I found a new author I love in the month of November courtesy of a recommendation from my mom. Linda Castillo writes mystery/thriller/suspense books set it Amish Country with a cast of repeating characters. She's written tons of books, but I've never read anything by her, so I went back to the beginning, requested the first book in the series from the library and could not put it down. I can't wait to read the rest of the books she's written over the next several months. 

I read a handful of other books in November too. More on those below. 

Five Stars

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been ages since I tore through a book in just over a day, hating to set it down and looking forward to picking up again, and that's exactly what happened with this book. The opening was dark with a very grisly murder and it was hard to read parts at night because it was a bit creepy, but I was sucked into the story of a serial killer in Amish country and the formerly Amish female chief of police tasked with hunting down the killer. As soon as I finished this, I immediately requested the next book with this character from the library, and I look forward to working my way through them all.

Four Stars

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars, but I rounded up because I thought the book got pretty good at the end after a slow start. It took me a little bit of time to get into this story. In Eden, Kentucky, there's a creepy and mysterious house that no one ever seems to come and go from. Opal walks past it most days on her way to work at the Tractor Supply Store, and she finds herself drawn to it. She meets the owner, and he offers her a job cleaning. The more time Opal spends in the house, the more it calls to her when she's awake and in her dreams. But at the same time there's a faction in town that wants to destroy the house to mine under its land. Opal is torn between wanting to protect the house and wanting to protect her family from the powerful forces looking to control that land. This isn't normally the kind of story I'm drawn too, but I found myself unable to put the book down toward the end wanting to know what happened to Opal.

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fictional account of the women who worked in munitions factories in Europe during WWI. This story follows four different women from very different life circumstances that find themselves working in the factory. While the men are gone, the women not only do the work, but they also form a professional soccer league, playing games against other mutionettes to raise money for charity. I feel like most historical fiction I've read has been set during WWII so this was a nice change from that!

My Murder by Katie Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't know what rating to give this book because I liked it, but it was so weird. Lou is part of a serial killers survivors group -- and by survivors, it means everyone in the group was murdered and then brought back to life as some sort of clone. So you have to walk into this book suspending all sense of reality. It's hard to write too much of a summary without giving some key plot points away, but this was a weird, but enjoyable read.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really lovely book about mothers, daughters, their relationships, and grief. At times it was hard to read because it's impossible to imagine the pain of losing a mother to cancer.

Three Stars

Playing the Witch Card by K.J. Dell'Antonia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was looking for something fun and Halloween-y to read around the holiday, and I had really enjoyed another book by this author. This book however moved a little slow until the very end, then it picked up and I appreciated the extra action. I guessed the twist pretty early on (which I don't always mind), and it felt like there was an extra storyline that wasn't totally necessary. I also kept wanting to yell at the main character because she seemed to never learn as the book went on. So overall kind of only felt so so about this one.

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