Haunted Ever After / Jen DeLuca

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Cassie has made a big change in her life. All her friends are getting married and having babies, leaving Cassie outside the magic circle and lonely. Then her landlord announces that he's selling the building she lives in. Buying something in Orlando proves to be impossible, so Cassie snaps up a beach house in Boneyard Key. It seemed like a good idea, until she gets there. There's something wrong with the wiring and her laptop won't charge. Plus other odd things happen. It's an old house which apparently needs work.

Cassie keeps her employment stable by charging her computer at Nick's coffee shop. After a grumpy beginning, they reach a détente. Which is why, when the ghost in Cassie's house writes a threatening note with her fridge poetry magnets, Cassie ends up at his shop. Nick is a local, a descendant of the First Fifteen founders, who has his own ghostly roommate, the previous owner of the café. He points her toward the spiritual investigators in town.

Cassie gets to know “her" ghost and becomes fond of Nick, but whenever he comes to her house, it's like he loses control and acts like an asshole. He's his normal likeable self at his house, but his ghostly voyeur makes the couple inhibited. She's worried that he's secretly a controlling bastard. He's worried that she'll move back to the city.

Ghosts and romance seems to be a trend right now. Earlier this year, I read Suddenly Psychic (which has a very similar plotline to this book) and Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places. It's a trend that I can live with. I enjoyed this without being creeped out by the ghost aspect. That's a good thing, since I have another novel like this in my reading queue (and a second on hold at the library).

I liked that I got to see the romance from both Cassie's and Nick's points of view. It was fun to watch their mating dance while Cassie tried to figure out Sarah Hawkins, her spectral housemate. I note that DeLuca obviously plans a second volume and I'm pretty sure that it will feature two associated characters: Sophia, the ghost tour leader, and Theo, the bookstore owner. I hope my library purchases it when it is published.

Silent Night, Deadly Night / Vicki Delany

 

4 out of 5 stars 

This is the only volume of this series that isn't available at our library, but I was fortunate to find it at a big used book sale back in May. I do like to read these things in order! Merry Wilkinson is once again involved in a murder investigation in the town of Rudolph. Her mother Aline has invited her university friends to come to town for a reunion, but things quickly go off the rails when Karla collapses and dies from a peanut allergy. Merry suspects it was no accident. The police are involved and the women are stuck in town, much to their displeasure.

Merry's father Noel is the town Santa, but there's a new guy in town who wants to take over. Merry is outraged, but her dad isn't going to fuss about it. Can Merry leave it alone? (Spoiler alert: No.) Thank goodness she has her dog Mattie and her boyfriend Alan to help her stay on track.

I was glad that Delany has continued to write Detective Diane Simmons as tolerant of Merry's involvement. The detective is still not going to share information (quite rightly) but she isn't hostile like the police in other cozy mystery series. Merry also is less gung-ho than some other cozy heroines (like Gemma Doyle in Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries). She even takes better care of her dog than other Delany characters. In this book, Merry spends far less time with her bestie, another pleasant change. All of Delany's series are pretty samey, but I favour this one for these reasons.

I think this volume can go to the used bookstore when I next take in an offering, but I did enjoy reading it. The library can take it from here.

Graveyard Shift / M.L. Rio

 

3 out of 5 stars 

I absolutely adored If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, so when I saw that she was publishing this novella, I knew that I had to read it. It's been a number of years since IWWV, and I imagine this is a good way to remind her readers that she is still writing. Comparatively speaking, this slim volume is merely snack size. It is very different from the previous book while still exploring the Dark Academic space which seems to be Rio's forte.

Although billed as horror, I would classify it more as human drama with a dark slant. She explores that fertile question of how much we should trust in scientists and researchers. The same question that we've been exploring since Mary Shelley penned Frankenstein. This is why universities have ethics guidelines and enforce them. There are good reasons for the “red tape" that so many sneer at.

