2015 has been a busy year when it comes to reading.
According to my Goodreads profile, I’ve read 75 books this year, which is more
than quadruple my goal of 15. Next year, I’m aiming towards 100.
Anyway, getting back to 2015, I've met some wonderful authors and discovered new books. I read a mixture of genres, everything from romance to mysteries to psychological thrillers, I even read
Fifty Shades of Grey (I know I’m 3 years behind, but it takes me a while to get
behind the latest book trends). I also started reading Under the Dome by
Stephen King, I’m a fan of the show and I decided to check out the book. To
date, I’m on page 70-something on Under the Dome and I’ve got a little over a
thousand pages to go. Yes, it’s that long and I plan to finish it in 2016, so
wish me luck.
Some books I read weren’t my taste, while others left me
wanting to read more from the author. For 2015, I’ve compiled a list of my top ten books
of the year.
1. Feathers by Cynthia Lott
New Orleans novice detective, Brenda
Shapira, investigates murders committed by a vengeful killer, only to
discover that the killer has been dead for one hundred years. As
she unravels this long ago mystery steeped in New Orleans history and
the Yellow Fever epidemic, Brenda realizes that she may be his next
victim.
Read My Review
2. 6200 Carbon Canyon Road by Terri Lenee Peake
Terri was engaged to a notorious strip club owner known as 'Big Mac'
McKenna for seven years. He was gunned down in his limousine in his
driveway at 6200 Carbon Canyon Road. He took twenty- one bullets in the
chest. By sheer luck Terri had escaped being in the limousine with him
by leaving Mac three months earlier. She was rocked by the murder and
frightened by the prospect of who could have done it.
"I usually drove to check the mailbox, which was down by the road at
the end of a mile-long winding driveway, but it was a beautiful
southern California summer day in August 1987, sunny and inviting
outside. I needed the fresh air, and it was a chance to enjoy some rare
time alone in a turbulent life that seemed at a turning point. I must
have anticipated that something important would be waiting for me in the
mail. I opened the letter addressed to me, Terri Lenée Peake, from
Penthouse magazine and couldn’t believe my eyes—there with the letter
was a gold Penthouse key necklace for me and a note saying
“Congratulations, you are October 1987 Penthouse centerfold.” That
moment I went from nobody to suddenly somebody and things were about to
take a drastic turn. I was living in an increasingly abusive
relationship with Horace "Big Mac" McKenna, a six-foot-six, black
bodybuilder, ex-cop, and notorious gangster who co-owned a string of
strip clubs. He had moved me into his lavish forty-acre ranch at 6200
Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, an address that would later become infamous
as a murder scene. For now, it was where Mac kept his Arabian horses,
his pet tiger and jaguar, four attack dobermans, his spider monkeys that
he dressed in tuxedos, his collection of lethal snakes—and me."
Read My Review
3. Shadow Dancer by Addison Kline
"Some secrets should just stay buried. On the day Tristan Morrow is born
her mother goes missing, prompting an investigation that produces no
solid leads. Fast forward 15 years, and the Morrow family still doesn’t
know the truth behind Catherine Morrow’s disappearance. When 15 year old
Tristan is required to write a biography on her mother for a school
assignment, she learns the truth about her mother’s fate, and is
hell-bent upon finding out who was responsible for her death. But when
Tristan herself goes missing too, everyone is suspect, even her own
father.
Set in rural Fox Hollow, PA, Shadow Dancer unravels a web of lies,
deceit, madness and corruption. Can investigators crack the case before
Tristan meets the same fate as her mother? And who is responsible for
the disappearances? There is much uncertainty as the investigation
unfolds, but there is one thing that is certain: Tristan Morrow holds
the master key to the entire riddle."
Read My Review
4. Every Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away from Emotional Abuse by Kathleen Pooler
“Good girl travels a rocky road to become a strong woman. Kathleen
Pooler's experience and insights ...will inspire any reader.” ~ Sharon
Lippincott, author of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing
“...provides us with a deep well of wisdom—and a cautionary tale
that will resonate with every woman.” ~ Lynne M. Spreen, author of
Dakota Blues
NOTHING CAN RESCUE HER UNTIL SHE DECIDES TO RESCUE HERSELF
How does a young woman from a stable, loving family make so many
wise choices when it comes to career, but so many poor choices when it
comes to love?
