Book Review: Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

Deadtown
Author: Nancy Holzner
Series: A Deadtown Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Ace; Reissue edition (November 10, 2009)

Description: First in a brand new urban fantasy series that's "fresh and funny, with a great new take on zombies" (Karen Chance) and "full of dangerous magic and populated with characters so realistic, they almost jump off the page" (Ilona Andrews).

If you were undead, you'd be home by now...

They call it Deadtown: the city's quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders-but Victory Vaughn, Boston's only professional demon slayer, isn't exactly human.

My Thoughts: Victory Vaughn is a shapeshifter and demon killer. She might be the last of her kind if her young niece doesn't inherit shapeshifting which her sister really hopes she won't.

After a plague hit Boston and turned most of the citizens into zombies, the human government created an enclave called Deadtown for the inhuman and undead residents. Since then, residents have been fighting for their rights which is a real uphill battle.

Vicky's sometime boyfriend Kane is a werewolf lawyer really concerned about winning rights for all inhuman and undead residents. Currently, Massachusetts is one of the few US States were residents of Deadtown have some limited rights. The current race for governor could change that as the leading candidate is extremely opposed to any more rights and freedoms for people he calls "monsters."

Vicky is more concerned about making a living than politics. She is hired by the haunted wealthy to rid their dreams of various demons that cause nightmares. However when helping her latest client who happens to be a gangster and a supporter of the anti-inhuman governor candidate, she encounters the demon who killed her father and marked her. 

She learns that the demon has been bound by a human sorcerer. It makes Vicky determined to find the demon and send it back to hell and to find the sorcerer too. 

There is another problem too. A fanatic human scientist wants to study Vicky and her family and goes so far as to kidnap Vicky's ten-year-old niece. Since it isn't certain that the niece is human or like Vicky, human law is taking a wait-and-see approach leaving the rescue to Vicky and one police officer who is one her side. 

This was an engaging and entertaining urban fantasy story with an interesting main character. I enjoyed this story which begins a series. 

Favorite Quote:

For me, ethics were a lot simpler. If you had a problem and you could afford my fee, I'd help you out. And if you were a demon and came after me, I'd kill you. So I wouldn't win the Nobel Peace Prize any time soon. My system worked for me.

I bought this one for my first Kindle December 29, 2009. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: Night Shift Dragons by Rachel Aaron

Night Shift Dragons
Author: Rachel Aaron
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Series: Detroit Free Zone, Book 3
Publication: Audible Studios (May 5, 2020); Aaron/Bach (May 5, 2020)
Length: 14 hours and 41 minutes; 397 p.

Description: They say family always sticks together, but when you're your dad's only lifeline and the whole world - humans, dragons, and gods - wants you dead, "family bonding" takes on a whole new meaning.

My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I'm in way over my head. I thought getting rid of my dad's bad luck curse would put things back to normal. Instead, I'm stuck playing caretaker to the Great Dragon of Korea. That wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn't such a jerk, or if every dragon on the planet wasn't out to kill him, or if he was my only problem.

Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss with the aim of turning the famously safety-optional city into a literal death arena with Nik as his bloody champion, I'm thrust onto the front lines and way out of my comfort zone. When gods fight, mortals don't usually survive, but I'm not alone this time. Even proud old dragons can learn new tricks, and with everything I love falling to pieces, the father I've always run from might just be the only force in the universe stubborn enough to pull us back together

My Thoughts: The final book in the DFZ trilogy has Opal learning about her new magic while waiting for her father to heal from injuries he suffered when he cursed Opal. Opal and her father are in hiding because his weakness would make him a target for a dragon who wants his lands. 

Opal does learn how to transfer power to her father but, being human, she can't transfer enough to heal him though she can keep him from dying. But time is running out and, while she was in hiding, her boyfriend Nik has gotten himself involved with the Gameskeeper who wants to put him back into the fights-to-the-death in his arena. Opal wants to free him from his obligation and the DFZ is also interested in what the Gameskeeper is doing.

The Gameskeeper is another Spirit who is intent on taking over what belongs to the DFZ. He is using her own rules against her in order to run his fights and gather power from her. In order to rescue Nik, Opal and her father who isn't at his best have to find a way to defeat the Gameskeeper with very limited help from her God. 

Opal and her father have finally managed to settle their differences and come to a better accord. Opal has been working to claim her adulthood and agency through all the books in this trilogy. Now all they have to do is find a way to defeat a rising god if they want to survive. 

I liked the worldbuilding in this series. I also liked Opal who is claiming her adulthood and building a life that satisfies her. I like her new relationship with her father. Emily Woo Zeller did a great job narrating this series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Let no defeat go to waste," Yong replied in a sage voice, flitting through the stacked boxes. "Anything you survive makes you stronger. That's why old dragons are the most dangerous."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: Zinnia by Jayne Castle

Zinnia
Author: Jayne Castle
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Series: St. Helens Book 2
Publication: Pocket Books (October 12, 2010); Tantor Audio (Dec. 18, 2018)
Length: 356 p.; 8 hours and 51 minutes

Description: Capturing the “lively sensuality” (Library Journal ) of the passion-filled, near-future space colony of St. Helen’s, the wildly popular alter ego of bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz delivers “delectably entertaining paranormal romantic suspense” (Booklist)!

