A macabre liturgy. A mysterious carving. An intriguing 200-year-old mystery for music researcher Phineas Fox to solve. 

The headmistress of Cresacre Abbey School has asked Phineas Fox to establish whether an opera, to be performed as part of the school's bicentenary celebrations, plagiarises an earlier work. During the course of his investigations, Phin discovers that curious legends about the school's past still linger, including the fate of a group of nuns who disappeared without trace more than 200 years before. What exactly happened to them? And who is the mysterious Ginevra, the shadowy figure whose true identity has never been known ...?

As he delves further, Phin begins to unravel a series of interlocking secrets, each one more puzzling - and sinister - than the last.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's TTT is popular books that lived up to the hype. I decided to go with 5 that did...and 5 that did NOT. 

To put a different spin on it, I chose those that had movie adaptations. I wonder if that makes me somewhat biased, or if the movie just fed into the hype surrounding it. I tend to want to read the book BEFORE I see the movie. I think the book is almost always better than the movie. I don't want to ruin my perception of the story if I see the movie first. I like to be able to picture the characters in my own mind first. It doesn't always happen that way though as you'll soon see. 

Here we go! :)

In a profession dominated by logic, law, evidence, and science, are there some things you can't explain? Join a veteran crime scene investigator exploring 26 chilling experiences spanning two decades. His true stories will leave you wondering if it is a criminal, or something else, going bump in the night. Meet a young girl who receives a visit from her mother...the day after her mother is murdered. Find out whether spirits follow those investigating their deaths home . . . and then stay. Discover whether it is possible for someone who is not dead to be haunting his own office, and investigate a child's toy telephone acting as a link to the other side. Can you believe in something incredible? This collection of strange and frightening tales is perfect for any campfire experience!

As the lowest ranking parlor maid at Stonefleet Hall, Becky gets all the dirtiest jobs. But the one she hates the most is cleaning Miss Abigail’s room. There’s a strange, empty smell to the place, and a feeling that nothing right or Christian resides there in the mistress’s absence. And then there’s the blood, the spot that comes back no matter often Becky scrubs it clean. Becky wishes she had somewhere else to go, but without means or a good recommendation from her household, there is nothing for her outside the only home she’s known for eighteen years. So when a sickening doll made of wax and feathers turns up, Becky’s dreams of freedom and green grass become even more distant. Until the staff members start to die.

A darning needle through the heart of the gruesome doll puts everyone at Stonefleet Hall at odds. The head parlor maid seems like someone else, the butler pretends nothing’s amiss, and everyone thinks Becky’s losing her mind. But when the shambling old lord of the manor looks at her, why does he scream as though he’s seen the hounds of hell? 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's TTT is books with sensory memories.

"These are the books that are linked to very specific memories for you: where you were, what time of year it was, who you were with, what you were eating, what you were feeling, what you were seeing, etc. Ideas include books you read while on vacation, books that you read while you were eating, books you read at work/at a family or social event/on the train or plane, books you’ve buddy read with loved ones, books you read during an emotional time in your life, books you read by the fire, etc."

 I struggled with this assignment at first. I read so much! How can I possibly come up with TEN books that remind me of something like that? I remember places I've read, like the beach, or in the cabin on the cruise ship, or at my family's cabin in the woods. 

PARIS, 1858.

Mercedes Fabron, pragmatic wife and childless mother, has her hands full running her husband’s fashion shop and navigating social etiquette. All of which would be considerably easier without uninvited ghosts haunting her night and day.

Out in the streets, people are dying of an undetermined cause. The newspapers speak of an unknown disease, the police speak of accidents. But when a dead man is found in her stairwell, Mercedes has every reason to suspect something much more sinister.

Only the ghosts know the truth, but they are too afraid to tell.

In fact, they are scared to death…

Hey guys, it's time for another...

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's TTT is short stories! I've read a lot of urban fantasy anthologies. Mainly because I love certain series and they'll throw a .5'er into the mix. Especially when a series has ended, you read all the little bits and pieces the authors may throw your way! 

I thought death was the worst fate in the world.
But nothing's colder than a vampire's bite.

Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be. I wouldn't know–yet. It all started with the rather unpleasant murder of an FBI agent–the latest in a string of serial murders. A bad enough way to kick off any day. Until Aldric bit me, which means I have a way, way bigger problem. Because I only have three days to reverse the curse before I'm the vampire's loyal indentured servant forever. 

Too bad no one's coming to help. The FBI is reeling from the killings. My allies have been scattered to the wind. And a certain rain goddess is causing me plenty of trouble, even in exile. Which means I probably won't even survive long enough to experience eternity's cold embrace...

Shew, I don't know about you guys but this week has come with a vengeance!

I was lucky enough to have last Wednesday off for Independence Day and didn't have to come back to work until Monday. It was wonderful while it lasted, but man, you pay for it when you do get back! I thought I'd try something new and give my brain cells a little rest today. So,without further ado, my first: