Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Dick Francis’s Gamble by Felix Francis

From Amazon “Nicholas “Foxy” Foxton, a former jockey who suffered a career- ending injury, is out for a day at the Grand National races when his friend and coworker Herb Kovak is murdered, execution style, right in front of him-and 60,000 other potential witnesses. Foxton and Kovak were both independent financial advisers at Lyall & Black, a firm specializing in extreme-risk investments.

As he struggles to come to terms with Kovak’s seemingly inexplicable death, Foxton begins to question everything, from how well he knew his friend to how much he understands about his employer. Was Kovak’s murder a case of mistaken identity…or something more sinister?”

The Francis’ books are about the only mysteries I can handle. It seems to make sense when their characters go investigating. This is Felix Francis’ first book written by himself after his father’s death. I enjoyed it a lot.

Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer

From Amazon “Making the startling discovery that her family finances are in dire straits is only the latest shock endured by Carley Winsted after her husband’s sudden death from a heart attack. Resisting her in-laws’ well-meaning overtures to take in Carley and her two daughters, the young widow instead devises a plan to keep her family in their beloved home, a grand historic house on the island of Nantucket.

The solution is right at Carley’s front door: transforming her expensive, expansive house into a bed-and-breakfast. Not everyone, however, thinks this plan prudent or quite respectable—especially not Carley’s mother-in-law. Further complicating a myriad of challenges, a friend forces Carley to keep a secret that, if revealed, will undo families and friendships.”

This is a nice light book. It was interesting to see the character study of a woman who starts to realize that her life with her husband was not as great as she always thought it was.

Heather the Violet Fairy by Daisy Meadows

From Amazon “Fairyland is home to seven colorful sisters. Together, they are the Rainbow Fairies! They keep Fairyland dazzling and bright. But when evil Jack Frost sends them far away, the sisters are in big trouble. If they don’t return soon, Fairyland is doomed to be gray forever!The merry-go-round whisks Rachel and Kirsty away to a magical world. Could Heather the Violet Fairy have something to do with it? Help the girls find the last Rainbow Fairy, and bring the color back to Fairyland!”

This was a special recommendation made just for me by Z. She got it from the library for me because it was named after me, I like purple, and there are rainbow horses in it.

Reading Now

I’m currently obsessing over the audio version of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

I swear I’ve been preparing my whole life to read this book.

From Amazon “It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.”

The catch is to unlock the secrets of the quest requires an absolute knowledge of 1980s pop culture – movies, music, books, video games, etc. I am a geek. I am a geek the same age as the inventor of the quest in this book. Let’s just say that when one character tells another that they have to joust and the second asks if they need horses for that and the first says, “No, birds” I screamed like a little girl in my car. They are referring to the video game JOUST which I totally loved but entirely forgot about. It made me very happy.

Wil Wheaton from Star Trek: TNG reads the audio which is wonderfully geeky with added greatness when he reads the part about himself being the vice-president of the virtual world.

This book is totally unlike anything else I’ve read and I obviously totally love it. I woke up last night convinced I knew where the second part of the puzzle was and mad that they hadn’t figured it out. I was wrong but that is how much the book sucks you in. I have three hours left and I am forcing myself to save it for commutes this week but it is hard.