Category Archives: Mystery

Young, Ross: Dead Heads (Gloomwood) (2012)

2013-03-31 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

I like this cover.

Kudos to Mr. Young (old link stopped working) for managing to come up with an original idea for a fantasy novel. I cannot remember ever having seen something like Gloomwood described.

Let’s see if I can describe it to you. In Gloomwood the head honcho is The Grim Reaper – yes the skeleton with a scythe. For some reason the Grim Reaper created Gloomwood for dead people (obviously) but also for dead ideas (you will see Father Christmas near to the beginning) and dead dreams. Gods that people have stopped believing in also end up in Gloomwood.

OK. So we have a city for the dead. That is exactly what Gloomwood is – a thriving (maybe not so much) place where the dead (of a certain kind) end up and live their deaths. There is crime, good deeds, bad deeds, bureaucracy, spies.

One of the latest additions to the community is Augustan Blunt. Blunt is his name and blunt is what he is. The leaders of the city decided to expedite his death so he could investigate why/who/how the head of the Grim Reaper was stolen. For that reason they have made him chief investigator. Being an ex-cop and a detective while alive makes him qualified for the job. That and being new and unprejudiced and neutral.

The fun thing about reading Dead Heads is that I read along thinking of the novel as a plain mystery. Then bam, something really weird happens – like decapitations without splatter. I like their library and their “internet”. In fact, I think Ross Young is onto something with real potential here. He writes well and engages me as a reader.

The writing needed a bit of tidying up. Punctuation (periods) were missing and there were odd little paragraph breaks. That was about it I think.

Fantasy, Mystery

Weinberger, Michael Louis: Blood Harvest (The Hidden Amongst Us) (2010)

2013-03-25 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Michael Louis Weinberger’s website on Photium seems to have expired. I guess you might as well use Amazon or one of the other books-sites to find out a tiny bit about him. I did find him on Twitter

Cover art by ???

Blood Harvest sure is a leading title, wouldn’t you agree. The cover no less so. It would have to be about serial killers or vampires. Knowing me – vampires. From the cover you might guess there would be a lot of blood and gore. There is gore, but Blood Harvest is a far cry from gore-celebrating novels. There is about as much blood and gore as you would find in most action novels today.

Blood Harvest was fun. I know, I think that about a lot of novels and authors. But that is the way it is. A lot of books and authors out there are fun.

Tons and tons of action and mystery galore. A real who-dun-it. The answer is revealed to the reader pretty early on in the novel. Once I know I sometimes get annoyed at the characters for not realizing sooner what is going on. That is unfair of me. Yes I realize characters in novels are not really alive – but they are in my head while I am reading a book. Steve and Chris were fun characters. I loved the ending – too funny.

Part of the blurb reads: Respected by his fellow officers and enjoying a special bond with his Captain, whom he considers to be his mentor, Steve feels that he has finally found a place where the world makes sense and he can leave his dark past behind. So when his Captain calls in the middle of the night and instructs him to come to a highly unusual crime scene, Steve does so without question. Arriving on the scene Steve discovers that the entire staff and patronage of nearly one thousand people at a popular and hedonistic Los Angeles nightclub have suddenly and mysteriously collapsed where they stood and appear to be dead. Rumors of a biological or chemical terrorist attack are doubted by the large number of LAPD and emergency personnel on the scene, but there seems to be no other explanation for the unnerving occurrence. Then, before Steve can even fully begin his investigation, the case goes from unusual to absolutely bizarre with the appearance of an exotically beautiful and seductive woman in the company of a large, incredibly powerful white haired man.

Blood Harvest was a great first novel for Mr. Weinberger.

“Blood Harvest: Book 1, The Hidden Amongst Us” recently won a 2012 Next Generation Indie Publishers Award for Regional Fiction

Mystery, Science Fiction, Short story/novella

Carpenter, Thomas K.: The Lorieme Job (Digital Sea) (2012)

2013-03-06 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Cover design by Rachel J. Carpenter

Thomas K. Carpenter thinks that augmented reality is part of what our future digital life will be. Augmented reality is an essential part of The Lorieme Job. The Lorieme Job first appeared in the anthology Mirror Shards: Vol. 2. I came into contact with The Lorieme Job through Kindle. It was on offer for nothing and I thought “why not”. This is a choice I am happy I made.

I believe this type of science fiction is called hard science fiction. An essential part of hard science fiction is the believability of the technological future presented. Even though Zel’s world is highly augmented, I have no problem seeing us going in that direction.

Besides the science fiction, The Lorieme Job is a mystery. Zel is trying to find the person in control of “the fountain of youth” and has to do so in a way that will not get her caught. She is probably the ultimate (impossible to catch) hacker of the digital sea. During her hunt, she encounters a few surprises.

I love speculations about the future. Reading The Lorieme Job was a fun few pages. There was plenty of action, plenty of technology and a bit of humor. Zel’s plans for Redman were especially fun. She is my kind of lady.

Fantasy, Mystery, Short story/novella

Bertauski, Tony: Drayton (The Taker) (2010)

2013-02-27 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Tony Bertauski writes a poignant tale of loss and love with his novella Drayton. Drayton is The Taker of the last breath/spirit/soul that leaves a person when they die. Of some people that is. He has to get to them first.

Drayton is lost. He is older than he remembers and has no idea of what he is. All alone he wanders upon the Earth trying to mingle with people so he can feed. Bertauski writes Drayton’s loneliness so well. The long life he has lived has brought him around from a monster without control to someone who helps out when he can. I got a sense of quietness even in the scenes that were violent.

I loved the contrast between Young and Hal at the end of the novella. How perfectly it illustrates the complexity of Drayton’s character.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Bevill, C.L.: Veiled Eyes (Lake People) (2010)

2013-02-21 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Cover art by C.L. Bevill

C.L. Bevill describes Veiled Eyes as a paranormal romance/suspense novel. This time I agree completely with the label.

Veiled Eyes is the first novel in the Lake People series. It is a stand-alone novel.

In Veiled Eyes we get to meet Anna St. Thais hitchhiking her way to her friend in New Orleans. You know the advice not to hitchhike? Well, Anna should have listened.

So, Anna gets kidnapped by a man with sadistic intentions and Anna is desperate to get away. Mr. Bad keeps Anna sedated in his semi. When she starts hearing someone calling her name she figures it is the result of the sedative she has been given.

Since this is a paranormal romance/suspense story, you know Anna is going to live. But her way from her kidnapper to there is a bit more uncertain seeing she ends up with a really closed group that does not like outsiders.

It is in this closed group that Anne meets Mr. Right. Of course, her relationship with Gabriel (mr right) is going to be rocky to begin with. Meeting Mr. Right does not mean that Anna’s mystery is solved/over. Weird things come her way adding to the suspense.

Bevill writes a really good mystery with plenty of crazy and questions that need answering. A good light read.

Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Baum, Spencer: The Demon Queen and the Locksmith (2009)

2013-02-07 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Cover art by Stingya

The Demon Queen and the Locksmith is a fun read about three kids who have to save their town from a terrible threat. To aid them, they gain supernatural powers and assistants.

Spencer Baum has done a good job in portraying lonely Kevin and his newfound friends Jackie and Joseph. They come off as three likeable kids who manage to struggle their way through an extraordinary situation. I think that is what I like the most about The Demon Queen. Sometimes books for a younger audience portray angsty or heroic kids. Fantasy is kind of predisposed towards protagonists like that. That can be fun. But the greatest characters are the ones that are grey.

Enjoy.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Rowland, Diana: Touch of the Demon (2013)

2013-01-29 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Cover art: Daniel dos Santos

Diana Rowland keeps on getting better by the book. Touch of The Demon is the best novel thus far in the Kara Gillian series. We have arrived at book no. 5 in the series and have at least one more to go. The other four are: Mark of the Demon, Blood of the Demon, Secrets of the Demon and Sins of the Demon.

The cover is taken from one of the scenes in the novel. This scene is one of the more action-filled ones. Action is something Touch of the Demon has plenty of. There is everything from snow-ball fights to flesh-carving. Some of the violence is quite explicit and so is some of the sex.

When Kara gets stuck in the demon realm, she discovers that her pre-conceptions about demons are quite faulty. I guess we all experience that when we are faced with the objects of our prejudices. Often, we have to revise our point of view. Some of us do it well, while others have to struggle. Kara struggles with the way she views the motives behind various actions.

Another thing I enjoy about Rowland’s writing is the way she deals with concepts of friendship and loyalty. What is friendship? Is it possible to be friends in spite of being from different races? How do you deal with betrayal of epic proportions? Reading Touch of the Demon will answer how Kara views these issues.

Rowland’s writing is tighter than ever and her text is reaching the point of flowiness that I claim is necessary for the exceptional writer.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Ellison, C.J.: The Hunt (2011)

2013-01-22 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

I love this cover. Something about the colors maybe.

The V.V. Inn series comes with a warning. “This is not a young adult series and is intended for readers over 18.”

I’ve wondered why there is always a warning when sexual content is explicit but hardly ever when the violence is?????? Makes no sense to me. That being said – there is sexual content, and it is explicit.

