Book Review: Crime and Poetry

Crime and Poetry (Magical Bookshop Mystery #1) 
By Amanda Flower
***

I love a cozy, but there are definitely aspects common to the genre that I have difficulty dealing with. I know the whole deal with cozies is that you have an amateur sleuth, but a lot of times that leads to a bumbling snoop who has no reason to stick her nose into a murder investigation, neglects to tell the authorities important pieces of information, and sneaks solo into the dark basement where she inevitably meets the killer.

SO. Where does Crime and Poetry stand in lieu of these pitfalls? Our heroine has a good reason to start an investigation - she found the body and her grandmother was left as as suspect. She also had a good reason for not trusting the police, which involves a rather dark episode from her youth. There IS a sketchy cop. However, there's also a hot, trustworthy Captain, whom she really should have relied on more. Not just because he was so swoony, though that, too. And she is totally guilty of going alone into dark places where she really should have gone with backup (bonus points for the character realizing it, minus points for the thought being 10 minutes too late). On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being Too Stupid Too Live (TSTL) and 10 being Legit Sleuth, I'd stick our heroine somewhere around a 6 or 7.

Other cozy elements that worked REALLY well: Cute lil' town near Niagara Falls with magic water that feeds a magic tree that lives in a bookstore and makes the books magic and crime solvey. All the bonus points for Magic Books. There's also a talking crow and a too-smart-for-a-normal-cat Tuxedo named Emerson. All the bonus points for Precocious Pets.

Now that our heroine is established in the community and helped solve a crime, and the introductory kinks have been worked out, I'm hopeful that the next books will work a little better.

Also, I enjoyed the narrator. She read well with no weird character voices.

Audio Book Review: Trouble is a Friend of Mine

Trouble is a Friend of Mine (Trouble #1) 

By Stephanie Tromly

****

“Who brings a picnic to a break-in?” 
― Stephanie Tromly, Trouble is a Friend of Mine

Ok, that was pretty fun. Zoe made a relatable character and was often the voice of reason (a voice that mainly went unheard, but still). Digby had some definite Sherlock vibes, but while he clearly had boundary issues, he wasn't a BBC Sherlock or Sheldon Cooper caricature - he may have been brainy and weird, but he was still a teenage boy. Even the mean girl wasn't quite as terrible as she could have been. I mean, she was pretty terrible, but not 100% irredeemable. 

That being said, I honestly can't figure out why Henry was with Sloan, though. Like I said, she was terrible, while he seemed like a genuinely good person. I do not believe his mama would put up with her. Man, I hope that scene happens in the next book!

Oh, and Felix may have been my favorite. And his dad was pretty awesome, too.

I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrator was great. So many YA narrators go for the breathy, angsty voice, which makes me gag. Thankfully Kathleen McInerney did not do that; her voice was realistic to the characters and emotions without going into whispy voice of teen melodrama. 

The mystery itself was solid. Frankly, I didn't expect any of the twists and turns that took place throughout the book. I also like how the mystery built; first they're looking for a missing person, then there's the weird cult and all kinds of criminality going on around them. By the time the story ends, the mystery is wrapped up neatly and, for the most part, satisfyingly, while a new mystery is planted for another book. This new mystery: I'm not sure if it will be the main mystery of the next book, or a series arc, but it looks like it will be a good one.

All in all, Trouble is a Friend of Mine was a fun read and a nice change-up from the more drama- and dark-filled YA novels I've been reading. And the characters were pretty great - I'd want to be friends with most of them.

Book Review: The Colorado Kid

The Colorado Kid

By Stephen King

****

“Well then, I'm going to tell you a secret almost every newspaper man and woman who's been at it awhile knows: in real life, the number of actual stories - those with beginnings, middles, and ends - are slim and none. But if you can give your readers just one unknown thing (two at the very outside) and then kick in what Dave Bowie there calls a musta-been, your reader will tell himself a story.” 
― Stephen King, The Colorado Kid

I read this book after watching the SYFY show, Haven, which is loosely based off The Colorado Kid. I needed - NEEDED - to know how the two compared and how closely the TV show followed the original book. The answer is "barely." There are few similarities between the two, namely the setting in a small town in coastal Maine; the two newspapermen, Vince and Dave; and a mystery around a body discovered in the 80s of a John Doe nicknamed the Colorado Kid. Everything else, including the heart of the mystery of the Kid, differ.

