Category: Fiction Page 4 of 350

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto: Is it a Crime Comedy? Is it a Rom-Com? Is it a Family Farce?

DETAILS:
Series: Aunties, #1
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
Format: Paperback
Length: 320
Read Date: August 12-13

“Easy,” Big Aunt sniffs, shaking her head. “I don’t think it’l be that easy.”

“Why not?” Second Aunt says, raising her chin,

Big Aunt shrugs. “Because it’s never easy. Otherwise people would get away with murder all the time.”

I wince at the word “murder,” even though she said it in Mandarin. And even though I want to have faith in Second Aunt’s simple plan of “get there, find cooler, bring cooler back,” I have a feeling that Big Aunt is right. When it comes to hiding a dead body, it’s never simple—a lesson I’m quickly learning from the previous night.

What’s Dial A for Aunties About?

I feel compelled to assure you that I am not making this up—Jesse Q. Sutanto did. But as I try to summarize this, it feels like I’m just typing random words onto the screen.

Meddy Chan is a photographer for her family wedding business—one auntie does the baking, one auntie helps with makeup and hair, her mother does the floral arrangements, and another auntie is in charge of the entertainment. Meddy wanted to do other things with her photography, but being a good filial daughter, she went along with her mother and aunties when they started the business. Their biggest wedding to date is just around the corner; there’s a pair of children of billionaires getting married at a resort and the Chans are on-board.

But first, Meddy’s mother has a surprise for her. For the last few weeks, she’s been posing as Meddy on a dating site, and things with one suitor have gotten to the point for their first in-person meeting. In just a few years. Meddy doesn’t have the time (or willingness) to explain to her mother how inappropriate this all is—so she goes on the date. Fast-forward: by the end of the night, he’s dead (accidentally). In her panic, Meddy doesn’t report this to the police or anyone. She drives home with the body in the trunk. Her mother calls her sisters in to help. They come up with a hare-brained scheme to dispose of the body after the big wedding and get some sleep before the big job.

Naturally, a mix-up happens when the helpers come and pack up things like the cake to take to the resort. They include the cooler the body is hidden in. While they scamper around trying to decide how to hide and/or dispose of the body while at the resort, Meddy’s college boyfriend, the love of her life, the one who got away (and the one her mother and aunties never knew about) shows up.

And then things start to get weird with the wedding.

And then…well, that’s about enough to get you started, right?

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

I got this from a Blind Date with a Book last year at some event at Shared Stories—which was fine with me, I’ve enjoyed Sutanto’s Vera Wang books, and the one YA book by her I listened to wasn’t bad. But I put it on the back burner, and it likely would’ve stayed there except I needed”a book by an author who is not from the UK or USA” for The Book Tempter’s TBR Challenge, and this was the only one that fit. So…

I kept at it because I started laughing within pages—and then you add the dead body and everything else? You have to find out where it goes. I was still laughing and chuckling up to the end (along with uttering the occasional “awwww”). Because as goofy as the above section was…it gets wackier.

What does this book tell us about humanity?

“Meddy is probably cautious because last time when you tried to set her up with Wang Zhixiang’s son, he turned out to be, you know,” Fourth Aunt says.

Ma waves an irritated hand. “Why do you keep bringing up Zhixiang’s son? So he turned out to be some maniac. How was I supposed to know?”

“Kleptomaniac,” I mumble. By the time our date was over, he’d stolen my makeup bag from my purse and, somehow, one of my shoes. I mean, the guy’s an asshole, but you’ve gotta give it to him. Or let him steal it.

In a letter to the reader before the prologue, Sutanto talks about the origin and inspiration of the book (and explains the broken English of many of the characters) and writes, “I hope that this book gives you a little peek into the fierce love with which my family raised us and protects us to this day.” To go with that, there’s a lot about the role of family in the book. Not just Meddy’s family (although that’s so pervasive you could be forgiven for not noticing any others), but Nathan’s (the college boyfriend), and the families of the bride and groom.

These families are sources of comfort, security, aggravation. There are petty rivalries between the aunties that go back decades and will never be resolved—which doesn’t alter in the slightest their devotion to each other—it just flavors it (I’m not 100% certain they even notice them). I’m sure at least one auntie realizes how insane it was for Meddy’s mother to pose as her on a dating site, but doesn’t say anything.

And whether it’s family by blood and birth, a family by choice, a found family, or…whatever. There’s something that everyone can identify with, something that everyone can see themselves in. Something we can all learn from and see humanity in. It might be easier to see it in an eccentric collection of fictional relatives than in our own—but we can then transfer that into our non-fictional families.

So, what did I think about Dial A for Aunties?

Now we know, when it comes to fight or flight, I am neither. I am: freeze like a hamster and then melt into a useless shivery puddle.

Before I get into anything else—I love Meddy’s description of groom-zillas, and how they’re a bigger problem than any supposed bride-zillas. And then this is borne out by the actual bride and groom for this particular wedding.

