Mutt Cafe

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 maid of honor for one of her students.  But along with this, a more complex issue has come into view. Witches are dying and Lee’s friend River believes she might be responsible.  At the same time, a murder of crows has descended upon Salem and no one knows why, particularly not Lee who is interning as an investigative reporter.  But between her scrying ability and nose for news and O’Ryan’s magical connections the murders plaguing Salem may be solved before it’s too late.

5 / 5

I received a copy of It Takes a Coven...

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 faster pace than Dead Lions, which will make it appeal to a broader audience. There is a good bit of naturally occurring humor, but on the whole it is a dark and serious novel where warring factions within the service are as much a threat or possibly more than any outside force.  

In Real Tigers, a new minister is taking charge of the intelligence service, one who sees it as a ways of climbing higher, if he can make a big enough splash.  (Will remind you of someone bad hair and all) Slough House is drawn in...

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 nontraditional way.  The closure was equally impressive .

Jackson Lamb is much like George Smiley - except for being far more slovenly and smelly.(Timothy Spall with worse teeth and gas)  He is good at his job and knows where all the bodies are buried. He isn’t an action figure, but he is smart and knows how to get information.  Everyone who can’t be fired from the service is sent to Slough House. All of the misfits, including those who have made big mistakes are given to Jackson Lamb.  For the most part their work is ted...

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.  Most mindships belong to illustrious families, but The Shadow’s Child is alone, surviving by selling individualized brews to travelers.  The Shadow’s Child is more than sentient, it is a self aware individual with hopes, fears and a burgeoning curiosity.  It becomes the Dr Watson to a Long Chau’s Holmes.  Bodard’s conception is at once a clear homage to Conan Doyle and a unique creation in its own right.  My only complaint is that I finished The Tea Master and the Detective so quickly.  I wanted more....

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, so much so that it is the topic of a television series. But not everyone is enamoured with the quirky tourist town.  Tv producer Lauren Savidge has other ideas - ideas that get her murdered. Once again Daphne Templeton, pet sitter extraordinaire is lured into investigating. This charming mystery has plenty of wonderful pets, unusual characters, quirky customs, humorous hijinks and just the right dose of romance.  

Pawprints and Predicaments is fun, festive and funny - making for a fabulous cosy read.

5...

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 disconnected situation to the next.  Quintember is definitely unusual, but being unusual doesn’t equal good, particularly when there is no coherent plot. The more I read, the more bizarre it became. Ultimately I closed the book at the 80% mark, feeling that I escaped a fate worse than death - boredom.

2 / 5

I received a copy of Quintember from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

-- Crittermom

Description
 

When there are high crimes to be covered up, mysteries to be wrapped in enigmas, or a murderer...

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 women of her time.  She wanted to dream, she wanted to write.  As Alex delves into the portrait’s past, she becomes more and more enthralled in Molly’s story,  seeking out the truth of what happened.  The Portrait of Molly Dean is a fascinating novel, alternating narratives between the past and the present.  Readers feel for Molly and want her to succeed, even realizing that ultimately her tale is a tragic one.  

I enjoyed The Portrait of Molly Dean a great deal, particularly its mixt...

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 find at almost any educational institution, set in their habits and more likely than not, not to notice anything out of the ordinary.  When Professor Pluckrose is killed by a falling meteorite (one falling from the roof, not the sky), Inspector Appleby is called in to determine the culprit.  What makes things all the more difficult is that the various academics are easily distracted and have only a vague notion of truth and reality.  On top of that, each professor has his own suspicions about the murder and its relation t...

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 gm run adventure game than an actual novel.  It got to the point where it was distracting and more than a bit annoying.  Readers really don’t need detailed descriptions of everyone’s hair.  Elements of the plot were left at loose ends (why did the Wake affect Reva so severely so quickly), and there were areas where editing missed problems (duplicated text in chapter 29) and wrong word usage.  

With some refinement Wrath of the Fury Blade could be a solid first novel.  It has an interesting plo...

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 dead.  Little is thought of this until his neighbor dies in what appears to be a bizarre accident.  Detective Inspector Purbright doesn’t get many murders, but he’s fairly certain Marcus Gwill would not have committed suicide by  electrocution.  Both men had the same associates and regularly socialized with each other.  Detective Inspector Purbright is certain he is being lied to, but isn’t sure why.  As determined as he is affable,  Purbright doesn’t give up, unraveling the complex mystery strand by strand....