Murder on Thames by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

From the book description: 

Murder on Thames is the first in an innovative Crime series written in English but published by Bastei Entertainment – an imprint of one of Germany’s leading publishers Bastei Lübbe. Published in English first, to be followed by German in March 2014, the crime series features 12 self-contained episodes written by co-authors Neil Richards (UK based) and Matthew Costello (US based).

In a revival of the Dickensian tradition, a new eBook episode will be published each month with the second episode Mystery at the Manorto be published in the UK on the 19th January 2014.

A New York detective has retired to a houseboat on the Thames in the small village of Cherringham.  Jack Brennan is looking for a quiet life after his career as a homicide detective, and when Sara Edwards asks him to look into the death of an old friend, Brennan at first refuses.  The quiet life might appeal to him, but the puzzle of the death does as well, and he changes his mind about helping Sara when he finds himself agreeing that maybe the death of Sammi Jackson was not an accident after all.  

Jack and Sara investigate further, determined to discover the the truth.  

Murder on Thames is an interesting little cozy.  Cozy mysteries are not my favorite sub-genre, nor is the novella approach something I seek out, but this does everything it is supposed to within the parameters the authors have set, and I enjoyed it for what it is.

NetGalley/Bastei Entertainment

Cozy Mystery.  2013.  Print length:  119 pages.

Two by Michael Robotham

A couple of months ago,  I read Watching You by Michael Robotham and found it suspenseful and well-written.  At the time, I knew I wanted to read more, beginning with the first book in the series to get additional background on the characters.

Fortunately, NetGalley recently offered the first two books in the series:  The Suspect and Lost.  I snapped them both up and entered a two day read-a-thon.  

The Suspect centers on Joe O'Loughlin, a successful psychologist who loves his wife and child.  One of the things I was curious about was O'Loughlin's Parkinson Disease. The Suspect (the debut book in the series) covers the early symptoms and the period when he first gets the diagnosis.  It also goes into some of O'Loughlin's struggles to deal with both the physical and the emotional effects of this incurable disease.

Written in first person, the book opens with O'Loughlin on a roof trying to talk down a seventeen-year-old cancer patient who seems determined to jump.  The scene sets O'Loughlin up as an empathetic character.  

While he may be a respected psychologist and a compassionate person, O'Loughlin is far from perfect.  When he is drawn into a murder investigation, he realizes that the victim is a former patient, but doesn't reveal this right away.  As the novel twists and turns, it becomes obvious that O'Loughlin has some secrets he doesn't want revealed and that  he is being set up and may lose everything he holds dear.

Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz becomes suspicious, and as more evidence piles up, he is unrelenting in his pursuit when O'Loughlin flees to avoid arrest.  Ruiz is a secondary character and mostly an antagonist in this first novel.

The mystery is convoluted and the plot not very believable, and yet, Robotham is so skilled that it is difficult to put the book down.   I couldn't wait to begin the next one.  

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Mystery/Crime.  2004; 2014.  Print length:  432 pages.


 
Lost takes place a few years later and features D. I. Vincent Ruiz.  Like The Suspect, Lost is written in first person. D.I. Ruiz is pulled from the Thames with a gunshot wound and no memory of what happened.  Not everyone believes his amnesia to be genuine, and Ruiz turns to his friend Joe O'Loughlin to help him untangle what happened.

Ruiz knows that that somehow what happened to him is connected to the case of a missing child from three years earlier.  A step at a time, he regains fragments of his memory....

Another excellent mystery with lots of complications.  Joe O'Loughlin's role in this one is minimal.  

I've now read three books in this series, and each one features a different character.  I'm not sure I've read any other series with this approach; usually, a series will focus on one or two main characters and a single point of view throughout the series.  In Watching You, the main character is one of O'Loughlin's patients, in The Suspect, the protagonist is Joe O'Loughlin, and in Lost, it is D.I. Vincent Ruiz.  I like this approach and can't wait to read Shatter.  

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Mystery/Crime.  2005; 2014.  Print length:  370 pages.

The Body in the Woods by April Henry

 The Body in the Woods  is a YA murder mystery with interesting characters and an involving plot.

Three adolescent misfits have joined the Portland County Search and Rescue team for various reasons.  Their first participation in a genuine search effort is for an autistic man lost in the woods.  What they discover instead is the body of a young girl.  

Ruby, Nick, and Alexis all have their own difficulties that separate them from others, but they forge an awkward friendship that develops over the course of the mystery.  I liked the characters and the way they eventually come to support each other.

This is the first book in Henry's Point Last Seen YA series, and I look forward to more.

Read in January.  Blog post scheduled for May.
----

Henry's novel Girl, Stolen earned praise and awards:

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults

Winner of the Truman Readers Award (Missouri state award)

Winner of the Black-Eyed Susan Award (Maryland state award)

Winner of the Young Adult Reading Program (South Dakota state award)

Quote from Author's Page on Amazon:  When I was 11, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He took it to lunch and showed it to the editor of a British children's magazine - and she asked to publish the story! (For no money, which might have been a warning about how hard it is to make a living writing.)

:) I love that an eleven-year-old sent a short story to Roald Dahl, that he read it, and that he showed it to a friend who wanted to publish it.  Good job, Mr. Dahl.  Your influence lingers.


NetGalley/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

YA/Mystery.  June 17, 2014.  Print version:  272 pages.

You by Austin Grossman

I'm at a loss about how to review or rate YOU.  I'm no gamer and have no idea about programming, early or late computer games, game development, or various computer languages.  

Book Description:  

When Russell joins Black Arts games, brainchild of two visionary designers who were once his closest friends, he reunites with an eccentric crew of nerds hacking the frontiers of both technology and entertainment. In part, he's finally given up chasing the conventional path that has always seemed just out of reach. But mostly, he needs to know what happened to Simon, his strangest and most gifted friend, who died under mysterious circumstances soon after Black Arts' breakout hit.

As the company's revolutionary next-gen game is threatened by a software glitch, Russell finds himself in a race to save his job, Black Arts' legacy, and the people he has grown to care about. The deeper Russell digs, the more dangerous the glitch appears—and soon, Russell comes to realize there's much more is at stake than just one software company's bottom line.

The good:  Austin Grossman knows video games.  From Wikipedia:

 Austin Grossman (born 1969) is a writer and game designer who has contributed to the New York Times^[1] and a number of video games.

He is the author of the novel Soon I Will Be Invincible, which was published by Pantheon Books in 2007.^[2] His second book, entitled YOU, debuted in April 2013.^[3]Grossman started his career in the game industry replying to a classified ad in The Boston Globe in May 1992 that led him to Looking Glass Studios. Since then, Grossman has worked with DreamWorks Interactive, Ion Storm of Austin and Crystal Dynamics.
Grossman, born in Concord, Massachusetts, attended Harvard University and is currently a graduate student in English literature at the University of California, Berkeley.^[2] He is the twin brother of writer Lev Grossman and brother of sculptor Bathsheba Grossman, and the son of the poet Allen Grossman and the novelist Judith Grossman. Grossman is currently working at Arkane Studios

I learned a good bit about how complicated it is to create and produce an interactive video game.  Whew!  Pretty overwhelming.   

The Not-so-good:  At least for me, the novel was way too complicated for my limited knowledge and abilities.  I'm not smart enough to understand anything about computers other than point and click.  The lengthy discussions about both the mechanics and the narrative story lines of various computer characters were initially interesting, then pretty exhausting for me.  I found myself skimming on numerous occasions.  If I'd so much as played any of these games, I'm sure I'd have found things more interesting, but after  several lengthy sections relating game narratives,  these sections became numbing.

Overall:  Unless you are very computer literate or seriously involved in the history of gaming or in playing various games,  this novel (?) might not be a great choice.  If the real characters and a more satisfactory "real" plot had been more developed, I would have like it much better.

I'm glad I read it, but I remained confused much of the time.

NetGalley/Little, Brown/Mulholland Books

Fiction.  April, 2014.  Print length:  379 pages.

The Quick by Lauren Owen

How would you complete the phrase "the quick and the _____ "?  The title is, of course, a clue to the content.  

I'm not entirely certain how I feel about this book.  The beginning is slow, giving the background of a brother and sister who are pretty much neglected after their mother's death.  They rattle around a huge mansion with little contact outside of their servants.  The siblings are close, big sister Charlotte feels responsible for her younger brother James.  The purpose of this section is to establish Charlotte's love for her brother and the existence of the priest hole.  It is rather slow, and the plot does not develop for a long time.

When James finishes university, he lives in London and has decided to become a poet.  For the most part, James is a solitary figure, but on deciding to share rooms with Christopher, James begins to open up some.  

How much or how little to say without giving too much away?  The book has some slow sections, but when the plot begins to intensify the intrigue increases as well.  The novel doesn't follow a typical chronological timeline or the typical flash-back technique.  The pov changes,  and large sections are in diary form.  The setting and style are very Victorian.

Interesting relationships:  James and Charlotte, James and Christopher, Edmund and Mould, Shadwell and Adeline, Charlotte and Halliwell.

Shadwell and Adeline have the potential to be the most dynamic of all the characters, but for the most part are (sort of) pawns to move the story forward.

The book is long and atmospheric, but there is surprisingly little real action.  The reader must focus on all of the relationships and question them--particulary the relationship between Edmund and Mould.  Edmund quickly abandons his goal of bettering society, and Mould (well, just look at his name) quickly abandons his humanity in his efforts to aid Edmund.  And why was he dismissed as a tutor?  I have an idea, but no confirmation.

Even the conclusion leaves the reader with questions.

Read in January.

NetGalley/Random House

Vampire.  June 17, 2014.

The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson

The Opposite of Maybe is an ARC that arrived in the mail.  I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I knew part of it focused on a male caregiver to a curmudgeonly woman of 88, and in today's world with people living longer, care giving is something most people have to face at some point.

Rosie's grandmother Soapie has hired a young man to live in, fix drinks, and when necessary, pick her up when she falls.  Works fine for Soapie, but Rosie is not so pleased.

Then Jonathan, Rosie's partner, decides that after living with Rosie for 15 years, it is time to get married.  Right before they move to California so Jonathan and his new business partner can open their tea cup museum.  Yep.  Jonathan is obsessed with tea cups.

Rosie, worried about leaving Soapie and uncertain about the tea cup museum, tries to plan a wedding and a move across country in a matter of weeks.  But then....

The Opposite of Maybe falls into that genre referred to as chic lit.  There is some fun and yet, there are several serious issues at stake; there is a little romance; there are some interesting characters.  All in all, I ended up enjoying this little novel.  Yes, it is predictable, but there is also humor,  compassion, and soul-searching about what the characters want out of life.  A light, but entertaining read, and you can't help but love Tony Cavaletti.


Fiction.  April.  2014.  402 pages.

Two More From NetGalley

Enough Rope by P.L. Doss

Tom Halloran, hot-shot lawyer, is taking his normal morning run through the park when he spots a body hanging from a tree.  Worse, when he gets closer he recognizes Elliot Carter, his friend and mentor; worse still, Carter is wearing a wig, a bra, and a thong.

When the Medical Examiner's investigator Hollis Joplin arrives, he notes a few irregularities, but the death still looks like autoerotic asphxiation.  Halloran, however, continues to insist that his friend would never have committed such a humiliating act and that it must have been murder.