I could have wished for more of a lot of things: more time to develop this odd assemblage of characters, slower development of the mystery, or more nuance in the researchers’ behaviour. Hell,more nuance in everyone's behaviour. Messy endings usually appeal to me, but this ending just seemed unnecessarily abrupt. I want to know what happened to the unfortunate grad student. Unusually, I want to know what happens to the two male characters more than the women. Ordinarily it's the other way around.

So, I am reminded, Ms. Rio, I know you're still out there. Since I dig your Dark Academia playground, I hope you plan to produce more. However, this felt rushed and unfinished so I hope your life is more conducive to concentrated writing in future. You write it and I promise to read it.

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love / India Holton

 

4+ out of 5 stars 

A cheeky ornithological rom-com. I think either Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series or Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate are similar in their arch tone, obviously having fun playing in their versions of Victorian society. This is very much a farce, poking fun at: ridiculous bird names, our perception of Victorian society, tea drinking, competitiveness among birders, academic rivalry, and romance tropes. There is much running about, with the main characters both pursuing and pursued.

Birders may also be reminded of The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, a book which made me giggle and/or snort at various times as I recognized my own birder behaviour. Combine birder competitiveness with academic rivalry and you can imagine the overblown pursuit of the Birder of the Year title. And anyone who has snickered at Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers or Great Tits will love all the wonderfully extravagant species that Holton has concocted. The cat-eating arctic warbler and the rabid carnivorous lapwing particularly caught my attention.

Very fun and extremely cute. I can hardly wait to read the second book in the series.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year / Ally Carter

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Another irresistible title! Especially since I am distinctly lacking in Christmas spirit this year and am trying to drum up some enthusiasm for the season. I'm unsure that this novel made me feel more festive, but it was undoubtedly entertaining. 

I don't always appreciate humour in fiction—it sometimes baffles me. However, I understood and enjoyed the snickers that were provided by rival authors Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt. Maggie's persistent misunderstanding of many things made me smile because I realize that I have a tendency to do the same thing. Ethan starts out unbearable but morphs into a good guy who's been misjudged. Their eventual team work feels right.

Of course, if a mystery author (and the grand dame of mystery, no less) sets up a locked room puzzle for her spiritual and genetic heirs, you know that it's going to be a tricky one. Carter creates a collection of suspects worthy of an Agatha Christie novel. The entitled relatives, the newly discovered niece, the old friend (who is a detective), the young lawyer, and the two American authors recruited to be part of this Christmas pageant.

If you are looking for something light as tinsel and tasty as chocolate, this might just be the confection for you. 

The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards / Jessica Waite

 

4 out of 5 stars 

How could I not read a book with this title? I’ve heard Jessica Waite on CBC radio several times this year and I knew immediately that I wanted to read this memoir. Her husband Sean collapsed and died in Houston unexpectedly. That was difficult enough, but she keeps finding more and more aspects of a secret life that she had never guessed Sean was leading: an enormous cache of pornographic material, massive debt from pricey hotels, booze, food, and prostitutes, numerous affairs (some of which were with women that Jessica knew), and drug use. The depth of this betrayal is hard to fathom.

Jessica had to deal with all of this while drowning in grief for the husband she loved while protecting a young son and wondering what or how much to reveal to her husband's family. Grief is an overwhelming thing at the best of times, with stages which repeat themselves until a resolution is reached. I knew from her radio interviews that the author has reached a place of forgiveness on most days. How did she get there? I wanted to know.

Grief is one of the most difficult things that I have ever done, even though I had only tiny regrets and there were no startling revelations. I relate to many of her feelings and experiences despite the fact that I was a young woman who had lost her parents in a motor vehicle accident, not a widow. I felt her shock when she realized that you get compassion until about the six month mark and then you are expected to be back to normal (even though you will never have “normal” ever again). Then you are on your own. I can attest to the truth of that.

Closure is a myth. You must build a new normal. I remember standing by my mother's body and swearing that I would be happy again someday. Thirty years later, I'm pretty content. I admire Ms. Waite's determination to get her life sorted and marvel at the amount of energy that she has devoted to it. It turns out that she lives in my city and I wish I could meet her.