Ever since a false tabloid story ruined her reputation and her interior design business, Zinnia Spring has been labeled the “Scarlet Lady” of St. Helen’s. Now, headstrong Zinnia makes a living using her psychic abilities—a highly prized skill that attracts the attention of another planetary outcast, Nick Chastain. The rough-edged casino owner craves what he doesn’t have— respectability—and he enlists Zinnia to help find his father’s journal and dig up answers to his own mysterious past. Zinnia doesn’t have to be psychic to know what else Nick wants; soon they’re reaching the electrifying heights of ecstasy—and danger. For when a ruthless killer crosses their search, it will take everything in their power to keep their feet on terra firma and survive a deadly trap!

My Thoughts: Zinnia Spring is on off the chart prism talent who works best with matrix talents. She had been declared unmatchable by the very reputable marriage agency she hired to find her a husband. She has also had her reputation and new business ruined by false accusation in a tabloid. That followed her parents' deaths and the bankruptcy of the family business. But that doesn't stop her from confronting casino owner Nick Chastain when one of her clients, who was negotiation to sell him a rare book, disappears.

Nick didn't have anything to do with the disappearance of Zinnia's client but he really wants the diary that the man was going to sell him. When they go to the man's store that find no diary and the dead body of Zinnia's client. Next thing Zinnia knows she's on the cover of the tabloids again. This time she's supposedly having an affair with Nick.

Nick is an off-the-charts matrix talent who thinks it is time to become respectable. A part of that means finding a marriage agency approved wife. He has some problems with that though because he refuses to be tested to certify his talent but a marriage counselor who owes some money to the casino can be pressured to find Nick a wife without going through the pesky process Nick wants to avoid.

Nick and Zinnia find that their two talents mesh perfectly but also know that marriage agencies seldom match high level prisms with high level talents. They are fighting their attraction to each other all the while they are trying to find the missing diary and the criminal who is killing people to keep it hidden. 

This was a nice romance and an intriguing mystery. It is also the second book in the St. Helens trilogy which is sort of a science fiction romantic suspense series. I enjoyed the characters and the paranormal powers they had. 

Favorite Quote:

"Hold it right there." She braced both hands against his shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to kiss you."

"Why?"

"Damned if I know."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: Amaryllis by Jayne Castle

Amaryllis
Author: Jayne Castle
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Series: St. Helen's Series (Book 1)
Publication: Tantor Audio (November 20, 2018); Pocket Books (September 7, 2010)
Length: 9 hours and 51 minutes; 318 p.

Description: Acclaimed for her novels of "delectably entertaining paranormal romantic suspense" (Booklist), the wildly popular alter ego of best-selling author Jayne Ann Krentz takes off on a star-dusted excursion to a rich civilization where danger and passion are just a heartbeat away....

Amaryllis Lark is one of the best psychic detectives on St. Helen's, the Earth colony recently cut off from the mother planet, yet not so very different from home....

Lucas Trent, the rugged head of Lodestar Exploration, isn't keen on the prim type - and from her crisp business suit to her cool evaluation of his request to bust a corporate thief, beautiful Amaryllis is excruciatingly proper.

But when a bold hunch heats up into a twisting murder investigation, by-the-book Amaryllis must let her guard down and break some rules - and a red-hot love affair ignites. Now, as they race to solve a puzzle of deadly intrigue, no power - otherworldly or otherwise - can keep them apart.

My Thoughts: The planet of St. Helens was discovered and settled from Earth when a curtain appeared in space above Earth. However, soon after the curtain was discovered and groups of settlers from the Pacific Northwest left to resettle St. Helens, the curtain disappeared stranding the colonists. Two hundred years have passed during which the Earth technology disintegrated due to something in the atmosphere and the settlers had to learn to use native materials to survive. The settlers also began to discover that they were developing paranormal powers that are growing stronger with each new generation.

In order to preserve society, the Founders decided that the family was the basic unit that needed to be strengthened. Marriages were permanent and therefore not to be entered into lightly. Businesses that did complicated tests were established to guide people into successful marriages with compatible people. Few, if any, contract marriages without going through these agencies.

One important point about the paranormal powers on St. Helens is that successful use depends on pairings of talents and prisms. The talents can do things but only if they can focus their powers through prisms. 

In this story Amaryllis Lark is a very high talent prism. She is also illegitimate since her parents ran away together despite the fact that her father was already married. They died soon after they ran away leaving Amaryllis to be raised by her uncle and aunt in a small farming town where she was also actively ignored by her father's relatives and where she was the victim of cruelty because her parents never married. Amaryllis has made a new life for herself in New Seattle first at the university where her talents as a prism were honed and now in a business that contracts prisms to high level talents. 

Lucas Trent is one such talent. He has made his fortune prospecting for and selling jelly-ice which is used to power everything on St. Helens. He is a hero in the Western Islands since he gathered a group of people to defeat pirates who were trying to take over the islands and the jelly-ice business. Now he needs a prism so that he can find out why his VP is selling out his business secrets.

