The Birthday Murder by Lange Lewis

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This 1945 mystery is the second of five that starred series hero Lieutenant Richard Tuck of the LA Homicide Squad and his faithful assistant E. Byron “Duck Butt” Froody.

A cozy with the elements of a police procedural, it is narrated from the third-person limited point of view of career woman Victoria Hime, who writes novels, plays, and scripts. She’s also the chief suspect since circumstantial evidence points to her as the poisoner of her husband Albert Hime, a producer of B movies. It doesn’t help Victoria that the kind of poison used was the same chemical used to kill a husband in one of her novels. Tuck and Froody, however, can identify no motive that would have driven Victoria to snuff her quiet easy-going husband. Plus, Victoria’s independence of mind and knowledge of people impress Tuck, who is a combination of hard-headed and soul-deep himself.

The persons of interest to be interviewed by Tuck are three. Bernice Saxe is Victoria’s childhood friend with a raft of marital problems of her own making. Plus, we know how complicated friendships, especially long-time ones, can be. Moira Hastings is an ambitious starlet, willing to slander Victoria as jealous and back-biting because Victoria said Moira was not mature or good enough for movie part. Sawn Hariss is Victoria’s first husband, showing up like a bad penny for the first time in ten years. His immature personality has failed to improve even after active participation in World War II, only glancingly referred to in the story.

There is cringe-worthy content related to race, class, and gender but it takes up only a fraction of the novel. And plenty of references to the intricacies of female friendships and the importance of clothes, shoes, jewels, and hats may be over the head of the male reader. But these issues are balanced by the excellent prose and the breezy wit of a confident writer. This was included by Barzun and Taylor in their list of 50 great mysteries. It was reprinted in paperback the early 1980s by Harper Perennial Mystery Library. Highly recommended.

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

I waited patiently for this one to come out. I watched as the publishing date changed a couple of times, pushing it out further, and still I waited. Finally, it released and soon after, I bought it. Then… I put it on my shelf. Oh, how I wanted to read it. The premise sounded so promising. Yet at 700+ pages, I couldn’t bring myself to read this one book when I could read 2-3 smaller ones in its place. Finally, more than a year later, I pulled it down, opened the cover, and fell in fully immersed. The journey was even better as there was beautifully done artwork scattered throughout.

The world in this book has been drowned in darkness. The days are dim with the sun barely showing, the nights are blacker than black. Vampires roam this world in search of humans for food and as slaves. They can come out in the day with its feeble light but are stronger in the nighttime. The vampires have also mated with the humans to create a hybrid. These hybrids have banded together to use the powers given to them by the bloodsuckers to destroy them. They call themselves silversaints and they are mankind’s last chance to take back this dark world.

Gabriel de Leon lives a simple life with a mother he loves, sisters he adores and a father that can’t stand him. Then one day, his sister is attacked by a vampire and his world starts to change forever. Finding out that his father is not his true father and the lies that he has been told, he is taken to the holy order train to be a silversaint. He finds that he does not have the special powers that his other brethren do so he trains twice as hard. Yet, the rules are too much for Gabriel and he finds that he does not agree with everything they teach. He is torn between being the warrior that he has trained for and the truth he feels in his heart. When he crosses the line, the order gives him no choice and banishes him.

The story unfolds as Gabriel, who at present time has been taken prisoner by the enemy, relives his tale to his captor. He tells of battles, of love, of betrayal. He talks of the Holy Grail and his quest to protect it. This tome is his tale and, boy, is it quite a tale. Not once did I get bored or feel the need to skim the pages. It held my attention from the first page to the last.

Now, a bit of a warning. There is a lot of violence in this book. It can be quite brutal with all of the slaying and such. It also has a ton of profanity. While cuss words do not really bother me in the least, I would have to say that this is the one and only problem I had with the book. The profanity was kind of funny in the beginning but then it started to wear on you. It was done so much that it ended up not being funny and caused massive eye rolling on my part. I think if it was toned down, at the moments when it could’ve really used them, it would’ve been more enjoyable. Instead it was just a constant in the book after you delved in a bit. Then, the last warning is that there is some sex scenes. Nothing overly graphic but they are there.

