Lake Travis Community Library

Kim's Bookstack
Happy book birthday to THE DISASTER GAY DETECTIVE AGENCY by Lev AC Rosen
A camp version of amateur detectives jumping into to a dangerous mystery without any real direction or training. This group of friends spend more time group texting and worried about putting themselves out there in the dating pool than solving mysteries but when Brandon leaves his front desk duty and sleeps with a handsome hotel guest who then disappears the group gets pulled into a murder mystery they might just regret. This is a light hearted wild goose chase with spying dog walkers, tattooed assassins and a love lorn desk clerk certain that his one night stand was anything but. I am assuming this is the first in the series of this group becoming a bonafide detective agency.
This reminded me of a gay Finlay Donovan meets Only Murders In The Building.
3 1/2 - 4 stars

Kim's Bookstack
Happy book birthday to DOWN WITH THE SHIPMANS by Meg Mitchell Moore
Classic sibling drama as the three grown Shipman daughters deal with their own life crisis while dealing with the sale of their beloved family beach home. They aren't sure how they feel about Dad's new wife but they sure all agree that Dad's decision (or the evil stepmom's decision) to sell is not ok.
It made me smile to see that every family has to deal with most of these situations and you could do a lot worse than be a Shipman. Meg Mitchell Moore does an admirable job of portraying a wide variety of life situations and personalities in the sisters as well as dealing with grief over the loss of their mom. It feels like she has some experience with this. Readers of SANDWICH/WRECK , TOM LAKE and SISTERS BLUE will enjoy this. 4 stars

Kim's Bookstack
Happy book birthday to THE WRECK OF THE MENTOR by Eric Jay Dolin
Whaling has never been a safe profession but while we think of accidents from storms or an angry whale, the mariners in the Pacific also faced massive storms far from land. If shipwrecked you were left with hopefully finding an island- one that supported life and if inhabited, had native populations that didn't see you as a threat. In 1832 one such storm took out the whaling ship The Mentor leaving what was left of the crew on a lifeboat headed for one of the many small islands around Palau. Some relationships worked and the islanders need for iron could be exchanged for fresh supplies. If you were unlucky and ended up with a group of islanders who had not had good experiences with foreigners on their shores you faced being attacked, starved and enslaved. This is an interesting look not only on the European idea of conquering/civilizing the indigenous people but also the lack of urgency in saving those left behind. If it wasn't for one of the survivors writing a book this account would have been lost to time. Readers of THE WIDE, WIDE SEA and other Pacific Islander books will get much out of this. 4 stars

Kim's Bookstack
Happy book birthday to FIELD GUIDE FOR THE FORMALLY VILLAINOUS by Autumn K. England
Cozy fantasy about second chances even for villains. Oaklin runs from an evil cult and the destruction that they were an unwilling part of. Swimming in guilt they buy a rundown farm in a quaint little village and try to lie low. Vowing to keep to themselves however proves to be a challenge as the townspeople (a librarian in particular) are so friendly and share everything. Even the resident ghost is no match for the positive vibes of the village which makes Oaklin realize just how much is at stake. Fans of VIOLET THISTLEWAITE IS NOT A VILLAIN ANYMORE and Travis Baldree will find this read to be a big hug from a friend when you need it most. 3 1/2 - 4 stars