This was my first Stephen King - I'm a big weeny, so the scary stuff just ain't gonna happen - and I really enjoyed it. There's a mystery, but you're not living in it; the reader, like Stephanie, is listening to a tale from over 20 years ago told by the only two people who are still interested in the story. In other words, it was a low-stress read. Also a quick one; it only took me a couple of hours to finish.

There are some things about this story that will frustrate readers, and normally I would count myself among the frustrated, but I appreciated how the story evolved. It was a couple of hours reading well spent.

Book Review: Cocaine Blues

Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher #1) 

By Kerry Greenwood
***

“Her heart was beating appreciably faster, and she took more rapid breaths, but she was enjoying herself. Adventuresses are born, not made.” 
― Kerry Greenwood, Cocaine Blues

I absolutely adore Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - the show. I'm afraid this is one of those rare times when I can honestly say the book *wasn't* better. 

There was much more detail to the mystery in the book - obvs - though the first episode did follow the plot fairly closely (book #1 = episode #1). The main problem I had with the book was that I never managed to connect to the characters. I made an instant connection with the characters on the show, even immediately shipping various pairings (Dot and Hugh 4eva!). Of all the characters in the book, I felt most drawn, of all people, to Bert. If I could have mustered up enough interest to ship any characters in the book, it would have been Phryne and Bert. For anyone who's watched the show, this sounds like crazy talk. But Hugh didn't exist, Dot was a bit harsher, and Jack was kinda dumb (and barely present). 

So there you have it. Watch the show. If you loved it, learning about its origins is interesting, but a little boring. At least it's a super quick read.

Halloween Book Review: Secondhand Spirits

Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery #1) 

By Juliet Blackwell
*** 1/2

"I don’t want to be seen as a scary freak anymore.” And with that I dropped a freeze-dried bat into the bubbling brew." ― Juliet Blackwell, Secondhand Spirits

While not exactly a Halloween title - the story takes place in March - it still seemed like an appropriate book for the season. Secondhand Spirits is an enjoyable cozy mystery with strong paranormal elements. Witch Lily Ivory wants to settle down a bit and make a home for herself, maybe even some friends, and begin a new business selling vintage clothing in San Francisco. But she's not able to keep her witchy ways quiet for long, as she gets involved with what appears to be a supernatural kidnapping AND a murder.

The mystery was strong - I only started to suspect who the Bad Guy was towards the end. I do like a bit more humor/snark in my cozies, but this one had a lot of heart and great supporting characters. Oscar is my clear favorite, obvs: Lily's new gargoyle-esque familiar who turns into a little piggy so the muggles don't freak out. 

Bonus: anyone who enjoys vintage fashion will love the descriptions of the clothes Lily sells in her shop.

Book Review: Beastly Bones

Beastly Bones (Jackaby #2) 

By William Ritter

****

“I’ve found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I’ve known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality.”

Another great novel by William Ritter. Beastly Bones was a lot of fun to read and the beast in the title was particularly cool. Abigail Rook and R.F. Jackaby are great characters and I loved that Abigail got a chance to explore a dream of hers in this book. 

As much as I loved the first book in this series, my main issue with it was the weak-ish mystery. It was fairly obvious who-dun-it, though the why and what of it all remained unknown until the end. In Beastly Bones, the mystery was much more solid and a bigger puzzle began to unfold towards the end that I can't wait to dig in to. 

I'm totally loving this series and highly recommend it. 

**I received an Advanced Review eGalley of this title from NetGalley**

Book Review: Day Shift

Day Shift (Midnight, Texas #2) 
By Charlaine Harris
****

A fun follow up to Harris's Midnight Crossroad. This time around the focus is on Manfred and Olivia as the primary voices, and Joe as a secondary voice. (I kinda love that there's no single main character in this series - Manfred takes the lead, but the other characters seem to be getting their own chance to take focus from book to book.) 

