This book comes out next week, and I’ll hopefully have a post up here tomorrow about it — and a Q&A with the author. Think about getting your hands on the book soon. In the meantime, enjoy this trailer.
Category: Fiction Page 264 of 341
You know how long I’ve spent on this thing? How many posts I haven’t written because I’ve been trying to finish this one? The worst thing is that I liked this book and not just a little bit, I liked this one a lot. So why was this so hard to write? Don’t know, don’t care. It’s done…wish it was a little better.
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Blood of the Earth
by Faith Hunter
Series: Soulwood, #1eARC, 384 pg.
Roc, 216
Read: July 5 – 8, 2016
Nell Ingram had her life turned up side down by Jane Yellowrock when she came through her land on a vampire hunt. Months later, a PsyLED team — led by good ol’ Rick LaFleur — comes to her for help and to offer her a job. Nell had been raised in a cult that seems to be involved with — on some level, anyway — with an anti-supernatural terrorist group who seem to be kidnapping local girls.
God’s Cloud of Glory Church, the cult that Nell was raised in (and that her family is still immersed in) is involved with some petty harassment of Nell — although some leaders are leaning more toward horrifying harassment. LaFleur, Paka and Pea help her get out of one tight spot. But that won’t be enough to stop them, it did however, lead to the line: “[Pea] she looked like something out of a fairy tale, one of the old stories that was fluffy on the surface but dark and bloody underneath.” Nell’s magic takes a major step further in development at that point, too.
Nell coming to grips with the fact that she has some sort of magic is the heart of the novel. Well, that and her doing a better job of leaving the cult. Technically and geographically, she’d moved on — but her mind and lifestyle are largely conditioned by the Church. Her involvement with the PsyLED team (and their crappy diet) leads to some of the most entertaining parts of the book — her introductions to Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza are fantastic.
There really aren’t that many ways that Nell and Jane are similar — they are both deliberately and stubbornly independent, they both start out not understanding really who or what they are, and both of them are really good at ignoring the one vital, pivotal and fairly obvious thing until it’s almost too late. But things kept moving well enough that I was able to ignore it (although I probably talked back at the book a lot every time this point came up).
But it’s not just about Nell — LaFluer’s got a whole team with him. While he’s prominent, he’s really a secondary character (Paka and Pea are more so). Frankly, I was relieved by that — I really expected this to be Ricky-Bo and his Amazing Friends — I would’ve read that, but I’m not sure how psyched I was for it. Instead, Nell and the others on the team are great characters to meet and spend time with — and I want to spend more time with them all. It’d take too much space to talk about the PsyLED team as individuals, so let’s leave it with the aggregate: a very promising and entertaining ensemble.
Nell’s family are a strong presence (even before we met them) and should prove to be good fodder for character growth and even future plot (I just hope it’s not a well they go back to too often). The same can be said for the rest of the world we’re introduced to here.
The plot involving the church, the terrorists, the kidnappings is pretty strong and moves well. The resolution is violent, but not as much as it would’ve been in a Yellowrock book. Nell’s magic is different (and her team uses fewer firearms and knives). I’m not sure how to talk about this pre-release, maybe in book 2, it’ll be easier. Let’s just leave it with Nell et al. deal with things in a way that’s true to the genre, but doesn’t feel like every other UF around. Nell’s what Atticus O’Sullivan might be without his sword (maybe).
There were two pretty glaring errors that I noticed: Nell at one point identifies someones actions as stemming from their being postmillennialist (I’ve never met a postmillennialist like this, I think she meant post-tribulation premillennialist) and she identifies a Biblical quotation as from Acts, when it was from Romans. There are three explanations that I can think of for this: 1. Honest mistakes that will be fixed between the ARC and official release; 2. It’s been long enough since Nell’s been involved in the cult and her memory for details like this is foggy; 3. It was a cult, and they’ve mis-educated their people. I could be convinced of #2, but it’d take some work; #1 or #3 I could completely buy.
