No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (2013) Sarah MacLean Set in England in 1831 Temple is called the killer duke, accused of murdering his father fiancee. Disparaged by society he became one of the four partners of The Fallen Angel. The Angel’s founders had created a single path of redemption for these men. There was a […]
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 Rogue by Any Other Name (2012) Sarah MacLean Set in England in 1831. This is the first book of the Rules of Scoundrels and possibly my least favorite of the lot. Penelope Marbury is just about a spinster, and her father wants her provided for, since she has no brothers to care for her […]
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 […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1812. Giselle Barrington has spent her life following her father around Europe, collecting folklore and working secretly for the Crown. She’s developed her own strange passion: food, recipes, and cooking. “What do you do with the recipes?” The woman looked genuinely interested now. “I’m compiling […]
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 […]
Talk Sweetly to Me (2014) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1882. This is the final novella in the Brothers Sinister series, and I adore it. Rose Sweetly is a computer–she can do complex mathematics in her head, and loves working with astronomers. She’s an utter geek, long before geeks were cool. “Why is it […]
The Suffragette Scandal (2014) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1877 Free Marshall has done the things she told her brother Oliver she would, including going to college. Now she runs a women’s newspaper that calls for rights for women and points out injustices. (Free was based a bit on Nelly Bly.) She wagged a […]
Unraveled (2011) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1843. Smite Turner is known as Lord Justice–a magistrate who takes his duties very seriously. Billy Croggins licked his lips. “Lord Justice. Please. Have mercy.” The man shook his head. “The proper form of address is ‘Your Worship.’” Croggins frowned. “In any event,” Lord Justice continued, “if […]
Unclaimed (2011) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1841 Mark Turner has been knighted by the queen for his book on Chastity for men. That single event has made him a super star–despite all his best efforts not to be one. Why was it that men had to take every good principle and turn it […]
Unveiled (2011) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1837 Ash Turner has succeeded beyond what anyone might have imagined, and his final goal is taking the Dukedom from the family of his distance relative–turning the man’s children into bastards in the process. But Ash doesn’t care, because everything he does is for his family. (D)espite […]
The Countess Conspiracy (2013) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1867 And this, this is my favorite story in this series. There was nothing shameful about the figure Sebastian was pointing to, not unless one harbored an irrational hatred for bar charts. “Don’t worry,” Sebastian told Violet’s niece. “I’ll try not to seduce you on […]
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. […]
A Kiss for Midwinter (2012) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1863. Lydia was a secondary character in The Duchess War and this is her story–how she found true love despite her past. Dr Grantham also appeared in The Duchess War, although far less than Lydia, but he is still interesting even in those brief […]
The Duchess War (2012) Courtney Milan Set in England in 1863. Minerva Lane has been hiding. Hiding from her past and her childhood, and even her name, going by another name, Wilhelmina Pursling. No one but her great aunts knows of her past, not even her best friend Lydia, whose dangerous secrets she’s held for […]
Steel’s Edge (2012) Ilona Andrews Charlotte has fled to the Edge to escape a marriage gone terribly wrong. The outrage swelled in her, mixing with hurt. Last night he’d kissed her before they fell asleep next to each other. This was the man she woke up to every morning? “Elvei, you realize, you’re telling me […]
Some Danger Involved (2004) Will Thomas Set in London in 1884. I believe I started with series when Grandmom was living with us–both of us loved it for certain. Thomas Llewelyn is a young Welshman who is at the end of his rope. He was kicked out of Oxford, spent time in Oxford prison, and […]
Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan I read these as ebooks, but being able to read on paper made a surprisingly huge difference. It’s possible I picked up on more things because it was the second read, but I think it’s because I could read it as […]
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 […]
Bayou Moon (2010) Ilona Andrews Following this immediately after finishing On the Edge helped clarify what bothered me about this story. I really like William in the first book. He’s odd, and he’s badly broken, but he is a good man who is fiercely protective of children. But he is definitely odd. And this book […]
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, […]
Burn for Me (2014) Ilona Andrews I STILL DESPISE THIS COVER. Avon? THIS COVER IS HORRIBLE. No, really. It’s been what, three years, and I STILL HATE THIS COVER. Especially considering the proposed cover. But this review is not for me to rant. Well, not completely anyway. Nevada Baylor is owned by MII, the investigative […]
Sanibel Flats (1990/2010) Randy Wayne White narrated by Dick Hill This is another series I started right after I broke my ankle, so I have almost no memory of reading this. Which is nice because it was like I was listening to it for the first time! Also, there is no kindle version of this […]
Threads of Malice (2005) Tamara Siler Jones Holy crap. I had completely forgotten how dark this book is. I mean, extremely dark. Descriptions of torture and rape and then the murder of the victim. And by this we see the torture from the victim’s POV, not just Dubric seeing the results of the torture and […]
Legion: Skin Deep, Audio Version (2014) Brandon Sanderson narrated by Oliver Wyman I really like this series, but I fear with all his other writing commitments, further books may be few and far between. Since Michael listened to the first book, we listened to the second as well, on another car trip. Just as good […]
The Shape of Water, Audible Version (1994/2006) Andrea Camilleri narrated by Grover Gardner I’ve been trying for years to convince Michael to read Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series. Finally, on a long drive, he agreed to listen to the audio book. He liked it. Just as I knew he would. At first, it felt weird […]
Early Autumn, Audio Edition (1981/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard I remembered that I really liked this book, but I’d forgotten was that really, I’d loved it. All the complexity of Spenser, and all the things I love are here in this story. “You have this at a restaurant?” “No. I made this […]
A Savage Place, Audio Version (1981/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard This is another fascinating look at Spenser, his ethics, and how he changes even over the course of the first few book. He’s still admitting to having served in Korea. “Do you remember the first time?” “The time, not the person. It […]
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 […]
Looking for Rachel Wallace, Audio Version (1980/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard I’d somehow forgotten how good this story is. I’d forgotten that at the start of the series Spenser said he had fought in Korea, which would of course make him even older than I remembered. “And you were in combat in […]
The Forgotten Man (2005) Robert Crais The 10th Elvis Cole book. The story opens with the discovery of a brutal murder–the bodies of mother, father, and son are found, along with the bloody footprints of their unharmed four-year-old daughter. The girl is physically unharmed, but no one involved leaves that home unchanged. Padilla was relieved […]
The Judas Goat, Audible Version (1978) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard Spenser has been hired by Hugh Dixon, a millionaire whose family was killed in a bombing in London. Hugh Dixon wants the terrorists caught or killed, and he’ll pay Spenser a bounty for each kill or capture. First, it’s odd for Spenser […]
The Last Detective (2003) Robert Crais This is the 9th Elvis Cole book, and we learn a LOT here, from some of Cole’s family history His name was Philip James Cole until he was six years old. Then his mother announced, smiling at him as if she were giving him the most wonderful gift in […]
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 […]
Twilight Watch (2006/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield The third book in the Night Watch series is one of my favorites. There are, of course, three stories: Nobody’s Time, Nobody’s Space, Nobody’s Power. “Nobody’s Time” is the first story, and finds Anton searching for an other who has promised to turn a human being […]
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, […]
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield This text has been approved for distribution as conducive to the cause of Light. —THE NIGHT WATCH This text has been approved for distribution as conducive to the cause of Darkness. —THE DAY WATCH I’ve got the final two Night Watch books just waiting to be […]
Promised Land, Audible Edition (1976/1987) Robert B. Parker narrated by Michael Prichard I’ve discovered that I exercise best with exciting mysteries I’ve previously read. If the book is good, then I want to keep walking just a little bit longer, to hear just a little more. But it can’t be something I’ve never read, because […]
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 […]
Sunset Express (1996) Robert Crais Book six of the Elvis Cole series. A high profile murder of the wife of a very rich businessman brings in a high-profile lawyer. When they hire Elvis Cole to look into the arresting officer, everything seems to be going normally, until suddenly it all gets strange. In the middle […]
Voodoo River (1995) Robert Crais Famous actress Jodi Taylor has come to Elvis Cole for help in finding her birth parents. Jodi Taylor was thirty-six years old, and beautiful in the way that only women with a measure of maturity can be beautiful. Not like in a fashion magazine. Not like a model. There was […]
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 […]
The Monkey’s Raincoat (1987) Robert Crais I read this series while I was recovering from my broken ankle, so I had very little memory of this book. In fact, I was 87% through the book before I came across a scene and thought “I remember that!” Those were definitely some very good drugs I was […]