World of Sleuths

Friday, March 26, 2021

Starting Up this Blog Again

2020 was a bad year in most peoples opinion chiefly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of things were neglected that year including this blog. Being concerned with relatives that contracted COVID-19 during the year and my own health problems, I didn't read as much as in previous years. Whenever I finished reading a book I would tell myself to write a review in one of my blogs, but I kept putting it off and I would and I would with the next book.

Well, I'm stopping putting that off beginning now. I am currently reading three books for March Mystery Madness that I'm trying to finish by the end of the month . One of them is a newer book which I will post a review in this blog. The other two that I'm reading are in the public domain, so I will post reviews for them them in my other blog, Tim's Public Domain Reads & Thoughts. You will see everything in them that I have put in my other blogs, but might have a different layout.

So keep watching over the next week for the reviews.

Friday, February 8, 2019

March Mystery Madness 2019

It’s about that time of the year again and my favorite month of the year for reading. “What are you talking about?” you ask? Why it’s about time for the March Mystery Madness readathon. March Mystery Madness is a readathon that was created four years ago by two Booktubers Elizabeth (lizziefayeLovesBooks) and Troi (Troi Towel). Since then, the readathon has been expanded to Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram. The first year I participated was two years ago, less than a month after I started making videos on Booktube. Last year, Elizabeth wanted to add more co-hosts and asked me to be one of them, which I accepted. I was asked to be a co-host again this year and I couldn’t turn it down.

Like most readathons, there are challenges for this one. We have established five one word prompts which can be interpreted by readers in various ways and a bonus prompt for this year. The books that qualify are more than just mysteries. They can be thrillers, suspense, police procedural, true crime, pretty much anything that some sort of mystery of any kind is to be solved. The challenges/prompts are:

1.) Old – Read an older mystery/thriller such as a Sherlock Holmes book or one written by Agatha Christie. Or it could be a historical mystery or thriller. Or it could be one that gives you an old feeling.

2.) Again – Reread a mystery or thriller or read one by an author in which you read another one of their books or read another book in a series.

3.) New – Read a newly released mystery or thriller, or read a book that you just bought, or read one that is by an author that you’ve never any of their works.

4.) Borrowed – Read a mystery or thriller you checked out from a library, or one borrowed from a friend, or one from Kindle Unlimited.

5.) Blue – Read a mystery or thriller with a blue cover, or one that has blue in the title, or one that makes you feel blue, or one that has a setting around blues music.

Bonus) Read a mystery or thriller that has a wedding in it.

If you want to participate in it and make a video on YouTube or a post on Instagram, please leave #MarchMysteryMadness somewhere that it will let us know that others know that you are participating.

Here’s the announcement video that I posted on Booktube this morning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN9bfl5kgio&t=1s

The Goodreads group for this readathon can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/184109-mystery-madness

I have a Goodreads group that does a read-along of a book in a series each month. The book that we will be reading next month will be Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson. That book would qualify for the again challenge if you have been reading these along with the group or if you read anything by James Patterson before. My Goodreads group can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/602824-world-of-sleuths

I will be posting more videos related to this throughout the rest of this month and next month. I will post something here when I make the videos that pertains the subject matter for this blog.

Below are the links to the other co-hosts channel. The will be posting videos from today through the end of March that promise to be interesting, so you might want to view them and subscribe if you have a Google account (that includes a gmail account). Here are their channels and other links:

Mystery Madness Goodreads Group:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/184109-mystery-madness

Twitter for the readathon
https://www.twitter.com/marchmysmadness

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Book Review: Death By Sheer Torture

The book that I am reviewing is the first complete mystery novel in the book above. I am doing it this way as well as any complete novels that are in compilations so that each full novel is counted instead only one for the entire book in my Goodreads count.

Death By Sheer Torture is the first novel in the Perry Trethowan series by Robert Barnard. Perry Trethowan is a British detective that discovers the death of his estranged father by reading it in the newspaper just before his supervisor calls him to tell Perry that he wants him to go to the family estate to work as an intermediary between the police and his eccentric family in the investigation of his father's death. Perry reluctantly goes thereafter hearing that his father was killed by a form of torture that was used by the Spanish Inquisition that was modified so that Perry's father could operate it himself. There was some tampering with the torture equipment that caused his father's death. Which one in the eccentric family could have tampered with it?

This is the first book I've ever read by this author and enjoyed it. The author is good at working in humorous situations in the story. There will definitely be more reads of this author by me in the future.

If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Sheer-Torture-Robert-Barnard-ebook/dp/B00APJ7JH8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1548390552&sr=1-1&keywords=death+by+sheer+torture

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/death-by-sheer-torture-robert-barnard/1000290892?ean=9781476716268

World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹
(Five out of six arrows)

Book Review: Polar Melt

First of all, I would like to thank the author, Martin Roy Hill, for sending me an advanced review copy of this book for in return of a fair review of the book.

I also need to apologize to my readers for a lack of reviews for several months. This was brought on because of health problems and moving back in August. With the New Year, I made a resolution to write a review of every book I read. For the newer books (books that aren't old enough to fall in the Public Domain), I will post the reviews here in this blog. I will post reviews in my blog Tim's Public Domain Reads.