Things are changing in this unchanging little town and nobody likes it. There are several mysteries for our characters, some of which aren't revealed at the end. What was revealed was more about the characters, namely who and what they are. While I enjoyed the mystery, what I really loved about this installment was getting to know the characters better. I can't wait to find out more about them and see what happens next to their little town, because clearly something is coming.

In my review of Midnight Crossroad, I commented on how various characters and references were made to Harris's other series. The only reference I hadn't caught in the first book was to Sookie Stackhouse's world. Well, Day Shift is chock full of Sookie references, and they aren't even little minor ones. I love that we're getting a new series and a new set of stories, but I also like that I don't have to completely leave those past worlds behind.

Another great book for fans of Charlaine Harris! Recommended.

**I received an Advanced Review eGalley of this title from NetGalley**

Book Review: Seven Kinds of Hell

Seven Kinds of Hell (Fangborn #1) 
By Dana Cameron
*****

“I felt the shame of unleashing the Beast only until I was washed in a flood of righteousness...As I stepped out of my cheap black China-doll shoes, I felt elegant, sleek, graceful. The wind ruffled my fur.”  ― Dana Cameron, Seven Kinds of Hell

Take everything you know about vampires and werewolves and toss it out the window. Go ahead and toss it, I'll wait.

Dana Cameron's Fangborn world is made up of vampires, werewolves, and oracles, and they are completely different from anything I've read or watched. And they're FASCINATING! I'm particularly intrigued by Dana's vampires - which can turn into giant, colorful snake-creatures. Seriously, how cool is that? (Ok, maybe less cool if you have a snake-phobia. Fortunately for me they didn't turn into giant spiders.)

The story follows Zoe, a young woman pursuing an education in archaeology, who spent her life on the run from her father and his family. Her mother believed they were some kind of mafiosi, and they shuffled from place to place over the years to keep them at bay. Now Zoe is an adult, her mother just passed away, and it looks as though her father's family has finally caught up with her. Oh, and either she's insane, or she can turn into a werewolf. (Spoiler Alert: she's not insane...)

You'd think this would be enough of a story - woman on the run trying to stay a step ahead of her werewolf family, but noooo, Dana turns it up a notch by adding an international artifact hunt, mythology, several baddies of human and non-human nature, and various allies and enemies with Zoe trying to figure out which is which. 

This story subverted ALL of my expectations and gave me a book so far beyond what I could have hoped for! I gave up trying to figure out what could possibly come next after the first few surprise twists. And to top it off, Dana is a real-life archaeologist, so when she gets into aspects of that field, it's truly fascinating (or at least it was to me, who at one point thought I wanted to become an archaeologist - see my review of Lives in Ruins for more info about that). 

Bonus: I haven't traveled much, and what I *have* done took place over 10 years ago, but the characters traveled to places that I've seen in the flesh, and that was awesome for me. I've seen the ruins at Ephesus, and I've shopped the streets of Kusadasi (where I was proposed to...by a random fella outside a shop), and I've wound my way through the twisty alleyways of Mykonos. Luckily my trip didn't involve any murders or vast conspiracies...

Double Bonus: I had the chance to meet Dana last month at my library's annual Book Fest and she is super nice, incredibly funny, and wicked awesome. If you ever have the chance to hear her speak, take it!

Seven Kinds of Hell was such a cool book. There's a lot too it, but it's one helluva ride! Highly recommended.

Book Review: Jackaby

Jackaby (Jackaby #1) 

By William Ritter
****

“Hell of a sight. She let out a scream and just fell to pieces. Can't say I blame her. Like I said, this sort of thing is not for the female temperament." He directed that last sentiment at me, making eye contact for the first time.

"I dare say you're right, sir," I conceded, meeting his gaze. "Out of curiosity, though, is there someone whose temperament you do find suited to this sort of thing? I think I would be most unnerved to meet a man who found it pleasant.” 
― William Ritter, Jackaby

Jackaby is a detective mystery set in the 1890s in the New England area. Jackaby is a detective with some very Sherlockian attributes: he's more focused on *what* he's seeing than *who* he's seeing; he has no real idea of the correct way to interact with others, which often makes him come across as rude; and he wears a funny hat. Ways in which Jackaby is different from Sherlock? Well first off, he doesn't see all the minute details of a situation - the ordinary things others would overlook despite their significance - and leaves that to our narrator, Abigail Rook. Also, he's a seer. He sees the impossible like kobolds and banshees and the like, which the people of Ritter's world do not know about nor believe in. 

