Category: Fiction Page 18 of 342

REPOSTING JUST ‘CUZ: Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka: Second Verse, Same as the First (in a good way)

DETAILS:
Series: Stephen Oakwood, #2
Publisher: Ace Books
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Format: Paperback
Length: 310 pg. 
Read Date: December 9-11, 2024

What’s An Instruction in Shadow About?

This picks up mere hours after An Inheritance of Magic, and Stephen is feeling pretty good about himself. His job is going okay, he’s continuing to improve in his magic, he’s got a good lead when it comes to his father’s location—sure, things with his mother weren’t quite what he’d hoped for. But she left the door open to further communication.

And it doesn’t take long for things to start going wrong—but nothing disastrous.

The best way to summarize this book is to say that: everything from the last book continues along the same trajectory, but gets harder. This means nothing if you haven’t read that book, but you really should (at the very least, go check out my post about it). Among the ways that happens—a cult (or cult-like group) tries to recruit him, an assassin makes an (almost successful) attempt on his life, he gets suspended from work, and he runs afoul of a group of Russian criminals.

Worst of all, Stephen gets in deeper with his mother’s family.

The World and Its Magic System

We don’t learn much more about sigl work or Wells—we see more examples of what we’ve already seen at work, but that’s about it. Alright, we get to see what medical sigls can do, so that’s new.

What we get more of-—and it’s just the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure–is insight into the families and companies that run the sigl economy and Well markets. If there are ethics governing them in any way, shape, or form, Stephen hasn’t shown them to us. It’s all about power, manipulation, and things that happen under the table and behind the scenes. It’s both unthinkable that things operate in this fashion in the 21st century—and somehow the part of the book that seems the least fictional or fantastic.

Much of this comes from an info drop or two—but they’re worked into the narrative perfectly. They’re neither disruptive to the overall story nor are they clunky exposition.

So, what did I think about An Instruction in Shadow?

Let me start with this: I would happily read books 3 and 4 in this series in the next couple of months, and still be eager for more. The more we see about this world—and the more questions we have raise, the more I want to learn and see.

Am I a little worried about the arc that Jacka is suggesting for Stephen? Yes. Am I also almost certain that the arc won’t go the way it looks, and that there’s nothing to worry about? Yes.

I really just want more of it—-I am not certain that I care too much about the whole “where’s Stephen’s dad” part of the overall story, but I’m pretty sure that I don’t need to, because the series has been inevitably moving in that direction since the beginning, and when the time comes, I’ll get invested.

But Jacka has got me sitting on the edge of my seat when it comes to everything else. I want to see more of how this economy works—on the legitimate side, the illegitimate side, and then the murky overlap. I want to understand how Stephen is going to operate and keep his head above water in it. He’s not just a MacGuffin, but he kind of feels that way right now.

I’m feeling really inarticulate when it comes to this series—and this installment in particular. Everything I said about the first one is still true. We really just got more of what he’d already given, so my position and thoughts are pretty much the same, too.

I did think that despite his struggles and the aforementioned almost successful assassination, things went a little too easy for Stephen this time. I’d have liked a failure or two. Or at least another draw or two. Even when things were at their hardest for him in this book, he found a way to turn the oncoming defeat into a victory. I typically really appreciate that kind of thing (obviously), but I had very little doubt each time that Stephen was going to come out on top. I just want a little more suspense and doubt on that front. But this wasn’t a major distraction or detraction—it’d just be good for Stephen’s life to be seen as difficult as he sees it.

Also, one of the better parts of An Inheritance of Magic was watching the trial and error Stephen went through—it was very effective in terms of character development and showing us the way sigls work. Give me more of that and I’m happy.

Again—I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eager to read more. I just wanted it to be a teeny bit better.

If you’re into inventive UF, there’s no better time than now to jump on this series—I think you’ll be as invested in getting more as I am.

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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REPOSTING JUST CUZ: An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka: I Cannot Recall the Last Time I was This Excited about a New UF Series

By HCNewton

On September 29, 2025

In Benedict Jacka, Stephen Oakwood, Urban Fantasy

An Inheritance of Magic

by Benedict Jacka

DETAILS:
Series: Stephen Oakwood, #1
Publisher: Ace Books
Publication Date: October 10, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 384 pg.
Read Date: September 22-26, 2023

This is Hard

I want to limit my comparisons between this new series and Jacka’s previous series to just one section—but that’s not going to happen. It makes sense, I suppose. It’s Jacka’s first non-Alex Verus book (other than the two hard-to-find children’s novels), so comparisons are inevitable, but I don’t want to turn this into an X vs. Y situation.

I will say at the outset, that if it wasn’t for the name on the cover, I don’t know that I’d have known they had the same author—so that tells you something about the comparisons. (except in quality—this is definitely up to the standards Jacka has established)

What’s An Inheritance of Magic About?

This is tricky. The Author’s Note at the beginning of the book tells us that this book is an introduction to the series. We are introduced to the world, the characters, the magic, and so on. Yes, there is a plot—a handful, actually—but the main point is for us to get oriented.

Basically, we meet Stephen—he’s roughly 20 and is fairly aimless. He doesn’t have the money (or, really, ambition) to go to University. He bounces from temp job to temp job, hangs out at his local with his friends regularly, takes care of his cat, and works on his magic in his spare time. It’s his real passion, but he doesn’t do much with it.