Why do I continually underestimate Faith Hunter? It’s only been in the last few Jane Yellowrocks that I pick them up with high expectations and I came to this curious, but unsure that she could do anything distinctive from Yellowrock. That ends now — Hunter blew me away with this one, yeah, it’s in the Yellowrock ‘verse — and it fits in it — but it couldn’t be more different. I’m not sure how this is a series, it’s a great stand-alone, maybe a duology. But I don’t see how this keeps going (but Hunter’s better at this than I am, so I’m willing to believe it is one — especially with these characters). I really want to give Blood of the Earth 5 stars, but I’m going to hold off going too far in my raving over this series until I see how Hunter follows up. Which may be stupid, but it’s what makes sense to me.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC via NetGalley with major thanks to Roc, I appreciate this greatly.
N.B.: As this was an ARC, any quotations above may be changed in the published work — I will endeavor to verify them as soon as possible.
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Guilty Minds
by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #3eARC, 400 pg.
Dutton, 2016
Read: June 1-2, 2016
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones:
– Julius Caesar, Act 3, scene ii
Everyone’s favorite private spy, Nick Heller, is back. This Jack Reacher with a budget gets hired to head off a scandal that may threaten the career of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He’s not hired by the Justice, of course, but by a powerful friend. Washington, D.C. being Washington, D. C. not only does the Justice have powerful friends, he has powerful enemies. Heller assumes that they’re behind the scandal breaking on the gossip website, and sets his sites on not only stopping them but exposing them.
There’s more going on than even someone with Heller’s instincts expect — what seems like a pretty routine case (with high stakes) turns into something with life or death stakes. Not shocking, it’s why we read these things.
I love the way that Heller’s mind works — watching him prepare (even quickly) to break into an apartment, or take out a group of kidnappers is one of the highlights of these books. What’s even better is that his hacker can’t do everything. His buddies/colleagues make blunders. What’s more, Heller makes mistakes — errors in judgement, letting personal biases get in the way, bad assumptions. Sure, Heller’s super-human (it’s why we read him), but he’s not perfect. It’s his reaction to the mistakes, his recalculations, his new plans that separate Heller from a lot of these characters who are a little more perfect.
There’s a twist or two, people who aren’t what they seem (in good and bad ways for Heller), and some solid fight scenes (with and without weapons). Pretty much just what you want in a thriller. I’m not sure that I’m crazy about the resolution or the epilogue, but I don’t mind them and honestly I can’t think of a better way for things to play out (and before that, I had just that one complaint). So, I guess a great 380 or so pages, followed by a decent 20.
It took less than a page or two (hard to tell on my screen) to remember what I liked about the style of this series, Heller’s voice, and his crew (although this book relied less on his regular supporting cast than the previous two). If I quoted every snappy line from the first chapter, you’d stop reading this post as tl;dr (and the publisher would come after me) — and things got better from there. Great internal dialogue. Finder writes lean prose without an inch of fat, but it’s not dry, not lacking anything — it’s full of personality and intelligence. There was one thread that seemed pretty important that Finder just abandoned, which is odd for him. Still, anytime you get an action hero quipping about coffee, I’m going to pay attention.
I had coffee. I took one sip and put it down. It tasted like something brewed by someone who disapproved of coffee.
I appreciated the observation about airport/tarmac security, and just with that Heller had spent more time with that. Maybe in the fourth book?
Smooth prose, good action, well-paced, and just a fun story. A real pleasure to read from beginning to end.
I received this book from Net Galley in return for the above thoughts. Thanks to Net Galley and Dutton for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotation above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can next month.
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In Country
by Bobbie Ann Mason, Jill Brennan (Narrator)
Author: Teri at Sportochick’s Musings
Synopsis:
The bestselling novel and deeply affecting story of a young girl who comes to terms with her father’s death in Vietnam two decades earlier.
