Mutt Cafe

Cross My Path by Clea Simon Severn House Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 01 Jul 2018 Review Clea Simon is an astounding author with a unique talent for capturing the essence of both humans and animals in writing. Since its start, this series has been one of my favorites. The world of Cross My Path is a decaying one. There is limited commerce, and jobs and food are hard to come by. Few are literate, and women and children are always at risk from the more powerful who seek to

Murder Takes a Turn A British country house mystery by Eric Brown Severn House Historical Fiction Pub Date 01 Jul 2018 Review There is nothing quite like a well written, originally plotted manor house mystery. Murder Takes a Turn is an exemplary manor house mystery complete with a wide cast of characters, each with a motive and potentially the opportunity to murder the victim. Denbigh Connaught has long been a terror, with a long list of wronged acquaintances, including

Only The Dead A sinister game of revenge by Malcolm Hollingdrake Bloodhound Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 20 Nov 2016 Review Only the Dead is an interesting police procedural, differing from the norm in that for one of the two cases you already know the culprit. More than that, you sympathize with him despite his terrible acts. His mother was tormented and killed by her carers. His acts are retribution, designed to draw attention. But this plot line is only part o

The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn Houghton Mifflin Harcourt John Joseph Adams/Mariner Books Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 17 Jul 2018 Review I went into The Wild Dead without expectations. What I discovered was a world where little remained of the past, where most lived relatively primitive lives in households along the Coast Road. Quotas are carefully maintained and resources managed. Women are implanted with birth control that is only removed when a household proves it can

IT TAKES DEATH TO REACH A STAR by Stu Jones & Gareth Worthington Vesuvian Books Literary Fiction , Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 22 May 2018 Review It Takes Death to Reach a Star depicts a dystopian future where the last of society is divided between the Graciles, genetically engineered individuals who live in luxury above, and the Robusts, the plague survivors who struggle in the frozen habitats below. The Robust population of Eytom is divided into walled segments according

Lestrade and the Giant Rat of Sumatra by M. J. Trow Thistle Publishing General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 24 May 2018 Review The first word that comes to mind when considering Lestrade and the Giant Rat of Sumatra is “weird”. It is an unusual book that has its own distinctive charm. Set in the early years of the 20th century, this quirky police procedural is both funny and disturbing at once. I’ve never read anything quite like it. Chief Inspector Wal

I Only Killed Him Once A Ray Electromatic Mystery by Adam Christopher Macmillan-Tor/Forge Tor Books Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 10 Jul 2018 Review Few things go as well together as robots and pulp noir, as Adam Christopher has repeatedly proven with his Raymond Electromatic novels. Christopher’s LA of the 1960s has all the glamour of Hollywood in its heyday and something extra - a robot detective turned hitman. Having a memory that starts from scratch every 24 hours is

And Then There Were Crows by Alcy Leyva Black Spot Books General Fiction (Adult) , Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 03 Jul 2018 Review I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading And Then There Were Crows. Part satirical urban fantasy, part black comedy - the end of the world begins with a Craigslist ad for a roommate. In this case roommate from hell is an accurate description. Amanda Grey has agoraphobia and panic disorder. Dealing with the everyday is hard enough, b