Beastly Things (2012) Donna Leon I love this series. I love spending time in Venice with Commissario Brunetti and has family, I love all the characters he deals with, and I love the complexity of his family and co-workers. It’s funny, but for the most part, the mysteries take a back seat to everything else […]
Akitada and the Way of Justice (2011) I. J. Parker This is a collection of eleven short stories featuring the 11th century Japanese “detective” (there wasn’t such a term at the time) Akitada, over the span of his career, from the first mystery he was involved in to one towards the end of his career. […]
A Dream of Stone and Shadow (2006) Marjorie M. Liu Charlie is a gargoyle, being held captive by a witch who enjoys taking advantage of some of his more… unusual properties. Emma is an abused child who Charlie’s spirit stumbles upon in its wanderings. Aggie is a member of Dirk & Steele who can catch […]
Fables 17: Inherit the Wind (2012) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Shawn McManus The North Wind is dead! Long live the North Wind! That’s right, someone has to become the new North Wind, and the best candidates are the cubs. Meanwhile, in the Land of Oz, Bufkin and several others are on the run […]
Drawing Conclusions (2010) Donna Leon I love Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series. Brunetti is a mostly honest police detective who works in a mostly dishonest and entirely complex system. He is also in love with his wife and has two decent kids, and has co-workers who respect him. Of course, everything isn’t perfect. His boss […]
A Fountain Filled with Blood (2003) Julia Spencer-Fleming I don’t know what it was, but this story annoyed the living crap out of me. Not bad enough that I didn’t finish it, but I can’t say I read for detail, and probably glossed over whole pages for the second half of the book. Clare is […]
About Face (2009) Donna Leon I checked my shelves and noticed I didn’t have About Face. The reason I didn’t see it is because I’d gotten it on clearance in hardback. So, it’s just as well I now have it in paperback. And of course, once I started reading, I had to finish re-reading it. […]
Once Burned (2012) Jeaniene Frost I seem to be on a roll. This is the second book in a WEEK I’ve read that doesn’t end cleanly. It wasn’t quite the cliffhanger that Tempest’s Fury was, but it did introduce issues and problems in the epilogue. And of COURSE this book JUST came out, so it’s […]
Rashomon Gate (2002) I.J. Parker Akitada, is an official in the Ministry of Justice, who is bored with his job. But he has to support his mother and two younger sisters, so he does his best. His mother wants him to make a good marriage so he’ll move ahead in the world, but Akitada likes […]