Most of the story moves from Halloran's perspective to Joplin's.  Halloran tries to get at the truth, but his efforts sometimes muddle and interfere with Joplin's investigation.  Both characters are compelling as they wade through the back story that led to the death of Elliot Carter, not working together, but occasionally sharing information 

A twisty puzzle with plenty of suspects and old secrets that have far-reaching effects.  

NetGalley

Crime/Mystery.  2013.  Print Length:  298 pages.

The White List by Nina D'Aleo

Book Description:  

Chapter 11 is watching you.

Silver is an intelligence operative working for an agency that doesn't officially exist—beyond any government and above the law. Chapter 11 is the kind of place a person can join but never leave. And it keeps a third of the world's population under constant surveillance. At work. On the street. In their homes.

Why? Because of Shaman syndrome.

Chapter 11 observes, and when necessary "caps" the walts, as those who have the Shaman Syndrome are called.  Those born with the syndrome are unaware of the syndrome or constant surveillance, but when the walts awaken to their unusual talents and strength, Chapter 11 immediately responds by either killing them or taking them into custody for capping--whichever is least dangerous.

When I began reading, I was not sure if I'd continue, but after a chapter or two, I was completely immersed in the story.  Agent Silver and her partner Agent Dark have been remarkably successful in capturing walts after their break-throughs; unlike many agents who, when confronted with the strength and violence of a break-through walt, take the easier and officially sanctioned response of killing the walt, Silver and Dark have a record of getting their targets alive.

When Silver's partner is seriously injured by a walt, Silver begins investigating some anomalies that have bothered her, and she soon finds herself with a price on her head.  What is it that Silver (and other agents) don't know about the walts...and about Chapter 11, itself?

After a slow beginning (at least, the section of Silver's bemoaning her lack of romance), the pace picked up and the suspense began to build.   Who to trust?  Who to suspect?  What is involved in "capping" a walt?  What hidden agendas are kept from the agents?

NetGalley/Momentum Books

SciFi/Mystery.  May 13, 2013.  Print Length:  252 pages. 

Feast or Famine

Sometimes a dry spell occurs when none of the books on my Kindle or in my towering stacks are just what I want to read.  But then, just as I settle down with a second choice, wonderful new titles appear on NetGalley or in the mail.  Feast!

I read my first Michael Robotham novel in March (Watching You) and found it an excellent psychological thriller.   I wanted to read the first in the series, but as usual, got lost in all the other books in the TBR que.  

Then Mulholland Books sent me an email offering both the first and second in the series!  Yes!  Now, I have The Suspect and Lost in my que.  I've already read the first two chapters of The Suspect and am again impressed with Robotham's writing!  Great psychological suspense and terrific writing--can't get much better.

I'm eager to get more of the back story on this series, and I'm eager to see more of Joe O'Loughlin and Vincent Ruiz.  O'Loughlin suffers from Parkinson's which puts a unique twist on the protagonist and hampers his abilities. Another thing I liked about Watching You is that although O'Loughlin and Ruiz are definitely important to the story, Marnie Logan, one of O'Loughlin's patients, is the main focus--it is her mystery, she isn't a secondary character.

I'm not all sure what will happen in this first novel in the series, but it will be Joe O'Loughlin's first involvement with a high profile crime, and Robotham's first chapter grabbed my interest immediately.

Also new from NetGalley:  The Ship of Brides by JoJo Moyes and Terminal City by Linda Fairstein.  Two authors I've enjoyed previously.

Tonight will be just me and Joe O'Loughlin and a good story, I hope.

Four From NetGalley

Bone Dust White by Karin Salvalaggio is a rather dark mystery/crime novel.  It certainly held my interest, and yet, the darkness of some of the situations and characters left me a bit down.  I guess it could be considered a gritty noir novel.  It is well-written, and as previously mentioned, it certainly held my interest.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Mystery/Crime.  2014.  Print length:  302 pages.



