Dead Men Don't Play Fetch

Andy Carpenter doesn't want to defend a client in Dead Men Don't Play Fetch (#1,382).  In fact, he would much rather be retired.  But there's a dog involved and the client had been putting his life back together after the tragic loss of his son.  He's been working at a halfway house.  The same halfway house where a billionaire tech's body is found in the alley behind it by Jason Maddox, Andy's potential client.  As a favor to an old friend who runs that rehab facility, Andy agrees to meet Jason.

Everybody but Andy is convinced Jason is guilty; but Andy thinks that the evidence is just a little too neat and tidy. And then things start to get interesting.  Is this a coverup for a Mafia gang war?  Or something else entirely?

A typical twisty, sardonic Andy Carpenter mystery.  Just when it's looking as if Andy has finally taken on a guilty client, another clue unravels that casts doubt on the prosecutor's case.  Please, keep them coming!

Road Trip

What's not to like about a Mary Kay Andrews book?  Especially one that puts two feuding sisters in a car on the wrong side of the road in Ireland?  That's the premise of Road Trip (#1,381).  Maeve is the dutiful sister who gives up her job to take care of their ailing mother in her own home.  Therese is the maverick who arrives late at their mother's funeral.  She's just planning to stick around long enough to collect her portion of their mother's estate.  

Their uncle throws a monkey wrench in the works when he reveals that their mother has fallen under the spell of a televangelist and lost her entire savings and the house to boot to him.  Maeve and Therese are devastated; they each had plans for that money.  Now they're stuck with only an oil portrait of a relative; a portrait that was recently sold at a New York auction for over a million dollars.  

Uncle Billy to the rescue!  He has saved enough money for them to take a road trip to Ireland, a trip that their mother wanted them to take together, to find out the truth behind the mysterious portrait...

Spellbreaker

In Charlie Holmberg's fantasy Spellbreaker (#1,380) there are wizards who cast spells, and there are those born with the ability to break those spells.  You must be licensed by the government to do either.  Elsie Camden is too poor to obtain such a license, but being a foundling, she has a strong affinity for doing good for those like her who otherwise would not be able to afford to break a spell working against them.  She thinks of herself as Robin Hood, but she is aware that she, too, is committing what the government considers a crime.

She is doing fine, however, until a handsome almost-fully-qualified wizard catches her in the act of undoing spells from the servant's entrance of the local manor house he is visiting.  Bacchus Kelsey is in England to take his final qualifying exam to become an accredited wizard.  He threatens to turn Elsie in to the authorities until she convinces him that a spell is binding him, too.  If he becomes a full wizard, he may be marked for death and his spell book stolen, a fate that has befallen too many other wizards in the past few months.  Elsie promises to help Bacchus track down the culprit responsible for the murders in return for her own freedom.  A magical romp.

Circle of Days

How satisfying to be reading Ken Follett's monumental novel Circle of Days (#1,379) while actually touring Stonehenge, the subject of his novel.  Just as Pillars of the Earth put a human face on the massive work of building a cathedral, so does Circle of Days humanize a process which could have led to the erection of the monumental circle of stones which comprise Stonehenge.  Not that this is the story of how Stonehenge and its like were built, but rather a what if that makes its existence comprehensible.

Here we meet the farmers, the herders and the woodland people who all gather to worship at a common site with rituals led by a sisterhood of priestesses who maintain the sacred knowledge of the passing of time and the seasons.  It's a chance for these groups to meet and mate with those outside their own circles, and most importantly for many, to trade.  Outsiders come, too, with precious flints and metals.  

Seft comes with flints to the site.  He has escaped an abusive father and brothers in the far off hills, yet longs for family of his own.  Neen is the daughter of a local herder who catches Seft's eyes at the annual rites.  Joia, her sister thirsts after the knowledge the priestesses share.  She is destined to lead them all.  Through their eyes the story is told.

The flow of the narrative carries the reader along with it through rivalries, natural disasters, wars and simple greed.  It frames the forces which compel the tribes to construct something permanent at their focal point, which become the circle of stones. 

It's easy to sense why this has been the site of spiritual activity when you stand there yourself.  Miracles still can occur there - we felt the power of the deluge which broke the months-long English drought while we stood there.  A Greater Power at work?  Who can say.

Old Habits

Life caught up with me after our latest trip abroad, so it's been a while since I've sat down to blog.  Not that my reading has stalled!  I'll be trying to catch up on everything I've read since my last post, so here goes!

My brother-in-law suggested Steve Higgs' mystery Old Habits (#1,378).  Retired detective Albert Smith has decided to do a culinary tour of places whose food has always intrigued him. First on his list is Belgium - for the waffles, of course!  While exploring Brussels on a public tram, he finds himself noticing a rough looking pair eyeing a well-dressed elderly gentleman.  When he exits the tram in a nice neighborhood, so do the ruffians.  Smith's police instincts kick in, and he follows with his dog Rex.  Sure enough, an assault takes place.  Visiting the hospital the next day to check on the old man, Smith realizes that something much bigger than a simple assault is afoot.  He and Rex set out in their different ways to get to the bottom of the crime.

I found Rex's interaction with other animals quite engaging, even though he can't communicate directly with Albert Smith.  I also found the food aspect of the story quite interesting as well.  

I had never come across Steve Higgs, before, but when I checked on Fantastic Fiction I was amazed by how prolific this author is.  In fact, this isn't even his first Albert Smith mystery series!  Higgs wrote another set before Albert Smith retired his detective position.  There's plenty to catch up on here!

The Devil's Bible

 I read Steve Berry's latest Cotton Malone thriller, The Devil's Bible (#1,377) with a great deal of interest, since it is set principally in Stockholm, Sweden, a place I will be visiting in the spring.  The Devil's Bible is a real book from the twelfth century or so currently on display in Stockholm, although the government in Prague claims it was looted from there in the 1600s, Here it is used as a bargaining chip when the sister of the Swedish king is kidnapped.  If the codex is not given to the kidnappers by the deadline, the princess will be killed.

Stephanie Nelle is called in by King Wilhelm to quietly assist in the matter.  She brings along Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt to aid in the investigation.  Both the princess' husband, a prominent English businessman, and the Russians are suspected of being behind the plot.  But as the Magellan Billet team digs deeper spies and moles appear from the woodwork as sleeper agents are called upon to play vital roles in obtaining the Codex - the Devil's Bible.

Expect the unexpected here.

Stay For a Spell

And now for something completely different!  Amy Coombe's debut novel Stay For a Spell (#1,376) was an utterly charming read.  Imagine a hard-working princess on perpetual good will tours for her royal family - ribbon-cutting, fountain christenings, endless banquets - all in stiff formal attire.  When Princess Tanadelle spots a bookstore in a remote town, she begs her secretary for a few minutes to browse for something new to read on her endless journey.

Things go awry when the old lady in charge of the shop passes away in Tanadelle's arms, giving her a key.  Tanadelle, being well brought up, tries to comfort the woman by accepting it, only to find herself trapped inside the bookstore until she discovers her heart's desire.

Truthfully, life stuck inside a crammed bookstore with endless time to read, and not a rubber banquet chicken in sight doesn't feel like the worst thing that could happen.  But when Tanadelle's parents start sending the seven other crown princes in the realm to bestow love's true kiss on her things rapidly go from bad to worse.  And why won't the devastatingly handsome pirate leave her alone?  He claims to be under a spell as well!

Amusing characters and situations make for the perfect summer (or really, anytime) read!  I do hope we'll be hearing more from Amy Coombe.