Coyote Doggirl

Coyote Doggirl by Lisa Hanawalt, 156 pages

Coyote Doggirl is an independent woman, living on her own outside of town with just her trusty horse, Red, to keep her company. But when she is torn from her companion, Coyote is taken in by a band of wolves who attempt to teach her in their ways before she sets off to chase down her beloved Red once again. This is a wonderfully quirky, funny, heartfelt Western comic that manages to twist and turn the genre into something completely contemporary. I loved Hanawalt's candy-colored creation, and I loved the story. Coyote Doggirl is truly my spirit animal.

We Sold Our Souls

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, 333 pages

Kris Pulaski was once the lead guitarist of Dürt Würk, an up-and-coming metal band out of New England. But just days into their gig opening for Slayer, Dürt Würk singer Terry Hunt throws an Axl Rose-level tantrum and gets the band kicked off the tour, killing off any chance of a big break for the crew. As these stories tend to go, the band breaks up, Terry Hunt finds himself a new band (Koffin) and rises to mega-stardom, while the rest of the band fades into anonymity. But when Koffin announces its farewell tour, Kris starts to realize that something feels...off. There are weird gaps of time that can't be explained away by the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and she sets off to figure out the truth.

Hendrix has a way of creating horror that's campy and funny and well-structured and a terrifying examination of some aspect of society all at the same time, and this book is no exception. I love how he weaves together the metal-is-Satanic stereotype and the idea of bands selling out, creating something quite enjoyable. If you liked his previous novels (My Best Friend's Exorcism and Hörrorstör), you'll love this one.

P.S. Shout-out to whoever does the book design for Hendrix's novels. Your hard work and excellence is definitely pay off for this book, as well as the books I mentioned above. These books are as beautiful on the outside as the story is fantastic on the inside, and that's saying something. Go you!

Murder on the Ballarat Train

Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood (1991) 151 pages

In this third book in the Phryne Fisher mystery series, set in 1928, all of the first-class passengers in a train coach have been poisoned with chloroform, and one old woman has been yanked out of her window and killed. Phryne, after recovering from the chloroform attack, wants to find out who would do such a thing and why, and she is hired by the old woman's daughter to do just that.

Meanwhile, it comes to Phryne's attention that young girls are being sold into prostitution, including one twelve-year-old girl on the train who has lost her memory. Phryne takes the young girl under her wing, while hoping that the girl's memory returns.

A great series for those looking for a heroine with quick wits, strong compassion, and an active sex life.

Wrecked

Wrecked: an IQ novel / Joe Ide, read by Sullivan Jones, 343 pgs.

IQ is back for his third adventure.  The girl he met in the junk yard hires him to find her mother who disappeared a decade ago.  His side-kick Dodson becomes his partner and Ruffin is still a tough looking dog who is mostly scared of his shadow.  IQ is successful but lonely.  Dodson needs to get out of the food truck business and so the partners focus on restructuring the business and making some money.  Grace is the junk-yard girl.  She has some issues but IQ is attracted to her.  Can he help her?  Can they find her mother?  Can they survive the bad guys who are also searching for her?  With a plot that veers around among the characters, there is a lot of action.  I would have liked some more IQ brainy work but will take what I can get.  This book is expertly read by Sullivan Jones.

Ash Princess

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian. 433 pages

This young adult novel spikes and keeps the reader's interest as you follow the building personality of Queen Theodosia. Theodosia, refered to as Thora or Theo in the novel, is the main protagonist in this coming of age story about finding one's purpose and responsibility after years of taking orders. Sebastian does an excellent job at developing each detail and left me, as the reader, ready for what happens next in the second novel, Lady Smoke, to be released in the spring of 2019.

As far as recommending this book to young adults, I feel that if the individual reading this novel understands the multiple uses of the words slave, servant, "helper", etc., in the context of power abuse and greed, then this book will be a great read. It would also be helpful for the individual to understand the social constructs around how a dictatorship government affects its subjects and their willingness to assist those enslaved or treated differently because of their race, classification, etc.

French Exit

French Exit: a Tragedy of Manners / Patrick Dewitt, 244 p.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dewitt's Undermajordomo Minor, so when I saw Christa and Kara's reviews of Dewitt's latest, I knew I had to read it.  As Kara said, reading Dewitt is like watching a Wes Anderson movie in its verbal and visual quirkiness and melancholy charm.  A special bonus this time is Dewitt's capturing of Paris as a place apart, unlike any other.  Not a unique point of view, but he does the city justice in a satisfying way.  

Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, 374 pages.

Wade lives in a trailer in the "stacks," sort of a homemade, multilevel, trailer park in Oklahoma City, with his aunt, her boyfriend, and two other families. It may sound crowded, but it's a double-wide trailer and Wade has a space in the laundry room. Actually, Wade spends as little time in the trailer as possible. He has his own hideout in a partially crushed van, and he spends most of his time online in the OASIS, a virtual world created by the late James Halliday. Halliday left a quest behind when he died, and every gamer in the world is looking for clues, and everybody in this decaying, dystopian future world is watching. Wade, as his avatar Parzival, uncovers the location of the copper key, and together with his friend Aetch, famed gunter (short for Egg-hunter) Art3mis, and two "brothers" from Japan, he races to find the rest of the clues, keys, and gates before the evil corporate "sixers." I read this several years ago, and then recently watched the movie. I listened to the downloadable audio this time partly because it was available and because the movie was pretty good. I liked the '80s details of the book better than those in the movie. A fun read. More of a YA read than I remembered.

The Green Mill Murder

The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood (1993) 173 pages

Another mystery featuring Phryne Fisher, another satisfying read! The murder occurs on page one as a dance marathon reaches its 48th hour, ending when one dancer is stabbed to death. Phryne was on that dance floor enjoying the jazz music at the Green Mill club (but not as a contestant in the marathon) and when her date runs to the loo, presumably to be sick after seeing the dead body, he never returns. He appears to be a suspect, and his mother hires Phryne to find him, as well as his brother, who had left home after his return from the Great War many years ago. The overexcited woman appears to be more interested in figuring out her financial status than anything else.

This adventure takes Phryne into the Australian bush in her airplane. Set in the late 1920s, she's using memorized maps from the mid-1800s in order to navigate over the mountains. Runways? Easy access to fuel? Not where she's going! I've found this series really engaging, and this book is no exception.

Wait for Signs

Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories by Craig Johnson  183 pp.

This was a re-read for me. I blogged about it nearly 2 years ago. The stories are great and a few are perfect for the upcoming holidays. The story of the bears, the owl, and the outhouse still makes me laugh.

October totals!

Christa  16/3986
Heather  1/368
Jan  12/2746
Josh  8/2593
Kara  14/4366
Karen C  9/2835
Kathleen  11/3696
Linda  9/2892
Naomi  4/1631
Patrick  19/6505

Total: 103/31,618