If you just had the long-lost love showing up at the wedding gig, the story wouldn’t have been as good. If you just had the Chans dealing with the corpse and the wedding, it would’ve been funny, but it wouldn’t carry much emotional weight. If you had the corpse and the long-lost love storylines…I’m not sure any comedy would’ve survived. But somehow when you combine the three elements with Sutanto’s gift for storytelling and comedy, it’s just magic. Madcap magic, but magic.

I’m sure there’s more to be said about the book, but I’m drawing a blank on it. It’s just… Ridiculous. Deliciously ridiculous. Ridiculously sweet. You’ve gotta read this.

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

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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: The Driftborn by Simon Bullock

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2026

In Book Tour, Fiction, Science Fiction

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads tour for Simon Bullock’s The Driftborn, a nifty looking Space Opera. Be sure check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours over the next week and change to see other bloggers talk about it. Let’s learn a little bit about the book, shall we?

Book Details:

Title: The Driftborn by Simon Bullock
Genre: Space Opera
Release date: July 28, 2026 (digital edition) May 26, 2026 (hardcover edition)
Length: 480 pages
Publisher: 42nd Parallel Press

About the Book:

A forgotten wreck. A forbidden map. A gate that should never have been opened.

On the salvage moon of Veyra’s Fall, Kade Renn only wants one thing: a working air filter for his sick sister, Lira.

Instead, he finds a buried courier ship older than the official history books. Inside it is a dying Driftborn pilot, a forbidden star map, and a message from Kade’s mother, Elian, who supposedly died nine years ago.

The Directorate says the gates saved civilisation. It says the Driftborn are criminals, free-route smugglers and a threat to every recognised human world.

The Directorate is lying.

Forced to flee with Lira, their strange scrap-mech Nix, and a half-illegal ship called The Moth, Kade is pulled into a hidden war over the true origin of the gates. The deeper they travel beyond authorised space, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

The first crossing was not what humanity was taught.

The gates were not built by us.

And something has been waiting for us to understand what we woke.

For readers who enjoy grounded space opera, ancient alien mysteries, damaged ships, found family, dry humour and human stakes beneath the scale of the stars.

The Driftborn is a tense, character-driven science fiction novel about control, memory, survival and the danger of mistaking every door for an invitation.

Book Links:

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

About the Author:

Simon Bullock is a British-born author living in the Netherlands. He writes psychological thrillers, historical fiction and speculative novels with a focus on believable characters, emotional tension and dark, understated humour. His work often explores ordinary people under pressure, hidden truths, and the consequences of systems that fail the people inside them. He also writes selected speculative fiction under the pen name Richard Randon.

My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award 2025 Finalist badge

Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman: When Fear Conspires With Pride

By HCNewton

On August 12, 2026

In Abbi Waxman, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, V-Z

Deadly Does It

by Abbi Waxman

DETAILS:
Series: A Mason and Mann Mystery, #2
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 21, 2026
Format: Paperback
Length: 364 pg.
Read Date: August 5-7, 2026

“Prison’s very dull, apart from the all-pervading fear of violence and the occasional bug in the food. Trust me, you’d hate it, not because it’s scary, but because it’s skull-crushingly boring.”

“I have no intention of going to jail.”

Julia laughed. “No one intends to go to jail, Mason, yet there they are.”

What’s Deadly Does It About?

It’s been six months or so since Mason has gone to work as an investigator/assistant to ex-actress turned activist lawyer Julia Mann. They’ve taken some cases to make money, and keep some room handy to take con cases to help people they like (and/or hurt those they don’t).

It’s the latter that comes into play when Mason’s sponsor reveals she’s been getting threatening notes, and someone seems to be following through with them—Alexa is an event planner and two of her recent events have gone spectacularly, headline-makingly bad. The threats promise to do more than just ruin her reputation soon. Julia and Mason assume it has to do with Alexa’s past—back decades ago when she was drinking, doing drugs, and some minor crimes—and was associated with people who were doing some more serious crimes. So they start looking into the past she’s tried to put behind her to uncover who’s trying to make her present unlivable.

Meanwhile, Mason’s father had a minor heart attack and she has to visit home a couple of times, connecting with her semi-estranged family. Also, Julia teams her up with a P.I.* to get some actual training rather than just fumbling around has she has been—it forces Mason to think about her future in a way that I’m not sure she’s done since she got sober, in addition to giving her some tools she needs for this case.

* The similarity between this P.I. (Teddy) and Peter Key’s mentor from Killer Vibes are pretty strong, but Teddy seems like a better guy to hang out. I’m curious if I’ll think the same after one more book featuring each.

Recovery

This book, more than One Death at a Time and similarly to the Assassins Anonymous books, is a tribute to AA and similar programs. Many things—many things near and dear to the characters—will be mocked by characters in the book—but not their sobriety and recovery. Characters will talk about getting to a meeting, their need for one, talks with their sponsor, etc.—and the investigation will stop for them to do so.

