Book Review: A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Darkness Absolute
Series: Rockton, #2
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February 7, 2017
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Library
Rating:

When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers.

Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that…before another victim goes missing.

A Darkness Absolute is the 2nd book in Kelley Armstrong’s 7-book Rockton series, and it successfully delivers on the promise of City of the Lost, the first book in the series. To catch up those unfamiliar with the series, the basic premise is as follows: There’s a remote town — Rockton, population 200 — located in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon territory. It’s home to those fleeing danger who need complete isolation from the outside world, but it also offers shelter to some with questionable pasts who need a way to hide out and start over. There are no navigable roads in or out — new residents arrive by bush plane, and can only leave the same way. Relocating to Rockton is a serious commitment, requiring the approval of the elusive and morally questionable town council.

The main character is Casey Duncan (known in Rockton as Casey Butler) — a homicide detective who survived trauma as a teen, and has been living with a dark secret every since: After surviving the assault that left her with lasting physical and psychological scars, she confronted the ex-boyfriend who abandoned her to her attackers, and unintentionally shot and killed him. Now, in Rockton, she has a fresh start, which involves working round the clock to solve the surprisingly high number of crimes that seem to crop up in this small, isolated town.

As A Darkness Absolute opens, Casey has been living in Rockton for about four months. The longer she’s there, the more secrets come to light, including the dirty details about some of Rockton’s sketchier residents. Casey reports to Sheriff Eric Dalton, with whom she also has a romantic relationship. Their dynamics are intense, but it works.

When Casey and deputy Will Anders discover a woman held hostage in a cave for a year — someone who’d been assumed to have left Rockton of her own free will — it opens up a new set of dangers and discoveries. Who took her, and why? And how does this connect to the newly discovered bodies of women who’d disappeared years earlier?

The mystery here is convoluted and tricky, with plenty of clues, misdirections, suspects, and conflicting timelines. There’s plenty of danger, too. The forest around Rockton is full of threats — human, animal, and environmental — and each time Eric, Casey, or anyone else from the town ventures past Rockton’s borders, they’re at immense risk. No one comes out of this case unscathed, and even more disturbing secrets about the town, the town council, and the various residents come to light.

The set-up for the series is terrific, and Casey and Eric have a fascinating chemistry, both on and off the job. I loved seeing their relationship progress — they even get a dog! There’s danger around every corner, and any interaction with a Rockton resident needs to be examined for hidden agendas and threats.

The tension never lets up, and while the ultimate solution definitely works, it takes a mind-boggling effort at times to keep track of the players, the timelines, and the possible motives behind each person’s actions. No one is safe — and Casey in particular ends up in grave peril over and over again. The suspense of it all makes A Darkness Absolute a compelling page-turner, while the characters and their relationships and connections add emotional heft and a sense of deep stakes as the action unfolds.

When I picked up A Darkness Absolute, I realized a refresher on book #1, City of the Lost, might be helpful, so I reread that one as well. I’m glad I did: While A Darkness Absolute would have made sense anyway, it was good to become reacquainted with some of the supporting characters and their backstories.

I can’t wait to continue with the series! With five books still to go, plus a spin-off series, there’s plenty left to read. I don’t think I’ll binge straight through, but I do want to keep going while the details are fresh in my mind. So far, the Rockton series is just as great I’d expected, and I’m eager to see what’s ahead for Casey and Eric.

Next up:

Book #3, This Fallen Prey

15May2025

Book Review: Death at a Highland Wedding (A Rip Through Time, #4) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Death at a Highland Wedding
Series: A Rip Through Time, #4
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: May 20, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
Rating:

Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourth installment in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s gripping Rip Through Time Novels.

After slipping 150 years into the past, modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson has embraced her new life in Victorian Scotland as housemaid Catriona Mitchel. Although it isn’t what she expected, she’s developed real, meaningful relationships with the people around her and has come to love her role as assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie.

Mallory, Gray, and McCreadie are on their way to the Scottish Highlands for McCreadie’s younger sister’s wedding. The McCreadies and the groom’s family, the Cranstons, have a complicated history which has made the weekend quite uncomfortable. But the Cranston estate is beautiful so Gray and Mallory decide to escape the stifling company and set off to explore the castle and surrounding wilderness. They discover that the groom, Archie Cranston, a slightly pompous and prickly man, has set up deadly traps in the woods for the endangered Scottish wildcats, and they soon come across a cat who’s been caught and severely injured. Oddly, Mallory notices the cat’s injuries don’t match up with the intricacies of the trap. These strange irregularities, combined with the secretive and erratic behavior of the groom, put Mallory and Duncan on edge. And then when one of the guests is murdered, they must work fast to uncover the murderer before another life is lost.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s unique time travel mystery series continues to entertain as Mallory adjusts to life in the 1870s.

How to talk about the 4th book in a series? I’m tempted to simply say: Read this. It’s good! But no, I’ll attempt to explain why its so good, and why this is a must-read series.

Death at a Highland Wedding is the 4th full-length novel in Kelley Armstrong’s excellent A Rip Through Time series. (There are also a few novellas that serve as little side treats in between the main books).