In the summer of 1984, the war in Vietnam came home to Sam Hughes, whose father was killed there before she was born. The soldier-boy in the picture never changed. In a way that made him dependable. But he seemed so innocent. “Astronauts have been to the moon,” she blurted out to the picture. “You missed Watergate. I was in the second grade.”
She stared at the picture, squinting her eyes, as if she expected it to come to life. But Dwayne had died with his secrets. Emmett was walking around with his. Anyone who survived Vietnam seemed to regard it as something personal and embarrassing. Granddad had said they were embarrassed that they were still alive. “I guess you’re not embarrassed,” she said to the picture.
Review:
In Country takes place in Hopewell, Kentucky and is the story of recent high school graduate Sam and her Uncle Emmett, a Viet Nam war vet. Sam is searching for the answers to the past regarding her dad and why her Uncle is so messed up. Emmett is just trying to survive and live one day at a time after returning broken from Viet Nam.
Sam has a strong desire to know more about the father she never meet, a farm boy, who went to Vietnam and never came back. So she begins her search by asking any one she knows about her dad. There is a point where I felt she would drive me crazy with the persistent questions but the author smooths out this roughness with resolutions to some questions via talking to her paternal grandparents and her mother Irene. Through a series of letters and a diary she finds answers that bring her peace and upheaval as well. This upheaval causes her to be able to finally make a decision on how to move forward with her life.
Another part of the story that drove me crazy was her constantly hounding her Uncle about all the things she felt was wrong with him medically. I understand her love for him and her desire for him to not die but yikes the constant harping what was wrong with him was too much. She was a hypochondriac for him.
Emmet and some of his war friends portray an intricate part to the story with their inability to have relationships, work, and socialize plus their various health issues. But also added to the story were other war vets that were able to have normal lives. This balance greatly added to the story and it’s correctness to real life. The scene where Tom, a war vet, spent time with Sam was painful and sad causing me to wonder was there ever a time after that that he was able to love someone and be fulfilled.
At one point in the book Emmet says, “There’s something wrong with me. I’m damaged.” that I started to cry. There was overwhelming pain for all of them and grief for my part in disassociating myself from this area of life. It dawned on me that we were all damaged in some way from this war.
- My Thoughts:
- US involvement for the Vietnam War lasted from 1955-1973 and consisted of approximately 58,200 Americans deaths and over 300,000 wounded.
- In 1973 the military draft (only for males) ends and an all-volunteer military is formed creating opportunities for women.
- In 1973 I graduated from high school with no good thoughts about our involvement in the Vietnam War. I lived through my friends’ fear of being drafted, death of loved ones, draft evasion, war protest, and the burning of college campuses. For me I disassociated myself from this war like many others and to this day I am ashamed to say I don’t get it. What I do get is how poorly we as a people and government treated the returning military.
This book caused me to think and open my mind to a time in my life that I had shutdown.
But it is much more than that for me; it brought forefront in my mind the suffering of the returning vets in regards to their families, health, mental wellbeing, as well as how the government and society in general treated them. This book profoundly affected me.
Though this book and its narration may not be for everyone, I listened to it three times because of its impact to me and how it caused me to see things from a new perspective. For this reason I give it 4 STARS.
Updated 8/9: The author contacted me about this, and assured me that it was an editing mistake on her part that soured me on this story, which is exactly what I hoped it was, and that it’s been fixed in the current edition. Which I think makes this a 2-Star story now (maybe higher): I’m not sure it tells us anything we couldn’t assume from reading the first novel — maybe some of the characterization will play a role in later books. Instead of being bad, this is now just inessential. Still, I recommend the first book and plan on reading the second.
Korian and Lucy
by Zoe Kalo
Series: Cult of the Cat, #.5Kindle Edition, 24 pg.
2016
Read: July 12, 2016
17 years before the birth of Trinity . . .
That line right there? The setting, words 5-11 of the story, are what killed it for me. Killed it dead.
Why? This is the story about Trinity’s mother and father, their brief affair, setting off the events of Daughter of the Sun. Which means, unless one of the types of magic involved in worshiping Egyptian deities involves Seventeen Year Pregnancies, (I can’t imagine any mothers I know signing up for a religion that consigns them to pregnancies that last that long) this is a flawed and hastily edited story. There are other chronological issues, but let’s stick to that one.
Just when you’ve gotten comfortable in this story, just start getting to know the characters, the story just stops. It doesn’t end, it doesn’t resolve, it doesn’t leave on a cliff-hanger. It stops and says look for part 2! Are you kidding me?
This is racier than Daughter, easily. Where Daughter suggested, hinted, pointed at Trinity and Ara’s sexuality, this story throws it in your face. It’s not over the top, but it’s very tonally different.
It’s not all bad — the fling/affair/romance between Korian and Lucy had promise; we get the idea that Trinity’s beloved grandmother wasn’t really all the fantastic, but is more realistic; and the wheels are set in motion that will result in the events of Daughter in a mere 34 years or so.
If only this was a complete story. If only this actually made any kind of chronological sense. If only . . . I could’ve liked this as much as I liked the first novel. But, it didn’t. You’re better off not reading this one, folks. Check back for the second novel, but spend your time doing something else.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this story by the author in exchange for my honest thoughts. Much to her chagrin, no doubt.
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The Asset
by Shane Kuhn
ARC, 258 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2016
Read: June 16 – 19, 2016
Like most of his business trips, the only sights he’d be taking in were those of Duty Free, Wok n’ Roll, Dunkin’ Donuts, and all the other apostrophic, postapocalyptic airport landmarks he vagabonded past countless times a year.
People often made envious remarks about his business travel, not realizing that the homogeneous scenery endemic to virtually every airport in the United States made on susceptible to what Kennedy half-jokingly called “Terminal Illness”–a chronic frequent traveler disease brought on by extreme isolation, fatigue-induced delirium, fast-food malnutrition, excessive consumption of bottom-shelf booze, and diminished social equilibrium. He likened it to extended space travel, but with inferior cuisine.
Unlike, say, Ryan Bingham, Kenney has a noble reason for spending so much time in airports. He flies all over the world — particularly the U.S. — training airport security officers (namely, the TSA). Sure, the TSA has their own training program, but airports will bring him in as a consultant to help beef things up. Thanks to a tragic loss years ago, Kennedy is one of the most invested security experts in the world — he’s more committed to airplane safety than most governments. To say he’s driven is quite the understatement.
At the moment, there’s a security bulletin going around with a warning of an immanent terrorist threat. A few people in the CIA, FBI, NSA, TSA are taking it seriously, but most figure it’s just another in a long line of boys who cried, “wolf.” Kennedy, of course, takes it more seriously than anyone, and is pretty frustrated that he’s so alone in this.
So when he’s approached by representatives of the intelligence community and given the opportunity to do something to stop this threat — not just consult, but act — he jumps in with both feet. And immediately finds himself in way above his head.
Kennedy and the team he joins are racing against the clock — not sure when someone might strike, and really only pretty sure that they will. But if the threats reported are anything close to reality, if this attack goes off, it’ll be worse than anything in history.
Kuhn’s an experienced thriller writer and he knows how to keep things tense and the plot moving. From the outset we know that the attack will take place 64 days from the time we first meet Kennedy. Each time you get to a new chapter and read, “Day X,” you feel the tension ratcheting up (like Lee Child’s 61 Hours in reverse). Kuhn keeps you turning pages as quickly as you can while ignoring the clock and the alarm that’s sure to go off in a couple of hours.
Because of the kind of book it is you that know that certain characters are going to turn out to be something they don’t seem to be, or that events aren’t going to be what they seem to be. But Kuhn pulls most of them off so that it’s unexpected — for example, a plot development that I spent 100 pages for took my by surprise when it actually happened. There is some violence here, but for the genre, it’s pretty tame — it’s not sanitized, it’s not toned-down — it’s just utilized when needed, nothing to excess.