Abigail Rook is like Sherlock's Watson; she acts as our narrator and she assists Jackaby in his investigation. She finds a job with Jackaby after newly arriving in the States. She's originally from England, the daughter of a scholar and archaeologist, who wanted nothing more than to join her father in his adventures, but was told that wasn't a place for women. She ran away from school to join a dig for dinosaurs, but the experience wasn't what she was hoping for. Rather than giving up on her own adventures, though, she stuck out her time on the dig, then got on a boat to America. 

The action of the story only takes place over the course of a couple days. There's a murder, one that Jackaby concludes was committed by a supernatural villain. Jackaby and Abigail follow the clues to the big reveal at the end. And I must admit, I actually guessed the culprit pretty early, but since that never happens to me, I assumed I was wrong. Does it count if I figure out the whodunit if I don't believe I figured it out?

Jackaby was a fun story, and lighter than the gorgeous yet dark cover art would lead you to believe. It had it's dark moments, of course; it is a murder investigation after all, but overall the tone was light and often humorous. There were multiple interesting supporting characters, with a decent mix of males and females. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more stories in this world. 

Recommended.

**I received Jackaby as an Advanced eGalley from Net Galley**

Audio Book Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot, #1)  

By The Great Agatha Christie
Narration by: Hugh Fraser
Book: ****
Narration: ****

“Sometimes I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is a method in his madness.” 
― Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles

From Goodreads: 
In World War I England, Styles mansion residents awake to find Emily Inglethorpe fatally poisoned. Guest Captain Hastings enlists his old friend, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, of the magnificent mustaches. Although evidence mounts against one family member, Poirot uses the unique deductive technique of his "little grey cells" to find the truth in his first appearance.

From Me: 
This is my first Agatha (who is just as fascinating, if not more so, as her stories) and I really enjoyed it. Her writing is very accessible, even 100 years later, and despite the very particular nature of the mystery and the solution. I completely love Poirot - I found him adorable. Captain Hastings, poor dear, was almost too stupid too live, but since he never actively put himself or his friends/comrades in danger, I'll just label him "doof."

I listened to this audio book in the course of one work day, and it made the time fly. The only thing missing was the giant wasp.

From Doctor Who episode 4.7 The Unicorn and the Wasp

Audio Book Review: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer 
By Katie Alender
**** (for book and narration)

“Ce n'est seulement le cou — elle veut briser le coeur.”                 

Translation: "She doesn't only want your neck -- she wants to break your heart." 

Marie Antoinette comes back from beyond to take revenge on the families who betrayed her to the guillotine. Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was eerie without being creepy, with a dark current running beneath the Parisian setting. I do so love a book that takes place in foreign territory.

Our heroine, Colette, finds herself in the middle of a rash of serial killings where young, posh, self-centered Parisians are mysteriously beheaded. Colette feels oddly connected to the murders, though she doesn't understand why. And then she keeps seeing a woman in 18th century garb drifting through her surroundings, while her reflection is not always her own. Colette has to solve the mystery of these visions if she wants to keep her own neck.

There are mean girls (I hate Hannah, and I'm completely fine with that), and nice girls who are clearly the better choice in friends; there's a super-hot guy who's full of himself and his plans, and an endearingly sweet guy who is clearly the better choice in a love interest. There were characters I loved and characters I hated (though not really characters I loved to hate; I really think I'm going to lump Hannah in with Professor Umbridge), and the setting of the story was DIVINE. Note to self: go to Versailles.

A great book, and a great narrator (I listened to the audio format of this book). Highly recommended.

Read alikes: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins if you're jonesing for the Parisian setting. The Name of the Stars by Maureen Johnson if you're looking for a paranormal murder mystery (this one is set in London).

Audio Book Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
By Chris Grabenstein
Narration by Jesse Bernstein
***** (book)
**** (narration)

"Mrs. G? This is Dr. Z. What is our white Bengal tiger doing in the children's department?"

From Goodreads:
Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

In this cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Night in the Museum, Agatha Award winner Chris Grabenstein uses rib-tickling humor to create the perfect tale for his quirky characters. Old fans and new readers will become enthralled with the crafty twists and turns of this ultimate library experience.


