The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century by Scott Miller

Good book to cover both McKinley's life, administration, Spanish/American war and the assassination and aftermath.
I found it  remarkable that McKinley was originally  uninterested in anything related in any additional land acquisitions until he was forced into war with the Spanish and then he became very greedy trying to annex the Phillipines, Cuba, and other Pacific islands.  This book also brought to my attention anarchists that were working during McKinley's administration - I never knew.

 ★★★

GENRE: History
SUBJECT: Assassination, anarchists, war
Setting: Washington,DC; Buffalo, NY
CHARACTERS: William McKinley, Leon Czolgosz, Emma Goldman, Theodore Roosevelt
DATE READ: September 1 - September 28
NO. OF PAGES: 422
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, USPC
SOURCE: Public Library

The Mists of Avalon by Marian Zimmer Bradley

This story was the start of the Arthurian tale - the marriage of Igraine  of Avalon to Uther Pendragon.  Igraine's daughter  by a Roman duke, Morgaine  is sent to Avalon while her son Arthur is guarded against injury so that he can grow to become the high king.  An interesting concept of the myth.

★★★½

GENRE: Fantasy
SUBJECT: Arthurian source
Setting: Avalon
CHARACTERS: Morgaine, Viviane, Arthur, Merlin, Uther Pendragon, Igraine
DATE READ: September 3 - September 23
NO. OF PAGES: 876
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: Audio stockpile

The Lies That Bind by Kate Carlisle

Brooklyn Wainwright has returned to her job at the Bay Area Book Arts to teach a class on bookbinding but during a class recess she discovers her boss dead.  BABA is hosting a fundraiser at the time and Brooklyn must keep things going while she helps(?) Inspector Derek Stone uncover the motive and murderer.

Loved it!

★★★¾

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: bookbinding, business relationships
Setting: San Francisco, CA
CHARACTERS: Brooklyn Wainwright, Derek Stone, Layla Fontaine, Alice Fairchild
DATE READ: September 16 - September 20
NO. OF PAGES: 304
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: stockpile

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

In this third installment of the Booktown mysteries, Tricia Miles, the owner of the Haven't Got a Clue Mystery Bookstore, asks her college roommate, Pammy, after she wears out her welcome by stealing and forging a check as well as taking up more space than Tricia has to share.  Unfortunately,  at the end of the day Tricia finds Pammy dead and herself a prime suspect.  However, rather than the sheriff from Hell who dislikes Tricia because of her tendency to get involved in police matters, the investigation this time has a hunky Capt. Grant Baker in charge.

It was fun to see Tricia and her staff interact and the characters themselves evolve.

 ★★★½

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: blackmail, Freegan, Food Bank
Setting: Stoneham, NH
CHARACTERS: Tricia Miles, Grant Baker, Pammy Fredericks, Libby Hirt
DATE READ: September 6 - September 8
NO. OF PAGES: 227
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: NOOK stockpile

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L Frank Baum

I've been reading all the books of Dorothy and the Land of Oz and I have to admit that the last few, I had no idea what to expect and the stories  have been fun, making me smile.   These would be great to be read to children or by adults just for their own enjoyment.

It's great to see Dorothy's old friends and her other adventures.


★★★

GENRE: Children's fantasy
SUBJECT: interior of the earth
Setting: Mangabooland, Gargoyle land
CHARACTERS: Dorothy Gale, the Wizard of Oz, Zeb, Jim the Horse, Eureka the Cat, Ozma
DATE READ: September 4 - September 5
NO. OF PAGES: 86
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI,
SOURCE: NOOK stockpile

Bookmarked For Death by Lorna Barrett

Tricia Miles, proprietor of the Mystery bookstore Haven't Got a Clue, invites the local writer to her shop for a book signing, but things go terribly wrong when she finds the writer dead in her restroom.  Since the local sheriff is not her greatest fan, Tricia has her shop shut down for nearly a week, so she uses the time to try to find the murderer.

Love the character interactions and will be reading the next one soon for Bibliophile month.


 ★★★½

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: Literary thievery
Setting: Stoneham, NH  Booktown
CHARACTERS: Taricia Miles, Angelica Miles, Zoe Carter, Kimberley Peters, Nikki Brimfield, Steve Fenton, Artemus Hamilton
DATE READ: September 1 - September 2
NO. OF PAGES: 228
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: NOOK stockpile

A Sunless Sea by Anne Perry

Monk is brought to a sight along the river edge by screams and what he sees is a woman who has been hacked to pieces.  After identifying the body, his investigation leads him to a Doctor who had been investigating the effects of Opium.  When Monk finds that the doctor committed suicide several months earlier, he becomes suspicious of that and finds that the Doctor's widow is his prime suspect in the woman's murder.  Everything points to her as the murderer but Monk still solicits Oliver Rathbone to defend her while he still hunts for more evidence to clear her.

This book really centered more in the court room but the mystery was well developed and the recurring characters continue to grow as real people with real problems.


 ★★★½

GENRE: Historical Mystery
SUBJECT: Opium addictions
Setting: London England
CHARACTERS: William Monk, Sir Oliver Rathbone,Zenia Gadney, Joel Lambourn, Dinah Lambourn
DATE READ: August 27 - August 31
NO. OF PAGES: 400
Challenges: 75, Category, TIOLI, MYSTERYCAT
SOURCE: audio stockpile