The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my "To Write About" stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin Paperback, 170 pg. Puffin Books, 1975 Read: January 7-8, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I've never claimed to have an exhaustive knowledge of Ellen Raskin novels, yet I was surprised to find a passing reference to this one last fall. So I grabbed it up and jumped into it with relish. It's been since I was in MG that I've read other works by her that aren't The Westing Game, so I can't say for certain if this is her usual kind of thing or not (I think this is closer to her norm than Westing, though). There's an over-reliance on funny names (frequently some sort of wordplay involving food) and outlandish eccentricities as a source of humor, but that's a minor thing.

 

This is really 3-4 short stories linked together with an overarching narrative to make a novel—which actually works pretty well. The pair have a few smaller mysteries to solve while a bigger one builds. This reads like a collaboration of Donald J. Sobol and Daniel M. Pinkwater—which absolutely would've been up my alley when I was the right age, and is still amusing enough right now for me to enjoy the quick read.

 

Is it my favorite thing ever? No. But it's a clever read that's entertaining enough.

 

This is a little more mature than usual for MG books (especially given its publish date, I'd think), but it's not mature enough for YA. Not that it matters, that's just me trying to categorize it. I think it's probably appropriate for MG readers, though (there's one scene that might push it over the edge, but...I'd risk it).

(the official blurb)
3-4 paragraphs

 

Bloody Acquisitions by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) Series: Fred, The Vampire Accountant, #3 Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 52 mins. Tantor Audio, 2016 Read: January 31-February 4, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I continue to enjoy these lighter UF books about the world's dullest Vampire and his supernatural friends. Of course, the joke is that he's not really that boring at all, Fred just thinks of himself that way.

 

The core of this novel is Fred dealing with a group of vampires coming to town to set up shop. The big question is: can they share the city with him? Typically, the answer is no, and he'll either have to join with them or leave. The last thing that Fred wants to do is to leave his home and business==he'll just have to figure out a way.

 

I think this works better as a novel than the previous two installments and is overall just a touch more entertaining. I'm not sure that I have much else to say—these are fun reads/listens.

 

Dark Harvest Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator) Series: Ella Grey, #2 Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., 32 mins. Tantor Audio, 2017 Read: February 22-25, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I have even less to say about this one. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the previous one, maybe because just about all of it felt like Faith was setting things up for the next book or two in the series more than telling a story now. This does mean that the next book or two should be really good, because I liked most of what she was setting up.

 

Aside from that, Dark Harvest Magic really feels a lot like it could be the next several chapters in Stone Cold Magic. Which means that pretty much everything I said about it applies here. An entertaining read/listen, I still like the characters and really want to see where Faith is taking this all, even if I wasn't gaga over this sequel.

Note: Dark Harvest is Book 2 in the series and works best if read after Book 1 simply because you get so much character development that carries over from one book to the next.

I really liked that Brooke, who suffered a brutal kidnapping in Book 1, isn’t all sunshine and roses. She is still walking the hard, dark path to recovery. Marissa, her mom, struggles with how best to help her but she’s doing her best. Brooke’s younger sister, Kelley, puts in a few appearances but we see far less of her than in Book 1 and I missed her. Seth continues to be my favorite character. He’s doing his best to navigate these choppy waters with Marissa and her family, along with his work and memories of his dead wife.

Marissa was hard to root for in this book. She’s really self-centered and I think the author intended for us to see that. However, I don’t see Marissa becoming aware of her flaw and then taking action to better herself. She’s really wrapped up on Seth. He wants to give them all a bit of space to allow Brooke the time to heal and Marissa the time and energy to help Brooke. However, Marissa takes this as rejection. Ugh! Why, Marissa? Why? I wanted to give her a little reality check. I can see why she has a long history of failed relationships.

I also have to mention Marissa in one more thing. This is a MINOR SPOILER. Marissa has failed to take her birth control pill religiously and guess what happens? Yep. This really pissed me off about Marissa. She’s a career woman in her 30s who has basically raised her daughters on her own after becoming unexpectedly pregnant at 16. She’s been down this road before and apparently didn’t learn her lesson. The pill doesn’t work 100% of the time but when you negligently forget to take the pill daily, you’re borrowing trouble.

OK, so let’s talk about the mystery because that’s what really kept me in this book. Someone has been targeting pregnant women but no bodies have turned up. Pretty early on we get to know something about the kidnappers so the majority of the book is a cat and mouse game between the cops and the Holt Foundation and the bad guys. The motivations of the kidnappers were layered and deeper than I initially expected. I really liked that about this mystery. Tori, oh Tori! I wanted things to come out better for you even as I knew you had to pay for what you did. Xander Wilcox, I wonder if you were always so arrogant? Definitely interesting ‘bad guys’.

Seth struggles on several levels in this book. Henry, the computer genius at the Holt Foundation, doesn’t mind breaking laws to get data (phone records, arrest records, utility info, etc.). Seth has retained his cop sense of right and wrong and is mightily uncomfortable about Henry’s activities. However Nathan Holt isn’t interested in pushing Henry to follow the letter of the law. After all, the Holt Foundation is about finding victims before it’s too late. Seth is also struggling to both respect the needs of Marissa’s family as a whole and be supportive to Marissa as his girlfriend. Then he realizes that he hasn’t fully dealt with the death of his wife Holly. He’s a complicated guy and I really enjoyed watching him overcome one hurdle after another.

