Rituals by Kelley Armstrong

Kelley Armstrong's Rituals sums up the Cainsville series.  I'm including a photo to show the difference between the huge floppy manuscript I received and a normal book.  I had to lug the big sucker around for a couple of days because I read inside and outside. Awkward, but worth it because I was able to finish this five book series!

The blue tint given to the final cover is better, I think, than the cover on my copy.  Like everyone else, I am glad to have a conclusion to this series and know for sure the final romantic pairing.  Readers will find a lot of answers to questions that have hovered over the books, and yet one story-line is not completely resolved--leaving a door open for the Cainsville characters  to reappear at some point in the future.  

Although it isn't my favorite Armstrong series (I have a thing about the Fae; I can get along with vampires, zombies, shape-shifters, and other supernaturals, but not the Fae--weird, huh?), I was glad to have several story-lines resolved.

A prolific writer, Armstrong will probably have another book out before long, and I'm looking forward to another Casey Duncan novel set in the spooky little town of Rockton in the Northern wilderness. I also love her  YA novels--especially the Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies.

Read in July.  Review scheduled for

Supernatural/Suspense.  Aug. 15, 2017.  Print version:  496 pages.

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves

OK, I like Vera Stanhope, the overweight, middle-aged, opinionated, bossy, disheveled, irascible, and frequently insensitive protagonist in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series. There is also a softer side to Vera, however, that reveals her attachment to her team and that allows her to sit down with witnesses for a cuppa and persuade them to open up.  A softer side that Vera, herself, doesn't really acknowledge.  She isn't one for introspection.

Although I like Vera's character, Cleeves' treatment of secondary characters, meticulous plotting, and love of the Northumberland coast all combine to make this series one of my favorites.

The Seagull continues developing the characters, but also adds some backtracking as the plot involves characters and situations reaching into the past.  Vera finds herself enmeshed with memories of a younger Vera, her late father Hector, and three of his friends.  She isn't certain what the investigation will turn up regarding Hector, but it doesn't stop her from pursuing the truth and untangling the secrets that have had two decades to cloud the picture.  With so many shady characters, it isn't easy to determine the villain responsible for crimes that occurred twenty years ago.

Joe, Holly, and Charlie always take a backseat to the boss, but each one is intriguing in his or her own right and all three show further development in  The Seagull.  

Cleeves also writes the Shetland Island series featuring Jimmy Perez.  I've enjoyed several books from that series as well.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Mystery/Police Procedural.  Sept. 5, 2017.  Print length:  416 pages.

Looking Through Forgotten Drafts

I recently found this draft that I'd never posted, and I like it as much or more than I did originally:  

On Myth & Moor by Terri Windling, I found the following : 

Some time ago I stumbled across these words by children's book writer Cornelia Funke (author of The Thief Lord, Inkheart,  etc.), and they've been pinned to the wall above my desk ever since:

"I pledge to use books as doors to other minds, old and young, girl and boy, man and animal.

"I pledge to use books to open windows to a thousand different worlds and to the thousand different faces of my own world.

"I pledge to use books to make my universe spread much wider than the world I live in every day.

"I pledge to treat my books like friends, visiting them all from time to time and keeping them close."

Looking through other drafts that were never completed, I found this:

Found on Martine's blog 

The witchery of living
is my whole conversation
with you my darlings.
All I can tell you is what I know.
Look, and look again.
This world is not just a little thrill for the eyes.
It's more than bones.
It's more than the delicate wrist with its personal pulse.
It's more than the beating of the single heart.
It's praising.
It's giving until the giving feels like receiving.
You have a life - just imagine that!
You have this day, and maybe another, and maybe still another.
- Mary Oliver

 I have 23 drafts that have been sitting there.  Books I never reviewed, things I liked, links to stuff, etc.  Looking over the the list was interesting, and maybe I'll look at some of the others more closely later, but I loved these two and wanted to share.

This article is recent, but interesting--Silent Book Clubs, reading in solidarity.

The Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry Thomas

I love a good Sherlock Holmes pastiche, and I don't know how many I've read.  Some are very good, some are serious, some are amusing, (and some are pretty bad), but all present different views of Homes and Watson.  

I read the Lady Sherlock series out of order because I received the second in the series (A Conspiracy in Belgravia)  from NetGalley,  and read it first.  Initially, I was not sure I'd like it.  Some books in a series work great as stand-alones, but this one was one of those that left me confused at the beginning because there was obviously so much important background that I didn't know about.  In any case, as I continued to read, I became absorbed in the plot and developed a fondness for the characters.

When I finished A Conspiracy in Belgravia, I immediately ordered A Study in Scarlet Women, the first book.  I needed that background!  The reviews are in chronological order, not the order in which I read them.

Book 1

A Study in Scarlett Women.  Charlotte Holmes is brilliant.  She is also a fallen woman.  Deliberately so--although things did not turn out as she planned.  

When her father reneged on his promise to pay for her education, Charlotte decides that losing her reputation would put her out of the marriage market and carefully chooses a man to aid her in her quest.  Her plan to keep this quiet and use it to pressure her parents goes awry, the scandal is public knowledge immediately.  Oops.

Charlotte is intelligent, observant, and logical.  However, her life has been limited to the safe and secure strictures of society, and she is unprepared for the difficulties she is about to face as a social pariah with no practical skills.

There are a number of things that bothered me about both books, but for some reason the characters kept me absorbed.  Charlotte is never the typical heroine (she seems to fall somewhere on the Asperger's scale).  Mrs. Watson charmed me.  The two form the consulting detective business and solve some murders.  And I had fun.  :)

Purchased.  

Historical Mystery/Sherlock Holmes.  2016.  Print version:  323 pages.

Book 2

Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective (or Charlotte Holmes and Mrs. Watson) is in demand for all manner of mysteries from  mundane household puzzles to murder.  

One of the main problems with A Conspiracy in Belgravia is that it begins as if you had just finished a previous chapter.   It took me a while to decide whether I wanted to keep reading because so much seemed missing.

Fortunately, I did and enjoyed the adventures of this female Holmes and Watson (and other assorted characters) so much that I ordered and read the first one the same day. Yea for Kindles and ebooks and immediate gratification.

Moriarty has been mentioned, but has not yet appeared. Nevertheless, the Criminal Mastermind's sinister influence lurks in the shadows.

Read in June; blog post scheduled for Aug. 17

NetGalley/Berkley Pub.

Historical Mystery/Sherlock Holmes.  Sept. 5, 2017.  Print length:  336 pages.

The Girl Who Came Back by Kerry Wilkinson

After reading Kerry Wilkinson's Two Sisters, I knew I'd be reading more books by this author.  When NetGalley offered The Girl Who Came Back, I quickly made my request.  

If anything, I liked this one even better than Two Sisters.  

Thirteen years earlier, Olivia Adams disappeared from her back garden.  Now, Olivia sits in a coffee shop observing her mother and unsure of whether or not she will approach her.

Olivia does reach out to her mother who has never given up hope.  But whether the young woman is Olivia or an impostor, whoever she is--she is not universally welcomed.

This one hooked me at the beginning and held my interest until the end.  Even when some of the puzzle works itself out, there are a few surprises to come.

Oh, yes, I will be seeking more of this young author's books!

(I've had this draft ready for a couple of weeks, holding out to schedule it for closer to publication date, but just read Lark's review of Good as Gone by Amy Gentry which has a plot that sounds similar.  I've added Gentry's book to my list as I want to compare the two novels.)

Read in July.

NetGalley/Bookoture

Psychological/Suspense.  Sept. 8, 2017.  Print length:  303 pages.

The Salt Line, Friend Request, The Essence of Malice

The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones is a dystopian novel in which the world has been severely altered by disease carrying ticks.  Cities and communities have retreated behind salt lines to protect themselves.  The borders that protect communities also separate them from the beauties of nature, confining them to strictly urban lives.  There are, however, always adrenaline junkies who are willing to pay outfits for a "safe" trip into the wilderness.

The ticks are terrifying enough, but they are not the only problem that an adventurous group will encounter.

Given the serious diseases ticks transmit, the idea of a deadly tick-borne plague isn't as far-fetched as it may originally seem.  The latest threat from these tiny, parasitic arachnids is not from the usual culprit, the black-legged tick, but from the Lone Star Tick which causes an allergy to mammalian meat--beef, pork, or lamb.  

Tick bites can be serious enough without having the horrors that occur in the novel, but it does make one remember the devastation caused by the plague epidemic that resulted from bites from fleas infected with Yersina pestis.  

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Dystopian.  Sept. 5, 2017.  Print length:  400 pages.

Friend Request by Laura Marshall.  

How would you react to a Facebook friend request from a person who died over two decades ago?  Especially if you still felt guilty over some callous behavior involving that person?

Suspenseful, but no truly likable characters.  Louise, a middle-aged mother who receives the request from the long-dead Maria Weston, is caught in a web largely of her own making.  The strands originate in the past, but continue in the present as Louise tries to determine who really sent the request and why.  

While understanding Louise's guilt over her role in the kind of meanness that often occurs in adolescence, she never comes across as admirable.  In fact, while her behavior may be understandable in the realm of peer pressure and the search for acceptance, there is no way to condone her actions which certainly contributed to tragic results.

Several twists and turns, and the conclusion surprised me.  

An interesting premise.

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing

Mystery/Suspense.  Sept. 5, 2017; July 2017.  Print length:  384 pages.

I just realized that I never reviewed the third novel in this series, but it wasn't my favorite.  

So The Essence of Malice moves from Lake Como to Paris and involves perfumery (do you scent the hint in the title?), Milo's old Nanny, and murder.   

These novels are reminiscent of the Golden Age of the British Detective Novel and deliberately so.  Some of the rules involved during this period included complicated plots, a clever murder and a clever detective, little graphic violence, little emphasis on character development,  all clues should be available to the reader, multiple suspects, etc.  

Weaver's novels follow the general outlines with, perhaps, a slightly more modern approach, and if you enjoy Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, or Margery Allingham, these novels should fill the bill.

My suspicions about Milo have yet to be confirmed, but hints are included.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Historical Mystery.  Sept. 5, 2017.  Print length:  320 pages.  

All of these were read in July, but are scheduled for August 14.

Little Boy Lost by J.D. Trafford

Little Boy Lost by J.D. Trafford.  Sometimes a book comes along that feels like a microcosm of our world, and Trafford's novel about the turbulence in St. Louis when a series of murders are discovered contains many of the elements society currently struggles with.

Jason Glass is a down and out lawyer from a mixed background.  His mother is white and his father is black; his white grandfather is a retired Federal District Court Judge who continues to hold great political influence; his black father, a U.S. Congressman, has recently decided to retire. Money and influence abound in this family, but Jason, who has been in a severe depression since the death of his wife, has neither.  

Tanisha, a young black girl, brings a pickle jar full of coins into Jason's office hoping to hire him to find her missing sixteen-year-old brother.  Jason explains that he is a lawyer, not the police or a detective.  (Or a charity, he thinks privately as he swelters in his office because he can't afford to have his air conditioner fixed.)  But Jason does end up promising to give Tanisha limited help.  

When Tanisha's brother is found, his is only one of many bodies of young black males buried in a secluded area.  Jason is quickly besieged by parents of missing boys who do not know if their sons are among the dead and who do not trust the police.

There are so many themes in this novel and all of them are treated respectfully, not glorified or exploited mawkishly.  It is a murder mystery by genre, but much more than that, the novel explores problems that are neither new nor likely to diminish any time soon.  

Initially, I wasn't sure whether I would like this one, but it didn't take long for me to become engaged not only with the characters, but with the way Trafford included important issues as part and parcel of the narrative without ever seeming pedantic or preachy.

