Friday Memes: Kris Longknife: Commanding by Mike Shepherd

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife of Wardhaven stood at attention. 

Friday 56:

Kris bowed her head from the neck for a moment. "It is an honor to see such an eminent advisor to the Emperor and wise leader to such a mighty clan," she said, modifying the Iteeche greeting she'd been given. She wasn't worshiping the Emperor. Granmpa Ray would never go along with that.

This week I am spotlighting Kris Longknife: Commanding by Mike Shepherd which is the 17th of a 19-book series of space operas. I hope to finish this series this month. Here is the description from Amazon:

Grand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife is up to her ears in problems . . . again.

While summoned to the Imperial Iteeche Court to be humanity’s Emissary, it turns out that what the Iteeche really want is a fighting admiral!

You see, they’ve got this huge civil war going, and the Imperial side isn’t doing so well. Kris now has command of the entire Imperial Combined Fleet. Sort of.

The Iteeche Empire has a ten-thousand-year long history. There is nothing that won’t say, “We’ve always done it that way,” pointing to a track record lasting for thousands of years. Even when Kris reminds them they’re losing, many have a hard time changing.

Many Iteeche also wonder if letting a human win this war for them isn’t losing everything already.

Kris managed to win a defensive battle with a scratch force. Now she’s thrown together a larger force and is ready to take the fight to the rebels.

It’s full speed ahead with Kris Longknife: Commanding.

Audiobook Review: Changes by Mercedes Lackey

Changes
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Narrator: Nick Podehl
Series: Collegium Chronicles (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (October 4, 2011)
Length: 10 hours and 48 minutes

Description: Mags was a Trainee in the Heraldic Collegium in Haven, Valdemar’s capital city. Though his background of poverty and abuse at Cole Pieters’ gem mine set him apart from most other trainees, nonetheless he had found his own group of friends. Bear, Lena, and Amily were all students whose situations in life set them apart from more usual Trainees. The four of them had found mutual support in their shared misfortunes, and together struggled to help one another find solutions to their individual problems

But Mags’ friendship with Amily brought him to the attention of the King’s Own. The seemingly immortal Companion Rolan had Chosen Nikolas to suit the specific needs of the current monarch, and those needs were for an agent who could collect information surreptitiously. Nikolas recognized the same traits in Mags that Rolan had recognized in him, and because of Mags’ friendship with Amily, no one would think twice about seeing her overprotective father spending time with Amily’s “suitor”. So Mags began training as Nikolas’ partner.

They worked in disguise at night with Mags as Nikolas’ deaf and mute helper, where his extensive knowledge of gems - especially his skill at separating the real from the fake - would be an added benefit. Hiding in the shadows behind the desk, pretending to neither hear nor speak, Mags could better “observe” the clients, and even the surrounding neighborhood. And Nikolas could send him out on “errands” to chase down leads.

But this new job was far more dangerous than Mags had ever considered. For there were mysterious agents in the city - agents who sought to bring down the kingdom, and no one knew where they came from or who they worked for. They were smart, talented, and preternaturally fast. And most of all they were willing to do anything - anything - to bring Valdemar to ruin.

My Thoughts: In the third book of the Collegium Chronicles, Mags is beginning his career as the King's spy by working with his mentor King's Own Nikolas in a pawn shop down in the town with is Nikolas's cover to find out things happening. Mags is playing a deaf mute boy with a talent for knowing gems and the ability to separate the fake and the real.

But there are still agents in town who want to bring Valdemar down and finding them soon becomes the focus of their work. Though Mags can't penetrate their shields, he is able to locate them if they get near enough to him. However, they are smart and talented and have an agenda that is still hidden from the Heralds. 

Foreseers have dreamed that they would like to disrupt the kingdom by kidnapping the King's Own's daughter Amily who is crippled after an accident she had as a small child. Amily and Mags are courting and Mags is very determined to keep Amily safe.

Bear and some other healers have come up with a procedure to fix Amily's damaged leg but the threat from the agents has made them put off the procedure which Amily hates. It is especially bad because no one is telling her or Mags or any but a small circle why the procedure is being delayed. 

