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Final Heir by Faith Hunter: It All Comes Down to This

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Final HeirFinal Heir

by Faith Hunter

DETAILS:
Series: Jane Yellowrock, #15
Publisher: Ace Books
Publication Date: September 5, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 464 pg.
Read Date:  August 15-18, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s Final Heir About?

The Vampire War in Europe is over—and the old guard seems to be defeated. Edmund is on his way to NOLA to be crowned and then some stability–and whatever passes for peace with the Mithrans should settle in for some time.

But first…there’s the Heir to deal with. The last hope of the Sons of Darkness, the old ways—and possibly a turn to a darker time for humanity—still needs to be dealt with. Years ago, Leo Pellissier was given a prophecy about the defeat of the Heir and after Jane came to work for him, he decided she was at the center of the prophecy. Jane, as the Dark Queen, could defeat him. So Leo set to work organizing things in the way that only he can.

Now it’s the endgame—time for the rest of the dominos that Leo set up to fall, for Jane to end the Heir, and change everything for the Mithrans. And possibly the rest of the supernatural world. Assuming she can. There’s no certainty about that. There’s also no certainty about who will survive this endgame—even if she manages to vanquish the Heir,* she may not survive the attempt. Even worse (in her mind) family, friends, and allies may die.

* He’s a significant enough power that I don’t feel too silly using a word like vanquish.

This isn’t going to be easy. This is for all the marbles—and that’s a great way to end a series.

The Youngers

Of all the characters we met along the way, I may miss Alex and Eli the most (as soon as I say that, I start to think about Angie, and question myself—but I really don’t have time to go into that). Eli hasn’t changed much since we first met him—he’s opened up a bit more, he may be a bit more emotionally mature, but he’s essentially the guy we met at the beginning. Faith Hunter’s answer to Joe Pike. He knows his business, he enjoys the work (as grim as it is)—maybe finds a peace in a fight that he can’t find elsewhere. He’s also incredibly loyal, he takes care of his people—first and foremost, his brother.

Aside from Jane, no character in the series has changed—grown, developed, and matured–than Alex Younger. He started off as a rebellious, unhygienic, hacker—focused only on what he could do with his computer. And maybe not letting his brother down (too much) again. He’s now an adult, he’s responsible, he can handle himself in a fight, and there are things/people he cares about in his life—he’s still a wiz with the computers, thankfully. He’s essentially a version of Alex with a different weapon-set.

Their humanity (Eli is still largely human) is one of the few lasting examples we have in the series at this point, and they keep things grounded in the middle of all the vampires, weres, witches, extradimensional beings, and whatnot. They’re great because of that, they’re great outside of that, too.

I do feel bad for poor Eli—in the last couple of books, he’s really taken a beating. It’s even worse in this novel. If he survives to the end (I’m carefully not answering), he’s going to have physical and psychological scars that are going to last. I know he wouldn’t have it any other way, he gets them doing what he thinks is right. But still, you can’t help but feel for the guy.

Beast

The Beast and Jane dialogue/interchanges in this novel were fantastic. I relished each of them.

Once again, Beast has her own agenda—as is her right and fitting for her character. But given the stakes here, some of the information she decides not to pass on to Jane is hard to believe. Sure, Beast may not get all the details, but I don’t see how she doesn’t understand the urgency and the importance of what’s going on.

But you know what? I just didn’t care. I like how Beast is her own creature—she comes through for Jane when the chips are down, but on her terms.

Homecoming Week

There are so many supporting characters in this book, that it’s really hard to fathom. There are so few characters from the series (that are still living/undead) that don’t at least get a named drop or a check-in. But several show up for more. There were characters that we’d lost track of—a couple that I’d forgotten even existed played a role in this book.

Hunter pulled out all the stops for this book.

I’m probably not alone in spending time reflecting on the series as a whole as I read this book, and bringing up so many names from the past (ones we may have regretted losing track of—and a couple we were probably happy to have lost) really helped with that.

The Chapter Titles

I don’t think I’ve talked about the chapter titles in these books before—and that’s a crying shame. I’m not a big fan of chapter titles in general, but this series has featured some doozies. Several of them in Final Heir are amongst the best in the series. I really don’t have a lot to say about them—but complimenting the chapter titles is overdue. There’s a lot that Hunter does right in these books, and this is just one of the more consistent and amusing.

Final Heir as a Series Finale

I’m not entirely sure it’s fair to do, but I can’t help but think about other series finales–particularly in the UF genre.* Last year, I compared the Alex Verus finale to the Iron Druid Chronicles. Final Heir doesn’t match up well with either of them–it’s more like the ending of the Kitty Norville series (and not dissimilar to the ending of The Hollows)—Jane and her friends and allies are up against a vampire (and his forces) bent on world domination in a final face-off. Okay, now that I start thinking about it, there are a lot of parallels between the two–but this isn’t the time for that.

* Benedict Jacka’s been talking about ending his series recently, and a lot of what he’s had to say is helpful when thinking about things like this. I’m not going to use his categories to talk about Final Heir because of spoilers, but if you haven’t read these posts (even if you haven’t read the Alex Verus series)—go check it out after you read Final Heir.

Hunter has spent several books lining things up for this confrontation—not unlike Leo Pellissier’s machinations in getting Jane to this point. Looking back at all the ins and outs from this perspective really is impressive. Final Heir is filled with combat and battles—maybe more than most novels in this series, they’re definitely more savage and meaningful. I don’t have a word-count, but I’d wager the final battle is longer than any we’ve yet encountered in the series. Hunter really gave her fans what they’ve been wanting (and will be missing). This is an epic villain, with giant stakes, it has to be an epic scene.

