October Book Reviews

 

by Mary Saums

 

 

THE BULLET CATCHER'S DAUGHTER: The Fall of the Gas-lit Empire, Book 1 by Rod Duncan was so full of action and surprises, I hardly know where to begin. Set in an alternative Victorian England, a civil war results in a divided country and the rise of power of the Patent Office. Think Gestapo.

Amidst the unrest, a poor young private detective tries to squeak out a living but cases are rare. To the world, he is Edwin Barnabus, he saves money by living on an old barge, and he supports his twin sister, Elizabeth, now that their parents are dead.

But the reality is that there is only one person living on the boat. Elizabeth is alone in the world. In order to survive, she dresses like a man so she can be accepted as a private inquirer. Trouble comes when a young man from the Patent Office gets curious about one of her cases.

BULLET CATCHERS DAUGHTER was a finalist for the 2014 Phillip K. Dick award. I look forward to more in this series!

 

 

 

THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE by Simone St. James 

Wow Wow WOW! I mean. Just ... whew. Wow. There's so much I loved about this book.

Okay, gothic. Loved the tone of this story, set in 1920s England. The tone and pacing reminded me of stories like Rebecca. I found Sarah Piper, the main character, to be more realistic and, because of that, more appealing than some heroines in gothic books.

Sarah works for a temporary service, usually doing secretarial-type work. She is sent out to assist Alistair Gellis, a young man who writes books about ghosts. Maddy thinks she'll be transcribing notes or doing some other ordinary job. 

Instead, Gellis needs her because the particular ghost he's investigating gets very, very angry around men. He was hired because the house owners think, with his expertise, he can convince the ghost, Maddy Clare, to move on to the next world. But he needs a female go-between to do the dirty work.

This book won two RWA Rita Awards and also the CWA Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. It certainly deserves these and more. The narration and the portrayals of Gellis and his assistant Matthew Ryder, both dealing with post-traumatic disorders from their war experiences, were so well done. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

 

 

THE SHEPHERD'S CROWN by Sir Terry Pratchett

 

So sad that this is Pratchett's last book. But, as always, his stories give us so much to love  and plenty of laughter.

Granny Weatherwax has always been my favorite Terry Pratchett character. And, as always, she is her complete, strong, wonderful self even as she prepares for her own death. She leaves her cottage to young Tiffany Aching, her understudy and a darned good witch about the county herself.

Trouble is brewing in the land of the elves. A particularly nasty elf decides he wants to be boss in the King's absence, so he riles up the kingdom and tosses the Queen out. Elf troops begin invading the real world.

Tiffany and the other witches have their hands full and realize they need more witches. The only applicant is Geoffrey, a rich lord's son, who has run away from home with his goat. And, of course, since it's a Pratchett novel, both young man and goat have surprising talents.

The witches have never had a male applicant before. But Geoffrey and his remarkable sidekick soon convince the group they can be of help.

Lots of fun and a great ending for Granny, Tiffany and all the good folks who live on The Chalk.

 

So, tell me -

What have you been reading lately? Let us know your current reads in the comments section.

 

 

Comments

[Susan Neace]

I went to 2 major book stores and a specialty shop which sells comics and graphic novels trying to find "Hopcross Jilly" by Patricia Briggs before ordering it from Amazon. It was good but led me into rereading the last two Mercy novels. That led me back to the final two Sookie books I hope to make it to a bookstore for something new tomorrow. The latest October Daye book was wonderful (Seanan McGuire)

[Mary S.]

Susan, I keep looking at the Patricia Briggs books, but haven't tried one yet. Gotta do that and catch up on Seanan McGuire!