In this series, Mallory Atkinson, 21st century homicide detective, accidentally crosses through a time anomaly and finds herself in Victorian Era Edinburgh, inhabiting the body of a beautiful but deceitful young housemaid. Four books into the series, the housemaid’s employer has accepted the weird-but-true fact that the person who looks like his maid is actually a highly trained, highly independent detective from 150 years in the future. Mallory has been “promoted” to assistant to her employer, Duncan Grey, an undertaker, trained physician, and lover of science and scientific inquiry. Because Duncan assists his best friend Hugh McCreadie with police investigations, Mallory is able to be of service — and introduces them to all sorts of 21st century forensic procedures not even dreamed of in Victorian times.

As Death at a Highland Wedding opens, Mallory has been living in this time period for about a year, and the household, along with Hugh, is taking a vacation of sorts. An old friend of Duncan and Hugh’s is getting married at his Highlands estate, and this is an opportunity for Mallory to experience yet another aspect of her new life.

At the estate, however, things quickly go off the rails. First, there’s an unpleasant groundskeeper who sets wickedly dangerous traps all over the property. There’s also some tension amongst the party attending the wedding, as former lovers and friends and connections intertwine in uncomfortable ways. The entire wedding is on the verge of cancellation once a dead body is discovered — it’s the best man, killed while out at night wearing the groom’s coat. Who was the true intended victim, what was the motive, and who could have carried out the violent act?

Hugh, Duncan, and Mallory seem like the obvious team to solve the mystery, but the young, inexperienced local constable has jurisdiction, and doesn’t want outside interference. When he bungles the process — badly — our trio undertake their own investigation on the down-low, trying to solve the murder while not letting the constable know what they’re up to.

In a house full of potential suspects and plenty of motives, Mallory et al have almost too many trails to follow. There are red herrings galore, and plenty of scandals to unearth — and naturally, the closer they get to the truth, the more they themselves are in danger.

Ah, this book is such delicious fun! First, the mystery itself is surprisingly twisted. What at first seems like a classic country house murder mystery is revealed to be that, but dialed up to eleven. I loved the fact that my guesses continually turned out to be wrong! Every time I was sure I knew who was particularly shady or dishonest or underhanded, something else popped up to steer me in a different direction. It’s a treat to read a mystery and not see the big reveals coming.

Second, and for me, the absolute best, is the ongoing delight of seeing Mallory navigate her new world. In previous books, it seemed that she’d have an option to return to her own time, but here, she’s fully convinced that she’s where she needs to be. There’s a slow-burn romance with Duncan, which is complicated for many reasons, and they’re both thoughtful enough to avoid bad decisions or letting their emotions cloud their judgment.

Then there’s the fun of Mallory using her 21st century police tactics in this setting — for example, explaining how (and why) to cordon off a crime scene or doing a rudimentary version of taking fingerprints. Seeing the cultures collide and the sharing of tactics and knowledge keeps the storytelling funny in dark moments, and gives Mallory a chance to shine and be appreciated for who she is.

As you can see, I love this series! As I’ve said in all of my reviews so far, you really must start at the beginning! Yes, this one might work as a stand-alone if you’re only interested in the murder mystery itself, but I honestly don’t think the book as a whole would make a ton of sense. The series is just so good — so dive into book #1, and keep going!

Now that I’ve finished Death at a Highland Wedding, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series. Highly recommended!

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

For more in this series:
A Rip Through Time
The Poisoner’s Ring
Disturbing the Dead
Schemes & Scandals (novella)

17Apr2025

Book Review: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: April 1, 2025
Length: 325 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.…

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera’s teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly’s girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn’t be ungrateful, even if one is slightly…bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena’s, Vera finds a treasure trove: Selena’s briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it all: a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can’t seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander’s murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her future daughter-in-law.

If you love to laugh… if you love a main character who sticks her nose where it doesn’t belong… if you love a character who’s a force of nature… then Vera Wong is ready and waiting to entertain you! And, of course, to do quite a bit of snooping… er, investigating.

“The guy literally said that to you?” Aimes says. “Stop digging? And you’re not only continuing to dig, you’re involving us in the digging?”

“Yes,” Vera says. “I thought is very obvious. Why I have to spell it out for you?”

Author Jesse Q. Sutanto introduced Vera Wong in the 2023 novel Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers — a totally delightful romp starring a no-holds-barred busybody whose mission (besides solving murders) is to fix everyone else’s lives… and maybe ensure herself some grandbabies too.

Vera is the 61-year-old owner of a Chinatown tea shop, which had been on its last legs before the whole finding-a-dead-man-in-her-shop-and-solving-his-murder incident. Since then, the tea shop’s business is booming, but Vera herself is a bit bored. Sure, she’s got the circle of young people she’s turned into family (now that she’s cleared them all of the murder she’d originally accused them of), but she misses the excitement of an active investigation… not that she’s ever been hired to investigate anything, and of course, despite all the police warnings (including from her hopefully-someday-future-daughter-in-law) to stay out of police business.

When her beloved son Tilly and his police officer girlfriend Selena move in together, they make a rookie mistake — they ask Vera to feed their cat while they’re away. Well, once she’s in their apartment, how is she supposed to avoid looking inside Selena’s (locked) briefcase and reading the files there? And if it just so happens that the case she sees relates to the missing friend of a young woman she’s just befriended… well, it would be wrong for Vera not to get involved!

Vera is an absolute steamroller, who pushes her way into people’s lives, feeds them (very, very well!), and insists that they now belong to her (and for the younger folks, that they call her Grandma). She’s persistent and manipulative, putting on a show of being elderly when it suits her, but never misses her morning power walks… or the opportunity to boss people around.

“I am helpless old lady, I need to protect myself”

“For the last time, you are not old.”

As the story progresses, Vera digs deeper and deeper into all sorts of shady goings-on, and also gets a crash course on influencer culture and viral videos. I can’t even begin to express how amazingly blunt and funny and awesome Vera is.

“So, you were actually assaulted?” Julia says. “That wasn’t just you embellishing as usual?”

Vera looks sharply at Julia. “Embellish? I don’t even know what that is meaning, so how can I do it if I don’t know what it is?”

Meanwhile, the mystery itself is compelling. Several characters get POV chapters, so that we learn more and more about the mystery while also seeing why so many people feel guilty or worry that they’re implicated in something nefarious. They all have secrets to hide — yet Vera is not a woman you can hide things from for very long. Especially not when she feeds you like that!

I loved this newest outing with Vera Wong. The storytelling flows, the characters are terrific, and the laughs pop up in the most unexpected ways. Plus, the investigation is fun to follow, unveils some more serious and tragic situations, yet never is too much of a downer at any one time.

I enjoyed the author’s Aunties series, but in my opinion, the Vera books are even better. Great plotting, super enjoyable dialogue, and a terrific cast of characters. The Vera Wong books are a treat!

I do recommend starting with the first book before reading the second. Sure, most of the plot would work anyway without the prior book, but you’d be missing out on getting to know Vera and the rest of the characters.

If you’re looking for some light, silly entertainment with a memorable lead character, definitely check out the Vera Wong books. Perfect for a spring or summer getaway, or any day when you just need a good laugh.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

5Feb2025

Book Review: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The God of the Woods
Author: Liz Moore
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Length: 490 pages
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Source: Library
Rating:

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

In The God of the Woods, an intricate timeline and multiple points of view bring to vivid life the story of missing children, a privileged family, and its influence over the working class people who depend upon them for their livelihoods.

The story opens at Camp Emerson, a summer camp located on the grounds of the Van Laar Preserve. The Van Laar family bought this vast property in the Adirondacks from loggers several generations back, and have turned it into their mountain getaway. Their huge house, named Self-Reliance, dominates the hilltop overlooking the lake; down the hill, the staff of the camp tend to the children of wealthy families each summer.

In the summer of 1975, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar attends camp for the first time. She’s an independent-minded, punk rock-loving teen who’s happy to be out from under her parents’ control for the eight weeks of camp, and she quickly bonds with one of the other new girls in her cabin. But in August, Barbara’s counselor wakes up to discover that Barbara’s bed is empty, and fears the worst.

Fourteen years earlier, the first Van Laar child — named Peter (Peter IV, to be exact) but known as Bear, also went missing from the Van Laar Preserve and was never found, despite a huge search. Now, fears run high that the same fate has befallen Barbara, and news that a notorious serial killer has escaped prison and is on the lam in the Adirondacks only adds to the searchers’ desperation.

But there is so much more to the story than a missing person’s case. As each chapter begins, a different date is highlighted, and the narrative jumps between the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, as well as between different points in that fateful summer of 1975. The story is not told chronologically; confusing at first, but ultimately, adding to the depth of the character portrayals and giving readers plenty of clues and red herrings to chew over.

Beyond the dual mysteries surrounding Bear and Barbara, the book also is a portrait of the deep divide between haves and have-nots. The Van Laars are seemingly untouchable. They and their wealthy, powerful friends control the area, providing the only source of employment for the nearest small town since the paper factory shut down years earlier. No one can afford to get on the Van Laars’ bad side, even if it means looking away when bad things happen.

I was hesitant to pick up The God of the Woods, not sure that the genre and writing would appeal to me, based on comments I’d read here and there. I’m so glad I got past my concerns and gave it a try. After some initial struggles with the jumps between timelines, I became more comfortable with the book’s structure and ended up finding the chronology fascinating. As for the writing itself, it’s tense and illuminating, and doesn’t drag a bit — those 500 pages absolutely flew by.

With so many point-of-view characters, it may feel almost overwhelming at first to keep track of them all, but ultimately, having so many perspectives — some accurate, some not — on the events of 1975 as well as the earlier disappearance, only adds to the depth of the story. The depiction of the Van Laars and their guests, lounging about in satin pajamas even when a child goes missing, is a chilling portrait of cold power and indifference. And then there’s the setting itself, the beautiful, dangerous forests of the Adirondacks — where campers are taught to immediately sit down and start yelling if they realize they’re lost. The Van Laar home may seem luxurious and civilized, but it’s surrounded by wilderness, which ultimately holds more power than the people who come there.

