Category: Fiction Page 116 of 353

DETAILS:
Series: The Heartstrikers, #1
Publication Date: July 13, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 287 pages
Read Date: January 13 - 17, 2022

What’s Nice Dragons Finish Last About?

Julius is one of the youngest—and definitely smallest—members of the Heartstrikers, one of the most powerful dragon clans in the world. Like the best of dragons, the Heartstrikers are conniving, dangerous, cruel, and avaricious. Julius is everything they’re not, he has all the usual dragon abilities (true, he hasn’t developed them as he should, but he has them), but his personality and morality are the opposite. The word best used to describe him—and the one used most often in the book—is nice.

Now, his mother is giving him one last chance to become the dragon she wants him to be—she’s trapped him in human form, removing most of his abilities, and he has to make something of himself with these limitations in less than a month. Oh, she landed him in the one city in the world where dragons are banned, too.

Julius teams up with a human mage (who turns out to be on the run from organized crime) to rise to the challenge, and…well, that’s about it. That’s the setup.

Bob

Julius’ older brother, Bob (technically, Brohomir), is one of the three Great Seers in the world. Most of his family seems to regard him as a loon not worthy of paying too much attention to. But Julius seems to understand and respect his ability—especially since he saw the curse happening 4 months before it did, and made some provisions to help his little brother after it.

Why, of all the characters in the book, am I focusing on him? Bob’s a hoot. He seems to have cultivated that insane reputation he has and enjoys playing to type. He’s almost like the draconian answer to Julius Lebowski—off in his own little world, and having a hard time relating to his siblings (again, purposefully)

He has his own agenda for Julius, and it doesn’t necessarily line up with Julius’ plans and hopes. But—unlike most of his family—Bob wants his little brother to be alive. Which makes him a little easier to like.

But it’s not that hard in the first place—Bob steals every scene he’s in. He seems to be the world’s second-nicest dragon, he’s scheming and manipulative to be sure, but he’s eccentric enough that it’s easy to discount it.

Here’s the Thing I Don’t Get

So we learn that Julius was never aggressive enough for the training his siblings went through, at a certain age, he’s simply run from them (which, at least, had the advantage of helping him become fast. Eventually, he’d just hide out in his room and avoid the exercises. Instead of learning to fight like a good dragon, he played video games with humans online. This led to him having some empathy for humans—even liking them, he’s able to see them as something more than tools to be used and exploited.

What we never learn is how Julius becomes nice. Are we to believe that despite the family and culture he’s born into, he’s just hard-wired to be nice? If so, where’d that come from? He’s apparently the one dragon in existence (possibly ever) who’s nice—is it some sort of genetic mutation? Or is it that he picks it up during his interactions with humans. But…since when does online gaming bring out the considerate, respectful, friendly, and helpful side in anyone? Just how does he turn out to be a kind, considerate, respectful, nice person when that’s counter to everything he’s taught and surrounded by?

Maybe in a subsequent book, Aaron will explain this. In the meantime, I’m going to keep asking that question. Is it enough of an issue to detract from my enjoyment of the book? Nah, it’s a fun and sweet story either way. But it’s gnawing away at the back of my mind.

So, what did I think about Nice Dragons Finish Last?

This has been on my Goodreads Want to Read list since 2014 (and on my Kindle since 2015). I cannot tell you why I put it off this long, but I am more than a little annoyed with myself over not getting to it until now. I should be thinking about re-reading the series about now, not starting it.

I had plenty of fun with this—I wasn’t sure what to make of it at the start, but after a chapter or so I settled in and was able to enjoy the ride from there out.

Aaron did a good job of bringing the reader into the world, getting us invested in the characters—even some characters you wouldn’t normally get invested in. A book like this calls for double duty—you’ve got to tell a solid story and you have to set up a world and series. Aaron handles that well, because not only did I enjoy this, I was eager to see what happened next in the series (hopefully, it doesn’t take me eight years to get to it).

3 Stars

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

PUB DAY REPOST: The Appeal by Janice Hallett: You Have Not Read a Mystery Like This Before.

By HCNewton

On January 25, 2022

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

The Appeal

by Janice Hallett

eARC, 448 pg.
Atria Books, 2022

Read: October 30-November 4, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s The Appeal About?

The setup is basically this: a pair of law students have been given a stack of documents—emails, texts, voicemail transcripts, letters, and so on. They’re to read through this stack and be prepared to work out what crime(s) happened in what’s documented and who did what (and maybe why).

The correspondence focuses on a period of March-July in the lives of people in The Fairway Players or their associates. The Fairway Players are a local amateur theater group from a small community. As the group starts to plan their next play, the director makes a horrible announcement: his granddaughter, Poppy, has just been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. He’s going to have to step back for a while, and Poppy’s uncle will be stepping up to direct, etc. There’s an experimental drug from the U.S. that’s her best shot at a cure, but it’s expensive and the family’s trying to crowdfund the treatment.

The Players are galvanized into action—individually and as a whole. People do charity runs, have a fundraising gala, a raffle, direct contributions, and so on—and, of course, all the proceeds from The Fairway Players’ next play will go to the Fund.

The stack of documents chronicles the messages about this fundraising appeal, the emails of support, and a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at the appeal and the play, and assorted tangential matters. There’s a lot of gossip, backstabbing, emotional manipulation, and…well, you start to get the idea that not everything is on the up-and-up with the appeal, the treatment, and some of the people involved. The more you start to piece together the picture these emails, etc. are painting, the more you’re pretty sure you’re missing something big. Maybe a few somethings. A crime has been committed, one or two may be in progress, and there may be more on the way.

The only way to find out is to see what the next email has to say.