Then one day, some distant relatives that he’s never heard of come into his life (it’d be too complicated to list the reasons they give, and I think they’re half-truths at best, anyway). Suddenly, Stephen is thrown into a dangerous, high-stakes world of money and power—and he’s just a pawn to be used in the games of his “family” (and by family, I mean people that 23andMe would identify as relatives, but he’s never been in contact with or aware of for his entire existence). He’s a relatively unimportant pawn at that. He’s sort of grateful for that as he realizes it—but he’d have been happier if they never bothered him in the first place. Happier and with significantly fewer bruises.

However, through their machinations, he’s introduced to new levels of magic society and ways that the magic in this world works. Best of all he finds ways that he can be employed and use his magic—the best of both worlds. Sure, his friends don’t get it (not that he tells many of them, because he prefers that they think he’s sane), but he’s bringing in enough money to live and he’s getting stronger and more capable.

The World and Its Magic System

So, where the Alex Verus series was about one man and his friends/allies trying to navigate (and survive) the politics and power of the magical society in England (largely), at this point the Stephen Oakwood series appears to be about one man making his way (and hopefully surviving) the money and power of a different sort magical society—and it’s intersection with the non-magical world. We’re not just talking Econ 101 kind of stuff here—Stephen’s family appears to be some of the 1% of the 1% and there are huge multi-national corporations involved here with defense contracts to governments all over the world.

Basically, Alex had an easier place to navigate.

Most of the magic that’s used in this world comes from sigils—physical objects created from various kinds of energy wells (earth magic, life magic, light magic, and so on) to do particular tasks (shine a light, augment strength, heal minor wounds, etc.). There are likely bigger and better things along those lines (hence defense contracts), but that should give you an idea. The overwhelming number of these sigils are pumped out by some sort of industrial companies and are only good for a limited amount of time.

Stephen was taught (by his father, and by himself) to make sigils on his own—his are individualized, artisanal kinds of things. Think of a sweater you get from some hobbyist off of Etsy vs. the kind of thing you can get for much less at Walmart or on Wish—quality that lasts vs. cheap and disposable. He also reverse engineers almost all of his sigils—he sees something in a catalog (no, really, this is how people get their sigils for personal use) or in use and tries to figure out how such a thing will work and then sets out to create one.

I don’t know where Jacka is going to go with all of this, obviously. But I love this setup.

Alex and Stephen

It wasn’t until I was just about done with the book that I finally figured out what Alex and Stephen had in common—which is odd, it was staring me in the face for most of the novel. But before that, I really wouldn’t have said they had much in common at all.

Stephen is our entry point to this world, and he only knows a little bit about it so as he learns, so does the reader. Alex pretty much knew everything that was going on in his world, so he had to catch the reader up—or he could help Luna understand something (and make it easier for the reader to learn that way). Stephen has to learn almost everything by getting someone to teach him, or through trial and error—either way, the reader is along for the ride and learns with him.

Similarly, Stephen’s really just starting to get the knack of his abilities where Alex was already a pro—sure he had more to learn (and his power increased), but Stephen’s not even a rookie, really when things get going.

Stephen had a loving and supportive father growing up, a strong group of friends, and experience outside the area of magic users—something we never got a strong idea that Alex ever had. Alex had trauma and hardships behind him—Stephen doesn’t. So their personalities, outlooks, etc. are very different from the outset.

It’s not really that shocking that the protagonists of two different series wouldn’t be that similar. And yet…we’ve all read a second or third series from an author with a protagonist that’s just a variation of their initial breakout character. So it’s good to see that Jacka’s able to make that transition between his two series—it gives you hope for what he’s going to do in the future.

Oh, what did I finally realize the two characters shared? They watch and learn. Alex does it because that’s essentially what his abilities were—he could sift through the various futures and decide what to do based on that. Stephen just doesn’t know enough about anything so he has to sit and observe—and from there he can decide how to act. But where others will try to think first and act second, Stephen and Alex watch first—and for a long time—before they think and then act. It’s something not enough characters (especially in Urban Fantasy) seem to spend much time doing. So I’m glad to see it.

So, what did I think about An Inheritance of Magic?

I am just so excited about this series. I didn’t know how Jacka could successfully follow up the Verus series. I trusted he would, because he’s earned that over the last decade—but, I didn’t expect that I’d respond so positively so soon.

We need to start with Stephen’s spunky attitude—with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder due to his circumstances in life (that grows to a degree as he learns how much he and his father missed out on and starts to guess why)—is a real winner. He’s got a gritty (in an Angela Duckworth sense, not Raymond Chandler or William Gibson sense) outlook, is generally optimistic—and can even be funny—all the attributes you want in an underdog.

Then there’s the world-building that I tried to sketch out above—and did a not-wholly-inadequate job of. I want to know more about it—and figure increased familiarity is just going to make me more curious.

I have so many questions about the family members who’ve inserted themselves in Stephen’s life related to their motivations, trustworthiness (I suspect at least one will turn out to be an ally, however temporary), goals, and abilities. I have those questions about Stephen’s guides and allies—and think at least one of them is going to turn on him in a devastating way (thankfully, he doesn’t trust most of them completely). There’s also this priest who keeps assigning him theological work to study. Some good theology, too. I don’t fully know where this is going—but I’m dying to find out.

Are we going to get a Big Bad—or several—for Stephen to face off against? Or is this simply going to be about a series of obstacles Stephen has to overcome until he can carve out an okay existence for himself? Is this about Stephen becoming one of those 1% and the corruption of his character that will necessitate?

I’m not giving this a full 5 stars mostly because of the introductory nature of the book—also because I want to be able to say that book 2 or 3 is an improvement over this (which I fully expect). But that says more about me and my fussy standards than it does about this book. I loved it, and am filled with nothing but anticipation for the sequel/rest of the series. It’s entirely likely that as this series wraps up that we’re going to talk about the Alex Verus series as Jacka with his training wheels on.

I’m now in danger of over-hyping. Also, I’m going to just start repeating laudatory ideas. Urban Fantasy readers need to get on this now.

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

4 1/2 Stars

Catching Up with Toby Daye

By HCNewton

On September 18, 2025

In Fiction, Seanan McGuire, Toby Daye, Urban Fantasy

I’ve been thinking about this post since September of 2022, I just knew I couldn’t write about Be the Serpent without seeing what McGuire did next—my mind wouldn’t let me decide what I thought about it until then. And then after Sleep No More, I had to tackle The Innocent Sleep, and then…well, I kept getting distracted or busy. But I have to put something down about these three so I can intelligently talk about Silver and Lead, and I really want to do that. So, I’m trying a different kind of post than I’m used to.

Oh, I’m also suspending my typical no spoilers rule here. Read at your own risk, this is the only warning I’m giving.

Be the Serpent

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: Toby Daye, #16
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 305 pg.
Read Date: August 31, 2022-September 5, 2022; August 25-29, 2023

It felt like I was standing outside this scene and watching it unfold, like none of this had anything to do with me. Like I should have been able to smile politely, say, “No, thank you,” and walk away, leaving everything exactly as it was before I got out of bed this morning.

I don’t know how many friends of mine have stumbled on books 2 or 3 of this series and never kept going. Or stumbled and were pushed on (and were so glad they did). I sort of get that, but I didn’t have that reaction. I did stumble here on book 16, Be the Serpent. Obviously, by this point—it doesn’t matter, I’m going to shake it off and keep going. Toby, Tybalt, May, Quentin, and the rest (the list is getting ridiculously long) mean too much to me to be put off by one novel.

But I do have to wonder what was going on in McGuire’s mind for her to give us this book—I have no proof of this, but in my head-canon, she was so focused on the last pages of this novel and what she was setting up that she didn’t pay enough attention to the execution of this novel. That doesn’t sound like McGuire to me, but it’s the best I’ve got.

The opening is fantastic—and the way that Toby and Rayseline executed their plan was so well done, and the prospect of watching Raysel heal in the midst of Toby’s chaos seemed like a fun lark. And then the horrific happened—the scene where Toby finds Stacy’s kids dead or dying is possibly the most gut-churning thing she’s written (and that’s saying something)*

* If you want to argue that she’s topped that in some recent InCryptid novels, I won’t fight you.

The problems start a chapter or two after that. Once Toby realizes why Stacy killed her kids (because she’s not really Stacy, but Titania, realizing she’s Stacy all along. I don’t know a shorter way to describe it all), she sets out to destroy Titania—but she can’t. No matter how often she tells herself it’s not her, no matter that the “Stacy consciousness” tells Toby to do it, no matter how many frelling times she has that conversation with anyone (including herself several times)—Toby can’t just do it. That’s almost understandable.

But also, McGuire has to tell us several times how this whole thing is tearing Toby apart. But I honestly don’t “see” it happening. I hear about it—I see it when she’s interacting with Stacy’s surviving kids or husband. But otherwise? I really don’t.

I could’ve been satisfied with the ending had it ended 2 pages or so into the last chapter (because that was just a great moment).

But no…we’ve got to do the whole Titania comes back, puts the hurt on Toby, and then rewrites history—wiping Toby’s mind and rewriting her history—having (pretty quickly) found a loophole in Oberon’s decree (he must be pretty rusty from all the nothing he’s been up to for the last few centuries). Sure, the first two parts of that list were certain to happen eventually.

But I just hate, hate, hate the whole “we’ll rewrite history/perception/whatever” storyline. Buffy in the asylum, Picard’s whole other life in “The Inner Light” (although he at least starts off remembering reality), um…other examples I should have at hand, but don’t. At the time, I told friends (and maybe my readers in a WWW Wednesday post or a Saturday Miscellany) that I hate the ending, but trusted McGuire would make me come around to it in the next book (and prematurely resented her for making her eat my words).

In the end, that didn’t happen—I still am going to consider Be the Serpent as the low point of this series. However…I really liked the lemonade she turned this giant pile of lemons into. Which brings us to….

Sleep No More

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: Toby Daye, #17
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 310 pg.
Read Date: October 26, 2023-October 27, 2023; January 13-16, 2025

“Romantic love is not required to live a full and happy life, my seedlings,” Father had told us, watching carefully to be sure we took his message to heart, “but if you cannot love one who loves you truly in return, find friends, find companions, find people who will tell you the truths you cannot carry and unveil the lies you cannot see. Most of all, cleave to each other, for you will be the only sure support you have in all this world.”

We spend most of our time watching this Alternate Version of Toby make her way through this version of Faerie that we all can kind of recognize, but not really. A good deal of the “fun” of all this is seeing the ways that Titania’s rewriting of things is similar—but not quite—to our version of things.

