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.