There’s even a clear need and justification to investigate people at a certain meeting, and discussion about it is shutdown by Julia so quickly it’ll make your head spin. She might get pushed to it by circumstances, she makes it clear—but it’s going to take a lot for her to go there and things never got there.

Due to the nature of the investigation, almost everyone they talk to is an addict in recovery or has been avoiding it for decades. Either way, Julia and Mason can relate to them, sympathize and empathize with them. This adds a different flavor to their interviews/conversations than you get in most P.I. novels. It endeared me to them even more than I already was.

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

Because Abbi Waxman has been an auto-read for me since 2019 and because the fist book in this series was so good that any future books in it would’ve been a reflex pick up as well.

The short version of why I kept reading it is that I have more fun with it than its predecessor. The longer version is that when it comes to heart, humor, convincing mystery, believable characters, and compelling story-telling—this book nailed it all.

What does this book tell us about humanity?

This book is about the capacity for change, and how that capacity (exercised or not) is something we all possess. It may be major changes—like working the 12 Steps—or something relatively minor—like Julia’s cook realizing she’s a cat person and starting to pamper Mason’s cat with cooking better than many people ever get.

Mason’s father has to make some changes due to his health, Mason’s sister and Mother need to acknowledge that Mason’s made some positive changes in her life (whether they do or not, I won’t say). Mason has to make some decisions about changing her life. Many of the characters in this book have made significant lifestyle changes due to substance abuse and addiction. There might even be a couple who haven’t made the changes they need to which creates the mayhem our duo takes on.

Regardless, the opportunity is there for the taking, the possibility is there.

So, what did I think about Deadly Does It?

“I think I can still write by hand, but on the few occasions I have to, it looks like a centipede has done two lines of coke, stepped in a tiny pot of ink and scrambled across the page in a hurry to get to somewhere else. Not exactly legible.”

There was a pause.

“Thanks for the colorful image, Mason,” said Julia, “no sure who would sell a centipede the minuscule amount o¢ drugs they could take, but your rich and vivid imagination will eventually come in handy, I expect.”

The interaction between Julia and Mason—and between Julia’s employees/friends/odd family—is the heart of this novel, in terms of character growth, the plot, and for entertainment. Most of the laughs come from them interacting with each other. It’s in this that the link between Waxman’s earlier novels and this series can be seen.

But the mystery and the investigative work are no slouch. As with One Death at a Time, Waxman shows she knows away around this kind of story. Yes, I was yelling at them (rightly) to pay attention to one character far earlier than they did, and I cottoned on to the motivation to the notes before they did—but it’s only because Waxman laid out the clues so clearly for the reader.

I like these characters—including the new ones and the new layers we saw in our old friends—I thought the main story was really well executed. I think Waxman could’ve done a little more with the arc about Mason’s family, but what was there was great. And the set up for future books is clear and I look forward to seeing what she does with the seeds she planted.

This would work wonderfully as a jumping-on point for the series, but it might resonate a little better with the reader if they go back to the beginning (which isn’t that far)—but either way if you’re looking for a mystery novel with dazzling characters, some genuine humor. great dialogue, and plenty to chew on, Deadly Does It fits the bill.

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: One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman: You’ll Laugh All the Way to the Morgue

By HCNewton

On August 11, 2026

In Abbi Waxman, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, V-Z

(not that you actually go to a morgue in this book, I was just struggling with that headline)

One Death at a Time

by Abbi Waxman

DETAILS:
Series: A Mason and Mann Mystery, #1
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Format: eARC
Length: 400 pg.
Read Date: April 11-15, 2025

What’s One Death at a Time About?

Natasha Mason is a twenty-something still trying to figure out what to do with her life—her alcoholism led to her leaving law school, and now she’s paying bills by delivering food and doing other gig economy standbys in L.A., and making sure she makes at least one meeting a day.

At one of these meetings, a vaguely familiar-looking woman shows up—and is not the friendliest of people. She seems—well, is—more concerned about getting her court-mandated signature than in anything else. Mason volunteers to be this woman’s interim sponsor. Now this older woman had been sober before, but on the night that led to the court-mandated meetings had a blood-alcohol level that stunned a rowdy twelve-step meeting into silence. She’d also come out of a blackout next to the dead body of a former lover/decades-long antagonist and what was probably the murder weapon. For a night she couldn’t remember—it’d clearly been eventful.

The next morning, Mason shows up at the gate of her obviously well-off sponsee. Thanks to some time on the internet, Mason knows her to be Julia Mann—a former box office star, now a lawyer taking on cases for as many Davids as she can in a city of Goliaths. Oh, and in between careers, she’d been in prison due to the death of her husband—the former business partner of the dead man she’s currently suspected of killing.