Isabel Beck

When it comes to sheer word count, we hear more from Isabel Beck than any of the other characters. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we know more about her than some of the others—we just get more input from her about what’s going on. Or at least what she says is going on.

Issy is clearly a lonely person. Until she recruits a couple of new colleagues, she’s the newest member of The Fairway Players and isn’t really liked by most (and, in fact, the people she brings in are quickly more welcome than she is). She’s described as “mousy,” “drippy,” who “latches on to” people—and some things not as complimentary. Between her emails and what others say about her, you really start to pity Issy.

And that feeling just grows—like just about every person in the book, she does some truly lousy things. But unlike just about every person in the book, I only felt bad for her. I really hoped for a heaping dose of comeuppance to be given to everyone else but kept hoping something good would happen for Issy.

If I liked nothing else about The Appeal, Isabel Beck would be enough for me to tell you to go read this book. I’m so glad I met this character, one of the best of 2021.

The Stroke of Genius

The law students, Femi and Charlotte, communicate with each other via WhatsApp about these documents as they read—as you read, too. They get exactly the same information as the reader does when the reader does. As they write back and forth, it’s like you’re a part of the conversation with them. Instead of texting/messaging your friend(s) as you read the same novel, in this case, you’re reading along with a couple of the characters.

In mysteries, as the reader, you’re always looking back at things, seeing what happened. Even if the narration is in the present tense, it’s going through things that have already happened. Which is the case here, too. But you’re with Femi and Charlotte in the trenches—it feels very “now”—while you and those two are looking towards the future, what documents are going to be coming? As they start to put things together, you do, too (sometimes faster than them, sometimes a beat or two behind them). It’s a fun—and brilliant—layer on top of what’s already a great book that kicks it up a notch or two of cleverness.

Lingering Questions

One of the downsides/advantages (depending on your point of view) of this type of storytelling is that you don’t have an omniscient narrator—or even a first person—to tie up all the loose ends.

I have several lingering questions about some of the events of the book, many of which can’t even make a decent guess about the answer for. If Connelly, Rankin, Holten, Goldberg, or anyone else had left this much hanging—you can believe I’d be jumping up and down shouting my objections to the heavens. But I’m oddly at peace with this. I have been and am going to be spending some time chewing on my questions, make no mistake, but I’m fine with Hallett not tieing everything up in a nice bow.

I should stress that all the important questions, the ones that keep the reader turning pages for, are answered in definitive ways.

So, what did I think about The Appeal?

I ordered this book as soon as I read Noelle Holten’s post about it in July. Then listening to Hallet on The Blood Brothers Podcast just made me anticipate it more. So when I saw this on NetGalley, I had to jump—who wants to wait until January for the US release?

I am so glad that I didn’t wait.

As I read this, I kept saying to myself things like, “oh, this is clever;” “this is great;” “oohh, impressive;” and so on. And then 30-60 minutes later, I’d say the same thing again, but mean it more. And then again 30-minutes later. Right up to the final paragraphs, this kept getting better and better—and it started off great.

Now that I’ve said such grandiose things that no book can possibly live up to them, I’m not sure there’s a whole lot left to say.

The Appeal is a funny, thought-provoking, and suspenseful novel full of great, believable characters—not a whole lot of likable characters, but believable and interesting, sure—with a multi-layered plot that will keep you guessing and thinking as it pushes you to keep going; all presented in a format that you’ve seen rarely (if ever) in a mystery novel. If the execution isn’t flawless, it’s close enough that you won’t notice.

One of the best of the year. Period.

5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Atria via NetGalley in exchange for this post and 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, opinions are my own.

Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins: Atkins’ Farewell to Spenser Will Not Disappoint their Fans

By HCNewton

On January 24, 2022

In Ace Atkins, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker, Spenser

Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby

by Ace Atkins

DETAILS:
Series: Spenser, #50
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: January 11, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: January 19, 2022

Over the years, many things have changed about my profession. I no longer kept an actual landline on my desk. Since no one had called it since a little past the first of the millennium, I discontinued the service.

My superhuman ability to scroll through microfilm was no longer in demand. Almost anything I needed to look up, from old news stories, to criminal histories, to vehicle records, could be found online. Although I missed my visits to the Boston Public Library, I’d accepted the long, boring hours at my desk, thinking about how many old cases I could’ve solved with Google.

What’s Bye Bye Baby About?

Spenser’s hired by the campaign manager for a Congresswoman during her first re-election bid. Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, aka CGR, has had enemies since she first announced her candidacy (despite its reputation, Boston has a fair share of people antagonistic to a progressive woman politician—especially if she’s a minority), but lately, the threats are more specific and indicate inside information. Despite the Congresswoman’s resistance to the idea, Spenser joins her team as both a bodyguard and to investigate these threats.

Suspects range from any number of racist and alt-right groups, lone individuals, and someone related to the campaign of her opponent—the same man she unseated during the last primary.

It’s not long before Spenser runs into FBI agents, who have a different agenda regarding the Garcia-Ramirez. Spenser wants to stop whoever’s threatening her—as soon as possible. The FBI is more concerned with leveraging these threats into making a larger case against extremists in the region. They do agree, however, that the threats are real and the Congresswoman is in real danger.

The Hawk Storyline

In exchange for helping Spender on CGR-Duty, Hawk asks him to try to track down a woman from his past. Hawk rarely (that we see) asks Spenser for help with something in exchange for his services, so that was noteworthy in and of itself. But for him to ask for this kind of favor? Double strange.

Sadly, most of the developments in this story happen off-screen. And while there are plenty of surprises in it, because it’s so off-screen, it’s too easy to overlook what’s going on. (I honestly only remembered to write something about it just before I hit “Schedule” on this post)

Too Political?

There’s a lot of talk about Atkins making this too political (not the first time it’s been said about his Spenser novels). I can only imagine this was written by people who skipped a handful of Parker’s novels, primarily Looking for Rachel Wallace.

I say that not just because it was Parker at his (arguably) most political,* but this novel was clearly influenced by Looking for Rachel Wallace—I made note of the resemblance on page 18 (but I’d wondered about it before then), and it only became clearer as the book went on.

* Double Deuce, Thin Air, and Pale Kings and Princes jumped to mind as clearly political, too. If I let myself spend time thinking about it, I’d have no problem coming up with more.

Yes, Carolina Garcia-Ramirez/CGR, is obviously modeled on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/AOC. The crimes planned and attempted have similarly obvious recent real-world parallels. But this is not a book that only partisans can enjoy, if they can put up with Spenser pushing back on the stances of his Republican client in The Widening Gyre*, they can put up with this. Come to think of it, The Widening Gyre is pretty important for the background to this book.

* Oh, look, another one!

Also, if taking a strong anti-racist stance is going to get someone who’s a fan of Hawk, Bobby Horse, Chollo, and Sixkill decrying the political stance. Maybe they haven’t been paying attention to the series.

Bye Bye, Atkins

“Have you found any suspects?” Susan said.

“Nope.”

“Got any leads?” she said.

“Zip.”

“Planning on doing more than just poking around and annoying people?”

“Why mess with a winning formula?”

Alas, that’s exactly what’s going to happen—the winning formula of Ace Atkins donning the Parker mantle for this series is no more, and Mike Lupica will be taking over.

Atkins is moving on so he can write some projects of his own that he doesn’t have time for while handling Spenser. That’s absolutely understandable, and I look forward to seeing what he’s going to do. But I’m going to miss him with these characters and series—I remember being about a quarter of the way through Lullaby and breathing a sigh of relief—not only was he as good as Parker, he was as good as Parker in his prime. I thought I’d be saying goodbye to a very old friend after Parker died, and Atkins let me hang on a little longer.

I’m a little worried about the series. Lupica’s doing a good job with Sunny Randall (his last one is forthcoming this year), and isn’t bad with the Jesse Stone books. But I doubt he’s going to be as good as Atkins with Spenser. I’m hoping to eat my words, though.

So, what did I think about Bye Bye Baby?

“You think these threats could be legitimate?”

“Maybe” [Wayne Cosgrove] said. “Hell, It only takes one person. It’s just a goddamn mess to see through all the noise and bluster these days. Everyone is angry. Everyone has an ax to grind. At least in the old days, a nut had to roll a sheet of paper into the typewriter or paste together some jumbled clippings from a magazine. But now all they have to do is use a dummy email account and be done.”

“The perils of sleuthing in the twenty-first century.”

It’s a little hard separating my feelings and thoughts about this book from Atkins’ entire run with this being his last, but I’m going to try.

I don’t think this was his strongest outing—nor was it his weakest—but it was as fun as you could want. Spenser’s wit was on full power, as was his gift for observation. The mid-novel fight scene was pretty good–as were the other action scenes. The campaign staff were believable and interesting—as was CGR (although her boyfriend got on my nerves, I think by design). A lot of that story was predictable, but Atkins told it well enough that you didn’t mind—there are only so many things you can do in a story about bodyguarding someone, after all. There were also plenty of unexpected things along the way, so even if the destination was clear all along, Atkins’s route to it wasn’t.

The only sour note for me was the investigation for Hawk—it felt like Atkins had a good idea at the beginning, and just didn’t have the time to develop it as he should’ve. I do wonder if he was just setting something up for Lupica. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.

Atkins brought out all of the major characters from his run, and many from Parker’s, for one last ride—it was great to see them before the hand-off. Atkins even made one major character move (one might say it was overdue and something that Parker should’ve done).

This would work as a jumping-on point to the series—although I can’t imagine here in book 50 that there’s anyone who hasn’t tried the series but is considering it. But more importantly, it’s one for the fans written by a fellow fan, and that audience should be more than satisfied with it.

4 1/2 Stars

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

Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt: Moving a Very Unusual, Very Large, Very Hairy Family Across the U.S.

By HCNewton

On January 21, 2022

In David Rosenfelt, Dogs, Non-Fiction

Dogtripping:
25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers,
and 3 RVs on Our Canine
Cross-Country Adventure

by David Rosenfelt

DETAILS:
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Length: 278 pg.
Read Date: January 19-20, 2022

The overriding view of everyone was that it was going to be a great adventure, successful and a hell of a lot of fun.

Except for me.

I was expecting a disaster.

What’s Dogtripping About?

After a decade and a half or so of running their dog rescue in southern California, David Rosenfelt and his wife decide to move out of California (a very close call with a wildfire is a primary impetus for this) to Maine. But they have a bigger logistical challenge than most of us do when we make a move—either cross-town or cross-country. Sure, it can be hard to figure out the best way to move a piano or a fragile heirloom—but ultimately, that’s something that people do all the time. But how do you get twenty-five dogs cross-country?

First of all, you need help—and we’re not talking the kind of help where you get a few friends together, promise a pizza and a six-pack to split, and get them to help you move a piano or a sofa. This is a bigger project. You also have to figure out what kind of vehicle—or vehicles—will be needed, where you all will sleep, how can you deal with the bathroom breaks, and so on.

Right there, that’s an interesting story, many people—especially dog lovers would read that. When the talented and amusing author of the Andy Carpenter novels tells the story, it becomes an entertaining read.

Interspersed between chapters discussing the preparation for the trip and the trip itself are chapters describing the background for The Tara Foundation (starting with the dog it’s named after), the development and growth of their rescue efforts, and profiles of some of the dogs.

Dog Profiles

My favorite parts of the book are the 2-3 page profiles of some of the dogs that have stayed with their pack—for anywhere from a week to several years. He starts by describing how the dog came to their attention, then he talks about the specific challenges for that dog, their personality, and how they integrated into the menagerie. Then he’ll describe how they took to the move—if they were part of that 25—found a family to adopt them, or how their life came to an end.

Obviously, I preferred reading the first two endings—but they’ve been at this for a long time, and most of their rescues are senior dogs, it’s a reality they have to deal with far too often. Not always, but I generally got a little misty for those other endings. Rosenfelt has a real knack for making you grin/chuckle, telling a heartwarming story, and then hitting you with the sadness that comes from the brevity of canine life.

Still, I’d read an entry on every dog they ever had in their shelter and come back for more.

Incidentally, he includes some really sound advice on deciding when to put an ailing dog to sleep.*

* Please, no one tell my almost 16-year old Pug/Beagle mix that I read anything about that. No need to stress her out.

Too Many Italics

I am not a fan of extended sections of italics—there are better ways to set aside chunks of text (going to a sans serif typeface, for example), but I’m mostly used to them. A character’s thoughts—usually a sentence or two–I can handle. I can even put up with a few paragraphs for a dream sequence or flashback or something. But whole chapters really bug me.

And that’s what we get here—and not just a few, but several. There’s no set pattern, but typically a couple of chapters in regular type (one of them being really brief) and then one in italics. It’s very aggravating.

But here’s the worst part—it’s the chapters that are about the subject of the book that are italicized! The background chapters, the chapters that profile individual dogs, or are just full of Rosenfelt talking about some topic (for example: their efforts to keep the smell of all their dogs using the back yard as a bathroom from bothering the neighbors) are all in regular type. But the part of the book that the title and subtitle describe are italicized.

I don’t understand that choice. I certainly didn’t enjoy it.

So, what did I think about Dogtripping?

Twenty-five is pretty much the fewest dogs Debbie and I have had in the last ten years. We’ve had as many as forty-two, but we feel that more than forty is slightly eccentric.

This was a fast, fun read—with some really touching moments mixed in.

I’m going to borrow the conclusion to my post about Rosenfelt’s other book about their rescues, Lessons from Tara, because it works just as well here, and I’m tired:

Fans of the Andy Carpenter series will be happy to hear that Andy’s voice is Rosenfelt’s—the book at times feels like an Andy Carpenter book without all the muss and fuss of a plot, murder, or trial. I laughed, I chuckled, I learned a thing or two, and I even got misty more than I wanted to. All in all a really strong read. If you’re a dog lover, or just someone who likes to read good things, find some time for this one.

3.5 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, opinions are my own.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth: It’s a Sister Thing

By HCNewton

On January 20, 2022

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

The Good Sister

by Sally Hepworth

DETAILS:
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date:  April 12, 2021
Format: Hardcover
Length: 306
Read Date: January 17-18, 2022

“I imagine, being twins, the bond is even more unique. If you get along, that is.” She laughs.

Beverly doesn’t seem to be expecting an answer, and I am glad. If she had, I might have told her the truth. That people without sisters think it’s all sunshine and lollipops or all blood and guts. But actually it’s always both. Sunshine and guts. Lollipops and blood. Good and bad. The bad is as essential to the relationship as the good.

Maybe the bad is even more important, because that’s what ties you together.

A Tale of Two Sisters

This is about a pair of fraternal/dizygotic twins and their efforts to provide one of them with the baby she and her husband can’t have.

Sort of. Kind of. Mostly. There’s a lot more going on, but that’s the core.

We get told the story of these two from the perspectives of each twin. Let’s break it down that way.

Fern Carter

Fern is a librarian—she’s not really comfortable with people. Or with anything other than her routine. She describes others toward the end as neurotypical, which was nice, but it’s not really necessary, she’s clearly on the Spectrum somewhere. She’s overly sensitive to stimulus, not fond of touch, and bad with interpersonal relations and communications.

She’s great with people in circumstances she’s comfortable in—for example, the library. Reading to kids in the children’s library, recommending books to patrons, and dealing with the homeless people seeking shelter and showers, for example.

She also knows how much she owes her sister. So when she discovers that despite her desire to become a mother, Rose can’t, Fern takes it upon herself to get pregnant for her.

And things become even more interesting for her from there.

Rose Castle

We get Rose’s perspective from a journal she’s keeping—she tells us right away that this is a therapy assignment and not something she’s doing on her own. This is to help her process her childhood and some things she’s going through right now—like marriage problems.

From their early childhood, she’s taken on the role of protector to her sister—that has never stopped. And her journal entries show all the ways she’s been doing that.

We get a lot more of Fern’s first-person narration than we do of Rose’s journals. But it’s Rose’s perception that sets the agenda for the novel.

A word of warning—Rose is molested by one of her mother’s boyfriends. It’s clear that’s what’s going on, but Hepworth doesn’t get too detailed about it. Very little space is given to it, but it’s there.

But…

This is a psychological/domestic thriller—that’s clear, it’s marketed as one. So, despite everything I just said, you know that not all is right with these two and their life. The trick is figuring out what’s wrong and why.

So, what did I think about The Good Sister?

I spent so much of this book wondering why my friend suggested this for me—why would anyone think I’d enjoy this? Yes, it was well-written; yes, it was suspenseful; yes, I was interested in the story; yes, I really wanted things to work out for Fern and to understand Rose; yes, the pages were flying by (I read this faster than anything I’ve read for a month or so); no, I was not enjoying the experience. It’s a good read, just not my thing. I wasn’t thinking of stopping, I just didn’t see why I should bother going on.

