Book Review: "Silver and Lead" by Seanan McGuire

 Seanan McGuire’s New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger... and this time she has more than ever to protect.

Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania's reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists—until it's discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous.

At least the theft means that Sir October "Toby" Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she's eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn't mean she can’t take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby's child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears....

Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what's been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I am giving an unbiased review.

This is the 19th book in the October Daye series, and again, it does not disappoint.

This takes place very shortly after the end of the last book. Toby is now about 8 months pregnant, and is feeling disgruntled from being cooped up by the over-protective husband, and the "kids" living in her house. She is called forth to bear witness against the Previous Queen, and at the same time, is requested to return to her job as Hero. The royal vaults have been ransacked, and there are several items that would be deadly in the hands of the wrong people, or Fae.

Again, this was a wonderful tale. There are many things I want to say about the details, but will refrain so I not spoil it too much. I look forward to there being more books in this series, and hopefully that will be true.

Book Review" Badlands" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

 

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors Preston & Child return with a thrilling tale in which archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, while investigating bizarre deaths in the desert, awaken an ancient evil more terrifying than anything they’ve faced before.

In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found—and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands—lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods. 

Is it suicide or… sacrifice? 

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found—exactly like the other—the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I am giving an unbiased review.

We return again to the world of Nora Kelly and SA Corrie Swanson, as they "partner up" again to solve a crime. This time it is in the badlands of New Mexico. Obviously it involves ancient Indian rites/customs, but for the non-informed you do learn a little bit about ancient Indian cultures, and even a bit about the Navajos. 

This is the fifth book in the Nora Kelly series, and I am not sure how much further the authors will go with it. I'm guessing it may increase since the Pendergast series seems to be faltering. Overall it was still a good read.

Book Review: "Nemesis" by Patricia Wolf

 

A DANGEROUS CHASE. A SADISTIC KILLER.

DS Lucas Walker is on assignment for the AFP, and it couldn't be more personal. This is his last chance to take down Stefan Markovich - the Vandals leader who tried to have him killed after Walker uncovered his drug operation, and has evaded justice for years.

Having tracked Markovich to Berlin, Walker heads to Germany to lure his nemesis out of hiding and into custody. And there is another draw for Walker in Berlin: he finally gets to see Barbara again.

Still dealing with the trauma of her sister's ordeal in outback Australia, Barbara is working her own case - a suspicious death that casts a dark shadow over a peaceful lake colony. Everything about the horrific scene tells Barbara it's murder, and when a second body emerges she realises she is hunting a killer who is watching their victims die in agony.

As Walker and Barbara grapple with their cases, they must also face their feelings for each other - amid the constant threats of the world they inhabit - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was received from Netgalley.com, and I am providing an unbiased review.

This is the fourth book in the DS Walker series, and there is a bit of a twist. Walker is working on doing a transfer within the force, but before he can work it all out, he receives information on the Vandals leader he has been searching for. Turns out he is in Germany, and whilst working out a deal between his current boss, and the new one, Walker manages to get a trip to Germany to assist with the capture of the Vandals leader. This brings in to play the lady Barbara, whom he had happened to help locate her sister in a previous book.

Though the romance seems to go no where throughout the story, it moves along. The German police don't seem to want to assist, Barbara (also an officer) is working her own murder case, and somehow it gets to where they are sharing the details with each other as if with only Walker's help could she solve it.

Truthfully, I enjoyed there being another DS Walker book, but this one seemed pretty boring. I felt it just stagnated and the ending was not as impressive as it may have been. Still would like to see if this series could go farther, now that Walker has transferred depts.

Book Review: "Death At A Highland Wedding" by Kelley Armstrong

 

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she's developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie's younger sister's wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who's been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat's injuries don't match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I giving an unbiased review.

