1) The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel

This is a catch-up post.  It should have been blogged first this year, but I'm just now getting around to it.


I like mysteries and I like Native American history, so it was inevitable that I'd like this book.  The first two-thirds of the book was pretty slow, so much so that I stopped to read another book in between.  The ending made up for it though and I think I'd read more in this series, if I couldn't find anything better to read.

7) Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon

I know it's been awhile, but this is the 7th book I've finished this year.  I'll come back soon and update my previous reads, but for now I'm going to start with this one since it's fresh in my mind.

This book was WONDERFUL!  I purchased it online and had no idea how big it was.  The story is 792 pages to be exact.  I'll admit, it kind of scared me a little, but I proceeded anyway.  It was so well written that the size didn't even matter once I got into it.  I read it for hours at a time and didn't care that I seemed to be getting nowhere page-wise.  I can't think of any other way to describe the read other than smooth.  Since the story took place in 1699, the writing was not very light, but it also wasn't as heavy as some literary classics I've read (such as Jane Eyre). 

I found the storyline to be incredibly interesting.  Of course the main reason I bought this book was because it dealt with a woman accused of witchcraft, but much to my enjoyment, it also had side plots that touched on murder, Native Americans, and pirate treasure.  What more could you ask for?  I remember reading somewhere that this book was the first of a series following Matthew Corbett as an 18th century detective.  I hope this is true because I plan on reading them all!

My favorite quote:  "But every man hears a nightbird of some form or fashion.  It is the struggle to overcome its call that either creates or destroys a man's soul." ~Isaac Woodward

37) The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

When I can't find something to read next, I sometimes like to search amazon and the like to find books I've loved and see what people who bought that also purchased.  This book came up for me time and time again, but something about it just made me choose not to read it.  It took walking into Barnes and Noble one day and seeing it front and center on a clearance display to finally pick it up.  I am so glad I did!

This book was amazing!  It was slow for about the first 100 pages, but once I got that far, I became so invested in the characters and the mystery that was unraveling before my eyes that I couldn't turn away.  The story moved from past to present repeatedly, which normally I don't like too much, but it wasn't confusing in any way.  In fact, I found that while I did get more into the chapters set in the past, I was interested in the happenings of the characters in the present as well.

This book had a little bit of everything!  At first, it was disturbing in a fascinating way when I figured out some characters were involved in body snatchings.  Then, it became sickeningly awesome when the dissections of these bodies were going on.  It's evident that Gerritsen had some background knowledge of medicine, otherwise I doubt her descriptions would have been half as effective.  There was a little love story in the mix, heartbreak, and satisfaction as the entire story, past and present, came together beautifully at the end.  It never ceases to amaze me how someone could come up with such an intricate story like this one.  LOVED IT!