A Gift of Ghosts by Sarah Wynde had the possibility of being one of books that are a mixture of humor and suspense.  Akira is a physicist who converses with ghosts.  She is afraid her "gift" will prevent her from receiving tenure at the university where she teaches, when in a timely manner, she gets a phone call offering her research job in Florida.  She flies to Florida, and the rental car provided her for has a teenage ghost.  All the possibilities for a light and fun read are present, but things go down hill.  It tries too hard to be serious, and it doesn't make it.

Lips:  Zane Lattimer "takes" Akira's lips several times.  Well, he can have them.  However, I have to admit reviews are overwhelmingly positive.  I think that may be the romance element that appeals to many, but I wanted something like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir or Love at First Bite.

NetGalley/All Night Reads

Mystery/Paranormal.  Originally published 2011.  

Twelfth Night by Deanna Rayburn is a novella featuring Lady Julia Grey.  It would have been better if it had been a full-length novel.  When I requested it, I was in such a hurry to get another installment of this series, I didn't notice that it was a novella.  In fact, it wasn't until it came to an end all too soon, that it registered.  At any rate, the novella's plot is a life-changer for Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane.  

NetGalley/Harlequinn

Historical Mystery.  June 1, 2014.  Print length:  51 pages.  

Murder on the Home Front:  A True Story of Morgues, Murderers, and Mysteries During the London Blitz by Molly Lefebure.  

This is one that I'm currently reading.  Because it is nonfiction, I read a while, then put it down and read fiction.  I've come back to it several times, but don't know when I'll finish. It is interesting so far, but not compelling yet. 

Description:  It is 1941. While the "war of chaos" rages in the skies above London, an unending fight against violence, murder and the criminal underworld continues on the streets below.

One ordinary day, in an ordinary courtroom, forensic pathologist Dr. Keith Simpson asks a keen young journalist to be his secretary. Although the "horrors of secretarial work" don't appeal to Molly Lefebure, she's intrigued to know exactly what goes on behind a mortuary door.

 NetGalley/Hachette Book Group

Nonfiction.  2014.

The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh (based on characters from Dorothy Sayers)

The Late Scholar     

Jill Paton Walsh has taken up the gauntlet and continued the adventures of Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.  It has been several years since I've read (or re-read) Sayers' original novels, so I quite enjoyed a reunion with these characters without being too critical.

Walsh has written her own detective fiction, children's books, and adult novels, including Knowledge of Angels which was shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize.

From Wikipedia:  In 1998, she won acclaim for her completion of Dorothy L. Sayers' unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey–Harriet Vane novel, Thrones, Dominations. In 2002, she followed this up with another Lord Peter novel, A Presumption of Death. In 2010, she published a third, The Attenbury Emeralds.^[4] Her latest addition to the series, The Late Scholar, was published December 5, 2013 in the UK, and January 14 2014 in North America.^[5]


The Late Scholar takes place after WWII, with an older Lord Peter Wimsey, now the Duke of Denver, and Harriet Vane.  Peter has an inherited position as Visitor at St. Severin's College in Oxford.  As Visitor, he is being called upon to settle a dispute within the college about whether or not to sell an ancient manuscript.  The dispute is dividing the College Fellows, the Warden is missing, and several unusual accidents have occurred, one of them fatal.  

This plot device returns the pair to Oxford, the setting for Gaudy Night.  There are certain reminiscences about the Gaudy Night plot and characters that I found quite entertaining and passing allusions to famous Oxford Dons such as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis that are amusing.  Oh, and a reference to Edmund Crispin!  (I read Crispin's satirical mystery The Glimpses of the Moon last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.)

The Late Scholar is NOT Dorothy Sayers, but it does follow many of the dictates of The Golden Age of Detective Fiction, draws on Sayer's novels, and uses her familiar characters, including Bunter, in a worthy homage.

Yeah, I liked it.  Some day, I would like to take the time to re-read all of Sayers' original series, and then add Walsh's additions to the end.  There is a certain innocence to these novels, and I have a nostalgic love for the characters.  


