My Winchester Adventure...

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Last weekend, we visited Winchester, Virginia, and we toured the most beautiful library that I've ever seen. The Handley Regional Library is in the downtown district. The dome, stained glass, spiral staircases, statues, and books, books, books are incredible! What a great place to spend an afternoon!

We found Patsy Cline's grave at the Shenandoah Memorial Park and visited her home on Kent Street.

Virginia is such a scenic state. To a girl from the flat part of the state, the mountains are majestic, and I can't wait to get back to see them when the leaves start to change.

Steve Berry's THE COLUMBUS AFFAIR

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Steve Berry's THE COLUMBUS AFFAIR doesn't feature his usual sleuth, Cotton Malone. The novel explores the question that Christopher Columbus may have used a manufactured name and background to hide the fact that he was Jewish. And he left a treasure behind in the New World.

The story bounces around Europe, US, and Jamaica. And it pits a disgraced journalist against his estranged daughter in a quest to find Columbus' hidden treasure. 

The mystery and the action are good, but I think I like Berry's Cotton Malone stories better.

Janet Evanovich's TOP SECRET TWENTY-ONE

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One of my guilty pleasures is reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries. I don't have to think. I just get to be entertained. It's great for weekend reading.

In Top Secret Twenty-one, all the old favorites are back. I love Grandma Mazur. She and Lula are the comic relief .

This one has a pack of wild Chihuahuas and a little person who's running from the mob. That just makes more sticky situations for our heroine.

My only hope is that Stephanie one day makes a decision about her two love interests. That story line is getting a little old. And I would really like her to learn to shoot her gun.

Day 6 of the Staycation

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Well, it's back to work and a normal routine tomorrow. Yesterday, we went to Williamsburg and the Great Wolf Lodge. What a fun place. I couldn't have picked better weather for a vacation week!

J and E found VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES at the Barnes and Noble in New Town (Williamsburg, VA).

J and E found VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES at the Barnes and Noble in New Town (Williamsburg, VA).

Steve Berry's THE JEFFERSON KEY

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I love that Steve Berry mixes history in with his Cotton Malone thriller series. In The Jefferson Key, he explores the idea that the four American presidential assassinations and the other attempts were related. This one has a lot of car chases, gun fights, intrigue, and pirates.

A lot of the action takes place in and around Virginia and Washington, DC. His protagonists drive a motorcycle down the beautiful staircase at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. They shoot out the window and make their escape. They also have a battle at Monticello in Charlottesville over one of Mr. Jefferson's inventions that holds the key to a cipher.

The pirate stories take place in and around Bath, North Carolina and Ocracoke Island (Blackbeard Territory), and the characters even end up near Oak Island near Nova Scotia.

The book is fast-paced with great page-turning action. And Berry does a nice job with explaining fact from fiction at the end. Add this one to your beach bag for a fun, summer read.