Toby, for example, has all the niceness, the kindness, the happiness that we all know she’s capable of—but she rarely gets to express (or she can only express in certain ways). August is…wow. The best older sister, really (sure, it’d be better if she didn’t believe that changelings were lesser beings, but…at least she doesn’t treat them as trash). Quentin, on the other hand, is an entitled jerk.

Thankfully, we get to come into this world just before it starts unraveling, partially because of Toby. Even as she really doesn’t know what she’s doing (or who she is, most importantly), she keeps being Toby—which means taking apart the plans and machinations of her opponents. Everything I think McGuire got wrong in the previous book, she did right here. We even get to revisit some of the bigger moments of the past.

I really liked the story; I thought McGuire executed it as close to flawlessly as is possible. I liked the conclusion—it was exciting, tense, and you honestly (especially now) had no idea how things were going to turn out. Sure, we know that bigger and worse things are on the horizon than we just dealt with—but okay. That’s pretty much par for the course.

Best yet? October and August have a relationship now. Simon and Toby are closer than they were. Yes, things are messed up ,and everyone will need to recover and reset. But…we’ve gained a lot.

Sleep No More

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: Toby Daye, #18
Publisher: DAW 
Publication Date: October 24, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 314 pg.
Read Date: October 31-November 1, 2023; January 24-31, 2025

Love is a knife forever suspended an inch from your heart, and if it falls or you stumble into it, you can all too easily find yourself impaled and bleeding.

This felt like an incredibly unnecessary book. Sure, it seemed like a good idea—perhaps even entertaining just to see things from Tybalt’s perspective. But we already know this story. Why bother?

Oh, for so many reasons, it turns out. I ended up loving this book.Rather than picking up months later, like we did in Toby’s POV, we see this from the instant Titania did her thing—or pretty much. We get more than simply Tybalt’s POV—we get to see how all this nonsense is impacting the rest of Faerie—or isn’t, as the case sometimes is. We see just how far the range of the changes are. Most importantly, we see what happens to people who aren’t that close to Toby—the collateral damage.

And that damage is devastating—and is getting worse.

Then we get to see some of the specific incidents described in Sleep No More from Tybalt’s POV, or at least what others tell him. Still, it’s not Toby’s viewpoint. We come away from all of it with a greatly expanded understanding of everything that happened to the characters we know and love (or just know). Also, between the two books, we really learn so much more about Titania than we did before (naturally). And now we really want to see Maeve in action—as apocalyptic as that likely will be.

Could McGuire have done this as a larger-than-usual book from shifting POVs? Probably. But the pacing would’ve been weird, getting the different POVs on the same events would get tiresome (and hard to decide which POV would come first)…and, I think it’d have just been a mess. So much better this way.

My beef with this one—and I think it’s the only one I have in both Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep is Tybalt’s lack of emotional control. Yes, it has to be hard to see Toby like this, to see her not know you at all—but for crying out loud, man! You’ve been around for centuries, you know the whammy that magic can do to someone’s mind and body (you’ve experienced it first hand!!)—magic from one of the Three? Hold yourself together, know that you’ve got a chance to help everyone—especially Toby, and stop acting like a child when she’s around.

Do the greatness of Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep make up for Be the Serpent? No. Do they make it more forgivable? Ehhh, kind of. Mostly, I know for future re-reads to expect some rough riding, but that it’s worth it. As I said above, the lemonade she made from Be the Serpent is mighty tasty. And I’m okay with that.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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Cover Reveal: Bounty Inc by Adam Holcombe

By HCNewton

On September 15, 2025

In Science Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveals for Adam Holcombe’s upcoming Bounty Inc! Because SF about intergalactic bounty hunters is just what you expect after couple of books about a grandmotherly necromancer, right? Eh, maybe not…but I’m game for pretty much anything he puts out.

I’ll show you this cover below, but first let’s learn a little bit about the book and author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment, and then we can all take a peak at the cover.

About the Book:

A dream lives on while a will is strong, but a significant inheritance from a recently-deceased father sure helps too.

When Wyn throws away his easy life to open the galaxy’s first bounty hunter organization and become a bounty hunter himself, he soon learns that a strong support system will be needed. A support system like an unwise mentor, her giant lizard ex-girlfriend, a woman trapped within her armor, a suspicious cyborg, a possible war criminal, several thousand beetles, and a ten-year-old insectoid with a pet.

Money is never endless, however, and Wyn will need to lead his new friends down a dangerous path to prove Bounty Inc.’s worth and keep his dream alive.

Book Links:

Amazon Preorder ~ Direct Signed Bundle Preorder ~ ARC Request Form

About the Author

Adam Holcombe daylights as a programmer and moonlights as an author. After spending years toying with the idea of writing, he decided to commit and work toward releasing his first novel. Then Gam Gam got in the way, and now he’s writing too many stories to count.

When he’s not locking himself in a cold basement to type away, he can be found squishing his dog (but not too hard), squawking at his tortoise (but not too loudly), goofing off with his wife and daughter (in perfectly ordinary, non-weird ways), playing D&D with friends (I’m playing a character now!), or the usual chilling at home. He is a lover of books, board games, video games, and swords.

