Tag: The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

I keep a list of all the books I might want to read and add to it as the year goes on. As each month comes along I create a list on my blog for others and for me to keep track of as the months go by.

I hope people reading my post may find some new books to read. I also hope these people will point me toward books I might not know about! The links to the following books will take you to the book on Goodreads.

I don’t buy all these books–since I already have way too many books to read and some of the new books are very expensive. I’m trying to stick to a budget! I always check my library for the expensive books and I add authors to eReader IQ which then tells me when the authors’ books have gone on sale.

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I had an August book list ready to post a few weeks ago, but every ebook on the list cost at least $10 and few of the books were available as digital copies at my library. I was depressed about this situation and decided not to even post the August book list. 😦

When I was working on my September book list I discovered two August books that are Kindle Unlimited so I can get those books with my Kindle Unlimited membership. After this I will mention if I’m able to get the books from Kindle Unlimited, the library, Audible or some other source that I can afford.

I’ve been waiting for Shannon Baker to write a new Kate Fox mystery. I really like the Nebraska setting of these books. And that Kate Fox is a sheriff! (This is a Kindle Unlimited book.)

Synopsis: With her ex-husband, Ted, working nearby in an adjoining county, Kate Fox is eager to prove she’s the better sheriff. And when the less-than-popular ex-foreman of a local ranch is found dead, Kate gets the opportunity she’s been looking for.

But as it turns out, the case hits a little too close to home. The dead man’s body is discovered in Kate’s brother Jeremy’s truck—and her brother is missing. Evidence left at the crime scene leads Ted to suspect the ranch’s new foreman, but Kate isn’t convinced he’s responsible for the crime.

As Kate races to eliminate suspects, a shocking realization leads her to the truth. But is she too late to prevent the next murder?

This series is so good. I love that it takes place in Tanzania. W.R. Gingell has done such a good job with the world building and Pet is such a fun character to read about. (This is a Kindle Unlimited book.)

Synopsis: When someone tries to threaten me by telling me they know my name, I take that personally.

G’day. I’m not really a pet anymore, but you might as well keep calling me Pet. It’s not like I’m gunna tell you my name anyway. And if I sound stroppy, well, I am. First, I was threatened. Now, someone has cut off my house from the human world and left my emotional support vampire on the human side. On the inside, it’s just me and an emotionally compromised fae; outside, a closed arena in the world Behind, where everyone is out to kill us and a few of that everyone might actually be capable of it.

September 7

I enjoyed the first book in this series plus the other series Ann Cleeves has written. (My library is getting a digital edition of this book and I’ve placed it on hold.)

Synopsis: North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder–Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter’s broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He’s a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

One of my favorite mystery series. I love Robo, the K-9, in these books plus Mattie has grown and changed a lot as a character during the course of this series. (I’m hoping the library will get a digital edition of this book.)

Synopsis: He was suspect number one–the man who tried to kill Deputy Mattie Cobb and may have killed her father thirty years earlier. But when Mattie and cold case detective Jim Hauck reach the Colorado state prison where they will finally get to interview him, he’s found dead in his cell. There’s only one clue: a map leading to Timber Creek and rugged Redstone Ridge.

Though she usually works with veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie’s K-9 partner Robo has just sired a litter of pups, who require special, time-consuming care at Cole’s clinic. Left to explore the map’s clue without him, Mattie and Robo journey into the burned forest surrounding Redstone Ridge. But before they can finish their search they’re called to help investigate the death of a young woman found in a campground filled with elk hunters. Identification of the deceased points to her having recently given birth, but the infant is nowhere to be found.

September 21

I haven’t read any books by J.S. Kelley, but I really like the cover of this book and the synopsis sounds interesting. (I’m hoping the library gets a digital edition of this book.)

Synopsis: In a kingdom where magic fuels everything from street lamps to horseless carriages, the mage guilds of Penador wield power equal to the king himself. So when Lord Edmund’s infant son is kidnapped by the ruthless Alath Guild, he turns to the one person who’s feared by even the most magically adept: Rosalind Featherstone, a.k.a. the Gutter Mage.

September 28

Naomi Novik has written some of my favorite books. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and look forward to this one. (I have a digital edition of this book on hold at my library.)

Synopsis: At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .

The first book in this series was one of my favorite books of 2020! (I have a digital edition of this book on hold at my library.)

Synopsis: It’s the following Thursday.

Elizabeth has received a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history. He’s made a big mistake, and he needs her help. His story involves stolen diamonds, a violent mobster, and a very real threat to his life.

As bodies start piling up, Elizabeth enlists Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron in the hunt for a ruthless murderer. And if they find the diamonds too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus?

But this time they are up against an enemy who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can The Thursday Murder Club find the killer (and the diamonds) before the killer finds them?

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Which August books are you excited to read? What books did I forget?