Christmas Loot

This post is a wee bit late, but that's okay.  Christmas was a great day in my family for new books.  I got 7, Twin got 7, little sis got a few, and my mom got a gift card to a book store.  Apparently, though, my Christmas list and therefore the gifts I received had a certain theme to them.  I didn't realize this until my mom pointed it out on Christmas morning.  Let's see if you can guess the theme:

Firstly, I got this: Best of Ghost Hunters Volume 1 and 2:

Next, this: 50 Classic Horror Movies DVD set:

Then, Criminal Minds Season 1 on DVD:

Followed by some books....

I Am Not a Serial Killer:  (noticing the theme yet??)

Skippy Dies:

Mr. Peanut:

So yeah, my mom apparently thinks I'm like obsessed with crime, horror, and dead people.  I think she might be worried about me. 

But to show you that I'm really not all that bad, I also got these books:

Midnight on Julia Street, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Love Medecine, and Knitting Under the Influence:

Review: Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

I had never heard of Georgette Heyer until last January-ish, but when I found out she wrote British mysteries, I knew I needed to give her a try.  You see, I love a good mystery.  And when they take place in England, I love them more.  Especially when they aren't set in like, 2011.  And now I'm hooked on Ms. Heyer.  Footsteps in the Dark is about a family-3 grown siblings Peter, Celia, and Margaret, Celia's husband, an aunt, and their butler and cook-who decide to spend the summer in a country home they inherited from a distant relative.  Immediately, they hear tales from the locals about the home's ghosts, but everyone just laughs it off.  That is, until strange things start happening-noises that shouldn't be there, shadows, and a skeleton hidden in a wall.  Soon though, the party begins to unravel the mystery.  As more information is discovered, they begin to wonder if it is even a ghost at all, but a real person who is very capable of doing them harm. 

Heyer's writing is just fantastic.  It is full of wit and sarcasm, and grabbed me immediately.  She developed her characters very well, and they all had distinct personalities-some very witty, some serious.  What I loved was the chemistry between them.  Peter, Celia, and Margaret are all siblings, and they act like it even though they are adults.  Celia's husband definitely acts the part too.  He's close to everyone but also gets annoyed easily at his inlaws.  They all seemed so real.  I also adored the constable of the small town.  Comic relief at its best!  I was laughing out loud while reading this at work.

The ghost story/mystery was at times creepy, which I loved.  I thought the characters did a good job of solving it.  Heyer makes them and the situation so believable.  At first, they shrug it off as nothing but an old house creaking, as I would do.  But as things progress, they can't help but start wondering.

So favorite quotes:

Page 44: But an afternoon spent by the trout stream did much to restore their spirits.  The fish were rising well, and the weather conditions were ideal.

Page 144: "Not quite," Charles said.  "We know there is something queer about this house.  I don't want to lay undue stress on all that has happened, but on the other hand I don't want to run to the other extreme of pooh-poohing undoubtedly odd proceedings."  (I wish people still used that phrase-"pooh-poohing".  It is awesome.)

Page 246: Margaret reflected gloomily on the manifold failings of the male sex, and decided that the worst of these was the appallingly blunt questions men asked.


Title: Footsteps in the Dark
Author: Georgette Heyer
Date of Publication: My copy is 2010, originally in 1932
Number of Pages: 347
Genre: Fiction, mystery
Source: Personal Copy

Review: The Book of Illumination by Mary Ann Winkowski and Maureen Foley

Mary Ann Winkowski and Maureen Foley's The Book of Illumination is the perfect book for fans of the TV show Ghost Whisperer.  After all, Winkowski was a consultant for the TV show.  This book is the first in what I hope might become a little series.  There's already a second book out, The Ice Cradle. 

This book follows Anza, a single mom who lives in Boston and works as a bookbinder (awesome, I know).  Anza also can see and talk to ghosts.  When Anza gets a temp job helping a friend rebind old books at a museum, she soon finds herself in a mystery.  What do the two monk ghosts want?  And could the answer be in a mysterious ancient text that has gone missing from the museum?  Anza will have to rely on her psychic abilities, as well as her ex-boyfriend the cop, to solve the mystery.

This was a super fun, light hearted read.  I warmed up to Anza right away.  I loved how she was so happy with her life.  So often when I read anything about a single mother, she's depressed, angrey at life and at her child's father.  Anza is the opposite.  She's friends with her son's father.  On speaking terms with the man's wife.  She even babysits her son's half-sisters.  And Anza is completely at peace with her ability to see ghosts.  It was refreshing for me to read about a character who was so comfortable in life, even if it's not the life she probably imagined she'd be living.

The mystery itself was also well done.  It wasn't super intense, but it left me hanging until the end.  A nice cozy sort of mystery with a ghostly twist.

There were some truly lovely moments in the book between Anza and the ghosts.  My favorite ghost was Johnny, who had been a butler all his life.  He asks Anza for help, which leads to some hilarious and at times touching moments.

All in all, The Book of Illumination is a great book to curl up with by the fireplace.  It's no literary masterpiece, but it is perfect if you want to get lost in a good book that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Title: The Book of Illumination: A Novel from the Ghost Files
Author: Mary Ann Winkowski and Maureen Foley
Date of Publication: 2009
Number of Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Source: Personal Copy