Book 139: The Heist

The Heist by Evanovich is the first book in the Fox and O'Hare series.  Kate O'Hare, a FBI special agent and former navy seal, has spent the past five years chasing the illusive con artist Nicholas Fox.  She finally gets her man only to have him escape custody the first time he sets foot in the courthouse.  Undaunted she takes some vacation days and gets her father to help her plan his recapture.  Everything goes according to plan until Kate's boss and one of his superiors step out of the back room.  Fox has see up for a five year stint of using his skills to bring down some elite criminals that the FBI can't legally reach, and Kate is assigned as his handler.  The first assignment is to find an investment banker who slipped town with half a billion in his clients' funds.  4 stars

Book 138: Demigods and Magicians

Demigods and Magicians by Riordan is a collection of three short stories of the combined adventures of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, Greek demigod from Camp Half-Blood, with Sadie and Carter Kane, Egyptian magicians from the hour of light.  The magician Setne wishes to make himself a god by claiming the combined crown of Ptolemy  using a combination of Greek and Egyptian powers.  First he unleashes a giant crocodile, the son of Sobek, on Manhattan and watches the combined efforts of Percy and Carter battle it.  Mercy he raises the mixed Greek/Egyptian God Serapis and watches Annabeth and Sadie confront him.  In his final bid for immortality, all four combine their powers with the aid of the goddess Neither to keep Setne from tearing reality apart in his crazy quest for power. 

Percy as narrator is always fabulous and the stories were both action packed and hilarious.  5 stars

Book 137: Tricked

In the fourth installment of the Iron Druid Chronicles, Tricked by Hearne, Atticus is dealing with the fallout of his foray into Asgard with Norse God's and several thunder gods hunting him.  He makes a deal with Coyote to take his death, but despite his careful wording of the agreement was not enough to keep Coyote from tricking him into doing more.  If Coyote wasn't bad enough, Hel appears asking Atticus to join her side and help begin Ragnarok, and then attempts to have him eliminated when he refuses.  5 stars.

Book 136: The Furthest Station

The Furthest Station by Aaronovitch is a novella in the Peter Grant series that takes place between books five and six.  Peter is called to investigate a sudden increase in ghosts on the Metropolitan Line that behave in a strange manner and then disintegrate.  After speaking with one of the ghosts, Peter realizes that a real person has been kidnapped, and the ghosts are trying to find someone to help her.  With Nightengale for the heavy lifting and his cousin Abigail to help with the grunt work, the Folly assists the regular police with their investigation.  4 stars.

Book 135: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Rowling is the sixth installment in the series.  Voldemort's power is on the rise and even the muggles are noticing the problems.  Harry returns to Hogwarts as Quidditch captain and has private lessons with Dumbledore to look forward to.  His options abilities improve by leaps and bounds when he borrows an old textbook full of hand-written notes in the margins, and he spends a lot of time trying to figure out what task Voldemort has set Malfoy to accomplish at Hogwarts.  5 stars

Book 134: A Curious Beginning

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn is the first mystery in the Veronica Speedwell mysteries.  Veronica Speedwell has just buried her last living guardian when she arrives home to find her cottage being ransacked.  Nearly kidnapped by the thief, she is rescued by a German baron, who claims that she is in grave danger.  Veronica agrees to accompany the baron to London where he turns Veronica over into the care of a cranky natural historian named Stoker insisting that he will protect her.  The baron's murder leaves the two seeking answers about the murderer's identity and the secrets that the baron alluded to regarding Veronica's personal history.

I don't usual read historical novels, but I found this one well written and entertaining.  4 stars.

Book 133: Louisiana Longshot

CIA agent Fortune Redding blew her last up when she killed the brother of a major arms dealer with her stiletto, and now she has a huge bounty on her head.  Her boss suspects that her cover had been blown even earlier by a CIA leak, so he her down to Louisiana under the identity of his niece, who just inherited her aunt's bayou home.  Fortune's quiet hideaway quickly turns chaotic when her aunt's hound digs up a human bone.  Fortune joins forces with Ida and Gertie, two of Aunt Marge's friends, to track down a murderer before their friend Marge can be arrested.