Most of the characters were pretty much what you expect in a book like this — but that’s fine, those are why we read books like this. I don’t need every character to break the mold, I like certain types to be good examples of those types, and Kuhn has many of those running throughout these pages. If Nuri isn’t one of the best/most entertaining examples of she-nerd that you’ve come across lately, I’ll eat my hat. There are a couple of characters that aren’t from the typical thriller cast lists (see the musician, Love) are even better.
I don’t want to compare this too often to Kuhn’s John Lago books, but I have to a little. Those books are marked for their voice, their satire, their off-kilter protagonists. This protagonist is exactly what you expect he is, and is pretty typical for the genre, and the voice is pretty straight. But every now and then you get a little of Kuhn’s voice (always appropriate to character and the work, don’t get me wrong). Like when Kennedy and his team are trying to guess when and where the terrorists will attack, and we get the line, “Terrorists are basically psychotic public relations whores.” Followed by “The choice of 9/11 was basically branding, a tongue-in-cheek play on our emergency number, which makes the date more memorable.” A little snarky and astute, the kind of talk you get around a conference table while brainstorming. The analysis of holidays during this exchange made me laugh.
Basically, he knocked it out of the park. Even some of the twists I guess that we’re shocked when they were revealed nail-biting right up to the end. The Asset is a heck of a stand-alone thriller. If the publisher decides for more adventures of Kennedy, I’m in. I think I like Kuhn’s series better than this kind of thing, but man, this one hit the sweet spot. I hope it brings him a lot of success.
I received this book from a drawing on the author’s website. Mega-Thanks to Shane Kuhn and Simon & Schuster for the good read. As it was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotations above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm as soon as I can in a couple of weeks.
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The Substitute Sleuth
by Michael R. Underwood
Series: Genrenauts, #4eARC, 88 pg.
2016
Read: July 11, 2016
Adventure, excitement, hypothermia. All of this and more await you in the Genrenauts!
Once again, Leah Tang is having a rough time on her first visit to a genre world. It’s Chicago, there’s a snow storm, her primary partner on this particular mission is getting a bit too wrapped up in the story, and she had to see her second dead body (not that such a sight is ever pleasant, but this one is well, is fit for the opening scenes of Castle, Bones, etc.). Thankfully, her sense of humor isn’t only welcome on this mission, it’s required.
It all starts when poor Leah has to wake up early, summoned for a mission to patch a small story breach on Crime World — the Police Procedural region to be precise. King’s going to let her take the lead on it as a training exercise. And then things go wrong. Because, well, that’s just how things are going for this team lately — and the one story breach they came to Crime World to patch is overshadowed by a bigger one. Crime World breaches left unpatched bleed over into our world in the form more, and worse, crimes. Every bleed from a Genre World into ours sounds bad — but this one is worse. Leah is still having qualms about the ethics involved in what her team does, but given the stakes, she’s willing to put them aside.
Probably more than in the previous adventures, Leah and King lean on and exploit the tropes of this world and region. As a fan of the Whacky Investigator/Straight-Laced Law Officer partner stories/shows, I loved watching the two of them use, critique, and play with the story beats, types and clichés. White Hat hacking, convenient recovery periods after being shot, how clues show up at just the right time, and so on. At one point, Leah sees a pair of detectives that work in the precinct with the detective at the center of the breach:
Leah took them to be the friend cops, the other team that would work another part of a case—the cases that would all too often end up being related, thanks to the laws of narrative conservation.
I love that phrase “laws of narrative conservation,” I am stealing that, period. I talk about that phenomenon all the time here, and this phrase is going to save me so much typing.
Between this and the Max novella, we’re learning a good deal about Angstrom King — I think I’m getting a really good sense of him, and I’m liking him more than I expected. Leah is pretty much Leah, just a little more confident in her place and moving onward from where she’s been so far in the series. The rest of the team faded to the background to an extent that I found surprising, and I hope it’s not a sign of things to come. I’m pretty sure it’s not, Underwood wouldn’t have spent so much time establishing the team and characters if he was going to drop them. Everyone was present, but their roles were very diminished. Mallery’s got a bit more to do than the others, but really not much.
