Follow the Stone - Locke, John

Follow the Stone is a western with an interesting premise. Ex-gunslinger Emmett Love is paid to help women travel from parts east to Dodge, where they can make a good living as ladies of the evening. He also escorts mail-order brides to their new homes. Emmett is extremely practical and completely cowboy. The way he looks at it, if you need to shoot a woman a little to shut her up you do it.



Emmett and his partners, Shrug and Rose, are planning to move a herd of women west for fun and profit. They stumble on a mail-order bride who was forced to head out on foot, and pick up the other women at various brothels. The characters are all interesting and the trip has plenty of surprises. Locke has shown he can work in multiple genres, and at 99 cents a book I plan to read lots of his stories. Very highly recommended.

The Kinshield Legacy - May, K.C.

The Kinshield Legacy is the first book in the Kinshield Saga. Here's more proof that you can find a great book for the kindle for 99 cents. In the world May describes, magic plays an important role. The main character, warrant knight Gavin Kinshield, is reluctant to admit that his magical powers are growing, and accept the role he's expected to fill. Fate doesn't seem to be giving him a choice.



Gavin likes his simple life and wants to avoid too much responsibility. He's had tragedy in his past but he's a good honest man who enjoys his role as a keeper of the law and defender of the people. After 200 years, what the country needs is a king, but Gavin is sure he's not king material. He just can't seem to resist solving the runes and collecting the jewels that were designed to select the next king. This book kept me turning pages when I should have been sleeping. Highly recommended.

Caribbean Moon - Murcer, Rick

Caribbean Moon is a Manny Williams novel. Manny Williams is a cop from Lansing Michigan. A big chunk of the Lansing police department is going on a Caribbean cruise and they're bringing along a killer.



I'm trying to stick to a reading austerity program and read 99 cent novels on my kindle. There are many to choose from. This was a bad choice.

While the idea of a killer stalking police officers on their vacation is interesting, this novel is a prime candidate for the Reader's Digest Condensed program. The attempted colorful descriptions that pepper this story are distracting, and at times laughable. This first quote is while the police are pondering a particularly gruesome murder scene:

"Finally, Alex stopped making love to his mocha latte and broke the silence."

Hear are a couple more examples:

"The java’s aroma slinked to his wide nose and teased it like a tantalizing performer in a high-class strip club."

"Determination coated her face like fresh snow on a winter’s day."

It's kind of hard to take a murder mystery serious with this kind of verbiage being thrown around like bad garnish on mediocre a salad. See there, I can do it too :)

Was it worth the 99 cents? Nope. Did I finish it to see if they caught the killer. Yes. Still not recommended.

Burn Out - Hohenstein, Traci

Burn Out is Hohenstein's debut novel. The protagonist is Rachel Scott. Rachel started an organization called Florida Omni Search when her four year old daughter went missing. In this book Rachel's organization is helping search for a missing firefighter who left two daughters and a husband behind.



Firefighter Samantha Collins disappears during a warehouse fire and the only trace is her helmet. Her husband is a police captain, but he's in jail for drugs. Her two daughters are left with their grandmother. The grandmother calls in Florida Omni Search to help find her daughter Sam. The search takes a number if interesting turns and why Sam is missing is in doubt to the end. A good first effort. The novel is a little stilted. It reads like a true crime story more than a novel at times. It was still a good read. Recommended.

Hammered - Hearne, Kevin

Hammered is the third book in the Iron Druid Chronicles. The title is appropriate when you consider that Thor is the big villain in this story.



Atticus is trying to avoid killing any more gods, but Thor has ticked off a whole lot of people. Atticus is finally forced to agree to tackle the Norse god of thunder. At least he's rounded up some interesting allies. This is going to be epic. Very highly recommended.

Hexed - Hearne, Kevin

Hexed is the second novel in the Iron Druid Chronicles series. In addition to some nasties that escaped him in the first book in this series, Atticus has to worry about witches he's clashed with before. A long time before.



Atticus usually doesn't want anything to do with witches. However, the local coven are the lesser of two evils so he's going to have to make nice. He's going to need the local witches to help him take care of some out-of-town witches that have a grudge to settle with him. If he just didn't have to deal with a fallen angel, some nasty bacchanals, and a couple of pesky goddesses first. Very highly recommended.

The Ocean Dark - Rogan, Jack

The Ocean Dark is a novel about a danger lurking in the dark the Caribbean waters. The container ship Antoinette is making an unscheduled stop when it's lured to an uncharted island. What the crew discovers, or what discovers them, is something out of a nightmare.



The crew of the Antoinette knows that some of the ships stops are off the books. This voyage the ship is going to rendezvous with a fishing boat to pick up some guns. They don't know that the FBI is tracking them. What neither the crew nor the FBI knows is that they're all going to be fighting for their lives from a danger they never imagined exists. This is one book I couldn't put down. Very highly recommended.

Eyewall - Bernard, H.W. "Buzz"

Eyewall is a story about a fictional hurricane named Janet. Janet starts out as a category 1, but by the time she's done she's setting records. Bernard does an excellent job of making this hurricane more than a lot of wind and rain. Too bad this is Bernard's only book. I hope there are more to come.



What do a burned out meteorologist, a retiring air force pilot, and a family vacationing on St. Simons Island have in common? Their lives are about to be changed forever because of hurricane Janet. They will all end up fighting for lives, in some cases their own, in this suspenseful weather thriller. Very highly recommended.

