Sunday Salon: Early Morning Reading

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week.Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; Also visit It's Monday: What Are You Reading hosted by Book Journey.

Had visitors today so cleared out my books from around my desk and computer to declutter for a while. Now I don't want to go downstairs to the basement to retrieve them just yet. So nice not to be kicking books around while I'm typing.

Here's what I'm currently reading:

Sons of Sparta, a mystery novel by Poisonwood Press was released October 7, 2014. I'm reading an advance reader's copy and enjoying it as I've always wanted to visit Greece and setting is really important to me in a mystery novel. This book puts you into the Peloponnesus region as well as Athens. The intro to the book by the publisher will pull you right in with the description of the background and setting:

Did the warriors of ancient Sparta simply vanish without a trace along with their city, or did they find sanctuary at the tip of the mountainous Peloponnese? That stark, unforgiving region's roots today run deep with a history of pirates, highwaymen, and neighbors ferociously repelling any foreigner foolishly bent on occupying this part of Greece. Less well recorded are the Mani's families' strict code of honor and their history of endless vendettas with neighbors and with their own relatives. No wonder their farms look like fortresses.

I'm also reading The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy, longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. My paperback was published April 24, 2012 by the Free Press.

The Folded Earth

Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, the novel is about a young widow who leaves her sorrows and past behind and becomes a school teacher in a small village. The storytelling is exquisite.

It's early morning but I might just sit up for another hour with this book.
What are you reading this Sunday day?

Sunday Salon: Books Set in Warm Places

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week.Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; Also visit It's Monday: What Are You Reading hosted by Book Journey and Stacking the Shelves at Tynga's Reviews.

Fall seems to be here as the temps have plummeted, though I am hoping for some Indian summer days in the future. Most hummingbirds have gone south, so it seems, though one of them has been kept away from the feeder by small wasps landing on the feeder mouth. Don't know how to fix that.

A few books came in while we were away on vacation. Had a great time whale watching off the Long Beach, CA coast and visiting the LA art museums and botanical garden. Even saw the retired Endeavour space shuttle and the Pompeii Exhibit at the California Science Center. I recommend seeing it if you are there.

Two ARCs from Poisoned Pen Press, due to be published October 7, 2014, came in for review:

Sons of Sparta

Sons of Sparta: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kalkis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger

Did the warriors of ancient Sparta simply vanish without a trace along with their city, or did they find sanctuary at the tip of the mountainous Peloponnese? That stark, unforgiving region's roots today run deep with a history of pirates, highwaymen, and neighbors ferociously repelling any foreigner foolishly bent on occupying this part of Greece. 
Special Crimes Division Detective Yiannis Kouros is summoned from Athens by his uncle. Kouros fears his loyalty to his boss, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, is about be to be tested by family pressure on the detective to act in some new vendetta in the region involving his uncle. (publisher)

Desert Rage
Desert Rage: A Lena Jones Mystery by Betty Webb

Ferociously ambitious U.S. Senatorial candidate Juliana Thorsson has been keeping a secret. The horrific slaughter of a prominent doctor, his wife, and their ten-year-old son inside their Scottsdale home brings Thorsson to Private Investigator Lena Jones. The slain family s 14-year old, Alison, and her boyfriend, Kyle, have confessed to the murders. Thorsson wants to hire Lena to discover if Alison is telling the truth, but before accepting the job, Lena demands to know why a rising political star wants to involve herself with the fate of a girl she s never met. (publisher)

And a few cozies:

A Midwinter's Tale

Murder Off the Beaten Path

One Potion in the Grave

What's new on your desk? Don't you just love these covers?
Click on the covers or the blue titles under the covers for more details about the books.