Book Review: Final Heir by Faith Hunter

 

From the publisher: 

Jane Yellowrock is the queen of the vampires, and that makes her a target as she fights to maintain control and keep peace in the city of New Orleans. She has enemies at every turn, because vampires live forever, and they keep their grudges alive with them. That includes the Heir, the vampire sire of the Pellissier bloodline, which gave rise to Leo Pellissier himself—Jane’s old boss and the former master of the city.

With the Heir and all the forces of darkness he can muster arrayed against her, Jane will need all the help she can get. She’ll find it in her city, her friends, her found family, and, of course, the Beast inside of her.

My thoughts: This is definitely not the book to start reading the series with. It is, however, a good one for wrapping up the series. Loose ends are tied up. Character growth is evident for several characters through their thoughts and actions. And several characters get a version of their HEA.

I had two very minor problems with the book. One was that there were a few instances of Angie being like a deus ex machina. She provided vital information just when they needed it. I know this helped move the plot along, but sometimes it was too convenient. The other was the amount of detail given to the types of weapons used. This is easily scanned over though, and does not hold up the action.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. It's well written. It does a good job resolving loose ends. The problems I did have with it were minor. And it's left open enough for the possibility of future short stories or novellas set in the same world.

If you've been reading this series, this book is a must read. If you haven't started it yet, but enjoy urban fantasy, start at the beginning. It's a good series.

Final Heir by Faith Hunter was published September 6th, 2022 by Ace Books.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #442: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From the publisher:

Knives Out and Clue meet Agatha Christie and The Thursday Murder Club in this “utterly original” (Jane Harper), “not to be missed” (Karin Slaughter), fiendishly clever blend of classic and modern murder mystery.

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I’m Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I’d killed whoever decided our family reunion should be at a ski resort, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

Why am I waiting on this book? I read some reviews of it and coupled with the publisher's description, I decided to add it to my TBR list. The reviews confirm that it reads like a mashup of things in the description. The narrator Ern has dark humor, wit, and snark. It sounds like an interesting, funny at times, locked room type mystery.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is expected out January 17th, 2023 from Mariner Books.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #441: Big Shot by Julie Mulhern

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From the publisher:

Ellison and Anarchy Jones are looking forward to a relaxing weekend in the country. Time spent skeet shooting, fishing, and horse-back riding with friends. Hours spent swaying in a shady hammock without friends.

But when Ellison walks into a murder scene, her friends become suspects. And each of them has an excellent motive for murder.

Can Ellison sift through the lies and unmask a killer, or will a weekend away cost her everything she holds dear?

Big Shot by Julie Mulhern is expected out October 25th, 2022. It's the 15th book in The Country Club Murders series.

Why am I waiting on this book? I really like this series. It has the twists. And it has humor. I love a good humorous mystery. If you are new to the series I'd recommend starting with book one, The Deep End, where Ellison finds her first body and meets Detective Anarchy Jones.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She could decide how she was going to be. She had a choice. Life could be an endless series of joyless chores, or she could get totally pumped and make it fun. There were bad things, and there were good things, but she got to choose which things to focus on. Her mom focused only on the bad things. Abby didn't have to. (10% through on my Kindle)

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix was published May 17th, 2016 by Quirk Books. It's a good read for this time of year. And it won the Goodreads Choice Award for Horror in 2016.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Book Review: Darling by Mercedes M. Yardley

 

From the publisher:

Darling has its demons.
Cherry LaRouche escaped the claws of Darling, Louisiana at sixteen. When she is forced to return after her mother’s death, Cherry and her children move back into her childhood home where the walls whisper and something sinister skitters across the roof at night.

While Cherry tries to settle back into a town where evil spreads like infection, the bodies of several murdered children turn up. When Cherry’s own daughter goes missing, she’s forced to confront the true monsters of Darling.

Darling by Mercedes M. Yardley was published August 23rd, 2022 by Black Spot Books.

My thoughts:

The book comes across to me as Southern Gothic. Cherry is something of an antihero. This book is her story. She is a little hard to like at times because of the choices she makes. So many of those choices bring her trouble. Moving back to Darling is one of them, though it's kind of going from the frying pan into the fire. 

Setting wise, there's the somewhat dilapidated house that Cherry has inherited. She and her two small children move in even though it's creepy. And then there is the town of Darling as a setting with characters. Some of the townspeople treat her well at first. Some treat her badly from the beginning, mainly the cashier at the one grocery store in town. The ugliness of the cashier in her treatment of Cherry is just the tip of the iceberg.