And tempers are rising even as the summer heat does. There are so many fights and arguments breaking out that no one knows what to do. Mags, Lena, Amily and Bear aren't spared the arguments either. Lena and Bear are falling in love but both have unresolved parent issues. Lena's is a bard who only notices her when he wants something from her and Bear's family has no respect for his talents since he doesn't have the healing gift. 

This was another excellent episode in the Collegium Chronicles. The worldbuilding is great. I am enjoying watching Mags and his friends grow up and claim their new adult responsibilities. 

I bought this one from Chirp Audiobooks. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams

A Deadly Endeavor
Author: Jenny Adams
Series: A Deadly Twenties Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (March 5, 2024)

Description: A serial killer is on the loose in Jazz Age Philadelphia in Jenny Adams’ debut historical mystery, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Rhys Bowen.

Philadelphia, 1921. When Edie Shippen returns home after spending years in California recovering from Influenza, she’s shocked to discover that her childhood sweetheart is engaged to her twin sister. Heartbroken and adrift, Edie vows to begin living her life as a modern woman—and to hell with anyone who gets in her way. But as young women start to disappear from the city, her newfound independence begins to feel dangerous.

Gilbert Lawless returned home from the Great War a shell of his former self. He hides away in the office of Philadelphia’s Coroner, content to keep to himself until a gruesome series of corpses come into the morgue. And when his sister, Lizzie, goes missing, he risks his career to beg help from the one person Lizzie seemed to trust: her employer, Edie Shippen.

Fearing the worst, Edie and Gilbert desperately search for clues. It soon becomes clear that Lizzie’s disappearance is connected to the deaths rocking the City of Brotherly Love...and it’s only a matter of time until the killer strikes again.

With a lush Roaring Twenties setting and a wickedly smart sleuth to cheer for, A Deadly Endeavor is the perfect puzzling romp for fans of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

My Thoughts: It is 1921 in Philadelphia and Edie Shippen has come home from California after recovering from the influenza that killer her mother and almost killed her. Her only souvenir is migraine headaches. 

Gilbert Lawless has come home from fighting in World War I with severe shell shock which he is treating with heroin. He is working as a doctor at the morgue and raising his four-year-old daughter after the death in childbirth of his wife. 

The two come together while investigating the same problem. There is a serial killer taking young women. One of the Shippen household maids has disappeared as has one of Edie's cousins. Then Edie's maid, this one Gilbert's sister, disappears. The police were quick to right off the first maid's disappearance but the disappearance of young women from the highest class isn't so easy to write off. 

Meanwhile, Gilbert has been dealing with the bodies of young women found near the river with a variety of injuries. All of them have evidence of being strangled and have strange marks on their wrists and ankles. But the first body is missing its head, the second is missing all of her internal organs, the third has been skinned, and the fourth is missing her eyes and tongue. 

Edie is determined to find her maid and Gilbert to find his sister. Their search takes them to the underbelly of Philadelphia with meetings with gangsters and an illicit boxing match before they determine that the killer is someone much closer to Edie's home and life. 

This was an engaging story which stars two people who are damaged in various ways as a result of World War I and the influenza epidemic. I liked that Edie was trying to live her own life despite the pressure to be a safe, soft socialite. I liked Gilbert's struggles with his shell shock and his determination to give his daughter a good life. 

Favorite Quote:

And Edie...Edie didn't know what she wanted, other than to feel like she deserved the life she had. To feel like she'd earned a second chance. To feel...anything. Anything other than anger and guilt and so much damn sadness, the kind that threatened to drown her every time she closed her eyes.

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

ARC Review: Cirque du Slay by Rob Osler

Cirque du Slay
Author: Rob Osler
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (March 5, 2024)

Description: In this rollicking mystery, perfect for fans of Steven Rowley and Elle Cosimano, the circus becomes the stage for a high-profile murder investigation.

With quirky LGBTQ+ amateur sleuths, Cirque du Slay will delight readers looking for a madcap mystery with high-flying excitement!

Pint-sized Seattle middle school teacher and gay dating blogger Hayden McCall and his best friend Hollister are invited to a fundraiser for Bakers Without Borders. The celebrity performer, Kennedy Osaka, is the artistic director of Mysterium, an upscale circus arts show combining magic, acrobatics, and a Michelin-star dinner. But Kennedy is a no-show—until she’s found dead in her hotel suite.

When frenemy Sarah Lee is discovered in the room with the body, Hayden and Hollister are on the case to find the real culprit before Sarah Lee is charged with the crime.

The suspects for the murder are as unique as Mysterium itself: a Russian trapeze artist, a cowgirl comedian sharp-shooter, an over-cologned operations director, a feisty, green-haired costume manager, and Adrenalin!, a sexy troop of Romanian male acrobats...If Hayden and Hollister are to clear Sarah Lee of suspicion, they’ll have to outsmart a killer for whom trickery is art.

My Thoughts: This is a quirky LGBTQ+ mystery filled with entertaining characters. Hayden McCall and his best friend Hollister are drawn into solving another mystery when Sarah Lee, a frenemy of Hayden's, is accused of murdering magician Kennedy Osaka. 

The story is centered around Mysterium which is a traveling circus show featuring a variety of acts and including a Michelin-star dinner. Kennedy Osaka is the new star and artistic director for the show. Kennedy is an old college friend of Sarah Lee's. Kennedy had promised to perform at an event Sarah Lee is hosting. She doesn't show up which sends her to Kennedy's hotel in a raging temper. Next thing she knows she arrested standing of the corpse with dressmaker's sheers in her hands and no memory of what happened.

Hayden is a pint-sized, gay middle school teacher who also writes a column about gay dating. He's not much for putting himself out there. Hollister is a lesbian Black furniture designer who's fearless and imposing and Hayden's best friend. She's good at pushing him into situations that take him out of his comfort zone. This happens a lot in this case as they investigate the various acts at Mysterium to figure out who wanted Kennedy dead.

There are lots of suspects from fellow performers Kit, who has a comedy sharpshooting act, and Yazminka Smilova, a trapeze artist whose father owns the show. To Sasha Smilov who is Yazminka's brother and the manager of the show and Zell who does the costumes. Also included as suspects with one being a new crush for Hayden are a troupe of Romanian acrobats.

This was an entertaining mystery told by Hayden. I liked the diverse cast of characters which includes a new friend in transgender lawyer Jess Gemalto who looks enough like Hayden to be his twin. The story was filled with humor and lots of heart and had a nice lashing of danger for our main characters.  

Favorite Quote:

"The plan is simple," Hollister explained. "We find the sick and twisted psycho who murdered Kennedy Osaka. Do we really need to go over that again?"

I turned from the mirror, where I was working my hair into the suggestion of a part. "That's the objective. I'm talking about the plan."

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

ARC Review: Speculations in Sin by Jennifer Ashley

Speculations in Sin
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Series: A Below Stairs Mystery (Book 7)
Publication: Berkley (March 5, 2024)

Description: To save an innocent man’s life, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must expose a financial scam that could ruin the most powerful aristocrats in Victorian-era London, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Bow Lane.rev

Kat Holloway is distressed to learn that Samuel Millburn, husband of the woman who looks after her daughter, has been accused of embezzling funds from the bank where he works as a clerk. The accusation is absurd, and Samuel’s wife fears that her husband will not only lose his post but be imprisoned. Kat vows to uncover the truth.

When she discovers the bank is involved in shockingly murky business dealings, Kat realizes she’s treading in dangerous waters. She turns to her confidante and handsome suitor, Daniel McAdam, for help. To exonerate Samuel, Kat and Daniel may have to expose the unseemly financial dealings of prominent aristocrats and government officials, and even those working to bring down the royal family. Kat will risk everything to protect the man who has sacrificed so much for her daughter, even if it means endangering herself and the friends she has come to love.