Read in April; review scheduled for May

NetGally/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Mystery/Detective Fiction.  June 17, 2014.  Print version:  368 pages.

Vertigo 42 by Martha Grimes

Vertigo 42

I don't know how many of you have followed Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels.  They are a weird combination of crime, mystery, quirky friendships, witty repartee, familiar places, and plenty of recurring characters.  

The titles in the series are for various pubs:  The Man with a Load of Mischief, The Old Silent, The Grave Maurice, etc.  In a recent article, Grimes states, "The only research I do is the accidental coming upon of a pub, the name of which I think is just fantastic."   Only then does she consider the plot.  

Vertigo 42 is a little different; it opens with a meeting  in a modern wine bar instead of the traditional pub, but Grimes uses the title as a basis for the plot and makes references to Hitchcock's film.

I have definite favorites among the books I've read.  Some appeal to me more than others, but what never fails to please me is meeting characters like Carole-Anne and Wiggins and the awful Cripps family again.  Of course, no Jury novel is complete without the Long Piddleton group, and it goes without saying that without Jury's foil Melrose Plant, the novels would lose much of their charm.  Most of their charm.  Long live Melrose Plant.  What?  So...maybe I do like Melrose Plant better than Richard Jury.

The novels are classified as "cozy," but by no means are they light-weight.  Cozy mysteries characteristically include a lack of graphic violence or sex, a small community setting and long-standing relationships, and an emphasis on puzzle-solving.  By those lights, the Jury novels certainly fall into the cozy genre, but some cozy mysteries are like meringue, lots of air, light, and fun, yet not fully satisfying.  The Jury novels have more heft.

Another couple of details that can always be found in these novels:  a child or children and animals, and they are not throw-aways, they have a purpose. 

Vertigo 42 is not my favorite Jury novel, but I did enjoy it.  Grimes creates interesting puzzles and wonderful characters, and I continue to enjoy the wide community of people and places she has created.   There are now 23 books in this series, and if I could afford to, I'd love to read them from first to last.  I've read most, but not all of them, and starting at the beginning would be fun.

In 2012, Martha Grimes was awarded the title of Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, joining such notables as Agatha Christie, John le Carre,  Elmore Leonard, Barbara Mertz, Tony Hillerman, and P.D. James (and many other great mystery writers).

Read in January; review scheduled for May.

NetGalley/Scribner.

Mystery/Police Procedural.  June 3, 2014.  Print version:  336 pages.

A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton

Sharon Bolton (previously S.J. Bolton) has added another Lacy Flint novel to her series.  I've only read Dead Scared in this series featuring Lacy Flint and Mark Joesbury, but I've read a couple of Bolton's stand-alone Gothic/Suspense novels:  Blood Harvest and Sacrifice.

I've missed a couple in the Lacy Flint series, and evidently Lacy has made an attempt to get away from the horror of some her last cases by leaving the detective unit and going back into uniform with the River Police.

Poor Lacy--her attempt to escape the darker side of police work doesn't work too well.  While swimming in the Thames, she comes across the shrouded body of a young woman, secured and waiting for Lacy to discover her.

Despite her efforts to remove herself from this kind of investigation, she finds herself drawn into another dangerous situation.  And someone is watching Lacy, delivering strange gifts that seem to hint at something that she doesn't yet understand.

In the meantime, Mark Joesbury has been on an undercover assignment, and there are suspicions that he may have turned.  

An intriguing mystery with some curious characters.  I need to catch up on the books I've missed.

Read in April; review scheduled for May.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books.

Mystery/Police Procedural.  June 3, 2014.  Print version:  448 pages.

The Truth Against the World by Sarah Jamila Stevenson

The Truth Against the World is an interesting ghost story. Olwen Nia Evans and Gareth Lewis, two young people a world apart,  connect through the internet.