My only quibble with this book is that the title seems like an odd choice to me. Yes, it’s somewhat clearer by the end, but generally speaking, it seems pretty disconnected from the overall story. On the other hand, the cover is brilliant. It’ll make more sense once you read the book!

I can’t say enough good things about The God of the Woods. By the time I passed the halfway mark, I couldn’t put it down and wanted nothing more than uninterrupted time to read straight through to the end. Don’t miss this well-written, thought-provoking, surprising, twisty book!

19Dec2024

Book Review: City of the Lost (Rockton, #1) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: City of the Lost
Series: Rockton, #1
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: May 3, 2016
Length: 412 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Library
Rating:

Casey Duncan is a homicide detective with a secret: when she was in college, she killed a man. She was never caught, but he was the grandson of a mobster and she knows this crime will catch up to her. Casey’s best friend, Diana, is on the run from a violent, abusive ex-husband. When Diana’s husband finds her, and Casey herself is attacked shortly after, Casey knows it’s time for the two of them to disappear again.

Diana has heard of a domestic violence support town made for people like her, a town that takes in people on the run who want to shed their old lives. You must apply to live in Rockton and if you’re accepted, it means walking away entirely from your old life, living off the grid in the wilds of Canada: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, no computers, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. As a murderer, Casey isn’t a good candidate, but she has something they want; she’s a homicide detective, and Rockton has just had its first real murder. She and Diana are in. However, soon after arriving, Casey realizes that the identity of a murderer isn’t the only secret Rockton is hiding – in fact, she starts to wonder if she and Diana might be in even more danger in Rockton than they were in their old lives.

An edgy, gripping crime novel from a bestselling urban fantasy writer, City of the Lost boldly announces a major new player in the crime fiction world.

Kelley Armstrong has become an auto-buy author for me, and I’ve been loving her recent series (A Rip Through Time and A Stitch in Time) and stand-alones. I hadn’t had the opportunity to explore her extensive backlist until now… and now that I’ve started, I can’t wait to keep going!

City of the Lost is the first book in the 7-book Rockton series. The premise is certainly unique: There’s a remote town — Rockton, population 200 — located in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon territory. It’s home to those fleeing danger who need complete isolation from the outside world, but it also offers shelter to some with questionable pasts who need a way to hide out and start over. There are no navigable roads in or out — new residents arrive by bush plane, and can only leave the same way. Relocating to Rockton is a serious commitment.

The books opens with a bang:

“I killed a man,” I say to my new therapist.

Detective Casey Duncan has a huge secret that’s been weighing on her for the past twelve years. After a brutally violent attack left Casey with permanent physical and psychological scars, she went to confront the ex-boyfriend whose actions brought about the attack (and who abandoned her to her attackers). During the confrontation, she shot and killed him, although that hadn’t been her intention. While she’s essentially gotten away with the killing, she’s always known that it could catch up to her at any point.

Meanwhile, her best friend Diana has been assaulted yet again by her cruel, abusive ex-husband, and she and Casey fear that they’ll never fully be rid of him. When Diana hears about a town where people can disappear, she proposed that they both go and get the protection they so desperately need. Casey is hesitant, but she realizes that this is the best possible solution for Diana. After an intense screening process, they’re in, but with a catch: The selection process easily unearthed Casey’s secret, but because they need a detective, they’ll let her in — only for a six-month stay.

Casey and Diana’s relocation to Rockton introduces them to a world that’s truly apart from everything they’ve known. And while Diana immediately immerses herself in the social life available to her as one of the small number of women in town, Casey gets right to work under the direction of Sheriff Eric Dalton. Dalton is brusque, demanding, and no-nonsense, and while he initially did not want Casey in his town, he quickly realizes how skilled and valuable she is.

Dalton and the town are in desperate need of Casey’s talents, as dead bodies begin cropping up. At first, it’s assumed that missing Rockton residents have simply wandered off into the woods and perhaps met with accidents, but as gruesome corpses are found, it becomes apparent that a killer is at work. Everyone in town is a potential suspect, and to make matters worse, Casey soon discovers that many of Rockton’s residents are actually more dangerous than she’s been led to believe.

The murder mystery and thriller elements are detailed and complex, with plenty of misleading clues and confusing trails of evidence. For a very small town, Rockton has a lot of characters to introduce, and my one complaint about City of the Lost is that it became difficult at various points to keep all the random people and their backstories straight.

That aside, the drama and tension escalate effectively throughout the story, and I loved seeing the different pieces come together. For me, when I read a mystery series, I enjoy the particular crime to be solved in each book, but what really holds my interest and attention is the character development that connects the books. City of the Lost is only the first book, but I can tell already that the characters are going to keep me coming back for more.