The two couldn't be more opposite in character. Amaryllis is a definite rule follower and quite uptight; Lucas is more free-wheeling. Both are registering with a marriage bureau to find their best matches knowing that the other would never qualify. The only problem is that they are falling in love. 

Well, not the only problem. Amaryllis is concerned that the death of her mentor at the university was not an accident and decides to look into it. Also a local politician seems to be using his charisma talent to convince potential donors to support his candidacy for governor. And the discovered VP isn't going away quietly and would still like her revenge on Lucas.

This was a fun story set in an interesting world. It was filled with adventure, danger, and witty banter. It was also an excellent romance.

Favorite Quote:

"Do you think they'll drum you out of the Corps of Upright Ethical Prisms if anyone finds out about this?"

"I should think that you'd be more concerned with being laughed out of the Western Islands Adventurer's Club for failing to strike the right note of devil-may-care recklessness."

"There is no Western Islands Adventurer's Club. I disolved their charter in a fit of pique years ago."

"There's no Corps of Upright Ethical Prisms, either. I think it was disbanded due to lack of interest." Amaryllis glanced around. "Come on, let's go. The sooner we get into the building, the sooner we can get out."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: Cast in Deception by Michelle Sagara

Cast in Deception
Author: Michelle Sagara
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Series: Chronicles of Elantra (Book 13)
Publication: MIRA; Original edition (January 23, 2018); Harlequin Audio (January 23, 2018)
Length: 452 p.; 16 hours and 9 minutes

Description: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

Private Kaylin Neya thought her home couldn’t possibly get more crowded. But when one of her housemates, Annarion, decides to undertake the Barrani Test of Name, his friends refuse to let him face his task alone—and Kaylin’s sentient home, Helen, is the only structure capable of shielding the rest of Elantra from the magnitude of their power.

Annarion and Mandoran almost caused the destruction of the High Halls once already. Add nine of their closest friends, and the danger is astronomically higher—especially since these guests are at the heart of a political firestorm. Imprisoned almost a millennium ago, their recent freedom threatens the rulership of several prominent Barrani families, and the machinations of those Lords make it almost impossible to tell friend from foe.

As political tensions ramp up, the shadows beneath the High Halls are seeking a freedom that has never been possible before. Kaylin must find a way to keep those shadows from escaping, or that freedom will destroy her city, the empire and everything she holds dear.

My Thoughts: This episode of the Chronicles on Elantra focuses on the Barrani. It especially focuses on the cohort of young people who were sent, millennia ago, to take part in a ceremony that would give them great power or kill them. They didn't die but they didn't return either. Kaylin's friend Teela was the only one who made it home at the time of the ceremony. Two others made it back to Elantra more recently and have taken refuge in Kaylin's home because their time away changed them greatly.

Now, one of the two is determined to take the Barrani Test of Names and the rest of his cohort are determined to come to Elantra to take it with him. If this happens, it will greatly disrupt the political landscape of the Barrani since at least three of them are the rightful heirs to their family holding. Getting them home isn't going to be an easy task nor are they the people who left.

Kaylin is the last person that anyone would choose for a political task but she is dropped in the middle because she has invited them to be her house guests too. Since she already shares her home with a dragon - Lord Bellusdeo - and dragons and Barrani were ancient enemies, the political consequences are real.

While the complications of this plot would be enough to keep Kaylin busy, it is not the only concern. It is learned that someone in the High Court of the Barrani is dealing with Shadow which is the ancient enemy of all the races of Elantra.

This story takes place in a complex world. There are a variety of different races of beings with the humans like Kaylin being one of the least. The Empire is controlled by dragons with the Emperor considering the whole Empire as his hoard. Bellusdeo is an orphan dragon out of time who is of great interest to the Emperor because she happens to be the only female dragon. The Barrani are immortal and live in a caste system defined by politics. There are Leontines and other races too. The elements - earth, air, fire and water - have a sort of sentience and are kept in control by the Keeper. The world contains ancient sentient buildings like Kaylin's house Helen. Kaylin herself is the Chosen who has a number of marks all over her body that are words of power. She also has an acute sensitivity to magic.

Around the complex political plot are woven discussions of friendship and family, loneliness and loss, love and treachery. Each of the races has their own definitions of these and Kaylin, whose own basis for decision making is the law, struggles to understand the beings she considers her friends.

This was an excellent story that demands a sequel. I can hardly wait to read it.

Favorite Quote:

"I'd tell you to mind your own business. I have, however, lived with you, and what you define as your own business is almost criminally broad." 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: The Winter Seas by Susanna Kearsley

The Winter Sea
Author: Susanna Kearsley

Narrator: Rosalyn Landor
Publication: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (December 1, 2010)

Description: A hauntingly beautiful tale of love that transcends time: an American writer travels to Scotland to craft a novel about the Jacobite Rebellion, only to discover her own ancestral memories of that torrid moment in Scottish history...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. When young Sophia Paterson travels to Slains Castle by the sea, she finds herself in the midst of the dangerous intrigue.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of that historic Scottish castle, she starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be the only living person who knows the truth—the ultimate betrayal—that happened all those years ago.

