phantom_wolfboy

Arsenic and Old Books: a cat in the stacks mystery by Miranda James

When last I wrote about the "Cat in the Stacks" mysteries (here) I said that the series was basically over because the whole cast except for the cat was going off to France (for reasons I have forgotten). Well, I guess they're back.

At the start of the book, Charlie and Diesel are in Charlie's office, waiting on the arrival of the Mayor of Athena (the Mississippi town they live in), who has some family documents that she wishes to donate to the College Library Archives (Charlie's department). In fact, what she has are several volumes of an ancestor's diary; a many-times great-grandmother who lived through the civil war and the occupation of the city by the Union Army. The volumes were found just recently and she wants them stored properly and made available to others (especially students). Her son is planning to run for her husband's state senate seat when the husband retires and she feels that people knowing what an amazing woman her great-great etc grandmother was will make them appreciate the family more, and vote for her son (or something. Charlie isn't exactly sure what she means).

Charlie needs a few days to prepare the books and make sure they are in good enough shape for people to handle, so he's a bit disconcerted to get two demands for access to them immediately: one from a student (or a woman claiming to be a student) who claims to be studying the mayor's family, and one from a professor who's so unpopular a Straw Feminist that she is on the verge of losing her job, never mind ever getting tenure. She wants exclusive access! Charlie turns them both down, but the professor, Marie Steverton, says that she has an in with the Mayor and will get that access! No one thinks that she can actually do it, but it turns out she can. However, before Charlie can make the diaries available (procedures have to be followed to make sure the old documents can be safely loaned out) they are stolen from his office and Marie Steverton is killed. Run over by a car. It might be an accident. It might not . . .

Charlie's investigation leads him into local politics, but the story as a whole is fairly gentle. It's a good mystery, and a nice time hanging out with friends.

Recommended.

What Angels Fear: a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris

A re-read. First mentioned, briefly, here. The start of an interesting series set in the Regency period of British history. Still recommended.

Garrett Takes The Case: Old Tin Sorrows, Dread Brass Shadows, and Red Iron Nights by Glen Cook

The second Garrett omnibus includes the second three novels of the series.

Old Tin Sorrows starts with Garrett's old sergeant dropping by the house to collect on an old favour: down in the Cantard, when Garrett was badly injured, Sergeant Peters carried him to safety. Now that Peters is retired and working for retired General Stantnor, who had been their Colonel back in the day, he needs Garrett to come out to the estate and find out who is stealing from the old man -- if in fact anyone is; the Colonel may be mistaken on that. But one thing Peters is sure of: someone is trying to kill the old man. Possibly by poison. The killer is the one Peters really wants caught, though if Garrett finds a thief as well, fine.

What Garrett finds on the General's secluded estate outside of Town is a nice collection of suspects, the General's sexy daughter, and another woman, a blonde, who only Garrett seems to be able to spot. It soon becomes apparent that there is a killer on the scene, though neither Garrett nor any of the experts he brings in can identify what poison is being administered to the General, nor how; but the cast of live suspects is quickly exchanged for a pile of dead suspects, not all of whom stay lying down. In the end it's a dark, grim story, lightened only by the arrival of Maya to cheer Garrett up (I was mistaken last time, by the way, when I said that this would be the last appearance of Maya in the series. She reappears several times after this, though only in the background and never, so far, with a speaking role).

Dread Brass Shadows begins with Garrett finally deciding to get some exercise, jogging around the block. Tinnie Tate has been on the outs with him for a while, but it looks like she's ready to make up--but before she can get through the crowd she's knifed from behind by a stranger. Garrett and Saucerhead catch the guy, but before they can interrogate him he's killed by a sniper--one of a group of snipers who nearly kill our heroes as well.

Fortunately, Tinnie seems likely to recover. Whoever sent the attacker out is not only going to have to face the wrath of Garrett and his friends, but also of the Tate family.

A couple of days later, as Garrett is getting ready to do his running again, a frightened, naked red-head stumbles through his door and collapses on the floor, unconscious. She later vanishes from the house without a trace.

Then a third red-head shows up. A former chambermaid from the house of an out-of-town baron, she wants to frustrate the plans of a witch known as "The Serpent"; no one knows what the Serpent looks like (at least, no one who doesn't work for her) but she was working on a "book of dreams or book of shadows" (which Garrett eventually learns is a thing from dwarfish lore: a book of brass pages, each of which describes a being and allows the holder of the book to take on the form of that being, with all its abilities. This leads to the dwarfs adding a side to the many seeking the book). It is apparent that Tinnie was stabbed because she was taken for this girl.