The vampire genre had gotten stale for me but this book renewed my faith that there are still good bloodsucking books out there. Excited to see that the second book should be coming out in 2024. Looking forward to getting my hands on it.

No Strangers Here (County Kerry, Bk 1) By Carlene O’Connor

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

Dr. Dimpna Wilde, veterinarian, left her hometown, Dingle, ages ago to raise her son and didn’t have plans to return. Then she receives a phone call about a possible murder and that her parents are the suspects. On top of that, she finds out her father has dementia. With her son grown and off on vacation and still mourning her husband’s suicide, Dimpna heads back to Dingle to clear her family’s name. Though that may be harder than she thought.

The story has a vast array of characters and at first it was hard to keep them all separate but it didn’t take long to settle down and become acquainted with each one. This is definitely a strong suit in the book. You come to love or despise them. Also, there are the secrets that are shed throughout the story. In a small town where everyone knew everybody, very little knew of the secrets each one held. It doesn’t take long for it to come to a head and the whole mess boils over.

I enjoyed the tale a lot and was entertained until the end. I was quite excited to see a mystery/thriller surrounded by the veterinary field. This just happens to be the profession I always wanted but never made it in to. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more happening with working with the animals. There was an occasion here and there but it was mostly about the medication in the vet field. Still, here’s hope that the next book will add more of that into it.

NETTLE & BONE by T. Kingfisher

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

This is a lovely standalone fantasy from award-winning author T.Kingfisher, who also writes as Ursula Vernon. It has well-drawn characters, excellent world-building, and moves along at just the right pace to keep you glued to the page.  The fairytale elements are not quite what we expect.  There are fairy godmothers to be sure, and a strong warrior, but also bone-dogs and dust-wives.

Marra is the third-born princess of a very small kingdom, with a deep-water port coveted by two larger kingdoms on either side. Marra’s sister is given in marriage to the prince of one of those, thereby assuring peace.  When Damia dies after only a few months, second sister Kania is sent to take her place. Marra is sent to a convent, conveniently out of the way but also held in reserve, although Marra doesn’t realize this. She’s happy at the convent.

At the birth of Kania’s daughter, Kania tells Marra something disquieting – but she’s in labor and Marra knows women say all sorts of things then. As the years pass Marra keeps getting letters saying Kania is with child, but there’s never a birth, so she knows there must be multiple miscarriages. And when the surviving daughter dies, Marra learns the awful truth at the funeral. She has to save her sister. But how? Every idea ends up with Kania dead or their little kingdom in ruins. Oh, wait… there’s one way…

Thus begins her quest to kill Prince Vorling. But he was given protection at birth by a powerful godmother’s blessing. Marra needs a powerful witch too, so she finds a dust-wife. The dust-wife sets her three impossible tasks, and after Marra accomplishes two of them, throws up her hands in exasperation. “You give someone an impossible task so they won’t be able to do it” she says, and gives Marra the third as a freebie. Then she joins Marra and Bonedog to get what they need for the task. They rescue a man from the goblin market, and find Marra’s fairy godmother. Let’s not forget the demon chicken.

This is such a good book. It really would be a grim fairy tale if not for the gentle humor that Kingfisher infuses all through the story.  The dialogue is spot-on for the characters. I loved how Marra steps up to save her sister, even though they never got along as children. I loved Agnes, Marra’s fairy godmother, who is better at curses than blessings, but won’t use curses.  Fenris, the dust-wife, even Bonedog are all rich characters. We can relate to Marra’s mother who we see only in a few paragraphs. The scenes are vivid – you will be repelled by the goblin market and feel yourself lost in the dark of the tombs. The ending is deeply satisfying.

I highly recommend this to any fantasy fan, adult or YA.