A few quotes about some of the larger issues that may sound preachy out of context, but were skillfully submerged in the story:

"That's why Congress is so dysfunctional.  It isn't politics that's the problem.  It's the people who get into politics."

"The anonymous person had put Jimmy Poles on trial and convicted him through the Internet.  It was inflammatory.  It wasn't fair, but it was effective. ...This was the new world."

"Saint Louis had always had an identity crisis.  It was the intersection of North, South, East and West."

"The news reports were caricatures--information and images manipulated to support the political priorities of either the left or the right."

"'Oh, Mr. Glass, they never get tired of violence.' Then she looked out the window at the sky, maybe thinking about all the violence that she'd seen in Bosnia, thinking that most Americans didn't know how fragile things really were."

Recommended.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Crime/Politics.  Aug. 1, 2017.  Print length:  318 pages.

Blood & Ink and When You Disappeared

Well, this one was a surprise!  I chose it because I liked Randall Silvis' writing style in Two Days Gone, but what a difference!

Blood and Ink is a dark comedy about a literary mobster who falls in love, decides to change his life, and then encounters one disaster after another.  Nick is extremely well-read (he would have made a wonderful literature professor), but his day job involves working for a mob boss.  Since this has been his way of life since he was an adolescent, he is surprised by a general sense of dissatisfaction with his situation, which leads to a mid-life crisis, and  eventually, to his desire to be a better man.

Most of his attempts at becoming that better man result in one hilarious mishap after another and kept me grinning even as I worried about whether Nick would be able to survive all of obstacles that kept falling into his path and overcome his past.  Retirement is not always an option for a wise guy. 

Is Silvis doing a little parody of Quentin Tarantino?  Satirical humor, a little violence, but no murder and no gore.  In fact, Nick's crisis seems to coalesce while watching a film of extreme, but unrealistic violence.  The simmering qualms and foreboding Nick has been subconsciously harboring erupt, and Nick's anger is directed at the young writer/producer of the film.

Both Two Days Gone and Blood & Ink have a love of literature and skillful prose in common, but content and style are remarkably different.  Two Days is a psychological mystery/crime novel and Blood & Ink is a dark comedy of errors that keeps you rooting for the erudite and hapless Nick.

Although I usually eschew books about mobs or wise guys, Blood & Ink proved to be a fascinating and (mostly) funny romp with several unexpected surprises!  Recommended.  

Read in July.

Kindle Unlimited

Dark Comedy/Crime.  2015.  Print length:  230 pages.

When You Disappeared by John Marrs is another recent read that held genuine surprises.  As committed (addicted?) readers, we come to expect certain general plots and to be surprised when a narrative veers from what we anticipate.

When You Disappeared took me off that beaten path, proving surprising in a number of ways....

Catherine assumes her husband has gone for a run when she awakes to find him absent; when he doesn't return and fails to show up at work, she becomes worried.

Twenty-five years later, Simon turns up at her door and wants to tell Catherine his story.  Although Catherine doesn't particularly want to hear the story,  she desperately wants to know why a loving husband and father would leave his wife and three children with no forewarning that anything was wrong.

Alternating between past and present and between Catherine's voice and Simon's voice,  the reader begins accumulating information that informs each personality.  From the beginning, Simon insists that he will only tell Catherine the reason he left after recounting his story.  He intends to put a sting at the end to make certain Catherine realizes everything that has happened is her responsibility.

At first you might feel some sympathy for Simon, but his tendency to rationalize his decisions is questionable early on.  His subsequent behavior as he continues to relate it to Catherine becomes inexcusable.  I'm not quite sure his problem is specifically listed in the DSM.

Catherine's narrative covers the hardships of suddenly finding herself a single mother without adequate income, her grief over the loss of the man she loved intensely, her struggles to keep her children housed, fed, and emotionally healthy.  She refuses for years to believe that Simon left voluntarily, assuming that he is dead.

Clearly the initiating event occurred some time before Simon left, and a couple of possibilities that could have prompted Simon's behavior occurred to me, but the truth, when it finally arrived was even more disturbing.   

When You Disappeared is a compelling and disquieting novel that held my (sometimes reluctant) attention as Simon's self-satisfied and self-justified story is revealed.  

Read in July.  

Kindle Unlimited

Psychological Suspense.  July 13, 2017.  Print length:  350 pages. 

Old Scores, Cold Harbor, The Tethered Mage, The Silent Shield

  
Old Scores by Will Thomas is a Barker & Llewelynn installment set in 1890 in London.  Shortly after the Japanese delegation visits Cyrus Barker's Japanese garden, the Japanese ambassador is murdered.  Barker is arrested and roughly interrogated by the Special Branch before being released.

Thomas Llewelynn, Barker's assistant, learns a little more about Barker's background in the search for the true murderer of the ambassador.  

This is the 9th book in the series, and I've only read one other, but I have enjoyed them.

Read in July; blog review scheduled for Aug. 3.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Historical Mystery.  Oct. 3, 2017.  Print length:  304 pages.



Cold Harbor by Matthew Fitzsimmons is the third book in the Gibson Vaughn series.   

Excerpt from book description:  After a period of brutal isolation in a CIA black-site prison, former Marine and gifted hacker Gibson Vaughn is free—but with no idea where he was or how much time he’s lost. Struggling to maintain his grip on reality, he races to return to the life he left behind. Angry and disoriented, his thoughts turn to vengeance and the man responsible for his rendition. 

 It isn't that I didn't enjoy this one, but The Short Drop, the first in the series is by far my favorite.  I was glad to see some of the characters from the first book.

Read in June; blog review scheduled for Aug. 3.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer


Suspense.  Oct. 10, 2017.  Print length:  318 pages.  

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso posits a world where mages are identified early and "drafted" into the Falcon Army, controlled by a Falconer.  Young Zaire has managed to hide her mage-mark and powerful talent for years, but is eventually caught in a situation that changes everything for both Zaire and Amalia Cordaro, who inadvertently becomes Zaire's Falconer.  A Falcon's magic is controlled by magical bracelets known as jesses, and only a Falconer unlock the bracelets to release the magic.

Political intrigue, mystery and magic, and two strong female characters.  An interesting premise.  Did I like it?  Yes, but I didn't love it.  I'll see what the next in the series holds before firming up my opinion.  

Read in June; blog review scheduled for ??

NetGalley/Orbit Books

Fantasy.  Oct. 24, 2017.  Print length:  480 pages.

The Silent Shield by Jeff Wheeler is the fifth entry in this series that I originally thought would be a trilogy.  

The threatened invasion by Gahalatine and his powerful Wizrs, the disappearance of Own Kiskaddon, the departure of King Andrew's own powerful Wizr has Kingfountain in turmoil.  

Trynne, who misses her father and must face the immediate departure of her mother, must put her concerns aside and focus on who might be willing to betray the kingdom.  Her two top suspects include Fallon, the man she has cared for since childhood, and her mother's apprentice, a friend she no longer trusts.

An excellent addition to this series that transforms both British history and the Arthurian legends into a fantasy that provides intriguing characters and suspenseful action.  My only quibble was the conclusion, but perhaps this is a result of a modern outlook.  And anyway, there is one more book to come that might resolve my personal issue!

Read in June; blog review scheduled for Aug. 3

NetGalley/47 North

Fantasy.  Aug. 22, 2017.  Print length:  304 pages.  

Shattered by Allison Brennan

Shattered by Allison Brennan.  In spite of the fact that this book unites multiple characters from two different series (which made a lot to absorb, since I've not read either series before), I found myself engrossed with the plot.

Maxine Revere, an investigative reporter (with her own series), reluctantly becomes intrigued when an old friend requests her help.  His wife has been charged with the murder of their young son, and he wants Max to help prove her innocence.  He has information that connects three cold cases with remarkably similar elements.  If the same person is responsible for the cold cases that match the murder of his son, then his wife will be exonerated.

