Still Life (2005) Louise Penny Chief Inspector Gamache of Montreal Quebec has been called to the small village of Three Pines to investigate the death of Jane Neal–a retired school teacher found lying dead on the ground with a hole through her heart. Gamache is a kind man, which is a skill that serves him […]
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (2010) Alan Bradley This is the second Flavia de Luce book. Flavia is eleven and fascinated by chemistry and poisons. And murder, although that was a recent discovery. She has two older sisters who dislike and torment her, and a father who is wrapped up in his stamps, […]
The Monarch of the Glen (2004) Neil Gaiman The Monarch of the Glen appeared first in Legends II (2004) edited by Robert Silverberg, and then in Gaiman’s own short story collection Fragile Things. It is the story of Shadow, as he is wandering the world following the events in American Gods. Shadow (and we learn […]
Night Broken (2014) Patricia Briggs This is the latest Mercy Thompson book, which I got as a new release, but was waiting for me to finish Why Kings Confess, which was waiting for me to catch up on the Sebastian St. Cyr series (which I didn’t actually do). Mercy’s life is about to become miserable. […]
Why Kings Confess (2014) C.S. Harris I gave up re-reading the past books and the series and jumped straight to the newest book. No more hardback books for me, I think. The last several books have been set in a relatively compressed time frame–within a nine month period, to be precise, and in this book […]
What Remains of Heaven (2009) C.S. Harris I’d forgotten this book ends on a cliff-hanger of sorts. Not the mystery, but the situation of Hero Jarvis. Sebastian is pulled into yet another mystery when he formidable aunt asks him to look into the death of the Bishop of London and the presumed successor to the […]
Under Camelot’s Banner (2005) Sarah Zettel Lynet Carnbrea is the daughter of Steward Kenan, the man who holds Camilard for Queen Guinevere, whose name is under a shadow, for she acted as a go-between for Tristan and Iseult. Shamed, and broken by her penance, she is seen as damaged goods, and so unlike her sister, […]
Where Serpents Sleep (2008) C.S. Harris Now we reach the point where I started buying this series in hardback. And I hate hardback books. The fourth Sebastian St. Cyr book discovers Sebastian working with someone entirely unexpected: Hero Jarvis. A home for reformed fallen doves (ie women who want to escape prostitution) is burned to […]
For Camelot’s Honor (2005) Sarah Zettel I still love the cover, but the contents didn’t live up to my memory. I’m not saying it was a bad story–it’s not–I just remember it as being fabulous, and instead it’s just fine. Elen is the daughter of a Welsh chieftan, and King Arthur wants her family to […]
Why Mermaids Sing (2007) C.S. Harris This is a hard book. Lots of terrible things are revealed, which are very hard for Sebastian (and the reader) to bear. These discoveries, however, are separate from the mystery. Young men are being killed–butchered in a horrible way–and the Magistrate Lovejoy asks St. Cry for his help, because […]
When Gods Die (2006) C.S. Harris I have to admit, I’m reading slower than I have been, because I can’t afford to buy the eBook version, so I’m re-reading my paperbacks. It’s odd how much more comfortable I find an eBook to read. Plus, if I fall asleep reading an eBook, I don’t loose my […]
What Angels Fear (2005) C.S. Harris Sebastian St. Cyr is a young nobleman who returned from the wars with France wanting only to forget, but unable to do so, and thus unable to fit back into society. His refusal to wed and produce and heir only makes his already poor relationship with his father even […]
The Grimrose Path (2010) Rob Thurman Trixa Iktomi is a trickster. She comes right out with it at the beginning of this story, so you know what you’re getting into. But she and her friend Leo (the reformed Bad Boy but now a trickster by calling, Loki) are mortal while Trixa rebuilds her powers after […]