(Image from Barnes & Noble)

It's been 10 months since a student shot Dr. Amelia Emmett in the pelvis.  Although she's still walking with a cane, popping pain pills, and suffering from panic attacks, the professor is determined to get back in the classroom at Rothbert University.  Despite her colleagues' misgivings and the whispers that trail after her wherever she goes, Amelia aims to prove she's ready and able to reclaim her life.  No one needs to know that she's shaking in her high heels.  Just like no one needs to know how obsessed she is with the question why.  Why did the shooter—a kid Amelia had never met, never taught, never spoken to—choose her as his victim?  Why had he deliberately waited outside her office door with a gun?  Why had he tried to kill her before taking his own life?  None of it makes an ounce of sense.

Nathan Barber, a grad student in sociology, has come to Rothbert for one reason—to research Dr. Emmett.  Intending to do his dissertation on the shooting, he offers to be Amelia's teaching assistant in an effort to get closer to her.  When Amelia wises up to his plan, she can't keep herself from encouraging Nath to do some sleuthing around campus.  She wants to know why she was shot even more than he does.  But the clues Nath uncovers only create more questions and when the truth finally comes to light, it will be even more shocking than either Amelia or Nath ever imagined.

I've enjoyed a couple of Lori Rader-Day's newer novels, so I was interested to see how her debut, The Black Hour, compared.  I liked it least of the ones I've read because although it boasts a compelling premise, the story plods along slowly, with the action only picking up at the end.  A few times, I almost put the book down.  In addition to a sluggish plot, the main characters are pretty blah.  Amelia's sympathetic, but not very likable.  Nath's just boring (admittedly so).  The book's vibe doesn't help—it's dark and depressing.  Considering all this, why did I keep reading?  Well, it's the same question that haunted Amelia and Nath—why?—that kept me turning pages.  In the end, though, I didn't find The Black Hour all that satisfying.  I finished it, but I definitely didn't love it.  The good news is I know for certain that Rader-Day's novels improve with time!

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), mild sexual content, violence, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Black Hour from Changing Hands Bookstore with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In need of a start-over, forensic pathologist Jessie Teska moves from L.A. to San Francisco.  The 31-year-old is not thrilled with the foggy city, her cramped converted cable car apartment, or the aging equipment in the dingy building where she's employed as an assistant medical examiner.  She needs to make it all work, though, even if she's feeling increasingly overworked and underpaid. 

When the body of a young Filipino nursing student, dead of an apparent heroin overdose, lands on Jessie's table, she's taken aback.  Especially when she notices several inconsistencies between the detectives' version of what happened to her and the story her corpse is telling.  Although she's told repeatedly to let it go, Jessie can't.  Something about the death doesn't compute.  With more and more bodies piling up on her table, she's convinced—there's more to these overdose deaths than meets the eye.  No one else seems to care, but Jessie won't rest until she figures out what's really going on.  Even if it means putting herself in the crosshairs of a killer's weapon.

First Cut is the debut novel of wife/husband team Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell and the first installment in a new mystery series.  A Harvard-educated forensic pathologist with many years of experience, Dr. Melinek clearly knows her stuff.  First Cut is filled with interesting, though graphic and gory, depictions of medical examiner life.  Storywise, the novel isn't anything mystery/thriller lovers haven't seen before.  The tale is predictable, the killer not all that surprising.  There's enough action to keep readers turning pages, though.  Jessie is a complex, admirable heroine, although she's impulsive and has questionable people-judging skills.  Overall, First Cut is an engrossing book, but one I didn't end up loving.  I doubt I'll continue with the series. 

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of First Cut from the generous folks at HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

My kids are back in school, so the holidays must be officially over.  Never mind the fact that my Christmas decorations aren't completely packed away or that my family is still nibbling on holiday treats.  I'm ready for the new year, darn it!  2020's not going to get away from me like 2019 did.  I hope.  

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020.  I already did a Winter TBR list that featured a lot of 2020 releases, so check that one out.  Never fear, though, I have more, which you will find listed below in order of release date.  Before you scroll down, though, take a minute to join in the TTT fun.  It's super easy—just click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, scan a few quick instructions, write up your own list, then hop around the book blogosphere checking out other people's posts.  I promise it will be a good time!