But for the last hundred pages or so, I started to wonder if I really was enjoying it. The last 40 +/- pages? I loved it. Seriously, I had a blast with it.

Hepworth did a really good job telling the story and keeping you guessing about what was going on, why X said something, or Y did something. You can get a pretty good idea about all that, and probably make some strong guesses. But you’re going to be a little bit off (at least). Until Hepworth gets you right where she wants you, and then she just tells you what you need to know. Then, it’s about taking all it in, while holding on for a very taut and tense conclusion.

This isn’t going to go down as one of my favorite books—but it’s going to be one I recommend to people (I have a list of them in mind already), and it’s one I’d recommend to any of you who dig psychological thrillers or just want something a little different. You’ll likely end up liking it far earlier than I did and wonder what’s wrong with me.

3 Stars

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

A Private Investigation (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson: A Change is Coming

By HCNewton

On January 18, 2022

In Audiobook, DC Smith & Kings Lake, Fiction

A Private Investigation

by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: A DC Smith Investigation, #8
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Publication Date: Nov 13, 2018
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 40 min.
Read Date: December 13-15, 2022

But now, change is coming, and change is inevitable.

Except from vending machines.

What’s A Private Investigation About?

I haven’t really talked much about the Andretti case and the book that Jo Emerson is working on about the investigation—with Smith as a significant source. I haven’t talked much about Jo Emerson at all, either. Mostly because I wasn’t really sure where Grainger was going with this storyline. It’s the biggest case of Smith’s career, and in many ways defined it. It’s also the case that led to Chris Murray’s father leaving the police. There was a serial killer preying on young women. Smith and Murray stopped the killer, put him away years ago–—but questions have lingered.

But now, a young woman has gone missing in King’s Lake—so here in the last three weeks of Smith’s career, he’s pulled off the bench to take point on it—he’s headed a search for missing girls—no one else around has. At a certain point, Smith starts to see similarities between this missing girl and some of those related to the Andretti case. Then there’s an individual who popped up during both investigations. Suddenly the one man the police need to run things, the man who knows more about the Andretti case than anyone else alive is prevented from taking part in this new case. A logic that I don’t quite follow, but am sure it makes sense to someone.

Smith, however, keeps working the case—as off the radar as he can. What’s going to happen to him if he ignores an order or two at this point?

A Matter of Budget

It’s realistic, I’m sure, but there’s a lot of discussion about the budget for this investigation and what King’s Lake Central can spend on the search for this teen. While it’s come up before in this series—in almost every book—it’s very prominent here.

It’s also despair-inducing, while I understand that governments have to take this kind of thing into account—when a missing teen’s life could possibly be endangered, to think that the efforts to find her are governed by a financial report as much as—even more than—clues the investigation has picked up is hard to come to terms with.

Except for the cost of forensic tests, I don’t remember too many American procedurals hitting this point as hard as Grainger and other UK authors do (am thinking Rankin and Aaronovich in particular—even Paul Cornell’s <b>Shadow Police</b>series). I wonder if that’s more to do with the state of procedural fiction or if it’s the way different governments think about such things.

Smith’s Train of Thought

One of my favorite parts of these books is when we follow along with Smith’s Stream of Consciousness as he works through a part of a puzzle—or when he guides DC Chris Murray through something similar to help him build the same patterns. There’s something idiosyncratic about Smith’s thinking (although it never seems that way while listening, it seems like the only possible way to work through it) that is addicting.

We’re treated to multiple sessions of that this time out, and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Even when I didn’t like the actions that Smith was taking after those trains of thought.

A Neat Cliffhanger that Time Ruined

This is slightly spoilery, unless you can do the very basic math. Still, feel free to skip to the next heading.

We all clear now? Last chance to skip ahead…

DC’s fate is very uncertain at the end of this book—it could very easily go either way, and with this very clearly the end of the series, it felt like Grainger was hinting in one direction.

However, this was published in late 2018, in 2021—book nine of the series came out (and there are some indications that Smith was a presence in at least the first of the Kings Lake Investigations series that came out after this book–I’ll be listening to that soon). This kind of kills the suspense for me—which is a shame, because that ending really could’ve gone either way and I’d have been going crazy if I listened to it new.

So, what did I think about A Private Investigation?

I’m so, so, so glad that we’ll get to hear what happens next with the group from King’s Lake Central in a new series. I don’t want to leave this world and these characters behind. I got too busy last year to stay on my schedule of listening to them, but I’m pretty sure that’s over.

This book was bittersweet, while the last book felt like the last gasp of DC Smith’s career, this definitely is. The case was compelling, the search for the girl was tense, and the emotions of Smith’s team—and Smith himself—were so well-depicted to make this a knockout of a book. But man…I just didn’t want to deal with Smith being done. Police procedurals don’t normally get that emotional for me—but several of these books have got me wrapped up in the characters’ lives–and this more than the rest.

This is absolutely, positively, not the book to start with for this series—almost any of the others would be, but the first would be best. But you absolutely, positively start this series if you haven’t yet. Jackson’s narration is outstanding, making the audiobooks my strongest recommendation, but I bet the charm of the characters would be evident in the print version as well.

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, opinions are my own.

The Friday 56 for 1/14/21: Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

By HCNewton

On January 14, 2022

In Currently Reading, Fantasy, News/Misc., Quotations, Seanan McGuire, The Friday 56, Wayward Children

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

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

from Page 56 (and a little bit of 57) of:
Where the Drowned Girls Go

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

The matron narrowed her eyes. “Can scarecrows talk?” she repeated, tone clearly implying that there was only one right answer, and it wasn’t the one she expected from Emily.

…Silence and blending into the background were Cora’s forte. She was good at it. But she was also a hero, and heroes didn’t stand idly by while someone smaller was victimized.

“Scarecrows don’t talk,” she scoffed, loudly enough and clearly enough to guarantee she would be overheard. The matron stiffened. Cora acted like she hadn’t noticed, continuing blithely, “They’re just straw stuffed into old potato sacks. If scarecrows could talk, that would mean straw could talk, and if straw could talk, grass would be able to talk, and no one could mow their lawns.”

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire: A Mermaid Saves Herself

By HCNewton

On January 14, 2022

In Fantasy, Seanan McGuire, Wayward Children

Where the Drowned Girls Go

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: Wayward Children, #7
Publisher: Tor 
Publication Year: 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 150
Read Date: January 10-11, 2022

And everyone knew that things from the other side of the door could absolutely leak through into this reality. Her hair had been brown, not aquamarine, before she found her fins. Christopher would die without his flute—literally die. Seraphina was the kind of beautiful that stopped hearts, and everyone who’d seen pictures of her from before her travels said that she hadn’t always been like that. She’d been attractive, not impossible. The doors made changes. The doors stayed with you.

What’s Where the Drowned Girls Go About?

Things have gone poorly for Cora since her return from the Moors, and things are getting worse for her. She’s now afraid of getting a door—because it might not lead to the world she wants. So now that “other school” starts to sound appealing to her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to feel at home in this world—it’s certainly better than one of the alternatives. There’s no way that she’ll get those tools at this school (as much as she likes/loves her friends).

So she talks West into transferring her—and regrets the decision before the ink is dried. Still, she sets out to make the best of a bad situation—it’s still going to get her the results she’s been desiring, just not in a pleasant way.

Cora tackles the situation in a “no pain, no gain” manner. West’s school wasn’t helping (at least not the way she wanted), the Whitethorn Institute isn’t going to save her, it’s up to Cora to save herself.

Whitethorn Institute

“You’ve always said that there was a second school.”

Eleanor pulled her hands away. “The Whitethorn Institute. Cora, you can’t intend—”

“You said they steal your students sometimes. That when you’re not fast enough, or when the children are having a harder time adapting to life in this reality, that sometimes Whitethorn gets there first.” She sat up straight, giving Eleanor a challenging look. “You said it was where students go when they want to believe that everything that happened on the other side of the door was just a dream, or a delusion, and not a real thing at all.”

We’ve known about “the other school” for children who come back through their doors into our world—one for those who didn’t want to see their doors again, one for those who want to feel at home in this world. But this is the first time we’ve seen it.

It is not a nice place to be.

That’s about all I feel comfortable about saying—you’ll need to read the book to see how it’s not a nice place to be. I get that (especially as the series takes a pro-Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children stance) it’s not going to seem as nice, welcoming, and affirming as the school we’re used to. I expected that this school would come across as wanting, not just in contrast, but objectively,

But I think McGuire approached that idea in a lazy manner. It’s too obviously a bad environment. She had the chance to go subtle, and she didn’t take it. I kept thinking, “Oh, she’s making a commentary about X or Y” in the real world—but she was doing so with too broad a brush, and it’d end up applying to things she didn’t mean to attack.

Still, if you’re looking to make an establishment a villain, she did an effective job. I think it’d have been more interesting—and more fitting with the series—if there’d been more nuance to it. Give the readers a second school that has differing goals from the Home for Wayward Children, but let us respect them while disagreeing—then you’ve got something. Instead, we get an institution that might as well be twirling its mustache.

Regan

It’s not just Cora that we see here, Regan’s also came to this school after returning from the Hooflands. I appreciated that. I didn’t think we had enough of Regan—but it didn’t feel like the character would be showing up at West’s.

So, what did I think about Where the Drowned Girls Go?

McGuire is simply one of the best around—and this world she’s created in this series is just wonderful and I really enjoy all the time I spend in it. But this book seemed to be missing something. The previous books in the series all left the possibility open to revisiting the world on the other side of the door, the POV character, and so on—while telling a complete story.

This novel is also a complete story—but it feels (at least to me) too much like a Part One of at least a two-parter (if not three). And I think the book suffered from it. When we get to that second part, I might change my mind about this book, but now it just feels incomplete. Add in my problems with the presentation of Whitethorn and it makes for a less-satisfying read than I’m used to for this series.

I still recommend it as a read—you’re instantly sucked into this world, it’s fantastic to get a look at Whitethorn (if nothing else); the story of Cora, Regan, and the others is well-worth telling and reading; and McGuire’s language and imagination in this series are always fascinating. I just wanted more of this good thing.

3.5 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, opinions are my own.

Bloodlines by Peter Hartog: Angels and Vampires. Vampires and Drug Lords. Or Something Like That.

By HCNewton

On January 13, 2022

In Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Bloodlines

by Peter Hartog

BOOK DETAILS:
Series: The Guardian of Empire City, Book One
Publication Year: 2019
Format: Kindle Eition
Length: 446 pages
Read Date: January 4-10, 2022

“Aren’t you supposed to be governed by logic and all that?”

“Even your most famous literary detective said, ‘once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth,’” she said.

“Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t have believed in vampires, either,” I countered.

“Well, we do live in interesting times, Holliday,” Deacon quipped.

What’s Bloodlines About?

Er, actually…this is the wrong place to start. Let’s try this instead:

Describe this World

This takes place in a futuristic world where human population/civilizations have been destroyed through a combination of “terrorist cyber-attacks, a bunch of nuclear catastrophes, and the pandemics that followed.” Nations have been replaced by a number of enclaves throughout the world, like Empire City (that grew from the ruins of New York), the Confederate States of Birmingham (a theocratic state), and the People’s Republic of Boulder.

Long story short: one of the side effects of the nuclear catastrophes was a new form of energy in the world that acted close enough to magic that people called it that. Also, it made it possible for beings from another dimension to travel to Earth. They’re called Vellans, and I’m going to leave it to Hartog to describe them to you when you read the book (a thing I think you should do).

So, as our setting we’ve got that rebuilt NYC, patching a society and culture together, in a world that looks not dissimilar from Scott’s Blade Runner, powered by magic, and that has pan-dimensional aliens walking around. Clear enough?

Now, with that out of the way, we can ask:

What’s Bloodlines About?

“They aren’t equipped to deal with the things that I want Special Crimes to handle.”

“Such as what, exactly?” I asked.

“Things that require more than a badge, a pair of handcuffs and a warrant,” Mahoney replied, fierce heat coating his words. “Things that laugh at the law, thinking they are above, or beyond it. Things that don’t give a damn about you or me.”

Our protagonist/narrator is Detective Tom “Doc” Holliday, his career has taken a hit and while he still gets to investigate the occasional homicide, he’s primarily the guy who does paperwork for everyone else. He’s recruited to be part of the Special Crimes Unit, working on “the unsolvable and inexplicable” (think Dresden Files‘ Special Investigations or Rivers of London The Folly). At this point, the unit consists of a retired legend of ECPD leading a former Protector (a law enforcement officer from Birmingham) and another consultant. But once they make their mark on the city, there’s a suggestion that they’ll get more legitimacy and funding. Holliday doesn’t much care, it’s a chance to do more than paperwork.

Their first case involves a murder that a tabloid is claiming a vampire committed (farfetched, sure, but it’s a solid explanation for the eyewitness testimony and the physical evidence—at first glance, anyway). Still, a vampire is far-fetched even for this new magical reality. Holliday doesn’t buy it, he’s looking for a more rational explanation. But this is the kind of thing that SCU is for so Holliday and the tiny team dive in.

Doc Holliday

I live and work in the real world. I go after criminals, arrest them, then do it again, and hope I don’t get killed in the process. I do it because it’s my job, I’ve got the training and it’s the right f****** thing to do.”

If you can enjoy—to some extent—Holliday, you’re going to enjoy the novel. I can see where some won’t get along with him, and they’ll have a miserable time with this book. Me? I’m not going to declare us BFFs after just one book, but I’d be more than happy to have a few cups of coffee with the man.

In addition to being the driven detective (at one time, he was considered one of the top three homicide detectives in the enclave), he has a Ph.D. in Literature and a Master’s in gourmet cooking. That’s a tried and true combination of interests, sure to resonate with fans of Detective Fiction. His troubled past, self-destructive tendencies, and wiseguy mouth/attitude add to that appeal.

Along those lines, I appreciate the way Holliday leans on his literary background to get him through tough moments, quoting Shakespeare or other notables to talk steel himself—or calm himself—in a tight situation is nice to see.

As for his clairvoyance? It’s interesting to see in action, and hopefully, as he learns to master and develop the ability, I’ll enjoy it more. It’s a good start at a character with magic, but he needs a little work.

A Question of Genre

As I’ve established before, once I decide to read a book, I pretty much forget everything I learned about it. I remembered that this was an Urban Fantasy—which made me a little leary, and also insanely curious. It’s been a while since I read a new-to-me Urban Fantasy, because most of the new ones I dabbled in didn’t work for me. At the same time, I really want a new-to-me Urban Fantasy series…

I wasn’t prepared for this “blend of science fiction, urban fantasy and crime thriller” (as the author describes it at the end of the book). I’d read one book like that years ago—and it was…okay? In many ways, this is that book, but better. Significantly better.

This reads more like a Futuristic Police Detective novel with Urban Fantasy flourishes. Most of the time. The rest of the time, it’s an Urban Fantasy with neat technology.

The magic system is pretty vague at this point in the series—one of the advantages of “magic” being a new thing to this world, so no one understands it that well, and an author can make it do whatever he wants. Each instance of magic at work is just cool. It reminded me of why I got into Urban Fantasy in the first place, actually, any kind of Fantasy with magic users.

So, what did I think about Bloodlines?

This really impressed me—I was distracted with a non-reading project most of the time that I was reading this book, so I couldn’t devote the time I wanted to devote to it, only reading thirty minutes or so a day. It’s the kind of thing I could’ve been very happy to read in a session or to (and I might have enjoyed it more if I could’ve taken the plunge).

I’m a little tired of authors mining a vague, pop-understanding of Roman Catholicism for their Magical/Fantasy purposes. But I guess it’s easier to do that than to try to find aspects of Protestantism to serve that purpose (the presence of someone with roots in a vaguely Southern Evangelical culture suggests that Hartog intends to try). I’m not going to hold it against this book, I’m just taking the opportunity to belly-ache. Because, if you’re doing to co-opt bits of Roman Catholic practice, this is a pretty tame way to go about it.

I’m definitely coming back for more—I want to explore this world some more, I want more time with the members of the Special Crimes Unit, and I’m curious about the overarching story introduced in the latter parts of this book. I’m not there yet, but I can see me becoming a pretty big fan-boy for this series.

I think anyone who thinks an Urban Fantasy/Science Fiction/Detective mashup novel might be interesting will find themselves entertained with this one-stop source to get your genre-itch scratched. Give it a try, let me know what you think.

And Your Enemies Closer (Audiobook) by Rob Parker, Warren Brown: Things Go From Bad to Worse (and Then Even Worse)

By HCNewton

On January 13, 2022

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

It’s entirely possible that this is barely coherent anymore, I’ve reworked this so many times to get at what I want to say (and am pretty sure I missed it still). As they say, perfect is the enemy of good—or at least the enemy of done. Hopefully, you get something out of it.