My Thoughts: In the seventh Below Stairs mystery, cook Kat Holliday needs to prove that her best friend Joanna's husband didn't embezzle from his work at a bank or murder the chief clerk. The stakes are high. Joanna and Sam Millburn have been providing a home for Kat's daughter for many years. If she can't clear Sam, the consequences will spiral into disaster not only for the Millburn family but for Kat too. 

Luckily, Kat has made a number of friends in her time in London. She'll need to call on all of them to solve this problem. She has been wary of trusting Daniel who does some mysterious work for Scotland Yard, but he has never failed her. She also needs the help of her employer's niece Lady Cynthia and Lady Cynthia's circle of influential women if she wants to learn more about the bank where Sam Millburn worked.

Besides the person at the bank who is framing Sam for embezzlement and murder, an old enemy of his resurfaces from his boyhood in South London and wants to draw Sam back into his circle of criminals. 

This was an engaging story. I love Kat's dedication to her career as a cook and the pride she takes in her work. I also love that she is starting to get over her wariness and build a new relationship with Daniel. I even enjoyed the tension felt by the working class who are just one short step away from economic disaster. Kat's viewpoint makes the danger very clear and real.  

Favorite Quote:

He'd said not many moments ago that we needed to find joy in the small corners of life. I decided to savor this moment, of Daniel and me sitting at the table together in the quiet of the night, basking in each other's company. The circle of lamplight shut out the darkness, and the glowing stove pushed aside the cold.

In this slice of time, happiness prevailed, in a warm sanctuary that the howling terrors of the world cold not invade.

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

ARC Review: The Unquiet Bones by Loreth Anne White

The Unquiet Bones
Author: Loreth Anne White
Publication: Montlake (March 5, 2024)

Description: A shocking discovery of human bones reopens an almost fifty-year-old cold case―and rips apart the lives of a group of friends―in a riveting novel by Loreth Anne White, the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Maid’s Diary.

When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen.

Homicide detective Jane Munro―pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life―hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl’s family. But for a group of Annalise’s old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago.

The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?

The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body―that of the boy long blamed for Annalise’s disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.

My Thoughts: In THE UNQUIET BONES a cold case is finally solved after bones are discovered under a chapel at a ski resort. 

Sargeant Jane Munro has been transferred to Cold Cases after an emotional outburst at work. She's dealing with a fiancé who went missing while hiking and an unexpected pregnancy. She feels that she is in limbo and can't move forward or back. 

The bones prove to be those of a fifteen-year-old girl named Annalise Jansen who went missing Labor Day Weekend in 1976. The body was preserved in such a way that her torso wasn't skeletonized leading to the information that she was three months pregnant at the time of her death. There's the possibility of getting fetal DNA to help identify the father. 

As Jane reopens the almost fifty-year-old case, she begins to reinterview witnesses from the time Annalise went missing. Jane also learns that a young man named Darryl went missing the same night. It was thought at the time that they ran off together. Darryl's reputation had been trashed at the time leaving only his father and sister to mourn him. His disappearance didn't get as much media play since a black young man wasn't as interesting as a cute and perky blond girl. 

The story talks about the aftereffects of an unexplained disappearance on those who were left behind. Annalise's parents seem frozen in time fearing even to leave their house lest they be gone should Annalise return. Her best friends, who are all keeping secrets of varying kinds, have built successful lives that could be destroyed if their parts in her disappearance are ever discovered. And the young, ambitious news reporter who is eager to capitalize on the discovery of Annalise's remains also has her life changed by the experience.

This was a fast-paced thriller told from multiple viewpoints. I was intrigued by the story.

Favorite Quote:

Perhaps a part of each one of them has always been locked in the autumn of 1976. In the amber of time. A limbo - or prison - for their lies. Neither heaven or hell. All waiting in one way or another for that knock to come on their doors. Waiting for justice to finally find them. Fearing it.

