Book 27: Naked in Death

Naked in Death by J. D. Robb is the first book in the very popular and long running "In Death" series.  Set in a futuristic America where guns are banned and prostitution legal, the initial book begins with the murder of a senator's granddaughter, who chose to become a legal companion (aka prostitute).  Lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned to the homicide case which is to be conducted under the strictest confidence due to the victim's political family. While the murder itself is disturbing, the note stating one of six and the video of the murder which is quickly dropped off at Eve's apartment makes solving this case imperative.  As Eve begins her investigation, the evidence initially leads her to Roarke as a suspect, but as he is cleared a hot romance ensues.  Meanwhile the body count rises and political pressure mounts, pushing Eve to the limit as she tracks down the killer.

An excellent beginning to a series that does a good job of balancing the murder portion of the plot with the romance part.  Normally I steer clear of serial killer books because of the graphic scenes, but the focus on the budding relationship between Eve and Roarke and the lack of focus on the psychology of the serial killer made this book far more palatable in my opinion.  5 stars.

Book 26: Marked in Flesh

I enjoyed another brief vacation in Thasia this weekend rereading Marked in Flesh, the 4th book in the Others series by Anne Bishop.  It was great to see the larger threads of the story outside of Lakeside close, and I'm definitely ready to focus on the Lakeside Courtyard in the final book.


Here's a link to my original review.

Book 25: The Hammer of Thor

Rick Riordan's second installment of the Magnus Chase series, The Hammer of Thor, chronicles the adventures of Magnus and his friends as they try to locate and return Thor's hammer before the giants attack Asgard.  As usual Loki the trickster is behind everything with a plan designed for his own benefit.  He has arranged a marriage between Sam the Valkarie and a giant named Thrym, who is in possession of the hammer.  A new einherji named Alex, another child of Loki and an argr, joins Magnus, Sam, Blitzen, and Hearth in their quest.  What follows is the usual romp from one life-threatening situation to another with a large dose of humor binding it together.  Four stars.

Book 24: Odd Thomas

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz is the first of seven books told in the first person by a humble fry cook, who happens to see dead people.  Odd views his abilities as a gift and takes the responsibility upon himself to help the ghosts so that they can move on.  This time he has a chance not to simply solve a crime but help try to prevent one.  A sudden appearance of shadowy figures that Odd refers to as bodachs in larger numbers than he has ever seen before warns him that the man who visits his restaurant is big trouble.  Odd begins investigating the man and passes along what he discovers to his friend in the police, but then everything begins to unravel.  The suspicious man turns up dead in Odd's house, and Odd's police contact is shot multiple times leaving Odd alone to figure out what exactly is supposed to happen on August 15th, who the dead man's accomplices are, and how to stop their plans.

Overall the tale is a bit darker than most stories I read, but I truly loved the character of Odd Thomas.  He is a sweet man who tries to make use of his gift and do the right
thing.  His family is horrible, but his friends and especially his girlfriend are wonderfully supportive.  The ending had me in tears.  The plot is well paced, but the author seems to introduce elements such as thw black room that are never really explained.  I would rate the book as four stars.

Book 23: Vision in Silver

Only two days until the release of Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop.  I'm excited to see how she finishes the story of the Lakeside residents, particularly Simon and Meg.  This week, I finished a reread of the third book Vision in Silver, and I expect to read the fourth book in the next couple of days.  If you've never visited Lakeside Courtyard, I highly recommend it.


In Other news, Goodreads has a new book listed in Bishop's Others series for publication next year called Lake Silence.  Based on the information currently available, it looks like it is set in a different part of Thasia with an entirely new set of characters.  I'll miss Simon and Meg, but I love Thasia and am so glad the author is writing more books in that world.


Here's a link to my previous review of the book.  Happy reading!

Book 22: Blood of Olympus

The fifth and final book in Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" series, Blood of Olympus is narrated by Reyna and Nico covering the return of the Athena Parthenon to Camp Half Blood as well as Piper and Leo to recount the end of the quest of seven against Gaea.  In the statue group, Nico is struggling to move the massive statue through the shadows, and they already have enough monsters to fight before Orion the hunter and a pack of werewolves are set on their trail.  With help from Hades, the Amazons, the Hunters of Artemis, and others, the group learns to work together to ensure their portion of the quest is complete and to stop war from breaking out between Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter.  Aboard the Argo II, the seven demigods take turns on a series of small quests to gather intel, subdue a crazed victory goddess, and gather the final pieces needed to complete their end of the quest by defeating the giants and stopping Gaea.

A well crafted end to a good series.  4 stars.

Book 21: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

It's Christmas time at Buckshaw in the fifth Flavia du Luce mystery, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows; but this Christmas promises to be quite different.  In order to earn money to pay off the family's debts, Colonel du Luce has rented our the use of Buckshaw to a film company.  The whole village is excited about the imminent arrival of the famous film star, Phyllis Wyvern.  The vicar asks the actress if she would be willing to do a short scene in order to help raise money for roof repair, and she quickly agrees to perform a scene from Romeo and Juliet with her costar.  Things quickly go from bad to worse when the villagers are snowed in, and then Phyllis Wyvern is found murdered by Flavia.  Now in addition to preparing glue to catch Saint Nicholas and making fireworks to set off as her Christmas present to the village, Flavia has a murder to solve.

This is definitely my favorite of the Flavia series so far.  The mystery is well done as usual, but I found her Christmas plans to be quite funny and entertaining.  I definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys mysteries. Five stars.