A sweeping historical fantasy of love, danger, and time travel, Susanna Kearsley masterfully weaves Scotland's past into Carrie's present in this stunning book.

My Thoughts: This was another wonderful love story by Susanna Kearsley. Author Carrie McClelland has come to Scotland to discuss her new book with her agent. But an unexpected detour on the road makes for a detour in the plot of her story and in her life too.

Carrie was intending to write about the 1708 failed Jacobite attempt to restore the exiled James Stewart to his throne. When she sees Slains Castle, she knows that she has to change the focus of her story. She needs a new main character and names her for an ancestor of hers. Little does she know that she is channeling genetic memory as she writes about her ancestor's life and love.

Meanwhile, Carrie is having a romance of her own with the son of her new landlord. Graham is a lecturer in history at the University in Aberdeen. But Carrie first met his brother Stuart on the airplane when she came from France and he would like a relationship with her too.

I loved the way the story switched back and forth from 1708 to the present and the way the stories paralleled each other. The writing was lyrical and very emotional. Some things brought me to tears despite having read the second book about Slains Castle first and knowing what the author had in store for these characters.

I really enjoyed the narration by Rosalyn Landor who deftly handled the accents and the emotions of this story. I can easily see that this will be a book to reread and savor again and again.

Favorite Quote:

"For if there was no winter, we could never hope for spring." His eyes were warm on hers, and wise. "The spring will come." He paused, then in that same sure tone he said, "and so will he."

I bought the Kindle copy Dec. 29, 2012 and audiobook this October. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

The Shadowy Horses
Author: Susanna Kearsley

Narrator: Sally Armstrong
Publication: Sourcebooks Landmark (October 2, 2012)

Description: Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea, in this darkly romantic novel of historical fiction by bestselling author Susanna Kearsley.

The invincible ninth Roman Legion marches from York to fight the Northern tribes, and then vanishes from the pages of history. When Verity Grey goes looking for them in modern-day Scotland, she may find more than she bargained for.

Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades.

Here on the windswept Scottish shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great unsolved mysteries of the historical record. Or she may uncover secrets from the romantic past that were buried for a reason.

My Thoughts: Archaeologist Verity Grey has come to the Scottish Borderlands for a possible job opportunity. Peter Quinnell is looking to hire someone to help with a dig. Quinnell has been searching for the lost Ninth Legion for most of his career. His obsession has made him something of an object of derision for other archaeologists. Verity was steered toward the job by an ex of hers who is also working on the dig. She also meets another archaeologist named David Fortune whose mother worked for Quinnell many years earlier.

She is skeptical about Quinnell's belief that this field by his house is the final place the Ninth was seen. She becomes even more skeptical when she learns that Quinell is basing his excavation on information given to him by a psychic eight-year-old named Robbie McMorran who has told Quinnell about a ghost called the Sentinel who watches over the field.

I liked all the archaeological detail in the story which is quite different than the romantic view of archaeology shown in movies. I also liked the whole idea of ghosts and that psychics like Robbie could communicate with them. Of course the story also has other things going on. Robbie's father is a smuggler who specializes in Russian vodka and cigarettes, is psychic himself, and very protective of his young son. There is also a plot hatched by Quinnell's granddaughter to get revenge for some imagined wrongs suffered by her father who recently committed suicide. I also really liked the romance plot that has Verity falling in love with David. 

This was a great audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job with all the various accents and the intriguing Scots vocabulary. Like Verity, I would need a Scots dictionary if I were to understand what all the characters were saying to each other. 

Favorite Quote:

"If you were chocolate," she told him, "you'd eat yourself." By which I gathered she was calling him conceited.

I bought the Kindle copy on Dec. 29, 2012 and the audiobook Oct. 6, 2020. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Black circles under her eyes were not, Kaylin decided, a very attractive statement. Neither was hair matted with old sweat, or eyes red with lack of sleep. She accepted the fact that on this particular morning, mirrors were not going to be her friend.

Friday 56: 

In fact the only intimidating thing in this room was the fieflord himself. Unfortunately, he was the only thing that needed to be intimidating. He ware a lot of black. And a smile.

This week I am spotlighting a reread. Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara was originally published in 2005. It is the first in a series that has grown to 15 books. I know that it has been on my stack since before 2008. It was brought back to my attention when I read The Emperor's Wolves by Michelle Sagara which is a spinoff/prequel to that book. Here is the description from Amazon:

Book 1 in the Chronicles of Elantra fantasy series by New York Times bestselling author Michelle Sagara

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered—and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin.…

Since then, she's learned to read, she's learned to fight and she's become one of the vaunted Hawks who patrol and police the City of Elantra. Alongside the winged Aerians and the immortal Barrani, she's made a place for herself, far from the mean streets of her birth.

But children are once again dying, and a dark and familiar pattern is emerging. Kaylin is ordered back into Nightshade with a partner she knows she can't trust, a Dragon lord for a companion and a device to contain her powers—powers that no other human has. Her task is simple—find the killer, stop the murders…and survive the attentions of those who claim to be her allies!