There were other things too that lead me to believe that this is a Southern Gothic piece. There's a suggestion of the supernatural. The way that Cherry's past affects her present as well as how some of the characters seemed to be one thing, but were really another also made me think that way as did the exploration of madness.

The plot moves along at a decent rate. There are some lulls, but many of them have a creepy aspect and help advance the plot. I didn't expect the way it ended. 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Overall it's not a bad example of a Southern Gothic piece. The characters are interesting - even the unlikable ones. The plot moves decently. And the ending is twisty. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy gothic stories, those who enjoy thrillers and suspense, and some horror readers.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #440: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From the publisher:

A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto is expected out March 14th, 2023 from Berkley.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like that Vera sounds like an interesting main character. She's a woman of a certain age with strong mothering tendencies. She has her own tea shop. And she sounds internet and computer savvy. I want to know what she does with the flash drive and what's on it. I want to know how she  goes about sleuthing and what the results are.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

We're all somebody else on nights like these.

Nothing new for me, though. I'm someone else every night. 

(68% through on my Kindle)

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa was published September 13th, 2022 by Harper Voyager.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #439: Playing Games edited by Lawrence Block

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlighted upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with Can't Wait Wednesday hosted over at Wishful Endings.

From the publisher:

WIN, LOSE, OR DIE.

Whether it’s child’s play or for the highest stakes, whether we stick to the rules or cheat, we all play games—for fun, for thrills, for love or money, to prove we’re the best or make an opponent knuckle under. And the games we play, with cards or dice or nothing but our wits, reveal something deeply personal about the players.

In this powerful new anthology, Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block has assembled an all-star team for the ultimate game night. Sit down at the checkerboard with S.A. Cosby, assemble jigsaw puzzles with David Morrell, or play marbles for the fate of the world with Joe R. Lansdale. In Jeffery Deaver’s hands, an innocent game of Candyland takes twists the Parker Brothers could never have imagined. Science-fiction grandmaster Robert Silverberg uncovers painful truths about destiny while betting on the turtle races in a Caribbean resort. And Lawrence Block himself out-Hitchcocks Hitchcock with his classic story of murder victims swapped by strangers on a handball court.

From hide-and-seek to Russian roulette, from mahjong to Mouse Trap, it’s a game lover’s dream—but beware: your turn is coming, and while winning isn’t everything, sometimes losing can be deadly…

Playing Games edited by Lawrence Block is expected out January 31st, 2023 from Subterranean Press.

Why am I waiting on this book? I like the concept of the anthology. While some games may easily lend themselves to the idea of a mystery, I'm eager to see what the authors do with those and the less common games such as Candyland. And Lawrence Block is an excellent editor.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Happy Book Birthday to River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan

 

River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan is being released today by Blackstone Publishing.

From the publisher:

When Eva’s husband is arrested for the murder of a friend, she must confront her murky past and embrace her magick to find out what really happened that night on the river.

Eva Santos Moon is a burgeoning Chicana artist who practices the ancient, spiritual ways of brujería and curanderisma, but she’s at one of her lowest points—suffering from disorienting blackouts, creative stagnation, and a feeling of disconnect from her magickal roots. When her husband, a beloved university professor and the glue that holds their family together, is taken into custody for the shocking murder of their friend, Eva doesn’t know whom to trust—least of all, herself. She soon falls under suspicion as a potential suspect, and her past rises to the surface, dredging up the truth about an eerily similar death from her childhood.

Struggling with fragmented memories and self-doubt, an increasingly terrified Eva fears that she might have been involved in both murders. But why doesn’t she remember? Only the dead women know for sure, and they’re coming for her with a haunting vengeance. As she fights to keep her family out of danger, Eva realizes she must use her magick as a bruja to protect herself and her loved ones, while confronting her own dark history.

A psychological thriller that weaves together the threads of folk magick with personal and cultural empowerment, River Woman, River Demon is a mysterious incantation of reckoning with the past and claiming one’s unique power and voice.

I'm about half way through the book. It is definitely a suspense/thriller with paranormal aspects. Review to come.

Teaser Tuesday: I Choose Darkness by Jenny Lawson

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I am one of the small group of people who go to Halloween stores not for temporary plastic decorations but for actual interior design ideas. When I meet with people on Zoom, they stare into the terrifyingly dead gaze of dozens of unsmiling big-eyed dolls on shelves behind me.

(15% through on my Kindle)

I Choose Darkness - a Holiday Essay by Jenny Lawson is available on Amazon for purchase or through Kindle Unlimited.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!