Author: HCNewton Page 293 of 623

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones: Sunny and Auri get into Some Cold Cases in their Hot Town

By HCNewton

On July 16, 2021

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

A Good Day for Chardonnay

by Darynda Jones
Series: Sunshine Vicram, #2

eARC, 416 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2021

Read:July 12-14, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Last year, on a whim, I put in a request for the first book in a new series on NetGalley, a comedic novel about a Sherriff in quirky Del Sol, New Mexico. I’m pretty sure of the new-to-me authors I tried last year, Darynda Jones was my favorite. The combination of clever comedy, tense crime drama, slapstick, romance, sweet mother-daughter ness, and a splash of sexiness*. With that list of ingredients, you either have yourself a very tasty dessert or a giant mess—A Bad Day for Sunshine was the former.

* I don’t normally like sexy in a book, but if it’s done right, I can appreciate it. This was a bit too much for me, but it was tolerable.

This brings us to…

What’s A Good Day for Chardonnay About?

A typical day—as far as you can consider any day “typical” in Del Sol–is underway when Sunshine is called to the scene of Levi Ravnder’s bar—he was involved in breaking up what looked like a bar fight and things went very, very bad.

The investigation into what actually happened opens up a veritable Pandora’s box. There’s the fight (which leaves an old friend of Ravinder’s near-death) but soon, Sunny finds herself looking into a couple of cold cases from her past, forced to consider she might have been wrong. Meanwhile, she’s dodging the follow-up attempts of one of history’s worst blind dates.

Oh, yeah, and Sunny’s still digging into her abduction from her adolescence—and what she learns and remembers in this book makes the revelations we got last time out seem like nothing.

Auri

As great as I think Sunshine is as a character, ditto for almost all the other characters in this series. They all pale in comparison to Sunshine’s daughter, Auri. Her spunk, intelligence, and humor just endear her to me—and the relationship (particularly the conversations between the two).

We know that she’s done a Veronica Mars-kind of thing at her old school, and she played an active role in one of the investigations. This time out, speaking of cold cases, she’s got it into her head that one of the more colorful citizens of Del Sol was a serial killer decades ago and sets out to prove it (dragging her best friend and boyfriend along with her).

That might sound a little wacky, and it was at the beginning, but in the end, it was one of the richest storylines in the novel. Auri does some foolish, foolish things—but she does so with great intentions and care for others. It’s hard not to cheer for someone doing that—even if it lands her, her friends, and others in peril.

Wow. She Really Did That?

Beyond telling a pretty fun story, ABDfS set up a lot of interesting ongoing arcs and introduced a great cast of characters that I was expecting to enjoy reading for a few novels. And Darynda Jones pulled the rug out from under my expectations.

Not all of the characters from ABDfS survive this book and more than a couple of the ongoing arcs were resolved. This didn’t seem like the kind of series where that kind of thing was going to happen.

Clearly, I was wrong—and, as per usual when an author surprises me, I liked the way Jones did all of those. While I was expecting two of the arcs to go on for another book or three, I was relieved and pleased they didn’t. There are new characters and arcs to take their place–and I’m eager to see what happens to all of them.

My Mother

Yeah, this is odd for me to talk about, but I have to throw this in. Last week on our road trip, my wife and I listened to the audiobook for ABDfS, and I was taken aback by how racey it was. I vaguely remembered it, but my memory was a little off.

But this book? It’s, um, more detailed. Which isn’t my thing, but I get what Jones is doing and am sure that most of her readers will appreciate it. All I could think of as I read those sections was, “My mom is going to read this.” She’s going to read it because I bought her the first book. Not only is she going to read this book, but she’s also going to know that I read those scenes. And then I wanted to burst into flames.

Which is just a long way to say, if you like reading that kind of thing—Jones does a pretty effective job,

So, what did I think about A Good Day for Chardonnay?

Short answer—I think I enjoyed ABDfS a smidgen more than this one, but that was probably the joy of discovery because I think this was a better novel. Either way, it doesn’t really matter, because this was a blast.

Jones throws everything into the pot—crime, romance, teen romance, family drama, dumb comedy, clever wordplay, and more—and it works. It all works. I laughed, I felt the tension, I even got a little misty at one point—well, okay, I got very misty at one point.

Darynda Jones and Sunshine Vicram are a dynamite pair and I hope to be reading them for a long, long time.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 1/2 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Friday 56 for 7/16/21: August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones

By HCNewton

On July 16, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from Page 56 of:
August Snow

August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones

(for context, I think it helps if you know that the first speaker is the Chief Medical Examiner)

“So what brings you and Tubby McGlutton’—-he nodded to Danbury-—“to my Little Den of Decomp?”

“Eleanor Paget’s body,” Danbury said. “And don’t be calli’ me no ‘Tubby McGlutton,’ nay-gro.”

“Oh, please, Ray,” Bobby scolded. “You’re twenty pounds overweight. You smoke two cigars a day. And I’m sure, like every other over-forty black man who just has to show how successful he is in Detroit, you probably have three Courvoisier and Cokes three times a week at the Pontch. Oh yeah, son, I got a cold storage drawer with your name on it.” After eviscerating Danbury and taking a breath, Bobby said “Paget’s pretty straight-up stuff: GSW to the right temple.”

Know Your Rites by Andy Redsmith: Murder, magic and now rap music. Oh joy.

By HCNewton

On July 15, 2021

In Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Know Your Rites

by Andy Redsmith
Series: Inspector Paris Mystery, #2

Kindle Edition, 313 pg.
Canelo, 2019

Read: July 7-9, 2021

With his “street” clothes and silly trimmed beard, Dirk remained the most bizarre magical dwarf the inspector had ever seen. Although he was acutely aware of how stupid that sounded.

What’s Know Your Rites About?

It’s been a couple of weeks since DI Nick Paris led the efforts to stop the demon invasion from the magical world—something celebrated on both sides of the portal, with parties, accolades from officials, TV interviews, etc. Now he just wants to get back home to Manchester and investigate some crimes involving humans–no elves, dwarves, talking animals, just people. It won’t be easy, but he really wants to put the whole magical world in his rearview mirror.

He’s called to the scene of a murder—a music producer has been killed in his home, and there’s a suspect in custody. There’s a catch—the suspect is a dwarf who’s in the non-magical world so he can pursue his dream of being a major rap star.

Dirk’s a pretty ridiculous character, but it’s hard not to root for him. You have a hard time believing he committed the crime and how do you not root for a guy who had to leave his own world to follow his passion? (the fact that he doesn’t appear to have a lot of talent, makes him more tragic).

There’s a lot of pressure on Paris to wrap this up quickly—the non-magical authorities are not wanting to publicize the fact that a human was killed by someone from the other side. Those on the magical side are wanting to negotiate trade pacts with the humans, and don’t want anything derailing that. Still, there’s something wrong with the case against Dirk, and Paris learns it quickly. But it’s clear that a “magical being” was the culprit. So the team from last time gets back together and crosses over to find their murderer.

We spend the bulk of this novel on the other side of the portal, getting a better understanding of the world and how it operates—including how the police department, postal service, and tourist travel work. We also get to meet several other magical creatures, and Redsmith’s take on them continues to be a winner.

For example…

Paris and the rest need to cover a lot of ground quickly, so Tergil hires some Lamassu to handle the transportation. What’s a lamassu? I’m glad you asked:

They were flying cows. Or, more precisely, flying bulls. Each had a bull’s body, with lion’s legs, huge wings attached to their shoulders, and a human head. A man’s head with striking noble features, a long yet neatly cut beard, and wearing a silver helmet. A silver jockey’s helmet.

And, for reasons that make a certain kind of sense, they have Australian accents.

I’m telling you, reading the passages about them justifies the purchase price. The rest of the book is icing on the bull-shaped cake.

The Humor: The Crux of the Matter

Paris frowned at her. ‘What?’ he said. ‘How did somebody called Ug Og end up with the middle name Serendipity?’

‘I don’t know,’ said the ogress. ‘It just sort of happened.’

She turned towards the inspector, baring her misshapen teeth in an attempt at a grin.

In Breaking the Lore Redsmith really swung for the fences to establish the series, but it felt like he dialed things back a touch. Which is not to say it’s bad, it’s just not as funny. I think the puns have really dropped off. I also think that Redsmith tries to squeeze more out of the “dwarf who can’t rap with ambitions to be the next Eminem” than is there. But it’s a ludicrous notion, so it’s hard to blame him for going back to it as much as possible.

In the first book, he established a strange, fantastic and ridiculous world (two of them, technically). Now he gets to play in it—he doesn’t have to try as hard, he can just play it straight and let the settings and characters bring the funny to the story just by being the way they are. I’m actually glad that he toned it down a bit. (just a bit—it was frequently chuckle-inducing, I’m not saying the humor is gone)

So, what did I think about Know Your Rites?

I was a little worried about returning to this so long after I read the first book in the series, and I shouldn’t have been, it took no time at all to remember the characters and situation. It’s just as enjoyable this time as it was last time.

There’s a straightforward crime story at the core of this, wrapped in Fantasy garb, enclosed in comedy. I like these characters, I want to spend more time with them, and I hope that there are more books to come. In the meantime, take some time to dive into this series.

3.5 Stars

WWW Wednesday, July 14, 2021

By HCNewton

On July 14, 2021

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

After 15 months of telecommuting, I’m back to just commuting–this is wrecking my sleep and reading–and therefore blogging–habits. I’m still managing to do some of all three, but I’m having to make plenty of adjustments. Which is why things are a little light here this week. Still, I have been able to scrape together enough for this WWW Wednesday.

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Easy enough, right?

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading the very fun ARC for A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones and am listening to Veiled by Benedict Jacka, Gildart Jackson (Narrator) on audiobook.

Blank Space

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Andy Redsmith’s Know Your Rites and the audiobook of Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch read by Aaronovitch and: Penelope Rawlins, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Alex Kingston, Ben Elliot, Shvorne Marks, Sam Peter Jackson, and Felix Grainger.

Blank Space

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones, I’m looking forward to seeing what waits for me there. My next audiobook should be The Drifter by Nick Petrie, Stephen Mendel (Narrator) (largely because my library just added it to their Overdrive collection)..

Blank Space

What about you? Reading anything good?

Reposting Just ‘Cuz: Breaking the Lore by Andy Redsmith: A Funny, Fresh Take on a Police-filled Portal Fantasy

By HCNewton

On July 13, 2021

In Fiction

I’d planned on reposting this today to go along with my post about the sequel, Know Your Rites—it’s been so long since I posted this, I wanted to put it back out there. But now, I’m going to just repost this today and try to find the energy to follow up tomorrow. These are good books, you should check them out.

Breaking the Lore

by Andy Redsmith
Series: Inspector Paris Mystery, #1

eARC, 321 pg.
Canelo, 2019

Read: April 3 – 5, 2019

Inspector Nick Paris is your all too typical cynical, bitter, hard-drinking, chain-smoking police detective, and his world is being rocked. The latest corpse he’s been brought out to see and investigate the circumstances around the death is that of a fairy. The tiny, impossibly good looking, humanoid with wings kind of fairy. While still trying to wrap his mind around how that was possible, a crow (named Malbus) flies into his house demanding, demanding a smoke and talking to him about the murdered fairy. Not long after this, he’s visited by an elf and a rock troll (Tergil and Rocky).

And that’s just Day One of his new reality.

Essentially, there’s a connection between our world and the world of all these magical beings—a portal of sorts that those who desire to can travel between the two (or people and animals can stumble through unintentionally). For all sorts of great reasons, the magical creatures/folk kept their existence from humanity—and let what humans know fade into myth and legend. But something’s happened in their world, and those who are over here have to come seeking help (in terms of political asylum) and possibly even letting humanity in on what’s going on around them.

This is a little beyond Paris’ typical caseload, but he and his Superintendent, a no-nonsense woman named Thorpe, respond very well to these new challenges—dragging other officers and even the army along with them. They are obviously relying on the advice and guidance of the magical creatures—Tergil in particular (although Malbus makes sure his input is heard, too). They also recruit a local supernatural expert—Cassandra, a self-styled witch that no one in the police would’ve given any credence to if not for this new reality.

As fun as Paris, Tergil and Malbus are, Cassandra is a delight. She’s wise, insightful, and has a fantastic sense of humor—she might be harder for Paris to cope with than fairies, dwarves, and trolls. I shouldn’t forget Paris’ Sergeant Bonetti—he’s loyal, strong, brave, and probably not as mentally quick as he should be. He’s also the target of near-constant mockery from his superior. I’m not sure why he puts up with the abuse, but I found myself laughing at it. When the fate of multiple worlds is on the line, it’s these few who will stand strong in Manchester, England to keep everyone safe.

I can think of as many reasons that this is a lousy comparison to make as I can to make it—but throughout Breaking the Lore I kept thinking about Chrys Cymri’s Penny White books. There’ll be a big overlap in the Venn diagram of Fans of Penny White and Fans of Inspector Paris. I’m sure there are other comparisons that are as apt, or more so—but this is the one that I kept coming back to for some reason.

I had so much fun reading this book, Redsmith has a way with words that makes me think it really doesn’t matter what story he decided to tell—I’d want to read it. He was able to express the seriousness of the situation, while never stopping (either narratively or through the characters) the quips, jokes, and sense of fun. There’s an infectious charm to the prose and characters that easily overcomes whatever drawbacks the novel has. I’m not saying this is a novel filled with problems, it’s just that I wouldn’t care about most of them thanks to the voice.

Now, Redsmith’s wit does have an Achilles’ heel—puns. Redsmith is an inveterate punster, and will hit you with them when you least expect it. Now me? I love a good pun—and I hate them at the same time. Maybe you know what I mean. I cackled at pretty much all of them (frequently audibly), but I hated both myself and Redsmith for it. You know those Pearls Before Swine strips where Rat beats up Stephan Pastis because of the very carefully constructed pun? Yeah, this book is a series of those moments (but he rarely gives the setup Pastis does, usually it’s a quick sucker punch).

There are many other points I’d intended to make, but I think I’ve gone on long enough. This novel is silly, goofy, intelligent, charming—with a fresh take on a great idea. You’ll find yourself enjoying Paris, Cassandra, Malbus, Tergil, and the rest. I can see a few different ways that Redsmith takes Book Two, and I’m looking forward to seeing which one he picks (probably none of my ideas). But before that happens, I’m just going to relish the fun that Breaking the Lore was and encourage you all to go buy and read it for yourself.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Canelo via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to both for this.

—–

4 Stars

The Rags of Time (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator): DC Smith is a Fly in a Colleague’s Ointment

By HCNewton

On July 12, 2021

In Audiobook, DC Smith & Kings Lake, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Rags of Time

by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)
Series: A DC Smith Investigation, #6

Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hr., 29 min.
Tantor Media, 2017

Read: March 9-11, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Rags of Time About?

While DC was recuperating from knee surgery and dealing with his past in Northern Ireland—basically, while In This Bright Future was going on—DC’s rival, DS Wilson led both teams in a murder investigation. By the time DC returned, it was almost completed, he was assigned to do some clean-up on the details. Take care of a couple of witness statements, address some of the paperwork, and whatnot—busy work, really, so he stays out of Wilson’s way and keeps occupied.

But as one expects when DC gets involved, things don’t go that easily. In the first book, for example, he is supposed to sign off on an accidental death investigation and within days there’s an arrest, evidence of war crimes, and Secret Services personnel in Kings Lake.

This time? DC asks a few questions, gets curious, asks some more, and then turns up some evidence that really doesn’t fit the narrative being constructed. Before you know it, there are some big problems with Wilson’s case, and the DS isn’t taking it too well.

So, what did I think about Rags of Time?

I enjoy anytime I get to spend with DC, Chris Waters, DC Murray, and the rest. I love hearing DC’s little jokes (mostly for his own amusement) and his musings about life and the rest. Every one of these books is comfort food for me. Gildart Jackson’s narration just makes them more enjoyable, and this one was no exception.

But…I don’t know, there was something missing with this one. Something felt flat. Maybe it seemed like DC went around in circles for a little too long before stumbling on to the fact that I’d guessed at long before (although, I have the advantage of knowing it’s a novel and I can go for who’d make the most dramatic impact rather than finding evidence).

I liked it, I’m glad I listened to it, and was eager to move on to the next one—so eager that I broke my own rule and listened to it before I had a chance to write about this one. But…it’s the weakest of the series thus far. It’s good, just not as good as the rest. DC will be back up to snuff soon.

3 Stars

Foundations of Covenant Theology by Lane G. Tipton: A Fascinating Approach to Genesis 1-3

By HCNewton

On July 11, 2021

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Foundations of Covenant Theology:
A Biblical-Theological Study
of Genesis 1–3

by Lane G. Tipton

Paperback, 131 pg.
Reformed Forum, 2021

Read: July 4, 2021

What’s Foundations of Covenant Theology About?

In 2019, Lane Tipton gave a series of lectures for a Reformed Forum seminar on covenant theology. Tipton’s now turned these lectures into “a brief and non-technical” book, suitable for private use or as a supplement to a Sunday School class, building on the work of Geerhardus Vos and Meredith G. Kline.

I really don’t like it when I don’t provide my own summary/synopsis, but after a few attempts, I’m bailing. Primarily because my attempts ended up 2-3 times long as what’s on the back of the book/Reformed Forum’s website. So…why bother reinventing the wheel, if I’m just going to make it bloated and cumbersome?

Drawing from Genesis 1:1 and subsequent biblical revelation, Lane Tipton argues that before creating the visible world, the immutable triune God created a heavenly temple dwelling, filled that heavenly dwelling with the unchanging glory of his Spirit, and sanctified that heavenly dwelling as the realm of everlasting Sabbath rest.
Adam, as the created image of God and federal head of his posterity, could have advanced through perfect covenantal obedience beyond probation on the mountain of God in earthly Eden into the heavenly dwelling of God in Sabbath rest. This God-centered and heaven-focused theological backdrop enriches our understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ, as the second and last Adam in the covenant of grace, who in his humiliation and exaltation has opened the gates of heavenly paradise for his church.

Vocabulary and a Glossary

This is a non-technical book as Tipton says in the preface. But at a glance, you’d be tempted to think otherwise. Tipton has a very precise and erudite vocabulary, and it’s in full view here. Where some writers will (unintentionally) obfuscate with their language, Tipton’s doesn’t do that at all. I find his style and word choice to helpful—once you get used to it (and it doesn’t take long), you don’t even notice that it’s not your run-of-the-mill non-technical language.

There are concepts and phrases he uses throughout that he wants to highlight, and they’re included in a Glossary at the end of the book. There were a few he used in the text that I’d have liked a bit more detail on, but it’s clear that he uses the Glossary to focus on the vital concepts to his argument. I wish more people would do things like that.

So, what did I think about Foundations of Covenant Theology?

I’ve lost track of the books/chapters I’ve read that serve as an introduction to Covenant Theology in the last couple of decades. Yet I keep reading them (and, largely, enjoy and profit from them). This is a different way of covering these concepts and it’s a very effective one.

It’s also a different way of looking at Genesis 1-3. Almost every time I’ve seen these chapters explained and exegeted, it had to do with the doctrine of Creation, the Fall and the Promise of the Seed in Genesis 3, and so on. But Tipton’s approach—while addressing all that—focuses on the Big Picture, looking at the purposes behind Creation, the protoevangelium, the Covenants of Work and Grace, and how those are worked out in history (particularly in the last two chapters about Christ as the Promised Seed and the Second Adam).

Would I have liked this book to be longer and these brief chapters to be expanded—making this still non-technical, just not brief. If this had taken me a few hours to read rather than just an afternoon, I’d have been happier. But…this was a fascinating book, a helpful read, and I know I’ll profit from meditating on and returning to these concepts. You really should try this one yourself, you’ll be rewarded for it.

4 Stars

Saturday Miscellany—7/10/21

By HCNewton

On July 10, 2021

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

I’ve been out of town for most of the week and had limited internet time–so I didn’t have much of an opportunity for surfing. I was able to find a few things for this week’s post, but it’s a little small.

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
bullet Andy Serkis to Narrate All 3 The Lord of the Rings Audiobooks—I’ve had The Hobbit narrated by Serkis in my libro.fm shopping cart for months, but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on it. But if he’s doing these, too? Think it’s time.
bullet The Making of ‘Soul Taken’ A Mercy Thompson cover—this is fascinating (even if you have no interest in Mercy Thompson)
bullet 13 books perfectly summed up with one-liners from Gilmore Girls.
bullet 10 Reasons Why I Love Reading—Reading Ladies Book Club had a good entry for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt.
bullet How Book Lovers Spend Their Time . . . And . . . We Don’t Have a Problem!

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
bullet Tender is the Bite by Spencer Quinn—Chet and Bernie hunt for a client who didn’t get around to hiring them I tried to convey my enthusiasm a few days ago.
bullet Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt—Andy Carpenter heads to Maine to defend his latest client I opined about it recently

The Friday 56 for 7/9/21: In Plain Sight by Dan Willis

By HCNewton

On July 9, 2021

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from Page 56 of:
In Plain Sight

In Plain Sight by Dan Willis

“My point is that we don’t know what we’re dealing with, and until we do, I suggest we limit possible exposure.”

“My boys have been in here for almost an hour,” Callahan said.

“And they’re probably fine, but let’s move everyone out of this room until I can run some tests.”

“All right,” Callahan agreed, then he shouted for everyone to stop what they were doing and go. “Don’t be too long, Doc,” he said once his men were gone. “I’m sure the Chief has heard about this by now and he’s going to want a report…soon.”

“We’ll be as fast as we can,” Iggy said and Callahan withdrew.

“You said you didn’t think it’s contagious,” Alex said once Callahan was out of earshot.

“I just wanted him and his men away from this room,” Iggy said. “It’s going to be hard enough to figure out what happened here without the police stomping all over everything.”

In Plain Sight by Dan Willis: A P.I. with a Magical Edge Races the Clock in this UF Series Start

By HCNewton

On July 9, 2021

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy

In Plain Sight

by Dan Willis
Series: Arcane Casebook, #1

Kindle Edition, 311 pg.
2018

Read: July 1-5, 2021

What’s In Plain Sight About?

Alex Lockerby is a P.I. in the late 1930’s New York. He occasionally consults with the police, but most of them don’t respect him. Generally, he’s taking small-time jobs (lost pets, etc.) to make ends meet—and it’s largely because his gorgeous secretary finds those jobs for him.

Oh, Alex is a Runewright—by drawing elaborate designs in a (generally) special ink and then setting the drawing on fire he activates various things—finding charms, disguises, a way to look at the past of a room/item, healing, etc.

His ability doesn’t necessarily mean riches aplenty or fame—it means that he has an edge in certain circumstances, but that’s it.

In this novel, Alex is dealing with three cases—a distraught young woman hires him to look for a missing brother. A case he consulted on for the police didn’t go the way he said it would, and he has only three days to fix the problem or he’ll be charged with something and his friend on the force will be unemployed. And, a local church’s soup kitchen—volunteers, priests, nuns, and those being fed–are killed by an impossibly fast-moving disease, and Alex (with the guidance of his medical doctor mentor) needs to track down the source of the disease.

The clock is ticking to deal with all three of these—also in the mix are the NYPD, the FBI, a powerful sorcerer, and an ages-old secret that threatens to destabilize the magic world.

Magic System

There are, we’re told, three types of magic users in this world: Alchemists, Sorcerers, and Runewrights. We don’t get to see a lot of Alchemy (but we hear a little about it). We see enough of Sorcery to get a pretty good idea what it’s like. But the star of the show is the use of and making of Runes.

Willis’s version of Runes are similar to Hearne’s Sigils, but it’s only similar (various wizards, witches, and other magic users from various UF series are more similar than these, though).

I liked the way that all three versions of magic are used, and interweave with each other. Also, while various magic users aren’t necessarily esteemed (Alex is dismissively called “scribbler”, for example), they’re all out in the open, selling their services, both on small scales and large scales.

We need more UF where the magic is out in the open—all the various series with a dozen different ways that the magic (and so on) is hidden from the general populace is getting tired. Magic being an everyday thing, something commercial…I like seeing that.

1930’s P.I.

We’re supposed to get a hard-boiled P.I.-feel from Alex here. Philip Marlowe with magic, kind of a thing. It’s close, but it feels sanitized. Safe. Really, Alex Lockerby is more Dixon Hill than Marlowe or Sam Spade.

I’m not saying I didn’t like the idea or the execution—I enjoyed it. It just felt tame.

So, what did I think about In Plain Sight?

This was fun—inventive, cleverly told, and a premise/magic system that is a breath of fresh air.

I appreciated Willis’ voice and style—I do wish he’d made things a bit more nuanced, a bit harder to figure out (although there is a reveal late in the book that took me by surprise), but it’s the first book—a setup for the series as a whole, and that’s not easy to do.

There’s a lot of charm to the writing and the characters, I can easily see this series becoming a favorite, until then, this was a fun way to spend a couple of hours, and the rest of the series looks to be the same. I’m looking forward to diving into the rest, and suspect you would be as entertained as I was.

3 Stars