Darkness on the Edge of Town - Black, J. Carson

Darkness on the Edge of Town is book one in Carson's Laura Cardinal Series. If the rest of the series is as good as the first book I'm going to be reading more of Carson's work.



Laura Cardinal is an investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. It's her job to assist local law enforcement when they need more resources then their department can provide. The abduction and murder of a young girl in the small town of Bisbee starts Laura down the trail of a serial killer. This trail will lead to some answers about a murder that has haunted Laura since she was young girl. This book proves there are some very good novels out there for only 99 cents. Very highly recommended.

Accidents Waiting to Happen - Wood, Simon

Accidents Waiting to Happen is one of the few books I just couldn't make myself finish. The characters are not interesting or likable. The story drags at a snails pace. The novel is filled with useless and annoying introspection. I gave up a little over half way through. At 99 cents this book is still overpriced.



Josh Michaels cheated on his wife, took a bribe for lying about a building inspection, and is paying blackmail to his ex-secretary. And he's the hero of this book. There are lots of positive reviews for this novel if you dig, but not mine. Don't waste your time or money.

Hounded - Hearne, Kevin

Hounded is the first book in a series called The Iron Druid Chronicles. It's yet another supernatural series with werewolves, vampires, demons, gods, witches, and so forth. But this story's hero is a druid. The last druid actually, and a pretty interesting character.



Atticus O'Sullivan, at least that's the name he uses this millenium, tries to live a quiet life in Arizona with his Irish wolfhound Oberon. But Atticus is the last druid and he's got a sword that someone else wants. Since that someone is a god it's going to be hard for Atticus to hang on to it. I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more by Hearne soon. Very highly recommended.

Mortal Pursuit - Prescott, Michael

Mortal Pursuit is a novel about a young police rookie who finds herself in a desperate situation with no help in sight. If she's going to come out if this alive it's going to be up to her.



Officer Trish Robinson is just in her second week on the job, and on routine patrol with her training officer, when a suspected prowler call comes in. Trish became a cop for a reason that's buried in her past. That reason is going to confront her tonight and she will need every ounce of skill and training she has to make it out alive. This was a book I couldn't put down. It keeps you glued to the page with every turn. Very highly recommended.

The Bamboo Chest - Graham, Cork

The Bamboo Chest is a true story about a teenager's capture and imprisonment in Vietnam. The author tells his tale with introspection and humor, but that wasn't enough.  I don't typically read non-fiction and this book reinforced that decision.



Graham clearly thinks very highly of himself. There is some self-deprecating humor in this book, but entirely too much time is spent on how insightful and clever the author was.  This in spite of the author agreeing to look for Captain Kidd's treasure with a man that he shouldn't have trusted after knowing him only a couple of days. The story was worth finishing, but it didn't capture my interest and took me some time to plow through. Not recommended.

Beneath the Dark Ice - Beck, Greig

Beneath the Dark Ice is a novel that takes place in Antarctica. The suspense makes this one hard to put down. There's a lot going on — rescuing previous search parties, prospecting for oil, fighting off rival teams, and the monster from the past that begins to relentlessly stalk all the human food it can find.




Beck has imagination enough for two authors. This book starts off at a sprint and keeps running full speed all the way to the end. A plane crashes in the Antarctic and instead of hitting snow and ice it plows right through the roof of a cave. It's what's in that cave that makes this story. The first rescue party completely disappears. The second is in a race for their lives. Very highly recommended.

The Fifth Witness - Connelly, Michael

The Fifth Witness is a Mickey Haller novel. This time the Lincoln Lawyer is working foreclosures because crime isn't paying. Then one of his foreclosure clients ends up in jail for murder.



Mickey's client is accused of killing the banker who's trying to take her home away. The evidence is there. Can Mickey provide enough wiggle room to create reasonable doubt? It looks like it, but this case has lots complications, and some of them are dangerous.  The ending has an interesting twist.  Very highly recommended.

Mockingjay - Collins, Suzanne

Mockingjay is the final book in the hunger games trilogy.  Katniss becomes the heroic figurehead for the rebels, but the question is, is one power hungry leader any better than the other?  To what lengths will either leader go to ensure victory?



Katniss is forced into acting on her own when both the rebels and the capitol seem to want her dead.   When that happens, she finds she has more loyal friends and followers than she imagined. The ending was surprising, but I was satisfied. Very highly recommended.

Catching Fire - Collins, Suzanne

Catching Fire is the Second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. This book, and the others in the trilogy, are intended for a young adult audience, but readers of all ages will enjoy this post-apocalyptic tale.



In this book Katniss is thrown back into the hunger games, along with Peeta and 22 other tributes from games past.  Her unintended act of rebellion has consequences she can't anticipate.  This is another book full of interesting characters and heart stopping action.  Very highly recommended.

Buried Prey - Sandford, John

Buried Prey is a Lucas Davenport novel. You don't have to read the whole Prey Series, but it would be worth it to start from the beginning and end up here. These are some amazing books that keep you turning pages late into the night.



In this novel Lucas is haunted by two bodies that are found in a construction site. They're the bodies of two sisters who were kidnapped and murdered. They were the first case he worked on as a plain clothes detective. The location of the bodies proves that the man he helped collar back then was not the killer. Lucas blames himself for not finding the real kidnapper. Then someone very close to Lucas is gunned down by the killer and nothing will stop Lucas until this man is no longer a threat to anyone. I couldn't put this book down. Very highly recommended.

