The Calling / Inger Ash Wolfe

 

4 out of 5 stars 

***2025 Summer: Murder Across Canada***

Ontario

Fast paced and tense, this novel captured and held my attention. I always have personal misgivings about fiction featuring serial killers, but then I find myself reading books like this one frantically. I guess the subject matter raises the stakes and adds urgency to the plot.

I had never heard of Inger Ash Wolfe, but I like his style.* I was interested in his choice of an older woman as the main character, but he wrote Hazel Micallef well. I found her believable. She is approaching retirement age, but her mother was mayor of the small community of Port Dundas well into her seventies. Retiring at sixty-five seems like a failure by comparison. Hazel's mother lives with her and basically runs her life when she's not working as Acting CO of the local police detachment. Like any good fictional detective, Hazel is divorced and has strained relations with her two daughters. She also has severe back pain and the alcohol and pain med habits to prove it. She also has a vindictive senior manager who won't make her job title official nor will he provide manpower or funds for her detachment. She is quite the old battle axe and I like her that way.

Port Dundas (a fictional town) is a sleepy place, where the police typically deal with traffic violations, drunks, and petty crime. Until a very ill elderly woman is found dead and obviously murdered. Hazel's work life is about to spin wildly out of control. Suddenly, she is drafting officers from surrounding communities, coordinating a nationwide manhunt, and trying to stay upright long enough to finish the job.

There are three more books featuring Hazel and I desperately want to know what happens to her next. Soon, Hazel, I will be getting back to you and Port Dundas.

*This is a psedonym and it turns out I have read one of his lit fic novels (and wasn't dreadfully impressed. I much prefer his genre fiction.)

A Sea of Spectres / Nancy Taber

 

3 out of 5 stars 

***2025 Summer: Murder Across Canada***

Prince Edward Island

The author has Acadian heritage, which she draws on to inform her characters, as well as PEI history and legends. Her mother gave her an article on a male ancestor, in which his wife Madeleine is mentioned merely as the stepmother to his children. Taber decided to give Madeleine her story. I learned things, notably that the British expelled some Acadians back to France. I confess that I only remembered those who ended up in Louisiana (hence the Cajuns) or returned to the Maritime provinces.

There are three timelines, of three women in the family line: Raina in the present, Celeste in 1864, and Madeleine during the expulsion of the Acadians (1759). I liked Raina, our modern day police officer, who sees a ghostly ship that draws her. She resists, knowing that the living cannot board it. She has devoted herself and her career to staying away from the ocean. Not an easy task when you live on a tiny island. She returns to her home town to investigate a missing person and, on her first night back, handcuffs herself to the bed to prevent wandering off to join the ghostly crew.

I enjoyed the Madeleine chapters too. As I say, I learned Acadian history. But I also got to see Madeleine deal with her version of the Sight and trying to coexist within the Catholic faith. It's a life full of tragedy, but there's hope there. It's the Celeste timeline that I didn't care as much about. I actually counted the Celeste chapters at one point to convince myself that I could hack reading the rest of the book. This character and her sister were based on a historical newspaper item in Charlottetown, during the negotiation of Confederation.

There are pluses and minuses to this novel. On the plus side, I liked the family history aspects and the paranormal details. The minuses for me were the stilted writing and the rather wooden character development. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, especially about what the characters were feeling. Raina and her mother were able to overcome a lot of emotional history far too easily, to my way of thinking. The third person POV distanced me from the women's experiences and made the story feel more like a news article or textbook. Nevertheless, there were flashes of better things here and there in the text (Raina desperately handcuffing herself to the bed, for instance).

Taber has potential. This title appears to be her first published fictional work (she has several nonfiction titles). I have no doubt that she will continue to write, gain experience, and improve the emotional intelligence in her fiction.

The Frozen People / Elly Griffiths

 

4 out of 5 stars 

And now for something completely different. I love Elly Griffiths’ books. When I heard that she was writing a new series about a cold case investigator, I got quite excited. “This will be great!” I thought. Then I realized that this cold case unit time travels to the time of the crime to solve their cases. “Weird,” I thought. “Doesn't sound like the Elly Griffiths I know.” But once I got started, the story drew me right in and fascinated me. When I think about it, what cold case investigator wouldn't want this ability?

Ali is such a modern woman that she is an unlikely time traveler. She has a great deal of trouble acting like anything but a feminist police officer, and draws a bit of attention as a result. Of course, there wouldn't be much drama if things ran as intended. Ali finds herself marooned in Victorian London and spending time with Cain Templeton, the man she's been sent to investigate. There's also a missing murderer, Thomas Creek—did he take Ali's place, traveling forward to the 21st century?

Meanwhile, in modern London, her son Finn finds himself accused of the murder of a descendant of Cain. Is this a coincidence or are the events of past and future connected? Like any of us, when he's faced with adversity, he wants his mother. Her cold case unit sends officer John Cole to take her place, so Finn gets his wish.

Bottom line: Griffiths is a talented writer and she need not be limited to the mystery genre. I am thrilled to see that this book is the first of a new series. I will be watching for volume two!

In the Barren Ground / Loreth Anne White

 

3 out of 5 stars 

***2025 Summer: Murder Across Canada***

Northwest Territories

There aren't many mysteries set in the NWT in my local library but this one sounded good. It is considerably creepier than my usual fare, as the young RCMP constable finds eerie similarities between current deaths and two historical events. I also find supernatural story elements from aboriginal lore are much spookier to me than those from European traditions, perhaps because I have less experience with them.

A warning to sensitive readers: the description of the crime scene at the beginning of the book is very gory and is described in a bit more detail than I really needed. Ironic that murder doesn't get me upset, but dismemberment does. I call it a crime scene, but it's unclear what exactly went on. Was it an animal attack, a disturbed human killer, or a supernatural event?

The author wastes no time introducing the reader to Crash O'Halloran, the bush pilot with a sketchy reputation. Constable Tana Larrson must fly to the remote death site and her usual pilot is on an alcoholic bender so O'Halloran is pressed into service. Tana is hostile to O'Halloran, but he continues to turn up in her investigation. He repeatedly warns Tana that law enforcement works differently in remote communities, irritating her further. Afterall, she's the one with Dogrib heritage and he's a white guy.

We get another, more sinister viewpoint occasionally, presumably that of the perpetrator. White gives us several possible identities for this person, seen by several people as a quick moving shadow in the darkness of a northern winter. The long hours of darkness and the icy cold lend their own special misery to the investigation. The author comments frequently about the number of people driven mad by life in the north. Tana's support staff member, Rosalie, intimates that white men are especially susceptible. And male RCMP officers seem almost destined for this fate!

Ms. White was born in South Africa, making Canada's diamond industry in the far north a somewhat familiar subject. The plot tension picked up rapidly in the last chapters, but in my opinion many plot points were glaringly obvious from the very first pages. I figured out Crash O'Halloran’s story long before it was revealed and Tana's hostility to him immediately set him up as a potential romantic interest for her. I was a bit dismayed at White's portrayal of the aboriginal population, writing them as much more superstitious, volatile, and irrational than I believe them to be. In my limited experience, our original people are practical, down to earth folk.

In short, take it all with a big grain of salt. This is fiction, not documentary. Not the best, but not the worst mystery that I've read.

Thus With a Kiss I Die / Christina Dodd

 

5 out of 5 stars!

The true lesson of Romeo and Juliet in the tomb is that it's not that easy to get rid of a Montague or a Capulet, and I'm both.

It's a good thing that Lady Rosaline Montague is a tough chickie, as she faces murder and mayhem once again. Congratulations to Christina Dodd on writing a second book which is every bit as charming, entertaining, and smile inducing as A Daughter of Fair Verona. I love the way Dodd uses details from many of Shakespeare's works, not just Romeo and Juliet. In this volume, she gets her Hamlet on, as the ghost of Prince Escalus' father appears to Rosie (and only her) to demand that she discover his assassin. Just like Hamlet, people question her mental health as she talks to Escalus the Elder, whom they cannot perceive.

There's a definite Taming of the Shrew vibe to this installment too, as Rosie struggles to come to terms with her betrothal to Escalus the Younger (whom she now knows as Cal, thanks to his father) and the relinquishing of her One True Love, Lysander. But first, the assassin. And since Rosie shares much in common with her impulsive father, Romeo, she ends up in the middle of many events, not the least of which is setting the Palace kitchen to rights (and becoming the heroine of the household thereby).

I don't know how long Dodd can maintain this series, but I will be there for each and every book of it! I adore the sarcastic and bold Lady Rosie and have come to appreciate Prince Cal. Their wedding should be eventful and I hope Dodd allows us to witness it.

Wolf Rain / Nalini Singh

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

This series is addictive for me! I absolutely love the focus on the Psy people in this volume, as Silence has fallen and they are once again having to learn to deal with emotions. The Silence Protocol, which eliminated all emotion, also covered up roaring psychopathy. This volume deals with a sigma-Empath named Memory who has been imprisoned in an underground bunker for most of her life. She is discovered and rescued by a wolf Changeling. This is a Nalini Singh book, so I knew where that was headed!

I put up with all the snarly leopards and growly wolves, but I adore the Psy characters. The Psy Net, its architecture and health are endlessly fascinating. Watching the Psy triage, treat, and repair their lifeline is somehow very satisfying. I also love all the new talents and powers that are being discovered and employed.

Memory has an unusual ability that will prove to be key to the future of the Psy Net. I have no doubt that I will see her again in future books. I already have a hold on the next one, but I am rapidly catching up to Singh. Write, Ms. Singh, write! I need more Psy-Changeling books!

The Geographer's Map to Romance / India Holton

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I'm unsure what held me back from starting this novel, but when I finally picked it up, I was delighted. It is a second chance romance. Elodie Tarrant married for convenience a year ago to the insufferably arrogant Gabriel Tarrant. He wanted the better accommodations afforded a married man and Ellie wanted more respect from the male members of the geography faculty. When the desired house was rented out before they got there, a miscommunication of course occurs, leading to the couple avoiding one another for a year. Until a geographical emergency necessitates that the Professors Tarrant use team work to prevent catastrophe.

Holton has a light, humerous writing style which I enjoy. She gives us the viewpoints of both Elodie and Gabriel so we know what's happening inside both of them (lots!). They are polar opposites—logical and intuitive, stoic and demonstrative, a planner and an impulsive person.

In the first book of this series, Holton created fun and imaginative bird species for the ornithologists to pursue. In this one, she conjures magical landscapes that both amaze and threaten. I especially liked the quirksand, which can only be escaped through waltzing.

At the end of the book is an excerpt from book three, The Antiquarian's Object of Desire, which I will await with pleasure. Historians seem to be its focus and, as Holton observes, ”No one is more dangerous than people who have little interest in the future.”

The Unmaking of June Farrow / Adrienne Young

 

3.2 out of 5 stars 

This is a hybrid time travel/portal fantasy. When I started reading, I wondered if that was just a metaphor for mental illness. That is what the titular character, June Farrow, thinks as she documents her condition, trying to make sense of what's happening to her. But it turns out that the Farrow women have an inherited condition? Talent? Freaky ability? To see doors which transport them to a different time, but the same community.

June is understandably confused when her Gran's BFF advises her to quit ignoring the doors and just go through the next one she sees. It seems this older lady knows more than she does, prompting her to do as she has been advised. And she lands in the middle of a mess, living with the man that future-June has married and has a daughter with. If that wasn't bad enough, her family is mixed up in a murder investigation and not in a good way.

While living in her original timeline, she had vivid dreams of future-June's life. Now, in that timeline, she has visions of her potential life had she stayed where she was. Can there be a love triangle if the men are separated by generations? This question made me think of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, except her Claire had no hesitation about getting involved with Jamie in the past. June has qualms, as does future-June's husband. Why did future-June leave him?

These doors that appear really need a notice on them, like the doors in Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway: Be sure. If you go through, they disappear and there's no going back. At least June gets to keep her clothes when she transitions, unlike Henry in The Time Traveler's Wife. Mind you, he doesn't get a door or a choice either. Despite finishing the book, I have questions. Why is June's great-grandmother Esther seemingly immune from the doors? Did her grandmother Margaret ever go through one? How can they know the “rules” that govern this phenomenon? Where did the inherited locket come from?

The ending is good, I guess. Everything seems settled. And while I usually love a messy ending, this one has so many unanswered questions that I feel a little cheated. Either explain or tell nothing. Blurgh!

Wordhunter / Stella Sands

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

From what I can tell, this is a first novel, although the author has written a number of nonfiction true crime books. First let me warn you that there is sexual assault and child abduction, so you are forewarned. 

I liked the quirky main character, Maggie, who comes from the wrong side of the tracks, but is finding her way in the academic world. Her behaviour suggests that she is on the spectrum somewhere. She is obsessed with words, sentences, and forensic linguistics. To calm herself, she diagrams sentence structures. She is an encyclopedia of random facts and statistics. Despite her intelligence, she has all the bad habits—smoking, drinking, and drug use—but still manages to keep up with school and a job. 

One of Maggie's professors has suggested her to the local police to help with a case based on threatening text messages which she analyzes. She and Detective Jackson manage to solve the case and Maggie adds police work and softball to her already busy schedule.

I'm always disappointed when an author takes the easy route of using sexual assault to challenge their character. I know it happens and that many women don't report it. But surely we can find other ways to test our fictional female characters. There are different obstacles for male characters--can't we do the same for women?

This is a quick read and the author leaves enough loose threads to justify a sequel. I wouldn't be surprised if she is encouraged to continue. However, I'm unsure if I'm interested enough to read on.

Rapport / Martha Wells

 

5 out of 5 stars 

You know how it is, when you find a new thing that excites you and you want to tell everyone? But maybe you're a machine intelligence and you don't have much experience with this feeling. And just maybe you're trying to emulate a person you admire. Feeling pulled between keeping a secret and shouting your happy news to the universe.

If you've wondered since reading Network Effect how exactly ART/Perihelion told his humans about his new crush, this short fiction is for you.

Read it here:

https://reactormag.com/rapport-martha-wells/

Dreamsnake / Vonda N McIntyre

 

3.7 out of 5 stars 

2025 Re-Read

This novel is very much a product of the 1970s, as am I. It seems natural then that we would get along. There is an odd mixture of outdated and still relevant ideas between these covers. The setting is a post-apocalyptic Earth, seemingly ravaged by nuclear weapons. Civilization has been busted back to swords and horses. And yet, healers get genetic training and use laboratories. Our main character, Snake, created her tiger-striped pony as a sort of dissertation or graduation project. It is common knowledge that there are off-worlders in the few domed cities, but outsiders are rarely allowed in, and the aliens are buffered by a snobbish human population who serve as gate keepers.

What was cutting edge woman-power stuff in the seventies seemed pretty dated to me today, but with the direction that current societies seem to be moving, it could become relevant again sooner than I'm comfortable with. It's a world in which people have been trained to control their fertility through biofeedback and where sex has no shame attached (unless you blow it with the control). Snake has a profession (healer) that she is highly competent at, and she is able to manipulate the venom of the serpents she carries with her to provide medicines and vaccines to treat her patients. This is another skill that current research is exploring. Antivenins are produced from captive venomous snakes and newly discovered plants and animals are optimistically tested for useful compounds.

The most important serpent in her care is her dreamsnake, whose bite helps those who are dying, letting them make peace with their past and the transition. This is something that 21st century medicine is just starting to work towards using psilocybin from magic mushrooms. In Snake's world, the dreamsnakes are off-world creatures in limited supply and one cannot be a complete healer without one. Snake misjudges a family, whose prejudice causes them to kill the rare animal, leading to her quest to obtain a replacement.

McIntyre depicts a profession whose members eschew violence. Snake makes her mistakes largely through naiveté, trusting that others will share her gentle, nurturing world view. Her adopted daughter, a formerly abused child, is a foil to her adoptive mother, often pointing out when Snake is being too trusting too soon. I could wish for a more imaginative name for the healer character, not to mention better street smarts, but it is impressive how much the author was able to imply in such a short novel. I do wish she had revealed a bit more about the aliens and why they remain on Earth or why they confined themselves to the domed cities.

It had been 12 years since I read this book and I enjoyed revisiting it.

The Ancient Dead / Barbara Fradkin

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

***2025 Summer: Murder Across Canada***

Alberta

It is very pleasurable to read a mystery set in your own stomping grounds when it is done well. Fradkin is not from Alberta, but she described it accurately and resisted the temptation to make Albertans look like unsophisticated rednecks. We've got them and they are loud, but they aren't the only demographic. The author has obviously done her homework and spent some time here. For example, her description of Calgary traffic felt very genuine. As I read, I got evocative descriptions of Drumheller, the Royal Tyrell Museum, and the Badlands, places where I spent my childhood. Reminders of the dust, the cacti, the delicate flowers, and the blazing heat. The people are hardy, opinionated, and individualistic. We do have a laser focus on the oil & gas industry, but are still connected to our agricultural roots. This is portrayed well in the novel.

I know that I jumped into this series at book 4, so I don't have all of the backstory of the main character, Amanda Doucette. I'm still not sure how I feel about her bull in a china shop approach to information gathering. She is far more aggressive than I would be comfortable with, but I know people like her and in fact may be related to some. I was also annoyed with her treatment of her friend Matthew. I had to convince myself that he kept volunteering to be taken advantage of, but it didn't make me any happier. I did wonder about Amanda's charitable work, which she seemed to be willing to delegate to everyone else. It didn't seem to matter much to her.

Fortunately I never felt like I was missing important story details. Fradkin seeded the necessary knowledge from the earlier books into the narrative. The only thing I might have benefited from was a bit more detail on the Nigerian experience that altered Amanda's life. I could empathize with her desire to find her uncle, having done family history research. It's easy to get fixated on the hunt and end up doing things outside your normal behaviour.

The climactic chapter had me reading frantically to figure out who did what. The mystery itself was sufficiently intriguing, with the clues leading me astray just as they were meant to. A good read.

Endless Night / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Reputedly one of Christie's favourites among her novels. I tried to keep this in mind as I read it. I found it very unlike her previous books. It deals with an working class young man who marries a very wealthy young woman. He has no idea how much she is worth until they have eloped and he must start meeting the relatives. The money doesn't seem to have motivated Michael Rogers to court Fenella Guteman, but it certainly doesn't detract from her allure. He quickly realizes that her people will view him as a fortune hunter and he feels understandably hostile. Her relatives and business people hover around her in a most annoying way.

In actual fact, I didn't like Michael from the very first. I thought Christie gave him reasonable concerns and reactions, but I just couldn't warm, up to him. And I couldn't put my finger on why I felt that way. I kept wondering why he made me so uncomfortable. The story is told from his point of view, which usually invests me as a reader in his version of events. He was living a charmed life, but I didn't feel pleased for him.

Christie was an enthusiastic home buyer. It seemed to me when reading her biography that she did quite a bit of wheeling and dealing in real estate. She was also better off financially than her second husband, often contributing funds to his archaeological digs. Both of these aspects of her life may have provided grist for Endless Night. She was in her late 70s when this book was published and obviously still very much in control of her faculties. Not only in control, but creative, writing a plot that would be at home among today's psychological thrillers.

Truly, Dame Agatha set the patterns for modern mysteries.

Swamp Sniper / Jana Deleon

  

3.75 out of 5 stars 

You never know when someone might start shooting.

This series is silly fun, but you do have to be in the right mood for it. After a couple of disappointing fantasy novels, I was ready for a bit of slapstick and Keystone Kops-like mayhem. I do recommend that you leave a good gap between books, or you will become bored with the repetitive nature of the humour. After all, how much longer can I giggle at Ida Belle refusing to wear her glasses? Or Gertie's kamikaze boat driving? Or Fortune having to hoist one of them into a tree or over a fence?

Fortune is supposed to be keeping a low profile in Sinful, Louisiana. She knows the rules—number one, do not get attached. That's already blown out of the water. She has discovered other women with military background (Gertie and Ida Belle) who are now her co-conspirators. Her friend Ally is thankfully younger, but has no idea of Fortune's true profession. Now she has been adopted by a cat. The ties to Sinful just keep increasing.

What makes Fortune a bit twitchy is her relationship with Deputy Carter LeBlanc. She knows that he has to do his job, whether that makes him happy or not. And she feels bad lying to him. What I don't think she has considered yet is that she can't be part of the Sinful Ladies Society anymore if she hooks up with him. The rules state that members must be single or widowed for at least 5 years. Carter is definitely interested and she can tell that he's pained each time she lies to him. Feeling guilty was the last thing she expected.

Although Swamp Team 3 is available and I'm tempted to plunge on in the series, I think I will pause instead. It's been three months in between books 2 and 3, and that has worked well for me. So maybe this fall I'll grab book 4.

I've been off a bit since I've been in Sinful. The residents here are not nearly as predictable as terrorists.

Vallista / Steven Brust

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Book number 536 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Brust takes a very basic idea and somehow builds a novel around it. Vlad is entreated by the youthful Devera, “Please help me, Uncle Vlad.” There's something odd going on, so Vlad follows her into a large building, where she promptly disappears. Now the doors where he entered will no longer open, the house is huge, and nothing makes any sense. Vlad is basically in a magical escape room.

People show up occasionally or Vlad stumbles upon them during his exploration of Precipice Manor. Devera appears from time to time, assuring him that “future Devera" recruited him to help her escape from the structure. I have to give it to Brust, my description sounds dull as dust, but he manages to make it intriguing.

Precipice Manor is like a circus fun house. Hallways run all over the place but often lead nowhere. The rooms seem to move and change. There are mirrors everywhere. Whenever Vlad finds an exit to the outside, he will mysteriously find himself back indoors. He encounters many people and asks as many questions as he can, despite receiving confusing answers. It appears that he is not only walking through the space of the manor, but also through time. It’s confusing, but this is Vlad Taltos and he doesn't give up.

Vlad doesn't get as much time to make smart alec remarks and his familiar, Loiosh, doesn't have much to do in this book. If you're into sword play and exotic travel, this novel may frustrate you. It is more of a thought experiment. However Vlad Taltos is rarely boring and I found that I followed the answers that he arrived at and felt a sense of satisfaction when the puzzle was solved.

The Pirate King / R.A. Salvatore

 

2 out of 5 stars 

Book number 535 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

I needed a book about a swordsman for a reading challenge, so I decided to read the next Drizzt book in my SFF project. Accordingly, Drizzt wields Twinkle and Icing Death (his scimitars, even though they sound like cake decorating tools) on behalf of Captain Deudermont and the town of Luskan against the Wizards who control both the city and the pirate forces all along the coast.

I've lost my taste for fantasy battles so I was less than enthusiastic about this plot line. At the beginning of the book, Drizzt and his halfling chum Regis set out from Mithril Hall to travel to Icewind Dale to check in with Wulfgar. They stop in Luskan to visit their friend Deudermont and feel obliged to help his cause. My major complaint is a severe lack of Drizzt during many, many pages of writing--he's MIA for much of the first half of the novel, just showing up to make reasonable comments on the aims of the battle. It's largely a fight between wizards, not swordsmen, so the absence of the dark elf is understandable if disappointing. I found myself wishing that they had stayed on track for Icewind Dale.

At last, fifty percent of the way through this very long novel, Drizzt and Regis head out for Icewind Dale. Unfortunately they do not linger there--it's back to Luskan for more tiresome battles. At at least Drizzt gets to twirl those scimitars! OMG, this was a long feeling book, but at least the second half seemed to go a bit faster. I'm uncertain whether I can abide any more of this series, but I will surely not read any more of them this year.

Diamond Mask / Julian May

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

Each time I read this series, I see entirely different things and I wonder how I missed them before. It's been 5 years since I last read this volume and it was almost like it was the first time, I had forgotten so much. This time through, I found myself much more impatient with May's psychobabble—all the jargon invented for her mentally talented main characters. I was painfully aware of how much of it there was. I was also a little wearied by all the geological detail in the final chapters.

The main story (at least to my mind) involves the maturation of both Jack and Dorothea, with the added bonus of their struggle against Fury and Hydra. There is an awful lot of political padding around it, though, something I was less inclined to tolerate this reading. I note my previous experience was in 2020, during the Covid lockdown—what else did I have to occupy my time? If I read this series again (which I suspect is a strong possibility), who knows how I will feel or what I will fixate on? May certainly writes a convoluted tale. And then drops a bomb in the last sentence.

I will attempt to keep up with my resolve to read Magnificat this month, to finish up this rereading cycle. It also seems to be largely purged from my memory banks, so I will go into it with a clean slate. As for this book, I would move my rating down to 3.5 stars for this run through.