This meeting didn’t go the way Mason suspected—for one, Julia Mann’s housekeeper is an amazing cook, as Mason learned. Also, the two kept butting heads—Mason wanted to talk about Julia’s sobriety, but Julia was rather fixated on the murder. And yet…something clicked between the two. In between verbal jousts,* Julia ends up hiring Mason to be her personal assistant and help with the investigation. Mason justifies this to herself as a way to stay near Julia and keep her sober. The chance to eat more of Claudia’s cooking and make more money than an app can pay doesn’t hurt.**

Before you know it, these two have got themselves involved in a separate murder investigation (another David for Juila to work for), arson, tensions around Julia’s former career in the film industry, tensions around Julia’s future career in the film industry (she wants none of it, but no one seems to care), brushes with organized crime, multiple reasons for both or either of them to ditch their sobriety, and more things that I can fit into this rambling sentence.

* The back-and-forth between these two is reason enough to try this book. Waxman will supply several others, it should be noted.
** Yes, this makes two books in as many months about an LA-based delivery driver turning amateur investigator.

The Murder Mystery(ies)

Murder mysteries surrounding the film industry tend to have a few things in common—secrets, petty grievances that get nurtured into full-blown rivalries (or worse), scandals (for an industry reputed to be filled with amoral hedonists, there really are a lot of moral scandals), and organized crime.

One Death at a Time ticks all of these boxes—and a few others that I should’ve listed above, but forgot to. This may be Waxman’s first mystery, but she clearly understands the genre and knows how to construct a classic whodunit in a contemporary setting.

You get all the twists, turns, red herrings, and layers upon layers of competing motives for multiple suspects that you need—doled out in just the right pacing with dollops of shocks and action along the way. The final reveal is satisfying, and every loose plotline is tied up. It’s a textbook example of the genre—pleasing in every way.

The Humor/Tone/Relationships

This might be a clumsy way to tackle these ideas, but it’s where I am.

Yes, Waxman is known for Rom Coms—or Rom Com-adjacent—books, so we all know she’s funny. This seemed to me to be more overtly comedic. There are jokes—many of them—not just funny situations and loveable, quirky characters doing goofy things. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of those (as well as non-lovable, quirky characters).

This reads like Dave Barry’s kind of crime novel, with the restraint of a Richard Osman. The verbal jousting is great, and the physical comedy is almost as good. The situations are frequently ridiculous, but never so much so that you get taken out of the moment.

The technical term that best describes Mason is “wiseass,” and one with poor impulse control. Someone who doesn’t know how to keep her trap shut, powered by Waxman’s wit is a fun character to read. Julia’s no slouch in that department either, but she’s more mature, she knows that she should pick her targets with care—and is therefore usually more effective.

The rest of Julia’s team (I will not tell you about them, so you can meet them properly) and some of the other characters the reader encounters have drier wits, largely fitting into the typical Waxman model. Oh, except this one actress…nope. You wouldn’t believe me if I tried to describe her.

Mason’s support system consists of the meetings she attends, her sponsor, and her cat. Julia has a strong team of employees and friends (the Venn diagram there has a large area of overlap)—they’re just not that effective on the sobriety front, but they make up for that with their loyalty. Julia also has a pretty strong network of former friends, employers, and employees in and around the film industry. These are loyal to their grudges against her and their own self-interest—however, they (or at least most of them) want her to succeed in her search for the killer, so they can move on with their lives and careers.

You combine all of this—with a (slowly) growing relationship of affection, trust, and appreciation between our protagonists—and you’ve got yourself a great basis for comedy with heart.

Sobriety

One thing that Waxman never made light of in all of this was the sobriety of the characters. Yes, Julia would mock Mason’s approach to being her sponsor, but that was about the characters’ personality differences—both of them took it seriously.

Not all of the characters appreciated the struggle and what the characters did to preserve it—but none of the comedy was about the drinking.

The opening meeting did get me to chuckle frequently, but that was character-based humor. The book never gets preachy at the reader, just to each other.

So, what did I think about One Death at a Time?

I had a blast with this—if you couldn’t tell. This is my fifth Waxman novel, so I went into it expecting that I would. I just wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it, because of the genre. But if I didn’t know who she was before I picked this up, I’d be scouring the library for her Abbi Waxman now.

It does—as it should—feel very different than her previous works. I’d say this is closer to last year’s Christa Comes Out of Her Shell than the rest, but even saying that, this is different. The stakes are (obviously) higher for these characters; there are potentially lethal consequences for failure. Which might explain the more heavy-handed approach to the comedy.

I think I’ve said everything I wanted to above—the mystery part is really well done; the characters are well-designed and well-excecuted, the relationships between them are strong and obvious—you like the people you’re supposed to like enough that you wish you sat around the room with them, watching them go back and forth while eating whatever wonderful treat/meal Claudia has prepared. Also, it’s funny. That’s a one-two-three combination that I’ll always enjoy and recommend.

This feels like a standalone, but it could easily spawn a sequel or more. If it does, I’ll be first in line. If it doesn’t…well, that’s okay, too. It works really well either way.

