Cannonball Read 9

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

Is That All There Is?

Agatha Raisin Mysteries, Books 6-10 by MC Beaton

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I read the first 5 books in the Agatha Raisin series as a stress reliever during a busy summer. I liked them, but I didn’t love them. I read 6-10 (and actually I’m up to 12, now) out of ennui, because they’re always available from the library and they’re easy listening for my frequent long car trips. Six through 10 were not as enjoyable as the first five, unfortunately. Books 6-10 see Agatha leave her small village in the Cotswolds and do some traveling (which makes sense; how many murders could possibly take place in a village before you start […]

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10/2/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:44 |

Flavia the Mystery Solver Goes to Canada (Half Cannonball Completion!)

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley

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Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce novels are one of my favorite book series at present.  As such, I space out reading them to savor the goodness, so this year I ordered a new one for my birthday, which I quickly devoured.  Also, I wanted to read something special for the completion of my half cannonball (Huzzah!  Hip Hooray!) But enough about me, on to the book! Bradley has created a precocious and endearing detective in Flavia. Much like I consider Phryne Fisher of the Miss Fisher’s murder mysteries TV show to be a young Jessica Fletcher, a la TV’s “Murder […]

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9/28/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:26 |

It’s a pleasure to sit at this old lady’s knee.

Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

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It’s been years since I read the first Call the Midwife book, and I only vaguely remember it. When this finally made its way to the top of my Goodreads list, I was a little concerned that the gap would be a problem. Fortunately, Shadows of the Workhouse more or less functions as a standalone book. Knowing the basic workings of Nonnatus House is useful, but hardly required. Whereas Call the Midwife was a pretty straightforward memoir of Jennifer Worth’s time as a midwife working among nuns dedicated to providing obstetric care to poor women in postwar London, Shadows of […]

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6/19/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:17 |

Wolves at the Door

The Wolves Chronicles by Joan Aiken

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There are actually 12 books in the Wolves Chronicles, but when I was a kid I only read six of them, and these were the six that I recently reread and am reviewing: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea, Nightbirds on Nantucket, The Stolen Lake, The Cuckoo Tree, and Dido and Pa. The series takes place in alternate timeline in 1800s England (in this timeline, James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution, and so throughout the books his descendants sit on the throne of England. The other main difference is the number of wolves in […]

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6/4/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:25 |

War, what is it good for?

History of England, Vol III: Civil War by Peter Ackroyd

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I thoroughly enjoyed this, the third volume of Peter Ackroyd’s History of England, which covers a period of our history that I knew virtually nothing about (I don’t think I can really count Horrible Histories’ Charles II song as ‘knowledge’), from the succession of James I following the death of the childless Elizabeth I through to the flight of James II, taking in the civil war and the unprecedented execution of a king that happened in between. Here’s what I learned… James I of England, also James IV of Scotland, was the first Stuart king, uniting the English and Scottish […]

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5/4/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:29 |

I’m late to the train.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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Another Cannonball favorite finally made its way up my TBR list, and I had mixed feelings. I honestly don’t know why any reviews anywhere ever would call this book fast-paced, because the pace was absolutely killing me for the first half. Nothing happened but cryptic allusions to secrets and Rachel’s alcoholism and depression. I hated it for a while. Every time I put it down I’d feel kind of sad and crappy about life for a few hours before I finally realized that Rachel’s miserable inner life was rubbing off on me. Ugh. The story finally picked up entirely too […]

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4/19/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:9 |

Girl Detective and Cranky Cat for Hire

Murder Offstage and The Tomb of the Honey Bee (Posie Parker Mysteries 1 & 2) by L.B. Hathaway

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     Since this is books 1 & 2 of a series I may as well review them together. Posie Parker has just set out her shingle as a Private Investigator after coming home from the Ambulance Brigade in WWI. She grew up as the daughter of a country vicar and after losing both her brother and her fiance to the war has decided she has no desire to go back to the small town life. Setting up shop on Grape Street in London with her anti-social Siamese cat, and eventually a partner, Lem who has been an investigator with […]

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3/23/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:5 |

A Nazi, a Fascist, a Communist, a novelist, a countrywoman, and a Duchess walk into a bar-and I don’t know what happened because I didn’t finish the book

The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson

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I hate quitting on books. Hate. It. Because I’m a fast reader, I can usually convince myself to stick with my read. But I white-knuckled my way through about 100 pages of “The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters” before I finally tossed it and moved on. Life’s too short. I’d never heard of the Mitford Sisters before but I guess they’re pretty famous. They were socialites who managed to deliver more drama than the Kardashians. Beautiful, witty, articulate and unpredictable, they were at the forefront of a changing Europe. There was Nancy (the writer), Pamela (the boring one), […]

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Purchase The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson or any item from amazon via our link.

Funds raised are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name.

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1/21/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:3 |


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