Max's attention with the first of the cold cases requires her to accept a partnership with Lucy Kincaid, a rookie FBI agent and the aunt of the first murdered child.  (Brennan's Lucy Kincaid also has a lengthy series.)  Both women are sincere in their search for answers, but trust between a reporter and an FBI agent is difficult.

While I didn't find the plot especially believable for a number of reasons and there were constant references to past adventures from the two separate series, I nevertheless was quickly immersed in the story.  

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Mystery.  Crime.  August 22, 2017.  Print length:  368 pages.  

The Secret Life of the Mind by Mariano Sigman

Our brains are remarkably complex organs that supervise and adjust and modify every aspect of our bodies and our lives.  Our brains shape our behavior, record our memories, control our heart rate and our immune systems, make decisions, develop our personal philosophies. The brain really is an enigma; it is a mystery, a marvel, and a work in progress.  The brain changes itself, it grows, and it re-wires itself--and these changes can be positive or negative.

The Secret Life of the Mind (I've mentioned the book in previous posts) expands on issues concerning the way infants conceive morality--the results are intriguing, but it is also fascinating to learn about the experiments devised to understand how infants understand and process information.  How can we know what  pre-verbal infants and toddlers think?  How early do they recognize right from wrong and what influences their decisions?  Researchers have created experiments that are simple, practical, and remarkably interesting.

The section on hunches vs deliberation feels intuitively correct--we recognize aspects in our own decision- making even if we have never analyzed them.  When is it best to deliberate about a decision and when is an instinct or a hunch preferred--and why?

  The body recognizes and acknowledges some things (often using past experience or knowledge) even before the brain can process the information.  Our decisions are often made seconds before we even "think" them.  Even the regret over a wrong decision is present before we are aware of it and before the decision is proven wrong by the situation.   

Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary subdivision of biology that works closely with other disciplines and covers a wide variety of topics.  Sigman's The Secret Life of the Mind moves easily from one topic to another, providing information that affirms some of our own opinions and challenges others.   The many ways the topics are approached by different disciplines provide both answers and intriguing questions.

From a book description, The Secret Life of the Mind "combines the astonishing work of biologists, physicists, mathematicians, psychologists, anthropologists, linguists, engineers, philosophers and medical doctors – not to forget cooks, magicians, musicians, chess players, writers, and artists." 

Informative and entertaining, Mariano Sigman engages readers through his own enthusiasm and curiosity.  Highly Recommended.

NetGalley/Little, Brown, & Co    

Nonfiction/Brain/Neuroscience.  June 27, 2017.  Print length:  270 pages.  

The Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima

The Hunting Hour is the third in this series set in the small town of Timber Lake.  I liked Stalking Ground, the first in the series, but somehow missed the second one and will have to see if the library has a copy.  

Deputy Mattie Cobb and Robo, her K-9 tracking dog are involved in the search for a missing 8th grade girl.  When the girl is found dead, the small town of Timber Lake is on edge.  A child murder is always horrifying, but in a small community, the shock is amplified and personal.  

Then Sophie Walker, the daughter of Mattie's close friend Cole Walker, turns up missing and the sense of fear ratchets up.  Despite the efforts of many volunteers, searchers fail to find any trace of the girl.  Mattie and Robo are at a loss as well.  



I like this series because of the characters, the mountain location, and of course, Robo.  Robo is a working dog, and I find the information about search and rescue dogs fascinating.  I also like that Robo is not overly romanticized.  He is both comfort and companion to Mattie, but he is trained to perform and is, in his own way, a dedicated law enforcement agent.

I'm quite fond of these characters, the small community of Timber Lake, and the well-crafted plotting of Margaret Mizushima.  Must find a copy of the book I missed.

Read in April; blog review scheduled for July 24.

NetGalley/Crooked Lane Books.

Police Procedural.  August 8, 2017.  Print version:  320 pages.  

Dead Woman Walking and Ordeal

It is definitely turning into the long, hot summer here.  I'm still walking, but early in the morning.  It is hard to love summer when the lows are 78 or higher and the humidity is considered wonderful at less than 70%.  Sultry is not my thing.  Fortunately, there is air conditioning and books to help me through the sweaty months.