Better yet, following the battle, the novel’s dénouement also serves as one for the series—and if the final battle gave fans what they wanted, then they’re going to be knocked for a loop by the dénouement. We get the few dangling threads tied up and a good look at what the future offers for most of the characters.

I had expected a lot from the finale aspect of this book, and Hunter surpassed it.

So, what did I think about Final Heir?

I think this is a bit more rambling than I want to be—it’s also longer than it necessarily needs to be. Part of that is because there’s so much to talk about in this novel—and I’ve barely scratched the surface so I don’t give it all away. Part of the longer-than-usual nature of the post is also that there’s part of me that knows I’m pretty much done with these characters when I hit “Schedule.” Sure, I’ll listen to the audiobook sometime next year, and I’ll likely re-read/re-listen to the series sometime after that. But all of that is revisiting. Finishing here is finishing the series, so I’m trying to drag it out.

For the first four or five books, this series served to fill the time while I was waiting for other Urban Fantasy books to come out. But around then it took on the role of being something I needed filler for while waiting for the next Yellowrock book. And lately, it’s one of those series I organize my reading schedule around. Listening to the series on audio over the last year has really helped me see all the ways Hunter’s been preparing the characters and the readers for these events, and it’s truly impressive. As it now stands, the Jane Yellowrock series ranks near the top of the UF pantheon for me (completed or on-going series), beating out stiff competition.

But let’s set that aside for a moment and just focus on this book—it’s full of all the action, the heart, the magic, and sense of family we’ve grown accustomed to. Jane Yellowrock finally finds her place in this world (sure, she found it before, but it’s more solidified now), her priorities are intact, she’s doing good in ways she hasn’t been able to before–and those that she cares about (many she’d never have considered caring for 15 books ago) are in good places. Just for the character work alone around Jane, this book is worth the time.

I think someone new to this series would come away from this one entertained and impressed—I don’t know why someone would do that, but I’m sure someone will.

From the jaw-dropping (whoa, Hunter’s taking no prisoners!) first chapter to the last lines that genuinely made me misty, Final Heir was a great ride. If I have to say au revoir to Jane, Bruiser, Eli, Alex, and the rest—especially Beast—this is was quite the way to do it. Bravo, Faith Hunter.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Let’s Talk! Promotions and Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post — thanks to all for this.


5 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, the opinions expressed are my own.


My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

Final Heir: A Few Quick Questions with…Eli Younger and Jane Yellowrock

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As part of this tour, I was given the opportunity to post a quick Q&A with the Dark Queen herself, Jane Yellowrock. I also snuck in one with her brother, Eli Younger.


I would love to ask Eli… How did you hear about the “gig” with Jane. What were you told? What thought process and research did you (and Alex) do before showing up for the interview. Did you decide before showing up what your “minimum” compensation needed to be to take it?
Eli: I worked with crack team in the military. Afterward I worked alone. The solo money was okay, but not worth the danger I exposed my kid brother to, and I wasn’t still a hundred percent after the injury that ended my Army Ranger career. And though we weren’t going hungry, we weren’t rolling in the hundreds either. Then, in a dark-web former-military chat room that Alex was monitoring, people were talking. He heard about Jane Yellowrock. The money? Yeah, I had a bottom line in mind. But in all honestly once I met her that didn’t matter. I never expected to like working with a non-military chick, but she was okay. The attraction was instantaneous, but in about two days solidified into friendship. Then into family. Worth everything.

How tempting are Beast’s pleas to have “kits” for you, Jane? Do you feel sympathy or does the concept not appeal, despite Beast’s longing for a mate and kits?
Jane: My life has never been a safe place. Deliberately bringing children into this killing scene seems foolish. On top of the danger, I have questions I have to consider (in no particular order): Children with Bruiser would be what? 1/4th Skinwalker, 1/4th human, 1/2 Onorio? Can Onorios even have “children of the body?” And if I abandoned Bruiser and found a mountain lion to mate with, what would those children be? Skinwalker? Mountain lion? Mountain lions keep their kts with them for years to teach them to hunt. In those years, would I forget about being Jane at all? How would Bruiser feel about being abandoned?

You file away a lot of questions or things you need to analyze on some future time. Do you take the time to do it? When? I hope you do!
Jane: Hmmm. Life’s been kinda busy. Sometimes answers pop up and I know my subconscious has figured out things as life pushed me along. But maybe I’ll have time for reflection when everything is done, and the world is at peace. If that ever happens.

How do you feel about all the changes in your life? Does having a family and friends make you feel stronger or more vulnerable? You can now be attacked through them.
Jane: Life was easier without anyone. Way easier. In the beginning, I never got lonely. Even now I don’t feel abused or crash and burn when I’m by myself for too long. But now I have all these people! I mean, allll these people. And I love them. And while it’s freaking hard to keep them all safe, they are all here, and that’s my job, and … and I not only love them, I like most of them. Yeah, I’m vulnerable in my heart, but they are vulnerable in their hearts, their minds, their bodies, and their souls because of me. And yet they stay.

How do you think you’re going to handle a precocious and snoopy Angie Baby as she tries to see how you bubble time? Do tell!
Jane: I am fully aware that Angie will discover all my secrets and all her mom’s and all her dad’s. And I shudder with terror at the thought. She is a sweetheart right now, but eventually she will be hunted by the military, the dark-government, billionaires, cartels, and anyone who thinks humans are dispensable. Then she will need all her power, all her family’s teachings, and all the restraint she can muster to stay alive and safe and keep her loved ones alive and safe too. Because there are people in this world who will use others to get what they want, and they might take Angie’s family to force her to work with and for them. I wouldn’t want to be that person, mind you, because I already see a spark of vengeance in her eyes. But I fear for the person she might have to become to keep them all safe.

Thank you both for your time, I easily could’ve asked a dozen more questions. I’ll let you get back to your duties.


My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

EXCERPT from Final Heir by Faith Hunter: Like a Stray Animal Haunting Aggie’s Home

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from Final Heir by Faith Hunter

Like a Stray Animal Haunting Aggie’s Home

Eyes closed, I felt the movement of unexpected cool air as the sweathouse door opened and shut. Last week, I had learned that Aggie One Feather, the Cherokee elder leading me into understanding my personal and tribal history, sometimes left and reentered when I was sweating through a haze of her herbal infusions and my own hidden memories. She said humans couldn’t survive five or six hours in a sweathouse like I could, let alone all night, so she would slip out and back in.

I had asked her if she had a nanny camera hidden in the sweathouse to keep track of me. Her reply had made me laugh: “You need a legion of angels to look over you, but a nanny cam could help.”

The rustling of her cotton shift, the sound of her breath, and the crackle of flames seemed loud as she settled across the fire from me and fed the coals. I smelled cedar and burning herbs and heard the scritch-grind of her mortar and pestle. Behind my lids it seemed lighter than before. It had to be near dawn.

It occurred to me that the ceremonial fire was, itself, symbolic. It was parts of this world and the next, the two halves of the universe, energy and matter. It was wood and air and energy, and together they made flame and smoke, the destruction of matter into energy. Then that thought wisped away with the fire.

Aggie said, “Drink.”

I opened my eyes against the crack and burn of dried sweat, and studied the small pottery cup she held. On the third try I managed to croak, “Eye of newt? Ragweed? Mold off your bathroom floor? Peyote?”

“That never gets old,” she lied, amusement hidden in her gaze. “I have no mold on my bathroom floor.”

 


Read the rest in Final Heir by Faith Hunter to see what happens from here in the epic conclusion to this great series.


My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT (and GIVEAWAY): Final Heir by Faith Hunter

Today I’m very pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the fifteenth and final Jane Yellowrock novel, Final Heir by Faith Hunter. Along with this spotlight post, I have an excerpt from the novel to share and a quick Q&A with Jane and Eli!. I’ll also be giving my take on the novel (and probably a little on the series as a whole) a little later. Those links’ll work when the posts go live in an hour or two. If you scroll down to the bottom of this post (or, you know, read it), you’ll find a nifty giveaway.

First, let’s take a look at Final Heir.
Final Heir Banner

Book Details:

Book Title: Final Heir by Faith Hunter
Publisher: Ace Books
Release date: September 5, 2022
Format: Ebook/Paperback (Audiobook will be released in October)
Length: 464 pages
ISBN: 9780593335819
Final Heir Cover

About the Book:

The stakes couldn’t be higher in the newest novel in the New York Times bestselling, pulse-pounding Jane Yellowrock series.

Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.

With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her.

Purchase Links

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-a-Million ~ IndieBound ~ The Book Depository ~ Kobo ~ Google Books ~ Apple Books

About the Author:

Faith HunterFaith Hunter is the award-winning New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of several series: Jane Yellowrock, Soulwood, Rogue Mage, and Junkyard Cats. In addition, she has edited multiple anthologies and coauthored the Rogue Mage RPG. She is the coauthor and author of 16 thrillers under pen names Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter. Altogether she has 40+ books and dozens of short stories in print and is juggling multiple projects.

She sold her first book in 1989 and hasn’t stopped writing since.

Faith collects orchids and animal skulls, loves thunder storms, and writes. She drinks a lot of tea. She likes to kayak Class II & III whitewater rivers. Some days she’s a lady. Some days she ain’t.

Find Faith online at:

Website ~ Facebook (official) ~ Facebook Fan Group ~ Twitter ~

Yellowrock Securities website ~ Gwen Hunter website

GIVEAWAY:

There’s a tour-wide giveaway open to US residents!

  • 1 winner will receive a Yellowrock Securities leather bracelet
  • 5 winners will receive a Beast is Not Prey leather bracelet
  • 4 winners will receive their choice of a $25 gift card from Amazon or Barnes & Noble


If the Widget isn’t showing up, just click here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04272/?

My thanks to Let’s Talk! Promotions for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book via NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group) they provided.

Roses for the Dead by Chris McDonald: McDonald Ends This Trilogy with a Bang

Roses for the DeadRoses for the Dead

by Chris McDonald

DETAILS:
Series: DI Erika Piper, #3
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 206 pg.
Read Date: August 15, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

What’s Roses for the Dead About?

Seven years ago, Erika Piper is one of the detectives that arrested the rock star, Johnny Mayhem, for beating his wife to death with a baseball bat. It’s not one of those cases that haunts her, they had solid evidence, made a good arrest, and moved on.

But now, new evidence has been made public that casts doubt on that arrest. Enough doubt that Mayhem is released. He’s angry about the last seven years and the way “the real killer” got away with things, so he’s making not very subtle threats against those who were involved in his arrest and conviction—and the man who held onto that evidence until now.

Under the shadow of Mayhem’s release, Piper returns to work after maternity leave—to a nice, safe, and stultifyingly boring desk job. Which she’s going to make work, she’s committed to the idea—she regrets its necessity, but she wants to be a good mother, and she has plenty of evidence that the DI role is dangerous. But on her first day back—the new DCI offers her old DI position. She needs someone with the experience that only Piper has. Just mentioning the offer causes problems at home, her partner, Tom is dead set against it and makes that very clear. Eventually, she agrees—for one case, and then they’ll re-evaluate.