Things get really complicated when Chodo Contague, Tunfaire's kingpin of crime, also gets involved in the hunt for the book. Chodo has been paralysed for years, exerting his will through his right- and left-hand men, Sadler and Crask. Now it is apparent that he sees the book as a way to get out of his wheelchair, and Sadler and Crask see their hopes of taking over his empire on his death fading. This leads them to turn against Chodo, and Chodo decides Garrett must be with them . . . which means that Garrett has to join them, if only in self-defense.

Adding to all the confusion is a new ongoing character, Winger. A tall, statuesque blonde from the country, Winger sees herself as a fellow tough-guy and has the skills, if not the brains, to back it up.

Less dark than the previous one, though not without its moments, this one is a bit like the Maltese Falcon, albeit they actually do, in fact, find the bird.

Red Iron Nights has Garrett stopping in to the Joy House, Morley's restaurant, to visit with his friends when a lovely young woman dressed entirely in black (in our world and time, we'd call her a Goth) comes in, pursued by a badly-scarred man and a couple of thugs, along with an old man in a coach. Having pursued the girl into the worst possible bar, they also chose the worst possible girl to pursue: she's Chodo's daughter, Belinda.

Though the events of the last book should have taken Chodo out of the game, in fact he's still nominally kingpin. Now totally paralysed, he's a near-literal puppet for Sadler and Crask. Belinda will eventually want Garrett to help her rescue her father. Just mentioning that a bit out of order.

Garrett is eventually approached by Captain Westman Block, commander of the Watch, who wants his help catching a serial killer. There are probably a few of those around Tunfaire, but this one is ritually killing young rich women. Young, rich black-haired women.

Turns out, no surprise, to be the guy in the coach who was after Belinda. Garrett and Morley catch him. Tons of evidence. No question about it. But two weeks later, another girl dies. Same ritual. Same evidence. The Watch is spooked. Garrett's spooked. The Dead Man is somewhat concerned. This is more than just a killer. This is some kind of communicable curse. Can Garrett stop this before the curse gets to Belinda? Can he help Belinda take down Sadler and Crask? Will the Dead Man get religion?

For a story about a serial killer who can't be stopped this is not as dark as it could be, though it helps to have Old Tin Sorrows starting the collection off. Block and the reformed Watch become recurring characters as the series goes forward.

The whole series continues to be highly recommended.

On December 6, 1989, a man in his mid-twenties entered L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. He took with him a rifle. Blaming feminists for ruining his life, he shot and killed fourteen young women whose only crime was to seek higher education. December 6 is the day to remember them, and all acts of violence against women.

Their names were:

Genevieve Bergeron

Nathalie Croteau

Anne-Marie Edward

Maryse Laganiere

Anne-Marie Lemay

Michele Richard

Annie Turcotte

Helene Colgan

Barbara Daigneault

Maud Haviernick

Maryse LeClair

Sonia Pelletier

Annie St-Arneault

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz



Remember them.

Why I do this

On December 6, 1989, a man in his mid-twenties entered L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. He took with him a rifle. Blaming feminists for ruining his life, he shot and killed fourteen young women whose only crime was to seek higher education. December 6 is the day to remember them, and all acts of violence against women.

Their names were:

Genevieve Bergeron

Nathalie Croteau

Anne-Marie Edward

Maryse Laganiere

Anne-Marie Lemay

Michele Richard

Annie Turcotte

Helene Colgan

Barbara Daigneault

Maud Haviernick

Maryse LeClair

Sonia Pelletier

Annie St-Arneault

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz



Remember them.

Why I do this

Man, I missed a February entry! At this rate, we're never going to get out of the first quarter!

Second Line: two short novels of love & cooking in New Orleans by Poppy Z. Brite

This book includes, as the subtitle says, two short(er) stories in the Universe of Liquor(here on DW; here on LJ), Prime, and Soul Kitchen. The first, "The Value of X" is a prequel, dealing with how our heroes started to become cooks and, not coincidentally, become lovers. This includes the story of how Rickey went to the CIA and what happened there (which we already know from the backstory of Liquor, but here we get it in more depth), and also what happened to G-Man back at home. It's hard to call it intense, but it is certainly interesting.

The Second story, "D*U*C*K: a tale of men, birds, and one's purpose in life" is the final story in the series. In a world in which hurricane Katrina failed to destroy New Orleans, John Rickey is picked by Ducks Unlimited to make a specialty dinner of just ducks for their annual get-together. Will he do it? Can he do it? Will he once again regret setting foot outside of New Orleans? Will the reader regret the end of a wonderful series of stories? I think you know the answers.

Highly recommended (but I suggest starting with Liquor).

Territory by Emma Bull

A re-read. Written about here on LJ, and here on DW.

Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn

So last time, I said I wanted to see more of Kitty and Ben's pack; the domesticity of lycanthropy, as it were. We get some of that here, as our heroes return from the wars London and find a lone wolf in their territory, intending to challenge them for the leadership of the pack. They deal with it in a very "Kitty-and-Ben" fashion, which is both amusing and entertaining. Buuut, the "Long Game" stuff continues and it's still boring. There is still no sign of a resolution, or even any movement. The balance needs to tilt in favour of the more domestic stuff; as it was I skipped large chunks of this one and don't feel that I missed anything.

For the first time, mildly not recommended.

When Maidens Mourn: a Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C. S. Harris

Viscount and Lady St. Cyr are planning their honeymoon when word comes that one of Hero's friends, Miss Gabrielle Tennyson, has been murdered. In addition to the usual sorts of suspects, St. Cyr encounters french POWs and a former soldier who looks a great deal like him and has some of the same . . . peculiarities. The murdered Miss Tennyson is a fictional aunt to Alfred Lord Tennyson, of "The Lady Of Shalott" fame, and that poem has echoes in this book. All things considered, recommended, though you really should start the series at the beginnng.

So March was off by one book, meaning the total was off. It was 10 books, for a first-quarter total of 29, 4 of them nonfiction,

Hey, look! I missed a march entry! That's what I get for storing things on three different drives in three different locations!

This is mostly a re-read (original entries here for LJ; here for DW). The only major change is that my big complaint the other time, that the characters aren't actually introduced here, is dealt with this time by bundling the short story in which they meet with the book (at the front, as is proper).

I like the short better than I like the novel, to be honest. I think the reason is that the story is set in a city, while the novel is set out in the mountains, in winter, with a small cast. Don't get me wrong; I like the novel well enough, but I like the short better.

Note, however, that as far as I know this is still in hardcover; I picked it up at World's Biggest Bookstore at 50% off (the post-holiday sale, not the current "50% off everything before we close next weekend" sale); I don't know if they're going to a new paperback edition after that. With that caveat, recommended. Recommended higher than the original, in fact.

On December 6, 1989, a man in his mid-twenties entered L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. He took with him a rifle. Blaming feminists for ruining his life, he shot and killed fourteen young women whose only crime was to seek higher education. December 6 is the day to remember them, and all acts of violence against women.

Their names were:

Genevieve Bergeron

Nathalie Croteau

Anne-Marie Edward

Maryse Laganiere

Anne-Marie Lemay

Michele Richard

Annie Turcotte

Helene Colgan

Barbara Daigneault

Maud Haviernick

Maryse LeClair

Sonia Pelletier

Annie St-Arneault

Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz



Remember them.

Why I do this

Deathstalker Rebellion: being the second part of the life and times of Owen Deathstalker by Simon R. Green

The second of the Deathstalker series is divided into two major parts, each centred around one group of rebels, though other members of the extended cast may appear. In the first, Owen and Hazel head to Golgotha to attack the Imperial taxation office, crippling part of the empire and adding funds to the rebel accounts in one stroke. Also, they hook up with the rebel underground on Golgotha, teaming up with the Suzie Blues (a group apparently destinied for a bad fate) and one Alexander Storm, an old friend of Jack Random. Who may not, in fact, be who he claims to be (Jack, that is).

Regardless of who he is, Random heads off to rescue slaves from the plant producing the new stardrive that the Empire is counting on. He takes Storm and Ruby Journey with him, and again they hook up with the local rebels, but in addition to the best troops House Wolfe can send against them and the top battle-jesuits of the Church of Jesus Christ, Warrior, the whole planet seems to be fighting them.

This planet is actually the biggest problem for the story. Its seasons are measured in days, which is an interesting concept, partcularely when we learn that it was caused a century ago by a hacked weather satellite system. No one can fix it, which the story makes sense of, but we are never told why it isn't shot down and replaced by a new one. Also, life on the planet has adjusted and now lives and dies by the seasons, just as it would if they were their natural selves. Problem is, there just hasn't been enough time for anything to evolve to deal with those conditions. Even insects and bacteria would have died off in the first couple of winters, each coming less than a week after spring. The planet would be, at best, devoid of native life.

But, yeah, space opera; don't sweat the science too much, if things slow down have a man with a blaster come through the airlock. Also, it's Simon R. Green so he'll probably have a blaster and a sword. Mindless fun. Mildly recommended, with a bonus recommendation for fans of Green's other works.

