The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning

The Bookwoman's Last Fling is another book in the Cliff Janeaway mystery series. In this book, Cliff is trying to solve a decades old mysterious death, as well as track down a possible book thief. Most of the action takes place in and around horse-racing tracks, when Cliff goes undercover to find out more about the mystery from the past. Some interesting characters are introduced and there are interesting discussions of juvenalia and bibliomania, but this is not one of the strongest mysteries in the series.

3 by Julia Spencer Fleming

A Fountain Filled With Blood is the second mystery in the series about Episcopal Priest Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne. This time out, Clare gets involved in investigating a series of attacks on closeted (and not so closeted) gays in her small upstate NY town.

Out of the Deep I Cry, the 3rd book in the series, is a bit of a time-shifting mystery. A buried secret from prohibition days is causing mayhem and murder in Millers Kill.

To Darkness and To Death, number 4 in the series, takes place on the day of big party in the new resort in Millers Kill. Greed, eco-warriors, family tensions, and a missing woman add confusion to the mix.

In each of the first 4 books, Clare and Russ have been fighting their growing attraction to each other--book 4 brings things to a head, as Russ decides to leave his wife to follow his heart to Clare.

The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

The Night Gardener takes place in D.C., like other Pelecanos books. This time out, two ex-cops and and couple of current cops are trying to make sense of a murder that looks a lot like some long ago serial murders.

If you have watched The Wire, it's hard not to feel like you're reading a story arc from that series. Pelecanos worked on The Wire, and either it sounds like him or he sounds like it.

In any case, this is a fast-paced, gritty, and beautifully observed story. Anyone who has liked previous Pelecanos books will want to read this one. Anyone who likes The Wire, may want to give it a try.

Pelecanos still has a few tricks up his sleeve--watch for him to surprise you in this outing.

Already Dead by Charlie Huston

Already Dead is a vampire detective novel with zombie interruptions. Joe Pitt is a rogue vampire in a city of vampire "gangs", and he's trying hard to remain independent. The city is New York City, and the vampires and other assorted creatures of the night live just under the surface. Joe keeps his independence by doing favors for the muckety-mucks of the major vamp gangs--favors you might expect from a noirish detective. Joe has a few issues to resolve: he's in love with an HIV+ bartender who doesn't know he's a vamp, he has stumbled across some sort of zombie-making monster, and he's searching for a missing girl who was last seen hanging with a recently zombified murder victim.

This is the freshest of the recent crop of vamp books I've read. It's the kind of book that makes me say, "Hey, what else has this guy written?"

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

A collection of essays by Nora Ephron, mostly about getting old, but some just generally about being a woman. In her usual wry style, Ephron frets about her neck, her purse, maintenance (hair, skin, nails, etc.), the fact that as a White House intern she didn't have an affair with JFK, living in NYC, etc. A quick, fun read.

Renfield, Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambly

Barbara Hambly has previously written two of my favorite vampire books: Those Who Hunt the Night and Travelling With the Dead. Renfield is not as interesting or compelling as either of those books, but it is well-written and worth reading, especially if you are a fan of Hambly. Barbara Hambly also writes the Benjamin January mystery series (January is a free man of color in old New Orleans) and science fiction. She was married to George Alec Effinger and has edited a couple of collections of his writings.

Renfield is the Bram Stoker's Dracula, but told from the viewpoint of Renfield. Hambly succeeds in making Renfield into a fully rounded character, and in providing a new look at some other familiar characters from the "original" vampire novel. Of particular interest are her characterizations of the inhabitants of the Rushbrook Asylum, Lucy Westenra, and Dracula's three wives.

Closing Time by Jim Fusilli

Closing Time is a mystery, the second in a series. The series protagonist is Terry Orr, who is a writer and aspiring detective. Terry has a motley group of friends and a precocious 12-year-old daughter. His beloved, artist wife was killed in book 1. In this book, Terry is trying to help solve a couple of mysteries. In one case, an elderly cab driver was murdered. In the other, a bomb was set off in an art gallery at an opening. Terry was attending the opening with his daughter, and was friends with he gallery owner, because she had previously represented his wife. Overall, worth reading, but not so compelling that I'll be seeking out other books in the series.

The Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

This is Pratchett's third book to feature Tiffany Aching and the Feegles. This time around, Tiffany must restore order to the seasons, after her dance with the Wintersmith causes him to bury the Discworld in snow, threatening the spring lambs. As usual, Tiffany has a little help from her friends, who include Granny Weatherwax, Miss Treason (a very old witch with some very odd ways), Nanny Ogg, the Feegles, and Roland (who is called upon to take the role of hero.)

Sprightly, amusing, and delectable as always, King Pratchett!

Against Depression by Peter D. Kramer

Against Depression is Kramer's followup to his bestselling, Listening to Prozac. Kramer is a psychoanalyst who specializes in treating depression, and is disturbed by the tendency people have to romanticize depression--to the detriment of the depressed. This book is full of information on the recent science relating to research on depression and its effects on the brain. Very useful and informative.

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

In the Bleak Midwinter introduces Episcopalian priest Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne as a mystery-solving team based in Millers Kill, a small town in upstate New York. Clare is a former Army chopper pilot, taking her first posting after seminary. Russ is police chief, and also a former military man. They are brought together when a baby is left on the steps of the Episcopal church. Within a couple of days, the baby's mother is found dead--murdered by a blow to the head, followed by exposure to the winter cold. As the bodies pile up, the mystery grows, as does the attraction between Clare and Russ.

These are engaging characters, and the mystery is well plotted. In the Bleak Midwinter is a highly enjoyable first mystery, and the start of an interesting series.

You Suck by Christopher Moore

You Suck is a sequel to the 1996 comic vampire novel, Bloodsucking Fiends and features many of the same protagonists. However, since Jody turned Thomas C. Flood at the end of Bloodsucking Fiends, it is now necessary for them to find a new minion (daylight gofer.)

Abby Normal, the goth-chick teen girl chosen by Tommy (who styles himself The Vampyre Flood to Abby) is a terrifically funny addition to the story. Her diary makes for some side-splitting reading. The Animals (Tommy's grocery-stocking, turkey-bowling pals from the supermarket) have returned from Las Vegas with a blue-dyed hooker who has somehow earned several hundred thousand dollars over the weekend. Add an alcohol-preserved panhandler with an enormous, shaved cat and a sprinkling of European Undead, and you've got another zippy, funny, and undeniably Christopher Moore-ish read.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Twilight is a vampire novel about a teenaged girl named Bella Swan. Bella has moved from Phoenix, AZ to the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula of Northwest Washington state. Bella has moved to Forks to live with her father, so that her mother can travel with her new husband, a minor league baseball player. Bella has moved by her own choice, but is miserably unhappy in cold, grey, damp Washington, after years in sunny Phoenix.

Nevertheless, Bella is adjusting to high school in Forks and making friends when her attention is drawn to a group of very unusual and strikingly good looking students--all of whom are the adopted children of , the town doctor. Before long, Bella becomes very much attracted to Edward, one of the adopted sons.

This is a very slowly drawn-out story with lots and lots of description, and not so much action. Rather, there is plenty of action, but it is spread out over about 400 pages, when the pacing would have been much better in about half the space. Twilight is meant to be a teen book, so maybe all the description is meant to mirror the agonies of being a teenager. It was certainly highly recommended and roundly lauded. It was not compelling enough for me to seek out further books in the series.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

The Amulet of Samarkand is the first book in the trilogy, and it introduces the reader to the djinn Bartimaeus and to Nathaniel, an apprentice wizard. Nathaniel is an appealing human hero, and Bartimaeus is humorous and wise by turns. There are shifting viewpoints, so that sometimes we are hearing the story from Bartimaeus's point of view, and at others, we are reading an omniscient view of Nathaniel's story.