Casey herself is a terrific, imperfect, complex main character, and she has fabulous chemistry with Sheriff Eric Dalton. Even before personal chemistry comes into the mix, they’re amazing as partners, butting heads constantly while also building rock-solid respect for one another as professionals. Seeing them together, for me, is the high point of the story.

Beyond Casey and Eric, there are plenty of side characters who add depth to the story and help create a picture of a full society in this little town. And while the murders do get solved, there is clearly more to uncover in terms of people’s secrets and bigger picture questions about the council that runs Rockton from afar.

City of the Lost is a fantastic way to start a series! After just one book, I can say with certainty that I’m hooked and need more. Fortunately, there are six more books to explore in the main series, and I understand that a spin-off series, Haven’s Rock, includes two books so far, with a third due out in 2025. .

I’m going to try to take my time and not do a series binge… but it’s incredibly tempting to barge straight ahead! I’m looking forward to continuing the Rockton series. Next up: Darkness Absolute.

4Oct2024

Book Review: Rough Pages (Evander Mills, #3) by Lev AC Rosen

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Rough Pages
Series: Evander Mills, #3
Author: Lev AC Rosen
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication date: October 1, 2024
Length: 272 pages
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Private Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has been drawn back to the Lavender House estate for a missing person case. Pat, the family butler, has been volunteering for a book service, one that specializes in mailing queer books to a carefully guarded list of subscribers. With bookseller Howard Salzberger gone suspiciously missing along with his address book, everyone on that list, including some of Andy’s closest friends, is now in danger.

A search of Howard’s bookstore reveals that someone wanted to stop him and his co-owner, Dorothea Lamb, from sending out their next book. The evidence points not just to the Feds, but to the Mafia, who would be happy to use the subscriber list for blackmail.

Andy has to maneuver through both the government and the criminal world, all while dealing with a nosy reporter who remembers him from his days as a police detective and wants to know why he’s no longer a cop. With his own secrets closing in on him, can Andy find the list before all the lives on it are at risk?

Set in atmospheric 1950s San Francisco, Rough Pages asks who is allowed to tell their own stories, and how far would you go to seek out the truth.

Author Lev AC Rosen takes us back once again to the world of San Francisco in the 1950s — a time and place where being gay could get someone threatened, beaten, fired, or even killed, for no greater offense than simply being themselves.

This is true for main character Andy (Evander) Mills, an ex-cop brutally expelled from the police force after being caught in a raid on a gay club. He was lucky to escape with a severe beating and broken ribs; he’s been warned that if his story ever goes public, his life in on the line.

As the 3rd book in this outstanding series opens, Andy is invited back to Lavender House, the setting (and title) of the first book. At Lavender House, a chosen family of gay couples lives a secluded life and have recently adopted a child (under the pretense of being a straight family). Their happy home is at risk — one member of the household is a subscriber to a queer book delivery service, and the man who runs the service is missing, along with his mailing list. If that list gets into the wrong hands, every single person on it could be in danger, including the family at Lavender House, who face the very real threat of losing their child.

As Andy looks into the missing bookseller, he discovers connections to the local mob. Would they have had a reason to kill Howard? What would they do with the list? Or is it possible that Howard has been arrested for crimes related to his use of the postal service for mailing queer books? And if so, who will they come after next?

The more Andy digs, the more risks he discovers, including risks to himself. A reporter has latched onto his investigation, and seems poised to expose his past with the police force. The police chief has made it clear to Andy that if the story of a gay cop ever gets out, he’ll see to it personally that Andy’s life will be destroyed, along with the lives of everyone he cares about. And yet, there’s a truth to be found about Howard’s disappearance — and if Andy doesn’t find out what really happened, the people he loves will never be safe.

Lev AC Rosen is a stellar writer who has a gift for writing in a multitude of genres. I’ve loved his YA books, especially Emmett and Camp, his steampunk debut novel All Men of Genius, and of course, I’m loving this queer noir detective series.

In the Evander Mills series, tightly woven, intriguing mysteries drive the plot, but the evocation of 1950s San Francisco is what truly elevates the books and makes them unique. The characters are well-defined and cover a range of personalities, expressions, identities, and statuses, yet come together to give a vibrant picture of gay life in that era.

In Rough Pages, the mystery itself is expertly laid out, with plenty of misleading clues, shady suspects, and what-ifs. An added treat for book lovers is how central the bookstore is, not only to the mystery plot but also to the depiction of a community. As Howard and other characters illustrate, it matters who gets to tell their stories. For readers, these shared stories may be the key to understanding themselves and realizing for the very first time that they’re not alone. While some of Howard’s approaches may strike us as risky or foolish, perhaps naively trusting to a false sense of safety, what he tries to do with his book subscription service is a beautiful thing. The stacks of letters from subscribers demonstrates the impact of books, and their power to change lives.

Rough Pages is a terrific read on so many levels. I recommend the series as a whole, and suggest starting at the beginning with Lavender House in order to get the full picture of the characters and the setting. I look forward to the next installment in the series!