Secrets of the Fire Sea by Stephen Hunt

Sequel to The Court Of The Air and The Kingdom Beyond The Waves. The main setting is Hermetica City, the main settlement on Jago Island, in the middle of the titular ocean. Hermetica is aptly named, being closed off by domes and airlocks from the inhospitable surface of the island, home to savage, bear-like Ursks. The humans who live in Hermetica share space with the more civilized, but still bear-like, Ursines, who hold the island to be sacred ground and want all humans removed.

Hannah Conquest is the child of Jackelian scientists who were killed when their submarine sank on the way home from Jago. Hannah has been raised on the island by Archbishop Alice Grey of the Circlist Church. Hannah and Alice both hope that Hannah will pass the necessary exams and become a priest, but then Alice is killed, apparently, by an Ursk that broke through the city walls and found its way to the Cathedral where they lived. With Alice's protection gone, Hannah finds herself in a danger much more personal than Ursk attack.

Back in Jackels, Jethro Daunt, consulting detective, is hired to investigate Alice's death by the Circlist Inquisition. Daunt used to be a Circlist Parson; in fact at one point he was engaged to be married to Alice. He wound up defrocked, though, as the Circlist church is an atheist church and Daunt came to not so much believe in gods as to be haunted by a variety of old gods, such as Badger-Headed Joseph. These gods are actually still with him. Also with him, and far more materially helpful, is his assistant, Boxiron. Boxiron is a Steam Knight (sentient clockwork being) head installed on a Jackelian robot body--to the Steammen an abomination like unto Frankenstein's monster. For Daunt, though, he's an invaluable friend, as well as an ace lock-cracker and, when in high gear, an unstoppable fighter.

Daunt and Boxiron take passage to Jago on the submarine of Commodore Black (has appeared in all of Hunt's books I've read so far) with the protege of Professor Harsh (appeared in Kingdom), who is going to Jago to consult their massive transaction-engines (steampunk computers). They all get caught up in Hannah's story, the history of the island, and the machinations of the Ursines and the local politicians. The result is a mess that even Commodore Black may not be able to get out of.

I greatly enjoyed the first two books of the series and with the addition of Daunt and Boxiron this one takes things up a notch (pun only understood by those who read the book). They're great characters, Daunt driven by the training the Church gave him and the conflict between his atheistic preferences and the fact that he basically can't deny the gods that speak to him. Boxiron, rejected by almost everything he loves, would almost rather be dead, but he knows that if he goes prematurely Daunt will also soon die, and probably of something that Boxiron could have saved him from. And Hannah refuses to just hang around playing damsel in distress when her brain can get her out of almost any trouble. Of course, trouble can come from unexpected directions . . .

Cracking good fun, and highly recommended. And you don't need to have read any of the other books for this one to make sense.

Die Buying: a mall cop mystery by Laura DiSilverio

Former military cop Emma-Joy "EJ" Harris earned an honourable discharge when an IED injures her leg. Rejected by the civilian police forces she applied to, and unable to live with her Hollywood rich family, she winds up moving to Veronville (state unknown; it's probably mentioned in the text somewhere, but I can't find it and it doesn't matter anyway. It's not too far from Washington DC) where she can keep an eye on her aging, ex-CIA grandfather (who is determined to keep his touch when it comes to spying on people) and is offered a job at the Fernglen Galleria Mall. It's law enforcement of a sort, and she makes friends and enemies quickly both in the community and among the other mall cops. But at least the job lets her use a Segway to get around (bad leg, remember?).

When the novel starts, someone has broken into the Herpetology Hut and released all the reptiles, including Agatha, a 15-foot python. And then a customer spots a naked dead man in the window of a fashionable boutique. Local hardass cop Anders Helland seems determined to dismiss EJ as nothing more than another Mall Cop, so she sets out to do her own investigation. The dead man was an unpopular developer and a wide number of people had possible motivations to kill him. Can EJ solve the case before Helland does, and especially before anyone else gets killed?

I liked EJ, I loved her Grandfather, I liked her friends, and I even liked Helland (with whom EJ might have a flash of heat). The mystery was tricky and I didn't solve it first. There's a lot to like here and I think I'll go forward with this series, but I am worried that the setting limits what can be done in terms of interesting crimes (though this one does include both the Herpetological heist and a case of graffitists tagging cars in the parking garage with religious messages--both cases fit into the main mystery in creative ways). Mildly recommended.

The Skinner by Neal Asher

A re-read. First covered here on LJ; here on DW. Still recommended.