New books come into my house every day, it seems.  Sometimes I look around and wonder where in the world they all came from.  My husband's cousin once said, "I've never seen this many books in one house before."  Which made me laugh, because she didn't even know about the boxes of review copies that are stuffed into my guest room closet.  Book nerd problems, I tell ya!

Considering my *little* book acquisition addiction (you can never have too much of a good thing, right?), today's Top Ten Tuesday topic du jour seemed especially appropriate.  But before we get to that, I want to make sure you know how you, too, can join the TTT fun.  All you have to do is go on over to The Broke and the Bookish, read the instructions for posting, write up your own TTT list, and share it with the rest of us.  So easy.  And fun!  You want to get in on this, trust me ...

Okay, here we go with the Last Ten Books That Came Into My Possession:



1.  Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton—After watching Jurassic World, which I didn't love (it was exciting/entertaining, but seriously lacking in plot and character development), I realized I'd never actually read the Jurassic Park books.  I tried reserving the first one at my library, but they only had a couple of copies of the novel and both had looonnnggg waiting lists.  So, I bought it.  Read it.  And ... yeah.  Bottom line:  I liked Jurassic Park the movie a lot better.


2.  Still Life by Louise Penny—Lately, I've been really enjoying traditional murder mystery series set in small towns around the globe.  I like the local color just as much (maybe more) than the twisty plots.  I've been hearing about Penny's popular series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and finally decided to give it a try.  Verdict:  I'm loving it.


3.  I Am David by Anne Holm and L.W. Kingsland (translator)—This is an older book, but I just barely heard about it.  It's a survival story starring a 12-year-old boy who's been trapped in a brutal Eastern European prison camp his whole life.  When a chance to escape arises, he takes it.


4.  Open Season by C.J. Box—Like I said (see #2), murder mysteries set in quirky little places have been finding their way into my home a lot these days.  This is another popular series that I've been meaning to read for awhile now.  Open Season is waiting for me at the library—I just need to go pick it up.


5.  Bones on Ice by Kathy Reichs—I love the novella trend.  These short books help tide me over while I wait for the next installments in my favorite series.  This one has my girl Temperance Brennan examining a mummified corpse from atop Mt. Everest.  Sounds intriguing, no?


6.  The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler—This YA contemporary caught my attention because of the brown-skinned, black-haired girl on the cover.  I always love it when books feature characters who look like my beautiful bi-racial daughter.  The fact that the novel is a modern version of The Little Mermaid makes it even more enticing.


7.  Earthquake by Aprilynne Pike—Even though it's a little predictable (at least in some ways), I enjoyed EarthBound.  Thus, I had to comb the library shelves for its sequel.  Voilá!


8.  Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller—This is the third book in the Bell Elkins mystery series and the best, in my opinion.  Set in small-town West Virginia (see #2 and #4), all these books offer didn't-see-that-coming plot twists as well as fascinating ruminations on Appalachian culture.  Can't wait for the next book in the series, Last Ragged Breath, which comes out in August.


9.  A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape From North Korea by Eunsun Kim—I just got a review copy of this book from the publisher.  True survival stories always intrigue and inspire me, so I'm excited to delve into this one.


10.  Weightless by Sarah Bannan—A copy of this contemporary YA about a good girl who gets shunned because of a scandalous video gone viral just landed in my mailbox.  Sounds timely and interesting.

There you go.  So, what do you think of my recent acquisitions?  Have you read any of them?  More importantly, if you have any suggestions for good mystery series set in a small town anywhere in the world, let me know.  Also, I'd love to see your TTT list.  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!

(All book images from Barnes & Noble)

Kate Burkholder knows violent crime.  At 14, she was kidnapped and tortured by a vicious serial killer.  Now 30, she's a policewoman with eight years of experience under her belt.  For the last two, she's been chief of police in her hometown of Painters Mill, Ohio.  Residents of the small town, 1/3 of whom are Amish, generally get along peacefully.  When they don't, Kate, who grew up Amish but is currently under the bann for leaving the faith, is uniquely qualified to intervene.  Which doesn't make her job easy or pleasant or always gratifying.

When a young woman is murdered, her body marked in a way that is intimately familiar to Kate, the chief of police is understandably shaken.  The handiwork appears to be that of the man who imprisoned her so many years ago.  Kate knows it's not, but she can't explain why without dredging up secrets that could ruin both her and her family.  As the bodies pile up, she's racked with guilt and tormented by the traumas of the past, but more determined than ever to stop the cold-blooded murderer.  "Help" comes in the form of a disgraced field agent from the Ohio Bureau for Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) named John Thomasetti.  He, of course, comes with his own complications.  Her new partner's various neuroses are the last thing Kate needs to be dealing with right now.  If she doesn't keep her head in the game, she could be the killer's next victim.

Police procedural novels are a dime a dozen.  It takes something different, something unique, to make one stand out above the others.  Linda Castillo mined her Ohio childhood to find that something.  Sworn to Silence, the first installment in her Kate Burkholder series, is one of only a few books I've encountered that could be labeled an Amish thriller.  While that may sound like an oxymoron (the Amish are, after all, a notoriously peace-loving people), it's the intimate, unflinching look inside their culture that makes this novel so compelling.  Because of Castillo's careful shaping, Painters Mill feels real; the quiet tension between its Amish and "English" inhabitants smacks of authenticity.  As for the story itself, I have to warn you—it's grisly.  Gripping, but gruesome.  And unsettling.  Definitely not for the faint of heart (or stomach).  While I loved the Amish aspect of this novel, which is an undeniably compelling page turner, it ended up being too disturbing for me.  Therefore, I won't continue with the series, as engrossing and well-written as it may be.  If you're looking for a new police chief to follow (and you're made of stronger stuff than I am), give this series a try.  Just know that it's not an easy one to read.

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a little of Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult, as well as Laura Bickle's Amish/ zombie apocalypse books [The Hallowed Ones; The Outside].  Of course, other books in the Kate Burkholder series will also be similar.)

Grade: