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February 29, 2016
The Life Engineered
by J F Dubeau
Inkshares
Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date: March 1, 2016
Review
The Life Engineered is the most marvelous and innovative science fiction novel that I've read in quite some time. Imagine a world where your nature, your evolved self determines the form your body takes and the abilities it has. Imagine a world of creation, free of conflict. This is the world inherited by the capeks, a race of sentient artificial beings. This is the world that Dagir (Day) is born into, moments before her creator/mother Yggdrasil is destroyed - an unprecedented act of murder. By nature, Dagir is both a healer and a seeker of truth, and the search for the destroyers draws her into the secrets of the past, the origin of the capeks, and the hidden remnants of humanity.
The capeks are not robots, nor are they androids replicating human emotion. They are each unique in body, personality, and function. Their design is an extension of their selve...
February 26, 2016
Shards of Murder
by Cheryl Hollon
Kensington Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: February 23, 2016
Review
Exquisite art requires passion, but passion can lead to murder.
Savannah Webb is thrilled and a bit daunted by the challenge of judging the glass art for the Spinnaker Arts Festival. The clear winner is Megan Loyola, whose art is both innovative and passionate. But Megan does not show up for her prize, and the festival is abuzz with rumor.
Savannah does not expect to discover Megan's body on her morning run with Rooney. As she was one of the last people to speak with Megan and has no-one but her weimaraner to give her an alibi, Savannah becomes one of the main suspects.
It is obvious to Savannah that the best way to clear her name is to identify the killer. With her in-depth knowledge of glass-making, and the skills of her friends, she starts her own systematic investigation. Everyone has a role to play, even Rooney who may be the only one who can identify the kil...
February 25, 2016
A Whisker of Trouble: A Second Chance Cat Mystery
by Sofie Ryan
Obsidian Mystery
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: February 2, 2016
Review
Who can help falling in love with Elvis? - and by Elvis, I mean Elvis the rescue cat, the undisputed star of Sofie Ryan’s Second Chance Cat mysteries. Of course that doesn’t downplay the importance or the charm of the human characters. It is easy to see why Sarah can’t say no to her grandmother’s friends, the senior citizen version of Charlie’s angels (aspiring PIs). As much as Sarah would prefer to avoid detective work, helping Liz, Rose, and Mr P (the senior hacker who wears his pants up to his armpits) is second nature.
In A Whisker of Trouble, Elvis discovers a body at the home of Edison Hall. The victim is the wine expert hired by the family to appraise Hall’s wine collection. The collection is worthless, Hall was the victim of a well-planned con. As Sarah and her friends wade through the myriad items Edison Hall collected ov...
February 25, 2016
Borderline
by Mishell Baker
Saga Press
Sci FI & Fantasy
Pub Date: March 1, 2016
Review
Some books make you stand up and take notice. They grab you and don’t let go. Borderline is an unforgettable piece of urban fantasy, distinct and innovative.
As leads go Millie is far from the norm. She is a paraplegic who lost her legs in a failed suicide attempt. She contends daily with her borderline personality disorder. Millie is cynical and damaged, but she is also a survivor. When she is recruited by the Agency, she learns of the fae and their presence in the world. Her first assignment seems simple, see why a nobleman of the Seelie court has not returned to Arcadia. But what at first looks simple is far from it, and much more than her new position with the Agency is on the line.
Part of what makes this book so intriguing is that the Agency recruits the mentally ill, individuals whose challenges normally make them undervalued, marginalized, and ignored. Mil...
February 23, 2016
No Cats Allowed: A Cat in the Stacks mystery
by Miranda James
Berkley Publishing Group
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: February 23, 2016
Review
Miranda James crafts an excellent mystery, and No Cats Allowed is no exception. The seventh in the Cat in the Stacks mystery series is easily as good as the first. Unlike many cozy series, the quality of Miranda James's novels has remained high throughout. This series is perfect for anyone looking for a relaxing cozy with an unforgettable feline lead.
In No Cats Allowed, Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon Diesel are faced with clearing the name of their close friend Melba when the new library director, Elwyn Dillard is found murdered. Elwyn Dillard was far from popular - his cost-cutting plans target the archive and the rare book collection. At various times, he threatened all of the staff, and even tried to get Diesel removed from the library. Charlie knows that Melba, the director's secretary, is no murderer, and suspects...