Book Review: Dragged Through Hedgerows by Forthright

Dragged Through Hedgerows
Author: Forthright
Series: Songs of the Amaranthine (Book 3)
Publication: Twinkle Press (October 4, 2019)

Description: He had one job. Becoming a family pet wasn’t it.

For the sake of his people, Daroo-fen has lived among humans, working as a lawyer in a little mountain town. He’s vowed to protect the surrounding woodlands, no matter the cost. But in the course of duty, he meets a man who needs help … and a friend. Too long a loner, Daroo cannot keep away, but there’s a fine line between getting close and getting too close. If the Cooper family finds out his secret, two worlds might brand the wolf a traitor.

My Thoughts: Charles Cooper has come back to his hometown with his two children after his marriage fell apart. He is feeling lost and lonely and determined to make a good life for his children Coop and baby Rose. He married young and has spent the past eight years or so as a homemaker. Now, his wife Ally decided that she wanted something different in life and threw him out. At least, she let him take his children. Charles is adrift in a sea of grief for the loss of a life he loved.

Daroo-Fen, who is also known as lawyer Drew Waters, has come to Charles because he is concerned about the land he has inherited from his father. He doesn't expect to find a man who needs him and who carries the distant scent of Reavers. He gradually insinuates himself into the lives of Charles and his children both as Drew and as his alternate wolf form which Coop names Beast.

Daroo-Fen worries that his is breaking some vows of his own as he becomes part of the Cooper family's lives but Charles needs him and need is something Daroo-Fen can not ignore. The Cooper family helps him with his own need and loneliness.

This was an excellent story set in an interesting world.

Favorite Quote: 

He knew what it was like to want to stay and be told to go. And he knew he could never do that to a friend like Drew, to a wolf like Beast, or even to this uncanny version of them. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Iron Lake by William Kent Kruger

Iron Lake
Author: William Kent Kruger
Series: Cork O'Connor (Book 1)
Publication: Atria Books; Reprint edition (July 14, 1999)

Description: New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger joined the ranks of today's best suspense novelists with this thrilling, universally acclaimed debut. Conjuring "a sense of place he's plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie" (Kirkus Reviews), Krueger brilliantly evokes northern Minnesota's lake country—and reveals the dark side of its snow-covered landscape.

Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. Embittered by his "former" status, and the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, Cork gets by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago's South Side, there's not much that can shock him. But when the town's judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on a mind-jolting case of conspiracy, corruption, and scandal.

As a lakeside blizzard buries Aurora, Cork must dig out the truth among town officials who seem dead-set on stopping his investigation in its tracks. But even Cork freezes up when faced with the harshest enemy of all: a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.

My Thoughts: The first Cork O'Connor mystery introduces him to audiences and tells an entertaining story about secrets hidden in a small Minnesota town. Cork is part Anishinaabe Indian, has friends and mentors in the tribe, but has been the sheriff of Aurora enforcing white men's laws. After a confrontation between whites and natives that caused him to kill a white resort owner, he lost a recall election. He has been deeply grieving which caused him to lose his marriage.

Cork has started a new relationship with Molly Nurmi but hasn't given up hope of rebuilding his marriage to Jo in order to keep his relationship with his children. When a woman in town asks him to help locate her missing son, Cork finds himself in an investigation that leads to the death of a prominent and heartily disliked judge, Minnesota militant groups, Indian casinos, and small town corruption and secrets.

I liked the setting. I liked Cork who was a man who fought for justice more than he fought for the law. I'll be reading more of the series which has now reached sixteen books.

Favorite Quote:

"I'm sorry," Cork said.

"Yeah." Parrant gave him a brief smile of thanks. But he was a man way on the other side of something terrible, and the look in his eyes came from far, far away.

I got this one in exchange for an honest review from  You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Penric's Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold

Penric's Fox
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: Penric and Desdemona Book 3
Publication: Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc. (August 7, 2017)

Description: Some eight months after the events of “Penric and the Shaman”, Learned Penric, sorcerer and scholar, travels to Easthome, the capital of the Weald.  There he again meets his friends Shaman Inglis and Locator Oswyl.  When the body of a sorceress is found in the woods, Oswyl draws him into another investigation; they must all work together to uncover a mystery mixing magic, murder and the strange realities of Temple demons.

My Thoughts: PENRIC'S FOX was an entertaining mystery set in the World of the Five Gods. Penric is a scholar and sorcerer who is getting used to being the carrier of a demon - Desdemona. When a temple sorcerer is murdered, Penric is called in to see if he can discover what happened to her demon. His friend Locator Oswyl is in charge of finding out who murdered the sorcerer but Penric gets involved in that part of the case too.

This novella is filled with wonderful world building as it creates a world with demons and animal spirits in a vaguely medieval setting. Penric is a great character. He is interested in learning everything and is madly inquisitive. I love his growing relationship with his demon which is not really the usual sort of relationship between sorcerers and their demons. Since Desdemona came to him in something of an accident, Penric is left to forge his own relationship. He didn't have any preconceived notions about "proper" relationships.