The Hunt is a mystery with lots of sex thrown in. Well written sex scenes. This 50-year old woman was turned on by it and that is saying a lot.

Another thing that C.J. manages to do quite well is to jump from one character to the other. Not perfectly, but better than quite a few other authors I’ve read. Each character contributes to solving the question of why Vivian’s old enemy is the representative of the vampire Tribune and what the hunt is really about. Everything is not as it seems.

The Hunt is Ellison’s second book. She certainly has a gift for writing, one that will give great pleasure to many readers.

Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction

Duane, Diane: Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses (2002)

2012-12-01 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Aaaargh. I’ve had to begin wearing reading glasses. Getting old.

A better cover than the original one.

Diane Duane has been in the writing business for ages. Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses is the only book of hers that I have although I have also read “So You Want to be a Wizard“.

Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses was relaunched in new clothes in 2011. Diane had felt the need to fix some issues that she had noticed over the years. My book is the original version.

Who among us is able to state honestly that we have no prejudices? I know I cannot. I try not to let those prejudices interfere with the way I treat people I encounter, but I know that at times I have let my feelings shine through. This is the great thing about fantasy and science fiction. The differences between species become blindingly obvious. In this manner the author has the chance to either preach or teach through their writing. Preaching bores me. I expect to be treated as though I am intelligent enough to catch on to the underlying message without having it spelled out for me.

Diane Duane manages to teach us about prejudice without getting on her high horse or behind a pulpit. This is quite difficult to manage I have noticed in the all-too many books I have read. Authors with this ability really need all the acknowledgement they so richly deserve.

Lee Einfeld and Gelert Reh’Mechren are Lanthomancers at Law in a parallel world where psychic abilities are more common that here. The team seeks out psychospoors at crime scenes. The evidence recorded from that is presented in court and through a sort of ceremony Justice comes into the court-room and the defendant is judged.

An Alfen murder comes their way and that murder brings the Lanthomancer team into inter-universe politics. This is a mystery mixed with techno-jargon mixed with political ploys.

Stealing the Elf-King’s Roses was a fun read. There were some hiccups along the way, but nothing major (might be because I have the older version).

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Monk, Devon: Allie Beckstrom – Magic for a Price (2012)

2012-11-25 humanitysdarkerside 1 Comment

Devon Monk does it again. She has created another read-through book about the world of Allie Beckstrom. That woman simply has the gift. I do not often get to read two novels in a row where the author so clearly has the ability to bring me into the story. Lucky is what I am.

In this final novel of the Allie Beckstrom series Monk gives us a conclusion that makes sense and draws any loose threads together that might be out there. Perhaps it is Beckstrom’s willingness to pay the price for her actions that makes her so appealing. Or it could be her side-kicks Zay and Shame (and in later books Terric). These there are a wonderful complement to Allie’s character.

Leander and Isabelle are coming to Portland to close the whole magical community down. Along, she is bringing Authority from several other cities. To put it mildly, Portland is in need to a plan that might give them a chance against the Overseer. That is Allie’s job, figuring something out that will keep as many as possible alive and well.

This is where Monk shows her gift. She brings out the desperation and hope in novel in a manner that brings me as a reader into the stream of her words. I go willingly and joyfully into this tale of adventure wondering where the author is going to take me. As usual, I cheat by reading the last few pages early on. I know, annoying habit. For me, this is something that whets my appetite.

I hope you enjoy this final installment in the Allie Beckstrom adventure as much as I have.

Biography, Mystery, Reblogged

October 14 1975 Trial begins in Amityville murders

Link 2012-10-14 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

I remember reading The Amytiville Horror (1977) as a teen-ager. It had me freaked out. After that the house on the cover of the novel was part of my nightmares for a long time.

While not as paranormal as the novel, the real-life story of the Amytiville family is just as frightening/strange. What motivates a young man to kill his parents and siblings? Craig Hill gives us a look at the story behind the story.

Craig Hill

On October 14th 1975, Ronald DeFeo Jr. went on trial for the killings of his parents and four siblings in their Amityville, New York, home.

The family’s house was later said to be haunted and served as the inspiration for the Amityville Horror book and movies.

On the evening of November 13, 1974, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. entered an Amityville bar and told people his parents had been shot inside their home.

Several bar patrons accompanied DeFeo back to his family’s home, at 112 Ocean Avenue, where a man named Joe Yeswit called Suffolk County police to report the crime.

When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Ronald DeFeo Sr., age 43, his wife Louise, 42, and their children Dawn, 18, Allison, 13, Marc, 11, and John, 9.

