Review of The Man With a Load of Mischief by Martha Grimes (1981) (Richard Jury Series)
Bottom line: A pleasant and intriguing read with a few murders thrown in for good measure. Rating: Recommended Blurb: At the Man with a Load of Mischief, they found the dead body stuck in a keg of beer. At the Jack and Hammer, another body was stuck out on the beam of the pub’s sign, […]
Book Review: Matt Archer: Monster Hunter by Kendra Highley
Bottom Line: A gritty YA fantasy definitely worth the read. Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a […]
Review of Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (2007) (Kate Daniels #1)
Bottom line: Good, but gruesome Rating: Recommended Blurb: Earning a living cleaning up magical messes, mercenary Kate Daniels is drawn into a power struggle between two factions–necromancers and shapeshifters–within Atlanta’s magic circles when her guardian is murdered. Review: This is one of those books that makes me wish I were WAY more desensitized to violence. […]
Review of Sorcery and Cecelia
Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) (Cecelia and Kate #1) by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Bottom line: Delightful Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: In 1817 in England, two young cousins, Cecilia living in the country and Kate in London, write letters to keep each other informed of their exploits, which take […]
Review of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy
Review: C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strengthh) is the most disjointed trilogy I have ever read. That’s not to say it isn’t worth reading, or even good, but it feels more like a very loosely related collection of books than a trilogy. What makes it feel so […]
Review of Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (1975) (Amelia Peabody #1)
Bottom line: A fun Victorian cozy set on the banks of the Nile Rating: Recommended Blurb: Set in 1884, this is the first installment in what has become a beloved bestselling series. At thirty-two, strong-willed Amelia Peabody, a self-proclaimed spinster, decides to use her ample inheritance to indulge her passion, Egyptology. On her way to […]
Review of A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (2007) (Three Pines Mysteries #2)
Bottom line: A strong continuation of a very good series. Rating: Recommended Blurb: CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone in the hamlet of Three Pines, right up to the moment she died. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache begins his investigation, it seems like an impossible murder: CC was electrocuted on a frozen lake, in […]
Review of The Anatomist’s Wife by Anna Lee Huber (2012) (Lady Darby Mysteries #1)
Bottom line: A powerful mystery with a great new detective. Rating: Recommended Blurb: Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister’s estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when her hosts throw a house party for the cream of London society, Kiera is unable to […]
Review of Inferno by Dan Brown (2013) (Robert Langdon Series)
Bottom line: Take all the negative aspects of Dan Brown’s writing, leave out the good stuff, and add in a very thorough self-guided walking tour of Florence. Rating: Not Recommended Blurb: In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring […]
Review of Whiskey Sour: A Jack Daniels Mystery (2004) by J.A. Konrath (Jack Daniels Mysteries #1)
Bottom line: Definitely worth a read for hard boiled fans who don’t mind a little cliché and dose of humor in their gruesome detective stories. Rating: Recommended Blurb: Lieutenant Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Daniels is having a bad week. Her live-in boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, chronic insomnia has caused her to max out […]