The Alienist (1994) Caleb Carr Set in New York City in 1896 I read The Alienist soon after it came out, and then read the Angel of Darkness when that came out. And then there it ended, so I forgot about the books. Apparently a TV show based on the book recently came out, and […]
The Ruin of a Rake (2017) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in London in 1817 Lord Courtenay’s reputation is a rake and a libertine is well-deserved. He drank and gambled and whored and ended up spending his fortune. But the death of his sister–after her complete ruin–and his love for his nephew have complicated […]
Dreams Underfoot (1993) Charles de Lint “Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair,” Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Nov ‘87 “Stone Drum,” Triskell Press chapbook, 1989 “Timeskip,” Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghastly Horror, ed. Paul F. Olson & David B. Silva, St. Martin’s, 1989 “Freewheeling,” Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine Issue 6, ed. Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Pulphouse, 1990 […]
The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin This is a collection of all the Inspector Rebus short stories. ‘Dead and Buried’ (2013) ‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A […]
The Snack Thief, Audible Version (1996/2003/2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli narrated by Grover Gardner The third Inspector Montalbano book. Montalbano’s relationship with Augello is quite antagonistic. Catarella is still an idiot, and although he argues with Livia, their relationships isn’t quite as hostile as it has gotten in later books. When the spaghetti […]
Why Kill the Innocent (2018) C.S. Harris Set in London in 1814 Hero is researching the wives of men who were pressed into the royal navy, specifically, how those women are often left destitute when their husbands are kidnapped off the street. After visiting one such woman, Hero literally stumbles over the body of a […]
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant Set in Europe in 1815 Robert Lescaut is a French colonel and spy, who has come to Scotland to try and discover who killed his wife–a woman he believed was a Scottish Blair. Emma Blair is tired of the feuding between the Blairs and Lauders, so when Captain Robert […]
Rising Stars: Visitations (2002) J. Michael Straczynski Visitations is four short stories, the first two of which are the background of what the Specials were. Interestingly, the recurring character throughout the entire run is Dr Wells, the man who was supposed to watch the kids, but also report on them to the government. The first […]
The Myth Manifestation (2018) Lisa Shearin Our world is populated by a greater variety of creatures than we might imagine, from vampires and werewolves to goblins and dwarves and all variety of creatures considered mythical. For these creatures to hide in plain sight, a treaty was hammered out 100 years earlier, to keep fights that […]
Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart Set in the Middle Kingdom of China, Year of the Tiger 3337 (AD 639) All the children in the village between the ages of eight and thirteen have fall victim to an unknown illness, and all the silkworms have died, […]
Hush Money, Audio Version (1999/2000) Robert B Parker narrated by Burt Reynolds WARNING: The production and transfer to digital on this are awful. Truly terrible. What I listened to was full of clicks and skips and was generally terrible. If I’d have paid money for it instead of borrowing I’d probably have been pissed off. […]
Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter The third Soulwood novel finds Nell at the scene of a murder–a party where a vampire was in attendance and could have been the intended victim of the assassin. Nell is still attempting to assimilate all the changes in her life: her work for PsyLED, her relationship with […]
The Murders of Richard III (1974) Elizabeth Peters The second Jacqueline Kirby book finds her in England. Her friend Thomas is a Ricardian–part of a group that wants to rehabilitate the image of Richard III. It’s been dated to about 1580. Like most of the other portraits of Richard, it was probably copied from a […]
Chance, Audio Version (1996/1997) Robert B. Parker narrated by Burt Reynolds And I’ve reached Burt Reynolds narrating, and almost the book where I entered this series. The criminals in Boston are in a bit of an upheaval, and some of it is Spenser’s fault: He and Hawk took out Tony Marcus several years earlier, and […]
The Custom of the Army (2010) Diana Gabaldon Set in London and Canada One of the things I loved about the story was the brief glimpse of Hal (much of the book is set in the Americas). his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air. His […]
Thin Air (1995) Robert B. Parker Belson’s wife has disappeared. He first comes to talk to Spenser, because Spenser went though something similar with Susan. However, when Belson is shot, Spenser takes over the case (mind you, Quirk and the BPD are working on the case as well, but Spenser has more leeway and time). […]
Bangkok 8, Audio Version (2003) John Burdett narrated by Paul Boehmer I’ve been meaning to go back though this series for awhile, so when I had to take a break from the Spenser books for awhile, I decided that the Bangkok 8 series was what I wanted to listen to. Interestingly, it’s been long enough […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon Set in London in 1757. I’m have to different mysteries on hold to borrow from the library, and in the meantime, I started about twenty different books and none of them appealed to me, so it was time for a re-read. There were a couple things […]
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede Eff Rothmer has returned to Mill City, and much to her chagrin, people are calling her a hero, for the work she did in coming up with a way to destroy the mirror bug infestation. BEING A HEROINE IS NOWHERE NEAR THE FUN FOLKS MAKE IT OUT […]
Double Deuce (1992) Robert B Parker Since I disliked the narrator so much when he read the last book, I’m switching to reading the ebooks until … Well, it would be Chance, but the library doesn’t have it, so it looks like it’ll be Small Vices, the first Spenser book I came across, and one […]
Stardust, Audio Version (1990/1991) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard Spenser is hired to protect television star Jill Joyce, and find who is harassing her. Unfortunately, Jill Joyce isn’t particularly helpful. “You tell me you don’t know Rojack,” I said. “I go out there and find out you do. You tell me you never […]
Playmates, Audio Version (1989/1990) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard Spenser is hired to look into accusations of point shaving at Taft University. He relatively quickly finds the answer, but finding a solution is going to be much harder. This is one of the Spenser books I really like. Not my top favorite, but […]
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent (2013) Marie Brennan After publishing many scientific papers upon the natural history of dragons, Lady Trent has finally decided to write her memoirs. This is a fantasy set in a world somewhat like ours, only with dragons, and at a time and place comparable to […]
Delicious (2008) Sherry Thomas Set in England in 1892. This was a fun story–and one full of loving descriptions of food. It also has main characters who are middle aged (30s may not sound middle aged nowdays, but it would have been at a time when most people died in their 50s and 60s.) Verity […]
Firebug (2014) Lish McBride I have this thing where if I really love an author, I sometimes have difficulty starting a book in a new series. Because I’m afraid the new book won’t live up to my expectations of the other books I’ve read, so I keep putting off reading it. Lish McBride fell into […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? Audio Edition (2016) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch Quill’s group is in trouble. After events in the last book, Ross is abrely acknowledging Costain’s existence, Quill is obsessed with the sign outside Hell, and Lofthouse is finally looking into resolving her own problems. The three other members of his team […]
McAlistair’s Fortune (2009) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1814 Evie Cole has lived with her cousins since she was a young girl. After her father’s death in a carriage accident, her mother was unwilling to care for her, so the injured child moved to Haldon Hall and remained there with her cousins. McAlistair worked […]
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (2013) Sarah MacLean Set in England in 1831. Cross is the fourth partner in The Fallen Angel, the one who keeps the books and all but lives in the gaming hell. He also has a past from which he attempted to escape but has been unable to forgive himself. […]
A Dangerous Deceit (2017) Alissa Johnson That was completely unexpected. In a very good way. Gabriel Arkwright is the third Gentleman Thief-taker, and like Samuel, he has a past he doesn’t talk about. He’s also glib and very good at becoming who he needs to be for each case. Jane Ballenger lives in an isolated […]
A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 The second book in the Gentleman Thief-takers series tells Esther’s story–that of a girl who was used by her scoundrel father as dainty and surprising henchman, and who kept her secrets from everyone–including her sister. Now she is looking for her father–her true […]
A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell is the Gentleman Thief-taker. The rescue of a kidnapped duchess made his name–and the names of his companions, who soon quit to become private investigators. Charlotte (Walker) Bales is the daughter of one of the most talented thieves and scoundrels in […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1812 The third (and sadly, it seems) book in this series. Phoebe and Sheldrake’s engagment came at the insistance of their families, which is why despite her many misgivings, Phoebe acquiesced. “Sheldrake?” She peered at the man taking up most of the small space. “Good […]
The Emperor’s Conspiracy (2012) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1811. Charlotte Raven was rescued by Lady Howe from life as a chimney sweep–a life for which she had finally grown too large. Her past, and her gratitude towards Lady Howe create a young woman who will do what she can to help those in […]
The Heiress Effect (2013) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1867 Jane Fairfield has a serious problem–she has money and she is eligible, but she can’t marry–not now. So she has to do everything in her power to not marry, despite her fortune. Jane sashayed forward and took in the effect of her new gown. […]
Fate’s Edge (2011) Ilona Andrews On re-reading, this one I greatly preferred to the second book. First, although the main story is between Audrey and Kaldar (and Kaldar is a rogue, so of course I love him), they end up dealing with Gaston, and more interestingly Jack and George, and spending time with those two […]
On the Edge (2009) Ilona Andrews After reading their new series, I was struck with a desire to re-read The Edge series. Luckily, the eBook is available from the library, so I didn’t have to buy another copy to re-read it. Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, the area between the magical and mundane lands, […]
Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter This is Jane Yellowrock Volume 11. In case you had lost track (which I had). An unnatural storm has fallen over New Orleans and long-dead vamps are rising as revenants. And a lot of MAJOR events happen here. Some of which seem small, unless you’ve been reading along for eleven […]
Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand most of what was going on here. But I really didn’t care, because I found the whole thing fascinating. Mocking bird receives a ticket to a cruise from an anonomous source. Since she’s trying to get out […]
Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love (1999) Dava Sobel I read this a long time ago. Possibly soon after it came out. So when I needed some non-fiction bedtime reading, I decided to read it again. This book is based upon Galileo’s “124 surviving letters from the once-voluminous correspondence he carried […]
The First Rule (2010) Robert Crais I really thought I hadn’t read this book–aside from the very beginning (the murder) none of it seemed familiar. It seems like I read it in the months before Grandmom died, so that explains that distraction. Apparently re-reading this series is just like reading it for the first time, […]
Chasing Darkness (2008) Robert Crais This story switches back to Elvis, who seems to be recovered from almost dying. And his cat is still old and a jerk who doesn’t like anyone except Cole and Pike. He was sitting by his dish where he waits for breakfast, only this time he brought his own. The […]
The Watchman (2007) Robert Crais To help Elvis Cole find Ben Chenier, the son of his girlfriend, Joe Pike agreed to do one last job for Jon Stone. That job has come: Defend a wealthy, spoiled heiress from the men who want to kill her, for what she saw during an accident. “Why don’t I […]
The Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text is acceptable to the forces of Light. THE NIGHT WATCH This text is acceptable to the forces of Darkness. THE DAY WATCH This is the 4th book in the Night Watch series. As with the previous books, it is broken up into three […]
Day Watch (2000/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text has been banned for distribution as injurious to the cause of Light. —THE NIGHT WATCH This text has been banned for distribution as injurious to the cause of Darkness. —THE DAY WATCH As with the first book, there are three stories within the book, […]
L.A. Requiem (1999) Robert Crais Lucy Chenier and her son Ben have moved to LA, and they soon learn that there is a great difference between a long distance relationship and being together in the same town. Would you please move the couch again?” I stared at the couch. I had moved it maybe eight […]
Indigo Slam (1997) Robert Crais The book opens three years previously, with a father and three children being evacuated by US Marshals. This is actually important, because then the reactions make far more sense to the reader (even if they don’t make sense to Elvis). Lucy Chenier is working out a deal to move to […]
Free Fall (1993) Robert Crais Book four of the Elvis Cole series. This is another one I don’t much remember reading. I do like this bit at the beginning. This edition contains the complete text of the original hardcover edition. NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED. Considering that I found some odd typos, I’m wondering […]
Lullaby Town (1992) Robert Crais The third Elvis Cole book finds Elvis searching for the ex-wife of a big-shot movie producer, because after ten years he’d decided he wants to see his son. “Everybody in his life is there because they want to screw him. Any time there’s a woman, he’s thinking it’s because she […]
Stalking the Angel (1989) Robert Crais Elvis Cole is hired to find an ancient Japanese manuscript stolen from the home of a prominent businessman. Unfortunately for Cole, the husband is an asshole and the wife makes it clear she doesn’t like her husband and what he does. And caught in the middle of all that […]
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant Set in Scotland and Europe in 1815 There are actually three primary characters in this story: Robert, Emma, and the War with Napoleon. Emma was used to dealing with everyday injuries, wounds from fights and falls and accidents. Save when Allan had been invalided home, his wounds already neatly […]