Twisted Love

Ten Tales of Tilted Love by Alex Carrick
(Adult Short Stories)

These off beat stories are perfect for a romantic mood--if Flannery O'Conner is your style of romance!  This collection of stories are both tender and sweet and hopeful, then weird, then funny and then just plain silly.  It is a very fast and easy ready--a great book to pick up and put down or to read in snippets.

My favorite--"Real Estate Purgatory", a Halloween ghost story with a funny, macabre twist.

Gives Illegal Immigration A Whole Other Meaning!

Tankborn by Karen  Sandler
(Young Adult/Adult Dystopian Fantasy)

These are my very favorite kinds of books--peering into a dark and scary future, imaging how our current society might warp life for the next generation.  And this book took my imagination in a direction I've never been!

This novel is set in a futuristic world not even on Earth.  This future society is divided up into kind of a caste system, the have's and the really havenot's.  There is a new -ism in this book, not racism, or ageism but real genetic-ism.  Kayla is a genetic manipulation, not a natural born child, who has freakishly strong upper body strength and splotchy arms.  Devak is a 'trueborn' who starts to question the entire fabric of his world when he starts having feelings for Kayla.  These two star-crossed lovers,  plus Kaya's best friend, Mishalla, are thrown into a conspiracy and revolution that could topple their entire civilization.

My only real complaint is with the lingo in the beginning of the novel.  I understand that language would be different in a futuristic alien world but I live in the here and now and the change was very difficult o understand and adapt to.  Eventually, I got used to it but it drove me a bit bonkers for awhile.  After that, it was really hard to stop reading--I desperately wanted to follow all the twists and turns to see how everything would turn out.  The ending is like a race to the finish, full of action.  The most interesting part was the ideology of religion as presented in the book--a myth perpetrated for the masses.  Interesting premise and interesting delivery.

Just one of those books that make you go, hmmmmmmm.

Literary Triple Play

Nevermore by William Hjortsberg
(Adult Mystery/Fantasy)

What other book has a line-up like this?  On first base, Harry Houdini; rounding third, Arthur Conan Doyle and batting on deck the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe.  While my baseball lingo leaves a bit to be desired, this book is has a line-up most teams would bankrupt themselves for.

The main character is Harry Houdini.  Yep, that Harry Houdini.  Houdini, along with his friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yep, that Conan Doyle), are on the case of a series of murders that mimic the mystery and horror stories of Edgar Allen Poe.  While Houdini makes one mean detective, Doyle has a bit of an inside track when the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe mysteriously visits him and gives him some elusive hints about solving the murders. 

Much of this story is based on actual historic fact (such as the magic of Houdini and his tricks; Houdini's debunking of mysticism; the popularity of Doyle and Mrs. Doyle conducting seances) and it was these facts that made the book so very appealing to me.  I loved delving into the part of the book and that period is just plain fascinating.  To read a book told through Houdini's, Doyle's and Poe's eyes was the most creative idea I've seen come along in a long time--pure brilliance!

If only the author would have stayed on that track instead of veering off into a fantasy that I didn't enjoy and didn't think the story needed.  Part way through, Houdini becomes romantically linked with a woman who stalks him into submission and doesn't really add to the mystery at all.  If the book would just totally leave out that whole character, it would be amazing.  The plot idea and writing was so strong, so captivating.....

As it was, still an enjoyable read but falls short of a home run.

This book is available at Amazon as an ebook or by visiting the publisher weblink below:

http://www.openroadmedia.com/books/nevermore.aspx#bookDetail)

I Love To Find a New Series to Love

Mercy Thompson Series:  Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
(Adult Fantasy)

I love to find a new series to devour and this one fits all my requirements:  fantasy, mystery and characters intriguing enough to keep me wanting more at the end.

Mercy Thompson is a fae, a magical creature that can shape shift into different animals.  When a newly turned werewolf shows up at her door, Mercy tries to help him but unwittingly finds herself caught in a battle of control between two warring werewolf packs.  The Alpha werewolf, Adam, just happens to be her neighbor...and protector.  The war follows Mercy home and Adam is left injured and dying.  In order to help him and rescue his daughter, Mercy must return to her roots and confront her demons (not literal ones but in a series like this, you never know).

In addition to the action and adventure, the paranormal romantic triangle at the end was just the perfect way to keep me drooling for the next read.  I came to the end of the book and was astonished it stopped--I forgot it was a story!