18Aug2024

Just For Fun: A puzzle with a murderous twist

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Murderous Most Puzzling: The Clairvoyants’ Convention
500 Pieces
Chronicle Books

My amazing daughter gives amazing gifts… and this terrific puzzle is a recent example! She actually gave this to me last year, but the mood finally struck this weekend and I decided to dig in. So much fun!

This is a jigsaw with a twist. The inside cover of the box provides the setup to a mystery: Someone has been murdered at a convention of clairvoyants! The detective in charge needs our help — but to solve the mystery, we first have to solve the puzzle!

As a low-key puzzle snob (sorry…), I was wondering whether a 500-piece puzzle would be much of a challenge, since I usually stick to 1000 pieces or more. I needn’t have worried! The trick here is that there’s no picture provided as a guide, so the puzzle is solved without anything to refer to. I’m definitely not used to doing puzzles that way, and it was really a great brain challenge.

In the end, the finished puzzle is gorgeous to look at, with terrific artwork, bright colors, and so many interesting little details.

But wait! Once the puzzle is done, there’s still a mystery to solve! I’m not usually very good at deciphering visual clues, but after looking at the puzzle for a while, stepping away for a bit, and then coming back to it, I thought I had my answer.

There’s an envelope provided, but don’t open it until you’re ready for a clue (or you’re totally stuck, and need help). Opening the envelope halfway provides a clue… and then, fully opened, provides the full picture of the puzzle as well as the answer to the mystery.

I guessed correctly (*patting myself on the back*), although I wasn’t sure that what I guessed was going to be the right answer… but it was!

This was a really fun puzzle experience, and I had a blast doing it!

Beyond the puzzle image and the mystery challenge, I also appreciated the quality of the puzzle itself. The pieces are well-cut and sturdy, no fraying or split edges, and the fit is satisfying and precise. The puzzle comes in a book-shaped box that looks very cute on a bookshelf!

The puzzle creator, Stephanie Von Reiswitz, has a book of visual puzzles available, as well as another mystery-themed jigsaw puzzle… which may tempt me at some point down the line. It looks adorable!

Affiliate link: Buy now at Bookshop.org

14Jun2024

Book Review: Middletide by Sarah Crouch

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Middletide
Author: Sarah Crouch
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: June 11, 2024
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

In this gripping and intensely atmospheric debut, disquiet descends on a small town after the suspicious death of a beautiful young doctor, with all clues pointing to the reclusive young man who abandoned the community in chase of big city dreams but returned for the first love he left behind. Perfect for fans of All Good People Here and Where the Crawdads Sing

One peaceful morning, in the small, Puget Sound town of Point Orchards, the lifeless body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree on the property of prodigal son and failed writer, Elijah Leith. Sheriff Jim Godbout’s initial investigation points to an obvious suicide, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be clues of foul play when he discovers that the circumstances of the beautiful doctor’s death were ripped straight from the pages of Elijah Leith’s own novel.

Out of money and motivation, thirty-three-year-old Elijah returns to his empty childhood home to lick the wounds of his futile writing career. Hungry for purpose, he throws himself into restoring the ramshackle cabin his father left behind and rekindling his relationship with Nakita, the extraordinary girl from the nearby reservation whom he betrayed but was never able to forget.

As the town of Point Orchards turns against him, Elijah must fight for his innocence against an unexpected foe who is close and cunning enough to flawlessly frame him for murder in this scintillating literary thriller that seeks to uncover a case of love, loss, and revenge.

In this new mystery, a man returns to the small town he left behind long ago, to hide out from the world after the failure of the novel he spent ten years writing. Elijah’s family cabin in Point Orchards has been slowly deteriorating since his father’s death years earlier. Bit by bit, Elijah brings the cabin and its land back to life, eventually taking pride in managing to live off the land — raising chickens, growing and canning his own vegetables, even learning to bake bread.

But the one element of his former life that he can’t face is the girl he left behind. When he left for college, he promised to return to Nakita, but never did, lured instead by the shiny promise of a book deal. Now both in their mid-thirties, Elijah and Nakita have faced more in their lives than they’d ever imagined, and the question is, can they find a way to forgive past wrongs and reconnect, possibly even fall in love once again?

The framing of the story is a suspicious death: The town doctor, the beautiful, tragic Erin Landry, is found hanged on Elijah’s property. It looks like a suicide, but circumstances just don’t add up. As the local sheriff investigates, signs start to point to Elijah himself as the perpetrator, especially once it’s discovered that his novel lays out a very similar death, in which a murder is set up to appear to be a suicide.

Chapters in Middletide alternate between the investigation into Erin’s death and the earlier years of Elijah’s return to Point Orchards and his attempts to start fresh and rebuild his life. Eventually, the two timelines merge into one, as the book culminates in a courtroom drama.

I probably could have saved myself some earlier false theories if I’d read the synopsis above, which makes it clear that Elijah is, in fact, innocent. (There’s room to doubt that at some points in the story.) But really, the answer to the murder mystery is about as obvious as it gets — I guessed the overall solution pretty early on, and was correct in just about every way.

To put it bluntly, this is not a great story. Elijah comes off as arrogant in some key scenes, even when we’re meant to like and understand him. His shallow emotional responses undercut our investment in him and make it harder to root for him to find happiness with Nakita.