From Me:
Charming and utterly delightful. Who wouldn't want to go on a massive scavenger hunt in a library built by the ultimate maker of board and video games. This book was a lot of fun and one of the best depictions of a library (even one as impossible as Lemoncello's) I've ever read. 

I want to work in Mr. Lemoncello's library.

Book Review: Midnight Crossroad

Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1) 
By Charlaine Harris
****

"And then Manfred realizes that all morning, throughout the camaraderie of unloading the van, neither of his companions asked the obvious questions. Why are you moving to such a godforsaken place? What brings you here? What do you do? Where did you live before? And Manfred Bernardo realizes he's moved to the right place. In fact, it's just like he belongs here."  

Midnight Crossroad reads like many of Harris's novels - there's a mystery, a quirky cast of characters, and the setting often feels like another character in the story. It was less bloody than the more recent of the Sookie Stackhouse books, though there was still a body count, and like the Sookie Stackhouse books, there was a paranormal element. One thing that was different, though, was that it didn't seem like there was one main protagonist. The focus shifted often between several characters. Manfred Bernardo (from the Harper Connelly series) was maybe slightly more front and center, but Fiji and Bobo also took up a lot of focus, particularly Fiji. And that's another thing - Harris again get's very creative with her characters' names, possibly more in this book than in any other, and that's saying something.

Harris also tied a lot of her series together within this book. There was a reference to the Lily Bard series and the Harper Connelly series, and I even caught one reference to the Aurora Teagarden series. And since Midnight Crossroad has a vampire character that no one seemed particularly surprised about (though he seems a bit different from Eric or Pam), I assume that the story is set in the same universe as Sookie's. I wouldn't be shocked to see a character from that world show up in this new series, though maybe one already has. I caught a lot of references, but it does make me wonder what I missed, since the older books aren't fresh in my memory.

All in all, I really enjoyed Harris's latest. If you enjoy her writing style and world building, this one fits that profile.

Audio Book Review: Dangerous Women

Dangerous Women
Short Story Collection edited by George R. R. Martin
Read by various narrators
****

“A woman could be strong without having the emotions of a brick.” 
― Brandon Sanderson, Dangerous Women

From Goodreads:
All new and original to this volume, the 21 stories in Dangerous Women include work by twelve New York Times bestsellers, and seven stories set in the authors’ bestselling continuities—including a new “Outlander” story by Diana Gabaldon, a  tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of The Magicians, and a 35,000-word novella by George R. R. Martin about the Dance of the Dragons, the vast civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones.

From Me:
Fantastic collection of short stories with kick ass women taking the lead. I listened to the audio book and the narrators were amazing, particularly Claudia Black (who should read All The Things). So many great authors and great stories packed into a beast of a book! Most of the short stories aren't stand-alones, so if you're a reader of any of the original series, these additions will be very exciting; if you are not, most of the stories will work well without knowing the world behind them; that being said, if you DO read the original series, but you're NOT caught up, you may run across the occasional spoiler. Highly recommended.

More from Goodreads: 
Stories and Narrators (in order of appearance):“Some Desperado” by Joe Abercrombie; Read by Stana Katic
“My Heart Is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott; Read by Jake Weber
“Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland; Read by Harriet Walter
“The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass; Read by Jonathan Frakes
“Bombshells” by Jim Butcher; Read by Emily Rankin
“Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn; Read by Inna Korobkina            
“Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale; Read by Scott Brick
“Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm; Read by Lee Meriwether
“I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block; Read by Jake Weber
“Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson; Read by Claudia Black
“A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman; Read by Harriet Walter
“The Girl in the Mirror” by Lev Grossman; Read by Sophie Turner
“Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress; Read by Janis Ian
“City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland; Read by Scott Brick
“Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon; Read by Allan Scott-Douglas
“Pronouncing Doom” by S.M. Stirling; Read by Stana Katic
“Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes; Read by Claudia Black
“Caregivers” by Pat Cadigan; Read by Janis Ian
“Lies My Mother Told Me” by Caroline Spector; Read by Maggi-Meg Reed
“Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon; Read by Jenna Lamia
“The Princess and the Queen” by George R. R. Martin; Read by Iain Glen

The introduction by Gardner Dozois is read by Fred Sanders and the interstitial author biographies are read by Karen Dotrice.

