I just started About a Vampire / Lynsay Sands.  For those who like the series which has a little mystery, romance and a laugh or two Justin Bricker has found his life mate.  Just a little problem she's married and the tale goes from there.

I'm working on Black Cat Crossing.  So far, so good.  Today is overcast and we actually had a cloud let loose for about two minutes.  Solvang, three miles away, is dry as a bone.  If we could get a few days of this, I might start baking some bread, cookies, scones, etc.  It's been too hot to use the oven.

Well, I am back and thanks everyone for all your well wishes for my DH and his emergency appendix surgery. Mary, contrary to what those experts said about the appendix being needed, his entire surgical team said there is no purpose for an appendix. His surgeon said his appendix was hard to get to, as it was behind one oif his large intestines, and was in bad shape and was ready to rupture. They did the lapro with the cam, only making 3 small incisions. After a week, now he is feeling better each day. My advice after what my DH went through, if you can get your appendix out while young and before it can rupture, do it.

Becky, I am so sorry to hear about your ankle but am glad to hear that the fracture hasn't shifted. You have a lot on your plate right now with your foot and moving etc. <sigh> As someone said no wheelies on your new walker!!!

Geri, great title for this month's thread. I am going to start reading my Halloween theme cozy books. I don't know which one yet, either the Pumpkin one by the LaVene's or Una's Black Cat Crossing book. I have both. I think which ever one I get a hold of first, lol.

Connie ~ Great news about your DH!!   Actually I have heard in medical circles that appendixes were created in order to create a steady income stream for surgeons.   :)

Geri ~ Great news on your eye exam - woohoo! 

That leg thing is something like I had and I'm sure it would work well.  Actually what I have is this:  Duro Med Waterproof Protector - Adult. Just a bit different with the ring around the entrance. 

I am still reading "Borrowed Crime" by Laurie Cass.  I'm liking this third book in the series as well as the first two.  I love the MC's dry sense of humor, and of course Eddie the Bookmobile cat is hilarious.  Can't wait for the next one to come out.

No spooky books on the horizon. I'm afraid I'm a Halloween drop-out. 

Connie, terrific news about DH!  And, thanks that just kinda popped into my head since I got more than one spooky book.  :)

I whipped through About a Vampire.  A bit slow in the beginning but picked up and I finished it.

Next The Hidden / Heather Graham.  I too have Give Em Pumpkin and a few more cozy Halloween type books on Kindle.

Joy, lol that's it! I don't remember DH's surgeon mentioning that reasoning on why we have an appendix, yesterday on followup visit, lol.

Geri, great to hear about your eye checkup. Our eyes are so important so that is good to hear.

I really enjoyed the Fourth of July book in the Celebration Bay series by Shelley Freydont. So think I will first read her next book "Trick or Deceit" which sounds like a perfect spooky book. It's already on my end table calling me, lol.

I stated reading Head On by Colleen Thompson. Have a few Halloween cozies on my Kindle. I'll start on those once I'm finished with Head On.

Had a very nice time talking with Jeanne at the library. Will meet up again soon.

Forgot to add:

Connie, glad your DH is feeling better.

Geri --- So very happy your eye exam was positive.  I think eye issues are very scary.  Have a "shower cover" for the boot on the way!!!!

Connie --- So happy your husband did not have to have abdominal surgery.  With the laproscopy his recovery will be much easier.  I think someone took my appendix when 1) I had  my uterus removed or 2) had ovaries & tubes removed. 

I had a rather bad day yesterday with pain.  Actually it was the night before that was bad and yesterday was just a continuum.  I was worried something bad had happened in the night so I did phone the doc.  Got a call back quickly to tell me it was unlikely something bad had happened.  Told me that when I am sitting in recliner remove boot completely and ice the ankle and hopefully it would hurry up getting rid of the edema.  Still did not want to give pain pills.  I must look like an addict!!!  So I called my internist, told him my situation and he wrote me a script for hydrocodone.  I am a bit sensitive to such if I need to take it for extended periods, but he told me to take an antihistimine (Allegra) each day and that would likely take care of my histimine reaction.  I only need the pain tablet at night so I doubt I will have a problem.  Took one last night when I went to bed and slept until 9:45 this morning with no pain.  Such a deal!!!  Of course I had to get someone to go pick up script since it was for a scheduled drug, but it was worth it.  Actually doing a bit of laundry today!!!

There are no updates to my reading --- just plugging along with the same books!!!!

Ordered the shower bag for my ankle --- yippee --- no more duct tape around the top of the garbage bag!!!!

Marla have you read The Hidden?  It has the same four people in the story, two "old" Krewe and two new guys.  They're in Colorado near the hotel where Stephen King got the idea or wrote The Shining.  This one is better than the last in my opinion.  They've sent a camera to Will Chan and the artist Jane has arrived to do a facial drawing of some bones.  Sometime the victims speak to her.  There's at least one ghost hanging around and most likely to have more.  I think I may finish it today.  