Basically, reader, if any of the above tickles your fancy—you need to add this to your TBR. I practically guarantee you’ll have a great time.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post, which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

5 Stars

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: No Saints Only Killers by Luke Deckard

By HCNewton

On August 10, 2026

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

This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome Paste Creative’s tour for Luck Deckard’s No Saints Only Killers. This is a slick-looking PI novel that I need to find time for on my TBR. Hopefully by the time you’re finished with this post, you’ll be thinking the same thing.

Book Details:

Title: No Saints Only Killers by Luke Deckard
Genre: Mystery, PI Novel
Publisher: MX Publishing
Release date: May 7, 2026
Length: 345 pages

About the Book:

American ex-pat Logan Bishop is a war-damaged, morphine-dependent private investigator.

When his estranged father, Reverend Daniel Bishop, arrives from Chicago, Logan refuses to see him—until his father is brutally attacked.

Before slipping into a coma, Daniel leaves Logan with a desperate plea: find Greta Matas-a woman tied to his past-before she’s killed.

Logan heads to Edinburgh in search of answers.

But from the moment he arrives, nothing adds up. Greta is missing. Her son is wanted for murder. And Logan is being watched.

By the police. By gangsters. By men who don’t want the truth uncovered.

As Logan is pulled deeper into a web of lies and corruption, he realises the truth may cost him his life.

Book Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About the Author:

Luke Deckard is the author of No Saints Only Killers, which was shortlisted for the Amazon New Voices Awards and a finalist at Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect. He is the co-host of CINEMA SLEUTHS podcast, a reviewer for Get Your Comic ON, and mentors creative writing students at the University of Westminster.

Author Links:

TikTok ~ Instagram ~ Threads ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Bluesky ~ Cinema Sleuths Podcast

My thanks to Paste Creative for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett: Two Households, Both Alike In Infamy

By HCNewton

On August 7, 2026

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

A Trade of Blood

by Robert Jackson Bennett

DETAILS:
Series: Shadow of the Leviathan, #3
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: August 4, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 400 pg.
Read Date: July 23-29, 2026

What’s A Trade of Blood About?

The book opens with Ana Dolabra going on a screed about why the murders of young, rich women get so much more attention—and seem to shock the general populace more—than any other murder or other crime. And anyone who’s watched cable news in the last couple of decades (or read a newspaper ever), will instantly understand what she’s saying—just one of the many ways their Fantasy world reminds a reader of ours.

Ana and her assistant, Dinios Kol. are called to investigate a gruesome murder of a young, rich woman, not-at-all-coincidentally. Well that’s officially what they’re about. But really, they’re on hand to keep an all-out feud from exploding between two rich and powerful families in the primary meat-producing canton in the kingdom. If these people go to war, it’s going to have a devastating impact on the food supply.

The victim was a young “Capulet” woman, and the presumed killer—butcher, really—is a young “Montague” gentleman. And the remaining members of their families and many of their allies and all of their servants are ready to go. Ana and Din quickly ascertain something’s fishy about the whole thing—and what Ana’s initial experiments prove gives a new definition to unnerving. But it definitely shows that there’s more to this murder than meets the eye.

The crimes multiply—especially as the pair starts asking questions about the recent past for these families. This murder is just the latest in a cleverly disguised series, and the killing isn’t done. In fact, the victim count is about to skyrocket. And if these investigators don’t stop the killings, it’s going to be even worse than that.

Before they arrive at the crime scene, Ana is afraid this case is going to be boring. By the time it’s over, I think she’d have been happier to have been bored.

Dinios Kol

As Ana’s assistant—the one who interacts with people for her, gathers clues and witnesses, and basically does all the legwork so she doesn’t have to risk over-stimulation—we’ve spent more time with Din than Ana over the course of the series. And that’s still true. So reader feel like we know him pretty well—and that’s true. (he’s also the first-person narrator, but his reporting is so frequently as dispassionate as a third-person narrator, so it’s forgettable)

But putting him in a region that reminds him so much of home? Well, now we’re really getting to know him. We’ve known since the first book that he came from a poor family and that he entered government service to pay off some debts incurred by his dead father. Well, we get more details about that—and the financial status of the family (and more about the family as well).

More than that, Din’s looking around at circumstances like he knew growing up from fresh eyes. Eyes that have seen the sea walls protecting the nation, seen a leviathan, seen areas of the kingdom that are so far away and so different from his home that it’s hard to believe they’re part of the same kingdom, seen horrible deaths and the blackness of the human heart. And, given his augmentations, he’ll never forget any of that. Now he comes back to see this area through different eyes. That’s got to do a number on him.

And his boss uses this to poke at him a little, too. In mostly good fun.

The Worldbuilding

Bennett has put on a clinic on how to do worldbuilding in the first two books of this series—and he follows it up in this third book by doing it again. I want to go on and on and on about it, but I don’t know how to do that without spoiling anything.