This novella, while the most recently published, is actually the third in what is currently a five story series. It made me want to go back and read the rest of the stories because I very much enjoy Penric, Desdemona and their adventures.

Favorite Quote:

It was a continuing wonder to him how much less, rather than more, freedom that acquiring a responsible authority gave to one. Not at all how he'd pictured his elders, so seemingly powerful. as a child.

Penric series:

• Penric's Demon
• Penric and the Shaman
• Penric's Fox
• Penric's Mission
• Mira's Last Dance

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Teaser Tuesday: Iron Lake by William Kent Kruger

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser:

Darla brightened a moment. "Sometimes Paul stops there a while. The judge seems to like him. Tells him stories and things. Paul hates it, but I've told him to be polite."

This week I am reading Iron Lake by William Kent Kruger. It is my first book by this author. This copy has been on my Kindle for more than a year. Here is the description from Amazon:

New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger joined the ranks of today's best suspense novelists with this thrilling, universally acclaimed debut. Conjuring "a sense of place he's plainly honed firsthand in below-zero prairie" (Kirkus Reviews), Krueger brilliantly evokes northern Minnesota's lake country—and reveals the dark side of its snow-covered landscape.

Part Irish, part Anishinaabe Indian, Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor is the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota. Embittered by his "former" status, and the marital meltdown that has separated him from his children, Cork gets by on heavy doses of caffeine, nicotine, and guilt. Once a cop on Chicago's South Side, there's not much that can shock him. But when the town's judge is brutally murdered, and a young Eagle Scout is reported missing, Cork takes on a mind-jolting case of conspiracy, corruption, and scandal.

As a lakeside blizzard buries Aurora, Cork must dig out the truth among town officials who seem dead-set on stopping his investigation in its tracks. But even Cork freezes up when faced with the harshest enemy of all: a small-town secret that hits painfully close to home.

Book Review: Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron

Come and Find Me
Author: Hallie Ephron

Publication: HarperCollins e-books; Reissue edition (March 22, 2011)

Description: A recluse who works and lives online must brave the “real world” when her sister goes missing in Come and Find Me—a gripping and ingenious novel of mystery and psychological suspense from Hallie Ephron, author of Never Tell a Lie. Writing about her sensational debut, USA Today noted, “You can imagine Hitchcock curling up with this one.” Aficionados of Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest—as well as the many fans of Harlan Coben and Mary Higgins Clark—will get a similar charge from Come and Find Me.

My Thoughts: Diana Highsmith is a computer hacker who has traded in her black hat for a white one as she has a business protecting companies from other hackers. She formed the business with her boyfriend Daniel and his friend Jake who are also hackers. But since Daniel's death in a climbing accident, Diana's life has gone out of control. She has always suffered from anxiety but currently she is also paranoid and agoraphobic finding herself unable to leave her house. Her only outside contacts are her sister Ashley and Jake.

Luckily, most of her business meetings are conducted in an online world where she feels comfortable. When some of her recent business contracts end abruptly, she decides to investigate and comes upon some surprising information. Then her sister Ashley disappears and Diana is forced to go outside her home and do things she hasn't done since Daniel's death to try to locate her.

This story has a lot of twists and turns as Diana braves the real world. She learns some surprising and heart-breaking things. I really liked the way Diana worked to overcome her psychological issues even though I thought the resolution of them seemed to quick and easy. I liked that Diana was smart, honorable, and loyal to her friends.

Fans of psychological suspense will enjoy this story.

Favorite Quote:

Gruder walked her to the cruiser, supporting her like she was old and infirm. The sight of the mesh barrier between the front and backseat forced her into reverse. She scrambled back, feeling the same panic she'd felt when that cage had dropped over Nadia. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

If it were up to Diana, there'd be weather. Rain, snow, even the occasional hurricane.

Friday 56:

By the time Diana returned to her office, GROB had given up waiting. The chat window was closed.

This week I am reading Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron. I bought this Kindle book when it was a daily deal. Here is the description from Amazon:

A recluse who works and lives online must brave the “real world” when her sister goes missing in Come and Find Me—a gripping and ingenious novel of mystery and psychological suspense from Hallie Ephron, author of Never Tell a Lie. Writing about her sensational debut, USA Today noted, “You can imagine Hitchcock curling up with this one.” Aficionados of Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest—as well as the many fans of Harlan Coben and Mary Higgins Clark—will get a similar charge from Come and Find Me.

Book Review: Stealing Jason Wilde by Dee Ernst

Stealing Jason Wilde
Author: Dee Ernst
Publication: Lake Union Publishing (May 17, 2016)

Description: After her divorce, librarian Annie Reynolds thought she’d closed the book on love for good—it just wasn’t part of her safe, comfortable routine. But if there’s anyplace she can relax and have a little fun, it’s Dune Road, where she and her closest girlfriends return for their annual getaway in the Hamptons. She knows it’s just what she needs to escape her empty nest (and empty bed).

A chance encounter with a ruggedly handsome local promises Annie just that. But when one of her friends turns a simple flirtation with B-list movie star Jason Wilde into seduction—and Jason accidentally mixes a few drinks and his back-pain medicine—the ladies end up with a very high-profile houseguest. The media calls it a kidnapping, and before long, the FBI is on the hunt.