Book Review: Dragon Justice

Dragon Justice (Paranormal Scene Investigations #4)
By Laura Anne Gilman
*****

Urban Fantasy Meets Forensic Investigations

Gilman created an amazing world in her Retrievers series, then made fans like me thrilled with a spin-off series. The story takes place in NYC and parallels our everyday world. What most of us Nulls don't know is that there is magic in the world. But rather than just stick to secret magic people in a non-believing world, Gilman added science. What her characters can do mimic many of the elements of electricity - they get a boost from generators and lightning storms, among other things. And in the spin-off series, a cast of characters attempt to do something completely new to this magic world: they create a form of magical forensics to solve magical crimes. This group is called PUPI, or Private Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigations.

The series follows Bonita "Bonnie" Torres, introduced in the Retriever series, as a young woman who couldn't find her "fit" in her post-academic world. Then she's called to join PUPI and combine her particular strengths and gifts to the organization. It's difficult work, but rewarding. They manage to solve the crimes, with the occasional threat to their own well-beings, and in the process they make both allies and enemies. The story delves into the politics of this world, the relationships between the PUPI investigators, as well as the science of the crimes. Gilman's world-building is both detailed and engaging - it drags the reader in and makes them itchy for the next book!

In the fourth installment in this series, Bonnie is due for a break, and just because she leaves for one, doesn't mean she's going to get it. This story takes us through the regular series' haunts, like The Wren's appartment, the PUPI headquarters, and an intriguing story in Central Park, but then it takes a detour to Philadelphia. Here Bonnie finds herself figuring some things out with her relationship to one of the Big Dogs, Ben, with whom she has a unique relationship, and she also gets thrown into a new mystery. Both of these things end up changing things for Bonnie and the Pups; some of these changes involve growing closer together and creating new bonds, while others lead to loss and heartache.

I highly recommend this series to any urban fantasy fan, or anyone who appreciates solid world-building or forensic mysteries. I would recommend starting with the Retriever series, though - you'll understand Bonnie's world much better that way, and the forensic elements will make more sense with the foundation of the original series behind it.

Book Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow

The Book of Blood and Shadow
By: Robin Wasserman
(*****)

“I should probably start with the blood.”

From Goodreads:

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.


From Me:

The Book of Blood and Shadow is like two books in one: first, you have Nora and her friends, their lives, how they deal with school and relationships. Then you have a mad dash through the streets of Prague searching for mysterious clues to an ancient puzzle, which once solved, can give a glimpse into the divine.

Nora's past involves a tragedy that she keeps to herself. Her parents are lost in themselves, leaving Nora as an afterthought. Nora, a bit of a Latin prodigy, was admitted to a prestigious school on the other side of town, disconnected enough from her world that no one knows about her past. There she becomes best friends with Chris and his girlfriend, Adriane. Fast forward to Nora's senior year, where she is interning at the local university where Chris is attending, and they both assist a professor in translating and transcribing 400 year old Latin texts, along with Chris's roommate, Max. They're attempting to break a code that has puzzled the best mathematicians and code breakers for four centuries. Nora finds the key to breaking the code, and the wrong people notice, leading to the death of her best friend. To avenge Chris's murder and clear Max's name, Nora and Adriane head to Prague, where the Latin texts were originally written. There, they stumble through clues that lead to an unexpected ending.

The first half of the book feels like a typical real-life-issues young adult novel. The characters struggle through evolving relationships, family issues, and the question of their future. You get to know them and connect to them, the whole time knowing that one of them will shortly die while another is blamed for that murder. The first page opens with these bombshells, quickly followed by a flash-back that leads up to this big moment. After that, we get to the mystery in Prague, where Nora and Adriane search for Max and hide from more than one secret society that wants to hinder or hurt them.

The mystery and historical portions of the story were fascinating. Wasserman does a great job of describing a scene and really getting you attached to the characters. The only thing I wasn't terribly fond of was the religion angle; at times it felt like Wasserman was getting a bit heavy handed with the atheism, while at other times she provided an interesting focus on historical and current Judaism and the mysticism tied to the ancient relic they were searching for in Prague. Like The Da Vinci Code and The Golden Compass, the religious aspect of the book could potentially turn off readers.