This was one of those magical books that I lost myself in.  I forgot all about page numbers, and chapters and time!  I sat down to read and forgot about everything until someone came looking for me.  I cannot wait to start the next one and have already bought the entire series.  Welcome to my Kindle, Mercy Thompson!

New Orleans Mystery

Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke
(Adult Mystery)

Books about the Deep South are some of my most favorite to read--the heat and humidity always seem to just seep right through the pages with their passion and longing and this book is no exception.

Dave Robicheaux is a Louisiana police detective trying to sort out a murder, a burglary and a variety of other crimes that are somehow connected.  As Dave is trying to sort through the mess, evil comes into his own home and threatens his best friend, bail bondsman Clete, and adopted daughter.  This book was the 17th in the series but I really didn't feel like I was missing anything. 

The book is set during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  While I have read many books about this disaster as a focus or even setting, none made the horror of the crime spree aftermath so very real. The description of the destruction of New Orleans is what struck me most strongly about this book.  It seemed to read like a tragedy, almost an ode, to a grand, beautiful lady whose prime time had somehow been robbed of her before her time.

 It was a police/procedural mystery that felt as if I were riding right along in Dave's cruiser.  It's so realistic and gritty you can feel the sand and dirt swirling around in your brain.  The mystery is full of sharp twists and turns and while sometimes these books are too technical for me, this one fit just right.
And, just when you think you know who did it, you find out you didn't even know what 'it' is! 

I always love to discover a new author and a new detective to fall for--Dave Robicheaux is now on my "Most Wanted List"--I suppose I've have to go back and read all 16 before and the others since!  A small price to pay for a great read.

Better Than Percy Jackson!

Artemis Fowl:  The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
(Adolescent Fantasy)

Oh, Artemis, how I have missed you, waiting these long months for another book.  And you, my little evil-genius, did not disappoint!

In this latest installment of the Artemis Fowl series, all of the gang has returned.  Butler, Holly, and Mulch Diggums plus a few new fun characters make this the best one yet.!

If you're not familiar with this series, shame on you!!  The main character, Artemis Fowl, is a young boy who is much too clever for his own good and spends most of his time trying to take over the world in some form or another.  Standing in his way is the entire Fairy Kingdom, led by Holly Short of LEPrecon, short for the Lower Elements Police.  In the 7th book, a new enemy emerges who is both evil and tragic and determined to triumph over both Artemis and all of Fairykind.  While normally the readers aren't supposed to root for the bad guy, this one pushed quite a few of my heart strings and besides, the main character is also an evil genius so sometimes it's hard to figure out just who to root for.

Normally, Artemis would quickly squelch such a dastardly plan but he has developed the Atlantis Complex, a debilitating mental illness that causes paranoia and other strange tics.  Soon, Artemis becomes his own worse enemy and the entire character list is fighting to see who will ultimately triumph.

This book was so much funnier than the others as Artemis continues to develop as a character and is turning into his worst nightmare:  a caring human being who occasionally makes mistakes.  To see the unraveling of such evil genius to what lurks underneath is surprising and gripping.  I have never understood why this series isn't as popular as the Percy Jacksons.  Artemis will always be my first go-to for a fantasy ride of epic proportions.  Fortunately, this book leaves hints there might just be another installment on the way!

The Last of the Best

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston
(Bio-Techno Thriller)

I put this one off for so long because it is his last, Crichton's last book.  It's that same sad feeling I get when a series is ending--saying goodbye to good friends before I'm really ready.  This book was his last unfinished one and so I tried to savor it and just read it in bits and parts but is was sooooooooooooo difficult because, in true Crichton fashion, it just races along.

In this bio-techno thriller, seven graduate scientific research students sign up to go on an exploratory trip to Hawaii to determine if they want to switch from academic research to private corporate work.  When their trip goes horribly wrong, they have to figure out how to survive in a world that Alice in Wonderland never imagined.

This book had moments of absolute horror in it concerning things that are around me every day--pure brilliance!  Just when I thought there was nothing that could scare me, seasoned horror reader that I am, I was wriggling, scratching ad shivering throughout most of the story.  It has caused me to look at the minutia of my world in a whole new way. It is a nail-biter and a breath-holder and had moments that left me absolutely stunned.

My only complaint is towards the end of the book when the prose changes.  I imagine this is because of the new author finishing up (which is another author I love!).  The words and sentences became shorter and more concise, not the elegant prose I was used to.

And, just like that, goodbye, my dear friend M. Crichton.  You have given me countless hours of reading pleasure and will always be in my top favorite spots.