The Humbug Man

DIANA PALMER

Synopsis from Goodreads: Montana rancher Tate Hollister had to be the grouchiest, grumpiest humbug man widow Maggie Jeffries had ever met. But, as the holiday season progressed, Maggie discovered that Tate wasn't completely immune to the Christmas spirit-his loving embrace on a cold winter's night could prove to be the gift of a lifetime...

Stats for my copy: Paperback, Silhouette Books, 1986.

How acquired: Given to me.

First Line: Tate Hollister lived alone, which wasn't surprising to his nearest neighbor.

My thoughts:  I don't know why it took me so long to finally read a Diana Palmer book. Especially considering she has a huge back list and I have around eighty of her books in my TBR. But one night I wanted a short book to read since my current read was a Kindle book and my phone needed to be charged. So I picked up this slim – ninety-five pages – paperback. And I would've read the entire book in one sitting if I hadn't been so dang tired that I had to quit around page seventy-eight and go to sleep.

I love a grouchy, rude, arrogant hero, a hero who is a loner, a hero who has avoided relationships, a hero who can inspire worship in a child who's innocent little brain doesn't see all those traits that piss off mama whenever she's around him. Tate ticked box after box for me. And despite having been married once, he's relatively inexperienced, and his awkward admissions of that were endearing.

Muscles rippled under darkly tanned skin as he rose from peeking into the oven, and when he turned toward her, she wondered if it was permissible for a modern woman to swoon. 

Maggie is also, despite having been married once, inexperienced, and naive. In fact, she's practically a virgin, her husband having died shortly after their marriage. When she answers the door to Tyler one night and then remembers she's in her pajamas, she's horribly embarrassed. And we're not talking a negligee or peignoir.

Then there's Maggie's son, Blake, who never knew his father and who quickly plots to get his mother and Tate together.

Such a sweet story, and with lots of humor and entertaining banter between Maggie and Tate, and Maggie and Blake. It's short, so Tate's thawing out and losing his grouchiness happens almost a little too quickly, but just almost. I definitely need to read more from this author. 

Jeopardy in July (Jamie Quinn Mystery, Book 5)

BARBARA VENKATARAMAN

Synopsis from Goodreads: Old people were dying at an alarming rate at La Vida Boca, a posh assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida. With its sterling reputation, dedicated staff, and top-notch medical care, none of the deaths are considered suspicious, but when members of the poker club start to die under strange circumstances, attorney Jamie Quinn finds herself once again embroiled in a mystery. With help from her new friend, Jessie Sandler, and her favorite P.I., Duke Broussard, Jamie uncovers a crime that took place forty years earlier. Can she stop the killer in time? Or is she in danger of becoming the next victim?

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, 2017.

How acquired: Link to free download provided by the author Goodreads.

First Line: With lights flashing, an ambulance pulled up to the front door of La Vida Boca before screeching to a stop.

My thoughts:  When Ms. Venkataraman posted on Goodreads that her newest Jamie Quinn mystery was live on Amazon, with a link to download a free copy, I jumped on it. I've enjoyed all the Jamie Quinn stories, and I think this fifth book in the series is my favorite.

Jamie's boyfriend, Kip, is still off in Australia playing with wombats, but there was plenty going on in Jamie's world to keep her occupied while missing him. Jamie is such a fun character, witty and self-deprecating, and drawn to helping others. We don't see as much of bestie Grace as in the previous book, but P.I. Duke gets lots of page time, and I love the banter between Jamie and Duke. Frenemie state attorney Nick finds himself having to grudgingly bring Jamie into an investigation he's assisting her FBI pal Jayashree with, and while Nick and Jamie aren't the best of friends they definitely have chemistry and their banter is even better than that between Jamie and Duke.

There's a lot going on plot wise – art forgery, poker buddies at a senior citizen living center dying one after another, Kip possibly keeping a secret from Jamie, her dad acting strange when she tells him she's coming to visit him – and Ms. Venkataraman weaves everything together seamlessly. I think I laughed out loud more at this book than the previous ones, and I got quite teary eyed at one point.

This series is fun to read, and while each entry involves a different mystery and could probably stand alone, I recommend reading them in order. I sure hope there will be more Jamie in the future!  

American Panic: A History of Who Scares Us and Why

MARK STEIN

Synopsis from Goodreads: In American Panic , New York Times bestselling author Mark Stein traces the history and consequences of American political panics through the years. Virtually every American, on one level or another, falls victim to the hype, intensity, and propaganda that accompanies political panic, regardless of their own personal affiliations. By highlighting the similarities between American political panics from the Salem witch hunt to present-day vehemence over issues such as Latino immigration, gay marriage, and the construction of mosques, Stein closely examines just what it is that causes us as a nation to overreact in the face of widespread and potentially profound change. This book also devotes chapters to African Americans, Native Americans, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Chinese and Japanese peoples, Communists, Capitalists, women, and a highly turbulent but largely forgotten panic over Freemasons. Striking similarities in these diverse episodes are revealed in primary documents Stein has unearthed, in which statements from the past could easily be mistaken for statements today. As these similarities come to light, Stein reveals why some people become panicked over particular issues when others do not.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, St. Martin's Press, 2014.

How acquired: Via BookCrossing.

First Line: Political panic, the irrational fear that one's government is in danger, is by no means unique to any country.

My thoughts:  Five chapters in (84 pages), I finally admitted to myself that this book was boring me to pieces. I was still interested to read about the women, so flipped ahead to the chapter, " Woman Suffrage", but one page in that interest faded.

There are parts of the book where the author talks about specific people, and the events that happened to and around them, and those parts kept my interest. But the rest of the book, dry and repetitive. (I'm actually sick of seeing the word "panic".)

An ambitious project, that in the hands of someone like Mary Roach or Barbara Ehrenreich, could have been fascinating. 

Comanche Moon (Lonesome Dove, Book 4)

LARRY MCMURTRY

Synopsis from Goodreads: Texas Rangers August McCrae and Woodrow Call, now in their middle years, continue to deal with the ever-increasing tensions of adult life -- Gus with his great love, Clara Forsythe, and Call with Maggie Tilton, the young whore who loves him. Two proud but very different men, they enlist with the Ranger troop in pursuit of Buffalo Hump, the great Comanche war chief; Kicking Wolf, the celebrated Comanche horse thief; and a deadly Mexican bandit king with a penchant for torture. Assisting the Rangers in their wild chase is the renowned Kickapoo tracker, Famous Shoes.

Comanche Moon closes the twenty-year gap between Dead Man's Walk and Lonesome Dove, following beloved heroes Gus and Call and their comrades in arms -- Deets, Jake Spoon, and Pea Eye Parker -- in their bitter struggle to protect the advancing West frontier against the defiant Comanches, courageously determined to defend their territory and their way of life.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, Simon & Schuster, 1997.

How acquired: Bought.

First Line: Captain Inish Scull liked to boast that he had never been thwarted in pursuit – as he liked to put it – of a felonious foe, whether Spanish, savage, or white.

Note: I read these books in publication order and that's how I've numbered the series.

My thoughts:  This was a wonderful ending to the Lonesome Dove saga. None of the books can beat LONESOME DOVE, but I think this one ranks just a hair behind the first book. I don't recall a time frame being given in the book, but I think it's set about ten years after DEAD MAN'S WALK. Call and Gus are still with the Rangers, helping protect the great state of Texas from the Comanches. Gus is still in love with Clara, who we already learned in the first book marries someone else. Call is particularly fond of Maggie, a local whore, who is desperately in love with him. Again, we already know her fate, and the fate of her son, from the first book.

I became particularly fond of poor Maggie myself, and much as I love Call I was often irritated at him for not accepting her love, which I am positive he secretly returned, and rescuing her from her life of drudgery. Yes, I read a lot of romance novels, and I tend to look for it in every other genre as well.

As always, Mr. McMurtry's writing is wonderfully flowing and meandering at the same time. The characters are vivid and fully developed, and everyone, even minor characters, seem essential to the story. You can easily see the town, or the prairie, or any other location, in your head.

I'm sad that there are no more stories about Gus and Call, but I am pleased that Mr. McMurtry has lots of other novels just waiting for me to enjoy them.

Click on the title to see my reviews of the other Lonesome Dove books. 

LONESOME DOVE, Book One

STREETS OF LAREDO, Book Two

DEAD MAN'S WALK, Book Three