The Marlow Murder Club / Robert Thorogood

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

Another mystery revisited in order to be able to discuss it sensibly at book club next week. It's been a couple of years since I first read it and I looked forward to it.

It was fun to get to know Judith, Suzie and Becks all over again. Judith is the brains of the operation, having kept her wits sharp by creating crossword puzzles, doing jigsaw puzzles, and regular swimming. She recognizes the other two women as potential partners, seeing Suzie's bravery and Becks' work ethic. Judith helps them see themselves differently, as intelligent, capable women in a society that tends to discount women, especially older women. Knowing what lies ahead of them in the next two books, I can see how Thorogood is setting the stage here for adventures to come.

We get introduced early in the action to the policewoman Tanika. I took more notice this time around of her situation—a time consuming career, a small child, a husband who is a reluctant partner, a demanding father. No wonder she eventually knuckles under and enlists our three intrepid investigators.

The plot is worthy of Agatha Christie in complexity. Judith lays out her reasoning at the end in a very Poirot-like way. As with Christie, I saw all the clues but didn't click them together like Judith did. I do think that Thorogood played fair though. It was a solvable mystery for the alert reader. I’m a lazy mystery enthusiast, willing to let the author clue me in. (And after two years, I didn't remember the solution, so I'm glad to have refreshed my memory before book club.)

The Paranormal Ranger / Stanley Milford

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

As a result of the cyber-attack on our public library in late October, when service resumed a lot of us rushed in to return the books that we'd been waiting impatiently to chuck into the book return chutes. And, pow! Holds started to flow in for us. I seem to have been served up quite a selection of memoirs including this intriguing book by a retired member of the Navajo Police Service.

Milford begins each section of the book with part of the Navajo creation story and then relates his account to it. He claims to have had the ideal balance of traditional Navajo background and police/investigative training to be effective at paranormal investigation. He does seem to balance skepticism and belief fairly well. I know a little bit about what he is saying, as my prefrontal cortex is a skeptic but my amygdala is a believer. As a result, I find books like this one (and a lot of horror fiction) to be very unsettling and I quickly realized that this would be one of those “read only during sunny hours" books.

I certainly can't dispute what Mr. Milford says he has seen and experienced. Earlier this year I read The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster, from which I gained the impression that Bigfoot belief was a more Caucasian working-class thing, so I was interested to find out how the indigenous community views the phenomena. It amazed me how Navajo lore incorporates these paranormal elements quite easily.

It's a quick, interesting read which I would recommend be read during bright, sun shiny hours with snacks at your elbow and other people near at hand.

Ordeal by Innocence / Agatha Christie

 

E

4 out of 5 stars 

Much more directly psychological than most of Christie's output, this novel explores the nature/nurture debate, human dynamics in the family, and the role of the mother of adoptive children. Mrs. Argyle, the victim of murder (presumably by her adoptive son, Jacko), was a force to be reckoned with. She supported the family, ran the house, mothered her children far too much, and sent her husband retreating into historical studies, where he could feel like he had some autonomy.

When Dr. Calgary appears on the scene, returned from the Antarctic and having newly heard about the case, he reveals that Jacko had an alibi for the night of the murder and has died in prison for a crime he could not have committed. Those remaining in the household quickly realize that there must be a murderer in their midst. Calgary and the police are both asking uncomfortable questions—even Philip Durrant, the wheelchair bound son in law, is amusing himself by investigating on his own.

At one point, someone describes Mrs. Argyle's parenting style as “smothering,” something which all of her many adoptive children would agree with, though some of them coped with it better than others. Mary, wife of Philip, seems to have chosen a similar possessive style to care for her disabled husband. He resents it as sharply, understandably saying his brain is just fine. Christie can lay all kinds of red herrings within this situation, where resentments seethe just beneath the surface.

I knew a man, adopted into a good family and raised with every advantage, who nevertheless felt hard done by. He couldn't have been more different from his adoptive brother if he'd tried. He eventually met his natural brothers and his behaviour was just like them—tetchy, quick to anger, grudge holding, and believing that everything was stacked against him. That's how powerful genetics can be. I was a friend of his mother and was dismayed by the way he treated her. She was kind without smothering (although perhaps with a tendency to “be right" too often, like Mrs. Argyle). I couldn't help but think about them while reading this.

I think that I'll be rereading this novel in the future, just to examine how Christie shaped it so deftly and to try to parse what she felt about being a child and being a mother.

Making It So / Patrick Stewart

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

My first attempt at reading this book was with the paper copy. Stewart truly began at his very beginning with his birth in Yorkshire and I kept zoning out. Then I realized that I could borrow the audiobook (read by the author!) from my library and I changed plans. I had a very long wait, but it was a good decision. Stewart's voice made the book for me.

I'm not much of a television watcher any more and I rarely attend a movie, but I was devoted fan of Star Trek TOS as a child and then TNG as a young adult. I saw all the movies based on these franchises. Jean Luc Picard was most definitely my captain. Incidentally, I am also a fan of Shakespeare and currently have a project going to see all of his plays performed. So I had double the reason to be a Patrick Stewart enthusiast. However, my obliviousness to acting meant that much of Stewart's name-dropping meant very little to me, despite his reveling in it.

I thought that Stewart was disarmingly honest about his insecurities and foibles. As an actor, I can understand his angst about losing his hair, feeling it would thwart his aspirations to be a leading man. Likewise, his Yorkshire upbringing meant that he wasn't necessarily conversant with things that other Brits might take for granted. (His childhood tales made me think of A Kestrel for a Knave). It's challenging to learn the rules of new social situations, even more so in class conscious Britain. For me, it was somewhat disconcerting to realize that the man who plays the calm, cool, competent captain of a starship has so much anxiety! An actor's life can be precarious, especially theatre actors. Insecurity about his appearance, his social standing, and reputation would only exacerbate that anxiousness.

For someone with a working class upbringing, Stewart quickly acquired some very elite preferences: Shakespeare, theatre, and classical music. A very unusual teenager! I completely understood his compulsion to read, driving him into the family loo with a book and a candle to get some uninterrupted time.

When the book first came out, I heard Stewart interviewed about it. He was able to laugh about being described by the Hollywood press as an “unknown Shakespearean actor.” He has certainly become a famous and well loved figure. I was pleased that he seems to be able to enjoy this status now, not to mention the financial rewards of his work.

A Study in Scarlet / Arthur Conan Doyle

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

It's been a long time since I first became acquainted with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. I have a much greater appreciation for this tale, now that I have read the full Holmes canon and also have a better sense of the historical setting. Honestly, I have to recommend The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold for a better understanding of the London of the time and the situation of regular people in that time and city. It gave me an understanding of Watson's need for economical housing during his convalescence from his war injuries and his anxiety on that matter. You can enjoy the story without that background, but how much more fun to comprehend the milieu.

So this is the origin story, the meeting of the partners. It sets up their relationship, the astute Holmes and the rather plodding but admiring Doctor. We meet Lestrade and the Baker Street Irregulars (although not yet known by that epithet). Conan Doyle refers to other fictional detectives who came before, his inspirational building materials.

Conan Doyle was a Victorian man and his writing reveals the mindset of the time. The long interlude set in Utah reminded me strongly of the romantic western novels of Zane Grey, who also used the Mormons as the bad guys in some of his plots (Riders of the Purple Sage, for instance). There were suspicions about this new religion and their polygamous leanings, some of which may be based on fact, but fact and fiction get muddled when prejudice is involved. I have to ask how much say the women in this very patriarchal religion had in the matter of plural marriage, but I also wonder how many non-Mormon women got strong armed into these marriages in reality. I wouldn't put it past entitled old white men to think it was a-okay, but this plot device may reveal the fears of non-Mormon men that they would never find wives of their own (like the incels of today believe, the Mormons were the “Chads" who were getting all the girls).

At any rate, the story returns to London and Holmes eventually. The reader gets to hear the detective's explanation of his insights, setting him up as the Great Detective figure with whom we are familiar.

Suddenly Psychic / Elizabeth Hunter

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 27 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I bought this book back in the summer, shortly after discovering the Paranormal Women's Fiction website. They are a group of women who are supporting each other in their quest to publish urban fantasy fiction featuring mature female main characters. I picked up 3 books by 3 authors. I'm not sure exactly what inspired me to choose this one right now, but I am so glad that I bought it!

Why do women so often have two really tight friends? We seem to bond in trios, at least that's been my experience. They don't last forever (what does?), but we usually get a good run. Robin, Val, and Monica are just such a friendship--they've been through childbirth, empty nests, divorce, and widowhood, always supporting each other. The book opens with the three women involved in a car accident that requires them to escape the car submerged in Glimmer Lake. It's cold, dark, and deep and the doors and windows won't open. Suddenly, Robin sees a striking man outside the vehicle, preparing to smash her window with a rock. Miraculously, all 3 women make it successfully to the surface but their rescuer has disappeared.

Robin realizes in hospital that she can now see ghosts. Once the pals reconvene, Monica admits that she get premonitions and vivid dreams. Val is completely freaked out by her new psychometric ability. They’d like to blame this on menopause, but if so, it's not a common symptom. It seems their savior may have been a ghost and they start to investigate who he might have been. Things get complicated quickly. How are Robin and this ghost connected?

Three women means three books, right? I've peeked ahead and the next one features Val as narrator. I must order volumes 2 and 3 soon, to make sure I get them. I was being careful when I only bought one, but I now wish I'd thrown caution to the winds. Elizabeth Hunter has potential to be a new favourite author for me. I'll be checking out more authors from this collective for certain!

Fool's Errand / Robin Hobb

 

R

4 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading 2024

Robin Hobb has done it to me again. Using her writing, she has squeezed my heart until tears leaked out of my eyes. Hobb is unsparing of her characters. They face big challenges and they don't emerge unscathed. Fitz really takes the brunt of it in this outing.

Every pet owner can sympathize with the losses experienced. Animals, however beloved, have shorter life spans than we do, and their care for us influences their behaviour. I had a little old bunny who waited for me to return from a trip and get to cuddle her one more time before she gave up her struggle. It was heart breaking and I'm just lucky that I got to and from the vet's office, crying as hard as I was.

Fitz is Witted, capable of bonding with animals (or should I say an animal) in a way that makes the non-Witted wary and hostile. Unfortunately for all of them, Prince Dutiful is also Witted, as well as desperately lonely and easily influenced. Has he been kidnapped or lured away by those who would use him? Either way, Fitz and the Fool are sent to retrieve the wayward Prince, disguised as servant Tom Badgerlock and Lord Golden.

I can only say that Hobb makes the emotional distress worthwhile. I was able to pick up where I left off in 2020 when I read Assassin's Quest, and sink right back into the Realm of the Elderlings easily. There is no question that I'll be completing this Tawny Man trilogy.

Second Rite / Geneva Lee

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Oh, the mysteries of the reading life! I borrowed the first book in this series from the public library and enjoyed it, but they didn't have subsequent volumes. They also turned down my request that they purchase this book. So I ordered this one from a bookstore in town back in the summer and was a bit whiney about it. What should happen next, but I get a notification via Libby that it's available through that platform as an audiobook. I should have been more patient. (Unusually, I can access it on Libby, but not through my library catalogue.)

This isn’t a bad book--it's very much a continuation from book one. Julian is still trying to run Thea's life and she's still trying to pry all the secrets out of him. But they have determined that they are Mates and that they will stand up to the Vampire Council together. Cue Olivia Newton-John singing Hopelessly Devoted. Julian has never been able to compel Thea and now we learn the possible reason for that. The couple unknowingly undergo the Second Rite necessary before they can wed with the Council's approval (if not Julian's mother's). The remaining number of Rites are unclear, but there are two more books, so I'm guessing two.

Here's my thing: book one was very much a screwball comedy. This one, not so much. Julian's jackassery is more pronounced and Thea's predictable problems with her mother and university friends are tiresome. Julian's family issues are suitably threatening. It was nice to figure out that Thea does have some magic of her own to help her cope with all the cranky vampires and witches.

Libby has volume 3 as an audiobook and I have no doubt that I will borrow it soon. I'm halfway through this soap opera and I might as well keep going. But I will wait MUCH longer before buying the final volume.

Homicide in Hardcover / Kate Carlisle

 

E

4 out of 5 stars 

I am always on the lookout for a good cozy mystery series. Being a recent convert to this sub-genre, I am still figuring out what makes a book good for me. For me, this first volume has all the hallmarks for a good series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a professional bookbinder and restoration specialist. Having worked in a library with special collections, I was immediately interested in her work. She has just been reunited with her mentor, Abraham, after an estrangement when he is murdered at a big social event. As per usual in this genre, Brooklyn finds him and immediately becomes a suspect. She wants to get justice for Abraham, but her investigation of the matter is pretty minimal. Often authors will depict their main character distrustful of the police, but Brooklyn finds herself in the murderer’s sights, so she is reliant on police for their expertise. So she is not trying to usurp the investigation, but she finds herself more involved by default. I appreciate this approach as I don't find it realistic to think that an amateur is going to have more success than the professionals.

I also enjoyed Brooklyn's family—her hippie parents, the commune where they live, and her geographically named siblings. Her BFF Robin provides more comic relief as she tries to get Brooklyn to care about stylish clothing and her image. I could also appreciate Brooklyn's love of eating. Too often female characters are depicted as worried about their weight and/or restricting their food intake. To hell with that! Let women eat like normal people!

Of course a cozy mystery rarely lacks a love interest, but that aspect doesn't dominate this book. The issue of why a British operative is involved in the situation is never addressed, but I knew from the first moment, when Brooklyn locked eyes with Derek Stone at the original gala event, that he would be filling that role. As love interests go, he is better than many.

The second book in the series is available through my public library and I will be reading it.

This is book number 26 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Busman's Honeymoon / Dorothy L. Sayers

 

5 out of 5 stars 

My favourite Sayers so far. Unlike so many mysteries, it takes quite a long time before the author produces a corpse. The first 100+ pages give us the hot goss about the wedding, namely that of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. They are not youngsters and they are used to being on their own, so we get to witness them finding their way towards a comfortable life together. We become acquainted with more of the Wimsey family and their quirks. Harriet learns that she has an accomplice in Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess.

Harriet realizes that she is marrying a rich man who desperately wants to give her a substantial gift, so she suggests a house in her old environs which she has always fancied. The best laid plans o' mice and men oft go astray. On the first night of the honeymoon, the newlyweds find themselves locked out of their new home. There is much ado until keys are located, the house opened, and everything is prepared for the wedding night. Not until the next day is the former owner's body discovered in a storage room.

Of course Peter has been detecting for years and Harriet writes mysteries, so you know they will get involved. Hence the title—as when a bus driver uses their holiday to take a coach tour, this couple uses their honeymoon to figure out who dunnit. Sayers has created a fabulous cast of characters as neighbours to the new residence, entertaining this reader immensely while the investigation progresses. Sayers gives Harriet very good sense and intelligence—she is quite the equal partner and acknowledged as such. Thank you, Ms. Sayers. (Incidentally, Sayers fine education and high intelligence are also on full display. Brava!)

Fun and funny, this novel is a perfect balance between mystery and romance. I will be definitely be enjoying it again in the future.

This is book number 25 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Intruder / C.J. Cherryh

 

4 out of 5 stars

Book number 531 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

What a change of pace in this volume of the Foreigner series! Was Bren shot at even once? Despite heading into a potentially volatile negotiation in pursuit of a peaceful solution, there seems to be a meeting of minds regarding politics and economics. It's not over until everyone signs on the dotted line, but the dowager trusts Bren to get everyone to the table.

Meanwhile, young Cajeiri must parse his man'chi and figure out just where his loyalties lie. He is going to have a sibling and is feeling threatened. Having grown a lot while in space with his great-grandmother, he feels somewhat detached from his parents, especially his mother. For an eight year old (almost nine, as he reminds everyone frequently) he is a very political animal, calculating what ties he has to whom.

Tabini speaks far more frankly than ever before to Bren regarding the boy and the state of the leader's household. It is rather terrifying to be so trusted, especially when Bren's body guards, members of the Assassin's Guild, also reveal startling secrets.

So, no shooting, no cross country chases, but plenty of political intrigue and complicated relationships.

Love and Other Conspiracies

 

4 out of 5 stars 

OMG, so cute! Hallie needs a great idea for a web series to keep her production career headed the right direction. As she frantically searches for the perfect subject, she runs across a handsome podcaster, Hayden. The subject he's obsessed with? Conspiracy theories of all kinds—Bigfoot, ghosts, Area 51, Mothman, you name it. His appearances on another program show him to be a charming if dorky show host. So why does he freeze up in front of Hallie's camera? As a committed nonbeliever, Hallie questions Hayden, firing him up in order to explain his position. Hallie's manager likes their chemistry and decrees that Hallie will join Hayden in front of the camera.

Can two people with such different worldviews travel and work together successfully? They give it their best shot and their series becomes wildly popular. After all, whether you believe or not, you'll have one of the hosts who represents you. The whole romance would be far too easy if it weren't for Hallie's vindictive ex, Cade. He's the classic controlling, selfish asshole, who's willing to gaslight Hallie and suck up to management. It's not enough that he has a popular series, he's determined to sabotage Hallie's success.

I knew how things would have to turn out. This is a romance, after all, and the HEA or HFN endings are pretty much a requirement. May I add that I sincerely hope there are guys like Hayden out there somewhere. However, I find them to be as elusive as any Bigfoot.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice / Laurie R. King

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

I am revisiting this novel because it is the November choice of my mystery book club. It's been about 6 years since I read it the first time and I have continued with several more volumes of the series since then. In fact, while renewing my acquaintance with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, I realized that volume 5, O Jerusalem, backtracks to cover their trip to Palestine which occurs in the last half of this book. It is the next step on my journey.

In short, I have more experience with Ms. King's work now and I am willing to bump up my rating from 3 to 4 stars. I like King's writing and I am willing to let her have her way with Holmes. The purists will eschew this series, but I have been reluctantly charmed. I can appreciate the insertion of an intelligent woman into the Holmes story, a story about a comfortably well off white guy by another one. It's a tradition ripe for feminizing. Holmes is a prominent character for sure, but the spotlight is focused squarely on Mary Russell.

I will be very interested to hear what my book club folks have to say about this title. I guess because I had read Conan Doyle’s version, I had definite ideas about what I was expecting. Do others have the same expectations? Some of the younger members seem unfamiliar with authors like Conan Doyle, Christie, or Sayers. Will that lack of familiarity leave them confused or bored? Or will it make them more open to King’s Holmes?

I have one reading friend who considers this series to be comfort reading and another who rejected it, complaining of Watson-bashing. This discussion should be fascinating.

Vision in Silver / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

These books are like popcorn—irresistible and consumed far too quickly. It's the building of relationships between individuals and between species that captivates me. Especially when set against a high stakes confrontation between humans and the Others.

In our current political climate, when so many countries (including my own) are skewing towards the right and authoritarianism, the problems that Bishop explores here feel extra urgent. She portrays us humans as we often are: selfish, greedy, and xenophobic. There seem to always be manipulative leaders who choose to exploit these tendencies. But the Others are discovering that there are exceptions to that rule. Friendships and trust have snuck up on everyone in the Lakeside courtyard.

How is this series written by the same author as the Black Jewels? I like the Others so much more than all that supposedly dark witchy stuff.

Only Cold Depths / Jennifer Estep

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Vesper Quill and Kyrion Calderon are still on the run with a bounty on their heads. Their true-bond has made them the object of Callus Holloway's greed, wanting to capture their psion power. Vesper's friend Asterin has encouraged the couple to come to her home world, where the true-bonded are protected.

However, when they arrive, Vesper and Kyrion quickly learn that Asterin's family is not too thrilled to meet them. Asterin's sister is downright antagonistic. If that wasn't bad enough, a pair of mercenaries with powerful psionic powers are hot on their heels. And then the Zimmer family shows up—do they truly want a family connection with Vesper or do they have an ulterior motive?

As usual, Vesper and Kyrion have multiple problems to solve. They've been warned that their true-bond hasn't yet stabilized and they have no idea how to deal with that either. Can they figure things out? Can they overcome the past and forge a real future for themselves?

Estep continues to write fabulous food scenes. I wonder if those happen when she gets hungry? And why do I suspect that she may have a cocky and annoying brother rather like Zane Zimmer?

Written in Red / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Well, that was fun and a great way to spend a cold afternoon. It was too icy for the errands I wanted to do (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I've read most of Bishop's Dark Jewels series, which I find to be silly instead of dark. I was impressed by how different this series feels, at least in this first book.

Bishop has taken the usual urban fantasy creatures (shifters, vampires) and given them her own spin. These people are not just humans with different abilities. They are far more hostile to humans, not wanting much to do with them (beyond snacking, of course). Their derisive term for their neighbours is monkeys and the bad behaviour of humans seems to justify that attitude.

So when a half frozen Meg Corbyn shows up in the alpha-wolf's bookstore late one night asking permission to apply for the post of liaison between the humans and the Others, Simon Wolfgard wonders why he hired her on the spot. Especially since she seems far less experienced for her age than the usual young woman. Meg has led a protected life as the possession of an organization that sells her visions of the future to the highest bidder. In order to have the visions, her skin must be cut, throwing her into a trance of pain and ecstasy.

Meg needs shelter from her Controller, who wants her back asap. Because she knows so little of the outside world, she treats everyone she meets with politeness and kindness. She has no prejudices. As a result, she makes friends wherever she goes. And she doesn't cower in her Liaison office—she gets out to deliver parcels that can't be carried by the mail carriers, the ponies (who were won over with treats). Her willingness to work and to talk to anyone who engages her gains her status among the Others. She is The Meg and anyone who disturbs her will be dealt with, including Simon Wolfgard.

Needless to say, many humans seem to want to harm Meg which may start a war. Can it be avoided? Will she change the society of the Others? When will Simon realize that he's attached to this determined little woman? I can hardly wait to dig into the next volume!

The Quiet Tenant / Clemence Michallon

 

3 out of 5 stars 

How the hell do I rate a book like this? I swear that I'm not going to read any more serial killer books and then a new one gets published and my brain says, “Oh, shiny!” This novel was gripping. It was tense, especially toward the end. It was grimly, awfully believable.

Pluses: it was all related from the women's points of view. His daughter, his captive, and his girlfriend/soon to be next victim. It fairly portrayed what we are willing to do in order to stay alive. It fairly depicts how we women with psychological damage can be manipulated by a practiced offender. Speaking from personal experience, if you have a controlling man in your family, it feels like something you know how to deal with. It feels familiar. You think you know what you're getting into. You don't. And these offenders have radar for the women with this kind of background.

Minuses: these books always make me debate their merit. Do we need more books featuring criminals like Aidan Thomas? Do they do anyone any good? Or do they just turn us into voyeurs? Is this a tribute to the bravery and resilience of Rachel? Or I am I just thankful that it's her and not me?

In the end, I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I don't know what star rating to assign. My thought is to go middle of the road. Three stars.