Halfway to the Grave, Audible Version (2007/2010) by Jeaniene Frost narrated by Tavia Gilbert I’ve enjoyed this series (although I am still sitting on the final book, waiting for the right time to read it) and I very much enjoyed the audible version. Tavia Gilbert is very good with the narration and giving different characters […]

The Terra-Cotta Dog (1996/2004) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The second Montalbano book was, according the Camilleri, was supposed to be the last. I felt less than fully satisfied with how the figure of Montalbano had come out. I felt as if I had painted an incomplete portrait of him, favoring his role as […]

Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is a collection of three stories–novellas, really rather than short stories: Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus, and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” Set in London in 1756, prior to Lord John […]

Who Buries the Dead (2015) C.S. Harris Set in London in 1813. “In my experience, people who view others as social or financial assets rarely do accumulate close friends.” A body is discovered at Bloody Bridge–its head sitting on the brick wall, the body lying nearby in the grass. At first, there seems to be […]

The Forbidden Rose (2010) Joanna Bourne Set during the French Revolution Marguerite de Fleurignac is on the run. The Jacobeans have burned her home and tried to kill her. But she has far greater worries than the loss of her home–if her secrets are learned, many lives could be threatened. William Doyle–going by the name […]

Rightfully His (1998) Tracy Grant The conclusion to the Lescaut Quartet. This is a historical mystery with boinking. But not tons of boinking. Set in 1822 This book was set up at the end of the last book, but you shouldn’t need to read the previous books in the series. Of course, reading this book […]

The Dragon Conspiracy (2015) Lisa Shearin This is the second book of the SPI files, and a fun romp. But is also has a few things that are quite different from other books in this genre. Such as this: Starting a romantic relationship with Ian and having it go bad would make our time at […]

The Mask of Night (2011) Tracy Grant Again, a reminder that this is a somewhat confusing series to read, as the publication order and chronological order are not related. The main portion of this book is set in 1820, but there are flashbacks going back to 1809, which provide bits and pieces of the back-story. […]

Beneath a Silent Moon (2003) Tracy Grant This series is somewhat confusing, as the author has published it under two different names (Tracy Grant / Teresa Grant) and the main characters have two different names (Charles & Melanie Fraser / Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch). It is, however, the same series. Additionally, the books were written […]

Outrage (2008/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Anna Yates This is not Inspector Erlendur. Erlendur has taken a leave of absence, and no one knows where he is. Instead, the detective is Elínborg, a female detective who works with Erlendur. Because of crime–the murder of a rapist–Elínborg was a much better main character, since one would […]

Blood Cross Audible version, (/2010) Faith Hunter, Narrated by Khristine Hvam I quite like the narrator for this series. She does a good job of distinguishing Jane and Beast’s voices, as well as the different accents and voices for the other characters (and there are a lot of characters in this series). This is the […]

Eternal: Shadow Falls: After Dark (2014) C.C. Hunter This is the second full book of Della Tsang’s story (although she has been the center of several novellas, one of which is the reason I started reading this series). Della coming to terms with being one of the Reborn, and also dealing with her continued guilt […]

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) Maggie Stiefvater I knew this was not going to end cleanly. I KNEW it. But I read it anyway, because OMG I love this series. This book begins a few weeks after the last book ended. Maura is missing, Blue and the Raven Boys are getting ready to start school, […]

Downfall (2014) Rob Thurman I fully admit that I have been avoiding reading this book. As the series has gone it, it has become more and more clear that Niko and Cal won’t outlive each other. If one is killed, the other will fall soon after, most likely in a horribly violent and destructive way, […]

Moon Called (2006) Patricia Briggs I started listening to the Audible version of Moon Called, and I don’t know if it was the narrator, the fact that I’ve been so blown away by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith who reads Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant series, or a combination of both, but I just couldn’t listen to it. So, […]

Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter And now I’m all caught up on Jane Yellowrock–at least until the new book comes out in October. The book opens with Jane under attack–from Evan Trueblood, who believes that Jane is hiding his wife, Molly. Jane and Evan came to an uneasy truce in an earlier book, but Molly […]

Have Stakes Will Travel: Stories From the World of Jane Yellowrock (2012) Faith Hunter This is a collection of Jane Yellowrock short stories, some of which were published elsewhere, but I love short story collections, so I sprung for this, and two other collections. The stories are: WeSa and the Lumber King Haints Signatures of […]

Magic City: Recent Spells (2014) Paula Guran Table of Contents “Street Wizard” by Simon R. Green “Paranormal Romance” by Christopher Barzak “Grand Central Park” by Delia Sherman “Spellcaster 2.0” by Jonathan Maberry “Wallamelon” by Nisi Shawl “-30-” by Caitlín R. Kiernan “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs “Stone Man” by Nancy Kress “In the Stacks” by […]

Arctic Chill (2005/2009) Arnaldur Indriðason and translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb This is, I believe, the fifth book in the detective Erlendur series, and I continue to like Erlendur and enjoy spending time with him despite myself. Erlendur is a broken and often not very nice man, and there are many reasons to […]

Legion (2012) Brandon Sanderson Important note: this is a novella. I love novellas and short stories, but some people don’t, so there’s your heads up. Stephen Leeds has multiple aspects–full fledged personalities that he sees as distinct individuals, yet knows are hallucinations. These hallucinations allow him to solve mysteries and conundrums and have made him […]

The Draining Lake (2004/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Lake Kleifarvatn is draining, and no one is quite sure why, but what they do know is that as it drains, things are being uncovered. In this case, one of the scientists discovers the body of a man who obviously had been killed and his […]

Iron Night (2014) M.L. Brennan This is the sequel to Generation V, and finds Fort (short for Fortitude (his mother is centuries old, so you’ll have to forgive his name)) working with his brother Chivalry (see aforementioned comment about their mother) checking up on the various creatures and beings who owe fealty to the Scott […]

Miss Buncle’s Book (1936) D. E. Stevenson This book was a fun read. First published in 1936, it’s set in England, in that strange time period between the two world wars. Miss Buncle is at wits end as to what to do for money. Her dividends are no longer supporting her, so she has to […]

What Angels Fear (2005) C.S. Harris Sebastian St. Cyr is a young nobleman who returned from the wars with France wanting only to forget, but unable to do so, and thus unable to fit back into society. His refusal to wed and produce and heir only makes his already poor relationship with his father even […]

Gunmetal Magic (2012) Ilona Andrews And now I reach the conclusion of my binge reading of Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels (& World) series. We end with Andrea’s book: how Andrea puts herself back together after being thrown out of the Order. Except there’s lots of monster fighting and shooting (this is Andrea) so it’s not […]

The Kate Daniels short stories and novellas, by Ilona Andrews I decided I need to read all the Kate Daniels short stories and novellas (even the ones that don’t directly have Kate in them).   “A Questionable Client” originally published in Dark and Stormy Knights (2010) This is story of how Kate came to meet […]

Magic Strikes (2009) Ilona Andrews This is the third book in the Kate Daniels series, and we learn more of Kate’s secrets. This book also has a scene that stuck with me, and sort of bothered me, but that’s something else entirely. Kate is continuing to work for the Order, but spending more and more […]

In Camelot’s Shadow (2004) Sarah Zettel I originally picked this book up because I fell in love with the cover. This is one of my favorite book covers, ever. It’s gorgeous, it’s romantic, and it shows an active heroine not in need to rescue, but capable of defending herself. Luckily, the book lives up to […]

Broken Homes (2014) Ben Aaronovitch This is the fourth Rivers of London book, in which we find Peter Grant–son of a jazz man and an immigrant from Sierra Leon–becoming comfortable in his position at constable and apprentice magician. That’s not a common or even popular status in the London Force. His fellow apprentice, Lesley, is […]

The Wings of the Sphinx (2006/2009) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Somehow, I managed to read this book and the one that comes before it out of order. Which was unusually problematic because events in the previous book–events involving Montalbano and Livia–had a tremendous influence upon events in this book. I remembered what they […]

The Paper Moon (2005/2008) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The story opens with a woman–concerned that she has not heard from her brother–coming to report him missing. It hasn’t been long enough to declare him officially missing, but she convinces Montalbano to come with her, to see what signs are at his apartment. “Aahh, […]

The Patience of the Spider (2004/2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This book picks up right after the events of Rounding the Mark. Monalbano has been on leave, recovering from being shot in the shoulder. Livia has come down to stay with him during his recover, so they get to argue in person, instead […]

The Snack Thief (1996/2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli This is the third Inspector Montalbano book. In the same morning, there is a shooting death aboard a fishing boat and a man found dead in the elevator in his apartment. (This is Sicily, after all.) Catarella plays a larger part in this book, though […]

The Grendel Affair (2013) Lisa Shearin I came across this on a book blog–although I have absolutely no idea which one it was. It was an early review (the book was published on the last day of the year), and it looked intriguing, so I put it onto my wish list. A month or so […]

Day Watch (2006/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko and narrated by Paul Michael This is a review of the audio version of Day Watch, you can read my review of the story here. I’ve gotten used to the narration, where the read speaks in a regular American accent when he reads the descriptions and thoughts of the characters, […]

Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams The third Detective Inspector Chen book finds Chen back at work, and, after having stopped a rampaging goddess in the previous book, Chen and Zhu Irzh must now suffer the attentions of the public, and, more specifically, the accolades of part of the government of Singapore Three. This, of course, […]

The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams I really do love this series. Chen and Inari are on vacation, so Zhu Irzh is–in theory–handling the supernatural cases in Singapore Three. In reality, the captain is giving him very small-time crimes, fearing (perhaps justifiably) that Zhu Irzh could cause more problems than he solved. So […]

He Who Fears the Wolf (1997/2003) Karin Fossum translated by Felicity David This is the second Inspector Sejer mystery, and once again, the story involves characters on the fringe, who are damaged or not normal. Errki has decided to leave the asylum/institute where he has lived after being involuntarily committed as a danger to himself […]

Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams The Detective Inspector Chen series popped up as an Amazon ebook deal of the day, and I love this series so much I snatched them up as ebooks. (In my defense, my copies are all trade paperbacks.) Detective Inspector Chen is in charge of crimes that stretch into Heaven and […]

Written In Red (2013) Anne Bishop Meg Corbyn is running from those who held her for as long as she can remember. She needs a place to hide, and the Courtyard of the Others seems like the perfect place. An island of Others in the city, a place where human laws don’t apply and she […]

Midsummer Moon (1987) Laura Kinsale Let’s get the important thing out of the way first: This is a FABULOUS cover. There are many covers for this book, but this one–hands down–is the best. I mean, there is a HEDGEHOG in his pocket. A hedgehog that plays an important part in the story! He looked at […]

Swordspoint (1987/2011) by Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator) with Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones This review is of the audio recording of Swordspoint. Please check my review of the book Swordspoint for my thoughts on the story rather than the recording. First, Ellen Kushner is the narrator, and like the recording […]

The Fencing Master (1988) Arturo Pérez-Reverte translated by Margaret Jull Costa (1998) Don Jaime Astarloa is the fencing master of Madrid. He has a fencing school, and has private clients, including Luis de Ayala, the Marques de los Alumbres, but Don Jaime is getting old. His world is disappearing into the past, replaced with pistols. […]

A Plague of Zombies (2012) Diana Gabaldon This was originally published in the anthology Down These Strange Streets, and is the story that made me look for other Lord John stories. Lord John (now Lieutenant-Colonel Grey) is sent to Jamaica to look into the unrest there. The governor had requested the military after a rebellion […]

Anansi Boys (2005) Neil Gaiman Couldn’t decide upon a new-to-me book to read, so I went to my fall back position: a reread of a favorite. This is a follow-up of sorts to American Gods. It’s a follow-up only because it’s set in the same world, and contains Aunt Nancy/Anansi. But the story isn’t about […]

Tempest Reborn (2013) Nicole Peeler Alas, all good things come to an end: this is the final book of the Jane True series. I’m honestly delighted with the whole thing. I hate series that go on too long, or series where every book is a cliffhanger that is little more than a teaser for the […]

Thieves’ World, Book 7: The Dead of Winter (1985) Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey More than halfway through now. Luckily, there were lighter stories to counteract the darkness of Janet Morris’ story. Dramatis Personae by Lynn Abbey Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin Hell to Pay by Janet Morris The Veiled Lady, or A Look at […]

Thieves World, Book 4: Storm Season (1982) Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey Introduction by Robert Lynn Asprin Exercise in Pain by Robert Lynn Asprin Downwind by C.J. Cherryh A Fugitive Art by Diana L. Paxson Steel by Lynn Abbey Wizard Weather by Janet Morris Godson by Andrew J. Offutt Epilog by Robert Lynn Asprin This […]

Blood Trade (2013) Faith Hunter I really like Jane Yellowrock. I know I say that every time I read one of these books, but that’s because it remains true. Natchez, Mississippi is overrun with rogues, and the Master hires Jane to come help him solve this problem. But when she arrives, things are even worse […]

Chosen at Nightfall (2013) C.C. Hunter The conclusion to Kylie Galen’s story arc at Shadow Falls. Kylie has had a rough couple months: she lost her grandmother, her parents are divorcing, she’s discovered she’s a supernatural being, she learned the man she’d called her father her entire life was not, in fact, her biological father, […]