.
.
C.J. Archer
I have been binge reading again this time the very absorbing Glass and Steele books by CJ Archer. The story of India Steele, the Time Magician brought up in ignorance of her magic by her parents, who were frightened by the anti-magic power of the Craft Guilds. Her partner in crime (solving) Matt Glass, who is in turns a dead man given a second chance by magic, an American outlaw turned inlaw, the next Lord Ryecroft and the unattainable love of her life.
Set in roughly Victorian London , retaining a great sense of place, these almost cosy, murder and magic stories draw you in and keep you held as the next layer of multi-layered adversaries is revealed in the next book.
Fabulous series only slightly running out of steam by book 7.
Series of the year? Maybe!
.
.
I’m Fine and Neither Are You
Camille Pagán
Take your average wife, mum, breadwinner and tired old frump, struggling to keep her family housed and fed, in a job situation that is far from perfect, while her wanna be writer husband does very little. You have Penelope.
Her best friend, the perfect, lifestyle blogging millionairess Jenny suddenly dies. Revealing that things were not as they seem.
As a result, Penelope decides that she needs to get honest about her life … starting with her fading marriage.
It might not sound it but it is an entertaining read. Well developed characters and while it has no conventional plot it moves everyone forward through the pages.
Five Stars Read it
.
.
Dead Rat:
Derek Fee
The Irish ‘Rankin’ returns as strong as ever.
Wilson has another murder to solve, that of an ex-Drug Squad officer. As ever there are tentacles that reach so much further and bring an extra dimension to the case.
Unlike so many ‘Wonder Cops’ Inspector Wilson is a team player. His team are his eyes and ears in the world. His boss gives him cover from above. He drinks but not to the excess of Rebus. He thinks but not to the depths of Morse. He has had failed relationships but is now in a fragile long term affair.
This is a series of truly great thrillers, I cannot recommend them highly enough
FIVE BIG RED STARS
.
.
The Case of the Nefarious Naturist
by Jack Dearborn (author), Ellen Dearborn (editor)
Just as you thought it was all going to be 5star reviews this month.
This tale of a private eye hired to find the Blackmailer who is trying to extort money from members of a naturist club falls a little flat. Miles manages to track down the blackmailer by asking the same questions, word for word often as not of all the members. He then goes home and recounts it all to his wife and partner Luann, verbatim. The one clever trick becomes a bit of a bore after the third telling too.
Three Stars a Potboiler
.
.
![The Black Spitfire by [Oliver, Nicholas]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41GVZgVcFHL.jpg)
The Black Spitfire
by Nicholas Oliver (author)
Well …
Start with an injured spy obtaining a private Hurricane fighter in the autumn of 1940
Then we have a super squadron of invincible Spitfire pilots called Bulldog Squadron, not a number like every other RAF squadron.
The spy’s boss flies in for a meeting in a private Avro Anson despite being out of favour.
Captured on Jersey, beaten and tortured in an underground bunker in Normandy before escaping after a gun battle, (two up) in the Hurricane …
Then turning into a sub-Denis Wheatley type story …
And Amazon ‘Recommended’ it in an e-mail.
It just scrapes
One Star Dross
.
.
A Picture of Murder (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery Book 4)
by T E Kinsey (author)
The lovely Lady Hardcastle and her faithful partner Florence are back on razzle-dazzle form in this latest offering.
A visiting cinema presentation brings murder and mayhem to the Village once again Lady Hardcastle puts it all together in the end.
Light, humorous and easy but I still think these are great well drawn and consistent characters. The two central stars being joined by a troop of lesser personages starting to develop into well rounded an interesting people bodes well for the next book in the series.
4 Stars … I saw through the plot!
.
.
Cold in the Soul:
A pulsating serial killer thriller (Wilson Book 10)
by Derek Fee (author)
More Wilson, more murder, more excellent writing. A serial killer stalks the Belfast gay scene and thinks he is smarter than our hero.
5 more Stars
.
.
Fifth Sun
by Otha Foster (author)
An enjoyable Little tale of a small-time newspaper reporter who, at his wife insistence sets off to resolve a mystery from his childhood. . He finally gets beneath the protective shell of his old home town. He is taken in hand by the local paper proprietor and the elderly librarian, both of whom are naturists, and uncovers a story of family and prejudice that slowly resolve to reveal more about the reporter than anything else.
4 Stars, a pretty good read