Dead Woman Walking begins with an unusual and intense hot air balloon ride that moves from a celebration to an unmitigated disaster when an event the passengers observe on the ground turns the balloon and its passengers into a target.  

The terrifying opening episode is the best part of the book as far as suspense goes, but there are plenty of twists to come. Typical Bolton to keep the reader uncertain and perhaps a little confused about who/what/why.  

This will delight most Bolton fans, but I would prefer to see more books like her Little Black Lies.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Suspense/Thriller.  Sept. 5, 2017.  Print length:  368 pages.

Ordeal by Jorn Lier Horst is the first book I've read in this series featuring William Wist, a detective in Larvik, Norway.
There are 10 books in the series, but not all of them have been translated.

This is one of the best police procedurals I've read in a long time.  Wisting is a dedicated investigating officer, and (because the author was a Senior Investigating Officer for the police in Norway) the investigation rings true. Superb plotting and characters that feel genuine make Ordeal a pleasure to follow, not an ordeal to wade through.  No tricky stuff, no bizarre murders, no mad serial killer--just an intriguing investigation and a sense of William Wisting's humanity.

Sofie Lund and her year old daughter move into the house she inherited from her grandfather.  Frank Mandt was a well-known criminal, and Sofie wants no reminders of him.

When Sofie runs into Line Wisting, William's daughter, who has also recently moved back to Larvik, the two women renew an old friendship.  Both women are single--Sofie with her child and Line pregnant but without a partner.  The two women built a solid support system in a short time.

William Wisting's investigation into the disappearance of a local taxi driver has been stalled for the last six months.  However, a safe in the basement of Sofie Lund's grandfather's home offers information that may affect Wisting's case...if he knew about it.

Ordeal is an excellent police procedural that feels authentic and does not need to resort to the flashy or the grotesque to keep the reader involved.

Highly Recommended.  And I guess I'm going to have to purchase the books that have been translated because it is that good.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Police Procedural.  Aug. 8, 2017.  Print length:  353 pages.

Crime Scene by Jonathan & Jesse Kellerman

A collaboration by the father/son Kellerman team, Crime Scene is the first in a new series featuring Clay Edison, a deputy sheriff with the Coroner's Bureau.

The death of Walter Rennert, retired psychology professor, appears to be the result of an accidental fall down the stairs, but his daughter Tatiana insists that it is murder, that the elderly man was pushed.  Although there is no indication of anything more, Clay feels an attraction to Tatiana, and slowly becomes interested in Rennert's backstory and the study of the effect of violent video games on adolescents that went so terribly wrong that left him guilt-ridden.

Well-written and well-plotted--an excellent introduction to a new character and a new series.

Sometimes the division of labor in a collaboration is obvious, but Crime Scene is pretty seamless.  Initially, I thought maybe Jonathan Kellerman would write the part of Alex Delaware, his well-known character, and that Jesse Kellerman would write the part of Clay Edison.  But no, Alex Delaware gets a mention (with some playful pokes), but does not take a role in this novel, and the writing is smooth and consistent--whole cloth, not patchwork.

Although I've read Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware series for years, this the first book I've read in which father and son collaborate, and I've never read anything by Jesse Kellerman.  I need to rectify that situation.

Read in June; blog post scheduled for July 17

NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine

Crime/Suspense.  Aug. 1, 2017.  Print length:  400 pages.

Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

Age of Swords: Book Two of The Legends of the First Empire follows The Age of Myth, which I really liked.  And I loved all of the Riyria Chronicles.  So why did The Age of Swords fall short for me?  

I enjoyed catching up with some of the characters, and yet I wasn't as engaged with any of them in the way I was with Sullivan's previous books.  The Age of Myth was the introduction to this new series, but for some reason, Age of Swords felt more like an introduction and less like an advancement. The pacing felt uneven and perhaps too much time was given to the discoveries of things like the wheel.  The book seemed more like a history of inventions than a genuine story.  Everything was either about the advancement of a primitive tribe or preparation for war.  