He is the author of the Chronicles of Gam Gam series featuring the titular necromantic grandmother Gam Gam, and the Bounty Inc. universe which will be a collective of sci-fi novels spanning a galaxy. You can find out more about both series, along with future publishing news, and additional book content at bountyink.com. Onto the next one!

Author Links:

Bluesky ~ Discord ~ Patreon ~ Instagram ~ TikTok ~ Goodreads

and now…

The Cover

The Complete Cover Wrap:

Click to embiggen either image. And why wouldn’t you want to see them in their complete glory?

Kudos to these fine folk for their work on this eye-grabber:
Cover Art by Kerstin Espinoza Rosero
Cover design by VM Design

I was in from the words “by Adam Holcombe.” I’d pre-ordered the book as soon as I could, actually. The blurb sealed the deal (but I’m pretty sure I read it after I ordered). That cover is just icing on the cake for me–very attractive icing, I should add.

Go and do the right thing–place your orders now.

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When Archie Met Lily

By HCNewton

On September 12, 2025

In Books, Calendar Items, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, News/Misc., Rex Stout

“I’ll show you the phone.” It was a voice behind me, and I turned. The girl in yellow slacks was there close. I realized with surprise that her head came clear to my chin or above, and she was blonde but not at all faded, and her dark blue eyes were not quite open, and one corner of her lips was up with her smile.

“Come on, Escamillo,” she said, “I’ll show you the phone.”

I told her, “Much obliged,” and started off with her.

She brushed against me as we walked and said, “I’m Lily Rowan.”

“Nice name.” I grinned down at. her. “I’m Escamillo Goodwin.”

According to Some Buried Caesar, 87 years ago today, Archie Goodwin—one of my top 5 All-Time Favorite Characters—met the only woman who could keep his attention for more than a few months, Lily Rowan. Lily shows up several times in the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series and threatens to steal every scene she appears in (and frequently succeeds). Check out this post from Today in Mystery Fiction for the details—one of my favorite scenes, from one of my favorite books in possibly my favorite series—(I think I have 3 or 4 copies of it), so I had to say something.

Besides, it’s not like I have a long list of dates associated with fictional events to commemorate (but I really should work on one).

How they met 87 years ago, when Archie’s only in his mid-30s today, is beyond me. But Math was never my strong suit, I’m sure it makes sense, Charlie Epps could probably explain it to me.

Regardless, it’s a great exchange—the first of many between the two. Lily will go on to have great scenes with Mr. Wolfe, as well–one of the more memorable happens at a crucial point in In the Best Families where she does something that no one else does in the Wolfe/Archie books.

Why does she call him Escamillo? (a nickname she never drops, I should add). Well, a couple of pages before that exchange of names, Wolfe and Archie were crossing a field between the road (and their disabled car) and a nearby house, and well…

“Stop! Don’t move!”

I stopped dead, with [Wolfe] beside me. I thought he had discovered something psychological about the bird on the fence, but he said without looking at me, “Stand perfectly still. Move your head slowly, very slowly, to the right.”

For an instant I thought the nut with the gun had something contagious and Wolfe had caught it, but I did as I was told, and there was the second surprise. Off maybe 200 feet to the right, walking slowly toward us with his head up, was a bull bigger than I had supposed bulls came. He was dark red with white patches, with a big white triangle on his face, and he was walking easy and slow, wiggling his head a little as if he was nervous, or as if he was trying to shake a fly off of his horns. Of a sudden he stopped and stood, looking at us with his neck curved.

I heard Wolfe’s voice, not loud, at the back of my head, “It would be better if that fool would quit yelling. Do you know the technique of bulls? Did you ever see a bull fight?”

I moved my lips enough to get it out: “No, sir.”

Wolfe grunted. “Stand still. You moved your finger then, and his neck muscles tightened. How fast can you run?”

“I can beat that bull to that fence. Don’t think I can’t. But you can’t.”

“I know very well I can’t. Twenty years ago I was an athlete. This almost convinces me . .. but that can wait. Ah, he’s pawing. His head’s down. If he should start… it’s that confounded yelling. Now… back off slowly, away from me. Keep facing him. When you are 10 feet from me, swerve toward the fence. He will begin to move when you do. As long as he follows slowly, keep backing and facing him. When he starts his rush, turn and run—”

I never got a chance to follow directions. I didn’t move, and I’m sure Wolfe didn’t, so it must have been our friend on the fence—maybe he jumped off into the pasture. Anyhow, the bull curved his neck and started on the jump; and if it was the other guy he was headed for, that didn’t help any, because we were in line with him and we came first. He started the way an avalanche ends. Possibly if we had stood still he would have passed by, about 3 feet to my right, but either it was asking too much of human nature to expect me to stand there, or I’m not human. I have since maintained that it flashed through my mind that if I moved it would attract him to me and away from Nero Wolfe, but there’s no use continuing that argument here. There’s no question but what I moved, without any preliminary backing, And there’s no question, whoever he started for originally, about his being attracted by my movement, I could hear him behind me. I could damn near feel him, Also I was dimly aware of shouts and a blotch of something red above the fence near the spot I was aimed at, There it was—the fence. I didn’t do any braking for it, but took it at full speed, doing a vault with my hands reaching for its top, and one of my hands missed and I tumbled, landing flat on the other side, sprawling and rolling, I sat up and panted and heard a voice above me:

“Beautiful! I wouldn’t have missed that for anything.”