And Your Enemies Closer

by Rob Parker, Warren Brown (Narrator)

BOOK DETAILS:
Series: Thirty Miles Trilogy, Book 2
Publisher: Audible
Publication Year: 2021
Format: Audible Original
Length: 7 hrs., 3 min.
Read Date: January 6-7, 2022

What’s And Your Enemies Closer About?

I keep accidentally spoiling something when writing this section, so I’m just going to borrow Audible’s summary:

In the North West criminal underworld, a deal goes tragically wrong, resulting in war between the two main organised crime factions in the region. Shockwaves rock the 30-mile gap between Liverpool and Manchester – with retired detective Brendan Foley right in the middle of it all.

For Brendan, six months after his resignation, life is all different. His marriage is a mess, he’s working as a nightclub bouncer, his brother is still missing and he just can’t stop searching for the crime family that destroyed his life. And at last, he’s found them – and he’s got them bang to rights.

Iona Madison, his one-time partner and now successor as a DI in Warrington Police, is tasked with a body pulled from the River Mersey – a teen-age boy that went missing the previous year, which might bring her own conduct into question. Not only that, Brendan is feeding her information whether she likes it or not – and his unsanctioned activities are causing her headaches.

And now, there’s a price on his head. A million pounds, dead or alive.

And Your Enemies Closer is a serpentine race against time as Brendan and Iona must stay one step ahead of criminals at every corner, while trying to bring justice – in whatever form it takes, and whatever loyalties it might burn.

Things Change

When I posted about Far from the Tree, I’d said:

Foley comes across as the kind of cop you want to read about, the kind that you like to think you can find in police forces all over the world—sure, he needs some marriage counseling and needs to do some serious work when it comes to his kids. But who doesn’t have problems?

In the six months since he retired, all that has changed. Very understandably, Foley isn’t that guy anymore. He’s the kind of guy you fear you can find in police officers all over the world. Sure, that makes you wonder if he ever really was that guy—but I think he was, through sheer act of will maybe, but he was that guy. But that’s over—his marriage is on the ropes (to speak optimistically), he’s not the father he used to be. All he has room for is a mission—take down that crime family that had taken so much from him.

D.I. Madison’s changed, too. She’s still trying to prove to her superiors that she deserved the promotion. I really thought I got to know her as a character in the previous book, and I didn’t feel that way this time. Yes, she’s in it just as much—but it’s almost all work, no reflection. The time-frame for this book is much shorter than the last one, so we don’t have time to see her off-the-clock or in a quiet moment to think.

Another reason I think I might have had that reaction is the number of Point of View Characters is larger than the last time out, and those who aren’t Foley and Madison get more time. I could be very wrong about that—I’ve listened to a lot of books in the 16+ months between these two—but that’s the impression that I had. It makes for a richer and more developed story, but it came at the cost of at least Madison’s character.

Warren Brown

I don’t know much about Brown’s acting—he hasn’t done much widely available in the U.S. (at least legally), but I’ve really liked him when I have seen him. But, his work on this series is enough to make me start petitions for streaming services to start showing his stuff.

He brings these situations and people to life in a way that you can practically see them, it’s like you’re in the room with them. Getting the right narrator is always important when it comes to audiobooks—doubly so with things like Audible Originals that have no text version. Whoever got Brown to do this series did us all a favor.

So, what did I think about And Your Enemies Closer?

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the predecessor—but I’m pretty sure that has everything to do with this being the second installment in a trilogy. It’s just the way I am with trilogies.* I do wonder if some of it is also the way D.I. Madison was used here. On both counts, I fully expect that the close of this trilogy is going to leave me impressed and maybe even liking this a bit more than I do right now.

* With the possible exception of The Empire Strikes Back

Parker’s a great storyteller, and that’s on full display here. One example of that, I’ll try to keep it vague. Still, spoilerphobes might want to skip to the next paragraph. There’s someone early one that you realize is going to die before this book ends. Really, they might as well have been named Corpsey McCadaver. In just about every scene with them, I liked them more and more and grew more and more certain they’d die soon. But when it happened—I was totally caught off-guard, bolted upright in my char, and apparently made a sound audible in the next room. That’s storytelling.

I thought that the image of the mass grave from the beginning of Far from the Tree was the apex for disturbing images for the series. A big shock to get the ball rolling, and it’d be all down here from there. I don’t remember being that naïve and foolish, but man…Parker outdoes himself in creating one location in the book. I’m just glad the Smell-O-Vision technology hasn’t made its way to smartphones. Also, there’s a method of murder used here that I’ve never run across before, I’m dying to know if it’s real, but I don’t even know how to search for it online without going on the FBI’s radar. Seriously, the book is worth your time just to hear about it. I’m not sure the book is also worth the poor sleep you’ll get if you think too much about the method, however.

As I said before, there are many point-of-view characters running around in this novel, and I wouldn’t have complained about having more time with any of them. Other than Madison, we got enough time with them all, but I enjoyed each perspective enough that I could have taken at least one more scene with them all. I typically think less is more on the multiple-perspective novels, but this isn’t one of them. Both Parker and Brown handle all the voices really well.

Outside of Corpsey McCadaver, I couldn’t predict anything about this story. Parker keeps you on your toes and on the edge of your seat—he zigs when you expect him to zag. Or, he zags when you expect, but in a way that turns your expectations upside down.

Once again, Parker and Brown have delivered something brutal, unrelentingly gripping, and full of the unexpected. I can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for #3.

3.5 Stars