Murder at Tophouse by Clair Poulson

 Officer Mike Denton doesn't like his partner, Cal Granberg, and thinks that he is a crooked cop. When Mike gets suddenly called into the Chief's office and put on administrative leave, he suspects Cal has been telling lies about him.  He decided to go to New Zealand because he suspects that Cal has dirty dealings in that country.  On the plane he meets Skylie, who is a college grad student who is being stalked by a creepy man she has barely met. Mike's protective side comes out, and soon he is determined that Skylie and her kind step parents are all safe. It is harder than it sounds, and Mike begins to wonder if Cal's dirty dealings and Skylie's stalker problem are related.

Why do I keep reading Clair Poulson, when I know the writing will be only B level at best?  Because they are predictable, unambiguously moral, and the mystery plots aren't half bad. I also find it a bit amusing to see the male form of the wish fulfillment fantasies I see in most of my clean romances.  In Clair Poulson's books the men get to have more than one woman who think they are "oh so strong and handsome."  The woman he chooses is the one that is both brave and venerable--the one he gets to save and take care of, but which also shows a little spine and initiative of their own. Poulson worked as a sheriff and in other capacities in the criminal justice system, so he has a decent understanding of how a police case is investigated. So, I will probably keep reading Poulson books, even though every time I do I wish I could go in and clean up all the awkward dialog. (2015, 272 p)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

 Since Cass had a near-death experience, she has been able to sense the presence of ghosts. Even her best friend, Jacob, is the ghost who saved her when she was about to drown. Her parents, who don't know of her ability, just happen to be famous writers of ghost themed novels, so they are very excited when they are offered the opportunity to film a TV series about ghosts from around the world.  Their first stop is Edinburgh, and Cass's parents are thrilled by the spooky atmosphere.  Cass, however, is overwhelmed by the quantity and malevolence of the ghosts she senses in the city.  For the first time she can't quite control the tug that tries to pull her toward the "in-between."  Luckily she finds a girl in Edinburgh that shares her gift, and together and with the help of Jacob, they face the most malevolent Scottish ghost of all. 

I was ready for a something different and found it in this decent middle grade paranormal thriller. It reminded me a little of Lockwood and Co, but not quite as intense. The relationship between Cass and Jacob is complicated, but they have good chemistry while staying squarely in the friend-zone. The book is clean, exciting, and there are good spooky scenes. The author also sneaks in a lot of interesting information about Edinburgh and Scottish culture (though I didn't fact check to see how much was accurate).  It was just what I was looking for after reading two nonfictions and a sappy western. I will probably read more in the series. (2018, 304 p)

The Essential Abraham Lincoln by Pete Whitfield

 This short audio-book gives a cursory look at Abraham Lincoln's life and legacy. It starts with a brief biography and then contains several of Lincoln's most famous speeches and a selection of his correspondence. It appears not to exist in print format and was created for the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2012. 

The tone of the production is superficial and laudatory.  This is not a hard-hitting expose, but instead reminded me of what one might find in a US History class textbook. The editor clearly selected letters and speeches that shine a flattering light on Lincoln. For example, he includes a letter the Lincoln wrote a friend soon after Mary Todd refused his first proposal.  It shows how upset and depressed he was about her refusal.  I have read elsewhere about a different letter Lincoln wrote during the same time that contain unflattering statements about Mary but this author didn't include that one. Still, I don't regret reading the book. It is a nice reminder of Lincoln's major life events and political views even though does little to give the reader a new perspective on the great man.(2012, about 4 hrs long)

A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith

 What would it take to build a colony on Mars and is it worth the effort?  These are the questions the authors try to answer in this very nerdy and rather irreverent nonfiction. The book starts out with chapters on different technical issues faced by anyone wanting to create a colony in space.  Some are the standard questions, like how would you have food?  How would you get water? Where would be the best place to build a colony on Mars, or on the Moon?  They also address questions that are less often asked, like, how does sex work in zero gravity? Can babies even develop normally in the womb in space?  What would be the long term physical and psychological effects of living in space colony conditions, and could children raised in low gravity ever be able to return to Earth? In the second half of the book, the Weinersmiths address political and legal issues that space colonizers would have to deal with.  They discuss questions like what is the current international law about using resources from space? What kind of government would work?  Would there be increased risks to Earth populations if there were colonies on Mars?  To answer these questions they examine policies related to previous space endeavors, deep ocean development rights, and the settlement of Antarctica.