Such good news for everyone including me.  I was a bit apprehensive for some reason.

Becky ~ yes, indeed remove that boot from time to time and ice.  The swelling presses against the boot and just makes the pain that much worse, which is probably what happened last night.  When I had my cast on I found that putting ice on my knee or toes during the day helped a bit.  (At least I think it did)  You can also try laying upside down on your bed and raising your foot and resting it on the headboard.  That decreases the swelling as well.   Do take the pain med if you need it.  You are not going to become addicted to it if you are using it as prescribed for pain. 

Hmmm........I may have some Halloween cozies lying around, too.  Will check them out.

Geri...Have The Hidden on hold at the library.  Sounds like I will like it better than the last book!  I still miss Josh...or rather, Josh's ghost!!   

Did finish Entry Island/Peter May.  It was good, but, for whatever reason, took me awhile to really get invested in it.  Like the Lewis Island trilogy, it is somewhat bleak.  This was set in Canada, with trips back to Scotland in the mid 1800s. 
 

Marla, I think you'll like The Hidden more than the last one.  Had some great ghosts and of course a bit more romance between Diego and his ex-wife.

Picked up a P J Parrish, A Killing Rain.  I don't know why but I thought the MC of this series, Lois Kincaid, was older, late 30s, early 40s since he seems to get into so much trouble.  In this book he tells someone he's 28.  It startled me.  Maybe it could be consideredd spooky since we have three murders and a kidnapping and I'm on page 66.  :)

Finished the third book in the Bookmobile Cat series.  I loved  it just as well as the other two.  I have now started another new series: 'By Book or by Crook' by Eva Gates in her Lighthouse Library Mysteries. 

Going to have our first frost up here tonight.  Makes me shiver to think it is going to be that cold.  Had to turn on the heat for a bit day before last to just get the chill off.  At least we didn't have to turn it on until Oct.   :) 

Glad everyone is healing and/or coping with their health problems as well as they are. My left knee is falling apart a little at a time. Tore some meniscus early this year, and then tore some earlier this week. Doesn't ache, but if it moves a certain way - ouch!

Thus I have not been down to see the basement of the fix-up house I bought last month. Intend to do that this week, once we have power restored and lights installed over the concrete steps (no handrail). I'll have a hefty young man precede me in case I need someone to break my fall.  The electricians started work Friday and hope to finish Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday. My journeyman plumber is trying to figure out where all the pipes are hidden. They're galvanized and need to be replaced. The house was apparently built facing 26th Place, but that's no longer there, and the address - from the back of the property - is 27th Street. City Sanitation Department doesn't know where our drain pipes meet the sewer system. Once we get water going, I hope the drains still work! 

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I have less time to read between running from my house to the fix-up to Home Depot and back. Maybe another 150 pages to read in W is for Wasted. But I'm taking Sunday off!

I started a new cozy series last night, Basket Case (A Silver Six Crafting Mystery) :: Nancy Haddock.

It is quite good, the nice thing it features a lot of seniors a nice switch for the typical cozy. It is set in Arkansas.

Greetings from sunny Minnesota! Love this cool, crisp fall weather...if I had my druthers, I'd love to live in perpetual October! Just back from vacation and seeing those cute little munchkins (my grandsons, Marshall and Clinton) again, they grow so fast! We have found our new townhouse to move to, it will be further from work, but it's almost twice the size of this one with a much larger kitchen, which I'm really looking forward to since I love to cook. We have a move-in date of Nov. 15th and don't have to be out of here til Nov. 30, which gives a nice 2-week overlap--which is great, because I won't be able to get any extra time off during that time frame, since it's Thanksgiving time and I would have needed to request it months ago. (The vacation I just took was meant to be my "moving" time off, when I thought we were moving on Oct. 1.) But I am getting most of the packing done ahead--did a bunch of it last week when I was off and plan to use one of my regular days off to do more up until we actually move. Will be putting my PBS account on hold in mid-October until we're settled in.

I'm actually reading some mysteries for a change--just happened to be what the library had available or what sounded good from my shelf. Just finished up Hounded by David Rosenfelt in audio, which is #12 Andy Carpenter, and before that The Golden Egg by Donna Leon, #22 Guido Brunetti, also in audio. I had grown a bit disillusioned with the Brunetti series as every one was about corruption in the government/police force, but I actually enjoyed this one as it had a real, meaty and interesting mystery. Also (in print) am reading The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas (#3 Barker and Llewelyn historical) which is for my "read a book with bad reviews" category in the book challenge. Mind you, there are also plenty of good reviews, but several of my Goodreads friends thumbs-downed it...and now, as I'm reading, I am indeed seeing some of the same problems with the book that they mentioned. This is one of the reasons I don't usually even pay attention to reviews--I find they influence my own opinion too much. LOL On my Kindle, I'm reading Island of Bones, #3 Crowther and Westerman historical, which I am enjoying a lot! The first book in the series was a bit shaky (I thought) but have really liked the two subsequent ones.