Kathy must face her self-defeating patterns before she and her children become a statistic.
Her life and the lives of her two children depend upon the choices she makes, and the chances she takes.
Join Kathy on her roller-coaster ride of self-discovery, from shame and guilt to inner strength in her tears to triumph story.
“If you have ever despaired as a parent or partner, knowing you have
made a wrong choice but not knowing how to move forward, you will find
courage, hope, and strength in these pages.” ~ Shirley Showalter, author
of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World
Kathleen Pooler is a retired Family Nurse Practitioner and active
memoir writer. She believes in the power of hope and writing to
transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments. She
writes weekly at her Memoir Writer’s Journey blog: http://krpooler.com.
Read My Review
5. Absarokee Whispers by Alisha Guenzel
Family Meant Loyalty
Jonas McGregor was raised the old way of the cowboy. His daddy
taught him how to speak to horses a way that people envied. He came
from a long line of horse whispers and he taught his sons the same gift.
But when his friend Edward Sheridan passes things begin to change
from his health to the way his sons, Jason, Jesse, and Jude view life.
Follow the McGregor family on their discovery of what happens when life interrupts their happy life on The McGregor Horse Ranch.
Read My Review
6. Nethanyel's Lady Lune by C. Desert Rose
Even the moon has secrets …
Traversing the globe—from Louisiana, USA to New Zealand—on an
enterprise to discover the hidden secrets of the moon, Nethanyel finds
that everything may not be as it seems. Accompanied by a consequential
companion named Jax, Nethanyel is taken to a place … even a time … that
he would have never expected.
Set in the year 1940, is Nethanyel’s Lady Lune exploration, fate or both?
Read My Review
7. Destiny (Forever & Always Book 1) by Cindy Springsteen
A mesmerizing and powerful true story about young love, the choices that we make, and where those choices take us.
When
Cindy meets Danny they become inseparable. Cindy believes she has found
her true "Soul Mate" and that they would live happily ever after. What
she didn't know is that being a teenager and being in love isn't that
simple. There were constantly things being thrown in their path that
would cause them to break up.
They both move
on, find new love and yet, somehow they would wind up together again.
They would believe this was the time that they would last
forever. They are older now and decide to take things slow. They are
truly happy together, everything is as it should be and they begin
planning for their future when a shocking jaw dropping event takes
place.
What will happen now? Were they destined
to always fail? Is there anyway to recover? Can there be a Forever
& Always? or has Destiny set it's path for them?
8. Eclectic: Beyond the Skin by Queen of Spades
This is the deluxe edition of Eclectic. It contains a bonus section,
entitled "Deep Tissue." Deep Tissue contains a short story, entitled
"Misfortune" which will be featured in Queen of Spades' short story
collection, "Continuous Drips" set for release late next year.
Disclaimer: Some of the language and topics may not be suitable for younger readers.
9. Brilliant Disguise: A Charlie McClung Mystery by Mary Anne Edwards
Detective Charlie McClung no longer finds his job fulfilling and has
given up finding that "someone" his granny promised he would find. So
he leaves behind the big city and his close-knit family and takes a job
in a small town police department in Georgia, resigned to live a quiet
life in solitude.
Things change when he meets Marian Selby while investigating the
mysterious death of her best friend. But Marian swore never to love
again after the death of her husband 11 years ago. What seems to be a
suicide turns into a tangled web of deceit, corruption, and complicated
shadows.
Can the two of them come to grips with their feelings for each other before the killer closes in on them?
10. Angelo's Journey: A Border Collie's Quest for Home by Leland Dirks
A Border Collie is brutally kidnapped. He escapes his captor and starts
the long journey home, meeting a truck driver, a long-abused wife, a
Marine, a cowboy and two grandmothers. Their lives will never be the
same after meeting Angelo. Sometimes, all it takes to avert a disaster
is the light touch of a canine paw.
A warning to friends who've
enjoyed my other books: The Marine, the cowboy, and the truckdriver in
this book use some language that may not be suitable for younger
readers.
Also please consider another book by the same authors, Jimmy Mender and His Miracle Dog, just released for the Kindle and in paperback!. Thank you!