“You have no clue what it feels like to have your entire future drop out from beneath your feet without warning. You can’t possibly imagine how devastating that is.”

“Actually, I can,” Elijah shot back “I know what it’s like to have to start over from scratch after the life you thought you were meant for doesn’t pan out, remember?”

“Doesn’t pan out? Elijah, my husband was shot in the head and died at thirty-five years old. Where do you get the nerve to compare that to your failed writing career?”

The author includes a note at the beginning stating that Nakita’s tribal affiliation and reservation are fictional inventions, inspired by real indigenous nations. Which, fine, except Nakita’s heritage and the relationship between the town and the reservation don’t actually matter much in Middletide. I excepted this aspect to be more developed, but really, the impact on the plot is minimal and the characters are underdeveloped.

The courtroom scenes feel almost like an afterthought. For anyone who’s ever watched a lawyer show on TV, the trial is not structured as we’d expect. The prosecution calls a few witnesses, then the defense immediately jumps in with a witness, but the prosecution never rests, and as far as I could see, there was no discovery before the trial. Hey, I’m no lawyer… but I’ve seen enough courtroom dramas to know that this didn’t go the way it should. And don’t get me started on Elijah’s lawyer not actually being a lawyer…

Here’s a spoilery bit, so skip this next paragraph if you care about avoiding spoilers:

One key piece of evidence is the diary found at Erin’s house. The entries all start with “Dear Diary” and seriously, do you know of any adult women who actually write in their diaries that way? It’s supposed to be written by a mature professional woman, and she’s writing as if she’s in middle school? Don’t get me started on the non-existent chain of custody for evidence either. Well, okay, in one scene, the deputy hands the diary to Elijah to look at in his jail cell. Excuse me, what? That’s a key piece of evidence, and you’re just handing it to the accused to paw through?

End of spoilers…

On the positive side, Middletide is relatively short (under 300 pages) and goes by quickly, so reading this book isn’t a huge time commitment. It moves quickly, and kept me turning the pages, although by midway through, I was tearing through it mostly to prove myself right rather than out of any real engagement with the characters.

As negatives, though, in addition to the implausibility of the legal case, the convoluted timeline (those chapters set in the past and the present mush together and are annoying to track), and the predictability of the outcome, the writing can be clunky and/or not well considered. For example:

On the day his editor called and read him that horrible review he had flung open his bedroom window in a fit of rage and dropped the orange typewriter to the sidewalk three stories below.

I suppose this is meant to show us a possible violent side of Elijah, but I just had to laugh. The guy was living in San Francisco at the time — no way did he throw his typewriter out a third-floor window in the middle of the city and not end up arrested for killing or injuring a pedestrian.

Also, it’s mentioned that his publishers had high expectations for his book’s success, but apparently this one very bad review absolutely sank it, and the book only sold 48 copies. What? If the book only sold 48 copies, then it wasn’t just one bad review that was responsible. This makes no sense to me.

As I mentioned already, there are scenes where it is very hard to like Elijah. While perhaps that’s meant to create suspicion or doubt, in actuality it just leaves us with a main character whose self-centeredness makes us not particularly want the very likable love interest to subject herself to being with him.

And so on. I could give more examples, but I’ll stop here.

Middletide is a murder mystery with a hollow center. On the one hand, it did keep me interested enough to speed through to the end — but on the other hand, I didn’t buy into the characters, found the mystery utterly predicable, and felt the courtroom drama was rushed and not believable. I expected a much better reading experience.

8May2024

Book Review: Disturbing the Dead (A Rip Through Time, #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Disturbing the Dead
Series: A Rip Through Time, #3
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: May 7, 2024
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
Rating:

Disturbing the Dead is the latest in a unique series with one foot in the 1890s and the other in the present day. The A Rip Through Time crime novels are a genre-blending, atmospheric romp from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends―and feelings―in this century.

So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn’t that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body.

Kelley Armstrong is rapidly becoming a must-read author for me. Disturbing the Dead is the 3rd book in her excellent A Rip Through Time series… and I’ve also been head-over-heels for the A Stitch in Time series (of which I’ve read half so far). While both series have a timeslip/time travel element, they are completely different in tone and focus… and I’m loving them both.

A Stitch in Time has a romantic focus, with a woman slipping through a “stitch” that allows her to travel back and forth between our world and the Victorian era. Each book in the series has a different woman as the main character, but in all cases, travel back and forth is possible, and the characters must learn to fit in and blend in where they land, while also sorting out the complications of love across time.

In the A Rip Through Time series, a different core concept comes into play. 21st century detective Mallory Atkinson accidentally gets pulled through a rip in time during a visit to Edinburgh. When she is attacked and strangled in a dark alley — and the same thing happens to a young housemaid in the exact same place but in the 19th century — Mallory’s consciousness ends up inhabiting the housemaid’s body.

(There’s a lot more to it, so check out my review of the first book for more details).