The Hunger Games - Collins, Suzanne

The Hunger Games is a post-apocalypse novel with a twist. The perspective is that of a teenager who is forced to participate in an annual spectacle called the hunger games.  The hunger games are more like a gladiatorial contest than anything else, and of the 24 participants, from ages 12 to 18, only one makes it out alive.



Sixteen year old Katniss is her family's provider. Her father was killed in a mine accident, and when it happened her mother emotionally collapsed.  When Katniss volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the hunger games she thinks she's destined to die, but maybe a young girl from District 12 can pull off a miracle.  The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy and I can't wait to read the other two.  Very highly recommended.

Switched - Hocking, Amanda

Switched is the first novel in the Trylle Trilogy. This story is targeted to young adults, with the emphasis on adults.



Wendy Everly feels like she doesn't belong. It doesn't help that her Mom tried to kill her on her sixth birthday. It turns out Wendy's right, she just never realized how much she doesn't belong. Magic and teenage romance make for an interesting read. For a change this is a supernatural story with no vampires or fairies or zombies. This time it's trolls. This book is certainly worth the price. Recommended.

Lethal People - Locke, John

Lethal People is the first novel in the Donovan Creed series. I look forward to reading them all.



Donovan Creed is an ex-CIA assassin who still dabbles in counter terrorism for the government.  But since he has the skills, he also makes money as a hit man. It's kind of hard to get behind a hero who kills for money, but Locke manages to make Donovan a likable protagonist in a twisted way.

Donovan has normal people problems.  He has an ex-wife and daughter.  He struggles with romance.  It's just that he also has people trying to kill him most of the time.  Guns, bombs, poison, you name it.  Donovan uses it and does his best to avoid having it used on him.  Throw in dwarfs (sorry little people) who want to take over the world, and some mob people who think they already have, and it's a volatile mix.  Very highly recommended.

Hunt the Moon - Chance, Karen

Hunt the Moon is the fifth Cassie Palmer Novel. Please read them in sequence to really enjoy these books. They're well worth the time.



Cassie started out as a reluctant clairvoyant on the run from some bad guys who were trying to use her. She has since become the Pythia, the most powerful clairvoyant on the planet.  In addition to getting ready for her coronation, she's busy fighting beings so desperate to kill her that they've traveled back in time to kill her mother as insurance.  She's also juggling romances with a master vampire and a legendary war mage.  Her plate is full and it makes a great story. Oh yeah...after this novel she gets a promotion.  Very highly recommended.

The Burning Wire - Deaver, Jeffery

The Burning Wire is Deaver's ninth Lincoln Rhyme novel.  Kathryn Dance makes an appearance in this story, and the Watchmaker also plays a role.  You don't have to read this series in order, but I recommend you do so.  All the stories are worth reading and easier to follow that way.  Deaver doesn't waste words explaining what has already been covered in earlier books, and I like that.



Someone is killing people with electricity, and in a spectacular way.  Lincoln is called on to sift the evidence and find out who the killer or killers are, and where they'll strike next.  After reading this you may never plug in your toaster again!  Very highly recommended.

The Magic of Finkleton - Hilton, K.C.

The Magic of Finkleton will be a great book for kids who've moved up to the "chapter book" level, or for parents to read to younger children.  No tragedy, no sex, no scary, and no bad language, that is unless you count "daft".  It's a very enjoyable story.



The Finkle family have inherited their uncle Harry's general store in the rural town of Finkleton.  Uncle Harry's general store is the hub of this rural community, in ways none of the Finkles can imagine.  The three Finkle children each use their unique abilities to keep Finkleton safe and secure.  Magic gives this story it's edge, but good traditional family values with respectful and obedient children are what makes this story great.  Keep in mind this is a true children's story.  That said, this book is very highly recommended.

Declare - Powers, Tim

I can't really decide whether Declare is a fantasy book that tries to be a spy book, or a spy book that tries to be a fantasy book. I found it to be a slow, and at times tedious read. I finished it though, and was glad I did.



Without spoiling anything, the hero of our story is Andrew Hale. He was recruited by British intelligence at a very early age. This story spans his lifetime and more. WWII is his first taste of action and he keeps tasting to the end of the cold war. There's some romance to spice things up a bit. Not that a book with spies, djinns, and other supernatural manifestations needs a lot of spice. In spite of being a slow read I recommend this book.The ending is predictable, but satisfying.

Frankenstein: The Dead Town - Koontz, Dean

Frankenstein: The Dead Town is apparently the last in the Frankenstein series by Koontz.  I only say apparently because I thought it was over once and, like the original monster, the series keeps coming back from the dead.  This is a great retelling of Frankenstein.  Koontz can elicit a spine chill like nobody else, and there are plenty of them in this book.



The chaos in Rainbow Falls, that started in Lost Souls, continues with more replicantes and more builders that can't be stopped.  But something is starting to unravel and there's hope.  The question is, will Deucalion be able to find Victor in time?  Very highly recommended.

To Say Nothing of the Dog - Willis, Connie

To Say Nothing of the Dog is a time travel novel with a twist. Most of the story takes place in Victorian England as a pair of historians try to manipulate romance to avoid what could be a serious temporal incongruity.



The historians originate from 2057 and are focused on one particular item that was in the cathedral in Coventry when it was destroyed by the Nazis in 1940. If you enjoy mystery, romance, and lots of humor this is a great book. I do wish it read less like a Victorian romance novel and more like the science fiction I thought I was getting, but I enjoyed the book. Highly recommended.

Swarm - Larson, B. V.

Swarm is book one in the Star Force Series. This is an alien invasion story with a twist.  Humans are being recruited by one alien force to fight another.  If you pass the recruiting tests you can be in charge of your own space ship.  Fail and...well you don't want to fail.