That one case? The death of Mayhem’s drug dealer—the man who held on to the evidence for all those years. There’s evidence at the scene that ties it to the death of Mayhem’s wife, too. Could this be her chance to redeem herself for the work on the original case?

This is the End?

At this point, the series feels lived in—we’re comfortable with all of the characters and this world. If McDonald hadn’t been making so much noise about returning to it lately, this is where I’d be complaining that he jumped off at the wrong time. We needed more time with Piper’s new boss and partner, and that it’d be good to see Piper functioning in a stable environment for a bit (like she was in the beginning of Whispers). But since it looks like he’s at least thinking of #4, I guess I can spare us all that.

So, what did I think about Roses for the Dead?

If I was ranking them, I’d put the second in the series, Whispers in the Dark, a little higher—and not just because of the shocking mid-book scene. But just a little—I’d have preferred a little more time spent with a couple of the threads in this book (and one more proofreading pass). Those are just quibbles, though. This is a gripping story and McDonald got me chasing a couple of red herrings—I was fully committed to one of them until the moment it became impossible.

I thought the conflict over Piper leaving the desk job for the DI role so soon was resolved a little too easily—but I do appreciate the way that McDonald handled it overall. I just wanted it fleshed out a little more, I think.

That’s twice I’ve said something along the same lines in this section—essentially, I guess what I’m saying is that I liked the book, but it was a bit too lean. Several scenes were a bit too brief, conversations could’ve gone on a little longer—especially the arguments over Piper’s work (and too often she and Tom are just repeating themselves). I’m not asking for another 100 pages, but maybe 20? This is the shortest of the three and it felt like it.

I cannot say enough for both the premise of Roses for the Dead and the resolution of that story. McDonald’s take on this idea was fresh enough to make it stand out among other procedurals. Even if it feels impossible to talk about without spoiling just about everything. The pacing is strong, I can’t get enough of these characters, and the investigation was well-executed—everything you want in a police procedural.

I’m glad I finally got to reading these books, and encourage crime readers out there to pick them up, too.


4 Stars
20 Books of Summer

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.

PUB DAY REPOST: Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn: Bernie Goes Back to High School

Bark to the FutureBark to the Future

by Spencer Quinn

DETAILS:
Series: Chet and Bernie, #13
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: August 8, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 320 pg.
Read Date: July 25-28, 2022
Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

Chet the Narrator

For roughly a decade now, Chet has been my favorite first-person narrator (at least among those being currently published). This K-9 school dropout is an engaging and personable narrator who will get the reader emotionally invested and charm you within the first few pages after you meet him. He’s optimistic, generally positive, and his unique perspective will make you chuckle frequently while you read a solid P.I. story.

At the same time, there’s an extra level of attention that needs to be paid to what he says so you can pick up what’s actually going on—Chet’s the best kind of unreliable narrator, he’s not being deceptive, he just doesn’t (and can’t) understand what he’s seeing and hearing. But he’s honest and thorough.

So, what I’m saying is, there’s little chance I’m not going to thoroughly enjoy a new Chet and Bernie novel. So going in, expect me to say nice things.

What’s Bark to the Future About?

Bernie’s approached by a panhandler while stopped at a light on a freeway off-ramp, who recognizes Bernie from high school and refuses to take his money. Life’s been harder on him than Bernie, who can’t recognize him at all. Bernie takes him for a burger, and tries to help him out a little—by this time, he’s identified himself. He’s an old baseball teammate, and the two shared a highlight or two of their careers. After their meal, Rocket Saluka has Bernie drop him off on the off-ramp.

But he’d said a thing or two that Bernie can’t stop thinking about, so he goes back the next morning to follow up. Rocket’s nowhere to be found, but someone else directs Bernie to a camp Rocket was staying at. He’s not there, either—and there’s almost no trace of him. Chet does find his distinctive switchblade buried under Rocket’s tent, however—and now Bernie’s even more curious, and he sets out to find his old teammate.

It turns out that there’s quite the history attached to this switchblade, and most of it was shared by other people who were associated with their high school (including one person Bernie knows but didn’t realize was from the same school). What starts off as a way to deal with some unnecessary guilt becomes a hunt for someone responsible for at least one murder—and hopefully, Rocket.

Weatherly and Trixie

I was a fan of Suzie Sanchez and didn’t like it at all when that relationship fell apart, and I wished for more time with the doctor Bernie dated. But now that Quinn has brought Weatherly into the series, I’m glad that things between them and Bernie ended.

Weatherly’s a great addition to the series period—someone in law enforcement that Bernie can talk shop with (who isn’t a former colleague) and who can pitch in when Bernie needs backup. And their romantic relationship is better than Bernie’s had before—there’s a trust, an honesty that was missing with Suzie. Bernie’s learned from his past mistakes and is making sure that he doesn’t make them again. It’s great to see.

I do feel back for Weatherly’s dog Trixie, Chet’s a jealous boy (we are learning), and he’s not doing well with a female counterpart with similar strengths (maybe stronger in a couple of ways than Chet). Yes, she scores a few wins over our narrator, but his feelings toward her color what we’re told about her, and she doesn’t come out looking so good.

We’ve seen something like this with Shooter, Chet’s son. But it’s a little different with Shooter because there’s a somewhat paternal aspect to Chet’s description of him.

We know that Chet can get along with other dogs—but the extended time with Trixie is showing us another side of his personality. You wouldn’t think you’d get that in a dog character, but it’s good to see that Quinn can give us that.

Bernie’s Notoriety

As he’s visiting fellow alumni and other people associated with the case, several people mention how they’d read/seen something about him because of the events of Of Mutts and Men (although one harkened back to Heart of Barkness. I’m glad that there are people out there who know that Bernie Little is out there, doing good work. Most of the time in PI fiction, you get the idea that outside of those close to a case, no one notices that the PI we’re so heavily invested in does anything of note.

But what’s better to me is that Bernie’s getting recognition for this case—one of the first things we learn about him 12 books ago is that he has very definite opinions about water usage and the local aquifer. From Chet, we get some ideas about other things that Bernie cares about, but from his own mouth, we know that he cares about Charlie, Chet, and water (and now, Weatherly). Of all the cases for him to get good PR for, this is the one that’s going to mean something to Bernie.

So, what did I think about Bark to the Future?

Not surprisingly, I liked it. I really did. We get a little character backstory here, we see Bernie as a good father (and a fumbling one), we see development in his relationship with Weatherly, we see the potential for a (small) income stream for Bernie outside the PI business, and there’s an intriguing mystery or two for our heroes to dig their teeth into (literally, for Chet).

Starting with Of Mutts and Men that Quinn’s found another gear. I can’t put my finger on it—I wish I could—but there’s something about the novels that have stepped up a notch or two. The series is always reliable, but these last few have been better than some of the previous. Bark to the Future continues that streak.

I heartily recommend this to you—if you haven’t tried one from this series before, don’t worry—they’re all good entry points. Jump in now, you’ll be glad you did.

Much like Chet and a Slim Jim, I’ve gulped this one down and am ready for my next one.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

A Few Quick Questions with…Nick Kolakowski (2022 edition)

He’s back for the sixth time, now to talk about the fourth installment of this Love & Bullets series of hookups, Hell of a Mess (I posted about it earlier today). I look forward to these Q&As a lot, I know that when I get the responses I’ll learn a few things, understand the books better, and will grin at least twice. Not only does he write a good book, he writes a good answer. The novel comes out at the end of the month, get your orders in today!


So what brought you back to Bill and Fiona? Did you get a hankering to do something new with them while putting The Megabomb Edition together or did you get the idea for a heist in a hurricane (or something like that) and decide they’d fit better than someone new?
I’d always wanted to do a heist in a hurricane. When I was a teenager, for reasons I can’t quite explain, I was really into the movie “Hard Rain” with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater, which centers on an armored truck robbery in a flooded town. It’s a pretty mediocre flick, but I really dug the idea of taking two distinct genres—crime and natural disaster—and slamming them together.

So, the basic framework of heist-in-a-hurricane rattled around in my brain for years. I thought about it more after Hurricane Sandy smashed through New York ten years ago, which came with all the chaos you can imagine—no power, flooded buildings, chaos in the streets. I even wrote some crime-themed short stories that took place during Sandy, but the itch to turn it into a full-fledged novel didn’t grip me until 2020.

Originally, it was supposed to involve all-new characters, but I really like Bill and Fiona, and I thought: why not? I know how they think. I know what they’d do. It seemed more organic to make it another Love & Bullets adventure.

This question might have fit better for the first Love and Bullets novella, but it still applies here. Can you talk a little about your decision to have the unnamed-assassin as your first person narrator rather than one of the protagonists, or a third-person omniscient narrator? He’s important to this novel, and the first novella—but not as important to the rest of the series—but he’s not a John Watson or Nick Caraway kind of non-protagonist narrator, either. Maybe you can describe his function in the series as well (I clearly can’t do it concisely). Also, was leaving him nameless a conscious decision, or just something that happened along the way that you stayed with it?
Leaving him nameless is just something that happened along the way. The assassin is human, obviously, but I also think of him as a supernatural or mythical force—almost like a Loki, a spiritual trickster who’s not firmly implanted in this world. Giving him a name seemed to reduce him somehow, at least in my mind.

I can’t explain why he’s written in the first person, and the other characters are shoved into the omniscient third. Not to give too much agency to a fictional character, but it’s what he wants; when I sit down and write from his perspective, it just spools out effortlessly. When I started Hell of a Mess, I very briefly tried writing him from the same third-person perspective as the other characters, and it simply fell flat.

There was also a version of Hell of a Mess where he didn’t appear at all, and it didn’t work, either. He’s the levity that differentiates the series from other crime fiction, in my mind; he’s the crazy element, the secret sauce, the glue that binds the narratives together on a subtextual level. Maybe that’s because he’s always articulating the book’s themes as he wrestles with his own feelings and coincidence; maybe it’s just that I find him funny as hell.

How do you balance the threat of a hurricane with the various human threats running around this book? Are there special challenges involved in using a natural disaster like this in a book, or is it a gift—allowing a random tree branch or torrent of rain to come along and interrupt things when you want?
It’s a gift and a curse. If you’re jammed up in the plot, yeah, you can send a tree branch or a flood through to shake things up—it’s the nature equivalent of Chandler’s old adage about how if you’re stumped on how to advance the plot, just have someone walk in with a gun. Living through Sandy, I learned firsthand how a big storm can really impact even the most mundane physics; at one point, I had to open a door with another big guy, and it took all of our strength to crack it open even a few inches against the wind and the air pressure. You throw those physics into a fictional narrative, and you generate some really interesting potentials for suspense.

At the same time, especially when you’re using a hurricane, you have to make sure the tempo of the storm aligns with your action—for example, as the storm intensifies, your characters really can’t do anything outside, which is why I decided to have the climax of the book take place just as the eye passes overhead, cutting out the wind and rain.

Let’s take a break from your work for a moment—you’re a reader/viewer as well as a writer, what’re some of the books/movies/shows this year that you’ve been enjoying?
I loved Heat 2. I was lucky enough to get an early copy, and I had some trepidations about how well Michael Mann would carry off that shift from cinematic to novelistic, but I needn’t have worried—the book is fantastic. Meg Gardiner, his co-author, layered it with her trademark suspense, and the whole thing really works.

I’m also reading Jordan Harper’s Last King of California, which is coming out in late September in the UK (although U.S. readers can find a copy via Amazon.co.uk pretty easily, I think). It’s a real treat because Harper is one of the best wordsmiths working the crime genre, and every sentence is rich and thick. The book itself is in the proud tradition of noirs like Blood Father and Tapping the Source, and it’s wonderful.

You’ve got Beach Bodies coming out on Halloween, right? I understand that’s a horror novella? Do you want to give a quick pitch for that one?
Beach Bodies is a super-short horror novella that began as a potential project for a smaller horror publisher, but when that didn’t work, I decided to dip my toe into self-publishing. It’s a weird book with one bloody moment near the end that will probably excite hardcore horror fans while freaking other folks out (one early reader texted me, “DUDE, WTF, LOL,” when she reached it).

The short pitch for it: Julia and Alec are two twentysomethings paid to “house sit” a billionaire’s luxury doomsday bunker on an isolated stretch of beach. Three strangers invade the bunker on a sinister mission, and very bad things happen. There’s a big twist that’ll have you questioning the nature of the characters’ very reality.

As usual, I’ve got to ask, what’s coming down the pike? Are you far enough into your next book(s) to talk about it/them?
Right now I’m working on an episode of A Grifter’s Song, which is a long-running series (something like 28 novellas and counting) written by various crime-fiction authors, including S.A. Cosby, Hilary Davidson, and Paul J. Garth. The series follows two hustlers as they attempt to cheat bad folks out of their money. The main challenge for me is taking these two preexisting characters with a rich backstory established by other authors… and trying not to mess it up.

And by “mess it up,” I mean, “make it too much like Bill and Fiona from Love & Bullets,” which I’m definitely at risk of doing. But I’ll make it work.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for Hell of a Mess—it’s always fun spending time with these characters.
Thank you! I love these questions!


Hell of a Mess by Nick Kolakowski: A Whole Bunch of Plans that Don’t Come Together

Hell of a MessHell of a Mess

by Nick Kolakowski

DETAILS:
Series: Love & Bullets, #4
Publisher: Shotgun Honey Books
Publication Date: August 26, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 234
Read Date: August 1, 2022
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What’s Hell of a Mess About?

Well, isn’t that a tricky question? There is too much. Let me sum up. There are multiple people who start off intending to commit one crime and end up doing something entirely different.

Fiona’s been hired to steal something, and it’s a timely thing (and she’s not deterred by much), so despite an impending hurricane, she goes for it. Sure, the Inside Man tries to wave her off, but, again—she’s not deterred by much. Which is a shame—she should’ve paid attention to either the weather or the Inside Man. She ends up with a price on her head and multiple people around the city.

While she’s busy, Bill’s trying to prep for the storm in the home they’re squatting in when some police break in looking for the man who lives there. One thing leads to another, and they kidnap Bill, believing he can lead them to the millions his former employer had hidden away.

Thankfully. that assassin they thought Fiona killed at the end of A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps survived—readers knew that, but Fiona and Bill didn’t. Not only did he live, but he’s been keeping tabs on them. He’s been trying to live a different—less lethal—life and he has a chance to help them. Will he be enough?

(I have no idea if the above makes any sense—trying to cram it into three brief paragraphs doesn’t do the plot any favors. In the non-condensed version, it works. Trust me.)

The Unnamed Assassin

Up to the point where it looked like Fiona killed him (maybe a little sooner), I thought that the hitman who was sent after Bill in the first book was the protagonist. His is the only first-person perspective we get through the series—almost like he’s relaying what he knows and hears about this crazy couple while he’s dealing with his own problems like they’re a diversion for him.

His personal arc is very different from theirs—they claim to be trying to get out and live a straight life, if only they get one more decent score to set them up. The unnamed assassin is going a different path, he’s still a violent criminal, but like Jules Winnfield, he’s looking for something more. There are lines he won’t cross anymore (he seems to be making those rules up on the fly, but at least he has them.

As you can probably tell, I find it difficult to articulate his development and role in the series—but using him (sparingly, on the whole) and his arc throughout in juxtaposition to Fiona and Bill adds a layer to these books that few authors would have utilized, but make the whole thing better.

Be sure to check out my Q&A with Kolakowski (posting later today) for more about him.

Unanswered Questions

The thing that really kicks off the Fiona storyline is her stumbling across something she wasn’t expecting while discovering the thing she came to steal wasn’t there. Her discovery of the other nefarious action—and the way she prevented it from being completed*—is what starts the manhunt for her, more than the attempted heist. If she’d just walked away, I think it’s likely no one would’ve come after her.

* It is so tricky to discuss this obliquely.

Then when it comes time for Fiona to go save Bill, that storyline is dropped. Which is actually fine and good, because ultimately what it’s replaced by is more interesting. But in the back of my mind couldn’t stop asking—and, a week later, still can’t—what happened? What led up to Fiona’s discovery? What happened after she and the unnamed killer ran off to rescue Bill?