The closing pages of this do a great job of setting-up the two-part season finale in the next two novellas. I can’t say more than that — but how any fan of this series can be patient waiting to see what comes next is a greater mystery than the ones the team encounters on Crime World. Best of the bunch.
N.B.: As this was an ARC, there’s a chance that the quotations above might not be in the published version, I’ll try to confirm them as soon as I can.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of novella from the author in exchange for this post–thanks, Mr. Underwood!
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Author: Wendy at booklovercircumspect4
Synopsis from Goodreads
Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives’ stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit’s friendship with the “witch” is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!
Review
The Witch of Blackbird Pond is an historical novel and a love story. The main character, Kit, was raised by her grandfather in Barbados. When her grandfather dies, she leaves Barbados on a ship named the Dolphin to find her aunt and uncle in Connecticut. Needless to say, her aunt and uncle doesn’t know that she is coming.
Upon her arrival to her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Mercy’s home in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where she also has two cousins, Mercy (who is handicapped) and Judith. Kit’s life is far different from her life in Barbados, where she is forced to do chores and attend church, which she clearly hates. Kit becomes happier when she and Mercy began teaching the younger children in her town. An incident happens at the school and it is shut down, and Kit runs away and she meets Hannah Tupper, an older lady that has been outlawed from the colony. While visiting Hannah, she again runs into Nat Eaton, son of the captain of the Dolphin, and Kat falls in love with him.
A deadly illness sweeps through the town and Hannah is accused of being a witch and is to be killed. Kit warns Hannah who escapes with the help Nat and his boat. The town is also accusing Kit of being a witch and she must prove her innocence when Nat returns to Westherfield.
Does Nat return help Kit? Is Kit found to be a witch? Or is she able to escape Connecticut and return to Barbados? You will have to read the book.
I give this book three out of four onions. This book is rich in American history and is a commonly read book for older grade schoolers. It also has a nice mixture of romance, politics and suspense. It really is a good read especially for young adults.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
by Maria Semple, Kathleen Wilhoite (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs and 39 mins
Hachette Audio, 2012
Read: June 10 – 13, 2016
For whatever reason, when I talked about this book last time, it had been months after I read it, and I could’ve done better. I’m not sure that I’ll fix that now, but you never know . . .
First thing you’ve got to know about this book is that it’s funny. Flat out funny. Some of it may not come across that way when you read it, actually, I think it’d be pretty easy to think this is a serious novel about a disturbed or tragic woman. But you’d be wrong to think that (and probably wouldn’t like the book at all).
Sure, it’s clear that something went wrong with Bernadette in the past, and that she’s still dealing (or, better, not dealing) with it. But that doesn’t stop things from being hilarious as she struggles with leaving the house, fighting with the neighbor ladies/moms from school.
Her daughter, Bee, is great. She’s a tribute to brainy-daughters everywhere — her understanding of and devotion to her mom is what humanizes Bernadette. After her mother goes missing, she compiles emails, articles, and other documents from a variety of sources to explain the last few months and put everything into context. I wasn’t sure this aspect of it would translate into audiobook — or be understandable. It was perfect. More on that in a moment.
The story is compelling, heartwarming, and funny (more funny the second time around, it turns out). It’s one of my favorite books from the last few years. Either version is well worth the time.
What made me give this a higher rating this time? Well, I had a clearer idea about the whole thing and could just enjoy the ride. But mostly, it was Kathleen Wilhoite (and boy did I ever feel stupid for not recognizing her voice once I googled the name). The accents, the voices, the emotions, the mirth — the heart and soul — she put into her performance blew me away and made the whole thing more compelling than Semple did (which is saying something). Again, that she was able to take the strange format of the book and make it easy to track with the various “sources” Bee used. Really, just a great audio performance.
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The Question of the Felonious Friend
by E.J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen
Series: Asperger’s Mysteries, #3eARC, 288 pg.