Let’s see if I can do this obliquely enough that Del Rey won’t get so annoyed that I won’t get approved for the next book in the series. We get introduced to a species of cattle, a feline species, some fungal types that have some fascinating properties, new religious figures, a take on a type of economy, and a sign of some truly devastating ecological problems on the horizon. And more, too.

It’s just amazing to watch him at work over these three books—and I cannot wait to see what we learn about this world next. If you thought Ana revealed some mind-blowing stuff last time (in addition to what they learned through the case, which was staggering in itself), buckle up, cowpokes.

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

I picked this up because before the first book in this series was finished, I knew I was going to read every book in it. I finished it for the same reason—and it’s probably my favorite of the three. Which is saying something when I recall that the first two books were among my favorites of their respective years. If I’m not talking about this in December/January, I’ll be shocked.

So, what did I think about A Trade of Blood?

I really shouldn’t have had as much fun reading this as I did, because this book is grim. In a way, worse than what Michel, Abercrombie, Martin, or Fletcher put out. But the characters are great, they’ve been established so well with readers that it’s like visiting a friend. Moreover, Ana Dolabra was on fire this outing. Yeah, she’s creepifying and off-putting as usual (in addition to strange and brilliant), but she made me grin in almost every conversation, and I laughed more than once because of her.

As far as the mystery goes—Bennett got me. I repeatedly wrote in my notes who I thought—no, who I was convinced—the killer was and shot down various other theories and lines of dialogue that suggested otherwise. It’s rare I’m that convinced in a mystery novel that I’m right, although I have a pretty good average when I am that certain. I should’ve known that Bennett wouldn’t make it that easy. I was correct once, but I talked myself out of it for a far lesser candidate, and really didn’t reconsider the actual killer until unmasked.

There’s a lot of ugliness to be found in tis book, as I alluded to earlier. The motives for the crimes are bad enough. But the actions and attitudes that led to those motives are possibly worse—not to justify any of the crimes or anything—but you can take it in and say, “yeah, I see where someone could break because of that.” And then, when you take in the economic and scientific context and conditions…and where it looks like those economics and science are going to leave the populace. Well, I tell ya, “ugly” and “grim” don’t seem to go far enough.

At the end of the day, though, this is a story about very relatable people and very relatable wounds. It could be fair to say that heartbreak is at the core of it all. Bennett just wraps it up in a fantastical package.

In case I’ve been too subtle—go get this. Like now. It’d work as a jumping on point, but I think you’d be better off starting from The Tainted Cup. Either way, read all of this series.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Del Rey via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

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

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Cover Reveal: Fool by K.R. Lockhaven

By HCNewton

On August 6, 2026

In Fantasy, Fiction

I’m very pleased today to welcome the Cover Reveal for K.R. Lockhaven’s Fool to The Irresponsible Reader today. I’d be happier if I’d remembered today was Thursday so I’d have had this up 12 hours ago. But, it’s still Cover Reveal day. I have this in hard copy, I’m telling you–you want to put your peepers on this cover.

Before we see the cover, though, 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:

Kyrien’s ascendancy from a prisoner of war to the trusted “Fool and Advisor to the God-King” has been the stuff of storybooks. He owes his dramatic reversal of fortune to Vaerain, the God-King himself. Kyrien’s life in the capital city is blessed with fame, riches, and a beautiful young family.

But when a group of unknown conspirators kidnaps his son, his charmed world collapses. The people holding his son have one demand, which they believe Kyrien is in a unique position to grant—they want to know where the king, the only person in the world who wields god-like magic, derives his powers.

As Kyrien and his wife, Acali, begin to unravel this mystery under the watchful eyes of the king and his religious zealots, they learn that their blessed life has always come at a steep cost and that a revolution is brewing among the city’s poor and trampled.

The deeper they dig, the more Kyrien questions his reverence for the man he once saw as his savior.

Kyrien and Acali will stop at nothing to find answers and get their son back, even if it means tearing the kingdom apart.

The book comes out on Sept. 14 in Hardcover, Paperback, and Audiobook!! Keep your eyes on https://www.krrlockhaven.com/ for details on ordering. I’ve read this in beta, and unless he really messed it up since then, this is the best of Lockhaven’s 6 novels and novella. (and I really liked those). Take my word for it–you want to read this.

About the Author:

K.R. Lockhaven used to love writing as a kid. Starting at about ten years old, he wrote about anything from dragons to sentient jellybeans. Somewhere along the line, he lost that love. But now as a firefighter, husband, and father of two sons, he found it again. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the really good stuff from back then. So this adult-written shit will have to do.

Kyle is a huge proponent of summer camps for burn survivor kids. A portion of every book he ever sells will go to the Washington State Council of Firefighters Burn Foundation, sponsors of Camp Eyabsut. For more info, or to donate money or time, go to www.campeyabsut.org

Author Links:

Website ~ Bluesky

and now…

The Cover

cover for Fool by K.R. Lockhaven

Kudos to Cover Artist Felix Ortiz. If I had the means, I’d have him do a mural on my office wall (I mean, if they all weren’t covered with books). I’m at the point where I don’t even need to look at a cover, I see Ortiz’ name and I know it’s a good one.

