
Ascendant Unrest
Ascendant Unrest (Faded Skies #2)
Book TWO of the Faded Skies
by Matthew S. Cox
Curiosity Quills Press
Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 24 Jul 2018 Review Matthew S Cox returns to the world he created in Ascendant in his second novel - Ascendant Unrest. His newest novel exceeds the high expectations set by his debut. Ascendant Unrest is a fantastic science fiction novel. Not only is the world rich in detail and history, his characters have emotional depth, and he does a conv

Magical Mystery Paws
Magical Mystery Paws
(The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency)
by Mandy Morton
Farrago
Humor , Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 12 Jul 2018 Review The No.2 Feline Detective Agency novels are difficult to categorize. They are fantasies in that all of the characters are cats - walking, talking, driving, clothes wearing, pastry eating cats. They look and behave like cats, but at the same time do all the things humans do. Apart from this, they are strictly mysteries- delightfully whi

A Passion for Haunted Fashion
A Passion for Haunted Fashion
by Rose Pressey
Kensington Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 29 May 2018 Review I have mixed feelings about A Passion for Haunted Fashion. Cookie Chanel’s haphazard and somewhat neurotic approach to investigating is painful to watch and funny simultaneously. The nonstop chatter of her ghosts, Charlotte and Peggy, is more of a hindrance than a help, and is often distracting. It is easy to understand why Cookie isn’t completely “with it”. At

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by Stuart Turton
SOURCEBOOKS Landmark
Sourcebooks Landmark
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 04 Sep 2018 Review The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is one of the most unusual and memorable mysteries that I’ve read. It is easy to compare it to Groundhog Day where the protagonist repeats the same day until he gets it right and Quantum Leap, where the protagonist inhabits the bodies of different people trying to make things right. Both give yo

Kill the Farm Boy
Kill the Farm Boy
The Tales of Pell
by Kevin Hearne; Delilah S. Dawson
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Del Rey
Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 17 Jul 2018 Review Kill the Farm Boy is one of the most hilarious fantasy novels I’ve ever read. It takes the old trope of a young man chosen for adventure and greatness and turns it on its head. Yes the farm boy and his now speaking goat Gustave set off for adventure, but Worstly is soon killed, the victim of an accident

The Prisoner in the Castle
The Prisoner in the Castle
A Maggie Hope Mystery
by Susan Elia MacNeal
Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Bantam
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 07 Aug 2018 Review Imagine Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None played out on an island where British spies who are an “inconvenience” are kept. The newest Maggie Hope mystery, The Prisoner in the Castle, reinterprets Christie’s classic plot in a manner that is fresh rather than derivative. Maggie Hope was sent to

Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab
Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab
by Columbkill Noonan
Crooked Cat Books
Mystery & Thrillers , Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 26 Jul 2018 Review Clever, funny, and utterly unique, Barnabas Tew and The Case of the Missing Scarab is a novel to treasure. This delightful and unconventional mystery places two of England’s most hapless detectives in the Egyptian underworld. Here, at Anubis’s bequest, Barnabas and Wilfred are tasked with finding Khepre, the god who mo

Rise and Run
Rise and Run
by RJ Plant
BooksGoSocial
Mystery & Thrillers , Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 13 Feb 2018 Review Rise and Run is a dystopian thriller that shows R J Plant’s potential as a writer. The premise is an interesting take on the Jeckyl/Hyde duology. Felix is a genetically engineered chimera with two distinct and competing sets of DNA. Medication suppresses his brother Conor. As his adoptive father, Rian’s enforcer, Felix is tasked with infiltrating GDI and protecting K

Murder at Ochre Court
Murder at Ochre Court
by Alyssa Maxwell
Kensington Books
Kensington
Historical Fiction
Pub Date 31 Jul 2018 Review At the turn of the century, few women had careers outside of service. Emma Cross, a poor relation of the Vanderbilt’s, has been trying to make her way as a reporter, but papers hire her for her society connections and her links to gossip. Society reporting is lucrative but far from what Emma wants for herself. Her return to Newport coincides with the socie

Murder on the Green
Murder on the Green
by H.V. Coombs
Avon Books UK
Avon
Humor , Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 25 Jun 2018 Review I was attracted to Murder on the Green by the tag line - Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake Off. It wasn’t that accurate. It’s a little more of a Pie in the Sky. Ben Hunter has little time for anything other than cooking and managing at his restaurant, The Old Forge Cafe. So it’s a bit of a surprise when celebrity chef Justin McLeish and his wife sho