It isn't that I didn't enjoy it, but neither did it command my interest and enthusiasm in the way that Age of Myth and all of the Riyria adventures did.  I truly loved the main characters in the Riyria Chronicles and the adventure and humor in those books.  Humor is largely missing in Swords and so was my engagement with the characters.

Read in May; blog review scheduled for July

NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine

Fantasy.  July 25, 2017.  Print version:  512 pages.

Catching Up: Mysteries, Warrior Cats, and Neuroscience

The Cardinal's Court by Cora Harrison is the first in a new series featuring Hugh Mac Egan, a Brehon lawyer at Hampton Court in 1522. His current assignment is  to draw up a marriage contract between James Butler and Anne Boleyn.  Members of the court have already noticed the attraction between Anne and Harry Percy, but neither Anne nor Harry have any say-so about their marriages which are arranged by their fathers for financial and political reasons.  Of course, James Butler has no options in the choice of a bride either, but he doesn't seem concerned.

(How different might history have been if Anne and Harry had been allowed to marry?  We already know that the marriage between Anne and James Butler never occurred, but Henry VIII has not yet noticed Anne in 1522 and plays only a cameo role in the novel.)

A young man is murdered and Harry Percy implicates James Butler.  Hugh Mac Egan desperately needs to clear James of the accusation or his young charge will be executed.  Cardinal Woolsey and Katherine of Aragon are sympathetic, but Mac Egan has only days to determine the motive and the guilty party. 

The characters are well-drawn and the plot is compelling.  I'm all in for this new series.  

Read in June; review scheduled for July

NetGalley/Trafalgar Square Publishing

Historical Mystery.  July 1, 2017.  Print version:  320 pages.


I mentioned The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace  (nonfiction) back in May, but after the ransom cyber attacks, it became a bit too threatening.  I will get back to it eventually because our entire world is dependent in one way or another on the internet.  Klimburg is an expert in the field, and although some of the information is too technical for me, most of what I've read so far is enlightening.

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Nonfiction.  July 11, 2017.  Print version:  432 pages.

Deadfall is the latest from Linda Fairstein.   

Briefly:  Opening scene is in the morgue.  Paul Battaglia, Alex Cooper's longtime boss and mentor, has been murdered and for some reason Alex becomes a suspect.  This didn't ring true for the situation, and I was left-footed from the beginning.  

I almost abandoned this one early on: Alex was so annoying in the first couple of chapters, and the animosity of one of the investigators seemed over the top.  Although the more recent installments in this series have not appealed to me as much as the early books, I do enjoy the historical information about New York woven into each plot.  Trophy hunters, illegal animal trade, and the New York City zoos helped pick up the pace and my interest.

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Mystery/Suspense.  July 25, 2017.  Print version:  400 pages.

----------
What else have I been reading?  My granddaughter brought me her copies of the first Warrior Cat series by Erin Hunter.  I have no choice but to read and report--in great detail--on each book.  

I read and enjoyed the first book in the series (Into the Wild) back in 2010, when B.E. was not quite two years old and had no clue of her future obsession.  Despite my intention to read more of the books in this middle grade series, I never did.  Now, I'm on the fifth book in the first series and reporting to B.E., who can't resist telling me what happens next.  Her excitement about what she reads is palpable, and I'm thrilled that she loves to read.  My other granddaughter loved the series, and B.E. is impressed with everything her older cousin does.  Now, Mila may have outgrown the books, but B.E. is still voraciously gobbling each new series.

And finally,  I finished The Secret Life of the Mind: How Your Brain Thinks, Feels, and Decides by Mariano Sigman, which I've been slowly reading for a couple of weeks now.  Will review later; fascinating and informative, it joins my favorite "brain" books.  

I've read a number of good books on neuroscience and continue to find the studies into the mysterious ways in which our brains work fascinating.  

Have a great weekend!