In California, Olwen (Wyn for short) posts some of her puzzling dreams on her blog.  Her great-grandmother Rhiannon is terminally ill, and Wyn's life is shadowed by this imminent loss. 

Gareth, in London, has also been having strange dreams.   After a disturbing incident in Wales involving the ghost of a young girl near a grave marked Olwen Nia Evans, Gareth has had more than dreams to contend with--photographs show images that can't be explained and his phone seems to have a ghostly connection.

Gareth's online search for an Olwen Nia Evans leads him to Wyn's blog.  The two begin a conversation and discover that both families have roots in the same small Welsh village.

Wyn tells Gareth that her family will soon be visiting Wales to honor Rhiannon's wish to die there, in the village where she was born.  Gareth arranges to visit his great-grandfather in order to unite with Wyn and hopefully solve the mystery behind their strange dreams.

This YA/Juv novel provides an interesting plot with likable characters and a supernatural element that works well.  No gratuitous angst or sexual imagery.  No condescension to a false image of adolescence.  A neat little ghost story that both Middle Graders and adults can enjoy.

I particularly enjoyed the inclusions of the Welsh language and proverbs.

Read in January; blog post scheduled for May.

YA/Middle School.  June 8, 2014.  Print version:  360 pages.

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Half a King (book one in the Shattered Sea series) is a suspenseful fantasy, a coming of age story, and a revenge story.  

Prince Yarvi is born with only half of his left hand, earning the scorn of his father (and most of the court).  His older brother is heir to the throne, so Yarvi has been trained as a Minister, an important position as adviser to the king that requires scholarship, knowledge of healing, and an understanding of politics and negotiation.  A position that appears perfect for Yarvi, who has shown no skill as a warrior.

Before he can take his vows, however, his father and brother are killed, and a reluctant Yarvi becomes king to the chagrin of a court and populace who view him as weak and crippled.  He takes a vow of revenge against those who are responsible for his father's death, but his quest for vengeance leads to a reversal he could never have expected.

Among others who have praised Abercrombie's latest work on Goodreads:  Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Hobb, Brent Weeks, and Rick Riordan.

An interesting cast of characters (well-drawn and dynamic), a standard plot with some serious twists, and a protagonist who must make the most of his own abilities.  I'm eager for the next book in the series!

Not scheduled for release until July, but I'm going to publish review early as a Once Upon a Time entry.  Will mention it again closer to publication date.

NetGalley/Random House/Del Rey Spectra

Fantasy.  July 15, 2014.  Print version:  352 pages.

Troll Mountain by Matthew Reilly

I've not read any other books by Matthew Reilly, but I gather that this is his first novel for young people.  It is entirely suitable for his audience.  Character development is limited, but it is the familiar hero's quest and meets all of the requirements for this genre.  

Book Description:  A dauntless young hero.An army of brutal monsters.An impossible quest.Journey to the mountain …In an isolated valley, a small tribe of humans is dying from a terrible illness.
There are rumors, however, that the trolls of Troll Mountain, the valley’s fearsome overlords, have found a cure for the illness: a fabulous elixir.
When his sister is struck down by the disease and his tribal leaders refuse to help him, an intrepid youth named Raf decides to defy his tribe and do the unthinkable: he will journey alone to Troll Mountain and steal the elixir from the dreaded trolls.
But to get to Troll Mountain, Raf will have to pass through dangerous swamps and haunting forests filled with wolves, hobgoblins and, worst of all, the ever-present danger of rogue trolls …The journey to the mountain has begun.  

And there you have it.  The novel is exactly what it says it is and is certainly something young readers might enjoy.  On the other hand, there is little character development (and Raf, the young hero, and Ko, the mysterious old man, are worth more development).  The adventures move too quickly and feel abbreviated.  Maybe it would make a good manga--it would certainly lend itself to illustration.  