February 22, 2016
Bitter Bite
by Jennifer Estep
Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books
Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date: February 23, 2016
Review
It isn't easy to keep a long running series both fresh and interesting. Jennifer Estep successfully keeps readers fascinated with both her characters and the developing story arc. While all of her novels have the requisite action, devious plans, elemental magic, hot sex and dangerous and deadly opponents, each has a unique plot that adds yet another piece to the puzzle that is Ashland.
It is hard to decide which aspect I enjoy most – the thrilling action loaded plots or the varied and interesting characters, particularly Gin who is as at home eliminating enemies as she is preparing the best BBQ in Ashland. She cares a great deal about her friends and adopted family, and that love and loyalty will be tested.
In Gin's 14th adventure, Bitter Bite, the Spider faces a cunning opponent who is not only an immensely powerful ice elemental, she is also Finnegan's mother – the woman w...
February 18, 2016
No Shred of Evidence: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery
by Charles Todd
William Morrow
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: February 16, 2016
Review
Life is rarely straightforward, and murder in real life is never as straightforward or as cut and dry as it is in novels.
No Shred of Evidence puts Inspector Ian Rutledge in an unusual position. A man is near death. Three young women of respectable family claim that they saw Harry’s boat sinking and were attempting to save him from drowning by pulling him into their boat. A local farmer claims they were attempting to drown the man and there was no second boat. There is no clear evidence either way, but the accusation is given weight because no-one knows what the farmer has to gain. It is up to Inspector Rutledge to uncover what happened and find evidence. If he doesn’t, the three young women may hang on the word of the farmer alone. The more he digs, the more secrets he uncovers and the more complicated the case becomes. Someone wanted Har...
February 17, 2016
The Killing in the Cafe: A Fethering Mystery
By Simon Brett
Severn House
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: March 1, 2016
Review
Free spirited life counselor Jude and her practical, no-nonsense neighbor Carole are once more thrust into investigating a murder when one of Jude’s clients finds a body… a body that goes missing shortly after its discovery. Jude’s client, Sara, believes she may have been hallucinating, but Jude isn’t so sure.
Polly’s Cake Shop has long been a fixture in Fethering. Now, the owner is selling, and residents fear the cafe may become a Starbucks, part of a vast commercial enterprise foreign to village life. Sara convinces Jude to take part in the committee organized to Save Polly’s Cake Shop. Jude dreads the personality clashes and the inevitable ego trips involved.
Then the body reappears, now badly decomposed on Fethering Beach. The dead man is a stranger, but he visited Polly’s Cake Shop the afternoon before his death and asked to speak with the o...
February 16, 2016
Death of a Nurse: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery
by MC Beaton
Grand Central Publishing
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: February 23, 2016
Review
I've always enjoyed the Hamish Macbeth mysteries. Hamish is an unassuming village policeman, more concerned with taking care of his village than collaring criminals. He prefers to give residents the chance to do the right thing, even if it takes a few surreptitious nudges. Softhearted and easygoing, he is often accompanied by his pets. While he is quite clever in unraveling mysteries, he is quite lacking in understanding of the opposite sex, paying too much attention to appearances.
With her flirty nursing outfit and gorgeous looks, Gloria Dainty attracts a great deal of attention in Lochdubh. Hamish easily falls for her charm, asking her out to dinner. When she misses the dinner, he thinks little of it. Several days later, her body washes ashore.
Dealing with police politics is as difficult as finding lea...
February 15, 2016
Next of Kin: A Sarah Quinn Police Procedural
by Maureen Carter
Severn House
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: March 1, 2016
Review
Next of Kin is an extremely dark novel, and is best suited for adult readers. It is a gritty, realistic police procedural that may be disturbing for some readers as sexual assault plays a major role.
When the body of a teenage girl is found, it is assumed she is only the latest victim of a serial rapist. The case becomes more complicated when police discover that the dead girl’s friend is also missing. Detective Inspector Quinn is assigned the case, but is undercut at every turn. The victim’s father is angry, but refuses to cooperate with Sarah. The Chief Superintendent has assigned another Detective to assist, one who closes cases, but is known to cut corners. Both the Chief Super and DI Brody want Sarah out of the picture, and this case may be the means of achieving that goal.
Caroline King may not be writing for the papers anymore, hav...
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