Soon the ladies’ tame little trip has turned into the adventure of a lifetime. But will this case of mistaken misdoing sabotage Annie’s second chance at love, or will she have the confidence to take matters into her own hands to find her happily ever after?

My Thoughts: This was a really cute romance about a group of 50-somethings who get together each year for a weekend in the Hamptons. This tradition began when the women were all stay-at-home mothers with young children. It has continued through divorces and other drama. This year four women make the trip. Annie is a divorced children's librarian who is set in her routine and likes it. She's the narrator. Deb is an African American Emergency Room nurse who tends to be the voice of reason. Kelly is an attractive, newly-divorced realtor. Tina is the odd one out. She is neurotic, medicated, and has a major crush on actor Jason Wilde that has led to a restraining order on her.

Tina is determined to see Jason Wilde while they women are in the Hamptons. They do meet him when he overindulges in alcohol. Since his rental is near theirs on Dune road, they offer to drive him home. He passes out before he can give his address. So they bring him to their place to wait until he wakes up. Since he combined alcohol with a medication, he doesn't wake up for more than 24 hours.

Since Jason is supposed to be shooting a television show, he is missed. In fact, his agent schemes to get Jason some job-saving publicity out of his disappearance and spreads the word that he has been kidnapped. Jason always does what his agent says. So he won't leave the women's house.

Getting Jason back where he belongs without being arrested by the FBI who are looking for him leads to all sorts of zany adventures. It really doesn't help that Annie has met and fallen in love with the head FBI agent on the case.

This book was fast-paced and funny.

Favorite Quote:

I had a sudden urge to spray perfume between my breasts and slip into a filmy black negligee. Sadly, I didn't own a black negligee, and if I had, I wouldn't have packed it for the Hamptons. So I settle for my nightshirt with the little owls, because nothing says blooming romance like tiny red birds. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Publication: 47North (June 28, 2016)

Description: Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.

During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.

From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.

My Thoughts: MAGIC BITTER, MAGIC SWEET was an entertaining fantasy novel. Maire is a baker who can infuse her baked goods with emotions and abilities. She doesn't know her past. In fact, her memory begins only a few years previous to the story when she was found and taken it by Arrice and Franc.

When her town is invaded by marauders, she is captured and sold to Allemas who treats her badly and forces her to use her gift for baking to satisfy her clients. She is forced to make a house of gingerbread among other things.

Maire is visited by an ethereal being named Fyel who seems to know her but who won't tell her about her past. She needs to discover it for herself. I found her discovery, once she made it, the best part of the book.

Fans of fantasy will enjoy this one which talks about choices and the consequences of those choices.

Favorite Quote:

Sugar is like medicine. It swirls on the tongue and settles the gut and inspires happier thoughts to the mind. I've started to take it regularly.

I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King

The Murder of Mary Russell
Author: Laurie R. King
Series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (Book 10)
Publication: Bantam (April 5, 2016)

Description: Laurie R. King’s bestselling Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes series weaves rich historical detail and provocative themes with intriguing characters and enthralling suspense. Russell and Holmes have become one of modern literature’s most beloved teams. But does this adventure end it all?

Mary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond.

And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell’s faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs. Hudson’s son.

What Samuel Hudson tells Russell cannot possibly be true, yet she believes him—as surely as she believes the threat of the gun in his hand. In a devastating instant, everything changes. And when the scene is discovered—a pool of blood on the floor, the smell of gunpowder in the air—the most shocking revelation of all is that the grim clues point directly to Clara Hudson.

Or rather to Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street.

The key to Russell’s sacrifice lies in Mrs. Hudson’s past. To uncover the truth, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper’s secrets—to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away.

There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed.

And nothing will ever be the same.

My Thoughts: This mystery arises out of housekeeper Mrs. Clara Hudson's past and illuminates that past for us as readers and gives glimpses of it to Mary. It also gives us fascinating glimpses of a young Sherlock Holmes and the very complicated relationship he has with Mrs. Hudson.

It begins with Mary receiving an unexpected visitor - Mr. Samuel Hudson - who has arrived from Australia looking for his mother with some sort of revenge in mind. It goes back in time to explore events chronicled by Dr. Watson in "The Adventures of the Gloria Scott."

The book has mutiny, murders, and betrayals of all sorts. I really liked getting to know Mrs. Hudson in a very different way than the quiet housekeeper who has been a background figure in all of the books and stories that have come before. I admire her for her survival skills and for her resiliency.

Fans of the Sherlock Holmes books will enjoy this new look at a very familiar character.

Favorite Quote:

Of all the mysteries that are love, maternal love may be the most basic. My own mother had died when I was fourteen. A few months later, with the raw instincts of a barnyard chick imprinting its affections on the first available surrogate, my bereft heart had claimed Mrs. Hudson for its own. I had known her for ten years now, lived with her for more than four, and she was as close to a mother as I would ever have again.