Interestingly, this novel was published as a novella series first, then the three novellas combined for the final version of the novel.  Even as a complete novel, it felt rushed and awfully short.

An example of "fantasy light"--that will engage young readers, but leaves a lot to be desired for most adults.   

NetGalley/Momentum Books

Fantasy/YA/Juv.  May 20, 2014.  

Blacklist by Jerry Ludwig

Blacklist is one of the best novels I've read this year.  Maybe this is because the McCarthy Era, the persecution of American citizens during the Red Scare, and the Red Baiting by Hoover has always fascinated and frightened me.  The lives that were ruined, the vindictiveness of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the betrayals of friends--are all part of a shameful episode in our past that most people now don't even remember and many have never heard of.

However, although this is a period that interests me, that is not all that makes this novel a stand-out.  It is exceptionally well-written, capturing the essence of Hollywood, the abuses of power, the harassment, and the psychological damage to both those who refused to name names and to those who succumbed and named their friends and colleagues.

The novel is written from three viewpoints:  David Weaver, son of blacklisted writer Teddy Weaver, who left the country rather than testify against his friends; Jana Vardian, daughter of Leo Vardian, whose father testified and betrayed friends; and FBI Agent Brian McKenna, Hoover's man in Hollywood.  This was a particularly effective technique that allowed the author to present so many versions of the truth.

Within a few pages, I wondered if the author had intimate experience with this time period and went to the final pages to find out.  The ADDENDUM to the novel turned out to be almost as interesting as the novel itself.  Ludwig explains his connections to Hollywood and to many of the individuals who endured the witch hunt.  He knew two of the Hollywood Ten (those who went to prison for Contempt of Congress because they invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer HUAC's questions); the description of the remarkable Dalton Trumbo is particularly fascinating.  

The parents of one of the author's best friends were blacklisted when he was a child--Ludwig includes other details about his friend and his family that make it obvious that the friend was the inspiration for David Weaver's family.  Ludwig knew Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman (who was blacklisted and told HUAC that she would "not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions." Ludwig knew many others, including the famous namer of names, Elia Kazan.

So...what is the novel about?  David Weaver returns to Hollywood in 1959 to bury his father.  He desperately wants to renew his relationship with Jana Vardian, his childhood sweetheart.  Agent McKenna is immediately aware of his arrival.  These three characters are all connected in the web of past events, and from them, we get information--past and present--from different points of view.

Then people who had ties with HUAC begin turning up dead.  David Weaver looks like a good suspect.

The murder mystery is interesting, but it is the characters that make this novel several cuts above the rest.  The characters and Ludwig's ability to create the atmosphere of Hollywood during the 1950's feel absolutely genuine making this a great book in several ways.

My thanks to NetGalley for this one.  Highly recommended!

Historical Fiction/Mystery.  Macmillan-Tor/Forge.  June 10, 2014.  Print length:  416 pages.

Sorrow Bound by David Mark

Sorrow Bound  is a gritty crime novel.  Set in Hull, Yorkshire, this is the third in the series featuring Detective Sergeant Aector McAvroy, a huge man with red hair and a face that people trust. The detective's appearance and personality contrast with the depravity and violence he often faces in his work.  

The characters are vivid and their circumstances are penned with care and certainty, even if, in some cases, I would rather not be privy to those circumstances.   The murders are violent and twisted and the back story is violent and twisted.  

Although the book held my interest, my final thoughts are that the tendency to create more violent and graphic murders for serial killers becomes formulaic.  D.S. McAvoy's personality and appearance set him apart, but strangely, he doesn't come across as clearly as some of the other characters.  

The main plot is tied up by the end of the novel, but a subplot, a very important subplot for D.S. McAvoy, is a cliffhanger.  I haven't read the first two novels in this series, but I don't really feel that this series suits me.  

read in February; review scheduled for May  

NetGalley/Penguin Group/Blue Rider Press

crime/police procedural.  July 3, 2014.  Print version:  352 pages.