why they did it, still doesn't make it alright.
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304 Pages
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Broken by Cynthia EdenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wow, this book had me guessing the whole time who was the serial killer. I didn't figure it out until right before he came out. It must just all be awful for her not knowing anything about her past and luckily she found her own little family to help her figure out the past.
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348 Pages
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
One for the Money by Janet EvanovichMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary:Pestered by her close New Jersey family, Stephanie Plum offers to catch high-school crush Joe Morelli, cop turned bail jumper, for her cousin Vinnie's company. She questions "working girls" to find the missing girlfriend of vicious prizefighter Benito Ramirez while Joe secretly watches her back. Ranger mentors her and supplies vehicles when hers explode.
I have heard great things about these books, so I decided to start reading them. I love them!! They are a fast read, funny, and a little romance all in one. I am excited to keep reading them.
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320 Pages
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
"The Company We Keep" by Kay Simone
This is the best book I have read in a quite a while. Everything the author did was spot on, and she seamlessly went back and forth between past and present, including Charlie's and Carrow's childhoods. I was totally hooked not just by the suspense but also the characters and their relationships with each other. The struggle that Dustin/Charlie has with working the case and his feelings for The Company nearly tear him and everyone else apart. It was a really unusual and well written story, and I can't wait to read more by this author. 271 pages (Kindle edition).
Thursday, July 21, 2016
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Monday, July 11, 2016
The Promise by Rober Crais
Audio: 8 hrs. 6 min.
Print: 416 pages
Friday, May 20, 2016
The Gangster by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
(Posted for Paul Mathews)
The Italian American gang the Black Hand will attempt to kill President Teddy Roosevelt in 1905 and almost succeed. 387 pages.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
The Crossing by Michael Connelly
(Posted for Paul Mathews)
Detective Harry Bosch helps defense attorney Mickey Haller catch crooked policemen and save an innocent they are accusing of murder.
Audio: 9 hrs. 26 min.
Print: 400 pages