I looked up and saw two girls, one in a white dress and red jacket, the other in a yellow shirt and slacks. I snarled at them, “Shall I do it again?”

You’ll Never Walk Alone by Troy Lambert: An Espresso Shot of Literary Caffeine

By HCNewton

On September 11, 2025

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

You’ll Never Walk Alone

by Troy Lambert

DETAILS:
Publication Date: July 25, 2025
Format: e-Book
Length: 26 pg.
Read Date: September 1, 2025

Panic wouldn’t help. The hospital had trained her for high-pressure situations, teaching her to compartmentalize fear and act decisively. But this—this was different. The darkness wasn’t a patient to be stabilized or a diagnosis to be made. It was a thing, vast and unknowable, and it clung to her skin like the rain.

What’s You’ll Never Walk Alone About?

I’m not sure how to talk about this short story without giving it all away. So I’m going to just quote part of the author’s description. I don’t know if I’d have said everything he did (then again, he’s sold more books than I have, so what do I know?)

…nurse Grace Whitmore is caught in a storm—both outside and within. As she trudges through rain-soaked streets after a long hospital shift, every shadow threatens to pull her back into a childhood terror she’s tried to forget.

When Grace senses an unseen presence tracking her steps, paranoia and dread begin to twist her reality. Is it her imagination, or is there truly someone lurking in the dark? Each echo of footfalls drives her deeper into a maze of fear and doubt.

So, what did I think about You’ll Never Walk Alone?

This is a short, intense read. Atmospheric doesn’t begin to describe it–I read this in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day, and I thought about turning a light on when I was halfway through it.

It’s hard to look at a 26 page story and think, “You know, I think it could’ve been tighter.” But I kind of do–there were a couple of beats to this story that felt repetitive, they didn’t do quite enough to crank up the suspense to justify that repetition.

But that’s just picking at nits. This story starts dark and tense and Lambert keeps ratcheting up both until the last line. And because he’s done such a good job at that, even though you know it’s the last line–and a good and effective one at that–you want the next 20 pages. Not eventually–you want the next 20 pages now. Knowing that you’re just never going to get them is frustrating as well as a relief.

If that doesn’t make sense, just go read the story and come back, it will then.

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Maria’s Shadow by D.L. Cary: An Ambitious Debut Thriller

By HCNewton

On September 8, 2025

In Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Maria’s Shadow

by D.L. Cary

DETAILS:
Series: The Veil Chronicles, Book One
Publication Date: April 19, 2025
Format: Paperback
Length: 241 pg.
Read Date: September 1-2, 2025

What’s Maria’s Shadow About?

A young El Salvadoran woman takes a big risk and hires a coyote to bring her to L.A. so she can try at Hollywood (with limited, at best, English skills at this point). This coyote instead delivers her to a sex and drug trafficking organization. After some time, Maria Hernández, escapes—taking along some evidence sure to rattle the organization as insurance.

Some time later, she encounters a Sheriff’s Detective by the name of John Jefferson in Matthews, NC. Shortly after this, Maria’s past catches up to her, and Jefferson is tasked with finding out what happened to her. He has to turn to an FBI Agent he has a rocky connection to for help—and before you know it, the two of them are trying to unravel a conspiracy that goes from the poorest neighborhoods of Latin America to the heights of power in Washington D.C.

Editing?

I didn’t see any information about cover art or design—but I thought the cover was really well done. I think Cary would’ve been better served to skimp a little on it and spend more money on editing.

I’m not talking about proofreading (although the double commas, repeated words, and the like would’ve been good to catch), that happens to the best books in publication. I’m talking about structural edits, developmental edits–someone to work with Cary on things like plotting, details, character development.

Why would an FBI agent in Washington, D.C. hear about the miscarriage of the wife of a Sheriff’s Deputy he didn’t have a relationship with in Mathews, NC? Why would said Deputy’s inner monologue reference something that happened to a murder victim’s body pages before he heard about it? More than once, it appeared that Cary forgot he had mentioned something, so he’d repeat it a chapter or two later. Why, when he was still collecting evidence in the early days of the investigation, did Jefferson start to wonder about a connection between this case and a murder in a completely different jurisdiction from years before (with no similarities to the present case)?

For that matter, why didn’t he ever decide how he was going to refer to Special Agent Marcus Carter or Detective John Jefferson? Why, even late in the book, did he give us their full name and title when referring to them in the narration sometimes and other times just as Carter or Jefferson?

Why does the book jacket describe Maria as being from Mexico, but the novel says El Salvador?

I could keep going, sadly—but you get the gist. Someone coming along and helping Cary to smooth this kind of thing out could’ve gone a long way into improving this thriller.

So, what did I think about Maria’s Shadow?

Cary clearly has some ambitious plans for this book and series. I hope in future volumes that he can live up to them—I don’t think he did that here.

I think it may have been wiser to focus on some small-town/small-city crimes for his first book or two. Let us see Det. John Jefferson deal with murders—or bank robbery, maybe some drug dealers—in Matthews, NC, before trying to tackle an international crime syndicate that has been around for generations.

It took Sheriff Walt Longmire a few books before he dealt with something this big, or, closer to NC, Quinn Colson’s first few cases were within the bounds of Tibbehah County, Mississippi. That allowed Craig Johnson to get some experience under his belt before he tried for something bigger—and, sure, Atkins had that experience, but he still kept things close-to-home to let Colson’s character settle.

