The Night Raven (2018) Sarah Painter (Crow Investigations) Lydia Crow has returned to London for a bit, after a case she was investigating turned uglier than expected. But she liked being on her own, and doesn’t want drawn back into the family, yet she turns to Uncle Charlie for a place to stay, which draws […]
The Nun’s Tale (1995) Candace Robb Set in England in 1365. Joanna Calverley, a young nun, disappeared from her convent–taking part of an ancient relic with her. Archbishop Thorsby isn’t pleased to discover that Dame Isobel had neglected to tell him this–until the nun returns, claiming to have been resurrected. Owen was sent out to […]
Ramen Assassin (2019) Rhys Ford Trey Bishop’s life went up in flames, sprawled across all the tabloids. But he’s been sober for several years now–slowly putting himself back together. So stumbling across two men moving a dead body–men who then try to kill Trey–is not what he wanted or needed out of life. So long […]
Southernmost Murder (2018) C.S. Poe I’m beginning to think I should just go ahead and read everything CS Poe has written, because I’ve really liked everything I’ve read so far. Aubrey Grant runs an historical property in Key West–a job he does well, despite the regular inconveniences of his narcolepsy. He’s also looking forward to […]
Hither, Page (2019) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers) Set in England in 1946. I’ll be honest, although the premises of most of her books are my thing, I just haven’t loved most of Cat Sebastian’s books. They generally have a lot of sex, and the plot aren’t always enough of my thing to get past […]
The Fangs of Freelance (2017) Drew Hayes The fourth Fred the Vampire book. My name is Fredrick Frankford Fletcher, and I am an accountant by trade. Also, I’m a vampire. Yes, I probably should have led with that second bit, but to be honest, the accountant part factors far more frequently into my daily life […]
The Lady Chapel (1994) Candace Robb Set in England in 1365. Owen Archer and Lucie Wilton are married. She has become master apothecary in her own right–inheriting the business from her previous husband–and Owen remains her apprentice, although he still owes favors to Archbishop Thoresby. “Mistress Archer is of noble stock, at least on her […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man’s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues When I read The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 I noted that the first story was the weakest, and each successive story got better and better. This volume takes off where the first ended, both story-wise and […]
The Apothecary Rose (1993) Candace Robb Set in England in ~1363. Owen Archer was Captain of the Archers for Henry, Duke of Lancaster, until an attack takes his eye. Unwilling to continue as a solider, Owen becomes a spy for Henry until the Duke’s death, at which point he performs a service for John Thoresby, […]
The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three novellas: Primal Red, Evergreen, and Black Cat Red. Primal Red Peter Fontaine is an investigative journalist for The Bellinghamster, or just The Hamster, the free local paper in Belligham, WA. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of […]
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005) Lauren Willig Set in England and France in 1803. I knew I’d read this before, but after checking, it was 2010, so I can be forgiving for remembering next to nothing about the story. Amy’s father was killed during the Revolution, and her English mother died of […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith Curry is a food inspector for NATO’s Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD). He may carry a mage gun, but most of the time his tools are thermometers and glasses that allow him to see the supernatural. This book is six interlinked stories. “Cherries Worth Getting” “Cookie Jamboree” “The […]
Undeath & Taxes (2015) Drew Hayes The second Fred the Vampire Accountant book is also collection of five novellas, and also an utter delight. Learning about the parahuman world, through virtue of my own death, hadn’t been nearly as disturbing to me as learning there were whole sections of laws, tax codes, and deduction options […]
Murder Takes the High Road (2018) Josh Lanyon I believe this is the first story I read by Josh Lanyon. IIRC I chose it because it was a mystery, and had a M/M romance. Carter Matheson is on a Tours to Die For trip through Scotland that was supposed to be a birthday present for […]
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (2014) Drew Hayes I’ve read quite a few new releases recently, so I’ve been interspersing them with books I really liked and wanted to re-read. Hence, returning to The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant. I recorded my journeys in […]
Hard Spell An Occult Crimes Unit Investigation (2011) Justin Gustainis Stan Markowski is a Detective on the Scranton Police Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit–they investigate crimes involving witches and vampires and other supernatural beings. Cops on the Supe Squad spend as much time investigating crimes committed against supes as we do on crimes with a supe […]
Penny for Your Secrets (2019) Anna Lee Huber Set in England in 1919. Verity and Sidney are on more solid ground, but still trying to work through both Sidney’s issues from the war, and her issues of having spent more than a year thinking he was dead. What I enjoy most about this series is […]
In Other Words… Murder (2018) Josh Lanyon Chirstopher and J.X are settling into domesticity. Christopher is still worried about all the things (his writing (lack-thereof), J.X. being younger and handsomer) but J.X. does keep bringing up marriage. Christopher is also trying to come to terms with J.X.’s close family–including his nephew who often has sleep-over […]
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo (2014/2018) Josh Lanyon Christopher and J.X. are moving in together. Christopher has shipped everything he owns and driven up the coast to where JX picked out a house for the two of them. Between the two of us there was a hell of a lot of junk here. And […]
The Mermaid Murders (2015) Josh Lanyon Sam Kennedy is the FBI’s most famous manhunter–someone who finds and helps capture serial killers. But his last case was bad press for everyone involved, and now Jason West is being pulled from vacation to temporarily partner with Kennedy on a murder that might be tied to a case […]
So This is Christmas (2016) Josh Lanyon Adrien and Jake are finally living together, in the house he grew up in. (T)he first rule of cohabitation is Thou Shalt Not Diss the Other Dude’s Kinfolk. But before they can spend the first night of their new life together, they have arrived back from London with […]
The Dark Tide (2011) Josh Lanyon At the end of the last book, Adrien was shot and died briefly, but now with a valve replacement, he is supposedly on the mend. But he still isn’t sure where he stands with Jake, who outed himself to put the the man who shot Adrien behind bars. Although […]
Death of a Pirate King (2011) Josh Lanyon Yeah, I mostly skipped The Hell You Say, just reading the bits about him meeting his mother’s new husband and family. This book is set two years after that. Adrien is getting over pneumonia but at least he’s at a party, because his book has been optioned […]
The Other End of the Line (2016/2019) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli The 24th Inspector Montalbano book finds the Vigata police helping to deal with the influx of immigrants landing on their shores, and it’s a problem for everyone. “Why did you summon Catarella for port duty last night?” “I had to replace someone […]
A Dangerous Thing (2002) Josh Lanyon The second Adrien English book finds Adrien tired of dealing with Jake being firmly in the closet, so he heads off to his grandmother’s ranch–only to discover a disappearing dead body. He also can’t find the caretaker of his property–who seems to be taking liberties with Adrien’s absence. You’re […]
Fatal Shadows (2000) Josh Lanyon Another re-read. Adrien English is having a bad day–his former best friend and current employee has been found dead, and Adrien is a suspect. “What makes you think he wasn’t mugged?” “Fourteen stab wounds to his upper body and face.” I felt the blood drain out of my brain again. […]
Burn Bright (2018) Patricia Briggs The first time I read this book (right after it came out) I was unable to rate it, because I couldn’t decide quite how I felt about it. Something seemed off to me, but I couldn’t place precisely what it was. This book still feels off to me, and I’m […]
Dead Heat (2015) Patricia Briggs Despite the lack of Asil, I do love this story. The Arabians might not suit you; they don’t suit everyone. They are like cats: vain, beautiful, and intelligent. But you deal well enough with Asil, who is also vain, beautiful, and intelligent. Charles receives a call from his friend Joseph–who […]
All She Wrote (2010) Josh Lanyon This is the other series I started when I couldn’t decide what I wanted to read. The second Holmes & Moriarity book starts with Christopher once again backing out on a weekend with JX, and JX deciding that he doesn’t want to deal with it. So Christopher heads off […]
Fair Game (2012) Patricia Briggs This is the third Alpha & Omega book. Bran brought the wolves out into the light of the day, and Charles’ life has become a living hell. Any infraction that makes werewolves look bad is a death sentence–and the alphas keep pushing that duty onto Charles. Bran was still ranting. […]
Hunting Ground (2009) Patricia Briggs This series is working well as I try to figure out what new-to-me book I want to read next. Bran is going to make the existance of werewolves known to the general public, but he’s trying to make the announcement as easy as possible for those wolves outside of the […]
Cry Wolf (2008) Patricia Briggs Anna was rescued from her abusive pack in Chicago, and is now mated to Charles Cornick–the son of the Marrok. But she is still try to deal with the abuse she suffered in Chicago while learning to trust Charles. Unfortunately, troubles won’t wait for Charles to recover from the injuries […]
Somebody Killed His Editor (2009) Josh Lanyon Christopher Holmes is–to put it mildly–self-absorbed. He’s a mystery author on a down-slide, trying to recover his career. He’s also trying to get over his husband running off with another man. The last thing he wants is to spend a weekend at a writing conference but his agent […]
Mainly by Moonlight (2019) Josh Lanyon Cosmo Saville is a witch–a fact he’s hiding from his soon-to-be husband. But when Cosom discovers that someone put a love spell on John Joseph Galbraith, he insists the spell be removed–even if it causes the wedding to be called off. And to make things worse, the business meeting […]
Barrel Proof (2017) Layla Reyne (finishes previous book) (literally scrambles to start this book) Don’t even bother reading this if you didn’t read the previous two. You have no reason to read this without the others, and you shouldn’t, because she does a fabulous job building the characters and their relationships and everything in the […]
Cask Strength (2017) Layla Reyne Aidan Talley and Jameson Walker are partners, and enjoying each others company. But nothing more. Just casual is all Aidan wants, because he doesn’t think he can survive the loss of someone else he loves. Jameson thinks he can handle “just casual” but if he’s fooling Aiden, he’s not fooling […]
Single Malt (2017) Layla Reyne (Agents Irish and Whiskey) Aidan Talley is back at work eight months after the hit-and-run that killed his husband as well as his partner. His best friend (also his boss and his sister-in-law) has a new partner for him, but also a new case to work off the books: evidence […]
At Your Service (2018) Sandra Antonelli Mae Valentine has been the butler for Major Kitt for three years, acting as butler, housekeeper, and cook when he’s not away on assignment as a Risk Assessment Specialist. She has always kept a clear demarcation between herself and Major Kitt–after all, she is an older woman, and a […]
The Mystery of the Bones (2019) C.S. Poe The fourth (and perhaps final) Snow & Winter book finds Sebastian trying to plan their wedding–and not particularly enjoying it. But he is determined it will be perfect, and that means following all the books and rules. “There’s a whole industry dedicated to specialized bras for wedding […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon Set in London in 1757 I didn’t know what I was in the mood to read, so I fell back to Lord John. He was inclined toward the simplicity of a Solomonic decree that would award half of Tim O’Connell to each woman, and rejected this […]
Come Unto These Yellow Sands (2011) Josh Lanyon Sebastian Swift was the bad boy of poetry, the son of two scions of the literary world, whose very public fall from grace lead to a very public rift with his mother, and an overdose that almost killed him. He’s been six years sober, and feels like […]
The Mystery of the Moving Image (2018) C.S. Poe After having been burned out of his apartment, Sebastian and Calvin are moving into a new place–together. And Sebastian is done with mysteries and putting himself in danger. Or he thinks he is, until a Thomas Edison Kinetoscope shows up at his shop. Calvin–although not healed–is […]
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (2015) Victoria Thompson Set in New York city in the late 1800s–probably 1898 Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy are waiting for the remodeling of Frank’s house to be finished so they can finally get married. In the meantime, she is spending time with her parents, and because of her new change […]
Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams Detective Inspector Chen is in charge of crimes that stretch into Heaven and Hell (obviously, far more cases involve Hell over heaven) and as an occult practitioner whose patronage of the goddess Kuan Yin affords him a measure of protection when he has to travel to Hell. Unfortunately, his recent […]
Sapphire Flames (2019) Ilona Andrews Nevada’s arc ended with Wildfire. Catalina’s story started there, then moved on with the novella Diamond Fire, and this is her first novella. It’s…. fine. I liked spending time with Catalina and her family. I appreciated that Nevada was being kept out of the way and gave up control of […]
Skin and Bone (2019) TA Moore Here’s the problem: I still don’t like Javi. Half the time he didn’t like himself much. If he had a pet, he wouldn’t want it to be intelligent enough to understand his failings. Sorry, but being aware that you’re a complete asshole doesn’t excuse being a complete asshole. Be […]
Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy (2015) edited by Jordan Castillo Price “Dim Sum Asylum” (2015) by Rhys Ford “Swift and the Black Dog” (2015) by Ginn Hale “A Queer Trade” (2015) by KJ Charles “Magically Delicious” (2015) by Nicole Kimberling “Everyone’s Afraid of Clowns” (2015) by Jordan Castillo […]
In Farleigh Field (2017) Rhys Bowen Set in England in 1941 Farleigh Place is the ancestral home of Lord Westerham, and is now also home to the Royal West Kents as they prepare to be sent to the front. But even they are surprised when the body of a soldier is discovered on the grounds. […]
The Mystery of the Curiosities (2017) C.S. Poe Sebastian and Calvin are making their relationship work. It’s hard for Calvin whose family won’t speak with him now, which is exacerbating the PTSD he won’t admit he has, but Sebastian is doing his best to make Calvin feel loved. And Calvin does his best to deal […]
The Mystery of Nevermore (2016) C.S. Poe Sebastian Snow runs an antique shop, has an in-the-closet copy boyfriend, and achromatopsia–he can’t see color and has other vision problems due to that. When he finds a body part in the floorboards of his store, he’s drawn into a mystery, initially against his will, but later with […]