The ending had a few surprises. Henry! Oh, my! I also like that Seth has wrapped up some of the lose threads of his life. I would have liked further character growth for Marissa because she is a twit in this book. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Lisa Stathoplos and Corey Gagne did a really good job with this book. I really like Gagne as Seth and Stathoplos has a perfect voice for Marissa. She also does a great job with the voices for Kelley and Brooke making all 3 ladies distinct but still sound related. I especially liked the aggravated, arrogant voice for Xander. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Chris Patchell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Dark Harvest is the 2nd book in Chris Patchell's Holt Foundation Stories series. The Holt Foundation is a group helping victims and families of people who have been affected by violent crimes. The foundations founder Elizabeth Holt was a victim of a violent crime in her college. Just before her death she created the foundation. Which all comes to light in "In The Dark" book one of the series. You should really read book 1 to get all the backstory to the developments in this book. This book can be read as a stand alone. There are parts that would make more since in you read book 1 though. In this book Marissa and her daughters are still coming to terms with Brooke's kidnapping and the aftermath. But the Holt Foundation also have a new case. Young pregnant women are disappearing. A mid 40's Doctor with early onset Alzheimer's is doing stem cell experiments to cure himself and also selling off the babies of the pregnant moms to fund himself. He is taking the babies by c section of the young women he kidnaps and letting the mother's die. When young and pregnant Becky Kincaid comes up missing from the local baby store the team takes on the case. When Marissa finds out she is pregnant with Seth's Child she goes to a local Women's Clinic to help decide her options. This Women's Clinic is where the mystery starts to unfold. This is not just a mystery but also a romance with some real life stuff thrown in. Marissa and Seth are still exploring their new relationship, but Seth is still carrying a lot of baggage and is still hung up on his dead wife and her death. He also is trying to decide whether to go back to being a cop or staying at the foundation. Brooke is dealing with the PTSD from her kidnapping and not doing a very good job of it. Marissa is in the middle of Brooke and Seth and their problems, but she discovers she has a problem of her own. A Baby! The audiobook is dual narrated by Lisa Stathoplos, Corey Gagne as was book 1. Both of these narrators do a wonderful job with the book. They bring the story and the emotions from the pages to life extremely well. I like they they each have their own chapters. I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Dark Harvest

by Chris Patchell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY REVIEW

 

Dark Harvest is an appropriate title for this bone chilling thriller. Think about it…

 

As soon as I opened the book, I felt sad for Becky and what’s about to happen to her. I’m not sure exactly what it will be, but I know it won’t be good. And I was right. It was worse than bad.

 

Marissa and Seth hooked up after rescuing Brooke, her daughter from a kidnapper in Book I, Into The Dark. It is not necessary to read Into The Dark first, but if this is your first foray into Chris Patchell’s work, why not?

 

Brooke and Marissa’s story picks up from Book I, but I will leave that for you to discover for yourself.

 

Seth & Brooke are flawed, damaged, carrying sad terrible baggage, doing the best they can as they struggle to bring their lives into some kind of balance. You don’t know what you would do in their situation until you walk a mile in their shoes, so don’t judge them too harshly.

 

Seth and Marissa work at the Holt Foundation, helping victims of crime when the police seem to be unable or unwilling to follow it through to the end.

 

Now, they are teaming up to investigate the disappearance of a very pregnant Becky. Of course, they’ll look at her boyfriend first. He’s got problems and secrets and I aim to learn them too.

 

We have a narcissistic self serving doctor…bury him under the jail.

 

Tory, is so damaged, desperate. I don’t know how to feel about her sometimes. Why do women fall into these love traps?

 

Human trafficking is terrible all by itself, but this goes to another extreme. And harvesting, I can see that escalating in a horrific manner as those with selfish agendas so easily cast others aside for their own agenda.

 

I love these dark and horrible suspense novels that have my emotions raging and running the gamut. Frustration, anger, sadness, empathy…The more I read, the more I can’t wait until the villains are discovered and whatever happens to them can never be enough.

 

On page 214 and…

 

I don’t want to go on, yet I can hardly wait. A race to the finish because nothing is going to stop me from knowing how this will end. I know good, bad, and horrible, terrifying things are coming. How it will play out, I don’t know and it’s the journey, as much as the end, that keeps me going. I am amazed how Chris Patchell, and all the other authors who write such fabulous novels, are able to weave a story together, adding this mystery, that horror, culminating in a tale that grab me from beginning to end.

 

Political and ethical questions come to mind, but that’s the great thing about fiction. It gets you thinking, questioning, pushing the envelope, because all things are possible.

 

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dark Harvest by Chris Patchell.

4 Stars

 

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Good lord this gave me nightmares last night.
Although I felt incredible pity for the October Boy.

Cop or no cop, someone should have plugged that asshole Ricks long ago.

However, the big question is  WHY did they do this every year?
What is the purpose of the Harvest Guild other than the obvious?
And what the hell is in that field!

Makes me wonder what might be out in my corn patch.

For over a week I have had it stuck in my head that I ABSOLUTELY HAD to read something with a pumpkin on the cover.  Like it was a requirement in order to participate in the bingo. I don't why, but it was becoming an obsession.
So, done. 
Now I can move on.
And still no bingo.
LOL