A nice cozy mystery with lots of laughs.  5 stars

Book 132: Demigod Files

Demigod Files by Riordan compiles three Percy Jackson short stories, interviews of several campers, and a few fun activities as well.  The stories all feature Percy and are funny and entertaining.  4 stars

Book 131: Foxglove Summer

After the surprising betrayal at the end of book four of the Peter Grant series, Foxglove Summer by Aaronovitch takes a break from the series story arc as Nightengale sends Peter to check on an old retired wizard in the country, who happens to live near the area where to eleven year old girls have been abducted.  Peter's interview with the elderly wizard confirms that he has nothing to do with the kidnappings, but Peter still wants to help and volunteers with the mundane police to assist in the search.  Everything seems to be normal and nonmagical until the girls' phones are found, and Peter realizes that they have been destroyed by magic.  Peter launches his own investigation of the local supernatural phenomena beginning with the girls' supposed imaginary invisible horse friend.  5 stars

Book 130: Dead Witch Walking

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison is the beginning of the Hollows series featuring Rachel Morgan.  Tired of scrappy runs and mistakes that are not her fault, Rachel quite her job as a runner for the U.S. and goes into business with Ivy, a living vampire and previous runner as well. Because losing Ivy angers the IS, they place a bounty on Rachel's head.  With assassins at every turn, Rachel has no choice but to go after something big enough to bargain for her freedom.  Her target of choice is Trent Kalamack, a rich well connected businessman long suspected as a major player in the illegal drug Brimstone.  If Rachel is going to survive, she's going to need a crash course in teamwork.  4 stars

Book 129: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Valerie Laurie is a delightful cozy mystery getting the Psychic Eye Mystery series off to a great start.  Abby runs her own psychic business giving her clients advise regarding the problems in the lives in the near future.  She accepts a substitute client and warns her to be careful, but her client ends up dead.  Feeling guilty, Abby helps the police with the investigation but soon finds herself in the killers crosshairs.

I really enjoyed this series beginning.  4 stars

Book 128: Opal Fire

Opal Fire by Barbra Annino is the first book in the Stacy Justice series.  Stacy is a reporter in a small town and a very reluctant witch despite all of her grandmother's attempts to the contrary.  Her cousin's bar is catches fire; and when Cinnamon is accused of arson by the insurance agent, Stacy is determined to discover the truth.  The stakes increase drastically when they discover the body of a missing 18 year old girl blocked up in the basement wall of the burnt bar.  Then the coroner is killed, and someone attempts to kill Stacy. Now she must uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim.

The mystery was a well written cozy.  Thor the dog was hilarious, but Stacy herself was overly abrasive and rude to anyone that tries to help her.  It made the whole story offputting.  At this point I'm not sure I'll try the next book in the series.  3 stars

Book 127: Eagle Strike

Alex is enjoying a vacation in the South of France with Sabina and her family at the beginning of Eagle Strike, the fourth Alex Rider book.  His peaceful getaway is shattered as he spies the Russian contract assassin Yassen Gregorovitch arriving in a yacht.  The next afternoon, the beach house explodes, and Sabina's father is severely injured.  Alex sneaks onto the yacht and find the number of the man who contracted him.  Unfortunately Damian Cray is far too wealthy with far too many connections for MI6 to be willing to take Alex's word and begin an investigation. So Alex decides to go it alone.

Another face paced series of impossible events that still manage to be entertaining.  4 stars.

Book 126: The Battle of the Labyrinth

The fourth book of the Percy Jackson series begins with Percy attending orientation at the school of his mother's boyfriend.  After another battle with monsters, he heads to Camp Half-Blood with Annabeth.  The camp is on high alert after the discovery that the Titans have been sending scouts into the labyrinth of Daedalus presumably to bypass the camp's defensive wall.  Annabeth is placed in charge of the quest to seek out Daedalus and try to convince him to help the gods instead of the Titans.  Between fighting battles, rescuing allies, hunting for Pan, and taking side jobs to obtain help from various gods, Percy and Annabeth with help from Grover, Tyson, Nico and a mortal named Rachel race to save their camp.  5 stars.