Polar Melt is the latest novel by thriller and science-fiction author Martin Roy Hill. It is a near-future science-fiction thriller. It starts out with a deep submergence vehicle (DSV) or mini sub that returns to the Research Vessel Franklin which is in arctic waters of the Alaskan coast and just outside of the line denoting Russian waters. Shortly after that, all communications from the Franklin cease and an elite team from the U.S. Coast Guard is sent to the Franklin to investigate. Upon arrival and subsequent investigations, it is discovered that there is nobody on board of the Franklin's crew and there is no power. There is a Russian oil platform nearby in Russian waters tat claim they didn't see or hear anything. Who or what is behind these disappearances and the loss of power?

I have reviewed a few other of Martin's works between this and my other blog (before it became just for older books) and each and every one of them I have thoroughly enjoyed. This one is no exception. The author put his experience from when he was in the U.S. Coast Guard and other branches of the military to use in writing this novel to make it feel like it is something happening now.

If you are interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following site:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Polar-Melt-MARTIN-ROY-HILL-ebook/dp/B07HZ6GZVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1548383545&sr=1-1&keywords=polar+melt

World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹➹
(Six out of Six arrows)

Monday, September 17, 2018

Killshot

Killshot is a thriller novel written by Elmore Leonard. Armand Degas is half Indian and half French-Canadian and a hit man for the Canadian mafia. He is sent to Detroit to do a job. He had lived on Wapole Island, near Detroit, for a while when he was a child. He decides to go there check on his grandmothers house and see if he remembered anybody there. When he went to a restaurant near there to eat, an ex-convict comes up to him and poles his gun on Armand planning on stealing his car. When Richie finds out the Armand's a hit man, he decides that Armand might be helpful in a plot that he has to steal money from a wealthy realtor in the area.

Carmen works for the realtor and she convinces her husband, Wayne, an ironworker, to come in for an interview with her boss. Her boss isn't in the office at the appointed time. Carmen takes Wayne to her boss' office and has him wait in there for her boss. While waiting Richie and Armand comes in, thinking that Wayne is the realtor and start wrecking items in the office. A big brawl breaks out between Wayne, Richie and Armand where Wayne gets the better of the other two. Richie and Armand are now out to kill Wayne and Carmen, since they both got a good view of them and can identify them.

This book has plenty of action in it, but it didn't grasp my attention as well as others have. It takes place mainly in Michigan and Missouri.

If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Killshot-Novel-Elmore-Leonard-ebook/dp/B000FC12F0?crid=2VTW63H91RD1S&keywords=killshot&qid=1537225822&sprefix=killshot%2Caps%2C587&sr=8-7&ref=sr_1_7

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killshot-elmore-leonard/1100543284?ean=9780062121592

World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹
(Four out of six arrows)

Friday, June 29, 2018

Split Second

Split Second is the first book in the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series by David Baldacci. Sean King is an former Secret Service agent who, while escorting a presidential candidate, fixed his glance in a direction away from the candidate too, long giving an assassin the chance to murder the candidate. As soon as he heard the shot, King managed to shoot the assassin, but lost his job. He now has a law practice in Virginia. Michelle Maxwell is an up and coming agent with the Secret Service. She is assigned to protect a presidential candidate, who, while at an unexpected stop at a funeral home in rural Virginia and wanted some time alone with the widow and corpse, is kidnapped. Knowing this will end her career, she teams up with King to find the kidnapped candidate.

This book has nearly non-stop action and has the reader puzzled trying to figure out who is behind the kidnapping. It truly is an excellent book.

If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Split-Second-King-Maxwell-Book-ebook/dp/B000FBJAEG/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530295944&sr=1-2&keywords=split+second+by+david+baldacci

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/split-second-david-baldacci/1100308497?ean=9781455550784#/

World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹➹
(Six out of six arrows)

Flight of the Old Dog

Flight of the Old Dog was the first techno-thriller written by Dale Brown and is the first in the Patrick McLanahan series. Dale Brown was a navigator in the U.S. Air Force on bombers. His experiences along with his expertise are reflected in Patrick in this book and series. Patrick is a navigator on a B-52 bomber, whose crew won the Strategic Air Command's top honors for the second year in a row and many believe Patrick to be the best navigator in the U.S. Air Force. The only problem is that Patrick doesn't always have the neatest uniform and doesn't always go by the book. Shortly after the competition, Patrick gets selected for a top secret assignment to Dreamland, a top secret research and development site in the Nevada desert. He is there to test the navigation equipment on a B-52 that's been refurbished and has the latest and newest equipment being developed for B-1 bombers. The name of the bomber is the Old Dog and has major improvements, not seen on any other B-52 in existence, including a sin on the aircraft that makes it hard to be detected by radar. The Soviet Union is believed to have a new weapon located in Eastern Russia that can destroy any aircraft, missile or satellite in a matter of seconds. After months of the Soviet leaders denying it exists, the Old Dog is sent to destroy the weapon.

This book is full of action and keeps the reader engrossed and wondering what will happen next. It reminds me of my time in the Air Force (I was enlisted and never near a bomber, but I could see me at times during the story). A very enjoyable story.

If interested in reading this book, you can purchase it in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Old-Dog-Patrick-McLanahan/dp/0425108937/ref=la_B000APTUTC_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530294139&sr=1-5

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flight-of-the-old-dog-dale-brown/1101956492?ean=9780425108932

World of Sleuths Rating: ➷➷➹➹➹➹
(Six out of six arrows)