Okay, here we go with Top Ten (Okay, Eleven) Most Anticipated Book Releases for the First Half of 2020 (not including those from my Winter TBR list):

1.  The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick (available January 7)—An ARC of this novel is winging its way to me as we speak.  I can't wait!  This historical concerns two sisters who live near a home for wayward girls.  When the girls unearth a shocking secret about their father, everything changes.  Then, one of the sisters disappears.  Assuming their father has incarcerated his missing daughter at the nearby home, the other hatches a daring rescue plan.   

2.  The Hollows by Jess Montgomery (available January 14)—I loved The Widows, a historical novel about a woman who takes over as sheriff after her husband's death in 1920s Ohio.  The second book in the series, this one concerns an elderly woman who is killed by a train while walking through an underground railroad tunnel.  Who was the woman?  And what was she doing on the train tracks?  It's up to the sheriff to find out. 

3.  Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (available January 14)—This dual-timeline novel is the story of an innocent convict who is released from prison early in return for restoring an old mural.  A lot of my favorite tropes are rolled up in this one, so I'm expecting to enjoy it.

4.  Remembrance by Rita Woods (available January 21)—This triple-timeline historical novel about slavery looks intriguing. 

5.  Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar (available January 24)—Teenager Grace is so ill that her mother, Meg, who is beloved and admired in her town, does little else but care for her.  When Meg is found brutally murdered, with Grace nowhere to be found, the confusing mystery befuddles the town.  What in the world happened to the mother and daughter?  Sounds good, no?  

6.  Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald (available February 4)—After being struck by lightning, a woman wakes up in the hospital only to find out her mother has been murdered.  The police are suspicious of her convenient amnesia.  Desperate to prove her innocence, she sets out to find the truth.

7.  The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte (available March 3)—In this YA novel, a teen raises her sister from the dead for one day as a desperate measure to get answers about their parents' deaths.  Without enough clues as to what really happened, the girls team up to find the truth while being pursued by ill-intentioned foes.  Sounds fun!

8.  The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane by Kate O'Shaughnessy (available March 3)—I just requested an e-ARC of this MG novel from NetGalley.  It's about a girl who discovers her estranged father will be judging a singing competition in Nashville.  She signs up to compete, but exactly how is she going to secretly get herself to Tennessee?  Adventure ensues ...  

9.  The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan (available March 5)—I've enjoyed the first two books in McTiernan's Cormac Reilly series and I've been anxiously awaiting this third installment.  Looks like it's told from the perspective of both Reilly and another detective.  Interesting.

10.  Strike Me Down by Mindy Mejia (available April 7)—I'm a big fan of Mejia's thrillers, so I'm excited for her newest which centers around a forensic accountant hired to track down millions of dollars of missing prize money.

11.  Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon (available April 28)—I love me a good pioneer story and this one sounds excellent.  It's about a young widow crossing the Overland Trail who faces hardships along the way.  An unexpected romance with a man who is half-Pawnee adds challenges to her already full plate.  

    

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the music.  I like a jolly "Frosty the Snowman" or "Up on the Housetop" as much as the next person, but it's the tender, inspiring hymns about the Savior's birth and His influence on the world that really touch my soul.  "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is one such hymn.  Since Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is my favorite poet (he's also the only one whose poems I can actually make sense of), I knew a little bit about the story behind his famous Yuletide poem, but when I heard that Jennifer Chiaverini had written a whole novel about it, I knew I wanted to read it.  Naturally, I intended to enjoy the book before Christmas, but that didn't happen so I made Christmas Bells my first priority in the new year.

The novel actually tells two stories concurrently—one (Longfellow's) which takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1860-1864, the other which is set in present-day Boston.  The former is based on the true events which led to Longfellow's creation of the Christmas Bells poem, while the latter is a completely fictional tale that concerns several members of a church congregation who come together because of a Christmas concert performed by its children's choir.  The characters highlighted in both tales are in need of some holiday cheer, comfort, or courage.  All could use the kind of miracles that seem to happen only at Christmastime.  Will they get them?

I was most excited to read about Longfellow, so I was a little disappointed to find that his sections of the book got a little long and a little dull.  They included some interesting information, but Longfellow's chapters felt more like a history textbook than a novel.  The modern story was compelling enough to keep me reading, but it didn't turn out to be anything really mind-blowing either.  While Christmas Bells isn't as dazzling as I wanted it to be, it does make for heartwarming holiday reading.  I liked it, I just didn't love it.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of In the Dark Streets Shineth by David McCullough)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for war-related violence and blood/gore

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Christmas Bells from Changing Hands Bookstore with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.