I bought this one for my Kindle. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Dangerous Games by Tess Diamond

Dangerous Games
Author: Tess Diamond
Series: O'Connor & Kincaid Book 1
Publication: Tess Diamond Books (November 3, 2015)

Description: A thirteen year-old girl has been taken - and Special Agent Maggie Kincaid is the only one who can get her back.

When a Senator’s daughter goes missing, every minute counts. The FBI’s best hostage negotiator, Agent Kincaid, knows what it’s like to be a terrified victim. Kidnapped as a child, those memories haunt her every day - and give her an insight into the evil mind behind this deadly crime.

But the Senator’s family has other plans, and have brought in ex-forces security expert Jake O’Connor to oversee negotiations. He’s got secrets of his own, and doesn’t play by the same rule book. With time running out, Maggie and O’Connor will have to overcome their differences to keep this case from ending in tragedy.

My Thoughts: Maggie Kincaid is a former hostage negotiator. She left the FBI after a case when wrong in Arundel Mills. Her former mentor calls in a favor when the diabetic fourteen year old daughter of a Senator is kidnapped. The mentor puts Maggie in charge of the negotiations. Right away she butts heads with Jake O'Connor who is a former Army Ranger and on the Senator's security team.

Maggie also has to deal with her former fiance and some colleagues who seem glad that she failed at Arundel Mills. Maggie is such a good negotiator because she knows what it is like from the victim's side. She was kidnapped with her older sister when she was nine. Maggie escaped but her sister died. That trauma has shaped Maggie's life and still causes nightmares today.

It doesn't take long for Maggie to start thinking that something fishy is going on. Things just aren't adding up for her. She begins to wonder what the Senator and his policy advisor are up to. The Senator isn't showing the right emotions for the father of a kidnapped child.

I thought the story was well-written and the characters were well-rounded. I did have some unanswered questions as I was reading. I found it hard to believe that someone who had been out of the FBI for two years would be called back in and put in charge of a high profile case no matter how gifted she was as a negotiator. I also wondered what Maggie had been doing for the past two years.

I liked the relationship that was growing between Maggie and Jake though it did feel a little bit like "insta-love." The book was too short, at 113 pages, to allow for time for the relationship to develop. I'll be curious to know how it progresses in the next book since Maggie seems to have some major intimacy issues.

This was a pretty good story considering that it was half a book. The cliffhanger ending came as an abrupt and unwelcome surprise. Readers will have to get GAME OF LIES coming out on Nov. 19, 2016 to, hopefully, learn the rest of the story.

Favorite Quote:

She was cute as hell, the kind of feisty that revved him up more than anything else, but damn, she was being stubborn. She was obviously someone who saw the world in a prism of grays, when he knew too well it was stark black and white.

I got this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Dangerous Games by Tess Diamond

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

"We have to be quiet."

Her sister's voice trembled, but her bound hands were steady, pressed against Maggie's shoulder. In the darkness, Erica's touch anchored and soothed her. But it couldn't drive away the fear, thick in the back of her throat.

Friday 56:

"What?" Adrianna demanded. "We have to tell her the truth! She's in charge. And anyway, maybe Lucas knows something! Kayla could, like, die, Becky. She's diabetic. She needs insulin, remember? And that's like, if she wasn't human-trafficked or something."

This week I am spotlighting Dangerous Games by Tess Diamond. The author approached me on GoodReads and asked if I wanted to read her self-published book. I liked the book description and said I would read it. Here is the description that sucked me in:

A thirteen year-old girl has been taken - and Special Agent Maggie Kincaid is the only one who can get her back.

When a Senator’s daughter goes missing, every minute counts. The FBI’s best hostage negotiator, Agent Kincaid, knows what it’s like to be a terrified victim. Kidnapped as a child, those memories haunt her every day - and give her an insight into the evil mind behind this deadly crime.

But the Senator’s family has other plans, and have brought in ex-forces security expert Jake O’Connor to oversee negotiations. He’s got secrets of his own, and doesn’t play by the same rule book. With time running out, Maggie and O’Connor will have to overcome their differences to keep this case from ending in tragedy.

Teaser Tuesday: Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser:

Chugging what was left of his uncle's coffee, he handed over both earthenware cups before squatting next to Meat. He'd promised Mason he'd look after the mutt. And even though scooping foul-smelling dog food from the sack they kept under the kitchen counter was something he looked forward to with about as much enthusiasm as a root canal, he was nothing if not a man of his word.

This week my teaser comes from Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker. I got this eARC from NetGalley for review. Here is the description from Amazon:

In a world on the brink

Six men. One sunken Spanish galleon. Millions in gold and silver coins lying on the ocean floor. And a past that refuses to let the guys of Deep Six Salvage forget the Navy SEAL motto: the only easy day was yesterday...

There's more than one kind of treasure

The nation's security has always been CIA agent Olivia Mortier's top priority. But a mission-gone-wrong has begun to make her wonder if there's more to life than risking hers.

And more than one secret at the bottom of the sea

Only two things could make Leo Anderson abandon his hunt for the legendary lost ship, La Santa Christina, and return to the world of weapons and warfare he swore to leave behind: a capsule of enriched uranium, lost on the ocean floor, and a plea for assistance from the one woman he can't seem to forget...