Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun / A Courage Undimmed / The Terror


The New
Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by the marvelous Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight upcoming release we are excited about that we have yet to read.

Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan is so much fun! I cannot wait to read the next installment in the series. 

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun
(#3) by Elle Cosimano
(Minotaur Books; January 31, 2023)
Author and single mom Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she's a pro at removing bloodstains for various unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.

Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood. [Goodreads Summary]

Ian Fleming, a séance, murder, and a pigeoneer! I am intrigued already! 

A Courage Undimmed
(Olive Bright Mystery #3) by Stephanie Graves
(Kensington, January 31, 2023)  
British pigeoneer Olive Bright is proud of the role her racing birds have played in the war effort and has hopes of becoming an agent herself . . . but first there is a baffling murder to solve.

As the weather turns bitterly cold in the dark days of November 1941, fewer pigeons are being conscripted for missions into occupied Europe and Olive fears her covert program may be dropped altogether. In fact, the new CO of the Baker Street intelligence operation at Brickendonbury Manor, Major Blighty, has expressed his doubts regarding her birds--not to mention Olive herself--and assigned her to a far more insignificant role: escort to a visiting officer of the Royal Navy Intelligence Special Branch.

She's none too keen on her assignment or her charge--the aloof and arrogant Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming--but the last place she expects to accompany him is to a séance. Self-proclaimed medium Velda Dunbar--new to the village of Pipley--has drawn fascination and skepticism after a very public channeling of a doomed seaman aboard the HMS Bartholomew, which she claims has sunk. Fleming remains tight-lipped about his reason for attending her séance, but his arrival with Olive raises eyebrows as she is still maintaining the ruse of dating Captain Jameson Aldridge. When murder occurs before her very eyes, Olive must trust her own instincts and not rule out anyone as a suspect--including the secretive Fleming--for one of them is harboring a hidden deadly agenda. [Goodreads Summary]

Does either of these books interest you? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading?


The Old(er) 
Carole of Carole's Random Life in Books has given me the perfect excuse to spotlight those unread books on my TBR in her Books from the Backlog feature, reminding me what great books I have waiting for me under my own roof still to read!

In going through some of my bigger TBR books I came across The Terror by Dan Simmons. It may not be my usual type of read, but I was drawn to it nonetheless. It comes highly recommended and it still appeals to me. So maybe this year will be its year? 

The Terror by Dan Simmons (2007)
The men on board HMS Terror have every expectation of triumph. As part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage, they are as scientifically supported an enterprise as has ever set forth. As they enter a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, though, they are stranded in a nightmarish landscape of encroaching ice and darkness. Endlessly cold, with diminishing rations, 126 men fight to survive with poisonous food, a dwindling supply of coal, and ships buckling in the grip of crushing ice. But their real enemy is far more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror constantly clawing to get in.

When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. With them travels an Inuit woman who cannot speak and who may be the key to survival, or the harbinger of their deaths. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear that there is no escape.

Have you read The Terror?  Does this book sound like something you would like to read? 


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42 comments:

  1. Can you imagine your superpower being the ability to remove bloodstains like Finley Donovan? This is hilarious.

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    1. Laura - It would be a pretty cool superpower. Especially today! :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  2. I've read The Terror and loved it! It's a long book but very engaging and scary:-)

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    1. Tammy - I'm so glad to hear you loved The Terror. I think I will too. Engaging and scary is good. :-) Thank you for stopping by!

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  3. I have considered THE TERROR in years past too, but I've never gotten it read. Maybe one day. And I've been meaning to try those Finlay Donovan books. Maybe this year. Ha! Enjoy, Wendy!

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    1. Kay - It's the size that keeps me from picking it up, I admit, but I really do want to read it one of these days. The Finlay Donovan books are very funny and over the top but in a good way. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. The Terror looks interesting! It sounds like something I would enjoy reading.

    Here's my Waiting on Wednesday post.

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    1. Majanka - I hope we both enjoy Terror when and if we read it. Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. Yeah we enjoyed The Terror TV series that was based on the novel. It was an a bit bit spooky survival story that has good suspense. Though the novel looks really long. But I've heard it's good.

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    1. Susan - I didn't know there was a TV series. Or maybe I did but forgot since I hadn't read the book yet. Another good reason to read The Terror soon! Thank you for visiting!

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  6. A Courage Undimmed looks interesting. I hope you enjoy these when you get a chance to read them.

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    1. Cindy - I think so too. I haven't actually read the first two books in the series yet, but I want to. Thank you for stopping by!

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  7. I still need to read the first Finlay Donovan book! And The Terror does sound like it could be a really good read.

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    1. Lark - Do read the first Finlay book! It's a fun book. Thank you for visiting!

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  8. I just finished Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun and loved it. The books get funnier and funnier. I hope you enjoy it too!

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    1. Wendy - Yay! I look forward to reading it soon. Thank you for stopping by!

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  9. I read the first two books in the Finlay Donovan series and liked them so I hope that you enjoy this final book in the series when you get a chance to read it.

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    1. Jodie - I enjoyed the first two books in the series too so am really excited about reading this third one. Thank you for visiting!

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  10. All of these look really good! I have the Finlay Donovan series on my TBR but the other two are completely new to me. I really need to try the Olive Bright series. It looks like a series I'd really enjoy.

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    1. Katherine - I haven't yet tried the Olive Bright series either but it sounds good, doesn't it? Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. Finlay Donovan is definitely one of my most anticipated reads. That has been one of the most entertaining series I've read in a while. :)

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    1. Suzanne - I really enjoy it and cannot wait to read the latest! Thank you for visiting!

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  12. I really want to start the Finlay Donovan series this year. It sounds like fun. :)

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    1. Ashley - I hope you give it a try and enjoy it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  13. I had not encountered the Olive Bright mystery series before, but it looks like something I would really enjoy. Thank you for putting it on my radar!

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    1. Lark - I think it sounds good too! I haven't started it yet, but I want to. Thank you for visiting!

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  14. The Finlay Donovan book sounds like a lot of fun. I'll have to check out that series. Thanks for sharing it!

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    1. Laura - It's a fun series and I hope you will give it a try! Thank you for stopping by!

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  15. They sound interesting but I haven't read any of these.

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    1. Mary - I hope they will be good when I do read them. :-) Thank you for visiting!

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  16. I really want to read the Finlay Donovan books. This looks like a good series.

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    1. Yvonne - They are funny. I hope you'll give the series a try. Thank you for stopping by!

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  17. I have had The Terror on my shelf for years. I need to read it too! I did read Finlay Donovan and thought that it was a lot of fun!

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    1. Carole - You too?! It's size probably hasn't helped get it off that TBR shelf. One of these days! I am glad you enjoyed the new Finlay Donovan book. I can't wait to read it!

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  18. Just the description of the Terror gives me shivers. I like survivor stories, but a monster stalker, too? That ought to keep you flipping pages fast.

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    1. Sophie Rose - It won't be one to read at bed time. LOL Thank you for visiting!

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  19. I am pretty sure I have The Terror on my shelves but the length of it is putting me off. Now the Olive Bright mystery sounds really good. I love historical mysteries especially around that timeframe.

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    1. Iliana - Same here. I think it's the length that has me reluctant to start it. I haven't read the earlier books in the Olive Bright mysteries, but I want to. Thank you for stopping by!

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  20. The Terror book looks good! I will definitely want to check it out. I love historical mysteries.

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    1. Shellie - I hope it will be good! Thank you for visiting!

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  21. The Terror sounds good to me. I'll be curious of your thoughts if you read this, Wendy.

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    1. Melody - Thank you. I hope I can get to it this year. :-)

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