The hero of this book is Kyle Riggs, a professor of computer science. He passes the tests and helps lead earth in a battle against a robot horde who wants to strip our world of all resources. But what price will humans in the Star Force pay to save our planet? Highly recommended.

Sixkill - Parker, Robert B.

Sixkill is the last novel Parker produced before his death.  Unless some other author picks up the thread, it may be the last Spencer story ever.  That made reading it kind of poignant.  Parker novels are full of punchy dialog, great characters, and thoughtful introspection.  He will be greatly missed.



Sixkill is named after a new Parker character. Zebulon Sixkill is a Cree Indian bodyguard who Spencer befriends after thoroughly beating him. This takes place while Spencer is investigating the cause of death of a young women.  Her body is found in a movie star's hotel room and Z works for the movie star. Spencer and Z manage to unravel the mystery, but with a few more dead bodies left in their wake. Classic Spencer. Very highly recommended.

Fuzzy Nation - Scalzi, John

Fuzzy Nation is a remake/rewrite of an old 1963 science fiction novel Little Fuzzy. I read the original and the sequels decades ago.  The story remains the same.  This is a very enjoyable book.  I started it yesterday and was up past 2:30 in the morning finishing it.  I don't often feel compelled to read a novel in one sitting.



Jack Holloway is a prospector on contract to the mighty ZaraCorp.  He's living and working on Zara XXIII, where ZaraCorp has the exclusive rights to strip all marketable resources from the planet.  There is only one catch and that is that there can't be any sentient life on a planet.  Along come the Fuzzies.  Jack and his friends have to find a way to get the Fuzzies recognized as sentient, in spite of the violent objections of the ZaraCorp and their thugs.  Very highly recommended. 

The Fallen - Thomson, Celia

The Fallen is the first book in the series The Nine Lives of Chloe King.  This series is young adult fiction.  First let me get what I don't like about the book out of the way.  The protagonist, Chloe King, is a 16 year old girl.  She lies to her mother, lies to her teachers, lies to her friends, cuts classes, drinks, and in general has no respect for rules.  This is not a role model that I'd want for my daughters or granddaughters.  The only reason the publisher couches this in terms of young adult fiction is because they're interested in money.  They're certainly not interested in promoting standards for acceptable behavior in teenagers.



That said, I enjoyed the book when I wasn't thinking of grounding the heroine. The story is about Chloe discovering that she's not a normal human.  The first clue is when she dies and later wakes up.  Then there are the claws and super human speed and strength to deal with.  But it's not all positive.  Someone is trying to kill Chloe, and trying hard.  Keeping in mind my reservations about the appropriateness for young adults, highly recommended.

The Sword and the Dragon - Mathias, M. R.

The Sword and the Dragon is the first book in the Wardstone Trilogy. Two brothers with a magic ring and a special hawk are key players.  A king's squire is another.  They eventually unite to battle dragons, demons, and evil wizards.  There are lots of interesting characters, plenty of battles, and a few beautiful maidens in this story.



Be aware this is the first part of a trilogy, but this tale comes to a satisfying, if bloody, conclusion.  I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers because the level of violence is amazing.  On the other hand, given the video games kids play these days this is probably kindergarten stuff.  Highly recommended.

Blood Challenge - Wilks, Eileen

Blood Challenge is book seven in the World of the Lupi series.  Try to read the books and short stories in order.  It will be worth it.



In this story, she who can't be named is back and still trying to destroy the Lupi.  This time she's working through interesting intermediaries, some human and some not.  Lily and Rule are both in harms way, but so are all of the good guys.  There's a new heroine who plays a pivotal role in this story, and she could be around for quite a while.  This series just keeps getting better.  Very highly recommended.

A World I Never Made - Lepore, James

A World I Never Made is about a father and daughter who never connected in life. When Pat Nolan finds out his daughter has committed suicide in Paris he realizes he's lost his chance to make amends for the life he missed with her. Then he discovers that it's not Megan's body in the morgue and begins an adventure that will change his life.



Pursued by terrorists, Megan is on the run and enlists the help of her father with clues left in her wake.  Pat is helped by an unlikely French police detective and together they lead the terrorists and security forces on a chase across Europe.

This is a first novel and has some rough edges.  Clearly Lepore is not a gun person.  I'm always amazed that authors will research the most minute details in some areas and then assume everything they've seen in movies or read in comic books is true about guns.  In spite of the rough edges I really enjoyed this book.  Highly recommended.

DragonSpell - Paul, Donita K.

DragonSpell is the first book in The DragonKeeper Chronicles.  I enjoyed this book, but the religious theme was too pervasive.  It was like Chronicles of Narnia on steroids.  In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the Christian symbolism was subtle.  In this book it smacks you in the face.



Kale is 14 and she was a slave until she discovered a dragon's egg.  Then she began a quest that would change her life.  This story has plenty of imaginary creatures, heroes, and villains.  The action is pretty tame, but this is a book for young adults and that's appropriate.  I'll be recommending this to my grandkids, but I doubt I'll read more in this series myself.  Recommended.

The Hunt for Atlantis - Mcdermott, Andy

The Hunt for Atlantis is the first Mcdermott novel I've read. There are several that I plan to read though. He has a series based on the characters of Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase and I plan to work through them all eventually.



