Last wrap up of the year. Crazy right? I started with very optimistic intentions for this blog this year but that didn't quite pan out. Though perhaps I'll save that for the year end round up.
December was a slower month for me, reading-wise. There was a lot going on and in general I feel like i had less time for reading and even with (or perhaps because) that time was more limited I listened to podcasts or Xmas music instead of books because those are easier to dip in and out of for extended periods or to not have to worry about giving full attention.
I also had a brief worry where my library switched systems and thus I had to resign into my Libby account. But that took some time AND when I got signed out I lost all of my library holds. SIIIIIIGH back to the end of the line.
But the good news is the new library set up means many more books are available and they finally got a copy of Homicide and Halo Halo, which is the second cozy mystery book in the series starting with Arsenic and Adobo (they've had the third book for ages which is not especially helpful) and I was able to pick it up exactly 1 year after I finished the first book. So that was fun.
Anyway, here's what December looked like
Total books read
4
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein
Homicide and Halo Halo by Mia P. Manasala
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
I just wanted a simple, engaging murder mystery and there was a lot that my library didn't have when I stumbled on this book. I had read one Horowitz before (Magpie Murders) which was fine. Not my fav but. I figured I'd give something else a try. This is the first in a series with a gruff former-detective-turned-consulting-detective (Hawthorne) and the guy he partners with to write a book about his case (in a meta turn, Horowitz himself). Hawthorne is all of the tropes from a Sherlock character you'd expect: brilliant, blunt, kind of an oddball. He's brought into a case where a woman planned her funeral that morning and was murdered that evening. That'll draw you in. Horowitz is the reluctant writer who finds himself intrigued by the case and endlessly frustrated by Hawthorne. But he agrees to stay on, following the detective around as they detect and try to figure out who is responsible. The plot is ultimately a bit silly but what murder mystery plot isn't? And this was fun enough that I started in on the second book in the series immediately, and not only because it was available.
Rating: 4 stars
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Hawthorne and his ghost writer Horowitz at it again to solve another murder the regular police force can't seem to figure out. This time the victim is a well-known divorce lawyer who was bashed in the head with an expensive bottle of wine. Wine that the guy didn't drink. His last heard words were "You shouldn't be here. It's too late..." There's a message scrawled on the wall. From the killer? From the victim? Who knows? More kind-of-silly-but-that's-fine murder plot stuff, more frustrations for Horowitz from Hawthorne and the lead detective on the case who doesn't approve of a PI being brought in. I'm sure I'll read more in the series (is there more)?
Rating: 3.75 stars
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein
Quite the title, right? Klein dives into the sexual shame she and many women that she grew up with felt. She talks to these women about the ways purity culture affected them as young girls and what it meant for them as they were growing up. Why did she feel the need to take multiple pregnancy tests despite the fact that she was a virgin? What did the guilt and shame do to these women as they got older? Why is it the woman's job to make sure that the man doesn't "stray" by seeing a rogue knee? The book was strongest when Klein was focused on herself and what she was going through. Not to say the interviews shouldn't have been there, but it felt like Klein inserted herself too much in those interviews (sharing her reaction to the things the women shared, setting the scene with what food they were eating, what the seating was like) that weakened these pieces. It's an important topic but could have used some more editing.
Rating: 3.25 stars
Homicide and Halo Halo by Mia P. Manasala
Like I said in the intro, it had been a year since I'd been back to the Tita Rosie's Kitchen series and I did have to read some summaries of what happened in Arsenic and Adobo to remind me where I had left off. This book doesn't spend too much time rehashing events of previous book, which I appreciated (it feels so forced whenever the second book in a series does this) even if that reminder would have been helpful. But no matter. It's a few months after those events and Lila is working with her friends to get their cafe set up while also stepping in as a judge for a Miss Teen beauty pageant (of which she is a former winner). But when one of the judges from a prominent family is murdered, suspicions turn to Lila's cousin Bernadette, who she's always had a bit of a rocky relationship with. Can Lila help solve this murder and clear her cousin? And in between try out many delicious recipes to make sure her cafe gets off the ground? Oh and also, maybe deal with some of that PTSD she's dealing with after the first book? Perfect story for this time of year when I want something to draw me in without making me work too hard. And all of the food sounded so good
Rating: 4 stars
Pages read
1,393
Fiction
75%
Female authors
50%
BIPOC authors
25%
US authors
50%
Book format
audiobook - 100%
Where'd I get the book?
Library - 100%
Decade published
2010s: 75%
2020s: 25%
Resolution books
75%
Both of the Hawthorne and Horowitz books are by a UK author
Homicide and Halo Halo is by a Filipino-American author