It’s entirely possible–even likely–that if I’d encountered this series at a different time, my reaction would be different. But now? I didn’t find this terribly engaging—I don’t think my interest in the plot got higher than mild curiosity. My main interest for most of the novel was to see if Cary could pull off a convincing ending, or even get good momentum going.

The characters weren’t fleshed out, the criminals—in particular—were cardboard cutouts, the pacing seemed to have trouble taking off, the sequencing didn’t make complete sense.

Your results may vary–and I hope they do.

Cary swung for the fences here—like an MLB player going for some late-game heroics. Sadly, the best you could say about this is that it’s a single. I’m totally fine with authors (or teams) playing small-ball, and a single is getting on base. But I don’t think that’s what Cary was going for.

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided (including the book).

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Maria’s Shadow by D.L. Cary

By HCNewton

On September 8, 2025

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

I’m very pleased today to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for the first volume of D.L. Cary’s The Veil Chronicles series Maria’s Shadow! I’m less-than-pleased to mention that the tour ended yesterday, and this post was supposed to go up on the fifth of the month. My apologies to Mr. Cary and The Write Reads for that. In addition to this Spotlight, I’ll be sharing my $.02 about this book soon. But as I said, the Tour’s over now, so if you take a look at the feed for https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours or The Write Reads on Twitter or The Write Reads on BlueSky, you’ll see bloggers who had interesting things to say about it on time.

Book Details:

Title: Maria’s Shadow
Series: The Veil Chronicles
Genre: Thriller
Age Category: Adult
Format: Paperback/Ebook/hardcover
Length: 241 Pages
Publication Date: April 23, 2025

About the Book:

Maria’s Shadow by D.L. Cary is a gripping thriller that follows Maria Hernández, a young Salvadoran woman ensnared by the sinister Saffron Veil after chasing a Hollywood dream. Trapped in a California mansion, she escapes with a dangerous secret, pursued by the powerful Senator Edward Grayson. As Detective John Jefferson uncovers a web of corruption in North Carolina, their paths converge in a high-stakes battle against a shadowy cabal. Packed with suspense, betrayal, and relentless pursuit, this novel explores courage and sacrifice against overwhelming odds.

Book Links:

Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph

About the Author:

D.L. Cary is a Christian suspense and clean-thriller author who loves delivering pulse-pounding intrigue without the profanity or graphic violence.
His debut series, The Veil Chronicles, drops you into covert conspiracies and spiritual warfare while championing themes of redemption, justice, and hope. If you enjoy inspirational fiction, redemptive suspense, or spiritual thrillers you can share with the whole family, you’re in the right place.

He calls Alabama home, where he lives with my best friend (and wife), Heile. Before that, they lived in North Carolina. Finishing up their crew is a rambunctious group of dogs and cats, with Alex, an orange tabby, being the newest addition.

Every page he writes is fueled by faith and by readers who crave values-driven stories where hope endures, and justice prevails.

Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Twitter [source: his Goodreads page, I’m not sure that’s actually him] ~ TikTok ~ Goodreads

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided (including the book).

20 Books of Summer 2025: Wrap-Up

By HCNewton

On September 2, 2025

In Books, Currently Reading, Fantasy, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

A quick check-in for this Reading Challenge hosted by Emma of Words and Peace and Annabel from AnnaBookBel (you can read more about it here).

With four substitutions (ugh), I can count this as complete…The four substitutions cams from my Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List (That Aren’t on My 20 Books Challenge)–which I did complete. But I made the title a lie with the substitutions. It’s complicated.

I had a blast with the books I did complete, and am rather annoyed with myself about those I didn’t. I was really looking forward to them (I hope to get at least a couple of them done this month.) Okay, let’s take a quick look at the lists.

🙁 1. The Lords of the West End by Peter Blaisdell
✔ 2. King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby
✔ 3. Mississippi Blue 42 by Eli Cranor
✔ 4. Guard in the Garden by Z. S. Diamanti
✔ 5. Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson
✔ 6. The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
✔ 7. Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper
🙁 8. Interstellar MegaChef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
✔ 9. Sabriel by Garth Nix
✔ 10. Lirael by Garth Nix

🙁 11. Abhorsen by Garth Nix
✔ 12. Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation by Jim O’Heir
✔ 13. Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Jason Pargin
✔ 14. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
✔ 15. A Tail of Mystery by Paul Regnier
✔ 16. Samurai! by Saburo Sakai with Martin Caiden and Fred Saito
✔ 17. The Crew by Sadir S. Samir
✔ 18. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
🙁 19. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
✔ 20. Leveled Up Love by Tao Wong & A. G. Marshall

My Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List (That Aren’t on My 20 Books Challenge):

✔ 1. Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch
✔ 2. Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic
✔ 3. Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
✔ 4. The Blue Horse by Bruce Borgos
✔ 5. Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

✔ 6. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
✔ 7. The Medusa Protocol by Rob Hart
✔ 8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
✔ 9. Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn
✔ 10. Dogged Pursuit by David Rosenfelt

Percentage-wise, I read 87% of the books I called my shot on for the summer. I’ve never been happy with getting a B, but I can be satisfied with one. (and no, I don’t see a conflict between this and the Orangutan Librarian’s recent post about competitive reading. This is me comparing myself with my goals, or my past self, or—worst of all—my expectations.)

