The Ferryman Institute

Title: The Ferryman Institute

Author: Colin Gigl [Website][Simon & Schuster][Twitter][Facebook]

Publisher: Gallery Books

ISBN: 9781501125324

Length: 422 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?: Sounded interesting so I requested it.

Comments:

Charlie Dawson is a Ferryman - a thankless job making sure the departed move on rather than lingering as ghosts.  But after doing this job with a perfect record for hundreds of years, Charlie is burned out.  Problem is, this isn't the kind of job you can just quit, and every request charlie has made to transfer out has been denied.  So when Charlie is finally offered the option to save a life rather than watching it needlessly die, he takes it.  And that is how he meets Alice.  Complications arise sending Charlie (and Alice) on the run.

This is yet another strange read.  I seem to be selecting more and more of these books that have this foggy mystic feel, but which require analysis and thought through the fog.  For this book, these were thoughts about life, death, and afterlife, stress, priorities, etc.

I read some of this, and then set it down for awhile (a few weeks) before finishing it.  It's one of those books that you need to be in the right frame of mind for.

(Book was read and post written in 2015)

Murder Abounds in this Post...

Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson, Bk 3) by Darynda Jones (library copy) -

 I don't think I have much more to say than when I posted on the first 2 books in this series.  I love the humor, I could do without the sex stuff (though I know others enjoy that part), and I'm definitely interested to see what happens next.  In particular for this book, I especially appreciated the ending bit... it was intense and emotional.  Book 4, Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, is due out this October (I think).

It Takes a Witch (Wishcraft Mystery, Bk 1) by Heather Blake aka Heather Webber (library copy) -

A witch cozy with a twist.  I enjoyed exploring that twist.  I liked Darcy as a character and found myself intrigued or charmed with several secondary characters.  And I appreciated the way the victim went from being someone to dislike to someone to feel sympathetic towards (I really wanted to say sorry for or pity, but those terms sound more negative than fits).  I look forward to reading the second book (due out in August) A Witch Before Dying.

Buried in a Book (Novel Idea Mystery, Bk 1) by Lucy Arlington (library copy) -

I picked this up knowing it was book related and excited to read it.  I found out the main character, Lila has a teenage son and I felt a bit more cautious.  In my experience, teenagers (as characters) can so often make a story less enjoyable.  Fortunately, I still enjoyed this book.  There's a trailer, but I couldn't find any code to embed it, so I'm stuck with a link.  I plan on reading the second book, Every Trick in the Book.

ETA: I'm pretty sure I saw a reference in there about a certain cozy mystery with a cupcake theme. Hmm... wonder what book that could be? ;p

An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic, Bk 1) by Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib (library copy) -

I have read and enjoyed Roberta Isleib's advice column books, so I know I like her writing.  I liked Hayley for the most part, but there were a couple things (I'm not sure I even really know what they are to describe) that irritated me a bit.  I think maybe how dependent she was on her friends or maybe that she repeated over and OVER how she had moved to the Key West for her ex.  On the other hand I was a fan of her restaurant reviews and her appreciation for cats.  I will read the next in the series, Death in Four Courses.

First Grave on the Right

Title: First Grave on the Right

Author: Darynda Jones

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Copyright Date: 2011

Print Date: [February] 2011 (My copy's an Advance Readers' Edition)

ISBN: 9780312662752

Pages: 310

Series: 1st in the Charley Davidson series




Book Description (from 1st page):

This grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.

................................Or a diagram of some kind.

A flow chart would have been nice.

Charley sees dead people.

That's right, she see's dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have dies under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.

Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all.

Comments:

I like the cover, I like the title, and I got it free from the lovely @365andMe for a Twitter read-a-long (she apparently got it from macmillian).

I didn't read the blurb above, so it was an interesting surprise just what kind of paranormal being Charley is. I think I've only read one other grim reaper book (that being Death's Daughter by Amber Benson).

Anyway, it was a fun book. I was trying to pace myself for the read-a-long part and read Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family in the middle of this, so I was especially pleased about the light tone and humor when I picked it back up. It helped after the crying jag that had my face bones aching induced by Katie Up and Down the Hall.

The characters are interesting. I liked Charley, Cookie, Uncle Bob, Reyes, Garrett, the lawyers... The mystery surrounding the lawyers' murders is okay (it's certainly not the highlight, but then this book isn't billed as a mystery, so that's fine). Many seem like all the "hot" scenes. I have to say, that's not my thing. I prefer the whole looking into who Reyes really is part. But I guess that means something for everyone (well, not literally, of course).  The story isn't all tied up at the end with a neat bow, but it was settled enough that I was okay with it.

Overall... I'm looking forward to the next one.