The victims had been shot dead in their beds.

Ronald DeFeo Jr., 22, initially tried to say the murders were…

View original post 222 more words

Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Saintcrow, Lilith: Bannon and Clare (2012)

2012-10-12 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

THE IRON WYRM AFFAIR (2012)

All The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can't Afford to Miss in August I’m trying to decide what I thought about The Iron Wyrm Affair. It took a while for it to get off its butt, but once it did it really got going. This is my first experience with Lilith Saintcrow. Looking at her website, I see that she writes to a different audience than myself. That might be why I didn’t get wowed by The Iron Wyrm Affair.

Saintcrow’s Bannon and Clare world is an alternative Victorian one. The queen is Victrix who is also a vessel for the spirit of Britannia. London is Londonium. All the names are changed in minor ways like this. The world shares a similar yet different history to our own.

For one thing, it is a world run on magic. Magic is everywhere and in general the world works on different rules to our own. Machines run on magic and not all machines are only machines. Sometimes there is a mixture of animal and machine or person and machine. I guess kind of like magical cyborgs.

In this world there are (among lots of others) sorceresses/rors and mentaths. Bannon is a sorceress (of the Black, no less) and Clare is a mentath. To reach the rank of sorceress one must have a high degree of affinity to magic. Mentaths are addicted to logic. If they do not get puzzles to solve, they usually end up going insane.

We meet both Bannon and Clare as Bannon is trying to save Clare from being killed. It seems unregistered mentaths are being killed for who knows what reason. Saving Clare from murder, just happens to save him from insanity as well. Being bored just does not suit a mentath. Now Clare gets to join in on solving who is killing off mentaths.

There is plenty of action and some humorous interplay between the various characters.

The Iron Wyrm Affair is probably going to be a good fit for Saintcrow’s target group.

Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

McLeod, Suzanne: The Sweet Scent of Blood (2008)

2012-10-02 humanitysdarkerside 3 Comments

The Sweet Scent of Blood - Suzanne McLeod

Sometimes I wonder if power is THE most basic of our needs. The power to control our own lives, the power to control our environment and the power to control others.

Take the power to control our own lives. Genvieve Taylor never had power over her life. Her creation was a genetic experiment between two incompatible races. Once that succeeded she was promised to someone extremely powerful and extremely deranged. And finally, at the age of 14 she was injected with a poison (V3) that made her vulnerable to vampires.

Our main character never seriously thinks about giving up the fight for the right to decide what to do with herself and her own life. The Sweet Scent of Blood is for the most part about that battle. And battle it is.

At the beginning of The Sweet Scent of Blood Genny imagines she has achieved a modicum of control over her life, in fact about as much power as most of us can expect to have. She has a job, protection against the vampires, a place to live and friends. Yet power over our own lives is often an illusion. Illusions are easily snatched away by someone more powerful or someone willing to engage the help of the powerful.

Being one of the sidhe fae, a bean sidhe, would normally make Genvieve one of the more powerful people of the world of Suzanne McLeod. But her mixed heritage is unhelpful and Genny’s inability to accept who and what she is acts as a barrier in reaching her potential. In McLeod’s London she also happens to be the only sidhe fae. Sadly, this only makes her more attractive to both those who wish to use her and those who wish to destroy her.

In my mind the only person in The Sweet Scent of Blood who is wholly on Genvieve’s side is Hugh Monroe. Hugh has an intense need to protect those who are in need of help. Genny came into his life when she was infected with V3 and has remained there ever since. His protectiveness made it natural for him to wish to enter the police force. He works as a DI at The New Scotland Yard and happens to be one of the straight cops at that facility. We soon discover that not all who work for the police do so for the same need to protect and serve the public.

The Sweet Scent of Blood starts out as a mystery and ends up as a battle amongst the mighty of Genny’s London. Genvieve seeks the answer to who killed Melissa. Was is Roberto, her boyfriend, or was it another character? Through the story we see that sometimes Genny is aided in her search for answers but for the most part barriers are thrown up, one after the other.

The Sweet Scent of Blood - Suzanne McLeod

In their scrabble to stay on top, the powers that be have decided that the faery are to remain without civil rights. Civil rights is something a great many of us take for granted. I find it comforting to imagine that if something terrible happened to me then I would be safe because Justice would have its day. Sure, it’s just an illusion but one that is legislated for the likes of me. One hundred years ago women did not have the right to vote nor did they have many of the other rights that men did. Disabled could still be sterilized in Norway a long time after that. Many people have sacrificed a great deal to make it possible for me to have the power over my life that I do.

