The Challenge Factory discussion

Murder in G Major
by Alexia Gordon
271 pgs

Kindle 4.99
Hoopla (Audio)
Scribd (Audio - with membership)

Synopsis:
With few other options, African-American classical musician Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra. Stranded without luggage or money in the Irish countryside, she figures any job is better than none. The perk? Housesitting a lovely cliffside cottage. The catch? The ghost of the cottage's murdered owner haunts the place. Falsely accused of killing his wife (and himself), he begs Gethsemane to clear his name so he can rest in peace. Gethsemane's reluctant investigation provokes a dormant killer and she soon finds herself in grave danger. As Gethsemane races to prevent a deadly encore, will she uncover the truth or star in her own farewell performance?


Moon Called
by Patricia Briggs
288 pgs

Kindle 8.99


Synopsis:
Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

Reading Schedule

Both Books
Week 1: Murder in G Major Chapters 1-6
Week 2: Murder in G Major Chapters 7-end
Week 3: Moon Called Chapters 1-8
Week 4: Moon Called Chapters 9-end


Murder in G Major:
Week 1: Chapters 1-3
Week 2: Chapters 4-6
Week 3: Chapters 7-12
Week 4: Chapters 13-end

Moon Called
Week 1: Chapters 1-4
Week 2: Chapters 5-8
Week 3: Chapters 9-12
Week 4: Chapters 13-end

Discussion

The discussion will be an open forum this month. Please share your thoughts and feelings with us. Ask each other questions if you want. Let's have an open discussion of these books.

Donna wrote: "Murder in G Major
by Alexia Gordon
271 pgs

Kindle 4.99
Hoopla (Audio)
Scribd (Audio - with membership)

Synopsis:
With few other options, African-American classic..."

I've read this entire series and feel that it has been under-read, so am very happy this tied for first place! Of course, I'm partial to books about classical musicians among other things.

To avoid confusion, please put the name of the book you are discussing at the top of your comment. I am not entirely sure how this is all going to work out discussing 2 books but we are going to give it a shot ; )

I have Moon Called so I'll try to join in for that :)

I read the first chapter of Murder in G Major while in a waiting room. Since this is a reread for me I'm experiencing it a bit differently, but I've read so many books since I read this that there are still many things I've forgotten. I

I hope to start Moon Called tonight :)

Murder in G Major

Chapters 1-6

(view spoiler)[This is a re-read for me but it has been a while so I don't remember much from the first time around.

Eamon is hilarious. Having him pop up randomly to Gethsemane is priceless. He is definitely the best character in the book.

Siobhan is strange and definitely makes for an interesting character.

Nuala & Peg's relationship intrigues me. There is something going on there. Nuala claimed to see Orla the first time Gethsemane met her but then pretended ignorance the second time. Not to mention the little poison incident. Why is Nuala not in a psychiatric ward if she is that bad? Why is Peg cleaning up after her? These two deserve some extra investigating.

Jimmy is another suspect on my list. He claims to have seen Eamon when he couldn't possibly have seen him. His attitude is not very friendly. Jimmy is the brother of Dierdre, the closest/only friend of Nuala. Curious...

Declan Hurley is my final suspect at this point. He investigated the crime and didn't confirm Eamon's alibi. That is the number one thing to do in an investigation unless you are trying to stonewall someone. He is known to take bribes from Jimmy.

I still need more information to narrow things down but several suspects at this time. (hide spoiler)]

Murder in G Major

Chapter 7- end

(view spoiler)[Things really started to happen in the 2nd half of this book. A lot more murders.

Peg & her sister are both crazy but I think maybe Peg is worse. What I can't figure out is why the psychiatric asylum is closed. They obviously have a need for it.

The book was enjoyable. I am glad that I re-read it. I only remembered bits and pieces since has been a while. I hope everyone is enjoying the book. (hide spoiler)]

Moon Called

Chapters 1-8

(view spoiler)[I read this so long ago that I really can't remember this book so revisiting it is a nice change of pace. Poor Mac! All those experiments. What I don't get is if they were after him to start with why did they kidnap Jesse? Something is missing here. I'm just not sure what. (hide spoiler)]

Moon Called

Chapters 9-end

(view spoiler)[
Well, that was an interesting ending. I couldn't figure out why Jesse was kidnapped and then Adam also. It was a bit of a complicated web but I guess the clues were there. We knew Gerry was not helping his father adjust in a normal way, at least. It seems maybe his father not adjusting caused him to have a bit of a mental break. He didn't seem to care who he hurt in his attempts to make his father see that being a wolf wasn't all bad. His father was a veterinarian for years so Gerry hurting people was not going to make his father want to hurt anyone let alone challenge an alpha. Gerry was out of touch with reality. I forgot how good this book was. I never did read book 2 so I may grab that up and read it soon now that I have been reminded of this series. (hide spoiler)]

Murder in G Major


I'm late to this buddy read, but I thought I would add my comments anyway.

I loved the book. The characters are great and relatable.

(view spoiler)[I understand Gethsemane's frustration with her family. It is often hard to compete with the people you love, and feel that you come up short. She doesn't give up even when someone tries to kill her.

The relationship between Eamon and Gethsemane is special. It was a little sad when Eamon and Gethsemane had the argument about Peg.

I loved the small Irish town setting. The way gossip travels so quickly is a challenge for new comers.
(hide spoiler)]

I will read more books in this series.