Wait, you say, is that it? Oh, no–there’s more Ortiz goodness for you: check out the full cover spread! (click on it to see a nicer, larger version)

Again, Fool comes out on Sept. 14 in Hardcover, Paperback, and Audiobook!! Keep your eyes on https://www.krrlockhaven.com/ for details on ordering.

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20 Books of Summer 2026: July Check-In

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2026

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

Annabel from AnnaBookBel carries on the work started by Cathy of 746 Books . You can read her kick-off post here.

I only managed 6 books from the list in July–but as busy as I was, I’ll take it. If you count what I’ve accomplished in August already, I have 5.5 to go. I should finish by the end of the month with some wiggle room. Even better, I’ve written about eight of them. That’s an improvement of eight over last month, so I’ll take it. (the version of this post originally scheduled said nine there, but I had to bail on that, alas, it should be up tomorrow)

Not that it matters, but I’ve also read half of my Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2026 to-Read List (That Aren’t on My 20 Books Challenge) list, too.

This summer, my 20 are:

My post about it

✔ 1. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie My post about it.
✔ 2. Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
✔ 3. Eyes of Empire by JCM Berne My post about it
4. Cold Iron Task by James Butcher
5. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
✔ 6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman My post about it
✔ 7. Detained: A boy’s journal of survival and resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Iván Morales
✔ 8. What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack My post about it
✔ 9. Killer Vibes by Jack Friday My post about it
✔ 10. Manitou by Glen Gabel

11. Wool by Hugh Howey
✔ 12. Eternal Blades by Vlad V. Imakaev My post about it
✔ 13. First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston My post about it
✔ 14. Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
✔ 15. The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson
✔ 16. Squeaky Clean by Callum McSorley
17. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
18. Crownfall by Michael Vadney
✔ 19. We Be Dragons by Michael Weitz My post about it
20. Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler

(subject to change, as is allowed, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).

What do you think of this list? Any warnings—or anything you think I should be really excited about?

20 Books of Summer '26 Chart July Check-in

Grandpappy’s Corner: Fancy Dogs by Tini Malina, Tammi Reichel (Translator): No Plain Pooches Here

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2026

In Dogs, Grandpappy's Corner, YA/MG/Children's Books

Fancy Dogs

by Tini Malina, Tammi Reichel (Translator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: NorthSouth Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Format: eARC
Length: 48 pg.
Read Date: August 3, 2026

What’s Fancy Dogs About?

Books and films about dogs who live as strays, or in packs on the street are common. But for every Tramp, there’s a Lady—a dog who lives a very different lifestyle, and we don’t spend that much time talking about them.

Malina comes along to address the imbalance with this book giving us a peek behind the curtain—just what is it like to live as a “fancy dog”? And are they just as silly and mischief-bound as their lower-class cousins? (short answer: yes)

Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute

This is one of those picture books where the charm of the art is in it’s simplicity (note that I said simplicity, as in straight-forward. Not easy.). None of the canines portrayed in these pages are all that anatomically great. But they’re all dogs at a glance. It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s attractive.

It’s amazing what a simple bow tie can do to a drawing of a dog. There’s no question the primary dog is a fancy dog—although, he’s not above switching off the bow tie for a spiffy scarf or a shiny collar, either.

You can see some pages from the German edition here.

How is it to Read Aloud?

I bet it’s great in German—it’s pretty good in English, although I wonder if the original has a few more rhymes.

I did enjoy it, don’t get me wrong, I just think one or two more rhymes would be better. I still look forward to trying this with the grandcritters.

So, what did I think about Fancy Dogs?

It’s fun, it made me smile, and I bet at least one grandcritter of mine will have me read it a time or three. That’s good enough for me.

There’s a little bit of humor that will have to be explained to an American kid, but that works out for those who don’t want to explain literal potty-humor to a three-year-old. (don’t worry, it’s just about alternatives to a water bowl that some dogs engage in)

I had a great time with Fancy Dogs the two times I’ve read it—I expect you will, too. Especially if you have a young’un to share it with.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from NorthSouth Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston: Magic and Mundane Engineering

By HCNewton

On July 28, 2026

In Fantasy, Fiction

h2><img src=”http://www.hcnewton.com/irrreader/2026images/FirstMage.jpg” alt=”Cover of First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston” border=” />First Mage on the Moon

by Cameron Johnston

DETAILS:
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publication Date: April 14, 2026
Format: Paperback 
Length: 320
Read Date: July 9-15, 2026

He slid the paper across her workbench and stood there, waiting expectantly.