Nina Wilde is an archeologist and Eddie Chase is her bodyguard. You're probably wondering why an archeologist needs a bodyguard.  When there are two organizations at odds over whether the lost city of Atlantis should ever be found, and you're the expert on the subject, some people will make you a target.  Nina and Eddie switch back and forth between saving each others lives over several continents and a whole series of adventures.  If you like the original Clive Cussler novels you'll love this one.  Very highly recommended.

Storm Prey - Sandford, John

Storm Prey is a Lucas Davenport Prey novel. If you're not familiar with Sandford's Prey series, I highly recommend it. You'll have over 20 books to catch up on, but every one is worth the read.



Lucas is a detective with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.  His wife Weather is a surgeon.  As she's coming to work one morning she almost sideswipes the getaway vehicle used in a robbery of the hospital pharmacy.  This sets off a series of events that make for intense suspense, action, and some interesting twists.  As always, Sandford fills his novels with interesting, and sometimes very sinister, characters.  Very highly recommended.

Blood Magic - Wilks, Eileen

Blood Magic is book six in the world of the lupi series.  Lily and Rule are officially engaged.  The tension of planning a wedding is counterpoint to the ancient evil that's decided to turn San Diego into a feeding ground, and fear is the feast.



The tangle of sorcerers, dragons, and weres battling in this novel keeps things interesting and makes it hard to put the book down.  Lily finds out she's got a dab of something besides human in her.  Dealing with that knowledge could be a complication or an opportunity.  Another winner for Wilks.  Very highly recommended.

The Reversal - Connelly, Michael

Connelly is one of the very best crime/detective writers of all time.  The Reversal is a combination Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch novel.  Harry Bosch is an LA homicide detective who is prominent is a whole series of Connelly stories.  They're all excellent.  Mickey Haller is a defense attorney, introduced in the novel Lincoln Lawyer, who has an overlapping series of novels.  Mickey and Harry are half brothers.  I highly recommend reading the novels in both series, but you can enjoy this book thoroughly without having to do so.



In The Reversal Mickey and Harry team up for a case that goes back 24 years. Mickey is a defense attorney through and through, but he reluctantly takes a position as special prosecutor to retry a child murderer who is going to be released due to DNA evidence.  Harry is assigned by the DA's office, at Mickey's request, to be his investigator for the case.  This book has some gripping scenes, in the court room and out.  The outcome is not what anyone expected.  Very highly recommended.

Indulgence in Death - Robb, J.D.

Indulgence in Death is another Eve Dallas novel. There are over 30 books in the series now. Eve is a homicide detective in New York city about 50 years in the future.

She and her husband Roarke start this story on vacation in Ireland, but when they get home homicides start piling up fast. Eve's got victims who've been killed with exotic weapons and not much to go on.  And she could be on the killer's victims list.  Very highly recommended.

Bad Blood - Sandford, John

Bad Blood is a Virgil Flowers novel.  Sandford spun Virgil off of his Lucas Davenport Prey novels.  This is the fourth Virgil Flowers novel and they're all great.   I recommend both series by Sandford.



This time around Virgil, an investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is looking at what seems to be a pretty simple head bashing.   That turns into a whole chain of murders, and eventually becomes the biggest sex crime scandal in Minnesota history.   All the action you can handle and more than enough suspense.  Sandford is always a great read.  Very highly recommended.

Changes - Butcher, Jim

Changes is novel number 12 in the Dresden Files series. Right off the bat Harry finds out he has a daughter and that she's been kidnapped by the red court vampires.  That gets things churning.



But I can't even tell you the most interesting part because that would be a major spoiler.  Needless to say there is a trail of bodies, vampire and otherwise, throughout this book, and some you won't believe.  Very highly recommended.

Mortal Sins - Wilks, Eileen

Mortal Sins is the fifth novel in the world of the lupi series. Note there are several short stories in this series that appear in various anthologies.



In this book Lily and Rule are in North Carolina, near the Lediolf clan's home, to pickup Rule's son Toby.  Rule discovers some dead bodies and their family visit turns into a death magic investigation that endangers Lily, Rule, and Toby.  Add in complications with the Lediolf clan and what was a settled custody battle over Toby and the story gains depth and momentum.  It's another one that's hard to put down.  Highly recommended.

Sole Survivor - Koontz, Dean

Sole Survivor is about a man named Joe who lost his wife and daughters in a plane crash. There were no survivors, all 350 passengers and crew perished. Joe is devastated. He quits his job, shuns his friends, and is simply waits to die.

One year later, his life is in ruins when he visits his family's grave. He meets a mysterious woman at the cemetery, who apparently survived the crash, but before he can question her she's chased off by two men with guns. This is the start of an adventure that will strain Joe's hold on reality and change his life forever.  Is his family still alive?


This is classic Koontz.  There's even a cameo by a golden retriever.  This book is hard to put down so be prepared to lose some sleep.  Very highly recommended.

Turn Coat - Butcher, Jim

Turn Coat is book eleven in the Dresden Files series.  The black council has been spreading it's evil influence for the last few novels in this series, but it stayed in the shadows as much as possible.  This time they kill one of the leaders of the white council.



Harry finds himself in the thick of it when the main suspect comes to him for help.  It's his old nemesis, the warden Morgan.  Harry has to clear Morgan's name, keep his from being put on the list, and try to expose the real culprit while staying alive.  There are some real surprises in this book.  Not all pleasant.  Very highly recommended.

The Children of Hurin - Tolkien, J. R. R.

The Children of Hurin is a piece of the history of Middle Earth from before the time of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.  It's a time when men and elves were fighting orcs, dragons, and the original dark lord Morgoth.