This is the fourth installment in the Rip in Time series by Armstrong. We are back to modern day detective Mallory, who has slipped through time to a Victorian Era Scotland, and into the body of a housemaid. The original book was interesting to read, though I am not one for historical fiction as much as urban fantasy. Over the course of the MC's story through the books, it seems there will be no need of her returning to her future time line, as she ahs started a relationship, and seems to enjoy detective-type work in this earlier time period. Though restricted by conventions of social placement of women, she is still able to teach more current detective skills to some.

Though the series has been somewhat enjoyable due to the author's writing style, the storyline just is slowly losing my attention. As I stated, I am not into historical fiction, and I feel that these books are somewhat repetitive with the basic story idea: dead body, investigate, lovey lovey, society treatment of women, solve murder, catch bad guy. I do want to point out that this author does do other novels of fiction that I do find more enjoyable.

Book Review: :Bloodlust Curse" by Luanne Bennett

 

I’m Charley Underwood. I run the best bar in Crimson, Georgia… when I’m not kicking demons and vampire thugs out of town.

A local witch has been murdered. Even worse, it looks like the killer stole her magic, draining it away in a bloody ritual.

Who would play with the darkest kind of magic like this? And what are they planning to do with the power they took?

When the killer targets my mentor Candy, and the dangerous trove of enchanted objects in her shop, it’s time to gather Crimson’s witches and prepare for war.

But as we plan our response, I can’t shake the feeling that the others are hiding something from me. Could these attacks be connected to my mother’s magic? And her mysterious death two years ago?

Nothing will stop me from digging up the truth. Because this isn’t just personal. It’s family. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC was provided by Netgalley.com and I giving an unbiased review.

This is the third book in the Charley Underwood series by Bennett, and it still has not lost any of it's charm. Once again Charley is in the mix to stop magic users with bad intent, from doing damage to her town and friends. This time though, it seems there may be more linked to her past and the secrets of her mother that she doesn't know about - and no one seems to want to share.

Like the first two novels, this one was pretty quick read. The story flows wells enough, though our MC Charley just seems to be angry all the time, and really angry when she finds out her friends know more information than they share about the past, mainly in regards to her mother and her death. I've been enjoying the series, and would hazard a guess that there could be a few more books into this series before it get stedious.

Book Review: "South of Nowhere" by Jeffrey Deaver

 

The New York Times bestselling master of suspense returns to his beloved series, adapted for TV (CBS's Tracker, starring Justin Hartley) as reward seeker Colter Shaw races against the clock to save a flooding town from a full-fledged disaster, where the culprit lurks in the plain sight.

When a levee collapses in Hinowah, a small town in Northern California, Colter Shaw is brought on by his sister, Dorion, a disaster response specialist, to help locate a family swept away by the raging water, with mere hours to survive. 

But after a surprise attack along the river obstructs Colter's urgent search, the siblings are forced to consider a new reality: Is the levee at risk of failing from natural causes, or is someone sabotaging it? Colter and Dorion must race against a ticking clock to uncover the truth and save the citizens before the village washes out completely, destroying everything and everyone in its path. - from Netgalley.com

This eARC came from Netgalley.com and I am providing an unbiased review.

This is basically the fifth book in the Colter Shaw series, that was adapted to television as "Tracker". Our MC Colter Shaw is back, and in this part of the tale, he is called in to working with his sister at the site of a levee failure, to help locate a family that was washed off the levee. As time runs out on being able to save this family, things start happening to make the Shaws question a possible evil intent - that the levee was sabotaged and someone wants to destroy the town and surrounding areas.

In the previous books, and yes, even the television show, I have come to like Colter Shaw, as I have Lincoln Rhyme, from other novels by Deaver. There is usually a very realistic spin on events that are occurring in his stories, and is generally quite a nice read. However, I felt a bit lost with this one. The storyline stayed consistent, and realistic, but it just felt too ... fake, I guess, to me. The level of political power, etc, that Shaw over-stepped in solving the issues was just a bit too much for my belief.