Emma has some questions for us as we call this a wrap. Here we go:

Did you manage to finish all 10/15/20 books? If not, what kept you from completing the challenge?
No, I did not. I can narrow down the reasons to three things: I didn’t include NetGalley reads in my 20 (I think I didn’t do that last year, either); I didn’t include the books for my book clubs (that was a mistake); the big one is that with two exceptions, every book I read this summer took one-three more days than I anticipated. If I get those days back? I have this challenge done with days to spare.
Of all the books you read this summer, which one(s) was/were your favorite and why?
Hoo-boy. Favorite? Ummm, er. I could make a case of almost all of them. Everybody Knows is a strong contender, as is King of Ashes–both gave me some strong visceral reactions. So many of the others just made me happy to read. Almost all of them contained unexpected levels of quality.
Did you DNF any? Why?
Thankfully, no. These were all entertaining.
Which book surprised you the most, either by being better or worse than you expected?
I expected Leveled-Up Love to be a little stronger, a little funnier. I had really-high hopes for Scalzi’s book and had to settle for it being really good instead of stellar. Each surprised me in some ways (and even those two books did some things better than I expected)
Did you notice any patterns in the genres you chose or enjoyed this summer?
I think if you compared this list to previous ones, there’d be fewer Crime Fiction on the ’25 list. Two non-fiction books is a little more than usual. I think that’s it. I might be able to come up with a pattern or two in the books themselves, if I thought about it some. But, nothing’s jumping out at me.
Which one had the best cover?
When the Moon Hits Your Eye or Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. But Light from Uncommon Stars probably provided the strongest reaction out of me when the book explained it the imagery.
Which one was the longest? Grossman’s The Bright Sword And the shortest? A Tail of Mystery by Paul Regnier
Did you read them mostly in print? ebook? audio?

No audiobooks, 4 ebooks, and the rest were physical. Huh. I figured that’d be closer to an even split.

Imagine you’re hosting a “20 Books of Summer” book club wrap party.
Which book would you nominate as the guest of honor, and what kind of toast or speech would you give celebrating it?
I can’t pick. I think I’d have to pay tribute to them all–what kind of speech? I just don’t know. I really should’ve spent more time thinking about this.
Looking back at all the characters you met over the summer, which one would you want as a summer buddy for a weekend getaway, and what activity would you do together?
Jim O’Heir. Maybe that’s cheating because he’s a real person. But, kicking back with some good food (and probably some good drink), listening to him tell stories? Can’t imagine a better time. Also, most of the other characters I met would scare me in real life.

20 Books of Summer '25 Chart Wrap Up

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: How to Survive in a Scale-up Business by Vidya Murali

By HCNewton

On August 29, 2025

In Fiction, Non-Fiction

I’m pleased to host this spotlight for Vidya Murali’s recent release, How to Survive in a Scale-up Business. From what I can tell, I wouldn’t understand most of the book, but their publicist asked nicely. So why not help bring this to the attention of someone who is interested in business writing?

Book Details:

Title: How to Survive in a Scale-Up Business: Master the Human Skills Needed to Thrive in Young, High-Growth Businesses by Vidya Murali
Format: eBook/Hardcover/Paperback
Length: 166 pg.
Publisher: Routledge
US Publication Date: August 20, 2025

About the Book:

Working in a scale-up is exciting, but it can also be exhausting. This book is your emotional survival kit for succeeding in a fast-paced and unpredictable environment.

Scale-ups attract ambitious, driven and hardworking individuals seeking excitement, ownership, freedom and greater rewards. However, these opportunities often come with challenges. Understanding the emotional and behavioural patterns commonly seen in scale-ups – and learning from others’ experiences – can help you move from struggling to thriving.

In this book, author Vidya Murali brings together:

A personal scale-up suitability checklist to help assess and understand whether scale-ups are the right environment for you based on your skills and preferences
Guidance on what to look for when interviewing, and how to set yourself up for success in the first 90 days
Insights, frameworks and coaching questions to tackle toxic patterns commonly seen in scale-ups
Real-life case studies from scale-up leaders with lessons and strategies
Practical strategies for introverts, highly sensitive people, ethnic minorities and people with ADHD and/or dyslexia to thrive in scale-ups
Tools for building your emotional skills to progress and thrive in scale-ups – including if you lose your job or face a mental health breakdown

A must-read for anyone transitioning into scale-ups or already working in one, this book will be of immense interest to graduates seeking their first full-time role, professionals transitioning from corporate environment, leaders – including founders – as well as HR professionals and coaches.

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Bookshop.org

About the Author

Vidya Murali has been working in the UKu2019s leading tech businesses, including Amazon and high-growth scale-ups such as Deliveroo. Having grown up in India before moving to the UK in 2006 and completing her MBA at the University of Cambridge, Vidya brings a unique perspective as a woman of colour and an introvert navigating high-growth and fast-paced business environments. She experienced significant anxiety in the wake of the pandemic, which prompted her to reflect on what matters most and prioritise her well-being. During this time, she started practising mindfulness meditation and began supporting others through coaching and mentoring. She now holds a leadership position and supports her colleagues and clients as they navigate the exciting u2013 yet chaotic u2013 environment of fast-moving scale-ups, helping them navigate the challenges and seize opportunities, and thrive.

LinkedIn

Thanks to Ambition Public Relations Limited for the request to feature this!