At Bertram's Hotel / Agatha Christie

 

4.25 out of 5 stars 

Book 10 of the 2025 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I've been having difficulty settling on a book recently. I pick up one, then another, but can't seem to concentrate on any of them. What cures that? Agatha Christie, of course! Especially if it's a Miss Marple. I admired the structure of the mystery as I read, watching Christie weave together a train robbery, an underhanded young heiress, an absentminded clergyman, and the anachronistic hotel that Miss M has chosen as her get away.

Despite the presence of my favourite old bird, Miss Marple doesn't actually solve this one. She is merely the sharp eared and observant bystander. Chief Inspector Davy, to his credit, quickly realizes that she is a valuable resource and treats her accordingly, but it is he who does the heavy lifting, figuring out the whole web of crime.

I must confess that I enjoyed the delightfully vague Canon Pennyfather. The fact that he would wander the world continually unsure where he was going was amusing. The people who know him wait quite a while before starting to worry about him. I've gone through the same chain of emotion: starting with wondering, moving on to mild annoyance, followed by exasperation, and culminating in being acutely worried. I thought Christie managed that emotional arc very skillfully.

One other observation—when the jeweler comments on Elvira Burke, that young heiresses are more strictly separated from their cash than other inheritors, it made me think of Brittany Spears and how hard her family worked to keep her under a conservatorship so they could avail themselves of its advantages. There's really nothing new under the sun, is there?

Jack the Bodiless / Julian May

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

2025 Re-Read

Book 9 of the 2025 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I am bumping my rating of this novel up to 3.5 stars. I came to it with fewer expectations this time, ten years after my first reading. I am appalled by my lack of memory—this was like reading the book for the first time.

I paid more attention to the Lylmik this time around, wondering about their guardianship of the Remillard family. Does it make sense that entities who only wear bodies occasionally would be interested in Jack Remillard, who essentially becomes a brain in a simulated body. I have to question how the Lylmik came to dominate the Galactic Milieu? Why do they get to manipulate and veto everybody else?

Most of the Remillards are pretty difficult to feel much affection for, except maybe for Rogi. But he's one of the untalented members of the family, an alcoholic who self medicates perhaps to deal with all the arrogant relatives who expect him to do their bidding. Little do they know that Rogi only co-operates because he has been coerced by the Lylmik that he calls the Family Ghost.

At any rate, this is background for the Marc Remillard that I met in May's Saga of Pliocene Exile. He is well on the trail towards his self imposed exile back in time, even as a youngster here. I note that the human race is represented as troublesome in this future, similar to David Brin's Uplift series where they are considered feral upstarts. A pretty cocky self-assessment, truly. I wonder if this species self-confidence is warranted?

May Day / Jess Lourey

 

R

3.5 out of 5 stars 

In 2020 I jumped into this series at book 7 (November Hunt). I was charmed and read on to the series’ end. I always thought that I would return to the earlier volumes and enjoy getting to know Mira, Mrs. Berns, and the whole cast of Battle Lake characters. Finally, I've got around to it.

I'm glad that I didn't begin here actually, as Lourey hadn't really found her groove yet. Mira is fairly well defined—I recognize her despite her potential alcohol problems and her non-vegetarian menus. I was thrilled when Mrs. Berns showed up in the first pages (more stewing hen than spring chicken), but she and Mira haven't connected yet. I'll be interested to see which book sees them becoming friends and co-conspirators.

I may be mistaken, but this is the earliest book I could find by Lourey, but I can already see a lot of the things that make me like her work. Her female characters are realistic, not a Mary Sue among them. They've got problems, they've got secrets, they've got questionable judgment, plus they are curious as cats. I also love the Minnesota setting, a place I've never visited but feel like I know because of Lourey's novels. Battle Lake seems like the Minnesotan version of Agatha Christie's St. Mary Mead, a small community where it's possible to recognize everyone and to have an opinion about them. Plus, Lourey is really good at thinking up really creepy situations for her characters, even in this cozy mystery.

I wouldn't do the amount of lock picking that Mira does, which is the one thing that I didn't care for here, but this is a common feature of cozy mysteries, much to my chagrin. I hate it but I can't avoid it. And it makes me wonder how many people would feel justified doing a bit of B&E to find out a bit of information? Despite this bugbear of mine, I enjoy Mira and this series and I plan to continue on reading them.

The Masquerades of Spring / Ben Aaronovitch

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

I'm glad that my library's only option for this novella was in the form of an audiobook, for otherwise I would have missed a wonderful performance by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Aaronovitch, I have heard, likes to test Kobna's mettle with as many regional accents as possible. Kobna does the British voices with authority and to my Canadian tin-ear seemed to do a creditable Southern voice, as well as several flavours of New York.

Augustus Berrycloth-Young, our narrator, seems to me to owe a great deal to P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster. His name (and his nickname Gussie) would fit into one of B. Wooster's tales quite smoothly. As would much of Gussie's vocabulary and his tendency to discount his own intelligence. He admits to wanting merely to live quietly and comfortably with his lover, Lucian, while enjoying the jazz of New York. His valet, Beauregard, isn't the absolute fount of wisdom that Jeeves was, but he is a very able assistant.

The spoke in the wheel of Gussie's routine is the appearance of Thomas Nightingale, seeking a place to stay and magical assistance. As happens when we deal with a person from our past, Gussie falls into his former role as the follower, despite needing a low profile both as magical practitioner and as a gay man when his orientation is considered illegal.

Although starting quite gradually, the author picks up speed until the reader/listener is pulled compulsively along, needing to know if Nightingale and Gussie can achieve their mutual goal without ruining Gussie's existence in the Big Apple. Much of the tension in the story results from dealing with prejudice against Lucian as a black man and against both Lucian and Augustus as gay men.

An interesting peek into the life of Nightingale well before Peter appeared on the scene and when practitioners were more numerous.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern / Lynda Cohen Loigman

 

3.5  out of 5 stars

This is a very sentimental novel, framed around Augusta Stern's retirement and the lost love of her youth. The author manages to incorporate many ideas to frame this dual timeline story. We get a peek into the pharmacy business and the gangster culture of the 1920s, Jewish history and heritage, herbalism, the treatment of women by the medical profession, and the importance of family in any era.

When Augusta moves into the seniors complex that her niece helped her select, the last thing she expects is to run into Irving Rivkin. He was the delivery boy for her father the pharmacist and the boy who she fell in love with in high school. He was also the guy who suddenly disappeared out of her life, married one of her classmates, and moved away without saying goodbye. Augusta worked hard her whole life to fill her time and her thoughts with anything but Irving's perfidy. How could this happen?

Although the plot is rather predictable, there were a few small surprises along the way. The love story delayed was well thought out, and Augusta and Irving's misunderstandings and antics were entertaining. Although it won't be one of my favourite books this year, I do not regret reading it.

Fan Service / Rosie Danan

 

3.75 out of 5 stars

This book is better than the cover art would lead you to believe. It should appeal to people who have participated in an obsessive fandom or to fans of all things werewolf.

Alex Lawson had a rough childhood—her mother abandoned the family when she was very young and she didn't fit in to the small town community where she and her father lived. She found solace in the TV drama The Arcane Files. She moderated a comprehensive fan website where she finally belonged and was internet famous as the Mod. But at a con, Alex meets the star of the show, who says unkind things about her when he thinks she's gone. Alex's feelings morph from adoration to wrath in that moment.

Meanwhile, Devin Ashwood is rapidly discovering that his Hollywood career is over and he is hanging onto his werewolf character by his fingernails. It's making him crazy and he wonders why he feels like he's becoming a real life werewolf. After shifting twice, he is looking for help when he discovers the fan website and emails an old address.

Alex can't believe that Devin Ashwood wants her assistance, but he's willing to pay and her dad has medical bills. She'd be a fool to say no, but what help can a vet tech be in this situation? However the arrangement puts them in close proximity and they gradually get to know each other. You can see which direction this is headed.

Mild warning: there's a bit of bondage.

Salvage Right / Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

 

4.25 out of 5 stars 

Book 8 of the 2025 Read Your Hoard Challenge

How I adore this series! I never tire of adventure in the Liaden Universe. I've been considering why this is and I have found two reasons. First and foremost, this is an optimistic universe. Yes, there are bad actors who are persistent (the Department of the Interior and the Lyre Institute), but there are far more decent persons (biological and artificial) who give me hope. Secondly, it is an excellent mix of science fiction and fantasy. There are artificial intelligences, space ships and space stations, but there are also Healers, wizards (the Dramliz), and sentient, manipulative Trees. In addition, many of my absolute favourite books are written by man-woman teams. I think this provides a balance that I find very attractive.

In this volume, we return to the out-of-the-way space station, Tinsori Light, a relic of the old universe, possessed by the Enemy, held in check only by two devoted Light Keepers, Jen Sin yos'Phelium and Lorith of the Sanderat. They have been murdered and reconstituted by the Light so many times over the last two centuries that they teeter on the abyss, having difficulty trusting that the old intelligence that ran the station is wiped out and that they can be safe again.

Korval, having Jen Sin on site, has salvage right to this damaged station and have declared their intention to return it to its position as a thriving space port. The Cousins start pouring in to assist, overwhelming Jen Sin, who has relied only on Lorith and himself for centuries. Can he adapt to this new reality? And of course, with this many members of Korval together, the luck will ensure no lack of other challenges.

I appreciated the afterword by Steve Miller describing some of their process, for instance that they alternated which one took the lead on each book. I was especially entertained by their inspiration for Tinsori Light. While vacationing at the seaside, they developed a habit of listening to the maritime weather radio. Every day, they heard, “Matinicus Rock is not reporting.” First it became a catch phrase, but it morphed into a distant space station in the far flung ocean of the universe, cut off by malfunction. It is selfish of me, but I hope that Sharon will continue to write without her life-mate Steve.