Glad to see everyone is doing okay, Becky I sure hope your ankle heals up quickly! Will pop in as I can.

Cheryl

Joy I think you're going to enjoy the lighthouse series.  I just read the second and wish the author would write faster. 

Mary at least the work is being done with no waiting for workers to show up.  An great idea about the hefty young man. 

Cheryl it's good to "see" you again.  Clinton is a cutie and Marshall is handsome, I remember what he looks like.  Great that you found you new townhouse and that two week overlap is good since you know you can't get time off from work.

Continuing my read a spooky book I began to read Storm Front / Jim Butcher without realizing the MC is a wizard!  It's certainly not my usual.  Also almost finished with A Killing Rain / P J Parrish.

On Kindle I have Board Stiff / Annalise Ryan, fifth book in the series.  I enjoy the MC who really isn't a ditzy 20 something.  Also have Death of a Cupcake Queen / Lee Hollis going because though I like the series it wasn't holding my attention.  

Just finished Black Cat Crossing (Bad Luck Cat #1) by Kay Finch.  Good book alert all you cozy fans!!!  Came real close to giving it five stars and can't wait for the next book.  Set in Lavender, Texas, Sabrina has called it quits on her marriage (just drifted apart) and Houston (where she was a paralegal) and gone to pursue her dream of becoming an author while she is helping her Aunt Rowe manage her vacation rental business.  The black cat adopts her and she names it Hitchcock.  He may or may not be magical--hints, but no direct answers yet.  Alice picked this one in a swap, so it'll be heading out to her tomorrow morning.

Had a day with David's sisters/husbands/cousins/niece yesterday at his sister Marcia's house.  Probably the last time I will see most of them for a long while.  It was nice, but I was totally bushed when I got home.  Just getting in and out of houses and cars is such a struggle --- treated myself to a pain pill and went to bed!!!  Had a really good sleep.

I am trying to read "Trumpets Sound No More" A Victorian Mystery by Jon Redfern and I am really struggling!!!  Historical mysteries are just about my favorites, but this one is simply not keeping me interested.  It seems there are too many words and they move things along very slowly!!! I think I will put it away and find something that moves a bit faster!!!

Cheryl --- always good to see you and will be thinking of you as we both get our moves accomplished!!!!

Mary P --- Like Geri, I am quite amazed that you have responsive contractors!!!!  Without reading back, are you fixing up to sell, or fixing up to rent???  I know you told us, but my brain is simply a sieve!!!

I agree, Cheryl...October year around!  In the 60s in Denver...closed the windows, put on sweats and dug out the slow cooker!!  Unlike Cheryl, I don't like to cook, so love being able to dump stuff in the cooker in the a.m. and have dinner ready.  Usually make enough for two meals...so can avoid cooking for another day!!   

Still reading mostly fiction.  The mysteries on the TBR aren't appealing to me right now.  But, ordered 5-6 books from the library, so will pick them up tomorrow or Tuesday and maybe get back on track!!

Una - glad to hear that Black Cat Crossing is good. I have it on hand to read as well as Basket Case that Alice mentioned.

I've read the first in the Lighthouse mysteries and liked it okay.

Haven't read too much this weekend. Just wasn't in the mood. Still working on the two mentioned in my siggy.

Mary P. ~ One of my favorite ways to get down or even up stairs when I have had foot surgery,  is to just sit on my butt and scoot down one step at a time.  You can't fall, cause you are already sitting down.   :)

Geri ~ I am liking the Lighthouse cozy.  What a very different place to have a library!  I've never been to the Outer Banks (right now may not be the best time to go) but I have always wanted to and that makes the setting even more interesting. 

Cheryl ~ Wow, it sounds like you have found a great townhouse to move to. 

As I said, I'm working on 'By Book or by Crook' by Eva Gates. I have got a bunch of new books heading my way from my wish list, these are all going to be fun to read.  Latest Denise Swanson's Scumble River;  Sally Goldenbaum's Seaside Knitters and Laura Childs Cackleberry Club, plus a couple more.  :)

Hi all.  I read lots of mysteries. Thought I'd post here.I also post on hidden gems forum.

I'm now reading:

Victorian Ghost Stories - an anthology. Some authors include Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Wilkie Collins, Rudyard Kipling, E. Nesbit.  There are many more I'm not sure I've heard of.

not very far into it - the first story is: The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell. Pretty good so far.