books

Fantasy Mystery Romance Comics Non-Fiction

Monthly Archive January, 2017

Silence of the Grave

Silence of the Grave (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder The second Inspector Erlendur book finds Erlendur, Sigurdur Óli, and Elínborg called to a construction site, where a boy has found a human bone. A quick inspection discovers more bones–a skeleton dating back to probably WWII. The skeleton is to be dug up by […]

Jar City

Jar City (2000/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Inspector Erlendur works for the Reykjavík police, and he and his colleagues are called to an apartment where and old man was murdered. The elder son, 9 years old, was not as cautious as his father and quick as a flash he was in the neighbour’s […]

The Water Room

The Water Room (2004) Christopher Fowler The second Peculiar Crimes Unit finds everyone at loose ends until the Met assigns them new cases, as they set up their new offices. Afraid that they’ll lose the few people they have if they aren’t kept busy, Bryant and May give them errands based upon requests friends and […]

Full Dark House

Full Dark House (2003) Christopher Fowler Bryant & May met during the bombing of London during WWII, when May joined the force and was set to the Peculiar Crimes Unit, where Bryant was the lead detective. The story starts in the modern day, when the PCU office has been blown up and it is believed […]

Ghosts in the Snow

Ghosts in the Snow (2004) Tamara Siler Jones Dubric sees ghosts. But not all ghosts, just the ghosts of the murdered. Cursed by the Goddess Malanna after his wife’s murder forty-three summers before, Dubric had long struggled to ignore the horrid images of wrongful death. … He often wondered if he solved their murders to […]

Street Magicks

Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran I believe it took me less than a year to finish this anthology. Hopefully this is a new trend for me. “Freewheeling” by Charles de Lint “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch “Caligo Lane” by Ellen Klages “Socks” by Delia Sherman “Painted Birds […]

Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology

Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology (2014) edited by Henry Herz I probably started reading this right after it came out, and got hung up on a single story. Two years later I decided to skip through the stories that didn’t interest me and finish the anthology. “Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela” by […]

A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories

A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories (2014) edited by Kevin J. Anderson & Kieth J. Olexa I picked this collection up solely for the Patricia Briggs story, but once I saw some of the other authors, read through the stories that interested me (but skipped the ones that didn’t grab me after a […]

Bad Intentions

Bad Intentions (2008/2010) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund Three young men go out on a lake at night. One–the young man on release from the psychiatric hospital–falls into the lake. One of the two remaining men keeps the other from going into the lake after their friend, and contrives a complicated story about how […]

The Water’s Edge

The Water’s Edge (2007/2009) Karin Fossum translated Charlotte Barslund A married couple, out for their weekly walk, pass a strange man exiting the area, and then stumble upon the body of a young boy. One of the things I especially like about Inspectors Sejer is that his thinks a good deal about the victims and […]

A Wolf in Holy Places

A Wolf in Holy Places (2009) Nina Kiriki Hoffman This is a story of gods and men and how Loki tricked the dwarves. It’s sad and feels much like a Norse myth. Rating: 7/10 Published by Kiriki Publications

Black Seconds

Black Seconds (2002/2007) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund I read a bunch of Inspector Sejer mysteries a couple years ago, but when I picked this one up and realized that the murder victim was going to be a child, I went to something else. So there’s your upfront warning. The victim is a child. […]

Burnt Sugar

Burnt Sugar (2014) Lish McBride Ava, Lock, and Ezra have been sent by the Coterie (magical mafia) to collect a tithe from a witch who has missed payment. But when the find a gingerbread house, they know things are more serious than they expected. Lock stopped and crossed his arms, giving us a look that […]

Ghost Girl in the Corner

Ghost Girl in the Corner (2016) Daniel José Older This is set after Shadowshaper. Tee has received a grant to take over the publishing of the Bed-Stuy Searchlight–the local paper that had been run by Manny. She has three other teens to help her: Mina, Rafael, and Coruscant, although the woman from the group that […]