This is a very nerdy book.  The authors are not scientists, but seem to have done a lot of study to try to ground their assertions in fact or at least informed speculation. They have a snappy writing style, and readers should beware they are not shy in their choice of words. They claim that they started the project as a way to show how space colonization within the next 50 years would work, but (spoiler alert) end up deciding that it isn't really practical in that time frame. There is much mockery of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos that is pretty amusing. I am not sure I was the target demographic for this book (more like 30+ people who wear Dr Who t-shirts and attend Star Trek conventions) but I ended out enjoying it quite a bit, even the slightly more boring part about Antarctic politics. (448 p. 2023)

At Love's Command by Karen Witemeyer

 Matthew Hanger is haunted by memories of battles he fought as a cavalryman for the US Army. Now he and three other men hire as mercenaries, but only take jobs where they can see justice done without taking lives. The bad guys they chase are not so reluctant to use violence, and when one of them is shot, he is taking to a local doctor, who, much to Matthew's surprise, is a woman named Josephine Burkett.  Josephine understood when she chose to become a female doctor that her path would not be easy, and would probably never lead to marriage and a family of her own. That begins to change as she gets to know the quiet but powerful leader of the Hagar's Horsemen, who doesn't discount her ability as a doctor just because she wears a skirt.  Then the unthinkable happens when Josephine's brother is kidnapped and by desperados. Josephine swallows her pride and asks the Hanger's Horsemen for help. As  Matthew and Josephine work together to try to save her brother, their mutual respect and affection grows. 

Oh, my, what a book.  It is like Louis L'Amour for women.  Every western cliche can be found here. He calls her "Darlin" and during the shootout they hide under the chuckwagon. Matthew has a handlebar mustache and the bad guy wears all black.  It just goes on and on. Witemeyer is a very unapologetic Christian writer, so there are Bible verses and prayers aplenty.  I found I liked the fact that their relationship progressed without the misunderstandings or failure-to-communicate setbacks that are the norm in regency romances.  Their main relationship obstacles were from the outside, not between them. It is not the kind of book I want to read every week, but this week I found it rather amusing. Still, when I finished I felt I needed to listen to some nonfiction just so I wouldn't start to lose brain cells. (2020, 384 p)

The Curiosity Keeper by Sarah E. Ladd

Camille Iverness helps her father who is a collector and dealer of curiosities by tending the shop and keeping the accounts. Their shop is in the poor part of London, but Camille has learned to take care of herself. Jonathan Gilchrist is the heir to an estate in Surrey, but the future of his family's wealth is in jeopardy because a large uncut ruby has been stollen from his father's collection. When Jonathan goes to Camille's shop in search of the gem, he instead finds and rescues Camille from ruffians who are also after the ruby. Even though Jonathan is a gentleman, and Camille is a shop girl, their mutual attraction grows as they try to find out what has happened, to the gem but can they really trust each other with a family fortune at stake?

This is a pretty good historical mystery romance.  Camille is both capable and vulnerable, and Jonathan is noble and selfless. The book is more romance than mystery.  There isn't really an investigation and clues like in a detective novel, and there isn't a particularly clever resolution to the mystery. Still, the question of what happened to the gem provides a nice framework for the development of the relationship. I did struggle a little with this book when one of the main characters made a particularly dumb decision.  I hate when the main character is stupid, but in this case, it wasn't to bad, and I was able to finish to book.  There are more in this "series" but they are unconnected stories that just share the same time and setting, so it is not important to read them in order. I may read the next one, eventually. (2015, 341 p.)

The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters

 Logan has lived in a home for orphans since he was abandoned in an airport at age three.  He has a photographic memory and is super smart, but has few social skills, so the orphanage and school have always been a challenge.  Then one day a couple comes and wants to take him in as a foster child. They seem nice, but Logan's analytical brain soon sees things that are not right.  Why doesn't Gill, his foster father, never eat with them?  Why didn't his foster mom's arm not get burned when she leaned against the stove? Just when he believes he will never get the answers to all his questions about them, an earthquake hits and his life is thrown into danger and chaos. When it does, he soon finds out why his foster parents were acting so oddly, and just how much they really care for him. 

After the heavy Kwame Alexander book, this was a breath of fresh air.  It won't ever be an award winner, or a classic, but it was super fun to read. It reminded me of "The Incredibles" and could have been set in the same world. Logan is delightfully not neurotypical, and his spouting of random facts when he is nervous is endearing, as are his foster dad's really bad "dad jokes."  The book his full of heroes and villains, amazing battles and heart stopping escapes. Even though it is an action book, the violence isn't brutal, and is squarely middle grade instead of YA. I can think of a lot of kids who would enjoy it. (272 p. 2022)