This book is much slower going than The Hobbit.  It's like the Old Testament.  There are pages of pretty boring stuff surrounding exciting little gems of story.  Towards the end the book gets better, but it is a dreary tale of a cursed family.  It's worth reading to get a better understanding of the back story for other works of Tolkien.  However, it's not an exciting read and I've found myself putting it aside to read more interesting stuff for a couple of months now.  Recommended with reservations.

River Marked - Briggs, Patricia

River Marked is the sixth book in the Mercy Thompson series.  I always end up with sleep deprivation while reading a Briggs novel but it's worth it.  In this book Mercy and Adam finally get married.  That's just the beginning of this story though.  The real fireworks start on their honeymoon.



It turns out that the fae have steered Mercy and Adam to a lovely campground on the Columbia River for their honeymoon.  The fae always have an ulterior motive and the river is the key.  Unfortunately werewolves can't swim so Mercy is on her own.  This book has plenty of action, and fascinating but deadly creatures. You'll be surprised at who turns up from Mercy's past that nobody was expecting. Very highly recommended.

Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down - International Thriller Writers Inc.

Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down is a collection of short stories from members of the ITW.  The list of authors is long (23)  and impressive.  There were no bad stories in the book.  You've got all the murder and mayhem you could ask for.



The commentary by Clive Cussler was mostly hyperbole, and I started to skip the story introductions after a while.  The stories were great though.  My favorite was Killing Time by Jon Land.  Sometimes it's hard to tell the heros from the villains.  Very highly recommended.

Consider Phlebas - Banks, Iain M.

Consider Phlebas is my first Banks read. I want to thank my buddy Bob for suggesting him. It's like regressing to my college days when you could get some great hard science fiction from Anderson or Heinlein or Asimov. I sometimes wonder what my GPA would have been if I'd spent as much time in the textbooks as I did in the paperbacks.  Now it's my kindle that beckons.



Consider Phlebas is a story about the quest to capture an enemy AI that escaped to a forbidden planet. The conflict is between the Culture (mostly some form of human) and the Idirans (three legged hermaphroditic aliens). The humans appear to be the bad guys, but the distinction is ambiguous at best. Great spaceships, habitats, weapons, and aliens abound.  Awesome is a highy overused term, but I'll apply it to this book.  Very highly recommended.

Blog II

Just started another blog that's not about what I've read. This one is about where I live — The Creek.

Check it out. Not saying one blogging site is better than another. Just trying something new.

Wolfsbane - Briggs, Patricia

Wolfsbane is the sequel to Masques.  In this story Aralorn the spy and her companion Wolf the magician return to her home because of the death of her father.  But Aralorn's father's supposed death is a trap and the pair are once again fighting against the black magic of the old ae'Magi, even after his death.  I hope there is another in this series.  Very highly recommended.

Masques - Briggs, Patricia

Masques is a story about magic. This book is populated by wizards and shapeshifters and other things magical.  An evil ae'Magi is trying to steal all the magic in the world.  A shapeshifting spy and a magician on the run may be all that stands in his way.  This is Briggs' first novel, revised for a second release.  Very highly recommended.

Pale Demon - Harrison, Kim

Pale Demon is the ninth Rachel Morgan novel. You really need to read The Hollows Series in order.  I find it hard to put down a Harrison novel.  Even during the lulls in the action her books keeps pulling you in.  If cloning were possible I'd want 12 of Harrison so I could have a new Rachel Morgan to read every month.

This book has Rachel fighting to have her shunning lifted, but she has to make it to San Francisco in order to plead her case, and getting there is like running a gauntlet.  To make it more interesting she's agreed to guard Trent on the way there.  Witches, demons, and elves are gunning for her and Trent.  To make it more interesting Trent isn't allowed to fly so they're driving Rachel's Mom's car all the way.  It's a wild ride, with some dangerous detours into the ever-after.  Very highly recommended.

The Moses Stone - Becker, James

The Moses Stone is a thriller about the dangerous search for an ancient relic. A British tourist stumbling on a fight and rescuing a bit of clay tablet on holiday in Africa starts a series of events that leave a trail of dead bodies behind. What's on the tablet and where it leads make this book hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Line of Succession - Tyree, William

Line of Succession is a thriller about a terrorist attack that takes out most of the US presidential line of succession. Who's left and what really happened? There's plenty of action and intrigue to go around. Some of the writing was kind of sloppy.  For example, a 1911 pistol doesn't have a lever, it has a hammer. The little mistakes aside, it was a good read. Highly recommended.

Angels' Blood - Singh, Nalini

Angels' Blood is a vampire hunter story with an interesting twist. In this alternate universe angels are at the top of the food chain, archangels are the oldest and most powerful angels, and angels create vampires from willing humans. Both angels and vampires are immortal. Special humans called vampire hunters help angels capture vampires that have broken their agreements or gone rogue.

Archangel Raphael is in charge of New York and he's hired the vampire hunter Elena Deveraux. But she's not going to be hunting a vampire this time. To make it even more interesting Elena is attracted to Raphael and that is all kinds of trouble.  I like this story, but Singh seems to be obsessed with sex, much like Laurell K. Hamilton.  I prefer vampire hunters who kill vampires rather than lust after them.  Still recommended.

Book of Souls - Cooper, Glenn

Book of Souls is the follow up to Secret of the Seventh Son. You should read them in order. In this book retired agent Piper is sucked back into the secret of the ancient library of death stored in area 51. There is one book missing from the library, and when it shows up at an auction, agent Piper is convinced to follow up on the book's history.  It's an amazing history.  Plenty of action and suspense and mysteries to solve.  Very highly recommended.

