Xepherus Reads

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,          The Third Victim is Lisa Gardner's second book in her FBI Profiler series, published in 2001 by Bantam Books.     Fan-favorite Officer Rainie Conner is thrust into a horrific crime scene in the aftermath of a school shooting. With innocent lives taken, she not only has to tamp down her own emotions but also keep her rookie partner together as they process the scene. What she discovers sends her small town into chaos. Rainie knows what she sees and procedure dictates what she should do. But in her heart, she is certain not all of the facts are present. As she comes closer to the truth, she realizes she is in the cross-hairs of a killer who will not hesitate to remove her from the investigation permanently.      The too-real subject of shootings has weighed heavy on us in the past few years.  Lisa Gardner has handled tough subjects in the past, and I trusted her to g...

    Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,          Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary is the fifth in the class children's book series. Published in 1979 by Dell for their Yearling book series, this delightful story is filled with nostalgia for me. Being a child of the 70s, I remember having dog-eared copies of this series in my book bag in elementary school.    In this laugh-out-loud tale of growing up, we meet a seven-year-old Ramona Quimby. She is halfway to being eight and wishes her mother would treat her like she does her older sister, Beezus. But Ramona has a knack for getting into mischief, which leads to scolding and embarrassing incidents. At this rate, she will never be as loved as her sister.   Ramona and Her Mother was a fun and relaxing read that had me laughing so hard I cried. It is filled with hijinx that involves a bottle of dye, a tube of toothpaste, and fuzzy new pajamas. It is filled with funny side charact...