The Breakdown by B.A. Paris - Cass isn't handling things well since she saw a woman in a stranded car and didn't help her. Because that woman was murdered in that very spot. Then Cass starts getting hang up calls and forgetting many small things. She fears she's being stalked by the murderer and that she has early onset dementia like her mother. But she whines about this all.the.time making her less than likeable. Lots of time spent with her answering the phone to no one there. Had this one figured out almost right away. I only kept reading to see if I was right.
2 stars
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Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch - in the third Peter Grant book he's called to a murder on the underground train tracks. At first, he thinks there's not a magic link, but he finds one in the murder weapon, a piece of pottery. Suddenly, a US Senator, the FBI, and lots of London underground lead him deep under in more ways than one. And he still has his eye out for the dangerous character introduced in the previous book. I found this better than the previous book but I do think the plots get a bit convoluted. Have I mentioned that magic was invented by Isaac Newton in these books? And I think Peter's boss is a little out of the loop on what's happening in the city. I'm ambivalent about this series, I find it irritating and interesting at the same time. No sex scenes this time but some crude language.
3 stars
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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - ten people are lured by various means to a luxury home on an island and then stranded there. After a recording accuses all of them of being responsible for the death of someone they start being murdered one by one. All according to the methods in an eerie poem hanging in each of the bedrooms. I had read this before but forgot all the important elements so enjoyed it probably more than the first time. It's so enjoyable to go back to a master of the craft.
5 stars
*RHC - a classic of genre fiction
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The Jackaby series by William Ritter - a 4 book YA series set in New England in 1892. Abigail Rook is fresh off the boat and takes a job as the assistant of Jackaby, a very odd man who claims he can see all the magical creatures in the world. After the first book, I had to read the next immediately. I ended up reading all of them over 2 days.
Jackaby - Abigail is plunged into her first case with Jackaby when he hears of a murder with an odd method. She also meets the inhabitants of his house/office that include Jenny, a ghost and the former owner of the house, and Douglas, Jackaby's former assistant who is now a duck due to an unfortunate incident in a previous case. There's also Charlie Cane, a young policeman more inclined to believe in the supernatural than most. The mystery part is pretty easy to figure out but I found myself pretty invested in the people and wanting to know more.
Beastly Bones - dinosaurs, dragons, and shape-shifting creatures star in the second book. Jackaby and Abigail travel to the Gad valley to look into the theft of a dinosaur bone but Jackaby is actually more interested in a death at the bone dig. Abigail is excited to be meeting Charlie again. And it's starting to look like there's a connection between this and there previous case.
Ghostly Echoes - Jenny, the ghost in Jackaby's house is finally ready for him to investigate her murder 10 years previously. Her scientist fiancee disappeared at the same time and has always been a suspect. But now there are some new murders and the disappearance of more scientists. How are they connected? There seems to be a mastermind pulling the strings.
The Dire King - and yes, the mastermind is an evil non human king who wants to destroy the barrier between the human world and the fae world. Almost too much action and not enough plot made this seem a little chaotic. And I'm not sure I liked the ending.
What I liked about these books was the people and the humor. Abigail notices ordinary things that Jackaby misses and helps him become a little more sociable. Jackaby encourages Abigail to learn and expand her mind.What I didn't like, the books are a little heavy-handed in their social injustice/everyone is equal treatment. And by the last book there are so many otherwordly creatures you can't keep track of them. Every mythical world, Norse, Greek, Russian, is included and Christianity is just part of the mix.
4 stars - first two books
3 stars - last two books
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