The Wild Road (2008) Marjorie Liu Why yes, this is a floating head & torso romance. However, as I am on crutches and spending a lot of time waiting, I needed a diverting book to keep in my purse, and since I enjoyed The Fire King (another floaty head romance book set in the same […]
Lullaby Town (1992) Robert Crais Synopsis: The 3rd book in the Elvis Cole series finds Elvis hired by a famous (and perhaps infamous) move producer, to find his ex-wife and son, who the producer abandoned soon after the birth of his son. Lucky Elvis: the producer is an asshole, the woman doesn’t want to be […]
The Man Who Invented Florida (1993) Randy Wayne White I found the 3rd Doc Ford book, The Man Who Invented Florida, to be a bit disappointing. Mostly it was because I didn’t particularly enjoy reading the point of view of Doc’s uncle, Tucker Gatrell. I’m not saying I disliked Tuck and his friend Joe, I’m […]
Clockwork Heart (2008) Dru Pagliassotti Two words for you: Steampunk Romance. Perfect right? I mean, isn’t the essence of Steampunk the romance of the Victorian era? OK, yes, the cool mechanical robots and stuff are a large part as well, but that’s also very much a romantic era of dress and manner social striation. So […]
Voodoo River (1995) Robert Crais Synopsis: Elvis is hired to find the natural parents of TV star Jodie Taylor, who was given up for adoption immediately after her birth, and whose adoption records remain sealed by the courts. The case takes a turn for the worse when Cole discovers there is a whole lot more […]
Strip Jack (1992) Ian Rankin When a raid on a brothel operating secretly in Edinburgh nets a local MP, Inspector Rebus thinks things feel a little off–Gregor Jack isn’t the kind of MP you’d expect to find at a brothel, and his reaction during the raid isn’t precisely what Rebus would have expected. From there, […]
The Heat Islands (1992) Randy Wayne White Synopsis: When the most hated man on the island is found floating, the list of possible suspects seems to be astronomical. Unfortunately, the most likely suspect seems to be Doc’s friend Jeth, and Jeth–who seems to be going through a personal crisis–doesn’t seem to be doing much to […]
Free Fall (1993) Robert Crais Synopsis: Jennifer Sheridan wants to hire Elvis to find out what is wrong with her fiancee. He’s a cop, and he hasn’t been the same for several months, and she thinks he’s in some kind of trouble and she wants Elvis to find out what it is–and if possible how […]
Stalking the Angel (1989) Robert Crais Synopsis: In the second Elvis Cole book, Elvis is hired to find a missing ancient manuscript. He doesn’t much like the guy hiring him, and he doesn’t much like the job he’s hired for, but he takes the job anyway. In doing so he learns a bit (nothing good) […]
Hide and Seek (1990) Ian Rankin After reading his anthology A Good Hanging, I decided to pick up another of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus books. I had ’em in the house, just never got around to reading any further in the series, because the first two books I read were quite dark, and I wasn’t […]
Sanibel Flats (1990) Randy Wayne White Doc Ford has lead an exciting life, and he is more than ready for his move to the beach and second career as a marine biologist. Too bad for him that he receives a phone call from an old friend in trouble. Not a hard boiled mystery and not […]
The Monkey’s Raincoat (1987) Robert Crais Elvis Cole went to war, then he came back to the US and was a security guard for awhile, and then he became a private investigator, which is what he when Janet Simon drags her friend Ellen Lang into his office. Her husband and son have disappeared, and Ellen […]
The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York (2010) Deborah Blum I think that anyone who enjoys mysteries has to be at least a little bit fascinated with poisonings and forensic medicine, and The Poisoner’s Handbook looks at the beginning of forensic medicine and the circumstances that allowed […]
A Good Hanging (1992) Ian Rankin A Good Hanging is a collection of Inspector Rebus short stories. I read Knots and Crosses a couple years ago, and although I enjoyed it, found it very dark, so I’ve been hesitant to continue in the series because I haven’t been in the mood for that much darkness. […]
Magic Bleeds (2010) Ilona Andrews Things never go right for Kate Daniels. She makes dinner for Curran, and he never shows up, and when she calls looking for him, she’s blown off. Then heading back to work after a long day, she’s called to check out an emergency, and things go downhill from there. There […]
The Spellman Files (2007) Lisa Lutz The book opens with the main character involved in a car chase. The next chapter has the main character–Isabelle–being interviews. Then we go way back into the past. The main character, Isabelle Spellman, is a private investigator for her family’s PI firm. She has a checkered past, and a […]
The Masqueraders (1928) Georgette Heyer A couple weeks ago I decided I wanted something completely different to read. After coming upon a review of The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer, “I thought this might be a fun read,” and ordered it. I will admit, the language took some getting used to. The book is set in […]
Dead and Gone (2009) Charlaine Harris When I first discovered the Sookie Stackhouse books the were like a revelation: Romance can be fun? Really? And they were fun! Mysteries, vampires and sex that wasn’t completely ridiculous! Then at some point, they started to get ridiculous. It seemed as if every supernatural creature adored and wanted […]
A Broken Vessel (1994) Kate Ross Continuing my effort to lift my mood, I read the second Julian Kestrel book, A Broken Vessel.
Cut to the Quick (1993) Kate Ross Amazing how reading–and rereading–an excellent book can lift one’s mood. I love Kate Ross’ Julian Kestrel series, which starts with Cut to the Quick.
Jailbait Zombie (2009) Mario Acevedo Synopsis: Felix Gomez has zombie problems, specifically, the Araneum wants him to find the source of the current zombie infestation and put a stop to it. To add insult to injury, the don’t even seem to trust him and are sending Jolie to help him with the task. It’s probably […]
Playing for the Ashes (1994) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Kenny Flemming is a brilliant cricket player who seemed to have come out of nowhere, and came to cricket not through the school system by through a factory league. Just before players are to be chosen for the Test matches, Kenny Flemming is found dead, in a […]
Missing Joseph (1993) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Deborah St. James is still struggling over her inability to have a child. When she ducks into a museum to escape a storm, she meets a vicar with whom she feels she feel she could talk, however, when she and Simon arrive at Lancashire for an out-of-season vacation, they […]
For the Sake of Elena (1992) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Lynley is still keeping busy as things are still uneven between him and Helen, while Havers continues to struggle with finding care for her mother. When Lynley volunteers to take a case in Cambridge, both of their personal situations come to a head. Elena Weaver is […]
A Suitable Vengeance (1991) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Going backwards in time, we see the engagement of Lynley and Deborah, which we well know isn’t going to last, and we meet other members of Lynley’s family, including his mother and his brother, and spend time in the town where he grew up. Unfortunately, Lynley’s engagement weekend […]
The Shadow Pavilion (2009) Liz Williams Detective Inspector Chen has multiple problems to deal with: his partner Zhu Irzh has disappeared, along with the badger, a Bollywood star/tiger demon is on the rampage, and someone wants to kill the Emperor of Heaven. Add to that the complexity of everyday life in Singapore Three, a new […]
Well-Schooled in Murder (1990) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Thomas Lynley is called upon by an old schoolmate from Eton, when a boy at his school–a boy for whom he was ultimately responsible–is discovered to have been missing for the entire weekend. As Lynley is currently taking every case that comes across his desk (and a number […]
Payment in Blood (1989) Elizabeth George Synopsis: Once again, Thomas Lynley is called from vacation to deal with a murder. And once again Barbara Havers is to be his partner. As the subject of their investigation the upper class to which Lynley belongs, he feels that Havers may cause more problems that she might help […]
The Solomon Effect (2009) C.S. Graham I picked up both The Archangel Project and The Solomon Effect after discovering they were written by the same couple who write the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries as C.S. Harris. After reading the first book, The Archangel Project, I held off on reading The Solomon Effect, since there are […]
A Great Deliverance (1988) Elizabeth George I’ve been out of sorts recently, and keep picking up books, reading a few pages, and then putting them back down, because they’re not what I’m in the mood for. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) for me, Amazon provides endless recommendations, based upon other books you’ve read and enjoyed. Thus, […]
A Local Habitation (2010) Seanan McGuire Toby has gotten her PI license back, and has started taking cases in the mortal world, however, the big case that comes to her is from her liege, Sylvester: Go into the county of Tamed Lightening, and check on Sylvester’s niece. She gets to take one person with her–the […]
Turn Coat (2009) Jim Butcher Harry’s idea that he might get some down time is (unsurprisingly) thrown awry when Morgan–yes, the Morgan who has spent his recent years waiting for Harry to screw up so he can kill him–shows up at Harry’s house in bad shape and asking Harry to hide him from the Wardens. […]
The Undead Kama Sutra (2008) Mario Acevedo Felix Gomez is again on the case–or rather cases as his luck would have it. First a dying alien asks Felix to find his killer, then orders come down from the Araneum too looking into a plane crash. Meanwhile, he’d come to Florida on his own to investigate […]
The Oxford Murders (2005) Guillermo Martinez, translated by Sonia Soto Although related years after the events–after the death of the mathematician Arthur Seldom–we follow a young Argentinian graduate students during his stay at Oxford, and his discovery of the body of his landlady, an elderly women in failing health who had been involved in the […]
Unperfect Souls (2010) Mark del Franco Finished this book several hours ago, but I still don’t know how I feel about it. Connor Grey is still fighting with the darkness in his head, and still persona non grata at Guild Headquarters. Unfortunately for him, the world won’t leave him alone, and he remains involved in […]
The Archangel Project (2008) C.S. Graham I love the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris. So when I realized she also wrote under the name C.S. Graham, I immediately ordered the books. Now the books written as C.S. Harris are set in Victorian/Regency England. These books are modern thrillers. October Guinness is a Navy […]
At the Scene of the Crime (2008) edited by Dana Stabenow I first stumbled across Dana Stabenow when I picked up a fantasy/mystery anthology she edited. After a second anthology, I discovered she was primarily a mystery write, and so picked up her Kate Shugak series. Which I absolutely loved. So I found myself interested […]
The Wings of the Sphinx (2006/2009) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Inspector Salvo Montalbano and his girlfriend Livia are again on the outs. And his day begins with a call from Catarella, about a dead body. And if you’ve read an inspector Montalbano book, you know that no phone call from Cat can lead […]
What Remains of Heaven (2009) C.S. Harris The Archbishop of Canterbury enlists the help of Sebastian St Cyr’s aunt to ask Sebastian to look into the death of the bishop of London, who’s body was found in an abandoned crypt. In the meantime, he is attempting to determine just how Hero Jarvis is doing, after […]
Just Another Judgement Day (2009) Simon R. Green It’s been awhile since I read a Nightside book, since they switched to publishing in hardback first. But after lots of anticipation, Just Another Judgment Day arrived. John Taylor is still a bit at loose ends after the Lilith War. He is no longer being hunted by […]
Whisper to the Blood (2009) Dana Stabenow The Park is still uneasy after the death of Louis Deem, and when a representative of a mining company comes in talking up a gold mine, things are stirred up even more. Residents are attacked and their supplies stolen, and people are starting to take matters into their […]
Vampire Sunrise (2009) Carole Nelson Douglas Things pick up immediately where the last book left off. Ric is still unconscious after almost being killed, Delilah continues to be wracked with guilt over kissing Snow, and Lilith–Delilah’s twin or perhaps Doppelganger–remains a mystery. On of the things I’ve enjoyed about this series is that it doesn’t […]
Victoria Vanishes (2008) Christopher Fowler The Peculiar Crimes Unit (PCU) has changed Oswald’s retirement party to a wake, and on the way home Bryant sees a woman who is later discovered murdered. Unfortunately for him, he sees her across from a pub that hasn’t existed in decades. Unsurprisingly, the PCU is drawn into the case, […]
Dark Road Rising (2009) P.N. Elrod Jack Flemming is in trouble. He’s put his best friend and partner in the hospital, and the mobsters from New York won’t leave him alone. Even worse, one of the mobsters is actually a vampire, and in a strange twist of fate, Jack is ordered to keep tabs on […]
Blood Lite (2008) edited by Kevin J. Anderson This anthology came out in hardback last year, but considering the theme, I was more than content to wait until it came out in paperback. Which it recently did. As with most anthologies, there are good stories and bad stories, but there weren’t too many stories that […]
A Clubbable Woman (1970) Reginald Hill I’ve been in the mood for mysteries recently, so I’ve read through most of the ones I had in the house but had not already read. I’m a fan of British mysteries, so I figured the Dalziel & Pascoe series looked interesting. And since it was available, I picked […]
100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call (2000) Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso I’m not sure how I feel about this. The premise is Noir Crime meets the graphic novel, and although the graphic novel part is well done, I’m not as sure about the noir crime bit. Your life has been ruined. A man comes up […]
A Grave Denied (2003) Dana Stabenow This is the book published right before where I entered the series (A Grave Denied), so I knew that at some point in this book a Bad Thing was going to happen to Kate. I was surprised when The Bad Thing happened quite early in the book. The area […]
Soulless (2009) Gail Carriger Alexia Tarabotti doesn’t have a soul. This isn’t a particularly well known fact, since the only people who can recognize this are the supernatural–vampires, werewolves etc. But when she is attacked by a vampire at a ball, she is (quite willingly) drawn into an intrigue, against the wishes of Lord Macon […]
A Fine and Bitter Snow (2002) Dana Stabenow The Park (and Kate Shugak) are riled up when they discover that Dan O’Brian–the chief ranger of the park–is asked to leave by the new presidential administration. When two local environmentalists are attacked, Niniltna is thrown into an even greater uproar, wondering who in their community could […]