The Amulet of Samarkand is cleverly plotted and engaging. It provides an alternate world, wherein wizards rule the governments of the major countries, and the power of a country rises and falls due to the cleverness and skill of its wizards. The relentless pacing keeps you racing through the pages to the end of the book, and made me very glad to have received the trilogy as a set, so I could jump straight into book 2.

The Golem's Eye takes place a couple of years after the action in The Amulet of Samarkand. Nathaniel has been given a job in the Office of Internal Affairs (part of a magical ministry in the British government) and a new wizard master (this time a woman.) A series of "terrorist attacks" have been taking place, and Nathaniel must find the culprits. While Nathaniel suspects rogue magicians, he's being encouraged to seek out members of the non-magical resistance as the source of the attacks. Once again, Nathaniel calls on Bartimaeus for assistance. A girl we met briefly in book one, Kitty Jones, has become a member of the Resistance. The Golem's Eye uses narrative shifts to show us magical Britain from Kitty's point of view, in addition to the Bartimaeus narration and omniscient view of Nathaniel's life.

Ptolemy's Gate concludes the trilogy. Once again, the protagonists are Kitty (now a young woman), Nathaniel (now Information minister), and Bartimaeus. Nathaniel has been increasingly lured toward the corrupting influences of the magical government, although a trace of the boy Nathaniel remains. Kitty has gone underground, apprenticing herself to an elderly magician. Bartimaeus has become drained of essence in his near constant duties. The three of them are called upon to save England from a plague of power-corrupted magicians. Ptolemy's Gate proves an excellent finish to an exceptional series of books.

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Mark Haddon wrote a wonderful first novel, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and he has written a compelling and delightful followup in A Spot of Bother. A Spot of Bother is the story of George, who at 61 is having a sort of breakdown. George's wife Jean is having her own mid-life adjustment, and having an affair. Daughter Katie is about to marry Ray, a man who is not very well-liked by her family. Son Jamie is having problems with his boyfriend, who is demanding more from him than he feels comfortable giving. A Spot of Bother is a comedy of errors, with the emphasis on comedy.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, with highly sympathetic characters, who often behave like complete jerks. Great fun.

Number9Dream by David Mitchell

Number9Dream tells the story of Eiji Miyake, who goes to Tokyo at age 20 to try and find his father. Eiji has been raised by his grandmother, after being abandoned to her care as a child. Eiji's mother is an alcoholic, and his father is unknown to him. In the course of seeking out his father, Eiji runs afoul of the Yakuza, gets a couple of jobs, makes friends, falls in love, listens to John Lennon on his headset, reminisces about his childhood, and enters into elaborate fantasies and dreams. Sometimes stream-of-consciousness, sometimes drifting in and out of reality, drifting back and forth in time, and always seeking--Eiji is a compelling hero with a wild story to tell.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner is a first novel that exhibits astonishing storytelling skill. It is the story of two boys, Amir and Hassan--told by Amir. Amir and Hassan lives in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir is the son of a wealthy man, whose mother died at his birth. Hassan is the son of the household servant, and is a Hazara. Hazaras are Shi'a, among a largely Sunni population, and they are ethnic minorities, as well. The Hazara are considered low-caste by the majority Afghans.

Amir tells the story of the childhood he shared with Hassan in a more peaceful Afghanistan, before he fled for America with his father as a teen. There is a secret at the heart of Amir's story, and I won't reveal it here, but the secret has plagued Amir's conscience, and the book is his story of how he repaid Hassan for his childhood lapses.

Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier

Child of the Prophecy is the final book in Juliet Marillier's Seven Waters trilogy. Each book follows the fate of a different person, and this third book follows Fainne, the daughter of the druid Ciaran and Niamh, the sister of Liadan--who was the protagonist of the second book. I read the whole book, before I got around to checking on the internet to find out how to pronounce the lead character's name. Here's a place to find some pronunciations for Gaelic names: http://www.namenerds.com/irish/irisham.html
Fainne is apparently pronounced like Tanya, only starting with an F. Ciarian is pronounced like Kirin. The first two books in the trilogy included a pronunciation guide at the front. This third book, with the most difficult names to pronounce, did not.

