A Stroke of Dumb Luck

A Stroke of Dumb Luck
   (I'm unsure of the series name, #.5)
   ~Shiloh Walker
Publisher ~ Tor Books
Published ~ 1 February 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Kit Colbana belongs to an ancient line of warriors, but she’s not a pure-blood. When a mother calls Kit to find her missing daughter she agrees to go searching the lair of the wererats for her. Unfortunately, her mission goes sideways. Fortunately, one of the many messages she left for the supernatural community leaders was received and acted upon. Otherwise, Kit might have been a tasty meal for the wererats.

I loved this short story. The writing was smooth and the plot flowed easily. The two main characters have caught my interest and this story whetted my appetite for more. This is apparently a prequel for Blade Song by J.C. Daniels which is a pen name for Shiloh Walker. I’ll be picking up Blade Song (published 1 August 2012) as soon as possible.

*I read this short story in July when it was offered free to all and sundry on Shiloh Walker’s blog.

Bananas Foster

Bananas Foster
   ~ Sandra Murphy
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 20 March 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Bernice is a Pink Lady at the hospice, but one of the Doogie Howser doctors told her that she’s getting older and she should get a hobby, either something new or something she used to enjoy. Bernice is livid and decides to make one of the patients her project. She sits down with John and gets his story then proceeds to arrange things to her satisfaction in order to make John’s final days happier. When she tells Ken her plan he says, ‘We retired.’ But he goes along with her plan.

This is an excellent short story. Bernice is a great character and after reading it I was reminded of the movie Red with Bruce Willis. I really want to know what kind of work Bernice and Ken retired from. Or do I? On second thought, maybe I don’t need to know. *looks over shoulder* Really, I’m fine with not knowing.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Death in the Family

Death in the Family
   ~ J.E. Seymour
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 24 February 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Kevin Markinson got into some trouble as a teen and it was either go to jail or join the Marines. He chose the Marines and ended up in Vietnam as a sniper. After being wounded and discharged he ends up as a consultant. For the mob. Or so rumor has it. 18 years after his dad kicked him out he's back for the old man's funeral. And not everyone is happy to see him.

I was intrigued by this well-written short story right from the beginning. Who is this guy Kevin Markinson? Whose funeral is he attending? Why has he been gone so long? Does he really work for the mob? Most of those questions are answered, but that last one is left for us to decide.

I like Seymour’s writing style and I look forward to seeing more books by this author.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Chasing Can Be Murder

Chasing Can Be Murder
   (Kat McKinley Mystery, #1)
   ~ June Whyte
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 27 September 2010

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Kat McKinley is a greyhound trainer. She’s just had subpar sex with another trainer who is now snoring next to her when her greyhounds start barking. She goes down to quiet them, goes back upstairs, gets in bed and decides to wake Romeo for another round. However, he’s stopped snoring, feels a bit clammy and…is that a knife in his chest?! Can it get any worse for Kat? Oh, boy, you shouldn’t have asked that.

This was an engaging mystery. I was stumped until the end as to who the killer was and that surprised me. I can usually figure it out long before the end. The plot flowed smoothly and the characters were interesting. Though I will have to admit up front that I’m on Team Scuzz. You’ll get it when you read it. *winks*

I look forward to reading the next in the series.

*The publisher provided a copy of the book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

The Rake

The Rake
   ~ Mary Jo Putney
Publisher ~ Zebra Historical
Published ~ 27 March 2012

My Rating ~ 5 out of 5

Reginald Davenport is a disinherited alcoholic rake. Lady Alys Weston has been sort of masquerading as a man in order to keep her job as steward of Davenport’s newly acquired estate. The two are about to meet and their lives will be forever altered.

I loved it! The hero is flawed and the heroine is strong. The story flowed smoothly, the plot was engaging and the characters were interesting. I loved how Davenport struggled to beat his addiction to alcohol. It was a compelling account and had me rooting for him to win even when he fell off the wagon.

Alys was no simpering heroine. She was strong in body and spirit, intelligent and not afraid to try new methods to make the estate she was in charge of prosperous for all who lived there.

This was a first read of Putney’s work for me, but I enjoyed this book so much it won’t be the last.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

New Title and Cover for Demon's Coven

I read and reviewed Demon's Coven by A.J. Burton, but it now has a new title and a new cover, so I wanted to update my blog to include this new info. The new title and cover (which I like):

My review for Demon's Coven posted on 7/11/12.

Detectives Angelo ‘Bull’ Protettore and Tommy Delaney have been partnered up by the Chief either in the hopes they’d get their acts together or screw up even more badly so they get kicked off the force. Tommy has real anger management problems, but Bull is still dealing with losing his fiancé to a serial killer. Just when it looks like Bull is finally pulling his life back together the serial killer strikes again and Bull is determined this time to catch him, no matter the cost. Tommy agrees to help because on top of his anger management problems he has a real problem with authority and playing by the rules.

Starting with a missing persons case and ending with a lot of bodies on the ground I really enjoyed watching Bull try to piece together a lot of various pieces of a much bigger puzzle to find the serial killer. Intertwined with the case is a group of Dominatrix informally known as The Style Mistresses who Bull thinks are involved in some way, so he attaches himself to one of them in hopes of finding out more about the group. Along the way he and Tommy learn a lot about themselves and solve the case, too.

This was a great read! It proceeded at a good clip, had a twisty plot and an interesting cast of characters. The best part? It’s not completely over. While this part of the mystery was solved there’s still a bigger mystery to unravel. I can’t wait for Book 2!

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer.