Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
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First Do No Harm
by S. J. Rozan
DETAILS: Series: Lydia Chin & Bill Smith, #16 Publisher: Pegasus Crime Publication Date: January 6, 2026 Format: Hardcover Length: 320 pg. Read Date: February 18-19, 2026
My brother needs a lawyer,” I told Bill over the phone from the sky diving hut.
“Your brother is a lawyer. Unless it’s a different brother, in which case his brother is a lawyer.”
“It’s Elliott, he needs a criminal lawyer, and it’s for a friend.”
“That’s what they all say. What happened?”
“The friend was found at the hospital in the company of a dead body.”
“Did he make it dead?”
“No.”
“That’s what they all say. New York City? Long Island, upstate, New Jersey? ”
“That’s as far as your reach extends?”
“God no. You need Nebraska? The Leeward Islands?”
“Just testing. Manhattan.”
“The guy’s in custody?”
“Yes, and he’d rather not be,”
“That’s what they all say.”
What’s First Do No Harm About?
That’s basically all you need to know. Lydia’s brother gets a call from a coworker that he’s friendly with, who’s the prime suspect in a murder at the hospital. After Bill connects him with a good criminal lawyer, that lawyer hires the duo to do the investigating for her.
It doesn’t go well at first—there’s a lot of institutional resistance to helping them—the hospital just wants to put the incident behind them—they’re on the verge of a nurses’ strike, and the additional bad press associated with a murder is too much for them. They’re perfectly willing to let this staff member be arrested and convicted, as long as it happens fast and keeps them out of the news.
Thankfully, Lydia and Bill are good at making allies and cashing in favors—once they start learning secrets and talking to the right people (probably in the reverse order), they start finding more people who will talk to them (willingly or not), and a picture—very slowly begins to emerge.
They’ve had some real doozies of a case before—and honestly, this is one of the more straightforward cases they’ve had (if you ignore all the distractions they encounter along the way)
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because it’s a Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book.
I kept reading for the expected reasons: the mystery/crimes they uncovered and their chemistry and banter. It’s also a “Lydia” book, so it’s a bit more upbeat and fun.
The way these two interact has always been something that attracted me to the books, and it continues strong here. There’s a little competition between the two of them early on about who can charm the most people connected to the case—and neither of them does very well. Dismally, really. But it’s fun to watch them go back and forth about it—it’s a nice twist on Spenser’s strategy of going around annoying people until someone does something that leads him somewhere. At least they’re (superficially, at least) trying to charm people.
But really, just getting the chance to watch the two of them talk to each other is enough to keep me reading.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
This is a tricky one, because like most PI Fiction, the core of this book is people being despicable and trying to get away with it. But there’s a focus to this one.
“Seriously,” I said, sipping the cinnamony froth off my mug, “I’ve never seen so many people doing so many nefarious things. It’s a little disheartening. No, it’s a lot disheartening. A hospital? Isn’t it a thing that medical people are supposed to at least do no harm?”
Bill shrugged. “I always thought so.”
Lydia has seen a lot of…well, a lot. Crime, corruption, organized crime, family dysfunction, murder, and so on. A lot of what she’s seen would be too much for many of us (myself included). Yet this case disheartens her. She’s seen the various and sundry corruptions, backstabbing, machinations, poor conditions surrounding the workers at this hospital—and we’re not even talking about patient care/conditions—who knows what would show up if that happened. It’s all behind-the-scenes stuff. And it gets to her. She mentions it frequently.
Even with a brother who works in the ER in this hospital, all of this mess shocks her. Bill doesn’t seem as disturbed, but I don’t get the impression that he expected it to be this bad, either. Even people like them—given their experience, profession, and what they’ve heard—they expect hospitals to be about helping people. Healing people. Not trying to profit at other people’s expense.
I think it says something about how all of us have illusions about institutions. Or that even in the best places for humanity, our collective depravity shows up. Or maybe, that despite all the nefarious things going on, there are people (like her brother) who help people—and that even those who are getting away with things still manage to do some good.
Okay, I’m not sure what this book tells us about humanity. It’s not cut and dry—and on one level, we all know that, but something that Crime Fiction is good at is reminding us all that humanity is a mess, but still some good things happen.
So, what did I think about First Do No Harm?
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my only complaints are that we didn’t get enough of Lydia’s brother—because I enjoyed him in his element; and we definitely didn’t get more time with the accused murderer—because he was such a fun ball of chaos and earnestness. Seriously, can he get accused of another crime soon? I’d like to see him back in this series.
Everything else was great—good red herrings, a good twisty mystery that exposed a lot of other criminal/crime-adjacent activities, some winning characters. And more than one scuzzy person that you wouldn’t have minded being guilty of the murder—sadly, some that get to keep being less-than-upstanding and successful. The final reveal of the killer? I didn’t see it coming, but in perfect murder mystery style, once revealed, I couldn’t not see it and was annoyed with myself for missing it.
As one expects, Rozan did it again. And now we get to wait for her next successful outing. This would make a fine jumping-on point for the series. I think every book in the series would, for that matter. You’ve got no excuse not to read it.
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, the opinions expressed are my own.
The Culture of God’s Word:
Faithful Ministry in a Post-Christian Society
by Harold L Senkbei, read by Lucas V Woodford
DETAILS:
Publisher: Lexham Press
Publication Date: February 18, 2026
Format: Hardcover
Length: 176 pg.
Read Date: February 1, 2026
What do we mean by “culture of the word”? The culture of the word encompasses this kind of compassionate understanding, while acculturating individuals from distinctively different identities and customs into one overarching transcendent culture of the church universal and eternal. Paul’s compassionate and considerate approach to gospel proclamation shows how to best foster the culture of the word. But there’s no need to compromise Christian ethos or teaching to gain a hearing within a given subculture and grow the culture of the word.
What’s The Culture of God’s Word About?
The authors describe their starting point pretty clearly right from the start:
The book of Acts is a practical guide to mission in every generation. It shows how the first Christians were driven not by their cultural context but by the word of Christ to change the hearts and lives of people living very much in the world, yet not of it. They weren’t seeking to convert cultures but people who lived in various cultures.
Faithful mission in a chaotic world builds on this New Testament template; people in every context—every nation, tribe, and language—should be acculturated by the word of Christ. For two millennia Christians have held that the church cultivates its own transcendent culture in a rapidly shifting social context—the culture of the word.
In a culture that is safely described as post-Christendom*, their argument is simple: go back to the way that the book of Acts describes evangelism and church life. Don’t try to ape the world, adapt the Christian message to passing cultural trends, embrace the world’s values, etc. Just do what the Church and her leaders did in an equally non-Christian culture.
They spend about five chapters making the case for the reasoning behind that and what it should look like, and then wrap it up with a chapter on applying that.
* However you want to define that.
Chapters 1-5
These chapters focus on developing the above quotation. Here’s the list:
1 The Church Is Created by the Word of God
2 The Church Lives in One Transcendent Culture
3 The Church Proclaims Christ Jesus
4 The Church’s Worship Transcends Cultural Context
5 The Church Lives in the World, Not of the World
That pretty much shows you how they go about building the case—again, focusing their examples and illustrations from Acts.
Not too surprisingly, chapter 4 was the highlight of these chapters for me—I’m a sucker for a good chapter on worship. I did have some quibbles with a few things in it—but I assume that’s because I’m wrong about something they argued. Overall, it’s probably worth half the price of the book.
The Church Grows from the Culture of the Word
To faithfully grow the culture of the word there were four areas of good soil the New Testament church chose as places in which to sow the word: worship, catechesis, hospitality, and vocation. These areas remain vital to the church and must be engaged to ensure the seed is sown robustly.
That’s from the first page of Chapter 6 (that shares a title with the section heading above), and it made me instantly think of Stephen O. Presley’s Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World like the Early Church—a book that makes the same argument (essentially) as this one, but it leans primarily on the first few centuries of the Church, rather than the inspired history of the first few decades after Pentecost.
Focusing on “worship, catechesis, hospitality, and vocation,” the authors apply the previous chapters and call ministers to work in these areas. I thought it was a wonderful and needed conclusion to the book.
So, what did I think about The Culture of God’s Word?
The task of mission and evangelization in our neo-pagan world today is exactly as it was in the pagan world of the first apostles and evangelists: to rescue and to save people by the word of the gospel accompanied by deeds of love. The culture of this word brings renewal and hope because God’s word always does what it says. The word of Christ Jesus crucified and risen heals holistically: it erases guilt, eradicates shame, and mends illnesses of both body and soul.
Now, I’m not a minister, and this book is written primarily for them—so take what I say with a larger grain of salt than you typically would. I do think that the laity can and should read books written for those who are (or are about to be) ordained to ministry—if only so we know what standards to hold them to. But still, this book wasn’t written for someone like me.
I do think I’d have gotten more out of it if I were one. But that doesn’t take away from all the things I appreciated about the book. I don’t know if it’s really all that revolutionary or unique in its outlook. This doesn’t take away from the book either—it just means that these authors find themselves in good company. If you find yourself thinking about the Presley book, or The Core of the Christian Faith by Michael W. Goheen (or other books by Goheen), or other books along those lines—don’t be surprised.
That said, it’s a short, punchy read that accomplishes what other books do in fewer pages. It could be seen as a refresher on them, or a solid introduction to this kind of thinking for those new to it.
I found myself nodding a lot, appreciating the wisdom, and making notes to talk about certain ideas with others.
I heartily encourage others to pick it up—you won’t regret it.
Disclaimer: I received this book as a participant in the Baker Publishing Group Nonfiction Reviewer Program. However, as always here, I read this book because it interested me and the opinions expressed are my own.
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, the opinions expressed are my own.
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:
Books and screens: Your inability to focus isn’t a failing. It’s a design problem, and the answer isn’t getting rid of our screen time—This’ll provoke some thinking (also, I want to be whereever that picture was taken)
“The guy you buy”: The Michael Clayton of it all.—a great piece on Corporate Thrillers
Read this: Generative AI is doing a number on the romance novel market—in case your blood pressure could use a boost (or your despair is running a little low)
From Atoms to AI: The Futile Search for a “Perfect” Language
Five Cosy Activities For Audiobook Listening—all of them sound better than my typical audiobook listening activities: driving, work, cleaning
“The Victim has to be a Believable Person”: An Interview with First Do No Harm’s S.J. Rozan
What Do You Want to Know About a Book Before You Read It?—a question I think about a lot
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“Goblin tea resembles a nice cup of Earl Grey in much the same way that a catfish resembles the common tabby. They share a name, but one is a nice thing to curl up with on a rainy afternoon, and the other is found in the muck at the bottom of polluted rivers and has bits of debris sticking to it.”—Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham—featuring a protagonist that belongs on one of my personal Mt. Rushmores
Some Assembly Required by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Jonathan Lau
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley—yeah, I DNFed it, but I talked about it.
Lastly, I talked about the releases of Switcheroo by Aaron J. Elkins and Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett—”A woman who runs a cat rescue in 1920s Montréal turns to a grouchy but charming magician to help save her shelter.” (“turns to” and “grouchy” aren’t necessarily the words I’d use, but…whatever). I opined about it a couple of weeks ago. Lots of fun.
Time for a Change by Questlove, S. A. Cosby—I was a little worried that we weren’t going to get a sequel, but: “On the heels of their thrilling appearance in Rhythm of Time, best friends Rahim and Kasia are back traveling through time in Time for a Change. Last time around, they were on their own—now they are working with Aevum, a mysterious organization from the future that tasks them with averting disaster and safeguarding the flow of history.”
Worse than a Lie by soandso—”a lawyer drawn into a case that begins with a violent traffic stop and spirals into a fight over truth, power, and freedom inside the criminal legal system.” (for more, read the link there or this feature from the Westside Gazette, which is where I lifted that quotation from)
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?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
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| Banners of Wrath by Michael Michel |
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage, read by Sean Runnette |
I had to take a break to make sure I finished Hive on time (see below), but I’m back to Michel’s latest. There are just so many things going wrong for these characters…and I’m loving it.
Standage’s history came up in conversation with a friend when I was telling him about reading The Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine. This is a very different take on potent potables (and some others), but they also do a good job of complimenting each other.
What did you recently finish reading?
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| Jump by DL Orton |
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| Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman, read by Travis Baldree & Jeff Hays |
The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson, read by Walter Isaacson & Holter Graham |
I’ve talked about Jump a lot today, I’m not sure what else to say.
Read Matt Dinniman, they said. He’s hilarious, they said. Well, this was a different book for Dinniman–it’s harrowing, somewhat hopeful and affirming, but also…the mirror it holds up about humanity’s cruelty to humanity (for fun and profit!), just ain’t pretty. I should stress that this is an endorsement.
Okay, technically, the last book I listened to was Isaacson’s celebration/examination of the second sentence in the Declaration of Independence (you know, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”). But it’s a 60 minute book (including the appendices), so it doesn’t really feel like a book.
What do you think you’ll read next?
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| First Do No Harm by S. J. Rozan |
City of Others by Jared Poon, read by David Lee Huynh |
It’s been too long since I read a good PI novel, might as well read about two at the same time, right? The good part is pretty much granted with Rozan behind the wheel.
I was just browsing at the Library’s site when I saw this Urban Fantasy set in Singapore. Which is such an unusual combination of words that I have to try it.
Tell me about your recent reads (I may be bad at replying, but I read every comment)
I’m tempted here to take 90% of post about Hive from last May, switch out the titles and say, “good enough.” Because…it really would be. I won’t, because that feels like cheating. But…if things sound eerily similar, there’s probably a reason. I plagiarize myself all the time in real life, I might as well do it here, too.
Jump
by D. L. Orton
DETAILS: Series: Madders of Time, Book Two Publisher: Rocky Mountain Press Publication Date: November 4, 2025 Format: Hardcover Length: 406 pg. Read Date: February 14-16, 2026
What’s Jump About?
This picks right up from the end of Hive, but we get to see a more global scale—it’s not just around the Denver area that things are bad all over the world. And getting worse. There are a handful of efforts to save the world—more efforts to save portions of humanity (read: powerful and rich, with a few smart ones to keep things running)—and, of course, our rag-tag group of scientists and dimension-travelers.
And, I really don’t know what to say without getting way too complicated (it ain’t easy recapping multiverse stories and all their varying apocalypses). What’s Jump about? It’s about what happens after Hive, and before Dome (coming soon from D.L. Orton). While the world races past dystopia toward chaos, mass starvation, and general devastation—some people try to save it. Or at least another universe from falling into the same hole.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because I was curious about where Orton was going to go with things.
Why did I keep reading? That’s simple—once you read a few pages, you can’t help keep going—I could probably come up with a list of things I could fault Orton’s writing for if I wanted to (I don’t want to, see no need to, etc…I’m just saying I could). But getting the reader to keep turning the pages as fast as they can wouldn’t show up anywhere near that list. Her writing is like that old Pringles slogan, “Once you pop, you just can’t stop.”
What does this book tell us about humanity?
Nothing good, sadly. Well…let me take that back. Before I get too far with the thing that has really captured my mind over the last day, something I thought about while reading is just how immutable certain things in the multiverse may be: Diego and Isabel (in whatever variants of spelling/language/nicknames they may be known by) are gaga over themselves. Have the same interests and pursuits—and name their kids the same thing (although they don’t all have them, they plan on using the same ones). Dave is an evil, manipulative, scumbag everywhere (with some minor variation of degree possible). Matthew is basically Matthew wherever.
Compare that to the multiverses in Fringe for example—some parts of Olivia are the same on both sides, but not nearly as much. The Walters are freakishly different. And so on. Or even the variations in the Spider-Mans in the last movie—differences in powers, Mary Janes, villains, life experiences (only one has been to space!).
Whatever minor variations Orton does show, they are so small as to be negligible. I just think that’s strange.
Now back to the nothing good—there are essentially three groups of people we see in this book (more than Hive).
First, you have the overwhelming mass of humanity—they’re starving (and it’ll get worse), their access to electricity, heat, medicine, is severely limited. It’s a barbaric existence for them—and it’s about to get so much worse. It’s all about survival from one day to the next for them.
Then you have the “Elite”—they’re rich, they’re powerful, they use government resources (and then pretty much ignore all the governments that are helping them) to “save humanity.” As long as that humanity helps them get richer (because that’s important), can give them access to the disappearing resources of Earth, and/or can keep things running. They couldn’t care less about the people outside of the Domes, and will do horrific things to preserve said Domes.
Even our “good guys” who are—to be the one to travel. Period. End of discussion. So what does he do? He takes off on a risky mission for the sake of the woman he loves—and (no offense, Isabel) she really doesn’t seem to have a role to play in the “saving the world” bit. I’m not saying let her die, or anything—but we’re talking about the fate of humanities, here. Also—the princess can save her self, thank you very much.
You still like them, you’re still rooting for them, you still smile at their jokes—but, when the book is done and you can breathe and reflect? They may end up saving multiple realities (or even just one!), but I’m not sure they’re heroic. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, you just prefer them to be a bit more so.
So, what did I think about Jump?
It’s exactly the kind of escapist read that helps you unwind after a long day.
It moves, it’s fun—yes, it’s full of existential despair, but it keeps the focus on the non-despair inducing/horrific things—the characters and situations are compelling. And there’s part of you (well, part of me, and hopefully I’m not alone in this) that keeps thinking “if I just stick with it, I’ll actually understand all the various multiverse strands.” That part isn’t quite as important, but if I tried to diagram it all, it wouldn’t be pretty. It’d also be pretty inaccurate.
I’d love for Orton to show us all how she kept everything straight.
The tech is very cool—particularly the “baby” version of the old AI we meet in Hive. Orton gives you enough to understand how it all works and to visualize it clearly without bogging down the pace with paragraphs and paragraphs of details. The plausibility of it all? Eh, it’s SF, it’s plausible enough if you come with a standard level of suspension of disbelief needed for time travel/multiverse travel.
Because of the pacing, Orton’s able to get away with a few things that maybe she couldn’t in a slower-moving book. The depth of the characters that could be brought out are merely nodded to, or you have to assume them. You have to assume there’s something about the tech elites that got them where they are, despite being horrible people who can miss a whole lot of things their underlings are doing—and to keep working together despite the clear animosity.
I thought this last time, and I’m more certain of it now, most of my problems can be laid at the feet of the pacing—to keep things moving, she can’t develop these things with much more than a nod. I’m not necessarily wild about how things work out because of that, but I understand the reasoning, and can sit back and enjoy it.
I want to stress, however, in the moment, you don’t think about this (and if you do, you brush it off because you don’t want to step out of the movement). Everything works, everything clicks while you’re reading and speeding off to the next twist/revelation. It’s only after you get to the ending that leaves you holding onto the cliff’s edge with your fingers that this might occur to you if you stop and think about it. Mostly, you’re going to be thinking about how long it will be until you can get your hands on the next book, Dome.
It’s easily enjoyable, engrossing, and entertaining. You should give it a try.
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, the opinions expressed are my own.
I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour for Book Two in D.L. Orton’s Madders of Time series, Jump! If you take a look at the feeds https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours and https://bsky.app/profile/thewritereads.bsky.social, you’ll see what several other bloggers have had to say about it. My $.02 will be coming along later today.
Book Details:
Title: Jump by D. L. Orton
Genre: Madders of Time, Book Two
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook
Length: 406 pages
Publication Date: November 4, 2025
About the Book:
The multiverse is collapsing. The time machine is broken. And humanity’s last hope? Might already be dead.
Seven months after the EMPs brought the world to its knees, a handful of scientists are racing against extinction—and each other. Somewhere in a flooded skyscraper lies a wormhole generator that might be able to undo the apocalypse. If they can find it. If it still works. If it doesn’t kill them first.
Meanwhile, Diego Nadales wakes in a cell, his face bloodied and his memories fractured. He’s being accused of terrorism, treason, and time travel. The last one, at least, is true.
Isabel is trapped inside a biodome ruled by the man she once trusted. But her bees—microscopic drones designed to save the planet—have been hijacked and weaponized. If she doesn’t find a way out soon, her creation will wipe out the last threads of life on Earth.
Old friends return. New enemies rise. And somewhere in the chaos, one small spark of hope just might be enough to ignite a revolution.
The clock isn’t ticking. It’s blowing up.
Book Links:
Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ The StoryGraph
About the Author:
The BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, D. L. ORTON, lives in the foothills of Colorado where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops. Her future plans include completing the books in the BETWEEN TWO EVILS series followed by an extended vacation on a remote tropical island (with a Starbucks).
When she’s not writing, playing tennis, or helping with algebra, she’s building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry.
Ms. Orton is a graduate of Stanford University’s Writers Workshop and a past editor of “Top of the Western Staircase,” a literary publication of CU, Boulder. The author has a number of short stories published in online literary magazines, including Literotica.com, Melusine, Cosmoetica, The Ranfurly Review, and Catalyst Press.
Her debut novel, CROSSING IN TIME, has won numerous literary awards including an Indie Book Award and a Publishers Weekly Starred Review. It was also selected as one of only 12 Great Indie Stars by BookLife’s Prize in Fiction.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
The Dentist
by Tim Sullivan, read by John Heffernan
DETAILS: Series: The DS Cross Mysteries, #1 Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd Publication Date: September 2, 2021 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 10 hrs,. 12 min. Read Date: February 10-12, 2026
What’s The Dentist About?
DS George Cross is called to a murder scene for what the uniformed officers are assuming is going to be a simple, probably unsolvable, murder of a homeless man at the hands of another homeless person. Cross almost instantly sees some things that tell him that’s not the case at all, and saddles up for a complicated case.
It is a complicated one, too (obviously, you don’t want your novel’s protagonist to be wrong at the first thing he concludes in the book). Cross and his not-very-willing partner, DS Josie Ottey, start learning a good deal about this homeless man—who not that long ago was a prominent dentist in the area. Cross becomes convinced that this murder is tied to an unsolved case from over a decade ago and sets himself to solving both crimes.
This sets him at odds with former police detectives who investigated the earlier case, the higher ups in the Service who are looking for a quick conclusion, and parts of the dentist’s own family. Ottley supports him in this, but gets the other side, too—and will try to guide him to the “safer” conclusion (while hoping his obstinacy will show that he’s not the person she should be partnered with for the next case).
I Have to Talk About Cross and the Spectrum
We meet George Cross having a very awkward introduction to a new coworker—it doesn’t go well for either of them (and only one of them understands why). And then he finds calm in leaving that conversation to focus on the murder victim in front of him. A crime to investigate, clues to notice, a puzzle to solve—that’s what Cross needs. Not a friendly (and we’ll learn, clever) new coworker.
In many ways, Asperger’s Syndrome* is what distinguishes Cross from his peers (on the force and in Police Procedural fiction). But Sullivan never makes this out to be a super-power (as so many tend to do), or a disability for him to overcome in some inspirational manner (phew). Nor—and this is the big one—is it played for comedy (think Adrian Monk’s OCD which is portrayed comedically, tragically, and with sensitivity—often in the same scene.)
It’s just who Cross is. He is off-putting, he is borderline rude, he only realizes how to better handle a conversation at work or in private after the fact (and almost never goes back to redress things). He is hyper-focused at times, to the point of obsession. He is very self-aware of his challenges and has done many things to ease his way through them (one would argue, not enough). His co-workers and superiors are also very aware of his challenges and have done things to ease his way through them (one would more easily argue, not enough).
He’s on the spectrum, just the way that Ottley is a black single mom. The way that his father is a hoarder. The way that their civilian aid is anxious to prove herself. The way their DCI is a better politician than a detective (but one who can see when he needs to get out of the way and let detectives detect). It’s just part of him.
That’s the way this should be handled.
* I realize that “Asperger’s Syndrome” is considered an outdated term, but it’s what the novel uses, so I’m using it, too.
How was the Narration?
Well, first I had to cope with Heffernan’s pronunciation of “Asperger’s” (well, the British pronunciation, its not just his). It doesn’t really matter to me, but it, more than anything, reminded me where this book takes place (I really didn’t register the accent otherwise).
Other than that—I really appreciated and enjoyed Heffernan’s work here. He got the tension just right (when appropriate) and captured the humanity of all the characters and Cross’ investigation. He conveyed the rigor of Cross’ style and thought process as well.
I don’t know if I can separate the Heffernan’s reading of the book from my appreciation of it—it’s likely a series that I’ll have to continue on audio, because the two are joined so solidly in my mind. (and, boy, do I hope Heffernan’s got a long-term contract).
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this read “Mind and Matters of Crime: Meike Alana Lokos at the DS George Cross Mysteries” over at The Hard Word and the series seemed like something I should give a shot.
I kept going because I was right—this is totally my thing. Some great characters, a unique way to approach a criminal investigation, and a pretty twisty mystery.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
It feels like the obvious thing here is to talk about Cross being on the spectrum, and the way that others respond to him, avoid him, get frustrated with him, and yet respect his work. Or the way that has learned to make his way in the world. This is valid and important.
It also feels too easy—and like something I could copy and paste for the next however many books there are. More than that, it wasn’t the thing that jumped out at me the most.
What really rises to the top when I think about this book are the connections between the people—what forges them, what strengths (or weakens them), and how that plays out over the course of their lives. Cross and his father have a very solid relationship—it’s predictable, it’s reliable. Cross and Ottley have a…strained and awkward relationship—but one that Cross somewhat depends on, one that Ottley frequently resents (I think she softens a bit). The relationship between Cross and his superiors isn’t what you get from other procedurals—even with “the brass” isn’t wild about a particular detective who does things their own way.
And as for the relationships between the victims, suspects, and others that Cross encounters in this case—those are firmly in spoiler territory, but watching the web be revealed—and add layers as the book goes on was really intriguing. The book really is about human relationships and much of their diversity more than just about anything else—including the murders. (although, well, they’re rooted in them, too.)
So, what did I think about The Dentist?
I was charmed instantly, by the end of Chapter One—I was sold. My appreciation and enjoyment grew from there, and I wasn’t halfway through before I knew I was at least getting the sequel to this soon. And anticipated catching up on the series by the end of 2026.
This satisfied me on every front—mystery, character, storytelling, writing, and promise for things to come. I felt like I understood Cross and Ottley, and wanted to see them ply their craft with another case or twelve.
Lastly, while DS Cross isn’t DC Smith, and no one would confuse the Bristol police with King’s Lake Central—there’s something about this book (and Heffernan’s narration) that scratched a Peter Grainger-itch in my psyche. This is good, because now that I’ve caught up with Grainger’s series, he can’t produce things quickly enough to satisfy me. Also, it’s pretty high praise in my book for Sullivan.
For readers who are into British Procedurals, atypical Detectives, and/or quality fiction. I strongly encourage you to pick this up.
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, the opinions expressed are my own.
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter
DETAILS:
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: February 17, 2026
Format: Del Rey
Length: 368 pg.
Read Date: January 30-31, 2026
What’s Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter About?
A widow in her thirties struggles to keep the charity that she and her husband started afloat in 1920’s Montreal. They find stray cats on the street, get them cleaned up, spayed/neutered, whatever other basic veterinary care they need, and then match them with loving homes.
Oh, and her new landlord turns out to be the most feared and reviled magic user in the world.
I know, I know…that tired plot again.*
That’s all well and good—it’s just a business relationship, right? But at a certain point his business starts interfering with and threatening her charity (and the cats!). So Agnes decides she has to start meddling to keep anything truly harmful from happening. Even if that means spending time with said magician. Who is not at all attractive and charming, thank you very much.
* I truly hope the sarcasm there is obvious. But I’ve been missing a lot of swings like that lately.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I thought the plot seemed amusing enough, but I was probably convinced to pick this up by my curiosity about what Fawcett could do outside of Emily Wilde‘s adventures.
I stuck with it because of Agnes. Sure, the story and other characters were fun and kept me reading. But for me, it’s all about Agnes. Her attitude, her fortitude, the way she acts as if she can bend reality to her will (she sure seems capable of turning the wills of most around her to hers)—she’s just a dynamo and you can believe that this non-magical person (anti-magic actually) can hold her own with people throwing spells around.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
There’s a good deal we can learn from Agnes about tenacity, about the power of people coming together in a common cause, about grief.
But the thing that stood out the most to me—and given the title, it’s probably to be expected—is the very human magic of pairing someone—man, woman, or child—with a pet fit for them. There’s the initial joy, and then long-term benefits as well. It’s that king of magic that keeps Agnes going. It’s what gets her sister to help, her volunteers to keep showing up, and it’s the way that people she’s matched with their cat that come to her aid—that fills the book with its heart.
So, what did I think about Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter?
It’s not often that I read a book featuring pets that don’t happen to be dogs, so it may come as some kind of surprise when I talk about one—I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say it surprised me, too—but it did seem a little strange.
This book was a pleasure from start to finish—I really didn’t know what to expect. But Fawcett sold the setting, the characters, and the story—it was all perfectly charming and engaging. The magic system seems really fitting for this world, and better than others. You get someone like Raistlin Majere or Harry Dresden running around, and I just don’t think it’d work as well.
There were some plot turns that I didn’t see coming—and maybe should’ve, but I enjoyed being taken unawares—and the bigger reveals at the end were so satisfying.
If you like Emily Wilde, you’ll like Agnes Aubert—they’re not the same character, but the core of each is pretty similar (as differently as they express that core). The rest of the characters are almost as good—the tertiary characters and the people she runs into in the neighborhood are just as well-drawn as the primary/secondary characters. Same for the cats and their personalities. There’s a treasure trove of personalities to get to know here.
This is a fantasy that’s full of charm and heart—you’ll be glad you picked this up.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Del Rey via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.
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, the opinions expressed are my own.
Shannon Knight is back with Candra Hope, the cover artist for Catamorphosis (there was a cover reveal for it last week) for a Q&A about the cover, how it was designed, and some other stuff. Before we dive in, let me remind you about the unsettling cover.
I typically call these posts “A Few Quick Questions”—but we leave “Few” and “Quick” in the rearview mirror. So I’m going with “Some” (because that’s as creative as I am today). Why don’t we get to them now?
Candra: Since my readers have met Shannon a couple of times already, why don’t you give my readers a quick introduction to you and your work–including whatever titles, websites, links, etc. you’re in the mood to share.
Hi, my name is Candra Hope, and I do art 🙂 That’s usually how all my bios begin. But that’s me in a nutshell. More specifically, I do art inspired by fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Art that’s also inspired by books and movies and cool tv shows and music and history and mythology and all sorts of other things. I suppose I’m a bit of a magpie, gathering inspiration from anything I think is cool. I work mostly digitally now for commissions, but I come from a traditional painting background, so a lot of my art keeps that vibe. I don’t really have links to titles or specifics, but if people want to see examples, my web portfolio is https://www.candrahopeart.com/ .
I really like that phrase, “I do art.” You’ve talked about this a little on your site, I know, but how does someone get into the freelance cover design business?
Oh, don’t ask me, I’m not an expert on this by any means. I don’t really work professionally, I just do occasional commissions if something interesting comes along. But if anyone is serious and starting out, a good place to begin is to follow professional artists on social media and also look at sites like Muddy Colors which has mountains of information about all aspects of the professional illustration business.
Shannon, how did you come across Candra? Can you remember what it was about her work that made you interested in them working on this cover?
I originally noticed Candra’s work some years ago on the old Twitter. She has a really great movie-poster style that incorporates multiple characters and the setting along with multi-color tones and a sort of gritty quality that vibed with this story. Catamorphosis has an ensemble and a lake setting that I thought she could capture well.
Now I’m just imagining you with a list of names/links to portfolios, collected over the years, with potential cover artists. Is that something you set aside time for, or just whenever you come across something that clicks with you, you jot a note to yourself?
I like art. When I first saw Candra’s work, I had a literary agent and my mind on trad pub. There would’ve been no need or opportunity to select a cover artist myself. Then and now, I note artists that I like because I like art, and one of the wonders of the internet is that we can look through portfolios without needing access to published art books. And by note, I mean a mental note. There’s no formal list.
As I searched more frantically last December, I started by looking through my own social media list of people I follow. These days, though, I might follow an artist thinking of them as a future professional resource rather than simply a recreational follow. I only set time aside for it, per se, if I’m actively selecting an artist for a project.
Candra, any advice for those looking for an artist that SK didn’t mention? Obviously, the short answer is hiring you. But let’s pretend you can’t take on a client, what should they do?
I follow a lot of artists and have some of them following me on social media. It’s the same for a lot of us. So if someone is looking, a good place to start is other artists’ following lists. I can’t speak to professional lists, but I think there are also some out there.
What do you want to know about a book before you accept a gig and/or start sketching? Do you want character descriptions, an idea of the plot/tone? Or do you not care about anything beyond what the client is thinking about for the cover?
Candra: I prefer to hear a rough description of the story and if the client has an idea in mind for the cover. I don’t have a lot of time to spare for reading books in advance and often too much information can be a distraction so it’s nice to have a concise concept to start from.
Shannon: I’ve found that different artists have different preferences. I’ll keep Candra’s words about a distraction in mind in the future. I usually start with something concise. If they’re interested in the job, I tell them more. I’ve had other artists say the more the better, including images, but if I send a long email, I’ll generally end it with a numbered list repeating my top priorities so that the focus is clear. For instance, 1) horror genre, 2) cats.
Shannon, Do you recall what ideas you came to Candra with for this project?
I suggested a character-focused cover with a woman and a cat, a bit like Ripley and Jonesy from Alien. I knew that would work in Candra’s style. But I also provided a summary of themes and the plot plus more detailed descriptions of the character cast. I emphasized the horror mood and that I was open to abstract and weird. I knew Candra could do a bigger ensemble painting beautifully, but a small book cover wouldn’t show a bunch of characters as well as a large movie poster.
Could you both walk us through your typical process of designing a cover? I wanted to break this down part by part, but I don’t think I know enough to try that. So I’m going to go with a broad question.
Shannon: I don’t have a typical process, and this round was rather high-stress for me because I had figured from the start that I would work with Savanna Mayer again on this piece because it was another horror cover, but I should have reached out sooner because they didn’t reply to any of my emails, so I had to move past the time of waiting for them to get around to replying and realize that they were simply not responding at all. I have no idea why. Then I needed to find a new artist. As much as my other artists had been lovely, their styles felt too smooth and fantasy-coded for this project. (I still almost contacted Eli Peiró because she was so great to work with, and she might have had ideas or another style she was interested in trying. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for an artist!) So, this meant digging through portfolios, imagining what the cover art would be in their style, and contacting them with a commission query. I had initially been looking for something abstract, very weird, and cat and fish-centered. But it was December, and no one was replying, and I was growing more and more frantic as I created cover design after cover design, each tailored for certain art styles in my mind, and then I queried, and then just…silence. Nothing. Not even when I contacted agents, whose entire job is to reply to commission requests. I felt cursed. Like maybe everyone is getting so inundated with AI slop spam that genuine commission requests were getting lost in the slop. Finally, I had one artist reply with availability to start in six months and double the max price I had hoped to pay. Their work is terrific, but I passed. I had another reply in a way that made me instantly uncomfortable. Instead of answering my questions, they replied by asking me the exact same questions. When I followed up, explaining that their response had made me uncomfortable, they didn’t reply. Back to the silence. And finally, finally, I happened across Candra’s portfolio again, and I immediately saw how a portrait-style cover could work well for the story and that her unique style matched the tone of the story. I contacted her, and she replied right away in a totally professional style, clearing up all my concerns, and letting me know when she’d be available after the holiday for us to hammer out all the details. Then it was a very smooth process.
Candra: I also don’t have a set process. I like to take each project on its own merits and work with the author/client as a new individual. I immediately liked Shannon’s pitch because she told me what she was looking for, and was really clear from the outset, so I had no problem imagining the cover. It also sounded like a cool story, so that probably helped. But once we got started it felt like we were both on the same page and could bounce ideas around easily and understand when things weren’t working or needed changing. The part of my process that usually stays the same is to sketch the idea, show the client, develop the idea, show the client, get references and paint the idea, then do any remedial work at the end. It sounds really basic, but that is the bare bones of what I do. One thing that really helped this time was Shannon gathering all the reference photos. She has a lot of cat photos, and everything else she found was perfect so that saved me a big step. Thanks, Shannon!
What do you know? The internet’s obsession with cat photos comes in handy after all!
Shannon: Rather than internet photos, I started with photos of my own cats. This story began because of the death of my cat Gandalfr. He’s a 17.5-pound, gray cat, and my fictional cat is the same size. I shared photos of G for the cat the protagonist is holding. However, I made my fictional cat a ginger tabby, so we also needed references of that. The cat that appears behind the woman is modeled after my current cat, Little Bat. In fact, the woman’s head is modeled after my head. Candra made changes, but she referenced my previous cat, my current cat, and myself in the painting.
(click the images for a larger version)
For both of you: When pitching ideas, do you literally show existing covers by others and say “like this one, but without X” or “something that feels like/has the same vibe as this”? Or do you leave other peoples’ work out of the conversation?
Shannon: I tend to refer to an artist’s own work to point out the styles I like best. When it comes to describing my own story, I refer to artists’ work if it’s relevant. In this case, I referred to Jen Bartel’s girl gang art, but the only references that Candra was interested in were personal photo references that she could use for the painting. This included a photo of me with my head bald from Covid inflammation and lots of cat photos, including images of the cat who inspired this story.
Candra: I try to describe what I’m trying to say with words but if there’s a specific painting that shows that, I’ll refer to it. But like Shannon, it’s organic and not something I do all the time. Sometimes other paintings can muddy the waters and be a distraction.
Candra, are there genres that you won’t do/don’t think you can do at this stage of your career? Or are you at an “I’ll do anything” stage? Are there genres that you haven’t done a cover for that you’d like to try?
I’m open to most things but would probably not attempt something in the romance or romantasy genres. If people look at my portfolio, they’ll see for themselves that my work is mostly horror, fantasy and science fiction based, so that’s where my skill set lies.
Fair, I think it would take a very particular romantasy story for someone to look at your site and say, “Yeah, her.”
Candra: lol yeah. That said, the Interview With The Vampire series is essentially a romance and I love it so something like that would be amazing to tackle.
Shannon: The newest one with Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid is such a great interpretation of the books!
Another blogger and I have used the word “unsettling” about this cover. I’m assuming you’d take that as a compliment. Do you think in terms of “unsettling” or “horror” or whatever adjectives the client is shooting for as you’re working, or after agreeing on the concept with the client, are you just doing your thing and it comes out Candra-esque? While we’re on the topic, how would you describe the finished project in a word or three?
I very much take “unsettling” as a compliment, thank you! Though I don’t think in terms of effects like unsettling while I work necessarily. I’m aware it’s a horror story but my focus is on getting across what the author is trying to say with their story. And I think that’s why I prefer their description rather than reading it myself so I don’t get bogged down by my own interpretation. As the cover artist it’s not my job to give my own ideas about the story, I’m there to help the author sell their book. And this story felt like it was personal to Shannon, and unsettling in the things that happen to the character in the book. I wanted to respect both aspects so I made deliberate decisions about how things looked and felt in the painting, along with character expressions and body language, which is possibly why you’re picking up on that from the art. It means I did my job of translating the story description into picture form. As the artist I’m too close to the work so I don’t have a three word description, just happy to have done a good job for Shannon.
Candra, another blogger and I have used the word “unsettling” about this cover. I’m assuming you’d take that as a compliment. Do you think in terms of “unsettling” or “horror” or whatever adjectives the client is shooting for as you’re working, or after agreeing on the concept with the client, are you just doing your thing and it comes out Candra-esque? While we’re on the topic, how would you describe the finished project in a word or three?
I very much take “unsettling” as a compliment, thank you! Though I don’t think in terms of effects like unsettling while I work necessarily. I’m aware it’s a horror story but my focus is on getting across what the author is trying to say with their story. And I think that’s why I prefer their description rather than reading it myself so I don’t get bogged down by my own interpretation. As the cover artist it’s not my job to give my own ideas about the story, I’m there to help the author sell their book. And this story felt like it was personal to Shannon, and unsettling in the things that happen to the character in the book. I wanted to respect both aspects so I made deliberate decisions about how things looked and felt in the painting, along with character expressions and body language, which is possibly why you’re picking up on that from the art. It means I did my job of translating the story description into picture form. As the artist I’m too close to the work so I don’t have a three word description, just happy to have done a good job for Shannon.
Are there examples of cover art/design recently that have made either of you stop and say–“I’d love to try something like that one day”? (or I guess…”if I tried for something like that, it’d come across as just aping so-and-so’s work, so I’m going to stay far away”)
Shannon: My focus is really on writing books rather than what the project’s cover would look like. I would still like to write something that would pair well with pastel cover art. But if we’re simply admiring work, in the horror genre, I like what Corey Brickley has done with bright colors, perspective, and characterization. I’ve also had my eye on Elsa Velasco for their symbolism and sweeping lines.
Candra: There are a lot of amazing artists out there and while I love and am inspired by their work, I don’t always want to emulate them. I love horror stories but not always horror cover art. So I try to bring my own fantasy roots to everything I do. I like the fantastical realism you can get from that and it’s fun trying to bring that vibe into the horror genre. But artists working now that inspire me are Donato Giancola, Jeremy Wilson, Vanessa Lemen and Greg Ruth. I loved what Vanessa Lemen did with The Left Hand of Darkness a few years ago. And Jeremy Wilson’s graphic abstractions mixed with realism always set my inspiration radar off.
I didn’t know a single name either of you mentioned above, but I liked what I went and found by all of them (I have seen Wilson’s covers before, it turns out). Shannon, you need to work with Brickley some time. Something about that portfolio screamed your name.
That’d be cool for sure. However, I think Candra created a terrific cover for this project. Thanks, Candra! I hope everyone will read Catamorphosis and judge for yourselves!
Good idea, Shannon! I really appreciate both of you taking your time for this.