Fortunately for Mallory, Catriona is employed as a servant in the home of eccentrics, a brother and sister who are devoted to science and social reform. Dr. Duncan Grey is an undertaker and the unofficial coroner of the Edinburgh police force; his sister Isla is a widow known for her independent thinking and her skills in the chemistry lab. Over the course of the first two books, they come to understand that the person they knew as Catriona isn’t actually Catriona any longer. They befriend Mallory, and her knowledge of 21st century police work and forensics quickly makes her an integral part of the household.

Here in Disturbing the Dead, six months have passed since Mallory’s appearance in their midst. Mallory has been promoted and is now officially Duncan’s assistant. Besides Duncan and Isla, police detective (and close family friend) Hugh McCreadie is also in on Mallory’s secret. Together, this group uses Mallory’s advanced knowledge to carry out investigations and apply a more rigorous scientific approach to Victorian era police work.

The action kicks off with an invitation to a mummy unwrapping. Egyptian artifacts and archaeology are all the rage, and Sir Alistair Christie is hosting a party to share his latest find. When the mummy is unwrapped, however, a very fresh corpse is discovered inside, and Mallory and Duncan find themselves once more in the thick of a complicated murder investigation.

The mystery is the driving force of the novel, and it’s a good one, with plenty of subjects, clues, motives, and red herrings. There’s also a very entertaining side plot about a pulp writer who’s started publishing lurid accounts of Mallory and Duncan’s exploits, much to their embarrassment (and Mallory’s annoyance, as the writer portrays her as an empty-headed girl whose main function is to look impressed — and sexy — while Duncan makes all the discoveries).

One of the many delights of the series is seeing Mallory being herself in the 19th century. Unlike the situation facing the characters in the Stitch in Time series, Mallory doesn’t need to make an effort to conceal herself or blend while amongst her friends. Yes, she must adapt to the time by dressing in corsets and adopting the appropriate social customs, but at home, her speech and knowledge are full of 21st century expressions, swearing, and casual sharing of unknown facts.

“Like people in my world who still think you can catch the common cold — or catarrh — by going out in cold weather, despite the fact we’ve known for generations that it’s caused by a virus.”

“Catarrh is caused by… what?” Gray says.

“Whoops. Sorry. Spoilers. Moving right along…”

She’s just so much fun, and scenes of her with Isla and Duncan are always a delight.

He opens his hand to reveal a derringer pistol. I may let out the kind of noise others make on seeing a puppy.

There a shocking development in the latter half of the book that left me gasping and dismayed. I did not see that coming! The author does a fabulous job of making the situation (no spoilers!) vivid and real, and yet also manages to pull off a great resolution to this particular twist.

Overall, Disturbing the Dead is a fantastic addition to a great series, and I can’t wait for more! Highly recommended — but definitely start at the beginning of the series.

24Apr2024

Book Review: The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The River We Remember
Author: William Kent Krueger
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication date: September 5, 2023
Length: 421 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

The River We Remember was my book group’s pick for April, and we were fortunate enough to have a zoom chat with the author. I myself was late in finishing, so I attended the chat having only read half the book… but that’s okay. He was gracious and engaging, the group avoided giving spoilers on the central mystery, and all in all, it was a wonderful event. And then I finished the book the next day!

OUR LIVES AND the lives of those we love merge to create a river whose current carries us forward from our beginning to our end. Because we are only one part of the whole, the river each of us remembers is different, and there are many versions of the stories we tell about the past. In all of them there is truth, and in all of them a good deal of innocent misremembering.

In The River We Remember, a Minnesota community is rocked by the violent death of one of its leading residents. Jimmy Quinn was not loved — not by a long shot — but as the biggest landowner in the area, he was powerful, connected, and in many cases, someone to fear. Lots of people would have had grudges, resentment, even hostility, but was his death murder, suicide, or just a gruesome accident?

The story unfolds through the eyes of multiple characters living in the small town of Jewel. Chief among these is Sheriff Brody Dern, a veteran of WWII with visible and invisible scars and a complicated personal life. At various points, though, we see through the eyes of many different people — there’s a sense of the community being the true main character. All the people we meet — deputies, a diner owner, teen boys, local farmers, a lawyer, a reporter — are connected and have histories that weave together, with their actions affecting one another in an intricate chain of events.

The mystery of Jimmy Quinn’s death is the central plot thread of the novel, but as this unfolds, we encounter themes around war and survival, guilt, growing up with violence, generational trauma, and the ripple effects of hate, bigotry, and racism. There’s also the concept of home — what makes a community, a piece of land, or even a specific person feel like home? Where do people find belonging?

I won’t go further into plot details, but will sum up by saying that while the mystery has a satisfying resolution, the true beauty of this book is the outstanding character depictions. Each of the people we meet are distinct and have complex inner lives that come into play as they interact. The whole is emotional and evocative, allowing the reader to experience the time and place of the story in a way that feels authentic and powerful.

Simply put, The River We Remember is a beautiful novel. This is my third book by this author (I also loved his two other stand-alones, This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace), and I look forward to starting his long-running Cork O’Connor series.