The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

This was a delightful surprise. Although, I thought I would enjoy this book, I didn’t realize that I would relish it as much as I did. There is a smattering of magic and romance with a heap of mystery. While I am not the romance type, it was nicely done and I actually liked it.

The story centers around Sylvia Ashe, a librarian that loves her job but not necessarily who she works for. Her days are made brighter on the times that her dear friend, Daisy, pops in unannounced.

Sylvia’s past is unknown. Never knowing her father and her mother refusing to talk about it, all she could do is guess. Then she finds that she might be descended from magicians. Although doubtful, she sets off, with help from Daisy, on a quest to find out. She ends up meeting Gabe, a handsome war hero, and hopes that he can help. He ends up not having answers to her questions but in a tangle of events, they both help each other on a mission to find out who stole a painting.

The adventure was fun and the characters were magnificent. I truly had lots of fun reading this story. I would’ve have loved it more if it delved deeper into the magic but hoping to see that happen in book two, The Medici Manuscript.

Mr. Campion and Others by Margery Allingham

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

These 13 short stories star Allingham’s series PI, Albert Campion. They were first published in the UK in the late thirties and made their way in the US, through Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, during WWII.

Allingham was a professional who cared about her craft. Without being fancy about vocabulary and grammar, she created well-turned sentences and phrases with neat twists and turns. This is the start of The Name on the Wrapper:

Mr. Albert Campion was one of those useful if at times exasperating people who remain interested in the world in general at three o’clock on a chilly winter’s morning. When he saw the overturned car, dark and unattended by the grass verge, therefore, he pulled up his own saloon and climbed out on to the road, whose frosty surface was glistening like a thousand diamonds.

In the early novels Campion has Wimsey-esque goofiness, but he evolves – mercifully, to my mind – to become not quirky, but human and plausible. The humor often comes out of Campion’s being mildly scandalized – but never shocked – at what people will get up to. This kind of subtlety, I think, is beyond Lord Peter or Hercule.

Happily, his sidekick Oates pops up in many of the stories. This, from the beginning of The Old Man in the Window:

Newly appointed Superintendent Stanislaus Oates was by no means intoxicated, but he was cheerful, as became a man celebrating an important advance in a distinguished career, and Mr. Campion, who sat opposite him at the small table in the corner of the chop-house, surveyed the change in his usually taciturn friend with interest.

More than a few of these stories are a tad on the thin side, so readers who want more substantial fare should stick with the novels. On the other hand, this is perfect reading for waiting rooms, lobbies, departure lounges and other moderately stressful situations.

The Ice Lion by Kathleen O’Neal Gear

Review by Melissa B. (dragoneyes)

A tale that is set in the far future where the earth is now in ice age. It is cold and growing colder. Humans have survived but they are not like the humans of today. They look different and are more adaptable to the freezing terrain. There are also animals that survived. Some are the prey of man and others, the man is the prey. It is a brutal world and you must keep watch for hungry beasts, severe weather and other savage clans.

In this book we meet the Sealion People. From the very beginning there is a tragic event that sets Lynx, a kind-hearted boy, off on a journey to find himself. Along the way he meets and elderly man that looks very different from any clan member that he has ever seen. He realizes later that the old man is the last of the Jemen. Stories tell of these transcendental beings that existed long ago and created the people that now exist so that mankind would not go extinct. Together, they set off only to get separated trying to help others.

Quiller, who is in love with Lynx and also a good friend, sets off with a group to try to find him. They come upon a massacre of a rival clan and find 3 children who survived. Quiller automatically takes them under her protection. Now burdened with the decision of taking care of the children or finding her friend, she goes on her own journey.

While I really enjoyed the story and found the characters charismatic, I did struggle with the backstory for this one. I didn’t feel that the Jemen, the climate change incident and the odd things they found were well developed. I got more of what happened in the past by reading the synopsis of the book than the book itself. Hoping that book 2 will go into more depth on that topic.