Midnight Ink, 2016
Read: June 30 – July 1, 2016
So, I don’t like coming into a series after book 1 — I’ve done it, and will do it again, but I don’t like it. And I probably wouldn’t have requested this book if I’d realized it. But I did, and I’m glad I did.
Samuel Hoenig isn’t your typical mystery protagonist. He runs a business called Questions Answered — basically, he researches things for you. A human Boolean Search. From the looks of it, this occasionally results in him playing amateur detective. Like this time, when one of the people involved in the question he’s answering is murdered.
The mystery is decent. Pretty easy to figure out; my first guess was right, but I talked myself out of it — I still like my 2nd guess, but it wouldn’t have worked well. Copperman paced the story like a pro, fed you the information in just the right way, and gave enough clues for the reader to figure things out. Very well done, there.
But, like with many mystery novels, your enjoyment of this book doesn’t come form the puzzle but from the characters. It’s almost impossible not to like Samuel from the get-go, but it was the last sentence of Chapter 2 that probably sealed the deal as far as character goes. I had no idea about the story at that point, but character-wise it was a done deal.
It’s hard to describe Samuel briefly without resorting to stereotypes. He’s really smart, he has trouble interacting with most people (Mike seems to be the only exception — but I could be wrong about that) — his mother and associate included. His mother successfully pushed him out of his room to set up his office and business — to interact with the world, make some money, and have the kind of life that he wouldn’t were it not for her efforts. He’s stubborn, determined, and once he takes on a question (and yes, like Trebek, he insists you phrase it in the form of a question), he finds the answer. He’s not a detective by any stretch, just someone who answers questions. You really need to read him to start to get him.
Ms. Washburn is the Natalie Teeger to Samuel’s Monk, Paige Dineen to his Scoropion — her duties seem to include routine clerical duties, driving, and helping Simon understand/interact with neurotypicals (and vice versa). She has some personal issues going on, as established in earlier novels — and I’m not sure what she’d be like in books where that’s less of a thing. I liked her, but didn’t get a great read on her.
Samuel’s mother was nice, a good complement to Washburn. I also could’ve used a bit more of Mike, Samuel’s friend (but what we were given was just the emotional grounding he needed). The client, his family and friends could’ve been a bit more fleshed out — but not much. And they served the purpose they needed to. Reading over this paragraph, I guess my overriding point here is, more of everything/one would be better.
Yeah, yeah, I’m as tired as the next guy of hearing things like “The city is practically another character,” or “the music is practically another . . . “, etc. But Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the main characters in this book (I assume the series as a whole) — I mean, the series is called Asperger’s Mysteries. Samuel’s client (and some other characters) are also on Spectrum — it’s literally on every page, it’s the subtext (if not subject) of every conversation, and, obviously, it colors everything Samuel says/does. It makes everything amusing/quirky — but it’s never played for laughs or just to be odd. For the record, this was his first client on the Spectrum, so every book isn’t going to be so heavy on that.
As a little sample of the way his mind works, here’s Samuel explaining his thinking behind the way that Questions Answered answers their phone:
Mother suggested that businesses often answer the phone with the name of the business followed by the phrase, “May I help you?” (Actually, most employees of businesses I have called ask, “Can I help you?”, which is an unanswerable question. If I am calling your business for the first time I have no way to measure your competence, and therefore cannot determine if you are capable of performing the task I need completed.) I merely say the name of the service and let the client assume we are here to help.
It’s classified as a cozy (and deservedly so), and is written with a light tone (which is a neat trick given Samuel’s temperament). The closest things I can compare this to is The Rosie Project, and Rick Yancey’s Highly Effective Detective series. And like both of those, I appreciated the humor and the humanity of the characters, and this book is full of both. Good characters, an amusing (yet not exploitatively so) take on them, and a decent mystery — this will not be the last I read of these books.
Disclaimer: In exchange for my honest thoughts, I received this book via NetGalley and Midnight Ink. Thanks very much!
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