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It Takes a Coven by Carol J. Perry Kensington Books Kensington Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 27 Feb 2018 Review The Witch City mysteries by Carol J Perry continue to be fresh and entertaining, easily avoiding the trap of becoming formulaic and repetitive. Lee Barrett and her cat O’Ryan are a memorable pair, and while there is magic, it definitely takes Lee’s creativity and intellect to solve the puzzle. In It Takes a Coven, Lee is facing a serious challenge - being the mai

Real Tigers Jackson Lamb Thriller 3 by Mick Herron Hachette Australia John Murray Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 13 Feb 2018 Review Real Tigers is an exemplary spy-fi novel. It is clever, tightly plotted, and eerily pertinent, with characters who are way more human and believable than Bond or Bourne. That is not to say there isn’t action - merely that superhuman feats are left to books by writers who aren’t trying to write a realistic spy novel. Real Tigers moves at a f

Dead Lions Jackson Lamb Thriller 2 by Mick Herron Hachette Australia John Murray Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 13 Feb 2018 Review I have just added Mick Herron to my go-to list for spy-fi, alongside Deighton and Le’Carre. I was incredibly impressed by Dead Lions - so much so that I immediately plan to read the next book in the series. First the intro to Slough house and its residents was supremely clever, giving insight to the nature of the characters present in a nontraditi

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard Subterranean Press Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 31 Mar 2018 Review The Teamaster and the Detective is an amazing read that will satisfy your cravings for science fiction and Holmesian mystery in a go. In the world of Bodard’s imagining, living mindships enable travel through deep spaces, both in actual and virtual form. The teas they brew enable individuals to survive such travel with their serenity and sanity intact. M

Pawprints & Predicaments by Bethany Blake Kensington Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 27 Feb 2018 Review I absolutely adore Bethany Blake’s animal cozies. She has such an amazing way of bringing the various furred characters to life. As an animal lover and pet parent I’m well aware of the quirks our beloved friends have and the ways we happily bend over backwards to make them happy. That is at the core of Pawprints and Predicaments. Sylvan Creek is famously pet friendly,

Quintember by Richard Major Endeavour Press General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 04 Jan 2018 Review Quintember pompously sees itself as an intellectual reimagining of the classic spy/assassin novel, filled with in jokes and cravenly circular logic. Parts are clever and rather funny, but on the whole, Quintember is maddeningly self-absorbed drivel. There is not a coherent overarching plot, rather Richard Major meanders at will, moving from one disconnecte

The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovocic Bonnier Publishing Australia Echo General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 01 Mar 2018 Review The story of Molly Dean captures the reader’s imagination as quickly as it does that of art dealer Alex Clayton. A lost portrait of an artist’s muse, one who died a violent death which was never solved. Molly Dean was a woman who wanted more - freedom from her mother’s tyranny, freedom from the strictures forced upon

The Weight of the Evidence An Inspector Appleby Mystery by Michael Innes Ipso Books General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 12 Jan 2018 Review The Inspector Appleby mysteries are clever, well written, and always a challenge for the armchair detective. The Weight of the Evidence is a bizarre mystery, but one that is all the more entertaining for the variety of potential motives and suspects. The characters themselves are the strange assortment that you fin

Wrath of the Fury Blade by Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee Shadow Dragon Press Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles Mystery & Thrillers , Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 18 Apr 2018 Review Wrath of the Fury Blade has potential, but it definitely needs a good bit of work. Habiger and Kissee spend far too much time describing incidentals and elements of each character’s appearance, rather than taking the time to develop the characters. It reads more like a g

Coffin, Scarcely Used (A Flaxborough Mystery Book 1) by Colin Watson Farrago Humor , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 22 Feb 2018 Review Coffin Slightly Used is an enjoyable British police procedural, light on tension but pleasantly paced and delightfully witty. There is a great deal of humor but it is subtle rather than laugh out loud. It is a great mystery to enjoy while drinking a pot of tea on a lazy afternoon. Harold Carobleat, respected councilor and do-gooder is dea