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery or treasure hunt. Wasserman included a lot of real historical information about Prague, plus the impossible code they were trying to break is actually real - and still unbroken; this will appeal to historical fiction fans. It was great learning about a part of the world and a part of history that I wasn't familiar with, that of Prague during the Renaissance. The Book of Blood and Shadow is a very cool book and a great read.

Book Review: Deadlocked

Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)  (*****)
by Charlaine Harris

From Goodreads:
With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

From me:
Poor Sookie can't catch a break! She's attempting to make her relationship work with Eric, despite the unusual issues they face as a couple. She's trying to keep her house in order, despite her two fairy roommates. And then someone dies and she's dragged into another murder mystery.

I love these books, and I'll continue to read them until Harris ends the series (and then I'll mourn), but I'd love it if she'd write a short story where Sookie goes on vacation somewhere and nothing happens. (She kinda did this once, and something did happen, but still...Sookie's life is rough.) Is that weird? Anyway, this installment in the series stays true to form: there's a mystery; there are relationship issues; Sookie has to worry about herself, her friends, and her family; and the reader delves deeper into Harris' world. If you love the series, you'll love this book, too.

Book Review: A Spy in the House

A Spy in the House: A Mary Quinn Mystery (The Agency #1)  (*****)
by Y.S. Lee

"Mary!"
She spun about. "What is it?"
"Stay out of wardrobes!"

This book opens with Mary Lang on trial for theft. It's the mid-1800's England, and despite her young age and fairly minor crime, Mary is sentenced to hang. Instead of meeting that fate, though, she is rescued by a woman who runs a school for girls. This school provides an education for girls who wouldn't receive it otherwise, girls with no money and no hopes for a good future. They teach the girls skills that they'll need to provide for themselves in a world that treats women like property. Mary accepts this woman's offer to attend the school, and we jump several years into the future where she's now 17, has changed her last name to Quinn, and teaches at the school. However, she doesn't feel fulfilled by this role, she wants more, and the woman who saved her has a new offer. And this is where our story really begins.

Mary becomes a spy for The Agency, a sort of private-detective, under-cover operation run by women and employing women. Mary is hired as a lady's companion in the house of a suspected smuggler. She is supposed to keep an eye on things and make herself available to the real agent who has already been installed in the household, but of course, Mary can't keep from investigating. In the process, she meets a young man who's also investigating the family, and they decide to work together.

A Spy in the House is a great title for anyone (ok, any young woman - this isn't really a "guy book") who is looking for a historical mystery. I recently had a teen ask me that very question - this title would have been a perfect fit. However, we didn't have it in our collection; I borrowed this from my local library system to test it out and see if my library should get it. I'm seriously considering it - it was an interesting look at the time period and it had a good mystery, one I didn't figure out until the end, and meets a need in the collection.

I really enjoyed this book; it was a great palate cleanser for the heart-break of The Hunger Games, and I sped through it. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series: The Body at the Tower.

Book Review: Storm Front

Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) (*****)
by Jim Butcher

Storm Front is a sort of who-dun-it, private-eye novel...except Harry Dresden is a wizard and the cases he's drawn into are of an other-worldly nature. In this book, the first novel in a long-running series, Harry finds himself dealing with two cases. The first comes from his private detective business - a woman hires Harry to find her missing husband. She doesn't think the cops can help her, and the husband had some interest in magic. At the same time, Harry was called in by the cops to consult on a police case - two bodies have been found with their hearts ripped out of their chests and no sign of how that was accomplished. Harry takes both cases and finds himself in more danger than he ever could have imagined.

Harry, rather than being all rough-and-tumble, drunk grump, and/or gritty tough guy, is actually emotionally accessible. As he finds himself up against the cops, a Chicago crime lord, an insane and powerful magician, and members of the White Council (a sort of magical police force and governing council), Harry is alternately righteously angry, scared out of his wits, exhausted, and determined. The story is a mix of mystery, humor, and excitement. Storm Front is a page turner and an exciting read, and I plan to check out the rest of the series.