Night Season - Wilks, Eileen

Night Season is the fourth novel in Wilks' Lupi series. This time Cullen and Cynna find themselves in the Edge realm looking for a medallion that can stabilize the realm that is currently suspended in the night season. There are plenty of magical creatures, some old and some new.  And plenty of adventure.  Highly recommended.

Blood Lines - Wilks, Eileen

Blood Lines is the third novel in Wilks' Lupi series.  I'm way behind because Blood Lines wasn't available for the Kindle for a long time.  I waited.  It was worth the wait.  More demons, more action, and more Lupi politics, and you won't believe who gets pregnant.  Highly recommended.

Secret of the Seventh Son - Cooper, Glenn

Secret of the Seventh Son is a novel about destiny. It's hard to explain without spoiling the story, but serial killers are not all they seem to be. Very highly recommended.

Waking the Witch - Armstrong, Kelley

Waking the Witch is book eleven in the Women of the Otherworld series.  Readers have watched Savannah grow up and come into her powers in this series.  This is the first novel where 21 year old Savannah is the main character and mostly working on her own.  She's dealing with a killer who's hard to pin down and keeps on killing while she tries.  The pace is fast and there's plenty of action.  Very highly recommended.

Witch & Wizard: The Gift - Patterson, James, Rust, Ned

Witch & Wizard: The Gift is the second book in the Witch & Wizard series.  I should have listened to myself.  I wasn't that happy with the first book in the series because it wasn't just young adult but juvenile.  This book was even worse.  I might consider this series for my grandkids in grade school, if it wasn't for the violence, but I'm done with it for myself.  Not recommended.

Dead or Alive - Clancy, Tom

Dead or Alive is classic Clancy. You've got Jack Ryan, John Clark, and all the other regulars. The story parallels real life in many ways. Lets hope not in the terrorists' successes. I had to read it through today because I needed to know how it ended. Clancy books always seem to have that ability to pull you in. Very highly recommended.

Small Favor - Butcher, Jim

Small Favor is the 10th novel in the Dresden Files series.  Harry has the Fae and the Denarians to deal with this time around, and lots of snow.  The Archive is back and just as cute and deadly as ever.  And you'll never believe who Harry is finally trading smooches with.  Butcher never lets me shut out the light and go to sleep on time, but it's worth it.  Very highly recommended.

What the Night Knows - Koontz, Dean

What the Night Knows is like old times. This is vintage Koontz.  I enjoyed every minute and every word.  There's even a golden retriever.  The bogeyman is alive and well and coming for John Calvino's family...again.  It's not enough to have killed him once.  It will require something stronger and more permanent this time.  And hopefully before his entire family is wiped out...again.  The question is, is John up to it or not.  Very highly recommended.

White Night - Butcher, Jim

White Night is the ninth book in The Dresden Files series.  After saving her life in Proven Guilty, Molly is now Dresden's apprentice.  That adds a new wrinkle to the series.  Harry is still fighting vampires, but now the white court is the problem.  Practitioners are dying or disappearing and it appears Harry's half-brother Thomas might be involved.  The action is furious as always and most satisfying.  Very highly recommended.

Darkness Under the Sun - Koontz, Dean

Darkness Under the Sun is sort of an extended prologue to the new book What the Night Knows. This novella sets the scene for the full blown novel.  Why they're separate I'm not sure.  This is a good introduction to the evil that appears to have a life of it's own and continues in the longer book.  There's enough suspense and terror in this story for most full length novels.  Highly recommended.

Cross Fire - James Patterson

Cross Fire is another Alex Cross novel.  This time Kyle Craig is back and hiding in plain sight.  The action is tense and keeps you glued to the book right to the end.  You have to wonder though, if Alex had just shot Kyle Craig one of the many times he could have done so in previous books and this one, how many lives would he have saved?  And once again there were threads that were orthogonal to the plot, served to complicate the story, and were never tied off.  In spite of that, highly recommended.

Pathfinder - Orson Scott Card

Pathfinder is a novel that makes you think hard at times. If you like time travel and time manipulation this book will pop your skull. The main character is Rigg, the son of a trapper from way up river. His special ability is to see the paths that animals have taken. This makes him very handy for trapping, but that's just the beginning of what his ability lets him do. This is obviously the first in what I hope is a long series of books about the planet Garden and it's amazing inhabitants. Very highly recommended.

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

I first read The Hobbit 45 years ago. It became my favorite book then and has maintained that standing ever since. Bilbo, Gandalf, and the 13 dwarfs took my imagination for an adventure that has stayed with me my whole life. I've read this book half a dozen time. I've got multiple paperback and hardback versions gathering dust somewhere on a shelf. Now I have it on my kindle to read and reread some more. Very very highly recommended.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

The Road is a depressing take on post-apocalypse America.  I suppose a book on post-apocalypse anything has to fight not to be depressing, but McCarthy didn't even struggle.  A father and son pair are traveling in a land where nothing appears to be alive but humans, and most of them are bent on killing and eating any other humans they find.  The book never says what caused the apocalypse.  It involved fire, since there is ash everywhere, and it appears there was a catastrophic climate change as a result.  That isn't relevant to the story since the focus is the present and the hazards the main characters have to avoid on their trip to the ocean and what they hope is a warmer climate.  There are some flashbacks involving the mother, but they're depressing too.  I should have know better than to read something that won a Pulitzer prize.  Not recommended.