Typically, leaving these threads hanging would annoy me enough that I’d downgrade a novel over it—but Kolakowski pulls it off. If you’re going to abandon a plotline, this is the way to do it.

That said, I’d pony up twice the typical Shotgun Honey novella price today to get Love & Bullets #5 if it picks up right after this to tell the rest of that story. Maybe thrice.

So, what did I think about Hell of a Mess?

The previous three installments were novellas, but this is a novel, clocking in at 50-100 pages longer than the rest. And it didn’t feel like it at all. It was the same adrenaline-fueled, not-quite-frenzied pace and was over before I was ready for it to be. My daily schedule kept this from being a one-sitting read, but I think I could’ve done it in one sitting without realizing it.

This is pulpy fun. There’s action, there’s heart, there’s comedy (some subtle, some absolutely not), there’s a lot of violence, and you can’t forget the bunch of heartbroken saps that are at the center of things. They’re crooks and killers that really seem like decent people when you stack them up next to the nastier crooks and killers they can’t stop encountering. In the middle of all that chaos (and you can’t forget the chaos of the storm), there’s hope, forgiveness, and love. And who can’t use a little of that?

I don’t know if Kolakowski is going to come back to these characters in the future—I’d be content with what he’s given already, but I also know that I’d jump on any future installments, too. I encourage you to do the same.

4 1/2 Stars

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Breaking Point (Audiobook) by C.J. Box, David Chandler: Joe Finds Himself Between Some Rocks and a Hot Place

Breaking PointBreaking Point

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Joe Pickett, #13
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: August 17, 2015
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 37 min.
Read Date: July 13-15, 2022
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What’s Breaking Point About?

Acquaintance and father of one of Lucy’s best friends, Butch Roberson, is in trouble—he’s been being harassed by some EPA agents and they’ve turned up dead. Joe was the last person to see him before he became a prime suspect in their murder and a subject of a manhunt. Which, in the perverse way that only bureaucrats can think, gets him in hot water.

Joe’s now tasked with helping some contractors track Butch through the wilderness—he really doesn’t want to do it, and almost quits over it. But the way these guys are acting, Joe figures that he’s the only one who can ensure that Butch is brought in alive and with a shot at a fair trial (especially if he can get him into local custody).

Joe’s been in hazardous wilderness conditions before—regularly, from the reader’s point of view—but I think it’s safe to say that these are the most dangerous he’s been in. And the humans (officially and unofficially) hunting for Butch are just making things worse.

Meanwhile, Marybeth is doing a little investigative work on the side for Joe while helping Butch’s wife and daughter through this time. She even sends up a flare hoping to get some help from Nate Romanowski.

There’s a whole lot of moving pieces in this novel, and hopefully, the Picketts and Robersons come out of things alive.

Federal Agencies

Outside of some FBI Agents (maybe only one), people who work for the Federal Government don’t come across well in these books. And Breaking Point is no exception

I don’t know—and really don’t care—how much of Box’s own politics are reflected in these books, but he does a great job of portraying the attitudes of people in Wyoming and Idaho (not that he does a lot of Idaho work, but there’s some). Federal Agents are inherently suspect and will wield their power to damage the way of life of citizens. Sure, there are exceptions, but on the whole, you can’t trust them to do the right thing.

It’s never comfortable reading these depictions of the Federal Government, but if nothing else, it’s good to be reminded of/exposed to the way hunters/ranchers/etc.out here think of them—and why they do.

The Sub-plots

The new head of Game and Fish, Lisa Greene-Dempsey (LGD) is a more interesting foil for Joe than the previous officious penny-pinchers. She’s trying to reshape the Agency in a way that Joe’s not comfortable with, and she’s clearly playing politics with him/his job. But the way she’s going about it—with good intentions, I think—makes her a better character and gives us more interesting reactions from Joe. It’s always better to have competing good intentions than having one side just out to hurt the other/improve themself alone. The whole arc there is one of the best Joe vs. The System stories Box has given us.

I don’t get the Marybeth story, it fizzled on all fronts for me. If it’s to underline the financial hardships the family has gone through, he’s done it more effectively before. If it’s laying the groundwork for something else, on the other hand, great—but I want to see it soon. Generally, Marybeth’s stories are a highlight of these novels but this one fell flat for me.

While Sheridan had a pivotal part to play here, it sort of seems to me that Box doesn’t know what to do with her anymore (ditto for her sisters, but Sheridan’s always shown the brightest among them, so it seems worse). I really hope he does something interesting with her soon, I’m not sure how long I’d have stuck with the series if not for her early on, and I don’t want to not enjoy her in the future.

That Death…

There’s a significant character death that shocked me—both in the manner, the function in the story, and the fact that it happened at all. Box treated the whole thing perfectly.

I’m not going to get into details, but it was a smart, gutsy move.

How’s the Narration?

Chandler has the characterizations down pat—every time he says something as McLanahan (and how great is it to see how things went for him between Force of Nature and this book?) I want to punch the guy in his nose. Which is more violent than I typically get, but that voice is perfectly grating—a wonderful match for McLanahan’s personality.

He’s great even when he doesn’t irritate me—Chandler has brought this series to life, and continues that work here. Really don’t have much else to say.

So, what did I think about Breaking Point?

There’s a great call-back to Savage Run, reminding the reader just how far Joe’s come, and some of the things he’s pulled off in his career.

Box delivers a great thriller here, as we’re used to—with some important character work for Joe—including a move that’ll change his professional life forever.

It’s the thirteenth book in a series, and it’s really difficult to come up with something to say. The storytelling isn’t getting stale, the characters are developing nicely, the premise of the novel rings true, and Box executes it well. It’s an incredibly consistent series, really—not getting much better (nor does it need to), it’s definitely not getting worse.

