"When in doubt, wash!" I'm not sure how an email from Constant Reader made me think of that phrase from a book I'd read a long time ago, but it did, which resulted in a search for said book, which was actually located and re-read! Jennie (also published as The Abandoned) by Paul Gallico is about a young boy, a neglected (but not abused) young boy who is hit by a lorry when running across a street. When he comes to, he discovers he is a cat! Now, he knows nothing about being a cat but fortunately he is found and rescued by the street wise cat, Jennie who will become his tutor. That advice, given above, is the most important thing he can learn, and the chapter on just how a cat can wash all of his/her body was hysterical! The author knew cats (at one time he had 27) and carefully observed their behavior, resulting in explanations of proper manners, how to manage encounters with dogs, fights and so on. Such a fun read!

Four people are working at one of the desks in the Reading Room of the Boston Public Library (look it up, it's beautiful). A scream shatters the silence and bonds them together as they decide to figure out just what happened. (Was one of them the murderer??) The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill was hard to put down, with lots of ... interesting twists and turns.

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An email from Seattle Reader included a recommendation ... a strong recommendation for Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care & Feeding of British Dragons, by Quenby Olson. Mildred Percy, the unmarried sister, is living with her properly married sister and family. A trunk arrives for her one day (fortunately when she's home alone, otherwise that sister may have just, um, appropriated it for herself) telling Mildred she has an inheritance from a great uncle. There doesn't seem to be much ... old papers and journals ... and an odd rock ... which is actually an egg, from which hatches a dragon! Raising this dragon is, shall we say, a learning experience!  A delightful read and extremely hard to put down!

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Rose is in her eighties, so a little forgetfulness now and then might be expected, but lately things are getting worse. And then there's the body in her freezer. Evidence points to her, but her friends in the Toot Hansell Women's Institute (not to mention the dragons) do not believe it for one minute ... and (no surprise) do their own investigating. Coming Up Roses, by Kim M. Watt, is another fun read in her Beaufort Scales mystery series.

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The small library, in a lighthouse, along North Carolina's Outer Banks is in the running to receive a collection (with funding to maintain) of rare historic documents pertaining to the area. The donor, Jay Ruddle, is working in the rare book room while a pre-Halloween party is going on. Later he is found dead. There are the usual suspects, of course, his grand-daughter, and the current curator ... but then his former daughter-in-law (and a new hubby) show up. Grievances from the past surface. Detective Watson certainly has his work cut out for him ... which means (of course) that the librarians will just have to help out, yes? Looks like I jumped in to the middle of the Lighthouse Library Mystery series, by Eva Gates with The Spook in the Stacks, but I was able to follow the characters and their relationships with each other just fine, the author did a nice job there.

A recent visit from the grands left Tall Reader with this tween read: The Last Human, by Lee Bacon. As robots got smarter they reasoned that humans were destroying the earth ... so they were eliminated. Or so it was thought. It's a world with no war, no pollution ... every one has a job, and a purpose. Things are running smoothly until a 12 year old girl appears on the scene. That changes everything! A fun story about friendship (a new concept for robots) and perspective ... is everything the (robot) president said true? This won't take long to read!

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With just one exception, every president has had a dog. (Not all of them adapted to White House living). Learn about those, and a bit about each administration, in All-American Dogs: a History of Presidential Pets from Every Era, by Andrew Hager. As the subtitle indicates, you'll read about the others, too. (Cats, birds, rabbits, and more)!

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The Last Stop, by Sonia Parin, is part of her Dear Abby Cozy Mystery series. This time Abby's mom has come for a visit ... virtually ... (imagine a back seat driver, one not used to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, on your phone, turned so she can see out the car). Abby would love for her to come for a real visit, but mom is convinced the little town in Australia is not safe. Abby is trying to prove otherwise, so it doesn't help that there is a murder! Tourists usually pass through the small town of Eden, but this time their bus broke down so they are stuck. It's a group where they all know each other, which leads to conflict. Abby's mom makes friends with some of them as well as the townsfolk, might she be able to help catch the murderer? This is a fun series.

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It's been a while since I read one of The Chronicles of St. Mary's books, by Jodi Taylor, so it was nice to get back there with A Second Chance. There's a lot of action here, and a new and interesting twist to the Trojan horse! Personally I think I prefer reading about history, rather than being at an actual event ... it's exhausting! The historians might be 'somewhere' just to observe, but that does not mean you cannot be shot or trampled. If you've ever wondered about those odd cheese rolling events your questions will be answered! Excitement builds when Max is kidnapped and returned to a time she's visited before ... the Cretaceous Period! Hard to put down!

Reading Hermit With Dog