The Realm Shift - James Somers

The Realm Shift was a good idea with poor follow through.  I like the plot of the book and the characters were somewhat interesting but the writing was spotty at best.  When the writing is so bad that you notice that aspect of the book instead of what the author is trying to say then it's time to move on.  I finished this book because I wanted to see how it came out.  I knew it was a trilogy but hoped there would be some kind of partial conclusion to the first book.  No such luck.  I won't be reading the other two.  Too bad because the concept was interesting.  Not recommended.

Lessons from Armed America - Kathy Jackson, Mark Walters

Lessons from Armed America has useful information for anyone who plans to, or is already, carrying a pistol for self defense. I enjoyed the true stories and the analysis. If I had it to do over again I'd by the paper version instead of the kindle version though. The kindle version was formatted so poorly that I almost gave up at one point. It was atrocious. This is a good book with very useful information, but it was very difficult to read on my kindle. Not the kindle's fault. It's the person who did a half-assed attempt to convert what they had to kindle format. Highly recommend in dead tree format.

Frankenstein: Lost Souls - Dean Koontz

Frankenstein: Lost Souls is the fourth novel in Koontz Frankenstein series. I really thought the last novel killed off Victor and that would be that. But this is fiction so a new Victor is back. Now the new race is starting over again in a little town in Montana. They still hate humans but now they have a whole new way of getting rid of us.  And it seems to be working.  Be aware this is not the last novel.  Once again a book just seemed to stop before it was done.  At least with Koontz I can expect a new installment to keep the story going.  Very highly recommended.

The 7th Victim - Alan Jacobson

The 7th Victim follows Karen Vail, an FBI profiler, on her search to find the Dead Eyes serial killer. I really enjoyed this book.  It's hard to catch your breath things go so fast.  I'm not going to stick any spoilers in here, but you'll never believe who the killer is.  Karen has to deal with an ongoing divorce and her mother's alzheimer's at the same time she's relentlessly hunting a killer.  A killer who stabs each victim in the eyes as part of the killing ritual.  Highly recommended.

The Twelfth Imam - Joel C. Rosenberg

The Twelfth Imam is a book that puts the reader right in the center of the nuclear crisis in the middle east. The novel starts with the takeover of the Iranian embassy back in 1979 and ends in the present day Iran with the nuclear crisis almost at the critical point.  I really enjoyed the book, but it ended abruptly and in my opinion the story is not done.  Since I read this on my kindle, I thought there was a problem with the download, but the abrupt stop was followed by authors notes, acknowledgments, and an author bio.  Strange.  Highly recommended but the ending is disappointing.

Salem's Lot - Stephen King

Salem's Lot is one King novel I missed the first time around.  This is an excellent book.  It's kind of refreshing these days to read a vampire novel where the vampires are the bad guys - Evil, nasty, and scary.  Highly recommended.

Worth Dying For - Lee Child

Worth Dying For is a new Reacher Novel.  Last time around it wasn't clear if Reacher had survived or not.  Now we know he made it out alive, but he's suffering.  Unfortunately for him he passed through a little spot in Nebraska where evil things were happening.  And as usual, Reacher can't leave without cleaning up the mess.  And what a complicated mess.  Very highly recommended.

Curse the Dawn - Karen Chance

Curse the Dawn is book four in the Cassie Palmer series. Now it's really getting interesting. Learning to travel ley lines comes in real handy until one splits open and destroys MAGIC headquarters.  Making a deal with a minor god causes Cassie to swap bodies with Pritkin.  Waking up in a man's body, with something she's never dreamed having, is an experience she won't forget :)  Highly recommended.

Embrace the Night - Karen Chance

Embrace the Night is book number three in the Cassie Palmer series.  It just keeps getting more complicated and more dangerous.  Now that she's the Pythia for real she's dealing with the responsibilities of her new office in addition to the powers.  And that pesky geis is still there.  And the war mages and vampires and demons and fairies and ghosts.  She needs the Codex to find the spell to break the geis but that's proving more challenging than she thought.  Especially when she finds out who her favorite war mage really is.  Highly recommended.

Claimed By Shadow - Karen Chance

Claimed By Shadow is the second novel in the Cassandra Palmer series.  Now Cassie's chasing Tony instead of the other way around.  Unfortunately she's got war mages and vampires chasing her, the little matter of a geis to deal with, and she's still trying to figure out what powers she has and how to use them as heir to the Pythia.  A great series.  Highly recommended.

Touch the Dark - Karen Chance

Touch the Dark is the first in a series on Cassandra Palmer.  Cassie is a clairvoyant who was fostered by a vampire, who by the way killed her parents so he could foster her.  Eventually she figures this out and ran away.  Now Tony the vampire is closing in and that's the very least of her problems.  This is a great series.  Highly recommended.

Blog bypass

I've been remiss in updating lately.  Daylight is spent outdoors doing chores and enjoying the fall weather and my beautiful back yard:

When the sun goes down there's plenty to do and reading takes precedence over writing about it. I'll get caught up tonight and see if I can stay there. With daylight savings ending next weekend I'll shift outdoor activities to the morning.  And finally the hours of sunlight will shrink to only the time I get paid to sit in front of a computer screen. Winter is the season of my discontent.

Ice Cold - Tess Gerritsen

Ice Cold is a book featuring detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. It's been a while since I read Gerritsen and I have to put her back on the short list. This was a story that had multiple threads but they didn't distract from the main story. Maura is trapped in Wyoming in the dead of winter and fighting for her life. The twists keep coming right up to the end. Very highly recommended.