She sighed and glanced down, paused, then looked harder at the scrawl of handwriting. On the page was a circle representing their world, and another, smaller circle with a crude palace of the gods crowning it, depicting the moon. A straight dotted line ran from one circle to the other, surrounded by numbers and calculations, many scored out.

“What is this unholy mess?” she asked.

Jackan nodded at his workings. “You tell me, lass.”

She studied it, determining distance and speed and… “What is this number?”

“Weight,” he said.

She frowned, trying to fit it all together. “It looks like you are trying to figure out the speed you would need to achieve to get something the weight of a stone golem to the surface of the moon.”

He rocked backwards and forwards on his heels. “Mmmhmm. Thoughts?”

She looked up at him, eyes widening as she took in his sincerity and remembered an off-hand comment made the day before. “Why the moon? Is it just a thought experiment?’

He nodded. “Sure is.” Then, under his breath: “For now.”

What’s First Mage on the Moon About?

An accident triggered by lightning and experimental weaponry leads Ella Pickering to have a conversation or two with the engineer Jackan Grissom. Ella was a skymage, flying ships in the war—after a crash that landed her in a wheelchair, she’s been working in a weapons factory doing grunt work. She knows enough to see that Grissom’s weapon wasn’t really that much of a weapon.

It turns out that he’s actually trying to build something to reach the home of the Gods—the Moon. Ella is intrigued and gets herself assigned to his team. They recruit a couple of other people—actually, no. one person blackmails her way onto their team, and they get saddled with another. Their boss believes they are working on a revolutionary weapon—but that’s the last thing they want to do.

Essentially, they’re stealing money and resources from the government’s war effort to undertake a mission that is (or at least approaches) blasphemy. And anyone figuring out what they’re doing is going to lead to their demise.

The Little Touches

For recovering Space Race junkies like me, there are so many things to find joy in.

Johnston has worked in several—more than several—little Easter Egg-type things throughout the book. Allusions to Star Trek and Firefly, several names that make you think of Gemini and Mercury astronauts, there’s a very USSR-snooping-on-the-Mercury-Program feel to things, the alternative to Laika or Ham the Astrochimp is inspired—and only possible in a Fantasy novel.

Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?

“Aye,” the old engineer said. “Most guild-taught mages think that every little problem can be solved by using the right magic, but there’s only so many arcane runes and enchantments you can add to something before they snarl each other up explode in your face. I was a stonemason and an engineer before I was an accredited mage, so I thought to myself ‘alchemy, now, that’s a different matter entirely’. If we use our brains as well as our aether, we are bound to improve the efficiency of both.”

I picked this up because The Last Shield convinced me that I want to read a lot more of Johnston (and I still do). Also—the idea of a magic user headed to the moon in a rocket-looking thing is just too great to pass up.

Why did I keep reading it? As much as I dislike an in medias res beginning and typically don’t find them that effective in getting me to answer something, this one had me invested. How do we get from the beginning (see my Opening Lines post) to this point?

Even without that, I’d have been in—watching a bunch of magic users function as engineers and scientists with their magic, rather than just muttering something and waving their hands to get a wonderful result—is such a great idea, and was fun to read. It’s possibly the best idea in the book, and the execution really makes you want to see other Fantasy writers take a stab at things along those lines.

What does this book tell us about humanity?

It’s very much in the spirit of one of Sam Seaborn’s better lines:

Mallory O’Brian: Do we really have to go to Mars?

Sam Seaborn: Yes.

Mallory O’Brian: Why?

Sam Seaborn: ‘Cause it’s next. ‘Cause we came out of the cave, and we looked over the hill and we saw fire; and we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the west, and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what’s next.

At the core, this book is about a bunch of decent and smart people who are tired of a war that doesn’t seem to have an end, or much of a point. They’re tired of pumping out weapons and have found a way to use their magic and smarts for something positive. That human spirit that Sam puts into words permeates the novel, in the middle of everything else—these people want to take to the sky.

Not just among the team—but across borders.There’s a real international appeal to their efforts, but I’ll leave that for you to see.

So, what did I think about First Mage on the Moon?

“Up there, beyond this ball of rock, sea, and soil, is something humanity knows nothing about. We have so many questions without answers, and so many questions we don’t even know to ask.”

This wasn’t the book that I thought it was going to be—but I’m not complaining.

One thing that I’d have liked to see more of is the developing friendships among the team. There’s enough science and engineering, political maneuvering going on, espionage, and warfare that there really wasn’t room for it. But those little moments of conversation between them, collaboration, and growing bonds were the best parts of the book. The character work was very well done, but not the priority of the novel (and I wish it was).

This was, instead, a book about war, the costs of it (in many senses), hope, those who benefit from destruction, and the systems that encourage this behavior. What our astronauts learn about their gods is more than unexpected, but fits in with the overarching themes of the book.

I’m not entirely sure that I can say that I enjoyed this book—but I’m very glad that I read it. The ideas, the characters, and the execution were more than worth the investment of time. And the last page or so really just sealed the deal on this being a good read.

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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