Good afternoon and how are we all?

Soooo, I’ve begun this year’s reading challenge – an Alphabet Challenge. I’m going to start with ‘A’ and work down to ‘Z’. So far…

A.)

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote gold-mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins—and not a single bone was ever found.

One hundred sixteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them to the abandoned mining town so they can learn what happened. Recently, a similar party had also attempted to explore the town and was never heard from again. Now the area is believed to be haunted. This crew is about to discover, twenty miles from civilization with a blizzard bearing down, that they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.

Very interesting book. Kept me on the edge of my seat. The end was really… unexpected. Makes me want to read more of this author.

There are a series of these. The Zombie, is a sweetheart.

B)

The tiny kingdom of Yurt is the perfect place–or so it seems–for someone who barely managed to graduate from the wizards’ school, especially after all that embarrassment with the frogs. But Daimbert, newly hired Royal Wizard of Yurt, senses an evil spell at work. But who could be responsible? The beautiful young queen? Her flighty aunt? The dour chaplain? The old, retired Royal Wizard, who seems to know more than he’s saying? Or someone from out of the castle’s past? Daimbert quickly realizes that finding out and saving his kingdom may take all the magic he never learned properly in the first place, with his life the price of failure–good thing he knows how to improvise!

I’ve had this book since 2012 and I figured it was about time I read it! Glad I did. Humorous, deep, and serious as once, I enjoyed it! Now to get the other 8…

And last this month…

C.)

Some years back – probably 9 years – someone gave me a hardcover of the 9th book in this series. I enjoyed it and have been on the hunt for the rest. I finally broke down and started buying them one at a time from Amazon. I believe there are 14 or 15. Amanda Pepper is a private high school English teacher whose assistant is discovered dead at Amanda’s home. I love her interaction with her coworkers and the police of Philadelphia. Written in language pretty much everyone should understand – i.e. – lighthearted and realistic – I remembered why I liked this author so many years ago.

Which leaves me at D – The Deadliest Sin – the last of the Crispin Guest series. (Which is making me very sad!) I will start it this afternoon.

4 books – although one of them shouldn’t count – during the month of January. Not so bad at all!