Faery do not. Vampires do, but faery do not. Witches have civil rights, but faery do not. Regular humans have civil rights, but faery do not. Do I have to look far to find people without written legislation to protect them even today? Sadly, no. In The Sweet Scent of Blood the reason for this lack of power lies for the main part in looks. Some of the faery can be frightening looking and some of them are extremely dangerous. Their ethics are unfamiliar to humans. All of these factors have been utilized by the masters of power games in making the faery less powerful.

The Sweet Scent of Blood is one of my re-readables. I know it is supposed to be Suzanne McLeod’s first published novel, but it holds none of the earmarks of a first novel. Indeed she manages to stay on-key throughout the whole story. Definitely recommended.

————————————————-

Reviews:

————————————————-

Amazon.co.uk / The Book Depository / Waterstones.com / Play.com / Borders.co.uk / Forbidden Planet

EBook: Waterstones.com / Kindle Edition

Children, Fantasy, Mystery

Larwood, Kieran: Freaks (2012)

2012-10-01 humanitysdarkerside Leave a comment

Freaks is a mystery with some very unlikely detectives. Detectives who work in a freak-show are kind of visible wouldn’t you say? It must be difficult to blend in when necessary. But this novel occurs in the chaotic and messy London of the 1800s.

Sheba, the were-something (we don’t know at the beginning of the book exactly what she is) is the main attraction of the Grunchgrindle’s World of Curiosities at the end of Little Pilchton pier. One day a man (Plumpscuttle) buys her and the other attraction (a two-headed sheep) for his own show and takes her to London. There she and the other “freaks” of the show set up for the public every evening.

One evening a mud-lark named Till manages to sneak in and befriend Sheba. When Till goes missing her parents come to the show to ask for help. It turns out Till is not the only one who has disappeared on the mud-flats. Then one day, the gang gets a break in the case.

Freaks is a fun read. It has everything a 10-year old would like. The Monkeyboy likes to throw snot and earwax at the public, a ninja is part of the show and so are rats and a giant. London stinks terribly, there is a monster and the gang gets into strange and dangerous situations. Larwood has written a mystery with plenty of humor and action.

Kieran Larwood‘s daytime job is as a Reception class teacher at a Primary School. After working towards being published for quite a while, Freaks finally won The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition 2011 and publication was in the box.

Fantasy, Humour, Mystery, Thriller

Aaronovitch, Ben: Rivers of London (US: Midnight Riot) (Rivers of London I) (2011)

2012-10-01 humanitysdarkerside 2 Comments

Midnight-Riot-DUO — Cover artist “Rivers of London”: Stephen Walter
Cover artist “Midnight Riot”:

Before starting on the Peter Grant series – mystery books – Ben Aaronovitch was busy in the writing business. He has been involved in screenwriting, audiodramas, television-series, short stories and spin-off novels. While being mainly an author, Aaronovitch has also had the great pleasure (as so many other writers) of supporting his writing habit with non-writing jobs.

On his blog he states that the Peter Grant series was in part influenced by these sources:

(1957) Edward Gorey‘s Doubtful Guest
(1967) Alan Garner The Owl Service
(1969) Michael Moorcock‘s The Final Programme
(1976) BBC Children’s series Rentaghost
(1988) Christopher Fowler‘s Roofworld
(1988) William Gibson‘s Mona Lisa Overdrive
(1992) Toni Morrison‘s Jazz

Rivers of London

When Peter Grant gets out of being assigned to the Case Progression Unit by being sent to Chief Inspector Nightingale, he “left in a hurry before he could change his mind, but I want to make it clear that at no point did I break into a skip.” Brits. Gotta love them.

What Peter discovers when he gets to DCI Nightingale is that magic does exist and so does everything else paranormal literature delves into. His and DCI Nightingdale’s job (being the only representatives of that side of life) is to regulate the super-natural community, making sure they uphold the laws.

Rivers of London is at heart a mystery. A serial-killer is on the loose making use of magic in her/his/its killings. It is vital that Nightingdale and the rest of the Met find the serial-killer before more people are found without their faces. Peter has his chance at being a detective at the same time that he has to negotiate peace between the lower and upper sides of the Thames (mother and father Thames). His baptism into the super-natural community is at times frightening for him and delightful for us.

While a mystery with death and mayhem, Rivers of London is a light-hearted novel. There is plenty of humor and an irreverent look at society that I enjoy.

Thus far, Rivers of London is the only book in the series that I have read. I do believe I am going to read the next one as well. Aaronovitch manages to balance humor and action in true British style. I like Peter Grant’s distracted manner, something that gives us insight into his character but also into the city of London.