Mutt Cafe

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 (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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