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 26, 2024)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

I woke up to snow on Friday morning and it continued to snow lightly until early afternoon. This is the first snow we've gotten in what feels like forever. Only traces remain now since the temperature warmed to the high thirties both Friday and Saturday. It's 37 now and sunny. The high is supposed to hit 40. We seem to have a roller coaster week in the forecast. 54 on Monday, 38 on Tuesday, 17 on Wednesday, 37 on Thursday, 49 on Friday, and 51 next Saturday. There is snow likely on Tuesday but less than an inch is forecast. We are on track to have the least snowy February on record here in Duluth and the records go back 100 years. 

The week has been pretty quiet here but has been marred by the sudden death of one of my favorite authors. Steve Miller passed away suddenly on Tuesday. He and his wife Sharon Lee are most known for their Liaden Universe science fiction stories. I only had the opportunity to meet and spend time with them a couple of times at science fiction conventions and bookstore signings. However, I have interacted with both of them frequently on Facebook. I feel this loss especially since Steve and I were of an age. He being just two days older than I am. Sharon has been good about posting to Facebook letting fans and friends know how she is doing coping with the loss of a spouse of more than forty years. 

Here at home, I'm continuing listening to my In Death audiobooks and trying to whittle down my stack of review copies. This week should be the same. I have the rest of the March releases in my plans for this week. I'll be skipping a couple of the In Death audiobooks since I listened to them less than six months ago when I was skipping around and just picking favorites or seasonal books. For example, I read Thankless in Death around Thanksgiving and read a couple set around Christmas time last year in December. 

For my turn on the cooking, I took us both out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Tuesday. We both decided on combos. He had sirloin steak and ribs, and I had a ribeye steak and shrimp. We both came home with leftovers. I finished mine yesterday and need to decide what I want to eat today since he's working over the dinner hour. He still has a sidekick of ribs since they said they burnt the ones served to him and gave him a second sidekick for free. He didn't think the first ones were burnt and ate them yesterday for his pre-work meal. 

My brother is off on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I hope he has some good ideas for what he wants to cook. I've been printing off interesting recipes and piling them on the kitchen table to give him ideas. 

Read Last Week

• A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux (Audiobook; mine since 11/24/21) -- Third in the Medlar Mysteries. This one is set at a stately home turned boutique hotel in England. The three are there to solve a 20-year-old mystery. My review will be posted on March 6.
• A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn (Review; March 12) -- Another Veronica Speedwell historical mystery. Great characters and interesting plot. My review will be posted on March 7.
• Doors Into Change by Sharon Lee (Mine) -- This book contains 3 works set in or around the author's Archer's Beach contemporary fantasy world. I liked it a lot but don't intend to review this one on my blog. 

• Indulgence in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 31
• Peril in Pink by Sydney Leigh (Review; March 19) -- Start of a new cozy mystery series set in a B&B in upstate New York. My review will be posted on March 12.
• Treachery in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 32

• The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett (Review; March 19) -- Social commentary disguised as a historical romance. My review will be posted on March 12.
• New York to Dallas by J. D. Robb (Audiobook) -- In Death 33 and part of my rereadathon.
• A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian (Review; March 19) -- Third in the Secret Staircase mystery series. Great characters, twisty plot, great setting. My review will be posted on March 14.

Currently

• The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs (Review; March 19)
• Celebrity in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• The Medici Manuscript by C. J. Archer (Mine)
• A Forgotten Kill by Isabella Maldonado (Review; March 26)
• Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke (Review; March 26)

• How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (Review; March 26)
• Off the Air by Christina Estes (Review; March 26)
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Mine for a few years now)

Reviews Posted

• I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson (Review copy)
• Leave No Trace by A. J. Landau (Review copy)
• The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen (Review copy)

• Shield's Lady by Jayne Ann Krentz (Audiobook)
• The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
• Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor (August 6)
• A Scandal in Mayfair by Katharine Schellman (August 20)
• Pike Island by Tony Wirt (September 10)

Bought:

• Devil's Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Amazon Marketplace Print copy)
• Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle (BookBub $1.99)
• Doors Into Change by Sharon Lee (Kindle)

What was your week like?