Anyway, all that aside, this was a fitting finale. Unlike some multi-part series, it did not fizzle out, but ended in a very satisfying manor, which I won't reveal here. Fainne has been raised by her father, Ciaran, in near isolation. Her father has raised her to understand her Druidic heritage (from him) as well as her sorceress heritage (from her grandmother, the evil sorceress, the Lady Oonagh. When she becomes a young woman, Ciaran sends Fainne to Sevenwaters to stay with her mother's kin. It is while visiting Sevenwaters that Fainne must meet her destiny, for she is involved in the prophecy that has driven the story of all three books. Fainne struggles with her desires to protect those she loves while fighting the powerful charms of the Lady Oonagh. This was a gripping and thought-provoking finale.

Blue Hole by G.D. Gearino

Blue Hole is a mystery and a coming-of-age novel and a Southern Gothic, all at the same time. Blue Hole tells the story of Charley Selkirk, a high school senior who gets kicked out of school during the last week of his senior year. Charley takes a job with a photographer (Tallasee Tynan) who lives in his town, Barrington, GA. Tallasee is local, in that she lives in Barrington and grew up there, but she is also an outsider, in that she spent several years modeling and working as a photographer outside her small Georgia town.

While working with Tallasee, Charley gets involved in investigating the disappearance of another young man. Tallasee and Charley look for the missing boy in a local hippie commune, and soon they find themselves in danger and that the missing boy is a likely murder victim.

Wrapped around the story of Charley and Tallasee's investigation is the story of Charley's mother, his brother who died accidentally in childhood, the local sheriff, and a scary drifter.
The mysteries are all solved when the threads come together at the end of the book.

Blue Hole is a quick and compelling read. The characters, if not altogether believable, are enjoyable.

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

Son of the Shadows continues from the story told in Daughter of the Forest, but the protagonists shift from Sorcha and her brothers, to Sorcha's daughter, Liadan. Liadan is very like her mother, in that she is a healer and herbalist. She is different, too, in that she has the Sight.

Liadan must cope with many conflicting demands on her conscience, and it is her task to bring the conflicting forces together. Once again, Marillier writes a story of grand sweeping emotions that is at the same time homely and familiar. Up next, Child of the Prophecy.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest is the first book in a trilogy. It tells the story of Sorcha, who is the daughter of a clan chieftain. The general storyline will be familiar to many people, because Sorcha is the sister to six brothers who have been turned into swans by a wicked stepmother sorceress. Sorcha must keep silence while making each brother a shirt from nettles. This folktale is widely told, with slight variations. You can read more about the folktales here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Swans

Besides being a retelling of that folktale, Daughter of the Forest is also a love story and a story of Druids and Christians and barbarians. It is a story about bravery of many kinds, and about kinship, loyalty, and perceptions.

I found it hard to get interested in Daughter of the Forest, at first, but within a few chapters, I was thoroughly drawn in. I immediately took up book two in the series, on finishing Daughter of the Forest. Son of the Shadows was a worthy successor.

http://www.julietmarillier.com/

Shadow of the Lords by Simon Levack

Shadow of the Lords is the second book in the Aztec Murder Mysteries. Yaotl the slave is once again the protagonist and detective. This mystery begins the morning after the mystery described in Demon of the Air. Once again, Yaotl is racing against time and hiding out from reprisals from his master, the Chief Minister. This time around, Yaotl has an especially strong motivation to solve the mystery--he is trying to protect the son he discovered in Demon of the Air.

Yaotl does much of his sleuthing among the feather artisans, and considerable information about feathered adornments of the Aztecs is imparted along with the story.

This was a worthy followup to Demon of the Air, and a breakneck read.