Book 96: Die Trying

Die Trying is the second tale in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.  Walking down the streets of Chicago, Jack stops to help a woman in front of a dry cleaning shop, who has dropped her crutch.  Turning around he finds himself faced with two gunman and no good options to diffuse the situation without incurring civilian casualties, so he allows himself to be kidnapped and waits for a better opportunity. Holly, the intended victim, is an FBI agent, daughter of a high ranking general, and goddaughter of the sitting US president.  Taken to a remote location in Montana by a crazy militia group, Reacher has one goal, get Holly out safely; and he is definitely the best man for the job.

The book read like an action movie and better in both plot and writing style than Killing Floor.  5 stars.

Book 95: Brilliant Starlight

Brilliant Starlight by Anna Carven is the final installment in her Dark Warriors series.  The empress is dead, and the empire is falling as Tarek and his allies attempt to maintain peace and order while Prince Xal sets up a new government for Kythia.  Abby becomes ill as the nanobots in her body begin to mutate.  To save his mate Tarek must find the scientist who started the experiments that created the First Division and return to the one place he never wished to see again.

An excellent ending to the series.  4 stars.

Note: To read the series in chronological order follow this sequence: 1, 4, 5, 7, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, and then 8.

Book 94: Mercy Blade

In Mercy Blade, Jane Yellowrock returns to New Orleans to provide security for the vampires when a pair of were-cats arrive to make a treaty.  Jane goes out to meet an unspecified enemy of Leo that she assumes is a vampire only to be attacked by a pack of wolves and rescued by the supernatural she was supposed to meet.  Rick goes missing, and Bruiser is under investigation for murder while the wolves plot to eliminate Leo.  Once again Jane struggles to put together the puzzle with lots of missing pieces while fighting to stay alive and protect those around her.  4 stars.

Book 93: Infinity's Embrace

Anna Carven's Infinity's Embrace continues the Dark Warriors series by focusing on Ashrael, the imperial assassin captured by General Akkadian, and Noa, the telepathic human rescued from the secret lab in the third book.  Ashrael attempts to take control of Noa's mind to force her to release him.  Noa stops his attack and inadvertently begins to form a mind bond with him. Gradually these two damaged souls begin to heal each other.  After an attack by other imperial assassins, Ashrael agrees with Tarak that he and Noa will only be safe if the empire falls.  His task is to infiltrate the palace and kill the Empress.

Excellent addition to the series.  5 stars.

Book 92: The Killing Floor

In Killing Floor by Lee Child, Jack Reacher, the out of work wandering former military police detective, decides on a whim to visit the town of Margrave, Georgia only to promptly get arrested for murder.  After two days in jail during which he survives an assassination attempt, Jack has plans to leave Margrave far behind until he discovers that the dead investigator is his older brother Joe.  In a town completely controlled by the Kliner family via their foundation's grants, his allies are few; but he is determined to stand for his brother one last time to uncover his murderer.

I found the plot pacing a little uneven, bouncing back and forth between utterly mundane events and high intensity action scenes.  Still the overall effect was entertaining enough for me to continue reading successive books in the future.  4 stars.

Book 91: Curious Minds

Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton is a fast paced, hilarious tale of theft, murder, and family conspiracy.  Riley Moon lands her dream job at meatball Blane-Grunwald.  Her first assignment is to reassure the eccentric billionaire Emerson Knight that his financial assets are safe at the bank.  He demands to see his gold and then decides to look into the disappearance of the youngest Grunwald brother.  Riley is assigned to keep an eye on him.  Soon the missing man leads to missing gold, and a man claiming to be from the NSA tries to kill her.  The only way to be safe is to help Emerson find the missing gold and expose the plot.

A great start to a new series with plenty of action and humor.  5 stars.

Book 90: Blood Cross

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter is the second installment in the Jane Yellowrock series.  Jane is back in New Orleans to track another rogue vampire, who is leaving the new vampires that he turns to fend for themselves.  Jane also has company, her witch friend Molly and her two children, visiting while their house is remodeled.  When Jane discovers a newly risen vampire, she is astonished at the witch magic being used in the process.  Digging deeper, she discovers that witch children have been disappearing for decades, and she finds a second rising site whose age matches the older time frame.  The stakes reach a new high when Molly is attacked and her children kidnapped.

Another action packed story.  The addition of Molly and the kids showed another side to Jane, and there was no rambling about tea or motorcycles to detract from the overall tale.  5 stars.

Book 89: Obsidian Son

Nate Temple is a powerful wizard from a wealthy family, who enjoys hunting for rare books for the wealthy client's of his bookstore.  His latest client's request has him tracking down the minotaur, although perhaps cowtipping him for fun was not the smartest tactic for opening negotiations.  Next his nightcap with friends is interrupted by a dragon searching for the same book, who is more than willing to kill to secure it.  Whether he wants it or not, Nate's world is about to change.  His parents death was murder.  A new wizard is trying to kill him, and the red dragon has sisters even more powerful and ruthless who are now targeting him.

I enjoyed the book overall.  Nate was a bit immature at times and the plot somewhat predictable.  Still an interesting start to the series. 3 stars.

Book 88: Glory in Death

Homicide detective, Eve Dallas, is summoned to the scene of the murder of a highly respected female prosecuting attorney found on the street of a downtrodden neighborhood with her throat slashed.  Soon after, the killer strikes again taking the life of a well known actress. With another serial killer in the loose, now is not the time for her to be distracted by Roarke; but navigating a relationship is not something with which either has much experience.

Glory in Death is an entertaining second installment in the In Death series.  I look forward to the remaining books in the series.

Book 87: Skinwalker

Faith Walker's Skinwalker is the beginning of the Jane Yellowrock series.  Jane is a Cherokee skinwalker, who shares her body with the spirit of a mountain lion called Beast, and works as a vampire hunter.  Arriving in New Orleans, Jane has been hired by the local vampire council to take out a rogue that is leaving a trail of both human and vampire bodies in his wake.

I found this to be an intriguing beginning to a series that is new to me.  The character and her background are well explained.  The portions narrated by Beast were believable, and the plot's pacing more realistic than other series I have read.  All the talk of tea and motorcycles was a little tedious, but overall a great start.  4 stars.