There’s not much more to say—if you’ve liked most of the previous twelve novels (like I have), you’ll like this one. If you’re intrigued by the idea of a Game Warden getting involved in criminal investigations while dealing with wilderness adventures, you’ll likely enjoy this one, even without the backstory.

Box knows what he’s doing at this point, and even with my quibbles, I figure he’s going to do something in the future to remove them. Give this one a try.


4 Stars

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Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn: Bernie Goes Back to High School

Bark to the FutureBark to the Future

by Spencer Quinn

DETAILS:
Series: Chet and Bernie, #13
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication Date: August 8, 2022
Format: eARC
Length: 320 pg.
Read Date: July 25-28, 2022
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Chet the Narrator

For roughly a decade now, Chet has been my favorite first-person narrator (at least among those being currently published). This K-9 school dropout is an engaging and personable narrator who will get the reader emotionally invested and charm you within the first few pages after you meet him. He’s optimistic, generally positive, and his unique perspective will make you chuckle frequently while you read a solid P.I. story.

At the same time, there’s an extra level of attention that needs to be paid to what he says so you can pick up what’s actually going on—Chet’s the best kind of unreliable narrator, he’s not being deceptive, he just doesn’t (and can’t) understand what he’s seeing and hearing. But he’s honest and thorough.

So, what I’m saying is, there’s little chance I’m not going to thoroughly enjoy a new Chet and Bernie novel. So going in, expect me to say nice things.

What’s Bark to the Future About?

Bernie’s approached by a panhandler while stopped at a light on a freeway off-ramp, who recognizes Bernie from high school and refuses to take his money. Life’s been harder on him than Bernie, who can’t recognize him at all. Bernie takes him for a burger, and tries to help him out a little—by this time, he’s identified himself. He’s an old baseball teammate, and the two shared a highlight or two of their careers. After their meal, Rocket Saluka has Bernie drop him off on the off-ramp.

But he’d said a thing or two that Bernie can’t stop thinking about, so he goes back the next morning to follow up. Rocket’s nowhere to be found, but someone else directs Bernie to a camp Rocket was staying at. He’s not there, either—and there’s almost no trace of him. Chet does find his distinctive switchblade buried under Rocket’s tent, however—and now Bernie’s even more curious, and he sets out to find his old teammate.

It turns out that there’s quite the history attached to this switchblade, and most of it was shared by other people who were associated with their high school (including one person Bernie knows but didn’t realize was from the same school). What starts off as a way to deal with some unnecessary guilt becomes a hunt for someone responsible for at least one murder—and hopefully, Rocket.

Weatherly and Trixie

I was a fan of Suzie Sanchez and didn’t like it at all when that relationship fell apart, and I wished for more time with the doctor Bernie dated. But now that Quinn has brought Weatherly into the series, I’m glad that things between them and Bernie ended.

Weatherly’s a great addition to the series period—someone in law enforcement that Bernie can talk shop with (who isn’t a former colleague) and who can pitch in when Bernie needs backup. And their romantic relationship is better than Bernie’s had before—there’s a trust, an honesty that was missing with Suzie. Bernie’s learned from his past mistakes and is making sure that he doesn’t make them again. It’s great to see.

I do feel back for Weatherly’s dog Trixie, Chet’s a jealous boy (we are learning), and he’s not doing well with a female counterpart with similar strengths (maybe stronger in a couple of ways than Chet). Yes, she scores a few wins over our narrator, but his feelings toward her color what we’re told about her, and she doesn’t come out looking so good.

We’ve seen something like this with Shooter, Chet’s son. But it’s a little different with Shooter because there’s a somewhat paternal aspect to Chet’s description of him.

We know that Chet can get along with other dogs—but the extended time with Trixie is showing us another side of his personality. You wouldn’t think you’d get that in a dog character, but it’s good to see that Quinn can give us that.

Bernie’s Notoriety

As he’s visiting fellow alumni and other people associated with the case, several people mention how they’d read/seen something about him because of the events of Of Mutts and Men (although one harkened back to Heart of Barkness. I’m glad that there are people out there who know that Bernie Little is out there, doing good work. Most of the time in PI fiction, you get the idea that outside of those close to a case, no one notices that the PI we’re so heavily invested in does anything of note.

But what’s better to me is that Bernie’s getting recognition for this case—one of the first things we learn about him 12 books ago is that he has very definite opinions about water usage and the local aquifer. From Chet, we get some ideas about other things that Bernie cares about, but from his own mouth, we know that he cares about Charlie, Chet, and water (and now, Weatherly). Of all the cases for him to get good PR for, this is the one that’s going to mean something to Bernie.

So, what did I think about Bark to the Future?

Not surprisingly, I liked it. I really did. We get a little character backstory here, we see Bernie as a good father (and a fumbling one), we see development in his relationship with Weatherly, we see the potential for a (small) income stream for Bernie outside the PI business, and there’s an intriguing mystery or two for our heroes to dig their teeth into (literally, for Chet).

Starting with Of Mutts and Men that Quinn’s found another gear. I can’t put my finger on it—I wish I could—but there’s something about the novels that have stepped up a notch or two. The series is always reliable, but these last few have been better than some of the previous. Bark to the Future continues that streak.

I heartily recommend this to you—if you haven’t tried one from this series before, don’t worry—they’re all good entry points. Jump in now, you’ll be glad you did.

Much like Chet and a Slim Jim, I’ve gulped this one down and am ready for my next one.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.


4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

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