Elements of Retrofit (2017) N.R. Walker (Thomas Elkin) Thomas Elkin is 44, divorced, and a senior partner in a prestigious architecture firm. What he doesn’t expect is to fall for one of the summer interns–a man who is also a friend of his son. So. Yeah. Not my thing. I don’t love the age difference […]
Blind Faith (2013) N.R. Walker (Blind Faith) Carter Reece has moved to Boston to take a position a veterinary clinic. One of the unexpected things is that the clinic still does house calls for a few people–one of whom is Isaac Brannigan–a man who uses brashness and arrogance to hide his fear of losing those […]
For Real (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) This was really really not my thing. Yet I couldn’t stop reading. Laurence Dalziel has grown weary of the local BDSM scene. It gives him some of what he needs–but so much else of what he wants is nowhere to be found. So it is as much a shock […]
Glitterland (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) I kept reading the synopsis of this story and thinking, “I don’t know if this is my kind of story.” But I utterly adored Boyfriend Material as well as Waiting for the Flood, so I decided to try it. It opens with a the aftermath of a one-night-stand and the […]
Death at La Fenice (1992) Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti) A famous conductor is found dead during the intermission of the opera he was conducting. The police are called, and so we are first introduced to Guido Brunetti, Comissario of the Venice police. What surprises me every time I re-read this is just how good it […]
A Study in Honor (2018) Claire O’Dell (The Janet Watson Chronicles) Here’s the deal. I don’t like SF. I don’t like dystopias. But I love mysteries, and I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, although I really dislike Sherlock Holmes stories that were NOT written by ACD. So this was not going to be an easy […]
Passing Strange (2017) Ellen Klages Set in San Francisco in 1940. Haskel is an artist who makes her living doing pulp covers. She and her friends live on the edge of polite society, either because they aren’t white or because of their sexuality, but they are found family. “Ah, Jack. You failed the three-garment test […]
Last Watch, Audio Edition (2009/2010) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield narrated by Paul Michael As with the previous book, there are three intertwined stories. These stories take place over a relatively short period of time. Common Cause Anton is sent to Edinburgh, Scotland to look into the death of a Russian student who died […]
Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker I know it’s only been a month since I read this the first time, but it came to mind for a recommendation request, and I went to look for a specific quote, and, well. I re-read the entire thing. Grief was like the great Southern Ocean; it moved in […]
Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1990) Barry Hughart (The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox) Year of the Horse 3338 (a.d. 640) This is my least favorite of the three stories. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that I don’t like it as much as the first story. A vampire ghoul has killed an important […]
Two Rogues Make a Right (2020) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) Set in London ~1817-1818 Will Sedgwick’s best friend, Martin Easterbrook, had been found fevered and somewhat delusional in the attic of Hartley Sedgwick’s home (a home that by rights should have belonged to Martin). So Will stole him away to the country in the […]
Execution in E (2020) Alexia Gordon (Gethsemane Brown) Gethsemane Brown is frustrated that her landlord has rented the lighthouse for a wedding–though not as annoyed as Eamon, the ghost whose house she rents. The bride is an Instagram Influencer–and an all-around horrible person. “Ms. Markham’s parents’ money buys a great deal of tolerance of Ms. […]
A Delicate Deception (2019) Cat Sebastian (Regency Imposters) Set in England in 1824 Amelia Allenby fled London to escape what she felt was an impending madness. She’s now comfortable in Derbyshire, but still tries to avoid everyone. But a hulking man interrupts her daily walk, and eventually her annoyance changes to something else. Sydney may […]
Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America (2019) Christopher Wylie How did a gay, liberal, Canadian end up one of the architects of Cambridge Analytica–the company behind interference in multiple elections in 2016? It’s a long story, and involves everything from greed to psychological warfare to a desired to see how just far […]
The Case of the Damaged Detective (2020) Drew Hayes (5-Minute Sherlock) The man was found naked, dancing, in a warehouse full of corpses. The government has him, but there are other people who very badly want to get their hands on his brain. So to move him across the country, they give the job to […]
Something to Talk About (2020) Meryl Wilsner Jo Jones is a Big Deal in Hollywood. She started out as a child star, then went on to script-writing and producing, and although she’s currently working on an award-winning show, she wants to do something else–a super hero movie. He didn’t come out and say it was […]
Finders Keepers (2018) N.R. Walker After reading two Roan Parrish books–which are very angsty–I needed something super fluffy and happy. This is it. Griffin Burke has moved from Brisbane to Coolum Beach to take a new job–a promotion and a new place to explore. But when he finds a lost dog, he may be starting […]
Invitation to the Blues (2018) Roan Parrish (Small Change) This story is not for everyone. So there I was, working in my younger brother’s sandwich shop to make rent after moving out of my parents’ house, where I’d gone to temporarily lie low when I was released from the hospital I ended up in after […]
Raze (2019) Roan Parrish (Riven) Huey has spent a decade focusing on being sober, and helping others by being a sponsor. But in building his life, he hasn’t allowed anything unplanned or unexpected. I liked the dishes to be done in a particular way, and the routine was important to me. For as long as […]